After decades in politics Joe Biden finally said something that made sense, stating that he advised his family not to travel in enclosed vehicles like planes or trains because of the swine flu pandemic. For that he was muzzled by his boss and had to backtrack from his statement.
As the head of the Center for Disease Control said… um, nothing. There isn’t a head of the CDC yet because after 100 days in office President Obama hasn’t gotten around to appointing one. Since Tom Daschle was found to be a tax cheat there is no director at Health and Human Services either and there is still a vacancy for Surgeon General. A Dream Team will surely be assembled to handle the pandemic perhaps by the time it’s over.
While Mexico City is in lockdown and other countries are putting people on alert we trust the judgment of President Obama who says this is a time for concern but not alarm. Aside from some cities cancelling Cinco de Mayo events the only meaningful thing the U.S. and the World Health Organization has done is rename the Swine Flu to Bad Flu Nasty Type A or some such so as not to offend Jews, Muslims and pigs.
This flu could be a quick event with few fatalities or it could be as bad as the 1918 Spanish Flu that killed more than 10% of the population of some countries and perhaps as many as 100 million people worldwide. The 1918 flu like the current Swine Flu caused its victims to have an overreaction of the immune system which tended to kill mostly the healthy in the age range of 20-40. Surprisingly the people in the prime of life who contracted Spanish Flu were the most likely to die, opposite a regular flu that tends to kill infants and the elderly. Back then the double-whammy of the flu and World War I decimated an entire generation of young adults.
There have been many advances in medicine since the Spanish Flu so the mortality rate of the current flu likely wouldn’t be as high in the United States. Developing countries may not be as fortunate.
Since no one in the administration is giving you direction I’ll take a stab at it. Cliché alert: You should hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Take some steps to protect yourself in case the virus spreads to your area like wear a surgical mask with an N95 rating as the cheaper cloth masks allow air in through the sides. Wash your hands and use hand sanitizer frequently. Never touch your eyes, nose or mouth without cleaning your hands first. Stock up on food in case you have to stay home for an extended period.
The government could have issued the simple warning that Joe Biden gave to his family. They could have closed the Mexican border and barred incoming air travel but didn’t want to cause a panic or further damage the teetering economy. For that the Obama is risking taking ownership of the pandemic the way George W. Bush took the bullet for Hurricane Katrina.
As Obama said, "Closing the border is like shutting the barn door after the horses are already out." The economic impact of a closed border with Mexico makes me shudder. All the WHO and CDC folks have provided plenty of evidence for not closing the border. It really wouldn't make any difference. This is from someone who's great-grandmother was killed by that epidemic in the early 1900s, when her grandfather was 9 months old. Death by flu is capricious...lots of people die every year from other strains, some of them seemingly very healthy young adults. I think taking basic precautions is sensible, but I also think Joe Biden should have checked with the CDC and WHO before he shot his mouth off.
ReplyDeleteOf course I should have known better when I stated Joe Biden said something sensible. He just went home from Washington on the train.
ReplyDeleteI didn't say that the border should be closed because of the flu, although it should be closed to illegal immigrants which is an entirely different issue.
I am saying that there is no blaming the Bush Administration for this issue. If this flu becomes as serious as the 1918 flu this President has shown himself to be woefully ill-prepared. Some nations have restricted travel to and from Mexico and have made other precautions. We've chosen not to go that route not in the interest of saving lives but not to offend Mexicans and not to hurt the economy.
If the flu goes away quietly there is no harm, no foul.
It appears as if you are salivating, just waiting for something (flu? Israeli bombs?) to blame on our new president. The CDC and WHO have not recommended restricting travel, although there are travel warnings in place. What would you suggest should be done to make our country prepared? What should Obama be doing?
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