Yes, Numbers Matter

Richard Gale and Gary Null PhD

Progressive Radio Network, April 8, 2020

For the millions of people who are following the daily reports and analyses of the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing should be evident. There are far more questions arising than answers, and there are certainly less answers to be relied upon. Consequently, we are being inundated with numbers and more numbers. The number of cases of infection. The number of tests performed or that should be performed. The number of masks, hospital beds and ventilators necessary. And the number of fatalities. Consider the early predictions made by NIAID director Anthony Fauci that we might expect 1.7 million deaths only to later reduce his numbers to that of a regular flu season. Or there is one of the nation's chief physicians serving Congress and the Supreme Court, Dr. Brian Monahan, who pulled unsubstantiated figures from the astral plane to warn NBC News that up to 150 million Americans will become infected. 

Moreover, confusion seems to be rampant throughout much of the nation's healthcare infrastructure. We are being deprived of basic facts because even the experts don't have them. Perhaps we have all seen the images of medical personnel having to wear black garbage bags as protective gear in a New York hospital or nurses' reports about having to wash and share face masks due to shortages. One revelation that COVID-19 is mirroring back to us is dire state of our corporate healthcare system and the dearth of doctors compared to other developed nations. But should we be surprised about the failures of American medicine? Funding that should go towards a resilient medical infrastructure and preventative health measures in times of emergency has been neglected for decades. If the nation's healthcare infrastructure had progressed to meet its population's demand it would have lessened the pandemic significantly. Instead the US budget has been funneled off to sustain our imperialist military adventures and provide bailouts for the mega-transnational corporations, banks and billionaires. 

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE