Coronavirus, the fragility of the United States

The diffusion
The official data, even if they change from day to day, could appear reassuring: just over a hundred infected and a dozen deaths in a country that has over 300 million inhabitants. The streets of New York and other major cities, such as cinemas and museums, are still crowded, schools and universities are open almost everywhere, reassuring messages continue to arrive from the White House. Yet anxiety grows and the figures communicated by the Center for Disease Control, the CDC, both the scientific world and public opinion, however, trust less and less. Insecurity is growing, above all, having understood that too many things, in the health world as in the political and economic world, have not worked as they should have.

The health service
To end up under accusation, first in the newspapers and on the television networks most opposed to the Trump administration, then in most of the media, it was primarily the public system that should guarantee health but which in recent years the White House has weakened with continuous cuts to funds and specialized personnel.

On Wednesday, Vice President Pence, whom Donald Trump has named responsible for the entire battle against the epidemic, for example announced that 2,500 new kits will be distributed at the weekend, enough for about one and a half million new tests. In addition, private laboratories and even large pharmaceutical chains can also carry out the exams from now on.

The announcement, however, came only after – for many weeks – the few qualified laboratories had to struggle with the lack of swabs and even after the CDC distributed a test kit which then turned out to be defective. And there are many doubts among scientists that the deadline will be met.

Very few swabs
Despite the tight control imposed by the White House on all official communications, the CDC itself admitted a few days ago that – almost two months after the outbreak in China – fewer than 500 swabs were carried out in the whole country , with an average of about sixteen per day. A figure far from those of the other affected nations. A figure that has left the suspicion that the virus continues to spread, unsuspected, between neighbors and work colleagues. Immediately afterwards, criticism and doubts also affected the entire national health system, which was completely unprepared and sometimes ready to speculate on a crisis that frightens everyone.

The first scandal erupted when the Miami Herald revealed that a US citizen from Wuhan who was then quarantined was seen to have an invoice of nearly $ 4,000 for medical bills, tests and x-rays. And similar accounts have gone to many others.

But not only: most hospitals have begun to report not only the lack of test kits, but also that of the protections for staff and even fans for the sick. “I hope the epidemic hits us lightly, otherwise we are in trouble. The Chinese have given us a month to prepare for the worst, but we have not made good use of it »complained Dr. Eric Toner speaking to the Washington Post.

In the only industrialized country where the health and insurance systems are still almost totally in private hands and the creation of a public system is at the center of the electoral debate, the crisis has certainly made public opinion reflect. How many possible patients do not go to the doctor for fear of expenses or go to work regularly because they are not entitled to an absence paid in case of illness?

In recent days, the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo has asked not to charge any health care costs to coronavirus victims in his state. Other governors have taken similar steps. However, the issue is far from being resolved.

The White House
For the Donald Trump administration, of course, the moment is difficult, there are answers that public opinion expects and there are a thousand scientific and economic uncertainties on how to deal with an unexpected crisis. And above all, there is a presidential campaign to be carried out without the comfort of a growing economy. To all this, the White House reacted in its own way, first minimizing internal risk and directing containment measures especially towards those who came from the countries most affected by the epidemic. Then, faced with the facts, the attitude has partly changed. Mike Pence, who had been initially criticized for his inexperience, has shown in the last few days that he is doing his job seriously. It has announced a series of measures to defend the older population, met with the leaders of the industries most at risk, such as tourism, and guaranteed the short-term arrival of test kits. Trump, for his part, did not deny, he denounced the data of the World Health Organization as false, which raised the mortality rate to 3.4 percent, accused Obama of the lack of tampons, he continued to repeat that everything is fine. The images that have taken Anthony Fauci, one of the most respected scientists in the world, intent on denying a president who claimed that the vaccine will be ready in a few months, has arrived in the homes of all Americans. And now, with a heavy health crisis that will most likely make public opinion more attentive to Bernie Sanders’ battle for public health, Wall Street which continues, albeit with ups and downs, to lose points and even the big companies now resigned to reducing their earnings forecasts, could be those images to make the voters rethink.