The doc being interviewed on TV stated that patients hospitalized with Covid-19 still believe that COVID is not real and all they have is a bad case of the flu. How amazing is that?
The internet has become a powerful weapon, propogating lies and conspiracy theories in such a way that fiction becomes fact and facts get buried in the ground. Why are we so quick to buy what the internet is selling? I don’t know why we buy into such obvious crap but I know how we buy in.
Over the years I practiced medicine, I often heard my patient say, “Doc, I ‘ve never been sick. I exercise everyday, I eat right and have a clean family history. I can’t have heart disease.” It makes sense that, if you’ve done everything right, you can’t get sick, doesn’t it? It makes sense that, if you’ve never been sick, you’ll never get sick, doesn’t it? (If it made sense, then a healthy baby would live forever.)
Everyday on TV, the numbers are posted, the graphs displayed, and projections of future deaths are presented. At first, months ago, everyone reacted. Toilet paper and disinfectants disappeared. As time passed, people developed “Covid fatigue.” Do you know anyone with Covid? Are your family, friends or neighbors sick? When you’re in the grocery store, do people look sick. The answers to these questions are a resounding “no!”
Other than seeing masked individuals, the world appears safe. So, after nine months of Covid, those of us who have yet to be touched by Covid can’t be faulted for questioning the reality behind the pandemic. “Covid fatigue” leads to letting down your guard or worse, to buying into conspiracy theories. “Covid fatigue” leads to the ”It can’t happen to me” attitude that leads to super spreader events.
What’s my point? CDC and multiple experts are asking us not to get together for Thanksgiving. They are responsible for the data, graphs and predictions seen constantly on TV. You have two choices:
- Heed the CDC recommendations and say thanks with those in your personal bubble while following the masks, social distancing and handwashing rules; or
- Have an old fashioned Thanksgiving with extended family and friends and roll the dice. Odds are you’ll be fine. Right?
MY ADVICE IS TO HEED THE WARNINGS. That makes me the bad guy. The doc that ruined Thanksgiving 2020. It’s an easy choice for me. I’m the doc who has cared for patients who died from rare diseases. I’ve even cared for an individual who rolled the dice and lost, becoming one of seven such cases in the world.
The cure for “Covid Fatigue” is nasty. Unfortunately, the cure entails experiencing a Covid infection firsthand or seeing family and friends stricken by Covid. Spending time in the ICU will surely wake you up (if it doesn’t kill you).
