IT'S ALL UNDER CONTROL

[Old School]

Coronavirus updates: US reports more than 1,300 new deaths in a single day
The figure is a nearly threefold increase from the previous day
ByMorgan Winsor
August 19, 2020, 7:35 AM
8 min read

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/coron...id=clicksource_4380645_8_heads_posts_card_hed

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 781,000 people worldwide.

Over 22 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some national governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their outbreaks.


Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 5.4 million diagnosed cases and at least 171,823 deaths.

A total of 5,482,602 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 171,823 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country's cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 70,000 for the first time in mid-July.

While week-over-week comparisons show that the nationwide number of new cases has continued to decrease in recent weeks, the number of new deaths has increased, according to an internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, obtained by ABC News on Tuesday night.

 

[Old School]

Florida surpasses 10,000 coronavirus deaths
BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL - 08/19/20 01:34 PM EDT

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/512734-florida-surpasses-10000-coronavirus-deaths

Florida on Wednesday surpassed 10,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to state figures, almost six months since the first case was identified in the state.

The state reported 174 new deaths Wednesday, bringing its total since the pandemic began to 10,067.

California, New York, Texas and New Jersey are the only other states whose COVID-19 fatalities have reached five digits.

Even as deaths have been increasing, Florida?s average number of weekly coronavirus cases has declined.

Earlier this summer, as the state reported an average of 11,000 cases a day, state officials touted the low death rate as a positive sign. But deaths always lag behind infections, and the number has increased rapidly.

Half of all COVID-19 deaths in the state have occurred in just the last month.

The state has reported fewer hospitalizations in recent days. As of Wednesday, about 5,300 people were in the hospital with the virus, according to the Agency for Health Care Administration.

According to state officials, Florida has now gone a full week with daily positivity rates below 10 percent. But the state health department reportedly does not count positive retests, only the initial negative test, leading to an inaccurate lower rate.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the state's seven-day rolling average positivity rate is 16.4 percent.

Statewide diagnostic testing has also been decreasing.

On Monday, the health department reported the fewest number of tests processed since June, with 20,248. The seven-day rolling average was nearly 33,000 tests, down from a high of nearly 66,000 in July.

Nationwide, the COVID-19 pandemic is raging. There are nearly 5.5 million cases in the U.S. and 172,000 deaths so far.

COVID-19 is currently the third leading cause of death in the U.S., behind only heart disease and cancer, eight months after the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the country.

 

[Old School]

Colleges Beg Students to Change Behavior as Coronavirus Cases Rise
Douglas Belkin 42 mins ago

The messaging comes as outbreaks continue to pop up at schools around the country as students return to campus, leading several this week to halt on-campus instruction.

It is being directed to all students, but specifically aimed at fraternities, sororities and upperclassmen throwing off-campus parties that have been traced to the outbreaks.

At the University of Notre Dame, where in-person classes were canceled this week because of an increase in positive cases linked to off-campus parties, the number of cases continued to rise?though at a slower pace.

On Thursday, the school detected 23 new cases, bringing the total to 336. But the rate of positive tests had declined to less then 10% yesterday from nearly 20% on Monday. The school canceled classes for two weeks, but the president said he would send everyone home for the rest of the year if necessary.

?I think people are definitely starting to take it more seriously. No one wants to go home,? said Maddie Tupy, a junior at Notre Dame.

Pennsylvania State University suspended the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity on Thursday after videos surfaced on social media showing an indoor gathering on Wednesday of more than 15 people who weren?t wearing masks or staying six feet apart. Then, on Thursday, returning students gathered on campus without masks or physical distancing.

The campus scene prompted President Eric Barron to write a note to students chastising them for ignoring the guidelines the school had laid out and to warn them they would be expelled if they didn?t obey the rules.

?Last night?s behavior is unacceptable,? Mr. Barron wrote. ?I ask students flouting the university?s health and safety expectations a simple question: Do you want to be the person responsible for sending everyone home??

North Carolina State University said Thursday it has canceled all in-person classes following a series of off-campus parties. More than 500 students are now in quarantine or isolation, according to a letter to the school by Chancellor Randy Woodson.

?Battling the spread of Covid-19 is a challenging endeavor even when everyone is practicing safety measures,? he wrote. ?Unfortunately, the actions of a few are jeopardizing the health and safety of the larger community.?

At the University of Kansas, an outbreak of cases among fraternity and sorority members prompted Chancellor Douglas A. Girod to remind the school to adhere to health and safety guidelines.

The cluster was detected after the results of 7,000 test results came back. The number of positive tests was low overall, and in line with what the school anticipated, he said. But a large majority of the 87 cases detected were connected to the school?s Greek community.

?We know what works to prevent the spread of Covid-19,? he wrote. ?Remember to think not just about yourself, but about the good of the community, in every decision you make.?

 

[Old School]

This Beloved Tourist Destination Has Become a COVID Superspreader



SKIP YOUR TRIP TO THE STRIP. IT'S JUST NOT WORTH THE RISK.


