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Opinion

We really need an inquiry into how Sage forced Britain into lockdown – The Telegraph

The case for the prosecution of Johnson is likely to be heard in a parliamentary inquiry (with Dominic Cummings as the star witness) which should bring scrutiny of the Imperial College cliff-edge hypothesis. This suggests that Covid cases surged every day until lockdown, so Prime Ministerial dither cost thousands of lives. Only when he eventually agreed to lock down on March 23, says Imperial, did cases collapse. This theory is one of the most influential ever deployed in government – and now looks as if it could be bunkum.

We don’t have to guess anymore, given how much Covid data exists. The ONS, Zoe/King’s College, the React-2 study run by a different team at Imperial: none support Neil Ferguson’s cliff-edge theory. All show Covid cases falling before lockdowns. So what forced the virus into retreat, if not stay-at-home orders? We can look at another form of contagion: news, spread digitally. People saw how things were getting dangerous and stayed home of their own accord. This is more than theory. Mobile phone data offers rich detail of this worldwide trend.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/05/13/really-need-inquiry-sage-forced-britain-lockdown/

Categories
News

Were fears of a third wave overblown? – The Spectator

So, the third wave is officially no more. New modelling by SPI-M, the government’s committee on modelling for pandemics, has, at a stroke, eradicated the predicted surge in new infections, hospital admissions and deaths which it had pencilled in for the autumn or winter as a result of lockdown being eased. 

…As Philip Thomas explained here on Sunday, Imperial College has also assumed strangely low estimates for the number of people in Britain carrying antibodies. If you are going to use assumptions that are far more pessimistic than real world data suggests, it is small wonder that SPI-M keeps predicting waves and surges that turn out to be wide of the mark. The question is: why are these modelling teams using such negative assumptions?

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-likely-is-a-third-wave-

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News

China was preparing for a Third World War with biological weapons – including coronavirus – SIX years ago, according to dossier produced by the People’s Liberation Army in 2015 and uncovered by the US State Department – Daily Mail

This latest evidence that Beijing considered the military potential of SARS coronaviruses from as early as 2015 has also raised fresh fears over the cause of Covid-19, with some officials still believing the virus could have escaped from a Chinese lab

  • Beijing has considered the military potential of SARS coronaviruses since 2015
  • The bombshell document was accessed by US State Department investigators
  • Scientists examined manipulation of diseases ‘in a way never seen before’
  • Foreign affairs committee’s Tom Tugendhat says evidence is a ‘major concern’

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9556415/China-preparing-WW3-biological-weapons-six-years-investigators-say.html

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News

Pfizer Reaps Hundreds of Millions in Profits From Covid Vaccine – The New York Times

The vaccine brought in $3.5 billion in revenue in the first three months of this year, nearly a quarter of its total revenue, Pfizer reported. The vaccine was, far and away, Pfizer’s biggest source of revenue.

On Tuesday, the company announced just how much money the shot is generating.

The vaccine brought in $3.5 billion in revenue in the first three months of this year, nearly a quarter of its total revenue, Pfizer reported. The vaccine was, far and away, Pfizer’s biggest source of revenue.

The company did not disclose the profits it derived from the vaccine, but it reiterated its previous prediction that its profit margins on the vaccine would be in the high 20 percent range. That would translate into roughly $900 million in pretax vaccine profits in the first quarter.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/04/business/pfizer-covid-vaccine-profits.html

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News

Buying a Single Version of the Truth – UK Column

MG-OMD has given their propaganda operation the Orwellian sounding name of OmniGOV. They say they are very proud of it and recognise their responsibility as the “the single cross-HM Government agency partner.”

OmniGov were behind the snappy slogans used to change our behaviour throughout the pandemic. Phrases like “flatten the curve”, “stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” and “rule of six” all rely on a psychological mechanism called the rule of three. The £119 million Omnicom contract to modify our behaviour was in discussion long before the WHO made their pandemic declaration.

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News

States with strictest lockdowns ruined livelihoods — without saving lives – New York Post

Most states with the strictest COVID lockdowns destroyed millions of jobs for their citizens, while those with modest, targeted rules are largely experiencing low levels of unemployment even for normal times.

https://nypost.com/2021/05/01/strict-states-ruined-livelihoods-without-saving-lives/

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News

Court approves settlement in Shiley heart-valve case – United Press International

Published 19 August 1992

New York-based Pfizer said the agreement will cost it between $165 million and $215 million, on a pretax basis, and will be offset by proceeds from the sale of most of its Shiley Inc. assets earlier this year as well as expected insurance reimbursements.

