The tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be entering the containment phase. Tens of thousands of Americans have died, and Americans are now desperate for sensible policymakers who have the courage to ignore the panic and rely on facts. Leaders must examine accumulated data to see what has actually happened, rather than keep emphasizing hypothetical projections;…
Category: Epidemiology
Reason reports “The CDC’s New ‘Best Estimate’ Implies a COVID-19 Infection Fatality Rate Below 0.3%”
That rate is much lower than the numbers used in the horrifying projections that shaped the government response to the epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the current “best estimate” for the fatality rate among Americans with COVID-19 symptoms is 0.4 percent. The CDC also estimates that 35 percent of…
UnCoverDC reports “Was the COVID-19 Test Meant to Detect a Virus?”
“Scientists are doing an awful lot of damage to the world in the name of helping it. I don’t mind attacking my own fraternity because I am ashamed of it.” –Kary Mullis, Inventor of Polymerase Chain Reaction What do we mean when we say somebody has ‘tested positive’ for the Corona Virus? The answer would…
RcReader reports “Masks Don’t Work: A Review of Science Relevant to COVID-19 Social Policy”
Masks and respirators do not work. There have been extensive randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies, and meta-analysis reviews of RCT studies, which all show that masks and respirators do not work to prevent respiratory influenza-like illnesses, or respiratory illnesses believed to be transmitted by droplets and aerosol particles. https://www.rcreader.com/commentary/masks-dont-work-covid-a-review-of-science-relevant-to-covide-19-social-policy
New England Journal of Medicine reports “widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.”
We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or…
Penn State reports “Initial COVID-19 infection rate may be 80 times greater than originally reported”
Now, a new study from Penn State estimates that the number of early COVID-19 cases in the U.S. may have been more than 80 times greater and doubled nearly twice as fast as originally believed The implication is that death rates are much lower than initially believed. https://news.psu.edu/story/623797/2020/06/22/research/initial-covid-19-infection-rate-may-be-80-times-greater-originally
NPR reports “What Parents Can Learn From Child Care Centers That Stayed Open During Lockdowns”
“There are almost no recorded cases of child-to-adult transmission of COVID-19,” says Elliot Haspel, an education policy expert and child care advocate who wrote an op-ed arguing for reopening full-time child care and schools as soon as possible. “It’s not zero risk, [but] we’re acting with a March 2020 understanding of COVID-19 and kids, and not with…
Early Learning Nation op-ed: “Child Cares Look Safe — It’s Time To Act Like It”
The mercurial nature of the pandemic makes it hard to proclaim anything with certitude nor tell a clear story. Yet in one important area, the picture is coming more and more into focus: young children are not significant transmitters of COVID-19, and child cares (and elementary schools, for that matter) are rather safe.
Fauci: US seeing ‘disturbing’ new surge of infections
Anthony Fauci, the administration’s top infectious disease doctor, told a House panel on Tuesday that the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been a “mixed bag,” adding that a new increase in cases is “disturbing.” https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/504087-fauci-country-seeing-disturbing-new-urge-of-infections
The Atlantic reports “How Could the CDC Make That Mistake?”
The government’s disease-fighting agency is conflating viral and antibody tests, compromising a few crucial metrics that governors depend on to reopen their economies. Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas, and other states are doing the same. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/05/cdc-and-states-are-misreporting-covid-19-test-data-pennsylvania-georgia-texas/611935/