Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD. (Photo: Standford.edu)
Gov. Newsom’s Thanksgiving 2020: Stay Home, No Singing, No Shouting, No Music, No Parties
‘The widespread lockdown policy has been a devastating public health mistake’
By Katy Grimes, November 25, 2020 2:03 pm
California Gov. Gavin Newsom claims to be following science when he and his Health and Human Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly issued tyrannical orders to the 40 million residents of California this Thanksgiving to stay home, no singing, no shouting, no music, no parties, eat outside and keep a mask on.
However both Newsom and Ghaly continue to ignore the actually credible medical and scientific advice from practicing professionals.
Jay Bhattacharya, a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, where he received both an M.D. and a Ph.D. in economics, has been challenging the governor’s bogus orders, and recently participated in a panel presentation at a Hillsdale College Free Market Forum.
Dr. Bhattacharya is a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, and his research has been published in economics, statistics, legal, medical, public health, and health policy journals.
He’s bonafide.
California’s reported COVID numbers don’t tell the whole story, and in fact leave out critical details.
Currently, the state says:
- it has issued 22,910,351 total COVID tests
- there are 1,144,049 total “cases” of COVID
- there have been 18,875 total deaths attributed to COVID
What they don’t tell you is that of the 22,910,351 total COVID tests, 21,766,302 Californians tested negative.
“In discussing the deadliness of COVID, we need to distinguish COVID cases from COVID infections,” Dr. Bhattacharya said. “A lot of fear and confusion has resulted from failing to understand the difference.”
“When the World Health Organization said back in early March that three percent of people who get COVID die from it, they were wrong by at least one order of magnitude,” Bhattacharya said. “The COVID fatality rate is much closer to 0.2 or 0.3 percent. The reason for the highly inaccurate early estimates is simple: in early March, we were not identifying most of the people who had been infected by COVID.”
Very importantly, Bhattacharya explained: “In March, only the small fraction of infected people who got sick and went to the hospital were identified as cases. But the majority of people who are infected by COVID have very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. These people weren’t identified in the early days, which resulted in a highly misleading fatality rate. And that is what drove public policy. Even worse, it continues to sow fear and panic, because the perception of too many people about COVID is frozen in the misleading data from March.”
Bhattacharya said to get an accurate fatality rate “we test for seroprevalence—in other words, we test to find out how many people have evidence in their bloodstream of having had COVID.”
“This is easy with some viruses. Anyone who has had chickenpox, for instance, still has that virus living in them—it stays in the body forever. COVID, on the other hand, like other coronaviruses, doesn’t stay in the body. Someone who is infected with COVID and then clears it will be immune from it, but it won’t still be living in them.”
According to Bhattacharya, the bottom line is that the COVID fatality rate is in the neighborhood of 0.2 percent.
Bhattacharya addressed the incorrect perception that COVID is equally dangerous to everybody, and says this couldn’t be further from the truth. “There is a thousand-fold difference between the mortality rate in older people, 70 and up,” he said.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of his experience is the “Deadliness of the Lockdowns.”
Bhattacharya explains: “The widespread lockdowns that have been adopted in response to COVID are unprecedented—lockdowns have never before been tried as a method of disease control. Nor were these lockdowns part of the original plan. The initial rationale for lockdowns was that slowing the spread of the disease would prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed. It became clear before long that this was not a worry: in the U.S. and in most of the world, hospitals were never at risk of being overwhelmed. Yet the lockdowns were kept in place, and this is turning out to have deadly effects.”
Remember Bhattacharya also holds a Ph.D. in economics, but he approaches the lockdowns from a different place.
“Those who dare to talk about the tremendous economic harms that have followed from the lockdowns are accused of heartlessness. Economic considerations are nothing compared to saving lives, they are told. So I’m not going to talk about the economic effects—I’m going to talk about the deadly effects on health, beginning with the fact that the U.N. has estimated that 130 million additional people will starve this year as a result of the economic damage resulting from the lockdowns.”
He notes “in the last 20 years we’ve lifted one billion people worldwide out of poverty. This year we are reversing that progress to the extent—it bears repeating—that an estimated 130 million more people will starve.”
Here is what Bhattacharya says about the lockdowns:
- people stopped bringing their children in for immunizations against diseases like diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), and polio.
- Eighty million children worldwide are now at risk of these diseases. We had made substantial progress in slowing them down, but now they are going to come back.
- Large numbers of Americans, even though they had cancer and needed chemotherapy, didn’t come in for treatment. We’re going to see a rise in cancer and cancer death rates as a consequence.
- We’re also going to see a higher number of deaths from diabetes due to people missing their diabetic monitoring.
