It’s becoming clear that Covid-19, the dreaded Coronavirus, is out in the wild. This genie will not be put back in the bottle.
It’s pretty obvious that many millions of us in the United States will be affected by the virus. Many of us will get it. Many of us will get sick from it, some of us will get very sick from it, and some of us will die.
The public health goal now comes down to slowing the spread of the disease so that the limited medical resources that are available to fight the disease once contracted are not overwhelmed.
Consider those folks who will become very ill. Covid-19 appears to find it’s way into the respiratory tract. Respirators are required to help the most severely affected keep breathing until their immune system finds the strength to fight off the disease. There are only so many respirators in any one hospital. If patients who need them trickle in, demand may keep up with supply. If large populations come down with the need for respiration at the same time, some folks will just be out of luck.
For a limited time, restrictions on assembly and travel may be necessary in order to retard the spread of the disease. Eventually, though, those measures won’t be either useful or needed. Eventually almost everyone will have been exposed or a vaccine will have been developed and dispersed that stops Covid-19s spread. Once that happens, we’ll have reached a new normal.
Until then it would be great if we had steady hands on the wheel. We’re going to need smart people working with the best information making informed decisions about how to manage the diseases spread, how to establish effective treatment protocols, and how best to get the stuff that will be required to test and treat people to the places it needs to be.
We’re also going to need straight talk about the realities we’re faced with. Obviously, we’re not getting that yet. The White House’s performance to date has been abysmal.
So let me be the one to say it: there’s a good chance you’re going to get this disease. Plan now for self care, ‘cause the existing health care system may be overwhelmed just when you need it. For now, wash your hands often, disinfect surfaces, and do the other things necessary to slow the spread of the virus. Pay attention to good advice as it emerges from authoritative sources. I’m sure it will, eventually.