In 2020, talking about covid, Biden promised, 'I will end this.' In fairness, he didn't say when.
By Gary Abernathy
Can vaxxed people ask for retro pay? And other thoughts
Random thoughts on covid…
Retro pay?
Some places are offering people $100 to get vaccinated. Can the already-vaccinated request payment post-vax?
A housefly versus the mask mandate
I predict that the CDC’s latest indoor mask recommendation even for the vaccinated will last about as long as the lifespan of the common housefly (that’s two to four weeks, according to most sources). You have to have buy-in for such things to work, and too many people — especially among the already vaccinated — won’t be interested in participating.
New Olympic event: Tattletale on the unmasked
A side effect of covid has been turning too many in the media into the Behavior Police. Here’s an example from ABC News: “Michael Andrew, who made waves for saying he wasn't vaccinated against COVID-19, didn't wear a mask behind the scenes after swimming his final at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday. The 22-year-old American was maskless when he stopped to speak with reporters in the mixed zone, an area where journalists interview athletes after events.”
Someone apparently ran off to tattle on Andrew, because the story added this: “The Tokyo organizing committee’s policy states that following a competition all athletes must wear masks, but that masks can be removed during media interviews in the mixed zone. The USOPC said after talking to Andrew and reviewing the Games Playbook, they determined he wasn't violating the policy. ‘Michael has been reminded of the Games policy and established COVID mitigation protocols, and has acknowledged the importance of following all guidelines intended to keep athletes and the community safe,’ the USOOC said in a statement.”
So, he didn’t do anything wrong, but he got in trouble anyway. Got it.
Fun when conservatives recommend mainstream stories
It’s always striking when conservative friends recommend stories in the reviled mainstream media. That happened Friday, when tweets were circulating among the right steering friends to the Washington Post’s story on how an internal CDC document was urging new messaging. They particularly liked a quote that ended the story, where Kathleen Neuzil, a vaccine expert from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said, “We really need to shift toward a goal of preventing serious disease and disability and medical consequences, and not worry about every virus detected in somebody’s nose. It’s hard to do, but I think we have to become comfortable with coronavirus not going away.” In other words, as conservatives read it, let’s all quit freaking out about cases, which are usually mild and not nearly as important as hospitalizations and deaths. Amen.
USA Today maps covid transmission levels
Theres a good map on USA Today’s website showing every county in America and how it ranks on covid transmission levels, in regard to whether the new mask recommendation applies. Here’s the link.
Good take on odds of dying from covid if vaxxed
Interesting perspective in a story from News 5 in Cleveland: “(Y)our odds of dying from COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated in Ohio are about 1 in 166,666. Your odds of being struck by lightning at some point in your life are about 1 in 15,300, according to the National Weather Service. So you’re about ten times more likely to be struck by lightning than to die from COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated. How many people do you know who have been struck by lightning? Statistically speaking, you’d meet 10 people who have been struck by lightning before knowing a vaccinated Ohioan who died from COVID-19.” On the flip side, from the same story: “…99.5% of the people who died from COVID-19 in Ohio this year were unvaccinated.” Vaccination is a good idea.
Yes, Biden falsely claimed, ‘I will end this.’
As a candidate, Joe Biden ripped Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic. He blamed Trump for people dying of covid. Biden said things would be different with him in charge. In fact, he promised, “I will take care of this. I will end this.” Instead, with new masking recommendations, we’re going backward. To be consistent with their style of covering Trump, will the media start reporting that Biden “falsely claimed” he would end covid? What do you think? Watch the clip here or above.
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