Editorials, Opinion Pieces Discuss Various Aspects Of COVID-19, Including U.S. Response

New York Times: It’s Time to Declare a National Emergency
Editorial Board

“…Americans need much more from Mr. Trump. … Mr. Trump needs to grasp that the best way to slow the spread of the virus and to minimize long-term economic damage is to make the difficult but necessary decision to put the economy on ice, as leaders are doing in other nations beset by the virus. … Declaring a national emergency would make clear that Mr. Trump understands the magnitude of the challenge, and set an example for leaders in the public and private sectors. … Mr. Trump also needs to take the lead in devising a fiscal response to the crisis. … Most of all, the Trump administration needs to accept, and make universally understood, the severity of the pandemic itself. … There is no way to know for certain if actions taken today will prove necessary or effective. But if the worst comes to pass in the weeks and months ahead, not having taken them will be indefensible” (3/12).

Washington Post: Congress, go big before you go home
Editorial Board

“The coronavirus pandemic poses economic as well as public health risks. … When the coronavirus shock hit, the U.S. economy was performing well; key sectors such as banks and airlines were well-capitalized. If Congress and the president act decisively — much more boldly than they appear to be doing at present — the United States’ private sector and its employees can work through the financial stress and move on to recovery. Like the coronavirus crisis itself, economic pain may, at this point, be unavoidable; also like the epidemic, though, the damage can, and must, be contained” (3/12).

The Atlantic: How Trump Designed His White House to Fail
Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security adviser to Barack Obama (3/13).

The Atlantic: The Other Problematic Outbreak
Yasmeen Serhan, staff writer at the Atlantic, and Timothy McLaughlin, contributing writer at the Atlantic (3/13).

CNN: In speech, Biden shows how a normal president responds in crisis
David Gergen, CNN senior political analyst (3/13).

CNN: Want a coronavirus vaccine? Fund the research
Kevin J. Tracey, president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health (3/12).

Devex: Opinion: How do we tackle a disease that most people don’t know they have?
Imran Khan, chief global technical lead at Sightsavers (3/12).

Financial Times: Don’t close borders against coronavirus
Aaditya Mattoo, chief economist for East Asia and Pacific Region, and Michele Ruta, lead economist in the Macroeconomics, Trade & Investment Global Practice, both at the World Bank (3/13).

The Guardian: Will American cities have a Wuhan experience? Only if they are lucky
Renee C. Wurth, population health scientist, and Nick Obradovich, political scientist, data scientist, and senior research scientist at the Max Planck Institute of Human Development in the Center for Humans & Machines (3/12).

The Hill: How China set forth the global coronavirus crisis into motion
Kristine Lee, associate fellow, and Ashley Feng, research associate, both at the Center for a New American Security (3/12).

Houston Chronicle: Trump’s health care budget cuts puts the world’s children at risk during coronavirus pandemic
Shubhada Hooli, physician with Baylor College of Medicine (3/13).

New York Times: They’ve Contained the Coronavirus. Here’s How.
Benjamin J. Cowling, epidemiologist, and Wey Wen Lim, graduate student in epidemiology (3/13).

New York Times: How the Coronavirus May Force Doctors to Decide Who Can Live and Who Dies
Ezekiel J. Emanuel, vice provost of global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, James Phillips, chief of disaster and operational medicine at George Washington University Hospital, and Govind Persad, assistant professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law (3/12).

Washington Post: Trump’s coronavirus address was an opportunity. He butchered it.
Michael Gerson, columnist at the Washington Post (3/12).

Washington Post: Quarantining cities isn’t needed. But a fast, coordinated response to covid-19 is essential.
Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Caitlin M. Rivers, epidemiologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security (3/12).

Washington Post: Why isn’t the U.S. ready for a pandemic? For politicians, investing in prevention doesn’t pay off
Neil Mahotra, Edith M. Cornell professor of political economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (3/12).

Washington Post: Iran badly needs coronavirus help. Releasing all hostages could be the key
Jason Rezaian, global opinions writer at the Washington Post (3/12).

Washington Post: Anthony Fauci fights outbreaks with the sledgehammer of truth
Karen Tumulty, columnist at the Washington Post (3/12).

Washington Post: Some countries have been successful in combating the coronavirus. The U.S. is not one of them
Fareed Zakaria, columnist at the Washington Post (3/12).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.