The Incompetency of this man comes to light in a potentially catastrophic period. He instills fear rather than confidence.
“White House Moves To Screen Scientists’ Statements On Coronavirus
As fears grow of a politicized White House response to the coronavirus outbreak, the White House has placed Vice President Mike Pence in charge of messaging about the virus, the New York Times reported Thursday.”
“Pence, who Trump said Wednesday night would be the White House point person on the outbreak, will clear public health officials’ statements on the virus, the Times reported citing several unnamed people familiar with the matter.”
Not to worry, The Reverend Henry Kane from Indiana takes charge.
“White House Reportedly Ordered Infectious Disease Chief ‘Not to Say Anything’ About Coronavirus Without Clearance”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has told associates that he has received directions from the White House “not to say anything else without clearance” about the potential coronavirus pandemic.
Writing for the Times, Michael Scherer and Maggie Haberman report about recent efforts by the Trump administration to “tighten control of coronavirus messaging by government health officials and scientists, directing them to clear all statements and public appearance with the office of Vice President Mike Pence, according to several officials familiar with the new approach.”
“Early missteps and state secrecy in China probably allowed the coronavirus to spread farther and faster”
“An analysis of those early weeks — from official statements, leaked accounts from Chinese medical professionals, newly released scientific data and interviews with public health officials and infectious disease experts — reveals potential missteps by China’s overburdened public health officials.”
In my mind, there is no doubt this happened in China. Since the White House is more worried about markets than the spread of this contagion, it will spread rapidly with little to contain it. It will be months before an adequate vaccine is found.
“President’s budget would hinder US public health progress: Huge cuts proposed“.
The Nation’s Health: “Trump released his fiscal year 2020 federal budget proposal in March, recommending huge cuts across the federal government, including a 12 percent cut to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a 10 percent cut for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At CDC, a reduction of that magnitude equates to a $750 million spending cut over fiscal year 2019. APHA member John Auerbach, MBA, president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, said the proposed CDC cuts not only threaten federal public health capacity, they would have a “devastating” impact on state and local public health departments, which depend heavily on CDC dollars flowing down to the community level.
“Auerbach told The Nation’s Health. “Local health departments are still down more than 50,000 jobs from where they were in 2008. If large cuts like these were passed, it would seriously harm the overall capacity of state and local public health departments to respond.”
“Donald Trump Is Worried About . . . The Stock Market!”
“Trump is highly concerned about the market and has encouraged aides not to give predictions that might cause further tremors….In a Twitter post, he misspelled the word ‘coronavirus’ as ‘caronavirus’ and wrote that two cable news stations “are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible. Likewise their incompetent Do Nothing Democrat comrades are all talk, no action. USA in great shape!”
As far as the markets, I would be concerned with the China supply chain to the US. At most there is 5-weeks, three on the ocean and a week on each side getting board ship, unloading, and customs. Perhaps companies will have 2 -4 weeks in stock already. We are two-3 weeks into this. China plants are more than likely closed or are half-staffed. Ships woill not call on Chinese ports till the crisis is over or is pronounced safe. The Chinese have fumbled the ball initially by not declaring an emergency sooner. While the epidemic started in a Wuhan fish market, it is now believed the virus originated elsewhere.
