The New York Times: Always The Last To Know

Wuhan Flu 42 Comments

One of the most vaccinated societies, Israel now has one of the highest infection rates in the world, raising questions about the vaccine’s efficacy… (paywalled.)

JERUSALEM — Last spring, Israel’s remarkably swift vaccination campaign was seen as a global model. Coronavirus infections plummeted, an electronic pass allowed the vaccinated to attend indoor concerts and sporting events, and distancing rules and mask mandates were eventually scrapped.

Israel offered the world a hopeful glimpse of the way out of the pandemic.

No longer.

A fourth wave of infections is rapidly approaching the levels of Israel’s worst days of the pandemic last winter. The daily rate of confirmed new virus cases has more than doubled in the last two weeks, making Israel a rising hot spot on the international charts.

Restrictions on gatherings and commercial and entertainment venues were reinstated this week, and the government is considering a new lockdown.

“I believe we are at war,” Israel’s coronavirus commissioner, Prof. Salman Zarka, told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday.

Scientists are still assessing how Israel’s pandemic response plunged from shining example to cautionary tale, and the stunning reversal has provided a crucial test for Israel’s new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, who staked a claim for leadership partly on the strength of his manifesto, “How to Beat a Pandemic.”

But some experts fear that Israel’s high rate of infections among early vaccine recipients may indicate a waning of the vaccine’s protections over time, a finding that contributed to a U.S. decision Wednesday to begin offering booster shots to Americans starting next month.

The vaccine may be less effective at preventing infection with the highly contagious Delta variant, now the primary version of the virus in Israel. And the first cohort to be vaccinated was an older group whose immune systems may have been weaker to begin with.

By June, Israelis, convinced the worst was over, had abandoned social distancing and other precautions.

“Everyone went about the business of trying to put the memory of a very difficult year and a half behind them,” said Prof. Ran Balicer, chairman of an expert panel that advises the Israeli government on Covid response.

“At that point in time,” he said, “the paradigm for many was that Israel is the most vaccinated country in the world, that vaccinated people rarely become infected, that even more rarely do they become severely ill and that basically, with very few precautions in place, the population was very close to herd immunity, all things considered. That was not a mistake.”

The problem, he said, was that what was true for the original virus “did not necessarily hold true for future variants coupled with waning immunity.”

The vast majority of Israel’s older population had received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by the end of February, and by now about 78 percent of the population 12 and older are fully vaccinated.

The vaccine is still believed to help prevent severe illness in those who do become infected, though some Israeli data suggests the possibility of an increased risk of severe disease among those who received early vaccinations. The number of deaths in Israel has climbed in the past month as the infection rate increased.

[…]

Data published by Israel’s Ministry of Health in late July suggested that the Pfizer shot was just 39 percent effective against preventing infection in the country in late June and early July, compared with 95 percent from January to early April. In both periods, however, the shot was more than 90 percent effective in preventing severe disease.

Experts warn that these early assessments have not been scientifically proven: The small numbers of cases involved, Israel’s testing policies and a host of other biases could have skewed the results.

Still, as summer approached, infections began to spiral. School was out, families crowded local hotels and up to 40,000 people a day were flying abroad, even as the Delta variant was rampaging across the globe. After many days of zero Covid deaths in June, at least 230 Israelis have died so far this month.

Unlike previous epicenters of infection in Israel’s crowded, less-vaccinated ultra-Orthodox communities, this scourge primarily took hold in well-vaccinated, middle-class suburbs.

But of course they knew. Evidence of the declining vaccine efficacy has only been bubbling through social media platforms for weeks, but to report it might undermine the Democrats best wedge issue against Republicans — mandatory vaccinations and vaccine passports.

Still, why do they even bother suppressing information in an era in which we can pull it up on our own?

Speaking of “last to know” — Those Anti-Covid Plastic Barriers Probably Don’t Help and May Make Things Worse

42 Replies to “The New York Times: Always The Last To Know”

    1. Next week … hairless cats … ~ weird ~ … *guffaw*

      After many days of zero Covid deaths in June, at least 230 Israelis have died so far this month.<.

      Did they die OF COVID? They don’t say.
      Age demographics of the 230? They don’t say
      Co-mirbidities of the 230? They don’t say
      Average number of ALL deaths per month in Israel? They don’t say.

      This is STILL fear porn. Something the NYT loves spreading. And these people are THRILLED that the vaccines don’t work … woo hoo! More masks! More lockdowns! More excuses for Totalitarian CONTROL

      1. Exactly so. Just more fear porn. But this serves a political purpose. The NYT never misses a chance to write something negative about Israel regardless of how they twist the facts. The Times loves spreading fear porn about Israel more than anything.

