There is much useful discussion of Covid and Coronavirus in the VaxCalc Forum.
What is Coronavirus?
In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) described Coronavirus as: Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.
WHO further pointed out that Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).
A former CDC Director has speculated that Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was engineered in a lab. This is an important perspective deserving of more attention and consideration.
What is the COVID-19 death rate?
According to the CDC, as of February 6, 2021 the death rate from Covid is 457,762 deaths ÷ 26,653,558 cases = 1.7%
CDC’s numbers should be considered with skepticism. In April 2020, CDC issued guidance that counting a COVID-19 death no longer required a laboratory test. Dividing a larger death count by the smallest possible number (reported infections instead of all infections, see diagram below) creates a more menacing picture.
Physicians for Informed Consent has an excellent COVID-19 Disease Information Statement that explains how to assess severity using CDC numbers and previous flu seasons.
Who is at risk?
In March 2020, the WHO advised: Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.
The CDC provides a comprehensive list of at-risk groups.
Using CDC data, the chart below shows the age distribution of Covid deaths.
The chart below uses the same CDC data to compare Covid deaths against ALL deaths.
What COVID-19 vaccines are licensed in the US?
There are no FDA-licensed COVID-19 vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccines approved by the FDA under Emergency Use Authorization are experimental nucleic acid vaccines based upon genetically modified messenger RNA (mRNA).
What is Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)?
Under an EUA, the FDA may allow the use of an unlicensed vaccine. In other words, an EUA does not mean that the safety and efficacy of the vaccine has been proven to the FDA’s standards of proof normally required for it to be marketed. The FDA’s granting EUA status only means that the product “‘may be effective’ to prevent, diagnose, or treat serious or life-threatening diseases.” For more details on EUA, see the FDA’s guidance to industry.
What are nucleic acid vaccines?
According to Genome.gov: Nucleic acid is an important class of macromolecules found in all cells and viruses. The functions of nucleic acids have to do with the storage and expression of genetic information. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) encodes the information the cell needs to make proteins. A related type of nucleic acid, called ribonucleic acid (RNA), comes in different molecular forms that participate in protein synthesis.
According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID): Nucleic acid vaccines introduce genetic material encoding the antigen or antigens against which an immune response is sought. The body’s own cells then use this genetic material to produce the antigens.
Another way to think about this is that our own cells become vaccine-producing factories.
The Biggest Medical Experiment in Human History
During the next six to nine months, as hundreds of millions of adults are vaccinated with a new type of vaccine never before used, we will learn whether the vaccine does more harm than good, or more good than harm.
Safe and Effective?
Pfizer announced the conclusion of it’s Phase 3 study on November 18, 2020, claiming:
- 95% effectiveness
- “no serious safety concerns observed”
Some limits of the study include:
- 95% effectiveness was measured 7 days after the second vaccine dose; effectiveness beyond 7 days is assumed, not proven
- Some vaccine injuries (such as chronic arthritis or GBS) take weeks or months to present symptoms
- Phase 3 with 41,135 participants is too small to discover serious 1-in-100,000 injuries such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), where the immune system attacks the nerves; this was a problem in 1976 with the rushed swine flu vaccine
1-in-1,000 people may experience temporary facial drooping (Bell’s Palsy), which is the equivalent of 330,000 people if the entire US population is vaccinated. It is not known how many will experience severe allergic reaction. (Reference: page 3 of the Package leaflet: Information for the recipient.)
The clinical trials only started in July 2020; therefore, there is not yet extensive data on long-term safety.
Both Pfizer and Moderna are hesitant to share the raw data. Peter Doshi, associate editor of the BMJ, pointed out that the reported efficacy rates may be vastly overstated: With 20 times more suspected than confirmed cases, this category of disease cannot be ignored simply because there was no positive PCR test result.
Emerging Vaccine Safety Record
On April 13, 2021, the FDA and CDC stopped the use of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine due to rare but severe cases of blood clots.
On December 19, 2020, the CDC reported that as of December 18, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine had been given to 112,807 people. Of those people, 3,150 — 2.8% — experienced reactions to the vaccine such that they were “unable to perform normal daily activities, unable to work, required care from doctor or health care professional.”
You can read through the details of the first documented adverse events and discover the most common short term reactions reported to the US government.
CDC training doctors to sell COVID-19 vaccines
Before speaking with your doctor, discover how the CDC is training doctors to sell the COVID vaccine. This way, you will know if your doctor is giving you talking points or a carefully considered opinion.
…This shot is especially important for you because of your [job/underlying health condition].
…I believe in this vaccine so strongly that I plan to get it as soon as it is available.
Be sure to review the patient questions that the CDC expects doctors to hear, and the answsers doctors are being trained to give. One example of the selling technique is that getting a COVID vaccine is the safer choice because If you get COVID-19, you also risk giving it to loved ones who may get very sick.
Are there alternative treatments?
Yes. For example, it’s been known since at least 2005 that “Chloroquine is effective in preventing the spread of SARS CoV in cell culture” and “concentrations of 10 μM completely abolished SARS-CoV infection”. See this paper, which includes CDC authors.
Personal testimony from State Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit) that HCQ saved her life.
History repeating itself?
For historical context, this 60 Minutes investigation of the rushed 1976 swine flu vaccine is worth watching. You may find some parallels to today.
