In the spirit of “an abundance of caution,” the United States – and much of the world – reacted to the Covid-19 outbreak with extreme mitigating policies. Initially, it was masking, social distancing, obsessive handwashing, avoid touching one’s face, constant surface cleaning, avoiding crowds, shuttering businesses, cancelling family events, isolating the elderly, closing schools and even frequent clothes washing. Many of the “precautions” were later discovered to be unnecessary or ineffective.
All that fearmongering resulted in a public panic pandemic. It had a devastating impact on the economic, social and mental health of the general public – including the more than 95 percent of Americans who would not require hospitalization.
On the other hand, virtually everyone was impacted negatively by the shutdown. People lost jobs and income. The health impact of the shutdown was never considered in those earlier government calculations. Only now, is there more reporting on studies and anecdotal information that shows health impacts from shutdowns that are as bad as the Pandemic? We are learning more about the epidemic of depression and suicides. We are learning of the developmental impact on our children – not to mention the traumatization of young kids as they witness the older generations’ hysteria. America’s once vibrant economy is struggling to recover – with inflation, supply-chain problems and lack of workers as ongoing issues.
John Hopkins University – one of the most respected research institutions in the world – issued a study that put it very bluntly. The Draconian shutdowns did little to prevent the spread and impact of Covid-19 – and they had minimal impact on reducing the death rate.
According to the researchers, “We find no evidence that lockdowns, school closures, border closures, and limiting gatherings have had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality.” Let’s go over that again. Researchers said that they found “NO EVIDENCE THAT LOCKDOWNS, SCHOOL CLOSURES, BORDER CLOSURES AND LIMITING GATHERINGS HAVE HAD A NOTICEABLE EFFECT ON COVID-19 MORTALITY.
According to John Hopkins, all the measures to prevent the spread of Covid may have reduced the death rate by two-tenths of one percent. That is two-tenths of the two-tenths of the population who are said to have died from Covid. And that includes those who died WITH Covid and those who are ASSUMED to have died from Covid. (I did not make up the “with” and “assumed” categories. Those are statistics developed by the government and independent agencies.)
To save you running to the calculator two-tenths of two-tenths is four-ten thousand of a percent. In other words, most of those who died from Covid would have died without the extreme shutdowns. This is also confirmed by studies that show that the 1918 Pandemic – without vaccines and the most extreme preventative measures – ran about the same course as the 2019 Pandemic – even with the third year (1920) rise in cases and deaths.
A McKinsey Report shows “the impact of the pandemic on K–12 student learning was significant, leaving students on average five months behind in mathematics and four months behind in reading by the end of the school year.” It should also be noted that the shutdown was – to use the modern view – racist. McKinsey noted that “… students in majority Black schools ended the year with six months of unfinished learning.” In addition to the academic issues, kids are now suffering from a lack of socialization.
Current reports have confirmed what some authorities said at the onset of the Pandemic. Virtually all the masks being worn by the public today are virtually useless in protecting a person from contracting the virus – only somewhat useful in preventing an infected person from spreading it. That is what Dr. Anthony Fauci told us in the early days of the Pandemic – until he flipped and later flopped back.
These reports indicate that there should be an immediate termination of all the shutdown measures. They were never effective in the first place – and have no relevancy today.
So, why do we have so many of the shutdown orders still in place?
One reason is money. Oh … not the money being lost by the people, but the money that is generated by continuing to perpetrate the panic. That goes from vaccine and supply manufacturers to all those hospitals getting government grants to deal with the Pandemic. It is that extra money being appropriated to the various government bureaucracies.
The second reason is political. The government health bureaucracy – over which the very highly paid Dr. Fauci presides – has a personal stake in maintaining its power over health policy. That also has a money trail.
There may also be something in the public character between conservatives (Republicans) and progressives (Democrats). A recent poll, 80 percent of Republicans believe it is time to lift sanctions – as do approximately 70 percent of independents. However, Only about 46 percent of Democrats believe we need to maintain shutdown policies. Now take a guess who does not believe in the science.
In this case – and most others – Democrats are appealing to those with inordinate fear – who are more easily scared. We have them in Florida – and I see them every day. They are religiously walking around with masks that will not protect them in an environment were the virus is on the retreat. They are not following the science.
The proponents of maintaining the shutdowns keep noting that folks are still getting sick and dying. That will always be the case. We will never arrive at zero hospitalizations and deaths. But they also note that the vast majority of those getting seriously ill or dying are the unvaccinated.
I see no reason America – or even one city – should make the population suffer real harm – especially the children – because some folks will not get vaccinated. They are assuming the risk. As a conservative, I respect their right to assume that risk, but I see no reason the rest of us must suffer such dire consequences to save them from their own free choice. In fact, people I know who are not vaccinated do not expect the rest of us to give up our freedom for them. They know that taking the risk is all on them.
We are learning more and more that the entire shutdown protocol was a big mistake. Yes, there were some reasonable measures that could have been taken. To continue to talk about – or impose – another major shutdown, however, is irresponsible and a big mistake – and now the facts are rolling in to prove it.
So, there ‘tis.