Tag: pandemic

Trump Supporters Claim Pandemic Death Stats Are ‘Inflated’

As the death toll from the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 soars in the U.S. and statistical models predict more than 100,000 to come, conservative media personalities are pushing the ghoulish argument that the fatality statistics are “inflated” because they count people who died with the disease but also had underlying conditions. This is the next frontier in the right’s effort to downplay the effect of the coronavirus in order to defend President Donald Trump.

New York City’s Health Department breaks down its data for COVID-19 deaths by identifying how many of the deceased had underlying conditions, how many did not, and how many for whom that information is currently unknown. Some online conspiracy theorists have argued that only the death toll for the tiny fraction of cases without underlying conditions should be considered, a frame subsequently adopted by some right-wing media figures. But as the Daily Dot noted in demolishing this talking point, a large percentage of Americans have at least one of the listed conditions, which include high blood pressure, asthma, and diabetes.

In fact, COVID-19’s death toll is almost certainly being undercounted. The Wall Street Journal analyzed data from Italy and concluded that as the virus stretched the health care system to its breaking point, “many people who die from the virus don’t make it to the hospital and are never tested,” and thus are not included in the official count. By comparing the number of deaths in particular communities to the same period a year ago, the Journal concluded that the true count is “far higher” than the recorded one. Evidence from Spain and anecdotal reports from the United States suggest that the Italian experience is not an anomaly.  Continue reading.

Five things being discussed for a new coronavirus relief bill

The Hill logoLawmakers are already publicly floating ideas for a fourth coronavirus relief bill only days after Congress passed a massive $2.2 trillion package.

The talks are in their preliminary stages, and any bill is unlikely to come together before both chambers return as soon as April 20. There are also plenty of hurdles as House Democrats signal they are moving quickly while Senate Republicans say they want to take a wait-and-see approach.

But that’s done little to stop members from pitching their own ideas, or industries from asking for help if there’s more legislation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters that she talked this week with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who negotiated the first three packages.  Continue reading.

Can Democracy Survive Coronavirus?

The pandemic threatens elections, and experts worry Americans’ rights could be curtailed.

STATE PRIMARY ELECTIONS have been delayed, and experts fret about how to hold a credible and accessible general election in November. Congress is out until at least April 20, and many state legislatures have suspended their sessions. Government buildings are closed. The Trump administration wants “emergency” powers to allow suspects to be detained indefinitely, while abroad, world leaders are using the pandemic to seize more power.

The novel coronavirus has already claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people worldwide. Will democracy be the next casualty?

Crises often lead governments to take extraordinary measures, whether it’s increasing security, expanding surveillance and other government powers or limiting rights citizens had come to take for granted. But the global pandemic presents risks to democratic institutions unprecedented in modern times, experts say, whether it’s unsavory leaders using the virus as an excuse to demand more authority or civically inclined officials struggling to figure out how to keep democratic institutions going without endangering public health. Continue reading.

Trump administration ended pandemic early-warning program to detect coronaviruses

Two months before the novel coronavirus is thought to have begun its deadly advance in Wuhan, China, the Trump administration ended a $200-million pandemic early-warning program aimed at training scientists in China and other countries to detect and respond to such a threat.

The project, launched by the U.S. Agency for International Development in 2009, identified 1,200 different viruses that had the potential to erupt into pandemics, including more than 160 novel coronaviruses. The initiative, called PREDICT, also trained and supported staff in 60 foreign laboratories — including the Wuhan lab that identified SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Field work ceased when the funding ran out in September, and organizations that worked on the PREDICT program laid off dozens of scientists and analysts, said Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, a key player in the program. Continue reading.

Desperate States Pay Huge Markups In Competition For Medical Supplies

With the coronavirus outbreak creating an unprecedented demand for medical supplies and equipment, New York state has paid 20 cents for gloves that normally cost less than a nickel and as much as $7.50 each for masks, about 15 times the usual price. It’s paid up to $2,795 for infusion pumps, more than twice the regular rate. And $248,841 for a portable X-ray machine that typically sells for $30,000 to $80,000.

This payment data, provided by state officials, shows just how much the shortage of key medical equipment is driving up prices. Forced to venture outside their usual vendors and contracts, states and cities are paying exorbitant sums on a spot market ruled by supply and demand. Although New York’s attorney general has denouncedexcessive prices, and ordered merchants to stop overcharging people for hand sanitizers and disinfectant sprays, state laws against price gouging generally don’t apply to government purchases.

With little guidance from the Trump administration, competition among states, cities, hospitals and federal agencies is contributing to the staggering bill for fighting the pandemic, which New York has estimated will cost it $15 billion in spending and lost revenue. The bidding wars are also raising concerns that facilities with shallow pockets, like rural health clinics, won’t be able to obtain vital supplies. Continue reading.

As virus takes hold, resistance to stay-at-home orders remains widespread — exposing political and social rifts

Washington Post logoKay Ivey, the Republican governor of Alabama, put down a marker last week in affirming that it was “not the time to order people to shelter in place.”

“Y’all, we are not Louisiana, we are not New York state, we are not California,” she said, suggesting that the fate of hard-hit parts of the country would not be shared by Alabama.

In Missouri, Republican Gov. Mike Parson said he was not inclined to “make a blanket policy,” adding, “It’s going to come down to individual responsibilities.” Continue reading.

IRS to begin issuing $1,200 coronavirus payments April 9, but some Americans won’t receive checks until September, agency plan says

Washington Post logoThe Internal Revenue Service plans to send electronic payments as soon as late next week to millions of Americans as part of the $2 trillion coronavirus law, a week sooner than expected, according to a plan circulated internally on Thursday.

However, $30 million in paper checks for millions of other Americans won’t start being sent out until April 24, as the government lacks their banking information. And some of those checks won’t reach people until September, the document shows, underscoring the reality that many Americans could have to wait five months to receive their checks.

The speed with which the money is disbursed will depend largely on people’s method of filing taxes. Electronic payments can be distributed quickly, whereas the IRS must print paper checks and mail them separately. About eight in 10 taxpayers have signed up for direct deposit payments for their past tax refunds, a number that has grown in recent years. Continue reading.

The right way to clean and disinfect household surfaces

Washington Post logoFree article. By this point in the coronavirus pandemic, most of us know how to properly wash our hands — wet, lather, scrub, rinse, dry — but we may be less clear on the proper way to sanitize the various surfaces in our home. And like many aspects of our current situation, there is a lot of misinformation and hype about which areas of our home need vigilant attention. To get the hard facts on what to worry about at home, and what not to, I turned to three experts.

To begin, we need to understand that most of us will not contract covid-19 by staying at home. Joseph Vinetz, a Yale Medicine infectious disease specialist, says: “We have no evidence whatsoever that people can get this virus at home. Period.” Unless, of course, somebody who has been exposed enters your house and coughs, sneezes or is in close proximity to you for more than 15 minutes. The real risk of contracting the disease is going out in public.

Vinetz says that people need to think logically; if you are quarantined at home and no one in your house is infected or showing symptoms, then regular good household hygiene should be sufficient. Continue reading.

Inside America’s mask crunch: A slow government reaction and an industry wary of liability

Washington Post logoOn March 5, as the deadly novel coronavirus was racing through the United States, Vice President Pence paid a visit to the Minnesota headquarters of 3M, the manufacturing giant that produces protective respiratory masks.

Pence, who leads the White House’s coronavirus task force, praised the company during a public roundtable for deciding at the outset of the crisis “to go to full capacity” and ramp up production of high-grade N95 masks.

With its factories in South Dakota and Nebraska cranked up and running around the clock, 3M was on pace to double its global output to nearly 100 million a month, according to the company. Continue reading.

Conservatives are determined to ‘own the libs’ during the pandemic — even if it gets people killed: GOP pollster

AlterNet logoRepublican pollster Frank Luntz had some blunt words for right-wing media figures who spent weeks downplaying the threat of COVID-19.

In a New York Times interview, Luntz said that many conservatives were so determined to “own the libs” at all costs that they would play down a frightening public health crisis even if it cost people their lives.

The rest of the Times story is a comprehensive overview of the ways that conservative media figures repeatedly told their fans that the virus was not a big deal, that the media was exaggerating its danger in order to score political points against President Donald Trump, and even that medical experts working for the Trump administration were not to be trusted. Continue reading.