      1. Gosh, you think so? Most accurate statement I’ve seen today.
        From what I’ve learned, the last while COVID has not been “defined”, even in a court setting and the gene string for it is not published, so then what’s “Delta”then, supposedly derived from COVID? Why then are our boarders compromised and any sort of “refugee”/COVID invader allowed into the country, without restriction, on foot or by air?
        Hmmm? Buehler?
        Another question….those Taliban don’t wear masks. Not a one. Should we be concerned about any Afghans brought into this country then? We don’t seem too concerned with Roxham Road or other sources of external infection, just our own locals. And what, exactly are they infected with then? No piles of dead bodies, or pictures of same at processing centers, just some folks wearing those useless blue masks that don’t block shit. Pure COVID theater AFAIC, promoted by the likes of Dr. Joe Vipond and the NDP/AUPE and other NDP hangers on in Alberta, like Rachel Notley, Ms mask/lockdown/vaccine/COVIDIAN around this town, plus the “education mafia”, any teacher union screeching to mask your kids. And our “police” forces…like 1930’s Germany rounding up the Jews, with the vaxxed howling for the heads of the un-vaxxed.
        It’s not about COVID any more, nor was it initially if you think about it.

    3. Why are so few getting this?: The “vaccines” are CAUSING the Covid symptoms and additional illness. That’s why it’s occurring in countries/areas where injection numbers are high.

  2. “Israel now has one of the highest infection rates in the world, raising questions about the vaccine’s efficacy… ”

    No shite, Sherlock! Who would have thought that an “experimental gene therepy” would not have disasterous side effects or outcomes?

    Almost as if Israel or the Israeli people were picked to see what would happen to a specific group or nation. But then, that would be a conspiracy theory, which I Would loathe being accused of…

  4. Facts and science are saying that those who don t want the covid vaccines are right.

    you have to be delusional to not see that.

  5. So experts are wrong again, shocking.
    The more the vaccines fail the louder they demand everyone gets vaccinated. And the decent into madness continues.

  7. You know folks, it’s acceptable to stake a middle ground on which:

    a) vaccines protect some people some of the time
    b) not all negative developments are “fear porn”.
    c) the NYT is a steaming pile of crap that has to be dragged kicking and screaming to legitimate stories that are counter to the Democrat agenda.

    1. Let’s talk middle ground. I am not judging people that were vaccinated…their choice. Is it too much to ask the same respect from them? They are being encouraged by media and politicians to coerce and threaten and ostracize us.
      And now we read the facts about the jab being ineffective.
      Yes…hooray for NYT for covering info that supports our skepticism. Woop woop…

      1. No. It’s not too much to ask that people respect each others choices. I agree with you completely. I also detest the coercive tactics, and think the reaction is a greater threat than the virus.

        But it isn’t too much to ask that every Covid thread not descend into a sinkhole of brainless kneejerk bumper sticker level comments, either.

  9. “But some experts fear that Israel’s high rate of infections among early vaccine recipients may indicate a waning of the vaccine’s protections over time, ”

    Well that fits with what we know about the coronavirus strains that cause the common cold. That people catch the same strain over and over.

    We have a choice of the CRISPR modified bat virus or the experimental vaccine. We can’t go to some other planet where the Chicoms didn’t let this loose.

  10. A long time Conservative MPP just gave a news conference, that he will not follow Doug Ford’s orders and get vaccinated.

    1. Only one, or just the first …

      I believe that the crack has appeared in the dam. There are currently only a few odd drips, but everybody sees it now.

  12. That’s a nice scary graph you’ve got there. Can we see the ones that should be going with it?

    That would be Hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and Deaths.

    Those “case numbers” are pretty fuzzy, because they depend on a lot of factors that can actually be manipulated (like PCR cycle numbers and whether people were found to be ChiCom Flu “positive” while being treated for other conditions.

    I’m not saying the numbers are BS, just that they aren’t worth much all on their own.

  13. The pharmaceutical companies take a snapshot in time of the virus and develop a vaccine against that specific variant that existed at that moment in time.
    Anyone who gets covid after that moment in time will have a more up to date set of antibodies.

    Why can’t I get an antibody test?

  14. Say, you don’t suppose those folks at the Wusan lab developed this thing do do exactly what it is doing? And the gain of function research was completed. Naaa! That’s crazy talk.

  15. note how it is not among the unvaccinated this is spreading. Rather it is spreading among the vaccinated. Pathogenic priming anyone?

  16. Ya’ll are NOT asking the right question. Not at all. Do they have a high infection rate…sure. What is the death per infection rate per 100k people. That’s the question you should be asking. If you get sick, that sucks. But the Wuhan Virus isn’t generally a killer in and of itself. If you have underlying health issues, yes, you need to worry. But, if you’re over all in good health, you really don’t have much to worry about. As with everything, there are exceptions to the rules.

    What pisses me off about this pandemic that’s not…is that it has affected directly, less than 2% of the worlds population. It has kill for the most part, only those who are elderly or had comorbidities…wrecking national economies for a virus that isn’t much more virulent than the anual flu virus is insane.

    …and yes, I’ve had it. I can’t get any of the vaccines because I contributed plasma, whole blood and antibodies to one of the vaccine makers. Trying to force me into a vaccine that isn’t working as it should for a “passport” when I have natural immunity is criminal.

    2. Yes. We should all be disgusted at this point about how we have been manipulated and deceived

    3. Absolutely… one small thing to add: If you are elderly with co-morbidities you need to worry a very little bit. About as much as you worry about the flu. Sure, take the vaccine if you are elderly with serious diseases, that makes total sense. But for god’s sake don’t stop seeing family and going around wearing a mask 24/7 and living in fear. I’d bet a dollar that the wearing of masks decreases your immune system making you even more vulnerable.

  17. Ignoring Nigeria, Israel is the most over crowded nation on the planet. Higher exposure potential. Carry on.

  18. Here in Alberta the Government even offered million dollar lotteries to entice people to get the Jab

  19. If “boosters” are required 2 or 3 times per year then it’s not really working like a vaccine, is it? All it does is reduce symptoms and even that is now iffy in certain patient demographics.

    If it looks like a therapeutic treatment, sounds like a therapeutic treatment and acts like a therapeutic treatment….then in all likelihood it’s a therapeutic treatment drug.

    Perhaps it’s time to go back to the drawing board and get serious about treatments and approving more traditional types of vaccines.

  20. Over 80% of the population is vaccinated? SMH. I have to tell you…if there ever was a country who I thought would be vaccine hesitant to the nth degree it’d be Israel. Nope. Nuremberg Code? Oy vey!! Dat vas years ago you stupid goy!!!!
    I guess putting them on trains in the 40’s wasn’t exactly herding cats.

    1. There are a whole bunch of laws regarding health in Jewish tradition a lot older than Nuremberg. They include that you cannot live in a place where there is no doctor. So the entire culture tends to be be very trusting of doctors and very health conscience. The Nazis did not use a pandemic to round people up. If they had, you would have seen a lot more vaccine hesitancy. This is a brand new genocidal tactic.

      1. Justin Burch ……. you said ….. “there are a whole bunch of laws regarding health in Jewish tradition”

        You are correct and I would like to add the following info I garnered from many years of studying history ……

        For thousands of years the Jews survived the historical plagues mush better than anyone else …. often they were not affected at all …. which of course gave birth to the conspiracy theory that the Jews were poisoning everybody …… this was one of the roots of antisemitism that still lingers today.

        Turns out the Jews carefully followed religious food laws and cleanliness laws ….. human waste was always outside the camps …. food was cooked and prepared in a sanitary manner , certain foods were prohibited , drink clean water etc.

        Back then nobody knew about germs or bacteria or disease …. today we know that unsanitary conditions among Gentiles allowed plagues to run rampant back then … and they sure did.

        I do not believe in conspiracy theories …. we all know liberals lie , the liberal media lies …. but the biggest liars of all are the inventors of conspiracy theory …. and sadly they are mostly from the political right .

        We can easily prove it …. take the JFK assassination theories … at least 8 of them …. Castro did it ….. the mafia did it …. the Russians did it …. the CIA did it …. the FBI did it …. Lyndon Johnson did it … the industrial military complex did it … Jimmy Hoffa did it …. and then the Warren Commission who said Oswald did it and operated alone.

        Now I make my point …. they cannot all be true …. and if one is true that means all the others are invented fiction. Dont believe them folks.

        I come by my opinions honestly …. I have read the Warren Commission Report … (that is a lot of reading) …. they covered all those things … grassy knoll …. several shooters … pristine bullet …. bullet trajectory …. and resolved them all , they were not fools.

        thanks

        .

  22. “I’m sorry, did we give you the impression that we were ever going to let the crisis end?”

  23. 1. PCR testing merely confirms if someone has the virus in their nostrils. That’s it, that’s all. It doesn’t diagnose if they are sick OR predict if they will get sick. It ALSO does not confirm if someone is infectious.
    2. Mobilizing an army of contact tracers to scour the country for virus particles in peoples’ nostrils is a giant waste of time and taxpayer money. A god damned travesty.
    3. People are NOT dying OF covid. They are dying with the virus particles in their nostrils.
    4. That stupid graph of # of cases will look fucking identical to every other respiratory virus in existence.

    This pandemic is now being driven by large multinational pharmaceutical company lobbyists, our governments, and their bought and paid for media.

    If you want to feel better, go and stomp the shit out of whatever set top box you use to get cable. Take a baseball bat to your car radio (if you have one with no power button like mine) .

  24. .

    I am not Jewish , but have a fondness for the Jewish people and the state of Israel …. they are intelligent and innovative and I admire how they turned the scrub desert of Palestine into a thriving and prosperous nation …. and did it all within 50-80 years.

    Now I make my point ….. over 90% of modern day patents in technology and medicine come out of Israel …. they have many of the top scientists and researchers in the world.

    With that in mind , I am puzzled why they are now having so many problems controlling the virus …. it is not like they are a bunch of disobedient fools …. makes me think what happens to them will happen to everybody …. maybe mankind cannot contain this pandemic like we first thought.

    .

  25. Would I be taking a risk at being called a “conspiracy theorist “ to point out that those individuals and organizations that have always been “pro choice”, pro abortion, pro euthanasia have all flipped and are no so adamantly “pro life “ that they are doing everything they can to save my life!? Really.
    I have some ocean front property in Saskatchewan I’d like to sell you.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_morningbrief/boosters-i-dont-want-your-stinkin-boosters_3956275.html

Proudly powered by WordPress & Skyrocket Themes

MENU

Navigation