With the corona virus, science and medicine stopped being the caretakers of reason, wisdom, and objectivity, and were essentially overrun by mob- and bureaucratic- rule, tainted by personality cults, greed, hysteria, and emerging science and medicine celebrities. Thinking about the mask mandates, it was pretty well known that masks were of limited value, for example as an adjunct to patient isolation and reverse isolation protocols, and they did help limit surgeons hacking goobers into a surgical incisions. But at the time we went almost immediately from face coverings being of limited to no value from a public health standpoint to failure to wear a mask meant, “You Want People To Die!!!” I remember thinking at the time how I wished some medical person of substance and repute would calmly say, “We can’t say for sure that masks and face coverings are effective at preventing spread of the virus, but the theoretical risk-benefit suggests they may be helpful, so please wear them in indoor public places.” But that never happened, and the mob won, not by reason and persuasion, but by intimidation and decrees. Not surprisingly, a large retrospective study was recently reported that showed masks offered no public health benefit.

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With general release of the vaccine in the Spring of 2021, I was almost frantic to get my wife, who is a little older than me and therefore qualified as a priority, vaccinated. I was in the lowest priority group, but received the 2-dose series as soon as I was eligible. Hence, I was greatly disappointing that, as it played out, it quickly became obvious the vaccine didn’t meet the most basic standard of a vaccine: to prevent the illness and prevent the communicability of the pathogen. Nevertheless, the person who had access to the ostensibly greatest minds in medicine and science, Joe Biden, stated in July of that year: “You're not going to – you're not going to get COVID if you have these vaccinations” and “If you're vaccinated, you're not going to be hospitalized, you're not going to be in the IC unit, and you're not going to die.”

The next argument was basically, “Okay, it doesn’t prevent the illness or spread of the virus, but it will keep you from becoming severely ill.” We still don’t know if that proved to be true (some recent evidence suggests it was not) but, keeping in mind that morbidity and mortality associated with the corona virus was not exceptional compared to other viral outbreaks, it was very dangerous to the elderly and people with significant health problems. In fact, the morbidity and mortality in non-elderly, healthy people was almost negligible. Hence, a sober science and medical community could clearly have recommended vaccination for targeted, susceptible demographics, but instead they chose to double down on the vaccine and recommended/demanded younger and younger people receive the vaccine, as well as “boosters.” Yes, if you as much as questioned the efficacy of the vaccine, You Want People To Die!!!

There is no therapeutic agent in medicine that cannot elicit some kind of adverse reaction, especially injectables. Indeed, there has been a wealth of anecdotal reports of severe, and sometimes fatal, reactions to the corona virus vaccine; this is actually to be expected and falls under the realm of risk-benefit ratio, and routine consideration in medicine. ..until now: the medical establishment has avoided this topic, allowing partisan (and very powerful and wealthy) activists and lobbyists to shut down, mock, and ridicule anyone who even postulates about adverse effects. This is especially significant if you are advocating for vaccination of low to no risk demographics, who are often anecdotally the sufferers of adverse reactions. The medical establishment largely abandoned the standard evaluation of any therapeutic in favor of defending corona virus vaccine orthodoxy, meaning an endless money machine associated with the vaccines and massive pharmaceutical corporations.

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During the peak of the pandemic I recall listening to the radio and heard some assistant to then Gov. Wolfe of Pennsylvania discussing small business closures. When confronted with the realities and practicalities of forced shut-downs he quipped…..Do You Want People To Die!!! He, like so many, forgot he was supposed to be a thinking adult and instead threw a tantrum. Another interview was of some county health commissioner on Long Island, who diligently explained that, “Yes, we will open the public tennis courts, but only for singles games and there must be at least one empty court between.” I seriously doubt she had a rationale basis for that decree, but perhaps the power to make such a decree was itself personally rewarding.

Two to three months after the onset of the most severe health crisis facing the world in generations- a crisis that demanded a strict list of changes in daily life and suspension of basic freedoms to have any hope of survival- a petty life-long criminal was wantonly killed by police: George Floyd. As we know, this resulted in massive protests, riots, and destruction, during which pretty much all the dire virus warning and restrictions were ignored. But this was okay and even necessary: the experts declared that an even greater threat to public health was now “systemic racism,” and if large, concentrated and maskless, violent gatherings were the antidote to “systemic racism,” so be it. But don’t go to church because you are breaking laws decreed by “experts,” and You Want People To Die! Unless, of course, the church was located in a liquor store, then it was okay. Corona virus celebrity, then Gov. Cuomo of NY, and presumably with the advice of “experts,” decided that placing people actively symptomatic with the corona virus in with those most susceptible was quite an bright idea. Okay, it went against the most basic tenets of public health and there were more than 15,000 nursing home deaths (a number that had been kept secret), but he was a media darling at the time, so what the heck, they were old anyway.

