Look, I've been willing to play along with this whole gag for quite a while now. Both KYHillChick and I are what you'd call high-risk. I've got a mother stuffed in an assisted living facility that I haven't seen since March. So far, I've been happy to play along and treat COVID-19 like it is a clear and present danger.
However, why all the hoo-haw over testing? From the very beginning, the COVID mavens have been all over testing.
There's not enough test kits
We need more tests
We need to be testing people
Testing is essential
We'll all die if we don't have testing
We need drive-thru testing
We need everyone tested
(blah, blah. . . blah.)
But why? Why is testing so freaking important? We've known from early on that a lot of folks never present symptoms. We've known from the beginning that most people that get it and have symptoms are over and done with it without serious trouble. It's only the folks that get serious symptoms that really need attention. You've got a fever? Trouble Breathing? Non-productive cough? Yep, you probably have it.
From the get-go, some folks have treated testing as if it is somehow the key to all this and it ain't. If I get tested tomorrow and I come back negative, that means nothing about what is going to happen to me next week. If I do test positive, what do I do? Stay home and stay away from people. Hell! That's what I've been doing since mid-March anyway.
Let's just say I don't have a family around me. Let's say I'm 45 and not 62. I get the disease. Am I going to be walled off alive? No. Am I going to be stuffed in an oven alive? No ( at least not if I'm living in China) . No, I'm going to be allowed to go out and go shopping at the drug store and the grocery. I've got to be able to eat. I've got to be able to get to the pharmacy. What the hell difference does testing make?
Let's put me back to 62. I get sick. I present symptoms. The symptoms are bad enough that I get sent to the hospital. Now what? Does testing me make me better? If I test negative and still have the symptoms, are they going to throw me out of the hospital? If I test positive, is that going to mean I get special treatment? They're still treating symptoms here with some new anti-Covid measures thrown in like HCQ and Zinc and stuff like that. Does a positive test change the course of treatment? Probably not. As long as I've got symptoms associated with COVID-19, I'll get the same treatment, negative or positive.
Let's say I have no symptoms. What does testing do for me? Does it get me back to work quicker? Do I get a prize? Does it mean I'll never get COVID-19?
So what's the big deal about testing?
Why does Trump get beat up about lack of tests?
Why does the media keep harping on testing?
Why is testing "the key to everything?"
Please, someone, explain this to me.
