COVID CRAZY-TOWN

I’m confused.

Why?

Because America has endured the…..

MIXED MESSAGES.

ROTATING RECOMMENDATIONS.

CONTRADICTORY CONCLUSIONS.

Every month, as I rip off a page from my monthly desk calendar…..the medical experts rip apart their previous month’s advice.

____________

Paraphrasing here…..The first sound bite I ever heard on TV about the Coronavirus was from a national pandemic authority telling America that the threat of catching the virus was very little, and the average American should not be concerned.

Perhaps, there are approximately 5,000,000+ non-average Americans who should have been concerned….because they were infected by the virus.

________________________________

So let’s review the abundant advice offered by the Pandemic Experts who base their information on medical and scientific research….. shall we?

1. Don’t Wear a Mask….doesn’t protect the well & healthy.
2. Wear a Mask….only if you are sick to avoid transmitting the virus to others.
3. Forget previous advice, EVERYONE wear a mask at all times. (“Why don’t Americans understand this simple mask mandate?” asks the same Top Docs who told us not to wear them in the first place!)
4. Healthy people can go on a cruise.
5. Let’s pivot…. definitely don’t go on a cruise. For Real this time.
6. Socially distance from others at 2 feet.
7. No, add 4…. so now, Socially distance from others at 6 feet.
8. Well on second thought, go ahead and add another 4 feet and make it an even 10.
9. Surfaces can pose a real threat of viral spread – makes disinfecting packaging (and door knobs and counter-tops) imperative.
10. Not-so-fast….surfaces present a very low % risk in transmission.
11. Take that back. Surfaces can harbor transmissible virus for even more days than originally thought. Oooooooops!
12. Kids may get the virus, but they are NOT spreaders of the contagion. Good News for in-class learning.
13. Reversal of Fortune…medical experts are NOW thinking the role of children may be a primary “silent super-spreader”. With this unthinkable reversal which parents relied on to make decisions for their kids’ summer camp plans, doctors now believe children may carry a very high viral nasal load which promotes spread.
14. Healthy, Physically Fit, Lean (normal BMI), young adults infected with COVID-19 are generally not at risk for adverse effects of the virus. Returning to college is a given! Geaux Tigers!
15. Ruh Roh! College athletes (who, by the way, spend most of their waking hours working out and training ) may be asymptomatic for the duration of the illness and probably experience little or no discomfort…. but may experience long-term residual problems like myocarditis or chronic fatigue or lung issues even after testing Negative for weeks.

As you can see, the only real constant has been the constant inconsistency.

It goes without saying – Contradicting and ever-changing information can cause increased stress, total confusion, and ultimately, a dangerous mistrust for all information.

Back in March and April, I would’ve rather heard mushy statements from the medical panel such as:

“We just don’t know.”

“There’s no way to tell if masks really prevent the spread. But common sense would tell you to wear one. Doctors and nurses wear masks to protect themselves.”

” There’s not enough data to determine if kids carry or spread the Coronavirus. So we need to operate with the highest level of assumption they do.”

_________________

I’m just a writer and blogger sitting at my desk in my home office with my beloved Chihuahua grandson named Oliver…..trying to keep my family and community equipped with solid medical data.

The only reason I write these articles on COVID-19 is simple… to implore the doctors advising our nation’s leaders for clear, concise words of wisdom to help all of us protect our friends and families.

__________________________

Here’s some of my personal thoughts I’d like to share with you:

Sure. I’ve heard the argument how the virus is changing and research is revealing new information. That’s why the doctors change their narratives.

Sorry. Not buying that explanation for a second.

We, simpletons, knew to wear a scarf or pull up our turtleneck sweaters over our noses back in early March….or even wear a brown paper bag with 2 holes cut out for our eyes. We knew to cover our faces to shield the most common viral entry points (nasal and oral). But still, the Top Docs implored us NOT to WEAR Masks! Repeatedly.

But…Forget the mask mess-up or the crazy cruise advice or the stupid social distancing metric.

________________________________

There are 2 trends that really disturb me.

1. The lost opportunity of solid medical information early in the Pandemic when everyone was engaged and eager to hear and heed advice.

I’ve always written that the Power of the First Message is Paramount….because the enthusiasm to absorb NEW information is at it’s highest levels in those precious early days. And now – after half a year, we are all dealing with information-overload-fatigue. Myself included.

2. The unfortunate need to blame the President, Vice President, Governors, Mayors, and local leaders.

On both sides of the political aisle – there’s a whole lot of pointing fingers at Vice President Mike Pence who leads the Coronavirus Task Force…. and Governor Andrew Cuomo for his decisions regarding New York ….. and Governor Gretchen Whitmer for her Michigan mandates.

But let’s think about this for a moment.

Pence, Cuomo, and Whitmer – to my knowledge – have never gone to medical school. They have devoted their lives to law and public service via elected positions. They are following the advice given to them by the medically trained experts from the W.H.O. (World Health Organization), the CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention), the NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, etc.

You would never think about going to a physician to discuss an estate document like a testamentary trust or draft a business contract. Would you? And conversely, you would not make an appointment to see your corporate attorney next time you had a fever and nausea.

We must remember that most of our governmental leaders are law school, business school, or political science graduates. Pence, Cuomo, and Whitmer are all attorneys who depend and rely on the doctors from these national organizations to impart sound, reliable medical wisdom.

Like so many people….I’m not only completely confused about the “Mis-advice”. I am heartbroken that so many Americans are hurting physically (due to the impact of virus), financially (due to loss wages and savings), and mentally (due to all of the above!)

I don’t place blame on the very loquacious doctors constantly on cable news giving us criss-crossing directions on how to travel through these treacherous paths to good health.

If you’ve read my previous COVID posts, you’ll realize I don’t blame anyone.

So why do I post these articles on COVID-19?

Like all Americans. Like all Global citizens. We just want to get it right. We need to get it right. For this Pandemic. And for the next crisis. And the next one.

____________________________

My Written Thoughts is an opinion blog. As I mentioned in my Disclaimer, I am not an expert on any topic. Just a writer doing what I love…writing.

As always, I cherish all Readers….and hope there’s food-for-thought in my posts about COVID-19. It is my sincere hope to return to writing about more fun and enjoyable topics in the near future. I promise. Stay tuned.