Would a National Lockdown Have Saved the U.S. From COVID-19?
A comparison of Texas and California suggests that legal edicts matter less than The New York Times thinks.
Public Health
Fort Worth Regulators Target Community Fridges Providing Free Food for People in Need
Using obscure laws to prevent people from helping each other is obscene.
Closing Bars and Restaurants Didn't Stop People From Gathering
Now officials in Chicago and New York are reconsidering their rules.
If Carelessness Gave Us the Current COVID-19 Surge, Individual Precautions Can Abate That Trend
Recent upward trends in cases and deaths seem to reflect virus transmission tied to holiday gatherings.
Trump Will Adopt Biden Plan for Speeding Up COVID-19 Vaccinations
Vaccine booster doses currently being reserved will be released immediately to inoculate more Americans.
Californians Are Revolting Against the Lockdown
Small business owners and sheriffs are leading the revolt against Governor Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home orders, which they say are unscientific and ineffective.
New York Bill Would Let the State Put People in Detention if Deemed a 'Significant Threat to Public Health'
The legislation gives the government wide latitude to detain those who might have a contagious disease.
Andrew Cuomo's Vaccine Distribution Rules Are a Threat to Public Health
The New York governor says hospitals have to increase vaccinations—but there's a catch.
In Defense of COVID Billionaires
Billionaires may well have enabled our greatest (only?) policy successes in 2020.
Victim-Blaming During a Pandemic Doesn't Make People Safer
The incessant urge to make COVID-19 infection a morality play is corroding our humanity and distracting us from solutions.
Eviction Moratoriums Are Transforming From Emergency Stopgaps to Permanent Programs
A growing number of states are enshrining eviction moratoriums into laws that won't expire until well into next year.
New COVID-19 Strain and Bungled Vaccine Rollout Threaten the 'Return to Normal' in 2021
Plus: Josh Hawley rejects reality (again), Florida's still trying to bust Robert Kraft for getting a hand job, distilleries' good deeds get punished, and more...
Charles Wininger: Why We Should Listen To Ecstasy and Other Psychedelics
A 71-year-old therapist comes out of the "chemical closet" to promote MDMA as a means of self-discovery
Immunity Passports May Liberate Us From Lockdowns or Invite New Privacy Invasions
The idea is looking less like a Get Out of Jail Free card and more like a hall pass.
The Government Isn't About To Tell You To Stop Drinking Now
Plus: Operation Warp Speed is off to a slow start, Trump's school choice order, and more...
COVID-19 Herd Immunity Is Possible Before Spring If the FDA Gets Out of the Way
The government must move quickly to approve a one-dose regimen for Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
The More Transmissible U.K. COVID-19 Variant Could Make the Pandemic a Lot Worse
Ramp up the vaccinations now!
Newly Recorded COVID-19 Cases and Deaths Are Falling in the U.S.
It's not clear how long those hopeful trends will continue.
Is Anthony Fauci Right That Federalism Undermined the U.S. Response to COVID-19?
Centralization makes sense only if you ignore differences in local conditions—and trust the feds to make the right choices.
2020: An Awful Year With a Legacy We Won't Soon Escape
Fortunately, 2020 is nearly at an end. Unfortunately, its events will leave one hell of a mark on the years to come.
Sally Satel: The Secret History of the Opioid Epidemic
The story of why pain relievers took root in Appalachia begins decades before the introduction of OxyContin.
Americans Are Sick of Arbitrary COVID-19 Restrictions
A year into the pandemic, politicians still have not digested the dangers of careless public health measures.
Has Restaurants' Role in Spreading COVID-19 Been Exaggerated?
The evidence is limited and mixed, but data from New York, Minnesota, and California suggest that restaurants there account for a small share of infections.
Study: Prison COVID-19 Spread Led to Hundreds of Thousands of Community Infections
Thanks to poor management and massive rates of incarceration, people are dying both inside and outside prisons.
