AntiScience COVIDiocy: How to Pretend to Care About Science While Spewing Anti-Science Misinformation

One of the ways antivaxxers catch the attention of sheeple is pretending to care, and one of the ways they pretend to care is by portraying their antivax attitude as "concerns about vaccine safety". Indeed, if you ask RFK jr, he would say he's not antivax, he's pro vax safety. 

And one of the most frequent sources antivaxxers like to cite is VAERS, or Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. They love to "dumpster dive" into VAERS data and claim VAERS numbers are proof that vaccine caused injuries or even deaths, even though VAERS itself CLEARLY states that VAERS does NOT establish "cause-and-effect" relationship between the vaccine and the reported adverse event. 

Here's an example of an adverse event reported to VAERS. Patient had Pfizer COVID shot on Jan 9, 2021. Patient had a single car accident on Jan 23rd, 2021. She spun out into a snowbank. She was transported to ER, treated, and released. She was found unresponsive on Feb 1, 2021 and pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed she had a brain bleed. 

Yes, that's a genuine VAERS entry, 1004811-1, of which a screenshot is included below. I can't link it because VAERS doesn't allow direct linking. You will have to zoom in the see the details. 

The death and the vaccination are clearly unrelated, but as per proper procedure, it's included in VAERS, and the report was submitted on Feb 5th, 2021. In fact, CDC instructions to health care providers were to include the data in VAERS, "regardless if the reporter thinks the vaccine caused the AE (adverse event)". The reason is simple: CDC needs a way to know if there's a side effect they never considered or expected, and the only way to know is to report EVERYTHING, so the data can be mined later for commonalities. 

So if you search for "COVID vaccine" and "death", you would probably end up counting this one, and probably dozens, hundreds, perhaps thousands like it, where if you look at the details, there's just no way they could be linked. 

Not that it stopped antivaxxers and pundits like Tucker Carlson from claiming "vaccines killed thousands" when the data they cited does NOT indicate such a thing, and organizations across the country had to put out FAQs debunking such fearmongering. 

When confronted, most antivaxxers will reply with "but I just want a safe vaccine" or variations thereof, often with emphasis "but even one adverse event is one too many". 

Some antivaxxers will then trot out the "COVID isn't that dangerous" trope, esp. with the "children tend to have milder symptoms" bit. 

So you remind them "so you are comparing a KNOWN risk of COVID such as death, long COVID, and MIS-C, vs a POTENTIAL unknown risk of vaccine adverse reaction that has so far not been observed?"

Some may be smart enough to admit defeat, but some will segue into VAERS dumpster diving. 

That's when you remind them that they're processing garbage data and drawing bogus conclusions, as we had discussed above. 

And what's when they block you because they can't beat you with the truth. 

Sad COVIDiocy: Triple World Champion Kickboxer Frederick "The Undertaker" Sinistra, and antivaxxer, has died from COVID

We are sad but not surprised to report that Frederick Sinistra has died of COVID. He was 41. 

Triple World Champion Kick Boxer Frederick Sinistra, Anti-Science, Anti-Mask, Anti-Vax, dead from Covidiot infection. pic.twitter.com/AVKrvCE3qp

— John O'Connell (@jdpoc) December 21, 2021

What's tragic was Fred was in TOTAL denial over COVID. Months ago he discharged himself from the hospital, claiming to be treating the disease himself at home. He called COVID "the hair flu" and railed against the Belgian government's attempt to control it. Belgium has a 90+% vaccination rate. 

In November, when he got worse, his coach finally got him to go back to the hospital. Fred posted the picture included in the Tweet above, with him hooked up to oxygen. But he posted on social media that "little virus" will not stop him. 

He apparently went home later and was posted as late as December 13th that he's doing fine at home. 

The three-time world champion died on December 15th, before the government added the latest lockdown procedure in order to slow the spread of omicron variant. 

It is a common misconception of antivaxxers who believe their "natural immunity" will save them. But as we have seen many times before, including triathlete John Ayers, when COVID comes for you, it does not care who you are or how fit you are. The best chance of NOT catching COVID is with the COVID vaccines, now supplemented by boosters. 

Don't be a COVIDiot. 

Bonus: Madison Cawthorn explains how he met his soon-to-be-ex wife through a Russian connection

We previously covered Madison Cawthorn, North Carolina's US Congressman. Back in 2020, he shared a story with a right-wing website: Daily Caller. Basically he made a trip to Russia with some friends, met a US Army captain at a casino in St. Petersburg, Russia. This army captain later got him to a faux Crossfit competition, where he met his later (and now soon-to-be-ex) wife, Cristina. 

No, I don't think Cawthorn is a deep-cover Russian agent, or his soon-to-be-ex wife was a Russian honeypot operation. I think Cawthorn got sorry storytelling skills and got his timeline mixed up a bit leading people to see what's not really there. 

No, I don't think he planned this as a verbal trap to embarrass his critics. 

He's got way too much ego for that. 

Political COVIDiocy: Why the Republican Party is full of Freedumb Anti-Intellectuals

Recently, it's clear that the Republican Party, is full of anti-intellectuals who goes against the public good for "freedom". But how did it all get to this point? 

We may have to go back to some disturbing trends of the Republican party on how they portray what they consider to be American values. 

Let's take a look at a freshman congressman, Madison Cawthron, North Carolina 11th District, Republican, wheelchair user, soon to be divorced. What's notable about him? He was one of those that addressed the January 6th crowed. He blamed democrats for subverting the crowd, and was one of the last to admit there was no voting fraud that elected Biden. He's antimask and antivaccine, claiming that a proposed plan to send people door to door to convince you to vax will lead to g-men to "take your guns" and "take your Bibles". Don't believe me? This is all verified. He just made news announcing to a mostly college age crowd that they should drop out of college unless they want to become doctor or lawyer or engineer. He dropped out of college to work for a politician Mark Meadows, who later told him to run for his own seat, and he won. He considers himself the new face of the Republican Party. 

Cawthron is still an athlete and supposedly trained for wheelchair racing. He still goes to shooting range regularly. This was a relatively recent photo:

Guns are a very sensitive subject around conservative Republicans, because white masculinity is intertwined with gun ownership in the US, even though there is no legal barrier for anyone else to own guns. It is believed that white men use guns as a phallic symbol to reclaim their social status.  

Now, also keep in mind that Cawthorn just declared to a crowd of fellow young conservatives to abandon higher education like he did, at "Americafest" hosted by Turning Point USA. 

No higher education means you're probably stuck at a menial job, and you probably need a gun to make yourself feel like a man. 

But what's really disturbing is the following 14 signs. I won't explain where they come from yet, but I'll just list them, and see how many of them you see in the current Republican party:

1. Tradition
2. Rejection of science and reason
3. Just do it, don't think
4. Disagreement is treason
5. Fear of difference, xenophobia
6. Appeal to social frustration
7. Obsession with a plot
8. Enemy is both weak thus defeatable, yet strong enough to be feared
9. Pacifism is consorting with the enemy
10. Contempt for the weak
11. Everyone can be a hero
12. Machismo and weaponry
13. Selective populism, influencer look as if they represent the everymen
14. Newspeak

How many of these signs did you see? I see a lot of 2 (antivax), 3 (Jan 6th), 4 (polarization), 6 (anti mandate!), 7 (Qanon!), 11 (Lionizing Rittenhouse), and 12 ("Don't tread on me"). I guess Cawthorn himself can be a bit of 13.  

The 14 signs I listed are "14 typical elements of Ur-fascism" by Umberto Eco, originally published in New York Review of Books in an essay. 

Yes, I am stating that IMHO, the US Republican Party is moving toward fascism. And this is VERY disturbing. 

And it's even more disturbing with a new tweet from Rand Paul

How to steal an election: “Seeding an area heavy with potential Democratic votes with as many absentee ballots as possible, targeting and convincing potential voters to complete them in a legally valid way, and then harvesting and counting the results.”https://t.co/LwE3MdeWeG

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 27, 2021

This is quite disturbing, because what Rand Paul has described is absolutely legal, and indeed, is the proper way to get your constituents to get out and vote (or absentee vote). He even called it "legally valid way". So why is it "steal an election"? 

