It has been a year and 5 months since we first experienced the work product of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.  I must admit, that if you would have asked me on March 16, 2020, the date we originally locked down, I would have assumed the issue of the virus would be well and truly over by this time.  It looks like I underestimated things. 

It appears that we are expected to become overwrought with each new variant. Unfortunately, there are 24 letters in the Greek alphabet. We are only on #4. 

Given that this is the end of Summer, we are dealing with controversies regarding school openings.  School boards were in a difficult position.  They were stuck trying to placate both sides of a fierce debate.   In general, it seems logical to let individual districts, with the input of parents, decide the issue.  

 Though it is unclear to me that masks do anything in the school environment, the decision to require them should be made based on the case burden locally.  What is appropriate for a rural district in, for instance, Potter County may be very different than an urban school district in Pittsburg.   

Now, the state Department of Health has stepped in and mandated masks for all schools in the state, taking the decision out of local hands.  I am sure school boards everywhere are sighing in relief. Still, this seems like Harrisburg overreach…again. 

The CDC has recently announced guidelines that support masking children in schools. They are citing an observational, retrospective study they sponsored, using data from multiple school districts in Georgia. 

The study was conducted on data from November and December 2020, prior to vaccine availability. It showed that improving ventilation in schools and the masking of teachers and staff (i.e.: adults, who are more susceptible to infection) resulted in a decreased incidence of infection. Improved ventilation as it turned out was statistically the much more effective intervention. It was a sloppy study with a lot of inconsistencies which reduces the power of the data. 

 Here is a paragraph from the article’s conclusion:  

 In the current study, the lower incidence in schools requiring mask use among teachers and staff members is consistent with research on mask effectiveness (6), and investigations that have identified school staff members as important contributors to school-based SARS-CoV-2 transmission (7). The 21% lower incidence in schools that required mask use among students was not statistically significant compared with schools where mask use was optional.  

Now, with teachers likely vaccinated, I’m not sure this data is valid. As evidence, this seems like a very “thin gruel” to require masks for entire student populations. 

Let’s turn now to a curious set of facts surrounding the FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine.  It turns out that the current product, the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine, is not legally the FDA-approved product.  That vaccine is the Pfizer “Comirnaty” vaccine.  The original vaccine is still under “emergency use authorization”.  Interestingly, very little of the new product has been manufactured, but there is plenty of stock of the Pfizer/BioNTech product, which will continue to be given.   

Why would this be, you ask?  Well, remember that these vaccines have had a significant number of adverse events according to the VAERS data. The older product under EUA is immune from legal action, whereas Comirnaty recipients can sue Pfizer for any complications. 

I’m not trying to discourage vaccine use.  Again, let me say that I believe each person, with the input of their physician, should make this decision based on their particular risk-benefit ratio. 

Pfizer is obviously manipulating the situation, which doesn’t surprise me. I do find it very disturbing that the FDA seems to be cooperating with its efforts.  Pfizer clearly benefits from the P.R. generated by the approval without giving up its legal immunity. 

This manipulation also works for those in government that seek to mandate vaccinations.  Meanwhile unknowingly, we will still receive a product that is still experimental.  

Interestingly, two of the most senior people in the FDA involved with vaccine approval just suddenly resigned. Apparently, they were very unhappy with the rushed vaccine approval. 

 More to come on that, I suspect. 

Finally, I once again return to the matter of natural immunity.  2 articles caught my eye recently.  The first is an immunologic study from Cell Reports Medicine. This looked at the immune responsiveness over time (8 months) to Covid in 254 subjects who had contracted the disease early in the pandemic.  They studied serial blood samples, measuring antibodies and other immunological markers. They conclude that: Taken together, these results suggest that broad and effective immunity may persist long-term in recovered COVID-19 patients. 

Then there is a very large study in preprint from a group in Israel. They studied data from 700,000(!) patients. The study looked at recent infections with the delta variant. It compared those with natural immunity without vaccination, natural immunity with a subsequent dose of vaccine, versus Covid-naïve patients who have been vaccinated. All the previous Covid infections or vaccinations were in the January/February 2021 timeframe. 

  They came to several conclusions.  #1.  Vaccinated Covid-naive patients were 13 times more likely to have a breakthrough infection with the delta variant, than those with natural immunity. They were 27 times more likely to get significant symptoms.  Those results were among patients who had been infected in January–February 2021.  They then looked at a broader group of previously infected subjects whose illnesses go back as far as March 2020.  Those patients were still at an advantage with 5.7 times more infections in the vaccinated group.  They did find that a single dose of vaccine (Pfizer) seemed to have a slightly positive effect on those with previous infections but the data did not reach statistical significance.  

Still, with more and more data reinforcing the strong immunity of recovered patients, the CDC and the NIH ignore the issue and want to mandate “the jab” for the recovered. It is important to remember that the incidence of side effects of these vaccines is much higher in those previously infected. Those of us who are in that situation clearly have no ethical obligation to be vaccinated and are rightfully wary to do so. 

By the way, very quietly in the last week or so, the CDC changed its definition of vaccination. Here’s what things look like in late August:

Here’s what it looks like now:

One last topic. It is become fashionable among my vaccine-obsessed friends to use the term” horse wormer” to describe ivermectin. I believe this was pioneered by Rachel Maddow to mock its use. Ivermectin is a WHO essential medication, given to literally millions of people for treatment of parasitic infections. It is very inexpensive and very safe. Obviously, it is also used in veterinary circles.  

It has been known for some time to have antiviral properties.  There is now a significant amount of data to suggest that it is useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of Covid 19. I’ve been easily able to acquire the tablet form at my local pharmacy. The problem is medical boards that are suppressing its use, in concert with the NIH and Pharma. Remember, if Ivermectin works, there’s no EUA for any vaccines, per CDC policy.  

Interestingly, I understand Pfizer and Merck are coming out with a ”Covid treatment pill”. This will be on-patent, and likely fairly pricey. I wonder if they’ll call it Newvermectin.

It’s just a thought. 

If there is an overriding theme to this post, and to my previous posts, it is that this very real pandemic, has resulted in the unmasking of the players: public health authorities, and big Pharma who are not working for our welfare but for their own. They manipulate facts, ignore others, and create rules meant to increase their power and wealth, often at our expense. They deny us early treatment despite the data supporting it. Their partners in the media assist in their subterfuge. As a physician, this has caused me to question almost everything I have happily gone along with in the past. The scales have fallen off my eyes. 

I believe our best bet is to study closely the real data, to utilize vaccines, and medications when they will be efficacious, and remain very skeptical of the “facts” as presented, by government health agencies, and the pharmaceutical industry. 

Quite honestly, we’re on our own. 

As always, I’d be honored if you’d share this post.

Header image: Monarch Feeding (Fujifilm XE4, XF 55-200 f3.5-4.8)

It is week 3 since the return of normal commerce and culture to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is wonderful to freely socialize, shake hands, and gasp, even hug family and friends that have been absent for so long.

In fact, the only place where I have to wear a mask is during work, at our VA hospital where the Federal Government still requires face covering.

There are some sad sequelae from the pandemic. For instance, in my case, I had close friends who avoided contact with me for the entire pandemic. Hopefully, this was because of my job, which involved caring for Covid-stricken veterans. Last November, I was infected and recovered. Recently it became clear that these friends still shun me, even though they are vaccinated. They claim it is because I am not.

I have written before about this. When vaccines were first available, doses were limited, I felt ethically, that since I had been infected and very likely was immune, I ought to hold back until more vulnerable people had been immunized. Now with vaccines widely available, I continue to hesitate. Because of this, some people choose to keep their distance.

My reasons for not being vaccinated basically fall into 2 categories:

#1. At least for now, I don’t believe it’s necessary for recovered patient’s to be immunized.

#2. I have concerns over the technology of the new vaccines and the reports of scary side effects, including roughly 11,000 vaccine-linked deaths reported in the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System (VAERS).

I have been watching the literature closely regarding the question of the post-recovery immunity of COVID-19 patients. Early on, there were several studies looking at antibody levels post-recovery. The consensus seems to be that antibody levels are quite high immediately post-infection. There was a point where they appeared to fall which was an early concern, but it now appears that they plateau at a healthy level. So far, since the first infections were seen, this continues to be true.

 A recent study out of New York University looked at the characteristics of the immune response in recovered patients, versus those who are vaccinated. It concluded that “Both the natural infection and mRNA vaccination-induced robust innate and adaptive responses but the authors noticed material differences in the two cohorts”. It was noted that the Pfizer vaccine activated fewer portions of the immune system, whereas natural immunity had a broader response.

Getting any of the vaccines basically exposes you to one small protein on the virus, the “S” or spike protein. This makes up a small percentage of the antibody “targets” on the virus. It does currently confer immunity.  Should the spike protein mutate sufficiently ( which does happen), then these mRNA vaccines could well be rendered ineffective. Natural immunity exposes your body to the whole virus. This includes many more antibody targets creating redundancy to protect from new strains.

In April 2021 researchers from the Israel Institute of Technology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Sheba Medical Center studied the effectiveness of immunity derived from the Pfizer vaccine, versus natural immunity in recovered patients. They found that in terms of percentage effectiveness they were essentially equal in terms of recurrence and hospitalization. They tried to compare deaths, but there were no deaths in the natural immunity arm of the study.

Even more convincing was COVID 19 data from May 2021, to the present, compiled by the Israeli Health Ministry to analyze their most recent outbreak (delta variant). It also compared those who were vaccinated to unvaccinated patients who had recovered from Covid. The data suggests that in Israel you were 6.7 times more likely to be reinfected if you were merely vaccinated, versus recovered from infection. From this data, Israel is trying to decide whether another round of boosters will be necessary.

Even the NIH appears to support post-recovery immunity. In this article from their website, they describe a study done in the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in California that was actually funded by Dr. Fauci’s own agency, the NIAID. Here’s a quote from the article dated 1/21/2021 “our studies showed that natural infection induced a strong response, and this study now shows that the responses last,” Weiskopf says. “We are hopeful that a similar pattern of responses lasting over time will also emerge for the vaccine-induced responses.”

Of course, I am also aware of the availability of cheap, available and effective anti-Covid therapy in the form of ivermectin, and hydroxychloroquine. I have had a rather dramatic reversal of my own Covid symptoms last November after taking the latter medication.

Given all of this evidence, and the controversies surrounding the vaccine, I have elected to pass for now. If natural immunity is shown to wane in the future, I would of course be vaccinated, especially as I’m aware that there are several conventional inactivated-virus type immunizations in the pipeline.

This is not meant to be a rant against vaccination. What I wish to get across, is that the products currently offered are not completely benign and still not FDA approved. The decision to be vaccinated should be based on your risks of serious illness, versus the risk of vaccine complications. A 75-year-old obese diabetic should certainly get the “jabs”. An 18-year-old healthy college student… probably not.

As I have written in the past, I feel it’s important for people to do their own research before acquiescing to the government’s recommendations. There is a larger agenda here, one that likely involves unhealthy relationships between government health officials, and big Pharma.

I’ll keep my own counsel for now.

As always I would Be honored if you’d share.

Header Image: Elizabeth’s View( Samsung Galaxy S 20 5G UW)

It has a been year and 7 weeks since our lives were truncated by the ruling elites, on account of a virus from China. Here in the US, vaccinations are being made available to a greater portion of the population, and more and more states, including my own, are easing their grip on our lifestyle.

This is our second spring under regulation, and it seems that this year, warming temperature have definitely brought out a lush growth of Covid 19 fatigue. Given our circumstances, I think it is justified.

I for one have absolutely had it with the policy people at the CDC. The new masking guidelines, giving us permission to gather outside without masks, only if it with household members or people known to be vaccinated, is ludicrous on its face. It will obviously be universally ignored. Don’t get me started about Dr. Fauci and his wildly meandering utterances. Someone needs to put a stop to his media appearances.

Especially since he bears some responsibility for our situation.

I have been perusing the internet for more Covid news. I recently encountered Sharyl Attkisson’s report on the origins of Covid on one of the compilation sites. I posted it earlier this week on Facebook. Based on multiple sources and documents both conclude that the virus was likely engineered in a Wuhan virology lab and then escaped out into the population. This was a lab had been noted by multiple organizations to have poor containment policies. This “gain of function” research was being done in cooperation with virologists at the University of North Carolina. And… it was funded by the NIH. Yes, our NIH.

Just to clarify: “gain of function” in this care means modifying an animal virus …to infect humans.

Regarding coronavirus, “big tech” continues to lie and distort. Earlier in the week when I posted Attkinsson’s report, it was quickly followed by a disclaimer from Facebook.

 Her report reminded me of a video from April of 2020 written by Joshua Phillips of the Epoch Times, a right of center publication. Reflexively I searched the video to review it. The list of citations Google provided me only included articles ridiculing the theory of the lab origins of the virus and the Phillips documentary. Reading over the list of titles would tend to make one convinced that this was a “crackpot” theory, and move on.

I then searched for the article on the unbiased search engine DuckDuckGo and immediately found the Phillips video as one of the first citations. Watching it again reminded me of how incredibly well researched and persuasive it is. Invest the time, it’s definitely worth it.

https://www.ntd.com/coronavirusfilm.html

What makes this dismissive Google search so infuriating, is that this is no longer a “crackpot” theory. It has been proposed and investigated and promoted by Josh Rogin of the Washington Post,  Robert Redfield, the former CDC director. Add in the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, the institution most responsible for our nation’s bioterrorism defense. They apparently did a secret investigation in the spring of last year and raised the same concerns. Make no mistake: Google is lying, probably on China’s behalf.

So here is another wrinkle to this story. When asked about Dr. Redfield’s opinion, Dr. Fauci attempted to shoot down, continuing to claim that the virus passed from a bat species (found nowhere near Wuhan Province) to humans directly. Well here’s the thing: The gain of function coronavirus research going on at Wuhan was being done in cooperation with the University of North Carolina, through several NIH grants including one ultimately sourced to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

Apparently the leader of that organization, who has been called “the godfather of gain of function research” was forced to move this portion of the research to the Wuhan lab at China, when in 2014 the Obama administration declared a moratorium on these practices. The work went on even though multiple scientists in virology circles warned against continuing. It was performed in a lab that were the subjective multiple memos by the US State Department questioning the lack of safety protocols.

Who is the “godfather”? That would be Anthony Fauci.

This may explain a lot. For instance, imagine you’re the beloved Dr Fauci, in early January 2020, and you hear about a viral outbreak, specifically respiratory, in Wuhan China, in the same city you’re sponsoring gain of function research on respiratory viruses.

I’m pretty sure that was a holy sh*t moment for the good doctor.

Fortunately, there happens to be a “wet” market a few blocks from the lab. That made a good cover story for all involved including our NIH/NIAID people as well as the Chinese Communist Party. Neither party would confess that particular sin.

In the early going it made sense for Dr. Fauci to downplay the seriousness of the outbreak. He probably hoped that it would remain confined to East Asia and fade quickly (like SARS1). On January 21, 2020, at the onset of the outbreak in an interview, he stated: “This is not a major threat to the people of the United States and this is not something that the citizens of the United States should be worried about right now,”. At the same time, he reassured us that they were “taking it seriously”.

As late as March 8, 2020, Dr. Fauci stated “there’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.”

