A Few Quick Questions on the COVID-19 Pandemic

But while we are more knowledgeable as a society about the Coronavirus of 2020 than we were about the H1N1 Virus of 1918, we're still human. 

And scared, or at least concerned. So here are a few quick questions that might shed light on our shared global crisis:

1) The government-mandated shut-down and "stay at home" quarantine is meant to:

1. a) Stop the spread of the virus
2. b) Prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed with patients requiring more resources than they had at their disposal
3. c) Give hard-working Americans a nice, long break
4. d) Both a and b 

2) Americans are more scared of:

1. a) Getting COVID-19
2. b) Facing severe financial hardship
3. c) Both a and b, but b more than a
4. d) Both a and b, but a more than b 

3) The ultimate source of the COVID-19 virus is:

1. a) The U.S. army, as directed by President Trump
2. b) The Democratic Party, as directed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
3. c) The former Soviet Union, and Russian President Vladimir Putin
4. d) China, either from a laboratory near Wuhan, or a "wet market" in Wuhan 

4) In January, the United States did not prepare against the COVID-19 virus, because:

1. a) President Trump was too arrogant to take the virus seriously
2. b) House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer were obsessed with impeaching Trump
3. c) Europe and the United States were too interested in the global economy and Chinese tourism during the Chinese New Year
4. d) Reports from the World Health Organization and China suggested that it was just another flu, like the recent SARS outbreak a few years ago 

5) Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) has as its mechanism of action:

1. a) Direct inhibition of viral replication
2. b) Strengthening the immune system to minimize viral spread
3. c) Minimizing secondary infections such as bacteria lining the respiratory system
4. d) Altering the cell receptor to COVID-19 virus, thereby preventing cell-to-cell spread 

6) Personal Protective Equipment and COVID-19 kits are:

1. a) Available and effective for mass use
2. b) Sufficient for health care workers, but not for the general public
3. c) Reliable and proven when available for most who need them
4. d) Approaching availability for health care workers, but not yet for the general public 

7) Urban and rural states in the U.S. have shown:

1. a) Equal rates of COVID-19 infection and death
2. b) More COVID-19 infection and death in urban states
3. c) More COVID-19 infection and death in rural states
4. d) More COVID-19 infection and death in urban centers more than rural regions in any given state 

8) The ultimate blame of our health/economic crisis is:

1. a) President Trump and the GOP, because they don't care if you die
2. b) House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer, because they don't care about the economy
3. c) The media, because they love the attention, money, and headlines
4. d) The Chinese government, because they were and still are non-transparent to the rest of the world 

The answer to all of the above is "d", whether we want to believe that or not. Absolutely NO ONE in the United States wanted this pandemic crisis.

We did NOT start this crisis. But it is our solemn and sacred duty to finish and resolve it, and to win this new, deadly, and largely avoidable war that was unfairly imposed upon us.

(CityWatch Columnist, Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father to two cherished children and a wonderful wife. He was (termed out) also a Westside Village Zone Director and Board member of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC), previously co-chaired its Outreach Committee, and currently is Co-Chair of its MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee and Vice-Chair of its Planning Committee. He was co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee and chaired the nonprofit Transit Coalition and can be reached at [email protected]. He also co-chairs the grassroots Friends of the Green Line at www.fogl.us. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)

-cw