Posted on 01/05/2021 8:36:40 AM PST by rktman
We are now almost one year from the dark days when the coronavirus first hit these shores. Why are the politicians making the same policy mistakes today that they made nine months ago? The 300,000+ deaths are an act of nature, but the virus's death and despair have been compounded by acts of man -- i.e., foolish politicians.
Haven't we learned anything about how to combat this virus without slamming shut our economy? Yes. And so, in the hopes that these errors of government are corrected, I present some well-established truths about how to keep us safe from the virus:
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
When I first saw the header I thought it was a statement meaning I would be safe from getting it. Oh well..........
PING
Good piece. Here is another good one from Nov that is worth considering -
It is fair to say our institutions have failed us. The biggest failure in my humble opinion was the fact that hatred of Trump prevented the widespread and even prophylactic usage of HCQ and Zinc. The media is now admitting they are wrong, but what was the real costs of their fake news?
Public health officials also failed to emphasize the importance of vitamins such as D and C or minerals like zinc that every person should be taking daily as there is clear evidence that low levels of these in a patient can lead to a poor outcome if you contract the virus.
This will only be done on 1/20 if Demented joe gets in.
Why are Health Care providers not even treating this virus until people are on their death bed?
Tamiflu hasn’t even been prescribed as in the past. This is all so strange.
Health care personnel are following the lead of our health institutions and the media.
Prior to this pandemic there were numerous studies showing the health benefits (even prophylactic) of vitamins C and D as well as zinc. Prior to this pandemic there were numerous studies showing that masks were ineffective in preventing viral transmission and that long term wearing of a mask (reuse of N95 masks) were harmful.
They ignored the first (along with the obvious benefit of HCQ) and locked onto the second as the best method to prevent spread despite initially admitting that the science said they did not work.
The only answer I have is that this became politicized and the media (the most ignorant bunch on earth) was driving the bus. The doctors with the most success in treating their patients were ignored and the contradictory proclamations by Fauci were treated as if he was Moses holding tablets.
Screw thus stupid bug
Don’t get tested and do not participate in their globalist scheme to take over the United States of America and impose communism
Those categorical claims are categorically wrong. The studies show zinc is somwhat effective: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01712/full Some studies show masks are somewhat effective in some cases (see my home page). Other studies show no effect, especially for cloth masks, and some studies show negative effects (e.g. the haaj study).
If a maskless, zinc-infused nirvana were possible, it would be noticed. There is no such place on earth. Some of the lowest death rates on earth are in Taiwan and Vietnam where they wear masks. They don't take prophylactic HCQ as far as I know, however Taiwan manufactures a lot of the stuff.
“Categorically wrong”? You immediately state that zinc is “somewhat effective”. The data since last spring have clearly shown a correlation between zinc deficiency and negative outcomes. Zinc does not prevent you from getting the CCP virus, but it does appear to have a correlation with the outcome based on the study I trust more than “health officials” - i.e. doctors who treated hundreds or over 1000 patients. It’s very cheap and easy to take every day so if there is even a “somewhat” benefit why shouldn’t people take it?
You then go on to state that there are studies that show mask work, don’t work, and somewhat work (paraphrased).
How am I categorically wrong when the word “somewhat” is used? How is the science about masking any more conclusive than the observations about zinc? If you read the fine print on the mask studies you will find that they were clean masks exposed for short duration. Every study shows a degradation of effectiveness for N95 masks the longer they are worn. We have kids in grocery stores wearing the same masks for weeks! Most of these studies also show a negative impact for long-term wearing of masks and any benefit or catching of the virus degrades in a short time.
I am not being snarky and try to never be rude, but I read a lot of studies published and accepted in 2019 and earlier (prior to the CCP virus) about the accepted science before this became politicized. My wife and I both have our parents as well as a centenarian grandparent so I was concerned. They asked me to research it and if they should wear masks. My best answer was that they should stay at home and stay away from other people as much as possible. One of them tested positive, but had few symptoms. I still think it was a false positive.
By April, there were some anecdotal observations by doctors who were treating lots of patients that there was some correlation between zinc levels and vitamin D with a negative outcome in the severely ill. This became solidified for me by the end of May because these same doctors had created a regimen that seemed to be performing far better than their peers. These doctors appear to have great results from what I can see, yet they were roundly ignored by the media.
Same for vitamin C. I am not a big homeopathic person nor am I a vitamin nut, but it has been widely accepted that vitamin C is a good supplement for viruses for a long time. The costs is negligible so why not?
I probably should not have used the word “prophylactic” for HCQ. It does NOT prevent you from contracting the virus based on what I have seen. However, I strongly believe there is very good evidence (as the media now admits) that it does lessen the severity of the virus and leads to a better outcome. I had strong confidence about this in May and told our parents that if they showed symptoms they should demand HCQ immediately before any test results were provided.
