Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Poll Finds Vast Divide Among Parties' Acceptance Of COVID Death Toll
USA Today: Coronavirus Death Toll 'Acceptable,' 57% Of Republicans Say In Poll
Americans view the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and the effectiveness of the government's response through a very partisan lens, a CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday found. More than 176,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19. According to the poll, a 57% majority of registered Republican voters consider that number "acceptable" when "evaluating the U.S. efforts against the coronavirus pandemic," compared with 31% of voters overall. Ninety percent of Democrats and 67% of independents said the death toll was "unacceptable." Republicans were also more likely to believe the official death toll is inflated. (Cummings, 8/23)
The Hill: About 70,000 Lives Could Be Saved In Near Future If People Wear Masks: Researchers
The U.S. could save nearly 70,000 lives by December if the country implements universal mask mandates, according to a projection by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Researchers from the institute also found that an estimated 134,000 people could die in the U.S. from COVID-19 by December if the country takes no further safety measures. That number, they said, could worsen if mandates are relaxed. (Moreno, 8/22)
The Hill: Coronavirus Deaths Top 800,000 Globally
More than 800,000 people globally have died from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, a grim milestone underscoring the physical toll the pandemic has taken on nations around the world. The U.S. has reported the most deaths tied to COVID-19 of any country at more than 175,000, with more than 32,000 of those in New York, nearly 16,000 in New Jersey and almost 12,000 in California. Other states with high death tolls include Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, Illinois and Pennsylvania. (Byrnes, 8/22)
