COVID-19 is a wakeup call to the nation

March 19, 2020

The U.S. health care system — and thus, public policy regarding it — is coming under fire because of COVID-19. Among complaints are that there are not enough COVID-19 test kits, not enough ventilator machines to help sufferers breath, no vaccine to be available quickly and not enough hospital beds to handle the potential number of coronavirus patients. In one way, such criticism simply is unrealistic and unmerited. COVID-19 became a global pandemic very quickly. Answer this honestly: Had you even heard of the disease three months ago? Developing vaccines safely requires months ...

Think of others; please don’t hoard

March 18, 2020

Prudence, not panic, needs to be the order of the day among Americans. Unfortunately, not everyone seems to have gotten the memo. During a press conference Sunday, President Donald Trump noted that heads of major retail companies had told him something he never expected to hear: Don’t buy so much, they said. If you have been to a grocery store during the last few days, you know what Trump and the retailers mean. Panic over COVID-19 has prompted too many people to become hoarders. Instead of buying just the groceries and other commodities they need, they are “stocking up.” ...

Life will be different when this is over

March 17, 2020

It is easy, right now, to get little caught up in the anxiety that comes with the official effort to try to stem the spread of COVID-19. Certainly no one could be blamed for indulging in a little worry. But once we’ve got that out of our system, life is going to look very different for most of us, for the next few weeks. The key — to borrow a phrase from the British — is to “keep calm and carry on.” Maybe we could adapt that a bit. Keep calm, wash your hands, use a little common sense ... and carry on. Adjustments must be made as schools are closed, and officials ...

North Dakota K-12 schools to close for 5 days

March 16, 2020

COVID-19 - the coronavirus - has brought everyday life in large areas of China, Italy and Spain to a near standstill. As the virus has spread, other areas have been affected similarly, though not to the extent of China. As many as 300 million children in 22 countries have been affected by school closures linked to attempts to keep COVID-19 from spreading, The Associated Press reported last week. Here in the United States, officials in both higher education and lower grades are making contingency plans. Add North Dakota’s student population to that number, following the ...

What they knew and when they knew it

March 14, 2020

Big tobacco lied for many years about the adverse health effects associated with its product. We know that. It has been proven in court through billions of dollars in settlements by some companies. The same goes for some in the drug industry, who knew even as they were reaping windfall profits from opioid painkillers that they were understating the potential for patients to become addicts. What about e-cigarettes? They caught on quickly, in part because some smokers saw them as a way to wean themselves off cigarettes. At the same time, millions — yes, millions — of young ...

Demand for blood still exists

March 13, 2020

OVID-19 has become a danger to a significant number of people who will never contract the disease. They are those suffering from illnesses or injuries that require them to receive blood transfusions. American Red Cross officials say about 50 blood drives that had been planned across the country have been canceled because of the COVID-19 outbreak. That has created a shortage of blood. No doubt some drives were canceled as a result of concern about large gatherings of people. Red Cross blood collection methods are safe, without risk of contracting disease. If you are able to give ...