vox--2020-10-05--The Paycheck Protection Program failed many Black-owned businesses

Danielle Parker , the CEO of Detroit Maid , says her business almost didn ’ t make it this past spring .
Parker ’ s company — which provides on-demand cleaning services — is among those that have been forced to completely alter their business model as a result of social distancing and public health guidelines during the pandemic .
While Detroit Maid had previously focused 80 percent of its work on residential clients , the company has now shifted to operating predominantly with commercial ones .
Because of how much business slowed , Parker ’ s staff was cut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and at one point , she didn ’ t know if they ’ d stay open .
“ Businesses like mine , we had severe loss in staff , and we weren ’ t sure if we were going to be able to make it through May , ” she told Vox .
There have been some sources of help , though .
Roughly $ 35,000 in local grants from regional groups like TechTown and Invest Detroit have been major lifelines as Parker ’ s business has adapted .
” We went from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ survive ... to pivoting pretty quickly , ” Parker says .
Federal support , however , was more challenging to access .
Parker is one of millions of business owners who applied to the Paycheck Protection Program ( PPP ) — a federal effort to boost small businesses established by the CARES Act — and she ’ s also among those who was denied support with little explanation why .
“ They said we didn ’ t meet the criteria , and they didn ’ t specify , ” she said , adding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through — was very responsive , even though the process itself was cumbersome .
“ When I got the result back , I was like , I wonder if I just didn ’ t do it right — especially because there wasn ’ t a specific reason.
” Parker is far from the only business owner who ’ s dealt with confusion related to the program , and her experience underscores just how much it failed many small businesses .
PayPal did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
According to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Small Business Majority provided to Vox , the program appeared to reach a lower proportion of Black-owned businesses in particular .
In that poll , 23 percent of Black business owners who did not receive PPP or Economic Injury Disaster Loans said their PPP applications were denied , compared to 9 percent of white business owners , 13 percent of Latino business owners , and 9 percent of Asian American business owners .
And in Michigan overall , only 3 restaurants that received PPP loans of $ 150,000 or more self-identified as Black-owned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white-owned , according to the Detroit Free Press .
It ’ s worth noting that the current demographic data that ’ s available on PPP is incomplete because business owners were not required to submit this information when they applied , and roughly 75 percent of businesses did not do so .
The Small Business Administration has also emphasized that the average loan size in the program was around $ 100,000 , an indicator that it helped serve smaller businesses .
Because minority-owned businesses are smaller , on average , this could mean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Independent survey results and analyses of the geographic distribution of PPP loans , meanwhile , have highlighted some disparities .
An analysis by the New York Fed ’ s Claire Kramer Mills and Jessica Battisto found that multiple counties with high amounts of Black business receipts including Wayne County , Michigan — where Detroit is located — and Prince George ’ s County , Maryland , were among those to see lower rates of PPP allocation .
In Wayne County , where more than a third of businesses are Black-owned , just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while 18.9 percent of businesses nationwide did per an updated review Kramer Mills and Battisto shared with Vox , which includes August data released by SBA .
These gaps were driven by a couple of factors including systemic inequities in banking , a chaotic application process that overwhelmed many small businesses , and restrictive terms on the loans that put off some business owners from pursuing them at all .
The distribution of PPP was among the factors the New York Fed researchers examined in trying to understand why an estimated 41 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the early months of the pandemic , more than double the 17 percent of white-owned businesses that did .
“ Access to capital and money has always been an issue with respect to Black enterprise , that ’ s nothing new , ” says Rev .
Horace Sheffield , the head of the Detroit Association of Black Organizations .
“ The pandemic has exposed or exacerbated that disparity.
” Disparities in banking were apparent in PPP , too The role that big banks had in the program — particularly early on — posed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially in the first wave of funding .
Rather than applying to the Small Business Administration directly , businesses were required to pursue the PPP through a third-party lender , including a bank , credit union , or fintech company like PayPal .
That lender would then play a role in approving the application for a business to move forward .
According to the SBA data released in August , lenders with assets of $ 10 billion or more were responsible for 47 percent of the loans that were made , a sign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had a strong presence in the program .
The top three lenders in the program , per the agency , were JPMorgan Chase , Bank of America , and PNC , comprising just over 10 percent of loans .
Lawmakers worked to ameliorate access issues in the second wave of funding , which contained a $ 60 billion set-aside for community development financial institutions and other entities that work with underbanked communities , including rural and minority-owned businesses .
“ The big challenge is finding a lender .
The banks have been inundated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that this is where multiple businesses got held up .
“ Some of their applications got caught up in the queue , didn ’ t necessarily go through , and the bank had their own vetting process.
” As PPP got underway this past spring , many large banks declined to take applications from anyone who wasn ’ t already a customer .
Bank of America , Chase , and TD Bank were just a few that limited the applications they would accept to customers who had prior accounts or lines of credit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this for volume control and their own review purposes , that meant that business owners who did not have an established relationship with these institutions would effectively be barred from pursuing PPP through them .
“ TD Bank ’ s existing customers with a business deposit account or loan were eligible to apply for the PPP through the bank , ” a TD Bank spokesperson said .
“ To support our PPP lending process , TD digitized the SBA ’ s application and strove to provide equal access to the funds by only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by keeping the application open throughout June and July.
” “ In July , we expanded who could apply for a PPP loan through us .
We opened it to people who only have a business credit card with us , or who told us they own a business but only have a personal checking account with us , ” a Chase spokesperson told Vox .
Bank of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
Although businesses were able to apply for the loans through community development financial institutions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as well as other outlets , the restrictions imposed by larger banks cut off many from one key source for the program .
“ Initially , PPP really fortified banking pipes to disburse funds in communities , ” Kramer Mills told Vox .
The program ’ s reliance on banking is one that disproportionately hurt Black-owned businesses , the New York Fed report found .
According to that report , “ 1 in 4 Black-owned employer firms [ had ] a recent borrowing relationship with a bank ” prior to the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firms did .
Because an overwhelming majority of Black-owned businesses are non-employer firms — or companies that don ’ t have paid employees — that meant a large proportion of businesses were starting as new customers at these banks and were blocked from even pursuing PPP there .
As a point of comparison , one in four white non-employer firms had set up a recent banking relationship .
The New York Fed report emphasizes that this disparity in banking ties isn ’ t the result of Black-owned firms applying for financing at lower @ @ @ @ @ @ @ applications getting rejected by banks more frequently than those of white-owned firms in the past .
According to a report from the Guardian , Black-owned businesses are twice as likely to be turned away for bank loans as white-owned businesses due to discriminatory practices .
PPP , because it relied in some ways on businesses ’ established banking relationships , amplified these gaps .
“ There is a structural flaw in this program .
It uses banks as middlemen .
Any time you create a big program and give banks the ability to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re going to have disparities , ” Mehrsa Baradaran , a law professor at the University of California Irvine , told NBC News .
“ Credit disparities are where past injustices lead to present disparities.
” A study from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition that examined PPP loan applications captured specific examples of these biases .
In some instances , it found that Black business owners with a comparable financial profile as white ones were less likely to be told that they met the qualifications needed for a loan .
Small businesses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t necessarily fare better , either .
A lawsuit from a group of California businesses alleges that Bank of America , US Bank , JPMorgan Chase , and Wells Fargo gave preferential treatment to companies that applied for larger loans — and approved them first — because it meant the banks would receive higher fees .
In a CNN report , Bank of America and US Bank denied the allegations , while JPMorgan Chase denied the allegations on its website and Wells Fargo declined to comment .
Parker notes that others @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to apply for the program through PayPal and said she had heard “ horror stories ” from other business owners about their experience with how banks handled these applications .
Other business owners , including those whose applications were approved by banks , similarly encountered an arduous and complicated process .
“ The communication was so poor with the PPP , it alarmed me , ” said chef Omar Mitchell , the owner of a Detroit fine-dining restaurant called Table No .
2 .
Flaws in the program made some businesses wary of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its first and second waves also highlight why some businesses may have opted out .
When the first wave of $ 349 billion in funding was made available in April , that money ran out in less than two weeks .
But after Congress approved another round of $ 310 billion , demand for the program appeared to slow .
As of August 8 , the deadline for applying for a loan , tens of billions still hadn ’ t been allocated .
Fewer businesses may have either applied for or accepted the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had concerns about how the money could be spent .
According to an SBA Inspector General report released in May , some of the initial PPP rules could have led businesses to take on more debt .
PPP was first established , after all , with a specific goal : to help companies keep workers on the payroll even as their revenue took hits during the pandemic .
That goal , while an important one , failed to account for the broader challenges that many small businesses faced during the pandemic .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent — for example , initially had to be used on payroll costs in order for the loans to be forgiven .
If a business didn ’ t comply with the limitations , it would ultimately have to pay the loan back .
( Congress has since loosened those restrictions so only 60 percent of the funds have to be dedicated to payroll , but the earlier rules deterred many small business owners . )
“ It didn ’ t suit what we were doing , ” says Janet Webster Jones , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I disliked the idea it was a grant until you didn ’ t spend it right.
” In the end , a number of small businesses were worried that obtaining a loan would simply mean more debt if they weren ’ t able to meet the forgiveness requirements .
“ To take on more debt , it was very hard for them to say , ‘ I ’ m going to take a chance on this , ’ ” said Khalil Rahal , the assistant county executive in Wayne County ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ design of the program , too , could have had an outsize impact on Black-owned businesses , which went into the recent economic crisis in weaker financial positions , on average , compared to white-owned businesses , according to the New York Fed report .
Because of this dynamic , fewer Black-owned businesses may have pursued the loans due to concerns about qualifying for them and the worry of bringing on more debt .
During the pandemic , Wayne County , as well as other regional organizations such as TechTown Detroit , also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t have to be repaid , a move that helped many address some financial shortfalls .
Outstanding questions about the utility of the PPP , coupled with the surge in local funds , may have led to more businesses in the region declining to participate in it .
If there ’ s another wave of funding , it should come in the form of grants Business owners and experts emphasize that they sorely need another wave of PPP , but they argue that any new funds should explicitly be grants , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to apply for loan forgiveness after receiving PPP support — and they ’ ll only get 100 percent of it if they meet the program ’ s requirements .
This means they must use a majority of the funds they ’ re given on payroll , for example .
If the funds were a grant , they ’ d be much more accessible , especially as the challenges businesses are facing during the pandemic keep changing .
For some businesses , many of their primary costs may be spent on operational needs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think PPP ought not to be a loan at all , ” Sheffield emphasized .
“ I can ’ t count how many businesses I know are closed.
” Businesses also stress that funds should be set aside for companies that have seen explicit revenue losses , as well as those that are smaller businesses — which could be measured by size and revenue — to prevent larger ones from taking up a disproportionate amount of the aid .
Prioritizing funding dedicated to Black-owned businesses , too , could help guarantee a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It hurts to go through what I ’ m going through , ” says Mitchell .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources .
Even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work .
If you have already contributed , thank you .
If you haven ’ t , please consider helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world : Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

