As a legislator and as a citizen, I respect our public health leaders and the process they go through to make decisions. I usually trust the conclusions they reach and accept the recommendations that they make. My recent survey about vaccine mandates suggests that most of my constituents feel the same way.
Yet, I never lightly dismiss the views of my constituents who disagree. Two constituents went to the effort to send me copies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s book, The Real Anthony Fauci. I did read the first section of the book, the section that speaks to management of the current pandemic. I skimmed the rest of the book which speaks to older history. I also examined some of the sources that RFK Jr. relies on.
RFK Jr., perceives a malicious conspiracy to promote vaccines over alternative health care methods. The basic narrative is that a vaccine cartel exaggerated the dangers of COVID-19 and discredited lower-cost treatments — like Vitamin D, Ivermectin, and Hydroxychloroquine — with the goal of making profits on vaccines.
The lead villain in the narrative is Dr. Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. A villain needs to be larger than life. RFK Jr. says that Fauci wields “power enjoyed by few rulers and no doctor in history.” (Page xvi.) Consider that statement in light of the many state and local officials across the country who are bucking federal pandemic advice. The CDC with Dr. Fauci’s support reinstated indoor masking guidelines last July when the Delta variant emerged, advising people to wear masks in indoor public spaces in areas with substantial or high transmission. Now with Omicron, the whole country is a high transmission area. Yet, many states have never required masks or do not currently require masks and some states prevent local governments from requiring them. Would lower level officials respond so casually to the great dictators of history? No. Dr. Fauci is respected by many, but should not be numbered among the most powerful rulers in history.
RFK Jr. points out that Dr. Fauci is “the highest paid of all four million federal employees, including the President.” (Page xvi.) What that observation really speaks to is not how all-powerful Dr. Fauci is, but how low the federal salary scale is. Physicians with research and leadership skills are very marketable in the private sector and the public sector has to pay them well to retain them. The highest paid state employee in Massachusetts is the head of the University of Massachusetts Medical school and he makes more than twice what Dr. Fauci makes. Similarly, all of the top five highest paid state employees in New York are health researchers or executives and they all make more than Dr. Fauci. For a southern example, 11 of the 25 highest paid state employees in Georgia are medical doctors and they all make more than Dr. Fauci. The health care sector employs 22 million people in the United States and includes many centers of power. Dr. Fauci is a visible and important person, but health care leadership is broadly dispersed.
RFK Jr. portrays Dr. Fauci as “cracking down on HCQ [hydrochloroquine] to keep case fatalities high.” (Page 30.) Speaking of federal decisions not to authorize Hydroxychloroquine as a COVID treatment, he says:
Most of my fellow Democrats understand that Dr. Fauci led an effort to deliberately derail America’s access to lifesaving drugs and medicines that might have saved hundreds of thousands of lives and dramatically shortened the pandemic. There is no other aspect of the COVID crisis that more clearly reveals the malicious intentions of a powerful vaccine cartel — led by Dr. Fauci and Bill Gates — to prolong the pandemic and amplify its mortal effects in order to promote their mischievous inoculations.
The Real Anthony Fauci, p.19
The framing, “Most of my fellow Democrats understand . . . ,” is plainly false. As recently as December 2021, Dr. Fauci was one of only three leaders with a positive favorability rating among Americans, and he had an 85% favorable rating among Democrats. In 2020, 79% of Democrats and a majority of Republicans felt Dr. Fauci had done a good job handling the pandemic. He was the fourth most admired man among Americans in 2020, behind three presidents.
But then consider the horrific allegation itself — distorting research results so as to kill people so as to make other people want vaccines. As part of his case for the allegation, RFK Jr. zeros in on one of the clear failures of the research vetting process in 2020. An influential study in Lancet showed that hydrochloroquine was not clinically useful in COVID-19 treatment. However, it swiftly emerged that the study and another study on a different issue that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine were based on likely non-existent data from a bogus “big data” research company called Surgisphere. RFK Jr. reads the incident as proof of the power of the “cartel”:
The capacity of their Pharma overlords to strong-arm the world’s top two medical journals, the NEJM and The Lancet, into condoning deadly research and to simultaneously publish blatantly fraudulent articles in the middle of a pandemic attests to the cartel’s breathtaking power and ruthlessness.
The Real Anthony Fauci, p. 30
RFK Jr.’s over-the-top word choice is a red flag in itself. But the fundamental problem with his argument is that in the same time frame, Surgisphere also was able to circulate an influential, but fraudulent article supporting Ivermectin. Ivermectin is the other potential treatment for COVID-19 that RFK Jr. believes has been unfairly discredited by Fauci and the “cartel.” Surgisphere’s fraudulent article contributed heavily towards the expansion of Ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment in Latin America. If the “cartel” is so powerful and ruthless, why did it allow that?
The simpler truth is that in the midst of a rush for cures, a recklessly ambitious company like Surgisphere was able to deceive a number of smart people. Before long, other smart people uncovered the deception, the articles were retracted and Surgisphere was permanently discredited. The Surgisphere scandal shows both the fallibility of the humans doing science and the ability of the scientific process to ultimately correct itself. It is not evidence of a global vaccine cartel.
There can be no question that in some cases pharmaceutical companies are able to steer both the direction of research and physician clinical choices (see Massachusetts gift ban legislation). But I am completely unable to step into RFK Jr.’s worldview. In his world, a few ruthless titans are pulling the strings for profit. I see a world in which a whole lot of mostly decent people with normal levels of self-interest are trying to do their jobs — to create medications and improve public health. People near the center of health policy decisions, like Dr. Fauci, have to sort out a lot of information and maintain awareness of the quality and motivations of their information sources.
Dr. Fauci is 81 years old. He has been well compensated for decades. It appears that he could retire any time to a federal pension equal to roughly 80% of his salary. It seems unlikely he is in his job for the money. Without putting him on a pedestal of infallibility, I trust him to exercise his judgment for the greater good. I expect his views to continue to evolve in good faith as the research accumulates and new virus behavior emerges.
For my summary responses to themes in these comments, please see this post. Comments were closed on this post on January 31.
You are the villain Will. For not supporting bodily autonomy. I really don’t know how you can look in the mirror at this point in time.
PJ, Will Brownsberger is one of the most honest, community-minded, caring, genuine people I’ve ever met. This has nothing to do with bodily autonomy. It has to do with being part of a society and community and thinking about what you owe a stranger, not what you owe yourself. You don’t have to get vaccinated, just don’t go anywhere where there are other people. Will is selfless, bright, well-educated and has a great world view. Name-calling someone like him reflects poorly on you, not him. He did all the research, read a book that constituents asked him to read, reported back his findings and disagrees with you. That doesn’t merit name-calling. The anger about vaccination at this point is just mind-blowing. It’s a pandemic–time to step up.
Bravo, Patti et al.
I agree completely with Patti.
um, not all of us can get “safely” vxed, including me based on my medical history, and Will is well aware of that. His hubris here is beyond compare. As for some others making comments below, that think unvxed people like me are gonna get sick and die, and take up your hospital resources, but it will be “good”, because, “Darwin”… Yup, ok, keep telling yourself a virus that has always had a 99% survival rate, even with the suppression of early treatment that works, is something you need to inject everyone with novel genetic therapy that doesn’t even fit the longstanding definition of “vaccine” with (i.e. doesn’t stop infection or transmission). And as for the treatment you get once in the hospital? If you think Remdesivir and a Vent is gonna SAVE your life, I think you have a little reading up to do. But I digress. This really isn’t about health, or caring for people, is it? All this back and forth fake virtue singnaling. Because if this was, about health, the health care workers that put themselves in harms way in the Spring of 2020, when we lost almost 750 in Boston in one month (we are still well under 2,000 deaths 2 years later, less than 1,600 actually), all of them, EVERY SINGLE ONE, would still have a JOB. Boston is in distress, and it’s definitely not over a “virus” https://www.masslive.com/coronavirus/2022/01/massachusetts-is-on-the-verge-of-firing-a-partially-covid-vaccinated-state-worker-who-sought-medical-waiver-after-suffering-allergic-reaction-to-first-shot.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=worcester_sf&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR2CWBeTjY9FUIPX94NkykLJ2EJTISV6JPRtCoTVV8k4qiStZVwgE36A_Vs
There is a reason why ALL vaccine mandates include an exception for people who are medically unable to be vaccinated.
To refute the falsehoods in your diatribe one at a time, 1) no one is rooting for people who can’t be safely vaccinated to die. That is a libelous claim. A primary reason for vaccinating as many people as possible for ANY disease is to PROTECT people who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons. Please read responsible sources on the history and biology of vaccines and epidemics, not pseudo scientific gibberish from antivaxxers. All of their claims can be and have been refuted by scientific evidence.
2) mRNA vaccines are NOT gene therapy. Gene therapy integrates with a cell’s genome, and for mRNA, would require enzymes to penetrate a cells nucleus, a reverse transcriptase enzyme to produce DNA from the RNA, and other enzymes to splice the resulting DNA into the cell’s original DNA. mRNA vaccines contain NONE of these enzymes.
3) 1% deaths (it is much higher for many populations including elderly people and people with multiple diseases like cancer, diabetes, immune disorders and many others) is 80,000,000 people. Are you saying their lives don’t matter? This is more than ten times as many people as Hitler murdered in the death camps.
4) It’s not just direct Covid deaths, excess deaths for all causes have doubled, due to insufficient medical resources to treat all the people who have other diseases, or are in accidents, or normal routine preventive medical care.
5) For every Covid death, between 5 and 10 people suffer severe long term debilitation (long Covid.) If everyone got Covid (and without vaccinations, there is NOTHING that will ultimately prevent this), there would be 400 to 800 million people suffering from these effects.
6) The vast majority of health care workers got vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible. The refusers eventually got fired, as they should have been. They have no right to call themselves health care providers when they put their own irrational fears above their patients.
Bravo.
Indeed — Bravo, you saved me 10 minutes worth of typing!
Not necessarily true, one friend died of blood clots from getting the COVID shot, his sister was hospitalized with a blood clot after getting the shot.
another hospitalized after getting the booster shot, (couldn’t breath), and couldn’t walk with the first shot, prion diseases seem to be appearing in the US and Canada more frequently,
read the Sars-CoV-2 Vaccines and Neurodengenerative disease. by Stephanie Senell, PhD, (as of May 21, 2021 over 2500 reports of Bell palsy following COVID 19 vaccines. Prion diseases have been increasing, in the USA and Canada. There are many reasons to be wary of the vaccines, which have been rushed to market with grossly inadequate evaluation. Look at Dr. Marrero’s concerns in New Brunswich Canada, Professor Bridle Global News, and Jessica’s Roses article on COVID.
A 3 year old girl died a day after getting the vaccine -had a heart attack. It is not a black and white issue. Some people will benefit and some will be damaged for life.
M.
Patti, Well said. Thank you for saying it.
