SIMPLE & QUICK: America’s response to the coronavirus pandemic is a grab-bag of contradictory positives and negatives

The House Energy and Commerce Committee for the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing today on the U.S. federal response to the on-going novel coronavirus pandemic. In the hot seats were Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Control; Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Stephen Hahn, the Food and Drug Administration commissioner; and Adm. Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary of Health and Human Services.

As go House hearings, Representatives asked a myriad of questions from germane to inane. Dr. Fauci dispraised Republican Rep. McKinley from West Virginia for “play[ing] that game” after attempting to trap the M.D. into criticizing the media for being unfair to President Trump. The Representative then turned his ire toward Dr. Fauci, the medical community and the C.D.C. for telling Americans to not wear masks at the onset of the COVID pandemic. “Let me explain to you what happened back then,” said Fauci as he defended the nation’s abrupt policy change on face coverings.

Speaking for their respective fields, the experts are very confident. Director Fauci believes that vaccine trials are progressing positively. He informed the committee that phase three of trials will start for at least one candidate antidote in July. The doctor furthered that if there is a successful vaccine, it will be widely available by the end of the 2021 calendar year. Commissioner Hahn reconfirmed the role of the FDA and said the organizations is “fully cognitive of the data and science while applying policy and safety precautions for Americans.”

Adm. Brett P. Giroir, M.D. outlined the U.S. strategy and testing response. The doctor described for the committee how the needs of future testing increases are being met. The HHS assistant secretary’s overall message reflected claims and promises made by President Trump. Adm. Giroir affirmed that the U.S. took command of the global supply chain and later used Title Three of the Defense Production Act to “make supplies happen.” Adm. Giroir promulgated the stockpile and availability of masks, face shields, etc., are not an issue for the fall. To the committee’s delight, the assistant secretary also attested that testing protocols implemented for workers and residents in nursing homes have the high risk communities well protected for the fall.

Dr. Fauci did sober the room by lecturing on how he “has never seen a single virus that is one pathogen have a range from 20-40% have no symptoms, to some get mild symptoms. . .to some die.” He informed the committee that he worries that “people still do not understand that just because you do not get sick that you are not part of the dynamics of the outbreak. You are. You are still exacerbating the devastation.”

In response to questions about current case surges, the doctor implores the “next two weeks are crucial in curbing new community outbreaks.” The director especially advises FL, AZ, and TX to follow the CDC guidelines on reopening and to stay within the framework of their particular phases. He furthered, “Do not abandon caution; we need to appreciate that we are all part of the process of the dynamic of an outbreak. Indirectly hurting people is the problem.”

The experts all agree that there will be a second wave in the fall. Dr. Fauci tells schools to prepare to make changes— significant changes to accommodate for the pandemic. He does not believe that all schools will have to necessarily close, but that all schools will need to act on a district by district reality. “Be warned that we will not know for sure until the fall is here,” the doctor said.

There are also several things that the country can do now to prepare. “We know what the failings were now. PPE, N95 masks, hospital beds, ventilators— all of that is being readied in case it happens. Also, we will have a capability of 40-50 million tests per month then so that means a better grasp of knowing where the virus is in communities.”

Meanwhile, the 45th President of the United States is clearly concerned as he prepares for his evening of exacerbating the devastation. Despite “ionization.”