Laurelwood October 2, 2020

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at the very beginning

After six months of altered lives avoiding contagion

Making us tired of what feels like a long time

No one wants to hear the reasons why

Really we are at the very beginning

Many people have stopped taking precautions

Wanting to believe the great misleader

Pretending COVID is harmless or a hoax

There’s no reasoning with them about it

But a thoughtful look at the numbers says otherwise

With a population of 370 million in this country 

And 7 million infected so far officially

That leaves almost everyone still at risk

And even if you triple the official count

Still 95 percent remain vulnerable

And even if only half of those eventually get it

The death rate so far will mean 2 million people die

It's possible a vaccine will protect us

That's the best case scenario we hope for

But realistically not available for regular people

Until at least 9 months  from now 

And all the anti-vaxxer refuseniks won't do it 

And all the cautious people wary of the rush job

Who wait to see what harm may come of it 

Means that the virus will keep spreading 

And there's no vaccine in development for children 

So they will be carriers as well no matter what 

Passing it around the schools and community 

Making the coronavirus endemic with no end in sight

In a global pandemic there are no boundaries

Where 33 million have been infected to date officially 

And using the same tripling estimate for an actual count 

That leaves 98 percent of 7.8 billion not yet infected 

And if only half of those eventually catch it

The death rate so far will mean 25 million humans die

A grim projection that calls for a cooperative world effort 

Doing what we can to reduce suffering and save lives

Bamboo Brook October 1, 2020

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Hacklebarney Black River October 1, 2020

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