vox--2020-07-09--When Black Lives Matter protests come to “Copland”

Simi Valley is one of the most conservative parts of Southern California .
The city of 125,000 , about 40 miles from Los Angeles , is home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library .
Donald Trump carried the area in 2016 , just like Mitt Romney did in 2012 and John McCain in 2008 .
And it was here , in 1992 , that a jury acquitted the police officers charged with beating Rodney King .
But on June 6 , several thousand people gathered in Simi Valley to protest the police killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people of “ every race , every ethnicity , every age group , ” including white people , Mikiiya Foster , an organizer of the protests , told Vox .
One older white woman , she said , came with a sign reading , “ now you ’ ve pissed off Granny.
” Indeed , images from the protest tell what may be , for some , a surprising story : one of a majority-white , police-friendly city rising up against racist violence like never before .
Versions of that same story have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ summer , as people in small towns and in traditionally Republican strongholds turn out to protest in unprecedented numbers .
And more so than in previous periods of uprising against racism and police violence , many of those protesting have been white , reflecting a larger shift in white public opinion toward skepticism of police and support for Black Lives Matter .
It ’ s not clear how enduring this support will be or how much policy change it will drive .
As the months go by , some white people who have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feel like they ’ ve done their part , ” Ashley Jardina , a political science professor at Duke University and the author of the book White Identity Politics , told Vox .
“ Because racism doesn ’ t affect their day-to-day lives , it becomes salient and less important for them.
” Still , the protests in Simi Valley , and in neighboring suburbs like Thousand Oaks and West Hills , show how much the area — and the movement for racial justice — has changed in recent years .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for our lives anymore , ” Foster said .
“ It ’ s time that we all stick together and fight for each other ’ s lives.
” The June 6 protest started with a tweet .
“ Protest in Simi , ” Foster wrote on May 29 , four days after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis .
Foster , a student bound for UCLA in the fall , only had about 20 followers at that point , she said , so she figured , “ it will probably just be me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corner.
” But her call for a protest caught the attention of Simi Valley City Councilmember Ruth Luevanos , who helped put her in touch with community organizers .
They worked together to get the word out , and just a few days later , somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 people gathered in the streets of Simi Valley to protest Floyd ’ s killing and show support for Black Lives Matter .
The crowd was diverse .
“ It was honestly the most people of color I ’ ve seen in one space @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Foster said .
But there were also lots of white people , who make up nearly 80 percent of the city ’ s population ; just over 1 percent of residents are Black .
Foster ’ s uncle , who was at the protest , made a comment about the number of white protesters that made Foster laugh : “ He said , ‘ I never thought I would feel like a minority at a Black Lives Matter protest.
’ ” For some white demonstrators , this year marked the first time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racial justice .
“ I was always in support of the movement of Black Lives Matter , ” Ryan Shultz , a white Simi Valley resident who attended several protests there in June , told Vox .
But it was only after the death of George Floyd that he felt he had to be in the streets .
“ I couldn ’ t sit idly by and just let this happen , ” he said .
Linda Beck Kuban , who ’ s also white , helped organize a candlelight vigil for Floyd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she protested in support of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s but began paying more attention to racial inequality specifically in recent years , after the uprising in Ferguson and the election of President Trump .
“ The racism became very overt in the Trump administration , ” she said .
“ Not that it wasn ’ t there before , it ’ s never left .
But he and his people brought it out , they gave it permission.
” Meanwhile , for Foster , the protest was a big moment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re the only person of color in your class.
” And Simi Valley isn ’ t just majority white — it ’ s also known for its connection to the Los Angeles Police Department .
Historically , locals called the city “ Copland ” because it was home to so many police officers .
And in the wake of the Rodney King trial , the city became synonymous in the minds of many with racism , white flight , and “ above all , white cops , ” Steven Mikulan wrote at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the protests show “ how much we ’ re changing , ” Foster said , noting that friends who graduated from high school in the city just a few years ago were telling her things like , “ I never would ’ ve imagined anything like that would ever happen in Simi.
” It wasn ’ t just the June 6 protest ; Foster helped organize another protest on Juneteenth that also drew a large crowd .
And the city recently had its first Pride event in over 20 years .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and how we ’ re becoming more and more accepting , ” Foster said .
“ It ’ s not just a majority white , conservative town anymore.
” White people are turning out to protest around the country .
Will it last ?
The same thing is happening around the country , as white people in traditionally Republican areas of the country turn out to show their support for Black Lives Matter and their opposition to police violence .
For example , a march was organized in Vidor , Texas , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Ku Klux Klan , as Texas Monthly reported .
Residents in majority-white St. Helens , Oregon , and Harlan , Kentucky , demonstrated as well .
In addition to protesting , white people are expressing more support for Black Lives Matter , more openness to ( some ) changes to policing , and a greater desire to learn about racism than in years past .
But the question for many is whether those attitudes will translate into sustained action .
“ Part of why a lot of white Americans are turning out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the midst of a really unusual circumstance , ” Jardina said .
Because of the pandemic and the resulting lockdowns , a lot of white people “ are able to sit at home , and pay attention to news , and think about something bigger than themselves.
” The pandemic is also causing many white Americans to question systems they once took for granted , especially as some have to file for unemployment for the first time or see government loans going to big corporations instead of their own small businesses , Veronica @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Studies Institute at Georgia College & State University , told Vox .
The events of the past few months , from federal and state governments ’ botched handling of the pandemic to the killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans , have many Black people and other people of color saying “ we can do better than this , ” Womack said .
And “ we now have white people saying the same thing , and really being able to personally feel it.
” But as the pandemic drags on , attention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not confronted with racism every day , white Americans could convince themselves that “ the change has happened ” and the goals of the protests have been accomplished , Jardina said .
Many wonder whether the white people who protested in Simi Valley in June will still be involved in activism in the fall and beyond .
How will they vote in November ?
And as the larger movement for racial equity continues , what should be the role of the white people around the country who are newly interested in joining the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , plans to keep going .
“ This definitely kind of ignited a spark within me to not only come out to protests for Black Lives Matter but for many other protests that are going on , ” he said .
And for other white people newly active in this moment , he advises , “ it is a marathon , not a sprint.
” “ We need to have these conversations , we need to be posting on our social media , talking to our friends , our family , our coworkers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he said .
“ And we need to vote.
” For Foster , meanwhile , “ it ’ s not necessarily about white people using their voice to uplift our voices , it ’ s about them using their platform to let us uplift our own voices.
” White people may recognize what Black and other people of color experience , “ but you don ’ t really know how it feels , and you can ’ t know how it feels.
” “ In terms of how to be the best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I think it ’ s really important to let people of color speak on it and maybe quiet your own voice so that we can amplify ours.
” Todd Bigelow is an editorial photographer with Contact Press Images based in Los Angeles , California .
These photos were made June 6 to June 19 in Simi Valley , West Hills , and Thousand Oaks , California .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution @ @ @ @

Simi Valley is one of the most conservative parts of Southern California.
The city of 125,000, about 40 miles from Los Angeles, is home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Donald Trump carried the area in 2016, just like Mitt Romney did in 2012 and John McCain in 2008. And it was here, in 1992, that a jury acquitted the police officers charged with beating Rodney King.
But on June 6, several thousand people gathered in Simi Valley to protest the police killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans. The protests were diverse, with people of “every race, every ethnicity, every age group,” including white people, Mikiiya Foster, an organizer of the protests, told Vox.
One older white woman, she said, came with a sign reading, “now you’ve pissed off Granny.”
Indeed, images from the protest tell what may be, for some, a surprising story: one of a majority-white, police-friendly city rising up against racist violence like never before.
Versions of that same story have been playing out time and again this summer, as people in small towns and in traditionally Republican strongholds turn out to protest in unprecedented numbers. And more so than in previous periods of uprising against racism and police violence, many of those protesting have been white, reflecting a larger shift in white public opinion toward skepticism of police and support for Black Lives Matter.
It’s not clear how enduring this support will be or how much policy change it will drive. As the months go by, some white people who have been supportive of the movement may “feel like they’ve done their part,” Ashley Jardina, a political science professor at Duke University and the author of the book White Identity Politics, told Vox. “Because racism doesn’t affect their day-to-day lives, it becomes salient and less important for them.”
Still, the protests in Simi Valley, and in neighboring suburbs like Thousand Oaks and West Hills, show how much the area — and the movement for racial justice — has changed in recent years. “It’s not just Black people marching for our lives anymore,” Foster said. “It’s time that we all stick together and fight for each other’s lives.”
“Protest in Simi”
The June 6 protest started with a tweet. “Protest in Simi,” Foster wrote on May 29, four days after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis.
Foster, a student bound for UCLA in the fall, only had about 20 followers at that point, she said, so she figured, “it will probably just be me and a few friends standing on the corner.”
But her call for a protest caught the attention of Simi Valley City Councilmember Ruth Luevanos, who helped put her in touch with community organizers. They worked together to get the word out, and just a few days later, somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 people gathered in the streets of Simi Valley to protest Floyd’s killing and show support for Black Lives Matter.
The crowd was diverse. “It was honestly the most people of color I’ve seen in one space in Simi in my entire life,” Foster said.
But there were also lots of white people, who make up nearly 80 percent of the city’s population; just over 1 percent of residents are Black. Foster’s uncle, who was at the protest, made a comment about the number of white protesters that made Foster laugh: “He said, ‘I never thought I would feel like a minority at a Black Lives Matter protest.’”
For some white demonstrators, this year marked the first time they had been moved to protest for racial justice. “I was always in support of the movement of Black Lives Matter,” Ryan Shultz, a white Simi Valley resident who attended several protests there in June, told Vox. But it was only after the death of George Floyd that he felt he had to be in the streets. “I couldn’t sit idly by and just let this happen,” he said.
Linda Beck Kuban, who’s also white, helped organize a candlelight vigil for Floyd in nearby Thousand Oaks. She said she protested in support of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s but began paying more attention to racial inequality specifically in recent years, after the uprising in Ferguson and the election of President Trump. “The racism became very overt in the Trump administration,” she said. “Not that it wasn’t there before, it’s never left. But he and his people brought it out, they gave it permission.”
Meanwhile, for Foster, the protest was a big moment in a place where “oftentimes you’re the only person of color in your class.” And Simi Valley isn’t just majority white — it’s also known for its connection to the Los Angeles Police Department. Historically, locals called the city “Copland” because it was home to so many police officers. And in the wake of the Rodney King trial, the city became synonymous in the minds of many with racism, white flight, and “above all, white cops,” Steven Mikulan wrote at LA Weekly in 2002.
Now, the protests show “how much we’re changing,” Foster said, noting that friends who graduated from high school in the city just a few years ago were telling her things like, “I never would’ve imagined anything like that would ever happen in Simi.”
Related The legacy of Black Lives Matter
It wasn’t just the June 6 protest; Foster helped organize another protest on Juneteenth that also drew a large crowd. And the city recently had its first Pride event in over 20 years.
“It shows how diverse we’re becoming, and how we’re becoming more and more accepting,” Foster said. “It’s not just a majority white, conservative town anymore.”
White people are turning out to protest around the country. Will it last?
The same thing is happening around the country, as white people in traditionally Republican areas of the country turn out to show their support for Black Lives Matter and their opposition to police violence. For example, a march was organized in Vidor, Texas, a formerly all-white town and stronghold of the Ku Klux Klan, as Texas Monthly reported. Residents in majority-white St. Helens, Oregon, and Harlan, Kentucky, demonstrated as well.
In addition to protesting, white people are expressing more support for Black Lives Matter, more openness to (some) changes to policing, and a greater desire to learn about racism than in years past. But the question for many is whether those attitudes will translate into sustained action. “Part of why a lot of white Americans are turning out to protest is we’re in the midst of a really unusual circumstance,” Jardina said. Because of the pandemic and the resulting lockdowns, a lot of white people “are able to sit at home, and pay attention to news, and think about something bigger than themselves.”
The pandemic is also causing many white Americans to question systems they once took for granted, especially as some have to file for unemployment for the first time or see government loans going to big corporations instead of their own small businesses, Veronica Womack, executive director of the Rural Studies Institute at Georgia College & State University, told Vox.
