The dumpster fire of COVID predictions has shown exactly why it’s important to sustain and nurture skeptics, lest we blunder into scientific monoculture and groupthink. And yet the explosion of “cancel culture” intolerance of any opinion that doesn’t fit a shrinking “3 x 5 card” of right-think risks destroying the very tolerance and science that sustains our civilization.
Since World War II, America has suffered two respiratory pandemics comparable to COVID-19: the 1958 “Asian flu,” then the 1969 “Hong Kong flu.” In neither case did we shut down the economy—people were simply more careful. Not all that careful, of course—Jimi Hendrix was playing at Woodstock in the middle of the 1969 pandemic, and social distancing wasn’t really a thing in the “Summer of Love.”
And yet COVID-19 was very different thanks to a single “buggy mess” of a computer prediction from one Neil Ferguson, a British epidemiologist given to hysterical overestimates of deaths, from mad cow to bird flu to H1N1.
For COVID-19, Ferguson predicted 3 million deaths in America unless we basically shut down the economy. Panicked policymakers took his prediction as gospel, dressed as it was in the cloak of science.
Now, long after governments plunged half the world into a Great Depression, those panicked revisions are being quietly revised down by an order of magnitude, now suggesting a final tally comparable to 1958 and 1969. (See link for article)
Peter St. Onge is the senior economist at the Montreal Economic Institute. He blogs at Profits of Chaos.
____________________
**Comment**
Great read and great reminder. You know you are in the wrong place when your mind is closed off to new discoveries. This is quite evident in the Lyme world – where ‘authorities’ are quite happy to name-call those they disagree with ‘quacks’ and ‘conspiracy theorists’ and refuse to keep an open mind on science that is continuously evolving.
Key quotes:
It’s comforting to know that our problems are old ones, and also encouraging that our solution is both time-tested and simple: transparency and tolerance.
This implies there is no such thing as “settled science”—the phrase itself is contrary to the scientific method.
The history of Lyme, and now COVID-19 is a history riddled with conflicts of interest, closed-door meetings, and rigged science designed to yield a pre-determined outcome.
Another reminder: the same people behind the Lyme fiasco are also behind the COVID fiasco.Do not trust these people. Do your own reading, talk to those with experience, and trust the body’s innate ability to heal itself.
We investigated the presence of the measles virus genome in order to identify asymptomatic infections in the adult population. Bone-marrow aspirates were obtained from 179 patients, 20-96 years of age, for the diagnosis of malignant diseases (29 with malignant lymphoma, 28 with acute leukaemia, 21 with myelodysplastic syndrome, five with multiple myeloma and 96 with other diseases). The measles virus genome was detected in 17 (9.5%) of 179 individuals by RT-PCR and 28 (15.6%) through hybridization. The genomes detected in bone marrow were all in the same cluster, D5, the strain circulating during the study period, and no evidence of persistent infection was obtained. We conclude that asymptomatic infections of measles virus are common in adults and the presence of the measles virus genome would not be related to the pathogenesis of illness.
A total of 342 samples of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were obtained from 145 healthy individuals, which we examined for the presence of measles virus genome RNA by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), to identify whether asymptomatic infection of measles virus has occurred in healthy children. Measles virus genome was detected in 11 (23.4%) of 47 nonimmunized individuals; all positives for RT-PCR were infants who experienced measles exposure. No genome was detected in those without measles exposure. In 83 individuals immunized with measles vaccine, the vaccine strain genome was detected in 10 (71.4%) of 14 recipients whose PBMC were obtained within 2 months of vaccination. Measles wild-type genome was detected in 36 (46.2%) of 78 individuals, 40 (25.2%) of 159 samples, who had been immunized more than 2 months before. The wild-type measles genome was also detected in 6 (46.2%) of 13 individuals who had been infected with measles in the distant past. The measles PCR-positive rate was not related to the period since immunization or natural infection. Sequence analysis of PCR products demonstrated they were all in the same cluster of D5 lineage, which was the circulating strain during the study period. We obtained 13 samples of nasopharyngeal secretion (NPS) simultaneously from individuals whose PBMC were positive for measles PCR but did not detect virus genome. Measles genome was, however, detected from NPS in cases of acute infection. We conclude that asymptomatic measles infection is common but would rarely become a source of transmission because of negative PCR in NPS.
___________________
**Comment**
Hopefully you can see where I’m going with this. Just because you have the presence of a virus in your body does NOT mean you will become ill. COVID-19 is no different – and they have only identified “virus-like” particles, not the actual purified virus.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling multisystem chronic disease. The etiology and pathogenesis of ME/CFS are unknown. Infections of cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) are suspected as etiological agents for ME/CFS. This study aims to estimate prevalence and type (active/latent) of EBV, CMV, and HHV-6 infections in Bulgarian ME/CFS patients.
In the study were included 58 patients with ME/CFS and 50 healthy controls. Virus-specific antibodies were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and viral genomic sequences in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMCs) and plasma samples by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We did not observe any significant differences in virus-specific immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M positivity rates between patients with ME/CFS and control group.
In ME/CFS plasma samples:
EBV DNA was found in 24.1%
CMV DNA in 3.4%
HHV-6 DNA in 1.7%
EBV DNA was detected in 4%
CMV and HHV-6 DNA were not found in plasma samples of controls
The frequency of viral genome detection in PBMCs of patients and controls was:
74% vs 78% for CMV
81% vs 84% for EBV
82.8% vs 82% for HHV-6
The difference in frequency of EBV active infection in ME/CFS and control group was statistically significant (P = .0027). No ME/CFS and control individuals with active CMV and HHV-6 infection were observed.
In conclusion, this study using both serological and PCR-based techniques for distinguishing between active and latent infection showed high rate of active EBV infection among patients with ME/CFS indicating that at least in a subset of cases, EBV is important factor for the development of disease.
Gates Pushes Gene-Altering Technology on Seven Billion Humans
By Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Chairman, Children’s Health Defense
Pharma has over 170 COVID vaccines in development, but Gates and Fauci pushed Moderna’s “Frankenstein jab” to the front of the line. Scientists and ethicists are sounding alarms. The vaccine uses a new, untested, and very controversial experimental RNA technology that Gates has backed for over a decade. Instead of injecting an antigen and adjuvant as with traditional vaccines, Moderna plugs a small piece of coronavirusgenetic code into human cells, altering DNA throughout the human body and reprogramming our cells to produce antibodies to fight the virus. mRNA vaccines are a form of genetic engineering called “germ line gene editing”. Moderna’s genetic alterations are passed down to future generations. In January, The Geneva Statement, the world’s leading ethicists and scientists, called for an end to this kind of experimentation.
Moderna has never bought a product to market, proceeded through clinical trials, or had a vaccine approved by FDA. The company received an astonishing $483 million in federal funds from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a sister agency to Fauci’s NIAID, to accelerate development. Dr. Joseph Bolen, Moderna’s former Research and Development Chief, expressed shock at Fauci’s “bet” in supporting the company. “I don’t know what their thinking was,” he told CNN. “When I read that, I was pretty amazed.”
Moderna and Fauci launched federally-funded human trials in March in Seattle. Dr. Peter Hotez warns of potentially fatal consequences from skipping animal studies. As he said to CNN, “If there is immune enhancement in animals, that’s a showstopper.” Dr. Suhab Siddiqi, Moderna’s Ex-Director of Chemistry, told CNN, “I would not let the [vaccine] be injected in my body. I would demand: ‘Where is the toxicity data?’” As precautions, Moderna ordered trial participants to avoid unprotected sex or sperm donations and Gates is promoting that all COVID vaccines be protected by blanket immunity. He hopes to sell his experimental gene-altering technology to all 7 billion humans and transform our species into GMOs.
For more:https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/07/08/new-docs-nih-owns-half-of-moderna-vaccine/ Similarly to ‘authorities’ doing all they can to malign HCQ as a COVID treatment because they have financial ties to Gilead Sciences, the manufacturer of Remdesivir, our ‘authorities’ have financial conflicts with Moderna, the manufacturer of this COVID vaccine. (Details in link)
Excerpt:
New documents obtained by Axios and Public Citizen suggest that the National Institute of Health (NIH)owns half the key patent for Moderna’s controversial COVID vaccine and could collect half the royalties. In addition, four NIH scientists have filed their own provisional patent application as co-inventors. Little known NIH regulations let agency scientists collect up to $150,000.00 annually in royalties from vaccines upon which they worked. These rules are recipes for regulatory corruption.
