Corona Virus

President Trump acted early and aggressively against the corona virus. He established a Corona virus Task Force in the White House in January. On January 31, he banned most travel from China. He was strongly criticized by Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and the World Health Organization. But subsequently, Dr. Fauci stated that the action probably saved thousands of lives.

On March 12, President Trump banned most flights to Europe and on March 13, he declared a national emergency. Again his actions were opposed by Joe Biden and many others. On March 17 he announced guidelines approved by Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx to lock down most of the economy and social distance. He invoked the Defense Production Act 78 times to ensure the necessary supplies were available. He turned the Javits Center in New York City into a hospital and sent a hospital ship to New York harbor. The president actually over prepared, as it turned out that neither facility was needed. He also inaugurated “Operation Warp Speed” which ensured that unnecessary government regulations were eliminated to enable doctors and scientist to produce a vaccine and treatments much more quickly than usual.

From the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board:

President Trump’s tweet Monday “Don’t be afraid of Covid” has invited more criticism. But scientists generally agree with his fundamental point that Americans need to learn to live with the virus.

That’s also the message of a new declaration from scientists that the media are ignoring. Organized by Harvard’s Martin Kulldorff, Sunetra Gupta of Oxford and Stanford’s Jay Bhattacharya, the Great Barrington Declaration recommends that people be allowed to live normally while protecting the vulnerable. The authors are infectious-disease experts, and the statement by our deadline had been signed by more than 2,300 medical and health scientists and 2,500 practitioners, and counting.

They describe their approach as “Focused Protection,” but it’s essentially what Sweden has done and even the World Health Organization is now recommending. Many European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron are also slowly embracing it, though it still remains heresy on America’s left.

The collateral damage from government lockdowns “include lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings and deteriorating mental health — leading to greater excess mortality in years to come, with the working class and younger members of society carrying the heaviest burden. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice,” the declaration says. “Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed.”