Some of the task force members are scathing in their criticism of how Trump has handled the crisis. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disease Preparedness at Columbia University, said Trump “cannot be believed” on virtually anything he says about the pandemic. “He is a source of misinformation, creating havoc by the unreliability of what he says in general,” Redlener told me recently.
We must find ways to adapt to the changes
My wife Karen and I were at the Children’s Health Fund and National Center for Disaster Preparedness offices earlier last week. The place was surreal in its emptiness, much like the rest of the world and the “new normal.” We are settling into how we organize our lives in a strange, constantly changing environment.
Disaster Preparedness expert ‘flabbergasted’ Trump thinks he can reopen everything by Easter: ‘It’s mind boggling’
Dr. Irwin Redlener, an expert in disaster preparedness at Columbia University, was floored by Trump’s decision to re-open everything in a matter of weeks.“It is mind-bogglingly inappropriate to even think about that,” he told MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle. “I think we have to understand that this is a really totally unprecedented crisis, really since 1918, we have not experienced anything like this.
Grocery Stores Are Packed With People—And Workers Are Scared & Stressed
During an appearance on the Brian Lehrer Show last week, Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness, stressed that stores should be doing more to protect employees and avoid overcrowding. "We understand that people want to stock up in case there is a more serious quarantine," he said. But things like limiting the number of people allowed in a store at any one time was an "absolutely critically important thing that must be done."
The Best-Case Outcome for the Coronavirus, and the Worst
New York's Food Distribution Networks Brace for an Unprecedented Threat
Coronavirus Update: CDC Goes Dark As California Reports First Possible Case Of Community Spread
The White House is clamping down on communication issued from government health officials and scientists about the spread of coronavirus following a decision by President Trump to put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the U.S. task force addressing the public health threat, according to a report in the New York Times. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notably failed to hold a telephone press briefing despite the fact that California has reported a confirmed case where the infected person who did not have any exposure to someone known to have the virus and who did not travel to any of the countries where there has been an outbreak.
How much should we worry about the new coronavirus?
Just in the last few days, as the World Health Organization declared a Global Health Emergency and a similar Public Health Emergency declaration was made in the U.S., there has been growing evidence of possible person to person transmission of the Wuhan coronavirus, and it is increasingly likely that people can be contagious even before the appearance of symptoms. So, it should come as no surprise that public concerns about this new public health threat are also on the rise. Still, many questions remain unanswered and unanswerable at the moment.
Most states make it difficult for children to get a flu shot
(CNN)When adults want a flu shot, they have two choices: go to the doctor or go to a pharmacy.
But in most states, laws prevent parents from just walking into a pharmacy and getting their children vaccinated for the flu. Public health experts say that's costing children's lives.
"Parents should have no barriers whatsoever to getting a flu shot," said Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University. "It's what we'd call a no-brainer."
Currently, 40% of children don't get a flu vaccine, and public health authorities are keen to change that. Flu kills children every year; last year, 143 children lost their lives to the flu.