Unfortunately the CDC changes recommendations on a regular basis. Recently they admitted that masks are pretty ineffective. Common sense told me that when they first suggested it. The government response has been consistently inconsistent. And social media banning researchers, doctors and senators hasn`t helped the distrust.
1. The US government has messed up the pandemic response for the past 2 years so both administrations. At least Biden knew ahead of time what he was getting into so his administration should have been better prepared. Whoever thought a mandate was a good idea, well I’m not going to finish that thought but they were idiots.
2. Things have changed with Covid; Alpha (initial) variant, Delta variant, and now the Omicron variant. So naturally the response will change since what worked in September no longer works in December. And additional data is coming in with which to make more informed decisions, with this past week giving us updated data from Dec, which was the first complete month where Omicron was the primary variant for new cases and no longer the Delta variant.
3. To me masks have worked properly but they rely on ventilation. If a mask keeps bad air (also stops spittle flying) close to someone, that is only effective for short exposures unless ventilation is really good. But ventilation is rarely very good so the masks are largely ineffective. And really, masks have become such a dividing topic that they need to go away.
4. There’s talk among immunologists that this Omicron surge could be over in mid-February or March provided a new variant doesn’t get started. This is based on looking at South Africa, which was where the Omicron variant first took hold. Let’s hope.
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But I was wrong about that. From the moment of my reluctant entrance into the vaccine debate in 2005, I was astonished to realize that the pervasive web of deep financial entanglements between Pharma and the government health agencies had put regulatory capture on steroids. The CDC, for example, owns 57 vaccine patents[1] and spends $4.9 of its $12.0 billion-dollar annual budget (as of 2019) buying and distributing vaccines.[2][3] NIH owns hundreds of vaccine patents and often profits from the sale of products it supposedly regulates. High level officials, including Dr. Fauci, receive yearly emoluments of up to $150,000 in royalty payments on products that they help develop and then usher through the approval process.[4] The FDA receives 45 percent of its budget from the pharmaceutical industry, through what are euphemistically called “user fees.”[5] When I learned that extraordinary fact, the disastrous health of the American people was no longer a mystery; I wondered what the environment would look like if the EPA received 45 percent of its budget from the coal industry!
Interesting. I will have to research those assertions in more detail. Thanks for the reading list.
That got me thinking about the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission as I was a computer/process consultant there for several years. Who pays for them? Question and answer are 4/5 paragraphs down. It is a parallel to your quote though I haven’t thought about the pharmaceutical side enough to know whether it is a worthwhile parallel.
Our government at work...We have the best damned government money can buy...
To an extent it makes sense to have the corporations pay for the regulatory oversight. If we could trust the corporations to do the right things, they wouldn’t necessarily need to be regulated but their singular goal of profits isn’t compatible. Look at the Texas power grid to see what happens when corporations are allowed to focus on profits and nothing else. Or recalls among all the industries that corporations rarely want to do but should.
And while there are some talented people working in government positions, in general the pay isn’t that competitive with the corporate world so the most talented don’t usually end up in government positions. And government positions have in the past often prioritized longevity than talent or capability, which further limits fresher talent. These are anecdotal observations from when I worked with various US government organizations as a consultant.
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And while there are some talented people working in government positions, in general the pay isn’t that competitive with the corporate world so the most talented don’t usually end up in government positions. And government positions have in the past often prioritized longevity than talent or capability, which further limits fresher talent. These are anecdotal observations from when I worked with various US government organizations as a consultant.
Even though these may be anecdotal observations......as a Government employee, I see this exact situation every day.
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To an extent it makes sense to have the corporations pay for the regulatory oversight. If we could trust the corporations to do the right things, they wouldn’t necessarily need to be regulated but their singular goal of profits isn’t compatible. Look at the Texas power grid to see what happens when corporations are allowed to focus on profits and nothing else. Or recalls among all the industries that corporations rarely want to do but should.
And while there are some talented people working in government positions, in general the pay isn’t that competitive with the corporate world so the most talented don’t usually end up in government positions. And government positions have in the past often prioritized longevity than talent or capability, which further limits fresher talent. These are anecdotal observations from when I worked with various US government organizations as a consultant.
I was just referring to my belief that our governments are corrupt on all levels.
I was just referring to my belief that our governments are corrupt on all levels.
My viewpoint is that there is more incompetence than corruption. But politics is also there and with the huge paydays in politics, there is undoubtedly corruption on all sides that means our government is no longer for the people, unless you mean the incredibly wealthy people, not rich, 1%ers. So really, what you said but with plenty of incompetence thrown in.
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Anyone see the story about the CDC treating people in PA after a truck of monkeys crashed? Wonder what they were testing on the monkeys.
Yeah, I saw that movie. That`s the one where the monkey fails his driving test but takes Dad`s truck anyway, with all his friends in it? Or is that a different one?
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Yeah, I saw that movie. That`s the one where the monkey fails his driving test but takes Dad`s truck anyway, with all his friends in it? Or is that a different one?
It wasn`t a movie. It was real. Happened last week.
Originally Posted by wannafbody
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