It seems as though decision makers across the country are determined to cause as much harm to the people as humanly possible.
Now it's the delta variant and areas of high transmissibility that are their excuses for imposing burdens.
Indisputable Facts:
- COVID has always been highly transmissible. Normal people, who are not trying to frighten or intimidate others, would say it's contagious. This is nothing new. The delta variant may or may not be statistically more contagious than any of the of the variations of the virus ... past, present, or future. But for practical purposes, it's no different than what we've been dealing with since February 2020.
- COVID has always been highly survivable for the majority of US residents. It is quite dangerous for the elderly, and a nuisance for mostly everyone else. Of course there are exceptions and exceptions have always gotten far more attention than they deserve. They are, nonetheless, exceedingly rare.
- Vaccines have never, ever been 100% effective.
- Vaccines are, furthermore, effective in varying ways ... sometimes they prevent the onset of an illness; sometimes they reduce the symptoms of an illness; sometimes they shorten the time of being symptomatic. All of these outcomes demonstrate that the vaccine is effective.
- All Policy Decisions have a cost. Even those that might be considered a mere nuisance must - no matter how small the cost - be evaluated against their expected and/or experienced benefit.
- Masks are proven to have a negligible impact on the trajectory, transmissibility, and outcome of COVID. Cases in areas of high mask usage have followed the same pattern as in areas of low mask usage. Yet they impose a cost. Reasonable people can disagree on the severity of the cost, but it is NOT zero. In my opinion, any cost for NO benefit is to great a cost.
- The vaccines have proven to be effective. The short-term costs have been, thus far, negligible. We do not know the long-term costs. That uncertainty must be weighed against the proven benefits.
- The CDC is a bureaucracy, led by bureaucrats. All successful/high-ranking bureaucrats are politically ambitious, motivated to exercise power and authority, and adept at using language to manipulate others. This does not make them bad people. It's simply a statement of fact.
Today's Response from on high:
- Once again, we see rhetoric from the CDC that recommends masks if you're in an area of high transmissibility.
- Politicians - the president, governors, mayors, etc. - are ignoring the valid concerns of those that thoughtfully consider the uncertain long-term impact of vaccination.
The response is monumentally stupid, and will cause even more harm than we've already experienced.
