https://www.aier.org/article/masking-children-tragic-unscientific-and-damaging/
Numerous studies indicate masking children is counterproductive based on their near-zero transmission and fatality rates versus the social and developmental harms of covering everyone’s faces indefinitely. Meanwhile, European countries have had kids back in school for the entire previous school year, and are jettisoning masks and quarantines — because that’s what real-world data supports.
https://twitter.com/AlecMacGillis/status/1431587147526574081
https://twitter.com/kylamb8/status/1427766003883204613
Florida provided a great real world observational study over the course of the school year last year with 40 districts with masks required policies and 27 without. The result was no statistical difference in school cases per enrolled students in person.
https://twitter.com/davidzweig/status/1425131056391393280
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/958013 Politics or Protection, what's behind the push for boosters?
https://www.trevorgrantthomas.com/2021/08/stop-foolish-covid-based-restrictions.html
includes flu vs. COVID deaths in children
According to data from the Georgia Department of Public Health, the percent vaccinated who later died from COVID-19 was a miniscule 0.00058%. Yet, for Americans ages zero to 17 years old, the chances of dying from the COVID is smaller: 0.00051%. Given that the vast majority of COVID-related deaths in young people occur in those with significant co-morbidities, for healthy young adults, this number is even smaller.
https://thefederalist.com/2021/07/21/johns-hopkins-study-found-zero-covid-deaths-among-healthy-kids/
A recent Johns Hopkins study involving 48,000 children—with “Covid” listed in their health insurance information (which probably means that they “tested positive” for COVID-19, or were “exposed” to it)—found zero COVID deaths among healthy kids.
Shows what kids really die of: 10.5 more times likely to die of cancer than COVID.
Only RCT on masks:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33205991/
The only RCT to test mask-wearing’s specific effectiveness against Covid-19 was a 2020 study by Bundgaard, et al. in Denmark. This large (4,862 participants) RCT divided people between a mask-wearing group (providing “high-quality” three-layer surgical masks) and a control group. It took place at a time (spring 2020) when Denmark was encouraging social distancing but not mask use, and 93 percent of those in the mask group wore the masks at least “predominately as recommended.” The study found that 1.8 percent of those in the mask group and 2.1 percent of those in the control group became infected with Covid-19 within a month, with this 0.3-point difference not being statistically significant…
In sum, of the 14 RCTs that have tested the effectiveness of masks in preventing the transmission of respiratory viruses, three suggest, but do not provide any statistically significant evidence in intention-to-treat analysis, that masks might be useful. The other eleven suggest that masks are either useless—whether compared with no masks or because they appear not to add to good hand hygiene alone—or actually counterproductive.
https://thenewamerican.com/study-rising-co2-is-a-deadly-problem-in-kids-bodies-because-of-face-masks/
Reporting on “cases” without context is a foolish and irresponsible exercise. Most often, a “case” is merely a positive test, and not someone who is actually sick. And when someone is sick, almost always that person recovers without hospitalization. Also, notice how the media—and oftentimes school systems as well—keep a running count of “cases.” This is also misleading. If “cases” are positive tests, once someone tests negative or recovers, shouldn’t they be removed from the case count? In other words, case counts should not be a number that only continuously grows.
https://twitter.com/andrewbostom/status/1308496346454913026
near absence of hospitalization and zero deaths
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/09/school-mask-mandates-downside/619952/
https://100percentfedup.com/michigan-ag-posts-photo-maskless-violating-cdc-guidelines/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtFapXG1zbo
covid patients hospitalized
Dr Suneel Dhand
Western Europe and Israel - highly vaxxed
Jerusalem Post 8/15/21
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/958069
Italy May Eventually Make COVID Vaccine Shots Compulsory for All, Draghi Says
https://thefederalist.com/2021/09/01/dr-scott-atlas-science-killed-itself-over-covid-19/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eci.13484
Eran Bendavid and other scientists of Stanford University) showing that lockdowns didn’t work to keep COVID-19 from spreading while imposing their own severe additional costs.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/08/covid-set-to-cause-400000-surge-in-tb-deaths-as-medics-diverted
Atlas also noted the increase of other deaths like tuberculosis, caused by the world’s focus on COVID-19. The World Health Organization warned in 2020 of up to an additional 400,000 deaths from tuberculosis because of the diversion of resources to COVID-19. “Mortality data showing that anywhere from a third or half of the deaths during the pandemic were not due to COVID-19,” Atlas said. “They were extra deaths due to the lockdowns.”
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/coronavirus-stands-wipe-3b-bangladesh-economy-1877950
https://100percentfedup.com/happening-now-1000-new-yorkers-protest-mandatory-shot-chanting-no-shot-mandate/
https://reason.com/2021/09/06/ivermectin-overdoses-oklahoma-hospitals-rolling-stone-hoax/
https://www.statnews.com/2021/09/07/how-risk-side-effects-could-change-covid-19-vaccine-boosters/
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02398-6
Scientists must develop the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines now, if the world is to meet the challenge of SARS-CoV-2 variants and reduce vaccine inequity by increasing global supply. This can be done only if comparator COVID-19 vaccines — those that have already been approved — are available to support clinical trials. Such comparator vaccines are almost impossible to secure; governments, developers and manufacturers must find a solution to unlock supplies.
So far, COVID-19 vaccines have received approval on the basis of data from unvaccinated participants in placebo-controlled efficacy trials. These trials become increasingly difficult to carry out as the number of people who are immunized rises. Comparator vaccines, essentially replacing placebos, are therefore needed for trials that assess whether new candidate vaccines provide comparable levels of protection, including against emerging variants.
https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2021/09/03/heres-what-we-know-about-the-mu-variant/
It’s unclear how much protection the vaccines offer against this variant. “The Mu variant has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape,” the WHO said in a statement Tuesday, raising concerns that it may be more resistant to coronavirus vaccines than other variants. “But this needs to be confirmed by further studies,” it added.
Fauci said that while laboratory data had shown that the mu variant can evade certain antibodies - among them those induced by vaccine shots - there is currently a lack of clinical data and other research involving people, showing this.
In December, the Alpha variant (also known as B.1.1.7) began sweeping through Israel, accounting for 80% of Covid cases just as a massive vaccination campaign was launched. A new study https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783851 comparing how Covid spread in more than 21,000 children up to 9 years old before and after Alpha’s emergence found that transmission rates doubled but hospitalization rates fell. Those results mirror what happened in adults: The virus was more contagious but didn’t necessarily lead to more severe illness. The researchers point out that that greater spread happened despite adults’ vaccine uptake, “highlighting the importance of making Covid-19 vaccine available for young children. Nonpharmacologic measures such as lockdown and school closure could not account for the difference in transmission since they were used during both periods.”
The Covid vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech is highly effective in pregnancy, a new analysis https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01490-8 comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant women says. Vaccine trials before emergency use authorization didn’t include anyone who was pregnant, even though immune changes in pregnancy may elevate risk for severe Covid illness and potentially for bad pregnancy outcomes. The latest study split more than 21,000 people over age 16 with no previous Covid-19 infection into two groups, matched by age, trimester, and any chronic conditions. The mRNA vaccine was highly effective in pregnant women for the variants circulating in Israel at the time of the study, the authors report, with vaccine effectiveness comparable to what’s found in the general population. The study didn't look at preterm birth or other complications, and the authors say more research is needed to determine infant protection after birth.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/94399
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/958154 Study of COVID Vaccine Side Effects May Help Plan for Missed Work
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/958255
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cdc-tightened-masking-guidelines-after-threats-from-teachers-union
https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/09/08/united-airlines-vaccine-mandate/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/09/09/university-delaware-coronavirus/
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00558-2/fulltext
We did a systematic review of patients admitted to hospital with SARS-CoV-2 (confirmed by a positive PCR test at the time of admission) between March 23 and July 1, 2021. SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status was recorded, including the specific vaccine type (mRNA-1273 [elasomeran; Moderna], BNT162b2 [tozinameran; Pfizer–BioNTech], or Ad.26.COV2.S [Janssen]) and vaccination dates. Patients were considered fully vaccinated if the final dose (either second dose of BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273, or first dose of Ad.26.COV2.S) was administered at least 14 days before symptom onset or a positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2. In total, we identified 969 patients who were admitted to a Yale New Haven Health System hospital with a confirmed positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2. Severity of COVID-19 infection was determined on the basis of established guidelines.6
172 (18%) of 969 patients had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at the time of admission to hospital. Among these patients, 103 had received a partial vaccine course (one dose of BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273), 15 had received a complete course (two doses of BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 or one dose of Ad.26.COV2.S within 14 days before symptom onset or a positive PCR test), and 54 were fully vaccinated (appendix pp 1–2). Patients deemed to have a breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection—ie, the 54 patients who were fully vaccinated—were evaluated for illness severity. Among this cohort, we found that 25 (46%) patients were asymptomatic (admitted to hospital for a non-COVID-19-related diagnosis but with an incidental positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2), four (7%) had mild disease, 11 (20%) had moderate disease, and 14 (26%) had severe or critical illness. Among those with severe or critical illness, the median age was 80·5 years (IQR 76·5–85·0); four of 14 patients required intensive care, one required mechanical ventilation, and three died. Pre-existing comorbidities in the 14 patients with severe or critical illness included overweight (body–mass index >25 kg/m2; n=9), cardiovascular disease (n=12), lung disease (n=7), malignancy (n=4), type 2 diabetes (n=7), and use of an immunosuppressive agent (n=4; appendix pp 3). 13 of 14 patients had received BNT162b2 (appendix p 1–2).
