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Top Three Takeaways – September 9th, 2021
- Staff not students are responsible for bringing far more COVID-19 to the classroom. In an analysis I completed using the COVID-19 dashboards from South Florida’s school districts, while adjusting for the employee and student populations, each school district has far more employees testing positive for COVID-19 than students. FAR MORE. Generally, multiples more. I find this ironic as South Florida’s school districts remain bent on suing the state to attempt to impose mask mandates without opt outs for students, when it’s evident the biggest relative problem is their employees who are testing positive. On back of the state’s reporting showing that had schools been graded for last school year, a third to a half of all of South Florida’s schools would have received a D or an F, with 75% fewer A schools as well. It’s clear the school districts have misplaced priorities – especially given the proof that students learn less with masks on. They have a far bigger problem managing their own employees than parents do their kids. And perhaps that’s where they should focus their attention as opposed to spending our tax dollars to sue the state to ensure that students learn less. And if the school districts only managed their employees as effectively as parents do their kids there would be far less to worry about period. Speaking of analysis and the virus...
- Breakthroughs are a thing but not much of one when it comes to severe cases. As my analysis using CDC data revealed, only about 1% of COVID-19 hospitalizations this year have been breakthrough cases and fewer than 1% of all related deaths have. We know the vaccines are far from perfect, as most recently Moderna was shown to be 76% effective for prevention against the Delta variants compared to 42% for Pfizer and J&J (no longer available in Florida) presumably well worse than that. But they remain, in general, highly effective against severe symptoms that would result in hospitalizations and death. My analysis isn’t based on a study or talking points. It’s just a matter of fact based on what’s occurred this year since the rollout of the vaccines. 99%+ of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths have come from the unvaccinated. If you haven’t been vaccinated and are able to receive one, data doesn’t come much more conclusively than this.
- We’re not in normal times. The words of Judge John Cooper yesterday. No doubt. We likely have a President of the United States who has dementia. We’ve left Americans behind with terrorists who we paid off and armed after twenty years in Afghanistan. We’re closing in on being two years into a pandemic. We have school districts suing to enforce mask mandates when it’s been proven they inhibit learning. Yes, we’re not in normal times. Not that I’m sure I’d agree to what someone else’s definition of normal might be anyway. But back to Leon County Circuit Court Judge John Cooper. He let us know we’re not in normal times as he predictably lifted the stay of his own order put in place by the state as his decision is appealed. Cooper also said this... Based on the evidence I’ve heard there’s no harm to the state if the stay is set aside. Nope, just the education and health of our kids. We’re definitely not in normal times when school districts and a judge rule against what’s in the best interest of our kids. But what we’ve seen during these unnormal times is that those who’re inclined towards the heavy hand of government, like to exert control over once free people. The very people they’re supposed to be serving and who pay for their salaries and benefits.