Well... if we want to be specific we could call it a “middle class socialist talking point,” as needs based healthcare already exists and the most “at risk” in society either qualify, or do not qualify because the criteria used for income determination are misaligned to current economic reality. So healthcare for those “at risk” would fall under reform to existing social welfare policy and not require a “universal” system which blankets those who simply have too much to qualify, or their socioeconomic position is at risk if they allocate funds to self finance healthcare. So like many things, the “weight” behind such arguments primarily comes from a middle class problem- and where it overlaps to the poor is a “halo” effect or a component of indirect relief to improve the middle class condition through mitigation.
Yeah, no. Why are we freaking out over a virus with a 2% mortality rate, anyways? Fucking pneumonia has a 10-30% mortality rate, but nobody panics when an entire training company is down with it.
Also, pneumonia isn't actually a virus, it's a condition caused by a virus, or a bacteria, depending. Not everyone who gets the viruses or bacteria which lead to pneumonia will get pneumonia. Many people recover before it ever gets that bad. Once you have pneumonia, you are already at a certain stage of illness. If you looked only at the cases which progressed to a certain critical level you would also be looking at a higher death rate.
I certainly get the logic- and it is true that people tend to worry about things they an sensationalize vs. things that are statistically more likely- something like pneumonia which many people have had or known people with doesn’t scare folks much in developed countries since few people know anyone young and healthy who have died from it. Pneumonia hasn’t changed all that much in most people’s life times and is pretty standard fair even if dangerous. An “unknown” that people have no experience with and doesn’t have a known history- the fear of what it COULD do- that’s the power of imagination.
It grips the “what if” part of the brain and “worse case” thinking takes over. “There’s no vaccine, no cure, people are dying, this COULD mutate or spread or etc. etc. and they can’t do anything once you have it!”
I would agree. I’m just saying that is why. People are prone to flights of imagination and prone to binary thinking. If it’s not all good then it’s catastrophe in the making. How many foreign terrorist attacks on home soil did America suffer? What are the odds based on historical data any person would be a terrorist or be killed by one? Look no further than Guns for debates based more on what could happen and statistical improbabilities to see what makes this mechanism tick. You’ll see much more media attention and government money/muscle being thrown around those two unlikely killers than you will see leveraged against Amazon’s working conditions or Heart Disease prevention. So far “taking the Burgers” hasn’t been a serious political platform.
Chicken little syndrome. We panic every time and every time there is nothing to panic about. Until the time there is something to panic about. But I’d agree that less panic and fear mongering and maybe more preparing for the worst but not getting all wound up until and unless something actually happens is probably better. Of course- sadly it seems that if you don’t whip people into a panic then most folks won’t do anything or care until it’s too late to- so I dunnoh. Maybe it’s more like knowing how to push peoples buttons to get them to do what you need them to?
It's not only the mortality rate we are worrying about. It's the cost of treating the sick, all the missed work, impact on the school year, government delays, etc. A non-lethal pandemic is an enormous cost to society.
Just an FYI about why this is something to be legitimately on alert about.
This has no treatment yet. In 3 months it has infected already more than what SARS infected in 6. Its killed more than 10 times as many people in one month as SARS did in the same time.
The dangerous part of this virus is the fact it has a 2 week incubation period and can likely be spread during said incubation period allowing people with 0 symptoms to spread it without even knowing they are sick at all.
But rather because they can't afford the doctor's visit financially.
People stop going to work, children stop going to school.
And it could be worse!
nCoV: You call, I deliver.
This has no treatment yet. In 3 months it has infected already more than what SARS infected in 6. Its killed more than 10 times as many people in one month as SARS did in the same time.
The dangerous part of this virus is the fact it has a 2 week incubation period and can likely be spread during said incubation period allowing people with 0 symptoms to spread it without even knowing they are sick at all.