Opinion: White House’s new Covid-19 strategy is madness
4 years, 2 months ago

Opinion: White House’s new Covid-19 strategy is madness

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Jeffrey D. Sachs is a professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. CNN — As if Donald Trump’s irresponsibility was not already a national tragedy, the White House seems now to favor a controversial approach to Covid-19 that threatens to bring nothing less than mass suffering. Yet on Tuesday, senior Trump administration officials said that they were receptive to pursuing “herd immunity,” an approach touted by a group of scientists who have put out what they call the “Great Barrington Declaration.” The idea is that the federal government should let the pandemic run its course until most of the population is infected and has ostensibly developed antibodies to ward off future infections. Jeffrey Sachs Courtesy Jeffrey Sachs According to this idea, vulnerable groups would be targeted for “focused protection,” for example, introducing extra precautions such as frequent Covid-19 testing to avoid infections of the elderly living in nursing homes. For a White House team that can’t even properly protect its guests at a White House event, the notion that it could suddenly oversee the implementation of “focused protection” to vulnerable people spread throughout the country in the midst of an uncontrolled pandemic is a fantasy.

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History of this topic

Health Experts Warn of Bird Flu's Pandemic Threat
1 week, 6 days ago

Health Experts Warn of Bird Flu's Pandemic Threat

Deccan Chronicle  

Paris: Health experts have been sounding the alarm about the potential pandemic threat posed by bird flu, which has been showing signs of mutating as it spreads among cows and infects people in the United States. The deadly bird flu variant H5N1 first emerged in China in 1996, but over the last four years it has sp More than 300 …

Britain needs a ‘vaccine taskforce’ to prepare for the next pandemic, Lords warn
2 weeks, 4 days ago

Britain needs a ‘vaccine taskforce’ to prepare for the next pandemic, Lords warn

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Britain needs a “peacetime vaccine task force” to prepare for the …

House Covid-19 panel releases final report criticizing public health response to the pandemic
3 weeks, 1 day ago

House Covid-19 panel releases final report criticizing public health response to the pandemic

CNN  

CNN — A Republican-led House committee investigating broad aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects in the US released a final report Monday summarizing its two-year effort, saying it hoped the work would “serve as a road map for Congress, the Executive Branch, and the private sector to prepare for and respond to future pandemics.” In the 520-page report, …

Trump's failure and the next pandemic
3 weeks, 5 days ago

Trump's failure and the next pandemic

Raw Story  

“The political folks believed that because was going to be relegated to Democratic states, that they could blame those governors, and that would be an effective political strategy.” —Vanity Fair’s Katherine Eban quoting Jared Kushner’s team in March, 2020. And it appears that the virus that has her at death’s door is a recent mutation: “But researchers have homed in …

"Bad news for public health": Jay Bhattacharaya, Trump's pick to lead NIH, got COVID-19 all wrong
3 weeks, 6 days ago

"Bad news for public health": Jay Bhattacharaya, Trump's pick to lead NIH, got COVID-19 all wrong

Salon  

By most accounts, President-elect Donald Trump bungled the federal response to COVID-19, publicly downplaying concern about a virus that he privately admitted was “deadly stuff.” “It’s going to disappear. One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear,” Trump said in Feb. 2020, at the same time he was admitting to journalist Bob Woodward that the virus was …

‘Dire implications’: Experts warn Trump could spark global health crisis with latest idea
1 month, 2 weeks ago

‘Dire implications’: Experts warn Trump could spark global health crisis with latest idea

Raw Story  

Over the weekend Donald Trump said he is considering a ban on not just vaccine mandates, but vaccines themselves—an extension of his embrace of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He is expected to put RFK Jr., a known AIDS denialist and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and purveyor of vaccine misinformation who has likened the use of vaccines to the "holocaust," in charge …

Trump’s botched COVID response has been largely forgotten, but it's crucial we remember
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Trump’s botched COVID response has been largely forgotten, but it's crucial we remember

Salon  

At a campaign event in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump asked the crowd a question Ronald Reagan also asked voters in the 1980 election against Jimmy Carter, and one many presidents before have asked. “People are still framing questions like that as if where we were four years ago was not in the early stages of a …

Global Pandemic Threat: 100 Days to Save Lives
2 months ago

Global Pandemic Threat: 100 Days to Save Lives

Hindustan Times  

A modelling study suggests that if a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 had been developed within 100 days, an estimated 8.3 million deaths could have been averted globally. The study also estimated that productivity losses due to illness amounting to almost $1.4 trillion and $63 billion of hospitalisation costs would have been averted globally.

Noah Lyles' collapse underscores our collective COVID denial
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Noah Lyles' collapse underscores our collective COVID denial

Salon  

The 2024 Olympic Games are serving up some less-than-subtle metaphors for how poorly we handle public health. Just after winning a bronze medal in the much-anticipated men's 200-meter race, U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles collapsed on the track in exhaustion — not just because he’d completed a brutal run in just 19.7 seconds, finishing third, but also because he was sick …

‘Still not over’: WHO cautions of COVID-19 threat ahead of summer holidays after US President Joe Biden tests positive
5 months ago

‘Still not over’: WHO cautions of COVID-19 threat ahead of summer holidays after US President Joe Biden tests positive

Live Mint  

New Delhi: With US President Joe Biden testing positive for COVID-19 before the Presidential elections, the World Health Organisation has warned the public that Covid is still not over. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a warning, stating that vaccination rates among health professionals and the over-60s—two demographics most at risk of dying from COVID—are alarmingly falling. Globally, 9.8 million …

As COVID-19 ticks up in some places, US health officials recommend a fall vaccination campaign
5 months, 3 weeks ago

As COVID-19 ticks up in some places, US health officials recommend a fall vaccination campaign

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — With fresh COVID-19 cases bubbling up in some parts of the country, health officials are setting course for a fall vaccination campaign. What’s more, health officials have reported upticks this month in COVID-19-associated emergency room visits and hospitalizations, and a pronounced increase in positive test results in the southwestern U.S. It’s not clear whether that’s a sign …

As COVID-19 ticks up in some places, US advisers recommend a fall vaccination campaign
5 months, 3 weeks ago

As COVID-19 ticks up in some places, US advisers recommend a fall vaccination campaign

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

Trump botched America’s pandemic response — but a 2nd term would be even more catastrophic
6 months ago

Trump botched America’s pandemic response — but a 2nd term would be even more catastrophic

Raw Story  

I think it’s important to remind yourself of the basics. READ: ‘Creepy weirdos’: Senator fears Trump WH staff would destroy government from ‘inside’ “ I don’t take responsibility at all,” Trump said in March 2020. Far-right voters oppose life-saving vaccines, so the Republican candidate is only too pleased to tell them what they want to hear.” Expect more of this …

COVID-19 vaccines: Much ado about known unknowns
7 months, 2 weeks ago

COVID-19 vaccines: Much ado about known unknowns

The Hindu  

There are things we know that we don’t know. This risk was identified and flagged back in 2021; packaging was modified to insert information associated with the side effects; even the WHO wrote about it first in May 2021 and then in 2023.Read Bindu Shajan Perapaddan’s report on the rare vaccine side-effect is “no secret” and they are “well aware …

Opinion: How should we deal with COVID now?
8 months, 4 weeks ago

Opinion: How should we deal with COVID now?

LA Times  

The government made funding available for people infected with COVID to afford the drug Paxlovid for treatment, but not many people know how to access it. Another payment problem arises around antiviral medications such as Paxlovid — imperfect but useful tools to reduce death among those infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. After the COVID-19 public health emergency ended, the Department …

Nearly 10,000 died from COVID-19 last month, fueled by holiday gatherings and new variant, WHO says
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Nearly 10,000 died from COVID-19 last month, fueled by holiday gatherings and new variant, WHO says

Associated Press  

GENEVA — The head of the U.N. health agency said Wednesday holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December, while hospital admissions during the month jumped 42% in nearly 50 countries — mostly in Europe and the Americas …

Opinion: The U.S. is facing the biggest COVID wave since Omicron. Why are we still playing make-believe?
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Opinion: The U.S. is facing the biggest COVID wave since Omicron. Why are we still playing make-believe?

