Viewpoints: President Biden’s Vaccine Goals Need To Be More Ambitious; Use Defense Production Act For Making Masks

Los Angeles Times: President Biden, Set Loftier COVID Vaccine Goals
We are far from the destination, but the return to normalcy has begun — and so have the normal games presidents play. Many times President Trump said COVID would just “disappear,” as if it was so much fake news ginned up to help Democrats. At one campaign stop, he railed, “COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID. … On Nov. 4, you won’t hear about it anymore.” Of course, he was wrong about the disease simply vanishing. More than 420,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 — far surpassing the number of U.S. soldiers who died in combat in both world wars and the Vietnam War combined. (That stark figure is 392,393.) And just because the spin from the newly installed Biden White House isn’t as remotely egregious or reality-defying as what many of us became accustomed to over the last four years, doing “better than Trump” isn’t a standard worth bragging about. (Jonah Goldberg, 1/26)

The Washington Post: Biden’s Covid-19 Plan Needs To Be More Ambitious 
I had a pretty low bar for any Democratic presidential candidate last year. Would the party nominate some sort of land-based mammal, preferably a biped? Could it be relied upon to put a fabric covering over the holes through which it breathed? Would it be likely to concede any election it lost, rather than assembling a mob of angry partisans and pointing them toward Congress? Joe Biden easily met my requirements, which is why I voted for him. But now he needs to exceed my hopes, especially when it comes to the most important issue facing his administration — the pandemic. Unfortunately, early on, Team Biden has not mustered truly presidential ambitions. (Megan McArdle, 1/26)

CNN: President Biden Sets Bold Timeline For A Return To Normal Life 
President Joe Biden's pledge that there will be sufficient vaccines for 300 million Americans by the end of summer represents a bold and politically risky response to criticism his pandemic plan lacks ambition. In effect, the President is putting a date on a return of a semblance of normal life -- with no guarantee that he can deliver. (Stephen Collinson, 1/27)

The Washington Post: Everyone Needs N95 Masks Now. But Here Are The Best Alternatives. 
We are rightly grateful to the front-line health-care workers who put their lives on the line each day. Their relative risk of death rose 20 percent in 2020 over previous years. We should also be grateful for the bakers and cooks, whose risk of death rose more than 50 percent. And for maids and truck drivers, who saw a 30 percent increase in death risk. And construction workers and shipping clerks, up more than 40 percent. Those numbers come from a new report out of California that shines a light on the shocking risk to covid-19 by occupation. It also shows how necessary it is that we ramp up protections for essential workers. The best way to do that: better masks. (Joseph G. Allen, 1/26)

The Washington Post: As Coronavirus Mutates, Vaccines Are Not The Only Urgent Need
How to respond? The methods used so far — face masks, social distancing, lockdowns, good hygiene — all seem to mitigate the new variants. Hopefully, the vaccines also will work. But one missing piece is the equivalent of a tracking radar. Genetic sequencing technology has developed rapidly. It should be deployed into a massive cross-country genomic virus surveillance network for disease detection and risk assessment, and then incorporated into a global network that would provide timely alerts as the virus evolves. Such a network will be valuable not only during this pandemic but also to help spot future threats. Unfortunately, the United States is way behind other nations in this endeavor. The Biden administration, aware of the problem, should make it a highest priority. (1/26)

The New York Times: False Rumors About Covid-19 Vaccines Are Scaring Women
The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll on women’s careers, finances and home lives. Although the vaccines may represent a solution, as scientists studying coronavirus infection and immune responses in women, we are now hearing from young women who say they might skip the shots out of fear for their fertility or nursing child. We are concerned about how inaccurate, extreme and widespread these theories have become, because getting vaccinated is the best way for women to protect themselves and their families. The confusion is understandable: Early clinical trials of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna’s coronavirus vaccines failed to include pregnant and lactating women, so safety data is not available for these populations. (Alice Lu-Culligan and Akiko Iwasaki, 1/26)

Stat: Many Covid-19 Patients Die Alone. Vaccinated Volunteers Could Change That
I got my first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine on Dec. 16, and was surprised at the feeling of relief, hope, almost exhilaration it brought on instantly. It was an unexpectedly emotional experience. It’s been more than two weeks since my second jab so I am, in theory, pretty well immune to Covid-19. Shielded behind an N95, visor, gown, and gloves, I reckon I’m now about as safe as I can be. So when my day’s work as an anesthesiologist is done, I’ve started sitting with Covid-19 patients. (Ben Moor, 1/27)

CNN: Dr. Deborah Birx's Shocking Interview Is Way Too Late
Now she tells us. After nearly a year of supposedly coordinating the Trump White House's coronavirus response, Dr. Deborah Birx went public about the mishandling of a pandemic that has left more than 400,000 Americans dead. Dr. Birx went on "Face the Nation" Sunday night, and she dropped some bombshells. (Jill Fillipovic, 1/26)

Opinions on new dietary guidelines —

The Hill: New Dietary Guidelines Still Show Signs Of Industry Influence
The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services recently released the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The new guidelines ignore an expert panel’s recommendation to lower suggested alcohol intake limits for men (to no more than one drink per day on days when alcohol is consumed). Despite this missed opportunity, however, the guidelines do significantly improve on previous editions’ treatment of alcohol, offering hope for sensible alcohol policy reforms and better public health in the near future. Importantly, the guidelines put to rest the notion that drinking alcohol may be good for you. (Thomas Gremillion, 1/23)

Stat: Governments' Alcohol Subsidies Are Harmful To Public Health 
Each January, millions of people around the world make resolutions to cut back on the amount of alcohol they drink; many participate in the popular “dry January” pledge to give up alcohol altogether for a month. Given the high societal cost of harmful alcohol use, and the pandemic-driven increase in the use of alcohol, it’s a trend that should be encouraged. (Nandita Murukutla and Rebecca Perl, 1/27)