COVID-19 News

[Randall]

COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effect Tracker​

1. A knot at the site with some headache that lasted 3 days. It feels like a nail has punctured my arm.
2. Had first Pfizer shot on 3/12/2021 at 1:30pm. Woke at 6 AM next day with blurred vision in right eye.
3. I have been experiencing muscle twitching and fatigue ever since the vaccine.
4. On 2nd day, I began experiencing vertigo type symptoms and today the muscle twitching has begun.
5. Started having muscle twitching about 4 hours after my 2nd Pfizer dose…. still twitching 10 weeks later.
6. I began to experience fatigue shortly after my eyes started watering
7. I became very ill. 104 fevers, bones were aching, uncontrollable shaking, lost my vision in my left eye, face selling, head pain as if someone was beating me with a hammer, muscle spasms, face paralysis.

... and over 700 other responses, not all of them bad ( if you're curious )

COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effect Tracker - MedShadow Foundation | Independent Health & Wellness Journalism

We created the MedShadow Vaccine Tracker. Look at the only tracker focused on side effects and adverse events of COVID-19 Vaccines.

medshadow.org

 

[Randall]

Further to my letter to a scientist regarding COVID long hauler's syndrome ( ID currently confidential ) I received the following reply:

"Thanks Randall. Yes, I think an autoimmune reaction is a good possibility (might be more than one). Haven’t seen the grants yet but expect this will be a major focus of PASC."​

I followed up with this:

"Thank you for your reply. According to the literature, the NRP1 receptor isn't the only pathway, but it is one of them, and it is also the pathway used by the mRNA vaccines. See the potential for problems? If the spike protein on the virus is virtually the same as that on a protein critical for neurological and vascular health, how does our immune system know the difference between the virus and NRP1? We could be unwittingly training our bodies to attack ourselves as well as the virus.​

This concern is supported by the scientific workings of the virus, the science behind the vaccines ( mRNA or otherwise ), and physical evidence of Cytokines and T-Cells that appear to be responsible for damage to nerves and blood vessels, along with the resulting symptoms ( side-effects ) being reported for both the disease and the vaccines.

​

Assuming that this hypothesis holds any water ( and I see no reason why it shouldn't ), then the most reasonable course of treatment to prevent the problem would be some type of drug that can eradicate the virus, but doesn't work on the same principles as the current vaccines, and the course of treatment to fix existing problems would be to dumb the immune system back down to where it was before it learned how to attack NRP1 ( theoretically whether it learned from the virus or a vaccine makes no difference ).

NOTE: I admit that I don't have the depth of scientific training to be certain that my concerns are 100% valid. However, at the same time, I'm pretty good at thinking scientifically and applying critical thinking. If you should also deem this worthy of investigation, use discretion when consulting with peers because it has the potential for enormous political and corporate fallout. It wouldn't be the first time science has lost that battle, even if the health of millions are at stake."​

 

[Randall]

Library Closures Due To COVID-19

"The Dutch government has also suggested that the chance of catching the virus from paper surfaces, such as mail, is low, as has the Austrian Federal Institute for Risk Assessment and the guidance provided to Norwegian libraries, which notes that there has been no evidence of contagion through surfaces yet, a point also echoed by the main advisor to Swedish libraries on the subject."​

COVID-19 and the Global Library Field

Last update: 13 October 2020 Key Resources for Libraries in responding to the Coronavirus Pandemic The information and resources below are provided on a non-exhaustive basis but ...

www.ifla.org

Calgary Libraries are now closed, along with library systems around the world despite no evidence that libraries in Calgary and a number of other countries ave been in any way responsible for the spread of COVID-19. A call today to the Calgary Library Administration resulted in me finding out that there are zero cases ( staff or borrowers ) associated with the library.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

I think it's time to move on. The best thing to do, other than to be careful, is to get vaccinated and prepare to return to your lives.

And figure out how to learn from this experience and do better next time, sans the conspiracy theories.

 

[Randall]

I think it's time to move on. The best thing to do, other than to be careful, is to get vaccinated and prepare to return to your lives.