- Mental health problems are in a way the most shocking thing. In June of this year, a CDC survey found that one in four young adults between 18 and 24 had seriously considered suicide. Human beings are not, after all, designed to live alone.
- In effect, what we’ve been doing is requiring young people to bear the burden of controlling a disease from which they face little to no risk. This is entirely backward from the right approach.
As California Globe reported in early October, Dr. Bhattacharya met with two other epidemiologists—Dr. Sunetra Gupta of Oxford University and Dr. Martin Kulldorff of Harvard University—in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. “The three of us come from very different disciplinary backgrounds and from very different parts of the political spectrum,” he said. “Yet we had arrived at the same view—the view that the widespread lockdown policy has been a devastating public health mistake. In response, we wrote and issued the Great Barrington Declaration, which can be viewed—along with explanatory videos, answers to frequently asked questions, a list of co-signers, etc.—online at www.gbdeclaration.org.”
Since then, thousands of physicians around the world have signed the letter declaration. This is real science.
Bhattacharya also addresses herd immunity and swats away media lies: “I should say something in conclusion about the idea of herd immunity, which some people mischaracterize as a strategy of letting people die. First, herd immunity is not a strategy—it is a biological fact that applies to most infectious diseases. Even when we come up with a vaccine, we will be relying on herd immunity as an end-point for this epidemic. The vaccine will help, but herd immunity is what will bring it to an end. And second, our strategy is not to let people die, but to protect the vulnerable. We know the people who are vulnerable, and we know the people who are not vulnerable. To continue to act as if we do not know these things makes no sense.”
“We’re at a place where our civilization is at risk, where the bonds that unite us are at risk of being torn,” Dr. Bhattacharya said. “We shouldn’t be afraid. We should respond to the COVID virus rationally: protect the vulnerable, treat the people who get infected compassionately, develop a vaccine. And while doing these things we should bring back the civilization that we had so that the cure does not end up being worse than the disease.”
Read his entire talk at Hillsdale here. He is the real medical professional Gov. Newsom should be consulting.
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Thank you Katy for giving this airing to actual science from actual medical professionals.
Unfortunately I think few of us have any hope that Newsom will be consulting such a person as Dr. Bhattacharya or his colleagues about appropriate public health responses. Not wild horses nor getting caught red-handed at the French Laundry nor the misery of millions of locked-down Californians nor untold unnecessary deaths are apparently enough to motivate him do it.
The lockdown was absurd in mid-March. By the end of April it had become beyond absurd. By now it’s no longer absurd but monstrous, vicious, and sadistic; all the more so because it is unnecessary.
This is all part of the Great Reset to force global one world government with zero freedoms. The disease and the response were preplanned (look up Agenda 201 and the Great Reset).
Newsom’s motto is for thee but not for me.
Gov is a Nazi Bastard who should be locked up, this scumbag just got caught not upholding the rules he has set for all of, wake up shepp, American is dying…
CW: If by “Great Reset” you mean a corporatist takeover under cover of a sickening mess of “politically correct” language and nonsense, then I think you are correct. I guess that’s why Newsom was pushed and helped so forcefully into the CA Governor’s seat by his wealthy globalist friends. He couldn’t give a rat’s rear end about “the disadvantaged” or “the underserved” or the middle class or small business, obviously. But for all of us to be serfs under fiefdom of him and his wealthy corporate friends is the apparent long-term goal.
The bio chemist, Kary Mullis, invented the PCR tests, and said that they don’t detect diseases, and shouldn’t be used for this covid 19, etc., but sadly he passed away last Aug, 2019, from pneumonia they say. Very suspicious cus he knew this was all a big lying scam and was going to come forward, but not anymore. Praying for his family and friends. Psalm 91
Thank you for this. I did my research and then I found one of his videos where he talks about these PCR tests. Now I understand why he is not with us today. He had to be silent in order for this plan to work.
Newsom sucks.. https://gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/060/163/118/original/3683c2bfb87449b2.jpg
Sadly, Kalifornia is already a Kommunist Kountry. Wake up, Californian patriots. Your freedoms are being stolen from you.
Yes, it starts in California but it is coming to a state near you. It always starts with CA and NY first.
But it is up to us to wake up and wake up others. Are we really going to allow them to take are freedoms that are brothers and sisters and founding fathers died for? As we just sit here….
Comrades
IT’s a long hard slog…..pace thy self…..and watch your neighbors, they may turn you in for deductions to your society compatibility index……
I don’t live there.
But it is impossible to believe anyone would live there.
WTF California?
