Tridemic Pre-Marketing
RSV-COVID-flu, conflicts of interest, another collapse, transplant rights, mid-term results, La Nina, Numb
Welcome everyone, and thank you for joining me for another instalment of Rounding the News! This is your weekly news roundup presented by Rounding the Earth. Before we get started, just a reminder that the best way to support is is by joining our brand new Locals community, where you will find the show notes and all available links for today’s episode. You can also subscribe to Rounding the Earth on Substack, and send us a Rumble Rant.
Health
RSV vaccine pre-marketing campaign in full swing
“The pandemic is over,” U.S. President Joe Biden unceremoniously uttered in a 60 Minutes interview back in September.1 He was last to the party on that one, especially as it’s still not entirely clear whether “pandemic” was ever an appropriate term for the crisis that kicked off in 2020,23 and apparently has now wrapped up.
But as far as the news media and governments are concerned, the emergency continues nonetheless - in fact, we’ve levelled up! Forget that silly “pandemic” idea - we’re now in a tridemic.
You thought COVID-19 was bad? Well, it’s not, I guess. Neither is the flu. Heck, even RSV itself is really not that big a problem. But add the three together, and what do you get?
Distractions. Cover-up for compromised immune systems and injuries from SARS-CoV-2 transfection. And a classic setup for a pharmaceutical product pre-marketing campaign.
From CTV News:4
Across Canada, emergency departments and hospitals are packed, with health-care workers often treating patients in hallways and seeing unprecedented surges of illnesses.
Experts are calling this season a "multi-demic" as cases of flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) combine, stretching hospital staff thin.
"In 22 years in my job, this is probably the most challenging time that we've had," Dr. Rod Lim, physician at the Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ont., told CTV's Your Morning Thursday. "We're definitely seeing so much activity, our emergency department is probably seeing about 80 per cent more patients than we have traditionally ever seen at this time of year."
So, no pandemic then. Great. Here’s a question: does it make sense for someone suffering a respiratory infection - even a severe one - to be presenting to the emergency room?
Experts believe the main reason for the rise in hospital visits is due to viral infections circulating through communities.
"This is the first year since the pandemic began that we're heading into a normal flu season," Dr. Rose Zacharias, president of the Ontario Medical Association, told CTV's Your Morning Thursday. "Coupled with the COVID-19 virus still circulating and RSV, which is another common childhood virus that comes around this time of year, we're seeing that increased strain and the emergency departments and healthcare teams still dealing with burnout."
The Ontario Medical Association is brought to you by Pfizer. Also Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline and Merck.5
Trust the Science.
CBC News, however, tamps down the threat a bit:6
For most healthy people, though, the highly contagious virus feels like an ordinary cold.
The article then goes on to cite a man named Jesse Papenburg, “a pediatric infectious diseases physician at the Montreal Children's Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre,” who says his hospital is back to cancelling surgeries because of “a surge in respiratory viruses, which adds to wait times.”
Frustratingly, he states that “Infants are born susceptible to RSV because they don't have antibodies to fight off the infection.” This disturbs me greatly, because it implies that this is somehow something to be afraid of, when this is obvious and applies to transient illness in general.
As Jay Couey explains, this seems to be part of the process of changing how people think about the immune system.7 But for what purpose?
Then comes the crux of this story:
Drug maker GSK is developing a vaccine program for pregnant individuals as well as older adults, an age group Papenburg said is also now considered at risk for complications from RSV.
Moderna said it plans a Phase 3 clinical trial of an mRNA vaccine for adults aged 60 and older.
Potential RSV vaccines from other companies are also in the works.
Vaccinating pregnant individuals could help protect infants, Papenburg said. That's why pertussis (or whooping cough) vaccines are given in pregnancy, and the antibodies cross the placenta.
Earlier this month, Pfizer announced Phase 3 clinical trial results for its RSV vaccine candidate in a press release. The vaccine is given in pregnancy with the aim of protecting the infant.
This is a full-on pre-marketing campaign for no less than three RSV vaccines, and apparently more.
Note that Papenburg holds several conflicts of interest that should render this thinly-veiled pharmaceutical advertisement unpublishable.
He is a member of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), the regulatory advisory body that approves vaccines in Canada, including COVID-19 and RSV.8
He is a clinical investigator for the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Vaccine Study Centre, led by former NACI chair Caroline Quach-Thanh.9 The centre is running studies on COVID-19 vaccines including Moderna, AstraZeneca, Novavax and Medicago.10
He is a scientific advisor on the secretariat of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force.11 The CITF collaborates with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) on vaccine development.12
He is a Primary Investigator for the CATCO study,13 investigating both hydroxychloroquine and remdesivir for treating COVID-19.14 CATCO is a spinoff of the infamous SOLIDARITY trial.
He was an author on an RSV study funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.15
He has received research funding from the CHUM Foundation,16 which is itself funded by AstraZeneca, Canadian National Railway (a Bill Gates company), Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, and Pfizer.171819
He’s a paid consultant for Merck, who has also provided him research grants, as has Sanofi Pasteur.20
You know, it might be time to start filing complaints with the ombudsman of news agencies that print this stuff without disclosing these extensive conflicts of interest.
Ontario Deputy Solicitor General collapses during inquiry
During the Emergencies Act inquiry this past week, yet another on-screen collapse occurred. Deputy Solicitor General for the Province of Ontario Mario Di Tommaso fell to the ground where he made some disturbing groaning noises, before being taken to hospital. Last I heard, he had woken up and is planning to return to work next week.
Law
Employment Insurance vs. organ transplant
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms issued updates on two legal challenges resulting from COVID-19 “vaccine” mandates, showcasing the absurdity and inconsistency with which the law is being applied.
The Appeal Division of Canada’s Social Security Tribunal has decided that further examination is required to decide if dismissal for not taking a COVID-19 gene therapy treatment constitutes “misconduct.”21 As it stands, employees across Canada have been denied access to unemployment benefits through the mandatory EI program that every working Canadian pays into, so this signals a step towards granting fired workers some measure of compensation out of their own piggy bank.
On the other hand:22
…the Alberta Court of Appeal decided that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not apply to Alberta Health Services’ and Alberta transplant doctors’ Covid-19 vaccine policy for transplant candidates. Sheila Annette Lewis challenged AHS’ and her transplant doctors’ Covid-19 vaccine policy which required her to receive the Covid-19 vaccines before she could receive a life-saving transplant.
Full disclosure, I helped prepare an expert opinion for this case. I am aware of some of the details of Mrs. Lewis’ situation that are under a publication ban. It is even more ludicrous than the JCCF’s press release can legally describe. The JCCF says they’re considering bringing the case to the Supreme Court.
Geopolitics
Election results: TBD
On Tuesday this past week, Americans went to the ballot box to vote on a number of candidates and issues as part of the 2022 mid-term elections. While a sweeping Republican victory was expected, things didn’t quite pan out that way. Democrats appear to have maintained strong support from voters in key areas, resulting in surprise victories such as John Fetterman beating out Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania.23
Since the 2020 Presidential Election took place during the “height” of the COVID-19 crisis, mail-in ballots have become a mainstay in the voting process, apparently resulting in inherent delays in the ability of some jurisdictions to declare a victor. In Arizona, for example, a number of media outlets called the Senate race for Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly - despite only 83-85% of the votes having been accounted for. His Republican opponent Blake Masters said he would wait until all votes are counted before declaring victory or defeat.24
Why it is that outlets like NBC and the Associated Press feel empowered to declare the outcome of an election that remains truly up in the air is lost on me, but it paints a picture of a biased media.
Depending on the order in which ballots are counted, particularly based on location within the state, the apparent results can be temporarily made to look like they’re favouring one candidate over the other. If there are around 15% of votes left to be counted, it is perfectly likely that Masters is still a contender.
As of Saturday, November 12, Republicans still look to be poised to take both the House and Senate.
Controversies in Neurological Conditions and Diseases
It’s time once again to revisit our friends at IPAK-EDU, who are about to launch a new course taught by a fellow British Columbian!
Dr. Chris Shaw is a Canadian neuroscientist and researcher based in my home town of Vancouver, and a fellow member of the Canadian Covid Care Alliance. Starting January 21st, 2023, Dr. Shaw will be teaching a new course titled “Controversies in Neurological Conditions and Diseases” which will present the history and current status of studies addressing controversial issues in neurologic conditions and disease. At the core of the course and woven throughout will be a review of the standard principles of the practice of biomedical research. Watch this interview with James Lyons-Weiler to learn more about Dr. Shaw and his course.
The cost for this excellent, next-generation educational experience is $180, which I have a feeling will be worth every penny. However, Rounding the Earth is proud to offer our listeners a rebate of 5% when you enter our affiliate code “EARTH” at checkout. I was recently corrected on what this means, and if I understand correctly, you will receive 5% of the cost of tuition back in the form of either cash or credit for another course.
Click below to sign up, and don’t forget to use referral code EARTH for your 5% rebate!
Thanks, IPAK-EDU!
Environment
Super rare hurricane season for Florida
Florida is experiencing an “exceptional” set of weather events this year, with Hurricane Nicole making landfall on North Hutchinson Island, just south of Vero Beach, on Thursday this week.
From ZeroHedge:25
Dr. Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University, told USA Today that La Nina conditions are expected to continue through the end of the year and could produce increased storm activity into late fall.
According to World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas, it is “exceptional to have three consecutive years with a la Nina event.”26 An earlier report published on ZeroHedge warned:27
For California, the biggest farming state in the US, and for the soybean- and corn-growing areas of Argentina and Brazil, it could mean another year of drought. In Australia, it might bring another round of floods across Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales, where rising waters produced at least $3 billion in insurance claims in early 2022. The price of a cup of coffee could climb if drought afflicts farmers in Brazil while floods hit those in Vietnam and Columbia. Sugar to sweeten it might also cost more if the cane used to make it gets stressed by a lack of rain. Across the Atlantic, there could be even more hurricanes than usual because there, La Nina cuts down on wind shear, one of nature's ways of putting a break on the destructive storms. In 2020, the Atlantic had a record 30 named storms, and in 2021 there were 21.
Culture
Devastating lockdown impact on youth from June 2020
Last but not least, I want to share this exceptional video that our friend Tessa Lena alerted me to this week.28
Released all the way back in June 2020 as a student project, this short filmed titled Numb was made by a high school student showcasing the tremendous emotional and psychological impact that “lockdown” measures had on youth.29 Kudos to Liv McNeil for her ability to express herself in such an impactful way that reverberates and informs all the way into November 2022.
That’s it for this week. Don’t forget to join us over at our Locals community, which you can find at www.RoundingtheEarth.locals.com. Become a free member or pay to support us, which will grant access to a small amount of content hidden behind a paywall. You can also subscribe to the Rounding the Earth Substack, as well as our video platforms at YouTube, Rumble, Rokfin, Odysee, Bitchute and Brighteon,
Lastly, you can find me at www.LiamSturgess.com, or TheLiamSturgess on Twitter (where I have purchased a blue check mark, which simultaneously feels awesome and irrelevant. What a funny time to be alive.)
Thanks very much for joining me on Rounding the News, and I will see you in a few days for our next Round Table discussion!
Reuters. (2022, September 20). Biden says Covid “pandemic is over”, despite US daily death toll in the hundreds. The Guardian. https://archive.ph/9rSRA
Sturgess, L., Evans-Cockle, M., & Pelech, S. (2022). COVID-19 Truth Initiative: Part I. Canadian Covid Care Alliance, 13–23. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/5g6bh
Rounding the Earth. (2022, November 7). RTE Discussions #12: Gain of Function, or Gain of Purity? (w/ Jonathan Couey). Rumble. https://web.archive.org/web/20221108151713/https://rumble.com/v1s0vvg-rte-discussions-12-gain-of-function-or-gain-of-purity-w-jonathan-couey.html
O’Neill, N. (2022, November 10). Canadian health-care system struggling amid “multi-demic” of flu, COVID-19 and RSV. CTV News. https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canadian-health-care-system-struggling-amid-multi-demic-of-flu-covid-19-and-rsv-1.6147439
Ontario Medical Association. Your impact. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://archive.ph/n7NHP
Zafar, A. (2022, November 10). How new treatments could quiet the “perfect storm” of respiratory viruses. CBC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20221111222855/https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/rsv-treatments-1.6646513
GigaohmBiological. (2022, November 5). Office Hours GEERT ON NARRATIVE: Gigaohm Biological High Resistance Low Noise Information Brief. Twitch. https://web.archive.org/web/20221111223715/https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1644348141
National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI): Membership and representation. (2020, December 18). Wayback Machine; Government of Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20201218222110/https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/immunization/national-advisory-committee-on-immunization-naci/naci-membership-representation.html
About Us. (2020, July 23). MUHC Vaccine Study Centre; Wayback Machine. https://archive.ph/R2Pr5
Current studies. MUHC Vaccine Center. Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220321223058/https://muhcvaccine.ca/current-studies/
