Grandma, or the 401k?

"Whoever said these are strange days, was not just whistling Dixie. Historic days. Days which will change our future. Stay strong. Somehow, we will get through this. That is, most of us will."      

Well, it looks like we are coming to the "great decision". And it will not be between the Democrats and the Republicans. It will be between the economists and the doctors. What is the question to be answered? When do we bring our great economy back to life. For many, it is believed if we let it "sleep" too much longer, it might be able to be resuscitated. Of course, there are risks to doing that. According to our medical profession, life or death risks.

First, a bit about this pesky little virus. As time goes on, we are learning more and more about it. Like, it can live on carpet for up to seventeen days. And we can't get rid of this thing - only slow it down. In fact, we are hearing from more and more sources that up to 80% of us will eventually get it. Our only hope is to slow it down enough to allow the restocking of ventilators, N 95 masks, and other necessary items. 

What if this 80% number is correct? And we can whittle down the number of fatalities to 1% of those infected? For a country of about 330 million, the math does not look good on this. 330,000,000 x 80% x 1% = 2,640,000 people. Many of them elderly. Of course, with a proper vaccine, all those numbers go away. But without a vaccine, we will be gambling over 2.5 million Americans to bring back our economy.

My guess as to what will happen? Even though it makes medical sense to stay hunkered and bunkered until at least May 1st, I think that in early April we might start to send people back to work and school - to a degree. However, as many that can work from home will still be encouraged to do so. And as many students who can successfully learn from online school or home school, we be encouraged to do so.

In the absence of a widely used and safe vaccine, the virus will then spread across the land like wildfire. Testing will become more prolific, and many will test positive. Some will remain asymptomatic and only be carriers, while others will be symptomatic and become sick. Some very sick, and some will die. 

This is the quandary that President Trump is facing. It is a decision I am glad I do not have to make. But it is a decision which must be made, and quickly. If this new idea of using an existing malaria drug along with a zip pack works, then we can have our economy back as well as not sacrificing too many citizens.

Whoever said these are strange days, was not just whistling Dixie. Historic days. Days which will change our future. Stay strong. Somehow, we will get through this. That is, most of us will.