I'm glad you closed with that statement. As I read the beginning of your article, I imagined the many similar conversations where one side of the debate felt they had all the information they need -- none. Armed with the ignorance of their unsubstantiated opinions, many people ignored all safety protocols. At some point, it would be interesting to see the transmission rates separated by political affiliation. By the time the second wave really got going, the political right decided they didn't need the "opinions" of experts on these matters, and not surprisingly, the virus spread in red areas faster than the blue areas where science-based controls were put in place. It's really sad that so many died for principled ignorance.