August 5, 2020

The chaotic school-reopening experiment produces its first widely reported case: a second grader in Georgia tests positive for the coronavirus after attending the first day of school. Chicago announces its public schools will start the year entirely virtual, Washington’s governor says it is unsafe for most students to return to buildings, and educators in Boston denounce the district’s hybrid plan with the question, “Is the district ready to have blood on their hands?” STAT News notes the CDC has yet to signal the importance of ventilation for school reopening, an omission critics say casts doubt on the agency’s commitment to making in-person learning safe.

President Trump again claims the coronavirus “will go away,” while Fauci warns of a long road ahead and says the virus may not be under control until the end of 2021. Fauci reveals he has received death threats and his daughters have been harassed, a direct consequence of the political heat surrounding his public role. Trump praises Arizona as a “model” for pandemic response even as the state’s cases and deaths remain high following its early relaxation of restrictions. Johnson & Johnson reaches a deal with the U.S. for 100 million doses of its vaccine candidate at a cost of more than $1 billion, while Moderna discloses it is pricing its vaccine at $32 to $37 per dose and faces criticism from Axios for skirting cost disclosures to taxpayers. Sweden’s economy, the Financial Times reports, shrank less than the eurozone average during the height of the pandemic, offering data points for the debate over lockdown stringency and economic resilience.