Later in the week, I'll sink my teeth into a debunking of a really poor nationally televised piece regarding Covid. Today's entry, however, focuses on broad questions. My last two pieces have dealt with the pandemic's effects on American media. My argument is that when journalists decide to write and publicly present information so as to generate what they believe will be the greatest public good, they have jettisoned their responsibilities as journalists. They have become advocates for particular actions, and their reporting has shifted into the realm of propaganda.
The example I discussed was the categorization of the unvaccinated as fearful, irrational folk who are creating a drag on the U.S. effort to "solve the virus." An alternative perspective, I wrote, is that not being vaccinated is a political act, and its adherents wield attention and power they would otherwise lack. My problem with American journalists is that the second perspective does not get discussed or even mentioned in most reportage, and I suspect this non-discussion is quite purposeful.
Power or No Power?
Do I actually believe that the unvaccinated have been responsible for bringing Covid control to a screeching halt? Well, not really, at least not since the Delta variant has become the dominant Covid strain. Here's why I think that the unvaccinated have become more scapegoats than power brokers in August, 2021.
While some American studies suggest that vaccine efficacy with Delta has dropped from 90% to between 70 and 80%, a UK study indicates a more severe drop off in effectiveness. The below 40% vaccine efficacy versus Delta (from the UK) suggests that vaccination is no longer a huge factor in whether one gets Delta. The vaccines dramatically reduce the chances of Delta hospitalization and death, but they are only moderately useful in preventing infection itself. We're beginning to see reports of vaccine efficacy drop off being sprinkled throughout mainstream media in the last 72 hours.
Since Israeli and other studies have demonstrated that viral load from the vaccinated infected is comparable to viral load from unvaccinated infected, then the unvaccinated should not really be scapegoated as the overwhelming sources of virus spread. In fact, if vaccinated people tend to socialize more, go to restaurants more, or go to sporting events more than unvaccinated, then the vaccinated may, per capita, spread more virus than the unvaccinated. In other words, if the vaccinated behave differently, and they are being given permission to behave differently via vaccination gold stars, then they may per capita be more responsible for virus transmission.
Reporting Bias
Basically what I'm saying is that Delta has almost completely changed the game. The "deplorables" are no longer the sole virus control villains, and most American media simply does not discuss or even acknowledge it. For example, have you seen any reportage of how many people get Delta from the average unvaccinated, currently infected person versus how many get Delta from the average vaccinated, currently infected person? These stats would put things in direct, stark focus, and yet no U.S. health institution is even hazarding a public guess. Why do you think that is?
The question indeed becomes why. Why has American media decided to interpret reality as if the virus were the original strain with 90% vaccine efficacy? Is it easier to just report reality as if the virus were some monolithic constant? Does that simplify the writing? Do reporters have a difficult time, like the CDC, deciding that good practices in April are not necessarily good practices in August? Are American reporters spinning and framing news because the unvaccinated make convenient villains and, having established them as villains, consistent reporting trumps accurate reporting?
Going Forward
When the original strain was the dominant Covid strain, the unvaccinated bore more responsibility and wielded more political power of a sort, than now. They may have deserved their original casting as villains and fools, but the script has been largely rewritten by Delta. With the original virus, media interpreted reality as a kind of Unvaccinated Walking Dead versus Science Sapiens story. Now, who is responsible for what amount of illness is more along the lines of Murder on the Orient Express.
American media, however, is slow to adjust, as it loves villains and scapegoats. Villains and scapegoats make for easy writing with all kinds of moral imperatives and familiar storytelling. But this easy writing hinders providing a reality-based reportage for Americans. Villains and scapegoats do us a disservice.
I'll get into more of this tomorrow as I briefly examine media coverage of the California teacher who infected half of her class. It will be a warm-up to my deconstruction of a major television piece regarding Covid.
Bob Dietz
August 31, 2021
