First Edition: May 15, 2020
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Another Coronavirus Casualty: California’s Budget
The coronavirus has claimed another victim: California’s finances. Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his revised 2020-21 state budget plan Thursday at a somber briefing punctuated by bleak talk of deficits, program cuts and record unemployment. His $203 billion spending proposal — nearly $19 billion less than his ambitious January budget blueprint — includes a slight increase in public health funding to help California in its fight against COVID-19, but falls far short of the amount public health leaders say is needed to respond immediately and prepare for future threats. (Hart, Young and Bluth, 5/14)
Kaiser Health News:
Chasing The Elusive Dream Of A COVID Cure
Although scientists and stock markets have celebrated the approval for emergency use of remdesivir to treat COVID-19, a cure for the disease that has killed nearly 260,000 people remains a long way off — and might never arrive. Hundreds of drugs are being studied around the world, but “I don’t see a lot of home runs right now,” said Dr. Carlos del Rio, a professor of infectious diseases at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. “I see a lot of strikeouts.” (Szabo, 5/15)
Kaiser Health News:
Lost On The Frontline
A hands-on pharmacist who made the big city feel smaller. A family practice physician who made house calls. A couple married for 44 years. These are some of the people just added to “Lost on the Frontline,” a special series from The Guardian and KHN that profiles health care workers who die of COVID-19. (5/15)
Kaiser Health News:
As Congress Weighs COVID Liability Protections, States Shield Health Providers
Coronavirus patients and their families who believe a doctor, nurse, hospital or other provider made serious mistakes during their care may face a new hurdle if they try to file medical malpractice lawsuits. Under pressure from health provider organizations, governors in Connecticut, Maryland, Illinois and several other states have ordered that most providers be shielded from civil ― and, in some cases, criminal — lawsuits over medical treatment during the COVID-19 health emergency. (Jaffe, 5/15)
Kaiser Health News and Politifact HealthCheck:
Evidence Shows Obama Team Left A Pandemic ‘Game Plan’ For Trump Administration
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell alleged that the Obama administration did not provide the Trump administration with any information about the threat of a possible pandemic during a May 11 Team Trump Facebook Live discussion with Lara Trump. “They claim pandemics only happen once every 100 years, but what if that is no longer true? We want to be ready, early, for the next one. Because clearly, the Obama administration did not leave any kind of game plan for something like this,” said McConnell. (Knight, 5/15)
Kaiser Health News:
In Reversal, Kansas Will Count All Positive COVID Cases, Even Asymptomatic Ones
Kansas leaders will include asymptomatic COVID-19 cases in their assessments of virus trends as they evaluate when to take further steps to ease stay-at-home orders and other social distancing measures. The move represents a reversal after NPR station KCUR in Kansas City, Missouri, reported last week that the state was omitting these cases from its data, painting an overly optimistic picture of the outbreak. Kansas had instead looked at “symptom onset” data — a metric that by definition excludes people who test positive for the coronavirus but don’t develop symptoms. (Smith, 5/14)
Kaiser Health News:
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: What’s In The Next Round Of COVID-19 Relief?
