Omicron – A Nisayon Ha-Seichel/Test of Rationality

I am triple-vaccinated, follow COVID rules, strongly reject anti-vaccination talk and especially the many conspiracy theories surrounding COVID – yet I am totally baffled by the measures taken by many local governments and institutions regarding the Omicron variant.

When this new variant was announced on the news approximately a month ago, the first and most obvious piece of information I wanted to know (and that everyone should want to know) was how those who were infected with Omicron were faring – were they hospitalized, were any of them intubated, and how many died? This is the most basic and relevant data pertaining to all things that are COVID.

Unfortunately, this information was not publicized for almost a week, well after we were told repeatedly about the new Omicron variant being highly contagious and possessing many mutations. Numerous infections are highly contagious, and mutation data per se is not of great help; it is the risk factor and danger that we need to know about most. It was clear that data about vaccine efficacy and actual spread rates would take time to collect, but why was basic and critical information about the health of those infected with Omicron not readily publicized? (As we know, the data subsequently informed us that the vast majority of Omicron infections were and remain quite mild – nothing like the previous COVID cases.)

My purpose is not to allege a conspiracy on the part of the media by withholding information, but rather to highlight that we had a case of “ikar chaser min ha-sefer” – the main point of the story was missing, and no one batted an eyelash and found it strange or demanded answers.

Now, we read about new mask mandatesclosuresremote learning and further restrictions due to Omicron. One would expect to be told that this is the result of mass fatalities in the wake of this new variant. But, as we know, the number of fatalities in the United States from Omicron is one – yes, one – an unvaccinated middle-aged man in Texas with an underlying health condition. (This is a far cry from fully-vaccinated, young university students, and most other Americans, many of whom are now subject to the new mandates.)

Out of over 650,000 Omicron cases in the US, only one resulted in death. Every death is a tragedy, but when compared with an average of 3700 fatal car accidents in the US each day, an average of 261 deaths in the US each day from excessive alcohol use, and an average of 10 drowning deaths in the US each day, I am perplexed. If one Omicron death in a matter of a week or two prompts the imposition of drastic restrictions and closures, surely we must be consistent and ban the driving of cars, the sale of alcohol, and swimming, as these activities are responsible for tens, hundreds and thousands more times the number of fatalities than Omicron.

What is going on?

I fear that society has become mindless. The words “COVID” and “variant” have become a source of panic and hysteria, and people resort to the most severe and extreme measures “out of an abundance of caution” when these words are spoken, regardless of whether the level of actual health risk is far lower than most other things which do not stir us to ban and shut down.

Obviously, those who are at a higher level of risk need to take serious precautions, and the number of deaths from Omicron is likely to rise as time goes by. But the fact is that the numbers do not at all correspond with the measures being taken, and it is clear that hysteria and phobia have replaced rationality and reality. When private schools in the Northeast, whose students and faculty are often all vaccinated as per school requirements, rush to cancel classes due to Omicron, yet at the same time these schools feature and promote high-power contact sports in their gyms and stadiums, despite an average of 33 young Americans dying each day due to sports injuries, something is really off. Has all sense of balance and reason been abandoned?

As Jews, part of our divine mandate is to think critically and logically, rather than following the fads and -isms of the time. Avrohom Avinu and Moshe Rabbeinu became who they were as a result of their willingness to think straightly and act correctly, not swayed by the wayward and irrational beliefs and behavior patterns of ancient pagan cultures. Is this not our calling as well?

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80 Responses

  1. Mordechai Cohen says:

    excellent.
    my thoughts exactly – thank you for expressing them so eloquently

  2. D K says:

    It is very perplexing how many drastic changes once the new variant was discovered. It seems as if the world wants to be in constant fear and full of anxiety. It would be interesting if a study was/could be done on this seemingly unexplainable behavior. Does anyone know if perhaps there already is some phycological term for this twisted form of masochism?

  3. Raymond says:

    What I am about to say is not intended to equate all of this Chinese virus hysteria with what happened in Germany just a few decades ago. And yet….almost from the moment I first heard about the Holocaust when I was much younger, one of the ongoing thoughts I had about it, is how the German people and Europeans in general could have gone along with such madness without a word of protest heard from almost any of them? How can people be such mindless sheep just going along with the crowd?

    And then this thing came: the Chinese virus, and it all became crystal clear. We Americans have treated Anthony Fauci as if he is some kind of G-d, a Greek Oracle declaring what the truth must be. Suffocating masks have long ago been shown to be completely useless, but that has not stopped our various governments, under the guidance of Fascist Fauci, from forcing all of us to wear those ridiculously stupid masks, which essentially reduce us to harnessed horses mindlessly obeying the unelected authority. And while I am not completely against the vaccines, forcing us to get them is a total violation of our basic civil rights as free and independent human beings, plus I cannot help but question their effectiveness if the government and mainstream media keeps telling us vaccinated people that we need to fear the unvaccinated. Whatever happened to the mantra, supposedly coming from the Left side of the political aisle, of how it is “our body, our choice?” I guess that only applies when it comes to our supposedly inherent right to kill our helpless, unborn babies.

    The real motivation for continuing this Chinese virus hysteria is what Lord Acton warned us about more than a century ago, namely that “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The government simply loves the tremendous feelings of power they have been given to control our bodies, our faces, and our lives. Fascist Fauci is having a field day with all this, totally drunk with power as his every word is followed as if his words come straight from Heaven. And all this fascist takeover of our society will continue to get worse and worse, until there is some kind of massive uprising of the general public against this totalitarian madness. Goodbye, American Constitution. Goodbye, Bill of Rights. Goodbye, Moses telling the Jewish people to “Proclaim Liberty throughout the land, and to all of its inhabitants thereof.” Fascism has arrived right here in America.

    • Nachum says:

      Just a friendly note: “G-d” is only appropriate when talking about Hashem. (And many would say that “God” is just fine there.) When talking about other (false) gods, and certainly about humans treated as such, the capital should not be used, and the dash implies a degree of holiness that is just not there: “…have treated Fauci as if he is some kind of god” or “as if he was G-d,” but not both.

      • Raymond says:

        Let’s make a deal. I won’t tell you how to spell your words, and you offer me the same courtesy of not telling me how to spell my words.

  4. ben dov says:

    This article missates the car death rate. There are 3700 daily deaths worldwide, not in the USA. The USA has about 100 per day.

    Covid has killed more than 800,000 Americans, more than 10 times the number of car deaths during that time. You are comparing the incomparable.

    I appreciate a rational evaluation of the danger, but sloppy analogies is a way to lose credibility, and is an impediment to rational discussion.

    • Raymond says:

      If we are going to compare numbers, abortion results in FAR more deaths per year than has the Chinese virus, yet I don’t see the Intolerant Left using draconian measures to stop the killing of millions of innocent, helpless unborn babies every year.

      • ben dov says:

        I agree with you, but it’s irrelevant to the point at hand. It’s one thing to say we have overreacted to the real threat of Covid. It’s another thing to make false comparisons to car crashes and the flu. When people do that, I get the impression they’re not all that comfortable with discussing Covid as it really is.

      • Raymond says:

        Not really. Bring up abortion is entirely appropriate, because of the complete hypocrisy of the mask-pushing Leftists who claim to care about human life, and yet at the same time are at the forefront of advocating the killing of tens of millions of helpless, unborn babies.

    • Y Kasten says:

      Schkoyach. You missed the point, he’s reffering to Omicron, not Covid in general, so the point stands. 1/650000 cases means that if the rest of the variants were as dangerous as Omicron, only 81/82 people would have died from Covid. Less than a single days worth of car deaths in the US.

      Even assuming the death rate will go up 10x since the Omicron cases are still early stage, the numbers will still be incredibly low.

      • ben dov says:

        1. If thousands per day die from Covid, and Omicron is a popular strain, then clearly we are talking about much more than a single death.

        2. I looked it up- deaths and hospitalizations are up compared to a month ago.

        3. Even if the comparison of Covid to Covid is net equality, it should be spoken of in those terms. It is unwise to make misleading comparisons to car accidents, flu etc.

    • Gershon says:

      While of course some died and we mourn their loss, the number you cited it overstated by over 30%. Hospitals received $40,000 per Covid patient and were incentivized to report such numbers. Worse, those who did die of Covid could have been saved if not for the cover-up of the Ivermectin option. https://rescue.substack.com/p/a-myth-is-born-how-cdc-fda-and-media

      • JR says:

        Speculation. No proof. You claim that hospitals were “incentivized” but failed to show that they acted on such incentivization. Do you know how much it costs to treat COVID patients? Are the hospitals supposed to treat them for free? And who’s paying these hospitals $40,000? Why would they be willing to pay for services not rendered? Are you actually claiming that this whole thing is insurance fraud run consistently and pervasively across all hospitals and all the insurance companies are in on it? And the insurance companies are willing to lose all that money because they’re in cahoots with greedy Pfizer?

        I’ve actually read the guidelines for reporting Covid deaths. (Did you actually do the research?) They do not allow reporting a Covid death on the basis of infection alone. If there is another cause, the death reports states the cause and mentions the incidental covid infection as well.

        There is no ivermectin coverup. The research has been available to all good scientists to analyze and reject sweeping claims for the drug.

  5. écrire un commentaire says:

    When the discussion degenerates to ‘Fascist Fauci’, you know you need to leave the conversation.
    A society has obligations to each other, someone has to make the decision for public matters. Dr. Fauci represents the public in this matter, our elected officials appointed him. They needed to appoint someone, and he was the one who got that job. He isn’t G-d, he isn’t some kind of oracle, he is the spokesman for the government scientists.

    Someone who is opposed to the very idea of a public official deciding matters of public health, should be out of the discussion. They are not looking for ‘the best way out’, they are looking for a way that they can weasel out of their obligations to the public.

    • Raymond says:

      So anybody who dares to challenge the Left, must be censored. Typical Leftist totalitarianism on display for everyone to see.

      • écrire un commentaire says:

        You can call it ‘the Left’, it doesn’t change matters.
        You aren’t making points, you are calling people names.
        Nobody said Fauci was God, but you are basing your complaints on some straw argument like that.

        If you think that private people can make decisions regarding the public on their own, and that each person does what they want, your opinions are baseless. The issue here is what the public should do. You don’ believe in the public at all. Your opinion is as relevant as the pope’s regarding Hilchos Stam Yeinam.

      • lacosta says:

        and as well, any alternative treatment was considered verboten . Ivermectin may very well have saved myriads of lives [ it certainly worked it our family ], but those advocating non-Gospel treatments have been harrassed hounded and often defrocked …. someday the truth may come out

      • JR says:

        Nonsense. There are many countries with centrist & right-wing gov’ts that have had similar policies. It was Netanyahu who imposed the most severe restrictions in Israel. Is he a leftist?

      • Raymond says:

        The Left can put ‘the Left’ in pretentious quotation marks, it doesn’t change matters. The Left makes no points, instead calling people names. The Left treats Fraudulent Fauci as if he were G-d as they base their complaints on some straw argument like that.

        Anybody who so rejects personal liberty that they would deny our inherent right as free human beings to make decisions regarding our own bodies, has baseless opinions. The issue here is what individual freedom and dignity. The Left does not believe such things. The Intolerant Left’s opinions are as relevant as the Pope’s regarding Hilchos Stam Yeina

      • Bob Miller says:

        Not only that, Raymond (27 Dec 2021 11:41).

        The pro-death feminists who call themselves pro-choice insist on a woman’s right to kill her fetus irrespective of the bad effects on the fetus, her, and society—on the grounds that she has an absolute right to control her own body!

    • Gershon says:

      👏 Bravo to Newsweek for Publishing Some Truth for once! Fauci Lis consistently – even the left-leaning Harvard, Stanford and Newsweek call him out. Last month, he lied to congress when he said he didn’t fund gain-of-function research at Wuhan. NIH said he did. 5 years in prison for lying to Congress.
      by @DrJBhattacharya & @MartinKulldorff (Stanford & Harvard).
      https://www.newsweek.com/how-fauci-fooled-america-opinion-1643839

  6. Reb Yid says:

    There’s a certain irony here among those who have no issue of making all kinds of fences around the Torah.

    We should take the same approach when it comes to the health of the most vulnerable members of our society.

    I’ve been in the trenches here–in a critical care unit visiting a loved one. Or trying to, anyways. Visiting policies have changed since visitors have infected both staff members and patients (some of whom were reinfected) due to a failure to adhere to basic safety and health guidelines. These units are teeming with COVID patients and at times this is impacting the nursing staff’s ability to attend to other critical patients and their families.

    Hospitalizations are up. Deaths are up. The more the virus spreads, the more likely it is to impact the unvaccinated as well as others, vaccinated though they may be, who are elderly or have pre-existing conditions (like I do) who can ill afford the risk of getting infected.

    • Bterclinger says:

      Deaths are not up.
      And most if the people you claim to have died from COVID had serious co morbidities that would have killed them.

      • Reb Yid says:

        Over 1,350 fatalities per day. That’s about 500,000 people per year.

        And the rates are worse in the areas currently getting hit the hardest–cold weather areas where people have been forced indoors. Deaths, cases and hospitalizations all up. Check and see how hospitals in northeast Ohio, Michigan, Illinois or much of the Northeast are doing. It’s going to get even worse before it gets better.

        Too

      • Raymond says:

        Unfortunately, the kind of truths said here by Bterclinger is completely ignored by the Intolerant Leftists, because such inconvenient facts interfere with their real goal of absolute power over our lives.

    • Gershon says:

      Did the Government add new hospital-bed capacity with the $1.9 Trillion “Covid-19 Relief Package” as they said they would? Nope. New York has lost over 20,000 beds to budget cuts and insurance overhauls.

  7. joel rich says:

    Something to think about – lets say the infection transmission rate for variant x is 10% with serious consequences cases 10% of those infected. lets say the infection transmission rate for variant y is 30% with serious consequences cases 5% of those infected. y may be judged less harmful for those infected, but the total number of serious cases will be greater due to the greater number infected.
    kt

    • dr. bill says:

      I am triple vaccinated and caught the latest variant of COVID. Given new treatments, I was strongly medicated and recovered quickly.

      My sense is the infection rate has grown significantly, but the mortality rate has fallen much, much more significantly. Together with greatly improved therapeutics, I believe the cause for alarm will soon pass. Irrational fears do not disappear overnight. Hoping Israel’s admission policy modifies accordingly.

      This pattern is common with many outbreaks. Hopefully, the next variant will extend this trend.

      • Reb Yid says:

        According to the Mayo Clinic data, at least in the US the infection rate has exploded while the mortality rate has remained at the same level.

        https://www.mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-covid-19/map

      • mycroft says:

        The current 7 day mortality average from Covid as of yesterday was 1328 see https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=covid+deaths+in+us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

        If so, it means that every 3 days more are currently dying from Covid in the US than died 911.
        The virus is still a major killer in the US. My impression by looking although death rates per case have clearly decreased-they appear to be stable so far on a population basis. We will have a much better idea in a few weeks-coved historically has had death rates lag by a few weeks from infection date.
        It is sadly clear that protection from vaccination decreases a few months after vaccination and even after booster. Sadly, pandemic is not over yet

  8. ChanaRachel says:

    Rabbi Gordimer, let me try to explain the “critical and logical thinking” of some, including many experts:

    1- The timing…People don’t die immediately of COVID- It often takes several weeks. Sequencing (not PCR) to identify Omicron takes time. The data you ask for may not yet be available. It is known that Omicron is highly contagious. By the time we will know whether Omicron is of concern in terms of serious illness, it will be too late to stop the spread, which will already have escaped control. If it turns out to truly be a mild disease, we will know in a few weeks, and restrictions can be rolled back. If we make no efforts to stop Omicron, and the number of seriously sick goes up, it will be too late to reverse.

    2- The numbers.. Let’s say Omicron results in hospitalization at only a quarter the rate of the original strain. If it is 4-fold more contagious, the net effect on hospital/icu occupancy will be the same as in the first wave. Now, this doesn’t affect only the poor guy in Texas with preexisting conditions who is in the COVID ward, it means that a child with appendicitis, or someone injured in a car crash will get suboptimal (if any) care because the whole system will be overwhelmed.

    3- It is not enough for the elderly or infirm to “take serious precautions”. None of us live in a vacuum, or in isolation. My 93 year old mother has round-the-clock caregivers. She can (and we do) take every possible precaution, but her caregivers still have to ride on public transportation, interact with their children and families, and continue their activities of daily living. The amount of COVID circulating in the population has a direct impact on her safety.

    4- ..and this is what surprises me. I was always brought up with the understanding that “Judaism isn’t about rights, it’s about obligations”, and that true Emuna means that we realize that we are not in control. And suddenly, everyone seems worried only about their Freedoms. I understand the need to mitigate the effect of Corona on the economy and on people’s livelihoods, which can also be a matter of life or death, but why are we ranting against simple interventions that, while arguably annoying, could be lifesaving? Why are we not educating our youth and ourselves that כל ישראל ערבים זה לזה (and in this case all of humankind). Why are we not telling our kids that by wearing a mask (as annoying as it is) they may be directly saving someone’s life?

