H5N1 Pandemic Test Case -- Biden Administration Not Ready

In October 2020, Stanford health professor Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and former Harvard medical professor Dr. Martin Kulldorff co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, showing that protecting the elderly and vulnerable, rather than shutting down the entire nation, would save more lives. Within hours, federal bigwigs Francis Collins and Anthony Fauci launched a smear campaign to label Bhattacharya and his fellow signers "fringe epidemiologists."

Worse, the CDC and the Department of Homeland Security conspired with major social media platforms such as YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) to keep the public from hearing from the government's critics.

Censored scientists sued. The case, Murthy v. Missouri, is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. Sadly, the Biden administration is taking the wrong side, claiming censorship protects the nation from "disinformation."

That's a sign the administration cannot be trusted to tell us the truth during the next health scare.

2. Create a Domestic Supply Chain for Hospital Supplies

When COVID-19 struck, the U.S. was caught short of masks, respirators and other hospital gear. One-third of America's imported COVID-19 medical supplies came from China. In early 2020, the Chinese Communist Party nationalized medical supplies, cutting off exports. The shortages in the U.S. continue even now. On Nov. 27, 2023, President Joe Biden called for "assessments" of the nation's domestic production capacity. Sorry, too late for more reports. Time to act.

3. Curb Dictatorial Governors

During COVID-19, state legislatures ceded their authority like sheep to governors, allowing them to shutter schools, churches, businesses and recreational facilities.

Fortunately, some states, including New York, came to their senses and undid those grants of authority or time-limited them. Biden and the left-wing media were highly critical of these states -- a sure sign more states need to curb emergency health powers before the next health crisis.

4. Never Underestimate Government Stupidity

Less than four months ago, when public health authorities were already tracking the arrival of H5N1 in the U.S., the National Institutes of Health awarded funding for a project -- Virus Hunters -- tasking New York City high schoolers with collecting bird feces from public parks in order to map the spread of H5N1 in the bird population. Students, wearing face masks and gloves, will collect the bird poop with cotton swabs. What could go wrong?

Students could contract the virus by touching bird excrement and then their own eyes, nose or mouth, cautions Brown University infectious disease expert Dr. Leonard Mermel.

Trust this government with your life? Ridiculous.

To prepare for a pandemic, start by curbing the government's power over your decisions.

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Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey. To find out more about Betsy McCaughey and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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