Coronavirus

Let me get this straight: people who refuse to vaccinate their kids and/or inoculate against the flu are worried about the coronavirus? In a first-world nation such as the United States, the coronavirus is

tantamount to a bad cold. The danger, as with all respiratory ailments, is to the old and to those with respiratory issues like asthma. The virus can sufficiently weaken the immune system and open the door for pneumonia. Which, by the way, is treatable. The average person who contracts coronavirus shakes it in about seven to ten days, displaying symptoms similar to any other upper respiratory infection, including runny nose, coughing, sore throat, and sometimes a fever. Mostly, you won't know if you have coronavirus or the common cold-causing virus, rhinovirus. And By the way, almost everyone contracts a coronavirus infection at least once in their life, usually as a child.

Let's look at the numbers, if after the aforementioned paragraph, we must: more than 6,000 cases (probably under-reported) of coronavirus have been reported worldwide, with 132 fatalities (all in China). The flu, on the other hand, has at least 15 million cases-- with 8,200 fatalities-- in the US alone. Pneumonia, the bigger danger associated with coronavirus, has over 250,000 reported cases in the US, with 50,000 of them proving fatal. Except that there's a vaccine for pneumonia, too, which can drive the fatality rate down as well.

And I can't believe this even has to be addressed: coronavirus has nothing to do with Corona beer. Jesus people. Really?

All of this info is available with a quick Internet search. WebMD, the CDC, the Mayo Clinic. Google it; it's that easy. Or ask you own doctor. Point is, please don't hear things and give flight to panic-- nothing to panic about here. Worry more about getting the vaccines we do have, such as the flu vaccine, the childhood immunizations, and the pneumonia shot.

© Ray Cattie