Curbing the Fear
In the last six months of attempting to reduce the Covid curve infection, governments have mandated shop shutdowns, stopped us going to work, closed all public transport from airports, subways, and the metro – and locked our families and us down to the safety of our own homes in the hope of not spreading the COVID-19 virus.
And what did we get from it- a global economy on the verge of collapse, and the virus is still living amongst us and showing no sign of retreat.
In the United States, health experts and doctors are now joining the rising call of ordinary citizens to spread a different rhetoric on the virus. COVID19 remains, but we have to live with it. (And this goes against the earlier team of scientists and health professionals who first sounded the alarm and still push for more and extended quarantine measures.) Enough is Enough we say.
A noted physician, Dr. Katarina Lindley of the Texas ACOFP made this progressive note in a letter published by the Texas Policy Foundation:
“The messaging from the leadership and the medical community should be clear: Yes, we have increases in COVID-19 cases, but we do not have an increase in mortality, quite the contrary. We need to protect the most vulnerable populations, practice common sense and protect ourselves and our families by being aware of the risks while living a normal life. We need to stop fearing the disease and instead respect it – and learn to live with it. It is here to stay, but we should not allow it to take our freedom and liberties.”
With the latest and revised facts and figures on the impact of this disease, the message is now being concurred and amplified by no less than the US CDC – the body mandated to provide the needed guidance on coping with conditions such as COVID-19. And here are the facts:
- COVID19 infection fatality rate estimate is down to 0.26%
- For those outside nursing homes, the infection fatality rate is estimated to be just 0.13%
- 1% of counties in the US account for roughly 40% of all COVID-19 deaths
- 10% of counties account for approximately 80% of COVID-19 deaths
- About 25% of the counties in the US haven’t experienced a single coronavirus death
- Nearly half of all coronavirus deaths came from nursing and aged care homes
- In many states, nursing homes and assisted living facilities make up more than half of all the deaths – around 75% in Minnesota and approximately 70% in Ohio
- Those under 55 account for just 8% of all COVID-19 related fatalities
- If you are 35 years old or younger, your probability of dying from COVID-19 is just 0.0005%
- The majority of deaths are among those with at least one other underlying medical condition, such as diabetes or obesity.
- More children die each year from flu than COVID-19
- Children rarely display severe symptoms from COVID-19 or infect others. Most scientists believe that children are a “brake” from transmissions.
- In the US, the probability of getting struck by lightning is much higher than getting and dying of COVID-19
Given these facts and figures, the same group who wish to flatten the fear is calling on media and politicians to stop giving COVID-19 excessive exposure that just heightens panic and paranoia. Stop focusing on the rise of infections every day but instead on the survival rate and how we can live with the disease, the same way we do with cancer, influenza, and HIV.
As we move forward with our lives and look back on how we squandered 2020, we are now more convinced that this virus need not be considered as more frightening than those diseases we have become used to living with in times past and even presently.
The political fallout is yet to be determined, but everywhere it is looking ominous, especially in the USA with the November Presidential elections. Trump is very much looking like the candidate who rejects masks and the suspension and quarantining of sections of society. His mentally failing opponent Biden would seem to be advocating a more divisive social response, with greater state control and authority which doesn't blend well with freedom-loving Americans.
In the meantime, despite all the uproar and hype of a vaccine to combat COVID-19, the grim reality remains that a silver bullet may never be found, just as one has never been found for HIV or cancer. Billions of dollars globally will be spent on R&D as a result of this over-hyped pandemic and no doubt some good will come out of it to address other illnesses as a collateral benefit of this epic research.