Photo: Stone RF
Top Three Takeaways – August 31st, 2021
- Better news is on the way. Hopefully in many respects. At a minimum in Florida, as we’re wrapping up August, we’re set to put the peak of the pandemic behind us. In fact, it’s likely we did it exactly two weeks ago, as August 17th stands as the peak day for the weekly trend of new COVID-19 cases. I say this with confidence as the very source I’ve been using to track the future trajectory of the summer surge of COVID-19 cases, the Mayo Clinic’s 14-day projection tool, now shows a two week decline in cases ranging from 23% to 59% below where we are today. If you were looking for better news, at least regarding the pandemic in Florida, it’s coming. Speaking of better news, let’s hope that’s the case as the withdrawal from Afghanistan has been completed. It’s unlikely we’ve heard the last from Afghanistan regardless, and it’s unrealistic to expect terrorists seizing control of a country could be a good thing but we can hope for the best of a bad situation. Better news is not coming, at least not immediately for our cows, or for the people using their medicine. That’s because...
- Social media should never replace your doctor. Look, I’m a huge advocate of this state. I love Florida, and I’m a fierce defender of all that’s wonderful here and of Floridians generally who get a bad rap. For example, look at how many creeps and freaks there are in states like California and New York. You don’t hear about the California man or the New York man (or person of indeterminate origins as the politically correct case may be) do you? So why are Florida’s most interesting characters turned into representatives of the rest of us? That being said, this might be the most “Florida Man” story yet. We’re out of cow meds in Florida. And why are we out of cow meds you might ask? Because the dewormer used for Florida’s livestock is Ivermectin. And why has there been a run on livestock deworming medication? Social media. And specifically, the claims that Ivermectin is an effective treatment for COVID-19. The problem’s become bad enough that 27 Floridians have been treated by Florida Poison Control for having taken it this month. The manufacture of the product Merck, which would have every financial reason in the world for Ivermectin to be a wiz-bang treatment for COVID-19, has now put out a statement that there’s no meaningful evidence for clinical activity or efficacy in patients with COVID-19. And the FDA weighed in with this: You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it. Yes, the FDA actually tweeted that along with a link to a fact page entitled: Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19. As for where this all started...a pre-publication paper entitled: The FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. There are only two minor issues with that paper. The FDA never approved it as anything other than a parasite fighter and the research cited in paper didn’t occur with any clinical tests on animals or humans. Details, right? This is what happens when social media replaces your doctor. Our cows get worms and Floridians get poisoned – in addition to COVID-19.
- Left Behind. Not a reference to 16-volume bestselling series depicting Revelations, but the current reality for some in Afghanistan. Yesterday Press Secretary Jen Psaki, of the Jen Psaki drinking game, had this to say. There’s a small number of Americans left in Afghanistan as the deadline approached before the pullout. I’m not sure what a “small number is”. What we do know is that President Biden broke his pledge to bring all remaining Americans home. Praying would be appropriate for these victims of Biden’s bungled bailout of Afghanistan. Revelations may not be playing out in real-time but it’s clear that on this planet there are Americans left behind.