The CDC Wants You to Serve Turkey Virtually This Thanksgiving

Because of COVID-19, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has already been abbreviated and moved online. There will be no parade route or spectators. Social justice warriors are ruining the NFL. Now the CDC is warning that the only remaining part of the holiday, gathering with family and friends to enjoy a meal, is dangerous.

On a call with governor’s yesterday, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said:

What we’re seeing as the increasing threat right now is actually acquisition of infection through small household gatherings. And particularly with Thanksgiving coming up, we think it’s really important to stress the vigilance of these continued mitigation steps in the household setting.

The rhetoric from our Health Experts™ is becoming truly outlandish. Law-abiding Americans have missed joyous once-in-a-lifetime events such as weddings, graduations, and even a child’s birth. They have missed the chance to mourn together when losing a loved one and to provide comfort to friends and family in hospitals and long-term care. Even regular events like summer barbecues, family vacations, and 4th of July celebrations were impossible in many parts of the country.

The original idea to slow the spread of the virus, affectionately referred to as “15 days to slow the spread,” was 211 days ago. Yet many Americans are still living with draconian rules and limitations on their freedom of association. These restrictions are based on questionable science at best and fail to consider the flaws in the binary test result for COVID-19 and T-cell immunity research.

Hospitals are not currently overwhelmed. Even during the height of the pandemic, the coordinated response surged supplies to where they needed, so not a single person went without the care they required. Therapeutics have improved treatments and survival rates. We all just witnessed the president recover in a matter of days at age 74. Even in his age group, the survival rate is over 95%.

The holiday season is rapidly approaching. In the last 6 months, we have spent more time apart from one another than we have together. Unfortunately, Dr. Redfield’s rhetoric will embolden tin-pot dictators in blue states to ruin an entire season with new rules and regulations. Rules about worshiping, gathering, singing, and celebrating. This simply can’t go on.

I prefer President Trump’s approach of not letting the virus dominate us. It is the one I adopted at the beginning of the pandemic, ensuring I got outside every day, took logical supplements, and took more care to clean surfaces and wash my hands. Luckily my governor has been a leader in getting back to normal. Now we dine out, attend outdoor events, and have our freedom of association completely restored. Masks are optional and rarely seen outside of retail stores.

Georgia has stayed around 10% positivity with the expanded opening. With the oversensitivity of the PCR test, even that metric is not terribly reliable. The vast majority of cases are being detected in people under 60, with the largest group being between 18 and 29. Daily deaths have been on the decline, and the question is always open as to how many people are dying of COVID-19 versus with COVID-19. Often it is not the admitting diagnosis when you talk to health professionals.

It is long past time Americans be allowed to make their own risk-based decisions. Thanksgiving this year will be the same as it was last year, a catch-all of friends and family and too much food. One thing southerners know how to really well is a potluck. We will hug, laugh, eat, and enjoy each other. What the pandemic should have taught us is life is too short. Wasting precious moments scared and apart is no way to handle the gift we’ve been given.