This page is a summary of recent tweets and other pieces of information that I think are interesting and perhaps useful to refer to in the future.
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For the latest charts see the Dashboard
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A great round-up of covid news can be found at lockdownsceptics.org
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See also other "scrapbook" pages
Contents
1 Understanding Covid
Japan had very low mortality from covid - but high infection levels
Most people are aware that Japan had very low levels of Covid mortality compared to countries such as the UK. At the same time many are unaware that Japan had a high level of infection - they did not manage to stop the spread.
Is herd immunity still a dirty word? Paper on Tokyo from SEP:
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c19 mortality v low
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No lockdown
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Lots of public transport
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Densely populated.
Masks or hygiene didn't stop the spread of plenty of infection as Tokyo's seroprevalence peaked higher than New York.
Like many other places, infections and prevalence seems to have followed the SIR model rather than be shaped by interventions.
But why didn't Japan control its outbreak with an incredibly destructive lockdown? It makes no sense that they could just rely on herd immunity when we could not!
Covid death rates dropped as doctors rejected ventilators
Chances of dying in an intensive care unit fell in line with a decline in the use of mechanical ventilators
Were doctors panicked in the Spring when they put too many on ventilators?
Boris Johnson: stirring up panic and fear may add to the power you wield over scared people - but it also kills.
It's past time to wind down the fear
Covid death rates dropped as doctors rejected ventilators
What part could mass hysteria have played in the covid outbreak?
This is not the UK's first disease outbreak messed up by the modellers
Report from 2006 on the UK's Foot and Mouth Epidemic - when 10 million animals were slaughtered - based on Imperial College's modelling:
"UK experience provides a salutary warning of how models can be abused in the interests of scientific opportunism."
More stories come to light of deaths misattributed to covid
Grieving daughter asks:
"Why would a country wish to skew its mortality figures by, I believe, wrongly certifying deaths? What has been going on?"
Good question!
Has weirder stuff happened?
Modellers: still crazy after all these months/years!
Warwick's latest model best case predicts 2000 deaths/day next AUG or 5000 if vaccines underperform
Last AUG, no vaccine, few restrictions: 8 deaths/day. The worst day of the winter peak,: 1.2K deaths/day.
The lunatics are in charge of the asylum!
The COVID modellers have jumped the shark
Puzzling how infection peaks line up around the world
Puzzling how the peaks lined up so consistently around the world - regardless of climate and interventions
Growing clamour to understand how deaths were counted. We may have been misled.
MP Paul Bristow, a member of the Commons health committee, said an evaluation of how deaths were recorded would need to be part of a future inquiry:
"It’s almost certain that a number of deaths have been wrongly attributed to Covid-19."
Grieving families demand answers after deaths 'wrongly attributed to Covid'
Government ensures that new cases will be found
Testing goes up (blue) but cases (orange) just keep going down. Overall mortality is now probably normal (blue with projection in red)
What is the Government supposed to do?
How about test every school child four times. That might keep the fear and control going a bit longer
As we close the month, overall mortality is probably at normal levels (we won't know until ONS publishes the data) and the Government is poised to start an increased level of testing which will inevitably find tens of thousands of cases even if only false positives are found.
2 Flaky Testing
The World Health Organisation's instructions about PCR tests are mostly ignored
According to the WHO:
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A positive PCR does not mean the person is infectious
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A single PCR should not be used to diagnose asymptomatics e.g. in mass screening
This has been known but inexplicably ignored in COVID policy for almost a year
Appropriate use of PCR needed for a focused response to the pandemic
Any place you poke the testing narrative it starts to "flake"
Important confirmation from the Lancet: PCR testing is not appropriate for mass screening
Clarifying the evidence on SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid tests in public health responses to COVID-19
UK testing labs are not following WHO recommendations
Testing data is driven as much by testing policy as it is by the virus:
UK labs have been recording many C9 test results as positive based on one target gene alone, when there should have been two or more, as per WHO rules and manufacturer instructions.
Changes in testing policy calls validity of test results since mid November 2020 into question
Case numbers reported from mid NOV may be untrustworthy !!!!
"a shift in testing policy around mid-November 2020 .. many of the reported positive results may in fact be inconclusive, negative or from people who suffered past infection for SARS-COV-2"
Now see if you can find mid November on the chart:
The more you test, the more cases you will find. Like testing the sea for salt.
3 Lockdown mania
Are we saving the lives of the vulnerable - or - destroying them?
I believe everyone means well (with very few exceptions), but the carelessness and thoughtlessness of the current system is staggering.
Three million cancer screenings cancelled!
How many family tragedies may be caused by cancelling three million cancer screenings?
This is like WWI trench war - pointless and deadly, there is now nothing to be gained - time to stop
Three million missed out on cancer checks after coronavirus put screening on hold
Lockdown is hurting teens
Lockdown: Three in four teens experiencing physical health issues including hair loss, digestive problems, migraines, lethargy or weight changes.
'Powerless' teens at breaking point as restrictions tighten
France rejects a third lockdown
France has rejected a third lockdown because the 'economic, social and human' costs can't be justified, Prime Minister Jean Castex said today (04FEB).
A deadly virus has the British cowering while Indians are not so interested
Indians attend a huge farmer's protest with closely packed crowds as far as the eye can see.
If lockdowns are such a crucial intervention then surely India will pay a terrible price for this lax attitiude. Let's look at the numbers:
If you go to the beach you may kill a granny
Last summer, beach goers were warned that they would be spreading disease and death. A state of emergency was declared in Bournemouth because of the numbers packed on the beaches. This month we learned that not a single outbreak was linked to these Beach visits. The doom-laden messaging was wrong again.
US States with differing policies and outcomes provide illuminating data
With no mask mandate and schools open, Florida ranks 11th lowest in COVID deaths per capita among seniors
Sweden is the closest we have to a European "control" in the great "mass quarantine" experiment
Covid testing and diagnosis practices may vary considerably from country to country affecting c19 death numbers. Excess Deaths are a more robust
Why does the Government persist in nonsensical policies? Put yourself in their shoes:
One more to add to the chorus: Lockdowns Only Had a Small Effect on COVID-19
A First Literature Review: Lockdowns Only Had a Small Effect on COVID-19
So good job the lockdowns didn't cost us anything, right?
See also Do Lockdowns Work? The Literature
Many seem to think that the covid outbreak was stopped by the lockdown, but this is not how outbreaks usually end.
Flu, measles, cholera, SARs, mumps outbreaks have not been stopped by lockdowns.
Why is it an article of faith for so many that Covid was stopped by lockdown?
These images show how a wide variety of non-covid infection outbreaks follow the same pattern and this is not the result of lockdowns.s
The Government has ignored lockdown deaths. The Lancet calls for a proper cost-benefit analysis
"UK nursing homes and hospices saw an increase in the number of deaths between February and June, 2020, associated with acute coronary syndrome (41% increase), stroke (39% increase), and heart failure (25% increase)"
"We call on all scientists, public health officials, journalists, and politicians to weigh and consider the collateral damage from government COVID-19 control measures and their negative effect on many short-term and long-term health outcomes."
Calling for benefit–risk evaluations of COVID-19 control measures
4 Authoritarians vs Liberty
Swedes have a very different relationship with Government
"Transactional Analysis" concerns understanding the state of mind of the communicator (whether parent-like, childlike, or adult-like) as a way to understand behaviour and avoid dysfunctional relationships. Food for thought?
The above point (and much more) is very well made in this highly watchable Documentary on the Swedish approach to covid:
Brendan O'Neil reacts to widespread criticsim of "Lockdown Sceptics"
"The miserable country we are currently imprisoned in is one that has been solely designed by the supporters of lockdown. Its faults are on them. The fury against the sceptics is a project of deflection led by people whose own policy has failed"
Don’t you dare call us ‘Covid deniers’
The end of a cult
At the end of a cult, some will admit the mistake and help others to recover; some will just deny responsibility:
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"I never believed in it anyway"
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"They made me do it"
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"I was always against the cult"
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"At the time, that was the best information we had"
The words of a time traveller?
"We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one object, and go mad in its pursuit; that millions of people become simultaneously impressed with one delusion, and run after it, till their attention is caught by some new folly"
Charkes Mackay 1841
When history came knocking, telling you that in order to save society you have overturn it, suspend liberties, and fight to suppress the deniers, did you do as instructed?
When everyone you knew, and every news outlet you watched, told you that the sky is falling and that everyone must fall in line, abandon normality, civil rights, and livelihoods, THAT was the most important time in your life to stand up and be independent.
When a new danger approached, requiring society to work together as one in order to defeat it, did you help pull society together?
Or did you, instead, ask whether acting to “pull society together” might in actuality amount to authoritarian bullying, informing and snitching?
The narrative is clear. The science is settled. Not one news story indicates an ounce of skepticism.
When the implications of such consensus have unprecedented societal implications, did you dig deeper, examine the evidence yourself, and look for any alternative viewpoints?
This was a test. But it was more than a test.
Thread from scientist and writer Mark Changizi
Policeman punches Polish cafe owner
His crime? Daring to open his cafe
Government only has the people's best interests at heart. Right?
Government poisoned a significant numbers or unwitting South London tube train passengers with Anthrax in 1963 to see what it would do. Astonishing story.
Good job that today's Government. only has the people's best interests at heart. Right?
Planet Stupid! Police stop children's snowball fight
Boiled frogs?
Where are you?
