By CRAIG E. CAMPBELL
Last month I wrote a piece in Must Read Alaska that statistically showed, using Center for Disease Control data, that masks were not the decisive action that suppressed spread of the 2019 coronavirus influenza pandemic. The fact is, Covid-19 had much higher death rates in states with strict mask mandates than in those that had more lenient mandates.
Before you start with the, “He is spreading a false science narrative,” let me be clear I never said that masks did not provide some level of protection from the spread of respiratory infections.
It’s all a matter of balance between protecting the public health from serious and deadly diseases and protecting our constitutional rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. At what point has government overstepped its role in protecting a free society from disease?
Wearing masks has known health risks. It’s a fact that wearing a face covering substantially increases the inhalation of carbon dioxide which creates an oxygen deficiency to the brain.
This causes headaches, drowsiness, and other negative impacts. Long-term oxygen deficiency kills brain cells, which may be the explanation for why the infamous Dr. Anthony Fauci remarked on national news last week that, “So it is conceivable that as we go on, a year or two or more from now, that during certain seasonal periods when you have respiratory-borne viruses like the flu, people might actually elect to wear masks to diminish the likelihood that you’ll spread these respiratory-borne diseases.”
Bingo, the door is opening to reveal a glimpse of the future envisioned by Fauci.
Just a year ago, at the beginning of the pandemic, Fauci stated there was no need to wear face coverings. A couple months later, he declared face coverings should be worn, coupled with social distancing and washing hands, to reduce the spread of Covid-19.
By the end of last year he was publicly telling us that two masks work better than a single mask. Now the wizard of medical spin is introducing us to their eventual objective; wearing masks most all the time to prevent the spread of respiratory infections. Not just for Covid, but eventually, government requiring masks be worn during any period of respiratory-borne disease, like even the seasonal flu.
This is exactly what I predicted: Power-hungry government “leaders” sought to expand their control over our lives by turning us into submissive sheep, wearing masks to stop disease. Can’t wait for society to finally be disease-free when we are all forced to live in our own plastic bubbles of HEPA-filtered, sterilized air.
Were masks the saving grace to stop the Covid spread in Florida and Texas? They were not. Florida and Texas were two of the first states to remove the mask mandate and make it optional and they had some of the lowest per capita death rates in the nation.
Yesterday the Fauci said it was OK to not wear a mask outdoors if you have been vaccinated.
“If you are going into a completely crowded situation, where people are falling all over each other, then you wear a mask. But any other time, if you’re vaccinated and you’re outside, put aside your mask. You don’t have to wear it.” Fauci boldly proclaimed.
Really, Captain Obvious? Where have you been? If you are vaccinated why do you need to wear a mask at all? This protracted messaging that we need to wear a mask even after being vaccinated, which we are told is nearly 99 percent effective to protect against Covid, clearly shows they are not following the science but are merely using an orchestrated political effort to continue controlling our lives, even when science has proven them wrong. That’s’ the purest definition of being a dishonest and politically motivated hypocrite Dr. Fauci.
Today the CDC announced that “Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing.” Poof! In the blink of an interview, all is well with the world.
This charade has gone on long enough. Masks were never proven by science to prevent the spread of Covid. Science has proven that vaccinations can prevent a person from getting Covid. President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed was a visionary approach to accelerating the best path towards public health in the period of Covid. Biden’s mishandling of the “pandemic” has been a disingenuous attempt at portraying leadership where none exists.
Don’t be fooled. Retaining the mask mandate kept elected officials in control of our lives and, using the prophet Dr. Fauci as he spread fear in Americans that an influenza is the most dangerous and deadly health problem facing society, gave them the power to make us all even more subservient to government, forever.
The Biden Administration’s waffling on masks, while claiming credit for the success of President Trump’s action is disgraceful. Today’s admission by the CDC is clear evidence we have been scammed for the past four months by a bunch of con artists trying to retain control over our liberties under the false veil of protecting public health.
Excuse me. What about the nearly 600,000 that die each year in the US from heart disease and the other 600,000 that die from cancer?
What about the 70,000 drug overdose deaths in 2019 alone? What about the dramatic increase in suicide this past year? What about the number of people who died from accidents related to the use of alcohol and marijuana?
Nope, just watch, the most dangerous health crisis America will now face will be the seasonal flu, so shut-up, get your flu shot, and wear your damned mask when Big Brother tells you.
Craig E. Campbell served on the Anchorage Assembly between 1986 and 1995 and later as Alaska’s Tenth Lieutenant Governor. He was the previous Chief Executive Officer and President for Alaska Aerospace Corporation. He retired from the Alaska National Guard as Lieutenant General (AKNG) and holds the concurrent retired Federal rank of Major General (USAF).
Everyone should read up on history, especially Nuremberg trials and the resulting Nuremberg Code. Everyone should start wondering if history is repeating itself? The Nuremberg Code laid out basic principles which must be observed to satisfy moral, legal and ethical concepts in the sphere of medical experimentation. This means everyone should have the ability to exercise free power of choice without force, deceit, duress, overreaching or ulterior form of constraint or coercion. Makes me wonder how a court or history will look at those that kept or are keeping folks in lockdown until they take a vaccine, a vaccine that only has emergency approval, the same COVID vaccines that now have caused more deaths than all other vaccines combined. Which now appears to be the biggest experiment ever conducted on humans. Time to say no to all the tyranny!
Fauci has screwed up every pandemic that has come along, from HIV/AIDS in the 70’s, to SARS in 2009, and now COVID, with everything else in between!
He has lied and sought the political spotlight.
He said we won’t have a vaccine for 3 to 4 years.
The WHO colluded with China.
Fauci and our tax dollars helped fund the engineering of this virus.
Fauci can’t be trusted!
Trace it back to seat belts!
Biden is an idiot who is vaccinated, but still wears the mask.
Wow Bold I like it, Well Said.
I fell the same about masks
1. Mask mouth
2. Maskne
3. Phthalate contamination of disposable mask filter medium
But of course, safety was never an issue on the agenda.
well said
To the mask enforcer: you could not care less if I am dead tomorrow by a greater tragedy, so long as when you see me unmasked you can feel a little more superior by telling me I need a mask.
I have noticed the Assembly except Allard have been showing subtle breathing problems while they been talking during last night’s meeting. The effect has been really obvious on them compared how they talked last summer under their masks to last night still under their masks, and their brain energy level for discussing resolutions is low like drowsy.
I’m not sure what desk they’re talking about that the vaccine is caused. The vaccine has prevented deaths not caused them. Wearing a mask does provide some degree of protection. When I made my Exodus from Alaska a year ago, I wore my mask for 16 hours straight on the airplane full of stewardesses who were pushing their mask to the side to talk much like somebody moving aside a thong in an X rated movie. I suffer from severe seasonal allergies and wearing a mask while outside helps me greatly, especially since I live in the allergy capital of the world in the State of Florida. I can agree that fauci is a little troll and seeks the limelight. To me, this diminishes his credibility. We’ll never know how many lives masks saved, and if you listen to the politicians, most are against any kind of a covid shot card/passport safety system. That would be akin to having the number 666 tattooed on your forehead. They know the absurdity of that and politically it would be suicide. This is all uncharted waters. When the AIDS came out everybody put on a rubber. A lot of those that didn’t ended up dead. Sometimes we need to temporarily relinquish a little control in our lives so that our government can actually do its job and provide for the people.
Craig, to complete your studies regarding the duplicity of the “little yard Gnome” aka Dr. Anthony, you might want to study this “Jab” the government is pushing.
The states with the highest death rates are also the states with the most deaths initially, prior to many of the mandates being put in place. Medical professionals also do not asphyxiate under a mask despite constant usage. Many doctors, for example, wear masks without any impairment during extended surgeries. The suicide rate in 2020 was lower than 2019.
Prior to COVID the efficacy of masks against airborne viruses was well studied. They didn’t work.
” measures and environmental hygiene measures in nonhealthcare settings and discuss their potential inclusion in pandemic plans. Although mechanistic studies support the potential effect of hand hygiene or face masks, evidence from 14 randomized controlled trials of these measures did not support a substantial effect on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza. ” – CDC 2019
A study out of Vietnam suggested that cloth masks worn to a non medical standard makes things worse.
“The rates of all infection outcomes were highest in the cloth mask arm, with the rate of ILI statistically significantly higher in the cloth mask arm (relative risk (RR)=13.00, 95% CI 1.69 to 100.07) compared with the medical mask arm. Cloth masks also had significantly higher rates of ILI compared with the control arm.” – NIH
The cloth mask group did worse than the no mask control group. Yes doctors wear mask but doctors don’t wear the same mask all damn day .They change them after every patient. If you aren’t changing the mask regularly its just a vector for the virus.
