http://ftp.iza.org/dp13670.pdf

 

- This study was put out by the “IZA Institute of Labor Economics”.  Why are they delving into into a public health issue?

 

- This study was done by economists not public health experts or infection disease experts.

 

- This study was “Initiated by Deutsche Post Foundation”.    Deutsche Post aka. DHL is one of the largest package delivery companies in the world.  I wondered “why would a big packaging company have an interest in COVID issues”.  I did some research and as it turns out one of DHL’s divisions last year made some significant investments into pharmaceuticals.

 

- The motorcycle rally ended on August 16, 2020.  It took the authors of this report less than a month to release this complicated, data extensive study.  How is this possible? 

 

- There does appear to be increase in COVID cases in South Dakota after the motorcycle rally; however, this could be explained at least in part by August being one of South Dakota’s busiest tourist months.

 

- A lot of this study is based on cell phone “ping” data they got from a company named “SafeGraph Inc.” to be able to tell where people at the rally came from and where they went back to.  From this they can determine if there were COVID spikes where these people went back to.  I don’t understand this, given that cell phone data is not public information and you would typically need law enforcement help to acquire this information (need a warrant?).  Sounds like of “Big Brother” to me.               

 

- This study is so convoluted and complicated only an economist can understand or dispute it.  I’m and engineer and I can’t understand the equations they used.  Maybe CHD knows an economist who could wade through this.

 

- I think that if this study is proven to be a fraud the state of South Dakota, the organizers of the motorcycle rally, the city of Sturgis, the county  would have grounds to sue for libel given that a decrease in attendance because of this study could potentially result in the loss of millions of dollars in state and local revenue.