Face Masks: Going, Going, Gone!
When the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) first recommended face masks “to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” the American left immediately “consecrated” the agency, declaring CDC guidance “holy writ” on everything “pandemic.”
“Follow the science!” they preached.
But, now, many of them are backsliding science-deniers.
What changed?
The left’s fervor went “POOF!” the minute CDC announced that vaccinated Americans don’t need to wear face masks.
The new guidance reads:
“If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic.
“Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”
Note the loophole, “…except where required…,” that enabled obstinate authoritarians in certain states and cities, including in Pennsylvania, to continue masking and other restrictions, impositions certain to set up battles the autocrats will lose as spectacularly as their mask mandates failed to prevent or even slow the spread of COVID-19.
An unstoppable preference cascade began when regular people, grown weary of lectures on the “selfishness” of exercising their constitutional rights, of being harassed into compliance with questionable government mandates, but feared speaking out, learned they weren’t alone.
Not only did oppressed citizens discover similarly-disgruntled millions, the CDC they had been ordered to “obey” authorized vaccinated Americans to resume normal pre-pandemic activities mask-free!
They are not going back.
The biggest loser may be Dr. Anthony Fauci who, in February, warned that, to protect against COVID and “emerging variants,” Americans might need to mask-up through 2022, even though, early on, Fauci said, “There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.”
Since then, Fauci also recommended two masks. In fifteen months, Fauci went from no masks, to one, then two, back to one, now…
No one will prevent Fauci or other anxious Americans from masking up whenever/wherever they wish (other than in banks and at cash registers).
Look at the numbers:
Last November, National Public Radio publicized the CDC’s estimate that, compared to lab-tested, CDC-reported COVID-19 cases, eight times as many uncounted Americans had been infected, most asymptomatically, and recovered.
Let’s stipulate that CDC is correct, that more Americans than reported were infected, but that the agency’s eight-times estimate could be high.
Conservatively, then, let’s assume just two times.
The 2020 U.S. Census population is 331.4 million.
On May 24, CDC’s COVID Data Tracker counted 32.93 million lab-verified COVID-19 cases in America, and reported that 61.3 percent of adults (up from 61.1 percent the day prior), or 157.84 million (calculated), had received at least one vaccine shot.
Factoring in time intervals between two Moderna or Pfizer doses and Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, let’s assume that only 90 percent of 157.84 million vaccine recipients, or 142 million, are fully-immunized – possibly fewer, but partially-vaccinated people awaiting their second Moderna or Pfizer shots still have 80 percent immunity.
Keep in mind, too, that few vaccines have been administered to the least-affected 22.3 percent of the population who mostly don’t need them – 74 million youngsters age 18 and under.
Two times CDC’s 32.93 million reported cases equals 65.86 million unreported cases, or a total of 98.8 million infections. Adding 142 million full immunizations brings the grand total to 240.8 million, or 72.67 percent of the Census.
According to the Mayo Clinic, only 70 percent must be COVID-19 infected/recovered or vaccinated to reach herd immunity.
Of course, some of the uncounted and CDC-verified infection victims also received vaccines, so there’s some double counting in the 240.3 million immune number, but, if America hasn’t reached herd immunity, the nation is very close.
And, if the CDC’s eight-times estimate of unreported infections/recoveries (or just half that) is correct, America reached herd immunity weeks, perhaps months ago.
Like any virus, COVID-19 will still infect people, some seriously, but, cases of and hospitalizations/deaths from a virus with a 99.798 percent survival rate are down substantially in every state, negligible in many.
With more than one-tenth of America’s total population having been reported as infected/recovered, another two-tenths-plus unreported, nearly two-thirds of the adult population fully or partially-vaccinated, plus 74 million largely-unaffected youngsters, in effect, the Centers for Disease Control’s latest guidance concedes that the crisis has passed.
Pennsylvania – all of America – should act accordingly and reopen fully.
