Good afternoon, family and friends!
I know, I know, it's been almost a year since my last post. I'm going to try to do better, but today, I thought I'd address the elephant currently in the room. Whether you call it the Coronavirus, Wuhan Flu, COVID-19, or by it's medical designation, SARS CoV-2, the currently-declared pandemic is affecting everyone. The problem is that it isn't the virus itself that is having the greatest impact on our society at every level, it is the ensuing panic surrounding the pandemic.
Before I go any further, I want to clearly stipulate that there are definitely people who should take special precautions because of COVID-19, particularly those with compromised immune systems, the very young, the elderly, and anyone who is regularly in contact with people who are ill.
Having said that, my own research into this topic has led me to one conclusion: the fear, anxiety, and panic surrounding this pandemic is, except for the people previously mentioned, completely unnecessary and unwarranted. Furthermore, it has been entirely created by the politicians on both sides of the aisle and the accompanying corporate media that acts as their propaganda distributors for the purpose of command and control. Or, as Rahm Emanuel, former White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama and Mayor of Chicago, once said, "never let a good crisis go to waste."
Why have I developed this conclusion? It's simple: the science and statistics that are out there for anyone to see. Let's get into the 'speeds and feeds' of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By the way, the source of all the health-related numbers are the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The world population figures are 2019 estimates from the United Nations, and U.S. population figures are the 2019 estimates from the United States Bureau of the Census.
As of 11:00 AM on 23 March 2020, there have been 373,885 confirmed cases of infection worldwide. Of those infected, 16,328 have died from the virus. That gives the Wuhan Flu a mortality rate of 4.37%. However, of the total world population of approximately 7,400,000,000 (7.4 Billion), only 0.005053% have been infected. That's 5,053 Millionths of one percent! The number of people who have died worldwide represents only 0.000221%, or 221 Millionths of one percent, of the population. Keep in mind two things: first, that these figures represent nations that cover a spectrum from Third World nations with little to no healthcare infrastructure, to nations with the best healthcare in the world; and second, that even the CDC and the WHO have conceded that the number of infected individuals is probably not completely accurate due to an inadequate number of testing kits, an incomplete count of infected individuals in some lesser-developed countries, and outright false reporting by some totalitarian regimes.
Now, if you think those numbers are low, let's take a look at the U.S. and specifically Texas. Nationwide, there have been 42,439 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection with 574 deaths. This means that the mortality rate in America is 1.35%. When figured against the estimated national population of 328,240,000, only 0.012929% (12,929 Millionths of one percent) of the population have been infected, and 0.000175% (175 Millionths of one percent) of the population has died from the Coronavirus. In Texas, there have been 719 confirmed infections and 7 deaths from COVID-19. To put it into perspective, with a statewide population of 29,996,000, 0.002397% (2,397 Millionths of one percent) have been infected, and 0.000023% (23 Millionths of one percent) have died.
But how does all this compare to 'normal' infections and illnesses. At the end of 2019, the CDC issued a report entitled Pneumonia and Influenza Associated Mortality (I have no idea why they decided to lump these two infections together). In that report, they stated that, "Nationally, mortality attributed to pneumonia and influenza peaked two times at 7.7% during the weeks ending February 23rd and March 16th." In other words, in spite of vaccines and treatments we have had for decades, as well as public awareness...all things we did not have for COVID-19...during those two weeks last year 7.7% of our population who contracted the flu and pneumonia tragically died. Furthermore, the CDC estimated that during the 2018 - 2019 flu season, 65,000,000 Americans, or 19.8% of our population, were afflicted with the flu. In other words, the number of people who got the flu during the eight months of the traditional flu season of 1 October 2018 to 1 May 2019 was over 1,531 times greater than the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. In spite of this, there was never any widespread panic or anxiety, no calls from politicians or the media to 'flatten the curve,' no draconian plans to quarantine large swaths of our population and shut down our country en masse. In fact, the week before the politicians began to issue their chicken little proclamations to shelter in place and severely limit the size of gatherings, the week of 7 March 2020, the NCHS reported that 7.1% of ALL deaths in the U.S. were due to flu and pneumonia. This is the sort of information the media and our politicians should be distributing in order to keep everyone calm, but aren't.
As I mentioned earlier, those who themselves or who have loved ones in the at-risk categories should and need to take all due precautions. For the rest of us who make up the vast majority of the population, there are a few simple things you can do, that you should honestly already be doing in your everyday lives, to come as close to guaranteeing your safety as possible:
Ø Wash your hands frequently, especially after you use the restroom, before handling food, after you cough, sneeze, or blow your nose (even if caused by allergies), and after touching public fixtures such as doorknobs and hand rails. Also, don't just wash the palms of your hands. Wash the entire hand, front and back, from your wrist to the tips of your fingers, including between your fingers. By the way, hand sanitizers are a waste of money because they work for at most 90 seconds after application. This is why health departments nationwide do not allow hand sanitizers to be used in place of frequent hand-washing in restaurants.
Ø Do not allow anyone to cough or sneeze on you. Be aware of your surroundings and avoid people who appear to be having sinus or respiratory issues.
Ø If you do not feel well, stay home. No one is so critical at work that they need to risk their own health or that of their co-workers. If you need to have errands run, reach out to your family and friends. We will help you!
Ø Do not share food or drink with anyone. ANYONE!
By making these 4 habits part of your daily routine, you reduce your odds of contracting the Coronavirus to virtually Zero.
It is time to stop letting blind fear generated by people with an agenda to change the way we live our lives. Ignore the crap coming out of the corporate media outlets, especially CNN, Fox News, and all NBC properties (including MSNBC and the MSN News Feed). Get your COVID-19 updates and info from independent news sources, and directly from the websites for the CDC and the WHO. Stop fanning the fires of hysteria and help spread the truth about this pandemic.
Above all, be well, Dear Ones!
Until next time...
