Pandemics may be among diseases carried by Asia dust to Western US by high Pacific winds along with cancer and emphysema-Discover, 3/18/2011

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“Mercury, sulfates, ozone, black carbon, flu-laced desert dust. Even as America 
tightens emission standards, the 
fast-growing economies of Asia 
are filling the air with hazardous components that 
circumnavigate the globe.”…“China now emits more mercury than the United States, India, and Europe combined.“...page 1…”“What’s different about China is the scale and speed of pollution and environmental degradation,” Turner says. “It’s like nothing the world has ever seen.”” (p. 1)

3/18/2011, “Made in China: Our Toxic, Imported Air Pollution," Discover, by David Kirby, (April 2011 issue) 

“Mercury, sulfates, ozone, black carbon, flu-laced desert dust. Even as America 
tightens emission standards, the 
fast-growing economies of Asia 
are filling the air with hazardous components that 
circumnavigate the globe.”

p. 1: “Carbon dioxide, the predominant driver of global warming, is not the only industrial by-product whose effects can be felt around the world. Prevailing winds across the Pacific are pushing thousands of tons of other contaminants—including mercury, sulfates, ozone, black carbon, and desert dust—over the ocean each year. Some of this atmospheric junk settles into the cold waters of the North Pacific, but much of it eventually merges 
with the global air pollution pool that circumnavigates the planet.

These contaminants are implicated in a long list of health problems, including neurodegenerative disease, cancer, emphysema, and perhaps even pandemics like avian flu. And when wind and weather conditions are right, they reach North America within days. Dust, ozone, and carbon can accumulate in valleys and basins, and mercury can be pulled to earth through atmospheric sinks that deposit it across large swaths of land. 

Pollution and production have gone hand in hand at least since the Industrial Revolution, and it is not unusual for a developing nation to value economic growth over environmental regulation.

“Pollute first, clean up later” can be the general attitude, says Jennifer Turner, director of the China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The intensity of the current change is truly new, however.  

China in particular stands out because of its sudden role as the world’s factory, its enormous population, and the mass migration of that population to urban centers; 350 million people, equivalent to the entire U.S. population, will be moving to its cities over the next 10 years. China now emits more mercury than the United States, India, and Europe combined.

“What’s different about China is the scale and speed of pollution and environmental degradation,” Turner says. “It’s like nothing the world has ever seen.””…

……………………………………………………

Added:

Mercury from China is driven across Pacific Ocean by high winds and ends up in Oregon fish, Nov. 24, 2006, OregonLive. “Mercury is especially suited for long-distance travel:”

 

Image source: [First link seems to be inactive, here is second link, scroll down for image] “Bruce Hope, senior environmental toxicologist of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality,” and “Michael Mode/The Oregonian.”

11/24/2006, “China’s mercury flushes into Oregon’s rivers,” pprc.info; article also published at The Oregonian website but without image. From article: 

“”The ozone on the West Coast in a few years will be controlled not by California and Oregon,” Schnell (NOAA) says. “It will be controlled by China.” The incoming pollution bucks a U.S. trend toward cleaner skies and water….“There’s more mercury deposited in this country from outside our borders than from inside our borders,” says Richard Scheffe, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency senior science adviser.”…(subhead, “Impact on cleanup”)

…………………………………….

Added: More from above 2006 article, published in 2008:

4/13/2008, “China’s mercury flushes into Oregon’s rivers,“ The Oregonian, Shelby Wood, Richard Read; richardread@news.oregonian.com“ 

“From the Oregonian of Nov. 24, 2006” 

“Mercury and other airborne contaminants collect over China during the winter and spring until Siberian winds arrive bearing dust from expanding Chinese and Mongolian deserts. Every five or six days, the winds flush out eastern China, sending dust and pollutants such as ozone precursors high over the Pacific, says Russ Schnell, observatory and global network operations director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
…………..
“The ozone on the West Coast in a few years will be controlled not by California and Oregon,” Schnell says. “It will be controlled by China.” The incoming pollution bucks a U.S. trend toward cleaner skies and water.
…………..  
Mercury is especially suited for long-distance travel because at the smokestack in elemental form, it’s insoluble. By the time it reaches the West Coast, however, some of the mercury has transformed into a reactive gaseous material that dissolves in Western Oregon’s wet climate. It washes into the river, where microbes convert it into a form that further concentrates in fish.
……………
Most of the mercury entering the Willamette comes from Oregon’s volcanic soil and from sediment churned up on the river bottom. But Bruce Hope, senior environmental toxicologist of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, estimates that global sources beyond the state’s control contribute 18 percent –more than four times the share from local air deposition. “If I made every local source go away, would I be able to eat the fish?” Hope asks. “Right now the answer is maybe.”
…………………..  
Hope was struggling to account for all the Willamette’s mercury sources before he encountered Dan Jaffe, an atmospheric and environmental chemistry professor at the University of Washington at Bothell. Jaffe and other scientists were detecting Asian pollutants in monitors atop Mount Bachelor and Cheeka Peak, on the Olympic Peninsula.
 