It's clear that the Republican party has gone onto "newspeak"... they will randomly redefine a word to fit their own mindset instead of using the true definition of the word. And that's sign #14 above. They are redefining the word "stealing" to denigrade something they failed to do. 

And it is VERY worrying for the future of the Republican party. 

COVIDiocy Conspiracy: Are the Antivaxxers Bankrolled by Koch Network?

The Daily Post just dropped a new article: "How the Koch Network Hijacked the War on COVID". It is quite long, but it can be summed up as... Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held fossil fuel company in the world, saw the lockdown as draining its profits (due to sharp drop in fuel use due to lockdown and supply chain problems), so it is using its reserves to push for re-opening at all fronts, from businesses lobbying, to medical professionals declaring, to social media blitzing, and more, directly contravening public health policies, and this is leading to millions of American casualties. 

One of the fronts was the so-called Great Barrington Declaration, where it calls for re-opening and targeted vaccination of the essential. The WHO outright called it "unethical", and other scientists called it cold-hearted, as it essentially sacrifices part of the population. The conference where GBD was signed was at American Institute for Economic Research, at Great Barrington, Massachusetts. What people may not have noticed is AIER derived a bit portion of its budget from Koch or foundations linked with Koch. 

It can be said that both Florida and Texas, with Republican governors, simply followed Trump as Trump liked the GBD, and even welcomed some of the signatories to the White House. At this point, it's worth noting that Trump's COVID advisor, Scott Atlas, is an MD, but has no background in epidemiology or public health. He had publicly stated that masks do not help curb infection, and called the idea of vaccinating children "denial of science". Both have been proven wrong. Trump's response to COVID was basically "let it run", which jives with GBD's approach to COVID... let it run and hope it achieves herd immunity. In fact, Trump said so in an interview, except he actually said "herd mentality". And Trump lost (and tried to cover that up by alleging voter fraud, but that's not relevant here). 

The Biden administration had already publicly stated that lockdown are off the table, even as omicron swept the country and is already deep into the US now. And Florida and Texas are opposed to various public health measures, with several other states following suit as well, mainly based on COVID misinformation spread by so-called think-tanks directly or indirectly funded by Koch or alumni from such think-tanks. 

My thoughts on this... 

This is about as close as the Illuminati being the Black Hand behind everything. And it fits a little TOO well. I doubt there is an active thought to mess with public health, but even unconscious bias has huge consequences when it involves billions of dollars. It's more like "where do I find some experts who agree with what I need?"

But at a deeper level, it is very... cold and calculating. And as a result, very disturbing. 

And it also explains the linkup between antivaxxers and conservatives. They sought each other. 

And the result is more American casualties as collateral damage for ideological gains. 

That's fascist, not American. 

Common COVIDiocy: Data Proves that COVID Deaths are PRIMARILY among the Unvaxxed

AP did an article back in June about May 2021 data from CDC, and shows that virtually ALL reported deaths of COVID are from the unvaxxed. 

Only 150 of the 18000 COVID deaths in May are fully vaccinated. 0.8%

And the number of COVID hospitalizations that are fully vaccinated: 107K, or 1.1%. 

Do keep in mind that not all states record breakthrough infections or sought accurate reports, so the numbers are likely underreported, but unlike to sway the numbers by a large quantity.

And the numbers are going to be even WORSE for the unvaxxed soon, with omicron variant, because several of the monoclonal antibody treatment such as Regeneron shows little to no effect on omicron. So far, in lab tests only 3 antibodies treatment are effective against omicron, and only one of the three is based in the US. 

Given that Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine are placebos at best, the only thing they WOULD accept and are actually effective are these monoclonal antibodies. And now that most of them are worthless against omicron, the unvaxxed basically has little to no choice: get vaxxed now, or wait for COVID to catch them and pray it doesn't kill them, while clogging up ICU beds and whatnot. All in the name of "freedom". 

Religious COVIDiocy: Televangelist Marcus Lamb died of COVID after sharing conspiracy theories about COVID

Marcus Lamb was CEO of Daystar TV Network, one of the largest Christian broadcasters in the US. He died on November 30th, after being diagnosed of COVID on November 12th. 

Lamb was well known for his homophobic and transphobic views as well as his endorsement of "gay conversion therapy" where homosexuals are subjected to brainwashing and other abuses attempting to "convert" them back to heterosexuals, a practice that was denounced by the UN. 

Lamb was also caught buying a private jet with the Trump Administration COVID business loan called "paycheck protection program", which as the name suggests, was meant to be used to keep people employed. He ended up paying that back almost immediately. 

During COVID times, Lamb featured an antivax panel featuring antivax misinformation superspreaders such as RFK jr ("I am pro safety!"), Sherry Tenpenny ("vaccines makes you magnetic!"), and Ryan Cole (IVM will cure you!). 

It is believed that Lamb treated himself with IVM, HQL, and more. It clearly didn't work. 

His son blamed everything on "the enemy", which is Daystar's euphemism for "the Devil". 

Strange COVIDiocy: the "Fauci lied" narrative

Recently ran into an antivaxxers who asserted repeatedly that Dr. Fauci lied and is a criminal and variations thereof, among his various antivax viewpoints. 

So I asked him what exactly did Fauci lied about. 

He gave only one answer: early in the pandemic, Fauci asked people not to mask up. He later changed his stance on that. According to this anti-vaxxer, this constitutes lying, and since he's a public official, this constitutes deceiving the public and should be arrested and charged with... something. 

Let's get a little context on this. 

Back on March 8 2020, Fauci did say "there's no reason to be walking around with a mask". This was only a few months after the discovery of COVID and nobody has any idea how bad the pandemic would spread. At that point, even WHO believed COVID to NOT be airborne. No one knew how bad the asymptomatic spread would be, and there was a genuine fear that health facilities may run out of masks due to panic buying by the public. 

CDC changed its stance on masks on April 3, 2020, recommending people mask up in public settings, esp. when social distancing will be difficult, and they recommended cloth masks, not the genuine 3M medical masks that people sought. Even since, Fauci have repeatedly stated in public that people should mask up, and even wore a mask to a July 2020 Senate hearing. 

Not to mention asymptomatic spread is a serious problem, much more serious than we ever suspected. It's believed that 30-40% of COVID spread is from asymptomatic people, and the way to stop spread is to ask everyone to wear a mask since one does not know if one has any symptoms. 

So I pointed out to the antivaxxers that he's being unreasonable. He expects government officials to NEVER admit their mistake if they made one. Isn't that even MORE dangerous than lying? Basically double-down and make the problem worse? 

"All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes." -- Winston Churchill

He's not backing down though, kept calling Fauci an incompetent fool and a lying SOB, as we as being old and senile. 

Guess he won't be learning from his own mistakes any time soon. 

Public COVIDiocy: Missouri Attorney General is Dismantling Missouri Public Health All By Himself

Missouri's Attorney General Schmitt has taken upon himself to dismantle the entire public health apparatus in the entire state of Missouri by issuing advisories to all jurisdictions that he considers mask and vaccines mandates for anyone, including school to children, to be illegal. 

Schmitt issued the state-wide advisory on December 7th 2021, following a Cole County Court judge ruling weeks earlier that local health authorities are not authorized to issue public health orders because state health department is not allowed to delegate rule-making authority to non-elected officials in local health departments. 

However, some school districts stated that they will NOT be following Schmitt's advisory, because they don't consider themselves bind by the decision, as their powers are delegated from locally elected school boards or the city council, not from the state. 

Many local health departments, however, are halting their entire COVID response plans (including contact tracing, outreach, or even immunization) due to the December 7th letter from Schmitt. Others were thrown into confusion and seeking guidance from the state health department.  

Many people believe that Schmitt, who is also campaigning for a seat on the Senate, is basically using his attorney general powers to court conservative votes and potentially harming the state in return. 

Schmitt dismissed the criticism, claiming he's only enforcing the law. 

COVID Update: 4-year old Texas Girl's Death now ruled as Undetermined

 Previously we reported the death of Kali Cook in Texas as a COVID death, as that was what the initial report says. However, now that a full autopsy had been performed in November, the cause of death was changed to "undetermined", because while COVID virus was found in her system, there seems to be not enough damage that could cause her to stop living. 

