Under Pressure, Cuomo Says Ebola Quarantines Can Be Spent at Home

Source: The New York Times

The announcement by Mr. Cuomo seemed intended to draw a sharp contrast — both in tone and in fact — to the policy’s implementation in New Jersey, where a nurse from Maine who arrived on Friday from Sierra Leone was swiftly quarantined in a tent set up inside a Newark hospital, with a portable toilet but with no shower.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/nyregion/ebola-quarantine.html

See? I told you so. By not letting NSA proceed with the implants, how will we ever track Ebola?

Snowdenistas ruined everything. Now Ebola is out of control in the US.

I just pray they aren't discouraging children from reporting their parents fever or other unpatriotic activities to the proper authorities.

If there is a god, god bless nurses who come back to America to live in tents.

Nurses are taking one for the team after CDC's Frieden fucked them over. Once, twice, three times.

Meanwhile, Frieden, who should have been IMMEDIATELY dismissed after his fuck up is still gainfully employed.

The media spewed his bullshit for days and days. The damage is done. And as a result of Frieden's historic ass covering, nurses are being viewed as threats and kept in tents.

Yet, even after Obama refused to hold his CDC Director accountable, they'll probably still go out and vote for Democrats. That's how bleak the political options are for working men and women in America.

At least the Democratic National Committee will repay them with a fight for better wages and working conditions and better health care benefits and a better health care system, one that puts health outcomes above profit margins.

And at least Hillary is there for them. Fighting for the little guy! Brave enough to stand up for women's rights even when it's associated with something unpleasant like Ferguson, or Ebola.

Right?

Oh, wait, it's an election season. And this is a bit unpleasant and she's busy.

More behavior to be considerably less than proud of from our Party's GOTV leadership

The difference between Democrats and Republicans is simple

How do you feel about the following statement:

"I support Government programs that secretly monitor my internet activity, email, medical history, purchases and phone calls and those of my children, grandchildren, parents, friends and neighbors because only bad people have anything to fear."

What should we give up next in an effort to save the Democratic Party?

Being a Democrat today isn’t easy. It means accepting the following core values aggressively defended by the Democratic National Committee. This isn’t an exhaustive list of core values, but it hits the lowlights of the new Democratic Party. Clearly, we’ve regressed a bit over time when it comes to looking out for the little guy.

Value 1. Citizen surveillance without probable cause including permanent retention and analysis of your internet activity, credit card transactions, medical records, recorded phone calls. “Tough on Terror”.

Value 2. Trade agreements sending millions of jobs to Asia while importing as many as a million H1B workers from Asia. Trillions of dollars of technology training are supporting the middle class of Mexico, India and communist China, all with horrible human rights and worker abuses. Meanwhile, poverty is near record highs and wages in the US have barely budged since 1970s. http://www.computerworld.com/article/2837426/ibms-chip-business-sale-gets-national-security-scrutiny.html “Promoting Free Markets”.

Value 3. Fracking, deep water drilling and drilling in environmentally sensitive areas while letting the industry regulate itself much like the banking industry regulates itself. “Solving the Energy Crisis”.

Value 4. Corporate welfare as THE primary consideration in the formation of public policy. Wealthy CEOs, such as Bill Gates, have exceptional qualifications in the areas of public education. Individuals who have spent their lives looking out for their own best interests are the best individuals to develop public policy. “Economic Development”.

Value 5. Protest is unacceptable. Protests such as Occupy Wall Street, Iraq War, Wisconsin and Ferguson, are rude and make wealthy people very uncomfortable. However, it is OK to use images of 1960’s era MLK marches for the purposes of soliciting money. “Moderate”.

Value 6. Justice has 20/20 vision. Corporations, the wealthy and the politically connected class may choose to pay a fine to avoid the inconvenience of a criminal prosecution. Individuals from lower classes should bear the full weight of justice for their crimes. Privatization of our penal system is the best way to handle prison overcrowding. http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-brilliant-life-and-tragic-death-of-aaron-swartz-20130215?page=4 “Tough on Crime”.

Value 7. Torture, lying to Congress or lying to citizens by government officials or agencies can be dismissed as patriotic folks just doing their jobs too well. “Defending Patriotism”.

Value 8. Israel. Taxpayer supported slaughter as a means to control dissent from a minority population under siege is the best way to insure our long term interests in the Middle East. “Foreign Policy”.

CDC’s Frieden Reportedly in Good Condition after Brief Encounter with Ebola

Atlanta -- Surrounded with flowers and cards from tens of supporters, CDC Director Tom Frieden joked with reporters and smiled for cameras as he recounted his terrifying encounter with Ebola, “You simply cannot predict these things, it came out of nowhere.” Frieden praised the staff who attended to his needs after his brief encounter, “I am very appreciative of the friends who nursed me back to health during this difficult time. “

In its most dangerous phase, Ebola causes senior level executives to expel large amounts of bovine waste products from their bodies. Highly contagious, the disease is spread primarily through oral transmission.

Moving forward, Dr. Frieden vowed to hold someone else accountable. “Protocols were violated and rules were broken, we won’t rest until we find innocent victims and hold them responsible.”

Citing good progress handling the disease, Mr. Frieden said officials are experimenting with new measures including a 100% secrecy clause to prevent Ebola from infecting the nation’s most vulnerable health care executives.

Meanwhile, Dallas is moving aggressively against the disease. A spokesperson for the Dallas County prosecutor’s office vowed to continue prosecution against Mr. Duncan, now dead, for violating a little known Texas protocol against getting sick while African.

In Washington, after consulting with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services and the acting US Surgeon General, President Obama determined that the US lacked the necessary number of administrators to safely contain the single case of Ebola that arrived in the US. Ron Klain was appointed the position of Ebola czar, leveraging his experience managing awkward political situations.

In a statement released by the White House, President Obama said “Americans understand that victory against Ebola will not be quick. This war will not come without sacrifice. American exceptionalism will prevail. American workers proudly pay the highest medical expenses for the fewest benefits in the world. But we need even more. Together, we can win this thing. “

Obama can gain credibility as a leader by firing CDC Director Tom Frieden.

If we know anything about President Obama, we know of his stubborn defense of our largest and most corrupt institutions. Banking, oil, intelligence, health care and insurance, our largest industries and agencies have become sheltered from justice and accountability even after irreparably damaging the general public’s trust.

As if on schedule, the latest pandemic of regulatory incompetence has hit the CDC:

1. CDC Director Tom Frieden’s guidelines advise that people who have developed symptoms after arriving from W. Africa to “call a doctor”. Someone from W. Africa arriving in the US cannot just pick up the phone and call a doctor. At best, they will go to an emergency room or urgent care, risking exposure to patients and staff. Instead, they should have a 1-800 number for on-site triage or moved to a center equipped to handle this disease. Expensive? No. What’s happening now is expensive.

2. Frieden has told the public that “every hospital in America” is equipped to handle this disease. In truth, there are only a handful of centers equipped to handle this disease.

3. Frieden’s first response upon learning of Nina Pham’s infection was to blame her for violating protocol. Subsequently, we learn there was no protocol. Nurses were covering their bodies with surgical tape. The CDC didn’t even have someone on site to assess treatment, protocols, etc. Frieden’s arrogance pissed off the entire US population of underpaid and overworked nurses already stressed out by a system that puts profits above human lives.

4. Deja vu. Frieden’s first response of learning a second nurse’s infection was to accuse her of violating protocol by traveling. Subsequently, we learn she contacted the CDC and was cleared to travel with onset of fever. It shouldn’t be a surprise if every nurse in America goes on strike.

There’s more, but this is enough to declare a trend of incompetence.

Obama’s detractors don’t need more ammunition; and we don’t need another Federal agency obstructing the transparency desperately needed for a successful democracy.

Obama has choices, he can be perceived as a weak leader putting the public at risk or he can immediately fire Tom Frieden. With elections around the corner, leaving Frieden in place is a huge miscalculation.

Given how conservative the Democratic Party has become, maybe she voted for the

Green Party?

