Bernie Sanders’ plan against coronavirus pandemic

This 13 March 2020 video from the USA says about itself:

How the U.S. botched its COVID-19 response

It has been seven weeks since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the U.S. The death toll from the virus continues to climb and cases continue to mount. On Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, admitted publicly that the U.S. is seriously lacking when it comes to testing for the virus.

Stanford epidemiologist Steven Goodman walks us through how the government has failed to account for what may be thousands of infections because of ongoing problems with access to testing. “The original decision to use a U.S.-specific test, not the one that was suggested by the WHO — which has been used in many other countries — in retrospect, obviously, was a big mistake,” says Goodman, who affirms that those tests the CDC did manage to eventually send out were faulty. “Nationally, I don’t know what the capacity is. But as Dr. Fauci said, we are way, way behind.”

From senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in the USA today:

As the coronavirus crisis expands, now is the time for solidarity. We must fight with love and compassion for those most vulnerable to the effects of this pandemic.

Add your name to support Bernie’s plan to fight the pandemic, and to support each other in this crisis, which includes:

• Free vaccines, when it is developed
• Free emergency doctor visits for all
• Paid family and medical leave for all workers
• Expanded unemployment benefits
• More funding for community health centers
• A moratorium on evictions

In the last few days, we have seen the crisis of the coronavirus continue to grow exponentially.

Let me be absolutely clear: in terms of potential deaths and the impact on our economy, the crisis we face from coronavirus is on the scale of a major war, and we must act accordingly.

Nobody knows how many fatalities we may see, but they could equal or surpass the U.S. casualties we saw in World War II.

It is an absolute moral imperative that our response — as a government, as a society, as business communities, and as individuals — meets the enormity of this crisis.

As people work from home and are directed to quarantine, it will be easy to feel like we are in this alone, or that we must only worry about ourselves and let everyone else fend for themselves.

That is a very dangerous mistake. First and foremost, we must remember that we are in this together.

Now is the time for solidarity. We must fight with love and compassion for those most vulnerable to the effects of this pandemic.

If our neighbor or co-worker gets sick, we have the potential to get sick. If our neighbors lose their jobs, then our local economies suffer, and we may lose our jobs. If doctors and nurses do not have the equipment and staffing capacity they need now, people we know and love may die.

Unfortunately, in this time of international crisis, the current administration is largely incompetent, and its incompetence and recklessness have threatened the lives of many people.

What we must do as a nation:

Because President Trump is unable and unwilling to lead selflessly, we must immediately convene an emergency, bipartisan authority of experts to support and direct a response that is comprehensive, compassionate, and based first and foremost on science and fact.

We must aggressively make certain that the public and private sectors are cooperating with each other. And we need national and state hotlines staffed with well-trained people who have the best information available.

Among many questions, people need to know: what are the symptoms of coronavirus? When should I seek medical treatment? Where do I go for a test?

The American people deserve transparency, something the Trump administration has fought day after day to stifle. We need daily information — clear, science-based information — from credible scientific voices, not politicians.

And during this crisis, we must make sure we care for the communities most vulnerable to the health and economic pain that’s coming — those in nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities, those confined in immigration detention centers, those who are currently incarcerated, and all people regardless of immigration status.

What we must do regarding health care:

Unfortunately, the United States is at a severe disadvantage because unlike every other major country on earth, we do not guarantee health care as a human right. The result is that millions of people in this country cannot afford to go to a doctor, let alone pay for a coronavirus test. So while we work to pass a Medicare for All single-payer system, the United States government must be clear that in the midst of this emergency, that everyone in our country — regardless of income or where they live — must be able to get all of the health care they need without cost.

Obviously, when a vaccine or other effective treatment is developed, it must be free of charge.

We cannot live in a nation where if you have the money you get the treatment you need to survive, but if you’re working-class or poor you get to the end of the line. That would be morally unacceptable.

Further, we need emergency funding right now for paid family and medical leave. Anyone who is sick should be able to stay home during this emergency, and receive their paycheck.

At a time when half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck, when they need to go to work in order to take care of their family, we do not want to see people going to work who are sick and can spread the coronavirus.

We also need an immediate expansion of community health centers in this country so that every American will have access to a nearby healthcare facility.

We need greatly to expand our primary health care capabilities in this country and that includes expanding community health care centers.

We need to determine the status of our testing and processing for the coronavirus. The government must respond aggressively to make certain that we in fact do have the latest and most effective test available, and the quickest means of processing those tests.

There are other countries around the world who are doing better than we are in that regard. We should be learning from them.

No one disputes that there is a major shortage of ICU units and ventilators that are needed to respond to this crisis. The federal government must work aggressively with the private sector to make sure that this equipment is available to hospitals and the rest of the medical community.

Our current healthcare system does not have the doctors and nurses we currently need. We are understaffed. During this crisis, we need to mobilize medical residents, retired medical professionals, and other medical personnel to help us deal with this crisis.

We need to make sure that doctors, nurses and medical professionals have the instructions and personal protective equipment that they need.

This is not only because we care about the well-being of medical professionals, but if they go down, then our capability to respond to this crisis is significantly diminished.

The pharmaceutical industry must be told in no uncertain terms that the medicines that they manufacture for this crisis will be sold at cost. This is not the time for profiteering or price gouging.

Addressing this economic crisis:

The coronavirus is already causing a global economic meltdown, which is impacting people throughout the world and in our own country, and it is especially dangerous for low income and working families the most. People who today, before the crisis, were struggling economically.

Instead of providing more tax breaks to the top one percent and large corporations, we need to provide economic assistance to the elderly — and I worry very much about elderly people in this country today, many of whom are isolated and many of whom do not have a lot of money.

