I recently speed-read an article that posed a question, and a what seemed a reasonable response, on whether there are more outbreaks of various diseases or just more coverage, both social and through the news.
There are outbreaks happening: here in Texas, there’s an uptick in measles cases, which has been traced to the influx of illegal aliens, and then reports of increasing diagnoses of hantavirus, believed to have been caused by passengers on a cruise ship.
For those not working for the Center for Disease Control, hantavirus is found naturally in rodents and can be transmitted to humans. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches and gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting, according to the World Health Organization.
Symptoms for measles include running nose, cough, red and watery eyes and small white spots inside the cheeks; the WHO reports that complications from the virus can include blindness, encephalitis (an infection causing brain swelling and potentially brain damage), severe diarrhea and related dehydration, ear infections and severe breathing problems including pneumonia.
There are now reports of Ebola outbreaks in the Congo, South Africa and Uganda.
This article goes on to point out information on both sides but also points out that there is quite a lot of misinformation floating, most notably on social media. The best thing, the writer extols, is to get information straight from a health professional.
Really?
During the COVID-19 outbreak and the ridiculous response from most of the medical profession and all of the government, the information we were given was some truth wrapped in hysterics to justify forcing the country to stay home, wear masks, use hand sanitizer on everything including vegetables and stand a minimum of 6 feet away from each other.
Church services were banned, shopping (except for some reason Walmart) was discouraged, everything from groceries to medicine to booze was delivered and schools became remote learning and jobs morphed into work-from-home positions, all based on the information provided by the so-called experts.
It’s unclear whether this knee-jerk response did anything to save lives, but it certainly tanked the economy and set back education in this country by years. There’s now also reports that there are people suffering from PTSD over COVID symptoms.
With the latest news about new pandemics, there is a question lingering: will the country have to go through all of that again?
My answer is, “Good God, I hope not.”
We still haven’t gotten over the damage done to the country based on the ignorance of the supposed professionals. The thought of another lockdown, aside from the questionable ability of governments to enact it, is frightening in its implications, particularly since the people involved previously haven’t been called to account.
I have heard there is movement to start with prosecuting Dr. Anthony Fauci, who served as chief medical advisor to President Biden and was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases. He is thought to have been involved with the lab where COVID was created, but as of yet nothing has happened except the statute of limitations on a possible perjury charge has passed.
While it’s tragic that people die from horrible diseases, the government should not be the backstop to handle the response. Certainly, it can act as a centralized hub for all of the moving parts, but left up to its own devices, it probably won’t help.
Should we face this in the future, keep calm and consult expert you can trust.
Tony Farkas is editor of the Trinity County News-Standard and the San Jacinto News-Times. He can be reached at tony@polkcountypublishing.com.
