by Robert M. Traxler

Dr. Anthony Fauci has moved the definition of herd immunity from 60% to 70% to 75% to 80% to 85%, MEDPAGE TODAY.

Man-made viruses morph or change into variants faster than naturally-occurring viruses, a fact that lends credence to the theory that Covid-19 is man-made. Many in the media are still sticking to the “truth” that the virus jumped from animals to humans at a “wet market” in Wuhan China; with hundreds of thousands of wet markets in Asia and in the Asian subcontinent, we must believe it just happened to start in the one city where the Chinese People’s Army has its Bio-warfare lab? Come on folks, really? Political correctness trumps common sense every time.

Can we eradicate Covid-19? Folks are beginning to use eradication of the virus as the new standard, the new goal; is it possible? No, is it not likely at all; to my knowledge the only deadly virus eradicated by man in world history is smallpox, a disease that took 3,000 years to eradicate.

Covid has 14 variants, of which Delta, the most prevalent, is but one, according to Harvard Medical School data. A friend who is an experienced nurse and in the management team at the University of Michigan Health West, formerly named Metro Health, tells me that the Lambda strain of Covid-19, one of four that are “of interest to the World Health Organization,” is particularly scary.

Lambda started in Peru, then moved to nine countries. The effectiveness of the vaccines against the new strains is a question yet to be fully studied and answered; mark my words, Lambda will be our next emergency after Delta has lost its impact.

The world has been attempting to “eradicate” influenzas for centuries with little result, as the flu morphs into many strains, as does Covid-19. Eradication is a noble goal, but we cannot lock up and lock down our nation and indeed the world until the elimination of Covid-19. Controlling it as we do influenza needs to be the goal, or we will see even more damage to our basic liberties in the name of the “common good.”

The goal of eradicating disease is a noble one; however, it is one that has eluded science for thousands of years. The seasonal flu morphs so fast the vaccine is only 50% effective (give or take) the day it is produced. I will still take the seasonal flu shot; 50% is better than 0%, but we do not lock up our nation every flu season.

Not to diminish the tragedy of anyone passing away, but we should question the data on deaths attributed to Covid-19. If you have a serious underlying condition and get Covid, the death goes in the Covid column. If you sadly pass away of heart failure with the common flu or pneumonia, it is classified as a heart failure; pass away with Covid and it is a Covid death.

Remember “bend the curve?” All we need to do is lock ourselves up for 14 to 30 days to bend the curve, to give the medics a chance to catch up. That was extended and now we are in the second year of the emergency, with various types of incarceration still in effect.

We were told that to use a face mask was dangerous and even unpatriotic, then, to always use two masks. We were told that Covid-19 could not be spread person to person, then, we must stay six feet or more away from each other. We were told by Dr. Fauci that herd immunity was the goal; we reached the numbers required for herd immunity with vaccines and natural immunity, so now the natural immunity of those who have recovered from the disease are not counted, and the goal moves one more time.

Sadly, we must live with Covid-19 as we have seasonal influenza for centuries. I have no problem with masking up, as most folks in the world have done during the influenza season for many decades, but we need to have leadership with a set of fixed goals and standards. We need the government to treat us as adults and not as the ignorant, unwashed masses too stupid to think for ourselves.

My opinion.