Risks can be assessed and addressed. Cost, time, and other factors become part of the solution.

The pandemic has forced people to choose sides. On one side, the narrative is that everyone must, absolutely must, have a vaccine. Yet, this same position is held when scientific evidence demonstrates the vaccine degrades monthly after being inoculated.

The mRNA vaccines show substantial potency during the first couple of months and then decays to protect against the pandemic virus infection. The initial protection starts at around three people per 100,000 that might become infected after two doses of the vaccine. Then six months later, the protection level has slid to one out of 500 and is steeply declining.

The pandemic has been with us for nearly two years. Vaccines were developed much faster than expected and were designed to give our hospitals a break and reduce the death rate from COVID-19.
As the protection from infection was waning, we were ensured that the vaccines still protected hospitalization and death. A recent statistic I read this week showed that the death rate from fully vaccinated and unvaccinated are roughly the same.

Statistics can be interpreted in many ways. When we see how many people have died with coronavirus, it is not apples and apples. The numbers include everything from Day 1. Yes, when no vaccines existed, everyone was unvaccinated and added to the total number of deaths from COVID-19.

Yet, today, those early totals are still being used to show that if you were fully vaccinated, you are still in that powerful majority immune from death from COVID-19. A more accurate portrayal would be to compare deaths from September through December.

The vaccines would be effectively neutered, and the true nature or infection protection of fully vaccinated would be compared with the unvaccinated. While researching today’s article, I found a study comparing recent cases between the fully vaccinated and unvaccinated.

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/breakthrough-covid-deaths-illnesses-mount-boosters-lag-michigan. And, https://www.michigan.gov/documents/coronavirus/20211116_Data_and_modeling_update_vMEDIA_741480_7.pdf. Slightly more than half the people of Michigan are fully vaccinated. Yet almost one-quarter of hospitalizations are patients who were fully vaccinated.

Over one-quarter of COVID-19 deaths are attributed to COVID-19. So how can a vaccine that purports to be effective at keeping people out of the hospital and reducing deaths be considered adequate when breakthrough hospitalizations and deaths are in double digits?

Some states have more freedom than others. Yet, all face the same pandemic virus. The states with higher vaccination rates are more heavily infected than states with lower vaccination rates. Vaccines do help. But, people are unaware that many, not most, but many of the infections are being caused by the fully vaccinated who are symptomatic.

The Coming Omicron Tsunami

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/12/15/1064202754/omicron-evades-moderna-vaccine-too-study-suggests-but-boosters-help. Do not hold your breath. The Omicron variant will replace the Delta variant, causing havoc around the United States.

Over 30 countries have reported cases of Omicron. The infection rate in some states in the U. S. has risen 700% in the past week. We can expect to hear horror reports of record-breaking new cases before the end of January 2022.

New cases are not an accurate measure that people should report. Yes, it is essential but not as important as hospital availability and deaths. The Omicron variant has a significantly lower rate of sending people to hospitals than the Delta variant. On top of that, the death rate from Omicron is nearly nonexistent.

https://www.newsweek.com/has-anyone-died-omicron-covid-variant-first-death-reported-uk-1658701. One person has died from Omicron in the United Kingdom. Ten people were in the hospital with confirmed cases of COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant. However, nearly 5,000 people are currently listed as new cases of Omicron.

Headlines tell us that we should be prepared for massive new hospitalizations and deaths from Omicron. Up till now, deaths and hospitalizations in South Africa are exceptionally low, especially deaths from COVID-19’s Omicron variant.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-omicron-variant-south-africa-low-deaths-and-hospitalizations/

The Latest in the United States

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/coronavirus/spikes-covid-19-cases-sends-ivy-league-students-home-early-forces-final. Students at Cornell University have been sent home to stop the spread of the Omicron variant. Cornell reports a 97% vaccination rate for its students.

This past week, nearly 1,000 students tested positive for Omicron. One would expect an organization with nearly 100% fully vaccinated people to be immune from COVID-19. Based on this logic, universities may never have students attending classes on campus.

Vaccination rates may not be the best measure of health protection for everyone present. The university will require all faculty, staff, and students to get a booster shot before returning to classes.

Conclusion

The boogieman has no clothes. Nevertheless, the Omicron variant might be the best thing to happen in a long time. The current vaccines are waning, and boosters are being forced into society. A booster shot offers similar protection to the second dose of an mRNA vaccine – about six months.

I can envision the powers that be requiring everyone to get a booster every six months – like the seasonal influenza shots. The vaccine was supposed to protect us against infection. Unfortunately, it is a Band-Aid, not a vaccine. It protects you long enough for the scab to fall off, and then you are at risk for another injury.

Why are some states wide open with no restrictions on dining or drinking, and other states require absolute adherence to vaccine passports and no entry without proof of vaccination? Allow a bunch of fully vaccinated people into a bar (or other indoor activity), and the asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers will be passing the virus on to everyone in sight.

We do not want to talk about the risk of people becoming infected with COVID-19. Maybe Omicron is the solution. It is an extremely contagious modification of COVID-19 that has lower hospitalization rates and deaths. Will the naturally acquired immunity from Delta or Omicron be enough to protect us from future surges? I think it might.

There is no consistent risk assessment and action plan for the pandemic virus that has been infiltrating our society for nearly two years. One would think that a standard risk assessment

https://www.assp.org/news-and-articles/conducting-a-risk-assessment. Risk assessments have been part of the business structure from my military to my civilian jobs. We know the threats, sources, causes, impacts, vulnerabilities, and many other facets of life with the pandemic virus. Why is it so difficult to get a standard threat/risk assessment that is effective?

Surges come and go. Variants will always be on the horizon. It is time to have a coherent plan that works in Michigan and Florida – in Cornell University and Arizona State. A rapid increase in new cases without increased hospitalizations and deaths is not a good indicator of the risk to our health. Take two weeks off, stay at home, and then return to society. Am I being too cynical?

Live Longer & Enjoy Life! – Red O’Laughlin – RedOLaughlin.com

 

3 Responses

  1. Thank you Red for all your hard work and research to keep us informed!! May God continue to bless you and your family and keep you all safe and healthy! And may we all stay safe and healthy, this is what I pray for! Merry Christmas blessings to everyone!

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