Large majority of COVID-19 infections are asymptomatic
The evidence continues to build that the majority of people who get infected with the Wuhan flu end up showing no symptoms and do not even know they caught the virus.
The author gives eight solid examples where testing found a large population infected, with most asymptomatic. These included the crew and passengers on three different ships, prison systems in four different states (85% to 98% asymptomatic), a meat-packing plant, the homeless, pregnant women, and even in three nursing homes (!):
A survey published in the New England Journal of Medicine at an anonymous nursing home found that more than half with positive results were asymptomatic. In another nursing home in Washington state, 56% of those who tested positive were asymptomatic. One nursing home in Miami County, Ohio, tested every resident last week, and so far all of those who tested positive are still asymptomatic. [emphasis mine]
He also notes that in all but the last example, the number of fatalities were tiny, or none.
He then makes four common sense points. First,
The overwhelming majority of those infected are asymptomatic, which grows to an absolute super-majority when you factor in the mildly symptomatic. The fatality rate is therefore very small and very confined to a known population. Thus, it makes no sense to lock down younger and healthier people who overwhelmingly don’t get seriously ill, much less deathly ill, even if they contract the virus.
This confirms what was suggested from the beginning, that the death rate for the Wuhan flu is likely comparable to the flu.
Second, this shows it is absurd to release criminals. They almost certainly already have the disease, and weren’t bothered by it. They should serve out their punishments.
Third, “Contact tracing of the entire country is utterly insane. Most people have been spreading this virus while asymptomatic for months. What is left to trace?”
And finally,
By going back to normal with basic precautions for most of the population, we will be able to achieve herd immunity much less painfully than previously thought while shielding the more vulnerable population. … The fact that so many of the more exposed and vulnerable already got it and so many were asymptomatic means we could achieve herd immunity much quicker with fewer lives lost, certainly compared to lockdown.
The lock downs must end. We need to stop panicking and go back to normal. This disease is not the plague the press and politicians have been pushing. It does not require extreme measures to fight.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The evidence continues to build that the majority of people who get infected with the Wuhan flu end up showing no symptoms and do not even know they caught the virus.
The author gives eight solid examples where testing found a large population infected, with most asymptomatic. These included the crew and passengers on three different ships, prison systems in four different states (85% to 98% asymptomatic), a meat-packing plant, the homeless, pregnant women, and even in three nursing homes (!):
A survey published in the New England Journal of Medicine at an anonymous nursing home found that more than half with positive results were asymptomatic. In another nursing home in Washington state, 56% of those who tested positive were asymptomatic. One nursing home in Miami County, Ohio, tested every resident last week, and so far all of those who tested positive are still asymptomatic. [emphasis mine]
He also notes that in all but the last example, the number of fatalities were tiny, or none.
He then makes four common sense points. First,
The overwhelming majority of those infected are asymptomatic, which grows to an absolute super-majority when you factor in the mildly symptomatic. The fatality rate is therefore very small and very confined to a known population. Thus, it makes no sense to lock down younger and healthier people who overwhelmingly don’t get seriously ill, much less deathly ill, even if they contract the virus.
This confirms what was suggested from the beginning, that the death rate for the Wuhan flu is likely comparable to the flu.
Second, this shows it is absurd to release criminals. They almost certainly already have the disease, and weren’t bothered by it. They should serve out their punishments.
Third, “Contact tracing of the entire country is utterly insane. Most people have been spreading this virus while asymptomatic for months. What is left to trace?”
And finally,
By going back to normal with basic precautions for most of the population, we will be able to achieve herd immunity much less painfully than previously thought while shielding the more vulnerable population. … The fact that so many of the more exposed and vulnerable already got it and so many were asymptomatic means we could achieve herd immunity much quicker with fewer lives lost, certainly compared to lockdown.
The lock downs must end. We need to stop panicking and go back to normal. This disease is not the plague the press and politicians have been pushing. It does not require extreme measures to fight.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
My 78 year old father kept working through this whole thing. He works for something to do and extra money to take his girl friends out.
The only problem he had was he couldn’t see his one girl friend as much as he wanted because she has breathing problems.
We are tired of this idiot lockdown.
I recommend that Andrew_W should have an erasable whiteboard space for the Armageddon date on his sandwich board. That way, every three weeks, when his apocalypse fails to materialize, he can easily change the date.
Hi Robert! LTNS.
It’s madness to believe that criminalizing all working people could help stop spreading a virus in the nursing homes, where most fatal victims are. I must say that for once the Swedish government is doing the right thing, because they are incapable of doing anything. (Had it been a dangerous virus, this could’ve been a bad thing.)
R7 Rocket–
Hilarious! (I about spewed my coffee all over my keyboard.)
LocalFluff: Only wish to say that it is nice to see you commenting again.
LocalFluff “Had it been a dangerous virus, this could’ve been a bad thing.”
You hit the nail on the head in stating this was not a serious virus!
My wife’s opinion (a pathologist) and mine, is that now that we have overreacted, when a serious one comes, we will not comply.
The Media has already ruled that this information is misleading. Remain calm, move along while observing approved interpersonal spacing, and avoid repeating these unapproved narratives.
A neighbor near Dogpound (Alberta) is a contractor. They are busier than a bee during the Canola bloom. WHY They are willing to work when other contractors are too scared to go anywhere! The Canadian left wing media is very effective at forming public opinion!
All that was required, IMHO, was to effectively screen workers going into old folks homes and self quarantining symptomatic folk. That would have “Slowed or flattened the curve”.
The “chief” (official title) of the Swedish Central Bank, Riksbank, is very upset about this irrational corona panic. Because the Swedish currency, SEK, is called “the Swedish corona”. So he will tomorrow hold a press conference to divert peoples attention, and for sure everyone will forget about the virus after this:
– The interest rate is gone now. It has disappeared completely! In order to continue stimulating the economy, We thus dictate that 2=0. This means that January has 59 days, that November is followed by a second October. Furthermore, 2 o’clock is now a new midnight. 1900 hours is followed by another midnight, one o’clock, midnight again, 3 o’clock, 4, 1, midnight again, 3 and so on. Depending on weather you use a 12 or 24 hour dial.
The main stimulating effects are expected to come from the fact that corporate tax now is 1.4%, and VAT 5%. We also expect people to find further advantages from this reform as they innovatively fill out their tax declaration forms. Does the press have any questions?
– How… what… when… where… eeh, no, no question, my brain hurts.
– Does this mean that the 200 corona bills are worthless now?
– Will you abolish other numbers, like 7? Or re-introduce the 2 reduced to for example 1½?
– Is negative two also gone now?
– Which millennia are we living in? Is Jesus Christ here?
– No, this is year zero, the year that never existed.
The article Robert linked asks: “Given how much we’ve learned about the virus, why does the governing class continue to resist any adjustment to its strategy?”
The ruling class believes that it knows the solution, and if the solution does not work, then they conclude that they did not apply enough of it. Thus, since they believe that shutting down the country will stop the spread of the disease, but it does not stop, then they have to continue applying the solution of shutting down the country until the disease stops spreading. Even if that takes three weeks, to the end of April, the end of May, the end of summer, the rest of the year, until a vaccine is distributed, or a cure found.
This is a problem with letting agenda-driven idiots run a country rather than let We the People choose how to protect ourselves and our families. I haven’t seen my next-door neighbors since the beginning of the lockdown, but they are ancient, and he is especially vulnerable. They are locked down the way they should be in order to protect themselves, but the rest of the neighborhood has not had the opportunity to become immune enough for them to be safe coming out to talk to us.
Over the past three weekends, the people at the end of my street have been holding weekly Saturday afternoon block parties. They started out just hanging around their own yards, but this week the party expanded into the street, includes far more people than just the families from those homes, and no one is obeying social distancing rules any longer. Combine that with all the traffic driving around town all day and well into the night, it seems that few people are any longer taking seriously this stupid reaction to the flu. My vulnerable next-door neighbors excepted, of course.
May the Great Oppression of 2020 end by morning.
This baseless panic that criminalizes the economy, will kill many more than all who died during both world wars combined:
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/hunger-pandemic-visualizing-covid-19s-effect-global-food-insecurity
I’ve lived and worked in West Africa and the entire middle class is completely eradicated already. All “modern” jobs there are extremely trade dependent since all goods are imported and all income comes from export.
All education in the Western world has become worthless, no student will ever get any job. because of the credit bubble everything is at stake. The money creation now only enhance the coming hyperinflation (after a deflationary sell out of bankrupted companies), it does not stimulate any production.
Ferrari, who manufacture less than 10,000 sports car for motor enthusiasts a year to finance its participation in Formula One, is now the world’s 4th largest car company in terms of market capitalization! Largest are Toyota, Tesla, VW and then Ferrari/Honda on shared 4th/5th place. Larger than tiny companies like Mercedes (who make 250 vehicles for each that Ferrari makes), Ford, General Motors. This indicated in what kind of pockets the trillions of dollars now created out of nothing by government end up! Happy days for those who buy million dollar cars. The new Monza Due Porti is available for only $2½ million, reserved for those who have made a Ferrari career i.e. are established collectors. (No windshield…)
Local fluff, welcome back… We’ve missed you. It just hasn’t been the same not hearing from Sweden a regular basis.
Isn’t it odd that all the producers who create the wealth (the money) has been prevented from doing so, and yet those who receive the money (the banks) did not shut down, continued demanding money throughout this whole event. Had they shut down as well, we would be in a different situation.
I also wished that the government, without people to service, would have also completely shut down. Most of them have proven themselves to be unnecessary.
Sailors in Guam are reinfected? Or perhaps this is a new virus or one of the old ones that often go around in close quarters.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/sailors-sidelined-carrier-virus-time-70706487
I’ve heard that no vaccines have been created that work for the corona type viruses. In fact, countries with the highest usage of flu shots in their population or also the highest in death rates and infection.
Isn’t that a odd thing that Obama said tonight? purposefully taunting the Trump administration. (He seems to forget how he blamed his first four years failure on Bush)
What is he up to? he doesn’t often come out of hiding… Perhaps indictments are getting too close and he must derail the process by capturing the headlines as a diversion.
I’ll second Max, nice to see the Fluff-Man back!
LocalFluff–
Good stuff. (It ‘sings!’)
pivoting….
{Heck} On Wheels
AMC Network
“The Swede from Norway”
https://youtu.be/FQq60LM5tcc
0:22
Sitting here in the NYC metro, I see people getting out and about, parks are opening, beaches soon.
The politicians are sensing the public frustration and are yielding – it’s what they do.
Sure there are some agendas that would be nice to pursue, and of course any opportunities for graft will be pursued
(“emergency” spending bills are designed for that), but for the most part the pols are ducking and weaving to save their skins and grasp any opportunity.
If the people are afraid, the pols have to calm them, if calming doesn’t work (especially with the panic pushing press), they have to show they are taking charge and “doing what must be done”.
And what must they do? Politicians have no clue, so they consult the “experts”.
And as we’ve seen, the “experts” don’t really know – some will pretend they know, most offer their best guesses, but the data isn’t available and experts often have their own biases and agendas.
So we are told not to worry, then told to hide in our homes, told not to wear masks – they are ineffective, then told we must wear masks. We see Cuomo sending sick elderly back into nursing homes, then see the press anoint him the next “great leader” (of course they skip the nursing home mess).
So where do we fit?
First realize people are confused, worried and some are downright scared.
Sure, this is a nation of laws, but the effective function of society depends on a level of civility.
So if I’m around people who are fearful, I’ll wear a mask and keep my distance (I’ve been trying to keep some distance and wash my hands since the flu season started – I’d like to avoid getting sick if I reasonably can).
I don’t think having firearm guarded protests or heaping scorn on ordinary citizens who wear masks and practice social distancing is helpful, it just opens the door to declare anyone questioning the policy a “bunch of nuts”.
The tide is turning, I think more people are seeing this isn’t the existential disaster it was made out to be, even though it will be years until enough good data is available to get a solid understanding.
We’ve made it through before:
https://nypost.com/2020/05/16/why-life-went-on-as-normal-during-the-killer-pandemic-of-1969/
To see such politics in action check out this well done scene (the key moment is at 2:45)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S4cldkdCjE
This might be the worst disease since “hidden toothache”. Tabloids fear mongered some time ago headlines about “You cannot know whether you suffer from hidden toothache or not!” (I don’t mind *hidden* any ache! Anyone with real toothache would love that.)
Maybe leftist media is continuously randomly trying out every kind of doomsday they can childishly imagine, like chemtrails and fossil fuels and sample returns from Mars and micro plastics and Russia and on and on, until one in a hundred takes fire, like this common cold virus scare thingy did. They don’t care about the imaginated cause, it is the effect they want.
Mitch/ LocalFluff–
Good stuff.
going far afield…
“Wild In The Streets”
Trailer 1968
https://youtu.be/rRLwV2xafpk
2:33
“Wild In The Streets”
I think I posted a link to that when AOC (Ocasio-Cortez) was mouthing off about something.
Or was it during the height of Bernie’s campaign?
Or after Bob posted a story about the college “snowflakes”…
Even this Covid-19 is like the 68′ – 69′ flu pandemic … except for our reactions.
Still, not so far afield.