Ezekiel Emanuel MD is the profane, street-wise Chicago politician widely considered (among people I trust, anyway) to be the architect of the Obamacare legislation, not least because of his ability to design it so enough anti-reform forces would let it through. Those pragmatic compromises are the source of much distress among those people I trust, because the law’s not perfect. But it is perfect in the sense that the legislation passed, and has survived all attempts by vehement opponents to cut its nuts off (so far). So when he gives advice, I believe it will be pragmatic and street-wise. And probably blunt. But winning.
Here’s his advice, last week, on what activities are relatively safe or dangerous as this country continues re-opening for better or worse.
A week before Memorial Day I published Re-opening into uncertainty, dangers, lessons and lies: what will you do? I’m thrilled that he agrees with me, though he goes into a lot more detail. It’s easily the best graphical representation I’ve seen of such advice.
Importantly, the graphic lists the four risk factors he and his co-authors considered, which all make sense: enclosed space, crowds, duration, and forceful exhalation. (This is all wicked bad news for my chorus and all live theater performances, but it’s consistent with what we know so far about this bitch of a virus: harm comes from sustained close contact with people breathing on each other.) Please please see Zeke’s original page for additional information.
Speaking of pragmatic …
Did I say “blunt”?
Older readers may not know it, but these days “blunt” is a synonym for a joint. And let’s zoom in on that “high” part of the graphic:
Yep, he warns that coughing while sharing a joint at a party is an additional risk. That’s Zeke. Exactly like warning kids what they need to know about risky sexual practices.
Strange that he didn’t list alcohol as a risk for bars, but at least he listed heavy breathing.
Wish I’d seen this last week, before the Fourth of July weekend. But you can use it (and share it) for the rest of your COVID life – especially since now you have the four factors, so you can think for yourself.
I appreciate the graphic. It shows risk and factors to be the intertwined flowing system that they are. I’m glad to see he doesn’t have a thick black line saying: Police can shoot someone not wearing a mask at this exact behavior…
But be aware: Dr Emanuel is using Covid to promote the idea of immunity passports. Read this paper here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2765836 It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I don’t need to add anything to the well written comments – make sure you read all those. Maybe the most succinct and relevant to help you think deeply about the real motives of these people: “Throughout history, many pandemics have come and gone, raging warfare on mankind, killing millions and millions. Why this and why now?” Yes, this bug is HIGHLY contagious; but it is NOT highly lethal. What exactly are you all so afraid of??Dave, there appears a conflict: your view that patients should become more educated so that they can understand what they are faced with, become empowered, and make their own decisions versus agreement with more government mandates, controls, and restrictions not allowing us to do just that.
Tom, we are in a freaking medical disaster / emergency. I blog about what to do about it, not about politics. And I am ANNOYED AS HELL that people come in and change the subject rather than responding to what I posted; I have a policy of leaving such comments live but putting a strikethrough on them, so they and others can see what’s on point and not.
All I care about is getting us through this disaster, individually and collectively. Your diversion into immunity passports is irrelevant until that happens.
And I think you’re either an absolute fool or a cruel political manipulator if you think “NOT highly lethal” is a useful, responsible comment in the face of 137,000 dead Americans so far.
A final perverse, sneaky, manipulative twist is in your last sentence, saying that there’s an either-or “versus” between being an empowered patient and being a patsy for government mandates.
I don’t know you but your words match those of cruel libertarians (not all libertarians are cruel!!) who truly don’t care how many die, because to them, restrictions are worse than death, and they will enforce that philosophy on others, which is pretty bizarre considering their belief that nobody should be forced to do anything.
I suggest you go read my public FB question yesterday What level of emergency should we say justifies restraining liberty? Building on fire? London Blitz? 100k deaths?
If you don’t think we’re in an emergency, then we have no basis for conversation, so don’t bother coming back. If you do agree we’re in an emergency, then let’s talk constructively about what to do about it.
Excelente aportación e-paciente Dave