And figure out how to learn from this experience and do better next time, sans the conspiracy theories.

I'd love to be able to do that, but it's a bit hard to move on when we're still under AEMA measures here and a third wave of COVID with the new variant is bearing down. And again there's no "conspiracy theory" here in my posts, but I could get into how legitimate concerns have been written-off as such. Simply having concerns based on a combination of verifiable evidence and critical thinking isn't a conspiracy theory. The conspiracy theories are the ones with the reptilians behind it all, working in cahoots with the industrial elite to depopulate the planet.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

The overall problem around the developed world is that countries shut down too much and maybe not quickly enough, and then opened too quickly thus resulting in higher infection rates. The sledgehammer approach overcompensated, and I think it's been shown that more nuanced approaches work best and are less hurtful to the economies. In the U.S. masks and social distancing were made political issues, very much because the previous administration made it that way.

 

[Randall]

The effects of virus variants on COVID-19 vaccines​

"All viruses – including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 – evolve over time. When a virus replicates or makes copies of itself, it sometimes changes a little bit, which is normal for a virus. These changes are called “mutations”. A virus with one or more new mutations is referred to as a “variant” of the original virus ..."​

The effects of virus variants on COVID-19 vaccines

www.who.int

 

[Gene Steinberg]

And the mRNA vaccines are relatively easily modified or programmed to accommodate mutations so one can, say, have a booster shot to reflect those changes if needed.

 

[Randall]

And the mRNA vaccines are relatively easily modified or programmed to accommodate mutations so one can, say, have a booster shot to reflect those changes if needed.

Initially I was a fan of the mRNA approach, but now I'm much more reserved. I don't like how it hijacks our own cells in a way that's similar to the virus itself, and there's reason to be concerned that it trains our bodies not only to attack the virus, but also a protein that is crucial for nerve and vascular growth. Until that concern has been properly addressed by the experts, I don't want it anywhere near me.

But you are correct about the possibility of modification for other purposes ( including anti-cancer therapies ). More research needs to be done.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

After 6 months since the first doses were administered in testing, it has been shown to be highly effective and safe.

This is not a new technology, even though the current vaccines are new.

Indeed, the more conventional vaccines are less efficacious and somewhat more prone to side effects it seems.

 

[Randall]

After 6 months since the first doses were administered in testing, it has been shown to be highly effective and safe.

Using the word "safe" is pure propaganda. Simply getting jabbed with a needle poses a risk, let alone injecting anything into your system. At the very least, the truth would be to say "low risk".

Then the question becomes one of relative risks, such as the likelihood of getting infected ( which for me is almost zero ), but even in the event of infection, the symptoms from the disease may not be any worse than those that are virtually guaranteed by the vaccination, plus there's a 5 to 40 percent chance that the vaccine may not be effective, and the chance that in another 6 months, some new long-term side effects could crop up.

This is not a new technology, even though the current vaccines are new.

Regardless of the technology, the above remain factors to consider.

Indeed, the more conventional vaccines are less efficacious and somewhat more prone to side effects it seems.

I prefer to get neither the vaccine nor the disease, and given my chances of becoming infected, versus guaranteed symptoms from the vaccination, plus the unknowns, I'll take my chances without a vaccination. If I catch COVID and die. So what? I've live 62 years on this planet already. If I catch it and don't die, I'll be as immune as anyone with the vaccination.

There's also a high chance that even if I do catch it, I won't even know I have it. And don't be fooled by the misinformation that you can't contract the virus or spread it if you've been vaccinated, because you can. It's just likely that you won't get as sick as otherwise. So all-in-all, given the facts about the disease, I don't see getting vaccinated as critical ( for me ). Other people may have different situations to consider.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Long and short, you believe that vaccines may be trouble, with unknown or so-far undiscovered side effects, that they aren't completely effective and, after all this, COVID-19 ain't so bad for the vast majority of those infected.

I wouldn't even begin to discuss this.

 

[Randall]

Long and short, you believe that vaccines may be trouble, with unknown or so-far undiscovered side effects, that they aren't completely effective and, after all this, COVID-19 ain't so bad for the vast majority of those infected.

Not exactly. When it comes to the situation, the evidence indicates the following:

• Saying "low risk" is more accurate than saying "safe" when it comes to any approved vaccine ( See attached PDF ).
• The known side effects have been documented in the papers published by the vaccine makers ( I've read them - have you ? )
• Side effects reported by those who have received the vaccines are being tracked here: Side Effect Tracker
• There hasn't been enough time to study longer-term side effects ( if any ), but there is reason to do so.
• The published efficacy of the vaccines is between 60% and 95% depending on the vaccine and the individual.
• For between 40% and 90% of infected individuals, the disease is so mild they may not even know they have it.
• The majority of the rest recover fine within 14 days, and and virtually all of those who don't have other problems that increase their risk.
• Those vaccinated can still become infected and transmit the virus, they just won't get as sick ( if the vaccine has worked for them ).
• Getting the vaccine guarantees a minimum amount of cellular damage and inconvenience plus mild to serious side-effects.
  
  
• Given the above, those who are at near zero risk of becoming infected have reasonable grounds not to get vaccinated.
• Given the above, those at high risk of getting infected and/or those with high risk of serious symptoms from the disease should get the vaccine.
• As always, it should be the right of those who want the vaccine to get it, and the right of those who don't want it to refuse it.

I wouldn't even begin to discuss this.

Remember the discussions we've had lately about truth? That is what this discussion is for ( getting to the truth ). I'm willing to change my views based on evidence that is more accurate than what I've been able to determine so far. Show me where and why what I've said is demonstrably false, or unreasonable, and I'll change my view, but don't put words in my mouth that make my position appear to be glib or unworthy of discussion

 

[ALPHA ROMEO UNIFORM]

Each to there own and advise your choice on vaccine. Just look at the variants spreading around the World. Japan are facing a new type which also appeared in Wuhan , china again . Not the UK or Brazil variant which they had the vaccines and re- infected its targetting younger people as well. So still a long way to go and lot of bullshit from the makers .

 

[Randall]

Could new COVID variants undermine vaccines? Labs scramble to find out​

Researchers race to determine why lineages identified in Britain and South Africa spread so quickly and whether they’ll compromise vaccines.

Immune escape​

"There is emerging evidence that the E484K mutation can enable the virus to escape some people’s immune responses. In a 28 December preprint, a team led by immunologist Rino Rappuoli, at the Toscana Life Sciences Foundation in Siena, Italy, grew SARS-CoV-2 in the presence of low levels of one person’s convalescent serum. The goal was to select for viral mutations that evade the diverse repertoire of antibodies generated in response to infection. “​

​

The experiment wasn’t necessarily supposed to work,” says McLellan, a co-author. But within 90 days, the virus had picked up 3 mutations that made it impervious to the person’s serum: one of these was the E484K mutation found in the South African variant; the others were N-terminal domain changes found in both the South African and the UK variant. “That was surprising,” says McLellan, because it suggested that the individual’s entire antibody response against SARS-CoV-2 was directed against a small portion of the spike protein."​

Could new COVID variants undermine vaccines? Labs scramble to find out

Researchers race to determine why lineages identified in Britain and South Africa spread so quickly and whether they’ll compromise vaccines.

www.nature.com

 

[Randall]

Revisiting The Great Barrington Declaration and Its Critics ( from October 2020 )​

Oxfam published a report in July 2020 concluding that 130 million more people will​

be pushed to the brink of starvation due to supply chain disruptions resulting​

from lockdowns around the world.​

The Great Barrington Declaration and Its Critics | The Daily Economy

"The writers of the Great Barrington Declaration expressly recognize both sides of the equation and seek to minimize coronavirus deaths among the vulne ...

www.aier.org

 

[Gene Steinberg]

It's time we drop this. The time has long past where such a discussion was ever worthwhile. And, no, I don't want to delve into specifics, other than finding a few wacky things nobody can take seriously. Move on.

