[Genuine Realist]

Of course the WHO wasn't perfect in its response. but FFS, it was pretty freaking obvious how serious the situation was to anyone bothering to pay attention, by the end of January. Those that did were aware of asymptomatic spread in the first week of February, and everyone should have figured it out from what happened on the cruise ships.

The biggest blunder The Who made, IMO, was not advising everyone in the world to wear a face covering. But, can it really be blamed for this? It first and foremost wanted to protect PPE supplies for health workers, so it advised the public not to wear masks, thinking the only alternative were the medical ones. It wasn't until people with a perspective beyond being in the medical field started showing how non-medical face coverings could be quite effective at stopping virus spread, that the call came for face coverings.

Lawsuits against The WHO are absurd.  It would be like trying to sue a fiduciary when the business judgment rule applies.

I'm all for ending the Blame Game, and posted twice about it. But it does seem to me that most of the posters on this thread want to end the Blame Game  . . . against China, so that they can play the domestic Blame Game with more gusto. This seems to me to have polarities reversed. 

Maybe some prescient people could see where this was heading in January. However, throughout December and January the CCP put out systematic dis- and misinformation, including sanctioning concerned doctors in China who tried to give warning, which campaign really fouled up policy considerations in this nation and elsewhere. It wasn't until January 31st that WHO warned of pandemic, and by then it was way, way too late. Even now its data and reports are seriously suspect. I don't think the Italian or Spanish publics are going to forgive that, no matter what happens in the US.

You can think what you want about Trump. But I hope no one is going to misconstrue the actual deplorable record because you want to bash him all the harder. Not good.

[Genuine Realist]

Of course the WHO wasn't perfect in its response. but FFS, it was pretty freaking obvious how serious the situation was to anyone bothering to pay attention, by the end of January. Those that did were aware of asymptomatic spread in the first week of February, and everyone should have figured it out from what happened on the cruise ships.

The biggest blunder The Who made, IMO, was not advising everyone in the world to wear a face covering. But, can it really be blamed for this? It first and foremost wanted to protect PPE supplies for health workers, so it advised the public not to wear masks, thinking the only alternative were the medical ones. It wasn't until people with a perspective beyond being in the medical field started showing how non-medical face coverings could be quite effective at stopping virus spread, that the call came for face coverings.

Lawsuits against The WHO are absurd.  It would be like trying to sue a fiduciary when the business judgment rule applies.

I'm all for ending the Blame Game, and posted twice about it. But it does seem to me that most of the posters on this thread want to end the Blame Game  . . . against China, so that they can play the domestic Blame Game with more gusto. This seems to me to have polarities reversed. 

Maybe some prescient people could see where this was heading in January. However, throughout December and January the CCP put out systematic dis- and misinformation, including sanctioning concerned doctors in China who tried to give warning, which campaign really fouled up policy considerations in this nation and elsewhere. It wasn't until January 31st that WHO warned of pandemic, and by then it was way, way too late. Even now its data and reports are seriously suspect. I don't think the Italian or Spanish publics are going to forgive that, no matter what happens in the US.

You can think what you want about Trump. But I hope no one is going to misconstrue the actual deplorable record because you want to bash him all the harder. Not good.