Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Without Public Trust, Vaccine Development Is Wasted; Congress Needs To Approve Any Spending
The Washington Post: No One Wins A Vaccine Race If Public Confidence Is Lost
Russian President Vladimir Putin may have pulled off a good public relations stunt on Tuesday, at least for the short term. He announced that the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology is first in the world to win approval for a coronavirus vaccine. The announcement of the new Sputnik V vaccine recalled the glory of the Soviet Union’s pioneering orbital satellite. Let’s hope it works, but given the unknowns, Mr. Putin’s showy launch and promise of rapid distribution are reason for worry.Along with the difficulty of creating an effective vaccine and the challenges of testing, manufacturing and distributing it, it is essential to build and maintain public confidence so enough people will accept inoculation to create herd immunity against the virus, perhaps two-thirds of a population. (8/12)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Coronavirus Vaccine May Not Be The Cure-All
The pandemic has wreaked havoc in the U.S. and around the world. In the U.S., confirmed cases have surpassed 5.1 million and the death toll more than 164,000. The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington projects almost 220,000 deaths by Nov. 1. Public health experts agree that uniform policies of avoiding large crowds, social distancing, mask wearing, testing and follow-up, and isolation, plus hand washing and not touching one’s face, are essential to reducing spread. They also agree that a safe and effective vaccine is needed before we can go back to daily life as we knew it before the pandemic. However, while being a game-changer, the availability of a vaccine may not be as much of a panacea as many believe. The idea that the coronavirus is “going to disappear one day,” as President Donald Trump suggests, is wishful thinking even if we have a safe and effective vaccine. (Thomas O’Rourke, 8/12)
Fox News: Constitution Bars Trump From Spending Without OK Of Congress — Courts Should Stop It
The House Democrats want to borrow and give away another $3 trillion, much of it to bail out cities and states hard-hit by the loss of tax revenue. The White House wants to borrow and give away $1 trillion, but only in direct payments to businesses and individuals. When it became apparent that a compromise could not be reached and Congress would not vote to extend the federal unemployment compensation to individuals, President Trump ordered the Treasury to pay all unemployed people $300 a week, provided the states pay them $100 a week, in addition to their state unemployment compensation. How can the president spend money that has not been appropriated by law? (Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, 8/13)
The Washington Post: Trump’s Latest Social Security Con
There is a lot wrong with President Trump’s announcement on Saturday that he would order the federal government to cease collecting Social Security payroll taxes for the majority of workers for the rest of the year. The move is quite possibly unconstitutional. It’s a logistical nightmare. Employers could get stuck owing money. Workers almost certainly will. It won’t do a thing to help the unemployed, who obviously don’t have a paycheck. It’s not a permanent suspension, but something more akin to an interest-free loan. As of right now, the money will need to be paid back. All that’s bad. But here is the worst part: When combined with his comments that he would like to “terminate” the payroll tax, which funds Social Security, Trump is revealing yet another con. (Helaine Olen, 8/12)
The Wall Street Journal: Individual Choice Is A Bad Fit For Covid Safety
The U.S. government’s disastrous failure in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is a tragedy in many acts—from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s initial errors with test kits and masking, to a know-nothing president who confuses magical thinking with thinking, even to craven political considerations when the pandemic was seen as a blue-state problem, and much more. But one of the most important sources of government failure has received comparatively little attention—and it’s economic in nature. (Alan S. Blinder, 8/12)
Los Angeles Times: Newsom Isn't Being Honest About Coronavirus Expert's Exit
It has been four days since California’s top public health official abruptly resigned amid a controversy over the state’s inaccurate coronavirus case counts, and the public still has no idea why she stepped down. It’s not for lack of trying to find out. During a briefing streamed live on social media platforms Monday, reporters repeatedly asked the governor and his top health secretary to provide more details about the Sunday departure of Dr. Sonia Angell, who had led the California Department of Public Health for less than a year. (8/13)
The Oregonian: I Was Freed From Prison Due To COVID-19 Concerns. The Governor Should Release Many More.
Lying in my bunk in a dorm that holds 80 men at the Columbia River Correctional Institution in North Portland, I could reach my arms out and touch two neighboring bunks. At night, I could hear people coughing, and I wondered if they had COVID-19, and if it would spread to me. There’s nowhere you can go to be at a safe distance in prison, where people have no choice but to be constantly exposed to others. (Luis Polanco, 8/12)
The Wall Street Journal: Getting To Know Kamala Harris
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris made their first appearances as a campaign ticket on Wednesday, and Americans still know little about the running mate who may be President sooner rather than later. One way to fill in the gap is to inspect Ms. Harris’s record as California’s Attorney General, and one revealing episode is the way she used her power to blow up a deal to rescue struggling Catholic hospitals. The saga started in 2014 when for-profit Prime Healthcare Services made an $843 million bid for six insolvent hospitals operated by the Catholic Daughters of Charity Health System. The hospitals had been bleeding cash for years due to inflexible labor contracts and miserly Medicaid payments. (8/12)
The Houston Chronicle: Congress Must Regulate COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps To Protect The Privacy Of Americans
In our rightful rush to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, we should nonetheless be extraordinarily careful to adopt individual contact tracing technology only in ways that protect our civil liberties, privacy and civic discourse. Tracing technology generally works by means of an app downloaded to phones to track who has been in contact with someone who has tested positive. By its nature, that means it is a surveillance system that can track where everyone is located and trace everyone else close to them. Contact tracing apps have the Orwellian potential to invade privacy and stifle the exercise of First Amendment rights, as related incidents of phone tracing and surveillance planes flying over recent protests clearly demonstrate. (Janine Hiller and Kimberly A. Houser, 8/13)
The Detroit News: 'Surprise Billing' Law Would Make Navigating Insurance Harder
Surviving cancer isn’t easy. On even the most routine days, the disease ravages the body, strains the emotions, and drains bank accounts. It dictates schedules and stresses relationships. Patients in Michigan have only found those challenges amplified during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Unfortunately, a set of bills making their way through the legislature in Lansing would make matters worse for patients, and at a time when many are least equipped to add one more massive struggle to the list. (Trudy Ender, 8/12)
