Posted on

Are Facemasks Outside Useless?

Are Facemasks Outside Useless?

According to a May 2020 article published in the New England Journal of Medicine there is little justification for wearing fascemasks outside for protection against coronavirus

We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection.

Facemasks are recommend for specific situations:

  • Being face to face with an infected person

  • Within 6 feet of an infected person

  • The infected person is symptomatic

  • Contact that lasts from 10 to 30 minutes

Therefore masks should be used in certain medical settings. Those caring for, or living with a symptomatic person may also benefit from a mask. But what is the rational for mandating use of fasemask outside? What is driving our media and politicians to promote masks for almost any situations when someone leaves their home? The article does not say what is happening inside the politician's minds. It does however, offer some speculation on why masks have become so popular.

In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.

Should masks be used by themselves?

In situations where PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is needed, a facemask is just one component. Other PPE which should be used includes:

  • Gown
  • Gloves
  • Eye protection

Furthermore, without proper use of the PPE and hand-washing, masks are of little benefit.

The benefit of making all of society wear facemasks?

Governors Cuomo in NY has used his emergency powers to dictate the mandatory use of fascemasks. This does not seem to be a temporary measure. Recent guidelines for how businesses are to operate in NYS give no time frame. Governor Cuomo seems intent on permanently changing society to a state of constant virual paranoia.

Video clearly shows that Governor Cuomo wants this to be a permanent cultural change.

I can find no scientific basis for these politician's obsession with fasemasks. A few months ago such behavior in an individual would have been considered a case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. As Gerald Celente of Trendsjounal explains, it's the "New Abnormal." Additionally, politicians ignore numerous health problems caused by fasemasks.

Politicians usher in a new "abnormal" based off of fear and no science. they are making the rules up.

Reasons to not wear a facemask

  • Masks trap viral particles, creating possibility for infection.
  • The damp environment of the mask creates opportunely for bacteria to grow, with may cause infection for the use.
  • Impairs breathing. Masks decrease how much oxygen we can breath in. They also increase our levels of carbon dioxide.
  • Only N95 mask, when properly worn may work. Surgical, and especially cloth masks are worthless against coronavirus (see link to my article below). There are currently no regulations on facemasks. Anyone can produce them. They are not made to any standard. Packaging often includes warnings that they are not designed to prevent viral infection.

Go here for Russel Blaylock's article on the dangers of wearing fasemasks

I have also written a blog post a few weeks ago on the dangers of facemasks

World Health Organization does not support social mask wearing

It is not only some naturopathic doctors or people or people who promote alternative health who question social mask wearing. Even the World Health Organization tells people they only need to wear facemasks in specific situations.

World Health Organization does not reccomend masks for outside use
The world health organization does not recommend wearing face masks for going outside.

Pyshcological effects of facemasks

The NEJM states that the real reason for social fasemask use maybe psychological. It can reduce anxiety about becoming infected. The words symbole and talismans are used to describe masks. What is ignored is the negative psychological effects. In specific health settings masks reduce anxiety. Forcing all of society to wear them increases anxiety. Masks are a symbol that anyone you pass on the street is a danger. Anyone may kill you with infection. The mask thus becomes a symbol of perpetual fear.

The long term effect this has on cortisol and stress response is ignored by politicians. Stress and social isolation is associated with disease and shorter life expectancy. Social mask wearing has not been subjected to cost benefit analysis by politicians who enforce their use with no scientific rationale whatsoever.

Facemask recommendations from Dr. Marcus

There are many situations where people are forced by government, private business, or social pressure to wear face masks. I am not telling anyone to disobey the law. This is simply what would be done in a more rationale and ideal world.

  • Masks should only be worn when medically warranted. This includes certain health care situations with high chance of exposure to sick people. Masks may also be useful when taking care of a sick person at home. For this to work, masks must be combined with other measures to stop spread of infection.

  • There is no needed to wear masks in medical situations where there is no significant chance of infection (when around asymptomatic or healthy people).

  • Masks should not be worn outside.

  • No one should do intense or prolonged exercise while wearing a mask.

  • Peer pressure is not a valid reason for wearing a mask. Other people around you may not want to wear a mask as well but do so purely out of social pressure. Taking off your mask, will make others more confident about taking theirs off. (This only goes for situations where there is no medical need to wear a mask).