Absolutely!!!!!!!! This is why my family and I are relocating from California to another state… Think about it folks… Gov Newsom signed a law that declares persons not to register as sex offenders as long as they are within 10 years of the minor!!!!!!! Gov Newsom also has on his desk a law waiting to be signed legalizing all drugs, shrooms, meth, cocaine, heroin… ETC will be accessible to anyone like marijuana… It has also been passed to defund our law enforcement… This state is heading down down down!!!!!! It is one of the states that is extremely expensive… Gas at $3.50 a gallon, while other states are $1.50 a gallon, rent is outrageously expensive $1200 & upward for studios and 1 bedroom apartments, while other states rent out for $300-500… Californians also get extremely taxed to support welfare and medicare for other people, while other states everyone works for what they have… Homes in California are selling for $400k-$750k while in other states they sell for $100k-$250k… This state wants to go green… All electric vehicles on the road by 2035 mandating all citizens to go electric… GOD BLESS YOU CALIFORNIA but it’s my Q to get out.
Fake news. There is no such order to not sing, not listen to music etc. This article is BS.
Everyone who’s behind those lockdowns should spent the rest of their lives in jail. All of them with no exclusion.
What’s the big deal about the California lockdown? From 10PM to 5AM won’t stop the economy but will save many lives from drunk drivers and wkll stop sexual diseases..no whores in the streets
shut the fuck up asshole. Any form of lockdowns at any point is purely pointless, you beta weasel. Let’s just lockdown the maskers most of the left and your stupid ass, since you must love sashsying about in a mask and apparently like getting all into the lockdowns. Your an idiot!
Thank you. Unless you work night shift… why are you out anyways?
Has nothing to do with Covid.
The lockdown isn’t just from 10p.m. to 5 a.m. moron. You think not allowing outside dining might effect the economy. When and if the lockdown is lifted you might want to consider keeping yourself locked down. We would not want the drunk drivers or whores to do you any harm. Also has it occurred to you that there soon the unemployment benefits will end for many people. These lockdowns are and will be literally killing people. And you support this.
SHUT off ATTENTION HUNGRY perverse UGLY idiot FRAUD JAY BHATTERIA …SHUT BARK ELSEWHERE MORON. NEWSOME IS SPOT ON.TAKIng precautions
So tell me how any Democrats got elected again in Cali… RIGGED!
So tell me again how any Democrats got elected again in Cali… RIGGED!
Historically California is Democrat… where have you been?
This guy is doubling down and still pushing his twisting of the facts. In this article he pushes his disproven seroprevalence concept from his widely panned article/paper he and his colleagues put out earlier this year. He also ignores or blatantly misrepresents of the status of hospitals in heavily hit areas which have indeed been overwhelmed with some them requiring mobile morgues to hold the dead. What he is omitting is any comment about vastly improved standards of care for Covid patients that has been achieved over these last several months which has greatly contributed to the decline in the infection fatality rate. That said, if a hospital is overwhelmed it cannot provide the necessary level of care for these patients and so as hospital systems are getting overwhelmed we will likely see in increase in the infection fatality rate. This guy a PhD and an MD but at the end of the day he is a political hack that pushes a political agenda ahead of the public health agenda. This article more than once tries to legitimize this guy’s credibility by mentioning his degrees and about how his work is real science. It really is just political propaganda dressed up with bad science. That said, people should not be terrified of Covid but they should be smart about it. It is a serious highly contagious disease. And big surprise, politicians are hypocrites and Santa Claus ain’t real but don’t listen to this political hack who dresses himself up as a legitimate scientist just doing “real” science. He is as full of it as Newsome and Trump. Oh, and I have PhD too in case that is important for you to take my comments seriously here. This is really about common sense which apparently ain’t so common. Good luck to all of you regardless of your politics.
I beg all of California to please ignore EVERYTHING that comes out of Adolf Newsom’s mouth! Get out of the house, go out, support all businesses, express your freedom to live your life, wear a mask only if you want to, if you haven’t already please sign the Recall Newsom petition, go to recallnewsom2020.com We need to get this mentally unstable individual out of office to save the state of California!
You are overreacting….and beyond!
Everyone ignore Victor! He speaks for himself and not qualified to make such recommendations for everyone… wear the ????!! Stay home whenever possible….this nurse is letting you know.
Thank you Victor Wesley but please see correct link below:
https://recallgavin2020.com
Thank you Showandtell for your support and thank you for updating the Recall Gavin Newsom website information.
We can all just use common sense to be safe without supporting Gavin Newsom’s Unconstitutional “so called” guidance to slowly dismantle the economics of this state. I know too many businesses that do everything the State tells them to in order to create a safe environment at their own expense, yet Newsom still shuts them down.
The financial impact for California is as bad as the virus, something needs to change in this State, other states in this country have similar COVID-19 issues with businesses open????
Thank you and everyone again for the ongoing support to get Newsom out..
