Shoulda been a tweet - on COVID's trail

If I were younger and a whole heck of a lot smarter, I’d be looking at epidemiology programs. Difficult, challenging work that saves lives. Sounds like a rewarding and dynamic career path. I’d be awful at getting safely into and out of all of those layers every day. I’d be the guy who spends an hour prepping only to step into the sterile room and realize I forgot something important outside. Or I’d rip my safety suit on the first day on the job. In that line of work you wouldn’t want your nickname to be RIP.

There’s a great article in The New York Times by Mike Baker and Sheri Fink explaining how researchers have been working tirelessly to track COVID’s spread. It reads like a thriller. This article focuses primarily on the strain or strains emanating from the Seattle area. Each clue reveals additional questions.

I feel terribly for the unnamed individual thought to have brought the Seattle strain to Snohomish after returning from the Wuhan area. As the article points out, there might have been other very similar strains landing in the United States at the same time. And COVID was going to jump to the States at some point. Still, I think he’s wise not to reveal his name or speak to The New York Times. People are just too quick to anger, too quick to blame. He’ll be the face of COVID’s history in Seattle. If I were him, I’d skip all of that.