the court is a hearing oral arguments in 10 cases by teleconference. first up, on monday, at 10:00 a.m. eastern, the justices hear the case of u.s. patent and trademark office versus booking.com. the case concerns the travel company's fight to trademark their website. be a part of history and hear the supreme court oral arguments live, monday at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. on-demand on c-span.org or listen on the freeseas been -- the free c-span radio app. , formerg up in an hour assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, david michaels. he will talk about protecting workers during the coronavirus pandemic. at 9:00 a.m., david rouser, a member of the agriculture community on the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having

on the nation's food supply and meat processing industry. on why, dr. james hamlin some people who contract coronavirus get sicker than others. ♪ oft: this, the last day april, jay powell says he expects an unprecedented drop in economic activity over the next few months after it was reported yesterday that the u.s. economy shrank at a 4.8% pace in the first quarter and economists are decked in additional 3.5 million people filed for unemployment insurance last week. the labor department will release those numbers officially later on this morning, which brings us to the question in the first hour, how has your financial situation been since the pandemic? perhaps you have saved money or asked for financial help.

we want to get a take on how you have been doing financially over the last few weeks. (202) 748-8000 if you are better off. (202) 748-8001 if you are worse off. if it stayed the same, (202) 748-8002. you can text us at (202) 748-8003. you can also post to our twitter feed and facebook page. a few weeks ago cnbc top about the -- talked about the top 10 financial stressors from pandemic areas starting off the list, having enough money and emergency savings, that was 41% of respondents. followed by concerns over job security, income fluctuation, paying utilities, rent and mortgage. 20% of those responding. some 25% looking at financial market volatility. for those paying down credit finding out the last

two on the list, paying health care bills, putting up major financial decisions. maybe your concerns fall somewhere in that category since the spark of the -- the start of the pandemic. jay powell yesterday talked about what he expects to see in the economy. the headline from "the washington times," shows that the plan for the economy, plunging at the rate of the great depression, that is the headline. we will talk about some of the comments made by the federal reserve, which signaled wednesday that it will keep short-term interest rates near zero. the central bank said it would keep buying treasury and to spur bonds generally lending. you can see the full comments on our website, c-span.org. here's what he had to say yesterday when it comes to the economy. [video clip] to spur lending. you can see the full comments on our>> many standard economic statistics have yet to catch up with the reality as it exists,

it's clear that the effects are severe. millions of workers are losing their jobs. next week's jobs report is expected to show the unemployment rate, at 50 year lows two months ago, surging into the double digits. household spending has plummeted as people stay home and members -- measures of consumer sentiment have fallen precipitously. retailers have been particularly hard hit. manufacturing output fell sharply in march and is likely to drop more rapidly this month as many factories have temporarily closed and overall economic activity will likely drop at an unprecedented rate in the second quarter. inflation is also being held down, reflecting weaker demand and significantly lower energy prices. the depth and the duration of the economic downturn are extraordinarily uncertain and will depend in large part on how quickly the virus is brought

under control. depend on theill cushioning blow of supported recovery when the public health crisis passes. there response of the federal reserve is guided by the mandate to promote maximum employment and stable crisis for the american people. we are also committed to using our full range of tools to support the economy in this challenging time. would you say that you are better off, worse off, warsaw, or have stayed the same financially over these last few weeks? stayed the same, (202) 748-8000. worse off, (202) 748-8001. .tayed the same, (202) 748-8002 you can also text us at (202) 748-8003. trina says she has stayed the same. starting us off this morning. good morning. caller: yeah, good morning.

our financial position is pretty much the same. before this happened we were having to kind of watch our spending anyway. just's just, you know, paying, making sure the bills get paid. and you know, it really hasn't impacted us. we haven't been frivolous before this with the money that we had. we tend to always really watch what we spend and then be careful not to get in over our heads. host: what's the work situation like in your household? are people in your household still working? -- caller: no. my husband is going back to work next week but we have been laid off for like a month. thank god that congress did give

that extra money. because without it, we would have really had a hard time surviving on unemployment in indiana. host: did you have trouble receiving money from the government as far as the stimulus checks? no, we got ours. we did direct deposit with, you know we have always had direct deposit and had no problems getting it. your husband, if i may ask, what type of work as he do? caller: he works for a boat company. make boats, yeah. host: and he's going back to work next week? ok. trina, telling us about her experience in indiana. talcott, west virginia, curtis says the situation is worse off.

caller: my situation is much worse off. i spent the last five years, roughly, caring for a relative, my grandmother, who had alzheimer's. basically completely unemployed, living off of her tension that she had. recently maybe about three weeks , shee the whole thing hit got to the point where she had to be put in a nursing home. i was like ok, now i'm going to go back to the workforce. after about a week and a half of dealing with getting her stable, stabilized and comfortable in a care facility, everything geared up in terms of this pandemic. now i'm basically living on food month. $190 a

bills just piling up and no option to get a job. my situation is basically live off the food i can grow. you know? so, my situation has no potential for moving towards the positive until it is basically completely over. aside from caring for your grandmother, what type of work that you held before? caller: museums, art galleries. since i was a working age i moved to new york city, went to college, work in the galleries and museums there, from the first job that i had a work at an art supply store and up to working in the big galleries and

big museums in new york. you know, had all the savings i had when i left there. cap to me and my grandma really stable. new york city is an expensive place to live, so the savings i had here didn't last very long. that i'm done taking , and i my grandma haven't even been able to visit the, what was it, the last week of february is when they told us here no more visiting? so. host: ok, that is curtis there in west virginia. another says he is worse off, william in pennsylvania. hello. you doing, bless everybody, god watch us and get

us through this. everything is on pause, basically, small business. very hard to keep up with. what type of business was it? caller: i'm a soap maker. i'm retired. this thing came about and i was more worried about my mother then anything else. she's in a rehab facility in new york city and i decided they were not really doing the best for her. look like they wanted to keep her there. my mom still had all of her mental faculties. we took my mother back to her apartment. now they are there taking care of her. what was going on here was terrible. so many people going out without effective gear, my mother's 95, she stopped. she survived the bad staph

infection that had her in a respiratory place for like six months. i have been retired 10 years but i'm almost like a doctor. when it comes to your business, the you expected it to return to some kind of normalcy? i wish more of us would understand that there is a higher power. a higher power and a reason our country is in this condition, because we don't do enough to thank for what we have. host: that is william, in pennsylvania. "the wall street journal" saying layoffs have skyrocketed since the pandemic started and the unemployment rate hit double digits for the first time in more than a decade with u.s. workers following -- filing more benefits inobless mid-march. personal consumption, the , therk fell at a 7.6% rate

steepest drop since the second quarter of 1980. halfegal advice counts for of the total gdp and goods, following by 1.3% as lower spending by new cars was on food and household essentials. stephanie hilton this morning writes -- that's jim in buffalo, new york. bob, connecticut, go ahead.

high.: i'm new to social security, things have been going about the same. you know, i'm just worried that this could be trumps way of hurting the democrats. we are a hurting state because of this virus and a lot of the big states are democratic. could be trying to thin the herd. up, windsor next hill, maryland, when it comes to the situation he says it has stayed the same. morning, god bless everybody. my situation has stayed the same. i'm retired and have been retired for 10 years. my wife is a pharmacist, works at a pharmacist -- hospital. our income hasn't stopped. only downturn has

been in the 401(k), thanks to mr. trump. i believe the situation will stay as it is and could possibly get better. that is ron in windsor hill, maryland. we talked about the stock market, if you go to "the washington post" this morning there is a story taking a look activity,market specifically yesterday according to thomas telfer, the rally picking up steam after they and theositive data treatment for covid-19, with the trial being at the primary endpoint, showing a drug can block the virus, fauci saying in a press conference that gilead

called it important and the dow jones industrial average closed 2.2%. points, host: bill, cleveland, ohio. as a realtor i thought dot that was a job i could into the grandparent part of my life, which i'm in now, but i don't understand why the president called this a hoax and tomorrow we are going to sacrifice grandparents for the economy? host: he was referring to the political back-and-forth as a hoax. what you mean as far as sacrifice grandparents? the democrats have taken

the hoax to a level that no one has ever taken it. will it be a mayan sacrifice? we have a group of grandparents that gather. we call ourselves the cobweb 19's, we have been in the house so much. one of them said they found safe bleach and we think that is what the president is talking about. i don't know if we should try it or not. host: you said your industry was real estate? caller: yes, sir. host: are you still showing houses? showing them virtually? no, no, you can't. you can't justify building your own pockets with money while you people's coffins with their bodies or their grandparents bodies. christina, cumberland, maryland, she says her situation has stayed the same. has stayed the same

in respect to my boyfriend, we live together, he's considered an essential worker, so he can work and we have his income. i was laid off. i'm a cosmetologist barber and i work at the jcpenney salon. obviously.off, i don't want to go back to work. peoplees me to be around , their faces and things like that. unemployment was a nightmare, that took six weeks, but i did get my first on a limit check. the only thing that has helped us is the fact that our cell phones, our rent, and our car we were our insurance, able to get extensions on everything. host: how was that negotiation dealing with those companies? caller: perfect, everybody was really fine. paymentsmpany put the to the end of our term by a few

months and then when we got the stimulus check, which we did get those, we were able to pay our bills, paid off all of our cell phone bill this morning. host: what do you think the future holds? caller: i don't forget save until testing is more widespread. i'm going to be within inches of someone's face. of course, i will wear a mask. i don't know how i get them to wear a mask and cut around their hair, but there will have to be face shields, proper gloves and everything. hoping that my employer will be responsible for carrying that. i mean, i get small wages, minimum wage us tips and commission, you know?

host: jeff, hello. caller: so far my work situation has stayed the same. i'm an essential worker, my situation hasn't changed but better off because my employer gave us a bonus based on us coming to work and being essential workers. it's a bonus on the paycheck now. that's why it's a little bit better right now. host: jeff, one of the several, coming in on the better off or worse off-line. mix, ifthoughts to the you say it is better off, (202) 748-8000. if things are worse off, (202) 748-8001. if things have stayed the same, call (202) 748-8002.

according to "the wall street journal," budget cuts, public sector workers could soon be out of a job or sent home without pay. they could affect education, sanitation, safety and health maybe you are a public service or public sector worker yourself and you want to give context to that, give us a call on the line that best reflects you. the president yesterday at the white house meeting with the louisiana governor, john bel edwards, who talked about this idea of an economic comeback. here is what he had to say. [video clip] >> if you would have said that we would have had the worst pandemic since 1917 with the disturbance that it took, 184 countries at least as of last week.

