Jan 11, 2022 HELP — personal escalation ('kindling the crazies')

Do you have any second thoughts about your mitigation recommendations, considering the evidence that despite all of the things we've done in the U.S., our death rate is essentially worse than Sweden, equivalent to the less-developed world that is unable to do any of the things that you've been promoting? Do you have any second thoughts? Are you willing to look at the data that countries that did very little actually have a lower death rate than the United

States? You know, Senator, I'd be happy at a different time to sit down and go over detail. We've said a lot of different things. You've compared us to Sweden, and there are a lot of differences. And you said, "Well, you know, there are a lot of differences between Sweden." But compare Sweden's death rate to other comparable Scandinavian countries. It's worse. So I don't think it's appropriate to compare Sweden with

us. Yes, we have -- I think in the

beginning, we've done things based on the knowledge we had at the time. And hopefully -- and I am, and my colleagues are humble enough and modest enough to realize that as new data comes, you make different recommendations. But I don't regret saying that the only way we could have really stopped the explosion of infection

was by essentially -- I

want to say

shutting down, I mean essentially having the physical separation and the kinds of recommendations that we've made. You've been a big fan

of Cuomo and the shutdown in New York. You've lauded New York for their policy. New York had the highest death rate in the world. How could we possibly be jumping up and down and saying, "Oh, Governor Cuomo did a great job." He had the worst death rate in the world.

No, you misconstrued that, Senator, and you've done that repetitively in the past. They got hit very badly. They've made some mistakes. Right now, if you look at what's going on right now, the things that are going on in New York to get their test positivity one percent or less is because they are looking at the guidelines that we have put together from the task

force of the four or five things

of masks, social distancing,

outdoors more than indoors,

avoiding crowds,

and washing hands.

Or they've developed enough community immunity that they're no longer having the pandemic because they have enough immunity in New York City to actually stop.

I challenge that, Senator, because I want to – please, sir, I

would

like

to

be able to do this because this happens with Senator Rand all the time. You were not listening to what the director of the CDC said, that in New York it's about 22 percent. If you believe 22 percent is herd immunity, I believe you're alone

in that. There's also the preexisting immunity of those who have cross-reactivity, which is about a third of the public in many estimates of studies, which would actually get you to about five

years. I'd like to talk to you about that also because there was a study that recently came out that preexisting immunity to coronaviruses that are common cold do not cross-react with the COVID-19. Thank you, Senator Paul.