With so many regulations being introduced to force people to be vaccinated and the need to do self testing using Antigen Rapid Test, the manufacturers of vaccines and ART sets are laughing all the way to the bank, with compliments from the govt agencies.
ART is now the de facto test to have the right to enter commercial and public buildings and places. Think of the millions and billions of people having to perform ART daily and repeatedly over months and years, and think of the profits. In Malaysia, an ART kit costs RM$6.90 or about S$2. In Singapore it costs between S$8 to $13. Can you imagine that? What kind of profit margin is that? Is it profiteering? Would CASE think it should look into this? PS. Ong Ye Kung said they are looking into it.
As long as the pandemic or endemic continues, and with many countries eagerly and desperately wanting to open up when the virus is floating freely in the air, the excuse for ART is hard to disagree. Even if one disagree, the range of discriminative measures sanctioned by the govt agencies make avoiding ART or not doing it impossible. This is looking like a blackmail at national and international scale, compulsory toll tax for entry. Is this reasonable? People that have no money would be curtailed in their movement and entry to working places and public buildings and places. Is this ok? Has it got anything to do with freedom of 'navigation' ?
Then there is this questionable call for booster jabs that could go on and on for years at the mercy of vaccine manufacturers telling the users that their vaccines would expire, no longer effective, just take their words for it, and go for the booster jabs and pay for it with the govt agencies behind them, in some countries becoming a legal requirement, enforceable by the long arms of the law.
What is suspicious and dangerous is the lack of interest in many countries to even want to establish if there is a need for a booster shot or many booster shots. Isn't it commonsensical to even the laymen, not to talk about the scientists and professionals in this field, to want to check and test the effectiveness of the vaccines, how long would it remain effective, how long would be its lifespan or expiry date? The irresponsible thing to note is that many are using the low antibody counts as a justification for more booster jabs. This is medically and scientifically misleading, misinformation.
What is fundamental and basic in the scientific and medical profession must be to conduct proper tests on the efficacy and effectiveness of the various vaccines and establish how long each would remain effective in preventing infection or in preventing serious illnesses or deaths. OK, never mind that it is public knowledge that the vaccines are hardly effective in preventing infection. At least the authorities or govts must check on the how long the vaccines would be effective in preventing serious illness or deaths from infection before deciding on the booster shots.
If the vaccines are effective only for 3 months or 6 months, then booster jabs must be administered every 3 or 6 months accordingly. If the vaccines are effective for more than a year, several years, then there is no reason or urgency to insist or legislate that booster jabs must be administered every year to make the manufacturers laughing to the banks. Any conflict of interest? The last thing to note, the frequency of booster shots must not be determined by the manufacturers as they are profit making businesses and would definitely call for more shots at shorter frequency, the more the merrier as it means big profits for them.
They have been caught lying with their pants down that the vaccines' efficacy was 96% in preventing infections, and proven very wrong when the vaccines were used. Why was there no complaints against this false claim, misrepresentation? Oh, the buyers cum users already signed agreements with the sellers and compromised their rights to seek redress for false claims. But what about the govt agencies like the American CDC or WHO to take up the case for the poor victims and those cheated by the manufacturers? Or is this like the war crimes committed by the Americans and their allies in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, etc etc? No one or agency should dare to complain or else? And the liars and cheats just walk away scot free without punishment, no need to answer anything, not even have to apologise or admission of fault or fraud?
Independent agencies that have no links with the vaccine manufacturers must be appointed to do the testing. The unthinking suckers that would foolishly believe in everything the manufacturers said without questioning must not be involved in such decision making. And beware of the manufacturers bribing govt agencies to make regulations in their favour to make more profits with unwanted and undesirable policies. Anyone or agencies that have links to the manufacturers, that would benefit financially in one way or another must not be allowed to spout their nonsense in their own favour.
The manufacturers of vaccines and test equipment must not be allowed to call the shot to make unfair and unconscionable and immoral profits from the use of their vaccines or test kits.
What do you think?
