Lest we forget

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

Sitting unhidden in one of my barrio tiendas sipping on a litre of Poker beer, it dawned on me that less than a year ago such behaviour was officially prohibited and had been for the guts of 12 months.

Saving face: Colombians seem particularly keen on facemasks.

I'm not sure about you, but as things gradually return, for the most part anyway, to how they were pre-pandemic, I've nearly forgotten how absurd those "lockdown"/restricted-movement days were (it's good to have my various blog posts during the period as a reference point. See, for example, https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/03/coronavirus-collateral-damage.html and https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/06/coronavirus-auxiliary-killers.html. Here's hoping the internet's Ministry of Truth doesn't get at them).

Failed estate

This isn't to say that my tried-and-trusted Bogotá tiendas are devoid of signs of those crazy times. Clientele's wearing of facemasks under the chin is one rather inane reminder. There's also the odd sign to wash one's hands (a tad difficult in establishments without adequate facilities in this regard), to wear aforementioned masks and even notices to disinfect your footwear, a practice that was found early on to be rather ineffective in combatting contagion in most settings.

As for the facemasks, Colombians seem quite happy to wear them, anywhere and everywhere. Whatever about their efficacy in terms of reducing the spread of respiratory infections — the jury is still very much out — they may at least offer some protection from Bogotá's contaminated air. Although, when worn around the chin, it's unlikely they'll be of much help.

Nonetheless, it's good to have some reminders of what we've just gone through — as long as they're kept at a safe physical distance that is.

Of course, people still afflicted by coronavirus monomania will not only say that all draconian measures introduced were necessary but they are also likely to argue that they didn't go far enough nor last long enough.

Again, the evidence that strict lockdowns work in combatting a disease such as covid-19 is far from conclusive. And when viewed solely through the lens of Sars-CoV-2, one is guilty of inflicting other causes of pain and death on those who would otherwise be fine. It's a delicate balance, one that many countries appear to have got shockingly wrong.

"Those who have been most faithful to the creed, if they're not quite rewriting recent history their changing tack is explained as 'we weren't to know.' Really?"

As we begin to accept that we must learn to live with covid rather than stop living and as we move our focus onto the next global cause for concern, any proper, unbiased analysis of the last two years must critically examine the role of much of the media in unquestioningly following the official line.

A majority in the Fourth Estate, not for the first time and it certainly won't be for the last, decided to take refuge elsewhere.

A dubious narrative was established and followed with fervour. "The Science" — the one that promoted heavy-handed containment measures and has coerced people into taking covid vaccines even when it is clear that some have robust natural defences against the infection — became the true faith.

Signs of the time. Careful now ...

Those of us who dared ask fair and reasonable questions were blasted as heretics. We were selfish, content to needlessly let people die, so the attacks went. Very early on in this collective, dangerous insanity I called out what was for the most part nauseating, hypocritical virtue signalling (see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/03/coronavirus-fallout-virtue-signalling.html).

We now have some of those who were most faithful to the creed backtracking. If they're not quite rewriting recent history their changing tack is explained as 'we weren't to know.' Really? They seemed utterly convinced of their righteousness at the time, trying to rubbish those of us who went against them.

Centre fight

In any case, it's quite easy for them to shrug all this off now. Vaccine certs proudly in hand, life is pretty much back to normal. (More power to the countries that are doing away with jab passes — little by little, society appears to be taking a more reasonable, rounded approach to this. Let's not mention atrocious Australia, crazy Canada or nefarious New Zealand, though.)

Thus, some people tell me I should get over all this, 'hum a different tune'. For the most part, I am doing that.

However, the agents of coercion and control who were given a new lease of life with the arrival of the novel coronavirus continue to try to make life difficult for us "infidels". 'Just conform, goddamn it!'

Many appear quite happy to have the state overseeing more aspects of their lives, often falsely believing that it's for the greater good of society. It generally means a little less personal responsibility, too, so they'll acquiesce.

Yet, an all-powerful state with much of the media in tow, doing its best to silence — or cancel, if you will — dissenting voices, painting any opposition as conspiracy theorists and so refusing to engage with it, is not something to be endorsed.

It's why I won't simply let this go, not while we still have what is effectively nothing more than official opinion or debatable science being peddled as unquestionable fact.

As we've seen over the last couple of years and as history has repeatedly shown us, giving free rein to such forces rarely leads to positive outcomes.

