Why we need good scientific data and logic to kick COVID's ass!

We are only a couple of weeks away from 2022 and I can already hear everyone saying, "here we go again!" More lockdowns, more restrictions, more depression and more businesses impacted by the rising number of COVID-19 and variants around the globe. Like many of you, at the start of this whole thing, I was nervous about what was to come and how people would react to this unfamiliar virus. However, my major concern was the long term effects of what the virus would do to us as a society and how the economical impact would play out for businesses, including my own. I certainly haven't been dormant or quiet about the way that the virus has been handled but for the most part, I have been watching, listening and participating in conversations. Early on, I stated to family and friends how important it was going to be to have good scientific data when it comes to tracking and minimizing the spread of COVID-19. After 2 years, I am not impressed with how governments have failed us (not surprisingly) and hence, these are some of my own views on how we should proceed to kick COVID's ass.

Studies and Papers as a Scientific Resource

There have been many published papers quoted in the media regarding just about every aspect of how COVID spreads, ventilation, ways to eliminate COVID, vaccines, natural immunity and more. However, one thing is clear (as evidenced by the quantity of papers which are continuing to be published), we still don't know how this virus truly behaves. Predictive models are guesses, plain and simple. Regardless of how they are substantiated, an accurate model requires good data and unlike many other diseases and viruses for which we have decades of data, COVID-19 and its family of variants will remain new to us for the near and distant future. This is why it is important to continue to study and track the virus, plus keep an open mind about sound logic and reason.

Why Vaccine Passports are a Waste of Time and Money

Just this past week, here in Ontario, Canada, I heard for the first time that the number of active vaccinated cases surpassed the number of unvaccinated cases by a significant margin. Now, I would not want to make an argument that vaccinations don't help. Quite the contrary, they have shown to reduce the serious nature that COVID-19 symptoms can inflict on people. Yet, so much of the media and politics have focused on making this all about vaccinated vs. unvaccinated and not about the science in any serious regard. I can see COVID's gleeful smile as it keeps slipping through our QR codes and vaccination barriers.

Imagine you are entering a room where there is a group of 100 vaccinated people on one side and a group of 100 unvaccinated people on the other side of the room. The unvaccinated people have all just been tested as being COVID negative. Which side of the room are you moving to?

Regardless of your choice, simply having a "vaccinated" status is proving not to be enough. Without any contemporary knowledge of whether or not the people occupying the same space as you are in fact spreading the virus, IS THE ISSUE. I believe it would not be difficult to argue from a scientific or logical perspective that having this knowledge (i.e., whether or not someone has, or doesn't have COVID) is of the greatest value. An unvaccinated person who does not have COVID has ZERO chance of spreading the virus.

At one time, our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, offered $1 Billion dollars to our province for implementing a vaccine passport system. I don't know about you, but that money seems to be wasted and the burden comes on the backs of tax payers who will have little guarantee that these funds are making a difference considering the scale of the investment. Does flashing a QR code at a restaurant or a sporting event make you feel any safer?

It's easy to run a simple thought experiment. If 100% of the people in our communities are vaccinated, then only the vaccinated can and will be spreading the virus. Thus, it is no longer a matter of whether or not you are vaccinated and have a QR code. We need to know whether or not a person is a "spreader" or "non-spreader".

Compelling People to Vaccinate

If you believe in science or are a serious science professional, you will know that nothing is 100% and that there are always risks. Heck, people have everyday risks to things which are otherwise benign to most of us such as nuts, milk and penicillin. Just go to the doctor for any small surgery and you'll be signing all kinds of forms. Any scientist worth their salt has to admit that there will always be risks, and this is why there are usually a long list of potential ailments or issues that follow the administration of any particular drug. No doubt you've all heard the rapid-fire speech of side-effects at the end of those commercials promoting some kind of new drug. Unfortunately, we don't have the kind of long-term history with the different vaccinations that are currently available to us and although many of us have "taken one (or three) for the team", we know that there are those out there who have suffered through serious vaccination side effects and even worse, death.

