仅仅作为参考 -新冠病毒是川普一個人的责任？

我说过，只要这次大选的主要议题是新冠病毒，川普就很难赢。这也是为什麽美国媒体日日夜夜宣扬新冠病毒的严重性。

我也听过有人说，川普不能怪别人，因为他处理不当。这就是媒体製造的新闻误导的成功。因为一开始，媒体就处心积虑，让新冠肺炎成为川普的「失败」。

大家忘了几件事：中国在去年十二月初(可能更早)就爆发武汉肺炎，但是瞒著全世界（编者注：中国面对的是一个全新的病毒，也跟世卫组织彻底全面及时的汇报和交流，根本不可能存在瞒报，中国的行为是合理且合科学依据的），之后瞒不住了，但是不公开这是可以人传人的疾病（注：这是原文作者主观臆想）。

一月20日美国传出第一宗武汉肺炎病例，是华盛顿州一个刚从武汉探亲回来的35岁男子。他因为年轻，没有其他严重病例所以治疗几个星期后回家疗养。但这也是民主党国会弹劾川普刚刚开始的时期，一月21号，参议院开始就众议院交上来的弹劾案展开聆讯，指控川普招募外国(乌克兰)元首，帮他调查政敌，让他在选举中得利。媒体每一天的新闻，都是对川普不利的匿名消息来源。这时候民主党及媒体的话题还是弹劾川普。

反而是川普反应最快，他在一月30日就宣布，禁止任何过去两周去过中国的外国人(旅客)进入美国，这行动确实很快，所以当时引起民主党，媒体，甚至世界卫生组织WHO的批评，说他仇视外国人，是仇视中国人的种族主义者，这包括当时在角逐民主党总统提名的拜登在内。

二月四号，川普在国会宣读国情咨文，众议院议长佩洛西当著摄影机撕毁了川普的演讲稿，之后她在记者会中说，虽然参议院否决了弹劾议案，但是「川普将永远被弹劾」。武汉病毒还没有在他们脑子裡注册。

二月27日，川普任命副总统彭斯统筹对付新冠肺炎，国家疾病控制中心CDC的医生群都在场，但是媒体跟民主党立即展开攻击，说彭斯不是医生专业，这是将医疗问题政治化：CNN说九个负责人中只有一个女性；纽约时报这一天已经在大标题上使用了TrumpVirus (川普病毒) 的字眼，说「如果你染病，你知道应当怪谁」。

事实是，到这时美国只有六十多人染病，但是媒体已经知道要将这病毒的帐算在川普身上。很多评论员都在电视上纷纷将这次的病毒跟2005年路易斯安那州的Katrina飓风相提并论，说这病毒将会是川普的Katrina，意思是用来打击他让他一厥不振。见到这现象，川普就说这是继调查他「通俄」，以及乌克兰弹劾事件后的另一次假新闻hoax，他指的不是病毒。但是这一句话就被媒体恶意的引用，他们说：川普不相信病毒的存在，说这病毒是hoax (假新闻，谎言)。从次之后，媒体就攻击川普不相信有新冠病毒存在。(广大民众不知道这中间的经过，都以为川普确实是这样说。)

事实是，世界卫生组织到了二月11日，才给这病毒取了名字Covid-19，(拖到) 三月八日才正式宣布这病毒是一次疫情pandemic。川普的行动比世卫还早了十天。

二月19日，义大利发生疫情扩散，之后欧洲人人自危。川普在三月11日宣布，禁止26个欧洲国家的班机入境。这时也遭受到WHO的批评，欧盟国家也大力反对。因为到当时「禁飞」的措施还没有被其他国家採用(除中国外)。但是之后，几乎所有国家都採取了禁飞措施。一般认为，川普两次禁飞延迟了这个病毒在美国的广泛散播。

二月29日，美国出现第一位境内死者，是华盛顿州一位护老院老人。当天华盛顿邮报的标题是：白宫手忙脚乱frantic的试图淡化新冠肺炎危机，scrambled试图做出反应，甚至说：白宫一片混乱chaos。

