Final Word from Thursday, January 28, 2021
Václav Klaus told Mladý svět in 1993 that, "A prime minister or finance minister can never lie but can and must lie when it is a matter of currency reform, currency exchange or devaluation." Can we now add covid-19 to the list? Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to U.S. Pres. Joe Biden, told the New York Times that he was slowly but deliberately moving the goal posts in terms of the percentage of infections or vaccinations needed for herd immunity. Initially, he said 60-70%, then 70-75%, then 75-85%, then 70-90%. He was doing this, he said, partly based on new science, and partly on his gut feeling that the country was finally ready to hear what he really thought. In other words, he was lying like an epidemiologist. (He's an immunologist.) This week he stepped up his game and said that 285m of the U.S.'s 330m people need to be vaccinated for herd immunity. That's 110% of the 16+ population. Wow, we haven't heard that line yet from Fauci's Czech equivalent, Roman Prymula. [ Czech Republic magazine United States of American Joseph ]
Glossary of difficult words
to move the goal posts - to change the rules while someone is trying to do something in order to make it more difficult for the person to achieve his or her goal;
gut feeling - instinct or intuition;
to step up one's game - to improve one's performance of the quality or one's work.