Professor Devi Sridhar, the high profile adviser to then-Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, has admitted she was wrong to call for zero-Covid and the elimination of the virus. The Mail has the story.
Professor Devi Sridhar was a vocal advocate of ‘zero Covid’, the controversial view that it was possible to eradicate the virus by adopting draconian measures such as quarantining people when crossing the Scottish border.
The Covid Inquiry heard last week that Prof. Sridhar regularly sent the then First Minister messages on Twitter where she appeared to push for the strategy to be adopted. In one, sent in June 2020, she told Sturgeon that she had been working on a “feasible plan for elimination [of the virus]”.
Sturgeon would later describe elimination as the “only sensible strategy” to tackle the virus.
The revelation will likely cause further controversy after the inquiry heard last week that Sturgeon also told Prof. Sridhar not to “worry about protocol”.
Prof. Sridhar now claims she regrets using the phrase ‘zero Covid’ and that her aim was to limit the number of infections in Scotland until the vaccine rollout.
“This was a mistake I made using the word ‘elimination’,” she told the Covid Inquiry, adding that “maximum suppression” would have been a more appropriate phrase.
Other experts who spoke at the inquiry said that the Scottish Government’s refusal to accept that Covid was ‘here to stay’ led to a much slower release of social restrictions than was necessary. Throughout the pandemic, Scotland eased restrictions several weeks after England.
Professor Mark Woolhouse, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh and a U.K. scientific adviser during the pandemic, said Scottish Ministers were preoccupied with appearing more cautious than their English counterparts. He added: “This segued into this idea that… we could somehow end up in zero Covid. To me… this was not consistent with the evidence.”
In June 2020, when Scotland was recording fewer than five Covid cases every day, Prof. Sridhar, originally from the U.S., published an article in the Guardian calling for a “zero-coronavirus Britain”. That same month, she told New Scientist magazine that “Scotland could eliminate coronavirus if it were not for England”, arguing that Westminster was not doing enough to stop the spread of the virus.
However, in January 2022 – 17 months later – Scotland was recording roughly 8,000 daily cases and Nicola Sturgeon announced the nation would remove the majority of its Covid restrictions in an effort to live with the virus.
No country has been able to eliminate the virus.
Maximum suppression to wait for a vaccine is of course also a wholly disproportionate, highly destructive and anyway unachievable goal – precisely the kind of goal that has led to the U.K. economy being in the pits right now as we face mounting military threats. So even if that is what Prof. Sridhar meant (and do we believe her?), she should be apologising for that as well. Zero-Covid, whether understood as elimination or as maximum suppression while waiting for a vaccine (a vaccine which, we should recall, in summer 2020 was an unknown as to when or if it would arrive) is not in any way a sensible public health strategy. The fact that this is still not recognised by those in charge – or by the Covid Inquiry set up to examine the question – bodes ill for the future.
Worth reading in full.
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No wonder trust in tptb have never been at a lower ebb! So called ‘professionals’ coming up with unobtainable goals just to look good! Twats the lot of em!
She is an example of many of them that lost the plot, leading to the collapse of trust in their organisations. Forgiving them might be appropriate, but that’s not the same thing as restoring any confidence in them.
This admission from Sridhar is nothing to do with losing the plot. She is a close acolyte of Lord Bill of the Gates of Hell and up to her neck in WEF antics. What she did throughout the Scamdemic was to follow orders and her current backtracking pronouncements are simply more of the same. This is just a crude attempt to polish her badly tarnished halo. She lied back then, she’s lying now.
Will, I have to pull you up on this:
“precisely the kind of goal that has led to the U.K. economy being in the pits right now as we face mounting military threats.”
The only military threats we are facing are those being engineered by third parties such as the EU and the WEF.
Russia is not a threat at all unless it feels it is being directly challenged and how exactly is GB going to achieve that?
The Middle East is on the brink of major escalation but no country is directly threatening GB.
No question our economy is heading to rock bottom but this is being deliberately engineered by Fishy and his cronies and could be reversed overnight if Nut Zero was ditched.
“a vaccine which, we should recall, in summer 2020 was an unknown as to when or if it would arrive”
Oh they knew when it would arrive and to think otherwise is bordering on cock-up theory. The damned things had been in production years previously.
WEF scumbags never admit they are wrong about anything without it serving a wider purpose. Quite possibly this faux mea culpa is her way of positioning herself ready for the dreaded Disease X.
Quick let’s hide.