Labonne, S. Secretariat. COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220322055327/https://www.covid19immunitytaskforce.ca/secretariat/
Final Version Scientific Strategy, Governance, and Operational Plan. (2020). COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. https://web.archive.org/web/20220120225658/https://www.covid19immunitytaskforce.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/CITF-Strategic-Plan_Final_ENG_FINAL_2.pdf#page=17
Results of MI4 Emergency COVID-19 Research Funding. (2021, August 23). McGill MI4. https://archive.ph/X6BWG
Ali, K., Azher, T., Baqi, M., Binnie, A., Borgia, S., Carrier, F. M., Cavayas, Y. A., Chagnon, N., Cheng, M. P., Conly, J., Costiniuk, C., Daley, P., Daneman, N., Douglas, J., Downey, C., Duan, E., Duceppe, E., Durand, M., English, S., & Farjou, G. (2022). Remdesivir for the treatment of patients in hospital with COVID-19 in Canada: a randomized controlled trial. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal = Journal de l’Association Medicale Canadienne, cmaj.211698. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.211698
Scheltema, N. M., Gentile, A., Lucion, F., Nokes, D. J., Munywoki, P. K., Madhi, S. A., Groome, M. J., Cohen, C., Moyes, J., Thorburn, K., Thamthitiwat, S., Oshitani, H., Lupisan, S. P., Gordon, A., Sánchez, J. F., O’Brien, K. L., Gessner, B. D., Sutanto, A., Mejias, A., & Ramilo, O. (2017). Global respiratory syncytial virus-associated mortality in young children (RSV GOLD): a retrospective case series. The Lancet Global Health, 5(10), e984–e991. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(17)30344-3
Papenburg, J., Cheng, M. P., Corsini, R., Caya, C., Mendoza, E., Manguiat, K., Lindsay, L. R., Wood, H., Drebot, M. A., Dibernardo, A., Zaharatos, G., Bazin, R., Gasser, R., Benlarbi, M., Gendron-Lepage, G., Beaudoin-Bussières, G., Prévost, J., Finzi, A., Ndao, M., & Yansouni, C. P. (2021). Evaluation of a Commercial Culture-Free Neutralization Antibody Detection Kit for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Related Coronavirus-2 and Comparison With an Antireceptor-Binding Domain Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 8(6). https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofab220
Thanks to you – List of donors 2016 - 2017. (2018, November 27). Wayback Machine; CHUM Foundation. https://archive.ph/QiTvN
Thanks to you - List of donors 2020 - 2021. CHUM Foundation. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://fondationduchum.com/en/thanks-to-you/
Thanks to you – List of donors 2018 - 2019. (2020, September 22). Wayback Machine; CHUM Foundation. https://web.archive.org/web/20200922213728/https://fondationduchum.com/en/thanks-to-you/
Ibid.
Tribunal Ordered to Reconsider “Misconduct” Denial of EI Benefits to Unvaccinated Employee. (2022, November 8). Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. http://archive.today/2022.11.10-190732/https://www.jccf.ca/tribunal-ordered-to-reconsider-misconduct-denial-of-ei-benefits-to-unvaccinated-employee/
Alberta Court of Appeal Upholds Covid-19 Vaccine Requirement for Transplant Candidates. (2022, November 8). Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. http://archive.today/2022.11.09-075100/https://www.jccf.ca/alberta-court-of-appeal-upholds-covid-19-vaccine-requirement-for-transplant-candidates/
Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Election Results. (2022, November 8). The New York Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20221111215016/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/08/us/elections/results-pennsylvania-us-senate.html
Folmar, C. (2022, November 12). Masters declines to concede in Arizona Senate race until all votes are counted. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3732339-masters-declines-to-concede-in-arizona-senate-race-until-all-legal-votes-are-counted/
Nicole’s Landfall On Florida’s East Coast Is A Super Rare Event For November. (2022, November 10). ZeroHedge. https://web.archive.org/web/20221111135845/https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/nicoles-landfall-floridas-east-coast-super-rare-event-november
Grant, T. (2022, October 20). How a “Triple Dip” La Nina will impact the US this winter. ABC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20221112202509/https://abcnews.go.com/US/triple-dip-la-nia-meteorologists-predict-coming/story?id=89414178#:~:text="It%20is%20exceptional%20to%20have,said%20in%20a%20recent%20report.
A “Triple-Dip La Nina” Could Spell Even More Disaster For World Economy. (2022, September 16). ZeroHedge. https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/what-triple-dip-la-nina-means-world
Lena, T. (2022, November 9). “Numb.” Substack. https://tessa.substack.com/p/numb
Liv McNeil. (2020). numb - a short film - liv mcneil [YouTube Video]. YouTube. https://web.archive.org/web/20221110072027/
Liam, a group of us are trying to contact you using your web site for a collaboration proposal. Contact page appears to be non-functional. Can you fix?