Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Air Hygiene Is Important Tool In Covid Fight; How Do We Move Past Covid?
Bloomberg: Improving Ventilation Will Stop More Than Covid-19
The White House’s roadmap for the next phase of the pandemic covers all the usual suspects, including Covid-19 surveillance, testing, vaccination and treatment. But there’s also a happy surprise tucked in there: a series of proposals to help improve indoor air quality. This marks an essential shift toward acknowledging that cleaning the air can help mitigate the spread of Covid. “It’s overdue,” says Virginia Tech engineering professor Linsey Marr. (Lisa Jarvis, 3/8)
The New York Times: The New Phase Of The Pandemic Is Covid Exhaustion
We’re headed into the third year of pandemic life, and one thing is clear: We’re all exhausted from Covid. Virus caseloads are waning across the country, masks are coming off, people are traveling more, and office workers have new return dates. Does that mean the pandemic is over? Maybe. And maybe not. (3/9)
The Washington Post: Congress Should Not Withhold Biden’s Request For Covid-19 Resources
The Biden administration released a comprehensive plan last week that’s been widely applauded — including by me — as a sound, evidence-based path out of the covid-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, it can’t be executed without additional coronavirus funding. Those opposed should be heard, but this process must not delay Congress’s approval of the White House’s $22.5 billion request. (Leana S. Wen, 3/8)
Stat: Ignoring Behavioral, Social Sciences Undermines The Response To Covid-19
The U.S. has bungled many of its efforts to rein in the Covid-19 pandemic. We believe that Francis S. Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health, perfectly captured the country’s fundamental flaw: “Maybe we underinvested in research on human behavior,” he told Judy Woodruff during an interview for PBS NewsHour. “I never imagined a year ago, when those vaccines were just proving to be fantastically safe and effective, that we would still have 60 million people who had not taken advantage of them because of misinformation and disinformation that somehow dominated all of the ways in which people were getting their answers.” (Judith D. Auerbach and Andrew D. Forsyth, 3/9)
The Atlantic: Why COVID Vaccine Cards Are So Easily Forged
My proof of COVID vaccination is recorded on an easy-to-forge paper card. With little trouble, I could print a blank form, fill it out, and snap a photo. Small imperfections wouldn’t pose any problem; you can’t see whether the paper’s weight is right in a digital image. When I fly internationally, I have to show a negative COVID test result. That, too, would be easy to fake. I could change the date on an old test, or put my name on someone else’s test, or even just make something up on my computer. After all, there’s no standard format for test results; airlines accept anything that looks plausible. (Bruce Schneier, 3/8)
NBC News: Florida Gov. DeSantis' Mask Outburst Is A Cautionary Tale
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chastised a group of high school students for wearing masks in his presence, saying “Please, take them off. Honestly, it’s not doing anything and we’ve got to stop with this Covid theater. So if you want to wear it, fine, but this is ridiculous.” The governor later doubled down on this message, with his press secretary stating after the event, “There’s no evidence masks make any difference.” He is wrong about the science — masks work, and better masks work better — and he is profoundly wrong about how we should treat kids who continue to wear masks to keep themselves, their families and their communities safe. (Jonathan Levy, 3/8)
The Washington Post: Vaccines Work For Children. Ignore The Nonsense Spoken In Florida.
The final decision about whether youths should get vaccinated against the coronavirus is up to them and their parents. We think they should receive the shots; scientific evidence shows that vaccines protect young people from serious illness and death. Unfortunately, though, the message about the efficacy and safety of the vaccines has failed to reach many families. That is why the Florida surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, was irresponsible to announce on Monday that the state health department plans to formally recommend against vaccination for healthy children. (3/8)
