By Joel Achenbach
Maria Van Kerkhove, (click here) a World Health Organization epidemiologist, was in her Geneva office last weekend preparing for a keynote address when a simple phrase came to mind. She had been pondering the dismaying rise in coronavirus infections globally during the previous three weeks, a reversal of promising trends in late spring. The surge came as people across much of the Northern Hemisphere were moving around again in a suddenly freewheeling summer — as if the pandemic were over.
She wrote in her notebook: “The world needs a reality check.”...
No one including policymakers has any desire to lock down a country. That concept is counterintuitive to the principles of free people. But, there is still danger in not conquering SARS-CoV-2 and it's many variants. These variants are proof of what was said about the nature of viruses when they are allowed to exist among people, they can mutate over and over and become fatal to their hosts.
Nebraska (click here) no longer reports county-level data. Florida county-level data is displayed when available, but is not always reported by the state.
This is the United States of America where every life is supposed to count and the statistics of deaths and number of cases is not even accurate! Arkansas has not reported one death since the beginning of this pandemic. Other states are ending their reporting. There needs to be a clear understanding that states that do not report will not receive ANY federal dollars.
I was absolutely astounded that Asa Hutchinson the Governor of Arkansas has not reported one death in that state. Now, that is a lie. Arkansas is not quarantined to prevent the spread, especially considering it has the two highest states for deaths to the north and south of it's borders.
The governors of Missouri, Arkansas, and Mississippi all need to be replaced. They aren't part of this country if they can't pull in the same direction to end a pandemic. The Republicans are not a party that loves the people, except, in photo ops.
The facts are this, given ANY chance to continue to infect human beings the virus will ultimately achieve a variant that will kill people without a chance of defending themselves from it. A variant of Delta will cause widespread death. At the point where there is a Level 3 variant that is being transmitted easily among people, the only answer will be to shut down the entire country to bring about a quarantine of infected people to end the spread.
THAT IS WHAT WE ARE UP AGAINST, "END THE SPREAD."
It is the nature of viruses to mutate and they do it well because they are mRNA and easily take advantage of human DNA to replicate. The viruses must be brought under control. There WILL BE a variant that is a third-level virus that will kill people. No one should be taking this fact lightly.
The fall and winter of 2021 - 2022 will spawn horrible dynamics again that will cause problems again. The worst is going to be where the worst is now, the cities where minorities are hardest hit.
These viruses are spinning out more than just deaths, there are disabilities and deficits and chronic illness among people because of the tiny blood clots resulting from an infection of SARS-CoV-2. The number of "Long Haulers" is yet to be known. The worst of the outcomes has not been reported yet either. When tiny blood clots call cell death there is always a chance that cell death will ultimately destroy the organ and hence a threat to the human being having contracted a preventable viral infection.
There will not be a single body system left untouched by these tiny blood clots. People who survived the virus and are having long-haul symptoms will most likely become sicker and sicker as time goes on.
These viruses MUST be contained on a global basis. The USA has had the most infected cases and deaths, it has an enormous moral obligation to end the spread of the virus and the variants. Eventually, the people will be crying for a country-wide shutdown in order to end the spread. It will come too late and more people will die.
DO NOT ALLOW VARIANTS OR THE VIRUS TO MUTATE TO BECOME DEADLY.
AMERICANS MUST PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM THE SPREAD AND BE VACCINATED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. DON'T BE A VICTIM, BE AN ADVOCATE FOR SAFETY.
