As the coronavirus pandemic takes off around the world, a number of nations are trying to militarize the fight, with the armies charged with trying to combat a new “invisible enemy.” By and large, these militaries weren’t just sitting around, and were already engaged in operations with enemy forces, fighting wars or preparing for them.
With this big new responsibility, it’s not exactly easy for those militaries to do that as well. This is either a huge burden, or a major opportunity, as these nations may look to find common interests with one another, and fighting the virus is a big such interest.
The UN has tried to take this as an opportunity to push global ceasefires in conflicts, and some nations have decided that seems like an idea. Saudi Arabia has stemmed operations in Yemen, at least temporarily, and other nations are scaling back training operations around the world.
Israel, by contrast, are escalating against the besieged Gaza Strip in their time of weakness, denying them access to coronavirus kits and shooting at fishermen off the coast. Settler attacks are also up substantially against the Palestinians.
Which isn’t to say that any major military powers are looking to start making peace on a large scale yet. Despite the worry about the virus, many seems to have a real hesitancy to putting the wars on hold. Hit hardest by the virus, the US military is reacting by warning how ready they are to respond to challenges.
As the largest military force, the US could really lead by example here, and show that in a time of global crisis there are bigger issues to worry about than keeping temporary regional wars going full tilt in chances
“As the largest military force, the US could really lead by example here,
and show that in a time of global crisis there are bigger issues to
worry about than keeping temporary regional wars going full tilt in
chances[??]”
The last line seems cut off, but those regional wars are supposed to be permanent, not temporary.
In any case, COVID-19 is the biggest reset scam since 9/11. The U.S. and world economies did not have to be shut down. Now every effort, including the flawed science of ‘flattening the curve’ lockdowns, are being used to keep COVID-19 alive against natural herd immunity and spring and summer weather.
“Coronavirus expert says he knows when the virus ‘will burn itself out,’ according to leaked analysis” – Mark Puleo, AccuWeather, Feb. 11, 2020.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/health-wellness/coronavirus-expert-says-the-virus-will-burn-itself-out-in-about-6-months/679415
Another epidemiologist, Dr. Knut Wittkowski, predicted SARS-CoV-2 could be exterminated if lockdowns were to be lifted.
“Perspectives on the Pandemic II: A Conversation with Dr. Knut Wittkowski” – John Kirby, Libby Handros and Lee Davis, The Press & The Public Project, New York City, April 1&2, 2020.
Only applying medical science and the practices of epidemiology can stop the virus. China applied it, and did not have to shut down its entire country.
It is the stunning lack of professionalism or political/financial takeover of the crisis management that resulted in the most incomprehensible mix of herd immunity (herd culling) approach and the reaction to it by total shutdown. You cannot start with herd culling approach without losing control, and belatedly controls put in place to reassure population in need of some guidelines —,that all is under control.
As people are not dying in large enough quantities or being exposed fast enough, you will find around plenty of Wittkowskis or deniers that this epidemic thing actually exists. This may be the next stage — open things up, get infection restarted, let the young ones out and bring virus back home to dear mama.
Then there will be whining of no medical equipment, how sad — and people dying, very sad.
The telling moment was Governor Cuomo’ s railing against Trump, who then suggested THEY ALL KNOW should have been done in the first place — close all traffic in and out of NY. Governor Cuomo called it the declaration of war on NY! But it did shut Cuomo up. They both know what is going on — case of kettle calling pot black.
With number of cases — in spite of huge gamesmanship in testing locations /open hours/lack of gloves/cotton swabs, etc, etc. — going up and away, the “flattening of curve” is a financial tool, not anything to do with epidemics. When you set goals high, and are not reached, curve is “underperforming”, slimily called “flattening”.
In spite of our wealth, academic prowess, super-organized society and economy — we are a pathetic sight.
Even childish. Pointing finger at China. They have lied, did not give us sufficient warning, etc. Yet it is China that applied containment of epidemics we derisively called draconian — that is opening up its hard hit regions, and opening up economy. We are basing all of our decisions on a guess. Flattening imaginary curve. Weather may help but it will not help those in cooler regions, where it may linger to reignite again. The only way is to deprive virus of new bodies until extinguished. Yet, we are dithering about the use of face masks! A simple means of reducing spread. It tells you all you need to know about the quality of our epidemics management.
