PANDEMIC - COVID-19 Updates

"The CDC is warning of an ‘impending doom’ of COVID surges, deaths.  Is it warranted?" PBS NewsHour 3/29/2021

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SUMMARY:  President Joe Biden urged state and local officials Monday to keep or reinstate mask mandates amid some of the most urgent warnings yet about new COVID-19 surges.  Judy Woodruff talks to Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University, about the latest developments in the fight against the virus, which has killed almost 550,000 Americans.

 

 

"WHO report says COVID originated in bats, but critics claim the study was biased" PBS NewsHour 3/29/2021

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SUMMARY:  The PBS NewsHour has obtained a study by a group of independent researchers convened by the WHO to find the origins of COVID-19 in China.  As Nick Schifrin reports, the virus that caused the worst pandemic in a century most likely started in bats, and jumped to humans through an intermediate animal host.  The researchers call it a starting point, but their critics still say it doesn’t go far enough.

 

 

"Relative invisibility makes for uphill battle to get COVID vaccines for Americans with IDD" PBS NewsHour 3/31/2021

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SUMMARY:  People with intellectual and developmental disabilities [IDD] like Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and Autism often have underlying health conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID-19.  Plus, many receive care in group living facilities, putting them at further risk.  But despite the elevated risks for those with IDD, they face an uphill vaccination battle.  William Brangham reports.

Correction: This piece reported that only nine states and the District of Columbia report COVID-19 outcomes specifically for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities to the federal government.  In fact, these states and D.C. are the only jurisdictions to report this data publicly.  It’s unclear which states, if any, report this information directly to the federal government.

 

 

"Americans with disabilities, high-risk conditions struggle with vaccine eligibility" PBS NewsHour 4/1/2021

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SUMMARY:  Even as the U.S. sets records for daily COVID-19 vaccinations, disparities in availability persist.  We cover the stories of some medically vulnerable people, most of whom are still waiting for their shot.  And for more on the reasons behind the wait, William Brangham speaks to Jen Kates, the Senior Vice President and Director of Global Health and HIV Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

 

 

"Honoring 5 phenomenal people who lost their lives to COVID-19" PBS NewsHour 4/2/2021

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SUMMARY:  As more than 550,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, we take a moment to remember five of the remarkable lives lost.

Correction: An earlier version of this story used audio of another elder in the Indian Peaks Band of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah speaking the traditional language while referencing Earnestine Jake Lehi.  That audio has now been replaced with audio of Earnestine speaking.  The NewsHour regrets the error.

MEMORIAM - 5 Amazing Lives

"Remembering 5 amazing lives lost to COVID-19" PBS NewsHour 3/19/2021

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SUMMARY:  More than 530,000 American lives have been lost to COVID-19 as the pandemic continues to affect the country.  As we do every Friday, we shine the spotlight on five amazing lives that were lost to COVID-19.

COVID-19 - Last Weeks Updates

"U.S. death toll from COVID-19 reaches 500,000" PBS NewsHour 2/22/2021

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SUMMARY:  The U.S. on Monday marked a new, watershed moment in the COVID-19 pandemic with 500,000 confirmed deaths.  It comes even as daily increases in infections and deaths have slowed sharply in recent weeks.  William Brangham reports, and Judy Woodruff speaks with Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Science and Security, to learn more.

 

 

"Why the vaccine rollout in the U.S. has been slower than expected" PBS NewsHour 2/23/2021

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SUMMARY:  So far, 65 million Americans have received at least one shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.  As a country, the U.S. has recently picked up the pace of vaccinations, but there are concerns over supply and demand, which was the subject of a congressional hearing on Tuesday.  Miles O'Brien joins John Yang to discuss.

 

 

"Supply shortages and delays leave Europe’s vaccination campaign in crisis" PBS NewsHour 2/23/2021

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SUMMARY:  Europe’s vaccination rollout is in crisis with manufacturing delays causing supply shortages and thousands of appointments canceled indefinitely.  The European Union wants to see 70 percent of its population inoculated by the fall.  But frustration is growing amongst its citizens amid the realization those targets could be out of reach.  Special Correspondent Lucy Hough reports.

 

 

"Britain cautiously plans to ease rigid lockdown restrictions" PBS NewsHour 2/23/2021

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SUMMARY:  Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a cautious timetable ending the country’s COVID lockdown, one of the strictest in the world with almost all foreign travel outlawed under the guidelines.  But the full lockdown isn’t due to finish until at least late June, while mental health issues are increasingly being amplified.  Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.

 

 

"Raising children for a second time, ‘grandfamilies’ struggle during the pandemic" PBS NewsHour 2/23/2021

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SUMMARY:  More and more older adults are raising kids for the second time around because of illness, incarceration, addiction, or any number of reasons.  And since the start of the pandemic, almost 40 percent of "grandfamilies" say they struggle to pay for housing, and a third have trouble accessing food.  Stephanie Sy reports.

 

 

"Global disparities highlighted by uneven access to COVID vaccines" PBS NewsHour 2/24/2021

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SUMMARY:  The West African country of Ghana on Wednesday became the first nation to receive a delivery of COVID-19 vaccines through a global initiative called COVAX, which aims to give more equitable access to the vaccine.  Nick Schifrin reports and speaks to Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, medical director of the special pathogens unit at Boston Medical Center, to learn more about global inequities.

 

 

"Despite being first in line, many health care workers are delaying vaccinations" PBS NewsHour 2/25/2021

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SUMMARY:  COVID-19 vaccines were developed with record-breaking speed, and by late last year they were rolled out to frontline health care workers across the country.  But despite being first in line many of those workers have decided to delay getting the shot.  Amna Nawaz reports on the critical effort to vaccinate America’s health care professionals.

 

 

"Remembering 5 extraordinary people who lost their lives to COVID-19" PBS NewsHour 2/26/2021

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SUMMARY:  This week the nation reached a grim milestone as the pandemic death count surpassed 500,000 in the United States.  We take a moment to remember five remarkable individuals who lost their lives to COVID-19.

 

 

"J&J vaccine: Fight against COVID-19 gets another shot in the arm" PBS NewsHour 2/27/2021

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SUMMARY:  Vaccination efforts to fight the pandemic got another shot in the arm.  The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is expected to rollout soon after the FDA nod, will speed up inoculations against COVID-19, but it might be a while before the efforts make a big difference.  Kaiser Health News Correspondent Rachana Pradhan joins to discuss the vaccination efforts, bottlenecks and long-term impact.

IN MEMORIAM - Five Americans Who Died of COVID-19

"Honoring 5 Americans who have fallen victim to COVID-19" PBS NewsHour 1/29/2021

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SUMMARY:  As the U.S. continues to grapple with new strains of the coronavirus, we take a moment to share the stories of five extraordinary individuals who have fallen victim to COVID-19 in this country.

FLINT, MICHIGAN - 6 Years Later

"6 years after water crisis began, what has changed in Flint — and what hasn’t" PBS NewsHour 8/20/2020

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SUMMARY:  The water crisis in Flint, Michigan, exposed major health and environmental concerns for residents and prompted new scrutiny of access to clean drinking water in the U.S.  But Flint is still grappling with the consequences of its crisis, including financial and legal liability.  John Yang reports and talks to Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician who helped sound the alarm about Flint’s water.

AMERICAN POLITICS - Trump vs Fauci Update

"Fauci is sidelined by the White House as he steps up blunt talk on pandemic" by Yasmeen Abutaleb, Josh Dawsey, Laurie McGinley; The Washington Post 7/11/2020

For months, Anthony S. Fauci has played a lead role in America’s coronavirus pandemic, as a diminutive, Brooklyn-accented narrator who has assessed the risk and issued increasingly blunt warnings as the nation’s response has gone badly awry.

But as the Trump Administration has strayed from the advice of many of its scientists and public health experts, the White House has moved to sideline Fauci, scuttled some of his planned TV appearances and largely kept him out of the Oval Office for more than a month even as coronavirus infections surge in large swaths of the country.

In recent days, the 79-year-old scientist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has found himself directly in the president’s crosshairs.  During a Fox News interview Thursday with Sean Hannity, Trump said Fauci “is a nice man, but he’s made a lot of mistakes.”  And when Greta Van Susteren asked him last week about Fauci’s assessment that the country was not in a good place, Trump said flatly: “I disagree with him.”

Fauci no longer briefs Trump and is “never in the Oval [Office] anymore,” said a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.  Fauci last spoke to the president during the first week of June, according to a person with knowledge of Trump’s calendar.

For some administration officials, such developments have been an early sign their job was on the line.  But Trump cannot directly fire Fauci, a career civil servant with more than 50 years in government service who enjoys strong bipartisan support in Congress.  In any case, the President has no plans to get rid of him, said the official.

As for Fauci himself, although he is frustrated by the turmoil and the state of the outbreak, friends say he has no plans to abandon his post, which includes a critical role in the development of a coronavirus vaccine and treatments.

Fauci has found other ways to get his message out, from online Facebook chats to podcasts and print media interviews.  And in recent days, with coronavirus cases slamming hospitals in the South and West, he has been frankly critical of the U.S. response — and implicitly, of the President.

“As a country, when you compare us to other countries, I don’t think you can say we’re doing great.  I mean, we’re just not,” Fauci said in a podcast interview with FiveThirtyEight last week.

Fauci did not respond to requests to be interviewed for this story.

A White House official released a statement saying that “several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things” and included a lengthy list of the scientist’s comments from early in the outbreak.  Those included his early doubt that people with no symptoms could play a significant role in spreading the virus — a notion based on earlier outbreaks that the novel coronavirus would turn on its head.  They also point to public reassurances Fauci made in late February, around the time of the first U.S. case of community transmission, that “at this moment, there is no need to change anything that you’re doing on a day-by-day basis.”

Fauci’s supporters acknowledge those early mistakes, attributing them to the challenges posed by a new, largely unknown pathogen.  They agree he downplayed the possibility of the virus spreading from person to person in January and early February even as it quietly seeded itself in communities on the East and West coasts.  And, like several other public health officials, he initially said the public shouldn’t wear masks, but now strongly recommends it, especially when individuals can’t maintain distances of at least six feet from other people.

Fauci has said he was worried early in the outbreak about a shortage of masks and wanted to reserve them for health care workers.  And he has said from the start that scientists’ knowledge of a brand new virus would evolve and recommendations could change based on new information.

