(08-29-2020 03:24 AM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Declaration: I just want to say that I've tried very hard to educate here, and I myself have tried to be open-minded on these topics. I do *not* have all the answers; but I bet I do have the broadest and deepest knowledge base on this coronavirus. That doesn't mean my decisions about what to do about it, or how society should 'proceed' are fail-proof. I've just been trying to give the best guidance that I could based on the science and evidence.

I appreciate your high-quality input and the time and effort you have put forth on our behalf. I'm certain everyone on this board feels the same way. And, I hope you don't think I'm simply being a contrarian. I'm especially open to new and/or better data, and to any information I don't already have and/or cannot find. Only a fool ignores the experts.

However, I also think it is foolish to unquestioningly follow the advice of experts. That opinion was recently reinforced when "experts" in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and elsewhere advised sending elderly Covid patients back to their nursing homes, wherein any layman could have predicted the disastrous results that followed.

It's not just a matter of the experts sometimes being wrong, which, of course, they are. By and large, I trust the health experts' opinions about the medical facets of Covid-19. But, this pandemic has other wide-ranging and far-reaching aspects, which I believe are too often given short shrift by those in the medical field. It is with regard to the actions in those areas I am most likely to push for explanations and justifications.

Again, thank you for your valuable input and your time and effort. It is appreciated.