COVID-19

I’ve refrained from writing anything about the current pandemic because, let’s be honest, I’m not a medical professional. As time has progressed, however, I see nothing but the ridiculousness of Americans who have such strong notions of entitlement and privilege that they are putting the lives’ of others in danger. Obviously nothing I post here will change the minds of those who are too naive, or maybe ignorant, or maybe just flat-out too unintelligent to understand the basic concepts we’ve been provided for mitigating infections, but at least if I post it I can say I added my voice to those trying to encourage a logical, measured response.

First up, let’s just clear the air on legitimacy of sources. The following are sources I will trust the information from, and base my judgment of the risks and precautions I should consider in day to day behavior (yes, there are certainly other legitimate sources of information as well).

Overwhelmingly, legitimate sources all state the same things: wash your hands appropriately, use hand sanitizer if you have to be out and about and touch high-traffic/high-touch surfaces before touching your face, wear a mask, and keep your distance from others. It is ridiculously simple to understand, and yet instead of trying to be mindful of the health and well-being of others I consistently see people ignoring those precautionary actions (or worse yet, deciding they don’t care and are done being a respectful, considerate participant in Society and quit following the aforementioned precautions).

Maybe you are one of those who thinks you’ll deal with it like the flu, and if you have to get it at some point you might as well get it over with. There’s a list of reasons why that reasoning is insane and harmful:

  • Neurological damage from the virus has been confirmed (we can’t know the severity or impact of the damage at this time).

  • Cardiovascular damage from the virus has been confirmed (we can’t know the severity or impact of the damage at this time).

  • Respiratory damage from the virus has been confirmed (we can’t know the severity or impact of the damage at this time).

  • Immunity to the virus from antibodies (i.e. previous exposure) has NOT been confirmed.

  • This is not the Flu.

There are more reasons, but those alone should be enough for people to be cautious until we know of a proven, reliable treatment plan and whether any level of immunity is achievable absent a vaccine being developed and available.

If you still don’t want to believe the possible seriousness of COVID-19, I implore you to speak with people who work in a hospital in a place that has seen more than a small handful of patients requiring ventilation. You certainly wouldn’t be so flippant or inconsiderate about the well-being of others if you paid attention.