Insights into the COVID Pandemic

[stefk]

My youngest daughter sent me this text. It comes from an hospital nurse. It is in french, but I share with you, it is a very intersting testimony.

https://www.kairospresse.be/cas-covid-s ... spitalier/

Elderly people who die of the flu, it's every year
Overworked and overworked nurses, it's every year
Saturated hospitals every year
People over 80 who die have always been
Patients put in "prone position" in the ICU every year
Children who infect their parents have always been
Our immune system fights effectively against diseases, it has always been
Wash your hands regularly and stay at home when you are sick, it has been a given for a long time

...

A pandemic of cases and not of patients, this is a 1st and it is this year
A daily announcement of the number of deaths on the news (without putting them in perspective with births, for example), this is a 1st and it is this year
Images of patients in the ICU, this is a 1st and it is this year
Restrictions on fundamental freedoms (mobility, expression, meeting) for a disease that (almost) does not kill, this is a 1st and it is this year
An mRNA "vaccine" developed in 6 months, for a mutant virus, it's a 1st and it's this year
Pass vaccination as the one and only way to survive, it's a 1st and it's this year
A worrying silence of the legislative and judicial power, this is a 1st and it is this year
Bringing the burden of the death of our parents to our children is a 1st and it is this year
Deciding that there are essential people and others not is a 1st and it's this year

Should I continue?

Julie, committed citizen and hospital nurse

[SOL]

When observed from a different angle, this is the pendulum of freedom swinging in the opposite direction. The West will head towards a police state, we are almost fully there (and we spoke of this years in advance) and the East and all those so-called iron-handed nations, the pendulum will swing towards the direction of freedom.

One more notch is all that is left, when that's hit, it's game over in the West (westernized nations) and in America (Canada and the USA)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyf-dzaoqRs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOAOVbyfjA0

[stefk]

Yes, it is true, years ago you already spoke of this swinging pendulum. And what have we to do? shut up and accept the unacceptable? is there nothing to do, behalve making money by profiting of the trends? But the great majority already has accepted the unacceptable.

[langdj]

In my mind the best way for me to reconcile this is to "resist without being a hero". If we all did this I think we would be free.

A practical example (nothing magical about these choices, pick your own) I make people tell me to put a mask on (and then I do respect small business rules ), no masks outside, I don't take Covid tests (so many false positives add to the fear) and I will not take the vaccine.

I consistently have been donating to "GoFundMe" for people who have been getting their rights tramped on and need help with lawyer fees.

I have also been out and about everywhere I could since April. That is when I realized what was going on (I was duped for the first month or so on of this) It is pretty weird that being brave for our generation is choosing to eat out when the generations before us stormed the beaches of Normandy.

[Yodean]

"Resist without being a hero."

A practical example (nothing magical about these choices, pick your own) I make people tell me to put a mask on (and then I do respect small business rules ), no masks outside, I don't take Covid tests (so many false positives add to the fear) and I will not take the vaccine.

I like this advice. I live in Toronto, Canada, which to my knowledge has the dubious distinction of being the city with the longest continuous lockdown in North America (!) and also Western Europe, I believe.

Toronto just recently announced the extension of another 6+ weeks of lockdowns and increased police powers to enforce. Supposedly, police now have the authority to stop you when you are out and get your identity, ask where you live, and why you are outside. Fun, fun.

I spent a not insignificant portion of 2020 participating in protests, writing letters to my medical colleagues and administrative leaders at the hospital at which I used to work, handing out flyers with websites that summarized the real science of cv19, trying to convince friends and family about the truth behind cv19, vaccines, and masks, etc., even really immature activities like purposely walking really close to strangers when I was outside without a mask to see what they would do.

Nada. It was pretty much all useless, as far as I could tell. Almost got into a few fights, lol. Got Karen'd a bit.
Some of the leaders of the protest movements were temporarily arrested on bizarre charges. My mother-in-law got the vaccine, despite everything my spouse said to her. Thankfully, the rest of my inlaws have not, thus far.

The reality of Plato's Allegory of the Cave hit me.

Now, I work only on myself, unless somebody expressly asks for my advice. I am much happier with this approach.

Basically, I went from telling myself:

1) "It is my duty to tell everyone I can about the truth as I see it." ------------------------>

2) "It's useless, you idiot, haven't you learned? Let them burn in the fires of their delusions." ------------------>

3) "Let them be. All is well. Don't worry, be happy."

[SOL]

Yes, it is true, years ago you already spoke of this swinging pendulum. And what have we to do? shut up and accept the unacceptable? is there nothing to do, behalve making money by profiting of the trends? But the great majority already has accepted the unacceptable.

When a trend is in motion there is very little one can do to stop it. So there is almost nothing one can do to stop the pendulum from swinging in the opposite direction in the West. One can use the trends to make money and yes I know what I am about to say is going to be hard to digest, but one can use this money to find a second place to call home. As you are in Europe there are many destinations in Central and Eastern Europe that are pretty cool. Two places that come to mind are Poland and Slovakia.

The majority have already accepted that freedom is optional and that their governments know best. You have better odds of talking to an Alien than waking these chaps up

[Yodean]

"The Department of Justice (DoJ) recently announced the first enforcement action against “deceptive marketing” of COVID treatments. The case involves a Missouri chiropractor who is alleged to have advertised that a vitamin D and zinc supplement could prevent or treat COVID—claims that are well-supported in the scientific literature. This is a disturbing and outrageous escalation in the federal government’s actions against doctors and health professionals that inform the public about natural ways of staying healthy during the pandemic, underscoring the need to change the law to allow the free flow of information about foods and supplements.

Previously, the FDA and FTC sent hundreds of warning letters to doctors and clinics discussing the role of natural medicines promoting public health during the pandemic. Then a strategy was put in place to enable the FTC to go after these health professionals with more force. The COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act was introduced on December 20th in the House and Senate, then added to an appropriations bill on December 21. On December 27th it was signed into law."

https://www.naturalblaze.com/2021/04/co ... c-etc.html

Oy vei. Power vs. Force again.

[SOL]

"The Department of Justice (DoJ) recently announced the first enforcement action against “deceptive marketing” of COVID treatments. The case involves a Missouri chiropractor who is alleged to have advertised that a vitamin D and zinc supplement could prevent or treat COVID—claims that are well-supported in the scientific literature. This is a disturbing and outrageous escalation in the federal government’s actions against doctors and health professionals that inform the public about natural ways of staying healthy during the pandemic, underscoring the need to change the law to allow the free flow of information about foods and supplements.

Previously, the FDA and FTC sent hundreds of warning letters to doctors and clinics discussing the role of natural medicines promoting public health during the pandemic. Then a strategy was put in place to enable the FTC to go after these health professionals with more force. The COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act was introduced on December 20th in the House and Senate, then added to an appropriations bill on December 21. On December 27th it was signed into law."

https://www.naturalblaze.com/2021/04/co ... c-etc.html

Oy vei. Power vs. Force again.

This is confirmation that the pendulum is swinging in the opposite direction in the west.
The Dr made a mistake by advertising this treatment. He should have allowed word of mouth to the job. You can't go against the FDA who are bought and paid for by the drug companies. This also shows how braindead and brainwashed the average person is that they won't even try to do a bit of research on a topic that could affect their lives. They can google for all sorts of crap that is meaningless but can't spend a few minutes on finding out COVID hits the hardest.

[stefk]

I also have heard at the radio here in Belgium, a journalist claiming that vitamin D and zinc supplements are useless.

The next step will be to forbidden the sale of vitamins supplements, or to tax these products.

[Yodean]

"The existing scientific evidence challenge the safety and efficacy of wearing facemask as preventive intervention for COVID-19. The data suggest that both medical and non-medical facemasks are ineffective to block human-to-human transmission of viral and infectious disease such SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, supporting against the usage of facemasks. Wearing facemasks has been demonstrated to have substantial adverse physiological and psychological effects. These include hypoxia, hypercapnia, shortness of breath, increased acidity and toxicity, activation of fear and stress response, rise in stress hormones, immunosuppression, fatigue, headaches, decline in cognitive performance, predisposition for viral and infectious illnesses, chronic stress, anxiety and depression. Long-term consequences of wearing facemask can cause health deterioration, developing and progression of chronic diseases and premature death. Governments, policy makers and health organizations should utilize prosper and scientific evidence-based approach with respect to wearing facemasks, when the latter is considered as preventive intervention for public health."

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... via%3Dihub

[SOL]

"The existing scientific evidence challenge the safety and efficacy of wearing facemask as preventive intervention for COVID-19. The data suggest that both medical and non-medical facemasks are ineffective to block human-to-human transmission of viral and infectious disease such SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, supporting against the usage of facemasks. Wearing facemasks has been demonstrated to have substantial adverse physiological and psychological effects. These include hypoxia, hypercapnia, shortness of breath, increased acidity and toxicity, activation of fear and stress response, rise in stress hormones, immunosuppression, fatigue, headaches, decline in cognitive performance, predisposition for viral and infectious illnesses, chronic stress, anxiety and depression. Long-term consequences of wearing facemask can cause health deterioration, developing and progression of chronic diseases and premature death. Governments, policy makers and health organizations should utilize prosper and scientific evidence-based approach with respect to wearing facemasks, when the latter is considered as preventive intervention for public health."

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... via%3Dihub

Now that is a good one. Expecting governments to use real scientific data is like hoping a jackass can turn into a stallion. No matter how much you pray or what drugs you take, it's never going to happen. Governments modus operandi is FEAR.

[Triplethought]

I also have heard at the radio here in Belgium, a journalist claiming that vitamin D and zinc supplements are useless.

The next step will be to forbidden the sale of vitamins supplements, or to tax these products.

Look up DSHEA law. A mormon senator covered your rear (and that of the snake oil salesmen) years ago. All you have to do is claim something is natural and herbal and you can sell all you want. Personally I'd like to see a middle ground where new drugs can come to market more easily, but the government (or a respected private/public partnership) still plays a role in rating their safety and efficacy. Having a modern society with no effective way of evaluating snake oil claims is just ridiculous

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/arch ... sy/488798/

[Triplethought]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... via%3Dihub

Now that is a good one. Expecting governments to use real scientific data is like hoping a jackass can turn into a stallion. No matter how much you pray or what drugs you take, it's never going to happen. Governments modus operandi is FEAR.
[/quote]

I share a healthy skepticism about "mask theater" , but he openly states this as a hypothesis. I'm not sure how credible this guy is or the article is but the research he references is the same I looked up in early 2020. I had shared an elevator on a cruise ship off the coast of Cambodia with Steve Wozniak (who is the self proclaimed covid patient zero) and then all this nonsense started. I remembered at the airport in hong Kong I asked a woman "Why are you wearing a mask?". They were early on the trend.

[Bionic Daughter]

"The existing scientific evidence challenge the safety and efficacy of wearing facemask as preventive intervention for COVID-19. The data suggest that both medical and non-medical facemasks are ineffective to block human-to-human transmission of viral and infectious disease such SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, supporting against the usage of facemasks. Wearing facemasks has been demonstrated to have substantial adverse physiological and psychological effects. These include hypoxia, hypercapnia, shortness of breath, increased acidity and toxicity, activation of fear and stress response, rise in stress hormones, immunosuppression, fatigue, headaches, decline in cognitive performance, predisposition for viral and infectious illnesses, chronic stress, anxiety and depression. Long-term consequences of wearing facemask can cause health deterioration, developing and progression of chronic diseases and premature death. Governments, policy makers and health organizations should utilize prosper and scientific evidence-based approach with respect to wearing facemasks, when the latter is considered as preventive intervention for public health."

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... via%3Dihub

Now that is a good one. Expecting governments to use real scientific data is like hoping a jackass can turn into a stallion. No matter how much you pray or what drugs you take, it's never going to happen. Governments modus operandi is FEAR.

I apologize in advance for my lengthy response!

The short version:
- I disagree with the article.
- I've researched COVID extensively online.
- I include my favorite reliable source of COVID info at the end.

My comments about the above article and why I disagree with it are included near the end.

I feel sorry for the masses that don't research the sources of information they read/hear, either because they are too stupid, emotional, gullible, or fearful, OR they don't take the time (or they don't have the time). Most people don’t know the difference between science, and pseudo-science. (Yodean, No insult intended. Anyone using Sol's services is no dummy! I am assuming you just didn't spend as much time digging into the background of this article as I did!)

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or medical professional. I have an engineering and scientific background, and I was raised by a doctor. Based on what I know, COVID-19 is spread primarily by aerosol transmission, and also by drops from sneezes, coughs, etc.

I kind of fell into deeply researching COVID-19 online. I was supposed to travel to China on business last Spring, but before I had finalized my travel plans, the virus broke out. I spent a lot of time online researching the virus before deciding to not go. As a result, I bought some N95 masks before China bought up the world's supplies. I learned about a special frequency of UV lights that I could use to sterilize and reuse my masks. I wore masks every time I went into buildings with other people. I did the grocery shopping for 3 households of elderly family/friends, and then showered head to toe immediately after returning. I exposed all nonperishable food, and all of our mail to the UV light before bringing it into the house.

I’ve spent a HELL of a lot of time researching the virus online over the past year. (Time I should have spent on other things, such as investing!) I know that statistically, the chances of dying are low for most people. But putting aside the survivability rate, too many people have had too many negative long-term side effects for me to be cavalier about the virus. (I need as many healthy brains cells as possible!) As scientists have learned more, I have changed how I protect myself. Now I don’t bother with the UV light. I only use normal handwashing practices and I skip the immediate post shopping-spree showers. I don't wear masks outside. I do keep watching the research. And now that I am vaccinated, I will still wear a mask around large indoor crowds as I learn more about how the COVID variants are affected by the vaccinations.

I don't worry about the advice of any popular TV experts, or the politicians of any party at any level. I've learned enough to take care of myself and my loved ones, and I know where to go to get additional reliable information.

I was happy to see that Yodean included a reference to a research article I hadn’t yet seen (Facemasks in the COVID-19 era: A health hypothesis). Because its conclusions were different than what I would have expected, based on what I've learned over the past year, I thought it would have information that I hadn’t seen yet. (In addition to learning about the disease itself, as face masks became scarce, I wanted to be able to make my own if necessary. I looked for studies that specifically tested what material was most effective at limiting the passage of the COVID virus. Even if the holes are larger than the virus particles, the electrostatic properties of some fabrics CAN filter the virus effectively. It's physics!)

The article Yodean linked to appears very official and scientific, with a lot of referenced articles. But when I started to read it in detail, I was disappointed. I followed the link to one of the main references that it uses to justify its conclusions (Effectiveness of N95 respirators versus surgical masks in protecting health care workers from acute respiratory infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis). The article MISQUOTES the referenced paper and the information in it. It states a conclusion NOT SUPPORTED by that paper. The referenced paper doesn’t have ANY information about how COVID transmission is affected by WEARING masks vs NOT wearing masks. I quit reading at that point because based on that false premise, it doesn't matter how valid the rest of the article is. The author obviously has an agenda. Sadly, just like most of what passes for news today.

Also, sadly, just like the Climate Change misinformation being forced on us. (Several years ago my husband spent a year at the South Pole gathering atmospheric data as part of a large scientific study. He knows for a fact that a lot of original data was destroyed because it didn’t support the message of “Human-Caused-Global-Warming” that a lot of people wanted the government to believe. Those people are more interested in using scare tactics to get funding than they are in speaking the truth.)

My point: it’s easy to pull the wool over the eyes of the masses. It’s even easy to fool intelligent people who don’t have the time to dig into information sources and confirm the validity of official-looking data.

For those interested in a reliable resource of info about COVID, my favorite is MedCram.com. Dr. Seheult is a practicing ER physician, and has experience treating COVID. He does not use scare tactics. He does not exaggerate. He is careful to not jump to conclusions. He qualifies his information. He lists his resources. He follows the ongoing research. Even though the MedCram site charges for most of its courses, the COVID-19 videos are FREE.

Sorry about my lengthy rant!

[ultramartian]

For those interested in a reliable resource of info about COVID, my favorite is MedCram.com. Dr. Seheult is a practicing ER physician, and has experience treating COVID. He does not use scare tactics. He does not exaggerate. He is careful to not jump to conclusions. He qualifies his information. He lists his resources. He follows the ongoing research. Even though the MedCram site charges for most of its courses, the COVID-19 videos are FREE.

Sorry about my lengthy rant!

When it comes to the existence (or the lack of) of the COVIDIAN-1984 virus, there are only two doctors I trust: Dr. Andrew Kauffman and Dr. Thomas Cowan.

Even if the virus is real, remember the mortality rate is less than 0.2% for people 70 years old and younger. Given the choice of contracting the virus and let my immune system deal with it, or wearing a mask and deal with the consequence of hypoxia, the answer should be a no-brainer.