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White + American appear to have been far more important than doctor: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Leading_Sierra_Leone_doctor_dies_in_Ebola_epidemic http://en.w

White + American appear to have been far more important than doctor: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Leading_Sierra_Leone_doctor_dies_in_Ebola_epidemic http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Leading_Sierra_Leone_doctor_dies... http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/657141-ugandan-doctor-dies-of-ebola-in-liberia.html http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/657141-ugandan-doctor-dies-o... http://www.sjcatholichospital.com/2014/08/03/br-patrick-nshamdze-our-hospital-director-dies-at-52/ http://www.sjcatholichospital.com/2014/08/03/br-patrick-nsha...

hueving 12y ago
Being American is a possible reason because the Americans tend to get more attention in America. White has nothing to do with it though. There is no evidence of that. Get over your hangups.
- victorhooi 12y ago
  It was an American pharmaceutical company. And the CDC was the one coordinating this trial. I think it's perfectly reasonable that they were able to get clearance to use two American citizens as their test subjects. Imagine the outrage if we'd picked two foreigners, and the trial had gone south (it still could, touch wood). Besides, these were two American citizens who flew to Africa to help Ebola victims, risking their lives. I certainly don't begrudge them.
- floody-berry 12y ago
  You might have a point if they were treated in America http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-soon-can-a-vaccine-or-treatment-stop-ebola-in-its-tracks/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-soon-can-a-vaccine-or-treatm... > Last week, several vials of an experimental drug serum called ZMAPP were transported to Liberia from the NIH in an effort to treat two American aid workers with Ebola. Two of the doctors I linked died in Liberia.
  - krschultz 12y ago
    And then the patients were put in a US plane with US staff and flown to a US hospital next to the US CDC, all paid for by a US charity. There they will be monitored by the US trained doctors, meanwhile feeding information back to the US based company that invented the drug, which is manufactured on US soil. This has nothing to do with them being doctors and everything to do with them being American. Sorry, it's not an insane conspiracy, it's just the way the system works. You keep pointing it out - but we all already get it. There is a different standard when it comes to American vs non-Americans in the situation. The important question is whether or not the drug works. Because if it does, you can bet your ass people are going to try and get as much as of it to the affected countries as possible. If we made a stockpile of the wonder drug and withheld it from Africa, then you would have a point. Until then, cross your fingers like the rest of us that this will work.
Shivetya 12y ago
and the fallout if an untested experimental drug, one that has not even reached clinical trials, killed a non white non American... really there is no please your type. damned if we do, damned if we don't. What saddens me, unlike the OP about Doctors getting it, is that far too many are looking to take offense or worse, take offense for someone else who may not actually be offended, for nearly any event which occurs. Two people already volunteering to do work I bet over ninety nine percent of us here would never volunteer to do in a place we would certainly not volunteer to go to took a drug that just as likely could have not even worked, I am more than happy it worked out for them I am betting if allowed the will go back
- nknighthb 12y ago
  > really there is no please your type What "type" would that be, exactly? I agree the deciding factor is that they were white Americans. So obviously you must think I'm of some "type" who would be part of some "fallout" if it had killed a non-white non-American. And you would be 100% wrong. I'll accept your apology now. Actually, scratch that, I won't. I don't want an apology from your type.
  - victorhooi 12y ago
    Gosh, all the crazies crawl our of the woodwork now... Look, unless you have some actual proof, speculating that because they were white, that's why they got it is just conspiracy theory wackiness. The drug company was an American company, perhaps for legal or whatever reasons, they thought it better to test on their own citizens first? And Shivetya has a point - if they had picked some random chump from Africa to use as their guinea pig and things had gone south, I bet there would be a s*itstorm of moral outrage that we'd used those poor foreigners as our test subjects. As others have pointed out, one of the victims was a doctor, the other some type of nursing staff, who flew over to Africa from the US, of their own volition, to help look after Ebola victims. Have you done something like that recently? If I was risking my life every day, to try to help Ebola victims, I'd want to think that I'd at least be covered. I have neither their raw courage or medical skillset, but I tip my hat off to them. I don't think we just begrudge that an American company was ok to use them as guinea pigs for an experimental drug that had never been tested in humans. And hey, look, if these people get cured, maybe they'll head back over to Africa again, to continue helping people.

