A COVID-19 Surge in Young People May Sabotage Reopening

Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University and an expert on U.S. readiness for pandemics, called it a “delusion of normalcy” to see gradual reopenings as an indication that any community—from New York to Washington—is out of the woods. But to be fair, said Redlener, “risky behavior in younger people is always a public health issue.”

That gamble is made worse by the recent reports that have shown, for children under 18, the potentially fatal multisystem inflammatory syndrome related to COVID-19.

Pro-Trump donors in huge cash drive to boost doctors pushing states to reopen

“The fact that these organizations have found doctors who are willing to support a rightwing agenda designed to help Donald Trump against all scientific evidence and appropriate public health practices is shameful,” said Irwin Redlener, a professor of public health at Columbia University.

Critics notwithstanding, Brandon said the coalition recently spent $50,000 for videos on Facebook, Hulu and Twitter targeting independents and Republicans with the message that Covid-19 mostly hits the elderly to minimize risks for others.

Aftershock: If coronavirus swells in a second wave later this year, will the nation be ready?

“We still haven’t gotten our act together,” said Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University. “I think it’s inevitable that we’re going to have a second, if not a third, wave” because of the nation’s “erratic and disorganized policies.” 

A Candidate in Isolation: Inside Joe Biden’s Cloistered Campaign

The campaign has consulted physicians and health experts about safeguarding Mr. Biden, who at 77 falls squarely into a high-risk group for the coronavirus. Irwin Redlener, a clinical professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, said he had spoken with the campaign about health precautions, including how to handle the possibility that members of Mr. Biden’s traveling staff had been exposed.

“In terms of the safety of the staff, the candidate, what did they need to know?” said Dr. Redlener, who previously served on Mr. Biden’s public health advisory committee.

How the Coronavirus Has Infected Our Vocabulary

We rarely watch the television, but on this first weekday morning of an eerily quiet Austin, Texas, we decided to keep it on, a portal to the wider world. Dr. Irwin Redlener, from the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, said, on CNN, “We are so incredibly underprepared for a major onslaught to the hospitals, which is basically now inevitable.” Shortages of I.C.U. beds and ventilators. 

Trump Said Coronavirus Would 'Miraculously' Be Gone By April. Well, It's April.

During an online COVID-19 briefing last week, Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, dismissed Trump’s Easter target.

“I just want to say on behalf of everyone I know in the business, that is literally out of the question,” Redlener said. “This cannot happen. It should not happen. We actually should be increasing the restrictions for some period of time.”

Democrats Postpone Convention, and a Test of Wills With Republicans Looms

Dr. Irwin Redlener, a clinical professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, said he was deeply skeptical of a summer convention.

“It is unreasonably optimistic to think that a traditional presidential political convention can happen in the summer of 2020, there’s so much we don’t understand about this,” said Dr. Redlener, who is also the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness. He said that gathering large numbers of people together “is counter to every reasonable public health guideline during the pandemic.”

'We’re all stressed out': Parenting in a pandemic puts additional stress on families, children

Each night, Paula Madrid's 7-year-old daughter, Chloé, refuses to go to bed quietly -- a new rebellion hatched since the family sequestered themselves in their New York City apartment to avoid the coronavirus. 

"Everyday, there's something going on that wasn't happening before," said Madrid, a clinical and forensic psychologist.

In normal times, Madrid would discipline Chloé and enforce the bedtime rule. But times are far from normal. 

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Disaster Preparedness expert ‘flabbergasted’ Trump thinks he can reopen everything by Easter: ‘It’s mind boggling’

Dr. Irwin Redlener, an expert in disaster preparedness at Columbia University, was floored by Trump’s decision to re-open everything in a matter of weeks.“It is mind-bogglingly inappropriate to even think about that,” he told MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle. “I think we have to understand that this is a really totally unprecedented crisis, really since 1918, we have not experienced anything like this.

Grocery Stores Are Packed With People—And Workers Are Scared & Stressed

During an appearance on the Brian Lehrer Show last week, Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness, stressed that stores should be doing more to protect employees and avoid overcrowding. "We understand that people want to stock up in case there is a more serious quarantine," he said. But things like limiting the number of people allowed in a store at any one time was an "absolutely critically important thing that must be done."

The Best-Case Outcome for the Coronavirus, and the Worst

Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, said he had received a phone call from a major Florida hospital that had run out of masks. A doctor wanted to know: Could cloth be used to construct makeshift masks?

New York's Food Distribution Networks Brace for an Unprecedented Threat

“We have a lot of food-insecure people already in New York, and that’s about to be substantially exacerbated,” said Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, where he is also a professor of public health.

Is New York Ready for the Next Big Hurricane?

In late November 2012, Hurricane Sandy took New York by storm. Since then, the city has been working to fortify its defenses to protect both its people and infrastructure from the next big hurricane. But as we plunge into the seventh hurricane season post-Sandy, the question remains: Are we ready?

Sanctuary Magazine Special Issue: Celebrating the Men in Our Lives

Nancy Burger, senior editor of Sanctuary Magazine, talked to Dr. Redlener about his lifelong mission to support the medically underserved in this country and his co-creation of the Children's Health Fund.

‘Shockingly Inadequate’ Response: How US Government Has Failed Puerto Rico

In the fall of 2017, Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria. The storm wreaked havoc on the island’s infrastructure and electrical grid, damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, and ultimately left nearly 3,000 people dead.

US Remains Ill-prepared for Terror Attacks, Natural Disasters [Part I & Part II]

How prepared is the U.S. to deal with future disasters? The Globe Post asked Dr. Irwin Redlener. In this two-part interview, Redlener reexamines where the U.S. stands today regarding disaster preparedness, taking new factors into account such as up-to-date climate science, the threat of cyber warfare and the election of Donald Trump.

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