Archive: Opinions

As of this writing there have been 11 deaths from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States out of about 150 confirmed cases.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 14,000 deaths caused by flu this season, out of 26 million illnesses, and 250,000 hospitalizations.  So why do people resist getting flu shots, and how come coronavirus is such a bigger deal in the news than flu?  14,000 is a good three thousand more than the population of the Town and Village of Lansing.  It's a good thing there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Tompkins County!

The panic over COVID-19 is understandable, and is certainly being exacerbated by the plethora of press coverage.  A Newsweek headline yesterday read, "'More Aggressive' Coronavirus Strain Has Evolved Say Chinese Scientists, But Here's Why You Shouldn't Worry"  I don't know about you, but headlines like that make me worry.  And there's the problem -- panic breeds panic.

Some of the symptoms of the panic: I saw a young woman at Target the other day wearing a face mask.  And a friend posted a meme on Facebook that blasted, "If this virus is new and there is no cure how the hell is it in the back of a Lysol can?" with a picture of the can with "Human Coronavirus" among a large list of things that Lysol helps fight against.

My reply to my friend was, "This meme is a Ly (sol)."  And it is a lie, because the 2019 novel (new) coronavirus is one of many coronaviruses, and the other ones have been with us for a long time.  They have, essentially, the same symptoms as the common cold, and the treatment for them is about the same.  I am sure there are plenty of memes that  make much out of the fact that there is no cure for the common cold -- there are plenty of medications and herbal treatments that help you deal with the symptoms, but no actual cure.  So get rest, wash your hands, take hot showers and use room humidifiers, and stay home and get plenty of rest.  See a doctor if it gets worse or you're not sure. Sound familiar?  It's what your Mom told you all those times you got colds when you were a kid.

The CDC says that for most Americans the immediate health risk of COVID-19 is low.  People in communities with confirmed cases have a higher risk, as do health care workers, but CDC says even in those locations the risk of exposure is relatively low.  "Older people and people with certain underlying health conditions like heart disease, lung disease and diabetes, for example, seem to be at greater risk of serious illness," the CDC warns.

One of the side effects of being a journalist is that one's email box is inundated with virtual stacks of press releases.  There have been many many lately from Governor Cuomo, and some from the Tompkins County Health Department.  They both say don't panic, and the Governor keeps repeating that the real pandemic is panic, not the actual disease.

That seems reasonable.  We have been programmed to panic by the media and by the ever popular disaster movie genre.  That reminds me, I just read an article about Earth's second (and temporary) new moon.  Of course, the first thing I thought of was all those 'asteroid hitting the Earth and extinguishing all life except the hero and heroine and sometimes their dog' movies, who seem to miraculously survive our doomed planet.  Surely I am not the only one who's first reaction to the article was Armageddon.  Yet it is actually about a visiting piece of rock about the size of a compact car that has been circling the Earth for at least a year without being detected until a few weeks ago, and is likely to leave us very soon.

Say, didn't Elon Musk launch his $100,000 cherry red, convertible Tesla Roadster into space on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with a manaquin in the driver's seat two years ago?  CNET reported last month that it is still orbiting the sun, and says it may have a 'close encounter' with our planet again in 2091.  So maybe our new (and soon to be former) moon is some alien's roadster?  Aliens???!!!  Yike!  (panic!)

The CDC says that large scale transmission of COVID-19 is likely.  That certainly means there will be more deaths from the disease, though it is hard to imagine that its death toll will supersede that of the flu.  The best thing we all can do is follow the CDC's advice, the Tompkins County Health Department's advice, and use common sense. As Douglas Adams famously said in 'The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy', "Don't panic!"

And listen to what your Mom told you when you were a kid.

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