Unfortunately, this was not SARS1 and by late March had begun to spread throughout the globe including the United States. And the overzealous, inconsistent, mask-loving Covid-scold Fauci was born.

Maybe he is just cautious by nature.

Or maybe it’s guilt.

And then there’s this, published yesterday.

https://thebulletin.org/2021/05/the-origin-of-covid-did-people-or-nature-open-pandoras-box-at-wuhan/

I am very uncomfortable feeling this way, but it’s becoming clearer by the day.

They’re lying to us. They have been all along.

As always, I would be honored if you would share this post

Header Image : The Barrrens Awaken (Sony RX100 Mark III)

It is week 55 of curve-flattening Soviet-style regulation spawned and nurtured by our Governors. Despite our increasingly recovered and/or vaccinated population, there continues to be devotion to the illogical rituals that cannot protect us from an increasingly impotent pathogen. The anxiety goes on, prodded when necessary by our “betters” who continue to stoke terror among their vassals.

A flagrant example could be observed in the behavior of our new CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. She comes to the job seemingly well-qualified, having been a former head of the infectious disease department at Massachusetts General Hospital. Credentials, however, can be misleading.

Speaking at a Coronavirus task force briefing on March 29th, she spoke about her “feeling of impending doom”. She monologed about the horrors she experienced caring for patients presumably in the early stages of the pandemic.

Her voice cracking, she spoke of her experiences worrying about the availability of ventilators and PPE’s, and horrified about the extra morgue set up at her hospital. She forgets to mention, that these issues never really germinated. Looking frightened she blubbered: “Right now I’m scared” alluding to the possibility of a fourth surge.

Unbelievably, she admitted this was just her feeling and not based on data. She urged the country to continue with current measures. “We’re so close now”. Wait a minute. If we are “so close”, then why the “impending doom”?

I assume she was reacting to multiple states that shortly before, had decided to partially or completely eliminate their coronavirus restrictions.

I have never heard more unprofessional statements from a director at this level. Her histrionic comments were grossly inappropriate, and I think disqualifying. Her words seemed to be an absolutely shameless attempt to reinforce fear within the populace.

At one time I thought I understood the rationale for this behavior. Provoking panic would help to destroy the Trump economy, leading to his replacement. Now, with the orange man gone, the motivation now would seem to be about control, and in some cases, profit.

There is a video available by a fellow by the name of James O’Keefe who runs an investigative outfit called Project Veritas. Their M.O. is to infiltrate largely liberal organizations and do hidden camera interviews exposing their actual agendas. This week he released a video of a CNN technical director, apparently in a tavern, speaking off the cuff.

A big part of this conversation was about Covid. He implied that they were deliberately hyping the situation because it was good for ratings.

He asserts that the powers that be at CNN are worried that there will be eventually “Covid fatigue” and that the fear will dissipate. When it does, they’re ready with their next “focused issue” which, they have decided will be “climate change”. This was specifically chosen as a fear generator because the CNN leadership feels it will have a longer lifespan than the current focus on the pandemic.

In essence, they will use the threat of “global warming” will be used to drive viewership.

They’re doing this, as he puts it, because “Fear sells”. All this from an editor at CNN “the most trusted name in news”.

Meanwhile, perusing the data for the individual states on the Time magazine website, it appears that throughout the country, even in former hotspots such as California, cases, and deaths have dropped precipitously.

Here in Pennsylvania, our numbers are down significantly from December and are oscillating week by week. In Texas, more than 3 weeks after the state opened up, their case numbers continue to fall.

My prediction is, that regardless of our control measures, we are likely to see the numbers in the northeast to be relatively stable until fall. People in the south, however, driven indoors by the heat are likely to see a summer surge, similar to last year. Hopefully, as we begin to approach some level of herd immunity, the morbidity and mortality numbers will be blunted.

I want to acknowledge our governor’s resonable decision to reopen the economy in the last week. Hopefully, the executive branch realizes the lack of linkage between the degree of restrictions, and the “case” numbers (positive PCR tests).

