COVID 19 IN UTAH: WHY ISN'T ANYONE ASKING THE HARD QUESTIONS?
To those who have suffered, had friends or family members suffer, or die from Covid-19: You have my deepest sympathy. While illness, disease and death are a fact of life, no reconciliation to that fact eases the sting of loved ones suffering. Almost 4 years ago, my oldest sister, only a couple of years older than me, passed away from complications resulting from Pneumonia. My Father suffered a hemorrhagic stroke in his 80's and lived to be 95 before he succumbed to complications from that stroke. He spent years suffering from it, hoping that God would either heal him or take him. I miss them dearly, dream about them often and look forward to a reunion with them.
I take at face value the desire to minimize the harmful effects of Covid-19. I realize that a reasonable balance must be struck between reducing the Corona Virus impact on human life and preserving a sustainable personal, social and economic existence. All of us have a duty to take reasonable steps to help reduce infections while caring for those things in life that matter: providing a happy life for families, friends and neighbors.
Unfortunately, when it comes to infections and preventions, no one in Utah has really asked the hard questions. And when I say "no one," I not only include the common citizen, I include Government officials and "experts" as well as Health Care Administrators and Professionals, Scientists and those whose duty it is to probe for answers: the free press. To be blunt those who should be working the hardest to guide us through this crisis have become lazy in their reliance on experts rather than details.
The state of Utah has spent massive amounts on advertising campaigns telling people to wash their hands (including how to wash their hands), social distance (including how to social distance) and wear masks. Nearly every public space, throughout the state of Utah has its own "Mask Mandate" requiring those entering to don a mask. Churches, either voluntarily or involuntarily, have asked members to worship at home or, where appropriate, worship online. Governor Herbert, in a statewide broadcast last Sunday, essentially scolded the citizens of the state for not doing enough, imposed a statewide mask mandate, and a prohibition on public AND an unprecedented prohibition on private gatherings.
Granted, there is a significant spike in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. However, no one has thought to ask the hard questions and NO ONE has offered the answers to the unanswered hard questions. So, here are the hard questions. Perhaps, after I have posed them, those who
THE HARD QUESTIONS
1. Do Masks really work? While the Government and Health Care professionals have defended this practice, the reason for doubt is obvious: When the Coronavirus first hit both the Government and Health Care professionals alike begged us to not wear masks because they told us that those masks were ineffectual in prevention of Covid-19 infections. Later, they reversed and said that masks were effective to keep infected persons from spreading the virus. Most recently there have been claims that some masks won't work at all, but also claims that masks will not only prevent those infected from spreading the virus but will prevent those who don't have it from getting the virus.
The fact is that one or more of the above statements are lies that were told to us by government and health care officials: Either masks work or they don't work. The fact is that at one point we were told a lie. If you believe that we were told a lie in the first instance, why would you believe someone who lies to you in the first instance after he or she admits to having told you a lie? Were they lying then, in the middle or lying now?
The reason for questioning mask wearing, or for that matter is obvious. Look around you in public! One recent study showed that nearly 80 % of Americans were wearing masks. That is up from 50% in April and May. And yet, we have a huge spike.
2. Does Social Distancing really work? Why is it not okay for my friends and I to engage in a friendly game of football when it is okay for high school and college teams to play football? Before you answer that they have complied with guidelines, I refer you to the fact that a number of State High School teams had short-lived seasons even after they were required to abide by strict guidelines.
3. How were the cases in the recent spike contracted? Utah officials from the Governor all the way down to the lowest public official will claim that the cases were contracted because people aren't wearing masks or are not social distancing. Health Care officials echo that claim. However, if that is the case, where is the data that proves that. Below is the link to the Utah State Coronavirus Website.
There is plenty of data on the state's website including daily numbers, weekly numbers, total numbers, county by county, city by city numbers. What is missing, however, is how the Coronovirus was contracted by these people. Were they hanging out in bars after 10 pm? Were they at an athletic event? Were they at Church? Were they having a large family dinner, wedding, baptism or bar mitzvaj?
If you can find that data on the site let me know. I have looked at it over and over and I can't find the answers to those questions.
However, what the State's official site does is tell you the things you should or should not be doing. Wash your hands. Wear a mask. Stay away from people. Probably all reasonable things that, to a reasonable extent, we ought to do, but those suggestions beg the question: What is responsible for the surge. What is more alarming is that the officials who give us these guidelines either don't know or they are not transparent. I would like to think that if they knew, they would tell us so that they could say, "See, we told you that not wearing a mask would result in infections!" They tell you that, but they don't back up their claims with any data.
It would be a relatively simple thing to come up with anonymous questionnaires that probe for relevant data. Admittedly, you would have to expect honest answers but, one thing is clear, most people will give honest answers. So, at the point that someone has been tested it would be a reasonable thing for those infected to be asked about their activities in the past 14 days; nothing should be off-limits because, after all, this is a health crisis. Again, maybe this data is being collected but, if it is, one must ask why it is not being provided?
4. Are all hospitals in Utah really near capacity? State officials would have you believe they are. Okay, however, why do multiple health care workers in hospitals across the state claim that is not true? And, if the state and Hospitals want you to believe them, why do they fail to provide daily hospital population counts for each hospital throughout the state? You don't hear those numbers. Why not?
5. Why hasn't the state prepared for a spike? Everyone knew a significant spike was possible. Yet now health care administrators and workers are now panicking the public. You've known about this possibility since March. Additionally, it is interesting to me that hospital administrators have just figured out how to participate in bed sharing. You would think that seemingly intelligent people would be able to figure out how to do that in a couple of weeks' time at the most---preferably at the beginning of the pandemic.
And what about cross training? The state is full of medical professionals, many of whom have been laid off, ironically, due to the pandemic. Why didn't anyone think of spending some of the public money that was spent on telling us to wash our hands for cross-training these professionals to treat covid-19 patients? No one has answered those hard questions.
6. Why don't the Scientist use the Scientific Method in determining how to prevent infections? You would think that after seeing an increase in mask wearing, activities being banned and ads telling people to wash their hands that observations of these practices would cause scientist to look for other possible reasons for the spread of the virus. How about examining whether susceptibility to infection is caused to poor diet or lack of certain vitamins, like vitamin "C" (See Linus Pauling studies)? How about examining whether we don't drink enough water? How about examining whether the gallons of hand sanitizer by people actually weaken their immune systems? Again, it just seems a little odd that our increased use of distancing and masks has done nothing to decrease a rapid spread.
CONCLUSION
I don't know the answers to any of these questions. What I do know is this: Government and Health Officials, from the Governor on down, seem to spend the majority of their public performance time defending their conclusions without providing the necessary data to back up those conclusions. Why not provide the data? The obvious answer, assuming transparency, is because they haven't looked for the real answers. Instead, they have relied on what appears to Scientist to be "scientific common sense." It is sad after centuries of "scientists" making wrong claims about the shape of the earth, the rotations in the solar system that the scientist haven't learned to do the hard work and Government officials, who punished actual scientists for their minority, but correct views, continue to rely on experts and not actual science. If Government, Science and the Press will do their jobs, perhaps we can find answers to this Pandemic that really make a difference.
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