—–
With number of cases — in spite of huge gamesmanship in testing locations /open hours/lack of gloves/cotton swabs, etc, etc. — going up and away, the “flattening of curve” is a financial tool, not anything to do with epidemics. When you set goals high, and are not reached, curve is “underperforming”, slimily called “flattening”.
—–
That’s a very long way of saying that you haven’t the faintest idea what it means to “flatten the curve.”
I know something about mathematics and statistics — enough said.
The excuses given for NOT managing the epidemics are in the realm of surreal, so all one can do is heap upon the epidemics management (whoever they are) all the disrespect they deserve.
“I know something about mathematics and statistics — enough said.”
No, not enough said.
There’s nothing wrong with not understanding what “the curve” in question is or what it means to “flatten” it.
It’s OK to not know things. Pretending to know things you don’t know, not quite as OK.
And you seem to claim the knowledge of the “curve” and “flattening”? You are NOT saying it — of course. But you seem to defend a model that is indefensible.
DATA entering any formula or model is the key, not just model structure.
And the data is?
Straight from someone’s massaged, purified and abstracted, carefully selected data sources.
There is no model that can work with such incomplete by design data base. For as long as number of new cases is rising and the sum of dead and recovered still very small compared to the number of (known) cases — the curve cannot flatten. Deaths are trailing indicator. Let us not fantasize that we even know the rate of new cases growth.
And that the rate of new case/ death daily slowdown means anything.
The talk of “flattening” is nothing more then media, public perception management.
I’m not “defending” anything, let alone a model. But that is an interesting way for you to keep pretending that you know what you’re talking about when you clearly don’t.
Here, I’ll help: “Flattening the curve” means stretching out the pandemic — just as many people get infected, just not in as short a period of time, so that the maximum number of people infected at any given moment doesn’t exceed the available number of ICU beds, ventilators, etc.
It’s called that because the total number of infections, expressed as a bell curve, remains the same but the X axis of the curve (time) is wider and the y axis (numbers infected) is shorter.
You’re welcome. Now you can know what you’re talking about instead of just talking.
This is a classic! We need a dose of Greek tragedy to bring about catharsis as a cure for arrogance.
Why do you bother with the lesson in bell curve — when you know full well that nobody today is in a possession of facts to even begin comprehending RELEVANT statistical models.
Since underlying assumptions to the magical model are not clear, and data on future cases NOT in anybody’s possession — the hoped for flattening discussion sounds like Pitagora’s disciples divining future from the numbers.
Or just bring in fewer people into hospitals — hence 400% increase in deaths at home, New York’s way of flattening.
Garbage in — garbage out. That is what these models are. As the control is lost — speculation is all that is left.
Once we arrest the growth of new cases — the spreadsheet warriors can spin their magic, not before.
“Why do you bother with the lesson in bell curve — when you know full well that nobody today is in a possession of facts to even begin comprehending RELEVANT statistical models.”
Because the meaning of the phrase is the meaning of the phrase whether the statistical models are relevant or not.
…. Ummm, did you even check what the real science is?
The science suggests that social distancing, sheltering in place, and flattening the curve will prolong the crisis, help the virus survive, and further endanger lives.
Social distancing is incompatible with herd immunity. Social distancing discourages and undermines herd immunity, which is critical in all upper respiratory infection ( URI) suppression.
Herd immunity is not ‘culling’, its the spreading of resistance to infection among pathogen-exposed individuals in a group such that, the pathogen can no longer find hosts and either dies out, or, must mutate to find new hosts…
… or, to survive the pathogen must have the rate of infection stretched out – as in ‘flattening the curve’ – as long as possible such that pockets of low-resistant individuals can always be found to infect.
Flattening the curve is especially dangerous with COVID-19. Children, for example, are mostly immune but can be carriers. If randomly infected, they can spread to herd-vulnerable individuals long after social distancing is officially ended, creating lingering and sporadic outbreaks.
Vaccines attempt to artificially create herd immunity safely using a dud virus, but don’t always work.
“Why the Flu Vaccine Doesn’t Work” – Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D., ThoughtCo, January 27, 2020
https://www.thoughtco.com/why-the-flu-vaccine-doesnt-work-602176
A robust healthcare net saves most of those who cannot stand on their own against seasonal colds and flus. Its rare for the same vaccine to be re-used the next year, because there is herd immunity against that particular flu strain.
‘Shelter in place’ – staying indoors – is a ridiculous idea, to worst for cold/flu resistance. Vitamin D is generated from the skin via sunlight exposure. If you ever run into SARS-CoV-2, you want it to have been fried by sunshine, so it can’t attack with any strength.
