Yes, it’s bad
There are people in the United States who believe that the pandemic isn’t real. Others argue that the pandemic hasn’t been as dangerous and devastating as the media, public health officials, and some politicians have portrayed.
There are lots of reasons for this.
Not knowing anyone who has been hospitalized or has died from COVID-19 makes some people incapable of believing it real. Even if they believe that 580,000 Americans have died from the disease so far, this number seems to have no impact on them at all.
Just a number, unattached to any actual human beings who they know, so it can’t be that bad.
These people probably lack empathy for anyone who they can’t see or know.
For others, it’s convenient to reject the pandemic’s seriousness. Their business is suffering or they’ve lost their job, so anger, desperation, and/or selfishness causes them to reject the guidance from public health officials in favor of their own economic interests.
For others, they are simply following the edicts of their political overlords. Incapable or unwilling to discern fact from fiction, they simply adhere to the message of their tribal leaders rather than looking to science, public health, or their own doctors for answers.
“Sheep” is an excellent way of describing these people.
Some simply don’t like wearing masks. Or despise the social distancing that keeps them from spending time in the crowded places they once loved.
We all don’t like wearing masks, and we all despise the demands of social distancing, of course. These people are just selfish, spineless weaklings, incapable of making sacrifices for the greater good. Sort of the opposite of the Greatest Generation. Pathetic human beings incapable of delaying gratification, thinking about others, or acting for the common good.
For these and many other reasons, a certain segment of our society have rejected the realities of the pandemic and may never accept it as real unless and until they are hospitalized themselves or a close friend or relative dies from the disease.
Even then, they may still choose ignorance, selfishness, and blind allegiance over reality.
But if there is someone in your life on the fence, uncertain or perhaps willing to examine data, I thought these two graphs were especially compelling. Epidemiologists have determined that the surge in deaths in the United States from the pandemic created the largest gap between the actual and expected death rate ever in 2020 — what epidemiologists call “excess deaths,” or deaths above normal.
The visualization is quite stunning.
Similar results can be found in other countries around the world, but the gap between actual and expected death isn’t nearly as large in most other countries because they have managed the pandemic using data, logic, the recommendations of public health officials, and courage.
Their leaders were not comparing COVID-19 to the flu while privately acknowledging the dangers of the disease to Bob Woodward. Their leaders weren’t claiming that it would simply go away by April. Or that bleach or UV light might do the trick. Or that their country should reopen by Easter. Or that there was too much testing. Their leaders weren’t refusing to wear a mask. They weren’t holding rallies in packed stadiums in the summer.
The gap between actual and expected deaths in the United States is enormous. Many, many Americans died unnecessarily.
Thankfully, the United States leads the world in vaccination rates. Despite vaccine hesitancy and the foolish conspiracy theories of anti-vaxxers, Americans are getting vaccinated by the millions every day.
In my home state of Connecticut, nearly 70% of all adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine already. Five of the six New England states lead the nation in vaccination rates, with New Jersey and New York in the top 10.
It’s getting better every day. In some parts of the country, it’s getting much, much better.
But for those who deny the realities of the pandemic, the numbers don’t lie. They may not believe the scientists because of selfishness, stupidity, or convenience, or they may prefer to follow their ignorant, deceitful tribal leaders, but these number will continue to exist long after they are dead and buried alongside their stupid ideas.
The pandemic was real. It continues to be real. History will record it as real, regardless of what anyone might be claiming today.