1/ During a press conference yesterday, President Trump said he is not worried about the spread of coronavirus, because America is “very, very ready for this.” In 2018, @edyong209 looked into whether America is actually prepared for the next pandemic: theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
@edyong209 2/ “Despite advances in antibiotics and vaccines,” @edyong209 wrote, “Homo sapiens is still locked in the same epic battle with viruses and other pathogens that we’ve been fighting since the beginning of our history.” theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
@edyong209 3/ More than half of all human beings live in cities—and in these dense throngs, pathogens can more easily spread. Globalization, especially air travel, compounds that risk. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
@edyong209 4/ “This is a new epoch of disease,” @edyong209 wrote, “when geographic barriers disappear and threats that once would have been local go global.” theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
@edyong209 5/ After talking to a number of experts, @edyong209 found that the United States’ preparedness level is reassuring in some ways, but even more worrying than he’d imagined in others. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
@edyong209 6/ Preparing for an epidemic is hard because health care in the U.S. is so decentralized, @edyong209 reported. Preparation boils down to real people and tangible things: doctors, nurses, hospital wings, supplies, vaccines, budgets, a vote in Congress. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
@edyong209 7/ In addition, diseases are expensive. In response to just 10 cases of Ebola in 2014, the U.S. spent $1.1 billion on domestic preparations, including $119 million on screening and quarantine and more than $1 million on treatment for a trio of patients. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
@edyong209 8/ The U.S. cannot possibly consider itself protected if other nations are not, @edyong209 reported—which is why investments in global health preparedness are extremely important. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
@edyong209 9/ Organizations—such as the CDC and the Public Health Emergency Preparedness program—are integral to these national and international efforts. But these institutions’ budgets and employee rolls have been pruned. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
@edyong209 10/ In 2018, impending budget cuts forced the CDC to scale back its disease-prevention work in more than 30 countries. In the past decade, more than 55,000 jobs have been cut in local health departments in the U.S. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
@edyong209 11/ “At some point,” @edyong209 predicted in 2018, “a new virus will emerge to test Trump’s mettle. What happens then?” theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
@edyong209 12/ Organizing a federal response to an emerging pandemic is harder than one might think, @edyong209 explained: “Perhaps the two most important things a leader can personally provide … are reliable information and a unifying spirit.” theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
@edyong209 13/13 Severe outbreaks can tear communities apart."Trump’s tendency to tweet rashly, delegitimize legitimate sources of information, and readily buy into conspiracy theories could be disastrous,” @edyong209 wrote. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
