The Sound of Silence at the Board of Health

by | Feb 21, 2022 | General | 35 comments

Let me relate a poignant personal awakening I experienced after delivering the following public comment to the Jefferson County Board of Health at its February 17 meeting:

My comment is about recent statements made by Health Officer Berry.

Beware, Dr. Berry… mentioning this fact got a reporter censored off Twitter on July 31

I appreciated her telling Commissioners on Monday about the original Pfizer trials showing 15 all-cause deaths from those getting vaccinated exceeding the 14 all-cause deaths from the control group.

She then went on to soft-peddle the number of deaths, saying “in those early trials … they were vaccinating very, very elderly people.”

That’s actually not true.  In fact, there were only about 800 people 75 years and older (4.4%) in each of the two 18,000 size subject groups.  

BMJ editor Peter Doshi noted that “frail elderly people … are not enrolled into vaccine trials in sufficient numbers,” and a JAMA study found older people have disproportionately been excluded from CV trials in general.

More importantly, Dr.  Berry apparently doesn’t know about the July 28 FDA data update, which showed “Pfizer somehow miscounted – or publicly misreported, or both – the number of deaths in one of the most important clinical trials in the history of medicine.”  In fact the FDA is now showing there were 21 all-cause deaths among the trial jabbed compared to 17 in the control group, which is 24% more deaths in 6 months. 

The fact that significantly more people died in the vaccinated group than the control group should be raising major red flags.

I also wish to draw your attention to two troubling quotes from your Health Officer in the Feb. 10 Peninsula Daily News.  The story noted that “Many parents have said their children experience mental health crises while wearing a mask, according to national reports.”  Dr. Berry gaslighted and discounted the authentic experiences of these many parents by curtly claiming, “There is no data for this.”

She continued blaming parents by saying, “What is challenging for students is the position that they are put in when they see the misbehavior of their parents. When we see them put in a position where their parents are encouraging them not to wear masks and their teachers are saying they have to, that’s a really difficult position for kids.”

Yes, the whole situation is difficult for kids and everyone involved, but Berry sees the whole problem as one of parental misbehavior, guilty of the crime of having different deeply-held beliefs than the bureaucrats who created this situation.

 

Health Officer Berry did not directly respond to my public comment, but tangentially said the following:

As far as vaccine safety, I think the simplest explanation is we’ve over 500 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines delivered in the United States, with continuous monitoring of safety of the vaccines and of the trials around them.  We have more data around the safety of these vaccines than any vaccine that has ever come before, and we do continue to see that they are safe and they are incredibly effective.  The majority of the county has gotten fully vaccinated, and as we continue to see the same here, I really want to encourage as many of our citizens as possible to move forward and get vaccinated, especially as we move into this next phase of the pandemic, that’s going to be increasingly important.

 

Though we may have “more data around the safety of these vaccines than any vaccine that has ever come before,” that data disturbingly shows the novel mRNA injection is associated with more deaths and adverse events than ALL previous vaccines COMBINED throughout the monitoring system’s 32-year history.

The only other response touching my comment was from Commissioner Kate Dean:

From my perspective on the masking issue, between my husband and I, we have four kids.  So we have a lot of kids around us often.  And I will say from that experience with lots and lots of kids, the only kids I see having trouble with masking are kids whose parents have trouble with masking.  And of course, kids are welcome to create their own opinions on things, but that is really consistently true.  I certainly related to Dr. Berry’s comments that I see kids struggle when they’re told that they will struggle.

 

Thinking about this particular commenting experience afterwards, something seemed different than past ones, leaving me with a bittersweet feeling of culmination and completion.  

The Board of Health has notoriously squeezed off public comment in the past, but I had no complaints about their commenting process this time: they allowed a full 3 minutes to each commentator, they offered extra time to the first commentator after a technical snafu, nobody was cut off, and chairman Greg Brotherton’s moderation was friendly and respectful.  

In terms of my own performance, I felt my points were well-supported, understandable, and well-delivered for a change; I spoke fairly naturally from organized notes; I didn’t run out of time nor get lost in the weeds with points too hairy to understand; I didn’t say anything insulting nor personal nor push any buttons that could distract from my points.  For who I am and what I was saying, I could hardly have done much better.  

But what was the end result?  Everybody there seemed to completely ignore everything I had to say, not even deigning to ridicule or take offense or contradict any point I had made.  There wasn’t even a veiled reference to “misinformation” or “partisanship” or any other supposed sin blamed on commentators in the past.  I didn’t get a rise out of anybody.  Berry did not even pretend to respond to my specific criticisms of her.  

I tried to provide them new information from authoritative sources about matters of life and death, demonstrate that their in-house Delphic Oracle was not always trustworthy, and make clear that her demonization of parents is not okay.

The Health Board was not having any of it.  They simply did not care.  Or maybe because I had not made any apparent mistakes they could puncture with a cheap shot, they had nothing to say.  Or maybe they identified me as a misinformation super-spreader, so guarded themselves from catching my bug.  Or maybe they had at last consciously adopted a strategy that their best course was to politely ignore me and not “feed the troll” nor provide ammunition for future Free Press articles.  Who knows?  

But what I do know is that Berry did not even bother to acknowledge or stand corrected or disagree or defend herself or attack back against any of my specific points.  Instead she just trotted out her usual talking points and called it a day.  

And everybody else there seemed to be totally okay with that, completely incurious and uninterested in anything I had to say.  After all, they had a full agenda they needed to get on with.  So they turned their attention to their next order of very important health business: namely, racial health equity work.

The Board of Health has succeeded in sealing themselves off from reality and new information.  What else is there to say?  The rest is silence.

Stephen Schumacher

Stephen Schumacher graduated with honors in Mathematics from Harvard College and programmed funds transfer systems between Wall Street banks and the Federal Reserve before moving to Port Townsend in 1983. He has served as an officer for various community organizations such as the Food Co-op, Jefferson Land Trust, and the Northwest Nutritional Foods Association. He co-created The Port Townsend Leader's original online newspaper and programs ship stability software used by naval architects.

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35 Comments

    • Richard

      Its called Treason and conspiracy to commit mass murder… They took money to push a false agenda and lie to their constituents… They pushed a “death injection” on their neighbors for more money and power… That’s it,,, put simply and honestly…

      Reply
  1. John Opalko

    Dr. Berry and the Board see no need to comment because they do not see it as a matter of science or medicine, to them it is a political matter and they believe (correctly) that they have the political capital to proceed as they have. Hence there is no need for them to respond. Tyranny of the majority.

    They have used fear to create overwhelming political backing for imposing medical apartheid in our county. The fearful look to them for ‘protection’ from those of us who are not afraid and want the freedom to make our own choices. This is why they promote the absurd concepts like “my mask won’t work if you don’t wear yours” and “my injection won’t work unless you also get the jab”. These are not public health policies, they are political tools to get re-elected. I would be willing to bet that you could not be elected to dog catcher in this county unless you supported the medical apartheid.

    Fear is not open to reason, and a politician is not going to pass up a political sure thing. So I predict the fear will continue in this county for a long time to come. And when fear of Covid eventually fades, a new fear will rise up to take its place. We have gone from the “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave” to “Land of the controlled and home of the fearful.”

    Reply
  2. Saltherring

    Your comments, Mr. Schumacher, to the Jefferson County Board of Health were taken by those in authority with the same veracity as Dr. Rand Paul’s response to Dr. Tony Fauci’s perjurious testimony during U.S. Senate hearings regarding Fauci’s previous statements and actions related to the Covid-19 “pandemic”. The Health Board knew it had no more to fear from your questions and comments than Fauci had to fear by lying under oath on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

    The same with those who lied by means of sworn statements to the FISA Court in order to compile the “evidence” necessary to bring impeachment charges against President Donald Trump. What has become of these liars? Nothing, of course, as these days it has become all about who is telling the lies.

    Reply
  3. Lee Stohr

    Thank you for your effort. More people are becoming aware of the failed and corrupt state of the American Medical complex. The ‘pandemic’ has accomplished that much at least, and in a very short time.

    Reply
  4. Ana Wolpin

    The lies and/or delusions do boggle the mind.

    The first one as Stephen points out, is Berry’s total fabrication that “in those early trials … they were vaccinating very, very elderly people.” One of the biggest issues with those trials—which received press even in mainstream media and I wrote about a year ago—was just the opposite. The trials avoided inclusion of the highest risk groups. “The immune-compromised, those with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children were excluded from the trials. Older adults and minorities, some of the hardest-hit populations, were significantly underrepresented.”

