'BradCast' 6/16/2020 (Univ. of AZ infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Purnima Madhivanan)
On today's 'BradCast':\xa0 President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are trying to pretend, lie and distract their way out of the coronavirus crisis to hold rallies and boost their re-election chances. The virus doesn't care.\xa0 As DR. PURNIMA MADHIVANAN, infectious disease epidemiologist and Associate Professor at the University of Arizona's Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona explains, "'the virus is non-partisan.'\xa0\xa0 COVID-19 cases are spiking around the nation, and Trump and Pence are falsely claiming that the growth in infections and in hospitalizations since states began reopening is due to increased testing \u2013 but it's not. Epidemiologists are concerned about the alarming rise in the percentage rate of positive tests and hospitalizations, which are the best indicator of the increasing virulence of the pandemic in parts of the country. A very conservative COVID model now predicts more than 200,000 deaths in the U.S. by the beginning of October.\xa0 There is still no treatment, no cure, and no vaccine for the coronavirus, and the rapid reopening in many states has set us back to where we were in March and April. Dr. Madhivanan cautions that the U.S. is still in the first wave of the pandemic, which has not peaked yet, and warns that ICU beds in Phoenix are at near-capacity, with the state of Arizona in 'crisis mode.'\xa0 She also debunks denialists' false claims about the efficacy of the lockdowns, 'herd immunity,' and universal mask-wearing, and warns that things are likely to get much worse before they get better. Also today:\xa0 Donald Trump is trying to sue John Bolton to stop his upcoming new book. Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report'...