The Delta Variant: A great opportunity squandered

COVID delta variant

The Indian 𝛿-variant — one of the tens of thousands of mutations of COVID — is being bandied around as some sort of gremlin. It’s nothing of the sort. This variant is 2-4 times more transmissible than the original virus, but indications are that it is also 2-4 times more survivable.

Now that its the dominant strain in the UK and US, both countries have pretty much opened up. Heck, there’s no stopping it, so why bother.

Rather, open up and let the population contract it and develop immunity to this and all other strains.

In fact, it’s probably going to be more effective in developing herd immunity than the vaccines, given the extremely low efficacy they have demonstrated against this variant.

So the UK and US governments have taken this great opportunity and Australia has… well.. gone even further backwards now that the government has committed to a 2-4 year plan.

Meanwhile, Sydney — the state that hadn’t declared an emergency and seemed to have a rational government — has finally disappointed everyone and gone full retard.

Yeah, politically, it would be difficult just to capitulate. Especially as the low mortality rate has been pretty clear the whole time, especially now that we know only 131 people died of COVID-19 in New York.

But it would be refreshing indeed to finally see an honest and courageous politician. Not that any leaders who go anti-vax survive, but I’d be willing to trade a prime minister for sanity. Even ScoMo.

As you can see, the daily cases are rising rapidly in the UK with the new 𝛿-variant.

But people have stopped dying from it.

Hospitalizations are down as well. Except for younger vaccinated people. Let’s not ask why.

P.