We need to worry about those who are already sick. We need to worry about working families with children, people with disabilities, the homeless and all those who are vulnerable.

We need to provide emergency unemployment assistance to anyone who loses their job through no fault of their own.

Right now, 23 percent of those who are eligible to receive unemployment compensation do not receive it.

Under our proposal, everyone who loses a job must qualify for unemployment compensation at least 100 percent of their prior salary with a cap of $1,150 a week or $60,000 a year.

In addition, those who depend on tips – and the restaurant industry is suffering very much from the meltdown – gig workers, domestic workers, and independent contractors shall also qualify for unemployment insurance to make up for the income that they lose during this crisis.

We need to make sure that the elderly, people with disabilities and families with children have access to nutritious food. That means expanding the Meals on Wheels program, the school lunch program and SNAP so that no one goes hungry during this crisis and everyone who cannot leave their home can receive nutritious meals delivered directly to where they live.

We need also in this economic crisis to place an immediate moratorium on evictions, foreclosures, and on utility shut-offs so that no one loses their home during this crisis and that everyone has access to clean water, electricity, heat and air conditioning.

We need to construct emergency homeless shelters to make sure that the homeless, survivors of domestic violence and college students quarantined off-campus are able to receive the shelter, the healthcare and the nutrition they need.

We need to provide emergency lending to small and medium-sized businesses to cover payroll, new construction of manufacturing facilities, and production of emergency supplies such as masks and ventilators.

Here is the bottom line. When we are dealing with this crisis, we need to listen to the scientists, to the researchers, to the medical folks, not politicians.

We need an emergency response to this crisis and we need it now.

We need more doctors and nurses in underserved areas.

We need to make sure that workers who lose their jobs in this crisis receive the unemployment assistance they need.

And in this moment, we need to make sure that in the future after this crisis is behind us, we build a health care system that makes sure that every person in this country is guaranteed the health care that they need.

Please add your name to mine to say that you agree we must take action to support each other, to ensure everyone has the health care and economic support they need during this coronavirus crisis.

We must remember that we are in this together. Thank you for your support of these ideas, and of our campaign.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

This 12 March 3020 video from the USA says about itself:

Why all workers need paid sick leave amid the coronavirus pandemic

As the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States increases and workspaces and schools shutter across the country, more than 30 million workers lack access to paid sick leave. Labor Department data says that one in four workers have no access to paid sick leave, including two-thirds of lowest earners, and the U.S. is one of the only wealthy countries that does not require employers to offer its workers paid sick leave.

Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, says the inability for many workers in the U.S. — particularly in the service sector — to stay home when they are sick or need to care for a family member “is an important gap we need to fill with policy.” In order to cover essential care for all people, University of Massachusetts Amherst economics professor Robert Pollin suggests that Medicare should be expanded to cover everyone impacted by the coronavirus. “It is very easy to pay for it,” Pollin says. “The most important thing for people is to be able to get money in their pockets for that assurance and to recognize they have paid sick leave and full coverage for any kind of care that they need with the coronavirus.”

From Our Revolution in the USA today:

Joe Biden has a lot to answer for this Sunday.

For the first time, he’ll face off against Bernie Sanders in a one-on-one debate. With the country at a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic, Joe will have to explain to the American people why he’s campaigned for the last year against Medicare for All.

Which issues do you want Bernie to ask Joe Biden about at the next Democratic presidential primary debate? Let us know before 8 p.m. ET on Sunday night.

While the corporate media wants you to believe that this primary is already over, the truth is that Bernie and Joe are only separated by about 150 delegates.

There are over 2,200 delegates still up for grabs over the next few months. We know that in every single primary state so far, Medicare for All has been supported by a majority of voters — but we’ll have to wait until Sunday to hear from Joe about why he’s vowed to veto Medicare for All if he’s president.

This 12 March 2020 video from the USA says about itself:

Prominent economics expert says Biden obscures the truth on Medicare for All

Robert Pollin, distinguished university professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, says the lack of universal healthcare in the U.S. is exacerbating the coronavirus crisis due to “the absurdity that people cannot feel confident that they are going to get medical treatment” when they need it most.

Despite overwhelming public support for universal healthcare, former Vice President and front-runner in the Democratic primary race Joe Biden has vowed that should he become president, he would veto Medicare for All legislation sent to him by Congress, arguing that the cost of implementation is too high. Biden’s claim “flies against all the evidence we have,” says Pollin. “We know [Medicare for All] will save money because every other advanced economy is delivering health care for all … at roughly half of what we now pay.”

The Our Revolution email continues:

Our movement’s ideas have already won — now we need a nominee who will turn them into reality. Let us know which issues you want to see debated on Sunday night by answering our short survey.

Linda, our movement’s ideas have already won — now we need a nominee who will turn them into reality. Let us know which issues you want to see debated on Sunday night by answering our short survey.

Ideas like Medicare for All aren’t just popular, they’re necessary. The coronavirus pandemic is proving that. As we face a potential global economic meltdown, millions of workers are looking for a presidential candidate who will fight for them.

Our Revolution has supported Bernie from the very beginning because he is that candidate. Our groups have been organizing to win not just the White House, but city councils and state legislatures all over the country. Now is the time for working people to unite together in solidarity and fight for each other — that’s what our movement is all about.

Answer our survey before Sunday 8 p.m. ET on Sunday night. You are an important member of our movement, and we want to know your thoughts before this critical debate.

Britain: Tories to bail capitalism out, while leaving workers and their families to die of coronavirus! Kick the Tories out now: here.