By 2353NM
The wailing and gnashing of teeth that you can currently hear in your community isn’t a product of the sporting results last weekend or the sudden correction of housing prices. Rather it is the anti-vaxxers and their fellow travellers living the experience they feared – namely those who are vaccinated against COVID-19 don’t drop dead a week or so after the injection, they aren’t suddenly 5G transmitters, their wi-fi at home is no better than it was and there isn’t a sudden increase in the number of mindless automatons roaming the world randomly yelling ‘exterminate’. Apart from some usually manageable side effects (using the 2021 version of a ‘cuppa tea, Bex and a good lie down’), pretty much everyone is quite well and capable of continuing with their daily lives. The few who do have blood clots are well treated in the Australian health care system and with (sadly) two possible exceptions to date, have gone home to go on with their lives.
Essentially there are two ways out of a pandemic. Either everyone dies or there is the development of a ‘herd immunity’. Sweden initially chose to naturally develop herd immunity showing us all the strategy was a complete and tragic failure. From a population of around 10 million people, they have recorded 14,451 deaths to the end of May 2021, were forced to introduce restrictions and have vaccinated a far larger proportion of their population than achieved by the ‘world leading’ Australian response. Similar evidence comes from Bolsonaro’s Brazil, Johnson’s UK and Trump’s USA where the ‘business as usual’ attitude ultimately and sadly cost people’s lives. A vaccine creates ‘herd immunity’ provided sufficient people are vaccinated.
Prime Minister Morrison, even while castigating the Premiers of Western Australia and Queensland for closing borders to those from other states introduced severe restrictions on Australian’s leaving and attempting to re-enter the country. As pointed out in the The Australian Frequent Flyer Gazette
Among its peers in the Western world, Australia is unique in banning its residents from leaving the country.
New Zealand, which has adopted a very similar strategy to Australia in dealing with COVID-19, has not banned its citizens from travelling overseas. It just strongly discourages it.
Although it too discourages non-essential travel, Canada does not ban people from exiting the country either. Neither does Singapore, although the Singaporean government won’t cover the medical expenses of nationals who return home with COVID-19.
For a few months earlier this year, the UK government did impose a ban on non-essential travel out of the UK. But anyone with an urgent reason to travel simply had to fill out a form. This restriction was removed earlier this month.
Clearly quarantining works for a period, but there is a cost to it. If you are only allowing a certain number of people into a ‘sterile’ area once certain pre-conditions are met, you need to have sufficient purpose-built space for the expected demand. Clearly, Australia doesn’t. With multiple cases of variants of the COVID-19 virus ‘escaping’ from quarantine in hotels in Australia’s largest cities, the current process isn’t good enough. While hotels are probably a reasonable stop gap as their usual business has been decimated, they are not designed for the purpose of keeping people, their potential illnesses and possible avenues of cross-infection apart forever.
For most of the 20th century, the Federal Government owned and managed quarantine facilities in most states. As they were built in the age of sea travel, most were near ports and as the land became valuable, they were sold off. The quarantine centre at Howard Springs just outside Darwin, apparently the only purpose-built current-day facility in the country has reportedly not let the virus into the community. Morrison has recently, and very reluctantly, agreed to a new quarantine centre in Victoria somewhere near the international standard airport and the construction of a centre in Queensland near Toowoomba should also be progressed. Toowoomba’s Wellcamp Airport is an international standard airport that routinely accepts and dispatches 747 and 777 freight aircraft owned by a number of foreign airlines. Toowoomba is also less than 2 hours from Brisbane by road. The NSW State Government is also asking for a specifically designed and built quarantine facility.
However, we can’t welcome everyone to Australia for the next 20 years by bunging them into quarantine for 2 weeks at a small number of quarantine centres. Despite initial vaccine nationalism and political skullduggery, it now seems that there is an increasing understanding that if the world isn’t protected against COVID19, none of us are. The US Government has announced it will be donating 500million COVID19 vaccine doses as well as the billions in funding that it has already given to the UN’s COVAX initiative. Other G7countries are also playing their part to ensure there is a billion donated COVID-19 vaccine doses available for those countries that can’t afford to vaccinate everyone.
Despite muttering that ‘it’s not a race’, primarily because it shows up Morrison’s lack of action in comparison to his ‘world class response’ promises, vaccinating all those who can be vaccinated is a race. The race that will allow those that want to visit dear Aunt Doris in Dalton-in-Furness (UK) for her 95th birthday; pursue business opportunities with a firm in Talent, OR (USA); introduce the kids to their grandparents in Hue (Vietnam) or even see Niagara Falls in Canada the ghost of a chance to do so. Businesses across Australia will certainly be better off if they are not disposing of perishable stock in trade on a regular basis because of yet another lockdown. Who knows, those that routinely read The Australian Frequent Flyer Gazette may get their kicks by sitting on a plane for 13 hours to Los Angeles again, if that’s how they enjoy themselves!
And it can’t be just a race in one country, it has to be world-wide. Those countries that can afford to do so should be vaccinating their population as quickly as possible. Australia isn’t. The vaccination allocation and booking system is confusing, duplicated and unfathomable to those that really do have other things to do with their lives. There is no transparency on the number of vaccine doses Australia has, where they are and how they are being used. The best way of engendering confidence in the capability of a organisation to deliver a required service is for the organisation to be open and transparent on the process and delivery. We are doing somewhat better in donating funding to COVAX and assisting some countries in the South West Pacific that don’t have the financial means to ensure that their populations are vaccinated.
While some have good and valid reasons, such as allergies to one of the vaccine components to consider in regard to this or any other vaccine, the majority of us have nothing to fear except fear or irrationality itself. Jane Gilmour produced a lot of statistics in The New Daily that proved there is more risk in using a battery drill or driving to the local green box hardware store next weekend than getting a blood clot from the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
So, while this website doesn’t profess to offer medical advice – do yourself (and the rest of us) a favour as soon as you can – just get the jab(s).
What do you think?
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I rather like the Singaporean treatment, pay for your own if you go away and catch it. Maybe those people who fail to follow the STAY HOME rules could be asked to pay for their hospitalisation should they catch the disease?
More serious fines are required, NSW will be the death of us.
Go for it 2353NM. I am happy for you to be vaccinated as many times as you want. (It looks like three now, two to begin with and a booster down the track). I am glad you are not concerned about side effects. Most of my now vaccinated friends have also been fine after vaccination, unless you count one who had to have his artificial heart valve replaced and a pacemaker installed within a fortnight … no doubt coincidentally.
I was a little perturbed myself to find out that the US Food and Drug Administration has not given the green light to Astra Zenica yet, but so what. We have seen many great medications delayed by over-cautious responses by our own Therapeutic Goods Admnistration, and we must be grateful that they have rushed this through so that we can exchange the possibility of long-term unknown problems for individual health, in favour of immediate benefits to the economy.
Keitha, I prefer the US model: there are vaccines for every person who wants one and there are choices of vaccines.
In my town in Vic there are no Pfizer for those who are recommended to receive it. Same in my sister’s town in SA.
This has been an epic fail.
Having already been diagnosed with a blockage in a major artery in the right leg it would be suicide to risk the Astrovenica on offer.
Same here, Eumundi.
The Howard Springs facility is not a purpose built quarantine station it is the construction camp left after the Inpex LNG project near Darwin and it was gifted to the NT govt. Morrison had nothing to do with it other than (initially) providing the manning, now to be undertaken by the NT govt for some reason, probably so Smuggo can palm off that responsibility too.
interesting that in Australia there are daily public updates on the number of new cases and the number of people fined in the past 24hrs.
More serious fines are not the solution. Why this reliance on “policing”?
My darling is 76 and in the last 58 years has had no medical issues bar a new hip but, a couple of years ago, her childhood asthma returned. As she is on no blood thinners we decided to not use astraZ but to follow ‘hunt’s hint’ and wait for pfizer or moderna. Our daughter introduced the dilemma by pointing out the combination of asthma and covid is a serious risk, as is the risk of blot clot.
2353NM, you obviously think vaccines are safe. You say “just get the jab”. Thanks, but no thanks. I hope it goes well for you. One question, why do you think drug trials used to run for 7-10 years before approval? Re 5G systems, certain parts of Europe & US go live this week. I wonder if the people with vaccine-related magnetism in their body will be effected.
I think this line:
“One day a rooster, the next a feather duster.” sums up Saint Scotty of the Marketing and Coterie of Cretins increasingly desperate attempts to control the situation.
https://www.ft.com/content/1466396e-2959-4a46-a449-2e1654b40c36
Bill,
What would you do if you caught the Covid Delta variant (https://theconversation.com/why-is-delta-such-a-worry-its-more-infectious-probably-causes-more-severe-disease-and-challenges-our-vaccines-163579)? Lie in bed and suffer or present to a hospital if your condition does not improve? Or will you just cross your fingers and hope it doesn’t hit you.
FFS!
“Re 5G systems, certain parts of Europe & US go live this week. I wonder if the people with vaccine-related magnetism in their body will be effected.”
