Covid Freak-Out Continues By Brian Simpson
Yes, we are well into 2021, and the Covid freak-out continues. Scobozo has issued a zombie apocalypse warning as such of dark disease storm clouds coming our way. Oh, and an international study has shown that lockdowns have no clear benefit, so guess what this was all about? Well, at least Covid got rid of Trump, and pesky things like democracy, delivering China’s Beijing Biden to pull the US and West down. What is there not to like?
“The Prime Minister has issued a chilling warning that even with the COVID-19 vaccine there must be “no let up” in international border controls and quarantine over the coming year.
Outlining a new blueprint to suppress the virus and deliver the vaccine, the Prime Minister will pledge another $1.9 billion in new spending today to roll out the COVID-19 vaccine.
In one of the largest logistics exercises ever seen in Australia’s history — he will pledge to vaccinate 26 million people, having secured over 140 million doses, enough to cover the Australian population several times over.
The PM will also warn the virus isn’t going anywhere and there is “still so much more to do”.
“The pandemic is still raging. It is not petering out. The virus has not gone anywhere. Indeed, it is morphing into new and more virulent strains,’’ he said.
“Our 2020 achievements have bought valuable time on vaccines, to ensure they are safe and can be effectively rolled out across our population.
“But even with the roll out of the vaccine, there can be no let-up in the three vital suppression measures that served Australia well in 2020 and must be the focus of continuous improvement in 2021.
“Our international border restrictions and robust quarantine system. Our high rates of testing, our contact tracing systems and our management of outbreaks in hot spots.
“And physical distancing and sound hygiene practices.”
The Prime Minister will outline five priority areas including suppressing the virus and delivering the vaccine cementing our economic recovery to create jobs, guaranteeing the essential services that Australians rely on, protecting Australia’s interests in a challenging world, and caring for our country.
On the vaccine rollout, Mr Morrison said the government had “wisely planned for the unexpected” as concerns emerged over European export controls.
“That is why we took out the insurance of securing our own sovereign supply of vaccines, by investing in COVID-19 vaccine production here in Australia,’’ the Prime Minister said.
“Australia is one of a small number of countries to have sovereign vaccine manufacturing capacity. Subject to TGA approval, we expect to be able to supply COVID-19 vaccines to the entire Australian population through CSL’s manufacturing plant in Melbourne.”
The aim remains to get the majority of the population vaccinated by October 2021, commencing in just a few weeks’ time.
“Our guidance is that first vaccinations remain on track to be in Australia, ready for distribution to priority groups, from late February,’’ the PM said.
“A study evaluating COVID-19 responses around the world found that mandatory lockdown orders early in the pandemic may not provide significantly more benefits to slowing the spread of the disease than other voluntary measures, such as social distancing or travel reduction.
The peer reviewed study was published in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation on January 5, and analyzed coronavirus case growth in 10 countries in early 2020.
The study compared cases in England, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the U.S. – all countries that implemented mandatory lockdown orders and business closures – to South Korea and Sweden, which instituted less severe, voluntary responses. It aimed to analyze the effect that less restrictive or more restrictive measures had on changing individual behavior and curbing the transmission of the virus.
The researchers used a mathematical model to compare countries that did and did not enact more restrictive lockdown orders, and determined that there was "no clear, significant beneficial effect of [more restrictive measures] on case growth in any country."
"We do not question the role of all public health interventions, or of coordinated communications about the epidemic, but we fail to find an additional benefit of stay-at-home orders and business closures," the research said.
However, the researchers also acknowledged that the study had limitations, and noted that "cross-country comparisons are difficult," since nations may have different rules, cultures, and relationships between their government and citizenry.
The study was conducted by researchers affiliated with Stanford University, and was co-authored by Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of medicine and economics who has been a vocal opponent of coronavirus lockdowns since March.
Bhattacharya was also among a group of scientists who wrote The Great Barrington Declaration, a controversial statement that encouraged governments to lift lockdown restrictions to achieve herd immunity among young and healthy people, while focusing protections on the elderly.”
It will not matter much what the evidence is, as lockdowns are more than anything Pavlovian dog training events, and we dogs need such ruthless discipline, thinking that we were citizens with rights and freedoms. Not, so.
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