Editorial: Coronavirus: Lives vs. Money
A Facebook Debate
by Gerard Cassagnol
Instead Of ‘Flattening The Curve,’ We Flattened Hospitals, Doctors, And The U.S. Health Care System
This is the headline of an article that was shared with me on Facebook (you can click the link to read the opinion article), to which I commented:
"Lives vs. Money ... If you are dead, there is no money to make. Just look at New Zealand's approach. Human Lives over Corporate Greed. Total Lock-down has provided a knockout punch:
Praised For Curbing COVID-19, New Zealand's Leader Eases Country's Strict Lockdown" (you can click the link to read the opinion article)
I received the following reply:
Gerard Cassagnol your binary statement of lives vs money is very inflammatory and limits reasonable debate. Your source on a country with population of 5 million people even states at the end of the article that there is no herd immunity and the risk of Coronavirus infection continues once the country is opened up..apparently they don’t plan on shutting down their borders forever.
Sweden is a country that remains open with guidelines on social distancing while protecting the elderly and sick with the goal of building up herd immunity.
Closing down our economy for 1 month was prudent public health policy. The curve was flattened and our hospitals are equipped and ready for the sick. It’s time to let the healthy people get back to work and school while continuing the public policies to protect the vulnerable.
To whom I replied:
[Facebook Friend] I am sorry that my opinion appears to be inflammatory to you. It is not intended to be inflammatory, nor do I see it as so. Personally, I would consider some of the following as inflammatory; 1. our President calling the coronvirus a Democratic Hoax in its early stages. 2. the "leader of the free world" suggesting human consumption of disinfectants would kill the coronvirus 3. Our citizens, shouldering rifles, while exercising their right to protest the states closing orders. The reality is it is a calculation of (lost of) lives vs. (economy) loss of money - or loss of livelihoods, as Russ Limbaugh puts it. Polly Toynbee writes about it in the Guardian when she submits that this whole debate evolved out of a right wing rebellion: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/money-life-coronavirus-sparked-latest-050017693.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9tdWNrcmFjay5jb20vcG9sbHl0b3luYmVlL2FydGljbGVz&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADDo0wbKhLH4IMdj3JnsM334_FpmkePsAnodYsQ_c4pFfrqzFLq8HWNCygnN8XlWIJXx7PJO4voKzRpA94oG5E3I2zbT-Jb5wx0XbA49DpUzRNEKMhSlZpfQ684OkTWEqyXS-_3vOy2pzIy-PXyRXzDqfjFTCv3ZBpYbeO2ku1Vn
The truth is that (quality of) life is dependent on money. So it is not reasonable to think that we can remain closed indefinitely. Being a small business owner, I see first hand the effects of lost revenue as well as added costs for PPE. It is also not reasonable to think that we can just go about life as normal while we have so few answers about the enemy we are fighting. I somehow see livelihood, or lack thereof, as sometimes being self centered, or just plain selfish. Of course there is nothing illegal about being selfish. I would imagine we all are to a certain extent. Of course, my need to go bowling, or get a massage, or play golf, may very well effect a nurses need/right of being safe while providing critical care. I would submit that we owe Frontliners the benefit of not having to experience the mental and physical distress they have had to endure, especially in areas where the pandemic has spread quickly. Maybe we could learn from the Spanish Flu of 1918, an pandemic that infected 500 million people, 1/3 of the worlds population at the time (Source: Wikipedia), and killed 50 million. San Francisco reportedly had the epidemic under control, and then, when it lifted the restrictions, saw a surge in cases and deaths. Our own Dr. Fauci states that the virus will be around come this fall, and absent of a vaccine, we face a second wave that could be far worse: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/we-will-not-have-a-vaccine-by-next-winter-what-happens-when-coronavirus-returns-2020-04-22
As far as Sweden is concerned, I can say that at least the government getting out of the way and allowing the experts to conduct the updates, even though the BBC reports that "Sweden, with a population of 10 million, remains amongst the top 20 in the world when it comes to the total number of cases, even though it mostly only tests those with severe symptoms. More widespread checks on key workers are now being introduced. It has higher death rates in relation to its population size than anywhere else in Scandinavia.": https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52395866
Lastly, [Facebook Friend], I agree it is time to allow healthy people to return to work; with an emphasis on being "healthy". Perhaps this is where the antibodies testing can play a vital role. Although the WHO argues that there is no reliable evidence that having had the coronavirus provides for immunity: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/25/844939777/no-evidence-that-recovered-covid-19-patients-are-immune-who-says
In conclusion, I agree with Polly Toynee (The Gaurdian), that the debate will rage on. No matter which side of the the debate you are on, I wish you good health and prosperity. Be wise. Be safe. Be well.