    So yes, it’s important to think critically, and let’s do so– We may be on the cusp of a major crisis. Once we let it get out of control, we will have several horrible months, which will affect many more than those who themselves get sick. If Omicron (please G-d) turns out to be the ultimate mutant– a fast replicating common cold, we will know in matter of weeks, and will be able to reopen safely. If the best-case scenario doesn’t play out, at least we will have done everything in each of our powers to mitigate the damage.

    • D K says:

      Rabbi Gordimer writes in his article that he is not against taking precautions and measures against a possible new strain of Corona. He is not against vaccines or pro-conspiracy theories. He writes simply that he is worried about the seemingly senseless hysteria and panic that has taken ahold of entire governments, countries, and society as a whole. He is against the fear mongering of the media and their purposeful leaving out of information that could better calm down those that are scared. That’s all.

      • Reb Yid says:

        Again, our health system is in crisis.

        COVID is taxing it to its very brink. Recently, we’ve already had to call in the National Guard to assist in various hospitals around the country.

        This is not irrational fear. This is a very rational assessment of what is happening on the ground, right now.

    • R Abraham says:

      Point 1 is enough to unravel the essence of this article. 33 days on average from infection to death, so obviously there aren’t many deaths just yet. It’s shocking how an otherwise intelligent man can write something with such blatant logical flaws. And it’s disappointing that so many commenters seem to swallow this nonsense without thinking.

      However, ChanaRachel, you have made an error too. If it is 4 times more contagious, the net result will Not be the same. The effect is cumulative, so even if slightly more contagious the effect will quickly become enormous.

  9. Bob Miller says:

    To start, ask, “Who is best served by Omicron Mania, as opposed to careful consideration, and prudent action if needed?”
    1. Governments at all levels get more power.
    2. Pharmaceutical companies make more money.
    3. Media get more viewers and listeners to make more money.
    4. Teachers’ union members get more paid days off.
    5. We learn about another Greek letter.

    Statements and threats by the “medical community” would be much more credible had it not mounted a two-year effort to libel, silence, and interfere with prescribers of the long-approved human medications and dietary supplements they had personally found effective against COVID-19. Thanks to that “community,” the load on hospitals and social services was greatly increased, not to mention the toll on patients and their families.

    When in history were sick patients left to deteriorate pending development of safe and effective vaccines?

    Why are “public health measures” that failed in recent memory being dragged out again and intensified?

    Do we learn anything from experience? Or is this like communism, in that its every abject failure is taken as a sure sign we need more of it?

    • JR says:

      “they had personally found effective ”

      There is no such thing as “personally found effective”. If a medical treatment is effective, it’s not personal. Placebos, on the other hand, are personal.

      • Bob Miller says:

        What I, personally, meant —Through the prescribers’ personal clinical experiences with their patients.

  10. Bterclinger says:

    Think you might start checking those studies on Hydroxychloroquine, zinc and antibiotics a little harder?

    Rating of studies for the Hydroxychloroquine Protocol (Hydroxychloroquine AND Zinc, plus azithromycin [or doxycycline]: https://c19hcq.com/ https://c19zinc.com/

    Rating of studies for Ivermectin: https://c19ivermectin.com/

    Rating of studies for Remdesivir: https://c19rmd.com/

    Ratings of studies for monoclonal antibodies: https://c19regn.com/

    Maybe confirm that hundreds of millions of Africans and Indians are beating COVID with ivermectin?

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33795896/

    https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/uttar-pradesh-government-says-ivermectin-helped-to-keep-deaths-low-7311786/?utm_source=msn&utm_medium=Referral

    /asking for a friend.

    • Bob Miller says:

      In a recent LinkedIn comment, I put in a good word for Ivermectin and HCQ and got censored for their mere mention, that they called misinformation. I said nothing negative about other treatments or vaccines. Somebody is very put out about the existence of helpful off-the-shelf medications. Nobody says they’re panaceas for COVID, but no panaceas exist anyway. Millions of doctors have had their hands tied unjustly because of the power/profit motive.

      • Reb Yid says:

        Not everyone can afford those questionable quack treatments at any rate.

        Vaccines are FREE. At this point, there are zero excuses remaining not to get vaccinated. All of the bubbe meysehs have been dispelled a long time ago.

      • JR says:

        “. Nobody says they’re panaceas for COVID”

        “miraculous… obliterates transmission… if you take it, you will not get sick”
        -Pierre Kory

      • Bob Miller says:

        No responsible persons call any medicine a panacea. even when they find it very effective.

      • lacosta says:

        MD’s who are not only going with the flow can develop clinical experience with these alternative pathways [ which in many cases offer an option other than waiting to die ]— for example this one
        https://covid19criticalcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/FLCCC-Alliance-I-MASKplus-Protocol-ENGLISH.pdf , many of the agents require no prescription so the power structure on the Left can not interfere with their use… but ivermectin , the FDA is confiscating purchases from India….

      • Raymond says:

        As can be seen above, alternative therapies to treat the Chinese virus are called Quack Remedies by the Intolerant Leftists. That is because such therapies are a threat to the total domination of society that is the end goal of all Leftist thought.

  11. JR says:

    “2- The numbers.. Let’s say Omicron results in hospitalization at only a quarter the rate of the original strain. If it is 4-fold more contagious, the net effect on hospital/icu occupancy will be the same as in the first wave.”

    Not quite. Suppose the doubling rate of Delta is every 4 days, and Omicron is every 2 days. That means for every person infected, there would be 128 people infected at month’s end- but for Omicron that would be 16,000! So in theory, even if Omicron was 90% less dangerous, the large numbers of infection coming at the same time would be a disaster for anyone who will need medical services. So things are potentially worse than you claim. (Unfortunately, by the time we’ll have real data to determine what action to take, it will be too late and we’ll either have overacted or have been foolishly complacent.)

    “it is the risk factor and danger that we need to know about most”
    Wrong. It’s Risk Factor multiplied by the amount of infection that matter on one “side” of the equation. Risk factor alone tells us nothing useful. And the costs of mitigation on the other side of the equation- e.g. Mask mandates are cheap to implement, but lockdowns are expensive.

  12. Steven Brizel says:

    We are triple vaccinated and have been very careful in opening up our home for Shabbos meals to those who are In a similar posture We have returned to davening in shul with masks solely because Onixton is more easily transmitted but far less severe if you are fully vaccinated In the absence of a variant if you are full vaccinated wearing a mask is virtue signaling Why some members of our communities sound and act like anti vaxxers is beyond my pay scale but I see no constitutional or legal basis for any mandates

    • Gershon says:

      Steven, why would you write “ far less severe if you are fully vaccinated…”? Omnicron is not severe even if you are not vaccinated! And, it is even less severe if you already had Covid and let your natural immunity help you (Israel study). FYI, the fraud of antibody tests is that they only test your B-cells immunity which does not last as long as your T-cell immunity! Your T-cell immunity will last between 22 months – to – eternity.

    • JR says:

      That’s not what “virtue signaling” means. People who wear masks do so, either because they believe it’s works or at least to simply follow the rules. “Virtue signalling” connotes behavior/words that express support for an idea without actual action. (It does not include actions which are mistakenly believed to further such a cause.)

      • Bob Miller says:

        Virtue signaling also includes merely symbolic actions to attest to the doer’s virtue. This could apply, for example, to a person who voluntarily wears a mask without believing it helps ward off disease, and does this to impress others.

  13. Steve Brizel says:

    FWIW if you want to see how a Gadol dealt with the Halachic and hashkafic issues presented by the virus go get or download R Asher Weiss’s Sefer devoted solely to Coronavirus issues or all of the Piskei Halacha of RHS on Coronavirus

  14. mb says:

    I’m trying to understand what this article has to do with Jewish thought?

  15. Gershon says:

    Well said Rabbi Gordimer. Its not rocket science at this point; plenty of solid global independent research is coming out weekly and its all pointing towards CDC and Government manipulation of data. You have to want to know the truth and be willing to spend a little time investigating from non-mainstream news sources. “Shomer Psoyim Hashem” is only bidieved – no heter to avoid hishtadlut in looking deeply into what you are putting into your body and the bodies of your children. The leading doctors from Harvard and Stanford are accesible as is Dr.Peter Mccullough in Dallas. Dr. Ryan Cole runs one of the largest labs in America and is seeing horrible things in the vaccinated: (https://twitter.com/primordilian/status/1474025755722006540?s=21) and https://twitter.com/petersparrot/status/1472707431692222472?s=21) and https://twitter.com/michaelenright7/status/1463395955525529600?s=21). Dr. Pierre Kory (FLCC) and our very own Frum Dr. David Wiseman who was one of the TOP Johnson & Johnson Research Fellows are doing serious Covid research and telling you not to take the vaccine, you should pay attention. Dr. Wiseman has emails with CDC proving their fraud and he is putting back numbers i to studies where they omitted critical data. Global death rate is up 10% year-over-year; mathematics says a portion of that must be due to the vaccine. Unfortunately, many Rabaim are not consulting with cutting edge Covid researchers, virologists, infectious disease doctors or epidimiologists who are INDEPENDENT of the mega-corporation-controlled healthcare system (70% controlled) which are leading the fraud/cover-up, but rather listening to the friendly-frum-neighborhood doctors who make the minyan (some of whom I have spoken to and are not on the cutting-edge of covid research, are too trusting of CDC/NIH and are often past their primes). We’ve gotten too comfortable and trusting of governmental institutions. The U.S. is no longer a moral leader and has been taken over by special interests and global elite. Rome collapsed from immorality as the U..S. Is now collapsing. Pfizer, Moderna, Gates, Fauci, politicians are getting filthy rich off this and could care less about us or cheaper proven alternatives such as Ivermectin (in poor areas of India and Africa where they could not afford vaccines, almost nobody died of covid!). MANY people died as a result of the Ivermectin cover-up. Those media people, gov’t officials and pharma execs will stand before G-d and be judged harshly.

    RECOGNITION: Dr. Peter McCullough received the International Vicenza Award for Critical Care Nephrology for his outstanding work and contribution in the area of cardiorenal syndromes. He has also been a recipient of the Simon Dack Award from the American College of Cardiology, and his works have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, and other prestigious journals worldwide. He has been an invited lecturer at the New York Academy of Sciences, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency, and the U.S. Congressional Oversight Panel.
    https://www.uscjournal.com/authors/peter-mccullough

    -Dr. Peter McCullough Interview: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0aZte37vtFTkYT7b0b04Qz
    -Dr. McCullough explains how Myocarditis differs when causerd by natural infection: https://tapnewswire.com/2021/10/cardiologist-dr-peter-mccullough-explains-how-myocarditis-differs-when-caused-by-natural-infection/

    👏 Bravo to Newsweek for Publishing Some Truth for once!
    by @DrJBhattacharya & @MartinKulldorff (Stanford & Harvard). https://www.newsweek.com/how-fauci-fooled-america-opinion-1643839

    -David Martin is a decorated investigator: https://rumble.com/vq6emy-prosecuting-those-behind-covid-mass-murder-david-martin-phd-explains.html

    Davening for the health and safety of all Am Yisrael…Our rights come from G-d, not Government.

    • JR says:

      ” Dr. Ryan Cole runs one of the largest labs in America..”

      Wow! What a claim! Did you bother to investigate it?

      Cole’s lab services the Boise area. His specialty (dermapathology) has little or nothing to do with virology or immunology.Are you “willing to spend a little time investigating” whether this claim is true? Or did you “avoid hishtadlut in looking deeply” into whether this claim was puffery?
      Pierre Kory was mistaken when he claimed that Ivermection was “miraculous” & would “obliterate” the virus and that if you take ivermectin “you will not get sick”. And you still cite him as an expert.

      • Bob Miller says:

        Much as a microbe “looks for” an easy path into the host, you pick at the weak parts of an argument without contesting its main parts that can stand on their own.

      • Gerrshon says:

        Yes JR, Dr Cole’s lab is known to be very high quality with the latest/greatest lab tech. Dr. Cole was appointed to the most prestigious medical Board in Idaho, Mayo Clinic trained, 2 Chief Fellowships. He is a board certified Anatomic and Clinical pathologist with a subspecialty training and 20 years experience in dermatopathology and particular interest in molecular diagnostics. Dr. Cole is licensed in states from coast to coast, and serves patients and clinicians across the country by providing accurate and timely diagnoses. Cole Diagnostics processes and reports out approximately 40,000 blood and biopsy patient samples annually. In the last year, the lab has handled over 100,000 COVID testing samples. Strong critical thinker unafraid to tell the truth (unlike most doctors who have intimated this to personal friends). He was accepted to a fellowship in dermatopathology, under the world expert in the field, Dr. A. Bernard Ackerman, at the Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology, in conjunction with the Columbia School of Medicine, in New York City, where he was again chief fellow. With a bit of saychel and some high-powered microscopes, Dr. Cole is a FAR better source of information than the compromised CDC/NIH.
        And yes JR, ALL the people (and there were many) who called Ivermectin a “horse” drug were obviously part of the cover-up. So many studies as well as personal accounts of healing are publicly stated and of course almost nobody died of Covid in the parts of India, Mexico, and Africa where they were given ivermectin (could not afford Vaccine). See Ivermectin studies This study was peer reviewed by medical experts that included three US government senior scientists and is the most comprehensive review of the available data taken from clinical, in vitro, animal, and real-world studies. It is published in the American Journal of Therapeutics.
        -Uttar Pradesh is the leading state in India to use Ivermectin as early and preventatively in all family contacts. And this state is one of the five lowest COVID cases of all states in India despite having only a low vaccination rate of 5.8% fully vaccinated compared to the USA that has 54% fully vaccinated.

        The Undeniable Ivermectin Miracle in India’s 240m …
        https://newsrescue.com/the-undeniable-ivermectin-miracle-indias-240m-populated-largest-state-uttar-pradesh-horowitz/

        -Mexico: A citywide initiative in Mexico City to prescribe ivermectin to COVID-19 patients resulted in a plunge in hospitalizations and deaths, two studies found. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/after-mexico-city-introduced-ivermectin-plan-covid-hospitalizations-and-deaths-disappeared/

        Hospitalizations were down by as much as 76%, according to research by the Mexican Digital Agency for Public Innovation, Mexico’s Ministry of Health and the Mexican Social Security Institute, according to a TrialSiteNews report highlighted by LifeSiteNews.

        https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2021/09/18/india-vs-israel-time-to-admit-ivermectin-works/

  16. YCG says:

    I used to enjoy Cross-Currents for it’s incisive articles and commentary. I stopped reading it sometime in 2020, however, because it became less about Torah and more about divisive partisan politics. Today I came back to see if anything has improved and, alas, it has not. Sad.

    • Bob Miller says:

      Scan recent pages at this site and you’ll find the number of posts related to politics to be very small. Incisive is in the eyes of the beholder.

      • BB says:

        That’s because the vast majority of posts for a long time have been by one particular writer and , I suspect, are of little interest to the majority of readers. The other contributors write only occasionally, but when they do there indeed a strong tendency to partisan politics, Rabbi Adlerstein excluded.
        I have felt this site is on the verge of being defunct for a long time now, which is a shame.

      • YCG says:

        Thank you, BB. I think your analysis is spot on.

    • shmuel says:

      YCG and BB – I feel the same as you. CC has been ignoring several issues mainly concerning Yiddishkeit in EY. Maybe the writers are too busy. We have now only iyun.org website.

      • Gershon says:

        I would like to suggest that the Covid discussion is a “Torah discussion involving modern day halachik decision-making and how the Jewish people respond to such a matsav.” I would argue it is not “politics,” but rather a “Practical Halachah & Hashgafa discussion” that is ESSENTIAL to our well-being and must be had!

  17. ChanaRachel says:

    You can argue about vaccines and masks and distancing as much as you want, but unfortunately, it seems like Omicron is filling up hospitals (notably with kids), and mitigation efforts do not reflect hysteria or poor logical reasoning skills.
    https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/27/health/covid-kids-hospitals/index.html
    Here in Israel we seem to be just a few days behind.

    Thank you to JR and R. Abraham for pointing out my error- but your correction simply amplifies my point that there is no hysteria or irrational thought in current efforts to mitigate Omicron contagion.

    • DavidF says:

      Even if Omicron is having the effect CNN says it does (and even then there are a number of reservations it makes for its bolder claims) it seems like you and JR have a problem at questioning authority as if they have the best interests at heart. You grew up in a tradition which has a very strange interpretation of what it means to be responsible for each other- כל ישראל ערבים זה לזה – but healthy skepticism is a much stronger tradition, and frankly your dogmatic approach is scary. There should be more people like Rav Gordimer who merely ask questions. In the UK many more teens died from suicides induced by the lockdowns than by the virus itself. All these mitigating efforts are the products of stage 1 thinking and are destructive in and of themselves. Taking away liberty, forcing isolation, robbing kids of friends, masking their faces and making them all into faceless robots should not be taken lightly , and are indeed dangerous for one’s mental health. Every measure taken has health costs. And you and others can think that you care more about human life, but trust me when I say you are gravely mistaken. We are as moral as you are, your condescending and patronizing attitude notwithstanding

      • Bob Miler says:

        We give a lot of lip service to ecological or global approaches that consider all ramifications and tradeoffs of a given set of actions. Unfortunately, many still promote magic bullet approaches that ignore red lights. Bias because of personal financial interests, etc., clouds the crystal ball.

