Who trusts the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or believes all their rhetoric? Any outfit that considers firearm ownership a disease is suspect, to say the least. The below info/data was taken directly from their web site. Since Democrats and other lefties worship the CDC, this data cannot be construed in such a manner that would alarm them, be conceived as a political threat, or cause them undue mental discomfort. Compare and contrast.

CDC estimate of flu cases in this current flu season to date:

36 million cases of flu.

370,000 hospitalized.

22,000 deaths.

Media reaction: Zero

CDC estimate of H1N1 (Swine Flu) in 2009 and 2010:

8 million cases.

274,000 hospitalized.

12,469 deaths

Media reaction: Zero to minimal.

Also: It was “not Obama’s fault.”

It should also be noted that:

H1N1 was most destructive to young people.

H1N1 is still around and viable, and its effects are global.

CDC estimate of Wuhan virus as of Wednesday:

7,038 cases.

< 300 hospitalized.

97 deaths (mostly elderly).

Media reaction: 24×7 hysterics.

Also: President Trump directly blamed while Chinese propaganda willfully spread by the media.

Which brings us to today. The aged (those over 60) and the infirm (especially with respiratory issues) are the most at-risk and most likely to die if infected by the Wuhan virus. Unlike the H1N1 swine flu, the very young do not seem to be affected except for isolated cases. In addition, the vast majority of people who contract the Wuhan virus recover.

I would like to think improving response time to isolate the problem would be a beneficial thing. In most of the current cases in rural states, the infected had contact with basically 10 or fewer people and had not been to a large outing or a venue with lots of people. The faster the response, the quicker it is resolved.

Despite the frantic searches for new vaccines and new drug treatments for emerging diseases like the Wuhan virus, you had better hope you were gifted the right genes for each and every pandemic, as they never really go away, they are nearly impossible to eradicate, they just lurk, and new ones will always emerge (SARS, H1N1, HIV, MERS, COVID-19 …). Quarantines and isolation work in the short term, but they are difficult to maintain over any length of time.

The information now coming out of China cannot be trusted. The ChiComs are waging both a global and internal disinformation/propaganda campaign, with scientific/medical considerations a distant second in emphasis. The long-term ramifications for the ChiComs are very bad unless they can convince their own population and the rest of the world that they are not to blame and also “have the virus under control,” which is highly doubtful given the continuing rise in the number of cases around the world.

The Wuhan virus appears to be impacting less than 1% of the population in areas of “high” infection: China (~.12%) S. Korea (~.21%) Italy (~.037%). Despite these statistics, the fake news media make it sound like half of the population is sick, and that it’s only a matter of time until the rest contract the virus, too.

The number of media mentions of the Wuhan virus by US media (and worldwide media, for that matter) – despite the substantially lower statistics (cases, hospitalizations, deaths) than in previous pandemics – suggests how artificially and sensationally the panic drum is being beaten. Useful public service information often is being drowned out by speculation and misinformation, making it difficult for news consumers to discern facts from hysteria.

Messing with the local or global economy is a bad deal – for everyone! More people are going to be adversely affected by the economic crisis and associated turmoil than by the disease itself. And we are seeing this play out in real-time. Is this purposeful?

Perspective is everything, and the news and information sources a person pays attention to are very important. There are medical professionals who are dispassionately explaining what the masses could do to mitigate the problem. “Do not panic” is an important part of the message. Much more from the professionals along these lines would go a long way to dispelling the doom and gloom projected by the legacy media, and basically take the wind out of their hysterical sails/sales. It may also stop/curtail the hoarding and fear-mongering that does nothing good for the nation, or the world for that matter. Valid, proven, and accurate propagation of the facts is still the best method to combat innate fears and uneducated responses by the uninformed. Most people can make good, informed decisions with factual data in hand.

I completely agree with this Victor Davis Hanson observation: “Transparency in a consensual society together with a free-market economy is encouraging tens of millions of citizens to work in tandem and independently to figure out creative ways to ameliorate the epidemic, politically, medically, socially, and economically.” We must push back on attempts by authoritarians (mostly Democrats) who would curtail the free-market and individual freedoms while chasing the chimera of security and safety. That is the route by which tyranny prevails and nations perish.

Finally, basic hygiene, common sense, and civic courtesy are the rallying cries for this crisis. We can (and will) hold the Chinese accountable after the pandemic abates.

The end.

Stu Cvrk served 30 years in the US Navy in a variety of active and reserve capacities, with considerable operational experience in the Middle East and the Western Pacific. An oceanographer and systems analyst through education and experience, Stu is a graduate of the US Naval Academy where he received a classical liberal education which serves as the key foundation for his political commentary. He threads daily on Twitter on a wide range of political, military, foreign policy, government, economics, and world affairs topics. Read more by Stu Cvrk