This is the headline of an article that was shared with me on Facebook (you can click the link to read the opinion article), to which I commented:
"Lives vs. Money ... If you are dead, there is no money to make. Just look at New Zealand's approach. Human Lives over Corporate Greed. Total Lock-down has provided a knockout punch:
Praised For Curbing COVID-19, New Zealand's Leader Eases Country's Strict Lockdown" (you can click the link to read the opinion article)
I received the following reply:
Gerard Cassagnol your binary statement of lives vs money is very inflammatory and limits reasonable debate. Your source on a country with population of 5 million people even states at the end of the article that there is no herd immunity and the risk of Coronavirus infection continues once the country is opened up..apparently they don’t plan on shutting down their borders forever.
Sweden is a country that remains open with guidelines on social distancing while protecting the elderly and sick with the goal of building up herd immunity.
Closing down our economy for 1 month was prudent public health policy. The curve was flattened and our hospitals are equipped and ready for the sick. It’s time to let the healthy people get back to work and school while continuing the public policies to protect the vulnerable.
To whom I replied:
[Facebook Friend] I am sorry that my opinion appears to be inflammatory to you. It is not intended to be inflammatory, nor do I see it as so. Personally, I would consider some of the following as inflammatory; 1. our President calling the coronvirus a Democratic Hoax in its early stages. 2. the "leader of the free world" suggesting human consumption of disinfectants would kill the coronvirus 3. Our citizens, shouldering rifles, while exercising their right to protest the states closing orders. The reality is it is a calculation of (lost of) lives vs. (economy) loss of money - or loss of livelihoods, as Russ Limbaugh puts it. Polly Toynbee writes about it in the Guardian when she submits that this whole debate evolved out of a right wing rebellion: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/money-life-coronavirus-sparked-latest-050017693.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9tdWNrcmFjay5jb20vcG9sbHl0b3luYmVlL2FydGljbGVz&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADDo0wbKhLH4IMdj3JnsM334_FpmkePsAnodYsQ_c4pFfrqzFLq8HWNCygnN8XlWIJXx7PJO4voKzRpA94oG5E3I2zbT-Jb5wx0XbA49DpUzRNEKMhSlZpfQ684OkTWEqyXS-_3vOy2pzIy-PXyRXzDqfjFTCv3ZBpYbeO2ku1Vn
The truth is that (quality of) life is dependent on money. So it is not reasonable to think that we can remain closed indefinitely. Being a small business owner, I see first hand the effects of lost revenue as well as added costs for PPE. It is also not reasonable to think that we can just go about life as normal while we have so few answers about the enemy we are fighting. I somehow see livelihood, or lack thereof, as sometimes being self centered, or just plain selfish. Of course there is nothing illegal about being selfish. I would imagine we all are to a certain extent. Of course, my need to go bowling, or get a massage, or play golf, may very well effect a nurses need/right of being safe while providing critical care. I would submit that we owe Frontliners the benefit of not having to experience the mental and physical distress they have had to endure, especially in areas where the pandemic has spread quickly. Maybe we could learn from the Spanish Flu of 1918, an pandemic that infected 500 million people, 1/3 of the worlds population at the time (Source: Wikipedia), and killed 50 million. San Francisco reportedly had the epidemic under control, and then, when it lifted the restrictions, saw a surge in cases and deaths. Our own Dr. Fauci states that the virus will be around come this fall, and absent of a vaccine, we face a second wave that could be far worse: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/we-will-not-have-a-vaccine-by-next-winter-what-happens-when-coronavirus-returns-2020-04-22
As far as Sweden is concerned, I can say that at least the government getting out of the way and allowing the experts to conduct the updates, even though the BBC reports that "Sweden, with a population of 10 million, remains amongst the top 20 in the world when it comes to the total number of cases, even though it mostly only tests those with severe symptoms. More widespread checks on key workers are now being introduced. It has higher death rates in relation to its population size than anywhere else in Scandinavia.": https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52395866
Lastly, [Facebook Friend], I agree it is time to allow healthy people to return to work; with an emphasis on being "healthy". Perhaps this is where the antibodies testing can play a vital role. Although the WHO argues that there is no reliable evidence that having had the coronavirus provides for immunity: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/25/844939777/no-evidence-that-recovered-covid-19-patients-are-immune-who-says
In conclusion, I agree with Polly Toynee (The Gaurdian), that the debate will rage on. No matter which side of the the debate you are on, I wish you good health and prosperity. Be wise. Be safe. Be well.
