Some COVID-19 test results in the US are taking so long to come back that “contact tracing is almost useless,” Crystal R.
July 10, 2020
Michigan has touted strict rules for essential workers during the pandemic. Yet when disastrous flooding hit the city of Midland, traveling workers brought in to clean up the mess—many of them undocumented immigrants—found themselves without proper PPE and sleeping in…
June 22, 2020
Lauded for its success in stemming COVID-19, Germany suffered a setback this weekend as data revealed an uptick in the country’s basic reproduction number that may signal another lockdown. The country’s coronavirus reproduction number climbed to 2.88 yesterday, meaning…
June 9, 2020
China has lauded its own COVID-19 response in a vigorous defense published Sunday, calling the situation a “test of fire” that the country responded to quickly and decisively, The New York Times reports.
June 4, 2020
For those wondering how America’s COVID-19 response went haywire, start with the CDC. From the onset of the outbreak, the agency blundered with outdated technology, faulty tests, and flawed tracing of possible case contacts. The failures have shaken confidence in an…
June 2, 2020
The WHO initially praised China for its “impressive” response and for promptly sharing the virus’s genetic code—but recorded meetings suggest this praise was more appeasement than substance. Behind the plaudits, acrimony grew as China waited more than a week before…
May 19, 2020
WHO modeling predicted that COVID-19 would move more slowly through Africa than elsewhere—but countries’ responses vary widely, and new hotspots are emerging. Despite relatively low official case counts, Kano, Nigeria is one of them. For weeks, authorities in the city of…
May 18, 2020
A historic 73rd World Health Assembly is underway, amid a global high-stakes battle against the “worst pandemic in modern history, NPR Goats and Soda reports. The unprecedented gathering, for the first time ever taking place not in Geneva but via teleconference, gives…
February 11, 2020
The Trump administration has outlined $3 billion in cuts to global health in its 2021 budget proposal—a move that would halve the US contribution to the WHO as the world battles the coronavirus outbreak, Foreign Policy reports.
February 10, 2020
Did WHO praise for China’s response early on hurt efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus? Mounting evidence that Chinese officials silenced whistleblowers and undercounted cases while the WHO praised China’s response are testing faith in the WHO’s…