Kikapu wrote:
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Tim, do you really believe that this virus is a houx and that people are not dying from it? If so, please state it for the record. Thanks.
I am not quite sure why you are creating this bizarre straw man. No, that is not what I am saying at all. There is a virus going round that has been named Covid-19 and according to official figures, which there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest are skewed, has been responsible for 1,981,239 cases and 126,681 deaths globally so far. It is NOT a hoax!
As I have said
ad naseum, I have found the explanations made by German pulmonologist Wolfgang Wodarg to be especially helpful, and surely someone who lectures in lung diseases at a German university can be considered to have some idea at least of what he is talking about. I am puzzled at the reluctance of people here and elsewhere to go an access information first hand from eminent scholars in their field. If you have an hour to spend, I can't recommend the interview with John Ioannidis, a professor of medicine, epidemiology, and population health at Stanford University, on the issue too much (I have linked to it above) - you surely can't say that he has no idea about the issue. Basically, viruses and humans have co-existed ever since humans have walked the planet. These viruses go round every winter. About 15% of them are usually coronaviruses. They provoke a reaction from the immune system which causes the symptoms of what are populary known as colds and the flu and other such "bugs". In actual fact we are reacting to a different virus each time and once we have recovered from that virus we become immune to it. However, the viruses undergo mutation and, occasionally, jump from species to species and so new forms come back each winter and the cycle repeats itself. These viruses do better in the winter because the sun produces vitamin D in people which strengthens the immune system and also the viruses don't like ultraviolet light and also people spend more time outdoors in less close proximity in the summer which makes it harder for the virus to spread. Sadly, some of these viruses create much harsher symptoms than others and they take a toll of the old and the sick as they pass. Nature is cruel, we are all mortal and there is nothing we can do about it but just accept the fact that everyone will die of something one day. For example, the virus that caused what was known as the "Hong Kong Flu" in 1968 was especially destructive and was estimated to have claimed 1-4 million lives:
https://www.britannica.com/event/Hong-Kong-flu-of-1968 In short, what is happening now with this virus, which is still having a miniscule effect compared to the flu of 1968 in terms of death numbers, is nothing out of the realm of the unusual. A particularly bad virus has always gone round every decade or so and always will do so. Of course, the sick must be treated and those at risk protected. However, there is no need to respond in a way that is totally out of proportion. There is no need for the global media to suddenly stop reporting any news and turn into 24/7 machines for instilling panic in the population. The whole global economy was not shut down and people's most fundamental rights were not usurped at the time of the Hong Kong flu in 1968, nor should this happen today. This is my point.
