Thursday, April 25

Tag: answered

More Questions Answered – Will New Vaccines Be Better At Fighting Coronavirus Variants?
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COVID-19

More Questions Answered – Will New Vaccines Be Better At Fighting Coronavirus Variants?

The first three coronavirus vaccines earned Emergency Use Authorization more than a year ago. To date, no other vaccines have been put into use in the U.S – but that will soon change. More than 40 vaccines are undergoing clinical trials in the U.S., employing a number of different approaches to protecting people from the coronavirus. Vaibhav Upadhyay and Krishna Mallela have been studying the coronavirus spike protein since the outbreak of the pandemic and are developing COVID-19 therapeutics. Together, they explain what vaccines are in development and why some of the vaccines should be better than what’s available now. 1. Why are companies working on new vaccines? A major reason why new vaccines are important – and why the world is still dealing with COVID-19 – is the continued emergence ...
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4 Questions Answered – What Supreme Court’s Block Of Vaccine-Or-Test Mandate, For Large Businesses Will Mean For Public Health
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COVID-19

4 Questions Answered – What Supreme Court’s Block Of Vaccine-Or-Test Mandate, For Large Businesses Will Mean For Public Health

The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13, 2022, blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate, which applied to virtually all private companies with 100 of more employees. But it left in place a narrower mandate that requires health care workers at facilities receiving federal funds to get vaccinated. The ruling comes at a time when the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalization rates continues to soar throughout the United States as a result of the omicron variant. We asked Debbie Kaminer, a professor of law at Baruch College, CUNY, to explain the ruling’s impact. 1. What did the Supreme Court decide? The court’s six conservative justices held that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration exceeded its power in issuing the mandate on private companies, which would have co...
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Questions Answered: Can The World Hunger Problem Be Solved By Elon Musk And His $6 billion?
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BUSINESS

Questions Answered: Can The World Hunger Problem Be Solved By Elon Musk And His $6 billion?

Jessica Eise, The University of Texas at San Antonio Elon Musk hinted on Oct. 31, 2021, perhaps jokingly, that he might be willing to donate US$6 billion of his fortune to pay for hunger relief. But there was a catch: The United Nations would have to prove that it can solve world hunger “right now.” His comments responded to a challenge U.N. World Food Program director David Beasley lobbed at Jeff Bezos and Musk — to “step up now, on a one-time basis” to help solve world hunger. “$6 billion to help 42 million people that are literally going to die if we don’t reach them. It’s not complicated,” Beasley said in an October 2021 CNN interview, a year after he called on billionaires to pitch in with $5 billion. Here, social scientist Jessica Eise, who edited a book titled “How to Feed the Worl...
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Each Day 250 Preschool Kids Get Suspended Or Expelled – 5 Questions Answered
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EDUCATION

Each Day 250 Preschool Kids Get Suspended Or Expelled – 5 Questions Answered

Education Kate Zinsser, University of Illinois at Chicago When parents think of a child getting kicked out of school, they might imagine drugs found stashed in a locker, a classroom that’s been vandalized, or some kind of sexual or other violent assault. But the fact is that it’s not uncommon for students to be suspended or expelled for much less egregious behavior before they even enter kindergarten. In 2014, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Education provided recommendations to states to severely limit and ultimately eliminate early childhood suspensions and expulsions. Some states, such as Colorado and Louisiana, denounce suspension and expulsion in their administrative guides and reimbursement policies for early childcare programs. Other states, including Illin...
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7 Questions Answered By A Pediatric Infectious Disease Expert – Should My Child Get The COVID-19 Vaccine?
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HEALTH & WELLNESS, LIFESTYLE

7 Questions Answered By A Pediatric Infectious Disease Expert – Should My Child Get The COVID-19 Vaccine?

The Food and Drug Administration expanded emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents 12 to 15 years of age on May 10, 2021. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention followed with recommendations endorsing use in this age group after their advisory group meeting on May 12. The American Academy of Pediatrics also supports this decision. Dr. Debbie-Ann Shirley is an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Virginia specializing in pediatric infectious diseases. Here she addresses some of the concerns parents may have about their teen or preteen getting the COVID-19 vaccine. 1. Does the vaccine work in adolescents? Yes, recently released data from Pfizer-BioNTech shows that the COVID-19 vaccine seems to work really well in ...
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6 Questions Answered – Why Facebook Created Its Own ‘Supreme Court’ For Judging Content
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SOCIAL MEDIA