The events of the past few months, from federal and state governments’ botched handling of the pandemic to the killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans, have many Black people and other people of color saying “we can do better than this,” Womack said. And “we now have white people saying the same thing, and really being able to personally feel it.”
But as the pandemic drags on, attention could drift. Because they’re not confronted with racism every day, white Americans could convince themselves that “the change has happened” and the goals of the protests have been accomplished, Jardina said.
Many wonder whether the white people who protested in Simi Valley in June will still be involved in activism in the fall and beyond. How will they vote in November? And as the larger movement for racial equity continues, what should be the role of the white people around the country who are newly interested in joining the cause?
Shultz, for his part, plans to keep going. “This definitely kind of ignited a spark within me to not only come out to protests for Black Lives Matter but for many other protests that are going on,” he said. And for other white people newly active in this moment, he advises, “it is a marathon, not a sprint.”
“We need to have these conversations, we need to be posting on our social media, talking to our friends, our family, our coworkers, anybody that’ll listen,” he said. “And we need to vote.”
For Foster, meanwhile, “it’s not necessarily about white people using their voice to uplift our voices, it’s about them using their platform to let us uplift our own voices.” White people may recognize what Black and other people of color experience, “but you don’t really know how it feels, and you can’t know how it feels.”
“In terms of how to be the best white ally,” she said, “I think it’s really important to let people of color speak on it and maybe quiet your own voice so that we can amplify ours.”
Todd Bigelow is an editorial photographer with Contact Press Images based in Los Angeles, California. These photos were made June 6 to June 19 in Simi Valley, West Hills, and Thousand Oaks, California.


vox--2020-07-09--Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders joined forces to craft a bold, progressive agenda

A “ unity ” task force created by Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders has released a detailed set of policy recommendations for an incoming Biden administration , if he wins the November election .
The administration it imagines — while not so progressive that it would embrace plans like Medicare-for-all or a jobs guarantee — would push for one of the largest public sector investments in decades .
On Wednesday night , a senior campaign aide described Biden ’ s forthcoming economic plan as the “ largest mobilization of public investments in procurement , infrastructure and [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ II.
” It ’ s also a sign of Biden ’ s success in his ongoing push to unite the party : Numerous progressives on the task force chosen by Sanders told Vox they were happy with the mark they made on the final product .
The final report weighs in at over 100 pages , covering six key domestic policy areas : health care , the economy , climate change , criminal justice , education , and immigration .
Perhaps one of the most ambitious goals in the report , released Wednesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 , plus more immediate benchmarks on climate — including a national goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for all new buildings by 2030 , and eliminating carbon pollution from power plants by 2035 .
The report also advocates the creation of a postal banking system to expand banking access for low-income families , and a ban on for-profit charter schools .
Progressives see a list of ideas “ that goes beyond a status quo and goes beyond where Biden had campaigned in the primary , ” Faiz Shakir @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2020 and an integral member in creating the task forces , told Vox .
“ If you look across all these documents , you ’ re going to see a massive public sector investment in job creation.
” Numerous people Vox interviewed said Biden ’ s thinking about how bold to be is being pushed by the Covid-19 pandemic , the resulting economic woes , and the national conversation around systemic racism in America .
The convergence of all three things has pushed Biden to adopt the mantle of New Deal President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On Thursday , Biden will deliver a speech unveiling the first plank of his campaign ’ s economic plan — expected to be its policy centerpiece .
“ Much like FDR faced a structural crisis of economic insecurity , we ’ re at a similar place , ” said Jared Bernstein , Biden ’ s former chief economic adviser in the Obama White House and a member of the economy task force .
“ The vice president recognizes that the extent of market failure here is not something you can fix with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ necessary.
” Biden and Sanders each praised the report in a joint statement on Wednesday .
“ Though the end result is not what I or my supporters would have written alone , the task forces have created a good policy blueprint that will move this country in a much-needed progressive direction and substantially improve the lives of working families throughout our country , ” Sanders said .
Biden said that President Donald Trump ’ s current response to the still-raging coronavirus in America means that “ this election offers the chance to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that works for our working families.
” “ I commend the Task Forces for their service and helping build a bold , transformative platform for our party and for our country , ” Biden added .
What ’ s in the task force report — and what ’ s next for the task force While it ’ s still unclear how many of these specific policy recommendations Biden ’ s campaign will adopt or work into their official policy , Democrats will know soon .
The next concrete step for the task force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it to be incorporated into the Democratic Party ’ s platform at the 2020 Democratic National Convention , which starts on August 17 .
But Sanders ’ s allies are clear that they don ’ t see the report as the final stop .
They are lobbying Biden ’ s campaign to make sure any incoming transition team or administration contains a number of progressives .
“ Phase two is continuing to shape and alter the Biden campaign ’ s positions , ” Shakir told Vox .
“ We obviously are advocating for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in transition planning .
They send a symbolic message of what kind of administration are you trying to form .
Here , you ’ ve got a progressive policy blueprint ; now you need the progressive policy personnel to make it happen.
” Progressives told Vox they felt especially good about the wins they secured on two task forces : education and climate .
On the economy task force , a big sticking point was a federal jobs guarantee program , which did not make it into the final list of recommendations ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must enact measures to create jobs and jobs programs like those effectively used during the New Deal ” did ) .
“ Particularly on climate , I think we actually made far more progress than I think I even anticipated , ” Sunrise Movement co-founder Varshini Prakash , who served on the climate task force and was a Sanders pick , told Vox .
“ In large part , that was because many of the advisers on climate on Biden ’ s side were also equally amenable to ambitious action as many people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , American Federation of Teachers president and task force member Randi Weingarten , a Biden pick , told Vox she thinks the task force recommendations could encourage Biden ’ s education plan to go much further than either the Trump or Obama administration did .
“ It ’ s a paradigm shift from the tearing down that you have right now with Trump and [ Education Secretary Betsy ] DeVos and their defunding , destabilizing , undermining philosophy , ” Weingarten said .
“ But it ’ s also different than ‘ accountability @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Obama administration.
” While the Biden and Sanders teams may have started out in more agreement on climate , there was a clearly differing view on health care , with Sanders supporters in favor of Medicare-for-all and Biden ’ s campaign favoring a public option .
And on issues like this — and criminal justice — the campaign didn ’ t move as far left .
“ Though we have disagreements , I believe we ’ ve come together with something that reflects the average of where we stand and allows us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that would extend health care for millions of people , ” said Dr. Abdul El-Sayed , a single-payer advocate who was a Sanders pick for the health care task force .
“ I feel they made a constructive contribution to that end , ” said Chris Jennings , who was a health care policy adviser during the Obama administration and was a Biden pick for the health care task force .
“ I do believe the outcome is a stronger product and a more unified party.
” Here are some of the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ full report can be read here .
• Broad public investment into infrastructure like America ’ s roads and bridges , in addition to retrofitting American homes and buildings to be more energy-efficient .
Biden is expected to release more details and numbers on a green infrastructure plan in the coming weeks .
• Expand public and private caregiving jobs in health care , child care , and elder care ; and increase compensation , benefits , bargaining power , and training in these jobs .
• A public option plan administered by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ range of people , including low-income Americans who are not eligible for Medicaid , and anyone who elects to choose the public option from the Affordable Care Act exchanges .
Those who currently get health insurance from their employers would also be eligible .
• Medicare would directly negotiate the cost of prescription drug prices for all public and private purchasers .
• The age to enroll in Medicare would be lowered from 65 to 60 , and older Americans could choose between their employer-provided health insurance , Medicare , or a public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for all new buildings by 2030 , in an attempt to create a 100 percent clean building sector .
• Commit to eliminating carbon pollution from power plants by 2035 through new technology-neutral standards for clean energy and energy efficiency , including the installation of 500 million solar panels and 60,000 made-in-America wind turbines .
• Commit that all jobs in the clean energy economy will be unionized .
• Ensure early childhood educators have the right to organize and collectively bargain .
• Triple Title I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Disabilities Education Act .
• Ban for-profit charter schools , and appoint a federal task force or committee to study the effects of charter schools on public education .
• Create a federal civilian corps of unarmed first responders including as social workers , EMTs , and trained mental health professionals to handle nonviolent emergencies in communities , so as to cut down on the use of police in those situations .
• Reduce the militarization of police by reinstating a rule to limit the sale and transfer of military weapons to police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • Decriminalize marijuana and legalize medical marijuana at the federal level ; the report recommends individual states have the discretion to legalize recreational marijuana use .
• End the use of private prisons and detention centers , including for immigration-related offenses .
• Extend Affordable Care Act benefits to DREAMERs , immigrants with temporary legal status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program .
• Support legislation to treat the spouses and children of green card holders as immediate relatives and end family separation , and work with Congress to eliminate the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ permanent bars that keep families separated .
• Support the Domestic Workers ’ Bill of Rights to give immigrant workers in the US expanded rights .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

A “unity” task force created by Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders has released a detailed set of policy recommendations for an incoming Biden administration, if he wins the November election.
The administration it imagines — while not so progressive that it would embrace plans like Medicare-for-all or a jobs guarantee — would push for one of the largest public sector investments in decades. On Wednesday night, a senior campaign aide described Biden’s forthcoming economic plan as the “largest mobilization of public investments in procurement, infrastructure and [research and development] since World War II.”
It’s also a sign of Biden’s success in his ongoing push to unite the party: Numerous progressives on the task force chosen by Sanders told Vox they were happy with the mark they made on the final product.
The final report weighs in at over 100 pages, covering six key domestic policy areas: health care, the economy, climate change, criminal justice, education, and immigration.
Perhaps one of the most ambitious goals in the report, released Wednesday, is its commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, plus more immediate benchmarks on climate — including a national goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for all new buildings by 2030, and eliminating carbon pollution from power plants by 2035. The report also advocates the creation of a postal banking system to expand banking access for low-income families, and a ban on for-profit charter schools.
Progressives see a list of ideas “that goes beyond a status quo and goes beyond where Biden had campaigned in the primary,” Faiz Shakir, Sanders’s presidential campaign manager in 2020 and an integral member in creating the task forces, told Vox. “If you look across all these documents, you’re going to see a massive public sector investment in job creation.”
Numerous people Vox interviewed said Biden’s thinking about how bold to be is being pushed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the resulting economic woes, and the national conversation around systemic racism in America.
The convergence of all three things has pushed Biden to adopt the mantle of New Deal President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in recent months. On Thursday, Biden will deliver a speech unveiling the first plank of his campaign’s economic plan — expected to be its policy centerpiece.
“Much like FDR faced a structural crisis of economic insecurity, we’re at a similar place,” said Jared Bernstein, Biden’s former chief economic adviser in the Obama White House and a member of the economy task force. “The vice president recognizes that the extent of market failure here is not something you can fix with a Band-Aid, and that structural reforms are necessary.”
Biden and Sanders each praised the report in a joint statement on Wednesday.
“Though the end result is not what I or my supporters would have written alone, the task forces have created a good policy blueprint that will move this country in a much-needed progressive direction and substantially improve the lives of working families throughout our country,” Sanders said.
Biden said that President Donald Trump’s current response to the still-raging coronavirus in America means that “this election offers the chance to usher in a stronger, fairer economy that works for our working families.”
“I commend the Task Forces for their service and helping build a bold, transformative platform for our party and for our country,” Biden added.
What’s in the task force report — and what’s next for the task force
While it’s still unclear how many of these specific policy recommendations Biden’s campaign will adopt or work into their official policy, Democrats will know soon. The next concrete step for the task force report is for participants to advocate for it to be incorporated into the Democratic Party’s platform at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which starts on August 17.
But Sanders’s allies are clear that they don’t see the report as the final stop. They are lobbying Biden’s campaign to make sure any incoming transition team or administration contains a number of progressives.
“Phase two is continuing to shape and alter the Biden campaign’s positions,” Shakir told Vox. “We obviously are advocating for some of these members to be involved in transition planning. They send a symbolic message of what kind of administration are you trying to form. Here, you’ve got a progressive policy blueprint; now you need the progressive policy personnel to make it happen.”
Progressives told Vox they felt especially good about the wins they secured on two task forces: education and climate. On the economy task force, a big sticking point was a federal jobs guarantee program, which did not make it into the final list of recommendations (even though language saying the “government must enact measures to create jobs and jobs programs like those effectively used during the New Deal” did).
