Show Notes
Covid Inquiry appears fundamentally biased, say scientists
55 professors and academics
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/12/covid-inquiry-biased-say-scientists/
An open letter to Baroness Hallett, Chair of the UK Covid Inquiry
The Inquiry must urgently address its apparent biases, assumptions, impartiality, & lack of evidence-based approach
First, the Inquiry gives the impression of being fundamentally biased.
there has been little opportunity for petitions to be brought by those who have suffered from the negative effects of pandemic policy decisions.
This is preventing a more holistic assessment of impacts on population health and wellbeing.
This lack of neutrality appears to have led to biased reasoning and predetermined conclusions, for example, to lockdown faster next time.
Second, the Inquiry is taking key assumptions for granted
instead of examining and critiquing them in light of the evidence.
The consensus position in pre-2020 pandemic plans was that non-pharmaceutical interventions, including lockdown, had weak evidence of effectiveness, and were predicted to cause substantial harm to society, especially if used for prolonged periods.
This informed the initial response to Covid in early 2020. Yet, the Inquiry assumes that these measures are effective and appropriate.
As a result, it downplays the harms to society caused by two years of emergency infection control mandates.
Third, the Inquiry lacks impartiality in the selection and questioning of expert witnesses.
It has given preferential treatment to scientific advisers on SAGE,
who have a vested interest in maintaining the justification for their policy recommendations.
Very few scientists with an alternative position have been asked to testify, and the Inquiry has been confrontational rather than inquisitorial in its questioning of these views.
The Inquiry has not seriously questioned the hypotheses and assumptions offered to government, especially from government appointed modelers, which were used to justify Covid policies.
Neither has it seriously examined the social and economic costs of lockdown.
It has also stuck to an agenda of UK exceptionalism failing to recognize the experience elsewhere in the world.
Fourth, the format of the Inquiry is impeding investigation into the key scientific and policy questions.
The Inquiry has adopted a legal format that prevents a systematic evaluation of the evidence by biomedical and social scientists on the harms of restrictions to the British public,
the impact on Covid from policies such as mandatory NPIs, and the state of evidence for best practice.
It is focused on who did or said what, rather than asking fundamental scientific questions.
Yet investigating the interplay between harms, benefits, and best practice is critical to preparing for the next pandemic.
The Inquiry, as currently functioning, appears unsuited to this task of national importance.
Fifth, the Inquiry risks reducing public trust
in the impartiality and independence of government accountability and oversight.
Its size and cost (by some estimates £300-500 million) will make it the largest public Inquiry ever undertaken to date, and yet its shortcomings, if not addressed, risk compromising the credibility of future public inquiries.
We believe the Inquiry has a significant and important mission and we would like to see it succeed.
However, if it is to do so, these shortcomings need to be urgently addressed.
The Inquiry must invite a much broader range of scientific experts with more critical viewpoints.
It must also review the evidence on diverse topics so tha Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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U.S. Food and Drug Administration, amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs),Uploaded 07-09-22https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-moderna-pfizer-biontech-bivalent-covid-19-vaccines-useof the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccineto authorize bivalent formulationsBA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. Omicron booster shots, with lots of questions https://www.science.org/content/article/omicron-booster-shots-are-coming-lots-questionsUnited Kingdom has authorized Moderna Omicron subvariant BA.1Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, have submitted data about their BA.4/BA.5 vaccines Biden administrationHas already placed an order for 170 million dosesWhat do the new boosters contain?Messenger RNA (mRNA) coding for the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2Bivalent, Wuhan strain and BA.1 or BA.4 and BA.5 (which have identical spikes)What sort of data have the companies collected?Human data, only available BA.1 boosterBA.1 trails did not look for protection against severe disease, (People trials are very expensive)For the BA.4/BA.5 boosters, the companies have submitted animal data. (not released publicly)Pfizer presented preliminary findings in eight mice given BA.4/BA.5 vaccines as their third dose, (for EMA)Showed an increased antibody response to all Omicron variants tested: BA.1, BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.4, and BA.5.Clinical trials for the BA.4/BA.5 vaccines will begin next monthWhy still target the ancestral strain?Probably for new variants, more polyclonal responseStill has some neutralising power against the new variantsIf the benefits are limited, do we really need the new boosters?Some scientists don’t think we do. Paul Offit, vaccine researcher, Children’s Hospital of PhiladelphiaCOVID-19 vaccines still prevent the most severe outcomesIf the goal is to stop infections, even updated vaccines will have little impact(Incubation period is too short)(Measles or rubella, 2-week incubation period, so can stop spread)even if 100% of the population were vaccinated,and the virus hadn’t evolved at all, vaccines would do very little to stop transmissionhttps://support.google.com/youtube/answer/11161123Efficacy of vaccines: content claiming that vaccines do not reduce transmission or contraction of disease https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9891785Claims that any medication or vaccination is a guaranteed prevention method for COVID-19The Biopharmaceutical Industry Provides 75% Of The FDA's Drug Review Budget. Is This A Problem?https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnlamattina/2018/06/28/the-biopharmaceutical-industry-provides-75-of-the-fdas-drug-review-budget-is-this-a-problem/?sh=7bf0d65049ecCaroline Chenthe agency is beholden to the biopharmaceutical industryGiven this level of support, one might assume that the FDA would bend over backwards to meet the needs of its financial backers.Caroline Chen ProPublicahttps://www.propublica.org/article/fda-repays-industry-by-rushing-risky-drugs-to-marketDr. Thomas Marciniak(former FDA medical team leader)You don’t survive as a senior official at the FDA unless you’re pro-industryThe FDA has to pay attention to what Congress tells them to do, and the industry will lobby to get somebody else in there if they don’t like youPfizerhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/03/pfizer-covid-sales-pricing-vaccine-paxlovid-pillhas made nearly $26bn (£21bn) in revenues in the first three months of the yearCovid-19 vaccines and treatmentsExpects record sales of $98bn to $102bn this year, half of which will come from Covid products, Comirnaty and Paxlovidprompting fresh accusations of pandemic profiteering.AstraZeneca, Chief executive officer, Pascal Soriothttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/astrazen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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