Let's stop repeating COVID myths

Last update: Monday 11/1/21

Unfortunately, valid assertions about the original coronavirus variant that was dominant throughout 2020 are being repeated by the media with regards to the Delta variant in late 2021. Those old "facts" are now myths, remnants of a bygone age. One obsolete "fact" stands head and shoulders above the rest -- the assertion that by vaccinating a large enough percentage of the population, e.g., 80 or 90 percent, we will achieve herd immunity and the pandemic will end shortly thereafter. The media pundits seem to understand that Delta is far more contagious than its predecessors. But many of the pundit doctors on television fail to grasp the strategic implications of the fact that Delta also produces far more so-called "breakthrough" cases than previous variants.  These highly contagious breakthroughs will make herd immunity impossible to achieve.

Acceptable costs of living with the virus

 Last update: Sunday 10/24/21

The Covid-19 page on this blog characterizes the final phases of the pandemic as "Delta vs. mandates and vaccines" -- thereby warning readers that most of the reports linked to the page will discuss the Delta variant and our most powerful tools for addressing it. Unfortunately, this succinct phrasing provides no indications of the massive tectonic shifts in the underlying paradigms that govern our efforts to manage the pandemic.

A tribute to the parents of unvaccinated children, the unsung heroes of the pandemic

 Last update: Thursday 10/14/21

Sir Francis Bacon once wrote, "He who hath children hath given hostages to fortune." His bygone aphorism acquired new bite during the COVID pandemic 

‘Go out there and enjoy Halloween,’ Dr. Fauci says ... Oh, really???

Last update: Sunday 10/10/21

“This is a time that children love,” Dr. Fauci said according to the NY Times. "It’s a very important part of the year for children.” Yes, kids love Halloween, even kids who live in apartment buildings love Halloween, kids who knock on every apartment door, indoors not outdoors, crying "Trick or Treat!" ... kids who live in urban neighborhoods where every "house" is an apartment building, knocking on every door until someone opens the door ... not wearing a mask ... breathing on the kids in the hallway outside their apartment ... where aerosols float freely throughout the night ... Happy Halloween!!!  ... One piece of advice for every child in every kind of neighborhood -- suburban, rural and, oh yes, urban -- because, as per so many previous guidelines from the nation's pandemic pundits, one size fits all, right??? ... Now that's scary, really scary... :-(

Another reason why some Black Americans may have been vaccine hesitant

 Last update: Monday 10/4/21

During the first few months of 2021, coronavirus vaccination rates among Black Americans were substantially lower than the rates for White and Asian Americans. One reason often cited for this hesitancy was Black awareness of the CDC's unethical Tuskegee syphilis experiment, an awareness that might make some Black Americans more distrustful of new medications endorsed by the CDC. Another oft cited reason was the inadequate access of many Black Americans to adequate health care. Lack of access would provide fewer opportunities to learn about the safety of the coronavirus vaccines. This note suggests one more reason why even the best informed, best educated Black Americans might be hesitant.