The memo has gone out: It is time for every cultural institution, politician, and corporate media outlet to pivot on COVID-19. They must reverse their Covidstan policies, advocate a return to normal, and make excuses for the missteps of the health bureaucracy. The speed and shamelessness with which the narrative shift happened are breathtaking, and it can only mean one thing. The internal polling for Democrats in the midterms is beyond dismal, and areas assumed to be safely in the “D” column are at risk. We mustn’t let them get away with the rewrite of history they are attempting.
To anyone paying attention, COVID restrictions have been purely political. Blue states maintained restrictions like indoor mask mandates and limits on gatherings without any evidence that they reduced the spread of illness. Some even imposed outdoor mask mandates despite no proof that the virus could spread effectively in that environment. In fact, in April of 2020, Bill Bryan, under secretary for Science and Technology at DHS, told the media that sunlight and warmer temperatures reduced the half-life of the virus significantly. He also noted that air exchanges outdoors dissipated the virus, quickly decreasing the likelihood of transmission.
Masks on children in school have also been a political flashpoint. The issue played a role in the Virginia gubernatorial race. As recently as this week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki reiterated that federal guidance still recommends masks for children in school. This was another anti-science political move, since Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted in November of 2020 that children did not catch or transmit COVID in large numbers. Switzerland figured that out in April 2020, and detailed genetic studies in Iceland confirmed it in June of that year. Germany found that children could act as a brake on infection. It was always ridiculous for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to require masks on two-year-olds and for school districts nationwide to implement mask mandates.
Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, California, and Oregon have set timelines to end their indoor mask mandates. Some are ending school mask mandates as well. Just last week, Virginia school districts were fighting Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order allowing parents to choose whether or not their children wear masks. Meanwhile, images of Hochul and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams going maskless in photo ops with masked school children went viral.
Related: Bombshell Email Reveals Plan to Arrest Maskless Students in Loudoun County
Now, here is Covidstan authoritarian Dr. Leana Wen telling CNN viewers that “the science” has changed. When asked if she agrees with mask mandates getting lifted, she said, “I do. There was and is a time and a place for pandemic restrictions, but when they were put in, it was always with the understanding that they would be removed as soon as we can.”
"The science has changed." @DrLeanaWen explains why she supports lifting some pandemic restrictions and thinks the decision to wear a mask should shift from a government mandate to an individual choice. pic.twitter.com/vaiybBBF2b
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) February 8, 2022
Not all that long ago, Wen suggested making the lives of the unvaccinated painful and requiring N-95 masks for children. She has also said vaccines protect well against omicron infection, which is not true. The vaccinated are getting infected in large numbers. Wen credits her change of heart to the wide availability of vaccines. Vaccines have been widely available to people in high-risk groups for over a year.
She also pretends that information on “one-way masking” is new. “Even if other people around you are not wearing masks, if you wear a high-quality mask, that also protects you, the wearer, too.” This revelation is not new information. However, if you had suggested it before this week, Twitter and Facebook may have banned you. Wen saying that government mandates should end and that individuals should determine how to protect themselves best is such an abrupt reversal that she should have whiplash.
All the blue-city vaccine-passport policies diligently ignored the immunity people build following a COVID infection. Dr. Fauci and the other medical “experts” in the corporate media either never mentioned it or tried to convince Americans that vaccination was still necessary. The media and health experts called Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) a science denier and an anti-vaxxer for refusing to get a vaccine or wear a mask after recovering from COVID. Joe Rogan challenging CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the need to get vaccinated after recovering was deemed “misinformation” last week. Now check out this tweet from Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.):
With the rapid decline of Omicron, pandemic restrictions will be lifted sooner rather than later. In considering when to do so, health officials must factor in natural immunity, not just vaccination rates. This CDC chart recognizes natural immunity and so should health officials. pic.twitter.com/6Hk0f4NRhC
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) February 7, 2022
These reversals and others like them are just as political as the original restrictions were. Perhaps the recent Johns Hopkins study showing the futility of lockdowns made a dent in public opinion. The costs of lockdowns have been severe. Seeing that lockdowns only reduced deaths by about 1,800, for all of that pain, raises many questions about our political leaders’ competence. Shortly before it dropped, Dr. Marty Makary made the rounds sharing the results of his study on natural immunity. It confirmed much earlier studies from Israel and Emory University showing a broad, effective, and long-lasting response.
Whatever the case, the Covidstan authoritarians are trying to convince you something has changed. The only word for this is lying. Nothing substantial has changed. Democrats, the health bureaucracy, and the corporate media cannot be allowed to retcon the COVID response over the last two years. We are only beginning to understand the damage to our children and society. The wreckage must be laid directly at their feet.
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