The tension between the White House and Fauci was on full display last Sunday, when CBS host Margaret Brennan told millions of viewers that “Face the Nation” had tried for three months to interview him.

White House communications officials, who must approve television appearances related to the coronavirus, responded by allowing Fauci spots this week on PBS NewsHour, a CNN Town Hall with Sanjay Gupta, and NBC’s “Meet the Press” during the prime Sunday morning slot, according to one person familiar with the situation.

Then Fauci joined a Facebook Live event on Tuesday with Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), disputing Trump’s assertions that a lower death rate showed the country’s progress against the pandemic.  Fauci called it “a false narrative” and warned, “Don’t get yourself into false complacency.”

Fauci did not end up making any of the scheduled appearances.  The White House canceled them after his Tuesday remarks, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to relate behind-the-scenes conversations.

The episode underscores the deteriorating relationship between a scientist and a President who once bonded over their shared New York City roots and love of sports, but whose rapport has long since disintegrated over their differences on face mask policy, state reopening strategies and the use of antimalarial drugs to treat COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

A senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal deliberations, said the White House has asked Fauci to do certain media appearances but is not approving all of his requests.

“Our bigger issue with Fauci is stop critiquing the task force .?.?. and try to fix it,” the official said.

But that may be an impossible order given his strong differences with the White House over how the federal government should respond to the accelerating infection rate that’s pushing up the death toll after months of decline.

Fauci has argued that parts of the country experiencing surges should shut down, “but there is no buy-in for that,” said an official with direct knowledge of the conversation who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Four months ahead of Election Day, Trump wants to “reopen and move on,” said another senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal deliberations.  Those who disagree with that approach are out of favor, the official said.

Fauci has also expressed concern about the administration’s plan to reopen schools, but White House officials see keeping children home as having even more deleterious effects.  Fauci has also called on state and local officials to mandate that people wear masks in public.

Even though his suggestions have been largely ignored, Fauci has not complained that he does not get in to see the President, according to one of the officials.

Trump is also galled by Fauci’s approval ratings.  A recent New York Times/Siena College poll showed that 67 percent of voters trusted Fauci for information on the coronavirus, compared with 26 percent who trusted Trump.

The internal turmoil and troubled national response have taken a toll on Fauci, those close to him say.  He is exasperated that states and individuals are not following the recommendations of experts, such as social distancing and wearing face coverings, said David Barr, a longtime HIV/AIDS activist who has known Fauci for 30 years.

Three or four weeks ago, Barr said, he and Fauci spoke about the troubling signs they were seeing as cases began to tick upward.

“You could just feel from Tony .?.?. how unsettled it made him,” Barr said.  “He didn’t know what to do to change that, to stop it, but if the leadership isn’t there, and it’s clearly not there, then it’s really difficult to set the tone for the country.”

“What he cares most about is not his influence, but what’s happening — that things are going so badly and it’s going to cause so much disease and death,” Barr added.

People who are close to Fauci say the public undermining of scientists and public health experts has frustrated and saddened him because it adds to the chaos the country is already experiencing from the pandemic.

Despite the repeated pushback from Trump and the White House, however, Fauci has told those close to him that has no plans to do anything differently.

“For somebody like Tony, who tries to deal with people honestly and in a very open and generous way — that’s how he’s tried to approach his personal interactions with the president — it’s immensely frustrating and depressing.  And there’s not much he can do about it,” said Peter Staley, a longtime HIV/AIDS activist who has known Fauci for more than 30 years.

“He’s going to continue being himself, which is always talking honestly about a public health crisis and a new infectious disease,” Staley added.  “If things are looking more in conflict, it’s because this administration is going further and further adrift from a pro-science approach.”

White House communications officials say they have told government scientists and doctors that their job is to educate the public by talking about best practices to contain the virus and what the administration is doing to help the states.

Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Michael Caputo, a longtime Trump ally, approves Fauci’s television appearances, with input from the White House, said one of the senior administration officials.  Several White House aides view Fauci’s interviews as unhelpful and say they’re frustrated he has expressed interest in appearing on programs such as MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show,” which are hostile to the administration.  That one was rejected.

“The speculation game doesn’t serve the public in any particular way,” the same official said.  “When it gets to handicapping and what’s going to happen next, get a cable news gig.  We’ve conveyed that down to all the doctors.”

White House officials generally favor White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx, one of the senior administration officials said.  Both Birx and Fauci have expressed frustration that their concerns have not gotten to the president, although Birx is working with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Jared Kushner, a White House senior adviser and Trump’s son-in-law, to ensure better communication, the official said.

The administration also plans to have Brett Giroir, an assistant HHS secretary, and FEMA Administrator Peter T. Gaynor do more appearances related to coronavirus.

Among those crusading against Fauci internally is Peter Navarro, the President’s trade adviser, who has clashed with Fauci over his opposition to adopting the use of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, to treat COVID-19 before its effectiveness had been proved.

When Trump and Navarro repeatedly touted hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for coronavirus, Fauci pushed back both internally and at task force briefings, arguing there was only anecdotal evidence about the drug’s efficacy.  The Food and Drug Administration eventually revoked its temporary authorization after evidence showed it was not effective against COVID-19 and could be dangerous for some patients.

“Dr. Fauci has a good bedside manner with the public but he has been wrong about everything I have ever interacted with him on,” Navarro said.  “Now Fauci is saying that a falling mortality rate doesn’t matter when it is the single most important statistic to help guide the pace of our economic reopening.  So when you ask me if I listen to Dr. Fauci’s advice, my answer is only with caution.”

Friends and allies say Fauci doesn’t quit because he loves his job and also feels a great sense of responsibility about helping to develop coronavirus vaccines and treatments — the biggest challenge of his career and the only way the country can truly begin to move past the pandemic.  He has long said he does not want to retire before there is an AIDS vaccine.

“He recognizes if he doesn’t intercede, things could fall apart very quickly — even more so than they have already,” said Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.  “He does it because he cares about the country and realizes he is uniquely positioned to help in this.”

Although his message is regularly at odds with the President, Fauci is naturally conflict-averse and has sought to establish a personal relationship with the six Presidents he has served over his career.

“He’ll try to be accommodating except for principles that are truly not something he can compromise on,” said one former senior administration official who has worked closely with Fauci for years.  “He will try to really accommodate and fulfill your reality, but he’s bound by the laws of science.”

In the previous five presidential administrations, Fauci has almost always played a key role in public health emergencies and infectious-disease responses by advising the president and serving as a chief spokesman for both Republican and Democratic administrations.

In many ways, he was shaped by the HIV/AIDS crisis that emerged during his first years as NIAID director when the Reagan administration remained largely silent about a disease afflicting mostly gay men.

Amid fear of the virus and the stigma associated with having the infection, Fauci learned the importance of communicating with the public about new diseases that were little understood.  He found out it was critical to speak honestly about the risks, and help people differentiate between valid concerns and unfounded fears, according to several people who have worked with him.

As the face of the HIV/AIDS response, Fauci also developed a thick skin, experiencing the ire of activists who felt an uncaring federal government was not doing enough to make treatments available for dying patients.  But over the years, he forged friendships with some of those who had begun as adversaries, activists said.

The lessons learned from the HIV/AIDS outbreak have had an impact on how he has handled almost every public health crisis since.  During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the Obama administration made Fauci its chief spokesperson to explain to people the actual risk of the virus.

Fauci briefed Obama about three times a week and had unlimited access to him if something came up, said Ron Klain, the Obama administration’s Ebola czar and now an adviser to the Biden campaign.

But in the coronavirus pandemic, Klain said Fauci is facing a new challenge: He’s the only member of the administration willing or able to speak plainly about the threat of the virus, in Klain’s view.

Fauci “respects the public,” Klain said.  “He has this view that the public can handle the truth, whether it’s good news or bad news and the most important thing is to give people the best information he has at the time.  Tony is left being the one person having to carry the weight of speaking honestly about all this stuff.”

COMMENT:  I absolutely believe in Dr. Fauci (who IS willing to admit when he's wrong) over Trump who is only concerned about himself and his re-election, and hates any news he thinks as bad.

PANDEMIC - World Wide and U.S. Response

"Where the coronavirus is spreading worldwide — and why" PBS NewsHour 6/22/2020

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SUMMARY:  The World Health Organization says Sunday marked the largest global daily surge in new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began: 183,000.  In the U.S., daily fatalities from the disease have dropped since the initial peak this spring, but more than 600 people are still dying each day.  Amna Nawaz reports and talks to Stephen Morrison of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"Why Gov. Asa Hutchinson says reopening Arkansas isn’t to blame for rising COVID-19 cases" PBS NewsHour 6/22/2020

As to Confederate monuments: The Confederacy conducted a war against the United States of America, killed American soldiers, and committed treason against the union they had they had signed a contract (Constitution of the United States) to support.  The Confederacy should never be celebrated.

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SUMMARY:  As states continue to lift pandemic restrictions and allow economic activity to resume, many are seeing new surges in coronavirus cases.  Arkansas has documented more than 3,500 new positive tests since it began the second phase of its reopening.  Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson joins Judy Woodruff to discuss where the increase in cases is coming from and his thoughts on moving Confederate monuments.

"Past pandemics have reshaped society.  Will coronavirus do the same?" PBS NewsHour 6/22/2020

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SUMMARY:  Although the coronavirus pandemic presents unprecedented challenges for people living through it, humans have endured similar health ordeals in the past.  Jeffrey Brown speaks to two historians, Frank Snowden of Yale University and Nancy Bristow of the University of Puget Sound, about how previous pandemics have shaped societies.  It’s part of our ongoing arts and culture series, Canvas.

"Fauci tells Congress more testing needed to combat ‘disturbing surge’ in virus" PBS NewsHour 6/23/2020

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SUMMARY:  Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified before Congress Tuesday, referring to the spread of COVID-19 in a dozen U.S. states as “a disturbing surge.”  Fauci and other top health experts reiterated the need for more testing, even as President Trump claimed that “testing is a double-edged sword” in the pandemic fight.  Lisa Desjardins reports.

"As COVID-19 spreads in Texas, an ER doctor begs residents to stay home" PBS NewsHour 6/23/2020

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SUMMARY:  Texas is taking a particularly hard hit from COVID-19.  For about a week, the state has been reporting roughly 4,000 new cases per day.  In the Houston region alone, there are nearly 32,000 cases.  For a report from the front lines of the fight against the disease, Amna Nawaz turns to Dr. Hilary Fairbrother, who works in emergency medicine at the Texas Medical Center.