Urban carcinogen levels 
…………
The monitors regularly record levels of airborne carcinogens equivalent to those of a major city, says Staci Simonich, an Oregon State University researcher. In April 2004, instruments mounted atop Mount Bachelor’s Summit Express ski lift intercepted an enormous Asian plume laced with mercury and ozone. The fine-particle concentration hit about 20 micrograms per cubic meter, compared with the federal air-quality standard of an average 65 micrograms during a 24-hour period.
………….
“The air we saw on that day was comparable to a moderately bad day in Portland,” says Jaffe. “When you consider that that air has traveled thousands and thousands of miles, it’s pretty amazing really.” Jaffe calculated that Asia emits 1,460 metric tons of mercury a year, twice as much as previously thought.
…………..
To be sure, concentrations of foreign pollutants in Oregon are minimal compared with federal air-quality standards. On an average spring day in the Northwest, the overall sulfate concentration reaches just 0.72 micrograms per cubic meter, says Colette Heald, a University of California at Berkeley researcher. About one-quarter of the average sulfate level comes from Asia, Heald says.
……………
But the DEQ’s Hope realized that when fallout occurs across an area as large as the Willamette’s 11,500-square-mile watershed, low concentrations add up. He identified the river’s mercury sources for a study published in the international journal Science of the Total Environment.“…
……………
“Because local anthropogenic emissions make relatively smaller contributions to the Basin than do persistent global sources (sources over which there is little, if any, possibility of local control), localized environmental management actions alone may not be adequate to address mercury impacts within the Basin.” [last sentence of abstract] An assessment of anthropogenic source impacts on mercury cycling in the Willamette Basin, Oregon, USA-, Science of the Total Environment, 3/2006 ResearchGate.”
…………….. 
(continuing): “Especially if China’s share increases, Hope says, Oregon can do little to reduce contamination of the river even by cracking down on emissions, eliminating mercury from products and segregating waste. “Because of foreign sources, the kinds of management changes that would be acceptable would probably not be enough to let us eat the fish.” Oregon officials have warned since issuing a 2001 advisory that Willamette bass and pikeminnow bear unsafe mercury levels.
………………….
Mercury acts on the central nervous system and can reduce mental ability, making kids shy, irritable, and slow to learn, and causing tremors and visual disturbances. Children under 7 should not eat more than a single 4-ounce portion of nonmigrating fish every seven weeks, while women of childbearing age should eat no more than one 8-ounce portion a month.
…………..
The DEQ has a mercury cleanup plan for the Willamette that will take decades. But “you throw in the global contribution,” says Dave Stone, Oregon public health toxicologist, “and it does become that much more complex.” Oregon, which has 14 fish advisories for mercury, has not been able to lift one.
……….
Impact on cleanup
……………  
The added mercury from abroad, coupled with Oregon’s high natural levels, could concentrate pressure on local emitters under the DEQ’s cleanup plan. Weyerhaeuser, for example, has more than 15 plants in the watershed. “We’re concerned to the extent that we have to do something that won’t matter,” says Marv Lewallen, Weyerhaeuser Oregon environmental affairs manager.
…………..  
It’s not just the Willamette that will be difficult to clean up because of mercury beyond local control. Scientists expected to find patterns of mercury pollution from nearby factories when they took sediment samples beneath lakes near Bellingham, Wash., that contain fish unsafe to eat. Instead, most of the industrial mercury came from global sources. 
……………….
“Our best estimates indicate that there’s more mercury deposited in this country from outside our borders than from inside our borders,” says Richard Scheffe, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency senior science adviser. 

Mercury is just one of the foreign pollutants that scientists are tracking. At least one-third of California’s fine particulate pollution —known as aerosol –has floated across from Asia, says Steve Cliff, an atmospheric scientist at the University of California at Davis.
………………….  
“In May this year, almost all the fine aerosol present at Lake Tahoe came from China,“ says Tom Cahill, a UC Davis emeritus professor of atmospheric sciences. “So the haze that you see in spring at Crater Lake or other remote areas is in fact Chinese in origin.”
…………………
Cliff says China’s growing contribution will complicate U.S. efforts to meet annual average emissions standards. “As you try to reduce particulate pollution from local and regional sources, you’re only reducing to some background level,” Cliff says. “The concern is that as China continues to expand, that background level will only tend to increase.”

