PLEASE DO NOT SELL US ANY MORE FEAR!

One of my favorite magazines, Counterpunch, usually really packs a punch. Most of the articles are written from a left wing, often Socialist perspective and offer a lot of food for thought. However, I took issue with an article, ,written by Vincent Emanuele, that was published there on February 25th, 2001, arguing that a new, severe wave of Covid- 19 was imminent and that, therefore, we would need to be hyper-vigilant. The source of that dire prediction was Dr. Osterholm, of whom I had not previously heard. Here is my response to that article. Yes, the pandemic is horrifying and deadly, but our being fed a barrage of fear, I believe, does nothing to mitigate the danger. In fact, it keeps people isolated from one another, and that isolation can literally be deadly, and it keeps people passive and too often overly accepting of authoritarian leaders, which can be the death knell of democracy. Donald Trump’s presidency was a frightening example of the latter. During the pandemic, people have died in nursing homes due to what is known as “adult failure to thrive,” and their deterioration was frighteningly rapid. Lack of human contact and touch were the primary culprits. Yes, there are safe ways for people to hug, even during this crisis.

If Emanuele had researched Dr. Osterholm’s background, he might have questioned some of the doctor’s draconian conclusions. I soon discovered that Dr. Osterholm was an infectious disease specialist who has held some university professorships (so far, so good). But there are other aspects of his career, that to me are quite troublesome. He served in both the Trump and present Biden administrations, specializing in preventing bio-terrorism, not pandemics, and he has been closely associated with the Council on Foreign Relations, a right wing think tank that promotes neo-liberal agendas. Dr. Osterholm also served as a consultant to King Hussein of Jordan. He is affiliated with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), each of which has played an important role in dealing with the pandemic and influencing our responses to it. However, both the CDC and the WHO are considerably reliant on funding from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a number of multinational pharmaceutical companies. This situation, I am convinced, makes them each heavily compromised in terms of their alleged commitment to public good, as opposed to the profit motive.Bill Gates is hated in India and Africa for patenting crops and causing small farmers to fail. Gates’ role and tremendous influence are largely responsible for the massive recent and ongoing strike of 350 million East Indian farmers. Gates favors intellectual property rights for the manufacturers of vaccines, thereby preventing access for much of the global south. Gates has also been known to distribute poorly tested vaccines to children in India and various parts of Africa, all without adequate informed consent, often causing worse outcomes from the vaccines than from the diseases they are purported to be curing.

Given the data, it appears evident to me that Gates and Osterholm represent the oligarchs who control our country. Therefore, their conclusions need to be regarded with skepticism by us ordinary folks.

While it is certainly possible, although not proven beyond a reasonable doubt, that the new variants of Covid-19 could possibly worsen the situation, there are other medical experts who are fairly sure that we’ll have herd immunity very soon, as soon as April of this year. Of course, any sensible person believes that we cannot throw caution to the wind, but it is also important to discover what can be done immediately to significantly reduce the pandemic and its severity. I take issue with Dr. Osterholm’s solutions, which, in my mind, are not real solutions at all. He is a strong proponent of vaccines, as am I, as well as numerous others, who realize that vaccination is one important, long term solution, but there are other treatments and preventive measures, in addition to masks and frequent hand washing, that are efficacious, inexpensive and immediately available. Yet these options are seldom mentioned in this country and almost never mentioned at all by government agency spokespersons. The reason is patently clear. Such simple, cheap solutions yield no profits for Big Pharma. Dr. Osterholm has stated that everyone in the world should have a least one vaccine. That, indeed, in a noble goal. However, if he is serious about that proposal, why has he not said a single word about a long term or permanent waiver of intellectual property rights? He certainly knows that the current manufacturers of the vaccines are adamantly against even considering such a sensible idea. So waiting for the whole world to be vaccinated is analogous to waiting for the cows to come home. It won’t happen for several years,if at all. Today at least 130 countries do not yet have a single vaccine. Furthermore, why has Dr. Osterholm never mentioned the reasons for the horrific disparities in Covid-19 deaths here in the United States?Poor folks, people of color and Latinex folks have suffered and died at much higher rates than whites, especially those of higher economic and social status in our society. And the trend continues. Why has Osterholm never mentioned the absolute necessity for people to have adequate housing, food and health care, all of which would help them develop stronger immune systems to help fight infection? Why has he not mentioned the urgent need to eradicate homelessness? Right here in New York City, where I live, there are more empty apartments than there are homeless people. This is an outrage.Why has Dr. Osterholm not mentioned the need to cancel rent and mortages for small home owners?Why has he not mentioned the absolute necessity for getting non-violent and elderly people out of prisons and into decent and safe homes in the community? Why has he not mentioned the need to close immigrant detention centers and improve conditions in nursing homes? All of these institutions are super-spreader environments. Of course, failure to do any of the aforementioned will only prolong suffering and death among the most vulnerable. After all, more than a half million people in the United States have already died of Covid, and many, perhaps the majority of those deaths could have been prevented. It is vital to let the public know the truth about all the factors that have contributed to this unconscionable national death toll.

Here are some things people can do immediately to lower their risk of Covid. I got most of my information from highly respected medical doctors and organizations. Vitamin D has proven to be very effective. Most people who succumb to serious illness and death has low levels of that vitamin in their bloodstreams. Melatonin, https://www.news-medical.net/news/20201203/Can-melatonin-help-prevent-severe-COVID-19.aspxtoo, is not only a sleep aid, but a powerful anti-oxidant. Over all, people taking melatonin were at considerably less risk of Covid, and especially lower risk of complications or death.

https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony-Kory-2020-12Also, you have had never heard of Ivermectin, a drug that was and continues to be used against parasite and has proven to have both anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties. There have been many studies on this drug, and more research is ongoing in various countries throughout the world. It is not only highly effective at reducing serious illness and death from Covid but also works well as a prophylactic. When health care workers with constant exposure to Covid were given Ivermectin, they did not get infected. So why is this safe, inexpensive drug not being used regularly here? The answer can only be that this medication can no longer be patented, so there is no profit in it for the drug companies.

Shouldn’t Ivermectin, vitamin D and melatonin all be available, free of charge to everyone? If that were done, Covid -19 would most likely be gone a lot sooner.

Front Line Critical Care Doctors, led by Dr. Pierre Kory, have been advocating the widespread use of Ivermectin in the United States. Let’s listen to Dr. Kory and all the others who have no financial interest in their advocacy. They are genuinely interested in saving lives. I also recommend an excellent You Tube video about Ivermectin, called Trial Site News.

Let us never let fear get in the way of common sense solutions!