Year: 2020
Ready or Not: 2020 PROTECTING THE PUBLIC’S HEALTH FROM DISEASES, DISASTERS, AND BIOTERRORISM ISSUE
The National Health Security Preparedness Index (NHSPI) is a joint initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Colorado. TFAH wishes to recognize and thank Glen Mays and Michael Childress of the NHSPI for their collaboration and expertise as well as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for its continued funding support. Ready or Not and the NHSPI, are complementary projects that work together to measure and improve the country’s health security and emergency preparedness. TFAH looks forward to a continued partnership.
This came out in Mid-February – before the present situation really hit the headlines.
The Media Fail Miserably at Coronavirus Coverage | American Council on Science and Health
https://www.acsh.org/news/2020/02/21/media-fail-miserably-coronavirus-coverage-14587
This is just so right on! The “Media” and some politicians are going to be responsible for the upcoming panic and not the facts.
Why Do Politicians Shift The Responsibility To Someone Else?
“Health care and housing can no longer be divorced. After all, what’s more fundamental to a person’s well-being than a roof over their head?” Newsom said. “Doctors should be able to write prescriptions for housing the same way they do for insulin and antibiotics. Why not? (1)
Things you learn very quickly about Politicians are as follows:
(1) You don’t have to be “smart” just look “smart”.
(2) Shift responsibility to someone else whenever possible.
(3) Blame someone else whenever possible.
(4) Promise everything to everyone.
(5) Stall, stall and stall.
I’ve met a number of Local, State and Federal politicians during my life and I found out immediately that they almost all are running for re-election. The 5 points listed above (plus others) show how they do it.
(1) The premise that politicians are “Smart”. Examples are everywhere but the one I shook my head at the most was from L.A. City Council President’s solution to the Typhus problem in L.A. “Deploy an Army of Cats” to deal with the rat problem (2). Duh! Fleas!
(2) Shift Responsibility. Gavin Newsom trying to get Doctors to take the responsibility for resolving the homeless problem is a good example of this (1).
(3) Blame someone else whenever possible. Gavin Newsom is a perfect example of this, but far from the only example. Bill de Blasio, following Newsom’s lead, blames Trump for what is going on in New York City – It’s not my fault, it’s Trump’s (3). Unfortunately, it’s not just the homeless problem that shares this point. Mayor Jack Young of Baltimore (where I was a police Officer) states the following ‘I’m not committing the murders’(4) saying that and the other “Leaders” aren’t to blame for what is happening on Baltimore’s Streets. That’s not what all of the “Leadership” training I ever took taught.
(4) Promise everything to everyone. No examples needed just watch the election campaigns
(5) Stall, stall and stall. The homeless problems in California, Washington State, Austin, Texas and elsewhere, have been discussed in the Media for several years now and yet it continues to be debated, lied about, responsibility shifted and some people getting paid large sums of money (taxpayer money) to resolve issues that never get resolved. Recent examples of the unresolved problem continuing:
(5) California homeless flocking to Malibu beaches, dumping sewage |Fox Business – posted 02/19/20,
(6) 7.5 Tons Of Trash Removed In Homeless Camp Clean-Up Along American River Parkway – CBS Sacramento – posted 02/20/20
(7) Activists Say New City Ordinance Will Push Homeless Into Sacramento Neighborhoods – CBS Sacramento – posted 02/24/20
As Danny Westneat writes in “The Seattle Times” (8)
“The politics of our homelessness emergency: ‘Extraordinary measures’ that never seem to come” posted 02/22/20
Until we as voters elected people who actually want to get the job done, the homeless crisis will continue and fester
___________________________________________________________________________
(1) Gavin Newsom mocked for saying doctors ‘should be able to write prescriptions for housing’ like for insulin, antibiotics – posted 02/22/20
By Joseph A. Wulfsohn | Fox News
https://www.foxnews.com/media/gavin-newsom-mocked-for-saying-doctors-should-be-able-to-write-prescriptions-for-housing-like-for-insulin-antibiotics
(2) Los Angeles City Council’s president suggests to deploy ‘army of cats’ to deal with rat situation | Fox News – posted 02/17/19
By Edmund DeMarche | Fox News
Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson shows where carpet has been removed from his office due to vermin infestation at City Hall. (Reed Saxon / AP)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/los-angeles-city-councils-president-suggests-to-deploy-army-of-cats-to-deal-with-rat-situation
(3) Bill de Blasio pins NYC homeless crisis on Washington – posted 12/29/19
FOXBusiness
https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/bill-de-blasio-federal-housing-vouchers-nyc-homeless-crisis
(4) Jack Young, Baltimore mayor, says he’s not to blame for crime rate: ‘I’m not committing the murders’ – Washington Times
– The Washington Times
Thursday, November 14, 2019
https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/nov/14/jack-young-baltimore-mayor-says-hes-not-to-blame-f/
(5) California homeless flocking to Malibu beaches, dumping sewage |Fox Business – posted 02/19/20
FOXBusiness
https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/california-homeless-camps-beaches
(6) 7.5 Tons Of Trash Removed In Homeless Camp Clean-Up Along American River Parkway – CBS Sacramento – posted 02/20/20
https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2020/02/20/rancho-cordova-american-river-parkway-homeless-camp-cleanup/
(7) Activists Say New City Ordinance Will Push Homeless Into Sacramento Neighborhoods – CBS Sacramento – posted 02/24/20
https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2020/02/23/sacramento-homeless-ordinance-levees/
(8) The politics of our homelessness emergency: ‘Extraordinary measures’ that never seem to come – posted 02/22/20
Danny Westneat Seattle Times columnist
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/the-politics-of-our-homelessness- emergency-extraordinary-measures-that-never-seem-to-come/?utm_source=marketingcloud&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TSA _012220203426+Homelessness+emergency+finally+catches+attention+of+Washington+ lawmakers_1_22_2020&utm_term=
Why Study Bat Coronaviruses in China Or Wuhan Anyone?
The one thing I would like to stress is that the Mortality rate (known at this time) for Wuhan (CoviD-19) is LESS than the Mortality for Influenza (Flu) that circles the globe yearly. Do not let the “News” freak you out.
On January 8, 2020, I posted my first blog about this coronavirus: “Wuhan Syndrome. The Next “Spanish Flu”, S.A.R.S or M.E.R.S.?” and this was before it really became bad. I’ve been following it for a while now.
Why Study Bat Coronaviruses in China? Article from Viruses Viruses 2019, 11, 210; doi:10.3390/v11030210 http://www.mdpi.com/journal/viruses
Yi Fan 1,2 , Kai Zhao 1,2, Zheng-Li Shi 1,2 and Peng Zhou 1,2,*
1 CAS Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety,Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China; yifanfs0224@163.com (Y.F.); chiukal@163.com (K.Z.);
zlshi@wh.iov.cn (Z.-L.S.)
2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
* Correspondence: peng.zhou@wh.iov.cn
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A7eb65c1d-c70f-4a0f-893d ab3c07754f71
From the Article:
“Thus, it is highly likely that future SARS- or MERS-like coronavirus outbreaks will originate from bats, and there is an increased probability that this will occur in China. Therefore, the investigation of bat coronaviruses becomes an urgent issue for the detection of early warning signs, which in turn minimizes the impact of such future outbreaks in China. The purpose of the review is to summarize the current knowledge on viral diversity, reservoir hosts, and the geographical distributions of bat coronaviruses in China, and eventually we aim to predict virus hotspots and their cross- species transmission potential.”
This Article from Viruses was published March 2019 – just nine months before the news of the new coronavirus broke.
It must be noted that China is not the only place in which bats are or are considered possible “Reservoirs” for diseases – and not just Coronaviruses. Nipah, Ebola, Rabies, Marburg, Menga, Hendra and H.I.V. are just a few of the other diseases known or believed to come from contact with bats or their droppings. China is unique in the SHEER volumn of people living in close proxinity to each other. Wuhan, the supposed starting place of this disease has 19 MILLION inhabitants. It is the Capital Cityof Hubie Province with a total of 58 MILLION inhabitants. That is a lot of people.
The other consideration is the dietary and sanitation habits of the people in other countries. Here we tend to eat processed foods more with strict sanitation laws governing how such foods are prepared and displayed – in other parts of the world what is frequently called “Bush Meat” is the only option for food or is considered a special treat. Hence, “Bat Soup” as an example:
Is bat soup sold in Wuhan market in China behind Coronavirus outbreak? | The Times of India
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food-news/is-bat-soup-sold-in-wuhan-market-in-china-behind-coronavirus-outbreak/photostory/73579683.cms
“The latest outbreak – the scope of which is still unfolding – has led to calls inside and outside of China for better regulations or even an end to this kind of culinary adventurism. While turtle and boar meat are not uncommon in Chinese restaurants, game meats such as civet cats, snakes or pangolins tend to be considered specialties only in some regions. Their consumption is driven as much by the desire to flaunt wealth as by a mix of superstition and belief about the health benefits of wildlife.”
“This is where you get new and emerging diseases that the human population has never seen before,” said Kevin J. Olival, a biologist and vice president of research with EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit research organisation, who has tracked previous outbreaks.
Above Quotes are from:
In Chinese markets packed with wildlife, a stew of emerging viruses, East Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/in-chinese-markets-packed-with-wildlife-a-stew-of-emerging-viruses?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=STFB&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1580008669
One thing you learn when studying these types of diseases is that pinning down the exact “Reservoir” host or mode of transmission of the disease is frequently never precisely found -suspected, but not nailed down precisely. Some examples of this with CoviD-19:
Snakes could be the original source of the new coronavirus outbreak in China
https://theconversation.com/snakes-could-be-the-original-source-of-the-new-coronavirus-outbreak-in-china-130364?fbclid=IwAR2o-fZuwMfcn4OKYav_CS8hMIUayZu9kUEOD6OxbAD_s9C-wXVUSnhKBzY
or
China scientists identify pangolin as possible coronavirus host, East Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times
The genome sequence of the novel coronavirus strain separated from pangolins in the study was 99 per cent identical to that from infected people, Xinhua reported.PHOTO: REUTERS
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-scientists-identify-pangolin-as-possible-coronavirus-host?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=STFB&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1581073926
or even
Can the coronavirus spread through bathroom pipes? Experts are investigating in Hong Kong
https://www.wtae.com/article/can-the-coronavirus-spread-through-bathroom-pipes-experts-are-investigating-in-hong-kong/30894774
Another major consideration of the current pandemic is how much this is going to cost economically in the long run. Yes, the human toll is going be significant just from the sheer number of those who will get ill. The baseline for Wuhan seems to be between 2-5% mortality rate, lower than the yearly flu mortality rate, but with no vaccine and a high infectious rate, the numbers could be staggering. Economically, this could be the starting point of a world-wide depression.
South Korea ‘all out’ to contain virus outbreak, vows to stabilize market – Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-southkorea-economy-idUSKBN1ZQ2K6?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook
Bad timing: New virus poses threat to fragile world economy：The Asahi Shimbun
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ202001290019.html
Chinese markets plunge as rising virus death toll fuels fears for global growth – Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health/chinese-markets-plunge-as-rising-virus-death-toll-fuels-fears-for-global-growth-idUSKBN1ZX00T?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook
Coronavirus hits trade fairs, conferences – Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-events-factbox-idUSKBN2001CM?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook
Just a few of the financial headlined
Next, I would like to mention the growing “Conspiracy” Theories spreading all over the place. Almost from Day One of the outbreak these theories appeared. The first one I heard was from Anti-vaccine activists claiming it was all a hoax to force people to get an already existing Vaccine for Wuhan disease. Bill and Melinda Gates and their Foundation, which stresses vaccines, were involved in it.
Now, it was a pathogen that “escaped” from a Bioweapons lab in Wuhan”
Chinese Netizens and Expert Suspect Wuhan Bioresearch Lab Is the Source of the Coronavirus
https://www.theepochtimes.com/involvement-of-wuhan-p4-lab-questioned_3230182.html
The Big Wobble : Coronavirus: Day 40: Feb 8th: White House To Investigate Whether 2019-nCoV Was Bio-Engineered: China to round-up ALL suspected coronavirus patients and put them in quarantine camps: ‘Wartime conditions’
https://www.thebigwobble.org/2020/02/coronavirus-day-40-feb-8th-white-house.html?spref=fb
Chinese ambassador calls U.S. senator’s coronavirus weapons research comment “absolutely crazy” – Xinhua | English.news.cn
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-02/10/c_138771920.htm
As you can see, people tend to believe the worst of dictatorships. Add te fact that Westerners really have a hard time understanding not only the mindset of the Chinese Government, but also of individual Chinese Citizens and problems are going to occur.
China spurned CDC offer to send team to help contain coronavirus: US Health Secretary | Fox News
https://www.foxnews.com/health/us-health-officials-on-coronavirus-outbreak
How China Is Working to Quarantine the Truth About the Coronavirus – Defense One
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2020/02/how-china-working-quarantine-truth-about-coronavirus/162985/?oref=defenseone_today_nl
Opinion: Western media should quit racist reporting as China fights epidemic – Xinhua | English.news.cn
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-02/12/c_138777829.htm
and today
Terry Glavin: Why we can’t believe China on coronavirus | Vancouver Sun
https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/glavin-why-we-cant-believe-china-on-coronavirus/wcm/5cd1508a-f115-4b5d-83d2-47381a4b3ee3?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1581537591
I must admit some issues where I wondered why Orientals were so different because of the following
I remember the “incident” in the private pond in Gambrill, Maryland. Someone from Asia, thinking they had medicinal powers to heal the sick, got their hands on some Snakehead Fish. Their plan was to feed their sick relative Snakehead Soup (remember Bat Soup from above?) to treat the illness. The relative recovered before they made the soup, so they released the Non-Native Preditory Fish into a private pond where it thrived. The State of Maryland wound up poisoning the pond to kill everything in it – they were that afraid of Snakeheads getting into Maryland Waters. It killed the pond, but the Snakeheads still got into the ecosystem.
Recently (January 27th) the below incident occurred:
Dulles CBP Intercepts Dead Birds in Passenger Baggage from China | U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The package of pet food from
China consisted of tiny dead birds.
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/dulles-cbp-intercepts-dead-birds-passenger-baggage-china
BABY BIRDS FROM WHO KNOWS WHERE!
Okay enough!
Everyone please keep calm about Wuhan (CoviD-19) coronavirus. This IS NOT the pandemic that’s going to kill everyone. As with everything, the “Press” and governments are making it into a crisis for their own needs and not ours.
Public Health Triage by Doc Wes 