Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Pros, Cons Of Fauci's Latest Warnings About Catastrophe; Americans Aren't So Keen On Reopening, So What's The Rush?
Fox News: Dr. Fauci Has Not Been Elected To Anything. He Should Not Be Dictator During This Coronavirus Crisis
Dr. Tony Fauci appeared on Capitol Hill Tuesday to testify before members of Congress. The topic, of course, was the ongoing debate over when and how to reopen the country at schools and workplaces amid the coronavirus pandemic, when to do it, and how quickly. Dr. Fauci left no doubts about how he feels on that question. Opening up now, he said, after just two months of lockdowns, is a very risky, indeed a dangerous, prospect. Letting Americans work and learn once again could be a catastrophe, he said. And he wasn't just referring to a handful of hotspots that have been hit especially hard. Entire states, Fauci said, likely need to remain closed. (Tucker Carlson, 5/13)
USA Today: Coronavirus: Donald Trump Will Not Beat COVID-19 By Sidelining Science
Americans were offered alternative realities this week from their president and the government's top coronavirus scientist. Donald Trump stood in the Rose Garden on Monday to boast of his success in ramping up testing. "America has risen to the task," he said. "We have met the moment, and we have prevailed."The next day, infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress that the path much of America has taken to rapidly reopen the economy could lead to "some suffering and death." (5/13)
CNN: Trump's Rebuke Of Fauci Encapsulates Rejection Of Science In Virus Fight
President Donald Trump's repudiation of Dr. Anthony Fauci has long been probable. Once the trusted doctor warned of the human cost of Trump's push to quickly reopen the country, it became inevitable. Trump broke with Fauci, who has served under six presidents, on Wednesday over the infectious disease expert's warnings that getting businesses and schools back open too quickly would lead to unnecessary suffering and death. (Stephen Collinson, 5/14)
The Hill: Let Science Lead: We Need More Leaders With Science Backgrounds
The current coronavirus pandemic is teaching us the importance of accurate scientific knowledge to guide political decisions. We are seeing how political leaders in Italy, Spain, the UK and the U.S. ignored scientific advice and pushed their countries to the brink of catastrophe. In all four cases, after initially ignoring the claims and data provided by the scientific community, the leadership changed strategies and began accepting their guidance — when it's most likely too late. The coronavirus crisis is not an isolated case, climate change is also a good example of how political leadership ignores science. (Javier Del Campo, 5/13)
The Washington Post: Trump Has A Major Vulnerability. Democrats Should Keep Pounding It.
It may seem like grotesque malpractice — both from a political and a public health standpoint. But it’s true: Amid a pandemic that has killed more than 80,000 Americans, President Trump and many Republicans are not just urging Americans to go back to work in dangerous conditions.They are also fully supporting an effort to roll back health coverage for millions. (Greg Sargent, 5/13)
The New York Times: A Study Said Covid Wasn’t That Deadly. The Right Seized It.
