The 2014 Ebola outbreak in Liberia and Sierra Leone has generated substantial news coverage during the last several months, especially after Americans were infected with the disease and were brought back to the U.S. for treatment in August.  Since then, four people within the U.S. were diagnosed with Ebola, and one patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, died from the disease on October 8th.

During that time, several politicians and pundits were weighing in on the response to the Ebola threat by the Obama administration.  During a national television interview, Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) discussed the threat of Ebola in the U.S. and expressed his concerns that the American people were given bad information about the Ebola threat in our own country.  McCain said this:

"Americans have to be reassured here.  I don’t think we are comforted by the fact that we were told there would never be a case of Ebola in the United States, and obviously that’s not correct."

Our partners at PolitiFact investigated McCain's claim to see if it was accurate.  PolitiFact reporter Joshua Gillin says that Sen. McCain's claim rates FALSE on the Truth-O-Meter.  Gillin said that both the CDC and the White House have said very different things.

"We looked at statements going back to July, long before there were any cases of Ebola in the United States," said Gillin.  "We found statements from both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the White House that said Ebola in the United States was possible, although they didn't believe there would be a wide-ranging outbreak here, and that was because of the confidence they have in the healthcare framework that's in place across the country."

Gillin said that both the CDC and the Obama administration have been careful to always include a disclaimer in their press releases and advisories.  "They really couldn't be any more clear in their language," said Gillin.  "The disclaimer that basically said 'there's always a possibility of it' has always been there."

Because the CDC and the White House added in disclaimer language that said Ebola in the U.S. was always a possibility, no matter how high or low the actual probability, PolitiFact rated Sen. John McCain's claim FALSE on the Truth-O-Meter.

 

SOURCES: A guarantee of no Ebola in the United States?