    What can this be called except another outright lie? Berry seems to simply make up “facts” that suit her.

    The second that stands out for me is the full-blown delusion that children only have issues with masks if their parents don’t support mask use. A classic case of abusers denying their abuse.

    Psychiatrist and author of The United States of Fear Mark McDonald is among a growing number asserting that masking children is child abuse — “essentially a projection of adult fear and anxiety onto children, who have no capacity to consent to the abuse.” He recently wrote a letter to all his patients banning child masking in his practice. “Allowing children to mask their faces has caused and continues to cause tremendous harm to them physically, emotionally, psychologically and developmentally. Any argument to the contrary is naive and irrational.”

    His full letter and commentary are worthy reading:
    I Have Banned Child Masking in My Practice

    The trauma and abuse that children have suffered at the hands of delusional adults the last two years will likely go down in history as one of “civilization’s” blackest marks.

    And John Opalko is exactly right: “I predict the fear will continue in this county for a long time to come.” Just today a NextDoor post titled “We’re old people” worried about danger from the unmasked when the mandate is removed.

    Reply
  5. Janette Chrysler

    Thank you for another well written article. I appreciate your clear thinking and dedication to truth.

    Reply
  6. Janette Chrysler

    Darkhorse Podcast has a brief video I find compelling in understanding the thought process of the current culture. Entitled Mandates and Two-tier System

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=XfjIl3-hLS8&feature=share

    Reply
  7. Les Walden

    I’m 78 years old. I guess that I’m an “old people”. I haven’t had a jab, and not going to get one. I only wear a mask when I have to and have been in the hospital many times for other things and always tested negative. I know that the damn panic is affecting me because I cannot interact with friends anymore. I live alone and look forward to the weekly visit by my home care worker so I can have someone to talk to. My landlord doesn’t want me to have pet anymore, so I have a large wooden bear to talk to as if it were alive. Thank God I haven’t lost it completely as I know he’s made of wood. I’m fortunate I was raised a single child and know how to entertain myself. I feel very sorry that the kids now that don’t have the things i had growing up, where you learned by making mistakes, had jobs where you would learn what work is and freedom to choose your friends and spend hours with them face to face without a mask. What does all this mean to our children? They’re growing up robots, unable to make their own decisions in an electronic world.

    Reply
  8. Sue Coffman

    Thank you for all the great writers for the PT Free Press! I’m so glad we have a place to air our grievances and come together with respect for each other, and to outline all the ways “they” are ruining our once-great country. Everyone needs to keep on going, speak out, civilly disobey, and Stand Together to fight our current tyranny!

    Reply
    • Joe K

      Tyranny?

      So consequences for not helping defend against a deadly virus filling up the hospitals is… tyranny?

      Wow.

      Just take the vaccines and smile. Like hundreds of millions of good humans.

      Reply
  9. Harvey Windle

    Stephen- The answer to your question is not the object. The follow up question’s answer after the corrupted answer to the first question reveals more. I got a one star review with no explanation on Google for my business yesterday. It is how some play. I must be doing something right. Thanks for your time and courage. George has some words for you and all Free Press contributors.

    Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.

    If publishers and editors exert themselves to keep certain topics out of print, it is not because they are frightened of prosecution but because they are frightened of public opinion. In this country intellectual cowardice is the worst enemy a writer or journalist has to face, and that fact does not seem to me to have had the discussion it deserves.

    In this country, intellectual cowardice is the worst enemy a writer or journalist has to face … Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and incovenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban … At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question.

    To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.

    Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.

    The process [of mass-media deception] has to be conscious, or it would not be carried out with sufficient precision, but it also has to be unconscious, or it would bring with it a feeling of falsity and hence of guilt…. To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies all this is indispensably necessary.

    In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

    If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

    Being in a minority, even in a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.

    However much you deny the truth, the truth goes on existing.

    The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it.

    To survive it is often necessary to fight and to fight you have to dirty yourself.

    Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing.

    It’s frightful that people who are so ignorant should have so much influence.

    He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.

    We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it.

    We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.

    The people will believe what the media tells them they believe.

    A generation of the unteachable is hanging upon us like a necklace of corpses.

    Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.

    In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’ All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.

    Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.

