House Democrats Renew Investigation Into Trump-Era COVID-19 Response

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WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 13: Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) (L) wears a protective mask while arriving to the U.S. Capitol on January 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives is expected to vote to impeach President Donald Trump later today, after Vice President Mike Pence declined to use the 25th amendment to remove him from office after protestors breached the U.S. Capitol last week. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images)

House Democrats are renewing their investigation into the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, citing new documents and what they call evidence of political interference in the government response to the virus.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., sent letters to White House chief of staff Ron Klain and acting Health and Human Services Secretary Norris Cochran informing them of the investigations and additional evidence. Clyburn cites an internal HHS email that he says includes details of an effort to end testing of asymptomatic infections over concerns that people who test positive would quarantine and suppress the economy.

The letter focuses particularly on allegations that Trump administration adviser Dr. Paul Alexander tried to suppress scientific data and pressured members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force to alter public information.

“The previous Administration refused to cooperate with the Select Subcommittee’s inquiries, with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) blocking documents and witnesses related to the politicization of public health information, testing and supply shortages, vaccine development and distribution, and other critical aspects of the nation’s virus response,” Clyburn wrote. “Documents recently obtained by the Select Subcommittee raise further questions about political interference with the coronavirus response during the previous Administration.”

People 65 years and older account for 80% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is why they have been prioritized for the vaccines. But elderly people with weakened immune systems may not respond to them as well and the FDA has found that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are somewhat less effective in people 65 and older.

The only thing that will finally cut the risk of infection will be when the U.S. reaches herd immunity, meaning that the virus is brought down to extremely low levels and we can get back to normal.

Until then, “You still pose a clear and present danger to your parents,” says Dr. June McKoy, associate professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

A visit may depend on where your loved one lives

“Everybody got excited when the vaccines came out,” says McKoy, a geriatrician who works with nursing homes in Chicago. “Families were hoping this would liberate their parents, but unfortunately, we are telling them, not yet.”

For nursing homes and assisted living facilities, extra caution is warranted. That’s because people who live there can be frail and have underlying conditions that make them even more vulnerable to severe illness and death. And in a communal living situation, one infection can put everyone at risk.

In these settings, meeting virtually or outside with masks is still safer, McKoy advises. “To come inside and really spend time, visitors should be vaccinated.”

Inside the building, residents who have had their two doses should be allowed to get together in small groups and socialize, McKoy says, as long as any staff members who haven’t been vaccinated wear masks.

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