The centre can hold for a little while longer. We have to be prepared, though, to battle hard to keep it together.
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Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

 

The case for non-pharmaceutical covid defences

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

When it comes to explaining my continued reluctance to get the Sars-CoV-2 vaccine to those who have no issue with it, it's like we're on a different plain, nay planet, altogether.

Where I see the figure six, they see a nine and vice versa, something to that effect.

Lining up for a jab to live life but not necessarily a jab to save lives.

Just do it

'Is it that you're frightened of needles?', is a common, benign initial question. I'm not, although I have been known to get rather lightheaded after injections and I needed a little more recuperation time than the average person after the one and only occasion I gave blood (it hasn't deterred me from wishing to donate again, it's just Colombia doesn't want my blood now).  

'Oh, so you're afraid that the vaccine will do you more harm than good? You don't need to worry, it's practically 100 per cent safe.' On this front, I'm not really worried about potential nasty side effects, yet the idea that the vaccines are fully safe we know is not true.

What's more, the benefit-risk balance comes down more heavily on the latter side the younger one is. Covid-19 itself, on the other hand, is ageist, with the elderly facing a far greater risk of severe infection and death.  

'Ah, so you're one of those conspiracy theorists who think that the vaccine implants a microchip in your body or something like that.' No. As much as some might wish to label me thus, I don't believe that.

What I certainly do have is much less confidence in governments and leading civil servants that are directing public health across the globe. 

The 'trust the science' mantra, when that "science" is far from proven beyond reasonable doubt and has been shown to have more holes in it than the socks I currently have in my possession, only makes one more suspicious.

'In a Twitter exchange with the renowned US epidemiologist, Larry Brilliant, he accepted that natural immunity is a factor but said it was risky to rely on. For the vast majority of older people, that would seem true. For most younger folk, not so.'

Indeed, it's akin to the line from the Jim Carrey character in the classic comedy flick Dumb and Dumber, 'It's OK, I'm a limo driver.' At least he got his passenger to the airport unscathed, although — similar to this pandemic — with plenty of collateral damage along the way.

'So you're just a contrarian who doesn't want to be told what to do.' I'd be lying if I said this wasn't a factor but with good reason. It ties in with the above, our decision-makers' just-do-it-or-else approach, which not only fails to convince sceptics of the benefits of covid-19 vaccines for the entire population but also ensures a more entrenched position.

When one has been close to a highly contagious virus and suffered no adverse reaction, practically forcing said person to take an emergency-issued vaccine for 'one's own good and that of humanity at large', when the evidence that this is the case is questionable, to say the least, in what other way would any right-thinking individual respond than to refuse?

A not-so-'Brilliant' vaccine: data show that natural immunity may be better than the vaccine over time.

Surely public health bodies would serve humanity better by studying what exactly is at play in those of us who seem to have non-vaccine-acquired defences against covid-19.

Immune to rationality

Natural immunity — this shouldn't have to be stated but it appears many have to be reminded of it — is not an absurd concept. 

In a brief Twitter exchange a few months ago with the renowned US epidemiologist Larry Brilliant — a man who truly knows about tackling infections, unlike Bill Gates — he accepted that natural immunity is a factor but said it was risky to rely on.

For the vast majority of older people, that would seem true. For most younger folk, not so, as emerging data appear to show.  

With Colombia joining the list of countries that are effectively forcing the vaccine on people, the unvaccinated here are set to become social pariahs. One of the many worrying aspects of this is the number of so-called liberals all over the world who support such coercion.

It is understandable in some ways. The hypochondriacal masses have been bombarded with fear-inducing messages about the severity of covid-19 from governments and media for almost two years now. In such an environment disproportionate, irrational responses are not surprising.

I had hoped that as we see more breakthrough covid infections and data continue to show the limits of vaccine-acquired immunity, a realisation that some people already have what appear to be robust defences against this virus would be forthcoming. Alas, what we're getting is the opposite, doubling down on inoculation programmes.

One also has to wonder why there has been less of a focus on developing effective treatments when we've seen that the vaccine is far from a panacea.

It would seem to make sense to do so for a disease that's set to become endemic. Again, it just raises suspicions as to what forces are truly behind the mass-vaccination drive.

In this context, it's not quite a jab to save lives. It's more a case of 'get the jab or forget about living your life'. Don't ask questions, just do it.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".