Open letter to the unvaccinated

The Ontario Civil Liberties Association has published an open letter supporting those who choose to remain unvaccinated. The letter, written by Dr Denis Rancourt in collaboration with fellow Canadian academics emphasises the voluntary nature of vaccination along with the need for people to give properly informed consent. They reject the coercion and bullying tactics being used by governments and health officials around the world to force people to be vaccinated. Key to their message is that “You are not alone” and there are many people who, despite messaging to suggest otherwise, continue to stand fast and resist the increasing intimidation of the authorities. Most of whom have valid medical concerns that deserve to be respected as with all other medical interventions. The authors urge people to stand together and support each other.

UK National Food Strategy

Published in July, the National Food Strategy is a report considering how England might create a strategy to deliver sustainable food production, tackle issues such as the obesity crisis and transform the way England produces, sources and consumes its food. It aims to reduce poverty, improve health and pave the way for the maintenance of existing UK food standards following Brexit. Unsurprisingly, the report has polarised views and elicited many questions around how it’s recommendations might be implemented whilst a formal response from the UK Government is awaited.

Is Australia becoming a police state?

If reports from Australia are accurate, they are alarming to say the least as they document the increase in totalitarian measures that the authorities continue to implement and enforce under the banner of a Zero Covid policy. In Sydney, soldiers and helicopters have been brought in to enforce coronavirus clampdowns and hand down punitive fines for anyone daring to not wear a mask. Videos circulating on social media tell a story of police brutality as they over-enthusiastically enforce State rules designed to terrorise its population into full submission. Pushback from citizens is reportedly continuing with the planning of more demonstrations.

UK public wants regulation of gene editing

Consumers want “thorough regulation and transparent labelling if gene-edited foods reach the UK market" according to a new report from the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) shows. The conclusions come despite the FDA calling gene editing "precision breeding" (it's far from precise) and assuming – without any scientific evidence – that gene editing outcomes "could also be achieved using traditional breeding", which is a far cry from the use of lab-based techniques. Studies have already shown that gene-editing results in many unintended off-target effects that often go undetected. The tone of the report suggests potential outside influences as Big Agra tries to push a novel technique on an unsuspecting public for its gain despite the potential risks to health.

Beyond Meat’s CEO calls for meat tax

Beyond Meat’s Chief Executive, Ethan Brown, talking to the BBC has suggested taxes on meat could help to reduce meat consumption. Given his conflict of interest and that he stands to make a fortune from those who believe the hype around the need to eat a wholly plant-based diet, how is it he is given such a platform? Once again the BBC is showing its lack of impartiality, poor journalism and adherence to the agenda running in the background.

Long covid in children rare

A new study published in Lancet Child and Adolescent Health blows claims by the media of the dangers to children of developing long covid, out of the water. Analysing data from the ZOE COVID Symptoms Study app, researchers found long covid was rare in children with fewer than 2% of those included in the study suffering ongoing symptoms for any length of time. On average children were ill for less than six days and had fully recovered within four weeks. The study shows once again that there is no need for children to be vaccinated against covid as the harms of vaccination likely outweigh any possible benefits.

Drop in wellbeing

A worrying drop in wellbeing in England has been highlighted by Carnegie UK’s new Gross Domestic Wellbeing report (2019/20) suggesting government strategies to promote wellbeing are not working. The report points to increases in loneliness alongside a worrying decline in overall trust in the government. It proposes a new measure of Gross Domestic Wellbeing (GDWe) to measure if life is improving or worsening. The report, which is based on data from the Office of National Statistics, found the drop in collective wellbeing began well before the start of the coronavirus crisis. Carnegie UK predicts a further drop in wellbeing will be evident when it publishes figures for 2020/21, as the impact of restrictions to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are seen.

Other covid vaccine news

• A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) detailing a covid-19 outbreak in Massachusetts found that 75% of the cases occurred in fully vaccinated people and that there was no significant difference in viral loads between vaccinated and unvaccinated people. The data from the CDC is mirrored in a new preprint study, which also finds no difference in viral load between vaccinated and unvaccinated people, meaning vaccinated individuals who become infected are just as likely to pass the virus to others
• A third study from Finland details an outbreak in a hospital where the majority of people infected were vaccinated. It also found that vaccinated healthcare workers passed the virus to isolated patients
• A preprint study from Spanish researchers warns that the Pfizer vaccine is just as likely to cause blood clots as the Astrazeneca vaccine. The study confirms what was already known following deaths earlier in the year in the US as a result of immune thrombocytopenia following vaccination
• Researchers publishing in Nature Scientific Reports have concluded that the massive global vaccination campaigns currently underway could push the emergence of new strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Listen to Rob Verkerk PhD and Dr Geert Vanden Bossche's discussioin of just such a scenario here and here.
• The director of the Pathological Institute of the University of Heidelberg, Germany has sounded an alarm over the number of fatalities occurring following covid vaccination. He has so far carried out over 40 post-mortem examinations of people who have died within two weeks of vaccination. He believes up to 40% of those examined died as a direct result of the vaccination and that the frequency of death following vaccination is being seriously underestimated. Prof Dr Peter Schirmacher has received the full support of his colleagues, but the knives are already out for him as authorities realise the news could further reduce the numbers of people coming forward to be vaccinated

Natural immunity protects against covid

We’re ending this week with some good news, particularly for those with valid medical concerns regarding the current crop of covid vaccines. Natural immunity is highly protective against a wide range of SARS-CoV-2 variants plus it reduces the risk of the development of new variants. The news comes from a new study published in Science.