Tell him Patti
Yes, thank you for this.
Thank you. Well said
I assume you are against the polio vaccine, measles, mumps and rubella too. How about Tetanus shots?
Think about it.
Why would you assume that? Those are real vaccines; the mRNA shots are not. Read up about it.
right
I did not give you permission to infect me with a dangerous virus just by getting near me. You violating my “bodily autonomy.” Do you see how quickly your thinking falls apart? It’s nonsense.
PJ, the mere fact that Will even considered this book is a refute of your accusations. I have found will to be one of the most open-minded, thoughtful people I know. Sorry, I think you simply don’t understand the science of Public Health.
I haven’t read the book (and Will has admitted to reading only a part of it), but it’s interesting that the book has been the No. 1 or 2 on Amazon’s bestseller list ever since it came out (and it’s now out of stock). It has 6,243 reviews — 92% 5-star, and only 2% 1-star. I guess six thousand people must be entirely wrong, right?
https://www.amazon.com/Real-Anthony-Fauci-Democracy-Childrens/dp/1510766804/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LZV3ZGR48DRR&keywords=real+anthony+fauci&qid=1641775473&s=books&sprefix=Real+Anthony+Fauci%2Cstripbooks%2C408&sr=1-1
Yes. Nearly all purchases are by those who are predisposed to believe in it.
And all the overblown criticisms of the book are from those who are predisposed to be prejudiced against it.
Well they do say there is a sucker born every minute. The book title does not let on to the fact that it’s arguments do not hold up to reason or logic as has been pointed out so well by Will in his review. Where or in what way is Will’s review in error?
Some of the top-rated Amazon reviews of this book are very much worth reading (that’s why I provided the link). They are much more informative than most of the comments here which are primarily about emotions and kissing up to Will. Group-think central.
Yes, wrong, just like the millions who thought DTs deserved another term in office.
Bravo Mr. Brownsberger. You considered the “argument” and came to the logical conclusion. Unfortunately we are witnessing the end of the Age of Enlightenment.
Will – I think pJ is right time to get a super Villain suit – maybe look to the characters from the Batman series we grew up with – maybe go with the evil cyclists
The same people who cry out for “bodily autonomy “ (to have the right to sicken others because they refuse to wear a mask and get vaccinated) also have supported rigging the Supreme Court to take away Women’s Constructional rights. This is a matter of public policy that keeps our society running and people healthy. It’s not a conspiracy… Even Donald Trump came out to urge people to get the vaccine. Until everyone is vaccinated, this virus will mutate and we will be at the mercy of people who think their rights are more important than any one else… Get vaccinated. You have to vaccinate your kids before they can go to school, and you vaccinate your babies so they don’t die a premature death from other horrible diseases. People who think this a conspiracy are watching too much Fox News, and allowing their feelings to take over facts-
This is an example of pro-vaccine misinformation. You wrote: “Until everyone is vaccinated, this virus will mutate and we will be at the mercy of people who think their rights are more important than any one else… Get vaccinated.” PLEASE UNDERSTAND that mRNA vaccines do absolutely nothing for eliminating this virus. The virus mutates with and without those “vaccines”. If anything, telling people that those shots are a cure all is giving people a false sense of security. The virus will stop being prevalent on its own, through mechanisms that we don’t understand. The Spanish Flu epidemic ended without any vaccines being forced on people. And if the shots that are now mandated worked, we would not be in the situation we’re in right now.
CDC Director: Covid vaccines can’t prevent transmission anymore
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/cdc-director-covid-vaccines-can-t-prevent-transmission-anymore/ar-AASDndg?ocid=msedgntp
I support your right to bodily autonomy if you agree to go live on an island and give up contact with other people. The point of vaccination is not your bodily autonomy, but your assistance in reducing the likelihood you and everyone around you do not get or give this, and for many of us, very serious illness to other people. It is your responsibility to other people. One thing left out of our Constitution are the responsibilities of citizens. Rights we got in the constitution and hear about it all the time from certain corners of society. But then I think the founders assumed fellow citizens would be mostly responsible to other citizens.
Daniel and all others who believe that PJ and others have a responsibility to get vaccinated – you’re in the grips of some major cognitive dissonance. You act as if those mRNA vaccines are effective stoppers of the virus. They are not. You’re just ganging up on PJ and whoever may have a reason not to be vaccinated, just so you, the “good and responsible” citizens can feel virtuous. This self-righteousness is ridiculous given the fact that covid mutates and spreads among the “vaccinated” as well. This virus can evade the meager and temporary protections that you get from the mRNA vaccines, and you don’t know what repetitive administration of those shots will do to people’s immune systems. You don’t know what you don’t know, but you act like you know everything. PJ is within her rights to opposed mRNA vaccine mandates. She stated she was seriously vaccine-injured. Why do you have no compassion for people like that? Since when is our society into sacrificing individuals for the collective? Maybe you should all move to China.
Why do you tell people who are in disagreement with your thinking to move to China? Why China?
Why not Hungary? Or Turkey? Or Belarus?
I suspect your racism is showing through your anger. Such a comment is certainly not an expression of rational debate.
Nice but nonsensical try bringing race into this. China is a totalitarian country. If that is a racist statement in your opinion, you don’t think straight, and your opinion carries no weight.
Daniel — I so agree with your note regarding responsibilities. While likely a non-starter initiative, it would be oh-so-incredibly great if we were able to define and add as Constitutional Amendment some list of “Bill of Responsibilities” — after all these years, we should have a good idea of what such would be.
I am such a fan of creating this Bill of Responsibilities!
Thank you so much, Will Brownsberger, for your balanced, fact-checked examination of sources. I have been astounded at RFK Jr.’s grand conspiracy theories re vaccines, which sadly influence like-minded people who feel power in their “special knowledge” by attacking peer-reviewed medical studies and mainstream well-credentialed leaders. As Will points out, that doesn’t mean that various companies and individuals in the field will always be honorable and honest. Money talks. But I agree with him that most people are reasonable, decent, if sometimes fallible.
PJ,
Are you calling someone a villain who reviews scientific data and shares it with you to protect your health? Perhaps it’s you than should find a mirror….and wipe the white dust off it and come back to reality.
Thank you for your carefully considered thoughts.
Well said, Will. Rfk not rational
Will, thank you for this. I support you in your effort to work for those of us concerned with the community, as well as with the individual.
I commend you for getting through even part of this book.
Will, I don’t think that history will treat Fauci, Big Pharma, and Big Government’s attempted control over our lives and bodies as kindly as you. I highly recommend you and others watch the following video. It’s balanced, non-partisan, non-ideological, and intellectually honest. (Easy to listen, but closed captioning may be helpful.)
Paul Kingsnorth: Why I changed sides in the vaccine wars – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_uAwsVn10Y
“In his world, a few ruthless titans are pulling the strings for profit.” Consider this statement. In our times, and for the last hundred years, the “ruthless titans” are usually named. Without watching the video myself, please tell me who this Paul Kingsworth names as a ruthless titan.
Thank you for sharing this content, Eva. Twas interesting, to a point…
First problem is, Mr Kingsnorth jumps immediately from the idea that [doing something that is in the best interests of collective societal health can be a common good] to the idea that [those that subscribe to the collective societal health are somehow authoritarians bent on excluding The Others from the societal activities]. There need be no further ingestion of Mr Kingsnorth’s rationale, for on this first, he dove right off the plank.
Mr Kingsnorth lives in that fantasy world where there are no consequences of one’s personal decisions on the greater societal community. And therefore, Mr Kingsnorth’s view subscribes to a world that ceased to exist conclusively with the Industrial Revolution (if not earlier!) — where individuals become dependent upon the greater society for many of their sustaining products, rather than being able to be fully self-sufficient alone.
Worse, Mr Kingsnorth ascribes political characteristics to each side! So, he is actually quite partisan, quite ideologically-seated, and absolutely intellectually dishonest — so sorry.
In this manner, Mr Kingsnorth subscribes to the same delusion of much of the militia-society folk of the USA and many who have bought the FNC, OAN, Newsmax propaganda — that “government” is bad, that collective pressure to act is bad, that the needs of society are secondary to MY needs, MY thoughts, MY MY MY MY MY etc.
We do live in a dependent, collective society, where most (if not all) are somehow dependent upon others for those products+services that the individual does not provide for themself.
Further, at least in the USA, the population can reverse course and choose to elect politicians (those people that comprise the “govern” part of “government”) that reflect the switch in course the public would like — for example, PotUS Trump in 2016, and PotUS Biden in 2020 — each a choice that embodied the society changing its direction.
I have only one suggestion for all of these folks, and all that follow their leadership: please, PLEASE, leave. Please take their world-revolving-around-themselves mentality to some isolated place, where they can not infect, infest, abuse, or otherwise harm the rest of society that imperfectly struggles how to balance the needs of the many with the needs of each one.
We will all see, soon enough, that collective concern and action would have been better.
But, unfortunately, that time is now past.
I lament the inability to find any kind of common thread of thought upon which we might base a discussion, towards climbing out of this chasm.
Well said Jim but I would have to add that we can not stop talking to one another because we disagree. It is this pushing away and demonizing each other that is making the bad even worse. We have to start punishing those that use the drug of hate to gain power over others. The pedaling of hate is what too many republicans use to attract there base who don’t even know they are being manipulated. We, well congress really, needs to put a stop the pedaling of hate rhetoric by the media and by politicians with more immediate and severe consequences. I believe Will is fighting the good fight as we all must do with those around us who have been led astray by leaders who are just taking advantage of their gullibility.
Hi, David — thank you. I absolutely agree in keeping open discussion channels, but careful to offer that there need be agreement to be genuine, to actually listen and talk.
I know my post was over-the-top re “leaving”, but if no discussion possible, perhaps the hyperbole gets attention. Perhaps not best approach, I agree.
Hopeful, remaining….
I hear you and thank you for your words Jim. It’s shocking that the folks that declare they are “the party of life” so willfully put other’s life in danger so that they don’t have to be bothered with masks and lifesaving vaccines. I have Trump=lie-buying family members in this boat who have assured me that they have horse suppositories if they get covid so apparently they’d rather shove something in their rectum than protect the health of the innocent people in their surroundings with the same prick they got vaccinated with as children. Why Trump who pushed this vaccine on the market and took it himself is being so secretive to those who love him like the second coming is beyond me. Incredible that a self-proclaimed pussy grabber who pays porn stars for sex has become their new Christ almighty.
So wish there was a vaccine or effective treatment for TDS.
sorry… why should vaccinations be optional?
Do we control stuff like people defecating in public water? (Yes we do)
Do we control stuff like making sure people drive safely? (Yes we do)
Do we ask you to fight for your country? (Yes we do)
Do we control public health? YES WE DO!
Rejecting science is not only a decision to endanger your own life… it’s a decision to endanger mine! (and everyone else’s)
If you get sick:
1. You can get me sick
2. You suck up potential resources that I might need
3. You are simply being inconsiderate
Seriously, I’m a libertarian, but public health is not a personal decision. That’s why it’s called “PUBLIC” health.
