I keep seeing people claim that “blaming anyone isn’t helpful,” implying that we shouldn't be blaming the trump administration for the horrifyingly inadequate and dangerously wrong response to this pandemic.
I believe exactly the opposite.
This problem was caused by an administration that dismantled all of the programs that were put in place in response to ebola, specifically to prevent exactly what is happening right now.
The day the RNA was sequenced, the US government *should* have issued large NIH grants to fund massive test-creation efforts, and massive vaccine development efforts. We lost almost 3 months of effort, from just that alone.
Under the dismantled system, the government would have ordered a significant increase in manufacturing of the personal protective equipment our healthcare professionals need in order to avoid becoming infected. Instead, healthcare workers are stuck having to re-use single-use masks and face shields, and they are running out of gowns and gloves, drastically increasing their own chances of infection.
There is a reason these things were not done, and there is a reason the responses happening now are generally wrong (telling people they can still go to work, creating an impossibly tight deadline for travelers to get home), or too late.
And that reason has to do with specific individuals choosing their own so-called "solutions" in order to save face, rather than seeking expert guidance from the people who know the right things to do, in order to save lives.
Choosing to ignore the impact that specific people are having risks enabling those people to continue doing the wrong thing, and thus risks thousands of lives.
It's not ok to ignore the responsibility of the leaders who are doing the wrong things.
If you put these people in office, you share the responsibility for putting us in this position. The lives that will be lost unnecessarily ARE on your hands. It's a heavy responsibility to bear, but it is real.