Are we going to keep the economy shut down for 2 years until we can immunize everyone to COVID-19?

Are we going to keep the economy shut down for 2 years until we can immunize everyone to COVID-19?

We can get used to almost anything. Like the frog in the hot water with the temp being turned up until he eventually dies, we humans can get used to about anything.

In the USA we have a movement that is anti-vaccine.  Immune only to the first-hand devastating reality of polio, mumps, rubella, smallpox, measles, tetanus, pertussis, pneumococcal, rotavirus, and other life-ending diseases they moan their reasoning to whoever will listen. Second, only to the pro-marijuana crowd who sings the medicinal benefits of pot and how hemp can be used to make so many products as they stink of patchouli oil while keeping the bong pipe manufacturers employed.  

Because the anti-vaxxers live in the USA with an advanced civil medical system the herd concept protects most of them from being impacted by their decisions until enough of them bring back measles. 

So - what else have we become used to? 

What about abortion? That used to be a bad word.  When Roe v Wade first made its landmark tidal waves in courts legislating from the bench, abortion was a hushed word you never talked about. Legal but rare. Now - comedians sing about it or make jokes. Conscience seared. 

Not to smack around anti-vaxxers even more but one more thing we have come to be accepting of is the Flu. Every year I hear people saying, "I'm not getting the flu shot it... makes me sick, will hurt my brain, is a conspiracy by the government to control us, ... 

Over 65 million people get the flu in the USA each year.  That's right... 65 million! Yet - out of that number, only around 55 thousand die. In 2017 the CDC listed the number of deaths due to the flu at 55,672. That is about a 0.08% chance of dying from the flu if you get it and a 0.0159% chance of dying from the flu if you are an American. 

How do we currently, feel about ... SARS (the 2003 version) ... Swine Flu (H1N1) - 2009 ... MERS - 2012 ... Ebola 1976, 2014-2016, 2018 ...

H1N1 killed 12,469 people in the USA and infected at least 60.8 million. 

Nobody cares about that anymore.  

No businesses shut down. 

No mass reaction to have the Federal government make us SAFE. 

Why not? 

Was the virus eradicated? 

Or did we just role it into flu deaths and stop testing for it individually?

Here is a quick question - "How does our immune system work?"

Does anyone remember the macrophage, T-cells, B-cells, antibodies? 

Basically - when the body detects foreign substances (antigens), our body’s immune system identifies them and triggers lymphocytes to make antibodies. These antibodies seek and destroy the antigens. 

A healthy immune system needs to have T-Cells that can go to the lymphocytes to tell them to make antibodies to kill the antigen.  They only way to do this is to find common markers. The only way to find common markers is to have a diverse code with similar memories of those antigens. 

So - how do we get a healthy immune system?  How did we get one as a baby?

Babies first have the immune system of their mother. But this wears off.  So - how does a baby develop an immune system? Simple - it puts everything in its mouth. 

As an adult, how do we keep developing an immune system? We live in society. We see other people. We shake hands. We eat food made by others.  All of these things introduce antigens into our system.  hopefully in small enough quantities that our body can react properly to them ... and KILL THEM. 

Think of it this way, if someone has COVID-19 (the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus) or any virus or illness/disease that is spread through mucus droplets released by breathing, coughing, sneezing ... and they cough on a plastic container, that virus will live on that container for 3 days.  You: bring that container into your home;  touch that container; touch your countertop; put the food into your fridge; and touch a few other things in the meantime.  The virus is on each of those things.  

Of course - how do we weaken our immune system? That would be when we disinfect our cars, and counters, and bags, and boxes, and gloves, and … well – you get the picture.

There are those who are immunocompromised. For these people, there really does need to be care, concern, and preparation for making sure viruses are not introduced to them. For these people, life is a considerable struggle. The house has to be completely sealed. Any outside air has to be cleaned. Anything brought into the house must be decontaminated before it is allowed in. People have to be decontaminated and still often have to wear a clean suit to enter the premises. UV lights are used to clean beds and linens. I mean there is a lot that goes into making sure a virus does not make its way into the house.  I am pretty sure nobody is doing all of that. 

Now I know what you are saying. This is all revolutionary and new.  Wow ... stop blowing our minds.  We have never heard ... wait... what? You have heard this all before. Nothing I am saying is new?

Then - WHAT IS GOING ON NOW? 

What has changed? 

What is different about COVID-19 that has the world in an uproar? 

Is there something that we are not being told? 

Is this virus worse in some way then SARS-CoV-1? 

Is it worse than H1N1? 

Is it worse than Ebola? 

MERS? 

Flu-type-A? 

If it is, why? Is this some sort of super-virus? Why is it a super virus? 

Why would we not use the same tried and true practices that help us get past a disease that has always worked? Yes, some people get sick. Some people may even die. But the community needs to be infected with the disease to develop the antibodies and allow us to move on as a people and survive.  

If we are truly quarantining ourselves from COVID-19 with our shelter at-home methods, then we would also be stopping all viruses from having an impact on us.  This would, in fact, be a way of compromising our immune system's ability to continue developing a robust immune system. Add to that decreasing our vitamin D intake by not being in the sun and increasing our anxiety and displeasure because we are being ... well - quarantined.... all not good for the immune system. 

Basically what I am saying is, our response to COVID-19 is not scientific but emotional. We know how our immune system works. We know how viruses work. We know how "herd protection" works.  We are just to 'emotional' right not to admit it.

Let's just think about what we are doing to ourselves. 

We cannot go in and sit in a restaurant and eat because we may get SARS-CoV-2 on us from another guest or from the waiter who was near a guest, but we can order food from a restaurant and get it delivered to our house by someone who is around hundreds of people per day. 

We cannot go to a medical clinic to get our blood work done or out heart checked or our teeth cleaned, but we can go to Home Depot or the grocery stores and walk around where others have touched products we are going to buy and take home.

What is next? Do we stay in quarantine? For how long? If we open everything us and people start getting the virus again, are we going to shut down again? Have we become seared to COVID-19? Will this become another acceptable loss consideration? Do we need to have an inoculation before we can open back up again? Will everyone take the vaccination? What will we do to those who do not?