President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID, joining the vast majority of Americans who have done so.
We all wish the best for our fully immunised, twice-boosted, 79-year-old president, who is reported to be suffering from “very mild symptoms.”
His illness also occurs at a time when COVID case counts are rising in some regions of the nation.
What action should we take?
Although the most oppressive lockdown procedures from the past have thankfully been dropped, absurdly extreme measures are still in use.
Summer school students in San Diego’s public schools are currently required to enter the building wearing facemasks or risk being expelled.
They are allowed to pursue virtual education, a mockery of traditional classroom instruction.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers a number of other California counties to be ‘high’ transmission areas, so all residents of Los Angeles County could be affected next (CDC).
If these circumstances continue, indoor mask regulations may be implemented for the fall semester of the following school year.
School administrators in San Diego mindlessly repeat the line that they are “following the science,” as ordered by the nation’s top public health officials.
However, the CDC, public health authorities, and local officials are not adhering to the science more than two years after the coronavirus initially paralysed the world.
They are resisting.
In accordance with CDC recommendations put in place in July 2021, indoor masking is advised when a community is experiencing “high” transmission.
The advice is not a requirement. However, liberal regions of the nation blindly abide by these strict recommendations.
They must be unaware of how much has altered since July 2021.
Many more Americans have received the COVID-19 vaccine or have developed natural immunity as a result of infection.
Today, we have access to many more potent treatments.
The dominant variants are considerably less dangerous.
When, then, will the health leadership in America pull their collective heads out of the sand and admit that using COVID case numbers as the basis for public policy recommendations is no longer appropriate?
Take the evidence for yourself; don’t believe what I say.
Although COVID hospitalizations are at a three-month low in San Diego, COVID cases are at an all-time high for the summer.
Similar patterns are being observed in several other counties.
There is also no need for concern, according to two representatives of one of Southern California’s biggest hospital systems.
Despite all the media hype to the contrary, it really isn’t the same pandemic that it was.
The chief medical officer of Los Angeles County and the University of Southern California Medical Center, Brad Spellberg, stated at a news conference last week that a lot of individuals have severe colds.
Paul Holtom, an epidemiologist, adding, “As of this morning, we have no one in the hospital who had pulmonary disease owing to COVID.” “No one at the hospital…” Nobody. Nobody who has the COVID-19 sickness as we used to see it.
Do you think this is a serious public health emergency?
Obviously not!
However, there is a real threat at hand: intrusive, harsh policies that do more harm than good.
The fact that our complacent public health leaders are still fighting the same battles could be the bigger issue.
In response to a question from ABC regarding the reinstatement of indoor mask laws in some California counties, Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, cited the CDC recommendations that were published a year ago.
The CDC has extremely specific instructions on this, he added. “It’s incredibly crucial and will make a difference if people wear masks indoors,”
However, Delta was the most popular variation in July 2021. Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 are currently the two most common viral strains in circulation.
They cause more moderate disease even though they are highly contagious.
Only two-thirds of American adults had received the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine as of July 2021, and even fewer had been exposed to the virus.
Over 90% of American adults have now received all of their recommended vaccinations, and almost 50% have also had a booster shot.
It’s possible that 80 percent of all Americans and an even higher number of youngsters have some immunity to serious illness thanks to natural immunity acquired through infection.
It is negligence for medical practitioners to ignore this new reality.
In this week’s White House press briefing, Dr. Jha said, “If we think back to two years ago, we had a very limited set of capabilities to manage viruses like this.” He was joined by CDC Director Dr. Walensky and NIAID Director Dr. Fauci.
We currently possess all the tools necessary to safeguard the American people, including vaccines and boosters, treatments, diagnostics, masks, ventilation, and a host of other tools.
He is correct.
Therefore, why haven’t the rules changed?
They have no viable response.
Officials, like Dr. Sharon Whitehurst-Payne, president of the San Diego Unified Board, dismiss their detractors in a contemptuous manner.
They say, “Who cares.” Put on the mask and study in person or online.
She explained that pupils who didn’t want to spend the entire day in masks might choose to attend to a school where they didn’t have to use Zoom to go to class at all instead of returning to the usual school.
This disgustingly callous attitude toward our children’s wellbeing and education is reckless and irresponsible.
A recent investigation by the nonprofit organisation NWEA, which administers academic tests, examined the maths and reading evaluations for 8.3 million kids in third through eighth grades who attended over 25,000 schools.
According to the report’s findings, it will take an average primary school pupil three years to fully recover from the learning loss caused by the pandemic’s remote learning and school closures.
For older students, the harm is far greater.
According to the study, some people may not be able to reach “complete recovery” before they graduate from high school.
Even the CDC admits that distant learning is harmful, which is why they have stated that even children at the highest risk for COVID, those with immunocompromising diseases, “should not be placed into separate classrooms or otherwise segregated from other pupils.”
I’m in disbelief that any teacher would knowingly refuse to allow even one pupil to get instruction in-person.
Don’t our kids already endure enough pain?
When wearing masks inside is not demonstrated to have any benefits, how can teachers possibly defend this?
Dr. Jha stated that wearing high-quality masks in indoor public spaces continues to be “an crucial instrument to prevent the spread of COVID-19” at the same White House press briefing.
However, when mask regulations are put into place, premium masks are not consistently and correctly used.
According to a study by the Covid States Project, a collaboration between Northeastern, Harvard, Northwestern, and Rutgers, about 64% of persons who wear masks prefer cotton masks.
There is no evidence that mask mandates diminish COVID transmission, as stated in a story titled “The Case Against Masks at School” that appeared in The Atlantic in January 2022, as well as in more recent reporting by the New York Times.
Last but not least, according to research cited by the CDC, young children in particular may find it challenging to communicate with and comprehend others’ emotions when they wear masks.
The pandemic that will hit in July 2021 will not affect America.
Anyone who is prepared to open their eyes can see that.
The time has come to actually “follow the science.”