February 2020
The month of February starts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recording all-time high percentages of flu cases, which will soon plummet to all-time lows. Then flu cases will be abandoned altogether as the media apparatus shifts its coverage dramatically toward an unexpected alien menace. At this time, most Americans are still going about their lives as usual, blissfully unaware of what lies ahead.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) determines there is a public health emergency with the potential to affect national security and the health security of U.S. citizens.
The World Health Organization (WHO) calls for a strategy for coordinating national, regional, and global actions in response to the new threat. This invisible threat is officially named “SARS-CoV-2,” with the disease it purportedly causes christened COVID-19.
The White House opens an official investigation into COVID-19 origins. Bats, snakes, and pangolins sold in Chinese wet markets are considered prime suspects. Dr. Fauci states that the danger of this “novel virus” is “just minuscule,” and President Trump asserts that “The risk to the American people remains very low.”
Meanwhile, Facebook, Amazon, Google, and other companies meet with WHO to figure out how to stop coronavirus “misinformation.”
Approaching the end of the month, the media landscape seems to shift dramatically as the pace quickens toward a “global health emergency.”
Rumblings of “a revolution in vaccine development” that will use messenger mRNA are in the air as CEPI puts out a call for “proven vaccine technologies for rapid response against novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV.”
Bill Gates calls the coronavirus the “once-in-a-century pathogen we’ve been worried about” as stock markets across the world suddenly crash “due to growing instability caused by COVID-19 pandemic.”
President Trump requests $2.5 billion from Congress to finance America’s response to COVID-19 and names VP Mike Pence to lead the US Coronavirus Response. Pence selects Dr. Deborah L. Birx to serve as the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House.
The FDA announces an accelerated policy to achieve more rapid testing capacity in the United States.
Italy records the first “Covid death” of a European and initiates its first lockdowns.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declares coronavirus will become a pandemic and announces a health emergency response plan.
The United States reports its first claimed “COVID-19” death followed by two other confirmed cases in a nursing home in the same city.
The “paper of record,” The New York Times, closes out the month with a dramatic opinion piece by the editorial board titled “Here comes the coronavirus pandemic.”
February 1–15, 2020 — CDC records all-time high percentages of flu cases for first two weeks of February, which will sink to all-time lows by late March/early April 2020, causing some to ask: “What caused the flu to magically disappear in 2020-21?“
February 1, 2020 — Dr. Anthony Fauci attends a confidential teleconference set up by Jeremy Farrar, head of Wellcome Trust (a WHO partner), with 11 other invited participants.
“I remember it very well”: Dr. Fauci describes a secret 2020 meeting to talk about COVID origins.
The group of scientists invited to the call decided in advance that what they discussed would be kept in confidence until they had agreed on next steps.
Three days later, four of the call participants, including Edward C. Holmes, author a paper titled, “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2,” and they will conclude:
“Although the evidence shows that SARS-CoV-2 is not a purposefully manipulated virus, it is currently impossible to prove or disprove the other theories of its origin described here. However, since we observed all notable SARS-CoV-2 features, including the optimized RBD and polybasic cleavage site, in related coronaviruses in nature, we do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible.”
February 1, 2020 — The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) puts out a “Call for Proposals” for “proven vaccine technologies, applicable for large scale manufacturing, for rapid response against novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV,” with an application deadline of February 14, 2020.
CEPI’s call to action states:
“The rapid global spread and unique epidemiological characteristics of 2019-nCoV virus is deeply concerning. In coordination with WHO, as it leads the development of a coordinated international response, CEPI is promoting the development of new vaccines against the emerging threat of 2019-nCoV virus.”
“The suggested vaccine-technology performance will be considered towards the following guidelines:
• Speed from sequence of pathogen availability to clinical-trial testing;
• Number of doses needed — to gain clinical benefit;
• Scale of manufacturing.
“In the current situation, CEPI will be aiming for a capacity of production of millions of doses.”
February 2, 2020 — Bloomberg reports, “Coronavirus Forces World’s Largest Work-From-Home Experiment.”
“Thanks to the coronavirus outbreak, working from home is no longer a privilege, it’s a necessity.
“While factories, shops, hotels and restaurants are warning about plunging foot traffic that is transforming city centers into ghost towns, behind the closed doors of apartments and suburban homes, thousands of businesses are trying to figure out how to stay operational in a virtual world.”
February 2, 2020 — BBC reports, “First [coronavirus] death outside China reported in Philippines.”
“A man has died of the coronavirus in the Philippines, the first confirmed fatality outside China.
“The patient was a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan, in Hubei province, where the virus was first detected.
“He appeared to have been infected before arriving in the Philippines, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
“The man is thought to have had other pre-existing health conditions.”
February 2, 2020 — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issues travel restrictions, enhanced screening procedures, and the capacity to quarantine passengers on flights from China.
“To protect the American people from exposure to the coronavirus, on Sunday, February 2, 2020, the Acting Secretary Chad F. Wolf issued instructions supplementing a decision issued on January 31, 2020, and directed all flights from China and all passengers who have traveled to China within the last 14 days to be routed through one of eight U.S. airports, effective Sunday, February 2nd, 2020, for flights departing after 5:00 PM Eastern. Three additional airports will be added to the list of airports authorized to receive such flights beginning at various times on Monday, February 3, 2020. At these eleven airports, the United States Government has established enhanced screening procedures and the capacity to quarantine passengers, if needed.
“Additionally, U.S. citizens who have been in Hubei province within 14 days of their return will be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine to ensure they are provided proper medical care and health screening.”
February 3, 2020 — Nature publishes “A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin.”
“Since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) 18 years ago, a large number of SARS-related coronaviruses (SARSr-CoVs) have been discovered in their natural reservoir host, bats. Previous studies have shown that some bat SARSr-CoVs have the potential to infect humans. Here we report the identification and characterization of a new coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which caused an epidemic of acute respiratory syndrome in humans in Wuhan, China. The epidemic, which started on 12 December 2019, had caused 2,794 laboratory-confirmed infections including 80 deaths by 26 January 2020. Full-length genome sequences were obtained from five patients at an early stage of the outbreak. The sequences are almost identical and share 79.6% sequence identity to SARS-CoV. Furthermore, we show that 2019-nCoV is 96% identical at the whole-genome level to a bat coronavirus.”
February 3, 2020 — Nature publishes “A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China” by Fan Wu, Su Zhao, Bin Yu, Yan-Mei Chen, Wen Wang, Edward C. Holmes, et al.
“Here we study a single patient who was a worker at the [Wuhan seafood] market and who was admitted to the Central Hospital of Wuhan on 26 December 2019 while experiencing a severe respiratory syndrome that included fever, dizziness and a cough.”
“Phylogenetic analysis of the complete viral genome (29,903 nucleotides) revealed that the virus was most closely related (89.1% nucleotide similarity) to a group of SARS-like coronaviruses (genus Betacoronavirus, subgenus Sarbecovirus) that had previously been found in bats in China. This outbreak highlights the ongoing ability of viral spill-over from animals to cause severe disease in humans.
“This virus strain was designated as WH-Human 1 coronavirus (WHCV) (and has also been referred to as ‘2019-nCoV’) and its whole genome sequence (29,903 nt) has been assigned GenBank accession number MN908947.”
February 3, 2020 — The Diamond Princess cruise ship holds its 3,700 passengers and crew (with an average age of 66 years) in quarantine on the ship in Japan’s Yokohama Port after an 80-year-old male passenger tests positive for “COVID-19” two days earlier. The vessel will end up being quarantined off Japan for two weeks. Seniors are forced to be confined in their rooms for 14 days.
Word of the ship’s plight is catapulted the world over.
But the news that 83% of the passengers never got ill was not reported. There were a total of seven deaths among those on board. All were passengers over 70 years old. Not one crew member died.
February 3, 2020 — Science magazine declares “Study claiming new coronavirus can be transmitted by people without symptoms was flawed.“
(See January 30, 2020, entry.)
“A paper published on 30 January in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) about the first four people in Germany infected with a novel coronavirus made many headlines because it seemed to confirm what public health experts feared: that someone who has no symptoms from infection with the virus, named 2019-nCoV, can still transmit it to others. That might make controlling the virus much harder.
“The letter in NEJM described a cluster of infections that began after a businesswoman from Shanghai visited a company near Munich on 20 and 21 January, where she had a meeting with the first of four people who later fell ill. Crucially, she wasn’t sick at the time: ‘During her stay, she had been well with no sign or symptoms of infection but had become ill on her flight back to China,’ the authors wrote. ‘The fact that asymptomatic persons are potential sources of 2019-nCoV infection may warrant a reassessment of transmission dynamics of the current outbreak.’
“But the researchers didn’t actually speak to the woman before they published the paper. The last author, Michael Hoelscher of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Medical Center, says the paper relied on information from the four other patients: ‘They told us that the patient from China did not appear to have any symptoms.’ Afterward, however, officials at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany’s federal public health agency, and the Health and Food Safety Authority of the state of Bavaria did talk to the Shanghai patient on the phone, and it turned out she did have symptoms while in Germany. According to people familiar with the call, she felt tired, suffered from muscle pain, and took paracetamol, a fever-lowering medication. (An RKI spokesperson would only confirm to Science that the woman had symptoms.)”
February 4, 2020 — In an X post: “DARPA tells AstraZeneca’s CEO that Covid was a national security threat, a FULL MONTH BEFORE President Trump’s declaration.“
“On the tape, Mark Esser also said that they had been working with DARPA since 2017 on this program. And on February 4th, 2020, they received a phone call from DARPA from colonel Matt Hepburn telling them that COVID has been declared a national security threat. And February 4, 2020, is a full month before there was an emergency declaration by President Trump and subsequent HHS PREP Act declarations, which were made retroactive to February 4, 2020.
“AstraZeneca and other pharma companies participating in the DOD Pandemic Preparedness consortium received a phone call from the DOD saying that “novel covid virus posed national security threat.” This explains why the PREP Act declaration in the US was made retroactive to February 4.” [Emphasis added.]
February 4, 2020 — WHO releases its Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP)—the plan calls for coordinating national, regional, and global actions in response to COVID-19.
Stated objectives include:
A) Rapidly establishing international coordination to deliver strategic, technical, and operational support through existing mechanisms and partnerships;
B) Scaling up country preparedness and response operations, including strengthening readiness to rapidly identify, diagnose and treat cases;
C) Accelerating priority research and innovation to support a clear and transparent global process to set research and innovation priorities to fast track and scale-up research, development, and the equitable availability of candidate therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics.
