Dr. Anthony Fauci’s recent announcement of his plan to retire from leadership related to the national coronavirus pandemic has embolden his critics and those willing to attack public health efforts which have been allowed to dictate mandates on isolation, vaccinations and other perceived Draconian measures to semi quarantine the public in place restricting their free movement.  Could his agency’s funding of the Wuhan laboratory have led to a gain of function disaster here?

Moving under the radar is the suppression of data on epidemic causality in calling things what is perceived as politically correct rather than go to the predominant source of etiology.  The 1918 flu epidemic was thought to have a Chinese background but President Wilson reportedly sought to downplay this in the midst of a war to keep citizens working and joining the war effort.  Unfortunately, the History Channel search ties this to his legacy and ill health in ending the war and dampened the push for his concept of a League of Nations.

Rather than do appropriate contact tracing in an effort to limit the spread of the disease, getting an earlier handle on the AIDS epidemic staggered because of the fear of offending large segments of the male gay population with its attendant repercussions.  From this came an understanding of the high numbers of men who operate on the down low, prison gay dens, bath houses and other venues which heretofore had operated under the radar for homosexuals, bisexuals and others who were and are a large factor in this disease’s spread.   This is compounded by our unwillingness to be open and honest about one of life’s pleasures — sex, which can be a major vector of spread for pandemic illnesses.   Acknowledging the hazards associated with certain lifestyle choices reflect the nation’s unwillingness to see sex as it is; therefore, the disease continues to spread with expensive drugs developed allowing people to further promulgate the disease rather than change one’s behavior.  What happened here to gay pride?

Following on these heels is the corona virus pandemic which has hit across the board targeting those already immune compromised or possessing of life’s risk factors of obesity, smoking, etc. and the elderly.  Tagging this as the Wuhan virus is not racism but reflects a suspected source of its etiology. The resulting panic has led to a rush to vaccinate which now is thought to temper the serious illnesses that may have resulted but not kill the virus which constantly mutates.  The millions of deaths being appreciated worldwide have been devastating.  Not emphasizing lifestyle cultural risk such as consuming bats and other vectors has been limited.

In the midst of this pandemic is polio’s resurrection and resurfacing after the public was led to believe this had been eradicated.  Is it true that those who had the oral vaccines may be more susceptible?   Will this eventually mean a new round of vaccines? Will sanitation efforts and clean water which are crucial to disease control become a lifestyle supported for all?

New to the scene is the “monkeypox” virus fast gaining ground though just as contagious but so far not as life threatening.  A different name is being sought for it to quell the back lash against the African continent and gay men both reflecting positions high on the list of those infected.  Ads targeted at men who have sex with other men are clear.  Hidden in this discussion for the Religious Right is support for biblical admonitions against sodomy which few want to discuss though both sexes are so engaged. In medical school “gay bowel disease” was discussed but became politically incorrect and now may be a reemerging concept.

Viruses seem to be the gifts which keep on giving while adversely altering life.  Their ability to mutate has started exceeding our ability to suppress their virulence.  How many vaccines are too many or are enough?  Is there a cap on body burden for vaccines?  How do we get people to appreciate how their life style choices affect all?

The full picture of this coronavirus epidemic is still not clear.  How will we get folks to believe public health officials?  With inflation and our bailing out everyone for everything, a serious look at long term COVID, those with side effects from the vaccines, resulting disability unemployment and many unknowns are going to be a financial burden for the government since many vaccines were mandated for certain jobs as well as unfortunately being required for school attendance.  Where will the financial burden ultimately lie for these mandates?

1. ADA M. FISHER IS A PHYSICIAN WHO WAS A MEDICAL DIRECTOR IN A FORTUNE 500 COMPANY, PREVIOUS MEMBER OF A COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, LICENSED SECONDARY EDUCATION TEACHER, AUTHOR, POET, GIFTED PUBLIC SPEAKER AND WAS THE NC REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEEWOMAN (2012-2020).  HER BOOK “COMMON SENSE CONSERVATIVE PRESCRIPTIONS SOLUTIONS GOOD FOR WHAT AILS US,”  IS AVAILABLE.  Contact her at P. O. Box 777; Salisbury, NC 28145 or dradamfisher47@gmail.com