I watched recently as a medical doctor in California told the host on a well known conservative news network that it made no sense for Americans to endure extreme measures to contain COVID-19. After all, he opined, the seasonal flu kill as many as 50,000-60,000 in the U.S. a year, just as COVID has done, and no one gets excited about that — closing schools, cancelling sports seasons, shutting down malls. The host nodded in agreement. I yelled at the TV.

First of all, the average death total from the flu is more like 35,000-40,000, but that’s minor. What got me upset was the sophistry of the doctor’s analogy. The fact is that so far we have had less than 60,000 deaths from this extremely contagious new virus for the simple reason that most of our states and citizens have taken what this doctor considers extreme measures to contain it.

Without those measures, the total from COVID-19 would be much higher, and some of those casualties would be the health care workers now on the frontlines of care.

Obviously, he would not be one of them.

Lenny Reich

Belgrade