https://www.icelandreview.com/ask-ir/whats-the-status-of-covid-19-vaccination-in-iceland/
https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/08/icelands-top-epidemiologist-covid-vaccination-has-not-led-to-herd-immunity/
Iceland’s top epidemiologist admits the vaccination is not achieving the herd immunity as hoped for:
While data shows vaccination is reducing the rate of serious illness due to COVID-19 in Iceland, the country’s Chief Epidemiologist Þórólfur Guðnason says it has not led to the herd immunity that experts hoped for. In the past two to three weeks, the Delta variant has outstripped all others in Iceland and it has become clear that vaccinated people can easily contract it as well as spread it to others, Þórólfur stated in a briefing this morning.
…The panel opens for questions. “What needs to happen for you to tighten restrictions, Þórólfur? You don’t sound very positive at the moment.”
Þórólfur says he has not decided on measures beyond August 13. He is in discussions with the Health Minister, and it is the government that must decide whether it is necessary to impose tighter restrictions. Þórólfur adds that at this time he will likely make recommendations in a different format than the memorandums he has previously sent to the Health Minister.
As a reminder, Iceland has over 70% of its population vaccinated, and nearly everyone over 16 has received their shots.
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/post-acute-care/40-early-covid-19-nursing-home-cases-unreported
https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/94434
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/958451
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7036e1.htm
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/consumerism/debunking-covid-19-vaccination-card-misinformation-5-things-to-know.html
Organizations that do not have to follow HIPAA include most schools, most law enforcement agencies and employers.
We lost 30% of our RN staff because of mandatory vaccines this week. These nurses worked for the last year with Covid-19 patients and used PPE and did not get COVID. I am sorry but this is a KICK in the teeth to nurses that have been busting butt. If they have proven that PPE and careful infection control practices prevented them from getting Covid it should be their choice of getting the vaccine or not.
This action is going to devastate nursing. The schools are now doing a "kinda" rush education for RNs and hospitals are saying "sorry you shouldn't expect the quality of service that we previously provided because we are so short staffed". This was before this mandate.
Wasn't the plan to require a Bachelor's degree for RNs.
Why a COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Is Taking So Long: Really great piece by The Wall Street Journal.
"The logistical dance required to make doses safe for children is among the challenges confronting researchers evaluating the vaccines in the youngsters."
"Also complicating the trials, researchers said, federal health regulators demanded that more children be enrolled in the studies than originally planned. Enrolling children takes much longer than for adults because it requires parents’ consent, and some young volunteers don’t work out because they recoil at needles."
"Then, to assess whether the shots help, researchers said, they must gauge whether a child falls ill, no easy task with little ones who can’t always verbalize how they are feeling."
“In states reporting, 0.00-0.03 percent of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in death.”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-incoherent-logic-behind-bidens-vaccine-mandate
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7023e1.htm
https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_morningbrief/england-ditches-vaccine-passport-plan_3991471.html
https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_morningbrief/courts-will-rule-against-biden-on-vaccine-mandate-penalties-alan-dershowitz_3993461.html
“You can’t say it’s an emergency,” he continued. “This problem has existed since the first day of the Biden administration, and it will continue to exist on the last day of the Biden administration because we’re not going to see an end of COVID.”
