Thursday, March 31, 2022

The Morning: Dollars and knowledge

The U.S. may soon run out of Covid money.

Good morning. The U.S. may soon run out of Covid money. But that's not the only problem.

A vaccination clinic in Hagerstown, Md.Kenny Holston for The New York Times

Dollars and knowledge

The short-term and long-term flaws with the country's current Covid-19 policy are quite different.

In the short term, the main problem is a lack of demand for Covid vaccines and treatments: Not enough people are trying to get them. In the longer term — by the second half of this year — the bigger problem may end up being a lack of supply, especially if cases surge again.

I think this distinction has gotten lost in some of the public discussion. Yesterday, President Biden called for additional Covid funding, after Congress had left out such money from its most recent spending bill because of a disagreement over how to pay for it.

"We need to secure additional supply now," Biden said in a brief speech, shortly before receiving his second booster shot onstage. "We can't wait until we find ourselves in the midst of another surge to act. It'll be too late."

Biden is right that the lack of funding creates problems. To ensure an adequate supply of vaccines and treatments later this year, the government probably needs to take action soon. Democrats and Republicans have been negotiating over a possible deal this week.

But the potential funding shortfall is nowhere near the entire problem. A lack of money is not preventing many Americans from getting vaccinated or getting valuable treatments right now. Even if Congress does pass more Covid funding, the country will still face a problem that is more about information and persuasion than dollars.

Shots in arms

For months, the United States has been awash in Covid vaccine shots, and many Americans would benefit from getting one. About one-quarter of adults remain unvaccinated, while roughly another quarter are vaccinated but not boosted, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. A booster shot sharply reduces the chances of severe Covid illness, especially for vulnerable people like the elderly and immunocompromised.

I know that last point may sound counterintuitive. The elderly and immunocompromised, even if boosted, face a higher risk of severe illness than a healthy, younger person. But a booster shot still reduces the risk more for a vulnerable person than for an average person. It's a common dynamic in medicine: Treatments tend to be most valuable for the most vulnerable even if they do not eliminate risk.

Despite the huge value of additional vaccine shots, many Americans simply aren't getting one. The number of shots given per day, including both initial doses and boosters, has fallen to the lowest level since the beginning of the mass vaccination campaign, in early 2021.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What might help?

Employer and customer mandates would probably nudge more people to get initial shots. Previous employer mandates have generally caused more people to get vaccinated and only a tiny share to quit or be fired. But mandates have fallen out of fashion. Even some politically liberal places, like New York City and Washington, D.C., have been dropping theirs recently.

Boosting more people seems as if it should be more feasible, because it involves people who have already received a shot. Still, boosters are lagging. Many Americans seem confused about how much a booster shot matters.

The scientific evidence suggests that everybody who is eligible should get a first booster shot. A second booster shot — now available to people 50 and older, among others — may also make sense, although the benefits appear smaller. And if you are boosted and have already had Omicron, you probably don't need another booster yet, Dr. Eric Topol of Scripps Research notes (as part of his helpful overview of the evidence).

Treatments

The story is similar with both Evusheld (a drug that appears to boost immunity among the immunocompromised) and post-infection treatments that reduce the chance of severe illness. They are widely available, yet many people remain unaware of them.

Many doctors also seem uncertain how and when to prescribe them. "Doctors are beginning to use this," a Biden administration official told me, "but it takes a while for things to get absorbed in medical practice."

Biden yesterday announced a new federal website — Covid.gov — where people can search for pharmacies near them that have both Evusheld and the treatments. I found most parts of it simple to use. But I also thought that Rob Relyea, a Microsoft engineer who has become an advocate for the immunocompromised, made a good critique on Twitter: The Evusheld information is too hard to find.

The bottom line is that Americans would benefit from hearing a series of clear, repeated messages:

  • Getting a booster shot may save your life.
  • Many immunocompromised people would probably be helped by Evusheld, and it's available.
  • Vulnerable people — like the elderly — should talk with a doctor as soon as they test positive for Covid and seek treatments that can reduce its severity, like Paxlovid or molnupiravir.

As Biden said yesterday, "America has the tools to protect people."

What's next

If more people become aware of the treatments, however, some of them are likely to run low later this year. And if the federal government waits until then to act, it may discover that other countries have bought the available supply. "You can't snap your fingers and buy the stuff," the Biden administration official told me.

Already, the administration has reduced shipments of one kind of treatment — monoclonal antibodies — that it is sending to states. It has also said it would cut back on new orders of Evusheld in the next several days.

A Covid bill would likely cost $10 billion to $15 billion, or less than 0.25 percent of the annual federal budget. Congressional Republicans have said that the money should be diverted from another area, rather than add to the deficit. My colleague Sheryl Gay Stolberg, who covers the pandemic from Washington, said Congress was likely to agree on a funding source soon, perhaps before lawmakers leave for their April recess. But nobody knows for sure.

Related:

THE LATEST NEWS

State of the War
Ukrainian fighters surveying a damaged Russian tank outside Kyiv.Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
More on Ukraine
Politics
Other Big Stories
Opinions

Covid has made us angry and distrustful. We need to learn to live with one another again, Miranda Featherstone says.

Jair Bolsonaro's plan to loosen environmental rules threatens the planet, Vanessa Barbara writes.

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MORNING READS

Olivier Martinez and Diane Lane in the 2002 movie "Unfaithful."Courtesy of Everett Collection

Steamy: From "9 1/2 Weeks" to "Fatal Attraction," a look at the golden age of the erotic thriller.

