Pirate's Cove

This shouldn’t surprise anyone in the least. The only thing here is, do they have the facts to support the allegation

COVID origins ‘may have been tied’ to China’s bioweapons program: GOP report

Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee are alleging in a newly released report that there are “indications” that COVID-19 could be tied to China’s biological weapons research program and “spilled over” to the general human population during an incident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The information was released in a minority staff report by members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Wednesday night.

“Contrary to the implication of the [Intelligence Community’s] declassified report, based on our investigation involving a variety of public and non-public information, we conclude that there are indications that SARS-CoV-2 may have been tied to China’s biological weapons research program and spilled over to the human population during a lab-related incident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” a summary of the report states. “The IC failed to adequately address this information in its classified Updated Assessment. When we attempted to raise the issues with the IC, it failed to respond.”

But

While alleging that COVID’s origins were likely tied to China’s biological weapons research program, the report states, “We have not seen any credible indication that the virus was intentionally, rather than accidentally, released.”

“Nor do we claim the information we have found is a smoking gun that definitively resolves the question of the origins of COVID-19 beyond all doubt. However, the information is important to furthering the public’s understanding, and we will seek to declassify the classified version of our report in the next Congress to further the conversation,” the report states.

There’s really not a lot to the report. It cannot make any sort of definitive allegation about being part of a bioweapons research program, just supposition. What it is really meant to do is show unclassified information, leading up to the GOP taking control of the House Intelligence Committee, holding hearings, and releasing classified information. From page 7 (IC is Intelligence Community)

The IC did not just withhold relevant information from the declassified version released to the public; it also omitted information from the classified version of the Updated Assessment provided to the House Intelligence Committee, in particular, information relating to whether SARS-CoV-2 may have been tied to China’s bioweapons program run by the Chinese Army. Although our unclassified summary cannot reveal details, we can state that the classified Updated Assessment claimed the IC lacked information regarding one key classified issue. However, the Committee otherwise found that very information in other intelligence reporting, and this information is particularly relevant to determining SARS-CoV-2’s potential links to China’s bioweapons program.

There’s a lot of supposition, following the money, and following what China has been doing, which leads to the finding that it may possibly have been part of a bioweapons research program. How long will it take to do the investigation and attempt to get the relevant information from the biased intelligence community?

Read: House GOP Releases Report Saying COVID Might Have Come From Chinese Bioweapons Program »

Typically, these are the same people who this pronouncement while not wearing a mask. And, if they were really experts, they’d understand that viruses are small enough to get through even N95 masks

It’s Time to Wear a Mask Again, Health Experts Say

Masks are back, and, this time, they’re not just for COVID-19. A “tripledemic” of the coronavirus, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, sweeping through the United States has prompted several cities and counties, including New York City and Los Angeles County, to encourage people to wear a mask in indoor public spaces once again.

Nationwide, COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations have spiked by 56% and 24%, respectively, over the past two weeks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there have already been 13 million illnesses and 7,300 deaths from flu this season, and those numbers are expected to rise in the coming months. (Over the past decade, annual flu deaths have ranged from 12,000 to 52,000 people, with the peak in January and February.) And while RSV finally appears to be on the decline, infection rates are still high across much of the country.

The CDC officially advises wearing a mask on a county-by-county basis depending on community COVID-19 levels, which take into account virus-related hospital admissions, bed capacity and case rates. However, in an interview with NPR last week, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said, “You don’t need to wait for CDC’s recommendation, certainly, to wear a mask.”

This Walensky?

Huh. No mask.

Dr. Helen Chu, an associate professor of allergy and infectious diseases at UW Medicine in Seattle, went a step further, recommending everyone wear a mask while infection and hospitalization rates are so high. “I think it’s a good time to mask,” she said. “Given where we are right now with hospitals being at very close to capacity, especially in pediatric hospitals with RSV and with flu, I think that anything that you can do to slow down community transmission is going to be helpful.”

There is strong evidence that masks help to reduce the transmission of several respiratory viruses. One paper published in 2020 by researchers in Hong Kong showed that people sick with either COVID-19 or the flu breathed out fewer viral particles when they were wearing a surgical mask. (Masks were found not to be as effective for the rhinovirus, though, which causes the common cold.) A study of COVID-19 policies in Boston-area schools found that removing a mask mandate in 2022 was tied to nearly 12,000 additional cases among students and staff.

And there are lots of studies that show masks have little to no effect in stopping COVID, the flu, or colds. And, the forced masking policies do not work. Of course, this is just a “recommendation”, which quickly turns into government mandates.

Let’s not forget, just as many people died once all the mask mandates were implemented as without, and more died during 2021 that 2020, even with the mask mandates and Wuhan flu vaccines.

The pro-mask compliance nuts also lost any good will with their over-the-top mandates, such as forcing people to wear a mask while inside and not near anyone else. Trying to push 2, and even three masks. Pushing people to wear an N95, then an N95 and a cloth mask under it. But, it was perfectly fine to take the mask off while eating, right? And perfectly fine for all the big wigs to not wear them.

None of this is actually about health: it’s about power and compliance.

Read: COVID Forever: Health “Experts” Say It’s Time To Wear A Mask Again »