Balancing the Panic with Objectivity: What's not being ...

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Balancing the Panic with Objectivity: What's not being told

by Tobin Owl

· Health

OVERVIEWIntroduction
i. Comparing Covid-19 with other statistics
ii. Interviews with two U.S. epidemiologists
iii. How to protect yourself with Vit. C
vi. Best sources for Vitamin C
v. The role of fear - Interview with Dr. Bruce Lipton
Conclusion

At this time of worldwide scare, I think it's crucial if we can step back from the hype, put things into perspetive, and balance our understanding with the views and information that have been kicked to the back of the stage. Having a realistic and balanced view of the world situation since the advent of "Novel Coronavirus" may help to quell the panic and set us on a more appropriate track.

COMPARING COVID-19 WITH OTHER STATISTICS

First of all, to get a perspective on things, it might be helpful to note how the number of deaths attributed to Covid-19 - a number which in itself may be inflated due to the way deaths are being categorized - compares to other world statistics. Here's a screenshot of just the first few statistics from Worldometer - a website that gives real-time numbers for most of the major things you may wish to know about the world:

By looking at this, you can see that the world population is nearing 8 billion, and that the number of deaths from any cause, just today so far (April 13, at 4:00 PM and still counting as I write), approximates the total number of deaths to date attributed to Covid-19 to since its first onset: just over 100,000, accounting for approximately 1 out of 166 deaths this year. (For current statistics, visit worldometers.info)
 
Let me just pull a few more numbers out of the hat to compare with...
 
People with no access to safe drinking water:
close to 802 million
 
Hectares of forest lost this year:
Close to 1.5 million hectares (estimate the number of trees in those forests leveled by humans this year - 150 million? more? Its hard to concieve of, and their population isn't growing fast enough to replace them like ours is. And what about all the other species being displaced or driven to near extinction?)
 
Desertification this year:
Close to 3.4 million hectares
 
Toxic chemicals released into the environment this year:
About 2.8 million tons (some of us might want to consider an organic, small-footprint lifestyle)
 
Seasonal flu deaths this year:
138,000 (still to date 30,000 more that Covid 19. And keep in mind that because of the way statistics are recorded these aren't all associated with the influenza virus, so don't think you need to go out and get a flu shot right away. It really won't do a lot of good.)
 
Deaths due to smoking so far this year:
Over 1.4 million (might want to lay off those cigarrettes)
 
Deaths due to alcohol:
Over 700,000 (easy does it)
 
Deaths caused by malaria this year:
Nearly 280,000
 
These are just a few of the statistics that one can compare to Covid-19 and begin to see that there are many and far more troubling things happening in the world -things that won't go away like this passing epidemic. When one makes these objective comparisons, it's difficult to be so immensely concerned about one little virus that's stealing the show. If we were looking at things in a more balanced way, where else might we want to put our attention and efforts?
 
Apart from the excessive attention being given to Covid-19 making it a cause of alarm, the numbers of "Covid-19 deaths" are also misleading. In Italy, Germany, the US and other coutries, the way deaths are being recorded as per instructions from corresponding health ministries is extremely prone to recording a much higher number of deaths from Covid-19 than the actual. Test kits issued by the CDC in January gave inspecific results and produced many false positives, meaning there is poor verification if the people said to have been affected or to have died from the virus even had such a virus. But to make matters worse, guidlines for recording deaths in various countries such as those mentioned above have been, as one Italian official put it, "generous" - meaning that anyone who has died after testing positive for the virus has been counted as a "Covid-19" death, whether or not the death was actually due to Covid-19 or to a completely different cause. This, I find, totally unacceptable... Someone dies of heart disease and is said to have died of Covid-19 just because they tested positive with the already unreliable Covid-19 tests. Moreover, mid-game, in the U.S. the CDC has declared that any deaths "suspected" to have been caused by Covid-19 should be categorized as such whether or not they were even tested at all. The introduction of this bit of garble guidance caused the number of deaths attributed to Covid-19 to skyrocket in the U.S. 
 
For a more complete explanation of the facts mentioned above, see the following:
 https://off-guardian.org/2020/04/05/covid19-death-figures-a-substantial-over-estimate/)

https://www.foxnews.com/media/physician-blasts-cdc-coronavirus-death-count-guidelines

 
INTERVIEWS WITH TWO VETERAN U.S. EPIDEMIOLOGISTS
 
Below are two video interviews with two very different epidemiologists with decades of experience who both, each from a different angle, point to an alternative perspective than the one that has gotten the population all worked up about a new and dangerous illness. The first of these two scientists, Mr. Ionandis, is very thorough, equanamous, and diplomatic, and at the same time calls to question the way things have been presented. I don't agree with everything Mr. Ionandis promotes (especially, I am strongly opposed to contact tracing and to vaccine programs, watch https://youtu.be/QN9YuRe8nag or visit drsuzanne.net to see why). Still, I feel that the information and perspective he brings into the situation is very needed. Mr. Ionandis points out the role sensationalism has had in forming popular understanding of the epidemic. By focusing so much on every new case and every single death, it makes it sound like tragedies like this never happen and that when they do, it's something we must resist with every means within our power. But, in fact, says Ionandis, had Covid-19 never been named and given so much attention, we might simply have looked at this as a somewhat bad year for the flu.
 
The way hospital overflows have been presented is another way in which sensationalism has given a false picture. In Italy, one of the countries with the largest elderly populations in the world, it was only a small minority of hospitals in the most impacted cities that reached overflow, and, like in the U.S., they were already running at near capacity before the epidemic began (the result of measures taken to save on overhead). Hospitals running at near capacity to save funds have emergency plans just in case something like this might happen, so its not the end of the world. But the tendency in the media is to portray each event as if it's a widespread calamity - a threat to the world and to every one of us.

Perspectives on the Pandemic | Dr John Ioannidis of Stanford University | Interview

The second epidemiologist, Wittkowski, was head of Rockefeller University's Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design for 20 years. He now appears to be retired or independent. I was delighted to hear him say, "I'm not paid by the government, so I can do [real] science," implying of course that the majority of authorities - who are paid by the government or other institutions with agendas or reputations to protect - can't just say whatever they want.

I had some trouble listening to Mr. Wittkowski at first because of my sensitivity to people's emotions. It's obvious he's upset about the way things are going and frusrated that a different perspective is not being heard because of all the noise about the need for lockdown and social distancing. Once I got past my initial reaction to his brevity and bruskness, I really appreciated his view and the data he presents, and, of the two epidemiologists, I personally would have to agree most with Mr. Wittkowski: Mother Nature has been taking care of things just fine for eons, epidemics come and go on their own, exposure leads to immunity in the majority and if we just let this process happen it will do just the same in the present case. Moreover, lockdown may slow things down enough that we don't reach "herd immunity", and is likely already leading to prolongation of the epidemic and may even lead to a second wave. Let this thing play out, protect the frail and infirm, protect yourself by being wise, and there's no need for abject  fear.

Professor Knut Wittkowski - Perspectives on the Pandemic, Part II (40 minute video interview

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF WITH VITAMIN C
...(and maybe even help overcome other illnesses you already have, to boot)

Study shows 80% fewer deaths from a mere 200mg of Vitamin C a day.  Elderly, severely ill, hospitalized.

Othomolecular is a branch of medicine that promotes vitamins and supplements rather than drugs. The amazing thing here is that drugs would appear to be absolutely unnecesary and supplementation with vitamin C alone can prevent or help cure most illness, including serious viral illnesses. This is based on numerous studies and is well-founded, not just make-believe.

"Vitamin C fights all types of viruses. Although the dose should truly be high, even a low supplemental amount of vitamin C saves lives. This is very important for those with low incomes and few treatment options. For example, in one well-controlled, randomized study, just 200 mg/day vitamin C given to the elderly resulted in improvement in respiratory symptoms in the most severely ill, hospitalized patients. And there were 80% fewer deaths in the vitamin C group."

The quote above is from this Orthomolecular.org  article about how to protect against Coronavirus.

Also recommended for COVID-19 in the article are:

     Magnesium
     Vit D3
     Zinc (can be obtained from pumkin seeds)
     Selenium (3 brazil nuts/day is sufficient)
     B Complex
     Vit A

Check out this excellent article about how a Chinese hospital used intravenous vitamin-C to successfully treat patients with Covid-19, even those who were in critical condition:
https://www.collective-evolution.com/2020/03/19/good-coronavirus-news-high-dose-vitamin-c-shows-good-results-in-china-hospital/

BEST SOURCES OF VITAMIN C

Adding a little lime or limon to your diet and avoiding sugar is a good way to boost your immunity. But if you really want to raise your Vitamin C levels, Sodium Ascorbate, which is non-acidic and won't damage the stomach, is the most recommended inexpensive source of C. It can be taken as often as every two hours for best effectiveness, corresponding with the amount of time Sodium Ascorbate stays in the blood.

For the seriously ill, liposomal C can be added to a high intake of Sodium Ascorbate triturated to bowl tolerance. Liposomal C lasts longer in the bloodstream, but is more expensive. (Ester C is not recommended because of calcium content)

To find out how much Sodium Ascorbate you need to reach saturation, begin with 1g per dose (every 2 hours or so) and increase each day by 1 gram until it produces diarrhea, then back down 1 gram per dose. Having two somewhat loose bowel movements each day (but not diarrhea) is optimum.

Sodium Ascorbate can be found on Amazon for as little as $0.0375 per gram of Vit C.

THE ROLE OF FEAR - INTERVIEW WITH DR. BRUCE LIPTON

Historically, fear has been at the root of many atrocities: fear of one's neighbor, fear of the unknown, fear of the devil, fear of loss, and fear of death. It has led to wars and persecution of "pagan religions", genocides, and more. Perhaps one might say a healthy amount of fear is just part of our natural survival mechanisms... But what happens when worry and fear become a part of our daily habit? And then, what happens hype and misinformation cause fear to escalate into universal panic? This time, its not the "wild savages", the "evil heretics" or witches, the "cannibals", or the "terrorists" at large that we've been told to fear, but something more transient and elusive: a virus mutate that kills mostly the elderly and the infirm; not on its own, but in conjunction with a substrate of ill-health already there. And we've been told we have no defenses, no remedy save closing down our streets and distancing ourselves from everyone and everything; to shut ourselves inside (where viruses and pathogens, by the way, can persist much longer and in greater concentrations than outdoors) and, when going out, to wear masks that perpetrate the sense of panic even more. One feels out of place, out of line, not wearing a mask amidst all the people around who believe they are necessary for our survival and to protect our loved ones. What if there is a false foundation in that thinking? What if the majority of the population needs to be exposed in order for us to develop immunity and for the virus to lose its power? Or are we just the helpless victims of a cruel, dangerous world waiting on the medical system to save us with a new vaccine that will only do the same thing as exposure - if even, and at high collateral - who will then have us dependent on their intervention forever?

Here, I'd like to introduce Dr.Bruce Lipton, a pioneer in the field of epigenetics and someone who has a whole lot to say about the role of fear in the present epidemic.

 DR BRUCE LIPTON - CORONAVIRUS, EPIGENETICS & IMMUNE SYSTEM - THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF COVID-19 IS FEAR 

CONCLUSION

 I'd like end by saying that I've been enjoying the slower pace the world has taken since lockdown. I've heard rumors of drops in pollution levels, city skies free from smog, cleaner oceans, and widespread acts of kindness. The value of this time that the whole world has to slow down and re-imagine our world cannot be overestimated. May we use it to deepen our connection with the beloved Earth and with each other. May we take advantage of this opporunity to see that perhaps we don't need all the things we thought we needed. May we imagine how we might simplify our lives in the long term and take into account the brevity of our existence and realize our dependence on all living things. And may we dare to dream of a more beautiful and harmonious existence.

(The views expressed in this article are my own. I encourage everyone to do their own research, trust their own intuition, and be their own judge. If anyone wishes to comment below, I look foward to your input.)