In my case, it was easy. I didn't have a single side effect when I took the first or second Pfizer vaccines. However, I have spoken to many people who did suffer from mild to more serious side effects and I am quite certain that some have lost a lot more as a direct result of the vaccine. Albeit, a very, very small percentage of people, but what do you say to the families or loved ones? In these situations, what recourse do people have and what are we doing to help them and their families when they have "taken one for the team"? Whose got their backs? Just recently, I heard that a major university here is going to start "de-enrolling" students who are not vaccinated and I also heard that one of our provinces has decided to exclude people from entering a grocery store when they are perfectly healthy, simply because they haven't been vaccinated. If you truly believe in science, then you shouldn't have to play these childish games and have to admit to the risks that vaccines have on people. Unless there is a plan in place that covers the very small minority of people from all side-effects, and possible death, they must be free to choose without penalty.

Keeping the Public Informed so they can make their own decisions

I can completely understand why there is vaccine hesitancy. When there are risks involved in a person's health, it is up to the individual to become informed (often with their families), provide consent and make the decision which gives them the greatest piece of mind. In these situations there is no right or wrong and its up to us to pressure our governments to make the scientific data available. Not just a limited set of data, but have experts and health officials put it all on the table and present the data in a non-biased manner. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Doctors and health officials are being chastised or fired from their jobs for providing information to the public which often has a scientific basis or rational. It just doesn't go along the same grain as what the governments or institutions want. Like most people, being asked to do something and being told to do something are two different things.

Why Rapid Testing is of Great Importance to Minimizing the Spread of COVID-19

The focus in our society needs to shift from the vaccinated vs. unvaccinated to those that have the virus and those that do not. In order to do so, we have PCR and lower cost rapid testing (Antigen) kits for which I am absolutely puzzled as to why we are not taking advantage of these kits throughout our society. Vaccinations on their own are like an airbag in a car...when you need them, the crash has already happened. It may save your life, but the crash (i.e. virus spreading) has already happened. Also, I have never driven around town with a reassurance about the fact that people have airbags in their car. What we need to do is stop the crash from happening in the first place and this is where the power of regular monitoring with rapid testing comes in.

Let's say it's Monday morning and the kids need to go to school. A quick test can tell you whether or not they may be infected with COVID and whether or not your family needs to stay at home. This Antigen screening may be used for individuals who are fully vaccinated as well as individuals who are not vaccinated and can stop the spread of the virus before a person comes into contact with others and makes the problem worse. After all, isn't this what is employed to healthcare professionals working with some of the most at-risk people in our society?

Keep it about the Science

Data tracking and the ability to monitor where outbreaks occur is also vital for the public to understand where and how the virus spreads. I think that using our mobile phones is a logical and beneficial use of technology although that I admit there are concerns about privacy. From a scientific perspective, it could work. If you are already willing to get vaccinated and have a passport scanned every time you go to a restaurant or out in a public space, there should be a way of using our mobile devices to help us and the rest of society in this battle against the virus!

Regular Antigen (rapid) testing and reporting would allow for early detection of "spreaders" and minimize the impact on society and the economy. So why aren't we taking advantage and investing in early detection and using this technology to our benefit? Why not invest in a program that gives people access to free rapid test kits instead of paying people to be at home? These should be freely available or at a very low cost and utilized regularly or as needed to minimize everyone's risk. However, the key ingredient here is that the rapid testing must happen at regular intervals in order to increase its efficacy since it is not as sensitive as the PCR test. Nothing is 100% effective, but this would provide schools and workplaces with early screening and I believe a considerable risk avoidance which would keep the risk to all of us as low as possible.

As we move into the beginning of 2022, I think it's important for all of us to keep an open mind and start to think logically about how sustainable regular "juicing" with vaccines is going to be, and we should ask the question about long-term effects. We need to start pressuring our local governments to focus on providing the means to have rapid tests available to us so that we can self-isolate well in advance of having things get out of hand.

This past week, my youngest son came home with a pack of rapid test kits that were issued to him by his school so that he could test over the holidays. I am hopeful this is a step in the right direction and hopefully in 2022, we will utilize science and reason to our advantage so we can kick COVID's ass!

Eugene Liscio