事实是，这时好几个评论员在电视上说：「川普只会叫大家不要惊慌，完全不顾现实。」那时候道琼斯股市直线下滑，一个星期跌了13%，幅度大于2008年的经济危机，川普叫大家不要惊慌错了吗？而就在这一天，众议院议长佩洛西Nancy Peloci 还带著一群官员到旧金山唐人街，劝大家不要害怕，尽量到唐人街用餐。究竟是谁教大家不要紧张？究竟是哪裡chaos？

三月五日，美国仅有三百人染病，15人死亡，染病的多数是邮轮上回来的病人。死者则多数是护老院有其他长期疾病的老人。但是媒体继续对川普攻击，他们指责川普「鲁莽的」删减CDC的经费，导致疫情开始后对抗无力。结果美联社AP追究后发现，川普曾经建议过削减CDC经费，但没有进行，相反的川普未上台之前，奥巴马政府一套预算案中削减了医疗前线应付紧急事故的经费，才真正影响到紧急应变措施。

三月中终于疫情扩大，纽约市有两万人证实染病，三月底全国有八万多人染病，是全球最高数字，超过义大利的八万。这时全世界很多国家纷纷开始封城，到三月底全球一百万人染病。美国死亡人数达到四千人。

到这时没有国家预期到，尽管採取很多措施，病毒还是迅速散播。三月16日，美国的应变小组宣布要美国人禁足15天，除了买菜，哪裡都不要去。连政府及私人机构，都建议让员工在家工作。这似乎是可以做到的唯一办法。

之后川普及他的团队每天都在白宫开记者会，报告政府的对策，每一天，都有新发明(发现)，好像新的测试病毒方式，只要15分钟就有结果。此外每天川普都找了很多大公司宣布他们如何帮助生产口罩，呼吸器，医疗用品。很快的，每天都生产几十万个口罩，同时预计一百天内可以製造五万个呼吸器，。

纽约因为是重灾区，州长康莫Andrew Cuomo也是每天开记者会。一开始，康莫就向川普道谢，说他完全合作，提供所有的资源。事实是，加州民主党州长Gavin Newsom是最早称讚川普的工作是phenomenal (好得不得了)，说他提出的所有要求川普都做到了，而且比他要求的更多。但是这些讚美的话，主流媒体从来都不提，(网路上都找得到的。)直到后来，康莫在民主党压力下，开始攻击川普，CNN等就一再重複这些话。事实是，康莫像是打摆子，骂一次隔天又称讚一次，这都是政治作怪。

他们称讚川普的团队，是因为副总统彭斯每天都跟各州长通电话，问他们的需要，然后提供补助。虽然口罩，防护衣在最早时期是短缺，但是很快就在军方及私人机构合作下，充分供应。特别是呼吸机，造价三万五千美元一个，也是加速生产，最后还可以供应义大利，西班牙，南美及非洲等国的需要。而且川普更派了两艘海军医院，到东西海岸给纽约及加州两个重灾区，解决病床不够的问题。

但是媒体只有谩骂，每一天纽约时报及华盛顿邮报有都四五篇文章，说：川普一开始就没有准备；川普只会推责任给其他部门；情报部门一早就警告有可能疫情扩大；这个政府处理疫情的方式比疫情本身还危险；(政府)玩政治，而不是处理危急事务；川普拥抱未经证实的药物让病人跟医生都担心；我们相信医生，而不是(川普)……

只要川普说的话，都是谎话，要不就被攻击。例如川普在三月初说的一句话，It’s going to be just fine，说这感冒会跟其他感冒一样，天气转暖后会消失，用这些话攻击，说他降低病毒严重性，说他的轻敌态度让美国人受害。事实是，降低病毒危险的是WHO，他们直到二月中还说：这次疫症不比任何一次的更严重，过一段时间就会消失。事实是Fox News找出了传染病专家Anthony Fauci在二月中说过同样的话，说这个病毒对人类不是重大威胁。WHO到三月八日才宣布这病毒是疫症pandemic，现在责怪川普没在那个时候实施全国隔离封城？事实是，你到网上去查，所有二月中以前的报导，专家都说这感冒不是真正威胁。

