Letter to Editor | Making COVID policy decisions

— from Tom Eversole —

Elected officials at all levels wrestle with the conundrum of prolonging physical distancing versus when and how to reopen commerce. A steady diet of win/lose dualism has produced the body politic we have today and is reflected in recent “liberate” demonstrations around the country.

The truly meaningful challenges of government and leadership, however, are seldom right / wrong dichotomies in which genius leaders know the one right answer. Rather, problems of importance are usually paradoxes to be managed as productively as possible. AND… often the best approach changes as the situation evolves. The question then becomes: Stay the course, or stop and think? 

An example is the models that predict changing numbers of COVID-19 fatalities based on current assumptions. As the assumptions change based on new data about actual hospital capacity, test availability and adherence to social distancing, the predicted number of deaths changes over time. That doesn’t mean the model is flawed. The model and predictions will change again with a successful treatment or vaccine- and so may the course of action chosen.

Most of us aren’t comfortable with ambiguity. Some folks want to foreclose on a critical decision in search of certainty or relief in a pandemic, but the virus won’t alter its course because we are uncomfortable. However, we may need to be uncomfortable in order to alter the pandemic’s course. One thing is constant: our resiliency lies in community, even if how we sustain that has changed for now.