Wasted Time

Remember a couple months ago when we were all talking about flattening the curve? That was just to buy us time, so hospitals didn't get overwhelmed, etc. That wasn't the end goal. We should have been using that time to prepare and develop a plan to help contain and reduce the virus. How are those plans going?

Supplies: Despite many manufacturers switching over to make masks and gowns, we still seem to have dire shortages of actual medical-grade protective gear. Some companies started making ventilators, but are they really as important and foolproof a treatment for people with COVID-19 as we were led to believe? Either way, the president has the power to compel US companies to do things like this, and so far, he hasn't really used it. Meanwhile, supply chains and overseas manufacturing are still struggling to catch up from the global shut down.

Treatment: There's not really a great treatment for people who do get infected. Some drugs are showing promise, but they're not an easy or guaranteed solution, and everything is still being researched. COVID-19 has only been around for a few months, and we don't know enough about it to say with certainty who it affects, in what ways, and how best to mitigate that.

Testing and Tracing: We've done almost nothing to increase testing capacity and contact tracing capabilities. Experts are suggesting that nationwide, we should be conducting between 500,000 to 5 million tests daily, depending on who's report you're reading. At the low end, this is several times more than is being done today; at the high end, it's hundreds of times more. As far as contact tracing, public health officials recommend an army of hundreds of thousands of individuals to handle this. As of now, there's a couple thousand, and not in every state. Plus, there are a lot of technology solutions being developed (e.g. apps that anonymously track what phones your phone is near, and whether those phones' owners have been infected), but I don't think a lot of people are going to be into that, for privacy reasons (even though it's anonymous).

Guidance: There has been zero clear guidance at a national level regarding how to safely "reopen" the country. This leaves states, counties, businesses, and individuals to figure out what might be best for them. While some places may have precautions in place, frustrated people and businesses are flagrantly violating their guidelines.

Eric DaSilva says this is Ramsay One Custom Flooring in Simi Valley, CA

With multiple people now infected at the most inner levels of the White House, it's pretty clear that not even one of the most secure places in the world is safe from this virus - what chance do regular people and businesses have with no guidance or support?

Oh, and one more thing...

Vaccines: Lots of people are talking about getting by "until there's a vaccine." I've written before about vaccine development and how that process usually works. Although this is an exciting time, with hundreds of companies working on many promising candidates and lots of usual delays and red tape being removed to speed progress, this is still going to be a long time coming. Some drugs just started human trials - you'll still want time to make sure they are safe and effective, before giving them to a bunch of people. Once that's determined, it will take time to manufacture, distribute, and administer to enough people globally to confer herd immunity. And remember the anti-vaxxers? If they're against vaccines that have been in use for years for diseases like measles and polio due to safety concerns, what do you think would be their opinion of something that came to market relatively quickly? They already think it's going to contain Bill Gates' tracking microchips or something...