Folks my age and older trend republican in their voting choices. Also, those who are unvaccinated and/or unwilling to take the other preventative measures trend republican.

That doesn't mean much around here but in a purple state or area, it seems to me like there could be a big enough difference in deaths to swing an election. It has always baffled me that the power hungry reich-wing can't seem to grasp that concept.

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I thought of this thread. The motivations of the folks that have pushed covid on our community are becoming less and less relevant. Now that science, statistics and historical data show that mitigation in general, and vaccines in specific, work effectively against against covid, and that by achieving a high rate of vaccination a community can drastically lower both the incidence and consequences of covid, who really cares about who and why this response was done to us as it was? What does this mean and what do we do about long term planning? Depends on who you are.

As I mentioned in a previous rant, actions have consequences. We now are beginning to have the data to measure the specific action of accelerating the virus. Some, like hospitalizations and deaths, were predicable to the point where one would have presumed that they would be obvious to an educated populace. That was not the case. Some would deny the clear cause and effect of decisions to this day. So much for the educated populace theory.

So, once we get past labor and resource shortages, dramatic rise in labor costs coupled with high demand for laborers, particularly college educated service providers, supply chain slowdowns and the inflation that resource hoarding and profiteering bring, which is where we're at and what we're working out of, what will the next stage of covid look like? Apparently, even more partisan than it looks now. In Knox County, that could signal a power shift.

How? Well, consider this. Stuart Hohl's district has a large number of elderly voters. Those voters trend republican. Stuart lost by right around 100 votes. In four years, the additional dead, those who listened to and practiced what they were told by Republicans, will be enough to throw this race into a virtual tie. Glenn Jacobs has now focused covid on the very people the republicans have to keep in order to keep winning elections. As vaccines improve and general symptoms moderate, the first effect will be that many covid deaths will go unrecognized, as long as there are no other statistical quirks to give the presence of covid away. I don't want to make this sound like a massive die off, but as the effects of refusing vaccinations ripples through our population, covid has shown to attack the older population more aggressively. These people are dependent on public health services that no longer exist, due to restructuring since covid first arrived. Should the democrats really outreach here, they could not only win, but establish a formidable margin, should they take advantage of this situation.

Look at the county. Bring back the lost Haney voters, subtract the soon-to-be-deceased 1000 Jacobs voters and get the big tent back up, and you've got a toss-up. The Jacobs exodus of voters was unlike anything I've ever seen. If that keeps up, there's a chance the Democrats won't need anything beyond what they have. Really, the formula is simple, let Glenn Jacobs keep doing what he's doing, and hold him accountable every step of the way. Glenn Jacobs can destroy the local Republican Party via his actions. Let him do it. If history is an indication, the new vaccine will work very well.

The issue of whether or not covid will be the most massive preventable death event in Knox County history is behind us. It was, and it was because we failed as a community. Vaccination rates are community attributes and their success or failure is a community experience. Thus far, we have failed. The next phases of the pandemic will be to deal with the consequences of our actions, as a community. As to whether this was a feature or a bug, I think it will prove to be both.