LA Times  

The pandemic is far from over, as evidenced by the rapid rise to global dominance of the JN.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2. We have lost the ability to track the actual number of infections since most people either test at home or don’t even test at all, but the very high wastewater levels of the virus indicate about 2 million Americans …

Covid-19 not a concern for most US adults, who are split on the latest vaccine and other precautions, KFF survey finds
1 year, 1 month ago

Covid-19 not a concern for most US adults, who are split on the latest vaccine and other precautions, KFF survey finds

CNN  

CNN — Most adults in the United States are not worried about getting sick with Covid-19 or spreading it over the holidays, a new survey from KFF found. Concern about rising cases and hospitalizations is slightly higher, with nearly half of adults saying they are “very” or “somewhat” worried that Covid-19 hospitalizations will increase this winter – about the same …

Opinion: We’ve made huge advances against COVID. Why is it still killing so many people?
1 year, 6 months ago

Opinion: We’ve made huge advances against COVID. Why is it still killing so many people?

LA Times  

Many immunocompromised and older people are still terrified of COVID. COVID never treated all groups equally, and some older people and immunocompromised individuals still face the highest risk of serious illness. Even for severely immunocompromised people — namely a fraction of those with malignancies or autoimmune disorders who take a drug that depletes their antibody response, as well as patients …

WHO, Believes Disease X Could Create A Pandemic Like Situation, All You Need To Know
1 year, 7 months ago

WHO, Believes Disease X Could Create A Pandemic Like Situation, All You Need To Know

News 18  

As the world gradually returns to a sense of normalcy following the unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the scientific and public health communities remain steadfast in their preparations for future outbreaks and pandemics. As the global community reflects on the challenges and lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, the pursuit of knowledge and preventive measures against future outbreaks …

US ends COVID-19 health emergency today: Key figures defining the pandemic
1 year, 7 months ago

US ends COVID-19 health emergency today: Key figures defining the pandemic

Firstpost  

Though daily life has long returned to near-normal for many in the United States, the official end of the COVID-19 health emergency Thursday night still marks a new post-pandemic era for the country. Three years of health emergency A state of emergency was first declared in the United States in January 2020, more than three years ago. 1.1 million deaths …

Editorial: The COVID-19 pandemic emergency is over, but virus is still here
1 year, 7 months ago

Editorial: The COVID-19 pandemic emergency is over, but virus is still here

LA Times  

After three long and difficult years, the federal COVID-19 public health emergency ends Thursday. Now we are shifting into the next phase, in which we manage the waves of infection that are likely to continue for the foreseeable future, while seeking new medications and therapies to reduce transmission, treat infection and help the many people still suffering from infections they …

Learn from missteps in Covid’s early days
1 year, 7 months ago

Learn from missteps in Covid’s early days

Hindustan Times  

Covid-19 is no longer a public health emergency, the World Health Organization declared last week, roughly 1,200 days after it first learnt of a new coronavirus spreading through Wuhan, China. Still, WHO’s word is a strong determinant in global health discourse and on this count, the agency fell short in its mission, especially in the early days of the pandemic. …

The COVID public health emergency ends this week. Here's what's changing
1 year, 7 months ago

The COVID public health emergency ends this week. Here's what's changing

NPR  

The COVID public health emergency ends this week. Here's what's changing Enlarge this image toggle caption Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images On Jan. 31, 2020, with six confirmed cases of a new coronavirus in the U.S., a group of federal health officials gathered somberly at the lectern at the White House and declared …

WHO downgrades COVID pandemic, says it’s no longer emergency
1 year, 7 months ago

WHO downgrades COVID pandemic, says it’s no longer emergency

Associated Press  

GENEVA — The World Health Organization said Friday that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions of people worldwide. The U.N. health agency’s officials said that even though the emergency phase was over, the pandemic hasn’t finished, noting recent spikes in …

COVID-19 no longer a global emergency, says WHO
1 year, 7 months ago

COVID-19 no longer a global emergency, says WHO

The Hindu  

The World Health Organization said on May 5 that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies worldwide and killed at least 7 million people worldwide. “It's with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus …

COVID-19 is no longer a global emergency, World Health Organization says
1 year, 7 months ago

COVID-19 is no longer a global emergency, World Health Organization says

LA Times  

The World Health Organization said Friday that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed at least 7 million people worldwide. “It’s with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “That does not …

Covid vaccine requirement for international travelers ends May 11: W.House
1 year, 7 months ago

Covid vaccine requirement for international travelers ends May 11: W.House

Hindustan Times  

The White House on Monday announced a May 11 end to Covid-19 vaccine requirements for travelers to the United States and for government employees across the world's biggest economy. "Today, we are announcing that the administration will end the Covid-19 vaccine requirements for federal employees, federal contractors, and international air travelers at the end of the day on May 11, …

US Covid vaccine requirement for international travelers to end on May 11
1 year, 7 months ago

US Covid vaccine requirement for international travelers to end on May 11

Live Mint  

In the United States, the Covid-19 vaccine requirement for international travellers will end on May 11, and the coronavirus public health emergency will also terminate on the same day, the White House said in an official statement. “Today, we are announcing that the Administration will end the Covid-19 vaccine requirements for federal employees, federal contractors, and international air travellers at …

Pandemic 3 years later: Has the COVID-19 virus won?
1 year, 9 months ago

Pandemic 3 years later: Has the COVID-19 virus won?

