I was hoping not to be the first to comment, but that may be a time zone thing.
I'm a new follower, so this is the first of the vaccine posts I've seen. The perception from the US is that NZ was much higher in vaccine uptake than the US. Your post indicates that you still houre holdouts.
In addition to the left-right politicization of the vaccine issue here, there are other communities with concerns. A vaccine program was used as a cover to deliberately infect African Americans with syphilis. A vaccine program was used as a cover for collection of DNA samples from Pakistanis in an attempt to find relatives of Bin Laden. I haven't read your older posts, so maybe you've covered these issues. Vaccine sceptics are not going to be persuaded by science, because that's not where their objection is rooted.
I'd love to see more posts about your personal journey!
Your third para correctly sums up the attitude of the disenfranchised, which, I observe is increasingly supported by those of us who sit slightly above financial and educational poverty.
I believe it is our duty to encourage the spread of this support.
Should add that I'm fully vaccinated. Another problem was the Gardasil vaccine against HPV, the ultimate aim of which was to protect girls from cervical cancer. Giving it just to girls, and not boys, strengthened public perception that vaccines are for personal rather than community protection. After decades of being told that everything from our health to response to the climate crisis is our personal responsibility, pivoting to community health on COVID was always going to be a tough sell.
New Zealand struggled a bit with this, but not as much as the USA I think. There seemed to be more collective focus here, although we are still quite individualist and self-centred.
Also Gardisil is regularly given to boys these days. Because it's about money as well as harm. Poison the kids of others and make money. What a business. What a corruption of your human spirit whatever it may be.
Hopfully the likes of Albert Bourla are going to become acquainted with justice at some stage. And yes murdering swine like him should definitely face justice.
The vaccine situation here isn't as extreme as the US, but we do have people with concerns about vaccines. I lot of my earlier writing about vaccines was focused on helping those who believe vaccines are valuable and important communicate better with those who are mistrustful of vaccines, for whatever reason. I'm not going to change minds writing articles about it, but I can help others have better conversations with friends and family etc.
I have written a bit about why people might mistrust vaccines and about barriers to vaccination. Here are a couple of examples.
The evidence that vaccine programs were used in such fashion will make people suspicious of vaccines understandably.
The science of vaccines is that they contain toxic substances etc. to create an immune response. But what should make any sensible person avoid vaccines like the plague is that putting toxic substances into one's body has never been a good idea.
Vaccine cultists will not be persuaded by this obvious scientific fact or the fact that big pharma have been had up many times for fraud, vaccine harm and injury. They are not persuaded by the facts that it is not in big pharma's interest to make people well otherwise it will go out of business.
Vaccine cultists will not be persuaded by science as they have been ignoring the blindly obvious for a very, very long time.
Hallo CK ! May I respectfully suggest, that the true character / glimpses of personal history of will always shine thru the well researched and powerful essays from a caring writer ?
Hi Melanie. I know little about the vacs a such, but am well aware of controversies raging in Nederland and the UK. I've had the jab, and a booster. The latter gave me side effects. . I suspect I am immune, as I have twice come down with "triple illnesses" epidemics.
I would suggest that there is greater need now to push governments to safeguard against future such pandemics than to add to just the Covid conversation.
That Push should absolutely include water. ..... Are you aware of the Massive Scandal in the UK ??
The regional public authorities were sold to the private sector. Bills went up, quality went down and the shareholders were quite happy. Then the Conservative Party started to water down safety standards and protective law..... They also ensured that the Watchdog lost its teeth. Since Brexit, vast quantities of raw sewage has been allowed to contaminate most of the rivers and much of the coast.
The ancient infrastructure has not been maintained, let alone improved, whilst chief execs earn millions, and the shareholders happier still.
Water is full of Covid, PFA's etc., such problems exist in many nations.
I have heard a bit about the water situation in the UK - it sounds dire. New Zealand is fortunate in that it didn't go quite down this line, but there is definitely a long history of underinvestment in water and sewage infrastructure, as well as using our waterways as a dumping ground.
With the vaccines, New Zealand has similar challenges to other countries, not as extreme as the US though.
I enjoy all your posts, especially the ones on climate change, but also would love to receive occasional personal essays about your experiences of science and reflections on it. Food security also sounds like an interesting topic.
