Happy Friday! A quick editor鈥檚 note before we dive in: This will be the last edition of The Breeze from yours truly. Never fear, though, it will be in great hands going forward and you鈥檒l continue to get your weekly updates on all things coronavirus (and other health news, if that鈥檚 ever a thing again). Thank you for reading these past two years. It鈥檚 been an honor and a privilege and I鈥檝e loved hearing from so many of you. You make it all worth it.
Now, enough of that! On to the news.
Nothing drives home the grim U.S. COVID death toll 鈥� almost at 86,000 as I write this 鈥� like a . Funeral directors across the country say they are struggling to as bodies pile up and morgues are overwhelmed. Sometimes body bags are being used two or three times, and when one is not available, bodies are wrapped in sheets with a mask on their faces.
In the early days of the pandemic, popular models being used to project the expected death toll varied wildly. But they are starting . That was before states really started lifting their restrictions, though.
Two big hearings on Capitol Hill took center stage this week. In the first, Dr. Anthony Fauci and other top health officials testified 鈥� virtually! 鈥� in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Fauci of a nation not ready to reopen yet, and warned that moving too quickly to lift restrictions could trigger a bigger surge that would lead to more suffering and death and set the country back even further. Meanwhile, all the lawmakers there wanted to know about reopening the schools. Again, Fauci preached caution, an answer that .
And the irony of the hearing being called 鈥淪afely Getting Back to Work and Back to School鈥� while the witnesses and the chairman were all self-quarantining and tuning in virtually was certainly noted by a few people.
The second buzzy hearing of the week was in front of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce鈥檚 health subcommittee. Bright has become a minor celebrity in the coronavirus world for his claims that he was ousted from his HHS position as retaliation for his objections to the widespread distribution of malaria drugs. Bright said 鈥渓ives were lost鈥� because the administration didn鈥檛 heed early warnings about the outbreak. He also testified that there still isn鈥檛 a comprehensive plan and that he foresees 鈥渢he darkest winter in modern history鈥� ahead if officials don鈥檛 get their act together.
HHS struck back and struck back hard. 鈥淭his is like someone who was in choir trying to say he was a soloist back then,鈥� HHS Secretary Alex Azar said. 鈥淗is allegations do not hold water.鈥� The agency , who has been on medical leave with hypertension since his removal, 鈥渉as not yet shown up for work鈥� and is 鈥渦sing his taxpayer-funded medical leave to work with partisan attorneys.鈥�
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During a trip to Pennsylvania this week, Trump lamented that 鈥� logic that was both obvious and baffling to many. Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden seized on the comments, saying they showed Trump cares more about . There鈥檚 also been chatter that Trump has been quietly questioning whether the high death toll is due to overcounting, a pernicious myth that has been disproved by .
Testing has been a big topic at the White House this week: The West Wing was sent scrambling to contain the after two advisers became infected. But those efforts were hampered by a preliminary study that found Abbott鈥檚 rapid tests 鈥� the ones that have been touted as a game changer and used for the White House staff 鈥斅�.
Trump also touted the fact that the U.S. has ramped up its testing efforts so much that the country is outpacing South Korea, which has been widely praised for its testing efforts. The boast , though. South Korea no longer has too test as much because it reined in its outbreak in the early days of the crisis. Its death toll stands at 260.
Facing, Trump returned to a tried-and-true strategy this week: and more specifically former .
An emerging trend from the administration鈥檚 virus response is contracts awarded to firms that have no experience with the products or tasks. FEMA had to this week after the company failed to deliver any masks. Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture has awarded to organizations to coordinate farmers and food banks. But the roster features companies like an event planning firm that is known for throwing weddings and putting on high-end conferences.
The White House has often held up its 鈥淧roject Airbridge,鈥� which delivered personal protective gear across the country, as a success story, but that the positive messaging has been built on exaggerations. For example, records show that the project helped deliver 2.2 million masks a day. But in April Vice President Mike Pence put that number at 22 million.
At the project鈥檚 core are partnerships with private companies. The deal between them and the government means taxpayers have ended up subsidizing the distribution of private resources.
Another great investigation by the Post reveals in Texas that had the ability to make millions of masks a month 鈥� even as officials and state leaders scrambled to make above- and below-board deals with overseas manufacturers.
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It鈥檚 little surprise that, in a politically divided country, the crucial to the 2020 presidential election. Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin went for Trump in 2016, but they swing in that ever-narrowing purple section of the political spectrum 鈥� and all three have Democratic governors. The battle came to a head in Wisconsin this week when the state鈥檚 high court threw out Gov. Tony Evers鈥� stay-at-home order, ruling that his emergency powers are real but certainly not indefinite. The problem was that the decision has , with bars, restaurants and other businesses unsure what鈥檚 legal now.
On that note, in Americans鈥� decision to leave their houses? People are venturing out by the millions, and they aren鈥檛 always following their leaders鈥� guidance.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with her latest relief bill 鈥� probably in a sign that she never expected bipartisan negotiations to be smooth. The $3 trillion package builds on the $2.2 trillion CARES Act and contains billions for health care providers, the creation of nursing home strike teams, hazard pay for heroes on the front lines, and money for testing. The ambitious legislation (which is expected to pass the House any hour now) is dead on arrival in the Senate.
, the FBI seized Sen. Richard Burr鈥檚 (R-N.C.) cellphone as part of an investigation into his sale of stocks right before the market was walloped by the coronavirus. Burr has temporarily stepped down as chairman of the Intelligence Committee.
And the first hearing of the special coronavirus committee devolved quickly 鈥� and not surprisingly 鈥� into partisan bickering with little accomplished. : 鈥淭he parties started the day miles apart and ended it even further away.鈥�
Before the pandemic, hospitals had been for turning a profit that relied on procedures for patients with private insurers instead of ones with Medicaid or Medicare. When the outbreak turned the world upside down, it upended that model. (See also reporter for an addendum to the story.)
Meanwhile, a lot of the talk around ICU bed and equipment shortages sometimes made it seem like we have one national hospital system that鈥檚 going to be overwhelmed. In reality, the hospitals operate like miniature fiefdoms unto themselves, completely siloed from rivals that are sometimes only blocks away. in the differences between New York City hospitals during the pandemic.
Everyone knows hospitals are losing billions a month now on procedures that have been put off because of the outbreak. But it鈥檚 not a given that they鈥檙e rushing to reopen, either. That鈥檚 because many are nervous they鈥檒l without protections from Congress.
In a number that only continues to grow more staggering, since the virus struck. Economists say there aren鈥檛 signs that the market has bottomed out, either, so prepare for that total to keep ticking up.
And while the economic devastation created by the shutdown measures has been the main argument behind conservatives鈥� drive to reopen, a second wave would be worse in the long run than staying closed.
Threaded throughout all these conversations is the need to put a dollar value on human life. While the idea seems callous, it鈥檚 actually common practice within the government when it comes to drafting regulations. : 鈥淥ne of the earliest values of life used in regulation came from a 1978 calculation by the Canisius College economics professor Warren Prunella. He estimated the value of a life saved by proposed furniture fabric flammability standards at $1 million.鈥�
World leaders are already worried that Trump鈥檚 鈥淎merica First鈥� mentality will mean other countries will be left out in the cold when it comes to a vaccine. The fear prompted more than 140 world leaders demanding that COVID-19 vaccines be considered a 鈥済lobal good鈥� to be shared equitably. And experts warned that any attempt by the U.S. to hoard a vaccine could lead to other countries refusing to share materials needed to distribute it. (Considering we鈥檙e months, if not years, away from a vaccine, this seems like it鈥檚 going to get messy.)
Deliberately seems like an idea out of a bygone era in which scientists played fast and loose with ethics. But it could also greatly speed up the development time. Should it be done? Would you volunteer for the duty?
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Nationally, conservatives are staunchly against mail-in voting. But state officials, reading the room, . In Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and West Virginia, GOP officials are expanding vote by mail. One Kentucky official even lamented his previous role in stoking fears about voter fraud. 鈥淚t鈥檚 partly on me because I talked about it in my campaign,鈥� said Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, who says he鈥檚 now frustrated by the myth that absentee voting is not secure.
Worried about eating alone in this era of social distancing? Don鈥檛 worry 鈥� some places have you covered. In D.C. you can so as not to feel lonely; in Thailand, will keep you company.
And in other stories to read during this (hopefully) gorgeous weekend:
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And that is officially it from me! I鈥檓 off to write some books, and if you like 鈥� or just want to stay in touch 鈥� you can find me on Twitter and Instagram at .
Be safe, be happy, be kind to yourselves and others in these trying times, wash your hands, watch out for superbugs, and don鈥檛 forget to look at if the news gets you down.
Yours truly,
Bri