{"id":16044,"date":"2024-02-09T12:48:09","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T12:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cassandravoices.com\/?p=16044"},"modified":"2024-02-09T12:48:09","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09T12:48:09","slug":"a-coming-plague","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/2024\/02\/09\/a-coming-plague\/","title":{"rendered":"A Coming Plague"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Ireland and the UK, Anti-vax sentiment, or vaccine hesitancy, along with deteriorating trust in the medical establishment, has set the stage for a coming plague. As a consequence of a recent outbreak of measles in the UK<\/a><\/span>, Irish GP\u2019s are now being encouraged to inform Public Health officials of suspected measles cases. The reasons for this are entirely sensible: records can be kept, cases tracked and the overall situation monitored.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike COVID-19<\/a><\/span>, measles is a risky disease for children, particularly immuno-suppressed ones. Few, if any, doctors dispute that it kills about one in five thousand children, and that six in a thousand will get life-threatening pneumonia or meningitis.<\/p>\n

I don’t wish to sound alarmist; on an individual level if one of my own kids contracted measles I would not be overly concerned, but that is mainly down to them having all of the HSE-recommended childhood vaccinations (with the exception of those currently recommended for children in in respect of COVID-19<\/a><\/span>).<\/p>\n

As a result of near-universal vaccination coverage, measles presents relatively rarely in General Practice. When it is encountered in a healthy or vaccinated child, it usually causes little apprehension.<\/p>\n

In 2017, after three years without a single recorded case in the UK, the WHO declared<\/a><\/span> with great fanfare that a nation had eliminated measles. Unfortunately, Nature is not bound by WHO policy. The (somewhat deluded) party lasted for about two years, after which, cases began to re-appear; but in small enough numbers so as to be of relatively little concern in terms of public health.<\/p>\n

Even if a single country does manage to eliminate a particular disease the absence of testing for tourists and overseas travellers makes it impossible to stamp it out completely over the long term. Viruses and bacteria don\u2019t need passports.<\/p>\n

Given the paucity of measles cases in Ireland \u2013 it had been years since I encountered a case \u2013 I was surprised when an email arrived from the authorities reminding me that I should report all cases to the Department of Health<\/a><\/span>, and that, at the weekends, these notifications should be made through the emergency services. I was even more surprised that while working over the February bank holiday weekend to be reporting three suspected cases.<\/p>\n

The current outbreak in the UK has yet to be declared an \u2018epidemic\u2019. I imagine there are political reasons for this reluctance; but, given the highly contagious nature of the disease and the current level of cases it is perhaps only a matter of time before that changes.<\/p>\n

Measles is one of the most highly transmissible viruses. It is far more virulent than COVID-19 and has an infectivity rate of almost 100%. Being in the same room as a child with measles for no more than a few minutes is likely to result in transmission. Again, this is not intended as scaremongering, it is merely to point out that what is now happening in the UK is almost certainly happening in Ireland too.<\/p>\n

According to our own HSE, COVID-19 has an infection fatality rate of 0.17 deaths per 100,000<\/a><\/span> cases (roughly one death in a million cases) in children. Measles has an infection fatality rate of 300 per 100,000<\/a><\/span> cases in children under five-years-old. The reason I trust the medical consensus on this is that measles has been the subject of research and study for decades. The same cannot be said for COVID-19.<\/p>\n

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Image Matthias Zomer<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The short unhappy life of \u2018Herd-Immunity\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When a population is vaccinated against measles to a level of about 95%, the remaining 5% of unvaccinated children remain safe, as a consequence of the much-abused term, \u2018herd-immunity\u2019. This simply refers to the fact that those not immunised or vaccinated enjoy immunity by virtue of the majority of other people around them having immunity.<\/p>\n

Immunity can come from vaccination, or from having contracted the disease. <\/strong>With herd immunity, measles (much like COVID-19) can\u2019t spread as easily to those more vulnerable to the disease. This is because, even though naturally immune or vaccinated people will get the virus, their symptoms should be relatively minor. The duration of their infection should be briefer, and thus the potential spread to the vulnerable, or the 5% of unvaccinated, becomes less likely.<\/p>\n