The study, which was obviously flawed on its face, turned out to be produced by a shell company, with unverified data gathered by non-scientists.
But when that study flopped, another study was immediately latched onto. It’s called the RECOVERY trials and was done in the UK. Supposedly, this study was the counter to the fake study published by Lancet.
It was the proof that “well yeah, that other study was bad, but this one got the same results.”
Well, not so much.
Edmund Fordham wrote a piece on what is an emerging controversy, in which it appears the lead of the RECOVERY trial took hydroxychloroquine for another drug, resulting in a high death rate.
Internet sleuths also got to work on the very heavy doses of the drug that were given – 2400 mg in the first 24 hours, a ‘dose fit for a gorilla’ as one critic had it. Quizzed about this, Landray defended the dosage, twice, as being usual for other diseases such as amoebic dysentery. Say again? Hydroxychloroquine is used for lupus and arthritis as well as malaria, but dysentery? As a footnote in medical history, the older chloroquine was used half a century ago in attempts to control dysentery, but Professor Christian Perronne, head of infectious diseases at Garches, France, told France Soir that it had been abandoned before 1976. Was Landray confusing hydroxychloroquine with the hydroxyquinolines, which are used for dysentery?
1,132 patients died in the RECOVERY trial, with general death rates nearly 10% higher than other country’s hospitals (the trial was randomized through Britain’s NHS). Whether giving people 3x the usual dosage of most other studies played a part is now a very real question.
Landray defended himself twice, but is now claiming he’s being misquoted. The French newspaper who quoted him denies that.
Landray explained there was no approved dosing for Covid because it was a new disease. Well, yes, but the toxic dose won’t change depending on the illness. Asked whether the UK had a maximum dose for hydroxychloroquine, Landray wasn’t sure, but opined it would be much larger, say six to ten times the trial’s dose. That makes 24 whole grams. NICE says about 490 mg per day for a 75kg adult. In France 1800 mg in a day mandates hospitalization as a poisoning. Twenty-four grams at one go would be almost certainly lethal, possibly even to a gorilla. So Landray has had notice of some hard questions on dose, which will no doubt be explained in the full report, not yet released.
In the end, though, this study is just another in a long list which completely miss the mark and it’s good that it was canceled. The effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine to fight coronavirus has always been in the early stages because of how the virus works. Doing trials on extremely sick, hospitalized patients is scientifically counterproductive because the viral infection itself is no longer the issue at that point.
As the now-debunked Lancet published study counted in their data, giving hydroxychloroquine without adjacent drugs (anti-biotic and zinc) is pointless and using that data in “studies” to claim the drug doesn’t work at all is incredibly misleading. Why is that even being studied and included in any determination of its effectiveness?
Countries and doctors that report success with hydroxychloroquine already know not to give it to late-stage patients and that it’s ineffective when used alone. What they also know is that it does appear to have benefits for early-stage, non-hospitalized subjects when prescribed properly in conjunction with other drugs. Why is it so difficult for some to separate those things and focus on helping people?
“Nothing should happen without ‘big science’. All the little physician/scientist people peddling their wares (HCQ/ vitamins, etc) should pack up and go home.”
But Fauci has a vested interest in all this – despite him not admitting it. His relationship with Gilead Sciences (manufacturer of Remdesivir) goes back decades and of course has patents on numerous things – particularly things revolving around vaccines. It’s also amusing that he states:
“Scientifically robust and ethically sound clinical research remains the quickest and most efficient pathway to effective treatment and prevention strategies….”
Yet, this man is behind the Lyme fiasco as well. He insists upon using tests made in house so they can then go on to create lucrative treatments and vaccines. How anyone still believes him is truly a head-scratcher.
According to Kory, the FLCCCs MATH+ protocol has been delivered to the White House on four occasions, yet no interest has been shown. Worse, he says they continue to be stonewalled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Health. Why?
Isn’t saving lives, right now, and by any means possible, more important than pushing for a vaccine? If the MATH+ protocol works with near-100% effectiveness, a vaccine may not even be necessary.The MATH+ protocol gets its name from:
Madison Area Lyme Support Group 