Antivax COVIDiocy: How Antivaxxers Argue By Bullshitting with Disinformation

The way antivaxxers argue is by flooding you with disinformation trying to convince you are wrong or you don't know what you're talking about. Don't be fooled. Here's my recent engagement with one such. 

I was replying to The Real Truther who was commenting on some idiotic tweet by Daniel Kotzin about how to get out of the pandemic is to surrender and refuse vaccines. I said it will flood the hospitals like the earliest days of COVID where Wuhan, China ended up a ghost city. 

Then comes Farmer J who claimed natural immunity will be fine, and vaccines are too stupid to handle variants. Which is simply not true, at least not completely true. (Pfizer said 2 shots + booster will handle Omicron, while Moderna said they need another shot)  So I clapped back with facts and logic. 

Farmer J isn't receptive to the truth though, as he replied with irrelevant mentions and derision, continuing to claim "natural immunity" is superior to vaccines. He also claimed some wild time-traveling stuff about Moderna had worked on Omicron for MONTHS when it was discovered in late November (only a few weeks ago)  I replied with facts and citation vaccine immunity is STRONGER than disease-derived immunity. Actual studies say so. 

His reply was somewhat surprising... He claims the study was discredited. Not that he produced any evidence of such. But he goofed, as he just revealed that he is not backed by any facts. He actually used debunked misinformation... that PCR test was ending. It's not. So I called him out on it with proof. 

He had not continued any response to this tweet chain in the past 24 hours. 

From what I can tell, he seems to reside north of the border. Guess he got tired of commenting on snow and such so he replied to stuff he didn't like with lies, backed by even more lies, and just act haughty "lol" every tweet pretending to know more than he does. 

He had used multiple tactics of top bullshitters. He acted arrogantly confident, pointed at his supposed successes ("my natural immunity"), and claimed esoteric knowledge ("this one is mocked") , hoping we wouldn't challenge him. 

It's basically one antivax talking point after another. And if you are not versed in this sort of tactics, and/or be quick on Google and/or understand science, you may be snookered by all that disinformation. 

Don't be a COVIDiot and believe antivaxxer bullshit. 

Congressional COVIDiocy: MTG is wondering why are we lamenting over COVID deaths when cancer kills 600K a year...

Rep Majorie Taylor Greene, one of the looniest people in congress, is tweeting her craziness trying to justify her views via cherry-picking evidence. This is her most recent:

MTG: 600K people die from cancer every year,
but no shutdown. No school closing. 

Uh, because cancer is not contagious, you ignorant congresswoman! COVID is contagious! If you think the two are comparable, you are out of your mind! 

And the death rate for COVID is much higher than cancer! According to John Hopkins University, US death rate for COVID is 240 per 100000. According to National Cancer Institute (cancer.gov), US death rate for all cancer is 158 per 100000. COVID is 52% more lethal than cancer!

And that's DESPITE all we have done to control it, because people keep thinking they have the right to do whatever they want, and the public can go **** themselves. 

Oh, but wait, MTG has a couple more dumb points she wants to make I'm not going to screen cap everything, just the text highlights. 

MTG Tweet 2
More died from COVID in 2021 than in 2020
in spite of vaccines and masking

MTG Tweet 3
It is time to change the approach
COVID targets obese and older people
Shutdown, masks and vaccines are not stopping COVID
Ivermectin, monoclonal antibodies and treatments are saving lives

It's clear where MTG gets her alternative facts from: not our reality. 

Ivermectin does not work. It's proven by science over and over, but she doesn't care. 

The antibodies cost like a grand per infusion, and you need like eight of them, but it does seem to work. But why get sick? Why not get vaccinated and minimize the chance of getting sick in the first place? 

As for "COVID targets obese and older people", that's bull****. COVID targets UNVACCINATED people, first, THEN obese and elderly. Now that those people have gotten their vaccinations, it's the young and younger unvaccinated that are getting sick. This is outdated information from 2020. 

But wait, it gets crazier. 

MTG Tweet 4
Our response to COVID should be about ending obesity
promote COVID treatment that's proven to work
and stop the politically driven mass hysteria
and allow people to choose natural immunity or vaccines

Does MTG know what's an optimal weight loss plan, and how long it takes to work? Does she have a plan to reverse aging too? Since Ivermectin is proven NOT to work (except in MTG's head), what do people do in the meanwhile? Die?  

Oh, but there's one more.

MTG Tweet 5

The Gov #COVID19 response hasn’t stopped covid & isn’t about saving lives,
it’s about control. If the hypocrites in charge wanted to save lives,
they would destroy all Gov funded bio weapons &
fund covid treatments like Ivermectin.

Again the ivermectin. It doesn't work. At best it's placebo. And why talk about bioweapons and whatnot? It's just a distracting point. 

Then she cheekily included a link to Cancer.gov about viruses that causes cancer as "FYI". 

Oh, but wait, we have a vaccine for that! 

MTG is clearly not attached to our reality, and if she really believes everything she tweeted, she's only getting information from her own reality bubble. 

The reason this country continues to see COVID death is due to people not vaccinating. Most of the deaths now are from unvaccinated. And most of the unvaccinated are Republicans because antivaxxers decided to court conservative Republicans to get their message out. And seasoned political operatives are choosing to make the government attempt to control the disease a wedge issue between Republicans and democrats, all for short term votes, but as a result, killing Republicans in the long-run. 

If you elected MTG to congress, you may want to reconsider whether that's REALLY who you want representing you. Or perhaps you share her reality bubble? That you're more worried about government control than saving yourselves? 

If you didn't, did you vote for someone like her, such as Boebert? 

MAGA COVIDiocy: Pro-Trump Counties Have Far Higher COVID Death Rates

New NPR analysis shows that since May 2021, counties that voted for Trump have a COVID death rate TWICE AS HIGH as counties that voted for Biden on the average. The "most red" counties have a death rate 5.5 times higher than the "most blue" counties. This was a reversal from a year ago, before we have the vaccine, that Democratic counties were hit harder. 

The data is irrefutable: in 2021, Republicans are killing themselves because they rather have "freedom" than treat COVID seriously. 

The trend is also interesting. Early in the pandemic, certain demographics such as African Americans, rural Americans, and younger Americans are vaccine-hesitant, but as the pandemic continued, those groups have started to vaccinate, while Republicans that vaccinate have stalled. According to Kaiser Foundation, 91% of Democrats have been vaccinated against COVID, compared to 59% of Republicans. The polls also revealed that Republicans STILL believe that COVID seriousness was exaggerated, vaccination should be a personal choice, and are NOT worried about getting sick from COVID.

Indeed, antivaxxers are getting DIRECT support from Republican well-knowns... such as Eric Trump, one of Donny's sons, who spoke at such a convention in October. The convention also featured speakers who claimed drinking one's own urine is just as good as a COVID vaccine. Another claimed COVID vaccine will put "another kind of nervous system inside you" and turn you into a cyborg. No, I'm not making this up. It's looney bin stuff. 

Then there are grifters such as Del Bigtree, one of the current top antivaxxers, who find the Dems unreceptive to his antiscience, so he courted the Republicans instead, by his own admission, "Clearly I was shocked as a lifelong liberal progressive that I was hugging and hanging out and having a great time with a bunch of extremely conservative mothers and grandmothers." 

Then there are political manipulators like Roger Stone, convicted felon of lying to Congress about 2016 Trump's campaign contacts with Russia. Stone had been working for Republican candidates for decades, having worked with the Nixon campaign back in 1972. Stone was pardoned by Trump. Stone ALSO spoke at the antivax conference, using the vaccine mandate as a wedge issue, trying to motivate the conservatives to vote in the midterm elections. 

Public health, something to the benefit of all public, is now a political decision to a good portion of the population, who decided not to participate, and this is a truly huge monkeywrench for public health officials who now needs to protect the public from a good portion of the public. 

To put it more succinctly, Republicans are so desperate to win, they are politicizing mask and vaccine mandate, killing their own side by the thousands daily, AND slowing the country's recovery, just to gain some political ground in the short term. 

And even lifelong Republicans are getting alarmed. How did something that benefits all Americans got turned into a Red vs Blue polarization issue? 

The answer is simple: Short-sightedness compounded by grifters and political manipulators who only care about the next election and their own gains. 

