We know that viruses mutate and have heard so much about a number of CoVid-19 'variants' each characterized as more virulent than the next. But, have they been? It's clear that the specter of these reputedly-hyper-contagious variants is being used to prod the unvaccinated portions of the population into the arms of the nearest jabber. But, there is no test that identifies the strain of the virus infecting a particular person. The symptomatology of the variants is often ... and in the case of the Delta variant it is ... identical to the original strain of CoVid-19. The only way to identify the strain of the virus is to examine its genetic composition. This isn't and can't be done swabbing a nose ... and it's simply not being done for each infected person. It isn't. You see, there is no way for the average person to know what strain of CoVid-19 they have actually contracted ... or what strain of CoVid-19 is 'spreading' in their community. Public health officials have largely been issuing these statements predicated on their perception concerning the 'velocity of the spread' of the virus within a particular community ... because Delta reputedly spreads 'faster.' Scary, right?
We would all be better served by an open discussion concerning the truth about the virus, the availability and efficacy of viable therapeutics, and the good, bad and the ugly about the vaccines. The best way to increase the vaccination rate is for the FDA to start openly communicating about the status of the vaccine trials and approve the vaccines ... if that's where the science (not the politics) leads. We have to start asking ourselves why the vaccines have not been formally approved by now ... and why we have not heard about the status and results of the FDA clinical trials. These types of glaring gaps in publicly available information and punishing response to sensible questions concerning the vaccines leaves some feeling that the war is being waged against them instead of the virus ... feeding their vaccine hesitancy.
The best shot in the arm would be some truth. #beingfrank #FMG #blueintheface
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