Facts Matter ... esp. CoViD Facts

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BIG NEWS just in, ABC : Nobel in medicine goes to scientists whose work led to mRNA vaccines against COVID ... Two scientists have won the Nobel Prize in medicine for discoveries that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19

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This blog is over a years old, I have updated some details

but many numbers and data would probably need adjusting.

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I've adapted this blog for a printable page in my book, download it here.

I also have a printable 7 page information sheet, download it here.

Another two page fact sheet about mis-dis info, download it here.

Once again a discussion about CoViD. My discussion partner brought up a handful of examples of people who had CoViD, had been triple vaxxed and even had had it before; or a whole bunch of people they know who had CoViD, but nobody got it severely. The insinuation was: the vaccines don't work and anyway, CoViD was not all that bad ... it's just another flu.

I wish to make a point:

I have a definitive statement about CoViD, vaccinations and mis- as well as dis-information, as I understand it. To begin with: I do not rely on hearsay or anecdotal 'evidence'; I do not subscribe to ‘alternative facts’ from YouTube or Rumble, inform myself on social media or consume social media memes … all to avoid that ever-present mis-information.

Furthermore, I do not do my own research, because I haven't got the foggiest about the science; I simply would not know what I’m looking at. And frankly, there are a lot of 'dr.' scientists out there - scientists with a doctorate - who are not medical doctors, but specialists in the wrong fields.

I just rely on experts in the fields of immunology and epidemiology (who report to the TGA in Australian, the CDC in the USA and the MHRA in the UK; the TGA being a member of the Access Consortium along with Health Canada, Health Sciences Authority of Singapore, Swissmedic and the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency):

CoViD Facts and their Sources

Three people to listen to about CoViD

and vaccinations

Where then do I get my information from when I comment on the issues?

I refer to what conspiracy theorists call "The Mainstream Media", above all:

Academic rigour, journalistic flair

Who we are:

The Conversation Australia and New Zealand is a unique collaboration between academics and journalists that in just 10 years has become the world’s leading publisher of research-based news and analysis.

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So where has "not doing my own research" led me? As far as CoViD vaccinations is concerned, this is my stance:

Over the past 100 years our life expectancy has doubled. This is mainly for two reasons:

1) life-style changes like better working conditions, better nutrition, hygiene and access to clean water

2) better education about medical interventions ... above all vaccinations

Vaccines have been called the most successful medical intervention in human history. More than a dozen and a half vaccines have been invented since the Second World War, which have eradicated or mitigated many diseases.

So, do medicines - including vaccines - save lives? Of course they do ... in fact just this century more than a hundred million lives were saved by vaccinations ...

... and vaccines are recognised to be extremely safe, including the various CoViD vaccines. And yes, some people will experience side effects, but they're small in comparison to the good the vaccines do.

As an aside: It is often said the CoViD vaccines are unsafe because they were developed too fast or brought to the public prematurely.

This is incorrect; while their development was fast-tracked, they had inordinate amounts of dev.-money and man power spent on them.

Is it true?

Were COVID-19 vaccines developed too quickly to be safe?

Are vaccines poison? Of course they are (just like any meds). One very popular point is: "I don't want that poison in my body!"

However, you have your children inoculated against measles, mumps, rubella and diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) as well as polio, hepatitis, chickenpox etc before they go to kindy or school … and you do get shots against cholera, tuberculosis, typhoid etc if you wish to travel to some third world countries, don't you?!

But you do not want that poison injected into your body?

Tell me about it ... I'm a diabetic, I have injected ‘poison’ into me twice a day for twenty five years. Hadn’t I done so I would have died last century. Tell a cancer sufferer about it. And when you’re injured in a car crash, all sorts of stuff is injected to save your life; do you ask the paramedic, “ ’xcuse me, what’s that stuff you’re administering?”

Anyway, are meds - are vaccines - poison? Of course they are; I’d die with too much insulin. But are they good for us? Used correctly, yes.

However, if you want to commit suicide, just take a handful of any of the meds in your meds-cupboard ... success is assured.

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As an aside: There has been speculation that the CoVi stemmed from a lab. It's probably more likely - after all - that it was transferred to humans via an animal.

The Conversation: China’s only now revealed crucial COVID-19 origins data. Earlier disclosure may have saved us 3 years of political argy-bargy

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As per the CoViD death rates, here's an interesting graph:

source: Scientific American

The unvaccinated die 8 times more than the vaccinated, and 17.5 times more than the boosted.

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RMIT Fact-lab:

There were social media speculations about deaths following CoViD vaccinations. Social media users have seized on Australian mortality data to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines are behind a jump in deaths.

According to one widely shared blog post, it “paints a horrific picture of the effects of public health policy with around 15,000 excess deaths since October 2021”.

The number of deaths has continued to be 10 per cent higher than average, the author wrote, while equating vaccine mandates with “manslaughter”, "the mRNA Covid vaccines are killing people, plain and simple."

But on the question of whether that says anything about vaccine safety, the Australian Actuaries Institute's Karen Cutter told RMIT FactLab: "The simple answer is no."

Tim Adair, a principal research fellow with Melbourne University's School of Population and Global Health, similarly said the numbers "don't shed any light" on vaccine-related deaths.

And in a statement to FactLab, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, which regulates vaccines in Australia, warned that despite a rise in deaths this year, it was "false and unscientific to automatically conclude that vaccines caused these deaths".

"There is no credible evidence to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines have contributed to excess deaths in Australia or overseas."

According to its October 6, 2022 weekly vaccine safety report, the TGA has investigated 939 reports of death following vaccination.

Only 14 of those deaths have been directly linked to COVID-19 vaccines, of which 13 occurred after one dose of Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca).

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The Who, How and Why of COVID-19 misinformation

A Quadrant essay referencing Craig Kelly and Thomas Borody

adapting the 'science' of alternative meds

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The Time of COVID

The discussion about CoViD and CoViD vaccinations does not abate. This is a link to a report by Phillip M. Altman BPharm(Hons), MSc, PhD, Clinical Trial & Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs Consultant: The Time of COVID

The report was filed in February 2023 at an event in Canberra, organised by the Royal Society, discussing Australia’s COVID-19 response by some doctors and federal politicians - including Senators Ralph Babet (United Australia Party), Gerard Rennick (Liberal National Party of Queensland), and Malcolm Roberts (One Nation) - who called for an end to medical censorship* and vaccine mandates.

* Myself, I have a great problem with the notion that the mainstream media as well as professional literature would censor any medical information ... unless it is seen as unreliable, or indeed incorrect. Canberra Daily:

A report published August 2022 by Dr Phillip M. Altman, a clinical trial and pharmaceutical regulatory affairs consultant - endorsed by Professor Wendy Hoy, Director of the Centre for Chronic Disease, University of Queensland - argues that COVID-19 vaccines are not really vaccines, but experimental gene-based therapies, and have been associated worldwide “with far more deaths, illnesses, injuries, and disabilities than any other therapeutic agent in the history of medicine”.

According to Dr Altman, the vaccines use technology never deployed in a fully approved therapeutic product, and only investigated in relatively early clinical research for certain cancers and rare genetic disorders. They were only provisionally approved, not fully approved, by the Australian drug regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). They do not prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection or transmission of the virus, and any immunological protection wanes rapidly. Side-effects of the vaccine include heart attack and strokes; cancer; infertility and miscarriages; and myocarditis, pericarditis, and death in children. Dr Altman believes that, “in light of the known unprecedented level of serious adverse reactions and death attributed to their use”, the use of vaccines must be reconsidered.

A response to the Altman CoViD presentation; and some research regarding Altman's claims on his election platform substack ... CoViD mis-, dis-information and outright lies.

TGA rejects Altman report

The TGA, however, rejected Dr Altman’s report, stating that it contained “many remarkable scientific errors of fact and significant misinterpretations” about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

The report was self-published without peer review, so was not credible and had not been through the scrutiny required for publication in a reputable scientific journal.

“The mRNA vaccine platform is not gene therapy,” the TGA said. “It is remarkable that people who have worked in universities are not aware of this basic fact. mRNA vaccines have also been subject to research for decades. It was first tested in the 1990s, including in the contexts of Zika, rabies, and influenza vaccines, not just certain cancers and rare genetic disorders as alleged in the report.”

The TGA dismissed claims there were more reported injuries from the COVID-19 vaccines than for all other medicines and vaccines as false and unscientific.

“There is no credible evidence to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines cause heart attacks, strokes, cancer, infertility, or miscarriages,” the TGA said. “These conditions have not been linked to COVID-19 vaccination in Australia or internationally from data from the billions given internationally.”

The TGA states that COVID-19 (like all medicines) may cause some side effects – most often injection-site reactions (sore arms) and more general symptoms (headaches, muscle pain, fever, chills). Reporting rates of adverse events are stable – at 2.1 per 1,000 doses (0.2 per cent). However, according to AusVaxSafety (part of the NCIRS), 44.1 per cent of people surveyed reported at least one adverse event from vaccines.

It notes: “Adverse events are self-reported, have not been clinically verified, and do not necessarily have a causal relationship with the vaccine.”

The TGA attributed the high number of suspected adverse event reports to intense public interest in the vaccines, the high level of awareness during the pandemic, and the TGA and Government’s promotion and facilitation of adverse event reporting.

“Adverse events are reported on the basis of suspicions, and anyone can make a report,” the TGA said. “The adverse event could be a coincidence, due to underlying illness or other factors. With rapid whole population vaccination, it is possible that some people will develop new unrelated symptoms or illnesses within days or weeks following vaccination. However, it is false to automatically conclude they were caused by the vaccine.”

The TGA is monitoring and reviewing reports of myocarditis and pericarditis (inflammation of the heart or membrane around the heart). It states that these are temporary conditions, and most people get better after a few days. Myocarditis is reported in one to two in every 100,000 people who receive Pfizer and in two people in every 100,000 who receive Moderna.

The TGA stated that myocarditis and pericarditis were seen in the general population from a variety of causes, including after COVID-19 itself, and not all cases that occur after vaccination were necessarily caused by the vaccine.

Several studies showed that the rare cases of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination are milder than myocarditis after coronavirus infection.

The TGA’s COVID-19 vaccine safety report includes regular updates regarding myocarditis and pericarditis reporting rates.

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Dr. Altman associates with prominent anti-vaccers and conspiracists, beyond Craig Kelly, Malcolm Roberts, George Christensen and gastroenterologist Dr. Thomas Borody (a known CoViD mis-informer, who advocates the false trope that ivermectin is an alternative to the vaccines) ... with the likes of cardiologist Dr. Aseem Malhotra (Malhotra campaigned against the use of COVID mRNA vaccines contrary to the available evidence; Full Fact warned that "Serious concerns have been raised as to the quality of [Malhotra's] research".

British cardiologist calls for mRNA vaccines to be suspended due to heart risks - by Frank Chung, NEWS.com.au

A British cardiologist, Dr. Aseem Malhotra, has called for Covid vaccines to be suspended in Australia due to heart risks, accusing the TGA of a “cover-up”. However ... AFP Factcheck:

In September 2022, Dr. Malhotra publicly campaigned against the use of COVID mRNA vaccines. A cardiologist from the United Kingdom, he says Covid-19 vaccines should be suspended because they pose a greater threat than the virus itself. An AFP factcheck warned of his claims:

"This is false; experts say his research misleads on the risks of vaccination by cherry-picking evidence and relying on flawed studies, and public health authorities agree the benefits of the shots outweigh the risks."