川普又说，他希望复活节(三个星期后)时，能够解封，到时教堂裡大家一起做礼拜，会多好。这样一句「期望」的话，也是媒体攻击的话，说他太过乐观，被CNN指责是骗人的Happy talk，会害死人。MSNBC主持Rachel Maddow说：不能让川普在电视机前胡乱说话，会死人的。

他们曲解川普每一句话，川普有一次跟几个专家谈到，清洁剂会让病毒死亡，他就开玩笑说，也许可以使用这种清洁剂製作成一种药剂，注入人体，对抗病毒。结果这一句话就被媒体广泛使用，说川普建议国民将清洁剂注入人体。

还有，川普接受一些医生意见，说一种治疗疟疾及红斑狼疮的药物hydroxychloroquine对于医治新冠肺炎可能有帮助。就在记者会中推荐。就因为是他推介的，媒体就大肆攻击。在当时，没有药物可以医治新冠肺炎，如果有一种药物可以试试，为什麽不试？从此媒体视这药物为毒药。

医生的理论是，新冠肺炎跟红斑狼疮部分徵状很像，所以这种药可能有效。事实是这种药已经面市六十多年，证明没有副作用，而且极端便宜。(记得当爱滋病刚出现时，医学界也是使用多种原有的药物，混合治疗，当时都当作是极大贡献，有人这样大力反对吗？)

结果很多人被hydroxychloroquine治好了，我见到很多病人及医生在电视(Fox News)上作证，最著名的是一个年轻女病人，她是密西根州一个黑人女子，还是民主党的该州众议员Karen Whitsett，她说她在医院快要病死了，想起川普提过这个药，就叫她丈夫问医生是否可以一试，结果没两天她就好了。她甚至到白宫跟好几位有类似经验的病人，向媒体作证，但是除了Fox，我没见到其他媒体报导。该州民主党议会甚至提案要罢免她，后来因为反弹声音大，取消了。

好多位医生也都在Fox作证，这个药有效，(要知道，这样做并非绝对有效，但是当你知道无药可医，但有机会治好时，为什麽不试一试？)有几个医生在网上开记者会，说他们用这药物实验，是有效的，但是他们的记者会在几十万人点击后，被youtube封杀。

事实是，纽约州长康莫也多次在记者会中，提到了这种药物，他说纽约的医生对这药物感到comfortable，及promising，所以他已经通知医生「可以的话就试著用」，并且已经有一万剂的药物送到医院。但是他的话就不被媒体引用。

我还见到加州两位医生在Fox上面说，最初当新冠肺炎出现后，医院强迫他们将心脏病死者，糖尿病死者，或其他慢性疾病死者的死因改作是新冠肺炎。这两位医生的访问也有上百万的点击，后来也被封杀了。至于医院为什麽这样做？有些是为了可以多得到经费补助，有些是为了配合主媒的宣传。这些都是政治因素。

这麽多年来，任何人跟媒体的步调一致，都会受到吹捧，特别当这人可以配合他们攻击(像川普一样的敌人)，一开始，媒体就在川普的医疗团队中看中了传染病专家Anthony Fauci，因为他是民主党，也很喜欢出风头，CNN整天访问他，从他的话语中找到跟川普牴触的话，让媒体用来做大标题。其实他很多话跟川普是一样的，(只是川普说得直接)，让他们衝突。他们要打击hydroxychloroquine，Fauci全力配合，说这药没有经过测试，不能使用。(测试一种药需要一两年时间，你有那时间吗？)

而且一个重要的被忽略的事实是，由于新冠肺炎，有多少心脏病人，癌症病人，以及其他的手术，都被终止了，拖延了，有人知道会有多少人因此死亡吗？还有因为封城而失去工作，延误学业，导致失业，忧鬱症，自杀的？这些全都不是新闻吗？

