Survival of the fittest

Feb 18, 2022 Editorial

Kaieteur News – Some 160 years ago, Charles Darwin became a global name with his theory of natural selection, and its close relationship ‘survival of the fittest.’ Whether biology or cold, bloodless corporate life forms, there is pinpointed this culling effect, which leaves the weaker, slower, and less adaptable behind, and ensures a more streamlined strain of species leading the way forward.
As we think of this continuing pandemic called COVID-19, it appears that some weeding out is occurring right before our eyes, as we read of numbers ballooning globally, and older, weaker people being felled by the hundreds of thousands.

On January 11th, we carried an article captioned “Robust immune system needed to combat Omicron -Emergency Medicine Specialist.” ‘Robust’ and being in a position ‘to combat’ this virus, which in the old days they use to call a plague or pestilence, both seem to have shades of Darwinism about them. Because if a person’s immune system is less than robust, it does not look good. Or, to state differently, the chances of survival of the virus in general is severely compromised.

In the article referenced, Dr. Zulfikar Bux is the Emergency Medical Specialist, and he had this to say. For persons to give themselves the best chance of survival, they must work hard to ensure that their immune systems are “in tip top shape and ready to battle.” We agree fully, and thank him for his expert advice, which is timely. On the other hand, we must be practical, since we recognize that there are challenges with what Dr. Bux places on the table.

A robust immune system means many things, and we will not get into the science of it. But in layman’s terms that it is of our bodies being ready to fight off and overcome whatever is thrown at it in the air, in the water we drink, in what we consume, and in the environment in which we function, with all of its pluses, and the minuses in different forms and from countless sources. We did say that we have some problems in this country, which we now must face.

We have a population in which too many have some serious health situations. In both young and old, there may be obesity, or hypertension (high blood pressure), or diabetes, or heart disease. Those so afflicted may be with one of these chronic diseases (minus obesity) or a toxic combination of all of them. This is a recipe for serious individual trouble with wider implications. Guyanese who live with these conditions have difficulty and are going to continue to encounter heavy weather in addressing them. Meaning, if they are to get within striking distance of that place that Dr. Bux rightly calls a “robust immune system.”

In this society, some resist things as basic as a visit to the doctor to get some understanding of what their bill of health would relay to them, be it clean or otherwise. If and when they do discover that there are some issue(s), then there is that other reality of disciplining oneself to the practice of taking medicines to control whatever the condition is. As we should all know by now, at least the great majority of us, for compromised health systems to be repaired to some acceptable state, things have to occur in tandem. There is no one size fits all, or single source remedy that clears things up.

There must be what is today termed a healthy lifestyle. That involves several key components, among which are healthy eating, a consistent level of exercise, and tremendous discipline with regard to such attractions as alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes. As a society, and culturally, we do not have a history of dealing well (or sensibly) with these so-called good things in life, which are really among the worst for us. The recent holidays put on public display our tendency and joy in overindulgence. We relish its many forms, which could be one reason for the alarming surge in virus numbers. All of these essentials must be considered, hard choices made, with the interest to work still harder to give ourselves a chance at obtaining a robust immune system, and a better chance at survival.

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