"Are professional sports ready to resume play amid the pandemic?" PBS NewsHour 6/24/2020

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SUMMARY:  The pandemic halted Major League Baseball's spring training in mid-March.  Now, the league has announced it will start a shortened regular season in July.  The plan to play 60 games comes after 40 players and staff tested positive for coronavirus in recent days.  Amna Nawaz talks to author and sportswriter John Feinstein about the pandemic’s challenges for professional sports.

"Stories of 5 Americans killed by the coronavirus" PBS NewsHour 6/26/2020

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SUMMARY:  As the United States approaches another coronavirus milestone, with nearly 125,000 deaths from the disease, we look back at the lives of a few of those lost.  Judy Woodruff shares their stories.

"Florida shuts bars and beaches as COVID-19 cases surge" PBS NewsHour 6/27/2020

aka "Florida regrets reopening"

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SUMMARY:  At least six states have reported a record increase in COVID-19 cases as the total number of cases in the U.S. nears 2.5 million.  Some states, like Florida, which saw more than 9,500 new cases Saturday morning, are rolling back some of the reopening including shutting beaches, parks and some bars.  Ben Conarck, who covers healthcare for the Miami Herald, joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the state’s response.

"Why the race for a COVID-19 vaccine is complicated" PBS NewsHour 6/27/2020

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SUMMARY:  Pharmaceutical companies and governments around the world are chasing a coronavirus vaccine, fast tracking the usually years-long vaccine development procedure to a few months.  ProPublica reporter Caroline Chen joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the ambitious timeline and the unpredictability of the clinical trials.

OPINION - Shields and Brooks 3/13/2020

"Shields and Brooks on leadership in a time of crisis" PBS NewsHour 3/13/2020

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SUMMARY:  Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week’s political news, including the unique magnitude of the novel coronavirus pandemic, how President Trump is handling the crisis, what the government should do to reassure fearful Americans, and how the outbreak might affect the 2020 Democratic Presidential primary race.

Judy Woodruff (NewsHour):  And now, with their own take on the pandemic that has seemingly taken over our lives, it's time for the analysis of Shields and Brooks.

That is syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks.

Hello to both of you.

It's been a week like no other that I can remember.

Mark, where are we?  What — how do you make sense of what's going on right now?

Mark Shields, syndicated columnist:  Well, the only way I could make sense of it is by what we have been through before.

I mean, I would compare it, Judy, to the time after World War II began or the polio epidemic in the '50s.  And there was — it was a time of collective national sacrifice.  Everybody was in it together.  We were all at risk.

And it was — and especially after the beginning to have the war, it was a time of collective sacrifice, where there were shortages of alcohol, tobacco, meat, butter, you name it.  But Americans, through 20 million victory gardens, raised a third of the country's vegetables.  They saved tin.  They sacrificed collectively.

The president of the New York Stock Exchange went in the Army for $21 a month as a private, William McChesney Martin, later chairman of the Federal Reserve.

And at the time of polio, there was terror in the country.  We closed bowling alleys, and swimming pools, and beaches in the summer; 497,000 Americans were paralyzed, and then that magical moment in 1955 when there was a cure.

Judy Woodruff:  Right.

Mark Shields:  But that's all I can — that's where we are.

That's where — it's the unknown.

(CROSSTALK)

Judy Woodruff:  … terror.

Mark Shields:  It's the unknown, and there's a sense of terror.

Judy Woodruff:  Can we make sense of it, David?  How do we get our arms around it?

David Brooks, New York Times:  Well, there are two issues.  Maybe I should deal with them separately.

One is the political leadership issue, and one is the moral and social issue.

And just on political, I found it an enraging week.  We sat here many years ago, when we saw images of Katrina and bodies floating in New Orleans.  And I think both Mark and I felt a deep sense of anger.

And I feel a deep sense of anger that our government has responded so badly.

And, frankly, it's — this is what happens when you elect a sociopath as President, who doesn't care, who has treated this whole thing for the past month as if it's about him, how do people like me, minimizing the risks, does the stock market reflect well on me, and he hasn't done the things a normal human being would do, which was to, let's take precautions.

Let's do the backup things we need to do.  Any President would sit down with his team and say, people will suffer here.  Let's get ready.

And he's [Trump] incapable of that.  And he's even created an information distortion field around him.  Even today, the press conference today was all his propaganda.  It wasn't honest with people.

And then with Yamiche's perfectly good question about an agency, maybe he didn't know when that part of the National Security Council was shut down, but he should know about it by now.

And so the fact that he wasn't even aware of this is a sign that nobody is willing to tell him bad news.  And we have got a dysfunctional process at the heart of the administration at a time of great national crisis.

Judy Woodruff:  With all that going on, Mark, how does that affect Americans' ability to get through this?

Mark Shields:  Well, it affects it in many respects.  And I don't disagree with what David said.

It's global, Judy.  And 'America first fails'.  If there's ever a time for international cooperation, collegiality at a personal and national level, professional level, this is it.

I mean, I think if Americans were informed and put to the test, whom do you want — who do you want in charge of this, this epidemic, Dr. Tony Fauci or Donald Trump, they would — anybody who have watched would say Dr. Tony Fauci.

