Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers: Accountability for Those Who Caused the Crisis

Journalist Nichols (The Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party) delivers a blistering rebuke of politicians and private corporations for exacerbating the Covid-19 pandemic. He cites a Columbia University study showing that President Trump’s refusal to take “urgent action” in March 2020 led to 54,000 avoidable deaths in the early stages of the pandemic, and argues that Vice President Mike Pence’s history of ignoring an HIV outbreak as governor of Indiana should have disqualified him from leading the White House’s coronavirus task force. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, meanwhile, tried to pressure South Africa and other countries not to accept much-needed medical aid from Cuba. Nichols also alleges that vaccine manufacturer Pfizer maximized profits at the expense of underserved communities around the world and blames Democratic politician Rahm Emanuel for promoting neoliberal trade policies that gutted U.S. manufacturing and led to a critical shortfall in masks and other medical supplies. Citing the example of the 1932–1934 Senate investigation into the causes of the Great Depression, Nichols calls for a “reckoning” against those who chose “political advantage or personal profit over human life and shared prosperity.” Well researched and brisk, this damning exposé pulls no punches. (Jan.)