川普的经济措施是他任内一大成就，很多民主党人都认为，这将是让川普连任的最重要因素。他们在娱乐界的盟友，电视主持Bill Maher公开在电视上说：我祈求美国经济萧条。因为只有这样才能阻止川普当选连任。

新冠肺炎就给了民主党一个最好的藉口，全面封锁经济，让经济崩溃。川普每一次建议解封，都成为他的罪状。他们高喊，是否解封权力在州长，事实是，后来的封城及解封都由州长决定，而新冠肺炎死亡人数直线上升也发生在封城之后，所以新冠肺炎死了多少人，跟川普毫无关係。他们到现在也只能指责川普的言语「淡化」了危机。但是却将二十几万人命，都算在川普身上。

川普确实是在口头上淡化新冠肺炎的可怕，他说过「治病的药不可以毒过疾病本身」，而且经过大半年的时间，新冠肺炎的死亡率已经由最初的3-4%降低到1%以下。如果不是本来有慢性病，几乎都可以治好，但是民主党以及媒体就主张继续全面封城。这样拜登就可以说：川普是唯一的一个，下台时的失业率高过上台时。他居然说得出口，他将封城时期的失业率当作是川普的经济政策失败。也证明为什麽民主党(以及民主党主政的州)坚决继续封城。

再说川普为什麽不戴口罩，四月时媒体就每天盯著川普，问他为什麽不戴口罩。当时我就说过，他是一国元首，为什麽一定要他戴口罩？其实他很小心，(他本来就有洁癖)，每一个要跟他接触的人都必须戴口罩，都必须每天测试，这样他就无需戴口罩。但是媒体每一个问题都是他不戴口罩，这让川普很生气。我说过，媒体每天都像斗牛一样，拿著一块红布在他面前抖动，刺激他发怒，这游戏我已经看了四年多。而川普的性格就是：你越要气我，我就越要反过来气你。结果他就更不爱带口罩。另外他也轻敌，结果让他染上病毒，这可能是他在这个选战中最失策的一个举动。(不过他让自己做实验，很快就医治好了，也证明这肺炎没有想像的可怕。)

我在三月(03/18/2020)就写过：每天看白宫的新冠肺炎记者会，可以学到很多东西。但是见到七十几岁的川普站在一群人当中，下面还有几十个记者，真为他担心。他为什麽不隔离呢？而且他说下午还要见护士，医生的代表。昨天他也连著一天见了旅游业，航空业，以及各行各业的代表，他真是危险性最高的一个人了。媒体还要说他不够尽力。

现在事实是，新冠肺炎的威力在减轻，虽然媒体还是每天都在呐喊，感染人数多麽高，(CNN更是24小时不停地渲染数目字)，但其实死亡率非常低，等到降低到一定比例，就跟普通感冒没甚麽区别。而且感染人数增加并不代表甚麽，因为测试的人多了，自然感染的人也增加。

危言耸听的是媒体，而且他们是有政治目的。对于控制这病毒一点好处都没有。如果一开始，媒体就当他们是媒体，而不是川普的反对党，这场疫病应当可以更有效的对付。#

11/12/2020

Pfizer 辉瑞药厂的新冠疫苗选择在大选后，拜登被媒体宣布「当选」后的第一个(工作日)星期一公布，早就引起怀疑，现在证实是该药厂跟民主党勾结的结果。

川普自从九月起就表示：新冠疫苗即将问世，新冠疫苗频临有结果，新冠疫苗会在十月底之前问世…当时媒体跟民主党都说川普在催促新冠疫苗，以达到竞选目的。是不顾国民健康的政治手段。民主党更表示会抵制这疫苗，呼吁国民不要接受。

