Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has issued some dire warnings since the early days of the novel COVID-19 coronavirus, but on Sunday he indicated some steps taken by the U.S. federal government and states might be paying off — both in terms of curbing the spread and preparing the health-care system for an onslaught of patients.
New York City remains the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, and its hospitals are struggling. Gottlieb reiterated the predication made by numerous officials that the city, and New York state, are on the verge of peaking next week, which will undoubtedly stretch the health-care system thin. But he said he, ultimately, he thinks there will be enough ventilators for severe COVID-19 patients thanks to a historic effort to expand their supply, preventing New York from going past its tipping point.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The Week Unwrapped: Why are sinkholes becoming more common?Podcast Plus, will Saudi investment help create the "Netflix of sport"? And why has New Zealand's new tourism campaign met with a savage reception?
-
How Poland became Europe's military powerThe Explainer Warsaw has made its armed forces a priority as it looks to protect its borders and stay close to the US
-
Quiz of The Week: 15 - 21 FebruaryHave you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study findsSpeed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cowsSpeed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study findsSpeed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addictionSpeed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
-
Study finds possible alternative abortion pillSpeed Read An emergency contraception (morning-after) pill called Ella could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions
-
California declares bird flu emergencySpeed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
-
Bird flu one mutuation from human threat, study findsSpeed Read A Scripps Research Institute study found one genetic tweak of the virus could enable its spread among people
-
Dark chocolate tied to lower diabetes riskSpeed Read The findings were based on the diets of about 192,000 US adults over 34 years
