{"id":33483,"date":"2021-08-13T12:40:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-13T16:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/?p=33483"},"modified":"2021-08-04T08:46:50","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T12:46:50","slug":"now-that-we-have-real-leadership-from-the-white-house-are-americans-better-at-fighting-the-covid-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2021\/08\/13\/now-that-we-have-real-leadership-from-the-white-house-are-americans-better-at-fighting-the-covid-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Now that we have real leadership from the White House, are Americans better at fighting the COVID War?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We were informed by the media that a principal reason the U.S. was unequal to the task of fighting the COVID War was poor leadership from the White House. Donald Trump was anti-science and refused to believe that <a href=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/18\/the-one-year-anniversary-of-the-czech-republics-mask-law\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"31603\">shutdowns and masks for the general public<\/a> would have a significant impact on the coronavirus. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/07\/18\/us\/politics\/trump-coronavirus-response-failure-leadership.html\">&#8220;Inside Trump\u2019s Failure: The Rush to Abandon Leadership Role on the Virus&#8221;<\/a> (NYT, July 2020), for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>The roots of the nation\u2019s current inability to control the pandemic can be traced to mid-April, when the White House embraced overly rosy projections to proclaim victory and move on.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Donald Trump has been gone for 7 months now. President Biden is providing fantastic science-guided leadership from the White House. Are Americans responding to this improvement by behaving better? The CDC recommends indoor masking, for example. Have you seen more people wearing masks indoors this month compared to in early January 2021? More people washing hands and using sanitizer? Fewer gatherings? In your direct experience, are more people or fewer people traveling (and therefore spreading variant COVID!) compared to when the hated dictator was in power? (data point: our hotel in Niagara Falls said that they&#8217;d been 100 percent full for months)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One place that was following the science, in our recent travels, was the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Masks are required in an outdoor garden\/zoo, in order to protect the animals from contracting plague. Masks are, of course, required indoors, so that child visitors are protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.36.29-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1520\" height=\"1140\" src=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.36.29-1520x1140.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"33485\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.36.29-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=33485\" class=\"wp-image-33485\" srcset=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.36.29-1520x1140.jpg 1520w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.36.29-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.36.29-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.36.29-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.36.29-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.36.29-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1520px) 100vw, 1520px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.31.17-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1140\" height=\"1520\" src=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.31.17-1140x1520.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"33486\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.31.17-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=33486\" class=\"wp-image-33486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.31.17-1140x1520.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.31.17-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.31.17-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.31.17-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.31.17-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.31.17-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The scientists at the museum want to remind you that when non-natives move into a country, the natives will have a tough time affording &#8220;food or other resources&#8221;, that the non-natives may bring disease, and that, once the non-natives arrive, the natives may stop reproducing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.13.29-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.13.29-1520x1140.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33487\" width=\"572\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.13.29-1520x1140.jpg 1520w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.13.29-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.13.29-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.13.29-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.13.29-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-15.13.29-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 572px) 100vw, 572px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What about at the art museum next door, where the median age of a visitor is probably 40 years older than at the natural history museum? Masks are optional, indoors and out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-17.05.05-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-17.05.05-1520x1140.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33488\" width=\"647\" height=\"485\" srcset=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-17.05.05-1520x1140.jpg 1520w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-17.05.05-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-17.05.05-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-17.05.05-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-17.05.05-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-07-23-17.05.05-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 647px) 100vw, 647px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overall, our experience has been that, despite great leadership from the White House, Americans are not #FollowingTheLeader. Unless the vaccination rate is near 100 percent, mask usage indoors doesn&#8217;t match the old CDC&#8217;s recommendation that only the vaccinated can shed <a href=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2020\/05\/01\/is-the-face-mask-the-church-of-shutdowns-hijab\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"26820\">the hijab<\/a>. Signs and practices certainly do not line up with the CDC&#8217;s latest guidance that everyone, including the vaccinated, should wear a mask indoors. From a McDonald&#8217;s near the Syracuse, NY airport, August 3:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-08-03-13.33.49-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-08-03-13.33.49-1140x1520.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33505\" width=\"289\" height=\"385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-08-03-13.33.49-1140x1520.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-08-03-13.33.49-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-08-03-13.33.49-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-08-03-13.33.49-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-08-03-13.33.49-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2021-08-03-13.33.49-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 289px) 100vw, 289px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sign regarding the &#8220;newly released&#8221; science was already out of date and none of the customers inside was wearing a mask.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We were informed by the media that a principal reason the U.S. was unequal to the task of fighting the COVID War was poor leadership from the White [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[62,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biden-harris","category-coronapanic"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Now that we have real leadership from the White House, are Americans better at fighting the COVID War? 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