House Democrats are moving ahead with another round of COVID-19 relief, including additional funding for state Medicaid programs, an open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace plans, and money to pay premiums for newly unemployed Americans to continue on their employer health coverage. Republicans, however, say the Democrats’ bill goes too far. Meanwhile, the outbreak of the virus in the White House complex — including a top aide to Vice President Mike Pence ― has complicated the Trump administration’s efforts to press for a broader opening of the economy even while the illness continues to spread. (5/14)
The Wall Street Journal:
Global Coronavirus Deaths Pass 300,000 As U.S. States Further Ease Restrictions
The confirmed global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic passed 301,000 as tensions flared over reopenings in the U.S. and some Asian countries rolled out large-scale testing to contain resurgent clusters of infections. Cases world-wide topped 4.4 million, with 1.4 million in the U.S., according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. U.S. deaths stood at more than 85,000. Experts say the official numbers likely understate the extent of the pandemic. (Ansari and Calfas, 5/14)
Politico:
A Metrics-Obsessed White House Struggles To Define Success On Coronavirus
By far the most sensitive subject is the awful reality of the growing death count. “I’m not going to play that game,” said one White House official when asked if there is a number of dead Americans beyond what the public would tolerate. “I think all these body count things are somewhat gross and the definitions are kind of fu--ed up and they’re not uniform across states and across countries.” But even beyond the death count, there’s a widespread reluctance to define what success means. “I’m not going to get into this game four or five months from now about what any particular metric needs to look like,” the official said. (Lizza and Lippman, 5/14)
Politico:
Trump: Coronavirus Testing May Be ‘Overrated’ And Reason For High U.S. Case Count
President Donald Trump on Thursday said testing for coronavirus might be “overrated,” revisiting his concern early in the outbreak that testing for the disease would raise the nation’s case count. ... “America has now conducted its 10 millionth test. That’s as of yesterday afternoon. Ten million tests we gave. Ten million,” Trump said from a stage at the warehouse event, which had the trappings of a campaign-style rally. “And CVS has just committed to establish up to 1,000 new coronavirus testing sites by the end of this month, and the 10 millionth will go up very, very rapidly.” (Ward, 5/14)
Roll Call:
National Body Bag Shortage Exacerbates Funeral Homes’ Problems
A national shortage of body bags is disrupting the work of funeral directors across the country, raising difficult questions about how to maintain the dignity of the deceased and reduce workers’ concerns about potential exposure to the coronavirus. The shortage of body bags is a grim reminder of the pandemic’s mounting death toll. (Kopp, 5/14)
The New York Times:
‘Lives Were Lost’ As Warnings Went Unheeded, Whistle-Blower Tells House
The whistle-blower who was ousted as the head of a federal medical research agency charged on Thursday that top Trump administration officials failed to heed his early warnings to stock up on masks and other supplies to combat the coronavirus, and that Americans died as a result. “Lives were endangered, and I believe lives were lost,” Dr. Rick Bright, who was removed in April as the director of the Department of Health and Human Services’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, told a House subcommittee as he warned, “The window is closing to address this pandemic.” Over nearly four hours of testimony, Dr. Bright told lawmakers that the outbreak would “get worse and be prolonged” if the United States did not swiftly develop a national testing strategy. (Stolberg, 5/14)
Reuters:
U.S. Faces 'Darkest Winter' If Pandemic Planning Falters: Whistleblower
Bright testified to the subcommittee on health that he would “never forget” an e-mail he got in January from a U.S. supplier of medical-grade face masks warning of a dire shortage. “He said ‘we are in deep shit. The world is. We need to act,’” Bright said. “And I pushed that forward to the highest level that I could of HHS and got no response.” Bright testified that the U.S. still lacked a comprehensive plan for ensuring a supply of basic supplies like swabs needed to administer coronavirus tests. (Wolfe and Brice, 5/14)
The Associated Press:
Whistleblower: US Still Lacks Virus Plan, Americans At Risk