Deal Reached To Tack $900 Billion COVID-19 Relief Package on to Spending Bill
Plus: 1 in 5 prisoners has had COVID-19, Supreme Court won't stop undocumented immigrant exclusion from Census, and more...
California Judge Blocks Enforcement of State and Local Bans on Restaurant Dining in San Diego County
The decision says the government failed to present any evidence of virus transmission in restaurants that follow COVID-19 precautions.
SCOTUS Declines To Let Kentucky Religious Schools Reopen Without Addressing the Constitutionality of Closing Them
The justices emphasized that K-12 schools are currently scheduled to reopen after winter break.
Public Schools Are Losing Their Captive Audience of Children
Pandemic chaos is driving families to flee government institutions in search of education that better suits their needs.
Americans Are in Full Revolt Against Pandemic Lockdowns
Individually and in organized groups, people are pushing back against lockdown orders.
A New Warning That International Pandemic Responses Are Eroding Freedom
Authoritarian-minded officials have found opportunity in public health fears.
Pandemic Lockdown Battles Offer Glimpses of Political Conflicts to Come
Under punitive federalism, localities refuse dictates from above while state and federal officials retaliate.
California's Health Secretary Concedes There Is No Empirical Basis for the State's Ban on Outdoor Dining
The ban is "not a comment on the relative safety of outdoor dining," Mark Ghaly says, but part of the effort to keep people from leaving home.
'I'm Not Sure We Know What We're Doing,' Says a Newly Skeptical California Lockdown Advocate
San Mateo County Health Officer Scott Morrow, who supported last spring's stay-at-home orders, airs his misgivings about reviving that policy.
A Right to a Speedy Jury Trial? Don't Count On It During the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Courts ignore constitutional guarantees while defendants awaiting trial languish in jail.
Are Americans Insufficiently Alarmed by COVID-19?
Press coverage of the pandemic tends to exaggerate risk and ignore encouraging information.
FDA Staff Review Confirms: Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Safe and Highly Effective
It is likely to be approved for distribution by the end of the week.
U.S. Media Readers 'Strongly Prefer Negative Stories About COVID-19'
The National Bureau of Economic Research finds that U.S. media coverage of the pandemic is far bleaker than in other countries.
California Churches Stuck in Limbo After Supreme Court Decision
Plus: Congress to vote today on marijuana decriminalization, new study shows bad news for indoor diners, and more...
The Unseen Costs of the COVID-19 Pandemic
We must not ignore the suffering that this pandemic and our collective response to it have inflicted on millions of fellow citizens.
In a Complex World, Politicians Have a Simple Demand: More Power
Circumstances change and the world may grow more complicated, but authoritarians never vary from their demand for more power over our lives.
Paul Krugman Thinks Holding Religious Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic Is Like 'Dumping Neurotoxins Into Public Reservoirs'
The New York Times columnist misconstrues the issues at stake in the challenge to New York's restrictions on houses of worship.
SCOTUS Blocks New York's COVID-19 Restrictions on Houses of Worship, Saying They Are Not 'Narrowly Tailored'
Gov. Andrew Cuomo described his policy as a "fear-driven response," cut by a "hatchet" rather than a "scalpel."
Senseless Restrictions on Outdoor Activities Undermine the Goal of Curbing COVID-19
By arbitrarily foreclosing relatively safe social and recreational options, politicians encourage defiance, resentment, and riskier substitutes.
Instead of Policing Thanksgiving, Governments Should Get Their Own Act Together
Plus: Trump adviser says TikTok ban will happen, Texas to teach birth control in middle school sex ed, and more...
Vaccine Nationalism Threatens Politicized Decisions to Fight a Global Pandemic
If governments stand in the way of vaccine production and distribution for the world market, the costs will be high in lives and in wealth.
More Cops Say They Won't Enforce Coronavirus Curfews
Plus: Biden definitely wins Georgia, Alaskans approve ranked-choice voting, Facebook faces next antitrust lawsuit, and more...