Way back when I worked in television at the SABC, we were told for every correspondent who bothered to send a letter, 10,000 felt the same way but had neither the time nor inclination to write. Given the ease of sending emails, that ratio is now surely a lot smaller nowadays. The relevance of correspondence, however, remains high.
Yesterday’s newsletter generated interesting responses, including an email from Davide Hanan who offered a different perspective, one sufficiently widely shared that it won’t be repeated here. He ended off asking whether I have been vaccinated, presumably because he felt this would affect my thought processes.
So for the record, yes I did receive a first Pfizer jab (in May); had very mild Covid-19 in June; my infection was acquired from someone who had been vaccinated but needed oxygen to recover. Whether this experience affects my ability to present the facts and ask difficult questions is something only you can determine.
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What I have noticed, however, is the science on Covid continues to evolve. Given its massive impact on our economic and social lives, we need to continuously examine this. Hence yesterday’s note pointing out how yet again mainstream heresy has become accepted wisdom.
Mark Lamberti asked whether I was proposing one should “run the risk of dying of Covid in the hope that if you live you will have greater immunity than one who has been vaccinated?” Of course not. Simply put, I agree with Ranmore’s Sean Peche opined on the subject – never gamble with something you cannot afford to lose, even if the odds are tiny.
To reiterate, the latest research shows the clear superiority of natural immunity over vaccines. Added to this is Discovery Health’s statement that 80% of South Africans have had Covid. Put it together and four in five SAs have acquired a shield that’s vastly superior to any man-made jab.
So why, instead of readying citizens for “booster” jabs, are bureaucrats not focusing more attention on natural immunity and identifying those who have acquired it – now a sizeable majority in SA?
Rational minds should also be asking whether, in the light of the now widespread recanting on the issue, a blunt tool of taxpayer-funded universal and even mandatory vaccination is still promoted.
The implication of the FT’s piece on a Royal Dutch Shell memo (and Adrian Gore’s “moral” justification for mandatory vaccines) is that this more targeted approach is not on the agenda in boardrooms. Maybe I’m the one missing something? Or maybe they are? Either way, we should at least be asking the question.
Other reading for you today:
* WSJ editorial board member Holman Jenkins asks Is Donald Trump finished?
* A superb piece by Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff on Why the Dow 36 000 forecast was right.
* The man who forecast the pandemic is investing past it as Bill Gates takes control of Four Seasons Hotels in deal valuing it at $10bn
* Medical Brief’s report on the Israeli study that Previous Covid prevents Delta infection better than Pfizer shot.
