[This following essay was originally presented in its current form by DD Wiz and numerous other users. The site I got it from is in the Sources. I am just sharing it here now because I find it very interesting and relevant. THIS IS NOT MY ORIGINAL WRITING!]
H1N1 was originally known as the Spanish Flu when it infected the United States in 1918, causing 675,000 deaths (which, adjusted to today’s larger population, would be the equivalent of TWO MILLION deaths). When it returned in 2009, in Obama’s first year, he acted immediately to identify, isolate and contain, and it barely made a ripple. Obama, newly inaugurated and in his first year, was faced with turning around the massive economic collapse he inherited from Bush and two wars resulting from Bush’s failures to connect dots and understand intelligence. Obama did it all. Stopped the H1N1 in its tracks AND successfully reversed the steady job losses and turned them into a record number of consecutive months of job gains while tripling the stock market.
The first case in the US was reported on April 14, 2009. The virus that caused H1N1 was identified on April 26. A Public Health Emergency was declared on April 28, with the CDC immediately releasing 25% of the anti-flu drugs in the national stockpile to be made available to states and local governments. The same day, Obama requested Congress issue $1.5B in Emergency funds to states and communities for vaccines and drugs.
Unfortunately, the H1N12009 was resistant to the vaccines available. Obama requested funding for new vaccine. It was opposed by 2 GOP Reps in Congress who were — believe it or not — doctors. They blamed the push for a new vaccine on “media driven panic.” A new vaccine was available within 6 months. Pharmaceutical companies announced they were ready to start work on the vaccine on May 14. The first doses were delivered in the US on October 5th. H1N1 was more virulent among young people than older people — many of whom had developed an immunity to the virus from previous exposure to flu vaccines. Obama led by example and had his daughters immunized to ease apprehension among some about the vaccine (see 1976 swine flu vaccine fiasco). Another problem with the H1N1 2009 was that it was resistant to the the anti-flu drugs available at the time. Even though the CDC had released 25% of the anti-flu drugs in the stockpile, the drugs weren’t working. When a new drug showed promise, the FDA gave emergency approval so they could be used immediately; the CDC ordered 10,000 doses to be made available to hospitals.
Five years later, in 2014, when Ebola hit, 11 cases made it to the U.S. and two people died. Again, Obama acted immediately to isolate and contain and stopped it. In 2014 Trump called on Obama to resign because of the two deaths. And then there was Zika. Prompt action, the creation of a specialized Pandemic Response Unit, and Obama never faltered in his pursuit of economic prosperity. Obama accomplished so very much in less than one decade; if only we can keep in office the sort of people who he and his staff were, and continue to support them, one or two decades may suffice. We can hope. Now in 2020, after Trump eliminated the Pandemic Response Unit that Obama created and ignored the pandemic until it exploded out of control, the possibility of isolation and containment are long gone, the markets have collapsed, unemployment is exploding, and Trump — the one who failed to take action when action was possible — is making excuses and says he takes “no responsibility.”
The first confirmed cases of community transmission of COVID-19 in South Korea and the United States occurred on the same day, January 20. South Korea took immediate action. Within days they were testing thousands per day, isolating those infected, doing rigorous contact tracing and containing the spread. At the same time, Trump was ignoring warnings, holding crowded rallies with tens of thousands of people in close contact, and playing golf in Florida. The H1N1 outbreak occurred literally less than 3 months after Obama took office, and he took immediate action to bring it under control and took complete responsibility. The Coronavirus outbreak occurred after Trump has been POTUS 3 years: "I take no responsibility at all.” He rejected the World Health Organization test that was being aggressively — and SUCCESSFULLY — deployed in South Korea. Because of immediate action to identify, isolate and contain, South Korea never had a full economic shutdown, yet flattened their curve and now have one of the lowest death rates in the world. Similar aggressive actions in New Zealand and Iceland generated similar successful outcomes.
And in the United States, California had that first confirmed case of community transmission on January 20, in the Bay Area, but despite our head start, we took early, aggressive action. While we could not do the early testing like South Korea, New Zealand and Iceland because Trump blocked access to the tests, they Bay Area had the first-in-the-nation stay-at-home order, followed a few days by the first statewide order, and, despite our head start, California has a death rate (per million of population) of 1/26 that of New York. The first confirmed case in New York came weeks after California, but they did not follow the example of early action, and Governor Cuomo of New York waited several days before doing anything, despite pleading from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for earlier action.
I also see news reports of crops rotting in the fields and milk being poured down drains because people are out of work and can’t buy the goods. So if our food supply is interrupted and there are shortages of food, even those who are still working — the “essential” (but underpaid) workers — won’t be able to get food. Why doesn’t the government buy the agricultural products and distribute them to those out of work? It would keep the farmers in business and feed those in need. So why is Trump allowing this? Because he doesn’t CARE. Just about the whole Republican party has provided ample proof that they care about NOTHING but power. They’ve abandoned any and every principle they ever claimed to have, secure in the fact that there is no lie they can tell, no principle they can betray, no crime they can commit, but that all they have to do is scream that it’s all the Dems’ fault, and 50% of the electorate will vote for them all the same. Reelection is their only goal.
Trump declares a national emergency. The national emergency laws state explicitly that, in doing so, the Federal government takes responsibility for managing the emergency. Trump then declares that he has “total” authority but “zero” responsibility. Trump says the federal government is “not a shipping clerk” and that the states are responsible for their own procurement, but then he sets themselves up in competitive bidding wars against each other, and when they do negotiate deals, seizes materials procured (as he directed) from blue states who are in dire need, and redistributes them to red states, often in situations that exceed their requests or in which they had not even made requests.
Note that the ‘Spanish’ flu was so called because it was first reported from Spain. But it may well have originated in the United States; at least, the first documented case was in this country. However, the United States was at war at that time and so did whatever it could to suppress knowledge of the illness; Spain, which stayed neutral, had no such incentive. So those who insist that the Covid-19 agent be called ‘Chinese virus’ should accept the renaming of the 1918-9 pandemic as the ‘American flu’.
Beyond the fact that these agencies are under Trump’s direction, it is Trump who dismantled the Pandemic Response Unit created by Obama to successfully handle his onslaught of pandemics, it is Trump who ignored the warnings, it is Trump who blocked testing, and it is Trump who is sabotaging efforts in states whose governors are not “nice” to him.
Sources:
Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for April 12, 2020 (the comments section)
Obama’s Remarks About Specter Changing Parties
GOP Docs blame flu "panic" for vaccine push
Obama Daughters Get Swine Flu Shots
New Drug for H1N1 Flu Offers Hope
By numerous GoComics users, republished by Quentin Yollcer, April 16th, 2020.