Just Another Deflection

Spectator

We have now decided who or what was to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic. No, it wasn’t the wet market in Wuhan, China, where it was transferred from an animal to humans. It wasn’t the Chinese lab in Wuhan that accidentally or intentionally released the virus on an unprepared public. It wasn’t some weaponized version of the virus the Chinese military concocted. No, it was none of that.

The cause, you might be surprised to learn, was none other than Dr. Anthony Fauci and his gain-of-function research. This is, of course, utter nonsense. Congressional Republicans brought him before a show-trial committee, claiming he previously lied to Congress despite evidence to the contrary. Now they want him prosecuted for obstruction because he exercised his constitutional rights before the committee and wisely remained silent while Rand Paul went searching for wrongdoing that doesn’t exist.

Let’s review.

Fauci was the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 2014 to 2022. His work on the HIV/AIDS pandemic was considered groundbreaking and life saving for millions, especially in central Africa. He was a leader in developing protocols during the COVID pandemic despite significant lack of support from the administration at the time.

COVID was a new variant of the old SARS virus. We initially had nothing to prevent it and nothing to mitigate it once a person was infected. It didn’t help that we had a president who denied there was any kind of problem at all, claiming early on, “We have it under control” and “it’s not a problem.” Well, we did not have it under control, did not know how to control it, and it was a very big problem. We didn’t even know initially how it spread, though it became obvious early this was far worse than traditional influenza.

We now know COVID-19 is mostly spread through close human contact. The virus survives in aerosolized droplets when we breathe, cough, sneeze, yell, or even sing. We know it hangs around on smooth, hard surface areas like countertops for up to three days and on soft surfaces, like fabrics, for up to 24 hours.

The outbreak was the deadliest disaster of any kind in U.S. history. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 103 million cases have been confirmed (some of us have been infected more than once, so that huge number reflects reported cases, not the number of infected people) and 1.2 million have succumbed to the virus.

For most of us, the same advice that drew so much resistance is still the same advice now should another outbreak occur—get vaccinated, practice social distancing, wear a mask, and wash our hands often and thoroughly.

Unfortunately, we have more than one vaccine skeptic determining health policy now in our country who tend to ignore the data provided by their own scientists. According to the CDC, unvaccinated COVID patients were 11 to 20 times more likely to die from the first, so-called Delta outbreak, and five to 14 times more likely to die from the Omicron wave if unvaccinated. (The wide range is due to various demographic categories like preconditions, region, etc.)

For those who don’t trust our CDC’s data, we do have something a bit more substantial from France. The Vaccine Alliance followed 28 million French citizens aged 18-59 over the last four years. They report that vaccinated adults were 74 percent less likely to die from COVID-19 and, in a very surprising result, the group of vaccinated adults was 25 percent less likely to die from all illnesses compared to those not receiving COVID vaccines, and researchers are not sure why.

For those who believe vaccines are dangerous because they read online that somebody’s uncle’s father-in-law’s first cousin’s baby-sitter’s best friend got a vaccine and died, we have some data for you, too.

The same French study showed no adverse effect from the COVID vaccine other than a relative handful of patients who experienced a temporary allergic reaction. Nobody died from the vaccine and nobody was made critically or irretrievably ill from the vaccine.

And if you’re one of those people who like the online quacks and influencers telling you to take ivermectin, you should know both the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine have reviewed multiple ivermectin studies and can find no statistical benefit in fighting COVID. To be fair, ivermectin continues to be an effective treatment against parasitic worms that can cause what’s known as river blindness and can be used externally for head lice. But not for COVID.

Anthony Fauci’s work over the years has saved millions of lives. His recommendations are still best practices today despite the criticism. Attacking him is just another deflection from a bad war and a bad economy.

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