Healthcare

A water drop and ripples

Is the NCAA an indicator of the breaking of the dam of reality on COVID?

By Justin Katz | January 10, 2022 |

This is encouraging and long overdue: As ESPN reports, the NCAA’s COVID-19 Medical Advisory Group updated its definition of “fully vaccinated” to account for various new vaccinations, boosters, and immunity factors. “Fully vaccinated individuals now include those within two months of receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, five months of receiving the Pfizer vaccine series…

A girl peaks out from under bedcovers

Politics This Week with John DePetro: The Woke and the Awakening

By Justin Katz | January 10, 2022 |

John and Justin talk about who is woke, awake, asleep, and awakening in Rhode Island politics.

Infectious bronchitis virus

Let’s be specific about what is creating students’ nightmarish days.

By Justin Katz | January 10, 2022 |

A reddit post by somebody claiming to be a student at a “specialized high school” in New York City has been getting a fair bit of attention.  (Note that the post has been edited, with some commentary found in earlier screen captures deleted.)  The student describes a school day during the Omicron surge as something…

An empty classroom

Look to recent history to see how over-the-top our school response to COVID is.

By Justin Katz | January 6, 2022 |

Rhode Island teachers have been posting their attendance records on social media, today.  Providence high school social studies and journalism teacher Dale Fraza listed his period 3 attendance as: Present: 4 Absent: 4 Quarantined: 9 This madness made me think that some academic with enhanced access to public school information should do a study of…

A water drop and ripples

Don’t forget the other layer of hospitalization and death “with” versus “from” COVID.

By Justin Katz | January 6, 2022 |

When I conveyed the state Department of Health’s findings on the question of whether people were in the hospital because of COVID or merely while happening to test positive for it, one word in particular seemed worthy of a mental note for subsequent consideration (emphasis added): According to Wendelken, “someone who goes to the hospital…

A man in a plague mask on a swing

Take the time to think about COVID claims in the mainstream media.

By Justin Katz | January 6, 2022 |

Yesterday, I got a glimpse of how the other half perceives COVID.  A Rhode Island progressive shared a tweet storm by some software guy (not a blue check) collecting every study that could be cited with ominous overtones about the supposed long-term effects of the virus. It was the worst kind of analysis.  Each of…

Sign reading "Racism Is A Pandemic"

How did racism become so widely accepted in our society again?

By Justin Katz | January 5, 2022 |

Honestly, I thought the matter was settled.  Judging people and giving them preferential or detrimental treatment based on the color of their skin is wrong.  Segregating people and providing opportunities to different groups based on race is bad. I don’t know how it happened, but one is apt to be called a “racist” for saying…

A water drop and ripples

Dogs in schools would be one way to put children first during the pandemic.

By Justin Katz | January 5, 2022 |

Months ago, Malcolm Gladwell made a pretty convincing case on his Revisionist History podcast for dogs as allies to help us avoid the most draconian anti-pandemic measures, especially in schools. It looks like some schools in Massachusetts got the message: COVID sniffing K-9s have gone through all five schools in the Freetown-Lakeville district throughout the…

Cars in a COVID testing line

COVID is partly a cultural phenomenon, allowing story shifts.

By Justin Katz | January 4, 2022 |

In a wide-ranging discussion loosely related to Internet narratives, Frank Rose and EconTalk host Russ Roberts touch on how immersive stories can draw us into activities outside their delivery — whether buying action figures, chatting with Broadway actors by the stage door, or digging into the history of non-fiction characters.  As I set out to…

Silhouette of hikers with leader

Politics This Week with John DePetro: A Little Leadership Would Go a Long Way

By Justin Katz | January 3, 2022 |

John and Justin cover the controversial topics in Rhode Island politics today.