Viewpoints: Pros, Cons Of Biden’s Policies On Pandemic, Health Care; Lessons On Trump’s COVID Preparations

The Washington Post: What I Want To Hear From Joe Biden On His Plans For Handling The Pandemic
As the Democratic National Convention goes on this week, I want to hear more about vice president Joe Biden’s plans for covid-19. But I don’t want to know what he would do if he were president today; I want to know what he would do in January if things are as bad as they look like they could be. The situation is bleak in the United States now, but it could be exponentially worse come the fall and winter. “Twindemics” of influenza and covid-19 could result in the deadliest winter in living memory. (Leana S. Wen, 8/18)

The Washington Post: The DNC’s Second Night Was About Normal, Decent People. 
A segment on health care featured ordinary people talking about their experiences with life-threatening illness. They spoke movingly of the fear of losing health-care coverage that Trump has tried to take away. Ady Barkan, the ALS patient and health-care advocate, closed this portion. It was heartbreaking to witness his physical deterioration interspersed with scenes holding his young son. This was a powerful reminder that health care is about real people. (Jennifer Rubin, 8/19)

The New York Times: Democratic Convention: Best And Worst Moments Of Night 2 
Wajahat Ali:  It’s easy to forget Republicans remain committed to dismantling Obamacare. The Democrats put a human face on health care. Americans with disabilities shared their stories with Biden. He listened and cared. He showed us what’s at stake if Trump gets another term: the health of a nation. (8/19)

The Wall Street Journal: The White House Prepared For A Pandemic
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched the Democrats’ broadside against the Trump administration’s Covid-19 response. “Our current federal government is dysfunctional and incompetent,” he told virtual conventioneers Monday in a recorded speech. “It couldn’t fight off the virus. In fact, it didn’t even see it coming.” In reality, the administration was well aware of the threat of a pandemic before the novel coronavirus emerged. We helped develop a September 2019 White House report, “Managing the Impact of Pandemic Influenza Through Vaccine Innovation,” which prompted immediate presidential action that has accelerated the development of a Covid vaccine. (Joel M. Zinberg and Tomas J. Philipson, 8/18)

Bloomberg: A Resilient Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Chain Starts Now
We’ve already seen the costs of supply-chain failures during the Covid-19 pandemic: Delays in the production of simple nasal swabs slowed testing by months even as the pandemic exploded in the U.S. The world is now eagerly awaiting a vaccine, and will need billions of doses as quickly as possible. If the vaccine supply chain fails, the economic and human cost of Covid-19 will be prolonged. The multilinked vaccine production chain will take months to set up, which means starting now. Some parts are already seeing investment — glass manufacturers, for example, are ramping up production of vials. But the supply of less obvious inputs needed earlier in the chain is uncertain. (Scott Duke Kominers and Alex Tabarrok, 8/18)

The Washington Post: We Must Learn The Lessons Of The Pandemic. A Bipartisan Commission Can Help With That.
The United States must draw critical lessons from the flawed response to the coronavirus pandemic. A broad investigation by a bipartisan commission could help guide the next generation when calamity strikes. Ideally, a commission would investigate for a year or so and report only after the presidential election. The 9/11 Commission provides a useful model of what is possible.A number of proposals, roughly similar, have been introduced on Capitol Hill — so far by Democrats. Republicans should not absent themselves. The best way to ensure that a commission does not become one-sided is for Republicans to contribute. (8/18)

CNN: In The Shadow Of Covid-19, Silent Killers Re-Emerge
Deadly infectious diseases are threatening to regain a foothold in many countries, fueled by Covid-19 and the unprecedented effort to contain this ongoing global pandemic. Vaccinations are down across the Asia Pacific and in most areas of the world. Diseases such as polio, measles and tuberculosis are at very real risk of re-emerging on a large scale, causing widespread death, illness and disability. (Nick Prince, 8/18)

The Wall Street Journal: If You Like Lockdowns, You’ll Love The Carbon-Free Future 
The climate-change movement is taking advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic, equating it with the “existential crisis” of man-made global warming. While praising the current display of unilateral government action as a model for addressing climate change, many environmentalists and liberal politicians have also called for a surge in government spending on renewable energy projects. The 2020 Democratic Party platform champions “decarbonization” as the best way to “build back better” from the coronavirus. Green activists and their Democratic standard-bearers should be more focused on the potential that the coronavirus crisis could undermine support for their cause. (Paul Tice, 8/18)

Arizona Republic: Yuma Is The Perfect Place To Highlight Trump's Non-Existent COVID-19 Strategy
America still awaits a national strategy for how to deal with COVID-19, but we won’t be getting it today. Today, President Donald Trump is stumping in Yuma where a thousand or so of his mostly supporters, many of them unmasked,were lined up in 108-degree heat this morning, waiting to pack into the airport's Joe Foss Hanger to hear him speak. Trump is barnstorming the battleground states all week to counter the Democratic National Convention. Yuma is where he plans to highlight his efforts to battle illegal immigration, not even realizing that he’s also putting a white-hot spotlight on his efforts to battle COVID-19. Yuma is one of the state’s – and the nation’s – hotspots for the novel coronavirus. With a startling 5,178 confirmed cases for every 100,000 people, this southwestern Arizona county has the nation’s highest concentration of COVID-19. (Laurie Roberts, 8/18)

Houston Chronicle: Testing Is Crucial To Stop COVID-19. So Are Enough Tests. 
Love your family? Get tested. Hoping Minute Maid will open up to fans to see the Astros play? Get tested. Want to send your kids back to school safely? Get tested. Haven’t been tested in 30 days? Get tested. The words, slightly paraphrased, are from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner who, on Monday, reiterated the same message he’s been repeating since the early days of the novel coronavirus pandemic..“ Quite frankly, if you haven’t gotten tested,” Turner said at a press briefing, “you’re being irresponsible by not going and getting tested.” Can we get an Amen? (8/19)