In Which Chuck C. Johnson Lies About Quarantined Nurse Kaci Hickox’s CDC Employment
Yes, it’s another ridiculous, mindless, and highly dishonest post from our pal Chuck C. Johnson, who’s now attacking the nurse who was placed into mandatory quarantine in New Jersey, because of course he is: #Ebola Nurse Complaining About Quarantine Is Left-Wing Democrat, CDC Employee.
It’s a mark of how batshit nuts the right has gotten that they’re now attacking and demonizing the Centers for Disease Control. This whole post by Johnson borders on stalking (note that he stole a bunch of photos from Hickox’s website, then watermarked them with his own logo), but right now I’ll just point out one thing he’s blatantly lying about — twice, as a matter of fact:
Kaci Hickox’s ties to the CDC were not disclosed in a controversial anti-quarantine column she wrote for the Dallas Morning News. The CDC opposes quarantines or travel bans from Ebola infected countries.
[…]
Hichox’s [sic] employer, the CDC, strenuously opposes a travel ban or quarantine but Hickox’s employment wasn’t disclosed in the Dallas Morning News article.
The only person calling Hickox’s piece “controversial” is our boy Chuck, but be that as it may, here again is the article by Kaci Hickox at the Dallas Morning News: UTA Grad Isolated at New Jersey Hospital as Part of Ebola Quarantine.
And right at the very beginning, Hickox’s employment by the CDC is disclosed:
(Editor’s note: Kaci Hickox, a nurse with degrees from the University of Texas at Arlington and the Johns Hopkins University, has been caring for Ebola patients while on assignment with Doctors Without Borders in Sierra Leone. Upon her return to the U.S. on Friday, she was placed in quarantine at a New Jersey hospital. She has tested negative in a preliminary test for Ebola, but the hospital says she will remain under mandatory quarantine for 21 days and will be monitored by public health officials. Dr. Seema Yasmin, a Dallas Morning News staff writer, worked with Hickox as a disease detective with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With Yasmin’s help, Hickox wrote this first-person piece exclusively for the News.)
Note that there is absolutely nothing wrong or improper about working for the CDC; in fact, it’s a laudable achievement for any health professional. Hickox didn’t hide it because there’s nothing to hide. It’s a good thing, not a bad thing.
This is far from the first time Chuck C. Johnson has deliberately lied to promote one of his malevolent hit pieces, and it won’t be the last. This is where the right has ended up in 2014: attacking and vilifying the doctors, nurses and organizations that try to save lives and cure disease.
What’s more, Hickox’s position with the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service is also disclosed in another article published at the same time at the Dallas Morning News: Nurse, Former UTA Student, Is Quarantined in New Jersey Despite Testing Negative for Ebola | Dallas Morning News.
Hickox had worked as an emergency room nurse at Las Colinas Medical Center from 2004 to 2005, but she left that job because she wanted to work toward her goal of one day helping Doctors Without Borders.
For that, she needed experience working abroad. In 2006, she spent a year at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where she received a diploma in tropical nursing.
She began working for Doctors Without Borders in 2007 when she traveled to Myanmar to focus on malnutrition, malaria and reproductive health.
She led a medical team for inpatient and outpatient care in Sudan’s Darfur region, and she traveled to Nigeria in 2010 to fight measles and outbreaks of lead poisoning. She also went to Uganda to help efforts against yellow fever.
Hickox, who has worked as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Fellow for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since July 2012, also studied at Johns Hopkins University.
