I sensed a substack post coming after seeing Tracey's tweets on this topic. And it was completely justified by the more than ample evidence provided for prominent Republicans in this article. It goes to show how comfortable the twitter left have become telling outright lies for likes / RTs and to whip up outrage. How much longer can the era of false narratives go on like this?
I have heard countless medical professionals talk about, "the data" sometime before or after they talk about, "the science". The same discussion around data trickles out of the mouths of feckless politicians on the regular.
Now, I have worked very closely with very accomplished medical professionals of all kinds. Listening to them talk about data like they understand it is hilarious because the vast majority of them are technically illiterate. And I mean really bad.
I only mention that because I know enough about data to know that it is hard to analyze it. Being a scientist of some sort doesn't qualify you to aggregate, split, sort and analyze data. Creating a meaningful dashboard is difficult as well.
While everyone is talking about misinformation and the lack of scolding from the GOP, it is probably worth noting that the CDC and the NIH looks like they suck with data analysis. Forecasting with dissimilar data sets from around the country doesn't seem to be working for them.
Of course, this assumes that they give a shit about the data and science. I'm not even certain that they are reading the scientific studies that they base their recommendations on. I've never seen more coersive manipulation of data and science in my life.
So, while Twitter meatheads run around blaming the GOP for not scolding people enough about the vaccine, we have multiple federal agencies who are doing everything they can to reinforce vaccine hesitancy with horrific and confusing statements about the efficacy of vaccines.
Fauci is one of the more obvious talking heads but let's not forget the teacher's unions. The whole thing is like a self-sustaining national circle jerk. Meanwhile, the rest of us are supposed to just go along.
Look. I'm sorry that the regime doesn't have a competent data scientist on staff. If they did, maybe Joe wouldn't have set a vaccine target that he couldn't achieve. Naturally, they want someone to blame so the GOP is the obvious target.
But the reality is that it is always harder to close in on the last 20% of your target. When you combine that with horrible contradictory messaging and the endless scolding and shaming, you end up with the cluster fuck we have now.
Speaking of which, they are going out of their way to manipulate data for the scary delta variant so that they can scare people into getting the jab. They are using scary phrases like viral load for chrissakes. But in doing so, they are reinforcing hesitancy to the vaccines. This is 100% on Biden.
Yeah, as I understand it, the racial/ethnic demographics that are the least vaccinated (Blacks and Hispanics) largely overlap with the demographics most likely to vote Democrat. Here in the SF Bay Area, infections are skyrocketing, and if we had the same "color tier" rules in place as last summer, we'd be in full lockdown.
A lot of the failure to pass popular “liberal “ policies in the last few decades can be chalked up to the fact that normal people across the political spectrum hate liberals.
This is a great article and a great take. I live in the Bronx - I had to laugh about folks in the Bronx reading "gateway pundit". No republicans here, not even me. The thing is that there is a healthy distrust of gov't among the hispanic population, and the black population has not only been told that America is a racist hellhole, but that the Tuskegee experiment and COINTELPRO are examples of the white supremacist, gov't boot on the throat experiment that is the USA.
What the white liberal can never understand is that after all of that, when The Establishment says: "but now that gov't and big pharma have created an experimental EUA vax and you have to take it for your own good" ... well, that doesn't go over well. Because of the white liberal arrogance and paternalism toward the 'communities of color', they think that they can screech RACISM! for 18 months, and then flip, tell you to toss all of that aside, and now have a stabbie that will save your life. I think the garden variety left leaning twitter person really sees POC as bacteria, or as cyphers needing care.
Now you have DiBlah and Cuomo effectively forcing NY and NYC employees to get jabbed. While you, Mr. Tracey, seem to dismiss the "tyrannical" nature of this, we live differently here. Having bureaucrats effectively force things like this is tyranny, and it's seen as such. And it doesn't get any bluer than here in NYC.
> I’ve been approached numerous times by vaccine-promoting workers in New Jersey and New York (at pharmacies and outdoor festival type events) who ask whether I’d like to get vaccinated, and these are probably among the least intimidating interactions you’ll ever have with a government agent.
I would find it irritating, same way I find people come door to door preaching about some religious stuff. And government going door to door is definitely creepy - especially if that data or the door to door going people are somehow linked to Antifa mobs. But I guess Antifa is a myth..
Here's another piece of important data which you might find useful. Blacks and then hispanics are the least vaxxed and Asians are the most vaccinated. So unless one has to somehow believe that Blacks, which 95% vote for Democrat party are somehow all listening to "vaccine denier conservatives", their logic falls apart that only "Trump supporters" aren't getting vaxxed.
Table 4: Percent of Total Population That Has Received at Least One COVID-19 Vaccine Dose by Race/Ethnicity, March 1 to July 19, 2021:
Initially I even thought the vaccine might be useful. But based on the latest data, now I really don't see the point. Based on the latests reports, vaccinated people aren't just contracting it, they are also infecting others and have "just as much viral load as the unvaccinated". So what exactly is vaccination even achieving?:
> after new data suggested fully vaccinated individuals are not just contracting Covid-19 but could potentially infect others.
> CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said recent studies had shown that those vaccinated individuals who do become infected with Covid have just as much viral load as the unvaccinated, making it possible for them to spread the virus to others. Based on that finding, Walensky said the CDC is also recommending that all school children wear masks in the fall.
> Recent data released by the Health Ministry shows that those who were first to receive their two doses of the Pfizer COVID vaccine are more likely now to be infected, as the vaccine appears to lose protection potency over time. Data released by the Health Ministry last week suggested that people vaccinated in January have just 16% protection against infection now, while in those vaccinated in April, the effectiveness was at 75%.
Even the leftist NYMag is now coming out that vaccine efficacy declines to just 19% in 6 months. So unless people now want to keep getting booster shots every 3 months or something, it's useless imo:
>already seeing a few pieces of evidence that the vaccines may not be very effective at all at stopping spread: the Provincetown cluster, where 70 percent of cases were in the vaccinated; the CDC finding that viral loads were almost identical in the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, and its warning today that the science of transmission among the vaccinated is shifting; and a few different Israeli studies showing that efficacy against transmission might decline as low as 19 percent six months after the doses were given.
Lancet: Pfizer, AstraZeneca jab antibody levels may dip in 3 months: "Total antibody levels start to wane six weeks after complete immunisation with Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, and can reduce by more than 50% over 10 weeks, according to a study published in The Lancet journal. For Pfizer, antibody levels reduced from a median of 7506 Units per millilitre (U/mL) at 21–41 days, to 3320 U/mL at 70 or more days. For AstraZeneca vaccine, antibody levels reduced from a median of 1201 U/mL at 0–20 days to 190 U/mL at 70 or more days, over five-fold reduction."
So if the vaccine's protection is going down by 50% in just 3 months and down to 16% in just 6 months, the virus has and already is mutating easily plus vaccinated people are spreading it too all admitted by establishment media. So what exactly is vaccination even achieving? Unless you are now also okay with getting a new shot every 3-6 months, I really don't see the point - especially for the younger healthy crowd.
Funny thing is that initially, I was most likely going to get vaxxed. But then the whole censorship, force, calling people names, shaming, denying services, lab leak theory debacle etc as well as the latest "still gotta wear masks" and "booster shots" etc has changed me to a "NOPE, NOT GETTING IT" crowd. Republicans or Trump lightly pushing it doesn't make me change my mind because my mind wasn't made up based on political leanings. It was a risk vs reward calculation I did. Same way the FBI, CIA, DOJ etc were all corrupt and opposing Trump, same with the scientific community. The scientists were too busy playing politics.
> "... it was scarier to be associated with Trump and to become a tool for racists, so people didn't want to publicly call for an investigation into lab origins."
It never occurred to these "scientists" that claiming the virus came from bats because they eat bats in China is the more "xenophobic" thing and not the possible lab leak caused due to poor handling by "scientists".
The next time someone asks us to trust the science, our response should be "okay, but can I trust the scientists?" And if they can be so easily manipulated based on politics, what else are they and the dissenters being silenced on?
Public respect and trust in corporate media (fake news) is lower than in any other country, so having fake news push for more vaccinations could the get opposite result. Saying nothing might be the best that fake news can achieve, not just about vaccinations but any topic.
Michael, if you are mulling over a road trip, SF continues to be an interesting story. The daily shoplifting is blatant (almost funny) and seems to be tolerated by the city's leaders. Strong-arm robberies in broad daylight (not at all funny) occur on a regular basis. (Former Senator Barbara Boxer was recently such a victim.) Asians in Chinatown are doing citizen patrols. You would have plenty of people to interview.
Michael probably reaches 10,000 people (max) and all of substack maybe 1 million. MSM reaches everyone. Thankfully Fox is pushing back against it tide.
There are no true liberals in politics or media anymore; traditional liberal was anti-war, pro-union and fiercely opposed to covert power. Every vote since 9-11 has seen unity in Congress whether it's for invasions or corporate bailouts or protecting war criminals while prosecuting whistleblowers. Endless wailing about Trump's threat to free press yet Biden won't drop the case against Assange even after FBI's key witness recanted. Only the tweets are a bit different.
The Democrats and their MSM presstitutes are NeoCon light and the only thing they are liberal with is the truth. Let's stop acting like there are two sides in Washington when they all work for Wall Street and screw every group of the public with equal disdain.
Call them sh*tlibs or something other than liberal when they abandoned the last liberal values with Bill Clinton's NAFTA and for profit prisons filled to capacity with their tough on crime policy!
If the vaccines continue to prove to be not only ineffective but being the cause of more virulent variants through immune escape, the virtue signaling Republican politicians who were naturally skeptical will have regrets that they gave in to the political pressure.
“This universal pro-vaccine stance among Republican Governors includes Governors of states that are currently thought to be suffering disproportionately from the “Delta variant” — such as Alabama, Missouri, and Arkansas.”
Alabama Deaths reported 29 July = 6
Missouri Deaths reported 26 July = 3
Arkansas Deaths reported 30 July = 13
(Most recent numbers each state pulled from Worldofmeters)
The most ridiculous aspect of the reporting, or non-reporting, of the Delta variant is just how benign it is. It’s infectious, but it’s not at all deadly. We’re actually fixated on cases. But WTF is a case, if a great many, if not a majority of positive tests are a result of individuals that are admitted to hospitals for other non-COVID related reasons and are discovered, as a side note, to be infected, and they had no idea. How is that a “case” of COVID? There’s no evidence that a symptomatic individuals spread COVID, and it makes sense they wouldn’t. SO why are we all still clutching pearls while staring at “THE CASES!!” *gasp…
Delta provides an avenue for greater natural immunity. Go outside, get back to normal, get sick, have vastly more protection from COVID then from these vaccines - if you’re a healthy individual.
If you’re in the high risk group - go get jabbed. It’s so simple. It’s exactly the same thing as the flu shot. Young and old are wise to get it. Everyone else…meh.
I sensed a substack post coming after seeing Tracey's tweets on this topic. And it was completely justified by the more than ample evidence provided for prominent Republicans in this article. It goes to show how comfortable the twitter left have become telling outright lies for likes / RTs and to whip up outrage. How much longer can the era of false narratives go on like this?
I have heard countless medical professionals talk about, "the data" sometime before or after they talk about, "the science". The same discussion around data trickles out of the mouths of feckless politicians on the regular.
Now, I have worked very closely with very accomplished medical professionals of all kinds. Listening to them talk about data like they understand it is hilarious because the vast majority of them are technically illiterate. And I mean really bad.
I only mention that because I know enough about data to know that it is hard to analyze it. Being a scientist of some sort doesn't qualify you to aggregate, split, sort and analyze data. Creating a meaningful dashboard is difficult as well.
While everyone is talking about misinformation and the lack of scolding from the GOP, it is probably worth noting that the CDC and the NIH looks like they suck with data analysis. Forecasting with dissimilar data sets from around the country doesn't seem to be working for them.
Of course, this assumes that they give a shit about the data and science. I'm not even certain that they are reading the scientific studies that they base their recommendations on. I've never seen more coersive manipulation of data and science in my life.
So, while Twitter meatheads run around blaming the GOP for not scolding people enough about the vaccine, we have multiple federal agencies who are doing everything they can to reinforce vaccine hesitancy with horrific and confusing statements about the efficacy of vaccines.
Fauci is one of the more obvious talking heads but let's not forget the teacher's unions. The whole thing is like a self-sustaining national circle jerk. Meanwhile, the rest of us are supposed to just go along.
Look. I'm sorry that the regime doesn't have a competent data scientist on staff. If they did, maybe Joe wouldn't have set a vaccine target that he couldn't achieve. Naturally, they want someone to blame so the GOP is the obvious target.
But the reality is that it is always harder to close in on the last 20% of your target. When you combine that with horrible contradictory messaging and the endless scolding and shaming, you end up with the cluster fuck we have now.
Speaking of which, they are going out of their way to manipulate data for the scary delta variant so that they can scare people into getting the jab. They are using scary phrases like viral load for chrissakes. But in doing so, they are reinforcing hesitancy to the vaccines. This is 100% on Biden.
Yeah, as I understand it, the racial/ethnic demographics that are the least vaccinated (Blacks and Hispanics) largely overlap with the demographics most likely to vote Democrat. Here in the SF Bay Area, infections are skyrocketing, and if we had the same "color tier" rules in place as last summer, we'd be in full lockdown.
A lot of the failure to pass popular “liberal “ policies in the last few decades can be chalked up to the fact that normal people across the political spectrum hate liberals.
This is a great article and a great take. I live in the Bronx - I had to laugh about folks in the Bronx reading "gateway pundit". No republicans here, not even me. The thing is that there is a healthy distrust of gov't among the hispanic population, and the black population has not only been told that America is a racist hellhole, but that the Tuskegee experiment and COINTELPRO are examples of the white supremacist, gov't boot on the throat experiment that is the USA.
What the white liberal can never understand is that after all of that, when The Establishment says: "but now that gov't and big pharma have created an experimental EUA vax and you have to take it for your own good" ... well, that doesn't go over well. Because of the white liberal arrogance and paternalism toward the 'communities of color', they think that they can screech RACISM! for 18 months, and then flip, tell you to toss all of that aside, and now have a stabbie that will save your life. I think the garden variety left leaning twitter person really sees POC as bacteria, or as cyphers needing care.
Now you have DiBlah and Cuomo effectively forcing NY and NYC employees to get jabbed. While you, Mr. Tracey, seem to dismiss the "tyrannical" nature of this, we live differently here. Having bureaucrats effectively force things like this is tyranny, and it's seen as such. And it doesn't get any bluer than here in NYC.
Thanks for the article, Michael. I love how you present facts as opposed to an agenda.
> I’ve been approached numerous times by vaccine-promoting workers in New Jersey and New York (at pharmacies and outdoor festival type events) who ask whether I’d like to get vaccinated, and these are probably among the least intimidating interactions you’ll ever have with a government agent.
I would find it irritating, same way I find people come door to door preaching about some religious stuff. And government going door to door is definitely creepy - especially if that data or the door to door going people are somehow linked to Antifa mobs. But I guess Antifa is a myth..
Here's another piece of important data which you might find useful. Blacks and then hispanics are the least vaxxed and Asians are the most vaccinated. So unless one has to somehow believe that Blacks, which 95% vote for Democrat party are somehow all listening to "vaccine denier conservatives", their logic falls apart that only "Trump supporters" aren't getting vaxxed.
Table 4: Percent of Total Population That Has Received at Least One COVID-19 Vaccine Dose by Race/Ethnicity, March 1 to July 19, 2021:
Asian - 65%
White - 48%
Hispanic - 41%
Black - 36%
https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/latest-data-on-covid-19-vaccinations-race-ethnicity/
Initially I even thought the vaccine might be useful. But based on the latest data, now I really don't see the point. Based on the latests reports, vaccinated people aren't just contracting it, they are also infecting others and have "just as much viral load as the unvaccinated". So what exactly is vaccination even achieving?:
> after new data suggested fully vaccinated individuals are not just contracting Covid-19 but could potentially infect others.
> CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said recent studies had shown that those vaccinated individuals who do become infected with Covid have just as much viral load as the unvaccinated, making it possible for them to spread the virus to others. Based on that finding, Walensky said the CDC is also recommending that all school children wear masks in the fall.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-administration-recommend-vaccinated-wear-masks-areas-low-vaccination-rates-n1275012
> Recent data released by the Health Ministry shows that those who were first to receive their two doses of the Pfizer COVID vaccine are more likely now to be infected, as the vaccine appears to lose protection potency over time. Data released by the Health Ministry last week suggested that people vaccinated in January have just 16% protection against infection now, while in those vaccinated in April, the effectiveness was at 75%.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-severe-covid-cases-could-reach-400-by-mid-august-researchers-warn/
Even the leftist NYMag is now coming out that vaccine efficacy declines to just 19% in 6 months. So unless people now want to keep getting booster shots every 3 months or something, it's useless imo:
>already seeing a few pieces of evidence that the vaccines may not be very effective at all at stopping spread: the Provincetown cluster, where 70 percent of cases were in the vaccinated; the CDC finding that viral loads were almost identical in the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, and its warning today that the science of transmission among the vaccinated is shifting; and a few different Israeli studies showing that efficacy against transmission might decline as low as 19 percent six months after the doses were given.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/07/covid-vaccines-may-not-totally-stop-delta-from-spreading.html
Lancet: Pfizer, AstraZeneca jab antibody levels may dip in 3 months: "Total antibody levels start to wane six weeks after complete immunisation with Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, and can reduce by more than 50% over 10 weeks, according to a study published in The Lancet journal. For Pfizer, antibody levels reduced from a median of 7506 Units per millilitre (U/mL) at 21–41 days, to 3320 U/mL at 70 or more days. For AstraZeneca vaccine, antibody levels reduced from a median of 1201 U/mL at 0–20 days to 190 U/mL at 70 or more days, over five-fold reduction."
https://web.archive.org/web/20210727111610/https://www.ndtv.com/science/pfizer-astrazeneca-vaccine-antibody-levels-may-decline-in-2-3-months-lancet-study-2495837
So if the vaccine's protection is going down by 50% in just 3 months and down to 16% in just 6 months, the virus has and already is mutating easily plus vaccinated people are spreading it too all admitted by establishment media. So what exactly is vaccination even achieving? Unless you are now also okay with getting a new shot every 3-6 months, I really don't see the point - especially for the younger healthy crowd.
Funny thing is that initially, I was most likely going to get vaxxed. But then the whole censorship, force, calling people names, shaming, denying services, lab leak theory debacle etc as well as the latest "still gotta wear masks" and "booster shots" etc has changed me to a "NOPE, NOT GETTING IT" crowd. Republicans or Trump lightly pushing it doesn't make me change my mind because my mind wasn't made up based on political leanings. It was a risk vs reward calculation I did. Same way the FBI, CIA, DOJ etc were all corrupt and opposing Trump, same with the scientific community. The scientists were too busy playing politics.
> "... it was scarier to be associated with Trump and to become a tool for racists, so people didn't want to publicly call for an investigation into lab origins."
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/lab-leak-theory-science-scientists-rcna1191
It never occurred to these "scientists" that claiming the virus came from bats because they eat bats in China is the more "xenophobic" thing and not the possible lab leak caused due to poor handling by "scientists".
The next time someone asks us to trust the science, our response should be "okay, but can I trust the scientists?" And if they can be so easily manipulated based on politics, what else are they and the dissenters being silenced on?
Public respect and trust in corporate media (fake news) is lower than in any other country, so having fake news push for more vaccinations could the get opposite result. Saying nothing might be the best that fake news can achieve, not just about vaccinations but any topic.
Eric Topol, you mean this Eric Topol?
https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/10/19/1010646/campaign-stop-covid-19-vaccine-trump-election-day/
Michael, if you are mulling over a road trip, SF continues to be an interesting story. The daily shoplifting is blatant (almost funny) and seems to be tolerated by the city's leaders. Strong-arm robberies in broad daylight (not at all funny) occur on a regular basis. (Former Senator Barbara Boxer was recently such a victim.) Asians in Chinatown are doing citizen patrols. You would have plenty of people to interview.
The data and the science change based on political affiliation. Anytime truth is variable, you have a problem.
Lest we forget: they are winning.
Michael probably reaches 10,000 people (max) and all of substack maybe 1 million. MSM reaches everyone. Thankfully Fox is pushing back against it tide.
There are no true liberals in politics or media anymore; traditional liberal was anti-war, pro-union and fiercely opposed to covert power. Every vote since 9-11 has seen unity in Congress whether it's for invasions or corporate bailouts or protecting war criminals while prosecuting whistleblowers. Endless wailing about Trump's threat to free press yet Biden won't drop the case against Assange even after FBI's key witness recanted. Only the tweets are a bit different.
The Democrats and their MSM presstitutes are NeoCon light and the only thing they are liberal with is the truth. Let's stop acting like there are two sides in Washington when they all work for Wall Street and screw every group of the public with equal disdain.
Call them sh*tlibs or something other than liberal when they abandoned the last liberal values with Bill Clinton's NAFTA and for profit prisons filled to capacity with their tough on crime policy!
If the vaccines continue to prove to be not only ineffective but being the cause of more virulent variants through immune escape, the virtue signaling Republican politicians who were naturally skeptical will have regrets that they gave in to the political pressure.
“This universal pro-vaccine stance among Republican Governors includes Governors of states that are currently thought to be suffering disproportionately from the “Delta variant” — such as Alabama, Missouri, and Arkansas.”
Alabama Deaths reported 29 July = 6
Missouri Deaths reported 26 July = 3
Arkansas Deaths reported 30 July = 13
(Most recent numbers each state pulled from Worldofmeters)
The most ridiculous aspect of the reporting, or non-reporting, of the Delta variant is just how benign it is. It’s infectious, but it’s not at all deadly. We’re actually fixated on cases. But WTF is a case, if a great many, if not a majority of positive tests are a result of individuals that are admitted to hospitals for other non-COVID related reasons and are discovered, as a side note, to be infected, and they had no idea. How is that a “case” of COVID? There’s no evidence that a symptomatic individuals spread COVID, and it makes sense they wouldn’t. SO why are we all still clutching pearls while staring at “THE CASES!!” *gasp…
Delta provides an avenue for greater natural immunity. Go outside, get back to normal, get sick, have vastly more protection from COVID then from these vaccines - if you’re a healthy individual.
If you’re in the high risk group - go get jabbed. It’s so simple. It’s exactly the same thing as the flu shot. Young and old are wise to get it. Everyone else…meh.