And then I see the disinfectant where itknocks it out in a minute, one minute and is there way we can do something likethat by injection inside or almost cleaning…
A lot happens in a week these days, thatwas exactly one week ago when President Trump talked updisinfectants, a dangerously ignorant statement that spawned daysof controversy and government Corrections and the issue there and the issue tonightis not fundamentally about ideology or politics.
It's about science and truths, governmentignorance about science is dangerous during a pandemic you know that, we know that, maybesometimes he doesn't know that today's problems are a long way from howpresidents in both parties have tried to approach medical science, especiallyduring crises here was President Obama in his very first inaugural address:
we will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology's wonders to raise health care quality and lower its cost.
that was the assertedpriority coming into office, he wanted people to know in the inauguralthat science would matter and he went on to restrict, take thoserestrictions that were on stem cell research and lift them he went on to order federalagencies to maintain scientific integrity, he also joined the Paris climate Accordswhich he argued was a direct response to climate science in fact, all the wayback in 2010, it was Barack Obama who actually held thefirst ever White House Science Fair with students because the United States hasalways been a place that loves science we're here to celebrate these young scientistsand visionaries there's… the folks who are going to come upwith cures for diseases and new sources of energy and help us build healthier…more successfulsocieties.
President Obama also happily leaned into the nerdier sideof these things here he was, firing a student's marshmallowcannon, it all to prop up to engage with, to showin a very real way all the different methods we can use, fromeducation to the rest of our lives to work with science now of course, it's notall science fairs and games.
The United States face swine flu under Obama's first year on the job and because we think this is relevant, nowwe want to show you exactly how that President led the country during ascary time of infectious disease stressing the approach of hisadministration would be scientists taking the lead our capacity to deal with a public healthchallenge of this sort rests heavily on the work of our scientific and medical community as our scientists and researchers learn moreinformation about this virus every day the guidance we offer will likely change.
what will not change is the fact that we'llbe making every recommendation based on the best science possible that is what it looks like when a presidentwarns the country very directly and speaks to them like they're adults totell you, hey, some of this may change over time, because we're learning as we go, but every recommendation will rooted in science that was the standard.
Now Donald Trump claims he doesn't expect asecond wave of coronavirus in the fall publicly at odds with the experts who sayit's inevitable, the last president tooka different tack on the same issue ten years ago.
We know that we usually get a second largerwave of these flu viruses in the fall and so response plans have been put inplace across all levels of government. Our plans and decisions are based on the bestscientific information available and as the situation changes, we will continueto update the public
A president warning you the flu can come backrather than pretending it won't, Obama had a similar approach dealing withEbola and we have to be guided by the science, wehave to be guided by the facts, not fear.
he went on to make a public display meetingwith the Dallas nurse who has recovered from Ebola and gave her a hug rightthere for the nation to see if you go further back before thepresidency, senator Obama also discussed publicly. His worries about the very kind of crisiswe now face, since coming to the Senate six months ago one of the foreignpolicy and health issues I focused on relates to the avianflu.
we must face the reality that these exotickiller diseases are not isolated health problems halfway around the world but direct and immediatethreats to the security and prosperity here at home for all the talk about what you can predictand what you can be prepared for it is instructive
right now, to look at which types of approacheswork, which types of risk management it was inthat same legislative body, the US Senate, well that senator made clearhe wanted scientists making the big decisions who's going to be responsible for decidingthat a quarantine in some circumstances warned:
do you think it would make sense to have yourselfor Dr. Fauci, Dr. Fauci or others somebody who was saying you know, what I amkeeping track of all this stuff I hope I can help, I…I know this has been anobviously a back-and-forth confusing issue.
In reality we're talking about somethingthat's overwhelmingly a health issue, we all know what we're dealing with rightnow back when Donald Trump was drawing sharpielines on a hurricane map, that was dangerous misinformation for thosewho were in the storm's path, that was part of the country, now you canlook at this and it's like we're drawing sharpies all over the worldmap, but the worst pandemic in a century withpotentially catastrophic life-and-death consequences, and you have questions about what happensto our safety when you have the misinformation coming directly from the WhiteHouse, when you have scientists suppressed and basically oustedor sideline because they disagreed with the president.
None of that is supposed to be normal inthe White House promoting science isn't just aboutproviding resources it's also about protecting free and openinquiry it's about letting scientists like thosewho are here today, do their jobs free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us: Even when it's inconvenient, especially when it's inconvenient, it is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda and that we make scientific decisions based on facts not ideology.
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