"The coronavirus has mutated since it started spreading late last year, and a variant known as “G” is now dominant across the United States and the world. “The mutation doesn’t appear to make people sicker, but a growing number of scientists worry that it has made the virus more contagious,” our science desk wrote. Read the story to learn what makes coronavirus G different from the original version — and potentially more dangerous.
If you haven't read our weekend “portrait of a nation in crisis,” do it now. It's based on interviews with nearly 50 government officials, lawmakers, public health experts and others, and reports that:
President Trump no longer participates in many coronavirus meetings, delegating the health crisis to Vice President Pence while the president focuses on his troubled reelection campaign.
The White House has blocked Anthony S. Fauci, its blunt-talking expert on infectious diseases, from some media appearances.
Some states are still struggling to get basic testing and medical supplies, their luck dependent on whether or not they can get a federal official to pick up the phone.
And much more about our bungled response to the pandemic, though be warned it's not happy reading.
Two days after appearing barefaced at a news conference to praise the country's “truly remarkable progress” fighting the virus, Pence put a mask on and pleaded with Americans to stop spreading it. “It’s a good time to steer clear of senior citizens and to practice the kind of measures that will keep our most vulnerable safe,” the vice president told an audience in Texas, one of several states seeing unprecedented surges in infections.
In contrast to the first round of U.S. infections, which hit the elderly hardest, this one appears to be driven by younger Americans ignoring safety guidelines as they rejoin public life. And no, they are not invulnerable to the disease. More than a third of hospitalized covid-19 patients nationwide are now aged 18 to 49."
The Post's coronavirus coverage linked in this newsletter is free to access to those who sign up [email addy] for the newsletter.
s2.washingtonpost.com
Comments