There is a real risk that this unholy alliance will DESTROY the Republican party down the road. 

But the antivaxxers will go on. They'll just find some other group to ally with.  

Sad COVIDiocy: The story of John Eyers, Triathlete, Fitness Fanatic, COVID casualty

John Eyers was the epitome of fitness. He ran triathlons. He is a bodybuilder and a mountain climber. He's got a six-pack and much more. But not even his family can change his mind about "no COVID vaccine for me". And he died of COVID in July 2021. 

In June 2021 he met with his family to celebrate his nephew's 10th birthday (son of his twin sister Jenny McCann) and he started spouting some nonsense about "people are getting COVID jab to get free McDonald's" or "it's got formaldehyde". Naturally, his family fact-checked him, but he won't change his mind. He kept saying "I won't be a guinea pig."  The subject was eventually dropped. Later they went to a health club, and John refused to put his mask on, but eventually did. And the weekend ended with no other incident. 

It was to be the last time they ever see each other. 

John tested positive for COVID on June 29th. By July 3rd he's so sick his girlfriend had to force him to call for paramedics to transport him to the hospital. Next day, he was vomiting blood. A week later he's on a ventilator, unable to breath himself. COVID first attacked his lungs, causing blood clots, as his body's immune system started attacking the lung tissues AND COVID. Doctors tried to put him on ventilator and use steroids to control the immune response, but that caused other illnesses to take hold, such as a lung infection, which cascaded to other organs. Doctors helped with dialysis, but lungs are not recovering. His body used all its reserves, fighting the virus and the complications. It was not enough. 

On July 27th, he lost the battle with COVID before his family can don PPE to spend the final moments with him. He was 42, in prime physical condition before COVID got him. 

John told the doctors before he was put on the ventilator, that he regretted not getting the vaccine. 

John's funeral was August 16, 2021. His family chose to share his story... John was a COVIDiot, and they don't want anyone else to share John's fate... or their fate of losing one of their own to something that could have been easily prevented. 

Don't be a COVIDiot like John, or one of the dozens all over the world like John. COVID can come for you no matter how healthy you are. And if you are not doing everything to prevent it, such as masks and vaccines, you are a part of the problem.  

Crazy COVIDiocy: People organizing "COVID Parties" to build immunity, died instead

According to Newsweek, an Austrian man,has died of COVID, after attending a "COVID party" in Italy to build resistance to COVID. Many countries in Europe are suffering from antivax COVIDiocy, with people deliberately trying to catch COVID, surviving it, and thus, gaining the "green pass" and be able to move around without being vaccinated. 

In Italy (and most of Europe), Green Pass can be obtained if you are vaccinated, or have recovered from COVID within the past 6 months. 

The idea of a COVID party is utter lunacy with a disease that kills 1 in 62, well over 1 percent in the US, and probably more worldwide. But the idea itself is not new. It came from "pox party", organized by parents who believe childhood diseases are inevitable, and it is better that all the children in the neighborhood suffer together with mutual support. So they encouraged children to party with a sick child so "they can get it over with". It originally started with chickenpox, but later was also done with measles and flu, until childhood vaccines became available. 

However, antivaxxers continued the practice, believing the vaccines to be more harmful than the disease. (Vaccines are proven safe, not that antivaxxers care about science or proof.)

And now the lunacy is repeating with COVID, which in the US killed 1 in 62 cases. 

Keep in mind that childhood diseases like chickenpox are rarely fatal, even before vaccines. According to CDC, before chicken pox vaccine, varicella (chicken pox) kills over 100 and hospitalize over 10000 every year. Fatality can vary from 1 in 100000 to 21 per 100000 depending on age group (adults are more vulnerable).  Let's say 10 per 100000, or 1 in 10000 is the "average" fatality (it's probably a lot less). 

Compare that to 1 in 62 as the death rate of COVID. 

All that just to avoid the shot. 

WTF...  It's no COVIDiocy... It's sheer lunacy. 

Remember, it's the unvaccinated that's creating all these scary variants, that's forcing us back into lockdown due to another surge. 

It's the unvaccinated prolonging the crisis. They would rather be dead than admit they were wrong. 

And who knows how many victims will they drag along in their quest to prolong the crisis. 

Don't be a COVIDiot like them. 

Dumb Product Manual: Where's the command to switch the language?

Most electronics are now made in China, and while English is the most widely used language, Chinese is not far behind. So it'd make sense for Bluetooth headsets with verbal status messages to have both Chinese and English audio prompts. 

But when the manual did not include how to switch between them, that's a problem. 

I have a pair of Dacom BoneBudz, a bone conduction headset that does not rely on a spring-band to force them onto your temples. So it is not limited by the band size, unlike all the other versions out there. And trust me, I've tried many different ones, even the "adjustable" ones. 

It had always operated in English, so the other day, when I had somehow accidentally switched it into Chinese mode, I was surprised. Now, I speak Chinese fluently, so this is not a problem, but I prefer my electronics to operate in English, so I want it switched back. 

So I went about looking for the manual... I can't find the paper version... I somehow did not put it back in the box. ARGH! 

So Google to the rescue, and a manual scan is available on the FCC website. So I download a copy and read it. Except it made NO mention of language switching. The manual itself is available in four languages, but I don't read Japanese or Russian. And neither the Chinese or English manual mentioned language switching. ARGH!!!!

I went to the Chinese website and clicked on support, and was able to dig up additional instructions in Chinese that are NOT in the manual. 

While in pairing mode, fast-tap MFB (multi-function button) twice to toggle between English and Chinese

While in pairing mode, fast-tap MFB three times to reset device, which will switch off. 

Tried switching language several times, I heard two beeps, but the language didn't change. 

So I tried the reset. Did it a couple times, until it finally turned off. Turned it back on, voila, English! 

So if you own a pair of Dacom BoneBudz, and you need to switch languages, now you know how. 

Science COVIDiocy: How Antivaxxers Got the Science Backwards To Discredit the COVID Vaccine (Updated)

One of the frequent arguments used by antivaxxers against the COVID vaccine is "It doesn't prevent transmission! Therefore vaccine creates deadlier variants!"

They actually got the science backwards, because they are mixing up bacteria and virus, but to explain all that, we have to explain how virus "evolves", and this can get a bit science-y. 

As usual in most antivax myths, there is *some* truth in what they are saying, but they are misapplied. They think they can apply natural selection to virus. It doesn't really work that way. 

Natural Selection And Breeding Stronger Bacteria

Darwin's theory of evolution has natural selection as a primary mechanism. In all species there are variations, and due to the natural environment, some of these variations will more suited for survival, while some will be less suited. In time, the more suited versions will proliferate, and the less suited versions will die out. Thus the species evolves. 

This is happening with the new antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi. New variations are caused by natural mutations, and some may be more resistant to drugs designed to kill them, and those will survive, while others do not, thus resulting in newer strains that are more resistant to drugs. 

So it may make sense for people who don't understand science to believe that vaccines, like drugs, are "selecting" virus that can resist the vaccines for proliferation. Except, virus are not bacteria or fungi. A virus doesn't multiply that way. And while vaccines *can* have a selection effect, NOT having a vaccine actually generates far more variants. 

How Virus and Vaccine Works

A virus is not "alive" and cannot multiply by itself, unlike fungi or bacteria. A virus must infect a cell, and borrow its facilities to make copies of itself. Every once in a long while, the copying process goes wonky, creating variants. Most variants don't work, but every once in a long-while, they work better than the original.  

Vaccine helps the body create the right antibodies to bind to the virus, preventing them from getting into your cells and copying themselves, which decreases the chance of creating mutations and variants. Weaker vaccines don't generate enough antibodies so some viruses will get through, but the reduced amount means you get weaker symptoms if any at all. 

We have variants of COVID because we had almost a YEAR where we had no vaccine and infections ran rampant, giving the COVID viruses plenty of chances to multiply and mutate. 

The way we can use a vaccine to stamp out a disease is to vaccinate as many people as fast as possible, so the virus does not infect enough people to create a viable mutation. We don't have that because we are playing catch-up with the virus, which had a ten-month start, and we can't wait for a "perfect" vaccine that can do both prevention AND stop transmission.  The more we delay, the more variants we will see. The virus already mutated into several variants while we were creating the vaccine, so we are STILL playing catch-up. 

