“Here’s a thought: Let the private sector do it. We would have had a cure already.”
With ZMapp, it appears we have the cure. The problem is that it is not possible to make it immediately due to the constraints of biology. Private funding has stepped in to bypass government inertia & ineptitude.
Yesterday Glenn Beck told of talking with Franklin Graham who described the administration of ZMapp to the Samaritan’s Purse doctor infected with Ebola.
The doctor was about to die and the ZMapp & CDC lawyers were all saying, “You cannot give him the drug, it has not passed clinical trials and been ruled safe for humans”. The people attending the sick doctor said, “He will be dead anyway in a few hours, we’re giving him the treatment!”
The treatment consisted of three bags of IV fluid containing ZMapp. At the start of the treatment he was nearly dead. By the time the third bag had finished flowing into the patient’s vein, he sat up and said, “I need to use the restroom.”
Wow.
Yes, in the interview that I saw, Dr. Brantly mentioned how quickly the rash started to disappear. I expect that the treatment will be given to the medical people who are treating Ebola patients, rich people, and those with powerful connections.