Is the Virus Getting Worse?

Prognosis: Misconception

Bloomberg

Health & Fitness, Science

4.1 • 838 Ratings

🗓️ 8 May 2020

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Last week, researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory released alarming news: At least one variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 had significantly mutated to become more contagious. If true, this would have major implications. A new variant could, for example, hamper efforts to develop a vaccine or mean that people who’ve already had Covid-19 might face a greater risk of getting it again. But critics said the data didn’t support such a big claim. Kristen V. Brown discusses what it really means that the virus is changing.

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0:00.0	Are you looking for a new podcast about stuff related to money?
0:05.3	Well, today's your lucky day.
0:07.1	I'm Matt Levine.
0:08.2	And I'm Katie Greifeld.
0:09.5	And we are the hosts of Money Stuff, The Podcast.
0:13.0	Every Friday, we dive into the top stories about Wall Street, finance, and other stuff.
0:17.9	We have fun. We get weird, and we want you to join us. You can listen to
0:22.0	Many Stuff the Podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:30.6	Welcome to Prognosis. I'm Laura Carlson. It's day 58 since coronavirus was declared a global pandemic.
0:42.3	Our main story? Some new research suggests the coronavirus could have mutated into a more
0:49.2	contagious strain. But the truth may not be that cut and dry. We'll discuss what it really means that the
0:57.6	virus is changing. But first, here's what happened today. The U.S. unemployment rate more than
1:08.9	tripled in April to 14.7%.
1:13.4	In what was the harshest downturn in history for American workers, employers cut 20.5 million
1:20.7	jobs.
1:22.9	We now have the highest jobless rate since the Great Depression.
1:27.4	The losses were brought on by coronavirus forcing the economy to a halt two months ago.
1:33.3	They erase a decade of job growth and show how precarious employment is for huge swaths of Americans.
1:42.0	The jobs report showed an outsized impact on lower paid workers, as well as women
1:47.6	and minorities. Spain reported its biggest increase in new cases in nearly a week, as the country
1:55.7	goes through the first phase of a plan to relax its lockdown after eight weeks of confinement.
2:03.2	Portugal, which began easing confinement measures on Monday, reported a bigger increase in new cases
	...

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