Dear Sir
President Donald Trump said “the cupboards were bare” of personal protective equipment ( PPE) and ventilators when he took office, however, they were still bare three years into his administration. When asked about this he blamed Russian Gate, Ukraine Gate, and the impeachment, which is hogwash since there were adequate government resources available to address the need for medical supplies.
Ronald Klain, an Obama administration official who addressed potential pandemic outbreaks said Obama’s administration provided the Trump administration with a 69-page pandemic manual called Playbook for Early Response to High-Consequence Emerging Infectious Disease Threats and Biological Incidents. This document was ignored by Trump’s administration. Additionally, Trump abolished the office for pandemic preparedness in 2018 and cut by 75 percent a global pandemic monitoring system.
Obama’s pandemic manual references the need for the federal government to procure PPE, detect the outbreak, acquire funding, and invoke the Defense Production Act at the earliest indication of a pandemic in the world. It calls for the appointment of a single knowledgeable federal person to lead the response effort, which is not an unqualified president or vice president.
Trump said he could not have predicted the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Obama administration told Trump and his aides to prepare for a potential pandemic.
Donald Moskowitz
Londonderry NH
