Common COVIDiocy: Is Vaccine Hesitancy Due to Lack of Education? New Studies Sheds Light on Why

According to Edzard Ernst, citing a study by the Austrian Science Ministry, anti-vaxxers are across all age groups, gender, and so on. There is only one consistent characteristic: the vaccination rate is strongly related to the level of education. 

The other interesting thing to point out is that people who were formerly from Romania or Russia are the least likely to vaccinate, and such low rates are not observed among the other immigrant groups. The hesitancy may be attributed somewhat to the lack of trust in the government, despite living in a new jurisdiction. 

Is the problem as simple as simply educating the folks though? Is it as simple as using a slogan: "Those who know nothing must believe everything"?  

(Sounds like a variation on "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything" but I digress)

Which reminded me of an antivaxxer I met in real life. My job and my social circle don't tend to intersect with antivaxxers, except for one thing... 

A few years ago (before COVID), I took Lyft to work almost daily, and as a result, I met a lot of drivers with a lot of different views. One day, I met a black antivaxxer as my driver. He was listening to a radio talk show about anti-vaccine views, and they kept bringing up Tuskegee Study. 

(If you didn't know, the doctors back in 1932 chose NOT to treat syphilis in some black men without telling them, just to observe how far the disease can go. This was unethical and later the US government made formal apologies as well as created compensation funds and provided health coverage to the participant survivors, their spouses, and their children. )

So I asked him how much does he believe in this stuff. Turns out he's pretty far in, laced with a dose of black power, Illuminati (of old white men), and so on. I basically just listened, and try not to react because much of it really make no sense to me.  

I have no idea what his education level was, but somehow, reading that education level corresponds strongly with vaccination rate and that fear of government just brought back that little incident. 

I hope you are doing well, bro. And you did eventually got your COVID vax, both doses plus booster. 

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". 

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? 

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. 

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). 

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 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. 

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. 

COVIDiocy Mythbuster: Why Do Celebrities Believe Themselves Above Science and Reason?

There are plenty of celebrity goofs about COVID. We've seen Nicki Minaj's COVID debacle and the rise of "My cousin's friend" meme. Trinidad's health minister even spent a full day trying to track down the person... There was no such case. 

But when an NBA star publicly announce that he believes he has natural immunity and refused to get the vaccine, antivaxxers rallied behind him because "freedom!" when his team barred him from practice for refusing the shot. In fact, Kyrie Irving will lose about half of his salary, because Brooklyn Nets have to follow the city mandate of any pro athlete at a public venue needs to be vaccinated, and half of the games are "home" games played in New York. 

And guess what Kyrie said about his decision? 

"It's just about the freedom of what I want to do."

He said he wants to play, but he's not willing to get the shot in order to play. His "freedom" to NOT get the shot is more important to him than playing or helping the team. 

The fact that NBA has so far refused to issue a league-wide player vaccine mandate has left teams confused, as so far, only 3 cities (SF, LA, and NYC) have vaccine mandates that apply to their 5 NBA home teams. And some NBA players have voiced vocal opposition to getting vaxxed... a small minority. According to ESPN, only 10% of players are holding out, and all NBA officials and staff that work with players are required to be vaccinated. 

At least one NBA player in San Francisco has finally gotten vaxxed... because Andrew Wiggins wanted to play more than he wants to hold out over this issue. 

And even Lebron James has gotten the COVID vaccine, after initially refusing. 

NBA so far has only posted that the teams don't have to pay the players who hold out and thus ineligible for playtime, probably afraid of antagonizing the player's union, but that's beyond the scope of this blog post. 

Instead, I'd like to address a different topic...  Andrew Wiggins claimed he already had a bout of minor COVID earlier in the year, and his family is so healthy he doesn't even take OTC medication, which is why he's refusing COVID shots unless he's forced to. In fact, most of the vocal holdouts in NBA claim either they have natural immunity from prior COVID infections, or they question WHY get the vaccine if you can still be infected. 

Let's address both here. 

Is natural immunity a good substitute for vaccine immunity? 

First, let's be accurate. This is not natural immunity. This is disease-derived immunity or post-infection immunity. The person survived the COVID, a disease that kills 1 in 63 infected.So basically, if you chose not to vaccinate, you are risking 1/63 chance of dying outright. 

Second, you can still get COVID, albeit milder symptoms, due to delta and other variants, even after you get vaccinated. This is, in jargon terms, called "breakthrough infection". 

Three, there are three things you don't know about post-infection immunity:

a) more than 1/3rd of COVID cases resulted in NO protective antibodies created. In other words, surviving COVID may not give you ANY immunity at all. 

b) post-infection immunity fades quickly, esp. with mild COVID cases, when compared to vaccine-derived immunity. If it's been months since you last suffered COVID, you may have little to no protection against the delta or later COVID variants. 

c) reinfection rate is HALVED after vaccination for those who survived COVID. That's right, having the jab, even if you survived COVID, makes you HALF as likely of catching COVID again versus without the jab.  

Yet "natural immunity" has been an antivaxxer talking point for decades, as a natural extension of naturalistic fallacy, i.e. "natural is better" (never mind the science). In fact, some antivaxxers started referring themselves as #pureblood after a Tiktok meme gone viral. Never mind the Harry Potter and Nazi Germany references. 

Getting the COVID vaccine has multiple advantages, according to science:

* You don't have to suffer through the illness
* You won't face the 1/63 chance of death
* You get longer-lasting protection 

Yet there are antivaxxer COVIDiots who continue to hold out for no other reason than "freedom!" (from mandates) 

Don't be a COVIDiot who refuse to see reason. 

Also read: Science Based Medicine: Natural Immunity versus the vaccine for COVID-19

Sad COVIDiocy: 20-year Old Man Believed Himself Immune from COVID. He died.

An family is mourning the loss of a young 20-year old man who resisted getting the COVID vaccine for months. 

Tyler Gilreath told his mother Tamra Demello that he's healthy, and he has no pre-existing conditions, therefore he does not need the COVID vaccine, despite frequent reminders by his mother. Finally, he agreed that he will get the vaccine by August 30th, which is his mom's birthday. He would never get the chance. Not long after arrival at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where Tyler was about the start his sophomore year, he was diagnosed with COVID on August 20th. He seems to have recovered initially but picked up a sinus infection and a staph infection by mid-September. The infection entered his brain and caused swelling that started to destroy his brain. He was admitted to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain, but his condition worsened. The doctors determined there was no hope on 25th... and took him off life support on 27th. 

His mother had no doubt that had he gotten vaccinated, he would not have died. 

Don't be a COVIDiot like Tyler. Do NOT delay in getting the vaccine. You may catch it BEFORE you have a chance to vaccinate. 

Sad COVIDiocy: Irish Man Died From COVID After Antivaxxers Encouraged Him to Release Himself From Hospital

Irishman Joe McCarron, age 75, passed away at Letterkenny University Hospital on 24-SEP-2021 from COVID. He attracted media attention when a bunch of anti-medicine anti-vax pro-COVID protesters encouraged him to check himself out of the hospital on 12-SEP-2021, even though his doctors told him he needed treatment for his very serious COVID complications. 

Protesters heckled hospital staff both inside and outside the hospital, and convinced McCarron to leave the hospital, by telling him lies like "you'll die if you stay here" and "you don't need the ICU". He was released, despite pleas from his doctors, while yelled at by the protesters. 

A far-right protester Antonio Murredu, aka Antonion Graveliu, a Freeman, among the protesters, claimed "We are saving Joe's Life! Today is a winning day for Ireland!"  Murredu also thanked Dr Dolores Cahill, a famous Irish Antivaxxer, who was dismissed from her teaching position recently. 

McCarron was brought to a hospital a few days after his release and was immediately put on a ventilator. But despite best efforts, he expired. 

His family apologized to the hospital and slammed the "friends". 

Encouraging sick COVID patient to leave the hospital? Can they be charged with manslaughter? 

Don't be a COVIDiot or have COVIDiot friends. They can LITERALLY kill you with their "kindness". 

Sad COVIDiocy: Daughters Blame Misinformation for their Mom's COVID death in Washington State

 A mother from Western Washington has died of COVID because she got the idea that COVID vaccine is not good for her, despite her daughters' plea for her to be vaccinated for months. 

According to her daughters, mom supposedly caught COVID back at the beginning of pandemic, and mistakenly thought she's immune. She was never checked by a doctor to confirm this. She caught COVID at the beginning of September and died 12 days later, at the age of 57. 

Both daughters blamed "conservative media" for their mother's death. One said their mother believed that news sources are biased and only gets her information from conservative media. The other said their mom refused to listen to facts from everything, including themselves, and made everything political. 

And she's hardly the only one who died from COVID from misinformation. This is playing out across America in various conservative households. 

Don't be this mom. Don't be a COVIDiot. Get vaccinated. Your family will thank you. 

COVIDiocy Turnaround: Epiphany for COVID Survivor Who Almost Killed His Mother With COVID

Unvaccinated COVID-denier and ex-councilor in Ireland Andrew Girvin caught COVID in August 2021 and so did 19 of his family members. Both he and his mother had to be put on ventilators. His survival was 50/50, according to doctors. And he was sure his mother caught the virus from him. 

