Bloomberg: The Future of U.S. Public Health Is on the Ballot
“When Americans finish voting on Tuesday, they will have chosen between two radically different options for public health. The rights and responsibilities of states and the federal government have preoccupied liberals and conservatives for decades. During the pandemic, President Donald Trump has left states to go their own ways on measures such as masks-wearing, social distancing, and restrictions on schools and businesses…” (Schoifet/Lauerman, 11/1).

CNN: America’s role as global leader all but died under Trump. The world was outgrowing it anyway
“…There have been clear signs over the past two decades, however, that Americans are tiring of taking on this role, while much of the world, equally, is cooling on the U.S. as its hegemon, and is eager to step into its shoes. Germany, for example, is pitching itself as a global health leader… (Dewan, 11/1).

Scientific American: Seven Ways the Election Will Shape the Future of Science, Health and the Environment
“When all the votes are cast and counted in this year’s momentous November 3 election, the results will have deep and potentially long-lasting impacts on numerous areas of society, including science. President Donald Trump and his challenger, former vice president Joe Biden, have presented vastly different visions for handling crucial issues — ranging from the deadly coronavirus pandemic to the damaging impacts of climate change and immigration policies…” (Thompson et al., 10/30).

STAT: Will Fauci have a job? Will the public regain trust in the FDA? 8 of the scientific institutions and traditions on the line on Tuesday
“It’s impossible to overstate the impact of Tuesday’s presidential election on the health and science landscape. … The divergent positions of President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden on these issues may be central to the outcome of the election and will likely impact every element of the American medical and scientific worlds. Based on the candidates’ own words, interviews with officials in both camps as well as public health experts, STAT outlines eight traditions, institutions, and norms that are on the line in the election…” (Facher, 11/2).

Link to individual story

CNN: How Biden plans to undo Trump’s ‘America First’ foreign policy and return U.S. to world stage
“After four years of norm-bending, treaty-disrupting, and alliance-shaking foreign policy from the Trump administration, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is promising to return the U.S. to its more traditional role on the world stage. Biden has said he will make significant changes to U.S. foreign policy should he win Tuesday’s presidential election. People familiar with the former vice president’s plans say he would immediately reverse Trump policies on Iran, climate change, and the World Health Organization…” (Atwood/Gaouette, 10/31).

Devex: Would Biden’s foreign aid approach be progressive, or bipartisan?
“Since Joe Biden secured the Democratic presidential nomination, the party’s progressive wing has sought to push the candidate and his team to the political left on a wide range of issues. While foreign policy has been one arena for these intraparty negotiations, questions about global development, global health, and humanitarian assistance — perhaps unsurprisingly — have not risen to the same level of attention…” (Igoe, 11/2).

TIME: Here’s What We Know About Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Plan
“…Biden gave a speech on his COVID-19 plan on Oct. 23, and he and running mate Senator Kamala Harris have circulated a seven-point plan for ‘beat(ing) COVID-19 and get(ting) our country back on track.’ It is, experts say, what they’ve asked for since the pandemic began — but ‘the real devil’s in the details,’ says Eric Toner, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Everything comes down to execution and specifics. And on that front, it’s too early to say how things would go if Biden is elected…” (Ducharme, 10/30).

Link to individual story

AP/Washington Post: Trump threatens to fire Fauci in rift with disease expert
“President Donald Trump is suggesting that he will fire Dr. Anthony Fauci after Tuesday’s election, as his rift with the nation’s top infectious disease expert widens while the nation sees its most alarming outbreak of the coronavirus since the spring…” (Miller, 11/2).

NPR: Internal Documents Reveal COVID-19 Hospitalization Data The Government Keeps Hidden
“…NPR has obtained documents that give a snapshot of data the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collects and analyzes daily. The documents — reports sent to agency staffers — highlight trends in hospitalizations and pinpoint cities nearing full hospital capacity and facilities under stress. They paint a granular picture of the strain on hospitals across the country that could help local citizens decide when to take extra precautions against COVID-19. Withholding this information from the public and the research community is a missed opportunity to help prevent outbreaks and even save lives, say public health and data experts who reviewed the documents for NPR…” (Huang/Simmons-Duffin, 10/30).

