March 2, 2023 general

Two weeks ago in the newsletter, I said I was skipping the blog to work instead on a letter to the editors of the Dallas Morning News because it was a very important matter. The paper asked me to verify my sources which I did. They said they would publish the letter on Thursday but did not. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I may have confused matters by asking what the requirements were for submitting an “op ed” article. I followed those rules, but my article was not printed either. I suspect that the real reason I was ignored was that they just did not want to hear my message. Throughout the pandemic, the paper behaved as though they are part of the 2020 Trusted News Initiative. That is a coalition of media that circled the wagons, supposedly “to combat spread of harmful vaccine disinformation.” Compliant media censored any reporting or opinions contrary to the government propaganda. They even blocked legitimate questions, effectively combating the spread of lifesaving information.

I cannot make the paper print my article, but I can publish it here and reach a lot of open-minded people who will hopefully pass it on to others. Here is the would-be op ed;

Please be clear about “Science”

February 4, 2023 Terri Burke, director of a pro-immunization organization, wrote: “Stop anti-vaccine madness in Texas Senate”, sharply criticizing the Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee’s hearing on covid-19. Reader Carol McNatt wrote to the editor “Stop denying science”. Both submissions seemed plausible, but apparently relied on faulty assumptions.

The first errant assumption is common. During the pandemic, we were implored to “follow the science” … implying that “science” is established fact. However, science is not so much a thing as a process. It often evolves dramatically after years or even centuries of debate, data, studies, and usage. (Note, science pronounced thalidomide safe for pregnant women until horrific birth defects appeared. It took 8 years to ban the drug and 60 years to understand what happened.)

Debate distills the truth. Being too quick to declare that a scientific theory is a fact has led institutions and media to kill careers of conscientious “whistleblowers”. Terri Burke accused Peter McCullough, MD of “perpetuating misinformation”. That slur has been used against virtually all medical pioneers—even Dr. Semmelweis who simply proposed hand washing to control hospital infections. Dr. McCullough correctly pointed out that FDA safety requirements for covid vaccine were significantly weaker than those for other vaccines. He courageously saved thousands of lives by advocating safe FDA-approved drugs to keep covid patients out of hospitals. (In hospitals, financial incentives encouraged the use of Remdesivir and ventilators despite their dismal track records). Dr. McCullough is a renowned cardiologist, researcher, and medical journal editor. Logically, his advice should be heard, especially regarding vaccine-induced blood clots and heart inflammation which he sees in his practice.

The second faulty assumption is believing that if vaccines have been historically useful and assumed safe, all future vaccines will be. (Wait a minute…the federal government has awarded over $4.4 Billion to victims of vaccine harm from the entrenched vaccine schedule. Also, why aren’t we curious that Japan uses many fewer vaccines but has a lower rate of childhood deaths?) Changes in type make assuming safety even riskier. Covid mRNA vaccines are an entirely new concept—essentially genetic therapies that program the body’s cells to manufacture the spike protein (the damaging part of the virus). We now know that the shots do not prevent infection or transmission of covid. It is unsettling that the shot material does not stay in the arm as advertised. Rather, it gets to and remains for some time in organs, including ovaries. Many independent experts have serious questions about potential adverse effects on fertility, pregnancy, and the health of the brain, nerves, arteries, kidneys and more.

Data informs decisions if openly discussed. Unfortunately, the government and media have not generally tolerated even questions about covid response. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is an “early warning system to detect possible safety problems in U.S.-licensed vaccines.” Hello! As of 2/3/2023, the database lists 34,107 deaths and 62,854 cases of permanent disability from covid shots. Previously, 5 deaths sounded an alarm. The CDC notes that it does not investigate submissions, but it should also mention that as few as 1% of vaccine injuries are reported to the FDA. I declined the shots.

I’m proud that the Texas HHS committee resisted political pressure and openly discussed covid issues. Sunlight like that will help us be better prepared and more cautious when, inevitably, the next health emergency is proclaimed.  I enjoyed Dr. McCullough’s book, “The Courage to Face Covid-19”, and believe it is a great resource that clearly and unemotionally documents the many failures in pandemic response.

Selected sources:

Remdesivir: https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/who-recommends-against-the-use-of-remdesivir-in-covid-19-patients

Financial incentives to hospitals: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/04/24/fact-check-medicare-hospitals-paid-more-covid-19-patients-coronavirus/3000638001/

Japan comparison: https://fullfact.org/health/Japan-US-vaccine-comparisons/

Adverse events: https://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php?TABLE=ON&GROUP1=CAT&EVENTS=ON&VAX=COVID19

Under reporting of side effects. https://digital.ahrq.gov/ahrq-funded-projects/electronic-support-public-health-vaccine-adverse-event-reporting-system