Viewpoints: Efforts To Curb A Pandemic Rely On How Much People Trust Their Government; Will Trump Actually Tackle Entitlement Reform?

The Washington Post: The Coronavirus Outbreak Is A True Test Of Our Trust In Government.
When you learn you have a dangerous disease, you need to be able to trust your doctor. When entire populations face a dangerous public health crisis, they need to be able to trust their governments. The latest test of this trust is the outbreak of a previously unknown coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Coronaviruses are respiratory viruses that can lead to illnesses ranging from mild colds to life-threatening pneumonia. Like other viruses, they do not respond to antibiotics. This strain, called 2019-nCoV, is too new for any useful data on mortality (two other coronaviruses, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, and Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, have been reported to kill about 15 percent and 35 percent of infected people, respectively). (Leana S. Wen, 1/22)

The Washington Post: The Coronavirus Has Landed In The U.S. Here’s How We Can Reduce The Risk.
With one confirmed case on U.S. soil, more likely already here and 8,000 visitors from China arriving every day, it is already too late to avoid multiple cases of the dangerous new coronavirus in the United States. We are past the “if” question and squarely facing the “how bad will it be” phase of the response. Thus, President Trump failed his first test in dealing with the virus, by brashly asserting that the U.S. government has the coronavirus “completely under control.” While there is no reason to panic, we simply do not know, with China’s seventh-largest city under a lockdown, how serious it will become. (Ronald A. Klain and Nicole Lurie, 1/22)

The New York Times: Is China Setting Itself Up For Another Epidemic?
On Sunday, a friend of mine in China wrote an ominous, two-word post on WeChat: “Broke out.” He meant that a mysterious surge in cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, a city in central China, was, in fact, an outbreak of something more serious. The first case of the Wuhan virus was detected on Dec. 12. Until last Thursday, only 45 cases, with two deaths, all in Wuhan, had been reported, and no health care workers were said to have been infected. The virus was mild, we were told then, with no evidence of human-to-human transmission; all confirmed cases seemed to originate from a food market where live animals are sold. On Jan. 11, local health authorities even suggested that the outbreak was over because they hadn’t registered any new case since Jan. 3. (Yanzhong Huang, 1/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump And Entitlement Reform
It’s not often that the New York Times makes President Trump sound better than he is, so perhaps today’s dispatch from Washington is suitable for framing. The good news is that the United States may finally have a President who is interested in restraining federal spending. But he might not be as interested as the Times says he is. (Freeman, 1/22)

Kansas City Star: On Abortion Amendment, Kansas Lawmakers Were Not Serious
Life and death are what those on both sides of this debate were talking about, while some lawmakers seemed to instead see the purpose of the amendment as “restricting the ability of the court” or even drumming up support to make judges more accountable to voters. We’ve said before that the voters should get to decide on this amendment, just as they should get to weigh in on Missouri’s near-ban on abortion. But if they do — and putting it on the November ballot would make more sense than putting it on August’s because turnout would be higher — we can’t claim to know what Kansas lawmakers would do if their ability to regulate abortion were fully restored. (1/22)

The Washington Post: D.C. Should Act Now To Protect Abortion Rights
In less than two months, the Supreme Court will hear its first abortion rights case since the confirmation of Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh. This case could be a major step in chipping away the protections of Roe v. Wade and open the floodgates to restrictions that will effectively block abortion access for 25 million reproductive-age people nationwide. If that happens, the District does not have a law on the books to ensure that access to abortion is protected. The D.C. Council can and needs to move quickly to change that. (Serina Floyd, 1/22)

Stat: Pain Doesn't Cause Stigma. We Do That To Each Other
In 2000, a truck rear-ended my friend Andrea’s car as she stopped at a crosswalk in a school zone. The truck was going at least 45 miles per hour when it slammed into her. The accident damaged muscles, nerves, and bones from the base of her skull to the bottom of her left leg. It left her with an injured spine, pelvic instability, and significant leg injuries. She has been living with chronic pain ever since. Andrea rarely takes opioids; she says they make her feel incredibly drowsy and often don’t work well to control her pain. (Daniel S. Goldberg, 1/23)

The Washington Post: Why Labeling Food Items With The Exercise Needed To Burn Off Their Calories Is A Bad Idea
Imagine unwrapping your favorite candy bar, and as you prepare to take that first delicious bite, you notice that the package says the 230 calories you are about to enjoy can be burned off by walking for 42 minutes or running for 22 minutes. Would that change your mind about eating the treat? Some people wouldn’t eat the candy bar because of guilt; others might walk to burn off the calories. And of course, some people might not even notice the exercise message, or might not care about the information. That’s the problem with some public-health interventions: They affect people differently. (Cara Rosenbloom, 1/22)

The New York Times: The Nursing Shortage Is Threatening Our Care
A shortage of nurses elevated the misery of a woman in my support group during a recent health crisis, she informed us. Because I participate in a clinical trial, in which I am vigilantly monitored in both Bloomington and Indianapolis hospitals, I was surprised. But I quickly began to realize that her ordeal could not possibly be unusual and then to fear that our current health care system is becoming more unfriendly, inhospitable to patients and to nurses as well. (Susan Gubar, 1/22)

WBUR: Why I Said Nothing When My Med School Professor Made Racist Remarks
Medicine continues to be plagued by an “Old Boys’ Club” culture. Those who abuse power are protected by colleagues, institutions, titles, money, privilege and more. Pervasive between the lines of medical education is the “hidden curriculum” or “the way things are done around here.” (Abraar Karan, 1/22)

KQED: Big Amazon Warehouse, Big Worker Injuries
With 2,500 employees, 855,000 square feet and 10 miles of conveyor belts, Amazon's huge Fresno warehouse also has an injury rate triple the industry average. Even though the e-commerce behemoth is bringing jobs to places like Fresno, pressure to meet quotas and keep up with shipping demand is injuring workers across the country. (Mark Fiore, 1/22)

The New York Times: The Trump Administration Is Clearing The Way For Housing Discrimination 
On Monday, the nation honored the towering legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But the progress he demanded remains unfinished, and nowhere more than in the deeply segregated neighborhoods many of us call home. Dr. King understood that where a person lives determines so many of their opportunities, including access to good jobs, schools, health care, food and safety. Barely a week after Dr. King’s assassination, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act with overwhelming bipartisan support in recognition of this truth. (Shaun Donovan, 1/22)

The CT Mirror: Three Cheers For Tolls
Critics of truck tolls in Connecticut are scoffing at the idea that tolls are a baby that anyone could love. But there’s plenty to celebrate about a proposal that will help Connecticut raise badly needed funds and build a transportation system for the future. Here are three reasons why Connecticut residents and politicians should be shouting their support for the governor’s truck toll proposal. (Paul Sabin, 1/23)

The New York Times: The First Time I Said, ‘I’m Trans’
Twenty years ago this month I stood on the banks of Great Pond, in Rome, Maine, holding my children in my arms. It was New Year’s Eve. Over the frozen lake, fireworks burst, welcoming the new millennium. Something inside of me struggled to be known. The next morning we climbed French’s Mountain, in Belgrade. We do that every year, on New Year’s Day. We ate clementines. (Jennifer Finney Boylan, 1/22)

Stat: States Need To Wake Up To Public Health Risks From Cannabis
Cannabis is on the march. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana. Eleven states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational use of cannabis for adults over 21, and others are considering it. More than 37 million Americans use cannabis each year in one form or another: flowers, concentrates, edibles, and the like. (Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, 1/21)