CDC messages to public slowed by extensive reviews: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/09/21/breaking-news/cdc-removes-guidance-about-airborne-coronavirus-spread-from-website/ (link replaced 5/25/21). Yet another in an ongoing series of examples demonstrating that politics should be kept out of public health.
Global Preparedness Monitoring Board annual report: https://apps.who.int/gpmb/annual_report.html . The report focuses on the global pandemic. It is titled “The World in Disorder”. It argues that the world could be prepared for the next pandemic by spending $40 billion ($5 per head). This compares to the $11 trillion plus world governments have already spent on this pandemic.
WSJ: Russia to sell vaccine internationally: https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-strikes-deals-to-sell-its-coronavirus-vaccine-internationally-11600610554 .
WSJ: More on vaccine safety from Dr. Scott Gottlieb: https://www.wsj.com/articles/you-can-trust-the-fdas-vaccine-process-11600633351 .
Focus on minority enrollment in vaccine trials: https://apnews.com/b31d556907b671cdc15ab6024aaa6d87 .
WSJ: The role of vaccines in herd immunity: https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-vaccines-are-essential-to-herd-immunity-11600594200 .
WSJ: The mathematics of herd immunity: https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-it-would-take-for-herd-immunity-to-stop-the-coronavirus-pandemic-11600594201 .
Will coronavirus become seasonal?: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.567184/full . This article appears to be little more than speculation. To see this, read the conclusion. The authors’ main argument is that R0 will drop as herd immunity is reached (I mostly agree, except for mutations) and with reduced R0, the virus could show seasonal variation. Their main argument here is that other respiratory viruses show seasonality, although they admit that COVID-19 has not shown seasonality so far. My conclusion is that there is still no evidence of COVID-19 seasonality.
WSJ: NY lawmakers seek nursing home COVID-19 review: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-lawmakers-seek-independent-probe-of-nursing-home-coronavirus-deaths-11600642800 .
WSJ: Global round-up: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-latest-news-09-20-2020-11600590485 .
WSJ: Coronavirus’ economic effect on middle class: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-unemployment-debt-middle-class-family-finances-11600122791 .
WSJ: Pandemic magnifies racial disparity in home ownership: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-pandemic-threatens-to-widen-racial-homeownership-gap-11600614000 .
California pauses unemployment benefits for 2 weeks to address backlog: https://apnews.com/9a4d2b9018f04fcb173cbde082486b75 .
WSJ: Freshman college experience “definitely weird”: https://www.wsj.com/articles/college-university-freshman-campus-life-covid-11600624951 .
WSJ: Legislative agenda in further jeopardy: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-aid-talks-spending-bill-buffetedbysupreme-court-fight-11600612071 .
Gruesome predictions for the international travel industry and for the US restaurant industry: https://www.heremagazine.com/articles/travel-industry-covid-impact . Global job losses are projected at 25 million aviation jobs (IATA) and 100 million tourism jobs (WTTC). A New Orleans restaurateur says, “This is likely to change the face of restaurants in America forever … A lot of restaurants are not coming back.” He was speaking in late June, with the US death toll at 125,000. The end of unemployment relief in late July and the continued inability in the US to control the virus has made this situation much worse. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/travel-cfos-hesitant-on-forecasts-as-pandemic-fogs-outlook-11600606800 .
WSJ: International trade rebounds: https://www.wsj.com/articles/globaltradereturns-faster-than-expected-11600594200 .
WSJ: CEOs enter new deals as pandemic continues: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ceos-start-to-place-big-bets-as-pandemic-grinds-on-11600599601 .
WSJ: European banks focus on mergers: https://www.wsj.com/articles/european-banks-consider-mergers-for-survival-11600596001 .
WSJ: California federal judge halts WeChat ban: https://www.wsj.com/articles/wechat-ban-is-blocked-by-federal-judge-in-ruling-against-trump-administration-11600609504 .
WSJ: TikTok deal issues remain: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktok-deal-faces-questions-over-security-ownership-11600625447 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-has-reasons-to-like-tiktoks-trump-approved-shotgun-deal-11600619498 .
Increased movement restriction in Spain as virus spikes: https://apnews.com/932f8a9a3b640db0e9a1f078a94bf6f4 .
WSJ: Israel’s second lockdown: https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-enforces-new-covid-19-lockdown-amid-rosh-hashana-celebrations-11600620869 .
Meanwhile, Israelis demonstrate against Netanyahu: https://apnews.com/4580695848165375f41edab52ed77862 .
WSJ: Democrats press Biden to expand Supreme Court: https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-faces-growing-democratic-calls-to-expand-supreme-court-11600641858 . Biden needs to win the election and the Senate needs to vote to confirm a Trump nominee before this discussion is meaningful. The Biden campaign is smart to focus on de-escalation.
Update on Supreme Court nomination: Lisa Murkowski has now come out against voting on a Court nominee before the election: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/lisa-murkowski-becomes-2nd-gop-senator-oppose-pre-election-supreme-n1240572 . This does not rule out voting for a Trump nominee in a lame duck session after Election Day. Susan Collins faces more pressure in Maine: https://www.wsj.com/articles/another-supreme-court-vacancy-puts-re-election-squeeze-on-sen-susan-collins-11600608125 .
Second update on Supreme Court nomination: Amy Coney Barrett remains the frontrunner (in my view): https://www.wsj.com/articles/amy-coney-barrett-is-again-a-top-contender-for-supreme-court-nomination-11600644990 . Supporters of Barbara Lagoa are focusing on her Cuban-American heritage and lifelong Florida residency: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Lagoa . Trump must win Florida to have a realistic path to re-election and has recently focused on the Cuban-American vote in that state. Lagoa may be chosen if she is deemed to help Trump’s re-election. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-to-nominate-woman-to-high-court-this-week-11600616482 . WSJ: Still more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-q-a-how-trump-plans-to-fill-ruth-bader-ginsburgs-seat-11600626742 . WSJ: And still more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-supreme-court-list-potential-candidates-for-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburgs-seat-11600536830 .
WSJ: Latino support for Trump similar to 2016: https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-leads-trump-among-latino-voters-poll-shows-11600641000 . The Latino vote is not monolithic, and in particular Cuban-Americans tend to be more conservative than other Latinos.
WSJ: Biden has significant cash-on-hand advantage over Trump: https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-ended-august-with-141-million-more-in-cash-than-trump-11600653744 . If you live in a swing state, you may be unlikely to see an ad in October that is not a political ad. Trump has spent a huge sum on advertising so far (at least $830 million), with almost no movement in the polls. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-reelection-campaign-830-million-before-labor-day/ . Spending may shift toward Senate races.