COVID Psychosis

 

We used to say about our parents (and some of our older siblings) that they had 'Depression Psychosis' as a result of having lived through such hard economic times between 1930-1947 that it warped the way they thought about how one goes about living.  Beyond doubt, those years were of such a nature that panic had to be an almost-daily experience.  It's the same syndrome that causes your dog to jump whenever a firecracker goes off on the 4th of July.  It's an automatic flinch when some event brings back bad memories.

Moderns don't suffer Depression Psychosis because they haven't experienced the kind of economic catastrophe of an earlier age, but we carry the training:

Use it up, wear it out. Make it do, or do without.

No, these days we have our very own psychoses, a relic of the insane push to get to 'zero-Covid' — which, it's probably worth pointing out, is unattainable short of sterilizing the planet of all traces of life down to the microbial level.

The Japanese have been inculcated to wearing surgical masks over their noses and mouths over a period lasting several decades.  This may be related to fears about radioactive contamination, but that's a guess.  I first noticed it as far back as the 1990s, but it might have been prevalent earlier.  For reasons that are not at all obvious, they 'mask up' when in the presence of others — especially outdoors.  That practice has now spread around the world, although people from most other countries only mask for indoor socialization.

In the United States, starting with the earliest days of Covid nuttiness, the CDC and Anthony Fauci at first advised that masks were largely unnecessary.  Later, they admitted that they had said this to avoid a run on PPE that medical professionals needed because — this is an important point — they dealt with sick people on a regular basis, and were thus at a heightened risk of exposure.  As soon as it was clear that adequate supplies of masks and the suchlike would be available, the CDC's advice changed to 'wear your mask at all times', then 'wear two masks', then 'maybe you don't need a mask outdoors'.  At no point did the CDC or Fauci say "We have these (peer-reviewed) studies that clearly show the benefits of masks".  They didn't say that because there are no such studies, and they would have been pilloried for saying it.

That is probably worth repeating:  There are no peer-reviewed studies showing masks as having any value as regards Covid transmission.  None.  There are studies that indicate masks may actually be detrimental, especially for children (who are, let's remember, at virtually zero risk of contracting or passing Covid).  Despite this, Teacher's Unions across the country demand that school children be masked at all times 'for the protection of the teachers'.  This is a nutty idea even by the standards of New Jersey and may constitute 'child abuse'.

Even so, those afflicted with Covid psychosis harangue the rest of us with constant demands that we wear useless masks for their protection.

Recapping:

1. 'Zero Covid' is unattainable.
2. Masks are essentially useless against Covid transmission.
3. Susceptibility to Covid is very highly correlated with age and co-morbidities.
4. National medical 'experts' cannot any longer be trusted.

Our grandchildren will probably snicker at us and our obsessions after we have passed on — just as we do to earlier generations — but they will understand what drove us.  Let's hope that Covid psychosis is not transmissible.