There is a new normal after the pandemic

I doubt that I'm the only one who is questioning the "new normal" for work, church and education, let alone reliance on virtual medicine. I'm stunned by the happy talk. No one expected a pandemic to disrupt our lives; so why do smart people expect there will be no more world wide disruptions or disasters of a kind we're not prepared for?

Like a volcanic explosion to create another "year without summer" like in the 19th century or a little ice age to last 500 years instead of global warming?

Like China totally in control of the cyber-grid and closing down the financial system, the churches, and their puppets in the White House?

Or a bio-disaster escaping from our own government supported labs?

Or a natural plague of rodents like the mice in Australia?

Or increasing shutdown/lockdown of Christians and our courts upholding that oppression?

Or unusual tropical diseases brought in across our border by illegals from many countries entering through Mexico then scattered around the country by plane and bus to be dropped in unsuspecting communities?

We had a taste earlier of a gasoline supply hack, and a hack of one of the major food suppliers (increasingly controlled by only 4 companies). Those hacks should have shown us how vulnerable we are, how fragile the safety net is. We've already seen Big Tech become more powerful than an elected President while half the country and one party looked the other way. Why do we assume this behemoth can't shut down the entire government, the military and the science complex we're depending on to solve our moral and spiritual problems?

It is the fear that endangers us

“You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.” (Psalm 91:5-6)

“We have been through tough flu seasons before without shutting down the country. I remember in 1968 — a terrible year for many reasons — the Hong Kong Flu was raging; 100,000 Americans died from the flu that year. My grandfather was a doctor and warned us about it, but neither the country nor the world shut down. The sick were isolated; the vulnerable were given heightened protection. I remember seeing “Quarantine” signs on the doors of some of the houses in my neighborhood. If someone had the flu, the entire household was ordered to stay inside for two weeks, and that very visible sign was placed on the front door. Meanwhile, the healthy went about their work, and life continued. Yes, the death toll was high, but everyone understood that life had to go on. Years ago, there were so many dangerous illnesses to be afraid of — cholera, smallpox, tuberculosis, polio. It takes courage to live, and people of the time had that courage.

In the current pandemic, which is admittedly severe, we have quarantined the healthy along with the sick, the resilient along with the vulnerable. Crippling fear has seized so many people, and at some point, fear begins to feed on itself. We have shut down our economy, depriving many of their livelihoods and of the dignity that comes from working, from using their talents and from providing for their families.” https://m.ncregister.com/blog/msgr-pope/be-not-afraid?

And I remember the polio seasons of the 1940s and 1950s. I remember the Asian Flu of 1957.  The healthy were not crippled and locked inside. Why did people in a less safe time react more bravely?

The Obamacare battle during a pandemic

Yes, indeed, this might be just the right time to talk about Obamacare and what it denied and what it provided. We've just seen how the government can deny us medical care by claiming a greater need--for hospitals to have enough respirators and masks, you can't have your hip surgery or heart cath. We've experienced "access" staring at a screen on the smart phone and hearing a mumble from a cave. We've experienced denial to visit relatives on lockdown because of government directives run by bureaucrats. It's government health care at its most grim.

There are similarities to 2009 when 85% of us not already on a government plan lost the health care we liked and got a substitution because 15% of us wouldn't sign up for what was already available through Medicaid, or VA, or wouldn't pay a co-pay from their employer. Millions of Americans lost health care they liked, lost doctors who'd been treating them for years. There is already a cradle to grave health care system provided by our government--it is the BIA, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Can you image Pelosi accepting that for her grandchildren?

Now we've learned no matter how good our insurance is we can lose access to health care in a New York minute, (or an Ohio governor's minute). And you're so naïve to think the government couldn't do it again when Joe Biden wants you to go to jail for not having Obamacare?

Safety and sanitation in the workplace.

https://osu.app.box.com/s/yzjb809hg9tx6zg5jhm2d1r24r0x9y8s

Hand hygiene, social distancing, the proper use of PPE and routine cleaning—helps to reduce and limit the spread of viruses and infection to keep staff and patients safe.

I noticed from reading old (2009) recommendations during that pandemic (which didn't close down the economy or lockdown our normal activities) that sloppy habits of hygiene returned after the emergency passed. I hope some of these guidelines continue, like NOT EATING at workstations, and that applies not just to ICU, clinics, receptionist areas, but at ALL work places. It's difficult enough to clean computer equipment and keyboards, without adding the grease from French fries and Fritos. Plus for the patients nearby, there is the smell problem.

