Ebola, news and discussion

[Medusa]

I'd submit that another possibility with these caregivers had much less to do with being less than honest or having questionable judgment and more to do with being overworked, understaffed, and possibly undertrained.

I know a lot of damned fine caregivers who would not risk their families, much less their own health, over even the slightest hint of possibility of contracting what could be one of the least curable viruses we've seen in a long time (speaking strictly as a lay person on the potentiality of the deadliness here, if someone is an epidemiologist, please do correct me).

I believe they are doing the best they can with what they have.

As for the hospital executives, I don't consider them caregivers (especially if they've never donned scrubs or touched a bedpan full of someone else's diarrhea). They don't have the same incentive to follow the CDC guidelines as the hands-on caregivers do. Their lives are not at stake on the same level.

I just read an article about the crew of an American Airlines flight out of Dallas locked a woman who threw up in the aisle in the bathroom for the last half of her flight.

Guess what color she was?

[Kelt]

All good points and examples.

So as a result of the decisions of a few individuals we now have a whole lot of people who will be "self-monitoring" for the foreseeable future. Because that's worked out so well so far.

Now we have the court of public opinion taking action. Also going well.

*yes, I'm being sarcastic, but it's pretty much true*

The next logical question might be; who has the authority to enforce a quarantine on US citizens? It turns out the answer might be 'nobody'. I heard that come up briefly and quietly go down to 'probably state and local officials'.

I took a quick peek, nothing in depth, and it looks like it might just be states or their health departments varying by state. (needs verification) Nothing could go wrong with that comprehensive plan.

I really hope some governing body has this front and center on their radar, it could go downhill quickly. Maybe it will get handed off to Ron Klain.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Kelt

All good points and examples.

So as a result of the decisions of a few individuals we now have a whole lot of people who will be "self-monitoring" for the foreseeable future. Because that's worked out so well so far.

Now we have the court of public opinion taking action. Also going well.

*yes, I'm being sarcastic, but it's pretty much true*

The next logical question might be; who has the authority to enforce a quarantine on US citizens? It turns out the answer might be 'nobody'. I heard that come up briefly and quietly go down to 'probably state and local officials'.

I took a quick peek, nothing in depth, and it looks like it might just be states or their health departments varying by state. (needs verification) Nothing could go wrong with that comprehensive plan.

I really hope some governing body has this front and center on their radar, it could go downhill quickly. Maybe it will get handed off to Ron Klain.

I thought I read somewhere that the state public health centers/state governments now have the power to ask people to not leave their homes and self monitor...or something like that.

I don't know much about Ron Klain (or the specifics of his role besides guiding the management of handling this crisis), however, it seems as though they are making the assumption that Klain will not look to the medical professionals to guide his decisions. Everyone is upset that there is not a medical person in place to navigate all of this, but a medical person does not automatically a good "manager" make. I would rather have a guy in charge who has experience in systems management who will seek expert guidance for his decisions, than a person who is an expert, but has no idea how to execute the task (systems management), at hand. Think of the learning curve on that one? Most people aren't good at both.

[Kelt]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

I thought I read somewhere that the state public health centers/state governments now have the power to ask people to not leave their homes and self monitor...or something like that.

I don't know much about Ron Klain (or the specifics of his role besides guiding the management of handling this crisis), however, it seems as though they are making the assumption that Klain will not look to the medical professionals to guide his decisions. Everyone is upset that there is not a medical person in place to navigate all of this, but a medical person does not automatically a good "manager" make. I would rather have a guy in charge who has experience in systems management who will seek expert guidance for his decisions, than a person who is an expert, but has no idea how to execute the task (systems management), at hand. Think of the learning curve on that one? Most people aren't good at both.

I agree, that was mostly tongue in cheek. He actually sounds pretty well qualified for a constantly evolving national situation and I'm sure medical counsel will be brought in to co-advise or whatever they will call it. I'm just waiting for the clown cars and rest of the circus to pull into town.

As we've already seen, having a government agency ask someone to self monitor may work but if there are no teeth to it, it is optional. It is hard to imagine anyone not complying, but again, most of my concerns are of the hype driven panic/hysteria actions that are surely to show up at some point.

I should be clear, I'm not in favor of executive orders being put into place that strip us of our civil rights. I just don't know how the outliers in this situation will be handled. I seems like anytime local agencies are tasked with managing something that crosses state lines, things go awry.

[*Anya*]

Frequently asked questions about Ebola, answered by CDC, dated 10/17/2014:

http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/20...-questions.pdf

[The_Lady_Snow]

The epidemic we should all be worried about that is spreading like wild fire is the XENOPHOBIA and FEAR that this is causing in our spaces... I cringe when I hear or read things like

"foreigners"

"woman locked in plane lavatory"

"Those Africans"

"Those People"

"Keep them out"

"Africans should be banned from entry"

"Close our Borders"

It's troubling, sad and not helpful to what is really going on with the Ebola contamination....

[feminality]

Originally Posted by The_Lady_Snow

The epidemic we should all be worried about that is spreading like wild fire is the XENOPHOBIA and FEAR that this is causing in our spaces... I cringe when I hear or read things like

"foreigners"

"woman locked in plane lavatory"

"Those Africans"

"Those People"

"Keep them out"

"Africans should be banned from entry"

"Close our Borders"

It's troubling, sad and not helpful to what is really going on with the Ebola contamination....

Thank You Lady S ... for saying out loud what I have been thinking and wanting to say but was afraid ... Thank you.

[EnchantedNightDweller]

Originally Posted by The_Lady_Snow

The epidemic we should all be worried about that is spreading like wild fire is the XENOPHOBIA and FEAR that this is causing in our spaces... I cringe when I hear or read things like

"foreigners"

"woman locked in plane lavatory"

"Those Africans"

"Those People"

"Keep them out"

"Africans should be banned from entry"

"Close our Borders"

It's troubling, sad and not helpful to what is really going on with the Ebola contamination....

I was thinking about this very thing today. I was remembering how people with AIDS were treated during the initial outbreak. It is terrible but it is fear causes people to act this way. Until we know more about the virus, I'm afraid this is how it will be.