Don’t Get Fooled Again

This article is a shortened version of one by Dr. Joseph Mercola, August 21, 2023.  I have shortened it so it would better fit my shorter blog style. I added a summary paragraph at the end. (Go here to see original article.)

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• In the fall of 2022, mainstream media started warning of a potential “tripledemic,” with COVID, seasonal influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) being in circulation at the same time. The sudden focus on RSV just so happened to coincide with announcements that RSV vaccines were being fast-tracked
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first-ever RSV vaccines in the summer of 2023 for seniors 60 years and older — one by Pfizer (Abrysvo) and one by GlaxoSmithKline (Arexvy). Both vaccines are recombinant subunit vaccines, and both manufacturers have reported Guillain-Barré syndrome as a side effect
• As we’re heading into the fall of 2023, the “tripledemic” of COVID, RSV and influenza is again making headlines. A Google search for the key words “triple pandemic 2023” garnered a staggering 41.1 million articles, and as we saw all through the COVID pandemic, news agencies are using he exact same headlines and talking points. This makes it look like the tripledemic narrative is being coordinated by a central source. Examples: Federal officials hatch a Three-pronged defense, The plan to dodge another tripledemic.
• For this fall, U.S. health officials recommend a flu vaccine for everyone 6 months old and older, an updated mRNA COVID-19 booster targeting the Omicron XBB.1.5 strain (specifics on who should get the shot and when are still undetermined) and an RSV vaccine for seniors 60 years old and older

• At this point, most people have also had COVID, and are here to attest to its nonlethality. Unfortunately, those who have gotten several COVID shots are now in the high-risk category and may in fact experience more severe infection

In the fall of 2022, mainstream media started warning of a potential “tripledemic,” with COVID, seasonal influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) being in circulation at the same time. Fear sells, they say, and that’s certainly the adage used by Big Pharma when it comes to vaccines.

The sudden focus on RSV in particular, which has been around for decades, just so happened to coincide with announcements that RSV vaccines were being fast-tracked — a risky venture if there ever was one, considering vaccine makers have been trying to bring an RSV vaccine to market for about 60 years, and couldn’t due to safety issues. (I would add- if you are older than 2 you have probably already had RSV. It causes runny nose, coughing and fever. If you are in reasonable health, RSV is not a problem. However, some infants can be hospitalized because of it.)

 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first-ever RSV vaccines in the summer of 2023 for seniors 60 years and older — one by Pfizer (Abrysvo) and one by GlaxoSmithKline (Arexvy). Both vaccines are recombinant subunit vaccines, meaning certain viral proteins are used to trigger an immune response, and both manufacturers have reported Guillain-Barré syndrome as a side effect of their shots.

Pfizer’s RSV vaccine will likely cost somewhere between $180 and $270, while GSK intends on charging $200 to $295. GSK had initially announced a price tag of $148 per dose, but decided to double the price due to newer data suggesting effectiveness may carry into a second season.

The Government Wants You to Have THREE Shots This Fall

For this fall, U.S. health officials recommend:

1. A flu vaccine for everyone 6 months old and older

2.An updated mRNA COVID-19 booster targeting the Omicron XBB.1.5 strain, even though this strain is already in the decline. (Essentially they want you to take “last years flu shot”.) Most of the COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and Canada are now caused by the Eris (EG.5) and BA.5 strains.

In the U.S., specifics on who should get the shot and when are still undetermined as the FDA has yet to officially approve the updated booster. In Canada, the fall COVID booster is recommended for anyone aged 5 and older who got their last shot or had a COVID infection at least six months ago.

3.An RSV vaccine for seniors 60 years old and older

Not surprisingly, many are encouraging people to bundle all three injections into a single visit, even though there are no data whatsoever to support the claim that doing so is safe. Some doctors, though — such as Dr. William Schaffner in the CBS News report above — recommend getting the RSV vaccine separately.

No Need to Raise Alarm Bells

According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 hospitalizations shot up by an average of 12.5% the week of July 23 through 29, 2023. Eighteen U.S. states saw COVID-related hospitalization rates rise by 20% or more.

Approximately 54% of new cases in the U.S. are being attributed to a new Omicron subvariant called BA.5, while Eris (EG.5) accounts for an estimated 17.3%, an increase of 9.8% since early July. XBB.1.5, which the new COVID booster will target, makes up only 10.3% of cases. 

But, hospitalization rates are nowhere near the peaks seen in previous years. For the week ending July 29, 2023, there were only 9,056 new COVID-related hospitalizations nationwide, a far cry from the January 2022 peak of 150,000.

“It is ticking up a little bit, but it’s not something that we need to raise any alarm bells over,” David Dowdy, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health told Advisory.com.

Don’t Get Fooled Twice

It is now clear (with data from outside the USA here and here) that the Covid-19 shot does not stop infection and actually increases infection in those that have had multiple shots. 

Hopefully, a clear majority of people will have learned this lesson by now, and won’t fall for the same tricks again, even though they’ve upped the ante with a triple threat, rather than just one. Fear is a tool used to control you, but that only works if you buy into it, and by now it ought to be clear that the narrative around the need for vaccines is misleading at best.

Ditch the Fear and Just Take Control of Your Health

While influenza, RSV and COVID can be problematic and dangerous for certain high-risk individuals, the overall risks associated with them are negligible for most (unless you are held in a hospital where you can be pressured into the CDC protocol). Just think back on your life — how many times have you had a cold or flu? Are you still here? How many people do you know who died from a cold or flu? For the most part, those who died of Covid died from the “CDC protocol” (ventilators and remdesiver) and had other health issues.

At this point, most people have also had COVID, and are here to attest to its nonlethality. Unfortunately, those who have gotten several COVID shots are now in the high-risk category and may in fact experience more severe infection as discovered by German and Danish researchers.

Keeping your immune system strong is the best way to protect yourself against all infections, and there are many effective ways to do that, such as optimizing optimizing your vitamin D level.

Higher levels of vitamin D have been shown to decrease your risk of developing a severe case of, and dying from, COVID-19. Vitamin D supplementation has also been shown to reduce your risk of colds and influenza, as it boosts your innate immunity.

Immune-boosting nutraceuticals such as vitamin C, quercetin with zinc and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) also belong in your medicine cabinet so you can start taking them at the very first signs of symptoms. Zinc is a potent broad-spectrum antiviral and quercetin helps transport it into the cell, where it’s needed. Vitamin C is also a premiere treatment for many infections and helps boost overall immune function.

NAC, meanwhile, is a precursor to reduced glutathione, which appears to play a crucial role in COVID-19 specifically. Benefits of NAC include inhibiting expression of proinflammatory cytokines, improving T cell response and inhibiting the hypercoagulation that can result in stroke and/or blood clots that impair the ability to exchange oxygen in the lungs.

In summary (Jackie here), don’t let the media scare you into something you may regret later. A lot of folks regret that they ever took any Covid-19 shot. Now the CDC wants you to take three more (untested shots) at the same time. A neighbor in my community told me she has had Covid-19 three times in the past couple years (due to immune disfunction from multiple shots). That does not sound right to me. Enough is enough. Roll down your sleeve and just say “no”.