Letter to the Editor: Young People can save the WORLD!

The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors of this newspaper.

Why, and how the youngest generation has to save us, and the USA, from COVD-19…

I am a recently retired Ph. D. medicinal chemist and was a research fellow at Bristol Myers Squibb for 33 years. I know a great deal about viruses. Thus, I was shocked yesterday when I pulled up in front of a local retailer and watched ten people, walk in and open the door with their bare hand. The Corona virus lives on metal and plastic surfaces, for as long as 4 DAYS! Now touch your face before washing your hands and you are exposed!

As I found myself reading the latest news about the deadly COVD-19 crisis. I came across two items of interest: First, 200 CT healthcare workers are in quarantine because they came in close contact with a presumed COVD-19 patient. One of those 200 was my wife, a visiting nurse who is awaiting at home (with me while we try to keep apart) for test results from a recently treated patient.

Our healthcare workers do not have enough of the correct PPE (personal protective equipment) and neither do our pharmacists, and everyone else out there in the community who are doing what it takes to keep us all well. Given the lack of testing, people are fearful, which is leading to a rapid shutdown of our economy, collapse of the stock market, and a rapidly increasing unemployment rate. This has not been seen since the 1930’s, only worse, because our great grandparents of that era did not also have to deal with a deadly viral health crisis at the same time!

My second concern is that CT governor Lamont put out a request for retired nurses to come back and help with the sick. Those people might be your aunt, mother, grandparents, etc. But these older people are exactly the ones most vulnerable! While many will heroically respond to the governor’s plea, this might be unwise, because they may get sick, bring it home, infect their family and/or friends, and more people will get seriously ill and flood the hospitals.

So, the governor’s idea may not be wise, but it led me to think of a better one: The younger generations have been shown to not get very sick. But like the famous Trojan horse, they can secretly deliver the deadly virus to those with compromised immune systems and especially those over 60.

I am calling on Governor Lamont to immediately recruit nursing students that are not yet done with their formal training and get them in the hospitals, where they can be trained by the experienced nurses. In return, the government will pay off all their debt when they can resume their studies. We need nurse’s aides as well and the younger generation can help there too, in exchange for elimination of their student loan debt.

So you can save the world…just like your grand parents did in WWII. But we must do it immediately!

Mark Saulnier
Higganum, CT