Weeks ago there was the U.K. variant. Next was the South African variant. This week we learn of a California and a New York variant of Covid-19.

With the great number of Covid-19 cases here in the United States the chances of variants developing first in the U.K. are actually slim (and even slimmer in South Africa). The reason we didn't see variants earlier in the US was because we were't looking for them. The U.K. and South Africa were... of course they found them first.

Which brings us back to The Science topic from last week. If you remember there is no such thing. What we are learning about Covid-19 from politicians and the the news media (whether it be CBS or Fox or OneAmerica) is not what The Science tells us.What we are learning is the opinions of people who want their opinions heard and who are expert at getting them heard..

These variants weren't found first in the United States because the experts at Centers of Disease Control (The Scientists?) didn't consider that it was important to test for these variants. Now that researchers in the U.K. and South Africa are finding variants, maybe we should look for them also. This gives research doctors at medical schools something to do now that hospitalizations in this country are at a significantly lower level than just two months. Expect that several new variants will be discovered in the U.S. in the next few weeks. Don't feel left out Arkansas.. the Little Rock variant is just around the corner

The first thing we heard on the news media about each of these variants was that they did not appear to be more deadly but they were much more easily spread than the conventional strain of Covid-19 and that we need to remain vigilant in our battle against the virus because there may be a "fourth wave" of infections in the coming weeks. These Scientific Facts (LOL) were told to us by folks who wanted their opinions heard and who are expert at getting them heard.

Have you seen any news reports of respected medical journals (eg. The Lancet or JAMA) of any studies that have shown that these variants were either more easily spread or less deadly then the conventional strain...NO. What we are seeing are stories that are intended to bring eyeballs to watch these reports...

Yesterday on ABC World News Tonight, this type of infomation was reported through an interview with someone from Florida International University. Yea that's one that is right up there with Harvard, Stanford, Massachusetts General Hospital and the Mayo Clinic. Come on guys.

I'm not saying that these sensationalized reports are incorrect. Some of these variants may well be more easily spread. Some may be less deadly (the news media doesn't want to really scare us that they may be more deadly). There may well be a "fourth wave"of infections. But based upon what I am seeing there is little or no evidence that these reports are true. Not to beat a dead horse - but these reports are merely theopions of people who want their opinions heard and who are expert at getting them heard.

Get your vaccinations, wear masks, maintain social distancing and stop worrying about the variants.