There comes a tipping point when vaccination or immunity levels fall below a threshold of 95%. Then herd-immunity fails and the unvaccinated and vulnerable are no longer protected. Infections become not only more common among the vaccinated, but, importantly, potentially dangerous to the unvaccinated. It is believed that in the UK for 2022-2023 the vaccination uptake (in respect of the MMR) is currently running at less than 85%. There were 1603 suspected cases<\/a><\/span> of measles reported in the UK in 2023.<\/p>\n

The current outbreak in the UK poses a number of questions, in particular: what will the consequences of a measles epidemic be in the UK and Ireland, especially for unvaccinated and immunocompromised children? As measles is presently part of an MMR vaccine, is it not reasonable to expected similar outbreaks of Mumps and Rubella?<\/p>\n

For Measles (unlike COVID-19) there are reliable statistics going back several decades. This is research that has stood the test of time and consistent scientific review. However, after the scaremongering associated with the COVID-19 vaccination program, it is likely that many people are now sceptical about the fatality rate being talked about. Most readers will be familiar with the story of the boy who cried wolf.<\/p>\n

In respect of morbidity and mortality the evidence in relation to measles is relatively incontestable. The risks are real, particularly for immuno-suppressed children such as those undergoing chemotherapy.<\/p>\n

In many ways, vaccinating our own healthy kids against measles is a kind of social duty that almost all parents participate in for the greater good. It is a duty that is entirely contingent on trust in HSE vaccination advice.<\/p>\n

After vaccination, the overwhelming majority of kids will survive a measles epidemic, however a small but significant percentage of children will suffer needlessly, and many will die.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t question that there is such a thing as a vaccine injury. However, most of us take this risk and make this decision on behalf of our children, not just for their sake but, in particular, for the sake of the vulnerable. Thus, it is a reasonable expectation that all parents should shoulder some of the burden, some of the \u2018risk\u2019, and fully engage with the childhood immunisation programme.<\/p>\n

No vaccine is \u2018risk free\u2019, sticking an empty syringe into someone’s arm comes with the very real risk of infection, cellulitis, anaphylaxis, shock etc. Indeed, no medical intervention is entirely without risk. We parents tolerate those risks because we trust the medical profession and the HSE. Throughout the pandemic, and particularly in its aftermath \u2013 where we are yet to see a formal inquiry into policies and consequences \u2013 that trust has been quite seriously eroded.<\/p>\n

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Image: Karolina Grabowska<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A question of trust?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A recent (2023) IPSOS poll<\/a><\/span> found that with regards to the medical profession, surprisingly, it was the local pharmacist, and not the doctor or nurse, who topped the poll in respect of public trust.<\/p>\n

Although fears persists over a discredited study in the late 1990s linking the MMR vaccine to autism, this was investigated and debunked. Nonetheless, damage has been done and residual hesitancy and mistrust in respect of the MMR vaccine exists to this day.<\/p>\n

Personally and as a physician, I feel that even in the unlikely event of a tiny risk of autism associated with the MMR, I would still reluctantly have my kids vaccinated; if I thought that it would avoid death and suffering in a greater number of kids.<\/p>\n

As stated, all vaccines come with risks that we share as parents and as a society. But that risk is contingent on trust in the medical profession<\/a><\/span>, and mine has certainly been shaken in recent years.<\/p>\n

Simple, deductive reasoning would relate the current fall in vaccine uptake to a decline of confidence in public health guidance. How has this come about?<\/p>\n

In March\/April, 2020 elderly nursing home residents were thrown under the bus<\/a><\/span>, as untested hospital patients were dumped into the nursing home sector, and do not resuscitate orders (DNRs) were made. All of this carry on is now common knowledge.<\/p>\n

Even the Zero-Covid<\/a><\/span> fanatics must have raised an eyebrow at policies that linked the transmissibility of a virus to the amount of money spent in a pub. The COVID-19 vaccines were, unequivocally, forced on non-vulnerable people throughout the pandemic. The levels of coercion applied in terms of mandates and passports was absolutely unprecedented. This was reinforced by the public vilification<\/a><\/span> of any individual who dared to decline or expressed fears over taking the vaccine<\/p>\n