The Hindu  

On the third anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus is still spreading and the death toll is nearing 7 million worldwide. “Whatever the virus is doing today, it’s still working on finding another winning path,” said Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute in California. The achievements add up to a new normal where COVID-19 “doesn’t need …

COVID-19 pandemic three years later: Has the coronavirus won?
1 year, 9 months ago

COVID-19 pandemic three years later: Has the coronavirus won?

LA Times  

A person is taken on a stretcher into United Memorial Medical Center in Houston after undergoing COVID-19 testing on March 19, 2020. “Whatever the virus is doing today, it’s still working on finding another winning path,” said Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla. The achievements add up to a new normal where COVID-19 “doesn’t …

Pandemic 3 years later: Has the COVID-19 virus won?
1 year, 9 months ago

Pandemic 3 years later: Has the COVID-19 virus won?

Associated Press  

On the third anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus is still spreading and the death toll is nearing 7 million worldwide. “Whatever the virus is doing today, it’s still working on finding another winning path,” said Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute in California. The achievements add up to a new normal where COVID-19 “doesn’t need …

Pandemic 3 years later: Has the COVID-19 virus won?
1 year, 9 months ago

Pandemic 3 years later: Has the COVID-19 virus won?

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Whatever the virus is doing today, it’s still working …

WHO Says Covid-19 Remains 'Global Health Emergency'
1 year, 10 months ago

WHO Says Covid-19 Remains 'Global Health Emergency'

News 18  

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be a “global health emergency” and the deadly virus will remain a “permanently established pathogen” in humans and animals for the foreseeable future, according to the World Health Organisation. “Three years ago today, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the global spread of COVID-19 – the highest level of alarm under …

President Biden to end COVID-19 emergencies on May 11
1 year, 10 months ago

President Biden to end COVID-19 emergencies on May 11

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden informed Congress on Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared. Then-President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar first declared a public health emergency on Jan. 31, …

President Biden to end COVID-19 emergencies on May 11
1 year, 10 months ago

President Biden to end COVID-19 emergencies on May 11

LA Times  

President Biden talks with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Monday, after returning from an event in Baltimore. Then-President Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar first declared a public health emergency on Jan. 31, 2020, and Trump later declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency that March. “An abrupt end to the …

FDA’s advisors back plan to simplify COVID-19 vaccinations
1 year, 10 months ago

FDA’s advisors back plan to simplify COVID-19 vaccinations

LA Times  

Syringes with COVDI-19 vaccines are prepared at a free public clinic in Lynwood last year. “We’re still protected against severe disease, thank goodness,” even after the latest Omicron strains cropped up, said FDA advisor Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The first step: The FDA advisory panel voted unanimously that people should get the same …

Biden said the pandemic is over, but the pandemic won’t cooperate
1 year, 11 months ago

Biden said the pandemic is over, but the pandemic won’t cooperate

LA Times  

Three years after the United States logged its first case of COVID-19, the pandemic has slipped off the front pages and seemingly out of public consciousness. “We’ve reached what I would call a level of détente with the virus,” said Jay Varma, an infectious disease specialist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. “I would say there’s a lot …

Lessons From COVID: What The World Needs to Learn to Tackle Future Pandemics
1 year, 11 months ago

Lessons From COVID: What The World Needs to Learn to Tackle Future Pandemics

The Quint  

The costly lesson from COVID: why elimination should be the default global strategy for future pandemics Getty Images Imagine it is 2030. An upgraded pandemic response to eliminate at source The process by which the WHO currently decides whether to declare a public health emergency of international concern has drawn criticism for being too slow. Elimination makes sense for other …