结果是这间药厂拖到正好在拜登「获选」之后立即宣布疫苗成功。而且拜登的声明在当天说：「我们的医疗顾问昨晚获悉这消息…」而川普政府却是在星期一才从新闻中获悉此一消息。目前川普仍然是总统，但是药厂却先通知拜登「政府」。

而且配合这新闻，纽约时报在发布此消息时说，辉瑞不属于川普政府的疫苗计画Operation Warp Speed，也没有拿政府的钱。意思是这项疫苗的成功与川普政府无关，他不可以领功劳，所有媒体也都这样说。这纯粹是谎话。之后辉瑞药厂收回这句话，不仅如此之后还承认这项疫苗计画确实是跟政府合作，而且用了20亿元的补助。但是没有一间媒体做正式的修正，所以前面一种说法广为流传。

至于为什麽会发生这样的事？部分原因是，过去大半年川普为了缓和药价，以行政命令削减了多种药品的价格。这些都是面市已久的药物，过去在药厂垄断下非常昂贵，一些糖尿病人，癌症病人，甚至忧鬱症病人，每年要花几千，甚至数万元买药。记得过去几年美国人经常集体坐巴士到加拿大来买药，双方药价的差距到九成以上，(加拿大药价不到美国十分之一)。民主党的山德斯Bernie Sanders更组织这些巴士队伍越过边境买药。川普知道后强迫药厂减价，结果惹起药厂的全面抵抗。这一次大选，这些药厂除了捐献钜款给民主党，还在电视上大作广告攻击川普。川普多次在群众大会中提及此事，说他受到药厂的庞大力量的攻击。

除了药厂，美国食品与药物管理局FDA也在新冠肺炎出现后跟川普作对，(记得DC选区有95%投票给拜登，给川普的只有5%)，这是华府的deep state存在的证据。FDA在大选前两个月突然宣布，所有新的疫苗必须有60天的安全期，才可以面市。这是史无前例的规定。在疫情威胁如此严重的时期，却明显的阻止疫苗在大选前出现。

另一间药厂Eli Lilly也巧合的在大选后的第五天(也是同一天)宣布，他们研製的治疗新冠肺炎的抗生素通过了FDA的批准，可以给医院做紧急使用了。这些都是让人怀疑的过份巧合。他们全都等到大选后，确定拜登当选后才一一宣布。

大选前，媒体跟民主党藉著一个记者的一句话，说川普不顾国民生命及健康，蒙骗新冠肺炎的严重性，日夜疲劳轰炸，打击他的威信。事实则是，他们做的事才是为了政治目的不顾国民健康。

10/31/2020

这两天见到网上有一篇「川普在新冠疫情出发生时，採取的74项行动对付病毒及推动经济」，74 actions taken by Trump to fight virus and bolster economy，说在疫情一开始，川普就不断採取行动，对付病毒。证明在疫情发生后，川普一样也没少做。

原来这篇文章早在三月23日就刊登在Washington Examiner，但外间流传很少。而撰写这篇文章的居然是一名退休警察总长，而最初是刊登在一个警察成立的网页上：Law Enforcement Today，可见今天美国的警察都跟川普站在一起，见到他被欺负也出来打抱不平。

这文章将74项分为九大类：国家整体反应及行动，旅游限制，扩大测试，支援受影响商业，帮助家庭及就业，加强资讯，支援病人及医护人员，提供重要医疗配备及设备，发展疫苗。

因为文章太长我就不翻译了，但我会将原文贴在这裡。(这些都是文章发表的三月底之前做到的。)

List: 74 actions taken by Trump to fight virus and bolster economy

The following article contains some editorial content written by a former Chief of Police and current staff writer for Law Enforcement Today

Entire Government response:

• Declared a national emergency， providing over $42 billion in federal funding to states， territories and tribes.

• Signed legislation securing $8.3 billion for coronavirus response.

• Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response act， which American families and businesses impacted by COVID-19 would receive the strong support they needed.

• The president created the White House Coronavirus Task Force to coordinate the government’s response.

• Named Vice President Mike Pence to head lead the task force， who then appointed Dr. Deborah Birx to coordinate the White House Coronavirus Response.

