Andrew Friedson, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado, noted that their study found just 3000 of the cases were in South Dakota, meaning that the state derived all of the economic benefit from the Sturgis motorcyle rally, while not having to deal with the problems and the exorbitant health care costs, estimated by them to be over $12 billion. ( See our previous post on the study.)
No wonder South Dakota's Governor got so pissy today. If the study's numbers are born out, then they pretty much paint Kristi Noem as an irresponsible jackass who gave the rest of the United States a very unwelcome gift by letting the Sturgis rally go ahead in the midst of a pandemic.
As for Noem's assertion that their study isn't "science", I'll just note that her educational background is that she finally received her BA in political science in 2012, about twenty years after dropping out to take over the family farm. She also won South Dakota's coveted Snow Queen beauty pagent while in high school, a win she credits with helping her later in politics.
Source: Rapid City Journal
A new study reports that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally may be linked to more than 250,000 COVID-19 cases across the country, but state health officials countered that the study has yet to be peer-reviewed and Gov. Kristi Noem said the study is "grossly misleading."
Noem said the study is built on "incredibly faulty assumptions that do not reflect the actual facts and data here in South Dakota."
"This report isn't science; it's fiction," Noem said in a statement. "Under the guise of academic research, this report is nothing short of an attack on those who exercised their personal freedom to attend Sturgis."
Researchers from the Center for Health Economics and Policy Studies at San Diego State University attributed more than 250,000 coronavirus cases to the event by reviewing anonymous cell phone data. They also estimated the rally generated $12.2 billion in public health costs.
One of the paper's researchers, Andrew Friedson, tweeted Tuesday that people had accused him and co-authors of having a political agenda in their research.
Kristi Noem's appearance on Laura Ingraham's Fox News show, Aug 5. Noem defending her decision not to impose any lockdown in South Dakota, or take any measures against the Sturgis motorcyle rally.
Noem's tantrum of tweets:
This report isn't science. It's fiction.
Under the guise of academic research, it's nothing short of an attack on those who exercised their personal freedom to attend Sturgis. (THREAD 1/) https://t.co/3zkmabJV2y— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) September 8, 2020
Predictably, some in the media breathlessly report on this non-peer reviewed model, built on incredibly faulty assumptions that do not reflect the actual facts and data. (2/)
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) September 8, 2020
At one point, academic modeling also told us that South Dakota would have 10,000 COVID patients in the hospital at our peak. Today, we have less than 70.
I look forward to good journalists, credible academics, and honest citizens repudiating this nonsense. (3/3)— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) September 8, 2020
Friedson hadn't responded to Noem's shrill tweets, but he did tweet these out earlier today. "We go where the evidence leads us" being pretty much anathema to Trump or his willing dupes, like Kristi Noem.
On a related note, a lot of people (or maybe bots?) have accused my co-authors and I of having a political agenda with this paper. I would encourage anyone with this take to see our respective research records.
— Andrew Friedson (@FriedsonAndrew) September 8, 2020
My work, and that of my collaborators has come down on many different "sides" of many different important policy issues. We go where the evidence leads us.
— Andrew Friedson (@FriedsonAndrew) September 8, 2020