​

https://bestlifeonline.com/covid-las-vegas/

According to the Harvard Global Health COVID-19 tracker, Nevada currently has the third-highest concentration of coronavirus cases in the nation. The vast majority of those cases are in Clark County, which houses Las Vegas?meaning the bulk of the state's 65,150 cases and 1,197 deaths have taken place within city limits.

A new study published by the nonprofit news outlet ProPublica looked at anonymized cell phone records of 26,000 individuals in Las Vegas and found that within four days' time, at least 8,000 of those cell phones had dispersed to all but one state in the continental U.S. Though the study didn't specifically track whether those travelers were infected with coronavirus, it stands to reason that the city's major outbreak combined with excessive travel could spell disaster for the rest of the nation.

In a recent interview with NPR hosts Ari Shapiro and Will Stone, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak maintained that the reopening of the Las Vegas Strip was rolled out safely. Yet NPR analysts concluded that the city might face a hospital shortage if it continues on its current path. "With testing still turning up lots of infections, Las Vegas is on shaky footing. Nevada's rate of new cases relative to its population rivals hard-hit Southern states," said Stone.

Joe Corcoran, MD, chief medical officer for hospitals in southern Nevada, who was also included in the interview, shared that the county is currently treating twice as many COVID cases as in the spring. "Coronavirus is not really showing any signs of sustained abatement," he said. "There's so many components of this city where you're congregating together. But my gut tells me that there's parts of Las Vegas that are just going to make it harder for us to get to a true low level of concern about it."

So, if you were considering a trip to The Strip, don't assume that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Case counts are high in this hotspot, and no one wants COVID as a souvenir. And for more on Nevada, find out why it topped our recent list of States That Could Soon See a COVID Surge.

 

[Old School]

University of Alabama Reports 566 COVID-19 Cases a Week After Classes Start
BY DANIEL VILLARREAL ON 8/25/20 AT 12:16 AM EDT

Barely a week after the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa began classes, the school has reported 566 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus among students, faculty and staff, according to the university's dashboard for tracking cases.

The dashboard states that 29,938 students have been tested for the virus, and that the positivity rate among students is at 1.04 percent. Those figures would suggest that roughly 311 students have tested positive, although the university hasn't released an exact number of student cases.

The total number of students tested includes sentinel testing on campus, self-reported tests from private providers and point-of-care testing in campus health centers for students with symptoms.

"Despite the robust testing, training, health and safety measures we carefully and clearly implemented, there is an unacceptable rise in positive COVID cases on our campus," wrote University President Stuart Bell in a public letter on Sunday.

In the letter, Bell emphasized the university's rules requiring students to maintain mask wearing, social distancing, low crowd sizes, testing and quarantine. Disregarding such precautions endanger the school's ability to finish the fall semester on campus, he said.

Bell also wrote that the university police and Tuscaloosa Police Department would monitor bars, restaurants and off-campus residences to help maintain enforcement of the guidelines. Students caught violating the guidelines on- or off-campus could be subject to "harsh disciplinary action, up to and including suspension from UA," Bell wrote.

"The margin for error is shrinking," Bell concluded. "Now is the time to take action, commit to protect each other, and hold each other accountable... Together, through shared sacrifice and commitment, we will achieve our goal."

As of August 24, the state of Alabama has reported over 117,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,024 related deaths. It ranks 14th among U.S. states with the highest overall number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Many schools and universities have opted for a combination of online and in-person classes as they try and minimize the potential for COVID-19 outbreaks. However, enforcement of prevention measures has proven difficult.

Recently, Ohio State University announced that it had issued 228 interim suspensions for individuals and student organizations who had attended or hosted large parties and gatherings in the university district, in defiance of the school's COVID-19 prevention guidelines.

Before returning to campus, Ohio State University required all students to sign the Buckeye Pledge, an agreement detailing the COVID-19 prevention protocols which include mask-wearing, social distancing, congregating in groups no larger than 10 people, cleaning of shared spaces and the seeking of medical attention for any symptoms.

 

[Skulnik]

Daniel Villarreal VERIFIED
Portland
Freelance Writer ? Freelance
Arts and Entertainment
As seen in: MSN India, Newsweek, VICE UK, VICE, Vox, Slate, HuffPost United Kingdom, RawStory, AlterNet, Out Magazine and more
Is this you? Contact us to edit this page
Writer, PR/marketer and content strategist for hire. Co-founded QueerBomb Dallas & Cin?Wilde. Into free speech and culture of all sorts. Currently at Newsweek.


Oh LOOK, a radical Liberal that has TDS.

:mj07:

 

[Old School]

Meadows 'not optimistic' about quick end to stalemate on coronavirus deal
BY JORDAIN CARNEY - 08/26/20 11:00 AM EDT

https://thehill.com/homenews/admini...c-about-quick-end-to-stalemate-on-coronavirus

 

[Old School]

Coronavirus live updates: US case count for COVID-19 tops 6 million
The United States has the highest case count of any country in the world.
ByMorgan Winsor andEmily Shapiro
Last Updated: September 1, 2020, 8:35 AM ET

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/live-...id=clicksource_4380645_4_three_posts_card_hed

A total of 6,031,013 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 183,598 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country's cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 70,000 for the first time in mid-July.