Or it is just flim flam for the MSM.
Maajid Nawas has a good take on Disease X
https://rumble.com/v492wg6-warrior-creed-governments-hide-worldwide-increase-in-post-vaccine-excess-de.html
Thanks Ron.
Correct. Sridhar is well connected with the evil ‘elite’ She was a long term associate of Bill and Hill’s daughter Chelsea.who was also at University of Oxford in the early 2000s. See BMJ Article from 2017 on Tedros’ appointment as DG of WHO.
I don’t forgive misanthropes who caused the misery and deaths of millions through their lust for power.
Sridar never had a plot to lose! She was/is woefully inadequate and not an “expert”.
May as well have asked one of the janitors for their opinion which probably would result I a better outcome for Scotland.
I am indebted to fellow BTL poster Clive for introducing me to this wonderful anecdote about a UK govt health minister in the 60s, probably during the ’68 Flu “pandemic”. Can you imagine any MP from any party saying this now? Can you imagine a government minister saying it? How far we have fallen in such a short space of time.
MP John Vaughan-Morgan’s response to questions about what he intended to do about Asian Flu:
“What precautionary action is my hon.Friend’s Department taking?”
“None.”
“And what extra steps is my hon.Friend taking to protect the British people from these infections?”
“None, my hon.Friend. None at all.”
Thanks for that tof👍
Actually I asked my Dad about the ’68 ‘flu.
“Well there was a bit of it knocking about. I think, but not so you’d notice.’
A close friend asked his mother about the ’68 ‘flu. She genuinely didn’t remember. And that reply was not down to bad memory.
My mum and dad lived through it and the one about 10 years earlier. They also lived through one and two world wars respectively, the rise of Hitler in Germany and his replacement in the East with another lot of Socialist Fascists after the war. Funnily enough they never mentioned “flu pandemics”. Actually they didn’t mention the wars much either – too busy getting on with life. Different generation.
My parents would have had much in common with yours tof. We share similar backgrounds.
I fear if there were alive today they would be dismayed that the sacrifices made and hardships endured personally and by the generations they were part of are being betrayed.
One of the Apollo 8 crew developed flu on the way round the moon. He caught it from the President. The mission was, of course, successful.
As for me, I was learning guitar and doing my A-level mocks, with no worries about any pandemic or even my aged grandparents, who were all fine too.
Don’t just do something. Stand there!
Yes, the terrible ‘flu of 1968…
There one in the late 50s too I believe. Bit like the “terrible covid” of 2020…
I think the one in the ’50’s was Winter ’57 /’58.
I’m assuming in 1968 patients were not helped off their mortal coil!
I was at university at that time. I have no direct memory of that epidemic affecting our day-to-day life, and only a vague recollection that it was something that occasionally cropped up on the news. If there were to be a repeat I would expect students again to be caged quarantine, like in 2020, not by the Government but by the university authorities, who would interpret “advice” as orders. I am not at all confident that “lessons have been learnt”, other than that it easy for a corrupt, authoritarian regime led by psychopaths to fool or terrify most of the populace into compliance, especially with the willing compliance of the media and professional bodies.
Indeed no lessons have been learnt. A childish addiction to “safety” has created a race of infantile people who expect and want the state or someone else to solve all their problems and make all nasty things go away, and they would rather suffer during futile attempts to do this than face the awful truth that life is chancy and dangerous. This addiction is easily exploited by tyrants and greedy, evil bastards.
Also in the 68 ‘pandemic’ they enjoyed Woodstock Festival. A good way to herd immunity anyway.
Do you recall this?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-54551789?fbclid=IwAR3JfTK64vUTUd_JbGgenGZGPH-sObz2smsW-9jx2q0lJjQ4Nm1dOFvsAFI
15 October 2020
Covid: York self-isolating students told ‘wait behind in fire’
Students self-isolating at the University of York have been told to wait in their room in the event of a fire and let others out first.
The university’s Health and Safety Services told students to wait for a minute before leaving “to allow non-isolating individuals to exit”…
…The instruction was sent out in a email to self-isolating students earlier this week.
It said the “additional guidance” had been developed to “maintain social-distancing from non-isolating residents”…
The guidance stated: “If you are self isolating and the fire system in your accommodation building is activated please follow these procedures to ensure your safety.
“When the alarm sounds; stay in your room for one minute then make your way to the nearest refuge (this will allow non-isolating individuals to exit the building).”
