Coronavirus For Dummies

Wear a Mask; It's Not Going to Kill You

I just looked up America’s annual mortality statistics.

The novel coronavirus does not top the list but it has already killed twice as many people as the annual number of flu cases in about 90 days instead of 365. And, this is assuming we have an accurate count, which, of course, because of the politicization of the pandemic by our incontinent faux billionaire playboy president and the brain dead conservative party that follows him around like an organ grinder’s monkey, we do not.

And, unlike all of the most likely reasons you will die in America, the novel coronavirus is the only one that is communicable and communicable while the person infected is asymptomatic. The last I looked, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and stroke are not ways you could wind up in a hospital on a respirator and die just because you crossed the path of someone who had those diseases.

It is not surprising where outbreaks are occurring. Places packed with people - like New York, prisons, nursing homes, meat packing plants and lots of people going about their daily lives while living in close quarters.

Because testing is limited and tests in some places can be costly and some of us recoil at the idea of having a Q-Tip threaded through our nasal passage, we don’t really have real numbers for those who are displaying symptoms who might be COVID19 cases. Our drug-addled commander-in-thief prefers we not test because sticking your head in the sand is always the first line of defense in an emergency.

Followed by tax breaks for zillionaires and businesses that just happen to fall under his purview and bear his name.

We have 4.25% of the world’s population and yet we have 25% of the deaths due to the virus. Interestingly, Russia and Brazil seem to be hard on our heels. I am sure there are many reasons for this but it is hard not to notice those countries also are led by conservative autocrats.

Science deniers one and all.

Nationalists one and all.

Men who, in some ways, make Jim Jones look like Fred Rogers.

I spoke at length with my ER doctor friend yesterday evening who has been working in New York City on and off during the pandemic. She has also been at a Sioux Falls, South Dakota hospital periodically and during the same time period.

The good news is, despite all that she has seen, she believes, where warranted, a ‘soft’ or ‘gentle’ opening is possible. River raft trips, for instance, with cotton masks, hand sanitizer, small groups and shuttle buses two-thirds empty for social distance purposes would be ‘workable’. All equipment would need to be soaped and washed after each use. Clients would have to bring their own pens to sign waivers.

The bad news is the pandemic is not being over hyped, at least, as far as New York is concerned. She told me the patients she had seen were overwhelmingly Hispanic. She confirmed the virus was fairly indiscriminate when it came to age brackets. She admitted the toll was high and I could tell by her subdued voice the mental toll was also high.

Oddly, where I live, a fruit packing plant, where a majority of the employees are Hispanic, has had 60 of the county’s 170+ COVID cases. Yet none of them fell ill enough to need to be hospitalized. And I had heard they were all asymptomatic.

Which reminds me of the parable of the blind men and the elephant. Here is that parable in its entirety which I found on the Peace Corps website. It is lengthy but imminently readable and relevant.

Long ago six old men lived in a village in India. Each was born blind. The other villagers loved the old men and kept them away from harm. Since the blind men could not see the world for themselves, they had to imagine many of its wonders. They listened carefully to the stories told by travelers to learn what they could about life outside the village.

The men were curious about many of the stories they heard, but they were most curious about elephants. They were told that elephants could trample forests, carry huge burdens, and frighten young and old with their loud trumpet calls. But they also knew that the Rajah's daughter rode an elephant when she traveled in her father's kingdom. Would the Rajah let his daughter get near such a dangerous creature?

The old men argued day and night about elephants. "An elephant must be a powerful giant," claimed the first blind man. He had heard stories about elephants being used to clear forests and build roads.

"No, you must be wrong," argued the second blind man. "An elephant must be graceful and gentle if a princess is to ride on its back."

"You're wrong! I have heard that an elephant can pierce a man's heart with its terrible horn," said the third blind man.

"Please," said the fourth blind man. "You are all mistaken. An elephant is nothing more than a large sort of cow. You know how people exaggerate."