Last month, a group of Stanford University researchers released a remarkable study: Covid-19 infections in Santa Clara, Calif., might well be 85 times higher than official estimates. The fatality rate for coronavirus might be as low as 0.12 percent, the researchers concluded, which would make Covid-19 only as deadly as the seasonal flu. Within hours, the paper had been leveraged by conservative commentators and activists on social media, forged into ammunition to support the protests against lockdowns and other social mitigation efforts meant to contain the coronavirus and minimize deaths. The right-wing, prospecting for proof that the severity of the pandemic was overblown, had found their science, plain as day. (Bajak and Howe, 5/14)
The Washington Post: What Voters And Pelosi Know That Trump Does Not
One does not need to be a professional pollster to understand that American voters want the federal government to stop shifting responsibility to the states for testing and that they are not enamored with the race to reopen the economy when conditions do not warrant doing so. The latest Pew poll shows that “a majority of Americans (61%) say it is primarily the federal government’s responsibility to make sure there are enough COVID-19 tests in order to safely lift the restrictions.” That captures two concepts: It’s the feds’ job, and you need testing to reopen. Local hospitals and medical professionals rate the highest on their pandemic response (88 percent), while public health officials such as those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also do extremely well (72 percent). President Trump gets 41 percent. Republicans, meanwhile, seem loath to believe that the virus is a big deal: (Jennifer Rubin, 5/13)
The New York Times: States Keep Failing Black People
The racially disproportionate effect of the Covid-19 crisis in this country and a recent rash of high-profile senseless killings of black people by the police and vigilantes may seem on their face unrelated. But, in fact, they are related. The two phenomena have collided as a tragic reminder of how consistently and continuously states have failed black people in this country.It is state policy — both criminal and health — that leaves black people exposed and vulnerable and with little recourse for safety or justice. (Charles M. Blow, 5/13)
The New York Times: How To Reopen America Safely
In late February, as data on the coronavirus pandemic continued to unfold, I started making calls to friends and family to prepare them. I told them to get ready to hunker down for three months. For many then, it was hard to believe that a virus we couldn’t much see evidence of, less understand, would require us to shut down our economy. I also spoke with C.E.O.s and governors, urging them to close nonessential businesses and enact stay-at-home orders to stop the spread of the virus. Other public health advocates called for the same — and fortunately government and business leaders responded. Their actions saved hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives and spared American hospitals the horrors of rationing care. Shutting down was the right policy at the time. As circumstances have evolved, so has my thinking. (Marty Makary, 5/14)
The Birmingham News: And Now We Play American Roulette
Since Gov. Ivey made her decision, new cases in Alabama have continued to grow.On Monday, the state passed 10,000 cumulative coronavirus cases, and a lot of news reports have made note for the same reason we like to watch our cars’ odometers roll over to 100,000 miles. But I’d like to point to a more significant number we’ll pass sometime soon, maybe by the time you read this.10,936 — that’s the cumulative cases South Korea reported Monday.Sometime in the next week, Alabama will overtake South Korea.Alabama will overtake South Korea, despite that country having 50 million people to our five million. (Kyle Whitmire, 5/13)
The Hill: Puerto Rico Is Shovel-Ready For The COVID-19 Recovery
The current pandemic has exposed the fragility and vulnerability of the U.S. medical supply system. This pandemic won’t be the last, and it has become abundantly clear that the U.S. shouldn’t rely on one or two foreign countries for such essential supplies. As we search for shovel-ready projects to fight the COVID-19 virus and lay the groundwork to be better prepared for the next, we need to look no further than Puerto Rico. (Jorge Heine and Kevin P. Gallagher, 5/13)
Houston Chronicle: Do Not Allow Gatherings In Texas Without More Testing And Contact Tracing To Contain Coronavirus
As we have not reached the level of testing or contact tracing needed to resume all economic activities safely, we should be reconsidering whether it is in fact true that we must choose between reducing economic insecurity and reducing harm at the hands of a poorly controlled pandemic. (Elizabeth Chiao, Katherine Y. King, Judy Levison and Dona Kim Murphey, 5/14)
Boston Globe: Saving Lives Or Saving The Economy? Reopening Doesn’t Have To Be An All-Or-Nothing Proposition
As Massachusetts prepares to follow other states down the uncertain path of lifting coronavirus restrictions, the clamor of competing messages grows louder: Moving too fast will bring a surge in deaths. Moving too slowly will bury the economy. The debate over when to reopen will continue to rage between public health leaders, politicians, and business owners. But just as important is how. A growing number of scientists, economists, and business leaders have eschewed all-or-nothing thinking as they map out approaches to a new normal with COVID-19 until there is a vaccine. (Leung and Edelman, 5/13)
Bangor Daily News: COVID-19 Shows Recklessness Of Lawsuit To Repeal Affordable Care Act
As the COVID-19 crisis continues in Maine and across the country, the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers are continuing their efforts to take accessible health care coverage from over 20 million Americans, including 83,000 Mainers. (Harnett, 5/13)
