There seems to be relatively little widespread concern about Covid right now. While the Biden administration is concerned about the vaccination rate and other countries such as Israel and New Zealand that were models of Covid management, are suddenly clamping down as if the threat has fully returned, here in the US, we have the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ so to speak, the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. Most are quite weary of heavy-handed government fear mongering and control and could care less about real or imagined threats. It’s summer, we have a lot of life to make up on. So what’s the real story and should we be concerned that we’ll be slapped down by a Covid boomerang? Are governments justified in renewed caution and control?
First the real number trend lines: We are indeed in a mini surge. The government is correct in that. To put that in perspective, we had a small surge last summer which then faded in late summer. It was nothing compared to the late fall and winter cases, topping out at over a quarter million a day by year end. That rise made the summer ‘surge’ look like a minor blip. So now, between 60-70% of us are vaccinated. The concentration of new cases are among the unvaccinated. Our present ‘surge’ is just an echo of what we had last year, approximately half of that, so far.
Whys and wherefores: The number of people willing to get the vaccine has topped out. While the overall numbers suggest that we should be close to overall herd immunity, that distribution of the vaccinated is more complete in some areas and virtually non-existent in others, thus the pockets of new cases. Vaccine adoption is strongly associated with trust in the government that sponsored the development and now distribution. Donald Trump pointed out that the timing of the approval process was politicized to influence the election, creating the widespread impression that the vaccine was is a political tool and not a medical one. Trump’s assertion is absolutely correct, but it should have less bearing as time goes on; however, when Joe Biden threatens to go door to door to harass commoners into compliance or to hijack Facebook to force the government’s messaging, both ideas reeking of ‘jackboot’ coercion, it’s no wonder that public trust in the vaccine (the government’s motives and integrity) is stalled. The bottom line here is that Joe Biden is solely responsible for the stall in vaccine distribution and that’ll be around to haunt us for quite some time.
I’ve predicted in the past that everyone will eventually get Covid (short of the vaccine at least), in the same way that we all get the common cold. We have treatments that work for the most severe cases of Covid and the preventative lifestyle measures to mitigate the severity of infection are always helpful. We’re at a point where we must allow free choice and conscience, and let the resulting ‘fate’ determine personal choices. Coercion demonstrably creates the opposite effect. The way forward is basically to embrace the mini surge because to do otherwise is just kicking the can down the road, this winter, next year.
There is still unresolved business. State and federal executives need to get out of the emergency savior mode now. Dr. Anthony Fauci needs to be held fully responsible for his part as the principal US agent that sponsored the Wuhan research from which Covid developed**. It should be something on par to a war tribunal. I see four million global deaths and counting that might not have happened had Fauci and others not sponsored the gain of function studies. Lastly, the CCP must be held directly and financially liable for the release of the virus. While it was likely accidental, that doesn’t absolve them of responsibility. The belligerence of their denial has yet to be met with a response that is sufficiently forceful. They should be begging for the world’s forgiveness. That sort of goodwill would go much further than their denials and faux rage.
** Postscript 7/20/21
Today, Fauci was again questioned by Rand Paul about gain of function research. Paul’s tack was the same as I presented two days ago here on NER. While a hearing is meant for showmanship, a focused commission would examine the actual paper trail which is being withheld as classified. I raised some of these questions several months ago. Compelling evidence counter to Dr Fauci’s claims have been published online, just as there is now significant consensus that the Wuhan lab was the point of release for Covid after a year of summary politicized denials by liberal government and press. Fauci and Wuhan are indeed intertwined. Fauci may be able to get angry and muster summary denials to Rand Paul, but he should be made to answer to an expanded select panel for his compromised involvement in Wuhan, gain of function, and Covid.