China enters new phase of COVID response
1 year, 11 months ago

China enters new phase of COVID response

China Daily  

BEIJING -- From Jan 8, China starts managing COVID-19 with measures designed for combating Class B infectious diseases, instead of Class A infectious diseases. Confronted with epidemic uncertainties, China has always been putting people's lives and health first, adapting its COVID response in light of the evolving situation. The fast-changing features of the virus and the complicated evolution of epidemic …

China enters new phase of COVID response
1 year, 11 months ago

China enters new phase of COVID response

China Daily  

From Sunday, China starts managing COVID-19 with measures designed for combating Class B infectious diseases, instead of Class A infectious diseases. Confronted with epidemic uncertainties, China has always been putting people's lives and health first, adapting its COVID response in light of the evolving situation. The fast-changing features of the virus and the complicated evolution of epidemic response posed serious …

China enters new phase of COVID response
1 year, 11 months ago

China enters new phase of COVID response

China Daily  

BEIJING -- From Jan 8, China starts managing COVID-19 with measures designed for combating Class B infectious diseases, instead of Class A infectious diseases. Confronted with epidemic uncertainties, China has always been putting people's lives and health first, adapting its COVID response in light of the evolving situation. The fast-changing features of the virus and the complicated evolution of epidemic …

China's optimized COVID-19 strategy is a planned, science-based approach
1 year, 11 months ago

China's optimized COVID-19 strategy is a planned, science-based approach

China Daily  

A medical worker in a protective suit adjusts a monitoring device for a patient at the fever clinics of the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University. Meanwhile, the Chinese term for COVID-19 was changed from "novel coronavirus pneumonia" to "novel coronavirus infection" -- as the prevalent omicron strains are seen to cause symptoms confined mainly to the upper respiratory tract. …

Editorial: We have to face our COVID-19 pandemic stumbles — before we forget them
2 years ago

Editorial: We have to face our COVID-19 pandemic stumbles — before we forget them

LA Times  

Now that we have vaccines and rapid tests and Paxlovid for COVID-19 — not to mention boundless supplies of KN95 face masks and toilet paper — it’s easy to forget the early days of the pandemic when we had none of those things. There was the discovery that the nation’s stockpile of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies maintained by the Department …

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week
2 years ago

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The article suggests that these …

Virus control to focus on alleviating symptoms
2 years ago

Virus control to focus on alleviating symptoms

China Daily  

The target for future COVID-19 epidemic control will focus on alleviating the symptoms of patients as scientists reached the consensus two years ago that the novel coronavirus is not going to disappear, a senior Chinese disease prevention expert said. Gao Fu, former director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "We need to control the disease, rather …

As COVID-19 spikes in California, booster shots could make all the difference
2 years ago

As COVID-19 spikes in California, booster shots could make all the difference

LA Times  

With coronavirus cases and hospitalizations rising in Los Angeles County, officials are voicing new confidence in the effectiveness of the updated COVID-19 booster shot. New data has found that the updated COVID-19 vaccines offer “significant additional protection” against symptomatic infection in people who were previously vaccinated or boosted with the older formula. “We have seen very low uptake of the …

Vaccinated people now make majority of COVID deaths in US: Report
2 years, 1 month ago

Vaccinated people now make majority of COVID deaths in US: Report

India TV News  

In a startling revelation, a Washington Post analysis has found that more vaccinated people are now dying of the Covid disease and 58 per cent of coronavirus deaths in August in the US "were people who were vaccinated or boosted". The death among vaccinated people is increasing due to the waning efficacy of Covid vaccines and "increasingly contagious strains of …

More Efforts Required To Save Lives as COVID-19 Threat Continues: Study
2 years, 1 month ago

More Efforts Required To Save Lives as COVID-19 Threat Continues: Study

News 18  

The COVID-19 pandemic has put unprecedented strain on the worldwide healthcare system. Although some countries have made progress, particular efforts and resources are still needed to save lives as SARS-CoV-2 continues to circulate among us, according to new research, as per a PTI report. One of the six primary areas for action, selected by a wide panel of interdisciplinary experts …

Are the unvaccinated still a danger to the rest of us?
2 years, 1 month ago

Are the unvaccinated still a danger to the rest of us?

LA Times  

For almost two years, COVID-19 vaccine holdouts have been the objects of earnest pleading and financial inducements, of social-media shaming and truth campaigns. For one thing, whether those who remain unvaccinated are still driving coronavirus spread hinges partly on the status of the U.S. population’s immunity. For the 49% of “fully vaccinated” Americans who’ve had at least one booster dose, …

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