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We are facing two simultaneous and unprecedented threats to public health.
One is #COVID19.
The other is the President of the United States...
THREAD
One is #COVID19.
The other is the President of the United States...
THREAD
We all know why #COVID19 is a huge threat.
But the president!? Thatâs excessive, no?!
No. Not at all.
Because at every step he has failed to respond and take this pandemic seriously.
He has actively undermined public health and taken zero accountability for his failures.
But the president!? Thatâs excessive, no?!
No. Not at all.
Because at every step he has failed to respond and take this pandemic seriously.
He has actively undermined public health and taken zero accountability for his failures.
If you donât know me, Iâve been calling this administrationâs response an abject failure for some time.
But why should my opinion matter?
Iâm an ER doc that treated 100s of COVID patients in NYC. I work in epidemic response, including Ebola. And Iâm a public health professor.
But why should my opinion matter?
Iâm an ER doc that treated 100s of COVID patients in NYC. I work in epidemic response, including Ebola. And Iâm a public health professor.
In March, I was on the frontlines of #COVID19 in NYC.
Nearly every day I held the hands of patients who died from this horrible disease.
And the whole time, President Trump delayed, dithered, and downplayed it all as a âcommon fluâ that will âlike a miracleâ disappear.
Nearly every day I held the hands of patients who died from this horrible disease.
And the whole time, President Trump delayed, dithered, and downplayed it all as a âcommon fluâ that will âlike a miracleâ disappear.
To be fair, Iâve been really worried for a long time that President Trumpâs White House wasnât taking preparedness for emerging global health threats like #COVID19 seriously.
So much so that I wrote this opinion piece in @thehill in February 2017: https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/healthcare/319254-americas-dangerous-and-dwindling-commitment-to-global-health
So much so that I wrote this opinion piece in @thehill in February 2017: https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/healthcare/319254-americas-dangerous-and-dwindling-commitment-to-global-health
Heres the sadly prescient summary:
âThe White House is writing a prescription for an American public health catastrophe by questioning the value of prevention and preparedness for emerging global health threats.â
Like many others I was frightened by how heâd manage an outbreak.
âThe White House is writing a prescription for an American public health catastrophe by questioning the value of prevention and preparedness for emerging global health threats.â
Like many others I was frightened by how heâd manage an outbreak.
A year later, and witnessing attacks on our preparedness infrastructure, my worry had only increased. Seeing that we had forgotten the lessons learned in battling Ebola, I wrote the following perspective piece for @ghn_news in June 2018: https://www.globalhealthnow.org/2018-06/lessons-learned-and-forgotten-ebola-response
Sadly prescient summary part 2:
âIâm not optimistic this administration will heed the advice to identify the funding and leadership necessary for epidemic response.â
All this is to say that in the event of a pandemic, I wasnât expecting much at all from this president.
âIâm not optimistic this administration will heed the advice to identify the funding and leadership necessary for epidemic response.â
All this is to say that in the event of a pandemic, I wasnât expecting much at all from this president.
Yet from day 1 President Trump has failed to meet even that low bar.
At every point he has failed.
Failed to recognize the magnitude of the crisis.
Failed to protect frontline providers.
Failed to support our public health institutions that could lead us through this crisis.
At every point he has failed.
Failed to recognize the magnitude of the crisis.
Failed to protect frontline providers.
Failed to support our public health institutions that could lead us through this crisis.
Months ago at the onset of the pandemic, we were critically short on masks and PPE needed to keep healthcare workers and other frontline providers safe.
We raised the alarm. We begged for assistance.
We raised the alarm. We begged for assistance.
We implored the President to invoke the Defense Production Act to get us PPE. It never happened.
We still donât have enough to safely do our job all across this country.
Thousands of healthcare workers have fallen ill & hundreds have died from #COVID19. https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/489976-utilizing-the-defense-production-act-will-save-health-care-workers-lives
We still donât have enough to safely do our job all across this country.
Thousands of healthcare workers have fallen ill & hundreds have died from #COVID19. https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/489976-utilizing-the-defense-production-act-will-save-health-care-workers-lives
And his lies on #COVID19 are so many & so frequent, us public health professionals canât keep up with battling the misinformation that is endangering American lives.
