Free Republic

many observers.. have noted that cases are not the correct metric to measure the impact of Covid. We have also questioned hospitalization and death numbers in an environment where every patient who arrives in an emergency room receives a test.. Fauci partially vindicated our assertions. .. finally said that the focus should be on hospitalizations, not cases. ... As you get further on and the infections become less severe, it is much more relevant to focus on the hospitalizations as opposed to the total number of cases,” Fauci told George Stephanopoulos .. In reality, infections were less severe in vast...

Universities are supposed to be bastions of critical thinking, reason and logic. But the COVID policies they have adopted — which have derailed two years of students’ education and threaten to upend the upcoming spring semester — have exposed them as nonsensical, anti-scientific and often downright cruel. Some of America’s most prestigious universities are leading the charge. At Georgetown University, fully vaccinated students are randomly tested for COVID weekly. A positive PCR test, which can detect tiny amounts of dead virus, sends asymptomatic students to a room in a designated building where they spend 10 days in confinement. Food is...

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention amended its controversial Covid-19 isolation guidance on Tuesday, declining to add a testing requirement as public health officials expected after the agency cut its recommended quarantine time in half. In its updated guidance, the CDC said people who have recovered from the virus and have isolated for at least five days can take a rapid test if they want, but they don’t have to — falling far short of making an outright recommendation to get a negative Covid test before ending isolation. “I do not think that the clarification helped at all...

Suddenly so forgiving, that Joe Scarborough! On today's Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough admitted that last week, he felt the Biden administration had "terribly botched" things "as far as [COVID] testing goes." But on second thought . . . nope! Don't blame Biden for botching the availability of testing. Because . . . testing isn't necessary! Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

COVID means fear, control, and lockdowns because we’ve allowed people to make it mean fear, control, and lockdowns. D.C. Health is giving out “Home COVID-19 Testing Kits” at libraries across the capital city. At the majority of these sites, you’ll be handed two plastic, red, white, and blue envelopes per person. “Muriel Bowser, Mayor,” they read at the bottom. “Testyourselfdc.com.” “Isn’t that wonderful!” you might be thinking, as you tear open the seal. “I want to be sure these winter sniffles aren’t COVID before I see my mother, or visit grandpa, or go away with some friends.” Inside the envelopes,...

The omicron version of COVID is so mild that it's indistinguishable from a cold. Many people are asymptomatic. We also know now that early COVID counts were almost certainly wrong because the dominant test used was unable to distinguish between COVID and the regular flu. Nevertheless, Joe Biden has invested almost $140 million in a German company that will build a home-test plant in America...by 2024. It's no secret at this point that omicron was o-versold. It's so negligible that many people know they have it only because they've been tested. Even those who have symptoms feel only as if...

The panic over the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which is milder than previous variants, in New York City is now causing a strain on the city's medical and emergency services as people are jamming up 911 lines and emergency rooms over minor symptoms. New York City Councilmember and Chair of the Health Committee Mark Levine has pleaded with residents to not call 911 for mild symptoms or to go to an emergency room for COVID-19 tests. The New York City Fire Department tweeted a video telling people "ambulances do not provide testing for COVID-19, and patients are not transported to...

Penn State Health on Thursday advised people not to come to its emergency rooms for routine COVID-19 tests and non-emergency care, saying some people seeking tests might be turned away. However, Penn State Health said people experiencing severe symptoms such as difficulty breathing should come to the ER. It noted some people with no symptoms are coming to the emergency room wanting to be tested. It said people with no symptoms who come to the ER for tests related to travel or possible exposure might be turned away. “People seeking COVID-19 tests at the emergency department when they are not...

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky made a stunning comment on “Good Morning America” today. LATEST: The newly updated CDC guidelines don't require testing at the end of isolation because PCR tests can stay positive for up to 12 weeks, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky tells @GMA. https://t.co/p6HUxeD4Go pic.twitter.com/TmVaF0eRcG— ABC News (@ABC) December 29, 2021#CDC just dropped "new science" on PCR testsThe newly updated CDC guidelines don't require testing at the end of isolation because PCR tests can stay positive for up to 12 weeks pic.twitter.com/z4aJIGToFz— La French ConAction..🇫🇷 (@LFConaction) December 29, 2021The newly updated CDC guidelines don’t require testing at the...

On Friday’s “CNN Newsroom,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) argued that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) should be held accountable for the shortage of coronavirus tests in the state because he’s opposed mask mandates and vaccine mandates. Host Boris Sanchez asked, “Ultimately, who do you think should be held accountable for the apparent shortage of tests in this country?”