However, the numbers of new COVID-19 cases and new deaths in the United States have both decreased by substantial amounts in week-over-week comparisons, according to an internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency obtained by ABC News last week.

 

[Old School]

60 percent in new poll say federal government's response making pandemic worse
BY JUSTINE COLEMAN - 09/01/20 02:07 PM EDT

The majority of respondents in a poll released Tuesday said the federal government?s response to the coronavirus pandemic is making the U.S.?s recovery from the outbreak worse.

Sixty percent of respondents thought the federal government?s actions were making the pandemic recovery worse, compared to 39 percent who said the federal government was making the crisis better, according to a poll released by Axios-Ipsos.

Respondents? views on the federal government?s management of the pandemic showed a partisan divide.

Among Democrats, 19 percent thought the federal government was making the recovery better, while 80 percent said it was making it worse. For Republicans, 74 percent agreed that the federal government was improving the recovery, while 25 percent said it was making it worse.

A total of 32 percent of independents said the federal government?s actions were making the recovery better, compared with 68 percent who said they were making recovery worse.

The poll also found a dip in trust in the federal government since the beginning of the pandemic ? 32 percent of respondents surveyed said they expect the government to look out for their best interest. By contrast, in late March, more than half of participants said they trusted the federal government to look out for their best interest.

But a majority of participants expressed optimism for the future. Fifty-seven of those surveyed said they?re somewhat or very hopeful the pandemic will be under control in the U.S. within the next six months. Forty-three percent were not too hopeful or not hopeful at all.

The new survey comes just two months before the 2020 elections, where the government's handling of the pandemic will play a large part.

The levels of trust in Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and President Trump have remained steady after the party conventions. Forty-five percent of people said they trusted Biden and 31 percent said they trusted the president.

The Axios-Ipsos poll surveyed 1,100 U.S. adults from Aug. 28 to 31. The margin of error amounted to 3.3 percentage points.

 

[Sportsaholic]

60 percent in new poll say federal government's response making pandemic worse
BY JUSTINE COLEMAN - 09/01/20 02:07 PM EDT



The Axios-Ipsos poll surveyed 1,100 U.S. adults from Aug. 28 to 31. The margin of error amounted to 3.3 percentage points.

It took Axios-Ipsos three days to poll 1,100 people, hell I couple poll 1,100 people at the local Wal-Mart in three hours without an error margin.....:lol:

 

[REFLOG]

It took Axios-Ipsos three days to poll 1,100 people, hell I couple poll 1,100 people at the local Wal-Mart in three hours without an error margin.....:lol:

You have Walmarts in Maine:shrug:

 

[Old School]

Coronavirus live updates: US governors urge Labor Day vigilance, safety; Israel imposes overnight curfews; CDC to lead vaccine distribution
Steve Kiggins, USA TODAY 2 hrs ago

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...ay-weekend-us-deaths-donald-trump/5735320002/

 

[Old School]

 

[Old School]

Pandemic preschool: How to navigate sending your kid into an unfamiliar building with masked strangers
Grace Hauck
USA TODAY


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...fely-navigate-child-care-settings/3455345001/

 

[Old School]

Senate returns with a path to nowhere on coronavirus aid
Vulnerable lawmakers are pushing hard for a deal, but Republicans and Democrats are still far apart on core principles.


https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/08/senate-coronaviurs-aid-409027

By MARIANNE LEVINE and JOHN BRESNAHAN

09/08/2020 04:30 AM EDT

The Senate returns from its August recess Tuesday with no signs of progress on a new coronavirus relief package ? and only days to reach a deal before lawmakers head back home to campaign.

Despite weeks of high-level talks between the White House and Democratic congressional leaders, a bipartisan compromise is increasingly unlikely before the election even as millions of Americans remain unemployed and the coronavirus? death toll continues to rise.

Republicans are eager to raise the pressure on Democrats, but their latest gambit may fall short.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other top Senate Republicans have been scrambling to round up votes for a narrow economic stimulus package they could put on the floor and hammer Democrats for opposing. The $500 billion-plus proposal includes $300-per-week federal unemployment payments on top of regular state benefits, another round of funding to aid small and medium-sized businesses, liability protections for businesses, schools and charities, and $105 billion for education, among other provisions.

But some Senate Republicans want to include language related to ?school choice? programs, complicating the process for McConnell and party leaders. As of now, McConnell doesn?t even have 51 votes for the Republican proposal, according to GOP senators and aides, let alone the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and his Democratic colleagues remain opposed to the Republican initiative. They?ve joined with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in calling for at least $2 trillion in new spending, and Senate Democrats will block further action if it comes up for a vote this week.

"Our members are continuing to work and discuss ways to put our best foot forward on something in which we agree on,? said Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. ?To me it's a targeted bill, targeted on specifically getting people back to work, getting kids back to school and getting the virus into the rearview mirror. And that's where the focus is.?

