Libertarian Party Statement on COVID-19 Outbreak
Across the United States, COVID-19 testing supplies are being rationed, resulting in patients being refused testing or experiencing long delays for test results. The result is that we have a diminished understanding of the extent and characteristics of the current pandemic, an impaired ability to slow the spread of the disease with contact tracing, and delayed diagnosis of the disease.Because the CDC declared coronavirus to be a public health emergency, regulations were triggered that prevented hospitals and private lab companies from developing their own tests. Then, the CDC botched the rollout of the test that they developed, leaving doctors unable to properly diagnose and treat their patients.“As a practicing hospitalist, I’m furious that my ability to test patients for this disease is curtailed due to CDC-imposed red tape,” said Dr. Kyle Varner, a physician from the state of Washington. “The result is that patients are waiting for extended periods of time for their testing results and experiencing isolation and discomfort, while doctors can only guess at the true extent of the pandemic in their communities.”Public health authorities in the United States soak up billions of tax dollars per year, run entire federal and state agencies, and regularly lobby congress for more power and tax money. Yet, when the time comes for them to respond to a global pandemic that threatens hundreds of thousands of American lives, they let America down. The result will be that this pandemic will be far more deadly and disruptive than it could have otherwise been.We may pay taxes to support these agencies and their bureaucrats, but that doesn’t mean we can rely on them to keep us safe or healthy. In fact, during this pandemic, they have been the single biggest obstacle to an effective and life-saving response to the crisis.“South Korea is able to test 15,000 patients per day, and are even adding drive-through testing, all while American doctors have to ration tests and can't even know they are infected because there are not enough working tests here,” said Nicholas Sarwark, chairman of the Libertarian National Committee. “Instead of allowing medical professionals to get working tests from wherever they can, government regulations stop healers from getting the tools they need to save American lives."The lesson for America is simple — while regulations are sold by big government politicians as a way to protect the public, they end up having unintendedconsequences that hurt the very people they’re meant to help.(continued)