Day 19 - Unity and Covid-19

 

Today, I was listening to a radio program on one of those obscure AM stations that nobody but old men listen to. At least, that's what I always have believed. I had turned on the radio and it was on AM for some reason, and the person talking caught my interest, so I listened for a bit. He was a doctor who works for the CDC, and he was talking about the pandemic and the challenges the incoming administration will be facing in dealing with it. The host asked him "What do you think it will take for America to get a handle on the pandemic between now and when we can actually get enough people vaccinated for us to be able to breathe a bit more freely, so to speak?" The doctor, whose name I can't remember, laid out five obstacles we must overcome as a people in America in order for this to work, and all five must be accomplished in some way or the remaining ones won't be very effective--like trying to make a table stand up with one of it's legs missing.

1. We must be willing to social distance and wear masks consistently for a few months, without anybody going rogue and organizing an event with lots of people unmasked. No matter how much you might want to have that family reunion or that wedding with dozens of guests, it needs to be put off until after we have this under control. That could take up to another year, even if we do follow all these guidelines.

2. We must be willing to forget conspiracy theories about Covid that downplay the seriousness or infection rates, and that's going to be difficult, because when someone believes a conspiracy theory and another person tries to show them evidence that it's false, the person embracing the conspiracy theory will likely say "Well of course, that's what they want you to believe, but this article I read (on this obscure website) says different, so I'm not gonna do that."

3. We must be willing to put the health of others ahead of our own comfort. This means wearing a mask when you go out, even if it inconveniences you or makes you uncomfortable. It also means mentally bypassing messages you've heard that say masks don't work, and just wearing the mask. The idea of "I just want to live my life and accept the risks." is not putting the health of others first.

4. We have to be willing to put aside political differences that have been unfairly assigned to the pandemic itself. We can't make our decision to wear masks, social distance, or take precautions dependent on our political platform. Covid doesn't care if you are a Republican or Democrat, and it doesn't care about your "freedom".

5. We have to recognize that the way we have handled it the past year has been inconsistent across states, cities and even across neighborhoods. We all must work together and follow the same protocols as a UNIT, from Washington State to Florida State. If we don't, millions will die, and that is a fact whether you want it to be or not.

The five points he mentioned above were steps that we, as people would have to be willing to do on a personal level.

The doctor added on afterward, that these are not the only things that must happen. Steps will have to be taken to keep businesses in business, and commerce going during the time of "hunkering down". Other things will have to be addressed, as well. International travel will have to be shut down except in the most dire of circumstances, for example. Domestic travel may have to be limited to business only, and on flights with much fewer people on board. 

After listening to the broadcast, I had to wonder: Are we willing to do these things?