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Thursday, March 12, 2020

Calm in the midst of coronavirus

I've already posted about how bad the coronavirus pandemic could become. But that's not necessarily a foregone conclusion at this point. We're not fated to die. There's still hope.

In response to the panicked:

1. A coronavirus vaccine is likely. Promising news so far. But it could be a year or more away.

2. Doctors have good treatment options in the interim until a vaccine is developed. For example, the world-renowned Dr. W. Ian Lipkin recently came back from China and after self-quarantining recommends the following (i.e. using antibodies from patients who have recovered from coronavirus, also known as passive immunity; presumably risks like allergic reaction and TRALI have been considered):

3. If we can get our act together, and mitigate the spread of the virus, then we could avert the worst predictions. We could possibly even do better than the best-case predictions. For example, Dr. Scott Gottlieb just retweeted this:

Likewise, Gottlieb just tweeted the following about South Korea:

4. This is heartening to hear:

5. God is sovereign, God is wise, and God loves his people. If death followed by eternal life in the world to come is the worst that could happen to a Christian, then things can't ever bottom out for the Christian.

6 comments:

  1. Footage taken here has gone all around the world, women fighting over toilet paper in a supermarket.

    It reminds me of Jesus saying people will betray each other and love will grow cold.

    The scary thing is the whole world economic order runs on confidence. If that goes we could end up in real mad max territory.

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    1. Thanks, Andrew. Good points.

      Yeah, I agree people fighting over toilet paper is pretty bad. I've also pointed out the same about how so much of how society works depends on simple trust. And as I've said in previous posts, if enough people behave like this, then it could be potentially worse than the coronavirus itself.

      In other words, I think there are at least two ways the pandemic could become catastrophic - from the virus itself and/or from our reaction to the virus. The virus is going to do what the virus will do, but our reaction is within our control. Of course, I really hope we don't devolve into a Mad Max situation ("witness me!"), but I could see it happening! :(

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    2. One unstated factor here is that the news media are fanning the flames of discord in order to undermine trust in what Donald Trump is doing, with the purpose of destroying him.

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    3. No doubt the mainstream media is out to get Trump (e.g. CNN). But that doesn't necessarily mean the coronavirus pandemic isn't or shouldn't be a concern. And I think many (most?) conservative news reporters, journalists, pundits, and the like would agree. Anyway I think there's a proper balance to strike with regard to the coronavirus, which I've tried to do in my posts.

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    4. I agree that it's serious, but you know, the danger that our sun will go supernova some day is also serious, in a way. So we have to describe "in what way" it's serious. And the news media (not just CNN, but NYTimes, the network stations, all of them) need to go into that "in what way" description of seriousness. It is not serious at all, apparently, for young people, and it is terribly serious for folks over 80 and those with other ailments. But we're not seeing how the little kids can spread this all over the place and have no trouble at all with it, but that it could spread to adults and then older adults, etc. That is the kind of thing they should be looking into. Not whether or not Trump's decision to stop travel from Europe is xenophobic.

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    5. "I agree that it's serious, but you know, the danger that our sun will go supernova some day is also serious, in a way."

      I can't tell if you're joking, but in any case I don't see how the coronavirus pandemic is comparable or analogous to the sun going supernova someday.

      "So we have to describe "in what way" it's serious."

      I've tried to do that with my posts. However, if anything isn't clear, feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to answer if I can.

      "And the news media (not just CNN, but NYTimes, the network stations, all of them) need to go into that "in what way" description of seriousness."

      I don't really care to defend the mainstream media. All I can say is journalists and reporters aren't medical, scientific, epidemiological, or public health experts. I doubt most of them even know basic biology (e.g. what is a virus). At best, they could interview experts and have experts tell the public what they think.

      "It is not serious at all, apparently, for young people,"

      That depends. For example, the other day a 20-something year old nurse died caring for coronavirus patients. That illustrates that young people who are health care providers are at higher risk.

      "and it is terribly serious for folks over 80 and those with other ailments."

      As we age, there are multifaceted changes to our physical bodies. This includes changes to our immune system. Such as a decreased ability to combat infection as well as a diminished response to vaccination. Among many other things that could be said. In general, the most marked changes begin earlier than age 80.

      Also, those with underlying diseases or conditions like diabetes, heart diseases, or lung diseases, would be at higher risk than those who don't have these.

      "But we're not seeing how the little kids can spread this all over the place"

      It's true there's debate over whether kids are vectors or not.

      "and have no trouble at all with it"

      On the contrary, check out this recently published NEJM article which describes kids between the ages of 1 to 7 years old who had to be hospitalized for coronavirus.

      "but that it could spread to adults and then older adults, etc."

      The coronavirus is certainly infectious or contagious. Right now it looks like it has an R0 somewhere between 2 to 3. That means for every person infected with the coronavirus, they could infect 2 to 3 other people.

      "That is the kind of thing they should be looking into. Not whether or not Trump's decision to stop travel from Europe is xenophobic."

      I think we already agree the mainstream media is biased against Trump.

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