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1313-vitamin-d-and-uv
“UV radiation from the sun increases ‘by a factor of 10’ by summer and could be key in slowing COVID-19” – John Roach, AccuWeather, March 24, 2020.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/health-wellness/uv-radiation-from-the-sun-increases-by-a-factor-of-10-by-summer-and-could-be-key-in-slowing-covid-19/703393
The science-savvy faux progressives know what they are talking about when they speak of a ‘second wave’ of COVID-19 infection; they are intentionally trying to foster conditions for a second wave, pretending and fooling others into adopting harmful actions as protective.
The COVID-19 panic is yet another iteration of fighting the good war ‘for out own good’ trick all over again by the MIC.
You should learn a bit more about “herd immunity” before you post such nonsense. No, it could not be exterminated if lockdowns are lifted, in fact thousands more people could die.
It can’t be exterminated, period. It’s going to become endemic — part of our usual routine, just like common cold, seasonal flu, etc. Fortunately, endemic viruses tend toward a mutation track of less deadliness, because the ones with milder symptoms have a survival advantage.
“Flattening the curve” of the disease’s progression — slowing down the infection rate so that not as many people are needing hospital beds, ventilators, etc. at once — is one approach.
Letting it do its worst is another.
It’s not clear which approach will kill more, and which approach fewer, people overall.
With the treatment people receive in New York . Which is the ventilator treatment . We should be able to get 100 times more deaths than China or South Korea got.. But than we might be able to get rid of Trump Which of course the establishments main goal
ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) would be far safer; not sure why the MSM is so stuck on ventilators.
“Chinese Doctors Share the Playbook for Severe COVID-19: Tips from Chinese doctors on the front lines” – Nicole Lou, MedPageToday, March 19, 2020.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/85520
Ventilator intubation can damage the airways, while pumping in O2 also does damage as that forces already stressed lung tissues to work when they are at the end of their capacity.
While none of us can predict the future–I happen to agree with you it’s likely to become endemic, but I am much less convinced that it will be only seasonal or that it will become less lethal very quickly, we can surely hope. Regarding slowed economy versus “herd immunity” (letting it do it’s worst) you’re saying that of the two approaches, it’s “not clear” which approach will kill more. I think you were more certain a while back of which was the better option.
I’ve heard the argument a few times but it’s always vague and never supported by any model, not even an attempt at an estimate of deaths hypothetically caused by the “cure” which is supposedly worse than the virus. Those who promoted that argument have made three crucial mistakes.
First, representing the effects of the virus in terms of deaths only, not thinking about the greater number who would not die so long as they had the ventilators–and how the numbers of deaths goes up with the number who are “allowed” to be infected without implementing these practices and limiting opportunities for exposure, because there is a finite amount of equipment. Second, whatever number of deaths that could result indirectly from a shutdown, there would still be the exact number of deaths taking place despite the shutdown. And, of course, a lot more besides. A truly catastrophic number–as though what we’re seeing were not catastrophe enough.
Third, they don’t even try to project how many would die “because shutdown”, nor what would actually kill them in larger numbers than the virus itself. Starvation, presumably. But this assumes that we were ever gong to shut down agriculture and not feed people who no longer have money to buy food–or provide them with some form of assistance so that doesn’t happen. Letting the stock market crash is not the zombie apocalypse the rich folk appear to think it is. Same thing with rent. Yes, this will add to the national debt, but what else is new? Divert it from military spending. As this site has always pointed out, that money’s wasted anyway. Everything is a choice. But, predictably, the US Military is asking for more money anyway.
I will add that It’s no longer quite so hypothetical. We’ve got a control now. Sweden has stuck to her guns of prioritizing economy, while neighbour Denmark went the way of the rest of Europe. It appears, so far, that Denmark is doing better. I’m not saying it’s proof positive of course, but it’s looking that way.
It boils down to mass graves in New York versus even more mass graves is somehow better, because “more” would die “because shutdown”. I just don’t see it. I think most of those making the argument don’t give a flying fig about lives lost and only their own (worse, someone else’s) bottom line.
Tangent:
Meanwhile, A.T. trots out an unofficial, untested, literally half-baked hypothesis not intended for public consumption, that it would disappear in “warmer weather” becuase the virus “doesn’t like heat” that was leaked in February, and ignores the evidence before his eyes that it’s out of date and clearly wrong. Flu season’s been over for a month. The virus is everywhere, hot or cold, from Singapore (always hot) to South Africa to Ecuador, where there are bodies lying wrapped outside people’s homes. He tells us the suggestion to stay home is part of a plot to deprive you of Vitamin D (you get your day’s worth from about 20 minutes outside, and no one is being forced to stay in at all times) and exercise (people in the UK are told they can go out to exercise), and in his last missive to me told me I was denying “geronticide” happens–it’s senecide (Latin goes with -cide, as Greek goes with -ology)–I never denied it happens, just don’t see why anyone would bother to make what happens naturally happen on a large scale. Apparently I’m arrogant because I don’t accept his interpretations of unrelated events as proof of his conspiracy theory, whereas he doesn’t actually acknowledge about being wrong about anything, ever.
What is vague and never supported by any model . China has 1.4 billion people and less than 4000 deaths . South Korea has 137 deaths and 50 million people . Neither of these countries had a lock down either . But we do have a medical establishment that is in charge of what treatments we are allowed to receive . A very elite establishment that refuses to look at the Chinese and South Korean models .
We don’t know how many deaths China or South Korea has.
We also don’t know how many deaths the US has.
On a trustworthiness scale in the matter, I’d rank South Korea ahead of the US and the US ahead of China, but all regimes lie.
The argument that shutting down the economy would cause more deaths than the virus itself. That is what’s vague and not supported by a model. No one ever presents a projection, nor a reason why more people would die from that.
You are comparing apples and oranges. China is the location of patient zero, in Wuhan. Once China grasped what was happening, they locked down the city and then the province. It did not spread, at that time, beyond the province. So you’re absolutely wrong about that. They welded doors shut of people who were refusing to stay put. (The same measures, by the way, that you’ll find in Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year, except they didn’t have welding, they hammered nails into doors. Obviously by the time that happened, some people from Wuhan had already left on planes bound for other parts of the world, but no one was bringing it into China at that point (as they are now). Call it home advantage.
Neither South Korea nor Hong Kong had a lot of deaths. Back in early to mid January, Dr. Stephen Leung led a fairly long conference (see it on YouTube). He and his colleague were wearing masks throughout. His body language, his tone was ominous AF. Like many at the time, including my g.p., I thought he must have been exaggerating. Point is, people in HK got the message when he called for “draconian” measures to stop the virus. People in Hong Kong demanded that all but minimal crossings with the mainland be maintained. There were blocks and blocks of people standing in line to get masks. Basically, it was on their doorstep, they took it seriously, they acted quickly.
South Korea is also “in the neighbourhood” but might not have acted so quickly but for the sudden local outbreak that arose when a local religious sect spread it amongst themselves. SK had the experience with MERS if I recall correctly–if it wasn’ that it was something else, just as Canada was one of few Western countries to have to deal with SARS–and knew what to do: test, trace, isolate. If you’ve caught everyone, you don’t need a lockdown.
Given the very long incubation period, once the genie’s out of the bottle (you can’t trace the contacts) there’s no other way except distancing and minimal contact: it’s no longer possible to stop it, only slow it. It’s not that the establishment won’t look at other models, it’s that it’s too late to do that now. And there is no proven treatement for a novel virus. None. The most you can do if someone’s lungs shut down is sedate them and put them on a ventilator and hope they pull through. You can’t use antibiotics on something that’s not technically alive (a virus).
“The argument that shutting down the economy would cause more deaths than the virus itself. That is what’s vague and not supported by a model. No one ever presents a projection, nor a reason why more people would die from that.”
Trying to model the effects of a multi-variable “shutdown” regime on all aspects of multiple complex economies is something we’re probably decades away from having the tools to do well. And the model is no more the outcome than the map is the territory (as epidemiologists rushing to distance themselves from the projections their models made should demonstrate).
It’s not modeling to say “well, if there’s no food, people aren’t going to eat, and if people don’t eat, they’ll die.” It’s just a fairly pedestrian observation.
“Once China grasped what was happening, they locked down the city and then the province. It did not spread, at that time, beyond the province.”
You forgot the part about magic unicorns bearing candy and bourbon.
You should listen to yourself three paragraphs later: “Given the very long incubation period, once the genie’s out of the bottle (you can’t trace the contacts) there’s no other way except distancing and minimal contact: it’s no longer possible to stop it, only slow it.”
That’s true in China like it is everywhere else.
