Texas Standard For September 1, 2020

DIY vaccines? Groups of scientists going their own way to try to develop new tools to combat the pandemic, But is it legal or ethical? We’ll have more on DIY vaccines. And: Dr. Fred Campbell of UT Health San Antonio is back to answer more questions from listeners about COVID-19. Also: With renewed scrutiny on long-standing racial disparities, the spotlight turns to interpreters for the deaf in Texas. Plus: 75 years after VJ Day, how veterans and a Texas museum dedicated to the war in the Pacific are marking the moment. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

By Texas StandardSeptember 1, 2020 9:30 am

Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Tuesday, September 01, 2020. Listen on your Texas public radio station, or ask your smart speaker to play Texas Standard.

Texas Schools’ Connectivity Struggles

As the new academic year gets underway statewide, thousands of students are being left out altogether, unable to make the connections that are critical to getting an education under current conditions. Texas Tribune reporter Aliyya Swaby has been covering the story

Ask A Doctor: Your COVID Questions Answered

Throughout the pandemic we’ve been taking questions from listeners and posing them to Dr. Fred Campbell, an associate professor of medicine at the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio.

Texas AI Institute

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Del Mar College are working with the University of Oklahoma to establish one of seven national centers to develop artificial intelligence. KEDT’s Lon Gonzalez has the story.

DIY COVID Vaccines 

There are now 36 different potential vaccines for COVID-19 currently in clinical trials, according to the latest data from the New York Times’ Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker. Of those, nine are already in large-scale efficacy tests. But even with the FDA recently announcing that it would be willing to fast-track a vaccine, large-scale use could still be months away. Some scientists are taking matters into their own hands by making their own DIY vaccines.

Race And Sign Language

The Black Lives Matter movement continues to shed light on long-standing racial disparities in the United States. Now, interpreters for the deaf in Texas are addressing the lack of diversity in their field. Nationally, 87% of interpreters for the deaf are white.   

75th Anniversary of VJ Day

The original recording of General Douglas McArthur’s speech marking the end of World War II, along with many artifacts of the era live in Texas, at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg. Rorie Cartier, director of the museum, talks to the Standard on this, the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. 

A Lack of Child Care During The Pandemic (Part 1)

The question of how to care for children during the pandemic isn’t just a headache for parents or caregivers; it’s a major issue for the Texas economy. KUT’s Claire McInerny has more in the first of an ongoing series. 

All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.

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