Thinking the Unthinkable: Six (Uncomfortable) Questions about the Swine Flu Outbreak

1. Is History Repeating Itself?

The word pandemic comes from Greek roots meaning "all the people." Not surprisingly, the first known medical reporter to file a story about a flu epidemic was Hippocrates around 412 BC. For centuries, flu disasters have struck just as naturally and inevitably as tsunamis, earthquakes, and hurricanes. Indeed, over the past 300 years, there have been 10 major flu pandemics (an average of 22 years apart), according to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota. Experts believe we're well overdue for another pandemic.

It's too soon to tell if this swine flu outbreak will turn into a pandemic, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its pandemic alert level from 3 to 4 (on a scale of 6 being the worst). The swine flu outbreak has taken a "significant step" toward becoming a pandemic, but "we're not there yet," says Dr. Keiji Fukuda, assistant director-general for health, security, and environment at the WHO.

A lot has changed since the devastating Spanish Flu pandemic just 91 years ago when an estimated 50 million died around the world. Back then, most scientists believed mistakenly that the flu was caused by bacteria. Back then, there were no antiviral drugs to combat the flu, let alone antibiotics, which were developed in the 1940s. Back then, there were no jet airplanes that could cross the world (and spread the virus to every continent) in a single day. In the intervening years, a lot of progress has been made preparing for the inevitability of another pandemic. WHO launched its flu surveillance program in 1947. Vaccines and antiviral drugs are stockpiled around the world. But will all that be enough? We'll get to the scary answer to that question at the end of this article.

2. Are there enough antiviral medicines to keep us safe?

Walgreen purchasing managers met last weekend to make sure they're ready for a spike in demand for personal hygiene products like face masks and hand sanitizers. No surprise, there's also a run on antiviral medications. That's because the government says the swine flu strain is treatable with two antiviral drugs: Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir). Manufacturers of both drugs - Roche based in Switzerland and GlaxoSmithKline based in London - say they're increasing production.

The US government has stockpiled enough antiviral treatments to take care of 50 million people while different states have 22 million treatment courses. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the government will release 25 percent of its emergency stockpiles -- some 12 million doses - of Tamiflu and Relenza to various states just in in case.

If it needs to ramp up significantly, Roche, for instance, has an annual production capacity of 400 million treatment courses, according to the company.

3. How long will it take to create a new vaccine?

Baxter International, manufacturer of flu vaccines, has already requested samples of the swine flu virus to begin work on a vaccine. On a fast track, it will take between four to six months to create and distribute a new vaccine. On a global level, if a pandemic strikes this year, according to CIDRAP, manufacturers could produce 2.5 billion doses of vaccine in the first 12 months, but it would take four years to produce enough vaccine to meet total global demand.

4. Do face masks protect against swine flu?

They're the instant symbol of the outbreak, but do they work? Snug-fitting medical masks approved by the FDA - like dental or surgery masks - are better than nothing if you need to come in close contact with infected people or you're in crowded situations, but the CDC says that information on their effectiveness masks is limited.

"The risk for infection can be reduced through a combination of actions," the CDC says. "No single action will provide complete protection, but an approach combining the following steps can help decrease the likelihood of transmission. These actions include frequent hand-washing, covering coughs, and having ill persons stay home, except to seek medical care, and minimize contact with others in the household. Additional measures that can limit transmission of a new influenza strain include voluntary home quarantine of members of households with confirmed or probable swine influenza cases, reduction of unnecessary social contacts, and avoidance whenever possible of crowded settings."

The CDC continues: "When it is absolutely necessary to enter a crowded setting or to have close contact with persons who might be ill, the time spent in that setting should be as short as possible. If used correctly, facemasks and respirators may help reduce the risk of getting influenza, but they should be used along with other preventive measures, such as avoiding close contact and maintaining good hand hygiene."

5. How deadly is pandemic flu?

Every year in the US, between five to 20 percent of us are infected with the old-fashioned flu; 200,000 of us end up in the hospital; and around 36,000 of us die. Flu victims are typically the very young, the very old and the very immune-suppressed or ill.

"During the worst week of the 2007-2008 season, the regular flu had a mortality rate of about nine percent," according to a blog by Amanda Ripley, author of The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why. By comparison, Ripley writes, one study of swine flu outbreaks showed a fatality rate around 14 percent.