“It’s not modeling to say “well, if there’s no food, people aren’t going
to eat, and if people don’t eat, they’ll die.” It’s just a fairly
pedestrian observation.”
I agree, but the people advocating doing nothing never even got as far as making that fairly pedestrian observation. To them, the stock market is the economy. OK, no models could be made? Then what exactly is the basis of the argument that doing nothing in the midst of this pandemic would somehow leave the nation better off? If you don’t have a model or projections, you should at least be able to make the argument on some other grounds. No one said that a shut down would lead to people going hungry for lack of food production and distribution.
Nor am I really convinced that the world will run out of food just because countries lock non-essential services down. If the problem right now is that fruit or vegetables are not being gathered (how much? all of it? some? a little? I’ve seen that milk is being dumped but that’s to keep the price up–as happened in the Depression with some goods) is that not because people are sick or afraid of the virus? If so, that’s not due to a shutdown, and the lack of a shutdown would also have exacerbated this probem. If there are shortages due to issues of harvesting and preparation that’s not due to a lockdown. Again, as far as I know.
Basically, there is no argument to be won if there is no argument made other than an appeal to imagination: “it would be worse”..
As far as China goes, I am giving them the benefit of the doubt till we see evidence proving otherwise. If we start second guessing every single piece of information we get nowhere. Should I have added “For all practical purposes” or “As far as we are able to tell”? China really is the exception here because there was a single source that could actually be contained. All other large countries have many possible entry points for the virus by land, sea, or air. China had one to start with. They have the world’s largest standing army don’t they? They could and probably did literally surround the province. Tanks aren’t unicorns.
But they lie, people say. Of course they lie when it suits them. So does just about every nation. Coming from the US or the UK, the two least prepared OECD nations, it just sounds like sour grapes. All that being said, here’s how I think we know they are not lying. When things first got bad in China, Canada sent them PPE (quite a lot). China has since repaid Canada that PPE with interest. If they were in the midst of an out-of-control pandemic all that time and somehow hiding it, they would not have given all of that away. Now that all being said, they may have not calculated on people now bringing the virus back to China from abroad and things could change.
“No one said that a shut down would lead to people going hungry for lack of food production and distribution.”
In what universe?
“If the problem right now is that fruit or vegetables are not being gathered … is that not because people are sick or afraid of the virus?”
No, it’s because a quarter of a million migrant farm workers who usually come to gather those crops are sitting at home in Latin America with their thumbs up their asses because the US State Department isn’t getting their visas issued.
You keep referring to “doing nothing” and “the people advocating doing nothing.” Got any examples of that? I haven’t seen it in the wild. Not shutting the entirety of society down is not “doing nothing.”
“I think you were more certain a while back of which was the better option.”
I still expect that “lockdown” is going to end up killing more people than “wash over” would have.
“But this assumes that we were ever gong to shut down agriculture and not feed people who no longer have money to buy food”
We’ve already shut down agriculture.
It’s not a matter of having money to buy food. All the money in the world isn’t going to buy the food that doesn’t exist because crops are rotting in the fields, meat processing plants are shutting down, etc.
I’m not a “prepper.” I do try to keep a couple of weeks’ worth of canned food on hand for basic emergencies ranging from “hurricane came through and it’s still hard to buy stuff” to “one of us got laid off and we can go to the grocery store OR pay rent but not both.” But right now I am buying extra canned food with every grocery haul, and hoping to get a 3-month supply in. And I’m far from sure that THAT will be enough. If we don’t get agriculture back in gear in the next few weeks, there will almost certainly be starvation in America this fall and winter.
“Meanwhile, A.T. trots out an unofficial, untested, literally half-baked hypothesis not intended for public consumption, that it would disappear in ‘warmer weather’ becuase the virus ‘doesn’t like heat’ that was leaked in February, and ignores the evidence before his eyes that it’s out of date and clearly wrong. Flu season’s been over for a month. The virus is everywhere, hot or cold, from Singapore (always hot) to South Africa to Ecuador, where there are bodies lying wrapped outside people’s homes.”
My understanding was that it was humidity, not heat per se, that coronaviruses don’t “like” much, and that it therefore does best in the 30-50 degree latitude band and not as well outside that band. If the current confirmed case map is anything like accurate, it would seem to bear that hypothesis out. Of course, the map might not be accurate, or the spread in some places may be significantly “behind” others, etc. But so far, big cities outside that 30 degree latitude band are simply not having outbreaks on the same scale as big cities within that band.
