As the election approaches, the media and some government officials—notably Anthony Fauci—become more frantic and frenzied in their condemnations of President Trump over his muted Covid-19 response. A number of media sources, sounding panicked as if to offset Trump's temperate tone, report "surging" Covid cases and hospitalizations in the days leading up to the elections.
Despite small turnouts at rallies and contested vote tallies, Joe Biden is ultimately determined to be the winner of the 2020 election. He wins the popular vote by nearly three percentage points, and, with more than 74 million votes, not only beats Obama’s total of nearly 66 million in 2012 but also receives the most votes ever in a US presidential election.
Biden bursts out of the gate with a rapid pandemic response, immediately urging mandatory mask-wearing, a massive scale-up of covid testing, and the ramp-up of hundreds of millions of vaccine doses, which he will oversee the distribution of in coming months.
Shortly after the election results are announced, Pfizer releases data that purports to prove its Covid-19 vaccine is 90% effective in preventing transmission. The announcement sends Pfizer's shares almost 15% higher on the day. Business Insider reports that Pfizer's CEO cashed out 60% of his stock the day his company unveiled the results of its vaccine trial.
On the heels of Pfizer’s news, Moderna claims its vaccine, which it designed in a record two days, to be 94.5% effective. How remarkable, considering the company is little more than a startup and doesn’t have a single product in the drug or vaccine market.
Updating their previous joint press release, Pfizer-BioNTech tops Moderna’s “94.5% claim” by disclosing that its Covid vaccine is 95% effective and has no safety concerns.
The Financial Times reports that the future market for Covid-19 vaccines could be worth more than $10bn in annual revenues once regular booster shots start generating massive revenues for pharmaceutical companies.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hikes payments for hospitals’ Covid-19 inpatients. They’ll receive a 20% bonus whenever treatment includes Veklury (remdesivir) or Covid-19 convalescent plasma. To qualify for a CMS bonus payment, the hospital must have performed a PCR test on a patient that comes out Covid-positive.
Amnesty International releases a devastating report revealing that Belgian authorities abandoned thousands of elderly people who died in nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic.
A Portuguese court rules PCR tests are unreliable and quarantines are unlawful.
Many schools return to online learning when Covid-19 “cases” spike across the US, and new lockdowns and other restrictions sweep across the country.
Anti-lockdown, anti-mask, and anti-vaccine protests ramp up.
States make preparations for the biggest vaccination effort in US history, even though a substantial portion of the public remains reluctant to get Covid jabs. There’s a big push to incentivize them to just say yes.
Doctors say that the CDC, public health officials, and drugmakers should warn people that side effects from the coronavirus shots may be rough.
The CDC tells everyone to stay at home for Thanksgiving.
November 1, 2020 — CNN: Fauci unleashes on White House coronavirus approach days before election
“As President Donald Trump fights his way through the final days of the presidential campaign denying the pandemic — by lashing out at doctors, disputing science and slashing the press for highlighting rising coronavirus case counts — the long-running rift between the White House and Dr. Anthony Fauci burst into the open Saturday night.”
“Fauci did not mince words describing what he views as the untoward influence of Dr. Scott Atlas, a controversial figure who has become the President’s de facto Covid adviser.”
“‘I have real problems with that guy,’ the Washington Post quoted Fauci as saying about Atlas. ‘He’s a smart guy who’s talking about things that I believe he doesn’t have any real insight or knowledge or experience in.’”
“‘New interview. Lockdowns, facts, frauds . . . if you can’t handle truth, use a mask to cover your eyes and ears,’ Atlas tweeted Saturday, sharing the interview in which he also criticized public health experts.”
November 1, 2020 — Slate: “Trump Plans to Hold an Election Night Party Inside White House With 400 Guests”
“President Donald Trump is changing his plans for the election night party. Rather than hold it at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, Trump will host a party in the East Room of the White House, the New York Times and Reuters reported. Around 400 people are expected to attend the party that will be held inside the largest room in the White House.
“Trump had already said he was likely going to change initial plans to hold the party at the Trump Hotel because of the rules in place to stem the spread of COVID-19. Washington, D.C. prohibits indoor gatherings of more than 50 people.”
Politico reports that Trump told reporters outside the White House:
“‘So we have a hotel. I don’t know if it’s shut down, if you’re allowed to use it or not. ‘But I know the mayor has shut down Washington, D.C. And if that’s the case, we’ll probably stay here or pick another location. I think it’s crazy. Washington, D.C., is shut down. Can you imagine?’”
November 1, 2020 — NIH’s PubMed Central: World Flu Day is recognized
“War against pathogens has been a constant event for mankind. Emerging and reemerging pathogens have been the most dangerous threats to humans, with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a clear, recent example.”
November 2, 2020 — AP: “WHO chief self-isolates after contact tests positive for COVID-19”
“The head of the World Health Organization says he will self-quarantine after being identified as a contact of a person who tested positive for COVID-19.
“Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on Twitter late Sunday that he is ‘well and without symptoms’ but will self-quarantine in ‘coming days, in line with WHO protocols, and work from home.’”
November 2, 2020 — JD SUPRA: “CMS Hikes Payment for COVID-19 Inpatients Treated With New Drugs, Links it to 20% Bonus”
“CMS said that Medicare will pay hospitals extra when they treat inpatients with drugs or biologicals approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for COVID-19. The additional payments are linked to the 20% bonus hospitals already receive for COVID-19 MS-DRGs, and both require proof of a positive COVID-19 test. . . .”
“Hospitals will receive an additional payment when treatment includes Veklury (remdesivir) or COVID-19 convalescent plasma to treat patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
“The only hitch is hospitals must ensure they make a connection to the Medicare bonus for COVID-19 inpatients, said attorney Daniel Hettich, with King & Spalding in Washington, D.C. ‘You have to be eligible for the 20% add-on to get the new therapeutic add-on,’ he said. ‘If you don’t have a positive test, you don’t qualify for the new treatment add-on payment.’”
November 2, 2020 — X: Alex Berenson reports that Massachusetts ICUs are half-empty
In his post, Berenson notes that:
“Almost 2/3rds of all MA #Covid deaths since March occurred in residents of long-term care facilities.”
November 2, 2020 — CBS News: Scott Gottlieb tells nation what kind of mask to wear for in-person voting on election day
“While more than 94 million people have voted already in the 2020 presidential election, amounting to more than 67% of 2016’s overall turnout of 138 million votes, voters who plan to cast their ballot in-person are doing so as coronavirus cases continue to surge nationwide.
“‘Face the Nation’ moderator Margaret Brennan spoke with former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb last week for insight on just what masks work best and are safest for those looking to vote on Election Day.
“Gottlieb said when it comes to masks that afford you the protection you need from others during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s quality that matters.”
November 2, 2020 — The Telegraph: CDC recommends covid sufferers should wear masks at home
“According to research by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the spread of the disease between people living in the same house is common and occurs soon after illness onset.
“The research, published last week, also highlights that while children are less likely to become seriously ill with the disease, they have an important role in household transmission, with even those under 12 years old a risk to others.”
“‘Because prompt isolation of persons with Covid-19 can reduce household transmission, persons who suspect that they might have Covid-19 should isolate, stay at home, and use a separate bedroom and bathroom if feasible,’ the study authors wrote.
“They added: ‘All household members, including the index patient, should start wearing a mask in the home, particularly in shared spaces where appropriate distancing is not possible.’”
November 2, 2020 — NBC News alleges: “Covid-19 cases, deaths rising rapidly ahead of Election Day”
“On the eve of an election that has become for many Americans a referendum on President Donald Trump’s pandemic performance, Covid-19 case numbers were rising rapidly in virtually every state as the death toll continued to climb, the latest NBC News figures showed Monday.”
November 2, 2020 — American Council on Science and Health (ACSH): “COVID Infection Fatality Rates by Sex and Age”
“Perhaps the most important question that each of us wants to know in regard to the coronavirus pandemic is, ‘Will I get COVID and die?’ Being able to answer that question with some specificity should help us craft smart public health policies.”
“This seems straightforward, but it’s not. The reason is two-fold: (1) Determining what constitutes a ‘COVID death’ isn’t always clear. If a person with high blood pressure gets sick with COVID and dies from a stroke, was it the virus or the underlying health condition that killed him? (2) Determining the number of COVID infections is difficult because of the high prevalence of asymptomatic carriers as well as people who only get mild infections and never bother getting tested.”
From Nature magazine: ACSH: Age-specific mortality and immunity patterns of SARS-CoV-2
On X, “Tired of being politically correct” @USBornNRaised asks:
“You want me to inject an experimental drug for something that has a 99% survival rate for the healthy under 69 years of age that doesn’t prevent Covid or transmission and risk getting myocarditis or pericarditis from it?”
The answer:
“HELL NO”
The same “X” poster then shows a chart titled: “COVID Infection Survival Rates by Sex and Age Group,” which lists survival rates by age/sex/mean:
0 to 4: M&F: 99.997% = Mean 99.997%
5 to 9: M&F: 99.999% = Mean 99.999%
10 to 14: M&F: 99.999% = Mean 99.999%
15 to 19: M 99.997% & F 99.998% = Mean 99.997%
20 to 24: M 99.992% & F 99.995% = Mean 99.994%
25 to 29: M 99.983% & F 99.991% = Mean 99.987%
30 to 34: M 99.976% & F 99.985% = Mean 99.976%
35 to 39: M 99.944% & F 99.975% = Mean 99.960%
40 to 44: M 99.894% & F 99.956% = Mean 99.925%
45 to 49: M 99.832% & F 99.928% = Mean 99.879%
50 to 54: M 99.709% & F 99.877% = Mean 99.793%
55 to 59: M 99.552% & F 99.803% = Mean 99.677%
60 to 64: M 99.405% & F 99.682% = Mean 99.544%
65 to 69: M 98.548% & F00/302% = Mean 98.925%
70 to 74: M 97.693% & F 98.958 = Mean 98.326%
75 to 79: M 95.740% & F 97.855% = Mean 96.797%
80+: M 89.175% & F 94.241% = Mean 91.708%
November 3, 2020 — Al Jazeera: US presidential election between President Donald Trump (R) and Joe Biden (D) is held
“After last-minute rallies, nearly 100 million early votes cast, anxious Americans bring the national election to a close.”
“The US has seen record early turnout in the elections, spurred in part by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Nearly 101 million votes had been cast by 2:14pm ET (19:14 GMT) on Tuesday, according to a tally from the US Elections Project at the University of Florida.
“The Associated Press news agency also said on Tuesday that early voting in several states, including Texas and Arizona, had already surpassed the total vote count in 2016. The largest gain was in Kentucky, where nearly 13 times as many votes were cast than four years ago, AP reported.”
According to Gateway Pundit:
“Five states stopped vote counting on election night, delaying the results.”
Here’s a compilation of election night results from several television news stations:
“The media announce Joe Biden as the ‘projected’ winner. Biden receives more votes than any president before, exceeding President Obama’s historical high.”
November 4, 2020 — CDC: “Busting Myths and Misconceptions about COVID-19 Vaccination”
Before the COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out, the CDC shares the following “facts”:
— “FACT: COVID-19 vaccines will not give you COVID-19.”
— “FACT: COVID-19 vaccines will not “cause you” to test positive on COVID-19 viral tests.”
—“FACT: People who have gotten sick with COVID-19 “may” still benefit from getting vaccinated.”
Here, the CDC adds two caveats:
“Natural immunity varies from person to person” and duration of natural immunity is unknown.
— “FACT: Getting vaccinated can help prevent getting sick with COVID-19.”
But after stating that “FACT,” the CDC admits:
“[M]any people with COVID-19 have only a mild illness.”
November 4, 2020 — The Guardian: “Fears about economy under Covid lockdown helped Trump outperform polls”
“Exit polls show economic concerns were top of mind for voters, and anti-lockdown rhetoric resonated for many.”
“Voters’ fears about the economic impact of coronavirus lockdowns appear to have helped Donald Trump outperform pollsters’ expectations and brought the US election down to a nail-biting finish.
“While ballots are still being counted, that performance probably shows the continued resonance of anti-lockdown rhetoric in an election where, especially for Trump voters, economic health came first.”
November 4, 2020 — StudyFinds: “COVID-infected cough droplets could travel 20 feet outdoors, infect people even after evaporating”
“A slight breeze can carry COVID-infected droplets well beyond six feet.
“Findings reveal a single 100-micrometer cough droplet can travel up to 6.6 meters (about 21.65 feet) under wind speed of two meters per second. And the droplets could travel even further under dry air conditions due to droplet evaporation.
“The results highlight once more the importance of social distancing as well as wearing a mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus.”
November 4, 2020 — News-Times op-ed by reader Catherine Shaw: The push for incentivizing people to take the covid vaccines begins
“[T]o promote willingness, there should be implementation of an incentive or penalty to support vaccination during this time.
“As we look into the future, and hopefully the end to this global pandemic, I think it is important to ensure that there are proper policies in place which support vaccine uptake. Through full transparency and a formal incentive system, I think the United States will be able to properly implement the COVID-19 vaccine.
“The Commerce Clause and Spending Clause of the Constitution allows for the federal government to fund this type of incentive on a state-by-state basis.”
November 4, 2020 — BBC: Entire farmed mink population of Denmark is slaughtered to try to stop “the spread of Covid-19”
“The slaughter of up to 17 million mink was in response to an alleged outbreak of a SARS-CoV-2 variant.
“After the order was given to cull all infected and healthy mink, Danish farmers appeared on TV in tears over the loss of their livelihoods, as mass graves appeared in the Danish countryside filled with the slaughtered animals.”
According to Wikipedia:
“The political reactions to the handling of the culling caused the resignation of the Minister of Food Mogens Jensen in November 2020 and eventually led to snap general elections in 2022.”
November 4, 2020 — PBS: “Amid COVID-19 pandemic, Wisconsin voters choose Biden over Trump”
“Wisconsin voters who said they had lost a family member or friend to the coronavirus pandemic were twice as likely to support former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Sixty-eight percent said they backed Biden compared to 32 percent who were for Trump, according to preliminary data from the Associated Press’ VoteCast survey Wednesday.”
“Wisconsin has become a national ‘hotspot’ for the virus. More than 250,000 Wisconsinites have gotten sick with COVID-19, and another 2,100 have died after becoming infected with the virus, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project.”
“In Wisconsin, 59 percent of Biden voters said they had voted by mail, more than double the number of Trump voters — 23 percent — who chose that method.”
November 4, 2020 — Bloomberg: “Covid Hotspots Stuck With Trump in Close Presidential Race”
“Though vote tallies in the closely contested presidential race show few paths for President Donald Trump to beat Democratic challenger Joe Biden, the latest results suggest the Covid-19 pandemic may not have dented Trump’s support as much as expected—he actually improved his margins from four years ago in some of the counties hardest hit by the coronavirus.
“Voters in areas that had the highest Covid-19 deaths per capita were more likely to shift toward Trump—compared to his margins in the 2016 election—than counties with lower death rates, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of available election results.
“In those counties that ranked among the top 10% for Covid-19 deaths per person, Trump’s margin of victory improved an average of 2.8 percentage points, increasing from 23.6 points in 2016 to 26.4 points this year.”
November 5, 2020 — PBS: “Counties with worst virus surges overwhelmingly voted Trump"
“U.S. voters went to the polls starkly divided on how they see President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, with a surprising twist: In places where the virus is most rampant now, Trump enjoyed enormous support.
“An Associated Press analysis reveals that in 376 counties with the highest number of new cases per capita, the overwhelming majority—93% of those counties—went for Trump, a rate above other less severely hit areas. Most were rural areas in the Dakotas, Montana, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Iowa.”
November 5, 2020 — Johns Hopkins: “US daily Covid-19 cases hit new record, topping 99,000”
“More than 99,000 novel coronavirus cases were recorded in the United States in the past 24 hours, a new daily record, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.”
NOTE: The question is: How many tests were given?
November 5, 2020 — NPR: “First COVID-19 Vaccine Doses To Go To Health Workers, Say CDC Advisers”
“Health care workers will almost certainly get the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. when one is approved, according to Dr. José Romero, head of the committee that develops evidence-based immunization guidelines for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“That’s a decision based on the science of what will quell the pandemic fastest. ‘It’s not just the doctors and nurses that are interacting with patients, but also the support personnel that help,’ Romero said in an interview Thursday with NPR. ‘It could include those persons that are delivering food, or maintenance people that could come in contact with them,’ so they can protect themselves and patients from the virus, and stay healthy to keep the U.S. health care system running.”
November 5, 2020 — tctMD: “Myocarditis Is Rare in COVID-19 Deaths, International Autopsy Data Suggest”
“Myocarditis is an infrequent finding at autopsy in people who die from COVID-19, according to a multinational, retrospective analysis.
“Early, small postmortem reports from Wuhan, China, first raised a red flag that confirmed cases of fulminant myocarditis were being seen. Months later, a controversial study found that 78% of recovered middle-age adults—some with mild or no symptoms—had ongoing cardiac involvement weeks or even months after the infection as documented on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).”
November 5, 2020 — Financial Times: “Covid-19 vaccine market worth $10bn a year, analysts say”
“The future Covid-19 vaccine market could be worth more than $10bn [£7.6bn] a year, generating bumper revenues for pharmaceutical companies that have funded large parts of their research with government money.
“The calculations by analysts at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse assume that people will need to take a Covid-19 vaccine every year, like a flu jab, and are based on projected costs for the shot, currently hovering at about $20 a dose.
“‘My base case assumption right now is that you will need annual vaccinations,’ said Matthew Harrison, an analyst at Morgan Stanley. [Covid-19] ‘is not going to go away.’
“‘Even taking a “conservative approach” in which only those people who get a flu vaccine also take one for Covid-19, the market would be worth $10bn across developed countries,’ he said.”
November 6, 2020 — The Highwire airs: “COVID TESTING FRAUD UNCOVERED”
“As cases of coronavirus rise across America, shouldn’t death rates be going up too? Del Bigtree breaks down how COVID tests may be seriously flawed by providing less than accurate results and why the majority of positive cases could be false.”
November 6, 2020 — WHO Policy Brief: “Readiness for influenza during the COVID-19 pandemic“
“Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 are respiratory pathogens with similar modes of transmission. The two infections often have similar clinical presentation, with the exception of loss of taste and smell, which seems more specific to, although not exclusively associated with, COVID-19. It is thus necessary to distinguish between the two viruses and associated diseases.”
“Targeted and consistent information to the public through trusted influencers and channels of communication can improve the uptake of public health interventions, including influenza vaccination, where advised. This is even more important as populations face ‘pandemic fatigue’, which results in a “demotivation to follow recommended protective behaviours, emerging gradually over time and affected by a number of emotions, experiences and perceptions.”
November 6, 2020 — Des Moines Register: “Oregon woman sues Des Moines mayor over mask order”
“An Oregon plaintiff, Huguette Nicole Young, is mounting a one-woman legal crusade against state and local face mask mandates, and Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie is one of the officials in her path.
“Her suit against Cownie, filed Monday, asks the court rule the city’s August 26 order requiring masks to be unconstitutional.
“Young is bringing a First Amendment challenge against the mandate, arguing the city is blocking (her) ability to communicate audibly, clearly and expressively [e.g., by violating (her) right to smile at others] while wearing a face mask.”
November 6, 2020 — KTVL: “Woman arrested after refusing to wear mask in [Eagle Point] Oregon Walmart”
“Michelle Easley said she went to the Eagle Point Walmart with her husband around 4 p.m. Wednesday, and she initially wore a mask entering the store. Due to a medical condition, Easley said she took the mask off when she started getting winded.
“She claimed that after numerous employees passed her without saying a word, she said one employee spoke up telling Easley she had to leave.
“Easely said Walmart did not offer her any alternative accommodations for her condition. Instead, she said, staff called Eagle Point Police Department and she was arrested for committing the crime of Criminal Trespass in the 2nd degree.”
November 6, 2020 — CBC: “Public health officials implore people not to attend Aylmer, Ont., anti-lockdown rally“
“Public health officials and politicians are asking people not to attend an anti-lockdown rally planned for Aylmer, Ont., this weekend, and to stay away from counter-protests, too.
“The Saturday rally is organized by an Aylmer woman but has the backing of Vaccine Choice Canada, which is against vaccinations, and 100 Million Moms, a group that advocates for ‘natural health and medical freedom.’”
“Earlier this week, Aylmer Mayor Mary French declared a state of emergency in the town, which frees up more police resources in case the Saturday rally, and planned counter protests, escalate. She has since received threats, and has declined interview requests.”
November 7, 2020 — CBC: “2,000 people march through Aylmer, Ont., to protest COVID-19 lockdowns“
“Chanting ‘Rise up!’ and ‘Freedom is essential,’ at one point up to 2,000 people marched through the streets of Aylmer, Ont., calling for the end of public health measures such as mask wearing and physical distancing that they say encroach on their rights.
“Supported by other groups who have held similar rallies in Ottawa and Toronto, the protesters held signs that said ‘Facts over fear’ and ‘No new normal.’
“The marchers included many people from the town’s large religious communities.”
November 7, 2020 — The New York Times: “Joe Biden is elected 46th president of the United States”
“Mr. Biden’s triumph concluded an extraordinary election that was expected to set modern records for turnout, despite being held amid a pandemic that has upended life across the United States. More than 100 million Americans voted before Election Day as states sought to make voting safer, putting the nation on track for the largest turnout in a century once the final vote is tallied.
“Mr. Biden also won the popular vote by nearly three percentage points, and, with more than 74 million votes, broke the vote record set by Mr. Obama in 2012. Mr. Trump received more than 70 million votes — far more than the 63 million he received in 2016 when he beat Hillary Clinton while losing the popular vote.”
November 7, 2020 — STAT10: “Biden’s ready to start his pandemic response immediately”
“Never, in the country’s nearly 250-year history, has a president inherited a pandemic on the scale of Covid-19.
“President-elect Joe Biden, who the Associated Press projected as the winner of the 2020 election on Saturday, will assume office on Jan. 20. He will likely do so amid surging coronavirus cases and increased deaths, and with no end in sight. Instantly, he will shoulder several herculean tasks, including a massive testing scale-up, restoring the credibility of government scientists, and overseeing the eventual distribution of hundreds of millions of vaccine doses. Perhaps most daunting, in a country plagued by apathy and misinformation: Biden will need to earn the buy-in of the American public.”
November 7, 2020 — LAW.COM: "The New York State Bar Association Passes Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Recommendation"
“The New York State Bar Association on Saturday passed a resolution urging the state to consider making it mandatory for all New Yorkers to undergo COVID-19 vaccination when a vaccine becomes available, even if people object to it for ‘religious, philosophical or personal reasons.’”
November 8, 2020 — NPR: “HHS Released More Coronavirus Vaccine Contracts As Election Results Unfolded”
“While the country was focused on the outcome of the election Saturday, the Department of Health and Human Services released a trove of new Operation Warp Speed documents.