The mortality rate of the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 was 2.5 percent, according to The Daily Telegraph, while the mortality rate of the 1957 and 1968 pandemics was 0.5 percent. (The dreaded Ebola virus, for comparison, has a mortality rate that can reach 90 percent).

Obviously, the flu isn't a death sentence - far from it - but the body count escalates in a pandemic because so many millions are infected.

So, what goes wrong when younger, healthier people die from the flu? The key is something called the "cytokine storm," according to Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of CIDRAP. In a fascinating November 2005 online interview with The Washington Post, Osterholm explained: "A cytokine storm is the release of a chemical in the body that stimulates the human immune system to respond to the virus infection. In these serious illnesses and deaths, it's actually been an over vigorous immune response elicited by this infection that result in the organ damage and ultimately the death of the individual. Ironically this means that those with the strongest immune systems may be at highest risk for a serious outcome if infected with the (bird flu) H5N1 virus. At the same time, it is surely possible that those with weakened or immature immune systems, such as the very young or very old, and those with underlying immune conditions, may experience serious illness associated with the annual influenza illness, which often involves damage to the respiratory tract and subsequent secondary bacterial infection."

6. Is the world ready for a new pandemic?

In his online interview with the Post, Dr. Osterholm says that despite a lot of progress, the world still isn't very well prepared for pandemic. "The vast majority of the 6.5 billion people on the face of the Earth today do not have any access to intensive care or medicine," he says. "In addition, for most of the developed world, we too will not have access to mechanical ventilators, drugs, or other medical interventions that we might expect. We have little to no surge capacity or the ability to care for large numbers of new illnesses in any of our healthcare facilities today."

"For example," Osterholm says, "in the United States, we only have 105,000 mechanical ventilators in our hospitals. Today an average of more than 80,000 ventilators are in use every day and during the regular influenza season we find almost all of the 105,000 mechanical ventilators in use. Our national strategic stockpile maintained by the federal government has only an additional 4,500 mechanical ventilators for use in an emergency. We will run out of mechanical ventilators overnight. This is true for many of our antibiotics and antiviral drugs, as many of these are made outside of the United States in a single plant and where the raw ingredients needed to make the drugs come from many other countries."

Dr. Osterholm goes on: "With the first onset of pandemic influenza, I believe many of our borders will be closed to transportation and commerce and in this global just-in-time economy, many essential products and services will disappear overnight. ...The only things they will have left to protect themselves will be respirator masks. Again, because of the global just-in-time economy where two companies own a very large percentage of the international market share for production and sales of masks, and which have virtually no surge capacity for production, we will soon also run out of them. Finally, our hospitals, which are now operating in an almost constant full capacity, will not be able to handle the surge of patients with influenza. Therefore already many communities are planning for the care of these patients in auditoriums, gymnasiums, and even arenas where many cots can be lined up in endless rows. When one considers the above information, how can anyone think that this will be a whole lot different than?"

(Bonus) 7: Should you be scared?

Over the last few years, I've interviewed hundreds of the world's most effective survivors and thrivers. Many of the members of the Survivors Club share an outlook - a mentality - and an approach to dealing with crisis. Sure, they get scared (and freaked out) too. But they turn fear and anxiety into motivation and purpose. They confront all kinds of adversity with a mixture of realism and optimism. They seek out information; they adapt to new challenges; they make Plan and Plan B; and they take action.

No one in the world wishes or wants this swine flu outbreak to morph into a full-fledged pandemic with mass casualties. But it's absolutely essential to think the unthinkable and, given the nature of a pandemic threat, to be as well prepared and self-reliant as possible.

From The Washington Post online, Dr. Osterholm gets the last words: "The potential for pandemic influenza to be a catastrophic event in our human history is just too great of a risk for us to wait until the night before to get prepared. While this may all sounds scary to those reading this, our job in public health today is not to scare you out of your wits, but to scare you into your wits. We need you to let your federal, state, and local leaders, including those both elected and in the private sector, know that planning at the international, national and local level must be one of our highest priorities."

For more information about swine flu or surviving other kinds of life-changing adversity, please go to The Survivors Club Website.

The CDC has set up a toll-free hotline: 1-800-CDC-INFO.

Comments

[blakeart]

As a proud member of the “grassy knoll” crowd, just look at the way this is all being positioned in the media that is “corporate owned”. A story here on HuffPo headline is “Swine Flu: Conservatives Blame Immigrants.”

This is Classic Divide and Conquer Tactic… the powers that be are playing chess, while the rest of the “sheeple” are watching American Idol and “Just go Shopping”.

But remember - we are all the Omniverse’s creatures, we all exist now, and we are all no greater or lesser than any other.

And if any of us “Building Seven-ers” come too close to the truth, well… we’re “nutjobs.” But there’s too much info out there that contradicts all the “propaganda” that these NWO-ers are trying to fill our heads with -it just ain’t going to fly, if you are paying attention.

Because I believe these people have absolutely no conscience, no respect for their fellow man, and are capable of any evil… and the evidence plays this out, if you are paying attention.

In fairness... this comment was rejected at first, I have tried to tone it down for a more palatable dialogue. I have nothing but hte best of intentions for all.

I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.
Voltaire

Http://blameblakeart.wordpress.com

[Reverekin]

Another really good question is: Will Baxter's recent history repeat itself? Common sense needs to ask why was this contract given to a company that shipped out hundreds of thousands of contaminated vaccines without receiving so much as a slap on the hand???? Who the hell is going to take a shot from these folks? Only the uninformed.

[BearmanCartoon]

Love the conspiracy theories. Like to add one of my own as to who is to blame for all this mess.

http://bearmancartoons.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/bearman-cartoon-swine-flu/

[hoosier96]

Pardon my interruption of all of the finger pointing and conspiracy theories of the "grassy knoll" crowd, but I wanted to ask the writer (or anyone who may have a good answer apart from "it's Rumsfeld and the evil corporations") a question.

Why has the mortality rate been so high in Mexico compared to everywhere else?

[MJinCanada]

Probably poverty, which of course goes hand in hand with poorer nutrition, overcrowding, less sanitation and fewer health care resources.

[ANuttyReader]

Maybe, just maybe because the first cases broke in Mexico before it could be identified, that is why more people died.

Maybe because people are more reluctanct to go to the doctor, they did not know they could die.

Other than obvious simplistic answer that Mexico is poor therefore that is why people die.

[RoloTomassi]

Well, from what I have read so far, some of the cases in Mexico that resulted in death were suspected to be ramping up the immune system response in young healthy people, a situation where, quite counterintuitively, a strong immune system response actually works against those infected [referred to as a cytokine storm]:

http://scienceblogs.com/aetiology/2009/04/swine_flu_and_deaths_in_health.php

This possibility hasn't been confirmed, so it's all speculation at this point, but such was a known feature [in hindsight] of the 1918 pandemic.

[KIVPossum]

Has the rate actually been higher? Or, is the rate artifically high because many people infected with the flu don't go to a doctor? Not everyone in the world has the ability to rush to a hospital every time they sneeze.

[springsm]

It is a huge number, but you have to look at percentages too, don't you? There are millions of folks in Mexico so this is not a large percentage, even if we look at it as horrific. Probably need to look at general health habits too. How susceptible are those who smoke, don't eat correctly, are impoverished, in large crowds all the time. Scary at the least.

[chaoticNYer]

Also keep in mind that Mexico doesn't have the widespread availability of medical/lab-testing that we have here in the US. If you listen carefully to the stats on the news re: the Mexico deaths due to Swine Flu, you'll see that they say "estimated" or "suspected" when they refer to those large numbers in excess of 150 deaths. The only "confirmed" number of deaths from Swine Flu in Mexico have been confirmed by the WHO (World Health Organization) - cause they don't have anything equivalent to our CDC(Centers for Disease Control) that spans most of Mexico. And the WHO has only "confirmed" that about 25-30 of those suspected deaths actually ARE due to Swine Flu. Also - the tracking of Swine Flu cases in Mexico is probably way laxer than it is here - so they are probably WAY underestimating how many people actually contracted the disease. They usually say 2 or 3 thousand - when in fact the real number is probably many times more than that, because poor people in Mexico just can't afford to go to the doctor or hospital when they get a cold or the flu - it would mean not eating for the next week or more, just to pay the doctor bill.

