{"id":11696,"date":"2021-05-30T08:45:58","date_gmt":"2021-05-30T12:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=11696"},"modified":"2021-05-30T08:54:03","modified_gmt":"2021-05-30T12:54:03","slug":"is-it-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=11696","title":{"rendered":"is it over?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is the pandemic over? Are we finally witnessing COVID\u2019s imminent demise \u2014 at least in the US?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As public and private safety guidelines begin to ease, the answer seems to depend upon who you ask (\u2026noting some descriptions are a little more colorful than others… such as…)…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026 The epidemic in America is like a poisoned rat, limping, staggering, crawling, and gasping its last breaths. The poison is the vaccine now jabbed into the arms of most adults. Pandemic, thou art slain\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, COVID-19 is still killing people all over the world \u2014 the pandemic is still viscerally real. But in the US, it doesn\u2019t have the same sharp bite as it did six months ago. The end feels close\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So is the pandemic over? \u2026 at least for now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Memorial Day is here. Summer is in sight. Evidenced by traveling now nearing pre-pandemic levels \u2014 air travel increasing and car rentals being scant \u2014 the nation seems increasingly ready for normal. Whatever \u201cnormal\u201d now is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But before we definitively answer the end, let\u2019s take note of the beginning\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December of 2019, a new virus surfaced in China. A month later, China reported the first death. Still in January, now of 2020, cases were quickly confirmed in Japan, South Korea and Thailand and soon thereafter in the United States. A young man from Washington State had contracted the virus after returning from Wuhan, China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February, the first death was reported outside of China (in the Philippines). At least 360 people had now died. France announced the first death in Europe. The virus was spreading rapidly\u2026 Italy, Iran, Latin America, for instance. On Feb. 29th, the first person in the United States was reported to have died from Covid-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still before American life shut down in March, Sen. Tom Cotton began publicly posing the possibility that the virus emerged from a research facility in Wuhan. But leading news sources immediately, staunchly refuted the potential of any<\/em> likelihood. The Washington Post<\/em> accused Cotton of spreading a \u201cconspiracy theory that was already debunked.\u201d The New York Times<\/em> lead with \u201cSenator Tom Cotton Repeats Fringe Theory of Coronavirus Origins.\u201d And proclaimed fact checker, PolitiFact,<\/em> designated the possibility with their noteworthy, deceit-deserving, \u201cpants on fire\u201d rating… \u201cThe claim is inaccurate and ridiculous. We rate it Pants on Fire!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Tuesday of this past week, 3,494,935 people have reportedly died from Covid worldwide, with 604,941 of those deaths occurring in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is also now true is that Cotton\u2019s floated possibility is now considered plausible. Maybe likely. PolitiFact<\/em> has quietly retracted their claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friends, please go easy on WaPo,<\/em> the Times,<\/em> and PolitiFact.<\/em> We all get something wrong sometimes; the point is not blame. The better question is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why could a dissenting possibility not even be entertained by mainstream media? Why did news sources not just disagree<\/em> with Cotton\u2019s speculation, but also attempt to squelch it and shut it down?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By no means does the Intramuralist have anywhere close to all the answers. But we are well aware of what gets in our way \u2014 not just in the discerning of truth, but also of thoughtful examination and the media\u2019s ruinous role. Listen to the recent words of former Times <\/em>science reporter Donald McNeil, who initially joined in the chorus of squelchers. \u201cWe still do not know the source of this awful pandemic. We may never know. But the argument that it could <\/em>have leaked out of the Wuhan Institute of Virology or a sister lab in Wuhan has become considerably stronger than it was a year ago, when the screaming was so loud that it drowned out serious discussion.\u201d <\/strong>[Emphasis mine.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of how raucous we\u2019ve allowed our conversations to become. Think of how the media has amplified the raucous. They\u2019ve encouraged the screaming of singular perspective. It makes us ask: what other diverse geopolitical and socioeconomic conversations are they attempting to drown out? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So thus when we attempt to determine whether or not the pandemic is now over, admittedly, that\u2019s a bit of a loaded question. Some will say \u201cyes.\u201d Some will say \u201cno.\u201d Some will even create creative metaphors utilizing limping and staggering rats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in order to thoroughly, thoughtfully, and accurately answer summer\u2019s biggest current question, the screaming needs to end. It isn’t wise, and it\u2019s impeding serious discussion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AR
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is the pandemic over? Are we finally witnessing COVID\u2019s imminent demise \u2014 at least in the US? As public and private safety guidelines begin to ease, the answer seems to depend upon who you ask (\u2026noting some descriptions are a little more colorful than others… such as…)… \u201c\u2026 The epidemic in America is like a … <\/p>\n

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