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It is not uncommon for a drug developed and used for one condition is observed to benefit another, so-called “off label” use. Examples include anti-convulsants and beta-blockers used in the treatment of some psychiatric conditions and, more recently a drug for diabetes- Ozempic- being prescribed for weight loss. Several drugs were used by physicians in such as manner to treat the corona virus. Perhaps the most notable one is hydroxychloroquine, an interesting medication introduced in the US in the 1950s and used for malaria and a number of auto-immune disorders such as lupus and post-lyme disease arthritis; in 2020 is was prescribed in the US about 5 million times.

The off-label use of hydroxychloroquine for the corona virus was briefly tolerated in the US but the medical and government powers-that-be, including the FDA and NIH, declared it to be ineffective and dangerous, and subsequently it was prohibited. The controversy over hydroxychloroquine is a textbook example of the politicization of science and medicine. Of course, the orthodox establishment (i.e. the people and bureaucracies with most of the money and power) banned it based upon studies that claimed it was ineffective and dangerous, and in normal times that is the correct process. But other factors were involved. First and not-foremost, a 200mg tablet costs about 30 cents. So a knuckle-dragging conspiracy theorist might not believe that Pfizer is basically a mom and pop company concerned with savings lives and not profits, as compared to a massive international corporation that was given untoward billions by the government for its corona virus activities: a 30 cent generic pill isn’t going to earn anyone much money.

More importantly, a guy with funny colored hair- Donald Trump- expressed interest and support of hydroxychloroquine, and this was absolutely not acceptable to the establishment. Suddenly a drug that has been around for decades and used by countless millions became the most toxic substance ever produced (as an aside, the establishment web resource Wikipedia noted 8 people are known to have overdosed since the drug's introduction in the mid-1950s, of which 3 died). The greatest establishment minds ridiculed and marginalized their colleagues who considered alternative therapies, and even mentioning such heresy got them banned from media outlets. Yet people kept using hydroxychloroquine and anecdotal reports continued of its benefits.

Studies are funny things, and in a hysterical partisan environment can prove whatever the sponsor wants. The establishment studies showed no improvement in mortality when hydroxychloroquine was used, but those were largely studies conducted on patients already moribund. Likewise, advocates of hydroxychloroquine (heretics) believe that the drug alone is not beneficial, but must be used in combination with other substances, especially zinc. Hence, if they are correct and you conduct a study that did not use the correct combinations (and dosages) you will “prove” hydroxychloroquine is ineffective. Likewise, there are some studies that suggest decreased mortality in the hospital setting with hydroxychloroquine given correctly. For the most part the CDC-FDA-NIH (the establishment) recommended if you think you were developing the actual illness, quarantine and don’t seek medical attention unless you develop difficulty breathing, whereas the advocates of hydroxychloroquine believe(d) that early and correct administration of hydroxychloroquine would significantly decrease the chance of more serious illness.

For a brief addendum, the establishment medical journal, the Lancet, in Aug 2022 printed a letter that makes a very reasonable argument (referencing a study): Given Hydroxychloroquine's wide availability and low cost, and that there were no safety issues in “COPE,” a RR reduction of this magnitude could represent an important clinical benefit to COVID-19 outpatients at high risk of hospitalisation, e.g., those who have comorbidities, are not vaccinated, and have no access to costly therapies. Basically it says what I did in the first paragraph of this article...if it’s not going to harm you and may be beneficial, go for it. Sadly, the political and scientific environment became so toxic and close-minded that one wonders what would have been the result if Trump had spoken out against hydroxychloroquine. It’s possible and even likely it would have been hailed as a miracle drug.

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We all have something called an immune system, without which there would be no life. It is complex literally beyond comprehension (if anyone says otherwise, they are fooling either you or themselves), but one thing is well-known: naturally acquired immunity- you had the illness, survived it, and now have immunity to it- is a wonderful thing. I remain dumbfounded that the concept of naturally acquired immunity was essentially not considered by the establishment powers throughout the corona virus ordeal. Up until this event, viral epidemic illnesses were pretty much permitted to run their courses: allowing demographics not really susceptible to mortality and significant morbidity to be exposed and develop immunity, and protecting at risk groups. There was talk of “herd immunity,” especially by blasphemous voices, but ultimately the answers from the establishment- CDC, FDA, NIH, and those in political control- were unrelenting demands for “lock-downs,” face coverings, “social distancing, and, of course, More Vaccinations! The efficacy of any of these measures wasn’t really considered, just that they be complied with. And, of course, any opposing or critical thought be aggressively suppressed, even if these opinions were from medical and science professionals who heretofore were accepted as experts; opposition to the orthodoxy was not just to be discredited and silenced, but destroyed.

I began this article with a swipe at the “trusted” FDA. Perhaps the greatest shame caused by the pandemic was the harm done to the credibility of science and medicine, which has been dramatic and perhaps irreparable. There will, for me, always be a little question of, “The CDC recommends this or that, but what are their true goals: more power, more funding, or are they simply wrong again?” Throughout the pandemic the science and medical establishments acted out of greed, hysteria, vanity, lust for power, and selfishness, but most of all, plain old cowardice. It may sound melodramatic, but for me a very unfortunate consequence of the corona virus pandemic was, metaphorically, discovering someone I had admired, trusted, and respected my whole life was nothing more than a weak, incompetent, and money grubbing charlatan.