U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman -- a Northwestern alumnus and trial advocacy adjunct -- has an excellent oped in the Chicago Tribune, comparing his experience with polio and the current Covid-19 pandemic. Here is the gist:
In 1950, there was no talk of social distancing. There was no talk of wearing masks to prevent the spread of the polio virus. There was no talk of hand-washing and sanitizers to kill the virus before it entered the body. There was no talk of testing and contact tracing. There was no Dr. Fauci. There were just the random strikes that left kids like me either dead or with lifelong disabilities that could have been prevented or reduced by the measures put in place for the coronavirus.
So when I hear about “relaxing” those measures, indoor rallies and parties, impatience to “reopen,” when I see groups of mostly young people socializing without masks in our parks, plazas and beaches, when I read of the rising number of infections and deaths from COVID-19, when I hear people talking about the worst being over — I see history needlessly repeating itself.
You can read the entire essay here.
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