4 minute read
GROW UP SMILING
from SCLV13I3 V3
by kn creative
south Arkansas causing the Board of Health to consider re-instating the quarantine, but that spell passed. In the winter of 1919, there was one more brief round of the Pandemic but, in the end, that passed as well.
Will COVID-19 come back? A more important question, at this point, is: Will it go away? Two different approaches have been taken to deal with the virus. One approach is based on allowing the virus to spread creating a major spike in cases and then hopefully the virus will recede. A second approach was designed to flatten the curve (spike) by using avoidance, closing schools, limiting crowds at churches gym and restaurants, and varying levels of quarantine-like procedures.
Advertisement
The predicted result was a disease that would not overwhelm the medical facilities and eventually develop enough immunity in the community to stop the spread of the virus. Will the virus re-appear in the fall for another wave? The experts are of a mixed mind. Herd immunity is a phrase that is used to describe what needs to happen. Herd immunity occurs when 60 percent of the community has some form of immunity that will not allow the virus to spread.
That immunity can occur when individuals have had the infection, have recovered, and are now making their own antibodies. It can also occur as a result of a virus-specific vaccine. Because of a lack of testing, it is not known what part of the community has been exposed and have some immunity. It appears that much is riding on widespread testing and the timely development of a vaccine or other effective treatment.
What are the long-term consequences to Pandemics?
Pandemics have besieged humans for at least 2,500 years. The Antonine Plague in the second century A.D. is said to have played a role in the fall of the Roman Empire. The Black Plague in the 14th century killed off millions and altered the world economy. The Columbian exchange in the Western Hemisphere starting in the 16th century killed off 90-95% of the native populations of the Western Hemisphere.
The short-term economic consequences of the Pandemic Flu of 1918 in Arkansas were welldocumented. Merchants in Little Rock recorded drops of 40-70% in their business. This was equally true throughout the state. A study done in 2007 on the long-term economic impact suggests that those born during the time of the epidemic had reduced educational attainment, higher rates of physical disability and lower incomes. Because of its propensity to strike young adults, the flu had a lingering effect on business and social life well into the 1920s.
Clearly, COVID-19 has had obvious major short-term economic consequences. As to the long-term consequences, the jury is out.
Will this happen again? The leaders of the CDC and the World Health organization have repeatedly made it clear that the next pandemic was (and is) a matter of WHEN and not IF. Just before he retired in 2017, Tom Frieden, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was asked what his greatest fear was, what kept him awake at night: “The biggest concern is always for a pandemic… [It] really is the worst-case scenario. If you have something that spreads to a third of the population and can kill a significant proportion of those it affects, you have the makings of a major disaster.
The Bush administration made important investments in public health, global public health and in preparedness, and in the Obama administration, we have built on those. It’s a baton that gets passed. Preparedness is really important.”
Epilogue
We will survive this, but we will be changed. There is resilience in the human psyche. Whether the foe is pestilence, war, natural catastrophes like storms and earthquakes, or man-made debacles like economic depression, humans pick themselves up, brush off the mud and go on. I suspect this time will be the same.
The BEST Agency: HOME • AUTO • LIFE
CHRISTOPHER BEST
108 N East Street | Benton, AR 72015 (O) 501-952-2958 (F) 501-340-0095 cbest@farmersagent.com
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner is served ••••••• Ready to heat & eat meals To-Go •••••••
Curbside Pick-Up, Delivery & Walk-In Hours
Mon-Thurs
10:00am-6:00pm Friday 10:00am-5:00pm Saturday 9:00am-1:00pm
501-943-7800 5550 Village Drive Benton, Arkansas ginacaters.com
raines family dental cosmetic dentistry
stephen raines, d.d.s. lauren raines, R.d.h.
implants crowns veneers fillings root canals dental hygiene comprehensive dental care tmj/sleep emergency & urgent care second opinions & consultations
