Coronavirus: Let’s Talk About Grandma
We read so much contrasting information about coronavirus, often put forth by people pushing political agendas on news outlets that also are politically slanted.
What is true?
Let’s for a moment set aside ANY political thoughts, and just look at what is known about this virus. It spreads in a way that’s hard to stop, the velocity of spread is fast (from patient zero to world wide in a couple of months) and it’s really, really hard on both old people and those with compromised health.
Many of those people can survive, but require hospitalization, which is tying up the medical systems in countries that were hit earlier in the virus spread.
Those are pretty well undisputed points right now (except by people who have a political ax to grind… but again, we aren’t listening to them today).
“Dr. Redd. Paging Dr. Redd”
Not only is my wife, Spice, a college professor of pathophysiology, her best (non-spouse) friend is a medical doctor. We are also friends with many other scientists and doctors, so we see a lot of people who are in the know about most things going on in the science world.
Today I saw a notice on a friend’s social media page. I’m going to call our friend Dr. Redd (since all the cool kids here have a nickname).
Dr. Redd has a PhD from one of the absolute top universities on the planet following years of research in biological “stuff”. The Good Doctor has now moved on further in the field, doing research at yet another world-famous university. In cruder terms, Dr. Redd is kicking butt and taking names!
One of the really fun things about my social circle is that many/most of my friends and circle of regular contacts are really, really smart people.
Here’s what the good doctor shared with the friends and loved ones
I’ve seen a couple friends talk about how the media is blowing Coronavirus out of proportion– since I’m some of my contacts’ “local neighborhood biologist,” I’ll go ahead and weigh-in.
Scientists aren’t panicked, per se– but, we are wary. In my molecular biology department, at this very moment, there is a man who is making continuous laps, doing nothing but bleaching all the doorhandles in the building.
To use a name everyone recognizes, Harvard sent all their scientists home to self-quarantine today. This is big news, because– we really, really don’t like leaving the lab, let’s be honest. Scientists are staying home. The media is getting their info from us.
The reality is, all the precautions that you’re seeing on the media– you should follow them. Because it’s not about you.
You, the collective person on my friends list– statistically, most of you are young or middle-aged, and healthy, and you are going to make it out of this just fine, whether you ever make contact with a sick person, get sick, or whether you just get sick of hearing about it on the internet.
It’s not about you
It’s not about you.
It’s about your grandma.
It’s about your cousin, who has a genetic disorder, and is sick more often than she isn’t.
It’s about your mailman, who has COPD (because you sneezed on the mailbox on your way into the house, and now he’s flipping the lid with his bare hands).
If nobody takes this seriously, it will get worse than it has to be. Not for you. It will get worse for them.
The fact that you can carry this virus for 5-12 days without displaying ANY symptoms is one of the things that makes this different than the run-of-the-mill flu. Because, you will go about your week, you will interact with big crowds, you will directly or indirectly make contact with thousands of people, by touching countless public surfaces– and then you’ll go home and hug your grandma.
If all of you go home and hug grandma, the number of grandmas in the hospital will overwhelm our healthcare system. This is happening in Italy.
The precautions are a mechanism of launching defensive measures, among seemingly healthy people, in order to insulate susceptible people from risk. So, don’t panic. But, please do take them seriously.
This will not be the end of the world– but it will get worse before it gets better. And it will not be as bad, if healthy people are willing to do these things for their loved ones.
Friendly neighborhood scientist, over and out.
Does this match up to what you know?
Dr. Redd is really, really smart. You don’t get a PhD from a fancy pants school out east, and then get hired to do research at another big fancy pants school without being really, really smart.
Dr. Redd was also sending this note out to friends and family on social media, not trying to make political points or sell advertising on the nightly news. There’s no big-pharma or big medicine involved.
I don’t know about you, but when somebody like Dr. Redd speaks, I’m listening.
Thank you Salty and thank you Dr. Redd from this Grandma.
Thank you. Best info and logic I have heard yet.