Additional articles on the pointlessness and danger in wearing masks

Does wearing a mask do any-thing?

Surgical masks lower blood oxygen

Posted on

The Truth About Amazon Employee Deaths From Covid-19

Verge article on amazon employees dying from coronavirus

The Truth About Amazon Employee Deaths From Covid-19

Personal disclaimer. I do not like Amazon. I believe it is wrong for one company (and one man, Jeff Bezos) to have so much money and power. Amazon also has a long history of treating its employees poorly. Because of these issues and more, I have boycotted Amazon for the past 2 years. Nonetheless, when a news story comes about Amazon and Covid-19 I do not jump to conclusions. I look to the facts.

This post is not really about Amazon. It is about how the media can distort the truth and lie with statistics. Another theme is how bureaucracies waste resources on poorly conceived, counter-productive projects. Finally, it is about the world's response to coronavirus. Amazon is a microcosm of what is going on almost everyplace else.

News reports of death from covid-19 at Amazon

A recent article in Theverge.com reports of an Amazon employee dying from covid-19

Verge article on amazon employees dying from coronavirus

Here we can see NBC felt it was newsworthy to report that an eighth Amazon worker had died from covid-19. The implication of NBC selecting this specific death to report on is that something particularly dangerous is happening in the Amazon workplace.

TV news has been reporting on Amazon for months. This is just one example of many news stories.

Facts the Verge and NBC presented about Amazon workers dying from covid-19

  • Eight Amazon workers have officially died from covid-19

  • Three of these workers had been employed in Amazon warehouses. The article does not state where the others were employed.

  • Amazon recently hired an additional 175,000 workers

  • Amazon has not wished to close facilities where workers tested positive. It has been put under pressure to do so.

  • In response to public pressure Amazon will spend $4 billion on coronavirus saftey measures.

Putting the facts into perspective

How much danger are Amazon workers really in? Eight deaths may seen like a lot, but that really depends on how many workers there are. Years ago I was a mail carrier. Another mail carrier in my post office got lung cancer. He Never even smoked or was in poor health. He just suddenly felt sick and a few months later died. About the same time another had to take months off for cancer treatment. Two of fifty mail carriers seemed like a lot. That was 4% of the carriers at that post office. It was one small indication that cancer is a big problem.

Last year it was close to 800,000 people worked for Amazon. If they recently hired another 175,000 that would put their workforce near a million. For the purposes of this article I'll go with the low number and say 800,000.

So 8 out of 800,000 employees caught coronavirus and died. We do not know much about these cases. Their ages, other health conditions and issue with their treatment are not public. Did they die from coronavirus or with it? But, for the sake of argument I will assume that all eight died from covid-19 despite receiving the best medical care.

8 of 800,000 comes down to a 0.001% chance of an Amazon worker dying from covid-19.

Now, lets look at death statistics more broadly. How many workers at Amazon have died from all other causes? The following table is complied with data from Statista.com.

Death rate in United states per 100,000:

I do not have detailed demographic statistics on Amazon employees. Therefore this section will be more of a thought exercise about fear mongering and statistic. For the sake of argument I will make certain assumptions. All of which will be in the direction of erring to a high death rate inside of Amazon.

For the first assumption I will take national death rate for people aged 25 - 29 and apply it to all Amazon workers. Sure, some employees are younger, but many older. This age range is good enough to ensure that I do not overestimate the number of workers who are expected to die of all other causes.

Death rate per 100,000 was 171.3 for males and 68.8 for females. Averaging those two numbers and we get about 120 deaths per 100,000. As an aside, considering how important it is to save every possible life from coronavirus, you would think people would care about the high rate of preventable young male death. I was not aware it was this bad until looking at the numbers to write this post.

120 deaths per 100,000 is based on the national population of 25 - 29 year olds. My second assumption will be that many people are simply to sick to work. Therefore Amazon is not hiring them. So instead of 120 deaths per 100,000 I will go with 60. We thus arrive at the estimate that 60 out of every 100,000 Amazon workers will die this year. This is through no fault of Amazon. The sad fact is that people die. Sometimes people die while still restively young. Therefore any large organization such as Amazon or the United State Postal Service will loose some of their employees each year.

So we can take these numbers and see how many Amazon workers are dying of coronavirus compared to all other causes:

  • 1 death out of 100,000 due to coronavirus

  • 60 deaths out of 100,000 due to all other causes

Another way of looking at it, over 98% of Amazon employee deaths were caused by something else other than covid-19.

The top causes of death in that age group are: accidents, cancer, cardiovascular disease and suicide. This is data taken from before the world of covid-19, but flu and cold deaths caused 1.4% of deaths in age 25 - 44 range. Why don't we have a monumental effort to stop these death like we have for covid-19. Where are the daily death counts on TV news of how many people died by car accident or suicide?

Death from coronavirus is a tragedy. Death from anything else is a statistic.

Yes, every life matters. Every covid-19 death matters. But why does each covid-19 death matter so much more than any other? A full third of deaths in the aged 25 - 44 range are car accidents. Yet we don't tell people not to drive.

Amazon's response to their covid-19 crisis

As a business Amazon is not hurting. Small businesses have been closed due to the lockdown. Many will never reopen. Having a whole country stuck at home with stores closed means online ordering is up. Business is actually booming for Amazon. So when I present the numbers on how much fighting covid-19 is costing Amazon, I'm not trying to get people to feel bad for Jeff Bezos. Regardless of how much we feel about Amazon we should be honest about the facts.

Due to mounting pressure from employees, the media and government Amazon will spend $4 billion from April to June on covid-19 prevention. That is over $4000 per employee. I can only imagine it will be spent on masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, plexiglass, barriers and other devices to keep workers away from each other and squeaky clean.

What will Amazon employees get out of this $4 billion investment in their health?

If employee health is really the issue does any of this make sense? 98% of Amazon employee deaths are from other causes. What if that $4000 per employee was spent on easing stress at the work place? Maybe a plan to give workers better access to healthly food and nutritional supplements. For this kind of money, each employee could have their own team of naturopathic doctor, chiropractor and massage therapist paid for!

Or perhaps money could first be spent on studying what factor are the leading cause of ill health among workers. That way the money could be spent wisely and not based on hysteria.

Instead Amazon is turning its facilities into germaphobia obstacle courses. What science do we have that this will do anything to improve worker safety or reduce death? From what we know about sars-cov-2 it is actually a weak virus. Many people are asymptomatic and don't know they have it. For most who have symptoms it is very mild. Perhaps working to improve the immune system of the most vulnerable, so they do not get sick if exposed to coronavirus is a better option?

The skeptic may say that is speculation. I have no absolute proof that improving the general health and well being of a population will prevent covid-19 deaths. But neither is there any data that the germaphobia obstacle course will save lives either. All this that Amazon and the rest of our country is doing: masks, plexiglass, "social distancing" and more is not proven to work.

The negative effects of fighting coronavirus

Before coronavirus became a problem working conditions at Amazon where already difficult. They are horrible to their employees which is one of the reasons I have been boycotting them for two years. So now Amazon is taking their already stressful working conditions, and adding more stress to it. Face masks impair breathing and may become breading ground for bacteria it not used properly. That is a health risk. What about just the stress of "social distancing" or possible toxic effects of flooding a building with disinfectant?

The germaphobe obstacle course may prevent some infections. But it is like a drug with many nasty side effects. That is why when they do drug studies, there is something called a cost/benefit analysis. Where is the germaphobe obstacle course cost/benefit analysis. No one is doing this. It may be that the treatment is worse than the disease? Increasing workplace stress can be deadly.

Coronavirus and the cost of fear

Waging an all out battle against an enemy no matter what, has a cost. Amazon does not have a cost/benefit analysis for its safety measure. Amazon has done pretty much everything it can do to stop covid-19 within the currant paradigm of lockdown. That still is not enough for its critics. The only thing that will truly satisfy them is to just shut everything down.

Amazon'anti-coronavirus measures need no science. This is about silencing pressure from the outside to do something. The cost/benefit analysis is irrelevant.

Nor does society have a cost/benefit analysis for lockdown. People may get sick because they are unable to see their doctors. I've had this problem with clients not able to come in to see me. Suicide rates are going up. I've already touched on the danger in chronic mask wearing and increased stress. The loss of human touch from a handshake or hug has its cost. These are just a few of many costs we are paying because the government told us we needed to fight coronavirus. When the costs are all added up, is it worth it?

