The school closures were nothing short of a disaster. A disaster for the children, from the academic retardation to the lack of socialization to fact that for many they never went outside, all day to the...it's a long list.
And for the country it resulted in enormous lost potential income:
And here is the former President at UnHerd, September 25:
The evidence on whether school closures were necessary during the pandemic was ignored, Barack Obama has claimed. He added that open conversation was shut down as the debate became overly politicised.
Speaking to British historian David Olusoga at the O2 Arena in London last night, the former US president said that “sometimes we weren’t looking at some of the evidence that said: ‘You know what, most kids really need school.’” He added that “it got politicised and became ideological and was viewed as a Left versus Right issue.”
On 30 January 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded the first instance of Covid-19 in the US, and by the end of March all states had closed schools until further notice. In mid-September 2020, about 60% of US schools were fully virtual and only 20% were operating a traditional in-person schedule, while around 20% were hybrid. Well into 2021, many schools — primarily in Democratic states — were operating on reduced timetables with mask mandates and social distancing rules.
In May 2020, Obama called the federal government’s response to the pandemic “an absolute chaotic disaster”. Speaking to college graduates in an online commencement address, he said: “More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing. A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.” Earlier that year, in March, the former president advocated for the cancellation of large gatherings so as to “slow the spread of the virus and save lives”. He added: “We have to look out for each other.”
Five years later, there is a wide consensus among experts that closing schools during the pandemic hampered children’s education and social development while failing to stop the spread of the disease. A report in the New York Times in March 2024 said that “today, there is broad acknowledgment among many public health and education experts that extended school closures did not significantly stop the spread of Covid, while the academic harms for children have been large and long-lasting.”
Earlier this month, data from The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known informally as America’s report card, showed that reading and maths scores for senior high school students were down significantly from 2019. Average scores are down dramatically since 1992 among the worst-performing students, but experts suggest that pandemic closures exacerbated an already worsening decline in attainment. For example, a McKinsey study showed that by the autumn of 2020, students in the sample had only learned 67% of the maths curriculum they were due to cover by that point....
....MUCH MORE
As to lockdowns in general, you quarantine the sick, not the healthy. Period.
Some earlier posts:
October 2021 - Covid-19: The Stupidity Of Lockdowns
December 2021 - "COVID-19: Rethinking the Lockdown Groupthink"
December 2021 - WSJ: "The Fickle ‘Science’ of Lockdowns"
The tricks were: First, conflate lockdowns with quarantines when in truth no one in history had ever attempted to shut down entire HEALTHY populations and Second, use the camel's nose under the tent technique, also known as, among political scientists, the 'I'll just put the tip in' method of coercion.
Just two weeks, that's all. Two weeks to bend the curve.*****
November 2022 - "Nuremberg II: What a Real Inquiry into the Response to Covid Would Look Like"
I hope the people who spent over two years on their covid jihad, destroying lives and livelihoods, retarding the education of an entire generation of children, twisting facts to fit a corrupt agenda, I hope they understand there were millions of people keeping receipts, and that the receipt-keepers won't be trying to shame their persecutors, for they know they feel no shame. They will be seeking justice, and possibly vengeance, against the entire class that oppressed them.I think I will retreat to the castle keep for a couple years and just observe how things play out.
If you'll excuse me, there's a drawbridge to be raised, can't take too many precautions against the risk of misidentification. I'd prefer the last sound I hear not be the mob baying "À la lanterne!"
We've visited the author of this piece, Michael Senger a few times, usually identifying him as a San Francisco Attorney. I'm wondering now if he somewhat fancies himself in the role of the chief American prosecutor at Nuremberg, Justice Jackson...."Nuremberg II: What a Real Inquiry into the Response to Covid Would Look Like"
I hope the people who spent over two years on their covid jihad, destroying lives and livelihoods, retarding the education of an entire generation of children, twisting facts to fit a corrupt agenda, I hope they understand there were millions of people keeping receipts, and that the receipt-keepers won't be trying to shame their persecutors, for they know they feel no shame. They will be seeking justice, and possibly vengeance, against the entire class that oppressed them.
I think I will retreat to the castle keep for a couple years and just observe how things play out.
If you'll excuse me, there's a drawbridge to be raised, can't take too many precautions against the risk of misidentification. I'd prefer the last sound I hear not be the mob baying "À la lanterne!"
We've visited the author of this piece, Michael Senger a few times, usually identifying him as a San Francisco Attorney. I'm wondering now if he somewhat fancies himself in the role of the chief American prosecutor at Nuremberg, Justice Jackson....
November 2023 - Lockdowns: The Epidemiologist and Public Health Giant Who Knew What Would Happen
The Joe Nocera/Bethany McLean piece posted late Wednesday, "COVID Lockdowns Were a Giant Experiment. It Was a Failure. A key lesson of the pandemic." mentioned Donald Henderson and his arguments against lockdowns. Unfortunately for the world he died five years before Covid-19 began its rampage. He was a Professor of Medicine and Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. One of his gigs was eradicating smallpox.
He probably should have received a Nobel Prize in Medicine.
A repost from October 2022...
And many, many more.
