I continue my life as well.
The “message” I am taking away from all of this is that it is probably worse than we know.
My concern is that there are two variations of this virus that are running around the world. In Italy and Iran, it is a variation “L”. The variation appears to be more contagious and more lethal. That is coming at us from the east.
From the west, is the type S. This variation is the South Korean and Far East version. This is the 80% mild version.
What we are not hearing from “our” testing is which is coming our way.
Is it worth shutting down the country? Probably not. At least not right now.
If the L version is found in an urban area...that is a concern.
I think people are “uneducated” about this, and infectious disease all around. A day spent reading some of the early information about Wuhan would scare the be-jeezuz out of a lot of people—but 99% of America was not paying attention. Remember, this was during the impeachment and the Holiday season.
Most Americans started paying attention last week. That is like showing up in Europe in February 1940 and looking around and saying, “Everything looks fine to me!”
I am not a gloom and doomer. My background is in Emergency Prep and Hospital Logistics and networking. I am a realist.
If it goes south, it will do so quickly and it will scare everyone.
Also, all along, I was saying the issue isn’t dying. This isn’t going to kill you or me. (probably not.) But it is going to mess stuff up for a while. The shock to market should not surprise anyone—least of all the folks in the White House. Supply chains have been disrupted and the oil shock—not related to the disease—are more responsible than “fear.”
So, I think that is a well reasoned and thought out position. It is not based on fear. It is based on an understanding of how shit works in this world.
If you look at the rantings on both sides, you will see little well thought out, reasoned thinking. You simply see the regurgitation of Trump and Rush. Neither or whom have any idea what Emergency Prep looks like at the hospital levels. And remember—the CDC is a bunch of research guys. They are not hospitalists.
The only government administrator on this that makes me feel comfortable is Ben Carson. He is the only one that understands the day to day operation of a hospital.
Faucci is good—but he has been a researcher and not practicing since the 1980’s. Not exactly up to date on how stuff works in the real world.
But, life goes on. I feel good. I stay secluded, taking care of my chemo-filled wife. We were not going anywhere, anyhow.
I am trying to present a position—not in opposition to anyone. If I sounded short, I apologize. That is not my intention.
I have counted on you to be reasonable, objective and sane these last weeks. And funny. In my book, funny is key;)
Even at my hospital I watch the differences between the responses from administrators and the docs. Their agendas are not the same and it shows. I am not picking on admin- they just see a different world than docs/nurses.
Thank you so much for your well-reasoned response. God bless your beautiful wife! Prayers for her, Sir.