Media hysteria is not harmless.

The way to combat a crisis is not with fear. What we need is rationale, wisdom and compassion. Fear mongering is not benign. Mindless fear-mongering for the sake of trying to grab a headline is unethical. The next time you catch the media hyping up fear around coronavirus or anything else, it's best to step back and think about things first. Yes, each of those Amazon employee deaths does matter. However, the data does not suggest that Amazon employees are dying in extraordinary numbers from coronvirus. They are several times more likely to die of a car accident, cancer or heart disease than coronavirus. As a naturopathic doctor I am committed to health care and especially preventative measures.

While it is good to see Amazon invest $4 billion in employee health, the merits of what they are spending the money on is questionable. What data do we have that Amazon's "Deep Cleaning" is going to amount to anything besides calming down its critics.

At least Amazon can claim it's measures are as "Evidence Based" as the government's.

Posted on

Kawasakis Disease and Covid-19 Fearmongering

Cat in fear over the coronavirus

Kawasakis Disease and Covid-19 Fearmongering

Cat in fear over the coronavirus

What is Kawasaki Disease

Kawasaki Disease is an inflammatory condition which effects children. Characteristic symptoms include a persistent high fever for five days or more, rash, bloodshot eyes, "strawberry" tongue, cracked and dry lips, redness of fingers and toes.

The specific cause, and pathology of Kawasaki disease is unknown. Studies have looked at numerous possible triggers. These include:

  • Bacterial infections
  • Viral infections
  • Carpet cleaners
  • Proximity to water
  • Trophosporic wind patterns
  • Immunizations

Kawasaki Coronavirus Fear-Mongering Replaces Actual Science

In May 2020, the media which has been fear mongering over covid-19 for several months, jumped on an opportunity to blame coronavirus for causing Kawasaki Disease. As I will review below, this is entirely baseless.

Until now, there have no been reports of covid-19 harming children. You would think that for a disease ravaging through the whole world for months we would have seen some signs of it harming children sooner. So far we have close to zero evidence that children are in danger from covid-19.

That does not stop "news" reports with headlines such as: " A rare, severe inflammatory illness largely believed to be associated with COVID-19 is putting children in ICUs in the United Kingdom and the United States." Evidence is nothing. Speculation is everything. In the age of fear mongering and coronavirus sensationalism, the motto seems to be: fear now, ask questions later.

Having a virus, and symptoms does not mean the virus is the cause of symptoms. Likewise, there is a difference between having sar-cov-2 virus and dying from it. When it comes to covid-19 all rational thinkers have been repeating ad nauseaum "dying with covid-19 is not the same as dying from it."

In a recent report 15 children from ages 2 to 15 in New York City has symptoms consistent with Kawasaki Disease. Of these 15 children how many were diagnosed with covid-19 by PCR? We can turn this into a multiple choice test question:

Number of the 15 children with Kawasaki in NYC who tested positive for covid-19?

  • 15
  • 14
  • 7
  • 4

The answer: 4. That is it. But that is enough for New York City to issue a statement with the headline Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome Potentially Associated with COVID-19. Admittingly, serology tests brings the number all the way up to 6.

So we are now to beleive that coronavirus is so dangerous, it can cause severe symptoms in children who are not been exposed to it!

Meanwhile in the UK, where this began the BBC had a headline: "Coronavirus: Children affected by rare Kawasaki-like disease". What the BBC is not telling us, is that cases of Kawasaki Disease are actually down this year in the UK. The UK Kawasaki Disease Foudation states:

Fewer cases of Kawasaki Disease than would be normally expected at this time of year are currently being seen - not more.

The BBC article reads like a bad piece of Orwellian fiction. We can go through blatant lies and distortions:

  • Article says Kawasaki is linked to Coronavirus, which it is not.

  • Says that in April doctors where warned to look for this rare condition. This gives the impression of something new doctors just needed to be educated about. Kawasaki is not a new illness. Pediatricians know about it. There are over 5000 cases of it per year in the United States. Not very common, but not so rare that it's virtually unheard of.

  • BBC then goes on to call this a "new phenomenon" which again, it is not.

