PANDEMIC UPDATES - Omicron

"How the world is responding to the omicron variant" PBS NewsHour 11/29/2021

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SUMMARY:  A growing number of nations imposed travel restrictions Monday to try to slow the spread of the new coronavirus variant, omicron.  The moves came as more cases of the variant were confirmed internationally.  But some warned the travel bans — including those imposed by the U.S.— would not be effective and could even be counterproductive.  White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor reports.

 

 

"Will the omicron variant require a new vaccine?  An expert weighs in" PBS NewsHour 11/30/2021

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SUMMARY:  A growing number of countries are reporting cases of the coronavirus' omicron variant, and many are mandating travel bans.  Meanwhile, advisors to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have now endorsed drug maker Merck's pill to treat COVID-19 in high-risk adults.  All of this comes as public health officials are emphasizing the need for global cooperation.  Nick Schifrin reports.

Dr. Richard Hatchett (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations):  What we think we're seeing, at least based on what we understand right now, is that this virus, this variant has emerged in countries that have had very limited access to vaccine.

And that means that COVID has continued to circulate at high rates in these countries, which provides it opportunities to mutate.  And so scientists for months have been predicting that the inequity of vaccine distribution was creating the exact kind of circumstances that would promote the emergence of new variants, potentially with the ability to evade our vaccines.

The inequity that has characterized the global response to date has now come home to roost.

 

 

"U.S. to release new rules for foreign travelers amid growing concerns over omicron variant" PBS NewsHour 12/1/2021

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SUMMARY:  The first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus was detected in the U.S. Wednesday — a discovery most health officials had said was inevitable.  A case was confirmed in San Francisco, California, on the eve of new requirements for travelers arriving in the U.S. William Brangham reports.

 

 

"India extends door-to-door vaccine campaign as omicron variant worries officials" PBS NewsHour 12/1/2021

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SUMMARY:  The trajectory of omicron infections is being watched closely in India, where the official death toll from COVID-19 is approaching half a million.  The true toll is likely much higher.  Memories are still fresh of the devastation caused by the delta variant last spring.  Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on efforts to combat the new variant.

 

 

"Vaccinated Americans reflect on breakthrough infections, ‘infuriating’ anti-vaccine views" PBS NewsHour 12/1/2021

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SUMMARY:  Even as Americans are trying to prepare for omicron, many parts of the country are still reeling from the delta variant.  More Americans died of COVID this year than in 2020, despite the wide availability of free vaccines.  The pandemic's lingering, deadly grip has left many frustrated.  We hear from viewers about how the continued spread of the virus has impacted them.

 

 

"Does South Africa’s COVID uptick signal greater threat from omicron?  Here’s what we know" PBS NewsHour 12/2/2021

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SUMMARY:  While we don't know whether the omicron variant will lead to more severe cases of COVID-19, its ability to spread is becoming clearer.  Cases in South Africa are spiking at the fastest rate since the pandemic began, and European officials said their modeling found that omicron would likely be responsible for more than half of their cases this winter.  William Brangham looks at the global picture.

 

 

"NIH director on the spread of the omicron variant amid the ongoing pandemic" PBS NewsHour 12/3/2021

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SUMMARY:  Maryland, Nebraska and Pennsylvania are the latest states reporting cases of the new omicron variant in the U.S., while it has now spread to more than 40 nations worldwide.  And the CDC director said Friday the omicron variant could become the dominant COVID strain in the U.S. this winter.  Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

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.

INFLUENZA THREAT - Stopping a Killer

"Why another flu pandemic is likely just a matter of when" (Part-1 of 3) PBS NewsHour 6/18/2019

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SUMMARY:  Despite the availability of vaccines, the flu still kills tens of thousands of people in the U.S. each year, and hundreds of thousands more worldwide.  But public health officials fear that an even graver threat lies ahead: the emergence of a new, much more deadly flu virus.  As William Brangham reports, the scenario has occurred before.

"Why the race to stop the next flu outbreak starts at state fairs and the beach" (Part 2 of 3) PBS NewsHour 6/19/2019

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SUMMARY:  Public health officials agree the constantly mutating influenza virus has the potential to cause a major outbreak and a deadly global crisis.  For the second part of the NewsHour’s series on preparing for such a pandemic, we examine how research and testing depends on animals.  William Brangham has the story of scientists looking for potential new flu strains in unexpected places, such as the beach.

"A universal flu vaccine could finally be within sight" (Part 3 of 3) PBS NewsHour 6/20/2019

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SUMMARY:  Influenza is a shape-shifter virus that could spark a global pandemic.  Researchers at the National Institutes of Health are working to deliver what is referred to as The Holy Grail in the fight: a universal flu vaccine that could protect against all strains of the virus.  William Brangham concludes our pandemics series by learning what it will take to develop a universal vaccine.

NIH - #MeToo in Science

"How NIH plans to fight the sexual harassment that could drive women away from science" PBS NewsHour 3/6/2019

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SUMMARY:  A milestone report on sexual harassment in science has identified pervasive problems and policy shortcomings at the field's highest levels.  In response, NIH apologized for not addressing more quickly “the climate and culture that has caused such harm.”  William Brangham talks to NIH's Director, Dr. Francis Collins, about the risk of potentially driving women away from careers in scientific fields.

ANTI-VACCINATION MOVEMENT - Consequences of Misinformation

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

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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.