ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

The president’s aides appeared to [give] wealthy party donors an early warning of a potentially impactful contagion at a time when Mr. Trump was publicly insisting that the threat was nonexistent. ... Interviews with eight people who either received copies of the memo or were briefed on aspects of it as it spread among investors in New York and elsewhere provide a glimpse of how elite traders had access to information from the administration that helped them gain financial advantage during a chaotic three days when global markets were teetering. (Kelly and Mazzetti, 10/14)

When Deborah Birx, a physician with a background in HIV/AIDS research, was named coordinator of the task force in February, she was widely praised as a tough, indefatigable manager and a voice of data-driven reason. But some of her actions have undermined the effectiveness of the world’s preeminent public health agency, according to a Science investigation. Interviews with nine current CDC employees, several of them senior agency leaders, and 20 former agency leaders and public health experts—as well as a review of more than 100 official emails, memos, and other documents—suggest Birx’s hospital data takeover fits a pattern in which she opposed CDC guidance, sometimes promoting President Donald Trump’s policies or views against scientific consensus. (Piller, 10/14)

U.S. diplomats and security officials privately warned the state of Nevada not to use Chinese-made coronavirus test kits donated by the United Arab Emirates over concerns about patient privacy, test accuracy and Chinese government involvement, documents obtained by The Associated Press show. The documents illustrate how the U.S. government actively — if quietly — tried to keep the state out of a project involving the Chinese firm BGI Group, which is the world’s largest genetic sequencing company and which has expanded its reach during the coronavirus pandemic. (Gambrell and Price, 10/15)

Almost 40 years ago, a CDC report described mysterious pneumonia cases among five previously healthy young men in Los Angeles. That led to reporting of similar cases — and the eventual identification of AIDS. Since then, those same weekly CDC reports have published important articles on SARS, Ebola and Zika, among other major disease trends. And this year, many Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles have presented updated research and critical health information about COVID-19. But the MMWR, known as “the voice of the CDC,’’ has come under recent political pressure, according to media reports. (Miller, 10/13)

People seek COVID-19 information from different sources based on sex, age, education level, political bent, and beliefs about the pandemic, according to a study published last week in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance. ... The vast majority of the 11,242 participants who completed the survey (91.2%) said they turned to traditional news sources such as television, radio, podcasts, and newspapers. But the largest single source of COVID-19 information was government websites (87.6%), which were also the most trusted source (43.3%). Another large source was social media (73.6%), although participants said they trusted government information far more. (Van Beusekom, 10/14)

For decades, people struggling with illnesses of all kinds have sought help in online support groups, and during 2020, such groups have been in high demand for COVID-19 patients, who often must recover in isolation. But the fear and uncertainty regarding the coronavirus have made online groups targets for the spread of false information. And to help fellow patients, some of these groups are making a mission of stamping out misinformation. (Smith, 10/15)