Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the USA’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, made the following statement about the new coronavirus in an article published in the New York Times on February 2, 2020.
It’s very, very transmissible, and it almost certainly is going to be a pandemic.
-Dr. Anthony Fauci
As of March 28, 2020, the USA leads the world in the number of confirmed cases with more than 124,000 and over 2,000 deaths.
Infectious disease specialists working with the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) predict the number of new COVID-19 infections in the USA may not peak for three to six weeks.
How high will the number of confirmed cases and deaths have climbed by then?
What will America’s healthcare systems look like at that point?
How did we get here?
1. Absence of leadership at the highest levels of the US Government
2. Leaders who dismiss scientific evidence at every turn
3. Ignorance of the threats of COVID-19
4. Lost opportunity to blunt the spread of the virus
Americans must depend on those who
are risking their own lives at the moment
on the front lines of the battle
at times without proper
protective equipment
our brave and dedicated
MEDICAL WORKERS ♥♥♥
Medical personnel transferring a COVID-19 patient at a hospital in Rome, Italy. Photo Credit: Gemelli Policlinico via Reuters
- Remember that the lives of medical workers may depend on the decisions you make each day.
- Do whatever you can to avoid being infected and becoming a burden on already stressed hospitals and clinics.
- Only trust the preventive measures listed on the websites of the CDC and WHO.
As a close friend living under a mandatory quarantine in Italy advised me this week, “Stay home.”
peace and good health~henry
My quest blog 
Best. Advice. Ever.
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thanks for stopping by @tildeb
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I’m sure you’ve seen this, but if not:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/27/trump-narcissism-american-blood-coronavirus
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Thanks for the link Chris. The writer expresses all my feelings but much more articulately than I could have done. Take good care of yourself.
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And to add to your advice and reminders, I will say that one of the things we should remember when the worst is behind us is who are those who really care and cared about us and act towards them accordingly.
Thanks for not letting us forget, Henry.
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Yes, it will be important not to forget or leave those behind who are doing the heavy lifting during the pandemic. Thanks Marios!
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Dr. Fauci is an American hero, Henry. It is a tragedy that no one in this administration listens to him and people like him who have the knowledge and intelligence to understand the situation. Thus we’re in the condition we’re in.
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Hi Ken,
Yes, Dr. Fauci has been called upon many times in the past. He’s a true American hero as you say. The deliberately science-phobic Trump administration is now exhibiting the full extent of their incompetence. Take good care of yourself!
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What happened America? I, too, ask myself that question. The day that corporations gained personhood was the beginning of the end for our frail democracy.
Peace and good health to you, too, and to your loved ones in your corner of the world ❤
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Hi Rosaliene,
It often feels as if you are summoning my thoughts when I read your blog posts and comments. Yes, yes, giving corporations the same rights as a person was a huge blow to the ideal of democracy. Add the Supreme Court’s decision to sell American elections via Citizens United and the corporations and oligarchs have all the power they need to control the thoughts of a naive and terminally distracted populace. Thanks so much for your contributions to this blog!
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🙂 ❤
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Unfortunately we have a similar situation here in Mexico.People need to stay at home!!!
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Here in Colombia, we don’t have a choice. There are stiff fines for not following the rules of quarantine, plus a number of Americans and other foreigners have been deported due to their flouting the rules–or at least that was true before all the airports closed early last week. Take care.
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We need those kinds of fines and rules down here. Stay safe!
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Y tu tambien.
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People all over the world are deeply concerned about the US situation. Take care and stay healthy.
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I’m in Colombia for the duration of the pandemic, or until there’s a significant break in transmission and it’s safe to travel. While I’m worried about my friends and family in the USA, my concern extends to all earthlings. Thanks for the good wishes and you stay healthy too!
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I totally agreed with you to stay put and wait for the situation to turn around. Refrain from travelling for the time being. Be safe, have patience, Sir. Take care.
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I’ve been thinking about how many of our shared problems are created through our actions, policies, etc. And so they could be prevented or mitigated. This pandemic seems like a great example of this. The US public health underfunded and dismantled. In general, the government and hospitals did nothing to prepare for major public health crises. But it’s worse than that. The government and health organizations have been pushing an unhealthy diet through bad recommendations that served the purpose of corporate interests, including subsidies that made cheap such as high fructose corn syrup.
This set the population up with generations of a worsening chronic disease epidemic. A large part of this is metabolic syndrome: obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver disease, kidney disease, and heart disease. All of this has overloaded the healthcare system with preventable diseases and tremendous costs. But these chronic diseases, particularly metabolic syndrome, compromise the immune system and make the whole population susceptible to infections (e.g., insulin plays a role both in metabolism and in the immune system).
On top of that is the political forces attacking science, responsible governance, social democracy, and the public good. COVID-19 is not the worst infectious disease and, under other conditions, it might not have turned into a pandemic. But the conditions that have been created over this past century created a perfect storm. We should be thankful that we were hit by such a minor pandemic. Imagine if we experienced an infectious disease comparable to the great pandemics of the past. We’d be totally devastated. This was a warning shot. There will be worst pandemics and other catastrophes to come.
What occurs to me is how much of this was avoidable. Most of the critical and severe cases of COVID-19 come from those with chronic diseases. And almost all of those chronic diseases are caused by known preventable factors: diet, inactivity, stress, and pollution/toxins. Diet is maybe the single greatest factor, certainly one of those we have the most control over. It’s not that Americans aren’t following the dietary advice given them, as the data shows that they mostly are. The advice itself has been the problem, as it has promoted a diet high in inflammatory and oxidative refined carbs, added sugar, and seed oils.
A population with low rate of chronic diseases would also have low rate of serious infections and deaths from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Even in our sickly society, COVID-19 is mostly harmless to the majority of the population. Yet it has managed to paralyze our entire society because of how sickly is our society in general (88% of Americans have one or more conditions of metabolic disease). Most modern people on an industrially-processed diet are immunocompromised to some extent, even if it is only the worst off who are at the most risk. With our chronic disease epidemic, no one can confidently assume they are safe.
Why do we have such a cavalier attitude toward personal and public health? We obsess over the image of being healthy, such as building muscles, but we ignore the underlying factors of health like insulin resistance that can’t be seen. Then we are shocked that someone who appeared to be healthy died from COVID-19. Appearing to be healthy is not the same as being healthy. But as a society, we’ve forgotten what health is, as we’ve come to take the chronic disease epidemic as normal.
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Hi Benjamin,
I agree with your arguments. Modern societies–especially in the USA–have created unhealthy populations. Doctors and healthcare systems should focus on preventive care (in which diet and lifestyle habits are key) instead of focusing solely on treating illnesses after they develop which only serves to create huge profits for corporations like the pharmaceutical and junk food industries. Thanks for your insightful comments!
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I really have nothing else to say but yes, yes, yes. And also to echo the same thoughts on the underfunded public health in the US and the cultural implications of having to react to disease instead of effect change in lifestyle and prevention. I do wonder if we will see a higher mortality rate in the US because of chronic health conditions.
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While relevant statistics are scant at this point, it seems that younger Americans may indeed be more adversely affected by the virus than in many other countries. As the medical experts have repeatedly stated, those with underlying health conditions – of any age – are more susceptible to the ravages of the disease. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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