Self-isolating students were then asked to contact the university’s Security Services from a refuge area and wait to be told if they needed to evacuate the building.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said officials had contacted the university after being made aware of the guidance.
A University of York spokesperson said: “Our advice and guidance has been updated and changed.
“We take the health and safety of our students and staff extremely seriously.
“All students are required to undertake a mandatory fire safety induction and this clearly states that all students should evacuate the building immediately, meeting at the designated fire assembly point.
“Students are reminded that in gathering at the fire assembly point, they should adhere to social distancing guidelines.”
Those responsible for producing this guidance should be hunted down and made to face a public inquisition before being summarily
firedsacked. 😳Yes, at least. And remember this dreadfully shameful…..I don’t know how to describe it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3iSjcKElH8
Woman arrested for taking mother out of care home
You were right with the first “method” of The Inquisition…..
My parents, who were at university at the time, don’t even remember that there was a nasty flu knocking about in ’68! And my mum was a medical student as well…
Indeed and “covid” would have been the same without the advertising campaign.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=xy_ZNfea8oU
People in Hamburg were still sane at the time.
How far we’ve fallen…
Just heard another colleague is off with “covid”. God I am glad I don’t have to sit in an office with these clowns.
She was part of a clique pushing for authoritarian nonsense that immiserated us all and probably killed many. What consequences is she facing for that?
These people are pretending like they were acting on all the information available to them, that it was the best decision possible, and that all evidence pointed towards it. Bollocks. There were A LOT of experts telling these people that they’re not only ignoring evidence, but that they’re outright lying. The data was there. We had the evidence. We reached the correct conclusion. And we were silenced for it. These people are criminals. They need to be in a jail. Absolutely ridiculous. And what’s even worse, everyone’s giving them a pass!
There were plenty of people sending her the real data, my husband included. Upshot: she blocked him. It became a sort of badge winning exercise among the number crunchers to be blocked by Devi.
No excuses, no forgiveness.
It’s not just about having the data though. Wouldn’t you think that an ‘expert’ in the field would know all about how similar viruses behave and the research that had been done decades before about these viruses? How could they be so ‘incompetent’ to believe that they could eradicate the virus to achieve zero-Covid? No, it wasn’t just incompetence, it was deliberate.
She wasn’t an ‘expert in the field’.
She’s an anthropologist.
Do we really believe this non-entity of a woman was somehow a factor in determining policy in Scotland during covid?
If so the only question that is really worth asking as far as I’m concerned, is how can we tolerate a bureaucratic machinery that gives power to individuals like this to shape our lives.
Unelected, unaccomplished, ignorant And it would seem also unaccountable because it seems that she can get away with an “oops, sorry, my bad” for ruining and disrupting the lives of millions.
That this state of affairs doesn’t infuriate the masses into action is perhaps the most depressing aspect of modern society.
I’m sure she was just another useful idiot in a huge global machine. The people pulling the levers were very clever in designing something that appealed to lots of interests and played on lots of fears.
On the subject of who pulls the levers, I found this explanation by Ramaswamy very persuasive.
https://youtu.be/97xXMr4GcoQ?si=q2A29brh29yaPAFP
It’s less devious backroom scheming and more perverse web of incentives.
See what you think.
He’s an interesting speaker. But why for example does Larry Fink, the boss of Blackrock, want to pressure the firms in which Blackrock is invested to get on board with the climate and diversity scams? What is his incentive?
It’s a good question and I don’t have the answer. I can only speculate.
It’s certainly a way to eliminate competition. By inventing these bizarre conditions that companies have to meet to be investable they reduce the number of investable companies, because not every company will meet the standard. And if they are the ones defining these conditions, they can add or tweak the conditions whenever they need to in order to keep plenty of companies offside.
I can’t think of any other reason. Can you? He’s definitely doing it, so there has to be a reason.
Seems like an elaborate and possibly inefficient way to eliminate competition. It will make those companies less profitable, for sure. Though it does hurt smaller businesses who cannot afford all that crap.
I can think of a few explanations
1) He really believes all the crap, and he thinks he is saving the world.
2) His wife really believes all the crap, and he is keeping his wife happy. Ask De Pfeffel about that one.
3) He is part of a conspiracy to destroy our civilisation and take us back to the middle ages and turn us all into serfs.
4) He’s doing it to keep on the good side of the politicians.
I think it’s some combination of the first 3, and the politicians are in on the conspiracy.
We shall almost certainly never know. What I do know is that Larry Fink is my enemy, and I need to convince as many people as possible of this.
