Light in the COVID Tunnel

Traps and Catastrophes
Horn of Plenty
Virus Killer
Light in the COVID Tunnel
Puerto Rico, Cyberpunk and Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction

If you ever think you just can’t win, I know how you feel. I’m labeled both a doomsayer and a Pollyanna—sometimes in reaction to the same letter.

In fact, I am neither. I used to be the “muddle-through” guy who acknowledged difficulty but expected eventual success. Recently I modified that to “stumble-through,” acknowledging today’s more intense challenges. Earlier this month, I said we are entering a Depression-like period for much of the economy. But I still think we’ll make it through.

Financial markets are strong in part due to confidence we will have effective COVID-19 treatments and/or vaccines soon. These, it is thought, will restore consumer confidence and enable swift economic recovery. I sincerely hope so, but results will take time—even if they work perfectly.

That’s my outlook in a nutshell: We’ll be okay, but we’ll have problems first. Both can be true; the difference is in the timing. It’s important to keep this straight in our minds. Extreme things can happen, for either good or bad, but they don’t last forever. We have to maintain mental balance between the extremes.

Today I’ll explain why this is important, then tell you about another technology which, unlike vaccines and treatments, may actually stop COVID-19 and other viruses from attacking us in the first place—colds, flus, even bacteriological super bugs. This could be a true game-changer if it works. It is this continued technological progress in so many areas that makes me optimistic about the future.