SUMMARY: President Biden on Thursday marked the U.S. nearing one million lives lost due to the pandemic and called on Congress to pass funding for more COVID relief. The pandemic has claimed more than 6 million lives worldwide, though WHO estimates the real toll tops 15 million deaths tied to the virus.Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief medical adviser, joins Amna Nawaz to discuss.
SUMMARY:As we approach the tragic milestone of 1 million deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. we wanted to bring you reflections from some of the people we’ve met over the past two years of this pandemic. A paramedic, a nurse, a single mom, a sister, a daughter, a student -- all facing their own challenges and carrying their own hopes for what comes next.
SUMMARY:Each day the Twitter thread “Faces Of COVID” posts the names, images and a short remembrance of Americans who have died from COVID-19. The project was started by Boston-based communications consultant Alex Goldstein, who has posted more than 7,000 remembrances since starting the feed in March 2020. Geoff Bennett recently spoke with Goldstein to learn more.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SUMMARY: The COVID-19 crisis in India shows little sign of slowing down. As death tolls and infections skyrocket, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership is under increasing political pressure and scrutiny. The country is short on vaccines, and other life-saving supplies like oxygen and antiviral drugs. William Brangham speaks to Indian reporter Barkha Dutt about what she's seeing on the ground.
SUMMARY:U.S. Surgeon GeneralDr. Vivek Murthy, a key member of the president's team combating COVID-19, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss President Joe Biden's aims to vaccinate 70 percent of all U.S. adults with at least one dose by July 4, and how a focus on rural communities will help achieve that goal, and how the U.S. plans to distribute vaccines abroad.
SUMMARY:President Biden announced that the U.S. will support waiving patent rights for the COVID vaccines — a major move that follows a call domestically, and internationally, for America to provide much quicker and greater assistance to the rest of the world. William Brangham looks at the potential impact of this decision and the reaction to it with Madhavi Sunder of the Georgetown University Law Center.
SUMMARY:In the past few weeks, a new and large form of COVID-19 relief has opened in the U.S., with the federal government offering to pay for all or most of every funeral of those lost to the disease. Lisa Desjardins reports on the unprecedented scale of help, how the rollout has fared so far, and the questions it raises about the cost of grief in America.
SUMMARY:President Joe Biden has given the initial nod for the U.S. to waive patent rights on COVID vaccines to boost international production. But there are real questions over how effective these moves would be, what other countries feel about it, and when this would translate into action. William Brangham discusses the matter with Rachel Silverman, a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development.
SUMMARY: Each week, the PBS NewsHour pauses to remember five Americans lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, and shares memories and highlights from their lives.
SUMMARY: Serbia has had considerable success in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with the third-highest rate in Europe; supply is mostly from China and Russia. While Serbia's efforts have received high praise, experts are warning about unprecedented, growing Chinese influence in the country and the wider region through so-called 'vaccine diplomacy.' Jorgen Samson and Aleksandar Papajic report from Serbia.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SUMMARY: Even amid the pandemic, some art exhibitions are opening to the public. "Grief and Grievance" at New York's "New Museum," a timely examination of race and racism, is one of them. Black artists explore the aspects of loss in the contemporary Black experience and their own roles in telling that story. Jeffrey Brown reports for Race Matters, and CANVAS, our ongoing arts and culture coverage.
SUMMARY: This week marks a full year since the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic, and experts are increasingly concerned about the toll it is taking on the mental health of young people in the United States. With in-person classes closed for months for many students, there are also concerns the risks of youth suicide are being exacerbated. Stephanie Sy reports.
SUMMARY: We are now one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and the virus has altered our lives in many ways. The NewsHour launched a new podcast series called, "America Interrupted: The Longest Year." Hosted by Amna Nawaz, she speaks to Americans from all walks of life about what they have faced during the pandemic. Here is a clip from one conversation with an ICU nurse in New York City.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SUMMARY: Negotiations over new action to stimulate the economy are moving into higher gear Monday. After releasing a $1.9 trillion aid plan last month, President Biden held a first meeting with Senate Republicans who are pushing an alternative plan. White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor reports.
SUMMARY:President Biden is out with a raft of initiatives Tuesday directed at the U.S. southern border, and the man who will manage immigration policies, Alejandro Mayorkas is joining his Cabinet after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security. Yamiche Alcindor reports.
SUMMARY:President Biden appears ready to continue the push for his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan a day after he met with Senate Republicans to discuss its size and scope.Jared Bernstein, who was appointed to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the Biden administration’s stance on the plan.
SUMMARY:President Biden signed a series of executive actions Tuesday undoing many of the Trump administration's signature immigration policies. This follows orders he already signed that reverse other controversial Trump era immigration items, like reinstating the DACA program and stopping construction of the border wall. We spoke to some of those who are immediately and directly impacted by the changes.
SUMMARY: In Arizona, people are feeling the impact of President Biden's order to halt border wall construction. While the wall's presence has already had a profound impact on border communities, its enduring legacy under a new President remains unclear. Amna Nawaz reports.
SUMMARY:One of the Biden administration's primary foreign policy challenges is how to end the United States' longest war. A new bipartisan report urges the administration to remain committed to Afghanistan and ongoing peace talks. Nick Schifrin reports.
SUMMARY: President Biden's plans to pass a $1.9 trillion stimulus package picked up some momentum Friday as Democrats in Congress approved a basic blueprint. While the measures don't have the force of law, lawmakers are expected to begin writing the details of a major package next week. Yamiche Alcindor reports.
SUMMARY: Part of Wednesday's market frenzy was not just a plunge due to the concerns over the pandemic. There's been major tumult in recent days as individual investors and young day traders upend the market and send prices of a few struggling companies soaring.Andrew Ross Sorkin, co-anchor for CNBC'S Squawk Box and a New York Times columnist, joins William Brangham to discuss.
SUMMARY:The first shots of a COVID vaccine in Britain Tuesday delivered new hope around the world. Officials in the U.S. want to begin rolling out a vaccine in the coming weeks. But there are many concerns about getting the vaccine out to those who need it in the coming months. Alex Azar, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.
SUMMARY: A COVID-19 vaccine may be ready for distribution as soon as this month in the U.S. for some of those who are most in need of protection against the virus. But how will a rollout look in the coming months, including for some hard-to-reach populations?Dr. Carlos del Rio, a professor of global health at Emory University School of Medicine, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.
SUMMARY:Many are hoping the first doses of a Pfizer vaccine could be given out in the U.S. as soon as next week, and a vaccine by Moderna could follow before the month's end. But there are real concerns about how quickly states can conduct mass vaccinations. Amna Nawaz spoke with Dr. Jennifer Kates, senior vice president and director of global health at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, to discuss.
SUMMARY: As COVID-19 vaccines begin to roll out, some Americans remain skeptical about taking these vaccines. For the Black community, historical distrust makes their concerns even greater. NewsHour Weekend's Christopher Booker speaks with doctors, scientists and educators about how they are working on building confidence in the vaccines for a community that has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
SUMMARY:Despite recent signs of advancement, many health experts say the U.S. capacity to test for the novel coronavirus remains too limited and progress too slow. President Trump has previously claimed anyone could be tested -- but that isn't what we’re hearing from people who have tried. Jennifer Nuzzo, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.
SUMMARY:Illinois has become another national hot spot for coronavirus, with a surging number of confirmed cases. Most are in Cook County, the region that is home to Chicago. William Brangham talks to Dr. Claudia Fegan, chief medical officer for Cook County Health, about how her employees are holding up amid the stress and why they continue to worry about a shortage of critical medical supplies.
SUMMARY: More than 250 million Americans in 30 states have been asked or ordered to stay at home. Although some still buy essentials in person at stores, many are ordering online instead. As a result, warehouse and delivery workers and professional shoppers have become central to the current economy -- and a growing number are concerned about the risks they face by doing their jobs. Paul Solman reports.
Editor's Note: Amazon disputes the claim that dozens of workers walked out in protest on Monday. According to Amazon, “15 people participated in the demonstration of which only 9 were Amazon associates—the rest were community organizers.” According to protest leaders, “Organizers on the ground counted 62 workers who walked off their jobs.”
SUMMARY: How much do we know about COVID-19, the virus spreading misery across the globe? Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee joins Jeffrey Brown to discuss understanding the dynamics of the virus within people it has infected, why some experience much more severe forms of illness than others, how we can limit asymptomatic transmission and the need to buy medical researchers time to develop treatments.
SUMMARY:New York’s death toll from COVID-19 is nearing 2,000, and experts warn it will continue to rise. But many other areas of the country are also seeing cases climb and taking steps to try to limit them. President Trump sounded a grave warning during a Tuesday Coronavirus Task Force briefing, saying the virus is projected to kill at least 100,000 Americans in the months to come. John Yang reports.