Ideological reasons seem the least likely of all explanations. I seriously doubt the CEO of a major company believes in anything but his career, with very few exceptions.
If 4, all you are doing is transferring rhe question to the next person. Why is the politician doing it?
I still like my explanation. Creating closed shops by creating contrived criteria is the oldest trick in the book for managing the supply and therefore the market. Every single profession in the UK does it. Guilds, Associations, etc.
It’s that principle.
I had an acquaintance who was CEO of a largeish firm. I think he was pretty honest with me. I never got the impression he was anything but sincere, but that’s somewhat anecdotal and maybe he was a good actor. He wasn’t rabidly “woke”, just believed in “good causes” (and stuck his own money into them). People like Fink are probably at another level though.
Because theirs is a viral ideology. They choose people that think and operate like them. And to make it even worse, the people that are capable and would make great leaders all have more important things going on in their lives than politics. The only people you see wanting to get into politics are either those that can’t do anything else, or those that want to get their way and no one’s listening to them. Wannabe tyrants.
It’s not just this idiot but all those responsible for appointing her in the first place……and this “process”, very evidently not restricted to the public sector ( Dames Blanc, Rose and White being recent examples of that ); people get appointed to positions of power, influence and responsibility – they infect selection boards/committees and appoint people “just like me”…
“That this state of affairs doesn’t infuriate the masses into action is perhaps the most depressing aspect of modern society.” 100%.
One by one, they are starting to jump ship.
I suggest we let them all flounder in the water for a while.
I don’t think she really is jumping ship. She says she still wanted “maximum suppression” which is Zero Covid in all but name.
Nope; chuck the chum overboard with them and watch for as long as your stomach allows…
Sridar is doubtless academically very bright, but her area of expertise (MPhill and DPhil) is anthropology. I should’ve thought relevant topics to be appointed to her position would have come from medicine, virology, epidemiology or some such.
I don’t think the fact that she has a Phd proves anything except possibly that she is no less bright than Claudine Gay. She can spring a few sentences together – well so can journalists and their ilk. I’m sure she’d make a suitable conquest for everybody’s favourite midwit Gary Lineker, although I suppose she’s a bit old to intern at the BBC.
I should’ve thought relevant topics to be appointed to her position would have come from medicine, virology, epidemiology or some such
You’d think. Doesn’t mean they’d be any better unfortunately!
I give her credit, not for her DPhil (not PhD) but as the USA’s youngest ever recipient of the Rhodes scholarship award. A pretty noteworthy achievement, as I’m sure you’ll agree.
And I give you: Chelsea Clinton.
More seriously, as we all know, critical thinking skills, self reflection, and a moral compass are in short supply amongst our elites, many of who are highly gifted within their fields. Relevant expertise is neither necessary nor sufficient.
Given what I know now how sure can we be that Sridhar gained a Rhodes scholarship on merit?
Not buying the excuses, its the same as those accused of War crimes at Nuremberg who tried to explain that they didn’t know what was going on, or they had to do it to protect their own skins. She was complicit when she first uttered the words zero covid,not only did she do that she was a vocal and influential figure who regularly pushed for the harshest of restrictions. Like the rest of them she realises her livelihood and gravy train is at best at stake, I only wish the Nuremberg trials were re-established, and that those who led the inhumanities visited on millions of us wereplaced on trial with the same penalties.
She is akin to the thief who isn’t sorry that she stole,but is awfully sorry she is gong to jail.
She would do it all again given the chance. Immoral and a coward.
I couldn’t agree more.
She should be behind bars.
Devi Shridhar (an anthropologist by background with no academic training in medicine, virology or immunology), the much touted media spokesperson chairing “Global Public Health” at the University of Edinburgh and apparently keen to push experimental vaccines on the world including on children, has publicly lied on a major news program reaching millions, BBC Newsround, where she answered questions and assured children and parents the experimental Pfizer mRNA vaccine was “100% safe and effective, ” risks outweighed benefits, children were not likely to get COVID-19 after the vaccine based on clinical trials, and the only downside was another shot in the arm. Shridhar’s claim that not a single child has died due to the Covid-19 vaccine is an outright lie.
She has blood on her hands.
I’d love to know how and why she became so prominent on the MSM
I’d have thought TRPTB could have done better.
Maybe it was just a trial run to see how much bullshit lies joe public would swallow.