• President Trump held numerous teleconferences with that nation’s governors to coordinate response efforts and to assure federal support.

• President Trump approved major disaster declarations for severely impacted states， such as New York， Washington， and California.

Travel Restrictions

• In January， President Trump issued a travel ban from China as soon as that country was identified as being ground zero for the virus.

• Announced further travel restrictions from other global hotspots， including the European Union， Ireland， and Iran.

• American citizens returning from travel-restricted countries were directed to specific airports， where they would be screened and isolated as necessary.

• Mutual agreements were reached with Mexico and Canada to restrict non-essential travel across our northern and southern borders.

• The administration said it would expeditiously return aliens who cross between ports of entry or were not otherwise permitted to enter the country， since the facilities at which such persons would be detained cannot support quarantine and might have been needed to assess potential cases.

• Raised travel warnings to their highest level for other hot spot locations， including Japan and South Korea.

• The president expanded airport screenings in order to identify travelers showing symptoms of COVID-19 and instituted mandatory quarantines.

• The United States State Department issued a global level 4 travel advisory， which urged Americans to avoid all international travel due to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.

Expanded Testing Accessibility

• The Food and Drug Administration issued emergency approval for new commercial coronavirus tests to significantly expand testing across the U.S.

• President Trump secured legislation that will ensure Americans are able to be tested for free.

• The administration worked with state and local partners， as well as the private sector， to open drive-thru testing sites.

• The administration， in cooperation with the private sector， worked to develop a website that Americans could use in order to determine whether they needed to get a test， and where to go.

• Health and Human Services provide funding in order to accelerate the development of rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19.

• The FDA cut red tape to expand testing availability.

• Admiral Brett Giroir—the Assistant Secretary for Health and head of the Public Health Service—has been appointed to coordinate coronavirus testing efforts.

• The FDA has empowered states to authorize tests developed and used by laboratories in their states.

• The Department of Defense set up 15 coronavirus testing sites worldwide.

• The president signed legislation which required more reporting from state and private labs in order to ensure public health officials had the data they needed in order to respond to the outbreak.

• DoD and HHS worked to airlift hundreds of thousands of swabs and sample test kits from Italy to the United States.

Supporting Impacted Businesses

• The Small Business Administration announced disaster loans which provided impacted businesses with up to $2 million.

• SBA also relaxed criteria for disaster assistance loans—expanding small businesses’ access to economic assistance.

• President Trump directed the Energy Department to purchase large quantities of crude oil to supplement the strategic oil reserve.

• President Trump has held calls and meetings with business leaders from across the board， including pharmaceutical， airlines， health insurers， grocery stores， retail stores， banks， etc.

• The Treasury Department approved the establishment of the Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility to provide liquidity to the financial system.

Helping Families and Working Americans

• The administration negotiated legislation which provided tax credits for eligible businesses that gave paid leave to Americans affected by the virus.

• The administration took action to provide more flexibility in unemployment insurance programs for workers impacted by the coronavirus.

• The Treasury moved Tax Day from April 15 to July 15.

• The president signed legislation that provided funding and flexibility for emergency national aid for senior citizens， women， children， and low-income families.

• USDA announced new flexibility to allow meal service during school closures.

• USDA announced collaboration with the private sector in order to deliver nearly 1，000，000 meals per week to students in rural schools closed due to the virus.

• The administration halted foreclosures and evictions for families with FHA-insured mortgages.

• The Department of Labor announced up to $100 million in dislocated worker grants in response to the coronavirus.

• The White House worked with the private sector to launch a website where families， students， and educators could access online technology.

• The president signed legislation to provide continuity in educational benefits for veterans and their families who attend schools that have had to switch from in-person learning due to the coronavirus.

• The Department of Education gave wide-ranging approval to colleges and universities to permit them to move classes online more easily.