In fact, it’s time for you and everyone else to take some PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY to keep yourself healthy, and maybe save some other lives in the process. Get Vaccinated!
Paul Kingsnorth makes no sense and seems to actually believe he’s living in 1984. Also, he should put his bird in another room when he’s on camera (at least I’m hoping that’s what it was). His anti-science, anti-logic stance makes absolutely no sense! Of course, he doesn’t understand the science, he’s not even willing to try! Kingsnorth would like us to go back to the middle ages…..
Well… that’s 34 minutes and 36 seconds I’ll never get back…
Here’s 16 seconds in response:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8ukak8P2vY
Your whole long posting misses the point – entirely. We don’t have the responsibility to take mRNA vaccines because they are not real vaccines; they give you only temporary artificial immunity, and are not sterilizing to this virus. So they have no ability to eliminate Covid (especially since the virus is smart enough to mutate, very likely in response to those shots).
Long-term impact of those “vaccines” on our immune system is not known. Covid-“vaccinated” people still contract and spread the virus. At the same time, the injections have the potential to seriously injure some people (and they have – only the dishonest media that you consume don’t tell you about it).
We have no right to sacrifice individuals on the altar of ineffective jabs that may be actually only prolonging this pandemic. We need to focus on early and effective treatment instead. That’s where Fauci at al dropped the ball.
OK, so you dont’ understand the meaning of “vaccination” (they are never 100% effective), you the also do not understand “herd immunity” and the role vaccines play in curtailing them and you clearly don’t understand how pandemics work. BTW, the places where the virus mutated (Brazil, the UK, South Africa) where all the places WITHOUT vaccines.
Re “vaccines” doing harm:
In the US:
COVID Deaths: 836,000
VACCINES given: 206,000,000
VACCINE Side Effect Deaths: 3 (Blood Clots, J&J)
Soooo… 3 deaths out of 206M…
This is clearly a safe proposition by the numbers, but you gotta know the numbers. Not just vaguely refer to them the way you do.
No problem. When you’ve done your homework, come back and we can discuss. Until then, conversation over.
Meanwhile, you should definitely look up the Kruger Dunning effect:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
Sources:
https://www.google.com/search?q=death+from+covid+usa&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS982US982&sxsrf=AOaemvLCr4Y1xNgCnaOeNLXaUlnB1sLemw%3A1641830075188&ei=u1bcYZToCoO-ggeQ3KqYBA&ved=0ahUKEwjUsabTxaf1AhUDn-AKHRCuCkMQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=death+from+covid+usa&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMggIABAWEAoQHjILCAAQyQMQFhAKEB46BwgjELADECc6BwgAEEcQsAM6CggAEEcQsAMQyQM6CAgAEJIDELADOgoIABCABBCHAhAUOgUIABCGA0oECEEYAEoECEYYAFCdC1i7EGCPE2gCcAJ4AIABSYgB1AGSAQEzmAEAoAEByAEKwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz
https://covid-101.org/science/how-many-people-have-died-from-the-vaccine-in-the-u-s/
Your side has shamelessly politicized those “vaccines” to the point that nothing that is available in mainstream sources on the topic of vaccine-related injuries and deaths is verifiable and credible. You want to believe there is nothing to worry about with respect to those shots when (even when they’re administered repeatedly) – and it is your right to believe that. I beg to differ. And so we must part ways. Feel free to be a pin cushion for Big Pharma all you want. Many others will say, “my body belongs to me” – and you cannot do anything about it. Bye-bye.
Dear Eva,
Please, before you rant about “your side” shamelessly politicising the vaccines…..
Remember, please, it was The Trumpus who began the politicisation, at the catastrophically toxic level. It has been impossible for any public discourse of any rational level since Trumpus bloviated.
He does one thing well: all Trumpus touches dies.
Please, not me or you!
Oh my gosh – this is not about Trump. When will you guys finally rid yourselves of your Trump obsession? A dog is barking – must be Trump’s fault. It was absolutely democrats who politicized the covid pandemic – it was exploited in order to increase chances that he would lose the election. Do you not remember when Kamala Harris said that she would never take any vaccine that was brought to market under Trump?
The link gives a small glimpse of the damage being done.
https://openvaers.com/
One more thing: Will, I hope you realize that when you say that you “trust” Fauci (and by extension, the powerful and completely unaccountable establishment he represents) on pretty much everything is simply not a valid argument – not one iota more valid than somebody else saying the opposite.
You’re a smart guy and all, but no intelligent free-thinking adults should be blindly trusting you or anybody else on such complex issues. It’s kind of lazy – or maybe just a misplaced desire that some people have to submit themselves to a higher power – even it’s just you. But no person has monopoly on being always right. The way this pandemic has been managed by Fauci et al has been full of highly questionable decisions – and the bad consequences of those decisions will be with us for decades. Not to mention the murky issue of the gain-of -function research — a big Pandora Box that may one day fly open. I just don’t understand how can you and other Fauci admirers completely suspend your critical thinking?
I’d love to see a day when for once you could bring yourself to express an unpopular opinion, and surprise your faithful groupies into an uncomfortable silence. Sycophantic praises are not valid arguments either. Just so boring.
Thanks, Eva.
There is truth in your comment about “a misplaced desire that some people have to submit themselves to a higher power.” The flip side of that desire is the opposite desire to simplify the world by declaring some people Evil (as RFKJr. labels Fauci). My purpose in this post is to pull people back towards the greyer middle — our leaders are mostly trying to do the right thing but are not perfect and the answer is never final. As I said: “Without putting him on a pedestal of infallibility, I trust him to exercise his judgment for the greater good. I expect his views to continue to evolve in good faith as the research accumulates and new virus behavior emerges.”
Eva you seem to have everything figured out here. Since you are the armchair chief medical advisor of the nation, why don’t you insult your way to the top and solve everything right now? 😉 But seriously, when did you become so snide? (please don’t answer – this is just a sad question I ask myself out loud.)
‘Kissing up/groupies’? Totally insulting and I’m embarrassed for you.
Will, I would like to thank you for your thoughtful and patient posts. Please know that I have more positive things to say but I’ll refrain at the moment because I’d hate for Eva to spew her venom at me today. A sincere thanks for all that you do.
To spew venom at you would be a total waste of time. Your post is saying nothing of consequence.
Eva, you are awesome. keep speaking the truth.
Eva, you’ve got serious head problems. What happened to you? Was your response to me not spewing your same venom? I guess I was worthy of it after all. I’m saddened by your demise. Your former integrity has been obliterated. Spew away, you are an embarrassment. Take your own insulting advice and go back to your homeland. Right? Doesn’t that sound like something YOU would spew at someone? Again, don’t bother “responding”. It’s so sad to watch an adult act like a weird angry child. All of your insult-slinging is a waste of time. You don’t see that. You’re stuck in your libertarian-style bull. Insult after insult yet you say that everyone else (except for your groupies) is inconsequential. Weird. I know you won’t be able to resist responding to this. Rest assured, it won’t be seen by me. Goodbye Eva, foreva.
Thank you for sharing this, Eva. I deeply respect Paul Kingsnorth. And, Will, I deeply appreciate your willingness to read RFK, Jr’s book and provide this opportunity for conversation. We can argue about whether RFK, Jr.’s arguments are valid or not, but, echoing Paul Kingsnorth, it’s about the larger question of where these decisions from those in positions of authority are leading us. I also recommend this article which lays out many of my concerns: https://www.kosmosjournal.org/kj_article/marching-orders/
I’ll take a look at that.
Consider this- women who were pregnant were excluded from the vaccine trials. Why? Because it would be unethical to include them. Now these same women are getting vaccinated to keep there jobs. Also, I agree with Eva (who on the last thread of conversations was largely ignored) that this is not a vaccination. When you have to take repeated shots within several months, I think you are being medicated..repeatedly. Also, Brazil had quite a crisis..then that was resolved so quickly. Interesting that Ivermectin is sold over the counter there. Are we looking at what other countries are doing or will we staunchly adhere to our own little bubble?
Elaine…these are all questions which are not allowed. We must “Trust the Science”. Please get onboard…it’s for the “Greater Good” that you do what you are told by the experts.
so… let’s start with your first point and acknowledge that this is a conundrum. If we ethically cannot test on pregnant women, how can any therapy ever be approved for them? This is true of all therapies, not just vaccines.
Given the small percentage of the population , there’s clearly a need for testing and masking as an alternative (although I will point out there have been at least 200K pregnant women who have taken the vaccine with no ill effects).
Re Eva being ignored – I think if you look at the metrics, she’s nowhere near being “ignored”. People have taken time and effort to address every one of her concerns.
Re Vaccine as a therapeutic — why do you care? I get my flu shot each year and expect I will for the rest of my life. I got 3 shingles shots, and I expect that I’ll be getting more COVID shots. If there was a Cancer shot I could get every year, I’d line up for it. About being medicated multiple times — There are loads of people on daily vitamins, herbs and drugs to help them live a better, safer life. What’s your point?
Re Brazil — Perhaps you’re forgetting that Brazil is below the equator? That means the seasons are reversed. Also, the Brazilian government is not terribly good at keeping statistics…. AND… now that they have Omicron, new cases have just clicked up to Jul levels again in Brazil. AND because they had a very bad winter, there are fewer viral targets. I’m sure they are all blissfully dewormed as well, but I suspect this has nothing to do with any of the COVID numbers….
Re “are we looking to other countries”, the answer is Yes! That’s why we monitor the Israeli experience. And South Africa. And the UK…..DO you not read the news?
Richard, you wrote: “About being medicated multiple times — There are loads of people on daily vitamins, herbs and drugs to help them live a better, safer life. What’s your point?” Yes, you had to ask that question, because you have no idea. The point IS that people are taking/doing all kinds of things to their bodies – but it is THEIR choice. You of course want to preserve that choice for yourself, but you see others as lesser human beings who have no right to decide for themselves. That kind of thinking is at the root of fascism. I would not be so proud of it if I were you.
Really appreciate this thoughtful and informative response. Thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to go through all these points. I agree 100%.
Thank you, Will, for taking the time to read that book and debunk it for us. It’s really sad that so many people are misled by such stuff and refuse to do the minimum to protect themselves and their neighbors.
Thanks for the book review. RFK, Jr. is getting known for wild, unsupported accusations. If he wants to find someone motivated by greed and pushing conspiracies, he need only look in the mirror.
“…it [the book] is getting known for wild, unsupported accusations”, you wrote. Unless you read the book, and decided that all the footnotes and verifiable references that are included in the book are all fake, you’re only repeating gossip. Choosing sides before reading the book is like deciding that a theater performance was bad without ever seeing it. Like most people here, you’re just trying to say nice things to Will. But that’s not a meaningful discussion.
Will: thank you for your willingness to be clear-minded, and not swayed by the ill-informed views of those who have succumbed to conspiracy theories. Not sure how we can persuade those who have succumbed to ignorance, but alas, the pandemic doesn’t care about ideology. Science works. Those who choose not to believe in reality are still subject to it. Whether they like it or not.
Dismissing everything as “conspiracy theories” is in itself a crude conspiracy theory – a catch-all for all real or imagined conspiracy theories. Is it a conspiracy theory to point out that Fauci was telling the nation that mRNA vaccines are going to rid us of covid, and they have not and they won’t? Is it a conspiracy theory to point out that he is recommending those “vaccines” for pregnant women when those shots were never tested on pregnant women? Is it a conspiracy theory to point out that those shots have no long-term record, when they don’t? Is it a conspiracy theory to point out that Fauci and his collaborators were funding viral gain-of-function research on corona viruses in Wuhan – when that is actually what happened? I could go on…
Thank you for your reading of this book and for sharing your thoughts.
I do share your perspective (regarding Mr Kennedy’s view and elaboration). I do also think that while not perfect at all, nor all-knowing, Dr Fauci professes neither and does have greater good as his objective.
It is true that in our money-corrupted system there will be a constant battle between those peddling their products (with the influence of their $$$) and those who do try to look out for the public. The guardians will not always win, but with time the peddlers are generally revealed for what they truly are (either promoting genuine resolution or stealing our $$$).
Thank you for your continued efforts to shine light into corners of darkness.
Per Will…he did not exactly read the book. Read chapter and skimmed the rest. Just enough to pull out a couple of sentences, mis-characterize, and set up a straw man argument of why it’s not worth reading for others. Basically, a consensus building exercise for his followers.
I highly recommend others actual read the book. Verify the endnotes/footnotes,. The focus of the book is not Fauci’s salary….come on man!
Your research and analysis make a lot of sense to me, Will. I wasn’t aware of RFK’s book but I’m glad to have read about it and hear about other anti-vax opinions just to get a handle on why some people are resisting. Thanks.
I find folks who come up ingenious schemes of disinformation particularly repulsive. I feel sad for the folks who buy into their schemes. The high covid death rate among the unvaccinated is a sad example of Darwinism at work.
Senator,
It’s time to stop entertaining medical naysayers. It takes over a decade of education to become a doctor, and takes absolutely no education whatsoever to make baseless arguments against modern medicine and science.
100% agree!
Thanks Will. I wish you did not have to go through libels. We need you rested for building legislation that truly affect us 🙂
RFK Jr’s” framing, “Most of my fellow Democrats understand . . . ,” is plainly false,” as you say. The same rhetorical trick was used by Trump when he said that even his opponents know that he “won by a lot”. Thanks, Will.
Thank you, Will, for your always measured and thoughtful approach, in this situation and in many others. Your constituents can always be assured that your responses are both well-researched and well-communicated.
Thank you Senator for having the stomach to get through his writings. Having heard an interview with RFK, Jr. and seen some of his writings pre-pandemic, I long ago made the assessment that he was not of sound mind. Thank you for your service to our community.
I would only plead to my neighbors that this is not hard: get vaccinated and wear a proper mask properly. Do it for your neighbors and to prevent even more virulent variants.
While some apparent nut jobs have responded with delusional nonsense, I see that the vast majority agree with me that you are a voice of well balanced investigation followed by the truth. Please, for all our sakes, keep it up. I am begging you.
What are you begging for? He’s not threatening to quit.
Well done, Will. Thanks.
Hear, hear, Tesi.
“Science doesn’t care what you believe”
Even RFK’s family believes he is wrong.
I don’t agree with RFK Jr. on a lots of things, but this is a well documented book that carefully documents the crimes of Anthony Fauci et al. I encourage all to read and make up their own minds. I learned a lot regarding the despicable policy decisions and experiments Fauci and team did during the AIDS crisis for one. Many more crimes added with Covid. Eerily similar to what is going on now. These people could care less about saving lives…pure evil.
Mark,
“In his world, a few ruthless titans are pulling the strings for profit.” Consider this statement. In our times, and for the last hundred years, the “ruthless titans” are usually named.
In RFK Jr.’s view, apart from Dr. Fauci and Bill Gates, whom does he name?
Are you naively saying that the world has never seen individuals who could be characterized as “ruthless titans”? How do you think obscenely huge fortunes are made?
Did you know that birds aren’t real too?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_Aren%27t_Real
Thank you for taking the time to do this. Your analysis and conclusions seem highly rational. This is exactly the kind of cool-headed and direct response we need more of, to the steady stream of questionable (and sometimes outright mis)information one encounters these days.
Thank you Will for your thoughtful and concise review of this over the top exploitation of an already heartbreaking pandemic, and by making it quite clear by breaking down the points in understandable language. I so much appreciate your global caring and heartfelt integrity.
Thank you, Will.
I asked a couple of respondents who disagreed with your conclusion about the book the following:
“In his world, a few ruthless titans are pulling the strings for profit.” Consider this statement. In our times, and for the last hundred years, the “ruthless titans” are usually named.
I asked them to tell me who was named apart from Dr. Fauci, Bill Gates (a common ruthless titan nowadays) and this entity called Big Pharma.
I do not intend to clog your response list with invective (and will certainly not do on my part).
I am old enough to be familiar with where responses to such an inquiry usually lead. I want to test whether my unmentioned assumption of their answers was true or not, or somewhere in between.
Huh?
Thanks for your thoughtful analysis of RFK’s book. It sounds like bunk. You gave it more of the benefit of the doubt than it deserves. But you thoroughly demolished it all the same.
Thank you Mr. Brownsberger for the thoughtful case of reading an alternate view and rationally assessing it. Seemingly, a portion of our population has been sucked into a hysteria which is not build on a rational basis, but is an emotional striking out at “authority.” Hence, unfortunately, rational discussion with such fellow citizens is unlikely to be heard by them.
Thank you for such a thoughtful response when so many others merely fan the fire or reject anything that counters their position. Science is never perfect and by its nature always evolving.
Thank you for your service.
Will, Thank you for taking the time to read the book and to explain why its basic premises are false. This kind of misinformation/disinformation about Covid has killed untold numbers.
Thanks for this run-down on RFK Jr’s book. He has long been known as a whacko. That some of the people on your list cite his book as a reliable source shows us once again how gullible some people are and how ready they are to grab onto any source to support their own prejudices.
I have never had a high opinion of commenters who go after the person (in this case RFK Jr.) instead of arguing on issues at hand. It was on full display with Trump too. It’s a smoke screen that in no way brings us closer to solving our problems.
Thank you for taking the time to read such drivel, saving your constituents valuable time. I appreciate the seriousness with which you always take your work.
I have absolutely no patience left for anti-vax thinking. Those who die vaccine-free at this point, deserve it.
This is what happens when a Kennedy goes bad. Because of the name they were born with, they can publish without principle. I know: I haven’t read it. No, I don’t intend to.
“Those who die vaccine-free at this point, deserve it,” is a terribly evil thing to say, Janet. Is that really who you are? A psychopath? You have no idea why certain individuals are refusing the vaccine. Do you think the same way about people who die from obesity-related illnesses, lung cancer after smoking for years, driving while they’re intoxicated or texting, uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, etc.? If not, why not? People in these categories all had the opportunity to improve/save their health/lives if they had made different decisions as well, yet most of the time people, who make evil comments such as yours have more sympathy for them than those they label “anti-vax.” Is that really logically consistent though?
As a side note, I don’t believe anyone deserves death no matter how vehemently I disagree with their health decisions.
Celia – thank you so much! Somebody had to say it, and you did so beautifully.
Will thanks. It was very generous of you to give this awful book as much time as you did.
Thanks as always, Will, for your careful reading and straightforward reasoning.
Thank you, Will for even reading JFK Jr‘s “book” of falsehoods and lies and pointing them out so clearly.
Continue your good work for us.
JFK Jr’s book isn’t coming out until after he appears at his Qanon event.
?
I’m sure you consider yourselves open-minded people.
Thank you for this analysis. I second every appreciation stated above.
Your critique of RFK He’s book & concepts are logical & well modulated. I appreciate that. One issue is the lack of messaging & perception. To convince the skeptical public, it behooves Dr Fauci to step back & certainly step away from the media spotlight.
It would be a better visual with a team of scientists & doctors to diffuse the him vs everyone dynamic. He’s not the only qualified person-& I hope Fauci takes a step back for the overall benefit of a tired nation.
Biden needs to have a more consistent policy nationwide. We, the people, are tired of governors, mayors Fauci telling us different things on any given day.
No we are not. Fauci isn’t perfect but has done a great job. At least half of the governors have done a terrible job. Boston’s mayors have had a mixed performance. Marty was adequate. Janey was awful. Wu is good but too little too late regarding omicron.
I agree. Fauci has allowed himself to become a TV personality – hardly a good look for someone in his position. I’m tired of seeing him, and don’t pay much attention to what he is saying — since I learned he may be twisting himself into a pretzel saying something different in not too long.
Thanks so much for this analysis, Will!
It is particularly needed given the reckless, dangerous incitement of hostility being directed by ne’er-do-wells and the simply misguided towards that fine fellow Fauci.
Thank you, Will, for separating fact from fiction.
Opinion never does that. Most of what Will wrote is opinion.
The silver lining behind this cloud of misinformation is that the people dying of covid are almost entirely unvaccinated, which will get us to herd immunity sooner. Again, it is my opinion that unvaccinated people showing up at the hospital with Covid should be sent home. It is the most sensible form of triage
Hateful and shameful of you. You should embarrassed.
And you have no idea what you’re talking about, Alan. Even triple-vaccinated people are getting covid and many are walking around spreading it, while most unvaccinated are very careful, responsibly self-isolating, and masking and distancing when in public. It is mind-boggling that people like you exist. Maybe you’re also fantasizing about executing the unvaccinated. Looks like you would surely volunteer for that task. Revolting.
And herd immunity is not achieved by temporary artificial immunity of mRNA shots. You will learn the hard way.
I have seen this hateful rhetoric from several of the postings…wishing for someone’s death is something Will should publicly condemn. I even saw a retired nurse in these postings cheering on the death of unvaxxed. Will, this is exactly why you do not divide societies along lines such as this. You need to take responsibility for the hateful society you and other misguided politicians are creating.
Mark — you are not seriously accusing Will of fanning flames by sharing his thoughtful and respectful analysis, as invited to do by his constituents? How exactly is that “misguided”?
No Robin. My response was to Alan who said the unvaxxed should be sent home to die. I do think Will should clearly state his objection to such hateful comments.
!! Go Will Go ***
Arigato~
I wonder why RFK with his misguided opinion gained traction in American society. But, then, Trump in all of his hateful incompetency still gets media coverage. What this shows, in my opinion, is too many people lack an ability to think critically.
A famous name and lots of money.
They think the same of you. The jury is still out.
Thanks for taking the time to comment on the book and for allowing this open exchange
Will, I appreciate your sharing your insight about the book you read. Me, learning more why people are anti- vaxers. I appreciate the work you do for your constituents & always going the extra step to help & support us. Thank you-
I too thank you for taking the time to read RFK Jr’s book; I’m one of many who wouldn’t have the patience.
I know Tony Fauci, because Sheldon Wolff was his mentor and mine. If Dr. Fauci had wanted money and power, he would not have spent his career at the NIH. He is a serious and sincere person, and we have every reason to think that he is doing his best for the public health. (The same is true of Rachelle Walensky.)
There is an interesting freely available and non-technical essay about COVID and HIV denialism in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine, https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2115832 . The author says that “The truth is that I believe HIV causes AIDS because I trust the people – professors, editors, scientists – who have told me so, not because I can independently evaluate and confirm the science. I am part of what anthropologist Heidi Larson calls a ‘chain of trust’ in a social system that has treated me fairly and generously – a chain did not reach Mr. B. I realized that the chain’s links consist of lived experiences and relationships, not data in scientific journals. I believe what my colleagues say because of of my proximity to their experience: I work with people like the scientists who conducted the earliest studies, and I know them to be generally honorable and credible. “
That is why I believe Tony Fauci and Rachelle Walensky.
Well said. The challenge is to extend that chain of trust. It is not blind trust. It is informed trust.
So proud to have voted for you! Thank you for thinking about ALL of us. I agree with your reflections.
That’s it…how to we build a chain of trust in this country again? So very easy to break it.
Thank you. While RFK jr. book is not on my list, I’m glad it was on yours. I am heartened by your thoughtful research and analysis of it, and for all your efforts in our community. Again, thank you. I feel so grateful to have such a genuine and respectful person as our senator, especially in these times.
Will,
Thank you for spending the time on this. You’re an incredibly patient and probing person. I hope your analysis will be helpful for some in the district.
Mike
Thank you, Will — and shame on RFK and all the other anti-vax conspiracy theorists. This whole thing is scary, as are a number of other widespread public delusions that I need not mention.
Fauci is everything that’s wrong with government. He is on a power trip. He changes his positions repeatedly and has done absolutely nothing in regards to treatments. Hence his history with dealing with HIV aids. He was all about a vaccine, not treating it. Do the research. The guy is completel beaurocratic fraud. And he is political! Not good. He needs to go.
The Fauci worship is nauseating given how much damage this evil man has done. He collaborated with China on gain of function research, suppressed effective treatments, blocked viewpoints, etc. He should be in jail.
Dman – You and Mark should write a book with more detail on your research and your sources. Clearly, you both have done the research. Many of us just don’t have access to the rich sources you draw on. We’d all be fascinated to see the backup for your comments. And it’s Ok if you want to remain anonymous. I understand.
So much info available on Mr Fauci and gain of function….here’s one from a Leftist publication that gets a few things right.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/10/nih-admits-funding-risky-virus-research-in-wuhan
Dman – None of what you say is true. You have become addicted to the hate drugs that are peddled by they lies of RFK, Donald tRump and many others. Try to step away from your feeling when you are reading, or listening to the news.
As has been pointed out by Will and others, Dr. Fauchi is part of a chain of trust. It is not blind trust. It is informed trust. If you remain stuck in your feeling you will never be able to see the truth, In anything you do, In any relationships you have.
“Fauci is a part of a chain of trust”. Oh, my. You got chained alright.
Will,
Thank you for this well-reasoned commentary on the RFK rantings- clearly RFK should simply declare his deluded self a Republican, a sycophant of lunatic conspiracy theories; and then perhaps some of the recent respondents to your statement should do the same!!!!!
As a retired R.N., I will only add that I believe these selfish and irresponsible fools who whine about bodily autonomy should be denied admission to hospitals, and only those responsible to themselves and their fellow citizens by being vaccinated should be allowed admission to hospitals, ER’s, or other medical facilities.
Thank you for all you do!!
Sincerely,
Lizzie
Thank you Nurse Ratchet. Will, several of the commenters are pretty much wishing death on the un-injected. I believe this kind of heated rhetoric is irresponsible and leaders such as yourself have a responsibility to lead your followers in a more humane direction and remind these fine people we are all God’s children.
The unvaccinated are not just ~wishing~, but actively harming and killing other people.
And yet, you want to lecture others about ethical behavior? Wishing never killed anyone.
Please just get vaccinated and you can wish anything you want, as long as you do no harm,
The vaccinated are spreading the virus. Misinformation has led you to believe the vaccinated do not get sick or spread the virus. More vaccinated people are getting the “Omicron” virus than the unvaxxed. I know so many people who have gotten sick with Covid or have had mystery illnesses who are vaxxed.
The unvaccinated spread more virus for longer periods of time.
The unvaccinated are harming others. There is no excuse for harming others.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/vaccinated-people-are-less-likely-spread-covid-new-research-finds-n1280583
The article you reference is a bit dated and from propaganda outlet. A recent article from the Lance says the opposite.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00768-4/fulltext
You are wrong, clearly a victim of the propagandist media. Here is an article from the Lancet that will hopefully lessen your prejudice.
COVID-19: stigmatising the unvaccinated is not justified – The Lancet
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02243-1/fulltext
Sharing this with Mark and Eva — last sentence of your Lancet article’s first paragraph:
“But this view is far too simple.”
In other words, the article acknowledges that (1) there is a significantly large volume of unvaccinated transmission, (2) there is a volume, not magnitudinally equivalent, but not zero, of vaccinated transmission, and (3) it is not a good idea to demonize any of the population.
But they do not say that the vaccinated contribute large volume transmission.
Details, details,…
You believe that people should be denied healthcare when they may need it – and you’re a retired nurse? Wow. Just astonishing. Glad you’re retired.
The truth is coming out…many of the commenters here wishing death on the un-injected is very telling and scary. We are not far off from forced internment. Will, many of your followers would gladly approve of such measures…I hope you will take a stance against such actions if they start to gain favor. These types of actions are going on in the World as we speak so this is not theoretical.
That will be very interesting to see – what Will will do when all his sycophantic supporters start demanding concentration camps for the unvaccinated. He’ll be in such a pickle.
Thank you, Will, for being willing to read RFK’s book, and for your rebuttal. I admire your honesty, courage and persistence.
I am so happy we have a Will Brownsberger to thoroughly seek answers for his constituents.
Thank-you, Will, for being so open and taking the time to read RFK’s book and for sharing your calm and reasonable thoughts with us. As always, you are an inspiration. I’m afraid my responses might not be as calm and reasonable.
I equate the RFK Jr’s book to the “Birds Aren’t Real” satirical conspiracy theory which posits that birds are actually drones operated by the United States government to spy on American citizens. At 81 Dr. Anthony Fauci does not need more money, more notoriety, more power, and more work. He is sacrificing his short time left in his life, that could used to be with his grandchildren, to help the American and world people with sound medical advice.
Fauci is not sacrificing anything. He loves limelight. It makes him feel relevant and important. He would not be holding on to this job at his age if that was not the case.
Will, I applaud you for listening to both sides of the story. Too many people will only listen to one voice without considering all of the others before coming up with their own conclusion. I think one need to consider credentials to0. Who knows more about science, an attorney or a medical doctor? (I do applaud some of RFK Jr’s environmental work). Has the response from Covid been perfect? No. No one has a crystal ball and anyone can be a Monday morning quarterback.
Thank you Will for taking the time to read and respond! Much appreciated. I agree with your analysis.
I appreciate your willingness to read the book, and I wish with all my heart you took a firmer stance in condemning it. Sometimes stronger words are needed and more public condemnation is called for, especially from reasonable and thoughtful people like yourself. This book is dangerous. The people who are posting here in support of this book are dangerous. You need to shout that from the rooftops. Use your position to forcefully condemn this work.
“The people who are posting here in support of this book are dangerous.” Oh yes, they should taught a lesson, with Kristallnacht or something.
I wish you had not taken the time given that there is so much more to do with your valuable time. RFK Jr needs therapy to deal with the many unresolved issues from the trauma of his father’s assassination. He recently asked for parole for that aforementioned assassin. I hope he gets that therapy and stop perpetuating falsehoods that mire us in a morass of disinformation, misinformation and propaganda.
I am deeply saddened–shocked really– by the malicious comments on this site about those who are not vaccinated. I wish they would protect themselves by getting vaccinated–particularly if they are older or otherwise more vulnerable. But they are no threat to me. Nor are other vaccinated people safer for me. The vaccines are reducing hospitalization and death but they are not preventing transmission. This idea that the unvaccinated are responsible for the continued pandemic is patently false. And it is dangerous to create an “other” to scapegoat.
Thank you for being a voice of reason and kindness.
Vaccination does reduce transmission.
Unvaccinated folk will spread more virus further and for longer periods of time.
Except for some very rare medical conditions, there is absolutely no ethical way to remain unvaccinated.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/11/covid-19-vaccination-spread/
It’s your opinion. Live by it. And stop telling others what to do. Nobody listens. You’re not other people’s father, and they are not your children. Also, this may be of interest to you:
COVID-19: stigmatising the unvaccinated is not justified – The Lancet
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02243-1/fulltext
Thank you Will for spelling this out so well and for your careful consideration. As far as the personal autonomy point, I do not think that anyone is saying that the government should come in and hold someone down and vaccinate them. Each person has their own choice. That said, in the interest of the common good, if you want to do certain things in society, you should be vaccinated. As a small business owner, I will not hire someone who isn’t vaccinated and I think that other business should do that as well. It makes economic sense and protects the wider community. Likewise, I would be happy to see vaccine mandates in place for public spaces including public venues, restaurants and public transit. People can choose to not be vaccinated, but that does not give them autonomy to perpetuate this pandemic indefinitely, flooding our healthcare system and causing needless suffering.
“People can choose to not be vaccinated, but that does not give them autonomy to perpetuate this pandemic indefinitely…” Ha-ha. Wake up. The vaccinated are perpetuating it as well – and doing it with great smugness and delusion of supposedly being more virtuous people.
This is an article from The Lancet (not exactly “quacks.com”) called Covid19: stigmatizing the unvaccinated is not justified.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02243-1/fulltext
Funny how all they ignore this.
Will, thanks for posting this and for having taken the time to sample the book and share your (entirely rational) thoughts on it. As another commenter says here, it’s a shame you had to spend time doing that, but it reminds me of how fortunate we in your district are to have your representing us.
Thanks for all you do.
Note to your commenter, Mike: I count two people on here saying that if unvaccinated people end up dying, they’ll deserve what has happened. That’s not “many,” and it’s not really the same as their wishing those folks would die. Also, Nurse Rached spells her name with a “d” not a “t.”
I’ve seen more than just two postings here maligning the un-vaccinated and wishing them ill, and many more people are probably thinking that, but have stopped themselves from stating that. This attitude, apart from that being appalling from the moral standpoint, is completely preposterous because these “vaccines” are not effective against the currently dominant Omicron variant – so they are useless. And yet, people stubbornly cling to the idea that it’s a solution that needs to be forced on everyone.
Bravo, bravo, to you Will for taking the time to read his book and make comments. I am embarrassed by his book and not at all surprised. My own memory of RJK Jr. goes back to the day we brought our Belmont National History Day students to the Senate Floor, meet to him, an appt we made weeks earlier. I heard him telling his then secretary, soon to be his wife, to cancel the appt. since he did not feel like seeing a bunch of Belmont kids. Really? We had just come in third place in National History Day and were the youngest group to ever win. We even confirmed our ten minute appt. two days earlier. Well, we marched them down to the floor anyway where he was telling jokes as Harry Harding, a Boston student who had never been on a trip before, presented this rude example of government with a National History Day shirt he had bought with his own $10. Harry was 12 years old. RFK Jr. was less than gracious. None of those kids will ever forget their disappointment that day, nor will I.
And now, RFK Jr. is knocking Dr. Fauci? Oh please. How ridiculous. Dr. Fauci is brilliant and deserves every cent he is being paid. He has put up with a ridiculous amount of abuse and ridicule all because he cares about human life and wants to save people and stop this ridiculous pandemic.
During the polio epidemic we all got vaccinated. There were no big tests being done on that vaccine, we simply listened to what we were told and did it. It worked. It worked because everyone listened and got vaccinated. Today we have amazing amounts of scientific research data telling us to get the vaccine and people are simply digging their heals in and putting many others in danger. People are dying because of them. That makes me very, sad.
Thank you for having the decency to speak up and share your honest and well-documented views.
Mary
Thank you for your evidence-based response to what is clearly and sadly a crack-pot book by RFK, Jr.
Will, you are a saint to wade through all that. I had the chance to work out of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center decades ago, I have always had the utmost respect for the Kennedys and their dedication to health and the impact of certain things on the mind. I also got to meet Ted Kennedy while he addressed the care of subjects of experiments at the Fernald, years ago. I was raised cynical of the Kennedys but I knew only the most sincere motives, so this RFK, Jr. stuff of mingling with conspiracy theories breaks my heart. That said, I have listened to a steady stream of biostats and research information since early in the pandemic which does not support much of what our commonplace public health statements are telling us. I don’t see conspiracies, I see they think we are stupid. They aim to simplify and expect us to lie if it’s convenient. I see ivermectin smeared in the news as an animal medicine, official fact checking is set to falsify the point. I have no desire for conspiracy theory nor to glorify the soldiers in the field of public health. The sad fact is we are making ourselves crazy over this.
Of all the things I have done for a living, never have I felt such a need for the conduit of art to connect the dots and bring the culture back together. I see so many occasions when the administration fails to pick up the opportunities to make this world heal. Like the rap star’s being called by the White House, but then cast off. Had they simply done the right thing and brought her in instead of dumping her, there could have been millions vaccinated the next week. Instead, the administration openly complained that they could not get minorities to trust them. I urge you to remember art is the conduit of all parts. Where there appears to be no way to connect a factionalized people, the opportunities exist where the cultural heart is- the music, the stories, the film and theater, the landmark places people love and in artists themselves.
I would like to add my appreciation to Will for taking the time to read and comment on RFK’s book. I think it is true public service to take up a challenge provided by constituents, even those in the minority. I also appreciate Will’s thoughtful and sincere analysis of the book and his responses to some of the comments. I am very glad that I live in your district, Will, and I will continue to count on you to seek constituent input and make measured decisions for the best possible outcomes for your district and for society at large.
Also, I find those who use nasty rhetoric and name-calling to be unconvincing, to say the least. I think we should try to win each other over with our comments rather than throw rocks at those we disagree with.
I would like to add a different element to the conversation. Indeed vaccines work, and published hospital records show this. I encourage everyone to get vaccinated. Nevertheless it is true that Pfizer and Moderna are becoming insanely rich. They deserve their reputation as opportunists who put money before people. For example they are fighting tooth and nail to maintain patent rights on the vaccine, effectively decreasing global vaccination and increasing deaths in lower income countries. So fight the companies’ financial greed, not their product.
Will, the reality is that there are many studies on both sides of the argument. It all depends on which ones you believe. Unfortunately, people have been so polarized by media propaganda on both sides that it is almost impossible to change minds. We are becoming a divided nation of divided families, hell bent on convincing each other that the belief about that is necessary for own wellbeing and of society is right and anything else is wrong.
The only truth is that the real truth is still not known, and won’t be for many years. It can never be so until all of the studies, research, successes and failures are allowed to be broadly communicated and publically and scientifically validated or disproved. Unfortunately, that is not happening.
What is happening is something that has shaken me to my core. It is what I learned about from Nazi death camp survivors when I was in Hebrew school, and something that I thought would never happen in America.
I remember listening to one aging woman, whose face is etched in my memory forever. I will call her Mrs. M, who with eyes glazed over, recounted the horrors of her childhood. She spoke of how her village and nation was lied to by the government leaders. She recalled how they were ultimately betrayed by their former friends and neighbors, brainwashed into believing “those people” were evil because they believed differently. I heard how their jobs, belongings, homes and rights were stripped from them, how they were segregated from the society that they helped build. I listened to how her parents, sister, cousins and friends were forced on trains to the camps “for their own safety” and the “good of society” because the government leaders said it was so. I saw that tattoos stamped into her arm that she refused to remove, so she could make sure others would never forget. I listened to stories of innocent people being forced to consume experimental drugs and undergo so-called medical procedures, many of which resulted in horrible deaths. I learned how she could never bare children because of the experiments they performed on her.
So when I read study after study and personal accounts of the serious adverse effects of these RNA gene-altering drugs, then please excuse me if I do not have the same level of blind trust in what some of our government leaders are forcing upon us.
We were told this experimental “vaccine” (which is not even a vaccine), made by companies that were granted immunity from prosecution for any adverse effects, would prevent people from getting Covid after being “fully vaccinated. That was proven untrue. It does not. We were told that it would prevent transmission to others and by getting it we would be saving grandma and grandpa. That was proven untrue. We were told it was completely safe with no serious or long-term side effects. That was proven untrue. We were told this drug would protect whoever took it from hospitalization. That was proven untrue. We were told it didn’t effect menstrual cycles. That was proven untrue. We were told it didn’t cause myocarditis in healthy young people. That was proven untrue. We were told it didn’t interfere with our innate and naturally obtained immune systems. That was proven untrue. We were told the PCR tests identified Covid infection and accurate case rates. That was proven untrue. We were told the 3rd and 4th boosters would do everything the other shots didn’t. That was proven untrue. What else is yet to be proven untrue? That is the problem. We just don’t know.
There are too many things that we do not understand about these drugs. Because of that it is not only unethical, but un-American to force them on people who do not willingly want to take them. “My body, My Choice” is not only about a women’s right. It’s about everyone’s right. This use of force against half, a third or just a few citizens is not what this nation is about.
We are not Nazi Germany. We are not communist China or Russia. We do not force people out of their jobs, even when working remotely because they won’t take an experimental and potentially dangerous drug. We do not force our heroes of the pandemic – nurses, doctors, police, firefighters, teachers, and service men and women out of their livelihoods because they won’t take the drug. We do not ban them society. We do not deny their God-given right to protect their lives and the lives of their loved ones. We are better than that. We must be better than that. The Constitution provides inalienable rights to all of us, especially in the darkest of times. It does not expire and become invalid because of an illness, especially one that has over a 99.8% survival rate.
Stop the madness. Stop the mandates. Stop the societal segregation. Stop pitting sister against brother, neighbor against neighbor before it is too late. Stop it before the protections and freedoms that are being stripped from every person in this country “for the good of the society” are lost to government overreach forever.
Thank you Mike for this thoughtful well written analysis.
Except for a very few rare medical conditions, there is no ethical way to remain unvaccinated.
You are harming others.
It’s nonsense to suggest there are “studies” on “both sides.”
The anti-vaxxers must stop pretending that there is some kind of moral high ground that defends their indefensible, selfish, uncaring determination to harm others.
There is no excuse.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/11/covid-19-vaccination-spread/
Here’s a recent article from the Lancet explaining vaxxed transmit the same. Stop living in fear. Turn off the TV.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00768-4/fulltext
My goodness, KB, you’re accusing others of what you yourself are doing. It’s your side that wrongly claims a higher moral ground. Those experimental vaccines don’t work (which part of that don’t you understand?), and no one has a right to punish anyone for not wanting to be injected with them. This time it’s just about those ineffective jabs that you naively welcome. Next time, it may be you being forced to take drugs that you feel are not right for you. Do you not have imagination to see what a slippery slope this is? How easy it would be to harm large numbers of people down the road if we go in that direction? With all your righteousness, you’re living in a la-la land. You forget that bio-terror and bio-weapons are not in the realm of science fiction anymore – at some point that’s how warfare (or just quiet, “peaceful” culling) may be conducted. Protecting our inalienable rights is more important than ever.
Thanks Will for your thoughtful assessment.
“Here for the comments”. Is it wrong for some small part of yourself to extract a bit of entertainment from such pressing public debates? Perhaps..
In all seriousness though, as someone who’s seen the unbelievable ravages of the pharmaceutical industrial complex (extending into academia etc. etc.) 1st hand and campaigned against them, it’s easy for me to sometimes understand why people like RFK Jr. go off the deep end these days. (Nevertheless, per usual, I agree with the well reasoned points presented here). Though many folks are wrong about a great many things, there are very valid reasons to pay attention to the mass loss of public trust in institutions today. That’s the bigger picture I hope this country begins to correct.
My doctors agree with and follow Dr. Fauci’s advice. It is very evident that the vaccinated are faring better during the pandemic than the unvaccinated. So I’m listening to Dr. Fauci.
My doctor says it’s an unproven technology with significant risks.
One more: I don’t appreciate this argument being broken down into an Us and Them field. Science is evolving. Observe the FDA hearings on the vaccine. Take in lectures at universities, they are mostly online these days. Listen to the top credentialed scientists sometimes argue, shush and correct each other. Sometimes they present research that contradicts other presented research. This is germane to scientific inquiry. To use some of the highest journals as an example, more than half of what we think we learn, we eventually find out to be a bit wrong. More than half of peer reviewed research in NEJM and Lancet get retracted. Not condemning science, but getting real about knowledge expanding rapidly. People who doubt your or my understanding of the science are not the enemy. They may contribute to inquiry. Some are scientists. Of course most of them are not, they are simply mislead. But making an enemy of ignorants serves exactly whom? Zealots abound on both of the sides. Stop playing sides. We can’t win by division. It always reminds me of an FBI briefing I heard around the 2016 election, about how the evidence was the Russians enjoyed sowing discord, playing both sides of any issue, just mucking up the playing field as best they could. Don’t play sides against each other. Don’t even allow it.
Anthony Fauci is underpaid, What does the head of UMass Medical bring to the table that makes him twice as valuable to society as Tony?
Probably more researchers. Not a patronage disaster like Billy Bulger
Thank you Will.
Will, thank you for taking time to read the book and for responding thoughtfully to those who asked you to do so. I am very much in favor of the various Covid vaccines, but failure to engage consistently and respectfully with those who disagree means that misinformation and conspiracy theories will continue to gain traction with certain segments of the American public. Experience–and, in too many unfortunate instances, death–are a much better teacher than me railing against so-called “deplorables” (thank you Hillary–or not!). Taking the difficult and time-consuming but ultimately higher roads of respectful disagreement and open engagement ultimately are the only solutions so the divisions that currently plague our democracy.
Thanks Senator Brownsberger for all you did to enlighten us on the book that RFK wrote about Dr. Fauci.
Just to say – having had my 80tieth Birthday dinner yesterday at the Old Colony Inn in Concord – with my family and all of us in masks – I was so totally distressed at the lack of people in the restaurant and the sad state of affairs that this country is now experiencing with the pandemic. Worried for my three grandchildren attending Belmont High School and Watertown Middle School – and my daughters who work in the Newton schools and in the Chelsea community. They and I are all at risk. We are talking death here.
Concord really calls for the best in ourselves as citizens of this country.
The continual bringing down of leadership in the midst of this horrible pandemic is difficult to experience. I think we can do better and so glad you and all who are responding are trying to support those in leadership positions who are doing what they can to stop the spread of this virus – to stop the numbers that are increasing and the deaths that are occurring.
Ann
Will, I deeply appreciate your willingness to listen to both sides and respond with both respect and reason. You have the patience of a saint.
So grateful to have such a thoughtful human in office – advocating for all of us and listening to all of us. I wish we weren’t in this moment where trust in science has been so eroded. And I am grateful that you took what precious time you have to engage with this discussion – you’re doing a great job. Thank you for advocating for the truth and for listening.
I know of someone who is a nurse at Brigham and Women’s hospital. She says that the majority people who are hospitalized and dying of COVID are unvaccinated people- a fact. She said she is tired of putting these people in body bags. This is a stark image, but needs to be described.
Yes, vaccinated people can also get and spread this disease, but they are not the ones ending up the hospital and dying. So if you are unvaccinated, you should think about this fact. You may end up in the hospital or worse.
Why does this info have to reach us via anecdotal stories? Why don’t we have official numbers on that, complete with including info on the presence of underlying conditions as well? What are the percentages? If most people in hospitals who have Covid are unvaccinated, let’s have official data across the board. Maybe they are there for other reasons, but just happen to test positive for covid? I know three unvaccinated people who got covid, and none needed any special treatment, never mind going to a hospital. If some unvaccianted do end up in hospitals, it may or may not be a good reason to vaccinate the entire population. Some people may prefer to acquire natural immunity to having temporary artificial immunity via the shots (and the latter are a gravy train for Big Pharma, so we cannot even count on that industry to be objective).
People who put out these kind of scare stories are the problem. The data is being highly manipulated. There is so much dishonesty in the hospitals. We must 1st remove the perverse financial incentives for these hospitals. No more bonus money for coding Covid, etc. Should not be treated any differently from other ailments. The records need to be audited by independent parties.
Yes, this was anecdotal, but it was from a sincere nurse who was telling it as she saw it firsthand, and she is obviously exhausted. (These hospital workers are so overworked!) Again- clarification- although this is obviously not a scientific study or from official data, this was not a scare story. Not everyone who gets COVID ends up in the hospital, but if you are vaccinated you are much less likely to do so. I know people who had breakthrough infections after vaccination, and all of them have said “thank goodness I was vaccinated as this could have been much worse if I had not been.”
And thank you, Will for taking the time to report out on this book.
Thank you, Will, for your thoughtful and insightful analysis of the book’s premise (maybe you don’t need to read the rest to refute the arguments regarding the current pandemic?). Six thousand people read and believed it? Out of 33 million in the US (minus those who died of Covid…and other causes)? Yeah, that’s not many. I’d like to see next book, The Real RFK, Jr. …
I’d trust the MAJORITY of doctors and scientists in this country (and others) to maintain the public health, allowing for the changing variants and their specific management needs.
Keep going, Will! You’re doing the public good…just like Dr. Anthony Fauci!
Thank you for acknowledging this in a thoughtful way.
The root of the problem over vaccines and Covid treatment is not in the facts, although I am impressed that Will took the time to read any of RFK, Jr’s book to examine his points. If you look at the comments, no one is presenting an argument that do anything to change the mind of anyone on the other side, not even to make them stop and think, to question their positions.
We live in a polarized society now. People are convinced of the rightness and virtue of their beliefs and the wrongness of others. We talk past each other, not with each other. We don’t really listen to each other (as I think Will attempted to do in his reading), but wait (or sometimes don’t wait before interrupting) to reinforce our beliefs in our next statement. Where does this lead?
I don’t have an answer to that question, but thinking about where this leads scares me. In fact, I think most of what underlies the political arguments we’re having (an Covid treatment is certainly a political argument) is fear: loss of freedoms; fear of extremism (on both sides); loss of a civil society and ultimately violence.
As I said, I don’t know where this leads, but it’s not to a good place.
Thank you Will. And thank you to Klemons Meyer for your thoughts with the link to the great article The Doctor’s Oldest Tool which I highly recommend. It speaks to our humanity. The link again:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2115832
With all the controversy during this pandemic, polio and the vaccine for it comes to mind. I was fortunate to have the vaccine when I was a child. Jonas Salk developed it the year before I was born. I had friends with polio who suffered its terrible paralyzing conditions. There hasn’t been a polio case originating in the U.S. for 40+ years.
I believe in integrative medicine, natural health, and didn’t had a flu vaccine before COVID, but medicine can be miraculous.
Smallpox was eradicated in the U.S. with a vaccine.
I’m not a fan of the excessive profiteering and at times criminal practices in the pharmaceutical industry. Jonas Salk didn’t profit from his vaccine. I wish there were more like him. This from the Jonas Salk Institute:
“Contrary to the era’s prevailing scientific opinion, Salk believed his vaccine, composed of “killed” polio virus, could immunize without risk of infecting the patient. Salk administered the vaccine to volunteers who had not had polio, including himself, his lab scientist, his wife and their children. All developed anti-polio antibodies and experienced no negative reactions to the vaccine.
In 1954, national testing began on one million children, ages six to nine, who became known as the Polio Pioneers. On April 12, 1955, the results were announced: the vaccine was safe and effective. In the two years before the vaccine was widely available, the average number of polio cases in the U.S. was more than 45,000. By 1962, that number had dropped to 910. Hailed as a miracle worker, Salk never patented the vaccine or earned any money from his discovery, preferring it be distributed as widely as possible.”
Better times are ahead.
Do PJ and his supporters believe that Biden won? Curious.
Go fishing somewhere else. Nobody’s biting.
Report from the front lines (that is, hospitals and other medical establishments) right here in Massachusetts, right now, by Dr. Robin Schoenthaler: https://robinschoenthaler.medium.com/dr-robins-covid-19-updates-7ca2ae71fbd4
Will
your open minded reception of contrary opinions is impressive
People with contrary opinions vote as well.
Thank you, Senator Brownsberger. You’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty this time. In normal times, getting vaccinated and wearing a mask indoors would be enough.
I knew some people who had polio. It was exciting when three docs figured out how to grow viruses in tissue culture, which led pretty quickly to the Salk vaccine, and, later, to others. The March of Dimes became unnecessary because no one got polio.
Scientists are imperfect, sometimes dishonest, or greedy, or simply wrong. That said, science is self correcting to deserve the name, science. That Will Brownsberger should have to take such careful pains on this subject suggests to me that science education needs a bump, granting that the days when Franklin flew his kite are past.
I too. My mother’s third grade “crush” who we kept in contact with his whole life on crutches with damaged legs
I have a friend who is legally ( near completely) blind. His mother got German Measles when he was in her womb. I heard the unforgettable struggle to breathe from unvaccinated children of Whopping Cough.
No vaccine is perfect. Adaptation is a moving target (guessing the strains for a flu vaccine.)
Are people aware that our previous president closed the infectious disease monitoring outposts spread around the world? This before Sars-Covid.
It’s scary hearing the references to the 1918 flu pandemic but one thing they get right: We Didn’t Know. It was when soldiers were put outside on stretchers that the concept of fresh air came into play. Science wasn’t at fault Solutions take time & research needs to be formalized (Dr. Birx thrown under the bus)
My daughter went to National History Day on this topic. Ironic history repeating itself and the same voices echo…
Mr. Browsberger —
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and reflect on the RFK Jr. book about Dr. Fauci. As a scientists, I agree with your thoughtful and well-researched reflections. Dr. Fauci is not infallible, but he is my model of a superb scientist dedicated to the public good. How lucky we are to have him. Kennedy’s accusations, as you gently point out, are false and without scientific foundations. How sad. Thanks again for your dedication.
Hi Will,
Thank you for this eye-opening post, and the email that led me here. I was aware that misinformation was holding down the COVID vaccination rate. However, I was not aware that RFK, a person closely related to several famous Democrats, was one of the sources. This is very unfortunate, as I imagine that there are anti-vax talk show hosts out there taking advantage of this association.
After the previous election my wonderful Republican neighbors teased me about voting for Kennedy. I replied “are you kidding me? We (they know hard-core liberal family of activists) would never vote for that [censored] nutjob anti vaxer!”
But as you said, many didn’t know and That name in Massachusetts…
I agree that there’s no “vaccine conspiracy,” and that Dr. Fauci isn’t in it for the money.
However, I don’t think we need to be wedded to a particular public official’s career and credibility, in order to enthusiastically support public health measures such as universal vaccination and indoor mask mandates. Focusing in on Dr. Fauci, and staking our pandemic response to one, fallible, elderly man under extraordinary stress (or two, counting Joe Biden), seems unwise. Part of depoliticizing the pandemic must involve relying on the truth, and not on particular persons.
There are legitimate things to criticize Dr. Fauci for.
One is that he seems to have been cavalier about the harmful potential of gain-of-function research. I don’t think he’s been straightforward about his role in approving NIH funding for research by EcoHealth Alliance in Wuhan that broke NIH’s rules: https://www.bbc.com/news/57932699, https://twitter.com/angie_rasmussen/status/1451167938489327617.
Another is errors in messaging that cost lives.
In March 2020, he was emphasizing the mistaken theory that COVID spread mainly via droplets, rather than being airborne, and that discouraged mask-wearing, perhaps with the intent of reserving surgical/KN95/KF94/N95 masks for medical personnel: “There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask. When you’re in the middle of an outbreak, wearing a mask might make people feel a little bit better and it might even block a droplet, but it’s not providing the perfect protection that people think that it is. And, often, there are unintended consequences — people keep fiddling with the mask and they keep touching their face.”
In May 2021, he defended an abrupt change in CDC guidance that suggested that vaccinated people no longer needed to wear masks: ““Even though there are breakthrough infections with vaccinated people, almost always the people are asymptomatic, and the level of virus is so low, it makes it extremely unlikely, not impossible but very, very low likelihood they are going to transmit it.” The CDC had to backtrack very rapidly on that one.
I note these things without judgment. This is all hard, and sad, and unending. But Dr. Fauci is fallible, like any of us. At some point Biden may well have to gently suggest that it’s time for him to step aside. And when that time comes, I don’t want Democrats’ unwise lionization of Dr. Fauci to make Republicans take his retirement as vindication for anti-vaccine points of view, and make the pandemic even worse.
Quote from article written by 4 authors one of whom is Anthony Fauci. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine last month: “As important as these vaccines are…Vaccination has also been unable to prevent “breakthrough” infections and subsequent transmission to other people…”
Get vaccinated. AND stop demonizing those who don’t.
I was struck by the detail of your response, for example, “The highest paid state employee in Massachusetts is the head of the University of Massachusetts Medical school and he makes more than twice what Dr. Fauci makes.”
I am also struck by the level of detail and time all of us, you included, require to respond to each such writing or assertion in public and on social media. Are we Overcome By Events (OBE)?
So, to offer a way toward a larger view by which to take charge of the larger conversation, I suggest the following, anyone may join. What is a word for each of the existential threats to our world/our humanity/our grandchildren? Assertion Without Evidence is a tool that empowers them all. AWE may not describe one of the words.
As a first example of such a word in a different context, science, consider the word, atom. “Lucretius’s scientific poem “On the Nature of Things” (c. 60 BC) has a remarkable description of Brownian motion of dust particles in verses 113–140 from Book II. He uses this as a proof of the existence of atoms.[6]” (Wikipedia)
For our present conversation, one of the descriptive words of our existential concern is Discrimination. It’s opposite or a response, if you will, is Humanity or empathy.
For another context, Massachusetts, I believe the following words or phrases identify some of the critical problems we face here: Accountability (ex. Police), Transparency (ex. Prisons) , Consequences (ex. All the above and more), Management (ex. Better management of government), (and a long phrase looking for a word) attractive-commuter-transit-access to central and western Massachusetts for more housing including affordable, equitable to all residents.
What words classify our current existential threats?
I see most of you are still being brain washed by our fearless leaders. I’ve been in the health field for over 30 years and this is all BS!! Fauci and the rest of those power hungry Politicians have caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people by covering up and lying through their teeth the facts are all there and if you knew anything about research and studies you would see it too! People let’s not jump on band wagons until YOU have done the research and from non bias sources. I feel bad for people who can’t think for themselves and feel the need to follow whoever is shouting the loudest. What about Fauci’s horrifying Beagle experiments and the fact that he along with his cronies funded the Wu Han bat experiments as well, maybe that’s why our honest leaders haven’t made them accountable what else have they been funding? You’re all a bunch of hypocrites playing follow the leader. Good luck I’m sure they’ll take good care of you and your loved ones for me I’ll protect mine from all of you!!! This is exactly why we’re now the biggest joke in the world because we’re now the weakest fighting amongst each other. Yes I smell socialism after all when the government is telling you what to do, shutting down employments, telling you have to inject yourself with chemicals and cut off oxygen as well as breath in your own toxins all day by having to wear a mask and then sending you lots of money so no one wants to go back to work as is the problem where having you really don’t see a pattern here??? I’m just going to keep praying for you all .
You cannot provide a rebuttal without reading the book in its entirety.
Senator, Thank you for reading the book, coming to conclusions and then presenting them to the public. Or, as some might say, for opening a big fat can of worms. Yes, the usual government haters/deniers come forward. Your patience/tolerance is commendable. Keep up the good work.
Bob Pessek, Allston
I don’t see any government haters/deniers here. Some people are inclined to follow various misleading and contradictory directives from people and interests that are very closely aligned with Big Pharma – and some are not happy to do so. My son just got covid, and he is fully vaccinated. I know several people in the same position. And every day we hear of some well known people who got covid despite being vaccinated. What does that tell us?
Thank you Will for reading the pertinent parts of that book.
The comments brought a chill down my spine. I had no idea how many anti science Vax deniers were in your constituency. I was raised in North Cambridge & moved to Belmont believing this was an educated population. Perhaps it is but with the younger generations. Certainly no one my kids went to BHS with would lend credence to this book past the copyright page.
Thanks to those who cogently tried to explain the science. And used both complex and simple arguments.
Thanks to those who tried to explain the logic not of medical science but of self serving illogical arguments.
You can listen to Will mumbling in defense of the Pfizer-Big Guv-Big Media axis or…scan the list presented below…and this is just the athletes! Keep your eyes open, like the NY Times editor, 47, dead last week within 48 hrs of his booster. But Pfizer would not lie, would they???? Fauci???? Please, given the well-documented presentation of Myocarditus+ Troponin bumps post vax, just admit you have no choice but to go along with the Big D program regardless of the adverse events.
https://goodsciencing.com/covid/athletes-suffer-cardiac-arrest-die-after-covid-shot/
Wow…I knew a lot of European footballers were having major issues…but did not know it was this many.
Yup…funny how that works…Pfizer is the #1 advertiser/sponsor of the “news”, the deaths for sure don’t fit the Big Guv/NPR narrative and they just disappear! Think N Djokovic is stupid?
The truth is coming out…not enough gatekeepers…too many lives destroyed.
https://openvaers.com/
Criticism like this of Anthony Fauci could only happen because of the lies and misinformation sown by a former president, and that former president was not Ronald Reagan, George Bush, George W Bush, Bill Clinton, or Barack Obama. Guess who?
Thank you Will for this enlightening and distressing book review….. Just more of the misinformation and conspiracy allegations. I am glad you are on top of this, and took the time to protect everyone’s well-being. Unfortunately, many people are convinced that some rights are without limit. We have a right to drive, but not on the wrong side of the street. We have a right to”bodily integrity,” but must have been vaccinated to attend school. We have a right to free speech, but cannot incite to insurrection or encourage attacks on others. One’s “right” to refuse the vaccine is a public health issue, which must be tempered by the common good. One does not have the right to take someone’s life by being a spreader. I’m sorry to see the American experiment hijacked by a false absolute individualism which ignores the common good. We as citizens have a Social Contract to take care of each other. Please people, no more distortions of the truth, no more personal attacks or degrading insults, no more “we” and “them”, no more extremist “convictions” not backed by the Truth.
What ever happened to the UNITED States. We don’t have to agree. After all, we are a democracy, but all of us should be committed to the common good and the dignity of all.
I wish I wrote the following, but somebody else wrote it in BH’s comments section.
John • 2 days ago
I will not inject my body for the sake of the collective.??
??
I will not block my breathing for the sake of the collective.??
??
I will not fundamentally alter my lifestyle to accommodate the irrational fears of the collective.??
??
This is a philosophical battle between the individual and the collective.??
??
Those who are scared can choose of their own volition to inject their body, block their breathing, stay inside, and avoid whatever they perceive to be dangerous, but they ?????????? ?????? demand or mandate these things for another.?
??
The collective is not owed safety or protection at the expense of the individual.??
??
The healthy are not obligated to sacrifice themselves to the sick.??
??
The confident are not obligated to sacrifice themselves to the fearful.??
??
The idea that the individual owes anything to the collective is a delusion.??
??
The collective would not exist without the individual.??
??
The freedom and choice of the individual must always supersede the preferences of the mob, when this principle is inverted societal destruction is inevitable.??
??
Many people have been conditioned to believe this is an “unloving” or “selfish” perspective, while completely overlooking how unloving and selfish it is to demand an individual sacrifice their own well-being for the sake of the herd.??
??
Upholding the right for an individual to choose for themselves is the most loving and honorable thing a society can do.??
Woof this comment section is ROUGH.
Anyway, thank you Senator for taking the time to push back on this book. Right now it’s critical to call out bad actors in positions of power that create and spread medical misinformation & distortions. It is also important to have compassion for the victims of those lies, which I think you do throughout this post and by choosing to engage thoughtfully with this problematic material in the first place.
I do wonder though if there needs to be a larger legislative conversation about combatting medical misinformation? While there is always going to be fringe thoughts and conspiracies, I find it deeply concerning that in the US the guardrails around basics facts have come off. It has impacted our ability to address this pandemic, but I think it’s also worth noting that the same dismissals and counter narratives can be found in other public health crises (climate change & abortion access come to mind). RFK Jr. is not a rogue actor and is part of a much larger landscape. Not sure what a legislative solution might look like, but I think it’s clear something toxic is growing and we need disinfectant.
Three important, late-breaking clips from two experts interviewed in Steve Bannon’s War Room Pandemic this morning; covering the science and the truth about Covid, the statistics and what we now know. The1st is Dr. Harvey Risch, MD, PhD, Epidemiologist, Yale, cold open intro of Rand Paul confronting Dr. Fauci yesterday with subsequent comments from Dr. Risch, re transparency and the rational approach we should follow: https://rumble.com/embed/vptr0h/?pub=7oprr The 2nd https://rumble.com/embed/vptrrz/?pub=7oprr & the 3rd clips https://rumble.com/embed/vptskl/?pub=7oprr from Dr. Steven Hatfill – Covid19 Pandemic Advisor to the Trump Administration – A summary on where we are now!!!
Thank you, Will. I really appreciate you taking your time to share your thoughts on this and to engage people here and in your responses to these comments. Very helpful.
Imagine a time in the near future in which a section of Republicans get their second American Civil War and develop their say, Confederacy . They should consider building a wall between themselves and the vaccinated that perhaps Mexico, or Stop the Steal believers or an enterprise of qAnon + Proud Boys + Insurrectionists will pay for? A disillusioned utopia in which they pray to a yankee, narcissistic, authoritarian golden god (television makeup) to fulfill their vision of a real democracy. A democracy that’s creed is to always put “I” over “We”. A democracy that believes Fauci is the devil, guns are glorious, and the individual is always more important than the collective.
I wonder how this walled off section of Americans would fair without masks, without Covid vaccinations? Would their hospitals be over-crowded with covid infected people that symptoms are much more severe than compared with people on the other side of the wall that are fully vaccinated and wear masks? Would they experience far more covid related deaths and long-haulers for the sake of body-autocracy? Would their hospitals and medical facilities have any availability to deal with other illnesses and disease while being overwhelmed with dealing with Covid infected people that have higher incidences of more severe effects, longer hospital stays, higher death rates and more expensive care than the Covid vaccinated require?
Personally, for now I’ll take my shots, I’ll wear a mask, I will hope that people will gravitate to a greater good. What will you do?