Dershowitz added: “We’re going to see COVID become like the flu. Seasonal different variations, different vaccinations, so it shouldn’t be done under the rubric of emergency. It should be done under the rubric of ordinary congressional power.”
https://issuesinsights.com/2021/09/13/ii-tipp-poll-the-distrust-of-scientists-is-widespread-including-on-covid-vaccines/
https://datavisualizations.heritage.org/public-health/covid-hypocrisy-policymakers-breaking-their-own-rules/
https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/republican-backlash-grows-over-bidens-vaccine-mandate
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/clinical/fda-younger-kids-covid-shots-this-year
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/labor/employers-vaccine-mandate-fear-finding-keeping-workers
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/958416
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/958523
First Data Show Worse Cancer Survival After Pandemic Lockdown
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-policy/bidens-vaccine-rules-set-barrage-legal-challenges
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/legal/new-york-public-employees-sue-over-de-blasios-vaccine-mandate
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/finance/quest-other-labs-see-windfall-delta-driven-covid-testing-surge
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/hospitals/aha-concerned-federal-vaccine-mandate-could-make-workforce-shortages-worse
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/09/13/cdc-biden-health-team-vaccine-boosters-511529
https://www.newsmax.com/us/kamala-harris-covid-pandemic-vaccinated/2021/09/13/id/1036149/
https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/pnl7zl/canada_police_officers_firefighters_and/
https://www.justfacts.com/news_face_masks_deadly_falsehoods
https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/the-four-biggest-problems-with-biden-s-vaccine-order/
https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/94434
https://nypost.com/2021/09/12/england-cancels-plans-for-covid-vaccine-passports-sajid-javid/
Meanwhile, Britain has just scrapped plans for requiring vaccine passports to enter indoor events.
British Health Secretary Sajid Javid says: "I've never liked the idea of saying to people you must show your papers to do what is just an everyday activity.” Javid also announced that he did not anticipate any further lockdown measures in the UK.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9980015/26-Lancet-scientists-trashed-theory-Covid-leaked-Chinese-lab-links-Wuhan.html
In March, 2020, 27 scientists banded together and wrote a letter to Britain’s Lancet medical journal dismissing the possibility that Covid-19 began in a Wuhan, China lab. Their assurances fixed the media narrative that the virus had natural origins for almost a year, shut down debate and created many misperceptions that slowed down understanding of the virus.
Now Britain’s Daily Telegraph has discovered that 26 of the 27 signatories to the Lancet letter have links to Wuhan lab researchers, their colleagues or its benefactors. Obviously, the letter was the product of a group with massive conflicts of interest.
https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/the-four-biggest-problems-with-biden-s-vaccine-order/
http://thebullelephant.com/corporate-covid-costs-under-mandate/
However, the company has now assumed the liability for employee COVID vaccine side effects which can include lost productivity, injury, disability and death. Unless the government indemnifies the company for such vaccine adverse events, the liability can run from thousands to millions of dollars – and potentially put the entire company’s survival at risk.
Annual cost of insurance to cover COVID liability will be difficult to anticipate because of the unknowns involved. Insurance companies must charge to cover their risks, and corporate COVID insurance costs could suddenly increase. It is even possible that COVID employment insurance will be difficult or impossible to obtain if there happens to be an unexpected number of COVID vaccination injuries, disabilities or deaths in the company.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/958640 Current scientific evidence does not indicate that people who are not immunocompromised need booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines, a team of experts write in a viewpoint article in The Lancet. https://www.thelancet.com/pb-assets/Lancet/pdfs/S0140673621020468.pdf Research shows that the vaccines remain effective at preventing severe COVID-19, according to the group of experts. They include two high-level officials in the office of the US Food and Drug Administration that regulates vaccines who recently announced plans to leave the agency. Doctors and nurses in the United States are divided about the need for COVID-19 boosters and about how the United States should prioritize its supply of vaccines, according to a Medscape poll of more than 1700 clinicians that collected responses from August 25 to September 6.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/13/health/fda-coronavirus-booster-shots.html
https://www.virginiabusiness.com/article/valley-health-tells-workers-to-get-vaccinated/
https://www.statnews.com/2021/09/13/international-review-argues-against-covid-19-vaccine-boosters/