Different Takes: Dangerous War Is Being Waged On Science; Taking Data Away From CDC Is A Mistake
Opinion writers weigh in on these public health issues and others.
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Waging Dangerous And Inexplicable War On Public Health
What people don’t realize is that President Trump is the real hero of the coronavirus pandemic. Or, at least, he would have been were it not for the meddling of public health “experts” who have fed him bad information from the start just to make him look inept and damage his chance of reelection, probably on orders from Democrats and the Deep State. It is they, not the commander in chief, who are responsible for the U.S.’s disgraceful position as the top COVID-19 hot spot with more than 138,000 deaths.That, apparently, is one possible narrative that the White House is advancing with its perplexing and dangerous war on public health institutions and leadership just when the nation needs them the most. (7/17)
The Arizona Republic:
The Foremost Immunologist Of Our Time Believes In Science, Not Politics
Science is not political to Dr. Anthony Fauci. To him, science is fact. Truth. Then he met Donald Trump, for whom science is useful only if it reinforces what he needs to tell the public in order to look good and get reelected. Stray from that dictate and you’ll be punished, as Fauci has learned lately, first being attacked in a White House memo and then in an op-ed by Trump’s director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, Peter Navarro. As well as by the hosts and guests on who knows how many talk shows on the Trump reelection network, otherwise known as Fox. (EJ Montini, 7/16)
The Washington Post:
Dr. Fauci Built A Truce. Trump Is Destroying It.
“Where’s Fauci?”It has been one of the many nagging worries of 2020: Is the famous immunologist still on the case? (Yes, but he is so busy he can barely make time to talk.) Is he about to get fired? (Almost always and probably never, but we’re going through another round of White House scapegoating right now.) Is he still speaking with the president? (He is, but their interactions have become fewer and further between.) But at least as important as where Anthony S. Fauci might be is where the good doctor has already been.You don’t get Fauci bobblehead dolls, or Fauci-faced doughnuts, or Brad Pitt playing Fauci on “Saturday Night Live,” or all that hand-wringing over his whereabouts unless there’s something unusual going on. (Molly Roberts, 7/16)
Dallas Morning News:
Trump’s Shift Of COVID-19 Hospital Data From The CDC To Washington Hurts Public Trust
If this pandemic has taught us anything, it is how important accurate and transparent data is to this country getting control of this disease.In our view, COVID-19 data is best collected and analyzed by the professionals and health experts at the Centers for Disease Control. We worry about the CDC’s report that the Trump administration has told states to start sending hospital data to Health and Human Services in Washington first, instead of sending it directly to the CDC. Up until Tuesday, the information on hospital capacity, health care worker staffing and personal protective equipment supply had been readily available on the CDC website. What was left by Thursday was a note saying the information gathered through July 14 would no longer be updated. (7/17)
CNN:
Taking Covid-19 Data Away From CDC Is A Recipe For Chaos
The White House disclosed on Tuesday that it is shifting the collection and analysis of certain Covid-19 data from the historic recipient, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)... This sudden change -- which anonymous officials told The New York Times came as a shock to the CDC -- has raised concerns from many that the centralization in Washington, DC, might allow deliberate misrepresentation of the Covid-19 data for political purposes. (Kent Sepkowitz, 7/16)
The Washington Post:
Who Would Kick Millions Off Health Insurance In The Middle Of A Pandemic? Yes, Trump.
In the midst of a pandemic — when Americans most need health insurance, and millions can’t find work — the Trump administration wants to kick Americans off their health insurance if they aren’t working. Heartless, but it’s true. This week, the Trump administration and the state of Arkansas asked the Supreme Court to allow reinstatement of Medicaid work requirements. This disastrous policy was struck down by lower courts last year after causing 18,000 low-income Arkansans to lose their insurance. Subsequent research found that 95 percent of residents targeted by the policy were working, or had qualified for an exemption. They were kicked off Medicaid all the same. (Catherine Rampell, 7/16)
The New York Times:
The End Of Expanded Unemployment Benefits Is The Next Disaster
Some of us knew from the beginning that Donald Trump wasn’t up to the job of being president, that he wouldn’t be able to deal with a crisis that wasn’t of his own making. Still, the magnitude of America’s coronavirus failure has shocked even the cynics. At this point Florida alone has an average daily death toll roughly equal to that of the whole European Union, which has 20 times its population. How did this happen? One key element in our deadly debacle has been extreme shortsightedness: At every stage of the crisis Trump and his allies refused to acknowledge or get ahead of disasters everyone paying attention clearly saw coming. (7/16)
Bloomberg:
Coronavirus Vaccine: Russia Really Wants To Win The Race
Moscow researchers say one of the country’s potential coronavirus vaccines has been proven safe in small-scale human trials, and is ready for wider tests. It should be a modest win for a country that has sought for years to restore its Soviet-era reputation for cutting-edge science, and for President Vladimir Putin.Yet on Thursday, Britain, the U.S. and Canada accused Russia of hacking international research centers that are trying to develop a vaccine. The Kremlin denies any involvement, while the head of the country’s sovereign wealth fund called the allegations an attempt to tarnish the Russian research effort. It’s still an accusation that jeopardizes a hoped-for inoculation boost for prestige. Old-school vaccine diplomacy might help. Even in the depths of the Cold War, Soviet and U.S. doctors collaborated to battle polio, and later smallpox. (Clara Ferreira, 7/17)
The Hill:
The Conservative Case For Paid Family Leave
The nature and course of the viral pandemic in this country continue to evolve, with significant regional surges in places like Texas and Arizona now driving the spread of COVID-19 in the United States. Most public health experts predict the late fall and winter will bring another surge of viral infections and with them the likelihood of government-mandated restrictions, suggesting a protracted cycle of relapse and recovery. As policymakers consider how to shore up the labor force and support families during this uncertain time, an expanded paid leave policy should rise to the top of consideration, particularly for fiscal hawks hand-wringing over the nation’s ballooning debt. (Maggie Cordish, 7/16)
Stat:
Med Students Need Social Mission Education Now More Than Ever
A longstanding failure of the U.S. health care system is that minority and vulnerable populations experience poorer health outcomes and higher death rates. The Covid-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies extend and deepen this failure. (Jamar Slocum, Isabel Chen and Natalie Kirilichin, 7/17)