A recent court decision raises the possibility that foreign firms could be held liable for polluting the United States. A 9th U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled that Teck Cominco Ltd., a company that discharged heavy metals and slag in the upper Columbia River in Canada, must pay to clean up a downriver stretch in the United States.
…………………  
Scientists are frustrated by a lack of data from Asia, where factories often aren’t required to report what they emit, says Richard “Tony” VanCuren, a UC Davis applied-sciences researcher.
………………
One thing is certain, though, because of geography and wind: “The maximum impact from Asia,” Heald says, “is going to be in the Northwestern United States.“
………….
—Richard Read; richardread@news.oregonian.com”

……………………….
“Richard Reed:”

“Richard Read, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and former Asian-based foreign correspondent, is a senior writer for The Oregonian, covering higher education.”

==================

Ed. note: Two sources are posted above for Nov. 24, 2006 Oregonian article about China contaminants in the US (credited to Richard Reed at the end of The Oregonian article: “Richard Read; richardread@news.oregonian.com“). One from The Oregonian posted in 2008, and one via pprc.info. The image above (with The Oregonian credit) appeared in the pprc.info publication of the article. Re: pprc.info: “http://www.pprc.info/index.htm Cached The PPRC is a grassroots organization made up of hourly employees who work in the forest products industry. We work on fiber supply, forest practices, endangered …”

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Miraculously, World Bank knew “Pandemic Bonds” would be the next big thing. Perhaps something in the water in Davos. Covid needed to rage for 12 weeks before payouts kicked in from World Bank pandemic facility-Jacobin Mag, 4/2/20

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 “The COVID-19 crisis seems to meet the Bank’s ghoulish criteria….Apparently, the coronavirus first needed to rage for twelve weeks across multiple countries, including developing countries, before the tranches would pay out their principal value into the World Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility.”

4/2/20, “Pandemic Bonds Are a Scam Holding the Global South Hostage,” JacobinMag.com, Nicole Aschoff

“The World Bank’s “pandemic bonds” demonstrate how global capital has an uncanny ability to profit from social ills. So far, investors have earned about $96 million in interest on the pandemic bonds, but developing countries have yet to receive desperately needed money.

The 2013–14 Ebola outbreak devastated West Africa, killing roughly eleven thousand people, mostly in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Had these countries had access to financing at the start, experts contended, they would have been better equipped to quell the crisis, potentially saving thousands of lives.

Promising to get a jump on future outbreaks, the World Bank issued its first ever “pandemic bonds” in 2017 that could be used to finance aid to developing countries in the event of a new pandemic. That time is now. But the Bank has yet to fork over the money.

“Sustainable investing” is all the rage these days. Pandemic bonds are just one item on a growing menu of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment products. In the face of catastrophic climate change and skyrocketing global inequality, asset managers and investment banks insist that the best way to fight poverty, disease, and environmental destruction is to put markets to work.

If we give investors a chance to both do good and do well — to transform projects that tackle poverty, disease, and environmental destruction into a profit-making opportunity — ESG enthusiasts say we’ll see a rush of private capital into efforts that genuinely make the world better. It’s just a matter of getting the incentives right.

The pandemic bonds, which raised $320 million, seemed like a perfect example of economic incentives working their magic. Investors could choose between two classes of bonds, one for diseases like SARS (and COVID-19) and another, slightly riskier one (with a higher payout) for diseases like Ebola. If these bonds reached maturity (which they are set to do this July [2020]), investors would get their money back, and, in the meantime, they would earn interest. If a pandemic reared its ugly head before the bonds reached maturity, investors might lose some of their original investment, but developing countries would get much-needed funds to fight the disease outbreak. Win-win.

Well, one group has won. So far, investors have earned about $96 million in interest on the pandemic bonds. However, getting the money to actually fight disease outbreaks has proven difficult for developing countries, likely due to the stringent conditions (which apparently took 386 pages to spell out) that must be met for the payout to actually occur.

Last year, for example, Ebola ripped through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and many hoped the pandemic bonds would be used to provide financial assistance. But the World Bank insisted that the outbreak did not meet the threshold for a payout because not enough people had perished in a country other than the DRC. Investors were able to hold on to their principal and keep earning interest.

The COVID-19 crisis seems to meet the Bank’s ghoulish criteria. But developing countries on the brink of catastrophe have yet to see a dime of the pandemic bond money. Apparently, the coronavirus first needed to rage for twelve weeks across multiple countries, including developing countries, before the tranches would pay out their principal value into the World Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility. Countries that are eligible for funding from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and that have reached a threshold of coronavirus deaths can then apply to receive the money.

