Pandemic Panic!

The incompetence of the Trump administration will undoubtedly result in the deaths of thousands of Americans. No surprise there. However, let’s take a look at why people should not be panicking.

1.  Although it has been estimated that perhaps as many as 100 million Americans might contract the virus; it is also estimated that most of them will not suffer major medical consequences.

2.  Children tend to be somewhat more resistant to this particular coronavirus than the rest of us. They are less likely to contract it. If they do contract it, unless they are medically fragile, they are unlikely to suffer anything more than flu like symptoms. In other words, this particular disease is less threatening to children than most.  Of course you should take all precautions to insure that your children do not become ill, but if they do, it is less a danger to them then it is to older people.

3.  Even if the maximum number of Americans become infected, the death rate is expected to be only about 3.4%. That is much higher than the usual flu death rate and is very serious. However, it is not the sort of plague you see on television and movies. The end of the human race is not nigh. Civilization will not collapse. This is not the Spanish flu of 1918.

4.  Those few who  are at serious risk are those are in one of two categories. They are either disadvantaged with a compromised immune system or they are elderly. I am both.  Yet I’m not panicking.

Finally, let me observe that that the biggest problem you can expect to have with toilet paper and water is what to do with the huge stacks of them you have squirreled away in your garage. I can understand the hand sanitizer situation, but even that’s ridiculous. Washing your hands is much more effective as a method for preventing the spread of the virus.  There is no known shortage of soap or running water in sinks at this time. The CDC does not expect there to be a shortage of either.  However it wouldn’t surprise me if sinks and soap  start disappearing from hardware stores and grocery store shelves. That would make as much sense as the toilet paper/water thing.

This is bad, yes. Still, this is not a disaster. I suspect people are more likely to injure themselves fighting over stocks of toilet paper and water than they are to actually be damaged by the disease itself. So as the Scriptures ought to say, but regrettably don’t, panic not lest ye should be panicked.