Meantime, your situation in Calgary appears to be getting worse and worse:

Calgary's COVID-19 infection rate double that of India, Nenshi says

With more than 8,800 active cases of COVID-19 in Calgary zone, Mayor Naheed Nenshi is concerned about the rapid rise of cases that he says is outstripping some of the largest crisis areas elsewhere in the world.

calgary.ctvnews.ca

 

[Randall]

It's time we drop this. The time has long past where such a discussion was ever worthwhile ...

There are real lives affected on both sides of this equation, and they all deserve to be counted. If you want to focus only on the reports of COVID cases, that's fine for you. As for dropping the rest. That's up to those who want to weigh-in on the subject. If it's done in a reasonable and constructive way, I don't see any reason for shutting them or that discussion down.

As tiresome as it has become ( even for me ), it doesn't change the reality that literally millions of perfectly healthy people's lives and livelihoods have been irreparably damaged by COVID pandemic management. As for our Mayor, he often often comes across to me as both presumptuous and sanctimonious, which if you think I'm bad, puts him on whole other level.

Now there's talk of curfews and the police have been entering homes in other places and fining people thousands of dollars, over the fear caused by the mere possibility ( without any proof ) that someone might get infected with a disease that for most people, and how many times do I need to keep saying this, is so mild that :

40% to 90% of those who get COVID, don't even know they have it, most of the rest recover fine within 14 days, and most of the few who are left don't end-up in hospital, leaving only a tiny portion that ends-up in hospital, and of those, only a small portion die, the vast majority of whom are of advanced age or are already health compromised in some out of the ordinary way. The tiny little leftover amount who are the exception are then propped-up on the news as examples of how nobody's safe.​

If it's time for anything, it's time to consider alternatives to the fear and intimidation solution, and focus on a combination of reasonable prevention, and upgrading healthcare system treatment capacity. Vaccines are a part of that, but the rest of discussion has been silenced. With the money spent and lost because pandemic management so far, you could have all had free first-class healthcare put in place along with I don't know how many dozens or thousands of new hospitals and other medical facilities.

While they were at it they could have probably solved the education and homelessness problem too. How many lives would that have saved and continue to save in the future, compared to the way it's been handled? It doesn't take a rocket scientists to see that it would be far more. But again, nobody is having that conversation.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

I do not know the ins and outs of the political situation in Calgary, but whatever is being done is being done incorrectly.

Here in the states, we are seeing a big improvement in the situation as a result of having proper management with people who appear to have a good knowledge of what they are doing.

Right now, over 100 million Americans are fully vaccinated (both doses of the two-dose vaccine, or one dose of the J&J vaccine). Millions more await their second shot. The recorded side-effects are very very few. My fangs and horns are no larger.

The mask/social distancing restrictions were sharply lessened by the CDC. Forgetting those who live in a political twilight zone where science doesn't matter, people like me can feel safe to go largely without masks outside. In a couple of more months, masks and social distancing requirements will be largely history in most situations. The economy is roaring back and job prospects are improving.

It won't be near as easy to vaccinate or otherwise protect Third World countries without a massive effort from the developed world to help out. The danger is not acting fast enough to avoid mutated virus strains that take us back to where we started.

Now as to the origin of COVID-19, forgetting the conspiracy theory of a deliberate infection, highly unproven, there is still no Patient Zero. The authorities are not completely dismissing an accident at a la (Wuhan?). Heck, we've seen that lots of times in the movies.

 

[Randall]

I do not know the ins and outs of the political situation in Calgary, but whatever is being done is being done incorrectly ...

A lot of people here in Calgary would agree with that statement, not all of them on the same page. One thing you are completely right about, is that I am as tired of the conversation as many others. Part of me would love to just forget any of it and pretend I can live a normal life. Thankfully for my situation, I can do that better than most non-retired people.

But then something will remind me of all those who can't just shelter at home, and it affects me. I wish it didn't. But then I think, what kind of people are those who aren't affected? It's rough on those of us who think this way because we want to make some kind of difference, but we've all been marginalized by gears turning on a far more massive scale. It seems we're nothing against them.