YES! TO THE COVID-19 VACCINE
This idea “to shield the most vulnerable and let everyone else frolic” was never realistic as a public health measure because COVID-19 is contagious. them were killed by COVID-19, even if this was a complication that put these folks tragically over the brink... Now these are excess deaths, compared to prior years. That means these 675,000 people would not have likely died in 2020. All of Specifically, we have medical records on 1,700 people. And more than half have lingering lung damage that can be seen on X-rays. The United States has had more than 22 million cases of COVID-19, with 375,000 deaths. Europe has another 18 million cases, and 300,000 deaths. COVID-19 as a lung infection targets people with limited cardio-pulmonary reserves... smokers, very old people, and the obese – or any combination of these three risks. Now, when you consider that 40% of adult Americans are obese, that’s about 100 million people at risk. An overlapping cohort of 14% of American adults smoke or vape – so up to 30 million more Americans... Then there’s old age, which means a weakened immune system, plus less-than-stellar cardio- vascular reserves. (The record for the Boston Marathon among 70-year-olds is 50% slower than the best time.)
Currently, there are 50 million Americans aged 65 and older. Again, there are some overlap with the U.S. obesity group and with smokers. But overall, there’s 180 million people in the U.S. at significant risk. In other words, a third of the country is at risk... This idea “to shield the most vulnerable and let everyone else frolic” was never realistic as a public health measure because COVID-19 is contagious. It’s not “malaria” – it’s not “bad air” that’s everywhere. Instead, specifically, it’s exhaled breath coming from other people who are already infected, even if they are not yet showing symptoms. As a consequence, enclosed spaces that include strangers are the most dangerous, because there is no circulation of fresh air. Moving outdoor air dilutes the concentration of exhaled particles – particles that you can breathe in. Technically, the risk specifically is of water droplets from an infected person’s lungs or throat, which can carry the virus. Larger droplets can carry more virus, but smaller droplets float in the air for longer. Now, there arethree things we can do to avoid being infected: 1. Social distance at all times. 2. Wear a good, particle-filtering mask every time we are outside the family bubble. 3. Take an effective vaccine. These directions seem straight-forward, but the reason we have millions of new cases per week in the U.S. is because many folks refuse
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January 2021
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