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P3: Pandemic Prevention Platform (2017)

darpa.mil

31–40 of 64 posts

Re: P3: Pandemic Prevention Platform (2017)

#31
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"We've got bupkis".

We had decades of smart thinking about this, and forsaw the need 3 years ago based on Ebola. Things are now in trial, so if it's 2020 and you're reading this, sorry, the funding is already committed. Better luck next time. Keep your ear to ground and move faster.

I wish I could share your optimism, but after watching the congressional testimony I think we're pretty fucked. I think we should just shut down the CDC and FDA (when this is over), and start from scratch with an agency focused on addressing epidemics and pandemics, as well as quick drug approvals.

The incompetence is pretty obvious and staggering, and as per Fauci's testimony, the CDC is not designed for the crisis we are now experiencing. That is, to unpack this, the Center for Disease Control is not designed for disease control. He's clearly a formidable scientist, but it's also clear that mismanagement at the agencies is pretty rampant.

They were asked point blank several times why we still can't test even the frontline medical staff, and they did not have an answer. This is 100% thoroughly fucked up beyond repair.

Re: P3: Pandemic Prevention Platform (2017)

#33
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We had decades of smart thinking about this, and forsaw the need 3 years ago based on Ebola. Things are now in trial, so if it's 2020 and you're reading this, sorry, the funding is already committed. Better luck next time. Keep your ear to ground and move faster.

I wish I could share your optimism, but after watching the congressional testimony I think we're pretty fucked. I think we should just shut down the CDC and FDA (when this is over), and start from scratch with an agency focused on addressing epidemics and pandemics, as well as quick drug approvals. The incompetence is pretty obvious and staggering, and as per Fauci's testimony, the CDC is not designed for the crisis…

It was indeed agonising at the start, but they had a very clear answer by the end.

The CDC makes reagents that are required. But the full test requires taking swabs, going to a lab, going through various steps. It's not self contained like a pregnancy test.

So the CDC spokesperson was uncertain because the CDC is providing the reagents but the labs are literally just coming online.

I am referring to this video. The exchange I am thinking about is roughly 40 minutes in but I couldn't find it quickly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO-_aV-v7IA

Re: P3: Pandemic Prevention Platform (2017)

#34
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We had decades of smart thinking about this, and forsaw the need 3 years ago based on Ebola. Things are now in trial, so if it's 2020 and you're reading this, sorry, the funding is already committed. Better luck next time. Keep your ear to ground and move faster.

I wish I could share your optimism, but after watching the congressional testimony I think we're pretty fucked. I think we should just shut down the CDC and FDA (when this is over), and start from scratch with an agency focused on addressing epidemics and pandemics, as well as quick drug approvals. The incompetence is pretty obvious and staggering, and as per Fauci's testimony, the CDC is not designed for the crisis…

Isn't a significant part of why we're fucked the gutting of ... everything, by this administration?

e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/31/us-coronavirus...

Re: P3: Pandemic Prevention Platform (2017)

#35
Actual request for proposals: [1] This was much more than a study. The winners had to be able to construct antibodies for five viruses. Trying to find more info. Hard; "fbo.gov" has been moved to "sam.gov", for no obvious reason, and the older documents lost.

[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20170710035550/https://www.fbo.g...

Re: P3: Pandemic Prevention Platform (2017)

#36
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We had decades of smart thinking about this, and forsaw the need 3 years ago based on Ebola. Things are now in trial, so if it's 2020 and you're reading this, sorry, the funding is already committed. Better luck next time. Keep your ear to ground and move faster.

I wish I could share your optimism, but after watching the congressional testimony I think we're pretty fucked. I think we should just shut down the CDC and FDA (when this is over), and start from scratch with an agency focused on addressing epidemics and pandemics, as well as quick drug approvals. The incompetence is pretty obvious and staggering, and as per Fauci's testimony, the CDC is not designed for the crisis…

We can ask everyone in the country to do a cancer screening and hospitals would get overwhelmed too. Just because you can test and count stuff doesnt mean jack if there is non trivial cures.

Thanks to social/mainstream media's business model deeply based on fear and outrage, leaders that we have these days are pandering to their fan clubs on both sides. We have created conditions where that is their only move, because there is always someone else from both parties, just around the corner pandering even harder.

Stuck in the middle are orgs and institutions whether it's the military one day, intelligence another, cdc or fed a third who will just have take the beating.

Because most of the population hasn't heard of the concept of Bounded Rationality and it's implications, and are most definitely not interested in hearing about it when people start dying.

Orgs over time have understood that and put up a show knowing they just need to outlast a couple news cycles.

There is no question of repairing these orgs without changing the underlying social media/news media reaction-counter-reaction, attention capture biz model.

That process is unfolding thanks to trump's election/Brexit/russia etc but it will take years. In the meantime every crisis is going to sound worse than it actually is.

Re: P3: Pandemic Prevention Platform (2017)

#37
post #34
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish I could share your optimism, but after watching the congressional testimony I think we're pretty fucked. I think we should just shut down the CDC and FDA (when this is over), and start from scratch with an agency focused on addressing epidemics and pandemics, as well as quick drug approvals. The incompetence is pretty obvious and staggering, and as per Fauci's testimony, the CDC is not designed for the crisis…

Isn't a significant part of why we're fucked the gutting of ... everything, by this administration? e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/31/us-coronavirus...

Not really. The proposed CDC funding cuts have been overruled by Congress. In fact the CDC gets more funding now than at any point under Obama (who BTW, also tried to cut the budget several times; e.g. 2015 CDC budget is $243M less than 2014), and this year's budget is larger than last year. It's not the lack of funds. It's total mismanagement.

$7B+/yr and we get 70 people tested per day as thousands are being infected, and hundreds are about to die.

IMO their funding should be cut to zero for this, and reallocated to people who know how to do this kind of thing. You can find such people at WHO.

https://apnews.com/d36d6c4de29f4d04beda3db00cb46104

Re: P3: Pandemic Prevention Platform (2017)

#38
post #36
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish I could share your optimism, but after watching the congressional testimony I think we're pretty fucked. I think we should just shut down the CDC and FDA (when this is over), and start from scratch with an agency focused on addressing epidemics and pandemics, as well as quick drug approvals. The incompetence is pretty obvious and staggering, and as per Fauci's testimony, the CDC is not designed for the crisis…

We can ask everyone in the country to do a cancer screening and hospitals would get overwhelmed too. Just because you can test and count stuff doesnt mean jack if there is non trivial cures. Thanks to social/mainstream media's business model deeply based on fear and outrage, leaders that we have these days are pandering to their fan clubs on both sides. We have created conditions where that is their only move, becaus…

That's all well and good, but when you're testing 70 specimens a day in a country of 327 million people because you've fucked up the development of the test, and _refused to buy_ a working WHO test, that's pretty inexcusable, no matter how you try to justify it. A hotdog stand operator would do a better job: just buy WHO kits and deploy them. And you only have to buy 71 a day to beat the $7B/yr CDC.

Re: P3: Pandemic Prevention Platform (2017)

#39
post #12

I don't remember hearing anything about the US military being involved in the recent Ebola outbreak, so is this an existing program or a proposal?

Read “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston. Great book about the origins of Ebola that culminates in an outbreak in Reston, VA that was primarily handled by the military. (The only reason you haven’t heard more about his particular outbreak is that it turned out to be a strain that only affected monkeys (450 at a scientific research holding facility in this case).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385479565

Re: P3: Pandemic Prevention Platform (2017)

#40
post #37
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't a significant part of why we're fucked the gutting of ... everything, by this administration? e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/31/us-coronavirus...

Not really. The proposed CDC funding cuts have been overruled by Congress. In fact the CDC gets more funding now than at any point under Obama (who BTW, also tried to cut the budget several times; e.g. 2015 CDC budget is $243M less than 2014), and this year's budget is larger than last year. It's not the lack of funds. It's total mismanagement. $7B+/yr and we get 70 people tested per day as thousands are being infect…

There's a complete lack of leadership in handling this pandemic in large part because this incompetent administration disbanded the national security team global health security and biodefense directorate.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/0...

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