Sounds like US was best prepared for pandemic

[Need answers]

I don't think we followed any good policies. Where were the basic supplies for medical personnel? Where was the testing to track and contain the contagion? Why weren't the private labs acuisitioned for this purpose. It's like we just let the thing spread and we're now in the worst case scenario hunkered down trying to not get infected, hoping our hospitals are not overwhelmed.

Why weren't the private labs acuisitioned for this purpose

The CDc had to make sure such tests were safe and accurate. They decided to use their own tests that they supposedly confirmed already i assume. The CDC test may have been sound, and maybe they are using it still, im not sure. But the problem was that the CDC had some kind of manufacturing problem with the first tests that they made, and had to make more i think.

 

[wing2000]

THe CDC did. Its their job.

Stop making excuses. The President did nothing for the entire month of February. If testing the virus was his number one priority, alternative paths would have been exploited.

The fact is, it was not a priority with the White House and our country is suffering for it.

 

[essentialsaltes]

From what i've read, at first virus tests could only be made at the CDC. That was the policy put in place before TRump. Unless im mistaken. Im going off of memory and cant remember where i read that.

I expect you heard it from Trump. But his claim was incorrect.

The Obama administration did attempt to impose a risk-based system of regulation on laboratory developed tests, or LDTs, and introduced draft guidance in 2014. But that guidance was never finalized, and was withdrawn after Trump won the election in 2016. “It never went into effect,” she said, “so it’s not an issue to walk back.”

Erika Lietzan of the University of Missouri School of Law said it was possible Trump and Redfield were thinking of a de facto FDA policy that applies to lab developed tests in emergency situations, such as an outbreak, in which an emergency use authorization, or EUA, is involved.

But in this case as well, there is no formal document that Trump needed to rescind to allow labs to create their own coronavirus tests.

 

[DamianWarS]

It appears America was best prepared for this pandemic than any one else in the world. We had processes and procedures in place to deal with this sort of thing. That's of course no thanks to any one person or president but a work of our government as a whole. So for those claiming we were I'll prepared and it was all of Trump's fault, we actually we're very prepared as of 2019. So as long as we followed our policies and procedures, which I'm sure we have it appears the leftists are barking up the wrong tree with the blame game.

That's not to say we can't be better. Ranking #1 in the world just means we were the best, it doesn't mean we have achieved everything we could. It appears we definitely need to make more changes in the way we do things and have those processes in place for the next one. I am confident we will.
US was ranked the best-prepared country for a pandemic in late 2019 by a Johns Hopkins study

It would seem hopkins was wrong.

 

[rambot]

'It's a two-way street': Trump suggests federal coronavirus aid will be given to governors who 'treat us well'

Another great example of leadership in these trying times?

Did anyone also notice that Trump is outbidding states for medical supplies? Anyone have an explanation for that?

 

[Paulos23]

Did anyone also notice that Trump is outbidding states for medical supplies? Anyone have an explanation for that?

I did. I am sure Trump is doing that to get some favor from the states.

Basic greed, not trying to give supplies around evenly.

 

[hedrick]

Did anyone also notice that Trump is outbidding states for medical supplies? Anyone have an explanation for that?

Mistake. A federal agency didn’t think about the impact of what they were doing.

 

[A_Thinker]

You lefties crack me up.

Nice non-partisanship ...

 

[JCFantasy23]

It's true that Trump didn't precisely call it a hoax. However he did minimize it until it was too late. I think the reason the US is growing faster than Europe is because they started isolation sooner. It will take a couple of weeks for results to show in the US.

We haven't started isolation here. Perhaps one area of New York? I see other countries as actually having ordered and enforced isolation. We have had "recommendations." Some things are shut down through the venues or business, but there's still plenty open. We are not in isolation

 

[BobRyan]

It appears America was best prepared for this pandemic than any one else in the world. We had processes and procedures in place to deal with this sort of thing. That's of course no thanks to any one person or president but a work of our government as a whole. So for those claiming we were I'll prepared and it was all of Trump's fault, we actually we're very prepared as of 2019. So as long as we followed our policies and procedures, which I'm sure we have it appears the leftists are barking up the wrong tree with the blame game.

That's not to say we can't be better. Ranking #1 in the world just means we were the best, it doesn't mean we have achieved everything we could. It appears we definitely need to make more changes in the way we do things and have those processes in place for the next one. I am confident we will.
US was ranked the best-prepared country for a pandemic in late 2019 by a Johns Hopkins study

The epidemic in China began in December and news was starting to leak out by early January. Meanwhile the US media and politicians had been "fully hijacked" by the doomed-from-start impeachment process..

Unwittingly they engaged in that pointless exercise that resulted in effectively running interference so that nobody would be focused on China in December 2019 and January 2020. Like the illusionist holding something flashy in his left hand while pulling off the mechanics for the illusion with his right hand.

South Korea got caught flat footed with SARS and then with MERS in 2015 SARS memories scare tourists off South Korea
- and so had some time to "learn" from what happened to them before 2020 Wuhan virus hit and and so they took time to prime their infrastructure for another run at it.

 

[hedrick]

We haven't started isolation here. Perhaps one area of New York? I see other countries as actually having ordered and enforced isolation. We have had "recommendations." Some things are shut down through the venues or business, but there's still plenty open. We are not in isolation

No one has done a real lockin, meaning you can't leave your home at all. Several states, including mine, have closed everything except essential businesses and told people to stay home. When I go out for groceries, the streets are pretty empty, and in my condo, people aren't leaving for work as they normally would. We don't have to lower R0 to 0, just below 1.

 

[JCFantasy23]

No one has done a real lockin, meaning you can't leave your home at all. Several states, including mine, have closed everything except essential businesses and told people to stay home. When I go out for groceries, the streets are pretty empty, and in my condo, people aren't leaving for work as they normally would. We don't have to lower R0 to 0, just below 1.

Do you think the isolation will work for states that are doing it when surrounding states are not? I am not arguing the merits of isolation, I am genuinely curious. I can see those states in lockdown getting lower numbers and below the curve, but I can also see issues if they don't close the borders and the neighboring states aren't isolating. Can it still work if not done country wide? I'm not sure. I can get not wanting to lockdown states and kill the economy in areas where it's barely hitting, that argument makes sense too. The lay of our land and everyone disagreeing, government included, isn't helping.

And also what is an essential business? A nearby county to me is shutting down for 2 weeks (kind of), but they are leaving hotels with the deli and barista open because they say those are essential.

 

[rjs330]

We haven't started isolation here. Perhaps one area of New York? I see other countries as actually having ordered and enforced isolation. We have had "recommendations." Some things are shut down through the venues or business, but there's still plenty open. We are not in isolation

This is one of the issues here. Our Governor just issued the isolation order here.

There are a lot of people who still won't do it. People are still trying to work in order to pay bills.

 

[hedrick]

Do you think the isolation will work for states that are doing it when surrounding states are not? I am not arguing the merits of isolation, I am genuinely curious. I can see those states in lockdown getting lower numbers and below the curve, but I can also see issues if they don't close the borders and the neighboring states aren't isolating. Can it still work if not done country wide? I'm not sure. I can get not wanting to lockdown states and kill the economy in areas where it's barely hitting, that argument makes sense too. The lay of our land and everyone disagreeing, government included, isn't helping.

And also what is an essential business? A nearby county to me is shutting down for 2 weeks (kind of), but they are leaving hotels with the deli and barista open because they say those are essential.

I believe NJ got most of its cases from NYC, which took longer to act. I think it would have been hopeless for NJ if they hadn't. At this point NY has rules that are slightly stricter than ours, at least on paper.

The states that have big problems are pretty specific about what essential means. I think some states that got into the game later are being too loose. I assume they'll tighten up as they start getting cases, but that's too late.

I do wonder about having different rules in different parts of the country. Things seem to vary by concentration of people. But a lot of states have cities. Not all are as concentrated as NYC, but they're probably enough to cause problems. Maybe you can define some areas that can lighten up, but I'm skeptical. All it takes is one person in a church that's a super-spreader, and you've got a state-wide problem.

 

[rjs330]

The epidemic in China began in December and news was starting to leak out by early January. Meanwhile the US media and politicians had been "fully hijacked" by the doomed-from-start impeachment process..

Unwittingly they engaged in that pointless exercise that resulted in effectively running interference so that nobody would be focused on China in December 2019 and January 2020. Like the illusionist holding something flashy in his left hand while pulling off the mechanics for the illusion with his right hand.

South Korea got caught flat footed with SARS and then with MERS in 2015 SARS memories scare tourists off South Korea
- and so had some time to "learn" from what happened to them before 2020 Wuhan virus hit and and so they took time to prime their infrastructure for another run at it.

I love this post. I think the president would only be in a position not to be criticized by the he left if he:
January 1-
Declaired this an emergency
Institutes the war powers.
Forced companies to manufacture items
Ordered lockdowns
Got tests up and running

Anything after that would have been called "too late" by anyone on the left.

The WHO didn't even call this a pandemic until March.

We will learn from this. The government followed the plan, perhaps the plan was flawed. So in review we will most likely do things differently in the he future.

 

[pitabread]

I think the president would only be in a position not to be criticized by the left if he

A global pandemic isn't a partisan issue. I've seen plenty of right-wingers (including Trump supporters) criticizing him too.

In the end, the current administration should be criticized on the basis of what worked versus what didn't.

Left vs right shouldn't be a factor.

 

[BobRyan]

I love this post. I think the president would only be in a position not to be criticized by the he left if he:
January 1-
Declaired this an emergency
Institutes the war powers.
Forced companies to manufacture items
Ordered lockdowns
Got tests up and running

Anything after that would have been called "too late" by anyone on the left.

The WHO didn't even call this a pandemic until March.

We will learn from this. The government followed the plan, perhaps the plan was flawed. So in review we will most likely do things differently in the he future.

And look at all the "flak" he got for having the initiative to take drastic action on Jan 31.

[/quote]
from; Timeline of Trump Administration Actions on Chinese Coronavirus Released by Campaign

December 31: China reports the discovery of the coronavirus to the World Health Organization.

January 6: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a travel notice for Wuhan, China due to the spreading coronavirus.

January 7: The CDC established a coronavirus incident management system to better share and respond to information about the virus.


January 11: The CDC issued a Level I travel health notice for Wuhan, China.

January 17: The CDC began implementing public health entry screening at the 3 U.S. airports that received the most travelers from Wuhan – San Francisco, New York JFK, and Los Angeles.

January 20: Dr. Fauci announces the National Institutes of Health is already working on the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus.


January 21: The CDC activated its emergency operations center to provide ongoing support to the coronavirus response.

January 23: The CDC sought a “special emergency authorization” from the FDA to allow states to use its newly developed coronavirus test.

January 27: The CDC issued a level III travel health notice urging Americans to avoid all nonessential travel to China due to the coronavirus.


January 29: The White House announced the formation of the Coronavirus Task Force to help monitor and contain the spread of the virus and provide updates to the President.

January 31: The Trump Administration:

Declared the coronavirus a public health emergency.

Announced Chinese travel restrictions.

Suspended entry into the United States for foreign nationals who pose a risk of transmitting the coronavirus.
January 31: The Department of Homeland Security took critical steps to funnel all flights from China into just 7 domestic U.S. airports.

February 3: The CDC had a team ready to travel to China to obtain critical information on the novel coronavirus, but were in the U.S. awaiting permission to enter by the Chinese government.

February 4: President Trump vowed in his State of the Union Address to “take all necessary steps” to protect Americans from the coronavirus.

February 6: The CDC began shipping CDC-Developed test kits for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus to U.S. and international labs.

February 9: The White House Coronavirus Task Force briefed governors from across the nation at the National Governors’ Association Meeting in Washington.

February 11: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) expanded a partnership with Janssen Research & Development to “expedite the development” of a coronavirus vaccine.

February 12: The U.S. shipped test kits for the 2019 novel coronavirus to approximately 30 countries who lacked the necessary reagents and other materials.

February 12: The CDC was prepared to travel to China but had yet to receive permission from the Chinese government.

February 14: The CDC began working with five labs to conduct “community-based influenza surveillance” to study and detect the spread of coronavirus.

February 18: HHS announced it would engage with Sanofi Pasteur in an effort to quickly develop a coronavirus vaccine and to develop treatment for coronavirus infections.

February 24: The Trump Administration sent a letter to Congress requesting at least $2.5 billion to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.

February 26: President Trump discussed coronavirus containment efforts with Indian PM Modi and updated the press on his Administration’s containment efforts in the U.S. during his state visit to India.

February 29: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed certified labs to develop and begin testing coronavirus testing kits while reviewing pending applications.

February 29: The Trump Administration:

Announced a level 4 travel advisory to areas of Italy and South Korea.

Barred all travel to Iran.

Barred the entry of foreign citizens who visited Iran in the last 14 days.
March 3: The CDC lifted federal restrictions on coronavirus testing to allow any American to be tested for coronavirus, “subject to doctor’s orders.”

March 3: The White House announced President Trump donated his fourth quarter salary to fight the coronavirus.

March 4: The Trump Administration announced the purchase of $500 million N95 respirators over the next 18 months to respond to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

March 4: Secretary Azar announced that HHS was transferring $35 million to the CDC to help state and local communities that have been impacted most by the coronavirus.