beware,he market would 29000 and now we are at 24,000? i think we are having one of the best weeks, in terms of stock market. to me that his jobs in the future. i don't view it as the stock market, i view it as jobs and future. 24,000,ould have said when i was elected the number was much, much lower as you know. with what we have gone through as a country, john bel edwards pretty amazing. i read where this is one of the best weeks in the stock market over this short time that we have had since the 1950's or 1940's. i think there is a tremendous feeling of optimism in the country and i can only say that it is going to be a tremendous feeling of optimism. the third-quarter transition,

that's what we are transiting into, and it is a transitional time and the fourth quarter is going to be fantastic. next year the fruits of what we have done together, between the doctors and the business people, yourself thank you very much, of course, you are a doctor, but all the work from the task worse , the people that worked so hard, we are going to have a tremendous year, next year. host: that was again the president from yesterday. the full presentation is on our course, you are a doctor, but all the work from the task worse , the people that worked so hard, we are going to have a tremendouswebsite, c-span.org. north las vegas, nevada. hello. first of all, thank you for taking my call. i want to say that my situation has improved since the coronavirus thing. , i live in a town and i haveve casinos

not been able to go, so i have been saving money. industry gambling brings in a lot of revenue for those who live around you, as well as yourself, i would suspect? caller: yes, it is. far as that, i didn't mean to cut you off. go ahead and finish your thought. caller: another thing i wanted to say is, i'm an essential worker, too. that has been able to more money in my pocket. also, they gave us stimulus money, which i can't understand why they would give government employees stimulus money, when it should be going to the people that really need it. that's all i wanted to say. what kind of work you do, if i might ask? caller: i really

don't want to say. ok, that's wayne in las vegas. the las vegas review journal, by the way, you can head to their website or the headline, it's about a casino regulator there considering the guidelines for reopening las vegas. let's go to steve, in blacksburg, virginia, who says he is worse off. caller: yes, sir. i have had several bills, like my car, my mower. i have been on disability for about five years and i did have a bit of a correction, -- cushion, fortunately, so i can still pay my bills, but it is getting more and more difficult. i had a friend that lost his mom , a neighbor across the street lost both his grandparents last week. it's like i love the three kids across the street, but it kills

me that i can't even go visit them right now because of this coronavirus thing. just, i feel like i'm getting squeezed into a smaller and smaller and smaller box. when it comes to the resources you had saved up, was that money you had saved up on a regular basis or you saw what was coming from the coronavirus? after 30 years of working as a machinist, i have saved up a small amount and i do have an ira that i can give it -- give into. i'm china to do that yet, i'm still in my early 60's. host: have you checked in on the volatility of the market? caller: they give me my monthly statement. at my age, i don't know if, if i lived to be 80, i will run out of money. with your university there

in blacksburg, virginia tech, what's it like with school not being in session? i have noticed traffic is reduced considerably around here and i have heard places like new york and los angeles, the air is getting cleaner. steve the machinist, telling us about his situation, referencing the stock market and personal savings. pennsylvania, high. -- hello. caller: i'm a salaried employee, working from home. i don't have a commute like i would have in ordinary times. if i finish my work early, or it happens to be less than it would be, i'm still getting paid the same but i still have more time with my family. you can say that my net hourly rate is bought up to save money for less.

host: what has the working at home situation been like for you? with two very young children it can be difficult at times. ok, we have good infrastructure place. like many businesses do, we can absolutely get our work done and in some cases we are more productive. might not be distractions from telephone calls and other things that go on in an office. it's not a terrible situation but i do miss the interpersonal nature of working with others face-to-face and it might be a long time coming before we return to that situation. host: in about an hour the labor department will release the numbers on those who applied for uninsurance last week and they estimate the number will be 3.5 million americans who filed initial applications for that,

down from the 4.4 billion claims from the week before and the all-time high of 6.8 million filed in late march. that 30 million americans have applied for unemployment in just six weeks. "a breathtaking number." paul is next from missouri. hi, good morning. caller: i just want to say that as a 64-year-old, i'm on an early retirement that i had to take at 62 because of an hit and runre i was as a pedestrian. because it was the physical backend of my body, i took early retirement. hit andthe only thing that mady situation worse was i was hoping job tow year to land a supplement what i would have retirement, has

i retired from the nursing industry. but you know, everybody is suffering out there. it's great to see people helping and a $1200 stimulus check, after 38 years of paying in taxes, i was so grateful. it did help me buy some extra and do some extra car maintenance that i needed, new tires. i just want to say god bless america and for all of us to just hang in there and hopefully we will get through this and i appreciate you taking your time to listen. croixfrom st.

host: plano, texas, jessie, saying the situation is the same. caller: i'm a truck driver, my wife she works at home, those contracts. -- does contracts. our situation has stayed the same, you know, so we are staying all right.

host: as a truck driver, has your rate per mile gone down or is that the same as well? caller: i get paid hourly, and i lot ofr icu medical, hospitals. we have heard a lot of people's experiences in this first half hour and we will continue on in the same vein. if you say you are better off. (202) 748-8001 if you say you are worse off. for those that stayed the same, (202) 748-8002. one of the people commenting about the back-and-forth of the coronavirus, including the politics of what's going on, governor andrew cuomo, this was a part of his press conference yesterday. [video clip] this political patina, this politicalization of what we are going through in this country is extraordinarily dangerous.

we are dealing with probably the most germanic situation we have dealt with in modern political history. dealing with a situation that we don't really understand and we don't know how to deal with. this is all uncharted water. i have talked to every expert on the globe. no one has been here before. it's going to take us at our best to navigate this to save lives. at our best. at our best, we have to be working together, we have to be logical, we have to be cooperative, we have to be sane, we have to work with people who we sometimes don't like. we have to work across the aisle . we have to be at our best. when you start to politicize this situation and you start to say red and blue, this demon that team, you may as well take and hammer it right into the middle of this country. and if you do that during this

time and this becomes a political football, or closing and opening becomes a political football, or funding becomes a political foot all, or this becomes a finger-pointing blame game and you divide this country? the worst could lie ahead. we are coming out of it. but that is only if we do what we have to do. what you hear coming out of washington, and i was there for eight years. i have heard this music before. this is the music of a campaign season. this is the music of our rally and balloons. it's us versus them. we are good, they are bad. as tos poison right now where we are. thank you, guys. that was governor cuomo,

from yesterday. when it comes to politics in the house and the senate, the senate is expected to come back next week. two stories relate to that, if you go to the hill website. reporting that democrats are facing a disadvantage in the political battle over the pandemic with one chamber delaying its return, nancy pelosi has been a constant present -- presence on television and rank-and-file democrats have been busy pushing relief proposals but senate republicans will have the optical advantage of boasting that they are hard at work in the capital while the house remains on recess and while most house democrats support the decision to hold off bringing members and their staff back to in a cityl next week with a significant number of coronavirus cases, they will recognize that they have to find a way to ensure that the only lever of government controlled by their party is not sidelined. saying that if we can get back wedoing oversight hearings,

have things to actually vote on and it can strike a balance that her. when they reconvened on monday, the first order of business will be a vote related to the nuclear commission nominees. it's the first time senate panels have been able to compete since mid-march. this as the white house lawyers are cap to serve as a watchdog. let's go to pensacola, florida. you are next up, good morning. caller: good morning. i have made $2800 in the last few days selling masks. i haven't made that much money and a long time. i'm a former pro basketball

player also. host: william is from mapleton, georgia. his situation has stayed the same? caller: i'm over here in the atlanta area. , have always worked from home so things haven't changed a whole lot for me, financially or just my lifestyle. i did want to encourage other callers and listeners to, you know, keep the faith. whether you are suffering financially, the economy will come back. if you do have to work from home and you are not used to it, just have doctors, firemen, police, military, still out there on the front line, sacrificing. your sacrifice is staying at home and it should be acceptable. you work at home normally,

as far as practical things and those having a hard time with it, what would you advise? outside of focusing on their job, what they have to do for their companies while they are at home, there are things that you can do, personally, to better your household, to better yourself, work in your yard, do repairs around the home. you can walk around your neighborhood's. i see a lot of my neighbors walking a lot, more than i have ever seen before. which iscooking, generally healthier. there are some positive things that can come out of that. next up we hear from joy, good morning. i feel like we are doing a lot better since we have been home. we are not going out. we have been planting in the garden. we stay busy. we have rental income and

everyone has paid their rent here. but things are very good. we are getting projects done at home. i have learned every time i get in the car, i'm going to spend money. because we are staying home, we are not spending money. for those that went from you, have you and the other people involved and negotiated a strategy if they come to you for some type of assistance or asking for relief if they are affected by the pandemic? caller: we have. one asked if they could pay half at the beginning and half at the end. i've kept in contact with our tenants. if they need help, they know we will help them. i'm also a director of a christian mission, locally. our food bank is still up and running. we live in a small community. people are incredibly generous. we have had a lot of donations food, localds,

businesses have really contributed. producehave given fresh to give out. that is joy in south carolina, who says she is better off during the situation. from harry in mount lebanon, pennsylvania, saying that finances are now? . -- now a question. host: you can post on facebook, by the way, facebook.com/c-span. the twitter feed, at season in the bj, available to you

--@cspanwj, available to you, too. jennifer, good morning, saying she is worse off. caller: we in oak ridge and the eugene area, they are just not taking it serious. a lot of the restaurants are getting their food out and everything, but they are not wearing masks or gloves while they serve the food or cook the food. that's bad for the epidemic. because that can spread the virus. they are just not taking it .erious a lot of people not wearing masks, getting groceries, being around the general public. the concerns me, i've got 18 grandkids and all of my grandkids is staying in. but it's bad and i have tried to help them. food, io get help with

get 100 nine dollars in food stamps, food went up real bad here in oregon. where am i going to live if i sell my house, you know? host:where am i going to live ii sell my house, you know? host: ok. thomas, ohio, high. caller: hey, good morning. i then unemployed, well this is the fifth week going on and ohio has yet to issue any unemployment, much less the federal money. stamps, food went up real bad here in oregon. they said so my house. i'm not the only one in that boat, either. it seems like there are a lot of ohioans drawn into that on facebook. everyone's in the same boat. i understand they are changing over the whole computer system and it's a mess, you know? i don't know. you know, it's a whole month without pay.

it has drained the savings, you know? host: this is joseph in louisville, kentucky. caller: mine is better in the sense that i am an essential worker, but at the same time it has gotten worse because all of our commodities come from places like walmart, kroger, sam's club , that sort of stuff and i have seen a decrease in the rates. furthermore, my wife is a .tudent and part-time employee what's the rate, how much has the right on down for you? caller: it varies. on this one i wasn't able to carry [indiscernible] but now i'm $.85 per mile where i have seen anywhere on average from $1.50 per mile to a dollar

