Of course, a discerning reader of the NY Times article on the apparent uselessness of vaccinations (4,600% increase on the heavily vaccinated island of Puerto Rico!) will note the references to the great poverty of the island, and how health professionals have left in droves for better pay, and how the severely strained system really doesn’t have the resources to afford decent health care for most of its citizens, especially during a pandemic surge. Plus, the place is nearly bankrupt! Creditors are circling, getting ready to pounce. Anyone with ambition and the ability gets the hell off of Puerto Rico, apparently.

The headline and subhead strongly suggest that vaccines don’t really work against this new strain anyway. But the reader also learns about the culture on Puerto Rico where parties are held everywhere between Thanksgiving and January 6. January 6, I know, it has a special significance for the people of Puerto Rico that I don’t recall. The date rings a bell for another reason I can’t quite put my finger on.

So, a new strain of coronavirus that is five times more infectious than the original, if much less often deadly — and almost never deadly for the vaccinated — is sweeping Puerto Rico, as it is sweeping the world, and the NY Times headline is: vaccinated people getting covid in droves.

Might a better headline have been:

Impoverished US Island feels disproportionate impact of Omnicron, in spite of high vaccination rates, due to poor health services and a culture of partying continuously for over a month

The NY Times serves an important purpose and sometimes publishes great things. Sometimes you have to look past the headline, and the first few paragraphs, and take the time to read between the lines, right down to the last paragraph, focusing on what they often leave out. At such times you just have to say: what the fuck is your fucking agenda, fucking Grey Lady?