Coronavirus news

[James S. Rustad]

Many think that the interpretation of law here concerning the CDC is wrong. So it is not that we think the CDC is above the law; but that the interpretation of the law here is misused. Other courts will have to decide who is right.

It's one thing to argue that the judge interpreted the law incorrectly.  It's a different thing to argue that the court has no authority over the CDC.  I am happy to hear that you fall in the first category and not the second.

[James S. Rustad]

An interesting article about the ruling against the transportation mask mandate.  The author is Ilya Somin, Professor of Law at George Mason University. Among other things, he focuses on constitutional law.

Recall that Judge Mizelle's ruling against the mask mandate was based on 3 justifications: 1) that the policy exceeded the agency's powers under 42 U.S.C. Section 264(a), 2) that the CDC violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by failing to go through the notice and comment rule-making process, and 3) the policy was so irrational as to be "arbitrary and capricious." The plaintiffs challenging the mandate need only prevail on one of these three issues to win the case.

I think Judge Mizelle is pretty obviously wrong about the third issue. While the transportation mask-mandate policy is badly flawed, it is not so completely ridiculous as to be "arbitrary and capricious." By contrast, as I noted in my earlier post, there is a very plausible case that the CDC violated the APA. Even if the emergency nature of the situation justified bypassing notice-and-comment processes when the policy was first adopted in early 2021, there is much less excuse for continuing to circumvent normal procedure during the many months that have passed since then. Notice and comment requirements, it should be emphasized, are more than a mere technicality. They allow people affected by regulations to have some voice, and to influence the government to mitigate their burdens.

The issue of the CDC's authority under Section 264(a) is an intermediate case. The plaintiffs' argument here is weaker than on the APA, but not as weak as on the "arbitrary and capricious" standard.

[peter_speckhard]

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/coronavirus/navy-board-votes-unanimously-retain-officer-didnt-commit-misconduct?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

This officer refused to file for an exemption or, having served 22 years, to retire, but instead argued that in disobeying the order to get vaccinated he was disobeying an illegal order. His appeal went up through thy system and prevailed.

[D. Engebretson]

I got tired of the gun debate, so I decided to shift to the COVID debate for variety.....

Interesting article in the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/05/covid-reinfection-research-immunity/639436/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

You Are Going to Get COVID Again … And Again … And Again

Will the danger mount each time, or will it fade away?
By Katherine J. Wu

I agree that like seasonal flu viruses and the common cold, this virus is here for the long run.  We're just going to learn to live with it.  And it's not going to be the deadly plague of yesteryear.

But what concerns me is how long the attendant and chronic fears will linger.  Much of the population is getting on with pre-COVID life.  But not everywhere. And not with everyone.  I just heard on the news that "mask mandates" are being imposed once again in some school district.  Even when more updated data proves it is not effective and it is actually harmful, in some cases.

I don't see many masks in my community anymore.  But some linger.  But I am beginning to think that for some people masks will be necessary every time they go into public, regardless of health dangers in the community.  I am concerned that we are creating an even more virulent strain of phobias that are crippling some people permanently.  It will be interesting when future studies emerge of post-pandemic mental heath conditions in the country.  There has been a substantial change in our culture since the spring of 2020.  I think we will only realize its full implications as it unfolds in the coming years. People, in other words, may never get over the idea that the pandemic is over.

[Dan Fienen]

On the one hand we are being warned of increasing incidents of Covid  mask mandates are being suggested and even imposed. Yet at our southern boarder the Biden administration has declared the danger from Covid, very real in their estimation and needing mitigation elsewhere, is no longer a danger at the boarder so Title 42 restrictions can be see removed.

[ghp]

I got tired of the gun debate, so I decided to shift to the COVID debate for variety.....

Interesting article in the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/05/covid-reinfection-research-immunity/639436/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

You Are Going to Get COVID Again … And Again … And Again

Will the danger mount each time, or will it fade away?
By Katherine J. Wu

I agree that like seasonal flu viruses and the common cold, this virus is here for the long run.  We're just going to learn to live with it.  And it's not going to be the deadly plague of yesteryear.

But what concerns me is how long the attendant and chronic fears will linger.  Much of the population is getting on with pre-COVID life.  But not everywhere. And not with everyone.  I just heard on the news that "mask mandates" are being imposed once again in some school district.  Even when more updated data proves it is not effective and it is actually harmful, in some cases.

