…but what about the other .1%?
99.9% is certainly a great milestone to reach in many instances. It’s not so great if it is a percentage that indicates failure rate (and other things too). But in terms of positive achievements, 99.9% is superduper. Except for that last .01%. That’s still a bad thing.
Remember what the Lysol can says? Kills 99.9% of germs. Well, disregarding what a germ is (virus? bacteria? wheat?), my first question has always been, “What about that other .1%” The second question being, “Does the 99% number apply to killing 99.9% of all the germs, or just 99.9% of each category of germs?” The latter seems worse because there is at least a small representation of all the different “germs” still alive.
Question: What do you get if everyone wears a mask and stays six feet away from other people? Answer: A virus that can spread seven feet and survive until it can get past a mask.
That’s the way it works on this planet!
A mask and staying six feet away from other people is like a can of Lysol. It’s effective 99.9% of the time. But again, what about that other .1%? That other .1%? Well, that other .01% has evolved as of late 2020. And this is how viruses work. It is not some abnormal thing out of a science fiction movie. Viruses evolve. And this time around, we’ve helped it evolve. Not on purpose, but for a good and necessary reason. To slow the transmission of the virus so our medical institutions can handle the influx of sick people. But on a planetary scale, this is absolutely the first time a virus has evolved in this fashion with the help of the human species.
Oh, and do NOT interpret any of this as any sort of statement against wearing masks. But be real and understand that this entire mask and six feet thing is meant to delay transmission of the disease so our medical infrastructure can deal with all the sick people. It is not a magic shield that will keep everyone from getting sick. Again, that’s not the way it works on this planet. People don’t get sick until after the ‘herd’ has developed immunity.
Thankfully we have technology to help us achieve that “herd immunity”. It’s called a vaccine. It will help every person on the planet if everyone gets the vaccine as soon as it is possible. We’ll beat this thing. And then on to the next pandemic of course. Which we’ll be so much better prepared for, because we’ll have done it all before. And next time it won’t have the same impact.
And things will keep getting better. Until a rock from space drops on our planet. Maybe carrying a new form of infection that is half virus and half bacteria, a “bactus”.