Keep getting lost? Maybe you grew up on a grid.

Wormhole: Want to see the weirdest Wikipedia pages?

Nature: Cameras captured a bobcat's risky quest for python eggs.

A Times classic: Tips for modern parenting.

Advice from Wirecutter: This alarm clock will change your life.

Lives Lived: Ashton Hawkins was the Metropolitan Museum of Art's executive vice president, but he could be more aptly described as its chief curator of powerful donors. He died at 84.

ARTS AND IDEAS

Sales of queer romance novels have surged.

L.G.B.T.Q. romance is booming

For decades, most L.G.B.T.Q. romance novels were self-published or put out by niche presses. That has changed, The Times's Elizabeth Harris writes. Now, queer romance novels are coming from the biggest publishers and are prominently displayed in stores.

Some of them become best sellers, like "Red, White & Royal Blue" by Casey McQuiston, a 2019 love story about a British prince and the American president's son. Experts see its success as a turning point for the genre. Publishers long assumed that only L.G.B.T.Q. readers were interested in queer romance novels. But readers regularly tell McQuiston, "Oh, my mom and her book club are reading that."

The new novels also break from the longstanding trope of queer characters meeting tragic ends. An L.G.B.T.Q. romance novel promises the opposite. "Customers will come in and say, 'I just want something that's gay and happy,'" Laynie Rose Rizer, a bookshop manager in Washington, D.C., said. "And I'm like, 'I have 10 different options for you.'"

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

What to Cook
Lisa Corson for The New York Times

Egg salad that's gorgeous and delicious.

What to Watch

Starring Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke, the new Marvel series "Moon Knight" follows a troubled, crime-fighting caped crusader.

Profiles

"I'm not a bad girl," Joan Collins tells The Times. "But I had dark hair and green eyes, and I suppose they said that I smoldered."

Late Night

Stephen Colbert condemned Trump.

Now Time to Play

The pangrams from yesterday's Spelling Bee were drooping, dropping and prodding. Here is today's puzzle — or you can play online.

Here's today's Wordle. Here's today's Mini Crossword, and a clue: Good news for an employee (five letters).

If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here.

Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David

P.S. A hidden haiku from The Times: "But in the midst of / it all, Will Smith's victory / became a defeat."

"The Daily" is about gerrymandering.

Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti, Ashley Wu and Sanam Yar contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com.

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Wednesday, March 30, 2022

May Cabbage Reign Forever

A riff on stuffed cabbage, a creamy pasta and gingery cabbage rolls prove why the leafy green is a home-cooking favorite.

May Cabbage Reign Forever

Good morning. I saw my friend the osprey soaring over the bay on Sunday, back from her winter sojourn, and green tips on some of the trees in the woods. I bet we're a month from pea shoots, with asparagus hot on its heels.

Until then, though: Cabbage continues its reign. And Melissa Clark has a fantastic new recipe to please the court: roasted cabbage with Parmesan, walnuts and anchovies (above). It's her riff on a classic stuffed cabbage, though considerably easier to make, with a delightful balance of textures and tastes. It'd be great on its own, but maybe even better with some flattened chicken thighs.

Alternatively, you might take a look at this terrific Swedish kalpudding, a kind of meatloaf with caramelized cabbage, or creamy pasta with bacon and red cabbage, or gingery cabbage rolls with pork and rice. And don't forget the cabbage salad they used to serve at Mission Chinese Food in Manhattan. Umami!

Not that you need a proper recipe to make delicious food. You can instead riff off a prompt and see where it leads you. I'll offer one now: spicy roast chicken tacos with watermelon muchim. It's something I made over the weekend after reading my colleague Eric Kim's exciting new cookbook "Korean American" and then leaving the book on my desk at work, so I couldn't use his written recipe at home.

Here's what I recalled: cubes of boneless chicken thighs marinated in a sauce of whizzed-up jalapeños, cilantro, garlic, olive oil and a little salt, black pepper and sugar, then roasted on a sheet pan until crispy. While that cooked, I made the muchim: cubes of watermelon tossed with gochugaru, salt and black pepper, slices of jalapeño and a dressing of rice vinegar, fish sauce and sesame oil. Then I heated some tortillas and, wow, that all made for great tacos. Maybe give that a try?

There are thousands and thousands of actual recipes waiting for you on New York Times Cooking. To answer a question I get all the time: Yes, you need a subscription to access them. Subscriptions support our work and allow it to continue. If you haven't taken one out yet, would you consider subscribing today? Thank you.

Please visit us on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, while you're at it. And do drop us a line should anything go poorly while you're cooking or using our technology. We're at cookingcare@nytimes.com, and someone will get back to you. (You can also write to me: foodeditor@nytimes.com. I read every letter sent.)

Now, it's nothing to do with Spam or polenta, but I've been enjoying the Swedish crime drama "Before We Die," on Amazon Prime. (Starring Alexej Manvelov, so good in "Undercover.")

Here's Paige Williams in The New Yorker, on a new law in Idaho that allows hunters to aggressively pursue the gray wolf, a once-endangered species.

In more cookbook news, I've been thrilling to Pat Martin and Nick Fauchald's exhaustive, practical and delicious live-fire treatise "Life of Fire," which makes me long for long summer days spent cooking and picking pigs. Soon!

Finally, here's a new Soccer Mommy track: "Shotgun." "Cold beer and ice cream is all we keep/The only things we really need." Listen to that while you're in the cabbage patch, and I'll be back on Friday.

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