3/16/2020

My dear Friend and POTUS, DJT,

         Have you had a chance to commune with the higher power lately? Yesterday we held a virtual Quaker Meeting where 16 of us zoomed in to have 30 minutes of silence together. Then we talked about our elderly Friends who were not there & discussed ways that we could support them and stay connected. It wasn’t the same as meeting together in the same room, but it was better than nothing.

            The only face-to-face contact I had yesterday was with 4 neighbors as I walked the dog. One was trying to convince us that this virus thing was being blown out of proportion, that if we got sick, we wouldn’t die. I had to disagree and explained the problem of the spike of cases hitting the health care system all at once. I told him that I was worried that they would have to triage cases at the hospital & that I didn’t want my 85-year old mother being denied access to a ventilator if she needed one. I’m not sure I convinced him, but I did speak my peace.

My concern about hospital triage was amplified by a piece in yesterday’s WP, “Spiking U.S. coronavirus cases could force rationing decisions similar to those made in Italy, China.” If we get to that, it’s imperative that we have transparency about how decisions are being made. According to A. Caplan, a bioethicist at NYU, “The public will accept triage and rationing if they understand the process, but if it’s secretive or looks like favoritism to politicians or the rich, they will not accept that — whatever the rules are.” I’m afraid that your tendency toward backroom deals will make it hard for you to provide guidance on rationing decisions.

Speaking of backroom shenanigans, the deal you tried to strike with CureVAc to get them to move their vaccine research from Germany to the US is not going over well. I hope you can reassure our allies on your video call with them today that we are all on the same team.

HYITL,