Humanizing statistics

Kol hakavod to Maayan Hoffman for “In desperate need of oxygen” ( October 9).

The time is long overdue for the media to show the individual and suffering behind the coronavirus statistics. Her article answered my own Jerusalem Post article “In coronavirus, death is not a number” ( September 30), for which I am most appreciative.

Simply publicizing the number of daily deaths and the dying is not resonating with either our leaders or the public. Perhaps now that Hoffman has enabled Post readers to “meet” the human being behind the statistic, we might see a change in the behavior of our government and those they govern. It is imperative to constantly be reminded that every number is a real person; one with a real family who are denied the opportunity of saying a final goodbye to their departing loved ones.

Hoffman also reminds us of the amazing medical staff – overworked and underpaid – who continue to operate in the most challenging of situations. They deserve our utmost applause plus a promise that, in the aftermath of this pandemic, the government will do what it should have done 10 years ago: invest meaningfully in our health service. Hoffman has set an example to the media that we hope others will follow.

BRENDA KATTEN Netanya

“COVID- 19 could cause male infertility – new Israeli study” ( October 7) reports that the coronavirus may reduce fertility. Researchers mentioned that the coronavirus attaches to a receptor present on all the cells of the body ( called the ACE 2 receptor) which allows the virus to enter the cells and kill them.

This receptor is activated by an enzyme called TMPRSS2. If this enzyme is reduced, the ACE 2 receptor does not function and the virus cannot get into the cell and the person survives. So how do you lower the TMPRSS2 enzyme to stop the virus from entering the cell?

A simple way is to lower the level of the male hormone testosterone in the body, since this enzyme needs the testosterone hormone to function. Happily there are many drugs available that can reduce the testosterone level. Many of these are used to control advanced prostate cancer and are very safe and successful with few side effects.

Researchers around the world have done preliminary studies that show excellent response of these agents in corona, but no randomized double- blind controlled studies have as yet been completed. We use other more dangerous drugs now without large controlled studies. Wouldn’t it be worthwhile to try these testosteronelowering agents for the treatment of corona?

DONALD SILVERBERG MD FRCP Retired internal medicine specialist

Netanya

I want to acknowledge Rabbi Heshie Billet’s response (“We should be careful not to generalize,” October 5) to of my critique of the lack of leadership by dati leumi rabbis in the public health struggle with the coronavirus.

I appreciate his respectful tone and to- the- point argument. I accept his complaint that I should have pointed out that – unlike the haredim, by and large – many dati leumi rabbis ( and centrist Orthodox rabbis in the United States) did follow the guidelines faithfully.

Nevertheless, my critique went beyond the pandemic. The dati leumi leadership has followed the haredim in focusing on observance out of habit or social conformity. Many have lost sight of the uber- values and priorities of the tradition – nor do they ask what God is asking from us now. The result is a policy in which no positive change in Halacha is possible. They deny the possibility of change even where it is clearly needed – such as in greater dignity for women and their greater participation in religious life and leadership ( or, for that matter, in developing a more humane and reasonable approach to homosexuality).

One expression of this failure is that the rabbis failed to apply pikuah nefesh and the supremacy of life to go beyond the government guidelines and take leadership to assure that religious practices shift to maximize life and health – as Rabbi Israel Salanter did. I regret to say that the centrist/ dati leumi did not do better than haredim on the broader issues.

YITZ GREENBERG Jerusalem