  • BBC then quotes a doctor saying that the fact we are seeing this in the middle of Covid-19 means the two are linked. Amazingly, pandemic or not, people will still get sore throats, cavities, ear infections, skin rashes, food poisoning and other conditions including Kawasaki. Other diseases do not go on vaccation because of covid-19.

  • The doctor then repeats that this is something new. Well, it's either Kawasaki Disease, or it is not. The article is trying to claim both. It is a "Kawasaki like" condition, that just happens to be identical to Kawasaki!

  • States that symptoms are " likely to be something related to the build up of antibodies after infection," which is pure speculation. Up to now no single definitive cause for Kawasaki disease has been found.

Just like in New York City, the majority of children did not test positive for covid-19. However, they did test positive for antibodies.

Correlation does not prove causality. In this case, they have not even demonstrated much correlation. But that does not stop the fear mongering-hype which undoubtedly will cause many children around the world to remain locked up indoors and smothered with face masks.

The possibility that children tested positive for covid-19 simply because it is a virus circulating around the world, and had nothing to do with Kawasaki is not mentioned in the article.

Kawasaki and Vaccines?

ROTARIX vaccine for rotavirus has been associated with Kawasaki disease. This can be read in the vaccine package insert.

There are numerous studies which have looked at rotovirus and Kawasaki connection. Officially, there is no clear conclusion. What would be interesting is detailed information on all children with Kawasaki, and relationship to vaccines. This would include both recent vaccines, and total. Regardless, there are unvaccinated children who may also get Kawasaki. So even if a vaccine(s) was found to be a cause, it is not the trigger in everyone.

List of additional Rotovirus and vaccine studies

Putting Kawasaki disease and coronavirus in perspective

In depth articles on the non-connection between Kawasaki and Covid-19

The UK Kawawaki disease foundation have an good review on how there is no evidence of connection to covid-19.

Childrens Health Defense reviews history of Kawasaki and research into other possible causes including vaccines and mercury.

Posted on

New York State Assembly Bill 99

New York State Assembly Bill 99

A proposed NYS law, currently in committee would allow the state to detain people deemed to have a commutable disease and are thus a danger to public health.

As of the day of this post, May 7, 2020 the bill is available to read here on the New York State senate website.

In this post I will review and comment on each section of the bill

Section 1: Removal and Detention

This bills allows the state to remove and detain people who “are or may be a danger to public health.” This provision can only be enforced if the governor declares a state of emergency.

Comments

I see no difference between the words “Remove,” “Detain,” and arrest. Using the states monopoly on violence to lock people up in cages against their will is arresting them.

Furthermore, there are no limits on the states power given. All the governor has to do is declare a “State of Emergency.” Nothing more is said. Is a season flu a state of emergency? A cold? A strep infection?

Section 2: Detention of Individuals and Groups

This section repeats much of the first, but with more detail of who may order the medical arrest (my phrase) of people. A single sentence in this section dramatically changes how this law may be used. This is not just about individuals.

Comments

The bill states: “individuals or group being detained.” So what is a group? A group of sick people? A group of people who due to religious, scientific or moral objections have not undergone a vaccination? The bill does not given any elaboration. All the state has to say is that people in a group may be a danger due to a communicable disease, and the can all be detained by the state.

Section 3: Length and Manner of Detention

The governor can decide how long and in what manner detainment can be for.

Comments

Detainment can last indefinitely. Conditions of detainment can be whatever the governor chooses. So, what if someone is detained because they do not wish to have a vaccine? Can the state detain them for life or until vaccine is given. What if the state claims someone has an infection and since it can not be cured, they must be locked up. Imagine what the state could have done with bill during the HIV/Aids crisis of the 1980s!

Section 4: When will a person be released

This section sets guidelines for when detainees shall be released. Conditions include:

  • State determines someone is no longer contagious
  • State determines that a person has not been exposed to such disease, or if infected, will no longer be contagious.
  • Person what detained only as a contact with an infected person, and is found to not be infected.

Comments

Lets take for example the recent measles scare in New York. Ignoring the argument over how valid the measles vaccine is, governor Cuomo has police roaming the streets of certain neighborhoods, issuing fines for people found to be vaccinated. Now the state can come in and detain people.

