Covid-19 Diary : Thursday 9 September, 2021

President Biden gave a national address this evening.  The most interesting point, for me, was his announcement that the government will work to increase the supply of virus tests, and the White House has reached agreement from major retailers, including Amazon and Walmart, to sell at-home testing hits at cost, starting essentially now.

The lowest priced one I could find on Amazon just now was $50 for a pack of two tests, and not likely to be received prior to next Tuesday at the earliest.  When I was buying some test kits a month or so back, they were priced at $24, and I subsequently saw them for just under $20.

As I’ve said before, the time to be buying these tests is before you need them.  They might not be available when you do need them, and if you think you’re infected, it is not a good idea to then go out and visiting shops in search of test kits.

Biden could have – maybe even should have – gone further, as the governor of Colorado has done, and provide free test kits to everyone, anytime they are requested.

On the other hand, Biden is absolutely on the right track.  We should all be testing ourselves, any time we feel concerned as to if we might have an infection or not.  If we can detect infections earlier than we currently are, which requires convenient cheap testing and fast results, we’ll be able to isolate ourselves sooner and slow down the spread of the virus.

In terms of things that can most readily be optimized, this is probably the highest of all issues, followed quickly in second place by distributing ivermectin to everyone, as a pre-infection prophylactic, and a post-infection immediate treatment/cure, keeping people out of hospital.  With hospitals now claiming to be running out of beds, and mortuaries saying they are overflowing, surely the time has come to allow ivermectin use.

Of course, we could also, as President Biden seeks to do, try and increase the rate of vaccinations and improve the percentage of people vaccinated.  I’m far from convinced the switch from the carrot to the stick will do much other than stiffen suspicion and resistance, and I’m also far from sure that our problems of being inundated with new cases at present is solely to be blamed on the unvaccinated.  Depending on the study, it is clear that a sizeable number of the people who are getting infected, and possibly even a greater percentage of the virus spreaders (due to the milder symptoms meaning many vaccinated people don’t even realize they have the virus) are vaccinated people.

The authorities have even obliquely admitted the current vaccines are not working, by way of their rush to urgently start getting third shots into our arms.  In Israel, they’re already planning to move on from three shots to four shots.  If the first two shots were anything like as promised, there’d not be the clamor for third and fourth shots, would there?

Also on that point, the FDA quietly revised its definition of vaccine and vaccination.

Before the change, on their website (my highlighting) :

Vaccine: A product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease.  Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but can also be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.

Vaccination: The act of introducing a vaccine into the body to produce immunity to a specific disease.

After the change :

Vaccine: A preparation that is used to stimulate the body’s immune response against diseases.  Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but some can be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.

Vaccination: The act of introducing a vaccine into the body to produce protection from a specific disease.

Isn’t it amazing – at the same time we’re being compelled to be vaccinated, the FDA is weakening the definition of vaccine, a definition which presumably has stood the test of time since vaccines were invented in 1796 until now.  As far as the FDA is concerned, vaccines no longer need to protect us against a disease.

Am I the only one disappointed that the FDA’s response to the poor results of the current mRNA vaccines is to weaken the definition of what a vaccine is and does, and demand we take more of it?

With so many other vaccines already out there, and more coming on-stream steadily, why can’t the FDA look for better vaccines?  Instead it transitioning Pfizer’s failure from emergency use to full approval, while scapegoating unvaccinated people as being the reason our numbers are as terrible as they are.

One more point.  The VAERS – Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System – has apparently received more reports of adverse effects from the Covid vaccines, in just six months, than it has received from every other vaccine in the entire 35 years it has been in existence.  Keep in mind that just about every child in the country gets a dozen or more vaccinations; so over the 35 years there has probably been way over 100 times as many other vaccinations given to people as Covid vaccinations dispensed this year.

Sure, not all the adverse effects are serious, and very few are people dying from the vaccine, but the reports are numerous and growing all the time.  I’m not saying we shouldn’t vaccinate, but I am saying we should look at all vaccines and carefully select the best.  It is quite possible the “best” (safest and most effective) are not only the two mRNA vaccines and one other (the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, my preferred choice, and which seems to be in short supply and hard to obtain).

This is the same FDA, of course, that while pretending the Pfizer vaccine is wonderful and safe, also pretends that ivermectin is useless and dangerous.  Which brings me to this amazing article, written by a physician/professor :

The  Great  Ivermectin  Deworming  Hoax

If you read nothing else, please read that article (click the title to be taken to it).

It is compelling in its scholarly treatment, it is fully backed up with rigorous links to supporting documents, and it is devastating in its assessment of how the “authorities”, with the connivance of the media, have distorted and lied about ivermectin, while boosting an undeserved and very expensive treatment (remdesivir) that has failed to show any convincing benefit at all.

It is a brilliant piece, and should be read by everyone, because the issue affects us all, whether we be vaccinated or unvaccinated.

Current Numbers

In the minor country list, we had a couple of one place swaps.  Of note is the steady high level of ongoing activity in Gibraltar, the most vaccinated country in the entire world.  The most vaccinated country in the entire world is also the fifth most Covid infected country in the world – what’s wrong with that picture?  As I feel the need to always say at such times, I’m glad I chose to be vaccinated, and I would do so again if I had a chance to relive that decision, but I do feel we’ve been sold a bill of goods that is completely at variance with what we were promised.

You might say “well, no-one expected the Delta variant to come along, it surprised us”.  But, if you say that, you’d be wrong.

The Delta variant was not only expected, it was inevitable as an evolutionary response by the virus to the vaccine.  It was not only expected and inevitable, the Delta variant was first reported in October 2020, almost a year ago; before the vaccines were approved, and before we were urged to go get vaccinated and expect a miraculous escape from the virus, and way before Joe Biden celebrated our freedom from the virus on July 4.  Yes, I know that ex-President Trump had his fair share of “freedom from the virus” claims too, but two wrongs don’t make a right, and it was easier in the first few months of the virus to make mistakes, than it was in July 2021 after nearly 18 months of learning, and with new case numbers steadily rising since 21 June.

In the major country list the UK rose two places.  If it continues at that rate, it is likely to move up another place or two within the next week.  There were some other smaller changes, too.

In the death list, the US and Mexico both moved up one, and Tunisia appeared at the bottom while Poland dropped off.

In the most active countries last week list we saw the appearance of new countries, Serbia, Slovenia and Switzerland in particular.  The UK rose one place and the US dropped four places (I discuss this further, below).

Europe had an almost imperceptible 0.3% rise in cases.  Winners included Spain (a 36% drop in cases compared to a week ago), France (down 26%) and Italy (down 14%).  Losers saw the Czech Republic rise 65%, the UK is now on the rise again, with a 15% increase, and Germany, while still rising, is now doing so by only a moderate 7%.

Canada’s case count rose by 8%, while Mexico’s count dropped by 3%.  The world as a whole saw a 9% drop in cases, a puzzling but pleasing number.  How is it the world’s numbers are dropping while we’re in the grip of the Delta variant and with too little of the world vaccinated?

Top Case Rates Minor Countries (cases per million)

Top Case Rates Major Countries (cases per million)

Top Death Rate Major Countries (deaths per million)

Top Rates in New Cases Reported in the Last Week (new cases per million) for Countries over one million population

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Items below include experts disagree about when the pandemic will end (but that’s okay), is the new Mu variant scary or not, has Dr Fauci been caught out in a big lie, and is Dr F right or wrong about when we can relax and stop worrying about the virus, dropping case numbers in the US, but will it continue, a puzzling study for Delta Airlines, Microsoft does something sensible, and Carnegie Hall does something ridiculously stupid.

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Please stay happy and healthy; all going well, I’ll be back again on Sunday.

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