Goodbye, April

"My feeling? If President Trump can lead us through this maze with no permanent damage, as well as vanquishing this virus, there is an empty spot on Mount Rushmore just waiting for his image to be chiseled into the rock. Yes, it would be that big of a deal - for sure."  

Can you feel it? The feeling of an entire month slipping away? We are less than 24 hours away from April. And then most all of April will be spent hunkered and bunkered. It will be a month like many of us have never experienced before. It will be a month (according to the medical experts), when the dreaded "spike" comes. And almost in a twist of irony, right now it looks like the spike will be here over Easter weekend.

Many feel this virus is not that big of a deal. Some feel our government did a "flinch" by shutting down much of the economy. Others feel it might even be a conspiracy to take away some of our freedoms. I understand why they feel this way. After all, this virus is not a grim reaper which could seriously cull our population. If the worse case scenario happens this time around, and we loose 200,000 citizens to COVID - 19, that is still only 200,000(deaths) divided by 330,000,000(population) = a number way less than one tenth of one percent of our population.

But here is the big deal. The number of projected deaths of 200,000, is if we do everything right this time around. Social distancing, washing our hands, hunkering and bunkering - everything. If we blow off this most contagious disease, that number could (and probably will) go much higher. Why? First time around. Many people have no natural immunity to it. Especially the "olds" and the compromised. So just like what we learned back in school, we have come to a decision tree. Go back to work and let nature take its course, or try to protect as much of our population as possible.

I know, I know. We lost over 600,000 to the Bird Flu without doing a flinch. We lost 675,000 to the Spanish Flu, and we lose 56,000 each year to the common flu. Of all these flu strains, the COVID - 19 stands apart from the rest, by how contagious it is. Frankly, it has shocked the experts on how long the virus can survive on different surfaces, as well as in the air. That being said, the next virus to come along might be more contagious - or not.

I think another way to look at 2020, is not the year we waged war against one strain of a virus. One strain, which left unchecked, could do serious damage to many people over time. No, I think this is the year of Infectology, as well as the Infectious Diseases doctors and nurses. This is the year we not only tame or kill COVID - 19, but any other virus to come along in the future. Our science will win that battle. Plus, this might also be the year we figure out how to take out the grand daddies of them all - the common flu and the common cold.

If we can look back on 2020 as a watershed year of mastering these killer viruses, then maybe all this economic pain would have been worthwhile. The trick the President needs to do (and maybe he is the only one who can pull this off), is how to win this virus war without permanently damaging our economy. I think he can do it. He has is surrounded by the right kind of smart people to make it happen.

But the first big sacrifice we need to make, is losing April. This will be the big test. We will see if the 2.2 trillion dollar stimulus bill will do what it is suppose to do. Along with losing Palm Sunday and all of Holy Week, we need to make sure families on the bubble don't go belly up. And companies don't shutter for good. 

My feeling? If President Trump can lead us through this maze with no permanent damage, as well as vanquishing this virus, there is an empty spot on Mount Rushmore just waiting for his image to be chiseled into the rock. Yes, it would be that big of a deal - for sure.