On Thursday, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis revealed a lawsuit against the CDC, Biden administration and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, demanding they remove federal restrictions on cruise ships.
“The pandemic started with great uncertainty and caused great fear,” the lawsuit states. “But with resolve, purpose, and ingenuity, we have developed multiple vaccines, therapeutics, and treatments that have reduced the mortality at unparalleled speed.”
“As of April 6, 2021, 32.6% of the U.S. population has received at least one vaccine dose, while 19% is fully vaccinated,” the lawsuit continues. “Importantly, 75.9% of those 65-and-older have received at least one dose, as states like Florida have prioritized the vaccination of vulnerable groups like seniors.”
“People are traveling again,” the lawsuit states, adding, “On April 5, for example, 1,561,959 individuals traveled on airplane flights in the United States—almost fifteen times the number who were flying on the same day a year earlier. It is not just air travel. Hotels, theme parks, restaurants, and many other industries are safely reopening.”
The lawsuit points out that as other industries have been able to rebuild, “the cruise industry has been singled out, and unlike the rest of America, prevented from reopening. Despite the demonstrated success of reasonable COVID-19 safety protocols in Europe and Asia, the cruise industry in the United States has been subject to a nationwide lockdown since March 2020. As a result, the industry is on the brink of financial ruin.”
Recent evidence from a 2021 study from Stanford University supports the lawsuit. The study found that “available evidence suggests average global [infection fatality rate] of ~0.15%.” The study points out that original infection fatality rates (IFR) were skewed higher as the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team, which is the group from the World Health Organization that provided original estimates for the IFR and recommended lockdown measures, excluded studies that estimated IFR below a certain level. The study concludes that the team seems “to consistently violate basic evidentiary practices in order to defend at all cost its original narrative of very high IFR and need for draconian lockdown measures.”
