Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Are There Any Other Choices ?

We are now living in the midst of a pandemic like we, who were not alive in 1918, have  never seen before. This present pandemic has the potential to be similar to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Back then there was no influenza vaccine, and so basically everyone was at risk. This present flu pandemic similar in that there is no vaccine and it is unlikely that there will be an effective vaccine in the months to come. It is pretty clear that this Covid-19 virus originated in Wuhan, China and spread from there. Interestingly from Wikipedia: “experts have proposed that the Spanish flu originated somewhere in northern China in 1917 and swiftly moved to western  Europe with the 140,000 Chinese laborers, the French and British governments recruited to perform manual labor to free up troops for wartime duty.” Truth or fiction ? At this point who cares! Back in 1918, the effect on America was devastating, and a similar potential exists today. What are we in America doing about this Wuhan flu?
What are our present choices? What are our basic options? 

  1. Pray. A lot of us are doing this, and perhaps it has helped a lot, but at this point how are we to know ?
  2. Shelter in place. This is basically what we have been doing now for close to a month, and I am having difficulty seeing progress with this approach. At the present time there is no defined end to this self-imposed isolation. The economic effects are going to be catastrophic for many, and especially for those that past surveys have shown do not have enough cash in reserve to withstand a $400 sudden insult. (Supposedly this is upwards to 30% of all Americans.) Many of those millions that are losing their jobs because of this lockdown, will crash and burn, and “you ain’t seen nothing yet!” When the present shelter in place has ended, what’s going to happen then? Will those who have had this flu and recovered, be able to restart the economy? Hopefully! But who are they? Impossible to tell as many as 80% of those infected with this Wuhan virus are having minimal or even no symptoms. In another month will those seniors who have already been semi-quarantined for months, be able to resume a normal life? Are we putting all of our eggs in the “warm weather will save us” basket? . . . or in the “ a miraculous new flu vaccine will save us” basket?
  3. There is another route that I have not heard anybody suggesting. Are you ready for this contrarian-like suggestion? “Encourage having purposeful Covid19 ‘let’s get infected’ get togethers.” (These would be similar to the Mardi Gras party they had in that Washington State nursing home, but with young volunteers.) Crazy? I think not, as the only real way to induce some sort of herd immunity, is to get more of the healthy young herd infected. Young people have only a very minimal risk of dying from this Wuhan virus. If a young person, or even an older person for that matter, wants to get back to work . . . perhaps the route would be as follows: get infected with the virus (which is apparently very infectious and easily spreadable), isolate him/herself for two weeks and thus develop immunity, then go back to work, even be able to go to the beach or even walk in your own park.  Even in the seventy year old age group, the mortality from this virus is about 7-8%, which means that if a 74 year old with no other underlying medical condition gets the virus, he/she has about a 92+% chance of recovering . . . from my perspective, those are pretty good odds.

And perhaps in the very near future, those, who purposely and knowingly infect themselves, and do poorly, can be treated with a chloroquine etc regimen. Will some people die as a result of this wild hair-brained idea? Possibly, yes, but if this helps to save our economy, is it worth it? Choices!!! What would you decide?

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