In March 2020, I spent three nice days at Legoland with my family, blissfully unaware that the entire industrialized world was turning upside down with fear about a novel and seemingly virulent coronavirus. 
The day after our return, I went for a walk with a close friend. I was so out of sync with the global fearmongering that when she confessed to being out of her mind with worry, I asked stupidly if she was having trouble at work or with her spouse.
After that hike, I did what any good science writer or researcher would do: I looked up the state statistics. …