I took HCQ in the Army prior to a deployment that did not ultimately happen with no ill effects. I know a few people who take HCQ for other conditions with no ill effects. The Army treated it as a prophylactic for malaria so that is why I am stuck on the term, but I will concede the point. However, they put you on it for the entire deployment! I strongly believe there is solid evidence that HCQ treatment when symptoms begin leads to a better outcome. Doctors all around the world not under the sway of the American media appear to agree!
The one size fits all approach we took in most Western nations was not supported by science. It ignored a relatively effective and cheap treatment for the infected as well as commonsense preventative measures that were supported by science and observations about the virus and the necessity to minimize exposure among those most vulnerable. Our politicians directives did not appear to be supported by the science nor did the “essential vs non-essential” categories make much sense.
Many here and likely you too were saying this by late spring and early summer. The refusal to acknowledge these things on the part of our leaders and public health officials to include the benefit of HCQ as a treatment made this far worse from a health standpoint in my humble opinion. The negative studies of HCQ were OBVIOUSLY done on patients who had already begun on the downhill slope when it was too late and some of them now admit this. Why did we base conclusions on giving something that minimized the symptoms to people who were already on a vent?
I have confidence in the treatments that are available right now, but still feel that we are not being proactive enough at the first sign of symptoms. It will be interesting to see what we know about this later this year and in the future because there is a lot of data available. The main problem we have in finding the truth is the bias within the media to include the scientific media and that “big tech” seems to be controlling what studies are highlighted and which ones are ignored. This distrust of what we see, read, hear, and find via online searches is impacting the vaccine roll-out as well, but that is another discussion.
Everyone can have an opinion. Mine is not based solely on my own research. I have physician friends and even a close friend who is a practicing and competent epidemiologist. He says there is still widespread disagreement about many things in his own community of PhD types. FWIW, they all recommend taking the vitamins and zinc daily and all of them believe there is some correlation in outcome. That is good enough for me.
There are no guarantees with this or any other virus, but I will respectfully submit that I believe the preventative measures are MORE effective than masking. I know quite a few people who have had the virus including a few with negative outcomes. Several of them masked, minimized public exposure, and practiced “social distancing”. The most recent person touched by China in my orbit was the most careful and stringent about following the recommendations to include minimal exposure to others in public. He is doing fine right now and has nothing but cold like symptoms and a loss of smell/taste.
Masking has NOT prevented the spread of this virus. “Social distancing” has not prevented the spread of the virus. There is a lot of evidence that the states that practiced these the most had no better outcome (or worse in dense urban areas) than states that were less restrictive.
I do not believe I can prevent contracting this virus unless I stay at home and avoid any public exposure. However, if I do begin to show symptoms I am pretty confident that I am unlikely to have a negative outcome and part of that is the regime I have practiced. I have flown on planes, traveled a fair bit to include to some cities with large numbers, and I have tried to practice common sense stuff. I avoided contact with my elders strictly for 10 days after each trip. Thankfully, we have been okay up to this point and I pray that continues.
FRegards.
Sorry, I worded my reply poorly. No categorical statements can be made as to what is right and wrong here, both for prevention and for mask use. Your original comment was not categorical and I should have seen that.
I am reading the rest of your response now...
There are very few studies on source control by masking. I wear one at work when I have to, and in every public place based on the theory of source control. I'd wager that if source control is effective, then poor masking is better than no masking. But I don't know if the theory is correct.
Thanks again for your reply.
FWIW - I don’t have a corner on “truth” and frankly, even according to my good doctor friend who is at the top of the game the “experts” don’t have a corner either.
The amount of influence the “media” has had on the debate about how to respond to the virus is overwhelming to the point that even professionals in the field are hesitant to express contrary opinions. It has become a lot like “global warming” before they made it “climate change” and critical thinking is not welcome or good for your career.
My best evidence is that proven doctors have all pointed out the importance of zinc and vitamin D deficiencies. There appears to be good anecdotal evidence that these deficiencies can impact the severity of the virus. How or why is up for debate.
Another interesting anecdotal observation is the impact of blood type on viral severity or even exhibiting symptoms. It appears O positive blood types have a batter outcome and the AB blood types get more ill. I have not drawn any conclusions yet, some of my doctor friends do believe there is a correlation, and anecdotal evidence from a public safety agency in my area is that O positive was less likely to contract it or have a severe outcome based on more than 50 and less than 100 cases.
This thing is a hard nut to crack as we have seen and I think there will still be some debate years from now about what we did and did not do correctly.
Regarding “masking” - I wear a mask in public. It is the polite thing to do. However, I don’t believe either I or others get much of a benefit from it and many seem to get a false sense of confidence from them despite not knowing how to properly wear one (renders it useless).
FRegards and appreciate the conversation. I think all of us will be learning much more about this specific virus and the steps we did and did not take in the future.
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