This chart continues to help people understand why political allegiances have shifted. Former allies have gone to the dark side while friendship is struck among former foes:
5 Media and Corruption
Offcom guidelines more or less forbid airing of covid controveries in the UK
Offcom requires that anything questioning official narratives must be adequately challenged or broadcasters risk sanctions such as fines and bans. As a consequence in depth interviews from experts with contrary views are unlikely to be heard in the normal run of things. In the Netherlands it seems different rules apply.
Fascinating interview with Dutch vaccine specialist: In the Pfizer test, of 40K people only 4 had serious covid 1 in the vaccine group and 3 in the control group, one of whom had a very high BMI
Mass mRNA Vaccination is reckless and unnecessary", says Prof. Dr. Theo Schetters.
Another example of the kind of interview that is unlikely in the UK
A frank discussion between a Canadian Doctor and News Anchor covering distortion, vaccine safety, censorship and the motives for this
A year ago this would have seemed like a wacky "conspiracy theory". Now it is a refreshingly honest conversation.
BRAVE REPORTER GOES OFF SCRIPT ON AIR
Mainstream news in the US is getting deeply sceptical
Liars in labcoats:
Thanks to the games played by the top US "experts" around masks and mutant strains, MSM Fox News now quotes Orwell's 1984 and says Dr Fauci and co. must either be "liars" or "stupid"
Severe scepticism is hitting the main stream. The covid ship is sinking.
(Of course in the UK the BBC is obedient and on message - truth, journalism and holding authority to account here almost completely abandoned)
Remarkable comment from a Doctor of medicine.
We live in an age when information is manipulated and censored by big tech and politicised by Govt. Lives are damaged or destroyed for the sake of power and profits. From the start, of the crisis, cheap, tried and tested generic therapeutics have been dismissed in favour of expensive vaccines.
Key Vaccine Safety Advocate Robert F Kennedy Junior deplatformed
6 Vaccines
As the vaccine is rolled out, success must be declared - anything else is too awful to contemplate
Correlation may not be causation - but it might be wise to ring the alarm bell - just in case
Chart from @ThinkingSlow1
Medical Historian Weighs In
Often c19 scientists have chased their tails and mislead the public, while historians have put things in proper context. Dr Markel pediatrician and director of the Center for the History of Medicine:
Rushing the vaccine is "colossally stupid"
Past vaccine disasters show why rushing a coronavirus vaccine now would be 'colossally stupid'
Concern as vaccine is rolled out
Lies damn lies and statistics! Things are happening but how to interpret them. Deaths in the very elderly are declining very sharply (28FEB). Many see this as evidence that the vaccines are already saving lives. It is also possible that the vaccine has caused deaths in this age group, and now we see an improvement as close to all have been vaccinated.
In other words deaths may be declining because we have stopped vaccinating - not because we started. Do people really want to know the truth on this - or does it risk being too unpalatable?
69 svenskar döda efter coronavaccinering
A new operating system?
mRNA Platform: Enabling Drug Discovery & Development
Think of the business benefits of mRNA. It can be a platform for a large number of product lines, covid may just be the start. Even in the short term, mutations mean that demand for the platform will soar.
To maximise revenues, this can be adapted to a subscription model (think MS Office subscriptions) as well as licensed to partners and Governments
I have a vision for an immunological platform in every arm - who am I?
No dead horse this time, masks and lockdowns fuelling the fear
We plough on with vaccines despite grave concerns from a number of scientists
It may be that mRNA vaccines greatly reduce your ability to fight infections other than the one targeted by the vaccine.
"The involvement of pathogenic priming in re-infection by c19 is a possibility; vaccine has not yet been tested in animals and we do not know if pathogenic priming is expected. Such animal studies should be done before vaccine against c19 is used in humans"
(Animals studies have not been done. Millions of human guinea pigs are being used instead)
7 Masks
Do masks really help?
Consequences of mask wearing
"irritability (60%), headache (53%), difficulty concentrating (50%), less happiness (49%), reluctance to go to school/kindergarten (44%), malaise (42%) impaired learning (38%) and drowsiness or fatigue (37%)"
BMJ reports opposition to masking children in schools
"protective benefits of non-professional use of facemasks are doubtful. Hence, we argue for a less one-sided focus on facemasking, paying more attention for healthy lifestyle and psychological well-being Especially for children and young people"
Face coverings for covid-19: from medical intervention to social practice
North Dakota keeps getting good results
North Dakota forbids mask mandates.
Not every place in the world is run by fear-stricken sheep.
North Dakota House passes bill forbidding mandatory mask wearing
8. What needs to be done:
A. Recognise the danger: human rights / social / political freedoms earned through centuries are threatened by an exaggerated focus on a virus
B. Undo the mass-conditioning of the population that has raised fear to abnormal and unhealthy levels
C. Accept that risks will not be eliminated by vaccines, we have no alternative but to live with those threats, as humans have done for millennia