With all the deceit of Dr. Fauci and the left, the medical industrial complex has substantially destroyed trust in doctors. We used to trust doctors, but very few doctors stood up to this tyrannical CDC and WHO-driven attack on the public. Yet, a large portion of our public, I would say a majority of the public, still thinks that doctors aren’t driven by money, doctors never fudge the truth or withhold information, and doctors don’t have to answer to hierarchies in their hospitals and various medical organizations that apply pressure to them to keep quiet just like the average person does at work. Doctors are sheeple too. They are as faulted as anyone else. Sometimes more so. Have you ever known a doctor really well? Man, do they have problems. I wouldn’t take their money if I had to have their mental, moral, arrogance, and ethical problems to go along with their money. And Dr. Fauci is proof of that.
Fauci is slowly being exposed for the fraud he is. As the head of NIH he funneled taxpayer money to the Wuhan lab that most likely is the source of Covid 19. He should be in jail!
GREG FORKNER, you ‘ temporarily relinquish a little control in our lives so that our government can actually do its job and provide for the people’ means that you willingly give your liberty to the almighty overseers assuming their best intentions. Such was the attitude of many Jews who tried to go along and get along with the Nazis, thinking that every step would be the last and the Nazi lust for power would be satiated.
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” We Americans grow tired of having our lives micromanaged. I don’t wear a mask and haven’t for the duration except for those rare cases where compliance benefit outweighs the burden of the fight. Businesses lost many sales to me in the last year. Masking for allergens is different than masking for viruses and yes, your body adapts just like to lower oxygenation when flying. And that does not discredit the ill effects documented by prolonged mask wearing.
Campbell has no qualifications whatsoever in epidemiology but he writes like he does. He is just catering to the nut jobs that want to bash science. I am surprised Campbell has not been pushing the Clorox cure like Trump suggested. Campbell founds some site that will allow him to write his opinion as it was the truth, sort of the youtube doctor thing. But Campbell is a Monday morning quarterback where he is not responsible for making the hard decision but is quick to criticize those that have to.
Anchorage Truth Seeker, PLEASE take your own advise and study history. Two distinct laws passed in Nazi Germany in September, 1935 are known collectively as the Nuremberg LAWS: the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor. These laws embodied many of the racial theories underpinning Nazi ideology. They would provide the legal framework for the systematic persecution of Jews in Germany.
Good article Mr. Campbell. It is unfortunate that as the Governor has lifted mask mandates in Alaska, no one has done anything to include the Anchorage airport. The airport is a State owned and operated airport. However, the Executive Branch and its employees are turning a blind eye to this fact and deferring all power to the Federal Government through the TSA to continue to enforce this mask nonsense in our airport.
It’s time that the Governor step up and end this insanity for the health and safety of everyone who uses or works at the airport. Furthermore, its time to limit the TSA’s grip in Alaska and go back to private screening at our airports. Yes, the Governor has the power to start that process.
harborguy , a little hysterical and hateful there?
Harborguy. Poof, today Acting Mayor declares masks not needed after May 21. Poof, again. Assembly removed mask mandate effective immediately. No science, just politics. Almost seems like they are all convinced Dave Bronson will win the mayor’s race and they don’t him to remove the mandate and make them look like clueless minions. All I have written is being proven correct as politicians continue to use public health as a weapon against liberty. OBTW, none of them are trained in epidemiology either. Nuff said.
You are like many on the right that want to minimize the death of over 580000 Americans that have died of the virus as of today. You make all kinds of comparison of how many others have died from cancer and heart attacks like the suffering of the folks that have passed from the virus means nothing.
You politized the wearing of mask when science tells us it was helpful in slowing the spread but you do not give dam because people that have died of the virus do not mean a thing to the GOP.
Everyone knew that some point when enough people were vaccinated mask wearing would not be required.
You may want to inform your readers that mask wearing may be over in government but many business are still going to require a mask in many business and soon business will also require vaccination to work.
You may want to inform your readers that the pandemic is not over it has just paused and we can expect more problems when the different variants start spreading.
But like I said before what is a few more deaths to you, it is the price of liberty in your world so long as it is not you or your family right?
It sad to see you are just another Trump and the Big Lie supporter. Trump is gone and never coming back.
harborguy, you need to stay in your basement, take your medication and watch Barney reruns. This illness is a blip, nothing more. People die every day and in almost all cases COVID robbed a few weeks from very fragile people, and we do empathize for them. What about the depressed young people committing suicide over the lockdowns? The increase in opioid overdoses (more opioid OD deaths than COVID in San Francisco)? But COVID restrictions robbed how many people of a year of life. How do we measure that?
