The COVID death toll has jumped fivefold, in less than a week.

The disease has infected, even killed, people we know and love.

Doctors, nurses and hospital staff are doing battle on the front lines, while the hospitals

they're working in struggle to supply them with personal protective equipment and ventilators.

This is America Dissected, and I'm your host, Dr. Abdul El Sayyad.

My mother-in-law had to call the local Costco to figure out when they get their toilet paper

shipments to finally get some damn TP.

But why?

Because people aren't their best selves during a pandemic.

Some parts fear, some parts anxiety and some parts boredom are conspiring against us.

But some people see this as an opportunity, like this guy who bought up all the hand sanitizer,

so he could price gouge people when they needed it most.

For Matt Colvin, a pandemic meant an opportunity.

After the first COVID-19 death in the United States, Colvin went state-to-state clearing

out sanitizer shelves.

He now sits with 18,000 unused bottles in his home and storage unit.

Colvin bought the sanitizer with the intention of selling them for profit on Amazon.

He told The New York Times in a recent interview that some items were listed at $70 a bottle.

But what if you were a corporation with far more power and money than some dude in his

minivan?

Later this episode, we'll talk to Naomi Klein about disaster capitalism, how corporations

take advantage of crisis to consolidate power in times like this.

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