The fear of being caught in a food and other supply shortage is causing many to hoard food, masks, and other supplies while potentially leaving many without.
I was at a grocery store and I personally witnessed 
a fairly young man with a shopping cart filled with multiple packages of toilet paper, clearing out the shelf. There was also an older gentleman there in his late 70’s or early 80’s looking visibly upset. He asked me what happened to all the toilet paper.  There was none left. This was heartbreaking to watch.
I understand there is a lot of anxiety over the coronavirus outbreak, but hoarding food and supplies is unnecessary and even socially irresponsible, in my opinion.
Fear and unchecked anxieties don’t protect us. They put us in survival mode, dissolve our compassion, and cause us to hoard food and supplies without regards for others in need.
It’s important to stay calm. And instead of fearful knee jerk reactions, take a breath and ask critical questions.
One of the questions I have been getting lately from many is about the confusion surrounding the discrepancy in the reported mortality rate of the coronavirus.
Some sources say the COVID-19 morality rate is less than 1% while other sources say it’s closer to 3.4 %.  Which is true? Well, they can both be true depending on the sample population tested.
The sample sizes and the sample types are what makes the mortality rates different. Here is an example to make it clearer. If I asked you what is the percentage of fit and active people? You might say, well, if you walk into a McDonald’s, the percentage of fit and active people would be very different than what you might find in a gym.
Equivalently, if only the very sick get tested then the percentage of those dying from the virus will be higher than if everyone who contracted the virus whether they have no symptoms or only mild symptom were included.
The mortality rate is also strongly dependant on the size of the population tested.
In a perfect world, with unlimited resources, every person on the planet would be tested and we would then have the actual mortality rate of COVID-19. When we are able to test more people, we would end up finding more people with no symptoms or very mild symptoms and in turn you would not find as many deaths.
In United States, the number of people tested for COVID-19 is not too large. This factor can potentially make the mortality rate seem higher. Whereas in South Korea, the population tested is much larger. In turn, the mortality rate of COVID-19 there is found to be lower.
Having better statistics, helps us lessen our fears and helps us stay grounded by understanding this outbreak is not so devastating for everyone, but for only a select few.
As of right now, the vulnerable are the old and those with multiple chronic medical conditions. The younger healthier population is not at great risk and the COVID- 19 infection for a younger patient is relatively benign.
The less informed we are, the more frightened we become.
What does this all mean?
It means it’s ok to be prepared and stock up to a reasonable degree on some food and other necessary supplies, but fear-based hoarding can be a self-fulfilling prophecy that creates the very shortage everyone is fearing.  And it causes many others without enough to get by.
You can read my other blog articles for more information on COVID-19 and on how to keep your immune system strong.