Hal C Clark's Blog

When we talk about treatment of a disease such as Covid-19 we base our studies on science. Some people say we can’t trust science because they keep changing their mind. But finding the answer involves some trial and error.
Think back to ninth grade science when you learned the scientific method. All the science guys use it.
Remember Thomas Edison? He tried 999 different designs for the light bulb before finding one that worked. A lot of failures you say? Well, flip the wall switch and see what happens. He used the scientific method on each one. This is an organized method of finding truth.
The Scientific Method
1. The question – what are you trying to discover.
2. Hypothesis – the design and prediction of results of the solution.
3. Testing the hypothesis – doing the experiment.
4. Analysis – observation of results
5. Share results and invite other scientists to duplicate the experiment to seek similar results.
6. Go back to 1.
After many trials we may develop a theory based on what we know so far, understanding that our theory will change many times with many challenges before being accepted as law. Laws rarely change and are said to be facts (Law of gravity, etc.)

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A virus is not a complete organism. It cannot “live” on its own, cannot replicate or feed itself. To complete its life it must find a host cell and insert itself into the mRNA of that cell so that the virus is in control. The cell becomes non-functional and is infected. The virus gets nutrients, resources and the rest of the RNA chain.
The Corona virus likes nice, soft, moist respiratory cells that it can easily insert itself into. From there, its offspring can travel to other parts of the body.
The moist respiratory particles can travel in air currents (usually 6 to 8 feet) and can carry many viruses. The simplest way to protect ourselves is to keep the virus from travelling person to person. One way is to stay away from infected people. It is difficult to tell who they are. It would be easier if we had some type of fence or stop sign to keep them out of our respiratory system, but they rarely read signs and they are small enough to pass through most fences. If only….
Fortunately we have developed a fence capable of blocking even the virus. To work it must fit properly against your face, and cover both mouth and nose. Wearing it on your chin does not work. Properly worn it keeps the virus either in or out.
Theories concerning the behavior of the virus are changing (improving) daily. People sometimes say “Oh, the doctors keep changing their minds. Look back at the scientific method and you will see they are merely enhancing their knowledge base. As we learn more about the behavior of the virus we tweak the methods of fighting it. We are following the same course in developing a vaccine.

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A herd immunity happens when a population has enough individuals immune to a disease that it effectively “disappears” The disease agent is still present but there are not enough susceptible people to spread the disease from person-to-person. By the year 2000, no cases of measles were being reported in the US. In 2019, because less children were being vaccinated, people bringing the disease from abroad caused a new outbreak. Because of fewer vaccinations we had lost the herd immunity. When a vaccine is available, the scientific key to defeating the virus will be in vaccinating 90 to 95 percent of our population. If not enough people are vaccinated, we will continue to have new outbreaks for many years to come.