President Biden's Failed Attempts To Tame COVID

Omicron.  No one can pronounce the word correctly, but it has an ominous ring. Even President Biden stumbled over the pronunciation. The name conjures a villain in a Marvel graphic novel. Turns out Omicron is the 15th letter in the Greek alphabet and the label for the newest COVID variant.     

When the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the moniker for the Coronavirus variant, the American media incited an epidemic of news hysteria. Their scaremongering reporting included the fact the variant first appeared on the Dark Continent of Africa.  That had to be a grim sign for the world.

President Biden immediately shut down air travel between the U.S. and South Africa and other countries in the region, triggering a pandemic of fear.  Dr. Anthony Fauci supported the decision, saying it was "better to be safe than sorry."  CNN, MSNBC and network news dolts stirred a caldron of anxiety.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres was not amused. He described the widespread travel bans on southern African countries as "unacceptable," and likened the restrictions to Apartheid. Remember when President Trump was labeled a xenophobic for his China travel ban?  

Question: Does the African travel ban make President Biden a racist?  

The administration that charms the elitist media by bragging it follows science, apparently did not bother to call the medical experts in South Africa.  The South African Medical Research Council had data that showed Omicron may be less severe than the earlier COVID strains, including Delta.

In fact,  Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a practicing physician and head of the South African Medical Research Council, reported most patients displayed mild symptoms and did not require hospital care. Researchers found even hospitalized patients did not require oxygen and had no respiratory symptoms.

The latest WHO weekly update reported zero deaths worldwide from individuals who tested positive for Omicron.  The CDC reported 43 cases in the U.S. as of December 11. Nearly 80% of those infected with Omicron were fully vaccinated, and one-third had received a booster short, according to the CDC.

Despite the science, President Biden seized the news about Omicron to impose new testing rules for international travelers, extend the transportation mask mandate and announce his administration will launch hundreds of vaccination clinics and distribute millions of free home tests. 

The frenzied, hair trigger response reflects Mr. Biden's realization that Americans believe he has failed to deliver on promises to tame COVID. He has awoken to the reality that his political fortunes and those of his fellow Democrats are tied to the administration's disastrous results on stemming the virus.

During the 2020 election, candidate Biden wailed that 225,000 deaths under President Trump made him unfit to lead the nation. Under Biden, there have been 406,000 deaths to date, far eclipsing the toll of 386,000 in 2020. As a result, there is no normal.  Just more of the same, tired solutions.

The administration's default strategy with each new variant is to use the one-size fits all approach to strangle the spread of the virus. Vaccination mandates.  Mask requirements.  More tests.  Shame the unvaccinated. None of it has worked based on the data.  Cases are rising. Deaths are continuing.   

Moreover, courts have dealt a body blow to Biden's onerous vaccination mandates. The administration's ill advised, constitutional overreach has been rebuked by five federal courts, leaving the centerpiece of his vaccine plan in tatters. He has succeeded only in further politicizing the virus.

Meanwhile, the administration has quietly reversed itself by allowing federal employees who were not vaccinated by the November 22 deadline to continue on the job.  This occurred at the same time Mr. Biden was punishing private employees with his mandate.  What science was he following?  

On September 1, days before Mr. Biden issued his stringent mandates, 52.6% of Americans were fully vaccinated. As of December 10, the number had climbed to 60.4%.  The administration takes credit for the rise, but Kaiser Family Foundation reports the momentum had already shifted months earlier.

Real world experiences apparently do not count as "science" in guiding Mr. Biden's vaccination obsession. France has one of the highest immunization rates in Europe: 76.8% of the population are fully vaccinated. Yet the virus cases are rising, prompting officials to enforce strict restrictions.

Does the virus only end when 100% of the population is vaccinated? Or do vaccinations and boosters lose potency faster than expected? Following the Biden doctrine to its illogical conclusion, no one is safe as long as one person remains unvaccinated.  This is not common sense, much less science.

Scapegoating the unvaccinated is a favorite weapon of Dr. Fauci and his ideological disciples.  But scientific data offers a more nuanced picture.  The Virginia Department of Health released figures on the rate of viral infections from January 17 through December 4 of this year.

According to state data, which is more reliable than CDC numbers, here are the rates of infection per 100,000 Virginians: Vaccinated: 1,212; Partially Vaccinated 2,336; and Unvaccinated 5,228.  There is no disputing the unvaccinated are more likely to contract the virus. The data proves it. 

But remember the figures include the early part of this year when few were vaccinated. Viewed another way, the unvaccinated are 2.2 times more likely than the vaccinated and partially vaccinated to be infected, which is lower than previous reports when vaccination rates were below 30%.    

After almost two years of pandemic histrionics, Americans are weary of masking, insolation, and restrictions on travel. Normalcy appears to be a a faint glow in a galaxy far, far away. To make matters worse, the federal government and its agencies have not been transparent. 

One example: More than 30 American academics, professors and scientists requested data about the information submitted to the FDA by Pfizer for further study. The agency's response was appalling. The FDA  asked a federal judge to wait until the year 2076 to release Pfizer's vaccine data.

This is the scientific research the FDA relied upon to license the drug firm's vaccine. Why is the FDA so hesitant?  Is the administration's shielding Pfizer from liability?  Americans deserve an answer now, especially in light of Dr. Fauci's statements about the need for more Big Pharma booster shots.  

Perhaps, the answer lies in a massive study conducted in Israel late this year. The findings concluded that immunity against the potent Delta variant waned in all vaccinated  groups only a few months after receipt of the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Was the FDA forewarned?  We may never know.  

Another example is the refusal of most in the scientific community to recognize the immunity conferred upon people who recovered from confirmed cases of COVID.  Once the vaccine mandate was in place, the science was rejected because of worries if word seeped out, people might not get vaccinated.  

There have been three studies that show patients with confirmed cases of COVID develop natural immunities to the virus more powerful than the vaccinated. Research at Rockefeller University discovered recovered patients developed increasing antibodies for up to one year.

This finding matters because many of the unvaccinated, including police and medical workers, who had recovered from COVID, requested to be exempted from Biden's oppressive mandate.  They were turned down.  What science was relied upon in making this decision?  That is a rhetorical question. 

Even more concerning, the administration keeps repeating its same plan to stop COVID, hoping for a different outcome.  In the face of the spread of Omicron, the health experts on Team Biden are working with Big Pharma to produce yet another booster vaccine, this one targeting the new variant.

Israel, the global leader in COVID research and study, is taking a different approach. The Israel Institute for Biological Research is shepherding the development of a new vaccine based on a platform used by Merck & Co. for its Ebola vaccine, which has proven both safe and effective.

What's different about this vaccine is that it binds to the exact cell in the lung that is targeted by the virus.  Lab tests show the vaccine antibodies retain their potency against four of the most serious variants, including Delta.  More testing is needed, but at least the Israelis are searching for new solutions.

Don't expect creative ideas from the Biden Administration. Business lockdowns, school closures, more boosters, masking and unconstitutional mandates are in favor because the administration and its allies in Democrat states crave the authoritarian power a health crisis offers. 

In the latest pronouncement from his perch on high, Dr. Fauci rhapsodized on the subject of Christmas gatherings.  The doctor lectured that it is perfectly fine to gather indoors with vaccinated relatives.  But be forewarned that any unvaccinated guests, including children, pose a health risk.

This is Orwellian.  A government scientist is pontificating on the appropriate guest list for Christmas?  Freedom to associate with family is in danger as long as Dr. Fauci and Biden are in charge. Be honest. Did you ever think the government would weigh in on your Christmas gathering?

More Americans are growing disgruntled by the day with Biden's approach.  Polls find Bidens's approval rating for handling the virus has plunged 20 points since his inauguration.  Americans want normal. The administration appears to prefer prolonging the agony to extend its authority.  

President Biden should admit failure and reboot his COVID strategy. New variants are on the way.  Team Biden needs a dose of reality, based on years of science which reveals some viruses never completely disappear.  Once Mr. Biden accepts that, perhaps common sense solutions might prevail.    

Dr. Fauci: The Doc Who Couldn't Shoot Straight

He has been praised as a "national treasure." He wears the title of America's doctor.  His popularity ranks highest among government figures, including the president. His words carry more weight than any global health expert. However, most Americans know little about the grandfatherly Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Dr. Fauci has been anointed the nation's "top infectious disease expert" by an adoring media. He is a Presidential Medal of Honor recipient and one of the most cited living researchers, according to Google. He holds the American Association of Immunologist Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Fauci earned his medical degree from Cornell in 1966.  He started his career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1968.  In 1984, he ascended to head the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services.

That means Dr. Fauci is a 52-year career federal government employee.  That is not a knock on the doctor, just a fact.  He is an immunologist, a speciality that treats health issues brought on by immune system problems.  Epidemiologists focus on epidemics and other health-related diseases. 

Dr. Fauci, despite his spry demeanor, is 80-years old.  He earns more than the president. He is the government's top paid official with an annual salary of $417,608 in 2019.  The president makes $400,000. Federal executive-level employees salaries are generally capped at $172,500.

For all his credentials, Dr. Fauci has been less than a straight shooter with the American public on the Coronavirus. The Brooklyn native has admitted publicly withholding information from Americans, moving the goalposts on herd immunity and obfuscating when the situation called for clarity.

His Coronavirus public advice began last year on January 21, when he told Americans they did not need to worry about the virus coming to our shores.  Less than a month later on February 8, America's COVID expert down-played the danger of the virus, labeling the chances of infection as very small.

The same month on the 29th, Dr. Fauci appeared on the Today Show and assured American there was "no need" to change their behavior as the pandemic spread.  His streak continued on March 9 when he recommended taking a cruise, telling Forbes Magazine if "you're healthy, cruise ships are safe."

For Fauci-defenders, this may sound like Monday Morning Quarterbacking.  Very little was known about the virus and the doctor was basing his counsel on the best available data, his protectors argue.  But that's the point.  There was virtually no scientific data or research on the novel COVID 19.  

Didn't Dr. Fauci have a responsibility as the COVID Czar to caution Americans that his advice was predicated on precious little scientific evidence?  No political figure could have escaped media scorn for treating public health pronouncements so callously.  Exactness matters during widespread panic. 

However, it is not only sacrilegious to critique Dr. Fauci but social media platforms will censor you for questioning any of his Coronavirus health advisories.  No fair person can defend his reluctance to admit publicly he was wrong or that scientists were befuddled, especially early in the pandemic.  

Perhaps, his most ignominious pronouncement came in March on the television show "60 Minutes" when he uttered the following:

"Right now, in the United States, people should not be walking around with masks," he said.  "There no reason to be walking around with a mask."  He went on to reiterate that masks should largely be reserved for health care providers.  

In April, Dr. Fauci pivoted, advising Americans to don masks.  His change of direction sounded contradictory to average Americans.  In his defense, the actual scientific evidence about the protection offered by cloth masks for COVID was nonexistent.  But he obviously believed masks were needed.

Months later on July 16, Dr. Fauci in an interview with CBS News defended his earlier decision, surprisingly admitting he doesn't regret his counsel against wearing masks.  His defense exposed his lack of faith in the intelligence of Americans.  This elitist approach continued throughout the pandemic.  

"I don't regret anything I said then because in the context of the time in which I said it, it was correct.  We were told in our task force meeting that we had a serious problem with lack of PPE's (Personal Protective Equipment) and masks for health providers who were putting themselves in harm's way every day to take care of sick people," he told news anchor Norah O'Donnell.

A fair interpretation of his remarks clearly shows Dr. Fauci purposefully avoided telling people to wear masks because he feared Americans would run out and purchase the products making it more difficult for health workers to obtain masks.  Why not just say that? Speak the truth.  

A few scientists had the temerity to suggest perhaps Dr. Fauci should have been more forthcoming, including UC San Francisco epidemiologist George Rutherford.  He chided the doctor's concern for nuanced messaging when he should have been warning Americans to don masks.

"We should have told people to wear cloth masks right off the bat," he said.  Chances are you have never read this is your legacy media.  

An example of Dr. Fauci's  penchant for moving the goalposts arose during the pandemic when he cited an estimate of 60-to-70 estimate of herd immunity as the measurement desired for the country returning to "normal."  Then this March, he shifted to 70-to-75%. Days later the estimate flipped to 75-to-80%.

In a telephone interview. Dr. Fauci acknowledged that he had slowly but deliberately been shifting the goalposts.  He said it was partly based on new science and "partly on his gut feeling" that the country is finally ready to have access to what he really believes is the ideal herd immunity figure.  

The immunologist clarified that he hesitated to publicly raise his herd estimate because Americans seemed reluctant about getting vaccinated.  Wide adoption of vaccines were required in order for the country to achieve herd immunity.  How does fudging on herd immunity encourage vaccinations?

Herd immunity may never be obtained, if national polling can be believed.  A Gallup survey in December found 42% of Americans do not want to be vaccinated. As of March 25, just 13.8% of Americans were fully vaccinated, making herd immunity a faint possibility by end of year. 

In the latest epidemiological dust-up, Sen. Rand Paul, an ophthalmologist, challenged some of Dr. Fauci's assertions about masks and vaccine immunity during a Senate Committee hearing on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions recently.  

The Kentucky senator bore in on Dr. Fauci's insistence that those fully vaccinated must continue to wear masks.  Paul cited statistics that out of nearly 30 million Americans vaccinated, there were only five confirmed cases of re-infection.  He demanded to know what was the science behind the mask mandate.

Dr. Fauci answered the masks were "protective."  Paul pressed for scientific studies showing that those vaccinated needed to continue to wear masks.  Dr. Fauci could produce no science to prove masks should be worn after vaccination. 

Before the hearing, Dr. Fauci was photographed wearing two masks. He told the media two masks were better than one for protection. Based on what scientific evidence?  Name a study?   The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has made no such public recommendation.

If two masks are better, what about three or four? Show us the science.

Asked how long Americans needed to mask up, Dr. Fauci has vacillated.  In interviews he predicted a return to normality by summer, an indication masks might not be required.  Now he is equivocating.  His advice in an interview on CNN on February 21 when asked if masks would be required in 2022:

"You know, I think it is possible that that's the case, and again, it really depends on what you mean by normality," he answered. Wearing a mask is not normal for Americans.  Normality, for most, is freedom of movement, association and no masks.  That was life pre-pandemic.  

As with so many of his pronouncements, this just adds to people's confusion.  Worse, it erodes public confidence in health advice, making Americans leery about following his directives.  No surprise that a Kaiser Family Foundation poll found trust in Dr. Fauci and the CDC is rapidly declining.

It begs the question: When you demand that people follow science, whose science should they embrace? Throughout the pandemic, some of the world's brightest and best epidemiologists have presented findings shining new light on the virus thus rendering past advice and knowledge obsolete.  

In these cases, who is right?  Who decides the science?  

Scientists need to admit when new evidence contradicts their previous advice and fully explain it to the public.  No one expects scientists to be 100% right 100% of the time.  Just own up to the obvious. That will increase credibility instead of corroding it in the eyes of the public.  

For those ready to crucify anyone who critiques Dr. Fauci, let's add this disclaimer.  He had the weight of a novel Coronavirus on his shoulders and did his very best to steer the country through the pandemic safely.  Let's stipulate no one could have done it better, certainly not this writer.

That still does not absolve Dr. Fauci of his responsibility to speak plainly to the American public.  Every crisis demands transparency and the truth, even if it unsettles people.  Americans are supportive when they believe they are getting straight answers.  You shouldn't treat Americans as nincompoops.

When you do that, you should not be surprised when Americans either ignore or give less credence to your health mandates.          

News and Social Media Sabotaging Vaccinations

Even as more Americans roll up their sleeves for life-saving COVID-19 vaccinations, suspicions fueled by the news media and misleading information on social media sites are causing many to skip the shot. Public skepticism is endangering America's effort to beat a menacing, year-long pandemic.

Worries over the safety, the "rushed" nature of the pharmaceutical development and politicization of the vaccines are behind the public reluctance to be vaccinated.  Online conspiracies are spiraling out of control even as millions of vials of the vaccines are dispatched to every state.  

In little more than a month, 59.3 million dosages of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been dispatched. States have struggled to administer 42.1 million shots, despite months of lead time to develop public health plans.  A total of 9.1 million Americans have received the required two dosages.

While the snail's pace is unsettling, the more vexing issue is the public mistrust, apathy and even hostility toward promising vaccines that will end America's lockdown nightmare.  This anti-vaccine drumbeat is at odds with fatality statistics: More than 2 million worldwide and 460,000 in the U.S.

Pew Researchers tracked mushrooming apprehension among Americans.  In May, a Pew survey showed 27% of Americans would decline a COVID vaccination.  By November, that number had surged to 39%.  Polls indicate many are adopting a wait-and-see attitude to judge the vaccine's safety.

Speeding up the distribution and inoculation process will not halt the pandemic if four-in-10 adults are unwilling to be vaccinated.  Health experts believe that a vaccination rate of 75%-to-80% of Americans could potentially allow the country to achieve herd immunity later this year.

"By the time we get into fall, we can start approaching some degree of relief where the level of infection will be so low in society we can start essentially approaching some form of normality," says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

His encouraging assessment has failed to motivate many Americans to bare their arms for a vaccination.  Here are just a few examples of what is happening across the country:

• Center for Disease Control (CDC) statistics document that only 37.5% of skilled staff at nursing homes are agreeing to be vaccinated.  The CDC reviewed data from 11,000 nursing facilities.
• Public records in Los Angeles show that between 20% to 40% of all frontline health workers refused to be vaccinated.
• In December about 60% of nursing home staff in Ohio declined to take the vaccines.  The state's governor expressed alarm at the statistics.
• The director of the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston publicly complained about the resistance from staff to take the vaccine.  About 50% of nurses are choosing not to be vaccinated.
• The New York City Firefighters are balking at being vaccinated. More than half of the 2,000 members of the Firefighters Association say they will not take a shot.

When frontline health workers and nursing home staff turn thumbs down on being vaccinated, it sends the wrong signal to average Americans.  They rightly wonder: If people in the health care profession reject the vaccines, they must know something is wrong with the safety and efficacy of the shots.

Cynicism over the vaccine unfolded even before the first vaccines were approved.  Democrats complained former President Trump was "rushing" the scientific development of a vaccine for political reasons. There are many examples that could be cited, but here's just one:

"We are all praying for a safe and effective vaccine as soon as possible, but the damage of the Trump Administration rushing a vaccine before it is known to be safe and effective could be catastrophic," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a public statement issued October 6.

Throughout the presidential campaign, a Democrat theme was to raise alarm about the administration's handling of the pandemic and to dismiss the promise of vaccines to eradicate the virus.  The media echoed that narrative and deliberately downplayed the advance of science on the vaccine front.    

A new National Bureau of Economic Study of news coverage found a striking difference in the way the U.S. media covered the pandemic compared to journalists in other countries.  A staggering 91% of stories by major news outlets were negative versus 54% in non-U.S. media.  