70 -- what other $.70 per mile. picky, butou can get as things get worse, you don't know what you are going to get. it varies. fuel too pay for my own maintain my truck. are you compelled to take more work rather than picking and choosing? caller: at this point i will probably take what i can get because we don't know what's coming behind that. i have found some in the past and i have gotten lower rates for that specific region. host: that was joseph in kentucky there. you have heard about those states opening up some of their businesses across the united states. journal" takest a look at the activity in those states, saying that in georgia 4 million people visited on

saturday. it brought the most foot traffic march.hey have had since the biggest footfalls were travel related host: if you go to the paper version of the story, it can give you a breakdown. bobby, georgia, fitzgerald, georgia, saying his situation has stayed the same. it has stayed the same. can you hear me? host: yep, you are on. caller: what makes it the same

when i get off, i get the same variety of information on c-span . seems to me that we will never get anything other than, will let me ask you a question, are you ever going back to open phones? seems like you micromanage the topics every morning and i have a strong suspicion that you can't get anything on. did you know that, do the people in america know that all the people were trying to overthrow the president in 2016? do you know what happened to the fbi where the data was discovered where they try to frame the general and of thing nothing wrongre's with talking about these types of topics, i know we are all going through it, but you know these anecdotes, if you have heard 10, you have heard 100 of them. nothing wrong from time to time, but it seems to me that all you talk about sometimes is what's going on in the news. host: i get your point, i get your point, but we also open the

phones so that people can share their stories, they don't have the ability to do that on broadcast, and i know that you talk about other news and that's relevant and that's why we role in some of these stories, but that's the philosophy behind what we are doing now. caller: it's not just liberals, other people live in this country, too. host: we don't cater to one or the other. caller: calling and in the last few weeks, on this program, you know it. host: we have had several people talk about the president on that side, thanking them for the money that they are receiving, that kind of thing area i know it is anecdotal, but that's the case. is, you knowm line who you are, go about your program, i called in to break up the monotony. host: all right. gina, maryland, better off, high. caller: i'm a licensed day care provider for maryland. they tried to close us down as a day care, then they opened us

option -- opened up -- open this up as an option for those parents that are essential personnel. if you were getting paid, you are still getting paid that because it wasn't our choice or the choice of the parents. that kind of makes it better. i just want to say that i'm better, actually, trying to take care of stuff, but i would encourage a lot of people to communicate with your lenders and mortgage companies and car loans. everybody is so understanding at this point, they are in the same situation possibly that you are. they could go online and fill out an extension or deferment on the backend. right now you have got to survive on the money that you have now to take care of what you can't defer or get an extension on. i have helped people with unemployment and food stamps.

those options for people on a regular day, you have just got to be patient and understand that this is a situation that was dropped on everybody and everybody wasn't ready for it and at the end of the day you are online and waiting longer, you just have to do that. ,hese people that are helping they are doing it religiously, trying to help, but you can only do so much, it's something that you were not ready for. in other news, like the previous caller was talking about what it comes to presidential news, associated press reporting that the president is still all in on getting reelected but set to take the first steps in formally preparing someone else to take over if he loses. he is standing accountable to the first the foreman of the transition act, after the move

and in 2015 to better ensure continuity of government when one president hands off to another, making sure presidential candidates are ready to take charge after the .eptember 11 attacks the associated press story spells out more of that, if you go to this website. , theit comes to jill biden former vice president began the process of selecting a running mate this morning, releasing the names of former and current democratic officials in a search candidate who mr. biden has said would be a woman. host: alan in rose hill, mississippi.

worse off. hello. question is this, we do count on our socialist ready checks coming in and we sure were looking forward to having were gettingat we come in. we haven't gotten it. we know people who have, we know people who haven't. the thing that i think has been hardest for us is that we both situations where we have to be careful, wearing masks and gloves, but we are going into stores where the stores have been really kind of break to over. on the most part, we see people going in to these stores that don't have asked masks on. we are really not buying food as much as we used to primarily because we are concerned very much that the

spread of the virus has not really hit our area yet. that's the biggest problem with us, just trying to get the staples, the things we need during the day, and like i said a lot of times the stores don't have a we have gone in there for and the prices are higher. about masks this morning in "the wall street journal," they have done their own analysis of certain types of masks across the united states and they boil it down to three found ins they have those shortages. they say that the hospital industry in a bid to increase profits and a bulk up after the swine flu, turning to the inventory of tracking software, limping up production only to be left with few buyers when the crisis abated. many called the bill back to

emergency capacity and the u.s. government focused more on terrorism than pandemic. , in: much -- butch sandwich, illinois, says the situation is the same for him. caller: i'm 63 and i'm living on disability. i could use this check that is you know, mye, but 84-year-old dad lives with me. are you talking to me?

host: you are still on, go ahead. my 84-year-old dad lives with me and he got his 1200. but you know, i say things are pretty well the same. if i was younger with my children, you know, i could use this money, but i would rather see my money go to a young man or a young woman with a young child, two young children, who are not working and maybe have to get pulled from work or whatever. i know what it's like to be a young person struggling. i think a lot of people are taking advantage of this. $600 on top of unemployment? just, i don't, i don't to get's right, you know? iomn't know the age group, that supposed to say this, but the college kids who are getting this? whatever? they are good for me. i don't like things breaking

down. have you tried the website as far as tracking your check? caller: i'm old school, i got a flip phone that is paid for for for me since he calls, don't got a computer, never used one. i just never educated myself with that. gotcha. when you get it eventually, what you think, you will put it away, spend it on something, what do you think you will do? caller:+ my car broke -- caller: my car broke down, needs a new gas tank. life things. it's not going to get wasted. it will go to maintain things that need to be fixed and the rest will be put away. your father,for

you said you are doing that at home? caller: yes, he lives with me. host: tom, canton, ohio, go ahead. i'm a little disturbed with the way the stimulus check was distributed. i have got several friends in the same situation. i'm retired, i get my social security, my wife gets social security. i have a pension check. i have a lot of money invested. i didn't need the stimulus check . many people don't need it. send it to people that don't need it? i want to help other people, but not everybody is doing that. is there a way that they could have distributed the checks to the people that need them? host: the requirements of the

distribution of checks were laid out at the irs website as far as who gets what and how much they will get. some people call the other day to say that even though some had received them and some have not, the irs.gov site is where you could find out they have the feature there where you can track your payment. some people reported issues, but that was where you can find the most information on the status of the check. saying her or, situation has stayed the same. it has. can you please report from 2005 liker. fauci admitted, president trump said, that vitamin c and vitamin d cures the epidemic? that's our last call on the topic. we will keep on with discussions related to coronavirus.

particularly for the workers that have to report concerns over how their workplace is and and whencted they are it comes to contracting coronavirus, stephen michaels joins us, the former assistant secretary for labor and health. he did that in the obama administration and later on in the program we will talk to dr. james hamblin. a recent piece of his looks at why some people contract coronavirus and get more sick than others. that tooka briefing place yesterday at the state department with the secretary of state, mike pompeo, accusing china is spreading disinformation about the pandemic. here's a portion. [video clip] >> suffice it to say, when countries engage in disinformation, it creates risk. the chinese communist party tells us they want to be our partner and be transparent. we need partners that we can rely on that when they tell us something it's accurate and we

don't think they are hiding anything. look, we still haven't gained access, the world hasn't gained access to the w iv virology institute there. we don't know precisely where the virus originated from. multiple labs are continuing to conduct what we are contagious passage -- pathogens inside china and we don't know if they are operating at a level of security to prevent this from happening again. remember, this is in the first time we have had a virus come out of china and there is a continuing obligation on the part of reliable partners to share this information in the world. we talk about this as far as nuclear systems all the time, making sure that locks and is our right, that the technological capabilities are right. that you could prevent an accidental nuclear release. as same kinds of processes biosystems and laboratories as well.

we would urge our partners to demand that we get answers for what happened here and that we continue to get the transparency, that the world gets the transparency needed to make sure that those conducting scientific research on complex viruses and pathogens are doing so in a way that doesn't create the risk that we get precisely the economic devastation and the enormous loss of life we have all suffered as a result of this virus that came out of china. we are going to get this right. we are the biggest contributor to the world health organization. it failed in its mission and we are conducting a review to figure out how best to deliver real outcomes. the trump administration has been clear. i have given speeches about this, we engage in multilateral work across the world. this morning i was talking about our work in venezuela. we built out a coalition of 90 countries and we are happy to

work with countries around the world to deliver real outcomes for the american people and we shouldn't pretend because some organization has helped in their title that they are capable of delivering the outcomes that we need. at theavid serves occupational and safety administration from 2009-2017 and joins is now to talk about workplace safety, good morning to you. guest: great to be on the show. host: the former agency you work for, osha, even before the pandemic, what's the role of osha when it comes to workplace safety? is 50 years old this year. it's the federal agency charged with making sure workers can come to work and be healthy at the end of the day.

thathas requirements employers provide workers with a safe workplace and make sure that employers do better and that was true before covid-19. it's still the case more than ever that osha needs to be involved in this. host: what should be the focus now with covid-19? little different than other hazards and that the focus of osha is to figure out how to make sure the workplace is safe in the most effective way to do that is to have regulations and a standard where employers must protect workers. osha has had standards for that for people who work on groups or people who dig trenches or people who are exposed to benzene or other carcinogens or even blood-borne pathogens like ebola or hiv aids.

not done in this administration is issue a standard to say employers must protect workers. they have issued some guidance and issued some suggestions. they have not said employers shall do certain things. that one of the industries has come into focus is food plant workers and what they face. the president is using the federal production act when it comes to meet plat -- meatpacking plants. what should be the requirement for those workers when they go to work and what should be provided for them? guest: every country knows the primary way that we protect all of us from exposure is social distancing, six feet of distance plus clubs and handwashing and hand sanitation. in situations where the virus is really flying around, personal protective equipment.

those are the requirements. they are the same requirements using hospitals the same requirements we use on public transportation. those should be the same requirements in meatpacking plants. it's common sense but there are thousands of meat workers who have been infected and some have already died because of exposure. host: when the president use come with does it a requirement or standard that says you have to supply these things or does it fall under suggestions? guest: yes, it falls under suggestions. there is no requirement at all, there is no role for osha to enforce this. it does not give the usda any authority on the usda has no interest in protecting workers. in some ways, it makes everything worse.

right now, you have a situation across the country where hundreds of workers are getting .ick at individual plants the companies themselves, or in some cases pushed by local health authorities or the government, have given up disinfection. during that time, workers gets paid but the workplace gets clean so they can hopefully reopen safely and that's what's been going on across the country. with this invocation of the dpa, as far as i understand it, the plants are not allowed to close. the situation will clearly get worse. not as part of the epa protective order, there is no requirement to keep workers safe. message to thete big operators.