Any infection in a community or group, and the governor can have detained anyone in it. All the state has to do is declare a state of emergence. The criteria for what is a state of emergency is also up to the whim of the state. There are no checks on state power.

Section 5: Treatment of those detained

Anyone medically detained shall have his medical needs addressed. Isolation and infection control principles will be implemented.

Comments

So who shall determine how his/her medical needs are addressed. The individual with a self chosen health care team or the state.

What is just as concerning is the power of state to hold detainees in essentially solitary confinement, for as long as deemed medically necessary. What if family, lawyers are a private physician who wish to challenge the state’s detainment wishes to see them. Can the state say it is not safe and bar visitors?

This spring in response to Covid-19, hospitals have not allowed family to visit their relatives. This leaves patients without advocates.

Section 6 and 7: Court hearings

After 3 business days, detainees have a right to be heard. Detention can not last more than 5 days without a court order. For each 90 day interval after, the state needs to go back to the courts to continue the detention.

Comments

While it is good to see some limits placed on state power, these provisions are weak. If the state claims someone in a public danger, then they can be essentially be held indefinitely. All the state needs to do is renew the detention every 90 days with a judge

Sections 8 – 11

This sections deal with what information is to be given to detainees, translators and right to notify people on the outside about their detention.

Section 12: additional state powers

This section give the governor and state even more broad powers to do the following:
  • “the governor 11 or his or her delegate may, in his or her discretion, issue and seek enforcement of any other orders that he or she determines are necessary or appropriate to prevent dissemination or transmission of contagious diseases or other illnesses that may pose a threat to the public health”.
  • Power to quarantine people in locations outside of state detention.
  • State has the power to require medical testing on individuals.
  • Individuals may be required to be vaccinated.

Comments:

Up to this point the bill was limited to only contagious disease. Once sentence at the end extends power to any other illness, for which the state wishes to detain people over.

House arrest and group quarantines. If it’s is not practical for the state to detain you in a facility, they can simply tell you to stay home.

This is a mandatory vaccination bill. All the state needs to do is claim it’s not safe for you to skip a vaccine. At this point they can hold you indefinitely, as long as the courts agree to extend detention every 90 days.

Section 13: Final limit on state power

“The provisions of this section shall not be construed to require the forcible administration of any medication without a prior court order.”

Comments

This is not a check on state power. The governor and state will clearly be able to get the courts to comply with any powers used in this bill.

Final comments on the dangers of excessive state power

Nuremberg Codes

After world war two, in response to Nazi atrocities the Nuremberg Codes where produced as ethical guidelines for research and medical experimentation. We currently have numerous examples of the state forcing medical experimentation on the public. Vaccines do not undergo testing against inert placebo. Nor long term trials. Instead of long, rigorous safety trials that are unleashed onto the public, and then screened for adverse effects. All vaccines are thus medical experiments on the public. The current coronavirus lockdown, with all it’s economic destruction does not constitute prove public health measures. It is thus another medical experiment; what will take more lives, the virus or economic destruction?

With this in mind I think it is very reasonable to judge New York State Assembly Bill 99 against the Nuremberg Codes. We see many violations

.

  • Voluntary consent is essential. The whole purpose of this bill is to allow the state to force medical procedures on people and whole groups without consent.

  • The results of any experiment must be for the greater good of society. By putting such power in hands of the state, there is no guarantee if medical procedures are to benefit society, the state, or corporations who may benefit.

  • We can see in the current rush to created a coronavirus vaccines, typical guidelines of first experimenting on animals is being bypassed. (3) This bill will give the state power to force medical procedures on people according to it’s standards. What checks are there on improper testing when individuals can not opt out.

  • Risks should never exceed the benefits. As of writing this we are in the middle of the coronavirus lockdown. Since none of the public health benefits (socials distancing, mask wearing, home quarantine, closing business’s, canceling “non-essential” medical procedures) have been proven to be of benefit in current context, this is a giant medical experiment. The actual public health cost will be huge.There is no way to know exactly how many people will die from the lockdown. But it undeniable that the poverty inflicted on the people from the state (not the virus) will kill many. The following comes from the April 28th edition of Trends Journal:

    2011 study by Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health concluded that poverty, combined with other associated categories, such as income inequality and low levels of education, caused 874,000 U.S. deaths in the year 2000.Since 33.3 million Americans lived in poverty in that year, those 874,000 deaths amounted to a 2.62 percent mortality rate among the impoverished.

