BC CATEGORY C19
Saved by @vliscony

A brief tutorial in health education to show you how sound health education models have been used for manipulation instead of creating health awareness during the COVID 19 pandemic. We'll uses masks as an example of a health behavior.
Are you ready to explore? 1/n

 The Health Belief Model (HBM) consists of 5 components: perceived threat (lethality + Susceptibility),
perceived benefits,
perceived barriers and
cues to action.

Familiarise yourself with the definition of each concept in this table. 2/n
https://t.co/1tOz1cJFvc
Study this diagram to understand how the components are interrelated. 3/n
https://t.co/iUoaqNkgyP
Now let’s apply this to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Review this diagram to see how the HBM applies to the behaviour of mask-wearing.
“perceived susceptibility appeared to be the most significant factor determining compliance” 4/n
https://t.co/xF6uwUx12N
Part I: The HBM
Increase the perceived threat of a disease
1) increase perceived severity: Confusing the general public with CFR & IFR- 2 indicators that are an order of magnitude apart.
People understood wrongly that the fatality rate of C19 is 3.4%.
5/n
https://t.co/gxyEd0E9H0
2) Increase perceived susceptibility:
People were told that this virus is 'novel' and we are all immuno-naive to it and thus all susceptible. 6/n
https://t.co/C6ySpWQTw7
Both of these elements increase the perceived threat. So now the entire population feels threatened by a disease that is in fact only harmful to the very few (mostly the elderly with comorbidities). Fear is rampant at this point. 7/n
3) Increase perceived benefits: make people believe that masks can protect them and protect their loved ones
a) Recommendations by authoritative figures such as WHO ...
8/n
https://t.co/rdaMdtA2P3
and the CDC that listed studies with unsound methodologies on their website to support the benefits of wearing masks, such as the 2 hairdressers study!
9/n
https://t.co/8PUPrd3axu
b) create public acceptance through expert endorsements like Dr Tedros, Dr Fauci, and Dr Birx.
(I know what you are looking at. Give him a break. His perceived threat is low.) 10/n
a) another benefit is the avoidance of negative events
avoid stares and harassments by others (fitting in)
avoid being reported on. 11/n
https://t.co/d7UAAMxVgZ
avoid fines and being harassed by the police
12/n
https://t.co/yh51hCRgxG
4) Decrease perceived barriers:
a) increase the accessibility of masks by increasing their supply and promoting cloth masks as an option
13/n
https://t.co/MXNaQHuY06
b) reduce the sense of embarrassment from wearing maks =>turn them into a fashion statement
for women... you are sexy
for men... you are strong
for teens... you are cool
for kids ... you are cute
14/n
4) cues to action:
a) voice reminders in public places & signs in shops and public spaces
15/n
b) Using celebrities to promote masks
16/n
https://t.co/krwsfivfec
c) AD campaigns playing on emotions.
17/n
(FYI: Big budgets behind AD campaigns...) 18/n
Videos playing on emotions 19/n
https://t.co/NPN6S2pjdd
And to my utter disappointment, my favourite superheroine also participated in this...
20/n
https://t.co/cWKoGzW8Hk
=> the outcome of the analysis of perceived benefit minus the perceived barriers within the context of perceived threat determines the likelihood of engaging in the desired behaviour 21/n
Part II: Why is this a manipulation?
1) The severity was exaggerated
The fatality rate is much lower than initially insinuated by WHO. The median IFR (Infection fatality rate) is 0.23%.
22/n
https://t.co/fonxVwW9rE
2) The susceptibility was exaggerated

We are not all susceptible to the virus. SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID 19) is closely related to SARS-CoV (2003 epidemic). Many people might have pre-existing immunity that will protect them from this not-so-novel virus. 23/n
NIH reports:
“the evidence that a subset of people has a cross-reactive T cell repertoire through exposure to related coronaviruses is strong.“ 24/n
https://t.co/wQzeAWkKg5
3) Public health is never coercive. People are given accurate unbiased information about risks & benefits then respected to make their own decisions. In this case, people were given misleading information then mandated to abide by certain behaviours. 25/n
4) The health behaviour in question is not even shown to lead to the claimed benefit

