News from an epidemic

Under-counting the casualties

Steve M.

Official: White House didn’t want to tell seniors not to fly

The White House overruled health officials who wanted to recommend that elderly and physically fragile Americans be advised not to fly on commercial airlines because of the new coronavirus, a federal official told The Associated Press.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention submitted the plan this week as a way of trying to control the virus, but White House officials ordered the air travel recommendation be removed, said the official who had direct knowledge of the plan. 

Trump administration officials have since suggested certain people should consider not traveling, but they have stopped short of the stronger guidance sought by the CDC.

. . . .

On Friday, the CDC quietly updated its website to tell older adults and people with severe medical conditions such as heart, lung or kidney disease to “stay home as much as possible” and avoid crowds. 

It urges those people to “take actions to reduce your risk of exposure,” but it doesn’t specifically address flying.

Pence, speaking Saturday after meeting with cruise ship industry leaders in Florida, targeted his travel advice to a narrower group: older people with serious health problems.

“If you’re a senior citizen with a serious underlying health condition, this would be a good time to practice common sense and to avoid activities including traveling on a cruise line,” Pence said, adding they were looking to cruise line officials for action, guidance and flexibility with those passengers.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar suggested older Americans and those with health problems should avoid crowds “especially in poorly ventilated spaces.”

. . . .

Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, this week warned U.S. lawmakers against minimizing the viruses risk for vulnerable people. 

During a Congressional hearing, he said the coronavirus “is like the angel of death for older individuals.”

Some experts this week said clearer and louder guidance should be made to vulnerable people, so they take every possible step to avoid settings where they might more easily become infected.

“The clear message to people who fit into those categories is; ‘You ought to become a semi-hermit. You’ve got to really get serious in your personal life about social distancing, and in particular avoiding crowds of any kind,’” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University expert on infectious diseases.

That can include not only avoiding essential commercial travel but also large church services and crowded restaurants, he added.

Dr. Tom Frieden, a former CDC director, said whether to recommend the frail and elderly avoid air travel is “a difficult question,” but clearly this is a time when such conversations should be taking place.

And see this at the Mahablog.

But the fecklessness is not winning out.

Fauci on Meet the Press.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recommended Sunday that elderly and vulnerable Americans limit their exposure to travel and large crowds as the world fights the coronavirus outbreak.

During an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Fauci said that the elderly and those with “underlying conditions” are “overwhelmingly” more likely to have complications if they catch coronavirus.

“If you are an elderly person with an underlying condition, if you get infected, the risk of getting into trouble is considerable. So it's our responsibility to protect the vulnerable,” he said.

“When I say protect, I mean right now. Not wait until things get worse. Say no large crowds, no long trips. And above all, don't get on a cruise ship.”

“This will be a recommendation," Fauci said. "If you're a person with an underlying condition and you are particularly an elderly person with an underlying condition, you need to think twice about getting on a plane, on a long trip. And not only think twice, just don't get on a cruise ship.”

. . . .

Fauci admitted that early attempts to send out coronavirus tests were frustrated by delays, but he said that the nation’s testing capacity is “accelerating dramatically.”

“Early on, there were some missteps with regard to the test and some technical aspects to it. But right now, I believe, 1.1 million tests have already been sent out. By Monday, there'll be an additional 400,000. And by the end of next week, probably around 4 million,” he said.

Even so, he added that while “we’re getting a better sense” of the scope of the outbreak “as the days go by,” that “unfortunately that better sense is not encouraging because we’re seeing community spread,” which is when the virus spreads locally instead of only to people with exposure abroad.