It used to be that those who audibly huffed and puffed their way through workouts were just annoying. Now—as they share equipment and steam up gyms with their sweat and heavy breath—they can be downright deadly, expelling tiny, potentially infectious particles that linger in the air for hours—making gyms an especially high-risk environment for COVID-19 exposure. But as temperatures start to drop, indoor gyms are beckoning. Four in 10 Americans say they’ll be returning to the gym at the same rate or more once it opens back up, according to a survey of over 2,000 people conducted by OnePoll on behalf of LIFEAID Beverage Co. (For what it’s worth, only 31 percent of gym members have actually returned, a survey of over 5,000 people by RunRepeat found.)

No matter where you exercise, the advice from public health officials, microbiologists, epidemiologists, and infectious disease experts is clear: Wear a damn

Most Americans have never heard of Dr. Richard Whitley, an expert in pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Yet as the coronavirus pandemic drags on and the public eagerly awaits a vaccine, he may well be among the most powerful people in the country.

Whitley leads a small, secret panel of experts tasked with reviewing crucial data on the safety and effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines that U.S. taxpayers have helped fund, including products from Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and others. The data and safety monitoring board — known as a DSMB — is supposed to make sure the medicine is safe and it works. It has the power to halt a clinical trial or fast-track it.

Shielding the identities of clinicians and statisticians on the board is meant to insulate them from pressure by the company sponsoring the trial, government officials or the public, according to multiple