It's a common belief that our well heeled betters live in a different world than we do.

If they wish to, people of power and means can enjoy the very best nutrition, housing, and health care available.  When it comes to buying personal protective equipment, money's simply no object to them.

So why are luminaries like the president, members of the Senate, White House correspondents, and NFL stars coming down with COVID-19?

Because the measures the so-called experts keep blathering about, wearing face masks and social distancing, are next to useless.  COVID-19 is simply working its way through the population, regardless of catchy slogans like "New York Tough" and "A small ask, wear a mask!"

As I mentioned in a previous article, a properly trained dentist enters a room; washes his hands thoroughly with warm water and soap; puts on a mask, gloves, and eye protection; and then contaminates them by treating the patient.  Upon completion of treatment, the dentist takes off his eyewear for later disinfection, throws away his contaminated mask and gloves, and then washes his hands thoroughly before leaving the operatory.

He does this again and again and again, going through boxes of gloves and masks every day.  In the time of coronavirus, is any lay person doing anything remotely close to this?  Nope.

Let's be real: no one can.  And what dentists do pales in comparison to the sterile technique used in operating rooms.  Yet even in the best O.R.s in America, there are occasional breakdowns in infection control.  Perfect infection control is certainly a goal, but it's a goal no health provider ever attains.

And while the fatality rate of COVID-19 is similar to past influenzas — and it mainly kills the elderly and medically compromised — this bug sure is contagious!  By not killing most hosts, the COVID-19 virus spreads easily as infected people with little or no symptoms interact with others, and so on and so on.

Do face masks lessen the aerosol an infected individual expels?  Yes, if worn properly and changed frequently.  Are most people wearing masks correctly and changing them frequently during the day?  Um, no, that's a big negatory, good buddy.

Are folks wearing medical-grade gloves and changing them frequently?  Wearing proper eye protection and disinfecting it after every exposure to germs?  Is six feet some magical distance that fully protects you from a potentially-infected person?

No, non, and nein!

Fact is, viruses gonna virus.  This particular pathogen is very democratic.  Its effect on the poor and homeless is well documented.  But the rich and powerful are surely following the rules to the best of their ability, using the finest PPE, yet they're still catching COVID.

Does shutting down stop the virus?  No, it merely slows it, the primary goal of a shutdown being to keep the health system and infrastructure from being overwhelmed.  That goal has now been attained: we no longer need makeshift hospitals, morgues, or hospital ships.  There's absolutely no value in further shutdowns, regardless of what clowns like "Killer" Cuomo and Komrade de Blasio tell you.

And unless you're willing to live alone for the duration in a hermetically sealed environment, and are somehow able to sterilize every bit of food, drink, and paper goods that enters your domain (a physical impossibility), you're going to be exposed to the novel coronavirus sooner or later.

Sorry for sharing such harsh truths with you, but don't blame me, Republicans, or President Trump.  Blame communist China.  And let's face it: blaming others doesn't solve the problem.

"What can I do?" you ask, as you dig through the basement looking for those ceremonial hara-kiri knives you bought on vacation.

Well, this is the perfect time to up your game with regard to the four cornerstones of a healthy immune system.  Eat more fruits and vegetables, less simple sugars and crap.  Work out more; exercise makes you stronger and more disease-resistant at any age.  Get your sleep.  Nap if necessary.

And most critical in this, the most outrageous, shocking, and unpredictable year in living memory, is controlling your stress.  Pray, play games, paint pictures, knit a sweater for the dog.  Call a loved one, call a friend — heck, call an enemy and then make peace with him.

Whatever you do, don't watch television news!  Not only are modern newsrooms a font of false or misleading information, but their primary goal is to inflame their viewers.  Don't let those perfectly coiffed talking heads rile you up.  Simply turn the channel.  Instead of watching riots in real time, pour yourself a generous glass of Barolo and settle down with a good book.

Realize also that you may have already had COVID-19 with no symptoms.  Or that nagging cough you thought was asthma or allergies was actually a mild case of coronavirus.  You may have, in fact, already been exposed to the virus on more than one occasion, but your healthy immune system fought it off.

Regardless of your COVID-19 status, the future is far from bleak, all the whining from unhinged liberals notwithstanding.

A highly effective treatment for COVID-19 is surely on the horizon, and a vaccine may eventually be developed as well.  The virus may mutate out of existence or change into a less formidable disease, something some E.R. doctors already suspect has happened.  Worst-case scenario, the virus continues to sweep through the population until herd immunity is achieved — i.e., enough "hosts" have developed COVID-19 antibodies to stop the spread.

So wear your face masks, social distance, take enough zinc to sink a ship if you wish.  Wash your hands compulsively; it certainly can't hurt.  And do raise your immune response.  There's no reason not to.

But be aware that when it comes to COVID-19, no one gets a free pass, not even our president.  

We truly are in this together.