Currently, the available vaccines are a topic of interest. in the last several months, I’ve seen commentary from several molecular biologists who have been concerned that the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) have the potential not only to code for the coronavirus spike protein but actually become incorporated in the host DNA. There is some thought that this may be one reason why people have been seen to test positive by PCR, even after they’ve been immunized.

I’ve now encountered a paper in preprint (not yet peer-reviewed) from Harvard and MIT scientists. They have shown, in cell culture that mRNA in vaccines actually will incorporate into an exposed cell’s DNA. This could lead to a variety of problems including autoimmune disease and an over-aggressive immune response after future Sars Cov-2 exposure. Though I don’t think this scant data justifies abandoning the Pfizer and Moderna products, it certainly bears further investigation.

Now, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been put “on hold”. This due to some incidence of abnormal blood clotting, particularly in young women. These incidences involved clotting in the brain, and the legs, and involve a mechanism that means the traditional anticoagulants such as heparin can actually make things worse. Still, it’s a very small number of incidents in the large population of vaccinated patients. It’s important in this situation to tease out the women that are on birth control, particularly those that smoke, as they have an independent risk for clotting.

So what should we make of this? For myself, having been infected, I consider myself immunized and not currently seeking the vaccine. There is plenty of literature to support this position. If I were compelled to be vaccinated (which I would deeply resent) I would probably go with the J and J inoculation as I am not currently a young woman.

Meanwhile, it’s time to go out, have a few beverages and reconnect with friends. Maybe I’ll cook some barbeque.

Be careful… but have fun.

As always, I’d be honored if you’d share

Header Image : Random Daffidils (Samsung Galaxy S20)

Smartphone fine art photography? After two months with my Samsung Galaxy S 20, I have to admit it appears to be a real option. Though I am not sure, that all of my work qualifies as “fine art” I would say that in 2021, a state-of-the-art phone camera module is no longer severely limiting.

I’m writing this follow-up article to demonstrate what I’ve been able to capture with my new phone.

First, let me say that these images are not all intended to be jaw-droppers. Some of them were shot rather specifically to reveal the sensor’s abilities/limitations. Others were shot with somewhat higher aspirations Hopefully, they are somewhat pleasing.

In 2015, Samsung introduced a brand-new line of cameras called the NX series. It was Samsung’s first foray into a mirror list interchangeable lens camera, and it hit the market with a splash. It was beautifully constructed, extremely well-featured, and came with very fine newly designed lenses.

Most interestingly, it also featured a Samsung-manufactured, very high-quality 28-megapixel sensor. This was shockingly competitive with sensors made by the dominant manufacturer’s Sony and Canon. It was for a time, highly promoted. Samsung hired a number of very well-known photographers for this purpose. I shot with a loaner camera at a photo expo in Seattle and was very impressed.

Then suddenly, the Samsung NX series was no more. Apparently, Samsung decided that cameras “weren’t their bag” and they dropped the product line rather abruptly. It’s actually a shame because there was clear potential for this product.

Apparently, they didn’t forget how to make sensors. As you saw perhaps in the last article I wrote about the S20 weeks ago, despite the diminutive size and tiny pixels, it can produce very high-quality files. Given this, I decided to keep it in service.

For the most part, I shot it entirely in raw which is available in “pro” mode. Shot this way the camera produces a .dng file in a 4/3 format and a wide format JPEG. The latter is processed by the phone’s software. Very typically the results of the processing are fairly pleasing and pleasant to look at on the small screen. Details in the JPEG files are definitely smoothed out by the processing and don’t appear useful for anything beyond digital display.

In early March my wife and I spent a week in the Adirondacks. I brought my typical travel kit including my Fujifilm X100V and my XE3 with a variety of lenses. I never got them out of their bags. When skiing or snowshoeing, I would merely take my small Manfrotto tripod and the smartphone mount, and shot with the Samsung exclusively. I have been doing that ever since, in part with this article in mind.

