Managing risks

Life is about managing risks. Every time we leave our house, there is some risk

involved. Unfortunately, accidents happen all the time and can devastate families.

However, every day we weigh different options and outcomes based on the risks.

This leads me to our current situation. COVID-19 isn’t going away any time soon,

so we are left with two options, stay inside, or learn to live with the virus. As I

wrote about last week, vaccines usually take years to develop and even if a

miracle occurs and a vaccine is created, only 14% of Americans say they will take

it. So, it’s inevitable that COVID-19 will be in our life for the foreseeable future.

We must learn to live with this virus. We can’t stay under the covers forever, in fact, staying in may be causing more harm. The Journal of American Medical

Association published a recent study focusing on the five states that had the most

COVID-19 deaths in March and April.

In those five states, heart disease deaths were 89% above normal, diabetes deaths were 96% above normal and in New York City the death rates alone rose 398% from heart disease and 356% from diabetes. These are tragic numbers.

These shutdowns have cost the lives of thousands of Americans and we are

starting to see a clearer picture. The despair of losing your job, coupled with being

forced to remain indoors has seen depression rise across the country. Many

checkups and basic procedures have been pushed aside, while hospital beds

remain empty.

It’s imperative, we must learn to live with this virus, or we will have much bigger

problems in the future.