"Now that we have had 18 months to “slow the spread” it is time to take stock of the pandemic.
We have learned many good things that the media and our pandemic managers rarely report.
Most fundamentally, we do not need to be afraid of COVID-19 anymore.
The media and some government health authorities are still pushing hysteria and fear, but that should not prevail.
Let’s look at the good news that can calm our fears about COVID-19.
There’ll be time at a later date to look at the bad and the ugly of the resolving pandemic.
1) Globally, the survival rate for COVID-19 is 99.8%.
Under the age of 70, the survival rate for COVID-19 is 99.97%.
This is on par with many influenza seasons.
Americans younger than 70 do not have to fear COVID-19 any more than influenza and we know how to protect the elderly.
2) Herd immunity for the alpha strain is here.
Sixty-seven percent of the American population have had at least one COVID-19 vaccination.
The official number of cases is about 10% of the population, but several antibody studies show that the percentage of those with natural immunity is 4-6 times higher.
Dr. Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins professor, estimates that 80-85% of the population is immune from natural immunity and vaccination.
Those who deny this must explain how cases and deaths started to decline in January way before there was a significant vaccine effort.
COVID-19 will not go away. Instead, we are transitioning now from a pandemic to endemic status and, indeed,
some eminent virologists say vaccinating in the middle of a pandemic is making herd immunity more difficult to obtain through the creation of variants.
3) The average age of death from COVID is 78.
The average life expectancy in America is 78.
This is not to say, “Don’t worry, only old people are dying of COVID-19.”
However, this fact should direct and inform our policies to protect the elderly especially.
Children and those under age 70 are at much lower risk.
4) Early outpatient treatment should be adopted immediately for COVID-19.
Hydroxychloroquine works.
Ivermectin works.
It has been estimated 85% of COVID-19 deaths could have been prevented were these medicines used early.
America’s Frontline Doctors have an excellent compilation of research.
The cost of these treatments is $1/day.
A new IV treatment, REGEN-COV, has been approved for early use in COVID-19.
Don’t wait to see if you will get sick.
Treat early.
5) Children are safe from COVID-19 and don’t spread the virus either.
A study in the UK showed that the survival rate in children is 99.995%.
In the U.S. 335 children have died since the start of the pandemic.
A study done by Johns Hopkins and FAIR Health showed that all of the children that died from April 2020 to August 2020 had immune problems or were chronically ill.
In that period not one healthy child died.
Children have more chance of dying in a car wreck, unintentional drug overdose, or influenza than from COVID-19.
Vaccination for healthy children is not needed.
6) Sweden did not have a lockdown (There was a partial lockdown. Ye Editor) or mask mandate and did better with cases and deaths than many countries.
Lockdown did not work and had serious cultural and economic side effects.
There is ample literature now to show that masks, as we are using them, do not work.
7) Persons who have had COVID-19 infection have a robust and long-lasting immunity.
This immunity also is likely to protect against variants.
As evidence continues to accumulate that the new mRNA vaccines are neither as effective nor safe as advertised, I would advise not getting the vaccine on top of your natural immunity if you had the COVID-19 infection.
8) There is very little, if any, spread of COVID-19 from asymptomatic persons.
This lie was spread early to maximize fear of this new virus.
COVID-19 is like other respiratory viral infections—you catch it from being around someone who has symptoms.
Like other viral infections, if you are sick stay home, quarantine yourself, and treat yourself.
We do not need to quarantine the asymptomatic healthy.
9) The death rate nationally for COVID-19 has been going down since January.
Breathless “news” reporters talk about cases, hospital occupation, and contagiousness but never mention the death decline.
There has been a small uptick in deaths in some areas over the last week, but not anywhere close to last winter.
(There will be some variations in the death rate as we transition to endemic status)
10) The Delta variant is acting like a typical historical virus variant.
Typically, variants happen all the time and are more contagious but less deadly.
Initial reports show that this is likely true with Delta.
A UK report states the Delta variant is likely 20 times less deadly than the alpha strain, but that more data needs to be collected.
The media constantly mentions that delta is more contagious which is also true.
Other Greek variants are likely to behave in the same fashion.
We do not need to be afraid of COVID-19 anymore.
Let’s begin to end the hysteria and fear.
The worst is over and we are transitioning to endemic status which means a low level of cases and deaths.
We will have many fewer deaths if we start to treat the infection early now with the available outpatient treatments.
We should resist further attempts at lockdowns and mask mandates as neither worked.
We know exactly whom to protect—the elderly and those with chronic health problems.
That’s where we should concentrate our energies.
Thankfully, children have very little risk and do not need masks at school or vaccinations. Variants will come but will not send us back into a situation like last year.
Can our pandemic managers take some of this useful information and transform it into helpful public health policies from this point forward?
Or is there another agenda behind unending hysteria, fear, and the constant push for 100% vaccination?
That remains to be seen.
For now, let's celebrate the good news."
Thursday, August 26, 2021
"The Good News—A COVID-19 Update", by Thomas T. Siler, M.D.
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