COVID-19: Scientists and Doctors Call for Return to Normal Life in The Great Barrington Declaration

BY KATE RAINES

SEE: https://thevaccinereaction.org/2020/11/scientists-and-doctors-call-for-return-to-normal-life-in-the-great-barrington-declaration/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • On Oct. 6, 2020, an international group of scientists, doctors and other medical professionals issued a petition, The Great Barrington Declaration (GBD), challenging the wisdom of current restrictive public health strategies employed by governments for addressing COVID-19.
  • The GBD signatories called for “focused protection” that commits resources to protecting vulnerable populations, allowing most people to return to normal life.
  • The scientists and medical professionals signing the GBD point out that potential ramifications of current strategies include long-term mental health issues, worsening cardiovascular
    disease and other pre-existing conditions, significant financial hardship and increased incidence of domestic partner and child abuse.

On Oct. 6, 2020, an international coalition of scientists, doctors and medical professionals created and signed a document they titled The Great Barrington Declaration (GBD), which was named for the Massachusetts town where organizers gathered and in which the petition was signed.1 By the end of October, the Declaration had already secured signatures from 10,233 scientists, 27,860 medical professionals and 504,875 concerned citizens.2

In the document, infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists from all over the world expressed their deep concern about the potential negative repercussions of lockdown measures imposed by governments in the wake of COVID-19 and called for a global policy change to what they call “focused protection.”

The Great Barrington Declaration Highlights Negative Effects of Lockdowns

The creators of the GBD3 maintain that “current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health,” including fewer healthcare screening visits, worse outcomes for cardiovascular disease and other pre-existing conditions, and serious effects on mental health. Stating that “vulnerability to death from COVID-19 is more than a thousand-fold higher in the old and infirm than the young” and further, that “for children, COVID-19 is less dangerous than many other harms, including influenza,” the authors recommend measures be put in place to protect vulnerable segments of society, while allowing all others to immediately return to normal life.

Specifically, they suggest that nursing home staff should be limited to those with acquired immunity, staff rotation should be minimized and all staff and visitors should be frequently tested.  Groceries and other essentials should be delivered to elderly who live in the community and the vulnerable should interact with people outside whenever possible. For everyone else, the authors recommend that:

  • schools and universities should immediately reopen for in-person
    attendance, including all extracurricular activities;
  • businesses and restaurants should open fully;
  • art, music, sports and other group events should resume; and
  • young low-risk adults should return to work instead of working from home.

Martin Kulldorff, PhD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and one of the three initial signatories of the GBD said, “As a public-health scientist, it is stunning to see how focused people are on this one disease and on the short term.” He argues that public health policy must focus on health as a whole, including all diseases, and should take a long view rather than opting for a short-term solution.

Dr. Kulldorff also asserted his belief that even if we choose to focus on COVID-19 alone, the lockdowns and isolations do not make sense:

We sought to flatten the curve in the spring so as not to overload hospitals, and that succeeded in almost every country. But trying to suppress the disease with contact tracing, testing and isolation, together with severe lockdowns, is not going to solve the problem. It will just push things into the future.4

Pointing at Sweden—which did not impose strict lockdown measures for the past year—as an example of the economic and social benefits of a more relaxed approach to protective measures, he stressed that COVID-19 is much less serious than seasonal influenza for children. Breaking down statistics on Sweden’s 5,900 COVID-19 deaths as of Oct. 22, 2020, only two occurred in children under age 9, while 4,004 deaths were in people ages 80 and above.5

Others Argue That Lower Risk of COVID-19 Does Not Mean No Risk

Some argue that, while older people are more likely to experience severe symptoms or to die from COVID-19, children and young people are not immune to infection, even serious infection.6 The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that more than 20 percent of confirmed cases during the summer months occurred in people between 20 and 29 years of age. For the week of Sept. 28, the National Center for Health Statistics reported 1,800 COVID-19-related deaths in people under age 35, with 419 of those in young people under age 25. They also reported that 851 children under age 18 have been hospitalized with severe disease. Those numbers are updated every week and, as of Oct. 22, there have been 2,090 reported deaths involving COVID-19 in Americans under age 35, with 462 in individuals under age 25.7

Long-Term Damage Expected from COVID-19 Restrictions

Most experts agree that lockdowns are expected to have major long-term socio-economic consequences for populations. A U.N. report focusing on the impact on children and young people warned that, “All children, of all ages, and in all countries, are being affected, in particular by the socio-economic impacts and, in some cases, by mitigation measures that may inadvertently do more harm than good,” and, further, that “the impact will be life-long.” Analysis of data from more than 60 pre-existing, peer-reviewed studies indicated a strong association between loneliness and future mental health issues in young people, suggesting that the duration of loneliness had a greater impact than degree.8

