The Incompetence of The Global Health Security Index of 2019

[johnkarls]

.

NB: The material in the following e-mail does NOT detract from the facts that --

(1) “The Premonition” was “within its four corners” nothing but a political “hit piece”; and

(2) As explained elsewhere including the Discussion Outline for our Aug 12 meeting, Michael Lewis confessed on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that it was nothing but a political “hit piece” when he told John Dickerson on August 1 –

“In the first place, the Trump Administration abdicated responsibility for running, for the federal government, he just walked away from that, right, he just said: ‘Governors, you’re on your own.’”

*****
In addition, the material in the following e-mail does NOT detract from the analysis in the Discussion Outline for our Aug 12 meeting that AS A THEORETICAL MATTER it should be a “SLAM DUNK” to prove in a lawsuit for defamation, “actual malice” on the part of Michael Lewis, his editor and his publisher (WW Norton & Co.) as they are forced to turn over to the plaintiff(s) all of their files including correspondence and then have their depositions taken “under penalties of perjury.”

[Though as the Discussion Outline also notes, AS A PRACTICAL MATTER satisfying the Olympic High Hurdle of “proving” in court that there has been “actual malice” is probably impossible because any jury would be likely to have at least one “Trump hater” who has lied her/his way onto the jury.]


---------------------------- Original Message -----------------------------
Subject: The Incompetence of The Global Health Security Index of 2019
From: ReadingLiberally-SaltLake@johnkarls.com
Date: Thu, August 12, 2021 10:21 am MDT
To: Last Evening’s Meeting Participants
Attachment:

RL-h812-Global-Health-Security-Index-2019.pdf

(12.43 MiB) Downloaded 232 times

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Dear Friends,

Thank you for participating in last evening’s discussion.

And thank you for pointing out the attached report last evening.

It’s a shame that nobody (1) either posted a comment beforehand about the report on our bulletin board in the “Participant Comments” section for last evening’s meeting, and/or (2) at least sent me an e-mail “heads up” that Michael Lewis was trying to reference the report when he said on page xv of his introduction –

at the end of a lengthy paragraph in which he claimed that 180,000 Americans would still be alive in February 2021 if the U.S. had simply performed as well as the other G7 nations –

“Before the pandemic, a panel of public-health experts had judged the United States to be more prepared for a pandemic than other G7 nations.”

Yes, I confess that I was so upset with (1) the lack of any footnotes for a book purporting to be serious, and (2) the just-quoted casual claim regarding AN UNIDENTIFIED “panel of public-health experts” – that I didn’t think to look back three paragraphs to a reference to the attached report.

HOWEVER –

My point last evening (and in various comments on our website and in our weekly e-mails) is that such a conclusion (“more prepared for a pandemic than other G7 nations”) could NOT POSSIBLY BE TRUE in light of the UN’s World Health Organization’s annual assessment for the last several decades that the U.S. has a healthcare system that ranks BELOW ALL OF THE OTHER 37 MEMBERS OF THE O.E.C.D. AND IS EVEN OUTRANKED BY SOME THIRD-WORLD COUNTRIES!!!

It takes only a few minutes to ascertain where the attached report went wrong!!!

Pages 20-29 of the report (pp. 26-35 of the attached Adobe.pdf file of the report) provides 6 categories on which the 195 countries were rated –

1. Prevention of the Emergence or Release of Pathogens

2. Early Detection & Reporting for Epidemics of Potential International Concern

3. Rapid Response To and Mitigation of the Spread of an Epidemic

4. Sufficient and Robust Health System to Treat The Sick & Protect Health Workers

5. Commitments to Improving National Capacity, Financing and Adherence to Norms

6. Overall Risk Environment and Country Vulnerability to Biological Threats

The report ranked the U.S. first in categories 1-5, nineteenth in category 6, and first overall.


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AS DISCUSSED LAST EVENING AND ON OUR WEBSITE –

THE U.S. CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE WAS OUTSTANDING IN ESTABLISHING THE FIRST-IN-THE-WORLD TRAVEL BAN ON CHINA 1/31/2020 ONLY 10 DAYS AFTER THE FIRST CASE IN THE U.S.

AND WAS OUTSTANDING IN ELIMINATING RED TAPE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF VACCINES WITHIN 7 MONTHS WHEN THE “EXPERTS” SAID IT COULDN’T BE DONE FOR 3-5 YEARS, IF EVER (NB: THE REST OF THE WORLD HAS NOT DEVELOPED ANY VACCINES OF THEIR OWN).

AND WAS OUTSTANDING IN BUYING IN ADVANCE OF ANY APPROVALS MILLIONS OF DOSES SO THAT THEY WOULD BE READY FOR THE U.S. MILITARY TO DELIVER WHEREVER THE GOVERNORS WANTED IMMEDIATELY UPON F.D.A. APPROVAL.

AND WAS OUTSTANDING IN WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE NATION’S GOVERNORS IN USING THE DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT TO FORCE SUCH COMPANIES AS GENERAL MOTORS (WHICH WAS REFUSING) TO PRODUCE VENTILATORS – SO THAT NOBODY WAS EVER SHORT OF VENTILATORS AND IN NO TIME FLAT WE WERE EXPORTING VENTILATORS TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.

AND WAS OUTSTANDING IN CREATING HOSPITALS IN, FOR EXAMPLE, NEW YORK CITY’S JAVITS CENTER FULLY STAFFED FOR COVID WITH MILITARY PERSONNEL – NOT TO MENTION THE TWO MILITARY HOSPITAL SHIPS DISPATCHED TO NYC & SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

AND WAS OUTSTANDING IN ENSURING THE GOVERNORS HAD EVERYTHING ELSE THEY NEEDED – EXCEPT WITH RESPECT TO (BUT ONLY MOMENTARILY) PROTECTIVE GEAR BECAUSE IT WAS ALL MANUFACTURED IN CHINA AND CHINA WAS HOARDING SAME.


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So why was the attached report so wrong???

Because it was SO INCOMPETENT in rating the U.S. first among the 195 nations in “sufficient and robust health system to treat the sick”, etc.!!!

All they had to do was to bother to consult the UN’s World Health Organization which has reported annually for decades that the U.S. healthcare system is WORSE THAN ANY OF THE OTHER 37 MEMBERS OF THE O.E.C.D. and WORSE THAN SOME OTHER THIRD-WORLD NATIONS.

[If you dig into the UN reports, you will see that the main problem is the U.S. does NOT provide adequate healthcare services to its Permanent 30% Under-Caste.]

And as sports fans would say – “That was the ball game”!!!


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Please feel free to respond if you would like to try to defend the report.

Or defend Michael Lewis whose book should have pointed out the fatal flaw in the report, after he placed it on an altar to be worshipped.

Your friend,

John K.