I really did not want to have to discuss this again. But, are you panicked enough yet? Well, I'm not, but, if Govs Cuomo and Christie need an issue to rally the electorate...hey, who am I to judge. No doubt you have heard that Govs. Cuomo (D/NY) and Christie (R/NJ) conspired together to mandate a mandatory quarantine for anyone entering their respective atates who come from West Africa.
Firstly, I would think that common sense would say that if you have been in West Africa and been actively treating Ebola patients that volunarily limiting one's contact with the general public and travelling by subway should be limited for 21 days and that this should not be an unreasonble request. However, I am not sure exactly how state governors have the authority to mandate a quarantine since I would think that our airports fall under federal jurisdiction. [I mean, if Gov. Perry is condemned for being forced to activate his National Guard to protect his southern border, how is it that Govs Christie and Cuomo do not face the same criticism?] Though I understand that in election year, one with a political agenda must appear to be proactive and it may be politcal advantageous. But seriously, can't we do better than this?
A tent with no runnng water, no shower facility, and no other electronic capabilty other than a cellphone to communicate. What was Gov. Christie thinking? Is there anyone with a functioning brain actually in charge?
Oh, yeah, no one has brought this up, but I will. The CDC, that government body that is tasked with spending the taxpayers money to developing a solid protocol for combating real biological threats to humanity, would actually spend their time and valuable resources on issues other than fantasy threats like - Zombie preparedness And we wonder why our confidence in our goverment agencies is at an all time low and we are unprepared for any solid protocol for a real-life contagion. How much did this cost the taxpayers? I just wonder how much we paid for this? Is there any wonder why we have lost confidence in our government agencies and their preparedness?
To be accurate, both Governors have backed off their mandate to forcibly mandate a quarantine at the behest of President Obama. However, who is really in charge of the message? My panic is only that no one is willing to present a clear message.
Any thoughts?
Firstly, I would think that common sense would say that if you have been in West Africa and been actively treating Ebola patients that volunarily limiting one's contact with the general public and travelling by subway should be limited for 21 days and that this should not be an unreasonble request. However, I am not sure exactly how state governors have the authority to mandate a quarantine since I would think that our airports fall under federal jurisdiction. [I mean, if Gov. Perry is condemned for being forced to activate his National Guard to protect his southern border, how is it that Govs Christie and Cuomo do not face the same criticism?] Though I understand that in election year, one with a political agenda must appear to be proactive and it may be politcal advantageous. But seriously, can't we do better than this?
A tent with no runnng water, no shower facility, and no other electronic capabilty other than a cellphone to communicate. What was Gov. Christie thinking? Is there anyone with a functioning brain actually in charge?
Oh, yeah, no one has brought this up, but I will. The CDC, that government body that is tasked with spending the taxpayers money to developing a solid protocol for combating real biological threats to humanity, would actually spend their time and valuable resources on issues other than fantasy threats like - Zombie preparedness And we wonder why our confidence in our goverment agencies is at an all time low and we are unprepared for any solid protocol for a real-life contagion. How much did this cost the taxpayers? I just wonder how much we paid for this? Is there any wonder why we have lost confidence in our government agencies and their preparedness?
To be accurate, both Governors have backed off their mandate to forcibly mandate a quarantine at the behest of President Obama. However, who is really in charge of the message? My panic is only that no one is willing to present a clear message.
Any thoughts?
Say what you want about Texas but none of their quarantined persons went BOWLING while under quarantine. Or out to dinner.
ReplyDeleteI hear the bowling doctor is doing very well. The two nurses are all better and we cured the first four other patients. It looks like there is a different ebola here than in Africa (hardly seems fair, does it?)
ReplyDeleteMakes me wonder if there's a few more vials of Zmapp stashed away.
My personal concern is only that a case will come to my hospital or my families...in which case i will go hospital shopping. Also, don't want to be in a place where sick ebola people have wandered (like the salad bar at my supermarket).
Other than that...big bloated government doing what it does best: bumbling and spending money and asking for more money.
Bev, I have no faith in government because it's run by politicians who care only about appearance rather than effectiveness. And this is an issue everyone can posture on now with limited risk, so they are running wild.
ReplyDelete... and in the meantime, sick people are spreading a disease that could have been stopped.
