Photo by Colin Maynard
By Jo Nova
Imagine we were spending $200 million to inject pregnant women and vaccinate babies against RSV, and the real cause of many of the life threatening cases was just low vitamin D?
RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus) is something nearly everyone catches by the time they are two years old. It’s like a bad cold. We’ll go on to catch it every few years for the rest of our lives, and it’s really only a problem for babies and the very old.
In the last week by some odd coincidence, the BBC, ABC and CBC all have stories promoting the idea of saving babies with RSV vaccines which often cost $300 dollars each (USD). The government rollouts are being promoted with free advertising on news programs that pretend to be journalists. But not a single journalist asked the obvious question — if most babies recover just fine, what is different about the babies that struggle. Could it be that low vitamin D puts them at risk?
Two studies suggest that babies with low vitamin D are, by golly, 5 to 10 times more likely to need intensive care.
Vitamin D3, Cholcalciferol.
Back in 2011, Belderbos et al looked at 158 babies and measured the levels of vitamin D in their cord blood and found those with low levels went on to have six times the risk of a severe lung infection compared to babies with normal levels. (Low was <50 nmol/L (20 ng/ml) and normal was 75 nmol/L (30 ng/ml). It was a small study but other studies at the time already showed vitamin D played a major role in stopping the inflammatory responses getting out of control.
By 2022, another study on 125 babies showed that the amount of virus each child had didn’t predict how severe their infection would be, but their vitamin D level when they arrived in hospital did. Those with the lowest vitamin D had a ghastly 11 fold increase in odds of suffering a life threatening illness. (Again low means <50nmol/L (20ng/ml)).
If 20% of babies are deficient in Vitamin D, and the 11 fold risk is not just an artefact, that means about half of the babies suffering a life threatening disease are struck down because of their deficiency. Maybe this is a gross overestimate, but where are the studies? Why aren’t our Ministers for Health launching big programs to figure it out? Even if the risk is only 50% more, these are actual babies we’re talking about.
And if we get the MAD misinformation laws, will anyone even be able to ask these questions?
Critics might be damaging confidence in “public health”.
Crazy people might think that if our Healthcare system was trying to save babies, rather than generate profits for Big Pharma (or Big Hospitals) the first thing they would do is study and fix the vitamin D deficiency. It’s not like this is an endangered animal or an exotic disease. It’s not a stretch to say every winter babies are dying because our health departments have little interest in vitamins or saving lives cheaply.
To give some idea of how many people this affects — in Ireland during winter about a third of all babies would be classified as deficient. But in sunny-country Australia, it’s hard to even find published numbers. Despite the blazing sun here, about a quarter of adults still have a deficiency, so there’s probably plenty to go around in baby-world.
Where is the cost benefit comparison?
The long term side effects of injecting pregnant women with a new type of therapy are completely unknown. The side effects of higher Vitamin D levels though, correlate with lower rates of cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, heart disease, dental caries, preeclampsia, autoimmune disease, depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. Vitamin D influences over 200 genes — it is a chief meddler of molecules. Not only are deficient babies at risk of going down to RSV in a bad way, they’re at risk of autism spectrum disorder, behavioral disorders, schizophrenia, depression, and multiple sclerosis [Rogers et al].
As it happens, Vitamin D deficiency may cause as many as 40% of respiratory deaths in older people and one in six dementia cases. People deficient in Vitamin D are 14 times more likely to get severe forms of Covid. Vitamin D reduced intensive care by 80%. Despite all this low-hanging fruit littering the floor of hospitals, and vaporising dollars out of our medicare pot, Ministers apparently don’t want to know?
In the UK, Ontario and Australia the vaccine is free (or will be by next winter) for pregnant women and people over 75, but you’ll have to pay to get vitamin D (which doesn’t cost much). But you’d think if we have “free $300 injections” we could have free bottles of vitamin D3 at every post office and school? In Australia, the government is paying $174 million for the vaccines, they call it “investing”. They argue that otherwise about 12,000 babies will be hospitalized each winter. But it only makes sense if we don’t “accidentally” make those babies healthier and keep them out of hospital in the first place doesn’t it?
And since you are wondering, yes, there is a new mRNA vaccine for RSV (by Moderna). There are also a couple of protein based ones.
Where’s the informed choice? Imagine if pregnant women were also given information on the risks of being low in Vitamin D? At the moment, we’re barely even studying those risks, possibly so Ministers can say “there’s no evidence there is a better alternative.” It’s like the last thing our health system wants is good data on cheap alternatives.
