Arts
3 weeks to go, and COVID is back in the news, reminding us that the election of our lifetimes is taking place in the middle of the most deadly global pandemic of our lifetimes. Battleground states such as Wisconsin, where I'm volunteering, are facing a rapid surge in COVID cases with real implications for in-person voting that begins next week. And meanwhile Trump continues to spread rampant misinformation and lies about COVID as he apparently is miraculously cured from the disease himself. So, in that context, in this episode I dive into actual science, data, and facts around COVID. I summarize the key ways the virus affects the body, explaining the surprising range of symptoms and the many ways it kills people, and describe why COVID is much more lethal than the flu. I also dive into data dashboards and provide guidance on which key statistics to pay attention to as cases surge with the onset of the winter flu season. Based on the science and data, I summarize the facts that we know about precautions we can take, responses to possible exposure, treatment and recovery insights, and why herd immunity is not only a bad idea, it is just flat out unethical in killing millions of people, and may not even work. All of this leads me to draw 4 main conclusions: (1) Buckle up: don't let your guard down, practice basic precautions such as wearing a mask, social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face, avoiding indoor spaces and crowds, etc. (2) Buck up: Stay resilient, don't set a timeline for when you think things will be "normal", because (3) Brace yourself: things will get worse before they get better, and many areas of the world are likely to go back into a lockdown over the next few months, and so (4) Be: BE informed and aware, BE part of our societal 'immune response system' to the dangerous 'viral' spread of misinformation and lies. Cheery topic! On y va... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message