Here’s Don Henley – The Heart of the Matter
Un-Prepared
Right are wrong, the United States wasn’t ready for the corona-virus crisis. We weren’t prepared to test, or isolate, or trace the contacts back to the source. In December, January and February, when we could have made a difference in the national impact of the virus, we didn’t.
It’s not a matter of blame, at least not now when we are in the center of the storm. Someday, probably in the fall, when we can go back and argue and fight each other, there will be plenty of time of establish blame, and more importantly, responsibility. But now we need to do whatever we have to do to save lives, and prevent corona-virus from taking millions instead of hundreds of thousands. We have to isolate everyone, and be socially-distant. We need to stay home. That is the only choice we have left to make.
But the argument over testing isn’t over. We will need testing to get through the next crisis, the one we expect to hit after this initial fire has burned through our society. Come September or October, it is likely that the virus will rise again. We won’t have a vaccine yet, and while our hospitals will be far too familiar with treating the disease, we still won’t have a cure either.
Test or Not
With testing, we can do what we couldn’t do in February and March. We can find out who has it, and isolate them. We can find out who had it before, and, assuming (only an assumption, not a fact) that they have immunity for some period of time, we can let them go out in society. And we can protect the most vulnerable from getting this second round of infection.
Testing then, is the heart of the matter. The ability to test for the virus, and for immunity to the virus, is vital to controlling round two, and maybe rounds three and four. Absent a vaccine, testing is the only way we can control the virus, and get back to the lives we used to live before, when we thought of Corona as a Mexican beer with lime, not a possible death sentence.
But there are partisan politics still surrounding the resources needed for testing. Sure we have to test, but so much is aimed at today’s treatment needs, modalities and possible vaccines. And “testing” seems to equal “failure” in the minds of the Trump Administration. They may be right, but it so much more important now then whether they did or didn’t do the right thing while they were laser focused on fending off impeachment and running for re-election. So we, both Democrats and the President, should put blame on the shelf, for now, and test.
Proof
It’s already happening in the world. South Korea “beat” the virus by intense testing and isolating. Sweden is gambling that they can do the same, eschewing social distancing and closures, instead testing, tracing, and isolating both the sick and the vulnerable. So far, so good, though they are a nation of “lab rat” test subjects.
Even here in the United States, isolated areas are trying to test their way out of the disease. San Miguel County in Colorado, home to the city of Telluride and the extravagant ski resorts in Mountain Village; chased the skiers and the part time residents away. Then they tested the rest, trying to keep the town safe by isolating the sick. In their hidden valley surrounded by snow-covered mountains, maybe they can make it work. But most of the nation doesn’t have the geographical advantages that controls access, and so can’t “hide” from contamination.
Test to Normalcy
Americans are dreaming of going back to normal. They want to go to a bar, or a ballgame, or bowling. Parents want their kids back in school (oh boy do they) and kids are thinking (to themselves) they want back in school as well. We hear schools talk about “next fall” and football, as if everything will be “OK”. But it won’t be, unless we find a way to test everyone, and control what’s happening.
And from a purely political sense, we need testing to guarantee an election in November. We need testing to determine whether we get to choose the next President of the United States, and who should control the House and the Senate and the state governments. And since that now means who controls our basic survival, it is beyond important. It is the heart of the matter. We must test.