STAT: HHS relaxed oversight of problematic Covid-19 tests despite being told of accuracy concerns
“…In a vast, confusing landscape populated by hundreds of different private companies and labs, some tests are proving problematic, especially when used to screen people who have no symptoms of Covid-19. A STAT investigation found that top officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ended already-minimal oversight of these so-called laboratory developed tests in mid-August, despite being informed that the tests were plagued with quality issues…” (McLaughlin, 11/2).

Washington Post: Trump’s pandemic agenda shoved government scientists aside. They’re attempting an 11th-hour comeback.
“After months of being sidelined or outright attacked by President Trump, a growing number of government scientists and physicians are pushing back against the president’s political agenda when it comes to the pandemic. … The officials taking these stands have been emboldened by a worsening pandemic, an adrift White House and growing indications that Trump’s first term may be his last, say several administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss these issues…” (McGinley et al., 11/1).

Additional coverage of the Trump administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is available from Newsweek, POLITICO, and Washington Post (2) (3).

Link to individual story

ABC News: WHO director goes into self-quarantine after contact with person exposed to COVID-19
“The director of the World Health Organization tweeted Sunday he will go into self-quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he is well and not showing symptoms but will be working from home as a precaution…” (Theodorou/Pereira, 11/1).

CIDRAP News: WHO extends COVID-19 emergency as global total tops 45 million
“With surges accelerating in the United States and Europe, the global COVID-19 case total today passed 45 million with a record single-day high as the World Health Organization (WHO) reports 505,756 new cases so far. … At a WHO media briefing today, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said the agency’s COVID-19 emergency committee wrapped up its fifth review of COVID-19 developments and unanimously agreed that the situation still warrants a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (IHR). … In another development, WHO officials said an international expert group met virtually with Chinese counterparts today in advance of a joint effort to investigate the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19…” (Schnirring, 10/30).

U.N. News: Long-term symptoms of COVID-19 ‘really concerning,’ says WHO chief
“With some COVID-19 patients reporting long-term symptoms, including damage to major organs, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged governments to ensure they receive necessary care. ‘Although we’re still learning about the virus, what’s clear is that this is not just a virus that kills people. To a significant number of people, this virus poses a range of serious long-term effects,’ said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking in Geneva on Friday during the U.N. agency’s latest virtual press conference. The situation also underscores how herd immunity is ‘morally unconscionable and unfeasible,’ he added…” (10/30).

Additional coverage of issues discussed at the WHO’s latest press conference, including the team investigating the origins of the novel coronavirus, and Tedros’s self-isolation is available from AP, The Guardian (2), Health Policy Watch, New York Times, Reuters, and South China Morning Post.

Link to individual story

AFRICA

U.N. News: Kenya relief bid begins to avert ‘hunger crisis’ among poor workers hit by COVID (10/30).

VOA News: WFP Boosts Aid to Kenyan Urban Poor Because of Pandemic (Schlein, 10/31).

WIRED U.K.: The world could learn a lot from how Africa is handling Covid-19 (Makoni, 11/2).

ASIA

BBC News: Coronavirus: Are Indians more immune to Covid-19? (Biswas, 11/1).

The Guardian: Papua New Guinea to give $3m to unknown firm for Covid treatment (Kuku, 10/31).

Reuters: Australia records no new COVID-19 cases for first time in five months (Kelly, 11/1).

U.N. News: First Person: supporting migrants on the COVID-19 frontline in Myanmar (11/1).

Washington Post: Covid-19 deaths are soaring, and Jakarta’s graveyards are running out of space (Cochrane, 11/1).

EUROPE

Washington Post: Pope Francis, 83 and missing part of one lung, shrugs off coronavirus mask mandates (Harlan/Pitrelli, 10/30).

LATIN AMERICA

Al Jazeera: Brazil’s Bolsonaro says fresh COVID-19 lockdowns ‘crazy’ (10/30).

MIDDLE EAST

Middle East Monitor: Iran’s daily COVID death toll hits record high (11/1).

NORTH AMERICA

STAT: Ashish Jha on Covid-19, pandemic fatigue, and when we’re getting back to normal (Feuerstein et al., 10/30).

Link to individual story

AP: U.K. says 4-week coronavirus lockdown may have to last longer
“A new national lockdown in England may have to last longer than the planned four weeks if coronavirus infection rates don’t fall quickly enough, a senior government minister said Sunday. The lockdown announced Saturday by Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to run from Thursday until Dec. 2. Johnson says it’s needed to stop hospitals from becoming overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients within weeks…” (Lawless, 11/1).

