buzzfeed--2020-04-21--The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Put Gen Z And Young Millennials' Lives On Hold

During our lifetimes , the US has always felt like it was in crisis .
I talked with nine young millennials and Gen Z ’ ers about what the coronavirus pandemic means for their futures .
Gia W. realized things weren ’ t going well when she was kicked out of an office in the middle of a job interview .
The entire building was shutting down because of the coronavirus pandemic .
That surreal experience is just the literal version of what thousands and thousands in Gen Z are experiencing in real time : a sudden stop to their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Companies across the United States are starting to rescind job offers , cancel listings , and cut costs to figure out how to weather a financial crisis .
The recent graduate worries that even the work she is doing — for a small marketing firm — may start to run out as other companies rethink budgets .
“ I ’ m scared that I might end up unemployed and living in my parents ’ basement , which is where I ’ m calling you from right now , ” Gia told me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if no one could have predicted the coronavirus pandemic , America ’ s college students and early twentysomethings somehow aren ’ t surprised .
We were mostly toddlers and small children on September 11 .
Many of our first full memories of national news concern the 2008 financial crisis , the housing market collapse , and the subsequent recession that left many of our young parents in financial nightmares that stalled them for years .
Now , we find ourselves in a once-in-a-century pandemic and an unprecedented economic crisis .
I ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporting on young Americans like myself and what ’ s shaped their political ideology .
Most have few to no memories of the US before 9/11 , unlike millennials and other older generations .
The country has always felt like it was in a free fall — adrift with a government that they think lacks the imagination and willingness to address the problems that they ’ ll be handed long into their futures .
In New Hampshire , students told me they were so anxious about their futures and climate change that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advocate for candidates and the Green New Deal .
Students at HBCUs across Atlanta told me they were nervous about which candidate would become the Democratic Party ’ s presidential nominee because they wanted to see drastic changes .
“ I don ’ t want the next 20 years to look like the previous 20 years , ” a student at Morehouse explained .
“ I don ’ t believe that just moving 2 feet is enough — [ to paraphrase ] Malcolm X , if there ’ s a knife in my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deep and you take it out 6 inches , you haven ’ t done anything to help me , really.
” A year ago , two teenagers who had launched a pseudo-ironic , pseudo-sincere presidential campaign for Mike Gravel — an old-school , 89-year-old leftist — told me as much .
“ Millennials and Gen Z have grown up in a country where there ’ s no hope and it ’ s incredibly difficult to do better than your parents , ” one said .
“ We are a generation of people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ ve seen endless wars , and we grew up in the middle of the financial crisis .
How much faith do you expect us to have in that kind of politics ?
” And that was all before the COVID-19 pandemic hit .
Since the illnesses began and the economic loss started to be felt , I ’ ve interviewed nine young millennials and members of Gen Z across drastically different backgrounds — regionally , socioeconomically , and in their upbringings .
Their concerns have metastasized into existential dread , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ generation whose adulthoods could be picked apart and reshaped by a job market that could be far worse than the one that picked apart and reshaped their childhoods .
During our lifetimes , the country has always felt like it was in crisis or teetering on the edge of another : an endless sinking feeling that begins when you realize just how severe the situation might turn out to be — climate change , gun violence , debt .
You get the sense there ’ s no turning back to the world you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first — a 30,000-foot view of the circumstances and how you think they ’ ll play out coming into focus ; you start to see the pieces of a puzzle you desperately don ’ t want to fit together begin to form .
You ’ re free-falling into a version of the future you didn ’ t want .
That sinking , weightless feeling is what it ’ s felt like , for the most part , to be alive for the past 20 years .
Susana Simmonds , 21 , remembers when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Orleans after they immigrated to the United States in 2001 .
They would drive the hour from Baton Rouge for visits to the Venezuelan consulate for visa paperwork .
After Hurricane Katrina wrecked the city , however , they didn ’ t go for about a year .
When they finally did , she said , she realized the disparities in the government ’ s response to Americans in crisis .
“ There were still houses that were literally upside down , ” Simmonds recalled .
“ I remember it all seeming like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of people that needed help and I was wondering , ‘ When is someone going to do something ?
’ It ’ s weird to recognize when you ’ re 7 or 8 years old.
” Now a senior at the University of Texas at Austin , Simmonds said that she hasn ’ t fully trusted the government to protect citizens since then — something that deepened as she watched her friends who lived in Houston suffer after Hurricane Harvey in 2017 .
She ’ s concerned that the same slow-moving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ response to the pandemic as she looks back at the lengthy recovery efforts it took for her neighbors and friends whose homes were washed away or flooded .
She ’ s worried that her entrance into graduate school and her ability to work in labs on campus may be delayed if there ’ s not enough action taken to push the country toward recovery .
“ I ’ m worried that I may just be stuck in limbo , ” Simmonds said .
That worry was echoed by everyone I ’ ve spoken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent decisions ( a planned move or a new school ) , to the increased burden of responsibility they may need to take on ( to help parents or siblings ) , to the physical limitations of being stuck in one place ( back in their hometowns or far away ) .
“ It leaves you scared and wondering , Did I make the right choice ?
” Stephanie Preising , 24 , told me .
Preising is supposed to move from Connecticut to upstate New York for her doctorate program in plant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a first-generation college student who immigrated to the United States from Peru in 2000 and now she ’ s worried that her fixed salary from her PhD program won ’ t cover any expenses her family might have if they lose their jobs during the recession .
She said her family started to fret in mid-March about their income .
Would her dad , a school custodian in Connecticut , still be paid when schools closed ?
“ We all sat around the other morning and looked at each other and said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ check , ’ ” Preising said .
“ What happens when the money stops rolling in ?
” The 2008 financial crisis derailed her parents ’ dreams , said Preising , who was around 12 at the time .
“ I saw them take any and every job they could to keep us from going completely bankrupt and to keep our apartment and car — unfortunately , that didn ’ t work out.
” Her parents tried to hide those circumstances from their children , but she and her siblings knew .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something ’ s wrong , ” Preising said .
“ I saw my parents go into major debt , I saw them working 50 to 60 hours a week , and I never want to see them struggle like that again.
” Regalado is the first member of his undocumented family to attend college — at Sacramento State University — and he ’ s spent his time mentoring students of color through a program with AmeriCorps .
Now , he ’ s weighing his options : continue that work or find a job @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s concerned the program might run out of funding — or he might need to support family members , who aren ’ t able to continue working their off-the-books jobs , which are already in decline as the country sits at home under a soft lockdown .
There will be no economic relief for a majority of Regalado ’ s family because they won ’ t qualify for the assistance , safety net programs , or coronavirus stimulus checks .
They live on the margins of American society .
Regalado has begun to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the table at his home .
“ I just wanted to put my whole family on , ” Regalado said about being the first in his family to attend college and his hope that his degree would place him in a better position to find a job that would provide some economic stability .
“ I ’ m fortunate right now because I can still work and serve the students over FaceTime right now.
” But he ’ s constantly thinking : Is the new job he was hoping to get after graduation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to sign another lease in Sacramento to maintain the job he has now ?
Should he just quit and go work at a grocery store ?
“ I have to go where the pay is and it ’ s difficult right now.
” He ’ s never really trusted the government to assist his family , pointing to his constant anxiety around ICE raids , which he ’ s worried about since roughly 2012 , when he was 15 — that was when he began to realize the implications they could have for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how worried people became when news spread that immigration officers were doing “ roundups.
” Regalado told me that a potential ICE raid would push him toward playing a bigger role in providing economic stability for his family if anyone were to be deported .
“ Just who we are , as brown people , we ’ re often overlooked and singled out when it comes to situations like this.
” “ We ’ re good right now , ” he reiterated , “ but my top priority is making sure food is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to go to the front lines to do that , to work at a grocery store or something else , then I ’ ll do that .
I don ’ t want to but I will.
” For Téa Franco , it was watching her own parents struggle when she was a child during the recession that made her realize that she would need to be realistic about her dreams — and instilled in her the belief that the government wasn ’ t doing enough to support its citizens .
When the recession @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his promotion at work , then she watched her parents fail to keep their family home .
She ’ s now a senior at Winthrop University in South Carolina and plans on attending graduate school in the fall .
But her views are still shaped by what happened in those childhood years , and how the financial industry hurt her parents .
Franco said that before the financial crisis , her parents had been convinced to take out a mortgage for a home that they couldn ’ t actually afford .
She pointed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the government wasn ’ t doing enough to protect citizens and when she began to realize that things were starting to look bleak for many families across the country .
“ They got a bunch of vulnerable people to pay more for houses than they could really afford , and my parents were some of those vulnerable people , ” Franco said .
“ They had bought a new house and we thought everything was going well and it turned out that it was a house that they couldn ’ t actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lost our house , too .
“ 2008 was not a great time for the Franco family.
” Even before then , Franco ’ s family had never really had an excessive amount of money .
She ’ d thought that it was just something that her family had dealt with .
“ 2008 was the first time that I was conscious of the fact that things weren ’ t going well for a lot of people , ” Franco said .
“ That was the first time I realized that this was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that this wasn ’ t our fault — it was partially the government ’ s fault for not protecting people .
These bad things are happening to my friends and my family and there was nothing I could do about it.
” Her parents raised her to believe she could do whatever she wanted , but in the years since that crisis , she ’ s approached things differently .
“ It was around that same time when I started to leave my big dreams behind , and I started to think , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ realistic choice ?
What ’ s going to help me make sure that I don ’ t lose my job like my parents did when I get older ?
” “ I just remember feeling like there was something different , ” Sumaya Lohia , a 21-year-old biomedical engineering student , recalled about her family ’ s financial decisions during the 2008 crisis .
“ When we lived in California , my family was considering buying houses and then all of a sudden we were like , Oh !
Well , maybe not.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ working at a Frito-Lay plant in an engineering role after graduation , says the uncertainty of the job market because of the pandemic has made her uncertain about the future .
While the plant has said they still plan on hiring new workers , she ’ s worried that “ anything could happen.
” She ’ s still unsure about her decisions but she ’ s started to weigh the pros and cons of attending graduate school to weather the coming financial crisis ; she ’ s frustrated that the government 's response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an entire generation of Americans in a precarious situation .
“ I ’ ve always felt like I ’ ve had to look over my shoulder to see what ’ s coming next , and it ’ s frustrating , ” Lohia said .
“ Watching how the government has handled this pandemic so far has made me frustrated .
There are people out there who know what the right course of action is and they ’ re just not willing to listen or take some advice.
” What many of the people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the stasis of the Great Recession years : Americans moved less often because there were fewer job opportunities to move for ; they were less likely to purchase homes , have children , or require different housing needs at the start of the crisis .
They remember the stories from people they know , and the broader coverage : For a decade , people have written about older millennials permanently affected by the Great Recession .
