Meet the former NYT reporter who is challenging the coronavirus narrative

[charsan]

Now he’s turned to challenging the narratives on the response to the coronavirus. What Berenson is promoting isn’t coronavirus denialism, or conspiracy theories about plots to curb liberties. Instead what Berenson is claiming is simple: the models guiding the response were wrong and that it is becoming clearer by the day.

....

"In February I was worried about the virus. By mid-March I was more scared about the economy. But now I’m starting to get genuinely nervous," he tweeted this week. "This isn’t complicated. The models don’t work. The hospitals are empty. WHY ARE WE STILL TALKING ABOUT INDEFINITE LOCKDOWNS?"

....................


"We believe that our health care delivery system in the United States is quite extraordinary," Dr. Deborah Birx said at a White House press briefing on Wednesday. "I know many of you are watching the Act Now model and the IHME model— and they have consistently decreased the number, the mortality from over almost 90,000 or 86,000, down to 81,000 and now down to 61,000. That is modeled on what America is doing. That’s what’s happening."

Dr. Anthony Fauci said that the indicators are that social distancing efforts are working: "Because remember, what you do with data will always outstrip a model. You redo your models, depending upon your data, and our data is telling us that mitigation is working."

But Berenson argues that those models have social distancing and other measures baked into them. As for further proof, he says that outside of places like New York there has not been a national health crisis that was predicted -- nor are there signs that the level of lockdown in various states has made a difference.
Meet the former NYT reporter who is challenging the coronavirus narrative

 

[charsan]

I know people might hate me, just give the article a chance please

 

[tampasteve]

I know people might hate me, just give the article a chance please

I don't hate you - I agree with you. Just try and have a conversation about how to best effectively open the economy again and you get shouted down with "stay at home!", even if you are thinking about it over the next few months. The models were wrong, but politicians, media, and medical community will never back down from the narrative that the measures are what did it - they can't.

 

[wing2000]

The hospitals are empty.

Untrue.

As for further proof, he says that outside of places like New York there has not been a national health crisis that was predicted -- nor are there signs that the level of lockdown in various states has made a difference.

Places outside NYC have yet to meet their peak (except the Seattle area). As for the signs, I guess he is willfully ignoring the pattern in every country to date...

 

[charsan]

I don't hate you - I agree with you. Just try and have a conversation about how to best effectively open the economy again and you get shouted down with "stay at home!", even if you are thinking about it over the next few months. The models were wrong, but politicians, media, and medical community will never back down from the narrative that the measures are what did it - they can't.

Exactly. Sometimes I feel like I am fighting up hill when I sound the alarm, it is nice to know I am not alone

 

[Ada Lovelace]

The last time the reporter worked for the NYT I was in elementary school. I'm now in college, for context. So sure the thread title is technically true but misleading. He's a spy fiction writer, and his foray into writing a nonfiction pertaining to science was denounced as alarmist and inaccurate by many in the scientific and medical communities for drawing inappropriate, amateur conclusions from the research. From the article in the OP it's vividly clear he's repeating the errors in assessing the coronavirus response.

 

[charsan]

Be that as it may, I would rather believe him than some un elected person trying to scare us with lies and ruining the economy and freedom in America

 

[Desk trauma]

Be that as it may, I would rather believe him than some un elected person trying to scare us with lies and ruining the economy and freedom in America

The author of the article is also unelected with the bonus feature of no relevant education about virology or public health.

 

[Hank77]

Exactly. Sometimes I feel like I am fighting up hill when I sound the alarm, it is nice to know I am not alone

The problem I see for making any determination about hospitalization and the seriousness of this infection rate is explained in this article.

Are Hospitals Seeing A Surge Of Coronavirus Patients? Some Officials Aren't Saying

"Out of respect for patient and employee privacy we are not able to disclose the number of positive COVID-19 patients in our facilities or under our care," Angie Sheets, director of media relations for Sutter Health, one of the largest medical groups in Northern California.


Kaiser Permanente in Northern California, which has a network of more than 20 hospitals, also declined to report their patient numbers publicly.