REFERENCES
Belderbos ME, Houben ML, Wilbrink B, Lentjes E, Bloemen EM, Jan L et al. Low vitamin D levels linked with RSV infection. Pediatrics 2011;127: e1513–20. – PubMed , Pediatrics, 2011 Jun;127(6):e1513-20. doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-3054.
Ferolla et al. (2022) Serum Vitamin D Levels and Life-Threatening Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Previously Healthy Infants,” The Journal of Infectious Diseases in 2022.
The first thing to finance is blood tests and the marketing of same. A regular test will show potential problems. Hard data will change policies.
Financing hospital rehabilitation programs is important for patients, their families and the hospital staff.
Big business will create a crisis for it to service if allowed (financed by government). It’s part of their DNA. Do not expect it to be benevolent. Self interest rules.
Government cannot operate efficiently from ignorance.
Australia is a very rich country. Many businesses would cease to exist without government ignorance. Equally many worthwhile enterprises do not start or expand due to government regulation.
A “tree” takes many years to grow but can be pruned or cut down in seconds.
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A work colleague told me recently that he asked his GP to test his Vitamin D levels. The GP said it would be “too expensive”, cost seemingly outweighed the need to test. When rolling out vaccines the health department will emphasise the future savings to the economy by way of sick days not being taken and hospitals not being placed under pressure by surges in patient numbers. A cheap vitamin being made readily available to those that need it could undoubtedly benefit workplaces and hospitals yet the government merely sits on its hands and waits for the next Big Pharma proposition to land on its desk
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Jon R;
When I was hospitalised my blood level of Vitamin D3 was 100 units (which I only found out later & verbally). The doctor said when I say that I knew you had been taking supplements – which I was 3 tablets a day (and one Vitamin K2). A bit over one tablet per 50 kg. if you need a guide. Also zinc with Quercetin about twice a week. I didn’t get Covid (very mild) until I caught it in the third hospital when I didn’t get D3 until late (after 3 years).
I know someone who claims to have taken 10 tablets a day for many years and he is very active in his seventies.
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Back in 2020 when Covid was being discussed on this site, Vitamin D3 was a topic. I asked my doctor about a test. She said I’d likely have to pay for it; guessing about $65. “But”, she said, “You are likely deficient so supplementing with no more that 4,000 units a day will be okay.” Done!
In the USA, the apparent reason for this is that D3 has not been studied for a particular medical issue. Because it hasn’t been through rigorous trials for specific issues, the insurance plans don’t pay for it and medical professionals have no bases to suggest it to patients that don’t have symptoms that might suggest a need.
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“It’s like the last thing our health system wants is good data on cheap alternatives.”.
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I shudder to think what Australia will become if the MAD Act is passed and then applied enthusiastically (and why would they pass the act if they didn’t intend to apply it enthusiastically). I suspect that very large numbers of good people will have to be prepared to be jailed.
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Vitamin D dramatically increases risks? Dang(le) that modifier.
[Good point. Title simplified. Thanks. – Jo]
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German Economics Minister renews calls for widespread internet censorship, claims that an “axis of autocrats” is using domestic “populists” to poison democratic discourse via social media algorithms
As they continue to lose elections and influence, our political elite will just get crazier and more dangerous.
Demoralised by Trump’s election and their growing domestic unpopularity, our rulers are determined as never before to find some way of shutting up those inconvenient people who disagree with them. If only they can get us to stop sharing our unfiltered views on the internet, we can get back to the halcyon days of 2019 again, when the child saint Greta Thunberg was leading the children of the world on a glorious crusade against carbon dioxide and the Greens were polling stronger than ever before.
https://www.eugyppius.com/p/german-economics-minister-renews
Vitamin D, fresh air and sunshine are dangerous misinformation, which treatens the truth the government has been preaching which is that big pharma has pills and potions (s&e of course!) that’ll cure you and line pollie pockets from kickbacks.
Nature and healthy foods are evil. Stay inside, stay safe! Eat bugs and trust pollies.
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America should do a Lend Lease program with Australia. We will send Robert F Kennedy Jr. over for a few
weeks to educate your health departments and all we ask in return is a polite thank you and some uranium for our nuclear plants.
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LOL. Our Federal and State Health Departments don’t listen not even to the Voters and Taxpayers here. Why would they listen to anyone other than the WHO? They already have form and previous (English London police talk about their local Criminals).
As for Uranium, no problems. We don’t use it domestically and only export it as yellowcake. We should at least be enriching it and then exporting it to whoever wants it (subject to the International rules, etc.).
