Trump's Covid mindset could be downright dangerous

You do not have to like or support Donald Trump but you cannot get away from the fact that he took on Covid-19 with pugnacious tenacity and came out on top. Yes, indeed, Regeneron and the other antibody cocktails as well as the best of attention 24/7 must have helped tremendously but there have been other VIPs who have been given similar surveillance and ended up at the pearly gates.
One wonders not so idly whether Trump would have done so well at his age and with his girth and vulnerability if he had been hit by the bug say six months ago. This trail of thought opens up a whole new dimension on this disease and how to handle it. For one, the fear factor, like the tide, is receding. Much of this, according to aviation medicine specialist of the Indian Air Force Wing Commander Sishta and a Covid victim himself, has occurred because the medical establishment is a lot more savvy with treatments and the fault area of trial and error has reduced dramatically. So much more is known of the virus and its behaviour. He believes, and this is echoed by others in the frontline, that very soon the best treatment will be a packaged deal where a good pulmonologist gives you a proper checkup and then advocates isolation and home regimens. Odds favouring survival regardless of age improve exponentially.
While warning that no one should take Covid-19 lightly and prevention is infinitely better than cure he says he got through it largely because the doctors know so much more now. He ruefully concedes that had he got hit earlier in 'the game' the result may have been a lot more unpleasant. Could this recession in fear, fatigue, and a sort of ho hum, let-it-come attitude be collectively contributing to the lowering of the global guard? Dr Brajesh Mittal, Deputy Medical Director Medcare, echoes the sentiment: "The numbers around the world are going up because of more testing and because people cannot keep at that tight wire level incessantly." Yet, the specialist clarifies, there is no mad rush for beds because in the beginning we admitted everyone. "Now, we send most of them home because we have wrapped our heads around this virus and know so much more than we did in March. We understand human nature and the point of exhaustion but we are also elated that if you are responsible and seek aid early, the chances of a recovery heighten dramatically. It is no longer a panic situation but the protocols must still be followed."
The Director is clear that with every day the attack on the virus strengthens and each victory though tiny in itself is still a step forward.
So, does the Trump triumph signify a major breakthrough in the fight against Covid? Even though he is seen as a super spreader, his mental attitude has given pause and cause for thought. Can this monster be beaten by arrogance and a certain hubris in that you refuse to lie down and let it win.
Trump's chest thumping bravado is best expressed in his friend Norman Vincent Peale's quote: "Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding."
Peale exhorted his readers: "Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop this picture." Reacting to this the Washington Post says it is recklessness to project this sort of option as a cure. And downright dangerous if people buy into it. 
- bikram@khaleejtimes.com