COVID-19 Rises (Again)

On 25 June, the United States recorded 41,113 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total nationally to over 2.4 million. In a press briefing that day, CDC Director Robert Redfield stated that there are probably ten times as many cases that have not been diagnosed. If true, that means 25 million Americans have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 since the onset of the pandemic almost six months ago. That number may astonish those who are unfamiliar with infectious disease epidemiology but it is in line with what we know thus far about this virus and its spread. The White House Coronavirus Task Force held a briefing today (26 June), its first in many weeks. As usual, the show was led by a politician, Vice President Pence, who is one of the more able people to spread happy talk in ages. Neither he nor Alex Azar, Secretary of HHS, had anything useful to say to my mind. It was more of the usual drivel that we have become accustomed to, sycophantic praise of Dear Leader Trump and focus on what they believe is evidence that the federal government has succeeded in taming this beast.

The message from the professionals on the Task Force, Drs. Birx, Fauci, and Redfield, was better but still unsatisfying. I heard a plea for everyone to behave and do the things that have a chance to truly blunt this epidemic. That mantra remains pretty much the same: masks, social distancing, avoiding crowded places, hand hygiene. There was an effort to instill shame in those who do not comply with those measures and cause Grandpa or Uncle Charles to become infected; while appropriate, this sadly shows that unless everyone consistently behaves in a way that diminishes viral transmission, they understand that control remains beyond our reach. The emergence of new COVID-19 hotspots (Arizona, Florida, Texas) shows that too rapid opening of businesses and other places where people congregate, coupled with lack of masks and inattention to social distancing, will quickly reignite the spread of coronavirus. This negates much, if not all, of the work that was done earlier in the pandemic to control the disease. 

Of note to me when I watched today’s WHCTF briefing was that Pence and Azar totally neglected to wear masks. Birx, Fauci, and Redfield did wear masks, removing them to speak at the lectern. They also maintained social distancing on the stage. The event was not in the small WH briefing room but was in the HHS auditorium, a more capacious space. Paula Reid from CBS News nailed Pence on why the Trump campaign continues to contribute to the spread of the coronavirus. Pence had said that the rallies that Trump holds are enshrined in the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and peaceable assembly and there was an election coming up. Reid pointed out that by eschewing the very things that Pence wants others to do (masking, social distancing, listen to local public health officials) that the Trump campaign flouted all of this in the failed rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma (6200 people in an indoor arena) as well as in Arizona (5000 students in a church); I will ignore for now the fact that holding a political event in a church, exempted from taxes, willfully violates the tenet of separation of church and state. In response, you can watch Pence repeat his statement about the First Amendment, refuse to address the actual question, then walk off the stage as a chorus of journalists continued to pepper him with questions. Profile in courage? No, profile of a weak sycophant scared of reality and the fact that he was obviously given his marching orders by Trump. Oh, by the way, the word “mask” was never uttered by Pence during this entire conference.

So where are we other than in deep shit? Sadly, we are on the losing side. In the 20th century we were a nation that overcame the Great Depression, won World War II, and oversaw the demise of the USSR, our chief opponent on the world stage. As Paul Krugman writes, it is not that America gave up on fighting COVID-19. It is the Republican Party, led by a man of dubious mental ability and obvious sociopathic tendencies, who abandoned the fight. Instead of coming together as a people under the Constitution, Trump has reverted to 1786 and the era of the Articles of Confederation. The difference in the 20th century and the triumphs noted was that we had real leaders in the White House, of both parties. Now we are reduced to a failed reality TV host who has never been a leader in his entire life. To lead you must inspire people and unite them. Trump only succeeds in spreading hate and division. The road ahead is full of holes and blockades only because of an administration that has no vision except to keep a failed president in office. We can do better. We must do better -- 3 November is coming.