Twelve weeks passed on March 23,and death is raining down on countries rich and poor. More than 770,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported worldwide, and in some places, infections and deaths are doubling every few days. Yet the World Bank says that eligible countries — so far Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Cambodia, Senegal, and Nepal — won’t know if they will get any money until April 9 at the earliest.

This is despicable. Even wealthy countries are failing to contain the deadly virus. Poor countries that, for centuries, have seen their wealth and resources pilfered and plundered by rich nations, are facing down a tidal wave of infection and death without adequate medical supplies and facilities. Millions of people in these countries have compromised immune systems due to malnutrition, live in housing and communities that make social distancing impossible, and lack even the most basic necessities of disease prevention, such as access to water and soap for handwashing.

However, in this moment of crisis, when every second counts, global capital is sitting on its hands, holding desperately needed funds hostage as investors decide whether they are required to honor their end of the deal.

The pandemic bonds were advertised by the World Bank as a great way to “tackle social ills through private investment.” Instead, the bonds are yet another example of how hollow most so-called ESG investment is. They demonstrate how private investors have an uncanny ability to profit from social ills— and how, even in times when global solidarity is desperately needed, global capital can’t seem to look past the bottom line.”

 

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462 physicians call for immediate end to Covid emergency policies, say there’s no medical justification for continuing such policies-Open letter from medical doctors and health professionals to all Belgian authorities and Belgian media, 9/5/20

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Letter signed by 462 medical doctors: “If someone tests positive, this does not mean that that person is actually clinically infected, is ill or is going to become ill....After the initial panic surrounding covid-19, the objective facts now show a completely different picture – there is no medical justification for any emergency policy anymore....A global alarm situation, never seen in the history of mankind: “flatten the curve” was represented by a lockdown that shut down the entire society and economy and quarantined healthy people....A strong immune system relies on normal daily exposure to these microbial influences. Overly hygienic measures have a detrimental effect on our immunity. Only people with a weak or faulty immune system should be protected by extensive hygiene or social distancing.”...

To date this [Sept. 5th] letter  posted below by AIER has been signed by 462 medical doctors, 1484 medically trained health professionals, and by 10287 citizens. The letter begins by speaking to the political class:

Sept. 20, 2020, “Open Letter from Medical Doctors and Health Professionals to All Belgian Authorities and All Belgian Media,“ AIER staff

“The following [Sept. 5, 2020] letter has made an impact on public health authorities not only in Belgium but around the world. The text could pertain to any case in which states locked down their citizens rather than allow people freedom and permit medical professionals to bear the primary job of disease mitigation. 

So far it has been signed by 462 medical doctors, 1484 medically trained health professionals, and by 10287 citizens.”

…………………………

“Open letter from medical doctors and health professionals to all Belgian authorities and all Belgian media.” September 5, 2020

“We, Belgian doctors and health professionals, wish to express our serious concern about the evolution of the situation in the recent months surrounding the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. We call on politicians to be independently and critically informed in the decision-making process and in the compulsory implementation of corona-measures. We ask for an open debate, where all experts are represented without any form of censorship. After the initial panic surrounding covid-19, the objective facts now show a completely different picture – there is no medical justification for any emergency policy anymore.

The current crisis management has become totally disproportionate and causes more damage than it does any good.

We call for an end to all measures and ask for an immediate restoration of our normal democratic governance and legal structures and of all our civil liberties.

‘A cure must not be worse than the problem’ is a thesis that is more relevant than ever in the current situation. We note, however, that the collateral damage now being caused to the population will have a greater impact in the short and long term on all sections of the population than the number of people now being safeguarded from corona.

In our opinion, the current corona measures and the strict penalties for non-compliance with them are contrary to the values formulated by the Belgian Supreme Health Council, which, until recently, as the health authority, has always ensured quality medicine in our country: “Science-Expertise-Quality-Impartiality –Independence-Transparency”.

We believe that the policy has introduced mandatory measures that are not sufficiently scientifically based, unilaterally directed, and that there is not enough space in the media for an open debate in which different views and opinions are heard. In addition, each municipality and province now has the authorisation to add its own measures, whether well-founded or not.

[Ed. note: In the US this meant hundreds of new dictatorships with no oversight starting with 50 state governor-dictators. In New Jersey, for example, the governor, who previously spent 23 years at Goldman Sachs, merely self-renews his powers every 30 days.]

(continuing): “Moreover, the strict repressive policy on corona strongly contrasts with the government’s minimal policy when it comes to disease prevention, strengthening our own immune system through a healthy lifestyle, optimal care with attention for the individual and investment in care personnel.

