Tag: Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

Dr. Fauci Could Have Said a Lot More

Covid had just reached American shores on Feb. 9, 2020, when Newt Gingrich invited Anthony Fauci, the longtime head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the British zoologist Peter Daszak onto his podcast, “Newt’s World.” Mr. Gingrich would later sour on Dr. Fauci, accusing him of playing a key role in […]

Read More

Global Economy May Be in a ‘Lost Decade,’ World Bank Warns

The increasing frequency of global crises continues to weigh on output even as signs of an economic rebound emerge. Efforts by central banks to tame inflation by raising interest rates have fueled turmoil in the banking sector, leading to the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the United States this month and […]

Read More

Trump Would Like a Word

Gail Collins: Bret, I have to admit that when the subject of Donald Trump comes up these days, I tend to start telling sex-scandal stories. My bad. Bret Stephens: Don’t let me stand in your way. Gail: Right now, that very old Stormy Daniels mess seems to have produced some very scary stuff. Our former […]

Read More

Barney Graham: We Have Cutting-Edge Science to Make Vaccines. But Will Everyone Benefit?

As a physician-scientist who has spent nearly 40 years studying viruses and immunity, I can speak to the scientific advances that made rapid Covid-19 vaccine development possible. I oversaw the work at the National Institutes of Health’s Vaccine Research Center that provided the basis for designing and evaluating the initial Covid-19 vaccines and antibodies. If […]

Read More

Boris Johnson Faces Inquiry Over Whether He Lied to U.K. Parliament

The “partygate” scandal that rocked Boris Johnson’s term as prime minister did not end when he left 10 Downing Street last summer. On Wednesday, fellow lawmakers opened a hearing that could see Mr. Johnson suspended — or even ejected — from Parliament as they investigate whether he lied to them about the lockdown-busting parties his […]

Read More

China Approves an mRNA Covid Vaccine, Its First

China has for the first time approved a Covid-19 vaccine based on mRNA technology, greenlighting a homegrown shot months after the ruling Communist Party eliminated its strict pandemic restrictions in December. The shot, developed by CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd., based in the northern Chinese city of Shijiazhuang, was approved for emergency use by China’s health […]

Read More

Report of Wuhan Market Samples Found Covid and Animal Mixtures

On Jan. 12, 2020, Chinese investigators combing a market for clues about the outbreak of a mysterious new illness in the city of Wuhan swabbed a cart. It was the kind typically used for transporting animal cages, and it came back positive for the coronavirus. Three years later, a team of international experts has sifted […]

Read More

Boris Johnson Admits Misleading U.K. Parliament Over Lockdown Parties

A day before he was to face a potentially make-or-break hearing, Boris Johnson conceded that he had misled the British Parliament about lockdown-breaking parties at 10 Downing Street while he was prime minister. But he insisted that he “did not intentionally or recklessly mislead” the House of Commons. Mr. Johnson will testify on Wednesday before […]

Read More

‘We Were Helpless’: Despair at the CDC as the Covid Pandemic Erupted

In early March 2020, as the nation succumbed to a pandemic, a group of young scientists walked out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. They left quietly, one or two at a time, through the building’s front doors, flashing their badges at guards, instead of through side exits where their departures […]

Read More

Video Testimony in the Covid Era Faces a Constitutional Test

WASHINGTON — In March 2021, a year into the coronavirus pandemic, a key witness in a criminal case in a federal court in New York was allowed to testify remotely, from his lawyer’s office in California. The cross-examination was marred by technical glitches and the stilted awkwardness familiar to anyone who has participated in a […]

Read More

Lab Leak or Not? How Politics Shaped the Battle Over Covid’s Origin

WASHINGTON — In the spring of 2021, with studies of the coronavirus pandemic’s origins going nowhere and the issue embroiled in bitter partisan politics, David Relman, a microbiologist at Stanford, quietly made a request of his congresswoman. He told his representative, Anna Eshoo, that he was organizing a letter from leading scientists calling for an open […]

Read More

Covid Politics Leave a Florida Public Hospital Shaken

“If it wasn’t for that incident, we would not be on the board,” Mr. Rohe said. He said the hospital had dismissed concerns about its Covid protocols from ordinary taxpayers who did not feel like Sarasota Memorial, a 901-bed facility, was catering to their needs. “Nobody wants to talk about that,” Mr. Rohe said. “So […]

Read More

Where Did All Your Zoom Friends Go?

One day last year, Julie Gauthier went on Twitter with a confession to make. “Unpopular opinion: I don’t have zoom fatigue and I miss zoom happy hours and game nights,” she wrote. “I feel more isolated now than I did when friends all took time to chat online at the beginning of the pandemic.” Ms. […]

Read More

WHO Accuses China of Withholding Data on Covid’s Origins

The World Health Organization rebuked Chinese officials on Friday for withholding scientific research that may link the origin of the coronavirus to wild animals called raccoon dogs, asking why the data had not been made available three years ago and why, after it was published online in January, it could not be found now. Before […]

Read More

What Are Raccoon Dogs?

