Tag: the new normal

The New York Times Now States that Covid is Forever: Why You Should be Concerned

An article in The New York Times, published on May 3, reveals a dramatic shift in the narrative concerning coronavirus and the future.

Gone are the declarations that Covid is a temporary phenomenon, to be defeated by masks, lockdowns and herd immunity. Quoting Rustom Antia, who is a virologist with Emory University, the article promotes the hypothesis that Covid is now forever.

Dr. Antia stated that “The virus is unlikely to go away.”

The article goes on to quote Dr. Anthony Fauci, a previously strong prior promoter of the herd immunity thesis as saying:

“People were getting confused and thinking you’re never going to get the infections down until you reach this mystical level of herd immunity, whatever that number is.”

In a paragraph that might send chills down the spine of those yearning to be free from the yoke of virus restrictions, the Times article reports that “Polls show that about 30 percent of the U.S. population is still reluctant to be vaccinated. That number is expected to improve but probably not enough. ‘It is theoretically possible that we could get to about 90 percent vaccination coverage, but not super likely, I would say,’ said Marc Lipsitch, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.”

In a dramatic reversal from the promises that we would sooner or later return to normal, the article goes on to explore the apparently novel conclusions that viruses spread persistently, and that a vaccination skeptical populace is aiding and abetting the persistence of this spread. The article states “…experts now calculate the herd immunity threshold to be at least 80 percent. If even more contagious variants develop, or if scientists find that immunized people can still transmit the virus, the calculation will have to be revised upward again.”

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Beware The Permanent Pandemic And The Promise Of Vaccines As A Return To Normal

It’s no secret powerful interests have handsomely benefitted from coronavirus lockdowns of the last 14 months, as experimental restrictions implemented under the pledge of “two weeks to slow the spread” morphed into a seemingly endless draconian suspension of life. Now, politicization of the return to normal combined with influential interests invested in lockdown extensions have jeopardized its true return.

Last week, MSNBC’s Joy Reid celebrated wearing two masks while jogging in spite of even the restriction-crazed CDC guidance updated to recommend otherwise.

“I am among the fully vaccinated,” Reid said gleaming in prime time. “I did go jogging today, in the park. This is the mask I wore, with a doctor’s mask under it… There are people who are getting really upset about that.”

Reid can do anything she wants, of course, since engaging in this form of performative theater doesn’t directly hurt anybody but herself. Her on-air grandstanding in contradiction to scientific findings, however, illustrates how masks have become political markers as opposed to effective tools of viral mitigation.

Reid’s self-imposed mask-wearing might be harmless. After all, it’s a personal choice with no consequences to others besides the example of a woman with a large media platform.

Mask-wearing however, a majority of which is compulsive either due to government edict or corporate enforcement, is only the tip of the iceberg in politicized pandemic policies, many of which do infringe on the freedoms of others. Schools remain closed for full in-class instruction at a devastating cost under the orders of the teachers unions, businesses across the nation remain handicapped with capacity limits, beaches in parts of the country will remain closed through the summer, and even playgrounds are off limits despite the low risk to children, let alone outside transmission.

Have plans to send your kids to summer camp? Don’t count on the real experience.

No small part of the population has become comfortable living in a world in lockdown. In fact, many demand it regardless of the cost to their neighbors, motivated by either an act of political expression featuring aggressive virtue signaling or an obsession with living life with zero risk, overestimating danger of the Chinese virus. A survey out last month revealed majorities of Americans across the political spectrum believed the probability of ending up in the hospital if infected by COVID-19 is dramatically higher than the factual reality.

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I’ve had my Covid-19 vaccine — now what can I safely do? Your questions answered

The day has finally come. You’ve received the second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine currently on the Western market — Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca.Does that mean you’re free to go about life as you did before the pandemic once immunity kicks in?

Sorry, there is no immunity passport yet, experts told CNN. There are still safety precautions you need to follow in order to keep you, your loved ones and everyone else safe and protected from the deadly coronavirus.Read on for answers from the experts on top questions such as when can you stop wearing a mask, eat inside a restaurant, travel, go to sporting events and concerts, and freely visit friends and family.

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