“The newly released contracts include the crash program’s $1 billion agreement with Johnson & Johnson, which was issued through a third-party firm and lacks some customary protections against potential future price-gouging.”
“‘HHS’ drip drip release strategy fails to meet the needs of the moment,’ says Zain Rizvi, a law and policy researcher at Public Citizen focused on pharmaceuticals. ‘Taxpayers have handed over billions of dollars in the dark.’”
November 8, 2020 — CBS News: “Operation Warp Speed preps for COVID-19 vaccine delivery upon FDA approval”
“Four-star General Gustave Perna was two months away from retirement when the career United States Army supply officer was appointed to lead Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s crash program to develop, produce, and distribute enough COVID-19 vaccine doses to inoculate 300 million Americans by spring 2021.
“The operation is stockpiling anticipated vaccines made by six different drug makers. None of the pharmaceutical manufacturers have applied for Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for their respective vaccine candidates.
“Perna and his team are ready for when that authorization hopefully arrives. He told 60 Minutes contributor and CBS News national security correspondent David Martin that vaccine doses are ready to ship in as little as 24 hours after the FDA grants approval.”
November 8, 2020 — The Sun: “Doctors join forces to demand end to lockdown and Ireland’s ‘outdated’ public health strategies on Covid-19”
“‘In this document, we address the latest evidence for lockdown efficacy. We look too at the enormous and disproportionate cost of lockdowns which include the economic, health, and societal damage which grows worse by the day.
“‘Much of this damage is irreparable, and to imagine otherwise is a misguided conceit.”
“They argue:
- Following initial concern and panic, mortality impacts are within the envelop of previous significant respiratory seasons of the past decades (e.g., 2000, 2015, 2018)
- The current pressure on hospital beds/ICU is similar to prior winter respiratory seasons
- ‘Lockdown’ is a strategy which has never before been used in pandemic management and was ruled out in 2019 WHO and Irish pandemic guidelines.
- ‘Test and trace’ is ineffective after a virus has substantially entered a population.
“The medics say: ‘The beliefs underpinning the need for Lockdowns were justified to “flatten the curve,” protect hospital capacity and reduce morbidity and mortality from Covid-19.’
“‘These beliefs were based on assumptions, modelling and forecasts derived from the available data in the spring of 2020. However, we have multiple published analyses since which use real-world data and outcomes.’”
November 9, 2020 — TIME: “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Announce Their COVID-19 Advisory Board”
The COVID-19 Advisory Board is co-chaired by Dr. David Kessler, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Dr. Vivek Murthy, former Surgeon General under Barack Obama and Trump; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, associate dean for health equity research at Yale School of Medicine.
The Board’s other members include:
* Rick Bright, a virologist who formerly headed the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) under the Trump administration and who has advised the World Health Organization and the US Department of Defense on public health preparedness
* Dr. Luciana Borio, vice president at In-Q-Tel and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who focuses on biodefense and managing public health emergencies and who previously worked in the FDA’s office of counterterrorism and emerging threats
* Loyce Pace, executive director and president of the Global Health Council who has worked with patient and scientific advocacy groups in the US and around the world
* Dr. Robert Rodriguez, a professor at University of California San Francisco
* Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, chair of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania who has advised the White House Office of Management and Budget and the National Institutes of Health
* Dr. Atul Gawande, professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School who advised the Department of Health and Human Services during the Clinton Administration
* Dr. Julie Morita, executive vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation who served on the CDC’s immunization advisory committee
* Dr. Eric Goosby, a professor at University of California San Francisco who served as the US Global AIDS coordinator and special envoy for tuberculosis for the UN Secretary General
* Dr. Celine Gounder, a professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine who served in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
* Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the center for infectious disease research and policy at the University of Minnesota who worked in the Minnesota Department of Health as an epidemiologist.
NPR quotes Joe Biden as saying:
“I want everyone — everyone — to know on Day 1, we’re going to put our plan to control this virus into action.”
November 9, 2020 — The New York Times: Pfizer claims its vaccine is 90% effective in preventing transmission
“Pfizer announced stunning early results from its coronavirus vaccine trial, cementing the lead in a frenzied global race that has unfolded at record-breaking speed.”
“Pfizer, which developed the vaccine with the German drugmaker BioNTech, released only sparse details from its clinical trial, based on the first formal review of the data by an outside panel of experts.
“The company said that the analysis found that the vaccine was more than 90 percent effective in preventing the disease among trial volunteers who had no evidence of prior coronavirus infection.”
According to CNBC:
“Dr. Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, hailed the trial results as a ‘great day for science and humanity.’”
“‘I think we can see light at the end of the tunnel,’ Bourla tells CNBC’s Meg Tirrell on Squawk Box. ‘I believe this is likely the most significant medical advance in the last 100 years, if you count the impact this will have in public health, global economy.’”
NOTE: The media goes crazy promoting the science by press release. Later on, the “more than 90 percent” efficacy rate would be revealed to be false. Pfizer executive Janine Small would later testify to the EU Parliament that, actually, the Covid vaccines were never supposed to stop transmission. When asked by Dutch MEP Rob Roos whether the company had tested its vaccine on stopping the transmission of the virus before it rolled out globally, Small said “No” and explained that “we had to really move at the speed of science to really understand what is taking place in the market.”
November 9, 2020 — NPR: Utah governor issues statewide mask mandate
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert announces:
“Under the new mask requirement, all Utah residents must wear masks in public and when within 6 feet of anyone they don’t live with.
“In an address Sunday evening, Herbert said the measures were necessary to relieve the overwhelming burden on the state’s hospitals and medical professionals.
“‘Masks do not negatively affect our economy, and wearing them is the easiest way to slow the spread of the virus,’ the governor said. ‘We cannot afford to debate this issue any longer. Individual freedom is certainly important, and it is our rule of law that protects that freedom.’”
November 9, 2020 — ABC News: Dr. Fauci says Pfizer’s reported 90% vaccine efficacy rate is ‘extraordinary’
“The nation’s top infectious disease doctor, Anthony Fauci, called the 90% efficacy report ‘extraordinary’ when talking to reporters on Monday. The FDA previously said it would accept a COVID-19 vaccine that is at least 50% effective.”
November 9, 2020 — AMA: Dr. Fauci says no one is certain how long vaccine protection will last
“In his interview with AMA Executive Vice President and CEO James L. Madara, MD, Dr. Fauci said no one is certain how long vaccine protection will last. He added that physicians and other health professionals in hospitals are learning more about how to treat patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, cutting the COVID-19 mortality rate in the U.S.
“‘We just get better at treating the disease. We know what works, what doesn’t work,’ he said. Experience has taught doctors more about whether to put people on ventilators, how much oxygen to provide during intubation, and managing the treatment process.
“‘We know that dexamethasone clearly diminishes the death rate in people requiring mechanical ventilation and/or people who require high-flow oxygen,’ Dr. Fauci said. ‘We have remdesivir for hospitalized patients who have lung involvement.’
“‘How effective would the vaccine be and, as importantly, how many individuals will opt to take the vaccine? But if we get a reasonably effective vaccine of 70% to 75% and a substantial proportion of the population takes the vaccine, I think we will be going in the right direction of some degree of normality as we head into 2021 in the second, third and fourth quarter,’ he said.”
November 9, 2020 — CNBC: President-elect Joe Biden urges Americans to wear a mask
“Biden made his comments hours after Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 among those without evidence of prior infection.
“Biden’s remarks stand in stark contrast to that of President Trump, who resisted wearing a mask in public for months at the start of the pandemic.”
November 9, 2020 — Reuters fact checkers assert: “COVID-19 is not a ‘scam’ being used to ‘destroy the global economy’ for a new world order”
NOTE: Reuters ex-CEO Jim Smith is involved with initiatives such as the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum and is also on Pfizer’s Board of Directors.
November 10, 2020 — NBC News: Schools increasingly return to online learning as Covid-19 'cases' spike across the US
“Schools around the country are returning to virtual learning or delaying in-person classroom plans as coronavirus cases continue to soar nationwide in record-breaking numbers.
“Some school districts that had been engaging in hybrid learning — with some days of virtual schooling alternated with in-person class days — are switching to a full virtual model through the end of the year. Maryland’s Hartford County Public Schools announced Monday that it was making the transition by Friday due to the new cases.”
“‘There are many details to work through, but as the county COVID-19 metrics have met our threshold, we must take action to ensure the health of our students and staff,’ Hartford County Public Schools said on Facebook.”
November 10, 2020 — The World Medical Association (WMA) adopts a “resolution regarding the medical profession and COVID-19”
The WMA says it “recognizes the fight of the medical profession against the pandemic” through this resolution and advocates the following:
1. [Make] sufficient provision of equipment and personal protection material (PPE) for health professionals, which allows healthcare and guarantees the availability of this material in a situation of possible outbreaks.
2. Urge governments to adopt a multilateral and coordinated approach on a global scale of the crisis to promote equality in interventions, access to health services, treatments and future vaccines.
3. Provide enough financing to healthcare systems so that they can face the costs of the pandemic and guarantee accessible and quality healthcare.
November 10, 2020 — NPR: Brooklyn Names Fauci A COVID-19 Hero
“Dr. Anthony Fauci was recognized as a hero on Tuesday by the New York City borough of Brooklyn, where he was born and raised. As he accepted the honor, Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, shared his optimism that a COVID-19 vaccine is close.
“‘The vaccine is on its way, folks, so hang in there, hang tough. We’re going to get over this together,’ Fauci said via video link, speaking to a crowd gathered outside Brooklyn Borough Hall.”
November 10, 2020 — CNN: CDC issues new guidance, saying masks protect both the wearers and those around them
“Wearing a mask can help protect you, not just those around you, from coronavirus transmission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new guidance Tuesday. The statement was an update to previous guidance suggesting the main benefit of mask wearing was to help prevent infected people from spreading the virus to others.
“Cloth masks act as ‘source control’ to block virus particles exhaled by the wearer and provide ‘filtration for personal protection’ by blocking incoming infectious droplets from others, the CDC said in its new guidance.”
November 10, 2020 — The Guardian: “Pfizer and BioNTech could make $13bn from coronavirus vaccine”
“The US drugmaker Pfizer and the German biotech firm BioNTech stand to bring in nearly $13bn (£9.8bn) in global sales from their coronavirus vaccine next year, which will be evenly split between the two companies, according to analysts at the US investment bank Morgan Stanley.
“Pfizer’s half would be more than the US pharmaceutical group’s bestselling product, a pneumonia vaccine that generated $5.8bn last year.
“Pfizer has agreed to supply 100m doses to the US at a price of $39 for a two-shot course, or $19.50 per dose, with the option to supply another 500m doses under new terms. The EU has ordered 200m doses while the UK has ordered 40m.”
November 11, 2020 — Off-Guardian: Portuguese Court Rules PCR Tests ‘Unreliable’ and Quarantines ‘Unlawful’”
“Important legal decision faces total media blackout in Western world.” [Emphasis added.]
“An appeals court in Portugal has ruled that the PCR process is not a reliable test for Sars-Cov-2, and therefore any enforced quarantine based on those test results is unlawful.
“Further, the ruling suggested that any forced quarantine applied to healthy people could be a violation of their fundamental right to liberty.
“Most importantly, the judges ruled that a single positive PCR test cannot be used as an effective diagnosis of infection.”
“In their ruling, judges Margarida Ramos de Almeida and Ana Paramés referred to several scientific studies. Most notably this study by Jaafar et al., which found that — when running PCR tests with 35 cycles or more — the accuracy dropped to 3%, meaning up to 97% of positive results could be false positives.”
November 11, 2020 — Spectrum News NY1: New York State orders bars, restaurants, gyms and home parties to close at 10 pm
“Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that all bars and restaurants with a liquor license will need to be closed between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. each night.
“‘If you’re saying you can’t have something after 10 p.m., why? Because COVID only affects people after 10 p.m.?’ said Michael Reilly, a Republican Assemblyman for the South Shore of the borough.”
November 12, 2020 — Business Insider: “Pfizer’s CEO cashed out 60% of his stock the day the company unveiled the results of its vaccine trial”
“The vaccine announcement sent Pfizer’s shares soaring almost 15% on the day.
“Bourla sold 132,508 shares in the company at an average price of $41.94 a share, or $5.6 million total, according to filings registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 52-week high for Pfizer’s stock is $41.99, meaning Bourla sold his stock at almost its highest value in the past year.”
November 12, 2020 — CNBC: Covid advisory board member Dr. Michael Osterholm says ‘U.S. is about to enter Covid hell’
“The U.S. is heading for a ‘dark winter,’ a ‘Covid hell,’ the ‘darkest days of the pandemic.’ However you describe it, the next few months of the coronavirus pandemic will be unlike anything the nation has seen yet.
“Even as drug manufacturers make progress on a vaccine and treatments, epidemiologists, scientists and public health officials are warning that the United States has yet to see the most difficult days of the outbreak. Those are projected to come over the next three to four months.
“‘What America has to understand is that we are about to enter Covid hell,’ Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center of Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said in an interview with CNBC’s ‘Squawk Alley’ on Monday, hours after Pfizer announced promising news about its vaccine. ‘It is happening.’”
NOTE: Among the many positions he holds, Dr. Osterholm is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
“The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation, created this research and development (R&D) roadmap (referred to as the Coronavirus Vaccines Roadmap [CVR]) to serve as a strategic planning tool to facilitate R&D, coordinate funding, and promote stakeholder engagement.”
November 13, 2020 — The WHO redefines ‘herd immunity’ to be exclusively a by-product of vaccination
“What is herd immunity?”
“‘Herd immunity,’ also known as ‘population immunity,’ is a concept used for vaccination, in which a population can be protected from a certain virus if a threshold of vaccination is reached.”
“As more people in a community get vaccinated, fewer people remain vulnerable, and there is less possibility for passing the pathogen on from person to person. Lowering the possibility for a pathogen to circulate in the community protects those who cannot be vaccinated due to other serious health conditions from the disease targeted by the vaccine. This is called ‘herd immunity.’
“‘Herd immunity’ exists when a high percentage of the population is vaccinated, making it difficult for infectious diseases to spread.”
NOTE: What this note at the World Health Organization has done is deleted what amounts to the entire million-year history of humankind in its delicate dance with pathogens. You could only gather from this that, as The Daily Economy puts it, “all of us are nothing but blank and unimprovable slates on which the pharmaceutical industry writes its signature.”
November 13, 2020 — Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: “The National Cabinet has endorsed the Australian Government’s COVID-19 Vaccination Policy”
“This vaccination program is significant in scale and complexity. Planning is being undertaken while vaccines are still being developed. Not all vaccines Australia invests in are guaranteed to be successful, and access to safe and effective vaccines will likely come in tranches.
“As more doses become available, as many Australians as possible will be encouraged to vaccinate. Australians are encouraged to rely on reputable and authoritative sources of information to help them make informed choices and stay up to date.”
November 13, 2020 — British Medical Journal: “Covid-19: politicization, ‘corruption,’ and suppression of science”
Excerpts from an editorial written by the BMJ’s Kamran Abbasi:
“Politicians and governments are suppressing science. They do so in the public interest, they say, to accelerate availability of diagnostics and treatments. They do so to support innovation, to bring products to market at unprecedented speed. Both of these reasons are partly plausible; the greatest deceptions are founded in a grain of truth. But the underlying behavior is troubling.
“Science is being suppressed for political and financial gain. Covid-19 has unleashed state corruption on a grand scale, and it is harmful to public health. Politicians and industry are responsible for this opportunistic embezzlement. So too are scientists and health experts. The pandemic has revealed how the medical-political complex can be manipulated in an emergency—a time when it is even more important to safeguard science.”
November 13, 2020 — AP News in the Los Angeles Times : “As COVID-19 vaccine nears, states ramp up for biggest vaccination effort in U.S. history”
“The push could begin as early as next month, when federal officials say the first vaccine may be authorized for emergency use and immediately deployed to high-risk groups, such as healthcare workers.
“‘The cavalry is coming,’ Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, said Thursday on ABC’s Good Morning America.”
“‘If you get 10,000 doses, what are you going to do, versus 100,000 doses?’ said Dr. Frank Welch, director of Louisiana’s immunization program.”
“For the vaccination effort to get off the ground, state officials have been readying systems to track supplies and who has been vaccinated. That information will be fed into a national network and will be critical in giving federal health officials an up-to-date picture of vaccinations around the country.”
November 14, 2020 — Independent: UK Professor Susan Michie warns against complacency in ‘crucial weeks’ before end of lockdown and arrival of vaccine
“A government scientific adviser has warned people against complacency in the last two weeks of England’s lockdown, following promising news over a potential vaccine against coronavirus.
“Professor Susan Michie, who sits on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) committee, urged people to stick to the rules to give the country the best shot at easing measures on 2 December, and being able to spend Christmas with loved ones.”
NOTE: Michie leads the Human Behaviour-Change Project funded by the Wellcome Trust and would later be appointed to chair of the WHO’s Behavioural Advisory Group, which advised the WHO on how to increase adherence to vaccination campaigns.
November 14, 2020 — The Sun: Piers Morgan ridicules vaccine skeptics
“Taking to Instagram, [Piers Morgan] posted a meme of a woman with over inflated lips from injected filler which said: ‘I’m not having no Covid vaccine. Not having anything injected into me, you don’t know the side effects.’
“Next to the picture he put two laughing emojis.
“The picture comes after Piers vowed to have the coronavirus vaccine on live TV.
“He has also told anti-vaxxers that they should be banned from flights.
“On Tuesday he tweeted: ‘To all the anti-vaxxer Covidiots predictably now screaming that they won’t have the jab, let me say this: a) If it’s approved then I will have it done live on TV. b) If you refuse to have it then no more flying for you, and no using the NHS if you get covid. Deal?’”
November 14, 2020 — WUSA9: DC’s mask mandate ignored by many at Million MAGA March
“Thousands of people came to the Million MAGA March on Saturday, but many of them didn’t wear masks. That’s despite DC’s mask mandate.
“Our WUSA9’s Mike Valerio reported from Freedom Plaza that it seemed a majority of the protesters gathered were not wearing masks.
“Many protesters were in DC to support unfounded election fraud claims and to support President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. There were a few counter-protesters also in the area, but not many.”
November 15, 2020 — The Guardian: BioNTech vaccine scientist Uğur Şahin says jab could halve Covid transmission
“The scientist behind the first potential Covid-19 vaccine to clear interim clinical trials says he is ‘very confident’ the jab will reduce transmission of the disease, perhaps by 50%, resulting in a ‘dramatic’ reduction in cases.
“The German company BioNTech and the US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer announced to worldwide acclaim last week that their jointly developed vaccine candidate appeared to be 90% effective in stopping people from falling ill.
“Uğur Şahin, the chief executive of BioNTech, said he expected that further analysis would show that the jab is also effective in stopping spread of the disease, but probably not by as much as 90%. Certainty around its impact will not come until next year, he added.”
November 15, 2020 — Fox News: “CNN’s Jake Tapper says ‘Christmas is probably not gonna be possible’ this year”
“CNN ‘State of the Union’ host Jake Tapper suggested during a Sunday interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci that Christmas is ‘probably not gonna be possible’ this year as medical experts warn of COVID-19 spikes caused by widespread indoor holiday gatherings.”
November 16, 2020 — Independent: “Amnesty International says Belgium authorities ‘abandoned’ thousands of elderly people who died in nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic”
The organization’s report described the authorities’ actions as “human rights violations.”
“One of the hardest-hit countries in Europe, Belgium has reported more than 531,000 confirmed virus cases and more than 14,400 deaths linked to the coronavirus. During the first wave of the pandemic last spring, the European nation of 11.5 million people recorded a majority of its COVID-19-related deaths in nursing homes.
“Between March and October, Amnesty International said ‘a staggering’ 61.3% of all COVID-19 deaths in Belgium took place in nursing homes.”
November 16, 2020 — DW: Moderna claims its vaccine to be 94.5% effective
“US pharmaceutical firm Moderna announced on Monday that early analysis of its COVID-19 vaccine suggested it was as much as 94.5% effective.
“‘This positive interim analysis from our Phase 3 study has given us the first clinical validation that our vaccine can prevent COVID-19 disease, including severe disease,’ said Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO.”
November 16, 2020 — TODAY: “Dr. Anthony Fauci: ‘Now we have 2 vaccines that are quite effective’”
“Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, tells TODAY the results reported by drug maker Moderna are really quite impressive . . . now we have two vaccines that are really quite effective.’ He projects that ‘by the end of December there will be doses of vaccine available for individuals in the high-risk category’ from both Moderna and Pfizer.”
November 16, 2020 — CNBC: “Dr. Fauci says masks, social distancing will still be needed after a Covid-19 vaccine”
“Dr. Anthony Fauci warns ‘it’s not going to be a light switch’ back to normalcy even when a Covid-19 vaccine becomes available to the public.
“In fact, Fauci recommends people still wear masks and practice social distancing even after getting the vaccine, he told CNN’s Jake Tapper on ‘State of the Union’ on Sunday.”
November 16, 2020 — ABC News: “Dr. Scott Atlas under fire for telling Michigan to ‘rise up’ against COVID-19 restrictions”
“Dr. Scott Atlas, a controversial member of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, is facing heavy criticism after telling Michiganders to ‘rise up’ against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s new COVID-19 restrictions imposed as new cases surge in the state.”
“Shortly after the announcement, Atlas, a neuroradiologist with no training in infectious diseases who joined the White House coronavirus task force in August and has since railed against COVID-19 restrictions, tweeted, ‘The only way this stops is if people rise up. You get what you accept. #FreedomMatters #StepUp.’”
November 16, 2020 — Crunchbase News: “With Flagship Behind It, Moderna Quickly Scaled From Startup To World-Changing Biotech”
“Moderna shook the world this morning with the announcement that its COVID-19 vaccine was 94.5 percent effective in Phase 3 trials. Together with a similarly positive outcome from a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine effort last week, the results offer the most seemingly realistic path yet for a return to normalcy after a long and deadly pandemic.
“Markets soared on the news, with the Dow hitting an intraday record high. Moderna shares jumped 10 percent, landing the company a market capitalization around $39 billion. Even Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert and a man not known for his Pollyanna-ish projections, declared the Moderna trial outcomes ‘as good as it gets.’
“While the results are remarkable enough on their own, here’s one more thing to consider: The company that accomplished this is itself little more than a startup. It’s been public for less than two years. A decade ago, it was just a concept-stage company in the earliest stages of formation at Boston area biotech venture firm Flagship Pioneering.”
NOTE: Moderna’s miraculous and timely ascent is chronicled by Whitney Webb in her Unlimited Hangout article “Moderna: A Company ‘In Need Of A Hail Mary'.” A paragraph from her piece reads:
“Not only did the COVID-19 crisis obliterate hurdles that had previously prevented Moderna from taking a single product to market, it also dramatically reversed the company’s fortunes. Indeed, from 2016 right up until the emergence of COVID-19, Moderna could barely hold it together, as it was shedding key executives, top talent, and major investors at an alarming rate.”
November 16, 2020 — NBC News: “New lockdowns and restrictions sweep across the country”
“The wave of Covid-19 infections sweeping across the United States was followed Monday by a spate of new lockdowns and calls to reimpose restrictions after a week when more than a million new cases were reported.
“With two promising vaccines still months away from the start of widespread distribution and President Donald Trump slowing the transition by refusing to concede his apparent election loss to Joe Biden, mayors and governors were battening down the hatches and not counting on guidance from Washington.”
November 17, 2020 — NPR: “Iowa Governor Reverses Course, Issues Mask Mandate”
“Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation requiring Iowans over the age of 2 to wear masks in indoor public spaces starting Tuesday.”
“‘No one wants to do this. I don’t want to do this,’ Reynolds, a Republican, said at a news conference Monday.
“‘If Iowans don’t buy into this, we’ll lose,’ she said. ‘Businesses will close once again, more schools will be forced to go online, and our health care system will fail.’”
November 17, 2020 — The Guardian: “Rishi Sunak refuses to say if he will profit from Moderna Covid vaccine”
“The [UK] chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has refused to disclose whether he will profit from a surge in the share price of the Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer Moderna, one of the biggest investments held by the hedge fund he co-founded before entering parliament.”
“Sunak was a founding partner of Theleme Partners, a major investor in Moderna, and one of the executives managing its US office. He left the firm in 2013, returning to the UK to pursue his political career.
“It is not known whether the chancellor retained any investment in the Theleme fund after leaving. Theleme is registered in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven which does not make company records public.”
NOTE: According to Good Law Project, Theleme Partners saw its profits more than double in the year up to 2022 after it heavily invested in Covid vaccine manufacturer Moderna.”
November 17, 2020 — KTLA: Californians must mask up outside their homes under new expanded mandate
“The expanded order announced Monday means Californians must mask up unless they are alone in a car or only with those in their household; working alone in an office or room; outdoors and staying at least six feet away from others not in their household; are obtaining a service involving their nose or face; or are actively eating or drinking, so long as they maintain physical distance.”
November 18, 2020 — New York Post: “Photos show California Gov. Newsom at maskless party”
“In an embarrassing case of ‘Do as I say, not as I do,’ photos have emerged of California Gov. Gavin Newsom dining with a party of guests flouting his own coronavirus safety protocols at a posh Napa Valley restaurant.
“Neither Newsom nor any of the 12 guests wore face masks during the Nov. 6 birthday bash for the governor’s political adviser at the French Laundry restaurant, photos published by Fox 11 in Los Angeles reveal.
“Newsom has lectured Californians to don face masks and not to gather in larger numbers to contain the spread of COVID-19.”
November 18, 2020 — ACP Journals: Danish randomised controlled trial (RCT) looks at the effectiveness of wearing surgical masks to protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection
According to The Highwire, the study casts doubt on mask efficacy. It quotes Dr. Andrew Kaufman as saying:
“Our results suggest that the recommendation to wear a surgical mask when outside the home among others did not reduce, at conventional levels of statistical significance, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in mask wearers.”
November 18, 2020 — Pfizer-BioNTech announce their vaccine is 95% effective
Upgrading from their previous previous press release on November 9, 2020, Pfizer-BioNTech announce that the final analysis of their COVID-19 vaccine Phase III clinical trial data showed it was 95% effective and had no safety concerns. The seven bullet points below are taken from the November 18, 2020, press release:
- Primary efficacy analysis demonstrates BNT162b2 to be 95% effective against COVID-19 beginning 28 days after the first dose;170 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were evaluated, with 162 observed in the placebo group versus 8 in the vaccine group
- Efficacy was consistent across age, gender, race and ethnicity demographics; observed efficacy in adults over 65 years of age was over 94%
- Safety data milestone required by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) has been achieved”
- Data demonstrate vaccine was well tolerated across all populations with over 43,000 participants enrolled; no serious safety concerns observed; the only Grade 3 adverse event greater than 2% in frequency was fatigue at 3.8% and headache at 2.0%
- Companies plan to submit within days to the FDA for EUA and share data with other regulatory agencies around the globe
- The companies expect to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021
- Pfizer is confident in its vast experience, expertise and existing cold-chain infrastructure to distribute the vaccine around the world
Separately, ScienceNews notes that “Pfizer and BioNtech plan to apply to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization within days” of this announcement.
November 18, 2020 — The New York Times: “The Coronavirus Has Now Killed 250,000 People in the U.S.”
“The United States passed a grim milestone on Wednesday, hitting 250,000 coronavirus-related deaths, with the number expected to keep climbing steeply as infections surge nationwide.
“Experts predict that the country could soon be reporting 2,000 deaths a day or more, matching or exceeding the spring peak, and that 100,000 to 200,000 more Americans could die in the coming months.
“Just how bad it gets will depend on a variety of factors, including how well preventive measures are followed and when a vaccine is introduced.
“New vaccines may begin to have an impact next year, experts said, and for now, developments in treating the disease as well as a younger population getting infected mean that far fewer people who are admitted to hospitals are dying.”
November 18, 2020 — openDemocracy: “Politically connected firms were given ‘high priority’ for government COVID contracts, official report finds”
“Companies with political connections were directed to a ‘high-priority’ channel for UK government contracts — where bids were ten times more likely to be successful, according to a damning report by the National Audit Office.
“Since the pandemic began, openDemocracy has reported on numerous COVID contracts being awarded without competition, or with terms being kept secret, or other measures which bypass normal transparency requirements.”
November 18, 2020 — KELOLAND: “South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem says masks are a ‘personal choice,’ won’t consider a statewide mandate”
“Sioux Falls may have passed a mask mandate, but South Dakota’s governor continues to call masks a ‘personal choice.’ This comes as COVID-19 deaths in the state near 700.
“Although the South Dakota State Medical Association has called for a statewide mask mandate, it doesn’t sound like Governor Noem is going to change her mind on that issue anytime soon.”
November 19, 2020 — The FDA issues an EUA for the use of Eli Lilly and Company’s baricitinib (Olumiant) in combination with remdesivir (Veklury) for the treatment of suspected or laboratory confirmed COVID-19 in certain hospitalized patients.
November 19, 2020 — The New York Times: “New York City to Close Public Schools Again as Virus Cases Rise”
“New York City’s entire public school system will shut on Thursday, signaling that a second wave of the coronavirus has arrived as the city is still struggling to revive from its devastating spring, when it was a global epicenter of the pandemic.
“The shutdown was prompted by the city’s reaching a 3 percent test positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average, the most conservative threshold of any big school district in the country. Schools in the nation’s largest system, with 1.1 million students and 1,800 schools, have been open for in-person instruction for just under eight weeks.”
November 19, 2020 — NBC News: “Parents outraged after NYC schools close due to rise in coronavirus infections”
“Michael Melcher, 57, from Manhattan, said he thinks it may be a while before the city resumes in-person learning, and during that time it will be the children who suffer. The single father has twin 5-year-old sons at P.S. 9 Sarah Anderson School.
“‘For a 5-year-old, there’s very little meaning to remote education,’ he said. ‘I don’t think they’re going to learn how to read, how to write when it comes to online learning, so I feel like I have to do that separately on my own.’
“Melcher, an executive coach, said closing schools was a ‘terrible, unscientific decision’ and voiced his frustrations Thursday morning at a protest outside City Hall with other parents.”
November 19, 2020 — Fortune: “One of the world’s strictest new lockdowns bans outdoor exercising and dog-walking”
“South Australia began one of the world’s toughest lockdowns Thursday with even outdoor exercise and dog-walking banned as the state tries to contain a cluster of COVID-19 infections.
“For six days, only one person from a household will be allowed to leave home each day, and only for essential reasons, authorities said. Schools, universities, cafes and restaurants are closed, weddings and funerals are banned and mask-wearing is mandatory.
“‘We want to go hard, go early, but get out of it as quickly as we can,’ State Premier Steven Marshall said of the measures.”
November 19, 2020 — CNBC: “Dr. Fauci says vaccinating people who disregard Covid as ‘fake news’ could be ‘a real problem’”
“White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday that convincing people who consider the coronavirus to be ‘fake news’ to get vaccinated against the disease could become an issue as the nation seeks to achieve so-called herd immunity to suppress the pandemic.”
“Fauci’s comments [during a conversation] with The Hastings Center are similar to those published in an interview with The New York Times on Thursday where the nation’s leading infectious disease expert said he was “stunned” that people in certain parts of the country with devastating Covid-19 outbreaks still consider the pandemic to be fake.”
November 19, 2020 —Daily Mail: Oxford University’s Professor Carl Heneghan and Dr Tom Jefferson said there has been ‘a troubling lack of evidence’ to justify wearing face masks to prevent catching Covid-19
“Top scientists have warned there is a ‘troubling lack of evidence’ that face masks prevent Covid-19 infection, after a major study in Denmark found they don’t protect people who wear them.”
“[A] randomised study published by scientists at Copenhagen University, thought to be the best of its kind so far, found no statistical evidence that they offer any protection whatsoever.
“Reacting to the finding in a column in The Spectator today, Oxford University’s Professor Carl Heneghan and Dr Tom Jefferson said there had been ‘a troubling lack of robust evidence on face masks and Covid-19.’
“There have only been three ‘real life’ studies comparing mask-wearers to non-mask-wearers — one in Guinea-Bissau, one in India and the new Denmark study. All have shown masks to have no benefit in preventing the disease. [Emphasis added.]
“But the experts added: ‘Now we have properly rigorous scientific research we can rely on, the evidence shows wearing masks in the community does not significantly reduce the rates of infection.’”
November 19, 2020 — TODAY: CDC tells everyone to stay at home for Thanksgiving
“In updated guidance posted online Thursday, the agency also advises that anyone who has not lived in the household during the two weeks ahead of the holiday stay in a separate area of the house with a designated bathroom, if possible, and wear masks while indoors. That includes college students or members of the military returning home for the holidays.”
November 19, 2020 — YouTube channel “UN Digital Solutions Centre”: “United Nations publishes an unlisted video proposing a digital I.D."
NOTE: The UN describes the video as a “Digital business solution for digital identity management across the UN family.”
November 20, 2020 — ABC7: “SoCal shoppers anxious about COVID-19 lockdown clear store shelves of essential items once again”
“Lockdown shopping is taking hold again. Various stores around the Southland are experiencing shortages of toilet paper, water, cleaning products and other supplies — items that first flew off the shelves when the pandemic began.”
November 20, 2020 — The Washington Post: “The evidence doesn’t support closing schools to stop the coronavirus”
“Political leaders and school administrators are once again shifting millions of American kids back to virtual learning as coronavirus cases mount.
“Yet data from the fall semester indicates schools aren’t a big vector for the virus after all.
“‘We have not seen schools as a major source of transmission for covid, particularly in the low-prevalence areas,’ said Emily Oster, an economics professor at Brown University. ‘I think that suggests it’s possible to reopen schools safely, probably more than we are currently doing.’”
November 20, 2020 — TODAY: “Fauci says Santa has ‘innate immunity’ and won’t spread COVID-19”
“Dr. Anthony Fauci reassured any kids nervous about Santa Claus [coming] down the chimney during the pandemic that he is ‘not going to be spreading any infections.’
“‘Santa is exempt from this because Santa, of all the good qualities, has a lot of good innate immunity,’ Fauci told USA Today.”
NOTE: Fauci’s fanciful remarks give new meaning to “following the science.”
November 20, 2020 — The FDA publishes “Emergency Use Authorization for Vaccines Explained”
“An Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) is a mechanism to facilitate the availability and use of medical countermeasures, including vaccines, during public health emergencies, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“Under an EUA, the FDA may allow the use of unapproved medical products, or unapproved uses of approved medical products in an emergency to diagnose, treat, or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions when certain statutory criteria have been met, including that there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives. Taking into consideration input from the FDA, manufacturers decide whether and when to submit an EUA request to FDA.” [Emphasis added.]
November 20, 2020 — NPR: WHO advises against remdesivir in COVID-19 patients
“On Thursday, a WHO review panel issued new guidelines recommending against the use of remdesivir for COVID-19 — even though the medicine is one of the few to win regulatory approval as a treatment for the disease.
“After a clinical trial in April showed that remdesivir sped up the recovery of people with severe cases of the disease, the U.S. snapped up millions of vials of the drug from its manufacturer Gilead Sciences. Over the summer, European regulators rapidly signed off on the product, leading to nations around the world signing purchase agreements for the drug. And last month, the U.S. Food and Drug administration also signed off.
“Now the WHO says remdesivir doesn’t do much of anything to improve the health of people hospitalized with COVID-19.”
November 20, 2020 — Nature: “Post-lockdown SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid screening in nearly ten million residents of Wuhan, China”
“The study is based on a 19-day mass PCR screening program of nearly 10 million residents in Wuhan, China, and illustrates asymptomatic cases are NOT the driver of SARS-CoV-2 spread.”
“There were no positive tests amongst 1,174 close contacts of [the 300] asymptomatic cases.”
November 20, 2020 — Bloomberg: “Toronto goes back to lockdown”
“Ontario imposes new rules similar to March restrictions”
“British Columbia mandates masks and broadens travel curbs”
“Canada’s largest province ordered a lockdown in Toronto and one of its suburbs, a declaration that forces shopping malls, restaurants and other businesses to close their doors to slow a second wave of coronavirus cases.”
November 20, 2020 —SI Live: New York bar declares itself ‘autonomous zone’ to skirt COVID-19 restrictions
“In the past, restaurant owners have referred to doing business in the quarantine stage of the pandemic as ‘The Twilight Zone.’ Flip forward nine months to a point where places sort through what it means to be in ‘The Orange Zone,’ which so brings us to ‘The Autonomous Zone.’ It’s a term that can be credited to Mac’s Public House, which has deemed itself such starting Friday, Nov. 20, 2020.
“To owners Danny Presti and Keith McAlarney, this means it’s ‘business as usual’ at the Grant City tavern, they said. But in the event of a state or citywide shutdown, it translates to taking a stance by staying open.”
November 21, 2020 — FDA letter: The US Food and Drug Administration issues an Emergency Use Authorization for Regeneron’s antibody cocktail to treat Covid-19
“This letter is in response to Regeneron Pharmaceutical, Inc’s (“Regeneron”) request that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issue an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for emergency use of casirivimab and imdevimab, administered together, for the treatment of mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).”
“Casirivimab and imdevimab are recombinant human IgG1 monoclonal antibodies that target the receptor binding domain of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. They are investigational drugs and are not approved for any indication.”
November 21, 2020 — NPR: “Donald Trump Jr. Tests Positive For The Coronavirus”
“Donald Trump Jr. has become the latest member of the president’s orbit to test positive for the coronavirus.
“‘Apparently I got the ’rona,’ the president’s son told his Instagram followers late Friday.
“‘You wouldn’t know it based on anything that I felt or have seen,’ he said. ‘I’ve been totally asymptomatic.’
“Trump Jr. suggested that because of his lack of symptoms, his test result might have been a false-positive.”
“The president commented on the diagnosis Saturday. ‘My son Donald is doing very well,’ Trump tweeted.”
November 22, 2020 — The Guardian: “‘Let us disobey’: Churches [in the UK] defy lockdown with secret meetings”
“It sounds like the build-up to an illegal rave. Invitations are passed by word of mouth to trusted people. Minimal information — time, directions — is quietly given with pleas for discretion. Once everyone is assembled in a barn on a remote farm — ‘away from prying eyes,’ says the organiser — it begins.
“This is no rave, but an English church service under lockdown, and the organiser is a Protestant pastor. The Christians who will gather illegally in the west of England on Sunday morning — as they have for the past two Sundays – will pray, read from the scriptures, sing hymns and listen to a sermon.
“‘We’ve been holding clandestine services since this lockdown began,’ the pastor told the Observer, speaking on condition of anonymity. ‘It feels weird for us to act this way. People have said it feels more like an underground church in China.’
“‘The fact that we have to sneak around to worship God, in fear of criminal prosecution, is alarming. But we do what we have to do.’
“Gathering in barns, cafes and bookshops, worshippers are flocking to illegal services around the country.”
November 22, 2020 — Environmental Research and Public Health: James Lyons-Weiler and Paul Thomas publish the vaxx versus unvaxxed study, “Relative Incidence of Office Visits and Cumulative Rates of Billed Diagnoses Along the Axis of Vaccination”
“Abstract: We performed a retrospective analysis spanning ten years of pediatric practice focused on patients with variable vaccination born into a practice, presenting a unique opportunity to study the effects of variable vaccination on outcomes.”
“The implications of these results for the net public health effects of whole-population vaccination and with respect for informed consent on human health are compelling.”
“The data indicate that unvaccinated children in the practice are not unhealthier than the vaccinated and indeed the overall results may indicate that the unvaccinated pediatric patients in this practice are healthier overall than the vaccinated.”
November 23, 2020 — CNBC: “Doctors say CDC should warn people that side effects from Covid vaccine shots won’t be ‘a walk in the park’”
“Public health officials and drugmakers need to warn people that coronavirus vaccine shots may have some rough side effects so they know what to expect and aren’t scared away from getting the second dose, doctors urged during a meeting Monday with CDC advisors.”
“We really need to make patients aware that this is not going to be a walk in the park,” [Dr. Sandra] Fryhofer said during a virtual meeting with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, an outside group of medical experts that advise the CDC. She is also a liaison to the committee. “They are going to know they had a vaccine. They are probably not going to feel wonderful. But they’ve got to come back for that second dose.”
November 23, 2020 — CNBC: Germany prepares to extend its lockdown into December
“Berlin is hopeful a coronavirus vaccine can soon be rolled out, with the country’s health minister expressing optimism that ‘the pandemic will lose its horror in a few months.’
“Officials said Sunday the restrictions, imposed on Nov. 2 and due to last a month, might need to be extended. ‘There will be an extension,’ Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said, speaking to German media outlet Bild.”
November 23, 2020 — CDC publishes baseline mRNA COVID-19 vaccine information, “Understanding mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines”
Here are a few “facts” the CDC presents on the mRNA vaccines:
- The “immune response” that “produces antibodies is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.”
- The protein which the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines instructs the human cells to make was advertised as “a harmless piece of what is called the “spike protein.”
- The “vaccines are given in the upper arm muscle. Once the instructions (mRNA) are inside the muscle cells, the cells use them to make the protein piece. After the protein piece is made, the cell breaks down the instructions and gets rid of them.”
- “At the end of the process, our bodies have learned how to protect against future infection. The benefit of mRNA vaccines, like all vaccines, is those vaccinated gain this protection without ever having to risk the serious consequences of getting sick with COVID-19.”
- “mRNA never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA (genetic material) is kept.”
NOTES:
Two years later, the CDC will “quietly delete misleading information on mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines from their website,” The Vault Project tells us.
An article in Global Research says the same:
“The CDC once claimed that ‘our cells break down mRNA from these vaccines and get rid of it within a few days after vaccination.’ Now the CDC says, ‘Scientists estimate that the spike protein, like other proteins our bodies create, may stay in the body up to a few weeks.’”
The article goes on to say:
“Additionally, the CDC recently removed this statement from their website: ‘mRNA and the spike protein do not last long in the body.’”
In 2021, it would be revealed in documents that the lipid nanoparticles carrying mRNA do not stay at the injection site but are distributed, accumulate in organs, and produce a spike protein that causes significant damage in many individuals.
November 24, 2020 — Yahoo News: “UK’s four nations will relax ‘covid’ requirements to save Christmas”
“The four nations of the United Kingdom have agreed to relax COVID-19 restrictions for Christmas to allow up to three households to meet at home for five days.
“England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have taken differing approaches to handling the pandemic so far, but the leaders of the devolved nations reached agreement with London on Tuesday on rules governing the festive period.
“Three households will be able to form a ‘Christmas bubble,’ allowing them to meet up at home, places of worship and in outdoor public places but not at indoor hospitality or entertainment venues from Dec. 23 until Dec. 27 under the plans.”
November 24, 2020 — ABC News (Australia): “No borders for Santa Claus as health department confirms ‘special global exemption’ for man in red”
“As Queensland further opens its borders to Australians while maintaining international border restrictions, it appears a high-profile exception has been made a month out from Christmas Day.
“‘We understand Santa has received a special global travel exemption to ensure he can deliver gifts who are on the nice list right across the world,’ a Queensland Health spokeswoman said.”
NOTE: It totally makes sense that “following the science” provides a special global exemption for Santa.
November 24, 2020 — The Harvard Gazette: Harvard offers glimpse of what the projected post-pandemic ‘new normal’ will look like
For this article, The Harvard Gazette interviewed several Harvard faculty members, including Rajiv Lal, the Stanley Roth Sr. Professor of Retailing at Harvard Business School, and learned from him:
“For physical stores open during the pandemic, Lal said it’s important that managers create an environment in which consumers feel safe. That might mean digitizing as much of their operations as possible and reducing contact during checkout. Longer-term success may depend on rethinking shopping, offering an in-person, window-shopping type of experience coupled with ordering items online, with the expectation from the start that some will be returned.”
November 24, 2020 — UN News: “‘Foundational and necessary change’ needed to heal post-COVID world”
“We need global solidarity and coordination,” Secretary-General António Guterres said at the event headlined, ‘Rebirthing the Global Economy to Deliver Sustainable Development for All.’”
Under the subtitle “Vaccines for all,” the UN News article goes on to say:
“Noting his push for a rescue package equivalent to 10 per cent of the global economy and his call last weekend at the G20 Summit of richest nations, to help developing countries, Mr. Guterres acknowledged that the first line of business should be ending the pandemic.
“‘Vaccines, tests and treatments must be global public goods, available and affordable for all,’ he spelled out.
“‘But we still have a gap — a gap in the COVAX facility, a gap of $28 billion and until the end of the year, a gap of $4.2 billion in order to make, indeed, this new vaccine a global public good, a people’s vaccine able to be affordable and available to all,’ he continued.”
November 24, 2020 — TechCrunch: “Australia’s spy agencies caught collecting COVID-19 app data”
“Australia’s intelligence agencies have been caught ‘incidentally’ collecting data from the country’s COVIDSafe contact-tracing app during the first six months of its launch, a government watchdog has found.
“The report, published Monday by the Australian government’s inspector general for the intelligence community, which oversees the government’s spy and eavesdropping agencies, said the app data was scooped up ‘in the course of the lawful collection of other data.’”
November 25, 2020 — PBS: “Defying warnings, millions in the U.S. travel for Thanksgiving”
“Millions of Americans took to the skies and hit the road ahead of Thanksgiving at the risk of pouring gasoline on the coronavirus fire, disregarding increasingly dire warnings that they stay home and limit their holiday gatherings to members of their own household.
“Those who are flying witnessed a distinctly 2020 landscape at the nation’s airports during what is traditionally one of the busiest travel periods of the year: plexiglass barriers in front of the ID stations, rapid virus testing sites inside terminals, and paperwork asking them to quarantine upon arrival at their destination.”
November 25, 2020 — NPR: “As COVID-19 Vaccine Nears, Employers Consider Making It Mandatory”
“Despite the minefield, Johnny Taylor Jr., president of the Society for Human Resource Management, predicts many employers will opt for mandates, more now than he would have guessed several months ago. Employers have an obligation to get rid of known hazards in the workplace, he says, and COVID-19 has proved to be a hazard unlike any other.
“At Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, some 14,000 employees and students are required to get the annual flu vaccine, says Dr. James McDeavitt, dean of clinical affairs. About 90% actually do, with 10% claiming exemptions, most of them medical, according to his analysis.
“McDeavitt says Baylor will impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate but not before they can actually get enough supply to cover everyone and it’s been deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration and Baylor’s own epidemiologists, vaccine scientists and infectious disease doctors.”
November 25, 2020 — UNDARK: “Covid’s Cassandra: The Swift, Complicated Rise of Eric Feigl-Ding”
“At the beginning of the pandemic, before he began sounding the alarm on Covid-19’s seriousness, Feigl-Ding had around 2,000 followers. That number has since swelled to over a quarter million, as Twitter users and the mainstream media turn to Feigl-Ding as an expert source, often pointing to his pedigree as a Harvard-trained epidemiologist. And he has earned the attention of some influential people.”
“But as Feigl-Ding’s influence has grown, so have the voices of his critics, many of them fellow scientists who have expressed ongoing concern over his tweets, which they say are often unnecessarily alarmist, misleading, or sometimes just plain wrong.
“‘Science misinformation is a huge problem right now — I think we can all appreciate it — [and] he’s a constant source of it,’ said Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist at George Mason University and the University of Arizona who serves on FAS’ Covid-19 Rapid Response Taskforce, a separate arm of the organization from Feigl-Ding’s work.”
November 25, 2020 — The WHO releases a briefing paper titled “IMPLEMENTING THE IMMUNIZATION AGENDA 2030: Draft Framework for Action through Coordinated Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation, and Ownership & Accountability”
“In August 2020, the Seventy-Third World Health Assembly endorsed the Immunization Agenda 2030: A Global Strategy to Leave No One Behind (IA2030) in resolution WHA73/(9). IA2030 defines what needs to happen to achieve the IA2030 vision of a world where everyone, everywhere, at every age fully benefits from vaccines for good health and well-being.
“IA2030 states that it will become operational through regional and national strategies (operational planning), a mechanism to ensure ownership and accountability (O&A), and a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework to guide country implementation.”
According to NEXTIAS:
“The Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) . . . was launched during World Immunisation Week and is based on the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP).
“It aims to address the unmet targets of the GVAP that were initially to be fulfilled as part of the global immunisation strategy of the ‘Decade of vaccines’ (2011–2020).
“It sets an ambitious, overarching global vision and strategy for vaccines and immunization for the decade 2021–2030.”
November 25, 2020 — NBC News: “$15K fine for NYC synagogue with 7,000 person capacity after massive secret wedding”
“A Brooklyn synagogue was fined $15,000 for violating coronavirus restrictions after a video surfaced showing people standing shoulder-to-shoulder and apparently without masks at a massive, secret Hasidic wedding.
“New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the fine at a news conference on Tuesday and condemned the large event as [an] ‘unacceptable’ [violation of coronavirus restrictions].
“The wedding was held on Nov. 8 at Yetev Lev D’Satmar synagogue in the Williamsburg neighborhood, according to the New York Post, which published a video that showed the crowd jumping, dancing and singing during the event. The video does not show people wearing masks."
November 25, 2020 — Forbes: “Florida Governor Extends Ban On Cities Imposing Mask Mandate Penalties—Critic Calls Move A ‘Killing Spree’”
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has extended an order that bans localities in the state from enforcing mask mandates through fines and penalties, despite the measure being seen as one of the simplest and most effective government measures to slow the spread of coronavirus, and even as data shows the strain on the state’s health care system continuing to worsen.”
November 25, 2020 — The New York Times titles an article “Quarantine May Negatively Affect Kids’ Immune Systems,” but within the same piece it makes a contradictory point:
“Keeping children masked and separated is necessary. It could also undermine their bodies’ ability to learn how to fight pathogens.”
The article elaborates:
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is unwittingly conducting what amounts to the largest immunological experiment in history on our own children. We have been keeping children inside, relentlessly sanitizing their living spaces and their hands and largely isolating them. In doing so, we have prevented large numbers of them from becoming infected or transmitting the virus. But in the course of social distancing to mitigate the spread, we may also be unintentionally inhibiting the proper development of children’s immune systems.”
November 26, 2020 — The New York Times: “Supreme Court ends ban on religious gatherings in New York”
“‘It is time — past time — to make plain that, while the pandemic poses many grave challenges, there is no world in which the Constitution tolerates color-coded executive edicts that reopen liquor stores and bike shops but shutter churches, synagogues and mosques,’ Justice [Neil] Gorsuch wrote.
“In a 5–4 ruling Wednesday, the court held that [New York State Gov. Andrew] Cuomo’s restrictions on religious gatherings — which are by fiat, not acts of the legislature — violated the United States Constitution. The first words in the Bill of Rights prohibit the government from making any law ‘respecting an establishment of religion or exercising the free exercise thereof.’
“Recently, Associate Justice Sam Alito signaled how he might vote if the religious freedom issue came before the court again. ‘Whenever fundamental rights are restricted, the Supreme Court and other courts cannot close their eyes,’ Justice Alito said this month, rejecting the view that ‘whenever there is an emergency, executive officials have unlimited, unreviewable discretion.’”
November 26, 2020 — CBC: “‘Vaccine hesitancy’ is deemed to be a looming hurdle in the race to end the pandemic”
“‘Vaccine hesitancy is a real and persistent problem in Canada, and it does appear to be growing somewhat,’ said Aengus Bridgman with the Media Ecosystem Observatory in Montreal. He is studying perceptions about the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccines on social media.
“It’s not just a concern in Canada. Some in the scientific community have already begun to tackle this issue. Using the hashtag #TeamHalo, scientists working on COVID-19 vaccine development around the world have been using platforms like TikTok to debunk false claims and answer questions that average people may have about the process.
“In 2019, before the pandemic hit, the World Health Organization (WHO) listed vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 global health threats. Now, the fear is that those who hold off getting the eventual COVID-19 vaccine pose a risk to herd immunity.”
November 26, 2020 — The Washington Post: “Remote school is leaving children sad and angry”
“To gauge the struggle, The Washington Post asked parents nationwide to share stories and artwork produced by youths participating in the mandatory home-school experiment, garnering more than 60 responses from families living in 18 states.
“School-age children are losing interest in food. They are complaining of back pain and burning eyes. They are developing feelings of depression.”
“‘The strain on kids is enormous,’ said Matthew Biel, chief of the child and adolescent psychiatry division at Georgetown University School of Medicine. ‘Your 7-year-old wants to be recognized when they raise their hand. Oftentimes doesn’t happen on Zoom. They want to be able to make a comment, make a joke with a peer — can’t do that, no chatting allowed. Wants to be able to get up and walk around the classroom and move — can’t do that, we need to see your face on screen.’”
November 26, 2020 — Jersey Evening Post: “France warns masks and social distancing will remain after vaccine”
“France’s health minister says his country is readying to start administering Covid-19 vaccines in late December.
“But Olivier Veran has warned that people will still have to wear masks and keep their distance even after vaccines are widely available.
“Mr Veran said he cannot say yet whether mass vaccination ‘will allow us to get rid of this virus and totally return to our past lives,’ because it is not clear exactly how long protection from the eventual vaccines will last.”
November 27, 2020 — Corman-Drosten et al. Eurosurveillance 2020 review report is released
This report is a retraction demand published by a group of 22 life scientists who assert that the protocols of the WHO PCR assay are fraudulent.
Its long title reads:
“External peer review of the RTPCR test to detect SARS-CoV-2 reveals 10 major scientific flaws at the molecular and methodological level: consequences for false positive results.”
The report cites ten fatal flaws in the Drosten PCR protocols, including these six:
1. “There exists no specified reason to use these extremely high concentrations of primers in this protocol.” [. . .] “The described concentrations lead to increased nonspecific bindings and PCR product amplifications, making the test unsuitable as a specific diagnostic tool to identify the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
2. “The test cannot discriminate between the whole virus and viral fragments. Therefore, the test cannot be used as a diagnostic for intact (infectious) viruses, making the test unsuitable as a specific diagnostic tool to identify the SARS-CoV-2 virus and make inferences about the presence of an infection.”
3. “A severe error is the omission of a Ct value at which a sample is considered positive and negative.”
4. “The PCR products have not been validated at the molecular level. This fact makes the protocol useless as a specific diagnostic tool to identify the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
5. “The PCR test contains neither a unique positive control to evaluate its specificity for SARS-CoV-2 nor a negative control to exclude the presence of other coronaviruses, making the test unsuitable as a specific diagnostic tool to identify the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
6. “We find severe conflicts of interest for at least four authors, in addition to the fact that two of the authors of the Corman-Drosten paper (Christian Drosten and Chantal Reusken) are members of the editorial board of Eurosurveillance.”
NOTE: The exaggerated PCR-driven case numbers lead to a “casedemic”—an elevated number of positives caused by the flawed PCR test. This “casedemic” is used to claim that there has been a worldwide pandemic.
November 27, 2020 — The Guardian: “Hospitals in England told to prepare for Covid vaccine rollout in 10 days’ time”
“Hospitals have been told to prepare for the rollout of a coronavirus vaccine in as little as 10 days’ time, with NHS workers expected to be at the front of the queue, the Guardian has learned.
“NHS bosses said hospitals in England could expect to receive their first deliveries of a vaccine produced by Pfizer/BioNTech as soon as Monday 7 December, with regulatory approval anticipated within days.
“Initially only NHS staff are set to be given the jab, with care home residents and the over-80s having to wait. This is despite those two groups being classed by the government as top priorities for Covid immunisation, as they have the greatest risk of death from the disease.”
November 27, 2020 — Spectrum News BN9: Gov. Ron DeSantis announces he won’t require anyone to get vaccinated if they don’t want to
“[A] GOP state lawmaker said that state law, as currently written, could allow [DeSantis] or any other governor to mandate vaccinations, and he will file legislation in the coming days to repeal that law.
“‘Right now in Florida, under the public health emergency statute chapter 381, they can literally take you, test you, quarantine you, but also force you to take a vaccine. They can restrain you and force you to do that,’ Central Florida Republican state Rep. Anthony Sabatini said.
“‘The powers have not been used yet, but they’ve been on the books for over 25 years, and it’s important that Floridians know that this power can’t be exercised by government, because it’s just too much an invasion of their personal liberties.’”
November 28, 2020 — The Straits Times: “German minister says partial lockdown could last until spring 2021”
“Germany’s partial lockdown measures could be extended until early spring if infections are not brought under control, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday.
“Mr Altmaier told Die Welt it was not possible to give the all-clear while there were incidences of more than 50 infections per 100,000 inhabitants in large parts of Germany.
“‘We have three to four long winter months ahead of us,’ he was quoted as saying.
“‘It is possible that the restrictions will remain in place in the first months of 2021.’
“Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed with leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states on Wednesday to extend and tighten measures against the coronavirus until at least Dec 20.”
November 29, 2020 — KEYC News Now: Masks prove to be an environmental hazard
“Wearing a face covering in public has become a requirement for quite some time. By this point, putting them on has become second nature, but little guidance has been given on how to safely dispose of them.
“Speaking of nature, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, disposable face masks were already causing issues on our land and in our water sources.”
