Public health officials continue bleating warnings over the omicron variant despite its mild symptoms. Many Americans appear tired of the pandemic’s restrictions.
Summary
The United States hit a grim milestone as 800,000 American deaths were recorded and attributed to COVID-19 on Tuesday.
- That news came as alarmism reached ever higher notes and the World Health Organization warned the omicron variant is more resistant to and can evade current COVID-19 vaccines.
- The same information also supported previous findings that it is likely to cause far less severe symptoms, though experts still “cautioned it’s too soon to draw conclusions.”
- Despite the confirmation of the variant’s mildness, European Union officials are bracing for omicron to become the “dominant” strain on the continent by mid-January.
- In the United States, state governments are coming to terms with growing apathy over the coronavirus pandemic, with Democratic governors facing “voters’ frustrations with the enduring pandemic” and the restrictions they’ve perpetuated.
- One Democratic governor, Jared Polis of Colorado, is moving towards ending the emergency measures, saying the vaccines available negate the need for continued restrictions and the unvaccinated who contract COVID-19 can only blame themselves.
- The Atlantic offered a series of essays detailing differing views on the public’s reaction to the pandemic and continued restrictions, ranging from complete indifference to despair and depression.
- The New York Times led with the CDC’s dire warnings of omicron’s effects (despite the evidence that repeatedly shows it is far less deadly) on hospital systems and would require more federal spending.
- Slate criticized the Atlantic essay which contended much of the country has moved on from the pandemic (or never bothered with it in the first place), by saying the author’s premise wrong and the sentiments towards the pandemic are not “black-and-white” obsession or ignorance.
- Washington Examiner focused on the effects of “pandemic fatigue”, in which Americans have grown weary of pandemic restrictions, including Americans’ willingness to get booster shots.
- Commentary’s Noah Rothman highlighted what he called the “absurdity” of new mask mandates and restrictions, noting the New York governor’s admission that they aren’t enforceable on the state level.
- Fox News’ media critic Howard Kurtz discussed the slate of Atlantic essays describing the growing pandemic fatigue in the country, saying that while the country is “beyond the era of lockdowns”, many are still looking for continued restrictions.
Author’s Take
The public health industrial complex has incentives to maintain the highest alerts over the pandemic. It’s the only way they can continue their outsized power and influence. Never forget the first weeks and months of the pandemic in which state and local public health directors turned daily briefings into variety shows celebrating their own importance and brilliance. It’s time for the show, and thus the pandemic, to end.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