“It would appear that despite two decades of pandemic preparedness, there is considerable uncertainty as to the value of wearing masks.” @carlheneghan @CebmOxfo 26/n
https://t.co/Eo7n9CVzB5
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health review:
"wearing facemasks to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is not recommended for individuals in the community without respiratory symptoms who are not in near contact with people who are known to be infected." 27/
https://t.co/iggSJjRDV0
from the same review...
“200 000 people would need to wear facemasks to prevent one new infection per week in the current epidemiological situation." 28/n
“we did not find evidence that surgical-type face masks are effective in reducing laboratory-confirmed influenza transmission, either when worn by infected persons (source control) or by persons in the general community to reduce their susceptibility.”-CDC
https://t.co/ulazJvURSI
“At present, there is no direct evidence (from studies on COVID19 and in healthy people in the community) on the effectiveness of universal masking of healthy people in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses, including C19.”- WHO 30/n
https://t.co/zdAsllF1vv
5) Mixed messaging from authoritative bodies such as the WHO & CDC recommending masks for the general public on their social media & websites but then publishing reviews that the public will not dig out saying that there is a lack of evidence to support mask mandates. 31/n

More from Abir Ballan 😊

Abir Ballan \U0001f60a
Abir Ballan 😊
@abirballan
"If you then discovered that the majority of the committee members had financial interests in the drug being developed, how would you feel?" 1/n
@zoeharcombe @RosemaryFreiTO @simondolan @Francis_Hoar @BreesAnna @toadmeister @NeilClark66 @allisonpearson

#KBF
"The advice was stay home if you’re sick, wash your hands, protect the vulnerable, most people will have a mild illness, wearing face masks is “usually quite a bad idea“, & “big gatherings don’t have a big effect so we don’t want to disrupt people’s lives.” 2/n

"1) Organisations invested in vaccines make money from vaccines. If people acquire natural immunity, they have reduced or no need for a vaccine and thus the potential gain for the vaccine company is reduced." 3/n

"2) Locking people in their homes and other lockdown measures will reduce the number of people who acquire natural immunity." 4/n

"The notable exception was that @neil_ferguson resigned from the SAGE committee when it became known (on 5th May) that he had broken lockdown rules" 5/n
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Abir Ballan
Abir Ballan
@abirballan
A little experiment explaining how scientists, doctors and academics have learned not to speak out the truth.
It all starts with 5 monkeys... 1/n


The Five Monkeys Experiment

"An experimenter puts 5 monkeys in a large cage. High up at the top of the cage, well beyond the reach of the monkeys, is a bunch of bananas. Underneath the bananas is a ladder." 2/n


"The monkeys immediately spot the bananas and one begins to climb the ladder. As he does, however, the experimenter sprays him with a stream of cold water. Then, he proceeds to spray each of the other monkeys."
3/n


"The monkey on the ladder scrambles off. And all 5 sit for a time on the floor, wet, cold, and bewildered. Soon, though, the temptation of the bananas is too great, and another monkey begins to climb the ladder." 4/n


"Again, the experimenter sprays the ambitious monkey with cold water and all the other monkeys as well. When a third monkey tries to climb the ladder, the other monkeys, wanting to avoid the cold spray, pull him off the ladder and beat him." 5/n
LIFE
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Abir Ballan
Abir Ballan
@abirballan
I disagree with you, Alastair. I believe @PanData19 is filling in the gaps that governments have failed to fill. I encourage you to have an open mind and listen intently to what we have to say. 1/n


Here’s how @PanData19 is approaching this crisis differently from governments:
We believe that "health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."- @WHO 2/n

To tackle the problem holistically, we have formed a multidisciplinary team made up of immunologist, microbiologist, geneticists, data scientists, physicians, economist, psychologists, educators, public health professionals and business owners. 3/n

We have also backed ourselves with a scientific advisory board made up of prominent experts in their fields.
@MartinKulldorff
@SunetraGupta
@MLevitt_NP2013
@MichaelYeadon3
#JayBhattacharya
#SucharitBhakdi
They are supporting us every step of the way. 4/n

We believe that "the right to health is one of a set of internationally agreed human rights standards, and is inseparable or ‘indivisible’ from these other rights.” @WHO 5/n
HEALTH
Abir Ballan \U0001f60a
Abir Ballan 😊
@abirballan
MUST

Tedros says something all member states who are part of the WHO have to obey by law

@11:00 Bill Gates requested to be part of the executive board like a member state

Swiss medics (the FDA of Switzerland) has signed a contract with Bill Gates and WHO

@16:00 GAVI has qualified diplomatic immunity and they don’t pay taxes since 2009

@25:00 pandemic and herd immunity definition changed
CATEGORY C19
Abir Ballan \U0001f60a
Abir Ballan 😊
@abirballan
I have just received information about a family that has locked up their child at home in isolation because she complained of some aches in her body. They suspected the child as having C19. She was tested and after a couple of days, the test came out negative. 1/n

The girl has already been in isolation for 4 days. Now they are waiting to do another PCR test today to check again because they fear that the first test was done too early and it didn't detect covid. So this little girl will remain in isolation for at least another 24 hrs. 2/n

This is idiocy. Insanity. Ignorance. Cruelty. Simply a crime against children.
The stupid fear and the stupid policies are driving parents to abuse their children. 3/n

Children are not the main source of C19 transmission.

"transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from children under 14 years of age was minimal in primary schools"
SOCIETY

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Michael P Senger
Michael P Senger
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1/ Thread – LOCKDOWNS – WHAT WE'VE DONE

My work is sometimes criticized for not discussing the merits of lockdown—perhaps even exculpating western leaders by blaming the CCP. Others know better. This thread is for the victims of lockdown, the greatest crime of the 21st century.


2/ Over 60% of business closures from lockdown are now permanent—over 97,000 businesses lost in the U.S. That “leaders” across the world transformed into tyrants, believing they had a right to bankrupt their subjects, is the core evil of

3/ Nearly half of black-owned small businesses have been wiped

4/ Unemployment in the U.S. reached as high as 14.7% and highways have jammed with thousands of vehicles awaiting their turn at food

5/ Nearly 5% of the population of the U.K. went hungry during the first three weeks of lockdown.
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Bobby Rajesh Malhotra \u30c4
Bobby Rajesh Malhotra ...
@Bobby_Network
Today we peek inside the current situation in Israel: how Netanyahu sold his people to Pfizer/BioNTech & Co, conducting mass-experiments on the populace, dividing the nation into a two-class society with a 𝓖𝖗𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝓟𝖆𝖘𝖘-push, thus entirely ignoring the Nuremberg Code.
⬇️


2/: 18th November 2020:

Israel’s health officials were desperate.

@Pfizer announced: Their vaccine was “95% effective VS COVID-19".

Israel had ordered millions of doses from @moderna_tx & @AstraZeneca, the @Pfizer/@BioNTech_Group-miracle cure was missing in their stock.


3/: How did Israel subsequently acquire an estimated four to five million doses of the Pfizer miracle in Dec 2020- enough to vaccinate at least two million people in Israel? Netanyahu wanted to outdo himself and show that he could single-handedly save the nation, thus the world.


4/: Meanwhile Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed had highest priority in the US, @netanyahu & Trump held secret negotiations w/ all major manufacturers at the same time. Both failed to disclose in their campaigns: COVID-19 mRNA-vaccines are experimental.

5/: @Pfizer/@BioNTech_Group & @moderna_tx mRNA vaccines (better call them gene therapies) haven’t yet completed phase 3 clinical trials.
Both mRNA miracle cures haven't been licensed by the @US_FDA, approved for “Emergency Use Authorization” (EUA) only.
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David Thunder
David Thunder
@davidjthunder
—TAKEAWAY LESSONS FROM PANDEMIC 2020-21: A THREAD—

Below, a few basic lessons I have drawn, as a political philosopher and informed citizen who has made it my business to closely follow political, social, economic, clinical, & epidemiological aspects of the pandemic:

1/ Most mainstream journalists cannot be relied upon to critically uncover, & impartially convey, the facts surrounding a complex & unfolding crisis. If you watch RTE, BBC, or CNN, you are fed naively one-sided stories laced with fear-mongering, misleading use of statistics, etc.

2/ If you wish to inform yourself about a public crisis like this pandemic, you must find commentators who have limited access to mainstream media, good credentials, & arguments that consider a wide range of available evidence. You need to be pro-active about diversifying sources

3/ Reliance by govts upon advisory committees with a clearly one-sided take on the pandemic (eg suppression at all cost) has led to catastrophic outcomes. Govts must diversify their scientific sources & encourage ROBUST scientific debate among their advisors.

4/ Hyper-centralised management of public health is ineffective. Decision-making power must be decentralised so that it can adapt quickly to local conditions. Care homes were badly hurt by top-down mandates that were sluggishly responsive to evolving conditions on the ground.
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Howard Steen
Howard Steen
@HowardSteen4
1/n Presenting Part One of my second trilogy (following the 2020 Lockdown Trilogy) in my Cartoon series:

“The War of the Worlds & Age of Extinction Cometh – The Transformers of MolBiol”

A comprehensive guide of the imagery found in this canvas is contained in this thread:


2/n Starting at the upper RH part of the image and moving from right to left, one first sees the “Three Witches of Molbiol” riding on a Trojan Horse. The three witches (ref: Macbeth) are depicted as enablers of the crisis via their mischief = misuse of molecular biology.


3/n Let us start with the arguably fake Prof. Drosten who heads the Charité Institute in Berlin. Drosten led work to develop a first PCR test protocol for SARS-CoV-2 published by @Eurosurveillanc in record time and promoted by WHO as a ‘gold standard’.


4/n Had Drosten done his work honestly and produced a test capable of detecting the SARS-CoV-2 entity, all might be well today, but he did not. His manifest scientific failings and problems with conflicts of interest are fully documented in here:

5/n Of course Drosten could not have carried off this piece of MolBiol sleight of hand all on his own. He needed accomplices & global support. A key European ‘witch’ was Dutch based @MarionKoopmans , a co-author of the Corman-Drosten scientific paper.
CATEGORY C19
David Thunder
David Thunder
@davidjthunder
—SOME QUESTIONS A GOOD JOURNALIST MIGHT ASK POLITICIANS & PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITIES: A THREAD—

1/ Why has the government NEVER undertaken a comprehensive impact assessment before approving & re-approving highly intrusive & costly lockdowns?

2/ Why has the govt not been fast-tracking safe, inexpensive, & effective drugs like #Ivermectin for early intervention, when Ivermectin has shown excellent results in clinical trials & would likely substantially reduce the rate of Covid hospitalisation & death?

3/ Why are you toying with the idea of a vaccine passport when we know that the vast majority of travelers run minimal risk from Covid-19, most serious cases occur among elderly & ill patients, & therefore it is sufficient if at risk patients take the vaccine?

4/ Are you familiar with the Nuremberg Code (1947) on permissible medical experiments & its protection of the right of patients to give informed consent to medical experiments? How is penalizing those who refuse a novel vaccine compatible with this

5/ So far, regions with harsh lockdowns & universal mask mandates are NOT avoiding spikes in infections, hospitalisation, & deaths, & performing comparably to non-lockdown, non-mask regimes. Why have you made no change in your policies in light of their demonstrable futility?
CATEGORY C19

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sriram 🇮🇳...
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Saptapadi

The most essential rite (Sanskrit: rītī) of a Hindu marriage ceremony is Saptapadi (English: seven steps, saptapadī). Saptapadi is a Sanskrit term that means "seven steps." The wedded couple walks seven steps after tying the Mangalsutra, which is known as Saptapadi.


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Hindu wedding rituals: During Saath Phere, the bride and groom exchange their marital vows while circumambulating (walking around) the sacred fire seven times.


This is because the bride and groom exchange marriage vows and hope for a happy married life together.

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#talesofkrishna https://t.co/E85MTPkF9W


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#KrishnaLeela


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Dhruva protested questioning his step mother "why can't i sit on my own father's lap?" A furious Suruchi berated him saying "only God can allow him that privilege. Go ask him"
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1/OK, I should really write another thread about university-centric regional development, because I think people often make some (very understandable) mistakes when thinking about this issue.

2/The biggest myth, I think, is that universities help regions by educating locals as undergraduates.

Skeptics of universities say: "But most of the people who graduate end up leaving."

3/In fact, most of what a university does for a regional economy is NOT about educating local kids.

Educating local kids is good for the nation, but doesn't help a region much.

The way a university helps a region is through

4/Undergraduates usually leave town after graduation.

But university RESEARCH pulls in OTHER smart people from other regions, and they stay there.

Here's a paper showing that this is the main way universities increase a region's human capital:

5/Research also pulls in business investment.

Companies want to partner with university labs, so they can commercialize the technologies the labs produce. So they invest in the labs, and sometimes they even put their offices in the town.
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