04-06-2020, 12:36 PM
"The US was not embarrassed at all by SARS. I think both of the last two Administrations - Trump and Obama - had a confidence in the CDC that was unwarranted."
My understanding is The CDC was the #1 Disease Control authority in the world until the current POTUS started weakening it. It was well-funded, highly prioritized, and always led by people with impeccable credentials. Dr. Redfield was not near the most qualified guy to lead it, though I must admit, he's at least a Virologist, as opposed to the OBGYN who led it before him. The CDC has changed directors 4 times in 3 years. Most of them have served more than 3 years each, and most 4+ years over the near 80-year history of the organization.
The CDC was masterful in its handling of Ebola. Let's remind everyone that the CDC was dispatched to Africa to fight Ebola, as part of a pandemic response strategy aimed at helping to fight infectious disease outbreaks where they first occur, to prevent spread to U.S. The current administration eliminated its China response team, (maybe others?) leaving no U.S. CDC capability to address SARS-CoV-2 in China. Maybe if it was still there, it wouldn't have made a difference, but it had no opportunity to make a difference after being eliminated.
I don't know of any instance the CDC ever demonstrated any reason not to trust it until this year. There may be one, but I'm not aware of any. If there is, I'd guess it involved AIDS in the 1980s.
My understanding is The CDC was the #1 Disease Control authority in the world until the current POTUS started weakening it. It was well-funded, highly prioritized, and always led by people with impeccable credentials. Dr. Redfield was not near the most qualified guy to lead it, though I must admit, he's at least a Virologist, as opposed to the OBGYN who led it before him. The CDC has changed directors 4 times in 3 years. Most of them have served more than 3 years each, and most 4+ years over the near 80-year history of the organization.
The CDC was masterful in its handling of Ebola. Let's remind everyone that the CDC was dispatched to Africa to fight Ebola, as part of a pandemic response strategy aimed at helping to fight infectious disease outbreaks where they first occur, to prevent spread to U.S. The current administration eliminated its China response team, (maybe others?) leaving no U.S. CDC capability to address SARS-CoV-2 in China. Maybe if it was still there, it wouldn't have made a difference, but it had no opportunity to make a difference after being eliminated.
I don't know of any instance the CDC ever demonstrated any reason not to trust it until this year. There may be one, but I'm not aware of any. If there is, I'd guess it involved AIDS in the 1980s.