Tag: COVID-19
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A New Outbreak of Covid-19 Hysteria
by Carol J. Bova The Covid-19 pandemic may have faded from public consciousness, but controversy over how best to fight the virus rages unabated. For the week ending, June 7, 2025, The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) reported Covid-19 was responsible for 0.3 percent of emergency room visits — compared to 0.2 percent for influenza…
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When Will We Apologize for the Shutdowns?
by Chap Petersen Exactly five years ago, March 23, 2020, Virginia’s Governor issued “Executive Order 53” which shut down the state economy in order to “flatten the curve” of COVID19 infections. It would continue in force until June 30, 2021, or over fifteen months. Under strict legal penalty, schools were closed, small businesses shuttered and…
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COVID Still Kicks Flu Butt as Cause of Mortality in Va.
by James A. Bacon In the previous post I criticized Virginia’s response in 2020 and 2021 to the COVID epidemic, particularly the shutdowns that ignored the impact on jobs and the economy, foregone medical procedures, K-12 schooling, mental health and addiction. Let me emphasize: that’s not to say that COVID was not a huge public-health…
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Whatever Could Account for the Decline in Opioid Deaths?
by James A. Bacon Opioid deaths in Virginia have declined markedly since the end of the COVID epidemic, reports Virginia Public Media (VPM). The fatalities, many of which were attributable to fentanyl overdoses, peaked at 2,229 in 2021 and have fallen to a predicted 1,552 this year — down 30%. That number is still frightfully…
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COVID Virus Makes Leap to Wild Animals
by James A. Bacon Hey, childless cat ladies, you might be giving your pets COVID! OK, I’ll admit this story really doesn’t have anything to do with childless cat ladies. I’m shamelessly piggybacking on the J.D. Vance childless-cat-lady furor. I should be trying to panic all pet owners, not just childless cat ladies. You all…
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Is the Cure Worse Than the Disease?
by James A. Bacon Dave Singer is a radiologist at a Virginia hospital. He’s not a front-line physician with primary responsibility for patient care, but, as an in-house expert in reading x-rays, CT scans, MRI scans, and other medical images, he reviews hundreds of cases weekly. His vantage point allows him to spot patterns that…
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COVID Questions Linger
by James A. Bacon There is still much we don’t know about the COVID-19 virus and the effect it has on the human body. One enduring mystery is the syndrome dubbed “long COVID,” when symptoms persist months or years after the infection. Why do some people get it while others don’t? What are the risk…
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Shown the Door, Petersen Calls Out COVID Fascists
By Steve Haner Reading Chap Petersen’s biographical “Rebel,” it is pretty easy to understand why a year ago his fellow Democrats threw him out of office in a primary. In fact, the mystery is that he survived as long as he did. The book tells a history that many would like to ignore or actively…
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Last Gasp for Masks
by Kerry Dougherty A friend of mine went to the dermatologist yesterday. The medical office was in the Sentara Leigh medical complex in Norfolk and she was required to wear a face diaper. Hey, there were a total of 5 cases of covid yesterday in Norfolk. That’s 2 cases for every 100,000 residents. There may…
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Another Social-Justice Narrative Circles Down the Drain
by James A. Bacon Now that Democrats have de-confirmed Virginia’s state health commissioner, Colin Greene, they have effectively set a new qualification for the office: it is no longer permissible to express skepticism that “systemic racism” is, in the words of Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, “a public health crisis.” Ironically, only a few days after…
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Has COVID Already Peaked for Winter 2023?
Last year in Virginia, the COVID-19 hospital count hit its winter season peak on January 12 at more than 3,700 beds occupied. Now the 7-day average is below 1.100, and Thursday’s daily count (reported Friday) dropped below 1,000 to 990. The most recent peak was Jan. 4. Flu and RSV are also on the wane,…
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One-Size-Fits-All COVID Policy Vs. Precision Medicine
by James A. Bacon What a revelation. It turns out that a person’s genes have a big influence over how or his or her immunological system responds to the COVID-19 virus. A Charlottesville company, Ampel Biosolutions, has developed a blood test, which it claims predicts with 90% accuracy if a COVID-infected patient is at risk…
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Youngkin Reacts To Raid By An ABC Goon Squad
by Kerry Dougherty In one of the most bizarre actions in recent memory, law enforcement on Friday raided Gourmeltz, a popular Fredericksburg restaurant, and confiscated its liquor and sales records because the owner in 2021 defied former Governor Ralph Northam’s long-defunct executive order that required liquor-selling establishments to abide by a host of nonsensical COVID-related…
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COVID Accounted for Half of Excess Deaths in 2020, 2021
by James A. Bacon The number of deaths in Virginia during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021) was roughly 15,000 higher, or 22.5%, than would have been predicted from pre-COVID trends, according to a new report published by the Virginia Department of Health. However, COVID accounted for a bit less than half (47%) of the…
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Virginia’s Test Scores at The Bottom of the Nation’s Steaming Heap
by Kerry Dougherty Geez. Who could have predicted this: Only one thing wrong with The New York Times reporting on yesterday’s horrifying report that showed the sharpest drop in national test scores in three decades. It’s this: the devastating failure of American education isn’t due to the pandemic.