We should actually be using it for our own Nuclear Power Industry but that is another failure of Australia IMHO.
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The only WHO that I would ever listen too are these – Won’t Get Fooled Again (by the UN WHO that is)……lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHhrZgojY1Q
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“And if we get the MAD misinformation laws, will anyone even be able to ask these questions?”
I will immediately invoke the “UN Declaration of Human Rights” for Free Speech –
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
So, I will jam that right up Albo’s back passage with a pineapple and take the Australian Feral Guv’ment to Court.
Australia is a signatory to this Declaration. Or has the LayBore Partie forgotten this?
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Or how about this to rip up the MAD misinformation laws – don’t wait too long as those birds are hungry – LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv2RtoIMNzA
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But not to allay any concerns for informed choice, the TGA advises that Abrysvo (RSV vaccine) qualifies for The Black Triangle Scheme:
Important question regarding the above: Are we being treated like ‘mushrooms’ again, like we were with the Covid jabs?
Here’s an interest fact: Try searching for alternative scientific and clinical views and information on RSV vaccines. Anything that comes to light is ridiculed as mis- and disinformation. Draw your own conclusions to this censorship. Having an alternate view gets you classified as a medical heretic, in which case, the plight of Ignaz Semmelweis, Hungarian physician and scientist comes to mind.
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Talking of a lack of Vitamin D…
The gods must be angry – it’s rained and rained and rained ever since gangs of Maori departed the top of the North Island on Nov 11 to march to Parliament in Wellington, on a hikoi [hee-koy] protest over, um, violence against women & children? No. Crime & prison rates? Nup. The UN/WHO/WEF World Bank? Uh-uh, no. Meth & fentanyl deaths among their own? Negative.
A bill is before parliament to clean-up & simplify the never-ending money trough called the Treaty of Waitangi (1840), to clarify the original intent of ‘we are now one people’, and to close a few loopholes where some folk are more equal than others: this is what the protest is about. And the rain kept coming down…
Somehow they got the OK from NZTA & Auckland Council to close-off 2 lanes on the Harbour Bridge this morning during rush-hour so they could walk over colonialist engineering instead of taking the long way round: now half of NZ’s biggest city is pi**ed at them – it’s school exam time, and did I say it’s been raining all day?
Taiaho, my bros & sisters, it gets betterer. A young wahine protester was interviewed on 95bFM, the city’s university student radio, and she was cutting loose on the curse of colonial white men genociding her people and their land. Didn’t catch her first name, but her whanau surname was Molyneux – the very name of Captain Cook’s sailing master on the Endeavour. Tumeke my cuzzies, too much.
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The “good news” is that post covid a lot of people have become aware of the benefits of Vit D . If you did any serious research that was apparent . With RFK getting his hands on the stick being applied to the health bureaucracy in the USA it will change the vaccine landscape . Glad I don’t have any pharmaceutical shares in my super….
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We’ve got a shiny new Moderna mRNA vaccine plant at Monash University in Victoria- it’s gotta do something. A new toy that needs to be played with.
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I think this might have been one of the last decisions Greg Hunt was involved with as Federal Health Minister back in 2022. Wasn’t he such a great public representative at federal level (sic)? He excelled as Science Minister then totally shone as Health Minister. Who can forget him recommending everyone wear face masks in Australia during the COVID bollocks and in demonstrating putting one on, tried 3 times before he was successful. My only solace is that I have heard reports that in his electorate he very often gets heckled for his role in the vaccines. People abuse him and his only reply is ” the vaccines saved lives”.
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I am waiting for this latest Volcanic Eruption near Bali to keep quiet for COP29. So how does a Volcano do this. Answer is. well it cant.
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If anyone wants to have a go at me with the BS from the Australian Feral Guv’ment then remember this…………
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
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So Tennis Elbow, you are a Looser. And you will lose the next Election. IMHO
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During covid Australian Government misinformation about the supposed ineffectiveness of correcting vitamin D deficiency with respect to reducing susceptibility to covid and death cost numerous lives as I pointed out in my submission opposing the censorship bill, link in previous thread.
Vitamin D deficiency is extremely common, even in a sunny place like Australia.
Why use a 5c pill when you can use a hugely expensive and useless “vaccine” with the added bonus for the Left of further stripping away individual rights with the world’s most draconian lockups as we had in Australia?
(Posting from Dhunche in Nepal near the Tibetan border.)
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This is from the UN Universal Rights in 1947 –
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
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So, Tennis Elbow how does your new Laws help us? Well, they don’t you DOPE.
JR (The New Liberty).
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