HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle

How China Corrupted the World Health Organization's Response to COVID-19

Views: 1083
By putting out questionable guidance and whitewashing the Chinese government's handling of the crisis, the WHO destroyed much of its credibility, damaged the field of public health, and failed to contain the pandemic.

Full text and links: https://reason.com/video/how-china-corrupted-the-world-health-organizations-response-to-covid-19/

------------------
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ReasonTV?sub...
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magaz...
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason
----------------

President Donald Trump, who put a hold on WHO funding yesterday, isn't absolved of his own failures in confronting COVID-19. But there's no doubt that the WHO's response destroyed much of its credibility, damaged the field of public health, and failed to contain the pandemic.

The WHO's actions in response to COVID-19, in part, stemmed from its overly deferential stance towards China, which is its second-biggest financial contributor among 194 member states.

"A phenomenal collective action by the people of China to this response" is how Bruce Aylward, head of the joint WHO-China mission, described China's handling of the outbreak on February 25, 2020, a day after WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised China's "rapid response," which he claimed "changed the course of this epidemic."

The WHO also praised China for releasing the virus's genome while neglecting to mention that it took them at least 17 days to do so. It didn't report human-to-human transmission until late January—even though Chinese doctors suspected it at least a month earlier. Although the extreme lockdown of Wuhan likely saved thousands of lives, WHO scientists weren't allowed into Wuhan until 3 weeks after the outbreak first came to light, leaving open many questions about measures the government took in the interim. Meanwhile, the WHO praised the country for its supposed openness.

"China took action at the epicenter, and that helped prevent the spread to other provinces and the rest of the world," Ghebreyesus said on February 15. 

"As China has shown, this does not need to be a pandemic if we take action," WHO Executive Director Michael Ryan said on February 28. 

As the virus continued spreading across Europe and reached America, the WHO recommended "no interference with international travel."

One country that ignored this advice was Taiwan, which also warned the WHO that it suspected that the virus was spreading through human-to-human transmission, yet was ignored. Taiwan, which has one of the lowest rates of known COVID-19 infections per capita, was prevented from joining the WHO as a member country in 2015 by China, which refuses to acknowledge Taiwan's independence.

In late March, World Health Organization epidemiologist Bruce Aylward declined to answer a Hong Kong reporter's question about Taiwan—or even acknowledge its existence.

As Taiwan was distributing face masks to its citizens, the WHO was advising the rest of the world that they were unnecessary—and initially, the Centers for Disease Control and U.S. Surgeon General followed its lead.

But health experts pointed to mounting evidence that masks can help slow the spread of respiratory disease, especially among asymptomatic carriers, a population that the WHO maintains is virtually nonexistent despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

In mid-February, the WHO trumpeted good news from  China, claiming confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 had declined, ignoring evidence that it may have been a statistical anomaly. U.S. intelligence, meanwhile, believes that China has entirely misrepresented both case numbers and death tolls, according to Bloomberg News.

Finally on March 11, after Italy was already in full national lockdown with more than 10,000 cases, the WHO finally acknowledged the true magnitude of the crisis, declaring a global pandemic.

As the death toll climbs above 100,000, the global economy remains in crisis, and billions of lives are disrupted, it's important to remember that if the World Health Organization had done its job, the nightmare we're living through might not have happened at all.

Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Graphics by Lex Villena.

