We Shall Defeat Coronavirus!

             

Today’s climate of fear and panic sounds like a novel about a pandemic. We mustn’t let our world unfold like a thriller or horror tale.  By the media’s standards, we all should be dead by now. So many threats, all very real, but thankfully none of them did the country in.

Don’t believe me? Just look at this non-comprehensive list of things that were supposed to do us in:

Zika.

Ebola.

SARS.

West Nile Virus.

Avian Flu.

Mad Cow Disease.

Legionnaires Disease.

Bubonic Plague. 
Asbestos.

Mold.

Lead.

Bed Bugs.

Anthrax.

America has confronted many diseases and environmental health challenges in just the last few decades  We will weather the latest to join a long list of threats, including Coronavirus. 

I have to believe it.

Sure, there is so much that is not known or not honestly shared by government officials. Sure, this infectious disease could wipe out a lot of people, but we have to get a grip on things. Right now, in a bid to inform or prepare people, we just have hype and fear running amok, where rumors, accusations, or questions seem to be on a higher footing than facts.

So what causes us to fear the worst?
 

·         The ability of our minds to wander quickly to dark places.

·         The news media, short on facts but long on what-if narratives.

·         Wall Street’s initial panic selling that creates the very dire consequences they predicted.

·         A CDC and WHO that needs more funding to meet the demands of a pandemic.

·         Seeing some fact-free assertions by the White House and politicians on this.

·         The uncertainty of it all and our lack of understanding if how the disease spreads or can   be contained. 

·         The possible high death rate associated with it.

However, a vaccine could be on its way within the next six months if governments cut red tape or even skip some minor protocols. How effective it will be is unknown, but it will help, no doubt. So will warmer weather.

We have to be smart and vigilant and do what we can do to stay healthy. Safety first. But we also need to go on with our lives, albeit perhaps with some inconvenience or changes, including quarantines, travel bans, and the like.

The biggest health challenge in my generation was to fight HIV and AIDS. It was a prolonged and bloody war, costing lives and money to finally contain. Hopefully we have learned from all of the threats and how we have handled them.

I want to go back to talking about books and for us to live our lives the way we did before Coronavirus sent panic waves across the globe. Of course we can neither panic nor dismiss it. We have to deal with it and absorb its aftermath, whatever it may be. I have my concerns and suspicions, but I cannot let them get the best of me. Nor can you.

I would not be dismissive and categorize it as being similar to a cold or even regular flu, but I would not say that everyone should shut their lives down and live in isolated panic mode. Let’s hope our trained professionals, elected leaders, non-profits, and corporations can all collaborate, within the US and abroad, to come up with a viable battle plan. I don’t think we have any other choice but to be hopeful – and to act wisely and proportionately.

I wish everyone a healthy and safe passage as they navigate this latest, but not likely the last, health or environmental challenge to come upon us.

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Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2020. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.