Where do we go from here?
STRAIGHT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS?
In our current sound-bite society, people tend to expect simple
answers that do not require further thought or analysis. So demanding of
someone a yes or no answer to a simple question seems reasonable, But, some questions,
however simple they sound, can be answered yes or no, and some cannot. When a
member of congress or a trial lawyer, asking a question of someone testifying
under oath, demands a yes or no answer, he or she is not necessarily trying to get
at the truth. More often than not, the questioner is trying to create an
impression favorable to their own point of view, without regard to the actual truth
of the matter.
Demanding a yes or no answer is a clever way to entrap the person
testifying and create a biased view of the issue under discussion. An obvious
example is the classic example of a lawyer asking a man on trial “Have you
stopped beating your wife yet? Yes or no?”
Whether answering yes or no, that man is in trouble. The quite correct answer for an innocent
person is no, but if the questioner cuts
him off before he can explain that he never started beating his wife in the
first place, the interpretation that he is beating his wife is improperly conveyed
to the jury or listening public.
This
devious tactic is actually being used by unscrupulous journalists and
politicians on a regular basis today with regard to the current pandemic, to
promote narratives favorable to their political points of view. Both sides of
the lockdown argument use it, but it is more prevalent on the left because of
their belief that mis-representation of fact is justifiable if it furthers the
cause, which is assumed to be the “greater good”. This is clearly stated in
Marxist doctrine as “the end justifies
the means”.
The
use of this tactic is less obvious than its use in the simple example above, but
that is exactly what makes it more insidious. Let’s take a look at two questions
that are prevalent examples: 1) Should you wear a mask any time you leave your
home? And, 2) If a person tests positive
in any of the tests prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic, then is that person a
dangerous threat to everyone with whom he comes in contact? These questions are designed to be answered
“yes!” by those who favor continuing the lockdown until the November election
for political purposes. And most of us, because of the sound-bite mentality,
are apt to think that “yes” is the correct answer. But, in fact, these are
questions that cannot be answered yes or no without misleading, and a seemingly
innocent knee-jerk “yes” answer to either of them perpetrates a dangerous
mis-representation of facts. These are definitely questions that require
further thought and analysis. As a PhD environmental engineer, trained at Johns
Hopkins and other major universities, with many years of experience in
environmental health as a registered Professional Engineer, I am well qualified
to comment on these questions.
FACE MASKS
If you believe that ‘yes, you should you wear a mask any time you
leave your home’, then you are mis-informed about the proper use of face masks. Here’s why:
Face masks are only effective when in close proximity with others who
are infected or to protect others if you are sick yourself. Otherwise, face masks
are counter-productive to your health because they restrict your ability to
breathe properly and concentrate whatever bacteria or viruses you may have in
your pulmonary system. Also, the the size of the virus is much smaller than the
mesh size of masks that you can comfortably breathe through, so masks cannot
prevent an individual air-born virus particle from being drawn into your
respiratory system, They can stop water droplets that might be carrying the
virus, but after the water evaporates, the virus may still penetrate your mask.
CORONAVIRUS TESTS
Tests for coronavirus use two different methods to detect the
SARS-CoV-2 virus, the cause of the COVID-19 disease, a form of pneumonia that
can be deadly for those with compromised immune systems. Unfortunately, the
pharmaceutical industry and the AMA allopathic medical community have
emphasized treating symptoms, not causes, because there is a lot more money in
treatment than in cures. As a result, most of us are unaware that the deadliness
of this virus is almost purely because so many people have neglected protecting
their own health by living a healthy lifestyle, and depend instead on drugs
that only treat the symptoms and may actually damage whatever healthy immune system you may still have. And politicians are not going to inform you of the facts unless
they support their political agenda.
The
tests are:
- genomic detection
in molecular material samples
- immunoglobulin
detection in blood samples
GENOMIC
DETECTION TESTS
The least
time-consuming method used to detect the
virus in people who are concerned that they may have been exposed to the
COVID-19 virus, is based on detecting genetic material specific to SARS-CoV-2 viruses
in a person’s nasopharyngeal secretions . Although tests kits vary widely in
procedural detail (swabs of oral and/or of nasal surfaces, differences in
solutions to transfer the swabbed tissue to, time and place to run the subsequent
test reagents, etc.), they all use methods that detect a specific part of the
viral genome.
WHAT DO GENOMIC SAMPLE GCORONAVIRUS TEST RESULTS MEAN?
Positive
or negative results from these tests do not indicate whether the person is
infected with SARS-CoV-2 and is capable of transmitting the disease to others or
not, because the test cannot tell whether a person has genetic debris from past
infection which his immune system was able to handle, or from recent exposure, in which case he is still in
danger of becoming ill.
IMMUNOGLOBULIN DETECTION TESTS
Immunoglobulin detection tests are based on the qualitative
detection of IgM and IgG that are specifically generated by the body in
response to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
IgM is usually the first, specific antibody type generated by the
body in response to infection. Then, the IgG antibody type is generated and
replaces IgM as the predominant antibody in the response to infection.
IgM and IgG fight infections by targeting specific antigens
on the surface of the SARS-nCoV-2 virus. In general,
immunoglobulin tests use specific viral antigens to detect the IgM and/or
IgG antibodies against those antigens. IgM and IgG fight infections by
targeting specific disease-causing organic compounds on the surface of the
SARS-nCoV-2 virus.
These
tests work as follows:
- Collect 2-3 drops
of fresh blood/serum or plasma and place it in a sample container and
place 2-3 drops of provided buffer in the same container (cassette)
- The cassette allows
the diluted sample to move through the cassette by capillary action
- The cassette has
labeled SARS-CoV-2 antigen that may bind chemically with either IgM or
IgG; thus, forming an antigen/antibody complexes of antigen/IgG and/or
antigen/IgM
- After that
reaction, the antigen/antibody product passes over anti-IgM and anti-IgG
antibodies that are immobilized in a line within the cassette
- The anti-IgM and/or
anti-IgG then will capture the specific complex and signal a result (a red
line) if either complex is bound to the immobile anti-IgM or
anti-IgG
- The results need to
be read after 10 minutes and no more than 15 minutes (In this way, the
test resembles a home a home
pregnancy test.)
- A third line is a
control line; it indicates that the sample has finished flowing through
the cassette, indicating the test is complete.
WHAT DO THE COVID-19 IMMUNOGLOBULIN TEST
RESULTS MEAN?
- Negative Result: If only the
quality control line (C) appears and the detection lines G and M are not
visible, then no novel coronavirus antibody has been detected and the
result is negative.
- Positive Result, IgM
only:
If both the quality control line (C) and the detection line M appears,
then the novel coronavirus IgM antibody has been detected and the result
is positive for the IgM antibody.
- Positive Result, IgG
only:
If both the quality control line (C) and the detection line G appears,
then the novel coronavirus IgG antibody has been detected and the result
is positive for the IgG antibody.
- Positive Result, IgG,
and IgM:
If the quality control line (C) and both detection lines G and M appear,
then the novel coronavirus IgG and IgM antibodies have been detected and
the result is positive for both the IgG and IgM antibodies.
Immunoglobulin
tests cannot confirm the presence of the virus in your system. they can only
tell whether you have been exposed in the past or if you have never been
exposed to SARS-CoV-2. Consequently, they should only be used alone as a
screening test and should be used in tandem with a genetic-based test to
determine as much as possible concerning the individual’s condition related to
a possible COVID-19 diagnosis.
SUMMARY
So, in summary, Yes, there are times when it may be a good idea to
wear a mask. But wearing one in the open while maintaining social distancing,
is unnecessary. Wearing a mask in
confined spaces, even in your own home, is more likely to prevent the spread of
the disease than wearing one outside . Wearing a mask for extended periods of
time, hours on end, is likely to increase your chances of infection that your
immune system can’t handle.
And yes, a positive test is cause for concern, but if you have no
symptoms, you may or may not be a danger to others. None of the tests are
conclusive regarding your status if you have no symptoms. Because of the tendency to report all positives as cases of infection, the statistics can be very misleading, to the point of causing panic, and politicians are eager to spin even scientific results to support their agendas, So, the bottom line
is: It is most important to build up your immune system as much as you can. Second,
be careful and respectful of others, especially those with compromised immune
systems,; and finally, avoid misleading with partial information and posturing
for political purposes. Such behavior may have a more serious impact on public
health in the long run than the virus has by causing unnecessary panic and
misunderstanding.
ERC 9/12/20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzC7oHzMChI
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