I never said that MD's in the CDC and WHO were lying, cite the passage where I said that. But the core of what I DID say is that the leftist media and prominent democrats in this country are using this significant Public Health Threat as a weapon against this Administration, and anyone who reads and listens to multiple news outlets can see that. Unless you are a willfully blind liberal.

I apologize, I though I saw photos by you. But if you are on a photography forum and never post photos, what is the point?

I never said that MD's in the CDC and WHO were lying, cite the passage where I said that. But the core of what I DID say is that the leftist media and prominent democrats in this country are using this significant Public Health Threat as a weapon against this Administration, and anyone who reads and listens to multiple news outlets can see that. Unless you are a willfully blind liberal.

I apologize, I though I saw photos by you. But if you are on a photography forum and never post photos, what is the point?

Part of that is true, but you also have to realize that there are dozens of strains of flu A/B that could be present during any flu season. Over time, all viruses undergo a process known as "antigenic drift". Our immune system mounts defenses against an virus based on certain proteins on it's capsule (or non-capsule, depending on the virus). Viruses, and even some bacteria, have the ability to change those protein antigens, either through random mutations or other processes, which are outside the scope of this discussion. Eventually the change may be of sufficient magnitude that the vaccine "key" no longer fits their viral "lock" and the vaccine is ineffective. It is a process that has evolved and continues to evolve since the very beginning.

From a very personal aspect…you're correct. However…in the broad population aspect it hardly the Black Death. Each of us would be affected if someone we know personally or are related to dies…but that individual grief doesn't equate to the mass panic that most of the media and politicians are shrieking about.

The OP is also correct in that the media in the US…which even liberals will admit is pretty left leaning…and the Democrat party are using this as a political weapon and overhyping it to damage the reelection prospects of the President…and that is simply wrong. Run on your policy proclamations and against the President's record and policies if you like…but neither side should resort to cheap political tricks. Unfortunately…now that looney tunes Sanders is out of the picture and it looks like it will be Biden vs Trump in the fall…both sides will go as low as they can go in order to influence the election; that's what politics in the 2000s has descended to. There's no such thing as cooperation, no such thing as compromise, and no such thing as seeing that the other side has some valid points…nah, it's all me, me, me and my way or the highway.

This is my take on the evil, soon to wipe out all of mankind, coronavirus. And I spent the last 20 years as a clinical microbiologist so I am speaking from experience, not just through my butt like so many other "experts" have done. This whole "pandemic" thing is utter nonsense, most especially in this country. To date there have been less than 30 deaths from this virus. Compare and contrast to the Flu A/B virus mortality this year, which is now exceeding TWELVE THOUSAND by the latest CDC estimates. It does not take a masters level microbiologist like myself to figure out which is the far more pressing Public Health Threat. It is pure baseless Chicken Little hysteria.

And this is just my opinion, your may mileage may vary, but had this not been an election year, with huge implications at stake, this "pandemic viral infection" would have been barely mentioned. Regardless of what the talking heads on the Clown News Network tell you, coronavirus is NOT new. It was first isolated 40+ years ago and was most recently (before now) implicated in SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) over 17 years ago as well as MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. And there are numerous strains of coronavirus, the discussion of which is outside the scope of this forum. I could go into great detail but I would probably put myself to sleep. The left are using this "pandemic" as a weapon against President Trump's administration, which for someone who was in healthcare as long as I was, is simply beyond the pale. But never let a good crisis go to waste, even if you have to manufacture one. And much to my disgust, the CDC is falling right in line with it. Treatment of diseases should NEVER be political. The President was quick and decisive in actions to minimize the spread of this infection. President Trump could singlehandedly eradicate cancer in an afternoon and the left and totally disingenuous "media" would still brutally criticize him.

So what to do to minimize infection? First and foremost, use good hand washing technique and wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitizer. This virus can be viable outside the human body for up to 24 hours. If you use the rest room, wash your hands thoroughly and use a paper towel to open the doorknob. Try to keep your hands away from your mouth and nose as much as possible. If you are feeling ill and especially if you are febrile, STAY HOME. If you are sick and must venture out, wear a surgical mask, available at any CVS to contain any and all droplets expelled by coughing or sneezing. This is the main mechanism of spreading it. Maintain at least 8 feet between people who are actively coughing and/or sneezing and look at what they may touch and avoid it. Common sense prevails.

You SMphotography are a liar.
If you really were a microbiologist, you would know that COVID19 is a novel virus, one to which humans have never been exposed. This is much more like the 1918 flu pandemic, which killed between 50 and 100 million people, and nothing like this year’s flu epidemic.
For one thing you would know that we have both an effective vaccine against the flu, as well as a somewhat effective antiviral (Tamiflu), while besides the fact that no human as any immunity to COVID19, there is no vaccine, and no antiviral.
The people that know what they are talking about, unlike you, who insist on putting out dangerous misinformation, are preparing for a once in a century viral outbreak. We might have been more prepared, had Trump not disbanded the group that was tasked with preparing us for just this situation.

It doesn’t take a genius to know that a devastating hurricane is heading our way. We can’t know both where and when, but we can prepare for the worst. It’s the same with deadly pandemics. We know they will be heading our way, even if we don’t know which virus or when. We can mitigate it, and that’s what our government is doing, although we should have done better, and we may have to do more.

If there are enough people who think as you do, we are more likely to fulfill the CDC’s and WHO’s worst nightmares- 70-150 million infected Americans, 10-30 million hospitalizations, (we only have 1 million beds, and 600,000 are taken at any given time, and there are only 60,000 intubators) over 500,000 deaths. Maybe much more.
Any real microbiologist would have taken a course in epidemiology, and would know and understand those numbers. No microbiologist would or has used the word “think” when talking about a Pandemic.
We stand to lose a lot of grandparents, and elderly parents. The least you can do is avoid passing lies which other likeminded fools will believe, thus making this enfolding tragedy even worse.

BTW- It is more likely than not, that there will be a second wave of virus outbreak in the fall, as there was in the 1918 Pandemic.

All of you- take sensible precautions. Act as if it’s all around you- as a precaution. Stay safe. Protect our parents and grandparents, even if we ourselves are safe.

SMP. You're wrong. And yes, I understand virology. This is currently a pandemic with the ability to cause a lot of deaths. Trump did handle it poorly at first as he refused to listen to his medical advisers. I would never weaponize a deadly pandemic as a political weapon. I will however, and rightfully so, weaponize stupid responses to it as a reason to vote someone out. I consider stupid responses to be, but not inclusive of all potentialities: Dont worry, it will be mild. Calm down. We will have a vaccine in a couple weeks. It will go away with warm weather. These and others are ignorant statements whether made by a republican or a democrat. In this case, they were made by our President. I am right to use his words against him. You are wrong. The pandemic is nature. The responses are of man. Therefore, the responses ARE political and can be viewed that way. As an aside, calling others stupid and poor photographers reduces you to ad hominems. People resort to those when they don't have anything better to argue.