Health
Science Amid Chaos: What Worked During the Pandemic? What Failed?
Until 2020, few Americans needed to think about how viruses spread or how the human immune system works. The pandemic offered a painful crash course. Sometimes, it seemed that the science was evolving as quickly as the virus itself.
So The New York Times asked experts to revisit the nightmare. Of the most significant public health measures introduced during Covid, which have held up scientifically, and which turned out to be wrongheaded?
The question is particularly important now, because pandemics that could upend American lives are inevitable. One candidate has already surfaced: bird flu.
Perhaps the biggest lesson learned, several experts said, is that recommendations during any pandemic are necessarily based on emerging and incomplete information. But during Covid, federal agencies often projected more confidence in their assessments than was warranted.
Next time, the scientists said, officials should be more forthright about the uncertainties and prepare the public for guidance that may shift as the threat comes into clearer focus.
Rather than promote preventive measures as infallible solutions, they should also acknowledge that no single intervention is perfect — though many imperfect measures can build a bulwark.
If you venture out in a “huge, heavy rainstorm, your umbrella alone is not going to keep you from getting wet,” said Linsey Marr, an expert in airborne viruses at Virginia Tech.
“You need your umbrella; you need your boots; you need your waterproof pants and jacket; and you would probably try to avoid the puddles,” she said.
Vaccines
A victory, but officials oversold the benefits at first.
The mRNA vaccines were, in a sense, victims of their own unexpected success in clinical trials in 2020. Those results were spectacular: The shots warded off symptomatic illness caused by the original version of the coronavirus at miraculous rates.
But government officials had to walk back their enthusiasm as breakthrough infections with the Delta variant surged in the summer of 2021. Americans were told to get boosters. Then again, and again.
Federal health officials should have acknowledged at the start that the long-term effectiveness was unknown, said Natalie Dean, a biostatistician at Emory University.
Mistrust over the safety and effectiveness of the Covid vaccines is now taking a toll on other immunizations, including those targeting childhood diseases like measles.
“Making claims early on that this was going to prevent all infections was, I think, a little bit of an overpromise” that eventually undermined public trust, said Saskia Popescu, an infection prevention expert at the University of Maryland.
Still, the vaccines saved an estimated 14 million lives just in the first year after their introduction.
Airborne Spread
Surfaces were not the problem. Indoor air was.
Disagreements among scientists about how the coronavirus traveled had profound ramifications for how Americans were told to protect themselves.
Early on, health officials insisted that the virus was spread through large droplets that were coughed or sneezed out by an infected person onto other people or objects. The “fomite” theory led to protocols that made little sense in retrospect.
Remember the plexiglass barriers during the Presidential debates? The face shields? Schools closed for cleaning days midway through the week. People were scrubbing down groceries and mail.
“The whole hygiene theater was terribly unfortunate,” said Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota. It wasted millions of dollars and gave people a false sense of security.
Health agencies took months to admit that the virus was carried aloft by tiny droplets, called aerosols, that could be exhaled, traveling long distances indoors. Sadly, that insight initially led to another overreaction.
Some states closed down beaches and parks, and forbade interactions outdoors, even though “there’s good scientific evidence that outdoor events are lower risk,” Dr. Dean said.
Eventually, understanding that the virus was primarily floating indoors prompted the Biden administration to earmark funds for improved ventilation in schools.
Masking
It worked if you used the right masks, correctly.
As the pandemic spread in the United States, masking morphed from a public health intervention into a cultural flashpoint.
Assuming that the coronavirus traveled like the flu and worried that hospitals might not have enough resources, federal heath officials at first told the public that masks were not needed.
That advice was suddenly reversed once scientists learned that the coronavirus was airborne. Even so, officials initially recommended cloth masks — which are not very effective at keeping out airborne viruses — and did not endorse more protective N95 respirators until January 2022, well after much of the public had stopped using cloth masks.
Dozens of studies have shown that when used correctly and consistently, N95 masks or their equivalents can prevent infected people from spreading the virus and protect wearers from contracting it.
Unfortunately, several flawed studies and the politics of personal freedom created a culture war surrounding the use of masks, especially by children, said Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
In the event of another respiratory outbreak, “I feel quite anxious that a whole constituency has already discarded masks,” he said.
Children in Asia routinely wear masks, especially during respiratory virus and allergy seasons, some experts noted.
