Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Exercise Extreme Caution In Race To Find Vaccine; Pulling Out Of WHO Is A Big Blow To Global Health
The Wall Street Journal: A Fast Coronavirus Vaccine, Without Cutting Corners
Can America reopen without a major resurgence of Covid-19? We’ve learned a great deal about controlling the virus. In the summer people will spend time outdoors, which can reduce the risk. Yet a second wave could come in the fall as schools open and businesses try to return to normal. Americans will feel more confident—or simply tired—and may take fewer precautions. Getting the threat behind us will require a vaccine cleared for general use. There are ways to accelerate that process, but it is important not to cut corners, lest the public lose confidence and refuse a vaccine. The urgent public-health need demands speed. But that doesn’t mean compromising robust data to prove safety and efficacy. (Luciana Borio and Scott Gottlieb, 5/31)
Stat: Cutting Ties With The WHO Endangers Global Public Health
President Trump’s announcement on Friday that the United States will cut ties with the World Health Organization was, he said, aimed at punishing China, which he claimed influenced the WHO to “mislead the world” about the Covid-19 pandemic. Cutting ties with the WHO is exactly the wrong move, at the wrong time. It adds fuel to the public health fire we have been collectively dealing with over the past several months. (Sandro Galea, 5/31)
CNN: The Real Cost Of Trump's WHO Pullout
Without waiting for the end of the 30 day-grace period he had given the World Health Organization (WHO), President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he was "terminating" the US relationship with the organization. This decision comes just 11 days after he threatened to permanently revoke US funding in a letter he had addressed to the WHO leadership. By not giving the WHO time to consider some improvements, Trump demonstrates bad faith and a desire to scapegoat an international organization. (Hajer Naili, 5/31)
Stat: Resident Physicians Should Have A Say In Their Working Conditions
In Chicago’s South Loop, the nightly salutation to health care workers begins at 8 p.m., first with a few flashing lights from old holiday decorations, followed by a cacophony of car horns, boomboxes blaring ’90s rock, and metal railings being transformed into percussion sets.. A high-rise apartment building in Chicago’s South Loop is illuminated as part of the nightly appreciation of health care workers on the frontline of caring for patients with Covid-19. The nightly celebration has become a source of comfort for us, two oncology fellows, as we nervously watch Chicago’s daily Covid-19 numbers. As thoughtful as the ritual is, though, it feels inadequate. (Ajay Major and Garth Strohbehn, 6/1)
The Washington Post: A Corona Corps Could Fight The Virus — And Youth Unemployment
Among its many victims, the covid-19 pandemic has left a generation of young Americans adrift and without options. After a spring spent peering at pixelated approximations of their instructors on Zoom, 75 percent of college students are unhappy with the quality of e-learning and 1 in 6 high school seniors are considering deferring college for a semester or a full year. Meanwhile, unemployment among 18- and 19-year-olds stands at an astounding 34 percent. With jobs scarce and social opportunities all at a distance, how can we prevent a year of Fortnite and TikTok for the most fortunate, and a slide into poverty for the rest? I propose a United States Corona Corps: an organization in the long tradition of youth service, from Mormon missionaries to Teach for America to the Peace Corps, but one laser-focused on the crisis at hand. (Scott Galloway, 5/29)
The New York Times: Hurricane Season Collides With The Coronavirus
Here in Gainesville, when an evacuation order is issued we flock to the back roads or the interstate highways that flow north. Others drive to Atlanta and cram into the city’s hotels. Some open their homes, businesses and neighborhoods to people fleeing from the storms projected to hit the state’s southern coasts. Now, we must also weigh those factors against the risk of potentially contracting the coronavirus and spreading it to others. Should we stay home and in the path of a storm that could potentially demolish it, or shelter in a building crammed with people who could be carrying the virus that has killed hundreds of thousands of people? Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention admit this is a tough prediction game. How will our elder neighbors fare in a shelter that is not equipped to isolate or treat those who could fall ill with Covid-19? (Darlena Cunha, 5/31)
Los Angeles Times: As Businesses Open And Life Tries To Return To Normal, Will We?
As everyday life reopens for business, the early returns may surprise you. Restaurants in Georgia have seen a mere 20% of expected activity. Shopping malls in Minnesota have reported only a handful of customers. Downtowns up and down the coasts are lighting up to empty streets. At long last, after months of itching for an end, we’re being invited back out. Where is everybody?Psychologists aren’t so surprised. As the world out there attempts to safely resume operations, the inner world of its inhabitants will likely be slower to follow. Plan to see more bust than boom for the immediate future. (Ed O'Brien, 6/1)
Bloomberg: Coronavirus: The Golden Rule Is Dying Of Covid-19
As the coronavirus forced the western world into lockdown in March, humans were confronted with a moral test. Drawing on centuries of philosophical thought that produced the world’s competing modern value systems, each person had to decide which measures were justified to limit the medical and economic carnage. There was plenty of possibility for discord. Initially, people and leaders coalesced around a version of the biblical philosophy of the “golden rule” — that we should not do to others what we wouldn’t want done to ourselves. That was the basis for asking everyone to make personal and economic sacrifices to limit the death and suffering of the weakest and oldest. Governments of the left and the right made that choice, strongly supported by religious leaders up to and including the Pope. (John Authers, 5/31)
The Hill: Don't Move The COVID-19 Goalpost
In March, Americans came together for a specific goal: COVID-19 wasn't going to make us ration ventilators or let anyone die without health care. We are winning that battle. Those now reacting to daily body counts and projections are forgetting the goal. (Dr. Rajiv Bhatia, 5/28)