?The problem is going to be the roadblocks from Schumer and Pelosi,? Barrasso added. ?Pelosi is calling the shots, Schumer is just her deputy at this point and doing her bidding.?

Republicans may feel like some of the pressure has lifted to reach a quick agreement after a decent set of jobs numbers on Friday along with executive actions taken by President Donald Trump and administration officials. The actions include diverting tens of billions of dollars in disaster aid to go toward federal unemployment payments while also extending an eviction moratorium through the end of the year.

While both sides insist they want a compromise, neither is making any real concessions that would be needed to get there.

The only good news heading into the September session is that Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have reached a tentative agreement to continue funding federal agencies beyond the Sept. 30 deadline, taking the possibility of a government shutdown largely off the table. Some lawmakers and aides have discussed attaching relief provisions to a stopgap spending bill, but reaching a consensus there could be difficult.

McConnell told reporters in Kentucky last week that "I don't know if there will be another package in the next few weeks or not... It's harder to do now because we've moved closer and closer to an election."

Some in the White House also don?t have a strong sense of urgency. Asked if he felt comfortable with the state of the economy if a coronavirus relief deal wasn?t reached, Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Bloomberg TV, ?We can absolutely live with it.?

Senate Republicans are privately playing up reports that moderate House Democrats are pressing Pelosi to compromise on a relief package. They're circulating quotes from a dozen Democrats in swing House races calling for additional economic help for financially strapped Americans.

"I think a coronavirus relief package will probably help both parties because there's a need," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in an interview. "I think this is one of the issues where I'm not so sure the political benefit is one versus the other as much as it is you know we actually need to do something."

Pelosi, however, shows no signs of budging from her position. The House passed a $3.4 trillion bill in May, and Pelosi and Schumer agreed to come down more than $1 trillion from that figure during negotiations with Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. But they don?t seem inclined to go much further.

"The White House and Senate Republicans have made clear that they still do not comprehend the scale of this disaster or the urgent needs of our communities and the American people," Pelosi said in a statement on Friday. "House Democrats have come to the negotiating table willing to compromise, and we will continue reaching out until we achieve a fair agreement that meets the needs of all Americans."

Senate Democrats from Schumer on down have slammed McConnell for sitting out talks on the coronavirus relief package. While the Kentucky Republican said the key is for the White House and Democratic leaders to reach a deal first, he's also faced a challenge in balancing the competing factions within his own conference.

A large bloc of Senate Republicans, concerned about the tidal wave of deficit spending this year, believes the U.S. economy will recover without additional government aid. McConnell, however, also has a number of vulnerable GOP senators up for reelection in less than two months, and they've been pressing him for action.

Senate Democrats are largely counting on the endangered GOP incumbents to help push the Republican leadership toward an agreement.

"It's still so hard for me to imagine Mitch McConnell packing up the Senate for the election home stretch having not even tried to negotiate in good faith," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). "I've stubbornly stuck to this idea that Republican senators at the very least will be driven to get something done by their fear of backlash from voters."

 

[Skulnik]

Senate returns with a path to nowhere on coronavirus aid
Vulnerable lawmakers are pushing hard for a deal, but Republicans and Democrats are still far apart on core principles.


https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/08/senate-coronaviurs-aid-409027

By MARIANNE LEVINE and JOHN BRESNAHAN

09/08/2020 04:30 AM EDT

The Senate returns from its August recess Tuesday with no signs of progress on a new coronavirus relief package ? and only days to reach a deal before lawmakers head back home to campaign.

Despite weeks of high-level talks between the White House and Democratic congressional leaders, a bipartisan compromise is increasingly unlikely before the election even as millions of Americans remain unemployed and the coronavirus? death toll continues to rise.

Republicans are eager to raise the pressure on Democrats, but their latest gambit may fall short.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other top Senate Republicans have been scrambling to round up votes for a narrow economic stimulus package they could put on the floor and hammer Democrats for opposing. The $500 billion-plus proposal includes $300-per-week federal unemployment payments on top of regular state benefits, another round of funding to aid small and medium-sized businesses, liability protections for businesses, schools and charities, and $105 billion for education, among other provisions.

But some Senate Republicans want to include language related to ?school choice? programs, complicating the process for McConnell and party leaders. As of now, McConnell doesn?t even have 51 votes for the Republican proposal, according to GOP senators and aides, let alone the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and his Democratic colleagues remain opposed to the Republican initiative. They?ve joined with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in calling for at least $2 trillion in new spending, and Senate Democrats will block further action if it comes up for a vote this week.

"Our members are continuing to work and discuss ways to put our best foot forward on something in which we agree on,? said Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. ?To me it's a targeted bill, targeted on specifically getting people back to work, getting kids back to school and getting the virus into the rearview mirror. And that's where the focus is.?

?The problem is going to be the roadblocks from Schumer and Pelosi,? Barrasso added. ?Pelosi is calling the shots, Schumer is just her deputy at this point and doing her bidding.?

Republicans may feel like some of the pressure has lifted to reach a quick agreement after a decent set of jobs numbers on Friday along with executive actions taken by President Donald Trump and administration officials. The actions include diverting tens of billions of dollars in disaster aid to go toward federal unemployment payments while also extending an eviction moratorium through the end of the year.

While both sides insist they want a compromise, neither is making any real concessions that would be needed to get there.

The only good news heading into the September session is that Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have reached a tentative agreement to continue funding federal agencies beyond the Sept. 30 deadline, taking the possibility of a government shutdown largely off the table. Some lawmakers and aides have discussed attaching relief provisions to a stopgap spending bill, but reaching a consensus there could be difficult.

McConnell told reporters in Kentucky last week that "I don't know if there will be another package in the next few weeks or not... It's harder to do now because we've moved closer and closer to an election."

Some in the White House also don?t have a strong sense of urgency. Asked if he felt comfortable with the state of the economy if a coronavirus relief deal wasn?t reached, Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Bloomberg TV, ?We can absolutely live with it.?

Senate Republicans are privately playing up reports that moderate House Democrats are pressing Pelosi to compromise on a relief package. They're circulating quotes from a dozen Democrats in swing House races calling for additional economic help for financially strapped Americans.

"I think a coronavirus relief package will probably help both parties because there's a need," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in an interview. "I think this is one of the issues where I'm not so sure the political benefit is one versus the other as much as it is you know we actually need to do something."

Pelosi, however, shows no signs of budging from her position. The House passed a $3.4 trillion bill in May, and Pelosi and Schumer agreed to come down more than $1 trillion from that figure during negotiations with Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. But they don?t seem inclined to go much further.

"The White House and Senate Republicans have made clear that they still do not comprehend the scale of this disaster or the urgent needs of our communities and the American people," Pelosi said in a statement on Friday. "House Democrats have come to the negotiating table willing to compromise, and we will continue reaching out until we achieve a fair agreement that meets the needs of all Americans."

Senate Democrats from Schumer on down have slammed McConnell for sitting out talks on the coronavirus relief package. While the Kentucky Republican said the key is for the White House and Democratic leaders to reach a deal first, he's also faced a challenge in balancing the competing factions within his own conference.

A large bloc of Senate Republicans, concerned about the tidal wave of deficit spending this year, believes the U.S. economy will recover without additional government aid. McConnell, however, also has a number of vulnerable GOP senators up for reelection in less than two months, and they've been pressing him for action.

Senate Democrats are largely counting on the endangered GOP incumbents to help push the Republican leadership toward an agreement.

"It's still so hard for me to imagine Mitch McConnell packing up the Senate for the election home stretch having not even tried to negotiate in good faith," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). "I've stubbornly stuck to this idea that Republican senators at the very least will be driven to get something done by their fear of backlash from voters."

You did it now, Gary is going to accuse you of Begging for some GIMMEDATS


Pity Really

Nuff Said

 

[Old School]

Public vs. private: A timeline of Trump's comments on virus
By The Associated Press, ASSOCIATED PRESS 1 hr ago


Associated Press logoPublic vs. private: A timeline of Trump's comments on virus

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Donald Trump's comments on the threat posed by the coronavirus have varied widely depending on whether he was speaking in public or private.

Journalist Bob Woodward, in his forthcoming book ?Rage,? reports on a series of interviews with Trump in which the president privately acknowledged the severity of the virus even as he played it down in public. Excerpts of the book were published Wednesday by The Washington Post and CNN, which also aired audio of some of the interviews.

A look at some of the president's public and private commentary during the early months of the pandemic that to date has killed about 190,000 Americans:

JAN. 22

?We have it totally under control.? ? During CNBC interview on sidelines of economic forum in Switzerland. A day earlier, federal officials reported the first case of COVID-19 in the United States. ?It?s one person, coming in from China,? Trump said. ?It?s going to be just fine.?

JAN. 24

?China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!? ? Trump tweet.

JAN. 30

?Hopefully it won?t be as bad as some people think it could be. But we?re working very closely with them and with a lot of other people and a lot of other countries. And we think we have it very well under control.? ? During trade event in Michigan.

FEB. 7

?You just breathe the air and that?s how it?s passed. And so that?s a very tricky one. That?s a very delicate one. It?s also more deadly than even your strenuous flus.? ? Trump phone interview with Woodward.

FEB. 10

?I think the virus is going to be ? it?s going to be fine.? ? During New Hampshire rally.


FEB. 26

?The 15 (case count in the U.S.) within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero. ... This is a flu. This is like a flu.? ? During White House coronavirus task force briefing.

MARCH 6

?You have to be calm. It?ll go away.? ? During visit to Atlanta headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

MARCH 7

?No, I?m not concerned at all. No, I?m not. No, we?ve done a great job.? ? After working dinner with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.


MARCH 13

?We?ve done a great job because we acted quickly. We acted early. And there?s nothing we could have done that was better than closing our borders to highly infected areas.? ? During Rose Garden announcement declaring a national emergency.

