WITH
WITH LITTLE KNOWN ABOUT HOW THEY'RE DOING. BUT AS
KENT EXPLAINS, THAT'S BEGINNING
TO CHANGE
TO CHANGE
TO CHANGE >>. WORKING IN A GROCERY STORE
IN 2020 HAS COME WITH UPS
AND DOWNS
AND DOWNS
AND DOWNS >>. IT'S BEEN QUITE THE ROLLER
COASTER, A LOT OF EMOTIONS GOING
ON . BUT I FELT I REALLY FEEL
LIKE SAFE AND PROTECTED AT WORK.
SAYLORSBURG
SAYLORSBURG >> WORKS AT SEWARD COMMUNITY
CO-OPS FRANKLIN STORDEN ,
MINNEAPOLIS. LIKE MOST GROCERS,
SEWARD IS LIMITED. SHOPPERS
ENCOURAGED SYNCING ADDED
PROTECTIVE BARRIERS AND REQUIRED
MASKS FOR MONTHS. BUT UNLIKE
MOST, THEY'VE ALSO BEEN
TRANSPARENT WITH EMPLOYEE
COVID CASES, WHICH ARE NOW AT 20
TOTAL SINCE MARCH
>> JUST TO LET GIVE LIKE A FULL
VIEW ON WHAT'S GOING ON LIKE
THAT . WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING
TO HIDE.
TO HIDE.
TO HIDE. >> HIS KNOWLEDGE, CYRUS HAS
REMAINED HEALTHY, BUT HE IS
INTERESTED IN A NEW U OF M STUDY
THAT HOPES TO GET AN EVEN BETTER
PICTURE OF THE THREATS HE AND
OTHERS IN THE INDUSTRY HAVE
FACED. THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC
HEALTH IS LOOKING TO ENROLL 1000
GROCERY STORE EMPLOYEES FROM
ACROSS MINNESOTA TO HELP
THEM DETERMINE IF THEY'VE HAD
COVID WITHOUT KNOWING. IN THE
LAST FEW MONTHS, VOLUNTEERS SIGN
UP ONLINE TO RECEIVE AN AT HOME
BLOOD TESTING KIT TO DETERMINE
IF THEY HAVE SARS-COV-2
ANTIBODIES
ANTIBODIES >>. I THINK IT'S A FANTASTIC
IDEA. I MEAN, BEING ESSENTIAL
WORKERS AND WORKING AMONG
THE PUBLIC, WE DO HAVE LIKE
A VERY HIGH POSSIBILITY
OF EXPOSURE.
OF EXPOSURE. >> I THINK THIS WILL GIVE US
A PRETTY GOOD INDICATOR OF OF
WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON ACROSS
MINNESOTA
MINNESOTA
MINNESOTA >>. PROFESSOR CRAIG HEDBURG SAYS
OVERALL GROCERY STORES SEEM
TO HAVE DONE WELL WHEN IT COMES
TO PROTECTING WORKERS
>> GROCERY STORES EARLY ON WERE
A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE STARTED
WEARING MASKS AND WE HAVEN'T
SEEN SORT OF THE BIG CLUSTERS
OF ILLNESSES ASSOCIATED
WITH BEING IN THAT ENVIRONMENT
>>. BUT HE SAYS THE STUDY HAS
THE POTENTIAL TO HELP US
UNDERSTAND IF THOSE SAFETY
MEASURES PROTECT EMPLOYEES AS
WELL AS WE HOPE
>>. IT'S ONE OF THE FEW PLACES
THAT WE'VE HAD POTENTIAL
FOR COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION
THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE
PANDEMIC. SO WE'RE TRYING
TO REALLY SEE WHETHER THOSE HAVE
BEEN PROTECTIVE AGAINST EXPOSURE
FOR THE WORKERS
>>. BUT HE SAYS A POSITIVE
>> ANTIBODY TEST WILL JUST BE
PART OF THE ANSWER. THINK ABOUT
HEALTH CARE WORKERS. RESEARCH
SHOWS MANY ARE INFECTED OUTSIDE
>> WORK. YOU CAN HAVE
PROTECTIONS AT WORK, BUT WHAT
YOU DO IN THE COMMUNITY ALSO
CONTRIBUTES TO YOUR RISK
OF EXPOSURE. SO IF WE SEE HIGHER
RATES OF EXPOSURE IN THE GROCERY
STORE WORKERS, THEN WE MIGHT SEE
IN THE COMMUNITY IN WHICH THESE
PEOPLE LIVE, THEN IT MIGHT
SUGGEST THAT THAT THERE'S
SOMETHING GOING ON THERE
>>. REGARDLESS, SYRUS
>> SAYS HE'D LIKE TO HELP FIND
SOME ANSWERS AND HE'S ALREADY
SIGNED UP TO DO SO. YEAH, VERY
EASY PROCESS. ONLY TOOK ME
A COUPLE OF MINUTES JUST TO LIKE
HAVE THE ABILITY TO HELP
IN SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AS
THIS. YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE IT
IS MY RESPONSIBILITY AS
A CITIZEN AS WELL TO ASSIST
IN THE BETTERMENT OF THE
POPULATION
POPULATION >>. AS YOU JUST HEARD,
THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH IS
TRYING TO GET A THOUSAND
MINNESOTANS TO SIGN UP BEFORE
THE END OF THE MONTH. ACTUALLY,
AND YOU CAN DO IT REALLY
QUICKLY, ASTRISK SAID ONLINE.
AND THEY SAID THAT THEY
ARE PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT THEY
CAN GET TO THAT NUMBER
THAT THEY'VE ALREADY HAD. THREE
HUNDRED PEOPLE SIGN UP AND JUST
ONE DAY
ONE DAY
ONE DAY >> CAN'T
>> CAN'T
>> CAN'T >> I REMEMBER BACK IN THE SPRING
AND SUMMER WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT
ANTIBODY TESTING, BUT WE HAVEN'T
HEARD A LOT ABOUT IT. RECENTLY
WHEN THERE WAS A LOT OF PROMISE
THIS SUMMER ABOUT THE ROLE
THE ANTIBODY TESTING MIGHT PLAY.
DO YOU KNOW WHY WE HAVEN'T HEARD
A LOT MORE ABOUT THAT ? IS IT
JUST NOT AS RELIABLE
>>? WELL , THAT'S A TOUGH
QUESTION TO ANSWER IN THIS CASE.
THEY ARE RELIABLE FOR DETECTING
ANTIBODIES. WHAT YOU WERE
TALKING ABOUT IN THE SUMMER WAS
WHETHER OR NOT THAT MEANT
PEOPLE WOULD HAVE IMMUNITY
AND THEY'RE STILL TRYING TO KIND
OF FIGURE THAT OUT. HOW MUCH
ANTIBODIES WOULD IT REQUIRE
TO DEVELOP IMMUNITY? THAT'S
A MUCH TOUGHER QUESTION. THAT'S
SOMETHING THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE
TO FIGURE. BUT THAT DOESN'T
REALLY JEOPARDIZE ANYTHING