“Particularly on climate, I think we actually made far more progress than I think I even anticipated,” Sunrise Movement co-founder Varshini Prakash, who served on the climate task force and was a Sanders pick, told Vox. “In large part, that was because many of the advisers on climate on Biden’s side were also equally amenable to ambitious action as many people on the Bernie side.”
On education, American Federation of Teachers president and task force member Randi Weingarten, a Biden pick, told Vox she thinks the task force recommendations could encourage Biden’s education plan to go much further than either the Trump or Obama administration did.
“It’s a paradigm shift from the tearing down that you have right now with Trump and [Education Secretary Betsy] DeVos and their defunding, destabilizing, undermining philosophy,” Weingarten said. “But it’s also different than ‘accountability is the be-all, end-all’ of the Obama administration.”
While the Biden and Sanders teams may have started out in more agreement on climate, there was a clearly differing view on health care, with Sanders supporters in favor of Medicare-for-all and Biden’s campaign favoring a public option. And on issues like this — and criminal justice — the campaign didn’t move as far left.
“Though we have disagreements, I believe we’ve come together with something that reflects the average of where we stand and allows us to fight for a health care policy that would extend health care for millions of people,” said Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a single-payer advocate who was a Sanders pick for the health care task force.
“I feel they made a constructive contribution to that end,” said Chris Jennings, who was a health care policy adviser during the Obama administration and was a Biden pick for the health care task force. “I do believe the outcome is a stronger product and a more unified party.”
Here are some of the most notable policy recommendations it contains; the full report can be read here.
Economy
Broad public investment into infrastructure like America’s roads and bridges, in addition to retrofitting American homes and buildings to be more energy-efficient. Biden is expected to release more details and numbers on a green infrastructure plan in the coming weeks.
Encourage more publicly owned and municipal broadband networks.
Expand public and private caregiving jobs in health care, child care, and elder care; and increase compensation, benefits, bargaining power, and training in these jobs.
Create a postal banking system to expand banking access for low-income families.
Health care
A public option plan administered by Medicare. This plan would cover a range of people, including low-income Americans who are not eligible for Medicaid, and anyone who elects to choose the public option from the Affordable Care Act exchanges. Those who currently get health insurance from their employers would also be eligible.
Medicare would directly negotiate the cost of prescription drug prices for all public and private purchasers.
The age to enroll in Medicare would be lowered from 65 to 60, and older Americans could choose between their employer-provided health insurance, Medicare, or a public option.
Climate
Set a national goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for all new buildings by 2030, in an attempt to create a 100 percent clean building sector.
Commit to eliminating carbon pollution from power plants by 2035 through new technology-neutral standards for clean energy and energy efficiency, including the installation of 500 million solar panels and 60,000 made-in-America wind turbines.
Commit that all jobs in the clean energy economy will be unionized.
Education
Establish universal prekindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds.
Ensure early childhood educators have the right to organize and collectively bargain.
Triple Title I funding and fully fund the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.
Ban for-profit charter schools, and appoint a federal task force or committee to study the effects of charter schools on public education.
Criminal justice
Create a federal civilian corps of unarmed first responders including as social workers, EMTs, and trained mental health professionals to handle nonviolent emergencies in communities, so as to cut down on the use of police in those situations.
Reduce the militarization of police by reinstating a rule to limit the sale and transfer of military weapons to police departments and domestic law enforcement agencies.
Decriminalize marijuana and legalize medical marijuana at the federal level; the report recommends individual states have the discretion to legalize recreational marijuana use.
End the use of private prisons and detention centers, including for immigration-related offenses.
Immigration


vox--2020-07-10--Covid-19 testing in the US is abysmal. Again.

Covid-19 testing in the US improved dramatically over the first half of 2020 , but things now appear to be breaking down once more as coronavirus cases rise and outstrip capacity — to the point that the mayor of a major American city can ’ t get testing quickly enough to potentially avoid spreading the virus .
“ We FINALLY received our test results taken 8 days before , ” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms tweeted July 8 .
“ One person in my house was positive then .
By the time we tested again , 1 week later , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we had known sooner , we would have immediately quarantined .
Perhaps the National Guard can help with testing too.
” Anecdotally , I ’ ve heard of similar delays across the country — people waiting days or even weeks for their Covid-19 test results after standing in lines for hours to get tested .
Labs have warned about problems : Quest Diagnostics , one of the biggest lab companies in the US , said wait times for test results are now averaging between four and six days for most people .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Ashish Jha , faculty director of the Harvard Global Health Institute ( HGHI ) , told me .
“ One is the outbreaks are getting much bigger , so the amount of testing we need to get our arms around the outbreak is going up .
And second , what we did [ before ] was some tweaking on capacity issues to get ourselves up to 500,000 to 600,000 tests a day , but didn ’ t fundamentally address the supply chain problems.
” He added , “ This was supposed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
… But they just never have prioritized really building up a robust testing infrastructure for the country.
” The problems have become more localized than in previous months .
New York and Connecticut ’ s testing capacity seems to be holding up pretty well , largely because their Covid-19 outbreaks seem to be under control for now .
States where epidemics are raging , such as Arizona , Florida , and Texas , are where testing problems seem to be spiraling .
As Bottoms ’ s story conveys , this is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under control : Testing is crucial for controlling disease outbreaks because they let officials and individuals see when further action , such as isolation and contact tracing , is necessary .
But if testing is slow or insufficient , it can ’ t show people they ’ re infected and need to take action until it ’ s likely too late .
That ’ s especially true with Covid-19 because people can have the virus and spread it without showing any symptoms .
“ This is the same story we heard in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jennifer Kates , vice president and director of the Global Health and HIV Policy Program at the Kaiser Family Foundation , told me .
“ But it ’ s much worse because everyone felt like the US was a little caught off guard at the beginning .
… What we ’ re learning now is that none of the things that should ’ ve happened in the interim [ during lockdowns ] happened.
” So as America faces a surge of new coronavirus cases , the testing delays threaten to make the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Covid-19 testing capacity over the past few months , largely due to local , state , and private action as President Donald Trump ’ s administration delegated the issue downward and said the federal government would act merely as a “ supplier of last resort.
