Unconscionable? Yes, but that’s exactly what Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the NIH, did in this interview with Sam Stein of The Huffington Post:
Exclusive. NIH Dir. says Ebola vaccine would probably have been developed by now if not for budget cuts http://t.co/5QOpgD405m
— Sam Stein (@samstein) October 13, 2014
An excerpt from the linked to piece:
Dr. Francis Collins, the head of the National Institutes of Health, said that a decade of stagnant spending has “slowed down” research on all items, including vaccinations for infectious diseases. As a result, he said, the international community has been left playing catch-up on a potentially avoidable humanitarian catastrophe.
“NIH has been working on Ebola vaccines since 2001. It’s not like we suddenly woke up and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we should have something ready here,'” Collins told The Huffington Post on Friday. “Frankly, if we had not gone through our 10-year slide in research support, we probably would have had a vaccine in time for this that would’ve gone through clinical trials and would have been ready.”
It’s not just the production of a vaccine that has been hampered by money shortfalls. Collins also said that some therapeutics to fight Ebola “were on a slower track than would’ve been ideal, or that would have happened if we had been on a stable research support trajectory.”
“We would have been a year or two ahead of where we are, which would have made all the difference,” he said.
We knew this was coming, no?
And libs are doing their little happy dance over this latest report:
Gee, thanks, Republicans! CDC head: We'd Have Ebola Vaccine if Not for Budget Cuts. http://t.co/xUKdznZJ6J
— Paul Begala (@PaulBegala) October 13, 2014
@PaulBegala How long before GOP blames cuts in funding that may have prevented Ebola vaccine on "Obama sequester"?
— All Things Democrat (@allthingsdem) October 13, 2014
@Of_Angelis So you are happier GOP cut NIH, delaying Ebola vaccine?
— Paul Begala (@PaulBegala) October 13, 2014
NIH Director: We'd Probably Have An Ebola Vaccine If Not For Budget Cuts http://t.co/6A2cbXTUBx
— Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) October 13, 2014
Conservatives, however, disagree, and point to waste and other moronic NIH initiatives that have kept the NIH from doing its job:
Note govt regulatory agencies only recently expedited vaccine development… What took them so long? http://t.co/1hY5bzrTgA @TIMEHealth
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) October 13, 2014
Here is link to NIH vaccine trial on Ebola… Not sure extra/lack of funding dramatically changed anything http://t.co/EOm58XMTar
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) October 13, 2014
More on active, worldwide Ebola vaccine initiatives http://t.co/pLAsC03cJR
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) October 13, 2014
We spent a BILLION dollars on a healthcare site that still isn't fully functional. Check for #Ebola vaccine $$ there. http://t.co/xmrjZSvr1c
— Prudence Paine (@PruPaine) October 13, 2014
Maybe @nih would have money for an #Ebola vaccine if it didn’t test origami condoms for rabbits? http://t.co/3StNsR8Dqy h/t @JimmyPrinceton
— DCD (@DCDude1776) October 13, 2014
Budget almost 2X since 2000: http://t.co/9sHHKZmWy7 MT @HuffPostPol: NIH Director: We'd probably have an Ebola vaccine if not 4 budget cuts
— (((AG))) (@AGHamilton29) October 13, 2014
Where CDC $$ goes: Bike lanes & farmer’s markets do little to combat dangerous diseases like Ebola, SARS or anthrax. http://t.co/7sGec9hJcJ
— David Freddoso (@freddoso) October 13, 2014
https://twitter.com/Tark31/status/521505674342068225
https://twitter.com/CounterMoonbat/status/521505925430276097
https://twitter.com/CounterMoonbat/status/521501376564985856
https://twitter.com/CounterMoonbat/status/521498919587823616
Tune in tomorrow for the latest!
Related:
Full Twitchy coverage on Ebola here.
Editor’s note: The title of this post has been changed.
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