I am kind of done with the political aspect of this. This country is so polarized that it is really impossible to change anyone’s mind even with facts that are not supposed to be negotiable (you are entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts).
Everyone expresses things from their point of view, and expects others to jump on board. People compare this to the flu by saying how many people died in a year which is around 60,000 for the flu. Around 100,000 died from COVID in just 3 months. There is really no comparison.
We need testing and we need contact tracing. Testing is not readily available when you look at this on a per capita basis which is the only way to look at it on an apples to apples basis.
I just wish people would look at the facts. It is true that in science anecdotal evidence evidence should not be considered so these one off accounts really do not mean much if anything. The studies show which drugs are effective or not. If you want to rely on individual stories that is your choice but it is not science.
I'm really sick of the politics around this too. No matter what one side does, the other says it's politically motivated. And, at this point, how do we know whether it is or isn't?
On one hand, comparing the number of flu deaths to Covid19 deaths can be a valid comparison. Flu season is typically around 4 months each year, not 12. We can compare the average flu season to this Covid19 season. It sounds like Covid19 is going to be with us for the unforeseeable future and people will continue to die from it, just like the flu...no matter how good of a vaccine or treatment we get. So, over 4 months last year, according to the CDC, around 35,000 people died from the flu. If we compare that to Covid19, Covid19 is going to be about 3-4 times as many so that comparison could be valid.
On the other hand, we don't know if the numbers being reported are even accurate. According to the CDC, "Overall, the CDC estimates that 12,000 and 61,000 deaths annually since 2010 can be blamed on the flu." So, we don't even know how many people die from the flu. 12,000 - 61,000 is a pretty big range. And then there is the question of how many people have actually died FROM Covid19, not just WITH Covid19. For instance, a friend lost his dad recently. He had been very sick for quite a while and they called in hospice. Two days before he died, the doctor decided to test him for Covid19. He tested positive, but he obviously didn't die from it. He was going to die in the next week or so anyway. The way these are being counted in many places is very inaccurate. This is like saying a person was an alcohol related death when he was drunk in his driveway and a meteor landed on him. I don't think alcohol played a part, but that helps pad the stats for the folks who want to prohibit alcohol. I think we've all heard of hospitals trying to get more Covid19 deaths because the government is giving more money from those than other types of deaths.
I don't envy the folks that have to make the decisions on when to open back up, but when things are opened back up, we (individuals) are free to decide whether or not we want to move forward. If one doesn't feel comfortable going out to eat today, they can stay at home. Those who do feel comfortable can go out to eat. People all over the world make decisions every day based on how risky they think something is. We went on vacation last summer with 4 other families. One of the families decided to drive all the way across the country because the husband is scared to fly. He was much more likely to die in a car wreck while driving 30 hours than the 4 hours in a plane, but that was his decision. I don't know why this virus can't be very much like that. Those that want to go out and risk it can and those that don't, can stay home.
That's not to say we should be stupid in what we do. We shouldn't go around licking handrails and doors, but one could if he/she wanted to. Maybe it makes sense to start this football season with certain restrictions on the number of fans in the stands. Maybe it's something different than that. I read an opinion today that college football season would probably be played this season with no fans in the stands. As an official, that won't be much different than many games I've worked in the past. I've had many games where there were less than 1000 fans there. But, it will be very different from games I've worked where there were 90,000 - 100,000 fans in the stands. If that happens, it's going to be very strange in Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, LSU, etc. But, football with no fans is better than no football to me.