Danielle Parker, the CEO of Detroit Maid, says her business almost didn’t make it this past spring.
Parker’s company — which provides on-demand cleaning services — is among those that have been forced to completely alter their business model as a result of social distancing and public health guidelines during the pandemic. While Detroit Maid had previously focused 80 percent of its work on residential clients, the company has now shifted to operating predominantly with commercial ones.
Because of how much business slowed, Parker’s staff was cut roughly in half earlier this year, and at one point, she didn’t know if they’d stay open. “Businesses like mine, we had severe loss in staff, and we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to make it through May,” she told Vox.
There have been some sources of help, though. Roughly $35,000 in local grants from regional groups like TechTown and Invest Detroit have been major lifelines as Parker’s business has adapted. ”We went from not knowing if we were going to survive ... to pivoting pretty quickly,” Parker says.
Federal support, however, was more challenging to access.
Parker is one of millions of business owners who applied to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) — a federal effort to boost small businesses established by the CARES Act — and she’s also among those who was denied support with little explanation why.
“They said we didn’t meet the criteria, and they didn’t specify,” she said, adding that PayPal — the company she applied through — was very responsive, even though the process itself was cumbersome. “When I got the result back, I was like, I wonder if I just didn’t do it right — especially because there wasn’t a specific reason.”
Parker is far from the only business owner who’s dealt with confusion related to the program, and her experience underscores just how much it failed many small businesses. PayPal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to August survey results that the advocacy group Small Business Majority provided to Vox, the program appeared to reach a lower proportion of Black-owned businesses in particular. In that poll, 23 percent of Black business owners who did not receive PPP or Economic Injury Disaster Loans said their PPP applications were denied, compared to 9 percent of white business owners, 13 percent of Latino business owners, and 9 percent of Asian American business owners. And in Michigan overall, only 3 restaurants that received PPP loans of $150,000 or more self-identified as Black-owned, compared to 223 that self-identified as white-owned, according to the Detroit Free Press.
It’s worth noting that the current demographic data that’s available on PPP is incomplete because business owners were not required to submit this information when they applied, and roughly 75 percent of businesses did not do so. The Small Business Administration has also emphasized that the average loan size in the program was around $100,000, an indicator that it helped serve smaller businesses. Because minority-owned businesses are smaller, on average, this could mean that they benefited strongly from the program.
Independent survey results and analyses of the geographic distribution of PPP loans, meanwhile, have highlighted some disparities. An analysis by the New York Fed’s Claire Kramer Mills and Jessica Battisto found that multiple counties with high amounts of Black business receipts including Wayne County, Michigan — where Detroit is located — and Prince George’s County, Maryland, were among those to see lower rates of PPP allocation. In Wayne County, where more than a third of businesses are Black-owned, just 12.9 percent of businesses obtained loans, while 18.9 percent of businesses nationwide did per an updated review Kramer Mills and Battisto shared with Vox, which includes August data released by SBA.
These gaps were driven by a couple of factors including systemic inequities in banking, a chaotic application process that overwhelmed many small businesses, and restrictive terms on the loans that put off some business owners from pursuing them at all. The distribution of PPP was among the factors the New York Fed researchers examined in trying to understand why an estimated 41 percent of Black-owned small businesses became inactive during the early months of the pandemic, more than double the 17 percent of white-owned businesses that did.
“Access to capital and money has always been an issue with respect to Black enterprise, that’s nothing new,” says Rev. Horace Sheffield, the head of the Detroit Association of Black Organizations. “The pandemic has exposed or exacerbated that disparity.”
Disparities in banking were apparent in PPP, too
The role that big banks had in the program — particularly early on — posed a huge obstacle for many small businesses especially in the first wave of funding. Rather than applying to the Small Business Administration directly, businesses were required to pursue the PPP through a third-party lender, including a bank, credit union, or fintech company like PayPal. That lender would then play a role in approving the application for a business to move forward.
According to the SBA data released in August, lenders with assets of $10 billion or more were responsible for 47 percent of the loans that were made, a sign that larger lenders — including banks — had a strong presence in the program. The top three lenders in the program, per the agency, were JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and PNC, comprising just over 10 percent of loans. Lawmakers worked to ameliorate access issues in the second wave of funding, which contained a $60 billion set-aside for community development financial institutions and other entities that work with underbanked communities, including rural and minority-owned businesses.
“The big challenge is finding a lender. The banks have been inundated,” says Sheffield, who notes that this is where multiple businesses got held up. “Some of their applications got caught up in the queue, didn’t necessarily go through, and the bank had their own vetting process.”
As PPP got underway this past spring, many large banks declined to take applications from anyone who wasn’t already a customer. Bank of America, Chase, and TD Bank were just a few that limited the applications they would accept to customers who had prior accounts or lines of credit. And while they were likely doing this for volume control and their own review purposes, that meant that business owners who did not have an established relationship with these institutions would effectively be barred from pursuing PPP through them.
“TD Bank’s existing customers with a business deposit account or loan were eligible to apply for the PPP through the bank,” a TD Bank spokesperson said. “To support our PPP lending process, TD digitized the SBA’s application and strove to provide equal access to the funds by only accepting applications through our digital portal and by keeping the application open throughout June and July.” “In July, we expanded who could apply for a PPP loan through us. We opened it to people who only have a business credit card with us, or who told us they own a business but only have a personal checking account with us,” a Chase spokesperson told Vox. Bank of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Although businesses were able to apply for the loans through community development financial institutions, community banks, and tech companies, as well as other outlets, the restrictions imposed by larger banks cut off many from one key source for the program.
“Initially, PPP really fortified banking pipes to disburse funds in communities,” Kramer Mills told Vox.
The program’s reliance on banking is one that disproportionately hurt Black-owned businesses, the New York Fed report found. According to that report, “1 in 4 Black-owned employer firms [had] a recent borrowing relationship with a bank” prior to the pandemic, while 1 in 10 Black-owned non-employer firms did.
Because an overwhelming majority of Black-owned businesses are non-employer firms — or companies that don’t have paid employees — that meant a large proportion of businesses were starting as new customers at these banks and were blocked from even pursuing PPP there. As a point of comparison, one in four white non-employer firms had set up a recent banking relationship.
The New York Fed report emphasizes that this disparity in banking ties isn’t the result of Black-owned firms applying for financing at lower rates, but a product of their applications getting rejected by banks more frequently than those of white-owned firms in the past. According to a report from the Guardian, Black-owned businesses are twice as likely to be turned away for bank loans as white-owned businesses due to discriminatory practices.
PPP, because it relied in some ways on businesses’ established banking relationships, amplified these gaps.
“There is a structural flaw in this program. It uses banks as middlemen. Any time you create a big program and give banks the ability to choose which customers it prioritizes, you’re going to have disparities,” Mehrsa Baradaran, a law professor at the University of California Irvine, told NBC News. “Credit disparities are where past injustices lead to present disparities.”
A study from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition that examined PPP loan applications captured specific examples of these biases. In some instances, it found that Black business owners with a comparable financial profile as white ones were less likely to be told that they met the qualifications needed for a loan.
Small businesses that had established relationships with these banks didn’t necessarily fare better, either. A lawsuit from a group of California businesses alleges that Bank of America, US Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo gave preferential treatment to companies that applied for larger loans — and approved them first — because it meant the banks would receive higher fees. In a CNN report, Bank of America and US Bank denied the allegations, while JPMorgan Chase denied the allegations on its website and Wells Fargo declined to comment.
Parker notes that others in the entrepreneurial community had advised her to apply for the program through PayPal and said she had heard “horror stories” from other business owners about their experience with how banks handled these applications. Other business owners, including those whose applications were approved by banks, similarly encountered an arduous and complicated process.
“The communication was so poor with the PPP, it alarmed me,” said chef Omar Mitchell, the owner of a Detroit fine-dining restaurant called Table No. 2.
Flaws in the program made some businesses wary of PPP
The different reactions to PPP in its first and second waves also highlight why some businesses may have opted out. When the first wave of $349 billion in funding was made available in April, that money ran out in less than two weeks. But after Congress approved another round of $310 billion, demand for the program appeared to slow. As of August 8, the deadline for applying for a loan, tens of billions still hadn’t been allocated.
Fewer businesses may have either applied for or accepted the loan in the second wave because they had concerns about how the money could be spent. According to an SBA Inspector General report released in May, some of the initial PPP rules could have led businesses to take on more debt.
PPP was first established, after all, with a specific goal: to help companies keep workers on the payroll even as their revenue took hits during the pandemic.
That goal, while an important one, failed to account for the broader challenges that many small businesses faced during the pandemic. A significant proportion of the loans — 75 percent — for example, initially had to be used on payroll costs in order for the loans to be forgiven. If a business didn’t comply with the limitations, it would ultimately have to pay the loan back. (Congress has since loosened those restrictions so only 60 percent of the funds have to be dedicated to payroll, but the earlier rules deterred many small business owners.)
“It didn’t suit what we were doing,” says Janet Webster Jones, the owner of Source Booksellers in Detroit. “I disliked the idea it was a grant until you didn’t spend it right.”
In the end, a number of small businesses were worried that obtaining a loan would simply mean more debt if they weren’t able to meet the forgiveness requirements. “To take on more debt, it was very hard for them to say, ‘I’m going to take a chance on this,’” said Khalil Rahal, the assistant county executive in Wayne County’s Office of Economic Development.
The restrictive design of the program, too, could have had an outsize impact on Black-owned businesses, which went into the recent economic crisis in weaker financial positions, on average, compared to white-owned businesses, according to the New York Fed report. Because of this dynamic, fewer Black-owned businesses may have pursued the loans due to concerns about qualifying for them and the worry of bringing on more debt.
During the pandemic, Wayne County, as well as other regional organizations such as TechTown Detroit, also offered thousands of small businesses grants that didn’t have to be repaid, a move that helped many address some financial shortfalls.
Outstanding questions about the utility of the PPP, coupled with the surge in local funds, may have led to more businesses in the region declining to participate in it.
If there’s another wave of funding, it should come in the form of grants
Business owners and experts emphasize that they sorely need another wave of PPP, but they argue that any new funds should explicitly be grants, not loans.
“Just give people the money,” says Webster Jones.
Currently, small-business owners have to apply for loan forgiveness after receiving PPP support — and they’ll only get 100 percent of it if they meet the program’s requirements. This means they must use a majority of the funds they’re given on payroll, for example.
If the funds were a grant, they’d be much more accessible, especially as the challenges businesses are facing during the pandemic keep changing. For some businesses, many of their primary costs may be spent on operational needs, including personal protective equipment.
“I think PPP ought not to be a loan at all,” Sheffield emphasized. “I can’t count how many businesses I know are closed.”
Businesses also stress that funds should be set aside for companies that have seen explicit revenue losses, as well as those that are smaller businesses — which could be measured by size and revenue — to prevent larger ones from taking up a disproportionate amount of the aid. Prioritizing funding dedicated to Black-owned businesses, too, could help guarantee a more equitable distribution of support.
“It hurts to go through what I’m going through,” says Mitchell.


vox--2020-10-05--Google and Facebook hate a proposed privacy law. News publishers should embrace it.

While most of America is focused on the presidential vote , Californians have another important decision to make at the polls this November .
They ’ re being asked to approve what will likely become the internet privacy law for the United States .
Proposition 24 , also known as the California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act of 2020 ( CPRA ) , is supposed to expand a landmark California privacy law that passed two years ago ; there ’ s a good chance Californians will approve this one , too .
It ’ s framed as legislation that will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , sensitive data such as Social Security numbers , race , religion , and health information .
And while the proposed law technically governs the use and sale of data for Californians , California has an enormous impact on the tech industry , which means CPRA will become the de facto law for all of the US .
Which should sound like a good thing for most people .
Among other impacts of the proposed law , it makes a point of protecting young people by mandating triple fines for infringements against consumers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consumers to restrict the use of geolocation data by third parties , effectively ending practices like sending targeted ads to people who ’ ve visited a rehab center or a cancer clinic .
And it will fund the creation of an agency to protect consumer privacy .
For news publishers , though , any new data regulation can create problems , and news publishers already have plenty of well-documented problems .
But I think the proposed enhancements will actually help the news industry .
From targeted advertising to personalization , data does a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two companies dominate data collection and therefore digital advertising .
One big question about any privacy laws is whether they actually create more advantages for Google and Facebook instead of leveling the playing field for smaller competitors .
We ’ ve seen this happen before .
In Europe , which began enforcing a new privacy law in May 2018 , big tech companies have been able to effectively neuter the law by implementing half-measures and exploiting loopholes while enforcement lags .
The good news for consumers and news publishers alike is that CPRA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ previous privacy law the state passed two years ago .
For starters , the law is supposed to more clearly limit data collection and use for third parties — companies you don ’ t expect to get access to your data when you visit a news site — while allowing publishers to continue to use data they generate on their own sites .
That makes sense .
As we have noted for years , consumers generally expect an app or website to collect data about them to help improve the service , recognize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recommend content .
But they don ’ t expect unknown third parties to collect data about them to build profiles and serve targeted advertising on unrelated sites or apps .
That unbridled data surveillance by some big tech companies outside of their own user-facing services — that is , Google and Facebook ’ s ability to track you even when you ’ re not on their properties — has undermined consumer trust in the entire digital economy .
Giving consumers the ability to control their own data should help restore some of that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ together News publishers are also increasingly interested in trying to sell subscriptions instead of relying on digital ads .
CPRA can help there by letting publishers offer subscriptions to consumers who opt out of having their data shared with other parties .
Some CPRA critics think this provision puts a price on “ privacy.
” I would argue that it gives news publishers the flexibility to decide on their own business model , and gives consumers an opportunity to understand how content gets funded .
If they do not find it compelling enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a competitive news service elsewhere .
News publishers feel this tension every day .
That ’ s why I think they will see healthy competition for consumers at various price points .
Lastly , and maybe most importantly , the CPRA closes loopholes that could be exploited by big tech platforms .
One aspect of this is what we ’ re calling “ the switch language , ” which clearly aligns the obligations of third parties to serve the interests of consumers .
It notes that when a consumer exercises their opt-out rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to all the companies with which it works ( third parties ) , those companies must stop reusing that consumer ’ s data for any other purpose .
This essentially forces those companies to revert to the role of a service provider .
The “ switch language ” also prevents any wiggle room by not allowing contracts to override this requirement .
As publishers experienced in Europe , platforms like Google and Facebook often use their unbalanced negotiating leverage to force publishers to sign over these data rights , so this section is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not have the leverage to force Google or Facebook to stop mining data off their properties .
Finally , CPRA clarifies that publishers are not responsible for third parties that violate the previous section as long as they do not have actual knowledge of the violation .
Taken together , these provisions reflect a thoughtful understanding of how data flows in the digital economy .
They also put the onus squarely on big tech companies to tailor their data collection practices in accordance with consumer preferences .
CPRA isn ’ t perfect , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while you might hear tech giants warning that it will hurt publishers , you should consider the source of those warnings , and the motivations behind them .
Consumer expectations are evolving ; policy , and our industry , must follow .
Yes , there may be some short-term problems as advertisers get used to working with less data and lower the price for the ads they buy .
But those playing the long game will be prepared for a world where more value is placed on publishers ’ direct relationships — and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chief executive of Digital Content Next , a trade association that represents digital content companies , including Vox Media .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work .
If you have already contributed , thank you .
If you haven ’ t , please consider helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world : Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