March 6: President Trump signed an $8.3 billion bill to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

The bill provides $7.76 billion to federal, state, & local agencies to combat the coronavirus and authorizes an additional $500 million in waivers for Medicare telehealth restrictions.

March 9: President Trump called on Congress to pass a payroll tax cut over coronavirus.

March 10: President Trump and VP Pence met with top health insurance companies and secured a commitment to waive co-pays for coronavirus testing.

March 11: President Trump:

Announced travel restrictions on foreigners who had visited Europe in the last 14 days.

Directed the Small Business Administration to issue low-interest loans to affected small businesses and called on congress to increase this fund by $50 billion.

Directed the Treasury Department to defer tax payments for affected individuals & businesses, & provide $200 billion in “additional liquidity.”

Met with American bankers at the White House to discuss coronavirus.
March 13: President Trump declared a national emergency in order to access $42 billion in existing funds to combat the coronavirus.

March 13: President Trump announced:

Public-private partnerships to open up drive-through testing collection sites.

A pause on interest payments on federal student loans.

An order to the Department of Energy to purchase oil for the strategic petroleum reserve.
March 13: The Food & Drug Administration:

Granted Roche AG an emergency approval for automated coronavirus testing kits.

Issued an emergency approval to Thermo Fisher for a coronavirus test within 24 hours of receiving the request.
March 13: HHS announced funding for the development of two new rapid diagnostic tests, which would be able to detect coronavirus in approximately 1 hour.

March 14: The Coronavirus Relief Bill passed the House of Representatives.

March 14: The Trump Administration announced the European travel ban will extend to the UK and Ireland.

March 15: President Trump held a phone call with over two dozen grocery store executives to discuss on-going demand for food and other supplies.

March 15: HHS announced it is projected to have 1.9 million COVID-19 tests available in 2,000 labs this week.

March 15: Google announced a partnership with the Trump Administration to develop a website dedicated to coronavirus education, prevention, & local resources.

March 15: All 50 states were contacted through FEMA to coordinate “federally-supported, state-led efforts” to end coronavirus.

March 16: President Trump:

Held a tele-conference with governors to discuss coronavirus preparedness and response.

Participated in a call with G7 leaders who committed to increasing coordination in response to the coronavirus and restoring global economic confidence.

Announced that the first potential vaccine for coronavirus has entered a phase one trial in a record amount of time.

Announced “15 days to slow the spread” coronavirus guidance.
March 16: The FDA announced it was empowering states to authorize tests developed and used by labs in their states.

March 16: Asst. Secretary for Health confirmed the availability of 1 million coronavirus tests, and projected 2 million tests available the next week and 5 million the following.

March 17: President Trump announced:

CMS will expand telehealth benefits for Medicare beneficiaries.

Relevant Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act penalties will not be enforced.

The Army Corps of Engineers is on ”standby” to assist federal & state governments.
March 17: President Trump spoke to fast food executives from Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Burger King to discuss drive-thru services recommended by CDC

March 17: President Trump met with tourism industry representatives along with industrial supply, retail, and wholesale representatives.

March 17: Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin met with lawmakers to discuss stimulus measures to relieve the economic burden of coronavirus on certain industries, businesses, and American workers.

March 17: Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced a partnership between USDA, Baylor University, McLane Global, and Pepsi Co. to provide one million meals per weak to rural children in response to widespread school closures.

March 17: The Treasury Department:

Contributed $10bil through the economic stabilization fund to the Federal Reserve’s commercial paper funding facility.

Deferred $300 billion in tax payments for 90 days without penalty, up to $1mil for individuals & $10mil for business.
March 17: The Department of Defense announced it will make available to HHS up to five million respirator masks and 2,000 ventilators.

March 18: President Trump announced:

Temporary closure of the U.S.-Canada border to non-essential traffic.

Plans to invoke the Defense Production Act in order to increase the number of necessary supplies needed to combat coronavirus.

FEMA has been activated in every region at its highest level of response.

The U.S. Navy will deploy USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy hospital ships.

All foreclosures and evictions will be suspended for a period of time.
March 18: Secretary of Defense Mark Esper confirmed:

1 million masks are now immediately available.

The Army Corps of Engineers is in NY consulting on how to best assist state officials.
March 18: HHS temporarily suspended a regulation that prevents doctors from practicing across state lines.

March 18: President Trump spoke to:

Doctors, physicians, and nurses on the front lines containing the spread of coronavirus.

