Pandemic Possibilities

Fear of the Coronavirus is spreading faster than the virus itself.  Are we right to be scared?


Maybe.

It's been just over a century (1918) since Spanish influenza killed upwards of 50 million people worldwide. Since that time, medicine has made considerable progress in combatting many diseases and threats.  But it can't solve everything.  And we haven't advanced enough to altogether remove ourselves from mother nature.

So, I don't know.  Some recent signs show it may be spreading in ways that cannot be controlled.  A case yesterday appeared in California out of the blue, with no connection to travel or other primary contacts.

This could peter out on its own.  It may hit a maximum expansion rate. There is some evidence that the exponential growth rate in China is slowing.  Or it may be just their reporting.  In any case, the number of cases across the globe is still growing, encompassing all continents except Antarctica (according to the President warm weather kills it - so, hey, Antarctica - you're in the clear! Thank you, global warming!).

Or it could continue to spread.  Maybe it will become universal - virtually everyone on the planet gets it.  Unlike Captain Trips in Stephen King's novel, The Stand, where the fatality was 98% or more, the fatality rate of the Coronavirus is around 2%.  That's better, right?


That's 140 million people.  The same rate that caused such traumatic events in the television series The Leftovers, where 2% of the Earth's population vanished.

But there's no need to fear!  Tumplethinskins has put Vice President Mike 'Handmaid's Tale' Pence in charge!

Yes.  All that, and Pence is also devoted to end-times theology.

What could possibly go wrong?

I pray that this has peaked and will pass.

But we need to listen to the voices of experts on how to deal with a potential pandemic.

Not those who are just trying to cover their own ass and are more interested in the stock market than people.