It’s been nearly 2 years since we first heard about COVID 19. Despite the efforts of then President Trump to ignore and deny it, we soon learned it was becoming a global pandemic and needed immediate action. Here in California we were essentially locked down on March 19, 2020.
Following the experience of the flu pandemic in 1918 we hoped that by June we could “flatten the curve” and be in good shape for the expected 2nd wave in the fall.
On June 16, 2020 Vice President Mike Pence wrote an article claiming that President Trump’s leadership will prevent a 2nd wave.
But President Trump, Fox News, and other conservatives have continually discounted and denied the need for social distancing, masks, and vaccines. Simply put, their thirst for popularity, political ambition, and clicks has put us all in danger.
They have blood on their hands.
We are all tired of COVID. We are all tired of masks. We are all tired of restrictions on gathering with friends and family. But here we are in December of 2021 and COVID continues to rule our lives.
First it was the Delta variant, and now Omicron. History students in future generations will wonder why we ignored truth and science.
I have no answer for them.
President Trump did not ignore or deny the Covid-19. Trump closed the borders and did close down the country for a few weeks. The vaccine was created and had gotten through testing at a rate never seen before — I believe Trump had his hand in this. I don’t think conservatives have blood on their hands. Maybe a virus, but not blood.
That sad truth is, virus’s come and people go. 90% of the deaths are from people of the age over 50 years. This is not a disease with near 100% mortality rate similar to Ebola or Rabies for any age. No one is writing about the fairly high population in the United States over the age of 50. The numbers of deaths are high but for most of those who are under the age of 50, the handling of this virus really is a classic case of government overreach.
Dear James:
Thank you for your response to my post. Let me respond to you:
While President Trump never explicitly denied the existence of the virus he certainly downplayed it, calling it Kung Flu and mocking a reporter for wearing a mask.
You defend Mr. Trump for closing the border but that never covered Americans and their families who were returning home. Since the virus doesn’t care about its host this was clearly ineffective.
I still hold that vaccine and mask deniers have blood on their hands. When General Colin Powell died of COVID, Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed that since he was vaccinated and died anyway, this showed that vaccines don’t work. Tucker ignored the fact that General Powell lived with Multiple Myeloma, a type of blood cancer that lowers the immune system. Even apart from COVID, those who live with Multiple Myeloma avoid crowds. Those who discourage people from wearing masks or getting vaccinated aren’t just wrong, they are dangerous. Those who follow their advice put themselves and everyone else at risk for sickness and even the chance of death.
Finally you talk about how COVID isn’t as lethal as Ebola or Rabies and most deaths happened to people over 50. As someone over 50 I’m troubled by your implication that we are expendable. I’m also troubled that government intervention is overreach unless the disease kills nearly everyone it infects.
Thank you for your time.