    If we apply this 2.62 percent mortality rate to the 21 million Americans soon to be impoverished as a result of the shutdowns, that comes to 550,200 who are likely to die in just the first year alone!

    So we can see in the case of coronavirus lockdown, the state conducting a massive medical experiment on the population that will almost surely kill many more people than it saves. How much power should be state be given to force medical experiments on the population?

  • Experiments should be conducted only by qualified scientists. The governor, nor state health officials are not qualified to order detention of people and force medical procedures on them. This bill takes such decisions away from individuals and their own health care team and hands it over to the state. Court procedure are weak protection against state abuse compared to not giving the state such power to begin with.

State power and government trust

Giving the state having this power to protect citizens may sound reassuring. However, it comes with a problem. Do you trust the state with this power?

Even if you think the current governor should be able to do this, what about the next, or the one after that? Even if you are for mandatory vaccinations, what if a new treatment comes out with potential dangers? Should the state automatically have the power for force it on people?

New York State Assembly Bill 99 may potentially protect the public against a disease. But it is also a blueprint for medical tyranny. What worries you more, the fear of contagious or unchecked state power?

Reference

1.You may download the text of Assembly Bill 99 here

2. Police fine people vaccinated against measles

3. Researchers fast-tracck coronavirus vaccine by skipping key animal testing first

4. Article on the Nuremberg Code

Posted on

Face mask research and coronavirus

People in New York wearing face masks because of coronavirus

Face mask research and coronavirus

People in New York wearing face masks because of coronavirus

As of writing this article on May 1st 2020, most people are wearing various forms of face masks to prevent transmission of coronavirus. Many state governors have have ordered people to wear masks. I have not found instances of fines or arrest at the time of writing this article, but the way things are going, it would not be surprising if we start to see this happen.

Mask wearing is changing social norms. Showing your face in public is a new cultural taboo. Masks are required to enter a store or conduct business. Government, businesses and social intimidation or forcing people to wear masks.

All this is of course believed to be based on science. Experts in organizations such as the WHO, CDC and state officials have told to wear masks. Since they are the experts and must know the science isn’t it best if we just follow along?

In order to figure this out, I’ve been doing some research on mask wearing.

Surgical and cotton masks for blocking sars-cov-2 virus

Surgical masks are commonly used to prevent coronavirus, despite a lack of scientific information that they will be effective

How much research has actually been done in the effectiveness of face masks in preventing the Sars-Cov-2 virus?

According to an April 2020 study “Whether face masks worn by patients with coronavirus disease prevent contamination of the environment is uncertain.”

This paper cites another study from March 2020. “Evidence that face masks can provide effective protection against respiratory infections in the community is scarce, as acknowledged in recommendations from the UK and Germany.”

Back to the mentioned April 2020 study, patients who had already been diagnosed with covid-19 were recruited. They were asked to cough towards a petri dish so the amount of viral particles could be counted. This was done with no mask, surgical mask, cotton mask, and then again with no mask.

Results found that neither the surgical or cotton masks effectively filtered SARS-CoV-2. Although looking at the data, the cotton masks did filter out more viral particles.

After the masks where used, they were tested for viral particles. There was actually more viral particles on the outside of mask, then the inner area where the patients would have been breathing directly on.

This means that with use the masks become a reservoir for viral particles. Hand washing is thus important to follow after touching the outer surface of masks.

Dangers of face masks

A 2015 study in the BMJ compared the effectiveness of cloth and medical masks in healthcare settings.
1607 healh care worker were divided into 3 groups:

    • Wearing a medical mask at all times
    • Control group, only wear mask in some situations. Different mask were used, medical and cloth.
    • Wearing a cloth mask at all times

    The study concluded:

    We have provided the first clinical efficacy data of clothmasks, which suggest HCWs should not use cloth masks as protection against respiratory infection. Cloth masks resulted in significantly higher rates of infection than medical masks.

