02-14-2020, 01:55 PM
** 14-Feb-2020 World View: HHS Secretary gives harsh criticism of China over coronavirus transparency
On Friday morning, Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar was
interviewed on CNBC, where he harshly criticized China for its
lack of transparency with regard to the coronavirus emergency.
Here are the major points:
Here are some excerpts (my transcription):
In response to a question about Singapore, where human to human
transmission is occurring:
He also offered the following advice to everyone: Wash your hands,
cough into your sleeve, and don't touch your face.
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/02/14/hh...virus.html
On Friday morning, Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar was
interviewed on CNBC, where he harshly criticized China for its
lack of transparency with regard to the coronavirus emergency.
Here are the major points:
- An American CDC team has been made available to them for 39
days, but the Chinese have blocked them.
- A World Health Organization (WHO) has theoretically received
approval, but are still being blocked.
- The WHO and CDC need access to the original genetic sequencing and
raw data, not "sterilized information," to run studies to get answers
to key questions, how severe is this, how does it transmit, is there
asymptomatic transmission, what's the incubation period.
- Significantly, Azar did not answer, and left hanging, the question
of whether the virus occurred naturally or was a bioweapon. He made
it clear that this question will only be resolved when the CDC and NIH
personnel are able to evaluate the raw data.
Here are some excerpts (my transcription):
Quote:> "The problem is with China is that you don't know what
> you don't know. So we're getting a lot of information, but I
> really think that the World Health Organization must insist that
> China be fully transparent and be transparent and fully
> cooperative, as they would insist on the United States or any
> other country.
> We need to get this team that I have offered now for 39 days of
> CDC experts - we gotta get them into China, and they've gotta be
> given access to data -- genetic sequences -- and run the studies
> to get answers to key questions -- how severe is this, how does it
> transmit, is there asymptomatic transmission, what's the
> incubation period. We need these answers, China needs these
> answers.
> [Question: Do you know for a fact that this virus occurred
> naturally, and not in some kind of P4 bioweapons lab?]
> We need to be very careful not to engage in speculation here,
> until we have data and evidence. We need transparent access to
> all first generation genetic sequencing. And we gotta get on the
> ground and do what we always do -- work shoulder to shoulder with
> the Chinese scientific experts. To just look at raw data, and
> solve these questions. ...
> They [China] keep saying, and the World Health Organization keeps
> saying, that there's an agreement to send a World Health
> Organization team with CDC and NIH officials as part of that, but
> until the visas are in the passports I can't take that to the
> bank. It's gotta happen, but then just getting there isn't good
> enough. They can't be put in a conference room, and given
> sterilized information or data. They've gotta be able to work
> shoulder to shoulder with the Chinese experts, for China's own
> benefit, to get the answers to these key questions."
In response to a question about Singapore, where human to human
transmission is occurring:
Quote:> "We're assessing the data, hour by hour, to determine
> the epidemiology to assess whether further travel restrictions are
> warranted. With Singapore, one of the questions is whether we're
> seeing true multi-generational community spreading, in other
> words, a spread to a spread to a spread, or whether we'e seeing a
> first generation cluster. We've gotta get to the bottom of
> that."
He also offered the following advice to everyone: Wash your hands,
cough into your sleeve, and don't touch your face.
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/02/14/hh...virus.html
