It's not impossible. It's just not easy.
It’s been about 100 years since the first surge of coronavirus cases commenced in Seattle and New York. We know a lot more now than we did back then. We know that scrubbing surfaces is not likely to save us (because fomites are not a major source of transmission) but that we can protect ourselves and the people around us by wearing masks. We know that temperature checks won’t prevent outbreaks (at least one-third of people who transmit the virus have no symptoms at all), but that routine surveillance testing can catch outbreaks before they become catastrophes. We don’t know how safe schools are, or how safe they might be made. But we do know that bars and restaurants are hubs of viral transmission. |
And yet, as we enter the third — and potentially worst — coronavirus surge, pandemic fatigue and magical thinking have us acting like all of this is brand-new. Schools are closing while restaurants remain open. State and local leaders are dithering on mask mandates. Too few communities have effective programs in place for contact tracing, quarantine and isolation. |
As a recovering scientist who has studied infectious diseases in some form or another for most of my adult life, I’ve been heartened and awe-struck by how quickly scientists have pinpointed this particular virus’s methods and weak spots. And heartsick over how quickly those hard fought lessons have been cast aside. |
One source — an epidemiologist whom I speak with regularly — likened the conundrum to being asked how to climb a mountain. “I’d say you need a helmet and climbing ropes,” he told me. “But you’d say, ‘No we can’t use helmets or ropes.’ Then I’d say ‘OK well, I’d at least wear good climbing boots, and I’d go on a dry sunny day.’ And you’d say, ‘We can’t use boots, and we can’t go during good weather.’ Well then, I’d have to say that there’s no good way to climb a mountain. And you’d say ‘OK, so climbing a mountain is impossible then.’” It’s not impossible. It’s just not easy. |
As we said in this editorial, there’s a lot to be hopeful about right now. Promising drugs, including one that likely saved the outgoing president, are coming through the pipeline. Novel vaccines are showing early signs of success. And the President-elect has already convened a task force to address the gaping holes in our coronavirus response that the outgoing administration never bothered to fill. |
However bad it looks right now, this pandemic won’t last forever. Our goal as a nation should be to protect as many people as possible in the months ahead. |
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