It has been three years because the COVID attack.
In the beginning of the pandemic, the “experts” shouted: “Stay at home!” “Shut down the colleges!” “Wash your hands!” “Disinfect countertops!”
Apparently, disinfecting countertops and washing hands made no difference. What about school closures and lockdowns?
The media crushed Governor Ron DeSantis when he lifted the Florida lockdown. “Irresponsible Behavior!” roared Dr. Vin Gupta of MSNBC. Reporters praised Governor Andrew Cuomo’s lockdowns.
On CNN, Andrew’s brother Chris raved, “I’m blown away by what you’ve got done!” In contrast, he said, Florida was “in such deep trouble.”
But in actual fact, once adjusted for population, Florida and Latest York had roughly the identical variety of deaths. Considering Florida has more elderly people, Florida does higher than Latest York. Most media only reports what they wish to consider.
My latest video covers which states and countries have handled COVID well and which haven’t. Usually, there are few dramatic differences between states which have opened and those who haven’t. The 2 states within the continental US with the fewest deaths: Vermont and Utah – Red State and Blue State.
The left-wing media was also very wrong when it covered the remainder of the world.
When Swedish health officials allowed the virus to spread in an try to achieve herd immunity (and enable younger people to live a traditional life), media “experts” were horrified.
Time: “Catastrophe!” NBC: “Sweden’s Failed Experiment.”
But it there was no failed experiment. COVID deaths initially increased, but data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development show that Sweden has done so higher than most European countries.
The OECD ranks countries by comparing “excess deaths,” which is the variety of deaths above the pre-COVID-19 average. It is a higher solution to compare as some countries don’t include COVID.
India has reported fewer than a million deaths from COVID-19, however the World Health Organization says the actual number is probably going much higher, with 5 million additional deaths in India over the past three years.
Maxim Lott’s excellent website, Maximum Truth, details this “COVID Fudge Factor”.
![Hospital](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/NYPICHPDPICT000003533919.jpg)
Countries of the previous Soviet Union are sometimes underestimated. The Belarusian dictator boasted: “There aren’t any viruses here!” But Belarus had many more excess deaths.
The 2 countries that did well during COVID were in sub-Saharan Africa. I discovered this surprising because Africa has low vaccination rates and meager medical care. Lott attributes this to the very young population of Africa. COVID rarely harms young people.
What does the info say about countries like Australia which have imposed brutal lockdowns? It is not clear if the brutality helped. But Australia’s laws saved lives, mainly since the island sealed its borders for 2 years. This dramatically reduced the spread of COVID-19.
But as nearly every Australian was vaccinated and the federal government lifted the lockdown, COVID cases skyrocketed, as they at the moment are in China.
Adjusted to the population, Australia now has still COVID cases than in the USA. But fewer Australians died, partly because a less deadly variant of Omicron was circulating when the country lifted the lockdown.
Was the strict blockade of Australia value it? The typical Australian lived two weeks longer. For me it’s not value it. Being locked in my apartment or shot with rubber bullets if I went out to protest just is not value two extra weeks of life.
![A woman collects COVID-19 antigen kits from a pharmacy employee in Beijing](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/NYPICHPDPICT000003944103.jpg)
Even people in China, where protests are illegal, have recently protested enough for China to lift its strictest laws.
The lockdowns also affected us financially. Latest York City has lost 400,000 jobs because the start of the pandemic. Florida gained 400,000.
In Latest York, where schools were closed, childhood obesity increased by 5%. Obesity has declined in Florida.
Kid’s education suffered. Last yr saw Americans achieve their lowest math and reading scores in a long time. In Sweden, which has never closed primary schools, children haven’t lost their education.
I understand that three years ago scared politicians desired to Down something. A highly contagious virus requires some public health restrictions.
But I wish they were a bit humble. Each of us has different values regarding security and freedom.
Life is best when we make our own decisions.
John Stossel is the writer of Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.