{"id":9013,"date":"2020-07-17T18:44:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T18:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/pandemicbook\/?page_id=9013"},"modified":"2021-11-12T21:25:30","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T21:25:30","slug":"07-17","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/pandemicbook\/07-17\/","title":{"rendered":"07-17"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Friday, July 17<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUS Cases 3.65 million
US Deaths 139,975<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Jul 12: With 15,300 new cases, Florida breaks the one-day COVID case record set by New York City on April 4.<\/p>

Jul 13: California’s\u00a0 governor orders<\/a> <\/span>businesses to shut down again. According to an analysis by the nonpartisan consumer advocacy group Families USA, a record 5.4 million Americans\u00a0lost their health insurance<\/a> <\/span>between February and May due to job layoffs during the coronavirus crisis. A Federal judge strikes down<\/a><\/span> Georgia’s six-week abortion ban.\u00a0<\/p>

Jul 14: CDC Director Robert Redfield urges<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>President Trump to wear a mask to \u201cset an example,\u201d calling mask-wearing for all Americans a \u201ccivic duty<\/a>.<\/span>\u201d Redfield also\u00a0warns<\/a><\/span> that the winter of 2020 and 2021 is going to be \u201cprobably one of the most difficult times we\u2019ve experienced in American public health.\u201d Redfield along with two other senior agency officials write in an editorial in JAMA<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0 \u201cthe public needs consistent, clear, and appealing messaging that normalizes community masking.\u201d As of May 2020, states with the greatest percentage of nonelderly adults who are currently uninsured<\/a><\/span> included Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, according to an analysis from Families USA. These states also report the highest numbers of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents as of July 12. Data from phase 1\/2 trials of Moderna Inc\u2019s COVID-19 vaccine show that doses produced\u00a0immune responses<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>in all 3 groups of 15 volunteers. The company was the first to enter large-scale human trials. Adverse effects of the vaccine candidate, which is administered twice 28 days apart, include injection site pain and chills. USA Today publishes <\/span>an op-ed by Peter Navarro, White House Trade advisor, arguing that “Fauci has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on.”\u00a0<\/p>

Jul 15: The White House\u00a0ends<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>the CDC\u2019s COVID-19 data collection system, turning over the responsibility to a private company.Michael Caputo explains that the decision was made due because the CDC system was considered to be too slow. In a statement to reporters, Caputo explains: \u201cThe CDC\u2019s old data gathering operation once worked well monitoring hospital information across the country, but it\u2019s an inadequate system today.\u201d The decision is highly criticized. The White House begins conducting one-on-one interviews with health officials and political appointees,\u00a0reports<\/a><\/span> Politico.\u00a0\u00a0According to at least one person briefed on the interviews, the exercise is largely seen as \u201can exercise in ferreting out people who are perceived as not Trump enough.\u201d<\/p>

Jul 16: The United States reports <\/span>a record 75,600 cases of COVID-19 in a single day. Texas, Hawaii, and Montana are among the 10 states reporting new record daily totals. The National Security Agency and its counterparts in the United Kingdom and Canada report <\/span>that hackers linked to Russian intelligence services are trying to steal coronavirus vaccine research. Another 1.3 million Americans file <\/span>1st-time jobless claims. USA admits <\/span>to errors in fact checking when it published Navarro’s op-ed on July 14.\u00a0<\/p>

Jul 17: Civil rights leader Representative John Lewis dies <\/span>of pancreatic cancer at age 80. Civil rights leader C.T. Vivian dies <\/span>at 95. The Pentagon bans <\/span>Confederate flags from military bases.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tFrom the Cutting Room Floor ...\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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I get my first COVID test today. I drive to the local clinic in the morning heat. This town is always quiet in the summers, but it is eerie now. Worker vans and trucks make up most of the traffic, with the occasional fisherman towing his boat to the lake. At the clinic, signs direct me to park my car and call the clinic from my cell phone. \u201cDO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAR!\u201d one sign yells. \u201cWE WILL COME TO YOU!\u201d Closer to the entrance of the clinic, I can see someone standing in full PPE, taking temperatures and asking questions of people as they enter. This clinic offers OB\/GYN and Pediatric care to Medicare recipients as well as general care to University employees and students, so there is lots of traffic. I see two young women holding up their newborn babies to have their temperatures checked. I call the clinic and am told to wait in my car for a nurse. It seems pretty clear that I am going to be waiting for a while; the woman in the white Chevy Caprice next to me is painting her nails hot pink and has started to apply a second coat.<\/span><\/p>

Just as I am settling in to read my book, a sharp knock comes at my window. It is an older woman in a cream blouse and matching linen trousers telling me that she is ready to be tested for \u201cThe COVID.\u201d I roll down my window and tell her that I am not a nurse; I am in line, waiting to be tested. \u201cI\u2019ve walked over from the nursing home,\u201d she informs me. Across the street is the nicest and most expensive retirement center in town, costing around $3000\/month. \u201cIt\u2019s all those [she lowers her voice] Medicare people that are slowing up the line,\u201d she says conspiratorially to me. I look away, already regretting rolling down my window, \u201cThey could be necessary workers,\u201d I say. \u201cOh, no,\u201d she retorts, \u201cThey don\u2019t want to work. They just want free handouts.\u201d Judging by the woman\u2019s hair set and matching outfit, I am guessing she hasn\u2019t worked a day in her life.<\/span><\/p>

