OMG Omicron

[DaveBrown74]

One follow-up point on South Africa that I think is worth noting:

While it is absolutely true that they are one of the younger populations in the world (median age 27) and that that is surely a factor driving their benign deaths data in the face of the omicron surge there, it is also worth noting how low their vaccination rate is. As of Dec 21st, the data shows that only 26.4% of their population has received two doses, while 31.6% has received one dose. That is extremely low.

Relative to expectations the US is also very low, however the US is currently sitting at 61.7% double-vaccinated. It's disappointing that that number isn't higher obviously, but that is still more than double South Africa's number in percentage terms.

Given that the messaging on this strain has been if you're vaxed you should be ok, I think it's interesting that South Africa has seen almost no total deaths spike despite being plenty of weeks into this surge. If the reason is really because they have a median age about a decade younger than the US, then that kind of suggests that age matters more than vaccination status.

[MightyGiants]

DB,

I will say this.  While I am not at a point of saying anything with proper certainty.   The general trend in terms of information coming in is really positive.   I am feeling better in the longer term (say a month or two out) than I have been since Omicron reared its head.   

[DaveBrown74]

DB,

I will say this.  While I am not at a point of saying anything with proper certainty.   The general trend in terms of information coming in is really positive.   I am feeling better in the longer term (say a month or two out) than I have been since Omicron reared its head.

I think I share the cautious optimism.

[Bob In PA]

https://www.rwmalonemd.com/

[MightyGiants]

https://www.rwmalonemd.com/

Isn't that the guy who was banned from Twitter for spreading misinformation about Covid?

Also his claims of being "the original

[Bob In PA]

There are usually two sides to every story.  Remember, not everything deemed to be "science" today will prove to be correct tomorrow.  Only time and further advancements will tell the entire story.  Bob

[MightyGiants]

There are usually two sides to every story.  Remember, not everything deemed to be "science" today will prove to be correct tomorrow.  Only time and further advancements will tell the entire story.  Bob

That is the sort of claim flat earthers would use.   Science evolves based on FACT and EVIDENCE.  That does not mean it's anything goes as "the two sides to every story" would suggest.    Science changes when the evidence indicates it should change, it doesn't change because some dangerous crackpot makes unsupported claims. 


Still, I have recently learned of an interesting concept called DARVO.  It's a technique where a wrongdoer Denies > Attacks > Reverse Victim and Offender.    This blog is a great example of that.  This guy is spreading dangerous and harmful misinformation.   That has not stopped him from trying to reverse roles and play the victim as this passage clearly demonstrates.

I have now done hundreds of podcasts and interviews. I am a regular guest on many shows and have written many editorials that have been published in mainstream newspapers.  Along with many other physicians and scientists advocating early treatment, I have toured globally to help educate physicians and the public about early treatment options while also opposing the unethical mandates.

I used to believe that the FDA, NIH, and CDC were working for the people, not big pharma. I thought that if we could just re-purpose already known, safe drugs for emerging infectious diseases, we could quickly find ways to reduce the death rate.  I thought that drug and vaccine development were regulated by the Federal government for the common good.  What I have learned over the last two years is that regulatory capture of the federal government has warped and shaped the work of Congress and Federal agencies to such an extent that they no longer represent what is in the best interests of the nation, the world, and humanity.  The more I have expressed data-based concerns about what is happening with the vaccines, the US Federal and WHO responses, the more I have been censored, defamed, and subjected to various forms of character assassination by big tech and legacy media. I am not alone in being targeted. Mainstream media has attacked and censored me and other prominent physicians/scientists who do not recite the governmental narrative.  This has been developed into a standard process and deployed worldwide as a technique for suppressing physician dissent

[DaveBrown74]

I have two initial thoughts on this:

(1) This guy appears to be wanting to build his brand. On the very page where he talks about his beliefs, he then says he's available (for hire obviously) for speaking engagements and what not. So, whether he wholly believes what he is saying or not, he is clearly looking to convert it into cash. Most great doctors I know are not motivated by money. A great surgeon has the talent and brainpower to have pursued any number of more lucrative careers. So my guard always goes up a little bit when I see a doctor who is out there doing a lot of self-promotion, public appearances, and clear solicitations for paid appearances. That alone doesn't mean he's wrong or lying, but let's face it, there's a clear market in this country for anyone with a doctor label who sides with non-vaxers. At the very least we should be aware of that reality.

(2) Even if his intentions are completely legitimate, he is in a tiny, tiny, tiny minority of bona fide doctors who feel the way he does. There are pretty much always going to be outliers in any large number of things are people. So even if his intentions are 100% altruistic, I am personally not inclined to be swayed all that much by just one or two doctors versus millions all around the developed world. If it were more of a 70/30, 80/20, or even 90/10 type debate, I would be much more inclined to take their point of view more seriously. It's not anything close to that though.

