The Denial of Truth

Since this blog is all about the Pandemic we are currently living through, how appropriate that today my subject is Truth. 

Everywhere we look, in the news, in Social Media, people are struggling to know what is true, and what is a lie. It doesn't help that our President is living in denial. In a way I can kind of understand his thought on COVID-19 going away on it's own. We have had viruses before that have done this. They have raged, and then burned out, not to be seen again. 

Unfortunately the truth of this virus isn't the same. Based on the scientific and medical data, this virus is still raging, continuing to mutate, and getting worse, not better. The more aggressive forms of this virus are killing off the milder strains. There was originally approximately 8 strains when it first hit the United States and now there are only 4. The more aggressive forms killed off the milder versions of the virus. That is why this is so bad. It does mean the epidemiologists have fewer strains to work on, but the more aggressive the virus becomes as it mutates, the harder it will be to find a vaccine to inoculate the general populace. I feel confident we will eventually have a vaccine for this, but this is a very unusual virus, and the teams working on this have indicated that, while they are moving faster than they ever have with other viruses, it is still slower than the need. 

Many people, in interviews, have shared that they believe the media has blown this out of proporation. They have fanned the flames of paranoia causing others to live in fear. They have been unwilling to accept the truth of our situation. We are facing a medical foe that cannot be fought the normal way. It requires of us all a willingness to accept the truth, care about others, and not just ourselves, and restrain our peronally perceived rights so that we can lower the number of infections and most especially deaths. We are now over 125K dead due to COVID-19 here in the United States alone. We current have the highest per capita infection rate in the world. Denying the truth helps no one. 

I have Diabetes. I do not have the luxury to live in a pipe dream. I have to accept and deal with the truth on a daily basis as I make decisions to stay put, to accept limitations I would rather not have. I cannot go shopping, and I haven't been in a store, or restaurant since early March. Because we live in a more rural area, the space arounds us helps me to take walks without needing a mask as we don't encounter anyone here. That helps me feel a little bit normal, but now when I see people I feel a little panicked because what if they have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19 and doesn't even know it due to being asymptomatic? 

Here are the things I keep hearing about this that people are saying. 

1. This pandemic is a hoax, meant to take away our rights, the data is wrong, the numbers inflated to cause people to be willing to beg to give up our rights to be safe and have a cure

2. This pandemic is not really a pandemic because not everyone has it

3. COVID-19 is like the flu, just a little worse, but like the flu, so why are we being locked down and told we cannot do things

4. This is a hoax so that government can take power

5. This is a hoax to bring on the end times

6. This virus is a biological weapon meant to kill off the sick and old, so most people are safe

7. This virus was spread by Big Pharma trying to make more money and they have a cure and will release it when enough people have it so that they can make a lot of money off of people

There are a few others, one related to Bill Gates, another that it was intentionally created in a Wuhan lab and spread as an experiment, and another that says this is all to make the President look bad so he loses the election because they do not like him. 

What is COVID-19

It is a new coronavirus. The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow).

Below are the currently identified symptoms.

COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Infected people have had a wide range of symptoms reported – from mild symptoms to severe illness.

---

Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:

Fever or chills

Cough

Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Fatigue

Muscle or body aches

Headache

New loss of taste or smell

Sore throat

Congestion or runny nose

Nausea or vomiting

Diarrhea

Look for emergency warning signs for COVID-19. If someone is showing any of these signs, seek emergency medical care immediately:

Trouble breathing

Persistent pain or pressure in the chest

New confusion

Inability to wake or stay awake

Bluish lips or faceRegardless of how this came into being, the truth is that it is here. We have to deal with it, and we need to do it in a way that protects both life and health. Many who have gotten it and recovered will experience long term health issues due to scar tissue on the lunges and damage to the heart. People who had no pre-existing conditions before getting COVID-19, will now deal with the left over issues for the rest of their lives. Additionally, many are still dying from this. We need a vaccine, and while we are waiting, we need people to understand and accept the truth of our situation so that we can work together to protect one another.