“Lockdown easing ‘may need to be reversed if variant spreads rapidly’” – Professor Peter Openshaw, one of the scientists advising the Government, is warning that a rapid spread of the South African variant, or any other, may necessitate an about turn on the “cautious but irreversible roadmap” out of lockdown, the Evening Standard reports
“Science has proved Boris Johnson wrong – vaccines are reducing deaths and cases” – The Telegraph reports on newly published research by the University of Manchester that shows a stark difference in cases, hospital admissions and deaths for vaccinated and unvaccinated elderly people, suggesting that vaccines not lockdown are bringing the numbers down, contrary to Boris’s claim
“Early treatment of COVID-19” – A real-time database and meta analysis of 565 studies into early treatments for Covid, including Ivermectin and hydroxycholroquine
“Making illness a crime: Beware the Health Fascism Agency” – “We need to stop framing illness as a security threat,” writes Dominey Jenner, of the UK’s new Health Security Agency for the Conservative Woman, “and return to a more measured approach – one that befits a liberal democracy”
“End the lockdown now” – There is no justification for the glacial pace of the reopening, says Professor David Paton in Spiked
“Will Welby’s outburst of honesty be infectious?” – Roger Watson wonders if a trend is being set by Archbishop Welby, who recently admitted being too risk-adverse during the first lockdown, and whether it might spread to Ferguson, Whitty or even the Prime Minister
“SAGE’s Roadmap model: Where is it leading us?” – Dan Astin Gregory scrutinises the ‘evidence’ behind SAGE’s fears of a third wave in late summer or early Autumn for the the Pandemic Podcast
“Lithuania to introduce ‘COVID-19 passports’ for certain groups” – Reuters reports that Lithuania is rolling out a vaccine passport scheme to allow some people to bypass restrictions on certain activities including dining indoors, attending sporting events and holding large parties.
“The high cost of the slow Covid vaccine rollout” – Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Michael Blanding heralds new research indicating that investment in the vaccine earlier on could have saved lives and prevented the global economy losing $700 billion
“Vaccine Passports vs. Freedom Itself” – The very idea of vaccine passports is an “anathema to our democratic principles and rights that are enshrined in the US Constitution as well as the Canadian Charter of Rights”, write Paul E. Alexander, Howard C. Tenenbaum and Dr. Parvez Dara at AIER
“Ludwig von Mises on intellectual obligation in times of crisis” – The Austrian economist had a message for our times, says Jeffrey A. Tucker at AIER: “None of us are really safe from state-imposed violence in the name of disease control until all of us are”
“Two pastors detained in Finland during worship Apr 11th, 2021” – A video showing Finnish police interrupting an outdoors service of Espoo Home Church and detaining two pastors for not making the members of the congregation, including children, sit two metres apart
“Vaccine Facts: Watch this while you can” – Steven Crowder’s latest show includes a piece on vaccines (at 44m 30s) but he suspects you might not have too long to watch it because it’s on YouTube
Hugh Pennington, professor of bacteriology, says Boris Johnson has "muddled the whole thing up" after the Prime Minister said lockdown was the main reason for a drop in Covid cases, not the vaccine rollout.
You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.