Yesterday the New York Times broke the story that the Trump White House had not only been warned for years by health officials to prepare for a global pandemic, but that the Administration knew well in advance of the covid-19 outbreak that our country was in no way prepared, neither logistically nor materially, to handle the coming pandemic.
During the Ebola epidemic that ravaged West Africa from 2014 to 2016 the Obama White House created an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services whose task it was to prepare for future outbreaks of contagious diseases.
During the Ebola epidemic that ravaged West Africa from 2014 to 2016 the Obama White House created an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services whose task it was to prepare for future outbreaks of contagious diseases.
| In the wake of the epidemic Obama subsequently called for a study of the lessons learned from the Ebola outbreak. |  |
It was as a result of this study that Obama Administration also created an office at the National Security Council to, according to the Times article, "coordinate responses and raise the alarm early" in the event of an imminent contagious disease outbreak.
After Donald Trump's election Lisa Monaco, President Obama's Homeland Security Adviser, walked a number of incoming high-level Trump officials - among them Rex Tillerson, nominated Secretary of State; John Kelly, designated Secretary of Homeland Security; Rick Perry, designated Energy Secretary, and Tom Bossert, who was to become Trump's Homeland Security Adviser - through an exercise to prepare for the response to a deadly flu outbreak.
After Donald Trump's election Lisa Monaco, President Obama's Homeland Security Adviser, walked a number of incoming high-level Trump officials - among them Rex Tillerson, nominated Secretary of State; John Kelly, designated Secretary of Homeland Security; Rick Perry, designated Energy Secretary, and Tom Bossert, who was to become Trump's Homeland Security Adviser - through an exercise to prepare for the response to a deadly flu outbreak.
| John Kelley and Rex Tillerson |  |
According to Ms. Monaco, all the above officials involved took the threat of an epidemic seriously. But every one of those people had been fired or resigned well before the coronavirus outbreak.
And in 2018 John Bolton eliminated the National Security office charged with coordinating the nationwide response to the outbreak of a contagious disease.
However, last year the Trump Administration's Department of Health and Human Services produced a simulation of the outbreak of a deadly epidemic in the United States. The simulation ran in real time from January, 2019 to August, 2019.
Eerily, the scenario, code-named "Crimson Contagion," was of an outbreak of a highly contagious respiratory virus with symptoms of a dry cough and high fever that originated in China, was quickly spread around the world by air travelers, and within a month-and-a-half was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.
After tracking the fictional virus and its outcome over seven months, Health and Human Services drafted a report that, according to the Times article, "laid our in stark detail repeated cases of confusion in the exercise. Federal agencies jockeyed over who was in charge. State officials and hospitals struggled to figure out what kind of equipment was stockpiled or available. Cities and states went their own ways on school closings."
The report also predicted shortages of of antiviral medications, personal protective equipment and ventilators. And the report predicted 110 million Americans would become ill, 7.7 million would require hospital care, and 586,000 would die before the pandemic had run its course.
The "Crimson Contagion" report was completed last October. And here we are today, it's predictions now being played out while our fellow citizens sicken and die, our beleaguered health care workers struggle to keep them alive with insufficient equipment and protective gear, our economy suffers, our governors grapple with the crisis each on their own,
And in 2018 John Bolton eliminated the National Security office charged with coordinating the nationwide response to the outbreak of a contagious disease.
However, last year the Trump Administration's Department of Health and Human Services produced a simulation of the outbreak of a deadly epidemic in the United States. The simulation ran in real time from January, 2019 to August, 2019.
Eerily, the scenario, code-named "Crimson Contagion," was of an outbreak of a highly contagious respiratory virus with symptoms of a dry cough and high fever that originated in China, was quickly spread around the world by air travelers, and within a month-and-a-half was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.
After tracking the fictional virus and its outcome over seven months, Health and Human Services drafted a report that, according to the Times article, "laid our in stark detail repeated cases of confusion in the exercise. Federal agencies jockeyed over who was in charge. State officials and hospitals struggled to figure out what kind of equipment was stockpiled or available. Cities and states went their own ways on school closings."
The report also predicted shortages of of antiviral medications, personal protective equipment and ventilators. And the report predicted 110 million Americans would become ill, 7.7 million would require hospital care, and 586,000 would die before the pandemic had run its course.
The "Crimson Contagion" report was completed last October. And here we are today, it's predictions now being played out while our fellow citizens sicken and die, our beleaguered health care workers struggle to keep them alive with insufficient equipment and protective gear, our economy suffers, our governors grapple with the crisis each on their own,
| ...and Donald Trump spins and shillys and brags and prevaricates and equivocates and rages at any journalist who tries to get an honest answer from him. |  |
Donald Trump has declared that no one ever thought such an pandemic as the coronavirus was coming.
He later stated that he always knew the pandemic was coming.
The second statement is true.
He later stated that he always knew the pandemic was coming.
The second statement is true.
References:
https://news.yahoo.com/virus-outbreak-cascade-warnings-went-193648556.html
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-administration-ran-simulation-virus-192624518.html
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/03/19/trump-claiming-he-knew-pandemic-was-coming-is-actually-worse-its-malpractice-if-true-msnbc-host-says.html
https://news.yahoo.com/virus-outbreak-cascade-warnings-went-193648556.html
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-administration-ran-simulation-virus-192624518.html
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/03/19/trump-claiming-he-knew-pandemic-was-coming-is-actually-worse-its-malpractice-if-true-msnbc-host-says.html
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