The New York Times published an angry article lambasting Florida governor Ron DeSantis for the “steep cost” of his Covid decisions.
In the best traditions of ‘fake news’, however, the title of the article does not match its content, and it does not match the reality of what happened in Florida – because even the dishonest New York Times could not find evidence of “steep cost” of Florida’s Covid decisions.
With a straight face, the newspaper recalls the freakout of then-Florida’s Surgeon General about DeSantis listening to experts who believed the virus’s threat was overstated:
“‘You won’t believe what happened,’” she said he told her. Months before Covid vaccines would become available, Gov. Ron DeSantis had decided that the worst was over for Florida, he said. Mr. DeSantis had begun listening to doctors who believed the virus’s threat was overstated, and he no longer supported preventive measures like limiting indoor dining.
Mr. DeSantis was going his own way on Covid.
Further highlighting the sins of Florida’s Governor, the NY Times points out that he was cavorting with the evil Covid sceptics:
Mr. DeSantis urged older people to get vaccinated, even telling officials in a heavily Republican county to “get those numbers up”.
But his enthusiasm for shots waned fast, tracking the growing hostility toward them among the party’s conservative activists. In late February [2021], when Mr. DeSantis hosted a gathering of such activists for the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, he boasted that Florida was an “oasis of freedom” in a nation led by misguided health authorities.
His opposition to vaccines is especially upsetting to the authors.
By the time all adults became eligible for the vaccines in April of that year, Mr. DeSantis was rarely promoting them.
“Some are choosing not to take it, which is fine,” he said in March, at a 100-minute public event on Covid in which he did not once urge people to get vaccinated. In dozens of appearances on Fox News in the first half of 2021, he was carefully neutral about shots, except for those over 65.
A new state law, signed by Mr. DeSantis in May, bans Government agencies, businesses and schools from requiring Covid testing, vaccination or mask wearing.
The accusations are particularly laughable because despite trying hard, NY Times could not find any evidence of actual harm. Florida did better for Covid deaths (age-adjusted) than the rest of the nation.
Overall, the state’s death rate during the pandemic, adjusted for age, ended up better than the national average. Some public health experts credit the state’s robust health system and strong performance in the pandemic’s first year or so.
Not a word of thanks to DeSantis for Florida’s “robust health system”, but I digress.
Overall, this article seems to be a collection of innuendo mixed with evidence — which shows that there was no “steep cost” to DeSantis’s leadership in Florida. Why would the NY Times post such an article? I guess it does not respect its readers, does not expect them to read its articles critically and was ‘urged’ by its sponsors to smear DeSantis for reasons other than honestly exploring the history of Covid.
On Nursing Home Deaths
Several of my relatives ended their lives at nursing homes. They were loved by their children and grandchildren, and we visited them often. They were not abandoned but needed professional care that we could not provide. All three died relatively soon after admission, as their lives were on a terminal trajectory due to old age and dementia, and their deaths were sadly anticipated.
I am disappointed about how ‘nursing home deaths’ are covered in the press and sometimes even in vaccine-sceptic literature. Yes, nursing home residents are people and their lives are valuable. However, patients are admitted to nursing homes for a reason: usually, the residents are unable to care for themselves and are on a certain path to death.
Therefore, a goal such as ‘saving lives of nursing home residents’ is not very meaningful because these residents, for the most part, are facing unstoppable terminal declines and have a poor quality of life. The median length of stay in a nursing home is only five months.
Thus, any sort of policy that ‘saves nursing home residents’ is negated by the fact that most saved residents would die shortly thereafter. The New York Times grudgingly admits that Florida did better than New York because it tried to insulate nursing home residents, thanks to nudges from Covid-sceptic experts supporting the Great Barrington Declaration:
The Governor had early success in following his instincts. In 2020, the state supplied its nearly 4,000 long-term care homes with Covid tests and isolated Covid patients, avoiding New York’s mistake of releasing Covid patients from hospitals to nursing homes where they infected others. Florida’s death rate in the pandemic’s first year, adjusted for age, was lower than all but 10 other states’.
While the above does demonstrate that DeSantis made superior choices, the effect of those choices, in the long run, was minimal.
Policy Had Little Effect on Overall Mortality
The total excess mortality of Florida is strikingly similar to that of the entire United States, despite older than average population of the Sunshine State.
The early advantage of Florida in mortality, shown above, was likely achieved due to the smarter handling of nursing homes. However, nursing homes are where people go to die, so eventually these mortality advantages were erased and Florida ended up exactly where the rest of the United States did.
