Human Challenge Trials and COVID-19
Should we intentionally expose willing participants to the coronavirus?
Public Health
Is Asymptomatic Spread of COVID-19 Very Rare? Depends How You Define 'Asymptomatic'
Plus: Netflix out-trademarks the U.S. government, contraception shortages, and more...
Did the Lockdowns Save Thousands of Lives? A Soho Forum Debate
Physician Marty Makary vs. epidemiologist Knut Wittkowski on whether "the lockdown saved hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives."
California County Will Allow Outdoor Social Gatherings of 12 People—and Outdoor Protests of 100 People
The phased reopenings happening around the country are becoming increasingly arbitrary.
What 9/11 and the Financial Crisis Teach Us About COVID-19
Sometime in 2021, the American people will be presented with a reorganized and newly empowered federal public health bureaucracy. As time passes, it will grow in size and scope.
When Should Force Be Used To Protect Public Health?
Since meager testing resources left officials ignorant of crucial facts about the epidemic, they made policy decisions without the evidence necessary to assess their proportionality.
Were the Lockdowns a Mistake? A Soho Forum Debate
Physician Marty Makary vs. epidemiologist Knut Wittkowski on whether "the lockdown saved hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives."
Lockdown Supporters Embraced Wildly Wrong COVID-19 Projections That Fit Their Preconceptions
The episode illustrates the perils of confirmation bias on both sides of the debate about disease control measures.
Virus Transmission Estimates Provide More Evidence That COVID-19 Lockdowns Are Overrated
Two models suggest that broad restrictions had less impact on the epidemic than commonly thought.
John Roberts Does Not Think California's Special Restrictions on Religious Services Discriminate Against Churches
As SCOTUS declines to issue an injunction, the chief justice says the state's COVID-19 control measures seem consistent with the First Amendment.
In Future Crises, Let People Make Their Own Decisions
Top-down, one-size-fits-few mandates are recipes for conflict.
As Lockdowns Are Lifted, Is the COVID-19 Reproductive Number Rising or Falling?
Two models generate strikingly different estimates.
Do Pandemic-Inspired Bans on Religious Services Violate the First Amendment? Circuit Courts Are Split.
Supreme Court precedent suggests COVID-19 restrictions that discriminate against churches are presumptively unconstitutional.
Make 'Temporary' Regulatory Relief Permanent After the Pandemic Passes
The health crisis revealed red tape that hobbles our lives even in good times.
A Middle Course Between COVID-19 Hopes and Fears
Control measures should be based on emerging evidence about the danger posed by the virus.
The President and Governors Alike Botched the Pandemic Response
Competent responses to the crisis have come from people and organizations voluntarily helping each other and themselves.
The CDC's New 'Best Estimate' Implies a COVID-19 Infection Fatality Rate Below 0.3%
That rate is much lower than the numbers used in the horrifying projections that shaped the government response to the epidemic.
How Much Credit Should Lockdowns Get for Reducing COVID-19 Transmission?
All of it, The New York Times assumes.
COVID-19 Herd Immunity Is 'Still Very Far Away'
Studies from several countries find low infection rates.
The CDC Is Still Botching the Coronavirus Testing Process
The disease control agency is a poster child for bureaucratic incompetence.
Less Than Two-Thirds of Americans Are 'Very' or 'Somewhat' Interested in COVID-19 Vaccinations
But if a shot becomes available, there's a good chance more people will choose to vaccinate without a government mandate.
Ohio Judge Deems the State's COVID-19 Lockdown 'Arbitrary, Unreasonable, and Oppressive'
The ruling says the state's top health official exceeded her statutory authority by ordering "nonessential" businesses to close.
The New York Times Recoils at the Predictable Consequences of the Mandatory COVID-19 Precautions It Supports
When mask-wearing and social distancing rules are legally enforceable, the potential for violence cannot be avoided.
A Second Round of Strict Lockdowns Could Come Quicker Than We Think
Plus: "Jane Roe" in Roe v. Wade says she was paid to lie about abortion, sailors who recovered from COVID-19 test positive again, and more...
