Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

America's Covid-19 response remains a battle between politics and science

Peopel protesting a vaccine mandate

Protests gather to fight a vaccine mandate in Los Angeles for city employees and contractors.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Pearl is a clinical professor of plastic surgery at the Stanford University School of Medicine and is on the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is a former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group.


More than 10 months into his presidency and 20 months into the pandemic, Joe Biden finds himself in a difficult position. He's trying to lead the "battle against Covid-19" in the age of politics.

It's not going as well as the administration had hoped or projected. Average daily deaths from Covid-19 crossed the 2,200 mark in September, the highest total since early spring. More than 60 million eligible Americans are still unvaccinated. Meanwhile, elected officials and government agencies remain locked in partisan disputes over practically every aspect of the pandemic response.

These are deflating facts given the months of masking and social distancing, the travel bans, the shutdown orders, the dozens of bills batted around Congress, the disparate undertakings of two polar-opposite presidents and the surge of vaccine mandates that followed FDA approval.

Despite all we've tried, the pandemic is more than 600 days old and still very far from over.

The future remains uncertain, fueling the nation's anxiety and unhappiness. Though the U.S. death count has receded in recent weeks, public health experts can't be sure what the winter (and upcoming holiday gatherings) will bring.

Amid the confusion and fear and stubborn partisanship, President Biden faces difficult questions about how to lead a divided nation in a time of continued crisis.

For answers on where to go from here, let's start with three facts that scientists know for sure.

First, scientists know that herd immunity against Covid-19 will occur only when a sufficient portion of the population becomes immune to the disease. And they know there are only two ways for immunity to occur: vaccination or infection.

Second, scientists know that the threshold for herd immunity has increased significantly throughout the pandemic due to the now ubiquitous and highly transmissible Delta variant. As such, health experts estimate that 90 percent of the U.S. population will need to either be vaccinated or infected to reach that threshold.

Third, scientists know that unvaccinated people are at significantly heightened risk of dying compared to individuals who've been vaccinated. CDC data show that unvaccinated people are 6.1 times more likely to test positive for Covid-19 than fully vaccinated people and 11.3 times more likely to die from it.

In light of these facts, the White House's mission is crystal clear: vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate.

This will be a monumental challenge with 40 percent of eligible Americans not fully vaccinated, leaving more than 60 million people vulnerable to disease and death. Failure to convert this population could result in another 200,000 avoidable deaths from Covid-19.

The challenge now is expediting herd immunity through vaccination without letting politics further undermine the effort.

Throughout the spring and summer of 2021, the president took to the airwaves and pleaded with Americans to roll up their sleeves. But it was business leaders, not political officials, who made the toughest choices.

Dozens of top companies from a range of industries — nited Airlines, Disney, Microsoft, Walmart, Google and Tyson Foods to name just a few — instituted rigid vaccine mandates on workers. In many cases, these difficult business decisions put CEOs at odds with the state and local politicians.

While private enterprises were stepping up, the Biden administration was tiptoeing and taking politically measured half steps. At first, Biden publicly encouraged American industry to impose mandates on workers but refused, for months, to weigh in on the possibility of a federal mandate. Only when the courts began upholding mandates and polls showed majority support for vaccine requirements, did the Biden administration take notice and act.

In September, the president announced that all businesses with more than 100 employees must require workers to be fully vaccinated or get tested for the virus weekly. It wasn't until November that Biden finalized the details of the vaccine mandate and set a firm date for implementation: Jan. 4, 2022.

It was a long overdue step in the right direction: away from politics and toward science. But make no mistake, the political theatrics have only begun. Ten Republican-led states have already sued over Biden's vaccination mandate for federal contractors. Influential business groups are lobbying the president to further delay the mandate, arguing the requirements could exacerbate labor shortages and supply chain problems.

To keep Americans safe and to advance our nation's journey toward herd immunity, Biden must stand strong and follow the science. His administration can't let the deadline slip again or give in to lobbyist demands for further delays in implementation.