The study, published by Dartmouth College and Brown University scholars, analyzed more than 20,000 news reports from 15 top U.S. media outlets and 39 international sources.  Among their discoveries was the way the media dismissed the likelihood of having a successful vaccine.

The authors noted that a vaccine was mentioned in 1,371 stories during the period while researchers found 8,756 print and broadcast reports involving Mr. Trump not wearing a mask and 1,636 mentions of the former president's endorsement of hydroxycholroquine. 

Some still want to pin the blame on President Trump.  But Mr. Trump touted the vaccines.  Vice President Mike Pence and members of both the Trump and Biden Administrations were shown receiving vaccinations to tamp down any speculation that the vaccines were unsafe.

Today every instance of someone experiencing a negative reaction to the vaccine is covered by the media in alarmist tones.  When a Democrat congressman tested positive after receiving two dosages of the vaccine, it erupted into a national news story.  Negative news about the vaccines stokes fear.     

Social media has been a sewer of conspiracy theories about the vaccine.  Some of the claims: The needle used to vaccinate people has a microchip with the mark of the Beast; vaccines alter your DNA; vaccines contain a microbe that tracks you; and the vaccines cause COVID. 

Ironically, social media platforms are removing what they consider "violent" content posted by conservatives, but allow conspiratorial scams to fester online, which sow the seeds of distrust for the vaccines and allow disinformation to spread unchecked.      

The damage already done to the public's perceptions will require a massive educational campaign by the health and medical community. It will be a long slog.  However, if it is not done quickly, there is very little light at the end of a long and deadly tunnel.   

Scurrilous Media Raises Fears About Vaccine

Coronavirus is the first disease to kindle a anti-vaccine flrestorm even before the immunization is publicly available.  Surveys show disturbing numbers of Americans will refuse to be vaccinated, despite the endorsement of public health officials.  A dishonest media is guilty of swaying public opinion. 

Ever since President Trump spearheaded Operation Warp Speed to jumpstart research into developing a vaccine, a politically motivated media has deliberately draped ominous clouds of suspicion over the effort.  The scientists are being rushed.  Protocols are being skirted to benefit the president, the media insisted.  

This insidious effort, aided by Democrats, inflamed an anti-vaccine sentiment even before the results of immunization trials were publicly disclosed. A responsible media should be educating the public about the benefits rather than twisting the vaccine into a partisan or ideological issue.  It is disgustingly perverted.

Unfortunately, the unethical media has succeeded.  The non-partisan Pew Research Center unveiled a study documenting the propaganda's impact.  In May, 72% of Americans surveyed said they would get the vaccine.  By September, the percentage plummeted to 51%.  That is a precipitous attitudinal shift.

The research discovered that three-quarters of Americans think it is likely that a COVID-19 vaccine will be approved in our country before its safety and effectiveness are fully understood.  Another 78% are concerned the approval process is moving too fast.  That tracks will the media's coverage of the vaccine.

In this climate, the Federal Food and Drug Administration on December 11 authorized the emergency use of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech to turn the tide in the battle against the Coronavirus. Vaccine shipments are underway today.  It won't matter if Americans don't get the shot.  

The media and the incoming administration do not want President Trump to get one iota of credit for delivering a knockout punch to the spread of the virus.  They will do whatever is necessary, even deceive the public, to ensure Americans will be skeptical of the Trump-led campaign.

If you doubt the premise, you have not be reading the New York Times, Washington Post or watching the major network news.  No opportunity has been wasted to quote scientists, professors, immunologists and health officials, who have what the media terms "grave doubts" about the vaccine.

Here is just one sample from Alison Buttenheim, an associate professor of nursing and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, who referred to the situation as a perfect storm of "justified distrust." "I've heard people say, 'I'll get the European one,'" she said, adding others want Anthony Fauci to get it first. 

The naysayers are the grist of the media propaganda mill.  But most experts in the field are excited about the prospect of a vaccine to help arrest the surge of Coronavirus cases.

Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2009 to 2017, cites the results of the trials as good news for Americans.  "The most obvious is the striking efficacy of the vaccines being produced by Moderna, Inc. and Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. "

He points out that the vaccines are game changers with efficacy levels of 90% or higher.  "A 70% uptake (people who voluntarily take the shot) vaccination could end the explosive spread of the virus," he noted in a piece he authored for The Wall Street Journal.  Endorsements like this are rare.

The injustice of the media cries of wolf is this: it preys on the increasing public apprehension about all vaccines, including those for children.  A study in the Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics  cited the "parental refusal of vaccines" for children as a reason preventable diseases are more prevalent.

The research included a study that found 77% of parents reported having concerns about one or more childhood vaccinations.  Reasons cited are religious beliefs, personal or philosophical reasons, and safety concerns.  The report mentions public education as the key factor in gaining parental acceptance and trust.

Adults are just as nervous about vaccinations for themselves. Estimates from the CDC conclude in the last 10 years less than half of American adults received a flu shot.  It reached a high of 43.6% in 2014 and a low of 37.1% in 2017.  Those are worrisome statistics with the COVID vaccine arriving soon.

As the nation's hospitals, pharmacies and doctors are poised to begin vaccinations, the bureaucrats are still playing politics with Americans' health.  New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo has already signaled that racial preferences will be considered in decisions about who gets vaccinated first.

This flies in the face of commitments by Cuomo and other health officials that those in nursing homes would be a top priority, since they have suffered disproportionately from the virus.  There are 2.1 million adults in nursing homes, less than 1% of the population, but they represent 40% of all COVID deaths. 

In San Antonio and Bexar County, health officials are lobbying to make the vaccine available to teachers in the first wave, despite earlier assurances nursing home staff and patients would get preference. This stunning reversal is nothing more than a blatant political move to placate the teachers union.  

It is unconscionable for nursing home staff and their patients not to be prioritized for the vaccine.  Shame on those who continue to politicize this virus. The attitude of politicians and cultural elites is that old people are going to die soon anyway, so why waste the vaccine on them?  It reeks of a culture of death.

Politicians are not heeding the advice of an independent advisory panel of infectious disease experts, doctors and scientists. The group, known as the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, recommended parcelling out the vaccine to healthcare workers and nursing homes first.

FDA approval lagged behind the United Kingdom and Canada, which green-lighted COVID vaccines two weeks before the U.S.  The UK rolled out its vaccination program last week, giving the first injection to a 90-year old woman. However, the U.S. media focused on a single negative to hike fears.

Big media hyperventilated over two Britons who suffered significant allergic reactions to the Pfizer vaccine.  Most overlooked the fact both individuals recovered. Of course, there will be those who endure allergic reactions to the COVID vaccine, as there are with even the most common vaccines.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the odds you will have a severe allergic reaction to a vaccine are about 1 in 760,000. To put that into perspective, your chances of being struck by lightening are a little higher: 1 in 700,000.  Don't expect those facts to appear in any American media.

A respectable media would be celebrating the arrival of vaccines that are 90% effective, not unnecessarily raising the specter of health-threatening outcomes.  The prediction here is that the media is setting the stage for the Biden Administration to halt vaccinations for more study to guarantee its safety.

It may sound outlandish but the media's unhinged hatred of all things Trump allows for such dire predictions.  Democrats cannot abide a Trump triumph.  Why else would the media be fostering an environment of distrust for a life-saving vaccine?

Surging COVID Cases Spark Draconian Measures

As COVID cases flare like a rampaging California wildfire, a swarm of authoritarian governors are resorting to stringent infringements on personal freedoms in the name of health and safety. Many measures are clearly unconstitutional.  Others are inane with no basis in science.  

The restrictions come in the wake of harsh lockdowns that persisted from spring through most of the summer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) assured Americans that forced isolations would "flatten the curve," thus relieving the stress on health systems while slowing the virus spread.

Most Americans abided by the dictates.  Of course, there were isolated cases of brazen misbehavior.  The actions of a few should not condemn the majority. But it is also fair to point out that scores of protests, riots, sporting events and post-election political celebrations were also contributors to the insidious spread.  

Once lockdown constraints were eased, the virus ticked up while hospitalizations remained within acceptable occupancies as determined by powerful health systems.  But as the new rules loosened, COVID cases began a steady march upward, triggering Draconian abuses of power. 

Michigan's Democrat  Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered gatherings in personal residences be limited to include people from no more than two households. New Mexico's Democrat Governor Michelle Lyan Gresham slapped a limit of no more than five people per residence for Thanksgiving gatherings. 

Oregon's Democrat Governor Kate Brown capped indoor gatherings in personal residences at six people, threatening to use police to enforce her dictum.  Other states, such as Massachusetts and New Jersey, are ordering restaurants and bars to close between 10 p.m. at 5 a.m. based on whims not science.

Here is an example of the kind of condescending comments from health officials in support of the autocratic governors from Dr. Mark Dworkin, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Illinois:

"Plenty of people will congregate (on Thanksgiving) and nobody will get sick and they'll go 'hah nah, fake news.' But there will be other families that will be devastated and it will be very bad for them.  If you want to play Russian roulette with COVID, that's your right, but I think it's foolish."

What is clear by these haughty pronouncements from elitists is they believe you are the problem.  Forget their scientific-approved lockdowns failed.  These hypocrites believe you need to be punished despite the fact most Americans are wearing masks, social distancing and practicing hygiene in public.

There is no 100% safe way for people to go about their daily lives even masked and socially distanced. Sheltering in place 331 million people for a year is a prescription for health problems at least as life-threatening as the virus. Every country emerging from mass lockdowns is experiencing COVID spikes.

The governors, instead of haranguing citizens, should be embarrassed by their own miserable failure to protect the most vulnerable individuals, despite their pledges to make it a top priority of their COVID response.  COVID deaths at nursing homes are accelerating in every state.

The latest CDC figures show 37% of all new Coronavirus fatalities are linked to the nation's 26,000 nursing homes.  A total of 46% of all hospitalizations are for people aged 65 and older.  The CDC reports  a staggering 662,000 nursing home patients have been infected this year. 

Why haven't the governors been held accountable by the media and health officials?  The answer is the media's incessant political weaponization of the virus.  Now the media puppeteers are riveted on climbing cases to raise fear.  New tactics include deceitfully raising doubts about the safety of vaccines. 

Meanwhile, there has been no mention that the United States is now testing an average of 1.7 million individuals every day, contributing to the rising cases.  Nearly 200 million Americans (181.1 million) have been tested for the virus or 56% of the population, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

Of those individuals tested for COVID, more than 145.6 million tested negative.  The CDC estimates about 40% of those who tested positive are asymptomatic, meaning they exhibit none of the usual symptoms (dry cough, fever, lost of taste, etc.).

Although hospital wards are deluged with patients, stays for COVID patients are falling nationwide. A study by the Mayo Clinic hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, found hospital patient stays now average five days, half as long as in March. The reason: hospitals are armed with better treatment options now.  

The current billowing rise in cases could have been predicted as the cacacoon lockdowns were lifted.  Returning to the dark days of sheltering in place will be difficult if not impossible to enforce.  If nothing else, the country's hospitals and health officials should have beefed up staff for the inevitable flood.

This latest round of infringements clamped on individual liberties by governors is fueling more lawsuits.  Most state and federal courts have so far declined to invalidate state and local restraints to combat the virus, except for a handful of narrow rulings on curbs. But the tide is shifting.

A recent decision by the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Pennsylvania struck down unconstitutional aspects of Pennsylvania's emergency COVID order limiting the size of indoor gatherings and demanding the "closure of all business that are not life sustaining." 

That was followed last week by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the restraints on religious freedom imposed by New York's Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo, who clamped restrictions on churches and synagogues,  limiting worshipers to 10 or 25 during the pandemic.

The plaintiffs in the case claimed Cuomo's order unfairly targets houses of worship while treating secular institutions less stringently and allowing designated essential businesses to operate without similar limits.  Other state governors have also scapegoated religion as an enemy of public health and safety.

"Even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten," the SCOTUS majority (5-4) wrote in its opinion.  "The restrictions at issue here, effectively banning many from attending religious services, strike at the very heart of the First Amendment guarantee of religious liberty."

    

It is about time the courts stepped into the breach of constitutional freedoms by politically ambitious governors who believe unelected scientists provide the authority to allow the government to order what Americans can do in the privacy of their homes.  

All Americans want to protect themselves from this virus. The overwhelming majority have followed the public orders to the letter. Blaming them for the upturn in cases is just a way for politicians to distract  responsibility for their own pathetic decisions which have fallen short in protecting the most vulnerable. 

Unhealthy Consequences of Pandemic Lockdowns

Lockdowns imposed by mayors and governors during the pandemic are fueling a health epidemic. While nearly 200,000 deaths are blamed on the virus, millions are suffering from drug overdoses, suicides, divorces, domestic violence and life-threatening risks associated with scrubbing elective surgeries.

It raises a legitimate question: Did experts at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),  health authorities and elected officials weigh the consequences of a quarantine to protect Americans from the virus against the ramifications of a protracted, enforced isolation on Americans health?" 

Just to be clear, quarantine-like edicts, endorsed by scientists, were necessary to staunch the spread of the virus in the earliest months of the outbreak.  However, the continuation of solitary confinement-like restrictions and social restraints elevate concerns for a plethora of residual health complications.  

A review of past statements and official pronouncements of health experts unearths evidence a few recognized the danger of extended shutdowns. For the most part, their warnings were unheeded. It is patently untrue to call the mushrooming health crisis a result of "unintended consequences."  

If health executives did not realize the complications, they are derelict in their duty to consider the inevitable problems with elongated lockdowns.  In every crisis, civic leaders and health officials must balance actions with their duty to protect every citizen.  It is essential to equitable solutions.

In the rush to free up hospital beds, elective surgeries were one of the first victims of the lockdowns.  Doctors will vouch that many procedures that were postponed were not optional.  Cancer patients and organ recipients were forced to wait. Their surgeries, inexplicably, were deemed non-critical.  

Breast cancer surgery, for example, was considered an elective procedure.  The American College of Surgeons supported this illogical decision.  Most Americans thought elective surgery meant face lifts or perhaps rotator cuff surgeries that could be delayed without serious consequences. They are wrong.

The World Economic Forum estimates 28 million elective surgeries were cancelled during the height of the epidemic.  The group's study found 38% of global cancer surgeries were postponed or cancelled. The backlog will take at least 45 weeks to clear, according to their calculations.

Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston analyzed 15 years worth of data on cancer treatment and survival rates.  As an example, the study showed even a 30-to-40 day delay in treatment significantly reduced the chances of survival for colon cancer patients.  

Delayed treatment is not the only cause for concern.  Americans with symptoms were avoiding preventive screenings and biopsies, raising the specter that their cancer would go undiagnosed, thus delaying treatment.  There are no statistics on Americans now facing long odds of survival due to the lockdown.

Surgery postponements could also be one contributor to a sharp increase in suicides and drug overdoses as people try to cope with the pain and anxiety.  Dr. Robert Redfield Jr., a virologist and a specialist at the CDC, presented evidence of the catastrophe during a medical conference on July 28. 

"We are seeing sadly far greater suicides than deaths from COVID," he lamented.  "We are seeing far greater deaths from drug overdose....than we are seeing the deaths from COVID." New data confirms drug overdoses have risen 18% nationally. 

The report was done by the Washington, D.C. based group the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program at the University of Baltimore.  In summary, the study reveals more than 60% of counties participating in the project reported increases in drug overdoses during the pandemic.

America's young adults have not been spared the anxiety of the long confinement.  A CDC report issued last month found 25.5% of adults between the ages of 18-24 reporting having "seriously considered suicide" due to the pandemic.  A total of 10.7% admitted having suicide ideas.

"Isolation, which is also disconnection from other people, will unravel us psychologically very quickly," said Dr. Kevin Gilliland, a clinical psychologist and director of an outpatient resource center.  "I think we have all been surprised by it." 

Calls surged 335%  from March through July to the U.S. government-funded Disaster Distress Helpline, which offers counseling and emotional support.  Help line counselors report callers expressed "feelings of isolation and interpersonal concerns" related to physical distancing and social confinement.  

No one should be shocked by the data.  In May, a group of 500 doctors wrote President Trump to raise awareness of the "short, medium and long-term harm to people's health with a continued shutdown." In the letter, the doctors described exactly the health problems now surfacing.

"The millions of casualties of a continued shutdown will be hiding in plain sight, but they will be called alcoholism, suicide, heart attack, stroke or kidney failure.  In youths, it will be called financial instability, unemployment, despair, drug addiction, unplanned pregnancies, poverty and abuse," they warned.

Suicide data is notoriously slow to collect nationally so it will likely be years before the country knows the extent of the fatalities.  

However, data exists on divorces.  Legal Templates, a firm that provides legal documents online, found a 34% increase in divorces compared to 2019.  An analysis shows marriages began to crumble as early as three weeks into the lockdown.  A majority (58%) were married less than five years.

A coalition of American attorneys had predicted the acceleration in divorces because of the extended quarantines, shaky finances, mounting unemployment, child care issues and mental health.  Their warnings fell on deaf ears in most quarters.

Likewise, the Center for Battered Women's Legal Services triggered alarms when it called on communities to expect an inflection in domestic violence with so many couples stuck at home.  The group predicted an increase in more violent abuse as the lockdowns wore on.

A United Nations report called abuse a "shadow pandemic" that went unnoticed.  Globally the number of abuse cases soared 20%.  That number may be understated for the U.S.  In one Colorado county, the group Rise Above Violence recorded a 51% increase in calls about abuse and a 25% hike in domestic violence.

As the case with most data, there is a long lag between the collecting and reporting of national figures on abuse, both among couples and child abuse.  By the time the truth emerges, most people will have forgotten how quarantines, lockdowns and forced isolation wrecked havoc on millions of lives.

A J.P Morgan Chase analysis suggests shutdowns failed to alter the course of the virus.  The report states: "Unlike rigorous testing of potential new drugs, lockdowns were administered with little consideration that they might not only cause economic devastation but potentially more deaths" than the virus.

Some reading these grim assessments may dismiss the impact as Monday Morning Quarterbacking or hindsight.  Even if you agree with that appraisal, there is ample proof many experts admonished officials of the impending health disaster.  Few listened and even fewer addressed the issues.

Others will insist the shutdowns were needed to save lives for the "greater good."  But don't all lives matter? How many life-years will be stolen from cancer patients, suicide victims, battered women and people in need of organ transplants? How many young people will develop mental health issues?   

The lesson for leaders and health officials is that consequences of decisions are not to be treated as inevitable.  Trade-offs are implicit in a health crisis, too, whether or not experts want to admit it.  It is a balancing act that demands a thorough analysis before guidelines and shutdowns are ordered. 

The Insidious Coronavirus Turns Personal

For months the Coronavirus outbreak has been viewed by yours truly as data.  Statistics.  It was a detached reality.  Now it is personal.  My remarkable 93-year-old mother-in-law Dorothy Anderson succumbed to the insidious virus last week.  It was a sad ending to her extraordinary life.

Mom, as I affectionately called her because she always treated me as her son, resided in a nursing home in Seguin. Despite precautionary measures, a worker at the long term facility tested positive for the virus two-and-one-half weeks ago.  Since that incident, four residents have been hospitalized.