Canadians keep a lot of canned goods around too: you never know when you’ll be snowed in.
I only heard about beef/pork shortages today, and that from my g.p. of all people (I don’t know how I’ve missed it), so I take your point about food insecurity. But from what I understand the reason that’s happening is more to do with many of the workers are themselves sick, or afraid of getting sick (again, I heard this second hand). Regardless, how big a problem this is worldwide is going to vary. There may be shortages, food may become more expensive, but it still doesn’t have to mean mass starvation. That said, I’ll be buying a lot more cans myself, I guess. Good thing I love soup.
This must be what I heard about:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/business/coronavirus-food-supply.html
Food for thought indeed. I don’t know if you’re a praying man, Thomas. I’m not usually much of one, being agnostic. But now and then, when faced with something big, I do it anyway. I don’t know if it does any good, but it certainly can’t hurt.
I don’t think thousands more people would die . With the methods new York uses to treat the virus . The same number of people may die . But with a lock down it will be slower to infect the people . So less people will die right away
And therefore less over all.
… Less people dying right away, is a poor exchange for more people dying down the road and over time.
Nature has a perfectly good system for keeping our species alive against URI viruses; sunshine and herd immunity. The science of Vitamin D and UV-B is well-understood, if often denied..
“How Much Time in the Sun Do You Need for Vitamin D?” – Lisa Esposito and Deborah Kotz, July 18, 2018
https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2018-07-18/how-much-time-in-the-sun-do-you-need-for-vitamin-d
New York government did everything they could to help the a viral URI pandemic survive.
To start, for years successive governments undermined hospitals with underfunding, understaffing and overcrowding,
Then they locked down the population just when spring was arriving and the infection rate was peaking, COVID-19 was otherwise doomed by the twin pincers of UV from sunlight and herd immunity.
Then Team Cuomo crashed the economy, so people cannot not properly feed themselves, and eventually will not be able to shelter themselves long-term to protect their health.
Sheltering in place – essentially, staying indoors, will deprive many people of vitamin D and weaken their immune systems to COVID-19 and other URIs.
200,000 people are not dying nationwide, even with all the deliberate government missteps.
I respect your concern for lives, but proper research indicates most governments are doing everything they can to prolong the crisis out of ideology, ignorance, and political pressure, not honest life-saving.
We have only two reliable weapons – sunlight and natural herd immunity. Vaccines attempt to safely mimic herd immunity, but fall short. Anti-viral drugs are promising, but clearly there is a faction of bullycrats in the system opposing their use in this crisis.
Faux progressive leaders such as Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, and New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, have both stated for the public record that ‘its not over’ till there’s a vaccine.
Waiting for a vaccine is nonsense; we have flu vaccines and influenza is not over. This is not the fault of anti-vaxxers, but that vaccines can’t cover every stain of flu, and those they do cover, are covered imperfectly.
“Why the Flu Vaccine Doesn’t Work” – Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D., ThoughtCo, January 27, 2020
https://www.thoughtco.com/why-the-flu-vaccine-doesnt-work-602176
Add to that THERE IS NO COLD VACCINE. They’ve been saying “But we’re close… ” for probably 70 years now.
“Why Haven’t We Cured the Common Cold Yet?” – Angus Chen, Scientific American, September 4, 2018.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-havent-we-cured-the-common-cold-yet/
Coronaviruses are colds. Its very possible the hoped-for vaccine solution is a false hope as SARS-CoV-2 might well be able to mutate naturally to dodge vaccinations, just like any other cold.
This would leave only anti-viral drugs as treatments, which again, are not the fashionable solution right now; nearly everyone in power is holding out for a vaccine.
Likely, if vaccines fail, and they will (which will be denied, of course), anti-viral drugs will be the solution. After the Deep State has extorted from their opponents, deep concessions on human and civil rights like they did after 9/11.
Invasive vax and temperature checks, as well as social surveillance will be as ubiquitous as invasive groping at TSA airport security, all for our ‘safety’.
