Tag: COVID-19

Washington navigates ethical minefield on getting first Covid shots

President Donald Trump, President-elect Joe Biden and leaders in Congress could help themselves to the vaccine in the coming days. The question is: should they?

The first Covid shots will soon be available to top officials and essential staff in the White House, the Pentagon and Congress. But they’re already facing a political and ethical dilemma over who should be at the front of the line.

While most of the scarce Pfizer vaccine is now on its way to hospitals and nursing homes across the country, some of the first tranche was reserved for federal leaders to ensure the government can continue to function as U.S. deaths and hospitalizations peak. President Donald Trump, President-elect Joe Biden and leaders in Congress could help themselves to it in the coming days. The question is: should they?

On Monday, Biden’s transition team said no decision had been made, and that the president-elect is consulting with his chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci on timing. Trump will hold off for now, but Secret Service agents, the White House medical unit staff and those who run critical operations like the Situation Room will be vaccinated on a staggered basis in the coming weeks, to ensure they don’t all suffer unexpected side effects at once. Congress still is waiting to find out how many doses will be available and when, but some lawmakers are already vowing not to elbow their way ahead. Continue reading.

As Americans die by the thousands, Trump cronies cut in line for coronavirus treatments and vaccines

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Rudy Giuliani is a horrible human being.

I’m not talking about his hair-dye malfunction, his cruelty about Hunter Biden’s drug problems or his outing to the landscaping business hard by the porn shop.

I’m talking about this: Somebody may very well be dying right now because of his recklessness.

He roamed the country, often mask-free, spouting lies about election fraud. Then when he (inevitably) got covid-19, the White House secured for him rare treatments, including a lifesaving antibody cocktail available to few on the planet outside of President Trump and his cronies, such as Chris Christie and Ben Carson. Doctors ration the scarce drug, so Giuliani’s good fortune is the misfortune of somebody else who desperately needed it. Continue reading the commentary here.

Bipartisan group unveils two-part $908 billion coronavirus package

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday unveiled its $908 billion coronavirus relief package as Congress faces a time crunch to pass more aid.  

The proposal is split into two parts: One $748 billion piece includes another round of Paycheck Protection Program assistance for small businesses, an unemployment benefit, and more money for schools, vaccine distribution and other widely agreed-upon items. 

The second $160 billion piece ties together the two most controversial elements of the coronavirus negotiations: more money for state and local governments and protections for businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits.  Continue reading.

US surpasses 300,000 COVID-19 deaths

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The United States on Monday passed 300,000 total deaths from the novel coronavirus, according to a New York Times tally, a shocking number that is certain to quickly grow larger before a vaccine is widely available. 

The country is now averaging about 2,500 coronavirus deaths every day, a record total. On some days, more than 3,000 people die from the virus, exceeding the toll from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. 

“We are in the time frame now that probably for the next 60 to 90 days we’re going to have more deaths per day than we had at 9/11 or we had at Pearl Harbor,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfieldsaid last week during an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations.  Continue reading.

Bipartisan group strikes deal on coronavirus relief package

Liability, state and local aid to be split off, giving leadership some options

The group of Senate and House lawmakers negotiating a $908 billion COVID-19 relief package has reached agreement on business liability waivers and state and local government aid provisions, but those will be broken into a separate bill, according to a source familiar with the plan.

The larger $748 billion piece, which includes unemployment insurance, small-business relief, money for education, vaccine distribution and more, plus the separate bill with $160 billion for state and local governments and the liability protections, will be introduced Monday.

The bifurcated approach gives congressional leaders options as they try to assemble a massive year-end legislative package including a $1.4 trillion collection of a dozen fiscal 2021 appropriations bills. Other items still in play include legislation aimed at cracking down on surprise medical bills modeled on a bipartisan agreement reached Friday, and renewal of expiring tax breaks and health care programs. Continue reading.

Trump Rescinds Plan for White House Staff to Be Quickly Vaccinated

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The administration had initially defended a plan to distribute vaccines to its senior members even as the first doses are generally being reserved for high-risk health care workers.

President Trump said on Sunday night that he would delay a plan for senior White House staff members to receive the coronavirus vaccine in the coming days, hours after The New York Times reported that the administration was planning to rapidly distribute the vaccine to its staff at a time when the first doses are generally being reserved for high-risk health care workers.

Mr. Trump, who tested positive for the coronavirus in October and recovered after being hospitalized, also implied that he would get the vaccine himself at some point in the future, but said he had no immediate plans to do so.

“People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary,” Mr. Trump tweeted, hours after a National Security Council spokesman had defended the plan. “I have asked that this adjustment be made. I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time. Thank you!” Continue reading.

What Happens When a Superspreader Event Keeps Spreading

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A February conference by the drug company Biogen was initially thought to have infected 99 people. By the end of October, it was feared that the number had grown as high as 300,000.

WASHINGTON — When it was disclosed last spring that the coronavirus had stealthily infected 99 people after the Cambridge, Mass., pharmaceutical company Biogen held a two-day conference in February, it helped add the term “superspreader” to the pandemic lexicon.

Little did anyone know how super the spread would actually become.

A new analysis of the Biogen event at a Boston hotel has concluded that the coronavirus strains loosed at the meeting have since migrated worldwide, infecting about 245,000 Americans — and potentially as many as 300,000 — by the end of October. Continue reading.

US enters brutal stretch of pandemic, even with approaching vaccines

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The United States is entering an even more brutal stretch of the pandemic, with deaths now exceeding 3,000 people every day, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel from a vaccine. 

The promise of a vaccine sets up a diverging reality, where in the short term the pandemic is getting even worse, but there is reassurance that it will not last forever. Public health experts are therefore urging the public to double down on precautions to get through the toughest phase for a few months until the vaccine is widely available. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfieldissued a stark warning about the coming weeks on Thursday. “We are in the timeframe now that probably for the next 60 to 90 days we’re going to have more deaths per day than we had at 9/11 or we had at Pearl Harbor,” Redfield said during an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations.  Continue reading.

US enters brutal stretch of pandemic, even with approaching vaccines

The Hill logo

The United States is entering an even more brutal stretch of the pandemic, with deaths now exceeding 3,000 people every day, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel from a vaccine. 

The promise of a vaccine sets up a diverging reality, where in the short term the pandemic is getting even worse, but there is reassurance that it will not last forever. Public health experts are therefore urging the public to double down on precautions to get through the toughest phase for a few months until the vaccine is widely available. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield issued a stark warning about the coming weeks on Thursday. “We are in the timeframe now that probably for the next 60 to 90 days we’re going to have more deaths per day than we had at 9/11 or we had at Pearl Harbor,” Redfield said during an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations.  Continue reading.

Mitch McConnell doesn’t even want to send relief to health care workers

Hospitals nationwide are in desperate financial straits, short-staffed, and running out of beds.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is holding up talks on a bipartisan bill that could include badly needed aid for hard-hit hospitals around the country with demands that Democrats give up state and local relief funding before he’ll let the Senate vote on it.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for talks on the developing framework for a $908 billion COVID relief package that would include $35 billion for hospitals.

The initial summary of the bill did not include stimulus checks for individuals, though negotiations continue on that front. Continue reading.