There is mountains of information on vaccines, water contamination, etal. My sense is swaying (if that is the goal) or just informing (if that is the goal) is an uphill climb as minds are settled via the herd they belong to. I think writing personally has more power and I generally enjoy that sort of writing more. Best wishes whatever you decide.
In the narrow subject of vaccines, at least in the US, history is instructive. It was mostly the left that drove vaccine hesitancy prior to COVID. It was the right that drove vaccine hesitancy amidst COVID. Neither was ever based on health and safety but rather fear, conspiracy and opportunism. A telling example in the US was Robert De Niro. He was front and center with vaccine hesitancy prior to COVID and magically became the opposite amidst COVID. It would not shock me if folks who feel they align with Mr. De Niro likely give him a pass for one and embrace him for the other. Hard to conclude his approach was anything other than shoot the messenger and running within his herd. It is hard to fashion reasoning wherein he was consistent.
Thanks Mark. Much of my writing about vaccines has been targeted at those who believe that vaccines are important and valuable, but who struggle when having conversations with others about vaccines, and also with finding reliable information. Over the last couple of years, a lot of people were finding themselves having difficult conversations about vaccination, especially during the period where there was a vaccine mandate in New Zealand. This has decreased a lot lately though. In New Zealand, things weren't so politicised, but we did pick up some of the extremist attitudes from the US
Finding common ground and ways to communicate is important. I look forward to reading a bit more of your backlog. A while back I wrote a post that was partly about what has been a 300+ year challenge to vaccination. LMK if you are interested and I would share a link. It is a bit US-centric but applies to everyone. COVID is just the latest virus I fear. I think NZ has the reputation of having achieved a much broader consensus about COVID vaccination. I love writing about how our brains work and the differences between our impulsive rear brain and our thoughtful front brain. It is wild how hard it is to move people off off old "knowledge" even when, by their own actions, people know what they formerly believed is simply not true. I have seen this borne out in family and friends.
Sorry for the delayed reply. Yes, I'd be interested to see your post. Among my vaccines writings, I did look at the introduction of smallpox vaccination and how many people prefered the much more risky variolation, which involved actual smallpox.
WOW -- variolation sounds absurd as an option. Here's my old post sort of meant as a parable during COVID and all the misinformation. I think it was Jan 2022. Point me to yours I would love to read it.
Thanks, that was really interesting. I think that the reduction in childhood mortality is probably humanity's greatest achievement, it has alleviated so much suffering. Even in countries which are in a terrible state, like Yemen and the D.R.Congo have better childhood mortality rates that most of the world did 200 years ago.
Here's my epic on vaccination, a three-parter which goes into smallpox vaccine history in part two.
I am looking forward to it!!! There were way less people in 1900 ~1.6B and smallpox killed 500M in the 20th century. It was a scourge for 1000s of years and seems mostly unknown. Your focus on the places it transformed is so important. Can't wait to read your epic :)
Thank you for your article Melanie. Re the two aspects:
1. Water - clean water supplies are critical to life as our bodies are roughly 75-80% water. Under-investment in these is a problem. In the UK this was the major advance of what is called public health works.
2. Vaccines - vaccines contain poisons/toxic substances/foreign bodies to create an immune response.
However, that is all they can do. It is a gross deceit to think that poisoning oneself was ever good for one's health. But vaccines do help create customers for big pharma as it has always been about the wealth, not our health.
I would have thought by now after over 3.5 years of the COVID nonsense more people would be seeing through the lies and propaganda of big pharma sponsored governments and its agencies.
It is completely illogical to think that cleaning up water supplies by removing toxic substances is good (it is of course) and then about face and say injecting toxic substances into the body is good which clearly it is not and never has been.
I was hoping not to be the first to comment, but that may be a time zone thing.
I'm a new follower, so this is the first of the vaccine posts I've seen. The perception from the US is that NZ was much higher in vaccine uptake than the US. Your post indicates that you still houre holdouts.
In addition to the left-right politicization of the vaccine issue here, there are other communities with concerns. A vaccine program was used as a cover to deliberately infect African Americans with syphilis. A vaccine program was used as a cover for collection of DNA samples from Pakistanis in an attempt to find relatives of Bin Laden. I haven't read your older posts, so maybe you've covered these issues. Vaccine sceptics are not going to be persuaded by science, because that's not where their objection is rooted.
I'd love to see more posts about your personal journey!
Your third para correctly sums up the attitude of the disenfranchised, which, I observe is increasingly supported by those of us who sit slightly above financial and educational poverty.
I believe it is our duty to encourage the spread of this support.
Peace, Maurice
Should add that I'm fully vaccinated. Another problem was the Gardasil vaccine against HPV, the ultimate aim of which was to protect girls from cervical cancer. Giving it just to girls, and not boys, strengthened public perception that vaccines are for personal rather than community protection. After decades of being told that everything from our health to response to the climate crisis is our personal responsibility, pivoting to community health on COVID was always going to be a tough sell.
New Zealand struggled a bit with this, but not as much as the USA I think. There seemed to be more collective focus here, although we are still quite individualist and self-centred.
Gardisil is another shit vaccine.
I don't have the books to hand, but if you search Japan and Gardisil you will eventually find something that your brain doesn't want to acknowledge.
Leave our kids alone.
Also Gardisil is regularly given to boys these days. Because it's about money as well as harm. Poison the kids of others and make money. What a business. What a corruption of your human spirit whatever it may be.
Hopfully the likes of Albert Bourla are going to become acquainted with justice at some stage. And yes murdering swine like him should definitely face justice.
The vaccine situation here isn't as extreme as the US, but we do have people with concerns about vaccines. I lot of my earlier writing about vaccines was focused on helping those who believe vaccines are valuable and important communicate better with those who are mistrustful of vaccines, for whatever reason. I'm not going to change minds writing articles about it, but I can help others have better conversations with friends and family etc.
I have written a bit about why people might mistrust vaccines and about barriers to vaccination. Here are a couple of examples.
https://theturnstone.substack.com/p/the-company-of-the-dead-part-two
https://theturnstone.substack.com/p/confidence-complacency-and-convenience
The evidence that vaccine programs were used in such fashion will make people suspicious of vaccines understandably.
The science of vaccines is that they contain toxic substances etc. to create an immune response. But what should make any sensible person avoid vaccines like the plague is that putting toxic substances into one's body has never been a good idea.
Vaccine cultists will not be persuaded by this obvious scientific fact or the fact that big pharma have been had up many times for fraud, vaccine harm and injury. They are not persuaded by the facts that it is not in big pharma's interest to make people well otherwise it will go out of business.
Vaccine cultists will not be persuaded by science as they have been ignoring the blindly obvious for a very, very long time.
Hi Melanie. So much info to mull over. I always prefer more personal essays here on the stack so I vote for more you, less research.
Hallo CK ! May I respectfully suggest, that the true character / glimpses of personal history of will always shine thru the well researched and powerful essays from a caring writer ?
Peace, Maurice
Thank you, I will keep this in mind.
Hi Melanie. I know little about the vacs a such, but am well aware of controversies raging in Nederland and the UK. I've had the jab, and a booster. The latter gave me side effects. . I suspect I am immune, as I have twice come down with "triple illnesses" epidemics.
I would suggest that there is greater need now to push governments to safeguard against future such pandemics than to add to just the Covid conversation.
That Push should absolutely include water. ..... Are you aware of the Massive Scandal in the UK ??
The regional public authorities were sold to the private sector. Bills went up, quality went down and the shareholders were quite happy. Then the Conservative Party started to water down safety standards and protective law..... They also ensured that the Watchdog lost its teeth. Since Brexit, vast quantities of raw sewage has been allowed to contaminate most of the rivers and much of the coast.
The ancient infrastructure has not been maintained, let alone improved, whilst chief execs earn millions, and the shareholders happier still.
Water is full of Covid, PFA's etc., such problems exist in many nations.
What should we do ?
I have heard a bit about the water situation in the UK - it sounds dire. New Zealand is fortunate in that it didn't go quite down this line, but there is definitely a long history of underinvestment in water and sewage infrastructure, as well as using our waterways as a dumping ground.
With the vaccines, New Zealand has similar challenges to other countries, not as extreme as the US though.
I enjoy all your posts, especially the ones on climate change, but also would love to receive occasional personal essays about your experiences of science and reflections on it. Food security also sounds like an interesting topic.
Thanks, I will keep this in mind. I've looked at some of our important crops but still have more that I'm working on.
There is mountains of information on vaccines, water contamination, etal. My sense is swaying (if that is the goal) or just informing (if that is the goal) is an uphill climb as minds are settled via the herd they belong to. I think writing personally has more power and I generally enjoy that sort of writing more. Best wishes whatever you decide.
In the narrow subject of vaccines, at least in the US, history is instructive. It was mostly the left that drove vaccine hesitancy prior to COVID. It was the right that drove vaccine hesitancy amidst COVID. Neither was ever based on health and safety but rather fear, conspiracy and opportunism. A telling example in the US was Robert De Niro. He was front and center with vaccine hesitancy prior to COVID and magically became the opposite amidst COVID. It would not shock me if folks who feel they align with Mr. De Niro likely give him a pass for one and embrace him for the other. Hard to conclude his approach was anything other than shoot the messenger and running within his herd. It is hard to fashion reasoning wherein he was consistent.
Thanks Mark. Much of my writing about vaccines has been targeted at those who believe that vaccines are important and valuable, but who struggle when having conversations with others about vaccines, and also with finding reliable information. Over the last couple of years, a lot of people were finding themselves having difficult conversations about vaccination, especially during the period where there was a vaccine mandate in New Zealand. This has decreased a lot lately though. In New Zealand, things weren't so politicised, but we did pick up some of the extremist attitudes from the US
Finding common ground and ways to communicate is important. I look forward to reading a bit more of your backlog. A while back I wrote a post that was partly about what has been a 300+ year challenge to vaccination. LMK if you are interested and I would share a link. It is a bit US-centric but applies to everyone. COVID is just the latest virus I fear. I think NZ has the reputation of having achieved a much broader consensus about COVID vaccination. I love writing about how our brains work and the differences between our impulsive rear brain and our thoughtful front brain. It is wild how hard it is to move people off off old "knowledge" even when, by their own actions, people know what they formerly believed is simply not true. I have seen this borne out in family and friends.
Sorry for the delayed reply. Yes, I'd be interested to see your post. Among my vaccines writings, I did look at the introduction of smallpox vaccination and how many people prefered the much more risky variolation, which involved actual smallpox.
WOW -- variolation sounds absurd as an option. Here's my old post sort of meant as a parable during COVID and all the misinformation. I think it was Jan 2022. Point me to yours I would love to read it.
https://markdolan.substack.com/p/our-finest-hour
Thanks, that was really interesting. I think that the reduction in childhood mortality is probably humanity's greatest achievement, it has alleviated so much suffering. Even in countries which are in a terrible state, like Yemen and the D.R.Congo have better childhood mortality rates that most of the world did 200 years ago.
Here's my epic on vaccination, a three-parter which goes into smallpox vaccine history in part two.
https://theturnstone.substack.com/p/the-company-of-the-dead-part-one
I am looking forward to it!!! There were way less people in 1900 ~1.6B and smallpox killed 500M in the 20th century. It was a scourge for 1000s of years and seems mostly unknown. Your focus on the places it transformed is so important. Can't wait to read your epic :)
There is swimming safety information for New Zealand on LAWA too. https://www.lawa.org.nz/explore-data/swimming/
I'm interested in the personal reflections too!
Good point, I'll update the article.
There is no such thing as a good vaccine. Full stop.
It's an ugly invention of eugenicists.
Thank you for your article Melanie. Re the two aspects:
1. Water - clean water supplies are critical to life as our bodies are roughly 75-80% water. Under-investment in these is a problem. In the UK this was the major advance of what is called public health works.
2. Vaccines - vaccines contain poisons/toxic substances/foreign bodies to create an immune response.
However, that is all they can do. It is a gross deceit to think that poisoning oneself was ever good for one's health. But vaccines do help create customers for big pharma as it has always been about the wealth, not our health.
I would have thought by now after over 3.5 years of the COVID nonsense more people would be seeing through the lies and propaganda of big pharma sponsored governments and its agencies.
It is completely illogical to think that cleaning up water supplies by removing toxic substances is good (it is of course) and then about face and say injecting toxic substances into the body is good which clearly it is not and never has been.