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July 17, 2020, “Time is Running Out for Coronavirus Course Correction," American Thinker, William Sullivan. Full article is posted below after 14 comments:
[Per CDC published data, Covid epidemic no longer exists in the US as of 7/3/20. …Yet on Tues., 7/14/20, Trump still ignores CDC science and urges all Americans to wear masks:
Per CDC chart, US is now at 2018 levels: To see this chart on CDC website, scroll to near end of page: “Mortality surveillance.”
July 3, 2020, “CovidView Weekly Summary,” cdc.gov]
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Below, 14 among comments to above American Thinker article:
……………………………………….
“MacTheLife
Herd immunity has been the national strategy until this year. Why? Because it is intelligent and it doesn’t require destroying the economy and the society to implement. It is the solution of “free people”who are expected to use good hygiene and stay home if they are sick. Free people do these things without a government bureaucrat or idiot governor, or President, telling them to. For some reason, this year [2020], this country decided to go off the rails and chart a new course, based purely on predictions of disaster. The US threw out Herd Immunity and adopted Social Distance, an idiot notion developed by a junior high school nitwit child of a bureaucrat. So, this year, America chose to end freedom and choose Marxism, which is what Social Distance is. Nothing less. And the sad thing is President Trump led the parade for Social Distance in all his Daily Press briefings. And, even after destroying our economy, Trump still promotes the evil idea of Social Distance and he trashes the only idea that will save us, Herd Immunity. He does this because to suggest Herd Immunity would be to admit a mistake, something Trump never does. But it would also mean he would be leading us back in the right direction. But no, pride demands he never admit his Social Distance 15 Day Protocol was wrong. So, our President continues to speak out of both sides of his mouth, praising Social Distance and masks for saving 2 million lives (which is a lie) and yet suggesting mask and Social Distance are not good and were all someone else’s idea…. Dr. John Iaonnides of Stanford who predicted this “fiasco” due to the administration relying on “predictions” instead of data. He was right. Until we do a U turn we will continue down the wrong path. A U turn is good when you are doing stupid stuff. Why won’t the President do a U turn?”
……………………………………………..
[Ed. note: Re: Herd Immunity referenced by above commenter, UK’s Neil Ferguson, author of US lockdown, believes in and practices herd immunity in his personal life:
““I acted in the belief that I was immune, having tested positive for coronavirus, and completely isolated myself for almost two weeks after developing symptoms,“ he added.”…Ferguson has the greatest immunity on earth: He’s tops with the Queen. She was so impressed with Ferguson’s 2001 computer models calling for immediate slaughter of millions of healthy animals that she awarded him with an OBE, Order of the British Empire, in 2002.]
…………………
Continuing comments to AT article:
“Creole Gumbo
If Trump loses this election it will be because of his own failure to address the issues that affect the most people most of the time—and that is the lockdowns and mask orders. Most of his base do not see the riots and statues being destroyed. But we do see our jobs being flushed down the toilet and our rights to go to church or meet with people or to enjoy sports, etc. being taken away….Trump is aiding the scenario by his failure to provide Dr. Katz the bully pulpit alongside Dr. Fauci. And Katz is not alone. There are lots of other doctors saying the same thing as well as the Minister of Health is Sweden. But our POTUS has chosen to only provide Fauci with air time. What else are people to think? Trump has also failed to inform the public on the fact that the numbers are inflated; the number of dead, the number of new “cases” which are not current cases of illness at all.”
…………………………………………………[Ed. note: Re: Herd Immunity referenced by above commenter, UK’s Neil Ferguson, author of US lockdown, believes in and practices herd immunity in his personal life:
““I acted in the belief that I was immune, having tested positive for coronavirus, and completely isolated myself for almost two weeks after developing symptoms,“ he added.”…Ferguson has the greatest immunity on earth: He’s tops with the Queen. She was so impressed with Ferguson’s 2001 computer models calling for immediate slaughter of millions of healthy animals that she awarded him with an OBE, Order of the British Empire, in 2002.]…………………
Continuing comments to AT article:
“Creole Gumbo
If Trump loses this election it will be because of his own failure to address the issues that affect the most people most of the time—and that is the lockdowns and mask orders. Most of his base do not see the riots and statues being destroyed. But we do see our jobs being flushed down the toilet and our rights to go to church or meet with people or to enjoy sports, etc. being taken away….Trump is aiding the scenario by his failure to provide Dr. Katz the bully pulpit alongside Dr. Fauci. And Katz is not alone. There are lots of other doctors saying the same thing as well as the Minister of Health is Sweden. But our POTUS has chosen to only provide Fauci with air time. What else are people to think? Trump has also failed to inform the public on the fact that the numbers are inflated; the number of dead, the number of new “cases” which are not current cases of illness at all.”
