Elizabeth Warren: US Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement Undermines Disease Prevention

Elizabeth Warren’s prescription for preventing disease outbreaks; public health and climate action.

PREVENTING, CONTAINING, AND TREATING INFECTIOUS DISEASE OUTBREAKS AT HOME AND ABROAD

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My plan to stop pandemics invests in public health, restores American leadership at home and abroad, and leads with science. Add your name if you agree: We need a president who is prepared.

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In 2015 the state of Indiana experienced an outbreak of HIV stemming from the ongoing opioid epidemic. In a county with a population of less than 25,000, over 200 people contracted the virus. Simultaneously, Zika virus was spreading throughout the U.S. and causing birth defects in children born to some infected pregnant women. 

In 2019, the U.S. saw a rise in outbreaks of measles — a disease we had eliminated in 2000. And today, the 2018 Ebola outbreak continues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Experts believe the world is due for another bout of pandemic influenza. The latest threat comes from coronavirus, a respiratory condition in the same family of viruses as SARS that is spreading throughout China and just last week reached the United States. With well over 2,000 people infected and a rising death toll, China has restricted the movement of 56 million people. The world is watching closely to determine if this will be designated as our next global Public Health Emergency.

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On the global stage, his decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement demonstrates reckless denial about the role of climate change in fueling epidemics. His foreign policy has damaged long-standing alliances with partners like the U.K. and France, who are critical partners in responding to global health crises. 

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Read more: https://elizabethwarren.com/plans/combating-infectious-disease-outbreaks?source=soc-WB-ew-tw-rollout-20200128

Elizabeth Warren’s suggestion that membership of the Paris Agreement helps prevent disease outbreaks is undermined by the evidence that China’s support for Paris doesn’t seem to be helping with their outbreak.

As for public health, its a bit like any form of socialism; failures are because the other people didn’t do it right.

Rats and cockroaches among thousands of pests found in NHS hospitals

The creatures have been sighted in maternity wards, children’s intensive care units and operating theatres

Scott D’Arcy Friday 30 December 2016 02:11

Thousands of pests including cockroaches and rats have been found in NHS hospitals in each of the last five years as the cost of tackling them has spiralled, new figures show.

The creatures have been sighted in maternity wards, children’s intensive care units and operating theatres.

There were nearly 5,000 pest control call-outs by NHS trusts to hospitals in England between 2015/16 – equivalent to around 13 a day, according to data obtained by the Press Association under Freedom of Information laws. 

The amount of money hospitals spent on treating pests reached nearly £1.1m in the year to March 2016 and the overall figure is likely to be far higher as 87 of around 150 trusts responded to the request.

Some refused to say how much they had spent, citing private finance initiative (PFI) deals or that the information was “commercially sensitive”.

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Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nhs-latest-rats-cockroaches-pests-hospitals-maternity-wards-operating-theatres-a7501511.html

I have personally seen rats scurrying around a major UK hospital, when I was visiting someone who was ill.

I’m not saying private health is perfect, but the big problem with government public health is lack of choice. With public health, you aren’t a consumer who can shop around, you take a ticket and join a queue. Not every British hospital is a rat and cockroach infested nightmare, many of them are well run. But you don’t have the option of only attending well run hospitals.

Even when you know your local hospital is infested with rats and cockroaches, in Britain there is not a lot you can do about it, other than pay twice for medical cover; the mandatory charge for public health, and whatever additional money you can scrape together for a private health plan. Because the incompetent and corrupt managers running the roach motels are unionised government employees; almost impossible to fire.

Of course, the Democrats have a track record with assuring people they will keep their right to choose, so maybe you can trust Warren to get it right. President Obama assured everyone that under Obamacare people would have the choice of keeping their current doctor.

No doubt Elizabeth Warren’s climate plan will also help ensure rats and cockroaches never infest hospitals in her version of the USA’s new public health system.