As COVID-19 cases drop and immunization rates rise, Americans are proving the media's glass-half-empty predictions about vaccine hesitancy mostly false. It turns out that people don't like getting sick, and they'll take steps to protect themselves when given the tools to do so.
pandemic
On the heels of a new survey, public health experts say partisan politics crippled America's pandemic response. At the same time, they want federal agencies like the FDA and CDC to tackle incendiary political issues including racism, gun violence and climate change. Trying to solve these partisan problems won't improve the credibility of the public health establishment.
The CDC's estimate of 83 million infections is really quite stunning, yet few if any people are talking about this. That's a real shame. It's vital that we learn not to repeat the same mistakes, including the social and economic ones, not just the epidemiological ones.
While we lament the lack of cooperation in Western culture that allows a virus to spread, we can simultaneously celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit that allows a cure to be discovered.
Millions of families around the world are separated due to COVID travel restrictions. These people are left to suffer in isolation, consoled only by the platitude that the benefits of strict lockdowns outweigh the cost of emotional pain and psychological torture.
The data suggest that Washington is doing better than Idaho at reducing COVID sicknesses and deaths. However, the data also suggest that massive restrictions aren't necessary to get COVID under control. It's time for Washington to start opening up.
How to become a member of the Jonas Salk Society.
The Atlantic says that the new coronavirus strain is a "huge danger." However, the virus already mutated early last year to become more infectious. There's no reason to panic yet.
The governor of Washington State has canceled Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, and about 20% of Seattle's restaurants and bars have closed permanently. The governor's arbitrary policies, such as banning indoor dining while allowing customers to eat inside tents, deserve part of the blame. Photographs put the absurdity on stark display.
Those who favor indefinite lockdowns believe they have the moral high ground. They do not. In reality, they callously turn a blind eye to the economic and social devastation that their policy is causing.
Reports of an H5N8 influenza virus spreading among birds across the globe understandably have generated concern. However, H5 viruses do not pose a direct threat to the health of the vast majority of humans on the planet, at least not yet.
Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has canceled Thanksgiving as part of a new COVID lockdown. The Grinch of Whoville couldn't have created a better policy.