4 ms·

It's exponentially easier to respond to an outbreak the earlier you act, but our early response was hamstrung by the CDC and FDA (and complete apathy from the w

by nohat 7y ago

It's exponentially easier to respond to an outbreak the earlier you act, but our early response was hamstrung by the CDC and FDA (and complete apathy from the white house). We could have slowed or halted this in the early stages with better testing. At the least it would have confirmed how much community spread there already was and hopefully prodded the gov, states, and businesses into action sooner. Time matters. I wonder how many people the FDA killed by blocking local tests?

grey-area 7y ago
This lacklustre response is still going on, the federal government simply isn’t taking this seriously. Trump saying things will open up in just a few weeks and it’s important to restart the economy will cost thousands of lives by encouraging states not to lock down. Full lock down is now the only way out, and as it has spread, that will take months. Testing needs to massively ramp up too. 2000 people died in one day today globally from this, deaths have doubled in about five days and are growing exponentially.
- munk-a 7y ago
  Suggesting a resumption of normal work and not calling for more laggardly states to get their acts in order has been immensely irresponsible. Additionally he's reaffirmed the benefits of Plaquenil/Chloroquinine and already one self-medicator has died from improvising a supply[1]. Don't expect the federal government to start acting intelligently anytime soon. 1. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-attempt-prevent-coronavirus-n1167166 https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/man-dies-after-in...
- nohat 7y ago
  Yes, its infuriating but hardly surprising. This is what happens when you don't have a responsible adult in charge during a crisis. The economy does matter, but the longer we wait, the longer we'll have to endure a crippling lockdown. So far some governors have filled in for the missing executive function of this country. Unfortunately that's localized and states simply cannot apply the same level of resources or coordination that the federal government can.
  - jeremyjh 7y ago
    All we can hope for from the federal government is that they keep the checkbook open. It would be nice if they would stop dispensing such terrible misinformation but I don't really think that's realistic.
    - jschwartzi 7y ago
      They're not. Trump authorized disaster counseling in Washington but has so far not done anything else. Inslee asked him to authorize the full gamut of disaster relief services including food distribution and unemployment benefits almost a week ago. You'd think if Trump were taking this seriously he would actually authorize federal disaster relief. I fear this is going to be a repeat of Katrina but in Washington instead of Louisiana. The Senate and House have also failed to provide any relief bills that do anything but prop up the economy. Specifically they aren't authorizing the purchase of any medical equipment or supplies to support people through this emergency, but they're perfectly happy to make sure major corporations have enough money to wait out the period while we're all dying.
  - AlexCoventry 7y ago
    Michael Lewis wrote a whole book about potential scenarios like this which could arise from lack of capable executive leadership. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifth_Risk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifth_Risk
- 013a 7y ago
  There is a very real, if hidden, cost to economic suppression, especially in the United States where social safety nets are few and far between. There's a line in the Big Short: "Whenever unemployment drops 1%, 40,000 people die". Surprisingly; this is more or less true, not movie drama. Its obviously difficult to draw causation between these two things, but there is causation. People have reduced access to healthcare. They have anxiety and depression from staying inside and being unable to socialize. They aren't working out as much. They can't take care of their family. Let me present you this: People need N95 masks. Thank goodness, 3M is now churning out millions of them. But, wait... 3M is a company, but its staffed with people. So, those people need to go back to work, right? Those people need to drive to work, so they need gas stations, maybe even car maintenance. They need food, so supermarkets and restaurants need to stay open. Apply the same to people working in pharma factories, or our heroic healthcare workers, or many other industries. The United States does not have a system that can stop. Some countries are built to be more resilient to stopping, and can do so over short periods of time. The United States is not one of them. If we don't get the economy started again, soon, people will die because we stopped the economy. Its a catch-22. There is no right way out, except to, hopefully, be more prepared and cautious the next time this comes around. But that doesn't help us today.
  - jeremyjh 7y ago
    > Let me present you this: People need N95 masks. Thank goodness, 3M is now churning out millions of them. But, wait... 3M is a company, but its staffed with people. So, those people need to go back to work, right? Those people need to drive to work, so they need gas stations Please find me a state in this country where gas stations and supermarkets have been closed, or a PPE factory that has been shuttered. Everyone knows that there are important things that can't be turned off. It hasn't been turned off, anywhere. That isn't what people are arguing about. Trump wants people to go sit in movie theaters or fly somewhere and stay in one of his hotels.
  - nicoburns 7y ago
    > especially in the United States where social safety nets are few and far between. These things can change. The UK has suddenly grown a safety net that covers 80% of income for people who aren't working due to the coronavirus. We've also taken the railway network into public ownership overnight. Both of which would have been unthinkable 3 months ago. It's also possible to keep essential businesses open while shutting everything else. Most things are shutdown here, and... for the most part it doesn't make a lot of difference. I can still get food and petrol. I don't really need anything else.

by nohat 7y ago

grey-area 7y ago

This lacklustre response is still going on, the federal government simply isn’t taking this seriously. Trump saying things will open up in just a few weeks and it’s important to restart the economy will cost thousands of lives by encouraging states not to lock down. Full lock down is now the only way out, and as it has spread, that will take months. Testing needs to massively ramp up too. 2000 people died in one day today globally from this, deaths have doubled in about five days and are growing exponentially.

munk-a 7y ago
Suggesting a resumption of normal work and not calling for more laggardly states to get their acts in order has been immensely irresponsible. Additionally he's reaffirmed the benefits of Plaquenil/Chloroquinine and already one self-medicator has died from improvising a supply[1]. Don't expect the federal government to start acting intelligently anytime soon. 1. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-attempt-prevent-coronavirus-n1167166 https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/man-dies-after-in...
nohat 7y ago
Yes, its infuriating but hardly surprising. This is what happens when you don't have a responsible adult in charge during a crisis. The economy does matter, but the longer we wait, the longer we'll have to endure a crippling lockdown. So far some governors have filled in for the missing executive function of this country. Unfortunately that's localized and states simply cannot apply the same level of resources or coordination that the federal government can.
- jeremyjh 7y ago
  All we can hope for from the federal government is that they keep the checkbook open. It would be nice if they would stop dispensing such terrible misinformation but I don't really think that's realistic.
  - jschwartzi 7y ago
    They're not. Trump authorized disaster counseling in Washington but has so far not done anything else. Inslee asked him to authorize the full gamut of disaster relief services including food distribution and unemployment benefits almost a week ago. You'd think if Trump were taking this seriously he would actually authorize federal disaster relief. I fear this is going to be a repeat of Katrina but in Washington instead of Louisiana. The Senate and House have also failed to provide any relief bills that do anything but prop up the economy. Specifically they aren't authorizing the purchase of any medical equipment or supplies to support people through this emergency, but they're perfectly happy to make sure major corporations have enough money to wait out the period while we're all dying.
- AlexCoventry 7y ago
  Michael Lewis wrote a whole book about potential scenarios like this which could arise from lack of capable executive leadership. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifth_Risk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifth_Risk
013a 7y ago
There is a very real, if hidden, cost to economic suppression, especially in the United States where social safety nets are few and far between. There's a line in the Big Short: "Whenever unemployment drops 1%, 40,000 people die". Surprisingly; this is more or less true, not movie drama. Its obviously difficult to draw causation between these two things, but there is causation. People have reduced access to healthcare. They have anxiety and depression from staying inside and being unable to socialize. They aren't working out as much. They can't take care of their family. Let me present you this: People need N95 masks. Thank goodness, 3M is now churning out millions of them. But, wait... 3M is a company, but its staffed with people. So, those people need to go back to work, right? Those people need to drive to work, so they need gas stations, maybe even car maintenance. They need food, so supermarkets and restaurants need to stay open. Apply the same to people working in pharma factories, or our heroic healthcare workers, or many other industries. The United States does not have a system that can stop. Some countries are built to be more resilient to stopping, and can do so over short periods of time. The United States is not one of them. If we don't get the economy started again, soon, people will die because we stopped the economy. Its a catch-22. There is no right way out, except to, hopefully, be more prepared and cautious the next time this comes around. But that doesn't help us today.
- jeremyjh 7y ago
  > Let me present you this: People need N95 masks. Thank goodness, 3M is now churning out millions of them. But, wait... 3M is a company, but its staffed with people. So, those people need to go back to work, right? Those people need to drive to work, so they need gas stations Please find me a state in this country where gas stations and supermarkets have been closed, or a PPE factory that has been shuttered. Everyone knows that there are important things that can't be turned off. It hasn't been turned off, anywhere. That isn't what people are arguing about. Trump wants people to go sit in movie theaters or fly somewhere and stay in one of his hotels.
- nicoburns 7y ago
  > especially in the United States where social safety nets are few and far between. These things can change. The UK has suddenly grown a safety net that covers 80% of income for people who aren't working due to the coronavirus. We've also taken the railway network into public ownership overnight. Both of which would have been unthinkable 3 months ago. It's also possible to keep essential businesses open while shutting everything else. Most things are shutdown here, and... for the most part it doesn't make a lot of difference. I can still get food and petrol. I don't really need anything else.