    Real power is achieved when the ruling class controls the material essentials of life, granting and withholding them from the masses as if they were privileges.

    It’s not so much staying alive, it’s staying human that’s important. What counts is that we don’t betray each other.

    Either we all live in a decent world, or nobody does.

    Reply
  10. Marcus Lang

    All of you reprobates trying to kill us, and acting like you’re so cute. Go ahead, block any information that contradicts your lies. You are no different than the idiot Democrats you hate.

    [Editors’ Note: What are you specifically talking about? Who are you accusing of blocking information and when? The only thing PTFP is currently “blocking” are comments that violate our announced policy prohibiting “insults, taunts, bullying, intimidation and profanity”… for which your use of “idiot” is an edge case. As our comments policy below states, “We welcome contrary viewpoints.” Insults and profanity may be blocked, but “information” and civil discourse flow freely at PTFP.]

    Reply
  11. John De Boer

    She is not a doctor. She is a politician/propagandist/huckster with an MD behind her name. She should know that she cannot force medication upon unwilling people unless they are dangerous lunatics or by implied consent if unconscious. Her lack of medical ethics is jaw dropping.
    Now, it’s the lunatics forcing the shots.

    Reply
  12. Harvey Windle

    Marcus- I had to look up “Retrobate”

    See below and ask who and what seem to fit many definitions. Seems to me no one can break rank in the current system in the slightest, no matter the information provided to them. I think much of what Stephen and others do is simply for the ongoing record. That has value which is often only seen by some with the passage of time.

    Also wonder about the “idiot democrats” comment. Are you then Republican or other? Seems the Covid mandate authority in Washington comes from a Democrat governor and down the line to this Democrat controlled County. Many call for the legislature to be involved in mandates and less power to a single Democrat. I am not partisan, plenty of problems on both sides. Please take a minute and explain what you mean. I only wish to be educated from many points of view, and form opinions often from a blend of different ideas. To do or be otherwise is to be polarized and blind.

    Synonyms & Antonyms of reprobate (Entry 1 of 3)
    having or showing lowered moral character or standards
    a reprobate judge who could be bribed, and often with astonishing ease

    Synonyms for reprobate
    corrupt, debased, debauched, decadent, degenerate, degraded, demoralized, depraved, dissipated, dissolute, jackleg, libertine, loose, perverse, perverted, rakehell (or rakehelly), rakish, sick, unclean, unwholesome, warped

    Words Related to reprobate
    bent [chiefly British], crooked, cutthroat, dishonest, unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulous
    contaminated, spoiled, tainted
    bad, evil, immoral, iniquitous, miscreant, nefarious, sinful, vicious, wicked

    Near Antonyms for reprobate
    incorruptible
    ethical, honest, principled
    good, moral, righteous, virtuous

    Antonyms for reprobate
    pure, uncorrupt, uncorrupted
    reprobate noun

    Synonyms & Antonyms of reprobate (Entry 2 of 3)
    a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
    a program for rehabilitating hard-core reprobates and turning them into hard-working, law-abiding citizens

    Synonyms for reprobate
    baddie (or baddy), beast, brute, caitiff, devil, evildoer, fiend, heavy, hound, knave, meanie (also meany), miscreant, monster, nazi, no-good, rapscallion, rascal, rogue, savage, scalawag (or scallywag), scamp, scapegrace, scoundrel, varlet, villain, wretch

    Words Related to reprobate
    villainess
    blackguard
    criminal, crook, culprit, felon, lawbreaker, malefactor, offender, perp, perpetrator, transgressor
    sinner, trespasser, wrongdoer
    cad, heel, serpent, snake, viper
    bandit, bravo, desperado, outlaw
    con, convict, jailbird
    assassin, cutthroat, gangster, goon, gunman, hoodlum, hooligan, racketeer, ruffian, thug
    rough, rowdy, tough
    loser, lowlife, ne’er-do-well, stinker, trash

    Near Antonyms for reprobate
    angel, innocent, saint
    hero
    reprobate verb
    Synonyms & Antonyms of reprobate (Entry 3 of 3)
    1to be unwilling to grant
    the board will most likely reprobate the request for parole

    Synonyms for reprobate
    decline, deny, disallow, disapprove, negative, nix, refuse, reject, withhold