This scenario has been too often repeated in the nation's nursing homes.  According to data, at least 42% of all Coronavirus victims been been residents in long term care facilities.  More needs to be done to protect the vulnerable among us.  No more excuses from governments or nursing homes.

Mom's iron determination was tested when she was quarantined to her room in March.  She could no longer use her walker to saunter to the dining room for meals or stroll the halls.  Her existence was confined a tiny room with a small bed and a recliner.

No longer could family visit her.  Her meals were eaten alone in her room.  She lost interest in reading. Although she had a television, her hearing had deteriorated to the point where she gave up listening. Oppressive silence was Mom's constant companion.

It was a cruel, lonely way to spend what turned out to be her last days.  As the months wore on, our usually alert Mom seemed confused and unable to carry on long conversations by telephone.  Her spirit sagged and you could hear the desperation in her voice to be spared further incarceration.

Her 93rd birthday in April was a dispiriting occasion instead of a joyful celebration shared with hugs and kisses.  Nurses wheeled her to a picture-frame window near the lobby of the nursing home where a clump of family members had gathered.   Mom initially looked haggard, dazed.

Family held signs, balloons and sang "Happy Birthday" to her as she listened on the mobile phone she clutched in her hand.  She smiled, waved and seemed to be cheered up.  But it was not a proper birthday party, such as her 90th where the entire family embraced her with love and affection.

More than a few tears were shed after the family dispersed.  We realized what incredible suffering Mom was forced to endure.  Yes, isolation was scientifically and medically necessary, especially for Mom who had a pre-existing heart valve issue that made her more susceptible to the virus.

Yet for her and the other residents it was more like prison than simple seclusion.  Her world had shrunk to the unbearable.  It extracted a terrible toll on her mental and physical well being. We could all see it and it was excruciating to watch.  No one should be forced to involuntarily endure this.

Her final hours were more heartbreaking.  Last Thursday, Dianna visited Mom along with a few family members.  They waved to Mom as she slumped in her wheelchair in front of the nursing home's picture-window.  Dianna instinctively knew there was something visibly wrong.

Later Mom was whisked by ambulance to the Seguin hospital, complaining of shortness of breath.  Hours droned by before she was given a COVID test.  It came back positive.  She was placed in an isolated ward and given respiratory aid.  Her breathing was labored.  The end was drawing near.

Friday afternoon the hospital graciously agreed to push Mom's bed next to a hospital window so we could say our goodbyes.  Tears flowed as we viewed Mom surrounded by dedicated health care workers.  One nurse held Mom's hand, stroking it gently, sweetly.

We wanted to be the ones clutching her hand  and comforting her.  Giving her a hug.  Assuring her she was loved and would soon be in the arms of her merciful God.  All we could do is talk through the window of the hospital, praying, hoping she could hear us.  She nodded faintly a few times.

As family somberly drifted away, Dianna and I took turns standing vigil at the small window.  Mom's last breath was thankfully peaceful after she had been sedated.  It was the most distressing end because we knew she would have liked nothing better than to be surrounded by her family.

This is a mournful tale but I make no apologies.  Americans need to understand this evil virus has been worse for the elderly, especially those over 80.  Like Mom, many spend their final months, locked away for their own protection, only to still contract the virus.  That is unconscionable.

Workers and patients at the facility had been tested for the virus.  But the tests are not conducted daily.  Workers, especially, should be required to submit to daily testing.  Quarantine is no guarantee anyone's safety because staff deliver meals, check patient vitals and perform close contact duties.

Until this happened to Mom, neither Dianna nor I knew anyone personally with the virus.  Since less than 1 percent of the population has been infected, most of you are probably in the same situation.  We felt removed from this wicked virus, but we nonetheless follow the guidelines faithfully.

Next time you view a headline announcing COVID deaths, remember each one of those numbers is a real person.  Each is more than a statistic.  And family members are devastated by their passing.  They too are victims of COVID.  Not just those whose lives are claimed by the virus.

Finally, another lesson of Mom's experience is that it is human nature to search for a scapegoat.  Who is to blame for her sudden death?  The nursing home? The local government? The state? Washington? This virus is foreign born, transported to our country by unwitting carriers.  No one wanted it.

What matters is that we demand more be done to protect the 2.1 million Americans in long term care  facilities.  Our voices should also advocate for more humane treatment of those forced to be locked in their rooms.  Facilities must find more ways to spare residents a sense of imprisonment.

Anger and blame, no matter how understandable, will not change what happened to Dorothy Anderson or the hundreds of thousands of elderly held captive until they are taken from us.  The search for answers can only be found in faith and prayer.

Mom's life should not be defined by this demon virus.  She had a dynamic presence and was the personification of Texas grit.  She conquered breast cancer, a heart attack, a near fatal automobile accident, two knee surgeries, two devastating floods and cared for her Alzheimer's-stricken husband.

She and her husband John were pioneers in the pecan business, wholesaling and retailing the nuts. They managed multiple orchards, harvesting and shelling pecans too.  Mom operated a tractor, laid irrigation pipe, packaged pecans, worked as hard as any farm hand.

She served as the state representative for the Texas Pecan Growers Association, a rare post for a woman. She volunteered  to be on the city of Seguin's "Welcome Wagon" team, taking newcomers gift baskets and greeting them with a smile and kind words in her unique way.

Her joy and pride was birthing her five children into the world.  She fiercely defended and protected each one.  Raised them to be strong and independent.  Her life revolved around family, especially grandkids in later years. This is how I want Mom to be remembered.  God Bless you Mom.

The COVID "Spike" Raises Alarm

A resurgence in the COVID 19 cases in the country has spooked health officials, the stock markets, restarted businesses and hospitals, triggering a knee-jerk reaction to put the struggling economy on a ventilator.  However, no one should be unsurprised by the the uptick with the ramp up in testing.

On March 25, the U.S. had conducted a cumulative total of 492,918 tests since the first test on February 28.  According to the latest data from The COVID Tracking Project the number of tests have soared to 23,984,592.  The average daily tests administered during the period rose 4,889%.

At the current daily run rate of 286,483 the country would test an additional 56.7 million Americans during the remainder of the year, raising the cumulative total to 80.6 million out of a total population of 326.7 million people.  No doubt the number of cases will climb right along with the tests.

