Face Masks, Antibodies, Immunity – Ongoing Discussions Of The Coronavirus Pandemic

On this West Virginia Morning, we’ll hear a conversation about the coronavirus, antibodies and what medical researchers are trying to learn about immunity as it relates to the ongoing pandemic. Also, in this show, we hear about a resolution passed in Shepherdstown that “strongly encourages” businesses there to require customers to wear face masks.

Scientific evidence is mounting that wearing a mask is an effective way to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But in many states, including West Virginia, officials have been reluctant to mandate mask wearing in public.  

In the Eastern Panhandle, one town has passed a resolution that “strongly encourages” mask wearing and gives businesses the option to get local police involved if customers refuse to wear one inside their establishments. Liz McCormick has more.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting reached out to the Charleston, Morgantown, Huntington and Wheeling City Clerk’s to see if some of the state’s larger cities had done anything like Shepherdstown, but as of right now, it appears Shepherdstown’s resolution is unique in the state.

There’s been a lot of buzz about antibodies and coronavirus. Should you get tested for them to see if you’ve had the virus and didn’t know? If you have antibodies in your system are you basically in the clear? In last week’s Facebook Live health interview, Kara Lofton dug into these questions with Dr. Eric Houpt, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Here is an excerpt of that conversation.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning