StemCell Therapy

In the ninth month of the COVID scourge which covered the land, the people lamented their fate and looked to the heavens for relief and succor.

That is, I imagine, how the Bible might recount the pandemic weve been in since February, if the Good Book were being written today.

Around here, at least, weve been spared the worst from this thing. But if you recall when it all started, and for several months hence, the hospital geared up for scores of deathly ill patients and local doctors and nurses were told to expect reporting for emergency duty. A mobile refrigerated morgue was brought in. They even retrofitted parts of Keene State College to handle the overflow. Main Street downtown was bereft of traffic; for a couple of months, it was always 6 a.m. Sunday morning down there. Planes, trains and buses stopped; there were no pedestrians. There was a mad rush for PPE (we all learned what that acronym meant), and ventilators.

No one knows for sure where this pandemic is headed, and those up here in the northern climes are wondering if it will get worse as the winter winds drive us all inside until April and May. What will our Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays look like this year?

Assessing the past nine months, Ive had a number of observations, and you may have had similar thoughts.

For starters, I think that society came unglued. And, I think I know why. We collided with something that all of our sophisticated science and technology couldnt handle, and we freaked out. Our new Apple phones, PET scans, 5G networks, genetic engineering all the kings horses and all the kings men were helpless in the face of one of the worlds oldest adversaries: pestilence, which is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the Book of Revelation, to use another biblical reference. While astronauts aboard the International Space Station circle the earth, ensconced in the most amazing science, they look down upon an earth stymied and suffering from a primordial disease.

Secondly, we learned that government has severe limitations. Like our belief in technology, we have come to think in the past century that the state and feds can come up with solutions and come to our rescue. Thats just not true, and never was. You can blame whoever you want, but governments response was and is severely flawed. Its not a failure of the Republicans or Democrats or career bureaucrats at the NIH or CDC its just the fact that government cannot solve our problems when the you-know-what hits the fan. Never could. If youve ever been through the aftermath of a severe hurricane or a strong earthquake, you know that there comes a time when youre just on your own. When a crisis hits, you learn immediately that the emperor lives very far away.

Thirdly, most people behaved, but enough didnt that it showed the sour side of humanity. Panic buying without cause, denying others of necessities. A refusal to wear masks in public. We can sometimes be a stupid bunch.

Fourth, our economy is very fragile, despite being the richest country in the world. That showed itself right away. Our weakest link proved to be our distribution network for goods and services. One of the correct responses by the federal government was the rapid carpet-bombing of cash to companies and individuals. Well have to pay that big bill later, but it saved us from a collapsed system.

Fifth, we have, in fact, dodged the bullet. Despite the number of hospitalizations and deaths, COVID-19 could have been worse, with a much higher mortality rate. If we didnt already possess a sophisticated medical system, the death rate might have been off the charts.

Sixth, instant communication and 24/7 media coverage is half good, half terrible. It disseminates at the speed of light erroneous theories, rumors, dubious statistics, malevolent gossip, wild statements from wrong-headed people parading as scientists, shoddy studies and surveys, and inflammatory rhetoric from politicians and bureaucrats. Cant change that; information and misinformation spread at the same rate, and people believe weird things. Well see that when a vaccine is finally developed, and millions refuse to take it.

Lastly, if there is a silver lining to all this, its that well be prepared for the next disaster, or disease, that comes our way. That is, if we remember what we did right and what we did wrong this time. Unfortunately, humans have a propensity to reinvent the wheel over and over.

John McGauley, an author and local radio talk-show host, writes from Keene. He can be contacted at mcgauleyink@gmail.com

Excerpt from:
We've learned much in this crisis including what we don't know, by John McGauley - The Keene Sentinel

This entry was posted on October 18, 2020 at 6:53 am and is filed under Genetic Engineering. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |