Tag Archives: Covid-19

3- SOLVING WORLD PROBLEMS, 7- CURRENT NEWS

COVID FREEDOM CONVOY STARTED WITH VALID CONCERNS.

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When Canadian truckers started their freedom convoy 2022 to Ottawa, the protest was based on a valid concern, they were against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for all. With mandatory vaccinations for truckers crossing the Canada / US border starting Jan 15, 2020 and Quebec talking about a tax for the unvaccinated, the government is slowly taking away the freedom of choice for Canadians. Unfortunately, the truckers lost much credibility when anyone, against any number of COVID restrictions, for any number of sometimes wild or questionable reasons, made it about them.

Before I go on, I would like to state that I am fully vaccinated and boosted. I also support lockdowns when medical resources become overwhelmed. No one that gets sick and can be saved, should die because hospitals are unable to treat them. That being said I support the truckers 100 percent on their original concern against mandatory vaccinations, and question the timing and reasons for mandatory vaccinations for drivers that cross the Canada / US border.

VACCINES SHOULD NOT BE MANDATORY

-When vaccines first became available in Canada they were in short supply and depending on the brand, offered different amounts of protection. It was in the national interest to get as many shots into arms with whatever was available as quickly as possible to slow the spread. We were told to take the first vaccine offered to us. If vaccines were mandatory, imagine losing a loved one to Covid-19 if they were forced to take the less effective Astra Zenica and would have survived if they had the choice to hold out for Maderna or Pfizer.

-As I stated above, I am triple vaccinated with 3 shots of Pfizer. If I was not able to get Pfizer for all 3 shots I’m not sure if I would have taken a different brand. No one knows what the long-term effect could be for each of the vaccines, let alone the effects of mixing them. Had vaccines been mandatory, I would not have a choice as Health Canada has deemed it safe to mix and match vaccines.

-I also question Health Canada’s approval for vaccines. It normally takes years to approve a new drug once developed, yet covid vaccines took less than a year, it only took a few months for Health Canada to declare it was safe to mix vaccines. We were told there is absolutely no difference between Pfizer and Maderna when it came to mixing vaccines, yet Pfizer is safe for kids and Maderna isn’t. In fact, Health Canada flip-flopped several times on what ages different vaccines were safe, undermining their own credibility.

-Listen to the Science is what we are told, but science is large amounts of data that needs to be interpreted. Multiple, equally qualified scientists looking at the same data will disagree with the best strategy to follow. Evidence of this can be seen around the world and even across Canada with the different approaches of Federal, Provincial, and Municipal strategies on dealing with the virus. On top of that, understanding the big picture from other aspects like mental health, the economy, freedoms, rights, and logistics have to be factored in to obtain the best strategy. A medical doctor can only offer expertise on a part of this strategy.

-Common sense has not always been applied when it comes to Public Health’s interpretation of science and its recommendations. In March 2020 Theresa Tam of Canada Health repeatedly stated cloth masks offered absolutely no protection from Covid-19. If my 10-year-old grandson was head of Canada Health back then, and I explained to him, “If a virus is spread mostly through people coughing and breathing”, then asked him “if putting a cloth in front of someone’s mouth who was infected, would make it easier? harder? or have no effect? on other people catching it”. The answer “harder” was obvious to him and he may have saved lives. An article by the Toronto Sun on March 6, 2020, is even more disturbing. Toronto Transit drivers were prevented from wearing masks on the job because of public health recommendations such as “that masks are not only unnecessary, they can be harmful for healthy people”. The article goes on to say “We have had inquiries from employees about the use of masks and when they are educated on the public health position, they agree not to wear them”.

-With all this being said, my point is not to discourage anyone from taking the vaccine but that everyone should have a choice. I personally, would strongly recommend the vaccine to everyone, and I worry about loved ones that remain unvaccinated. This is my choice, and I respect the choice of others!

MANDATORY VACCINATION OF CROSS BORDER TRUCKERS MAKES NO SENSE NOW

Of course, there wouldn’t even have been a trucker protest had the federal government not forced all truckers crossing the Canada / US border to be fully vaccinated starting Jan 15th, 2022. For two years, since the start of Covid truckers have been able to cross the border without being vaccinated. Now, in the middle of an economic inflation crisis blamed on a fragile supply chain, after 85% of the eligible Canadian population is fully vaccinated, and hospital rates are going down, Mr. Trudeau has suddenly decided all truckers crossing the border need to be vaccinated. Why he has done this at this time, boggles the mind. His lack of common sense discredits all other valid Covid restrictions in place and validates those with conspiracy theories such as Covid restrictions are only a form of government’s control of us.

-It’s bad enough Mr. Trudeau is risking the derailment of a fragile Canadian economy but unvaccinated truckers currently pose no more threat than any other unvaccinated Canadian. Canada is currently on fire with Covid-19 with more daily cases than we can count, yet the Prime Minister is still worried the odd case brought in from the US from unvaccinated truckers will make a huge difference. With the limited testing on infection and transmission now, there is no reasonable or scientific evidence to support him. In fact, it’s reasonable to assume an unvaccinated driver crossing the country would pose little risk difference to a driver crossing the Canada / US border. Even if there was a greater risk, a simple 15 min rapid test given to unvaccinated drivers at the border makes more sense than mandatory vaccines.

-Cross-border truckers also pose little risk of transmission. They usually drive large transports that simply drop a trailer at a warehouse and pick up another one. Most don’t unload the trailer themselves and have little contact with people at the warehouse. When working they are usually alone, isolated in the cab of the truck. When in Canada, unvaccinated drivers/people are not allowed to eat in restaurants, go to movies, sporting events, or any place an infected person could spread Covid-19 to large groups of people. They do not have contact with vulnerable people and would not even be able to enter a long-term care facility.

-None of the Covid-19 vaccines currently offered in Canada are a cure for the disease. They are only a treatment for the symptoms should we catch it. They will not stop you from getting Covid-19 and they will not stop you from transmitting it to other people if you do. Vaccinated people are now most likely the main source of the spread of Covid-19. Fully vaccinated people are more likely to be Asymptomatic, contagious with little or no symptoms, unaware they are spreading it, and when not in lockdown have the ability to spread it through indoor dining, gyms, cinemas, and sporting events. Evidence of this can be seen in the recent lockdown in Ontario where indoor dining, gyms, cinemas, and admission to sporting events was implemented to slow the spread. It worked, and hospitalizations dramatically declined. All these activities could only be used by fully vaccinated people and required proof of vaccine to enter. It should have made no difference in hospitalizations if most of the spread was by the unvaccinated.

-Scientific evidence shows the protection of vaccines is temporary, there is already talk of a 4th dose. The more boosters we have, the greater the chance of long-term side effects. I have already had 3 shots and I’m not sure how many more I would be comfortable taking. Thankfully the government is changing its strategy from “trying to eliminate Covid-19” to “living with it“. Building antibodies from catching the virus while under the maximum protection of the vaccine should provide a safe and more lasting resistance.

REPEAL THE MANDATORY VACCINATIONS OF CROSS BORDER TRUCKERS

There is no scientific proof now that mandatory vaccinations of cross-border truckers is necessary to slow the spread of Covid-19. Vaccinated people are probably more responsible for the spread of Covid-19 than unvaccinated. It threatens the Canadian economy and discredits valid Covid-19 restrictions. With 85% of the eligible population vaccinated, almost everyone that wants the vaccine is now protected leaving those that choose to remain unvaccinated most at risk, by choice. In this case, it cuts to the nerve of our freedom of rights, one that can trigger a powerful response.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com

3- SOLVING WORLD PROBLEMS

COVID-19 / END GAME

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April 15th, 2020 update. People are finally coming to the realization that Covid-19 will not be going away anytime soon and its effects will still be felt into 2021. What people still fail to see is the path that saves the most lives in the short term could turn to years of misery with even more lives lost in the end. How long this virus lasts in each area of the world could very as long as a year depending on the individual government policies in that area.

To date, there is no country that can say they are through the pandemic and returned to normal so we can only use what we currently know and logic to predict what is most likely to happen in the future. Lives and the survival of our economy depend on the decisions we make now. In predicting the future by comparing Covid-19 with other pandemics, it is critical we take into account that this virus is completely different, in that it is far more contagious than anything else we have ever seen.

With this in mind, there are only 3 possibilities that would end the Covid-19 Outbreak:

  • The virus could just disappear
  • We find a cure
  • Enough people become infected and immune to it, that it can no longer spread easily and dies out.

Unlike the seasonal flu that dies out in the heat of summer, Covid-19 has infected even tropical countries making it unlikely to die out and go away with the changing of seasons. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that would indicate any other reason that would cause it to just go away, making the chances of it just disappearing on its own very unlikely.

Researchers have stated: finding, developing, and distributing a cure, if rushed, could be done in an unprecedented amount of time of as little as 2 years. Can we stay in lockdown for 2 years? Keep in mind there is still no cure for SARS that came out in 2003 or Ebola in 2014. Both these viruses were nowhere near as contagious as the unprecedented rate of Covid-19 and were only able to be brought under control through isolation and containment. Isolation and containment have already proved impossible when it comes to Covid-19.

That leaves mass immunity by large numbers of the population contracting and recovering from the virus as the most likely scenario to end the outbreak. As more and more people catch the disease and become immune, the virus from those infected and living on surfaces has a harder and harder time finding someone that has not yet been exposed until eventually dying out.

Evedence of mass immunity working should become evident in the coming months as places with the worst outbreaks so far, like Northern Italy and New York City will be able to start returning to normal while maintaining a low number of new cases. Even if new outside cases are introduced, the immunity level in these places should be high enough to stop another significant outbreak. The higher the percentage of immune people in an area, the less likely the chance of another major outbreak and the lower the number of new cases.

Assuming mass immunity turns out to be the final endgame for this virus, government policies designed to flatten the curve of infection through lockdowns and closures well below what health care systems can handle could prove disastrous. Although it will look like they are winning the fight at first, it would only serve to slow the spread of the virus over years instead of months. Until they reach a high enough percentage of the population that is immune, it will explode every time they try to open things up. In the end, not only will the prolonged chance of exposure to those people most vulnerable end in even more deaths, but the measures necessary to slow the virus, left in place too long will result in total economic collapse.

Regardless of the path we take to fight this virus, when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable during this pandemic, developing an accurate test to tell if someone is already immune is vital. By having only immune people have direct contact with the 20 percent of the population shown most vulnerable, it would drastically reduce the chances they get infected and save the most lives. Placing immune health care workers in old age homes would be the single most important factor in keeping the virus out.

Although necessary, the current importance we are placing on testing people for the virus as being a solution to stopping it is highly overrated. The virus is so widespread and contagious that a person that is tested now and does not have it, could easily become infected before they even get their negative test result back. With so little testing being done it offers only limited and misleading data as to how to stop it. We know that about 80% of people that contract Covid-19 have mild symptoms. We know since the start of the pandemic people in this category have been told to go home and self isolate without being tested and we know that unless people have life-threatening symptoms they are afraid to go to the hospital. What we don’t know is the number of people that have been exposed and are now immune. I suspect these numbers are much greater than we think they are. The most important thing we can do to save lives and end the outbreak is to develop a reliable test to tell who is immune.

This virus is relentless, from the infection of the first person in China to shutting down the world in less than 6 months. It creeps into old age homes and gets through PPE, infecting health care workers. Assuming we can hide in our homes until it goes away is to totally underestimate it. Without a cure, areas without a high enough percentage of population immunity are like explosives factories and every contagious person is a match. Even 1 person left infected in the world could set them off.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com

Note: The above article was sent on April 18, 2020 to the following-

  • Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister of Canada)
  • Doug Ford (Premier of Ontario)
  • CTV News

3- SOLVING WORLD PROBLEMS

HOW TO FIGHT COVID-19 / ARE WE DOING IT RIGHT?

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March 13, 2020, due to Covid-19 the government has just announced a partial shutdown of the Country. Schools until April 2020 and sporting events until June 2020 to name a few. The public perception seems to be that the worst of this disease will be over in several months and things will go back to normal, but with the development of vaccine possibly a year or more away, there is nothing to stop the rapid spreading of the disease again, as soon as the closures are lifted. Can we keep the Country closed for a year, what about food, essential services, and the economy?

So what is the best way to deal with this problem? The key is in the 2 things that make this virus unique. The first is that it is highly contagious and easily transmitted. The second is that it is not fatal in the vast majority of the population. Until a cure is found the answer is to isolate as much as possible, the small percentage of the population that has conditions that may cause the disease to be fatal. The rest of the healthy population should be allowed to be naturally exposed to the virus as quickly as possible, but at a controlled rate that would not overwhelm our health care system for those that may need extra help recovering. Once a high percentage of the healthy population has built up a natural immunity to Covid-19, it would make it extremely difficult for the virus to remain active. Those people at high risk could then come out of isolation in relative safety.

So what do we do now? We are lucky in Canada as our health system is not already overwhelmed. The current closures should help keep it that way. The next step is to slowly start opening things to the healthy public and allowing the virus to spread at a controlled rate. Monitoring hospital capacity is crucial in how fast we open things up. Who we consider not healthy and should remain in isolation should be based on statistical information from other countries on mortality rates due to age, and underlining conditions. Results from some of these countries like China should be scrutinized for accuracy.

If you are part of the healthy population you need to make a decision on your strategy. Do you try to hide from what may turn out to be inevitable or do you allow yourself to be infected at a time the emergency ward of the hospital is not overrun and can help you if you need them? After all, giving your immune system a workout now may help you get through Covid-2?.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com