Give this crap a rest. Until you can provide empirical evidence to prove otherwise spare us the bs.
Bill, 7-10 years??
I kept hearing it was 18 months at the earliest.
NOT JUST GOBBLEDEGOOK, BLAND GOBBLEDEGOOK!
Doubt this is a devil’s advocate article but it skips lightly and dubiously over almost every issue raised with little reverence, fact or detail, put together like Gladys’ random shopping list of peculiar artefacts loosely related to a pandemic (you have to guess which one), for which she gets to profess from the pulpit of NSW Premiership, Scotty’s gold standard for the preservation of economy, business travel, elite vaccination hubs and a private school or two, except it wasn’t.
On the subject of vaccination, this article ignores so many specific facts, controversies and corruption, mishaps, gross errors of political judgment, incursions into medical and civil issues, it would take a chain of articles to respond to, but why bother when it has already been said a dozen times or more in numerous independent (note, not mainstream) media including this one.
I am 62, I am a Registered Nurse, a father and grandfather, I care about others and our communities and I detest abuse of power, status and what money can buy for those who pathologically climb over others to get it. My mother died a horrible slow death from an unknown blood clotting disorder, causing a severe stroke before she was 30, severely disabled for 7 years before her tragic death in 1972. No doctor or specialist at the time could identify the root cause or treat it, whatever brought her down, her condition and diagnosis was unknown. The only life she had, never to have that choice at life again or even at the first and only one she would ever have. I wonder how many can imagine such a life; or imagine the mental torture of knowing a wretched blood clot at any time could shut you down, block oxygen and essential life elements getting to your heart or brain, and there is nothing you can do about it except call and wait for the ambulance if you are still standing at the time – the dread.
I have never suffered her fate but witnessed it as a child, though I recently found I was triple positive (high level) to Anti Phospholipid Syndrome (APS), an autoimmune blood clotting disorder that carries the risk of activating Thrombocytopenia with Thrombus Syndrome (TTS) which can be triggered by a virus, an Adenovirus vaccine such as AstraZeneca or Johnson, or a host of other agitants. 1-5% of healthy individuals are reported to have aPL antibodies. It is estimated that the incidence of APS is approximately 5 cases per 100,000 persons per year, and the prevalence is approximately 40-50 cases per 100,000 persons. It is only one of a small cohort of ‘rare’ autoimmune blood clotting disorders, and if activated can kill as easily as a bite from an Eastern Brown or Taipan, it just takes a few hours or days longer. I suspect the statistical prevalence and incidence in the population is no accident when you consider the incidence and prevalence of blood clotting in the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has only been around less than 8 months; and we are not talking about more common blood clotting, which can easily be treated these days in which there is no systemic cascade autoimmune effect, where the body ends up attacking itself – Not a pleasant thought. Would you be happy to be bitten just for the satisfaction of knowing you can beat the snake and be treated in hospital, not that I’d risk gambling my life with my local one?
Now Morrison in his immense medical knowledge and wisdom with the professional assistance of the the TGA and ATAGI at his immediate disposal have seen fit to throw an undisclosed and unidentified number of Australians under his political bus and run over them back and forth till they simply cannot be heard, despite the voices in the wilderness, all at the behest of a calculated statistical probability risk anomaly. How? By denying them a medical choice of vaccine, one that would be safer for them to have. One we know is safer for them to have. A relatively small number of the population is at risk, but a risk for them far higher and/or unknown than in the general population, and we don’t know for instance even now, if it is not these people AstraZeneca is striking. We are not talking about antivaxers, why would we, when it is known the virus will… how shall I put it in Morrison, Hunt and Berejiklian’s terms of personification, hunt these people down more aggressively than AZ itself. Not a race but a war against the virus to which Morrison has deliberately engaged our military to blindly jab us in the arm. Note, not nurses and doctors, there many GPs out there who have been by-passed in the rollout, many GPs who have advised their patients to wait for availability and access to Pfizer. Nurses have been overlooked, a large professional workforce that knows far more about vaccination health, administration and coordination than any military Lieutenant General of Australian regiments in Afghanistan or tourist CEO from Cronulla.
Instead he pays millions if not a billion or more for 5 private companies with no experience in regular annual flu vaccination (normally managed efficiently by our public health and primary health care systems) to slowly dribble out the no-choice vaccine distribution, based only on age (albeit age discrimination), convenient so his authority cannot be countermanded by anyone who might know better and fits his no brainer, no race, no science, no economic risk portfolio, no common sense or risk management strategy slow single basket procurement and divined supply model of vaccine – Not unlike his secret government AZ contract.
