Early in the pandemic, theJohns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center quickly became the premier source of Covid-19 data for governments, the public, and the media who needed accurate and transparent data to respond to the crisis.
CBS News went behind the scenes of the Resource Center to interview Beth Blauer, Executive Director at Johns Hopkins University Centers for Civic Impact, who discussed how the group's data is helping world leaders make informed decisions.
Data from the Resource Center’s Global COVID-19 Dashboard — developed by Johns Hopkins University professor Lauren Gardner — was cited by President Joe Biden this week as part of a moment of silence for the 500,000 Covid fatalities in the United States.
“We are committed to making this as effective as possible, not only for our public user, but also for governments who are having to use this data to navigate public decision-making,” Blauer said.
“Anytime you see data analyzed or you see a map or chart or a graph, we're powering that," Blauer added, noting the site is run almost exclusively by women — all of whom have had personal experiences with Covid.
Blauer said her daughter Madeline, 10, contracted the virus.
“One of the most devastating parts of that was when she looked at me and said, ‘I'm a dot on your map now.’ It tore my heart out.”
Dr. Fauci said that the UK variant is the predominant mutated strain in the United States and that vaccines “clearly can take care of that particular strain."
Roughly twelve months into the pandemic, the U.S. has suffered508,000 Covid deaths and the world has lost 2.5 million. A look back at some global headlines:
Adebate is ragingover who will lead the F.D.A. in the pandemic’s critical next phase. The reported front-runners have been Dr. Janet Woodcock, the agency’s acting commissioner and holdover from the Trump administration, and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, a former high-ranking F.D.A. official and vice dean at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Dr. Sharfsteinoften criticized the Trump administration’s pandemic response, and called for the F.D.A. to “stand up for itself and for science, not politics.”
In 2008, when Dr. Sharfstein's name was floated for the top spot, the pharmaceutical industry opposed the move, protesting his criticism of off-label drug marketing and gifts from pharmaceutical companies to physicians. He called the companies to task over the cough and cold medications marketed for kids that were resulting in a major increase in poison control center calls.
A new report by BioCenturyraises the prospect that big pharmaceutical companies may have won again in opposing his nomination, despite several well-known public health experts who endorsed Sharfstein saying he would bring fresh leadership to the agency.
In a letter of support to President Biden,they wrote: “Dr. Sharfstein knows the F.D.A. and will ensure that its decision-making is scientifically beyond reproach, transparent and based on the principles of public health."
I couldn't agree more.
Retweet of the Day.
Vice President Kamala Harris retweeted Mike Bloomberg's announcement Thursday that Harris would join Mike and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg as keynote speakers atCityLab 2021, a summit bringing together global leaders to discuss the most urgent issues faced by cities around the world (held March 1-3).
“COVID-19 has once again shown us the need for better global cooperation to address the existential threat of our time: climate change,” the Treasury Secretary wrote in a letter to her G20 colleagues.
Mike Bloomberg applauded the moveonTwitter: “This is a critical step in creating a more resilient global economy.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday said it would review how companies are disclosing the risks they face from climate change, as it looks to refresh its more than decade-old guidance on the issue.
Mary Schapiro, who was SEC chair when the agency issued its 2010 guidance, said it is likely the agency will decide whether to move to mandatory climate change disclosures in the next four years.
"There is this enormous force of inevitability, in my mind, that we will get to high-quality climate risk disclosures globally," said Schapiro, now the head of the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Secretariat and Vice Chair for Global Public Policy at Bloomberg LP.
Many QAnon adherents believe that Donald Trump will return to power on March 4, the original Inauguration Day before the passage of the 20th Amendment in 1932.
To celebrate Black History Month, bundle up and take The Shed's audio walking tour of Manhattan and Brooklyn, which explores the legacy of racial violence in the U.S. and the power of Black resilience. The Shed is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Use the Bloomberg Connects App to tour the only national heritage centre dedicated to collecting, preserving and celebrating the histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain.
In the 1940’s, the U.S. government targeted the Baltimore-born jazz singer (played by Andra Day) in a growing effort to racialize the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from performing her controversial ballad, “Strange Fruit.”
I know I’m not the first to discover it, but I encourage anyone who has not seen it to check out this show business satire set in a Paris talent agency. As The Guardian wrote: "While our international borders might be closed, one of the great advantages of streaming platforms is the way in which they have cleaved wide open the language barriers of television and cinema."
Front-runners include: 'The Trial of the Chicago 7' (Best Drama); 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm' (Best Comedy or Musical); Frances McDormand in 'Nomadland' (Best Actress in a Drama); and the late Chadwick Boseman in 'Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom' (Best Actor in a Drama).
Best of Late Night.
"The Biden Administration is reportedly preparing sanctions to punish Russia for its widespread breach of U.S. government computers last year. Wow, the only thing that last president ever did to punish Russia was lose his second election." -- Seth Meyers
On news that the U.S. Postal Service would be upgrading its fleet of mail delivery trucks, with some to be electric:
"Of course there’s a controversy. Many of the new trucks will be electric, but not all of them, and the precise mix has already elicited criticism from environmentalists. I understand their concern — I mean, you want the greenest vehicle possible when you’re delivering thousands of pounds of Amazon Rainforest that are now Amazon boxes." -- Stephen Colbert
"According to CNN, pandemic paranoia is a real thing. Or is it? Who paid you to say that, CNN? How would you know that I'm paranoid?" -- Stephen Colbert
"The Philadelphia International Airport has begun offering travelers the ability to have food delivered to their gates by a robot named Gita. Meanwhile, travelers at LaGuardia have developed into a hunter-gatherer society." -- Seth Meyers
"President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden are set to visit Houston, Texas on Friday. 'I would never go to Texas this time of year,' said Ted Cruz." -- Seth Meyers
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