February 4, 2020 — Pursuant to section 564 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar determines that there is a public health emergency that has “significant potential to affect national security or the health and security of United States citizens living abroad and that involves a novel (new) coronavirus (nCoV) first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China in 2019 (2019-nCoV).
“Azar invokes the 2005 Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, PREP Act, back dating it effective February 4, 2020.
“This declaration will be used to justify the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization (EUA) which will allow for rushing a wide range of essential medical products, including diagnostic tests, treatments, masks, and vaccines onto the market through the EUA.
“According to the CDC, as of February 4, 2020, approximately 20,000 ‘cases’ had been identified in China with an additional 159 ‘cases’ in 23 other countries, including 11 alleged ‘cases’ in the United States.”
February 4, 2020 — In an article titled “COVID-19: Emergency Use Authorization,” Azar’s emergency declaration is analyzed.
UNCOVERDC magazine notes:
“Following the January 31st determination of a public health emergency (PHE), on February 4, 2020—and paving the way for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for COVID-19 vaccines—HHS Azar went a step further, determining that “there is a public health emergency that has a significant potential to affect national security or the health and security of United States citizens living abroad and that involves a novel (new) coronavirus (nCoV) first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China in 2019 (2019-nCoV). The virus is now named SARS-CoV-2, which causes the illness COVID-19.”
“The action allows the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize formally unapproved products for temporary use as emergency countermeasures against threats to public health and safety. A handful of crucial events led to the enactment of the FDA’s emergency powers, illustrating “how its use today against COVID-19 involves fundamental questions about the role of public officials, scientific expertise, and administrative norms in times of crisis.”
February 4, 2020 — The CDC releases its CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-RCR Diagnostic Panel, which is ‘intended for the presumptive qualitative detection of nucleic acid from the 2019-nCoV-2 Positive results are indicative of active infection with 2019-nCoV but do not rule out bacterial infection or co-infection with other viruses.’
In the EUA document, the CDC says, ‘Since no quantified virus isolates of the 2019-nCoV are currently available, ‘we have gone through the described process ‘to mimic [a] clinical specimen.’
February 5, 2020 — Anthony Fauci writes in an email to Sylvia Burwell:
“Masks are really for infected people to prevent them from spreading infection to people who are not infected rather than protecting uninfected people from acquiring infection.”
“The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through material. It might, however, provide some slight benefit in keep out gross droplets if someone coughs or sneezes on you.”
February 6, 2020 — Retrospective articles from April 2020 claim a Santa Clara County, Calif., woman to have been the first coronavirus victim in the United States on this date: February 6, 2020.
The coroner’s report revealed that this first alleged coronavirus victim, Patricia Dowd, suffered a ruptured heart, and her family attributed her death to a heart attack. But in late April they learned she tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Pathologist Judy Melinek said Dowd died at home, so the Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner took jurisdiction of her case, performed an autopsy, and sent tissue samples to the CDC to test for COVID-19.
February 6, 2020 — According to BBC News, Dr. Li Wenliang, the Chinese ophthalmologist who warned people about “a potential new virus” and was punished by her government, dies—allegedly from “Covid-19″—at age 34.
NOTE: Confusion and changing stories surrounded the reporting of Li’s death and his medical history was not known.
February 6, 2020 — The CDC issues a press release announcing that the shipping of the CDC 2019 novel coronavirus diagnostic test kits begins.
“The test kit has not been FDA cleared or approved, however distribution and use of the test kits follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) February 4, 2020, issuance of an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). The tests are being shipped through the International Reagent Resource (IRR), a CDC-established mechanism that distributes laboratory reagents domestically and globally.”
February 7, 2020 — The Australian Department of Health releases its first Australian Health Sector Emergency Response Plan for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-2019).
“Pandemic influenza remains a key global health threat and the Australian Government and the broader Australian health sector is well prepared to respond to an influenza pandemic. The Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza (the AHMPPI) is the key nationally agreed document to guide Australia’s response.”
February 8, 2020 — At a WHO media briefing on 2019 novel coronavirus, Tedros announces the World Health Organization’s (WHO) four-pronged approach to fight “misinformation and conspiracy theories” that make “fighting the coronavirus harder.”
Tedros remarks:
“At WHO, we’re not just battling the virus; we’re also battling the trolls and conspiracy theorists that push misinformation and undermine the outbreak response.”
The four-pronged approach includes:
1) Leveraging the WHO’s risk communications and “infodemic” management team to actively track misinformation;
2) Activating the WHO’s “infodemic” team to work hand in glove with communications departments to deliver information to a broader public audience;
3) Engaging with search, social and digital companies such as Facebook, Google, Tencent, Baidu, Twitter, TikTok, Weibo, Pinterest and others and asking them to filter out false information and promote accurate information from credible sources like WHO, CDC; and
4) Connecting with influencers, through Instagram and YouTube, among others, to help spread factual messages to their followers.
In his conclusion, Tedros gives a special thanks to “those donors who have made contributions in the past few days since we launched the US$675 million appeal to fuel the new coronavirus response.”
The donors include the US, the UK, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Japan, and the Wellcome Trust.
February 9, 2020 — The Guardian reports that “China braces for return to work as coronavirus deaths exceed Sars.“
“At least 813 people are reported to have died from the disease, most of them in mainland China, according to official data released on Sunday which showed that the previous day’s toll was the highest yet at nearly 90.
“However, the number of new infections reported per day in China has fallen significantly, leading health officials to declare their containment measures were starting to work.”
February 10, 2020 — Helen Branswell, a senior writer at STAT News who covers infectious diseases, writes an article titled “Fluctuating funding and flagging interest hurt coronavirus research, leaving crucial knowledge gaps.”
Branswell led the STAT News reporting on the coronavirus pandemic. She first started sharing concerns about the “emerging outbreak” on December 31, 2019, noting that there are no drugs approved specifically to treat coronavirus infection and that the demand for funding and career focus is driven by the need.
Her sentiments echoed the now-famous words of Peter Daszak, who said in a March 2015 workshop, “To sustain the funding base beyond the crisis [. . .] we need to increase public understanding of the need for MCMs [medical countermeasures] such as a pan-influenza or pan-coronavirus vaccine. A key driver is the media, and the economics follow the hype. We need to use that hype to our advantage to get to the real issues. Investors will respond if they see profit at the end of process.” [Emphasis added.]
February 11, 2020 — At a coronavirus press conference, WHO Director-General Tedros issues a dire warning:
“To be honest, a virus is more powerful in creating political, economic and social upheaval than any terrorist attack, believe it or not.
“If the world doesn’t want to wake up and consider this enemy virus as public enemy number one, I don’t think we will learn our lessons. It’s the number one enemy to the whole world and to the whole of humanity, and that’s why we have to do everything to invest in health systems, to invest in preparedness.”
NOTE: At the same briefing, Tedros officially names the novel coronavirus “SARS-CoV-2” and names the disease it causes COVID-19.
February 11, 2020 — HHS, Janssen Join Forces On Coronavirus Vaccine.
The US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) expands its existing partnership with Janssen Research & Development, an arm of Johnson & Johnson.
Janssen and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a component of ASPR, announce they will share research and development costs to “expedite the development” of a coronavirus vaccine.
“‘When it comes to infectious diseases, vaccines are the backbone of the public health response,’ said BARDA Director Rick A. Bright, Ph.D. ‘With emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19, speed is crucial to saving lives and reducing further spread of the virus. Janssen is a proven partner with a flexible, rapid, vaccine platform which gives us an edge in the race to protect people in the U.S. and worldwide from the health security threat posed by this novel coronavirus.'” [Emphasis added.]
February 11–12, 2020 — World health experts convene at the World Health Organization’s Geneva headquarters for a “Global Research and Innovation Forum to mobilize international action in response to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).”
The WHO announcement reads:
“In view of the urgency of this outbreak, the international community is mobilising to find ways to significantly accelerate the development of interventions. The WHO R&D Blueprint is a global strategy and preparedness plan that allows the rapid activation of R&D activities during epidemics. Its aim is to fast-track the availability of effective tests, vaccines and medicines that can be used to save lives and avert large scale crisis. [Emphasis added.]
“The meeting, hosted in collaboration with the Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R), brought together major research funders and over 300 scientists and researchers.”
February 12, 2020 — NPR reports, “Timetable for a vaccine against COVID-19? Maybe this fall.“
“It used to take a long time to make vaccines, because scientists had to isolate and grow the virus in the lab. But now, it’s possible to skip that step altogether and build a vaccine based on a virus’ genetic sequence.”
February 13, 2020 — The New York Times publishes “Why Do People Really Wear Face Masks During an Epidemic?“
One reason: SOLIDARITY:
“To fend off disease, but also to show solidarity.”
Another reason: SOCIAL PRESSURE:
“What the sociologist Peter Baehr noted for SARS goes, too, for today: ‘Mask culture’ fosters a sense of a fate shared, mutual obligation and civic duty.” . . . “Mask-wearing is a social ritual.”
NOTE: The mask propaganda begins in earnest.
February 14, 2020 — According to CNBC: Facebook, Amazon, Google and other companies meet with WHO to figure out how to stop coronavirus misinformation.
“The meeting was organized by WHO and hosted at Facebook’s Menlo Park campus, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed to CNBC.
“At the meeting, WHO shared information with the group about its response to the coronavirus and attendees detailed their own ideas to address the outbreak.
“Other companies at the meeting, according to two people familiar with the matter, included representatives from Facebook, Amazon, Twilio, Dropbox, Alphabet’s Google, Verizon, Salesforce, Twitter and YouTube. Private companies including Airbnb, Kinsa and Mapbox also attended.
“The major topic of discussion was how the companies are working to tamp down the spread of misinformation. WHO’s Andy Pattison, who flew to Silicon Valley for the event, said the ‘tone is changing,’ as Big Tech is now starting to step up to combat fake news about the coronavirus.”
NOTE: The censorship begins in earnest.
February 14, 2020 — The Washington Post publishes “Health-care workers are the front-line warriors against coronavirus. We must protect them” by Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker.
“Of all our endless wars, the most protracted is our war against dangerous microbes, of which the covid-19 coronavirus is the latest battle. Just as we honor our fallen warriors on the battlefield, we should honor 34-year-old Li Wenliang, the Wuhan physician who died of the disease last week after defying Chinese authorities by trying to get the word out about the growing outbreak.
“Hospitals themselves are amplification points for the virus’s spread, as evidenced by the more than 1,700 confirmed cases of health-care workers stricken with the disease, including six deaths, the Chinese government reported on Friday. The most effective way we can respect the efforts of those who fell ill and the memory of those who have died is to protect their fellow health-care workers around the world and develop responses. China is a significant provider of personal protection equipment for the world, and the Chinese are running out themselves, which will leave the rest of the countries scrambling. A scary scenario indeed.
“While public-health officials have not declared this outbreak a pandemic, we believe it is in the early stages of becoming just that: a worldwide epidemic. It has reached 24 other countries so far and is spreading like the influenza virus does each winter. Trying to stop influenza transmission is like trying to stop the wind. Nothing in our experience gives us hope we can halt an emerging worldwide epidemic spreading person-to-person like this coronavirus. It appears that on average, a case transmits to two people. After 10 doubling generations, which takes just 60 days total, that original infected individual has started a chain of more than 3,500 cases. Effective vaccines are many months, if not years, away.”
NOTE: The gaslighting begins in earnest.
February 15, 2020 — Director General Tedros of the World Health Organization (WHO) announces at the Munich Security Conference:
“But we’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic. Fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus and is just as dangerous.
“That’s why we’re also working with search and media companies like Facebook, Google, Pinterest, Tencent, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and others to counter the spread of rumours and misinformation.
“We call on all governments, companies and news organizations to work with us to sound the appropriate level of alarm, without fanning the flames of hysteria.”
February 15, 2020 — France reports the first alleged COVID-19 death in Europe, an 80 year old Chinese tourist in a Paris hospital.
It is noted that only three deaths have been recorded from “the virus” outside of China—in the Philippines, in Hong Kong and in Japan. France has a mere 11 alleged cases.
World Health Organization (WHO) emergency chief Mike Ryan told German News Channel DW on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that “the virus” is still not spreading fast internationally, adding that countries may not be able to slow it down entirely and that it may take the development of vaccines to finally stop the disease.
February 16, 2020 — Forbes publishes “Could COVID-19 Spur A Revolution In Vaccine Development?,” focusing on the possibilities of harnessing messenger RNA to develop new vaccines.
“But there is also news of a potential revolution underway in the field of vaccine development, one that is giving us a peek at the unique potential of modern biotechnology.
“The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which is a partnership of the governments of Norway and India, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the World Economic Forum, has jumped in to fund emergency vaccine development efforts at Inovio Pharmaceuticals, the University of Queensland, Moderna Therapeutics based in Cambridge, MA, and CureVac AG of Tübingen, Germany. The latter two firms are particularly interesting to me because they are trying to harness messenger RNA (mRNA) as a new class of drugs.
“It was reported last week that Moderna had designed and manufactured its first batch of experimental coronavirus vaccine in just over three weeks and that it was planning to send it to the National Institutes of Health for use in initial clinical testing.
“Difficult times can provide a great deal of pressure to innovate. If Moderna is successful, this will herald a revolution. While a cost/benefit analysis for the CEPI-funded COVID-19 projects might have been prohibitive under normal circumstances, in an emergency such as the one the world is facing today, it’s easy to push through.” [Emphasis added.]
February 17, 2020 — Dr. Fauci says he doesn’t want people to worry about coronavirus—the danger of which is “just minuscule.” He adds that “there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to wear a mask.”
To protect against seasonal flu and the hypothetical danger of coronavirus, Fauci advises: “Wash your hands as frequently as you can. Stay away from crowded places where people are coughing and sneezing. If in fact you are coughing and sneezing, cover your mouth. You know, all the things that we say each year.”
February 18, 2020 — NEJM publishes “Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Returning Travelers from Wuhan, China.”
“As the number of cases of infection with the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has continued to increase, many countries have established restrictions regarding travelers who have recently visited China. With lockdown measures imposed in Hubei Province, China, and a public health emergency of international concern declared by the World Health Organization, foreign nationals have sought to return to their home countries from China, and public health authorities are racing to contain the spread of Covid-19 (the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection) around the world. This process is complicated by epidemiologic uncertainty regarding possible transmission of the virus by asymptomatically or subclinically symptomatic infected persons. It is unclear whether persons who show no signs or symptoms of respiratory infection shed SARS-CoV-2.”
NOTE: The seed of the symptom-free victim is being planted.
February 19, 2020 — BBC announces that Iran’s health ministry today reported the country’s first two COVID-19 cases. Media reports, citing Iran’s health ministry, said the two patients died from the disease. Few details were available about the patients, other than that they were both elderly and had acute lung infections.
Later the BBC would report that a “data leak” from an anonymous source would reveal the death toll in Iran from the coronavirus was higher than what was being reported by the Iranian government.
February 19, 2020 — Time magazine publishes “Fist Bumps vs. Handshakes: How COVID-19 Does—and Doesn’t—Spread.”
“Here’s what you should remember: COVID-19 spreads when the virus responsible for the disease, SARS-CoV-2, a coronavirus, is transmitted by one person to another in respiratory droplets. That means the virus can spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes and releases these droplets into the air, where they are either inhaled by others or can land on other people’s mouths or noses if they’re near enough—generally a distance of about six feet (1.8 meters).”
“Since the disease spreads via respiratory droplets, neither a handshake nor a fist bump would be a primary way to pass along the virus. An infected person would have to sneeze or cough into his hand, touch someone else’s hand, and that second person would then have to place that hand in close contact with their nose, mouth or even eyes to get infected with any virus that might still be on the hand’s surface.”
February 20, 2020 — Stock markets across the world suddenly crash after growing instability claimed to be due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
February 20, 2020 — The New York Times reports “Shadowy Church Is at Center of Coronavirus Outbreak in South Korea.” This is the first claimed “super-spreader event.”
“More than 1,250 other church members have reported potential symptoms, health officials said, raising the possibility that the nation’s caseload could soon skyrocket further. In response, the government is shutting down thousands of day-care facilities, nursing homes and community centers, even banning the outdoor political rallies that are a feature of life in downtown Seoul.
“As of Saturday, more than 700 members of Shincheonji, which mainstream South Korean churches consider a cult, still could not be reached, according to health officials, who were frantically hoping to screen them for signs of infection.”
February 21, 2020 — Italy towns shut schools, businesses after recording first coronavirus death in Europe.
“The first death was that of a 78-year-old retired bricklayer from the Veneto region, Mr Adriano Trevisan, who tested positive and died on Friday in hospital, where he was admitted 10 days earlier for an unrelated health issue, Italy’s health minister said.
Mr Luca Zaia, president of the Veneto region, said on Friday that “a sanitary ring” would be created around Vo’ Euganeo – a village near Padua where Mr Trevisan lived – and all 3,300 inhabitants would be tested.”
February 21, 2020 — A report on a family “cluster” in China is used as evidence of asymptomatic spread of SARS-CoV-2.
“Chinese scientists publish a letter to JAMA Network ‘presuming’ that they have evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus ‘may have’ spread from asymptomatic carriers after a ’20-year-old woman from Wuhan passed it to five of her family members but never got physically sick herself.'”
NOTE: More from Sci-Hub on “asymptomatic cases” can be found here and on “silent infections” can be found here.
February 23, 2020 — The Italian government introduces the first movement and access/exit restrictions around hotspots, known as “lockdown red zones.”
The same day, the Italian Ministry of Health issues PCR testing guidance to 31 labs across Italy.
NOTE: “Cases” surge in conjunction with increased testing.
February 24, 2020 — NTD News reports, Moderna Delivers First Experimental Coronavirus Vaccine for Human Testing.
“Moderna, a U.S.-based drugmaker, has sent the first batch of an experimental vaccine against the new coronavirus to federal researchers to use with humans.
“Moderna sent the vaccine from its Norwood, Mass., manufacturing plant to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is based in Bethesda, Md., and part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“The shipment came just 42 days after the company selected part of the genetic sequence of the virus.
“‘The institute expects to start a clinical trial of around 20 to 25 volunteers by the end of April,’ NIAID Director Anthony Fauci told The Wall Street Journal. ‘Going into a phase one trial within three months of getting the sequence is unquestionably the world indoor record. Nothing has ever gone that fast,’ Fauci said.”
NOTE: Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel would later brag that Moderna’s vaccine was developed entirely in-silico without a virus in only 48 hours: “We never had access to a physical virus to design the product.”
February 24, 2020 — Dr. Bruce Aylward, former Assistant Director-General of the WHO and now senior advisor to WHO Director-General Tedros, who has just concluded a WHO-China Joint Mission on COVID-19, tells the world at a WHO press briefing that the lockdown in China worked.
“What China has demonstrated is, you have to do this,” notes Aylward. “If you do it, you can save lives and prevent thousands of cases of what is a very difficult disease.”
NOTE: Dr. Aylward will later become instrumental in the implementation of the WHO’s COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Initiative (COVAX), a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines directed by GAVI, CEPI, and the WHO, alongside key delivery partner UNICEF.
February 24, 2020 — Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, tells The Sydney Morning Herald that there is “a strong possibility of a pandemic,” which has “increased in recent days.”
The SMH article reports that “the virus is spreading undetected, probably by people who are infected but not showing symptoms.” It adds: “There is still no sign the virus is spreading in Australia.” It also notes that the coronavirus poses a very small risk to healthy people aged under 60.
NOTE: Professor Murphy advises against wearing face masks.
February 24, 2020 — Yahoo Finance reports, Wall Street plunges on fears of coronavirus pandemic.
“Wall Street’s three major averages plunged on Monday as investors ran for safety after a surge in coronavirus cases outside China fanned worries about the global economic impact of a potential pandemic.
“Investors sold riskier assets and rushed to traditionally safer bets such as gold and U.S. Treasuries after countries including Iran, Italy and South Korea reported a rise in virus cases over the weekend even as China eased curbs with no new cases reported in Beijing and other cities.” [Emphasis added.]
February 24, 2020 — President Donald Trump requests $2.5 billion from Congress to finance America’s response to the new coronavirus, COVID-19.
Of the requested money, the Office of Management and Budget says more than $1 billion will be used for vaccine development, with other funds going toward stockpiling protective equipment, like masks. The request contains language that will allow the spending to continue through 2021, if needed.
NOTE: Democrats are criticizing Trump’s request as insufficient to tackle the outbreak.
February 25, 2020 — San Francisco declares state of emergency over coronavirus.
“San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) declared a state of emergency for the city on Tuesday amid concerns over the international coronavirus outbreak.
“While no coronavirus cases have been confirmed in San Francisco, ‘the global picture is changing rapidly, and we need to step-up preparedness,’ Breed said in a statement.”
“The new state of emergency will allow city officials to assemble resources and personnel in an effort to expedite emergency planning measures and boost the ability to deploy a rapid response to a potential coronavirus case in the city.”
“The statement from Breed comes amid stark warnings from U.S. health officials over the chances of an outbreak of the virus in the U.S.
