The Trump Administration Has Hindered Our Ability to Effectively Respond to the Coronavirus Epidemi

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[ Blog ] Union of Concerned Scientists
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The Trump Administration Has Hindered Our Ability to Effectively Respond to the Coronavirus Epidemic

https://blog.ucsusa.org/anita-desikan/trump-administration-has-hindered-ability-to-respond-to-coronavirus

Anita Desikan, Research Analyst | February 27, 2020, 9:27 am EDT


This post is a part of a series on COVID-19 and the Coronavirus Pandemic

“At the start of every disaster movie, there is a scientist being ignored.” – 2017 March for Science protest sign

The novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, may be the most intense international public health crisis seen in the last few years. In the coming days, as COVID-19 inches towards becoming a full-on pandemic, it will become more important than ever to listen to the scientists and public health professionals advocating for disease control and prevention measures based on the best available science. But the unfortunate truth is that the Trump Administration has carried out actions that appear to leave the US less prepared to face the threat of this disease.


The current state of play

COVID-19 has been detected in at least 29 countries and has already caused worldwide changes – it has caused stock markets to plummet, disrupted global trade, unsettled worldwide travel, bred conspiracy theories and misinformation, and fostered racist attacks against people of Asian origin. COVID-19 is a hard disease to control, since an infected person on average is spreading the disease to two or three other people; COVID-19 has symptoms that easily resemble other diseases such as the common flu; and asymptomatic people can spread the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is actively preparing for the likelihood that COVID-19 will establish a “foothold in the US.” On Feb 25, officials at the CDC and National Institutes of Health (NIH) told the public to prepare for the “inevitable” spread of the coronavirus within the US, saying that “It’s not a question of if this will happen, but when this will happen, and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses.” On Feb 26, CDC officials confirmed that America’s first case of coronavirus with an unknown origin has occurred in Northern California.
When science is ignored during a public health crisis

Governments around the world should listen to the voices of scientists and public health experts and be cautious with official public statements as they work to control the virus’ spread. Yet there are already some worrying signs that science is being devalued.

The Trump administration’s pattern of sidelining science—including censoring scientific experts, disbanding scientific advisory committees, and suppressing scientific research—has even occurred in times of crisis. For instance, when Hurricane Dorian was barreling towards the Bahamas and US East Coast, federal scientists were repudiated by administration officials for correcting a false assertion by President Trump of the storm’s path.

Twice already President Trump has spread misinformation about COVID-19 which could complicate future efforts to control the disease in the US (he claimed without evidence that it is a seasonal virus that typically “will go away in April” and falsely claimed that “we’re very close to a vaccine”). The Trump administration has established a mandatory quarantine and travel ban for people who recently visited China’s Hubei province, which public health experts say could hinder the ability to treat and monitor people who have been potentially exposed. Also, the Washington Post reported that, while evacuating American citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, the State Department overrode the concerns of CDC officials and allowed 14 people who tested positive for the virus to be on the same airplane as cruise passengers that had tested negative for the virus. CDC officials were so disturbed by these actions they requested that their names be stricken from the news release.


Infectious disease detection and response systems have been compromised...........................................