What do you do when your government is the greatest danger to your freedom and the economy? A medical provider's opinion

[kayakingsteve]

I've been a physician assistant (see nurse practitioner) for almost 15 years, a good chunk of which was in the ER. I've seen literally thousands of patients during cold and flu seasons dating back to 2005. I'm not the smartest person you'll ever meet, but I've learned a few things over the years.
1. You can't stop the spread of a viral respiratory illness like a cold or a flu.
2. There are not good statistics, EVER, for these illnesses because it is impossible to test the whole population and millions of people catch them each year.
3. Tens of thousands of people die from complications related to the flu each year in this country including some young people, that's normal. Unfortunate but normal.
4. The CDC has consistently given questionable recommendations and not been forthcoming with data on recommended tests. I find them to be, frankly, a joke.


Nothing being reported about this illness is remarkable in any way, in my opinion. The thing that I don't understand is the news coverage of this appears to be designed to promote hysteria and fear. I also see no logic in shutting down parks, boat ramps, tennis courts etc... There's no sound reasoning I can see behind any of this.

I've had enough. I feel our government is now directly infringing on our constitutional rights such as our first amendment right to peaceably assemble. I do not see a medical justification for what they are doing.

The emergency rooms in Manatee county where I live right now are slow. The parking lots are virtually empty. There is a floor now devoted to respirators in one of the hospitals here and there is not one patient there. There are tents setup outside the hospitals that are not being used, but it makes for a good "show" for people who don't know any better. .

Furthermore, even if this illness was 10X more serious than they say it is, I am not willing to compromise my freedom. I feel our government and the media are promoting fear/terror to control us. I am embarrassed by what this country is becoming and I am glad I do not have children that I have to explain this to.

This strikes me as an exercise in control and subjugation.

[AirForceShooter]

You nailed it.

Right now the only official starting to question the whole scheme is Bob Barr.

AFS

[kayakingsteve]

I meet many people out there who don't believe this, but they aren't being covered in the news and no dissenting viewpoints are getting out. It's like the story "The Emporor's New Clothes" or the Salem witch trials. Everyone is afraid to break ranks in the public eye.

[Odessaman]

If the CDC is the Ministry of Information on this illness, then it's worthwhile to look at their own numbers for past flu seasons and ask yourself just how deadly this thing really is. Is it more contagious than past flu viruses? Yes, it could be. But is it more deadly?

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/in ... burden.htm

Figure 1: Estimated Range of Annual Burden of Flu in the U.S. since 2010

The burden of influenza disease in the United States can vary widely and is determined by a number of factors including the characteristics of circulating viruses, the timing of the season, how well the vaccine is working to protect against illness, and how many people got vaccinated. While the impact of flu varies, it places a substantial burden on the health of people in the United States each year.
CDC estimates that influenza has resulted in between 9 million – 45 million illnesses, between 140,000 – 810,000 hospitalizations and between 12,000 – 61,000 deaths annually since 2010.(Emphasis added.)

We just passed 21,000 deaths throughout the country attributed to COVID-19, and supposedly we've reached the apex.

[kayakingsteve]

If the CDC is the Ministry of Information on this illness, then it's worthwhile to look at their own numbers for past flu seasons and ask yourself just how deadly this thing really is. Is it more contagious than past flu viruses? Yes, it could be. But is it more deadly?

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/in ... burden.htm

Figure 1: Estimated Range of Annual Burden of Flu in the U.S. since 2010

The burden of influenza disease in the United States can vary widely and is determined by a number of factors including the characteristics of circulating viruses, the timing of the season, how well the vaccine is working to protect against illness, and how many people got vaccinated. While the impact of flu varies, it places a substantial burden on the health of people in the United States each year.
CDC estimates that influenza has resulted in between 9 million – 45 million illnesses, between 140,000 – 810,000 hospitalizations and between 12,000 – 61,000 deaths annually since 2010.(Emphasis added.)

We just passed 21,000 deaths throughout the country attributed to COVID-19, and supposedly we've reached the apex.

Great to see someone thinking analytically! Look at past flu seasons for comparison! We didn't shut the world down for those.

One interesting thing to contemplate: to know the true "mortality" of an illness, you'd need to know total deaths and divide that by total cases. We have never known nor will we probably ever be able to test the entire population to know how many people get colds/flu each year, nor will we with Covid19. Hospitals aren't even testing their nursing staff that are exposed to it in some cases. If this illness is very mild for most people the total number of infected could be 10X or even 100X greater, which would mean less than 0.1% mortality or even 0.01%

Bad statistics make for great headlines, unfortunately.

