Survival of the healthiest

“We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.”

—Albert Einstein

By Alex P. Vidal

IT’S becoming obvious that those who are healthier or the healthiest among us are the ones who will most likely survive the COVID-19 pandemic even if it will escalate beyond the projected period of decline.

It’s no longer a “survival of the fittest” as the phrase in Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species suggests to describe the process of natural selection. 

Although Darwin he did not coin the phrase and borrowed it only from English philosopher Herbert Spencer, who first talked about survival of the fittest in his Principles of Sociology, the case of those who have survived in the calamities and tragedies in the modern world had been always referred to as a case of “survival of the fittest.”

Darwinists’ “survival of the fittest”, however, is the idea that certain people become powerful in society because they are innately better. 

Social Darwinism has been used to justify imperialism, racism, eugenics and social inequality at various times over the past century and a half.

On the other hand, the case of those who survive the pandemic or natural calamities and catastrophes should be called as “survival of the best,” according to the late Ilonggo philosopher and lawyer Ernesto Justiniani Dayot.

We survive because we are the best among our fellowmen, Dayot said. We have the best health; the best mental and emotional strength; the best physical endurance; the best ability; and the best mind.

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As rationale beings we easily rise to the occasion when the goings get tough. 

Our thinking, the reason as our absolute, becomes the vanguard of our survival.

Let me add to the discussion.

Those who will survive the coronavirus pandemic will not yet die because they have the best immune system; they are the ones who strictly adhere to the “stay-at-home” and “enhanced social distancing” guidelines. 

They wash their hands properly and regularly; they cover their faces with masks (preferably N95) in public; and they eat healthy foods like fruits and vegetables with vitamins that prevent or kill any virus.  

Those with underlying illnesses and will be infected have been “destined” to go first; they are automatic candidates for those who are considered “unfit” to survive under the present circumstance.

As human beings, we have certain basic needs. We must have food, water, air, and shelter to survive. 

Humans cannot survive If any one of these basic needs is not met. Before past explorers set off to find new lands and conquer new worlds, they had to make sure that their basic needs were met.

In other words, in this age it’s now a “survival of the healthiest” when we refer to the inhabitants in today’s generation who will continue to live beyond the specter of coronavirus.

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Here’s the latest from the Live Science in the coronavirus epicenter: 

—New York has reported at least 222,284 total positive cases of COVID-19 and 12,822 confirmed COVID-19 deaths. 

That makes it the state with the most U.S. coronavirus cases. A full 122,148 of those cases and 7,890 confirmed deaths are in New York City, according to official city counts, which tend to lag behind statewide counts. The city has also reported 4,309 deaths of people who were not tested but were strongly suspected to have the illness.

—The mainland Dutchess, Erie, Orange, Rockland, and Westchester counties, as well as Long Island's Nassau and Suffolk counties, all have thousands of cases as well.

—These statistics likely represent an undercount, given that many people are dying in their homes but are not counted in official tallies because they have not been tested for the virus, as Gothamist and WNYC reported. There's also evidence that infection rates in New York City are much higher than the official count.

—Still, tentatively optimistic trends are starting to emerge as of April 16. The numbers of hospitalized patients has dropped slightly, as have the numbers of intubated patients and patients in intensive care units. the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths statewide on April 15, 606, was the lowest in 10 days. New York has begun to share ventilators with other states, including New Jersey.

—Testing is free in New York.

—Health officials are seeking blood donations from people who have fully recovered from the illness to help treat those still infected. More information can be found here.

—On April 1, Dr. Laura M. Huckins, a doctor at Mt. Sinai hospital and lead of the STOP COVID NYC project announced on Twitter an effort to understand and track symptoms of the virus across New York City. She asked individuals across the city to text COVID to 64722, complete a survey, and respond to daily texts asking for updates on their condition. The data, she said, is helpful in fighting the disease whether you are healthy or sick.

—New York has run 573,223 COVID-19 tests to date, according to the COVID Tracking Project. On April 15, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that the state is asking the Food and Drug Administration to approve a fingerprick test that, he said, would allow the state to move from 2,000 to 100,000 tests per day.

—Cuomo announced an order April 17 requiring all public and private labs in New York to follow the direction of the state Department of Health, with the goal of coordinating them to prioritize and ramp up testing.

—On April 16, Cuomo extended the state's restrictions on public activities until May 15, saying that the additional time was necessary to assure the state was ready to "unpause."

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)