Matthew Berger - Member

Reply to: Dr. Erickson’s viral “COVID-19 Briefing” video is dangerously wrong Posted April 28, 2020

Whether it is or is not worse than the flu does not matter. The discussion has always been when and how to reopen. Dr. Erickson’s position is that shelter in place does nothing to save lives, and may in face compromise more people’s immune systems than some return to normalcy. The only thing we’re discussing is when and how to open. Data is growing that the virus is not as dangerous as previously imagined. We also know who the populations are that should take additional precautions. He does nothing more than making the case for reopening most businesses with looser safety guidelines. The comparison between Sweden and Norway is much harder to refute than anyone’s estimation of fatality and infection rates.

Reply to: Dr. Erickson’s viral “COVID-19 Briefing” video is dangerously wrong Posted April 28, 2020

I applaud your attempt to have a meaningful dialogue with people who are in denial over the real issue at hand. It is absolutely untenable to remain in lock-down for any extended period of time. The discussion was always to shelter and reopen at a pace so that we did not overwhelm the medical system. You’re welcome to hide from this thing at home individually, but closing down the country is not a solution. People will get sick, people will die, but if we’re real with the numbers the average age is close to 80 with health issues and the majority of deaths are in nursing homes. These people are largely not standing in line at Starbucks.

Reply to: Dr. Erickson’s viral “COVID-19 Briefing” video is dangerously wrong Posted April 28, 2020

This is very poorly written and only attempts to refute a single data point in an hour long video. Let’s start with what we’re really discussing here. The plan has always been to shelter in place so we do not overwhelm the medical community. The discussion has never been about staying at home until it is 100% safe. So the discussion is really about when and how to reopen. We now have data showing that there are people who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. We also have reports that a large number of the population might have already had the virus due to antibody testing (again not perfect, but confirms asymptomatic/mild cases exist). We will NEVER test everyone. I thought his comparison between Sweden and Norway was an excellent comparison on strategy despite not having 100% testing numbers. When it comes to the mortality rate what we can glean from his discussion is the topic of comorbidities. Meaning that people don’t just die from COVID, they die from pneumonia most likely because they have other risk factors that led to a compromised immune system or compromised respiratory system. The average age of death in Italy was 79.5 years old at last watch. Similarly, the Flu knocks out the sickest among us. We are not debating whether or not to encourage our elderly to stay home, we are debating whether or not the widespread shutdown of the country is justified as a strategy. To ignore the tertiary effects of this disease and the economic damage this strategy has and will create is a flaw in analysis. There is also an inherently flawed logic in saying a supermarket is safe but a car dealership is not. The fact is that any business we close will require untold sums of money to keep from going bankrupt. His analysis of facts related to depressed immune systems and a healthcare system that is shutdown are spot on. If we do not start subjecting the healthy portions of our population to this virus we will only be building a worse fall flu season. While there are some statistical errors that can be nitpicked, do not allow that to confuse the overarching message that stay at home orders are not a long term solution!