On Thursday, scientists unveiled new data on the possible origins of the Covid-19 pandemic — and put a strange, squat creature squarely in the spotlight. Meet the raccoon dog; it earns its name from its black facial markings, which give the animal a masked appearance and a more-than-passing resemblance to those infamous raiders of urban […]

Read More

What We Know About the Lab Leak Theory and the Origins of Covid

WASHINGTON — Long after the Covid pandemic emerged from Wuhan, the origin of the coronavirus remains a subject of intense scientific scrutiny, and even more intense political debate. A team of researchers has added fuel to the bonfire by presenting data at a World Health Organization meeting suggesting a wild animal known as a raccoon […]

Read More

New Data Links Pandemic’s Origins to Raccoon Dogs at Wuhan Market

An international team of virus experts said on Thursday that they had found genetic data from a market in Wuhan, China, linking the coronavirus with raccoon dogs for sale there, adding evidence to the case that the worst pandemic in a century could have been ignited by an infected animal that was being dealt through […]

Read More

‘American-Style Deprivation’ Doesn’t Have to Be Our Reality

If we apply the legal scholar John A. Powell’s “targeted universalism” approach to eradicating poverty — an approach that involves setting a goal and recognizing that certain groups will need distinctive interventions for that goal to be met — then our attitude toward different antipoverty policies should be “both and.” We don’t need new solutions […]

Read More

The Aftermath of a Pandemic Requires as Much Focus as the Start

The global primary care work force also provides critical capacity to detect future public health threats and deliver a response. When people have a weird rash, a nasty cough or a bad fever, it’s a local doctor or nurse whom they most depend on to recognize that it could be mpox (as monkeypox is now […]

Read More

Covid Worsened a Health Crisis Among Pregnant Women

KOKOMO, Ind. — Tammy Cunningham doesn’t remember the birth of her son. She was not quite seven months pregnant when she became acutely ill with Covid-19 in May 2021. By the time she was taken by helicopter to an Indianapolis hospital, she was coughing and gasping for breath. The baby was not due for another […]

Read More

Pregnancy and Covid: What Women Need to Know

Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19, and new government data show that maternal mortality rose sharply in 2021, the second year of the pandemic. Here’s what women need to know to keep themselves safe. If I’m pregnant or trying to get pregnant, how do I protect myself from Covid? The most important step is […]

Read More

Pandemic Shows New York Is Too Quick to Split Families, Advocates Say

As the coronavirus pandemic descended on New York City in the spring of 2020, the child welfare system, like much of the city apparatus, went into near shutdown. The effects were immediate and stark. With caseworkers limiting home visits, courts open only for emergencies, and closed schools and day care centers no longer watching for […]

Read More

‘The Era of Urban Supremacy Is Over’

I asked Joel Kotkin, presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University and executive director of the Urban Reform Institute in Houston, about the economics of major cities, and he replied by email: “The era of urban supremacy is over. The party that addresses this will win. These areas need infrastructure and tax structures that […]

Read More

What to Know About the Covid Lab Leak Theory

Benjamin Mueller contributed reporting. The Daily is made by Lisa Tobin, Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Dave Shaw, Sydney Harper, Robert Jimison, Mike Benoist, […]

Read More

Is Working From Home Good for Your Health?

Human bodies have been in their current form for roughly 300,000 years. Humans need to move. Strong evidence correlates increased movement with a reduced risk of developing cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension and high cholesterol, chronic diseases such as diabetes and certain types of cancer, and mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. Questions about […]

Read More

Britain Wants Its Early Retirees Back, but Their Days Are ‘Never Boring’

Britain’s top financial official started the year with a plea. To those who retired early in the pandemic or have not found the right job after furlough, Jeremy Hunt said, “Britain needs you.” Many analysts have concluded the British economy is stumbling partly because it doesn’t have enough workers. The Bank of England has slashed […]

Read More

China’s New Premier Needs to Revive Growth. How Far Will Loyalty Get Him?

Before Li Qiang was appointed China’s No. 2 leader this past week, he oversaw Shanghai, a city that, for a time early last year, was celebrated for trying to contain Covid with relative restraint. City officials wanted to avoid the economic devastation of a full-scale lockdown and instead opted for limited restrictions that applied to, […]

Read More

The World Needs to Prepare for the Next Pandemic

We need to seriously change our approach to indoor air quality. Just as we ‌expect‌‌ clean water from our spigots, we should have cleaner air moving through our buildings. Better filters, more outdoor air intake and new technologies to diminish pathogen burden should all be part of the plan — these things are key for […]

Read More

The Radical Act of Eating With Strangers

“Having that resilience, the ability to cope, having hope, being curious about other people: All of the assets of optimism, as I’ve observed them, are so necessary for forming community,” said Danielle Bayard Jackson, a friendship coach who has a quarter-million followers on TikTok, where she gives advice for making new friends and having healthy […]

Read More

Here’s Why the Science Is Clear That Masks Work

Others have come to think mandates represent illogical rules. To be sure, we did have many illogical rules: mandating masks outdoors and even at beaches, or wearing them to enter a restaurant but not at the table, or requiring children as young as 2 to mask in day care but not during nap time (presumably, […]

Read More