Profound racial injustice continues to plague the U.S. — via policing and via pandemic
Before we get into the health policy nitty-gritty, let’s acknowledge the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed last week after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes. The resulting protests, some of which turned violent thanks to escalations from both police and participants, come amid a pandemic that has already claimed over 105,000 American lives, and have already sparked fears of a new spike in coronavirus cases. Exacerbating those fears: aggressive police use of tear gas and pepper spray, which cause coughing and sneezing — both reliable ways of transmitting Covid-19.
Remember the bigger picture, too. In 32 states and D.C., Black people are dying of Covid-19 at a higher rate than their share of the population. Latinos are also testing positive at disproportionate rates, and death statistics for Native Americans are similarly grim. As we follow the protests and anguish surrounding Floyd’s death and a long string of others like it, it’s worth remembering the similarly deep inequality our country faces when it comes to health care.
The hydroxychloroquine campaign
Republicans in at least four congressional races are facing tough questions about their promotion of hydroxychloroquine, the antimalarial drug that President Trump and other political figures enthusiastically touted as a Covid-19 treatment — but that evidence now shows, fairly conclusively, is not effective.
In Iowa, Democrats are attacking state health commissioner Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who is an ophthalmologist, for promoting hydroxychloroquine in a since-deleted tweet as she campaigns to unseat Rep. Dave Loebsack, a Democrat. She also tweeted, then deleted, a call for “herd immunity,” which would require a large majority of Americans to contract Covid-19. Democratic groups are also going after Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) for promoting the drug’s use. He’s also getting flack for accepting a $500 campaign contribution from Joe Pizza (yes, that’s his name), an executive for a company that sells hydroxychloroquine sulfate, after he switched his party affiliation in December.
But attacks from House Democrats’ campaign arm show that even if the issue is settled medically, it might still be a big deal politically. Of course, pollsters are mixed — while some see hydroxychloroquine enthusiasm as a bit damning for some Republican candidates, others are skeptical voters will even remember the issue come November. Read more here.
In Iowa, Democrats are attacking state health commissioner Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who is an ophthalmologist, for promoting hydroxychloroquine in a since-deleted tweet as she campaigns to unseat Rep. Dave Loebsack, a Democrat. She also tweeted, then deleted, a call for “herd immunity,” which would require a large majority of Americans to contract Covid-19. Democratic groups are also going after Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) for promoting the drug’s use. He’s also getting flack for accepting a $500 campaign contribution from Joe Pizza (yes, that’s his name), an executive for a company that sells hydroxychloroquine sulfate, after he switched his party affiliation in December.
But attacks from House Democrats’ campaign arm show that even if the issue is settled medically, it might still be a big deal politically. Of course, pollsters are mixed — while some see hydroxychloroquine enthusiasm as a bit damning for some Republican candidates, others are skeptical voters will even remember the issue come November. Read more here.
Can Trump withdraw from the World Health Organization without Congress?
The president’s Friday announcement that the U.S. would withdraw from the World Health Organization drew swift criticism from public health groups, from Sen. Lamar Alexander, a key Republican lawmaker, and even from prominent Trump-world figures like former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb.
But it’s not clear whether the president even has the authority to unilaterally withdraw from the WHO. Lawrence Gostin, a prominent global health law expert, has suggested that it’s legally murky. And last week Jean Galbraith, a University of Pennsylvania foreign relations law expert, dug up the 1948 resolution through which the U.S. joined the WHO. She argues it requires both one year’s notice and the full payment of all financial obligations through that period. Based on Trump’s rhetoric, it seems unlikely he has any interest in satisfying either of those conditions.
But it’s not clear whether the president even has the authority to unilaterally withdraw from the WHO. Lawrence Gostin, a prominent global health law expert, has suggested that it’s legally murky. And last week Jean Galbraith, a University of Pennsylvania foreign relations law expert, dug up the 1948 resolution through which the U.S. joined the WHO. She argues it requires both one year’s notice and the full payment of all financial obligations through that period. Based on Trump’s rhetoric, it seems unlikely he has any interest in satisfying either of those conditions.
Hidden in Trump’s WHO announcement: A research bombshell
As he announced the forthcoming American withdrawal from W.H.O., the president included another cryptic proclamation: the U.S. would also, in his words, “better secure our nation’s vital university research.” The New York Times elucidated: The U.S. will soon expel thousands of Chinese researchers affiliated with the country’s ruling communist party.
The move has the potential to dramatically upend biomedical research in the U.S., which has long welcomed a large population of Chinese scientists to work in American labs. But it also follows years of investigations surrounding potential intellectual property theft on the part of Chinese scientists conducting research at U.S. universities, which have focused in particular on China’s controversial Thousand Talents Program.
While safeguarding U.S. intellectual property isn’t controversial in of itself, the effort has already resulted in widespread allegations of racial profiling among researchers across the country, directed mainly at both Chinese researchers and American researchers of Chinese descent.
Some lawmakers also want to go dramatically further: A trio of Republicans last week introduced a bill that would prohibit granting visas to all Chinese researchers pursuing any postgraduate study, in any STEM fields, at any American university.
The move has the potential to dramatically upend biomedical research in the U.S., which has long welcomed a large population of Chinese scientists to work in American labs. But it also follows years of investigations surrounding potential intellectual property theft on the part of Chinese scientists conducting research at U.S. universities, which have focused in particular on China’s controversial Thousand Talents Program.
While safeguarding U.S. intellectual property isn’t controversial in of itself, the effort has already resulted in widespread allegations of racial profiling among researchers across the country, directed mainly at both Chinese researchers and American researchers of Chinese descent.
Some lawmakers also want to go dramatically further: A trio of Republicans last week introduced a bill that would prohibit granting visas to all Chinese researchers pursuing any postgraduate study, in any STEM fields, at any American university.
Will Americans even take a Covid-19 vaccine, anyway?
Drug companies and government researchers across the world are working at breakneck pace to test and manufacture Covid-19 vaccine candidates — a herculean effort that, if successful, would shatter traditional views about how long vaccine development takes. But an AP-NORC poll last week revealed a slight hiccup: Only 49% of Americans currently plan to take the vaccine.
The venture capitalist Luciana Borio and Gottlieb, the former FDA commissioner, wrote Sunday in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that scientists can’t cut corners for precisely that reason: A vaccine will only be effective if people take it. And for Americans to take it, they need to trust that it works. And to make things even more speculative, just for fun, some legal experts are already pondering about the constitutionality of a law that would compel Americans to take a Covid-19 vaccine in the interest of public health.
The venture capitalist Luciana Borio and Gottlieb, the former FDA commissioner, wrote Sunday in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that scientists can’t cut corners for precisely that reason: A vaccine will only be effective if people take it. And for Americans to take it, they need to trust that it works. And to make things even more speculative, just for fun, some legal experts are already pondering about the constitutionality of a law that would compel Americans to take a Covid-19 vaccine in the interest of public health.
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