Coronavirus

Blog

Newsom’s “Comeback” Plan for Small Businesses

Back in February, Tim Anaya and I interviewed for PRI’s Next Round podcast Cynthia Ariosta and Carl Dene, small business owners in Napa Valley, to get their perspective on Gov. Newsom’s COVID restrictions on small businesses. This heart-wrenching interview was one of our most listened to podcasts this year. In ...
Blog

California’s Door-Knock Vaccination Squad: Maybe Just A Bit Creepy?

With California just weeks away from a full re-opening, the state has sent out a small army of people who are “knocking on doors in order to get as many Californians vaccinated as possible,” the Sacramento Bee reported last week. Did no one think this might be a bad idea? ...
Commentary

Biden’s Intellectual Property Waiver Puts Political Symbolism Before Saving Lives

President Biden recently backed a World Trade Organization proposal to waive intellectual property protections on COVID-19 vaccines and therapies — a move the Trump administration rejected just a few months ago. The White House’s decision is a catastrophe. The waiver will do nothing to increase access to vaccines. It will, however, undermine the system ...
Coronavirus

Sally Pipes Quoted in Newsmax, “Can We Ever Trust Our Public Health Officials Again?”

Can We Ever Trust Our Public Health Officials Again? By Marisa Herman Healthcare institutions who’ve historically enjoyed a high level of public trust may soon face a steep erosion of the American people’s confidence after more than a year in the spotlight for a coronavirus pandemic that was fraught with ...
Blog

MyTurn Is Actually a Marginal Success Compared to Historic Performance of Government Technology Projects

Reports this week have put MyTurn, California’s $50 million COVID-19 scheduling website, on the long list of IT and technology blunders by government. The headline in the Sacramento Bee says it all, “California spent $50 million for a COVID vaccine scheduling website. It flopped.” The state’s ongoing technological woes should ...
California

Dr. Henry Miller – A COVID-19 Update and Progress on Vaccinations

This week’s guest is Dr. Henry Miller, PRI senior fellow in health care studies.  In addition to being a physician, Dr. Miller was a former official at the FDA and founding director of the FDA’s Office of Biotechnology. Dr. Miller provides an update on the pandemic, the progress of vaccine ...
Commentary

Europe Negotiates A Poor Vaccine Rollout

Several European countries just instituted another round of lockdowns amid a new wave of Covid-19 cases. This turn of events is sobering but puzzling. Europe seemed to have Covid-19 under control a few months ago, at least compared to the United States. What happened? The countries’ vaccination rates offer an explanation. Europe ...
Commentary

J&J Vaccine ‘Pause’ Reveals U.S. Regulators’ Abundance of Recklessness

It seems obvious that a rapid, widespread vaccination campaign offers our nation the best chance of bringing the COVID-19 pandemic to a swift end. That observation is apparently lost on federal public health officials. Last week, the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration told ...
Blog

Will Vaccine Passports Hasten California Exodus?

Orange County is testing a digital vaccine passport, but so far, there’s been no movement at the state level to require all Californians to present their papers to freely move about. Meanwhile, Texas, Florida, and Idaho have banned vaccine passports. Other red states are likely to follow. Should Sacramento decide ...
Blog

Time for the Roaring Twenties?

The stock market is at record highs. More than 900,000 Americans found jobs in March.  Flapper models sashay down the runways of Paris and Milan. In a moment of weakness, even I turned my head at a “For Sale” classic Mercedes convertible (the last and only car I’ve ever owned ...
Blog

Newsom’s “Comeback” Plan for Small Businesses

Back in February, Tim Anaya and I interviewed for PRI’s Next Round podcast Cynthia Ariosta and Carl Dene, small business owners in Napa Valley, to get their perspective on Gov. Newsom’s COVID restrictions on small businesses. This heart-wrenching interview was one of our most listened to podcasts this year. In ...
Blog

California’s Door-Knock Vaccination Squad: Maybe Just A Bit Creepy?

With California just weeks away from a full re-opening, the state has sent out a small army of people who are “knocking on doors in order to get as many Californians vaccinated as possible,” the Sacramento Bee reported last week. Did no one think this might be a bad idea? ...
Commentary

Biden’s Intellectual Property Waiver Puts Political Symbolism Before Saving Lives

President Biden recently backed a World Trade Organization proposal to waive intellectual property protections on COVID-19 vaccines and therapies — a move the Trump administration rejected just a few months ago. The White House’s decision is a catastrophe. The waiver will do nothing to increase access to vaccines. It will, however, undermine the system ...
Coronavirus

Sally Pipes Quoted in Newsmax, “Can We Ever Trust Our Public Health Officials Again?”

Can We Ever Trust Our Public Health Officials Again? By Marisa Herman Healthcare institutions who’ve historically enjoyed a high level of public trust may soon face a steep erosion of the American people’s confidence after more than a year in the spotlight for a coronavirus pandemic that was fraught with ...
Blog

MyTurn Is Actually a Marginal Success Compared to Historic Performance of Government Technology Projects

Reports this week have put MyTurn, California’s $50 million COVID-19 scheduling website, on the long list of IT and technology blunders by government. The headline in the Sacramento Bee says it all, “California spent $50 million for a COVID vaccine scheduling website. It flopped.” The state’s ongoing technological woes should ...
California

Dr. Henry Miller – A COVID-19 Update and Progress on Vaccinations

This week’s guest is Dr. Henry Miller, PRI senior fellow in health care studies.  In addition to being a physician, Dr. Miller was a former official at the FDA and founding director of the FDA’s Office of Biotechnology. Dr. Miller provides an update on the pandemic, the progress of vaccine ...
Commentary

Europe Negotiates A Poor Vaccine Rollout

Several European countries just instituted another round of lockdowns amid a new wave of Covid-19 cases. This turn of events is sobering but puzzling. Europe seemed to have Covid-19 under control a few months ago, at least compared to the United States. What happened? The countries’ vaccination rates offer an explanation. Europe ...
Commentary

J&J Vaccine ‘Pause’ Reveals U.S. Regulators’ Abundance of Recklessness

It seems obvious that a rapid, widespread vaccination campaign offers our nation the best chance of bringing the COVID-19 pandemic to a swift end. That observation is apparently lost on federal public health officials. Last week, the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration told ...
Blog

Will Vaccine Passports Hasten California Exodus?

Orange County is testing a digital vaccine passport, but so far, there’s been no movement at the state level to require all Californians to present their papers to freely move about. Meanwhile, Texas, Florida, and Idaho have banned vaccine passports. Other red states are likely to follow. Should Sacramento decide ...
Blog

Time for the Roaring Twenties?

The stock market is at record highs. More than 900,000 Americans found jobs in March.  Flapper models sashay down the runways of Paris and Milan. In a moment of weakness, even I turned my head at a “For Sale” classic Mercedes convertible (the last and only car I’ve ever owned ...
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