The concept of health

In 1948, the WHO defined health as follows: ‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or other physical impairment’.

Health, therefore, is a broad concept that goes beyond the physical and also relates to the emotional and social well-being of the individual. Belgium also has a duty, from the point of view of subscribing to fundamental human rights, to include these human rights in its decision-making when it comes to measures taken in the context of public health.

The current global measures taken to combat SARS-CoV-2 violate to a large extent this view of health and human rights. Measures include compulsory wearing of a mask (also in open air and during sporting activities, and in some municipalities even when there are no other people in the vicinity), physical distancing, social isolation, compulsory quarantine for some groups and hygiene measures.

The predicted pandemic with millions of deaths

At the beginning of the pandemic, the measures were understandable and widely supported, even if there were differences in implementation in the countries around us. The WHO originally predicted a pandemic that would claim 3.4% victims, in other words millions of deaths, and a highly contagious virus for which no treatment or vaccine was available. This would put unprecedented pressure on the intensive care units (ICUs) of our hospitals.

This led to a global alarm situation, never seen in the history of mankind: “flatten the curve” was represented by a lockdown that shut down the entire society and economy and quarantined healthy people. Social distancing became the new normal in anticipation of a rescue vaccine.

The facts about covid-19

Gradually, the alarm bell was sounded from many sources: the objective facts showed a completely different reality.

The course of covid-19 followed the course of a normal wave of infection similar to a flu season. As every year, we see a mix of flu viruses following the curve: first the rhinoviruses, then the influenza A and B viruses, followed by the coronaviruses. There is nothing different from what we normally see.

The use of the non-specific PCR test, which produces many false positives, showed an exponential picture. This test was rushed through with an emergency procedure and was never seriously self-tested. The creator expressly warned that this test was intended for research and not for diagnostics.

The PCR test works with cycles of amplification of genetic material–a piece of genome is amplified each time. Any contamination (e.g. other viruses, debris from old virus genomes) can possibly result in false positives.

The test does not measure how many viruses are present in the sample. A real viral infection means a massive presence of viruses, the so-called virus load. If someone tests positive, this does not mean that that person is actually clinically infected, is ill or is going to become ill. Koch’s postulate was not fulfilled (“The pure agent found in a patient with complaints can provoke the same complaints in a healthy person”).

Since a positive PCR test does not automatically indicate active infection or infectivity, this does not justify the social measures taken, which are based solely on these tests.

Lockdown.

If we compare the waves of infection in countries with strict lockdown policies to countries that did not impose lockdowns (Sweden, Iceland …), we see similar curves. So there is no link between the imposed lockdown and the course of the infection. Lockdown has not led to a lower mortality rate.

If we look at the date of application of the imposed lockdowns we see that the lockdowns were set after the peak was already over and the number of cases decreasing. The drop was therefore not the result of the taken measures….

Our immune system

For thousands of years, the human body has been exposed daily to moisture and droplets containing infectious microorganisms (viruses, bacteria and fungi).

The penetration of these microorganisms is prevented by an advanced defence mechanism–the immune system. A strong immune system relies on normal daily exposure to these microbial influences. Overly hygienic measures have a detrimental effect on our immunity.  Only people with a weak or faulty immune system should be protected by extensive hygiene or social distancing.

Influenza will re-emerge in the autumn (in combination with covid-19) and a possible decrease in natural resilience may lead to further casualties.

Our immune system consists of two parts: a congenital, non-specific immune system and an adaptive immune system.

The non-specific immune system forms a first barrier: skin, saliva, gastric juice, intestinal mucus, vibratory hair cells, commensal flora, …and prevents the attachment of micro-organisms to tissue.

If they do attach, macrophages can cause the microorganisms to be encapsulated and destroyed.

The adaptive immune system consists of mucosal immunity (IgA antibodies, mainly produced by cells in the intestines and lung epithelium), cellular immunity (T-cell activation), which can be generated in contact with foreign substances or microorganisms, and humoral immunity (IgM and IgG antibodies produced by the B cells).

Recent research shows that both systems are highly entangled.

It appears that most people already have a congenital or general immunity to e.g. influenza and other viruses. This is confirmed by the findings on the cruise ship Diamond Princess, which was quarantined because of a few passengers who died of Covid-19. Most of the passengers were elderly and were in an ideal situation of transmission on the ship. However, 75% did not appear to be infected. So even in this high-risk group, the majority are resistant to the virus.

A study in the journal Cell shows that most people neutralise the coronavirus by mucosal (IgA) and cellular immunity (T-cells), while experiencing few or no symptoms.

Researchers found up to 60% SARS-Cov-2 reactivity with CD4+T cells in a non-infected population, suggesting cross-reactivity with other cold (corona) viruses.

