So, what garbage rhetoric am I repeating? The word "hoax" in reference to the coronavirus? That was from Trump himself. Rush Limbaugh repeated it. It was discussed one morning on Fox and Friends. All I did was add a question mark.
I did not need the main-stream media to tell me to question it.
Let me explain:
I think it's unlikely that I will contract coronavirus if I take precautions
If I do contract the virus, I believe I will almost certainly recover
If I unknowingly spread the virus to my father with pulmonary hypertension or my
grandmother with leukemia, they will likely get very ill and may die
You mention the flu, but they aren't comparable yet. Because of limited coronavirus testing:
People with mild cases are not counted -> the prevalence of the virus is under-reported
Only this sickest, thus most likely to die, are diagnosed -> the death rate is over-reported
More importantly, people have methods of combating the flu. The flu vaccine is free at many pharmacies. There is also Tamiflu and the newer antiviral Xofluza. We don't have these for the coronavirus.
You are right: the flu statistics ARE grim. I wish more people would get the flu shot. The possibility of feeling run-down for a couple of days is better that than hospitalization or death. Elderly and other people with poor immune systems need some protection. Two years ago, my grandmother was in the ICU with the flu and we did not think she would survive.
No, there aren't methods to combat the coronavirus...yet. In a year or two, we may be able to get an immunization for the flu and coronavirus at the same time. The problem is the current wave of the virus and the vulnerable people at risk right now.
So, is the virus a "hoax" ?
No. It is real and we need to protect our elderly and immuno-compromised.
Is it time to panic?
No, but it is time to be realistic about disease transfer rates and limited hospital capacity
Please don't accuse me (again) of getting all my information from the "msm." I've worked in molecular biology, published in neuropharmacology, chemistry, and despite screwing up "toxicology expert" with expert in infections disease, I do know what I am talking about.
My thoughts on this are comparable to my father's, a Trump-loving retired doctor who did research for a big chemical company and hates the EPA. (I think he only watches Fox, but I'm not sure.)
Wow. Calm down. Maybe, just maybe, it is possible to be a conservative, support Trump in most issues, and still have a problem with his handling of the coronavirus.
There is a difference between supporting Trump and blindly supporting Trump.
Because I don't agree with you, you assume I get my information from the main-stream media. No. I don't trust any commercial media to report scientific findings free of political bias. Statistics can be manipulated. Even raw research data can be manipulated.
Yes, you can look up statistics, but have you talked to any real toxicology experts? It's the "if" in "if the coronavirus tapers off" which is the problem. It's a function of probability.
