Trump insisted 'nobody ever thought of' a pandemic like COVID-19. His administration did, last year.
President Trump insisted Thursday that his administration was prepared for the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, but he also said: "Nobody knew there would be a pandemic or epidemic of this proportion. Nobody has ever seen anything like this before. ... Nobody ever thought of numbers like this." It turns out that his administration had gamed out an eerily similar pandemic over the first half of 2019, The New York Times reports, and issued recommendations in October that highlighted how unprepared the U.S. was to deal with such a respiratory virus outbreak.
The simulation, called "Crimson Contagion," was run by the Health and Human Services Department with participation from 12 states and more than a dozen federal agencies, including the Pentagon, Homeland Security Department, and National Security Council, the Times reports. It tried to model what would happen if an influenza pandemic that started in China spread through the U.S. with no treatment, leaving 7.7 million Americans hospitalized and 586,000 dead.
"Many of the moments during the tabletop exercise are now chillingly familiar," the Times reports. The Crimson Contagion fictional virus prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to urge social distancing, employers to shift to working from home, and a confusing patchwork of school closures. The exercise found that U.S. didn't have any way to quickly produce needed medical supplies like N95 respirators and ventilators.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Many of the potentially deadly consequences of a failure to address the shortcomings are now playing out in all-too-real fashion across the country," the Times reports. "And it was hardly the first warning for the nation's leaders." In 2017, for example, outgoing Obama administration officials ran an extensive pandemic response exercise with senior incoming Trump administration officials, most of whom were subsequently fired or quit. In 2018, National Security Adviser John Bolton disbanded the National Security Council's pandemic response team, set up after an Ebola pandemic.
HHS says the fictional outbreak of influenza was "very different than the novel coronavirus." Read more at The New York Times.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
When does early voting start in swing states?
The explainer Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin
By David Faris Published
-
Mexico's first woman president has unprecedented power but an uncertain future
In the Spotlight Claudia Sheinbaum has promised to continue her predecessor's legacy
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
4 tips for coping with election anxiety and stress
The Week Recommends Election news is hard to circumvent. But navigating the politically charged season does not have to be stressful.
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Seattle Children's Hospital sues Texas over 'sham' demand for transgender medical records
Speed Read Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subpoenaed records of any Texan who received gender-affirming care at the Washington hospital
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Afghanistan has a growing female suicide problem
Speed Read The Taliban has steadily whittled away women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan over the past 2 years, prompting a surge in depression and suicide
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US life expectancy rose in 2022 but not to pre-pandemic levels
Speed Read Life expectancy is slowly crawling back up
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Vallance diaries: Boris Johnson 'bamboozled' by Covid science
Speed Read Then PM struggled to get his head around key terms and stats, chief scientific advisor claims
By The Week UK Published
-
An increasing number of dog owners are 'vaccine hesitant' about rabies
Speed Read A new survey points to canine vaccine hesitancy
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published