Public Health Policy and COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has created multiple policy challenges for countries across the globe, but first and foremost, it has created a multidimensional public health policy challenge that has evolved on a continuing basis since the virus first surfaced in late 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created multiple policy challenges for countries across the globe, but first and foremost, it has created a multidimensional public health policy challenge that has evolved on a continuing basis since the virus first surfaced in late 2019. The fact that states within the US have responded differently in their policy regimen has not only complicated the public health challenge but also created opportunities to take a comparative perspective on the relative efficacy of the different responses across the states.

This site includes articles and news describing these public health policy responses and commentaries from the Claude Pepper staff on the impact of these responses on COVID-19 infection and mortality rates across the states.

Reports

• IZA DP No. 13670: The Contagion Externality of a Superspreading Event: The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and COVID-19 (IZA Institute of Labor Economics)

Important Links

• First known patient reinfected with South Africa coronavirus variant is in critical condition (The Washington Post)
• Biden to use Defense Production Act for gloves, COVID-19 vaccines (Roll Call)
• The Pandemic Is Heading Toward a Strange In-Between Time (The Atlantic)
• Covid-19 hospitalizations drop, but January has been the deadliest month of the pandemic. Here’s what to expect next (CNN)
• The Health 202: How bad are these coronavirus variants? Here’s what experts say (The Washington Post)
• New coronavirus variants call for intensified surveillance, control, and vaccination efforts (STAT)
• Can the US Keep Covid Variants in Check? Here’s What It Takes (KHN)
• A year into the Covid crisis, scientists explain what we learned — and what we got wrong (CNBC)
• ‘Wartime effort’: Biden signs orders to fight the pandemic (Politico)
• Biden releases national COVID strategy, will order agencies to use Defense Production Act (The Hill)
• The Health 202: Here are six key ways Biden is promising to fight the coronavirus pandemic (The Washington Post)
• New virus variant may not be stopped by current vaccines, as American lifespans drop by 1.1 years (Daily KOS)
• Covid-19 deaths are the highest they’ve ever been — and the more infectious variants could make things much worse (STAT)
• 5 Reasons to Wear a Mask Even After You’re Vaccinated (KHN)
• Cuomo pitches rapid testing to open restaurants, theaters (AP News)
• Releasing more vaccines for first doses could create more problems than it solves (The Washington Post)
• With the coronavirus mutating and vaccinations behind schedule, here’s what we must do now (USA Today)
• Covid-19 ‘not necessarily the big one,’ WHO warns (The Washington Post)
• ‘Empowered by knowledge’: Abbott’s rapid home test costs $25, delivers results in minutes (USA Today)
• U.S. Surpasses 3,600 Daily Coronavirus Deaths, Breaks Prior Hospitalization Record (npr)
• Fauci warns people not to drop normal ‘public health measures’ as vaccinations begin (The Hill)
• Pandemic Backlash Jeopardizes Public Health Powers, Leaders (KHN)
• A Revamped Strategic National Stockpile Still Can’t Match The Pandemic’s Latest Surge (npr)
• Schools close for millions of kids as teachers get sick and COVID-19 cases surge: Some districts are holding out (USA Today)
• When Will We Throw Our Masks Away? I Asked Dr. Fauci (The New York Times)
• Most Coronavirus Transmission Happens at Indoor Restaurants, Cafes, Gyms: Study (KQED)
• Take It From an Expert: Fauci’s Hierarchy of Safety During COVID (KHN)
• FDA allows 1st rapid virus test that gives results at home (AP News)
• Government-Funded Scientists Laid the Groundwork for Billion-Dollar Vaccines (KHN)
• Navy Research Confirms Need for Strict Coronavirus Testing Protocols (The New York Times)
• Why experts say we need to stop talking about herd immunity (NBC News)
• North Dakota nurses call for mask mandate, reject policy allowing COVID-19-positive workers to stay on job (The Hill)
• CDC now says masks protect both the wearers and those around them from Covid-19 (CNN)
• Don’t Get Too Excited About the Coronavirus Vaccine (The New York Times)
• Coronavirus hospitalizations in US reach an all-time high with more than 60,000 (CNN)
• New York’s block-by-block lockdowns are curbing covid-19. But residents aren’t pleased. (The Washington Post)
• Teleworking may drop coronavirus infection rates by nearly 50%, CDC finds (Fox News)
• Biden’s approach to tackling COVID-19 will be dramatically different, and quickly apparent (USA Today)
• ‘They’re not really doing anything’: As Covid-19 cases spiral, leaders around the U.S. lose urgency on prevention (STAT)
• Public officials: Heed the will of the people in the ‘middle hour’ of the coronavirus crisis (STAT)
• Internal memo shows Birx contradicting Trump on pandemic: This is ‘most deadly phase’ yet (The Hill)
