03-29-2020, 05:57 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-29-2020, 06:01 AM by Aroura.)
Coronavirus spreads. But don't panic! (topical thread)
Coronavirus spreads. But don't panic! (topical thread)
(03-28-2020, 08:08 PM)abaris Wrote:(03-28-2020, 08:03 PM)SYZ Wrote: —As far as I'm concerned, it's the lazy, self-entitled, socially inept, and demanding millennials
that should be at the back of the queue, rather than the proven, productive, responsible members
of our society——the 65+ demographic.
Ideally noone should be left behind. But I have some triage experience from my years as a Red Cross medic. Age was never on the list in our training. Chances for recovery always made top of the list.
I literally sat here stunned at the butthurt responses to your earlier comment. You only pointed out the heartbreaking choices that are being made, not passing judgement on those making them. I have no idea why some people sort of flew off the handle, there. I guess it's just an emotional time. But I agree with you.
Some hospitals in New York have begun to have patients share ventilators to try and avoid the triage decisions as long as possible.
When there are 10 beds and 40 patients, somethings going to give. Over 80's have a very high mortality rate with this illness regardless of underlying conditions, and choices sometimes have to be made with incomplete information, so I think we have to trust the judgement of the people on the front lines, because there are no easy or right answers. Ideally, they wouldn't have to make these choices at all. I'm sure they are selecting patients based on their judgement of best chance of survival, which being humans, will sometimes be wrong.
And it is a war, spoken so by those fighting it. Sure, most of us are lucky enough to be fighting it by literally doing nothing, but some people have to go out into it every day, face sick and dying people all day, then go home and stay isolated from their families so they don't spread it if they become contaminated. 40 healthcare workers in Italy alone have died of the virus since this began, and more in other countries. I've seen a lot of doctors and nurses describe it as a war, and since they are the ones fighting it, I'll take their comparison as apt.
