Should I be afraid of COVID-19?

 In March or perhaps in April  this year, quite at the beginning of the pandemic, I had written a short post on COVID-19 in my professional capacity as public health specialist. That post had proved pretty popular, an inference I reached when someone re-circulated my own post back to me. Now nearly six months into the pandemic, I feel the need to once again write about this disease. Today's post, just like the one before is motivated by the urgent need I feel within myself to cut the clutter and talk about the most important issue with respect to this disease. 

Today, the pertinent and all encompassing question about covid-19  is

"Should I be scared of COVID-19?" 

And the answer is both a Yes and a No, which means that there is both good news and bad. 

So let's take the bad news first.

Yes, I should be scared of COVID-19. But only if I am a babe-in-arms, an elderly or  someone with a pre-existing disease viz. diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity and lung disease. Just like that seasoned bully who preys on the bullied's insecurities, the SARS-CoV-2 virus preys on those whose body's immune system is compromised by certain pre-existing illnesses. In such people the disease can be relentless and often fatal. Even as I write this, a close relative of mine is battling covid pneumonia in a hospital back home. The gentleman is a diabetic with an extremely poor record of blood sugar control. He is overweight, has high blood pressure and is a chain smoker. And it no surprise that SARS-CoV-2 is playing havoc in his lungs.

Now let's come to the good news. For the vast majority of people in the world, COVID-19 disease is either asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic. This means that if you are the average human being with no major health issues even if you happen to be infected by the SARS-CoV-2, in all probability you will not develop any symptoms at all. And in case you do, these symptoms would be very very mild or at the most moderate in severity. That means you would probably have some Sardi Zukam Khansi Bookhar and nothing more and you would be up and about in four or five days. 

Having said that I think I am duty bound to explain the little rider that accompanies the good news which is that in a very small percentage of cases it is seen that the virus causes florid disease even in an apparently healthy young person with no pre-existing illnesses. Though we are still not completely sure as to why this happens, scientists conjecture that certain genetic defects or differences in the immune system of such persons render them vulnerable to severe disease.

The question that logically follows my statements is in that case what is it that we should do?

I will divide my answer into four parts:-

A. Protect the vulnerables. That means the elderly and those suffering from diseases like diabetes, lung disease, heart disease, old strokes, cancers and obesity. Pay special attention to their medication and if diabetic the control of their blood sugar levels. Explain to them why they should remain at home and avoid public places. Incase you are exposed to crowded environments in your day to day life then it is wise to restrict your interaction with these vulnerables.

B. If you would like information about COVID-19 disease, then consult your doctor, or better still genuine internet sites like the CDC, the MOHFW and the like.  Even the WHO is not bad, though it has suffered some loss of credibility, mostly media fuelled. Please avoid mainstream TV media and the WhatsApp/ YouTube University.

C. You must accept the fact that the virus is here to stay. Once the first spate of attacks is over, the virus in all likelihood would go into what is known as endemicity and in the the years to come, its ugly head will crop up now & then, manifesting as the odd, sporadic severe pneumonia. We have to therefore,  learn to live with this disease like we have learnt to live with thousands of other diseases like TB, malaria, dengue, Ebola, heart disease, cancer and the like.

D. If you are a reasonably healthy person on the lesser side of sixty, then the only advice I have for you is  : "जा सिमरन जा, जी ले अपनी जिंदगी" (with due apologies to Amrish Puri in DDLJ)😂

Reclaim your Life, friends.

( and I'd also like to mention how I keep remembering the Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: Cowards die many times before their deaths....)

PS. Would be happy to answer any query you may have about this disease. Feel free to contact me on email or on WhatsApp.