 

[ZNP]

I don't hate you - I agree with you. Just try and have a conversation about how to best effectively open the economy again and you get shouted down with "stay at home!", even if you are thinking about it over the next few months. The models were wrong, but politicians, media, and medical community will never back down from the narrative that the measures are what did it - they can't.

I think Sweden has a good model. Make a detailed list of people who would be of greatest risk to be hospitalized. All others can return to a normal daily practice. This would cause about 10% of the population to remain quarantined, but many of these would be retired and elderly.

This would cause 90% of the population to become exposed, infected and ultimately immune. Then, those that are at risk get tested so that if they do have antibodies they also can return to normal. This would be very tough on 5% of the work force, but for 95% they would get back to normal very quickly.

 

[essentialsaltes]

A Detroit hospital has been so overwhelmed by the influx of Covid-19 patients that at least 2 people have died in its emergency room hallways before help can arrive, health care workers there told CNN.

 

[dogs4thewin]

Be that as it may, I would rather believe him than some un elected person trying to scare us with lies and ruining the economy and freedom in America

It is improving because of what we are doing. The projected death rate has been adjected downwards, but that is because of social distencing and giving medical professionals a chance.

 

[pitabread]

What the OP is referring to is exactly what I feared: protective measures put in place to prevent the apocalypse and when the apocalypse doesn't happen, people question whether the measures were necessary in the first place.

It's like Y2K all over again.

 

[dogs4thewin]

I think Sweden has a good model. Make a detailed list of people who would be of greatest risk to be hospitalized. All others can return to a normal daily practice. This would cause about 10% of the population to remain quarantined, but many of these would be retired and elderly.

This would cause 90% of the population to become exposed, infected and ultimately immune. Then, those that are at risk get tested so that if they do have antibodies they also can return to normal. This would be very tough on 5% of the work force, but for 95% they would get back to normal very quickly.

I saw where that may be backfireing not sure how true that may or may not be.

 

[pitabread]

Be that as it may, I would rather believe him than some un elected person trying to scare us with lies and ruining the economy and freedom in America

Is economy and freedom more important than individual lives?

How much death is an increase to the GDP worth to you?

 

[pitabread]

I think Sweden has a good model. Make a detailed list of people who would be of greatest risk to be hospitalized. All others can return to a normal daily practice. This would cause about 10% of the population to remain quarantined, but many of these would be retired and elderly.

This would cause 90% of the population to become exposed, infected and ultimately immune. Then, those that are at risk get tested so that if they do have antibodies they also can return to normal. This would be very tough on 5% of the work force, but for 95% they would get back to normal very quickly.

Jury is still out on Sweden's approach: Sweden's Relaxed Approach to the Coronavirus Could Be Backfiring

 

[dogs4thewin]

What the OP is referring to is exactly what I feared: protective measures put in place to prevent the apocalypse and when the apocalypse doesn't happen, people question whether the measures were necessary in the first place.

It's like Y2K all over again.

Instead of realizing that the REASON it has not been nearly as bad as feared ius BECAUSE of the steps taken.

 

[charsan]

It is improving because of what we are doing. The projected death rate has been adjected downwards, but that is because of social distencing and giving medical professionals a chance.

Nope, that is baked into the numbers. Even Stanford is looking at the possibility that the virus was here in the fall last year and we were fine then. No one needs to stay home unless they are sick or vulnerable. We are smarter than those people are treating us.

 

[dogs4thewin]

Nope, that is baked into the numbers. Even Stanford is looking at the possibility that the virus was here in the fall last year and we were fine then. No one needs to stay home unless they are sick or vulnerable. We are smarter than those people are treating us.

The problem is it spreads so quickly. Yes, a quarter to half of people do not get sick and yes most who do have mild cases, but when 10-20% of cases are landing people in the hospital we can't keep up with that.

 

[pitabread]

Even Stanford is looking at the possibility that the virus was here in the fall last year and we were fine then. No one needs to stay home unless they are sick or vulnerable.

Look at what is happening nursing homes though. Once the virus gets in, you have potential for widespread death among the residents. At that point "staying home" is irrelevant.