There were many stark warnings of censure from the regulator (IMC) for any doctor in Ireland who failed in his or her \u201cduty to follow and promote NPHET policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Image: Beyzaa Yurtkuran.<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Language Games<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Now that the dust has begun to settle, many people have come to recognise that the use of the word \u2018vaccine\u2019 to describe the COVID-19 jab, was (and is) problematic. COVID-19 \u2018vaccines\u2019 are, technically speaking, not vaccines in the traditional sense. They are pieces of genetic material (DNA, mRNA) that work in an entirely different manner to traditional vaccines<\/a><\/span>. They are more correctly referred to as \u2018gene therapy\u2019 or \u2018genetic vaccinations\u2019 and prior to COVID-19 they had never been permitted for use in the general public.<\/p>\n

Calling the injections \u2018vaccinations\u2019 from the outset, effectively (but rather deviously) attached this novel technology to all of the antecedent good that traditional sub-unit vaccines have accomplished throughout the centuries. Language is a powerful weapon.<\/p>\n

As more people have had the time to look into the difference between a \u2018Covid jab\u2019 and a traditional vaccine, the \u2018lie\u2019 or at least the misappropriation of the term \u2018vaccine\u2019 has become increasingly apparent.<\/p>\n

Two of the original four genetic vaccines (the two DNA vaccines) were quietly removed from circulation<\/a><\/span> within the first few months of use. Although at the time the government declared (in an Orwellian way) that this was because they were in \u201cshort supply\u201d. In truth, it had\u00a0\u00a0 become clear that they were associated with significantly higher level of side effects<\/a><\/span> than the mRNA type. This difference was not apparent to a frightened public during the pandemic, but more people are aware of that difference today, and that awareness is growing, in spite of the semantics.<\/p>\n

One of the difficulties in respect of \u2018the science\u2019, \u2018the facts\u2019 or the \u2018data\u2019, during the pandemic, has been over problems with interpretation. For example: the meaning of a \u2018Covid death\u2019<\/a><\/span>. Was that unfortunate death caused by COVID-19?\u00a0 Or was it an expected death in a very elderly person from pneumonia? Or someone who simply had a positive PCR test within the preceding two weeks? We must remember too that emergency COVID-19 funding for the nursing home sector was contingent on the reported number of COVID-19 cases.<\/p>\n

Then there is the cycle threshold of the PCR test<\/a><\/span> itself, detecting the presence of traces of the virus, as opposed to clinically relevant infections; and then plastering these dodgy \u2018facts\u2019 before a frightened public, day after day and night after night.<\/p>\n

The overall effect of COVID-19 upon nations has invariably been described in terms of deaths per million. This metric was applied in spite of how COVID-19 mortality being overwhelmingly confined to over sixty-fives<\/a><\/span>. Different countries have vastly different demographic structures, making the famous\u00a0 \u2018deaths per million\u2019 statistic, almost entirely irrelevant.<\/p>\n

Many doctors tried to point these contrary facts out throughout the pandemic; all were silenced with anti-vax and even \u2018right wing\u2019 slurs. One GP was suspended and many more (including myself) were put on trial by the regulator<\/a><\/span> and are awaiting sentencing. Therefore, it is important (to myself and my \u201canti-vax\u201d colleagues) to unpack the accusation before we are also blamed by the regulator for the coming plague.<\/p>\n

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Image: Daniele Idini<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A nation of \u2018Anti-vaxers\u2019?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It may surprise people to learn that so far this season, between 18\/9\/23 and 16\/01\/2024, 82% of Ireland’s Healthcare Workers (including Doctors and Nurses) have NOT taken the COVID-19 vaccination booster.<\/p>\n

If that is not bad enough, 64% of Healthcare Workers have not taken the influenza vaccine either, which is NOT a genetic vaccine. This is a truly shocking statistic as it would imply that the vast majority of healthcare workers, who are responsible for promoting and administering the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, have not availed of either themselves.<\/p>\n

Uptake of Autumn Booster & Seasonal Influenza doses by HSE HCWs since 18\/09\/2023 to 16\/01\/2024<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In total 109,136 records for HSE HCWs were included in the analysis.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n