Some are questioning the care that Thomas Eric Duncan received.
Rev. Jesse Jackson questioned whether or not antiviral ZMapp was really unavailable, and said he believes that the care Duncan received contributed to his demise, according to The Daily Mail.
"I do know that Mr. Duncan received late treatment and not the best drug," Jackson reportedly said. "They say that there is no more ZMapp. It's hard for me to believe that there's only enough ZMapp to treat two people in all of America."
Chimerix Inc., the manufacturers of brincidofovir, said that Duncan's doctors had to get the FDA's permission to use the drug, which is in "late-stage testing for several other types of viruses" including small pox, the AP reported.
Research only suggests that brincidofovir may be effective against Ebola.
"The FDA grants emergency access to unapproved drugs on a case-by-case basis, usually when a patient faces a life-threatening condition for which there are no alternatives. The agency has not approved any drugs or vaccines to safely and effectively treat Ebola," according to the AP.
Other experimental treatments that are used specifically for Ebola are both in high-demand and short-supply. ZMapp was used on a few patients, and will not be available again for another two months. TKM-Ebola was used on one patient and is "in limited supply."
Duncan also did not get a blood transfusion from someone who recovered from Ebola - a supply of blood that would contain antibodies against the virus, The Daily Mail revealed.
Dr. Kent Brantly, the American doctor who survived Ebola in July, donated blood yesterday to NBC cameraman, Ashoka Mukpo, reported The Daily Mail. Brantly previously donated to Dr. Rick Sacra, who also contracted the virus while providing aid in Africa.
Jackson was asked if race played a role in Duncan's level of care, WFAA8, an ABC-affiliate, reported.
Jackson replied, "I don't want to say that, only because that could become the headline. Whether you are white in Atlanta or whether you are white in Nebraska or black in Dallas - we know there's different treatment among blacks in this country."
Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, echoed Jackson's sentiments by saying "people who look like me show up at hospital with no insurance, they're treated differently," The Dallas Business Journal reported.
According to EURWeb, Archbishop Council Nedd II spoke for Project21, an initiative for black conservatives, and issued a statement scolding Jackson for his remarks:
"For Jesse Jackson to suggest that Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan might not have gotten the best treatment because of his race is wholly unnecessary and extremely unhelpful. With the nation potentially on the verge of a national health crisis, injecting race into this very emotional issue can only hurt when our nation needs to be unified."