[zizyphus]

Many people are suspecting that this hybrid flu was created in a lab somewhere, and it likely could have been, given the corruption that is epidemic in science, military and government. I mean, let's be realistic. The vaccine companies are poised to reap billions off even a scare, with no possibility of lawsuits from vaccine damage. It doesn't have to be a pandemic, just the threat of one will make the vaccine makers even more wealthy. In 1976 they said a million Americans would die from the swine flu. Well, that did not happen.

What did happen was the vaccine makers got immunity from lawsuits and rushed a vaccine to market that caused hundreds of young people to get Guillen Barre syndrome, a paralyzing neuromuscular disorder.

[JustSayMaybe]

I wasn't aware that we were extras in V For Vendetta Comes to Broadway...

Calm down with the conspiracy theories. I'm the first to distrust the gains in duplicitous and covert government activities over the last 8 years, but even I don't think the government is out to get us sick to cow us into submission. The specter of terrorism was plenty effective. And the vaccine producers are hardly the big bucks for pharma companies - look to the behavioral meds like anti-depressants and atypical antipsychotics, which can be sent up for countless indications and used off-label for lifelong treatment. There isn't enough of a gain to be made from a short-term problem like a flu pandemic or scare. Ramping up production and sales for a year or so wouldn't outweigh killing off a significant number of potential consumers of daily long-term treatments or the damage done to overall world economies.

[redhead61]

You perhaps are not familiar with history?? It is no wonder people do not any longer 'trust' their governments when they have been found to be duplicious in many things that have harmed their own citizens.

[iskra]

Many people love to spout conspiracies. Not very helpful.

Wealthy vaccine makers driving viruses into the population? As pointed out, this doesn't exactly work as planned, first if you read the article, it'll take 4 years to ramp up and by then it'll all be over. Second, closing borders and having governments purchase your goods isn't a long term wealth accumulation strategy. Not even short term.

Put the tin foil hat down. Flu happens all the time, no need to have somebody build one, they're out there all the time. Evolution still happens even if you don't believe in it.

[blakeart]

I am as well skeptical of the origins of this flu bug... as is being addressed in the comments I have read so far here in this thread. I address it in more detail on my blog here:

http://blameblakeart.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/prove-me-wrong-on-this-one-please/

I am an optimist, and want the best for Humanity as a Whole—we are all the Omniverse™'s creatures... however, those still in place within the Halls of power have a hidden agenda, which in IMHO needs to be exposed for what it is.

[iskra]

An optimist? Really? One who believes that the fundamental nature of people is death and destruction? Sounds more like a pessimist to me.

Skeptical about the origins of the bug. How about the 1918 flu? Maybe the same pharm/gove­rment/evil empire created that one too as a practice then went back in time and infected people to try it out? Prove me wrong on that one!

This is what you get when you don't believe in evolution, complete puzzlement about the world around you. Bugs evolve from other bugs, have done since the beginning, still do whether you believe in evolution or not. Colds change, flus change, most viruses change and sometimes pretty quickly. All documented observations.

Figure out how you can help rather than blame. There's going to be a lot of people in poor countries that will need help from us all, try spending your time thinking of good rather than searching for bad.

[RaviVesely]

C'mon Ben, you write about how Roche can ramp up Tamiflu production, but you don't follow it up with the fact that Gilead Sciences INVENTED TAMIFLU (marketed under Roche), and that Donald Rumsfeld was a board member of Gilead since 1988--and its Chairman since 1997! I mean, who from the treasonous Nixon Administration do you think told President Ford to vaccinate all the military troops in the '70s with his anti-swine flu drugs? Answer: RUMSFELD.

Look, Ben, all I'm saying is that you were on the right track, but you needed to round it out nicely with illustrating how if the FBI and Justice Department simply put Rumsfeld in a holding tank for two or three years (UN-charged, of course, just as an experiment), then they will most certainly see a significant drop in their overall workloads.

We have to keep in mind that after 9/11, virtually NOTHING went on inside U.S. borders; but then, ohh, all of the sudden, less than three months into Cheney/Rov­e/Rumsfeld not being in power anymore, boom!, Mexican drug cartel violence skyrockets and a new virus strain just DECIDES to appear on everybody's radar?! You have to recall, Ben, the stratospheric extent to which Rumsfeld’s imbecility reaches: “unknown knowns,” and “you go with the Army you have,” are classic indicators that Rumsfeld has not only never had an original thought, but his capacity for the most basic of philosophic intellections is non-existent.