“The majority of disposable masks are made with plastic materials that, once discarded, can last in our environment for centuries.”
“Plastic in the masks can cause drastic long-term effects in our ecosystems. Wildlife can often mistake plastic items for food. This leads to choking, malnourishment, and risks of become entangled in the masks. Here in southern Minnesota, one of the biggest issues we are already facing is the accumulation of microplastics in our rivers and lakes.”
“Just a single mask can produce millions of microplastics that latch onto bacteria and chemicals. These particles work their way up the food chain, all the way up to potential human consumption.”
November 29, 2020 — Tampa Bay Times: “New Orleans Saints are fined $500,000 and lose a draft pick for mask-less celebration after triumph over Tampa Bay Bucs”
“The Saints have been fined $500,000 and forced to forfeit a seventh-round draft pick for their mask-less locker room celebration following their 38–3 road win against the Bucs on Nov. 8, ESPN reported Sunday morning.”
ESPN’s Mike Triplett, citing an anonymous league source, indicated the penalties didn’t result from the video or the dancing itself.
“'It was actions in the video with unmasked players in the locker room after the game,' the source said, according to Triplett.”
November 29, 2020 — NBC News: “More than 150 anti-lockdown, anti-vaccine protesters arrested in London”
“Police arrested more than 150 people on Saturday as they tried to break up anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine protests in the British capital, as the country continues to battle its Covid-19 outbreak.
“Hundreds of protesters, most of them not wearing face masks, descended on central London’s shopping district, holding up signs saying ‘Unmask truth’ and chanting ‘Freedom,’ in contravention of strict coronavirus rules banning mass gatherings.”
November 29, 2020 — KTLA: Dozens protest outside of home of L.A. County’s public health director
“Dozens of demonstrators converged outside the Echo Park home of Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Sunday afternoon to express their displeasure with a new round of COVID-19 restrictions that will take effect Monday.
“Carrying signs and waving flags, the protesters called on Ferrer to ‘Open L.A.’ and chanted, ‘No science. No data. No shutdown.’
“Few of the 50 or so demonstrators were wearing face masks.
“The county’s latest Safer at Home order was announced Tuesday. Its slew of restrictions includes a ban on most gatherings, stricter limits on retail businesses, and closures of playgrounds that aren’t part of a school or childcare center.”
November 29, 2020 — The Guardian: UK’s NHS to enlist celebrities who are ‘known and loved’ to persuade people to take coronavirus vaccine
“NHS bosses plan to enlist celebrities and ‘influencers’ with big social media followings in a major campaign to persuade people to have a Covid vaccine amid fears of low take-up.
“Health chiefs are particularly worried about the number of people who are still undecided, and about vaccine scepticism among NHS staff.
“‘There will be a big national campaign [to drive take-up],’ said one source with knowledge of the plans. ‘NHS England are looking for famous faces, people who are known and loved. It could be celebrities who are very sensible and have done sensible stuff during the pandemic.’”
November 30, 2020 — PBS: For the first time, two dictionary companies declare the same word as word of the year: pandemic
The two dictionary companies are Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com.
“Pandemic ‘probably isn’t a big shock,’ Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for Merriam-Webster, told The Associated Press ahead of the announcement.
“‘Often the big news story has a technical word that’s associated with it and in this case, the word pandemic is not just technical but has become general. It’s probably the word by which we’ll refer to this period in the future,’ he said.”
November 30, 2020 — NBC News: “Covid-19 vaccines face a varied and powerful ‘misinformation’ movement online”
“With many Covid-19 vaccines in the works, health officials have warned that public adoption will be crucial to ensure that enough of the population is immunized to stop the spread of the virus. Experts say there isn’t an exact threshold for the percentage of people that need to get vaccinated to stop the virus’ spread, but it is expected to be at least 60 percent of the population.
“But public sentiment about the vaccines is mixed. Only 42 percent of Americans said ‘yes’ to whether they’d get a Covid-19 vaccine when it becomes available, according to a YouGov poll released in August. A poll from the Pew Research Center published in September found a significant decline from May to September in people who said they would get the vaccine if it were immediately available.
“[Neil] Johnson [a physicist at George Washington University who studies online extremism] and a team of researchers published a paper in Nature in May that suggested the anti-vaccination movement bore a big responsibility for such hesitancy.
“Research from a forthcoming paper from Johnson and his team, currently in review for publication, shows members of communities previously considered unrelated or ‘undecided’ on vaccines — groups for pet lovers, parent school groups, yoga fans and foodies, for instance — are increasingly connecting with the anti-vaccination movement.”
November 30, 2020 — NPR: “Moderna Applies For FDA Emergency Use Authorization For Coronavirus Vaccine”
“Today, the drug company Moderna asked the Food and Drug Administration to clear its experimental COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. The company’s case for approval is bolstered by new data showing that the vaccine appears to be remarkably effective. The FDA’s decision could come in a matter of weeks.”
November 30, 2020 — Lexington Herald-Leader: “Unhappy Kentucky parents withdraw kids from public schools to homeschool amid COVID”
“Stephanie Johnson is among the Lexington parents who withdrew their children from Fayette County Public Schools to homeschool rather than participate in the district’s instruction during COVID-19.
“‘I cannot deal with the stress and anxiety my child feels,’ Johnson said on social media when she decided to homeschool instead of using the district’s remote learning. ‘Plus, we still cannot access more than half of her work and videos. I will homeschool until we go back to in-person school.’”
November 30, 2020 — Florida Phoenix: “Gov. DeSantis and education chief order schools to stay open through end of school year”
“Arguing that schools are the safest place for children during the pandemic, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran on Monday ordered the state’s public schools to remain open for in-person instruction for the rest of the 2020–21 school year.”
November 30, 2020 — Global News: “Moderna designed its coronavirus vaccine in 2 days — here’s how”
“The mRNA technology meant Moderna only needed the coronavirus’s genetic sequence to make a vaccine and did not have to grow a live virus in a lab.
“On Jan. 11, Chinese health authorities released the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus.
“That’s all Moderna needed to get started.
“Two days later, the company and the NIH designed the sequence for its coronavirus vaccine, called the mRNA-1273.
“‘Two days is very possible because from the moment when the sequence of virus was published by China scientists, it became public. . . . Any person can take this information and do whatever he or she wants,’ Levon Abrahamyan, a virologist at the University of Montreal, explained.”
November 30, 2020 — Business Insider: “Top economists and 2 former 2020 presidential candidates are backing a ‘vaccine stimulus’ that would pay people at least $1,000 to get COVID-19 shots”
“Millions of Americans may be able to get a coronavirus vaccine before the end of the year, but a substantial portion of the public remains reluctant to get one.
“Several top economists and two former 2020 presidential candidates are pitching a novel idea: Pay people $1,000 or more to get the vaccine.
“Andrew Yang expressed support for the plan after Business Insider published this story.”
November 30 2020 — CNN: Dr. Scott Atlas resigns as special adviser on the coronavirus to President Donald Trump
“A source familiar with what happened told CNN that Atlas turned in his resignation letter to President Donald Trump on Monday. As a special government employee, Atlas had a 130-day window in which he could serve and that window was technically coming to a close this week.
“Atlas tweeted out a photo of his resignation letter later Monday. In the letter, he said his ‘advice was always focused on minimizing all the harms from both the pandemic and the structural policies themselves, especially to the working class and the poor.’”
November 30, 2020 — The Guardian: “Almost 700,000 driven into poverty by Covid crisis in the UK, study finds”
“Almost 700,000 people in the UK, including 120,000 children, have been plunged into poverty as a result of the Covid economic crisis, according to a thinktank analysis.
“The Legatum Institute also said an additional 700,000 people had been prevented from falling below the breadline by the chancellor’s temporary £20-a-week boost to universal credit, introduced in April to help claimants cope with the extra costs of the pandemic.
“Overall, the pandemic has pushed the total number of people in the UK living in poverty to more than 15 million — 23% of the population — according to the institute, which uses poverty measures developed by the independent Social Metrics Commission.”
November 30, 2020 — SI Live: “Mac’s Public House defies law, stays open in ‘Orange Zone.’ Liquor license pulled and $10,000-a-day fine possible”
“Since Mac’s Public House took a solid stance on Nov. 20 to continue indoor dining in the pandemic, a myriad of agencies clamped down on the Grant City tavern. But the establishment is still open for service indoors despite its Orange Zone designation — and still serving food and beverage.”
“‘If you come into Mac’s it’s free,’ [said] co-owner Keith McAlarney of the inventory at 130 Lincoln Avenue.
“He added, ‘If you wish to make a donation, that’s great. If you decide to stay, that’s even better!’”
Never before have people been required to take PCR tests to prove they are “uncontaminated.”
Testing for this “novel virus” has now become so widespread, through mandates and fear, that “asymptomatic” people are “testing positive” without any symptoms. This phenomenon suggests that a new type of illness has indeed arrived, and its primary symptom is “perfect health”! What we are witnessing is the sheer genius of a circular, self-fulfilling scheme—or, put more succinctly, straight-up fraud.
In less than a year we’ve gone from “Wash your hands, and don’t touch your face” to “If you don’t take the vaccine, you’ll lose your job and be banned from society forever.”
A lot of time and financial investment have been put into controlling the public’s perception of “The Covid-19 Story.” A cursory glance at the mounds of “scientific” papers and media “reports” published so far reveals that a huge number of people, an enormous amount of research, a great number of hours, and gargantuan resources are needed to pull off this caper.
Therefore, the Covid project had to have been set in motion long before The Pandemic™ itself was launched. (Reminder: A seasonal illness we normally call “influenza,” or “the flu” for short, was re-branded as Covid-19, and the word “pandemic” was redefined by the WHO at the behest and bequest of its big donors.)
The think tanks and behavioral scientists hit the nail on the head this time. They learned from their mistakes in 2009 with the swine flu hoax. They refined their strategy by keeping tight reins on the narrative told by the media. They exerted more psychological and physical control with signs, distancing, restrictions, masks. They took advantage of the fact that acquiescence, combined with hypochondria, were at peak levels.
They paid through the nose for compromised politicians and agency bureaucrats and scientific advisers, all of whom delivered the goods in record time.
Now that the authorities have upgraded and perfected their rule-by-fear-of-fatal-disease model, they will seek to further enhance their dictatorship by activating “infection regimes” whenever it suits them. Today, Covid-19. Tomorrow, an improved “HIV scare.” The day after tomorrow, “Disease X” or a “biological warfare” attack.
In other words, the never-ending “war on terror” (aka “war of terror”) has morphed into a never-ending “war on an imaginary disease” and is now directed against not just communities, countries, or continents but against humanity as a whole.
Covid-19, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the Great Reset are all massive frauds designed to create a series of monopolies, cartels, and oligopolies that govern food, energy, and healthcare—the most basic, necessary parts of our lives.
If you’re still in the dark, consider how “two weeks to flatten the curve” turned into lockdowns and mandatory masks—rituals that are now embedded in society and can easily evolve into rolling lockdowns and targeted mask-wearing “until vaccinated.”
The question must be asked of the compliant: “How long do you intend to submit to this insanity? All of this year and the next? The rest of your life? Will there be a point where you say, ‘Enough!’? If yes, when will that point be?”
Perhaps your answer depends on whether you can come to terms with the uncomfortable reality that The Pandemic™ has not dismantled or doomed existing forms of government worldwide but has, rather, revealed, activated, and accelerated plans for a single governance structure spanning the globe.
Fight this battle now, or resign yourself to endless tyranny.
This is a series. Click to read the previous installment. Next installment coming soon.
