CommentsVIEW FROM HERE-On May 17, 2021, four days after CDC Director Rochelle Walensky’s atrocious statement that vaxed people need not wear masks inside, I wrote:
“Biden should fire Walensky for grossly inconceivable incompetence, if not intentional sabotage.
Worse than the needless deaths, Walensky has killed the heart and soul of the Biden Administration
– that cooperative centrist policies will make America great again.”
On May 17, 2021, it was not clear whether Walensky was grossly incompetent or was intentionally sabotaging President Biden’s centrist approach to governance. Whatever her state of mind, the impact was the same, i.e., a completely unnecessary fourth Covid surge, and Biden should have immediately removed her. Yet, over two and a half months later, Walensky is still the CDC Director, reeking more havoc on Biden’s centrism.
Cover-ups Are Worse than the Original Crime.
Will politicians never learn that cover-ups are far worse than the original crime? By allowing Walensky to remain in her position, Biden has ruined the CDC’s credibility.
There was no public health basis for Walensky’s May 13, 2021, statement that vaxed people did not have to wear masks. The reality is that there were reasons not to say vaxed people could unmask.
(1) The new claim that we did not know the Delta variant was more deadly and more easily transmitted than the regular Covid was false. The best one could say is that in early May 2021, the CDC had conscious ignorance of how lethal and transmissible the Delta variant could become. The way variants seize hold, the more virulent push out the weaker.
(2) The CDC already had evidence that fully vaxed people could catch and probably transmit the virus. It had no basis to assume that the vaxed would not get the virus and not transmit it to others. Thus, saying that vaxed people need not wear masks was reckless.
(3) Today’s mask saves your life today; today’s vax saves your life in six weeks. Before May 13, 2021, Biden had an excellent game plan to get the nation to herd immunity, but it was totally dependent upon people being masked. Similar to how Biden had promised during the campaign to have 100 million Americans vaxed within his first 100 days, Biden had set July 4, which is a particularly vital day for the Conservatives, as the date to reach herd immunity. Biden had 100 million people vaxed within 58 days, and he was making significant progress with his July 4th goal.
Indispensable to Biden’s plan was that the mask mandates remain in place. The data showed that even including states that have Trumpist governors, much of the nation would reach herd immunity.
The CDC halted progress toward herd immunity. Worse yet, it brought upon us the fourth surge and made the divisions between Americans greater.
“The Buck Stops Here.”
Those four words are why Harry Truman has become one of our most respected Presidents. When things go wrong, the person at the top must take responsibility. In May 2021, the buck fell on Biden’s desk, and it was his duty to fire Walensky. Responsibility does not mean saying, "I take responsibility.” It means taking action.
By July, the nation was deeply into the fourth surge and the Administration was still running interference for Walensky and deepening divisions within the nation. The Dems turned to blaming the GOP governors and Facebook for the surge. That claim lacked merit since the Trumpists and Facebook had not changed at all. The pivotal change was the CDC’s statement that the vaxed needed no masks – even after it was proven that the unvaxed would not wear masks.
Irreparable Harm to The CDC and Maybe to Biden
The Administration’s seizing hold of this new study about the Delta variant’s virulence is bound to backfire. To the extent the study is valid, it supports the folly of Walensky’s May 13 statement. It says that the unmasked vaxed could be significant transmitters of the virus. Before saying the vaxed can go maskless, there had to be definitive proof from reliable studies that the vaxed could not transmit the virus. Also, there had to definitive proof that the vaxed would not experience breakthrough cases.
The latter was crucial for two reasons: (1) There is no sound public health reason to allow the vaxed to get the virus and masks would keep any breakthrough cases to a minimum, and (2) breakthrough cases would be used by the anti-vaxers to become louder in their opposition to vaccines. The fact that we have a recent study that Walensky was wrong in May 2021 is being used to argue that she was right in May 2021. Such double speak destroys the CDC credibility now, tomorrow, and into the future, it now has a track record of both incompetence and cover-up of its incompetence. Worst of all, Joe Biden blew his Harry Truman moment by his not firing Walensky. If Truman could fire Gen. MacArthur, Biden could have fired Director Walensky.
The Omega Variant Lurks
The huge risk is the Omega variant, i.e., a lethal Covid variant that will decimate the human race. The best step is “Everyone mask up until we reach herd immunity.”
Along with social distancing, the only tool is to mask up. Because the vaxed can get Covid, there is a risk that a new variant can develop among the vaxed. That possibility raises the Walensky’s May statement to one of criminal recklessness. It was similar to firing a gun into a passing bus. If the bus to packed, someone is likely to be shot dead.
When the CDC still did not know whether the vaxed would get breakthrough infections, it was reckless to tell the vaxed to unmask. There is some unknown critical mass of vaxed who get a new variant where the new variant will survive and hence be immune to the vaccines. Exposing large numbers of vaxed people to the virus opens the door for the Omega variant to emerge.
Vaccines will not protect us from the Omega variant. When will people learn, the virus starts with a few people and as more people are infected, stronger variants emerge. The time for everyone to mask up is before a new variant with a pandemic death rate takes hold.
(Richard Lee Abrams has been an attorney, a realtor and community relations consultant as well as a CityWatch contributor. The views expressed herein are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CityWatch. You may email him at [email protected]). Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos AP/Getty