Goosegg posted:People keep bringing up the flu - a disease for which we have vaccines (albeit imperfectly matched each year), many decades of circulation within populations (with residual imperfect immunity), that is clearly seasonal, which DOESN'T OVERWHELM A NATIONS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, with a mortality rate of .1%, and well understood transmissions.
Here we have a species jumping virus entering a virgin population. All within three months +/-, which has overwhelmed health care systems in multiple developed countries, with a mortality rate apparently magnitudes more than the flu.
Riddle me this: which other disease has overwhelmed multiple countries HCS?
And, yes, because we know the extreme mortality rates amongst 65+ and those with comorbidities, grandma will indeed be sacrificed (as well as your diabetic overweight 45 year old cousin). The question is will she be sacrificed as a last resort, or will she be sacrificed so we can make our rent and car payments?
There are published research papers demonstrating that locales which took strong measures during the 1918 pandemic not only had lower mortality rates, but also had much stronger economies in the future when compared to locales which allowed the virus to run free.
My grandparents told me long stories about their experiences in the great depression (heck, Bubbie used to take the restaurant crackers home in her purse); for them it lasted a decade, made them lose their livelihood and become virtual beggars.
Here, less then a month into this, we have lost patience and believe that our current state of affairs is all we can handle.
A new meaning to American exceptionalism.
PS, herd immunity will kick in long before 80% are infected with a virus with this infectious rate.
I bring up the flu simply to demonstrate it kills tens of thousands in the U.S. every year and people don't seem to mind or care. Yet when a single otherwise healthy person dies of COVID-19 it makes national news.
AND we have vaccines AND it's seasonal AND it kills both young and old. I'm not comparing the two viruses but rather making an attempt to put a little perspective into people's forgetful minds.
The title of this post includes "Time to Face Reality." The fact the flu has killed between 24,000 and 63,000 in this country since 10/1/2019 seems to have been forgotten or is treated as meaningless. The COVID-19 death count has not even hit the flu's two-month average death count (yet) for the low end of the estimate (24,000). So what if grandma dies of the flu but if she dies of COVID-19 it is the country's fault. We are deemed irresponsible and insensitive because we are not treating this seriously. So much so hundreds of thousands of businesses in this country will cease to exist. Someone posted "most people that lose their jobs now will get it back after the crisis is over." Not sure how this is possible when those jobs won't exist.
Is a shutdown necessary? Of course, locally, as hotspots arise. We simply cannot continue to remain shutdown indefinitely. And to criticize the governor of Montana for not issuing a stay-at-home order? Please! Let's just kill businesses in Montana because hospitals are overwhelmed in NYC.
And why is it government's fault there aren't enough hospital beds or ventilators? As our population has grown these counts have been reduced dramatically. Why? Because health care is so much better today? Perhaps a bit. But really it's because health care is a business. These same businesses are now complaining the government is not doing enough. That the federal government was unprepared and is now responsible for this crisis.
The reality is it's nobody's fault. Not even China's!