At last we have some common sense being spoken, by one of the leading scientists in the country, on COVID. Dr. Clive Dix, the former chair of the UK's vaccine task force, has said, basically, what I have been saying for a long time, and, specifically, what I have been saying in recent weeks. Dix says, its time to stop further mass vaccinations, and additional boosters for everyone, and to move to a focused strategy, concentrating on the vulnerable. He says, as I have been saying, that the continual harping on about infections and infection rates is meaningless, because what is only of relevance is the number of people actually becoming ill, and specifically those becoming seriously ill. Under such conditions, the continued mass routine testing is also pointless, not to mention avoidably costly. The only reason people should be isolating is if they are noticeably ill.
“We need to analyse whether we use the current booster campaign to ensure the vulnerable are protected, if this is seen to be necessary. Mass population-based vaccination in the UK should now end”, he said, according to The Guardian.
Again, confirming the point I have made, recently, because Omicron is much milder than previous variants, even amongst those not vaccinated, let alone those that have been vaccinated, within non-vulnerable groups, it is unlikely to cause any serious illness, any worse than a bad cold or flu. Amongst the vulnerable, the current booster jabs should be able to prevent any serious illness, and its only amongst those that have effectively no immune response where this would not be the case. And, again, dispelling the nonsense that has also been spoken, about declining antibody levels, after several months from being jabbed, Dix, again, confirms what I have said previously that this is meaningless, because that is not how the immune system works. The body never continues to produce large quantities of antibodies against pathogens, it would be pointless and exhaustive for it to do so. What is required is only that the body's immune system has the capacity to produce such antibodies, in sufficient quantity, whenever it is infected by the particular pathogen. Moreover, as Dix says, the immune system also produces cell immunity, by producing B and T cells which provide longer term immunity. So, arguing for continual booster jabs on the basis of reports of declining antibody levels is bad science, and misguided.
The current paranoia over infection levels, and rates, is again nonsensical, as Dix, says, confirming what I have said in the past, because what does it matter if people are infected, so long as they are not ill. In response to the argument that they might infect others, again, the answer is what does it matter if they infect others, if these others do not become seriously ill themselves? That is why all of the media moral outrage over Jokovic is a lot of nonsensical hot-air, and media sensationalising. On this point, I heard a particularly ludicrous comment from Chris Hopson, Chief Executive of NHS Providers, who has excelled in ludicrous comments, in the past. Hopson, talking about pressures on the NHS, noted that, with just a small proportion of the population not vaccinated, but who might become ill, and who might spread the infection, it might still be necessary to impose restrictions on the whole of society, and not just that minority. But, that would clearly be preposterous; even more preposterous than the past lockdowns that were imposed on the vast majority, rather than focusing on protecting the small minority who were vulnerable.
If a small minority decide they do not wish to be vaccinated, either because they are hard core anti-vaxxers, or because they have other legitimate concerns, or simply because, being young and healthy they see no need, then that is up to them, and no one else. Its up to them to take that risk, and live or die with the consequences. If the rest of the population gets jabbed, then they need not fear being infected by any of these people, because they will be protected anyway, so there is no reason whatsoever, why anyone's life should face any restriction, least of all those that have been jabbed! It does raise questions about having hard-line anti-vaxxers employed in the NHS, and also questions about whether those that refuse the protection of vaccination, and who require subsequent NHS treatment should have to pay for it.
Dix is quite right that COVID should, now, be treated like annual flu, and the focus should be on protecting the vulnerable, and developing vaccines specific to that task, in just he same way that is done with flu. The Guardian article, as with many other media commentators, continues to describe the 150,000 COVID related deaths as people dying FROM COVID, even though it is well known by now that this is not true. These are deaths of people WITH COVID, but whose actual cause of death is a wide range of other diseases, or even injuries.
A similar distortion is being made in relation to the pressure on hospitals themselves. Firstly, overall hospitalisation rates are much lower, even as infection rates are much higher, and that is due to a combination of the fact that 90% of the population is vaccinated, and that Omicron is much milder, causing much less serious illness. Nearly all those in hospital are people who have not been fully vaccinated, and a lot not vaccinated at all, despite, in many cases, being in vulnerable groups. Secondly, because Omicron is much milder, even for those needing to go into hospital, few require oxygen or other such intensive care as in the past, and their stay in hospital is much shorter. The real answer for all these cases is for them to be vaccinated, not to impose further restrictions, which in themselves are damaging. Its no surprise that its in London where the greatest levels of such hospitalisation are occurring, because its there that the lowest levels of vaccination exist, as little as 30%, according to some surveys. That is a damning indictment of the London Mayor in failing to persuade Londoners to do the simple thing of getting jabbed. Its unlikely that hospitalisation rates elsewhere, where vaccination rates, particularly amongst the vulnerable are much higher, will ever reach that in London. That is also what was seen in previous cases, when despite, claims that the NHS was going to be overwhelmed, in much of the country bed occupancy rates actually fell to as low as 40%!
But, the real pressure on hospitals comes from the effects of the restrictions themselves. It is the NHS pinging app that is causing millions of people to needlessly be tested every couple of days, and to self-isolate for a week or more. It appears that people have been consuming testing kits like kiddies eating sweeties, with no positive purpose, and at a cost in testing alone of around £6 billion equal to about 1p on Income tax. And, after being tested, what benefit did anyone get? The real test, as Dix says, and as I have said for weeks, is not are you infected, but simply are you ill, and more specifically are you seriously ill? It really doesn't require a test to determine that! Yet, its on this spurious basis that thousands of NHS staff have been absent from worker, as well as ambulance drivers and so on, and it is that which is adding to what is in any case an annual crisis in the NHS, not to mention a continual crisis in A&E, due to the fact that the NHS is a stalinoid, bureaucratic monstrosity, not fit for purpose.
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