While most of America is focused on the presidential vote, Californians have another important decision to make at the polls this November. They’re being asked to approve what will likely become the internet privacy law for the United States.
Proposition 24, also known as the California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act of 2020 (CPRA), is supposed to expand a landmark California privacy law that passed two years ago; there’s a good chance Californians will approve this one, too. It’s framed as legislation that will better protect their privacy — in particular, sensitive data such as Social Security numbers, race, religion, and health information.
And while the proposed law technically governs the use and sale of data for Californians, California has an enormous impact on the tech industry, which means CPRA will become the de facto law for all of the US.
Which should sound like a good thing for most people. Among other impacts of the proposed law, it makes a point of protecting young people by mandating triple fines for infringements against consumers under age 16. It will allow consumers to restrict the use of geolocation data by third parties, effectively ending practices like sending targeted ads to people who’ve visited a rehab center or a cancer clinic. And it will fund the creation of an agency to protect consumer privacy.
For news publishers, though, any new data regulation can create problems, and news publishers already have plenty of well-documented problems. But I think the proposed enhancements will actually help the news industry.
Fighting the Google/Facebook duopoly
From targeted advertising to personalization, data does a lot of work online. Unfortunately, two companies dominate data collection and therefore digital advertising. One big question about any privacy laws is whether they actually create more advantages for Google and Facebook instead of leveling the playing field for smaller competitors.
We’ve seen this happen before. In Europe, which began enforcing a new privacy law in May 2018, big tech companies have been able to effectively neuter the law by implementing half-measures and exploiting loopholes while enforcement lags.
The good news for consumers and news publishers alike is that CPRA seeks to close any loopholes in the previous privacy law the state passed two years ago.
For starters, the law is supposed to more clearly limit data collection and use for third parties — companies you don’t expect to get access to your data when you visit a news site — while allowing publishers to continue to use data they generate on their own sites.
That makes sense. As we have noted for years, consumers generally expect an app or website to collect data about them to help improve the service, recognize them as return visitors, or to recommend content. But they don’t expect unknown third parties to collect data about them to build profiles and serve targeted advertising on unrelated sites or apps.
That unbridled data surveillance by some big tech companies outside of their own user-facing services — that is, Google and Facebook’s ability to track you even when you’re not on their properties — has undermined consumer trust in the entire digital economy. Giving consumers the ability to control their own data should help restore some of that trust.
Privacy and subscriptions can work together
News publishers are also increasingly interested in trying to sell subscriptions instead of relying on digital ads. CPRA can help there by letting publishers offer subscriptions to consumers who opt out of having their data shared with other parties.
Some CPRA critics think this provision puts a price on “privacy.” I would argue that it gives news publishers the flexibility to decide on their own business model, and gives consumers an opportunity to understand how content gets funded. If they do not find it compelling enough, they are likely to seek out a competitive news service elsewhere. News publishers feel this tension every day. That’s why I think they will see healthy competition for consumers at various price points.
Third parties and liability
Lastly, and maybe most importantly, the CPRA closes loopholes that could be exploited by big tech platforms. One aspect of this is what we’re calling “the switch language,” which clearly aligns the obligations of third parties to serve the interests of consumers. It notes that when a consumer exercises their opt-out rights and a publisher passes their choice along to all the companies with which it works (third parties), those companies must stop reusing that consumer’s data for any other purpose. This essentially forces those companies to revert to the role of a service provider. The “switch language” also prevents any wiggle room by not allowing contracts to override this requirement. As publishers experienced in Europe, platforms like Google and Facebook often use their unbalanced negotiating leverage to force publishers to sign over these data rights, so this section is hugely important for individual publishers that do not have the leverage to force Google or Facebook to stop mining data off their properties.
Finally, CPRA clarifies that publishers are not responsible for third parties that violate the previous section as long as they do not have actual knowledge of the violation. Taken together, these provisions reflect a thoughtful understanding of how data flows in the digital economy. They also put the onus squarely on big tech companies to tailor their data collection practices in accordance with consumer preferences.
Privacy laws are imperfect yet unavoidable
CPRA isn’t perfect, but it’s well-intentioned. And while you might hear tech giants warning that it will hurt publishers, you should consider the source of those warnings, and the motivations behind them.
Consumer expectations are evolving; policy, and our industry, must follow. Yes, there may be some short-term problems as advertisers get used to working with less data and lower the price for the ads they buy. But those playing the long game will be prepared for a world where more value is placed on publishers’ direct relationships — and consumer trust.
Jason Kint is the chief executive of Digital Content Next, a trade association that represents digital content companies, including Vox Media.


vox--2020-10-05--Trump has been discharged from Walter Reed medical center

President Trump was discharged Monday evening from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center , after downplaying Covid-19 , a disease that has killed more than 200,000 Americans and more than a million people worldwide in a tweet .
“ Don ’ t be afraid of Covid , ” he tweeted .
“ Don ’ t let it dominate your life.
” Trump ’ s physician Sean Conley explained the rationale for the discharge in an afternoon briefing .
“ Over the past 24 hours , the president has continued to improve , ” Conley said .
“ He ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criteria ” and will continue to be monitored at home .
Trump — a lifelong germaphobe — had been eager to get out of Walter Reed .
According to CNN ’ s Jim Acosta , he was concerned that being hospitalized “ makes him look weak.
” Separately , sources told the New York Times that a Sunday evening drive — in which he put Secret Service staff at risk of infection — was a compromise after he ’ d asked to be discharged yesterday and doctors refused .
The rush to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politically : A Covid-19 infection , during which a patient is supposed to remain isolated , is extremely inconvenient for Trump ’ s presidential campaign , less than a month before the election .
“ The most monitored man in the world ” But does it make sense medically ?
While there are many unknowns about the severity , or stage , of Trump ’ s Covid-19 case , clinicians who work with coronavirus patients said Trump ’ s discharge isn ’ t completely unreasonable .
It could simply indicate the president doesn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ICU ) -level attention , such as access to a ventilator , right now .
“ It doesn ’ t mean he wasn ’ t sick and it doesn ’ t mean he ’ s 100 percent out of the woods , ” said Jennifer Manne-Goehler , an infectious disease doctor at Brigham and Women ’ s and Massachusetts General hospitals .
“ It means he ’ s stable in a way he can be followed at home , and [ doctors ] feel comfortable he doesn ’ t need ICU level care.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be treating patients at home like this for Covid because you ’ re actually reducing risk of infection without necessarily compromising patient care , ” said intensive care physician Lakshman Swamy , who works with the Cambridge Health Alliance .
Plus , unlike other patients , the commander in chief isn ’ t going back to a normal home .
He essentially lives in a hospital .
The White House medical unit has a full team of health professionals at the ready who can do most of what ’ s possible for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run an ICU at home but at the White House you can make supplemental oxygen easily available , IV medications available as needed , ” Manne-Goehler told Vox .
“ It certainly indicates they don ’ t think he ’ s at the precipice.
” Theodore Iwashyna , a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan , said he wasn ’ t worried that Trump would be left alone .
“ He ’ s the most monitored man in the world.
” What we can learn from Trump ’ s case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it will take at least a week to know whether the president truly avoided life-threatening complications from the disease .
Covid-19 patients can seem stable , and then rapidly deteriorate without warning .
It ’ s not until 10 days after symptoms appear that doctors say they can be reasonably sure that someone has truly turned a corner .
When you sit and watch so many people die of this of all ages — it ’ s scary .
We shouldn ’ t underestimate this .
Even then , there ’ s the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as “ long Covid , ” which involves chronic symptoms such as cognitive impairment and depression .
There ’ s no correlation between the severity of a person ’ s Covid-19 case and whether they become a “ long hauler.
” Whatever happens , Swamy warned about extrapolating anything to the general population from Trump ’ s recovery from Covid-19 .
“ Those of us that took care of a burden of patients with the virus during the surge ... [ saw ] it ’ s very hard to learn based on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Other doctors said they worried some people who haven ’ t yet been infected with the virus might get the wrong impression from the president about the risks .
“ It scares me people will say ‘ it ’ s not a big deal , and 99 percent of people do fine , ’ ” after seeing Trump emerge from the hospital , Manne-Goehler said .
“ When you sit and watch so many people die of this of all ages — it ’ s scary .
We shouldn ’ t underestimate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to explain how he ’ d think about the meaning of Trump ’ s apparent recovery : “ I live in a college town .
Every now and then — people get drunk and wander down the street naked and drunk .
And they don ’ t always get hit by a car .
It would be a mistake from my perspective to say that means getting drunk and wandering naked down the street is safe.
” In other words , even if Trump — with the unusually attentive care and monitoring he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Covid-19 , the disease is still serious .
“ I ’ m still going to be wearing a mask when I go out , ” Iwashyna added , “ regardless of what happens to the president.
” What Team Trump has been saying about the president ’ s health In the coming days , we ’ ll learn more about Trump ’ s Covid-19 case .
For now , the picture remains opaque .
Even for a White House with a terrible track record of truth-telling , the mixed messages of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And that ’ s led doctors to question whether Trump ’ s case was more serious than the White House is letting on and when Trump was actually diagnosed .
On Friday , after announcing Trump ’ s positive Covid-19 test result — and that the president had only mild symptoms — White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany disclosed Trump was leaving the White House for Walter Reed medical center “ out of an abundance of caution.
” By Saturday ’ s press conference , Conley said Trump was in good condition but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s case , bungled the timeline of the president ’ s diagnosis , and later released a letter to correct it .
That same day , White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows contradicted Conley , saying Trump ’ s vitals were “ very concerning , ” in what was supposed to be an off-the-record statement that got recorded on video .
On Sunday , Conley said Meadows ’ s statement was “ misconstrued ” and that Trump ’ s oxygen levels had twice dropped to worrisome levels since Friday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up .
Conley said he ’ d withheld these details because he wanted to “ reflect the upbeat attitude that the team , the president ” has had about the course of Trump ’ s illness .
Adding to the confusion , Conley shared that Trump on Saturday started yet another drug to fight Covid-19 : dexamethasone .
The steroid has been shown in clinical trials to improve outcomes but is only recommended for patients with severe or critical Covid-19 .
It ’ s also the third Covid-19 drug to be administered to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ antibody treatment given Friday and an ongoing , five-day course of the antiviral remdesivir .
By Monday , Conley said Trump continued to improve .
“ It ’ s been more than 72 hours since his last fever .
Oxygen levels , including ambulatory saturations and his lack of breathing , are all normal.
” Trump will continue taking dexamethasone , and get a fourth dose of remdesivir before leaving the medical center , he added .
There are big holes in the narrative about Trump ’ s illness But when pressed for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Conley once again obfuscated .
For example , Trump ’ s doctors have not released the results of the president ’ s chest X-rays or CT scans , so it ’ s not clear if they ’ d found signs of pneumonia or other manifestations of Covid-19 lung involvement .
“ We ’ ve done routine standard imaging , ” Conley said Monday .
“ I ’ m just not at liberty to discuss.
” They also haven ’ t provided detailed information about Trump ’ s oxygen saturation levels .
And these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critical to monitor in the coming days .
“ The first is making sure he doesn ’ t develop a worsening of Covid , ” said Iwashyna , which means checking that Trump is not developing pneumonia and that his oxygen saturation levels aren ’ t declining .
Then there are the secondary complications that could arise , such as a reduction in heart function .
Steroids like dexamethasone , meanwhile , are known to increase the risk of bacterial infections and blood clots .
The president also got a cocktail of drugs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unknown side effects .
“ He was also given a drug that is not approved and has not had adequate safety [ testing ] right now , at a dose that is not even the dose they ’ re recommending to push forward in trials , ” Iwashyna said .
“ So the possibility of complications from the antibodies will be around for at least days , maybe weeks or months.
” Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work .
If you have already contributed , thank you .
If you haven ’ t , please consider helping everyone make sense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today from as little as $ 3 .

