by Bob Williams, Stevensville
This letter is my attempt, as an armchair observer, to reach out especially to parents of school age kids.
If you are not comfortable about masking school kids, I don’t blame you. In this country, there’s plenty of published anti-mask articles and comments. There’s a way to get around that.
Fact checking Covid-19 evidence and facts should be as well practiced as is hand washing. In large part because some social media views and opinions sources, lag reporting on current Covid-19 information.
In the USA, for well over a month, about four of every five cases of Covid-19, is a victim of the more contagious Delta variant. Effective contact tracing from Covid-19 positive carriers, depends on prompt reporting and must be quickly accomplished.
The Montana Department of Health and Human Services, reports that of the very limited Montana samples that were genomic tested through July 30, 87% were the Delta variant of the SARS CoV-2 virus.
Fact checking might have steered southerners away from ingesting horse deworming stuff to somehow deal with the possibility of millions of SARS CoV-2 virions lodged in lung tissue.
Fact checking is necessary since domestic and Russian chaos agents crank out propaganda stating that masks are not effective, and vaccines are dangerous. So much propaganda, that only the USA is handicapped by large numbers of anti-maskers, and anti-vaxxers.
Check out the “disinformation dozen” which publish maybe 65% of the social media misinformation about Covid-19. The dozen includes Joseph Mercola, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Most everywhere in the USA, also here in Montana, well over 90% of the new Covid-19 cases are in individuals who are not vaccinated. Some 39 states have Covid-19 vaccination higher than does Montana.
We did not see this coming. It’s like the ground raised up in front of us. Montana, also the USA, are now looking at a long uphill grade, of increasing numbers of costs and casualties from Covid-19. So far, no apparent end to this fourth wave of SARS CoV-2 caused Covid-19 pandemic in the USA.
Why is Covid-19 ramping up now, when about half of us in Ravalli County and Montana, and 60% of us in the USA, took the preventive approach. And got fully vaccinated. So that our antibodies could identify and subdue the SARS CoV-2 virus. Why are Covid-19 numbers now increasing as fast as when no people were vaccinated?
Look at the numbers. In late June, in Montana, there was a daily average of about 50 new medically confirmed cases of Covid. Week before last in Montana, there was an average of 351 new cases of confirmed cases of Covid-19, per day. A six-fold increase.
350 new cases a day is about what Montana was averaging in September of 2020. Back when no one was vaccinated.
Last week, there were days when over 600 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Montana.
Why is Covid-19 ramping up? Follow CDC announcements. Do your own searching. Tell some kids what you found.
I have found that news and medical reports claim Delta variant carriers have a higher transmission rate, than do Alpha variant carriers. The Delta variant mutation occurred in India, in 12/20.
I read that Delta variant virus victims start breathing out virus after only four days since first infection. I also read that Delta carriers are the most contagious about three days before their first Covid-19 symptoms appear. Sounds to me that Delta is a silent killer.
A few news reports claim that a person with Delta might transmit the corona virus to three or more people. A person with the Alpha variant SARS CoV-2 virus might transmit it to two or more people.
The armchair observations of one person are not credible. State and County Health officials should be educating us about Delta. If the Delta variant makes masking and vaccinating more important, our Health officials should reach out to us.
Idaho is one of 13 states where Covid-19 victims occupy 40% or more of Hospital ICU beds.
Current news reports that in Florida, from August 20-26, of the 181,749 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, the largest of eight age groups of infected individuals, are children below the age of twelve.
News reports like the above give reason for prompt as possible contact tracing when children and teenagers attending school first show signs of Covid-19. Because of Delta numbers, kids must wear masks in Billings public schools. That may reduce the number of times those school kids must go through quarantines.
From what I’ve gathered, people who criticize Covid-19 preventive measures like swab testing, masking, also vaccinating, rely less on news reports, and more on social media commentary, and falling for Fbook and Fox strategy to make people angry.
There’s a hidden hypocrisy when opinion makers, and individuals, point at masking, and vaccinating, and reject those burdens. While risking imposing very large burdens upon family, friends, school kids, school teachers, Covid-19 vulnerable populations, people needing hospital care for non Covid-19 problems, health care providers, medical clinics, hospital line, staff, and administration. Also insurers and public health plans, reportedly, unvaccinated people are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized for Covid-19, than are vaccinated people. Unfortunately, some Covid-19 victims suffer related health problems a year after their Covid-19 flare up.
This is the time to uproot late season knapweed, and remove some objections to masking and vaxxing. Admitting being taken in by Covid-19 misinformation, may reduce some anxiety, and anger, about masking.
While concluding my usual one finger typing, I’d like to offer a couple of opinions on making school rooms safer here in Ravalli. Where some school districts may develop a consensus plan, and some may go for a compromised, negotiated plan. Whatever, but go on and get Covid-19 antigen test kits available to students, staff, and teachers.
And evaluate improving heat output and distribution, to optionally open more school class room windows, force in more warm air, and forcing out more virus contaminated air. And improving, and or adding, effective filtration in hot air duct work loops.
Ask your favorite political official, to dig in and see if there might be eligible funds for making school safer for children, kids, and teenagers.
Work on things that can be agreed on. As a community we are not free to send youth to school and willfully neglect their safety. They are our neighbors, to be respected and loved as we love ourselves. Do remember and practice the second greatest commandment!