The title of this missive would suggest that the Covid-19 nightmare is over. Not at all. Here is a statistical update. Worldwide, as of March 1, 2021, there have been 2,650,000 deaths and 120,000,000 cases. In the United States, there have been 534,000 deaths and 2,940,000 cases. To put this in perspective, in the six years of World War II, the United States lost 407,316 U.S. servicemen and women.
The coronavirus has been an unbelievable disaster throughout the world, but the American citizens have borne a disproportionate share of the pain. Why?
There are probably many reasons, but two come to mind:
Citizen Response: I have family members who say they would rather have the disease than the vaccine. That is a quaint position. The only problem with this position is that one of the side effects of the coronavirus is death. Several days ago, I watched my beloved Pittsburgh Pirates in a Spring Training game at LECOM Field in Bradenton, The television camera drifted into the outfield and focused on a bar and grill above the centerfield wall. There were 25 patrons enjoying the game. Only three were wearing essential protective masks. What were they thinking about? The coronavirus and the more recent variants are so lethal, particularly in Florida. I love a good baseball game, but not enough to put my life and the lives of others in danger under the current circumstances.
Former Administration: I have no interest in politicizing this missive. The fact is that the Former President had advanced knowledge that the coronavirus was coming to the United States and that it was lethal. In an interview which appears in Bob Woodward’s second book about President Trump, he is quoted as saying “I did not want to reveal this information to the American People because I did not want to set off a panic.”
Later, various arbitrary dates were selected when the disease would simply disappear. It was also suggested we might inject into our bodies various chemical or biological agents.
Where did the coronavirus come from? The first known infections from SARS-CoV-2 were discovered in Wuhan, China. Because many of the early infected patients were workers at the Huanan Seafood Market, it has been suggested that the virus might have originated from the market. However, additional research revealed that the disease may have been introduced into the Huanan Seafood Market by anyone from any country. The actual genesis of the coronavirus remains a mystery, but there is no proof the disease was manufactured as a biological weapon.
Covid-19 or the coronavirus has inflicted incalculable mass destruction to the world economy, over $17T in the United States alone as well as extraordinary devastation to public health and citizen safety.
We are now in a race to develop effective and safe vaccines for the mutations that are occurring in South America, South Africa, England, California, and other geographic areas as we work to immunize all willing citizens. Why is this so important? We only need to look back to the Flu of 1918 and 1920. One pig in Iowa may have been responsible for 50,000,000 world-wide deaths. In the United States, 20-30 percent of all citizens contracted the disease and 690,000 U.S. citizens died. The only way America could achieve herd immunity was by so many of its citizens contracting the disease and surviving, and even then mask-wearing and social distancing was controversial.
Immunization for Covid-19 offers the hope that we might achieve herd immunity before the end of 2021. It is by no means certain.
