Mon Aug 03, 2020 1:14 pm by cornbinder89
We've blown past 155,000 dead, and are sprinting toward 200,000 by the end of Aug. All this in about 6 months from the 1st infection in the US. We have no cure, and only marginal "palliative" care to assist the body in fighting off this virus. In all likelihood we will not see any "cure" or preventative measures medicinally for another 6 months or even longer.
The response has become Hyper-political. We have politicians promoting drugs that time and again fail in large random trials, in words and action discouraging methods that are proven to help slow the spread of the virus.
I am at a loss to explain the emotional attachment to Hydroxychloroquine? Every large scale random trial has shown it to ineffective yet it still leads the press and number of "studies" and antidotal stories. Interferon, has in one small study, shown a 79% improvement rate compared to placebo! It was a small study with only 100 subjects, so far from conclusive, but worth a look. How many other "possibilities" are shoved to the back burner for another Hydroxy study? How much of the limited research budgets are being spent on a drug that fails the only test that matters? This is what happens when politics wades in and attacks science.
We also have another problem brewing, it is completely man made and even solvable if we have the will to do so. We have people out of work, and unable to buy food, medicine or pay for housing. This in a country that is burying food it can not or will not ship, has the space to house those who need it, and the medicine is on the shelf. All these problem are a "money" problem. It isn't that we can't provide these necessities in a time of crisis, but that we choose not to because we can not make a profit doing so. Yeah, it sound socialistic to say so, but it is also the truth.
WW2 was the last time we, as a nation had to pull together to survive. It seams we have lost the will to do so. Imagine someone in WW2 saying they weren't going to "black-out" at night? "I have a right to light my own lights"? Yeah, that would have gone over well- NOT! We have those refusing to wear a mask on an airplane, where everyone is crowded in the same space! We have McDonald workers shot and killed for not moving fast enough? We expect meat processors to do a dangerous job with no protections so we can have cheap, meat!
Most recently, we have cut off aid the many that needed the $600 additional unemployment to survive. Unemployment was a lousy way to deal with this in the 1st place, it isn't a job crises but a national health crises! While there is some blame to hand around, the House past a bill back in May to address it, and the Senate didn't start negotiating until the last hours of the last week in the session. Another man made crises. Now the Senate has completely abdicated their responsibility to the White House for fear of passing something that Trump would not support, then being the difficult position of either failing the people (again) or overriding a veto by the President!
Once again politicians are picking winners and looser in the response to the crisis. Most of the PPP money went where it did the least good for the country and the most good for politicians. Our government coffers are not bottomless. We need to support People first, if that means we put profit on the back burner until we get over this crisis, I'm ok with that. We can't buy our way out, it has to be people working to help people, business interests will have to come later.
Many business will fail during this crises, but we already have a number for how many people have died! Business failure are unfortunate, but human deaths are a tragedy !
