Real Public Health Risks

 

covid versus public healthTwo people-watching episodes this past week brought into focus the real crisis in public health. WuFlu is not a public health crisis, in itself. Rather the grossly politicized exploitation of this novel respiratory disease virus, in service of the lab coat left system, advocated by Woodrow Wilson in the late 1890s and starkly warned of in President Eisenhower’s farewell address, has corrupted and effectively silenced real public health advocacy. Consider two real public health perennial campaigns, largely lost in the noise of COVID exploitation.

I was in my local veteran’s organization canteen (bar) last weekend, having counted the money and updated the bookkeeping. A woman in her 40s had a cough. Her comment: “it is just a smoker’s cough.” That statement called to mind a much younger veteran, a man in his late 20s, coming in after the previous night’s partying with a heavy cough as he went to the cigarette machine for another pack. We have known, since at least the late 1950s, that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer and a host of other very unpleasant long-term ailments. COPD, anyone? Listen to old-time radio and you will hear the cigarette companies in the late 1940s, early 1950s, assuring you that doctors attested that their customers experienced no throat irritation from smoking their product.

This brings to mind the much larger scope of 75 years or more of public health real science about heart disease, lung disease, and cancer prevention and treatment. Screening and early treatment have long been the message, grounded in real medical statistics. Yet, we saw a vile lab coat leftist bureaucrat, Anthony Fraudci, stand real public health on its head, stopping preventive care for critical months and hyping fear to his tiny bailiwick’s benefit.

Indeed, when the young, Black man serving as Surgeon General dared bring up the truth of obesity and associated diseases making people much more vulnerable to severe cases of respiratory diseases, including COVID-19, Fraudci and a confederate in the White House Press Corps emasculated him on the spot. That ended any chance of a real public health campaign, holistically addressing the novel virus and the contributing factors to mortality. I saw the absurd result just the other day, coming out of a Dollar Tree store.

A young grandmother and her little granddaughter were coming out of the store with balloons to take to a birthday party at the pizza place next door. Both were wearing the medically ineffective cloth face-coverings Fraudci has lied about for the past two years. The little girl was of normal weight. The woman was short and very broad in the beam. Indeed, there were easily four women moving in rough coordination, held together in one synthetic fiber outfit. Had Fraudci and his confederates not successfully conspired over the past two years, that woman’s bulk might well have been reduced by half already.

Instead, she still relied on a little piece of cloth to protect her from what will likely be a very serious illness, should she catch any significant respiratory ailment. She was going to take the cloth off to shovel pizza slices and guzzle soda. Feel free to point us to Fraudci and the rest of the lab-coat left using every occasion to push the holistic public health response that could have made the difference in that woman’s life.

Published in General
This post was promoted to the Main Feed by a Ricochet Editor at the recommendation of Ricochet members. Like this post? Want to comment? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

There are 30 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    I cannot get an appointment for a mammogram, because the clinic is short of staff.  Our local walk-in clinic is closed for the same reason.  In spite of the 100% masking requirement for all medical facilities in our state, employees are still getting Covid (and they are 100% fully vaccinated, too, due to state mandate).  What the hell is wrong with this picture?  Only everything!

    • #1
  2. Hans Gruber Pfizer President Inactive
    Hans Gruber Pfizer President
    @Pseudodionysius

    https://rumble.com/vtdx0q-dr-ryan-cole-on-why-not-all-antibodies-are-created-equal.html

    • #2
  3. drlorentz Member
    drlorentz
    @drlorentz

    Clifford A. Brown: Instead, she still relied on a little piece of cloth to protect her from what will likely be a very serious illness, should she catch any significant respiratory ailment.

    Masks create a false sense of safety, which leads to risk compensation. To the extent that this woman is at a significant increased risk from the WuFlu because of obesity, her amulet mask allows her to forget that. If she lost one of those four women, it would do a heck of a lot more good than wearing a dunce cap on her face.

    • #3
  4. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Clifford, here in FL seeing women especially who are grossly overweight is a daily occurrence. Having grown up in an overweight family, I’ve seen the struggle with food firsthand. I believe that unless these people are literally prepared to change their lives (and they haven’t been persuaded yet), even the threat of a disease won’t help them. After all the disease will pass (or become endemic). I don’t think a campaign through public health will help. The information about obesity is readily available. I wish I were wrong.

    • #4
  5. Sandy Member
    Sandy
    @Sandy

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Clifford, here in FL seeing women especially who are grossly overweight is a daily occurrence. Having grown up in an overweight family, I’ve seen the struggle with food firsthand. I believe that unless these people are literally prepared to change their lives (and they haven’t been persuaded yet), even the threat of a disease won’t help them. After all the disease will pass (or become endemic). I don’t think a campaign through public health will help. The information about obesity is readily available. I wish I were wrong.

    Since we have never really tried a serious public health campaign against obesity I suggest we don’t know whether it might work. It would be very difficult to conduct a good campaign, however, what with the certainty of charges of “fat-shaming,” and the financial interests of some sectors of the processed food industry. 

    • #5
  6. drlorentz Member
    drlorentz
    @drlorentz

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Clifford, here in FL seeing women especially who are grossly overweight is a daily occurrence. Having grown up in an overweight family, I’ve seen the struggle with food firsthand. I believe that unless these people are literally prepared to change their lives (and they haven’t been persuaded yet), even the threat of a disease won’t help them. After all the disease will pass (or become endemic). I don’t think a campaign through public health will help. The information about obesity is readily available. I wish I were wrong.

    “The disease will pass” is not the thinking of the mask-obsessed Karens who haunt our cities and towns. These people have changed their lives, from compulsive hand sanitizing to vaccine bullying. This crazy energy can be redirected towards weight reduction. The main obstacle is the fat-acceptance culture promoted by the media. Thank feminism for that. 

    Just imagine if there were a smoking-acceptance culture in which “cigarette shaming” was considered unacceptable. In this world, physicians would hesitate to advise people to stop smoking even if they had respiratory issues. What do you think would happen to the prevalence of smoking, in spite of the ready availability of information on the risks?

    • #6
  7. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    Sandy (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Clifford, here in FL seeing women especially who are grossly overweight is a daily occurrence. Having grown up in an overweight family, I’ve seen the struggle with food firsthand. I believe that unless these people are literally prepared to change their lives (and they haven’t been persuaded yet), even the threat of a disease won’t help them. After all the disease will pass (or become endemic). I don’t think a campaign through public health will help. The information about obesity is readily available. I wish I were wrong.

    Since we have never really tried a serious public health campaign against obesity I suggest we don’t know whether it might work. It would be very difficult to conduct a good campaign, however, what with the certainty of charges of “fat-shaming,” and the financial interests of some sectors of the processed food industry.

    Yes, we saw the mere hint of such a campaign shut down by the Democrats’ media wing and Fraudci in the spring of 2020. It would have to be a persistent campaign along the lines of the long anti-cigarette and chewing tobacco campaigns.

    • #7
  8. drlorentz Member
    drlorentz
    @drlorentz

    This article in The Federalist tangentially touches on the obesity issue as part of a larger point about the celebration of ugliness:

    For instance, “body positivity” concluded rightly that women of all shapes and sizes should recognize their self-worth. The movement wrongly swung to the extreme of glorifying obesity, such as on the cover of Cosmo and every other major women’s magazine and advertisement. Here’s obese star Lizzo celebrating more weight gain.

    • #8
  9. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Sandy (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Clifford, here in FL seeing women especially who are grossly overweight is a daily occurrence. Having grown up in an overweight family, I’ve seen the struggle with food firsthand. I believe that unless these people are literally prepared to change their lives (and they haven’t been persuaded yet), even the threat of a disease won’t help them. After all the disease will pass (or become endemic). I don’t think a campaign through public health will help. The information about obesity is readily available. I wish I were wrong.

    Since we have never really tried a serious public health campaign against obesity I suggest we don’t know whether it might work. It would be very difficult to conduct a good campaign, however, what with the certainty of charges of “fat-shaming,” and the financial interests of some sectors of the processed food industry.

    A government propaganda campaign never has the effect the propagandists desire.  Yes, people should know about it, but not through government messaging. 

    • #9
  10. Mad Gerald Coolidge
    Mad Gerald
    @Jose

    I agree that obesity is a real public health risk. There are many causes of it, and not all of them are by choice.  I’ve mentioned before that genetics can be a determining factor – see the prevalence of obesity among Pacific Islanders. 

    Why has such an incredible effort been made to push mRNA vaccines, and such a small effort to fight obesity?  Many are willing to tinker at a genetic level to fight a disease with 1% mortality.  How much has been done to counter the genetic causes of obesity?

    We have recently accepted, with relief and/or resignation, that Covid is endemic. We’ve know for decades that obesity is endemic, and increasing.  From the CDC website

    • The US obesity prevalence was 42.4% in 2017 – 2018.
    • From 1999 –2000 through 2017 –2018, US obesity prevalence increased from 30.5% to 42.4%. During the same time, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%.

    Remember when everyone was fixated on fat in our diet?  We were told to cut fat intake and eat lots of carbohydrates.  We now know that was a huge mistake.  Yet when I go into the grocery store I see many more “low fat” offerings than “low sugar” ones. Why?

    Our genetics, life style, and the food we eat are all factors.  And yet the most common prescription given to the obese is “self discipline”.  It’s so wrong.

    • #10
  11. Skyler Coolidge
    Skyler
    @Skyler

    Never let Generals have the power to declare war.  

    Never let Lawyers write laws.

    Never let doctors declare medical emergencies.

    • #11
  12. Annefy Member
    Annefy
    @Annefy

    Mad Gerald (View Comment):

    I agree that obesity is a real public health risk. There are many causes of it, and not all of them are by choice. I’ve mentioned before that genetics can be a determining factor – see the prevalence of obesity among Pacific Islanders.

    Why has such an incredible effort been made to push mRNA vaccines, and such a small effort to fight obesity? Many are willing to tinker at a genetic level to fight a disease with 1% mortality. How much has been done to counter the genetic causes of obesity?

    We have recently accepted, with relief and/or resignation, that Covid is endemic. We’ve know for decades that obesity is endemic, and increasing. From the CDC website:

    • The US obesity prevalence was 42.4% in 2017 – 2018.
    • From 1999 –2000 through 2017 –2018, US obesity prevalence increased from 30.5% to 42.4%. During the same time, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%.

    Remember when everyone was fixated on fat in our diet? We were told to cut fat intake and eat lots of carbohydrates. We now know that was a huge mistake. Yet when I go into the grocery store I see many more “low fat” offerings than “low sugar” ones. Why?

    Our genetics, life style, and the food we eat are all factors. And yet the most common prescription given to the obese is “self discipline”. It’s so wrong.

    For obvious reasons, I am leery of any “top down” campaign. And it’s been obvious for years that your average doctor has no idea about nutrition.

    That said, bringing daily PE back at school would be a good first step. It’s too late for many adults, and God knows we owe our children.

    The anti-smoking campaign was very effective (though it didn’t work so much for me). But we traded smoking for anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds and overeating. “There are no solutions; only tradeoffs”

    On a side note, about 15 years ago I got a late-night tour of the LA Times newsroom with the then editor of the editorial page. I noted how clean and tidy it was, which was unexpected. I made an off-hand comment that reporting the news went to crap when news reporters could no longer smoke. He and I couldn’t be more different on our political spectrums, but he nodded sagely (a practiced move with him) and agreed.

    • #12
  13. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    RushBabe49 (View Comment):

    I cannot get an appointment for a mammogram, because the clinic is short of staff. Our local walk-in clinic is closed for the same reason. In spite of the 100% masking requirement for all medical facilities in our state, employees are still getting Covid (and they are 100% fully vaccinated, too, due to state mandate). What the hell is wrong with this picture? Only everything!

    In Democrat run states, the American public has been  forced to lower the intelligence of our little ones, by masking them up.

    Every masked-up American is increasing the likelihood of having a nasal or pulmonary staph infection, but health authorities insist that “COVID is the thing we need to focus on.”

    We undertake these ridiculous risks that masks present – real risks – when it is likely that masks do little to prevent the spread of the infection itself. Six feet distancing ought to accomplish what masks do. Unless someone is dep in the throes of the infection – in which case they should be at home in bed, which  sick people usually  did until 2020.

    Meanwhile we only need to look to damp cold rainy Sweden and that nation’s  actual statistics to find out that in that northern region,  their statistics for COVID are not much different than ours, except when it comes to the fatality rate from COVID. Our nation is number 22 in the number of fatalities, while Sweden in number 60. (When adjusted for differences in population size.)

    We have forced who knows how many people to consider suicide, with those at their wits’ end actually going thru with it. The statistics o9n suicide will never happen – as those who understand how to garner insurance payouts for their deaths carefully arrange for auto accidents.

    We have deprived people of  clinic appointments needed to investigate real health problems and also we have watched as clinics and hospitals have postponed – indefinitely – necessary heart and cancer treatments.

    We listen to Fauci tell us the reason for all these draconian restrictions was & is to preserve lives of older Americans, even as he himself saw to it that ivermectin and HCQ, along with Z pac and Vit D3 and  zinc were not to be prescribed or even discussed.

    He saw to it that remdesivir was fast tracked in its approval process. Those few who looked into the CDC memo about remdesivir discovered the studies cited for the reason remdesivir was approved linked to clinical trials  showing it kills off an individual’s kidneys and causes edema and then death.

    Who knows how many hundreds of thousands of lives Fauci is responsible for killing off?

    All these things add up in a most dreadful way – this has never been about a virus, but instead involves a de-pop plan.

     

     

    • #13
  14. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    If the “health authorities” were interested in the more important aspects of what COVID does in its final stages and how it does it, wouldn’t there be many pathologists reporting on what they saw as they autopsied the bodies of those who died from COIVD?

    If 800,000 people died of it, then surely we could have autopsied 0.01% of them. (Especially the case when you realize some 9 to 11 trillions of dollars has come about in CARES Act actual funding as well as leaks of monies  to various health groups and to hospital admins, to county public health officials etc.)

    Instead many of the families were not allowed to see their loved ones in the hospital. After the deaths of these individuals, the ashes, not the bodies of the patients were then claimed by the families. Even when religious reasons had been offered up as reasons to not cremate their loved ones’ remains.

    The recent case of the MN man who was not fed or hydrated for at least 10 days prior to his transfer to a TX hospital shows us what “health policies” have been allowed and enforced in Dem-state hospitals.

    There are, these days, nurses who will whisper to family members that remdesivir should not be allowed to be administered to  their loved one. If they are caught doing this, they are fired.

    • #14
  15. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Clifford, here in FL seeing women especially who are grossly overweight is a daily occurrence. Having grown up in an overweight family, I’ve seen the struggle with food firsthand. I believe that unless these people are literally prepared to change their lives (and they haven’t been persuaded yet), even the threat of a disease won’t help them. After all the disease will pass (or become endemic). I don’t think a campaign through public health will help. The information about obesity is readily available. I wish I were wrong.

    Often when I see heavy set women, i want to weep. I have been in their shoes. I know the struggles they have undertaken. But if the problem is not addressed properly, all of it is in vain.

    For some people the information about how to diet and exercise to lose weight is helpful.

    For many other Americans, the wrong thing is promoted.

    When I was in the throes of gluten intolerance – a phrase I never even knew of during this situation – I had no control over my appetite.

    I was ravenously hungry. Sometimes I utilized an old standby remedy for losing weight – I fasted.

    For 48 hours I would have only a cracker or two in the morning and night, and all the lemon  water I wanted in between.

    At the end of the 48 hours I weight three pounds more than before.

    Gluten bloats a person up. It does that if that is your problem. For other individuals it is rice or corn, or dairy. The people in the worst situation have bodies that can’t handle two of these items. So they go dairy free and it does nothing. Or they go wheat free – it does nothing.

    When your body has problems with one of the usual elements in a diet, it destroys the body’s normal appetite controls. I was ravished with  hunger even after eating a huge Thanksgiving meal.

    The week it was discovered by a thoughtful and well informed nurse that I had gluten intolerance, I quit not only gluten but hydrocodone. I was taking as many as 5 to 6 of them a day to cut back on the pain gluten was causing.  Even taking that many, my entire mid quadrant of my body ached like I had just been run over by a semi trailer.

    Within two weeks of eliminating gluten, I had lost 14 pounds. This was an amazing amount to lose, as I did not really eat much gluten. Often the only time I had it is if my spouse wanted spaghetti dinners, or fixed me French toast.

    Those 14 pounds were all bloat.

     

    Yes people can bite the  bullet and cut back on calories. But anyone who is dealing with a body that cannot handle the “problem” foods has to have an amazing amount of will power to lose any weight if they continue eating the food that is their problem.

    • #15
  16. Skyler Coolidge
    Skyler
    @Skyler

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):
    If 800,000 people died of it, then surely we could have autopsied 0.01% of them.

    I the days of responsible j-urinalism, they would have demanded a list of those names.  I don’t believe those numbers one bit.

    • #16
  17. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    Skyler (View Comment):

    Never let Generals have the power to declare war.

    Never let Lawyers write laws.

    Never let doctors declare medical emergencies.

    I like this formulation.

    • #17
  18. drlorentz Member
    drlorentz
    @drlorentz

    Mad Gerald (View Comment):
    Our genetics, life style, and the food we eat are all factors.  And yet the most common prescription given to the obese is “self discipline”.  It’s so wrong.

    Aside from genetics, the factors you listed are matters of self-discipline. Nobody is forcing junk food down anyone’s gullet. Genetics is not the principal factor making a person fat unless that person has a rare condition; that excuse applies to almost no one. There can be a genetic predisposition to gain weight, which means that weight control is more challenging for some people.

    It is true that government recommendations (e.g., the Food Pyramid) were wrong. When it comes to nutritional misinformation, the FDA has no peer. The Food Pyramid may be gone, only to be replaced by the only slightly better MyPlate. However, at this point the news is out on the role of carbs in obesity and diabetes. Even as the US and other governments continue to push bad nutritional advice, people are looking elsewhere for information about what’s best to eat. It’s hard to overcome the propaganda barrage from corporate food producers, governments, and activists but better guidance is essential to getting out of this mess. 

    • #18
  19. Annefy Member
    Annefy
    @Annefy

    drlorentz (View Comment):

    Mad Gerald (View Comment):
    Our genetics, life style, and the food we eat are all factors. And yet the most common prescription given to the obese is “self discipline”. It’s so wrong.

    Aside from genetics, the factors you listed are matters of self-discipline. Nobody is forcing junk food down anyone’s gullet. Genetics is not the principal factor making a person fat unless that person has a rare condition; that excuse applies to almost no one. There can be a genetic predisposition to gain weight, which means that weight control is more challenging for some people.

    It is true that government recommendations (e.g., the Food Pyramid) were wrong. When it comes to nutritional misinformation, the FDA has no peer. The Food Pyramid may be gone, only to be replaced by the only slightly better MyPlate. However, at this point the news is out on the role of carbs in obesity and diabetes. Even as the US and other governments continue to push bad nutritional advice, people are looking elsewhere for information about what’s best to eat. It’s hard to overcome the propaganda barrage from corporate food producers, governments, and activists but better guidance is essential to getting out of this mess.

    I appreciate this, but I was shocked when Michelle Obama was going through her “nutrition phase” how many places rely upon the fed government for guidance. I happily ignore everything they say; as does my family.  But schools that are providing free meals, along with Senior Homes, etc., are following very bad bad guidelines.

    On a side note, a cousin of mine is married to a pharma dude. For several years (before Covid) he joined us at our raucous annual Thanksgiving Day. He made an amazing Apple Pie (I never tried it. Anything with fruit is NOT dessert )  Anywho, he was fond of saying that Abbot needed more customers and we should all take a second helping.

    • #19
  20. Skyler Coolidge
    Skyler
    @Skyler

    Annefy (View Comment):
    Anything with fruit is NOT dessert

    That’s certainly a minority opinion . . . 

    • #20
  21. Annefy Member
    Annefy
    @Annefy

    Skyler (View Comment):

    Annefy (View Comment):
    Anything with fruit is NOT dessert

    That’s certainly a minority opinion . . .

    Honey. If it has fruit, it’s breakfast. It It has fruit, it ain’t dessert. 

    • #21
  22. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Clifford A. Brown: Indeed, when the young, Black man serving as Surgeon General dared bring up the truth of obesity and associated diseases making people much more vulnerable to severe cases of respiratory diseases, including COVID-19, Fraudci and a confederate in the White House Press Corps emasculated him on the spot. That ended any chance of a real public health campaign, holistically addressing the novel virus and the contributing factors to mortality. I saw the absurd result just the other day, coming out of a Dollar Tree store.

    Can you recommend further reading about this? 

    • #22
  23. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    Skyler (View Comment):

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):
    If 800,000 people died of it, then surely we could have autopsied 0.01% of them.

    I the days of responsible j-urinalism, they would have demanded a list of those names. I don’t believe those numbers one bit.

    I just realized yr mis-spelling of journalism is not a typo but a very wise comment.

    • #23
  24. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    Annefy (View Comment):

    Skyler (View Comment):

    Annefy (View Comment):
    Anything with fruit is NOT dessert

    That’s certainly a minority opinion . . .

    Honey. If it has fruit, it’s breakfast. It It has fruit, it ain’t dessert.

    Unless it is baked in a crust, or a muffin and slathered with whipped cream.

    • #24
  25. Annefy Member
    Annefy
    @Annefy

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):

    Annefy (View Comment):

    Skyler (View Comment):

    Annefy (View Comment):
    Anything with fruit is NOT dessert

    That’s certainly a minority opinion . . .

    Honey. If it has fruit, it’s breakfast. It It has fruit, it ain’t dessert.

    Unless it is baked in a crust, or a muffin and slathered with whipped cream.

    The amount of whipped cream must be equal to or in excess the amount of fruit. 

    • #25
  26. Skyler Coolidge
    Skyler
    @Skyler

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):

    Skyler (View Comment):

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):
    If 800,000 people died of it, then surely we could have autopsied 0.01% of them.

    I the days of responsible j-urinalism, they would have demanded a list of those names. I don’t believe those numbers one bit.

    I just realized yr mis-spelling of journalism is not a typo but a very wise comment.

    Someday it will catch on.

    • #26
  27. Hans Gruber Pfizer President Inactive
    Hans Gruber Pfizer President
    @Pseudodionysius

    Aside from genetics, the factors you listed are matters of self-discipline. Nobody is forcing junk food down anyone’s gullet. Genetics is not the principal factor making a person fat unless that person has a rare condition; that excuse applies to almost no one. There can be a genetic predisposition to gain weight, which means that weight control is more challenging for some people.

    I have to disagree with this. I’ve interviewed a food scientist who used to work at (name withheld to avoid assassination attempts) and you would be amazed at the amount of research dollars poured into how to make junk food, literally, addictive.

    With that aside, the populace’s reaction at large to what they’re ingesting in their food and water not to mention in needles is causing a great deal of metabolic dysregulation.

    • #27
  28. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Clifford A. Brown: Indeed, when the young, Black man serving as Surgeon General dared bring up the truth of obesity and associated diseases making people much more vulnerable to severe cases of respiratory diseases, including COVID-19, Fraudci and a confederate in the White House Press Corps emasculated him on the spot. That ended any chance of a real public health campaign, holistically addressing the novel virus and the contributing factors to mortality. I saw the absurd result just the other day, coming out of a Dollar Tree store.

    Can you recommend further reading about this?

    Federalist article from the time.

    Here is the official transcript from the April 10, 2020 White House Press Conference.

    SURGEON GENERAL ADAMS:  Thank you, Mr.  President.  Good afternoon, everyone.  I started off the week talking about the challenges that lie ahead, and I want to finish the week just by reiterating what you’ve heard.  Mitigation works.  It definitively and quantitatively is working.  And I want to say thank you to America for your efforts to help flatten the curve and to save lives.

    But, at the President’s direction, yesterday, I met with 2,000 Hispanic leaders from their communities.  And today, the Vice President led a phone call that I was on with hundreds of African American leaders, including the Reverend Jesse Jackson, including Derrick Johnson of the NAACP, including the National Medical Association and the Black Nurses Association, to talk about some of the alarming trends we’re observing regarding the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color.

    And you’ve heard the stats in New York City: Hispanics represent the majority of deaths.  In Milwaukee County, blacks are 25 percent of the population but almost 50 percent of the cases and 75 percent of the deaths.  So what’s going on?  Well, it’s alarming but it’s not surprising that people of color have a greater burden of chronic health conditions.

    African Americans and Native Americans develop high blood pressure at much younger ages, and it’s less likely to be under control, and does greater harm to their organs.  Puerto Ricans have higher rates of asthma and black boys are three times as likely to die of asthma as their white counterparts.  As a matter of fact, I’ve been carrying around an inhaler in my pocket for 40 years out of fear of having a fatal asthma attack.  And I hope that showing you this inhaler shows little kids with asthma all across the country that they can grow up to be Surgeon General one day.

    But I — more immediately share it so that everyone knows it doesn’t matter if you look fit, if you look young.  You are still at risk for getting and spreading and dying from coronavirus.

    The chronic burden of medical ills is likely to make people of color especially less resilient to the ravages of COVID-19.  And it’s possibly — in fact, likely — that the burden of social ills is also contributing.

    Social distancing and teleworking, we know, are critical, and you’ve heard Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci talk about how they prevent the spread of coronavirus.  Yet only one in five African Americans and one in six Hispanics has a job that lets them work from home.

    People of color are more likely to live in densely packed areas and in multi-generational housing, which — situations which create higher risk for spread of a highly contagious disease like COVID-19.

    We tell people to wash their hands, but as studies showed, 30 percent of the homes on Navajo Nation don’t have running water.  So how are they going to do that?

    In summary, people of color experience both more likely exposure to COVID-19 and increased complications from it.  But let me be crystal clear: We do not think people of color are biologically or genetically predisposed to get COVID-19.  There is nothing inherently wrong with you.  But they are socially predisposed to coronavirus dispos- — exposure and to have a higher incidence of the very diseases that puts you at risk for severe complications of coronavirus.

    But as the Vice President shared on the call this morning, this history — and I want you to hear me say this — it does not have to be our nation’s future.  We’re taking steps now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, to reach, protect, and strengthen all communities impacted by this disease, and especially our communities of color.

    More details will be forthcoming.  But we are actively working, as the Vice President and the CDC director laid out today, on data collection; targeted outreach to communities of color; and increasing financial employment, education, housing, social and health supports, so that everybody has an equal chance to be healthy.

    And I want to close by saying that while your state and local health departments and those of us in public service are working day and night to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and to protect you regardless of your color, your creed, or your geography, I need you to know: You are not helpless.  And it’s even more important that, in communities of color, we adhere to the task force guidelines to slow the spread.

    Stay at home, if possible.  If you must go out, maintain six feet of distance between you and everyone else, and wear a mask if you’re going to be within six feet of others.  Wash your hands more often than you ever dreamed possible.  Avoid alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.  And call your friends and family.  Check in on your mother; she wants to hear from you right now.

    And speaking of mothers, we need you to do this, if not for yourself, then for your abuela.  Do it for your granddaddy.  Do it for your Big Mama.  Do it for your Pop-Pop.  We need you to understand — especially in communities of color, we need you to step up and help stop the spread so that we can protect those who are most vulnerable.

    This epidemic is a tragedy, but it will be all the more tragic if we fail to recognize and address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 and an array of other diseases and risk factors on communities of color.  The task force and this administration are determined not to let that happen.  The President, the Vice President have said we will not let that happen.

    We can’t fix these issues overnight, but I promise you we will work with your communities to quickly and meaningfully move the needle in the right direction.  Nothing less than the fate of our families and friends, my family and friends depends on it.

    THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Great job.  Thank you.

    […]

    Q    Thank you.  I have a quick question for you.  You — you’ve said that African Americans and Latinos should avoid alcohol, drugs, and tobacco.  You also said, “Do it for your abuela and do it for Big Mama and Pop-Pop.”  There are some people already —

    SURGEON GENERAL ADAMS:  I said “granddaddy” too.

    Q    There’s some people online that are already offended by that language and the idea that you’re saying behaviors might be leading to these high death rates.  Could you talk about whether or not people — could you, I guess, have a response for people who might be offended by the language that you used?

    SURGEON GENERAL ADAMS:  Well, I used that language because that’s the language — I’ve been meeting with the NAACP, with the National Medical Association, with others.  I actually talked with — with Derrick Johnson multiple times this week, the head of the NAACP, and we need targeted outreach to the African American community.

    And I used the language that is used in my family.  I have a Puerto Rican brother-in-law.  I call my granddaddy “granddaddy.”  I have relatives who call their — their grandparents “Big Mama.”  So that was not meant to be offensive.  That’s the language that we use and that I use.

    And we need to continue to target our outreach to those communities.  It is critically important that they understand it’s not just about them, and I was very clear about that.  It’s not just about what you do, but you also are not helpless.

    We need to do our part at the federal level.  We need people to do their parts at the state level.  And we need everyone — black, brown, white, whatever color you are — to follow the President’s guidelines, the coronavirus guidelines, and do their part.  Because when I talked to the NAACP three weeks ago, it’s important to note that one of the things they asked me was, “Can you help dispel the myths in this community that people actually can’t get coronavirus if they’re black?” That was a myth that was out there that’s actually very important for us to squash here.

    Q    So do you recommend that all Americans avoid tobacco, alcohol, and drug use at this time?

    SURGEON GENERAL ADAMS:  Absolutely.  It’s especially important for people who are at risk and with comorbidities.  But, yes, all Americans.

    So, thank you, and I will clarify that.  All Americans need to avoid these substances at all times.  I’ve put out a smoking cessation report in January.  I put out a advisory against youths and pregnant women using marijuana last year.  And that was not directed towards any one race.  That’s everybody needs to do everything they can to be as healthy as possible at this critical time.

    Dr. Fauci, would you add anything?

    THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

    DR. FAUCI:  No, I think you said it perfectly, Jerome.  Thank you.

    THE PRESIDENT:  Would you like to add anything to it?  Because you are really — you expressed it very beautifully before.

    DR. FAUCI:  No, I mean — Jerome, you did it beautifully.  (Laughs.)  I can’t do it any better than that.  And I know Jerome personally, and I can just testify that he made no — not even a hint of being offensive at all with that comment.  I thought that was appropriate.  Thanks.

    Notice that Fraudci did not respond with an assertion of “science” and reinforce the specific medical claims, rather he white knighted the younger black man.

    THE PRESIDENT:  And I can tell you Jerome has done a fantastic job — our Surgeon General.  I just hope nobody steals him and he goes to one of these big companies for a fortune.  Don’t leave us.  Right?  Don’t leave us, Jerome.  Please.

    SURGEON GENERAL ADAMS:  I’m happy serving the people, sir.

    THE PRESIDENT:  He’s doing a great — you are happy and you’re doing a great job.  And everybody — everybody tells me that too.  So we appreciate it.

    • #28
  29. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Clifford A. Brown (View Comment):

    Can you recommend further reading about this?

    Federalist article from the time.

    This link goes to a Daily Wire article.

    • #29
  30. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Clifford A. Brown (View Comment):

    DR. FAUCI:  No, I mean — Jerome, you did it beautifully.  (Laughs.)  I can’t do it any better than that.  And I know Jerome personally, and I can just testify that he made no — not even a hint of being offensive at all with that comment.  I thought that was appropriate.  Thanks.

    Notice that Fraudci did not respond with an assertion of “science” and reinforce the specific medical claims, rather he white knighted the younger black man.

    I hadn’t heard the term “white knighted” before. But I think I get it.  He does come off as a bit of a jerk.

    • #30
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.