As for vaccine hesitation and complacency, that is not what vulnerable Australians who have a known vulnerability to autoimmune blood clotting disorders suffer, though I can’t speak for the general population who have little to worry about other than get vaccinated with either of the vaccines if they have the choice, nor would I presume to do so. Just one caveat, we already know now, both vaccines are equally effective at preventing serious illness including Delta (the main game); but Pfizer is clearly around 50% more effective than AZ after 2nd dose in shielding from the virus (88% cf 60%), something the elderly should consider; well as far as we know after a few months of the Delta spread – There are no longitudinal long term study data and there won’t be for a long time. While other countries can and are using AZ and switching to mix it with Pfizer or Moderna as a 2nd dose for effectiveness and getting that second shot sooner, there appears to be no discussion here in Australia, neither in the mainstream press or corridors of power of the benefits of mixed dosing. Not surprising I suppose given the Morrison government has committed to the erroneous gamble of allocating Pfizer through its vaccination hubs to people under 60 (more specifically 40-60 age group right now), and there is not enough to go around even for them.
If it is not clear now what I am saying is that we are not distributing these two vaccines intelligently or optimally. People who don’t need to be worried which one they get, have a choice while those who should be worried about which one they get, don’t – People vulnerable to TTS and over 60. It’s lump it or leave it, and if you leave it you get accused of hesitancy and complacency. People under 40 don’t get a look in and are now confronted with the scaremongering campaign advert of a younger woman struggling to breathe, which Morrison and a military general have callously dangled as a carrot in front of the eyes and people like here in this article are saying ‘get the jab’ – They bloody well would if they could, but they can’t because they are not yet eligible. I don’t know whether to speak of tragedy or comedy, but I feel for my daughters, all in their thirties and my grandchildren all under 12 and massive contingency of our younger population who have to put up with this political shit and abuse – ‘Just get the jab…. or else’… They are waiting!
I might add, that given my medical family history, my daughters have more to think about, and greater urgency to get that Pfizer shot, but not AstraZeneca, not any old jab will do. Would you give someone who is allergic to penicillin, penicillin because they are over 60? Would you tell a GP that is all they can give when there are numerous other safer antibiotics to give them? Would you let Morrison decide that because he was stupid enough only to procure penicillin for the country – Scotty from marketing, free choice Scotty, get private health insurance Scotty and you will be covered, but fuck up Medicare Scotty who doesn’t give a shit about the rest of the country unless they vote for him, support the Sharks, speak in tongues on Sundays, lie with fork lightning every other day, when he’s not in Hawaii or Cornwall. Fortunately medicine and science; doctors and nurses have a lot more sense but are not allowed to say.
We’ve barely covered a small percentage of the crowd funded slogan ‘get the jab’ mileage here, but five things I won’t stand for is ‘mob’ behaviour, scaremongering, deliberate or ignorant d/misinformation, political lies and abuse. Morrison loves it, because he can exploits it, it keeps him in power and Gladys, our lollipop Premier sucks at it too. Yes we all need to get vaccinated as soon as we have a logistical supply, a sensible and efficient means of administration and coordination, and the right jab for the right person, instead of blaming others for hesitancy and complacency – so God help me if he even cared, when evidently he doesn’t, neither do the Liberals, the Nationals or mainstream media. But for me, science, ethics, capacity, social equity and inclusion will do.
Yup gobbledegook, plain and simple!
Michael, this experimental trial ends late in 2022. I was referring to trials of every other drug on the market including previous vaccines. Previous mRNA vaccine trials on animals ended in disaster, but in upside down world who cares, this time go straight to humans. And even before results of 2 years of the trial are in, let’s rope the children in. I really wonder about medicine these days. What drives it? Profits, fear, paranoia, group-think? GL, if I get sick enough to see a doctor I’ll ask what treatments are available. If s/he lives in a backwater I will pass on what I know. If s/he is prohibited by the State Medical Board from using certain treatments then what I can do?
Australia 2021, the Great Medical Leap Backwards.
Scotty got the AZ on, relatively speaking, the cheap so he ordered container loads and now that it has some potential life threatening side effects he has to use it up or it could all wind up being in the 10 for a dollar bin at Medical Rejects “r” Us shop.
“GL, if I get sick enough to see a doctor I’ll ask what treatments are available.”
What if one of the treatments involves the need to be vaccinated?
It is ironic that Morrison suggested (a few days ago) that if anyone had any concerns about the vaccine then they should consult with their GP.
A bit over a months ago I did exactly that. I won’t go into the details, but my GP considered that I am a high risk for clotting given my family history and my current health issues. Unfortunately, I do not qualify for Pfizer, so it’s back luck for me.
