Moms everywhere are getting flustered with a house full of rambunctious kids as they run out of craft ideas, snack supplies, and patience.
The White House keeps toying with the idea of ending the lockdown and then the media shows another parabola that says we are all going to die, sending the masses running back into their homes scared.
With all the conflicting evidence and ideas on how to proceed from here regarding the coronavirus, it’s no wonder the public is becoming uneasy about society opening back up – but one expert is sticking to the facts.
“Let’s stop underemphasizing empirical evidence while instead doubling down on hypothetical models. Facts matter.”
That was said by Scott Atlas, former chief of neuroradiology at Stanford University, according to Market Watch.
We have seen in the media how Americans are beginning to confront policymakers on their decision to keep families indoors while jobs are lost and entire companies collapse.
In a piece in The Hill that resonated with the nation during this trying time, Atlas wrote:
“Americans are now desperate for sensible policy makers who have the courage to ignore the panic and rely on facts.
Leaders must examine accumulated data to see what has actually happened, rather than keep emphasizing hypothetical projections; combine that empirical evidence with fundamental principles of biology established for decades; and then thoughtfully restore the country to function.”
A whopping third of all the deaths in the United States have taken place in New York City, Atlas explains, which means most people outside of that area shouldn’t panic.
He adds, “more than 99% of those who have died had an underlying condition and that the rate of death for all people 18-45 is 0.01%.”
Cases in children have been less prevalent, and evidence shows they respond to the coronavirus much more mildly than the older population.
“We know children and young adults in good health have almost no risk of any serious illness from COVID-19, so logic means opening most schools,” Atlas wrote in The Post.
With schools open, many Americans would be able to go back to work, or work effectively from home, so that they don’t lose their jobs and home.
Parents are also having a difficult time continuing education for their children after being thrown into a homeschool environment that they have no experience in, as we can tell through the countless stories on social media.
Another big issue that isn’t being addressed by the media is how patients who need medical care for other chronic issues, such as heart disease and cancer, aren’t getting the care they need because of “hypothetical projections” about the coronavirus, as Atlas puts it.
But the biggest issue is that by maintaining lockdowns people are avoiding contact with the virus, thus preventing them from becoming immune to it.
After exposure, the body builds up antibodies to fight against COVID-9 before it can harm you.
With most individuals making recoveries, a herd immunity could move the country forward without the need for a vaccine.
Atlas wrote in The Hill:
“By transmitting the virus to others in the low-risk group who then generate antibodies, they block the network of pathways toward the most vulnerable people, ultimately ending the threat. Extending whole-population isolation would directly prevent that widespread immunity from developing.”
Governors in various states have already begun opening up part of their state, with plans of re-opening being discussed by others.
Georgia has already opened up gyms, hair salons, bowling alleys, and tattoo parlors, while New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said a limited opening would begin May 15.
Just as with the flu, colds, or any other common virus, it is usually about “when” we get the virus, not “if.”
It begs the question if keeping Americans indoors is just preventing the inevitable?
Immunity would be the safest and quickest route back to the restoration of the nation and a newly adapted way of life.