POLITICO: Europe is living a coronavirus flashback, plus a backlash
“…As countries across Europe adopt stricter measures to slow the pace of the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic, Europeans are experiencing a sense of flashback to the spring. But besides the change in season, there is something else: a growing backlash against the restrictions…” (Tamma, 11/1).

Washington Post: With coronavirus exploding in Europe, hospitals calculate how long until they hit capacity
“For Germany, the breaking point could come in December. France and Switzerland might crack by mid-November. Belgium could hit its limit by the end of the week. Europe, in the throes of a savage second wave of the pandemic, is on the verge of a medical crisis, with intensive care units quickly filling to the breaking point. Governments are finding that when confronted by the unforgiving reality of an exponentially spreading virus, even vast investments to expand hospital capacity can be washed away in days…” (Birbaum et al., 10/31).

Additional coverage of European nations’ new lockdowns amid rising COVID-19 cases is available from AP (2), BBC News, CNBC, Financial Times, The Guardian, Health Policy Watch, Washington Post, and Xinhua News.

Link to individual story

AFP/France 24: Israel begins coronavirus vaccine trials (11/1).

Bloomberg: U.K. Accelerates Reviews of Pfizer and Astra-Oxford Vaccines (Ring, 10/30).

Financial Times: U.K. plans to use AI to process adverse reactions to Covid vaccines (Gross, 11/1).

The Guardian: ‘It’s possible’: the race to approve a Covid vaccine by Christmas (Boseley, 10/20).

Reuters: J&J plans to test its COVID-19 vaccine in ages 12-18 soon (Erman, 10/30).

Reuters: Can solar fridges helping vaccinate African children work for COVID-19? (Fleming, 10/31).

STAT: Antibody drugs seem to work. But the virus is moving faster than we can make them (Herper, 10/29).

Link to individual story

The Telegraph: How Trump undermined U.S. aid — but still spent billions in ‘transactional’ approach
“When Donald Trump became president in 2016, his victory was based on an ‘America First’ platform. In the administration’s debut budget in 2017, that looked like catastrophic news for those who came in second: the rest of the world, particularly low- and middle-income countries. The budget initially proposed a cut of around 30 percent to foreign assistance, a slash-and-burn approach that left those in the sector aghast. … But in a pattern that has been repeated every year since, Congress — where foreign aid has bipartisan support — rejected the cuts … Yet for decades, the U.S. has remained the biggest player on the global stage thanks to its sheer spending power — a role that has been dramatically undermined during the Trump presidency due to the constant specter of cuts. … Foreign aid also became a bargaining chip under President Trump…” (Rigby et al., 10/31).

Link to individual story

Devex: Global fragility strategy not released in October as expected by U.S. State Department
“The U.S. State Department did not release a full global fragility strategy by the end of October as anticipated by leadership of the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. CSO Assistant Secretary Denise Natali told Devex in an interview last month she expected the document to be forthcoming by Oct. 28. In a statement sent to Devex on Nov. 1, she said the department needed more time before the strategy would be released publicly. CSO is charged with producing the strategy, which is mandated by the State Department by the nascent Global Fragility Act. That legislation, passed in December 2019, outlines a new approach to U.S. conflict prevention efforts in recognition of decades of failed U.S. foreign interventions in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The legislation requires the administration to select at least five priority countries or regions in which to conduct pilot projects over the course of a decade. It also outlines a whole-of-government approach, concentrated in the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, and Defense Department, encouraging better interagency coordination in fragile and conflict-affected countries…” (Welsh, 11/2).

Link to individual story

AP: U.N. defeats Russia resolution promoting women at peace tables
“The U.N. Security Council defeated a Russian resolution Friday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of a U.N. measure demanding equal participation for women in activities promoting global peace, with opponents objecting to its failure to adequately address human rights and the key role of civil society in pushing for gender equality. The email vote on the resolution was 5-0, with 10 countries abstaining, far less than the minimum nine ‘yes’ votes required for adoption. The Russian draft was supported by Russia, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and South Africa. The countries that abstained were the United States, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Germany, Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tunisia. Opponents said the Russian draft weakened the initial U.N. resolution adopted in 2000 and nine follow-up resolutions — which Russia strongly denied…” (Lederer, 10/30).