“We need still a comprehensive plan, and everyone across the government and everyone in America needs to know what that plan is, and what role they play,” he told the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “There are critical steps that we need to do to prepare ... we do not still have enough personal protective equipment to manage our health care workers ... we still do not have the supply chains ramped up for the drugs and vaccines, and we still don’t have plans in place for how we distribute those drugs and vaccines. We still do not have a comprehensive testing strategy.” At the White House, President Donald Trump said Bright looked like an “angry, disgruntled employee,” and Bright’s boss, HHS Secretary Alex Azar, said, “Everything he is complaining about was achieved.” (Alonso-Zaldivar and Lardner, 5/15)
The Associated Press:
Trump Says He'll Replenish Stockpile For Future Pandemics
President Donald Trump says he intends to prepare for future pandemics by replenishing the national stockpile and bringing manufacturing of critical supplies and equipment back to the U.S. His comments came the same day a whistleblower told Congress the Trump administration had failed to properly prepare for the current pandemic. “Wouldn’t that be nice?” Trump said Thursday during a visit to a Pennsylvania distributor of medical equipment. “My goal is to produce everything America needs for ourselves and then export to the world, including medicines.” (Colvin and Superville, 5/15)
The Washington Post:
Trump Administration Plans To Expand Emergency Gear In National Stockpile
The president said his administration is launching what he termed a “groundbreaking initiative” to “replenish and modernize” the government’s stores of masks, ventilators and other essential pandemic-fighting medical equipment to create a 90-day reserve. In keeping with his “America first” mantra, Trump and his aides said the manufacturing would be carried out by U.S. companies, diminishing the reliance on foreign factories that have been the stockpile’s major sources. (Goldstein, 5/14)
The Hill:
Trump Goes Without Mask On Trip To Pennsylvania PPE Factory
President Trump on Thursday went without a mask during a visit to a Pennsylvania medical equipment distribution center, even as other government officials in his party wore face coverings around the facility. The president toured and made remarks at Owens & Minor Inc. in Allentown to tout his administration's work in producing and distributing personal protective equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic. The distribution center has sent millions of N95 masks, surgical gowns and gloves to hospitals around the country. (Samuels, 5/14)
Politico:
Pentagon Fires Its Point Person For Defense Production Act
Jennifer Santos, the Pentagon’s industrial policy chief who oversees efforts to ramp up production of masks and other equipment to help fight Covid-19, was fired from her job this week and will move to a position in the Navy, according to two people familiar with the matter. Santos took over the job of deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial policy in June 2019 after her predecessor, Eric Chewning, was tapped to serve as chief of staff to then-acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan. (Seligman and Lippman, 5/14)
The New York Times:
C.D.C. Issues Reopening Checklists For Schools And Businesses
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday released six flow charts meant to help schools, restaurants, transit systems and other businesses decide when to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic, the agency’s first release of such guidance after a more comprehensive draft was rejected by the White House. The decision trees are mostly composed of basic tips that can serve as a checklist for businesses before they reopen. In the slide for restaurants and bars, the C.D.C. says the establishments should feel comfortable opening if they are not violating local laws, promote good hygiene, increase cleaning, encourage social distancing and institute lenient sick leave policies, among a few other suggestions. (Bogel-Burroughs, 5/15)
Reuters:
U.S. CDC Issues Guidelines On How To Reopen Schools, Transit And Workplaces
“These six decision trees are to assist leaders of these entities in thinking through health considerations and making operational decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic,” a CDC spokesman said in an emailed statement. The tools stress working with state and local health officials. They are intended to help business owners develop policies for their employees. (Steenhuysen, 5/14)
The Associated Press:
Officials Release Edited Coronavirus Reopening Guidance
Early versions of the documents included detailed information for churches wanting to restart in-person services, with suggestions including maintaining distance between parishioners and limiting the size of gatherings. The faith-related guidance was taken out after the White House raised concerns about the recommended restrictions, according to government emails obtained by The Associated Press and a person inside the agency who didn’t have permission to talk with reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity. (Stobbe and Dearen, 5/15)
The New York Times:
In 3 Key States That Elected Trump, Bitter Divisions On Reopening
In Wisconsin, residents woke up to a state of confusion on Thursday after the conservative majority on the State Supreme Court sided with the Republican majority in the Legislature on Wednesday night, overturning a statewide stay-at-home order by Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat. In Michigan, hundreds of protesters, many of them armed, turned out at the State Capitol in a drenching rainstorm. The state closed the building in advance and canceled the legislative session, rather than risk a repeat of an April protest in which angry protesters carrying long guns crowded inside. (Nolan, Bosman and Robertson, 5/14)
The New York Times:
Coronavirus In Pennsylvania: G.O.P. Defiance Of Lockdown Has 2020 Implications
It was a stunning rebuke by a governor. As resistance to lockdown orders flares around the country, often with a partisan overtone, Gov. Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, reached for a military metaphor to accuse Republican officials of desertion in the battle against the pandemic. “To those politicians who decide to cave in to this coronavirus,” Mr. Wolf said on Monday, addressing county lawmakers who have defied his stay-at-home directives, “they need to understand the consequences of their cowardly act.” (Gabriel, 5/14)
Politico:
'They Are Angry': Pandemic And Economic Collapse Slam Trump Across Rust Belt
The Industrial Midwest was always going to be a battleground in November. The region is now becoming a new front line for Americans’ lives and livelihoods as coronavirus hot spots proliferate and jobless rates spiral. The confluence of a ferocious pandemic, deepening economic turmoil and rising political tensions is more pronounced here than anywhere else in the country. And it sets the stage for a combustible campaign season that is testing President Donald Trump’s efforts to move on and insulate himself from the crisis—and Joe Biden’s ability to blame him for the fallout. (Cadelago, Cassella and McCaskill, 5/14)
The Associated Press:
Tensions Rise As Texas Governor Readies To Lift More Rules
Two weeks into the reopening of Texas, coronavirus cases are climbing. New outbreaks still crop up. And at Guero’s Taco Bar in Austin, which offers the occasional celebrity sighting, a log of every diner and where they sat is begrudgingly in the works. “It seems like a huge invasion of privacy,” said owner Cathy Lipincott, who is nonetheless trying to comply with Austin’s local public health guidelines by asking, but not requiring, customers to give their information. (Weber and Vertuno, 5/15)
Reuters:
Hundreds Protest Michigan Stay-At-Home Order
Hundreds gathered to protest Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order on Thursday in Lansing, the third but smallest major demonstration at the state’s Capitol since businesses were shuttered in March due to the coronavirus. (Martina and Herald, 5/14)
The New York Times:
De Blasio Relies On Aide Who Saw ‘No Proof’ Closures Curb Coronavirus
As Mayor Bill de Blasio was resisting calls in March to cancel large gatherings and slow the spread of the coronavirus in New York City, he found behind-the-scenes support from a trusted voice: the head of his public hospital system, Dr. Mitchell Katz. There was “no proof that closures will help stop the spread,” Dr. Katz wrote in an email to the mayor’s closest aides. He believed that banning large events would hurt the economy and sow fear. “If it is not safe to go to a conference, why is it safe to go to the hospital or ride in the subway?” he wrote. And, he said, many New Yorkers were going to get infected anyway. (Rashbaum, Goodman, Mays and Goldstein, 5/14)
The Associated Press:
Surf’s Up And So Are New Beach Rules To Prevent Virus Spread
They arrived at the beach by car, skateboard and on bare feet. They carried Frisbees, cameras and surfboards. They wore running shorts, yoga pants and wetsuits. Many wore masks. That was the starkest difference this week apart from a moment in time in March that seems hard to conjure now — before beaches closed and face masks seemed like an extreme and maybe even ineffective protection from coronavirus. (Melley, 5/15)
