OT: Evolving Ideas on COVID management
The longer this goes on the on the more it seems we have never had a good handle on it or the collateral consequences. Now this:
Organized by Harvard’s Martin Kulldorff, Sunetra Gupta of Oxford, and Stanford’s Jay Bhattacharya, the Great Barrington Declaration recommends that people be allowed to live normally while protecting the vulnerable. The authors are infectious-disease experts, and the statement by our deadline had been signed by more than 2,300 medical and health scientists and 2,500 practitioners, and counting.
They describe their approach as “Focused Protection,” but it’s essentially what Sweden has done and even the World Health Organization is now recommending. Many European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron are also slowly embracing it.
The collateral damage from government lockdowns “include lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings, and deteriorating mental health—leading to greater excess mortality in years to come, with the working class and younger members of society carrying the heaviest burden. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice,” the declaration says. “Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed.”
And so it goes on. And the 99% of us who have no qualifications to weigh in on the science are stuck trying to fathom public policy that is perpetually going in contradictory directions.
October 9th, 2020 at 3:51 PM ^
Wearing masks is what allows people to "get out and live life" without killing grandpa. Put a mask on your face and stop being a baby about it. Regarding lockdowns, it is straight up false that everyone has been locked down for months. You don't need to go to a packed indoor bar or restaurant. You're going to be okay.
October 10th, 2020 at 1:11 AM ^
A note for you, "Jobbed":
https://mgoblog.com/comment/243934230#comment-243934230
I wanted to make sure I got your attention regarding 1) a previous request regarding your old account, and 2) comments you posted in Thursday's terrorist thread, a thread that I later locked up.
October 10th, 2020 at 1:11 AM ^
Double posted.
October 9th, 2020 at 3:11 PM ^
This is actually a reasonable plan, if only Americans cared enough for one another and had the leadership to execute such a plan.
October 9th, 2020 at 3:29 PM ^
Anecdotal observation for today, take it FWIW:
(1) I'm at Denver's airport: it is fairly busy here. Significantly more so versus when I flew in April (when the place was a ghost town) and July. There is a chance (we'll see the TSA #s tomorrow) that today is the first day since March where more than 1,000,000 people clear TSA. We were at 930K yesterday.
(2) Mask compliance is 99%. There is a lot of connecting travel through here, so this isn't just the Colorado locals who are wearing masks. It is, to a degree, a cross-section of America here.
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Point being, people are getting out and about more and more. And I do truly believe most people DO comply with rules. But we're not going to get 100%. Combined the 1st and 3rd sentences and some level of CV spread is simply inevitable.
October 9th, 2020 at 3:36 PM ^
so wait, you are discounting these experts because they aren't the popular majority?
October 9th, 2020 at 3:38 PM ^
You are not allowed to express opinions contrary to left wing doctrine. Be gone!
October 9th, 2020 at 3:45 PM ^
I freely admit to being in a higher risk category, and I wear masks and gloves always when in the field working and in stores. I have even had to back out of handshakes and insist that customers remain at the proper distance too, even though it seems to be a rude to the odd person. I do quite a bit to protect myself because I am a frontline employee, so it is maddening to see people that I know are in my boat and should be doing these things not do them, as if there is some denial happening.
October 9th, 2020 at 4:13 PM ^
It would be great if we had a leader that trusted scientists and researchers and didn't make the damn CDC political. Maybe we will after Nov 3rd.
October 9th, 2020 at 8:41 PM ^
You mean it would be great if we had a leader that trusted the scientists that you and the media view to be right. Maybe said leader actually takes a more rounded approach and also considers studies like this one that has a different approach.
October 9th, 2020 at 9:43 PM ^
Even a blind hog can occasionally find an acorn. But here, it is not a good strategy for dealing with this virus. Informed, civic-minded citizens understand this.
October 9th, 2020 at 4:21 PM ^
and.....
holiday inn express continues to thrive
October 9th, 2020 at 9:22 PM ^
Here's some ideas
1) Vote for both local and national representatives - Leadership matters
2) Eat, exercise and value your physical and mental health. If you have family and friends where you have influence, work to shape their habits as well.
3) Wear a fucking mask
October 10th, 2020 at 2:11 AM ^
The county I live in has made mask mandatory back in late June for all public buildings. I would say it has a nearly 100 percent compliance. Our COVID numbers have went up since then but I think that is due to the increased number of testing compared to April and May.
October 10th, 2020 at 2:01 AM ^
If you're 70 or older, or you are younger with other morbidities, you will need to remain isolated. I think most of the population can go back to normal living. Hopefully a decent vaccine is around the corner and the therapeutics can improve to treat those who contract this virus. Being in this total or near total lock down is not good for the country.