The Hospital Crisis Strikes Again
It’s disappointing to see that we are back in the “media scare stories about hospitals” stage. The good news is that, just like last time, this is simply not the case. The corporate press, which I believe is the enemy of the people, either has no idea what they are saying or are seeking to mislead.
Let’s look into it all.
Here we have: Hospitals in Idaho, Pennsylvania, Texas overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients
That’s a scary headline. It’s also a false one.
We have data on this (and so would they if they bothered to get any).
Idaho: (as of 12/4) 57% of inpatient beds used, 14.6% COVID. 74% overall ICU. 90% of inpatient beds and ICU is normal; even 100% ICU is normal. 57% is staggeringly low, like “CRIPES we’re all going out of business!” low.
Calling that overwhelmed is outlandish.
ICU of 74% is also low; even 100% ICU is not “full.” All can flex to 125%. It’s a federal mandate, and in fact most ICUs can flex to 150-200%. They just do not leave the beds staffed when they are not needed—that’s too expensive.
Hospitals are like airlines or hotels: they seek to be full, not empty. Building capacity you do not use is how you lose money.
But hey, maybe they got PA right, huh?
Nope. 17% COVID; 73% of all beds, 82% of all ICU. Those are all low numbers, especially for this time of year. Dec and Jan are peak flu and pneumonia season.
Well, maybe Texas?
Nope.
15% COVID, 73% all beds, 82% ICU. Again, all low numbers.
And hey, if you do not believe me, go read the articles I linked above. The TX hospital CEOs will tell you the same. This is not rocket science, it’s hospital admin 101, which we pay a stupid amount for. (And thus need more billable units. Incentives have unsurprising effects, but I’ll leave that alone for now.)
You can always find some 2nd-year resident having a meltdown and get a scare quote. It’s why so many docs wash out of hospital practice.
But these are low numbers, not high. There is no “crisis” in US hospitals nor was there last time. Even perennial basketcase NYC was never overwhelmed. They didn’t use Javits Center for much of anything, and the hospital ship was an unneeded bust.
But pics like this are used to scare you. Then you discover it’s from 2018. In Pennsylvania.
Wait, what?! Yes. There were a zillion stories like this in 2018. But again, the accuracy of the photos don’t matter. Remember the morgue crisis? How it’d be a domino-effect? Chain reaction? Human sacrifice? All done for a reason.
It was all over NYC. You just did not notice them because it’s not really a big deal. This sort of thing happens all the time.
And it happens all over:
“California Hospitals are a War Zone of Flu Patients and are Setting up Tents to Treat Them”
Again, from 2018. Remember panicking about it? Yeah, me neither. Of course we also have a legitimation crisis with the corporate press, where any number they present is also suspect. (And they admit to doing it on purpose.)
It’s like the whole world, egged on by media and government seeking to frighten and inflame rather than inform, has lost all historical perspective this year.
They are telling it like it ain’t. And they’re morally bigoteering all the while. Boy does it sell. It’s panic-porn clickbait. There is no excuse for reporting like this in an age when anyone can check this tool in seconds and see the actual figures. I suggest you all bookmark it (click on the image). Use it to check the stories you’re being told. The sanity you save may be your own.
And remember, this year we decided to use PCR testing in a way we shouldn’t, label deaths in a way we never have, and throw all our knowledge of pandemic doctrine to the wind. In fact, one of the fascinating aspects of the response to COVID is the manner in which all past knowledge and standing guidance regarding lockdowns and quarantines got tossed out the window and replaced with new, contradictory doctrine with no scientific backing.
Quarantine is a 60-year old doctrine based in pseudoscience. There are no recent examples of it working. The authors explicitly state that the consequences are so dire that it “should be eliminated from serious consideration.” Hard to get any clearer than that.
Everyone knew this did not work and the literature on it is robust and has been for ages. And pretty much all of it says that the response to COVID should not have been lockdowns, travel bans, and shelter in place. They all say it will not work. In fact, our “selfless” lockdowns are, according to the UN, probably going to lead to famines and starvations of “Biblical proportions.”
But again, we knew that all of these things didn’t work. Heck, at first we adamantly said that masks didn’t work, then that they did, but not cloth, and now, believe it or not, we’re saying that cloth is better than medical grade. And remember, you need to believe it all. Whatever is said in the moment is the truth beyond doubt.
We also used to know that the social gathering stuff doesn’t work. And that closing schools was insane. And that the 3-foot rule, which became the 6-foot rule, has no basis in science.
That’s all from a paper in the journal, “Biosecurity and Bioterrorism.“ But it’s not odd. It’s what we always knew. The CDC knew it:
The WHO knew it:
The Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine knew it:
A number of my friends online even came out against things like masks, citing evidence, until the evidence didn’t matter and they were listed as common-sense and science-denying grandma killers.
Why does this all happen? Why did your friends suddenly decide that you’re moral-evil incarnate? The Asch conformity experiments will tell you why. If you don’t know about them, you can read more at this link.
Lastly, remember that two things are most correlated with spreading COVID:
- Disobedience.
- The patriarchy.
The above is adapted from commentary by a bad cat.