” Nonetheless , the improvements were substantive and real .
The US went from testing hundreds of people a day ( at most ) in late February and early March to consistently hitting 500,000 to 700,000 tests a day in June and now July .
The benchmark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important , as it was the minimum experts had long called for in order to get the pandemic in the US under control .
But as the country neared that benchmark , attention to testing seemed to plummet .
The Trump administration , which had already delegated testing down to lower levels of government and private actors , especially appeared to lose interest : The country ’ s “ testing czar , ” Brett Giroir , stood down and went back to his regular job at the Department of Health and Human Services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ America leads the world in testing ” ; at his Tulsa rally in June , he said he told his people to “ slow the testing down ” because the rising case count made him look bad .
( He later asserted that his statement at the rally was not a joke , despite White House officials insisting it was . )
As all this happened , many of the underlying problems with testing capacity remained .
For one , there ’ s still a lot of variation between states .
While @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , had 150 new tests per 100,000 people per day — the equivalent to 500,000 daily tests nationwide — 18 states still didn ’ t .
The state-by-state situation looks worse through another metric : the test positive rate , or the percent of tests that come back positive .
If a place tests widely enough , allowing it to catch even the people who show few symptoms but could still spread the virus , it should have a low positive rate — typically below 5 percent , though some experts now argue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high positive rate indicates only people with obvious symptoms are getting tested , so there ’ s not quite enough testing to measure the scope of an outbreak .
As of July 8 , most states in the US had a positive rate above 5 percent , suggesting their testing capacity isn ’ t keeping up with the scale of their outbreaks .
The consequence is delays in testing results as the demand for tests outmatches the supply .
So people can ’ t get their test results quickly enough to act on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ achieving the exact goal they ’ re supposed to accomplish .
Testing was always supposed to scale with larger outbreaks The diversion between many states hitting 150 daily tests per 100,000 people and still having positive rates that are too high exposes another problem : The call for 500,000 tests a day nationwide was supposed to be only the minimum .
Experts always warned that if the Covid-19 outbreak got much worse , there would likely need to be even more testing to keep up with the rise in new potential patients and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing capacity you need to get to the place of opening up , then there ’ s the testing capacity you need to be open , ” the Kaiser Family Foundation ’ s Kates said .
“ Once economies start to open again , people start moving and returning to the public sphere , and there are outbreaks .
If there ’ s not enough testing , and testing hasn ’ t been built along with contact tracing , you ’ re going to have this explosion that we ’ re seeing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ catch up with it.
” Jha , from the HGHI — which was one of the more vocal advocates for the threshold of 500,000 tests — said he worries something got lost in his communications to journalists and government officials .
At the same time , Jha and the other experts I spoke to were always clear , at least to me , that the 500,000 benchmark was a minimum .
In fact , even before the current testing problems , Jha and the HGHI said the number was likely too low to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called instead for a minimum of 1 million daily tests .
“ We were the ones who generated the 500,000-a-day number .
We did it based on a particular size of the outbreak , ” Jha said .
“ Clearly , things have gotten much worse since then.
” He added , “ We ’ re learning .
We ’ re trying to figure out how to control the virus and where the country should go .
And obviously in that we ’ re going to be updating data as it goes along.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a similar story .
Thomas Tsai , a health policy expert at Harvard , said the real goal for the positive rate is 0 percent — when the coronavirus is vanquished .
So it ’ s important for states not to get complacent just because they ’ re now below an “ acceptable ” maximum of 3 percent or 5 percent .
“ The tests are a mean to an end , ” Tsai said .
The metrics “ are just signposts along the way to give you directions.
” But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the greater part of May and early June , much of the public and officials may have become complacent with the testing situation .
They set their attention to other issues , such as the rise of new Black Lives Matter protests .
Trump and the rest of the White House stopped focusing on the topic , halting daily press briefings about Covid-19 , perhaps as officials realized that the president ’ s botched response to the crisis had made him look much worse .
Meanwhile , there was a push , from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reopen as quickly as possible to boost the economy .
Now it ’ s clear that problems with Covid-19 testing remain .
Earlier on , the hurdles with testing were linked to supply chain problems : not enough swabs to collect samples , vials to store them , or reagents and kits to run the tests .
Over time , those problems were fixed or worked around .
The issue , experts say , is that these kinds of problems were always bound to come back as testing demand increased .
Fixing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get to 500,000 tests a day , but that bottleneck can easily come back if , for instance , the nation needs 1 million per day and there are only enough kits for 700,000 .
Jha pointed to basic economic concerns as a key problem .
“ If we decided to tomorrow , do we have the technological capacity to be able to get many millions of tests a day ?
Absolutely , ” he said .
But labs aren ’ t sure that making the massive investment for way more tests is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Covid-19 outbreaks ebb and flow — and , as a result , occasionally deplete demand for those tests , as well as the number of people who need them .
Ideally , the federal government would be in charge of handling these problems .
It ’ s the one entity that can go to labs across the country , see what the holdups are , then work along the global supply chain to see what can be done to address the issues .
It has the funding ability to ensure labs and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prioritize limited resources to specific cities , counties , or states that need them most , instead of leaving these supplies to a free-for-all .
This is , in fact , what the federal government does with other issues — such as when it ensures that a manufacturer has all of the parts needed for an order of guns , tanks , or jets .
“ The military has visibility into the entire supply chain , and the military oversees the entire supply chain , ” Jha said .
“ It may be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ Department of Defense ] doesn ’ t leave this all up to chance.
” The Trump administration , however , has described the federal government as a “ supplier of last resort.
” That ’ s very different from the kind of proactive approach the Feds take on other issues to get ahead of supply constraints .
So the problem is left to private actors as well as local and state governments , which often face legal , financial , and practical constraints that hinder their ability to move quickly .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases continue to rise .
Testing always mattered and still matters It ’ s been said a countless number of times in recent months , but it ’ s still true : Testing is key to stopping the Covid-19 pandemic .
When paired with contact tracing , testing lets officials track the scale of an outbreak , isolate the sick , quarantine those with whom the sick came in contact , and deploy community-wide efforts as necessary .