    The authors pointed out several ways that masks may increase infections:

        • Water retention may create an environment for pathogens to live
        • Reuse and being used often allow viruses to contaminate the mask
        • Self contamination is possible

Should cloth face masks be used for SARS and coronavirus

The study states:

“Observations during SARS suggested double-masking and other practices increased the risk of infection because of moisture, liquid diffusion and pathogen retention. These effects may be associated with cloth masks.”

Therefore, the science does not support wearing these masks. Face masks have been designed to work in certain clinical settings with proper use. Different masks have different uses and properties. Putting on a random face mask, using it outside the environment it was intended for, and without following proper protocols can not be supported by the actual research.

Surgical face masks have been designed so a doctor or nurse dose not spread infectious material into a patient they are working for. They are not meant to protect the user from viral particles in the air

N95 respirator masks and SARS virus

The data does seem clear that if someone is going to wear a mask to protect against coronavirus, then a N95 respirator is the best option.

N95 Respiratory Mask

So does this mean that everyone should wear a N95 mask?

That would really depend on a comprehensive cost benefit analysis. These mask are designed to protect health care workers in professional settings where they are exposed to numerous sick people during the day. They also can be beneficial if you are close proximity to someone who is sick, such as caring for a family member.

Potential risks of wearing masks include:

    • Lower blood oxygen and increased carbon dioxide
    • Mask may start to harbor infections themselves with prolonged used
    • Psychological stress of always needing to wear a mask and perceived danger
    • Impaired social relationships. Humans are social creatures. Positive social relationships place a huge part in our psychological and physical health. Mask wearing impairs much of our non-verbal communication, which may effect our psychological state and thus overall health

    Evidence that mandatory face mask wearing is preventing coronavirus

    I have not found any evidence whatsoever that mandating face masks is doing anything to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The same can be said about other new public health measures that no one ever heard about a few months ago. “Social Distancing,” seems to be a made up thing. We don’t have any scientific research to support it.

    Cost Benefit Analysis of mask wearing and “social distancing”

    There are numerous social costs to mask wearing.

      • Financial cost of masks

      • Health care workers, or those caring for sick people, who genuinlly need masks, may run out of supply or be forced to reuse masks, which has it’s own dangers.

      • Masks cause lower oxygen in the blood and increased carbon dioxide. For a fit, healthy person who is not being very active, this probably will not be a problem. For people who are doing physically demanding labor, pregnant women, or with health conditions which cause fatigue or poor circulation this may be a problem

      • Masks may be a challenge for people with asthma, COPD and other lung conditions that compromise breathing.

      • Masks themselves may harbor infections, especially used incorrectly of for prolonged periods of time.

      • Psychological stress of always having to wear a mask.

      • Emotional stress of emotions such as fear, which add another psychological burden to people.

      • Demands of lower oxygen intake will stimulate cortisol, the body’s major stress hormone. Increased cortisol is associated with stress induced disease. And virtually any disease can have a stress component to it.

      • Perhaps the largest factor is economic. Many jobs simply are not possible to do, or much more difficult with mask wearing and especially “social distancing.” Economic effects can include death from suicide, stress related illnesses, increase in anxiety, depression, lack of money to pay rent or buy food. All this contributes to illness and earlier death.

So what is the point of mask wearing?

If people do not wear masks properly, then there is not point to it. What is the purpose of putting society through all this stress, when there is a total lack of scientific evidence to support it, and most people are not even wearing masks properly. Due to health issues not all people can wear masks

On the day I wrote this post, outside my apartment building one of my neighbors was sick. Not from coronavirus, but she has apparently shortness of breath. She was outside with friend and family and seemed to have trouble breathing and apparently it was related to a heart condition.

I don’t know all the details and am not the type to be nosy about such things. But she was wearing a mask. A surgical mask outside. She didn’t even have it on properly all the time, often lowering it around her chin.

Surrounded by people, not breathing well, waiting for 911, she was standing their with her mask on. I yelled at them to take the mask off. From the research on mask use, a dirty, used mask, that is not even the right type to stop coronavirus would not nothing but make her breathing harder and lower her oxygen levels.

The other part of this, is according to our “experts” coronavirus is spreading through the population and it’s not so much a question of if we will be exposed, but when. So all this effort, expense, stress and harm to economy and people’s lives, for what? What is the point of this? What does our society get out of it?

It seems to me mask wearing is more of social ritual then genuine public health measure.

Virologist speaks about mask wearing