CV and mad panic behaviour

[LP]

I suppose the dissenters will be dancing with joy over the news Greg Hunt is a retire, they'll almost certainly spin it as a win.

But will any of the cynics, sceptics, dissenters and protestors ponder what might force a career politician to look into the near future and decide they are getting out of the game?

A thoughtful Joe Average might rightly be concerned, unexpected political retirements are becoming a worrying trend!

[DJC]

The Greek Government is introducing a recurring monthly fine of 100 Euros for unvaccinated over 60s.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the fine was necessary to protect more than half a million unvaccinated elderly Greeks.  However, it seems that increased pressure on a frail healthcare system is a major factor.

While many governments have made COVID vaccinations mandatory for workers in the health industry and other sectors, Greece is the first country to mandate vaccination for an age group.  An interesting development  :-\

[Thryleon]

^^

Its elliciting the exact opposite reaction.  This could be revolutionary.  I see it amongst the comments of my relatives.

I keep telling people this but they dont seem to want to hear it.

Also, the Greek government has historically been extremely relaxed regarding implementing fines and penalties but that is a very side argument to this. 

[cookie2]

The mandating of medical treatments and procedures would be a very worrying development, at least for me anyway.

[kruddler]

It makes a mockery of ostracising people from society who didnt get vaccinated, and I think thats the important part of MBB's post.

Personally this predates covid, but the insistence to save the ignorant from themelves these days is antithesis to natural  selection at work.

Whilst many wont agree with that, it is what it is.  Thats not to say dont make people take some precautions, but if you give them every chance to do the right thing, and they dont, then its literally their funeral.

The problem with the 'natural selection' logic is that its not just themselves its hurting.
If they want to jump off a cliff to prove they can fly, don't try and stop them.
If they want to not get vaccinated, then that effects others who can't or are high risk, it hurts the economy when we go into lockdown. It hurts those who need medical attention but beds, nurses and resources are taken up by them.

So i don't mind your logic, it just can't be applied in this instance IMO.

[DJC]

^^

Its elliciting the exact opposite reaction.  This could be revolutionary.  I see it amongst the comments of my relatives.

I keep telling people this but they dont seem to want to hear it.

Also, the Greek government has historically been extremely relaxed regarding implementing fines and penalties but that is a very side argument to this. 

The thing is that the Greek health system was barely coping before COVID.  It's in dire straits now and will only get worse as the next wave hits.  Fining people for not vaccinating may be an extreme and counter-productive measure but the logic behind the decision is clear.

I reckon they'd get a better response if they used positive reinforcement rather than punitive measures.

[LP]

It's a funny thing, we still read lots of debate about AZ vs Pfizer with people dancing on the grave of the AZ vaccine.

Now as more Pfizer related cases of Myocarditis or Pericarditis surface, it seems as was always the true case, that the risk differential between AZ and Pfizer is now negligible, yet there is still very little noise on social media about Pfizer side-effects excluding the odd mainstream media story that surfaces. This is odd, because it looks like the risk of Myocarditis or Pericarditis doesn't diminish with each shot of MRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna), the risk is basically the same with each and every shot.

This is not the same as AZ, Novavax, J&J or the others, they report most reactions on the first dose, and greatly reduced risk of side-effects on the 2nd or 3rd dose.

I suspect social media doesn't like taking a backwards step when reality exposes it's claims as a simply wrong!

Locally and in the UK, some people seem to be fairing much better than others when it comes to break through infections, and it simply looks to be because they were issued with AZ.

I think the smart bet would be, if you've had Pfizer get AZ as your booster or perhaps Novavax, and if you've already had AZ then have another one or have Novavax!

[Mav]

Another candidate in the anti-vaxxer Darwin Awards:

Anti-vax televangelist dies after using "protocols" his TV network promoted to treat COVID, Salon.

The 64 year old founder of Daystar, the world's 2nd-largest Christian TV network, Marcus Lamb, has died of Covid after railing against vaccines and promoting bogus treatments.

Lamb's wife, Joni, said on the network Tuesday that her husband, who also had diabetes, "got the COVID pneumonia." She said the treatments promoted on Daystar failed to save her husband.

"We were trying to treat the COVID and pneumonia with the different protocols we use, including the ones we talk about on Daystar. We used those — I myself used them and had breezed through COVID," she said. "It caused his blood sugar to spike and a decrease in his oxygen. He 100% believed in everything that we've talked about here on Daystar. ... We still stand by that, obviously."

The Lambs have repeatedly touted ivermectin, which the Food and Drug Administration warns is not a "safe or effective" COVID treatment, and hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug embraced by Trump that has repeatedly been shown to be ineffective against the coronavirus and potentially dangerous to users. Joni Lamb and others at the network have railed against not just COVID vaccines but also flu and HPV immunizations. The network recently filed a lawsuit over the Biden administration's vaccine mandate, calling it a "sin against God's Holy Word" and arguing that making employees get immunized would "potentially cause them to sin." The network's website calls vaccines "the most dangerous thing your child could face."

As a televangelist would well know, those who live by the sword die by the sword.

[northernblue]

The Sheppard took him for more important work…

???‍♂️

[Mav]

Interesting that the challenge to the vaccine mandate in Victoria will be heard on 15 March 2022: https://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au/site...%20789.pdf

Apparently, the trial judge's warning that the case needed to be streamlined if it were to be heard before Xmas didn't move the plaintiffs. The above ruling clips the wings of the plaintiffs anyway, prohibiting any attempt to use expert witnesses to opine on whether the mandate should have been imposed considering all the circumstances. The judge has made it clear that the issue before her is whether the CHO made orders within his power rather than reconsidering that decision afresh.

It makes you wonder whether there's any public interest or any interest at all in the outcome of this case now. By March, we'll be a world away from where we are now and any orders that may exist then will be made under an entirely different legislative structure. What's the point?