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Trump Administration Officially Submits Withdrawal Notice from World Health Organization


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You’ve got to hand it to President Trump that when he says he’s going to do something, he does it.

Trump knew from the start that the World Health Organization (WHO) was in the pockets of China.

They waited until the coronavirus had already spread around the globe before calling it a “pandemic.”

The WHO also peddled the lie in January that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission simply to appease China.

Well, the Trump Administration has officially given notice that the USA will no longer put up with the WHO’s corruption!

Here’s the latest story from Fox News on the US’s official withdrawal from the WHO:

The Trump administration submitted a notice of withdrawal from the World Health Organization to the United Nations secretary-general, a senior administration official told Fox News on Tuesday, after President Trump for weeks had blasted the WHO’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and what he called its pro-China bias.

The White House also notified congressional lawmakers Tuesday of the official removal, effective July 2021.

“Congress received notification that POTUS officially withdrew the U.S. from the @WHO in the midst of a pandemic,” Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., tweeted.

Menendez argued, “To call Trump’s response to COVID chaotic & incoherent doesn’t do it justice. This won’t protect American lives or interests—it leaves Americans sick & America alone.”

Trump first announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the organization in late-May. “Because they have failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms, we will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs,” Trump told reporters at a Rose Garden event.

“The world is now suffering as a result of the misfeasance of the Chinese government,” Trump added.

In the course of the same statement, Trump announced a number of measures aimed primarily at China in response to its conduct on a number of fronts including trade, the coronavirus and its recent crackdown on Hong Kong.

Beijing further increased its grip on Hong Kong last week by passing a security law that critics say undermines the semi-autonomous territory’s judicial independence. The law gives police greater power to crack down on any activity there that authorities deem subversive with secessionist aims.

Trump added that the State Department’s travel advisory for Hong Kong would be revised to reflect the increased danger of surveillance and punishment by the Chinese. Additionally, the U.S. is revoking Hong Kong’s preferential treatment as a separate customs and travel territory, and taking steps to sanction officials involved in eroding Hong Kong’s autonomy.

Trump announced in April the U.S. would freeze funding to the WHO, and threatened to make the freeze permanent if the organization did not enact “major substantive reforms.” The U.S. had been the top contributor to the agency to the tune of approximately $450 million a year. China meanwhile pays approximately $50 million a year — although Beijing had recently announced a $2 billion injection of funds.

Check out the positive reactions on Twitter the President received for his swift action:

Meanwhile, the WHO is also facing mounting pressure from scientists claiming that the organization is refusing to acknowledge evidence about the coronavirus.

Here's the story from the New York Times on the matter:

The coronavirus is finding new victims worldwide, in bars and restaurants, offices, markets and casinos, giving rise to frightening clusters of infection that increasingly confirm what many scientists have been saying for months: The virus lingers in the air indoors, infecting those nearby.

If airborne transmission is a significant factor in the pandemic, especially in crowded spaces with poor ventilation, the consequences for containment will be significant. Masks may be needed indoors, even in socially-distant settings. Health care workers may need N95 masks that filter out even the smallest respiratory droplets as they care for coronavirus patients.

Ventilation systems in schools, nursing homes, residences and businesses may need to minimize recirculating air and add powerful new filters. Ultraviolet lights may be needed to kill viral particles floating in tiny droplets indoors.

The World Health Organization has long held that the coronavirus is spread primarily by large respiratory droplets that, once expelled by infected people in coughs and sneezes, fall quickly to the floor.

But in an open letter to the W.H.O., 239 scientists in 32 countries have outlined the evidence showing that smaller particles can infect people, and are calling for the agency to revise its recommendations. The researchers plan to publish their letter in a scientific journal next week.

Even in its latest update on the coronavirus, released June 29, the W.H.O. said airborne transmission of the virus is possible only after medical procedures that produce aerosols, or droplets smaller than 5 microns. (A micron is equal to one millionth of a meter.)

Proper ventilation and N95 masks are of concern only in those circumstances, according to the W.H.O. Instead, its infection control guidance, before and during this pandemic, has heavily promoted the importance of handwashing as a primary prevention strategy, even though there is limited evidence for transmission of the virus from surfaces. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says surfaces are likely to play only a minor role.)

Dr. Benedetta Allegranzi, the W.H.O.’s technical lead on infection control, said the evidence for the virus spreading by air was unconvincing.

“Especially in the last couple of months, we have been stating several times that we consider airborne transmission as possible but certainly not supported by solid or even clear evidence,” she said. “There is a strong debate on this.”

But interviews with nearly 20 scientists — including a dozen W.H.O. consultants and several members of the committee that crafted the guidance — and internal emails paint a picture of an organization that, despite good intentions, is out of step with science.

Watch President Trump's earlier announcement regarding the termination of the US's relationship with the WHO:



 

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