Most people therefore already have a congenital or cross-immunity because they were already in contact with variants of the same virus.

The antibody formation (IgM and IgG) by B-cells only occupies a relatively small part of our immune system. This may explain why, with an antibody percentage of 5-10%, there may be a group immunity anyway. The efficacy of vaccines is assessed precisely on the basis of whether or not we have these antibodies. This is a misrepresentation.

Most people who test positive (PCR) have no complaints. Their immune system is strong enough. Strengthening natural immunity is a much more logical approach. Prevention is an important, insufficiently highlighted pillar: healthy, full-fledged nutrition, exercise in fresh air, without a mask, stress reduction and nourishing emotional and social contacts.

Consequences of social isolation on physical and mental health

Social isolation and economic damage led to an increase in depression, anxiety, suicides, intra-family violence and child abuse.

Studies have shown that the more social and emotional commitments people have, the more resistant they are to viruses. It is much more likely that isolation and quarantine have fatal consequences.

The isolation measures have also led to physical inactivity in many older people due to their being forced to stay indoors. However, sufficient exercise has a positive effect on cognitive functioning, reducing depressive complaints and anxiety and improving physical health, energy levels, well-being and, in general, quality of life.

Fear, persistent stress and loneliness induced by social distancing have a proven negative influence on psychological and general health.

A highly contagious virus with millions of deaths without any treatment?

Mortality turned out to be many times lower than expected and close to that of a normal seasonal flu (0.2%).

The number of registered corona deaths therefore still seems to be overestimated.

There is a difference between death by corona and death with corona. Humans are often carriers of multiple viruses and potentially pathogenic bacteria at the same time. Taking into account the fact that most people who developed serious symptoms suffered from additional pathology, one cannot simply conclude that the corona-infection was the cause of death. This was mostly not taken into account in the statistics.

The most vulnerable groups can be clearly identified. The vast majority of deceased patients were 80 years of age or older. The majority (70%) of the deceased, younger than 70 years, had an underlying disorder, such as cardiovascular suffering, diabetes mellitus, chronic lung disease or obesity. The vast majority of infected persons (>98%) did not or hardly became ill or recovered spontaneously.

Meanwhile, there is an affordable, safe and efficient therapy available for those who do show severe symptoms of disease in the form of HCQ (hydroxychloroquine), zinc and AZT (azithromycin). Rapidly applied this therapy leads to recovery and often prevents hospitalisation. Hardly anyone has to die now.

This effective therapy has been confirmed by the clinical experience of colleagues in the field with impressive results. This contrasts sharply with the theoretical criticism (insufficient substantiation by double-blind studies) which in some countries (e.g. the Netherlands) has even led to a ban on this therapy. A meta-analysis in The Lancet, which could not demonstrate an effect of HCQ, was withdrawn. The primary data sources used proved to be unreliable and 2 out of 3 authors were in conflict of interest. However, most of the guidelines based on this study remained unchanged…

We have serious questions about this state of affairs.

In the US, a group of doctors in the field, who see patients on a daily basis, united in “America’s Frontline Doctors” and gave a press conference which has been watched millions of times.

French Prof Didier Raoult of the Institut d’Infectiologie de Marseille (IHU) also presented this promising combination therapy as early as April. Dutch GP Rob Elens, who cured many patients in his practice with HCQ and zinc, called on colleagues in a petition for freedom of therapy.

The definitive evidence comes from the epidemiological follow-up in Switzerland: mortality rates compared with and without this therapy.

From the distressing media images of ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) where people were suffocating and given artificial respiration in agony, we now know that this was caused by an exaggerated immune response with intravascular coagulation in the pulmonary blood vessels. The administration of blood thinners and dexamethasone and the avoidance of artificial ventilation, which was found to cause additional damage to lung tissue, means that this dreaded complication, too, is virtually not fatal anymore.

It is therefore not a killer virus, but a well-treatable condition.

Propagation 

Spreading occurs by drip infection (only for patients who cough or sneeze) and aerosols in closed, unventilated rooms. Contamination is therefore not possible in the open air. Contact tracing and epidemiological studies show that healthy people (or positively tested asymptomatic carriers) are virtually unable to transmit the virus. Healthy people therefore do not put each other at risk.

Transfer via objects (e.g. money, shopping or shopping trolleys) has not been scientifically proven.

All this seriously calls into question the whole policy of social distancing and compulsory mouth masks for healthy people – there is no scientific basis for this.

Masks

Oral masks belong in contexts where contacts with proven at-risk groups or people with upper respiratory complaints take place, and in a medical context/hospital-retirement home setting. They reduce the risk of droplet infection by sneezing or coughing. Oral masks in healthy individuals are ineffective against the spread of viral infections.