workers are working shoulder to shoulder in really terrible jobs. most americans have no idea what it's like to work in a meat plant. this will make things worse. host: our guest will be with us until 845 a.m. talking about workplace issues. if you want to ask questions -- our guest worked in the obama administration and the author of doubt," the triumph of david michaels, does a worker have rights under osha or can they come to osha with concerns? what kind of protections might they receive? guest: they do have rights under

osha and they can go to them but osha has made it clear that they will not help. this is the tragedy of this. not to provided any new requirements and now they have said they will inspect only in high hazard facilities like hospitals and nursing homes but they are doing very few of those. other sorts of facilities like meatpacking plants, we have thousands of sick workers, osha is not doing inspections. osha has gotten thousands of complaints they are telling workers there's nothing we can do. workers tould advise be safe but osha has made clear that they will not support the workers in this. i hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's going on in many states especially ones with republican governors. the workers are told that if you

are too scared to come in but your employer says you have to a there, if you say this is dangerous situation and there is no protection, if you say i cannot do this job, i'm afraid for my family, you will not be eligible for unemployment insurance. that's the position in georgia with governor kemp and other governors are saying the same thing. host: is that just for things filed under the dpa or generally for workers who are concerned about going back to work? guest: that's generally across the board. the example of these poultry plants in georgia where you have huge numbers of workers who are exposed and others getting sick, that's the position the state is taking. come in or stay home and don't get unemployment. that's a terrible choice to offer people. he it's your money or your life. we need tounate and fix that. host: one of the issues that

bloomberg highlighted when it comes to osha itself is the number of inspectors under its wing, citing that it's 862 inspectors at the start of this year but they say the total in and there were over 1400 and 1980. right, thiss administration in particular has as ay let osha waiver victim of negligence. there was a hiring freeze. the better people left because they could not stand working for this administration and they have not been replaced. the workforce has gotten larger. but the number of inspectors is getting lower. it's really very unfortunate what's going on with osha right now. in january, 2017 and i have not yet been replaced.

there is a deputy acting in my place as assistant secretary but the position was empty for so long and there was no nominee. she could continue to be the acting assistant secretary so there is no acting assistant secretary. half of the senior executive positions are empty. agency still has dedicated professionals who want to do everything they can to protect workers but they are not working with one hand tied behind their pack, both hands are tied behind their backs. host: if there is only 862 and 2016, and 900 52 isn't that a systemic problem? guest: absolutely. osha has been starved. congress is get -- is who gives osha there budget. we had a big budget at the

beginning of the obama administration. after that 2010 election, you at republicans controlling least one of the two chambers and the number of inspectors was flat and now it's going down. this has been a problem for a long time. it's worth saying that while inspectors are important, even if you double the number of inspectors, you will not be able to reach every workplace. has the capacity to go to every workplace once every 106 to five years. even if you double it, it would be 80 years. that's not the answer. inspectors make the many times larger but the standards have an impact. that addresses a whole industry. we issued a new standard for dustwith the very fine that causes cancer.

andssue the new standard every employer in that industry has to look at their workplace and figure out how to get the right equipment to control this exposure and with one standard, you protect literally millions of workers. what osha needs to do is issue more rules. the process is long and cumbersome. it took almost 20 years to issue that standard. there is a piece of the osha law that says innate and emergency, like corona 19, osha can instantly, within a couple of days, issue emergency standards that would be in effect for six months or continue doing it. you would have a standard that would impact almost every workplace in the state. you wouldn't have to do inspections because most employers are law-abiding. they want to follow the rules

and if osha says this is what you must do rather than this is we would bell do, protecting millions and millions of workers and we would be reducing the incredible toll of this virus. instead, osha is issuing guidance. it's saying here are the things we suggest but they make it clear that none of this guidance is enforceable. the numbers i have seen our 4000 or 5000 or 6000 meatpacking workers. we are only at the beginning of the epidemic to control exposures and we have had good recommendations. there are thousands of workers sick in the meatpacking industry , positive proof that the suggestions are not adequate. we need rules on this administration simply won't give out those rules and workers are paying the price with their lives. oft: we will talk about some

the recommendations you are making to meet paik -- to meatpackers but we want you to talk to some callers. this is silver spring, maryland, and essential worker. go ahead. caller: good morning, i am so the governor of virginia just opened up said dental offices can go back to work. we are front-line workers, to so what is osha recommending besides ppe? we cannot test everybody. i know that but is osha even making recommendations for dental offices? thank you. guest: thanks for your question. it's the same set of recommendations used for many industries. you have to make sure that people have distance and ppe. it's going to be specific to each case.

if the work cannot be done safely right now, it probably shouldn't be done in an emergency circumstance. i don't know the specifics of the dental office or how that will work out. if you are going to get very close to one another and breathing in things that could be coming out of the mouth, especially droplets, you have to make sure people are very protected and there are ways to do that. it's awkward but it can be done. you really have to do that because we cannot let more people get sick. also inicia is next silver spring, go ahead. caller: good morning and thank you to c-span. isquestion for mr. michael's -- penceice president visiting the mayo clinic and he did not wear a mask, kind of message was he trying to project? when i return to work in an

office environment, i will probably want to wear a mask and maybe some gloves. is, why is the highest official not wearing a mask during his visit? thank you guest: i wish i could answer that question definitively. obviously, i can only speculate on what goes on in his mind. it's a little shocking to be in a facility, a world-class medical facility filled with some of the top medical specialists in the world and everyone around you was wearing a mask and you are not? i have no idea. maybe he thinks he knows something all these people don't? or he is positive he could not be spreading the virus himself even if he is tested twice a week, he could be positive. there were all sorts of issues with this program.

he should know this as head of the task force. he was probably trying to put out some image that he is very macho. it wouldn't be the image that we are safe and don't need to wear a mask because everyone around him was wearing a mask. perhaps some reporter at the next briefing will ask what message he is trying to put out. host: from twitter -- guest: the workers compensation system for the most part covers the most part covers work related injuries and illnesses. if a condition is work related, that is the exclusive remedy. you can't sue your employer under -- except under extraordinary circumstances. anyone who has done workers comp says it's a terrible system.

you have a portion of lost wages and you were supposed to get your total medical bill coverage but in many states, your employer gets to choose the doctor. many people around the country are looking at the situation thinking that this is the ability d -- the inability of the workers comp situation and the inability of osha to protect workers may require new legal thinking. there is one lawsuit going on in missouri at a meatpacking plant where the workers and the community are suing the company under a nuisance, the idea that the company has created a nuisance. noosa sounds like a minor issue -- nuisance sounds like a minor issue. that if thebe workers compensation carrier says this case is not work

related, then workers can sue their employer because it's rejected by workers comp. in general, it's not a great solution. the reason we have osha is to say we need to prevent people from getting sick rather than wait until after they are sick and compensating them and fighting overcompensation. right now is failing and unfortunately, litigation may be the only way to convince employers to go back to do what's necessary. i understanding is that's a lot of what's behind the defense procurement act executive order for the president. president ofhe tyson foods was very concerned about liability in this reallyion in missouri woke him up. he said we could be liable. he went to president trump and president trump announced that

the administration would try to essentially give a free pass, a get out of jail free card to eliminate any sort of liability. that's the same thing mitch mcconnell has said. mitch mcconnell has said there would be no more legislation providing monetary aid to small businesses and the hospitals in there iss unless liability protection for corporations. i look at this with some shock. you look at what's going on in meatpacking plants. if the meatpacking plants are they can do pass, anything they want and don't have to worry about workers suing them. foods has for many years had a license to kill chickens and now they're asking for a license to kill workers and that's just wrong.

host: one of the comments from senator mcconnell on a recent show talking about what you just talked about -- he said imagine your business is going to reopen and lawyers are sharpening their pencils getting ready to see you, claiming you didn't involve proper distancing, we can pass a bill unless we have liability protection, that's the only way we can get past this. guest: that is a vote of no-confidence in american businesses. you just can't do it. whatever the outcome is, who cares? you are an essential worker, good morning. caller: good morning, what is the protocol or standard for a mandatory overtime for essential workers? there is no new law that gives in any state, that mandatory overtime payments to

new workers. if you work overtime after 40 hours, you get time and to have in most businesses. union, yout have a are forced to take that over time. if you don't accept it, you can be fired because you have no legal protection at all. in the washington, d.c. area where i worked, many essential workers represented by unions all have premium pay. have gotten pay increases, a few dollars per hour for grocery stores because they have a union. the only protection the workers have in the only way they can be protected and do better under the overtime situation is if they have a union that can negotiate a better relationship with their employer. host: from centrale you, washington, peggy is next.

caller: i want to make a comment. i think this administration better keep the immigrants coming for these meatpacking plants. i don't know any american who wants to work under those conditions, thank you. these plans are appalling in terms of the conditions even before covid-19. would send our inspectors into the poultry plants in alabama and georgia. cold, wetuld be in environments, elbow to elbow, making repetitive cuts on the chickens which are going by quickly. the line goes 140 birds per minute. imagine how fast that is. you have to keep cutting over and causesain tremendous musculoskeletal problems like carpal tunnel

which is a disease of the wrist which you can get from doing the same action over and over again. the national institute for occupational health went into one chicken plant in south carolina and they measured the prevalence, 40% of workers had carpal tunnel syndrome and the next year, they found 40% of the workers had carpal tunnel but it was new workers. the other workers had left. many of them are immigrants. the pay is not very good. people from other countries who come here looking for better lives are willing to take those jobs. get workers compensation from companies like them. that was before we got to this situation. what's not gotten too much publicity is because we have been talking about the need for more food on the table, the chicken companies like purdue

thetyson have requested right to speed up the line. agency thatch is an is a fully owned subsidiary of the agriculture industry, the took these requests to speed up the line and they agreed. instead of 140 chickens per minute, the line is going even faster. as far as i know, these companies have not instituted the distancing in between workers because if you put people six feet apart, then you have to slow down the line that means lower production. instead, they are speeding up the line and by doing that, they are ensuring that we will have more cases of covid-19. what we are seeing is small towns across america where these

poultry plants are and pork plants are located are becoming the new centers of disease. buffalo, new york, tom is next, go ahead. caller: yes, i used to work in the steel industry in gulfport, new york. there were a lot of different accidents that would happen in the plant where people would get hurt, sometimes people got killed in the plant. and we were lucky we had osha. they would put regulations in their where the company couldn't ourertain things that made jobs even more dangerous. is other thing i want to say you guys talked about what mitch mcconnell said and he mentioned for frivolous lawsuits. i helped only have one thing to say about that, they had the king -- they have the king of

frivolous lawsuit sitting in the white house. that's my comment. guest: i think your comment speaks for itself. i have spoken with blue-collar workers across the country. osha has saved a lot of lives and that's why it's so tragic and unfortunate that this administration has told osha that if i could give a message to the secretary of labor who controls osha, he runs that agency and he has disappeared. the secretary of he appeared once at the white house task force press briefing for a couple of minutes. he has put out no strong statement about how workers need to be protected. he has issued a mealymouthed press release reminding employers that it's against the law to retaliate against workers when they raise concerns about safety but says nothing about the osha ability to go after those employers and say we will not allow it.

