Reflections on a viral pandemic
It took me a minute or two to absorb the mindset of the person who wrote that the media is stirring up the public like a person with their hair on fire … now there’s an image for you … regarding the virus. According to said writer, most of what is being reported is hype. As the president has told us, it will go away; it only affects a few people. The numbers are of no consequence according to one presidential advisor.
Really? At least count 250,000 have gone to their eternal reward because of COVID-19. I am wondering if they would have considered themselves to be among the ‘few,” that their families then would have thought of their deaths as being just a “few” people of no consequence.
I am mystified at the response of some of my fellow citizens who have cast the response to this pandemic as a hoax or a test of will, freedom and machismo and its feminine counterpart.
The pandemic has caused pain. We hear and read about how this pandemic has negatively affected the psychological and educational growth of our children, the safety of people in rough domestic situations, kept families apart, etc. This list goes on to include the many who are suffering economic disaster, homelessness and hunger. True. So, do we ignore the verity of COVID-19 or take reasonable, evidenced-based appropriate action.
So, let’s take a few steps backward and investigate what a viral pandemic is.
1. A virus has no gender, ethnic, religious, amorous or hair color preferences. It exists and continues to exist within the cells of a host – in this case, human beings – you and me and the crazy uncle. It flies no flag. It is everywhere.
2. This virus is brand new. Humans have no immunity. Little is known about it. It takes time, even with modern science, to develop a knowledge base about the virus, how it affects humans and how humans can counteract its affects. Kind of like a blind date with a someone you’ve never met who speaks no language that you know.
3. Until we have reliable, proven and available treatments and vaccines, the best we can do and, I emphasize, the best we can do is to wear a face covering, stay a measured distance from another person, avoid large groups of people and wash our hands. Simple? Effective? Yes!
4. People who have excellent resumes in the field of virology and epidemiology , who have no skin in the game but their reputations, have told us this. Then we have those without this knowledge who encourage the opposite. What motivates them? One has suspicions.
5. Human beings don’t always demonstrate the use of the important parts of their brains. They politicize something like wearing a mask as if it made them a hero of some order. Wearing a mask protects others from you and vice versa. Maybe we have discovered that, in our country, there are substantial numbers of people who just don’t give a damn about anyone but themselves. They refuse to wear a mask, gather in large groups and God knows where they have put their unwashed hands. These tend to run around carrying banners that shout “freedom…” to do what? We are at war with an invisible enemy and they are basically saying that they will not fight. They will give comfort and aid to the enemy. There is a name for that.
6. Why is number 4 above an issue? Because we have no leadership to underscore the importance of these simple actions. Rather we have some fairy tale idea that state boundaries, church attendance or simple orneriness will protect those who refuse to believe that the virus is virulent … or just maybe there is a mindset that says, “I want what I want when I want it and I don’t care who gets sick and or dies.” Yes, that can be true too.
7. All it takes is one virus in one cell and the spread is on, first to the other cells in that person and then to those who come in contact with that person who then become spreaders, as the virus that has infected them sheds to others. Most won’t get really sick, a good number won’t show any symptoms at all, but some, and as of today that is 250,000 souls, will die an agonizing death, alone. Is this an acceptable price for a party, a wedding, a get-together of college kids, a church service, a political rally?
8. The virus charges for its service and it is measured in human life. How to balance this against the economic, sociological, psychological and educational disruption?
9. Keeping the numbers of those seriously infected down also protects those who have other medical problems that need attention. If hospitals are overrun with COVID-19 cases, where do the rest of the population who need medical help for other problems go? Maybe to those who tell you that the virus is a hoax?
10. To get back to what we perceive as normal, we have to rein in the virus. Despite the recent announcements of powerful vaccines, we are far from safe. Until we can effectively distribute the vaccines to 331 million people , we have only the basic public health directions regarding masks, distance and crowds. Unfortunately, we also have those who refuse to follow what is essential…it is their intransigence that keeps the virus circulating.
On this Thanksgiving, I will keep in my heart the families of those who died from COVID-19 who will have empty chairs at their tables. I will give thanks for those whose patriotism, whose basic human kindness, has led them to take care and be careful for the sake of others. From the grocery store clerks to the ICU doctors and nurses who have front lined this war without a leader, I find the example of true heroism. For the deniers, those in power who have abandoned their charges … there is a special place reserved for them, and it isn’t in my heart.
