How did we get into this mess? How do we get out of it?
Don't blame the virus--(You can if you want to, the virus doesn't care). Covid-19 is, of course, the necessary cause for the current epidemic; without it, no infections would occur. But what about sufficient causes that can make the epidemic worse? Things like weather, susceptibility of the host, etc., and, especially, failure of hosts' brains to combat the spread of disease, using proven methods to do so.
Viruses have been around a very long time; viruses and bacteria are thought to have evolved from a common ancestor, which lived about 3.4 billion years ago, shortly after life on Earth began. Bacteriophages are viruses that attack bacteria, forcing the latter to replicate their genetic material, destroying them in the process. One form of life devouring another in order to survive did not start with animals; viruses might not be red, might not have teeth, might not have claws, but they are "red in tooth and claws" as anything else in nature.
Humans have not developed antibodies against the Covid-19 virus to the degree that herd immunity (community protection) has been reached--only about 4% of the global human population has been infected with the virus to date; probably 60% or more would need to become infected to achieve herd immunity. Millions would have to die before this is achieved, underscoring the inhumanity of those who would like us to achieve herd immunity in this way.
Bacteria, however, have been around a long time, and have developed a defense, the so-called CRISPR-Cas9 system. Recently, we humans have developed a way to use this system as a form of genetic manipulation of genes, including human genes. For this, Jennifer Doudna of Berkeley has (very deservedly) won a recent Nobel Prize.
Nature takes her own time in developing defenses, which is not human time. Who knows how many billions and billions of bacteria had to die, perhaps over millions of years, before the CRISP-Ca9 arose to protect them?
The development of cures and effective treatments by science, however, have been a lot quicker.
One of the reasons Covid-19 is so contagious is because it is an aerosolized virus, that is, the unit of contagion is much smaller than droplets, which do not travel as far. Another aerosolized infection is tuberculosis, which is thus highly contagious as well.
Keats, Chopin, Kafka, are among the countless numbers of those who succumbed to TB. Like Covid-19, TB is a horrible death. ("I can't breathe," says the victim. "Who cares?" says the TB bacillus). Keats died this horrible death. Here's what Bryon had to say about the author of Ode to a Nightingale, who died at the age of 24:
John Keats, who was killed off by one critique,
Just as he really promised something great,
If not intelligible, without Greek
Contrived to talk of the Gods of late,
Much as they might have been supposed to talk.
Poor fellow! His was an untoward fate;
'Tis strange, the mind, that very fiery particle,
Should let itself be snuffed out by an article.
In those days, that is, two centuries go, "consumption" was thought to be caused by an emotional crisis. (Keats did receive some bad reviews, but that's not what killed him! Viruses and bacilli may be indifferent to human suffering, but humans can be quite cruel, as Byron's darkly humorous lines attest).
We have come a long way. We know now how to avoid infections from aerosolized organisms, even before specific treatment is available. It's not rocket science, just science: wear a mask, avoid large gatherings, and maintain social distancing.
The United States is the richest country in the world. For those who can afford it, it offers top-notch health care. The virus is neither American, Russian or Chinese, white or Black, male or female--its indifference is much more ancient than any of these distinctions.
Before all this happened, one might assume that the United States, the most powerful country in the world, would have been among the world leaders in controlling the spread of infection. This isn't what has happened at all. How can it be that our country, which has about 4% of the world's population has about 25% of the world's Covid-19 fatalities?
The answer is obvious. It is due to the incompetence of our political leaders. They ignore--not to mention flout--science. Viral indifference combined with human incompetence can be a very deadly combination.
What if politicians in Keats's day knew what causes tuberculosis yet recommended that one should not keep a social distance from victims of this very asocial disease? What would we think of Hamilton today if he advocated coughing in each other's face?
Even now, our incompetent president is holding rallies without requiring masks or adequate space between spectators. It is a national disgrace.
Cooler weather--it is now fall--is forcing people indoors, a sufficient cause for the current uptick in infections. Another sufficient cause is having a superspreader president.
I'm writing this about one week before our presidential election on November 3rd. If we elect Trump again, it is likely that many more will needlessly die from this controllable disease. This, combined with all the thousands of Americans who would still be alive today if those we elected had been responsible, is horrifying.
The virus is indifferent, but I'm not. Nor, I hope, are you.
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