Thread by @kurteichenwald

1. Its almost impossible to keep up with the lies of @GOP @POTUS @seanhannity @RudyGiuliani et al. And it *is* impossible to crack through to the cult. But with them repeating the "Obama delayed on H1N1 (swine flu)" lie over and over, those who care about reality need the facts..

2... The H1N1 or swine flu pandemic lasted started in early . The first case anywhere was found in Mexico on 3/9/09. The new strain was found in US in CA on 4/4/09. A second case, again in CA, found on 4/17/09. (Previous cases from 3/28 & 3/30 were diagnosed 1st as normal flu..

3...and were only confirmed as swine flu on 4/17, three days after the 4/4/09 swab was found by CDC to be a new strain of flu. SO...the first time we know there are a couple of cases in the US of a new strain is on 4/17....

4...On April 25, WHO declared Swine flu a public health emergency of international concern. *The NEXT day* 4/26, Obama Administration declared a public health emergency in the United States. There were FOUR identified cases. It was NINE days after the new strain was identified..

5...and again, one day after WHO declared a public health emergency.

ONE day. Not six months as @POTUS and the @GOP and the propagandists say.

Now, it was NOT declared a national emergency - because under statute, president couldnt call it that. We had about 5 infections in..

6...(if I remember correctly) TWO states. So, the "public health emergency" declaration followed the science: Once WHO called it that, Obama could call it that.

The PHE declaration allowed for a massive response. Here, on the Trump Admin's CDC website, are all the details of...

7...huge response that began in April 2009. (As soon as Trump and his team of liars discover that their own website details this, it will come down, so read it and print it quickly.) cdc.gov/h1n1flu/cdcres…

Testing began almost immediately - as soon as tests went out rapidly....

8...the disease kept spreading - because that is what diseases do - and by October, the situation was bad enough that FEMA needed to get in. Which is why Obama declared a national emergency at that point - given the scope, he had statutory authority and he had a need to expand...

9...the scope of the response.

So what did all of that do? The death rate for H1N1 in USA was .001%. Current death rate for COVID-19 in the US is 300 times that.

So, all in all, when GOP does their typical toddler "whatabout" just say this: "You really know nothing, do you?"