Contribution – Part 123/21 # 15
What is the reasonable balance of risks and benefits for children, and what is this kind of push or pressure to vaccinate them?
BRADES, Montserrat, August 30, 2021 – Over the past few days, Montserrat’s Chief Medical Officer was heard on ZJB News, discussing vaccination of our children (especially teenagers), as the global vaccination push moves on. As we can see from a poster used in Guyana, a similar push is underway across the region. No doubt, this push is by people meaning to do good, but there are some informed consent issues that we need to contemplate, especially given the backdrop of –
- the Jamaican Doctors’ stout stance in support of Ivermectin as a sound alternative treatment[1]
- the policy concerns raised by the UK Doctors group we reflected on last time[2]
- population-level evidence on Ivermectin’s effectiveness,[3] and also
- what we reasonably know about Covid-19, vaccines, and the young.
For example, in cautioning Israel’s Rabbinical Court about vaccination of the young, Dr. Vladimir Zelenko (who championed an early and effective protocol for treating patients before they had to be hospitalised) pointed out[4] that statistics showed that Covid-19 case survival rates for children are perhaps 99.998 percent. Dr. Thomas T. Siler of Washington State, USA, adds[5]:
“Globally, the survival rate for COVID-19 is 99.8%. Under the age of 70, the survival rate for COVID-19 is 99.97%. This is on par with many influenza seasons. Americans younger than 70 [→ so, children, too . . . ] do not have to fear COVID-19 any more than influenza and we know how to protect the elderly.” [He also states, that “[a] study in the UK showed that the survival rate in children is 99.995%,” quite close to Dr. Zelenko’s number.]
That would easily compare to survival rates for ordinary Flu in an era where Tamiflu is an effective antiviral treatment and where though there are annual Flu shots, many view them as hit or miss and may fear the incidence of adverse reactions.
So, yes, “vaccine hesitancy” is actually a long-established phenomenon, and in key part exists as many people make responsible judgments as to which vaccines are worth the perceived risks, which they trust, and which they will not take. As, is a basic fully informed patient right, complete with the Nuremberg Code right[6] to withdraw from procedures. That, of course, hangs a cloud of medical ethics and communication ethics questions over the CDC-inspired poster below.
A poster, that tries to subtly exploit the reputation of prior, often sterilising vaccinations to create an aura of complete effectiveness for the Covid-19 vaccines; through association. Vaccines that are admitted as not eliminating infections in the early stages, only ameliorate the intensity of the disease.
Which, is why the “fully vaccinated” can still catch Covid-19 and can still spread it, especially as the degree of protection wanes after 6 – 8 months.
That’s why in Israel, already, over a million people have had third jabs, starting with their new Prime Minister. Indeed, that’s why a booster shot train is clearly coming,[7] which obviously increases the cumulative risk of adverse reactions.
That’s why we are being told that the vaccinated must still wear face masks etc, and that’s why such are still quarantined on arrival.
Indeed, we are seeing a considerable number of breakthrough cases all across the world where the “fully vaccinated” are getting infected. That’s why we recently saw how Science Magazine reports how 59% of 514 patients in Israeli hospitals with “severe or critical” Covid-19 disease were “fully vaccinated.” Notice, too, the strong bias of these breakthrough cases to the aged, nearly nine (9) out of every 10.
As the Science Mag article[8] reported:
- “As of 15 August, 514 Israelis were hospitalized with severe or critical COVID-19 . . . 59% were fully vaccinated. Of the vaccinated, 87% were 60 or older. “There are so many breakthrough infections that they dominate and most of the hospitalized patients are actually vaccinated,” says Uri Shalit, a bioinformatician at the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) . . . “One of the big stories from Israel [is:] ‘Vaccines work, but not well enough.’” [“A grim warning from Israel: Vaccination blunts, but does not defeat Delta” Science Mag dot Org, August 16, 2021. (NB: Israel mainly uses the Pfizer mRNA vaccine, which is being prematurely pushed into full approval by the US FDA.)]
Notice, “Vaccines work, but not well enough.”
To which, we may freely add, [i] and they are still quite experimental while [ii] raising serious questions on the balance of risks and benefits. If you doubt the first, consider how it is just now being confirmed that after about six months, the degree of protection (already limited from the beginning) fades significantly. Hence, “not well enough.” And no, we are not locked up to vaccines or a totally out of control pandemic, not when reasonable, proven treatments and protocols are available. If you doubt this, ask the Jamaican Doctors about their experience with Ivermectin over the past year (before you give too much weight to silly sensationalised media stories about horse de-worming medicine and idiots who take horse-sized doses using veterinary formulations, etc).
As for the second, simply note the rush in Israel that has already vaccinated over a million with the third jab. Yes, we are not hearing the whole, frank story from officialdom. Especially, when it comes to children. Let’s look at a bit more from Dr. Siler of Washington State, USA:
- “The average age of death from COVID is 78. The average life expectancy in America is 78. This is not to say, “Don’t worry, only old people are dying of COVID-19.” However, this fact should direct and inform our policies to protect the elderly especially. Children and those under age 70 are at much lower risk . . . .
- In the U.S. 335 children have died since the start of the pandemic. A study done by Johns Hopkins and FAIR Health showed that all of the children that died from April 2020 to August 2020 had immune problems or were chronically ill. In that period not one healthy child died. Children have more chance of dying in a car wreck, unintentional drug overdose, or influenza than from COVID-19. Vaccination for healthy children is not needed.”
We don’t have to blanket endorse Siler’s or Zelenko’s numbers to ask our health officials across the region to frankly explain the push to vaccinate our children and young adults, given concerns about the vaccines and the stance being taken by the Jamaican doctors on their experience with Ivermectin over the past year or so. Where, for example, Dr. Zelenko is warning that well over half of expectant mothers in the first six months are miscarrying after being vaccinated. Given the Holocaust of 1942 – 45 and other sensitivities of Jewish history, he understandably raises the G-word: [self-]genocide.
That may be over the top. Nevertheless, if it is true that healthy children are more at risk in a bad flu season, why the big difference in response to this pandemic?
There is also, a linked clutch of technical issues, cases vs infections, and herd immunity, vs new variants. As Dr. Siler puts it:
“Herd immunity for the alpha strain is here. Sixty-seven percent of the American population have had at least one COVID-19 vaccination. The official number of cases is about 10% of the population, but several antibody studies show that the percentage of those with natural immunity is 4-6 times higher. Dr. Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins professor, estimates that 80-85% of the population is immune from natural immunity and vaccination. Those who deny this must explain how cases and deaths started to decline in January way before there was a significant vaccine effort. COVID-19 will not go away. Instead, we are transitioning now from a pandemic to endemic status and, indeed, some eminent virologists say vaccinating in the middle of a pandemic is making herd immunity more difficult to obtain through the creation of variants.”
In short, cases are infections on record by medical authorities (often as a result of the flawed PCR, etc tests). Infections are what happens when viruses invade our bodies and start the disease process. If we have strong “resistance,” that may get no further, but we will form antibodies to the various bits and pieces of the SARS-COV2 virus. This natural immunity is actually stronger than that triggered by the vaccines, which focus on the infamous spike protein. Where, lastly, non-sterilising vaccines put selection pressure on the virus, pushing the emergence of strains that are resistant to such treatments. Herd immunity happens when enough people are strongly resistant to a disease, so it becomes hard for it to spread.
Going forward, clearly, we should not rely overmuch on vaccines but should use a battery of effective treatments and proved public health methods. Especially, for our children.
[1] TMR https://www.themontserratreporter.com/jamaican-doctors-stage-an-ivermectin-uprising/
[2] TMR https://www.themontserratreporter.com/uk-doctors-question-typical-covid-19-pandemic-policies/
[3] TMR https://www.themontserratreporter.com/ivermectin-some-population-level-evidence/
[4] See https://americasfrontlinedoctors.org/frontlinenews/poison-death-shot-dr-zelenko-testifies-before-israeli-rabbinical-court/
[5] See https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/08/the_good_newsa_covid19_update.html
[6] TMR https://www.themontserratreporter.com/compulsory-jabs-vs-the-nuremberg-code/
[7] TMR https://www.themontserratreporter.com/the-emerging-covid-vax-booster-shot-train/
[8] See https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/08/grim-warning-israel-vaccination-blunts-does-not-defeat-delta
