“[Our] leadership blatantly ignored the science and used the pandemic for political and personal gain.”
Now that President Biden has declared that the pandemic is “over” and Anthony Fauci has stepped down as our nation’s COVID czar perhaps it is time to reflect on what drove many of the decisions behind the “science” of COVID-19. Unfortunately, from the very beginning when COVID was discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, politicians and government officials on both sides of the aisle utilized “science” for political leverage.
Once COVID gained a foothold in the United States we were constantly bombarded by conflicting information by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and our own Anthony Fauci serving as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) as well as the Chief Medical Advisor to the President. “Guidance” was often conflicted and changed from day to day e.g., no requirement to wear a mask or the more masks you wear the better! No requirement to social distance to strict lockdowns and closure of all public facilities to include schools.
It is important to note that individuals such as Dr. Fauci are epidemiologists by trade and are focused only on preventing the spread of disease and not the severe psychological and social impacts brought on by lockdowns. They are merely advisors and not risk managers considering the impact of a nationwide lockdown on both the economy and psyche of the nation. We have approximately 50,000 traffic deaths a year, yet we still allow people to drive motor vehicles because we have determined that in spite of the fact people are killed every day on the highways the risk outweighs the impact of shutting down the nation’s roads.
Once our national lockdown was in full force and our schools closed all in the name of “science” it soon became apparent that many politicians relished the idea of having this power over our everyday lives. Yet many of them were often caught mask less or violating the mandate of social distancing that they imposed on everyday Americans. “Good enough for thee but not required by me” when in the eyes of the public was a clear indication of the hypocrisy and callousness of many in power.
In addition, vital first responders such as doctors, nurses, and members of our military were summarily dismissed for failing to get vaccinated in spite of the fact many already had natural immunity from previously contracting COVID – incredulous ! These were the very people who risked their lives day in and day out to protect and save. Mandatory vaccines and boosters became the order of the day by those in power with little emphasis put on treating COVID once it was contracted.
As it appears we may be finally turning the corner on COVID it should come as no surprise that a John’s Hopkins Study concluded that “lockdowns have done little to reduce COVID deaths but have had devastating effects on economies and numerous social ills.” The study, titled “A Literature Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Lockdowns on COVID-19 Mortality,” (here) said lockdowns in Europe and the U.S. reduced COVID-19 deaths by 0.2 percent. Shelter-in-place orders were also ineffective, reducing COVID-19 mortality by 2.9%. The bottom line – “We find no evidence that lockdowns, school closures, border closures, and limiting gatherings have had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality.”
In addition, it appears now that the CDC data since the COVID vaccines were first rolled out were not made public “because they might be misinterpreted as the vaccines being ineffective.” Three full years into the pandemic, and the agency leading the country’s response to the public health emergency has published only a tiny fraction of the data it has collected for fear that it might be misconstrued.
Following the science? No! In spite of the continued exhortation to “follow the science” many in positions of leadership blatantly ignored the science and used the pandemic for political and personal gain. As Americans we can never let this happen to us again – we must develop a holistic and integrated local, state, and federal response to future pandemics as they pose threats to both our national security and national psyche.