MARCH 16

?I?ve spoken actually with my son. He says, ?How bad is this?? It?s bad. It?s bad. But we?re going to ? we?re going to be, hopefully, a best case, not a worst case. And that?s what we?re working for.? ? During White House briefing.


MARCH 19

?To be honest with you, I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down, because I don?t want to create a panic.? ? Interview with Woodward.


MARCH 30

"I want to keep the country calm. I don?t want panic in the country. I could cause panic much better than even you." ? Responding to reporter's suggestion that he offered false assurances to Americans.

SEPT. 9

?I love our country and I don?t want people to be frightened. I don?t want to create panic, as you say. Certainly, I?m not going to drive this country or the world into a frenzy. We want to show confidence. We want to show strength.? ? Talking to reporters and dismissing Woodward's book as a ?political hit job.?

 

[Old School]

Fauci: 'I have to disagree' with Trump saying U.S. is rounding the corner on coronavirus
By Caitlin Oprysko 1 hr ago

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...-corner-on-coronavirus/ar-BB18WBD0?li=BBnb7Kz

The nation?s top infectious diseases expert sharply split on Friday with President Donald Trump?s assertion that the country is ?rounding the final turn? of the coronavirus pandemic.

?I'm sorry but I have to disagree with that,? National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci told MSNBC?s Andrea Mitchell, calling the United States? coronavirus levels seven months into the pandemic ?disturbing.?

?We are plateauing around 40,000 cases a day and the deaths are around 1,000,? Fauci pointed out, adding that he hopes the country doesn?t see another spike following Labor Day weekend like it did after Memorial Day and Fourth of July as flu season draws closer.

?What we don't want to see is going into the fall season, when people will be spending more time indoors ? and that's not good for a respiratory-borne virus ? you don't want to start off already with a baseline that's so high,? he said, reiterating a point he has made consistently over the last few months.

His comments came less than a day after Trump told reporters at the White House that the U.S. might be nearing the end of its struggle with the virus, which has killed more than 192,000 and infected more than 6.4 million Americans.

Trump?s public commentary on the virus has come under even more scrutiny after remarks he made to the famed Watergate journalist Bob Woodward in February and March in which the president acknowledged the ?deadly? nature of the virus. He also spoke of its ability to be transmitted through air particles, while at the same time reassuring the public that the risk of the pathogen was no worse than the flu.

The president told Woodward that he deliberately played down the virus so as not to panic Americans, a defense he has stood by since recordings of the interviews became public.

On the same day Trump suggested that the threat of the virus may be receding, Fauci told a panel of doctors from Harvard Medical School that ?We need to hunker down and get through this fall and winter because it?s not going to be easy.? Fauci cautioned Americans not to ?underestimate? the pandemic and warned they shouldn?t ?try and look at the rosy side of things."

Fauci?s break from the president is nothing new, as Trump has frequently contradicted his top medical and scientific advisers throughout the pandemic, something the chief infectious diseases expert acknowledged Friday.

?As you know, there were times when I was out there telling the American public how difficult this is, how we're having a really serious problem, you know, and the president was saying it's something that's going to disappear, which obviously is not the case,? he said, alluding to coronavirus briefings throughout the spring in which Fauci was often put in the position of rectifying Trump?s erroneous statements.

?So there was, and is, some disagreements in what we say and what comes out from the White House,? Fauci said.

 

[Old School]

US outlines sweeping plan to provide free COVID-19 vaccines
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press 1 hr ago

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The federal government outlined a sweeping plan Wednesday to make vaccines for COVID-19 available for free to all Americans, even as polls show a strong undercurrent of skepticism rippling across the land.
In a report to Congress and an accompanying ?playbook? for states and localities, federal health agencies and the Defense Department sketched out complex plans for a vaccination campaign to begin gradually in January or possibly later this year, eventually ramping up to reach any American who wants a shot. The Pentagon is involved with the distribution of vaccines, but civilian health workers will be the ones giving shots.

The campaign is ?much larger in scope and complexity than seasonal influenza or other previous outbreak-related vaccination responses,? said the playbook for states from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Among the highlights:

? For most vaccines, people will need two doses, 21 to 28 days apart. Double-dose vaccines will have to come from the same drugmaker. There could be several vaccines from different manufacturers approved and available.

? Vaccination of the U.S. population won't be a sprint but a marathon. Initially there may be a limited supply of vaccines available, and the focus will be on protecting health workers, other essential employees, and people in vulnerable groups. CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the National Academy of Medicine, and other organizations are working on priorities for the first phase. A second and third phase would expand vaccination to the entire country.

? The vaccine itself will be free of charge, and patients won't be charged out of pocket for the administration of shots, thanks to billions of dollars in taxpayer funding approved by Congress and allocated by the Trump administration.

? States and local communities will need to devise precise plans for receiving and locally distributing vaccines, some of which will require special handling such as refrigeration or freezing. States and cities have a month to submit plans.

Some of the broad components of the federal plan have already been discussed, but Wednesday's reports attempt to put the key details into a comprehensive framework. Distribution is happening under the umbrella of Operation Warp Speed, a White House-backed initiative to have millions of doses ready to ship once a vaccine is given what's expected to be an emergency use approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Several formulations are undergoing final trials.