“I’d love to know how and why she became so prominent on the MSM
Gender and ethnicity may have a lot to do with it….as much as wilfully blind MSM editorial/reporters who could not believe that “someone like me” is saying “what is our truth “.
“Zero-Covid, whether understood as elimination or as maximum suppression while waiting for a vaccine (a vaccine which, we should recall, in summer 2020 was an unknown as to when or if it would arrive) is not in any way a sensible public health strategy. The fact that this is still not recognised by those in charge – or by the Covid Inquiry set up to examine the question – bodes ill for the future.”
I think they know very well it’s not “sensible”.
Her Bullsh1t is now exposed for all to see so she is trying to back track but what will her WEF masters say I wonder !!
Probably she is cleaning up her record in readiness for an appointment by the incoming Labour government.
Satan worshiper, kneeles at the throne of Billy Gates that other well known epidemiologist.
Spot on.👍
I’m very much in favour of maximally suppressing Devi Sridhar as the available evidence strongly suggests that this will improve public health outcomes for everyone else.
It’s worth recapturing here how Sridhar’s ZeroCOVID plan she (among others) was strongly advocating for as fastest, if not only, way back to “normal life” at that time actually looked like. The idea was to dividie the country into a large set of fairly small open air concentration camps with physical borders people couldn’t cross because of obstacles and guards, probably armed guard, although this wasn’t really discussed at that time, between them. People inside a particular COVID isolation area were supposed to be PCR-tested regularly and the ones who had tested positive put into strict isolation until they were negative again. This was to continue until positive PCR-tests didn’t occur anymore in the area. Afterwards, it was supposed to be declared a so-called green area and as the number of green areas increased over time, borders between them would eventually be dismantled, ultimatively leading to a ‘free’ country free of COVID. Except that this would never have happened because a virus with an animal reservoir cannot be eliminated in this way and because airborne COVID would have crossed the borders between the isolation areas at leisure.
— now comes the part where I’m a bit lost for words —
She and all the other people pushing for this monstrous whole population incarceration plan – Labour had a very active ZeroCOVID faction at that time calling for the exact same madness to be implemented, Diane Abbott being among them – are all still walking free and back to their merry pre-COVID selves of championing greater social justice and improvement of democracy. The description above details how their socially just, improved democracy would have really looked like, had they gotten their way.
Indeed.
“as we face mounting military threats.”
The only “mounting military threats” are the ones “we” (Globalist elites) have created.
How do you eradicate an imaginary virus?
Don’t give up your day job. On second thoughts…bloody hell!
Better still, how do we eradicate a fast replicating, recombinant defective gain of function genetically modified viral infection? Not, ever, by mass vaccination, mRNA drugs or no.
Sounds like her partial “mea culpa” is part of the WEF’s “Re-building Trust” strategy.
Ain’t gonna work, luv.
’Mounting military threats’?
I am fed up with sabre rattling.
Well Boohoo. Not liking these creeps coming out of the woodwork and recanting now when they think they might suddenly be on the wrong side. They LOVED it when they had authority over us. Why not a bit more doubt and compassion expressed at the time?
its interesting that much more consequential questions are being asked in Scotland of the likes of Shridhar and Dentist of doom Jason Leitch. The alliance of authoritarians were determined to use Covid to promote everything they long for from the rainbow cult to fifteen minute cities. They saw Covid as a test bed, and when the corrupt WHO did Chinas bidding they lapped it up. Sturgeon who will hopefully have her sour faced comeuppance, is best seen as a Stalinist, she believes in using radical ideology to dupe and control people. Her and her pathetic placeman along with the green goblins are doubling down on their preferred policies even as the polls tank. For example, conversion therapy bans, compulsory green measures and the introduction of pilots for jury less rape trials. The latter based on some of the most laughable evidence ever produced in support of any policy. None of them by the way really believes in independence. They tactically use the grievance of nationhood to extract money out of Westminster, while riding the gravy train. Grift and grievance is their game. Despite attempts by Anar Anwar human rights ambulance chaser extraordinaire to put the families at the centre (as in the fake Westminster enquiry) , it seems the Scottish legal establishment and a handful of academics are having a go at the Caledonian cabal. The idea that Shridhar an anthropologist of nutrition should be anywhere near advising on a virus is the ultimate diversity play. Hopefully more of these people will be unmasked Scotland is often the test bed for controversial policies, maybe the experiment with challenging Covid dogma (but only in Scotland) is a sign that the establishment know how their fake enquiry is perceived.