“’As more and more countries experience community spread, successful containment at our borders becomes harder and harder,’ Nancy Messonnier, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said Tuesday.
“’It’s not a question of if this will happen but when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses,’ she added. ‘Disruption to everyday life might be severe.”
NOTE: Not a single confirmed “case”—yet a state of emergency is declared. The fear machine is going into high gear.
February 25, 2020 — According to The Guardian, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declares coronavirus will become a pandemic, announces a health emergency response plan, and opens the door to economic stimulus.
“Morrison says federal and state governments will activate pandemic plans. The Australian government’s plan — the health sector emergency response plan for Covid-19 — involves an escalating series of responses, from self-isolation of suspected cases, enforced quarantining of known infectious patients, up to the closure of schools, cessation of public transport and advice — even orders — for people to work from home.
“Under complementary state government pandemic plans, sports stadiums may be used as quarantine sites and “governments may order entire suburbs, cities or groups of people to undergo mass vaccinations (once a vaccine is developed).”
February 26, 2020 — Trump Names Mike Pence to Lead Coronavirus Response, according to a New York Times piece.
“At the White House news conference, President Trump announced that Vice President Mike Pence would coordinate the government’s response to the public health threat and lead the Coronavirus Taskforce. Pence selected Dr. Deborah L. Birx to serve as the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House.”
NOTE: In a White House bulletin about the briefing, President Trump is quoted as saying:
“The risk to the American people remains very low.”
February 26, 2020 — Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, known for his work investigating the concepts of biopolitics, publishes “The Invention of an Epidemic.”
Questioning the credibility of the emergency declaration, Agamben notes:
“In the face of the frenetic, irrational and completely unmotivated emergency measures for a supposed epidemic due to the corona virus, we must start from the statements of the CNR, according to which not only there is no epidemic of SARS-CoV2 in Italy, but in any case the infection, from the epidemiological data available today on tens of thousands of cases, causes mild/moderate symptoms (a kind of flu) in 80-90% of cases. In 10-15% pneumonia can develop, the course of which is however benign in the absolute majority. It is estimated that only 4% of patients require hospitalization in intensive care.
“If this is the real situation, why are the media and the authorities working to spread a climate of panic, causing a real state of exception, with serious limitations on movement and a suspension of the normal functioning of living and working conditions in entire regions?
“The disproportion in the face of what according to the CNR is a normal flu, not very different from those that recur every year, is obvious. It seems that once terrorism has been exhausted as a cause for exceptional measures, the invention of an epidemic could offer the ideal pretext to expand them beyond all limits.
“The other factor, no less disturbing, is the state of fear that in recent years has evidently spread in the consciences of individuals and that translates into a real need for states of collective panic, for which the epidemic offers once again the ideal pretext.”
February 26, 2020 — “Leaked slides” from a presentation made by Dr. James Lawler, Director of International Programs and Innovation at the Global Center for Health Security, to the American Hospitals Association revealed his model’s projections.
Lawler’s model projected that 96 million Americans could become infected “cases,” of which 4.8 million could result in hospital admissions. Of those 4.8 million, 1.9 million “could require a stay in a hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU), and approximately half of them would need a ventilator.” The “leaked slide” indicates that “hospitals should prepare for an impact to the system that’s 10 times greater than a severe flu season.”
In the same presentation, Lawler showed that the death rate in China has been significantly higher in 80-years-and-over than in any other age brackets and that pre-existing conditions were associated with death.
NOTE: Dr. Lawler served as a Navy Commander and was chief of clinical biodefense research at the Naval Medical Research Center, Fort Detrick, Maryland. His White House-appointed assignments included the Homeland Security Council and the National Security Council staff, where he worked on biodefense, pandemic response, and health preparedness.
NOTE: The 80-years-and-over demographic and those with pre-existing health problems are always at greater risk.
February 26, 2020 — NIAID Director Anthony Fauci writes:
“Do not let the fear of the unknown [. . .] distort your evaluation of the risk of the pandemic to you relative to the risks that you face every day. [. . .] Do not yield to unreasonable fear.”
The next day. . .
February 27, 2020 — In a private message to actress Morgan Fairchild, Fauci writes:
“Be prepared to mitigate an outbreak in this country by measures that include social distancing, teleworking, temporary closure of schools, etc.”
February 27, 2020 — The media landscape in the US seems to shift dramatically on the same day Deborah Birx is hired as White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator.
The New York Times, for example, publishes an alarmist piece, “We Knew Disease X Was Coming. It’s Here Now,” by Peter Daszak of the EcoHealth Alliance, plus an alarmist podcast, “The Coronavirus Goes Global,” by science and health reporter Donald G. McNeil Jr.
Independent researcher Debbie Lerman wonders:
“What changed between the 26th and the 27th to make Fauci change his messaging so drastically? Nothing about the virus was different. But the switch from a measured public health to a brutal bioterrorism response had been thrown. The new paradigm, which Fauci began to explain in private and the media began to blast to the public was: start panicking and prepare for lockdowns.”
February 27, 2020 — Business Insider publishes the panic piece, “Coronavirus patients over age 80 have a 15% chance of dying.”
“Fatality statistics could change as the coronavirus spreads around the globe, however. ‘If indeed we discover that there are far more cases than are actually being reported — and that one of the primary reasons for this is that we’re just not detecting asymptomatic or mild or moderately symptomatic cases that don’t end up seeking healthcare — then our estimates for the case fatality rate will likely decrease,’ Lauren Ancel Meyers, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas at Austin, told Business Insider.”
NOTE: However, the reality of high survival rates is radically different across all age groups from the fatality statistics mentioned in Business Insider.
February 28, 2020 — Social care ‘cracks are turning into chasms’ and system faces collapse in 2029, the UK Government is warned in an alarming report.
“The social care system could collapse by 2029 unless the Government intervenes to prevent a funding crisis and a shortage of beds, says a new study.
“Action is needed or a ‘tipping point’ will be reached where older people are unable to afford care, councils lack funding to look after them, and care homes don’t have enough room to meet demand, it warns.
“Kelly Greig, head of later life planning at Irwin Mitchell, says: ‘For years now we have been raising awareness of the impending care crisis the UK is facing. The fact that we now know the elderly care system will collapse at the end of this decade is a stark warning of what is to come.’”
NOTE: This fast-approaching crisis is facing Western governments across the world.
February 28, 2020 — Observer publishes “Face Masks Are Sold Out Everywhere as Coronavirus Spreads—But Do They Really Work?“
According to the article, US health experts say there are no proven benefits to the general public wearing masks. It also cites CDC guidelines:
“CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a face mask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including Covid-19.”
February 28, 2020 — A CNBC headline reads: Bill Gates: Coronavirus may be ‘once-in-a-century pathogen we’ve been worried about’
“Billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said the coronavirus that has killed at least 2,859 people and infected more than 83,700 globally may be the ‘once-in-a-century pathogen we’ve been worried about.’ According to Gates, COVID-19 poses a serious threat to the world because it’s far more deadly and contagious than many other deadly viruses.”
CNBC refers to an article by Gates published Friday in The New England Journal of Medicine, in which he wrote:
“Now we also face an immediate crisis. In the past week, Covid-19 has started behaving a lot like the once-in-a-century pathogen we’ve been worried about. I hope it’s not that bad, but we should assume it will be until we know otherwise.
“There are two reasons that Covid-19 is such a threat. First, it can kill healthy adults in addition to elderly people with existing health problems. The data so far suggest that the virus has a case fatality risk around 1%; this rate would make it many times more severe than typical seasonal influenza, putting it somewhere between the 1957 influenza pandemic (0.6%) and the 1918 influenza pandemic (2%).
“Second, Covid-19 is transmitted quite efficiently. The average infected person spreads the disease to two or three others — an exponential rate of increase. There is also strong evidence that it can be transmitted by people who are just mildly ill or even presymptomatic.”
Gates’ proposed solution:
“The world also needs to accelerate work on treatments and vaccines for Covid-19. Scientists sequenced the genome of the virus and developed several promising vaccine candidates in a matter of days, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations is already preparing up to eight promising vaccine candidates for clinical trials. If some of these vaccines prove safe and effective in animal models, they could be ready for larger-scale trials as early as June.”
February 29, 2020 — The FDA announces an accelerated policy to achieve more rapid testing capacity in the United States. This will allow academic hospital labs capable of performing high-quality testing to develop and begin using their own tests to detect COVID-19. Under the new policy, the FDA review will still be required, but labs will be able to start using their diagnostics once they are internally validated. [Emphasis added.]
February 29, 2020 — The United States reports its first claimed “COVID-19” death at Evergreen Health Medical Center in Kirkland, Washington, followed by two other confirmed cases in a nursing home in the same city.
NBC News quotes Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, health officer for Seattle and King County, Washington, as saying that the patient was a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions.
At a White House press conference that day, President Trump mentions that the person who died was “medically high-risk.”
The same day, Gov. Jay Inslee declares a state of emergency for the State of Washington.
NOTE: Later, it would be reported that the first alleged US death from “the coronavirus” had actually occurred on February 6.
February 29, 2020 — “Flatten the curve” enters the “covid lexicon” via The Economist (Vol. 434, Issue 9183). This will become a rallying cry for bureaucrats and hypochondriacs everywhere and will be touted as an excuse and rationale for locking down the world.
“With SARS-CoV-2 now spread around the world, the aim of public-health policy, whether at the city, national or global scale, is to flatten the curve, spreading the infections out over time.”
“To flatten the curve you must slow the spread. The virus appears to be transmitted primarily through virus-filled droplets that infected people cough or sneeze into the air. This means transmission can be reduced through physical barriers, good hygiene and reducing various forms of mingle—a strategy known as ‘social distancing.'”
Lost amidst the hysteria is the low-key statement:
“It is already clear that, for the majority of people who get sick, covid-19 is not too bad.” [Emphasis added.]
February 29, 2020 — The New York Times editorial board features a dramatic opinion piece, “Here comes the coronavirus pandemic: Now, after many fire drills, the world may be facing a real fire.”
Alongside the NY Times provocative headline is an image of a red eagle wearing a shield emblazoned with a red cross. The eagle is holding a stethoscope in one set of talons and a pill bottle in the other. In its hooked beak the eagle holds a banner that reads, “Paratus, Paratus”— Latin for “Prepared in all things, prepared in all things.”
As officialdom takes the public from “covid-19 is not too bad” into a world where “disruption to everyday life might be severe”, being prepared for the roller coaster ride of March 2020 will prove to be a formidable task.
This is a series. Click to read the previous installment.