“I wish we could infuse more infection prevention into especially elementary schools during respiratory virus season,” Dr. Popescu said. “It seemed like a really great way to get children back in schools.”
Herd Immunity
A chimera. We never got there.
For nearly two years after the pandemic began, experts talked of reaching herd immunity once enough of the population had acquired protection either by being ill or getting vaccinated.
That was a mistake, experts said. Herd immunity is only possible if immunity is sterilizing — meaning it prevents reinfections — and lifelong. Immunity to most viruses is neither.
Seasonal coronaviruses change rapidly enough that people undergo repeated infections throughout their lives, said Jeffrey Shaman, an epidemiologist at Columbia University who insisted early on that the new coronavirus might also cause reinfections.
Once vaccines arrived, officials at first presented the shots as a way to stay safe from the virus forever, rather than as a means to lessen the severity of infections.
“There was a lot of confusion and misconceptions about herd immunity — that the toothpaste was going back in the tube somehow,” Dr. Dean said.
School Closures
Necessary at first. Questionable as time went on.
Few aspects of the pandemic provoke as much rancor as school closures. In many parts of the country, test scores never recovered and absenteeism has become an intractable problem.
But experts said it was the right decision to close schools in the spring of 2020, when a poorly understood pathogen was sweeping across the country. Ideally, schools would have reopened that fall, but with measures — improved ventilation, testing, masks — to mitigate the risks.
“And of course, we didn’t really have any of those things,” Dr. Hanage said.
By early fall in 2020, it was clear that schoolchildren were not driving community transmission significantly. Still, many schools stayed closed for months longer than they needed to, forcing children to muddle through remote learning and causing some to fall irrevocably behind.
“It’s a really difficult one to Monday-morning quarterback,” Dr. Shaman said.
“We don’t have the counterfactual, that alternative scenario to see how it really would have played out.”
If bird flu turns into a pandemic, it would be foolish to base school policies on how the coronavirus behaved, he and others warned. Other respiratory viruses, like the flu, tend to be deadlier among young children and older adults.
“We have every reason to think that a future flu pandemic would be far more dangerous to young people than Covid was,” Dr. Hanage said. “I think we should talk about what we could do to mitigate transmission in schools.”
Lockdowns
They slowed the virus, but the price was high.
The pandemic destroyed local businesses, sent unemployment rates soaring and increased household debt. Many people now feel that lockdowns were to blame for much of the damage — and that their harms outweighed any benefits.
Many scientists see it differently. “The economy got shut down by just the pure force of the pandemic,” said Dr. Osterholm.
No American state’s policies neared the strictness of those in China, India, Italy or Jordan — where people were not allowed to leave home at all — and much of the work force and societal activities continued because they were deemed essential, he noted.
By the end of May 2020, indoor dining and religious services had resumed in much of the country, if they had been paused at all, although many cities continued to institute temporary bans as virus levels rose and fell.
The shutdowns may have been unpopular in part because they were introduced with no clear explanation or end in sight.
Instead, Dr. Osterholm said, health officials could have instituted a “snow day” concept. People stayed home when hospitals were overwhelmed, as they do when roads are snowed under, but their behavior returned to normal when the situation eased.
The shutdowns eased the burden on hospitals and slowed the transmission of the virus, buying time to develop a vaccine. Studies from multiple other countries have also shown that stay-at-home orders and restrictions on mass gatherings were the most effective measures for curbing transmission of the virus within communities.
“Whatever people did in 2020, before folks were vaccinated, saved millions of lives,” Dr. Hanage said. “If we had done nothing, truly done nothing at all, things would have been much, much worse.”
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Amid warnings of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, health experts say that early recognition of symptoms can mean the difference between a quick recovery and life-threatening complications, especially for high-risk groups.
New York City health officials are urging anyone who has visited the east side of Central Park or Manhattan’s Upper East Side since late June to watch for symptoms.
As of July 6, the New York City Health Department had confirmed 23 cases and 17 hospitalizations associated with the respiratory infection. No deaths have been reported.
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Officials are investigating contaminated cooling towers as the likely source. They have emphasized that the illness is not spread person-to-person and is not linked to the city’s drinking water.
