In an absolutely scathing editorial today Cyril Wecht blisters the continued restrictions and calls for opening up as well as criticizing the DRACONIAN measures in place.
They should get him on FOX tonight.
Good bet he will be voting Trump after watching the D party implode and politicize this virus…
The fact of the matter is that, as far as we know at this time, the mortality rate of individuals with COVID-19 infections may range as low as 0.1% and most probably does not exceed 1%.
I think of the widespread diseases I have dealt with as a medical student and pathologist through the years into the present time — polio, tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS, various influenza epidemics, SARS, MERS, Ebola, Zika. I have performed countless autopsies on individuals with all kinds of infectious disease processes that required me to be cautious and careful for myself and my assistants. However, these serious diseases have been dealt with in the past several decades without closing down society. According to the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 61,000 deaths attributed to influenza in the 2018-19 season. Somehow we dealt with that epidemic without closing down society.
He’s correct, but I question some of his commentary, particularly with regard to seeking legal remedies. While my neighbor’s family court date was canceled, I was able to consult—in office—an estate planning attorney.
As for preventative screenings, for most patients, delaying them for a few months is probably of little consequence. However, loss of jobs and insurance is going to discourage those who may be of elevated risk from going at all:
Dr. Wecht is right. A whole economy, whose shutdown would most hurt the young and least financially prepared, should never have been shut down for this virus, whose majority of positive patients have been asymptomatic. That’s one issue that perplexes me.
Why are we treating our unborn and young adults as disposable and so leaning over backwards to protect the elderly and immune compromised—the same who would be at highest risk of poor outcome from the flu? Why are we not making an effort to encourage those at highest risk to protect themselves without suppressing the majority, which in turn harms the highest risk?
Dr. Wecht alluded to the final moments of family members of his who had passed & could at least hold the hand of a loved one. Friend of mine buried his wife last month (liver disease that had no relation to Coronavirus), & their loved ones couldn’t even shake hands or kiss following the funeral.
We’ve allowed a movement that suppresses the majority in order to “protect” a minority to take over. This needs to he stopped, & the sooner the better.
Here is another surprise follow up interview. Apparently he got the attention of many Democrats. Wecht was the Allegheny county Democratic party chair for 6 years.
Need credentials? Wecht is a medical doctor and a practicing attorney.
He is very upset with Wolf’s recent comments…
Dr. Wecht specifically criticized Mr. Wolf — whom he said he’s hesitant to criticize because of a personal and political appreciation — for his recent statements about Pennsylvanians who want to reopen parts of the economy or their own shops and counties without state approval.
“These folks are choosing to desert in the face of the enemy. In the middle of a war that we Pennsylvanians are winning, and that we must win,” Mr. Wolf said recently, according to Spotlight PA. “They need to understand the consequences of their cowardly act.”
To deem those who are not willing to continue total sequestration and restriction “cowardly” is “despicable,” Dr. Wecht said, who claimed that by making that statement, the governor insulted people who have lost their jobs and no longer have an income while he maintains a salaried position.
Beyond that, Dr. Wecht said he’s bothered by the asymmetry of responses across the U.S., and how in one state, people can flock to the beach while in other states, they can’t.