Devex: UNSC avoids adoption of ‘truly shocking’ WPS resolution from Russia
“…Civil society called the resolution the weakest on WPS ever considered, and its proposal by Russia, which rarely drafts resolutions, was a cause for suspicion. Instead of advancing the agenda as an additional nine WPS resolutions have done, Russia’s proposal threatened to roll back protection of women’s human rights, prevention of conflict-related sexual violence, and complete and meaningful participation of women in decisions that impact their lives…” (Welsh, 10/30).

Link to individual story

Washington Post: Women’s rights groups, Polish nationalists face off as churches become flash points in protests over abortion law
“Tens of thousands of demonstrators converged Friday on central Warsaw as a near-total ban on abortion triggered some of the largest street protests since the fall of communism, drawing ire from far-right nationalist groups who mobilized to counter them. The protests, now in their ninth day, drew crowds despite spiking coronavirus cases, as Poles angered by the ruling last Thursday and the perceived creeping autocracy under Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party took to the streets…” (Chapman/Morris, 10/30).

Link to individual story

Borgen Magazine: Mothers2mothers: Aiding the HIV/AIDS Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa (Kochi, 10/31).

Borgen Magazine: Rotary International’s Response to COVID-19 (Tomasello, 10/31).

Devex: Lessons from IFRC on integrating mental health into humanitarian response (Smith, 11/2).

Devex: U.K. ministers ‘just cannot understand’ merits of aid spending, says Rory Stewart (Worley, 10/30).

Devex: Financial incentives for frontline health workers (Pallares, 10/30).

Devex: UNICEF, Orbia on what makes a good partnership. A hint? It’s mutually beneficial (Lieberman, 10/30).

Financial Times/The Lancet: Special Report: Future of AI and Digital Healthcare (Multiple authors, 11/1).

NPR: The Campaign To Wipe Out Polio Was Going Really Well … Until It Wasn’t (Beaubien, 11/1).

NPR: Life Was Improving For ‘No Sex For Fish.’ Then Came The Flood (Kosome et al., 11/1).

ProPublica: How Your Brain Tricks You Into Taking Risks During the Pandemic (Allen/Marco, 11/2).

SciDev.Net: India, Nepal ‘most exposed’ to deadly particle pollution (Devraj, 10/30).

Science: The Science of Superspreading (Enserink et al., 10/30).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Exclusive: Half aid workers report racism at work in past year — poll (Elks, 10/30).

U.N. News: Philippines: Humanitarians respond as millions caught in wake of devastating ‘super typhoon’ (11/2).

Washington Post: Artificial intelligence and covid-19: Can the machines save us? (Cha, 11/1).

Link to individual story

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Opinion: Risks and reality around COVID-19
Dan Rutz, retired CDC health communication strategist (10/31).

Bloomberg: The Coronavirus Pandemic Can Still Be Controlled
Editorial Board (10/30).

CNN: Why Trump doesn’t care about controlling Covid
Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (11/2).

The Conversation: COVID-19: A global survey shows worrying signs of vaccine hesitancy
Scott C. Ratzan, distinguished lecturer at CUNY Graduate Center, and colleagues (10/28).

Devex: Opinion: A global playbook for the next pandemic
Anne Kabagambe, author and executive director of the World Bank from October 2018 to October 2020 (10/31).

Devex: Opinion: Housing must be at the heart of the COVID-19 response and recovery
Maimunah Mohd Sharif, executive director of U.N.-Habitat, and Balakrishnan Rajagopal, U.N. special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing (10/30).

STAT: Lessons for monitoring Covid-19 vaccine safety from the H1N1 pandemic
Daniel Salmon, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Joshua Sharfstein, professor of the practice in health policy and management at the Bloomberg School of Public Health (10/29).

Washington Post: The coronavirus emergency is worsening by the second. We must take immediate action
Editorial Board (10/30).

Link to individual story

Washington Post: Letters to the Editor: Trump’s assault on reproductive rights has hurt millions around the world
Brian Dixon, senior vice president for media and government relations at the Population Connection Action Fund

“It’s disgraceful and embarrassing that President Trump signed the Geneva Consensus Declaration, aligning with some of the worst human rights violators, to deny people the right of reproductive autonomy. … Among the growing list of harms inflicted by the Trump administration in his first term is the undermining of reproductive health programs across the United States and around the world. From his first days in office, he has worked to undermine the health empowerment and rights of vulnerable people everywhere. It began with his imposition of the global gag rule that he knew would result in closed clinics and a reduction in access to care. It continued with his refusal to support the United Nations Population Fund, the elimination of reproductive rights from the annual human rights reports published by the State Department, his imposition of a domestic gag rule, the striking of references to reproductive health from international agreements, and now this…” (10/30).

