I am sorry you are upset and kudos to you for your hard work in this crisis. I have repeatedly stated that we should not take a one-size-fits-all approach, meaning we don't treat Modoc County Calif the same way we treat NYC. Yes, hotspots like NYC need stricter controls and I have never denied that. I am not talking about NYC or other hotspots. My argument is that it is time to start lifting lockdowns and this decision needs to be made at the local level, based on local conditions. I fail to understand why you find this so objectionable. Your personal experience is not representative of the entire country.
When I talked about healthcare systems not being "overwhelmed" I was referring to the original rationale for lockdowns, which was to prevent this, and I understand why we initially had lockdowns. In that sense, overwhelmed meant that hospitals would not be able to care for everyone who required care. I was not referring to the front-line health workers IN SOME AREAS being overwhelmed by all the work they needed to do and kudos to them. And even in NYC, the number of ICU patients has been decreasing for about 3 weeks now. It is up to the state and local governments in New York state to determine how to proceed. Or do you think people in California, which has not been hit hard, should dictate to the people of New York how to move forward? No, you don't. So why do you think the people of California should have a lockdown based on the conditions in NYC?
No, that's not what the article said. It reports that some people who died at home may have died of COVID. It did not say that they could not go to the hospital to get care. If anything, many people were too scared to go to the hospital thanks to the fearmongering of the media.
You keep arguing with me. You went from the Bakersfield docs were inaccurate to admitting the raw data was OK, but you didn't like the way they applied it. You also thought it was OK that they were condemned by some professional association and that some social media platforms are censoring COVID perspectives that differ from the current ridiculous orthodoxy. Now you say an opinion is OK, but not if it is presented as fact. Who is presenting opinions as fact? I'm not aware of the Bakersfield docs or anyone else with a dissenting opinion doing this.
And get the giant chip off your shoulder. What is your problem? You come across as very indignant that I dared to disagree with you, ask me the same question multiple times, and now you express a complete lack of concern for what non-COVID patients are suffering, as well as for the economic devastation this lockdown has caused and that continued lockdowns could result in a Great Depression. I wasn't touting my own sainthood, but trying to convey the level of suffering I am seeing due to these lockdowns.
And how DARE you put down what is happening to primary care, psych, and other non-COVID patients. You know what happens when people don't get care because they are afraid of COVID? Those primary care issues can become full-blown medical emergencies. What is wrong with you?
It now appears that many patients who may be having a stroke or MI are not calling 911 or going to the ER because of COVID. You think that's OK?
Many cancer patients have had treatments and surgeries postponed due to COVID. You think that's OK?
Opioid addiction, ODs, and alcoholism are on the rise b/c of COVID lockdown. You think that's OK?
Many people had elective surgeries postponed. We're not talking about cosmetic surgery. "As Brian Kolski, director of the structural heart disease program at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange County, California, told me, “A lot of procedures deemed ‘elective’ are not necessarily elective.” Two patients in his practice whose transthoracic aortic valvular replacements were postponed, for example, died while waiting. “These patients can’t wait 2 months,” Kolski said. “Some of them can’t wait 2 weeks.” Rather than a broad moratorium on elective procedures, Kolski believes we need a more granular approach. “What has been the actual toll on some of these patients?” he asked."
"[Dr.] Lasic, describing a precipitous decline across the New York region in patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes, worries that others won’t be so lucky. “I think the toll on non-Covid patients will be much greater than Covid deaths,” he said."
Above quotes from:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMms2009984?query=featured_coronavirus
Postponing some surgeries like knee and hip replacements results in a lot of pain and suffering and that can also lead to more opioid abuse and ODs.
The toll on mental health patients is not to be shrugged off. Severely stressed mental health patients can attempt suicide or harm others.
Yes, the lockdowns are being eased in most areas, and thank goodness.