“Mountain G
Do you pray for a President Biden to come into your life?”
“MacTheLife Mountain Guy
That is what we will get if President Trump continues to promote masks and social distance for America. I expect Trump to do the right thing. I guess you prefer to cheer while he brags that his decision to promote masks and social distance and to shut down America saved 2 million lives. For me, I am sick of watching America commit suicide.…I detest Biden. But I know the Democrats love the fact that Trump does not have the courage to stop promoting their Marxist notion of Social Distance. And you don’t have the brains to encourage him to stop the nonsense.”
………………………………………….
“Cloudchopper
If no one points out some of Trump’s weaknesses Biden just might win. Not by people voting for him but by simply staying home if their lives have become totally miserable by endless shut downs, mask wearing and losing all livelihood. Calling Dr, Fauci a “good friend” again and not bringing other medical experts on the scene is not a positive move…State after state is reshutting down. State after state is making mask wearing mandatory. Once again people are applying for unemployment and congress is discussing another [taxpayer funded] stimulus package. All this is not good news for Trump. Look, I will vote for Trump because there is no other choice but not everyone will stay on the Trump bandwagon if they suffer too much. it is just common sense.”
“howard philipson
But, but the science doesn’t not support those FACTS. I saw 3 different Democrats on Tv this morning who said science supports maintaining LOCKDOWN, ‘until infinity’, including no school in person, wearing masks all the time, never getting within 6 feet of anyone else, etc. The L.A. school district, among others, will remain closed to in-person classrooms. Of course if Trump loses in November, this will all go away like a bad dream, because that is the goal.”…
………………………………………
“JeffT
Simply put, the “Don’t confuse me with the FACTS, my mind is made up” crowd has won the day. I recently quit Facebook due to some in my family buying into this hysteria and actually promoting it on a daily basis. Life is too short to suffer fools.”
………………………………… “Cloudchopper
If no one points out some of Trump’s weaknesses Biden just might win. Not by people voting for him but by simply staying home if their lives have become totally miserable by endless shut downs, mask wearing and losing all livelihood. Calling Dr, Fauci a “good friend” again and not bringing other medical experts on the scene is not a positive move…State after state is reshutting down. State after state is making mask wearing mandatory. Once again people are applying for unemployment and congress is discussing another [taxpayer funded] stimulus package. All this is not good news for Trump. Look, I will vote for Trump because there is no other choice but not everyone will stay on the Trump bandwagon if they suffer too much. it is just common sense.”
………………………………………..
“Paul Zecchino
Trump should act like a man,…dismiss fauci, and order this madness to stop. He would win the crowd.
Americans are forgiving, understanding people. But we can not stand those who ‘dig in, double down, and punch back twice as hard’ with socialist distancing, mask edicts and home imprisonment.”
“ipd
And none of that takes into account that the deaths attributed to the disease are significantly inflated for both political and financial reasons. I’d guess by a third.”
………………………………………. “Paul Zecchino
Trump should act like a man,…dismiss fauci, and order this madness to stop. He would win the crowd.
Americans are forgiving, understanding people. But we can not stand those who ‘dig in, double down, and punch back twice as hard’ with socialist distancing, mask edicts and home imprisonment.”
………………………………………..
“MacTheLife Clayton Land
I care most for the country and the country is doomed if we continue to permit Social Distance to be “imposed” on us. So, we must demand Trump stop it. Now.”
“jpkoch
The author left out some statistics. Over 40% of Wuhan [Covid 19] deaths occurred in 3 states: NYS, NJ, and CT. Yes, the vast majority were nursing home fatalities. Add in Michigan and the numbers spike to almost 50%….The author also failed to mention that Trump sent a Navy medical ship (2000 beds) and had mobile hospitals set-up in NYC (another 3000 beds). Both Cuomo and DeBlasio ignored this federal help. Again, this wasn’t a failure at the federal level, as states were given full freedom to act in their own best interests.”
…………………………………………. “MacTheLife Clayton Land
I care most for the country and the country is doomed if we continue to permit Social Distance to be “imposed” on us. So, we must demand Trump stop it. Now.”
………………………………………….
“Cloudchopper Jedediah Festus
As a Trump voter and supporter I knew nothing about Fauci in the beginning. But the very first time he appeared on TV with Trump I got a horrible bad feeling and after a while actually shut the TV off. It was only after that when I began to learn more and more about this guy and realized that my first instinct was correct. What does Fauci or someone have over Trump that Trump still calls him a “good friend”? The Left says that Trump mismanaged the virus by not listening more to Fauci. I, and many others, are saying that Trump mismanaged the virus by listening too much to Fauci and letting him set the national agenda. I have written two e-mails to the White House and Trump regarding this. Many others have as well but nothing seems to shake off that Fauci being a “medical expert saint.””
…………………………………………. “Cloudchopper Jedediah Festus
As a Trump voter and supporter I knew nothing about Fauci in the beginning. But the very first time he appeared on TV with Trump I got a horrible bad feeling and after a while actually shut the TV off. It was only after that when I began to learn more and more about this guy and realized that my first instinct was correct. What does Fauci or someone have over Trump that Trump still calls him a “good friend”? The Left says that Trump mismanaged the virus by not listening more to Fauci. I, and many others, are saying that Trump mismanaged the virus by listening too much to Fauci and letting him set the national agenda. I have written two e-mails to the White House and Trump regarding this. Many others have as well but nothing seems to shake off that Fauci being a “medical expert saint.””
“jpkoch
The author left out some statistics. Over 40% of Wuhan [Covid 19] deaths occurred in 3 states: NYS, NJ, and CT. Yes, the vast majority were nursing home fatalities. Add in Michigan and the numbers spike to almost 50%….The author also failed to mention that Trump sent a Navy medical ship (2000 beds) and had mobile hospitals set-up in NYC (another 3000 beds). Both Cuomo and DeBlasio ignored this federal help. Again, this wasn’t a failure at the federal level, as states were given full freedom to act in their own best interests.”
“ipd
And none of that takes into account that the deaths attributed to the disease are significantly inflated for both political and financial reasons. I’d guess by a third.”
“howard philipson
But, but the science doesn’t not support those FACTS. I saw 3 different Democrats on Tv this morning who said science supports maintaining LOCKDOWN, ‘until infinity’, including no school in person, wearing masks all the time, never getting within 6 feet of anyone else, etc. The L.A. school district, among others, will remain closed to in-person classrooms. Of course if Trump loses in November, this will all go away like a bad dream, because that is the goal.”…
“JeffT
Simply put, the “Don’t confuse me with the FACTS, my mind is made up” crowd has won the day. I recently quit Facebook due to some in my family buying into this hysteria and actually promoting it on a daily basis. Life is too short to suffer fools.”
……………………………………….
“cicero
If the consequences to the nation were not so dire, this would almost be amusing. First we were told we had to flatten the curve so as not to overwhelm the hospitals. Then, States began shutting down hospitals outside the immediate environs of the major cities, because they stopped all elective procedures. Then, they said that we needed to realize the “herd effect” to get through this “crisis.” Now, with the testing going forward, they are reporting that, in fact, the herd effect is being realized, as more and more people are testing positive, without a corresponding uptick in hospitalizations or deaths. This morning in Michigan, they began reclassifying some of the recorded deaths to claim that now, they were as a result of Covid. The “actual” numbers belie the claims of a dire societal danger, or a pandemic that is going to wipe out humanity. As far as cure is concerned, this is a corona virus, just like the common cold. They have never come up with such a vaccine, and probably won’t now. Even for the common seasonal flu, the vaccines only seem to be 45% effective, Politics, anyone?”
“cicero
If the consequences to the nation were not so dire, this would almost be amusing. First we were told we had to flatten the curve so as not to overwhelm the hospitals. Then, States began shutting down hospitals outside the immediate environs of the major cities, because they stopped all elective procedures. Then, they said that we needed to realize the “herd effect” to get through this “crisis.” Now, with the testing going forward, they are reporting that, in fact, the herd effect is being realized, as more and more people are testing positive, without a corresponding uptick in hospitalizations or deaths. This morning in Michigan, they began reclassifying some of the recorded deaths to claim that now, they were as a result of Covid. The “actual” numbers belie the claims of a dire societal danger, or a pandemic that is going to wipe out humanity. As far as cure is concerned, this is a corona virus, just like the common cold. They have never come up with such a vaccine, and probably won’t now. Even for the common seasonal flu, the vaccines only seem to be 45% effective, Politics, anyone?”
“Fisher153 LC4Liberty
It’s bigger than just US. This is being used to falsely take down the WORLD economy….It is convenient for the dems, and they are the more socialist side of the coin, so perfectly happy to surrender freedom and liberty for…nothing.”
[Ed. note: Very true, in June 2020 global elites gathered at Davos believing Covid gave them their opening to reset the global economy with zero CO2:…7/15/20, “The Great Reset Fraud,” Matthew Ehret, Strategic Culture: The message was amplified by “Prince Charles who gushed over the this golden opportunity to radically modify human behaviour in ways that decades of environmentalism have failed to accomplish when he said: “We have a golden opportunity to seize something good from this [COVID-19] crisis. Its unprecedented [US government supported] shockwaves may well make people more receptive to big visions of change,””…image of Prince Charles via Strategic Culture]
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Added: Following is American Thinker article about Trump handling of Covid to which commenters above responded:
“There is another and much overlooked liability in this [social and economic lockdown] approach. If we succeed in slowing the spread of coronavirus from torrent to trickle, then when does the society-wide disruption end?”
July 17, 2020, “Time is Running Out for Coronavirus Course Correction,“ William Sullivan, American Thinker
“Let’s begin with a fact that undoubtedly contradicts the hysterics that you’ve routinely heard about the viral pandemic of 2020–COVID-19 is anything but an indiscriminate killer of those infected by it.
A new study, released by the CDC on July 10, finds that the median age of death where COVID-19 is involved is 78. Mathematically, what this means is that half of the people who have died with COVID-19 were over the age of 78, while the other half who have died were younger than 78.
That might sound normal, given that 78 is the statistical life expectancy for Americans. But we can glean vital information about the actual threat of COVID-19 from that statistic alone. Data show that there are around 22 million Americans who are 75 or older living in America. This means that roughly seven percent of our population (of ~328 million) is over the age of 75, and this logically yields an assumption that the other 93 percent is south of that age.
Here’s the first of a few inconvenient yet undeniable truths. Half of the deaths attributed to COVID-19 have occurred among less than seven percent of the population, and the other half occurred among the other 93 percent of the population. Already, we have a pretty good idea as to who is most at risk when it comes to the risks of infection.
But we can actually demographically narrow down COVID-19 victims much more closely than that. Not only are those dying with COVID-19 often quite old, but they’re usually very unhealthy as well. According to this same CDC study, over 75 percent of those who’ve died with COVID-19 had one or more “underlying medical conditions,” and over half of them had two or more such conditions, defined in the study’s footnotes as “cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease (including end-stage renal disease), neurologic conditions, immunosuppression, chronic liver conditions, or obesity.” All of these, it should be noted, can be life-threatening conditions, even without the introduction of a novel coronavirus.
This is all critical information that’s often been left out of the media’s breathless reporting throughout the spring and summer about how everyone might die if young or healthy people are allowed to visit bars or restaurants.
Here’s another crucial bit of information that you won’t often hear. According to the New York Times, 42 percent of all COVID-19 deaths occurred among those who were “at some 14,000” nursing homes in America.Separate data from the CDC show that, in 2016, only 1.3 million Americans lived in America’s 15,600 nursing homes.
Let’s recap what the available data have shown us so far. Those dying of COVID-19 are overwhelmingly very old and most often very unhealthy, and nearly half of them lived in nursing homes, where less than one-half of one percent of our country’s population lives. Though the media seem uninterested in reporting any of that, we know well, and as near to precision as we might expect in a viral pandemic, whom COVID-19 actually kills.
Equally well, the data show us whom it does not kill.
Provisional data on COVID-19 deaths can be downloaded at the CDC, and my recent observations in perusing that data are worth noting in today’s environment, where there are widespread suggestions not to open our children’s schools for classes in the fall.
Consider the below data, the most recent on the CDC website:
We notice that roughly four in five deaths occur over the age of 65. That’s consistent with, say, influenza deaths in 2017–18. But a quick look at the other side of the spectrum yields what may be surprising conclusions that contradict the media narrative that your friends and neighbors may have imbibed wholesale….
We find that this number of [Covid] deaths among youth demographics is strikingly low by comparison.
The CDC’s age demographic breakdown of 2017–18 flu season deaths is not identical to the COVID-19 data, but it’s informative. In that flu season, influenza is estimated to have killed 643 children between the ages of zero and 17.
.......
This comparison excludes the 18–24 age demographic for tallying estimated influenza deaths, yet despite the generous comparison, more than three times as many children aged zero to 17 are estimated to have died of influenza in 2017–18 than have died with COVID-19 in the child/young adult statistical age category of zero to 24 so far in 2020.
What this all tells us isn’t the answer to some mystery. We know, specifically, who is statistically at risk and who is not statistically at risk. If you’re older, or have serious underlying medical conditions, or live in a nursing home, you’re far more likely to die from COVID-19 infection than a healthy person visiting a bar or restaurant or a child going to school.
In an article that I’ve referenced several times (here, here, here), noted epidemiologist Dr. David Katz didn’t need to see all these data I’ve referenced to give America the prescription we needed back on March 20 in the New York Times. Using only very early American data and foreign data (the best of which came from South Korea), he concluded that our data were “entirely aligned with data from other countries.” He continued:
“The deaths have been mainly clustered among the elderly, those with significant chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, and those in both groups.
This is not true of infectious scourges such as influenza. The flu hits the elderly and chronically ill hard, too, but it also kills children[.] …
The clustering of complications and death from Covid-19 among the elderly and chronically ill, but not children (there have been only very rare deaths in children), suggests that we could achieve the crucial goals of social distancing — saving lives and not overwhelming our medical system — by preferentially protecting the medically frail and those over age 60, and in particular those over 70 and 80, from exposure.”
He suggests that we should not shut down schools or the economy, favoring a more “surgical” approach of protecting those most at risk. In an incident of pure prescience, he writes:
“There is another and much overlooked liability in this [social and economic lockdown] approach. If we succeed in slowing the spread of coronavirus from torrent to trickle, then when does the society-wide disruption end? When will it be safe for healthy children and younger teachers to return to school, much less older teachers and teachers with chronic illnesses? When will it be safe for the work force to repopulate the workplace, given that some are in the at-risk group for severe infection?
When would it be safe to visit loved ones in nursing homes or hospitals? When once again might grandparents pick up their grandchildren?
There are many possible answers, but the most likely one is: We just don’t know. We could wait until there’s an effective treatment, a vaccine or transmission rates fall to undetectable levels. But what if those are a year or more away [if ever]? Then we suffer the full extent of societal disruption the virus might cause for all those months. The costs, not just in money, are staggering to contemplate.
So what is the alternative? Well, we could focus our resources on testing and protecting, in every way possible…the elderly, people with chronic diseases and the immunologically compromised.”
We failed to heed this advice back in March. It’s too late now to avoid many of the “staggering costs” of this calamitous policy failure that Americans will lament for decades to come. Fairly or unfairly, it will be President Trump whom future generations will associate with this epic calamity. There’s little that can be done about any of that now. But all of the observed data available today only strengthen Dr. Katz’s assertions and early policy prescriptions. For the sake of our parents, our children, and countrymen who are suffering from this unprecedented “societal disruption,” we need to wake up from the media’s trance, observe the reality in front of our eyes, and act upon his sage advice immediately.
If Trump is wise, he’ll sideline Dr. Fauci, who’s been wrong about virtually everything, and follow the advice of Dr. Katz, who appears to have been wrong about nothing so far.”
………………………………………………
Added: People can be convinced of anything over time. For example, per Pew Poll, 82% of Egyptian Muslims believe you should be stoned to death for adultery:
2/11/2011, “Pew Global Attitudes Project“ conducted 4/12/10-5/7/10, released 12/2/2010
Of the 90% of the Egyptian population that is Muslim:
82% endorse the stoning of people who commit adultery
.........
77% support whippings and cutting off of hands for crimes like theft and robbery
84% support the death penalty for those who leave the Muslim religion….
Added: Following is American Thinker article about Trump handling of Covid to which commenters above responded:
“There is another and much overlooked liability in this [social and economic lockdown] approach. If we succeed in slowing the spread of coronavirus from torrent to trickle, then when does the society-wide disruption end?”
July 17, 2020, “Time is Running Out for Coronavirus Course Correction,“ William Sullivan, American Thinker
“Let’s begin with a fact that undoubtedly contradicts the hysterics that you’ve routinely heard about the viral pandemic of 2020–COVID-19 is anything but an indiscriminate killer of those infected by it.
A new study, released by the CDC on July 10, finds that the median age of death where COVID-19 is involved is 78. Mathematically, what this means is that half of the people who have died with COVID-19 were over the age of 78, while the other half who have died were younger than 78.
That might sound normal, given that 78 is the statistical life expectancy for Americans. But we can glean vital information about the actual threat of COVID-19 from that statistic alone. Data show that there are around 22 million Americans who are 75 or older living in America. This means that roughly seven percent of our population (of ~328 million) is over the age of 75, and this logically yields an assumption that the other 93 percent is south of that age.
Here’s the first of a few inconvenient yet undeniable truths. Half of the deaths attributed to COVID-19 have occurred among less than seven percent of the population, and the other half occurred among the other 93 percent of the population. Already, we have a pretty good idea as to who is most at risk when it comes to the risks of infection.
But we can actually demographically narrow down COVID-19 victims much more closely than that. Not only are those dying with COVID-19 often quite old, but they’re usually very unhealthy as well. According to this same CDC study, over 75 percent of those who’ve died with COVID-19 had one or more “underlying medical conditions,” and over half of them had two or more such conditions, defined in the study’s footnotes as “cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease (including end-stage renal disease), neurologic conditions, immunosuppression, chronic liver conditions, or obesity.” All of these, it should be noted, can be life-threatening conditions, even without the introduction of a novel coronavirus.
This is all critical information that’s often been left out of the media’s breathless reporting throughout the spring and summer about how everyone might die if young or healthy people are allowed to visit bars or restaurants.
Here’s another crucial bit of information that you won’t often hear. According to the New York Times, 42 percent of all COVID-19 deaths occurred among those who were “at some 14,000” nursing homes in America.Separate data from the CDC show that, in 2016, only 1.3 million Americans lived in America’s 15,600 nursing homes.
Let’s recap what the available data have shown us so far. Those dying of COVID-19 are overwhelmingly very old and most often very unhealthy, and nearly half of them lived in nursing homes, where less than one-half of one percent of our country’s population lives. Though the media seem uninterested in reporting any of that, we know well, and as near to precision as we might expect in a viral pandemic, whom COVID-19 actually kills.
Equally well, the data show us whom it does not kill.
Provisional data on COVID-19 deaths can be downloaded at the CDC, and my recent observations in perusing that data are worth noting in today’s environment, where there are widespread suggestions not to open our children’s schools for classes in the fall.
Consider the below data, the most recent on the CDC website:
We notice that roughly four in five deaths occur over the age of 65. That’s consistent with, say, influenza deaths in 2017–18. But a quick look at the other side of the spectrum yields what may be surprising conclusions that contradict the media narrative that your friends and neighbors may have imbibed wholesale….
We find that this number of [Covid] deaths among youth demographics is strikingly low by comparison.
The CDC’s age demographic breakdown of 2017–18 flu season deaths is not identical to the COVID-19 data, but it’s informative. In that flu season, influenza is estimated to have killed 643 children between the ages of zero and 17.
This comparison excludes the 18–24 age demographic for tallying estimated influenza deaths, yet despite the generous comparison, more than three times as many children aged zero to 17 are estimated to have died of influenza in 2017–18 than have died with COVID-19 in the child/young adult statistical age category of zero to 24 so far in 2020.
What this all tells us isn’t the answer to some mystery. We know, specifically, who is statistically at risk and who is not statistically at risk. If you’re older, or have serious underlying medical conditions, or live in a nursing home, you’re far more likely to die from COVID-19 infection than a healthy person visiting a bar or restaurant or a child going to school.
In an article that I’ve referenced several times (here, here, here), noted epidemiologist Dr. David Katz didn’t need to see all these data I’ve referenced to give America the prescription we needed back on March 20 in the New York Times. Using only very early American data and foreign data (the best of which came from South Korea), he concluded that our data were “entirely aligned with data from other countries.” He continued:
“The deaths have been mainly clustered among the elderly, those with significant chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, and those in both groups.
This is not true of infectious scourges such as influenza. The flu hits the elderly and chronically ill hard, too, but it also kills children[.] …
The clustering of complications and death from Covid-19 among the elderly and chronically ill, but not children (there have been only very rare deaths in children), suggests that we could achieve the crucial goals of social distancing — saving lives and not overwhelming our medical system — by preferentially protecting the medically frail and those over age 60, and in particular those over 70 and 80, from exposure.”
He suggests that we should not shut down schools or the economy, favoring a more “surgical” approach of protecting those most at risk. In an incident of pure prescience, he writes:
“There is another and much overlooked liability in this [social and economic lockdown] approach. If we succeed in slowing the spread of coronavirus from torrent to trickle, then when does the society-wide disruption end? When will it be safe for healthy children and younger teachers to return to school, much less older teachers and teachers with chronic illnesses? When will it be safe for the work force to repopulate the workplace, given that some are in the at-risk group for severe infection?
When would it be safe to visit loved ones in nursing homes or hospitals? When once again might grandparents pick up their grandchildren?
There are many possible answers, but the most likely one is: We just don’t know. We could wait until there’s an effective treatment, a vaccine or transmission rates fall to undetectable levels. But what if those are a year or more away [if ever]? Then we suffer the full extent of societal disruption the virus might cause for all those months. The costs, not just in money, are staggering to contemplate.
So what is the alternative? Well, we could focus our resources on testing and protecting, in every way possible…the elderly, people with chronic diseases and the immunologically compromised.”
We failed to heed this advice back in March. It’s too late now to avoid many of the “staggering costs” of this calamitous policy failure that Americans will lament for decades to come. Fairly or unfairly, it will be President Trump whom future generations will associate with this epic calamity. There’s little that can be done about any of that now. But all of the observed data available today only strengthen Dr. Katz’s assertions and early policy prescriptions. For the sake of our parents, our children, and countrymen who are suffering from this unprecedented “societal disruption,” we need to wake up from the media’s trance, observe the reality in front of our eyes, and act upon his sage advice immediately.
If Trump is wise, he’ll sideline Dr. Fauci, who’s been wrong about virtually everything, and follow the advice of Dr. Katz, who appears to have been wrong about nothing so far.”
………………………………………………
Added: People can be convinced of anything over time. For example, per Pew Poll, 82% of Egyptian Muslims believe you should be stoned to death for adultery:
2/11/2011, “Pew Global Attitudes Project“ conducted 4/12/10-5/7/10, released 12/2/2010
Of the 90% of the Egyptian population that is Muslim:
82% endorse the stoning of people who commit adultery
.........
77% support whippings and cutting off of hands for crimes like theft and robbery
84% support the death penalty for those who leave the Muslim religion….
..........................
Added:
Trump brags that his decision to "close down" the US economy was "expensive" but "the right thing." He's quite wrong.
Destroying "a nation’s economy is an act of war:"
“Taking action to destroy a nation’s economy is an act of war just as much as is staging attacks using bombs carried by spies or using missiles fired from planes.” Philip Giraldi, 7/17/20
Added:
Trump brags that his decision to "close down" the US economy was "expensive" but "the right thing." He's quite wrong.
Destroying "a nation’s economy is an act of war:"
“Taking action to destroy a nation’s economy is an act of war just as much as is staging attacks using bombs carried by spies or using missiles fired from planes.” Philip Giraldi, 7/17/20
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