    Words Related to reprobate
    ban, enjoin, forbid, prohibit, proscribe, veto
    rebuff, repel, spurn
    check, constrain, curb, hold, keep, repress, restrain, restrict
    balk (at), hinder, impede, obstruct

    Near Antonyms for reprobate
    afford, furnish, give, provide, supply
    authorize, commission, license (also licence)
    accede (to), acquiesce, agree (to), assent (to), consent (to), warrant
    accord, sanction, vouchsafe

    Antonyms for reprobate
    allow, concede, grant, let, OK (or okay), permit
    2to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to
    without hesitation she reprobated such an indecent idea

    Synonyms for reprobate
    balk (at), decline, deselect, disapprove, negative, nix, pass, pass up, refuse, reject, repudiate, spurn, throw out, throw over, turn down

    Words Related to reprobate
    blow off, disdain, rebuff, scorn, scout, shoot down
    overrule, veto
    forbid, prohibit, proscribe
    dismiss, ignore
    abstain (from), forbear, refrain (from)
    deny, disavow, disclaim, dispute, gainsay
    stick
    abjure, forswear (also foreswear), recant, renounce, retract, take back, unsay, withdraw
    avoid, bypass, detour
    contradict, deny, disown, negate
    controvert, disagree (with), disprove, dispute, rebut, refute
    back down, back off, backtrack
    disallow, recall, renege, revoke

    Phrases Synonymous with reprobate
    turn one’s back on

    Near Antonyms for reprobate
    condone, countenance, swallow, tolerate
    adopt, embrace, receive, take, welcome
    accede, acquiesce, agree, assent, consent
    choose, handpick, select
    espouse, support

    Antonyms for reprobate
    accept, agree (to), approve
    3to declare to be morally wrong or evil
    spent much of her talk reprobating the callous indifference of a materialistic society to the suffering of people in the third world

    Synonyms for reprobate
    anathematize, censure, condemn, damn, decry, denounce, execrate, reprehend

    Words Related to reprobate
    attack, blame, blast, criticize, dis (also diss) [slang], dispraise, fault, knock, pan, slam
    belittle, deprecate, disparage
    doom, sentence
    convict
    blacklist, excommunicate, ostracize
    castigate, chastise, rebuke, reprimand, reproach
    admonish, chide, reprove
    berate, lambaste (or lambast), rake, scold, upbraid, vituperate
    curse, imprecate
    abhor, abominate, detest, hate, loathe, revile

    Reply
  13. Les Walden

    It was with some interest I read Bill Mann’s article in the Leader this morning where he called anyone who hadn’t had the jab idiots. He follows that up with the statement he can hardly wait until his grandkids are 5 years old and can receive a shot. As for the kids, I feel sorry as the verdict isn’t out on the good or bad it will run on them later. As for him, if it does harm the kids, I hope he suffers for his mistake. Omly time will tell. In the meantime, he should write about what he does best and quit calling people idiots who don’t agree with his all knowing wisdom. I’m glad the Free Press hasn’t stooped that low as to allow name calling of that nature.

    Reply
    • Joe K

      If “Insults, taunts, bullying, intimidation and profanity do not qualify as serious discourse” then it’s Dr. Allison Berry, MD to you.

      Reply
  14. Joe K

    Stephen,
    It’s past time for you to leave the Board of Health airspace. Nobody but a few people on this alternative news site care. The overwhelming majority of folks are… patriotically vaccinated. The President, the Vice President, almost all of Congress and you betcha Dr. Allison Berry, MD are all vaccinated.
    An attempt to impeach Dr. Berry, MD was thrown out; and in return you now have out-of-county folks flying on in to back Dr. Berry, MD up. Please live the rest of your life in peace knowing Dr. Berry, MD has your back.

    Reply
      • Joe K

        Yes, I’m appealing to authority as per your link. The sheer #s of folks vaccinated and living relatively healthy lives should prove to you that there isn’t a lot of logic in fearmongering over the vaccines that work so, so well.

        Oh and VAERS? Anybody and anyone can lob a report into it. There have been campaigns to flood VAERS with misinformation.

        Reply
        • Stephen Schumacher

          Can you provide any source with hard evidence for this conspiracy theory spread by Dr. Berry? I took a quick look around the web and could find none. The most I could find was this claim: “With reported deaths linked to the COVID-19 vaccine on this database at such high levels, the CDC must confront the likely prospect that anti-vaccine activists are purposely submitting false reports to inflate mortality numbers and heighten community fears over the coronavirus vaccine,” providing no supporting evidence except that vax-associated deaths are “at such high levels” that so-called anti-vaxxers are “likely” to blame.

          By contrast, Swiss researchers reported today on new Israeli and German vaccine safety data demonstrating “a US VAERS under-reporting factor of about 120 for hospitalizations; about 400 for shingles; about 700 for convulsions or seizures; about 3,000 for Bell’s palsy; and about 6,000 for enlarged lymph nodes.”

          If it turns out Dr. Berry and the CDC are wrong and all the evidence about mounting vax injuries is correct, would that change your opinion about the heroic patriotism of our public health authorities?

          Reply
        • John Opalko

          Joe K,

          If you know of someone who has purposefully reported false information in VAERS, you should report it to the HHS. From the https://vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.html website:

          “Knowingly filing a false VAERS report is a violation of Federal law (18 U.S. Code § 1001) punishable by fine and imprisonment.”

          The forms require identification by the filer. One cannot submit an anonymous report. I am sure that if the FDA and the CDC suspected that people were ‘lobbing’ false reports into VAERS they would not hesitate to investigate and bring charges.

          What we do know for sure is that, even though doctors and health professionals are REQUIRED to report all events whether or not they believe it was vaccine caused, most do not. (See below for full text from the website referenced above.) There is significant underreporting in this system and the CDC does not even try to calculate the underreporting factor.

          A large number of VAERS reports for a particular event signals correlation with the vaccine, not causation.

          How can causation be determined then? By using Bradford Hill criteria. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_Hill_criteria)

          For an excellent analysis of the COVID Vaccine VAERS data against the Bradford Hill criteria watch Dr. Jessica Rose in this presentation: https://worldcouncilforhealth.org/multimedia/uvc-jessica-rose/

          The CDC to my knowledge has not published any analysis of VAERS using the Bradford Hill criteria.

          Here’s the thing Joe K, in considering taking the injection, we each have to decide: who we trust and how much research we are willing to do. We each need to consider what are the risk/rewards ratio for our particular health situation. To do this we need the government to publish all the information it has, not hide it ( https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/20/health/covid-cdc-data.html ) and dismiss or ignore safety signals from VAERS.

          If you trust Dr. Berry and the CDC and made your decision based on that trust, good for you. Some of us want more transparency and some actual scientific debate. Mandating and/or encouraging vaccines as “Safe and Effective” while Ignoring and hiding safety and efficacy data, and simultaneously attacking critics is not something you do if science is on your side.

          From the VAERS website:

          Healthcare providers who administer COVID-19 vaccines are required by law to report the following to VAERS:

          Vaccine administration errors, whether or not associated with an adverse event (AE).
          If the incorrect mRNA COVID-19 vaccine product was inadvertently administered for a second dose in a 2-dose series, VAERS reporting is required.
          If a different product from the primary series is inadvertently administered for the additional or booster (third dose), VAERS reporting is required.
          VAERS reporting is not required for the following situations:
          If a mixed series is given intentionally (e.g., due to hypersensitivity to a vaccine ingredient)
          Mixing and matching of booster doses (as of October 21, 2021, mixing and matching of booster doses is allowed)
          Serious AEs regardless of whether the reporter thinks the vaccine caused the AE. Serious AEs per FDA are defined as:
          Death
          A life-threatening AE
          Inpatient hospitalization or prolongation of existing hospitalization
          A persistent or significant incapacity or substantial disruption of the ability to conduct normal life functions
          A congenital anomaly/birth defect
          An important medical event that based on appropriate medical judgement may jeopardize the individual and may require medical or surgical intervention to prevent one of the outcomes listed above
          Cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome
          Cases of COVID-19 that result in hospitalization or death

          Reply
          • Joe K

            John;

            Thank you for your long and thoughtful response. As you can probably tell, I am a very busy guy so I’m attempting to be acute and have to pace my responses.

            I not just trusted Dr. Berry, MD and yes the CDC plus Dr. Fauci, MD and elected officials but also a pediatrician in my social media feeds, the Washington State Department of Health, the unanimous opinions of Washington county health officers, Dr. Bonnie Henry MD and the British Columbian public health apparatus, plus my own doctor. If I can’t trust all those good humans, who can I trust? A website that anybody can lob a report into, not just MDs? At some point the good intelligence data gets very close to if not 100/100.

            I think some people really truly need to just have a little more faith in public health departments.

            JOE

    • Stephen Schumacher

      Joe, can you explain what you mean by “you now have out-of-county folks flying on in to back Dr. Berry, MD up”? Regarding “patriotically vaccinated”, could you entertain the notion that those who deeply believe the jabs and mandates are not good for kids and not good for our country might love America and be just as patriotically motivated as you … even if our opinions about the facts differ so we’re more worried about “long tyranny” than “long covid”? I think that’s well expressed by this young Canadian writing about the patriotic working people putting themselves on the line for health freedom in their own country:
      https://outsidevoices.substack.com/p/letter-from-a-young-canadian-authoritarianism

      Reply
    • AJ

      Joe,

      Stephen has every right to take up space in the public comment arena at the Board of Health. It is a public forum. Although I’m glad you are here, seeking a different perspective and engaging with folks who may have a different worldview from yours, please don’t barge in giving orders to someone who is exercising his right to free speech. You will find no sympathetic ears to that rhetoric here.

      “Patriotically” vaccinated? As oxymoronic a statement as this may be, if accepting an experimental therapy was your clear choice, not one you were coerced into to keep your job, or keep your children in public education, or to be able to attend your place of worship, then good for you. I sincerely hope it was an informed choice, that you indeed did your own research and due diligence. Unfortunately, many who accepted the jab felt they had to in order to participate in public society.

      We have ZERO data on the long-term effects of these treatments or their subsequent boosters. Perhaps it will not matter to you in 5, 10, 15 years (the normal amount of time it takes to bring a vaccine to full approval), but it sure as shit will matter to me, to my stepchildren, nieces and nephews. You’re perfectly welcome to play Russian Roulette with your body. But when you start mandating this crap on kids, you and all the Dr Berrys in the world have crossed a line. Have our backs? I laugh. Where does it stop, Joe? Claiming that we should all submit to therapies that do not stop transmission, because, public good? Prove to us you are regularly tested for STDs and wear a condom, because, public good. How about checking in on your phone to your favorite government-controlled social credit system with your meal plan to make certain you aren’t consuming too many calories and exceeding your optimal weight because, public good? How about handing over one of those kidneys you aren’t using because, public good? Overpopulation is one of the greatest threats to the environment. Can you ever imagine a government that would dictate how many children you can have to control the population? Unthinkable, right? Or what about giving to a cause of your choice and having your bank account frozen because the government didn’t like who you were supporting? Couldn’t happen in a democratic society, right? Oh, wait…

      Patriotic is standing up for the Constitution and Bills of Rights when all around you are falling to their knees and rolling up their sleeves in fear. No Joe, you have it wrong. Dr. Berry, Biden, Fauci, et al do not have our backs. It is we, who are awake, paying attention, and speaking out against tyranny, who have your back. You’re welcome.

      Reply
      • Joe K

        AJ;
        I did my own research, thanks for your concern. I do think Stephen has a RIGHT to speak as much as I disagree with his, er, interpretations if not worse. But I wish he’d realize nobody is listening except for a few protective fans of Dr. Berry, MD.
        I also believe Covid19 is real and getting a vaccine is helping defend this country from a real threat. I made the calculus as did hundreds of millions of your fellow Americans to get vaccinated to stop Covid19 and it’s worked. The overwhelming majority of those sadly hospitalized are immunocompromised like Neal Cavuto – and again sadly hurt; or the tragically unvaccinated.
        I hope you will step forward and pick up a weapon to defend this nation from a deadly virus that Communist People’s Republic of China is at least somewhat culpable for. Thanks.
        Yours;
        Joe

        Reply
  15. Joe K

    Please explain this “Joe” guy who backs Dr. Berry up. The two are clearly vaccinated and boosted. Some “death injection”.

    Reply
    • Joe K

      Says the Epoch Times.

      Not the CDC and most doctors.

      I don’t believe in alt-facts.