A few weeks ago, appalled by the spread of the disease, I began questioning what I kew about it so I asked our chief microbiologist how Ebola is spread. He answered, "I used to think I knew."
ReplyDeleteTherein lies the problem. Ebola is BSL 4 disease that, up to now, was not a risk to western nations. Therefore,we've done very little experimental work on the disease (BSL 4 control standards are very expensive, especially for research) and know very little about it. There are tons of studies, but they're typically based on outbreaks, not quality assured/controled research. For medical professionals to declare, "I know when I'm a risk," is just plain hubris and we know now that they won't control themselves in a responsible manner.
To be fair to the CDC, the Zombie perparedness page is just an outreach program to teach young people how to prepare for major emergencies, like hurricanes and floods, where state and national efforts are overwhelmed, without boring them half to death. So, zombies. Personally, I think they should have used an invasion of Orcs from Mordor, but I quibble.
As to the states power to quarantine - they absolutely have that authority and have used it. It varies somewhat state to state, in accordance with their own laws. So what Christie and Coumo can do hinges on state, not Federal, law. That said, they ought to use their heads and prepare for quarantines in a responsible manner and not just pop off for political hay as you point out.
I believe civilian airports, when owned by governments are typically owned at the city and county levels in most cases, not Federal, but I'm not sure. The closest international airport to me is owned by the county.
There are memes all over Facebook about how many more Americans have died from the flu, gunshots, car wrecks etc, obviously intended to minimize the stupid way the administration has handled this......my problem is that I'm sure sometime in 1346 some lord in England or France was telling everyone that, "Hey, more people have died from crossbow darts than from this new disease, The Black Death."
ReplyDeleteSorry for not replying sooner. It's just been one of those days...
ReplyDeleteCritch - I am more disturbed at the mixed messages and incomplete protocol than I am in Ebola. How can anyone have confidence in our government agencies, if they can't be clear? And I am sure you are right about 1346 and the plague. Heck, scientists thought bleeding people was a good idea too...
KRS - Yeah, I have a friend whose mother is an epidemiologist and she keeps assuring us that the virus is not airborne. But when the CDC has a better handle on the Zombie Apocalypse than it does on REAL disease, you've got to wonder.
ReplyDeleteBtw, I get that the zombie webpage is for entertainment and to use as an example.
And I admit, I kind of knew that governors have the authority, but I have NEVER seen it used so ham-fistedly? And it was so obviously for politics and not public safety.
Andrew - This whole Ebola fiasco just proves that you should run when you hear these words "Hi, I'm from the government and I am here to help you!" Sheesh...I am waiting for the "Great job, Brownie" moment.
ReplyDeleteCrisD - The odds that you would be infected really are pretty low. Everyone wants to criticize Texas Presbyterian because they didn't recognize the symptoms when Duncan first walked into the ER. The NY hospital workers are crowing about how much more prepared they were than Dallas at being able to efficiently recognize and isolate the E-bowler patient.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's a state/city pride thing, but the NY patient called and told them he was a doctor and has all the symptoms, please pick him up in a hazmat suit. The Dallas ER, EMS, etc did not have such an neatly tied up experience. And as it is coming out, his family denies that he every told the nurse that he was exposed. He allegedly just told them he was from Liberia, not that he had JUST come from Liberia.
I don't think this is like "Captain Tripps" from The Stand...but, the .gov has their collective heads up their butts on this...It just seems that for a few years now everyone in the government is a damned amateur. For crying out loud get it together...
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem with this government is they have done nothing to help calm people's anxieties about Ebola. This disease is definitely a case of known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. The CDC and WHO do not think Ebola is transferred through the air and they don't think patients are infectious when they are not symptomatic.
ReplyDeleteThe response by the governors may be a bit too harsh but it is much easier to over quarantine and then back off later then to try to control it after the fact i.e. when the toothpaste is out of the tube.
Instead of patronizing people what president ding dong and his staff should have said was: we are taking these cases very seriously; we are limiting non-essential travel into and out of those areas; we are going to quarantine health care workers from the area and study the crap out of them and pay them for their time. Imagine how much information we could have gathered if the bowling doc had been quarantined. They could have drawn blood daily and be able to tell when he was infectious vs. when he developed symptoms. They could have studied every bodily fluid that emanated from his body and they could have paid him $10-20,000 for his time.