Omission vs Commission

A happy new year to all our readers; pray it will be a much better year than 2020. Also a big thank you to all our customers – you helped to make 2020 our best year thus far. We ❤️ U. So here we are, we made it. But is it out with the old year, in with the old year? I don’t know but I believe the madness of 2020 will not continue in 2021. It’s been a difficult beginning and if anything people seem to be even more scared now – not scared of the virus per se, more of the possibility that this is our future forever now. And who can blame us for being scared? Clearly, the authorities are lurching from one ridiculous extreme to another and like any other group in a panic, they’ve backed themselves into a corner they don’t know how to get out of and are consequently doubling down on decisions that are manifestly ineffective.

They are busily pinning their hopes on vaccines – if only everyone had the vaccine, then things would er, ….. stay the same. Because, forget the conspiracy theories, the vaccine manufacturers have clearly stated that the vaccine will not prevent you from catching the virus, it will not prevent you from transmitting the virus, at most it may lessen the severity of symptoms if you catch the virus, or not, as the case may be. We will still have to wear masks, and socially-distance and presumably have lockdowns, even if vaccine uptake is 100%. So, why have the vaccine? Errr………. This is why people are scared. A substantial proportion neither believe nor trust the government any longer. In fact, they do not trust any authority figures to tell the truth – not politicians, police, clergy, scientists, bosses – you name it. This is because rightly or wrongly, we feel we are being lied to. The government may feel it’s for our own good but they’ve been leaching trust for decades now (WMDs, anyone) and those chickens are coming home to roost.

Once a significant if minor proportion of any population disbelieve all information from official sources as a matter of course, that society is in big trouble. So what are we doing now? We are doing what people do when they are scared of a nebulous threat that is too big for them – we lash out. From calling people Covidiots to blaming variously – the young, the old, schoolkids, politicians, conspiracy theorists, sheeple, etc etc, to actually believing that if we all just did what the government wants irrespective of previous failures (3 weeks to flatten the curve, anyone?), things would return to normal, it’s a self-protective mechanism against the truly terrifying prospect of possible death.

Doom, gloom, right? Not so, because AlaraApothecary: we remind you of good news. First of all, the majority of people who’ve caught Covid have fully recovered from it. Secondly, the majority of people wo are testing positive for Covid have it so mildly, they only know they are positive because of the test. Thirdly, the number of cases is not the same as the number of people who are actually sick (see number 2) I could quote any number of mortality rate statistics but quite frankly, I’m not sure it helps most people when the blasted media is screaming cases, cases, CASES! As for the minority of relatively young people (50’s : there have been fewer than 400 deaths under 40) who are dying, while that is a tragedy especially since that is my group (!), I have to break it to you that pre-Covid, people in that age group died of respiratory diseases all the time also, particularly in December to March. The total deaths figure for 2020 seems to have gone AWOL; the final total on gov.uk only goes up to w/e 13th of November. Not quite sure why they can’t get their little calculators out and add up those alarming figures they’ve been terrorising us with on a daily basis, but ho-hum. My prediction? 2020 will be on par or just over the figure for 2018 when we had the really bad flu outbreak and a vaccine that was 20% effective, but there will be an increase in deaths from all the chronic conditions like heart failure and diabetes, and a spike in cancer deaths.

All we can do is ensure that we are as healthy as possible: decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease, watch your weight, be careful if you’re clinically vulnerable, get more exercise, take Vitamin D in the winter, especially if you’re olive to dark-skinned. As for the government, seriously, the narrative is done. We are now at the stage where they need to put their hands up, admit they can’t solve all problems and they have no power over life and death and do what they should have done in the first place – shield the vulnerable, end the lockdown and put scientists to work to find a real solution, preferably in tablet form so that it is easy to administer and transport. Are they lying? To quote Jeremy Paxman, ” Why are these lying liars lying to me? ” I think a better question is, are these lies of omission or lies of commission? In other words, are these lies in the realm of “Dear God, we’ve totally got it wrong and trashed the economy and don’t want to lose our jobs, so we’ll just keep doubling down until we can figure out what to do so we can keep our jobs. In the meantime, keep everyone separate so they can’t get a clear picture and come round to burn parliament down” or is it the realm of “We plan to change the world completely and will do whatever it takes and destroy how many lives are needed to do it. We will transfer all power from the people to our little group and will lie, cheat, and kill until we get what we want. In the meantime, say anything you need to so that there will be no resistance until it’s too late” Omission vs Commission – if it’s the former, there’s a solution to that; hector your MP until they all come to their senses. If it’s the latter, no one can help us. I suggest you get on your knees and ask for divine help – you’d better hope there is a God who cares about us or we’re toast. My view? Whichever one it is, it’s irrelevant. I know that whatever this is, it won’t hold and it won’t last. As long as I know that God is in charge, I don’t fret about people and their crazy plans, no matter how powerful they appear to be. In the words of Alfred.E.Neuman, “What? Me, Worry?” Remember, fear plays havoc with your immune system – it’s nearly over, don’t worry. I leave you with one of the best videos I saw in 2020. Happy new year, it’s going to be a good one. Just keep keeping on; it’s a wonderful world out there and we will all get to explore it without restrictions this year.