"Playing defense against the regular flu or COVID - 19 has gotten old fast. Time to go on offense. Time to cut the number of deaths we have from any kind of flu way back. Time to protect our seniors in LTC facilities better."
As this spring has gone on, more and more of us are getting less and less afraid of our newest "boogeyman". And who exactly is that "boogeyman"? COVID - 19, of course. We are finding out this is not the stone cold killer we feared it would be. What is it then? It is a strain of the flu which is on the tougher end of the scale. It is more infectious than the other strains of the flu. But for a non-living thing, this protein is mortal. Seems it can be killed by a great many things.
Don't get me wrong. Other than the giant flinch our government did in March, we all have gotten much smarter from dealing with this thing. Maybe we needed a refresher on how to wash our hands. Or, how to have a comfortable "space bubble" once again when dealing with people. Plus, how to keep the counter tops in our kitchens, and our bathrooms cleaner. Most importantly, we really needed to remember how to cover our mouths (the right way), when we cough or sneeze.
But one doctor was on the news yesterday, and gave me the biggest ray of hope I have seen as yet. It seems this mouse that roared, is really a mouse after all when UV light is introduced into the picture. The amount of time this virus can survive outside, is a fraction of how long it can survive inside. Why? The UV light from the sun. Also, this doc said that installing the right kind of UV lights (with fans) in the entry way of stores, will kill the virus in short order - while not being harmful to the humans. He said for other COVID viruses in the past, the vulnerability to UV light has been well known. Why it is not used more today, is a mystery to him.
More and more medical professionals are now thinking that COVID - 19 will go into a remission (like the other flu viruses) until late fall, when the flu season starts. The biggest fear they have, is COVID -19 will make a return like the regular flu does every year. Then we would have both to deal with at the same time. If we forget the lessons we have learned on how to deal with COVID - 19, and how to kill it, we could be in big trouble.
However, if we do remember those lessons, we should be able to deal with COVID -19, as well as the regular flu just fine. Why? Because many of the safe practices which we have learned on how to keep us safe from COVID -19, should also keep us safer from the regular flu. The body count from the regular flu could be a lot less.
Playing defense against the regular flu or COVID - 19 has gotten old fast. Time to go on offense. Time to cut the number of deaths we have from any kind of flu way back. Time to protect our seniors in LTC facilities better. In other words, let's get our economy roaring again, punish China by de-tangling and "on-shoring" as much as possible, and practice better hygiene and nutrition to keep us healthy.
One final thing. Where are the first places we should put those UV lights? In the entrances of LTC facilities and our meat packing plants. The fact we could not figure out how to keep this virus out of both of those type locations is a shame on us. Now, it is estimated we will have some meat shortages this summer. For the rest of 2020 we will be (or should be) smarter - a lot smarter. Hopefully, this unpleasant experience has not been for nothing.
Here is an interesting fact; see if you can verify it. The total death rate for this year, counting CV deaths, is the same as it was last year and the year before, WITHOUT CV deaths.
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