I rewatched the Bond movie Die Another Day last night. If you have seen it, you may recall a fight sequence wherein the primary antagonist and Bond face off in a fencing match that deteriorates into a fight that might be to the death. They begin with Epee or Foil swords in the fencing match, and then they progress to Sabers. We’re shown a Katana in a display box, and things go South from there. The sequence ends with them fighting with broadswords.
The Epee and Foils are stabbing weapons. The European Saber, like the Japanese Katana and the Chinese Dao are single edge swords not unlike modern kitchen knives. They are designed for slashing but can also be used to stab. The broadsword is heavier than these, sometimes wielded with two hands, and typically has both sides of the blade sharpened. It can stab, slash and crush (skulls and limbs).
This brings us to the notion of double-edged swords – a metaphor for so many things that are a mix of advantage and disadvantage. Take home COVID tests for example. They are more convenient and usable than tests administered by a third party such as a clinic or testing center. The downside is that nobody reports their test results to a central authority; thus, we can no longer track the number of new infections or even the test positivity rate. Chef Gordon Ramsey would probably say, “Bloody Hell,” in response.
Of course, there are other metrics of disease spread that can give us a sense of whether things are improving, holding steady, or worsening – things like hospitalization and death numbers which are trailing rather than leading indicators, like COVID test positivity rates, of disease spread. Monitoring wastewater for viral markers is another way that public health officials can use to keep their fingers on the pulse of the disease. Like test positivity rates, wastewater monitoring gives an earlier warning of disease spread than hospitalizations and deaths do.
I read today that Dr. Peter Hotez at Baylor in Houston has tested positive for COVID. Bloody Hell! Hotez is a vaccinologist who, with Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi, developed a protein COVID vaccine that is inexpensive to manufacture and requires no fancy cooling to keep it stable. They have shared their technology freely with everyone who wants it (think India, Africa, etc.) They should earn of Nobel Peace Prize for the humanitarian work, I’d say.