Mato's Blog

Even the WHO (World Health Organization), who demonstrated its utter incompetence various times since the start of the pandemic — for instance denying that aerosol transmission is the main way of COVID-19 infection — had to admit:

Vaccines reduce COVID-19 transmission by a mere 40 percent.

“We’re concerned about the false sense of security that vaccines have ended the pandemic and people who are vaccinated do not need to take any other precautions,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. 

“Data suggests that before the arrival of the Delta variant, vaccines reduced transmission by about 60 percent. With Delta, that has dropped to about 40 percent.”

“If you are vaccinated, you have a much lower risk of severe disease and death but you are still at risk of being infected and infecting others.” 

”We cannot say this clearly enough: even if you are vaccinated, continue to take precautions to prevent becoming infected yourself, and infecting someone else who could die.”

“That means wearing a face mask, maintaining distance, avoiding crowds, and meeting others outside or only in a well-ventilated indoor space.”

COVID deniers, some anti-vaxxers, and most conspiracy theorists will reject this statement, while  most politicians will ignore it, avoid discussing it, try to bury it among other news. The politicians (at least the brighter ones) know that this is explosive, that this invalidates their declared goal of a transition to an endemic state, that the hope of vaccinations as a panacea goes up in smoke, and that a return to the old normal is impossible.

Politicians (at least the brighter ones) know, that travel must be reduced or superseded by digital communication; that tourism industry, airlines, and cruise lines will have to close shop; that global supply chains need to be shortened or replaced by local production; that parades, rallies, sport events, concerts, and other crowded spectacles must be banned.

These are unpopular measures, and people will claim vehemently their god-given right to get infected, suffer from long COVID for the rest of their lives, and infect others. If authorities really would go this route, there would be protests, revolts, looting, arson, lynchings, chaos and anarchy.

No politician could survive the backlash to such harsh measures, and in addition to that realization and just for good measure industry bosses will disburse lavish bribes in order to stop such plans once and for all.

These measure would also violate the religious postulates of permanent GDP growth, happiness through consumerism, ferocious free market competition (dog-eat-dog), and untouchable property rights. 

So, most probably just like in a Greek tragedy the story will head to a dark and painful end with confusion and disorder, with millions more dying or being incapacitated, with collapsing societies and failed states.

In the epic war between humanity and nature humans have won many victories, destroying vital habitats, poisoning air, water, and soil, and causing a mass extinction of wildlife. They were jubilant, as the final victory, the irreversible destruction of the natural word, seemed to be near.

And yet, there are writings on the wall, and the pandemic is one of these writings, that humans were too confident, that their triumphalism and jubilation was unjustified. Just like in a Greek tragedy, just like in the Peloponnesian War, narrated by Thucydides, where Athens after many victories finally lost to Sparta, the story could end with a surprising twist and a bitter defeat. 

Maybe this time nature will win.

Links are on Blogger:
http://mato48.blogspot.com/2021/11/news-insights-opinions-november-25-2021.html

New pictures from cat land:

My severely sick cat companions Princess Min Ki and Wendy are still alive and doing surprisingly well. Maybe they will even see another spring.