Mascherine
mascherine, Rapid blood test for those entering the United States Anyone coming into the United States should take a rapid blood test for the coronavirus. Again, this capability, just like the antibodies, exists and can be ready in short order. Scientists just need coronavirus blood samples. According to Dr. Ray Mernaugh, former professor at Vanderbilt Medical School, “A rapid, accurate, and simple screening test is badly needed. He further notes that simple temperature testing as a screening method at the border overlooks those who have the virus, but no symptoms, as well as those who know they have symptoms and take measures to lower their temperature.
mascherine - Bring back the U.S. Army's Aeromedical Isolation Team From the 1970s to 2010, the Aeromedical Isolation Team (AIT), which was part of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), was a military rapid-response medical team that could be anywhere in the world in 24 hours, had a Biosafety Level-4 capability and focused on the most infectious diseases and patients. The AIT was actually loosely portrayed in the movie Outbreak. Doing away with it was a terrible decision. It's time for the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army to bring it back.
mascherine, Real-Time Tracking There are easy and scalable ways to crowdsource, map and share real-time data with medical professionals throughout the country. An agency like CDC, NIH or even the DHS could then monitor newly reported incidents from medical providers for analysis, verification and response. Bring back President Bush's Transformational Medical Technology Initiative (TMTI) This was a bold initiative under the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) by President George W. Bush. It greatly reduced the time from when new diseases and biological pathogens were discovered until we had an effective countermeasure. It was a great model that worked and greatly improved our biomedical defenses. It's time to bring it back.
mascherine - CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR OPINION NEWSLETTER Military doctors must be more involved Military physicians and scientists are all about saving lives today. They prepare and train for situations like this and are best equipped to help effectively lead the fight. President Trump's decision to tap Vice President Pence to head America's response team was a good one. It shows how serious the administration is taking this threat. It's critical that our top military medical experts at DTRA, USMARIID and other defense medical entities have a seat at the table.
mascherine - Closer working relationship with HHS and DoD for medical training and fielding This is something I advocated for in my book, The New Terrorism: How to Fight It and Defeat It. It is imperative that HHS, including the CDC and NIH, be more engaged with DoD, especially from a medical training and fielding perspective. Military medicine has a great reputation for making things happen and happen quickly. The HHS and the civilian population will greatly benefit from a closer working relationship with the DoD in the event of a medical threat to the homeland.