SUMMARY:COVID-19 is a huge challenge for many U.S. hospitals, from large cities to rural areas. The next few weeks are expected to be especially difficult, as critical supplies dwindle and health care workers are stressed. William Brangham talks to Dr. Phillip Coule, chief medical officer for Georgia’s Augusta University Health System, and Michael Dowling, president and CEO of New York's Northwell Health.
SUMMARY:The coronavirus pandemic has infected at least 1 million people and killed over 50,000 worldwide. In the U.S., President Trump is taking new action to bolster medical supplies, and unemployment is surging. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy relieved the captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt amid conflict over his response to COVID-19. John Yang reports, and Nick Schifrin joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.
SUMMARY:The loss of jobs caused by the coronavirus pandemic and its fallout is unprecedented in the U.S. Over 10 million Americans became unemployed in the past two weeks alone -- and economists say there are many more who have not yet been counted. The NewsHour continues to share the stories of some of those who have been laid off or furloughed, in their own words.
SUMMARY:A sector of the economy that is being hit especially hard amid the coronavirus pandemic is the restaurant industry. In normal times, Americans were spending roughly as much money on dining out as they were at grocery stores. With restaurants now closed, more than 3 millions jobs have been lost nationwide. Paul Solman reports on the impact on establishments in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
Americans should wear face masks as a way to help stifle the spread of COVID-19, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s top doctors leading the public health fight against the coronavirus pandemic — a departure from previous government guidance to only wear a mask if you were caring for someone with the illness or had it yourself.
“If everybody does that, we’re each protecting each other,” Fauci said in an interview with PBS NewsHour anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff. His comments came shortly before President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force shared national recommendations for people to wear non-medical face masks. The task force did not recommend the use of surgical or medical grade face masks, which are in short supply for hospitals and front line health care workers.
For months, federal health officials discouraged the use of surgical face masks. In recent weeks, some health experts began to question that decision, suggesting that the use of face coverings could have helped slow the spread of the virus sooner. But on Friday, the task force said it was now recommending face coverings “in light of recent studies.” Trump added that this recommendation does not eliminate the need for social distancing.
This guidance comes as more states this week told residents to stay at home to prevent further spread of the virus that causes the disease, COVID-19. But more states and communities should join in tightening those measures, Fauci said.
He warned that the U.S. is currently “in a very difficult period. It will get worse before it gets better.”
So far, testing has confirmed roughly 240,000 cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., where nearly 5,900 people have died after they were infected by the virus, according to the latest data from The COVID Tracking Project. Public health experts have said those numbers are likely an undercount because testing remains inadequate, despite being the only way to measure how far the pandemic has spread within the country.
As of Thursday, the pandemic crossed another milestone, now infecting more than 1 million people worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers who have been tracking the virus’ global spread. Fauci said he was confident Americans “will get out of this.”
SUMMARY: As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the U.S., officials are warning that there are not enough medical professionals available to meet the growing needs of patients. The shortage has led to the easing of some regulations, enabling medical students to graduate early and retired doctors to return to practice. Lisa Desjardins shares some of their stories from this all-hands-on-deck moment.
SUMMARY:As more and more people stay at home during the pandemic, millions of vehicles are no longer on the roads and the skies are comparatively free of airplanes. Many other human activities that cause air pollution also have been scaled back. But will this lull in activity make a difference in the air we breathe or the future of climate change? NewsHour Weekend's Christopher Booker reports.
SUMMARY: Amid heavy criticism, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday issued a state-wide stay-at-home order for the state in response to the coronavirus. This came after some local counties and cities had already put similar orders in place ahead of the governor’s mandate. Stephen Mort of PBS station WUCF joins Hari Sreenivasan from Orlando to discuss what's happening in the state related to the outbreak.
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.
I am Retired U.S. Navy (22yrs) and a Vietnam Veteran. After my Navy retirement I was in the computer related industry, now retired. In 2000 I was a registered Republican and voted for George W. Bush. Six months of having Bush in the Whitehouse forced me to re-evaluate my political stance. I had always thought of myself as a Moderate Republican, but was a Republican by "default" NOT because of close examination of the GOP. Due to what has happened in America since 2000, I now consider myself a progressive, and registered as a Non-Affiliated voter.
*Anti-First Amendment policies that attempt to turn America into a theocracy by enshrining ANY religious belief as law.
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*Any law or policy that attempts to suppress Freedom of the Press or Free Speech.
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