"Ebola got a head start on us," Anthony Banbury, head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response, told the United Nations Security Council by remote link from Ghana Tuesday.
"It is far ahead of us, it is running faster than us, and it is winning the race," he said. "We either stop Ebola now or we face an entirely unprecedented situation for which we do not have a plan."
The World Health Organization said Tuesday the infection rate could reach 10,000 a week in a worst-case scenario.
Comment: in fact, that is NOT a worst case scenario. The worst case scenario is unmanageable case loads materializing in multiple regions of the world, with attendant civil disorder and break-down of nation-states.
We are witnessing how the United States bungled ONE index case in Dallas, even though there was plenty of time to work out and implement adequate protocols for treating patients and those suspected of harboring the virus.
It is for this reason that I support President Obama taking the Ebola problem directly to a war-time footing like FDR did after Pearl Harbor, redirecting US industry to the production of bombers and tanks and ships. This war is against an invisible enemy and requires President Obama to recruit the single industry with the capacity to respond: Big Pharma.
We will get some indication tomorrow, if President Obama is ready for his FDR moment, when he meets with world leaders on the Ebola threat. He should urge all-hands-on-deck from private industry to develop cures and an effective vaccine against the disease now, including the re-direction of Big Pharma's research, development, testing and manufacturing capacities.
27 comments:
I agree. He has to put everything else on the back burner. In terms of our local situation, every healthcare operation has to be trained and given instructions what to do. That is from Jackson Hospital, to CHI- type operations, to individual doctors offices. I am afraid Dallas was much too lax. The nurse got it, may have spread it to other patients, and they spread it, and so and so forth. Someone gets on a plane, and comes here, we are in trouble. In two weeks lots of healthy people dead.
I think if we get it here they should be taken completely out of regular hospital facilities. Maybe placed on a military hospital ship where strict protocols can be managed.
And then Obama should declare martial law and cancel all elections and continue in office until this plague is contained and ultimately defeated
Two years is a long time. Ebola kills in two weeks.
In America the CDC probably already has a national plan for something like this. It is just a case of dusting it off and updating it. What is unclear is, what is our local plan?
Local plan?
How about not letting infected people in the country? Then again we would need a President or some form of leadership on the issue.
Nobody in this government is competent, at anything the exception maybe incompetency, that they are summa cum laude.
A second nurse who had extensive contact with Duncan has been infected. She flew to Cleveland, then to Atlanta. They need to keep the Dallas people in place until they get this under control. Now everyone on those planes, and people she contacted in those cities are in danger too.
The CDC? The President? You honestly want to trust these people. They are the one bungling this. FDR moment? Pearl Harbor? Get a grip Gimspierre or are you chicken little.
Yes this is serious and letting a person under observation get on a plane especially after another healthcare worker became infected is beyond stupid and incompetent. I can only wonder if anyone will get fired?
There were 50 Dallas healthcare workers in Duncan's room before he died.
Always blame the government first, right? They are incompetent bunglers that cannot be trusted. Well let's review the facts. The Ebola infected man came into a corporate run for-profit hospital and was sent home, despite the fact he informed them he had been in Liberia. He came back and the Ebola virus was identified, but they apparently failed to use proper protocols and/or failed to have/use proper protection for the staff. The nursing staff has been very vocal about the shortcomings of this particular for profit hospital. And please explain to me how it is the government/Obama's fault that a HOSPITAL does not have infectious disease protocols in place at all times? To my mind, this is another example of the failures of capitalism. When healthcare is for-profit then profits will always take precedence over quality healthcare. Wake up sheeple, corporate America does not give a damn about people, it's all about profits.
And let me point out something else. Every hospital in this country has a protocol for dealing with MRSA. When my elderly mother was in a small hospital in Jacksonville Beach and they suspected she had MRSA, my lord you would have thought there was radioactive contamination in her room. There was an immediate quarantine, I was not allowed in the room, the staff had on head to toe protection until tests confirmed there was no MRSA infection. This is a corporate failure, not a government failure. Wake up. Not everything in life is Obama's fault.
And as I pointed out in a comment to a previous post, Canada, you know the socialist healthcare system, has developed a vaccine for Ebola that is in the human trial stages in Maryland. Another example of the failures of the capitalist healthcare/pharma system in this country. There is no profit in curing diseases so why try to find one? Ok I think I'm done now.
And as I pointed out in a comment to a previous post, Canada, you know the socialist healthcare system, has developed a vaccine for Ebola that is in the human trial stages in Maryland. Another example of the failures of the capitalist healthcare/pharma system in this country. There is no profit in curing diseases so why try to find one? Ok I think I'm done now.
The military is working 24-7 on a vaccine, but even if they find something it will take time to make sure it is safe for humans, and to test it. I think you are right it has been out there long enough for much work on it.
