Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Lessons On U.S. Limitations In Controlling Spread Of Coronavirus; Innovation Has Brought Us A Very Long Way Since Emergence Of SARS
Bloomberg: The U.S. Is Uniquely Hamstrung On Virus Response
The administration is starting to do some of the right things. It's working to boost testing capacity, and that will help health workers get a handle on the spread of the disease and aid in containment; health officials are also now looking for cases entering the country from outside of China. These steps came far too slowly, however, leading to missed opportunities to catch and prevent infections. (Max Nisen, 3/2)
Stat: How Innovation Is Helping Mitigate The Coronavirus Threat
The sudden emergence and rapid spread of a novel coronavirus, now called Covid-19, is a reminder of the power of infectious diseases. It also offers insights into how innovation and technology are better equipping us to handle public health emergencies and contain the spread of diseases. (Gary Shapiro, 3/4)
The New York Times: Coronavirus Is What You Get When You Ignore Science
Let us pray, now, for science. Pray for empiricism and for epidemiology and for vaccines. Pray for peer review and controlled double-blinds. For flu shots, herd immunity and washing your hands. Pray for reason, rigor and expertise. Pray for the precautionary principle. Pray for the N.I.H. and the C.D.C. Pray for the W.H.O. And pray not just for science, but for scientists, too, as well as their colleagues in the application of science — the tireless health care workers, the whistle-blowing first responders, the rumpled, righteous public servants whose long-ignored warnings we will learn about only when the 12-part coronavirus docu-disaster series drops on Netflix. (Farhad Manjoo, 3/4)
The Wall Street Journal: The Coronavirus ‘Stimulus’
The Federal Reserve has become the default doctor for whatever ails the U.S. economy, and on Tuesday the financial physician applied what it hopes will be monetary balm for the economic damage from the coronavirus. Financial markets were underwhelmed after the big rally on Monday, which may speak to the limited effect that lower interest rates can have on the supply shock of a pandemic. (3/3)
Los Angeles Times: Fed Rate Cut Can't Cure Coronavirus, But It Can Spread Panic
Nothing says “Don’t panic” quite like an emergency interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Oh, wait....By cutting its target short-term interest rate by half a percentage point Tuesday morning, the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee told the country that the coronavirus outbreak is such a threat to the U.S. economy, the committee couldn’t hold off acting until its regularly scheduled meeting two weeks from now. That’s an alarming signal, and it’s similar to the one being sent by other central banks around the world. (John Healey, 3/3)
The Washington Post: The Coronavirus Is A Reminder That Fed Independence Is Vital
Deficit control has gone out of fashion in policy circles. Liberal Democrats tend to see it as a fuddy-duddy concern that obstructs ambitious new programs; the Republicans under President Trump have shed the fig leaf of fiscal rectitude in favor of all-out tax-cutting. And it’s true that short-term threats from huge federal borrowing — $984 billion in fiscal 2019 — have mainly failed to materialize. Except in one crucial sense: The coronavirus, and the global economic downturn it seems to be triggering, shows the wisdom of those analysts who have repeatedly warned that giant deficits deprive the United States of “fiscal space” with which to respond to a sudden, unforeseen crisis. (3/3)
Bloomberg: Coronavirus: Markets Have High Hopes For G-7 Coordination
World economic powers have a rare second chance for a do-over of their haphazard and tardy response to the global financial crisis .This opportunity is coming thanks to the spread of the coronavirus. Forecasts suggest the epidemic is the biggest threat to the economy since 2007-2009, when global gross domestic product collapsed, jobless rates surged and banks were propped up by the state. (Daniel Moss, 3/2)
The Hill: Coronavirus Preparedness: Insurers And Medicaid Need To Relax Prescription Refills
...Medicare, Medicaid, and most commercial insurance plans refill most prescriptions once a month. At your average pharmacy, you cannot get your 30-day refill until day 28. To comply with its own recommendations, it is absolutely essential that the administration relaxes restrictions on prescription refills as soon as possible and changes the default from one month to a two month supply. With all the attention focused on avoiding coronavirus, we are neglecting to address the challenges a pandemic creates for other diseases. Imagine the man-made needless suffering, morbidity, and mortality that will result if access to chronic critical medications was limited during a crisis. (Michael Rosenbaum and Beth Simone Noveck, 3/3)
CNN: The Way We Talk About Coronavirus Matters
The way we talk about disease can actually alter how diseases spread. As medical humanities scholar Heather Schell has said, the practice of epidemiology links statistical analysis and pattern formation with the creation of narratives about the impact disease may have on the world. Interacting as they do with pathogens, these narratives themselves can shape the ebb and flow of pathogens for better or worse, as people change their behaviors in response to epidemiological reporting. (Kari Nixon, 3/3)
The Washington Post: Americans Are In A Savings Crisis And Coronavirus Could Make It Even Worse
Consumers are stockpiling toilet paper, nonperishable foods, hand sanitizer and face masks in fear that the coronavirus will hit their communities and sequester them in their homes. But being forced to stay home due to illness could result in layoffs or unpaid furloughs for many workers who are already living paycheck to paycheck. These folks may need cash more than canned goods. (Michelle Singletary, 3/3)
CNN: I'm An Emergency Doctor. I Expect To Get Coronavirus
I wholeheartedly agree with those experts who go beyond the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are now calling Covid-19 a pandemic. With evidence of sustained person-to-person transmission on multiple continents, it's time to stop focusing on containment and work instead to harden our domestic healthcare infrastructure. (James Phillips, 3/3)
Modern Healthcare: Coronavirus Battle Requires Congress To Allow Telehealth Treatment
Telehealth, which has proven to be a very practical tool in addressing patient needs during flu season, will improve our collective ability to address COVID-19 if it hits on a larger scale. Telehealth offers several advantages over in-person care in the event of a pandemic. (Todd J. Vento, Dr. Ethan Booker and Lawrence Hofmann, 3/2)
Charleston Gazette-Mail: Coronavirus Should Inspire Prep, Not Panic
Weather people have been accused of hyping incoming hurricanes to increase ratings for years. The same is now being said of the media regarding COVID-19 — coronavirus. On the flipside, ignoring facts and not preparing doesn’t bode well should a hurricane walk up our driveway. So, here is what I know. (Tom Crouser, 3/2)
The Washington Post: Coronavirus And Government Responsibility On Testing
It’s not yet clear how serious coronavirus is. It is difficult to calculate fatality rates for a novel virus when many people who are infected may be asymptomatic. For the same reason, it’s challenging to know exactly how fast the virus spreads. That’s also why the precise effect of strong public health measures, such as hand-washing campaigns and school closures, cannot be predicted — whether they can slow it enough to keep the load on the health system manageable and give researchers time to develop a vaccine. (Megan McArdle, 3/3)
The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 May Have You Working At Home
The numbers don’t tell the whole story. Nine Americans have died of Covid-19, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms more than 100 cases in 15 states. But there are probably already several thousand Americans who have been infected. For now, the average person’s risk is low in a nation of 330 million, but that may soon change. The highest risk is for those who live in regional hot zones such as Washington state or Northern California.Measures that limit social activity may soon be in place. (Luciana Borio and Scott Gottlieb, 3/3)