I have to say that I didn’t really miss my Fujis. Part of this, however, is that I’ve been photographing the high peaks region in early March for so many years, it’s hard to find novel scenery. This was thus an interesting new challenge.

Once home, I continued with the exercise playing with the bleak, early spring scenery as our snow finally melted away.

This is a really good sensor. Many of these images you will note, were shot into the sun with prominent shadows. Better digital sensors have several qualities. One of them is dynamic range, which in part feeds into their true resolution.

Dynamic range describes the ability of the sensor to capture very bright scenes, and deep shadows, but still retain detail when the images are edited. Small pixel phone sensors have traditionally been terrible at this. This sensor handles it brilliantly, certainly as good as for instance my 2009 vintage Panasonic GH1, a much larger sensor interchangeable lens camera (also 12 megapixels).

Another attribute of a good sensor is tonality. This describes the subtle gradations shades of gray, and of color. Earlier technology recorded shades in discrete steps makes the image look more like a painting than a photograph, especially when viewed in detail. More sophisticated sensors have much more subtle gradations. I would say this Samsung sensor does surprisingly well in this regard.

I’ll offer one more thought. No one really talks about the lenses in these tiny camera modules, but in the case of this Samsung S20, there is little to criticize. There is some lens flare, and given the lack of any lens shading, but it is pretty well controlled. And if there other lens distortions that can be measured, they are well hidden in normal usage

At any rate, I think I’m done with this experiment. I’m going back to my more serious gear as the Spring season presents more photographic opportunities.

But it’s nice to know I’ll have the Samsung just in case.

As always, I’d Be honored if you’de share.

Header image: Wind and Snow( Samsung Galaxy S20 EW 5G)

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been 1 full year since rising COVID-19 infections inspired the policy of “3 weeks to flatten the curve”. In that period of time, we have been living our lives subject to the whims of our public servants. They have wielded, what many would consider unconstitutional power. They have imposed draconian, and often capricious rules and regulations, ostensibly to protect us from an increasingly manageable viral infection.

One year ago, I remember feeling a fair amount of anxiety. We assumed that no one was immune to this novel virus. We did understand that mortality increased with increasing age. I remember the nervous joking in the room as I taught a course for my non-pulmonary colleagues on how to run ventilators. This was set up out of concern that I and my fellow pulmonologists, all of us in our 60s, might fall ill, or worse, and be unavailable.

Yikes.

Caution was certainly warranted at that stage. We were hearing reports out of Italy of legions of sick people and overwhelmed hospital facilities. New York City was starting to have problems. Here in Pennsylvania, we had our first reported case. This was the point where Governor Wolfe shut down schools, and most businesses, other than those deemed “essential”.

 Nonessential businesses, including haircare salons, bars, restaurants car dealers, and other retailers were either fully or partially shuttered. Because of unemployment benefits that were offered, many people out of fear of the virus chose not to work. This affected many of the businesses allowed to open. It was a circumstance unprecedented in our lifetime. I think most people accepted the restrictions as necessary. Many of us, however, assumed that the disease and the lockdown would disappear by late spring.

As I have written before, we are in an entirely different place in March 2021. First off we know much more about this virus. We know that something like 40% of the population (based on blood bank studies from blood drawn before the pandemic) have pre-existing T-cell immunity. This is probably due to previous exposures to other Coronaviruses.

We have much better therapeutics including two inexpensive generic regimens that appear to have activity against the virus (ivermectin, and HCQ/azithromycin. Mortality rates are falling, and hospitals are non-stressed. Importantly, caregivers and most of the elderly population have been immunized.

I think my biggest fear now, is that even though it is only been a year, I see signs that people remain devoted to the illogical dogma that has been cultivated by media hype and governmental overreaction. If they cling to this. we may struggle to return to an open, welcoming society.

