HBO host Bill Maher said people should fight the coronavirus by strengthening their immune systems, rather than by sanitizing the universe. Maher proclaimed coronavirus is something that the human immune system is built to fight against and not a reason to develop obsessive-compulsive behavior or scare people.
Keep in mind that Bill is the most anti-Trump comedian on the planet. Trump tried to sue Maher in the past. Maher’s statement has nothing to do with politics except in the end when he states: “And break a sweat doing something besides eating hot chicken. Because at the end of the day, you can’t keep all the pathogens out. It would be as silly as thinking you can stop immigration by building a wall.”
The host said people with compromised immune systems should be a priority but being scared of your own hands can not become “the new normal.” The HBO host continued, “keeping our bodies in good health” should be declared an essential job because “that is the only way we are going to win this.”
“I worry that the past two months of quarantine have given people the idea that way for humans to win our million-year war with microbes is to avoid them completely. And I’m here to tell you you can’t,” Maher said. “The key to beating COVID isn’t dining through glass or never going to a concert or a ball game again. It’s your immune system. You hear people say, “COVID-19 is a new virus so the immune system doesn’t know how to handle it.” Bullshit, of course it does. That’s why the vast majority of people who have had it have either recovered or didn’t even know they had it. What do you think did that? The human immune system. There are people with immune systems that can’t do the job and we should make it a priority to protect those people. But compulsively washing, being scared of your own hands? That can’t become the new normal.”
“You can keep discovering new places to scare people into buying protection for, but we’re solving the problem from the wrong end,” he argued. “This is a health problem; we can’t sanitize the universe. Governors should declare keeping our bodies in good health an essential job because that is the only way we are going to win this.
“What’s the point of life if you can’t live it?” Maher asked. “Have you ever had sex in a hotel? Did you wash your hands first? Well the last couple didn’t either. And yet, you’re still alive. Because your immune system said we got this.”
“This weekend, do something nice for your immune system. Go outside. That mysterious land beyond your curtains where the GrubHub drivers live and get some fresh air and Vitamin D,” Maher suggested.