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Eventually a nurse in full PPE emerges from the clinic. She is African American, and I can tell she is tired by her slow shuffle. She looks down at her feet through the full plexiglass mask. When she gets to me, she asks me why I am being tested, if I have knowingly been exposed to COVID, and if I have symptoms. Then she shoves a long swab up each nostril until I am pretty sure she has hit my brain. \u201cThank you,\u201d she says as nicely as she can. \u201cYou will get your results in a day.\u201d The older woman is standing at the nurse\u2019s elbow, waiting her turn. \u201cGirl, you can do me next,\u201d she says. I see a flash in the nurse\u2019s eyes before she turns resignedly to ask the woman her questions.<\/span><\/p>

One change I do see are the masks. It feels like we have at least hit a place where people are coming to terms with mask wearing. Partly, this is due to the undeniable burst of COVID cases in Arizona, Texas, and Florida.[1]<\/a> CEOs of retail stalwarts like Best Buy, Foot Locker, Giant Eagle, and Levi\u2019s Jeans are insisting that governors mandate masks be worn during shopping.[2]<\/a> Plutocrats, like Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, called out the country\u2019s leadership as well. The change in national attitude could also be because the president finally decided to wear a mask. Intentionally. And he was photographed doing it.<\/span><\/p>

At the same time, Trump\u2019s administration has moved against Anthony Fauci and the CDC, blaming him for the obvious failures in managing the epidemic.[3]<\/a> The White House Trade Advisor, Peter Navarro,\u00a0wrote in the magazine USA Today <\/em>that Fauci \u201chas been wrong about everything that I have interacted with him on.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0Then, Dan Scavino, one of the president\u2019s closest assistants, posted a cartoon on his personal Facebook page portraying Fauci as a faucet whose policies are drowning Uncle Sam. At the same time, the presidential spokespeople claim that the president is also \u201clistening\u201d to Fauci\u2019s advice.[5]<\/a> There is a blatant duplicity to the language surrounding Fauci, who has been at the CDC for 36 years and has helped the United States get through HIV\/AIDS, SARS, MERS, Ebola, and Swine Flu. Looking back at April, Trump did something similar. Back then, it seemed as though he attacked Fauci after hearing that people trusted Fauci more than him. Now, Trump is flagging in the polls.\u00a0It feels more serious\u2014as if they\u2019re going to try to blame Fauci for something and force him out.<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Notes<\/p>

[1]<\/a> Jeneen Interlandi, \u201cWhy We\u2019re Losing the Battle With Covid-19,\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, July 14, 2020, sec. Magazine, https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/07\/14\/magazine\/covid-19-public-health-texas.html.<\/span><\/p>

[2]<\/a> Corie Barry et al., \u201cRetail CEOs: Enough Is Enough. It\u2019s Time for All US Governors to Require Masks in Stores,\u201d CNN, July 17, 2020, https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/07\/17\/perspectives\/masks-shopping-retail-ceos\/index.html.<\/span><\/p>

[3]<\/a> David Smith, \u201c\u2018I Think You Can Trust Me\u2019: Fauci Stands Firm as Trump Works to Undermine Him,\u201d The Guardian<\/em>, July 15, 2020, sec. US news, https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2020\/jul\/15\/dr-fauci-donald-trump-attacks-covid-19.<\/span><\/p>

[4]<\/a> Peter Navarro, \u201cAnthony Fauci Has Been Wrong about Everything with Me: Peter Navarro,\u201d USA Today<\/em>, July 14, 2020, https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/todaysdebate\/2020\/07\/14\/anthony-fauci-wrong-with-me-peter-navarro-editorials-debates\/5439374002\/.<\/span><\/p>

[5]<\/a> Tamara Keith, \u201c\u2018He Shouldn\u2019t Be Doing That\u2019: Trump Weighs In On Navarro Op-Ed Attacking Fauci,\u201d NPR.org, July 15, 2020, https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/coronavirus-live-updates\/2020\/07\/15\/891327661\/white-house-disavows-attack-on-fauci-from-trump-trade-adviser.<\/span><\/p>

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeter Navarro (center, left) recently criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci (center, right)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKeith, Tamara. \u201c\u2018He Shouldn\u2019t Be Doing That\u2019: Trump Weighs In On Navarro Op-Ed Attacking Fauci.\u201d NPR.org, July 15, 2020. https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/coronavirus-live-updates\/2020\/07\/15\/891327661\/white-house-disavows-attack-on-fauci-from-trump-trade-adviser.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmericans are no \u201ccrazier\u201d than in the past. But political leaders have weaponized paranoia, to destabilizing effect.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMilbank, Dana. \u201cOpinion | The Great American Crackup Is Underway.\u201d Washington Post, July 17, 2020. https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2020\/07\/17\/great-american-crackup-is-underway\/.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRetail CEO statement signatories urge states to implement mask mandates\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBarry, Corie, Gary Philbin, Mary Dillon, Sonia Syngal, Erik Nordstrom, Anthony Hucker, Johannes Fieber, et al. \u201cRetail CEOs: Enough Is Enough. It\u2019s Time for All US Governors to Require Masks in Stores.\u201d CNN, July 17, 2020. https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/07\/17\/perspectives\/masks-shopping-retail-ceos\/index.html.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCustoms and Border Protection responds to federal occupation and violence in Portland\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCBP. \u201cStatement on CBP Response in Portland, Oregon | U.S. Customs and Border Protection,\u201d July 17, 2020. https:\/\/www.cbp.gov\/newsroom\/speeches-and-statements\/statement-cbp-response-portland-oregon.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marshals Service, the US Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Protection Service and their agents.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOregon Department of Justice. \u201cAttorney General Rosenblum Files Lawsuit Against U. S. Homeland Security; Announces Criminal Investigation.\u201d Oregon Department of Justice, July 17, 2020. https:\/\/www.doj.state.or.us\/media-home\/news-media-releases\/attorney-general-rosenblum-files-lawsuit-against-u-s-homeland-security-announces-criminal-investigation\/.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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