As the U.S. is bracing for a coronavirus surge driven by the new omicron variant, Americans across the country may be reconsidering their holiday plans. World Health Organization (WHO) officials urged people across the globe to consider canceling their holiday gatherings, emphasizing that “an event canceled is better than a life canceled,” while U.S. officials have maintained that vaccinated Americans should feel comfortable getting together with other vaccinated individuals. Now a recent poll is shedding light on how many Americans plan to navigate holiday gatherings while taking precautions against COVID-19. The poll of more than 1,000 Americans conducted by Cinch...

President Biden will announce new steps to increase access to coronavirus vaccines and tests but will not endorse any new virus restrictions during a speech on Tuesday about the winter fight against COVID-19. “This is not a speech about locking the country down,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during a briefing Monday. “This is a speech outlining and being direct and clear with the American people about the benefit of being vaccinated, the steps we’re going to take to increase access and to increase testing and the risks posed to unvaccinated individuals.” Psaki would not go into...

Four in ten people infected with COVID-19 show no symptoms — but are still potential spreaders of the disease, according to a new study. The findings, published last week in JAMA Network Open, found that 40.5 percent of people diagnosed with COVID-19 globally were asymptomatic. However, researchers said this highlights the “potential transmission” of the virus unknowingly, particularly in certain settings. “Screening for asymptomatic infection is required, especially for countries and region that have successfully controlled SARS-CoV-2,” researchers from Peking University said. “Asymptomatic infections should be under management similar to that for confirmed infections, including isolating and contact tracing.”

The number of new positive cases of COVID-19 reported in South Africa has continued its downward trend despite increased testing, according to South African National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) data.The NICD reported 17,154 new cases on Dec. 11, nearly 2,000 down from the 19,018 new cases reported on Dec. 10. At the same time the NICD recorded 104,831 new tests conducted on Dec. 11, which was over 20,000 more carried out than on Dec. 10.Professor Francois Balloux, director of the University College London Genetics Institute, noted a “dramatic decrease in test positivity,” which fell from 45 percent on Dec....

Omicron is the unwelcome party guest at everyone’s holiday gatherings this year.Scientists are still trying to learn about the new Covid variant — including how transmissible it is, how well current vaccines work against it and where its biggest hotspots are. Many of those answers won’t be known for at least a couple weeks, just in time for Christmas. Without those answers, you may need to ask yourself a tough question: Is it safe to attend a holiday party? If everyone at your party is vaccinatedIf you’re vaccinated and gathering with other vaccinated people, the answer is a simple “yes,”...

We’re getting into the cold months when more people will be gathering indoors and respiratory illnesses like COVID-19 thrive. Requiring some proof of immunity is becoming more standard and widely accepted, and it remains a generally good rule. And the new boosters, now finally available to all adults, will help with this immunity. But immunity alone has proven insufficient to protect a gathering, particularly in the new environment of more aggressive and contagious variants like delta and omicron. Breakthrough infections — those in people who are already immunized — are on the rise. A stark demonstration of this is the...

A Temple City-based COVID-19 testing firm that contracts with Los Angeles County vehemently denied allegations Tuesday by Sheriff Alex Villanueva that the company shares patient DNA data with the Chinese government, a concern that prompted the sheriff to announce his department will no longer use the county’s chosen testing provider. “Fulgent is an American company, and its founder, board of directors and leadership team is made up of United States citizens,” Fulgent Genetics Chief Commercial Officer Brandon Perthuis said in a statement Tuesday. “Fulgent Genetics operates privately and independently in the People’s Republic of China and does not share personal...

The University of California (UC) Board of Regents announced Nov. 18 to eliminate standardized tests from the admission process, without any alternative exam to be adopted in the foreseeable future. The board originally approved in May 2020 the removal of standardized testing—for applications for admission to the nine UC colleges—and planned to put an alternative test in place of ACT and SAT by 2024. During the board’s meeting on Thursday, the regents reached a consensus to keep exams out of admission requirements for a longer time, in favor of practices promoting educational equity and quality. “UC will continue to practice...

Each day in many ways God tests us, or allows us to be tested. Will I believe what God says, or will I make my own judgment? Will I go along with the crowd, or will I follow truth regardless of whether anyone believes or not? Is Sigmund Freud correct when he says I need to “love myself more”, or is God correct when he says “whoever loves their life will lose it, whoever hates their life in this world will keep it unto eternal life”? Do I need Government to provide for my needs, or does God provide? Will...

A number of years ago I was preparing to board a flight to Miami when a mechanical failure forced me to take another plane to Jacksonville. On the new plane, I was inadvertently seated next to Dennis Deyoung, lead singer of the 70s — 80s Rock Band, Styx (his wife in the seat behind because of a seating mix-up.) I did not recognize him at first, only remembering his 1980s look, so I continued reading my A.W. Tozer book, ‘In Pursuit of God’. It didn’t take long for me to recognize my famous seatmate when passengers, flight attendants, and even...