      • Reb Yid says:

        There is nothing wrong with asking questions, as long as they are done in good faith.

        Frankly, I agree with the original poster that if some of these schools are continuing to hold sporting events that they should be cancelled forthwith. Steps must be taken to reduce transmission–letting COVID run amok will cripple our health system, plain and simple.

        At this point it’s pretty clear that the spread is not only real but that hospitalizations and deaths are substantially up (and note that the rise in hospitalizations usually trails the rise in cases by several).

        Yes, mental health issues are real and my own family has suffered greatly from this over the past several years. But if that is all that you see, just pray that you do not need to go to the hospital or ER for any reason right now, whether COVID related or not.

      • JR says:

        “it seems like you and JR have a problem at questioning authority ”
        No. But I also have no problem questioning non-authorities.

        “You grew up in a tradition …”
        Speculation. You’re making sweeping conclusions from a few anonymous comments? Whither healthy skepticism?

        ” your dogmatic approach”
        Dogma where?

        ” healthy skepticism”
        I’m skeptical of of your claims.

        “making them all into faceless robots”
        Robots?

        “In the UK many more teens died from suicides induced by the lockdowns than by the virus itself.”
        That doesn’t make sense. You can’t compare suicide rates with virus deaths. You first have to establish the baseline suicide rate. Then determine the numbers in excess of that rate. Are the excess suicide numbers higher than virus deaths? This is basic statistics. You committed a very basic error here. You accepted an obviously false comparison without a drop of skepticism. The problem is that you should question non-authorities too.

        I only mentioned ivermectin in regards to refute the claim that no one was making sweeping claims about covid-19 treatments. That’s it. I’m aware of the controversy, and that research is ongoing. I’m aware of the Bryant meta-analysis and that it’s controversial due to its inclusion very low quality studies. A lot of these smaller are garbage. You see- I’m being skeptical!

        “your condescending and patronizing attitude”
        I haven’t patronized you.

    • Gershon says:

      “Healthy people with a sniffle are swamping and overwhelming ERs (including the one where I work). This is squarely the fault of hysterical, fear-mongering media and bad public health messaging.“ https://twitter.com/ebennett74/status/1474610462008528896?s=21

      • JR says:

        Call me a skeptic, but I don’t consider twitter a reliable source of information. That being the case, the story lacks credibility. People don’t generally go to the ER for sniffles. (Are they lacking insurance?) And if they do show up in ER, they’ll be checked out and soon sent home.
        And yet, last year the covid deniers were claiming that the ERs were empty! And that was when there was more fear, and less “fatigue” from following guidelines.
        The story is an obvious crock.
        Be sure to come back and post something more relevant: what’s happening in the ICU.

    • Gershon says:

      ChanaRachel, you linked to CNN! That is Bob’s point. None of us can listen to establishment, mainstream media or Government anymore. Things have changed DRASTICALLY and the faster people realize it, the better. Speak to real people to get your info and make sure those people are healthily skeptical as well! Investigate everything. If the source has their paycheck signed by a major healthcare company, forget it.

      • Reb Yid says:

        Don’t blame the messenger. Even Pravda couldn’t find a way to ignore this. The basic data are what they are. No-one is contesting the rapid rise in cases. While the rises in hospitalizations and fatalities are, thankfully, not at the same rate as the new case rate or positivity rate (currently at 16%), they are nonetheless real, disturbing and not trending in the right direction.

  18. DavidF says:

    Obviously neither you (JR) nor Chana Rochel could have patronized me since this is the first time I replied. The tone of all your entries and less so of Chana Rohel is that of a know-it-all and someone very ready to patronize anyone who does not think like them. Anyway this is just an example of what perfectly encapsulates someone illogical and dogmatic. Illogical because I could not have accused anyone of personally patronizing me when I have not commented. Dogmatic, because your dogma is based on the idea that the state is looking after the best interest of its citizens. It is part of the statist religion. Of course you can question non state actors, but they are not the ones in power and they are not responsible for many preventable deaths, isolation and misery. When humans are forced to wear masks based on scanty evidence it is in order to turn them into faceless robots. The fact that you did not understand the reference says more about you and your lack of empathy than it does about what I wrote. Your rebuttal about suicide rates was perhaps clever in the very narrowest sense, but obviously the studies take into account the fact that 2020 had a much higher suicide rate than ever before. But you knew that and were just trying to score a (silly) point. (Also I was talking about teens, and obviously about teen deaths not overall suicides, or overall virus deaths, ) Many article have been written about the shocking toll on children and the elderly wrought by the lockdown and other interventions , but you would probably nitpick all of them. It is also upsetting that you seem to be wishing Omicron to be more severe than it has proven thus far. I am sure you are a decent person who does not want misery and death but if you were a little more compassionate you would welcome the fact that the ER is filled with cases that are not serious. It may disprove the government but it would mean we are in a healthier situation than the hysterics would like us to believe. Anyway it is sad to see your enthusiasm for implementing interventions with no proven benefits.