Peace.

[littlepuffycloud]

Please...hold me. Just hold me for a minute until the shudders stop.

[JustSayMaybe]

Oh, calm down. Rummy resigned from the board when he joined the Bush Administration, and while he continues to own stock in Gilead, they only receive royalties equalling about 10% of Tamiflu sales, and are not the distributors.

Mexican drug cartel violence is NOT new, it did not just start. We just find it easy enough to ignore so long as it doesn't spill over the border with much vigor - THAT is all that has increased. And quite frankly, the MSM wasn't interested in reporting on it.

And Rumsfeld is an a**hat, but he's not a dimwit. He's of the classic neo-con war-mongering variety, has little interest in domestic affairs, and is (unfortunately) good at what he does (note: what he does is not wage war well, it is skew and spin information well). Think Ollie North.

[Snuffleupagus]

Well it seems as if the kkensrs here are programed to be extra vigilant today.
They must be very concerned that the name Rumsfel not gain too much exposure.
How nice that this place protects Rummy and promotes numerous comments from JSM to counter the few who manage to squeak through.

[CounterPointNation]

Fear only manifests itself in the unprepared. If you have provisions and are logical in your preparation for situations like this (disease, storms, war, etc...) then there is nothing to be afraid of.

[Conk]

Number 7. Did the Swine Flu come out of an Army laboratory?
Number 8. Will there be forced vaccinations in order to maximize Big Pharma profits?
Number 9. Will anyone every tell the American people that they can't catch the flu if their immune system is strong and their body pH is alkaline?
Number 10. Is this a generated crisis, like so many before it?

[laissezleswontonsbrulez]

Can't resist adding one more crucial tip:

Elderberry is an excellent neuraminidase inhibitor, comparable to Tamiflu in effectiveness. This new bug is, so far at least, sensitive to the neuraminidase inhibitors. Not all drug stores carry it, but any decent health food store will have it.

[kathy001]

If you had read the article you would know that the drug companies are not capable of producing enough vaccine for everyone. Forced vaccinations would be impossible due to the fact that the vaccine would not be available.

[neuphoria]

4 (uncomfortable) things about the recent flu re: bioenginee­ring/plann­ed:

this:
Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Baxter International Inc. in Austria unintentionally contaminated samples with the bird flu virus that were used in laboratories in three neighboring countries, raising concern ...

this:
NYTimes April 24...The A (H1N1) flu strain they had was quite unusual, said Dr. Nancy Cox, the chief of the agency’s flu division. It contained gene segments from North American swine, bird and human flu strains as well as one from Eurasian swine

The unusual strain this year was noticed, Dr. Schuchat said, only because the agency was trying out a new diagnostic test at a Navy laboratory and doing more testing than usual through a new Border Infectious Disease Surveillance Project along the Mexican border.

this:
April 19 2009 Pandemic exercise
Houston -The Houston Federal Executive Board sponsored such a drill, April 14-15. ...

this:
April 2005 (Newscientist)
The virus that caused the 1957 "Asian flu" pandemic has been accidentally released by a lab in the US, and sent all over the world in test kits which scientists are now scrambling to destroy.
There are fears the virus could escape the labs, as the mistake was discovered after the virus escaped from a kit at a high-containment lab in Canada. ..The flu testing kits were sent to some 3700 labs between October 2004 and February 2005 by the College of American Pathologists (CAP)...

[goldcoastsailor]

The flu is and always has been nature's way to keep humans in check. It is a good thing. War, famine, and disease will eventually save the planet. Just as forest fires cleanse the forest, disease cleanses the planet.

[Itsmyland2]

Which is all fine and dandy unless you or someone you care about is being cleansed. My wife has a depressed immune system due to other issues (not AIDS) and is at high risk for any respiratory illness. This is scary for us and not to be taken lightly.

[lynnn]

The U.S. government has known about his for sometime.http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/news/feb1309funding.html

[konst]

#2 Are there enough antiviral medicines to keep us safe?
Antiviral medication might not necessarily help if they don't down regulate the cytokine storm. See answer to question #5 for why.

