Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
When It Comes To Coronavirus, The U.S. Leads The World ... But Not In A Good Way
The United States is leading the world in the number of COVID-19 deaths and cases, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that doesn't mean the U.S. isn't also leading the world's response. During a press conference Wednesday, he defended America's role in the world amid the global shock at what many see as the botched U.S. response to the pandemic and President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization. (Finnegan, 7/8)
The United States is falling further behind the rest of the world in fighting the coronavirus as cases set new domestic records. New daily cases in the U.S. have spiked to a high of around 50,000, a glaring contrast with the European Union, where new case growth has largely been flattened and suppressed. (Sullivan, 7/8)
Five months into a still-raging pandemic that has killed more than 130,000 Americans, the long-simmering tensions between President Donald Trump and the health experts who staff his government have escalated from private griping to shrugging disagreement to now open dispute. The result, people at those agencies say, is a new sense of demoralization as they continue their attempts to fight a once-in-a-generation health crisis while simultaneously navigating the whims of a President who has shown little interest or understanding of their work. (Liptak and Valencia, 7/8)
With the summer months shaping up to be full of harrowing Covid-19 milestones, the fall could look a lot like March and April if the US doesn't "get our arms" around this pandemic, a top infectious disease expert warns. Already, records for daily cases are being set, ICUs are reaching capacity and most states are seeing spikes again, recalling the fear and uncertainty of earlier this year when the virus first broke out in the country. (Holcombe, 7/9)
