So much for facing your fears with everyone else!

I haven’t paid much attention to this “holiday” for years, but given the facts of this year (plus the reign of terror that has obtained since 20 January 2017), I thought this would be a good time to bring it to you- my readers- so we all could work through our trepidations.

Except, sometime between the moment the “holiday” was invented and this year, the “powers that be” (Hallmark?) decided this was no longer to be observed on the third Tuesday in October, but the second. So- I am a week late.

This year the biggest fear most of us  have is COVID-19- both the disease and the economic fiasco that has resulted from it.

Like the illogical, ill-considered resistance folks have to wearing a mask.  Sure, a year ago, if we walked around with a mask, we’d be tackled and arrested- as potential bank thieves.  But, we’ve crossed that bridge long ago.

Right now, the safest thing we can do for ourselves and others is wear a mask when we aren’t the only ones around (that’s us and our closest family).   Especially since TheDonald refuses to pay for rapid Covid-19 testing and, even more importantly, leaving America at risk by refusing to perform contact tracing.  (Sorry, Donald, the idiot is you- not Tony Fauci.)

(There was a great cartoon going around a while ago.  It stated “Can you imagine how many folks in England would have succumbed had folks decided that turning off their lights was a restriction of their rights?   I’m trying hard not to gloat that Chris Christie succumbed to COVID-19 because of his hubris, “Me, wear a mask?  Take that, Covid?”  Yeah, SARS-CoV-2 really was worried.)

I am petrified that Americans are falling into the GOP trap, of believing political BS rather than scientific facts.  Yes, Mitch The Turtle, climate change is real. Yes, Fool DeSantis, masks are imperative.  No, Donald, you are not only NOT immune, but you lucked out by using your power as President to demand a therapy that is still being evaluated (and promising)- one  fewer than 5000 can get – yet both you and Chris Christie did.  (By the way, the price for this dual monoclonal antibody therapy that will probably match that of Hepatitis C’s remedy [about $ 90K].)

Regeneron’s (the sponsor of the National Science Fair) REGN-CoV2 antibody cocktail must be administered in a hospital- or an infusion clinic.  But, no infusion clinic is going to let a COVID-19 patient march in and infect all the cancer patients (with greatly reduced immunities) so the antibodies can be administered.   Moreover, the government is going to have to allocate the drug based upon (expected?  real?) COVID-19 patients and hospitals are going to have to reallocate resources to open up isolated (quarantined) infusion centers.

I’m also petrified that TheDonald (and his DespicableMe companion,  Steve Mnuchin) won’t cover COVID-19 testing or allocations to the states and cities to set up injection sites (requiring vaccine storage at -70 degrees!) so we can protect Americans from this disease.

Most of us fear that TheDonald will force FDA (Food and Drug Admindstration) to approve one, two, or even five of the vaccines, without following our normal test and evaluation protocols.  Which means even more folks will refuse to take the vaccine that will save their lives.  (Thankfully, Oxford and Moderna are deliberately not submitting paperwork until after the election, so that normal safety and evaluation protocols will be effected.)

There are still some grown-ups in the room.

Yet, my fears are not alleviated.

Share this: