Day: 24 November 2020

Dr. Roger Hodkinson Part Two – How to Prepare for the Next Big One Lessons learned In Part One, good grounds were presented to describe how perverted the COVID-19 experience has been to date. Just about every resource expected to help define and support an effective public health response proved to be suspect: the WHO, CDC, FDA, NIAID, laboratory testing, statistics and computerised modelling, assessment of treatment options and the media. Those serious deficiencies plus the lack of preparedness were made painfully obvious, with a devastating number of unnecessary deaths and a severe interruption of the global economy. We must seriously re-examine how to minimise deaths while not killing commerce. The cure must not be worse than the disease! Eight major failures created a perfect storm: The ‘experts’ at all levels were often flat out wrongBureaucratic obstructionism was rampantComputer modelling wildly exaggerated riskThe media fanned the fire, driving unprecedented public paranoiaLarge scale testing was dangerously delayedMany well intentioned interventions were just plain guess workEssential medical supplies, equipment and drugs had not been strategically stockpiledOur political leaders succumbed to disinformation and media hysteria But the most important lesson was that Common Sense was singularly ignored! So let’s review what must be done before ‘The Next Big One’. The WHO To be blunt, heads should roll. In particular Drs. Adhanom and Ryan ...

Lockdown 3.0 Bob's cartoon in the Telegraph on November 1st Yesterday evening Boris rang in from self-isolation to give his much-awaited briefing on the winter Covid plan. The MailOnline has the details: Boris Johnson tonight warned against "over-optimism" as he said many areas face going into tougher Tiers after December 2nd than they were in before the blanket lockdown... He braced the public in England for difficult months before the 'cavalry' of science comes to the rescue and finally ends the crisis. And he said that although the national lockdown will finish next Wednesday, large sections of the country will still be under harsher measures than before it began on November 5th. Mr Johnson said "things will look and feel very different after Easter, with a vaccine and mass testing". But he cautioned that the months ahead "will be hard, they will be cold, they include January and February when the NHS is under its greatest pressure". He added: "Tis the season to be jolly, but it is also the season to be jolly careful, especially with elderly relatives." The new tier system is jolly careful indeed. The Telegraph as more on its implications for pubs, shops and services. For church services The Prime Minister confirmed on Monday that church services including Christingles and midnight mass will be able to take ...