    • JR says:

      “Obviously neither you (JR).. ”
      Nothing you wrote in this comment is correct.
      ” patronized me”
      I didn’t patronize you. Cite one example.
      “The tone of all your entries… is that of a know-it-all ”
      Incorrect. Cite one example.
      “because your dogma is based on the idea that the state is looking after the best interest of its citizens. ”
      I never said or implied that. This is pure speculation on your part.
      “Of course you can question non state actors”
      Like phara executives, mainstream media, tech giants? Or most of the doctors and hospital staff? Or most rabbonim and poskim? The covid deniers question (and condemn) many non state actors.
      ” Your rebuttal about suicide rates was perhaps clever”
      No, it wasn’t clever. It was correct.
      “When humans are forced to wear masks based on scanty evidence it is in order to turn them into faceless robots.”
      Wrong. At worst, the mask mandates were an overly cautious restriction. But no, nobody wants to turn you into a robot.
      “your lack of empathy”
      Speculation.
      “The fact that you did not understand the reference”
      You mess up with bad statistics and it’s my fault for not divining your intention? And you persist in not sharing meaningful statistics! Show me excess teen suicides and compare it with ten covid deaths. Then convince me that there’s no other explanation for the excess rates. Were rates on the rise anyway before the pandemic? Were rates abnormally low before the pandemic and we’re merely seeing regression toward the mean? Have you compared the rates of suicide attempts vs. suicides. That’s important because if may show that the change in actual suicides may have something to do with how the suicide is attempted.
      ” but you would probably nitpick all of them.”
      What you call nits, I call subtlety. And there are a heck of lot of nits.
      “you seem to be wishing Omicron to be more severe”
      Speculation. And a lie. I hope that Omicron will act as vaccination by way of infection and will end the pandemic. And there’s some preliminary evidence that this is the case. Be sure to blame it on a CDC lab.
      ” I am sure you are a decent person who does not want misery and death ”
      Speculation & patronizing.
      “if you were a little more compassionate”
      Scratch my previous response. Not patronizing- but a backhanded complement.
      ” you would welcome the fact that the ER is filled with cases that are not serious.”
      Assuming it’s a fact, which I highly doubt, I would welcome. it.
      ” it is sad to see your enthusiasm”
      Whither enthusiasm? Speculation!

      Look, if you want to take a maverick position, you’d better get your facts correct. And not just correct, but watertight, in order and well presented. If you present your case in a sloppy manner, don’t blame the receiver- blame the messenger. Could it be that the covid deniers are correct about some or even most things? Maybe. But the deniers have not made their case. They make mistakes, most of them obvious and some of them subtle. And what claims pass basic scrutiny don’t add up to much.

      • DavidF says:

        I think there has been enough back and forth. This is not a scientific platform and I do not owe you any evidence. If we were having an official debate, believe me I would be much more prepared.
        I will only say that you give yourself away when you refer to Covid deniers .No one is denying that there is a virus. Not even the most extreme anti-vaxxers whom I have come across have denied its existence. (I have had the vaccine but I will defend those who have not) Many people think the numbers and danger have been exaggerated. You may disagree and you may think all the government information, and interventions are a perfect way of preventing spread, but that does not mean that anyone is in denial. The same applies to the climate debate. You talk as if you are so aware of so many subtleties- but it is completely unsubtle and untrue to call those who disagree with interventions, or who dare question them- deniers. It is reminiscent of Holocaust deniers and you may not have used it deliberately but the environmentalists do.

      • Bob Miller says:

        Labeling people as mavericks and deniers for contesting parts of official narratives is a strictly ad hominem tactic. On the merits, their arguments can be right, wrong, or a little of each.

        So let’s examine this: “Look, if you want to take a maverick position, you’d better get your facts correct. And not just correct, but watertight, in order and well presented.”

        Substitute “consensus” for “maverick”, and that statement is still true. Authorities have the same burden of proof as dissenters. The former can’t just pull rank to push the latter out of the discussion.

  19. DavidF says:

    I posted a longer answer but I am not sure if it was accepted- if it is please forgive me. You claim to be sceptical of non-authorities and you probably even believe you are being sceptical. And obviously you can be sceptical about anything I or others write ,even if your points are completely unconvincing . But I do not believe it comes from any healthy scepticism. Rather it seems like your aim is to protect and defend all the claims of the state. A sceptic, questions all claims, but in none of your posts have you given a hint that perhaps the state may err. Therefore if it is scepticism , it is very unhealthy scepticism and solely to put down ad hominem those who dare question the authorities. The dogma you have is this (irrational) belief that the state looks after the best interests of its citizens. Hard to believe after such mismanagement, death and misery anyone still believes that.

    • ChanaRachel says:

      This is getting quite off topic.
      It’s not about Dr Cole (whoever he is), and it’s not about what DavidF thinks about my trusting authority.

      Rabbi Gordimer suggested that people are reacting to Omicron out of panic and not rationally. I, and some fellow posters, suggested that as long as Omicrons virulence and the proportion of patients who will require hospital care are unknown, it is important to “flatten the curve”, reducing [or at least postponing] infections to the extent possible.
      The collective, and possibly government mandated, efforts to reduce contagion are different from the risk in participating in a sporting event, which is an individual choice.
      The chances of my 93 year old Mom getting hurt in a skydiving accident are zero (unless -of course- a skydiver happens to land on her head while she is sitting in her wheelchair in a park, but that seems highly unlikely). This is similarly the case for drowning or dying of an alcohol overdose (drunk driving is a more complex case). In sports, alcohol use, etc., people can make a personal decision regarding how much risk they are willing to accept, as the risk affects only them and their immediate circle.
      In the case of COVID, regulations are in force because someone sitting on a bus without a mask can infect people, who infect other people, causing hospital crowding and suboptimal care for patients who may have personally taken every COVID precaution possible. I agree that many mitigation strategies come with their own costs… Which is why all we can do is hope that our professionals and elected officials can navigate some sort of reasonable middle ground (which obviously will never please everyone).
      And that’s why COVID is so different from the other crises humankind has encountered.. It is a unique case in which how each of us behaves can have a direct effect on a little old lady lying in a hospital bed in the hallway. I don’t think that is hysteria or the irrational belief of a pagan culture

    • Bob Miller says:

      We can’t just look at government according to theory. Sometimes a government’s key personnel are so demonstrably corrupt and power-hungry as to lose it any credibility. Welcome to today’s world.

    • JR says:

      “Rather it seems like your aim is to protect and defend all the claims of the state.”
      Speculation.
      “A sceptic, questions all claims”
      All claims.
      “The dogma you have ”
      Speculation.

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