Health experts say that early recognition of symptoms can mean the difference between a quick recovery and life-threatening complications, especially for high-risk groups. (iStock)
“Legionnaires’ disease is deadly but can be effectively treated if diagnosed early,” said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin in a press release. “New Yorkers at higher risk, including anyone who is 50 and older, those who smoke or people with chronic lung conditions should be especially mindful of their symptoms and seek care as soon as symptoms begin.”
What is Legionnaires’?
Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria.
The bacteria is usually found in lakes, streams and other freshwater environments, but can grow in any area where water sits for a long time, according to the CDC.
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That can include shower heads, sink faucets, hot tubs, water features/fountains, plumbing systems and other water systems.
When people swallow or breathe in droplets of water that contain Legionella, they can potentially become ill.
Although human transmission is possible in rare cases, the disease is not typically transmitted among people, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms of infection
Infections can lead to severe pneumonia in older people and those with compromised immune systems, according to Dr. Andrew Handel, a pediatric infectious diseases expert at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital on Long Island, New York.
Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease usually show up between two and 14 days after exposure.
New York City health officials are urging anyone who has visited the east side of Central Park or Manhattan’s Upper East Side since late June to watch for symptoms. (iStock)
“Legionella infections cause symptoms that are similar to other forms of pneumonia — fever, coughing, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath and chest pain,” Handel previously told Fox News Digital.
“Legionnaires’ disease is deadly but can be effectively treated if diagnosed early.”
The signs are similar to other types of pneumonia, and include the following:
- Cough
- Fever
- Shortness of breath
- Muscle aches and headaches
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Some patients may also experience nausea, diarrhea and confusion, the CDC noted.
Diagnosis, treatment and prevention
A medical professional can diagnose the infection with laboratory tests and chest X-rays.
The condition is typically treated with antibiotics. In cases of severe infection, hospitalization may be required for breathing support and IV hydration.
Around 10% of people who contract Legionnaires’ disease will die from those complications — and the mortality risk rises to 25% for those who get Legionnaires’ while staying in a healthcare facility, according to the CDC.
The bacteria is usually found in lakes, streams and other freshwater environments, but can grow in any area where water sits for a long time, according to the CDC. (iStock)
“Treatment needs to be early and aggressive,” Dr. Nathan Goodyear, an Arizona-based integrative medicine expert, previously told Fox News Digital. “Legionella infection is an intracellular infection that requires antibiotic treatment.”
Antibiotics that are appropriate for Legionella infection include Levofloxacin and Azithromycin.
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“Therapy can be prescribed orally in healthy individuals… but intravenous antibiotics often prove to be the initial option for treatment secondary to the pathogenicity of the disease,” Goodyear said.
Currently, there are no vaccines for Legionnaires’ disease.
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The best strategy to prevent infection is to reduce the growth and spread of the Legionella bacteria. The CDC recommends that building owners and managers use a water management program to reduce the risk.
“New Yorkers at higher risk, including anyone who is 50 and older, those who smoke or people with chronic lung conditions should be especially mindful of their symptoms and seek care as soon as symptoms begin,” city officials stated. (iStock)
To prevent serious illness from Legionnaires’, Goodyear recommends that all smokers kick the habit, and also emphasizes the need to “aggressively support” chronic pulmonary disease.
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“Increasing immune support (vitamin D3, vitamin C, Zinc) is required to counter the immune dysfunction associated with advancing age.”
Obesity is another foundational risk factor for all chronic inflammatory diseases, the doctor added.
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Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27.
In a post on Substack titled “The Day I’ll Never Remember,” she detailed a sudden episode that left her unable to recall the current month, year and president.
“I thought it was 2024. And I believed Joe Biden was president,” she wrote.
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The event occurred while Couric was attending the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, during which she participated in two public panels — one on AI and one on journalism — both of which she cannot remember at all.
“I have no idea what we talked about, or of what occurred when the panels ended,” she said.
Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27. (Getty Images)
John Molner — Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels — also shared his account.
After the event, someone told Molner that Katie wasn’t feeling well. When he reached her, an EMT and a doctor were tending to her. “I could tell something was off,” he wrote. “It could have been altitude sickness, but Katie was definitely not all there.”
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At the hospital, when Couric struggled to recall the year, the president and her grandchildren’s names, doctors began checking for a stroke.
An MRI revealed no signs of stroke, which was a relief, but “Katie’s ‘fog’ became a lot more apparent,” Molner wrote.
