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You’ve probably seen news about the halt in vaccinations across much of Europe in the wake of questions about whether the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is the main one in Europe, might be associated with a rare clotting syndrome as a side effect. Here’s the most detailed account of the situation I’ve read, a piece by two top flight science/epidemiology journalists writing in Science.
Where Things Stand: GOP Hints At Impeachment To Suggest Biden Must Finish Trump’s Wall
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) been talking about impeachment since January 21, one day after inauguration.
Now, she’s not alone. Sort of.
Where Things Stand: Some House Members Are Reportedly Refusing To Get Vaccinated
As Josh Kovensky reported today, the rate of getting shots into people’s arms has dramatically ramped up since January thanks to a few key factors, including the arrival of federal funding for the roll out.
Shape Of Nationwide Voting Restriction Push Begins To Firm Up
What Happened to Trump?
The future is hard to predict because all of our perceptions are all shaped by the present that is always passing. But it’s not too soon to note that some of our assumptions about ex-President Trump’s post-presidency missed the mark. With the exception of his CPAC speech which was generally regarded as a flat, low-energy affair Trump has been almost entirely out of the spotlight. He did pick this fight over whether money should go to GOP party committees or only to him directly. But the follow through has been scattered and Sen. Rick Scott’s visit to Mar a Lago suggests it was mainly a push for attention.
Where Things Stand: The GOP’s Gotta Worry About Greitens Again
He’s back. Maybe.
If you remember, TPM alum Allegra Kirkland covered the swift downfall of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R) back in 2018, exclusively breaking a particularly disturbing detail of the story, which involved accusations of blackmail and an alleged assault: She reported that the former governor slapped the woman he had been accused of blackmailing over an extramarital affair.
Why Did Trump Decide Not to Have a Plan to Vaccinate the Country?
As we noted in various articles over the last two days the Trump administration (albeit mainly career civil servants) deserve some credit for Operation Warp Speed, which backstopped the risk in private pharmaceutical companies of going all out in vaccine creation and production. But on the distribution front, their record was close to catastrophic. As Josh Kovensky and Kate Riga explain here, they literally had no plan to do anything. The “plan” was not to have a plan. The military would airlift the supplies to designated airports in each state and then it was up to the states.
So why did the administration at least do the basic blocking and tackling of federal support for vaccine development and drop the ball entirely on a plan to get the country vaccinated?