Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an architect of Obamacare and special adviser to the director-general of the World Health Organization, told MSNBC’s The Last Word that the United States cannot return to normal until a Chinese coronavirus vaccine is available, which he speculated could take between 12-18 months.
A transcript is as follows:
Alex Murdaugh trial clerk reemerges after explosive ruling upends murder conviction
Chicago sees at least 25 shot over Memorial Day weekend as police cancel officers’ days off
Trump will head to Walter Reed for his annual physical
Hasan Piker names pro-CCP tycoon Singham as financier of ‘political movements’ despite nonprofit veneer
Massie positions himself for potential political future after primary defeat: ‘I won’t be going away silently’
Trump-backed candidates score major boost from deep-pocketed AI Super PAC in upcoming primaries
How AIPAC’s spending strategy evolved, to the dread of anti-Israel Democrats and Republican detractors
Tulsi Gabbard honors wish of Gold Star wife to visit husband’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery
Trump flexes MAGA muscle in Texas Senate runoff clash between Cornyn and Paxton
Skydiver dies after midair collision with another jumper during group jump in Washington state
Dog accidentally fires shotgun, striking woman yards away during chaotic gas station stop
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner embraces democratic socialism at Bernie Sanders rally in Portland
Jacob Frey criticized for remembering George Floyd on Memorial Day, six years after death sparked riots
Widow of ‘American Sniper’ Chris Kyle Hits Back Against Dem Senate Candidate for ‘Making Things Up’
Watch: Trump Sums Up Memorial Day Better and Quicker Than Any President in Living Memory – Just 9 Words
DR. EZEKIEL EMANUEL: No one is immune to the COVID-19 virus. It threatens all of us. But while we are all experiencing the same pandemic, we are not experiencing it in the same way. The first dividing line is whether you or someone you love has gotten sick. Many Americans have not yet seen firsthand what devastation a positive test can inflict. Another dividing line is whether you have a job that lets you stay at home, working as you juggle child care and video chats.
60 million Americans are still out there not sheltering in place and instead tirelessly working to keep everything going for the rest of us. You keep the electricity flowing and the internet running, food and groceries moving. You are putting your own health on the line to ensure the rest of us are living as normally as possible. And then there are the tens of millions of Americans who have lost jobs and businesses, or who fear that they’re just about to. Your anxiety about the virus is coupled with worry over having a paycheck, covering the mortgage, keeping the lights on, and buying food.
Realistically, COVID-19 will be here for the next 18 months or more. We will not be able to return to normalcy until we find a vaccine or effective medications. I know that’s dreadful news to hear. How are people supposed to find work if this goes on in some form for a year and a half? Is all that economic pain worth trying to stop COVID-19? The truth is we have no choice. If we prematurely end that physical distancing and the other measures keeping it at bay, deaths could skyrocket into the hundreds of thousands if not a million. We cannot return to normal until there’s a vaccine. Conferences, concerts, sporting events, religious services, dinner in a restaurant, none of that will resume until we find a vaccine, a treatment, or a cure.
Story cited here.
