The Pandemic Public Policy Catastrophe – OpEd
Research indicates failed pandemic strategies
Now more research is being published concerning the Covid-19 pandemic, some to the realities of public health strategy failures are coming to light. One of the most startling aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic was the total catastrophe that occurred within the public policy area.
Governments around the world instigated policies and measures to manage the Covid-19, that were far from effective. Many measures implemented caused more harm than benefits.
A recent paper in pre-print stage, Global Covid-19 pandemic Outcomes: Dissecting a failed strategy, which studied statistical data, across 108 countries, had the following conclusions.
- Higher nationwide Covid-19 vaccinated rates correlated with higher Covid-19 deaths per 1,000 people.
- Higher country per capita healthcare costs correlated with higher Covid-19 deaths per 1,000 people.
- Higher per capita incomes correlated with higher Covid-19 deaths per 1,000 people.
- Higher testing for Covid-19 correlated with higher Covid-19 deaths per 1,000 people.
- Higher Covid-19 response measures like masking, social distancing, curfews, quarantine, business and school closures, lockdowns, travel bans, contact tracing, and PCR testing correlated with higher Covid-19 deaths per 1,000 people.
- Higher country hydroxychloroquine use correlated with lower Covid-19 deaths per 1,000 people.
These policies failed to mitigate death from the Covid-19 virus, and made the situation worse. Evidence these policies didn’t work soon became clear after implementation. However, public health authorities with new evidence, failed to take new information into account, and modify their policy framework and measures.
It became very clear that public health, medical, and pharmaceutical authorities made short cuts with the registration and approval of medicines, which endangered health. They didn’t listen to dissenting expert opinion, and even suppressed alternative information, that conflicted with the actions and measures taken by authorities. Many of these dissenting opinions from experts have been found to be true.
One of the major omissions by public health authorities was the discounting of natural immunity, with vaccine mandates in many locations. This has damaged long-accepted client centred medicine, replacing it with a ‘one solution fits all’ approach. This conflicted with our medical knowledge , and specific Covid-19 research that came to light during the pandemic. A recent meta-analysis in The Lancet offers conclusive proof that post infection natural immunity is as equal to any vaccines and lasts for longer.
Health authorities failed to mention simple steps that could be taken by individuals before vaccines became available, live weight management, exercise, good diet, good sleep and supplements like vitamin D. This could have saved lives.
Public health authorities failed to question the efficacy and safety of Covid-19 vaccines, that didn’t follow the standard rigour of testing and trials before registration. All previous medicines have undergone rigorous testing, but this was suppressed. The public was told these medicines were completely safe.
We are just starting to see the public health costs of these measures upon society.
Perhaps the greatest disappointment is the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) has abandoned the investigation into the origin of the virus. Such an investigation would be invaluable to assist medical experts take appropriate actions and measures, should a pandemic reoccur in the future. The origin of the Covid-19 virus has been one of the least studied issues in science, even though it created so much havoc in the world over the last three years.
It appears the WHO and governments around the world have little interest in finding the origins of Covid-19.
The world is facing another health emergency. This is a silent one. Excess death rates across the world have been between 5-30 percent above expected levels over the last 12 months. This has been almost totally ignored by public health authorities and governments, even though aggregate deaths are now more than those who died from Covid-19.
No one is screaming. No one is asking for an explanation, and no one is giving one. This should be a public health priority of the highest magnitude. Governments were only too willing to lock their citizens down, implement vaccine certificates that made two classes of citizens, and impose medicines upon their citizens by mandate, but unperturbed over the unexpanded number of excess death rates today.
Social media, mainstream media, prestitutes, and the so-called factcheckers have skewed and suppressed public discussion and dissenting opinions of medical experts. The media and even political leaders have fearmongered, scaring their respective populations into compliance, with those protesting, harshly treated. In Victoria, Australia, protestors have been beaten up and even shot with rubber bullets, something only practiced during the Northern Ireland protests decades ago.
The recent public health crisis has badly damaged the concept of civil liberties. Acts of Parliament that override the parliament itself, cannot be constitutional.
Politicians handed power in many cases to unelected technocrats, who were questionably qualified enough to understand the science of a virus, and the effectiveness of measures against it. They appeared to suffer cognitive dissonance, mandating measures that had little or no research supporting their views. They seemed to blindly follow what other nation’s public health authorities did in some massive group think. Very sadly, these public health leaders didn’t ask for or consider alternative opinions for alternative strategies. The Swedish example, now considered a success, was one such alternative path.
This public policy disaster should never be allowed to repeat itself. There must be a sincere inquiry into what happened, so the lessons can be formally learnt with transparency. The declaration of public health emergencies which bypass legislatures should be made with more checks and balances. Dissenting and alternative expert opinions should be sort and be part of the evaluation process.
Many political leaders used fearmongering, lacking total empathy towards the citizens they are responsible to. There are dangers the precedents created during the pandemic could be very easily repeated once again.
Enough lives have been needlessly lost.
