Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
A Different Memorial Day Than Last Year: Americans Begin To Gather Again
NBC News: Biden Observes Memorial Day At Arlington Cemetery With Calls For Empathy, Unity
President Joe Biden paid tribute to the men and women who gave their lives in service to their country during a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, speaking in deeply personal terms about overcoming loss and the importance of upholding democratic values at home and abroad. In addressing the sacrifice made by military families who have lost a loved one, Biden spoke at length about his personal experience of losing his son Beau Biden, a veteran of the Iraq war, who died of brain cancer six years ago Sunday. (Pettypiece, 5/31)
The Washington Post: Public Swarms Arlington National Cemetery On Memorial Day For The First Time Since The Pandemic
On Monday, families gathered mask-free beside graves, spread out blankets, and placed mementos and flowers beside them. A group of women sang Tibetan chants beside a grave. Families chatted as small children played around them. Some people just stood and bowed their heads. ... A cemetery spokesperson said about 10,000 people were expected to have visited by the end of the day. That is fewer than the 18,000 to 20,000 who typically come on Memorial Day. But a year ago, just 4,149 people, mostly family members, came for the holiday. (Bahrampour and Linskey, 5/31)
Fox News: Americans Unmask, Gather, Remember Over Memorial Day Weekend As Sense Of Normalcy Returns
Memorial Day Weekend services looked a bit different this year than they did in 2020 as Americans — more than half of which have received the COVID-19 vaccine — gathered to remember fallen heroes. President Biden attended a memorial service in Delaware on Sunday as he remembered his late son, Beau Biden, who served in the Iraq War and died of brain cancer on May 30, 2015. (Conklin, 5/31)
AP: A Nation Slowly Emerging From Pandemic Honors Memorial Day
A nation slowly emerging from social distancing measures imposed by the coronavirus pandemic honored generations of U.S. veterans killed in the line of duty on a Memorial Day observed without the severe pandemic restrictions that affected the day of tribute just a year ago. Memorial Day parades and events were held in localities large and small across the country Monday, many resuming after being canceled last year as the pandemic hit with full force. (Anderson, 6/1)
Travel and crowds grew over the holiday weekend —
The New York Times: Air Travel Hits A Pandemic Peak, But More Passengers Are Resisting Mask Mandates.
Memorial Day weekend is typically the start of the busy summer travel season, but this year it represents something more: the end of one of the roughest chapters in U.S. airline history. Passenger traffic has been climbing for much of this year and hit a pandemic peak on Friday, when more than 1.95 million passengers passed through security checkpoints in the nation’s airports, according to the Transportation Security Administration. That level was last reached in early March 2020, as the coronavirus was just beginning its devastating spread across the United States. (Cramer, Levenson, Chokshi and Kannapell, 5/31)
Reuters: Americans Hit The Road On Memorial Day Holiday, A Year After Pandemic Slammed Travel
A year after Memorial Day weekend travel was depressed by fears of the spreading virus, Americans took to the skies and roads. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said 7.1 million people were screened at U.S. airport checkpoints from Thursday through Sunday. Friday was the highest single travel day since March 2020, when COVID-19 slashed air travel demand, as 1.96 million people were screened. (Szekely, 5/31)
AP: Indianapolis 500 Welcomes 135,000 Fans In Global Benchmark
The largest crowd in the world for a sports event showed up in joyous force on Sunday, 135,000 of them packing the stands at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was only 40% of capacity — that was the figure deemed safe in the pandemic — but it felt like a full house nonetheless. (Gelston, 5/30)
AP: Charlotte Brings Normal To NASCAR Cup Series Going Forward
Slowly but surely in a sport built on speed, NASCAR is regaining its pre-pandemic ways. That was evident at Charlotte where the weekend routine looked like it did before the COVID-19 pandemic called for protective masks and contact tracing. There was a familiar feel to qualifying on Saturday. And then there was the crowd, some 50,000 or so who filled the track. “It’s just nice to actually qualify the way we used to qualify and have people around,” driver Ryan Newman said. (Iacobelli, 5/31)
