CoronaVirus — Pandemic Or No? Could Go Either Way

Ken AshfordEbola/Zika/COVID-19 VirusesLeave a Comment

Speaking at a media briefing last week, the executive director of the World Health Organization made it clear that things are simply not clear. The epidemic of 2019-novel coronavirus that has generated tens of thousands of cases around the city of Wuhan may become a broad global pandemic … or not. Meanwhile, officials at health agencies around the world are bracing for the … Read More

Coronavirus Death Toll Approaches 1000 And it’s Not Close to Done

Ken AshfordEbola/Zika/COVID-19 VirusesLeave a Comment

The death toll from the new virus sweeping across China and surging around the globe closed in on 1,000 Monday amid warnings that the 40,000 known cases may be “the tip of the iceberg.” Chinese health officials said 97 more deaths were reported Sunday, a spike after days of decline that put the global toll at 910. All but two of the deaths … Read More

Impeachment, Kobe, Middle East Non-Peace, And We’re All Gonna Die From A Virus

Ken AshfordBlogging, Ebola/Zika/COVID-19 Viruses, In Passing, L'Affaire Ukraine, Middle East, Personal & Other, Trump & Administration, Trump ImpeachmentLeave a Comment

I was hospitalized for a few days with colon issues. Nothing major and nothing I care to discuss. But boy did I miss a lot. It kind of seems pointless to talk about most of it. Just some small reflections. I’m not much of a basketball fan, but this Kobe Bryant death even shook me. He seemed like one of … Read More

Two Million Pregnant Women At Risk For Zika Virus

Ken AshfordCongress, Ebola/Zika/COVID-19 Viruses, Health CareLeave a Comment

So far, the GOP-controlled House has offered a mere $622 million in Zika funding — far less than what will be needed to meaningfully combat the virus. It’s unclear when Congress may reach an agreement on this issue before its long summer recess. And according to an analysis by the Center For American Progress, this delay could be putting about … Read More

Republicans Want America To Be Full Of Wimps

Ken AshfordEbola/Zika/COVID-19 VirusesLeave a Comment

Or…. as the Rude Pundit says, pussies.  He articulates my views exactly: The Republican National Committee is up with an ad that throws every scary thing in the world at you. “ISIS gaining ground. Terrorists committing mass murder. Ebola inside the U.S. Americans alarmed about national security,” says the ominous voice ominously. “What’s President Obama doing? Making plans to bring … Read More

Ebola Update

Ken AshfordEbola/Zika/COVID-19 VirusesLeave a Comment

There was news yesterday that a doctor in New York tested positive for Ebola: A doctor in New York City who recently returned from treating Ebola patients in Guinea became the first person in the city to test positive for the virus Thursday, setting off a search for anyone who might have come into contact with him. The doctor, Craig … Read More

Josh Voorhees: Everything that went wrong in Dallas — a timeline of Ebola missteps | Dallas Morning News

Ken AshfordEbola/Zika/COVID-19 VirusesLeave a Comment

Thomas Eric Duncan first arrived at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on the night of Thursday, Sept. 25, with a fever, abdominal pain, dizziness, and nausea. What doctors failed to realize then is that Duncan had Ebola—the first case to be diagnosed in the United States. That was only the beginning of the hospital’s problems. In the three weeks since, Duncan … Read More

Keep Calm Or Fear Ebola?

Ken AshfordEbola/Zika/COVID-19 VirusesLeave a Comment

It is really hard to take the position that the Ebola fear is the by-product of Fox News doing their usual fearmongering shtick when you read that, for all their care given to contain the virus here in the United States, a nurse who treated the single Ebola patient in Dallas now has Ebola… and then… another nurse from the same Dallas hospital has … Read More

Here’s The Interesting Thing About The Republican Freakout Over Ebola

Ken AshfordEbola/Zika/COVID-19 VirusesLeave a Comment

Fox News host Gretchen Carlson managed to wrap Ebola, the Secret Service scandal, the Veterans Affairs scandal, Obamacare, the IRS and Benghazi into one long string of questions on competence and safety on her Monday show: Time now for my take. So, should we trust the government to keep us all safe from Ebola? With the government’s recent track record … Read More