A light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel

I am not an expert in the medical field, nor a politician, but I do see a path to bring this pandemic to an end, and it isn’t waiting for a vaccine that may or may not ever be developed. A vaccine has never been found to eliminate the common cold and the flu vaccine is a moving target every year and never 100 percent effective. The clear path is for everyone to test themselves for the virus as often is as needed to keep from infecting anyone else. This could be two times per week, every day or even twice per day. We will need science to tell us how often testing is needed. Today, we only test people that we think have the virus and this low level of testing will never eradicate it.

The leadership of this country was very slow to recognize the importance of testing and we lost several months of precious time that led to the shutdown and paralysis of our economy. We were given false hope that the virus was under control and would somehow mysteriously disappear. What we really needed (and still need) is a Herculean federally funded effort to bring forward home testing for everyone living in the United States (legal or otherwise). The cost of providing home testing will certainly be less devastating than the social distancing policies and the shut down of our economy. It will also provide much needed hope that we can get back to some sense of normalcy.

Home testing on a scientifically determined schedule is the way to isolate and eradicate this disease. Just like you brush your teeth every morning, you will perform a simple test to make sure that you have not been infected. This is not pie in the sky as there is already a home test kit on the market. Someone testing positive would notify authorities and be provided health care and economic assistance to self quarantine. Those living in the same household would also be doing daily testing to ensure that they are not also infected.

The coronavirus only survives through transmission. Isolate the contagion and you can eliminate this disease. Home testing is the pathway to defeating this virus once and for all. Our leadership shouldn’t be betting the ranch on developing a vaccine that may never come to fruition.