- Well, at least by what we include in our selection of commentaries
- The Corona that staggered Wall Street
- Or was it near beer?
- Ironically, alcohol can kill coronavirus (on surfaces anyway)
- Folks, the flu kills, always has
- Graphics posted herein not part of articles referenced
Nevertheless, there is cause for concern and response, but get sober people!
The very credible Elizabeth Vaughn at RedState writes
Via Market Watch:
Excerpts from the American Spactatror article by Daniel J Flynn:
That Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Dumber
There’s no cure for panic and hysteria.
Symptoms of the coronavirus abroad include sneezing, coughing, fever, and breathing difficulties. Here in the United States, the disease, apparently mutating, displays different symptoms. They include exaggeration, panic, and overreaction.
San Francisco declared a coronavirus state of emergency despite not a single confirmed case among the city’s residents. Why not include yellow fever and polio in the state of emergency just to stay on the safe side? . . .
Currently, at least outside of China, the disease primarily afflicts politicians and journalists. The symptoms grow worse for those in front of a camera or microphone, and especially bad for those — gulp — touching a keyboard. Stock holders appear most greatly plagued by the virus.
The latest CDC update shows just 14 cases in the United States atop 45 cases among repatriating Americans unfortunate enough to cruise on the Diamond Princess ship or visit Wuhan itself. In other words, the disease kneecapping the stock market and shutting down a Facebook conference in California in May afflicts 0.0000042 percent of the American population. The number of Americans killed by the Wuhan coronavirus falls even below that minuscule fraction to zero.
One cannot even call the coronavirus endemic to any area in the United States. Yet, speakers affix “epidemic” and even “pandemic” to coronavirus even though two countries, China and Korea, house 99 percent of cases. In just three other countries, Japan, Italy, and Iran, do cases reach into the triple digits.
“As of Feb. 26, 2020, the flu is showing much more of an impact on Americans than COVID-19,” Dr. Lisa Lockerd Maragakis, the senior director of infection prevention at Johns Hopkins, points out. She estimates coronavirus deaths at 2,770 worldwide and “0 deaths in the U.S., as of Feb. 26, 2020.” On the other hand, she writes that the flu causes between “291,000 to 646,000 deaths worldwide” and “12,000 to 61,000 deaths in the U.S.” annually.
Hers reads like the voice of science, soberly using facts and figures throw water rather than gasoline on the flames. Sure, even the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918, which boasted a kill percentage eerily close to the coronavirus’s 2.5 percent, started with just a few cases. And it is likely more Americans acquire this condition and that some die from it. But treating every bug that catches on somewhere in the world as the end of the world does much harm and little good. Panic is not preparedness.
People in positions of responsibility act so irresponsibly regarding public health matters precisely because they wish for the public to not hold them responsible. If coronavirus does not kill thousands of Americans, they can claim their warnings defeated the disease. If coronavirus does kill thousands of Americans, they can say they told us so. It’s a win-win for them.
But this disease of the bureaucrat, call it CYA, stokes fear rather than instills calm. It’s terribly reckless, as the 2,000-point decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the last week indicates. Whole industries, including transportation and tourism, suffer not because of prudence but because of hysteria. Zero American deaths and 14 cases within our borders do not justify turning the country into the Animal House parade scene after the Deathmobile’s arrival. . . .
In the mean time will a capitalist effort overcome evil of a socialist state ( the latter by intent or indifference)?
Jerusalem Post today:
Israeli scientists: ‘In a few weeks, we will have coronavirus vaccine‘
Once the vaccine is developed, it will take at least 90 days to complete the regulatory process and potentially more to enter the marketplace. . . .
It will be an oral vaccine, making it particularly accessible to the general public, Zigdon said.
“We are currently in intensive discussions with potential partners that can help accelerate the in-human trials phase and expedite completion of final-product development and regulatory activities,” he said.
As to the stock market reaction to pandemic fears, well I hope some bastards lost a lot but the bastards never do, they instigate but take no significant hit as they sell, or they see the reaction and sit it out, maybe even buying. Or maybe it is just a good time for a market correction, and an reason will do. As Trump said it is a buying opportunity. Now I wish I had some money to invest! Unfortunately the Corona beer ad campaign won’t help them.
Related reading:
Vietnam Insider:
https://vietnaminsider.vn/wuhan-coronavirus-seems-to-have-a-low-fatality-rate-most-patients-make-full-recoveries/
