Apologies for the continued de-railing of this thread, but yes, Covid has been a horrible mess, no doubt, not just in lives lost but also lives destroyed or lost as a result of it. My condolences to all who have lost loved ones.

that said, the bungling and flip flopping continues to be stunning and people are losing hope. To say that Americans have lost what little trust was left in government agencies, politics (LOL), and media would be an understatement (thank God I don’t live in Australia...).

The CDC doesn’t track the number of deaths associated with depression (suicide), missed checkups, hospital visits and critical procedures, postponed to the detriment (death) of countless people. People locked in their homes, elderly left to die alone at home and in hospitals, family units falling apart, business failing (selectively, while others profited), lockdowns, schools closed. The potential effect of all of this on our children will be felt for decades to come.

Yes, it’s been bad. My extended family has suffered the worst consequences, some from the virus, others from the byproduct of poorly thought out policies/mixed messaging. I wonder if history will tell us the cure was worse than the disease.

The CDC, NIH, FDA stumbled out of the gate; but the initial reaction, while arguably forgivable as we didn’t know what we were dealing with, what followed (CYA) was not. The myopic focus on containing a virus at all cost (except the border) at the expense of everything else is something I hope we can learn from. Going into year 3, we don’t appear to be improving and God help us if this is the plan for every other virus that comes our way.

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