The Cellar / The Next Pandemic

**Posted by griff** 6/06/2024 1:54 pm

https://apnews.com/article/fauci-covid-pandemic-origin-congress-a66625482f25824476ee315484790230

The most important work before our current Congress maybe aside from Climate Change is, arguably, shaping our response to the next pandemic. We could learn a lot from both our missteps and effective moves. Unfortunately, we do not have enough serious people on our committees. One thing which doesn't seem to get enough air is the poor vaccine rollout outside of the first world. I believe more Americans died from variants which developed outside the US than from the original virus. Could those losses have been averted with a better roll out? Instead of real questions, they get caught up in gotcha politics and conspiracies. Thanks Congress for completely sucking at your jobs. I'd also like to thank my neighbors for electing these chuckle fucks.

**Posted by glatt** 6/06/2024 3:02 pm

At least they are working to save us from TikTok.

**Posted by Flint** 6/06/2024 3:30 pm

Won't someone please think of the children?

**Posted by griff** 6/06/2024 3:56 pm

They did come together over Tik Tok which really makes me wonder.

**Posted by Diaphone Jim** 6/08/2024 11:08 am

With both houses of Congress half full of fools, the next pandemic will be hugely more difficult than necessary.
Without Fauci, even more.

**Posted by griff** 6/09/2024 7:56 am

You make good points about preparation and the Fed's goals. Shutting down the face to face economy even partially to protect ERs is something I'm guessing the government won't have the guts to do next time.

Direct care folks were sacrificed last time and will be sacrificed next time. I serve a number of families who have wage earners working in nursing homes. They're pretty low income and most have low education so they're easy targets for misinformation especially from their administrators. There is a huge pressure to not mask because it is a problem for that emotional attachment with patients.

Those of us whose ftf was temporarily shutdown last time can't expect that next time. I'm on the cusp of retirement so I'd probably just take the financial hit, others won't have that choice. I'm hopeful that I die outside of a nursing home.

**Posted by Diaphone Jim** 6/09/2024 10:39 am

"I'm hopeful that I die outside of a nursing home."
Amen

**Posted by tw** 6/09/2024 1:51 pm

Diaphone Jim wrote:
"I'm hopeful that I die outside of a nursing home."

Religious people have contempt for your attitude. They want you to lie suffering and dilapidated in a nursing home for years. Their religious beliefs must be imposed on all others.

**Posted by tw** 6/09/2024 2:00 pm

Anon wrote:
As with most threats, the onus is on the individual to be prepared.

After a threat from SARs, the Obama administration, using facts discovered by the George Jr administration, setup a government structure to respond to such potential disasters.

Fortunately the death rate from SARs was something above 60%. So it suddenly disappeared.

Then Trump took office. Completely destroyed a structure to address pandemic problems. Of course. Extremists know who to work for. While using tweets to lie; saying something else.

Boris Johnson did something similar. Netanyahu is doing it now.

**Posted by griff** 6/10/2024 5:58 am

I assume tw is talking about the CDC staff positions the Trump administration eliminated in China.

**Posted by tw** 6/10/2024 8:25 am

It was a committee tasked with establishing a manual and procedures for how to deal with pandemics. Detailing and coordinating the activities of all government agencies to respond to an emergency. That Office was first established by George Jr. And then continued (expanded) through the Obama administration. It was a Washington (government) office first created by George Jr after he read a book about a pandemic's potential threats.

I wrote about it in the old Cellar. Have forgotten the name. As I remember, Trump disbanded it in his first year. So it might be discussed around 2016 or 2017.

If anyone in the Trump White House said “The Obama- Biden plan that has been referenced was insufficient. It wasn’t going to work….”, then it was probably effective and useful. It was to both George Jr and Obama. But then they had intelligence. Purveyor of lies will say anything to be popular.

**Posted by tw** 6/11/2024 7:22 pm

The Obama-Biden administration came out with a 69 page "Playbook" of procedures to be used AFTER the emergence of a biological threat.

Then, for the next EIGHT YEARS, what they DIDN'T do was:

For one obvious reason. All that required Congressional action. Congress has so many left and right wing extremists that anything progressive (ie building infrastructure, making Navy ships that work, fixing bridges, making a working spacecraft) could not happen. Since so many anti-American extremists obstructed everything, Even Obamacare took years.. My god. They could not even close a 'Gestapo created' Guantanamo. Where (we now know) hundreds of innocent men were held in violation of basic Constitutional and human rights. Extremist got one thing done. Obstruct that closure.

An obscure Indiana Republican, named Mike Pence, underscored this using a clip from the movie Patton. “We’re going to kick the hell out of him all the time! We’re going to go through him like crap through a goose!”. Clearly directed at the Obama administration.

Everything necessary from Congress was impossible. Especially since same extremists who did and still deny global warming were also in denial of a pandemic. Preaching cost controls while increasing a Federal debt by giving tax cuts to the rich.

We have a serious shortage of moderates in Congress. The only people who can accomplish anything useful.

Why do Japanese anime women always have big ....
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....
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eyes.

Last edited by tw (6/11/2024 7:26 pm)

**Posted by griff** 6/12/2024 6:53 am

In the back and forth we've found a need to preposition materials, improve surveillance, cut a deal with third world countries for vaccine distribution and production, and somehow depoliticize the response. You all have your assignments, good luck!