re: The entire reason for the COVID panic is based on Hospital beds

I think beds is a big part of it, but also the larger overrun of the medical system.

The Urgent Care by my house - the place we are told to go for minor issues that don't require ER - is only currently seeing people who need a COVID test - either due to symptoms or to get out of quarantine.

The pharmacies near us are closing down early and running out of supplies. Getting prescriptions filled is taking longer.

I also think the specter of otherwise healthy people dying from this - it's rare but it's not unheard of - is causing a lot of panic.

But with hospital beds... the problem is our healthcare system doesn't carry a lot of excess capacity because no one wants to pay for it. And clearly, it's not easy to scale up when necessary.