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/08/19/Court-approves-settlement-in-Shiley-heart-valve-case/4515714196800/

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News

Fully open Texas and Florida are reporting fewer new cases per capita than Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York where mask mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions are still in place – Daily Mail

  • Data from CDC shows that states like Texas and Florida, which have completely reopened, are reporting less cases than Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York
  • Pennsylvania, NY and Michigan all have COVID-19 mask mandates in place 
  • Michigan reported 390.2 cases of the virus per 100,000 in the last seven days
  • Pennsylvania officials reported 221.4 cases per 100,000 in the last seven days
  • New York City alone has recorded 206.1 cases per 100,000 in the last seven days
  • Texas health officials reported 70.4 cases per 100,000 in the last seven days while Florida recorded 186.8 cases per 100,000 in the last week 
Categories
Opinion

Much to Forgive – City Journal

Adults have failed children in foisting unnecessary, harmful Covid-19 restrictions on them.

There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul,” Nelson Mandela famously said, “than the way in which it treats its children.” By that standard, our society now has the soul of an abusive parent. The pandemic has turned American adults, or at least the ones who make the rules, into selfish neurotics who have been punishing innocent children for over a year—and still can’t restrain themselves.

http://archive.today/2021.04.22-072614/https://www.city-journal.org/masking-children-unnecessary-and-harmful

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Publications

Justice Department Announces Largest Health Care Fraud Settlement in Its History – US Department of Justice

Published 9 September 2009

WASHINGTON – American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc. (hereinafter together “Pfizer”) have agreed to pay $2.3 billion, the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the Department of Justice, to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products, the Justice Department announced today.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-largest-health-care-fraud-settlement-its-history

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News

Covid vaccination site closes early after 13 patients suffer bad reactions and 2 are taken to hospital – METRO

A Covid vaccination site shuttered its doors early after 13 patients suffered bad reactions to their shots. The mass vaccination event at Dick’s Sporting Goods Part in Commerce Field, Colorado, was halted on Wednesday, with two patients taken to hospital for further evaluation.

Covid vaccination site closes early after 13 patients suffer bad reactions and 2 are taken to hospital
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News

End The Lockdowns Now – Forbes

It was clear by late spring of last year that the best approach was to focus efforts on the most vulnerable parts of our population—that is, the elderly and those with serious preexisting conditions. However, instead of following the science, too many politicians and health officials imposed—and continue to impose—sweeping restrictions that have been useless, capricious or counterproductive. 

The country has paid and—this is outrageous—continues to pay a fearsome price. Low-income households have been disproportionately harmed, as parents haven’t been able to work because they’ve had to stay home to take care of kids who couldn’t go to school.

…This is the blunt truth: The states that are more open are doing better in terms of health and economic performance than those that are more restrictive. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveforbes/2021/04/06/end-the-lockdowns-now/

Categories
News

Texas’ COVID numbers fall for the 17th consecutive day following Gov. Abbott’s 100% reopening of the state and lifting of the mask mandate – a move that Biden infamously called ‘Neanderthal thinking’ – Daily Mail

  • Texas COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to drop, 17 days after it scrapped its mask mandate and allowed businesses to reopen at full capacity 
  • On Saturday, seven-day positivity rate reached an all-time low of 5.27 per cent
  • The state reported 2,292 new cases, about 500 fewer on average from last week
  • Hospitalizations, meanwhile, dipped to 3,308, its lowest level since October 
  • Comes after Republican Governor Greg Abbott drew harsh criticism for brushing off warnings to not relax COVID-19 restrictions earlier this month
  • President Joe Biden at the time slammed the move as a ‘Neanderthal thinking’ and warned it would be a ‘big mistake’

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9410481/Texas-COVID-numbers-fall-17th-consecutive-day-following-reopening.html

Categories
Publications

NIAID Statement on AstraZeneca Vaccine

Late Monday, the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) notified NIAID, BARDA, and AstraZeneca that it was concerned by information released by AstraZeneca on initial data from its COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial. The DSMB expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data. We urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/niaid-statement-astrazeneca-vaccine

Categories
Opinion

Virus lockdowns don’t appear to have worked as advertised – Las Vagas Review Journal

As states begin to relax their pandemic restrictions in the wake of dramatic reductions in confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths, some observers are reaching a sobering conclusion: strict government lockdowns didn’t do much good.

EDITORIAL: Virus lockdowns don’t appear to have worked as advertised
Categories
News

The Florida COVID paradox: Cases and deaths continue to PLUNGE despite the state having most cases of ‘super variant’ – Daily Mail

Experts are surprised but cautiously optimistic as new coronavirus cases in Florida continue to fall despite the high prevalence of the UK ‘super COVID’ variant there, suggesting that the U.S. may escape a new surge fueled by viral mutations.

Florida now leads the nation in confirmed cases of the B117 variant, which now account for an estimated half of all new cases there, but has seen a 75 percent decline in total cases since early January.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9356217/Floridas-COVID-paradox-Cases-PLUNGE-despite-prevalence-UK-variant.html

Categories
Opinion

The Lockdowns Weren’t Worth It – WSJ

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced last week that his state is ending its mask mandate and business capacity limits. While Democrats and many public-health officials denounced the move, ample data now exist to demonstrate that the benefits of stringent measures aren’t worth the costs.