Reuters:
Why The United States Might Not Open Up To International Travelers Any Time Soon
The U.S. government largely shut down international travel to the United States in March with a series of rapid-fire moves, but restarting it will likely be a longer, more piecemeal process that could be complicated by rising tensions with China. (Hesson, 5/14)
The Associated Press:
Auto Workers' Tenuous Return A Ray Of Hope In Jobs Crisis
Defying a wave of layoffs that has sent the U.S. job market into its worst catastrophe on record, at least one major industry is making a comeback: Tens of thousands of auto workers are returning to factories that have been shuttered since mid-March due to fears of spreading the coronavirus. Until now, it was mostly hair salons, restaurants, tattoo parlors and other small businesses reopening in some parts of the country. But the auto industry is among the first major sectors of the economy to restart its engine. (Krisher, 5/15)
The Associated Press:
Wisconsin Governor Warns Of 'Massive Confusion' After Ruling
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers warned Thursday of “massive confusion” after the state Supreme Court tossed out the Democrat’s stay-at-home order and Republicans said they may leave it up to local governments to enact their own rules for combating the coronavirus pandemic. The court’s order threw communities into chaos, with some bars opening immediately while local leaders in other areas moved to keep strict restrictions in place to prevent further spread of the virus. (Bauer and Richmond, 5/14)
Reuters:
'Wild, Wild West': Wisconsin Reopens For Business
The court sided with a legal challenge from Republican lawmakers who argued the state’s top public health official, Andrea Palm, exceeded her authority by imposing a stay-at-home order through May 26. Not long after the ruling was announced, some beer-loving Wisconsinites rushed to bars for their first taste of freedom in nearly two months, and pictures appeared on social media of maskless crowds of revelers nowhere near 6 feet apart. (O'Brien, 5/14)
The New York Times:
Coronavirus In Wuhan: Inside China's Plan To Test 11 Million People
Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic began, has announced an ambitious plan to test all of its 11 million residents for the virus in the coming days, a campaign that will be closely watched by governments elsewhere. The testing drive, which is likely to require the mobilization of thousands of medical and other workers, shows the ruling Communist Party’s resolve to prevent a second wave of infections as it tries to restart China’s economy. The plan was announced this week after Wuhan reported six coronavirus cases, breaking a streak of more than a month without any new confirmed infections. (Wee and Wang, 5/14)
The Associated Press:
FDA Probes Accuracy Issue With Abbott's Rapid Virus Test
Federal health officials are alerting doctors to a potential accuracy problem with a rapid test for COVID-19 used at thousands of hospitals, clinics and testing sites across the U.S., including the White House. The Food and Drug Administration said late Thursday it is investigating preliminary data suggesting Abbott Laboratories’ 15-minute test can miss COVID-19 cases, falsely clearing patients of infection. The test is used daily at the White House to test President Donald Trump and key members of his staff, including the coronavirus task force. (Perrone, 5/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
Abbott Will Change Coronavirus Test Instructions For Second Time
Abbott Laboratories said Thursday that it would change the instructions for using its fast coronavirus test for a second time, days after a preliminary study by a major medical center found the device frequently gave negative results for patients who were infected with the virus. The change will tell users that negative results produced by Abbott’s ID Now device are “presumptive” and should be verified with an alternative test for patients with signs of the virus. That means sacrificing the device’s quick turnaround time for some patients as tests are repeated using methods that can take much longer. (Weaver, 5/14)
Reuters:
Factbox: The Race To Deploy COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps
Technologists and health officials around the world are racing to develop smartphone apps to trace who has been in contact with carriers of the novel coronavirus. Contact-tracing, a disease control tactic that traditionally relies on patients’ memories of their movements, identifies people they might have infected so they too can be isolated. (5/14)
Stat:
Under Trump, Will The U.S. Corner The Market On Covid-19 Vaccine?
