News for June 17

WSJ: More details on UK dexamethasone study: https://www.wsj.com/articles/dexamethasone-improves-survival-in-severe-covid-19-patients-study-finds-11592317739?mod=djemHL_t . The study is relatively large (6,425 patients) but details are inadequate until a fuller description is published. I’m sticking with “hopeful” until we know more.

More dark days for Florida: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/16/878932911/florida-officials-spar-over-rising-covid-19-cases . Feels like arranging deck chairs on the Titanic – although 1,500 died on the Titanic and Florida already has over 3,000 COVID-19 deaths.

And there is human error even in successful systems: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/17/new-zealand-brings-in-military-after-covid-19-quarantine-fiasco .

Here is group of 4 articles; the responses contain interesting data presentations, especially the Daily Mail, and the links in the Vox article are also worth a look (in particular, click on “the COVID-19 pandemic” link in the second paragraph, and then go to the Dylan Matthews article on re-opening – very informative 5 point economic analysis):

WSJ: Mike Pence: https://www.wsj.com/articles/there-isnt-a-coronavirus-second-wave-11592327890 .

The media responds (1): https://www.poynter.org/newsletters/2020/mike-pences-op-ed-in-the-wall-street-journal-takes-aim-at-two-enemies-coronavirus-and-the-media/ .

The media responds (2): https://www.vox.com/2020/6/17/21294392/covid-19-coronavirus-us-cases-mike-pence-wsj .

The media responds (3) (the UK): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8428951/Mike-Pence-doubles-claiming-NO-second-wave-coronavirus.html .