I mean, he's knowledgeable, he's straight, he's direct, he's candid, he's thoughtful.  He's everything that we want.

The President is impulsive and uninformed.  He has misled the people that it was contained.  Any President of the United States saying he's going to leave Americans on a boat docked off of California, rather than bring them ashore for treatment because they might — because it would increase the number of people, would hurt his numbers, would hurt my numbers, that's somebody not lacking in empathy.

That's somebody with an empathy void.  And it just — to me, it's — I think it's a seminal moment in the Trump presidency, when we realize, in spite of my 401(k) having been terrific, now all of a sudden it's at jeopardy, and he [Trump] really puts the nation at jeopardy and the health of my family and my friends at jeopardy.

Judy Woodruff:  Is there someone Americans can look to for guidance, for an example and for leadership at a time like this?

David Brooks:  Yes, well, Tony Fauci, Francis Collins the head of NIH.

A lot of the state and local — the governors have been pretty fantastic.

Mark Shields:  Yes.

Tony — Andrew Cuomo.

David Brooks:  Yes, Andrew Cuomo.

And so I do think there are some leaders out there.  And look to each other.  I mean, as everyone has said, it's quite remarkable how the country has responded, responded with all the social distancing and all the very drastic measures that have been taken.

Judy Woodruff:  Right.

David Brooks:  It should be said, we shouldn't expect that wonderfulness to continue.

I have spent the last week reading about pandemics in the past.  And they're not good for social trust.  People go into them thinking, I'm going to be a good soldier and citizen for people around me.

But when the fear gets going, they stop seeing each other.  They stop caring about each other.  They stop volunteering.

I have always wondered why the 1918 Spanish Flu that happened here killed 675,000 Americans.

Judy Woodruff:  Hard to imagine.  Impossible to imagine.

David Brooks:  And it left no trace on the national culture.  And I have always wondered, why was that?

And reading about what it was like, people were ashamed of how they behaved, because they looked after themselves.  And that's understandable.  Fear is just this terrible thing.  And we haven't really been hit by the raw, gut-wrenching fear of seeing hospitals overwhelmed and stuff like — but we will.

And we sort of need to take moral steps and social steps, as well as we take health steps, to sort of mitigate that.

Judy Woodruff:  And we know, Mark, it is going to get worse.

I mean, we see Tony Fauci talking about it's either going to go up like this and — before it comes down, or we can mitigate it somehow, by the social distancing, and the rest of it.

But we are in a moment when we are looking for guidance, and we're also in the middle of a Presidential campaign.  We have got Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders still campaigning, although it's been moved — shoved to the sidelines this week.

Mark Shields:  Right.

Judy Woodruff:  The two of them the last few days have made statements.  They have talked about what needs to be done.

Do we see something going on there that gives the American people hope?

Mark Shields:  Well, I hope so.

I mean, I thought both statements yesterday, I thought particularly Biden's, were quite thoughtful, to use an adjective not loosely, presidential, they were reflective, and given it a serious and — there is — as Vice President Biden said, there's no zip code on this.  This isn't a foreign threat.  I mean, this isn't something organized by the Chinese communist politburo.

I mean, this is no respecter of state of status or station or anything of the sort.  And I thought that — I thought that came through.

As far as the election, I feel bad for Senator Sanders, because you're behind.  And how do you catch up?  You catch up by showing enthusiasm, by showing and drawing crowds, by showing energy.

All right, all of a sudden, you can't do that anymore.  I mean, you're not going to have crowds.  You're not going to be out there.

Judy Woodruff:  Not going to have rallies.

Mark Shields:  You're not going to have rallies.

So it's almost frozen in time.  I think the debate Sunday night takes on greater importance.  And I would commend it, because there is no audience.  And I would hope that would be the pattern for future debates.

Judy Woodruff:  No live audience.

(CROSSTALK)

Mark Shields:  No live audience, because live audience brings out the worst in candidates.  They pander.  They look for applause lines.  They taunt.

And I just think — I think this will be a serious debate between two people.

But Joe Biden carried every county in Michigan.  I mean, that was just sobering.  I mean, the turnout was up 31 percent.  And it almost all went to Biden.  I mean, Bernie Sanders was stuck where he was in 2016.

So I don't know where the hope is for him.  Biden is now heading to state of Washington as of 4:00 this afternoon.

David Brooks:  And Florida's coming.  Yes, I don't see much hope for Bernie Sanders.

I would also say the dynamic changes, because you — Sanders is running on a revolution.  Trump ran on a revolution.  Oh, we should get rid of the establishment and drain the swamp, as the Republicans say.

Well, in a time of pandemic, you really need the establishment.  The establishment is pretty good.  You don't want to burn the system at a moment when people are dying and when diseases are spreading.

And so the idea that the swamp is something you need is something that's hit everybody suddenly very hard.  And all the Trumpians saying, where are the tests, where the tests, why doesn't the government do this for me, well, if ever there had been a reminder of why we need the institutions of our government, that's what we're in the middle of.

Judy Woodruff:  And Sanders is saying that if there ever was a reminder that all Americans have a right to health care, this is it.

Mark Shields:  That's right.  Yes.

