Good Lifestyle

Last week, many mediareportedOn a 30-year-old man in Texas who died of Covid-19 shortly after excusing himself to believe that the virus was a hoax. He is not alone in this belief. Canular believers, denier viruses and conspiracy theorists abound right now. And, although it is frustrating for infectious disease specialists and public health experts like me to hear people denying science in this way, it's almost franklyunderstandable. How does one of us envelop our heads around overwhelming numbers - nearly 3.5 million American cases and more than 130,000 deaths? Especially when the enemy is invisible? And we are the vectors of the disease? And many of us are burned after months in the lock, home at home to our children?

This can be easier and perhaps comfort to some, deny everything and crack in paranoia and a politicized media threshing ... and return to our lives. But it would be a serious mistake because when people do not believe that the pandemic of Covid is real, they will not practice behaviors to prevent it, like wearing masks, social distancing, stay at home when it's sick. , practicing good hygiene of the hand, and tests.

So, where can we find the "proof" that Covid-19 is a real illness, affecting real people - often with devastating consequences? Continues to read.

TestingDo not "create" cases, viruses create cases. The tests simply allow us to know who is infected so that they can be treated and isolated before infecting someone else.

Or people working in them. In some parts of the country, hospitals are submerged. The volume of cases without resources to deal with correctly means that health care providers are often minimized. The professional exhaustion is high and some doctors have a suicide unfortunately committed accordingly, including one of my old.colleagues.

Or people who have tried to go to a hospital and have been diverted for lack of space. As hospitals lack spacing and staff, some people who need care will not be unable to obtain it. And others who actually secure an admission bed will be confined to the corridors, conference rooms and other makeshift spaces. From the patient's point of view, this experience can be overwhelming and frightening.

Although there is a wide range of experiences with this virus, a small proportion of those infected with it will die, especially those who are older and underlying health conditions. They often die in the icus, on the fans, with few drugs available to treat them and only because visitors are restricted. The number of deaths is overwhelming, but each of these deaths must be counted and recognized.

As with so many infectious diseases and health conditions, people of color have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19, especially people living in urban and lower income districts. If you do not know someone who has been affected or infected personally by COVID-19, acknowledge that it is a luxury that everyone can not afford.

Look at the points of sale that report on science, instead of gorging on social media where conspiracy theories and other rumors abound. Or if you are tired of hearing scientists and experts in public health, read science yourself! The pre-imprints of the articles submitted (but not yet vetched) are accessible to the public onMedrxivand theNational Medicine Librarymaintains an incredible information database.

SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19 has been isolated several times in the laboratory, its sequenced DNA and its demonstrated presence in droplets and on contaminated surfaces.

Even if you do not get into the pandemic idea, are tired of messaging or are overwhelmed, please do the right thing for your own health and health of others by social distance and the port of a mask. And to cross this pandemic with your healthiest, do not miss these 37 places you are most likely to catch coronavirus .

JAIMIE MEYER, MD is a specialist in infectious diseases of Yale's disease and associate professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine.