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Thursday, April 15, 2021

A modest pandemic proposal

Presumptive President-elect Joe Biden is understandably anxious to take over the nationโ€™s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed upward of 285,000 Americans. Though like most Americans in lacking a medical degree, Mr. Biden is still qualified to wield a most effective weapon against the coronavirus: common sense. Rather than hector the robust and unhealthy alike about their lackadaisical mask-wearing, he should urge the vulnerable to follow his example until their turn arrives to be vaccinated. He arms himself with a close-fitting and precision-filtrating N-95 respirator mask and so should they. Others should be left free from heavy-handed diktats.

Americans welcome heartfelt efforts to save lives, but the Biden method thus far has more the look of fearmongering. โ€œI donโ€™t want to scare anybody here, but understand the facts,โ€ said Mr. Biden, last week, scaring the audience of a virtual event. โ€œWeโ€™re likely to lose another 250,000 people โ€” dead โ€” between now and January because people arenโ€™t paying attention.โ€

Mr. Biden shared his equally ineffective solution in an interview with CNNโ€™s Jake Tapper: โ€œJust 100 days to mask, not forever: 100 days, and I think weโ€™ll see a significant reduction.โ€

Actually, nearly all Americans are paying attention, and are covering up with masks of various materials, styles and efficacy. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in November found 87% of respondents said they wore a face mask all or most of the time when visiting stores during the preceding month โ€” 85% said they had been doing so for at least the previous 120 days. Expecting masks to suddenly result in โ€œa significant reductionโ€ in coronavirus cases and deaths is wishful thinking. This sad conclusion is self-evident, except perhaps to Mr. Biden.

Lockdowns, which are proliferating once again across the nation, reduce the spread of infection, but they carry their own cost. A November study by the University of Southern California put the projected two-year COVID-19 loss to U.S. gross domestic product at $3.2 trillion-$4.8 trillion. That may be monopoly money to government, but itโ€™s the lifeblood of small business.

Mr. Bidenโ€˜s strategy for saving lives should not focus on the 99% of Americans who ably recover from the virus, but those who might not: the sick and the elderly. A senior citizen himself, the apparent president-elect dons an N-95 respirator mask when traveling and frequently supplements it with a second, surgical mask.

The respirator masks were initially conserved for frontline health professionals, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still discourages their use by the general public. N-95s, however, are widely available. A 10-pack, for example, sells for $29 on Amazon. They mustnโ€™t be withheld from the vulnerable.

With his signature โ€œCโ€™mon, man,โ€ Mr. Biden should urge his coronavirus-prone cohorts to follow his cautious lead, while encouraging the rest of America to get busy and โ€œbuild back better.โ€ Itโ€™s common sense.

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