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Boris Johnson is Still in Denial About Lockdowns

by Will Jones
8 December 2023 3:10 PM

When he appeared at the Covid Inquiry this week, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a golden opportunity to get to the heart of the issue and denounce lockdown as unnecessary and harmful. But he blew it, says Dr. Jay Bhattacharya in UnHerd. Here’s an excerpt.

As a vocal Covid dissident and lockdown opponent throughout the pandemic, watching the U.K. Covid Inquiry these past few weeks has been a depressing experience. One gets the sense that both the people leading the inquiry and the vast majority of those questioned — the architects of the U.K.’s disastrously failed Covid policy — have learnt nothing. 

At one point on Wednesday, Boris Johnson had a golden opportunity to get to the heart of the problem. The lead inquiry lawyer, Hugo Keith KC, asked the former Prime Minister whether the late March 2020 order to lock down the country was “absolutely necessary”. This was Johnson’s golden opportunity to confess the cardinal error of the U.K.’s pandemic strategy: that it imposed lockdown in the first place.

Instead, he averred that the U.K. had “no other tool” than lockdown available. Under questioning about his involvement in pandemic decision-making in January and February 2020, the ex-PM’s mea culpa centred on his regret that he had not “twigged” the seriousness of the Covid threat earlier.

One major problem with this reasoning is that by the time February 2020 rolled around, Covid was almost certainly more widespread than anyone realised because it had arrived earlier than anyone realised. In 2019, Chinese authorities delayed reporting the existence of the virus to the world. Studies of antibodies in stored blood and stored wastewater from across the globe — including Italy, the U.S., Brazil and elsewhere — found traces of Covid’s presence in autumn 2019, long before the world knew about it. Even a January 2020 lockdown would have been too late: our fate was sealed once the virus was abroad in the world.

“The inquiry has been marked by a studied lack of curiosity about the great control group of the pandemic: Sweden,” Dr. Bhattacharya continues. “But Sweden did better than nearly every other country on earth in protecting human life. It has among the world’s lowest cumulative age-adjusted all-cause excess deaths since the start of the pandemic. And it accomplished this feat without lockdown.”

Worth reading in full.

For the full story on early Covid spread, see here and here.

Tags: Boris JohnsonCovid InquiryCOVID-19Early spreadJay BhattacharyaLockdownSweden

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33 Comments
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stewart
stewart
2 years ago

The population, it would appear, are increasingly coming to the conclusion that the reduced risk from Covid isn’t due to continued vaccination but due to evolution of the virus to a more benign state alongside the increase in natural immunity. 

I wish this were true but I fear any change is down to the fact that the population isn’t being bombarded anymore with relentless calls to get jabbed and threatened if they don’t.

155
0
Roy Everett
Roy Everett
2 years ago
Reply to  stewart

If my immediate circle is any indicator of the population, then the problem is, paradoxically, that Covid isn’t a problem to them. They have returned to pre-2020 behaviour. The problem is that don’t even consider analysing what on earth happened in the last two years. Instead they want to forget and then either forgive (following the Oster Declaration, rather than the Barrington Declaration) or seriously believe that without Lockdown/Vax/SocialDistancing the consequence would have been even worse. They ignore the £20,000 per taxpayer debt that Sunak is dealing with, or blame it on The Tories. The virtue-signallers, mask-enforcers and Karens really believe that, despite the opposition from the sceptics, the battle against Covid was won by the Government. If that attitude prevails, then another wave of Covid or flu will re-activate them and we are in for another Lockdown. Meanwhile the perpetrators of the scam are hiding in the shadows. Or the jungle.

231
-2
JXB
JXB
2 years ago
Reply to  Roy Everett

They don’t need another wave of Covid, it’s now segued to Climate Emergency.

133
-3
JohnK
JohnK
2 years ago
Reply to  JXB

Morphed into something even less measurable, in effect. Even easier to create the impression of Something is being done for your benefit (not).

55
0
Covid-1984
Covid-1984
2 years ago
Reply to  JXB

At least there’s no un-trialled vaccine for ” Climate change ” Poor lambs.

16
0
JXB
JXB
2 years ago
Reply to  stewart

Why did the population not come to the conclusion the virus was benign in the first place – the absence of sick people around them, in the streets, work place, home, neighbourhood, was a good clue, with the only alleged sick and dead people on the fake graphs and projection all over the media?

