Sort of. Unless he can't withdraw, only Congress can.
www.theguardian.com
I mean, was that ever in question?It looks like China did withhold information from the WHO back in January -
China withheld data on coronavirus from WHO, recordings reveal
Complaints by officials at odds with body’s public praise of Beijing’s response to outbreak
Not seriously.
They have to try to work with China the best they can, otherwise, they get blocked out entirely and would no longer receive the vital data needed from China to help resolve this and protect others. Trump is too stupid to understand the importance of working with China on this as to obtain as many samples as possible of the original strain in order to better address this because Trump doesn't understand science so he dismisses it. This means we need access to data from Guangdong, and hopefully to the bats there as well so we can better understand how this jumped species in the first place and find out how many other similar strains in that region may also have this possibility in order to hopefully prevent future pandemics.
The US has been withholding data from WHO as well. We have had cities, counties, and states withholding data that conflicts with their reopening plans so it isn't like China is the only one who has done this. When we have officials refusing to release data, WHO or the CDC cannot receive accurate data.It looks like China did withhold information from the WHO back in January -
China withheld data on coronavirus from WHO, recordings reveal
Complaints by officials at odds with body’s public praise of Beijing’s response to outbreak
www.cnn.com
ktiv.com
Yes, I’m well aware that China and the US are Other pretty bad. I’m very willing to blame Ji Xinping and Donald Trump. Xinping did hide info and let the virus spread but acted once he couldn’t hide it anymore. Trump has decided not to do much. I’d also blame BoJo and Sweden. At least Sweden sold letting heaps die to save the economy. It’s a stupid plan but generally Swedes backed their play probably because the leader spent his time building up social capital Instead of wasting it on pet projects.The US has been withholding data from WHO as well. We have had cities, counties, and states withholding data that conflicts with their reopening plans so it isn't like China is the only one who has done this. When we have officials refusing to release data, WHO or the CDC cannot receive accurate data.
Florida's scientist was fired for refusing to 'manipulate' COVID-19 data
Researchers fear a wave of data censorship after the manager of Florida's COVID-19 dashboard is removed from her post.www.usatoday.comFlorida Medical Examiners Commission chairman says state officials asked them to withhold coronavirus death figures
The Florida Department of Health asked the Florida Medical Examiners Commission not to release the commission's comprehensive list of coronavirus deaths, the commission's chairman told CNN on Thursday.Gov. Ricketts: Nebraska won't release specific COVID-19 numbers at meatpacking plants
HIPAA protects individuals' medical records and other personal health information.
Oh I completely agree on UK and and Sweden as well. Some of the mindset on this has been terrifying tbh. We have no idea what the long term ramifications of this are yet, The delayed onset of Kawasaki disease symptoms in children worry me about a later in life activation flare up that could prove fatal for adults, but we just do not have enough information to know what the long term risks are but have already allowed so much of the population to be exposed unnecessarily.
That's rather the crux of the issue, isn't it. Is this the fifth or six pandemic that originated in China in the past fifty years, the spread of which at least partially attributable to Chinese opacity and reluctance to participate in international efforts to halt international spread? As you said, this isn't even the first SARS pandemic. The Chinese government has proven itself, repeatedly, an unreliable source and bad-faith actor when it comes to global health.
Nope.
You mean SARS. It's hard to meaningfully pin much more, given how badly developed and/or misrun it was during any prior outbreaks.
The WHO has a remit of combatting diseases, not fighting other people's political battles for them.
Three flu outbreaks, two SARS outbreaks, that's five.
Then it should be leading the world in health care, and research on the origins and spread of infectious diseases, not impeding it.
So, what happens when political motive and vested financial interest directly conflict with their mission statement? Just as the case with any other UN organization.
A state's willingness to participate, the level of its cooperation, and the veracity of the information provided, is data. And it's incumbent upon the WHO to report that data, so that action -- diplomatic or economic -- might be taken so the WHO can perform its duty in accordance with its mission statement.
Not in the last 50 years. The last 'flu pandemic was H1N1 (Mexico), last one before that was in the 60s. There are all sorts of seasonal 'flus, of course.
I'd argue developing nukes is easier than having efficient, complex, public health systems. The reason lots of countries have complex public health systems but not nukes is that public health systems are useful to them and nukes aren't.
Sure, and I guess Liberia should have eight of the world's largest pharmaceutical firms, too.
How is it in the financial interest of the WHO to risk offending its biggest donor, and overseeing a failure that may adversely affect it's entire membership?
Of a sort, yes. But not necessarily the data the WHO urgently needs at a certain place and time. Much like people in a building with a gas leak need to be a lot more concerned about how much gas there and what to do about it than finding out which technician last checked the gas main.
The 1997 H3N2 outbreak originated in China as did the H5N1 outbreak of 2003.
We're not talking about having efficient, complex public health systems in accordance with 21st Century standards. Note I said "nuclear age". That, bare minimum, is 1950's standards, and that's not just about health care systems per se but rather the capacity and willingness of a government to gather, compile, analyze, and share information, least of all about potentially-global health risks.
When Liberia has the second largest national GDP in the world which accounts for 15% of global GDP, we can have a conversation about Liberia.
Well that's rather a good question and I suppose we're about to find out, won't we.
No, that's exactly the data the WHO needs most of all. Much like people in a building with a gas leak need to be a lot more concerned about the person telling them there's nothing wrong, that they should act as normal, and who won't let them leave, than they do about how much gas there is and where.
So your accusation of corruption was entirely speculative?
Pretty sure the virus has no stake in China's transparency and the analogy has gotten away from you. By no means were the WHO telling everyone that there was nothing to worry about, that was Trump. Even though they couldn't force China to be more open with their data, they took what they could get and made the best projections and models they could accounting for this problem. I'm not sure how exactly you think spending their time and money doing the job of a diplomatic or law enforcement agency is a better way for the WHO to accomplish their job than actually doing their job.
WHO was giving bad advice in January due to bad intel/ not knowing enough about the virus.
They are not conventionally viewed as pandemics.
I think this is making a lot of assumptions, with the benefit of hindsight, about how easy it is to recognise a new disease, its epidemiology, etc.
GDP/capita is a more useful measure of a country's level of development.
The WHO already knows something's wrong. It's in their own reports that they know China's not giving them all the information they need. Their job is to get China to pass along more data.
Neither was COVID-19 despite having spread to a geographical area larger than Europe, and directly impacting a population greater in number than Europe or North America, until it actually impacted Europe and North America. Strange feat for a designation with no clear line of definition other than geographical range and population impacted. Don't kid yourself, public health especially on the international level is thoroughly politicized.
Well I mean, this isn't as if this is the exact scenario that had been warned about by public health authorities across the planet for nearly twenty years or anything. Or that we now know Chinese officials were well aware the Wuhan outbreak was due to a novel coronavirus strain since November, and not just replicated its performance during the 2002 outbreak despite past experience but went above and beyond the call of duty by actively spreading disinformation to the global community long after the outbreak had gone international.
Now they are, having come under international scrutiny and facing consequences.
Yes, but if we're that loose, pretty much every single seasonal 'flu is technically a pandemic every year.
No, there's possible evidence of awareness of a new infection in November. However, it's one thing to spot a disease, another to identify what's causing it and everything else about it. All that takes time, to amass and study data. From what we know, initial cases prompting specific investigation are early-mid December, and there are only a handful of hospitalisations. It's by end December with a few dozen hospitalisations there's powerful evidence the problem is pretty major.
I mean that mid-January the WHO already knew China wasn't giving them all the information. The WHO's priority at that point was getting as much information out of China as possible so they could analyse and disseminate it.
USA