Talking on BBC Radio Ulster, he recounted how his symptoms just got worse and worse and his wife had to call for an ambulance. He was wheeled out of the house on oxygen, barely able to move, and wondered if he will ever see his children again. 

He believes now EVERYONE should take the COVID vaccine. He had a lot of time reflecting on his actions and decisions, with both his and his mum's mortality in question. And he saw that his procrastination, and his trying to straddle both sides that lead to his present situation. And he's telling his story. If his story can save one life, that'd be worth it, even with any "hate that goes along with it". 

Don't be a COVIDiot like Andrew WAS. He learned his lesson, and it was a VERY harsh one, at great cost. 

And you can avoid paying that cost by getting #vaxxed now. Do it for your family and your children. 

Sad COVIDiocy: Kentucky Bride-To-Be and Vaccine Hesitant Died of COVID

A Kentucky bride-to-be had been planning for her wedding for more than two years. She and her fiancee planned to start a family immediately. Unfortunately, the bride-to-be heard some crazy talk about the COVID vaccine can affect her fertility, so she chose to delay her vaccination. But she later changed her mind and made an appointment to be vaccinated. Unfortunately, both caught COVID a week before the appointment. Now, instead of a wedding, the family is planning her funeral. 

Her cousin told the local NBC affiliate, "Misinformation killed her". 

More COVIDiocy: Simple Proof that Vaccination Stopped Outbreaks

Some antivax "scientists" are just kooky, because they are so convinced of their own righteousness, they no longer recognize that they're using truthiness, not truth (such as their training, actual scientific studies, and so on). And their uneducated followers? Even worse. 

One of the most uneducated opinions was published by a French virologist by the name of Luc Montagnier. He claimed the COVID "variants are the product of and result of the vaccination". He claimed that "breakthrough infections" are creating more dangerous COVID variants, and cited a mechanism called ADE. 

This is utter bullshit, as fact-checked by none other than Reuters itself. There has been NO documented case of ADE with COVID. NONE. With several million dead, and hundreds of millions of cases world-wide, and being studied by EVERY medical organization in the world, you'd think SOMEONE would have found a case of this happening since COVID vaccine was first administered. It has been MONTHS. 

In fact, EVERY delay in vaccine mandate or mask mandate is allowing the virus time to infect an unvaccinated person... and mutate. 

And the only way to stop it is to vaccinate everyone... until herd immunity threshold has been reached... or hope the victims die without infecting more people and still reach herd immunity (by reducing the herd)

Let's take a look at Samoa and the 2019 Measles Outbreak. The islands have a vaccination rate of about 35% before the crisis. The outbreak was detected in September 2019, and fully declared an outbreak in October 2019. In November the government declared a state of emergency and shut down EVERYTHING, including all schools and public meetings, made vaccination mandatory (yes, vaccine mandate!), and in December, declared a curfew, while vaccination teams go from door to door administering vaccines to practically EVERY one of the 200000+ residents in the islands. By year's end, it's estimated that 94% of the eligible population has been vaccinated, and the outbreak ended. 

The nearby islands such as Tonga and Fiji have all declared a state of emergency in 2019, but due to their own high vaccination rate, was not hit hard by the crisis. 

All in all, there were 79 deaths and 5520 cases due to measles, out of 200874 population in Samoa.  33% of cases required hospitalization. That number should be at most, a handful. Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease that we had prevented for decades.  

Why did Samoa's vaccination rate fell to 35%? Because in 2018, a nurse prepared the MMR vaccine wrong (instead of saline, she mixed the vaccine with expired anesthetic). Two children died. The mistakes were quickly identified, but anti-vax organizations touted this as proof of "harmful vaccine" and when the cause was identified, "cover-up for vaccine harm". During the 2019 outbreak, antivaxxers continued to spread misinformation, blaming the deaths on "malnutrition", or "vitamins deficiency", or even "immune deficiency". All of which are debunked, but the misinformation campaign was not stopped. The head antivaxxer declared on Facebook "I'll be here to mop up your mess" and "Enjoy your killing spree". Samoa government arrested the head antivaxxer in December 2019 for inciting against emergency government order. The head antivaxxer was later released on bail and eventually charges were dropped. 

Then 2020 came along, and now it is mainland US's turn. 21 months later, and we have lost 659K people due to COVID (as of 10-SEP-2021)  Sure, we had to start from ZERO, but we've had 9 MONTHS to vaccinate the nation to achieve herd immunity. We're not even close. As of mid-August, barely over half of Americans have had 2 shots. We don't know what the R number for COVID is, but we have to make the worst-case assumption: we need 90-95% vaccination like measles. 