Why Vaccine Does NOT Select Virus The Way You Think

I can already hear the antivaxxers howling: but COVID vaccines do not stop transmission! 

Ah, but it does REDUCE transmission. You are less sick, if you do get sick at all, with COVID vaccine. The less sick you are, the less virus you can pass on to others. Add a mask or stay home, and you are unlikely to pass it on to anyone anyway. 

After all, airbags and seatbelts don't prevent auto deaths. We still have them mandated, right? 

But think about it... Bacteria and fungi live outside of human bodies independently. They live, die, and mutate there. Human body is just another part of their environment. If we use a lot of anti-bacterial stuff around us, it'd affect their environment, but they are mutating independent of us. We merely selected them.  

Virus do NOT live outside human bodies (or animal bodies) for very long (hours, maybe days) and they can't multiply that way. They need a cell to survive and multiply, and mutate. Human body *is* their environment. By vaccinating, we minimize the chances of the virus gaining a foothold in our bodies, and thus, minimize their chance of mutating and surviving onto infecting someone else, esp. when combined with mask and social isolation. 

But the antivaxxers are not completely mistaken. They're doing Chicken Little thinking every nightmare scenario will happen, and for vaccine, the nightmare scenario is ADE. 

Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE)

Your body's immune system, upon detecting a virus, will generate antibodies. But antibodies are specific to proteins that are on the virus exterior. Some antibodies can block these proteins which allow the virus to infiltrate cells (thus infect them). But sometimes, these antibodies end up doing the opposite: making it EASIER for the virus to infiltrate the cells. This is called ADE. 

So how do we tell if the vaccine-caused antibodies are causing ADE instead of helping the immune system? You watch the body for how it reacts to infection by the virus. There are three possible outcomes. 

1) Mild or no symptoms -- the body has fought off the virus, vaccine worked.

2) Breakthrough infection -- the body is overwhelmed, either the immune system was compromised or the vaccine didn't work

3) ADE -- the person got even SICKER than normal and developed symptoms faster than without the vaccine. The vaccine actually made things worse. 

So far, no COVID vaccine ADE has been observed. 

Booster Shots and Vaccine Resistance

Now the antivaxxers are probably screaming: "But you need booster shots! That proves vaccines didn't work!"

Actually, that proves that we have learned that you need booster shots to make sure we generate enough antibodies to minimize the virus in the body long enough for everyone to get vaccinated, thus leaving no unvaccinated groups that can carry the virus around, where it can mutate into new strains, and to reinfect others. 

Also keep in mind that there are like 30 different COVID vaccines approved around the world. China and Russia have their own, all based on different technologies and methods. They work differently on different strains of COVID, and scientists are still tweaking the formulas for the booster shots. If COVID developed resistance to one type of vaccine, we can switch to a different type. 

Where Do Variants Come From?

Generally speaking variants are probably generated within an immunocompromised who received various treatments to help him/her survive, yet suffered lingering symptoms for a long time, thus allowing the virus time to mutate, yet not cleared up. But it can also happen within a person who spent a LOT of time in the hospital suffering from COVID. 

Conclusion

It doesn't really matter if the vaccine can stop transmission altogether. As long as it reduces the severity, it will reduce transmission, and thus, reduce the chances of creating viable variants. 

So please get vaccinated, including the booster, as soon as you can. You will reduce the chances of new variants from being created. 

Addendum

Just came across this science paper, which is in pre-print (not peer-reviewed) but it points out that vaccines are actually suppressing variants. Tests show that the unvaxxed folks actually show far more variants than the vaxxed people. This is preliminary only and does not constitute proof, but it's very interesting information indeed (and far more useful than some Chicken Little predictions). 

Ironic COVIDiocy: Seven Antivax Doctors Contracted COVID after Attending Antivax Event in Florida

Seven antivax doctors attended an Ocala, Florida "summit" about alternative treatments for COVID, and caught COVID there, yet the organizer denied that the event was a superspreader event, according to The Guardian. 

One of those was Dr. Bruce Boros, 71. He claimed to be taking and prescribing Ivermectin for 16 months, and condemned his own 97-year-old father for getting vaccinated, as well as calling Dr. Fauci a fraud. When interviewed, he claimed he just wanted to help people. 

Remember, folks. Ivermectin is a weak nerve toxin to kill parasites. It has an extremely weak effect on COVID virus. If you take enough to affect the COVID virus, you'd die of IMV overdose first. 

No idea where did these doctors get the idea that Ivermectin is "working all around the world". The only study that showed definite results was withdrawn after people spotted falsified data. 

Don't be a COVIDiot. Just get vaccinated. 

COVIDiocy Conspiracy: No, the new Pfizer Drug Paxlovid is NOT a variation of Ivermectin

Pfizer and other drug makers have been working on a drug to treat COVID and Pfizer just announced Paxlovid is 89% effective in preventing hospitalization if taken soon after COVID symptoms during phase 2/3 trials. It worked so wonderfully, they stopped testing and petitioned the FDA for emergency authorization use. 

This immediately got the antivaxxers up in arms, claiming that Paxlovid is just Ivermectin in a different packaging at 20X the price because both are protease inhibitors. 

I am not going to screenshot the tweets and such, because they are rather silly. But then, it may take some ability to Google (tm) and knowing how drugs REALLY work to understand such comparisons are silly. 

Let me give you an analogy: comparing Ivermectin to Paxlovid is like comparing these two vehicles, but probably not in the way you think:

Yellow: Caterpillar 797F  360 ton truck
White: Chevy Suburban 2.5 ton truck

Now that's how much IVM you have to take in the yellow truck
to equate one dose of Paxlovid (in the Suburban)

It's pretty clear you would never drive the yellow truck on a public road, it'd never fit! 

Yet that's how much Ivermectin you have to give to the patient so enough of it gets to the blood in order to have enough effect on the COVID virus in you, when compared to Paxlovid (with the Suburban acting as a stand-in). 

I am not going to get into the details as to what makes up Paxlovid, the scientific names, and so on. If you want, you can read the better explanation by Orac on his blog Respectful Insolence. This is my summary of it. 

A drug when taken orally has to be able to be digested and absorbed by the body. This is called "bio-availability". 

A protease inhibitor blocks a virus' ability to reproduce using the host's own cells. This protease inhibitor must block as few protease as possible, as not to interfere with host body's own functions, such as digesting protein, yet block the virus' ability to reproduce. With me so far? 

(Side topic: Immune system and vaccines, as well as the monoclonal antibodies treatment, floods the blood with antibodies, which attaches to the proteins of the virus they match to, which prevents the virus from reaching the cells, attaching themselves, and burrowing inside to multiply.)

Pfizer, had actually identified this compound, called PF-07321332, back in the 2000's as part of its effort to find a drug that works on SARS, which is itself derived from another PF-series compound which I won't list, as it's too technical. Read Orac's blogpost if you want the details.  

Ivermectin was discovered in a Japanese pond (on a golf course) by two Pfizer scientists around 1970's.

The two are not related. The only thing they have in common is they are both protease inhibitors, just as both vehicles above are considered "automobiles". They don't even affect the same protein!  

So what's the problem? Bioavailability. Ivermectin, abbreviated IVM from here on, has a safe range of blood concentration of about 20-80 ng/ml. That's nanograms per milliliter. What antivaxxers don't understand about IVM is it's technically a nerve poison. That is how it kills parasites. In the safe range noted above, the human body tolerates it well. If you overdose on IVM, you can suffer "confusion, drowsiness, visual hallucinations, tachypnea (rapid breathing), and tremors", "disoriented and had difficulty answering questions and following commands" (as documented from actual cases of IVM overdose). 

The original study that potentially identified IVM as having an effect on the COVID virus noted that the effect was only achieved with the concentration of the drug in a petri dish in the milligram range. It's 10-20 times HIGHER than it's possible to achieve safely in human blood due to poor bio-availability and side effects. 

Or as one doctor puts it? 

