Monday, November 9, 2020

A Dose of Optimism, as the Pandemic Rages On

 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/health/coronavirus-pandemic-vaccine-optimism.html

Clearly, the pandemic has not ended. So far some 215,000 Americans have lost their lives to the coronavirus, and reliable estimates suggest that the number could reach 400,000. Health experts agree that, with stronger leadership, the death toll would have been far lower.

Since January, when I began covering the pandemic, I have been a consistently gloomy Cassandra, reporting on the catastrophe that experts saw coming: that the virus would go pandemic, that Americans were likely to die in large numbers, the national lockdown would last well beyond Easter and even past summer. No miracle cure was on the horizon; the record for developing a vaccine was four years.

Events have moved faster than I thought possible. I have become cautiously optimistic. Experts are saying, with genuine confidence, that the pandemic in the United States will be over far sooner than they expected, possibly by the middle of next year.

5 comments :

  1. Yes, isn't it amazing that last week, when Trump was still president, everything was gloomy. Now he's soon to be the ex-President and it's morning in America again.
    Did you see the story where Pfizer's data which they released today was actually ready for release 1 month ago but the vaccine companies colluded to not release it lest it give Trump a political boost?
    And no, it's not nonsense. The president of Pfizer has openly admitted they delayed releasing the data.

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  2. I suggest you read the story again. The virus really killed people and there were many unnecessary death due to poor leadership

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  3. Yes, Pfizer recently cancelled the first pre-planned interim analysis that was built into the trial design many months ago because it would have read out weeks before the election. And we now know, based on the math of today's reported numbers ( >90% effective across 94 cases), that that interim analysis would have been positive at the preplanned first interim analysis. They were afraid the analysis might be positive and have to be announced before the election, so they simply cancelled it.
    When I suggested optimism and turning the corner on this pandemic just a short week ago on this site, DT cried and complained and screamed "nonsense!" It wasn't nonsense, and today's news from Pfizer only strengthens the optimism we should all have.

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  4. First, this article was written a month ago while Trump was still President. Second, If you had read the actual story in the NY Times, you would call it anything but "morning". To quote again from the article,
    Experts warn that this autumn and winter may be grim; indoor dining, in-classroom schooling, contact sports, jet travel and family holiday dinners may all drive up infections, hospitalizations and deaths. Cases are rising in most states, and some hospitals already face being overwhelmed.

    Even if the cavalry is in sight, it is not here yet. To prevent deaths reaching 400,000, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci has warned, “We all need to hunker down.

    This is not "morning" but the darkest part of the night before sunrise.

    Did you see the story where Pfizer's data which they released today was actually ready for release 1 month ago but the vaccine companies colluded to not release it lest it give Trump a political boost?
    I most certainly did not, Care to provide a link?

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  5. And best for the Democrats, even as it worsens under their rule, they will still blame Trump.

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