New York Times reporters are biased
The latest example. Check the date. June 11, 2024
On June 11, 2024 a New York Times reporter claimed that it “very much sucks” that covid cases are rising in NYC. She links to NYCity resources, and provides this figure Let me make a few points.
#1. Her figure is a distortion. By cherry picking recent dates, she omits the fact that the numbers are as low as ever. Look what a broader time horizon shows.
#2 It is unclear what she means by “very much sucks”— Getting COVID19 repeatedly is inevitable, and thankfully it is akin to a cold or flu like illness, which mildly sucks, but is no big deal in the grand scheme of life. Some argue that it can be worse for immunocompromised people. That might have been true in the past, but does anyone have any data that a person infected in 2024 has a worse outcome if “immunocompromised”— if so, please link to the paper.
#3 She links to a website with at best outdated information (the NYC guidance), and at worse outright misinformation. It claims that you should get tested if you have cold like symptoms. That’s wrong.
There is no reason to test. I explain why in this video (from 5 months ago!)
#4, The website claims you should consider treatment if positive. Again wrong.
The attached PDF promotes Paxlovid
Paxlovid of course is negative in an RCT of people who have had the COVID19 shot (EPIC SR)
As I describe in a prior post. Vaccination rates in NYCity are sky high, meaning most people should not consider paxlovid. Furthermore, all paxlovid data is from a bygone era with earlier strains. None apply to the present day. See my prior writing.
Paxlovid doesn't work in average, vaccinated people (no good evidence suggests otherwise)
Recently, Walid Gelad pointed out that Eric Topol— a cardiologist in the San Diego area— was pushing the unproven claim that Paxlovid reduces long COVID. Of course, there are no actual randomized data to support this claim, and the US FDA does not permit Pfizer to make it. Eric Topol, readers may remember, has a track record of getting things wrong. In a prior post, I
Overall, it is concerning that the NY Times has reporters who are so disconnected from reality that they are still worried about COVID19 cases. It is an endemic virus, and the only precaution one can take is immunity, not avoidance.
The NYTimes reporter’s inaccurate framing of COVID cases betrays the news room bias. If reporters had been less scared of the virus, our news coverage would have been more honest and balanced. Kids might not have lost years of schooling.
Biased is an understatement. They are mentally ill lefitst activists. Their reporting makes their readers and our world worse off.
Improving your information diet is critical to better mental and physical health: https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/substack-info-diet-tips-unplug-from-matrix
I can’t really understand how smart people can read mainstream media like this anymore. The headlines are full of adjectivess and this “sucks” talk is typical. It is all opinion on one side of issues, and they don’t even bother pretending they have journalistic objectivity anymore. I guess it’s all Gonzo journalism now (but not as fun as Hunter Thomson of course.)