(Snippets from the frontline)
COVID-19/BLM: Not a panacea
We escape into fantasy worlds through science fiction writings, movies, and television soaring into space, riding on the backs of dragons, or zooming back and forth through time. For those moments, our imagination is captured in the belief we have perfectly harnessed and controlled Mother Nature.
Touching down again on terra firma, reality forces us to face the 2020 pandemic knowing COVID-19 has not been defeated.
Development of a vaccine is not a panacea, and undoubtedly our circuitous route to cure may still be fraught with danger. The American and worldwide psyche is fragile, and therefore an overabundance of caution should be maintained.
Despite marked advances in science and technology, I have seen in 4 decades of practice that medical knowledge is limited, especially related to the immune system.
Theoretically, the vaccine will stimulate our immune system creating a “memory” of antibodies against the virus should you be exposed again after vaccination. In the past, this idea has worked, and therefore we hope it will work again.
Be ready though to tweak medical ideas consistent with reality, and expect nothing to be perfect.
This will keep our feet on the ground and psyche from being broken.
Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.
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