Don't know what to think

[MrsArchchancellorRidcully]

This is a serious qn. I'm not a virus denier, I obey rules and will take the vaccine as soon as I am offered.

Initially the things I saw on social media about conspiracy theories etc made me raise my eyebrows and sigh. They still do to an extent.

But. But. I am confused. I see more and more decent, experienced, sensible scientists raising doubts about how effective testing is, where have all the flu deaths gone and govts have seized this unexpected chance to 'reset the world' and keep people under control for a very long time.

I thought I would reach out to the collective for your views. I swear I'm a moderate. I'm not after a row about whether covid exists. I'm just really conflicted about very 'mainstream' people writing convincing things that make me pause and reflect.

What is the benefit of controlling large proportions of the world’s population?

Flu deaths logically have reduced because those who might have died have simply succumbed to covid. No conspiracy there.

It’s still new. Testing, treatments, vaccines all in their infancy. They’re not yet as efficient or efficacious as they might be in the future. No conspiracy there.

If there is no virus, why are the EU going batshit to get hold of vaccines?

I see more and more decent, experienced, sensible scientists raising doubts about how effective testing is, where have all the flu deaths gone and govts have seized this unexpected chance to 'reset the world' and keep people under control for a very long time

Who exactly and where are you seeing this, I haven't seen anyone who I'd rate as having intelligence saying anything like this. Is it on facebook?

@Watchingbehindmyhands

What is the benefit of controlling large proportions of the world’s population?

Flu deaths logically have reduced because those who might have died have simply succumbed to covid. No conspiracy there.

It’s still new. Testing, treatments, vaccines all in their infancy. They’re not yet as efficient or efficacious as they might be in the future. No conspiracy there.

This ^ If you're a moderate as you say then you will read back what you wrote and disseminate why it's ridiculous

Flu deaths are also down because anti-Covid measures work against other infections too, plus flu vaccine uptake is significantly up this year.

Asking questions about testing accuracy is fair enough, it’s still relatively new and not perfect. But surely that debate is about policy for dealing with Covid, not questioning the existence or seriousness of Covid.

The global reset/microchip and control everybody? Nah, batshit crazy. Sorry.

People won’t be catching flu, as they aren’t going out and mixing? Plus more fastidious about hand washing etc?

Why would anyone want to control “us” for a (relatively) short period of time? Life will go back to normal later this year. Except we will all be skint!

I know 10 people who have died, before that I never knew anyone who had died. It's real

Flu is transported around the world by people.

Flu was down massively in Australia and New Zealand last winter simply because it wasn't imported from the northern hemisphere.
It then stands to reason it's not going to be coming back here from the southern hemisphere

"see more and more decent, experienced, sensible scientists"

Who? Who are these 'decent experienced sensible scientists'?

I mean, it must be easy to name them. Who easily show they are decent experienced etc.

You need to provide some links and evidence OP.

I'm sick of this Overton window bullshit.

Following

In our NHS trust the rule was you had to have your flu vaccine before the Covid vaccine so if that's widespread it may help numbers too.

I just can't understand why it'd be a big conspiracy. What's the benefit of most of the world ruining their economies. What benefit does Boris get from lockdown? He wants us all earning and spending money as that helps the country.

I think one day we'll look back on our era and call it "the age of the conspiracy theory"

I thought one reason flu cases are fewer is that people with flu don't transmit it much until they have symptoms?

In a normal year, someone with mild flu might well still be out and about even once they have symptoms (and so flu gets transmitted from person to person). This year, though, symptomatic (and therefore infectious) flu sufferers are more likely to stay at home, because they have to assume they might have covid. Far more of the infectious covid sufferers are still out and about because a large fraction have no obvious symptoms.

The current covid precautions are therefore not just very effective at stopping flu transmission, but better at stopping flu transmission than they are at stopping covid transmission.

I'm struggling to understand why people are still falling for this.

OP I suggest you read all the articles on this site

www.covidfaq.co/

And then watch this video from the Financial Times.

www.ft.com/video/0cd6f9f9-664e-40f9-bad4-dde59d7c746c

I did say, really clearly, I am not a covid denier, so not sure why any response refers to it being real. It absolutely is.

I suppose I sometimes get a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach that 'what if covid has given govts and large business and wealthy people the chance they have been looking for to 'rule the world'. Then I give myself a shake. And thought I'd ask here to reassure myself that it's a ridiculous theory and we're all just doing the best we can.

I follow prof Carl henegen and the ex CEO of one of the big pharma (pzizer ? (Sp)) and various scientists who insist the science is wrong and if we stopped testing it wouldn't be any more serious than the flu.

Our lives were already pretty much in thrall to neoliberalism, capitalism was doing just fine without covid

I follow prof Carl henegen and the ex CEO of one of the big pharma (pzizer ? (Sp)) and various scientists who insist the science is wrong and if we stopped testing it wouldn't be any more serious than the flu

And what do these scientists say all the people currently being treated in hospital are ill with? My Trust has quadrupled the number of intensive care beds to be able to cope with the number of covid patients who need an ICU bed, alongside those needing an ICU bed for other reasons. This is not something which happens in a normal year. Yes the NHS can be described as overwhelmed in winter in normal years, but that means no empty beds for ED patients to be moved to, it means patients waiting on trolleys for many hours for a bed to become available, it means patients occasionally being transfered to a different hospital a distance away for an ICU bed because local ones are full. It doesn't mean ICU capacity being massively increased to be able to cope, and being extended into paediatric ICU, into theatre recovery areas, into high dependency wards.

I am pretty sure even without testing we'd be wondering what the fuck was going on and why so many people were in ICU with a mysterious illness.

Corporations and governments are doing badly out of Covid. Industries are losing money hand over fist. Politicians are unpopular, prime ministers resigning. If this is a plan to 'rule the world', it's a really shit one.

Try following some other people for balance. E.g. John Campbell on YouTube.

@MrsArchchancellorRidcully Right okay, we stop testing and poof, it's magic, no covid! Of course the hospitals are still stuffed with people seriously ill and dying from "a respiratory condition"

Idiots on twitter should be ignored.

Tory government destroying the economy for a fake virus?

Nah.

Prof. Mike Yeadon?

He's been proved wrong by this huge second wave and new variant.

.

@MoMuntervary

Corporations and governments are doing badly out of Covid. Industries are losing money hand over fist. Politicians are unpopular, prime ministers resigning. If this is a plan to 'rule the world', it's a really shit one.

Try following some other people for balance. E.g. John Campbell on YouTube.

This made me chuckle. Yes, it's a really shit plan.