THE HILL                                                          Nov. 12, 2014
Commentary by Claire Pomeroy, M.D., M.B.A, President of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation.

...Without a commitment by Congress to fund basic medical research, the lives of millions are put at risk, along with the nation’s economic and national security. Outbreaks of deadly viruses – including AIDS or Ebola – have shown us the costs of not remaining vigilant.

  So how much funding is enough? It’s time for us to have that national conversation once again. We do not know what the superbugs of tomorrow will look like. But we do know that novel pathogens will emerge or existing ones will mutate, and that as global travel and migration inexorably increase, disease knows no border. It is time for us to stop chasing at AIDS and Ebola from behind, and take stock of our capacity to commit.

CBS NEWS                                                                                             Nov. 11, 2014

By Jonathan  Berr

About 20,000 nurses walked off the job today in California as part of a two-day series of events across the country organized by National Nurses United. The country's largest such union is aiming to draw attention to what it sees as inadequate preparation at most hospitals to treat Ebola cases.

"Nurses, who have been willing to stand by the patients whether it's the flu, whether it's Ebola, whether it's cancer, are now being asked to put themselves in harm's way unprotected, unguarded," said NNU Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro, in a statement.

The NNU has targeted Kaiser Permanente, the biggest nonprofit health insurer in the U.S., over what it claims is an "erosion in patient care." The strike affected 86 Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics along with two other California hospitals. Another 400 registered nurses in Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C., are set to walk off the job tomorrow.

The organization is demanding that nurses and other care givers who interact with Ebola patients be given full-body hazmat suits that leaves no skin exposed or unprotected, along with air-purifying respirators that meet stringent standards of the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health.

FORBES MAGAZINE                              NOV. 11, 2014
By Tevi Troy, President, American Health Policy Institute

Ebola has killed over 5,000 people, roiled U.S. hospitals, and shaken the faith of Americans in the government’s ability to respond. At the same time, and below the radar, U.S. companies are responding to Ebola with a variety of steps to protect themselves, their employees, and their operations.

The most important element of communicating the threat of the Ebola outbreak for both the government and corporate leaders is to provide factual information while also preventing panic and fear. There have been 5,000 false alarm cases of Ebola as people flock to U.S. emergency rooms out of fear that their common cold or seasonal flu symptoms are early manifestations of the Ebola virus. This hysteria not only has potential mental and physical health implications, but also economic implications. Fear may incentivize some people to change their behavior, whether through cancelling flights and vacation plans or visiting the doctor and stocking up on medications. Furthermore, treating suspected Ebola patients, even if they don’t pan out, is expensive and labor intensive for hospitals.

cbsnews.com - November 9, 2014 - Lara Logan travels to Liberia to report on Americans working on the frontline of the Ebola outbreak

The following is a script of "The Ebola Hot Zone" which aired on Nov. 9, 2014. Lara Logan is the correspondent. Max McClellan, Massimo Mariano and Richard Butler, producers.

No country has been harder hit by Ebola than Liberia, a hot zone for the outbreak, where more people have died from the virus than anywhere else.

That's where most of the U.S. effort is focused, with more than 2,000 Americans now leading the international response and more on the way -- soldiers, doctors, nurses and relief workers -- who're running mobile labs, building hospitals and treating patients.

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