The world has been locked in fear a long time. Does this demonstrate we have forgotten how to die and that even letting go of our elderly is too hard a task? Should we accept nature's desire for species balance and order?
The effect on our societies may be irreparable. Is it time to walk out against the numerous demons that beset us?
All of the above, Shazia, I agree with although I saw none of it. But for how long? What if it continues month in and month out? The effect on economies and our children's intellectual futures will be profound.
Do we hide away or change our regular lives to fit the pandemic?
I think we just need to be patient a little longer. It is alarming that the disease is far from being under control. For example in the USA, the number of cases doubled in the last 6 weeks compared to the first 6 months. As it is people are getting restless and some are getting complacent by not wearing masks, social distancing, etc. Thus we cannot let go but be planning how to distribute the vaccine when made available as well as increase preparedness should a next pandemic emerge in a future year. The WHO should spearhead this effort working with all nations.
Srini, what if this does not go away? Bubonic plague lasted almost four hundred years, flu pandemics return regularly.
Why not develop a method to limit transference of virus rather than, which is unlikely, eliminate it? Why not accept casualties?
Staying indoors does not eliminate the virus, and in the meanwhile children are not schooled and economies deteriorate. These factors could have a knockon affect on you and your children. These consequences alone could mean that societies become rundown, institutions collapse and poverty increase.
No we should not simply let go but try to learn more about this fascinating virus and its capability to induce chaos in our immune systems, in extremely varied ways. The "high risk groups" defined so far are not homogenous in their response to virus, and some extreme high risk patients have fared better than individuals deemed to be less fragile durin the disease. The challenge for modern medicine with its technologicl approaches is to be more modest an keep trying to understand these phenomena. An illustration of the medical conundrum is the couple of patients observed by my Italian colleague Valentina Spezzani earlier this year and described in: Article Benign COVID-19 in an immunocompromised cancer patient - The...
COVID-19 pandemic: It is very hard to practice what we preach!
As doctors our attitude may be different when it is someone else's mother or father who is suffering before death, we easily recommend Tender Loving Care (TLC) or Do Not Resuscitate (DNR).
However, I have seen many highly qualified medical practitioners will not agree for TLC or DNR it the question is of their near and dear one.
Yes, if there is no success of COVID-19 vaccine, we we have to let it go with all the necessary preventive measures we can take to minimize the damage to human life during the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. At this point in time, God only knows how the present pandemic will continue.
It is important to continue to maintain precautions to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Indeed during lockdowns the number of non-COVID-19 admissions actually fell. Some of this was because of fear of presenting to hospital and acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection. However there was also a reduction in transmission of other viral infections. Therefore the social distancing measures increased health beyond the effect on COVID-19. This is important to consider as we try to relax social distancing measures post COVID-19
Stanley Wilkin
So far we were hiding, apparently.
Do we dare? Or, do we have a choice?
Animals have no governments but we have. This is a big disadvantage. Something like a "decision" of species is impossible in humans. Actions at the personal or group level are no solutions because Her Highness Queen Corona XIX is omnipresent. Species evolve, not individuals.
Sorry, if am confused. It is confusion, not fear, that really puts us in a mess. Sometimes I wonder whether we are really social animals despite all our means of communication, from scrolls to electronic devices. Maybe we are just gregarious. Maybe we are not even a species.
To all participants: Stay safe.
Love to all of you.
Rad, an article in a British newspaper said that in the preceeding week 21 people had dies of the virus and 81 had died of flu. Should we be hiding from flu?
A friend in Ghana says they see no evidence of the virus
A friend in Zimbawre says the same
A friend in Canada says same
Hassan, the effects of the prevention could be far worse than the disease.
Really don't expect that the whole world turn out to be such a mess in facing the SARS-COV-2 virus.
Although microorganisms like viruses and bacteria are the real masters of this earthy world since the beginning of life thousands of billions of years ago, and all multicellular organisms like plants and animals are evolved from these single cell microorganisms, all animals like us have developed a set of effective sophisticated strategies (like our immunity) to cooperate with and defend from these microorganisms. Otherwise, there is no chance for us to survive for millions of years in this viruses and bacteria world:
Article Animals in a bacterial world, a new imperative for the life sciences
All microorganisms show their destructive strength only when they are replicated in enormous quantity inside our body. And they need nutrition to do such replication. If we want to harmonically co-exist with them and benefit from their existence, the only simple way is: have them with us, but control the amount of them to the minimal using our body's nutrition supply and maintenance strategies. Every individual is able to do this simple nutrition restriction. Over-nutrition is the only fuel for hyperinflammation and cytokine storm. If a person is physically fit, the viruses or bacteria are not an issue, and there is no chance for fatality even if everyone of us still leads a normal life as before.