IMO the biggest mistake by the medical community in the beginning was telling people not to wear masks. The reasoning people gave were at best misleading, and more sinisterly plain lies. What are they saying now, that we didn't know masks could help? That is, once again, misleading at best. We knew that masks help with other respiratory pathogens, and everything else the medical community advocated in the absence of solid knowledge of this virus was to err on the side of caution. Am I to believe that for masks, and only masks, we decided to do the exact opposite? That we decided to ignore everything we know about other viruses until we have firm knowledge of this particular one? What study was out in March to advocate for hand-washing? For social distancing? We did those things based on what we knew about other viruses but we wouldn't recommend masks? No. The reason they told people not to wear masks is because there was a shortage, and they wanted to conserve them for healthcare workers. IMO that was a foolish decision, because the best way to protect healthcare workers is to have less spread in the community. I've been advocating for mask wearing for a long time, and I'm glad that the rest of the authoritative figures in the medical community are coming around too. However, I'm afraid that much damage has already been done. It's not just that there's been a lot more spread and deaths right now, but that this type of behavior will erode peoples' confidence in medical professionals. This will have a negative effect on both this pandemic and future ones as well. Frankly I'm a bit ashamed of my colleagues' actions on this topic, and FWIW, I'd like to apologize on their behalf for the half-truths that they put out in the early days of the pandemic.
Mary’s rock in Shenandoah national park. I am sending this from the summit, hoping to get the comet from here later but it’s iffy.
That is an excellent post and something a lot of liberals have had trouble coming to grip with. It was stupid to do it and it undoubtably cost us thousands of lives. That falls on Trumps lap because as president he is ultimately responsible. That decision and the decision by Cuomo and the other Governors who sent COVID+ patients back into nursing homes are the 1 and 2 reasons our death count is so high. Nothing else is even close.
Now try to imagine you are in a wagon and need to get over to that valley pass in the upper right. What do you think, 10 days to get there?
And they say that Biden is mentally diminished. Those statements reflect a complete disconnect from reality.
Because everybody knows, a rookie knows more than professionals with literally decades of experience. My 8 year old neighbor knows more about running the US government than someone with 40 years in the biz. Grown adults actually think that no experience trumps a lifetime of experience? Dayum.
That reply from Trump is yet another example of why a lot of conservatives like myself have said no chance that he gets my vote. I couldn’t bring myself to vote for him in 2016 and there is zero chance I vote for him this year as well. I think Biden needs to win to calm the country down a bit. Too much animosity from both sides( some of it deserved and some not). I hope real police reform happens(body cameras, independent review boards and outlawing certain choke holds). Maybe once a lot if the bitterness(at least from one side) subsides then we can move on and hopefully nominate 2 decent candidates in 2024, but I won’t hold my breath.
Interesting article how the us has failed, and do much worse than much of the world. We’re slipping. And it starts at the top. “Six months after the coronavirusappeared in America, the nation has failed spectacularly to contain it. The country’s ineffective response has shocked observers around the planet.” https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/07/19/coronavirus-us-failure/?outputType=amp
We can do a post mortem on this some other time. Stop with the L/R crap. Regardless of past mistakes, we need people to stop looking at this through a political lens and start acting responsibly.
From a recent interview with Chris Wallace: "Trump reiterated his long-held theory that the virus would somehow “disappear,” a claim not grounded in scientific fact." “I will be right eventually,” Trump told Wallace. “You know I said, ‘It’s going to disappear.’ I’ll say it again. It’s going to disappear, and I’ll be right . . . You know why? Because I’ve been right probably more than anybody else.”
I don’t remember them saying don’t wear them. I do remember them saying they weren’t sure they’d protect us. At the time, experts weren’t sure of much because they tend to rely upon facts, and there weren’t many at first.
