“fart in a whirlwind”….best description of COVID yet.
How many million people have died from this scourge? And how many more were sickened, some for many months due to “long covid”. Paul, your column is based on your opinion, rather than epidemiological facts. I suggest taking a look at Katelyn Jettelina (an epidemiologist) for a statistical evaluation of the situation, and the real risks this virus presents to different age groups.
Personally, my sentiments about living a full life are right with you. On the other hand, just because a guy I meet who happens to have an aircraft I’d love to fly in, asks me to go up with him, I first consider the mechanical condition of the aircraft, and second, his competency.
Going to AirVenture or anywhere else and ignoring the actual risks and living as if it’s pre 2019, is well, ignoring significant aspects of reality.
With half a million people from (literally) everywhere and numbers on the rise it was certain there were thousands, if not tens of thousands of people with active COVID cases. That’s what drove my decision to mask up (with an actual KN95) when inside; despite the looks like I was a three headed mongoose. I got to ask my annoying questions of vendors in enclosed spaces and no COVID thus far.
It’s a bit like aviation and the Swiss cheese theory: sometimes the holes just line up for bad luck. The more you reduce the holes, the less likely they are to line up, but they still can. So were you lucky or good- I don’t know- there doesn’t have to be a whirlwind for me to fart.
Two weekends before I went to Oshkosh, I and my companion picked up covid at a church potluck. We were prepared and knew what to do. Fevers, congestion, all the rest for 48 hours, and then gradual diminishing of symptoms over the next 3 days. No vax, no Pzifermectinlovid “rebound”, just large doses of supplements well-known to be mitigants of viral load and a generic therapeutic pharmaceutical that has been ridiculed by the cultists. Contrary to the shrieking of the deniers, our process worked for us, just as it worked for many, many of our friends, most of whom are, like us, in the “at-risk” demographic. We were symptom-free well before OSH. Who knows - Maybe we’ll get some of the blame by cultists for the “superspread” at OSH for our noncompliance with The Science™, carrying The Bug while not being appropriately fearful. Because blaming seems to be a big part of compliance with “authority”.
Japanese have been wearing masks for ~70 years. Their flu incidence was consistently higher than the U.S. until they started an aggressive vaccine campaign ~15 years ago. Masks don’t work and never have. As for medical facilities, the anti-science behavior of the medical establishment has been one of the greatest eye-openers of this eye-opening pandemic.
Aviation safety is driven by objective data, not “expert” opinion. As just one illustrative example, we adopted checklists in the early 1940’s because we learned that even the best trained pilots can, and do, err when faced with complex tasks, especially in a high stress environment or when complacent. Most docs still don’t use them. Beech Bonanzas we’re often known as Doctor killers not because the planes were dangerous but because their pilots had egos and wallets bigger than their skills warranted. It’s as good a metaphor as any for the reasons to question the opinions of the medical profession.
So true.
Hi Paul, thank you so much for the article. If I were in your editorial shoes, I would probably take the same stance of advocating for the public-health stability of Oshkosh, the greatest aviation event in the world, and poo-pooing COVID risks and citing COVID stats of a minuscule part of the total Oshkosh attendance (650,000). There were most likely attendees, like me, who were in fine form at OSH and went nowhere near the Winnebago County Health Department, then traveled home and became sick. I got COVID after attending, and am feeling much better after a round of Paxlovid. But you speak the truth when you state it is my go/no go decision whether to attend or not, and next year, I will make that decision along with everyone else, based on all available information related to the event, with heavy emphasis on non-attendance.
Actually, “global warming” was a media-created name. Climatologists have always referred to it as “climate change”, which is an accurate name for the phenomenon. But most people don’t read or listen past the headlines, so the true facts get twisted and lead to a misunderstanding and loss of trust in the real science buried in the details.
I both agree and disagree with Paul. All large events are super spreader events that we are going to have to learn to live with by mitigation. But Covid is a far more serious disease than the Flu. More than a Million have died from Covid and it is now the 3rd leading cause of death in the US, lagging only behind heart disease and cancer. 2.4% of our work force is now out on Long Term Disability due to Long Covid.
Masking more effectively prevents transmission than protection against infection; it is a courtesy to others to mask up when attending any event with strangers. One should take a home Coved test (still provided for free by the government) before attending any event and stay home till testing negative, but at least mask up.
Vaccination absolutely lessens the burden of Covid on both the individual and society. So it is a courtesy to all, to stay up to date on vaccination and boosters. Vaccination is far safer than is catching Covid.
Yes there is survivor bias in those pooh poohing all the Covid precautions: the dead tell no tales and natural selection has killed many of the vulnerable.
Exercising one’s right to reject masking and vaccination, does not give you the authority to jeopardize others, but the responsibility to protect other from the consequence of your decisions.
The data on masks refute your statement that they “don’t work and never have”. Depending on the type used, they may have a near-zero effect (single-layer cloth masks and neck gaiters) to a significant effect (properly-fitted N95+). It’s just that it’s impractical to walk around everywhere with a properly-fitted N95 or better masks, so most people (who wear masks) are using the less-effective but more practical ones.
I think in most places they were not overwhelmed, but I was specifically asking about the areas that were.
With all the talk of science gone sour, I’m going to have to point out that your comparison of flu rates seems suspicious.
The Japanese are a genetically homogeneous society that live like sardines compared to us. Those and other variables could seemingly skew the results.
I’m no scientist, but I’ve had no end of frustration with arguments on both sides of the mask effectiveness issue. The biggest problem is language. We really have to be careful what we are talking about. Are we talking about mask policy effectiveness or the effectiveness of the physical mask? Does physical effectiveness get measured based on the material or the design itself. Do we allow for the factors of ease of use, comfort, cost, durability, etc.?
All I know at this point is I’ve not seen anything convincing from either side.
Not vaxed, had covid, and wont inject experimental political projects into my body just to make someone else feel safe. Ill stick with natural immunity. Has served me well.
Oh, and how does a vaccine that even you acknowledge lessens severity of COVID but in no way prevents the spread protect others?
Because when vaccinated, your vaccine burden is lower and less likely to mutate; thus lessening the rate of transmission. This is a Corona Covid-19 virus science fact.
The common cold is a corona virus that mutates so rapidly, that we’ve never been able to create a vaccine against it.
“Has served me well.”
But has it served your fellow Americans? The Vaccinated have broader spectrum immunity that those with “natural immunity” gained by surviving Covid infection.
Test yourself for Covid-19 and wear a mask if positive.
Still likely, just less likely…No vaccine yet developed beats natural immunity.
COVID wasn’t a fart in a whirlwind. When millions died mostly because the same people refused to wear masks and refused to get vaccinated citing personal freedom. A pandemic is not about personal freedom without impacting others. Unless you become a hermit.
COVID may be a nuisance now that many are boosted but it wasn’t the case two years ago.
Indeed, Michael L… I’m really amazed how a lot of people that aren’t physicians or MDs dare to talk in such a superfluous way about that virus and resultant consequences.
We have no idea how many people died as a DIRECT result of COVID. The CDC and almost all state health departments classified any death as a COVID death if the person had tested positive for COVID no matter what the individuals acute medical issue was. People killed by trauma that had blood drawn who died within minutes of hospital arrival were counted as COVID deaths. Hospital ICD-9 codes were monetized and created a COVID death certificate factory.