President Trump was discharged Monday evening from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, after downplaying Covid-19, a disease that has killed more than 200,000 Americans and more than a million people worldwide in a tweet.
“Don’t be afraid of Covid,” he tweeted. “Don’t let it dominate your life.”
I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2020
Trump’s physician Sean Conley explained the rationale for the discharge in an afternoon briefing. “Over the past 24 hours, the president has continued to improve,” Conley said. “He’s met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria” and will continue to be monitored at home.
Trump — a lifelong germaphobe — had been eager to get out of Walter Reed. According to CNN’s Jim Acosta, he was concerned that being hospitalized “makes him look weak.” Separately, sources told the New York Times that a Sunday evening drive — in which he put Secret Service staff at risk of infection — was a compromise after he’d asked to be discharged yesterday and doctors refused.
The rush to get out of the hospital may make sense politically: A Covid-19 infection, during which a patient is supposed to remain isolated, is extremely inconvenient for Trump’s presidential campaign, less than a month before the election.
“The most monitored man in the world”
But does it make sense medically? While there are many unknowns about the severity, or stage, of Trump’s Covid-19 case, clinicians who work with coronavirus patients said Trump’s discharge isn’t completely unreasonable. It could simply indicate the president doesn’t need intensive care unit (ICU)-level attention, such as access to a ventilator, right now.
“It doesn’t mean he wasn’t sick and it doesn’t mean he’s 100 percent out of the woods,” said Jennifer Manne-Goehler, an infectious disease doctor at Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General hospitals. “It means he’s stable in a way he can be followed at home, and [doctors] feel comfortable he doesn’t need ICU level care.”
“It isn’t unreasonable to be treating patients at home like this for Covid because you’re actually reducing risk of infection without necessarily compromising patient care,” said intensive care physician Lakshman Swamy, who works with the Cambridge Health Alliance.
Plus, unlike other patients, the commander in chief isn’t going back to a normal home. He essentially lives in a hospital. The White House medical unit has a full team of health professionals at the ready who can do most of what’s possible for patients. “You can’t run an ICU at home but at the White House you can make supplemental oxygen easily available, IV medications available as needed,” Manne-Goehler told Vox. “It certainly indicates they don’t think he’s at the precipice.”
Theodore Iwashyna, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan, said he wasn’t worried that Trump would be left alone. “He’s the most monitored man in the world.”
What we can learn from Trump’s case
Trump is likely still infectious, and it will take at least a week to know whether the president truly avoided life-threatening complications from the disease. Covid-19 patients can seem stable, and then rapidly deteriorate without warning. It’s not until 10 days after symptoms appear that doctors say they can be reasonably sure that someone has truly turned a corner.
When you sit and watch so many people die of this of all ages — it’s scary. We shouldn’t underestimate this.
Even then, there’s the risk of what’s become known as “long Covid,” which involves chronic symptoms such as cognitive impairment and depression. There’s no correlation between the severity of a person’s Covid-19 case and whether they become a “long hauler.”
Whatever happens, Swamy warned about extrapolating anything to the general population from Trump’s recovery from Covid-19. “Those of us that took care of a burden of patients with the virus during the surge ... [saw] it’s very hard to learn based on a few patients” what treatment approaches work.
Other doctors said they worried some people who haven’t yet been infected with the virus might get the wrong impression from the president about the risks. “It scares me people will say ‘it’s not a big deal, and 99 percent of people do fine,’” after seeing Trump emerge from the hospital, Manne-Goehler said. “When you sit and watch so many people die of this of all ages — it’s scary. We shouldn’t underestimate this.”
Iwashyna offered a colorful analogy to explain how he’d think about the meaning of Trump’s apparent recovery: “I live in a college town. Every now and then — people get drunk and wander down the street naked and drunk. And they don’t always get hit by a car. It would be a mistake from my perspective to say that means getting drunk and wandering naked down the street is safe.”
In other words, even if Trump — with the unusually attentive care and monitoring he received — has been able to recover from Covid-19, the disease is still serious. “I’m still going to be wearing a mask when I go out,” Iwashyna added, “regardless of what happens to the president.”
What Team Trump has been saying about the president’s health
In the coming days, we’ll learn more about Trump’s Covid-19 case. For now, the picture remains opaque. Even for a White House with a terrible track record of truth-telling, the mixed messages of the last few days has been significant. And that’s led doctors to question whether Trump’s case was more serious than the White House is letting on and when Trump was actually diagnosed.
On Friday, after announcing Trump’s positive Covid-19 test result — and that the president had only mild symptoms — White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany disclosed Trump was leaving the White House for Walter Reed medical center “out of an abundance of caution.”
By Saturday’s press conference, Conley said Trump was in good condition but wouldn’t release basic details of Trump’s case, bungled the timeline of the president’s diagnosis, and later released a letter to correct it. That same day, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows contradicted Conley, saying Trump’s vitals were “very concerning,” in what was supposed to be an off-the-record statement that got recorded on video.
On Sunday, Conley said Meadows’s statement was “misconstrued” and that Trump’s oxygen levels had twice dropped to worrisome levels since Friday, requiring supplemental oxygen to bring them back up. Conley said he’d withheld these details because he wanted to “reflect the upbeat attitude that the team, the president” has had about the course of Trump’s illness.
Adding to the confusion, Conley shared that Trump on Saturday started yet another drug to fight Covid-19: dexamethasone. The steroid has been shown in clinical trials to improve outcomes but is only recommended for patients with severe or critical Covid-19. It’s also the third Covid-19 drug to be administered to the president, following an experimental monoclonal antibody treatment given Friday and an ongoing, five-day course of the antiviral remdesivir.
By Monday, Conley said Trump continued to improve. “It’s been more than 72 hours since his last fever. Oxygen levels, including ambulatory saturations and his lack of breathing, are all normal.” Trump will continue taking dexamethasone, and get a fourth dose of remdesivir before leaving the medical center, he added.
There are big holes in the narrative about Trump’s illness
But when pressed for details about Trump’s health, Conley once again obfuscated. For example, Trump’s doctors have not released the results of the president’s chest X-rays or CT scans, so it’s not clear if they’d found signs of pneumonia or other manifestations of Covid-19 lung involvement.
“We’ve done routine standard imaging,” Conley said Monday. “I’m just not at liberty to discuss.” They also haven’t provided detailed information about Trump’s oxygen saturation levels.
And these are exactly the things that will be critical to monitor in the coming days. “The first is making sure he doesn’t develop a worsening of Covid,” said Iwashyna, which means checking that Trump is not developing pneumonia and that his oxygen saturation levels aren’t declining.
Then there are the secondary complications that could arise, such as a reduction in heart function. Steroids like dexamethasone, meanwhile, are known to increase the risk of bacterial infections and blood clots.
The president also got a cocktail of drugs, some with known and some with unknown side effects.
“He was also given a drug that is not approved and has not had adequate safety [testing] right now, at a dose that is not even the dose they’re recommending to push forward in trials,” Iwashyna said. “So the possibility of complications from the antibodies will be around for at least days, maybe weeks or months.”


