Consider This from NPR - Operation Warp Speed; Essential Workers Fight For Benefits

Episode Date: May 1, 2020

The Trump administration is calling the effort to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 "Operation Warp Speed." Dr. Anthony Fauci says if all goes well, we could have hundreds of millions of vaccines as early as next January. Today is International Workers Day, and this year workers at Amazon, Walmart and Target are using the occasion to organize mass protests. They say their companies are not doing enough to protect and compensate them, even as the nation hails them as "essential." Today is also historically known as National College Decision Day for college-bound high school seniors. But that's changed this year too. Many colleges have postponed their decision deadlines to June 1. And as the pandemic continues to cause students' personal circumstances to change, some are reconsidering attending a four-year college full time at all. In New York City, a funeral director says knowing that his team is performing a service for their community helps him get through long and stressful days. Plus, some happy news: NPR producer Emma Talkoff's twin sister and her now-husband got married in their apartment last weekend. Talkoff shares what it was like for her family to witness the joyful moment via Zoom. Find and support your local public radio stationSign up for 'The New Normal' newsletterThis episode was recorded and published as part of this podcast's former 'Coronavirus Daily' format.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Operation Warp Speed. That is what the Trump administration is calling the effort to develop a vaccine fast. If it's successful, hundreds of millions of doses could be available by early next year. On NBC's Today Show, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he thinks it's possible. We're going to start ramping up production with the companies involved. And you do that at risk. In other words, you don't wait until you get an answer before you start manufacturing. You at risk, proactively start making it, assuming it's going to work. Coming up, weddings, funerals and graduations in the time of a pandemic and how essential workers are making the case that they deserve more. This is Coronavirus Daily from NPR.

I'm Kelly McEvers. It's Friday, May 1st. All over the country, states are beginning to allow some businesses to open back up. But not everyone has been home these nearly seven weeks. It's not just doctors and nurses who are considered essential. Workers in warehouses and grocery stores, delivery drivers and fast food employees, gig workers too. They have all been working this whole time. Many have gotten sick from COVID-19. Some have died. They're being called heroes. But many people say their pay, benefits and protections are not heroic. We are the same people that they didn't

think we were worth $15 an hour, but now realize that we are worth way more than that. That's Cynthia Murray. She works at a Walmart in Maryland. They say we have protected sick time. I'm a 19-year associate. I have to work more than a week in order to get one hour of sick time. Workers at Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart, Walmart, and other places went out on strike on Friday, which is also known as May Day or International Workers' Day. And they asked for sick time, hazard pay, access to basic protection against the virus like masks, gloves, and disinfectant. Even though their jobs were never supposed to be about life and death, Bartolome Perez says now they are. Perez works at a McDonald's here in Los Angeles.

He's a longtime activist who's been out on strike before. But after a coworker tested positive for the coronavirus, it felt different. Because you know that every time you go out, it could be your last, or it could be the most expensive hamburger you make in your life. NPR business correspondents Alina Selyuk and Shannon Bond brought us those voices. A link to their full reporting is in our episode notes. And we should note, some of the companies we mentioned are NPR sponsors. May 1st is also the traditional deadline for students to declare where they will go to college in the fall. The coronavirus, of course, has changed that too.

Nearly 400 schools have moved the deadline to June. But whenever students decide, there is more uncertainty to come. NPR's Alyssa Nadwerny has that story. For the last few weeks, it's been tough for Alex Jones to focus. She's a high school senior in Washington, D.C., and she's been taking classes, studying for AP tests, and working remotely, all from a two-bedroom apartment with, at times, four other people. There's always someone everywhere all the time. She's found joy in painting and dreaming about college. She committed this week to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She's excited but says it's bittersweet. I don't know how to feel because I don't know if I'm

going to be going immediately in the fall. It's unclear what college will look like in the fall, but students and families are having to make decisions now, despite worries about financial aid, travel, and of course, a highly contagious disease. That uncertainty is just so debilitating for some of my students. Zachary Montes is a college counselor working with high school students in Denver. He says figuring out the finances is always the hardest part of the college process, and it's only gotten harder this year for many of his families. Before this pandemic, they were in a comfortable spot financially. Now they're not.

And that financial squeeze may lead to changes in students' decisions. Survey data suggests that one in six students are deciding not to go to four-year colleges full-time. That includes students who already made a deposit. Because situations change. Back in December, Sydney Harakovina, a high school senior in Western Michigan, got into her dream school, Michigan State University. It was Christmas Eve. It was the best Christmas present I've ever gotten. But now, she's trying to figure out how to pay for it. Her two summer jobs as a nanny and working at an ice cream shop are up in

the air. I am contemplating appealing my financial aid offer. That means she'll ask MSU to re-evaluate how much money they're giving her. She's considered going to the local community college if MSU classes are online, but she's not ready to give up her dream of leaving home. Because I want to leave my little rural town. I want to get out. I want to go to football games. I want to go to oversized classes. Some students have toyed with delaying those experiences a year. Alexis Jones says she's heard a lot of talk about the gap year from other Cornell-bound students, but that's really not an option for her. I feel like if I took a gap year, I may be compelled not to go back. Plus, she'd have to find a job, she'd still be living at home,

and she's not sure what would happen to all her scholarships. Yeah, I definitely wouldn't risk that by taking a gap year. Research backs that up. Studies show if you go to college right after high school, you're more likely to get your degree. A lot of things can occur during that gap year that can impact them from moving forward. Montez says it can be hard to give up income from a job that replaced classes. That or just life happens. Another alternative is simply staying close to home. College advisors around the country are seeing a renewed interest in community college.

They're often much cheaper and local. Alexis Jones says geography helped her decide to go to Cornell. She essentially got full rides to two schools in California, across the country from her family in D.C. I really did want to go to California. With the pandemic, it was like, what if I couldn't leave or something? At least going to school in New York, she says, worst case scenario, her dad could drive the six hours to come get her. NPR's Alyssa Nadwarny. Over the past three months, more than 63,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. That means tens of thousands of families have had to figure out

how to grieve while staying socially distant. Pat Marmo is a funeral director in New York City. He's also the CEO of International Funeral Service of New York. He talked to my colleague Rachel Martin from his car earlier this week. He had already done three funerals that morning. My job has been so desensitized in comparison to the way it was before. And what I mean by that is that we're just trying to get people's loved ones to their final disposition, minus the ceremonies and the tributes. And we're just doing logistical, move the person from a hospital, get the person to a crematory, get the person to a cemetery. It's become where you don't take the time that we normally would with a family. That must be hard as well because there's so much more to being a funeral director than the logistics, right?

I mean... So much more. You are counselors, you are there to receive people's grief and you're saying you just can't do that right now. It's so hard because I could be speaking to a family about their current situation and my mind is on the other family I just met and I didn't have a chance to update my notes. So I'm sitting there going, I have to make sure I update notes on the previous family that just met and I didn't have a chance to update my notes. So I'm sitting there going, I have to make sure I update notes on the previous family that just left my office. So I'm really distracted. I know a lot of other funeral professionals in the city

are experiencing the same thing. What kind of questions are you hearing from families? The big misconception with the public is they think that they have to cremate. Because of the virus? Yeah. I'll get phone calls from families, well, I know you can't do a funeral, well, we just want to arrange a cremation. I'm like, no, no, no, you're mistaken. You have a right of doing a burial or a cremation.

We try to limit time and we definitely limit people that come to our funeral home because my staff is dealing with this and they're overwhelmed. I had one person quit on me just about 20 minutes before you guys called. Just because it's too much? Too much, too much. How are you managing it? It's a lot of pressure on you. It's a lot. It's a lot. My days are just doing funeral work. It's all I do. I start streaming early because I make a return phone calls at 6 a.m. I tell families that want new services that the only time I can speak to you is either after 9 p.m. or around 6 a.m. and I'll call you around those times. It's okay. It's tough to really spend time to make an arrangement. It's really tough.

You mentioned having to compartmentalize, right? You just got to go through the motions. You just got to get this done. You got to get the next family managed. But that can have a toll if you put it all inside. When do you release it? I can't release it right now the only thing I have is I have this

visualization of crossing a finish line and things to go back the way they were and I keep thinking about the day that I'm able to really get back to business as usual and I know it's going to come and that's what I keep thinking about

this is what I chose to do. And I really like being a funeral director. I like taking care of people. I keep reminding myself that this is a service that we're doing for our communities and families in the neighborhoods that we have institutions in. And we just got to keep it moving. We just got to help people. That's Pat Marmo, a funeral director in New York City, talking to Morning Edition host Rachel Martin. Other rituals have been changed by this pandemic, too.

Some couples have postponed their weddings. Others are getting married in small online ceremonies. One of them is Morning Edition producer Emma Talkoff's twin sister, Claire. Hi, guys. Are you recording this already? Yeah. Okay. Claire, her sister reports, is the kind of bride who picked out her dress more than a year ago. She and her fiancé, Matt, had planned a fairytale wedding in Disneyland. Instead, it was a makeshift ceremony in their apartment. Probably, I would recommend turning yourselves on mute so that you can sob at maximum volume without interrupting. Matt's parents live nearby,

so they were the only in-person witnesses. A handful of friends and family watched on Zoom. A friend called in to officiate. Claire, repeat after me. With this ring, I gladly marry you and join my life to yours. Wife, you may now seal your vows with a kiss. And that was it. No funfetti cake, no paper lanterns. The gown was still stuck at the tailors. And the couple, they were happy. Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Friedman. Hello. Here's Claire the next day. I actually woke up at 630 this morning, but then I started thinking about how amazing yesterday was. And I got so happy,

I couldn't fall back asleep. For her parents, it was different. I was like, I should be there with her and helping her like, it was different. Claire carried a locket with a picture of her parents on their wedding day. And they're hoping to meet next April for the cake and the dancing in Disneyland. I wish we were together, but it's great talking to us. Virtual hug. Virtual hug. Tomorrow, we will bring you another episode where we answer listener questions about the virus. And we're back with a regular episode on Monday. This podcast is produced by the great team of Gabriella Saldivia, Anne Lee and Brent Bachman and edited by the great Beth Donovan. Thanks for listening. I'm Kelly McEvers.