“Feline coronavirus treatment could stop spread of COVID-19 in humans, doctor says” – Dr. Joette Giovinco, FOX 13 News, February 14
https://www.fox5ny.com/news/feline-coronavirus-treatment-could-stop-spread-of-covid-19-in-humans-doctor-says
“HUGE! Results from Breaking Chloroquine Study Show 100% Cure Rate for Patients Infected with the Coronavirus” – Joe Hoft, TheGatewayPundit, March 19, 2020.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/huge-results-from-breaking-chloroquine-study-show-100-cure-rate-for-patients-infected-with-the-coronavirus/
“Dr. Stephen Smith on effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine: ‘I think this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic'” – Talia Kaplan, Fox News, April 2, 2020.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/dr-stephen-smith-on-effectiveness-of-hydroxychloroquine-with-coronavirus-symptoms-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-pandemic
“Head lice drug emerges as potential coronavirus treatment, studies show” – Jay Bhatt, Lucien Bruggemann, ABCNews, April 14, 2020.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/head-lice-drug-emerges-potential-coronavirus-treatment-studies/story?id=70119724
The lockdowns began mid-March – the beginning of spring. Idiots like Governor Cuomo and others claiming social distancing is working, are simply taking credit for Mother Nature’s sunlight boost. UV rads are death on viruses.
My references are from January and March, before lockdowns began in earnest after the first day of spring (March 19, 2020).
Therefore, pandemic planners KNEW SARS-CoV-2 was caught between the usual hammer and anvil of sunshine and herd immunity.
“UV radiation from the sun increases ‘by a factor of 10’ by summer and could be key in slowing COVID-19” – John Roach, AccuWeather, March 24, 2020.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/health-wellness/uv-radiation-from-the-sun-increases-by-a-factor-of-10-by-summer-and-could-be-key-in-slowing-covid-19/703393
“New study says ‘high temperature and high relative humidity significantly reduce’ spread of COVID-19” – Mark Puleo, AccuWeather, March 18, 2020.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/health-wellness/new-study-says-high-temperature-and-high-relative-humidity-significantly-reduce-spread-of-covid-19/703418
UV is so effective, re-using old n-95s after UV sterilization is being considered where surgical masks have run short.
“Canadian hospitals prepare to sterilize, re-use N95 masks if supplies dwindle” – Steve Scherer, Allison Martell, Reuters, April 15, 2020.
https://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN21X2XG
Sweden in unofficially trying out herd immunity, and faring quite well relative to the slaughter predicted by panic mongers and profiteers. Figures some Western country needed to be a ‘control’ in this mass experiment in stupidity. Doubtless, they are also buffing their casualty figures, though.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/sweden/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Sweden
In Sweden, social distancing is voluntary, and while gatherings over 50 are restricted, they have a functioning economy.
This will help Sweden pay for their generous public health benefits, and enable future generations in the immediate and distant future to handle COVID-19, whether it become endemic or not.
The U.S. states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Arkansas have also bucked the U.S. trend for total lockdowns. They enjoy low infectivity and deaths even given that these are low-pop states. Lockdowns are a political-ideological decision, not a scientific one.
“Governors Kristi Noem, Kim Reynolds Reject One Size Fits All Coronavirus Lockdowns” – Tristan Justice, The Federalist, April 2, 2020
https://thefederalist.com/2020/04/02/governors-kristi-noem-kim-reynolds-reject-one-size-fits-all-coronavirus-lockdowns/
We can mitigate the casualties of natural herd immunity with a robust health care system ready to respond to surges in demand.
Despite the scary stories coming out of hospitals, they seem to be coming primarily out of New York and New Orleans.
Their city hospitals are noteable for being underfunded, understaffed, poorly run, and overcrowded. In the rest of the country, there is health care to spare.
This is despite the war against rural hospitals which have seen hundreds close or reduce servieces over the past decade.
“1 in 4 rural hospitals is vulnerable to closure, a new report finds: The crisis for America’s rural hospitals is getting a lot worse.” – Dylan Scott, Vox, Feb 18, 2020.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/2/18/21142650/rural-hospitals-closing-medicaid-expansion-states
The economic shutdown in fact threatens the future of America’s already-creaky health care system. Rural hospitals and private clinics cannot take the revenue hit as elective procedures are put on hold. this will cost lives now, and into the future.
“Rural hospitals and private medical practices struggle to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic” – Christina Farr, CNBC, Mar 31 202012:14 PM EDT.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/31/coronavirus-closures-could-ruin-rural-hospitals-medical-practices.html
All that matters is keeping the globalists you are REALLY fighting for…happy. That those in the military haven’t figured that out yet is why the ignorant keep signing up and believing they are “keeping us free.”
Well Americans are free – free to have no healthcare and free to eat from food banks.