Both vaccine sceptics as well as vaccine advocates often overestimate the effect of Covid policy on real-world outcomes. The Covid virus is ‘smarter’ than us. It infected almost everyone. The masks did not work, so states supporting or opposing them did not create a difference in mortality. The governors, presidents, etc. are widely mistrusted. The vaccines, at best, did not work either.
Nevertheless, the failed article by the New York Times shows that DeSantis does deserve credit for the accomplishments of Florida.
They are trying hard to stop him from having a shot at the next presidency.
This article was first published on Igor’s Substack page. Subscribe here.
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Hallelujah, there is a God up in heaven after all!
Yes there is a God.
His pappy – either Castro or Pierre – were both Communist tyrants (in different ways). Apples and trees.
Truck Fudeau. Totalitarian Rona fascist, a drama teacher, a guy who ran from the Freedom convoy pleading he was ill with the fake Rona, a corrupt grafter, open borders fanatic, queer tranny lover, anti-Catholic who presided over the destruction of 100 churches thanks to his fake news claims that ‘Residential schools’ murdered ‘Indians’.
In 8 years he deconstructed what was once a great nation.
You mean a corrupt grifter, obviously. There’s nothing graft about Trudeau.
National Holiday for Canada:
Trudeau Geau Day
One of the most vile neoliberal specimens. Worse than Macron, Milliband, Sarkozy. In the same rank as Blair and Ardern. Starmer is more of a mulfunctioning puppet. He stayed too late after the coach went home. I would imagine that in the future Trudeau will have more serious things to cry about. You can feel where things are going and so can he.
Surely MALfunctioning puppet, he is a walking disaster area?
Two dreadful Justin’s gone in one day yay
.
How 2TK must be quivering with fear over a revenge attack from the Donald ….. bring it on.
Justin time? Well done to Donald Trump for the steep sanctions threat against Justin’s Canada and for describing Justin as the ‘Governor’ of Canada – to be America’s 51st State. Hopefully Greenland will be 52nd.
I remember he ordered mounted policemen to ride over some disbaled woman. If you are capable of things like that then you have openly betrayed your own humanity. Like Jesus said, depart from me I never knew you.
Anyone who might do such a thing must be an awful and cowardly bully.
Isn’t that how Justin behaved during his 9 years in office?
Leave him alone in a bar with a few dozen of those Truck Drivers he tried to ruin…..no time limit and no repercussions.
Can we have a camera in there so we can watch?
Cue for the establishment to rally and bestow on him one of those ridiculous awards (a knighthood perhaps) for his service to world government during covid. Or perhaps he’ll be given a position in some globalist organisation. These scoundrels will do something to protect one of their own. Watch for it. It’s coming.
Nay, bloody hell Stewart, “scoundrel,” I think that’s a bit limp. Not the way I would refer to that genocidal maniac.
Tears of a clown.
Tears of a clown.
Whenever Canada is mentioned, I think of this man here: Polish Pastor Chases Cops Out of Church on Easter Weekend: ‘Get Out! You Nazis!’
If he runs to the WEF then I do so hope that the whole lot of them hang together.
Macron is the last of the lockdown fanatics still in power. I’m not sure if lockdown in France was more severe or longer than elsewhere but the restrictions on the unvaccinated were some of the harshest in the World as the things Macron said about the unvaccinated were among the worse things any leader said.
Good, but sadly 5 years too late for the Canadian people (the real ones, not the recent imports).
Still …. I expect Schwab will find a cosy “globalist” role for Mr Blackface.
The Government must call an election by October 2025. This fake resignation leaves Trudeau in power until the party chooses a new leader. He has also prorogued Parliament until the end of March thus preventing the house from voting on a non confidence vote he would lose triggering an election. So this fake resignation will leave Trudeau in power for many months during which he will feed his corrupt friends and globalist elite and fake charities billions more of Canada’s tax dollars. A word of advice NEVER elect a pathological NARCISSIST with a famous last name to power. The destruction he has caused in Canada is just unbelievable.
Strange, the approval rating looks like Starmer too!
Good riddance to Trudeau. As for Pierre Poilievre, I’ll reserve judgement on if he is a wunderkind depending on how much interest he takes in reversing the M.A.I.D. laws which are legally targeting the most vulnerable Canadians for state facilitated killing.
Astonishing. Justice at last for the courageous Canadian Freedom Convoy, which inspired so many others in the nations of the West.
But since he’s not actually clearing off until next autumn, there’s still plenty of time for him to wreak havoc.