Samoa's outbreak was stopped when the disinformation campaign stopped and the government made the harsh decision to close everything and instituted a vaccine mandate. Outbreak was contained in months. 

We are at 21 months and counting. Sure, we spent 12 months getting the vaccine ready, so let's just count 9 months. And we thought we turned the corner on COVID. 

But with the low as **** vaccination rate, vaccine hesitancy on the rise, the economy barely chugging, and antivaxxers spreading false treatments both in 2020 and 2021... and now the Delta Variant, and maybe the scary Mu variant... 

We are now WORSE than we were in 2020. In fact, US is now the MOST COVID INFECTED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!! Worse than Russia, India, Iran, China, Turkey, etc. ! 

This outbreak will end only one way: when it runs out of people to infect. Whether that's by death of said people... or by vaccination of the same people... is purely up to those people. 

Frankly, I'm ready for my third shot, when it's offered. 

And the rest of you who don't want it... 

Just don't infect the rest of us while you practice your "freedom". 

Scary COVID: Texas 4-year old died only HOURS after manifesting fever, later confirmed COVID

UPDATE: Autopsy completed in November says while Kali is indeed sick of COVID, the actual cause of death is undetermined. 

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 The story was simple and heartbreaking: Kali was a vivacious 4-year old girl living her life in Galveston County, Texas. Her mom was anti-vax and did NOT get vaxxed. She tested positive for COVID and was self-isolating at home. And Kali, being 4, can't be vaccinated as the vaccine was not approved for children that young. 

One night, she had a fever at 2AM on Tuesday, the day after her mom was diagnosed with COVID and was self-isolating at home. Kali's grandma gave her some fever reducer and put her to bed. At 7AM, just hours later, grandma went to check on Kali. She was not breathing. Kali would never see her 5th birthday. Post-mortem examination confirmed little Kali died from COVID. 

Mom expressed regret in not getting vaccination sooner. 

“I ended up getting COVID and was diagnosed on Monday,” Harwood (mom) said. “I came home and was isolated. I tried to stay away from her and didn’t want her and my other kids to get it.”

When asked about her vaccination and her thoughts on it:

Harwood said she wasn’t vaccinated.

“I was one of the people that was anti, I was against it,” she said. “Now, I wish I never was.”

 If you won't get vaxxed because you don't believe in it, would you do it for the children? 

More COVIDiocy: When are the "vaccine hesitant" liars going to admit they are liars?

 Remember a few months ago, some "vaccine-hesitant" people claim that they are waiting for FDA approval? At least that's what the polls say, that they are "more likely" to vaccinate if FDA gave full approval to the vaccines. 

Well, FDA approved the Pfizer COVID vaccine on August 23rd, 2021. 

And it's been more than two weeks since then. Did the vaccination rate pick up? 

Unsurprisingly, the answer is "NO!"  They lied. 

TheWhyAxis graphed the "daily vaccine doses administered, 7 day average" from July 10th (start to get really worried about Delta variant) to September 8th, 2021. The vaccination rate actually DROPPED slightly after August 23rd.  Please ignore the drop at the beginning of September as it also corresponds with Labor Day festivities and report pauses. 

So what was the excuse this time from the antivaxxers? 

"The approval was rushed."  It used to be "I'm waiting for approval."

They always have one excuse after another. 

Remember sign #5 of bullshitters? "Always delay the day of reckoning". 

And that's what antivaxxers are doing: bullshitting us. Polluting science discussions with bullshit. 

Don't be a COVIDiot. Get vaxxed. #putkidsfirst

COVIDiocy Regret: Vaccine Hesitant 25-yr old lost BOTH lungs to COVID, saved by transplant

A Georgia man by the name of Blake Bargatze was "vaccine hesitant", and basically will NOT take the vaccine "until it's been out ten years", according to his mother. Unfortunately for him, he caught COVID in April, and had to go on a ventilator. In June, he got a new set of lungs, and he lived. He told Insider, "They [the old lungs] were riddled with holes. I was just fortunate enough to not have multiple organ failures." 

He believed he caught COVID from a concert he attended in March, where he was masked, but not vaccinated. 

His message to the "vaccine hesitant"?

"I'm trying to make people become more aware of what realistically can happen with this virus. It's just not worth the risk,"

Yes, he lived, but he's taking 50 pills a day for recovery and anti-rejection for his organs.  

Don't regret NOT getting the vaccine like Blake. He'll have to take the pills FOR LIFE due to the lung transplants. 

Don't be a COVIDiot. Get vaxxed.