Missing Whatcom County state senator Doug Erickson has died of Covid-19
Story here
Editor’s Comments: Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Trump’s FDA commissioner, predicted in July nearly every unvaccinated American would get Delta, before anyone had heard of Omicron. Read that story here.
Once infected, whether it’s mild or serious seems random, except in those at exceptional risk (e.g., the elderly). According to Johns Hopkins data (here), 1.59% of infected Americans have died. The 98.4% survival rate made some people blasé about taking risks. What they overlook is that up to two-thirds of the survivors (see article here) experience debilitating “long Covid,” which is no fun, and may permanently damage their health. That, alone, argues strongly for taking all possible precautions.
What about the vaccines? They were highly effective at preventing infection from the earlier variants, and the University of Georgia says 98% to 99% of those dying now are unvaccinated. From this we might conclude those killed by Covid-19 today are both careless and unlucky, but this generalizes. Perhaps Mr. Erickson was very careful and very unlucky. Let’s not judge before we know. (Note, it’s virtually certain he had Delta, not Omicron.) His political advocacy on the pandemic, though, clearly and sadly was mistaken and misguided.
Where are we now? Omicron is spreading much faster than previous variants. Europe and U.K. already have a “tidal wave” of Omicron cases, and experts expect a major U.S. surge in January. If you aren’t vaccinated, do it now. If you are, continue masking and social distancing, because the vaccines provide less protection against Omicron infection, although getting a booster shot will help. They’re still essential for preventing hospitalization and death; and, very importantly, more people getting vaccinated is crucial to keep our health system from being swamped with seriously ill Covid patients.
What to do before you test positive.
Read article here
The latest isolation rules.
Read article here
“In 2019, Erickson registered with the U.S. Department of Justice as a foreign agent to conduct lobbying work on behalf of the Cambodian government. Erickson earned this $500,000 contract for his new firm.”
In 2018, Ericksen traveled to Cambodia to both observe and praise Cambodia’s most often criticized and condemned elections.”
“The Cambodian elections took place alongside a government crackdown that closed independent media organizations and dissolved a key opposition party.” – Seattle Times
He was in El Salvador to monitor elections (whether for pay or politics, I don’t know), and may have gotten infected there (this is uncertain). The politics there are interesting. There’s a powerful Marxist faction, but since 2019 the country has been run by a Trumpian populist who sent police and troops to “watch” polling places.
Why didn’t Erickson stay in Bellingham, Washington, in order to over see the needs of his constituents who were in his flooded district from the heavy rains? Rather than fly to El Salvador? Who funded Erickson’s out of country trip to Central America in order to observe El Salvador’s election?
I’d guess El Dictador did.