Wearing a mask is not without side effects. Oxygen deficiency (headache, nausea, fatigue, loss of concentration) occurs fairly quickly, an effect similar to altitude sickness. Every day we now see patients complaining of headaches, sinus problems, respiratory problems and hyperventilation due to wearing masks. In addition, the accumulated CO2 leads to a toxic acidification of the organism which affects our immunity. Some experts even warn of an increased transmission of the virus in case of inappropriate use of the mask.

Our Labour Code (Codex 6) refers to a CO2 content (ventilation in workplaces) of 900 ppm, maximum 1200 ppm in special circumstances. After wearing a mask for one minute, this toxic limit is considerably exceeded to values that are three to four times higher than these maximum values. Anyone who wears a mask is therefore in an extreme poorly ventilated room.

Inappropriate use of masks without a comprehensive medical cardio-pulmonary test file is therefore not recommended by recognised safety specialists for workers. 

Hospitals have a sterile environment in their operating rooms where staff wear masks and there is precise regulation of humidity / temperature with appropriately monitored oxygen flow to compensate for this, thus meeting strict safety standards.

A second corona wave?

A second wave is now being discussed in Belgium, with a further tightening of the measures as a result. However, closer examination of Sciensano’s figures (latest report of 3 September 2020) shows that, although there has been an increase in the number of infections since mid-July, there was no increase in hospital admissions or deaths at that time. It is therefore not a second wave of corona, but a so-called “case chemistry” due to an increased number of tests.

The number of hospital admissions or deaths showed a shortlasting minimal increase in recent weeks, but in interpreting it, we must take into account the recent heatwave. In addition, the vast majority of the victims are still in the population group >75 years.

This indicates that the proportion of the measures taken in relation to the working population and young people is disproportionate to the intended objectives. 

The vast majority of the positively tested “infected” persons are in the age group of the active population, which does not develop any or merely limited symptoms, due to a well-functioning immune system. 

So nothing has changed – the peak is over.

Strengthening a prevention policy 

The corona measures form a striking contrast to the minimal policy pursued by the government until now, when it comes to well-founded measures with proven health benefits such as the sugar tax, the ban on (e-)cigarettes and making healthy food, exercise and social support networks financially attractive and widely accessible. It is a missed opportunity for a better prevention policy that could have brought about a change in mentality in all sections of the population with clear results in terms of public health. At present, only 3% of the health care budget goes to prevention. 2

The Hippocratic Oath

As a doctor, we took the Hippocratic Oath:

“I will above all care for my patients, promote their health and alleviate their suffering”.

“I will inform my patients correctly.”

“Even under pressure, I will not use my medical knowledge for practices that are against humanity.”

The current measures force us to act against this oath.

Other health professionals have a similar code.

The ‘primum non nocere’, which every doctor and health professional assumes, is also undermined by the current measures and by the prospect of the possible introduction of a generalised vaccine, which is not subject to extensive prior testing.

Vaccine

Survey studies on influenza vaccinations show that in 10 years we have only succeeded three times in developing a vaccine with an efficiency rate of more than 50%. Vaccinating our elderly appears to be inefficient. Over 75 years of age, the efficacy is almost non-existent.

Due to the continuous natural mutation of viruses, as we also see every year in the case of the influenza virus, a vaccine is at most a temporary solution, which requires new vaccines each time afterwards. An untested vaccine, which is implemented by emergency procedure and for which the manufacturers have already obtained legal immunity from possible harm, raises serious questions. We do not wish to use our patients as guinea pigs.

On a global scale, 700,000 cases of damage or death are expected as a result of the vaccine.

If 95% of people experience Covid-19 virtually symptom-free, the risk of exposure to an untested vaccine is irresponsible.

The role of the media and the official communication plan

Over the past few months, newspaper, radio and TV makers seemed to stand almost uncritically behind the panel of experts and the government, there, where it is precisely the press that should be critical and prevent one-sided governmental communication. This has led to a public communication in our news media, that was more like propaganda than objective reporting.

In our opinion, it is the task of journalism to bring news as objectively and neutrally as possible, aimed at finding the truth and critically controlling power, with dissenting experts also being given a forum in which to express themselves.

This view is supported by the journalistic codes of ethics.

The official story that a lockdown was necessary, that this was the only possible solution, and that everyone stood behind this lockdown, made it difficult for people with a different view, as well as experts, to express a different opinion.

Alternative opinions were ignored or ridiculed. We have not seen open debates in the media, where different views could be expressed.

We were also surprised by the many videos and articles by many scientific experts and authorities, which were and are still being removed from social media. We feel that this does not fit in with a free, democratic constitutional state, all the more so as it leads to tunnel vision. This policy also has a paralysing effect and feeds fear and concern in society. In this context, we reject the intention of censorship of dissidents in the European Union!

The way in which Covid-19 has been portrayed by politicians and the media has not done the situation any good either. War terms were popular and warlike language was not lacking. There has often been mention of a ‘war’ with an ‘invisible enemy’ who has to be ‘defeated’. The use in the media of phrases such as ‘care heroes in the front line’ and ‘corona victims’ has further fuelled fear, as has the idea that we are globally dealing with a ‘killer virus’.

The relentless bombardment with figures, that were unleashed on the population day after day, hour after hour, without interpreting those figures, without comparing them to flu deaths in other years, without comparing them to deaths from other causes, has induced a real psychosis of fear in the population. This is not information, this is manipulation.

We deplore the role of the WHO in this, which has called for the infodemic (i.e. all divergent opinions from the official discourse, including by experts with different views) to be silenced by an unprecedented media censorship.

We urgently call on the media to take their responsibilities here!

We demand an open debate in which all experts are heard.

Emergency law versus Human Rights

The general principle of good governance calls for the proportionality of government decisions to be weighed up in the light of the Higher Legal Standards: any interference by government must comply with the fundamental rights as protected in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Interference by public authorities is only permitted in crisis situations. In other words, discretionary decisions must be proportionate to an absolute necessity.

The measures currently taken concern interference in the exercise of, among other things, the right to respect of private and family life, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association, the right to education, etc., and must therefore comply with fundamental rights as protected by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

For example, in accordance with Article 8(2) of the ECHR, interference with the right to private and family life is permissible only if the measures are necessary in the interests of national security, public safety, the economic well-being of the country, the protection of public order and the prevention of criminal offences, the protection of health or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others, the regulatory text on which the interference is based must be sufficiently clear, foreseeable and proportionate to the objectives pursued.

The predicted pandemic of millions of deaths seemed to respond to these crisis conditions, leading to the establishment of an emergency government. Now that the objective facts show something completely different, the condition of inability to act otherwise (no time to evaluate thoroughly if there is an emergency) is no longer in place. Covid-19 is not a cold virus, but a well treatable condition with a mortality rate comparable to the seasonal flu. In other words, there is no longer an insurmountable obstacle to public health.

There is no state of emergency.

Immense damage caused by the current policies

An open discussion on corona measures means that, in addition to the years of life gained by corona patients, we must also take into account other factors affecting the health of the entire population. These include damage in the psychosocial domain (increase in depression, anxiety, suicides, intra-family violence and child abuse)16 and economic damage.

If we take this collateral damage into account, the current policy is out of all proportion, the proverbial use of a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

We find it shocking that the government is invoking health as a reason for the emergency law.

As doctors and health professionals, in the face of a virus which, in terms of its harmfulness, mortality and transmissibility, approaches the seasonal influenza, we can only reject these extremely disproportionate measures.

*We therefore demand an immediate end to all measures.

*We are questioning the legitimacy of the current advisory experts, who meet behind closed doors.

*Following on from ACU 2020  https://acu2020.org/nederlandse-versie/ we call for an in-depth examination of the role of the WHO and the possible influence of conflicts of interest in this organisation. It was also at the heart of the fight against the “infodemic”, i.e. the systematic censorship of all dissenting opinions in the media. This is unacceptable for a democratic state governed by the rule of law.

Distribution of this letter

We would like to make a public appeal to our professional associations and fellow carers to give their opinion on the current measures.

We draw attention to and call for an open discussion in which carers can and dare to speak out.

With this open letter, we send out the signal that progress on the same footing does more harm than good, and call on politicians to inform themselves independently and critically about the available evidence – including that from experts with different views, as long as it is based on sound science – when rolling out a policy, with the aim of promoting optimum health.

With concern, hope and in a personal capacity.”

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26. WHO https://www.marketwatch.com/story/who-we-did-not-say-that-cash-was-transmitting-coronavirus-2020-03-06
27. https://www.nordkurier.de/ratgeber/es-gibt-keine-gefahr-jemandem-beim-einkaufen-zu-infizieren-0238940804.html
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29. 29. Contradictory statements by our virologists https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K9xfmkMsvM
30. https://www.hpdetijd.nl/2020-07-05/stop-met-anderhalve-meter-afstand-en-het-verplicht-dragen-van-mondkapjes/
31. Security expert Tammy K. Herrema Clark https://youtu.be/TgDm_maAglM
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51. https://docs4opendebate.be/”

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