P3 Scientists in the News

Biden Grapples with Balancing Optimism and Tough Talk on Pandemic’s Outlook. February 13, 2021. Action News Now.

“‘I worry that people have a false sense of reassurance because things are trending down and then all of the sudden you see people loosening restrictions in certain areas and people relax a little more,’ [Amanda] Castel said.”

Panel to Congress: Transportation Workers at Higher Risk for Coronavirus. February 12, 2021. People’s World.

“There, ‘in the first wave of the pandemic (Feb. 26-July 17), bus and tram drivers had a more than five-fold excess risk of infection,’ [Michaels] reported. By the second wave, July 18-Oct. 20, the drivers had improved protections. But ‘bus and tram drivers still had a 70% increased risk of infection. The risk of infection among travel attendants and travel stewards, a category that includes flight attendants, had almost five-fold excess risk.’

As Pandemic Surged, Contact Tracing Struggled; Biden Looks to Boost it. February 10, 2021. Kaiser Health News.

“If we could get close to half the ideal number, it would help greatly,” said Dr. Amanda D. Castel, a professor of epidemiology at George Washington University. “With luck the vaccine will begin to reduce the need.”

As CDC Weighs Coronavirus Testing Requirement for Domestic Flights, Industry Voices Fierce Opposition. February 9, 2021. Washington Post.

“David Michaels, former chief of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration under President Barack Obama, said the possible benefits of such testing would be outweighed by the costs. ‘We know how to protect workers and passengers on planes: Masking, improved ventilation and filtration, and distancing [are] very effective,’ he said.”

What Does the Arrival of New Coronavirus Variants Mean for D.C.? February 9, 2021. DCist.

“‘As we’ve been saying all along, since March of last year, it’s really important that people practice these behaviors that we know can reduce the risk of transmission and infection,’ Castel said. ‘It’s paramount now. We have highly effective vaccines, we have a really great tool at our disposal, but we want to make sure that that tool is still effective and can be used accordingly.’”

OSHA and USDA Waited Months to Tackle COVID Outbreaks in Meatpacking Plants, Emails Reveal. February 8, 2021. The Counter.

“Instead, OSHA should have issued hefty fines early in the pandemic and publicized them well, said David Michaels, the head of OSHA during the Obama administration who now teaches at the George Washington University School of Public Health. ‘OSHA enforcement is meant to send a message to other employers,” he said, “because OSHA can’t inspect every plant.’”

In Hard-Hit Bronx, Some Schools Are Now Giving Rapid COVID Tests to Uncover Positive Cases. February 1, 2021. Chalkboard New York.

“‘They’ve been shown to be safe when they reopen when they have certain prevention measures in place such as masks, social distancing, cohorting of students, increased ventilation,’ Castel said.”

Former OSHA Head Talks Biden’s Executive Order on Workplace Safety. January 23, 2021. NPR.

“Michaels: Really, what's going on is President Biden is activating OSHA. With OSHA missing in action for all these months, thousands of lives have been lost.”

GW Epidemiologist Named to Biden-Harris Transition’s COVID-19 Advisory Board. December 1, 2020. GW Today.

“The greatest challenge facing the country, and the new administration, is how to stop this pandemic, save lives and reopen the economy so it works for everyone,” Dr. Michaels said. “I hope that as a member of the Biden-Harris Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board I will be able to help address these pressing issues.”

How D.C. Area Residents Are Making Pandemic Pods Work. November 30, 2020. DCist/WAMU.

“While a shared Google calendar may seem intense, Amanda Castel, an epidemiologist at George Washington University, says that maintaining open and constant communication is critical to minimizing risk in a pod. Castel goes so far as to suggest writing up a contract with pod members (Johns Hopkins even created a template contract), ensuring that everyone is on the same page about what activities are or are not permitted, and tracking everyone’s risk profiles.”

Biden transition adds new members to coronavirus task force. November 28, 2020. The Hill.

“‘As COVID-19 surges across the country, I need a team advising me and a transition that offers diverse perspectives and viewpoints. Ms. Hopkins, Dr. Jim, and Dr. Michaels will strengthen the board’s work and help ensure that our COVID-19 planning will address inequities in health outcomes and the workforce,’ said Biden.”

Meatpacking Plants Linked to Up to 8% of Early U.S. COVID cases. November 27, 2020. Insurance Journal.

“David Michaels, who headed the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration under Barack Obama, said the study is ‘further evidence that workplace exposures play an important role in driving the pandemic in the U.S.’”

Testing Demand Spikes as Virus Spreads, Thanksgiving Approaches. November 25, 2020. DCist.

“‘The overall number of cases, the spread, and the transmission could be much greater than it was over the summer in our area if people decide to get together,’ [Amanda Castel] told DCist/WAMU earlier this month.”

OSHA’s “absurd reinterpretation” of a regulation regarding workers and COVID-19. November 24, 2020. STAT.

David Michaels authors this First Opinion on workers and the coronavirus.

Smithsonian museums, zoo to close as coronavirus caseload in region hits record for 16th day. November 19, 2020. Washington Post.

““Our numbers are trending in the wrong direction,’ [Castel] said. ‘We’re in a worse place than we were even back in March. It’s time to start scaling back activities so we can control it as much as we can.’”

As coronavirus surges again, Washington region heads back toward shutdowns. November 14, 2020. Washington Post.

“‘There is that lag between new cases and hospitalizations and a lag between new hospitalizations and deaths,’ Castel said, arguing for more localized restrictions to be implemented. ‘We have to be quick and think about how to rapidly contain the virus in those areas.’”

Biden could revamp worker health protections in the midst of the deadly pandemic. November 13, 2020. Washington Post.

““The point of inspections and issuing fines is not solely to make that workplace safe, because if that were true, it would only impact a small number of workplaces,’ Michaels said. ‘You issue a fine to send a message to other employers.’”

OSHA under fire over regulation of meatpacking in pandemic. October 22, 2020. The New York Times.

“‘The number of plants with outbreaks was enormous around the country,’ said David Michaels, an epidemiologist who headed the agency in the Obama administration. ‘But most OSHA offices haven’t yet issued any citations.’”

For teachers’ unions, classroom reopenings are the biggest test yet. October 20, 2020. Bloomberg Businessweek.

“It’s also essential to curb the kinds of community spread that have spiked as businesses have reopened in much of the country, says David Michaels, a public-health professor at George Washington University who ran the Occupational Safety and Health Administration under President Obama. ‘Governors have made the choice that opening bars is more important than opening schools,’ Michaels says. ‘We’re paying the price for that now.’”

How Trump gutted OSHA and workplace safety rules. October 20, 2020. The Intercept.

“‘OSHA was invented to ensure that workers are safe. And here you have this unprecedented crisis and OSHA has been absolutely silent,’ said David Michaels, who led the agency during the Obama administration and is the longest serving assistant secretary of labor in OSHA’s history. ‘It’s beyond unfortunate that this country has faced a massive worker safety crisis when OSHA has no leadership and is weaker and less resourced than it has been in its history.’”'

Trump’s Labor Secretary is a wrecking ball aimed at workers. October 19, 2020. The New Yorker.

“Michaels, who is now a professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health, asked me, ‘When have you heard President Trump mention osha? Or Vice-President Pence? Or even Scalia? With thousands of workers sick and hundreds dying over an infectious disease that we know how to prevent, Scalia should be banging the table saying, “You have to make sure workers are safe!” He should be next to Anthony Fauci on television every night.’ Despite reports of workers being exposed to unsafe conditions everywhere from Amazon warehouses to greenhouse farms, Michaels said, Scalia has been ‘invisible.’”

Republicans and Democrats can agree when it comes to climate change. October 18, 2020. Forbes.

Featuring research from Sabrina McCormick: “Recently, a team of researchers at George Washington University and North Carolina Central University performed a study, published in the journal Science Communication, on how climate change can be viewed as a non-partisan issue.” 

