Panic is dysfunctional

During the 2019 flu season, 61,000 Americans died; over 1,000 of them were from Washington State. The loss of life was tragic for those who lost loved ones, but it was not cause for panic. The coronavirus has claimed just over 100,000 Americans, 1,100 from Washington. COVID-19 is a severe flu epidemic, but it is not cause to panic. I am not trying to belittle the impact of the disease, but the numbers don’t justify the world-wide fear that put forty-one million Americans put of work.

Mass hysteria is nothing new. Fear results from the suggestion of threat to our individual or collective wellbe...