The Friday Breeze
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes, who reads every thing on well being care to compile our day by day Morning Briefing, presents one of the best and most provocative tales for the weekend.
Hello! It’s been a troublesome week, associates, so I received’t say Happy Friday as I normally do. But I’ll say it is Friday, and I hope you’re getting an opportunity to exhale. As many individuals knowledgeable us on social media, Shakespeare wrote King Lear beneath quarantine, however King Lear isn’t his greatest, anyway, and he most likely didn’t should take care of screaming stir-crazy kiddos or a continuing barrage of stories. If you’ve been staring on the wall as a substitute of writing the following nice historic play, know that you’re very much not alone.
On that be aware, although, I’m going to do my easiest to present you a fast take a look at what occurred, is going on or may occur with the coronavirus outbreak (with the caveat that it might be not possible to seize the scope of this specific universe).
First, two sources which might be very cool: 1) KHN’s map that exhibits what number of ICU beds there are in every county, and a couple of) Johns Hopkins’ map and working tally of confirmed instances.
So right here we go along with the information:
Congress has been working with the administration, particularly Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, to place collectively a package deal that may assist Americans battered economically by the shutdowns. At the core? Sending checks on to Americans. The quantity taxpayers would get, under Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s plan, can be tied to earnings and variety of kids. It would additionally create a $300 billion pot for small companies and guarantee loans for the airline industry.
The price ticket on the plan — $1 trillion — sounds enormous, however experts say it’s not sufficient to make something however a minor dent. Congress must be pondering extra within the $2 trillion-$three trillion vary.
President Donald Trump is also on board with sending checks to Americans, a transfer just like what occurred throughout the Great Recession.
While we’re on Capitol Hill information, Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) dumped millions in stocks in February whilst they had been reassuring the general public that the menace was properly in hand. Burr, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, additionally warned a small group of constituents three weeks in the past in regards to the potential financial impression of the outbreak. One of the inventory purchases Loeffler made was in a expertise firm that offers teleworking software.
The Friday Breeze
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Something that’s turn out to be abundantly clear over the previous week is how ill-equipped the nation’s well being system is to bear the additional weight of a pandemic. Although Trump invoked war powers this week, he appears reluctant to actually use them. (And a lot of the federal government’s potential sources remain untapped.) He additionally shifted the onus to governors to determine medical system and protecting gear shortages. “The federal government’s not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping,” Trump mentioned. “You know, we’re not a shipping clerk.”
Meanwhile, medical doctors and different well being care employees are having to reuse masks, repurpose bandannas and scarves, and take different measures as some hospitals are going via five- to six-months’ price of provides in every week. The variety of instances is predicted to climb throughout the nation and suppliers are turning to social media to plead for extra masks and protecting gear. “It feels like a war zone,” was simply certainly one of a flood of quotes from determined employees.
And protecting gear isn’t the one factor that would run out — ICU beds are also in short supply. The federal government and states (and even cruise lines!) are taking measures to attempt to handle the potential disaster, however hospitals are nonetheless making ready to should make robust ethical choices about whom to deal with.
Although testing within the United States has ramped up, frustration over the administration’s missteps lingers — particularly since it seems that rich and famous Americans had been capable of get examined the place others weren’t. South Korea, which recognized its first case the identical day the U.S. did, serves as a stark distinction. Well over 290,000 folks have been examined and over Eight,000 infections have been recognized in that nation, which can be a democracy. Reuters looks at what South Korea did right and what went wrong here.
Yours actually was a type of poor, misguided souls who determined final weekend that watching Contagion was precisely what I wanted within the midst of our real-life pandemic. (I instantly regretted the choice, don’t fear.) But within the film, a scientist assessments a vaccine on herself after which — increase! — it’s out on this planet.
That’s not how science works in reality, as everyone knows, however for a lot of, it’s arduous to not maintain out hope for a fast miracle treatment — both via a vaccine or a remedy.
This week, Trump touted a malaria drug referred to as chloroquine as a possible recreation changer. But FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn was quick to pump the brakes, saying scientific trials can be wanted to check its efficacy. (For a historical past of how chloroquine popped up on folks’s radar, take a look at this interesting piece from WIRED.)
Meanwhile, the one firm within the U.S. that makes chloroquine raised the worth by nearly 100% in January. The firm has since decreased the price.
For a look on the standing of drug and vaccine analysis, take a look at Stat’s roundup.
Many scientists and different specialists are grappling with a number of unanswerable questions, equivalent to: Will the warmer weather help? and the way lengthy will social distancing last? Research is rising each day on the virus, although, equivalent to a brand new loss of life price out of Wuhan, China, that’s lower than previous estimates.
It can be not possible to spotlight all of the compelling tales that ran this week, so right here’s an outline of ones that may make good weekend reads:
• The New York Times: Coronavirus and Poverty: A Mother Skips Meals So Her Children Can Eat
• Politico: Coronavirus Will Change the World Permanently. Here’s How.
• The New York Times: Before Virus Outbreak, a Cascade of Warnings Went Unheeded
• USA Today: ‘Complete Chaos’: How the Coronavirus Pandemic Is Upending the Criminal Justice System
• The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus-Era Food Supply: America Has a Lot. Moving It Is Tricky.
• The Associated Press: Cuomo Emerges As Democratic Counter to Trump Virus Response
• Politico: Trump Team’s New Mission: Defend the ‘Wartime President’
• The New York Times: ‘We Are Not a Hospital’: Inside a Prison Bracing for the Coronavirus
• The Washington Post: Donald Trump’s Presidency As Told Through a Black Marker
That’s it from me. And earlier than any Shakespeare followers come for my throat, I used to be simply joking! (Though I do favor his comedies.) Have a protected and restful weekend.
Brianna Labuskes: blabuskes@kff.org”>blabuskes@kff.org, @brilabuskes
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