Life Goes On

Team Apocalypse (TA)—a collection of media types, public health "experts," (mostly) Democrat politicians and other catastrophists who, despite clear and growing scientific evidence to the contrary, continue to predict that COVID-19 is a far greater threat than it actually is. Using cherry picked data, grossly inaccurate models, obvious omissions that don't fit their narrative, and news reports peppered with a variety of edge cases that are outside 3 or 4-sigma, their (largely successful) objective has been to foster fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) among the general public. They want to keep the country shut down, letting catastrophic damage to lives and livelihoods  be damned.  Their aim, they claim, is all about people's health, but their approach is dishonest and smacks of a political agenda.

One thing I will give TA, they're relentless. This week's catastrophist narrative focuses on the growing number of COVID-19 "cases" and "hospitalizations"  in states that have begun to open up. The severity of those cases—whether they're asymptomatic or sub-clinical—is never mentioned. And the hospitalizations? 

First, as hospitals re-open for 'elective' treatment, people who have delayed surgeries and other treatment for months are beiong admitted. Every new patient is tested for COVID-19 and some test positive. They may be completely asymptomatic or have minor symptoms that do not require treatment, but guess what? They're in the hospital (e.g., for a hernia operation) and therefore, Team Apocalypse considers them a COVID-19 related hospitalization. Hmmm.

Second, the whole intent of the shut-down—you know, the one that TA demanded—was to "flatten the curve" of cases and hospitalizations. It was never intended to eliminate cases or hospitalizations, only to delay them until hospitals were better prepared. Oh, by the way, dire predictions of overwhelmed hospitals across the country and shortages of 100,000 ventilators never materialized, but I digress.

John Sanders summarizes rather nicely:

In short, while hospitalizations from COVID-19 are still increasing, they are nowhere even close to the levels we worried about in March.

Furthermore, the fact that hospitalizations are increasing now is by design. It’s not some terrifying aberration signifying a coming “red peak” if we don’t immediately shut down everything all over again and force people into masks this time.

The hospitalization numbers need to be given in context. They’re far lower than we feared, and they’re rising now because that was the desired outcome of flattening the curve.

If TA has its way, we'll stay shutdown indefinitely. Schools will not reopen in the fall, cities will be strangled because their tax revenue has dried up. Small businesses and some large ones will disappear. Unemployment will become chronic. The economy will collapse. Public unrest will become even more common that it already is. The federal government will take on debt that can never be repaid. All in order to save the lives of super-seniors who represent over 50 percent of all fatalities and can be protected with more targeted and rational strategies. 

And all for a viral pandemic that is just marginally worse than a very bad flu season—when NOTHING is shut down, death scoreboards are not maintained, the media is disinterested, and life goes on.

Insanity.