After 9/11, as our defenses against international and bioterrorism hardened, our defenses against infectious diseases shrank. By the time a deadly virus arrived on our shores last year, nearly two-thirds of Americans were living in counties that spend more than twice as much on policing as they spend on public health.
The underfunding of public health and political backlash destabilized Missouri’s vaccine rollout, creating racial inequity and forcing some residents to drive hours to get shots.
Air-cleaning companies with limited oversight are targeting a growing market of schools desperate for covid-19 protection. Donald Trump’s former covid adviser lands with one that built its business, in part, on ozone-emitting technology.
The vaccination rollout has been unsteady, but the vaccines seem very effective, raising hopes that the pandemic will subside by later this year if enough Americans get their shots. Meanwhile, remain cautious.
With schools opening up classrooms, millions of young athletes are also getting out on fields and courts. But pandemic precautions and delays are spurring conflicts among parents, coaches and doctors.
Researchers say “very low”-quality research from the 2003 SARS outbreak drove guidelines on who got the best PPE, leaving those most at risk exposed.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky said scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were “muzzled” and “diminished” by the Trump team, especially during the pandemic. She aims to fix that.
With covid, and its newly emerging variants, still circulating throughout the nation and the world, experts say it is definitely not the time to abandon efforts to control the virus’s spread.
The academics insist that more workers should get top-rated N95 masks, the best defense against airborne coronavirus particles.
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are more likely to have medical conditions that make covid especially dangerous. But a lack of federal tracking means no one knows how many people in disability group housing have fallen ill or died from the virus.