out, doesve to find he not want to be associated with this response at all? he is so far in the backseat, he is not even in the car. he has taken osha with him. he is essentially telling osha you cannot do anything here. we know that osha could do a lot and by getting out there him being on tv and reminding employers with a should be doing. a really interesting study just came out with an economist at duke university. he looked at the impact of press releases osha puts out and how that impacted what other employers did. osha finds hazards and issue fines. then we put out a press release. impactess release would other employers in the area who read the press release. one press release got the same

amount of compliance as 210 inspections. thenow that being on tv, in media, sending out messages is a very important role for osha and the labor department and even for the president in this crisis. there is no discussion about protecting workers. everything that president trump has said is full speed ahead, who cares what happens to these workers? michaels was the former assistant secretary of labor under the obama debt under the obama administration at osha. guest: the general duty clause is part of the osha law that says every employer must provide a safe workplace. that's in addition to the standards i talked about so osha can go to a situation where there is no standard and issue a general duty call violation. the most famous one was against

a sea world when a killer whale killed a trainer. osha does not have standards for killer wheels so we used the general duty clause to issue a small fine against sea world. abouttal ended up being $14,000 and it almost went to the supreme court, it went to the d.c. court of appeals. it was tough to use the general duty clause. you have to prove a bunch of things and it has no precedential value. they issue a violation of an inspection at one meet plant, it doesn't tell anything to the other meat plants. while osha says the general duty clause applies, it doesn't have the preventive effect. what we need is the emergency standard that says every employer must follow cdc

recommendations and osha recommendations and standards. there is legislation in front of the house and the senate to require osha to issue that. the primary sponsor in the house is the chairman of the labor committee, bobby scott of virginia. has a large number of cosponsors in the house and the senate. that legislation would essentially make osha do what it ought to be doing but secretarysacalia is not doing which is issue an emergency standard to say every employer must follow these rules. michaels is joining us from george washington university and teaches epidemiology and environmental and occupational health and is the author of a book. in mesa, arizona, your next. caller: yes, question for mr. michaels --

employer's or the workmen's comp. carriers have some responsibility here to be overseeing the people that they ensure instead of a government bureaucrat like someone with osha? who's got the most skin in the game as far as inspections and things of that nature? guest: i agree with you but because the workers compensation system,s such a crummy and the carriers have stepped back and they are letting osha do everything, it has skin in the game but they don't come to the court. when we were doing inspection after worker was killed or a couple of workers were killed in a terrible situation, we would make an announcement about how we would find the company $400,000 and sometimes i would put in the name of the worker's compensation carrier in the press release.

theuld get a call from president of the workers compensation carrier saying why did you put us in the press release? we had nothing to do with it. i said that's my point. you should have been there. you are providing the workers compensation insurance and you should help prevent these conditions yet all you're doing is collecting the premiums and paying out when you need to. you are right, it ought to be there but they are not. it's a market failure and that's why we have osha and that's why we need to push harder. if they did with they needed to do, we would not need a government agency like osha but it's pretty clear that's not working. host: does the standard change for the state to bill themselves as right to work states? what level of difficulty is there to enforce rules? guest: the laws are the same.

the difference across states is that some states have their own osha. 21 states have osha that covers the private sector and some have additional ones in the public sector. most state plants are supposed to be at least as effective as osha. it doesn't make a difference if it's a right to work state or not. workers with unions have much better protection because the union can get them more protection than ocean can give them. some states have their own state osha programs and are going far behind -- far beyond what federal osha is doing. washington state has a requirement this is all employers have to follow these rules. we run osha here in the government agrees with us, this is what you must do. it's pretty clear you can do that. federal osha and the state osha in indiana and south carolina, they are just not doing it. let's hear from dorcas in washington, d.c., good morning.

morning, i want to give thanks to speak to you this morning. i thought about osha and i was wondering where you were. i remember me removing asbestos in the past and we had to follow the ppe protection. say that with to these places they have slaughtering of animals, i think the places need to be closed down. no one should be able to go back in until it is cleaned out completely and i don't know why the united states doesn't have enough money to be able to clean all of the facilities before others come back to go to work. like this disease =- uh

- is like par about. - parvo. you have to take everything off of your clothes, you are telling us to cover our mouths, cover our gloves. everything like her close and materials, metal anything we touch. the disease must be on that as well. host: we got the point, thank you. guest: it's up to the company to make sure production is say. tysons may $2 billion in profits last year. the work can be done safely. the reason these plants are being shut down before the dpa was not because governors were

shutting them down. it was because these companies got greedy. they said we will run these lines no matter what. that many workers got sick, the food supplies threatened, and workers are being blamed for problems in the food supply. if the big companies had some from the beginning that we will change the way we are doing production, they can slow things down and we work safely and we know how to work safely, we'd be in a much better place. they need to make the investment. everybodyis taking, -- nobody is doing very well in this terrible crisis. huge numbers of people lost their jobs and the income replacement from the government does not come close to what they have lost. these companies have to be willing to take something from their profits as well.

we may not be able to raise our prices that much, but we have to produce different lead to make sure workers are safe. we cannot let these chicken and pork plants be human sacrifice zones and that's almost what they are saying now. host: tyson foods announced today that they are adding another $500 bonus to front-line workers and increasing their health line -- health care benefits. guest: they are paying them more to come in but unless they clean up the operation and make it safe, you're giving people a terrible choice. most of the workers in these facilities are poor and many are immigrants, they are settled in these places by the state department because they are refugees from various countries around the world which are were torn -- which are were torn and are happy to have these jobs but this is not the american way. risk people take a serious that could result in you getting a lifetime disease or death and bring it home to your family and your community. we will pay you more if you come into work every day.

that is simply wrong. it should be done differently. we don't have any way to require them to do that. the government should be stepping in and not running these plants faster but make them safe. we need the food but we also need workers to be safe. host: how do you answer concerns from some about the supply of meat in the united states if plants are required to close? guest: it shouldn't have been required to close. if these companies had done it right from the beginning, they wouldn't have to be closed. the reason they are closing is they refuse to implement what are sadly just recommendations. we have to do that now, we have to make sure they are safe. you cannot send workers and their in the current conditions. host: from massachusetts -- hello, i want you to

explain and clarify that on january 1, the fda changed their regulation with the pork industry. before january i want you to explain and 1, the fda had inspectors that were trained epidemiologists inspecting the carcasses. that's according to the pork plants., the large when disease carcasses were found, the inspectors were trained epidemiologists. also, when the disease was found and people were made sick from according to the pork allowed, when no one is on the forms to inspect anything in the forms and trace it back.

on, theuary 1, inspectors are somebody who is employed at the industry in the plants that is untrained. can you explain how this puts our meet at risk to have somebody who is totally untrained in diseases inspecting the carcasses? also, the carcasses now, there used to be a certain number that were inspected and now it can be at any speed. host: thank you very much. the usda, not the fda. the usda has inspectors who watched the carcasses go by in poultry and beef and pork and they look for blemishes and other problems. 100 of those inspectors are sick right now and have gotten infected. there is some transition to using the inspectors but they

have not been taken off the line. it's probably more complicated. those workers are exposed as much as any. they really need the same protection. up, whatwe finish should be the standard? if you had to apply a standard with strict rules at meat processing plants, what would you call for? guest: i would say that osha has issued recommendations on though should be the rules going forward. got to to people -- you keep people six feet apart and make sure they are highly protected if they are not. apart, theyt probably still need ppe and they need brakes. there is a whole list of things. none of this is rocket science but the issue is we have no requirements. that's why i'm hoping this senatetion that's in the

, they are pushing hard for this legislation and if everybody we don't needat, liability protection, we need worker protection. that's what we should be calling for. host: this is from kansas city, missouri, hello. caller: i want to say that last night i had a restless nights thinking about was going on in the country and i got up this morning and turned on the tv and they were talking about how it's sowing discord among the races and classes. it is to keep america fighting amongst themselves and putting us in a position where we could be attacked. i was worried about that but we really need to come together as a nation. we don't want to be destroyed from within. i work at the scene those in kansas city, missouri and i'm worried about how they will protect the workers and casinos

in kansas city, missouri. the governors talking about opening up the state. a lot of areas that are more will open up depending on the casino. i'm worried about how we will be protected. guest: you raise the same concerns that all of his across the country have. many of us are at home now either because we are privileged enough to telework or unfortunately, we have lost their jobs because the crisis. country and of the people go back to work. you have to be able to go back to work not in fear but in confidence that you will be protected. the examples of essential workers now who were getting bus in the meat industry, drivers, grocery store workers, farmworkers, they are heavily

exposed -- i don't see how we can talk about reopening the country unless we have a way to make sure workers are protected. we could easily have a second wave of disease if we don't. it would be a huge step backward and would make many people sick and resulted many more deaths. it would close the economy again. it would be a disaster. as we reopen, we can adjust -- we cannot just say we can just go out there but osha has to have rules and congress has to pass a law to make that happen. the senators and congressmen working on this will get this passed or the secretary of labor will recognize that he has a role to play and will be able to protect workers, essential workers many of whom were previously invisible. we know that the country runs because of these workers and we have to make sure they are protected and is more and more workers joined the workforce,

that they are protected as well. that's the only we we can ensure the future of reopening the country and all of our futures. host: you have a book out on the topic, what is it about? guest: it's about how corporations manufacture uncertainty about their hazards. with the tobacco playbook who hire scientists who say the evidence around smoking is not very convincing and telling people they were going after the scientists. sameame ties -- the scientist that worked for tobacco network for every industry. it goes from the sugar industry andolkswagen to dupont these forever chemicals to the national football league, covering up concussions before they acknowledged it's real. it's all about how science is being perverted and doubt is

being raised in order to stop the government from protecting the public and to stop litigation to make sure companies that make dangerous products are never seen in court. "the triumph of doubt" is published by oxford university press. host: thanks for joining us today. we will return to the question we started off with this morning about your financial situation since the start of the pandemic. three-quarter -- three categories you can choose from -- we will take those calls and have an interview with a member of the agriculture committee and later on in the program, we will ofr from dr. james hamblin the atlantic with a recent piece of his that looks at those who

contract coronavirus and why some get more sick than others. first, virginia governor ralph northam announced that elective surgeries and dental procedures in the commonwealth of virginia can resume. the public order expires at midnight tonight. >> five weeks ago, virginia health commissioner dr. norm oliver and i signed public health order 2 which temporarily prohibited elective surgeries and limited dental procedures. i sincerely appreciate the cooperation of our health care providers and their health care facilities. ppeid this to preserve our for our frontline workers and their hospitals and prepare for a surge, if that were to occur. i want everyone to remember where we were 6-8 weeks ago. our case counts and hospitalization rates were rising. we were worried that our hospitals would be overwhelmed

by a surgeon cases. like we saw in italy and new york. we were planning at that time how to build alternative care facilities. around the country, people were that we would run out of ppe and our nurses would have to resort to wearing trash bags. we found that is totally unacceptable. everyone has worked together and we have avoided that. our efforts to slow the spread of this virus are showing success. our hospitals have not been overwhelmed. we have been able to get more ppe and developed ways to be contaminate -- to decontaminate masks and gowns. hospitals have ramped up testing with a much quicker turnaround time. early on, remember, test results were taking more than a week. now in most cases, it takes less than a day. together, we took the right actions and they have been successful.

