Monday, July 13, 2020

COVID: what was the plan all along?


COVID: what was the plan all along?




As time goes by covid-19 has proven not to be the hammer or tsunami we feared. It has not taken the large number of lives many experts predicted but it has brought the economy to its knees. It now seems covid-19 is just a deadly bug that will probably with us for some time. Not only has it spread slower than we were told it would but the fatality rate is far lower than many "experts" predicted. Still, this inconsistent beast holds society confused and paralyzed with fear. The article below is an effort to give this subject some context and frame of reference. Over time answers have begun to emerge as to the extent covid-19 will have to impact our lives in coming years, however, the truth is being diluted and held hostage by politics. Because I live in a rather conservative area my views may be a bit skewed when it comes to how other Americans see the government's role in handling the pandemic. Interestingly, it is mainstream media that is largely responsible for banging the drums of fear by speculating the worst is yet to come. Mainstream media appears to be going out of its way to weaponize covid-19 it an effort to demonize Trump and paint his administration as a failure. One theory is that democrats and other big-spending politicians are using all the fear-mongering as a way to push a massive stimulus package through with little resistance. This is a very troubling development for those of us that expect our government to be at least somewhat responsible and to consider how its actions will impact society. Early on I pointed out the "need to know more and collect real information" was crucial to creating a plan that would minimize the damage covid-19 posed. That need still exists. When the virus first appeared, the projection below was written based on the lower edge of what the experts were touting as expected percentages of infection. No wonder people became fearful. We are all like frogs in a pot of water and the water temperature is slowly rising. If predictions are correct, I see a giant catastrophe ahead. In a city of 300 hundred thousand people, let's do some numbers. They est. 40% to 80% of people may get this bug. Of those American health officials say as many as 20% may need to be hospitalized, some for months. Going with a 50% catch rate, roughly 150,000 people will get infected in my area. With only a 10% hospitalization rate it would come to 15,000 We sure don't have the beds in my area to handle such a surge. Note, this is 5% of the population. In this case, It's not just about how many people may die but the fact that simply caring for so many very sick people creates a massive problem! While it is true we should error to the side of caution when dealing with a new pandemic, the problem is that as this unfolded, not only can we not trust the numbers because of fraud and inconsistent testing from one area to another but when important facts or a shred of truth does emerge it is rapidly mucked up when dropped into this data. Adding to the confusion and fear-mongering flowing from the mainstream media is the fact frustrated Americans confronted with a resurgence of the scourge are facing long lines at testing sites in the summer heat or are getting turned away. Some people are having to wait before receiving a diagnosis. Not only are some test sites running out of kits, but labs are also reporting shortages of materials and workers to process the swabs.