viruses and cures
… 
wondering which will get to me first.
The coronaviruses that may cause the covid-19 disease in humans, are hitting many societies hard. Not so
much the viruses themself it seems, but rather the lockdowns and restrictions that are supposed to slow down
and reduce the spread. Health systems and institutions seem to be a bit overstretched in many countries, and
the authorities likewise.
Don't know what is worst … covid-19, or the many ways to “control the
pandemic” that are literally being forced upon us.
Some may think I have gone mad or something, and that I do not believe these viruses can make me sick and even kill me. Sure they can, despite the general precautions I take to protect myself and thereby also my family and friends. For all I know at the time of writing, I may be dead from covid-19 (or something else) by the time you read this. Shit happens…
I do however have a lot more faith in sound immune systems' abilities to fight off viruses –
corona and others, than in their abilities to fight off unknown quantities of adverse effects caused by vaccines and other
medication.
I am not a big believer in big pharmaceutical businesses' abilities, or will, to
lower the risk of damage to human health, and “death by cure” cases are too many…
Having people in the higher risk groups (as I am), should not lead to whole societies being shut down to “protect” the few.
Realistically, some of us who are older and/or weaker will die during this pandemic for a number of
reasons, regardless of the degree of “protection” those who order lockdowns and other measures pretend
to provide for us.
Destroying livelihoods for the majority, is simply too high a price to pay for the slim chance of (maybe) keeping
a slightly higher number of us at higher risk of dying from exposure to these particular corona virus strains, around for a few
more weeks, months, or even years.
Balanced approaches must be found, so the many can survive the pandemic with somewhat intact lives and livelihoods.
breaking down statistics…
We can safely expect the spread of the covid-19 causing corona viruses to get worse for a while, before it slowly will get
better, and it will be absolutely worst in areas where people can not, or are unvilling to, observe the
simplest and most sensible measures for limiting exposure and spread. This is basic logic, backed by data and experiences
from previous pandemics.
Access to working and widely accepted vaccines in high enough quantities and to low enough prices to make a real
difference for larger segments of the world's population, will at best only skew the timing somewhat.
Whether or not an increased virus spread will lead to more deaths and/or lasting health problems in individuals, is something we won't know until after the fact. As the medical personel learn more about how to treat the worst covid-19 cases, the hope is that the number of dead and really sick will stay low even as number of infected increases. Question is if there are enough qualified medical personel…
There is also the quite realistic (and ordinary) situation that the corona virus mutates – hopefully to less harmfull variants, and that it slowly burns itself out as more and more of the population build up a degree of (natural or assisted) immunity against the most harmful strains. That is after all how all viruses before it has ended their impact on our societies: still deadly to the weakest among us for quite a while, but handled with minemal side-effects by the trained immune systems in most humans.
On the other hand; mutations may make it harder for our immune systems to cope, and of course also prolong and
complicate development of safe and well-working vaccines. Mutations may also create the need for
different vaccines for different virus strains and population groups around the world
simultaneously, and repeated state-sponsored development processes for years and decades to
come.
Who can come up with a more economically sound business idea‥?
The impact on economy for individuals, families, and small and medium businesses, caused by the pandemic
itself, and – to a larger degree – the political handling of it, is immense and growing.
With more or less total lockdowns and travel restrictions introduced all over the place, incomes from production,
trade and services, are severely reduced, and/or will have totally disappeared by the time we can call this pandemic to be over,
for those who need it the most.
In the end it does not matter if the most vulnerable among us die from virus infections or as the result of
prolonged, indiscriminate, lockdowns and lack of capacity in the various health systems, even if it
looks different on paper.
We are human beings, not mere statistics on computer screens.
no reason to panic…
The same public information is, and will continue to be, available to all with access to media, and I see no point in having individuals like myself telling others what to think or do – especially not in the midst of a declared pandemic. There are enough medical and non-medical “experts” and “know it alls” around as it is…
What I do want to point out though, is that fear has never done much good for anyone in any situation, facing covid-19 or not.
Common sense, combined with generous use of soap and water before and after visiting potentially
infectious public areas, work so much better against any and all viruses.
This isn't a bad recipe when it comes to keeping unwanted bacterias and parasites at arm's length either,
and it works wonders regardless of whether we're vaccinated or not.
sincerely 
Hageland 12.nov.2020
last rev: 21.nov.2020