The reality of the coronavirus COVID-19 is that it is killing Americans in numbers that exceed most of our wars and two of the three flu pandemics of the 20th century. The chart below shows the deaths of Americans due to COVID-19 as of October 5, 2020 the Institute for Heath Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington estimates that deaths will likely exceed 363,000 by year end. They also state that if the U.S. eases restrictions deaths could exceed 500,000 Americans.
The chart below compares COVID-19 deaths today to deaths from the flu over the past 10 years. This historical data comes from the Center for Disease Control. Each flu season has a low and a high estimate on how many died from the flu. The deaths counted as COVID-19 deaths are low estimates because we know these people have died from COVID-19 but we do not know how many died at home or died later from a complication from COVID and are not included in our totals. This is not just like the flu.
I know I am a candidate for a bad case of the virus if I catch it. I have age, weight and asthma that cause me to be high risk. I take precautions because I know I do not want to catch this virus, however, my biggest concern is that I do not know how I would forgive myself if I catch it and give it to a family member or friend or someone else who dies from it. For these two reasons:
- I wear a mask,
- I practice social distancing of at least 6 feet and
- I wash my hands a lot.
I do this for YOU. Can you please do this for ME?
Why would anyone not want to do this for their neighbor?