The incredibly paternalistic idea that charity has to come in the form of things

I didn’t download Michigan COVID data today. Because of the holiday the state did not update their data on Friday. Though I don’t have actual numbers from what I’ve seen on other sites the number of cases in Michigan has jumped again, by quite a bit. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was on Michigan Radio saying no preventative measures are being considered right now. Besides nearly all the people getting sick are unvaccinated. Even though I’m annoyed with those who refuse to get vaccinated, there are some people who can’t. And Whitmer seems to forget that. The big COVID news is the announcement of the omicron variant that has been identified in South Africa and neighboring countries. Cases have also been found in Israel, Hong Kong, and today in Germany and Italy. Physician Ashish Jha tweeted we don’t know much about the omicron variant yet, though he says there are three things to focus on:

What are those three to pay attention to? Is it more transmissible than current strain (Delta)? Does it cause more severe disease? And does have it more immune escape (will it render prior infections or vaccines less effective)?

His answers to those questions are: It has taken off quickly in South Africa and looks to be a rapid takeover to be the dominant strain. But that can be a data anomaly with South African case numbers so low. We don’t know yet whether it causes more severe disease. This variant has several changes to the spike protein, the part of the virus that helps it enter cells. So there is concern that it may impact effectiveness of vaccines. But it won’t render vaccines or testing useless. Beyond that it is too soon to know. In the meantime ignore those who spread fear and those who downplay the severity. And get vaccinated (I got my third dose on Wednesday). Mark Sumner of Daily Kos, who has been reporting on the virus for close to two years, discussed the omicron variant in a lot of detail. For much of Sumner’s post he calls the variant “nu” because that would be the next letter in the Greek alphabet. But that would be confused with “new” said the World Health Organization, so that is skipped. As is “xi” because it is the same as the name of the premier of China, so it is a cultural connection best avoided. Landing on omicron means after delta, variants epsilon, zeta, eta, theta, iota, kappa, lambda, and mu have already appeared and thankfully didn’t amount to much. Or the names were seen as too similar. Sumner reported: Some countries have closed their borders to flights from southern Africa. Pfizer/BioNTech are studying the effectiveness of their vaccine on this variant. If effectiveness is low they will quickly develop a new vaccine to handle it, perhaps in 100 days. Leah McElrath tweeted that because of inadequate genomic sequencing in the US we don’t know whether omicron is already here. We should assume it is. So go back to basics: Get vaccinated/boosted. Mask up indoors and in crowded outdoor settings. And don’t freak out when the media freaks out as it starts reporting cases. In a second tweet McElrath discussed public safety theater – the government doing things that make us think we are safer when those things do very little. This is part of the announcement that people from southern Africa are banned from entering the US though citizens can return. But the virus doesn’t know nationality and all incoming people should be tested and quarantined, including citizens. Stephanie Nolen, a global health reported for the New York Times tweeted a thread about flying from Johannesburg to Amsterdam as Europe went into a panic and started restricting entry. Once in Amsterdam her plane sat on the tarmac for more than four hours (after an 11 hour flight) before authorities sent a bus to take them to a hall somewhere where they waited another two hours to get tested. Several positive cases (made worse by being confined?). And around her a lot of people without masks. She was told verbally she was negative, but without it on paper she can’t get on her next flight. Dr. Ellie Murray, a professor of epidemiology, tweeted a thread about what “endemic” means. There are four ways we can handle a pandemic. We can go for extinction of the pathogen. It is the hardest option but means we could completely forget about the disease. We haven’t managed to do it yet for any pathogen. We can go for global eradication. That’s almost as hard and everyone but researchers can forget about the disease. We’ve done it with smallpox and have almost done it with polio. We can go for local eradication. Still hard. Most of us can forget about the disease because public health officials monitor it. An example is measles. The remaining option is a continually occurring disease, one that is endemic. It’s easier in the short term, hardest in the long term. The term endemic means “Controlled at or below an ‘acceptable’ level.” If the disease is really bad “acceptable” would be quite low, close to elimination. If one person shows up with the plague, public health jumps into action. If the disease is quite mild the acceptable level can be high. Up to 80% of US adults have the virus that causes cold sores, but very little is done. “Endemic” does not mean harmless. We as a society and world have to choose what is acceptable. And public health officials are always monitoring the disease. Some people say we don’t worry about the flu. Actually, the common citizen doesn’t worry about the flu, but public health people are constantly monitoring it and citizens don’t see when they switch from monitoring to taking action. We can choose to use a great deal of effort to eliminate the disease or choose to constantly deal with it. And if the latter we choose what “acceptable” means. Sumner also reported that since the loss of smell and taste is a common symptom of COVID we are facing a tragedy. Sure, a million people who can’t smell is a much less tragedy than nearly 800,000 dead. But still a tragedy Doctors are finding the loss of smell can last longer than first thought. That one million is people who have lost their sense of smell for at least six months. There are a lot of delights with being able to smell – great food, perfume, and coffee (tea in my case). But smell also protects us from spoiled food, a fire, or a gas leak. People who can’t smell face a tasteless diet and may become disinterested in food, leading to malnutrition (a harsh way to lose weight). A loss of smell also leads to isolation and depression and a link to memories that smells can trigger. Joan McCarter of Kos reported there is a growing trend in world wide non profits that for people in need the best solution is to give them money. It is the smartest, most humane way to do it. Some US charities are figuring out the same thing. McCarter discussed a report on NPR that talked to Michael Wilkerson who was given money. He spent it on clothes, pay off debt, and make modifications to his home. McCarter wrote:

He was trusted to know what he needed to spend the money on, respected as a grown-ass responsible human being who could make choices about what he needed in his life. “I know when I don't have cash on hand, I don't feel worthy,” he told NPR. “It’s like whatever was looming over me when I didn’t have the cash, as soon as cash came, that cloud went away.”

McCarter concluded:

The incredibly paternalistic idea that charity has to come in the form of things—of cans of food, of coats, of whatever—is archaic and insulting, based on the idea that poor people are poor because they make bad decisions and can’t be trusted to make their own choices. Outside of natural disasters, where stuff like generators and building supplies and potable water and food is needed and welcome, it makes far more sense to give people the dignity of cash assistance. The dignity of a hand up allows them to make decisions for themselves.

Melissa Chadburn, writing for Capital & Main, a Kos partner, discussed the same thing – the city of Compton, California has started a universal basic income program (UBI – in this case it is basic income, though not universal across the city). In addition to profiling a couple people helped by the program, Chadburn wrote:

Unlike with traditional American public safety nets, there is no means testing, no work requirements. UBI recipients don’t have to disclose the backgrounds of people they live with. Funds are given as money rather than paid in kind as vouchers for food, transportation, or housing. With its 94,000 residents, the city has a deep well of seasoned community organizers who have long fought for improved education, fewer liquor stores, and more quality jobs. More than 1 in every 5 residents lives below the poverty line. ... There is nothing new about UBI, which was discussed in the United States back when George Washington was president. Founding Father Thomas Paine, struck by societal inequities, argued “every person, rich or poor,” should receive payments “to prevent invidious distinctions.” Paine proposed a solution in his 1797 Agrarian Justice pamphlet, suggesting £15 be paid to every “citizen” when they turned 21, followed by another £10 per year after they turned 50. ... Today, many cities and counties are working to remedy the ongoing economic effects of the pandemic, as well as longer-term inequities, through pilot guaranteed income programs. In California alone, at least 10 cities have implemented a guaranteed income for some residents.

One of the profiles show that many times once recipients get their lives in order they find a way to pay it forward. Brandi Buchman of Kos reported on the verdict in a murder case with a good outcome. A white jury in Georgia convicted three white men for the murder of a black man. That’s remarkable. The black man was Ahmaud Arbery and the white men are Travis McMichael, his father Greg McMichael, and their friend William Bryan. Bryan filmed the deed and it was that which convinced the jury the action was murder and not self defense. I’ll let you read the rest yourself.