Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Impending Doom': Biden, CDC Director Warn Of Fourth Wave If Nation Lets Down Guard
AP: Biden, CDC Director Warn Of Virus Rebound If Nation Lets Up
President Joe Biden and a top health official warned that too many Americans are declaring virus victory too quickly, appealing for mask requirements and other restrictions to be maintained or restored to stave off a “fourth surge” of COVID-19. The head of the CDC said she had a feeling of “impending doom” if people keep easing off. “This is deadly serious,” Biden said, urging governors to reinstate mask mandates and other restrictions that some states have been easing. (Miller, 3/30)
The Washington Post: Biden, Health Officials Sound Alarm As Signs Of Covid Surge Proliferate
Even as the nation’s immunization program continued to pick up speed and new research showed coronavirus vaccines are highly effective in real-world conditions, Biden said states should suspend reopening plans and governors who had rescinded mask mandates should reinstate them. “Please, this is not politics,” Biden said. “Reinstate the mandate if you let it down, and businesses should require masks as well. A failure to take this virus seriously — precisely what got us into this mess in the first place — risks more cases and more deaths.” (Bernstein, Eunjung Cha, Guarino and Stanley-Becker, 3/30)
CNN: As Covid-19 Numbers Rise, The CDC Chief Says She's Scared About Where US Is Headed. But It's Not Too Late To Change Country's Course
New Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are beginning to rise in the US again, one of the country's top health leaders said Monday. The latest findings, shared by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, may just be the start of what experts have for weeks warned about: another surge. A surge that could come just as the country inches closer to a return to normalcy and officials nationwide race to get as many Covid-19 vaccine shots into arms as possible. (Maxouris, 3/30)
Politico: Internal CDC Data Shows Virus Regaining Foothold As Biden Urges States To Pause Reopening
Signs that the country has begun to lose ground against the virus prompted emotional remarks from CDC director Rochelle Walensky at a White House briefing on Monday morning. Walensky said she felt "a sense of impending doom" and told Americans, "Right now, I'm scared." The visibly shaken CDC director added: "I'm asking you to just hold on a little longer, to get vaccinated when you can." (Owermohle and Banco, 3/29)
Stat: 'Right Now I'm Scared': CDC Director Warns Of Spike In Covid-19 Cases
As Covid-19 cases begin again to spike throughout the United States, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky issued an urgent plea to Americans Monday to continue following public health measures. “We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I’m scared,” said Walensky, who noted she has begun experiencing a “recurring” feeling of “impending doom.” (Florko and Joseph, 3/29)
USA Today: 'We're Skating On A Knife's Edge Right Now:' Scientists Worry US Could Be Headed For Yet Another COVID-19 Surge
As COVID-19 cases creep up again across the country, federal officials and epidemiologists say they're worried we could hit another tipping point, leading to a fourth significant surge of infections, hospitalizations and deaths. "We're skating on a knife's edge right now," said Nicholas Reich, a biostatistician at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Average daily reported cases are up 10% compared to a week earlier, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows, with more than 30 million COVID-19 cases reported since early last year. Hospitalizations and deaths, which usually lag cases by a few weeks, have inched upward as well, after a decline and plateau that began in early January. (Weintraub, 3/30)
And Donald Trump responds to comments from his former pandemic team —
Politico: Trump Lashes Out At Fauci And Birx After CNN Documentary
Former President Donald Trump on Monday attacked Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, his administration’s top coronavirus advisers, in a highly personal — and at times inaccurate — statement released after the two criticized the administration for its response to the pandemic. “Based on their interviews, I felt it was time to speak up about Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx, two self-promoters trying to reinvent history to cover for their bad instincts and faulty recommendations, which I fortunately almost always overturned,” Trump said. “They had bad policy decisions that would have left our country open to China and others, closed to reopening our economy, and years away from an approved vaccine — putting millions of lives at risk.” (Din, 3/29)
