New York Times: One Day in America: More Than 121,000 Coronavirus Cases
“…The coronavirus is surging out of control across the country, and more than 121,000 cases were reported on Thursday, more new cases than on any other day of the pandemic. In 43 states, new infections are climbing steadily higher. To many Americans, the pandemic’s march feels inexorable. … In a single day across America, the coronavirus churned through homes, workplaces, hospitals, schools and laboratories. From dawn to nightfall on Thursday, the worst day of the pandemic in terms of new cases, snapshots offered glimpses of the virus’s persistent spread and devastating fallout..” (Bosman et al., 11/5).

NPR: CDC Report: Officials Knew Coronavirus Test Was Flawed But Released It Anyway
“On Feb. 6, a scientist in a small infectious disease lab on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention campus in Atlanta was putting a coronavirus test kit through its final paces. The lab designed and built the diagnostic test in record time, and the little vials that contained necessary reagents to identify the virus were boxed up and ready to go. But NPR has learned the results of that final quality control test suggested something troubling — it said the kit could fail 33% of the time. Under normal circumstances, that kind of result would stop a test in its tracks, half a dozen public and private lab officials told NPR. But an internal CDC review obtained by NPR confirms that lab officials decided to release the kit anyway…” (Temple-Raston, 11/6).

PRI: Next U.S. president faces uphill battle to rebuild CDC relationship with WHO
“For decades, the United States has taken the lead on global efforts to contain disease outbreaks, from polio to influenza. But during the coronavirus pandemic — and during the Trump administration generally — the U.S. has become a nation divided on science and public health. Meanwhile, the second wave of COVID-19 infections in the U.S. has deepened fears that hospitals may be unprepared and that winter will stretch the medical system’s resources. … [David Heymann, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,] spoke with The World’s host Marco Werman about what ails the U.S. and what should be done to rehabilitate American standing in the global health community…” (Gordon, 11/5).