      Reply
      • Hannah McFarland

        I send supreme gratitudes to Stephen Schumacher and your many informed comments to our County “Authorities” who have decided to not listen to your many comments. I have heard many times our County Commissoners, Dr. Berry and Health Board members who fail to genuinely consider or check into the abundant, documented information that you provide. In spite of their numbness, I believe what you have done MANY times is very important. As the truth eventually comes out, no way can they claim ignorance or use the excuse that “no one told us.”

        Reply
  16. AJ

    Hi Joe,

    I, too, believe that COVID-19 is real and a serious threat, its manufacture aided and abetted by your friends and neighbors at the NIH, including Fauci. Its greatest threat is not to public health, however; this is a disease with a 99+ percent survival rate for all but those over 70 years of age and/or compromised by weak immune systems or multiple co-morbidities. Then the survival rate dips to a precipitous 97+%. No, the real danger of COVID-19 is how the excuse of the perceived threat was carte blanche for governments and elected officials to lie, obfuscate and grab hold of power that they will likely now not relinquish.

    There were lives needlessly lost to this disease. Early treatment protocols underway in the first months of the so-called pandemic were halted — funding cut, staff redirected — in favor of vaccine R&D. Dr. Peter McCullough, an epidemiologist, cardiologist, internist and full professor of medicine at Texas A&M College of Medicine who possesses a master’s degree in public health and is known for being one of the top five most-published medical researchers in the United States, as well as active on the frontlines of treating Covid-19 AND vaccine-related injuries, estimates that if early treatment protocols had been employed from the start of the pandemic, including the use of ivermectin, over 85 percent of COVID deaths could have been avoided.

    You claim the ”vaccines” work. In what sense? Where are you getting this information? From the CDC? Legacy media finally confirmed this week what many of us have been aware of all along: the CDC has withheld critical data, including data on effectiveness of the mRNA jabs. I see that you are sincere in your belief that if we just trusted public health officials, we’d all be okay. Sorry, Joe. Trust is the absolute last thing I and many, many others have for public health authorities right now. And why many, like Stephen are speaking out and even more are listening, despite your claim they are not. Public health authorities were wrong about flattening the curve. They were wrong about lockdowns. They were wrong about social distancing. They lied to us about the origins of the virus. They blatantly lied to us about the effectiveness of the “vaccines”. They were wrong about masks. They lied to us about the side and permanent effects of the jabs. Their lies and “mistakes” have cost us, dearly: businesses lost, lives shattered, child development thwarted, substance abuse and deaths skyrocketing, poverty, starvation the world over on a massive scale, communities rent, depression and anxiety crippling friends and family all around us.

    What you and many others are either not aware of or are turning away from is the data coming in from insurance companies both here in the US and most recently, from Germany, showing excess mortality rates in recent months. You can deny VAERS data all you want, but frightening signs are showing up in other ways.

    “Here in the US, insurance companies have released actuarial reports showing a massive, unexplained increase in mortality over the past year never before seen outside of wartime for Americans between the ages of 18 and 49. The cause? As yet unknown, but they all agree that it is not the Wuhan virus. This shocking discovery comes on the heels of the CDC having been caught hiding large swaths of critical information and data related to the mRNA injections, in particular the boosters, that prove the experimental drugs are largely or entirely ineffective in reducing hospitalizations, much less in saving lives, in precisely the same age range (18-49) that we now know have been dying in record numbers since the drugs came to market. More Americans are now putting two and two together and coming up with “no more.” Dr. Mark McDonald, 2/24/22

    If we look at data from the UK and Israel, which are far more complete, transparent, and up-to-date, and countries where jab uptake is much higher than the US, we see that hospitalizations are significantly higher in the vaccinated, even prior to Omicron. Your assertion that the vaccines have stopped Covid-19 is flat out wrong. Even the CDC has stated that the mRNA therapies do not prevent transmission. It’s estimated that over 1/3 of Americans have had Covid-19. This disease is now endemic because of natural immunity and because it is, as viruses are wont to do, burning itself out.

    You are correct in viewing the jabs as a weapon. Tragically, it is a weapon being used against the very souls who were told, and believed, that is was their way out of the crisis and that it was the right thing to do for their communities. If even the least of the predictions by MDs, virologists, and vaccinologists who have been warning all along that the mRNA injections are a minefield are true, God have mercy on us all.

    Reply
  17. Alex Mintz

    Thank you John Opalko, your comments are right on in my opinion.

    Reply

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