It ’ s not a promising sign for the early twentysomethings now .
They ’ re worried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same position .
“ Do I take a job at a grocery store just to have a job ?
What happens if I end up stuck there because I never have enough to get out of this area ?
” Rachel Feagley , a recent 24-year-old college graduate from central Pennsylvania , told me about her current outlook .
“ It ’ s just a waterfall of bad situations.
” She ’ d read the stories about people who got stuck , underemployed , after the 2008 recession and continued to hear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It took them years to progress toward their goals .
“ I ’ m scared that the same thing might happen to me .
I don ’ t want that.
” Feagley graduated from college two years ago with a degree in wildlife conservation , but she ’ s always been planning her escape from Huntingdon , a small town an hour away from Penn State .
“ There ’ s not a lot of opportunities here naturally , ” Feagley said .
“ The factories are shutting down , main street @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always been in my head that if I want to get ahead I need to leave.
” She did leave to attend college in upstate New York — but after her first year there , a family issue brought her back home to Pennsylvania .
In 2018 , she graduated from Juniata College in her hometown .
“ I tried to leave and then I got sucked right back in , ” Feagley said .
During her senior year , she started applying for environmental volunteering opportunities with the Peace Corps , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mexico .
Her move was abrupt — Feagley said that she was on a plane just two weeks after her graduation — and that it “ just felt right.
” She spent nearly two years there cultivating a relationship with her host family and fell in love with the country , and she didn ’ t plan on returning to the United States after she finished her service .
In mid-March , 22 months into her 27-month mission , Feagley was notified that she and more than 7,000 other volunteers around the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States with only two days to pack , say their goodbyes , and figure out what they ’ d be doing back in the US once they landed .
Members of her family are immunocompromised , so she had to self-quarantine .
She spent her first two weeks — and her 24th birthday — alone in a half-furnished apartment figuring out her next moves .
Would she have health insurance after the three months that Peace Corps volunteers are typically offered when completing their service ?
Would she even qualify for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( As of now , she won ’ t be able to file for unemployment because people who serve in the Peace Corps are considered volunteers , not employees . )
“ I feel very alone and very unsure , and that ’ s not a great combination for trying to reenter a country that you don ’ t know , ” Feagley said .
“ This isn ’ t the United States that I left two years ago .
I feel so out of touch with what ’ s happening here.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about where she might be able to eventually find work .
That ’ s also caused problems .
She ’ s trying to get a car so she can get a job — but dealerships are mostly shut down , and she ’ s struggled to find a notary for a private sale .
“ I ’ m essentially stuck in my town that has a grocery store and a few pharmacies right now and they pay maybe 10 or 13 dollars right now , ” Feagley explained .
“ I don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the future seems very bleak right now .
I ’ m not seeing that ending soon and it only adds to my hopelessness.
” “ I ’ m 24 , you know , I had dreams bigger than where I grew up , ” Feagley said looking back at the reality of the past month .
“ When I finally got a taste for them … now I ’ m back .
My biggest fear right now is getting stuck in a job to get by and taking a while to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , my former colleague Ben Smith wrote a story reflecting on his experience coming of age as a young reporter in a changing Eastern Europe in the early ’ 00s .
The “ brutal human consequences of politics felt foreign to someone raised on the verities of the American 1990s , the minor dramas and major victories of the Clinton presidency , ” he wrote about the assumed repercussions of a line of reporting he ’ d chased down .
It ’ s a sentence that captivated me and that has lingered in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve talked to young people across the country who feel like they ’ ve always been experiencing the human consequences of politics and government inaction in the 2000s and 2010s .
One of my earliest memories of America is from September 2001 .
I was one of the first students dismissed from my first-grade classroom in Queens , where I saw the frantic look in a group of parents ’ eyes staring up at me through the bright , red mesh stairs .
I had that panicked feeling a second time in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first home in South Carolina to a subprime mortgage , and again in 2005 , while I watched footage of New Orleanians standing on their roofs waving for help , and again in 2007 when the housing bubble burst , and again when my parents lost jobs and worried about money throughout the financial crisis .
I felt it again in 2012 , when I saw the first reports of the Sandy Hook school shooting , and in 2014 when photos of Michael Brown lying in the street started appearing on Twitter , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into a church in Charleston , and murdered nine parishioners .
Onward and onward from that summer : police shootings , increasingly dire warnings about climate change , the mass shootings , and the public displays of white nationalism .
After graduating from college and getting a job in the field I ’ d dreamed about , the sinking feeling went away .
But as I was talking to students and other twentysomethings , I realized my own experience isn ’ t very different from most of theirs .
That widely felt experience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the US , or at least part of it : Nearly all of the young Americans I ’ ve spoken with said they were pushed leftward politically by the circumstances they saw people endure over the course of their lives and the harshness of the future that they were going to inherit from older generations .
Gia — whose job interview got cut short by a building closure — supported Sen. Bernie Sanders during this year ’ s Democratic primary .
She said she was radicalized politically by her upbringing in Detroit during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ severe toll on the city ’ s auto industry workers .
She said that her neighborhood became a wasteland of empty homes and “ for sale ” signs .
“ I saw so many people whose only options were to abandon their homes and leave and run — and these were full families who had no safety net , no one to take care of them , nothing to fall back on and their only option left was to abandon their lives , ” she said .
Her patriotism was severely diminished .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ illusion .
I don ’ t see how older generations can be so patriotic , because when you ’ re in a time of need , your government has not been there for you.
” Gia sees parallels to 2008–09 now as she watches the country respond to the growing crisis around the pandemic and the dire economic downturn affecting millions of American families .
“ We can see that now more than ever with no one having access to health care and they ’ re pulling out all of these socialist measures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is having a meltdown right now , ” she said .
“ It ’ s similar to what happened in 2008 with all of the bailouts , and I feel like we shouldn ’ t have to rely on capitalism and business to take care of us.
” Somewhat at odds , the people I spoke with are both tired of waiting on politicians to figure things out after the fact and want a vastly more robust government .
“ It feels like there are so many things that are out of our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we as a generation are constantly being shaped by these forces that don ’ t understand us and don ’ t want to understand us , ” Jennifer West , a senior at Dartmouth University , told me .
West , a history major , had planned to take a year off after graduating to work before applying to graduate school or law school .
She ’ s heard from friends who have been through monthslong recruitment processes for jobs that have now been postponed or outright canceled .
She ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who haven ’ t started that search will find few to no job opportunities to apply for — especially for those who won ’ t qualify for stimulus benefits or those whose parents lose their jobs , and what that might mean for their health insurance .
“ This has brought to light a lot of the issues that people have known about for a very long time but that haven ’ t always been visible .
Things like rampant inequality , things like a need for everyone in the country to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impossible demand of paying rent while having a minimum wage job , ” West said .
“ It ’ s not necessarily that we want to place our trust in government , ” she added .
“ It ’ s that we ’ re starting to demand a higher standard than what we ’ re getting right now.
” Hailey Modi , a 21-year-old biomedical engineering student at UT Austin , agrees .
Modi told me that after the 2016 election — the first event that had genuinely shocked her — she turned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had gone wrong .
It was the only political outlook that had made sense to her as she tried to figure out how the country should address disparities .
“ Our whole lives , these structures have failed us and we are looking for political stances outside the mainstream — because we feel like we don ’ t have time to solve these issues like income inequality and climate change .
Incremental change isn ’ t going to get us there in time to prevent — this is dramatic , but it feels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
It ’ s a sentiment I ’ ve heard across races , states , and socioeconomic status — like Bernie Sanders said recently , his movement was winning “ ideologically ” and “ generationally.
” “ The future of our country rests with young people , ” he said .
“ The future of the country is with our ideas.
” The widespread support for Sanders also intermingles the humor and nihilism of a generation of Americans who want to push the government to do more but have no hope in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ There are times where I ’ m like , well , no matter what we do things are never going to get better , ” Franco , the college senior in South Carolina , told me .
“ I was kind of feeling that way a couple weeks ago when Bernie Sanders started losing a bunch of the primary elections and it was clear that Joe Biden was going to be the nominee .
That was a point where I was like , ‘ Well , we can vote , we can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calls and protest , and nothing will really change.
” “ My mind goes there sometimes , ” she added .
“ But then I look back at past revolutions and how long they took and how many people had to get together and agree on something over and over and over again and how resilient and persistent they had to be to get there.
” Look around the internet and you ’ ll find signs of a generation fed up with the circumstances of their lives .
You ’ ll find viral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teenage years ” were “ defined by economic recession ” and whose young adulthoods are being defined by “ reactionary global fascism and then ultimately cut short by a global pandemic.
” You ’ ll come across bits and pieces of videos of Greta Thunberg , a 17-year-old international climate activist , objectively dragging adults for their inaction on climate change ; or a clip of Paul Rudd emphatically saying “ Hey !
Look at us !
Who woulda thought ?
Not me !
” under a caption about experiencing two “ once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You might stumble on a clip of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Instagram Live telling people to message their elected officials ' offices while casually giving out tips for making margaritas .
“ They want to continue to get away with doing far too little , and in this moment there is no such thing as doing too much , ” she says as she casually pours triple sec and lime juice into a NutriBullet blender .
“ I mean , honestly , have you ever had a point in your life when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Where they gave you too much ?
Never happened to me !
I ’ ve never seen that in my life.
” The generation of Americans who have come of age in the shadow of 9/11 and spent their formative years watching their parents , relatives , and friends ’ parents suffer during the economic crisis have long felt that the government isn ’ t doing enough to help citizens .
In a recent Pew research study , 70 % of Gen Z ’ ers and 64 % of millennials surveyed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should do more to solve problems .
“ It feels like something honestly happens every five years or so that negatively affects this generation and millennials who remember 9/11 a lot better , ” Gia W. told me .
“ School shootings , financial meltdowns , crises — all of those things have impacted the way I think about [ how ] life is going to work out for me.
” “ I think it ’ s affected the way that most of our generation thinks about their lives , ” she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ future-oriented , and I think a lot of it has to do with going through these detrimental situations like the environment and the last election .
Our generation feels like we ’ re not being taken care of and that nobody really cares about what happens to us , and we ’ ve kind of just come to terms with the fact that we probably won ’ t have a good outlook for the future.
” Modi also believes that younger Americans , like Generation Z , have grown up in a society @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some form of crisis .
It ’ s pushed them further left as they try to find solutions to make society equitable .
“ I ’ ve noticed that in slightly older generations like millennials that there was some hope , but that was taken away through 9/11 and throughout the 2008 recession , ” Modi said .
“ For Gen Z , that hope was never there .
“ We grew up in a world where things have already gone terribly wrong and our lives are just preparing for the worst .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to believe in candidates because I ’ ve grown up in this world where everything is going wrong all of the time.
” ●

Gia W. realized things weren’t going well when she was kicked out of an office in the middle of a job interview. The entire building was shutting down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
That surreal experience is just the literal version of what thousands and thousands in Gen Z are experiencing in real time: a sudden stop to their lives just when they’re beginning.
Companies across the United States are starting to rescind job offers, cancel listings, and cut costs to figure out how to weather a financial crisis. The recent graduate worries that even the work she is doing — for a small marketing firm — may start to run out as other companies rethink budgets.
“I’m scared that I might end up unemployed and living in my parents’ basement, which is where I’m calling you from right now,” Gia told me over an early-morning phone call.
Even if no one could have predicted the coronavirus pandemic, America’s college students and early twentysomethings somehow aren’t surprised. We were mostly toddlers and small children on September 11. Many of our first full memories of national news concern the 2008 financial crisis, the housing market collapse, and the subsequent recession that left many of our young parents in financial nightmares that stalled them for years.
Now, we find ourselves in a once-in-a-century pandemic and an unprecedented economic crisis.
I’ve spent much of the last two years reporting on young Americans like myself and what’s shaped their political ideology. Most have few to no memories of the US before 9/11, unlike millennials and other older generations. The country has always felt like it was in a free fall — adrift with a government that they think lacks the imagination and willingness to address the problems that they’ll be handed long into their futures.
In New Hampshire, students told me they were so anxious about their futures and climate change that they were putting their education on pause to advocate for candidates and the Green New Deal. Students at HBCUs across Atlanta told me they were nervous about which candidate would become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee because they wanted to see drastic changes.
“I don’t want the next 20 years to look like the previous 20 years,” a student at Morehouse explained. “I don’t believe that just moving 2 feet is enough — [to paraphrase] Malcolm X, if there’s a knife in my back and it’s 9 inches deep and you take it out 6 inches, you haven’t done anything to help me, really.”
A year ago, two teenagers who had launched a pseudo-ironic, pseudo-sincere presidential campaign for Mike Gravel — an old-school, 89-year-old leftist — told me as much. “Millennials and Gen Z have grown up in a country where there’s no hope and it’s incredibly difficult to do better than your parents,” one said. “We are a generation of people who were not even conscious before 9/11, we’ve seen endless wars, and we grew up in the middle of the financial crisis. How much faith do you expect us to have in that kind of politics?”
And that was all before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Since the illnesses began and the economic loss started to be felt, I’ve interviewed nine young millennials and members of Gen Z across drastically different backgrounds — regionally, socioeconomically, and in their upbringings. Their concerns have metastasized into existential dread, and further radicalized the political views of a generation whose adulthoods could be picked apart and reshaped by a job market that could be far worse than the one that picked apart and reshaped their childhoods.
During our lifetimes, the country has always felt like it was in crisis or teetering on the edge of another: an endless sinking feeling that begins when you realize just how severe the situation might turn out to be — climate change, gun violence, debt. You get the sense there’s no turning back to the world you knew prior.
It eases on at first — a 30,000-foot view of the circumstances and how you think they’ll play out coming into focus; you start to see the pieces of a puzzle you desperately don’t want to fit together begin to form. You’re free-falling into a version of the future you didn’t want. That sinking, weightless feeling is what it’s felt like, for the most part, to be alive for the past 20 years.


buzzfeed--2020-04-22--The Los Angeles Police Department Says It Is Dumping A Controversial Predictive Policing Tool

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
The Los Angeles Police Department announced today it would be ending its use of PredPol ’ s predictive policing tool — which the company claims uses artificial intelligence to predict crime , but which critics have called `` fundamentally flawed . ''
An LAPD memo dated April 15 quoted Police Chief Michel R. Moore saying that the police department would stop using @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because of concerns that activists have raised but because of financial constraints due to COVID-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus .
`` The city 's financial crisis , coupled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic , has resulted in the immediate freeze of new contractual agreements and 'belt-tightening ' instructions by the Mayor to all city departments for all further expenditures , '' the memo said .
`` Therefore , the Department will immediately discontinue the use of PredPol and its associated reports . ''
Hamid Khan , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coalition , an activist group , said he believes the group ’ s organizing prompted the LAPD to stop using PredPol , not the COVID-19 outbreak .
`` Predictive policing has roundly been discredited , ” Khan told BuzzFeed News .
“ This [ decision ] was clearly [ the result of ] the organizing that was done .
This was clearly the community rising up.
” Activist groups like Stop LAPD Spying have petitioned for the de-escalation of policing in the city , including the discontinuation of PredPol .
The LAPD ended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Strategic Extraction and Restoration ” zones last April , which mapped crime hot spots and sent police to those locations , even if a crime had n't happened there .
In October , Stop LAPD Spying organized a group of 450 academics to sign a letter that rejected the thinking behind PredPol ’ s algorithm .
The LAPD ’ s decision to discontinue the use of PredPol is a turnabout for the agency , which was one of its early adopters and signed a contract with the company in 2011 .
The LAPD @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but internal audits obtained by news outlet MuckRock last year suggested the agency has struggled to measure PredPol ’ s effect on crime — or prove that it works .
PredPol has claimed its algorithms could predict crime in 500-by-500-foot city plots — and that by sending police to these areas , it could help prevent crimes before they happen .
Police departments around the country have found that a compelling proposition , and agencies from California , Washington , Utah , and Georgia have signed up to test it .

The Los Angeles Police Department announced today it would be ending its use of PredPol’s predictive policing tool — which the company claims uses artificial intelligence to predict crime, but which critics have called "fundamentally flawed."
An LAPD memo dated April 15 quoted Police Chief Michel R. Moore saying that the police department would stop using the software, effective immediately, not because of concerns that activists have raised but because of financial constraints due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
"The city's financial crisis, coupled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, has resulted in the immediate freeze of new contractual agreements and 'belt-tightening' instructions by the Mayor to all city departments for all further expenditures," the memo said. "Therefore, the Department will immediately discontinue the use of PredPol and its associated reports."
Hamid Khan, a campaign coordinator with the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, an activist group, said he believes the group’s organizing prompted the LAPD to stop using PredPol, not the COVID-19 outbreak.
"Predictive policing has roundly been discredited,” Khan told BuzzFeed News. “This [decision] was clearly [the result of] the organizing that was done. This was clearly the community rising up.”
Activist groups like Stop LAPD Spying have petitioned for the de-escalation of policing in the city, including the discontinuation of PredPol. The LAPD ended its use of “Los Angeles’ Strategic Extraction and Restoration” zones last April, which mapped crime hot spots and sent police to those locations, even if a crime hadn't happened there. In October, Stop LAPD Spying organized a group of 450 academics to sign a letter that rejected the thinking behind PredPol’s algorithm.
The LAPD’s decision to discontinue the use of PredPol is a turnabout for the agency, which was one of its early adopters and signed a contract with the company in 2011. The LAPD hasn’t yet explained the move, but internal audits obtained by news outlet MuckRock last year suggested the agency has struggled to measure PredPol’s effect on crime — or prove that it works.
PredPol has claimed its algorithms could predict crime in 500-by-500-foot city plots — and that by sending police to these areas, it could help prevent crimes before they happen. Police departments around the country have found that a compelling proposition, and agencies from California, Washington, Utah, and Georgia have signed up to test it.


buzzfeed--2020-04-22--Here’s A Breakdown Of What's Being Reported About Kim Jong Un’s Health

Basically : There 's very little reliable information out there right now .
The health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is once again under international scrutiny after a report he may be in a poor condition following surgery .
Let ’ s try to break down what ’ s going on .
What has North Korea said ?
On April 12 , North Korean state media reported that Kim had visited an air base and observed drills by fighter planes .
That 's normal .
But on Tuesday , April 14 , state media did not mention him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weapons test , which he normally supervises .
Most significantly , on April 15 , North Korea ’ s most important public holiday took place without any mention of Kim ’ s involvement .
The Day of the Sun commemorates the birthday of the founder of North Korea , Kim Il Sung — Kim Jong Un ’ s grandfather .
It is very unusual for Kim to have missed the celebrations — he never has before .
What has been reported about Kim 's health ?
On Monday , a Seoul-based news website @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kim had undergone a “ cardiovascular surgical procedure ” and had largely recovered .
Kim , Daily NK said , had been struggling with cardiovascular problems since late August due to `` excessive smoking , obesity , and overwork.
” The story was widely covered by international media , although the Daily NK later added a correction to say that the article was based on a single source in North Korea , not multiple sources as it had originally reported .
CNN also reported Monday that the US was monitoring intelligence suggesting Kim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s source was described as a US official with “ direct knowledge ” of the situation .
After CNN 's story broke late Monday ET , a number of fake accounts — including one emulating the CNN Breaking News account , and another parodying US Attorney General Bill Barr — posted tweets claiming Kim was dead .
MSNBC anchor Katy Tur wrote on Twitter that Kim was brain-dead , according to two US officials , but quickly deleted the tweet .
What has the response been ?
South Korean news agency Yonhap @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had seen nothing to suggest that Kim was unwell .
`` No unusual signs have been identified inside North Korea , '' presidential spokesperson Kang Min-seok said .
`` There is nothing we can confirm with regard to Chairman Kim 's alleged health problem . ''
`` There is nothing unusual going on in North Korea .
It 's not true , '' another government official told Yonhap on the condition of anonymity .
The Reuters news agency also cited two South Korean government sources as saying the reports about Kim ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the US State Department said it is aware of the reports and is continuing to monitor the situation .
BuzzFeed News reached out to the South Korean government but did not hear back .
Andray Abrahamian , an expert on North Korea from George Mason University Korea , explained how the story about Kim 's health developed .
“ The Daily NK report that started this is underground single-source reporting from within the most opaque country in the world , '' he told BuzzFeed News .
`` That isn ’ t useless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report that picked up what Daily NK had said perhaps didn ’ t sufficiently caveat that .
Then CNN went with a dramatic headline and anonymous sourcing from the United States that was also very vague but made it seem as if there was more credible information than there probably is .
“ Then the world ’ s media is compelled to write something lest they be missing out on a major story.
” So what is going on ?
It is next to impossible to independently confirm information from within North Korea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all , and international intelligence agencies have a track record of being wrong .
South Korea and the US famously learned of the death of Kim Jong Il — Kim Jong Un ’ s father — at the same time as the rest of the world .
Things inside North Korea are even more secretive than ever at the moment due to the coronavirus outbreak , which has basically halted internal travel within North Korea — to the extent that it previously existed — as well as at least some border traffic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ sourcing even more challenging for both the intelligence community and media organizations .
Even specialist sites like the Daily NK get things wrong — they are , after all , covering the most secretive state in the world .

The health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is once again under international scrutiny after a report he may be in a poor condition following surgery. Let’s try to break down what’s going on.
What has North Korea said?
On April 12, North Korean state media reported that Kim had visited an air base and observed drills by fighter planes. That's normal. But on Tuesday, April 14, state media did not mention him as attending North Korea’s latest weapons test, which he normally supervises.
Most significantly, on April 15, North Korea’s most important public holiday took place without any mention of Kim’s involvement. The Day of the Sun commemorates the birthday of the founder of North Korea, Kim Il Sung — Kim Jong Un’s grandfather. It is very unusual for Kim to have missed the celebrations — he never has before.
What has been reported about Kim's health?
On Monday, a Seoul-based news website, the Daily NK, reported that Kim had undergone a “cardiovascular surgical procedure” and had largely recovered. Kim, Daily NK said, had been struggling with cardiovascular problems since late August due to "excessive smoking, obesity, and overwork.” The story was widely covered by international media, although the Daily NK later added a correction to say that the article was based on a single source in North Korea, not multiple sources as it had originally reported.
CNN also reported Monday that the US was monitoring intelligence suggesting Kim was in “grave danger.” CNN’s source was described as a US official with “direct knowledge” of the situation.


buzzfeed--2020-04-22--Smithfield Foods Is Blaming “Living Circumstances In Certain Cultures” For One Of America’s Largest

Smithfield Foods Is Blaming “Living Circumstances In Certain Cultures” For One Of America’s Largest COVID-19 Clusters

New details show how Smithfield Foods failed to take action in the crucial days before the plant turned into one of the nation ’ s largest coronavirus clusters .
Was there any way to prevent the Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in South Dakota from becoming one of the country ’ s largest known coronavirus clusters , with more than 700 workers infected ?
It ’ s hard to know “ what could have been done differently , ” a Smithfield spokesperson said , given what she referred to as the plant ’ s “ large immigrant population.
” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than they are with your traditional American family , ” she explained .
The spokesperson and a second corporate representative pointed to an April 13 Fox News interview in which the governor of South Dakota , Kristi Noem , said that “ 99 % ” of the spread of infections “ wasn ’ t happening inside the facility ” but inside workers ’ homes , “ because a lot of these folks who work at this plant live in the same community , the same buildings , sometimes in the same apartments .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with nearly a dozen workers and their relatives point to a series of management missteps and half measures that contributed significantly to the spread of the virus .
A BuzzFeed News investigation has uncovered new information showing the company did little to inform or protect employees during the critical two weeks after the first case at the plant surfaced .
Then , with confirmed cases rising quickly , Smithfield introduced new safety protocols but applied them unevenly across the plant ’ s departments , leaving hundreds of workers exposed .
In late March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case leaked , workers began seeing flyers on notice boards and doors .
“ If you are at work and feeling sick , ” the flyers stated , “ tell your Supervisor and go directly home.
” But the directive was posted only in English , three employees said , even though many of the plant ’ s 3,700 workers have limited comprehension of English .
Safety notices at the plant are usually translated into as many as five languages .
On April 1 , the company took the unusual step of offering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to show appreciation for those still coming in — but it was also an incentive for workers from all eight floors to pass through the cafeteria .
On April 6 , two weeks after the first confirmed case and with the number of infections rising , Smithfield implemented mandatory temperature checks and shut down at least one floor “ for cleaning & sanitation , ” according to a company text message to employees .
Yet the rest of the plant stayed open .
As more people called in sick , Smithfield management stayed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crisis at the Sioux Falls facility , only informing employees about a confirmed case if they ’ d recently been “ in contact ” with the person , according to the spokesperson , while encouraging others in company text messages to “ Please report to work as previously scheduled.
” Are you still working during the coronavirus outbreak ?
We 'd love to hear your story .
Reach out at albert.samaha @ buzzfeed.com or via one of our tip line channels .
Eighteen days after the first case , once 238 workers had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all floors for 48 hours to deep-clean the plant , as well as install cardboard dividers at workstations and plexiglass shields on cafeteria tables .
Even then , it moved slowly : Smithfield announced the temporary closure on April 9 but said it would not occur for another few days to allow for an orderly reduction in supply .
On April 10 , Michael Bul Gayo Gatluak , a 22-year-old immigrant from South Sudan , clocked in at the hog kill department on the sixth floor .
His job requires him to stand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , really close ” to other workers along the production line where pig carcasses are chopped .
“ The job is so heavy , ” he said .
“ You have to breathe so hard.
” When he got home that night , he started feeling ill .
He said he tested positive for COVID-19 three days later .
“ With how we work on the line , I would say I got sick because of them not taking safety measures , ” Gatluak told BuzzFeed News .
“ When they had their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think they acted accordingly.
” The plant is now closed indefinitely , cutting the country off from about 5 % of its national pork supply .
With 725 confirmed cases among workers and 143 more traced to them , the Smithfield outbreak has eclipsed most of the country ’ s worst-hit nursing homes and prisons among the largest community outbreaks .
One Smithfield worker , 64-year-old Agustin Rodriguez , died on April 14 from COVID-19 complications .
Smithfield denied that company policies contributed to the spread of the virus , and said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communicated with them extensively about safety protocols .
The corporate spokesperson whom the company provided to answer BuzzFeed News ’ questions — on the condition that her name not be used — said that higher-ups have worked “ around the clock ” from the beginning of the outbreak and posted handwashing directives as early as February , but have been hindered by national shortages of protective equipment .
Last week , Smithfield shut down plants in Wisconsin and Missouri after employees there tested positive for COVID-19 , and announced it was providing all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 100 million Responsibility Bonus , ” which amounts to around $ 2,500 per person .
Presented with a detailed list of questions , the spokesperson said that it was “ purposefully misleading ” to portray Smithfield “ as reacting to a positive case rather than the very proactive approach ” that the company took to the pandemic when it began , but she did not contest any specific facts .
An ongoing BuzzFeed News investigation has exposed how companies around the country have put hourly workers at risk of exposure to the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confines passing chunks of raw meat through the building , meat processing plants have been especially vulnerable .
More than a dozen have fully or partially stopped production since the pandemic began , with hundreds of workers falling ill at plants across the country .
Workers at JBS meatpacking plants in Colorado and at a Tyson Foods poultry processing plant in Georgia have died from COVID-19 .
But for now , the Smithfield facility in South Dakota stands out .
The first case arrived when the pandemic was in full swing , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ companies everywhere changing the way they worked .
The outbreak spread faster than at any other plant .
Gatluak recalled hearing about a confirmed case on March 24 from his manager .
Though this was the first known exposure at the facility , the manager announced “ no changes ” to operations , he said .
The English-language notices telling people to go home if they felt ill appeared the next day , Gatluak recalled .
“ People were still reporting to work normally.
” The Argus Leader , Sioux Falls ’ newspaper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positive case on March 26 .
The next day , another Smithfield worker who had been out sick for several days began feeling short of breath and drained of energy , barely able to get out of bed , said her 20-year-old daughter , Amy Cruz .
She went to the doctor , took a COVID-19 test , and four days later received a positive diagnosis .
She immediately called a Smithfield HR representative to convey the result , Cruz said .
In the days that followed , as more workers called in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Smithfield bosses informed only employees “ who may have come in contact with that person , ” the spokesperson said — not the whole floor .
The spokesperson said that exposed employees were placed on two-week paid quarantine leave but declined to say how many there have been .
The rest of the workforce continued on for a week without knowing how many of their colleagues had been infected , and with no additional protective equipment .
Like many of the hundreds of thousands of hourly workers who supply the country with food @ @ @ @ @ @ @ choice of going without a paycheck or risking their health for jobs that typically pay less than $ 20 an hour .
Some Smithfield employees who spoke to BuzzFeed News requested anonymity because they feared getting fired , but two allowed their children to discuss the matter openly .
For both daughters , Amy Cruz and Sara Telahun Birhe , the Smithfield plant was an ever-present backdrop since their earliest memories .
Cruz ’ s mother , four of her uncles , and an aunt have all worked at the plant for more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; one of those uncles tested positive two weeks after Cruz ’ s mother did .
Birhe was 6 when her mother started working at the plant 16 years ago , after emigrating from Ethiopia , where she owned a café .
They lived near the facility , in a neighborhood in northeastern Sioux Falls , where Birhe grew close with the children of other Smithfield workers : families from Mexico , Nepal , Honduras , the Democratic Republic of the Congo , El Salvador , and elsewhere .
“ Family events and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she said .
“ Our parents worked this job , and because of that we were all friends.
” Her mom earned $ 17 an hour , which is nearly double the state 's minimum wage , which went a long way in Sioux Falls .
Over her years at the plant , she bought a car and a house and saved enough money to pay Birhe ’ s college tuition .
She knew of one former Smithfield worker who went on to open a restaurant , another a grocery store .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeing their parents come home from work exhausted , plopping down on the couch to rest before dinner , going to bed early for 6 a.m. shifts .
But their parents ’ sacrifice took on a new light when the pandemic reached the Smithfield plant .
Birhe recalls a series of conversations with her cousins about whether they should try to get their parents to stop going to work .
“ Our parents were worried about paying our bills , and we were worried about their health , ” she said .
Unemployment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who quit their jobs without being sick or at a high risk , and many at Smithfield had built stable careers with higher pay than what would be available if they started fresh elsewhere .
One worker ’ s daughter , who requested anonymity , said that she , her brother , and her mother had all been laid off or furloughed from their own jobs .
For her father , who began at the plant 15 years ago after migrating from Mexico , “ it wasn ’ t an option if you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ He ’ s proud of what he does .
He feeds so many people.
” Over the week following the first confirmed case at the plant , workers continued to dine in the cafeteria as normal .
To keep production flowing seamlessly on all floors , crews synchronized their breaks based on their position on the processing line : On each floor , a team of workers would take lunch once they finished a batch and passed it down to the next team .
They filed through hallways and staircases , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sixth-floor cafeteria , which is mostly staffed by immigrants from Latin American countries .
Gatluak found the meals delicious , he said : “ Every day we get something new.
” Three employees estimated that at least 200 people from various floors would be in the cafeteria at any given time .
On April 1 , a day after Cruz ’ s mother tested positive , Smithfield management directed entire floors to take lunch breaks in deliberately staggered shifts to reduce crowds .
But alongside those precautions came the announcement that lunch was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to eat their homemade meals in the locker room rather than risk passing through the dining area .
A Smithfield representative declined to comment on the free lunch .
Over the next few days , Smithfield started introducing new safety measures .
Management put up new flyers encouraging social distancing in the cafeteria and set up tents outside the facility for mandatory temperature checks .
Those with a fever were sent home with instructions for where to get tested .
Still , many workers brought their own masks because Smithfield provided only hairnets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t do any good , ” one worker said .
And , as the Argus Leader first reported , the company offered a $ 500 bonus to employees who didn ’ t miss any shifts in April .
“ That was not a good move , because if anyone fell sick they ’ d be like , 'Oh , I have to go to work because I have to get that bonus , ' ” Gatluak said .
When the company ceased operations on the eighth-floor packing department on April 6 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus , two employees said .
Company text messages noted that the floor was “ shut down for cleaning & sanitation ” ; the department ’ s workers were told they should not come to work but would be paid for the week .
“ All other departments will be operating as scheduled , ” the message stated .
Smithfield did not respond to a question about why it closed that floor and not the others .
It is unclear how many cases Smithfield was aware of during this time .
The company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protections .
But on April 8 , the state health department announced an outbreak of 80 confirmed cases at the plant .
The next day , the company announced it would “ suspend operations in a large section of the plant ” — but not until April 11 .
Only on April 12 and 13 would the plant “ completely shutter ” for “ rigorous deep cleaning ” and the construction of “ additional physical barriers to further enhance social distancing.
” Gatluak said he clocked in at work on April 10 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ taking precautions to minimize the chances of exposing his mother and brother at home .
He washed his hands regularly and sanitized everything he came into contact with , “ from doorknobs to stair rail , the handles , countertops , ” he said .
“ I know I was a risk because of where I was working.
” He began to feel a headache , fever , and chills after returning home from his shift .
The next morning he called the hospital , then took a test at a drive-through center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confirmed cases at the plant hit 190 .
Still , Smithfield maintained its plans to reopen the plant after the 48-hour shutdown .
But on April 11 , Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken and Gov .
Kristi Noem published a letter asking Smithfield ’ s CEO to close the plant for longer .
The next day , Smithfield complied , closing it down indefinitely .
The company warned of the economic impact of an extended shutdown .
“ It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sullivan said in a statement that day .
“ These facility closures will also have severe , perhaps disastrous , repercussions for many in the supply chain , first and foremost our nation ’ s livestock farmers.
” Two days later , Gatluak said he received his positive test result .
He has had relatively mild symptoms .
Another member of his crew has also tested positive , he said .
Smithfield workers and their relatives now account for more than half of South Dakota ’ s confirmed cases , a pool of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to volunteer as test subjects for the nation ’ s first statewide clinical trial for hydroxychloroquine , an antimalarial drug promoted by President Donald Trump as a potential coronavirus treatment but which has not yet been proven as effective against the virus .
Noem announced last week that the testing would begin once at least 2,000 people signed up .
While 45 states have issued stay-at-home orders , the governor has declined to do so .
On Monday , April 13 , a Smithfield worker in his fifties received a company text message @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Sioux Falls facility for a full shutdown .
Please report to work on Tuesday as previously scheduled.
” One of around 50 workers at the plant that day , he deboned ham in the basement freezer and filled in on several other jobs to make up for the reduced staff .
Though most of the plant had shut down , his department was near the end of the processing line , just before the meat was packed and loaded .
Operations would continue until all the meat in stock had made its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trucks .
He kept the mood light around his children , especially when they expressed concern .
When his daughter showed him a news story listing his plant as one of the five biggest outbreaks in the country , he quipped , “ Oh boy , I ’ ve never been in the top five of anything !
” By April 14 , Smithfield had built plexiglass barriers on cafeteria tables , installed cardboard dividers between worker stations , and provided plastic face shields .
The basement worker ate his lunch in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day in recent weeks .
He worked 13 hours that shift , until every piece of pork passing through his station was packaged .
When he returned home , he took a seat at the kitchen table , his shoulders slumped , and told his family he didn ’ t have to go into work anymore .
“ He was just so relieved , ” his daughter recalled .
“ I ’ ve never seen him so tired.
” When she asked him if everyone else was done too , he shook his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to go in tomorrow.
” ●

