Governor Sununu, You Have Some Splainin' To Do! - Granite Grok

Governor Sununu, You Have Some Splainin’ To Do!

Chris Sununu

Just as when Ricky Riccardo told Lucy she had some splainin to do when she made a mess of things (way back when in the “I Love Lucy” TV series), Governor Sununu also has some splainin to do (as well as his advisors) for the mess they have put NH in.  Their policies are killing our state.  Their previously justifiable reasons are no longer justifiable.  This isn’t a comedy series on TV… this is real life drama that has had life changing negative impacts on families across the state.

There is massive amounts of reputable coronavirus data coming in from all across the country on a daily basis that shows the governor’s continued lock down is unnecessary, costly and overblown.  The governor is ignoring the data that confirms what many have been saying here on the Grok for many weeks… that the coronavirus is very similar to the seasonal flu.

And that’s what doctors confirmed in testimony before a Senate panel on Thursday.

At least two medical experts testified about the coronavirus infection mortality rate during a hearing held Thursday by the Republican-led Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Thursday

In written testimony, Dr. Scott Atlas, a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, said, seemingly referring to the infection death rate:

By now, multiple studies from Europe, Japan, and the US all suggest that the overall fatality rate is far lower than early estimates, perhaps below 0.1 to 0.4%, i.e., ten to forty times lower than estimates that motivated extreme isolation.

Echoing Atlas, Dr. John Ioannidis, a Stanford University professor of medicine, epidemiology, and population health, as well as of biomedical data science and statistics, explained the difference between “infection fatality rate” and “crude fatality rate” in his written testimony, noting:

Shelter-in-place and lockdown orders were justified initially, when announcements declared a new, contagious virus with 3.4% fatality rate and no asymptomatic infections. Prospects of 60 million deaths worldwide led to comparisons against 1918 influenza. However, currently we know that asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infections are very common. The numbers of people infected are far more than those documented to-date with [the laboratory analysis technique known as] PCR [Polymerase Chain Reaction] testing. Infection fatality rate is accordingly much lower than the crude fatality rates derived from dividing the number of deaths by the number of documented [confirmed] cases.

The fatality rate from COVID-19 is highly dependent on age and modulated by the presence of [underlying medical issues]. For children and young adults, it appears that infection fatality rate is lower than seasonal influenza, and for middle age adults it is about the same.

The governor made initial decisions based on projections that justified reasons to be cautious.  People understand those initial concerns because many people shared them.  But now we know based on facts that the models were wrong.  Terribly wrong.

The governor should end the lock down now.  He should provide RECOMMENDATIONS to protect those most at risk (predominantly those in nursing homes, and those over 60 with pre-existing conditions).  Instead, the governor has decided to slow roll the opening of businesses.  If you’ve read his mandate regarding the procedures that must be followed for those who wish to play golf, it appears the Governor believes we’re all children, unable to think for ourselves.

The governor has forgotten we’re adults.  He’s also forgotten the state’s motto, the Constitution, people’s Right to earn a living and their Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Governor, it’s time to pivot and tell people it’s OK to go back to work, or explain in great detail why a virus with a mortality rate equivalent to the seasonal flu should still be costing NH residents dearly.

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