But the whole enterprise is facing public skepticism. Only about half of Americans said they'd get vaccinated in an Associated Press poll taken in May. Of those who wouldn't get vaccinated, the overwhelming majority said they were worried about safety. To effectively protect the nation from the coronavirus, experts say upwards of 70% of Americans must either be vaccinated or have their own immunity from fighting off COVID-19.

Since the poll, questions have only mounted about whether the government is trying to rush COVID-19 treatments and vaccines to help President Donald Trump's reelection chances.

Before the Republican National Convention in August, the FDA granted authorization for treatment of COVID-19 patients with plasma from people who have recovered, even though some government scientists were not convinced the clinical evidence was sufficiently strong. And last week it was reported that Michael Caputo, a Health and Human Services Department political appointee, tried to gain editorial control over a weekly scientific publication from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As public confidence in core health agencies has taken a beating, Trump administration officials have been forced to play defense.

?We are working closely with our state and local public health partners ... to ensure that Americans can receive the vaccine as soon as possible and vaccinate with confidence,? HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement Wednesday. ?Americans should know that the vaccine development process is being driven completely by science and the data.?

That could be a tough sell. In the AP poll, 1 in 5 Americans said they would not get a coronavirus vaccine, and 31% said they were unsure.

 

[Old School]

Trump Scorns His Own Scientists Over Virus Data
A public scolding of the C.D.C. chief was only the latest but perhaps the starkest instance when the president has rejected not just the policy advice of his public health officials but the facts and information that they provided.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/us/politics/trump-cdc-covid-vaccine.html?searchResultPosition=1

By Peter Baker
Published Sept. 16, 2020
Updated Sept. 17, 2020, 9:19 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON ? President Trump on Wednesday rejected the professional scientific conclusions of his own government about the prospects for a widely available coronavirus vaccine and the effectiveness of masks in curbing the spread of the virus as the death toll in the United States from the disease neared 200,000.

In a remarkable display even for him, Mr. Trump publicly slapped down Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the president promised that a vaccine could be available in weeks and go ?immediately? to the general public while diminishing the usefulness of masks despite evidence to the contrary.

The president?s comments put him at odds with the C.D.C., the world?s premier public health agency, over the course of a pandemic that he keeps insisting is ?rounding the corner? to an end. Mr. Trump lashed out just hours after Dr. Redfield told a Senate committee that a vaccine would not be widely available until the middle of next year and that masks were so vital in fighting the disease caused by the coronavirus, Covid-19, that they may even more important than a vaccine.

?I think he made a mistake when he said that,? Mr. Trump told reporters. ?It?s just incorrect information.? A vaccine would go ?to the general public immediately,? the president insisted, and ?under no circumstance will it be as late as the doctor said.? As for Dr. Redfield?s conclusion that masks may be more useful than a vaccine, Mr. Trump said that ?he made a mistake,? maintaining that a ?vaccine is much more effective than the masks.?

The sharply divergent messages further undercut any effort to forge a coherent response to the virus that the United Nations secretary general on Wednesday called the ?No. 1 global security threat in our world today.? With Mr. Trump saying one thing and his health advisers saying another, many Americans have been left to figure out on their own whom to believe, with past polls showing that they have more faith in the experts than their president.

The public scolding of Dr. Redfield was only the latest but perhaps the starkest instance when the president has rejected not just the policy advice of his public health officials but the facts and information that they provided. Public health officials are in strong agreement about the value of masks even as Mr. Trump generally refuses to wear one, mocks his opponent for doing so and twice in the past two days questioned their utility based on the advice of restaurant waiters.

Likewise, health officials have said that it will be many months before a vaccine can be distributed to the population at large, allowing life to begin returning to a semblance of normal, even as Mr. Trump has promised to approve one in time for the general election on Nov. 3. By Mr. Trump?s own account, he personally called Dr. Redfield after Wednesday?s hearing to challenge his testimony, renewing questions about pressure on scientists who are supposed to be isolated from partisan politics.

But with the election looming, Mr. Trump is intent on convincing the public that the worst is behind the country. He has repeatedly expressed no regret about his handling of the threat, even with the death toll mounting. ?We did a great job except, public relations-wise, my people got outplayed,? he told Greta Van Susteren of Gray Television on Wednesday.

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic presidential nominee, said Mr. Trump?s undisguised fixation on the election calendar in declaring when a vaccine will be available has damaged his own credibility.

?So let me be clear. I trust vaccines. I trust the scientists. But I don?t trust Donald Trump,? Mr. Biden said. ?And at this moment, the American people can?t either.?

The president?s defiance of public health guidelines led to a sour moment on Wednesday with one of the United States? closest allies overseas. Israeli Health Ministry officials watching an Arab-Israeli ceremony this week at the White House on television grew angry at the lack of masks and social distancing, and they ordered Israeli reporters returning from Washington to quarantine. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was spotted at the event without a mask, coughing while talking with the head of Israel?s Mossad spy agency.

