2018 article details how @realDonaldTrump gutted US preparedness for #coronavirus and put us & the world at risk.
It's one of the lynchpins of why there will be so much suffering & unnecessary deaths.
(thread)
#COVID19
#ncovid
#TrumpLiesAboutCoronavirus
washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-h…
It's one of the lynchpins of why there will be so much suffering & unnecessary deaths.
(thread)
#COVID19
#ncovid
#TrumpLiesAboutCoronavirus
washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-h…
"top White House official responsible for leading the U.S. response in the event of a deadly #pandemic has left the administration, and the global health security team he oversaw has been disbanded under a reorganization by national security adviser John Bolton."
(from 2018)
(from 2018)
"#TimothyZeimer ’s departure, along with the breakup of his team, comes at a time when many experts say the country is already underprepared for the increasing risks of a #pandemic"
(this was in 2018)
(this was in 2018)
"#TimothyZeimer is a well-respected public health leader...an individual familiar with the specifics behind the reorganization said 'he was basically pushed out. He struggled to preserve himself and the integrity of his team, and he failed.'"
(this was in 2018)
(this was in 2018)
#TimothyZeimer, senior director of global health security and biodefense, "is not being replaced."
(this was in 2018)
(this was in 2018)
"His exit comes against the backdrop of other administration actions critics say have weakened health security preparedness, including dwindling financing for early preventive action against infectious disease threats abroad."
(this was in 2018)
(this was in 2018)
“Health security is very fragmented, with many different agencies,” said @MorrisonCSIS, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It means coordination and direction from the White House is terribly important.”
(this was in 2018)
(this was in 2018)
"This week, the administration released a list of $15 billion in spending cuts it wants Congress to approve. Among the targets is $252 million in unused funds remaining from the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people"
(this was in 2018)
(this was in 2018)
"The White House proposal 'is threatening to claw back funding whose precise purpose is to help the United States be able to respond quickly in the event of a crisis,' said @creynoldsdc, a vice president at PATH, a global health technology nonprofit."
(this was in 2018)
(this was in 2018)
"Collectively, warns @JeremyKonyndyk, who led foreign disaster assistance at the U.S. Agency for Int'l Development during the Obama admin, “What this all adds up to is a potentially really concerning rollback of progress on U.S. health security preparedness.”
(this was in 2018)
(this was in 2018)
“It seems to actively unlearn the lessons we learned through very hard experience over the last 15 years,” said @JeremyKonyndyk, now a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development. “These moves make us materially less safe. It’s inexplicable.”
(this was in 2018)
(this was in 2018)
“The threat of pandemic flu is the number one health security concern,” @llborio told the audience. “Are we ready to respond? I fear the answer is no.”
(this was in 2018)
(this was in 2018)
From February 26, 2020, the perspective on how this has destabilized our ability to have as effective a response as we could-- and should-- have.
Watch the interview with @JeremyKonyndyk embedded in the article.
It's chilling.
#COVID19
#ncovid
nbcnews.com/health/health-…
Watch the interview with @JeremyKonyndyk embedded in the article.
It's chilling.
#COVID19
#ncovid
nbcnews.com/health/health-…
Note that the 2018 article states that experts said we were "already underprepared" for a #pandemic PRIOR to Trump's breakup of the global health sec & #biodefense team.
It's been two years since a coordinated team to protect us was dismantled.
Where are we now?
#COVID19
It's been two years since a coordinated team to protect us was dismantled.
Where are we now?
#COVID19
Huge thanks to @Basquerading for exposing me to the 2018 WaPo article.
Current articles about this enjoy the benefit of hindsight, but to have a contemporaneous source that outlines experts' outcries from two years ago offers a more insightful perspective.
💚!
Current articles about this enjoy the benefit of hindsight, but to have a contemporaneous source that outlines experts' outcries from two years ago offers a more insightful perspective.
💚!
