Sweet Gummi Mary! I just had the most scathingly STUPID idea!
Let the record show that I don't actually believe this idea. If I was a fiction writer, which I'm not, I'd run with it. A kind of horror (more likely horrible, if I wrote it) short story. A Twilight Zone-ish tale.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's what put this bee in my bonnetless noggin.
I was reading the local newspaper online. The lead story was the VIRUS. The article was from the county health center, the tracker of our local community infections. It had a link to show the current cases, with a chart.
Our county has four people who have tested positive. Twenty-three who have tested negative. The positives are all women, in the age categories of 1 in 20-29, 1 in 30-39, and 2 in 40-49. Of the four cases, one was a guest at a wedding, who was in close contact with an infected guest showing symptoms. Her occupation is not given, so I assume she does not work.
Here's where I got this plot idea:
The other three positive gals ARE HOME HEALTH CARE WORKERS IN ANOTHER COUNTY!
Sure, they could have picked it up in the other county, getting gas or lunch, or at their workplace, maybe. I don't know if they all work for the same company, though. Or if such workers have to go to the office every day before making their visits. So I don't have any facts for my story I'm not writing. All I know is that most home health care workers assist with household tasks, or check vitals, or give meds to the elderly. The prime group this VIRUS seems most deadly for.
My story idea: WHAT IF THE ELDERLY ARE THE ONES SPREADING THE VIRUS?
It could work. A whole nursing home full of elderly was the major hotspot at the beginning. WHAT IF a worker didn't bring it to them, but they gave it to the worker? And to visitors. Then it started spreading.
What if it works backwards like that? And that's the reason the elderly are recommended to stay at home. Because THEY are the spreaders! Everybody is trying to protect them but the reveal is that the general populace needs protection from the elderly.
How could that happen? We know that old people get a special flu shot. And a pneumonia shot. What if some dastardly villain gave them a shot from a special batch, and something in those vaccinations set off the VIRUS? Of course the villain would have also given himself and his fellow villains wishing to rule the world an actual, preventative vaccine to protect them ahead of time.
Again, I don't mean this to be serious. Just a thought for a plot. It's scientifically possible. Kids spread the flu, because they get the flu mist, which is a LIVE, weakened flu virus. It's called the attenuated flu virus mist. It actually gives them a mild case of the flu, so they can make antibodies to protect them from catching the real, unweakened flu. Anyhoo... when they're coughing and sneezing, they are spreading actual flu. That's why they shouldn't have the mist if they're not healthy, or live with immunocompromised people.
I wish I could write fiction. If I had any talent, I could have another The Stand ready to flow from my fingertips. I'm wordy enough, but too plagiaristic.
7 comments:
Anybody who is old--in other words, people who are retired--should be put into residential facilities until the scare is over... til the end of June, at least.
Every retired person should be moved out of their home and into a quarantined safe place. Retired husbands and wives should be housed together. Because there are so many retired folks, each married couple should only get a small room with an attached bathroom. That way, all the germs will be confined to small spaces.
Also, it's been proven that socialization is crucial to staying healthy, so no computers or televisions will be allowed, either. In that small space, married people will reconnect with each other.
Even if someone has retired but has started their own business, they're still at risk of infecting others... so they are to adhere to these mandates.
I am going to give your name and Farmer H's name to the authorities, so arrangements can be made for your new residence. I'm sure you're too busy right now buying up Peeps and getting Easter goodies sent off to Genius and The Pony to do it yourself. (I'm selfless and kind in that way.) It will only be for the next few months... and think of the togetherness you and your PITA will experience...
Sioux,
Yes. That is perfect. That will kill off all the old people for sure. Then society doesn't have to worry about them spending their disposable income, holding doors open for young whippersnappers, doing math in their heads to pay with correct change and leave a tip, telling time on clocks with dials, giving the thank-you wave when traffic yields to them, etc.
I will try to get my fiction writing ramped up to finish the book I'm not writing, to be published posthumously, when The Pony finds it in my after effects. Let's hope Genius doesn't find it! He would put it in the circular file, forthwith!
The Flu mist carries the live, weakened virus...SO DOES the adult flu vaccination, so that your body gets a very mild form and makes the antibodies necessary to keep you from getting the actual flu, or at the very least you might get a headache and a sniffle.
Also, it's been proven this virus came from China, so unless a whole nursing home group did a tour of China there's no way they'd be the spreaders.
River,
I always had to make sure that I (and the boys) got the shot with the DEAD virus, since we live with diabetic, pernicious-anemic Farmer H. Of course, I was putting trust in the docs, nurses, and pharmacy techs not to lie, and just give us what was on hand...
I did not know a dead virus could produce the necessary antibodies for protection. And how does this affect Farmer H? Wouldn't he be at just as much risk from any colds you all might get? And he has the sniffles himself...
A diabolical plot! I took that pneumonia shot they offered, in fact I had the booster shot this year. I refused the flu shot like I always do. They even tried to give it to me in the hospital when I had my cardiac event. Flu shots never end well for me.
River,
It does. Farmer H will not die of a cold, but his immune system is not that great, from his pernicious anemia and diabetes. He got the type B flu one year, in MAY, and was very sick, even though he'd had the flu shot. So we didn't want to be spreading anything serious to him. Let the record show that he picked it up at work! The boys and I were not responsible! Then he gave it to ME, and I was miserable, but mine was just like a bad cold, since I'd also had the shot. Which they said was not a good match for that year's type B.
He's always getting the sniffles. Had them three times since our last visit with The Pony on February 22. Not even bad enough to use Nyquil to sleep, which is his favorite. Not even a cough, just head snot. He snorts and sputters in the shower, but then is fairly normal as the day goes on.
***
Kathy,
My mom had a really bad reaction to her last pneumonia shot. They told her never to get it again. Her arm swelled up like a barrel, and she had to take benadryl to recover from the shot.
My last flu shot was two years before I retired. The Pony and I got it at Pharmax. He was fine, but within three hours, my knee has swelled up like a basketball, and very painful. Three days later, it was better, but the OTHER knee swelled up the same way. My doctor said that since the flu shot causes an immune response, if you have any other inflammation in your body, the response can localize there, and have such an effect. So I WASN'T crazy thinking my flu shot hurt my knee!
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