Reopen the Schools!
These big disruptions to the education system are not necessary to fight COVID-19.
Public Health
CDC Antibody Studies Confirm Huge Gap Between COVID-19 Infections and Known Cases
The difference implies that the virus is much less deadly than it looks, but it also makes contact tracing a daunting challenge.
New York's Pandemic-Inspired Restrictions on Church and Synagogue Services Are Unconstitutional, a Federal Judge Rules
U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe finds that the state's COVID-19 control measures arbitrarily discriminate against religious conduct.
Florida and Texas Close Their Bars In Response to Surge in New COVID-19 Cases
Rising rates of new cases and hospitalizations have seen both states' governors reverse course on reopening businesses.
As New York City Reopens, Businesses Balance Public Health and Staying Afloat
Phase 2 of Bill de Blasio's plan lets 300,000 New Yorkers start working again. But not all of them will rush back to the office.
The Pandemic's Economic Carnage Looks Worse Than Expected
Get ready for more pain caused by COVID-19 as well as by the policies intended to hold it in check.
As COVID-19 Infections Rise, Patients Are Getting Younger
The trend, which may reflect growing defiance of social distancing in some age groups, implies a lower death rate.
Trump Worries That More Coronavirus Testing Makes America Look Bad
Testing provides clarity and critically useful evidence about the spread of the disease that the president doesn’t seem to want.
Daily COVID-19 Deaths in the U.S. Have Fallen Dramatically Since April
The downward trend continued after states began lifting their lockdowns.
'People Should Have the Fundamental Right To Change Their Consciousness'
Rick Doblin, a leading force in America's psychedelic renaissance, imagines a world of "mass mental health" facilitated by formerly demonized drugs.
What Do Recent COVID-19 Trends Tell Us About the Merits of Lockdowns?
New infections are down nationwide but rising in some places as people rebel against government-recommended precautions.
Treating Mental Illness With Care, Not Punishment, Goes Beyond Defunding Police
We need to remove all the ways that government deters people from seeking treatment.
Another Judge Rules That Ohio's COVID-19 Lockdown Is Illegal
The decision says the "unbridled and unfettered consolidation of authority in one unelected official" violates due process and the separation of powers.
Mask Wearing Correlates Strongly with Declining COVID-19 Transmission, Says New Study
Airborne transmission is the dominant route for the spread of COVID-19.
The Government Was Wrong About Masks
Plus: "fictional pleas," COVID-19 in migrant detention centers, and more...
Will a Rise in Coronavirus Numbers in 14 States Refocus Attention on the Pandemic?
Plus: Protest updates, a small blow against qualified immunity, a lesson in not feeding the trolls, and more...
Human Challenge Trials and COVID-19
Should we intentionally expose willing participants to the coronavirus?
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.