The United States is sprinting headlong toward the development and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. But under an “America First” president, public health experts worry, the United States could seek to gobble up early supplies — and set the stage for prolonged devastation in the rest of the world. (Branswell, 5/15)
The Washington Post:
Sanofi Coronavirus Vaccine Shouldn't Go To U.S. First, France Says
It would be "unacceptable" for French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi to give the United States first access to a potential coronavirus vaccine, French government officials said Thursday. The pushback came after comments by Sanofi chief executive Paul Hudson. “The U.S. government has the right to the largest preorder because it’s invested in taking the risk,” Hudson told Bloomberg News in a story published Wednesday. The United States, Hudson said, expanded its investment in the company’s vaccine research in February and thus expects that “if we’ve helped you manufacture the doses at risk, we expect to get the doses first.” (McAuley, 5/14)
Reuters:
Novartis CEO Says Any New Coronavirus Vaccine Will Take Two Years: Newspaper
Any vaccine to fight the new coronavirus will not be ready for use for at least two years, the chief executive of Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, which no longer makes vaccines itself, told a German newspaper. Novartis sold its vaccine business in 2015 to GlaxoSmithKline, one of many companies around the world now racing to make a drug. Some companies are already testing vaccine candidates on humans. (5/15)
Stat:
A Movie Ticket Or ‘Impossible To Overpay’? Experts Offer Price For Remdesivir
Two weeks ago, the world learned that remdesivir, a treatment from Gilead Sciences, has a moderate but much-needed benefit for patients with Covid-19. In the days since, public health experts, economists, and industry watchdogs have been mulling the next big question: How much should it cost? (Garde and Silverman, 5/15)
The New York Times:
Economists Want To Put Stimulus On Autopilot. Congress Has Other Ideas.
When there is an economic crisis, you want a government response that is scaled accordingly. But you don’t know in advance just how long a crisis will last or how severe it will be. Economists have a crisp-sounding solution: Calibrate government help, such as unemployment insurance and aid to state governments, so that it rises automatically when the economy is weak and falls as the economy returns to health. The unemployment rate or other economic indicators can serve as triggers. The concept of automatic stabilizers is embraced by many centrist and left-of-center technocrats, including the last two leaders of the Federal Reserve. (Irwin, 5/15)
The New York Times:
With Go-Slow Approach, Republicans Risk Political Blowback On Pandemic Aid
More than eight weeks and almost $2.8 trillion federal dollars into an urgent response to the coronavirus pandemic, congressional Republicans and the Trump administration have made it clear that they have little interest in engaging with Democrats on another round of costly relief measures. But their resistance — born of spending fatigue and policy divisions — is proving increasingly unsustainable, given tens of millions of anxious Americans out of work, businesses and schools shuttered and an election looming. (Hulse, 5/15)
The Associated Press:
Pelosi, GOP Exchange Barbs Over New Economic Relief Package
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lashed out Thursday at Trump administration officials and congressional Republicans seeking to slow work on a fresh round of coronavirus relief. The White House responded minutes later with a threat that President Donald Trump would veto the $3 trillion economic package Democrats have proposed. The bill already had zero chance of passing the GOP-controlled Senate and reaching Trump, making the veto threat a symbolic gesture. Along with caustic criticism by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the exchange underscored the deep election-year gulch over what Congress’ next response to the crisis should be. (Fram, 5/15)
The Hill:
McConnell: 'High Likelihood' That Congress Will Need To Pass Fifth Coronavirus Bill
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday that Congress would likely need to pass a fifth coronavirus relief bill, but declined to give a timeline for additional legislation. McConnell, during a Fox News interview, said he did "anticipate" that Congress will need to "act again at some point" but that Republicans first wanted to review the roughly $2.8 trillion already appropriated by Congress. (Carney, 5/14)
The New York Times:
Richard Burr Steps Back From Senate Panel As Phone Is Seized In Stock Sales Inquiry
Senator Richard M. Burr of North Carolina temporarily stepped down on Thursday as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, a day after F.B.I. agents seized his cellphone as part of an investigation into whether he sold hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of stocks using nonpublic information about the coronavirus. The seizure and an accompanying search for his electronic storage accounts, confirmed by an investigator briefed on the case, represented a significant escalation of the inquiry by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Benner and Fandos, 5/14)
The Associated Press:
Burr Steps Aside As Senate Intelligence Chair Amid FBI Probe
Hours later, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina stepped aside Thursday as chairman of the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee, calling it the “best thing to do.” Burr has denied wrongdoing. “This is a distraction to the hard work of the committee and the members, and I think that the security of the country is too important to have a distraction,” Burr said. He said he would serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in 2023. He is not running for reelection. (Tucker, Balsamo and Jalonick, 5/15)
The New York Times:
Unemployment Claims Above 36 Million In Coronavirus Pandemic
Scattershot reopenings of retail stores, nail salons and restaurants around the country have not halted the flood of layoffs, with the government reporting Thursday that nearly three million people filed unemployment claims last week, bringing the two-month tally to more than 36 million. The weekly count of new claims has been declining since late March, but that hopeful flicker barely stands out in an otherwise grim and chaotic economic landscape. “This is a very protracted, painful situation for the labor market,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, “and I just don’t see anything positive.” (Cohen and Hsu, 5/14)
The New York Times:
DeVos Funnels Coronavirus Relief Funds To Favored Private And Religious Schools
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is using the $2 trillion coronavirus stabilization law to throw a lifeline to education sectors she has long championed, directing millions of federal dollars intended primarily for public schools and colleges to private and religious schools. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, signed in late March, included $30 billion for education institutions turned upside down by the pandemic shutdowns, about $14 billion for higher education, $13.5 billion to elementary and secondary schools, and the rest for state governments. (Green, 5/15)
The New York Times:
Hospitals Knew How To Make Money. Then Coronavirus Happened.
When the top-ranked Mayo Clinic stopped all nonemergency medical care in late March, it began to lose millions of dollars a day. The clinic, a Minnesota-based hospital system accustomed to treating American presidents and foreign dignitaries, saw revenue plummet as it postponed lucrative surgeries to make way for coronavirus victims. The hospital network produced $1 billion in net operating revenue last year, but now expects to lose $900 million in 2020 even after furloughing workers, cutting doctors’ pay and halting new construction projects. (Kliff, 5/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
New York Sent Recovering Coronavirus Patients To Nursing Homes: ‘It Was A Fatal Error’
In late March, Dottie Hickey got a call from Luxor Nursing & Rehabilitation at Mills Pond, the nursing home where her sister lived. The 79-year-old was being moved to make space for incoming hospital patients recovering from coronavirus. Ms. Hickey was told the St. James, N.Y., facility had no choice but to take in these patients under a new state policy. Ms. Hickey said that after a few days she struggled to reach staff for updates on her sister, and after repeated calls, one employee told her why. The nursing home was overwhelmed with cases of Covid-19, the illness caused by the virus. Luxor Nursing & Rehabilitation had no confirmed coronavirus cases before the patients moved in, and can’t say if any arrived while still infectious, a spokesman said. But he added: Luxor “would not have accepted [the patients] without this directive.” (Wilde Mathews, 5/14)
Reuters:
U.S. Issues First Coronavirus Workplace Guidance To Nursing Homes
The U.S. Department of Labor issued its first workplace guidance to nursing homes on Thursday since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country and ravaged care facilities, saying residents, staff and visitors should keep 6 feet (1.83 meters) apart. (Hals, 5/14)
The New York Times:
‘We’re Just Horrified’: Why A Springsteen Sideman Took On Nursing Homes
When the coronavirus outbreak was only manifesting itself in horrifying headlines from Italy and China, Nils Lofgren, the guitarist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, and his wife, Amy, moved her mother into Brookdale Senior Living, a well-regarded long term care facility in Florham Park, N.J. Almost immediately, Patricia J. Landers, Mrs. Lofgren’s mother, began complaining about missing medications and lapses in supervision. The family began to notice a pattern of neglect, particularly in treating her dementia. (Corasaniti, 5/15)