And finally, if you are in such a tizzy about innocent deaths, I want to see you at the next Right To Life rally for the millions of innocent human beings intentionally murdered over the past 50 years.
Don’t feed the trolls Craig, even if they live under a dock instead of a bridge.
Great article tho. You nailed it.
Harborboy
A very small percentage of those deaths were *FROM* the virus.
.
The vast majority died “*WITH* the virus.
Harbor Guy – you are clueless. Tne CDC, Fauci and even the Fake Mayor of Anchorage have all stated that the masks would have to worn until at least 70-85 percent of the population were vaccinated. We are not even close to that number. The Great Lie is finally falling apart & politicians are scrambling to cover their asses from the fallout. One can only hope that there will be many criminal/civil prosecutions in the days to come, starting with Fauci.
I guess our doctors and nurses and other medical technicians who wear masks daily must be in pretty bad shape from that CO2 poisoning!
The COVID-19 case rate in the Mat-Su region, where the thinly spread population is 37% of Anchorage, is nearly twice (92% above) that of Anchorage where masks have been mandated.. A month ago the Mat-Su case rate was 120% above that of Anchorage. As I’m told masks are passé in the Mat-Su one has to ask if the lack of masking might have something to do with the difference.
Fauci should have let the Big Boss tell folks not to wear masks when, early on, they wanted to save the small available supply for the medical professionals on the front lines of exposure.
JERE, and the death rate? Remember ‘two weeks to flatten the curve’. It wasn’t about destroying our way of life, it was about keeping hospitals from being overrun. And now with the virus on the down side we are achieving herd immunity. The statistic you state is a GOOD THING to help us reach herd immunity. I had COVID and suffered less than those I spoke with who had the vaccine. And thanks to Valley Hotel for a great breakfast, masks be damned.
AK
The death rate has nothing to do with flattening the curve. The case rate does. Masking affects both case and death rates (by limiting the “dose” of virus the recipient takes in).
We may or may not be achieving herd immunity. 25% of Americans report they will not take the vaccine so herd immunity in the country may be just a dream. Even if we vaccinate 100% of the population by vaccine or infection the virus is just getting started in other parts of the world and people move from place to place on the planet with very limited control. The next mutation may be more easily transmitted (masks DO help prevent spread) and/or more deadly. Imagine a merging of the earlier deadly coronavirus (MERS) still affecting persons in the middle east and this SAR-CoV-2 virus yielding a rapidly spreading version with a 34% case fatality rate. No matter where in the world it starts, it will get to the USA.
I’m glad your personal experience has, so far, been less noxious than that of some others. Only time will tell whether your total experience is unmarked further by COVID-19. You know some viruses persist dormant in the victim for life until they reemerge and cause rather unpleasant later life complications don’t you? (see Herpes Zoster virus which behaves this way and will do so for about 1/3 of the American population before they die.). There are long-term adverse consequences of COVID-19 infection affecting many body systems showing up already (see “long-haulers”). No one knows what the picture will be in another year, or five, ten etc. You may come to wish you’d never heard of COVID-19 let alone contracted it! Individual personal experiences are essentially of no importance in making public policy decisions for a city, state or country – they have to be aggregated so the numbers are large and reality (on a population basis) is represented.
I would find the current SCOTUS’ response to a suite challenging a universal “Mask Mandate” or better yet a “Vaccine Mandate” established by one of the states’ governments very interesting indeed. Would this Court honor the earlier decision in Jacobson v Massachusetts which came down on the side of State power to require compulsory vaccination?
Have a great day.
Jere, masking has not been shown to have significant effect, nor has social distancing. Look at the places with the highest vs. minimal restrictions-statistically the more restrictive have higher per capita deaths. And that is what counts, per capita deaths.
“There’s always an Arquillian Battle Cruiser, or a Korilian Death Ray, or an intergalactic plague that is about to wipe out all life on this miserable planet. The only way these people can get on with their happy lives is that they “do not know about it!” Agent Kay.
There’s always a virus or asteroid or global warming or upcoming ice age or alien invasion out there threatening mankind. Get it? That’s the nature of life. Either live it or cower in your basement sucking on tofu. But don’t force your phobias upon people more courageous than yourself.
AK: “But don’t force your phobias upon people more courageous than yourself.”
I’m going to plagiarize that.
AK:
“Jere, masking has not been shown to have significant effect, nor has social distancing.”
