I led the U.S. CDC response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic

https://www.statnews.com/2026/06/06/ebola-outbreak-us-aid-response-tom-frieden-action-plan/

by maxall4 • 2 months ago

21 2 2 months ago

kotaKat• 2 months ago

I was working in healthcare IT during the Ebola epidemic and I remember being in the middle of Bumsville, Nowhere and even we were sitting there worrying about the potential things that could happen if it hit our community. I remember the staff running Ebola drills with 'fake patients' that would slip into the ER registration flow to make sure they were immediately containing the person and everyone that would have to work with them. Three alarm fires sounded with funny men and women in funny suits to come whisk you away to isolation...

And then COVID happened... and man that response was just so sadly different. If only... if only.

ElProlactin• 2 months ago

COVID is a completely different kind of virus.

Ebola is spread by bodily fluids and is too effective at killing to spread the way that a highly-infectious but less lethal airborne virus like COVID-19 can. There are also a variety of cultural factors (related to burial practices, etc.) that make it much more difficult for Ebola to spread effectively outside of the areas it's endemic to.

The response to COVID by many countries was pretty dreadful but the evidence is pretty mixed about whether it would have really mattered in the end.

I led the U.S. CDC response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic

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