One person has died in the US. It's not time to panic. I expected more logical comments here.
Other countries are already trying to slow down spread via cancellation of events and closures of schools. The same needs to happen here so that our hospital system has a chance to cope. The real danger is what happens when the 19% of people who get infected that require some level of hospital care can’t get it. The death rates will then rise considerably. Those are preventable deaths if we slow this down.
There needs to be clear and fact based communication from authorities every day about the current situation and what the public can do to play their part. People panic when information is hidden from them, they aren’t stupid they will see what’s going on. They need to know that all the correct things are being done.
Oh please. There's likely absolutely nothing the CDC could have done to prevent it from entering and spreading within the US, given the nature of the virus. What would have been an ideal situation in your mind, have the CDC order a complete halt to domestic/international travel early January?
Having said that you’re right that the CDC and health systems in general have mainly and advisory and coordination, rather than a direct role in preventing the spread of a disease. However they need to have the funding, focus and senior representation in order to do that quickly and effectively.
The CDC, or some agency in each country anyway, has four roles in this I think.
The first is as part of international monitoring, research and co-ordination efforts. Pandemics are by definition international phenomena and the countries they are most likely to start in are the ones with weak governments or health care infrastructure. This is the first line of defence.
The second line of defence is advice and information, supporting other government institutions and agencies in co-ordinating their resources. Medical expertise is needed to support border control, diplomatic efforts, internal transit networks, government policy, law enforcement, logistics, the list is endless. These all have a role to play in limiting the transmission of the disease and preparing for the eventuality that is reaches populations. They all need expert advice and that advice needs to be prepared in advance and consistent.
Thirdly if the disease does take a grip, co-ordinating local and regional medical resources and efforts. Collecting data from health care networks to track the disease and direct resources where they are needed most, and ensure those resources are used in the most effective and efficient way possible.
Finally, research. This is a long term commitment to developing new equipment, treatments and techniques. This, and all the previous functions operate at the national or even really international level and can't effectively be progressed by fragmented regional or local health care systems. If it's not the CDC it needs to be somebody.
Also there used to be a CDC expert on the National Security Council until 2018. Of course you can bring in an advisor as needed, but that’s not the same as having someone you know, and that knows you and how you work, and knows the resources and capabilities you have right there on staff in the NSC.
On the ball would be treating the CDC and pandemic response as national defence, not charity welfare.
The point isn't to prevent it from entering and spreading within the US, but to slow down its spread to give the medical community more time to study it and develop treatments and vaccines, and for the US health care system to prepare by increasing capacity, equipment, training, and staffing.
Sadly, little preparation has been happening because people haven't been taking it seriously, and have been squandering the advanced warnings we've gotten from China.
Something else to consider is that a slowly spreading disease is much easier to manage than a fast-spreading, uncontrolled outbreak. The latter leads to an overwhelmed health care system and many more unnecessary deaths.