I wrote to the Minister seeking clarification as to why I – given these health issues – I do not qualify.
The reply from the Minister’s office was two pages of waffle, that concluded with “if you have any concerns then please consult with you GP.” Huh? That’s what I’d already done.
Damn it’s frustrating being in the minority – however small the minority is – of those at risk from AZ.
GL, I have no ‘need’ to be vaccinated. You can though.
For a laugh I might demand a lab certification proving there is no genetically engineered magneto-proteins or graphene oxide or other undeclared nano-tech or hydrogels, including luciferase, in the vial and request that I attend the testing. It would be fun to check the workings of an electron scanning microscope etc. It would be nice to talk to some real professionals and get their take on this total fubar. btw, why are people still quoting Morrison?
Bill, I quoted Morrison so I could point out the irony.
Yes some people are being ‘magnetised’ – (but only in their own minds:)
Now I’m even more attracted to the COVID vaccines than I used to be! That’s because I recently learned that they do not only equip us with antibodies against the virus, they also make our bodies magnetic! And we know that magnets can heal, don’t we? So now we should see massive healing of all sorts of diseases as the newly magnetized COVID vaccine recipients spread across the globe
And there’s more.
But what about those pictures with coins and other metallic objects glued to people’s bodies after being vaccinated? Nothing new about such pictures, they have long been around to “prove” the existence of “human magnets,” people who can stick silverware, mirrors, and even hammers to their bodies.
Pity that some metals are not magnetic but why let a few scientific realities get in the way of some serious delusions.
Of course, the idea that the COVID vaccines contain some material that when injected causes this remarkable magnetizing effect is pure gobbledygook. These vaccines contain no paramagnetic material, and even if they did, there would not be enough in the tiny amount of material injected to create a detectable magnetic field. We already have a significant amount of iron in our body, roughly 3.5 grams, and we don’t feel any attraction when we encounter even an extremely powerful magnet. Our liver, loaded with iron, isn’t ripped out of our body when we get an MRI scan, is it? And people who get iron injections or take iron supplements, which do contain ferrous or ferric ions that are paramagnetic, do not become magnetized
Those who want more laughs might want to read further.
https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19/can-vaccines-make-our-body-magnetic
Then there’s 5 G … the complete comedy hour.
Mark: Thanks for the laughs. Much needed.
You could also enlighten us about “genetically engineered magneto-proteins” and their wonderful properties.
Also instruct Bill how to recognise an electron scanning microscope, so that he can use it to test the vaccine for “hydrogels including luciferase”. 🙂
He or you can explain to everyone’s amusement why the vaccine should contain Luciferase. Is it to make us all glow in the dark?
Hydrogels sound very fancy, but there are literally millions of them and why they would be deleterious to us in a vaccine is a mystery only Bill with his superior scientific knowledge can clear up.
The more technology our civilisation uses, the easier it becomes to bamboozle people into believing almost any rubbish with suitable techno-words in some gobbledegook.
Had my first AZ jab, no side affects.
A decent journalist, especially one with a long history of veracity, is the go-to for good information, which is why I would prefer to listen to Dr. Norman Swann than consult with a too-busy-to-keep-up-with-the-rapidly-changing-understanding-of-this-nasty-little-virus-and-its-mutations average type General Practitioner of yesterday’s medicine.
Government advisers, of course, should be regarded with great circumspection.
The analyses by independent epidemiologists are equally worth serious consideration,too – after all there are no businesses and no economy if most of the population is either sick, debilitated or deceased.
I’m aged, chronically ill and a little immunilogically compromised, but taking a chance on this virulent bug not catching up with me just to eliminate the minute risk of acquiring a treatable blood-clotting disorder is, for me, entirely illogical.
But then, I’ve always been pretty good at maths and calculating risk.
Totaram; why the vaccine should contain Luciferase? Try: Luciferase-Modified Magnetic Nanoparticles in Medical Imaging 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIIes052B4E The magnetic and luminescence phenomena are used in combination. If L-M MNP is in the injection then scanning technologies are going to replace PCR as the next big thing. Q2; Is it to make us all glow in the dark? Could be, Bitchute ‘luciferase’.
Then there is this; https://www.orwell.city/2021/07/potentially-false-patent.html
So, is graphene oxide an ingredient in Pfizer? I don’t see it listed, should it be? https://www.pfizer.com.au/sites/pfizer.com.au/files/g10062801/f/202101/Approved%20Comirnaty%20CMI.pdf
The bigger picture, a tech designed to read ‘you’? https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2020060606