One of the things about living in the information age is that you can be overwhelmed by the amount of information available along with the differing versions of what may be true or speculation. I trust The American people to be able to make decisions for themselves, as do most of you. Unlike the liberals who believe that you need a governmental entity to take care of you and guide you through life. The recent response to this pandemic is a perfect example of that philosophical difference. I have some random observations about this entire situation. I know; you are surprised.
Once again we are seeing very little coverage of what is really happening in other parts of the world. The mainstream media and their political friends will give you a trickle of information that supports their version of the situation here in America. They will tell you that people are dying at a very high rate in Italy, but they will not tell you some of the underlying reasons that the death rate there is much higher than most places in the world. They don't want to give you the entire picture because when you put America’s situation into perspective of the entire picture, we are not nearly in as bad of a position nor was our response lacking, as they would want you to believe.
I was listening to an interview with Dr. Tom Williams, who is a bureau chief for Breitbart, stationed in Rome. He painted a very interesting picture of why Italy is being affected the most by this pandemic. Many of you might know that Italy’s economy has been a shamble for more than a decade. That has left their healthcare system, much of which is government controlled, unable to respond to even the most basic of needs much less a widespread situation such as this. There was not only a lack of respirators and other medical equipment but a lack of available beds because the government could not afford to keep hospitals and clinics open. That said, it appears that things in Italy have stabilized and while they are not out of the woods yet, deaths are beginning to decrease slightly and new reported cases are decreasing at a faster rate.
One of the biggest criticisms by those on the left side of the aisle is that our healthcare system was not prepared for the coronavirus. The lack of testing kits, respirators, and basic knowledge of how to combat the spread of this virus are among the specific criticisms levied. I would pose a question to them: please tell me what the next pandemic will be? What will it look like and where will it come from? What medical equipment or vaccinations will we need available? We simply do not know. Even in a strong economy there are limited resources. You cannot just take a wild stab in the dark and pretend that you know what's coming next and produce a whole bunch of testing kits or treatments and store them in a warehouse somewhere. What happens if you guess wrong? What happens if the disease that you think will come doesn't? All you can do is have mechanisms in place to gear up production and resources as quickly as possible.
If you believe that we have not done that as a country, you are sadly wrong and you're part of the problem. Millions of testing kits were shipped within a few weeks of being needed. There are currently at least three drugs that are showing extremely positive results in clinical testing not just in America but also in Italy. I won't attempt to spell them here because I'm sure I'll get it wrong. But the point is that within a few weeks of this becoming a priority in the collective awareness of the general population, the American system has responded quickly.
One of the drugs has been used to treat the flu and in a clinical trial with people who are considered to have severe cases of the coronavirus it has reduced the severity of their symptoms and the length of time that they suffered those systems by 7 to 10 days as compared to other treatments. One of the drugs being used in Italy had previously been used to treat SARS and malaria. It is showing even better results. Did you know that the coronavirus is closely related to SARS? Probably not because that information is hard to find and knowing that I think many people would have a more positive outlook regarding our ability to battle this virus. There also seems to be a growing consensus that your blood type has a significant effect about not only the chances that you will contract the virus but how your body will react if you do get it. That's why several labs are testing drugs that are used to treat HIV.
Yes, the number of cases that have been identified is growing at a rate faster than it was a week ago. That's because we can test people and are identifying people that have contracted the virus. When the testing capability was limited, we didn't know who had it. There are also a great number of people that had the virus and recovered quickly but probably never knew what they had thinking they probably had just a cold. That also flattens the curve and reduces the rate of death.
People are wondering why high-profile athletes or movie stars, or politicians can get tested when the average citizen may not have access to the testing. That's because they went to private companies like LabCorp and paid for the testing out of their pocket. Something that you would be able to do as well but listening to the news you probably believe that there are no tests available that the government controls them all. Why is it the government's responsibility to provide the testing kits? it isn't. Private industry has done a much better job of coming up with those kits and in distributing them to the areas it is most needed. The government's role in this is to streamline the process and make it easier for them to get those kits to market.
As California is a few days away from declaring martial law, the increasing amount of restrictions on your movement underscores the fact that big government proponents do not believe you're capable of making a good decision, given accurate information. There are some of us who won't make a good decision, but history tells us that most of you will. Most of you will wash your hands or stay away from people who are more vulnerable if you have been out. Yet our political leaders continue to put into place more and more restrictions. You can bet that our governor here in New Mexico will put in restrictions like California within the next few days.
I am not going to go into the conspiracy theory aspect of the response to this pandemic, although I do believe there is a significant amount of political motivation in the actions of some, including our governor. You will note in most emergency declarations there is a provision that in some way shape or form limits one's ability to purchase ammunition or guns. That provision is already being used in a couple of states to shut down gun stores identifying them as non-essential. That wording is not only in Albuquerque’s ordinance, but our governor has used the term ‘non-essential’ in her press conferences and releases. So, stock up now while you can.
There will be some people who read this column and believe that I am making light of or not taking seriously the situation, and you could not be more wrong. But I believe in my ability to think consequentially, to analyze based upon my experiences, and to reach a decision. I also believe that the vast majority of you can do the same thing. I also believe that each of us has the right to make that decision and live with any consequences. That is one of the undeniable truths of life.