Objective: This study sheds light on the agenda-setting role of the media during the COVID-19 crisis by examining trends in nursing home (NH) coverage in 4 leading national newspapers—The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and Los Angeles Times.Method: Keyword searches of the Nexis Uni database identified 2,039 NH-related articles published from September 2018 to June 2020. Trends in the frequency of NH coverage and its tone (negative) and prominence (average words, daily article count, opinion piece) were examined.Results: Findings indicate a dramatic rise in the number of NH articles published in the months following the first COVID-19 case, far exceeding previous levels. NH coverage became considerably more prominent, as the average number of words and daily articles on NHs increased. The proportion of negative articles largely remained consistent, though volume rose dramatically. Weekly analysis revealed acceleration in observed trends within the post-COVID-19 period itself. These trends, visible in all papers, were especially dramatic in The New York Times.Discussion: Overall, findings reveal marked growth in the frequency and number of prominent and negative NH articles during the COVID-19 crisis. The increased volume of coverage has implications for the relative saliency of NHs to other issues during the pandemic. The increased prominence of coverage has implications for the perceived importance of addressing pre-existing deficits and the devastating consequences of the pandemic for NHs.

In this article, we review state policy responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic and argue that they were driven primarily by partisan politics. Preliminary evidence suggests that the party affiliation of a state's Governor was the most important factor shaping the nature and timing of the response. In particular, we find that Republican Governors were less likely than their Democratic counterparts to issue stay‐at‐home orders and, when they did issue them, were slower to do so. This finding is consistent with a recent trend in U.S. health policy toward vertical partisan coalitions in which state leaders align their policies with national party leaders even when those decisions may not be in the best interest of their states or supported by a majority of their constituents. In this case, however, since President Trump's response to the outbreak has been inconsistent, many Republican Governors appear to be aligning their COVID‐19 responses with the national party's perceived rhetorical and electoral enhancing goals of personal freedom and economic growth/recovery, rather than with President.