The pandemic is over when we want it to be

Pfizer has announced an antiviral drug that reduces the risk of death or hospitalization by 89%. That is on top of the three amazing vaccines we already have. Between the vaccines and the new antiviral drug, the odds of a vaccinated person dying from the CCP Virus are essentially zero. Yes, you heard that right, zero. That includes those who are old and frail and those with immune issues. The pandemic is now completely within our control.

At this stage, the pandemic will be over when we want it to be. We are no longer facing a deadly disease with no treatments or cures. We will be dealing with the CCP Virus probably for the rest of our lives and that is okay. It is at worst a nuisance. We have nothing to fear from it anymore.

That is the good news. The bad news is we still have large chunk of people who have not processed that. My hope is that between kids ages 5-11 being eligible for vaccines plus the number of cases and deaths continuing to decline, more people will wake up and smell the good news. We will never get to zero cases and even places trying to pursue it like New Zealand have given up. That is a good choice on their part. Trying to get to zero cases was always a fantasy. The efforts to achieve it have proven to be cures much worse than the disease. People are not going to tolerate living in a permanent state of lockdowns and fear nor should they. We have to have a risk tolerance greater than zero.

With kids 5-11 now eligible for vaccinations, I really hope to see schools lift mask mandates by the end of the year. In New York, Eric Adams has said he wants to lift mask mandates in schools by January 1. I applaud him for that and hope to see more school districts follow suit soon. There is no excuse not to do it. It makes me angry seeing kids having to wear masks all day. I think kids should be vaccinated, but I really do not care if they are not. They are at essentially no risk from the CCP Virus and all adults should be vaccinated. We should not be punishing kids because adults are either idiots or lunatics.

Not only should schools lift mask mandates by year end, but so should every governmental entity. I hope to see every single private business lift their mask mandates by year end at the latest, too. When I go out in public next year, I do not want to see anyone wearing a mask. A message needs to be sent loud and clear that we are going back to our lives. We will live with the CCP Virus just like we live with the flu and colds.

When I start my spring semester in January, I hope (though I am not holding my breath on it) to see nobody wearing a mask. I have been glad to see fewer of my classmates wearing them, but I still see tons of people wearing them even outside. Enough with the theater. I do not wear a mask on campus or in the classroom. I do not wear one anywhere I go whether that is to the grocery store, restaurants or any other place and I make no apologies for that. I do not have any where I live and that will not change.

I would like to see Biden stop wearing a mask. The same is true for all elected officials. While Biden and other Democratic elected officials cannot do much to sway the unvaccinated, they can do a lot to sway crazy vaccinated people because they are almost all liberals. That could go a long way towards improving his political fortunes, which he really needs to have happen and soon. Convincing people that we are going back to normal would fulfill a key promise he made last year. There are problems now that are largely beyond his control like gas prices and supply chain issues, but convincing crazy vaccinated people to screw their heads back on is something he can do that could help him gain back his footing.

Let me be clear regarding who are crazy vaccinated people. I am referring to people who are vaccinated, but are still wearing masks everywhere they go, are still sharply limiting their activities and are limiting what their kids can do, if they have any. Is that unfair? Too sweeping? No! Let me keep being a broken record. If you are vaccinated, you have nothing to fear. Would you torture yourself like you are now to avoid the flu? Would you stop driving so you never got in a car wreck? Would you never swim so you wouldn’t drown? I didn’t think so. So why are you being a lunatic about something that poses less of a threat to you than any of those things? It fails any cost-benefit analysis or any rational test of any sort. I am not asking you to be a Vulcan, just to not be a paranoid psychopath.

To parents limiting their kids’ lives and their own, what do you think you are accomplishing? You are torturing yourself and ruining your kids’ mental health to protect them from something that poses almost no threat to them. Of the more than 750,000 people who have died from the CCP Virus, guess how many were younger than 18? The answer is well less than 1000. Again, I ask parents, why are you doing this? You would never hole away your kids to avoid the flu so why are you doing it for something that is no greater of a threat to them? The damage kids have suffered from closed schools and limited social lives is vastly greater than anything the CCP Virus could ever inflict.

The biggest obstacle to returning to normal

Anyone who reads this blog knows my contempt for the unvaccinated knows no bounds. I still believe everything I have written on that crowd. My compassion for all those unvaccinated people who are sick right now is zero and that will never change. As I have said many times before, they are 100% at fault for their predicament. They made a choice and are suffering the consequences of it. I do not even hear the world’s tiniest violin.

That said, the unvaccinated are no longer the biggest barrier to returning to normal. That distinction goes to crazy vaccinated people. My anger towards that crowd is now greater than it is towards the unvaccinated. Going forward, it will only increase.

The reality is those of us who are vaccinated have no reason to fear those who are not. They may be selfish jackasses, misguided idiots or contemptible lowlifes, but regardless we are safe from them. To the extent they pose any sort of threat, it is by clogging up hospitals, but that situation is much better now and odds are will continue to improve. Delta should be the last real wave we ever have to worry about. It has already peaked and declined significantly and that should continue. Between that, antiviral drugs and kids 5-11 getting vaccinated, the pandemic is over. The only remaining question is whether crazy vaccinated people will get a grip and come out of their holes.

For those who still insist on limiting their activities and wearing masks all the time, what is your end game? How long are you going to continue to do that? Given that we are never getting to zero cases, what is your threshold for going back to normal? When does this all end? That is what makes me the angriest when it comes to crazy vaccinated people. They seem to have no plan at all for the future nor have they given any thought to when their paranoia will end. If only a few people were like that, I would not care, but when millions are and they cause harm to others, especially kids, I have a real problem with it. Just as I have no compassion for the unvaccinated, I feel the same towards crazy vaccinated people. I do not understand their decisions and do not care to. What they are doing helps nobody and harms many. The benefits are zero and the costs are massive. It is every bit as bad of a decision as not getting vaccinated.

To anyone reading this who is vaccinated, but still hesitant to go out like they were before March of last year, I implore you to do so. Throw the masks away. Accept that we will never get to zero cases. Accept that you will get the CCP Virus sooner or later. Accept that it no longer poses any threat to you. Now go out and live your life.

We need to get back to our lives for so many reasons. Are you frustrated by delays and long waits everywhere? If we all go back to our lives that will ease, possibly by a lot, with more people going back to work and reducing shortages. Do you want to see lower prices for goods? Then spend more money going out to eat and on services. Go on vacation. Go to concerts and sporting events. Find the largest gathering you can and go to it. Stop being a lunatic and go live your damn life. You only get to do that once.

I have fully accepted that I will get the CCP Virus. That is fine with me. I do not care about it and I never will again. There is no reason you, dear reader, cannot do the same. The virus is not in charge, you are. Now go and act like it.