No respiratory virus ought to be trivialized, especially in the context of a vulnerable group, e.g., those who are poor, those who live in a war-torn region or those who may suffer with pre-existing lung disease or chronic ill health for some other reason.

However, the cascade of recent events defining the national and the global response to COVID-19 declares two important points:

• The marriage of overreaction and underpreparedness for an upper respiratory viral process has resulted in political and emotional decisions that have, and arguably will continue to exact a terrible human and economic toll.

• On a positive and perhaps more important note, the experience has delivered a wake-up call that affirmatively screams for a focused, genuinely effective and fully operationalized plan for detection and tracking of viral blooms and other contagious entities, along with a layered system for containing and managing contagion.

Coordinated medical surge capacity globally is tantamount to a joke, and sadly – stunningly, really – despite what the president declares, the same is true domestically. The task before us is neither easy nor inexpensive. But if we can learn anything from the present, it is that a flu-like illness can stop us from living our lives.

Consider the impact of a seriously lethal pathogen, or worse, a bioweapon. We must be clear-eyed, incisive and aggressive in reaction and action now; proclaiming victory in defeat just won’t cut it.

Peter Pressman, M.D., M.S., FACN

Yarmouth

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