Quote:
Originally Posted by TLO
And for that matter, wouldn't it be plausible that it's circulating in a lot of communities, possibly with minimal effects?
I'm very much an anxious person when it comes to my health and the health of those close to me. I'm young, and don't have a lot of medical issues - so I do worry for myself, but I worry for those around me too.
Should I be worried? Can someone just spell that out for me?
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Just be smart and do simple things to minimize risk.
Make sure you’re washing your hands, and limiting your exposure to folks both for your (and their) protection. Buying extra food might feel silly, but it’s moreso so that you’re limited your exposure to the public and not traveling around people more than you have to. I think studying places hit by this already is important - basically the folks who are getting hit hardest (retirees) and being given the virus by younger healthcare workers who were fighting it off to the point that they decided to continue coming to work. These are the types of stories that make me worried for my parents and grandparents if it does come here, which is why I stocked up on the essentials this week in case I do catch it. It’s not so different than the rules I followed for the flu, where my wife and I didn’t see my gma for two weeks as we fought it off (it got my wife bad this year).
So far, medical professionals here are saying it’s milder than the media is reporting simply because so many cases aren’t reported - what they ARE saying is have a plan once you get it. So stock up, buy rice, noodles, ramen, ibuprofen, a decongestant, Gatorade, and get meat in a deep freeze if you have the capability. The worst you could do is get it and become someone who spreads it to more vulnerable populations - so just be prepared for that rainy day if it comes. I’ve spent a few weeks in parts of the world that are 6 hours away from the nearest hospital - and my prep here is similar to my prep there. In that example, there was cholera in the water - so I carried a water filter and hand sanitizer everywhere I went. I also had an epi-pen on me and a travel insurance that would provide a helicopter to a hospital if anything went wrong. Once I had those logistics (plus vaccinations) figured out - living in that part of the world was honestly transformative to me. The three times I’ve traveled abroad in that capacity have been the best experiences of my life. I look at this in a similar light - I feel as prepared as I can be now, so I’m just going to keep living life as I had been.
There’s a very, very good chance we’ll weather through this and be just fine. Conventionally, getting to the spring months are important so stuff like this dies off. So just have a plan at at worst, hole yourself up and watch some Chiefs/Super Bowl highlights for a while.