A day after the ceremony, which drew together hundreds of people on the South Lawn, a Trump administration official tested at the White House was confirmed positive for the coronavirus. The official, who was not publicly identified, was not present for the ceremony, and authorities began tracing the person?s contacts to try to stop any further spread. ?It?s not anybody that was near me,? Mr. Trump said.

?I think he made a mistake,? President Trump said Wednesday of the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Credit...Erin Scott for The New York Times
The political fallout related to the virus claimed another Trump administration official on Wednesday when Michael R. Caputo, a political ally of the president?s installed at the Department of Health and Human Services, took a leave of absence after a conspiracy-filled rant about federal scientists plotting ?sedition? against Mr. Trump.

At his Senate hearing, Dr. Redfield said vaccines may be available in November or December, but only a ?very limited supply? at first that would go initially to health care workers and the most vulnerable Americans. Such a vaccine, he said, would not be widely distributed until next summer or later, echoing recent comments by Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the government?s top infectious disease specialist.

?If you are asking me when is it going to be generally available to the American public so we can begin to take advantage of vaccine to get back to our regular life, I think we are probably looking at third ? late second quarter, third quarter 2021,? Dr. Redfield told the senators.

He also called masks ?the most important, powerful public health tool we have? in fighting the pandemic, adding that universal use of face coverings could bring the pandemic under control in months. ?I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against Covid than when I take a Covid vaccine,? Dr. Redfield said. Vaccines are not 100 percent effective, whereas masks, worn properly, do what they are designed to do.

Just the night before, during a town hall-style forum with undecided voters in Philadelphia hosted by ABC News, Mr. Trump had denigrated masks, saying that ?there are people that don?t think masks are good.? Asked which people, he cited restaurant waiters who fiddle with their masks and therefore may accidentally spread the virus as they serve food.

Mr. Trump repeated that on Wednesday at his briefing with reporters. ?I see that in restaurants there are people with masks and they?re playing around with their mask and their fingers are in their mask and then they?re serving with plates,? he said. ?I think there?s a lot of problems with masks.? He said that ?the mask perhaps helps? but that it ?is a mixed bag.?

The president has generally refused to wear a mask in public himself, saying it was unnecessary because he is regularly tested for the coronavirus. But he has held numerous rallies and other events in recent days where most of the people were not tested, did not have face coverings and were not kept at a social distance.

As he has on other occasions, Mr. Trump ridiculed Mr. Biden for regularly wearing a mask, saying his opponent did so even when he was distant from other people. ?Joe feels very safe in a mask,? the president said. ?I don?t know, maybe he doesn?t want to expose his face.?

The president?s comments came at a briefing where he again presented a glossy view of the pandemic, displaying charts meant to indicate that it was under control. He framed the crisis through a partisan lens, suggesting that fatalities in states that vote for Democrats should not be counted. ?If you take the blue states deaths out, we are at a level I don?t think anybody in the world would be at,? he said.

As for the vaccine, he offered what experts called a highly unrealistic timetable for distribution. ?We will distribute at least 100 million vaccine doses by the end of 2020,? he said. He insisted it would not be limited at first to high-priority cases, as doctors have said.

?We will start distributing it immediately,? he said. ?To the general public, immediately. When we go we go. We?re not looking to say gee in six months we?re going to start giving it to the general public. No, we want to go immediately. No, it was an incorrect statement.?

After the president?s public dressing down, Dr. Redfield tried to smooth over the rift by recalibrating his own answers from earlier in the day.

?I 100 percent believe in the importance of vaccines and the importance in particular of a Covid-19 vaccine,? he said in a statement. ?A Covid-19 vaccine is the thing that will get Americans back to normal everyday life. The best defense we currently have against this virus are the important mitigation efforts of wearing a mask, washing your hands, social distancing and being careful about crowds.?

His agency issued a separate comment suggesting that Dr. Redfield?s answer on vaccine distribution had been misunderstood.

?In today?s hearing, Dr. Redfield was answering a question he thought was in regard to the time period in which all Americans would have completed their Covid vaccination, and his estimate was by the second or third quarter of 2021,? the statement said. ?He was not referring to the time period when Covid-19 vaccine doses would be made available to all Americans.?

But in fact, Dr. Redfield?s initial answer mirrored comments by other officials. Just last week, the C.D.C. told public health agencies that two million doses of a vaccine may be available by the end of October, with 10 to 20 million doses possibly available by November, and 20 to 30 million by the end of December, a fraction of the 100 million Mr. Trump promised.

?We may have enough vaccine by the end of the year to immunize probably, I would say, between 20 and 25 million people,? Moncef Slaoui, the top scientist on Operation Warp Speed, told NPR this month. ?And then we will ramp up the manufacturing of vaccine doses to be able to, based on our plans, have enough vaccine to immunize the U.S. population by the middle of 2021.?

Reporting was contributed by Michael Crowley and Noah Weiland from Washington, Maggie Haberman from New York, and David Halbfinger from Jerusalem.