All things Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

[McG]

Do you have a legitimate critique of the study or are you just going to do snide sarcasm & ad hominem now?

 

[QV]

Oh.... so... no big deal?

FUREY: Ontario reveals deaths caused by COVID much lower than previously reported

Ontario says the number of deaths caused by COVID-19 is much lower than the story the previous statistics told.

torontosun.com

But this has been going on since 2020. Here is an older article. What a bloody farce.

Ontario death count includes people who didn't die of COVID-19, but exactly how many is unknown

The daily pandemic death counts in Ontario include people who have tested positive for COVID-19 but have not necessarily died from the virus.

torontosun.com

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Oh.... so... no big deal?

FUREY: Ontario reveals deaths caused by COVID much lower than previously reported

Ontario says the number of deaths caused by COVID-19 is much lower than the story the previous statistics told.

torontosun.com

But this has been going on since 2020. Here is an older article. What a bloody farce.

Ontario death count includes people who didn't die of COVID-19, but exactly how many is unknown

The daily pandemic death counts in Ontario include people who have tested positive for COVID-19 but have not necessarily died from the virus.

torontosun.com

It was the same for every province. The feds pushed down the testing and reporting criteria to be followed. This should really come as no surprise to anyone, except maybe those who have denied it. The rest of us have known since this started that the stats were overblown garbage. They were designed to instill fear and uncertainty while providing financial incentives to hospitals and the like to ensure their co-operation in keeping the counts high. Just my opinion.

 

[dapaterson]

Best take on removing mask mandates.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1502338599106355201

 

[Messerschmitt]

It was the same for every province. The feds pushed down the testing and reporting criteria to be followed. This should really come as no surprise to anyone, except maybe those who have denied it. The rest of us have known since this started that the stats were overblown garbage. They were designed to instill fear and uncertainty while providing financial incentives to hospitals and the like to ensure their co-operation in keeping the counts high. Just my opinion.

This happened in many many countries. The fear porn was real. We'll see how it will be in the fall and if the war will be done by then so that everyone will be glued back to the tv screens and fear for their lives.

 

[Altair]

ICMR Includes Ivermectin for COVID-19 Indication in National List of Essential Medicines

Transparent coverage of clinical research

trialsitenews.com

Indian Council of Medical Research and the Indian government include ivermectin for treatment of COVID-19.

Rolling Stone Issues 'Update' After Horse Dewormer Hit-Piece Debunked | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Rolling Stones ivermectin hit piece debunked by the hospital.

Joe Rogan says he tested positive for COVID-19, took unproven ivermectin

Public health agencies don't recommend the drug for treating COVID-19.

www.cnet.com

Joe Rogan, unvaccinated, contracted COVID-19. Took therapeutics including ivermectin and fully recovered in 3 days.

Ivermectin Doesn’t Cut Covid Hospitalization Risk, Study Shows - BNN Bloomberg

A large study on the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin, which has gained popularity as an alternative therapy for Covid-19, found that the medicine didn’t help keep patients out of the hospital.

www.bnnbloomberg.ca

A large study on the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin, which has gained popularity as an alternative therapy for Covid-19, found that the medicine didn’t help keep patients out of the hospital.

Scientists in Brazil who followed more than 1,300 patients assigned to take either the drug or a placebo for three days also found that ivermectin treatment didn’t help with a number of other health measures such as viral clearance after a week, speed of recovery or risk of death. The study results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study, thanks to its breadth and detail, should help settle the debate on ivermectin’s role as a Covid treatment. The drug gained traction early in the pandemic, when doctors were looking to repurpose older medicines to help save patients. Smaller trials offered conflicting results. Even after the World Health Organization said last year there was only very low certainty evidence that ivermectin worked for Covid and advised against its use, some doctors continued prescribing the drug.

It did win a nobel prize though.

 

[winds_13]

Do you have a legitimate critique of the study or are you just going to do snide sarcasm & ad hominem now?

I do. This study uses mathematical models based off of outdated levels of expected vaccine effectiveness (ex. 80% effective against Delta infection), including hypothetical levels of protection against Omicron (the study is dated 14 Dec 2021). It even states that it does not account for real-world factors. It offers no real world evidence of its claims, despite there being enormous amounts of data collection across regions with varying levels of vaccination and differing public health restrictions from which we can compare.