I don't see many masks in my community anymore.  But some linger.  But I am beginning to think that for some people masks will be necessary every time they go into public, regardless of health dangers in the community.  I am concerned that we are creating an even more virulent strain of phobias that are crippling some people permanently.  It will be interesting when future studies emerge of post-pandemic mental heath conditions in the country.  There has been a substantial change in our culture since the spring of 2020.  I think we will only realize its full implications as it unfolds in the coming years. People, in other words, may never get over the idea that the pandemic is over.

Many people (far more than I think anyone suspected in the beforetimes of January 2020) actually prefer living in a culture of fear. Many others react to uncertainty and crisis by emotionally demanding to JUST DO SOMETHING. Combine those groups, along with the ever-present lust for power, and you've got a cultural zeitgeist that is really difficult to break out of.

[J. Thomas Shelley]

I don't see many masks in my community anymore.  But some linger.  But I am beginning to think that for some people masks will be necessary every time they go into public, regardless of health dangers in the community.  I am concerned that we are creating an even more virulent strain of phobias that are crippling some people permanently.  It will be interesting when future studies emerge of post-pandemic mental heath conditions in the country.  There has been a substantial change in our culture since the spring of 2020.  I think we will only realize its full implications as it unfolds in the coming years. People, in other words, may never get over the idea that the pandemic is over.

This past Sunday was the first totally mask-less congregation in over two years.   

One very elderly widow who had been the last to remain masked came without one.   It was beautiful to see her deeply wrinkled face once again.

[Charles Austin]

The New York Times today:
Dr. Birx says White House asked her to weaken Covid guidance
WASHINGTON — Dr. Deborah L. Birx, President Donald J. Trump’s coronavirus response coordinator, told a congressional committee investigating the federal pandemic response that Trump White House officials asked her to change or delete parts of the weekly guidance she sent state and local health officials, in what she described as a consistent effort to stifle information as virus cases surged in the second half of 2020.
   Dr. Birx, who publicly testified to the panel Thursday morning, also told the committee that Trump White House officials withheld the reports from states during a winter outbreak and refused to publicly release the documents, which featured data on the virus’s spread and recommendations for how to contain it.
   Her account of White House interference came in a multiday interview the committee conducted in October 2021, which was released on Thursday with a set of emails Dr. Birx sent to colleagues in 2020 warning of the influence of a new White House pandemic adviser, Dr. Scott Atlas, who she said downplayed the threat of the virus. The emails provide fresh insight into how Dr. Birx and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, grappled with what Dr. Birx called the misinformation spread by Dr. Atlas.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/23/us/birx-trump-covid-guidance.html

[Jeremy_Loesch]

There was a good segment on Rising, a video podcast from The Hill on the new covid shot for children 6mos to 5 years old. The segment was done by Kim Iverson. The gist of the segment was that no one is getting the shot. Parents just don't see the need for it. And the data from Pfizer and Moderna as to its efficacy is extremely thin and narrow.

The reasoning from parents is summarized: Children probably already had covid, and it wasn't a big deal. And if my child hasn't had it, they will at some point and it won't be a big deal.  Covid is here and it will always be here, so that's it. Let's go to work, go to school, let's go.

I suppose one positive outcome from our proxy war with Russia fought at the behest of our Military Industrial Complex that involves Ukraine is that we are hearing a whole lot less from Dr. Fauci, the CDC&P, the FDA, etc.

Jeremy

[Dave Benke]

I thought you were referencing "Rise," the new movie on Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jeremy. 

We're in graduation mode today at our daycare center.  In masks, virtual, hoping for a Department of Health ruling for the next term that allows the parents to be in the building (they're not allowed in the building now).  And yet - we love those kids and families, and demonstrate it to the best of our human abilities.

Dave Benke

[peter_speckhard]

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/stacey-lennox/2022/06/26/astonishing-testimony-from-dr-birx-lost-amid-landmark-scotus-rulings-n1608251

Dr. Birx, who was on the Covid task force, finally admits that "the science" was all hope and guesswork and that crucial information was being withheld from the public in order to advance the preferred narrative and mass behaviors.

[Michael Slusser]

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/stacey-lennox/2022/06/26/astonishing-testimony-from-dr-birx-lost-amid-landmark-scotus-rulings-n1608251

Dr. Birx, who was on the Covid task force, finally admits that "the science" was all hope and guesswork and that crucial information was being withheld from the public in order to advance the preferred narrative and mass behaviors.

I watched that 1+ minute clip of Jim Jordan trying to get at Dr. Birx. I didn't get the same bottom line you do.

Peace,
Michael

[Richard Johnson]

Nor did I.

[Charles Austin]

Me neither.

[peter_speckhard]

“I think it was hoped that the vaccine would work in that way,” was not what was presented to the public.