"PR agents" or Journalists - Corruption Kills Science
But even the WSJ says don't jab the kids
Healthy Children Don’t Need Covid Vaccines Florida is right. Especially for kids under 12, the risks are trivial. And most have natural antibodies. Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2022.
The Sunshine State is bucking the public-health consensus again. “The Florida Department of Health is going to be the first state to officially recommend against the Covid-19 vaccines for healthy children,” Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced March 7.
Cue the outrage. The American Academy of Pediatrics called the recommendation “irresponsible.” The Infectious Diseases Society of America accused Dr. Ladapo of putting “politics over the health and safety of children.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki jabbed: “It’s deeply disturbing that there are politicians peddling conspiracy theories out there and casting doubt on vaccinations.”
Dr. Ladapo is doing no such thing. He is merely acknowledging the abundant scientific evidence that Covid-19 poses a negligible risk to healthy children, which makes it impossible to know if the benefit of vaccination outweighs the risk…
The WSJ goes on:
Vaccine efficacy against infection, meanwhile, turned negative during the Omicron surge a month after kids were inoculated (minus 10%) and declined even more after six weeks (minus 41%). This means vaccinated children were significantly more likely to catch Covid than the unvaccinated…
The public-health consensus has been wrong time and again during the pandemic. When it comes to vaccinating children, especially the youngest, Dr. Ladapo is right.
My caveat with the editorial is that the author has various opinions about the science that frankly are wrong. However, to get into that would be nitpicking.
The article’s main conclusions are correct in my opinion. There is no need to vaccinate healthy children, and the Pfizer vaccine is associated with considerable risk for children - particularly boys.
I also wish to thank the WSJ for publishing this editorial, it is a step in the right direction.
Why science reporters don’t report fairly on the origins of Covid-19. City Journal. By Nicholas Wade March 20, 2022
This long article cogently explains why the recent “news” articles regarding the origin of the virus (which also happen to denounce that gain-of-function theories) are baseless and wrong. It is worth the read - the author’s analysis is compelling. Of note, the sources for these new pre-prints touting a natural origin for the virus are tainted with conflict of interest issues, and the sources that backup these claims are not innocent parties in the gain-of-function research. Yes, this includes Drs. Fauci and Collins, as well as other less “high profile” researchers. The article concludes with the following statement:
If the Covid virus should be found to have indeed escaped from a lab in Wuhan, a tidal wave of public rage may shake the temple of science to its foundations. It’s in reflection of their sources’ interests—though political polarization is also involved—that science writers jump on any evidence favoring natural emergence and ignore everything that points toward a lab leak.
Science writers need to decide whether their duty lies to their readers or to their sources. One choice makes them real journalists, the other just unaccredited PR agents for the scientific community.
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On a personal note - I am back from having spent the weekend in my hometown, Santa Barbara. I was there to speak at a well attended rally for the organization called “Stand Up Santa Barbara”. Later that day there was also a sold-out VIP dinner attended by many local luminaries, physicians, and political activists.
During the dinner, State Senate candidate and physician Michael Huang and I had a public discussion about state policies, early treatment for COVID-19 and the COVID vaccines. Dr. Huang believes in running on a platform of medical freedom for the state of California, and I urge anyone involved in California politics to please consider helping his campaign win election.
Luckily for Jill and I, a local physician invited us to stay at his family compound and farm - where his family has a thriving avocado ranch. My wife (Dr. Jill Glasspool-Malone) and I spent our teenage years on her family’ avocado and lemon ranch, which was located in Goleta just a couple of canyons over from where we stayed this weekend. The foothills of north Santa Barbara are magical this time of year- and we enjoyed every second of breathing the sage filled air and being surrounded by the magnificent oaks of the valley.
So much nostalgia for what could have been. There were times when my heart was so full of being in the California that I loved. There were other times when I was overwhelmed with sadness for what California has endured under the authoritarian policies spearheaded by Governor Newsome. We shed tears as people described how they have had to live for the past two years and for what California has become. How people have lost their jobs due to being unwilling to be vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccines. The stringent testing requirements. The masking, and in particular the masking of children. We were horrified as we learned of various bills working their way through the California congress which threaten further restrictions on the rights of people including mandating EUA COVID-19 vaccines for children.
Jill and I left the area in 1982 when we decided that I should pursue my dream of medical school. That decision also shut the door on us to continue helping with her family’s lemon and avocado farm. In fact, Jill has always felt that the decision to pursue a medical career eventually led to her parent’s decision to sell the family farm.
Time passes. My memories of that wonderful farm, Jill’s parents (now deceased) and the Santa Barbara area of my youth remain some of my most special. I hope that one day, California will be restored to the great state it once was.
Me at the farm in the 1980s.
Jill at the farm in the 1980s.
My mentor and father-in-law Bill Glasspool, who taught me so much
Thank you for this touching piece—especially those lovely photos at the end. It brought back nostalgic memories of my childhood in California and years in Santa Barbara. I am thankful we escaped California when we did, but you reminded me there are still some positive elements. Let’s hope it’s not beyond salvation.
Those condemning Florida, Ladapo and DeSantis are putting Phizer's profits and their own collapsing reputations above the needs of children. It is beyond contemptible. Here is hoping Republicans take back the House and Senate, and spend the next two years putting Covid Policy, Fauci (NIAID), Walensky (CDC), Francis Collins (NIH), Biden, Big Tech and Big Media on trial.