‘The impact of work’: On-the-job coronavirus exposure a key driver in Black, Latino communities. October 17, 2020. NOLA.com

“Close examination of COVID-19 case data also yields evidence of what former OSHA head David Michaels calls ‘the impact of work.’ The median age of Black and Hispanic people who tested positive for COVID is much lower than that of Whites, because they are working-age people, infected on the job, said Michaels, now a professor at George Washington University, who co-authored a paper on the topic, published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The media’s both sides argument is wrong about a COVID-19 stimulus deal. October 17, 2020. The New Republic.

“David Michaels, who administered OSHA under President Barack Obama, noted this week in a Century Foundation report co-authored with physician Gregory R. Wagner that OSHA recently levied a $15,615 fine against the JBS beef factory in Greely, Colorado, where 290 workers were infected with Covid-19 and six died. Fifteen grand was not even enough, Michaels and Wagner observed, to cover the cost of the funeral for Saul Sanchez, one of the six who perished. Sanchez worked at the JBS plant for more than 30 years.”

How factory farms are making the antibiotics we use less effective against disease. October 14, 2020. Vox.

“As [Cindy] Liu clarifies, there has been some effort in the US to separate the antibiotics used in human medicine and animal treatment, but other countries have different standards. ‘Bacteria, they do not respect boundaries,’ she says. So antibiotic-resistant strains of E. coli could easily travel here from other countries, leaving us with infections that we cannot treat.”

DC’s COVID cases are rising. Are we going to have to start closing things down again? October 13, 2020. The Washingtonian.

The article features an interview with Amanda Castel about the recent case rise in DC: “‘I think it’s important for the general public to understand that we need to get these numbers as low as we can get them, so that when it’s cold and snowing outside and people need to be indoors we’re not seeing transmission throughout households and communities and don’t have to step backwards and not be able to allow kids to go to school.’”

David Michaels: Who should get America’s COVID-19 vaccine first? October 12, 2020. NBC News.

“If and when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces that we have a Covid-19 vaccine that works, we will not have enough for everyone in the country who wants it. At least not initially. So how will we decide who gets it first?”

Labor agency closes more than half of workers’ coronavirus retaliation complaints without investigating. October 8, 2020. The Washington Post.

“‘This is just one more piece of evidence that OSHA is refusing to step up activities in the face of a pandemic which has killed so many workers,’ said David Michaels, who ran OSHA under President Barack Obama and now is a public health professor at George Washington University. ‘It can no longer be business as usual where OSHA is not making the efforts needed to make sure workers are safe in the face of this terrible pandemic. Protecting the voice of workers should be an important component of that effort.’”

In the U.S., states — not science — decide what counts as a coronavirus outbreak. October 7, 2020. The Washington Post.

“‘Using a percentage rather than a number to define an outbreak displays a poor understanding of both public health and mathematics,’ said David Michaels, who headed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the Obama administration.”

Trump’s workplace watchdog assailed for lenient penalties on COVID safety violators. October 6, 2020. Politico.

“‘Every enforcement action sends a message,’ said Dr. David Michaels, who led OSHA under the Obama administration. ‘These tiny fines are OSHA sending a message to meat factories across the country that they don’t have to worry anymore…they can operate as they please no matter how many workers are sick, injured, or killed.’”

White House ignores local mandates, giving virus a new hold in D.C. October 6, 2020. The New York Times.

“‘There’s nothing to my knowledge that replicates this other than those outbreaks in congregate settings, like nursing homes that we saw, or the shelters,’ said Amanda D. Castel, a professor of epidemiology at George Washington University who has long worked with the D.C. health department.”

What does the White House coronavirus outbreak mean for D.C. residents? October 5, 2020. DCist.

“‘We’re not seeing that rapid rollout of contact tracing and case investigation that we know can slow the spread of the virus in this situation,’ said Castel. ‘And it would be unfortunate if, because of those delays, many individuals end up getting infected with the virus.’”

Where was the Labor Department during the White House COVID outbreak? October 5, 2020. Mother Jones.