hueving 12y ago

Being American is a possible reason because the Americans tend to get more attention in America. White has nothing to do with it though. There is no evidence of that. Get over your hangups.

victorhooi 12y ago
It was an American pharmaceutical company. And the CDC was the one coordinating this trial. I think it's perfectly reasonable that they were able to get clearance to use two American citizens as their test subjects. Imagine the outrage if we'd picked two foreigners, and the trial had gone south (it still could, touch wood). Besides, these were two American citizens who flew to Africa to help Ebola victims, risking their lives. I certainly don't begrudge them.
floody-berry 12y ago
You might have a point if they were treated in America http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-soon-can-a-vaccine-or-treatment-stop-ebola-in-its-tracks/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-soon-can-a-vaccine-or-treatm... > Last week, several vials of an experimental drug serum called ZMAPP were transported to Liberia from the NIH in an effort to treat two American aid workers with Ebola. Two of the doctors I linked died in Liberia.
- krschultz 12y ago
  And then the patients were put in a US plane with US staff and flown to a US hospital next to the US CDC, all paid for by a US charity. There they will be monitored by the US trained doctors, meanwhile feeding information back to the US based company that invented the drug, which is manufactured on US soil. This has nothing to do with them being doctors and everything to do with them being American. Sorry, it's not an insane conspiracy, it's just the way the system works. You keep pointing it out - but we all already get it. There is a different standard when it comes to American vs non-Americans in the situation. The important question is whether or not the drug works. Because if it does, you can bet your ass people are going to try and get as much as of it to the affected countries as possible. If we made a stockpile of the wonder drug and withheld it from Africa, then you would have a point. Until then, cross your fingers like the rest of us that this will work.

Shivetya 12y ago

and the fallout if an untested experimental drug, one that has not even reached clinical trials, killed a non white non American... really there is no please your type. damned if we do, damned if we don't. What saddens me, unlike the OP about Doctors getting it, is that far too many are looking to take offense or worse, take offense for someone else who may not actually be offended, for nearly any event which occurs. Two people already volunteering to do work I bet over ninety nine percent of us here would never volunteer to do in a place we would certainly not volunteer to go to took a drug that just as likely could have not even worked, I am more than happy it worked out for them I am betting if allowed the will go back

nknighthb 12y ago
> really there is no please your type What "type" would that be, exactly? I agree the deciding factor is that they were white Americans. So obviously you must think I'm of some "type" who would be part of some "fallout" if it had killed a non-white non-American. And you would be 100% wrong. I'll accept your apology now. Actually, scratch that, I won't. I don't want an apology from your type.
- victorhooi 12y ago
  Gosh, all the crazies crawl our of the woodwork now... Look, unless you have some actual proof, speculating that because they were white, that's why they got it is just conspiracy theory wackiness. The drug company was an American company, perhaps for legal or whatever reasons, they thought it better to test on their own citizens first? And Shivetya has a point - if they had picked some random chump from Africa to use as their guinea pig and things had gone south, I bet there would be a s*itstorm of moral outrage that we'd used those poor foreigners as our test subjects. As others have pointed out, one of the victims was a doctor, the other some type of nursing staff, who flew over to Africa from the US, of their own volition, to help look after Ebola victims. Have you done something like that recently? If I was risking my life every day, to try to help Ebola victims, I'd want to think that I'd at least be covered. I have neither their raw courage or medical skillset, but I tip my hat off to them. I don't think we just begrudge that an American company was ok to use them as guinea pigs for an experimental drug that had never been tested in humans. And hey, look, if these people get cured, maybe they'll head back over to Africa again, to continue helping people.