Re: Ivermectin inhibits the same protease Pfizer's Paxlovid does:

Paxlovid works at 3.11nM, IVM at 21uM. 6-12mg IVM gets you ~26nM. Assuming linearity, you need ~6,000-12,000mg IVM to get ~21uM. Thats over the LD50 of 15mg/kg (avg wt), which is over 15 full tubes of horse paste. https://t.co/iAeZrTEfDF

— Avi Bitterman, MD (@AviBittMD) November 20, 2021

That's right, one dose (two pills), vs 15 tubes of horse paste (which will likely KILL you). That's how much IVM you need to take to have the same effect of Paxlovid on the COVID virus. 

Don't be a COVIDiot and believe that Ivermectin is all you need. 

Get vaccinated. 

COVIDiocy Propaganda: How to see through anti-vaxxer attempts to mislead you

Recently someone posted this graph, claiming Ivermectin has stopped the spread of COVID in Japan, so much so they stopped using vaccines altogether. 

COVID-19 in Tokyo - Japan 
Sharp drop after ivermectin recommendation? Really? 

Note that this is a multi-layered lie, and we have to take it apart layer by layer. 

First, is this graph real? 

Answer: Yes, the data seems to be real, and seems to match the official Tokyo Metropolitan Government website's COVID page. 

Did "Tokyo Medical Association" recommend use of Ivermectin? 

Answer: Yes, its chairman Haruo Ozaki did conduct a press conference lobbying for the official Japanese government guidance to include Ivermectin. However, they do NOT represent the Japanese government or even the Tokyo Metropolitan government. They are merely one of the lobbying groups, and a sub-group within the Japan Medical Association, also a lobbying group.

What does the Japanese government say about Ivermectin? 

The official guidance from the Japanese Ministry of Health on Ivermectin, according to AFP, states that "compared to standard treatment and placebo, ivermectin did not reduce deaths, shorten the hospitalization period and improve time of virus disappearance."

The health minister stated in August that they need to see proven effect before any update to the guidance will be issued. 

What about claims that Japan had stopped rollout of COVID vaccine? 

False. Japan continues to use three types of COVID vaccines. 68 percent of Japanese population has had two doses. 

So what caused the drop? 

Tokyo and major cities declared a state of emergency, targeting alcohol sales and crowd sizes at large events. People are voluntarily masking up and businesses adopted anti-infection methods. The emergency measures were not lifted until October 2021. 

It is the lockdown, masking, and vaccination, that caused the drop of COVID cases. 

Who started the lie?

The lie appears to have originated from a conspiracy theorist-oriented "Hal Turner Radio Show" website, which had been fact-checked before by AFP for spreading misinformation. Turner had previously claimed that 50K Chinese soldiers had invaded Maine from Canada in December 2020 and were killed, but US covered it up as an earthquake. Yes, it's as stupidly crazy as it sounds. 

Turner was previously convicted of threatening to assault three federal appeals court judges in 2010 and was banned from radio for 3 years. 

So it was just a big coincidence? 

As they say on CSI, "correlation is not causation". Japan never adopted Ivermectin as treatment, so it can't be the cause of lower COVID cases. And TALKING about ivermectin has no therapeutic effect. 

So there you go. Don't fall for COVIDiot propaganda. 

Sad COVIDiocy: Couple set to marry are instead dead of COVID due to vaccine hesitancy

Chicago couple Luis Suarez and Norma Franco had been together for years, and planned to get married just after Thanksgiving, and get vaccinated so they can visit their folks. However, they would never get married now, as COVID claimed both of their lives before they can even tie the knot. 

Their surviving son hoped that by publicizing their story, they can save lives. He said, "People are worried about the side effects. The side effects of losing a family member are terrible, and that's what happens if you don't get vaccinated."

They cannot even be together in the hospital because they are not married yet. They had to be admitted separately to the hospital and unable to get information or communicate with each other. Both were eventually put on life support and died a week apart. 

Don't be a COVIDiot... get vaccinated ASAP.  COVID may come for you sooner than you think. 

COVIDiocy Visual Aid: How Game of Telephone Distorts True Science

 

The Science News Cycle: 
First, there was Science, which results in a paper with conclusion that... 
A is correlated with B (0.56 coefficient) given C, assuming D, under E conditions
Which was translated by Uni PR office "Scientists Find Potential Link between A and B"
Which was picked up by news organizations "A causes B, say Scientists"
Which was picked up on the Interwebs: "Scientists out to kill us"
Which was picked up on cable news "A causes B all the time"
Which was picked up by local news "A: Killer among us? Latest at 10"
Which is picked up by your grandma "I am wearing this to ward off A"
which leads to you facepalming yourself. 

COVIDiocy Turnaround: Vaccine Skeptic's Near-Death COVID Experience Turned Him Into a Vaccine Believer

Howard Breidenbach of Oregon survived his COVID, but spent 102 days in the hospital, often near death, only kept alive by ventilators. He thought he was a healthy trucker, but with COVID he had lost everything. At the time of the interview with the local TV station, he is still on oxygen and is often coughing, and it may never go away. But at least he's alive. 

His advice to others? 

"I agree with them (the vaccine hesitant), they should have their choice.

"But at the same time, what freedom do you have in the grave, besides to be worm food?"

Remember, a shot of COVID vaccine is, at most, $20 in the US, and generally free. 

His 102-day stint in the ICU is about 250K total. 

Even monoclonal antibodies treatment is like $1250 per dose, and you need like 8 of them. 

Yes, he's vaccinated now. And he urged EVERYBODY to get vaccinated. 

Good for you, sir. A little late, but still, good for you. 

Rich COVIDiocy? Why do the rich and famous seem more vulnerable to crank beliefs such as antivax?

During COVID times, it seems many different celebrities or at least rich and famous people have revealed their antivax views that seem, on the surface, ridiculous, as in "how could they believe that?"  

Nicki Minaj is famous for "my cousin's friend" tweet that claims a non-existent incident of vaccine injury. She is, of course, unvaccinated, and did not attend Met Gala because of that. 

We have Evander Kane of the NHL suspended for 21 games, very likely because he turned in a fake vaccination card to get around the NHL vaccine mandate. 

And now we have Aaron Rodgers of the NFL claiming his homeopathy treatment is as good as COVID vaccination, but caught COVID anyway, AND mislead the public, claiming he was "immunized". 

Now we have to add Steve Kirsch, a tech millionaire who turned antivax when early research on some of the drugs he backed didn't pan out. 

What caused them to make these decisions which to the average Joe, seems irrational? 

What I see are a couple common factors, but it all comes down to money and ego. 

I'm a resurcher (by searching 
on Youtube for what I want to
be true!) credit: reddit.com/r/meme

* They believe they are smart (smarter than they actually are)

Minaj and Rodgers both claimed to have done their own research. 

* They can afford to hire people who agree with them

Rodgers apparently has a "medical team" and his "doctor" prescribed him homeopathic treatments. 

* They see the rules as an affront to their own beliefs

Rodgers had publicly stated that he doesn't believe in NFL/NFLPA's rules on masks and vaccines. 

Kirsch basically went nuts when his medical board urged caution when it came to a new drug that shows some promise for treating COVID (it's NOT what you think it is... it's fluvoxamine). National Institute of Health wanted a bigger study to confirm it, but Kirsch tried to push his board of directors to endorse the drug anyway. The board refused and most resigned, and Kirsch went full antivax after that, decided the world is against him and his beliefs. 

* They believe (with good reason) that they will suffer little to no consequence from their actions

Of the four mentioned, only Kane received punishment. Rodgers is still spewing his views on various talk shows, and Minaj... well, the media seems to have temporarily forgotten about her. Kirsch made himself an outcast but is courting the antivaxxers. 

But that'd only explain the rich and famous... So what made the average suburban soccer mom or marginalized population go antivax? We will discuss that in a future blogpost. 

Sad COVIDiocy: Anti-Masker and Anti-vaxxer Naturopath Christopher Foley died of COVID

Christopher Foley, a doctor in Minnesota, who also got credentials as a naturopath and homeopath, has died of complications of COVID, according to his son. The 71-year old doctor was famously anti-mask and anti-vaccine, claiming masks are "downright dangerous" if worn for extended periods of time, and called vaccine "a human experiment". 

According to his obituary, he died back in Mid-October. He had promoted taking Ivermectin, carrageenan, and vitamin D for treating COVID, and believed COVID was a Chinese bio-weapon. 

A reminder that Ivermectin is NOT an approved treatment for COVID and has no demonstratable effect except in a petri-dish at way too high a concentration. Carrageenan is believed to potentially cause gut tumors and ulcers, and is banned in Europe.  

COVIDiocy Mythbuster: Children are at low risk of COVID or dying of COVID so they don't need the COVID vaccine

One of the recent anti-vax talking points is centered on children and efforts to protect them before the vaccines become available. And one of the best ways to protect children from COVID without the vaccine was with masks. Yet you have states like Texas and Florida whose governors, eager to court the Qanon vote, banned schools from implementing a mask mandate to protect the children, claiming to be "protecting" the parents' rights. And parents waving signs that say things like "Don't muzzle my child" and "Let them breathe". 

But what is the truth about children and COVID? 

FACT: Children are now 24% of all reported COVID cases in the US (about 100K cases a week). And it's rising fast. (As of early November)

FACT: Children are more likely to show no signs of infection, and less likely to suffer severe symptoms, if they are infected with COVID but they are just as infectious (i.e. capable of passing on COVID to others) as if they are seriously ill. 

In fact, because they show little to no symptoms, they are less likely to be kept home or isolated in hospital, and therefore, potentially infecting even MORE people than if they did fell more severely ill. 

FACT: Masks reduce the severity COVID-19 should you catch it, and reduce transmission risks if you haven't caught it. 

Yet you have COVIDiots show up at school board meetings against children wearing masks to school, screaming about "acne", "funk", "don't make it easy for child predators" and similar WTF reasons, or otherwise repeat antivax talking points that barely make coherent sentences. This inspired a roast on Saturday Night Live. But the threats uttered are no joke. Some parents have resorted to stalking school board members and school officials. School officials have been spat on or struck or have objects thrown at them. A father was arrested for threatening the elementary school principal with "citizen's arrest" with two other men while armed with Zip-ties, all because a child was forced to miss school due to a mandated potential COVID exposure quarantine. 

The situation is so widespread (in many different states) and so vicious in some cases, that the National School Board Association is pleading the Federal Government to step in to stop this new form of domestic terrorism. 

FACT: We have NO data on long-term consequences of children with COVID. We do know children can suffer from long COVID and MIS-C as a result of being exposed to COVID or even living with someone who caught COVID. 

To summarize: Masks and Vaccines are a multi-layered approach to stop children from catching COVID. Even ONE death is too many when we can do something about it. The long-term consequences of suffering through COVID is unknown but very likely worse than any vaccine side effects (if any). And it also prevents the children from infecting others without knowing. 

Therefore it is IMPERATIVE that children be vaccinated against COVID as soon as possible, not only to protect them, from both short-term (COVID) and long-term (MISC-C and long COVID), but also to prevent them from being reservoirs of COVID virus to infect other people. 

So what does that make parents who don't want their children to mask up, get a vaccine, yet go back to school? 

COVIDiots, of course. 

COVIDiocy Mythbuster: Are COVID Vaccines "Useless" Because of "Breakthrough Infections"?

 One of the more... exasperating talking points of antivaxxers can be roughly summarized as follows:

"I'm not getting vaccinated because vaccines don't work!"

"How did you know they don't work?"

"Because you can still catch COVID after you get vaccinated! And you can still die! Look at Colin Powell!"

As typical of most bad talking points, there is a hint of truth to it, but there's also a lot of missing context. 

Yes, you can get what's known as a "breakthrough infection" even after you are fully vaccinated for COVID. There are a variety of reasons for this. 

As for Colin Powell (RIP), he has "multiple myeloma", a cancer of the plasma cells that affected the body's immune system, as well as Parkinson's. In other words, he's immunocompromised. His body's immune system did not respond to the vaccine and did not produce enough antibodies to protect him. 

While the COVID vaccines provide protection against COVID, it is NOT an impenetrable shield. You should also mask up and avoid tight indoor spaces with unmasked people you don't know (who may or may not be infected) to present a multi-layered defense against COVID. 

And this is what antivaxxers's point comes down to: "if it is not 100% effective I don't want it!" 

In debate, this is called a nirvana fallacy or "perfect solution fallacy". If it's not perfect, it's not good enough. 

They want something that would let them live normal life and not mask up and do all the stuff they usually do. Great, so do we. But WE DO NOT HAVE THAT! 

And even if we do, they'll probably claim it's untested, unlicensed, un SOMETHING. They will play "no true Scotsman" and move the goalpost. Again and again. 

But what's the TRUTH about breakthrough infections? 

Yes, it can occur. But it is quite rare. If you are fully vaccinated, you are 6.1X LESS LIKELY to test positive for COVID, and 11.3X less likely to die from COVID, than an unvaccinated person. Yes, hospital tracks stuff like that. And they report to the CDC, and CDC has statisticians and computers that compiles all that into nice charts and graphs and reports. 

As the booster shots just started, there are no stats on that yet, but I would not be surprised that the odds are even BETTER with booster shots. 

But the logic is simple: do you use only ONE layer of protection, or do you use as many layers as practical that you can live with? 

You wear your seatbelts in your car, your car has airbags, you drive safely, you are licensed, and you have insurance, right? 

CDC is recommending that some people get a booster shot after 6 months. Let's go over the reasons:

1) Everyone's immune system is a little different. And no one EVER said vaccines are 100% effective. 

2) Some people's immunity response wears off faster than others. This is known as "waning immunity". Those people need booster shots. 

3) Some people who are immune-compromised don't develop enough antibodies. They also need booster shots. 

4) Precautions are still necessary after vaccination. Being indoors in unventilated spaces with potentially infected people while unmasked can lead to high viral load that overwhelms your immune system, EVEN WITH vaccination. That's why you STILL should mask up. 

You should not take any unnecessary chances with your body, and going without COVID vaccine is one of the unnecessary chances. 

Political COVIDiocy: If you wear a MAGA cap, you are far more likely to die of COVID

NYTimes reports that the death gap between red and blue counties is widening. 

In October 2021, 25 out of 100000 in heavily Trump counties died of COVID, compared to 7.8 per 100000 in heavily Biden counties. And this difference is accelerating for the FIFTH month. 

The difference is very simple: Republicans are about 40% unvaxxed, compared to 10% of Democrats. 

(Cited via Boingboing)

Sad COVIDiocy: San Francisco Policeman and Antivaxxer Died of COVID

SFPD Chief Bill Scott was sad to announce the passing of Office Jack Nyce, at the age of 47. Nyce was one of the 41 holdouts who refused to abide by the city's COVID vaccine mandate for all city employees by November 1st. Apparently he was diagnosed with COVID in late October and died on November 6th in the hospital. He had been a policeman in San Francisco for more than 17 years. He is survived by his wife and unknown number of children. 

San Francisco Human Resources stated that 98% of all city employees are vaccinated. 

COVIDiocy to the Grave?: Mak Parhar, COVID denier and flat earther, died (probably of COVID) at age 48

Mak Parhar, 48, has died. He's best known as a flat-earther and COVID denier. He live-streamed that he's got COVID symptoms as late as November 3rd, was self-treating with cold meds and ivermectin (which does not work) yet still claiming that COVID does not exist. He called it "CONVID". He was found dead in his home in BC. 

While the coroner cannot say the cause of death until a full autopsy has been performed, it's widely known that he live-streamed his condition of COVID symptom only days ago on November 3rd, 2021 when he revealed he took Ivermectin yet still denied he had COVID. Earlier (in October) he had complained about having some symptoms. 

Mak Parhar apparently decided the whole COVID thing was a hoax to destroy his livelihood when Canadian authorities ordered a shutdown in early 2020, which included his yoga studio, because he falsely claimed that "hot yoga" kills coronavirus and actively encouraged his yoga students to violate public health orders. For that, he lost his business license in March 2020. Ever since, he made it his business to criticize the Canadian COVID policy.

He once made a video, during the height of pandemic, in the middle of Metro Vancouver Hospital, claiming to be "trying to get to the truth about the virus".  

Apparently he's also a flat Earther because he was arrested for flagrantly not self-quarantining after returning from a Flat Earth convention in the US in fall 2020. He was supposed to appear in court earlier but claimed he was too sick to do so. 