#3 How long will it take to create a new vaccine?
Antiviral medication might not necessarily help if they don't down regulate the cytokine storm. See answer to question #5 for why.

#4 Do face masks protect against swine flu?
Face masks can help prevent spreading the virus non-infected individuals. Face masks worn by family and friends around the infected individual can also help prevent the infected from getting new bacterial infections from others.

#5 How can young and healthy people die from the flu?
You are correct about the cytokine storm. It weakens and damages the respiratory system and it allows other bacteria which are already present in the infected individual to multiply. Read the following about the 1918 influenza pandemic for more info:
http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/14/8/1193.htm

And an these articles about the cytokine storm:
http://www.cytokinestorm.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine_storm

High quality "Fish Oil" EPA/DHA tablets help down regulate the cytokine storm. The ones you get at the local pharmacy or cheap health food store are too low quality.
Here is some high quality fish oil tablets: http://www.lef.org/Vitamins-Supplements/Item00982/Super-Omega-3-EPA-DHA-with-Sesame-Lignans-Olive-Fruit-Extract.html

[lynnn]

This isn't the first outbreak in the U.S. I'm pretty sure it broke out in 2008 after it was discovered in hogs here in 2007.
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/news/feb1309funding.html

[rainbowblue]

I have a feeling that this isn't as bad here because of various factors. Better sanitation, better health care, and over all (probably) better nutrition are all posibilites why the US cases seem so mild as compared to Mexico. As it is sanitary (or lack there of) conditions are probably the reason for the jump from animal to human (just a guess).

The danger of the virus is that it could present a serious threat to lesser developed nations. What needs to be watched more isn't it's progress through North America, but rather through Central America (if and when it gets that far).

[roudy]

This could be very destructive in areas of the third world such as African refugee camps or the slums of India, with large numbers of undernourished people with no access to medical care.

[EgyptianMysterySchool]

An answer to your 5 questions,

1.Is history repeating itself? Yes, research the Tuskegee Experiment
http://www.tuskegee.edu/Global/Story.asp?s=1207586
http://www.engdahl.oilgeopolitics.net/GMO/Tamiflu/tamiflu.html

2. Are there enough antiviral medicines to keep us safe? No, because Antivirals aren't actually effective and kill as many people as the flu does..
http://drbenkim.com/blog/2005/11/fda-taking-closer-look-at-anti.html
Doctors find no proof of Tamiflu's effectiveness
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/331/7527/1277?etoc

3. How long will it take to create a new vaccine? Ask the Bioengineering terrorists ("scientists") who created the virus in the first place...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8674401787208020885

4. Do face masks protect against swine flu? Only if you use an N95 or N100 mask, regular surgical masks aren't recommended, but it won't stop an airborne pathogen from reaching the mucous membranes of your eyes...
http://www.natlallergy.com/product.asp?pn=1167&bhcd2=1240898009

5. How can young and healthy people die from the flu? Because unlike natural selection, bioengineering can make viruses target specific groups - age, sex, race (see the video from question #3

6. Is the world ready for a new pandemic? Only if it comes in dream form, most people are asleep

[RoloTomassi]

Tweak that tinfoil hat's antenna...your reception must be a bit muddy....

Look, I put nothing out of bounds when it comes to government mischief, but if you think anyone really has any proof of anything that is actually traceable then you're delusional.

I thought it was a bit odd that the US military reported viral samples as unaccounted for last week [a Venezuelan equine influenza virus, I think it was], but jumping to a conclusion and asserting a connection with this swine flu outbreak is absurdly simplistic, and more importantly is a perfect example of an undisciplined mind in terms of logical and methodical investigation.

[Snuffleupagus]

You obviously didn't read any of his links. A bit odd?
There are many oddities here in this epidemic. No one with any sanity would claim to understand it all.

But no one who would use the words logical or methodical would ever ridicule someone else for introducing additional factual information for people to ponder and consider as they try to make sense of this.

At this stage I tend not to believe the terrist angle and favor the over hyped normal flue to pursue hug profits angle. But I am still researching and considering new ideas.
It is way to soon to be slamming additional info while laughably claiming to respect logic.