"I am sure that an elephant is something magical," said the fifth blind man. "That would explain why the Rajah's daughter can travel safely throughout the kingdom."

"I don't believe elephants exist at all," declared the sixth blind man. "I think we are the victims of a cruel joke."

Finally, the villagers grew tired of all the arguments, and they arranged for the curious men to visit the palace of the Rajah to learn the truth about elephants. A young boy from their village was selected to guide the blind men on their journey. The smallest man put his hand on the boy's shoulder. The second blind man put his hand on his friend's shoulder, and so on until all six men were ready to walk safely behind the boy who would lead them to the Rajah's magnificent palace.

When the blind men reached the palace, they were greeted by an old friend from their village who worked as a gardener on the palace grounds. Their friend led them to the courtyard. There stood an elephant. The blind men stepped forward to touch the creature that was the subject of so many arguments.

The first blind man reached out and touched the side of the huge animal. "An elephant is smooth and solid like a wall!" he declared. "It must be very powerful."

The second blind man put his hand on the elephant's limber trunk. "An elephant is like a giant snake," he announced.

The third blind man felt the elephant's pointed tusk. "I was right," he decided. "This creature is as sharp and deadly as a spear."

The fourth blind man touched one of the elephant's four legs. "What we have here," he said, "is an extremely large cow."

The fifth blind man felt the elephant's giant ear. "I believe an elephant is like a huge fan or maybe a magic carpet that can fly over mountains and treetops," he said.

The sixth blind man gave a tug on the elephant's coarse tail. "Why, this is nothing more than a piece of old rope. Dangerous, indeed," he scoffed.

The gardener led his friends to the shade of a tree. "Sit here and rest for the long journey home," he said. "I will bring you some water to drink."

While they waited, the six blind men talked about the elephant.

"An elephant is like a wall," said the first blind man. "Surely we can finally agree on that."

"A wall? An elephant is a giant snake!" answered the second blind man.

"It's a spear, I tell you," insisted the third blind man.

"I'm certain it's a giant cow," said the fourth blind man.

"Magic carpet. There's no doubt," said the fifth blind man.

"Don't you see?" pleaded the sixth blind man. "Someone used a rope to trick us."

Their argument continued and their shouts grew louder and louder.

"Wall!" "Snake!" "Spear!" "Cow!" "Carpet!" "Rope!"

"Stop shouting!" called a very angry voice.

It was the Rajah, awakened from his nap by the noisy argument.

"How can each of you be so certain you are right?" asked the ruler.

The six blind men considered the question. And then, knowing the Rajah to be a very wise man, they decided to say nothing at all.

"The elephant is a very large animal," said the Rajah kindly. "Each man touched only one part. Perhaps if you put the parts together, you will see the truth. Now, let me finish my nap in peace."

When their friend returned to the garden with the cool water, the six men rested quietly in the shade, thinking about the Rajah's advice.

"He is right," said the first blind man. "To learn the truth, we must put all the parts together. Let's discuss this on the journey home."

The first blind man put his hand on the shoulder of the young boy who would guide them home. The second blind man put a hand on his friend's shoulder, and so on until all six men were ready to travel together.

The parable is a classic case of confirmation bias. We see what we choose to see.

In the age of social media playing havoc with our beliefs, screwing with our minds and poisoning the communal well (see the Leavenworth Facebook page) perhaps we should all take the Hippocratic Oath in some version or other.

I’m going to add the real one at the bottom here, but if you just want the Dummy version, it is merely this:

Do no harm.

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The Overstory.

Read the book by Richard Powers. It was easily my favorite read from this last winter.

Also, listen to the Sierra Club’s green-friendly podcast to keep up on environmental issues because, even though there are so many things going on and so many things trying to capture your increasingly limited attention, we can’t forget the environment.

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Hippocratic Oath

"I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:  I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.  I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.  I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.  I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.  I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know.  Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty.  Above all, I must not play at God.  I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.  I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.  I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.  If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter.  May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help."