Yep they sure too, we can all see the evidence, right here in charts like this. Germany requires masks and has all kinds of other restrictions. Sweden has been rational and doesn’t have any of that nonsense. Like to see the explanation from the mask nuts for the chart. Thanks to Ianmsc on Twitter for the chart.
And closer to home, IM comments on California mask madness.
https://ianmsc.substack.com/p/california-health-officials-are-lying?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMzgxNzAxNSwicG9zdF9pZCI6NDU0ODY2OTIsIl8iOiJRZHAyTSIsImlhdCI6MTYzOTU3Mjg4MSwiZXhwIjoxNjM5NTc2NDgxLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMzQyMzM2Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.S3Vj1iQv93xuDekGjfPOSH2QRDOYEua-RHpe3Ucn9io
Kevin
Two comments –
1) I agree with your assessment that masking and other mitigation protocols have little if any effect on infection or death rates – see your comparison of sweden and germany , same with most of europe and the US. There are a few anomolies such as most of Canada , Norway and Finland which are hard to explain why those countries turned out so successful relative to the rest of the world.
2) I took a look at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd waves of the 1918 spanish flu – Not surprisingly, the 1918 waves are remarkably similar to the covid 19 waves. I agree that the vaccines have helped tremendously reducing the severity of covid illness for those vaxed who caught covid. Not sure what to make of the similarity when we have vaccines for the 3rd wave, Just noting the similarity – I would have expected a larger drop off in the third wave, at least in comparison to prior pandemics.
(my apologies if this question/comment is coming across as anti-vax. FWIW I am pro vax- at least for adults and children with health issues)
Your thoughts ?
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/three-waves.htm
far north countries and even states in the US seem to have some lesser susceptibility, not sure why. What may matter as much as vaccines is total immunity in a population, which can come from infection as well as vax. in 1918, there undoubtedly was a high level of infection-based immunity after the first couple of waves. Relatives of that strain persist today. The lesson we should learn from respiratory viruses is that they don’t go away, but people develop enough immunity to limit illness. Exposure and infection continue, but just aren’t a big deal. We are getting there with CV.
There have been several vaccine mandate lawsuits in the US. Why have there not been mask mandate lawsuits. The case against masks is much stronger than the case against vaccines.
there have been, unfortunately most of them were dismissed