[bumpygreens]

Corona viruses were first discovered about 55 years ago. Nobody has ever developed an effective vaccine against any corona virus. Our record of producing cures for viral infections is dismal. Hepatitis C is a notable and rare exception. Based on past performance, a vaccine isn't likely anytime soon, and a cure is even less likely. The only strategy that has been reliable against a viral outbreak is containment. That option was denied to us by the secretive, corrupt and incompetent centralized government that controls ground zero. Had they been open and honest in week one, this could have been contained. They waited until week six.

With containment no longer an option, we only had two choices: get hit fast and get it over with, or get hit slowly. Neither is very palatable. Highly inaccurate models scared us into the latter option. With all our faults and diverging political ideologies, America is still largely a moral and compassionate country. The thought of doctors forced to decide who is worth treating and who is not while more than two million of us died in a matter of a few months was horrifying. Mitigation wouldn't stop the virus, but at least it would slow its spread enough that more people could receive treatment.

Fast forward six weeks. We now know that the models were off by a factor of twenty. Serology studies are telling us that for every person who developed symptoms, at least five more of us have been exposed and developed antibodies. We still don't know what that means exactly for the long term, but it seems hopeful. The exponential curve of infections has been flattened and our hospitals haven't been overrun. We have learned how to mitigate our exposure, and we've learned who among us is most at risk.

I think it's time we got our senses back. The SARS epidemic in 2002-2003 was a corona virus. There still isn't an effective vaccine. We can't remain locked up hoping for something that may not come. Testing is becoming more widely available with faster results. Identifying and quarantining the infected will be easier. The most vulnerable can self-isolate. We can all practice mitigation. But we need to get back to work while there is still something to come back to.