Following the car crash that killed longtime CBS News correspondent Bob Simon last February 12, newsmagazine TV program ’60 Minutes’ paid tribute to one of its legendary collaborators by airing his report on Ebola virus which he prepared on the actual day of his death.
The story focused on a recently developed drug that could either cure or prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. It was reported by Simon and produced by his own daughter Tanya, who works for the newsmagazine.
The report featured the effects of ZMapp, which could have potentially favorable effects to combat the disease. Last year, the Ebola virus was reported to have killed over 9,000 people in West Africa alone.
To introduce the report, CBS newscaster Scott Pelley went into detail as to how his co-anchor prepared and finalized the story just hours before the fatal accident in Manhattan took place.
After briefly mentioning Simon’s 47-year-old career and his collaborative efforts with his daughter Tanya, Pelley shared that airing the late correspondent’s own story is the most appropriate tribute.
“We thought the best way to pay tribute- and what Bob would have wanted- would be to put his story on the air in his own words, beginning right here.”
The report showed how Simon explored the underlying reasons as to why the drugs that were developed to combat Ebola, including ZMapp, were not made available to the public in the U.S. during last year’s epidemic.
‘Why did we have so little of [ZMapp] when the epidemic broke out and so little of it today?’ Simon asked as he questioned whether the country has the necessary preparations to address such healthcare concerns in the future.
The news anchor travelled to the national microbiology lab in Canada to meet up with Dr. Gary Kobinger, who worked on the development of ZMapp.
Simon also met up with Dr. Kent Brantly, who works as a medical missionary and became the first American national to have been affected by the Ebola virus last year while he was treating patients infected with the disease in Liberia, West Africa.
Brantly was given a dose of ZMapp after Dr. Kobinger provided a small amount of the drug to Sierra Leone. After two hours, he regained the ability to stand and walk all by himself, which he was not able to do in the past two days.
With this, Simon made the following comment: ‘It’s impossible to say what role ZMapp played in Brantly’s recovery because he also received an experimental blood transfusion and first-rate medical care in the U.S.’
Nonetheless, he stated that Brantly’s story of recovery led to a “mad scramble” for the eight remaining antidotes of such miracle drug.
In addition, Simon also discussed the issue with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), who said that they are expecting to have ZMapp in their medical cabinets in the future.
According to the report, BARDA has allocated $25 million in order to hasten the development of the drug and to ask aid from government-funded centers in order to speed up the drug’s availability in emergencies.
However, Simon mentioned that there has not been any dose of ZMapp that was produced months after the organization gave its word.
After the report aired last Sunday, Steve Kroft shared his sentiments on his colleague’s distinct traits that made him go a long way in journalism, referring to Simon as “both a model and an inspiration.”