Aggressive testing and tracing are how other countries , such as South Korea and Germany @ @ @ @ @ @ @ letting them partly reopen their economies .
This testing problem is solvable in the US .
“ New York at its peak had people dying in the hallways of hospitals .
Test positive rates were routinely above 20 percent , ” Tsai said .
“ Look at it now , with a test positive rate of about 1 percent .
In Massachusetts , our positive rate is about 2 percent now .
These states show that concerted efforts … can not just mitigate the pandemic , not just flatten the curve , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This only works , however , if officials can move quickly on a test , preferably within 24 to 36 hours .
In the time it takes to confirm whether someone either has Covid-19 or came into contact with someone who has it , the person is more likely to continue their typical routine , potentially infecting others in the public or even within their own homes .
In this context , every day and hour matters to get people to stop the spread of the coronavirus .
Testing and tracing can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own .
They have to be paired with precautions such as wearing masks and keeping 6 feet apart in public .
In extreme cases , lockdowns can still be warranted if an outbreak is so out of control that a stay-at-home order becomes the only way to reel things back .
Lockdowns , however , were also supposed to buy the nation time to build up its testing system .
As Natalie Dean , a biostatistics professor at the University of Florida , previously told me , “ The whole point of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to build up capacity to do the types of public health interventions we know work .
If we ’ re not using this time to scale up testing to the level that we need it to be … we don ’ t have an exit strategy .
And then when we lift things , we ’ re no better equipped than we were before.
” It ’ s now clear that the US didn ’ t take full advantage of the time it bought with lockdowns .
While testing did dramatically improve compared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s still not at a point where America can handle the higher demand brought on by another surge in coronavirus cases .
“ It ’ s pathetic .
This is not how a first-world country functions , ” Jha said .
“ That people should not expect to access a test to an infectious disease many , many months into a pandemic — I find myself amazed that this is where we are as a country.
” Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Covid-19 testing in the US improved dramatically over the first half of 2020, but things now appear to be breaking down once more as coronavirus cases rise and outstrip capacity — to the point that the mayor of a major American city can’t get testing quickly enough to potentially avoid spreading the virus.
“We FINALLY received our test results taken 8 days before,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms tweeted on July 8. “One person in my house was positive then. By the time we tested again, 1 week later, 3 of us had COVID. If we had known sooner, we would have immediately quarantined. Perhaps the National Guard can help with testing too.”
Anecdotally, I’ve heard of similar delays across the country — people waiting days or even weeks for their Covid-19 test results after standing in lines for hours to get tested. Labs have warned about problems: Quest Diagnostics, one of the biggest lab companies in the US, said wait times for test results are now averaging between four and six days for most people.
“Basically, two things are happening,” Ashish Jha, faculty director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), told me. “One is the outbreaks are getting much bigger, so the amount of testing we need to get our arms around the outbreak is going up. And second, what we did [before] was some tweaking on capacity issues to get ourselves up to 500,000 to 600,000 tests a day, but didn’t fundamentally address the supply chain problems.”
He added, “This was supposed to be the job of the White House. … But they just never have prioritized really building up a robust testing infrastructure for the country.”
The problems have become more localized than in previous months. New York and Connecticut’s testing capacity seems to be holding up pretty well, largely because their Covid-19 outbreaks seem to be under control for now. States where epidemics are raging, such as Arizona, Florida, and Texas, are where testing problems seem to be spiraling.
As Bottoms’s story conveys, this is a big problem for getting the coronavirus outbreak under control: Testing is crucial for controlling disease outbreaks because they let officials and individuals see when further action, such as isolation and contact tracing, is necessary. But if testing is slow or insufficient, it can’t show people they’re infected and need to take action until it’s likely too late. That’s especially true with Covid-19 because people can have the virus and spread it without showing any symptoms.
“This is the same story we heard in the earlier days of the outbreak,” Jennifer Kates, vice president and director of the Global Health and HIV Policy Program at the Kaiser Family Foundation, told me. “But it’s much worse because everyone felt like the US was a little caught off guard at the beginning. … What we’re learning now is that none of the things that should’ve happened in the interim [during lockdowns] happened.”
So as America faces a surge of new coronavirus cases, the testing delays threaten to make the pandemic even worse.
America improved its testing capacity — to a point
America made huge improvements in Covid-19 testing capacity over the past few months, largely due to local, state, and private action as President Donald Trump’s administration delegated the issue downward and said the federal government would act merely as a “supplier of last resort.”
Nonetheless, the improvements were substantive and real. The US went from testing hundreds of people a day (at most) in late February and early March to consistently hitting 500,000 to 700,000 tests a day in June and now July.
The benchmark of 500,000 tests per day was particularly important, as it was the minimum experts had long called for in order to get the pandemic in the US under control.
But as the country neared that benchmark, attention to testing seemed to plummet. The Trump administration, which had already delegated testing down to lower levels of government and private actors, especially appeared to lose interest: The country’s “testing czar,” Brett Giroir, stood down and went back to his regular job at the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump falsely claimed in May that “America leads the world in testing”; at his Tulsa rally in June, he said he told his people to “slow the testing down” because the rising case count made him look bad. (He later asserted that his statement at the rally was not a joke, despite White House officials insisting it was.)
As all this happened, many of the underlying problems with testing capacity remained.
For one, there’s still a lot of variation between states. While most states, as of July 8, had 150 new tests per 100,000 people per day — the equivalent to 500,000 daily tests nationwide — 18 states still didn’t.
The state-by-state situation looks worse through another metric: the test positive rate, or the percentage of tests that come back positive. If a place tests widely enough, allowing it to catch even the people who show few symptoms but could still spread the virus, it should have a low positive rate — typically below 5 percent, though some experts now argue for less than 3 percent. A high positive rate indicates only people with obvious symptoms are getting tested, so there’s not quite enough testing to measure the scope of an outbreak.
As of July 8, most states in the US had a positive rate above 5 percent, suggesting their testing capacity isn’t keeping up with the scale of their outbreaks.
The consequence is delays in testing results as the demand for tests outmatches the supply. So people can’t get their test results quickly enough to act on a positive report, preventing tests from achieving the exact goal they’re supposed to accomplish.