And that's not all. The president must also step up enforcement. There are roughly 165,000 U.S. companies affected by the mandate and no official mechanism for monitoring in place. With only a couple thousand government inspectors on the payroll, the plan calls for workers to lodge complaints with fines as low as $13,653 for violations. You don't need to be a scientist or statistician to see what's wrong with this approach.

If Biden allows politics to resurface or lets businesses block the path to successful implementation, our country will continue to suffer and this pandemic will persist throughout 2022 and beyond. But if every large company in the country adheres rigorously to the mandate by the start of the year, tens of millions of workers will be newly vaccinated and our nation can begin to put the pandemic behind us.

The role of the commander in chief extends far beyond the presidential powers bestowed upon him. Our nation's greatest presidents have provided moral leadership in times of crisis, guiding citizens with clarity and honesty. Biden has an opportunity to stand up for science and rebuild the nation's trust, so we can move forward together. Now is the time for that leadership.

Read More

Tariff ‘Mission Accomplished’ Hype Is Just That

In an aerial view, a container ship arrives at the Port of Oakland on Aug. 1, 2025, in Oakland, California.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/TNS

Tariff ‘Mission Accomplished’ Hype Is Just That

On May 1, 2003, George W. Bush announced, “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.” He was standing below a giant banner that read, “Mission Accomplished.” At the risk of inviting charges of understatement, subsequent events didn’t cooperate. But it took a while for that to be widely accepted.

We’re in a similar place when it comes to President Trump’s experiment with a new global trading order.

Keep ReadingShow less
Back to School Shopping? Expect Higher Prices, “Invisible” to the Consumer

AI-driven "surveillance pricing" hides the price increases from stressed-out parents.

Getty Images, Isabel Pavia

Back to School Shopping? Expect Higher Prices, “Invisible” to the Consumer

For families with school children, the summer is coming to a close, and it’s time to start thinking about—school shopping! New clothes, shoes, daypacks, and school supplies are topmost of mind, making sure your little Einsteins and Rembrandts are ready to take on the new school year.

But this year, it’s coming with a twist—not only are prices higher in the stores and online, but the price increases are seemingly “invisible” due to deceptive uses of new technologies and what is known as “surveillance pricing.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Celebrating National Black Business Month

National Black Business Month is about correcting an imbalance and recognizing that supporting Black-owned businesses is suitable for everyone.

Getty Images, Tara Moore

Celebrating National Black Business Month

Every August, National Black Business Month rolls around, and for a few weeks, social media lights up with hashtags and well-meaning posts about supporting Black-owned businesses. You'll see lists pop up—restaurants, bookstores, clothing lines—all run by Black entrepreneurs. Maybe your favorite coffee shop puts up a sign, or a big brand launches a campaign. But once the month ends, the noise fades, and for many, it's back to business as usual.

This cycle is familiar. It's easy to mistake visibility for progress or to think that a single purchase is enough. But National Black Business Month is meant to be more than a fleeting moment of recognition. It's a moment to interrogate the systems that got us here and to put our money—and our intent—where our mouths are. In a better world, Black business success would be a given, not a cause for annual celebration.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Blooming Trade: How Colombia’s Cut Flower Industry Fuels America’s Floral Economy

Mural of silleteros who carry traditional wooden frame adorned with elaborate floral arrangements

Credit: Hugo Balta

The Blooming Trade: How Colombia’s Cut Flower Industry Fuels America’s Floral Economy


Medellín, Colombia —
The city of eternal spring once again lived up to its name as Medellín wrapped up the 2025 edition of its iconic Feria de las Flores this week, a ten-day celebration of paisa culture, floral artistry, and community pride. Held from August 1 to 10, the festival featured over 200 events, drawing locals and tourists alike into a vibrant tapestry of tradition, music, and innovation.

At the heart of the Feria was the legendary Desfile de Silleteros, held on August 10. This year, 535 silleteros from Santa Elena paraded through the city with elaborate floral arrangements strapped to their backs—living testaments to Antioquia’s agricultural heritage.

Keep ReadingShow less