Should we forgive them?
An article in the New York Times is titled “Thousands Believe Covid Vaccines Harmed Them. Is Anyone Listening?” (no paywall)
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The author, Apoorva Mandavilli, was correctly described by Vinay Prasad as the worst science reporter. She states her surprise about “thousands” who believe that Covid vaccines harmed them. While we know that number to be an understatement, it is interesting how the New York Times recognizes them after years of stonewalling.
But in a recent interview, Dr. Janet Woodcock, a longtime leader of the Food and Drug Administration, who retired in February, said she believed that some recipients had experienced uncommon but “serious” and “life-changing” reactions beyond those described by federal agencies.
“I feel bad for those people,” said Dr. Woodcock, who became the F.D.A.’s acting commissioner in January 2021 as the vaccines were rolling out. “I believe their suffering should be acknowledged, that they have real problems, and they should be taken seriously.”
FDA’s Dr. Woodcock is disappointed in herself:
“I’m disappointed in myself,” she added. “I did a lot of things I feel very good about, but this is one of the few things I feel I just didn’t bring it home.”
The article discusses thousands of people gaslit by vaccine promoters and their doctors, who were intimidated not to report vaccine injuries:
Similar sentiments were echoed in interviews, conducted over more than a year, with 30 people who said they had been harmed by Covid shots. They described a variety of symptoms following vaccination, some neurological, some autoimmune, some cardiovascular.
All said they had been turned away by physicians, told their symptoms were psychosomatic, or labeled anti-vaccine by family and friends — despite the fact that they supported vaccines.
Even some key vaccine promoters report vaccine injuries, which they could not report anywhere:
Dr. Gregory Poland, 68, editor in chief of the journal Vaccine, said that a loud whooshing sound in his ears had accompanied every moment since his first shot, but that his entreaties to colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to explore the phenomenon, tinnitus, had led nowhere.
He received polite responses to his many emails, but “I just don’t get any sense of movement,” he said.
The federal officials in charge of setting the policy still refuse to believe these reports:
Federal health officials say they do not believe that the Covid vaccines caused the illnesses described by patients like Mr. Barcavage, Dr. Zimmerman and Ms. France. The vaccines may cause transient reactions, such as swelling, fatigue and fever, according to the C.D.C., but the agency has documented only four serious but rare side effects.
The excuse that these officials give for ignoring vaccine harms is that they were fighting misinformation:
The rise of the anti-vaccine movement has made it difficult for scientists, in and out of government, to candidly address potential side effects, some experts said. Much of the narrative on the purported dangers of Covid vaccines is patently false, or at least exaggerated, cooked up by savvy anti-vaccine campaigns.
Questions about Covid vaccine safety are core to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign. Citing debunked theories about altered DNA, Florida’s surgeon general has called for a halt to Covid vaccination in the state.
“The sheer nature of misinformation, the scale of misinformation, is staggering, and anything will be twisted to make it seem like it’s not just a devastating side effect but proof of a massive cover-up,” said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, a vice dean at Johns Hopkins University.
So, get this please, the massive coverup was necessary to debunk '“misinformation” about the existence of a massive coverup. I hope it makes sense to you, my dear reader!
They finally note miscarriages caused by COVID vaccines:
Among the hundreds of millions of Americans who were immunized for Covid, some number would have had heart attacks or strokes anyway. Some women would have miscarried. How to distinguish those caused by the vaccine from those that are coincidences? The only way to resolve the question is intense research.
Another way to get the alarm signal of miscarriages is to ask, why does the Moderna vaccine cause 42% more miscarriages, compared to the Pfizer vaccine:
Why Now?
Are we observing a paradoxical awakening of honesty among federal officials and vaccine researchers? Have Apoorva Mandavilli and her employer finally decided to come clean about Covid vaccines?
Did these dishonest people suddenly straighten their ways, after being paid millions in research grants, CDC vaccine promotion fees paid to the media, etc? As much as I hope people can improve, I doubt that explanation.
The most likely explanation is that:
Facing a tough election in 2020, the Democratic party is afraid that the victims of vaccines that their party promoted and that disproportionally affected their core voters, might divert their votes and vote for an anti-vax Democrat, Robert Kennedy.
That might explain a puzzling turnaround in reporting vaccine injury in major newspapers such as the New York Times.
Do you have any other explanation? Please share your opinion in the comments.
Why I Have Not Posted Much Recently
I apologize to my readers for a lower post volume last month. There are several reasons, and I must explain them.
I am experiencing discomfort and cognitive dissonance about where I am finding myself.
The Covid pandemic is experiencing a lull. Vaccinations are no longer mandatory. The people who continue to harm themselves with Covid vaccines, for the most part, are not the people I deeply care about. Let them take as many shots as they want!
The lab origin of Sars-Cov-2 has become common knowledge, to the point that discussing it is almost redundant. The general public is aware that the people who made the virus and the vaccine are mostly the same people.
The World Economic Forum, always a source of amazing conspiracies it was promulgating, has wisened up and publishes mostly utterly boring, trivial articles on its public website, which I still peruse daily in hopes of finding something newsworthy, with less success than before.
So, naturally, I and many other commentators have fewer topics coming up that are worth discussing.
As a result, the anti-COVID-19 vaccine community, fighting for the declining attention of still-interested readers, has deteriorated. I am deeply embarrassed by some people (I will not name them) posting outright garbage just to stay relevant.
Even though I always try to make posts based on solidly confirmed public information or good research studies, I occasionally ask myself if I am one of them. What topics should I discuss on my blog? What would be good subjects about which I know enough, that are compatible with my values and would be interesting to my readers?
This is further exacerbated by some doubts about my foundational beliefs. I followed a variety of “conservative commentators” and Twitter accounts, many pseudonymous. I slowly recognized that their posts consistently upset me more than they enlightened me.
For example, while I have serious phobias regarding some sexual minorities, I realized that one thing I dislike even more than certain sexual behaviors is people posting about those minorities and their behaviors incessantly. Are the various gross and disgusting videos purposely selected to anger readers published for my benefit? Or are they simply monetizing emotions? Who pays them, and are their sponsors wishing their readers well? Who benefits from whipping up anger and division?
I have to ask, do people who engage in private sexual behaviors that make me deeply insecure, deserve equality and respect despite my discomfort? (yes they do)
I love money and my Substack revenue, but I do not love it so much that I start telling falsehoods to “gain market share.” I have a nice net worth and sources of income outside of Substack that make it unnecessary.
I want to continue posting, and I have many ideas. I have to work out my concerns, possibly by removing the paid option entirely so that the money does not unduly influence me. Worrying about revenue stands in the way of free thinking. I am very thankful to my paid readers, whom I love, and yet, I want to be sure that I am free of unavoidable, perverse financial incentives.
I hope you understand, and again, I am sorry about my two-week silence.
What do you think?
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