130 CEOs of the Business Roundtable to discuss on-going public-private partnerships in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
[/quote]

Jan 31 ban against travel from China met by strong political opposition

Via The New York Times, "Who Says It’s Not Safe to Travel to China?":

Jan 31 Biden responds to Travel ban on China

from; Nolte: A Mere 8 Days Ago Joe Biden Attacked Trump's Travel Bans

That same day, Joe Biden published this tweet:

[N]ow [Trump’s] adding more countries to his list of who’s not welcome in America. It’s not who we are — and we’ll prove that when we beat Trump this November and end the ban.

Joe consitently regrets not allowing free travel from China to the U.S. during Coronavirus crisis

from; Nolte: A Mere 8 Days Ago Joe Biden Attacked Trump's Travel Bans

The next day (after the Jan 31 travel ban), Biden —... — issued the following statement declaring Trump’s ban “racist” and “xenophobic.”

=============begin quote
Yesterday, Donald Trump further diminished the United States in the eyes of the world by expanding his travel ban, placing new restrictions on the residents of six more nations that limit who is allowed to come to the United States.

…

Trump’s atrocious asylum and refugee policies — they are all designed to make it harder for black and brown people to immigrate to the United States. It’s that simple. They are racist. They are xenophobic.

And there is no evidence that they do anything to make us safer.

Immigrants from each of these countries and their broader diaspora communities here in the United States enrich the larger fabric of American life as our friends and neighbors and make vital contributions to our economy.
============end quote

That same day, Biden published this tweet:

============begin quote
We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus. We need to lead the way with science — not Donald Trump’s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering. He is the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency.
============end quote

Biden followed this statement up the next day with a speech in Iowa, where he again blasted Trump’s travel ban, this time as “hysterical xenophobia”:

============begin quote
We have, right now, a crisis with the coronavirus. This is no time for Donald Trump’s record of hysteria and xenophobia – hysterical xenophobia – and fearmongering to lead the way instead of science.
============end quote

On February 15, Biden again attacked Trump’s immigration restrictions:

============begin quote
Donald Trump’s inhumane, fear-based immigration policies are a stain on our nation. We have to get him out of the White House and ensure our laws reflect our values as a nation of immigrants.
============end quote

The following month, on March 10, Biden was still lashing out at Trump’s travel restrictions as racist:

============begin quote
A wall won’t stop a virus. Racism won’t stop a virus. Do your job.
============end quote

On March 11, Trump announced a European travel ban.

The very next day, Biden railed against the idea:

============begin quote
A wall will not stop the coronavirus. Banning all travel from Europe — or any other part of the world — will not stop it. This disease could impact every nation and any person on the planet — and we need a plan to combat it.
============end quote


Let’s just pause for a moment to take this all in…

oh if only Joe were president.

The idea there is that all the praising of the president being done by the scientists working at the CDC etc for his early actions to ban travel - is all just so much more "histerical xenophobia" according to the statements you find in that quote. When "politics is all one sees" then the health and safety of the public during a pandemic is just getting lost in the background noise.

A global pandemic isn't a partisan issue.

I used to think that too.

The truth is it is not political - so when they went out of their way to "make it political" it was not because there was an actual reason to do it other than political posturing against an opponent.

It's not like President Trump said on Jan 31 "Because sleepy joe is such a poor candidate for president - we now have coronavirus on earth and I will need to ban travel from China just to address the poor performance of Joe". There was nothing at all in the Presidents Jan 31 action targeting Joe Biden.

Joe did not "need" to come out of the gate attacking his political opponent and ignoring the safety of American citizens.

 

[lasthero]

The WHO didn't even call this a pandemic until March

Because it wasn’t a pandemic until March.

 

[loveofourlord]

can we stop using the growth rate in the US as a sign of it being bad, I agree it's bad, but we need to compare with countries with simular size and populations, the us being spread out you could have one person sick every 1/10th of a km2 from each other, what I would look at is more how many hotspots there are vs mostly in a few big areas.

If someone can explain why thats wrong I be happy, just thinking we need a metric that compares number of potential victims vs size an cases.

 

[lasthero]

can we stop using the growth rate in the US as a sign of it being bad, I agree it's bad, but we need to compare with countries with simular size and populations, the us being spread out you could have one person sick every 1/10th of a km2 from each other, what I would look at is more how many hotspots there are vs mostly in a few big areas.

If someone can explain why thats wrong I be happy, just thinking we need a metric that compares number of potential victims vs size an cases.

If it keeps growing at the rate it’s been growing, in a week or so it’s not going to matter how you want to compare it.