If anyone wants to hear about my experiences with the CDC and their "recommendations" in past flu seasons:
1. They would not publish data on the flu swabs they recommended we use to test for flu (and from I saw they had a very high>30% false negative rate)
2. They recommended Tamiflu, which did not show good data to support it (but behind the scenes many people were making a killing on financially)
They wouldn't directly answer questions or put data out there. In my experience they are largely a political organization and have not been transparent nor even practical. They have little to no credibility in my eyes.

I think a lot of people are willing to give up their liberties now out of fear, on the false premise that it will protect them and this is more serious than it is.

We have to ask ourselves the hard question: Even if we encounter something far more serious than this in the future, can we destroy our economy and give up our liberties in a misguided attempt to save a small percentage of our population?

It has been said that "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others". Can we sacrifice our economy and our liberties to possibly save 0.5% of our population or less, even if the plans worked? I think if we want to live as the "free" adults we so pride ourselves on being here it is going to take some harsh reality being accepted.

[Mannlicher]

Throughout history, a Citizen’s own government has been his most existential threat.

[Firemedic2000]

Exactly there so far in Hillsborough County been 813 confirmed cases and 16 deaths from COVID 19

So far as of March 5 2020

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that so far this flu season there have been so far nationally. That's with people getting the flu vaccine.

32 million flu illnesses,

310,000 hospitalizations

18,000 deaths from flu in the United States.

I can promise you the deaths from flu is highly under counted. Because they list deaths from pre-existing medical conditions. Even though they caught the flu

compared to COVID 19 no matter if they had pre-existing conditions. They will list the death of the patient to this COVID 19 virus.

As compared to COVID 19 with no vaccine

Cases 636,591

Recovered 50,893

Deaths 27,808

If they treated the flu like this virus like COVID 19. The deaths would be way higher. I believe in 2018 the deaths related to the flu with vaccine.

CDC estimates that the burden of illness during the 2018–2019 season included an estimated 35.5 million people getting sick with influenza, 16.5 million people going to a health care provider for their illness, 490,600 hospitalizations, and 34,200 deaths from influenza

Alot of people self medicated also and did not even go to the doctor.

They did not lock down the nation over the flu. Plus good luck finding flu statistics online. It's almost like they are blocking the numbers.

But 813 confirmed cases and 16 deaths from COVID 19 and these idoits want curfews and mandatory masks. Plus basically ruined the economy. Remember these numbers are with and without a vaccine.

Numbers do not justify the actions

[dammitgriff]

The mortality rate of Covid-19 is useless in comparison to the regular flu without the estimated number of people who will contract it. The CDC is using CONFIRMED/deaths for Covid-19 instead of ESTIMATED/deaths as they do for the flu mortality rate. That drives the numbers higher, which is then used to scare the hell out of the public and justify government overreach.
R/Griff

[kayakingsteve]

Exactly there so far in Hillsborough County been 813 confirmed cases and 16 deaths from COVID 19

So far as of March 5 2020

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that so far this flu season there have been so far nationally. That's with people getting the flu vaccine.

32 million flu illnesses,

310,000 hospitalizations

18,000 deaths from flu in the United States.

I can promise you the deaths from flu is highly under counted. Because they list deaths from pre-existing medical conditions. Even though they caught the flu

compared to COVID 19 no matter if they had pre-existing conditions. They will list the death of the patient to this COVID 19 virus.

As compared to COVID 19 with no vaccine

Cases 636,591

Recovered 50,893

Deaths 27,808

If they treated the flu like this virus like COVID 19. The deaths would be way higher. I believe in 2018 the deaths related to the flu with vaccine.

CDC estimates that the burden of illness during the 2018–2019 season included an estimated 35.5 million people getting sick with influenza, 16.5 million people going to a health care provider for their illness, 490,600 hospitalizations, and 34,200 deaths from influenza

Alot of people self medicated also and did not even go to the doctor.

They did not lock down the nation over the flu. Plus good luck finding flu statistics online. It's almost like they are blocking the numbers.

But 813 confirmed cases and 16 deaths from COVID 19 and these idoits want curfews and mandatory masks. Plus basically ruined the economy. Remember these numbers are with and without a vaccine.

Numbers do not justify the actions

Good analysis and good to see critical thinking.

I won't be told where to stand, what to wear, or where I can travel etc...

I"m damn tired of this. I will not be pushed anymore. I've decided I'm going to start protesting down here in my spare time (I'm in Bradenton right now). Might get yelled at by many people, but if a few join in, it can grow.

I've had enough, and I'll start peacefully, but I won't be trod on either.