You never know what will happen on a presidential watch, what he or she have to deal with. That is why we look for certain attributes at election time. We made a good choice with Obama.
where is our surgeon general??? oh right, Senate sitting on their hands for almost a year not voting for the man nominated..because, you know #NRA
maybe "heck of a job Brownie" could help ?
They have crippled the government with their inaction. Now we really need that expertise, and it is not there for us because of foolishness.
I don't blame everything on Obama or the Ds I am not a blind partisan like many here, Rs have plenty of "splainin tu do" themselves.
But to say we have a capitalist healthcare system is like saying the earth is flat. We have our own version that is more like corpratist socialist healthcare (If you can call it that). And yes if it were truly a free market system with some sort of safety net it would work much better than Canada's and actual cost would actually drop. How many of those great new drugs are actually coming out of OOOOh Canada. But don't worry we are doing a great job of squashing incentives and innovation right here.
I'll get real comfortable so I can wait for that anti-ebola medication from ooooh Canada. (Hopefully its smaller than a hockey Puck)
The bottom line is no one is in charge, it's all spin, all the time coming from the public policy wonks with one objective, keep the public calm. Nothing to see here, everything is under control, we are expert in Disease control.
Today's cluster pluck story...turns out the CDC actually gives permission to Amber Vinson to fly AFTER she self-reported her elevated temperature and asked permission.
In Dallas interestingly, a judge is in control. He said he will issue an order making it illegal for any of those 70+ people at that hospital who had contact with the man who died to leave the area. If it happened here, who would be in control? Dade County Mayor? Governor? Someone else? Who? Would they have that kind of emergency power? Does the homerule charter speak to this kind of emergency situation?
Obama had no problem banning travel to and from Israel a few months ago when he wanted to support his buddies in Gaza. So why doesn't he ban travel to and from West Africa? Let me guess. Is it because the people there are black?
Restricting flights due to bomb threats makes sense.
Restricting flights because of this disease does not. There would be nothing to stop an infected person from flying to another country first and then continuing on to the US. This could make the potential even worse as flights from other countries are not being screened.
In addition, think about our illegal immigration problem...has the US really done a good job trying to keep people out of our country?
@ CATO
What is a "free market" healthcare system with a safety net? You make no sense. Our system is completely corporate controlled for-profit capitalist. People pay huge premiums for insurance that covers next to nothing, and the insurance companies make determinations as to what and how much healthcare their insured will actually get, with the goal, of course, of maximizing profits. Taxpayers subsidize the uninsured so that the corporations don't have to bear the untenable burden of providing healthcare to people who actually need it. Our system sucks and every other industrialized country has a far better system, providing coverage to all its citizens, and with better health outcomes. Wake up CATO, "free markets" is bumper sticker slogan created by right wing think tanks and the "Chicago boys" school of economics to sell "trickle down" economics to low effort thinkers.
Dear Gabriela
A Free market is not what we have in healthcare in this country. And healthcare in those other countries is not as good or as effective as the propaganda would have you believe (Michael Moore may be entertaining but I wouldn't go to him for facts).
More in line with a free market is what so far exist with computers and cell phone technology (so far). A price of a computer in 1985 was $2,500 which if you adjust for inflation (another issue to deal with) it would be roughly $4,200 today. And that computer could only do basic rudimentary functions and was out of the economic reach of many. Today for $300 you can by a computer light years ahead of the 1985 $4200 computer. Did the government subsidize computers? Did the government make ownership of computers a fundamental human right?
In all other industries that are NOT heavily subsidized by government or involve large amounts of third party payments (AKA INSURANC COMPANIES) innovation and technology serve to improve service and lower cost.
My Dear Gabriela I do not speak in bumper sticker language nor fall hook line and sinker for propaganda. I try to observe and stay with facts. If we continue on the current path healthcare "cost" will eat us out of house and home (cars, pets,plants and anything else that gets in the way).
I do agree our healthcare system sucks but I do not believe that Canada's , GBs or Obamacare (or any other Orwellian named policy) will actually cure the real issues that are putting healthcare out of the reach of most Americans.
As per the original issue of this post we now learn the CDC okayed the plane trip for the infected nurse even after she called them 3 TIMES and told them she had a slight fever of 99.5. OOOH THE INCOMPETENCE.
If Ebola gets to Cuba, it will decimate the population! And with all the travel between Cuba and Miami.....
Socialist Canada has "almost" invented an Ebola vaccine? LOL! Sure they have! Just like they almost invented a cure for AIDS and cancer.
The fact is Capitalist U.S. produces while Socialist Canada takes.
Cuba is a Black country, and it has a good medical system. They probably could contain it.
Anonymous said, "There would be nothing to stop an infected person from flying to another country first and then continuing on to the US."
Ummmm ... everything is recorded on one's passport. If the traveler was recently in West Africa, it is extremely easy to track.
So what's the next excuse for not protecting Americans?
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