Biden Allies Criticize White House on COVID-19 Response
President Joe Biden has been in politics long enough—50 years now—to have developed a thick hide. But it’s still got to sting when he gets criticism from his own side of the political aisle. That’s what happened yesterday when a group of 53 experts—several of whom are former Biden advisers or worked in previous Democratic administrations—released a 136-page report on a new website, effectively slapping down the president for a COVID-19 policy that the group says is not nearly aggressive enough to address the scale of the problem.
The White House recently released its own National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, which the president touted at his March 1 State of the Union Address—to much applause at least from the Democratic side of the House chamber. The Administration’s plan called for, among other things, investing in next-generation vaccines and therapeutic medications, keeping schools open, and moving faster against emerging variants.
The 53 experts—who include Ezekiel Emanuel, a bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Biden transition team; pediatrician Paul Offit of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Rick Bright of the Rockefeller Foundation; and Julie Gerberding, a former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—agree with all of those moves, but conclude that they are too modest. Among the other steps they urge the Administration to take:
Expand research into Long COVID and ensure that the Social Security Administration provides benefits to those with the condition.
Improve indoor air quality by enacting new building codes, publicly posting air quality scores on buildings, and providing subsidies to improve indoor air quality in low-income neighborhoods.
Revise the government’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which allows the public to report side effects or other negative consequences of vaccines, but is being misused by anti-vaxxers to reduce COVID-19 vaccine uptake.
Ensure mental health services for front-line workers battling the pandemic.
Boost the president’s call for $22.5 billion in new funding to battle the pandemic to $100 billion this year and $15 billion per year in subsequent years.
None of the new report counts as official policy. It is, instead, a call to action by people who know a thing or two about pandemics. What they are not, of course, are people who must pass policy through a balky Congress and attract popular support from a pandemic-weary public. The report is a smart and thorough one—an impressive exercise in epidemiological analysis. Whether it’s realistic in the current political climate is another matter entirely.
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
More than 447.8 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 12 a.m. E.T. today, and over 6 million people have died. On March 7 there were more than 1.6 million new cases and 7,918 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending, in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 6 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 79.3 million coronavirus cases as of 12 a.m. E.T. today. More than 960,000 people have died. On March 7, there were 67,516 new cases and 1,685 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of Mar. 8, 12 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
This morning, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced in a statement that it “strongly supports urgent and broad access” to COVID-19 booster doses. The announcement is a reversal from previous WHO policy, which argued against the necessity of booster shots, saying they contributed to vaccine inequity, with residents of rich nations receiving three shots, while people living in poorer ones went without. The statement further said that boosters were especially important for people “at risk of developing severe disease.”
The Florida Department of Health is recommending against COVID-19 vaccinations for children, breaking with guidance from the CDC, reports CNN. The policy statement came during a 90-minute public panel yesterday on vaccine mitigation measures, hosted by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. State surgeon general Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced the new policy—citing waning protection over time from the vaccine in a population that already has lower infection rates than adults. He did not say when the guidance would become effective or offer any other details. To date, 1.1 million Florida children have been fully vaccinated.
Moderna announced yesterday that it may begin enforcing patents on its COVID-19 vaccine in wealthy countries but will exempt 90 lower-income countries from the new policy, reports the Wall Street Journal. The company said it would impose “commercially reasonable terms” on countries in which the patent is enforced, which typically means royalties will be charged on sales of the vaccines. Moderna did not say when it would begin enforcing its patents.
COVID-19 infection may cause loss of gray matter and tissue in the brain, according to a new study published yesterday in Nature. The study showed the greatest loss of brain mass in the olfactory region of the brain, possibly accounting for the loss of sense of smell many COVID-19 patients experience. The researchers did not say if the damage is lasting or that the changes would affect thought or memory functions.
COVID-19 vaccines provide weaker protection against the Omicron variant than against other variants of SARS-CoV-2, reports the Washington Post. That fact was partly responsible for the high rates of Omicron infection during the recent surge, despite the reduced severity of symptoms compared to earlier strains. As with other variants, vaccine protection against Omicron was highest in people shortly after they got their shots and declined over the course of several months.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Jeffrey Kluger and edited by Angela Haupt.
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