COVID - Are we asking the right questions?

I believe if we are given true information we can make good decisions to get through the COVID pandemic. But we need the right questions asked and answered, which unfortunately I am not seeing. Perhaps if the media, politicians and medical societies started asking/answering the right questions, instead of playing off of fear and trying to control everyone, we would be in a better place today with respect to COVID. Here are some questions I would want asked/answered. The answer, “I don’t know but we will be researching this and getting back to you” would be fine with me and a move in the right direction. So let’s play Twenty Questions 1- Are we in a second wave and if so why? 2- If you already had COVID, can you get it again? 3- How long does immunity to COVID last if you already had it? 4- Are there any tests available other than antibody tests to determine if you have had COVID? 5- If you have had COVID and have developed immunity, do you still need a COVID vaccine? 6- Will a COVID vaccine work, if so, how often does it need to be given? 7- Can we ever eradicate SARS-COV-2 virus or will it become a natural ENDEMIC virus that circulates seasonally throughout the world? 8- Do medications work better in the early stages of COVID, if so which? In the later stages of COVID, if so which? 9- Who is at highest risk of COVID complications? 10- Should COVID restrictions, quarantines etc be different due to individual risk factors? 11- Who is most likely to be a super spreader of COVID and who is not? 12- Do masks work? Do they protect the wearer or others around them? 13- If masks work, what type work best and for whom? 14- What else can be done to prevent getting bad complications from COVID if I get exposed/infected? 15- Should we treat different geographic areas of the country different? 16- What can be done to improve an individuals health so that in the event they get exposed to COVID, they recover quickly? 17- What other health consequences have occurred due to COVID? Less doctor well visits? Less cancer screenings? Less elective surgeries for chronic medical conditions? Less/urgent/emergent treatments for cancer, chest pain, strokes as people are too afraid to go to ER or hospital for fear of contracting COVID? 18- Who should decide what balance is necessary between protecting people from an infectious disease vs other societal and economic consequences of lockdowns? 19- Should the government be allowed to tell healthcare professionals what safe FDA approved treatments can be used for a “novel” virus like COVID? 20- Is COVID really a “novel virus”? What other questions would you like to see asked/answered? In the mean time.... Respect COVID. I certainly do. But I believe if we can get real truthful answers to the above questions, based on real life truthful data, we can fear COVID less and get back to a normal functioning society.

DrH