Gatluak recalled hearing about a confirmed case on March 24 from his manager. Though this was the first known exposure at the facility, the manager announced “no changes” to operations, he said. The English-language notices telling people to go home if they felt ill appeared the next day, Gatluak recalled. “People were still reporting to work normally.”
The Argus Leader, Sioux Falls’ newspaper, broke the news of the first positive case on March 26. The next day, another Smithfield worker who had been out sick for several days began feeling short of breath and drained of energy, barely able to get out of bed, said her 20-year-old daughter, Amy Cruz. She went to the doctor, took a COVID-19 test, and four days later received a positive diagnosis. She immediately called a Smithfield HR representative to convey the result, Cruz said.
In the days that followed, as more workers called in sick with symptoms and tested positive, Smithfield bosses informed only employees “who may have come in contact with that person,” the spokesperson said — not the whole floor. The spokesperson said that exposed employees were placed on two-week paid quarantine leave but declined to say how many there have been.
The rest of the workforce continued on for a week without knowing how many of their colleagues had been infected, and with no additional protective equipment. Like many of the hundreds of thousands of hourly workers who supply the country with food and other necessities, they faced the choice of going without a paycheck or risking their health for jobs that typically pay less than $20 an hour.
Some Smithfield employees who spoke to BuzzFeed News requested anonymity because they feared getting fired, but two allowed their children to discuss the matter openly. For both daughters, Amy Cruz and Sara Telahun Birhe, the Smithfield plant was an ever-present backdrop since their earliest memories.
Cruz’s mother, four of her uncles, and an aunt have all worked at the plant for more than two decades since migrating from Guatemala; one of those uncles tested positive two weeks after Cruz’s mother did.
Birhe was 6 when her mother started working at the plant 16 years ago, after emigrating from Ethiopia, where she owned a café. They lived near the facility, in a neighborhood in northeastern Sioux Falls, where Birhe grew close with the children of other Smithfield workers: families from Mexico, Nepal, Honduras, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, and elsewhere. “Family events and birthday parties and weddings and quinceañeras,” she said. “Our parents worked this job, and because of that we were all friends.”
Her mom earned $17 an hour, which is nearly double the state's minimum wage, which went a long way in Sioux Falls. Over her years at the plant, she bought a car and a house and saved enough money to pay Birhe’s college tuition. She knew of one former Smithfield worker who went on to open a restaurant, another a grocery store.
Birhe and her cousins were used to seeing their parents come home from work exhausted, plopping down on the couch to rest before dinner, going to bed early for 6 a.m. shifts. But their parents’ sacrifice took on a new light when the pandemic reached the Smithfield plant. Birhe recalls a series of conversations with her cousins about whether they should try to get their parents to stop going to work. “Our parents were worried about paying our bills, and we were worried about their health,” she said.
Unemployment benefits aren’t available for people who quit their jobs without being sick or at a high risk, and many at Smithfield had built stable careers with higher pay than what would be available if they started fresh elsewhere. One worker’s daughter, who requested anonymity, said that she, her brother, and her mother had all been laid off or furloughed from their own jobs. For her father, who began at the plant 15 years ago after migrating from Mexico, “it wasn’t an option if you go to work,” she said. “He’s proud of what he does. He feeds so many people.”
Over the week following the first confirmed case at the plant, workers continued to dine in the cafeteria as normal. To keep production flowing seamlessly on all floors, crews synchronized their breaks based on their position on the processing line: On each floor, a team of workers would take lunch once they finished a batch and passed it down to the next team. They filed through hallways and staircases, joining teams from other floors in the sixth-floor cafeteria, which is mostly staffed by immigrants from Latin American countries. Gatluak found the meals delicious, he said: “Every day we get something new.” Three employees estimated that at least 200 people from various floors would be in the cafeteria at any given time.
On April 1, a day after Cruz’s mother tested positive, Smithfield management directed entire floors to take lunch breaks in deliberately staggered shifts to reduce crowds. But alongside those precautions came the announcement that lunch was now free, though some employees preferred to eat their homemade meals in the locker room rather than risk passing through the dining area. A Smithfield representative declined to comment on the free lunch.
Over the next few days, Smithfield started introducing new safety measures. Management put up new flyers encouraging social distancing in the cafeteria and set up tents outside the facility for mandatory temperature checks. Those with a fever were sent home with instructions for where to get tested.


buzzfeed--2020-04-22--The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Put Gen Z And Young Millennials' Lives On Hold


buzzfeed--2020-04-22--Landlords Are Illegally Evicting Tenants During The Coronavirus Pandemic. Lawyers Fear A “Tsunami” O

Landlords Are Illegally Evicting Tenants During The Coronavirus Pandemic. Lawyers Fear A “Tsunami” Of Evictions When State Moratoriums End.

Legal aid lawyers say they ’ re still seeing illegal evictions , and expect a surge in need from millions of newly unemployed tenants once state and local moratoriums end .
WASHINGTON — On March 19 , three days after an eviction moratorium took effect in New York in response to the novel coronavirus , Akil Mayfield was evicted from his Queens apartment — his landlord had changed the locks and wouldn ’ t let him back in .
Mayfield , who is 45 years old and has a disability , spent several days at a YMCA until his mother @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stay with her at a hotel .
He told BuzzFeed News that he was worried about his safety if he went to a shelter and was scared of being exposed to the coronavirus during the two weeks that he was out of his home .
“ I was feeling very hopeless and violated , ” he said .
Mayfield is back in his home now , but it took an emergency eviction challenge in court .
In an April 2 order , the judge concluded that Mayfield “ was illegally forced out , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he lived in the apartment , but also that he had paid his rent .
There are moratoriums preventing landlords from evicting residents in all but five states at the state or local level due to the coronavirus pandemic , according to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University .
But lawyers who work with low-income clients told BuzzFeed News that despite moratoriums and stay-at-home orders intended to stop the spread of COVID-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus , landlords and property owners are still trying to force people out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeing are people who are changing locks without a marshal — just the landlord doing it themselves , an illegal lockout , ” said Edward Josephson , director of litigation for Legal Services NYC .
His organization has also handled cases of landlords cutting off services to force out tenants — in once case , a landlord in Brooklyn sealed off access to bathrooms , he said .
Legal services providers said that once state officials lift temporary eviction moratoriums , they ’ re bracing for a flood of calls not only from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ newly unemployed Americans unable to afford housing and facing eviction , lawfully or not .
Approximately 22 million people in the US have filed for unemployment benefits in the past month , and others are facing reduced hours and pay cuts .
“ I worry the most about how we keep our staff safe while responding to what 's going to be , I think , our biggest civil legal aid crisis that we 've ever undergone with our client population , ” Laura Tuggle , executive director of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier this week .
“ Right now the most pressing [ issue ] that we 're concerned about is the tsunami of evictions that is headed our way.
” Tami Arntzen , a staff attorney with the Northwest Justice Project who handles housing cases in eastern Washington state , said many landlords were being “ cooperative and compassionate ” in trying to work with tenants , but at some point they will expect past due rent to be paid .
“ The moratorium doesn ’ t say , ‘ You don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legitimately can not pay it now , you ’ re getting yourself deeper into a hole and you have no control how deep it goes , ” Arntzen said .
Alexis Erkert , a staff attorney with Southeast Louisiana Legal Services , said housing lawyers were “ really nervous ” about the lack of long-term options for people who had lost their jobs or faced other economic insecurity because of the pandemic .
“ There ’ s no official waiver of late fees , rent is still owed , and our clients are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ They need their stimulus money to buy food and diapers and pay for basic living expenses .
It won ’ t go very far if you have no other source of income right now .
I just can ’ t fathom how most of my clients are going to be able to pay back one , two , or three — who knows how long this will go on — months of rent.
” One of Erkert ’ s clients is Lee Harris , who is paying $ 45 a day to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Louisiana .
Harris , 43 , was approved for unemployment benefits after he was laid off from his job as a restaurant fry cook in March , but hasn ’ t gotten the funds yet .
He ’ d run out of money , and the motel was preparing to evict him .
He was working with Erkert to stay in the room until the money arrived , and said he had nowhere else to go .
He feared going to a shelter — “ that ’ s where the disease is running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m scared to death .
I watch TV .
I see who that stuff ’ s affecting .
It ’ s affecting the black community , ” Harris said in a phone call the night of April 21 ; he was facing eviction the next day .
He has high blood pressure and was worried he ’ d be at a higher risk of complications if he contracted COVID-19 .
“ Hell yeah I ’ m scared.
” On Wednesday morning , Erkert told BuzzFeed News that Harris had found a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the motel until his unemployment benefits arrived .
No one answered the phone at the motel .
Erkert said government officials in Orleans Parish had issued formal guidance making clear that its eviction suspension applied to hotels and motels , but neighboring Jefferson Parish , where Harris was staying , hadn ’ t done that so far .
Erkert said her office had handled more than two dozen eviction cases involving traditional residences as well as hotels and motels since March .
One of the office ’ s clients , Bobby Parker , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spent several nights sleeping on the street after he was evicted from his home .
Although a judge ruled against his landlord , it wasn ’ t until local media began covering his story and the mayor ’ s office intervened that she let him back in .
The coronavirus pandemic has created new obstacles and risks for tenants and their lawyers .
Some courts require tenants who may already be out of cash to post bond to pursue a restraining order .
In Washington state , the eviction moratorium still allows evictions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety .
And lawyers in Snohomish County , Washington , with the Northwest Justice Project petitioned the state Supreme Court to intervene after the county court adopted a system for telephone hearings in eviction cases that the lawyers argued violated clients ’ due process rights — landlords didn ’ t have to provide tenants with notice of the new telephone procedures , for instance .
The legal services lawyers entered into a settlement resolving those issues with the court on April 17 .
Deborah Dorfman , a staff attorney with the Northwest Justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court issue , said she ’ d handled the case of a family challenging an eviction initiated just before the state moratorium first took effect in late February .
Dorfman said the landlord was illegally trying to evict the family , which included an elderly person , by the end of March because they were using a federal housing subsidy .
“ Even after the governor issued the stay-at-home orders , they still were … insisting that the family should vacate in the middle of COVID .
A ) it was illegal to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was nowhere for the family to go , ” Dorfman said .
She said the landlord rescinded the eviction notice after she wrote them a letter arguing the eviction was not only illegal income-based discrimination , but also a violation of state stay-at-home orders .
Although many courts are handling cases online or by phone when possible , Erkert said she has had to do a few in-person meetings to get documents signed — she said she ’ s asked clients and witnesses to bring their own pens and use hand sanitizer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stay 6 feet away .
Melissa Banks , the housing deputy director of Legal Services NYC ’ s Queens program , said she had to meet a client at the post office to help get paperwork mailed out .
“ I haven ’ t been able to maintain , you know , social distancing guidelines when I ’ m dealing with these issues .
I ’ m just wearing a mask , trying to use as much protection as possible and try to maintain as much distance as I can , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Connecting tenants with lawyers has also become harder .
Tuggle , of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services , told reporters that typically 50 % of client intake in their New Orleans office had been through walk-ins , but that can ’ t happen now with offices closed and people scared to go outside .
Legal service providers are routinely referred cases after tenants go to court in person to challenge evictions , but court closures and stay-at-home orders have disrupted those lines of communication , lawyers told BuzzFeed News .
Arntzen , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she ’ d fielded calls from clients about landlords who were insisting they prove that their loss of income was coronavirus-related ; an amended order from Gov .
Jay Inslee made clear that wasn ’ t required .
Landlords were “ looking for the cracks , I would say , in what the moratorium said and didn ’ t say , looking for ways they could still get around the ban , ” Arntzen said .
She said she ’ d recently handled the case of a woman facing eviction from the land @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of an issue with a fence .
Arntzen said she was able to resolve the situation informally with the landlord ’ s lawyer after arguing the eviction would threaten her client ’ s health and safety .
Arntzen said her office had been doing outreach with community groups and nonprofits to raise awareness about resources for tenants once the state moratorium lifts and landlords can legally pursue evictions again .
She said her office also did internal training for lawyers who usually handle other client needs so they ’ re prepared to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been back in his Queens apartment since April 3 , although he said he ’ d like to find a new place — there were leaks and other maintenance issues in the apartment , and he had a bad relationship with the landlord .
But he said he didn ’ t feel comfortable exploring other options during the pandemic .
“ Where can I go ?
What can I do right now ?
” he said .
“ I would move out tomorrow in a heartbeat .
”