I’d suggest you do more unbiased, open minded critical research and turn off your “confirmation bias” while at it. Maybe look at the pandemic progression in some of the Eastern countries where masks are part of everyday life for a start. New Zealand is an interesting study too. Masking and other “mandates” have to be followed by the people to be effective at the population level.
” Look at the places with the highest vs. minimal restrictions-statistically the more restrictive have higher per capita deaths.”
I’d like you to cite your source. This is not what I found. Here are the current whole pandemic results for USA. Death rate as of May 16, ( worldometers dot com data) Assessment of restrictiveness of in place mandates etc by state. (wallethub dot com data)
As of 20210516
The 5 least restrictive states, in order of increasing restriction
Restriction rank Death rate rank (deaths per million)
1 Iowa 33 (1,904)
2 Florida 25 (1680)
3 Wyoming 14 (1230)
4 South Dakota 43 (2251)
5 Texas 29 (1765) Avg = 1766
The 5 most restrictive states, in order of increasing restriction
Restriction rate Death rate rank (deaths per million)
46 Washington 7 (746)
48 Virginia 15 (1291)
49 Delaware 26 (1695)
50 District of Columbia 23 (1695)
51 Vermont 2 (404) Avg = 1166
It looks like one might be tempted to say, contrary to your claim, higher levels of restrictions lowered the death rate by 34%.
That said, a critical examination of your conjecture would be fraught with pitfalls. Example: COVID death lags infection by a significant number of days so if restrictions were not in effect for a sufficient period before and up to infection it would be impossible for them to affect the infection. (It’s like locking the barn door after the horse is stolen.) If the infected person and his/her contacts did not follow the restrictions, they could not affect his/her infection. I could go on.
Your last paragraph is a classic “piece of work!” Signifies significant inability to adhere to norms of civil discourse. “But don’t force your phobias upon people more courageous than yourself.” I have not tried to force anything upon anyone. I have very little if any power to do that. Those who don’t want to hear facts which go against their biases are free to ignore them. But to suggest I may be foisting phobias on others is nuts, especially when those others are clearly fighting their own phobias – fear of wearing masks to prevent infection being a case in point.
phobia n. “A persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid it, despite the awareness and reassurance that it is not dangerous.” I have none. If the shoe fits wear it.
Have another nice day.
OOOOPS, sorry that’s www dot worldometers dot info slash coronavirus for the death rate data
Jere, there are lies, damned lies, and (cherry picked) statistics. ‘Oh, I found it on the internet!” Stanford NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology), NIH all have studies showing the uselessness of masks, and Fauci himself made statements that there is no evidence concerning the benefit of ‘social distancing’. Wear a mask-you’re free. If you really want to prevent COVID spread wear a N95 diaper (think about it). But DON’T use your phobias to infringe upon my rights!
Jere, “I didn’t want to look like I was giving mixed signals but being a fully vaccinated person, the chances of my getting infected in an indoor setting is extremely low.” recent confrontational Fauci statement.
Jere, to quote another news source: “In Texas, the state had ZERO COVID deaths yesterday. It had the fewest COVID cases in 13 months. Lowest seven-day positivity rate as well. What about hospitalizations? They were at their lowest in 11 months. Oh, and there’s no mask mandate. The state reopened and no spike occurred. There’s no pyramid of body bags. The doomsday predictions were wrong. The experts were wrong. These clowns said to wait and see because it takes a few weeks to catch up regarding cases. The liberal media was ready to slam “neanderthal” Texas for reopening. You know they could wait to report about red Texas being engulfed with death and COVID.
AK said “Jere, there are lies, damned lies, and (cherry picked) statistics.”
Are you suggesting I cherry picked data or just trying to educate me about facts of life?
It took decades but the “Black Death” finally ended when the naturally resistant developed antibodies and passed them down to the following generations. If it wasn’t for natural resistance and antibodies being passed down, the human race would have vanished many thousands of years ago.
The vaxer’s are discounting natural resistance and antibodies as irrelevant to herd immunity. Natural resistance and antibodies is herd immunity, which adapts to mutations and doesn’t require annual refresher shots.
Big pharma is making billions off the “vaccines” and they’re the ones promoting (bribing the medical professionals) the vax as “herd immunity”. The vax is not herd immunity. The vax may give some protection, may have some value, but it doesn’t create the antibodies which comes from natural resistance.
The vax may help someone to survive covid so they can develop antibodies, but it doesn’t produce them … it doesn’t produce herd immunity.