OUTBREAK - Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update, World and America

"Amid virus outbreak, U.S. communities brace for disruption" PBS NewsHour 3/9/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  As U.S. cases of COVID-19 rise, officials are stepping up efforts to control the outbreak's spread.  Communities across the country are bracing for disruption, with many schools closing or holding remote classes.  Also, two GOP congressmen who were with President Trump recently are self-quarantining after a conference attendee with whom they met tested positive for the virus.  Amna Nawaz reports.

"How economic effects of global virus outbreak ripple beyond stock markets and travel" PBS NewsHour 3/9/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Monday was a tumultuous day in the global battle against coronavirus.  Italy’s government banned travel nationwide after new spikes in infections and fatalities.  Meanwhile, U.S. stocks had their worst day in over a decade.  Special correspondent Christopher Livesay reports from Rome, and Judy Woodruff talks to Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics and Ben Mutzabaugh of air travel website The Points Guy.

"Why clear, consistent communication is so important during a public health crisis" PBS NewsHour 3/9/2020

Which we are NOT getting from the Trump Administration.

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Amid the growing U.S. coronavirus outbreak, some experts have criticized the way President Trump, his team and top public health officials are communicating information to the public.  For example, Trump made inaccurate statements Friday about the availability of virus tests.  Dr. Joshua Sharfstein of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

"As impact of COVID-19 deepens, U.S. officials debate economic response" PBS NewsHour 3/10/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The impact of the novel coronavirus in the U.S. is deepening.  On Tuesday, new cancellations, closures and quarantines were announced and President Trump and lawmakers huddled about potential measures to soften the crisis’ economic impact -- but the stock market rallied back from Monday’s major losses.  Amna Nawaz reports and Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

"How this school district is educating students at home during coronavirus outbreak" PBS NewsHour 3/10/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  A growing number of U.S. schools, including several colleges and universities, are shutting their doors to reduce the spread of COVID-19.  Although only a small fraction of public elementary and high schools have closed, more than 430,000 students are affected already.  John Yang talks to Michelle Reid, superintendent of Washington state’s Northshore School District, about the decision to close.

"British government worries about virus outbreak, but residents carry on" PBS NewsHour 3/9/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  In the United Kingdom, novel coronavirus has killed six people as of Tuesday, with another 370 infected and quarantined.  The British government is watching how the illness spread quickly and pervasively in Italy, fearing the same could happen in the UK.  But as special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports, the current attitude among the British is very much to keep calm and carry on.

"What WHO doctor says Americans should do in face of COVID-19 pandemic" PBS NewsHour 3/11/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the novel coronavirus outbreak to be a global pandemic.  The illness has infected about 120,000 people worldwide and claimed 4,400 lives, and public health officials both within the U.S. and abroad are warning that the crisis will get worse.  Amna Nawaz reports, and Judy Woodruff talks to WHO’s Dr. Margaret Harris about how people should be preparing.

"Why UVA joined scores of other colleges in asking students to stay off campus" PBS NewsHour 3/11/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  As the U.S. novel coronavirus outbreak worsens, colleges and universities around the country are asking students to stay off campus -- and essentially shutting down.  Though some classes are migrating online, the closures may still represent a hardship for students who rely on school for housing, meals and other services.  Amna Nawaz talks to James Ryan, president of the University of Virginia.

"Pandemic’s ‘unique uncertainty’ creates market shockwaves" PBS NewsHour 3/12/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The economic consequences of the novel coronavirus pandemic are growing even more severe.  Stocks logged their worst day of trading since the 1987 market crash, cancellations and closures rippled across the globe and the fallout from President Trump’s decision to ban most travel from Europe became evident.  Nick Schifrin reports and Charles Schwab’s Liz Ann Sonders joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

"Can Congress, Trump put pandemic response ahead of politics?" PBS NewsHour 3/12/2020

Answer, no, at least not at first.  Republicans will see anything from Democrats as a threat.

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are working on a multi-billion dollar novel coronavirus aid package to help the Americans hit hardest by the pandemic.  They, along with Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, also weighed in on President Trump’s response to the crisis.  Lisa Desjardins reports and joins Nick Schifrin, Yamiche Alcindor and Judy Woodruff to discuss.

"Why Trump declared COVID-19 a national emergency — and what he denied responsibility for" PBS NewsHour 3/13/2020

Note the "and what he denied responsibility for."

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Friday was another day of mass closings and cancellations as schools, sports and travel shut down amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.  President Trump also declared a national emergency to increase funding for a federal response, and he appears to have a deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for related legislation.  Amna Nawaz reports and Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor join Judy Woodruff.

"What the U.S. health system needs now to fight COVID-19" PBS NewsHour 3/13/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  President Trump has declared the pandemic of novel coronavirus a national emergency, allowing him to direct additional funds toward the federal government’s outbreak response.  Will it mean faster virus testing and more ventilators?  Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, and The New York Times’ Dr. Sheri Fink join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

"South Korea proves pandemic response requires more than money" PBS NewsHour 3/13/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  South Korea’s government is spending nearly $10 billion to fight novel coronavirus, which has infected nearly 8,000 people there.  But the effort to contain the illness requires more than just money -- entire communities must come together, sharing information, volunteering at testing centers and limiting consumption of vital medical supplies.  Bruce Harrison of Feature Story News reports.

"New York launches drive-thru testing site for COVID-19" PBS NewsHour 3/14/2020

Again, a state responds better than the federal government.

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has deployed the National Guard and created a one-mile containment zone around the town of New Rochelle, just north of New York City, where at least 158 cases of COVID-19 have been reported.  And on Friday, the state launched its first drive-thru mobile testing facility in the region.  NewsHour Weekend's Christopher Booker has more.

"The economic fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak" PBS NewsHour 3/14/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  With businesses shuttering, professional sports leagues suspending their seasons and widespread travel restrictions initiated around the world, the economic fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak may continue for months.  Vijay Vaitheeswaran, U.S.business editor for The Economist, joins Hari Sreenivasan for more on the financial impact of the virus.

"Outbreak tests Italy’s limits a week after lockdown began" PBS NewsHour 3/14/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  A week after Italy’s government began locking down the country due to the coronavirus outbreak, new cases are emerging as the death toll climbs.  The scenario is overwhelming a medical system already reeling from an influx of patients.  NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent Chris Livesay joins Hari Sreenivasan from Rome with updates on the coronavirus outbreak in Italy.

"Coronavirus in the US: things are ‘changing hour by hour’" PBS NewsHour 3/14/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The response to the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. is changing on an almost hourly basis.  But as health care workers face a volley of new challenges amid an American populace wary of the global pandemic, there has been an increase in testing and guidelines to consider.  Caroline Chen, a ProPublica reporter who is covering the outbreak, joins Hari Sreenivasan with more.

"Coronavirus outbreak is ‘a time of sacrifice for all of us’" PBS NewsHour 3/15/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  To help contain transmission of coronavirus, the CDC has issued guidelines for “social distancing.”  But as the virus continues to spread, many more questions on when to close schools, how to seek day-to-day healthcare and the extent of the outbreak in the coming weeks remain unanswered.  Crystal Watson, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, joins Hari Sreenivasan with more.

MEDICAL MYSTERY - Vaping Deaths

"Researchers still striving to understand cause of vaping-related illnesses" PBS NewsHour 12/11/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  State governments continue to crack down on flavored e-cigarettes and other vape products, largely in response to the deaths and illnesses that began coming to light this past summer.  But as lawmakers deliberate over their policy response to vaping, researchers are still trying to understand the cause of the illnesses.  Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports.

OUTDOOR RX - 'Nature RX'

"Why doctors are increasingly prescribing nature" PBS NewsHour 8/28/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  As rates of chronic disease among children have skyrocketed over the past few decades, pediatricians have increasingly looked for solutions beyond the clinic.  Sometimes that means actually prescribing time outside.  Special correspondent Cat Wise reports from Oakland on the medical evidence that indicates escaping modern urban life, even temporarily, can yield health dividends.

Nature RX

CAREGIVERS - Indentured Servitude?

"Why some residential caregivers call their jobs ‘indentured servitude’" PBS NewsHour 5/23/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Providing for the elderly has become a multi-billion dollar industry, with about 29,000 residential care facilities operating across the country.  But a new investigation by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, finds that some of these facilities are profiting by exploiting caregivers, effectively paying them as little as $2 an hour to work around the clock.  Jennifer Gollan reports.

ANTI-VACCINATION MOVEMENT - Consequences of Misinformation

"Washington state’s measles outbreak coincides with low rates of immunization" PBS NewsHour 1/28/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Washington state is experiencing an outbreak of measles, with 35 confirmed cases in a single county.  The disease's flare-up is reinforcing concerns about insufficient immunization in some communities.  Hari Sreenivasan talks to Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health about why measles remains a serious disease and how to address misinformation within the anti-vaccination movement.

REMINDER:  Not vaccinating children endangers other children, not just the parent's own child.

Frontline: "The Vaccine War"

A must view to see the truth, pay close attention to the Denmark study.

HEALTH CARE - Helping Low-Income Patients

"Nonprofit helping low-income patients describes itself as ‘Match.com meets the Peace Corps’" PBS NewsHour 10/17/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Physician shortages, as well as cost and distance, can make specialty care prohibitive for many low-income patients.  A nonprofit aims to tackle those challenges by utilizing telehealth technology and retiring, volunteer doctors.  Special correspondent Cat Wise explores “The MAVEN Project.”

EMERGENCY ROOM - Hidden Costs

"Why there are shocking costs on your emergency room bill" PBS NewsHour 7/5/2018

You can thank Republicans that tried sell you Trumpcare as a good deal.  Emergency Rooms are heavily used by the uninsured.

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The cost of health care remains a big concern, even for people with insurance.  A new analysis found the cost of emergency care has nearly doubled in the last eight years even as the total number of visits has stayed about the same.  William Brangham talks with Sarah Kliff of Vox [monopoly link] about a special reporting project that's chronicling the impact of ER prices on individuals and families.

HEALTH IN AMERICA - Hepatitis C, New Drugs

"With highest hepatitis C mortality rate in U.S., Oregon expands access to life-saving drugs" PBS NewsHour 5/23/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  New drugs can cure up to 95 percent of patients with hepatitis C, a virus that can be debilitating or deadly.  And there’s been a 20 percent rise in new infections from 2015 to 2016 due to the opioid epidemic.  In Oregon, a state hard-hit by the disease, new medicines combined with the big surge in those looking for treatment, has led to a unique care model.  Special correspondent Cat Wise reports.