Music: Cold String by Tiny Music, 6 by Lex Villena

Photo Credits: Kyodo/Newscom, Creative Touch Imaging Ltd/ZUMA Press/Newscom, Creative Touch Imaging Ltd/ZUMA Press/Newscom, SplashNews/Newscom, Imagine China/Newscom, CHINE NOUVELLE/SIPA/Newscom, Creative Touch Imaging Ltd, Liang Xu Xinhua News Agency/Newscom, Cheng Min Xinhua News Agency/Newscom, MONUSCO/Alain Coulibaly, Nicolas Economou/ZUMA Press/Newscom, Taipei, Taiwan skyline Author 台湾でSamuel in Taiwan (CC 2.0), Agazzi Sergiom, Nina Larson Ethiopia''s Tedros elected new WHO chief, Metzel Mikhail/ZUMA Press/Newscom, Thorkild Tylleskar World Health Organization Executive Board Room, OWID Covid 19 Cases Worldwide
@ReasonVidsfollow
Thumbnail for Capitalism vs. Slavery...and The New York Times' 1619 Project1:18:51
Capitalism vs. Slavery...and The New York Times' 1619 Project
ReasonVids
723 views
Thumbnail for Gary Johnson: 'I Always Thought Telling the Truth Would Rule the Day. And It Doesn't.'30:58
Gary Johnson: 'I Always Thought Telling the Truth Would Rule the Day. And It Doesn't.'
ReasonVids
932 views
Thumbnail for Grover Norquist: GOP Tax Bill Is Good Enough For Now (He's Planning to 'Whine Later')27:48
Grover Norquist: GOP Tax Bill Is Good Enough For Now (He's Planning to 'Whine Later')
ReasonVids
781 views
Thumbnail for Tom Bevan Talks Real Clear Politics and Election Polling5:52
Tom Bevan Talks Real Clear Politics and Election Polling
ReasonVids
931 views
Thumbnail for The Geography of Genius: Why Some Places Are Better at Fostering Creativity8:28
The Geography of Genius: Why Some Places Are Better at Fostering Creativity
ReasonVids
763 views
Thumbnail for Gov. Scott Walker Welcomes National School Choice Week to Wisconsin2:18
Gov. Scott Walker Welcomes National School Choice Week to Wisconsin
ReasonVids
941 views
Thumbnail for This is what's really going on with alternative media...1:19:53
This is what's really going on with alternative media...
AOUisgay
241 views
Thumbnail for Penn Jillette on Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, And Why He's All in on Gary Johnson46:53
Penn Jillette on Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, And Why He's All in on Gary Johnson
ReasonVids
920 views
Thumbnail for Buttercup can't be told what to do0:06
Buttercup can't be told what to do
indig0sixalpha
1482 views
Thumbnail for John Avlon: "How the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America"10:00
John Avlon: "How the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America"
ReasonVids
865 views
Thumbnail for Black Barbie original content0:47
Black Barbie original content
bestofupgoat
201 views
Thumbnail for Why FAILING at Game Dev Has A Safety Net | BMo3:56
Why FAILING at Game Dev Has A Safety Net | BMo
tech.topic
775 views
Thumbnail for Tap It: The NSA Slow Jam (featuring @goremy)2:47
Tap It: The NSA Slow Jam (featuring @goremy)
ReasonVids
892 views
Thumbnail for How To Save the Economy From COVID-1948:56
How To Save the Economy From COVID-19
ReasonVids
842 views
Thumbnail for Trump's Tariffs Are Hiking the Price of Your Favorite Whisky2:25
Trump's Tariffs Are Hiking the Price of Your Favorite Whisky
ReasonVids
1001 views
Thumbnail for Timothy McVeigh DINDU NUFFIN!2:50
Timothy McVeigh DINDU NUFFIN!
bestofupgoat
43 views
Thumbnail for LA Bans The Plastic Bag4:44
LA Bans The Plastic Bag
ReasonVids
770 views
Thumbnail for Comedy, Outrage, and College: What We Saw at the "Can We Take a Joke?" Premiere3:20
Comedy, Outrage, and College: What We Saw at the "Can We Take a Joke?" Premiere
ReasonVids
877 views
Thumbnail for Taking Orders from the Enemy7:23
Taking Orders from the Enemy
AmericanRenaissance
1571 views
Thumbnail for Donald Woodrow, an American-Belgian photographyer, was brutally attacked by a Moroccan Islamic minor in Antwerp2:24
Donald Woodrow, an American-Belgian photographyer, was brutally attacked by a Moroccan Islamic minor in Antwerp
bestofvoatxyz
1366 views
Thumbnail for School Choice and the Middle Class: Q&A with Matthew Ladner of the Goldwater Institute1:34
School Choice and the Middle Class: Q&A with Matthew Ladner of the Goldwater Institute
ReasonVids
829 views
Thumbnail for An interesting take from a surprising source2:42
An interesting take from a surprising source
bestofvoatxyz
473 views
Thumbnail for Justin Amash's Vision for the Libertarian Party33:25
Justin Amash's Vision for the Libertarian Party
ReasonVids
900 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian, reason magazine, reason.com, reason.tv, reasontv, world health organization, who, trump, china, covid 19, coronavirus, wuhan, pandemic, tedros, taiwan, un
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle