How Do We Overcome COVID-19?

The country is trying to come out of lockdown amid a heated debate.  Listening to many of the news outlets, you could come away with the impression caution is being thrown to the wind and every state is attempting to open everything at once.  Most recognize this is not the case but even then there are those who question the reasoning behind State's decisions to Re-Open.  There are those who argue, we do not have a vaccine, implying we should not open until a vaccine is available.  Others argue we have not seen enough of a downturn in the numbers of cases and deaths.  Still others are fearful of a spike in cases and deaths if we make any attempt to return to normal and that the spike could be worse than those of the recent past.

Yesterday the Senate held hearings to hear the opinions of 4 individuals, they called experts, on the government's efforts to combat COVID-19, plans and a path forward.  To begin, it is questionable whether anyone can call himself an expert on COVID-19 since it has only been with us since November of 2019.  They may be experts in related fields but not COVID-19.  Most were of the opinion we are not ready to Re-Open the country or the economy.  They states we must base our actions on science.  Yet not one told us what science is saying.  This because science is also behind the curve when it comes to COVID-19 knowledge.  We all are.  What science can tell us is, 1) COVID-19 is a highly transmissible disease, 2) it affects the elderly much more so than the young, 3) the large majority of those infected experience mild or no symptoms, 4) death rates are significantly higher among the elderly and those with comorbidities.

None of these scientific facts tells us how we should or should not approach Re-Opening the country.  They can be used to help guide our decision making process but the decision is ours not science's.  Science is incapable of making a decision.  Science can be used to develop models of where the crisis might lead but again science can not tell us with any specificity where it will lead.  Many want to point to the models developed by the "experts" and claim the models point to higher case numbers and death rates if we should Re-Open the country.  I have called into question these models in the past and continue to do so.  In the last two weeks the latest models have increased the numbers of deaths by two fold over what they were three weeks ago.  This despite the fact the data shows new case numbers have remained almost steady but new deaths have fallen by a third.  It would appear the models have not even incorporated this data or has given greater weight to the partial Re-Opening in some states.  Georgia, one of the harder hit states, began Re-Opening three weeks ago and last week experienced the fewest number of deaths since the lockdown there began.  I have seen no news of significant increases in deaths resulting from Re-Openings in other states.

There is mounting evidence the lockdowns are having a significant toll on the lives and health of Americans. How is this being factored into the models?  Any Re-Opening decision cannot be solely about COVID-19 alone but must necessarily weigh many concerns for the country.  Health and wellbeing being one, economic impacts another.  It is fairly obvious that as individual and family economics decline, stress, anxiety and depression rise and mental health declines.  Waiting another eight months or more for the development of a vaccine would not appear to be a very wise option or plan.  Yet this is what the "experts" appear to be pushing.  One has to question why they would disregard all of the negative impacts resulting from the lockdowns and only focus on the cases and deaths resulting from COVID-19.  They say they are concerned for the welfare of Americans but this would not appear to be the case if they are unwilling to look at the ramifications of actions they have encouraged to date.

I agree, it is terrible to see lives lost to COVID-19.  It is also terrible to see lives lost from cardiovascular disease and cancer.  Both of which have claimed more lives this year than COVID-19.  Do those lives matter less than those of a COVID-19 victim?  I say no, they are just as important and more so to the relatives and friends of the victims.  The media refuses to give us all of the facts and the experts want to keep us in a state of fear.  As the Senate Hearing began on Tuesday, Senator Lamar Alexander gave a number of statistics the media does not talk about.  I encourage all to watch his introduction to the hearing.

So, how do we overcome COVID-19?  We have a choice.  We can remain in our homes and see our economy continue to descend into the greatest depression in our known history.  Or we can take sensible steps to Re-Open the country and continue to move forward.  Most State Governors seem to be outlining sensible steps.  I encourage them to continue to do so.  I encourage all Americans to do their part.  If you do not feel comfortable returning to work or resuming everyday activities, then don't.  But do not criticize and berate those who do.  At this time we do not know the right answer.  Time will tell.  If an area begins to see increased cases and deaths then that area can return to some of the restrictions they were under previously.  The whole country should not have to follow one prescriptive guideline.  What works well in one region may not work at all in another.  We will get through this if we keep our heads and do not let fear take over.  As FDR said, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself."