2020 is finally over, and everyone hopes many of the tragedies and travesties accompanying 2020 have also ended. One thing that has not gone away is the Lockdowns imposed by many State Governors and local officials. This, despite all of the efforts of many Americans to adhere to the guidelines given by health authorities. Everywhere I look, people are wearing masks, socially distancing, self isolating, washing their hands, and other things asked of authorities. You do not see lines of people at the DMV, at the Social Security Office, at doctor or dentist offices, or anywhere else for that matter. Yet much of the country is coming under even more strict Lockdowns.
It is evident more cases of SARS-COV-2 or COVID-19 are being identified, but then testing is averaging almost 2 million people per day. Now more hospitalizations are happening, and more deaths are occurring as well. How can this be? For the most part, 90% plus of Americans are following the guidelines they have been given. So why aren't the policies meant to flatten the curve working now? What has changed from the early summer when these same policies were leading to positive results?
It is very troubling. The explanation for more cases is in part due to the amount of testing being performed. If previously you were testing 100,000 people and 1 in 10 showed positive, it is expected you will find 1 in 10 testing positive when you test 2,000,000 people. Provided the testing is a random sampling. Sure, if there are hotspots here and there, those locales may have more than 1 in 10, but the average, especially a rolling average, will stay relatively consistent across the nation. Hospitalizations are different. Why would hospitalizations go up? Are more people symptomatic than before and requiring hospitalization? Perhaps the virus wears upon people's defenses, and eventually, they succumb to its effects. Or it could be because hospitals get an additional $77,000 for each bed occupied by a COVID-19 patient they overdiagnose the disease. Tamiflu is a treatment for the flu, and typically each year, pharmacies fill hundreds of prescriptions for Tamiflu. It is very effective if administered within a day or 2 of the first symptoms of the flu. However, this winter, pharmacies have not seen near the number of Tamiflu prescriptions as in the past. Are flu cases being attributed to COVID-19?
The PCR test is supposed to be the gold standard for COVID-19 detection and, therefore, diagnosis, but the PCR test was never intended to be a diagnostic tool. Detection, yes, but not diagnostic. It is especially not intended to be used for diagnosis when more than 30 multiplications of the genetic material are required. The originator of the test has even said this.
The death numbers could be similarly affected by attributing the death to COVID-19. Hospitals and other agencies get more government money when a case is diagnosed as COVID-19 than some other cause. Recently a Doctor examined the state death certificates in Minnesota for 3000 COVID-19 deaths. In 800 of the cases, he found the death was by some other cause and not related to COVID-19. There were suicides, gunshot victims, car accident victims, heart failure, and people with cancer. All were indicating COVID-19 as the cause of death.
COVID-19 has led to much abuse by the medical establishment. So-called experts in the field have used the media and politicians' fearmongering to manipulate the system to their financial advantage. Pharmaceutical companies also have used fear to have the government pay for research. The government has used fear to exercise control over its citizens. They turn a blind eye to riots and protests for racial and other causes while cracking down on conservative movements protesting the Lockdowns or other conservative causes.
The government response is to throw more money at what the claim is COVID-19, but it is really at big business. They give corporations money left and right to help them sustain the period of loss they have endured while at the same time allowing small businesses, mom and pop businesses to go under and close. Big businesses that have millions in capital reserves to help them stay afloat. All the while, not realizing even big businesses cannot survive forever on government subsidies. They need real revenue. Revenue comes from paying customers, and if the business is closed down, there are no customers to generate revenue.
Let's End America's Lockdown and let everyone get back to work. Let's stop the insanity of the past year. All of our efforts have not deterred the virus. The virus is still active, and it will remain so. Just like the Flu virus is active from year to year. I am not happy with the new normal. I want to get back to seeing my loved ones, laughing with friends, cruising the mall window shopping, and going out for a nice dinner occasionally.