• The Department of Education set interest rates on all federal-held student loans to 0% for at least 60 days

• The Department of Education also announced that borrowers could suspend their payments on federally held student loans for two months (that was eventually changed to putting student loans in forbearance until the end of the year， still interest free).

• The Department of Education provided waivers for federal testing requirements to states that have had to close schools

Informing the Public

• The administration launched a website—coronavirus.gov—to keep the public informed about the outbreak.

• The president launched a partnership with the Ad Council， media networks， and digital platforms to communicate public service announcements about the coronavirus.

• President Trump announced guidelines for Americans to follow and do their part to stem the spread of the virus.

• The Coronavirus Task Force initially held daily press conferences and briefing in order to keep the American people informed with the latest information.

• The Task Force recommended mitigation strategies at the onset of the virus to heavily impacted communities， such as those in New York， California， and Washington.

• CMS announced guidance in order to protect vulnerable elderly Americans and limit medically unnecessary visits to nursing homes (guidance which was ignored by Andrew Cuomo (D-NY)， Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI)， Phil Murphy (D-NJ)， Ned Lamont (D-CT) and others， leading to higher than acceptable deaths of elderly nursing home patients.

Supporting Patients and Healthcare Providers

• In January， the administration declared the coronavirus a public health emergency. Democrats in Congress were distracted by their obsession with the impeachment scam.

• The president donated his fourth-quarter 2019 salary to the Department of Health and Human Services for coronavirus response efforts.

• The president took action to give HHS authority to waive rules and regulations so that healthcare providers had maximum flexibility to respond to the outbreak.

• CMS gave flexibility to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans to waive cost-sharing for coronavirus tests and treatment.

• CMS created new billing codes for coronavirus tests to promote better tracking of the public health response.

• The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy coordinated with the HIH， the tech industry， and nonprofits to release a machine-readable collection of 29，000 coronavirus research articles， intended to help scientists discover insights to virus’ genetics， incubation， treatment symptoms and prevention.

• The Trump administration announced that health plans and with health savings accounts were permitted to cover coronavirus testing and treatment without co-pays.

• CMS expanded telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries， which ensured patients could access their doctors remotely while avoiding exposure.

• HHS lifted HIPAA penalties in order to allow healthcare providers to expand telehealth access for patients.

• The Veterans Administration established 19 emergency operations centers across the country and put in place visitation restrictions to limit patients’ exposure.

• CMS and the VA are working to limit nonessential， elective medical procedures to fee up healthcare resources.

• President Trump directed two Navy hospital ships， the Mercy and the Comfort to New York and Los Angeles to add additional support to those areas.

• President Trump announced Carnival Cruise Lines would make their ships available for hospitals to use for non-COVID patients.

Strengthening Essential Medical Supplies

• President Trump announced that he would be invoking the Defense Production Act if needed.

• The president signed a memorandum which directed the administration to make general-use face masks available to healthcare workers.

• HHS announced it would be purchasing 500 million N95 respirators for the Strategic National Stockpile.

• The Department of Defense announced it would provide 5 million respirator masks and 2，000 specialized ventilators to assist.

• President Trump signed legislation that prevented manufacturers from selling industrial masks—which can readily protect healthcare workers—directly to hospitals.

Development of Vaccines and Therapeutics

• The administration worked to accelerate the development of therapeutics and a vaccine to combat the coronavirus (Operation Warp Speed).

• The FDA conducted an evaluation of existing drugs which could possibly serve as potential therapeutics for coronavirus patients.

• The administration has been working alongside the drug manufacturing companies to ensure the drug supply chain remained intact.

• The administration expanded research and consulting with experts to better understand the transmission of coronavirus.

• The NIH began clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine， which as of today is well underway.

As a reminder， all of this took place within the first several weeks of the pandemic， while Congressional Democrats were obsessing over a sham impeachment for President Trump.

While all of this was going on， Nancy Pelosi， Bill de Blasio， Andrew Cuomo and others were encouraging people to “got to Chinatown， come downtown to see a show， come to out restaurants.”