John Molner, Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels, also shared his account. (Getty Images)
“She repeatedly asked me the same questions: ‘What was I doing before we got to the hospital?’ ‘Why am I at the hospital?’”
Couric was ultimately diagnosed with transient global amnesia, a sudden, temporary episode of memory loss that prevents a person from forming new memories and may also erase some recent memories, according to Mayo Clinic.
“The cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself.”
It is not caused by a stroke, seizure or head injury, and it usually resolves completely within 24 hours.
“[It’s] just a very weird neural episode that’s pretty uncommon and, at least in most cases, is a ‘one and done’ experience,” Molner said.
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Couric said she finally began feeling “like herself” again around 9 p.m. and went to sleep at 2 a.m.
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.”
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.” (Getty Images)
Data shows that approximately three to eight people per 100,000 will have an episode of transient global amnesia, with people 50 years of age and older at higher risk.
The specific cause of TGA is not known, but some experts believe it stems from a “temporary dysfunction in the brain’s hippocampus — the area responsible for creating new memories,” Couric shared.
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“Doctors believe this is driven by brief interruptions in blood or oxygen flow, or microscopic spasm in the blood vessels.”
Episodes could potentially be triggered by intense physical exertion, emotional distress, extreme temperature changes or migraines, experts say.
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Approximately 15% of patients will have a recurrence 10 years later.
“Why did this happen to me? Was the altitude an issue? Was I dehydrated? Tired? Stressed? The literature doesn’t seem to indicate that these are contributing factors, but the cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself,” Couric wrote.
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise. (iStock)
“All I know is that those hours will be forever lost. Someone described it as my brain failing to hit the ‘record button.’”
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“While this was a freaky occurrence, it could have been much more serious. So ultimately, I’m relieved — even though several hours of a Saturday in June will always be missing for me.”
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise.
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Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers.
That’s according to a recent study led by Stony Brook Medicine in New York, which evaluated the cognitive function of 4,000 adults 80 and over who participated in multiple aging and longevity studies over several years.
Among this group, 6% to 10% were classified as super movers, which means they walk at a much faster pace than others of the same age and gender — at speeds comparable to people three decades younger.
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The super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed.
The findings were published in the journal Neurology on June 16.
Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers. (iStock)
“The study reinforces that mobility and brain health are closely connected,” lead study author Dr. Joe Verghese, MD, neurologist at Stony Brook Medicine, told Fox News Digital. “This suggests that preserving mobility may be an important marker of healthy brain aging and resilience.”
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The most intriguing finding, according to Verghese, was that super movers maintained cognitive function despite having similar dementia-related brain changes as their peers.
In postmortem brain analysis, there was no difference in dementia-related pathologies between the super movers and the slower walkers, the study stated.
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“This suggests they may possess resilience mechanisms that help preserve brain function even in the presence of age-related changes,” he said. “Understanding these resilience factors could lead to new strategies for promoting healthy brain aging.”
As the study was observational, there were some limitations, and it does not prove that walking faster prevents dementia, the researchers noted.
Super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed. (iStock)
“Other factors, such as cardiovascular health, physical fitness or genetics, may also contribute to both faster walking and better cognitive outcomes,” Verghese said.
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This study adds to growing evidence that what’s good for the heart and muscles also benefits the brain, he noted, adding that “staying physically active remains one of the most effective, evidence-based ways to support healthy aging.”
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment.”
“The broader message is that physical activity is important at any age,” Verghese said. “Walking is an easy step-up point because you don’t need any special equipment. You can do it inside or outdoors, and you can do it on a regular basis. You can walk with a dog, you can walk with a friend.”
Any activity is beneficial if it’s done regularly and with the right intensity, he added.
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Rather than just trying to walk faster, the neurologist recommends that seniors focus on maintaining mobility through regular physical activity, strength training, balance exercises and good cardiovascular health.
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment,” Verghese noted.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking. (iStock)
This can be achieved by walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or about 20 to 25 minutes most days. Another option is to engage in shorter sessions that add up over the day.
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“You have to do it within your health limitations and medical conditions,” Verghese advised. “So if there are any medical concerns, I would get your physician to clear you before starting exercise.” The good thing about walking, he added, is that you can start at a slow pace and then gradually build up to a brisker pace.
“And then adding on strength and balance training, whatever age you are, I think is also important.”
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