we slowed the spread of this virus. for weeks, our teams have been in contact numerous times a day, working together. now, hospitals and dental facilities are prepared to restart non-emergency procedures safely. they have worked for weeks to prepare to reopen and they are ready. i want to emphasize and underline the word safely. as i said on monday, our hospitals america clinic's, her dental offices, these are safe, clean places to go. why we have been through this pandemic come i want to encourage all virginians that your health care is important and i encourage you to resume that health care and we will together do it in a safe manner. that, i am announcing elective surgery and dental procedures can resume in the public order expires at midnight tomorrow night. there will be guidelines in place to ensure safety, for

health care workers and patients , and to maintain an adequate supply of ppe. "> "washington journal continues. host: the labor department released information about americans filing for unemployment benefits, sink benefits over the past six weeks have served as a grim marker, revealing how badly the coronavirus pandemic has crippled the u.s. economy. roughly 3.8 million five for unemployment last week, lower than the 4.4 million from the week before, down from an all-time high of 6.8 million applications in late march. we are getting a sense of where you are as far as your financial situation during the pandemic. there are several lines you can call.

you can also post on our pit -- on our facebook page or tweet us. at financial situations, tony is in fort lauderdale, florida and he said his situation stayed the same. caller: good morning, mine stayed the same. i got held over from the last segment and i wanted to briefly comment on it. we had an agency for eight years who did nothing and is complaining how horrible things are. how convenient. aret staying the same, we retired and again my pension and social security. my wife and i do and we understand that the government had to throw money at people because look at the mass of the on employment filings. we have undertaken to give our money away and i've been doing so in small stipends, tipping

heavily, trying to put it back to where it needed to go. i would urge a lot of people who are on a fixed income, there is a benefit to that. we are on a fixed income but we are ok. please, spread it around and handed out, help the workers who are really struggling. that 1200 bucks. with that, i wish you a good day. illinois whoille, says she is better off. caller: my name is jeff. retired but i do go back to work. i voluntarily took off because of the pandemic. i called the company and they said i could come back. i told them that if somebody else needs a job, they can have

it. i don't really need the stimulus money. it's a nice thought but i don't really need it. host: it sounds like you don't need the work either if someone else can have the job. caller: i really don't but the extra money is always nice to do things i want to do. i don't want to take anything from anybody that needs it. that's the way i think about it. host:host: what type of work do you do? caller: i am a union plumber. i'm a pipefitter. right now, i was working in the shop. i'd rather be out on the job. , being more active but it's pretty good work. i enjoyed it. you said to your employer that you want to hold off from going out so what concerns you? caller: i have elderly parents i don't want to take a chance of getting the disease and giving it to them.

fortunately for me, i live in a by myself and i live quite easily. host: let's go to carol in roselle, new jersey who says she's worse off. caller: hello? host: you are on. caller: yes, i have been applying to unemployment. i am a gig workers, i am a schoolteacher. i am retired but i've been 6.5 years working in union county and every single day, i go to 12 schools and i cannot reach unemployment in new jersey. andn't have the internet it's hard to find a place that will let you come in. during the pandemic. i just cannot reach unemployment. they say i have to speak to an agent. since mark 16, i have been

trying to reach unemployment. eventually, the unemployment office just clicks off the phone. i use that as phil and money after my social security. host: are you a substitute teacher or you do something else? caller: i am a septa to teacher. i am not on board with them every day, i go to 12 schools in the area where i live. it's in the same town and i thought i could get in on the cares act because i have been there 6.5 years. not once has an agent gotten on the phone since march 16 to answer my call. i have had no check. and ied there 6.5 years cannot get an unemployment person to talk to. cannot keepy we your call and it just clicks off. it's been frustrating. host: tom is in ohio --

pedro, right this minute, my situation has stayed the same but with psycho don, lord knows what will happen tomorrow. i'm glad that i am dumb. i would hate to be a genius like him. host: what do you mean your situation has stayed the same? caller: as of this moment, i am still drawing social security , lord only knows, not with that psycho up there. host: is that your only source of income? caller: yes, it is, i'm 84 years old. host: regina is from wisconsin. go ahead. , i am a cna.

i am a certified nursing assistant. married and wasn't able to file my taxes yet. so have not received my stimulus check. i'm afraid my husband did. host: are you currently working or not? caller: yes. steady becauserk of the coronavirus or what -- or was there steady work before that? but we i had steady work are separated. so, i'm not able to file my taxes yet. george inill go to richwood, ohio. good morning. you say you are worse off? caller: yes, sir. i am a veteran.

i draw social security. i also have disability. i have watched what this is doing in my family. i have nine children and i have seen what this is doing to my family. my wife is a pharmacist. she is out there on the front line and has been with walmart for years. it bothers me every day that she comes home and may bring this home. this. fighting it puts so much stress on our lives. believe some of the things this president has been doing. some ofannot believe the words that come out of his mouth. it's beyond me. host: have the working conditions of your wife changed since she started working the pandemic? caller: yes, they have, they have changed dramatically.

in the first part of it, in march, before they got things, i was more scared about the virus coming into my home. since then, they have stepped up to the plate. i would have to say walmart has stepped up to the plate. they put up glass shields and made sure my wife and those in the pharmacy have protective equipment. there is distancing of people at the pharmacy and i believe that and thank them for that. this is just a disaster. i pray and hope for all the people out there that we get through this and i know we will. for havingery much me today, sir. host: sharon in portsmouth, new hampshire, good morning. caller: good morning, i watch your show every morning and i think it's wonderful. i love politics but i am better i am 64.se

i have copd. i am a drug and alcohol counselor and i cannot stay six feet stay six feet away it's anpatients because hospital not an actual that i work in. march 20.eave basically i'm better off because i'm getting unemployment. thank goodness i applied for social security in december of last year so i'm getting a social security check. i'm saving money on gas. the type of work that you do, could you do that by telephone or zoom? caller: absolutely not. i work in a detox where the patients are coming in for admission. they are in for two weeks.

they have to be monitored. they have to be detoxed with medication so that would not be possible. vaccine i willa not be going back to work at this point. experienceng her when it comes to the financial situation under the pandemic. we invite you to do the same. 7 48, 8000. (202) 748-8000. if your situation has stayed the same (202) 748-8001. we've had the chance to talk with members of congress about the effects of the pandemic. david rouser serves the state of north carolina. he's a member of the agriculture committee. good morning to you.

guest: good morning. host: we had a gentleman talk andt me packing plants still trying to maintain a sense of safety as the president has ordered some of these plans to stay in. i think it's really crucial that we keep them open and make sure they have the and all the safeguards you can reasonably absent the proper functioning of these meat processing plants, we would have a significant shortage in the food supply. it's really critical and important for the president to do what he just did and i applaud him for that. i was in consultation with the white house all throughout the weekend because it's really critical for our nations food supplies and farmers as well.

agriculture has been struggling for a long time. past five to seven years have been really rough for agriculture across the board. this is a double whammy for them. pasthost: some of the terms beg applied to the meat supply is breaking. why? would have broken had the president not taken that bold action to declare the meatpacking facilities essential and to direct the secretary of agriculture to work with others in the administration and public health officials to keep them open and just as safe as possible. there was definitely fissures in the pipeline so to speak and that type of action needs to be taken immediately so i'm very rightful to the president for doing that.

host: what is your sense of assurance that the food supply stays safe? guest: if you don't have a safe food supply, not much else matters. now,d as it is right restaurant owners are hurting, employees are hurting, businesses of all stripes are hurting and can you imagine how much worse it would be if we didn't have food and long lines at the grocery store because the shortage was so great. all aspects of the supply chain are critically important to keep intact. host: what has been the impact of the pandemic on the district that you serve? guest: a lot of people are hurting. agriculture has seen significant

hardship. this has just added to it. you have restaurant owners, employees, businesses of all stripes that are suffering. we will get through this. there's no question about that. it's going to take a little time and of course we are working on a number of relief packages that have already passed congress and probably another one that will pass in may to try to bridge the gap to the other side. what will expedite this more than anything is secure. that work.s vaccines that are effective. to thethe key to getting other side of the river here. efforts inf the congress was more paychecks for the protection program. guest: for the most part it's been a very successful program.

$350 billion out the door within 14 days is a record. think sba has processed that much money in the course of 14 years. that was really important to get done. this other 310 billion that it will passed, probably be consumed within the next week or so and so i anticipate we will be going back to add more money to it before it's all said and done. for that you vote fourth relief bill and are you open to voting for another one? all three and for a half of them. what the next package looks like. certainly there's going to be a lot of significant need. aboutlture has received

23 billion but it's going to take a lot more than that. i expect upwards of 50 to 60 billion for agriculture. we will see what the total package look like -- looks like. states like north carolina, is that something you can support? it depends on the details of the bill, the dollar amount, what the states are asking for and what pelosi and schumer put in the bill in response to those requests. we will just have to see where we are. if you've got a lot of money butg to bailout the states they are using this as a mechanism to take care of their pet projects, there's not going to be a whole lot of support for

that. host: when senator mcconnell talks about bankruptcy is that something you would support? guest: why should the taxpayers be on the hook for something that happened long before covid? we will see with the negotiations produce. host: the government has extended the stay-at-home order. is that the right move in your mind? guest: most folks in this state are fully aware of the need for social distancing. in thee abiding by that grocery stores and everywhere that i travel. i think we should be able to move back to as much of a normal environment as possible as quickly as possible. i think the long-term damage to

a prolonged shut down is very real and significant. representative david rouser joining us on washington journal this morning. thank you for your time. linda from florida. the angst for waiting go ahead. -- thanks for waiting. go ahead. disability and i have three grandchildren. one is working. thank god she has her masters in psychology. other son works for a restaurant but he's only part time right now and my other daughter was a bartender and she has epilepsy and she has no income coming in at all other than we are helping her and i'm on limited income but i overlook

that because it's my child. on tryingen working to get the stimulus check for her because she's a non-filer because she never makes enough money because of her epilepsy. epilepsy seizure a couple of days later she's not she can'tto date so keep a solid job to where she can show up every day. this was prior to the pandemic. now she's totally unemployed. for the last few days i've been trying to help her to get the stimulus check that would help her pay her rent a little bit because we've been helping her. hope.ere is no i cannot get a hold of anybody or even on my computer to help

her. her, saying her personal protection number, they want that and she don't know how to get that and irs has shut down. and it's just very confusing. -- she can't get it. we pay for it. host: that's linda in florida. roy is next. go ahead. through a bad time right now. i don't have any unemployment. iput in four weeks ago and feel like the leaders in our state have let us down. host: go ahead. caller: governor desantis particularly, he doesn't want to answer the questions. yesterday all he cared about was

his haircut and china. we don't care about international in this state. we care about getting payments out to people that are starving. it's a travesty. if they are u.s. congressman. they've got to get on the ball and pay these people. it's ridiculous. in dodge city. go ahead. caller: good morning. just want to tell everyone there are ways to improve your lives, get rid of things that are worse in your lives like , investes, like alcohol money that you are wasting on those bad habits. put them into stocks, bonds, mutual funds. look for good investments.

things that will make you money. host: about people who don't do those things and are still bad off? caller: there are still other ways. you have to use your mind. are neighbors that need their yards mowed. there are neighbors that need garage painted. they might need tree limbs painted or cut off. and trash picked up. by can earn extra money doing small chores like that for elderly people. biggest thing is giving thanks to god and making sure you don't forget the churches. put money in the offering. because they've got no money coming in. nobody's going to church on sundays. people just't some rather hold onto the money themselves than give to church

or other charitable organizations especially at this time? caller: because the bible says remember to give to the poor. remember the church. the ministers. remember those that are down and out and need help. host: ok. let's hear from elizabeth in miami, florida. caller: hello. i'm very fortunate because i work for the federal government and i savedension money in a savings fund. but i'm giving away so much money. are goinganizations under. they are begging for money.