Link to individual story

TIME: Poland’s Constitutional Court Has Effectively Banned Abortion, But We Will Not Stop Fighting For Our Fundamental Rights
Krystyna Kacpura, executive director of the Federation for Women and Family Planning in Poland

“Poland’s anti-abortion laws have always been among the most restrictive in Europe. Until this week the procedure was only permitted when the pregnancy posed a threat to the woman’s life, if there was a fatal fetal abnormality, or in cases rape or incest. However on Oct. 22 the country’s constitutional court ruled that a fatal fetal abnormality was not justification for terminating a pregnancy and violates the constitution. For the over 10 million women of reproductive age in Poland, this ruling effectively puts in place a complete ban on abortion. … The ruling is an outrageous violation of women’s human rights. … Making abortion illegal will not reduce the number of procedures, research shows. The ban only endangers women’s lives and health. Women without access to money and information, often from smaller towns and villages, will end their pregnancies in dangerous ways, on their own or by unsafe underground abortions. This is what we fear most. We are going to do everything we can to prevent this from happening and are in contact with foreign abortion clinics that are ready to to provide services to Polish women. If even one woman is harmed by an unsafe abortion, we will hold the Polish state accountable. … We will continue to protest, and we will fight to the end” (10/30).

Link to individual story

Brookings Institution: Will Americans trust a COVID-19 vaccine? Not if politicians tell them to
Sarah Kreps, nonresident senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings, and colleagues (10/30).

International Rescue Committee: How do we fight the COVID-19 ‘infodemic’ to keep people safe? (10/30).

openDemocracy: U.S. groups linked to COVID conspiracies pour millions of ‘dark money’ into Latin America
Diana Cariboni and Isabella Cota, both journalists (10/29).

Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program’s “New Security Beat”: Lessons from Africa: Building Resilience through Community-Based Health Systems
Matthew Gallagher, staff intern with the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program (10/30).

World Food Programme: The importance of investing in the wellbeing of children to avert the learning crisis (10/30).

Link to individual story

UNAIDS: Highly effective HIV prevention option not reaching those who need it
“Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), an HIV prevention option whereby someone who is HIV-negative takes antiretroviral medicines prior to possible exposure to HIV, has been shown to be highly efficacious across all populations. … The number of people reported to have received PrEP at least once in the previous year has increased dramatically in recent years, from fewer than 2,000 in 2016 to more than 590,000 in 2019. In several cities in North America, Europe, and Australia where PrEP is widely available, this relatively new prevention tool has contributed to steep reductions in HIV infections among gay men and other men who have sex with men. Global coverage, however, is still far short of the 2020 target of 3 million people receiving PrEP” (11/2).

Link to individual story

USAID: Statement From Acting Administrator John Barsa on Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance
In a statement on the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy, USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa discusses a letter written by USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health Alma Golden to all of USAID’s prime recipients of global health assistance “to emphasize how seriously USAID takes compliance with all statutory and policy abortion restrictions,” which apply both to “prime partners in global health and their sub-grantees and sub-contractors under grants” (10/30).

USAID: Acting Administrator Barsa’s Letter to the U.N. Secretary General
In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa writes, “As the United Nations (U.N.) focuses on celebrating its legacy over the last 75 years, including as a champion of women for more than a quarter century, I write to reiterate the U.S. Government’s call for ‘the [U.N. to] promote and fulfill an agenda that encourages meaningful contributions for women and their communities, and that has a positive and lasting impact for generations to come.’ I also want once again to raise concerns with the disconcerting trend that the U.N. supports and champions abortion, especially under the guise of the term ‘sexual and reproductive health.’ … The fundamental problem at hand is that, despite claims to the contrary, including yours, the term ‘sexual and reproductive health’ and its derivatives have become shorthand for abortion within the U.N. and other multilateral fora…”(10/30).

Link to individual story

KFF: COVID-19 Coronavirus Tracker — Updated as of November 2, 2020
Data on country government actions in response to COVID-19 are included in the tracker (11/2).

A KFF-curated recap of pandemic-related news from last week is available here. Additional KFF COVID-19 resources on the global situation, as well as those focused on the response and impact within the U.S., are available here.

Link to individual story