Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Notably Missing From Shutdown Protests That Polls Find Are Unpopular: Prominent Republicans
The Associated Press: 'Republicans Are Nervous': Some In GOP Eye Protests Warily
The latest demonstration by right-wing groups against measures to contain the coronavirus will be held Friday in Wisconsin, where hundreds, and possibly thousands of people plan to descend on the state Capitol to protest the Democratic governor’s stay-home ordinance. It’s expected to be among the biggest of the protests that have popped up around the U.S. in recent days. But as with some earlier events, one group will be noticeably absent: the state’s most prominent Republicans. (Bauer and Burnett, 4/24)
Politico: How A Tea Party-Linked Group Plans To Turbocharge Lockdown Protests
The Convention of States, an activist network with tea party origins, did not originate the coronavirus lockdown protests across the country. But it’s got a plan to take them to the next level. Publicly, the group claims no affiliation with the organizers agitating for state governments to lift social-distancing measures. Yet behind the scenes and on their social media channels, the group’s leaders have made no secret of their desire to boost the protests, if not elevate them to a bigger, more professionalized and media-friendly network with a more broadly appealing message. (4/24)
The Washington Post: As Protesters Swarm State Capitols, Much Of The Coronavirus Backlash Is Coming From Within
With hundreds arrayed before him, standing shoulder to shoulder, the retired Army colonel vented his fury from the steps of Pennsylvania’s capitol building. The governor’s orders to shut down businesses in the face of a pandemic, he railed to a crowd of protesters this week, amounted to “tyranny.” He had battled overseas to defend freedom. Now, with the governor telling healthy people like him to stay home — “What the heck is going on here? I’m not sick!” — the fight had come to America’s shores. (Witte, 4/23)
Kaiser Health News: Anti-Vaccine Activists Latch Onto Coronavirus To Bolster Their Movement
While most of the world hungers for a vaccine to put an end to the death and economic destruction wrought by COVID-19, some anti-vaccine groups are joining with anti-lockdown protesters to challenge restrictions aimed at protecting public health. Vaccine critics suffered serious setbacks in the past year, as states strengthened immunization laws in response to measles outbreaks sparked by vaccine refusers. California tightened its vaccine requirements last fall despite protests during which anti-vaccine activists threw blood on state senators, assaulted the vaccine bill’s sponsor and shut down the legislature. (Szabo, 4/24)
ABC News: 'We Disagree': Medical Professionals Counter Coronavirus Lockdown Protesters
When Dr. Erich Bruhn, a recently retired surgeon from Virginia, saw images of nurses in scrubs standing in a Denver street this week blocking the cars of people circling the state capitol building to protest stay-at-home directives meant to blunt the spread of novel coronavirus, he and his wife, a nurse, say they were inspired to take a similar stand in their state. So when anti-quarantine protesters demanding the economy be reopened staged a similar demonstration on Wednesday outside the Virginia state capitol building, Bruhn and his wife, Kristin, put on their white lab coats and protective masks and headed to Richmond with homemade signs reading, “You have no ‘right’ to put us all at risk. Go Home" and "Sign up here to die for the economy.” (Hutchinson, 4/23)
NPR: Poll Finds Large Majority Of Americans Support COVID-19 Shutdown
A majority of Americans — 8 in 10 — say strict shelter-in-place guidelines are worth it, to keep people safe from COVID-19 and control the spread of the virus, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll. The same percentage, of around 80% of Americans, also say they can follow the restrictions for at least one more month. Only around 20% of Americans say the broad shelter-in-place measures are an unnecessary burden that is "causing more harm than good," the Kaiser Family Foundation reports. (Chappell, 4/23)
The Hill: Most Floridians Don't Want State To Reopen Yet, Despite Push From Governor: Poll
Over two thirds of Floridians don’t want to loosen social distancing rules come April 30 despite Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s push to do so, a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found. Seventy-two percent of respondents said that they are opposed to reopening the state once the governor’s stay-at-home order expires at the end of the month, and 76 percent said they are only comfortable returning to daily life if public health officials say it is safe. (Moreno, 4/23)