Jere, I am suggesting that the particular statistics chosen are not really representative-nor probably would the ones I choose-due to bias. The fact of the matter is that from the moment politicians interjected themselves into this ‘pandemic’ everything objective went out the window. True deaths from COVID, sans underlying pathology, are only a small portion of the deaths. It appears that we were all hoodwinked by self serving sleazy politicians and money grubbing greedy companies profiteering off the manufactured crisis.
So, what to do? One could ignore the world and tend the garden, perhaps.
Or one might go deeper after reading some media or blog report – Your suggestion “there are lies, damned lies, and (cherry picked) statistics.” and ” Stanford NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology), NIH all have studies showing the uselessness of masks,” is evidene of the need.
I searched the professional literature and found what I suspect is the work you referenced. “Facemasks in the COVID-19 era: A health hypothesis” by Baruch Vainshelboim in Med Hypotheses, volume 146 on page 110411 (online 22 November 2020).
There are many issues with the paper and the reporting on it including contradictory hypotheses, misquoted references (cherry picked data), the author’s claimed affiliation with Stanford U, and the number of such studies attributed to the single one. Might be instructive to examine in more detail (how is it the virus – diameter of 60 nm to 140 nm, passes easily through any mask while carbon dioxide molecules, diameter 0.334 nm, builds up behind?; but this really isn’t the medium. The paper has been retracted by the editors of Med Hypotheses for cause.
One can download the original paper and retraction notice at https colon slash slash www dot .sciencedirect dot com slash search?qs=Vainshelboim&pub=Medical%20Hypotheses&cid=272414.
Personally, being a person educated in science and still, in my ninth decade of life, interested I never value journalists’ and bloggers’ (Fox or Al jazeera, HuffPost or Infowars, Wash Post or NY Post, MRAK or ADN etc.) interpretations of science news for anything but clues to the source of the work the original literature they reference and very often misrepresent.. I then go to the original source and read what it really says.
Another sunny day in Paradise!
JERE, congrats on your longevity and wisdom. As I said, you can find anything if you look hard enough, and statistics are ‘cherry picked’ with bias, including my own. As to retraction of the study, even in that there is controversy, so one can believe whatever one wants.
AK: Yes, some folks have that sort of worldview – but it is not the way of science.
No matter one’s beliefs, if they are not supported by reproducible measurement/observations made by numerous critical observers, if a hypothesis is not, in principle, falsifiable – it isn’t science. This approach has been very productive for man over a number of centuries.
Cheers and thanks for the congrats.
Jere, If only science worked still that way. Sadly, politics have so corrupted ‘science’ that it is a struggle attempting to ferret out truth from politics. Case in point: Wuhan-was the virus nature or lab originated? The story changes with the political landscape.
AK: Actually the bulk of science does work the right way. All science which is resilient works that way- the fakes, charlatans, and honest mistakes are uncovered and the field continues the slow plod toward more perfect knowledge. It has always been that way. There has always been work put forth to be tested by others. Quite possibly more conjecture has been ultimately rejected and accepted.
When “politics” of ANY form mucks up the process it does get more difficult to “separate the wheat from the chaff,” for sure. Einstein has been quoted: “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds” a thought apropos the flood of popular attack on the science of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. In the case of a new phenomena such as the details of the functioning of corona viruses it takes more time than some people are comfortable with. It just takes time for information to emerge and be recognized, reconciled and fit into a cohesive whole of understanding. That’s why, for instance the rate of spread and death rates have changed as the pandemic has progressed. That’s just the nature of nature – she doesn’t reveal all the details of her secretes easily! Science would not work at all without all the filtering out of mistakes, false starts etc. – resilience takes time.
That’s why I stay as far away from the popular media and agenda driven bloggers as I can when trying to find out what is the state of the art.
The Wuhan question. Pretty hard question to answer. The last time I looked the genetics works seemed to come down on the side of nature. We may never know for sure. I was going to say more about the possibilities which I noted in March 2020 but, upon checking, I find lots of others have come to the same place so I’ll just leave it.
Wow, another warm sunny day.
Jere, thank you for your well thought out and written comment! Time will tell what becomes of this ‘pandemic’ and which radicals are correct-the vaxers or anti-vaxers. I’m taking a wait and see attitude and paying little attention to both. Galileo was eventually exonerated.
AK, Thank you, too, for the conversation. Yours seems a reasonable approach to the immutably entrenched.
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