PS. Vaccine dosage is carefully managed to prevent over dosed. Therefore it is very important not to have booster shot too close from the last jab to prevent having too much vaccine or mRNA/inactivated virus in the body at one time. It was once reported that the window period is 6 months. Just heard that the window period has been reduced to 28 days. Is this change done due to science or due to someone gasak buta?
Take a more liberal approach to vaccinated travel lanes
ReplyDeleteI applaud the Singapore Government's recent moves to progressively ease border measures. This bodes well for Singapore's reputation as an international business hub.
Business travellers, expatriate talent and many Singaporeans are highly mobile groups of people who rely on open borders to facilitate social and economic exchanges.
Nevertheless, in a recent Bloomberg interview, fund manager Mark Mobius said that the exodus of foreign talent at the start of the pandemic and the lack of travel corridors have made Singapore uncompetitive. There is an economic urgency to further relax Singapore's border measures.
The science has demonstrated that carefully calibrated Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) policies pose minimal transmission risks to the local community, suggesting that there is also room to accommodate a more enlightened approach to VTLs.
The VTLs are bilateral agreements that allow passengers to travel freely between Singapore and another country. But this is bureaucratically cumbersome and impractical on a larger scale. Moreover, by designating only select flights as VTL flights, the authorities also artificially curb supply, which inflates prices.
The VTLs should be primarily about ensuring ease of entry to Singapore - gaining accessibility to another country should be seen as a bonus. To this end, the authorities should take a more liberal approach by welcoming both local and foreign airlines to establish their own VTL flights, operating flights carrying fully vaccinated passengers between Singapore and countries in the Ministry of Health's Category I and Category II.
This would ensure that the spirit and safety parameters of the VTLs are preserved, and that the vitality of our city is more quickly restored.
Jeremy Chua Jiakai
To me, it is very clear that there are too many unknowns in this Covid-19 Pandemic. There are too many hopes banging on too many IF's.
ReplyDeleteOng Ye Kung, the Health Minister has also said that there are "too many unknowns" in this war against the Covid-19 Pandemic.
In other words, decisions were made based on "too many unknowns".
Therefore, how reliable are the decisions?
How reliable are the measures taken.
How can the discriminative measures be justified when decisions are based on "too many unknowns "?
As we have already experienced, there are so many trials and errors, so many flip-flopping and underwear-changing decisions made over the last two years.
Many mistakes have been made but nobody has bothered to admit them. Nobody wants to apologise.
Everybody is keeping the fingers crossed and hope that the light will soon be at the end of the road (not tunnel).
In the mean time, just be like an ostrich. Simply dig a hole as deep as possible and put one's head inside it. Then it sees nothing, hears nothing and hope that nothing will go wrong. There are no dangers lurking in the corner. There will be no danger in opening up.
Just invent the so-called VTL, used to be the acronym for Vertical Take-Off and Landing. Now, VTL can also stand for Vaccinated Travel Lane or Viruses Transmitting Lane.
Making money is more important. People die never mind.
This is the kind of world we are now living in. This is called "Living It Up With COVID-19".
Make as much money as possible from the daft, stupid and gullible masses, who are easily conned, easily frightened, easily coerced and easily intimidated by the long arms of the law. By the extraordinary power of the government. By the snake oil sellers as well.
Three cheers for those money-minds!
Whatever decisions a govt made today, to open up or to go for zero Covid, they would have to live with the consequences later.
ReplyDeleteWho will end up in a better position is yet to be seen. No one is wiser at this moment in time.
Let's welcome Jeremy Chua Jiakai to the blog. Good to see more using their names to post.
ReplyDeleteAlso welcome Jeffrey Finley and a belated welcome to Mohammad Zulkilfi to the blog.
ReplyDeleteI must make it a point to welcome bloggers using their names to encourage more to do so. We shall post responsibly, talking about issues rather than being too personal. That should be the way to go.
Cheers.
Xi bares 3 principles, 4 priorities in growing ties in new era to Biden in virtual meeting
ReplyDeleteWhat a statesman does, be it right or wrong, an accomplishment or a failure, will be recorded in history, Xi told Biden.
This is Leadership..To put forward a perspective........
Not disappear or sue..........
Welcome to the blog, Ravi.
ReplyDelete