Not Sure How You Think That Works.
The current mania among parents on the Belmont Parents Facebook page is about the coronavirus.
I understand the panic. But I also really try to learn the facts – and that helps me to define when to panic. I listen to NPR if I feel inclined to think about newsworthy topics. And when something intrigues me enough, I look it up online, on reputable web pages, and figure out what I need to know.
So when one panicked mom wanted to drive 10 hours to pick up her son for spring break just so he wouldn’t have to ride on an airplane, she posted on the parents page.
“Am I crazy?” she said.
Most parents said – in some variation: “I totally understand! But he is probably safe on the plane if he follows simple precautions.”
A lot of people pointed out the panic that the media was creating. I tossed in a link to the CDC website as part of my answer to her panic, so she could learn for herself what she needed to know.
But one man fought me – personally – saying that panic was justified, screaming: “This is 20 times more deadly than the flu!”
I am sorry I did it, but I responded: “It is, for now, more deadly – but that’s because it hasn’t run its course and it is new. The percentage of deaths as it spreads is actually going DOWN as more people get it and learn to fight it. Look up the swine flu and other pandemics – the media is definitely blowing this out of proportion.”
The man shot back his answer; his ignorance absolutely floored me: “Your bodies don’t learn to fight something when you get it the first time. Not sure how you think that works. It’s not being blown out of proportion.”
Hm. I thought. ‘Your bodies DON’T learn to fight something when you get it the first time?!?’ How many times does it take? Does a virus have to hit a hundred times, waiting for your body to figure out how to fight it? And wouldn’t that mean we would all die from our first cold?
I took biology; I know how it works. I don’t know why this man doesn’t. Doesn’t everybody have to take biology?
Meanwhile, I think: don’t panic. READ. The coronavirus is deadly – sometimes. Lots of things are deadly sometimes. The media would have us believe that the coronavirus is the end of the world.
The news today – literally, TODAY, is that the coronavirus is more deadly than the flu. There’s a 3.4 percent fatality rate. It’s harder to catch – but more deadly because it is new. As a population, we’re still learning how to kick this thing. And most people – 96.6% – who get it will kick it.
Not coincidentally, the same article says that “the pace of infections in China is continuing to drop by the day.“
I’m not unconcerned. Dylan is supposed to study in Italy in exactly two months – but because of the coronavirus, he probably won’t be able to go. I’ve told him that if they cancel it, he’s probably safer.
But I’ve also told him to keep taking his daily vitamins, to boost his immune system with Vitamins C and D. I’ve told him – and Shane – to keep washing their hands (which in Shane’s case is silly) and to make sure they keep their hands away from their faces when they’re out. The best defense against any virus is a strong immune system.
Well… if we believe that the body can learn to fight a virus.
Even when we get it the first time.