Testing was always supposed to scale with larger outbreaks
The diversion between many states hitting 150 daily tests per 100,000 people and still having positive rates that are too high exposes another problem: The call for 500,000 tests a day nationwide was supposed to be only the minimum. Experts always warned that if the Covid-19 outbreak got much worse, there would likely need to be even more testing to keep up with the rise in new potential patients and cases.
“There’s the testing capacity you need to get to the place of opening up, then there’s the testing capacity you need to be open,” the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Kates said. “Once economies start to open again, people start moving and returning to the public sphere, and there are outbreaks. If there’s not enough testing, and testing hasn’t been built along with contact tracing, you’re going to have this explosion that we’re seeing, and the testing is not going to catch up with it.”
Jha, from the HGHI — which was one of the more vocal advocates for the threshold of 500,000 tests — said he worries something got lost in his communications to journalists and government officials.
At the same time, Jha and the other experts I spoke to were always clear, at least to me, that the 500,000 benchmark was a minimum. In fact, even before the current testing problems, Jha and the HGHI said the number was likely too low to keep up with the US epidemic and called instead for a minimum of 1 million daily tests.
“We were the ones who generated the 500,000-a-day number. We did it based on a particular size of the outbreak,” Jha said. “Clearly, things have gotten much worse since then.” He added, “We’re learning. We’re trying to figure out how to control the virus and where the country should go. And obviously in that we’re going to be updating data as it goes along.”
With the positive rate, it’s a similar story. Thomas Tsai, a health policy expert at Harvard, said the real goal for the positive rate is 0 percent — when the coronavirus is vanquished. So it’s important for states not to get complacent just because they’re now below an “acceptable” maximum of 3 percent or 5 percent. “The tests are a mean to an end,” Tsai said. The metrics “are just signposts along the way to give you directions.”
But as Covid-19 cases dropped and plateaued for the greater part of May and early June, much of the public and officials may have become complacent with the testing situation. They set their attention to other issues, such as the rise of new Black Lives Matter protests. Trump and the rest of the White House stopped focusing on the topic, halting daily press briefings about Covid-19, perhaps as officials realized that the president’s botched response to the crisis had made him look much worse. Meanwhile, there was a push, from Trump in particular, for states to reopen as quickly as possible to boost the economy.
Now it’s clear that problems with Covid-19 testing remain.
Earlier on, the hurdles with testing were linked to supply chain problems: not enough swabs to collect samples, vials to store them, or reagents and kits to run the tests. Over time, those problems were fixed or worked around.
The issue, experts say, is that these kinds of problems were always bound to come back as testing demand increased. Fixing a bottleneck for kits may let the country get to 500,000 tests a day, but that bottleneck can easily come back if, for instance, the nation needs 1 million per day and there are only enough kits for 700,000.
Jha pointed to basic economic concerns as a key problem. “If we decided to tomorrow, do we have the technological capacity to be able to get many millions of tests a day? Absolutely,” he said. But labs aren’t sure that making the massive investment for way more tests is financially sustainable, he explained, especially as Covid-19 outbreaks ebb and flow — and, as a result, occasionally deplete demand for those tests, as well as the number of people who need them.
Ideally, the federal government would be in charge of handling these problems. It’s the one entity that can go to labs across the country, see what the holdups are, then work along the global supply chain to see what can be done to address the issues. It has the funding ability to ensure labs and suppliers remain whole. And it can prioritize limited resources to specific cities, counties, or states that need them most, instead of leaving these supplies to a free-for-all.
This is, in fact, what the federal government does with other issues — such as when it ensures that a manufacturer has all the parts needed for an order of guns, tanks, or jets.
“The military has visibility into the entire supply chain, and the military oversees the entire supply chain,” Jha said. “It may be working with private companies, but the [Department of Defense] doesn’t leave this all up to chance.”
The Trump administration, however, has described the federal government as a “supplier of last resort.” That’s very different from the kind of proactive approach the feds take on other issues to get ahead of supply constraints.
So the problem is left to private actors as well as local and state governments, which often face legal, financial, and practical constraints that hinder their ability to move quickly. And the problem persists, even as Covid-19 cases continue to rise.
Testing always mattered and still matters
It’s been said a countless number of times in recent months, but it’s still true: Testing is key to stopping the Covid-19 pandemic.
When paired with contact tracing, testing lets officials track the scale of an outbreak, isolate the sick, quarantine those with whom the sick came in contact, and deploy community-wide efforts as necessary. Aggressive testing and tracing are how other countries, such as South Korea and Germany, got their outbreaks under control, letting them partly reopen their economies.
This testing problem is solvable in the US. “New York at its peak had people dying in the hallways of hospitals. Test positive rates were routinely above 20 percent,” Tsai said. “Look at it now, with a test positive rate of about 1 percent. In Massachusetts, our positive rate is about 2 percent now. These states show that concerted efforts … can not just mitigate the pandemic, not just flatten the curve, but also contain and suppress the pandemic.”
This only works, however, if officials can move quickly on a test, preferably within 24 to 36 hours. In the time it takes to confirm whether someone either has Covid-19 or came into contact with someone who has it, the person is more likely to continue their typical routine, potentially infecting others in the public or even within their own homes. In this context, every day and hour matters to get people to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Testing and tracing can’t solve the pandemic all on their own. They have to be paired with precautions such as wearing masks and keeping 6 feet apart in public. In extreme cases, lockdowns can still be warranted if an outbreak is so out of control that a stay-at-home order becomes the only way to reel things back.
Lockdowns, however, were also supposed to buy the nation time to build up its testing system. As Natalie Dean, a biostatistics professor at the University of Florida, previously told me, “The whole point of this social distancing is to buy us time to build up capacity to do the types of public health interventions we know work. If we’re not using this time to scale up testing to the level that we need it to be … we don’t have an exit strategy. And then when we lift things, we’re no better equipped than we were before.”
It’s now clear that the US didn’t take full advantage of the time it bought with lockdowns. While testing did dramatically improve compared to the early days of the pandemic, it’s still not at a point where America can handle the higher demand brought on by another surge in coronavirus cases.
“It’s pathetic. This is not how a first-world country functions,” Jha said. “That people should not expect to access a test to an infectious disease many, many months into a pandemic — I find myself amazed that this is where we are as a country.”