Too many in our public health community have spent the last year ignoring history and ground level reality, and embracing anodyne theory and jibberish models. Below is a small snapshot of what happens when you indulge in academic escapism. 1/
One observes a persistent rise in deaths in working age populations. Deaths of dispair, by self harm, just to name a few. And the response from our public health community? Its been to retreat further into anodyne theory and jibberish modeling. 2/
This is the tip of the iceberg and we know it. The economy is held together with bandaids, education is in shambles and people have lost their livelihoods and saving. And Canada's public health community egged it on, with little self reflection and a sense of entitlement. 3/
Medicine knows respiratory viruses, and it isn't a rubic's cube. We knew the populations to be affected, we had workable solutions and even "experts" ready to deploy. We threw it all away and adopted ideas straight out of the middle ages. 4/
We are in the midst of the largest social policy blunder in Canadian history. Its a reflection of an undisciplined and uncritical public health community. Trust has been destroyed and it will take a decade to recover from the mental and economic trauma. 5/
We have in Canada a window of opportunity to end this debacle. We could ride on the coat tails of seasonality, fix our serious testing problems, re-institute standard practices and vaccinate high risk populations with agents still in development but with informed consent. 6/
Lets us hope our public health community doesn't "botch" another opportunity. And when we get to this end point, this community should wisely extricate itself from this mess. Let competent people in the rest of society deal with the wreckage. End/
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Mr. Baber provides a well supported critique of gov't C19 policies and actions. He displays good working knowledge of facts which I would expect of an MPP who takes his job seriously. I have a few additional thoughts to aid this critique. 1/
The modeling by any standard has been wildly inaccurate. There are two main reasons for this. 1) the model itself is incorrectly constructed or 2) the underlying assumptions are inaccurate. Mr. Baber's information reminds me that both are likely the case. 2/
For example, the chart highlights a focus on asymptomatic transmission. This is a fringe concept. If present, and that is a big "IF", it's extremely low and not at the levels noted. This concept remains highly controversial and experimental support is near nonexistent. 3/
A few thoughts this morning. If you get your C19 news from a:
1)TV anchor with no science background in 30 second bites;
2)newspaper who sponsors content and has their best sports writer on the job; 3) high school teacher who believes he's Canada's top modeler;
Maybe...1/
You might consider diversifying your information sources. A couple of suggestions:
1) Dr. Robert Lee, British pathologist and columnist; 2) Carl Henehgan, Center for evidence based medicine (Oxford); 3) Sunetra Gupta, theoretical epidemiologist at Oxford; 2/
4) Martin Kulldorff, epidemiologist at Harvard; 5) Clare Craig, the Ethical Sceptic, Joel Smalley; 5) Lockdown Sceptics, indepth science reporting on C19; 6) Pandata19, an international group of data scientists and epidemiologists; 3/
How did it come to this? A deeply misguided effort (@joyhataley) to silence @randyhillier, a MPP in the provincial legislature. This reflects poorly on the medical community. How could one do it differently in a thoughtful, educated manner. Lets consider. 1/
First, Mr. Hillier and I don't share political perspective but we do share a respect for facts. Facts are the foundation of debate and for the development of sound policy. Ontario has no mechanism to robustly debate C19 facts as the legislature is basically shuttered. 2/
So Mr. Hillier has consequently decided to organize rallies and engage in civil disobedience. All rather normal behavior. He has an audience because leaders in the medical/political community haven't convinced the public that draconian actions are necessary. 3/
This is what real medical and scientific leadership looks like. It doesn't cower in a corner or under a bed during a crisis. It seeks to preserve, maintain and strengthen those elements deemed critical to a functioning society. 1/
Education is a bedrock fixture of our society. We invest heavily because of the huge windfall in social and economic benefits. These windfalls are seen over decades and generations. We pay a dear price when we shutter this segment of our society 2/
The Ontario gov't, with its underperforming science table, as expected, acted foolishly today. Unlike other jurisdictions that studied the research, and rolled up its sleaves to get kids back to school, it pandered to fear and cowardness. They let everyone down. 3/
Rex Murphy's article sums up in detail the most visible failings of Canada's C-19 response. The economic costs especially to the youth are alarming and clear; prosperity, opportunity and growth have all been sacrificed with careless abandon. 1/
The usual dull retort is that C-19 was a pandemic for the ages. That is a canard and a lie. It is a hard-flu like illness that is manageable through wisdom and careful action. We had neither in Canada and we are poorer for it. 2/
But far deeper and painful was the lethargic behavior of the medical/scientific community. It's inescapable, we failed our country miserably. There was no critical analysis, no rising to the challenge. We indulged in rank opportunism or sat at home with a steady paycheck. 3/
Perhaps, nothing is more illustrative of 2020's death dance than coming across a still body along a bike path. A phone later, the paramedics politely carted him away. Homeless and wheel chair bound, his life looked hard and I suspect substance abuse with an issue. 1/
I didn't know him; he got a quick wave as I would jog by from time-to-time. He could have come from the local homeless encampment which has grown larger and more visable over the last year. Its hard to know. 2/
His likely death is one of three that has goal posted 2020. There was a visable public suicide in summer and and an at home death of a friend, too frightening go the hospital, the result of an ignorant public health campaign. 3/