The same politicians who were braying for more testing surely knew it was inevitable there would be a spike in cases.  This is particularly evident because the majority of testing has been done in vulnerable communities, such as prisons, nursing homes and businesses with large workforces.

Of the millions of tests, 9.6% of people are testing positive, which means the vast majority, 90.4%, have negative results.  And not all states are created equal when it comes testing results.  New York, the epicenter of the pandemic, and Texas represent dramatic extremes.

In New York state, 13% of those tested have positive results.  That means 1.9% of the state's population has tested positive. The state's fatality rate, based on the number of reported cases, is 6.4%.  A large portion of those deaths were patients in nursing homes and extended care facilities.

By comparison, less than one percent (0.67%) of Texans have tested positive for COVID.  Texas' death rate is 2.23% of reported cases.   New York, with 10 million fewer residents, has recorded more than 20% of the nation's fatalities, while Texas represents 1.7% of the national death total of 116,140.

Considerations for reopening businesses in the two states are undeniably different based on the data.  That is why it is best for the country that each state weigh the risks and set its own guidelines for reviving the economy and allowing people to return to their jobs. There should no single standard.

While acknowledging the surge in testing has spawned a hike in cases, it is illuminating to point out how the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports confirmed cases.  There are two methods of testing used.  One is what's known as a viral test, which measures for a current COVID infection.

The second method is an antibody test, which evaluates if you have had a previous COVID infection.  The CDC scientists admit being flummoxed about what it means for immunity.  They don't know if  having the antibodies will prevent someone from contracting the disease again. 

The issue to consider is that those with previous infections are counted in the confirmed cases total, even though they have no symptoms and are disease free.  This inflates the number of cases but obfuscates the actual number of people with current infections who may require hospitalization.

On that point, despite the rise in confirmed cases, the CDC reported on June 16 that the overall visits to hospitals and urgent care facilities have remained stable "a low levels" for eight weeks in a row.  The current hospitalization rate is 89.3 patients per 100,000 infected people.

Of course, this is national data and the hospitalization rate varies by state.  But the highest rates are for people 65 years and older: 273.8 per 100,000.  This means the virus has not changed its profile since the outbreak began, impacting mostly those 65-years and older.

The CDC data exposes another fact about the expanded testing: there has been a jump in the number of healthy 18-49 year olds testing positive.  In the earliest stages, this age group accounted for less than 5% of the cases weekly.  Now these Americans account for nearly half of all new cases.

Updated figures from the CDC confirm those aged 18-44 now account for 41% of the total confirmed cases. (Editor's Note:  Different age brackets are used by the CDC in reporting data.  It is confusing, but nonetheless, accounts for this reference {18-44} being different than one cited above {18-49}.)

This represents a dramatic shift.  In the earliest stages before widespread testing, most people visiting hospitals and emergency rooms were experiencing symptoms.  They were overwhelmingly the elderly, aged 55 and above, many with underlying health issues.  It taxed hospital facilities.

Now that has changed. There is no reliable data on how many people tested are asymptomatic, meaning they show no signs of COVID symptoms.  If you can believe China's epidemiologists, testing in their country finds 80% of positive cases are asymptomatic.

Assuming those figures are accurate, that would mean of the 2,103,549 confirmed U.S. cases, the overwhelming majority of people, 1,682,839 were tested and found having an infection, despite showing no signs of the influenza like illness.

While no data exists, there is anecdotal evidence this phenomenon may be playing out in the U.S.  Recently, 22 young, healthy Clemson (S.C.) football players showed up on campus for the start of workouts. As with all returning athletes, they were tested and found to have COVID.

What we may surmise is that while the number of cases are climbing, the least vulnerable group, younger people, account for the sharpest increase.  This does not mean there is no concern because the young can infect those at most risk.  But it decreases the likelihood of upward trend in deaths.

Health officials concerned about the surge in COVID cases should be directing their public education at younger people, aged 18-49.  Instead one official wrote the "public a large" was "letting their guard down."  Most Americans are following the guidelines and deserve applause not a reprimand. 

Even as cases grow, the CDC reports seven weeks of a declining percentage of deaths from COVID. On June 15, there were 402 deaths attributed to COVID.  That data point may not be cause for celebration, but it is a far cry from he 16,153 fatalities recorded on April 18, the deadliest day.

One fact remains constant as the weekly deaths continue to fall.  Those 55 and older make up the majority.  On April 18, 93% of those who died were in that age bracket.  Months later on June 15, nearly the same number (91%) were counted among the fatalities. The median fatality age is 80.

By comparison, those aged under 45 years make up less than 5% of the country's COVID deaths. A recent study by Stanford medical professor John Ioannidis discovered that for "most" people under the age of 65, the risk of dying from COVID isn't much higher than "driving in a car to work".

To add more perspective, researchers at the think-tank Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity uncovered data that 42% of all COVID deaths in the U.S. have occurred in nursing and residential care facilities.  An estimated 2.1 million Americans are housed in these institutions.

Researchers based their finding on data from 39 states.  In at least 22 states, more than half the reported COVID fatalities were patients in nursing homes and other long term care facilities.  Only recently, the CDC has begun requiring states to report nursing home deaths. Before it was voluntary.

Extrapolating the data to the country, it would mean that of the 116,140 deaths 46,456 were patients who were infected in nursing home and long term care facilities.  And many health experts believe those figures are likely understated because of inconsistent state reporting protocols. 

In particular, older adults with underlying respiratory and cardiovascular conditions are at the greatest risk.  Data from the United Kingdom found 95% of the people who died had at least one underlying condition.  Public health officials in Italy reported 96% of deaths involved one chronic condition.

The data is unambiguous.  The elderly are the population that needs priority protection.  Younger patients, particularly those with no symptoms, will surely not require urgent care or swamp hospitals.  The biggest threat is these young people will unwittingly infect the most vulnerable. 

Scientists are still at odds over whether we are seeing a "second waves" of COVID cases or whether this is more likely part of the "original or first wave."  Influenza pandemics have historically struck in distinctive wave patterns with a second wave coming six months after the infections subside.

However, there are no guarantees this current pandemic virus will behave in the same manner.

That argues for no relaxing of vigilance and safety measures for the general public. At the same time, states and local governments need to continue to allocate more protective equipment to nursing homes and long term care facilities, while frequently testing the workers who serve the patients.

Protecting the elderly will assure America can safely reopen.  But young people also need to heed the guidelines.  Even as cases rise, America cannot afford to remain in lockdown mode for any longer without harming the lives and livelihoods of millions of its citizens.