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The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

The epidemiological data are hopelessly confused by the huge number of CCP flu tests done for sometimes ridiculous reasons, the terrible accuracy of the tests themselves (is it CCP flu or is it Memorex?), the use of positive tests as an indicator of disease, the inaccurate reporting of deaths, and the general politicization of the entire issue.

But there is a reasonable assumption that CCP flu will behave pretty much like other viral illnesses and moderate, then disappear into the background of many other seasonal illnesses. Just look at the data from the 1968-1969 Hong Kong Flue epidemic, and farther back to 1957 and 1918-1919 for support of that theory.

Former FDA commissioner said summer spike is likely last COVID-19 wave to hit US

"I think this Delta wave is probably the last major surge of SARS-CoV-2 infection that we have in the U.S., barring something unexpected happening," said Scott Gottlieb, author of Uncontrolled Spread, in a book on the U.S. response to the pandemic.

"It's largely coursed its way through the U.S., and so maybe by Thanksgiving , on the back-end of that, we'll start to see prevalence levels nationally decline in a more uniform scale," Gottlieb said.

So...just like all of the other "pandemics of the past 100+ years. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it is a welcome note of sanity and rational analysis in a world gone mad with fearmongering and power-grabs and the use of the epidemic as a bludgeon against freedom and autonomy from government.

And look at this little tidbit! Again, nothing new, but it is gratifying to see a little data that confounds the smug and arrogant pronouncements from the mediocre thinkers of our political elite. How can high vaccination rates correspond to rising cases (if that is even true)? It must be Trump's fault!

A signal of the pandemic's direction is how it will affect the northeastern states, where cases are expected to rise despite that region being the most heavily vaccinated, Gottlieb added.

"I still think that Delta is going to sweep through the Northeast," he said.

A nice logical commentary based on solid theories. So far...so good!

But then the grift appears.

The difficulty is getting the rest of the world vaccinated , Gottlieb, a member of the Pfizer Inc. board of directors, said.

If rising cases correspond to high vaccination rates, then what exactly is the advantage of worldwide vaccination? Obviously, prioritizing high-risk people makes sense, because the data show that vaccination seems to decrease serious illness and hospitalization. But a world-wide push -- by definition -- will delay those high-risk populations from being vaccinated. And because natural immunity is robust and perhaps much longer lasting than vaccine immunity, allowing the natural progression of a self-limiting disease in low-risk populations is probably the best way to limit Wuhan Lung Rot.

There is a big difference between supporting vaccination, and pushing world-wide vaccination at the expense of exactly those groups who are at vastly elevated risk compared to most people. It is akin to mandating that every car in the world be outfitted with child seats, even though only a small percentage of those cars will ever be used to carry children. So the installation of those seats in cars that actually need them will be delayed, and maybe some children will die. But damn, that omelet was great!

Is it some insidious and 100% infectious syndrome that causes this inexorable pivot to craven grasping grifts in every single politician and government lackey? Do they all go to some secret school where they learn the magic of how to pad their pockets while injuring the institution they are sworn to protect and defend?

Or is it some sleazy self-selection process that attracts only people predisposed to crookedness and dishonor and immorality?

Maybe both?