Looking at current pandemic strategies, Dr. Kulldorff also pointed out that lockdown measures disproportionately affect the working class, who may not be able to work (restaurant staff for example, if their place of business is closed) or are unable to work or isolate at home (such as those in service industries). In this way, Kulldorff argues, we are effectively “throwing the working class under the bus,” while protecting the more privileged such as college students and business professionals who can more easily work from home.9

Mental Health and Economic Repercussions from COVID-19 Lockdowns

Decreases in preventive care and screening visits, increases in risk for mental health issues, significant financial losses and the potential collapse of many restaurants and small businesses that may be unable to rebound are not the only ramifications of isolation and lockdown policies. There also has been a sharp uptick in both the number and severity of incidents of intimate partner violence (IPV) during the pandemic compared to the three years prior, with increases in calls to domestic abuse helplines reported worldwide. 10

Some of the factors identified during COVID-19 lockdowns as potential stressors that could lead to increased domestic violence include socioeconomic instability, avoidance of healthcare facilities due to fear of catching the virus, lack of community support, increased substance abuse and more time spent at home with partners. 11

During this same period, the National Children’s Alliance (NCA), reporting for more than 900 children’s advocacy centers (CACs) across the U.S., says they have seen 21 percent fewer child abuse cases in this year, correlating to about 40,000 fewer children served compared to the same period last year. Child safety advocates attribute the change to an underreporting of abuse in the face of
COVID-19. As NCA Executive Director Teresa Huizar put it:

It really did exemplify our worst fears, which is that kids are home and that they were outside the view line in many cases of trusted adults and teachers and counselors and coaches and physicians―all the folks who normally are making reports as mandated reporters.12

In the words of Dr. Kulldorff in advocating for the GBD, the strategies to try to contain and combat COVID-19 have amounted to “a unique experiment, and it’s a terrible experiment… in a short time, we are throwing all the principles of public health out the window.”13 Those who have signed the GBD and others maintain that COVID-19 will always be with us and that we must use traditional, more balanced public health strategies, while adapting to living with the new coronavirus until populations acquire immunity and the disease becomes less virulent.

References:

 

Global COVID-19 Mask Craziness

BY DAVID CLOUD

SEE: https://www.wayoflife.org/reports/global_mask_craziness.php;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
In Flint, Michigan, on May 1, at a Family Dollar store, a 43-year-old security guard, a family man, the father of six children, was shot dead after asking a customer to wear a mask (“Killed for Doing His Job,” The Sun, May 4, 2020).

In Staten Island, New York, on May 25, a mob of angry customers at a Shoprite grocery store cursed and berated a woman for not wearing a mask. One shamer removed his mask so he can yell louder (“Video shows mob berating woman,” Fox News, May 26, 2020).

In Gardena, California, on July 5, a security guard shot and killed a 50-year-old man at a supermarket because he wasn’t wearing a mask (“California security guard charged with murder,” Fox News, Jul. 9, 2020).

In Bayonne, France, in July 5, a 59-year-old bus driver, family man, father of three daughters, was beaten to death by a group of passengers who refused to comply with the mask rule (“French bus driver died,” Agence France-Presse, Jul. 11, 2020).

In Lansing, Michigan, on July 14, a man stabbed another man in a restaurant after being told he had to wear a mask. He fled the scene and was later shot to death by a policewoman after he approached her with a knife and would not put it down (“Suspect killed by Michigan deputy,” ABC News, Jul. 15, 2020).

In Minden, Ontario, on July 15, a man assaulted a grocery store employee after being told to wear a mask and was later shot to death after a confrontation with police in his home. One of the employees said later that they shouldn’t have to enforce government rules. “If we didn't have to force him and tell him that he couldn't come into the store, nothing would have happened, really. He would have got his groceries and went along with his day” (“OPP shoot man dead hours after mask dispute,” CBC.ca, Jul. 15, 2020).

In Lakeside, Colorado, on July 19, a woman shopping in a liquor store was cursed and attacked with a cart for not wearing a mask (“Mask Madness,” The Washington Times, Jul. 20, 2020).

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, on July 21, a man who was told that he had to wear a mask to have his automobile serviced ran over the shop owner’s son (“New Mexico deputies,” Associated Press, Aug. 24, 2020).

