FSM News and Articles
Omicron is fuelled by our failure to mount a coordinated global response: “Note that Omicron developed in an environment where only 7 per cent of the population were vaccinated. As of this week 78 billion doses of vaccine have been administered but only 5.6 per cent of people in low income countries have received one dose. Don’t get me started on the irony of having millions of the desperate poor crying out for vaccines as they run out of ground to bury all their dead while thousands of Australians march through Sydney and Melbourne angrily protesting that their governments want to mandate vaccination in certain circumstances. Of immediate concern is the observation that Australia is not sufficiently concerned about the universal lessons the fifth wave of Covid infections in Europe provides. The pace with which we are abandoning the crucial public health initiatives that compliment vaccination is of great concern. Country after country that has done so have paid a high price. I am particularly concerned that the contact tracing units may be demobilised. Denmark, which ceased all restrictions, including masks in September, is now experiencing a huge surge in cases despite relatively high vaccination rates.”
FSM Friends’ News and Articles
COVID-19 vaccines versus “purity of essence,” revisited: There’s a reason why it was the villains, not the heroes, in the Harry Potter universe who so proudly used the term ‘pureblood’ versus the disdainful term ‘mudblood’. The concept of ‘purity’ is at the root of a lot of alternative medicine, and is becoming a major thread in anti-vaccine pseudoscience.
General
Russian doctors invite anti-vax celebs to COVID-19 hospital ward In open letter: “Celebrities have been known to take to their large platforms to sow doubts on vaccines, 5G, climate change – even rapper B.o.B has made a concerted effort to inform everyone the Earth is flat. If these celebs are willing to push dangerous conspiracy theories, surely they would jump immediately on any opportunity to gain knowledge and experience?”
Who is actually eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine exemption? Anti-vaxxer groups have been encouraging people wishing to be exempt from COVID-19 vaccine to claim ‘severe acute anxiety’ to avoid the jab. While medical practitioners take anxiety very seriously, this is not a condition listed as a contraindication.
Great Moments in Health and Science
Explainer – How PCR works: The Invention of PCR. Covid has brought these three letters into the public consciousness, but what is this amazing technology and how can it make billions of copies of DNA in mere hours?