The Trump’s COVID-19 response is untruthful and too late.
Many watched Trump declare a national emergency on Friday. The real national emergency began two months ago. Trump did not act. He denied all of the facts about the coronavirus. Trump called it a foreign disease. He appointed a science denier to head up the coronavirus task force.
Trump’s COVID-19 Response Should have Begun in Early February
Testing and action should have begin in early February. Trump himself should be tested. Instead he shook hands with several of the speakers, and only one used the elbow bump. And still Trump saw nothing wrong with shaking hands with others, putting them at risk, when he came in contact last weekend with a Brazilian who tested positive. It’s been reported he got tested, but only because one reporter put him on the spot when she asked if it was right for his crowd to tell others to get tested, but not for him given he’s been in contact with a person who tested positive.
The Google Coronavirus Website
It’s difficult to listen to Trump and Pence. Neither of them is truthful. Even if they bring out scientists, as they did yesterday, there is still the question of the facts that were laid out. Today we learned that the so-called nationwide Google website that Trump claimed would be up and running and was being developed by 1,700 Google employees. It turns out the Google site for being “tested” in the SF Bay Area. This was a very big lie.
Disbanding the NSC Directorate for Global Health, Security & Bio-Defense (pandemic unit)
Trump’s COVID-19 response was a failure. Acting quickly in the era of coronavirus is critical. By failing to move quickly, this irresponsible President (I don’t take responsibility for this, he said), has put the nation at risk.
Within the National Security Council, Obama had established the Global Health Unit. It employed over 250 professionals. Trump disbanded the pandemic unit. By disbanding this unit, the nation will suffer. As someone said, you can’t buy back the time that was lost by Trump’s inaction. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH, although saying it wasn’t a mistake to disband it, also said it would be nice to have it. But other former NSC professionals have been very clear that disbanding the unit was a big mistake. Remember, the Trump administration has eroded not only the EPA, but the NIH. Funds have been removed from these agencies, and many professionals have left because of the state of affairs in these departments.
Speed is Essential
Beth Cameron, Vice President for global biological policy and programs at the Nuclear Threat initiative ran the White House pandemic office.
She said this about the current situation, and the loss of time created by the White House:
In a health security crisis, speed is essential. When this new coronavirus emerged, there was no clear White House-led structure to oversee our response, and we lost valuable time. Yes, we have capable and committed global and national disease-prevention and management organizations, as well as state and local health departments, all working overtime now. But even in prepared cities like Seattle, health systems are struggling to test patients and keep pace with growing caseloads. The specter of rapid community transmission and exponential growth is real and daunting. The job of a White House pandemics office would have been to get ahead: to accelerate the response, empower experts, anticipate failures, and act quickly and transparently to solve problems.
Acting early would have flattened the curve sooner than will happen. As she said, if the pandemic unit had been operating, then senior-level staff would have been able to lead the government in a united and rapid response once the coronavirus was identified in China. Instead, the government sat back and watched.
We have to continue to press Trump and Pence. They’ll continue to lie. They’ll not tell us the truth.
Trump’s COVID-19 response was dismal.
This coronavirus is unlike anything in our lifetime, and we have to stop comparing it to the flu.
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