Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) argued that the Ebola virus “could get beyond our control” and warned against underestimating the threat of the virus on Wednesday’s broadcast of “The Laura Ingraham Show.”
“It’s a big mistake to underestimate the potential for problems worldwide” he said. And “it’s a big mistake to downplay and act as if ‘oh, this is not a big deal, we can control all this,’ this could get beyond our control.” He added “we should not underestimate the transmissibility of this,” and expressed his concern that the U.S. troops sent to Africa to fight the disease could easily become infected, especially if they are in the close confines of a ship with a fellow soldier who has the virus.
Paul further criticized U.S. officials for downplaying the threat of the virus and failing to impose stricter travel restrictions on countries with the virus, stating “we’re not really making sound, rational, scientific decisions on this.” He argued that the U.S. should consider shutting down air travel from countries that have experience large outbreaks of the Ebola virus.
The senator did point out that nobody can say with certainty what the virus will do, adding “maybe it peters out,” but he also said that viruses can be unpredictable, and that this outbreak is larger than any prior outbreaks of Ebola.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett