VIRAL TRANSFORMATION – What could change due to COVID-19 by Dr. Norman Wetterau, M.D.
There is no doubt that the Covid-19 virus will change the world. The question in everyone’s mind is: How will we change? The Free Methodist Healthcare Fellowship (FMHF) offers these thoughts as a way of opening that conversation among us. The author of this article, is the President of the FMHF, Dr. Norman Wetterau, M.D.
He says, in part:
“At this point, everything seems negative: staying at home, worried that we or a family member might die from the virus, and the economic collapse that our nation seems to be entering into. This epidemic is uncovering some weaknesses and unaddressed problems in our land. Will we decide to address these? So far it appears we might…”
Dr. Wetterau then explores several issues that he thinks may change as we now recognize both the need and the solutions. Of those possible areas for change is the need for medical care for those who are not insured, the need for equity in resources for homeschooling with everyone having internet and computer access, and the difficulty of those without homes when sheltering is the only solution to viral mortality.
The physician ends with an issue of preparedness for disasters and diseases such as this pandemic. He says in part:
“…our basic economic system is fine in good times but not for a crisis such as this one. Dr Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University and 2001 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics wrote an opinion piece in the April Time magazine: Vol 195, No 14. He points out that markets can be shortsighted and risk-averse. Of course, the markets seemed to work wonderfully in the past few years, but their efficiency does not prepare us for a crisis. We needed to produce and store gowns and masks but how can one expect a company to produce things that they are not paid for and then store them for some emergency that may never come. There are things that a free economy is good for and things that the government needs to do. A totally free enterprise healthcare system has not prepared us for this and by itself, it cannot solve the problem. It appears that now people recognize this, but what about the next time? He compared what we have done to buying a car and saving money by leaving out a spare tire. Everything is fine and we have more room in the trunk until a flat tire occurs.”
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