[indiscernible] yesterday my housekeeper was here crying. she had no food at home. we empty my cabinets. i gave her all the food in my freezer and my cabinets. soups and things. -- i'ming so many people helping so many people out with food drops. i'm the one investigating where they can go to get the food drops. so i'm doing well, not as much income as i'm donating so much. host: this is the washington this morning. documents yesterday revealed to fbi officials that a former national security advisor in january -- to get him to live so

he can prosecute him or get him fired. a handwritten note disclose that agents wanted to get flynn to admit raking the logan act. it was not immediately clear who authored the note. the new revelations boost mr. to unravel the case against him. he told a federal judge that he was innocent of the crime. page of the washington post this morning talks about the supreme court and hearing oral arguments. it says on monday, washington lawyer lisa blatt will pull out her favorite suit, put on her lucky understated jewelry and strive to the lectern to address

the justices of the supreme court in her dining room on the telephone. the only people who will see her monday are her son who's in charge of the dog, a daughter who will intercept anyone who approaches the house, a colleague at the table and her husband acting as the timekeeper. the coronavirus pandemic has forced changes at the supreme .ourt you will be able to hear this as it takes place on monday. c-span you can see it at 10:00 this coming monday and we will continue to give you more access. the website is c-span.org.

charles in new jersey says his situation has stayed the same. caller: my situation has basically stayed the same and i have retired pensions and social security coming in. just put in for her pension so she's got that money coming in and she's also still working and i do odd jobs on the side. most of the stuff i do on the side not because of the money but because people need help and i do that stuff for free. i'm still able to do a little bit and help people. the most important thing for all of us in whatever category i think that's gone in is we are still here, we are still

breathing. so give thanks to god for that. host: in boiling springs, south carolina. she says she's better off. my situation as far as being better off is that i'm able to work from home and that has allowed me not to use as much gas. i sort of cut out some of the things that weren't necessary in my life that were more fluff than purpose. that sort of helped. as far as looking down the road financially with investments, that's not looking too good. i do think as far as our leadership goes, everyone can take a page from cuomo. host: cindy in south carolina.

joining us, dr. james hamblin, wrote a piece on why some people who contract coronavirus get more sick than others. we will talk about what his findings showed. briefingnavirus update , missouri governor mike parson updated his residence and those watching. >> as of 2:00 p.m. today there have been 7425 positive cases of covid-19. including 318 deaths. have78,000 missourians tested at this time. i want missourians to feel confident that we are in a good place and ready to move forward. the essential pillars of our

show me strong recovery plan are a bit part of this. we have met each of these pillars and have full confidence that missouri is prepared and ready to safely reopen. one of the pillars is hospital capacity. i want to repeat what i said yesterday. our hospitals are not overwhelmed. with the exception of the st. louis region, every region across the state has shown a significant decrease in covid-19 hospitalization. we will continue to monitor our hospital capacity as we move forward. an excellent health care system and i assure you there are hospitals -- that our hospitals are prepared. recoveryillar of our plan is testing capacity. andeen the state health lab at least 15 private labs and

participating health care institutions, approximately 50,000 tests could be performed each week. 125e are now more than sample collection sites located throughout the state. in mobile outreach is now available to reach people who may not be able to get to a testing site. dhs has expanded its testing criteria so more people can be tested and rapid point-of-care testing devices have been deployed throughout the state. shifted to an aggressive approach with testing. will allowgy patients to be identified and tested as soon as possible to allow the virus to stop spreading further in the community. joining us now is dr.

james hamblin of the atlantic. you can read his latest piece on the website, why some people get sicker than others. thanks for joining us this morning. you wrote this saying covid-19 is proving to be a disease of uncertainty. degree ofrite this uncertainty. -- can you expand on that? seeing isctors are that even among people who develop illness that is serious enough to bring them to the whoital, there are some fall off a cliff. there is a moment where they are doing pretty well. they don't feel well, but they are doing ok. suddenly they need emergency icu care, possibly intubation,

become gravely ill. the question on a lot of doctors minds is what is pushing people to that tipping point. it also sometimes happens in middle-aged and young adults without these risk factors so i wanted to understand what exactly it was that was precipitating that fall. be this cascade of immune system signals that go gets us arive and it little in the weeds in terms of the immunology. there are people looking into targets that could intentionally predict and hopefully stop that fall from happening. host: what are the doctors telling you about potentially of what's happening there?

it starts to spread. it gets into cells. it starts replicating. some people's immune systems will pick that up pretty quickly. inflammationome that creates symptoms that feel kind of like a flu and eventually eradicates the virus. in some people they are not picking it up quite as quickly and will stay asymptomatic for a longer period. at a certain point when the body starts to recognize, i am widely infected by this virus throughout my lungs, possibly involving other organs, sometimes there is this inflammatory response where signaling molecules are released into the blood and sound of fire alarm. they tell the body need to go into crisis mode right now and get this out so what felt like a

mild illness suddenly very quickly becomes multiorgan distress.espiratory fight made this prolonged or flight response where your body is trying to do everything at once to stay alive and that process is not sustainable for very long without life support and intensive care. term you use in the piece is cytokine storm. >> that's a term some doctors are using to describe this process. it isn't clear that every case involves it. it's a process that happens in lots of viral illnesses and nonviral illnesses. the body goes into panic mode and it's a well-intentioned

immune response but it becomes counterproductive. earlyearly in the disease, docts are hoping, let's hope this person's immune system is able to find this virus and the person has a mild illness. at the later point, the fluid in heartbeat,abnormal drops in blood pressure. things can be a result of the immune response itself so doctors are looking at targeting that immune response and tampa get down. the virus is all over the immune system. tamp down the immune system. host: did the doctors tell you there are parallels to what you describe in other types of viral infections? happen in lots of different viral illnesses.

it's predictable to different degrees in different illnesses. we do have some evidence of ability to block certain cytokines. that -- youope heard the news today that there is some promise of a specific antiviral that will block coronavirus and it sounds promising, but that will still take time for us to be able to block this brand new virus. our immune system doesn't have new tricks. we just need to know exactly which ones are happening when. the researchas that goes forward when looking , did they9

specifically cite research on how the body reacts to things? >> we are looking at a lot of different pathways. one of the promising areas is one of the cytokines that we can potentially block. with drugs that block that signaling molecule. of quiet down the fire alarm so the body doesn't go into this state of immune overdrive. other people are suggesting and trying, clinical trials using corticosteroids. the same things that people put .n their skin for a rash any kind of immune condition where the body is attacking itself and it needs to be tamped down. that is more of a widespread big

ideally -- it's always a real tension when you have a patient with an infectious disease and doctors are faced with with a should suppress the immune system really widely. tryingeople feel safer test target -- to target this specific pathway in the immune system. host: you can ask questions at (202) 748-8000 eastern and central time zones. (202) 748-8001 mountain and pacific time zones. (202) 748-8002 all others. you can also tweet us at c-span wj. yourself,al doctor

reports of about 60,000 deaths. when you see the amount of doctor, whatedical is important to note in your mind? >> this virus is in a place that makes it so extremely dangerous because it manifests in so many different ways. you started to hear a report about asymptomatic cases and mild cases. i think that is what's confusing for a lot of people. there are some people who do fine and it's not a big deal. other people who become so that is sort of a worst-case scenario for any infectious disease outbreak

modelers you have. some people who are walking possiblyt very sick asymptomatic spreading the disease and it can cause fatal illness on the orders of magnitude that we are seeing here. that's what makes public messaging difficult. because some people think it's not that bad because the people they know haven't had bad cases. that's what lets us put our guard down. i'm also heartened by the social to try to mitigate the spread. we would be a lot higher than 60,000 right now if we hadn't taken such dramatic measures in some any places. host: is that social distancing measures or are there other fat? -- other factors? >> you have seen heroic members by the health care system.

social distancing and shut down measures that you can't quantum by exactly the effect because there's no alternate universe in which we have the exact same country that didn't shut down. that's our primary mode right i tryecisely because when to describe these immune system drugs, it's very experimental and hard to definitively say how to best treat it. it's unfortunate and sad but we know it works. you've heard the comparisons made by some about this virus compared to influenza not only in what it does to a body but the death tolls and the like. when you hear those comparisons, what goes through your mind? portion of our population gets vaccinated against influenza.

so you can't compare a brand-new virus to something that we are already very familiar with and have symptoms in place to track and test and vaccinate against. for our lack of immune system familiarity with this virus, our lack of infrastructure within the health care system and public health care system to and thend this virus simple fact of how dangerous this virus is, influenza is not a good comparison. you can see just from the raw that in less than three months we have lost or people just by official counts than a

bad influenza season. --t: our first call from's comes from florida. you are on with our guest. caller: good morning. i have a quick question. what about once you feel the sore throat and some of the symptoms, what about if you that would something possibly kill the replication in the back of the throat at least. my understanding what i've read is it really replicates at the beginning of the infection. and if you could gargle with somehing that would kill of the replication, knock it down, make it less of an infection. i'm just curious if that might help. think that's an interesting idea sort of targeting right to the area where the virus is starting to take hold.

i think most people are looking of drugsdministration of that would help viral replication. the most promising thing we have in terms of blocking viral seems to be -- it's early phases right now. what they do seem to do is help people who are already in the phase of needing hospitalization. might be able to target the immune side of things just by monitoring exactly when you're seeing this tipping point from mild disease into severe disease. host: jim talks about the site a keen storm.

he asks is that one of the complications of covid-19 but is the most important or controllable? >> it is the mechanism through which the complications happen. you might think of kidney failure, cardi arrhythmia, blood clotting and strokes. things youthose could also try to target and treat individually. but the storm is this sort of sets off theat inflammatory process that can cause all of those things. you geting at how do that comment point -- comment point that is leading to all these different complications. that and howt to

can we identify when it's starting to happen early and help people know they need to get to the hospital and help doctors know how to identify that and target and treat it before we get into those late stages. host: jason is next in maryland. i believe i had covid-19 for about two weeks. couldn't taste, couldn't smell. i had a low-grade fever. the only thing that gave me any kind of reprieve from the symptoms was actually line. i would eat lime zest, lemon zest and take colloidal silver and i would eat aloe and i found those things helped with my symptoms. the fact that they all have natural antivirals in them. hello?

