Coronavirus Testing Urgently Needed

All over the internet, many people have come up with diagrams know as “histomaps.” These are long longitudinal diagrams that show the relative strength and power of different countries of the globe.

I am not linking to any of them because the print is too small and everyone wants to sell hard copies.

But I do have a vivid memory of the one on the wall of my sixth grade classroom.

The United States was represented by a large blue cone-shaped mass, that was shaped like a pyramid. It started as a barely visible pinprick around 1776 and expanded wildly until its base at the (then) present day, when nearly the entire base of the pyramid was baby-blue for the U.S.A.

Right now, that is not how the bottom of a histomap should be.

There has been a global pandemic of Coronavirus. As a health care professional, with my computer on my lap, I have enough data to know that our response as American nation has been suboptimal.

The threat is real.

Our country seems to have been politicized. We seem to have more respect for the opinions spoken by politicians, whose employment is a function of popularity rather than intellect. We listened to those who minimized the threat, instead of the scientists who use their education and intellect to deal with it.

I know that America’s anti-intellectual bias is real. I believe it is the same bias that sent me abroad (“a broad” 🙂 ) to France to get my medical education.

Lucky we put up with one of my idols, Thomas Jefferson, but that was a while ago.

There are other countries who responded effectively to the Coronavirus threat, and even appear to have stalled the evolution on that threat. They are well-described here.

I will admit that they are smaller than our nation. They may have more experience dealing with public health crises. They may have different types of government.

Their dominant commonality has been extensive testing. Testing of anyone, even those who are without symptoms, who have been in close contact with victims of the illness.

I am not very sure why we do not have widespread testing available.

The World Health organization has offered low-cost testing worldwide.

Foreign philanthropy would help us. I do not know and I cannot find of a clue of a hint or who in the states refused these assistances anywhere on the internet.

The only testing I am aware of at all is private testing available through the folks who regularly do blood tests. It is expensive, and does not appear to be covered by insurance.

Rampant capitalism reigns again.

It is not hard to see that the American health care system is profit-motivated.

I want to advocate for the widespread testing for Coronavirus necessary to combat the pandemic take place, and fast.

I have been all over the internet and I can’t figure out how to do this.

Stay tuned.