Hiya! I鈥檓 Lauren Olsen, your new Newsletter Editor. That鈥檚 right 鈥� the totally official, no more fill-ins, always-here-for-you Newsletter Editor. As the replacement for editor extraordinaire Brianna Labuskes, I鈥檓 here to tackle all your health news needs.
Why yes, you鈥檙e right 鈥� a pandemic is a heck of a time to take over this job. I鈥檇 argue, however, that it鈥檚 the best time, because who doesn鈥檛 need a hand sorting out all this craziness? So far, 2020 has been like trying to paint the 鈥淢ona Lisa鈥� while riding a unicycle in a rainstorm 鈥� in other words, a sloppy mess teetering on disaster 鈥� but, with any luck, when it鈥檚 done we might all manage to smile.
In the meantime, I won鈥檛 Louvre you in the lurch. (Sorry, I couldn鈥檛 resist.) Be sure to read each day鈥檚 top health news headlines in KHN鈥檚 Morning Briefing, compiled by yours truly. Please subscribe, if you haven鈥檛 already 鈥� and tell your colleagues and friends, too. Have a comment about the Briefing or the Breeze? Send me an email at laureno@kff.org. I look forward to hearing from you.
A Gift for You, My New Friend
Because we鈥檝e just met, I鈥檇 like to offer you a token of friendship: Today鈥檚 Breeze will do its best to have a positive spin. Things are dreary enough in the world right now 鈥� you don鈥檛 need me to blow more gray clouds your way. In the words of Helen Keller, 鈥淎lthough the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.鈥�
What鈥檚 Donald Up To?
Today, let鈥檚 play a game called 鈥淲hat鈥檚 Donald Up To?鈥� You won鈥檛 win any points or money. What you will win is the knowledge that there are 180 days until Inauguration Day! (I suppose your real prize will be if 鈥測our guy鈥� wins, whether it鈥檚 President Donald Trump, Joe Biden or .)
So what is Donald up to? He began his busy week of tweeting, mask-wearing and name-calling with a feisty on Sunday. In it, he lamented (鈥淚鈥檓 glad we do it, but it really skews the numbers鈥�), called Dr. Anthony Fauci, America鈥檚 infectious diseases superstar, an 鈥渁濒补谤尘颈蝉迟,鈥� boasted about the (鈥淚 built the greatest economy in history, I鈥檓 now doing it again鈥�), reasserted his opinion that the virus will 鈥渄颈蝉补辫辫别补谤鈥� and downplayed the potentially devastating physical effects of COVID-19 by saying some people just have the When asked about the nearly 1,000 deaths a day in the U.S., Trump said it On the positive side? Well, the interview was only about an hour.
The critiques rolled in, and for most of the week we saw a kinder, gentler version of Trump. Maybe it was because he was happy he supposedly aced the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test that detects early signs of dementia. Or maybe it was because he鈥檇 passed 鈥渕耻濒迟颈辫濒别鈥� COVID tests a day, according to his press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany. (鈥淚 don鈥檛 know of any time I鈥檝e taken two in one day,鈥� he clarified a few hours later.) Or perhaps he was simply feeling generous, providing $5 billion for struggling nursing homes, resuming COVID task force briefings, renewing the national and even (gasp!) But I think the real reason may have been because two White House cafeterias closed this week after a staffer tested positive for the coronavirus 鈥� providing another excuse for him to keep eating McDonald鈥檚. (Just a theory.)
Even so, Trump鈥檚 good mood subsided by the end of the week, probably because he had to cancel the GOP convention in Jacksonville, Florida, amid . (Not to mention that the Duval County sheriff did warn him about not being able to provide security.)
Wondering what Biden, Trump鈥檚 probable Democratic rival in November, was up to? Well, this week he released his massive 鈥渃aregiving plan鈥� for Americans 鈥� $775 billion over 10 years. (That certainly would .)
California and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
California, the most populous state, on Wednesday surpassed New York as the worst-hit state for cases (tallying 413,576 as of that day). The increase of 12,112 was the biggest single-day increase since the pandemic started. At the national level, there have been 4 million cases 鈥� it took only 15 days to jump from 3 million to 4 million 鈥� and the death toll stands at 144,000. Unfortunately, the rise in cases is outpacing the rise in testing, with The New York Times explaining: 鈥淎bout 21,000 cases were reported per day in early June, when the positive test rate was 4.8 percent. As testing expanded, the positive test rate should have fallen. 鈥� Instead, the positive test rate has nearly doubled.鈥�
The number of COVID cases is likely 10 times higher than what we thought, experts now say. On Saturday, the FDA approved the use of pooled testing, essentially allowing the testing of many more people using fewer tests. But the White House, not to be outdone, announced it would push to phase out funding for testing from the COVID-relief bill in Congress. (More on that in a minute.)
In the 鈥渙ops鈥� category, 113 people in Rhode Island, about 90 in , 26 in and dozens in were told they had COVID-19 when in fact they had tested negative. (Does that qualify as positive news? I鈥檓 not sure, but I鈥檓 happy those folks are fine.) Conversely, in The Villages, Florida, one of America鈥檚 biggest retirement communities known for its golf and rockin鈥� house parties, is seeing a spike in positive cases, jumping from the single digits last month to at least 29 last week.
Scientists delved into the big question this week: Can you get reinfected with COVID? And the absolute, no-doubt-about-it answer was: Um, not sure. But it鈥檚 unlikely, they say. Scientists did determine that mosquitoes most likely don鈥檛 spread COVID, and they鈥檙e testing whether UV light, which can kill many nasty germs, can kill this virus, too. As a bonus, the CDC now says that if you do get sick, you should isolate for 10 days, not 14. (But severely ill patients should isolate for 20 days.)
So Much for Vacation
Congress returned from a two-week summer recess Monday to begin work on the fifth COVID-relief bill of the year, and it played out like a real-life version of Chevy Chase鈥檚 鈥淣ational Lampoon鈥檚 Vacation,鈥� starring Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as Clark Griswold, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the Ferrari-driving Christie Brinkley and Trump as the security guard at Walley World who basically ends their fun. (My goodness, can鈥檛 you just envision it?)
Republicans had a $1 trillion agenda that included funds for schools and COVID testing, a payroll tax cut, direct checks for individuals and $600-a-week stipends for laid-off workers. Senate Republicans seemed near a deal with the White House on Wednesday as the Griswold family station wagon chugged along. But the car crashed Thursday when the two groups failed to reach an agreement on the unemployment issue. (Mind you, the Democrats haven鈥檛 even gotten involved yet.) Republicans vowed to have a . As all this was going on, smooth-driving Pelosi left tire tracks all over Trump while speaking on CNN鈥檚 鈥淭he Situation Room鈥� on Tuesday, calling the coronavirus the
Let鈥檚 Make a Deal: Which Vaccine Is Behind Door No. 1?
Am I the only person who can鈥檛 keep track of all the vaccines and treatments in play? Chinese group Sinopharm said it will have a vaccine ready for the public . (Woohoo!) British pharmaceutical firm Synairgen announced a breakthrough nebulizer treatment that reduces the severity of COVID-19, and Oxford-AstraZeneca鈥檚 vaccine AZD1222 showed promising results in human trials, too. Meanwhile, behind Door No. 2, the Russians are insisting they didn鈥檛 try to steal British coronavirus vaccine research.
Back in the good ol鈥� U.S. of A., five pharmaceutical giants testified to Congress on Tuesday that they wouldn鈥檛 cut corners when developing a vaccine. And Wednesday, as if on cue, Pfizer and German firm BioNTech made an unusual $1.95 billion deal to supply 100 million doses of a not-yet-finished vaccine to the federal government, which plans on giving it to Americans at no cost. (Not to nitpick, but there are 330 million people in America. I鈥檓 not great a math, but still 鈥�)
Meanwhile, behind Door No. 3, the Department of Justice indicted two Chinese nationals this week on charges that they hacked and stole research from companies working on COVID vaccines in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, Spain, Australia and other nations.
The REALLY Important Questions
Sure, all of that stuff has big implications. But here in the real world, we鈥檙e worried about simpler stuff. For example, when can I watch NFL football? (Not for a while.) Has baseball started? (!) Can I travel to the (no), (yes) or New York (maybe)? If I live in California and need a haircut, where can I get one? (Outdoors.) Should I buy my teen some condoms? (It鈥檚 up to you, but more adolescents are improvising with plastic wrap 鈥� shudder.) Does it hurt to get shot with a less-lethal projectile? (Um, HECK YES.) Should I wear a mask in , at a or when buying jeans at the Gap? (Yes.) How about ? (Yes, as long as you promise not to rob the joint.)
That about wraps it up for me. Hope you enjoyed my inaugural Breeze. Until next week,
鈥� Lauren