Photo courtesy of www.nashville.gov
Last week Mayor Cooper moved Nashville back from Phase 3 to Phase 2 in a surprising turn of events. With an effort to stop a growing trend in Covid-19 cases, the city seems to be ignoring the fact that as of the last week of June there had been no Covid-19 deaths in Davidson county for those under 40 years old and only 1 death under 44.
The recent increase of Covid-19 cases nationwide and in Nashville have been largely for those under 40 years old. That said we know Covid-19 DOES kill older people and those with pre-existing conditions at a much higher rate. People under 40 can be a vector to those people and it’s the responsibility of those people to #stayaway from their older parents and grandparents and those with pre-existing conditions.
For this to work it would take two sides coming together. Those that think Covid-19 is serious and those that think it’s largely overblown. My hope is that we can build a bridge with BOTH sides and agree that it’s not that dangerous for younger people but for older people and those with pre-existing conditions it’s much more likely to be deadly. It doesn’t mean everyone under 40 will survive and it doesn’t mean everyone over 65 will die. It’s just a data based approach using something not used too much in politics these days… common sense! If people can agree on this message and largely separate older people from younger people we can get through this mess without shutting our country down again.
Nashville can be the first. We should not stay shut down and I think a better option is to empower the people of Nashville to be personally responsible and #stayaway from the most vulnerable populations. If you’re going out to restaurants and bars #stayaway from your parents and grandparents. If you are working in the service industry and you’re around people all day #stayaway from those with the highest risk. If you’re older or have a pre-existing condition #stayaway from younger people in your family.
And if you have a pre-existing condition and have to go to work lets allow the people of Nashville to find a solution to help you #stayaway from those that could be vectors.
There is no perfect solution to the pandemic but we can DRASTICALLY reduce fatalities if we have a more thoughtful, non cookie cutter approach.
Reader Interactions