https://themilitant.com/2020/02/22/us-flu-outbreak-toll-caused-by-for-profit-care-system/
US flu outbreak toll caused by for-profit ‘care’ system
Cuba’s revolution shows different road possible
article
BY ROY LANDERSEN
Vol. 84/No. 8
March 2, 2020
Above, figures as of Feb. 19 in flu health crisis. So far this year
alone 31 million in U.S. have caught the flu. Inset, Palomar Medical
Center triage
tent in Escondido, California, Jan. 3, set up because of growing influx
of flu patients. Under capitalism health care is a commodity. figure
Above, figures as of Feb. 19 in flu health crisis. So far this year
alone 31 million in U.S. have caught the flu. Inset, Palomar Medical
Center triage
tent in Escondido, California, Jan. 3, set up because of growing influx
of flu patients. Under capitalism health care is a commodity.
Above, figures as of Feb. 19 in flu health crisis. So far this year
alone 31 million in U.S. have caught the flu. Inset, Palomar Medical
Center triage
tent in Escondido, California, Jan. 3, set up because of growing influx
of flu patients. Under capitalism health care is a commodity. figure end
The public health crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak in China
threatens — if it becomes an international pandemic — to overwhelm the
profit-driven
system of “health care” of the U.S. and other capitalist rulers. For the
greater part of humanity in countries kept underdeveloped by
imperialism, like
in Africa, the result would be far worse still.
“In the capitalist world, medical care is a commodity to be bought and
sold for profit. If you have to see a doctor or go to a hospital, the
first question
you’re asked is: How will you pay?” said Martín Koppel, of the Socialist
Workers Party and a Pathfinder editor, at a Feb. 10 event launching the
new book,
Red Zone: Cuba and the Battle Against Ebola in West Africa,
at the Havana International Book Fair. “In the U.S. we don’t have a
system of medical care. There is a system of medical insurance, for the
profit of the
wealthy owners.”
As of Feb. 19, Covid-19, as this strain of coronavirus is called, has
claimed over 2,000 lives, mostly in the province of Hubei. The number of
those infected
has soared past 70,000. And the disease has spread to dozens of
countries, including Africa’s first reported case in Egypt.
There are currently 81,000 African students in China and up to 2 million
Chinese living in Africa.
After a Jan. 31 World Health Organization alert, the U.S. government
closed the border to anyone arriving from China, except U.S. citizens,
everyone of
whom will be quarantined for two weeks. Washington’s allies, from the
rulers of Japan to Australia, have taken similar measures. The Chinese
government
complained, but imposed even more draconian measures, locking down some
70 million people, and enforcing some kind of quarantine for 700
million, almost
half the country’s population.
CHINATOPIX VIA AP Nurse attends coronavirus patient in Wuhan, central
China, Feb. 6. Chinese government admits responsibility for
“shortcomings, deficiencies.”
Seven medical workers have died so far. figure
Nurse attends coronavirus patient in Wuhan, central China, Feb. 6.
Chinese government admits responsibil-ity for “shortcomings,
deficiencies.” Seven medical
workers have died so far.
CHINATOPIX VIA AP Nurse attends coronavirus patient in Wuhan, central
China, Feb. 6. Chinese government admits responsibility for
“shortcomings, deficiencies.”
Seven medical workers have died so far. figure end
While the new virus is front-page news, the fact is that every year tens
of millions in the U.S. catch the common flu and tens of thousands die,
mainly
among the elderly and more vulnerable. The 2019-2020 flu season isn’t
over, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that
over 12,000
people have died so far. They say 31 million people have caught the flu
and over a quarter million were hospitalized.
They also report the flu vaccine put out this year wasn’t made to deal
with the most common strain people have gotten.
Stores like Walgreens, CVS and Walmart post ads saying you can get the
flu shot there for free. But in small print they clarify that’s only
true if you
have insurance. If not, the cost averages $40. Walmart is cheaper, only
$39.88. And even if you do have insurance or Medicare, many will have a
copay.
Left on their own to decide whether to get the shot — at whatever cost —
only half of the people plan to get one, the National Foundation for
Infectious
Diseases reports.
This is all an indictment of the for-profit health care system. You’re
left on your own, and then charged for it. Or you could pay with your life.
The highly contagious Covid-19 is up to 40 times as lethal as the flu,
killing about one in 50. Already stretched thin by this year’s serious
flu outbreak,
hospitals would be thrown into severe crisis by any new surge, with
shortages of facilities, medical staff, protective gear and medicines.
Chinese medics on the front line
The epidemic is spreading fast inside hospitals in China’s quarantine
zone, infecting patients who went in with other maladies as well as
health workers.
Over 1,700 medical workers, mainly in Hubei province, have contracted
the disease, with seven dying. The first was Dr. Li Wenliang, who was
detained, slandered
and silenced by authorities after trying to sound the alarm.
There was broad public anger and resentment at the government after Li
died, and calls for freedom of speech broke the country’s online censorship.
Dr. Zhang Hong, of Wuhan University’s Zhongnan Hospital, wrote in the
Lancet medical journal that supplies of protective equipment across the
hospital
system are severely deficient, and made worse by traffic controls in
sealed-off cities. Hospitals have been forced to turn patients away,
increasing the
death rate.
Chinese President Xi Jinping admitted Feb. 15 that his government was
responsible for “shortcomings and deficiencies,” and warned that
stepped-up law enforcement
and “societal control” was needed. A Chinese court issued a warning the
same day that anyone hiding virus-related symptoms was in danger of a
lengthy jail
term, even the death penalty.
Increasingly concerned about the effects of the disease on profits, the
State Council is now urging the “resumption” of production. Xi
instructed subordinates
to avoid any “overreactions” to control the epidemic and to avoid mass
layoffs.
Cranking up the factories is the order of the day, say both the Chinese
government and foreign bosses attracted to China’s lower wages, like
General Motors,
Caterpillar and iPhone producer Foxconn. But they’re all hindered by
many workers remaining under quarantine.
The prolonged shutdown in China has sent economic shivers among
profit-thirsty bosses around the world.
Cuba’s revolutionary example
In contrast to the capitalist world, Cuba has prioritized health care
for six decades since workers and farmers made a revolution there in 1959.
Red Zone: Cuba and the Battle Against Ebola in West Africa, is a graphic
description of Cuba’s internationalism, detailing the way volunteer
Cuban doctors
and nurses led in defeating the Ebola virus in West Africa in 2014-15.
Donning protective gear, they would enter the highly infectious area of
suffering
patients — the “red zone” — to treat the human beings afflicted.
Cuba’s system of primary health care and medical treatment, at no cost
to individuals and their families, is a conquest of the revolution that
Cuban people
justly take pride in. The opposite of a costly commodity, it starts from
saving lives; from the right to health care for everyone, not “health
insurance”
for those who can afford it; and from basic human solidarity at home and
abroad.
To paraphrase Cuban revolutionary leader Che Guevara, to revolutionize
health care, you must first make a revolution.
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IN THIS ISSUE
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