President Obama and his Administration are hurting the Ebola Relief Efforts

The President and his administration are hindering the Ebola relief efforts in West Africa.  I believe that we have a moral and ethical obligation to do what we can to stop the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.  Furthermore, looking at this selfishly, the best way to protect us in the U.S. is to stop the epidemic, eliminating the pool of Ebola Virus, which currently is in West Africa.  President Obama’s approach to the Ebola epidemic is counterproductive--let me explain.  Americans want a strong, intelligent leader who will make smart and courageous decisions and follow through.  The health crisis in West Africa requires a multipronged approach: 1) immediate suspension of all commercial flights from the epidemic; 2) immediately preventing all people with passports from West Africa from entry into the U.S.; 3) immediately require a 21-day quarantine of all persons coming from the epidemic; 4) pressure and enable the governments of the epidemic countries to set up isolation zones throughout each country and ban travel in and out of these isolation zones; 5) set up Ebola supportive therapy stations in each isolation zone that has Ebola patients; 6) encourage and enable U.S. health care workers to fly to the epidemic and participate in the supportive therapy stations; 7) encourage and enable  all of the countries of the world to do the same.  With such a comprehensive and scientifically based approach we stand our best chance of limiting the epidemic to West Africa and ultimately saving thousands of lives in West Africa and around he world.  I think the majority of Americans would enthusiastically back such a plan.  President Obama and his administration are focusing on parts 5 and 6 of the above plan to stop the epidemic, which leave many of us wondering why he and his administration are ignoring other critical components of the plan.  What makes this more puzzling is how indignant the President has been during his recent speeches referring to the quarantine.  Doesn't he realize that his lack of action on isolation and quarantine and his disparaging citizens who advocate such has further eroded our support of his Ebola policy specifically and his leadership in general.  Doesn't he realize that politically, just a few days before the mid-term elections, his Ebola response is further damaging his party and his ability to get anything accomplished over the next 2 years?  Doesn’t he realize that by angering many of us with his weak and seemingly “politically correct” approach to the epidemic, his actions (or lack of such) will ultimately backfire and make the components of the Ebola response he is advocating harder to accomplish?

Steven Keller, Ph.D.

Professor New Jersey Medical School-Rutgers University

http://ebolaresponse.blogspot.com/