vox--2020-10-05--Everyone in the White House cluster who has reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus

Everyone in the White House cluster who has reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus Share All sharing options for : Everyone in the White House cluster who has reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus At least 20 people in and around the White House have recently tested positive for the coronavirus — including President Donald Trump himself .
The president announced on Friday , October 2 , after midnight that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus , joining several other high-ranking US government officials who have contracted SARS-CoV-2 .
Trump went to Walter Reed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maryland , on Friday evening to undergo treatment .
He was discharged on Monday , October 5 .
On Monday , White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tested positive for the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 ; two of her aides reportedly also have tested positive .
McEnany — like others in the White House cluster — failed to immediately quarantine , and she appeared in front of reporters without a mask after Trump ’ s diagnosis .
McEnany and other Republican officials attended a White House event on September 26 honoring the nomination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Supreme Court .
Republican Sens .
Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina announced after Trump ’ s diagnosis they had tested positive ; both were at the event , which took place indoors and outdoors .
Several other people , including former senior White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien , also tested positive after attending the event .
Former New Jersey Gov .
Chris Christie , another attendee , announced that he tested positive and checked into a hospital .
Barrett , for her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the summer but has recovered .
It is unknown whether she now carries immunity .
But it ’ s not just the one event .
On Saturday , October 3 , Sen. Ron Johnson ( R-WI ) announced having tested positive .
Johnson was not at the Barrett event , but he did attend a lunch with other Republican senators last week .
Beyond the relatively well-known senators , members of the press , and White House officials who have tested positive , less well-known staff members and security officers could have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Several such cases have already been confirmed , including McEnany ’ s deputies and Trump aide Nicholas Luna .
The White House , in other words , is now a Covid-19 hot spot .
And it appears to be doing little to trace the outbreak .
While it ’ s not clear how the president was exposed , Trump was in regular contact last week with senior counselor Hope Hicks , whose positive coronavirus test was revealed on Thursday , October 1 .
Hicks had traveled with Trump multiple times last week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debate in Cleveland , Ohio .
Over the summer , Republican Sens .
Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy were diagnosed with Covid-19 but have successfully recovered .
The virus has also infected at least 14 House members — nine Republicans and five Democrats — since March .
But this is the first time the virus , which has killed more than 208,000 Americans , has spread in such a concentrated manner among White House officials , staffers , and members of the press corps .
As of early Friday afternoon , Vice President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both tested negative , as have Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill .
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe tested negative as well .
Trump and his staff have been traveling to campaign events for several weeks .
Just in the last week , the president has held rallies in Florida , Virginia , Pennsylvania , and Minnesota , in addition to the debate in Ohio .
Bill Stepien , Trump ’ s campaign manager , tested positive Friday night .
Sen. Marsha Blackburn , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump to the debate , and on Friday said she was getting tested and isolating “ out of an abundance of caution.
” Later that day , she said she had tested negative , as did Sen. Kelly Loeffler ( R-GA ) .
One way to mitigate the outbreak from the event is to undergo a major contact tracing operation , though the White House has made few efforts on that front so far .
As Vox ’ s Dylan Scott explained , the only way to figure out the full extent of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ identifying who has been in close contact with the president since he became contagious , and asking them to quarantine to prevent Covid-19 from spreading to others , and to get tested themselves.
” The Trump campaign announced in a statement Friday that he and his family are suspending in-person events .
Pence ’ s campaign travel will continue and he plans to participate in the vice presidential debate against Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris on Wednesday .
Here ’ s what we know about who has tested positive — and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ People in the White House cluster who have reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus This list includes people who attended the September 26 Amy Coney Barrett event and/or have had close recent contact with the White House .
• John Jenkins , president of the University of Notre Dame • Three journalists from the White House press corps , including Michael Shear of the New York Times • A White House press staffer , according to the White House Correspondents ’ Association Two housekeeping staff members at the White House tested positive “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Maggie Haberman of the New York Times .
Sen. Ron Johnson ( R-WI ) and Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel have also recently tested positive .
Johnson and McDaniel were not at the Amy Coney Barrett event , but McDaniel had contact with Trump in the days before it .
A brief list of key politicians and officials who have tested negative Given the level of uncertainty created by this news , Vox has compiled a list of key administration figures who help run the country , key lawmakers who have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and key Democrats in the 2020 election cycle who have recently gotten negative test results for the virus .
While it could take several days for an individual who has contracted the virus to test positive , these are the initial negative tests .
Here ’ s a partial list so far : • Republican Reps. Pete Stauber and Tom Emmer of Minnesota , who traveled with Trump last week , according to a reporter from the MinnPost • Republican Sens .
Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the past week , according to a CBS reporter in Atlanta Will you help keep Vox free for all ?
The United States is in the middle of one of the most consequential presidential elections of our lifetimes .
It ’ s essential that all Americans are able to access clear , concise information on what the outcome of the election could mean for their lives , and the lives of their families and communities .
That is our mission at Vox .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work .
If you have already contributed , thank you .
If you haven ’ t , please consider helping everyone understand this presidential election : Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

Everyone in the White House cluster who has reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus
Share All sharing options for: Everyone in the White House cluster who has reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus
More than 20 people in and around the White House have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent weeks — including President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and their son, Barron Trump.
The president announced on October 2 that he and Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, joining several other high-ranking US government officials who have contracted SARS-CoV-2. Trump was given an experimental antibody treatment and oxygen at the White House, before being moved to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland for three days.
Melania Trump recuperated at home. Barron Trump, his mother announced on October 14, tested positive after his parents; the first lady said he was asymptomatic and has since tested negative.
Some prominent officials in the Trump administration have recently tested positive as well, including presidential adviser Stephen Miller, as well as press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and at least four members of her staff. McEnany — like others in the White House cluster — failed to immediately quarantine after Trump’s diagnosis, and she appeared in front of reporters without a mask in the following days.
While the administration has refused to conduct contact tracing, many Covid-19 cases in the cluster are believed to have originated around the time of a White House event — which took place indoors and outdoors — on September 26 honoring the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Dr. Anthony Fauci of the federal coronavirus task force has called the gathering a “superspreader event,” criticizing it for being a “situation where people were crowded together and were not wearing masks.”
A number of attendees tested positive for the coronavirus in the days following the event, including GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina; former senior White House counselor Kellyanne Conway; and Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another attendee, also tested positive and was hospitalized for a week.
Barrett, for her part, was diagnosed with Covid-19 over the summer but has recovered. It is unknown whether she now carries immunity.
But it’s not just the one event. On October 3, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) announced he had tested positive. Johnson was not at the Barrett event, but he did attend a lunch with other Republican senators last week. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) said on October 14 he was isolating after a positive test. There was some concern Barrett’s confirmation hearing could contribute to spread given many senators — including Lee, who said he is “no longer contagious” — are attending in person.
There have been more cases of political figures in recent days, which do not immediately appear linked to the cluster: Joe Biden’s campaign announced on October 15 that Kamala Harris’s communications director and a flight crew member tested positive for coronavirus. The campaign said that others, including Harris and Biden, have repeatedly tested negative in recent days, and that it is conducting contact tracing.
Beyond the relatively well-known senators, members of the press, and White House officials who have tested positive, less well-known government staff members and security officers have been infected with the coronavirus as well. A number of such cases have been confirmed, including McEnany’s deputies, Trump aide Nicholas Luna, and military officials assigned to the White House. Vice Commandant Charles Ray of the Coast Guard tested positive, leading other military leaders to enter quarantine.
The White House, in other words, became a Covid-19 hot spot.
Over the summer, Republican Sens. Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy were diagnosed with Covid-19 but have successfully recovered. The virus has also infected more than 15 House members since March. But this is the first time the virus, which has killed more than 215,000 Americans, has spread in such a concentrated manner among White House officials, staffers, and members of the press corps.
While it’s not clear how the president was exposed, Trump was in regular contact last week with senior counselor Hope Hicks, whose positive coronavirus test was revealed on Thursday, October 1. Hicks had traveled with Trump multiple times ahead of his diagnosis, including to the September 29 presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio.
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen have both repeatedly tested negative, as have Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill. Some other Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, have tested negative as well.
Following his recovery, Trump has resumed campaigning, promising to hold a rally nearly every day between now and November 3. He kicked these off with events in Florida and Pennsylvania, and spent part of each event incorrectly stating that those who have had the coronavirus are immune to reinfection.
While the rallies are all expected to be held outdoors, they have, thus far, not featured social distancing or universal mask wearing, fueling concerns that they will create new coronavirus clusters, both in the locales in which they are held, and among Trump’s staff. And the speculation is not unfounded; local officials believe a rally the president held on September 18 in Bemidji, Minnesota, caused at least nine cases.
Here’s what we know about some key figures who have tested positive — and negative — for SARS-CoV-2 so far.
People in the White House cluster who have reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus
This list includes people who attended the September 26 Barrett event and/or have had close recent contact with the White House.
Crede Bailey, the head of the White House security office, was hospitalized with Covid-19 in September, according to Bloomberg. He reportedly became sick before the Amy Coney Barrett event.
Two housekeeping staff members at the White House tested positive in early September, according to the New York Times.
Vice Commandant Ray, Sen. Johnson, and Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel have also recently tested positive. Johnson and McDaniel were not at the Barrett event, but McDaniel had contact with Trump in the days before it.
A brief list of key politicians and officials who have tested negative
Vox has compiled a list of key administration figures who help run the country, key lawmakers who have been in contact with the president, and key Democrats in the 2020 election cycle who have recently gotten negative test results for the virus.
While it could take several days for an individual who has contracted the virus to test positive, some recent negative tests have been made public. Here’s a partial list so far:


vox--2020-10-05--How Trump is using HIPAA to pick which medical details are released to the public

White House physician Sean Conley had a ready explanation on Monday for why he couldn ’ t share certain information about President Donald Trump ’ s Covid-19 case with reporters or the public : HIPAA .
Those five letters ( typically pronounced hip-pah ) stand for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act , a 1996 federal law meant to protect medical patients ’ privacy .
When reporters asked the president ’ s attending physician whether chest scans had shown any damage to Trump ’ s lungs since he had contracted the coronavirus , Conley cited HIPAA to deflect the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
After all , Conley had spent most of his press conference explaining in detail how much better Trump was feeling , how encouraged doctors were by his progress , and declaring that the president was “ back.
” Yet when faced with some uncomfortable questions , about Trump ’ s lung scans or when Trump last tested negative for the coronavirus , Conley hid behind HIPAA .
But the truth is HIPAA is meant to protect patients from having details of their health or medical care released without their permission .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Trump didn ’ t want his lung scans or test results disclosed , the president would have the power — as would any other patient — to prevent his doctor from sharing those details if he didn ’ t want them to become public , while allowing other details to be shared .
Jonathan Turley , a public interest law professor at George Washington University , explained how HIPAA requires a patient ’ s consent before their medical information is released .
Other health law experts I consulted agreed with Turley ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ applies to Conley and Trump .
“ Since Dr. Conley is one of Trump ’ s treating physicians , he ’ s covered by HIPAA , ” Sharona Hoffman , a Case Western law professor who specializes in medical privacy , told me over email .
“ Consequently , he is obligated under HIPAA to withhold medical information that Trump doesn ’ t want released.
” HIPAA was passed at a time when medical records were starting to be digitized and so privacy was a paramount concern for the public and policymakers .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ purpose in protecting patients , as Angela Chen wrote for The Verge in 2019 : But there is another way to think about how the law applies to Trump .
Yes , it is true that Conley can not share any of Trump ’ s medical information without the president ’ s permission .
The law does allow for personal health details to be released , however , if the patient waives their HIPAA protections .
Trump could do that , if he wanted to .
Whereas less famous patients might waive HIPAA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their family or loved ones , the president could agree to a broader exemption that allows more details to be shared with the public at large .
In other words , the only reason Conley couldn ’ t tell reporters what Trump ’ s lung scans showed or the timeline for his test results is if Trump didn ’ t want him to .
That ’ s his right as a patient .
But it is bound to engender more distrust .
The White House has already been inconsistent at best in its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with what we do know of Trump ’ s care regiment suggesting a more serious case than the official prognosis .
The vast majority of Americans — 69 percent — say they don ’ t trust the information coming from the White House about the president ’ s health , according to a new CNN poll .
There is a long history of White House officials being opaque about the president ’ s health or withholding worrisome medical information from the public .
But at other times , they have been more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bill Clinton required hearing aids or had a skin cancer lesion removed from his back , those details were disclosed by the official White House physician .
The Trump White House ’ s behavior in the middle of a pandemic that has now landed the president himself in the hospital therefore still feels different than prior situations .
“ I think in the past , presidents have understood that details about their health are important to the public , so they have been much more transparent , ” Hoffman said .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , not about Dr. Conley ’ s conduct under HIPAA.
” Trump seems intent on insisting that his bout of Covid-19 — which has landed him in the hospital for four days , during which he was given experimental treatments and drugs usually reserved for patients with breathing problems — was no big deal .
“ Don ’ t be afraid of Covid , ” he tweeted on Monday .
“ Don ’ t let it dominate your life.
” The US has now tallied more than 7.4 million confirmed Covid-19 cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The country is currently averaging roughly 42,700 new cases and 700 reported deaths every day , eight months into the pandemic .
With Election Day less than a month away , Trump apparently feels downplaying the coronavirus threat is still his best reelection bet , despite his personal experience .
It may not be a winning gambit , given polling that shows Americans think he ’ s acted irresponsibly and don ’ t approve of his administration ’ s handling of the pandemic .
But Trump , who admitted in private to hiding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s threat from the beginning , seems intent on sticking to that strategy to the end .
His willingness to let his personal doctor talk about all the positive signs of his progress — but refusing to share any of the more potentially negative information — would be part of that playbook .
For better or worse , HIPAA does give him the ability to pick and choose which details the American public will hear about their president ’ s health .
But remember : It ’ s his choice .
Trump could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his constituents with a more complete accounting of his health over the last week .
He ’ s just decided not to .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work .
If you have already contributed , thank you .
If you haven ’ t , please consider helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world : Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

White House physician Sean Conley had a ready explanation on Monday for why he couldn’t share certain information about President Donald Trump’s Covid-19 case with reporters or the public: HIPAA.
Those five letters (typically pronounced hip-pah) stand for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a 1996 federal law meant to protect medical patients’ privacy. When reporters asked the president’s attending physician whether chest scans had shown any damage to Trump’s lungs since he had contracted the coronavirus, Conley cited HIPAA to deflect the question.
"There are HIPAA rules and regulations that restrict me in sharing certain things for his safety and his own health and reasons" -- Conley won't talk about what Trump's lung scans show pic.twitter.com/acsuFEWoUY — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 5, 2020
It may have felt opportunistic. After all, Conley had spent most of his press conference explaining in detail how much better Trump was feeling, how encouraged doctors were by his progress, and declaring that the president was “back.” Yet when faced with some uncomfortable questions, about Trump’s lung scans or when Trump last tested negative for the coronavirus, Conley hid behind HIPAA.
But the truth is HIPAA is meant to protect patients from having details of their health or medical care released without their permission. So while Conley may not have expressly said that Trump didn’t want his lung scans or test results disclosed, the president would have the power — as would any other patient — to prevent his doctor from sharing those details if he didn’t want them to become public, while allowing other details to be shared.
Jonathan Turley, a public interest law professor at George Washington University, explained how HIPAA requires a patient’s consent before their medical information is released.
The White House physician just finished and is being hammered over his invocation of HIPAA to refuse to answer some questions. There is a contradiction in what information was revealed and what information was withheld. The only legal basis would not be HIPAA per se but... — Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) October 5, 2020
... patient consent under HIPAA. President Trump can decline to have details of medical tests revealed. That can create this curious contradiction in the information being supplied. — Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) October 5, 2020
...45 CFR §164.508 stipulates that all uses and disclosures of protected health information (PHI) require an authorization to be obtained from a patient before information prior to any disclosure. A patient can be selective in PHI disclosures. — Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) October 5, 2020
Other health law experts I consulted agreed with Turley’s read on the law as it applies to Conley and Trump.
“Since Dr. Conley is one of Trump’s treating physicians, he’s covered by HIPAA,” Sharona Hoffman, a Case Western law professor who specializes in medical privacy, told me over email. “Consequently, he is obligated under HIPAA to withhold medical information that Trump doesn’t want released.”
HIPAA was passed at a time when medical records were starting to be digitized and so privacy was a paramount concern for the public and policymakers. And the law has served a real purpose in protecting patients, as Angela Chen wrote for The Verge in 2019:
In some cases, health information can lead to discrimination, such as higher life insurance premiums. In other situations, privacy itself is valued. You wouldn’t want a gossipy doctor or office secretary telling everyone which patient has cancer, and before HIPAA, that was far more common. “It’s hard to overstate the cultural change that HIPAA did bring about, and that’s been good,” says Margaret Riley, a health law expert at the University of Virginia.
But there is another way to think about how the law applies to Trump. Yes, it is true that Conley cannot share any of Trump’s medical information without the president’s permission. The law does allow for personal health details to be released, however, if the patient waives their HIPAA protections.
Trump could do that, if he wanted to. Whereas less famous patients might waive HIPAA so that information can be shared with their family or loved ones, the president could agree to a broader exemption that allows more details to be shared with the public at large.
In other words, the only reason Conley couldn’t tell reporters what Trump’s lung scans showed or the timeline for his test results is if Trump didn’t want him to. That’s his right as a patient. But it is bound to engender more distrust.
The White House has already been inconsistent at best in its description of the president’s condition, with what we do know of Trump’s care regiment suggesting a more serious case than the official prognosis. The vast majority of Americans — 69 percent — say they don’t trust the information coming from the White House about the president’s health, according to a new CNN poll.
There is a long history of White House officials being opaque about the president’s health or withholding worrisome medical information from the public. But at other times, they have been more forthcoming. For example, when President Bill Clinton required hearing aids or had a skin cancer lesion removed from his back, those details were disclosed by the official White House physician.
The Trump White House’s behavior in the middle of a pandemic that has now landed the president himself in the hospital therefore still feels different than prior situations.
“I think in the past, presidents have understood that details about their health are important to the public, so they have been much more transparent,” Hoffman said. “The complaint we are hearing is really about that, not about Dr. Conley’s conduct under HIPAA.”
Trump seems intent on insisting that his bout of Covid-19 — which has landed him in the hospital for four days, during which he was given experimental treatments and drugs usually reserved for patients with breathing problems — was no big deal.
“Don’t be afraid of Covid,” he tweeted on Monday. “Don’t let it dominate your life.”
The US has now tallied more than 7.4 million confirmed Covid-19 cases and more than 210,000 confirmed deaths. The country is currently averaging roughly 42,700 new cases and 700 reported deaths every day, eight months into the pandemic.
With Election Day less than a month away, Trump apparently feels downplaying the coronavirus threat is still his best reelection bet, despite his personal experience. It may not be a winning gambit, given polling that shows Americans think he’s acted irresponsibly and don’t approve of his administration’s handling of the pandemic.
But Trump, who admitted in private to hiding the true extent of the virus’s threat from the beginning, seems intent on sticking to that strategy to the end. His willingness to let his personal doctor talk about all the positive signs of his progress — but refusing to share any of the more potentially negative information — would be part of that playbook.
For better or worse, HIPAA does give him the ability to pick and choose which details the American public will hear about their president’s health. But remember: It’s his choice. Trump could, if he wanted to, provide his constituents with a more complete accounting of his health over the last week.
He’s just decided not to.


