Straight out of the box, The Woodpile Report hits a homerun out of the state. This is excellent advice for the possibility of the threatened pandemic. Throughout his post he touches on the latest rage in mass fear mongering several times. Each one is worth a good look.
It really does not make a lot of difference whether the flu is as awful as some reports have it or that reports are overblown as others claim.
The second and third order effects will be a big deal.
We are already into quarantines exceeding half-a-billion people, states, countries, ports… global shipping is plummeting; all forms of production are shutting down before our eyes… the world-wide supply chain is about to hiccup bigly.
What would Noah do?
from The Woodpile Report
Update. Maximum hospital patient load above average is about 30%. That’s without doctors and nurses falling ill themselves and the usual suspects overwhelming the ER.
China is the main source, and often the only source, for prescription flu drugs and medical supplies. That spigot is being pinched off to meet their internal demand. We may have only what’s now in the pipelines. It means strict triage. In other words, it’s likely you’ll be on your own. Load up on over-the-counter remedies—the usual decongestants, anti-diarrheals, expectorants, vitamins, disinfectants and so forth—enough for yourself and to help your neighbors.
No urban or regional quarantine has ever been successful. Look for government to make things worse with stupid, draconian measures to show they’re “doing all they can”. Expect official lies, incompetence and betrayal.
If you do catch the flu, and if you have adequate remedies for the symptoms, you’ll almost certainly survive. You may not catch the flu, but Just In Time ensures you’ll catch the result of a distribution pratfall. Load up on canned food and boxed staples like mac & cheese, again, with enough to share with neighbors. Figure three month’s supply as best case, twice that or more as worst case.
You’re even less likely to survive the effects of an out and out Darwinian cull. Think power plants being run by trainees and receptionists. If things really go off the rails, ensure you can keep Mr. Smith and Wesson fed.
Later on in the same post comes this repost clip:
Pandemic, Of Two Minds – When we look back on this moment from the vantage of history, what will we think? Will we think how obvious it was that the coronavirus deaths in China were in the tens of thousands rather than the hundreds claimed by authorities? Will we think how obvious it was that the virus would spread around the globe, wreaking havoc on the global economy and social order, even as the authorities claimed only a handful of cases had arisen outside China? Will we look back at the patently false data being promoted by authorities and wonder why the majority accepted it all as credible? Will we look back at the wreckage left in the wake of the coordinated campaign to suppress the facts and lay the responsibility for all the carnage on the authorities who devoted more energy to hiding the realities of the pandemic than to preparing us for the impact?
Hmm. Sounds serious. Let me check what we have on hand. Yep, all the boring stuff, enough to outlast a long emergency and enough to supply our neighbors with critical stuff if a self-quarantine is advisable or declared.
Am I saying I believe this will be a killer pandemic? No, I’m saying we have this stuff on hand just like last year and many years before. Should it become a killer pandemic it will be too late to get these supplies. The time to stock them is when they’re slow movers, not when everyone wants them—immediately and at scarcity prices.