host: we will let the doctor respond. don't know ofi evidence that those things are actually killing viruses. but things that help with symptoms and aren't known to make anything worse, i think i'm all for adding that to the evidence-based approaches that doctors recommend. so i'm glad that help to you feel better. host: the lack of smell and taste are things you bring up in the piece itself. >> it's another thing that's confusing to people. you are seeing a lot of young people with no other symptoms. they start to have a lack of smell and taste and the possibilities for that seem to be that you are having a viral infection that's actually attacking the nerve cells so they don't function appropriately or you are having an inflammatory response localized in that area that

hasn't spread through your whole body and caused systemic severe an analogoushat is local voluntary response temporarily impairing the function of your own factory nerves and sense of smell. a differentirely sensation that a lot of us have felt with a bad cold. sometimesre seeing it in the absence of congestion. yet another open question but also the possibility for hope that we can better understand the process there may be usmonalities that could help modulate that which might seem like a trivial system compared to what other people are undergoing. when people are living in the fee that there mild disease could escalate at any moment that a symptom like that is

proving very concerning to people because they don't know where this is going to go. am i going to have to be in the icu or stay home and be just fine. good morning. the normal body temperature is 98 .6. but if you're running a temperature of 95, what effect does that have on your immune system? >> i'd be speculating. 95 is for most people dangerously low. i don't know. i haven't heard of hypothermia being part of this disease. dave in irvine, california. caller: i read this book the coconut oil miracle.

he's come up with another book called the coconut oil miracle for sedition. he says in that book that coconut oil, coldpressed, unrefined extra virgin coconut oil kills all viruses. he also states, treats people with hepatitis c where you can buy a drug that costs like a thousand dollars per pill and he has cured all these people of hepatitis c and i was wondering have you ever read that book? he says in there that it cures all viruses. i would like you to comment on that and if you haven't read the book, you should read it. >> yeah. i think if there were a treatment like that, the people who are working real hard studying this and trying to cure people who are sick and dying

would be all over it. so i'm open minded about anyone's fears and welcome them to be tested and vetted clinically. not forgo the best possible treatment in hopes that someone promising a literal miracle is in possession of some unique knowledge that has somehow evaded people who study viral diseases. host: for the way that you have reported about the way this attacks the body, what does that mean for the development of a vaccine? >> when you are making a vaccine you are trying to expose a person to just parts of a virus or an low enough dose that their

body develops antibodies and immune memory but not so much that a person gets sick. complexity ofthe treating this immune pathway will potentially inform the approaches we need to take to vaccines and what to look out for in terms of negative effects that we expect to see in early trials of vaccines. suggestions that we are going to have to break truethe tried and mechanisms of vaccine development that we have been working on for decades. people are thinking out of the box for vaccine development, making a vaccine in a few years would be far quicker than we traditionally have and

to do it in a year or two is unprecedented. given the scale of the disease and the severity, that's why i think you are hearing people suggesting new methods of testing and expediting the process. host: such as what? >> i don't feel -- i'm not certain how seriously some of them are being proposed. can tell you that normally when we develop a vaccine we air heavily towards safety. especially given so many aboutns that people have vaccine safety in some parts of the country that have been growing lately. people will use animal models and then small groups of humans

and then larger groups monitoring very closely and erring towards the side of giving a vaccine that might actually be ineffective. it won't hurt you because we wouldn't come close to giving you a dose of anything that would trigger a dangerous inflammatory response or infect you. because we are trying to move quicker, people are suggesting giving, exposing the younger healthier people to the virus itself in ways that are more likely to actually precipitate illness than we would have a tolerance for during that process. in the hopes that those people are very specifically likely to have an ok outcome and that for the good of the population it would be better if people have a higher risk threshold in the

vaccine development process. host: we keep on hearing the length of time of 12 to 18 months to a vaccine. is that reasonable? ofthis is not my area expertise but everyone i've spoken to says that is the best possible scenario. you have the technical aspects, at what point do we have something that scientists feel is viable. part people feel pretty confident in and the variable is how do you get it from this scientifically viable product to something that is actually administered to hundreds of millions of people. just in terms of actually producing and distributing it and making it affordable, we don't have the simple infrastructure to do that and vaccines have not traditionally for many years been a big

revenue generator for pharmaceutical companies so you are not going to see pharmaceutical companies banging down the door of the government saying we really want to turn afoul of our production facilities -- all of our production facilities to vaccines right now. to be a complex production and distribution process. we should behing talking seriously about so that we haveeady as soon as a safe and effective product. caller: good morning. i have a question for the doctor. i have lupus. whatf this sounds exactly lupus does to your body. so why in all these years have you all known -- and i think you just answered my question on the last. there's not a lot of money out there.

give vaccines. so why is lupus so on -- don't hydro whatever to lupus patients? >> hydroxychloroquine is a statement -- staple of lupus and malaria treatment and it modulates the immune system and it seemed initially, there was a study in china that suggested it could inhibit viral replication and tissues in a petri dish. subsequent studies didn't show that it had a good effect on this disease. before, thisying immune process is not something to be taken lightly when someone is in the stages of critical illness. we really want to be careful

about exactly what parts of the process we are tamping down because the virus itself is dangerous. you could have worse viral don't suppressou it enough you might have a of cytokineies storms and organ failure as a result of that immune process. i think people have been very open-minded in terms of using drugs targeted towards modulating the immune system which are the same ones we use lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. justice steroids are the most common things we use really widely when we don't know the exact pathway and we need to shut a lot of different pathways down. about the other drug that is useful at this time?

>> we have this first study the results of which just came out yesterday. it was stopped early because it seemed to show a clear benefit. given the situation and urgency, a trial like that can be stop if you think it would no longer be worth not giving the drug to a control group. withholding the drug from some people in a study like that and that's one of the reasons you might stop it early. it's very promising. it's a drug the targets viral replication. seemed to decrease the length of stay in hospitals. .t's not a cure we are not going to have one drug that's going to do that. we will hopefully have ways that we can give so drugs -- some

drugs that inhibit viral replication and some drugs that modulate to strengthen our immune response to the virus or slow down the parts of the immune response that are dangerous to us. be some cocktail of that and it will depend on your in clinical situation and what shape is your immune system and you might at one point need a different set of drugs than at later points in the disease. not to make too complicated of a istrait, but i think that one drug showing promise hopefully of many. host: let's hear from billy in rochester, new york. caller: i have a financial question. host: he's a medical doctor. keep that in mind.

go ahead. overpayment onn my unemployment the same week this happened. host: i'm going to stop you there only because i think it falls outside his purview. dan in addison, illinois. hello. caller: thank you for taking my call. you may have partially answered this question. theeems like the earlier better as far as what you were about thedescribing progress of the disease. is there a treatment that has been tried for other viruses in the past related to this site storm to someine treatment that triggers an early

used as ahat could be treatment rather than trying to counteract the inflammation that have theen you already storm going on? >> that's a really important line of thinking. even though the cytokine storm is a process -- we can't exactly extrapolate from other diseases. ways ton be informative say what seems to help. people are thinking really outside the box. i spoke with the group at johns hopkins that pulled a bunch of data on people who had been and who had better

survival. who came out of the icu quicker. they thought they saw a correlation with people who were -- maybe that sort of blocks some of this fight or flight response which is part of the response so maybe that could have something. they are starting a clinical trial on that to see if it helps but we can't exactly extrapolate and say it will help. even they don't say that because there might be some unique effect to this disease or to spread thatr doesn't perfectly extrapolate. we are looking at ways to block and moderate that pathway. proven in need to be clinical trials in covid-19

each disease is unique. caller: hello. as annducing a coma work effective method to then medicaid people and slow down or bide time while they can be already inr is that a later stage. just grasping at straws. >> you might be referring to when people are sedated in the on breathing machines and ventilators. componentecessary when you are on respiratory failure and you need a ventilator. it's extremely painful and uncomfortable to have to be

conscious through that so people are sedated. there are side effects to sedating people and that's never an ideal situation. merging into the realm of science fiction when we talk about putting people into states of suspended animation when we try to cure them. i don't believe that's been taken seriously. from ourhave a viewer twitter feed saying he knew someone that was sick for three weeks, got better, felt sick again. what are we learning about covid-19 as far as that -- ok. that's mario from our twitter feed. to keep your questions about covid-19. there are a couple ways you can do that.

website ando our leave thoughts there, too. program airs at 8:00 tonight. our guest this evening, jay inslee will talk about the pandemic response in washington statesone of the first to make widespread changes. our's at 8:00 tonight on washington journal primetime. don't forget the new version of the president spoke out now in paperback. a collection of interviews we've done over the years on u.s. presidents. more atlearn c-span.org/presidents. that's it for our program today. another one comes your way at 7:00 tomorrow morning.

we will see you then. ♪ ♪ >> hears with coming up today, nancy pelosi holds a news coronavirusn the pandemic, and what's ahead for congress. we have live coverage beginning at 1045 time eastern, here on c-span. and later, president trump is scheduled to talk about seniors this afternoon. we plan to bring you those remarks live when they start at 4:00 eastern on c-span. more unemployment news this morning, the labor department announcing that 3.8 million people have applied for unemployment benefits.

the washington post reports that economists estimate that the national unemployment rate sits compared tond 20% 25% at the peak of the great depression. 4.4 million people have applied for benefits for the weekend. ♪ washington journal primetime, special evening edition of the washington journal on the drawers wants to the coronavirus pandemic. our guest our democratic governor jay inslee, whose joined us to talk about the covid-19 pandemic response, one of the first states to make widespread changes because of the virus. is mike leavitt, the former health and human services secretary under george bush. of the bipartisan policy prevention initiative. he will talk about public health

policy during the pandemic. tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span. foyer -- those who have business before the honorable supreme court, give their attention. the court is now sitting. >> for the first time in history, the u.s. supreme court live. in may, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the court is hearing oral arguments in 10 cases by teleconference. c-span will provide live coverage of each session. first, on monday, at 10:00 eastern. the justices will hear the case of the patent and trademark office versus booking.com, concerning the fight to trademark its website. be a part of its history, and listen to the oral arguments as they are heard by justices, live, monday at 10:00 on c-span.

c-span.org, or listen on the free c-span radio app. missouri governor mike arson -- mike parson held a briefing, and that governor was joined by several state officials including the labor department director who discussed unemployment claims. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2020] gov. parson: good afternoon, thank you for joining us again today. as of 2:00 p.m., there has been 7425 positive cases of covid-19. including 318 deaths. over 78,000 missourians have been tested at this time.

as we approach may 4, i want to missouri and to feel confident that we are in a good place, and ready to move forward. pillars ofsential our show me strong recovery plan are a big part of this. we have met each of these pillars and have full confidence that missouri is prepared, and ready, to safely reopen. one of those pillars is hospital capacity. i want to repeat what i said yesterday. our hospitals are not overwhelmed. the exceptionth of the st. louis region, every region across the state has shown a decrease in covid-19 hospitalization. to monitor thee hospital capacity as we move forward. missouri has an excellent health care