Please, in the name of all that’s holy, make it stop!
Look, I get it, OK? Covid-19 was the uber bitch of plagues, the ultimate ball cracker of the century. But after twelve long months of ceaseless death and destruction, can’t we please indulge in a little joy when it comes our way?
Covid-19 slithered out of Wuhan China, and of course, China being China, they tried to fob it off as a local outbreak of the flu, nothing to worry about. But when it crossed into Asia and Europe, independent experts, not connected to China, sounded the alarm that this was an entirely new breed of cat, and one we were unprepared to deal with.
In the United States, the Pendejo Jerk Off In Chief, Donald Trump, predictably tried to play both ends against the middle. First, he insisted that the virus was nothing more than a super charged version of the flu, and that we had it under control. And then, when the rates started climbing, and deaths started being reported, he tried to claim that China had maliciously set a plague forth on the country. Which is it moron, it cant be both!
And I don’t blame the national news media. Hell, it’s their job to report the news, and God knows that the coronavirus was news. As the new cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths started to rise, the virus became the overwhelming story in the news. And as states, starting with California, then Nevada, and Washington, and Oregon started to shut down with stay in place orders, it basically became the only news story, and when the shutdowns started to take effect, Trump, desperate to reopen the economy for his reelection campaign, demanded that states preemptively reopen, and red states did. And we began a cycle of Covid ping-pong as things like holidays caused spines and reductions.
But then, suddenly, hope sprung on the horizon. In November, first Pfizer, and then Moderna released vaccines to the FDA for approval, both with insane rates of efficacy. They were approved, and shots began going into arms. But Americans being Americans, Trombie assholes refused to stay with the program, and widely traveled during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, once again causing huge spikes.
But now, we finally seem to have turned the corner. In recent weeks, new cases, hospitalizations, ICU population and deaths have all started to steadily decline. And with a competent administration in Washington, vaccinations are on the increase. We are well on pace to break Biden’s promise of 100 million shots in arms in the first 100 days of his term. It is only a matter of time until the two lines on the graph cross each other, heading in the opposite directions.
Which is where we come to what is really bothering me. We have had a solid year of nothing but negative news, widespread carnage and destruction. And now we finally seem to have something to look forward to. But no. Instead, we are being presented with a cadre of healthcare professionals that I like to think of as The Doctors Of Doom.
First, they started spouting about the ok Strain of the virus, which while being more easily contagious than the regular version of Covid appeared no more lethal. And then it was the South African Strain, which was not only more easily infectible, but up to 70% more lethal. And in a heartbeat, we are on the brink of a national catastrophe again.
But today, Dr. Vin Gupta of the University of Washington, one of the premier virologists in the country, came out on MSNBC and said that he was cautiously optimistic that the current vaccines were effective, and that there would be no catastrophic new spikes from the new strains. And within hours, a couple of the Doctors of Doom came out and announced another new strain they were having heart spasms over.
Look, I’m all in on free flow of information. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. But if these hacks have absolutely no empirical data that a new strain is resistant, can’t they just please issue a warning, and let the rest of us revel in the feeling that we might finally have this fucking thing under control? Is that too much to ask? Maybe they see a path to fortune and glory, but the rest of us just want to get back to our lives.
Follow me on Twitter at @RealMurfster35
Just hope we are all here this time next year.
Message: 500,000 people might wish posthumously that their lives weren’t just depressing news and of no other value, since they don’t have lives to get back too.
And the fault lies almost entirely with government ineptitude on a rarely equaled scale. Remember, if the USA had handled the epidemic as well as New Zealand, Australia, or Taiwan, the death toll would be barely 2000 rather than 500,000.
It’s no real surprise that the worst pandemic in a century still fills the news.
(((((((((Murf)))))))) I agree with what you’re saying. We do need a little happy, happy, joy, joy in our lives these days. I wish I could remember where I saw it (maybe on Twitter?), but there was a group of healthcare pros doing the cutest little dance after being vaccinated, to encourage the public. And that crap sticks in the back of my head; that segment of the population who refuse vaccination and coincidentally wish to go anywhere they like sans masks. They are determined to spread the shit no matter what. I’ll feel better with more shots in more arms, and with more time to check on acquired immunity. I will share my joy with you all-I get my second shot this Friday!