The data that we have on actual case rates have showed a near nonexistent level of protection against Omicron amongst those with only two vaccine doses (formerly referred to as "fully vaccinated"), and a relatively low effectiveness against infection for those with 3 doses. It also seems at this point that vaccine effectiveness from infection itself is less a result of the number of vaccines than it is a factor of how long it has been since one's last vaccine dose. The Ontario government's reporting of known case rates amongst vaccinated, partially vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals displayed the highest incidence rate amongst "fully vaccinated" individuals throughout most of the last 4 months (it dipped a bit in January but then went bacm up). Lowest case rates, by far, were among the "partially vaccinated", assumedly most in this group were less than a month from their last shot. Unfortunately the Ontario government website stopped displaying case rates by vaccine status a few weeks ago (replacing the graph with "deaths by vaccine status"), so it is now more difficult to know what the current situation is.

I am for vaccination but it seems clear that the vaccines are no longer considered to provide a high degree of protection from infection and spread. This point has been emphasized by public health officials. Yes, vaccines have proven effective at reducing the level of hospitalization and death amongst at risk populations, but that is not the justification being used for polices such as workplace mandates, travel restrictions, and vaccine passports.

There are risks to vaccination that change depending on individual factors. This is why some countries, such as Sweden, have decided against recommending vaccinating children... they determined that the risks outweighed the benefits. Similarly, Greece's mandatory vaccination policy only affected those over 60 years old. In contrast, workplace mandates generally affect those under 60.

 

[mariomike]

workplace mandates,

Fair? Not fair? Who knows? I didn't go to medical or law school. It is what it is.

Mandates are enforced where I used to work.

YMMV depending on employer.

Howard Levitt: Yes, employers can still impose vaccine restrictions after provincial mandates have lifted

Government requirements have little impact on whether the employer can argue it has good business reasons for enacting a compulsory vaccination policy

financialpost.com

 

[Navy_Pete]

Even with reduced effectiveness at preventing transmission, the vaccines are still massively successful at reducing severity, which keeps hospitalization and deaths low.

'They aren't 100% effective so we shouldn't use them' is just breathtakingly ignorant. No need to go back to the dark ages and die of dysentery.

Personnally, I'm quite happy to have let my immune system go a few sparring rounds with a vaccine so I don't get my head knocked off by the real thing, but in COVID specifically that was really the point where I finally started to recover from long COVID after catching it in an early wave.

The same scientists that developed the vaccine didn't just down tools; I'm sure they are working on updating it for new variations. Viruses are living, changing organisms so there is no 100% effective, permanent silver bullet.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Tested positive twice yesterday... I am completely a-symptomatic ... Feel great... If this is sick, I will take it.

This is our families first exposure.

 

[SupersonicMax]

Tested positive twice yesterday... I am completely a-symptomatic ... Feel great... If this is sick, I will take it.

This is our families first exposure.

Our whole family got it, starting by our middle child. Pretty severe fever (40+) for the middle and youngest child (that was worrisome). Almost nothing for the oldest but some lingering shortness of breath when playing sports that manifested after isolation was done. I had moderate flu symptoms and was out for two days. I am back to pre-COVID cardio workouts. My wife also had moderate flu symptoms but she has a lingering cough and some shortness of breath. It honestly wasn’t a fun three weeks.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Our whole family got it, starting by our middle child. Pretty severe fever (40+) for the middle and youngest child (that was worrisome). Almost nothing for the oldest but some lingering shortness of breath when playing sports that manifested after isolation was done. I had moderate flu symptoms and was out for two days. I am back to pre-COVID cardio workouts. My wife also had moderate flu symptoms but she has a lingering cough and some shortness of breath. It honestly wasn’t a fun three weeks.

My wife is a bit stuffy, same as our daughter. But thats it. Personally I feel great.

Glad you guys are ok.

 

[OldSolduer]

This happened in many many countries. The fear porn was real. We'll see how it will be in the fall and if the war will be done by then so that everyone will be glued back to the tv screens and fear for their lives.

There was a BBC clip with that typical Brit smarmy reporter showing a gymnasium full of caskets and saying something to the effect that the coffins would be full by the end of the week.

It was way over the top and I realized it but apparently the media thought it was cool to report. Nothing like making people fearful.

 

[McG]

This study uses mathematical models based off of outdated levels of expected vaccine effectiveness (ex. 80% effective against Delta infection), including hypothetical levels of protection against Omicron (the study is dated 14 Dec 2021).

The study did look at 40% and 60% vaccine effectiveness as well. It notes that identified trends still exists that unvaccinated increase the risk to vaccinated but that the degree is "attenuated as vaccines become less effective." As you lay out, people don't exist in a binary state of vaccinated or unvaccinated. It would be interesting to see another take on this model that mixed more than just two groups with differing levels of protection (representing unvaxed, fully vaxed, and fully vaxed with recent booster).

 

[Kilted]

When in Uniform in public, while outdoors, are masks still required?