The world is a little scary right now. We’re facing a new sickness no one was prepared for. In times of disaster, we fall back on habits. We’re hoarding paper towels and toilet paper, stocking up on bread, milk and eggs, filling the pantry with non-perishable goods.
But hoarding paper products and canned foods can’t stop coronavirus. What’s so scary about this outbreak is the bombardment of contradictory information. Numbers are changing so fast — diagnoses, tests pending, death toll; state, nation, world — and with health officials and politicians refuting each other, every time we think we have a grasp on the situation, we find out what we thought we knew is wrong.
It’s disconcerting, if not downright panic-inducing, to find ourselves unmoored like this, unsure what is fact and what is fiction.
But here is what we do know:
Most of us, even if we catch COVID-19, will be fine. Estimates put the mortality rate at 1-3.4% depending on the source, so at least 96% of infected individuals will recover. Our job, then, is to protect those who are at a higher risk for complications.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention website (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html) lists all the preventative steps you can take. We know that the virus is most serious for people who are elderly or have other health conditions, so do as much as you can to protect those people.
We must approach COVID-19 rationally. A slew of scam products have popped up, claiming to treat or prevent coronavirus. The most notable attempt to capitalize on people’s fears comes from disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker, whose show claimed colloidal silver (silver particles in water) could kill coronavirus strains. This is false. A variety of holistic companies have received cease and desist letters for marketing products claiming to cure or prevent COVID-19. Herbal supplements, essential oils and/or tinctures cannot stop the coronavirus, but real treatments and vaccines are being worked on as we speak.
If you are concerned you may have the coronavirus, please don’t just walk into an emergency room or doctor’s office. By doing so, you could expose otherwise compromised people (if you do have the virus) or direct services away from individuals experiencing health emergencies (if you don’t have the virus). Instead, call the WVU Medical Access and Referral System (MARS) line at 304-598-6000 or Mon Health Medical Center at 304-285-3798. For other information about COVID-19, call the West Virginia Poison Control hotline at 800-222-1222 or the Department of Health and Human Services hotline at 800-887-4304.
Between social media and talking heads on TV, there is a lot of fiction mixed with the facts. The current administration hasn’t exactly been transparent nor proactive in tackling coronavirus. Politicians on both sides of the aisle put their own spin on facts, so the best thing we can do is to listen to health officials — the CDC, the World Health Organization, state and local health departments. When faced with a pandemic, we don’t need to get our information from politicians. We need it from doctors.
In times of disaster, we do what we know how to do. We listen to the experts, we prepare as best we can and we take care of each other. So that’s what we’re going to do.
Morgantown Area News
'Sunday, May 19, 2024'