162
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Roy Everett
Roy Everett
2 years ago
Reply to  JXB

IIRC we were all dashing around stocking up on toilet paper and pasta. We were addicted to 5pm briefings by the Three Stooges, as though it was the Saturday football results every day. Anyone who studied data and came to their own conclusions were excommunicated. Now it’s all over we can watch the same people on #iacgmooh or actors on Scotch Egg: The Musical for a reminder of what fun we had. These are distractions from the financial and clinical disaster that we still don’t realise we are living through. So long as we keep getting the Cost Of Living allowances and the telly works we shall all meekly join in this current series of Bread and Circuses.

60
-1
Marque1
Marque1
2 years ago
Reply to  Roy Everett

I had almost none of the brainwashing because I have not watched the TV for 23 years. I have fallen out with most, if not all, the main stream media because they seem to be overwhelmingly left leaning, even those ostensibly on the right, and now have gone online which has been very illuminating. I am also an ex-soldier with severe trust issues and had a ‘mystery’ virus in December 2019 which very nearly killed me. I know enough about viruses and the human immune system to lknow that I would never get it again and if I got a variant then I would have some small protection from that. In short, not having it. Stick it up your own vein.

96
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Marque1
Marque1
2 years ago
Reply to  JXB

Lemmings.

30
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Freddy Boy
Freddy Boy
2 years ago
Reply to  stewart

Radio adverts that I unfortunately catch on my travels are still pushing it as safe & effective 🤯

23
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JXB
JXB
2 years ago

UK coming to its senses?

We know infection, serious symptoms and fatalities from Covid are as much as 4 times higher in the vaccinated, depending on how many boosters they have had, compared with unvaccinated.

We know that the above 70s are only high risk if they have other serious health conditions.

We know there is no comparative data to show efficacy in any age group certainly not the over 70 group.

We know widespread and repeat vaccination causes antigen imprinting rendering a large swath of the population defenceless to new variants of the CoV 2 virus and other pathogens too.

We know the experimental products pose significant risks to both short term and longer term health and fertility, and a significant number of fatalities.

If the UK was coming to its senses, no sensible people would be accepting these products at all and no sensible Government would be offering them.

178
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Mogwai
Mogwai
2 years ago
Reply to  JXB

I think it’ll always be the elderly that are the target group though and more susceptible to pressure, such as the annual flu shot, they’ll just line up for whatever they’re told by the doctors. Of course many oldies in advanced age no longer have possession of their faculties so are at the mercy of the health care system but elderly people have always been more trusting of doctors, I think, than younger generations. It’s the latter that tend to be less afraid to challenge and are more critical.
If it isn’t the midazolam/morphine death combo it’ll be the mRNA Covid/flu jabs that’ll be the death of many elderly, but their age and comorbidities will easily and conveniently mask the deaths.

Last edited 2 years ago by Mogwai
99
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SteveHoffmanUK
SteveHoffmanUK
2 years ago
Reply to  JXB

I fear you’re right. As a DS subscriber I’m obviously not typical. I’m 86+, fit, and, at first trusted the government and had two AZ jabs, became slightly doubtful and hesitantly took the Pfizer booster, then finally realised what was going on and stopped ALL jabs, Covid and flu and won’t ever take another. My wife has taken all the jabs and doesn’t like me talking about it. So, in the interest of domestic tranquility, I stay silent. I take 5,000 IUs of Vit D + K2 a day, had Covid last June and found it to be like a cold, over in five days.

I watch what’s going on with ever-increasing incredulity, shake my head at the utter corruption of the public health establishment in the UK and US and generally keep my head down and my mouth shut. Coward, I know, but I prefer a quiet life.

134
0
Roy Everett
Roy Everett
2 years ago
Reply to  SteveHoffmanUK

The corruption is more widespread than public health. Much of the public sector blunders around and then diligently covers up the blunder, using all manner of procedural devices designed for other purposes. It’s going to take a lot of people opening their mouths to Drain The Swamp!

63
0
Mark S
Mark S
2 years ago
Reply to  SteveHoffmanUK

I’m 66 and like you had the 2 jabs and a booster. It did nothing good as far as I can tell. I did experience some terrible headaches after the booster for a week or so but thankfully that was all.

A friend of similar age, who declined all jabs, caught covid and very kindly gave it to me last year. The severity and length of covid for both of us was pretty much the same. Of course, my wife caught it as well, also jabbed, with similar symptoms. So it didn’t protect me, didn’t stop transmission and didn’t seem to make any difference to the severity of the symptoms.

