IGNORING THE THREAT OF COVID-19

Lately, there has been increased exposure to and diagnosis of the coronavirus infections in many states.  More people are getting sick.  Hospital admission rates have gone up.  In some areas, inpatient capacity problems may develop.

People in long term care facilities, meatpacking plants, any indoor place where people tend to congregate close together, elderly individuals, and anybody with certain chronic medical conditions are at the highest risk of serious illness.  We learned this during the first wave of the pandemic.

But now, many of those affected are in their 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s.  Young people congregating indoors without following the recommended precautions are spreading the virus.  Reports of this activity are coming in from many municipalities.

Earlier in the pandemic, it was popularized that people under age 55 are more resistant to catching the infection and less likely to become seriously ill.  That impression may have led many to believe that they can get away with throwing caution to the wind.

After all, as I recall, excessive prudence can stand in the way of many great opportunities in life.  And if experience proves that social distancing and mask-wearing are not necessary for the younger population, then why worry?

We receive the world through our five senses.  Seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling have gotten us very far.  This is how we learn.  The enlightened individual and society can accommodate to fresh data.

Over the past few months, we have discovered that many of the things we thought we knew about the COVID-19 infection were misleading or wrong.  That is why it became necessary to adjust to the new information.  We know stuff like masks work.  And young people can get serious illness.

But there is a sixth sense in play now.  I am not referring to awareness of the future or the presence of ghosts.  This sense is well known, although poorly studied.  Many rely upon it without even admitting it exists in their lives.  It gives them the power to act irresponsibly.

Don’t laugh.

Yes, I am talking about the sense of immortality. 

Okay, laugh.

As a primary care physician, I was repeatedly reminded that many people conduct their lives believing that the sense of immortality is one of the 6 basic senses.  It is not unusual for a person to live his life expecting his health to remain vigorous.  It is as if to say, “I am healthy today, therefore, I will probably be healthy tomorrow.”

This perception is validated daily for most people.  Of course, it totally contradicts what the other five senses have acknowledged.  The assumption that being healthy today proves that the same will be true tomorrow is contradicted by 100% of the evidence.  And yet, that definitive proof does not stop behavior that ignores this reality.  And many of these actions are to the further detriment of health.

It must be the sense of immortality working overtime.  This sense of being immune to the surrounding devastation.  That the rules of biology do not apply to we-the-strong.

I get it.  When I turned 70, I defined my new benchmark as “the new 50.”  Why was I telling my elderly patients that they cannot do the same things they did when they were younger?  Why did I often explain that the body is still aging, and extra care must be taken?

I lectured on being more cognizant of physical and mental deterioration.  Do less than you think you can do.  Experience will teach you how to gradually increase.  Watch your step while walking.  Don’t stuff yourself.  Respect mild symptoms; in an older person they tend to progress if not attended to. 

I realized that I’m not as tough as I would like to think I am.  70 is actually the not-so-great 50.  I woke up one morning with a diminished sense of immortality.  A time comes when this sense, like the hearing, fades.  “What did you say?”

People with a highly developed sense of immortality could later come into contact with and infect someone else.  This person could be a relative.  Any infection can be passed on to another person.  The virus that causes COVID-19 is highly efficient in its transmission capability. 

Also, what if there are delayed consequences of exposure to this coronavirus?  Who knows?  Maybe, 20 years after acquiring the infection, could it cause another seemingly unrelated illness?  HPV (Human Papilloma Virus, which causes genital cancers 20 years after exposure) may be a model for post-COVID consequences.

Many of us have had the occasion to declare, “I can’t believe I’m seeing this!”  Maybe you shouldn’t.  Or, “Did I really hear that?”  Probably not.  We have not evolved the olfactory capability of a salmon.  Don’t rely upon your nose.  Most importantly, consider the sense of immortality to be nothing more than an artifact of childhood.  It’s not a guide for behavior.  Especially in the days of COVID-19.