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Big Tech, the Death of Medicine, Censorship, and Pregnancy Loss; or, How Covid Ruins Everything
I just got a YouTube notification that a physician I follow, Suneel Dhand, who posted a new video titled “Dr. Peter Doshi Capitol Hill video REMOVED by YouTube.” I had watched the referenced video featuring Dr. Doshi, in which he pointed out the inconsistencies in the arguments used for the current push for vaccine and mask mandates.
Dr. Dhand had shown Dr. Doshi’s video in the context of his own video raising similar concerns. Dr. Dhand is by no means “antivaxx,” but favors a multifaceted approach towards treating and preventing Covid that does not coincide with the one-size-fits-all vaccine or nothing. Dhand has also been a strong proponent of ongoing discussions in the name of scientific rigor, that there is no “settled science.”
To blindly follow what a few people are saying would fly in the face of the most basic of scientific and medical reasoning. However, YouTube removed his video stating it violated community standards. He appealed its removal and received word that they would not budge from their position.
This is one of many videos that has been struck for not following the party line. YouTube is censoring scientists and physicians acting in good faith. I fully understand that YouTube as a private company can do whatever it wants. It does fall under the umbrella of big tech companies that are using their social media presence to censor free speech, and it now extends to censoring genuine scientific debate. Do these companies fall under the heading of monopolies? Do we have any ground to stand on to step in and demand they uphold freedom of speech?
Debate and discussion have been foundational to science and medicine since they became fields of study. It is how these fields grow and develop, through constant reexamination. Instead, we’re seeing science shut down in favor of a narrative that has been chosen by a few. The doctors raising questions about Covid treatments, vaccines, and masking are being silenced regardless of their political bent.
Dr. Vinay Prasad, a self-avowed Progressive, has come out loudly against the label of “misinformation” for anything that doesn’t support the vaccine or nothing position. In fact, after listening to Prasad speak in his videos, one starts to wonder if he really is as progressive as he claims. I’m heartened to see physicians speaking out against censorship and trying to uphold the critical thinking that has been a hallmark of medicine for centuries. I am heartened because my own experience with the physicians I work with has been so disheartening.
When Covid first hit, my hospital, like so many others, shut down elective surgeries and minimized inpatient hospitalization in an effort to stop the spread and keep beds open for the flux of Covid patients that must be on the horizon. My service, cardiothoracic surgery, only did elective cases for lung cancer patients and those with critical heart disease. We went from having 30+ patients on our list at any given time to three or four. The five of us advanced practice providers (PAs and NPs) were repurposed temporarily, and I was sent to manage patients in the Covid ICU alongside our colleagues in critical care and pulmonology. This was a brief sojourn of a few weeks, and we were back to our normal service.
Months later, no longer consistently caring for Covid patients, I asked a few of my colleagues in critical care if they had read any of the literature about Ivermectin, which had just come out as a possible cheap and safe treatment. I was told, “the CDC doesn’t endorse it, so we won’t consider it.” Only one critical care physician had taken the time to read the available literature. I was shocked that the physicians I worked so closely with and trusted would choose to not even read the studies to decide for themselves.
As the months went on, it became increasingly clear that the majority of doctors I work with are not reviewing the literature themselves, but rather going along with whatever the CDC and their colleges/associations say. My favorite doctor, a strong conservative normally suspicious of anything that smacks of collectivism or socialism, told me during surgery one day that I just needed to get the vaccine because “everyone is going to mandate it, and you won’t be able to go anywhere or do anything without being vaccinated, so you might as well get it.” He said this in July after the vaccine mandate was announced at hospitals across my state. I have not gotten the vaccine because I have had Covid, and natural immunity is a thing, despite what the CDC says. I have seen healthy doctors in their thirties lining up to get their Pfizer vaccines and subsequent boosters, despite the fact that Covid has a less than 1% mortality rate for that demographic. I’ve also seen doctors who had native infection roll their sleeves up to get the vaccine afterward.
While we are being beaten over the head to get everyone and their dog vaccinated, only a small group of physicians are talking about risk stratification and mitigation. When the delta strain took over, the headlines in my in-basket from medical email blasts read “Delta variant more likely to kill those under the age of 50” and “Covid deaths amongst young people highlight need to get vaccinated.” Not working in the Covid ICU consistently anymore, I was unsure about these claims. But I started hearing rumblings about the risk factors these young people had that made them susceptible to death from Covid.
I was sitting in the critical care NP office one day when one of my friends in critical care came in to call one of the large tertiary hospitals, trying to see if they would accept the transfer for a 35-year-old woman who was in the Covid ICU maxed out on her ventilator settings and getting worse. “Hi, I’ve got a 35-year-old lady with Covid. She completely maxed out on the vent, and her sats are continuing to drop and she’s increasingly difficult to oxygenate. I was wondering if you guys would be open to putting her on ECMO? She’s pretty healthy, just has diabetes and hypertension … her BMI? 45.”
Ah, there it is. My coworkers and I had noted that the young patients with Covid we were putting on ECMO in a last-ditch effort to save their lives were all very overweight. Not just overweight, but morbidly obese. A five-foot, six-inch woman would have to weigh 250 lbs to reach a BMI of 40. When I surveyed nurses and NPs in the Covid units, they all said the young people that are dying from Covid all have BMIs over 40, and often also have diabetes and hypertension, or other comorbidities.
No one is talking about this. One’s weight, blood sugar, and blood pressure are all things that can be controlled and modified. A study also showed that 97% of those who died from Covid were deficient in vitamin D. Again, something that can be addressed. But no one will talk about these things. Instead, we have vaccine mandates and a singular focus on the vaccines, even though you can still catch and spread Covid after being vaccinated.
The blind following of whatever the CDC says, the abandonment of critical thinking, and the lack of a multifaceted approach to treatment and prevention have almost destroyed my faith in the medical community. In fact, I’m almost to the point of wanting to leave. I’m not blind to the dangers of Covid, not in the least. I experienced a stillbirth in February at 33 weeks gestation. It was caused by a combination of tight nuchal cord and clot in 50% of the placenta leading to placental insufficiency. I was worked up for clotting disorders after I delivered my son, and have none. We do know, however, that Covid has a significant embolic aspect to it. At the time, I read one study that showed an increase in clots in the placentas and umbilical cords of women that had Covid during pregnancy. Even though we know this, OB/GYNs are not treating Covid-positive pregnant women with full or even partial anticoagulation. Of course, I’ll never know, but I wonder if my son would be alive today if my Covid infection had been treated differently.
Next week, Mustangman and I fly back to Portland to spend the first holiday with his family since we moved cross-country. We wanted to get together with our good friends while we’re there. The first question they asked was if we were vaccinated. I told them that Mustangman is, and I had Covid. They will only get together with us if we can find a place that has outdoor heated dining because of my unvaccinated status. They do not believe that natural immunity is a thing when it comes to Covid. We are unsure if we will be able to see our friends. Covid ruins everything.
Published in General
When I mentioned Ivermectin to a friendly physician, normally willing to discuss any medical question outside of her professional focus, she refused to discuss it. All I wanted to know was why a medicine with such long and widespread use would be anathema if it is just a placebo in relation to COVID. No discussion could begin.
I’m ambivalent about seeking a vaccine booster. But I expect some corporate or legal exclusion will force a decision eventually.
I’ve had many friends that have gotten the booster that are having worsening reactions with each shot. I’m suspicious that it’s the result of antibody dependent enhancement. You’re young and healthy, I guess you have to decide if you really need a booster for something with such a low mortality rate for yourself demographic.
Terrific post. It’s always good to hear accounts of life within the medical world that aren’t simply PSAs designed to peddle the established narrative. Thank you.
If an already existing drug might help, why not try it? If it doesn’t work, was anything really lost? Maybe it is not effective but the reaction to even suggesting it is over the top. You know, weirdos taking horse dewormers.
And now I see Pfizer wants emergency approval for a new COVID treatment pill. Effectiveness and side-effects are unknown at this point, but it will likely get the green light. I’m not one of those big-dharma conspiracy theory types but . . .
Oh my gosh I’m so sorry…
Sorry about your son, but glad to see you back.
I’m so sorry about your loss. There are a couple connected to our church who I believe would still be alive today if their doctors had immediately started them on Ivermectin or something — anything — once they tested positive for COVID, instead of “Stay home and rest, call us when you can’t breathe.” Well, by that time it’s usually too late. I mean, if it’s as serious as they keep telling us it is, why are we not treating it seriously? Why do they tell us on one hand it’s a very dangerous infection, and on the other act like it’s a bad cold? “Have some chicken soup and stay hydrated!”
I didn’t used to be, but after the last couple years, I certainly am.
That is truly horrible. I am so sorry.
This is my big fear for my sister in law, who was already dealing with long COVID, and then got the shot, and now is getting worse. She doesn’t attribute it to the shot, though. And she’s anxious to get her booster, and I keep thinking I need to hold an intervention and make her STOP. But she lives in fear of getting COVID again. I think that’s why every time my wife suggests coming for a visit, she kind of puts her off. (No we haven’t gotten shot. We earned our immunity the old fashioned way.)
I have been repositioning myself in my approach to medical care. As an adult I’ve only been sick, pneumonia and flu, less than a half-dozen times and never hospitalized except once while in the military. I’ve been very disappointed in how the various elements in the medical community have capitulated to the authoritarians and lots or maybe even most doctors not even questioning the mandates. I would say the young generations better figure out how to handle their own general healthcare because most everything one gets from the medical community now is procedural. If you don’t know what is wrong or what is needed you’re in trouble.
My general view is “What’s the worst that can happen?” I suppose I could die, but I’m going to do that in any case.
NO- they have finished the phase III trial- so your contention that effectiveness and side effects are unknown is UNTRUE. That is what phase III trials are for…
How long do Phase III trials ordinarily take, and how long did these take?
I’m sorrier than I can say to read this news in the midst of an informative and helpful article. Thank you for taking the time. xoxo
I hear ya. If I had not planned to retire in November of last year, I think I would have still left nursing. Especially since the hospital I worked for is in the UNC system and they are all in with the CDC. Got to toe the line. I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your son. Prayers to you and Mustangman.
As far as your friends go, the news has people so amped up still they think they are all gonna die if they get it.
I miss your posts.
My thought is the healthcare industry is taking on some of the attributes of the corporate world in general in response to the “woke” movement. The herd instinct is at work here, and very few are willing to stick their head up and be seen as out of step with the crowd, lest it affect their relationships with peers and with professional associations.
100%!
I think my wife was saved from the ER and anything more serious only because our nurse neighbor cared enough to check in often, provide advice about temperature, pulse, and oxygen levels (along with a pulse/ox device), advice about activity and movement, and a list of immune boosting supplements. Anything beyond “take tylenol and ibuprofen and call us if you can’t breathe or if you have a persistent fever”, never to hear from the doctors office again. Do they care if my wife worsened or not? What if she wasn’t physically able to call? Too bad for her I guess. It would have been nice to have a little advice from our doctor on how best to provide sufficient nursing on my own since the doctor or his staff certainly weren’t going to provide anything like that. Thank God for good friends and neighbors.
I already wanted to find a new doctor, but now it’s vital. I just don’t even know how to proceed, though. As I start seeing new doctors, one screening test I’ll use is what they think about me waiting for long term analysis and testing before taking the vaccine.
VC, at last count, we were your friends. Come and visit us! You are always welcome here.
What we know:
A. Effectiveness:
The scheduled interim analysis showed an 89% reduction in risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization or death from any cause compared to placebo in patients treated within three days of symptom onset (primary endpoint); 0.8% of patients who received PAXLOVID™ were hospitalized through Day 28 following randomization (3/389 hospitalized with no deaths), compared to 7.0% of patients who received placebo and were hospitalized or died (27/385 hospitalized with 7 subsequent deaths)…Similar reductions in COVID-19-related hospitalization or death were observed in patients treated within five days of symptom onset; 1.0% of patients who received PAXLOVID™ were hospitalized through Day 28 following randomization (6/607 hospitalized, with no deaths), compared to 6.7% of patients who received a placebo (41/612 hospitalized with 10 subsequent deaths), with high statistical significance (p<0.0001). In the overall study population through Day 28, no deaths were reported in patients who received PAXLOVID™ as compared to 10 (1.6%) deaths in patients who received placebo.
B. Safety:
The review of safety data included a larger cohort of 1881 patients in EPIC-HR, whose data were available at the time of the analysis. Treatment-emergent adverse events were comparable between PAXLOVID™ (19%) and placebo (21%), most of which were mild in intensity. Among the patients evaluable for treatment-emergent adverse events, fewer serious adverse events (1.7% vs. 6.6%) and discontinuation of study drug due to adverse events (2.1% vs. 4.1%) were observed in patients dosed with PAXLOVID™ compared to placebo, respectively.
https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizers-novel-covid-19-oral-antiviral-treatment-candidate
the trial was terminated b/c of the obvious effectiveness of the drug -all patients included were followed for 28+ days
Yes, we do not know for SURE that there are not possible long term side effects form a short course of paxlovid (THE HORROR!)-but many millions of people are on LONGTERM protease inhibitors at present-so the odds are quite small.
BTW -I had to take a 28 day course of more than one protease inhibitor (d/t an accidental needle stick from an HIV patient). While I did not like the side effects (no doubt worsened b/c I also took 2 other anti-HIV drugs at the same time)-it did not curve my spine, blow my mind, nor did it lose the war for the allies….but it may have prevented my from getting AIDS & for that I am truly grateful.
Yep. I’m in the same boat with my doctor. After many of his statements over the last year, it’s clear to me that I need to find a new one, and I don’t even know where to start. But I will be asking certain screening questions.
VC, good to see you here again; it seems like it’s been a long time. First, I’m so very sorry for your and Mustangman’s loss. It’s beyond terrible to lose a baby so late in gestation.
It seems like we travel in different medical circles because my experiences are far different from yours. One thing, though, primary care docs often can’t stay up to date on everything and rely heavily on recommendations from CDC and professional associations. That’s just plain the reality of modern medicine. You should receive a very different response from the infectious disease docs, which is as it should be. Of course, natural immunity is a thing. It’s a bit of a squishy thing, though, as antibody production during infection varies wildly. The recommendation of one vaccine around 6 weeks to 6 months after infection seems to result in the best over-all and long-term coverage.
Covid outcomes in pregnancy–both for the disease itself and the pregnancy–are far worse than the vaccine. I recommend the vaccine to both males and females in the childbearing years because the risks during pregnancy, and decreases in sperm production, are increased with infection. As far as treating pregnant women with anticoagulants, even facing covid, I suspect concerns about hemorrhage or stroke might outweigh the possible benefits. Hard to know and OB/GYN is far from my area.
A 1 in 100 fatality rate is actually pretty high, as the all cause fatality rate in the age range you reference (25-44 years) is usually about 1/10 of that. I think those docs may understand something you don’t. There’s a reason physicians have a 96% vaccination rate and, no, docs aren’t generally known as “sheep-like.” Sleep deprived, overworked, and tired, sure. And that’s increasing throughout healthcare as more and more opt for retirement and staffing shortages make all of it worse in a very nasty spiral.
But, back to covid. With a vaccine-preventable disease with limited treatment prospects, vaccine does seem to make the most sense. We have few treatments for viruses, despite decades of work. The anti-viral armamentarium includes treatment for influenza, HIV, and herpes. There are some immune-enhancing drugs with efficacy against hepatitis. Other than that, supportive care and hope that the body fights it off. Or prevention, in which case vaccines are still the best approach. And yes, treatment prospects for covid remain limited. Neither ivermectin nor hydroxychloroquine are or were wonder drugs. They do have anti-inflammatory effects, so relief of symptoms–particularly in people who were going to get better anyhow–gives an appearance of efficacy (same happens with macrolides like azithromycin against respiratory infections). The same thing was seen (and reported) with aspirin. Motrin, too, I’m sure.
You mention the younger people with high-risk status, ie. obesity, diabetes, hypertension. First of all, that’s not rapidly changeable. Secondly, despite those risks, the 5-10 year survival probability of a 30-35 year-old with those issues is significant. We’re not looking at 95 year-olds with multiple problems with covid being the last straw that kicked their bucket. Dismissing death and serious disease in young to middle aged people because of such “comorbidities” doesn’t give covid its due as a potentially extremely serious infection.
I’m at work and have been writing this response since around comment 4, so I apologize if I covered something someone else did before this actually posts.
How do you know it wasn’t responsible for Afghanistan?
I think this process will be difficult for many. I was fortunate to be referred by a family member to a friend, an MD who had recently left after more than 20 years working and teaching at a hospital. She opened a concierge practice along with a number of health related services (exercise is an example). She doesn’t take Medicare, her choice, because it is too much of a burden. My recent experience with GP’s using Medicare has been pretty much of no value, not even for appropriate referrals because they can’t even figure out what is needed.
How can any one of us determine whether a medical issue is being considered scientifically or not?
Quite easily.
If full discussion of the issue is not allowed, it is definite that the issue is being used for monetary gain combined with a need for control over a population.
I find it of interest that this week the tide against the “anti-COV-vax” crowd may be turning.
CNN business news reported today that one way employers have found to successfully recruit the employees they need is to advertise that the position does not require COV vaccinations.
You omitted the fact that the people are probably either being lied to or fed deliberate deception. How else can we explain the initial lie about fifteen days to flatten the curve. This was ostensibly to ease the hospital burden. The pandemic itself has never been any worse than anticipated and known about at the beginning. Notice the recent change in the viewpoint of party politicians towards the corporate powers that be, a complete reversal. We can tell who the fascists are.
How do these differ?
There are several reasons why people might choose to suppress dissenting viewpoints and enforce a consensus narrative, not all of which involve money or the accumulation of power. Some people — unfortunately, a seemingly increasing number of people — just think it’s good to prevent bad ideas from gaining currency. They have little faith in the ability of normal people to critically evaluate opposing viewpoints, and they want to save them the trouble and the risk of perhaps deciding wrongly.
I reject that kind of elitism, and believe restriction of the free exchange of ideas is the single most important challenge we face right now. Unfortunately, proponents of censorship and thought control have various motives, some of which sound — and perhaps are, in a sense — noble.
As far as lies and deception: Info Wars had the catchy headline last Friday that: “The worst thing about the fifteen days to flatten the curve was the first two years!”
That is all on Joe…