“David Michaels, who served as OSHA’s administrator under President Barack Obama and is now a professor of occupational health at George Washington University, had a pithier take on what White House workers can expect from the agency: ‘I think OSHA has more important places not to intervene.’” 

A California chicken plant just had the deadliest meatpacking outbreak yet. September 30, 2020. Mother Jones.

“‘Medical masks and plastic sheeting are not enough,’ said David Michaels, who served as chief of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration under President Barack Obama and is now a professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University. He pointed to a July 2020 investigation by German scientists of a COVID-19 outbreak in a German meatpacking plant which found that ‘climate conditions and airflow’ in these plants can ‘can promote efficient spread’ of the virus at ‘distances of more than 8 meters,’ or 26 feet. ‘Workers in poultry plants need greater distance between them, and they need respirators, not medical masks,’ Michaels said. 

Lack of oversight and transparency leave Amazon employees in the dark. September 30, 2020. NBC News.

“‘OSHA has always been a very weak agency, but this administration has elected not to use some of OSHA’s most powerful tools,’ said David Michaels, who was the head of OSHA under the Obama administration, referring to the agency’s failure to introduce an infectious disease rule.

George Washington University launches rapid COVID-19 test for students. September 18, 2020. The College Post.

“‘GW’s novel system, including an on-campus laboratory, means the tests are processed six days a week and results are sent back within 24 to 48 hours,’ said Cindy Liu, the GW researcher whose team developed the test and set up the new lab. ‘The GW laboratory is now processing more than 600 tests per day with the capacity to ramp up significantly.’”

George Washington University launches in-house COVID-19 testing for students, employees. September 17, 2020. DCist.

“Dr. Amanda Castel, an epidemiologist at GW, helped develop the testing infrastructure for the university. She says that this is an imperative first step to potentially bringing back a full campus next year. ‘We are not at the whim of the commercial labs where… sometimes test results can take three to 14 days to come back,’ says Castel. ‘By being able to process these tests in-house and get those results to individuals in a rapid manner, we’re also able to really try to contain the spread of the virus in our community.’”

How the CDC failed public health officials fighting the coronavirus. September 16, 2020. USA Today.

“‘CDC’s role always is going to be defined by an administration,’ CDC scientific adviser and longtime public health expert Alonzo Plough said in an interview. ‘Their role as defined currently was unlike any that I had seen in my 25 years of practice.’”  

How people at higher risk from COVID-19 can enjoy summer safely. August 6, 2020. Healthline.

“‘In the United States, there is a very tight correlation between temperature and class and race, while race and class tend to be tightly correlated to communities of color,’ McCormick told Healthline … McCormick said that as temperatures continue to escalate in tandem with COVID-19 numbers the deeper we get into summer, it’s important to try to avoid indoor environments while also remaining cool.”

Congress weighs protecting employers vs. workers in new pandemic legislation. July 14, 2020. The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“In action, the new measure would allow OSHA inspectors to request to review an employers’ plan and hold them accountable for following it, said David Michaels, former U.S. assistant secretary of Labor and OSHA administrator, who has called for such a standard. Federal guidance is currently optional, not required. ‘Many employers want to be law-abiding,’ Michaels said, ‘and they know they risk enforcement and possibly a monetary fine if they don’t attempt to do this.’”

Coronavirus will keep Winter Park Playhouse shut until 2021. July 13, 2020. Orlando Sentinel.

“In May, Actors’ Equity issued four “guiding principles” for safely reopening theaters, prepared in collaboration with Dr. David Michaels, who led the Occupational Safety and Health Administration under President Barack Obama.”

How Trump is Helping Tycoons Exploit the Pandemic. July 13, 2020. The New Yorker.

“David Michaels, a professor of public health at George Washington University, who headed osha during the Obama Administration, told me that the agency was ‘saying that the Labor Department would side with the employers if workers sued,’ and added, ‘That would be unthinkable in any other Administration. osha’s job isn’t to protect corporations—it’s to protect workers!’”

People Are Weighing The Risk of a Return to “Normalcy” As The Region Reopens. July 13, 2020. DCist.

