Diary Prequel Package — page 409

on their website. Of the people involved in this forum were Secretary of State John Kerry, Chris Matthews of NBC, and a large number of other notables. After that I went back to the NIH and hosted a whole group of network producers with full camera TV coverage on the process of donning and doffing for personal protective equipment. I demonstrated to them what we do in the process of taking care of patients with Ebola, in this case specifically Following the demonstration which was done by nurse specialist Kevin Barrett and hospital epidemiologist Tara Palmore, I did a long series of TV interviews with the cameras that were there during my step-by-step demonstration of the donning and doffing. Clips appeared on a variety of news outlets. An extraordinary situation occurred last night in which the state of Louisiana made an announcement that certain scientists and others who were planning to attend the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene during the first week of November in New Orleans would not be allowed to attend the meeting. In essence they said that these people need to be quarantined if they came from a West African country or if they had taken care of the patient with Ebola within the last 21 days. This is an extension of the quarantine craziness that was started by Governors Christie and Cuomo. In essence, they are barring scientists from a meeting where their expertise and experience is most needed. Finally, I have been informed that I have been named in the civil action lawsuit against Pres. Obama, me, Thomas Friedman, Secretary Burwell, and DHH Secretary Jeh Johnson for promoting terrorism and discrimination. They are accusing us of colluding with president Obama who is a Muslim citizen of Kenya and trying to destroy African countries by introducing Ebola into society. You just cannot make this stuff up. Received a note today (dated Oct. 16, 2014) from Hilary Rodham Clinton saying that she was thinking of me and cheering me on saying that "The American people are fortunate to have your leadership at NIH as we face the challenge of Ebola". Oct. 31, 2014 - Jeff Drazen, Editor of NEJM, contacted me to put him in touch with some of the trusted AIDS activists with whom I have worked over the years to get them to write a piece in the NEJM on the similarities between the stigma of HIV/AIDS and the current "stigma" against HCWs (regarding the quarantine discussed above). I pointed him to Peter Staley and Gregg Gonsalves and they are willing to do this. Kaci Hickox still defying orders from the Governor of Maine to remain in quarantine. A court judge upheld her right to not be quarantined. I did an interview for yahoo.com and refused to get into the battle between Kaci and the State of Maine. HHS does not want me to do TV since the news is focused on Kaci and it would be better for me not to get into that battle. Nov. 1, 2014 - Things calming down. Reports of decreased infections in Liberia, particularly Monrovia. Not sure if this is real or if the infections are now occurring in