Vaccine Voodoo

Many everyday Americans probably believe that the COVID vaccines will keep them from getting COVID. That’s not true and never has been true.

The vaccines do not prevent you from being infected with the COVID virus. They do not keep you from spreading the COVID virus.

There have been many cases of so-called “breakthrough” infections where double-vaxxed citizens get COVID anyway. That’s not uncommon.

There’s even new evidence that double-vaxxed individuals who get COVID will build up huge viral loads in their noses and sinuses, causing them to become super-spreaders and infect others.

Do the vaccines do anything?

Yes, they are effective at reducing severe symptoms of COVID. They also reduce the death rate among those who get infected. That’s advantageous for the most vulnerable, including those over 70 years old and those suffering from obesity, emphysema, diabetes and other conditions closely associated with fatalities due to COVID.

That said, there’s almost no reason for children, teenagers and otherwise healthy individuals in their 20s or even 30s to take the vaccine.

Among all individuals, vaccinated and unvaccinated, the global survival rate is 99.2%. Among those under 70, the survival rate is 99.97%. The survival rate for children is 99.995%.

The Israel Conundrum

The data indicate that the most vaccinated countries have the most cases and deaths per million people, while the least vaccinated countries have the fewest cases and deaths per million people.

Israel is providing a useful case study in the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of vaccines.

Israel is one of the most heavily vaxxed countries in the world, with over 60% of the population fully vaccinated and almost 100% of the elderly. But now Israel is experiencing a massive increase in infections, including cases among the fully vaxxed.

The government has also determined that the vaccines wear off after six months or less and is recommending a third shot for everyone. The problem, of course, is that the third dose will wear off too, so a fourth, fifth or sixth dose will be needed.

And with every new dose comes a new risk of dangerous side effects, including the small but real possibility of death. The vaccinated will be getting boosters for the rest of their lives, and the virus still won’t go away.

How Many Lives Could Have Been Saved?

Meanwhile, effective treatments, including ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamin D, zinc and other inexpensive measures, are being suppressed by the medical establishment.

How many people died because they were denied access to these therapies, especially early on in the disease cycle when treatment is more effective?

It’s impossible to say, but they could potentially run into the hundreds of thousands.

A new study by the U.K.’s National Health Service and a Canadian biotech company revealed that a nitric oxide nasal spray slashed SARS-CoV-2 viral load by 95% within 24 hours and 99% within 72 hours.

If further trials pan out, early treatment with a similar cheap therapeutic could cut serious cases down to almost nothing.

But it doesn’t matter. The medical establishment will continue pushing the narrative that only universal vaccination will stop the virus.

Media Spreading Panic

The media continue to hyperventilate about “cases” but ignore the fact that death rates have declined since January. When one accounts for the 38 million Americans who have survived COVID and already have antibodies, then herd immunity is already here.

Data indicate that people who had COVID between January and February of 2021 and recovered have 13 times more immunity to the Delta variant than vaccines provide.

We’re at the stage where we can learn to live with COVID as we do with many other endemic diseases such as the seasonal flu. There’s no reason for fear.

But the public health authorities insist that these people with natural immunity must also be vaccinated.

It’s not “science.”

The zero-COVID policies many governments have pursued are completely unrealistic. The virus goes where it wants. The only real solutions are patience, herd immunity and effective therapies.

The time has come to stop living in fear and start treating COVID as an endemic disease that will be with us for a long time, like the seasonal flu or diabetes. Unfortunately, government authorities continue to insist they can control the situation with orders and mandates.

Lockdowns Didn’t Work Before. Why Would They Work Now?

But the evidence is clear that masks don’t work and lockdowns don’t work (but they do destroy economies — most lost sales were permanent losses, not temporary losses). Lockdowns don’t work to stop the spread of the virus because they keep people indoors where the virus can spread more easily.

Outdoor activity is essential for fresh air, mental and physical health and exercise.

People will find a way to gather and interact even with lockdown rules. This means that lockdowns impose all of the economic costs with few of the supposed public health benefits.

This was recognized in a paper in 2006 by D.A. Henderson, the greatest virologist and epidemiologist of the 20th century who led the successful effort to eradicate smallpox and won the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He said lockdowns don’t work and provided detailed reasons why. Unfortunately, his award-winning work was ignored by politicians eager to appear to be doing something.

Biden Repeats Trump’s Mistake

Health officials should never have been put in charge of the economy. That was a huge mistake by Trump, and it’s been made worse by Biden.

Immunologists saw some benefits from lockdowns, but these would have happened anyway because each viral outbreak runs a predictable eight–10-week course. What the experts ignored were the costs in terms of deaths from suicide, excessive alcohol consumption, drug abuse, domestic violence, depression, anxiety and other dysfunctional behaviors.

The benefits of public health policy were minimal, but the economic, social and psychological costs were great and are still being paid. Meanwhile, the push for universal vaccination continues, despite the evidence that it’s not nearly as effective and necessary as the government claimed.

Society is rapidly turning into a two-tier culture of the vaccinated and the unvaccinated.

On Wall Street, where vaccination rates are as high as 90% in some firms, the unvaccinated are being treated like lepers. One investment banker said, “If you’re someone who is not vaccinated on Wall Street, you’re considered a loser.”

Even firms that do not require full vaccination to return to work are forcing the unvaccinated to undergo weekly testing, sit apart from colleagues and wear masks while others are maskless.

Vaccine Voodoo

These rules are stupid, what might be called Vaccine Voodoo.

Again, vaccination doesn’t stop infection. It doesn’t stop the spread. A fully vaccinated person can catch COVID and spread it to others. The unvaccinated have as much to fear in terms of catching the disease from the vaccinated as the other way around.

There are ample reasons not to receive the vaccination, including being among the 38 million Americans who have recovered from COVID and have stronger antibody protection than the vaccinated.

But they’re being treated like lepers too. This vaccination discrimination will do nothing to slow the spread of the disease, but it will do a lot to tear society apart. Investors can properly understand vaccination discrimination as one more drag on productivity and economic growth.

But governments will keep imposing worthless mandates, and economies will continue on a trajectory of slow growth.

Regards,

Jim Rickards
for The Daily Reckoning