he good news: The United States has a window of opportunity to beat back Covid-19 before things get much, much worse.The bad news: That window is rapidly closing. And the country seems unwilling or unable to seize the moment.Winter is coming. Winter means cold and flu season, which is all but sure to complicate the task of figuring out who is sick with Covid-19 and who is suffering from a less threatening respiratory tract infection. It also means that cherished outdoor freedoms that link us to pre-Covid life — pop-up restaurant patios, picnics in parks, trips to the beach — will soon be...…he good news: The United States has a window of opportunity to beat back Covid-19 before things get much, much worse.The bad news: That window is rapidly closing. And the country seems unwilling or unable to seize the moment.Winter is coming. Winter means cold and flu season, which is all but sure to complicate the task of figuring out who is sick with Covid-19 and who is suffering from a less threatening respiratory tract infection. It also means that cherished outdoor freedoms that link us to pre-Covid life — pop-up restaurant patios, picnics in parks, trips to the beach — will soon be...WW…

s manufacturers around the world race to develop Covid-19 vaccines, a parallel effort has begun to figure out who in the United States should get them first — and how those doses should be distributed.But already the effort is being complicated by tensions over who gets to make those critical decisions, with some groups feeling sidelined and multiple new actors crowding the stage.On Tuesday, the National Academy of Medicine, tasked by top U.S. health officials, named an expert panel to develop a framework to determine who should be vaccinated first, when available doses are expected to be...…s manufacturers around the world race to develop Covid-19 vaccines, a parallel effort has begun to figure out who in the United States should get them first — and how those doses should be distributed.But already the effort is being complicated by tensions over who gets to make those critical decisions, with some groups feeling sidelined and multiple new actors crowding the stage.On Tuesday, the National Academy of Medicine, tasked by top U.S. health officials, named an expert panel to develop a framework to determine who should be vaccinated first, when available doses are expected to be...WW…

here’s no point in sugar-coating this. The U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic is a raging dumpster fire.Where a number of countries in Asia and Europe have managed to dampen spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to the point where they can consider returning to a semblance of normalcy — friends from Paris just emailed me pictures from their Sicilian vacation — many international borders remain closed to Americans.On Sunday, Florida reported more than 15,000 cases — in a single day. South Korea hasn’t registered 15,000 cases in the entire pandemic to date. One day last week the U.S....…here’s no point in sugar-coating this. The U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic is a raging dumpster fire.Where a number of countries in Asia and Europe have managed to dampen spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to the point where they can consider returning to a semblance of normalcy — friends from Paris just emailed me pictures from their Sicilian vacation — many international borders remain closed to Americans.On Sunday, Florida reported more than 15,000 cases — in a single day. South Korea hasn’t registered 15,000 cases in the entire pandemic to date. One day last week the U.S....WW…

he United States has formally notified the United Nations that it is withdrawing from the World Health Organization, following through on an President Trump made in late May.The move, however, would not be effective until July 6, 2021, officials said — leaving open the possibility that, should Trump lose reelection, a Biden administration could reverse the decision. The former vice president he would do so.“Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health. On my first day as President, I will rejoin the WHO and restore our leadership on the world stage,” Biden...…he United States has formally notified the United Nations that it is withdrawing from the World Health Organization, following through on an President Trump made in late May.The move, however, would not be effective until July 6, 2021, officials said — leaving open the possibility that, should Trump lose reelection, a Biden administration could reverse the decision. The former vice president he would do so.“Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health. On my first day as President, I will rejoin the WHO and restore our leadership on the world stage,” Biden...WW…

he response to the coronavirus pandemic in the United States and other countries has been hobbled by a host of factors, many involving political and regulatory officials. Resistance to social distancing measures, testing debacles, and longtime failures to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic all played a role.But a subtler, less-recognized factor contributed to the wasting of precious weeks in January and February, when preparations to try to stop the virus should have kicked immediately into high gear.Magical thinking — you could call it denial — hampered the ability of even...…he response to the coronavirus pandemic in the United States and other countries has been hobbled by a host of factors, many involving political and regulatory officials. Resistance to social distancing measures, testing debacles, and longtime failures to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic all played a role.But a subtler, less-recognized factor contributed to the wasting of precious weeks in January and February, when preparations to try to stop the virus should have kicked immediately into high gear.Magical thinking — you could call it denial — hampered the ability of even...WW…

early two weeks have passed since President Trump from the World Health Organization. To date, none of the levers that would need to be pulled to follow through on that decision has been pulled.The Trump administration has not formally notified the WHO that it is withdrawing, a spokesman for the agency told STAT. The administration has also not paid outstanding financial obligations to the WHO, a step that would be required before the United States could pull out under a joint resolution signed by Congress.Instead, the president’s May 29 announcement — in which he declared that, “We will be...…early two weeks have passed since President Trump from the World Health Organization. To date, none of the levers that would need to be pulled to follow through on that decision has been pulled.The Trump administration has not formally notified the WHO that it is withdrawing, a spokesman for the agency told STAT. The administration has also not paid outstanding financial obligations to the WHO, a step that would be required before the United States could pull out under a joint resolution signed by Congress.Instead, the president’s May 29 announcement — in which he declared that, “We will be...WW…

he long-running Ebola outbreak in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has encountered another setback, with health authorities confirming on Friday that a new case has been discovered after 52 days without a positive diagnosis.The country had been expected to declare the outbreak over on Monday, which would have been 42 days after the last Ebola survivor had been declared free of infection and discharged from an Ebola treatment clinic. Forty-two days is the length of two incubation periods of the disease and is considered the point at which it can be reasonably safe to declare an...…he long-running Ebola outbreak in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has encountered another setback, with health authorities confirming on Friday that a new case has been discovered after 52 days without a positive diagnosis.The country had been expected to declare the outbreak over on Monday, which would have been 42 days after the last Ebola survivor had been declared free of infection and discharged from an Ebola treatment clinic. Forty-two days is the length of two incubation periods of the disease and is considered the point at which it can be reasonably safe to declare an...WW…

eavy hearts soared Monday with news that Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate — the frontrunner in the American market — seemed to be in Phase 1 trial subjects. The company’s , hitting $29 billion, an astonishing feat for a company that currently sells zero products.But was there good reason for so much enthusiasm? Several vaccine experts asked by STAT concluded that, based on the information made available by the Cambridge, Mass.-based company, there’s really no way to know how impressive — or not — the vaccine may be.While Moderna blitzed the media, it revealed very little...…eavy hearts soared Monday with news that Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate — the frontrunner in the American market — seemed to be in Phase 1 trial subjects. The company’s , hitting $29 billion, an astonishing feat for a company that currently sells zero products.But was there good reason for so much enthusiasm? Several vaccine experts asked by STAT concluded that, based on the information made available by the Cambridge, Mass.-based company, there’s really no way to know how impressive — or not — the vaccine may be.While Moderna blitzed the media, it revealed very little...WW…