Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fauci's Released Emails Open Window Into Early Days Of Pandemic
The Washington Post: Anthony Fauci’s Pandemic Emails: ‘All Is Well Despite Some Crazy People In This World’
The correspondence from March and April 2020 opens a window to Fauci’s world during some of the most frantic days of the crisis, when the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was struggling to bring coherence to the Trump administration’s chaotic response to the virus and President Donald Trump was seeking to minimize its severity. (Paletta and Abutaleb, 6/1)
BuzzFeed: Fauci Emails Give Insight To Early Days Of COVID Response
More than 3,200 pages of emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by BuzzFeed News — covering the period from January to June 2020 — provide a rare glimpse into how Fauci approached his job during the biggest health crisis of the last century, showing him dealing directly with the public, health officials, reporters, and even celebrities. (The Washington Post also received more than 800 pages of emails and published a story about them on Monday.) The emails reviewed by BuzzFeed News reveal him sparring over an antiviral drug with Ezekiel Emanuel, a former Obama administration health adviser, fielding questions about vaccines, and receiving an update from Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook’s plans for a coronavirus “information hub.” (Bettendorf and Leopold, 6/1)
Axios: 866 Pages Of Fauci Emails Shed Light On Early Days Of COVID Crisis
Fauci told the Post that he would receive approximately 1,000 emails a day from colleagues, politicians, medical workers, foreign governments and strangers. "I was getting every single kind of question, mostly people who were a little bit confused about the mixed messages that were coming out of the White House and wanted to know what’s the real scoop," Fauci said. (Gonzalez, 6/1)
CNN: Fauci's Emails During The Pandemic's Early Days Were Published. Here's What They Show About Him
"This is White House in full overdrive and I am in the middle of it," Fauci wrote in a February 2 email published by BuzzFeed. "Reminiscent of post-anthrax days." (Maxouris and LeBlanc, 6/2)
Insider: Fauci Emails: Health Official Said 'Doggie Cones' Could Be Used As PPE
A US health official suggested to Dr. Anthony Fauci early in the pandemic that medical workers could use "doggie cones" instead of personal protective equipment, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post. ... In response to the suggestion from the Department of Health and Human Services official that dog cones — used to stop dogs from scratching dressings or wounds — could be used as PPE, Fauci replied with a polite thank you, The Post said. (Bostock, 6/2)
The Guardian: ‘Our Society Is Totally Nuts’: Fauci Emails Lift Lid On Life In Eye Of The Covid Storm
As Anthony Fauci, the US’s leading infectious diseases official, grappled with the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic last spring, he was pulled in many directions. Donald Trump’s White House, which was downplaying the dangers, was demanding he portray the outbreak on their terms; the media was hungry for answers; and Fauci’s email inbox was constantly full with officials, the public and celebrities offering advice and seeking information about the world’s deadliest health crisis for a century. (Luscombe and Pengelly, 6/1)
