I would have never imagined in 2016, that when I was working on the 2020 blog, I would have a post about pandemic response. In 2016, that was a game or a movie, certainly not a reality going on 6 months of a complete shift in our way of life. And, we hear all the time, “Who would have ever seen this coming?”
Well, a lot of people actually. Dr. Michael Osterholm, for one, literally wrote the book about it. In 2018, an official from the White House office in charge of pandemic response was quoted as saying, “The threat of pandemic flu is the No. 1 health security concern. Are we ready to respond? I fear the answer is no.” He said that the day before his office was shut down.
He was a part of the Global Health Security and Biodefense unit which was established in 2015 by Obama’s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice. This was the unit responsible for pandemic preparedness and was created in response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak. It was created to prepare for the next disease outbreak and prevent it from becoming an epidemic or a pandemic. In May of 2018, the team was disbanded and some members were moved to other departments.
History will tell how Trump will be remembered in response to his coronavirus response. If you want to see a timeline of incompetencies leading to the death of 200,000 Americans and counting, click here. If you want justification on how the United States contributes 21% of the global death toll while representing only 4% of the population and how that’s a success story, click here.
But, for anyone saying, “Who’s to say Joe Biden would have done any better?” I offer you the experience of other developed nations. In the United States, a person is 8 times more likely to die from coronavirus than Europeans. COVID is now the third-leading cause of death in the United States. Given the complete lack of leadership at the federal level, the promotion of misinformation, and the rejection of science in favor of making a fickle economy look strong, people have needlessly died.
So, what would Joe Biden have done differently? Here are where the candidates stand. If a candidate has a plan (spoiler alert: Joe Biden is the only one who ever has a plan), it is linked to their name.
Biden’s Record:
Led an effective response to the 2009 H1N1 epidemic
Led an effective response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic
Led the US out of the Great Recession
Biden’s Proposals:
Put scientists and public health officials front and center in the communication by immediately establishing daily, expert-led health briefings.
Ensure the public health decisions are made by public health professionals.
Restore the White House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense (on this point and writing about it)
Make coronavirus testing widely available and free, prioritizing first responders and health care workers
Establish at least 10 mobile testing sites and drive through facilities in each state to get testing per day in the millions
Provide a daily public White House report on how many tests have been done
Task all federal agencies to take immediate action to ensure that hospital capacity meets need
Protect health care workers, first responders, assisted living staff, and other frontline workers with proper PPE
Accelerate the development of treatment and vaccines
Work with businesses to expand development of PPE
Eliminating cost barriers for prevention and treatment of COVID-19
Provide guaranteed emergency paid sick leave and care-giving leave
Reimbursement to employers for sick leave
Federal assistance to hard hit families
Support for childcare and remote student learning
Mortgage and rental relief
Interest free loans for small businesses
Making the economy more resilient for future crises
Mobilizing an international response
Fully staff all federal agencies, task forces, and scientific and economic advisory groups focused on health security
Donald Trump:
Trump’s Record: I can’t even. See above.
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