The New York Times:
‘Everybody Was Sick’: Inside An ICE Detention Center
Last month, Makalay Tarawally propped her 2-month-old in front of her phone so that his father could meet him for the first time, virtually. As a blood technician for a Covid-19 hospital unit, Ms. Tarawally knew how careful she needed to be. From her aunt’s house in Edison, N.J., she called a room at the Red Roof Inn. The father of her two children, Abdul Massaquoi, was isolating there because of possible exposure to the coronavirus. He waved through the phone screen. (La Gorce, 5/15)
The Washington Post:
Biden Vs. Trump: The Ad Battle Over China And The Coronavirus
As the coronavirus pandemic has spread around the globe, the ad battle for the U.S. presidency has increasingly centered on one issue: Who is a bigger toady for China? To a striking degree, the campaigns of President Trump and former vice president Joe Biden — and groups that support or oppose them — increasingly are attacking each other with common themes. Both sides pin a lot of blame on China for failing to act quickly to stem the virus — or failing to communicate with the rest of the world more clearly. But then they argue that their opponent cannot be trusted to deal with China. (Kessler, 5/15)
NPR:
Voter Fraud Claims Make It Hard For GOP To Expand Voting By Mail
Republican state officials who want to expand absentee and mail-in voting during the pandemic have found themselves in an uncomfortable position due to their party's rhetoric. President Trump has claimed repeatedly, without providing evidence, that mail-in voting is ripe for fraud and bad for the GOP. He and other Republicans have charged that Democrats might use it to "steal" the election. (Fessler, 5/15)
NPR:
Democrats Weigh Options For Summer Convention
Four years ago, Joe Biden took the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia to the Rocky theme, looking out over a crowd of delegates waving red and white signs that bore his name. He encouraged fellow Democrats to unite and rally around Hillary Clinton. Now, as Democrats plan to hold the convention that will nominate Biden, the chances that he'll bask in the same kind of scene this year seem ever more distant, as the Democratic Party faces the possibility of a limited in-person presence or virtual gathering. (Summers, 5/15)
The New York Times:
Coronavirus May Pose A New Risk To Younger Patients: Strokes
Ravi Sharma was doubled over on his bed when his father found him. He’d had a bad cough for a week and had self-quarantined in his bedroom. As an emergency medical technician, he knew he was probably infected with the coronavirus. Now, Mr. Sharma, 27, could not move the right side of his body, and could only grunt in his father’s direction. His sister, Bina Yamin, on the phone from her home in Fort Wayne, Ind., could hear the sounds. “Call 911,” she told her father. “I think Ravi’s having a stroke.” She was right. (Rabin, 5/14)
CIDRAP:
Facebook Studies Reveal Science Mistrust Winning On Vaccine Messaging
Facebook groups that fuel mistrust of health guidance, such as those that air anti-vaccine views, have gained the upper hand over groups with reliable information from health agencies, a team led by George Washington University reported yesterday in Nature. Meanwhile, a separate study showed that Facebook posts about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine were largely negative. (Schnirring, 5/14)
The New York Times:
Coronavirus Infections: Talking Can Generate Droplets That Linger Up To 14 Minutes
Coughs or sneezes may not be the only way people transmit infectious pathogens like the novel coronavirus to one another. Talking can also launch thousands of droplets so small they can remain suspended in the air for eight to 14 minutes, according to a new study. The research, published Wednesday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help explain how people with mild or no symptoms may infect others in close quarters such as offices, nursing homes, cruise ships and other confined spaces. (Sheikh, 5/14)
Roll Call:
Plasma Donation Emerges As Recovery Ritual For Lawmakers With COVID-19
Mike Kelly was back home in his district at the end of St. Patrick’s Day week when he started to experience “flu-like” symptoms that included headache, upset stomach and chills. “My wife said, ‘You know what? I don’t like the way things are going here.’” His doctor recommended a drive-thru coronavirus test, a six-inch cotton swab shoved up his nose for 30 seconds. It was “uncomfortable,” says the Pennsylvania Republican, euphemistically. “They go way past anything I ever thought they could do. I thought honestly it was going right up into my sinuses.” (McGrady, 5/14)