If you believe the hysteria brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak you might as well curl up and die right now, because “it’s” coming right at us! That is pretty much what we’re being told on the nightly news and in the daily newspapers. Watch for the buzzwords. How many times have you heard “Could?” “Possibility?” “Preparing for the worst?” “Possible surge of patients?” And, “Difficult times to come?” All are designed to scare you.

Now, I know COVID-19 (which means it is the 19th version of coronvirus) is nothing to sneeze at (pun intended), but in the words of Joe Biden, “C’mon man” – let’s put it into perspective. We are in cold and flu season. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu kills more than 34,000 people each year in the United States. Thirty-four thousand deaths every year due to the flu in a typical flu season with vaccines! Thus far, in the 2019-2020 season as of Jan. 11, 2020, there were 120,000 hospitalizations and 6,600 flu-related deaths.

Remember the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic in 2009? 60.8 million people in the U.S. were infected, 275,000 hospitalized and 12,469 people died. The media reaction: total chill. No minute-by-minute reporting. No panic-inducing hysteria. Plenty of toilet paper on the store shelves. Nothing to see here, folks, move along.

Then, along comes COVID-19 and the media freaks out. What is the difference? What kind of games are being played here? Is the “pandemic” being manipulated by the media? Before you go off on a tangent and accuse me of being a “conspiracy theorist,” think about what is factually going on. I’m dealing in facts (see above) and the comparison between the “then and now” doesn’t add up. When you spout conspiracy theory, you’re just trying to discredit another person’s judgment.

We all have to be concerned, and I’m not saying we shouldn’t worry about our health, but the over-abundance of scare-tactic coverage by the media on COVID-19 is unacceptable. It has caused people to change their routines; they don’t go out to restaurants, they’re not shopping as much, all of which has caused panic in the stock market. The doom and gloom has affected otherwise-sane people thinking they are on the brink of extinction. They’re stocking up on toilet paper. Now I’m bummed out, because I can’t find toilet paper.

Please, people, let’s put everything into perspective. Stop the panic. Think logically. This too shall pass.

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