WASHINGTON — On March 19, three days after an eviction moratorium took effect in New York in response to the novel coronavirus, Akil Mayfield was evicted from his Queens apartment — his landlord had changed the locks and wouldn’t let him back in.
Mayfield, who is 45 years old and has a disability, spent several days at a YMCA until his mother flew up from Florida and he could stay with her at a hotel. He told BuzzFeed News that he was worried about his safety if he went to a shelter and was scared of being exposed to the coronavirus during the two weeks that he was out of his home.
“I was feeling very hopeless and violated,” he said.
Mayfield is back in his home now, but it took an emergency eviction challenge in court. In an April 2 order, the judge concluded that Mayfield “was illegally forced out,” noting there was not only evidence that he lived in the apartment, but also that he had paid his rent.
There are moratoriums preventing landlords from evicting residents in all but five states at the state or local level due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. But lawyers who work with low-income clients told BuzzFeed News that despite moratoriums and stay-at-home orders intended to stop the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, landlords and property owners are still trying to force people out.
“The cases that we are seeing are people who are changing locks without a marshal — just the landlord doing it themselves, an illegal lockout,” said Edward Josephson, director of litigation for Legal Services NYC. His organization has also handled cases of landlords cutting off services to force out tenants — in once case, a landlord in Brooklyn sealed off access to bathrooms, he said.
Legal services providers said that once state officials lift temporary eviction moratoriums, they’re bracing for a flood of calls not only from existing low-income clients, but also from newly unemployed Americans unable to afford housing and facing eviction, lawfully or not. Approximately 22 million people in the US have filed for unemployment benefits in the past month, and others are facing reduced hours and pay cuts.
“I worry the most about how we keep our staff safe while responding to what's going to be, I think, our biggest civil legal aid crisis that we've ever undergone with our client population,” Laura Tuggle, executive director of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, told reporters during a video briefing earlier this week. “Right now the most pressing [issue] that we're concerned about is the tsunami of evictions that is headed our way.”
Tami Arntzen, a staff attorney with the Northwest Justice Project who handles housing cases in eastern Washington state, said many landlords were being “cooperative and compassionate” in trying to work with tenants, but at some point they will expect past due rent to be paid.
“The moratorium doesn’t say, ‘You don’t owe your rent.’ So if you legitimately cannot pay it now, you’re getting yourself deeper into a hole and you have no control how deep it goes,” Arntzen said.
Alexis Erkert, a staff attorney with Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, said housing lawyers were “really nervous” about the lack of long-term options for people who had lost their jobs or faced other economic insecurity because of the pandemic.


buzzfeed--2020-04-22--Some Scientists Want To Infect People With The Coronavirus To Get A Vaccine Faster

