Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Only Trust Fauci's Expertise At COVID-19 Press Briefings; American Enterprises Are Stepping Up Quickly
The New York Times: Thank God The Doctor Is In
It’s not easy being a national treasure. “I’m exhausted,” confessed Tony Fauci when I reached him Thursday evening in the middle of another 18-hour workday. “I have changed my tune a bit, probably thanks to my wife,” said the 79-year-old director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “About a week ago, I was going about four or five days in a row on about three hours of sleep, which is completely crazy, ’cause then I’ll be going on fumes. The last couple of nights, I’ve gotten five hours’ sleep, so I feel much better.” (Maureen Dowd, 3/21)
Press Think: Today We Are Switching Our Coverage Of Donald Trump To An Emergency Setting
Even this far into his term, it is still a bit of a shock to be reminded that the single most potent force for misinforming the American public is the current president of the United States. For three years this has been a massive — and unsolved — problem for the country and its political leadership. But now it is life and death. On everything that involves the coronavirus Donald Trump’s public statements have been unreliable. And that is why today we announce that we are shifting our coverage of the President to an emergency setting. (Jay Rosen, 3/19)
The Washington Post: Trump's Dangerous Coronavirus Briefings: Why The Media Must Stop The Live Broadcasts
More and more each day, President Trump is using his daily briefings as a substitute for the campaign rallies that have been forced into extinction by the spread of the novel coronavirus. These White House sessions — ostensibly meant to give the public critical and truthful information about this frightening crisis — are in fact working against that end. Rather, they have become a daily stage for Trump to play his greatest hits to captive audience members. They come in search of life-or-death information, but here’s what they get from him instead: Self-aggrandizement. (Margaret Sullivan, 3/21)
USA Today: Coronavirus: Trump Peddles Snake Oil Over Chloroquine Test, False Hope
One of the first acts of the federal precursor to the Food and Drug Administration in 1916 was to crack down on the sale of a cowboy's cure-all called Stanley's Snake Oil, which government chemists discovered promised much more than it delivered. The product helped give rise to the expression snake-oil salesman. If Donald Trump wasn't quite the quintessential snake-oil salesman at a news briefing this week and on Twitter Saturday — touting preliminary and even unproven medical remedies to the new coronavirus pandemic — he came disturbingly close. (Mark Zuckerman and Andrew Stettner, 3/22)
Fox News: How Businesses Are Stepping Up, Collaborating With Trump Administration
President Trump has promised to unite the full force of the federal government with the full power of American enterprise to respond to the China Wuhan virus – and the response from the private sector has been overwhelming. To understand just how this is working – and to let you, the American people, know that businesses are stepping up to help as you deal with the China coronavirus crisis by staying safe at home – let me quickly describe a week in the life here at the White House. This will help illustrate just how hard everyone is working across the federal government to break down barriers in Trump Time, which is to say as quickly as possible. (Peter Navarro, 3/22)
Dallas Morning News: Washington Wants To Go Big On Stimulus, We’d Rather They Get It Right
It should be clear now that our leaders in Washington have gotten the memo that the coronavirus poses a crisis. That much should be clear, because the talk in Washington is about passing the largest stimulus package in history.We understand the impulse, and we’re on board with a federal response to this unprecedented crisis. After all, it’s beyond obvious that a large number of Americans are likely now (or in the near future) to apply for unemployment benefits because they’ve been suddenly tossed out of work. What’s more, tens of millions of other workers have grown understandably anxious about their economic future. And it is also clear that entire sectors of our economy are getting hammered as the economic activity they live off vanishes. (3/23)
The Wall Street Journal: How Long Will The Coronavirus Lockdowns Go On?
First, the bad news: America’s coronavirus epidemic is only beginning, and the suffering will become more searing over the next two weeks. Hospitals in New York City may soon be overwhelmed. New Orleans, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle may not be far behind. It will soon be clear why Covid-19 can’t be allowed to rage through the country untamed. The intense restrictions—telling Americans to stay inside in New York, California and other states—are necessary. But so is a path back to a more normal life. Here’s what the priorities should be in the coming weeks, with a focus on preventing new sparks of the virus from turning into the fires of New York and Seattle. (Scott Gottlieb, 3/22)
CNN: Our Best Hope For Fighting Coronavirus
Covid-19 is a pandemic of remarkable ferocity. The global population lacks immunity because this is the first time in known history that we are confronting this coronavirus. The virus is also highly transmissible. To add to the problem, many people who have been infected experience mild, if any symptoms, and transmit the disease without awareness either of the infected individual or those who they are infecting. (Jeffrey Sachs, 3/22)
Modern Healthcare: Tackle Healthcare Affordability Through Competition
The conversation about healthcare policy today is rightly focused on mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic, and ensuring that American hospitals avoid the fate of Italy’s. But while we do that, we cannot completely forget about the other, more familiar crisis in U.S. healthcare: affordability. (Avik Roy, 3/21)
Chicago Tribune: Coronavirus And Springfield: The Urgent Agenda Should Include Property Tax Relief
While coronavirus developments unfold by the minute and consume the attention of elected officials, legislation is piling up in Springfield with no easy answer on how to address it. Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered Illinois residents to shelter in place starting Saturday, and the legislature’s spring session has been indefinitely sidetracked. House and Senate leaders canceled a session for the last full week of March and are working to postpone deadlines for bills that normally would be moving through committees. It’s possible lawmakers will work into the summer — eventually — if the pandemic is under control by then. But what about now? (3/23)
Boston Globe: State Must Ensure Inmates Are Protected From Coronavirus
On Friday, an inmate at Massachusetts Treatment Center, a prison in Bridgewater, tested positive for COVID-19. This case may be the tip of the iceberg, as other inmates and prison staff could have been exposed. As infectious diseases physicians and a sheriff working in Massachusetts jails and prisons, we urge the community and the Legislature to recognize the importance of prevention and mitigation in these enclosed environments. Action is urgently needed. (Alysse G. Wurcel, David R. Stone, and Peter J. Koutoujian, 3/23)
Chicago Sun Times: Trump Coronavirus Tweets: President Goes After Illinois Gov Pritzker, Lightfoot Weighs In
President Donald Trump shot off a furious tweet to Gov. J.B. Pritzker after the Illinois leader told CNN Sunday he needs more federal help to procure masks and other protective equipment sorely needed as the coronavirus pandemic swells.“@JBPritzker Governor of Illinois, and a very small group of certain other Governors, together with Fake News @CNN & Concast (MSDNC), shouldn’t be blaming the Federal Government for their own shortcomings. We are there to back you up should you fail, and always will be!” Trump fumed in the tweet. Trump, grappling with the enormity of this coronavirus catastrophe we are all living through, fell back on his familiar foils: the so-called “fake news,” CNN, Comcast and MSNBC instead of confronting the reality that Illinois and other state governments are hunting for what in federal jargon is called PPE – personal protective equipment gear. (Lynn Sweet, 3/22)
Boston Globe: Courts Should Not Deny Due Process During Coronavirus Pandemic
Attorneys across the state are requesting, in appropriate cases, to have their clients’ bail lowered or simply to have them released. Many people awaiting trial pose no threat to public safety, but they themselves are placed at increased risk by reason of pretrial detention. This community-wide change in circumstances requires us to take a fresh look at bail orders for many pretrial detainees. (Anthony Benedetti, 3/22)
Miami Herald: Florida Leader Takes Timid Steps In Face Of Scourge
With Florida’s economy crashing under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Ron DeSantis is working overtime to preserve our status as the world’s leading exporter of political comedy. Friday, DeSantis mounted the bully pulpit to present House Speaker Jose Oliva, with a baseball bat inscribed with the words “Slayer of the healthcare industrial complex. ”It was a sophomoric bit of messaging on any day. It was inexcusably tone-deaf when the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Florida topped 500. At least 10 people had died since the crisis began. There is no operator’s manual for handling the most singular health threat in this country in more than a century. But if there were, we would urge Gov. Gavin Newsom, of California, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, of New York, or Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut to share it with Florida’s governor — quickly. (3/22)
