Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...17a9b4-3391-11e4-8f02-03c644b2d7d0_story.html


Opinions
The Ebola crisis demands that America act
By Michael Gerson Opinion writer September 4 at 10:38 AM

...The international response is inadequate and disorganized. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations provide ?road maps.? But, according to one infectious disease expert, ?there is no one to implement command, control and communications. No one.? Multiple, uncoordinated organizations are attempting to confront a disease that is out of control. ?They are quibbling over 25 to 30 bed units,? the expert vents. Meanwhile, the WHO has revised its prediction of new Ebola infections upward to 20,000 by year-end. Other models indicate more like 100,000.

Once the growth of an outbreak becomes exponential, the tools normally at the disposal of health officials have limited value. It may require military airlifts just to deliver sufficient rubber gloves, aprons, soap and buckets to highly affected areas. Doctors Without Borders is calling for the deployment of civilian and military medical teams to provide triage centers, field hospitals with isolation wards, mobile diagnostic labs and systems for the management of corpses.

But who will direct and implement such an effort? The WHO is not an emergency response organization; it is known mainly for bureaucracy and infighting. The United Nations has no epidemic response force comparable to its peacekeeping operations (though perhaps it should). It is hard to imagine a coordinated effort on a sufficient scale that is not organized by the United States.

This is what should be happening: The White House should be instructing officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health to come up with an ambitious plan on a blank chalkboard. The Office of Management and Budget should be approaching House Republican leaders with a proposal to fund that plan, and the White House should be cultivating congressional champions for the measure. A continuing resolution to fund the government will be put together this month. If the Obama administration does not act quickly, it will lose its best chance at securing resources until December.

But, so far, there is no ambitious plan. The OMB has not indicated it will ask for additional resources...

 

[mac68DC]

Re: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

Re: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

America is not going to act on a large scale. It is hard to get funding/attention since apparently nobody is going to get on a plane to the United States with Ebola - and even if they did, American doctors and nurses have super power physic abilities to weed out normal fever from Ebola fever. Not to mention that in the united states, you need to vomit directly in someone's mouth to spread the infection.

Ebola is just another African problem.

Until it isn't.

 

[Emily]

Re: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

Re: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

And how will a country that can't get its own act together to provide basic health care to its citizens act to finance these suggestions?

U.S. hospitals in crisis due to drug company rationing of saline - last year's flu season said to be a factor in shortages

 

[Emily]

Re: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

Re: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

I try to check into the background of editorial writers when they hit emotional hot buttons while demanding taxpayer funding. Here is something to think about before getting worked up:

http://mediamatters.org/research/2006/09/22/wash-post-hired-bush-speechwriter-gerson-but-ne/136704

Wash. Post hired Bush speechwriter Gerson but never corrected Gerson's Iraq falsehoods repeated on its editorial page
Research September 22, 2006 4:44 PM EDT ??? SIMON MALOY


The Washington Post has hired Michael Gerson -- who as President Bush's chief speechwriter from 2001-2005 crafted the false and misleading rhetoric the Bush administration used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq -- to be an op-ed columnist. The Post editorial board repeated without question some of that false and misleading rhetoric in its support of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and has passed up several opportunities to re-examine its support of the Bush administration's push for war...

 

[Dallas]

Re: Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

Good point!

 

[MHSC]

Re: Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

Funny, I think he hit the nail on the head. He is highlighting the facts and the pathetic response of those who should have long ago stepped up to the challenge. If that's an emotional hot button to some, GOOD, maybe they will wake up.

 

[Emily]

Re: Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act



And so what is going on? New member Dallas had a post here that I think agreed with my last post and now it is gone.

If someone doesn't like Media Matters, there are conservative sites who are critical of Gerson.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison-tags/michael-gerson/

And his own writings:

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/how-to-save-the-republican-party/

Given the unsustainable path of health-oriented entitlement spending?which threatens to crowd out every other form of federal spending?some party must rise to responsibility.

So Gerson wants to deny his older and poorer fellow citizens health care so he has money to fight the good fight(s) elsewhere?

He is a messenger that brings to my mind a knee-jerk wealth transfer operation to enrich crony contracting firms, NOT a successful operation to improve health anywhere on the face of this earth.

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

The poster Dallas has been identified as a spammer, consequently their post has been removed.

 

[Vibrant62]

Re: Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

I agree with MHSC, and not just the US but EVERY country with any capability must do what they can, and Gerson simply called a spade a spade on this occasion: I dont know that anything else is more important right now.

Also the cost of inaction (in material terms, never mind lives) is going to vastly exceed that of action with huge reprecussions for the global economy. If ebola is not brought under control in Africa, it is a question of time before there are introductions to every country.

From Canada

We considered what might be the economic impact if the Ebola virus arrived in Toronto. While it’s difficult to quantify the precise economic impact, the combination of infectious disease with economic models indicate that an economic growth impact for Toronto in the vicinity of between $500 million and $800 million every quarter the Ebola virus is present in Toronto.

Nationally, the impact would be expected between $700 million and $1.2 billion every quarter. The travel and tourism industry would bear the brunt of the impact losing between $480 million to $820 million nationally every quarter.