And I don't consider constant use of sanitizer a substitute for thorough hand washing with soap.

Can we survive this pandemic’s economic fall out?

I survived the “Asian Flu,” 1957-1958 (was sick, but the college didn't close) with about 1.1 million deaths worldwide, 116,000 of those in the U.S. I survived the “Hong Kong Flu,” 1968-1972, with about 1 million people worldwide, including 100,000 in the U.S. I don't remember if we had it--maybe that time Phil threw up all over Dr. Batterson wasn't the chili. I also survived the 2009 H1N1 pandemic which was first detected in the U.S. in April 2009. There were an estimated 60.8 million cases, 274,304 hospitalizations, and 12,469 deaths. I don't remember anyone blaming President Obama. Certainly not the media.

You can read the summary at https://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/cdcresponse.htm. Medical measures like testing, public announcements, and vaccines were used. The only economic measures I saw in the summary were travel advisories. The economy survived those pandemics. The schools didn't close. The elderly didn't die alone in nursing home lock downs. I just don't know about this pandemic. Can we survive our "leaders?"

What I said about the 2009 Swine Flu in April 2009: https://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/swine%20flu

How to prepare for a pandemic

I found an interesting document on how to prepare for a pandemic among my son's hospice material: "Household Preparedness A to Z." Each letter of the alphabet covers one or two critical details. B was household chlorine bleach; J was sports juice or fluids containing electrolytes; X was extra batteries for flashlight and radio, etc.

"Experts believe a worldwide outbreak, or pandemic, of influenza will happen someday. The exact timing is not known, but it is certain our everyday lives will drastically change during a pandemic. These changes may include temporary closing of schools or cancellation of events, disruption of normal services such as utilities and some shortages. There are things you can do now to prepare. Take time to understand the needs of your household; and take action to help lessen the impact of an influenza pandemic on you and your family."

Since he received it in mid-February, it was out there and available before the current pandemic. It was posted at the Ohio Department of Health, www.ohiopandemicflu.gov. I checked it and it no longer exists and there's no date on the document. It appeared to have a lot of additional information for schools, businesses, communities, local governments, with planning newsletters, fact sheets and brochure.  I later found that document at http://www.pike-health.org/Elements/PdfDocuments/Items/HouseholdAZ.pdf

I'm guessing all states had this document on how to prepare for a pandemic. So why was it the president's responsibility and not ours? Or the hospitals? Or the schools? And why were people so excited that Bill Gates had given a Ted Talk and "warned" us if it was right in our Department of Health web page?

There is something positive about the Ebola scare

One good thing about the Ebola scare is the audit of our readiness for a pandemic. Hospitals, CDC, and Homeland Security failed despite billions poured into preparation in the last decade. $9 billion given to local health authorities since 2002. The bad thing is that Republicans have taken their eye off the ball of all the other scandals--IRS, NSA, VA, growing poverty rolls, race baiting by the president his AG, Fast and Furious, Benghazi, etc. Democrats are so excited that they've pulled this off (see articles in Huffington Post where operatives use Ebola to lie about "cuts.")

 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/department-of-homeland-security-gets-a-bad-grade-for-pandemic-readiness/

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We've let Ebola push all the Obama scandals to the back burner, much to the delight and encouragement of his team, so let's review what really happened in Fast and Furious.

 http://sharylattkisson.com/20-examples-of-the-violent-legacy-of-fast-and-furious

The H1N1 Pandemic?

It seems we have a pandemic because the definition of pandemic was changed?

"Before the arrival of novel A/H1N1 virus, pandemics were said to occur when a new subtype of influenza virus to which humans have no immunity enters the population, begins spreading widely, and causes severe illness . . . But the 2009 pandemic, taken as a whole, bears little resemblance to the forecasted pandemic. Pandemic A/H1N1 virus is not a new subtype but the same subtype as seasonal A/H1N1 that has been circulating since 1977. . . Experts are unsure that the 2009 pandemic—which the World Health Organization presently characterises as moderate—will be any worse than seasonal flu." from article by Peter Doshi, doctor student, MIT, BMJ 2009;339:b3471

HT Junkfood Sciene