I agree with your sentiments. The USA still leads the world in research and were the best positioned to respond to this threat. So much of the rest of the world's biology/medical research relies on tools that are supplied by the NHS/NCBI/CDC in the USA. It is scary to me what will happen to those essential tools as the USA continues to deteriorate.
Also, China was prepared for this epidemic. They experienced SARS. They knew there would be a SARS-2 sooner or later. They had lockdown plans ready to go for this. They had a huge research facility specialising in this threat where they thought it might occur.
> I agree with your sentiments. The USA still leads the world in research and were the best positioned to respond to this threat. So much of the rest of the world's biology/medical research relies on tools that are supplied by the NHS/NCBI/CDC in the USA.
It's not like that reputation and research has all gone to waste. The US has developed a lot of antiviral drugs. Some notable examples include many of the antiretrovirals that have been used to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the influenza antiviral drug Tamiflu which multiple countries have proactively stockpiled in case of an influenza pandemic, and remdesivir, which was originally invented as an Ebola antiviral but might actually be effective against SARS-CoV-2.
China probably lacks the decades of institutional knowledge that the USA has. As much as us young ones complain (in anglo-saxon developed countries), there is something to be said for the old men who chair the committees and head the labs. They have a lot of experience.
Also, China was prepared for this epidemic. They experienced SARS. They knew there would be a SARS-2 sooner or later. They had lockdown plans ready to go for this. They had a huge research facility specialising in this threat where they thought it might occur.