I’m declining all further jabs, but I’m being pestered by the NHS and my doctor to have one.

43
0
DevonBlueBoy
DevonBlueBoy
2 years ago
Reply to  SteveHoffmanUK

I’m with you Steve, although only 75+, with the same jab profile which I only took to go on holiday with wife and daughter. And I think we might be married to the same wife! I too keep quiet 🤣

15
0
Freddy Boy
Freddy Boy
2 years ago
Reply to  JXB

The government is corrupt !

26
0
transmissionofflame
transmissionofflame
2 years ago

Sort of. It’s mainly just apathy. Coming to our senses would be realisation/admission that the jabs are an evil, stupid idea. We’re a fair way from that entering the mainstream.

82
0
The old bat
The old bat
2 years ago

I am willing to bet that the majority of elderly people in care homes (and of course other younger people in residential care homes) have virtually no choice over whether or not to keep having covid boosters. Even if they have not got diminished mental capacity, they are sitting ducks for a bit of mild bullying, along the lines of; “well, everyone else has had it, Mr Jones, why do you want to put yourself at risk?” Or “you don’t want to end up in hospital, do you?” You have got to be strong minded to resist this sort of pressure, and many might think they are getting to the end of their lives anyway, and they don’t want to rock the boat or fall out with their carers. Sad to say, all the people over 80 (and most of the people over 65) that I know are still far more frightened of covid than dodgy vaccines.

89
0
RW
RW
2 years ago
Reply to  The old bat

They are going to say Why do you want to put the others at risk? These people are an infinitely disgusting lot. OTOH, the obviously sensible thing would a return to the three generation family living in a single house and I don’t see how that could happen in our breathless and atomized modern professional world.

🙁

45
0
JohnK
JohnK
2 years ago
Reply to  The old bat

And they probably do not have full access to available information about it, unlike those of us here. Many of them are not in a position to look after themselves, which is why they’re there, and trust the carers.

37
0
WyrdWoman
WyrdWoman
2 years ago
Reply to  The old bat

Not even that – they probably get it regardless. Happened to my mum with the flu jab when she was in care: no choice, no questions, no informed consent, just shoved in her arm along with all the other residents. And she had all her marbles right to the end. Fortunately she passed BC (before covid) or no doubt would have been yet another Mid and Morph statistic.

18
0
Dr G
Dr G
2 years ago

In Australia our government has quietly changed its recommendations, we asking out out of any responsibility, by not recommending the 5th jab. Still pushing antivirals and banning ivomectin, however.
Pathetic cowards!
https://joannenova.com.au/2022/11/vax-rollback-hits-australia-experts-now-not-recommending-fifth-dose-for-almost-anyone-just-anti-virals/

28
0
Myra
Myra
2 years ago

I so hope that sense prevails, however it is no quite what I am seeing. People I know in their fifties are going for their 4th booster. When I politely suggest that ‘this medical intervention does not appear to work very well if there is a need for so many injections in such a short time’ they look puzzled. They then proceed to tell that apparently people are now getting quite ill after the jab…
And then the ‘I have got Covid’ with the addendum that it would have been so much worse if they hadn’t been vaccinated…
but maybe I move in certain circles 🙃

41
0
Scunnered
Scunnered
2 years ago

Someone send this article on to Benjamin Butthole. I thought his ilk was a dying breed but nay, there he was on Twitter yesterday, calling people vaccine refuseniks. From Covid to Gender WooWoo that boy seems determined to seal his reputation as a virtue-signalling simpleton.

32
0
Covid-1984
Covid-1984
2 years ago

Can we cancel the undeserved award to Chris Whitty who single handedly destroyed the UK economy with his fake propaganda. Anybody seen him by the way. Room-sharing with Lord Lucan probably.

28
0
adamcollyer
adamcollyer
2 years ago

One striking example of how attitudes have changed: enter flu/Covid symptoms into the online NHS 111 symptom checker and you get this message:

“Your symptoms might be caused by a common infection like cold, flu or COVID-19.”

And it tells you to stay at home “if you do not feel well enough to go to work”.

Absolute sea change from the hysteria of 2020 and 2021.

21
0
Paramaniac
Paramaniac
2 years ago

It’s 2.5 years now and even the most skeptical Covid skeptic hasn’t worked it out yet.
Covid 19 DOES NOT EXIST!
When are you going to understand that?

1
-1

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