Shame on you. Seems half of America cannot understand or sympathize until they actually love someone who dies. It is grotesque and at the end of this all, this Dr will have blood on his hands. No one wants this to be real! You think Gov Newsom wants this?! Something is v wrong w our country when so many ppl believe this nonsense & American lives are at risk. We mourn 9-11 still, but look for any (implausible) conspiracy theory to explain away what scientists, healthcare providers, patients & loved ones are telling us about the horrific way this virus ends lives.
A recent CDC study found Absolutely NO excess deaths from COVID-19.
In other words, COVID-19 is just another type of flu-like respiratory disease, that is only appearing terrible because doctors and hospitals are incorrectly labeling many deaths as COVID-19 when in past years they would have labeled them based on the existing chronic illnesses the patient already had.
This isn’t about compassion or lack of, it is about getting accurate information and addressing the flu honestly.
Please post a link to the “recent CDC study [that] found Absolutely NO excess deaths from COVID-19.”
Why are so few people aware of that CDC study?
The CDC published the study, and then when it started getting notice they pulled it down, just as they did with the mask study.
This website and several others captured it: https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/study-absolutely-no-excess-deaths-from-covid-19new-data-no-excess-deaths-from-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR3ObCnw3j6LrXfOV_9lffI6OxHRDFGhvSYZP0qcULfRyb4ICjXndyz3xio
Thanks for posting. It is an interesting conclusion. But, I have noticed that spectacular covid claims by the assistant professors do not always pan out.
I think we all need further analysis (perhaps from Stanford) of excess deaths by cause.
What seems to be true is that flu (and I assume pneumonia) deaths are way down.
Perhaps the author is saying that there were covid deaths but no excess deaths overall because other causes of death declined (for example, due to masking, sheltering in place, etc).
Thank you Katy
Thank you for your voice of reason and reality.
It’s sad that the media burries stories that should be reported. Recently the World Health Organization recommended that Lock downs not be used as the primary means for stopping the spread of the Virus. The special envoy for Covid 19 said lockdowns will be catastrophic economically and urged world leaders to find otherwise. I have a uncle who recently died from covid 19 so I know how deadly and serious this virus is. I also know people whos unemployment is about to run out and they are facing some very difficult times. That being said if WHO recommended not to lock down then who is California taking there advice from with these lockdowns? Who in California is more qualified to advise on dealing with COVID 19 then the World Health Organization?
Well I guess heart disease, diabetes and of course cancer has just disappeared. There are no longer any deaths or incidents of these diseases are there?
Let’s see what Dr. Anthony Fauci says about this. After all, he’s been advising Presidents about the health and welfare of Americans for decades. His credibility is tops in the land.
I surely do not trust this man.
@Zachary
Is this Sacramento Bee story about the Governor’s ban on singing also “fake news”?
https://amp.sacbee.com/news/local/article244262087.html
As I recall, the first month of California’s lockdown cost $40 billion. A recent survey indicates that 2/3 of California’s small businesses do not believe they will survive. Income tax is plummeting. The state just issued a huge projected budget deficit in 2021.
Deaths associated with the economic costs of the lockdowns may continue to rise for years to come.
After people finally realize that covid is not a significant risk to the vast majority of working class people, they may end up demanding to know how such a progressive state could have imposed the most regressive and racist policy (i.e., lockdowns) in generations.
Zachary Scott must be one of Newsom’s errand boys.
Comrades
At Thanksgiving discourse heard of people in their 50’s moving or moved to other affordable states , this phenom is real. When a 20 year plumber, senior probation officer, scholarship football player, air conditioning senior tech and a successful Etsy/Ebay seller cannot make it in California what are 12-16 dollar and hour workers experiencing?
The fact remains that hospitals nationwide are filling up with COVID cases and it’s not inconceivable that we may see popup morgues and heaven forbid, bodies rotting in the streets because of an overwhelmed healthcare system. Leave the science to the real scientists and epidemiologists, doctor, and go take care of some sick patients.
You are believing the lies aren’t you. They are manipulating every outlet possible.
GAG ON Newsom..your a worthless piece of shit…your day will …I cant wait to see the Karma consume you..other than OBAMA?…your one of the saddest excuses for a man…let alone absolute waste of flesh…seriously
Just read an article on the toll the isolation is taking on children, especially under 5. They are exhibiting PTSD symptoms, separation anxiety, bed wetting, and regression of their emotional and physical growth. Its time to stop this madness!!!! Please dear GOD
Sorry Jennifer, you’re just following the narrative. You stay home, wear your mask, and live in fear. I refuse to allow MSM/social media to guide/rule my life!
“The amount of tyranny you get, is the exact amount you put up with.”
Thomas Jefferson