Profile picture
, 4 tweets, 2 min read
My Authors
Read all threads
The Obama administration’s handling of H1N1 was a model. Prompt response, quick development of a vaccine and then messaging for people to get vaccinated. But Rush Limbaugh and Fox News urged people not to get vaccinated, as did Donald Trump himself.
Here's a piece I did a while back about how Trump as a private citizen impaired the model Obama fight against H191 pandemic: nytimes.com/2020/03/07/opi… Trump likewise did everything he could to mess up the Obama administration's belated but successful efforts against Ebola.
Trump lies when he says Obama bungled H1N1. In fact, Obama declared a public health emergency when there were only 30 cases and no deaths. Anti-virals were released the same day. Two days later, a test was approved by the FDA and Obama asked Congress for money to fight H1N1.
So first H1N1 infection in US was on April 15, 2009. Within 2 1/2 weeks, Obama had declared a public health emergency, approved medication, released a test, asked Congress for funding. A vaccine was ready in five months. Americans are dying because Trump did none of this.
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Enjoying this thread?

Keep Current with Nicholas Kristof

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @NickKristof see all

Profile picture
Nicholas Kristof
@NickKristof
The U.S. may lose about 90,000 Americans to Covid-19 because we did not manage the virus as well as South Korea did. The first wave is estimated to take 93,000 US lives; it took 174 South Koreans (equivalent to 1,100 on a US population). My new column: nyti.ms/2UICv2c
The good news, the experts say, is that we have a toolbox that works: Social distancing is proving effective, and quite quickly. Italy and Iran may be through the worst of the first wave, and Washington State and New Rochelle, NY, both handled outbreaks well and bent the curve.
But the bad news is that once we bend the curve, it springs back once we relax on social distancing and business closures. So long as people lack immunity and a vaccine, normal activities will result in new outbreaks. We may see wave after wave of Covid until we have a vaccine.
Read 4 tweets
Profile picture
Nicholas Kristof
@NickKristof
Early this year I wrote "Who Killed the Knapp Family," about my childhood neighbors who died from "deaths of despair." The lone survivor was Keylan, because he was in prison. Now a wrenching postscript, and a reminder of another pandemic that we must face: nyti.ms/3dCk3j6
Keylan and his siblings were on my No. 6 school bus in Yamhill, Ore. One-fourth of the kids on the bus are now gone from drugs, alcohol, suicide. Nationally, we lose more Americans every 2 weeks from those causes than died in 18 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This is a pandemic of despair and loneliness that preceded #COVID19 and risks being magnified by it. Washington this week showed great urgency in addressing Covid, but it still hasn't seriously tried to address the ongoing catastrophe afflicting so many working class Americans.
Read 10 tweets
Profile picture
Nicholas Kristof
@NickKristof
Pres. Trump wants to reopen America and fill the churches on Easter. Working with two epidemiologists, @DFisman and @AshTuite, @stuartathompson and I built an interactive model to show the disaster that would ensue. Try it: nyti.ms/33PWU8u (You, too, Mr. President!)
Instead of stopping by Easter, health experts advise giving social distancing a month to slow the pandemic, buying time to roll out mass testing and equip doctors. Then we can see where we are and think about easing in some places.
"Anyone advising the end of social distancing now needs to fully understand what the country will look like if we do that,” @T_Inglesby told us. “Covid would spread widely, rapidly, terribly, and could kill potentially millions in the year ahead.”
Read 13 tweets

Embed code for your website

×
Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!