In Gainesville, Georgia, on about July 23, a woman shopping in a Walmart with her two young children was severely berated by another customer for not wearing masks. The mask shamer said, “I hope you all die” and walked off. Walmart policy does not require young children to wear masks (“Store Mask Bully,” Western Journal, July 29, 2020).

In San Diego, California, on July 23, a woman pepper-sprayed a man who wasn’t wearing a mask. He and his wife were sitting outside alone, social distancing and eating a snack. The woman sprayed the entire container into the poor man’s face (“Man allegedly pepper-sprayed for not wearing facial covering,” ABC10 News San Diego, Jul. 24, 2020).

In Hackensack, New Jersey, on July 29, in a Staples store, a 54-year-old woman who had recently undergone a liver transplant and was walking with a cane, demanded that another customer wear a mask and was subsequently shoved to the floor and suffered a broken leg (“Woman Shoved to the Ground,” NBC4 New York, Jul. 31, 2020).

In Manhattan Beach, California on July 31, a woman berated a man for not wearing a mask (even though he was sitting outside and eating at the time), then threw hot coffee on him. The victim subsequently beat up the crazed woman’s husband (“California Couple Throws Coffee,” International Business Times, Aug. 1, 2020).

In Wisconsin, on July 31, the head of the Department of Natural Resources, instructed his employees that they must wear masks even while video conferencing from their homes (“Employees need masks,” The Kansas City Star, Aug. 10, 2020).

On August 10, a woman and her two children were removed from a Southwest Airlines flight because her three-year-old autistic son would not wear a mask. She had a note from the boy’s doctor about his special condition, but Southwest apparently does not allow medical exemptions (“Family removed,” USA Today, Aug. 11, 2020).

On August 19, a mother and her six children were removed from a JetBlue Airways flight after her two-year-old daughter kept pulling off her mask. The other passengers were loudly protesting the airline’s decision, saying, ‘That’s not fair; don’t do that to that mother,” to no avail. Another mother was kicked off the same flight with her young son for sticking up for the first mother (“Mom traveling with 6 kids kicked off,” ABC News, Aug. 21, 2020).

Former Navy Seal Robert O’Neill, one of the nation’s brave heroes who participated in the raid that killed mass murderer Osama Bin Laden, was banned from flying on Delta on August 20 after he tweeted a selfie of himself not wearing a mask on a Delta flight, calling masks “dumb.” Even though he was eating and drinking at the time and airline policy does not require wearing a mask for such an activity, he was perhaps targeted for his jocular attitude against masking.

On August 31, there was a shootout at a Family Dollar store in St. Louis after employees told two customers that they must wear masks according to a city ordinance. One of the customers shot at an employee, who returned fire and wounded the man (“Missouri man shot,” Fox News, Sept. 5, 2020).

On September 23, a mother was tased and handcuffed by a security officer for not wearing a mask at an outdoor eighth-grade football game in Logan, Ohio (“Woman apparently tased at football game,” WTAP.com, Sep. 24, 2020). She was seated far from other people in the bleachers.

That same day, police in Moscow, Idaho, arrested three unmasked Christians who were participating in a hymn sing outside city hall, even though there have been zero covid-19 deaths or hospitalizations in the entire county (“Idaho Christians Arrested,” PJ Media, Sept. 24, 2020).

Three National Football League teams have been fined more than $1 million because their coaches didn’t wear masks at all times during games (“Coach Faces $100K Fine,” The Daily Wire, Sep. 30, 2020).

Actor Jason Isaacs of Harry Potter said that non-mask wearers should be in prison or the stocks or executed by hanging “(“Harry Potter star,” Insider, Sep. 29, 2020).

On October 3, the office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom sent out a tweet urging restaurant-goers, “Don’t forget to keep your mask on in between bites. Do your part to keep those around you healthy.”

On October 19, a woman punched a Delta flight attendant on route from Atlanta to Miami after the attendant told her and her boyfriend to wear a face mask (“Woman incorrectly wearing face mask throws punches,” The Daily Caller, Oct. 20, 2020).

On October 25, Delta Airlines sent a memo to its employees stating that 460 people have been added to its no-fly list for refusing to comply with their mask regulation. The list is typically reserved for suspected terrorists.

On October 25, two women stabbed an employee of a store 27 times and kicked him in the head after he asked them to wear a mask. The event took place in a Snipes record store in Chicago (“Sisters allegedly hold down, stab guard,” Chicago Sun-Times, Oct. 27, 2020). The employee was stabbed in the arms, back, and chest with a small knife and survived.