vox--2020-10-05--Health experts call for the vice presidential debate to be canceled or made virtual

Amid a growing Covid-19 outbreak at the White House , public health experts are calling for Wednesday ’ s vice presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris to be called off — or made virtual .
Pence has been exposed to several infected individuals , including President Donald Trump himself , who announced he ’ d tested positive for the coronavirus early Friday morning .
Since Trump ’ s diagnosis , the vice president has been tested regularly , returning negative results each time .
Nevertheless , public health experts have warned it would be astonishingly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ upcoming in-person debate , which is set to be held in Salt Lake City , Utah .
Rochelle Walensky , an infectious disease expert at Harvard University , told the New York Times that “ there is no way under the sun that Pence should be anywhere but in his home .
He was sitting in a sea of people with [ Covid-19 ] .
” A negative test does not necessarily mean someone does not have Covid-19 because the amount of virus in an infected person can take time to reach detectable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can change rapidly .
For instance , White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany had tested negative every day since Thursday , but announced on Monday that she had tested positive .
The Commission on Presidential Debates has said it will take some additional precautions in light of this , moving the candidates ’ podiums for the vice presidential debate to 13 feet apart as opposed to the originally planned 7 feet .
A plexiglass barrier will also be placed between the candidates — which Harris supported and Pence opposed .
But USA Today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will moderate the debate , will still be less than 6 feet from Pence and Harris .
Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden were also 12 feet apart at last week ’ s presidential debate , but Biden is still potentially at risk .
The candidates were indoors , where the virus can travel farther than the CDC-recommended distance of 6 feet , particularly if one is shouting , as everyone involved did at one point or another .
Given the inherent risk of any indoor event — particularly one that includes someone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kumi Smith , an assistant professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota , told Vox that the safest course of action would be to make the vice presidential debate a virtual event .
“ The thing I noticed when I watched the presidential debate was a lot of other people seemed to be gathered in the room unnecessarily , ” Smith said .
“ These live events do seem to necessitate a lot of people coming into closer contact with each other in an indoor space than social distancing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if the debate is ultimately held in person , it should take place in a large ventilated space with as few people as possible in attendance .
And David Celentano , chair of the epidemiology department at Johns Hopkins University , told Vox all participants should arrive at least 30 minutes early to receive a rapid Covid-19 test .
He also recommended everyone in the audience should wear a face covering , a precaution not taken by many of Trump ’ s guests at the first presidential debate .
As Smith noted , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debates feature people who will be the next elected leaders of the United States .
And in the case of Wednesday ’ s debate , they have additional importance given Pence would assume presidential responsibilities should Trump — who remains ill with Covid-19 — become incapacitated at any point due to his illness .
The debate commission has not made any decisions on altering plans for the last two presidential debates , scheduled for October 15 in Miami , Florida , and October 22 in Nashville , Tennessee .
Both campaigns have indicated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller told Meet the Press on Sunday , “ We see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris out there campaigning — certainly , they ’ re not asking for a remote debate.
” And Monday , Biden told reporters he would be comfortable attending both events in person “ if the scientists say that it ’ s safe and the distances are safe.
” Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work .
If you have already contributed , thank you .
If you haven ’ t , please consider helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as $ 3 .

Amid a growing Covid-19 outbreak at the White House, public health experts are calling for Wednesday’s vice presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris to be called off — or made virtual.
Pence has been exposed to several infected individuals, including President Donald Trump himself, who announced he’d tested positive for the coronavirus early Friday morning. Since Trump’s diagnosis, the vice president has been tested regularly, returning negative results each time. Nevertheless, public health experts have warned it would be astonishingly risky for him to participate in the upcoming in-person debate, which is set to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Rochelle Walensky, an infectious disease expert at Harvard University, told the New York Times that “there is no way under the sun that Pence should be anywhere but in his home. He was sitting in a sea of people with [Covid-19].”
A negative test does not necessarily mean someone does not have Covid-19 because the amount of virus in an infected person can take time to reach detectable levels. And one’s status can change rapidly. For instance, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany had tested negative every day since Thursday, but announced on Monday that she had tested positive.
The Commission on Presidential Debates has said it will take some additional precautions in light of this, moving the candidates’ podiums for the vice presidential debate to 13 feet apart as opposed to the originally planned 7 feet. A plexiglass barrier will also be placed between the candidates — which Harris supported and Pence opposed. But USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page, who will moderate the debate, will still be less than 6 feet from Pence and Harris.
Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden were also 12 feet apart at the September 29 presidential debate, but Biden is still potentially at risk. The candidates were indoors, where the virus can travel farther than the CDC-recommended distance of 6 feet, particularly if one is shouting, as everyone involved did at one point or another.
Eleven people tested positive for the coronavirus in cases traced to “pre-debate planning and set-up” for last week’s event, according to the Cleveland mayor’s office.
Given the inherent risk of any indoor event — particularly one that includes someone who has been exposed to Covid-19 — Kumi Smith, an assistant professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota, told Vox that the safest course of action would be to make the vice presidential debate a virtual event.
“The thing I noticed when I watched the presidential debate was a lot of other people seemed to be gathered in the room unnecessarily,” Smith said. “These live events do seem to necessitate a lot of people coming into closer contact with each other in an indoor space than social distancing guidelines would currently recommend.”
Smith said if the debate is ultimately held in person, it should take place in a large ventilated space with as few people as possible in attendance. And David Celentano, chair of the epidemiology department at Johns Hopkins University, told Vox all participants should arrive at least 30 minutes early to receive a rapid Covid-19 test. He also recommended everyone in the audience should wear a face covering, a precaution not taken by many of Trump’s guests at the first presidential debate.
As Smith noted, these extra precautions are paramount considering the debates feature people who will be the next elected leaders of the United States. And in the case of Wednesday’s debate, they have additional importance given Pence would assume presidential responsibilities should Trump — who remains ill with Covid-19 — become incapacitated at any point due to his illness.
The debate commission has not made any decisions on altering plans for the last two presidential debates, scheduled for October 15 in Miami, Florida, and October 22 in Nashville, Tennessee. Both campaigns have indicated they would like to debate in person. Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller told Meet the Press on Sunday, “We see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris out there campaigning — certainly, they’re not asking for a remote debate.”
And Monday, Biden told reporters he would be comfortable attending both events in person “if the scientists say that it’s safe and the distances are safe.”