While Ebola cases would expect to be low, the economic impacts are potentially significant. Annualized, an outbreak could cost Toronto $3.2 billion and the country $4.8 billion in economic growth.

Paul Smetanin, CEO and President, Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis, Toronto

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/lett...09/04/a_small_price_to_pay_to_stop_ebola.html

I haven't seen an analysis of what it would cost the US econmy yet, but it would be greater by several orders of magnitude. The global economy is fragile enough already.

 

[Vibrant62]

Re: Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

Good questions. In the case of a confirmed case at a place of work, where the individual had been symptomatic, one would expect the entire company to be placed under monitoring for 21 days and quite possibly/probably home isolation, or if high risk or symptomatic i.e fever develops, they would most likely be placed in an isolation center for the duration, until the 21 day incubation period had passed. In such circumstances, offices would be closed until full decontamination had taken place.

Companies should have continuity plans and built in resilience plans, with home working plans to withstand such shutdowns, but many may not.

As for pay etc, I would guess it would depend on individual corporate contractual arrangements with employees.

 

[Emily]

Re: Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

I agree with MHSC, and not just the US but EVERY country with any capability must do what they can, and Gerson simply called a spade a spade on this occasion: I dont know that anything else is more important right now.
...

I think the truth is important and do not think it is in competition with Ebola responses.

More from that editorial:

" We are about to witness a human catastrophe that could destroy large portions of a continent and pose a global threat. And the response of the world, including the United States, is feeble, irresponsible and disrespectful of nature?s lethal perils. "

About to witness? Isn't the current one enough? And I totally reject that the US response has been feeble, irresponsible or disrespectful.

http://globalbiodefense.com/2014/07/15/usamriid-providing-laboratory-support-ebola-outbreak/

...
USAMRIID has been working in the region since 2006, when it began a collaborative project to develop and refine diagnostic tests for the Lassa fever virus endemic to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. As those assays have matured, the scientists have begun to optimize additional tests for a number of emerging diseases.

Because the team was working on disease identification and diagnostics, and had pre-positioned assays in the region, said Schoepp, ?We had people on hand who were already evaluating samples and volunteered to start testing right away when the current Ebola outbreak started.?
- See more at: http://globalbiodefense.com/2014/07...-support-ebola-outbreak/#sthash.8rsXf4QP.dpuf

 

[Vibrant62]

Re: Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

I think the point he is trying to make is more of a 'call to arms'. I.e that if the world does not go on a war footing, now, to combat and defeat this outbreak, then the scale of the problem we are currently seeing will be totally dwarfed by the scale of what will happen next.

Even the US CDC as well as the WHO acknowledges that everyone responded too slowly to the initial outbreak, and failed to grasp quickly enough the magnitude of the problem that was unfolding, and frankly many nations and their governments are still not grasping the magnitude of the threat we all face.

I think it is not meant to knock what has been done, but is trying to highlight that we need to do a great deal more if we are to avert a disaster of biblical proportions.

Gersons article is aimed at the US. If it was a global reach piece, the you could add the UK and every other developed nation to the list, and I would agree with it. It is the gap between understanding and action that has to be breeched if we are to get ahead of this outbreak and stop it before it becomes a global problem. We cant afford to be reactive as the outbreak is moving ahead faster than the measures we are putting in place to contain it.

The WHO has a roadmap to get this under control, but does not have the resources to deliver the plan. National governments have to supply those, and money without people is useless. There are no more 'volounteers' to call upon. Governments have to commit, direct and send people who are appropriately qualified and contractually bound to go. Its the only way this will be brought under control, and it will not burn itself out. That much has already been proven.

 

[Dallas]

Re: Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

Why am I a spammer?

 

[ming]

Re: Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

I would listen to him if he was over there in west Africa fighting it himself. Since he's not, I won't.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

And so what is going on? New member Dallas had a post here that I think agreed with my last post and now it is gone.

If someone doesn't like Media Matters, there are conservative sites who are critical of Gerson.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison-tags/michael-gerson/

And his own writings:

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/how-to-save-the-republican-party/


So Gerson wants to deny his older and poorer fellow citizens health care so he has money to fight the good fight(s) elsewhere?

He is a messenger that brings to my mind a knee-jerk wealth transfer operation to enrich crony contracting firms, NOT a successful operation to improve health anywhere on the face of this earth.

I moved Dallas post back onto the thread from the archives.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

Why am I a spammer?

Frankly, we are always under pressure from various entities trying to join the site to advertise. It is a very time consuming job to keep these people off the site.

At this time with the ebola situation a new round of sellers are trying to join to make posts to sell stuff.

Your account is restored after a temporary pause. Sorry about that.

 

[Lizw]

Re: Opinion: The Ebola crisis demands that America act

Although I completely agree with Gerson that more needs to be done, I'm afraid I see his column as just one more way to insert a political bias into a human emergency. Instead of whining about what hasn't been done yet (with the implied suggestion that it's the fault of the current leadership), he could just as well be using his clout for a more positive call for corporate and governmental assistance. When he starts doing that, I'll give him credit for it. Until then, it looks to me like he anticipates seeing cases in the US and is positioning himself and his cronies to be able to say 'We told you so!'