The Many Faces of COVID19-2
Part 2 of a 7 part series…
2) The effects of shutting down the economy and isolation are devastating…arguably more devastating than the disease itself. I believe that context is vitally important. Lives matter and that is just that. A life affected by COVID is no more precious than one affected by a societal and economic shutdown. I believe that the lockdown has saved lives. I also believe in personal responsibility and that people who suspect themselves to be at risk of death or serious complications ought to take precautions and steps to protect themselves. Because the actual numbers of COVID deaths and serious complications is most likely very low when the data is actually compiled using various statistical models across a wide range of circumstances and situations, it is most likely more wise to address the pandemic from a more specialized angle. That is, our targets for addressing the pandemic ought to be on giving ways to allow those in great need of special help to get that help and for allowing the rest of the population to return to normal life.
Our attention, however, should not turn away from being prepared for those who might become very ill and ought to be geared towards treatment as opposed to vaccines. My personal experience with vaccines in regards to the flu virus (deadly in its own right albeit less so than COVID19) is that the many people I have interacted with who have experienced both sides of the vaccine question over the course of many years always do better during the non-vaccinated years. Nearly always the case of the flu when vaccinated is more severe than the non-vaccinated years (people’s own choice as a matter of experimentation) where they either don’t get the flu at all or it turns out to be quite mild. This is in no way scientific but it is a slice of life that is real. I suspect that this is reflective of a bigger reality although I cannot be sure. It does, however, beg the question of whether or not another elusive virus is going to be tamed by a vaccine and that is going to be the saving grace so many people are looking for. First, rarely do vaccines work for very long (if at all) on viruses that easily and rapidly mutate. The Corona Virus SARS-covid-2 has mutated thousands of times thus far. It may be why it seems to be less deadly today than before but that is pure speculation. With a virus that mutates so readily and easily does it make sense to be spending so much time and money on a vaccine that ultimately affects so few people (relatively)? With the time and money spent on ‘racing’ for a vaccine I think it would be better spent on focusing nearly entirely on treatments. There are some pretty decent treatments that are being used today that were not being utilized before which also might be a reason for the death rate being lower. I don’t know but I am simply working from the perspective of what I call common sense. Plus the speed at which we are racing for a vaccine means that safety measures will not be as high. Safety of vaccines in general is highly questionable and in this case doubly so.
Whether or not hundreds of millions of Americans contract the disease or not or get vaccinated or not it is most likely that COVID19 will be around for quite some time and most likely will become very seasonal like the flu. Does that mean we need to lockdown our country six months every year? I think that is ridiculous, personally. If we focus in on the right things we can be prepared for those who become very ill, we can protect the vulnerable while not destroying the lives of hundreds of millions of others and we can get back to engaging as a normal society would engage.