Just my two cents.

[Bob In PA]

If it were more of a 70/30, 80/20, or even 90/10 type debate, I would be much more inclined to take their point of view more seriously. It's not anything close to that though.

Dave: How can you prove there are not 70/30, etc., in the debate when the "outliers" as you call them are being canceled by social media sites?  Bob

[Bob In PA]

That is the sort of claim flat earthers would use.

Rich: Once upon a time, learned people were utterly convinced the Earth was flat.  If we would have been alive then, we too would have sworn it was true.  Good thing Twitter wasn't around to "cancel" Copernicus!  Bob

[DaveBrown74]

Dave: How can you prove there are not 70/30, etc., in the debate when the "outliers" as you call them are being canceled by social media sites?  Bob

That is a fair question, and the truth is that I cannot "prove" what the exact numbers are. However, I read enough articles, including in non left-leaning publications like the WSJ, where I feel I have a reasonable broad sense of the breakdown. I have also spent a significant amount of time speaking to doctors I know, including both my own doctors (all of whom I trust greatly) as well as other doctors I respect that I just happen to know, and the views on the vaccine from them have been totally unanimous. If there were really a loud voice coming from the medical community that was against vaxing, I believe I would be aware of it. Big Tech can only snuff people out so much when they're large in numbers. I agree it's not hard for them to do that to a small number of individuals though.

Although this next part doesn't directly answer your question, I would add that I am also overwhelmingly convinced by all the data on the impact of the vaccine on those who get covid, and I monitor the data fairly closely on an ongoing basis. So that, coupled with my own direct gatherings from doctors I know are (1) excellent and (2) benevolent, is good enough for me.

[Ed Vette]

Rich: Once upon a time, learned people were utterly convinced the Earth was flat.  If we would have been alive then, we too would have sworn it was true.  Good thing Twitter wasn't around to "cancel" Copernicus!  Bob

When Health organizations and Leadership make statements as they did last year that the vaccines will protect us from getting covid or may protect us from getting covid, it leads to more and more distrust. Even using the word "may" without clearly detailing leads the audience. The caveat that we are learning as we go is a weak excuse for publishing false and misleading information. I agree that the collective canceling of what doesn't subscribe to the accepted hides some information but it also hides disinformation. It becomes a necessary evil.

[MightyGiants]

DB's comments are quite on point and reminds me of this article I had posted

[MightyGiants]

Here is perhaps a more frustrating story.  This man did all the right things but died because others didn't


He died after waiting 15 days for a hospital bed. His family blames unvaccinated covid-19 patients.



https://archive.fo/7jr0h#selection-485.0-485.99

Simply put, we can't let people die by allowing other people to lie

[Ed Vette]

DB's comments are quite on point and reminds me of this article I had posted

https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2020/07/30/you-must-not-do-your-own-research-when-it-comes-to-science/?sh=54d2c021535e

As to being censored by Twitter (I agree with Ed), censorship is less than ideal, but people falsely claiming to have invented the vaccines being used and then spreading dangerous false information is worse.   Here is the thing all this misinformation about Covid and the vaccines isnt' some sort of intellectual or moral exercise.  Real people are needlessly dying because of the lies being spread by the likes of Robert Malone.   Here is a rather touching story I came across today

Arianah Stinnet, 26, Elmira, NY, Personal Care Assistant, anti-vaxx, dead from COVID
According to this gofundme Arianah died from COVID. She died on December 27, 2021. She leaves behind her young son and her 16 year old sister who she had custody of since her mother died. She wasn't the egregious SAV we've had but she documented her entire COVID journey which I think ever anti-vaxxer visiting SAV should be read and head.



It was gut-wrenching to read her social media posts as her Covid went from bad to worse

https://www.sorryantivaxxer.com/post/arianah-stinnet-26-elmira-ny-personal-care-assistant-anti-vaxx-dead-from-covid

She would still be alive today caring for her sister and daughter if not for hucksters like Malone.   That is why we need to get a handle on misinformation.


The original comments on the vaccine were accurate in reference to the original strain.   The message (and effectiveness) changed as the strains changed. 

It's funny, my father was very much interested in the vaccine.  So I actually used to talk to him.  I told him the threshold for an effective vaccine would be one that had a 50% chance of keeping you from dying.   Anything beyond that (in terms of being more effective or the ability to prevent infection rather than illness would all be a bonus).   Things were looking good because the original vaccines were effective in both keeping people from getting infect and getting sick or dying.  Then came Delta and then came Omicron...

Where is the evidence to show that the vaccines prevented infection against the original Covid 19?