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
As the world waits anywhere from 18 months to years for the first effective coronavirus vaccine , some lawmakers , scientists , and bioethicists are calling for a radical push to speed up the process — deliberately infecting volunteers with the virus .
On Tuesday , vaccine expert Stanley Plotkin of the University of Pennsylvania and bioethicist Arthur Caplan of New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challenge studies ” of a coronavirus vaccine in the journal Vaccine .
That followed a bipartisan group of nearly three dozen members of the House of Representatives on Monday calling on the FDA to consider such trials .
“ Every week of delay in the deployment of a vaccine to the seven billion humans on Earth will cost thousands of lives , ” said the letter , spearheaded by Rep. Bill Foster of Illinois , a scientist , and Rep. Donna Shalala of Florida , a former HHS chief .
“ In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risks may be taken , ” they wrote , “ potentially by challenge trials that involve deliberately infecting volunteers who have received candidate vaccines or placebos.
” “ Normally , deliberately giving someone an infection that is potentially lethal would be unacceptable , ” Caplan told BuzzFeed News .
“ But in extreme times , like a plague , you might look to extreme measures.
” The approach is unusual — but not unprecedented .
Still , some scientists argue that it may be too drastic of a measure given the number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Wednesday , there have been more than 2.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nearly 180,000 deaths worldwide .
More than 70 novel coronavirus vaccines are now in development , according to the World Health Organization .
A March Journal of Infection report estimated that about 70 % of the US population , more than 220 million people , would need to recover and gain some immunity to the virus or get vaccinated for the country to have “ herd immunity ” to future outbreaks .
Some biotech industry observers suggest that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until 2023 or 2024 for a novel coronavirus vaccine to reach enough people to blunt the spread of COVID-19 .
On Wednesday , FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said on CBS This Morning that the agency ’ s expectation is a vaccine will become available in March of 2021 , “ but we are really trying to accelerate the efforts.
” NIAID Director Anthony Fauci told BuzzFeed News in February that if everything went “ perfect , ” starting to distribute a vaccine widely would take at least 18 months , a delivery date @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , vaccines require safety studies conducted in lab animals , followed by three phases of progressively larger and longer experiments on people , first to prove the vaccines are safe and then to prove that they are effective at preventing infection .
Four vaccines are currently undergoing “ Phase 1 ” safety trials in small numbers of human volunteers , and one “ Phase 2 ” trial involving 500 volunteers is underway in Beijing .
If the vaccines prove safe and effective in these trials , they would move on to Phase 3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around six months .
Those trials require giving one group of volunteers the vaccine and another group a placebo , then waiting for the months to elapse to see how many catch the disease and how many don ’ t , and then comparing between the two groups to figure out the efficacy of the vaccine .
If the Phase 3 trials proved successful , the vaccines would be allowed for widespread public use , but would require more time to manufacture and distribute the billions of doses needed .
A March Journal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Eyal of the Center for Population-Level Bioethics at Rutgers University proposed collapsing this time frame by running small “ challenge trials ” in people alongside the Phase 3 one .
Essentially small groups of volunteers at low risk of dying of the disease , healthy 20- to 45-year-olds perhaps already in dangerous occupations , would be divided into two groups .
One group would receive a candidate vaccine and one would get a placebo shot .
They would then be exposed to increasingly large doses of the coronavirus until most of the patients @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t have symptoms more severe than a typical case for their age group .
“ Intense immunological monitoring ” would look for any signs of dangerous side effects seen in past SARS coronavirus vaccine tests , where a mistargeted vaccine caused “ immunopathology ” in lab mice actually made the disease more deadly .
Not only would the results point to whether a vaccine works , but they would tell researchers what amount of virus exposure is needed to trigger an infection , a still undetermined data point amid debates about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ daily life .
“ There are plenty of young people who want to help , ” Caplan said .
“ The key thing is that they have to be fully informed about the risk , and their consent should be managed by someone completely — completely — independent of the people running the experiment.
” The separate ethics board could tell volunteers , `` ‘ Look , we will give you a medical exemption to get out of this if you really don ’ t want to do it , ’ '' said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coercion or pressure to volunteer .
A “ Covid Challenge ” website noted by researchers such as Marc Lipsitch of Harvard ’ s T.H .
Chan School of Public Health has been established to enlist challenge trial volunteers .
Plotkin and Caplan ’ s study design would limit volunteers to healthy 18- to 29-year-olds , noting a 0.3 % death rate among patients that age in China , and start by first exposing people who had recovered from past infections to the virus .
That could potentially help answer questions about how much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to those who recover , another unknown .
Europe is also weighing whether to undertake challenge trials , Pieter Neels of Belgium ’ s University of Namur and chair of the International Alliance for Biological Standardization ’ s human vaccine committee , told BuzzFeed News .
“ The problem is that with COVID-19 , a huge knowledge is lacking , ” he said by email , unlike other diseases where challenge trials are used , like malaria , cholera , or influenza .
There are two commercial companies in Europe that would like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : hVivo in the United Kingdom and SGS in Belgium .
Not everyone in medicine thinks that deliberately infecting people with a little-understood and deadly disease with no cure is a great idea : “ Where you ’ re going to give somebody a virus on purpose , you really want to understand the disease so that you know that what you ’ re doing is a reasonable risk , ” Matthew Memoli of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told Science magazine in March .
People have died in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Roche , a 24-year-old lab technician at Johns Hopkins , died after volunteering for an asthma treatment experiment .
The sheer logistics of setting up an ethical challenge trial is another reason for caution , vaccine expert Peter Hotez of Baylor College of Medicine , told BuzzFeed News .
It would require evaluating different virus doses to determine what qualifies as a minimal dose , standardizing the “ challenge ” virus and how it would be delivered , ensuring volunteers received the newest antiviral treatment , and many other considerations absent in standard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to create a model for human challenge trials of a parasite vaccine .
“ While I ’ m sure these timelines can be accelerated , it still won ’ t be easy to do this very quickly , ” said Hotez , “ It doesn ’ t mean we shouldn ’ t do it , it would certainly help down the line , but I don ’ t see how it happens very fast .
”

As the world waits anywhere from 18 months to years for the first effective coronavirus vaccine, some lawmakers, scientists, and bioethicists are calling for a radical push to speed up the process — deliberately infecting volunteers with the virus.
On Tuesday, vaccine expert Stanley Plotkin of the University of Pennsylvania and bioethicist Arthur Caplan of New York University released an outline for these “challenge studies” of a coronavirus vaccine in the journal Vaccine. That followed a bipartisan group of nearly three dozen members of the House of Representatives on Monday calling on the FDA to consider such trials.
“Every week of delay in the deployment of a vaccine to the seven billion humans on Earth will cost thousands of lives,” said the letter, spearheaded by Rep. Bill Foster of Illinois, a scientist, and Rep. Donna Shalala of Florida, a former HHS chief. “In the case of accelerated human trials, justifiable risks may be taken,” they wrote, “potentially by challenge trials that involve deliberately infecting volunteers who have received candidate vaccines or placebos.”
“Normally, deliberately giving someone an infection that is potentially lethal would be unacceptable,” Caplan told BuzzFeed News. “But in extreme times, like a plague, you might look to extreme measures.”
The approach is unusual — but not unprecedented. Still, some scientists argue that it may be too drastic of a measure given the number of unknowns with the new coronavirus.
As of Wednesday, there have been more than 2.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nearly 180,000 deaths worldwide. More than 70 novel coronavirus vaccines are now in development, according to the World Health Organization. A March Journal of Infection report estimated that about 70% of the US population, more than 220 million people, would need to recover and gain some immunity to the virus or get vaccinated for the country to have “herd immunity” to future outbreaks.
Some biotech industry observers suggest that past vaccine development times could mean waiting until 2023 or 2024 for a novel coronavirus vaccine to reach enough people to blunt the spread of COVID-19. On Wednesday, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said on CBS This Morning that the agency’s expectation is a vaccine will become available in March of 2021, “but we are really trying to accelerate the efforts.” NIAID Director Anthony Fauci told BuzzFeed News in February that if everything went “perfect,” starting to distribute a vaccine widely would take at least 18 months, a delivery date more like August of 2021.
Normally, vaccines require safety studies conducted in lab animals, followed by three phases of progressively larger and longer experiments on people, first to prove the vaccines are safe and then to prove that they are effective at preventing infection. Four vaccines are currently undergoing “Phase 1” safety trials in small numbers of human volunteers, and one “Phase 2” trial involving 500 volunteers is underway in Beijing.
If the vaccines prove safe and effective in these trials, they would move on to Phase 3 trials involving thousands of volunteers studied for around six months. Those trials require giving one group of volunteers the vaccine and another group a placebo, then waiting for the months to elapse to see how many catch the disease and how many don’t, and then comparing between the two groups to figure out the efficacy of the vaccine.
If the Phase 3 trials proved successful, the vaccines would be allowed for widespread public use, but would require more time to manufacture and distribute the billions of doses needed.
A March Journal of Infectious Diseases report led by Nir Eyal of the Center for Population-Level Bioethics at Rutgers University proposed collapsing this time frame by running small “challenge trials” in people alongside the Phase 3 one. Essentially small groups of volunteers at low risk of dying of the disease, healthy 20- to 45-year-olds perhaps already in dangerous occupations, would be divided into two groups. One group would receive a candidate vaccine and one would get a placebo shot. They would then be exposed to increasingly large doses of the coronavirus until most of the patients in the placebo group were infected but didn’t have symptoms more severe than a typical case for their age group. “Intense immunological monitoring” would look for any signs of dangerous side effects seen in past SARS coronavirus vaccine tests, where a mistargeted vaccine caused “immunopathology” in lab mice and actually made the disease more deadly.
Not only would the results point to whether a vaccine works, but they would tell researchers what amount of virus exposure is needed to trigger an infection, a still undetermined data point amid debates about masks and PPE needs in hospitals and daily life.
“There are plenty of young people who want to help,” Caplan said. “The key thing is that they have to be fully informed about the risk, and their consent should be managed by someone completely — completely — independent of the people running the experiment.” The separate ethics board could tell volunteers, "‘Look, we will give you a medical exemption to get out of this if you really don’t want to do it,’" said Caplan, to eliminate the risks of coercion or pressure to volunteer.
A “Covid Challenge” website noted by researchers such as Marc Lipsitch of Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health has been established to enlist challenge trial volunteers.
Plotkin and Caplan’s study design would limit volunteers to healthy 18- to 29-year-olds, noting a 0.3% death rate among patients that age in China, and start by first exposing people who had recovered from past infections to the virus. That could potentially help answer questions about how much protection antibodies from a past infection give to those who recover, another unknown.
Europe is also weighing whether to undertake challenge trials, Pieter Neels of Belgium’s University of Namur and chair of the International Alliance for Biological Standardization’s human vaccine committee, told BuzzFeed News. “The problem is that with COVID-19, a huge knowledge is lacking,” he said by email, unlike other diseases where challenge trials are used, like malaria, cholera, or influenza. There are two commercial companies in Europe that would like to perform challenge trials, he noted: hVivo in the United Kingdom and SGS in Belgium.
Not everyone in medicine thinks that deliberately infecting people with a little-understood and deadly disease with no cure is a great idea: “Where you’re going to give somebody a virus on purpose, you really want to understand the disease so that you know that what you’re doing is a reasonable risk,” Matthew Memoli of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told Science magazine in March.
People have died in challenge experiments. In 2001, Ellen Roche, a 24-year-old lab technician at Johns Hopkins, died after volunteering for an asthma treatment experiment.
The sheer logistics of setting up an ethical challenge trial is another reason for caution, vaccine expert Peter Hotez of Baylor College of Medicine, told BuzzFeed News. It would require evaluating different virus doses to determine what qualifies as a minimal dose, standardizing the “challenge” virus and how it would be delivered, ensuring volunteers received the newest antiviral treatment, and many other considerations absent in standard trials. His own team took years to create a model for human challenge trials of a parasite vaccine.
“While I’m sure these timelines can be accelerated, it still won’t be easy to do this very quickly,” said Hotez, “It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it, it would certainly help down the line, but I don’t see how it happens very fast.”