“People’s scrupulousness in following public health guidance is starting to wane, says Dr. Amanda Castel, a professor of epidemiology at George Washington University. ‘It’s hard to discern whether it’s fatigue, or just the fact that people don’t think that they’re vulnerable to the virus,’ Castel says. ‘I think people start to become a little bit apathetic and think that it’s not really going to affect them.’”

Actors’ Equity Says Walt Disney World “Retaliating“ Over Coronavirus Testing Demand; Disney Says Park Protocols Accepted by Other Unions. July 9, 2020. Deadline.

“In April, Equity retained Dr. David Michaels, the former head of OSHA under President Obama, to advise on health and safety protocols. Among Michaels’ suggested protocols for reopening theater venues is testing.”

Trump attacks his own CDC scientists over how to reopen schools safely. July 9, 2020. USA Today.

“‘Hyper-politicized messaging makes it hard to adapt to and use the science-driven information,’ said Alonzo Plough, a longtime former public health director in major U.S. cities, now the chief science officer and vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He also serves as an independent scientific advisor to the CDC’s Center for Preparedness and Response. ‘It costs us in terms of increasing case counts and mortality.’”  

Meatpacking facilities still present challenge to containing COVID-19, CDC says. July 7, 2020. ABC News.

“Michaels said the new surges support the argument that agencies like OSHA need to require more protections. ‘It's clear proof that recommendations suggestions aren't enough. We need a rule that says employers have to protect workers, they've got to get the right personal protective equipment,’ [David Michaels] told ABC News Live.”

As coronavirus cases rise, the federal workforce heads back to the office. July 6, 2020. The Hartford Courant.

“‘You don’t want to negate all of the hard work that the D.C., Maryland, Virginia regions have done to reduce the number of cases of coronavirus in our region, by then returning everyone to work and potentially reversing the trends,’ said Amanda Castel, an epidemiology professor at George Washington University.”

Can you safely expand your social circle during the coronavirus pandemic? July 6, 2020. The Washington Post.

“Keep in mind that about 25 percent of people infected with the coronavirus are asymptomatic, says Amanda Castel, a professor in the department of epidemiology at George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. That means that if one person in a set of merged households is exposed to the virus while at his job or at a store, he could infect the rest of the household bubble, even if he’s not showing symptoms.”

Hawaii is Finally Making it Easier for Tourists to Visit. Is That Smart? July 3, 2020. Slate.

“‘If you look at the epidemic curve and trends in Hawaii, they’ve done a good job of really curbing the spread of coronavirus on the islands,’ said Amanda Castel, an epidemiology professor at George Washington University. ‘They’re in a unique situation because, unlike being in the continental U.S., they actually can try to control movement in and out of the islands more easily.’”

“OSHA is AWOL”: Critics say federal agency is where workplace COVID-19 complaints go to die. July 3, 2020. Miami Herald.

“‘Essentially, OSHA is AWOL,’ said David Michaels, a former head of OSHA under the Obama administration who now teaches at George Washington University’s school of public health.”

States with travel curbs often rely on business to enforce the rules. July 1, 2020. Marketplace.

“Castel thinks compliance comes down to social responsibility, like during stay-home orders. ‘People did it because they understood the importance of staying home to prevent the spread of the virus,’ she said.”

Virginia enters third phase of pandemic recovery, while Maryland’s Six Flags reopens. July 1, 2020. The Washington Post.

“Castel said the virus might be more manageable in the summer, when warmer weather makes it easier for people to socialize outdoors. But, she said, ‘with each reopening, there’s an increased level of exposure and risk of new cases.’”

Broadway suspends performances through 2020 amid Coronavirus, extends ticket refunds to 2021. June 29, 2020. USA Today.

“Actors’ Equity Association, the labor union representing professional actors and stage managers, earlier this month released four principles it says need to be met to ‘support safe and healthy theater production’ as Broadway works toward a re-opening. The principles were developed in conjunction with Dr. David Michaels, former head of OSHA during the Obama administration.”

