In a Smart Move, Iowa Department of Public Health Classifies COVID-19 as ‘Endemic’
“What that means is it’s just expected to be there, kind of like the flu during flu season. I think people are hoping this will go away, but it’s not going to go away.”
I hereby nominate the Iowa Department of Public Health officials to replace Dr. Antony Fauci and the rest of the bureaucrats currently directing the American response to the coronavirus.
Legal Insurrections may recall my recent piece, which described the first global coronavirus pandemic of 1889 (i.e., “The Russian Flu). In the article, I note that based on the similarities between how that virus behaved compared to the SARS-Cov-2 likely exported by China, we can look forward to successive waves of infection until the population built up enough immunity. The effects would be similar to common cold viruses.
An essential term in the discussion of diseases is “endemic.” In epidemiology, an infection is endemic in a population when that infection is constantly maintained at a baseline level in a geographic area without external inputs. Accepting that it will be present in the population means that health officials will focus on treatment options and medical approaches instead of striving for the elusive “zero COVID” level.
Iowa Department of Public Health has classified COVID-19 as endemic.
Marion County Public Health Director Kim Dorn says this means it’s likely to not simply disappear.
“It is endemic in the population. What that means is it’s just expected to be there, kind of like the flu during flu season. I think people are hoping this will go away, but it’s not going to go away. Endemic means to assume it to be in the population, and that we’re going to have to learn to live with this.”
Marion County Public Health is no longer keeping track of case counts, and does not handle them on a case-by-case basis. Instead, they are working to provide general guidance for positive cases.
The Huck Institute of the Life Sciences at Penn State and the Research Council of Norway offered an assessment that aligns with Iowa’s officials and my projections.
COVID-19 risks may shift from older adults to younger children as the SARS-CoV-2 virus becomes endemic, according to new modeling results.
Within the next few years, as the SARS-CoV-2 virus becomes endemic in the global population, COVID-19 may behave like other common-cold coronaviruses, affecting mostly young children who have not yet been vaccinated or exposed to the virus, according to new modeling results. Because COVID-19 severity is generally lower among children, the overall burden from this disease is expected to decline.
“Following infection by SARS-CoV-2, there has been a clear signature of increasingly severe outcomes and fatality with age,” said Ottar Bjornstad. “Yet, our modeling results suggest that the risk of infection will likely shift to younger children as the adult community becomes immune either through vaccination or exposure to the virus.”
Bjornstad explained that such shifts have been observed in other coronaviruses and influenza viruses as they have emerged and then become endemic.
Hopefully, politicians and bureaucrats will begin to grasp the science and abandon the “Zero COVID” Holy Grail. I recently noted that after New Zealand closed its borders after a small outbreak, which resulted in the death of its “Lord of the Rings” empire.
Now the country is under a “snap lockdown.”
New Zealand has announced a snap lockdown after a man tested positive for Covid, the first case in six months.
The case was detected in Auckland, which will be in lockdown for a week, while the rest of the country will be in lockdown for three days.
Authorities say they are working on the assumption that the new case was the Delta variant.
Just around 20% of its population has been fully vaccinated.
Coromandel, a coastal town where the infected person had visited, will be in lockdown for seven days too.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the toughest “level 4” rules were required – closing schools, offices and all businesses with only essential services remaining operational.
Of course, as it is likely now endemic, the move has already failed…and they are delaying the inevitable once the restrictions end.
New Zealand reports 4 new COVID-19 cases, for a total of 5 in the current outbreak. The entire country of New Zealand went on lockdown after the first case in this outbreak was detected. The lockdown is scheduled to take 3 days.
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— Yaneer Bar-Yam (@yaneerbaryam) August 17, 2021
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Comments
The new variants of Covid19 have animal reservoirs in rodents and dogs. It is never going away.
And likely cats. Cats are known to carry coronaviruses. I recall reading that cat owners who’ve had cats for years are less likely to get the dreaded covid- because at some point they fought something similar they got from their cats.
Both the variants, and the virus formally from Wuhan, were known to have safe sanctuaries in animal reservoirs. Planned parent/hood, “fat is beautiful/healthy at any weight”, and “no labels/no judgment”, aside, endemic, indeed.
“New Zealand has announced a snap lockdown after a man tested positive for Covid, the first case in six months.”
Kneejerk tyranny seems to be the permanent Plan A there. That’s precisely what they did with guns, and it failed miserably for that, too.
KNEE JERK TYRANNY: it’s endemic.
The question is, that if the Wuhan coronavirus is now acknowledged as endemic, does New Zealand have to quarantine itself from the world forever? Or just until sanity returns?
Isn’t it wonderful to see common sense.
Let’s hope it spreads.
I’m so weary of # of cases being broadcast and elevating the fear (but of course, securing their control).
It’s long past time for a common[sense pandemic.
I hope Iowa proves to be the first domino, knocking down at least some of the others. Maybe some health officials in other places will find their common sense, and this entire charade will – if not come to an end – get a lot of people questioning what they’ve been fed.
If this had been done in the beginning Dolting Joe would have never elected. Should have focused on treatments
Yes, treatments and isolating those at high risk.
The fact is, the public health authorities knew by early April 2020 that 99% of all deaths were among the elderly and the obese and those with underlying respiratory and immune conditions.
Rather than focus resources on those persons – they allowed the whole country to remain on lock-down for many months more. They allowed fear and panic in the population.
Even today with Delta – there is near 100% survival rate for those who are not in the risk groups. But CNN and others stoke fear – and health authorities are complicit in their silence.
I do not want one person to ever die from Covid. But the reality is that tens of thousands die from seasonal flu every year. We don’t shut down the country and mask everyone up to fight the flu.
Hear hear!
Another takeaway is that it will probably be a long time before kids nationwide don’t have to wear masks in schools.
If only there were a vaccine that people could take if they were afraid of it.
A novel vaccine, a risky proposition, suitable for conditional distribution, but not the general population. Ironically, leaky vaccines, leaky masks, too, in a general population are known to force viral evolution.
And if only those choosing not to take it weren’t subjected to threats of being denied care.
They need to stop trying to shield kids since they don’t get sick from this virus but do acquire immunity and will soon establish herd immunity. Old fat sick people in care centers do need protecting.