A Pandemic Does Not Suspend the Rule of Law
Courts are beginning to recognize that public health powers, while broad, are not a blank check.
Jackson Cops Claim Drug Busts Are Protecting the Public From COVID-19
Plus: Trump tries hydroxychloroquine, France bans drone surveillance of COVID-19 confinement, and more...
Do the Divergent Results of COVID-19 Antibody Studies Reflect Real Differences?
The infection fatality rate probably varies from one place to another.
Public Health Measures Enforced by Violence Aren't as Healthy as Governments Pretend
When will Americans learn?
Don't Believe the Hype About Georgia's Dramatic Drop in COVID-19 Cases
Plus: Justin Amash's quick reversal, Ronan Farrow's flaws, and more...
Americans Are Isolating Themselves Less, but That Doesn't Mean They Are Abandoning COVID-19 Precautions
Sensible social distancing does not require staying in your house.
The Reopen Debate Is a False Dichotomy
Staying inside forever and going back to normal today aren't the only choices.
COVID-19 Contact Tracers or Cootie Cops?
Tracing where people have been and who they’ve met can be effective for battling disease. But, oh boy, does it lend itself to abuse.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Says the State's COVID-19 Lockdown Violated the Rule of Law and the Separation of Powers
A seemingly arcane dispute about administrative law has profound implications for the limits of public health authority.
Mission Creep and Wasteful Spending Left the CDC Unprepared for an Actual Public Health Crisis
Spending nearly 14 times as much on the CDC as we did in 1987 did not, apparently, help the agency combat the biggest disease threat America has faced in a century.
The Immigration Law Nobody's Heard of That Changed America
Is COVID-19 bringing the mythology of America as a nation of immigrants to an end? Q&A with The New York Times' Jia Lynn Yang
Fun Travel May Mean Road Trips for the Foreseeable Future
Unless you are especially dedicated to seeing the world and willing to run a gauntlet of hassles to do so, travel is poised to become a more local activity.
Lockdown Lawsuits Ask How Long a Public Health Emergency Can Last
An Illinois resident obtained a TRO by citing a 30-day limit, while a New Hampshire hair salon owner says the goal of her state's lockdown has been achieved.
Does Questioning Official COVID-19 Statistics Make This Doctor a 'Denialist'?
If you think much about the epidemic remains uncertain, The New York Times warns, you might be part of "the virus 'truther' movement."
We Need Economists, Civil Libertarians, and Epidemiologists in the COVID-19 Discussion
The tradeoffs among considerations of health, prosperity, and liberty are catching up with us even if we don't want to acknowledge them.
Andrew Cuomo's Morally Grotesque Rationale for Maintaining COVID-19 Lockdowns
Even the president is a better moral philosopher than New York's governor.
Supreme Court Can Put a Stop to Rule Compelling Anti-Prostitution Speech From Anti-HIV/AIDS Groups
The anti-prostitution pledge is unconstitutional when applied to U.S. nonprofits. But the feds say it's still OK to compel speech from these groups' foreign affiliates.
This App Protects Privacy While Tracing COVID-19 Infections
Stanford researcher Tina White and the new nonprofit Covid Watch are committed to protecting both individual rights and public health.
Supreme Court Justices in Texas and Pennsylvania Emphasize That COVID-19 Lockdowns Require Judicial Scrutiny
Not everything that states do in the name of protecting public health is consistent with the Constitution.
Lawmakers Call Out Cuomo and Other Governors for Letting Prisoners Die of COVID-19
Plus: "Karenology," failing fashion brands, and more...
When Are COVID-19 Control Measures 'Arbitrary' and 'Unreasonable'?
Courts so far have not been inclined to ask that question.
Masks Can Be a Symbol of Privacy and Personal Responsibility, Not Tyranny
Plus: Family Dollar guard murdered over mask enforcement, doctors see "multisystem inflammatory syndrome" in kids with COVID-19, and more...
8 Possible Reasons for the Huge International Differences in COVID-19 Deaths
For each plausible theory, there are puzzling counterexamples.
