Shaw's Eco-Logic

This HND piece continues the tradition started last November, in which we discuss a few current topics in the world of COVID-19. In this article we look at:

♦ What really happened to the mysterious Placer County, CA person who died hours after getting the COVID-19 vaccine?

♦ The pernicious politics keeping your kids from returning to in-person school.

♦ The epic failure of the technocrats in handling the COVID-19 response, and how this was eminently predictable. (Thanks, F.A. Hayek)

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This HND piece spotlights the serious accusations against the current PCR-based COVID-19 test. A group of 22 distinguished scientists have demanded that the original paper describing the test be withdrawn. Among other things, they point to a host of major flaws in the methodology, and contend that the paper was not even peer-reviewed. There are also significant conflicts of interest in that a few of the authors are affiliated with a lab that does the testing.

You would think that a test that has been run on tens of millions of people worldwide would have been subject to more scrutiny; but you would be wrong. Sadly, just like almost everything else connected with the COVID-19 pandemic, the official response has been mind-beggingly, and shockingly wrong.

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This HND piece examines the rather large resistance to taking the COVID-19 vaccine, compared to the universal acceptance of the polio vaccine program of the 1950s and early 1960s. It might be hard for people to understand today that even a horrific incident in which tainted polio vaccine CAUSED thousands of cases of polio barely slowed the momentum.

But, remember that back then, people were far less skeptical of the government, even if there were ample reasons to be skeptical. Watergate and the tragedy of Vietnam were still years away. And, the public was still basking in the promise of Science.

We include some very revealing survey data. Spoiler: 47% of those surveyed will probably not get the vaccine.

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This HND piece examines specific infection control procedures that are used in areas exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While the term "infection control" is most often applied to healthcare facilities, any time we don a mask or maintain social distancing, every one of us is practicing infection control.

The CDC has established detailed procedures for cleaning up COVID-19 affected areas, and most facilities outside of the healthcare industry would be well served to use professional services. We do mention a respected clean-up outfit, based in Seattle.

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This HND piece examines the paradox whereby California has the most COVID-19 cases, along with the tightest lockdown rules. Moreover, on a per capita basis, California's active cases are about 30 percent higher than that of Florida, which has virtually no restrictions.

About the only places where lockdowns seem to work are under extremely draconian circumstances, and then in island nations. Still, one wonders how New Zealand can claim that they have no new cases, unless they are testing every citizen every day. Since a "case" seems to be defined as testing "positive," and this is a virus that is asymptomatic in up to 80% of cases, how can such a "finding" be proclaimed?

We then segue into the work of Donald Henderson, a giant in disease control and mitigation. Would it surprise you that his recommendations for how to handle pandemic flu are mostly being ignored or contradicted by our current policy?

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This HND piece first takes a look back at 2020, and then offers some speculation on what 2021 will bring.

Among other things, we focus on feckless and incompetent leaders, both in public health and at the administrative level. That leads to speculation that some of them might be recalled and removed—especially if lockdowns are not relaxed within a few months. Then, there's the matter of blatant censorship of various stories before the election.

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This HND piece examines the wish list put forth by Bauchner, the editor in chief of JAMA. We try to be kind, but the virtue signaling and platitudes are too much to ignore. He does come up with one good idea, but offers no specifics on how he would accomplish it. We offer a rather obvious suggestion.

Unfortunately, Bauchner's point of view reflects the sorry state of academic medicine, and serves to illustrate just how far removed the AMA is from the needs of most practicing physicians.

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This HND piece takes a look as to how science does not matter in the least to many of our dictatorial leaders, in the wake of COVID-19. New York State's own contact tracing data names restaurants as a location with a very low rate of infections. Yet, they are closed in NYC and possibly other cities. Likewise, the governor of Michigan continues on with her crusade to destroy the state's economy.

And, wait to you hear what self-anointed genius Melinda Gates has to say about lockdowns. As the cliché goes, you can't make this stuff up.

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This HND piece takes a look at the rising number of cases, and recaps how we think that the virus is spread. thus, the old controversy of airborne versus droplets is reopened. Regarding masks, the consensus is that they help to some extent, but it is troubling that the widely used paper masks are never discussed in most references.

As to the upcoming vaccine, we're now told that even those vaccinated will still have to don masks...for a while. We also introduce an interesting product to protect you from dirty grocery carts—supposedly these harbor more than pathogens than public restrooms.

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This HND piece critiques the notion that COVID-19, all by itself, is causing private medical practices to close. Anyone who has studied healthcare since the advent of Medicare, knows quite well that factors have been in play for more than 50 years that have worked to undermine the private practice of medicine.

We trace that history, and describe how practices that are currently successful are bucking the trend. In most cases, they have created a niche, and also use medical scribes. Still, the majority of practices these days large, or are affiliated with hospitals.

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