Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Death Toll In U.S. Surpasses Vietnam War's Toll, While Total Cases Climb Past Grim 1 Million Mark
The Hill: US Surpasses 1 Million COVID-19 Cases
More than a million people in the United States have tested positive for the coronavirus, a sobering milestone that experts say represents only the beginning of a months-long battle to end the pandemic. The United States has now registered about a third of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the globe, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. More than 57,000 people have died in the United States, about a quarter of the known COVID-19 deaths around the globe. (Wilson, 4/28)
CIDRAP: US Hits 1 Million COVID-19 Cases As States Take On Testing
In total, a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University shows 1,002,498 cases, including 57,533 fatalities. The milestone comes a day after the world surpassed 3 million cases in the 4 months since the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China. Less than 1 month ago—on Apr 2—the global total hit 1 million cases. (Soucheray, 4/28)
Reuters: U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Surpass Vietnam War Toll As Florida Readies Reopening Plan
The U.S. coronavirus death toll climbed above 58,000 on Tuesday, surpassing the loss of American life from the Vietnam War, as Florida’s governor met with President Donald Trump to discuss an easing of economic restraints. (Mason and Caspani, 4/28)
The Hill: Coronavirus Death Toll In US Now Exceeds That Of Vietnam War
Johns Hopkins University’s death toll in the country reached 58,351 as of Tuesday night, surpassing the 58,220 who died during the Vietnam War that lasted almost 20 years, according to the National Archives. But the rate of deaths during the so far three-month-long coronavirus pandemic outpaces the fatality rate during the deadliest year during the war, NPR reported. The current death rate reaches 17.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to in 1968, when 8.5 troops for every 100,000 residents were killed. (Coleman, 4/28)
The New York Times: U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Is Far Higher Than Reported, C.D.C. Data Suggests
Total deaths in seven states that have been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic are nearly 50 percent higher than normal for the five weeks from March 8 through April 11, according to new death statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is 9,000 more deaths than were reported as of April 11 in official counts of deaths from the coronavirus. The new data is partial and most likely undercounts the recent death toll significantly. But it still illustrates how the coronavirus is causing a surge in deaths in the places it has struck, probably killing more people than the reported statistics capture. (Katz, Lu and Sanger-Katz, 4/28)
The New York Times: Coronavirus In The U.S.: Latest Map And Case Count
Those numbers do not include more than 5,300 people in New York City who died and are believed to have had the coronavirus. Many of those patients died without being tested, a consequence of a strained medical system and a persistent lack of testing capacity. (4/29)
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Coronavirus Cases Top One Million As Some Lockdowns Ease
In recent days, U.S. governors have detailed phased reopening plans, in a patchwork of orders that vary by speed and approach. In states hit hardest by the pandemic, however, leaders have extended stay-at-home orders and warned that acting prematurely could hinder progress made against the virus. (Calfas, Jamerson and Xie, 4/28)
ABC News: Coronavirus Deaths 'Likely To Continue To Rise' In Coming Weeks, CDC Says
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 215,000 people worldwide... Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 1 million diagnosed cases and at least 58,365 deaths. (Winsor and Torres, 4/29)
ABC News: How Accurate Is The US Coronavirus Death Count? Some Experts Say It's Off By 'Tens Of Thousands'
The novel coronavirus has already claimed the lives of more than 58,000 Americans. But experts fear that number could be far higher at this point in the outbreak -- perhaps by tens of thousands -- once the pandemic subsides enough for officials to go back and make a true reckoning of the dead. Experts are urging leaders to take measures right now to preserve data and medical specimens so that science has the chance to determine the precise number of people who succumbed during one of the most severe global pandemics in memory. (Abdelmalek, Francescani and Folmer, 4/29)
The Washington Post: Coronavirus Victims: Remembering The Americans Who Have Died
No infectious disease in a century has exacted as swift and merciless a toll on the United States as covid-19. With no vaccine and no cure, the pandemic has killed people in every state. The necessary isolation it imposes has robbed the bereaved of proper goodbyes and the comfort of mourning rituals. Those remembered in this continually updating series represent but some of the tens of thousands who have died. Some were well-known, and many were unsung. All added their stories, from all walks of life, to the diversity of the American experience. (4/24)
