covid diary: day 65

So maybe you've heard of The Lancet, the British peer-reviewed medical journal that's been basically the gold standard since 1823? Today The Lancet published just a blistering editorial titled "Reviving the US CDC." The whole thing is worth reading, but here's the conclusion:

The Trump administration's further erosion of the CDC will harm global cooperation in science and public health, as it is trying to do by defunding WHO. A strong CDC is needed to respond to public health threats, both domestic and international, and to help prevent the next inevitable pandemic. Americans must put a president in the White House come January, 2021, who will understand that public health should not be guided by partisan politics.

Medical journals aren't really known for inserting themselves into politics, particularly the politics of other countries, so you know this is serious. It illustrates for me that what we do here in America doesn't just affect us. It affects our friends in the UK, and the rest of the world. And it lays out starkly what I already knew but wasn't really sure other countries believed: American leadership cannot be trusted right now.

Oof.

Meanwhile, at an event meant to promote the great job the U.S. is doing at developing a vaccine (good grief! the vaccine development effort is named "Operation Warp Speed." no, I'm not kidding), Trump said this: "I just want to make something clear, it's very important. Vaccine or no vaccine, we're back."

All righty then. Mission accomplished. I bet that works out as well for him as it did for George W. Bush.

In contrast, the actual scientists at the CDC said today that they track 12 different models of the spread of COVID-19. And every single one of those models is now predicting 100,000 American deaths by June 1. That's two weeks from now. [Confidential to the president: We're not back. We're dying. Do something.]

Today at work, Mike got the outlines of the plan for how his company will lay people off. My executive summary: it completely sucks. Everyone will be unemployed the week of Memorial Day (conveniently allowing the company not to provide holiday pay), then back at work the next week, then unemployed the week after that, then back at work, then they'll decide what to do next. I understand that the company is in a shitty situation. Everyone is in a shitty situation. But I really don't understand why they are taking the worst possible route for their employees' well-being and ability to prepare. I guess that's what happens when the employer has all the power and the employee has absolutely none because nobody else is hiring. (In fact, one of the supervisors expressed this sentiment to an employee who complained at Mike's company, so it's not just me being cynical.)

This week has been extra stressful for a number of reasons, but I'm trying to hold on to the good things. Elearning is almost done. Everyone here is healthy. The people I love are safe. But I'm just exhausted.

Nationwide cases: 1,443,397. Deaths: 87,568.