We shouldnât be fighting against the president, we should be fighting with him. https://www.newsweek.com/im-er-doctor-fighting-covid-19-trumps-medical-opinion-means-nothing-opinion-1518156
We shouldnât be fighting against the president, we should be fighting with him. https://www.newsweek.com/im-er-doctor-fighting-covid-19-trumps-medical-opinion-means-nothing-opinion-1518156
Plus he has deliberately undermined our public health institutions and professionals since the outset.
By sidelining the CDC and other voices of reason, weâve set ourselves on a collision course.
And Almost. Every. Single. Day. Thereâs something like https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/507971-trump-administration-seeking-to-block-funding-for-cdc-contact-tracing
By sidelining the CDC and other voices of reason, weâve set ourselves on a collision course.
And Almost. Every. Single. Day. Thereâs something like
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/507971-trump-administration-seeking-to-block-funding-for-cdc-contact-tracing
But honestly the last straw for me was his interview today on @FoxNews.
Watching him so callously and ignorantly talk about all the Americans whoâve died from #COVID19 was so painful. Especially since I was at the bedside of so many of them.
Watching him so callously and ignorantly talk about all the Americans whoâve died from #COVID19 was so painful. Especially since I was at the bedside of so many of them.
Instead of recognizing the magnitude of our loss, weâre told we have the âbestâ mortality rate in the world.
Instead of admitting the truth and committing to do better, he wags a white sheet of paper with a few bolded words as proof that >140,000 American deaths is the âbestâ.
Instead of admitting the truth and committing to do better, he wags a white sheet of paper with a few bolded words as proof that >140,000 American deaths is the âbestâ.
So, whatâs the ultimate price of Trumpâs horrible handling of this pandemic?
Itâs continued risk for healthcare providers like my friend & real American hero @Cleavon_MD, an Iraq vet who was on the #COVID19 frontlines in NYC and months later is now having to do it again in AZ. https://twitter.com/cleavon_md/status/1283999818344304640
Itâs continued risk for healthcare providers like my friend & real American hero @Cleavon_MD, an Iraq vet who was on the #COVID19 frontlines in NYC and months later is now having to do it again in AZ. https://twitter.com/cleavon_md/status/1283999818344304640
And most painfully, itâs those 140k American lives already lost.
So many of which couldâve been prevented, if only we had a leader who cared and tried.
And that horrible toll is only a fraction of the amount thatâll ultimately and unnecessarily succumb to this disease.
So many of which couldâve been prevented, if only we had a leader who cared and tried.
And that horrible toll is only a fraction of the amount thatâll ultimately and unnecessarily succumb to this disease.
Some of your friends and family members who are with you today will be gone in the coming weeks and months.
Because we failed. Because he failed.
Some of you will say Iâm âfear-mongeringâ. Hope youâre the lucky ones who donât learn the hard way.
Because we failed. Because he failed.
Some of you will say Iâm âfear-mongeringâ. Hope youâre the lucky ones who donât learn the hard way.
Undoubtedly, just for writing this Iâll get some choice messages, like below.
And some people will say âI liked you so much better when you shared heartfelt stories and werenât so political!â
Well guess what. Too damn bad.
American lives are at stake. Silence is not an option.
And some people will say âI liked you so much better when you shared heartfelt stories and werenât so political!â
Well guess what. Too damn bad.
American lives are at stake. Silence is not an option.
The sad reality is if Trump literally didnât lie and mislead since the beginning of the pandemic, more Americans would be alive today.
If he didnât undermine our most important public health institutions throughout, more Americans would be alive today.
If he didnât undermine our most important public health institutions throughout, more Americans would be alive today.
If he just accepted responsibility for managing this crisis instead of always blaming others for his abject failure, more Americans would be alive today.
If weâre gonna get out of this alive, weâre gonna have to do this on our own. Without him. Despite him.
Be safe, please.
If weâre gonna get out of this alive, weâre gonna have to do this on our own. Without him. Despite him.
Be safe, please.
