News Round-Up
26 April 2025
by Toby Young
Joe Biden asked Americans to wear face masks for the first 100 days of his presidency. 100 days later, new CDC guidelines say that only fully vaccinated people can do away with masks outdoors, and not when in crowds.
Nearly 8% of Americans who have received their first dose of a Covid vaccine are skipping their second doses. Reasons include a fear of the side effects and the belief that one dose offers enough protection.
US states which locked down this winter had more Covid deaths per million than those which did not. An update with new data and a look at why, despite their intuitive appeal, lockdowns don't work.
Academics who produce models predicting doom for places which don't lock down should be challenged to hindcast for states which stay open. If they can't get the past right, why should we trust them for the future?
While go-slow BoJo talks about vaccine passports and keeping masks and social distancing in place for another year, this was the scene in Texas today. A packed stadium, no vaccine passport required, not a mask in sight.
Covid numbers continue to fall in Texas more than two weeks after the state lifted its mask mandate and fully reopened businesses, in a move that President Biden dismissed as "Neanderthal thinking".
A new study has appeared that shows once more that lockdowns have no discernible effect on Covid infections or deaths, despite their colossal costs and harms.
The UK is ahead of the US in its efforts to vaccinate its population, but while Brits remain confined under severe lockdown restrictions, much of America is returning to "business as usual".
© Skeptics Ltd.