Coronavirus cases have sharply declined in the D.C. region. But as the area reopens, officials expect a surge. June 26, 2020. The Washington Post

‘“That’s when it’s time to stop and reflect and say: “Do we need to step backwards?”’ said Amanda Castel, an epidemiologist specializing in infectious diseases at George Washington University.”

Florida Smirked at New York’s Virus Crisis. Now It Has Its Own. June 26, 2020. The New York Times.

“Epidemiologists said Florida’s quarantine of New Yorkers made sense at the time, just as New York’s for Floridians does now. ‘There is more virus in that environment,’ said Dr. Amanda D. Castel, a professor of epidemiology at George Washington University.”

Getting Critical COVID-19 Protective Equipment in the Bay Area Has Been a Mess. Here’s Why. June 25, 2020. KQED.

“‘With any of these disasters, just for a moment, you get kind of a light flash on the frailties of the system,’ said Alonzo Plough, vice president and chief science officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.”

Virginia poised to create first pandemic workplace safety mandates in nation, as Trump labor agency sits on sidelines. June 24, 2020. The Washington Post.

"‘Millions of workers are terrified of going into jobs every day where they are not adequately protected from the coronavirus,’ said David Michaels, a former OSHA head who served during the Obama administration. ‘Thousands of workers have complained to OSHA, and OSHA has told them they’re on their own. . . . State governments are stepping into the void.’”

An Equity press call with Dr. David Michaels on what’s needed for a safe reopening of theaters. May 26, 2020. DC Metro Theatre Arts.

“Three days later, on April 24, Equity announced that public health expert Dr. David Michaels, who served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from 2009-2017, during the Obama administration, would consult for the union to help develop new model health and safety standards for COVID-19, and would be key to implementing a plan in which member safety is put first and decisions are made with a clear scientific basis. Dr. Michaels, when asked about a timetable for reopening, reiterated the need for contact tracing and the crucial observation that ‘We don’t get to say, the virus does.’”

Cuomo, de Blasio can’t agree on how many New Yorkers have died from coronavirus. May 14, 2020. Politico.

“‘It’s so important that we try to get these numbers as close to accurate in real time as possible, because we are using them as a guidepost for what we are doing for the broader population,’ said Sabrina McCormick, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University. ‘They’re not just numbers. There are implications for our public health policy and our daily behavior.’”

Death certificate data suggests higher number of COVID deaths than state’s total. April 28, 2020. Newsday.

“‘People think, “Here are the official numbers released daily and, therefore, I am going to make decisions about my risk and my safety based on these numbers,”’ said McCormick, who has studied deaths in extreme heat events. ‘But if the numbers are inaccurate and we are not making the right decisions, we really need to acknowledge the uncertainty.’”

COVID-19 and Climate Change Threats Compound in Minority Communities. April 20, 2020. Scientific American.

“To McCormick, the pandemic has simply highlighted something public health officials have declared for decades: Directly or indirectly, burning fossil fuels is harmful to human health. Globally, ‘eight million people die annually because of air pollution-related diseases,’ she said. ‘Those are just the facts.’”

New York Death Toll Soars Past 10,000 in Revised Death Count. April 14, 2020. New York Times.

“[An excess death analysis] can be ‘very hard to do’ as an event is unfolding, said Sabrina McCormick, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University, who has studied excess deaths in heat waves. ‘This virus is moving so fast,’ she said. But, she added, an analysis of excess deaths is ‘the simplest and most straightforward way of measuring how many people have died from an extreme event’ and can offer a more accurate accounting of the actual impact than the daily death counts provided by officials.”

Big Outbreaks Like the Coronavirus Actually Do Discriminate: Against the Poor and Most Needy. February 7, 2020. Mother Jones.

“Certain racial and ethnic groups might be more vulnerable to infectious disease. Alonzo Plough, the chief science officer of the public health research group Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, pointed to the history of discrimination in health care. ‘There is residual distrust in the medical system from people who have had discriminatory encounters or have been marginalized in their medical care,” he said. “They might not trust an emergency vaccination.’”