• A Rapid Virus Test Falters in People Without Symptoms, Study Finds (The New York Times)
• US coronavirus cases surpass 9 million driven by ‘silent epidemic’ of asymptomatic infections (CNN)
• Historic vaccine race meets harsh reality (Politico)
• Herd immunity and COVID-19: Experts warn against letting ‘things rip’ (Detroit Free Press)
• Large UK Study Delivers Big Blow to Covid Herd Immunity Thesis, Raises Concerns About Vaccine Strategies (naked capitalism)
• Universal mask use could save 130,000 U.S. lives by the end of February, new study estimates (STAT)
• The US is close to having ‘exponential spread’ in some areas, and the hardest part may still be ahead, former FDA official says (CNN)
• Suicide rates during the pandemic remained unchanged. Here’s what we can learn from that. (The Washington Post)
• The Health 202: Emergency approval for a coronavirus vaccine could undermine efforts to keep researching it (The Washington Post)
• DC debuts smartphone-based COVID-19 exposure alert system (AP News)
• COVID doctor: Herd immunity rests on naive and faulty logic. In practice, people will die. (USA Today)
• We cannot rely on magical thinking: Herd immunity is not a plan (STAT)
• Regarding using a public bathroom in the middle of a pandemic (The Washington Post)
• No, the WHO Didn’t Change Its Lockdown Stance or ‘Admit’ Trump Was Right (KHN)
• Japan supercomputer shows humidity affects aerosol spread of coronavirus (Reuters)
• Americans Are Dying In The Pandemic At Rates Far Higher Than In Other Countries (npr)
• CDC optimistic coronavirus vaccines will be released by end of the year (CNN)
• Dr. Fauci says U.S. faces ‘a whole lot of trouble’ as coronavirus cases rise heading into winter (CNBC)
• Coronavirus can last 28 days on glass and currency, study finds (Reuters)
• Face masks: what the data say (nature)
• Months into pandemic, PPE shortage persists (AJC)
• OSHA eases reporting requirements on worker infections (AJC)
• Against Covid-19, Imperfect Measures Do the Most Good (The New York Times)
• Covid-19 could kill 2,900 Americans a day in December, researchers say. Here’s why, and how you can make fall and winter better (CNN)
• 5 Things to Know About a COVID Vaccine: It Won’t Be a ‘Magic Wand’ (KHN)
• Testing Was Not Enough to Protect the White House (The New York Times)
• CDC slowing pace on releasing new coronavirus health guidance (ABC News)
• We run Cornell. Here’s how we’ve kept low covid-19 rates on campus. (The Washington Post)
• When Young People Get COVID-19, Infections Soon Rise Among Older Adults (NPR)
• What We Know About the Airborne Spread of the Coronavirus (KHN)
• Corralling the Facts on Herd Immunity (KHN)
• How to fix public health weaknesses before the next pandemic hits (The Washington Post)
• Viruses Don’t Just ‘Go Away.’ The Toll of Reaching Herd Immunity Without a COVID-19 Vaccine (Healthline)
• We can’t tackle the pandemic without figuring out which Covid-19 vaccines work the best (STAT)
• Covid-19 vaccinations could start in November or December, Fauci says (CNN)
• Coronavirus transmission heightens concerns surrounding ventilation in schools (ABC News)
• How To Know When You Can Trust A COVID-19 Vaccine (FiveThiryEight)
• ‘Most’ Americans likely vulnerable to coronavirus infection, CDC director says (Fox News)
• Trump attacks FDA plan for tougher standards on emergency vaccine approval as a ‘political move’ (The Washington Post)
• Massive genetic study shows coronavirus mutating and potentially evolving amid rapid U.S. spread (The Washington Post)
• Colleges Are Making the Coronavirus Crisis Worse (Bloomberg) 
• COVID-19 death toll: 200,000 souls are asking their fellow Americans why (USA Today) 
• With Limited COVID-19 Vaccine Doses, Who Would Get Them First? (npr)
• US sets record with 1M coronavirus tests conducted, well short of what experts say is needed (The Hill) 
• CDC reverses course on testing for asymptomatic people who had Covid-19 contact (Politico) 
• Best bet to beat COVID-19 this fall? Flu shots (ABC News) 
• Study: Kids infected at day care spread coronavirus at home (AP News) 
• CDC report: Dining out increases risk of contracting coronavirus more than other activities (The Hill) 
• Fauci warns US needs to ‘hunker down’ for fall, winter: ‘It’s not going to be easy’ (The Hill) 
• Severity of coronavirus infection may be determined by face mask use, study suggests (Fox News) 
• Parents and other caregivers are more stressed and in poorer health due to pandemic, report finds (CNN) 
• How the Aging Immune System Makes Older People Vulnerable to Covid-19 (The New York Times) 
• As COVID-19 continues, experts warn of next pandemic likely to come from animals (ABC News) 
• Fauci: Daily COVID-19 cases need to drop by at least 30K for safe flu season (NBC News) 
• CDC official affirms coronavirus deaths really are coronavirus deaths (CNN) 
• U.S. advisory group lays out detailed recommendations on how to prioritize Covid-19 vaccine (STAT) 
• Health Officials Worry Nation’s Not Ready for COVID-19 Vaccine (KHN)
• It’s time to talk about how toilets may be spreading covid-19 (The Washington Post) 
• Past vaccine disasters show why rushing a coronavirus vaccine now would be ‘colossally stupid’ (CNN) 
• Health agencies’ credibility at risk after week of blunders (AP News) 
• Poll: Most Americans believe the Covid-19 vaccine approval process is driven by politics, not science (STAT) 
• New Trump pandemic adviser pushes controversial ‘herd immunity’ strategy, worrying public health officials (The Washington Post) 
• Six feet may not be enough to protect against coronavirus, experts warn (The Washington Post) 
• COVID-19 Is Transmitted Through Aerosols. We Have Enough Evidence, Now It Is Time to Act (Time) 
• Household transmission of COVID-19-a systematic review and meta-analysis (Journal of Infection) 
• ‘This change in policy will kill’: Experts troubled by CDC changes to COVID-19 testing guidelines (USA Today) 
• Americans aren’t listening to coronavirus warnings because the messaging is wrong (STAT) 
• Why Are Coronavirus Cases Decreasing? Experts Say Restrictions Are Working (The New York Times) 
• They Pledged to Donate Rights to Their COVID Vaccine, Then Sold Them to Pharma (KHN) 
• Risk for Severe COVID-19 Illness Among Teachers and Adults Living With School-Aged Children (ACP Journals) 
• About 70,000 lives could be saved in near future if people wear masks: researchers (The Hill) 
• Infections acquired in health facilities are a big problem. National reporting can help fix it (STAT) 
• Masks in public restrooms? Urinals may shoot ‘plumes’ of inhalable coronavirus particles into the air (USA Today) 
• Over 67 Million Americans Lack Access to COVID-19 Testing: Where Are These ‘Testing Deserts’? (Good Rx) 
• Science shows coronavirus can survive on plastic, metal surfaces, but does it matter? (ABC News) 
• In the shadow of Covid-19, silent killers re-emerge (CNN) 
• COVID Testing Choke Points (KHN) 
• Is Your State Doing Enough Coronavirus Testing? (The New York Times)
• Health providers’ scramble for staff and supplies reveals sharp disparities (Politico) 
• New saliva-based Covid-19 test could be a fast and cheap ‘game changer’ (CNN) 
• Birx says she wishes US lockdown had resembled the one in Italy (CNN) 
• The Plan That Could Give Us Our Lives Back (The Atlantic) 
• COVID Data Failures Create Pressure for Public Health System Overhaul (KHN) 
• Rushing reopening could have devastating consequences, Dr. Fauci says (CNN) 
• Children and the virus: As schools reopen, much remains unknown about the risk to kids and the peril they pose to others (The Washington Post) 
• Coronavirus may spread much farther than 6 feet in indoor spaces with poor ventilation (CBS News) 
• Winter is coming: Why America’s window of opportunity to beat back Covid-19 is closing (STAT) 
• Researchers created a test to determine which masks are the least effective (CNN) 
• Forty percent of people with coronavirus infections have no symptoms. Might they be the key to ending the pandemic? (The Washington Post)
• Pressure mounts on FDA chief to stick with science for Covid-19 vaccine approvals (STAT) 
• Kansas counties with mask mandate show steep COVID-19 drop (AP News) 
• America’s Obesity Epidemic Threatens Effectiveness of Any COVID Vaccine (KHN) 
• When Covid Subsided, Israel Reopened Its Schools. It Didn’t Go Well. (The New York Times) 
• Ventilation systems can change spread of potential viral particles indoors: Study (ABC News) 
• Young people are infecting older family members in shared homes (The Washington Post) 
• School closures in spring linked to drastic decrease in Covid-19 cases and deaths (STAT) 
• As pandemic rages, PPE supply remains a problem (CIDRAP) 
• Get the Data: Hollowed-Out Public Health System Faces More Cuts Amid Virus (KHN) 
• Pandemic Is Overwhelming U.S. Public Health Capacity In Many States. What Now? (npr) 
• The Health 202: Americans from both parties favor government mask mandates, poll shows (The Washington Post) 
• Missouri study finds masks likely prevented stylists from passing on coronavirus to 139 clients (The Hill) 
• How planning and early action helped San Francisco’s Chinatown control coronavirus (PBS) 
• U.S. must spend $75 billion to fix flawed Covid-19 testing, report says (STAT) 
• Why We’re Losing the Battle With Covid-19 (The New York Times) 
• What is airborne transmission? WHO adds guidance on ‘aerosols’ in coronavirus spread (NBC News) 
• Airborne Coronavirus: What You Should Do Now (The New York Times) 
• Fauci warns against ‘false complacency’ as Trump touts falling coronavirus death rate (CNN) 
• 239 Experts With One Big Claim: The Coronavirus Is Airborne (The New York Times) 
• 89% of Americans wear masks in public as the coronavirus pandemic persists: POLL (ABC News) 
• How the Virus Won (The New York Times) 
• Social Isolation And Health (health affairs) 
• With the Federal Health Megaphone Silent, States Struggle With a Shifting Pandemic (The New York Times) 
• As States Reopen, Do They Have The Workforce They Need To Stop Coronavirus Outbreaks? (npr) 
• Contact tracing is ‘best’ tool we have until there’s a vaccine, health experts say (The Washington Post) 
• Masks now seen as vital tool in coronavirus fight (The Hill) 
• The Health 202: U.S. isn’t ready for the contact tracing it needs to stem the coronavirus (The Washington Post) 

Vaccines

• Gottlieb: Vaccines probably going to be about 20 percent less effective against some strains (The Hill)
• The Coronavirus Is a Master of Mixing Its Genome, Worrying Scientists (The New York Times)
• Comparing the Covid-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson (STAT)
• There’s no need to delay second dose of Covid-19 vaccine so more can get the first, Fauci says (CNN)
• Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine is 66% effective in global trial, but 85% effective against severe disease, company says (CNN)
• Here are 7 of the biggest coronavirus vaccine myths busted by experts (CNBC)
• States’ new vaccine worry: Not enough doses (Politico)
• Emerging Coronavirus Variants May Pose Challenges to Vaccines (The New York Times)
• What to Know About Post-Vaccine Deaths and Allergies (Bloomberg)
• Biden plans for $20 billion mass vaccination campaign (The Hill)
• Vaccination Disarray Leaves Seniors Confused About When They Can Get a Shot (KHN)
• The Capitol outbreak shows one vaccine dose may not fully shield against the coronavirus (VOX)
• U.S. plan to expand access to Covid-19 vaccine likely sets up new debacles (STAT)
• Decades of basic research paved the way for today’s ‘warp speed’ Covid-19 vaccines (STAT)
• Testing positive for coronavirus after getting a vaccine? Here’s how likely that is and what to know if it happens (USA Today)
• What You Can Do Post-Vaccine, and When (The New York Times)
• How Science Beat the Virus (The Atlantic)
• Older People, Some Essential Workers Should Get Vaccines Next, CDC Panel Says (npr)
• How the COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer compare head to head (LA Times)
• With Vaccine Delivery Imminent, Nursing Homes Must Make a Strong Pitch to Residents (KHN)
• U.S. expects to have immunized 100 million against COVID-19 by end of March -Slaoui (Reuters)
• The Next 6 Months Will Be Vaccine Purgatory (The Atlantic)
• Yes, there’s a vaccine, but not enough to go around (CNN)
• AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine shows promise in elderly, trial results by Christmas (Reuters)
• GAO highlights COVID vaccine supply chain, drug transparency issues (CIDRAP)
• Pfizer and BioNTech to submit Covid-19 vaccine data to FDA as full results show 95% efficacy (STAT)
• The Health 202: Emergency approval for a coronavirus vaccine could undermine efforts to keep researching it (The Washington Post)
• Against Covid-19, Imperfect Measures Do the Most Good (The New York Times)
• We can’t tackle the pandemic without figuring out which Covid-19 vaccines work the best (STAT)
• How To Know When You Can Trust A COVID-19 Vaccine (538)

More Links

• ‘You are not listening’: Fauci scolds Sen. Rand Paul for misconstruing New York’s coronavirus battle (New York Daily News)
• The Health 202: Getting a coronavirus vaccine approved before Election Day will be impossible (The Washington Post)
• The fall opening of colleges: Upheaval, pandemic weirdness and a fragile stability (The Washington Post)
• C.D.C. Testing Guidance Was Published Against Scientists’ Objections (The New York Times)
• Students’ Mass Migration Back to College Gets a Failing Grade (KHN)
• Is your State Doing Enough Coronavirus Testing? (The New York Times)
• Top Adviser To Operation Warp Speed Calls An October Vaccine ‘Extremely Unlikely’ (NPR)
• Fauci: Daily COVID-19 cases need to drop by at least 30K for safe flu season (NBC News) 
• It Has Come to This: Ignore the C.D.C. (The New York Times)
• Paradise lost: How Hawaii went from Covid-19 star to cautionary tale (Politico)
• Revved by Sturgis Rally, COVID-19 infections move fast, far (AP News)
• Why Pooled Testing for the Coronavirus Isn’t Working in America (The New York Times)
• School reopenings with COVID-19 offer preview of chaotic fall (The Hill)
• More than 2,000 students, teachers and staff quarantined in several schools (CNN)
• The Costs of Trump’s Debacle on COVID Testing (The American Prospect)
• Ventilation should be part of the conversation on school reopening. Why isn’t it? (STAT)
• Time to get serious about COVID-19 testing (USA Today)
• Testing Is on the Brink of Paralysis. That’s Very Bad News. (The New York Times)
• After Asking Americans to Sacrifice in Shutdown, Leaders Failed to Control Virus (The New York Times)
• Explainer: The coronavirus risks of everyday activities as economies reopen (Reuters)

Even more links

• Pandemic requires partnerships like never before (The Hill)
• The Summer of COVID-19 ends with health officials worried (AP News)
• Colleges ask students to leave campus amid COVID-19 outbreaks, but experts advise the opposite (ABC News)
• Yet more data support COVID-19 aerosol transmission (CIDRAP)
• Trump officials pressured CDC to change virus testing guidelines (Politico)
• C.D.C. Changes Testing Guidance to Exclude People Without Covid-19 Symptoms, Worrying Experts (The New York Times)
• Why Antibody Tests Won’t Help You Much (The New York Times)
• We can make air travel safer with a TSA Public Health Corps staff (The Hill)
• What if ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Closer Than Scientists Thought? (The New York Times)
• Coronavirus Cases Are Surging. The Contact Tracing Workforce Is Not (npr)
• ‘It’s Like Groundhog Day’: Coronavirus Testing Labs Again Lack Key Supplies (The New York Times)
• Masks offer much more protection against coronavirus than many think (LA Times)
• COVID-19 antibodies may fade in as little as 2 months, study says (ABC News)
• Spate of new research supports wearing masks to control coronavirus spread (The Washington Post)

Image courtesy of Getty Images / Win McNamee