6 Questions Answered – Why Facebook Created Its Own ‘Supreme Court’ For Judging Content

Facebook’s quasi-independent Oversight Board on May 5, 2021, upheld the company’s suspension of former President Donald Trump from the platform and Instagram. The decision came four months after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg banned Trump “indefinitely” for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The board chastised Facebook for failing to either set an end date for the suspension or permanently ban Trump and gave the social media company six months to resolve the matter. What is this Oversight Board that made one of the most politically perilous decisions Facebook has ever faced? Why did the company create it, and is it a good idea? We asked Siri Terjesen, an expert on corporate governance, to answer these and several other questions. 1. What is the Facebook Oversight Boa...
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4 Questions Answered – What Are The Blood Clots Associated With The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine?
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COVID-19

4 Questions Answered – What Are The Blood Clots Associated With The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine?

Two vaccines – the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the U.S. and the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe – have been linked to an increased chance of a rare type of blood clot. Researchers are investigating what causes these clots and are starting to propose some answers. Dr. Mousumi Som, a professor of medicine at Oklahoma State University, explains what these rare clots are and how they are forming after people get vaccinated. 1. What are the blood clots? A small number of people in the U.S. have developed dangerous blood clots after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The clots have mostly been occurring in people’s brains and, paradoxically, are associated with low platelet counts. Normally, platelets help a person stop bleeding when they get injured. If you get a cut or have an ...
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4 Questions Answered: A Monthly Allowance For Millions Of American Parents Soon
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BUSINESS

4 Questions Answered: A Monthly Allowance For Millions Of American Parents Soon

The federal government’s US$1.9 trillion relief package Congress passed on March 10 will temporarily expand the child tax credit. This credit, currently pegged at up to $2,000 a year per child until they turn 17, will instead total $3,600 for children under 6 and $3,000 for kids up to the age of 18 over the next 12 months. Starting in July, the Internal Revenue Service will distribute half this money to most families with children in monthly payments of either $250 or $300 per child. The IRS will deliver the balance at tax time in 2022. The Conversation U.S. asked Joya Misra, a sociologist who studies how public policies influence inequality, four questions about this new temporary benefit. 1. Why are families with children getting these benefits? This program builds on the existing chil...
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Questions Answered: Comparing Other Coronavirus Vaccines, How Does The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Measure Up
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COVID-19

Questions Answered: Comparing Other Coronavirus Vaccines, How Does The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Measure Up

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released the results of its trial of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine. The FDA found the vaccine to be safe and effective and it is expected to grant emergency use authorization in the coming days. Maureen Ferran, a virologist at the Rochester Institute of Technology, explains how this new vaccine works and explores the differences between it and the already approved Moderna and Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines. 1. How does the Johnson & Johnson vaccine work? The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is what’s called a viral vector vaccine. To create this vaccine, the Johnson & Johnson team took a harmless adenovirus – the viral vector – and replaced a small piece of its genetic instructions with coronavirus genes for the SAR...
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Questions Answered – Why GameStop Shares Stopped Trading
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BUSINESS

Questions Answered – Why GameStop Shares Stopped Trading

GameStop stock resumed its dramatic ascent after a popular no-fee online broker said it would lift restrictions on trading its shares. In recent days, frenzied activity in the video game retailer’s stock led the New York Stock Exchange to briefly halt trading multiple times, while Robinhood and other brokers restricted purchases of GameStop. That prompted outrage among some lawmakers and investors, leading to calls for investigations in Washington. Jena Martin, a law professor who studies securities regulation, explains what’s going on, why trading is sometimes restricted and how to tell if it’s a sign of any funny business. 1. What prompts trading in a stock to be halted? Typically, there are two reasons that an exchange might stop trading in a stock. The first occurs when an exchange – ...
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