…We have since learned that the virus never spreads exponentially for very long, even without stringent restrictions. The epidemic always recedes well before herd immunity has been reached.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-lockdowns-werent-worth-it-11615485413

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Publications

List of largest pharmaceutical settlements – Wikipedia

Wikipedia snapshot from 9 March 2021:

YearCompanySettlementViolation(s)Product(s)Laws allegedly violated
(if applicable)
2012GlaxoSmithKline[1][6]$3 billion ($1B criminal, $2B civil)Criminal: Off-label promotion, failure to disclose safety data.
Civil: paying kickbacks to physicians, making false and misleading statements concerning the safety of Avandia, reporting false best prices and underpaying rebates owed under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program		Avandia (not providing safety data), Wellbutrin, Paxil (promotion of paediatric use), Advair, Lamictal, Zofran, Imitrex, Lotronex, Flovent, ValtrexFalse Claims Act, FDCA
2009Pfizer[2]$2.3 billionOff-label promotion, kickbacksBextra, Geodon, Zyvox, LyricaFalse Claims Act, FDCA
2013Johnson & Johnson[7]$2.2 billionOff-label promotion, kickbacksRisperdal, Invega, NesiritideFalse Claims Act, FDCA
2012Abbott Laboratories[8]$1.5 billionOff-label promotionDepakoteFalse Claims Act, FDCA
2009Eli Lilly[9]$1.4 billionOff-label promotionZyprexaFalse Claims Act, FDCA
2001TAP Pharmaceutical Products[10]$875 millionMedicare fraud, kickbacksLupronFalse Claims Act, Prescription Drug Marketing Act
2012Amgen[11]$762 millionOff-label promotion, kickbacksAranespFalse Claims Act, FDCA
2010GlaxoSmithKline[12]$750 millionPoor manufacturing practicesKytril, Bactroban, Paxil CR, AvandametFalse Claims Act, FDCA
2005Serono[13]$704 millionOff-label promotion, kickbacks, monopolistic practicesSerostimFalse Claims Act
2008Merck[14]$650 millionMedicare fraud, kickbacksZocor, Vioxx, PepsidFalse Claims Act, Medicaid Rebate Statute
2007Purdue Pharma[15]$601 millionOff-label promotionOxycontinFalse Claims Act
2010Allergan[16]$600 millionOff-label promotionBotoxFalse Claims Act, FDCA
2010AstraZeneca[17]$520 millionOff-label promotion, kickbacksSeroquelFalse Claims Act
2007Bristol-Myers Squibb[18]$515 millionOff-label promotion, kickbacks, Medicare fraudAbilify, SerzoneFalse Claims Act, FDCA
2002Schering-Plough[19]$500 millionPoor manufacturing practicesClaritinFDA Current Good Manufacturing Practices
2006Mylan[20]$465 millionMisclassification under the Medicaid Drug Rebate ProgramEpiPen (epinephrine)False Claims Act
2006Schering-Plough[21]$435 millionOff-label promotion, kickbacks, Medicare fraudTemodar, Intron A, K-Dur, Claritin RediTabsFalse Claims Act, FDCA
2004[22]Pfizer$430 millionOff-label promotionNeurontinFalse Claims Act, FDCA
2008Cephalon[23]$425 millionOff-label promotion[23]Actiq, Gabitril, ProvigilFalse Claims Act, FDCA
2010Novartis[24]$423 millionOff-label promotion, kickbacksTrileptalFalse Claims Act, FDCA
2003AstraZeneca[25]$355 millionMedicare fraudZoladexPrescription Drug Marketing Act
2004Schering-Plough[26]$345 millionMedicare fraud, kickbacksClaritinFalse Claims Act, Anti-Kickback Statute

http://archive.today/2021.05.05-122141/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_pharmaceutical_settlements

Categories
News

CDC study finds about 78% of people hospitalized for Covid were overweight or obese – CNBC

  • About 78% of people who have been hospitalized, needed a ventilator or died from Covid-19 have been overweight or obese, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new study Monday.
  • Just over 42% of the U.S. population was considered obese in 2018, according to the agency’s most recent statistics. Overweight is defined as having a body mass index of 25 or more, while obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30 or more.
  • “As clinicians develop care plans for COVID-19 patients, they should consider the risk for severe outcomes in patients with higher BMIs, especially for those with severe obesity,” the CDC wrote.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/08/covid-cdc-study-finds-roughly-78percent-of-people-hospitalized-were-overweight-or-obese.html

Categories
Opinion

Mutant variations and the danger of lockdowns – The Critic

While we are reducing the spread of the virus, we are simultaneously encouraging the virus to become more virulent and more transmissible, thus negating any positive effect on the overall mortality burden and diminishing the returns of our interventions? Meanwhile, these interventions are destroying livelihoods, demolishing our culture, threatening our democracy and, by the government’s own admission, putting thousands of lives in danger.

https://thecritic.co.uk/mutant-variations-and-the-danger-of-lockdowns/