Knowing what we know today about COVID-19's Infection Fatality Rate, asymmetric impact by age and medical condition, non-transmissibility by asymptomatic people and in outdoor settings, near-zero fatality rate for children, and the basic understanding of viruses through Farr's law, locking down society was a bone-headed policy decision so devastating to society that historians may judge it as the all-time worst decision ever made. Worse, as these clear facts have become available, many policy-makers haven't shifted their positions, despite the fact that every hour under any stage of lockdown has a domino-effect of devastation to society. Meanwhile, the media — with a few notable exceptions — is oddly silent on all the good news. Luckily, an unexpected group of heroes across the political landscape — many of them doctors and scientists — have emerged to tell the truth, despite facing extreme criticism and censorship from an angry mob desperate to continue fighting an imaginary war.My goal is to engage in known facts. You, the reader, can decide if all of these facts, when you put them together, equate to the story above.
Fact #1: The Infection Fatality Rate for COVID-19 is somewhere between 0.07-0.20%, in line with seasonal flu
The Infection fatality Rate math of ANY new virus ALWAYS declines over time as more data becomes available, as any virologist could tell you. In the early days of COVID-19 where we only had data from China, there was a fear that the IFR could be as high as 3.4%, which would indeed be cataclysmic. On April 17th, the first study was published from Stanford researchers that should have ended all lockdowns immediately, as the scientists reported that their research "implies that the infection is much more widespread than indicated by the number of confirmed cases" and pegged the IFR between 0.12-0.2%. The researchers also speculated that the final IFR, as more data emerged, would likely "be lower." For context, seasonal flu has an IFR of 0.1%. Smallpox? 30%.
Comment: Here comes the wake up call indeed. At least for some. Many others will remain asleep to the reactive, irresponsible and destructive machine-like thinking, being and nature that has come to define a large percentage of progressives, ultra-liberals and radical leftists in the US and elsewhere.