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Thursday, May 7, 2020
A legitimate Question: when did COVID-19 first appear in the U.S.?
A U.S. mayor claims he had COVID-19 last November, over one month before China reported its initial cases. If this was really the case, how did he get it and from where? How long ago did the virus start spreading in the U.S.? In this episode of Getting to the Point, CGTN anchor Liu Xin asks the big question!
Hello, here we are in Montreal, Canada. This morning it's 12° Celsius (that's 53°F for you Americans/Brits) and sunny :)
OK, here's another legitimate question:
Why are we, here, in North America easing restrictions and lockdowns when we the humans don't have in our medical arsenal neither a vaccine nor any antivirals (sorry, remdesivir doesn't cut it) against this highly contagious, highly fatal coronavirus?
The fancy phrase the epidemiologists used to describe the purpose of the restrictions and lockdowns was "flattening the curve," and the purpose being was that hospitals would not be overwhelmed -- in other words, buy some time until an effective vaccine and/or antivirals were available.
OK, so that was the tactic: flatten the curve. What was the stated goal? If memory serves me right, the stated goal was to, in epidemiologist speak again, CRUSH the damn curve; in other words, to control the virus once vaccines/antivirals became available. Any vaccines available? Antivirals? (Btw, Read the clinical "fine print" on remdesivir, much ado about nothing)
You know, the glorious 300 Spartans (along with a few hundred Greeks of course) who defended that narrow coastal passage at Thermopylae against the invading hordes the Persians -- they knew full well that it was a suicide military expedition. (Think about it: 300 Spartans, along with a few hundred Greeks, against 100 000s of Persians. Seriously?!) So why then did the Spartans do it, send their men to certain death? They did it to buy the Greeks some time so they could build up their military strength so they could eventually defeat the enemy. That's why. The tactic was clear: buy time. The goal was clear: defeat the enemy! (Notice? One exclamation mark. Why? Because one will do :) )
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ReplyDeleteWith the current strain, November would be the time of earliest infection, with symptoms showing up in December.
ReplyDeleteHello, here we are in Montreal, Canada. This morning it's 12° Celsius (that's 53°F for you Americans/Brits) and sunny :)
ReplyDeleteOK, here's another legitimate question:
Why are we, here, in North America easing restrictions and lockdowns when we the humans don't have in our medical arsenal neither a vaccine nor any antivirals (sorry, remdesivir doesn't cut it) against this highly contagious, highly fatal coronavirus?
The fancy phrase the epidemiologists used to describe the purpose of the restrictions and lockdowns was "flattening the curve," and the purpose being was that hospitals would not be overwhelmed -- in other words, buy some time until an effective vaccine and/or antivirals were available.
OK, so that was the tactic: flatten the curve. What was the stated goal? If memory serves me right, the stated goal was to, in epidemiologist speak again, CRUSH the damn curve; in other words, to control the virus once vaccines/antivirals became available. Any vaccines available? Antivirals? (Btw, Read the clinical "fine print" on remdesivir, much ado about nothing)
You know, the glorious 300 Spartans (along with a few hundred Greeks of course) who defended that narrow coastal passage at Thermopylae against the invading hordes the Persians -- they knew full well that it was a suicide military expedition. (Think about it: 300 Spartans, along with a few hundred Greeks, against 100 000s of Persians. Seriously?!) So why then did the Spartans do it, send their men to certain death? They did it to buy the Greeks some time so they could build up their military strength so they could eventually defeat the enemy. That's why. The tactic was clear: buy time. The goal was clear: defeat the enemy! (Notice? One exclamation mark. Why? Because one will do :) )
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae
Flattened the curve... flattened the economy... mission accomplished.
ReplyDeleteLess pollution.
ReplyDelete