Dr. Aseem Malhotra is well known to Wikipedia:

The Editor of The Lancet, Richard Horton, reported on a presentation by Malhotra 7 November 2022 at a public meeting organised by the Association of Naturopathic Practitioners at Friends Meeting House, London:

“Malhotra's method of argument deserves scrutiny to understand why it persuades some people. Frame one's view as the reluctant endpoint of a personal journey. Quote respected scientists. Stand up to corporates. Place oneself firmly on the side of patients. Emphasise well described concerns about the presentation of research evidence. Allude to correlations. Make the call for access to raw data an issue of trust and transparency.”

After the meeting descended into chaos, Horton observed that "this descent into unreason is what happens when you inflame public anxieties."

A paediatric cardiologist reviewed Malhotra's 20 claims in the presentation and concluded the majority were unsupported by scientific evidence.

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‘I lose sleep at night’: Experts fight to expose science fraud in Australia ...

by Liam Mannix, Sydney Morning Herald, June 27, 2023

Ivermectin gained prominence as a treatment for COVID-19 based on a large number of fraudulent studies.

Some scientists have even gone as far as claiming “most published research findings are false”; cases of misconduct can lead to scientific “discoveries” that don’t stack up.

Elizabeth Lacey, a principal at law firm Lacey & Co, who has worked on several research misconduct and fraud investigations for institutes, said the public would be “astounded” at the level of scientific misconduct that goes on.

“I think it’s something Australians would be horrified to know about. And there is a reticence to talk about it. No one is wanting to bring down science. But the system is such, it makes sense in many ways to be fraudulent.”

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There have been 14 COVID-19 vaccine-related deaths reported since the rollout began early last year (as per Nov. 2022). As of March 2023, 65,492,360 vaccine doses had been administered in Australia since the rollout began.

65 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Australia. ... up to November 2022, just 9300 have been ‘‘associated’’ with hospital admission - (a categorisation which does not mean the vaccine caused the admission).

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The Therapeutic Goods Administration recorded 78,880 adverse events linked to COVID-19 vaccination, representing a small minority (0.21 per cent) of the 37.8 million doses administered to 18.4 million people, by November 2021. The vast majority of those 78,000 adverse events were mild side effects, including headache, nausea and sore arms. SMH.

COVID-19 vaccine adverse events, Health.gov.au

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For the record:

Vox: The extraordinary success of Covid-19 vaccines:

Vox explains the news. We live in a world of too much information and too little context. Too much noise and too little insight. And so Vox's journalists candidly shepherd audiences through politics and policy, business and pop culture, food, science, and everything else that matters.

History of Vaccines: Since WWII many viral diseases had vaccines invented for their prevention, like Polio, Measels, Influenza, Chickenpocks, Mumps, Wooping Cough, Cholera, Typhoid, Diphtheria, Tuberculosis, Smallpox, Yellow Fever, Meningococcal, Hepatitis A, Pertussis etc …

Our World in Data: Reasonable estimates of lives saved due to vaccinations are in the range of around 5 million lives per year, which implies that between 1980 and 2018 around 150 to 200 million lives have been saved.

Our World in Data: Home

THECONVERSATION: Millions are rejecting one of humanity’s best weapons for saving lives: Vaccine

Vaccination has been the most successful medical procedure ever introduced. It has saved more lives than any other intervention. “The risk of serious adverse reactions has remained extraordinarily low for all modern vaccines;” again: ... COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, “under the most intense safety monitoring in United States history”.

CNN: Covid-19 vaccines saved nearly 280,000 lives in the US

Google search: "How many Deaths from CoViD?" 6,583,711 people have died so far from the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak as of October 25, 2022; it is reasonable to suggest that millions of deaths have been prevented by the CoViD vaccines administered.

Our World in Data: How do death rates from COVID-19 differ between people who are vaccinated and those who are not? In the US the death rate off unvaccinated people is 15.28 per 100,000; the death rate of those fully vaccinated (no booster) is 2.23, with booster 0.73. On average the death rate of the unvaccinated is 5x to 20x that of the vaccinated.

THE CONVERSATION: Your unvaccinated friend is roughly 20 times more likely to give you COVID

THE CONVERSATION: Ivermectin is a Nobel Prize-winning wonder drug - but not for COVID-19

SMH: How a false science 'cure' became Australia's contribution to the pandemic

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Some comparisons:

A note as regards lock-downs:

The CoViD death rate in Sweden was more than three times as many as in Australia (with half the case rate), which has 2.5 x Sweden's population.Sweden had a 'no-lock-down' polic. yWashington Post: "We saved our economy, but too many people died. Other countries should not emulate our strategy" ... had Australia done so, the death toll could have been (2.5 x 3 x 6,383 =) 47,872. Another calculation could be [{25 : 10 =} 2.5 x 18,365 =] 45,912

Without lock-downs Australia could have had tens of thousands of CoViD deaths ... an indication that Australia's handling of the pandemic was very successful; however, without vaccines the death toll would've been about 10x more again.

Australia:

Population 25M

CoViD cases 4.72M

CoViD Deaths 6,383

Deaths per million 255

Sweden:

Population 10m

CoViD Cases 2.49M

CoViD Deaths 18,365

Deaths per million 1,836

In 2019 ca. 812 people died from the flu in Australia, CoViD Deaths: 6,383 (over two years). In the US the flu has resulted in 12,000 - 52,000 deaths annually between 2010 and 2020, against a million deaths over two years from CoViD.

Worldwide there are approx. 10x as many deaths from CoViD than from the flu.

Source: Hopkins Medicine

Some say CoViD is just another flu ... yeah, right.

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AAP FACTCHECK:

COVID vaccine deaths claim falls short on data coverage

A UK website that frequently publishes COVID-19 vaccine misinformation has turned its attention to Australia, claiming that the country has experienced significantly more deaths from the coronavirus vaccines than all others combined over a period of 50 years.

However, the claim is based on a distortion of data on adverse reactions published by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia’s medical regulatory agency, repeating similar falsehoods shared about COVID-19 vaccine rollouts in other countries.

Claim:

Australia has recorded 12 times more deaths due to COVID-19 vaccines than from all other vaccines combined over 50 years.

False.

The claim misrepresents vaccine adverse event reports, which do not show causality. 11 deaths have been linked to COVID-19 vaccines in Australia to date.

Facts matter.

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But, but, but ...

... "don't you know, they are lying to us". Who's 'they'?

Well, "the Government ... and the 'Mainstream Media'," of course.

But who exactly does the lying? A government official? Which one?

The Health Minister? The Premier? The Prime Minister?

A spokesperson - who briefs the spokesperson?

And who in the 'Mainstream Media' are the ones lying? Are 'they' the editors? Or the journalists? Is it Rupert Murdoch maybe, who tells his editors: "Go ahead, report that vaccinations are required to beat CoViD; but do not tell them the truth (as per YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) that it would be better to just take a substance commonly used fo rinfections in horses, which are caused by parasites, such as mites and worms. You must suppress that info."

And then Rupert Murdoch - although he knows better, he knows it's a lie - successfully convinced all other media professionals to report that un-truth, that vaccinations are required to beat CoViD, and NOT to tell the REAL truth - as per social media - that there are actually better cures.

So the question is, do they know they're lying (promulgating dis-information) or do they simply pass on mis-information unknowingly? Do they lie by omission, where they just suppress information?

How does this work?

We need to get to the bottom of this.

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I have blogged a fair bit about CoViD:

We need a vaccine against confusion and stupidity

Alan Kohler says it like it is:

Not vaccinated?

We need a vaccine against confusion and stupidity