CNN actually did some real journalism on ebola and public health policy

First, we have a Dallas prosecutor threatening to arrest Thomas Duncan for being sick while black.

Then, poor Nina Pham is being attacked for "a breach of protocol ". Goddamn it, could you be more insulting to our underpaid, overworked nursing staff? These people are real-life heroes!

Perhaps CNN got to a bit closer to the truth and our collective responsibility to make sure our government is motivated by public heath rather than protecting the profit margins of our health care industry.

When I read the steps below, disturbingly obvious, it was with profound sadness that we are so poorly prepared for something like this. In our own lifetimes we may witness a post antibiotic world where infections no longer respond to standard treatment. We are not prepared in the least. Just replace "ebola" with "infectious disease".

We Need to Stop Scapegoating!

If there is blame, it isn't Thomas Duncan or Nina Pham. It is the arrogance of something known as American exceptionalism. It's the same thing that keeps fueling our idiotic wars, drug violence, gun violence, poverty and debt. We lavish all of America's resources on the rich at the expense of the broader good, then blame those least able to defend themselves when the shit hits the fan.

The below is paraphrased from CNN.

Ebola: Five ways the CDC got it wrong
By Elizabeth Cohen, Senior Medical Correspondent
updated 5:03 PM EDT, Mon October 13, 2014

1. The CDC is telling possible Ebola patients to "call a doctor."
When passengers arrive in the United States from Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea, they're handed a flier instructing them to "call a doctor" if they feel ill.

We saw how well that worked at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. On September 25, the hospital sent a feverish Thomas Eric Duncan home even though he had told them he'd recently been to Liberia.

One way to do it differently: Set up a toll free number for returning passengers that would reach a centralized office, which would then dispatch a local ambulance to get the patient to a hospital.

The hospital would be warned that a possible Ebola patient is on the way, and the patient would not be brought through the main emergency room.

That's the idea of Gavin Macgregor-Skinner, an assistant professor at Penn State's Department of Public Health Sciences.

2. The CDC director says any hospital can care for Ebola patients.
"I think it's very unfortunate that he keeps re-stating that," said Macgregor-Skinner, the global projects manager for the Elizabeth R. Griffin Foundation.

He said when it comes to handling Ebola, not all hospitals are created equally. As seen at Presbyterian, using protective gear can be tricky. Plus, it's a challenge to handle infectious waste from Ebola patients, such as hospital gowns contaminated with blood or vomit.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, said some hospitals have more experience with infectious diseases and consistently do drills in how to deal with biohazards.

"If you were a burn unit patient, wouldn't you want to go to a burn unit?" he said.

3. The CDC didn't encourage the "buddy system" for doctors and nurses.
Under this system, a doctor or nurse who is about to do a procedure on an Ebola patient has a "buddy," another health care worker, who acts as a safety supervisor, monitoring the worker from the time he puts on the gear until the time he takes it off.

The "buddy system" has been effective in stopping other kinds of infections in hospitals.

4. CDC didn't encourage doctors to develop Ebola treatment guidelines.
At Sunday's press conference, Frieden hinted that Presbyterian might have performed two measures -- inserting a breathing tube and giving kidney dialysis -- that were unlikely to help Duncan. He described them as a "desperate measure" to save his life.

"Both of those procedures may spread contaminated materials and are considered high-risk procedures," he said. "I'm not familiar with any prior patient with Ebola who has undergone either intubation or dialysis."

Osterholm said CDC should coordinate with medical groups to come up with treatment guidelines.

5. The CDC put too much trust in protective gear.
Once Duncan was diagnosed, health authorities started making daily visits to 48 of his contacts.

But that didn't include several dozen workers at Presbyterian who took care of Duncan after he was diagnosed. They weren't followed because they were wearing protective gear when they had contact with Duncan. Instead, they monitored themselves.

Public health experts said that was a misstep, as the CDC should have realized that putting on and taking off protective gear is often done imperfectly and one of the workers might get an infection.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/13/health/ebola-cdc/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

One thing I noticed is that workers in Liberia spray each other down with disinfectant before removing protective gear. With the buddy system in place, that just seems to make sense.

Standing Ovation for Snowden Film