Viewpoints: What Covid Taught Us About Future Pandemics; It’s Too Hard To Get Covid Drugs
Opinion writers delve into these covid topics.
USA Today:
WHO COVID Lesson For Me: This Is How We Prepare For The Next Pandemic
A recent conversation about the ongoing pandemic between USA TODAY's Editorial Board and World Health Organization members included the idea that, for experts, it's more of a question of "when" rather than "if" there will be another pandemic. My immediate thought: I would rather catapult myself into the atom-crushing gravity of a black hole than live through a similar experience. But then they said that we can be ready for it, and I remembered to take a breath. (Carli Pierson, 2/13)
The New York Times:
Covid Drugs May Work Well, But Our Health System Doesn't
Vaccines are essential for creating widespread immunity against the coronavirus. But drugs that can treat Covid-19 are also critical to combat the pandemic. This is especially true for places where large numbers of people remain unvaccinated and unboosted. These individuals could benefit from treatment if they get sick. Others, like the immunocompromised, may need additional help to fight off the disease. (Aaron E. Carroll, 2/13)
Stat:
Immunocompromised People Need Access To Monoclonal Antibodies
Fleets of delivery trucks leaving warehouses to distribute the first Covid-19 vaccine doses across the country in late December 2020 sent a reassuring message to Americans across the country: Access to highly safe and effective vaccines will help us end the pandemic. Within days, health care workers and thousands of individuals at highest risk of exposure to or complications of Covid-19 were rolling up their sleeves, grateful to be getting vaccinated. But the resilience and shape-shifting of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, has tempered that early enthusiasm. Vaccine and public health experts have learned that the effectiveness of Covid vaccines sometimes depends on the recipient. This is especially true for people who are immunocompromised, who may need more than vaccines to help them prevent or fight this potentially deadly infection. (Luciana Borio and John P. Moore, 2/14)
Chicago Tribune:
Can We Learn To Live With COVID-19, Before COVID-19 Fatigue Kills Us?
Can it be? Two years into our politically polarized fight to end the pandemic, COVID-19 fatigue seems to be rising faster these days than the pandemic itself. No, I haven’t joined the anti-vaxxers or the anti-mandate protesters who block commerce with truck convoys to push back against vaccine mandates. (Clarence Page, 2/11)
The New York Times:
There Will Be No Post-Covid
There have been many stages of our collective Covid reaction. There was the initial panic, with the shortages of toilet paper (I still haven’t completely figured that one out) and Lysol. In those days, one dared not even cough in public. I had a cold when I was in Los Angeles. I sneezed and a friend misted me with sanitizer. I believe that I experienced the pandemic like many others: stunned and isolated, shocked by the sudden withdrawal of social life and social customs. (Charles M. Blow, 2/13)
The Star Tribune:
Long COVID Is A Health, Economic Concern
There's a timely focus on "off ramps" as COVID-19 cases decline and a weary public yearns for pandemic exits two years after the crisis began. But as the transition to a new normal accelerates, it's vitally important to recognize and prepare for this reality: The path ahead is far from smooth for a substantial number of people who survived this viral illness but still suffer serious aftereffects. (2/12)
Dallas Morning News:
It’s Time For Schools To End Mask Mandates
We have broadly been in favor of empowering local school districts to take steps they think necessary to protect students. We didn’t favor Abbott’s statewide mandate forbidding mask rules any more than we would have favored a statewide mandate to require masking. But as has been the case throughout this pandemic, the situation is changing. Cases of COVID-19 are falling. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the seven-day average number of cases nationwide has dropped by almost 64% in the past three weeks. (2/12)
