How will
this Covid-19 problem ever be resolved?
Clearly we first need a therapeutic way to treat the disease and save lives.
Next we need a vaccine to create mass immunities and eventually choke the virus out.
In the meantime,
we need to slow the infection rate to
keep hospitals from being overburdened. We need to quarantine those
that are the most susceptible, old people, obese people and people with other
conditions that make them most at risk to this virus.
What I have
noticed in discussions of steps needed to save us from this pandemic, is the
skepticism of finding a therapeutic treatment, and developing a vaccine. It seems every idea gets instantly shot down
as impossible.
Every thing
needs to be tested nine ways from Sunday, and every potential breakthrough has
not been proved other than anecdotally.
Experts are
careful to explain why it is impossible
to have a vaccine in less than 18 months,
and why possible therapeutic treatments are too dangerous to be
attempted, even on people who are dying.
It harkens
me back to my days at a large brokerage firm dealing with security
trading and processing.
The industry
had many old guard experts who could explain why any new enhancement to the
process of trading securities, clearing and delivering securities and pricing sales
was completely impossible.
Industry
Leaders wanted to clear transactions in 3 days, not 5 days. Experts explained how that was just not
possible without at least several years of development.
The Stock Exchanges wanted to trade
securities in penny increments, not the traditional eight of a dollar. Experts were very good at explaining why this
just could not be done, certainly not without years of programming and testing.
The industry wanted to eliminate delivery of
physical certificates, instead deliveries should be on paper by simple computer
transfers from various brokerage firm accounts.
Experts would say to those requesting these changes,
“You just
don’t understand the complexities and difficulties involved.”
The brokerage
industry and the Exchanges had a solution to overcoming all the difficulties the
old guard experts warned of.
They simply
mandated the changes.
The experts
were told “Just do it, we want it!”
Now, the darnedest
thing is that when ever Industry Groups mandated any of these major changes to
processing, the changes were implemented within the mandated time frame.
It went like
this:
Industry
Leaders and Exchanges:
“We need XY and Z to improve our process.”
Old Guard
Experts: “That would
be nice, but it is impossible, you just don’t understand.”
Industry
Leaders and Exchanges:
“We need it; do it within 6 months. Oh, and It is mandatory.”
Old Guard
Experts: “Impossible,
if it can be done at all it will take at least two years.”
Industry
Leaders and Exchanges:
“Six months, and it is mandatory, any firm not in compliance will be
fined and probably go out of business.”
Occasionally
the time frame was extended a few months, but processes that were deemed by
experts as impossible were developed time and time again simply because those
process changes were mandated.
It is
amazing what smart people can accomplish when they are challenged and when something
simply HAS to be done.
It was a
Wall Street joke, that the way to do the impossible is to simply mandate it!
The solution
to Covid-19 is simple. We need a therapeutic
drug to treat people until a vaccine is developed and we need a vaccine soon.
Just get all
the drug companies together and tell them
we need a therapeutic drug within 6 weeks, and a vaccine by this fall.
Then tell them
it is MANDATORY!
It worked on
Wall Street, why not the world?
On Star Trek, often Jean Luc-Picard would ask Geordi La Forge to improve the engine. La Forge would say it will take X hours. Picard would reply we don't have that time. Get on with it.
ReplyDeleteIt is said that in war times medicine and technology advance very fast as people try new methods of doing things.
We are now at war with a virus. I pray God will help us find a solution.
God bless.
My husband would agree. He's had ridiculous timelines of having to get something done yesterday and somehow it does indeed happen.
ReplyDeleteYes. Something is better than nothing at this point except of course drinking or injecting Lysol and/or eating Tide Pods.
ReplyDeleteHaving a date to shoot for means that there is a deadline that needs to be met. If we want to get back to a semblance of normality provide a mandate to the pharmaceuticals with the carrot of bonus money if done correctly before the deadline and financial penalties if not reached in that time. Money and deadlines does have a funny way of getting things done.
ReplyDeleteI do think the US needs to be more proactive with containment... as for "Make it so", if it's not us I bet another country comes up with something sooner than we think!
ReplyDeletePerhaps because we are dealing with politicians? In an election year?? Too many agendas going on and no one really knows what is going on. This virus will be with us for a very long time, vaccine or not. I would imagine once the vaccine is invented and proven to work then every year it will have to be fine tuned like each year the flu vaccine has to be tuned up. I'd be curious how many healthy people who were quarantined actually end up with chronic medical conditions, like obesity, when this is all said and done.
ReplyDeletebetty
We shall see.
ReplyDeleteAs you well know, the bigger problem here is we are dealing with human lives. The medications have to be tested on people, and it's unethical to test them until we know that it won't kill the first person who takes it. Thus it takes time.
ReplyDeletePlus, every drug that is tested and doesn't work slows things up, and we can't know what will or won't work until each is tried.
The FDA is fast track approving a lot of things right now, and testing is going forward as fast as it can without killing people.
Although many of us could agree beforehand that, if i'm going to die anyway, i give you permission to try any drug on me you like, in the name of possibly helping save others before i go. Yes, i'd give such permission for myself.
Creating new chemicals and testing how they react in our bodies is a lot more complicated than testing out a new system for delivering memos across the country by computer, as you know. It is fun to think about, just being able to mandate it.
Didn't we get to the moon that way?
ReplyDeleteDrug companies are all about the PROFIT. A hefty monetary award to the first proven therapeutic drug, and to the first proven vaccine, might work better than a mandate!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing what changes can be accomplished speedily whenever some politician or other wants it done.
ReplyDeleteWe're doing well here with self isolation and social distancing. With the whole state (almost) obeying the laws we are now 12 days with no new cases and only a handful still recovering.
I think you are right on target Joe.
ReplyDelete" ... explain why it is impossible to have a vaccine in less than 18 months ... " Well, let's make that statement accurate: It's impossible to have a lawsuit-resistant, FDA approved vaccine within 18 months. The FDA and our legal system are the biggest inhibitors to any cure for anything out there. The cure for any disease/condition is nearly powerless compared to the greed of the legal system and bureaucracy of the government.
ReplyDeleteYou note about therapies, Queenie and her Father were given HydroChloroquine therapy BEFORE the legal system and bureaucracy (and press) had a chance to intervene and torpedo it. In both cases the virus was holding strong and recovery dicey. In both cases within 24-36 hours of the therapy starting there were very evident improvements allowing their bodies to get a good foot-hold in fighting back. It ain't no cure but in all 5 cases where I know it was deployed the condition turned around after just a day, even though Dad had to be taken off of it after that due to heart issues. ..... and then the media, legal system, and FDA caught up and now it takes an act of Congress practically to employ it.
i agree with all you said dear Joe
ReplyDeleteif it can work for wall street why not for world ?
i believe that leaders of this world are playing their politics game on even over this this virus
what a shame