(In case you don't know, Flat Earthers believe the Earth is FLAT.)

In April 2021 he filed a nuisance lawsuit claiming the Canadian government had committed against him trespass, malfeasance, extortion, terrorism, kidnapping, and fraud. The lawsuit was thrown out. 

In a way, Mr. Parhar epitomized the modern conspiracy COVIDiot... He may have died still holding that belief, but we will never know. 

But please pray for him anyway, because he is survived by a daughter, according to vancouverisawesome.com. We are not privy to his marital status. 

COVIDiocy Extreme: The Arrogance of Aaron Rodgers

The news is out: Aaron Rodgers, NFL Green Bay Packers Quarterback, is not playing because he caught COVID. 

That's not the stupid part. The stupid part is he actually petitioned the NFL to consider him vaccinated even though he was not, because he claimed that he's "immunized" back in August for "alternate treatment" as reported by ESPN. 

What was the alternate treatment? Homeopathy. That's right, he got some homeopathic treatment from his doctor (BTW, homeopathy is pseudoscience) who claimed will raise his antibody counts. With that, Rodgers went to the league claiming he's as good as vaccinated. The league disagreed and kept him listed as unvaccinated. And now he caught COVID. Hah!

But he's not backing down and admit he's dumb. He doubled down. He went to a talk show and claim that he's quite healthy, he's getting monoclonal antibody treatment, he's taking horse dewormer (Ivermectin), and he's taking vitamins and minerals. 

And he insisted that when he answered that he was "immunized", he was not lying. People just didn't ask what he REALLY meant by that, and he would have explained if people asked. 

What a weasel. 

But obviously it's not his fault... "it was a witch hunt that was going on across the league", he said. 

Rodgers claimed he conducted a lot of research (with his "medical team"), decided that he's allergic to one ingredient in two of the three vaccines available, and when the third one was paused for investigation of blood clots, he decided he won't get ANY of the vaccines. 

But he has to do something to appease the NFL, so he came up with this "long-term protocol that involved multiple months", and tried to petition the league to declare that's as good as being vaccinated. The league disagreed, but Rodgers decided to play the victim, stating "I know I'm not going to win this."

His "medical team" told him the risk of an adverse event (to the vaccine) is greater than catching COVID and recovering from it. 

Rodgers claims he's NOT an antivaxxer, but he chose NOT to mask up at a public event because he did not believe masks work, despite league rules and being 10 ft from the nearest reporter. Why? Because he believes the rules are not based on science. Does he have proof? Nope. 

Rodgers actually believes he's SAFER than vaccinated people because he takes a COVID test DAILY. 

In other words, he's so f***ing rich (his contract is worth 134 million USD) he can afford to f*** around. Anyone checked how much COVID tests cost recently? Sure, he can AFFORD it, but he caught COVID ANYWAY. So it proves whatever he did, it didn't work. UPDATE: Turns out the daily test was an agreement between NFL and NFL Player's Association for all unvaxxed or partially-vaxxed players. He wasn't even paying for them! 

But he's too entitled to see that he was fed a bunch of crap info by his "medical team". According to reports, Rodgers apparently printed out like 500+ pages of crap that he tried to use as evidence to get NFL to accept his "regimen" as equivalent to a COVID vaccination. According to Madison State Journal, NFL's medical team could not find a SINGLE peer-reviewed research in the 500+ pages Rodgers turned in. It is basically crap. 

The short of it is he doesn't believe the CDC or the FDA, or any protocols NFL developed with them. Not on vaccines, not on masks. Nothing. And of course, he considers himself a "critical thinker". 

Ever heard of Dunning-Kruger Effect, Mr. Rodgers? You may be smart, but you're not smart enough to realize... you're not smart enough. 

You're not a critical thinker. You just think you are.  

And the sooner you admit it, the better. 

EDIT: New report from anon source near Rodgers claims that Rodgers is upset 

COVIDiocy Science: Why Catching COVID is a STUPID Idea, Part X of ???

 We've previously covered the reasons (more than 5) on why you should get vaccinated and NOT try to catch COVID 'naturally'. 

Now we can add another reason: you can go nuts. 

Three separate California teens have developed psychiatric symptoms, seemingly overnight, after catching COVID. 

While the sample size is too small to be of use, the implications are alarming enough that warranted immediate attention. 

Their examination shows that their immune system, instead of attacking the virus which had gotten into the spinal fluid, started attacking the brain instead. 

One of the patients showed anger issues, screaming profanity-laden tirade against anyone within hearing distance, tried to escape the hospital, and has paranoid delusions about being followed and such. 

After a treatment to suppress her immune system went haywire, which had caused brain inflammation, she practically had a personality change 24 hours later. 

Another teen, a former A-student, got "brain fog", a common complaint for COVID sufferers, and became bipolar, flipping from apathy to elation to rage. He can barely remember simple facts, and felt suicidal, and is not responding to psychiatric medication. It was only then he was diagnosed with COVID. He received similar treatment to suppress his immune system, but it was well after his problems, and he never fully recovered. 

And remember, teenagers did not get access to the COVID vaccine until relatively recently, and those under 12 have yet to get them, PERIOD, at least in the US.  

Now, some states are so eager to please the hardcore constituents, they want to send kids back to class WITHOUT MASKS OR VACCINES. 

Don't be a COVIDiot. Get vaccinated, and get your family vaccinated as soon as possible. And mask up. It's about protecting you and your loved ones. 

You can't enjoy your "freedom" if you are dead or sick. 

COVIDiocy Science: Why Catching COVID for Disease-Derived Immunity is a Bad Idea

Some COVID deniers such as Laura Loomer claimed that COVID is no worse than a stomach flu, and had stated publicly she wanted to catch it to prove it wasn't that bad. She got her wish in September 2021, and there has been no word whether she considers COVID better or worse than the stomach flu. 

But scientifically, this is a horrible idea... You should NOT try to catch COVID 'naturally'. 

First, you have a 1 in 62 chance of dying if you catch COVID. (45.5M cases and 738K deaths = 1/61.65)

Second, you have a chance of severe lasting damage from COVID known as "long COVID", which are not just physical, but also psychological and neurological. People have reported personality changes, such as anger issues, apathy, headache, fatigue, trouble breathing, loss of taste or smell, and more. 

Third, you may not get ANY immunity if you have a weak case of COVID. One-third of COVID-infected individuals (with positive tests) show NO antibodies 3 weeks later.  

Fourth, disease-derived immunity fades quickly. A full 28% of medical professionals who tested positive for COVID no longer show sufficient antibodies 2 months later.  

But now there is another thing to worry about... COVID can cause Type I diabetes, where the beta cells that produce insulin were weakened or destroyed by the virus. COVID death autopsies revealed that pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin were infected with the virus, and there's no reason to doubt that happens in the living as well. 

This is NOT a preview. This is TWO SEPARATE teams working on this issue, came to the same results. The paper has been peer-reviewed. This is real science. 

And Type I diabetes is the type where you need to get insulin injections multiple times a day. 

Keep in mind that even if you did catch a "minor" case of COVID, getting COVID vaccine means you are HALF as likely to catch COVID again than without the vaccine. 

Don't be a COVIDiot and deny the seriousness of COVID. You are taking chances with your body with potentially deadly consequences if you don't get the vaccine. 

Just get the COVID vaccine. 

Sports COVIDiocy: SJ Sharks forward Evander Kane Suspended for 21 Games For Turning in a FAKE COVID Vaccination Card

NHL and NHL Player's Association agreed on September 1st 2021 that all players should be vaccinated, and are required to submit proof of vaccination. 

Evander Kane, a forward for the San Jose Sharks NHL team, was suspended for 21 games, UNPAID, for violating the rules. He will not return until November 30th in the game against the New Jersey Devils. He already missed training camp, pre-season games, and the season opener.  

He has issued an apology to the teammates, team, the fans, and more. 

While a high-scorer on the ice and leading the Sharks in scoring last year on the ice, Kane was embroiled in controversy when his estranged wife accused him of domestic violence and betting on the games earlier this year while in the midst of a bitter divorce. NHL is conducting multiple investigations on Kane, and cleared him on some allegations. But this one was so obvious it's not even funny. 

Don't be a COVIDiot like Kane.