I’m concerned about the psychology of this. People tell me that their memories of our pre-Covid lifestyle are fading into the mists, as we grow ever more habituated to the lockdown life. We have been steeped in the belief that both family, friends and strangers, are potential vectors for Covid and must be kept at a distance. Greeting kisses and embraces for many are unthinkable. When people do gather, there is a wariness in personal interactions that I do not remember prior years. I see this, even in those who have recovered or have been immunized.

We need to get over this mentality. If you have recovered from the illness, or have been vaccinated, you are at best immune from further infection, and at worst, unlikely to become very sick if reinfected. You certainly do not need a mask. The fact that public health organizations will not admit this, suggests to me an inappropriate zeal for control.

I for one, welcome the relaxation of regulations scheduled for April 4 here in Pennsylvania. I am watching the data from states such as Texas where restrictions are almost completely eliminated. So far, after nine days there has been little change in their infection/mortality rates which continue to decline.

It should be clear I think to all of us, that going forward, that lockdowns are not a long-term strategy for dealing with this pandemic. If cases increase again sometime over the summer or in the fall, we need to recognize the virus may be endemic. We need to react to the disease burden, and not just positive PCR tests. Remember, people have been contracting coronaviruses for millennia, and a few become critically ill. A small number die. This is nothing new.

We should focus now on immunization and therapeutics, rather than curtailing our lives and liberty.

As always, I would be honored if you would share this post.

Header Image: Dying Spruces at Brady’s Lake ( Fujifilm XE3, XF 18-55mm f2.8-4).

A reluctant

It was a Friday afternoon in the Adirondacks. I had been out with some friends cross-country skiing on a snowy afternoon. After skiing, on the way back to town, I made a few phone calls to home. I stopped for gas, then we proceeded to a nearby brewpub to enjoy some of the local libations.

After some sampling the pub’s offerings, I dropped my friend off at his home and proceeded to mine. Reflexively I patted my clothing searching for the familiar rectangular density of my Galaxy S8. Failing to locate it, I searched the car, including all the little crevices, for the device. No luck.

In my living room, I opened my laptop and went to the Verizon locate app. This usually works like a charm, and usually find that my phone is somewhere nearby. Unfortunately, on this occasion, the app could not connect.

Uh oh.

I ended up returning to the brewpub and was assured that no phone had turned up. I called my friend, who confirmed he had not taken it by mistake.

Oh, crap.

As near as I can tell, I dropped it at the gas station but given the snow cover, I never heard the thud. I suspect I then drove over it on the way out.

Driving the 350 miles home the next day without a communications device was really odd. Arriving back in Pennsylvania in midafternoon, I made a beeline to the local Verizon store to acquire a new device.

Now I’m typically a cheap, refurb kinda guy. But as there were none on hand, I was forced to purchase new. I have always liked the Samsung Galaxy phones and was aware that a new phone, the Galaxy S21 was to be introduced in slightly more than a week. There was no way I was going to wait that long. I purchased one of the current flagship models, the Galaxy S20 5G UW.

So as much as I was unhappy to buy a new phone, the situation offered an opportunity. The Samsung I purchased is known to have a very high-performing camera module, competitive with the other flagship phones. So at least this purchase gives me the opportunity to find out whether smartphone photography has advanced to a point where it can produce interesting image files.

So how about the phone? In general, it works great and has a beautiful screen with snappy graphics. It’s responsive, slightly more so than my previous device. It’s made of metal and Gorilla Glass 6, so it is presumably pretty rugged. It has a very long battery life compared to my old phone which is certainly convenient.

I noticed that external sensors, such as heart rate and oxygen saturation have been eliminated. Thoughtfully, they are now available on a Galaxy Watch 3 which one can purchase for roughly $400 more. Thanks, Samsung.

So, in summary, it’s a nice phone, but damn expensive. I understand that Samsung understands this and that the S21 will be further de-contented and significantly less expensive. Hopefully, this phone will last me a long time.

But then there is the camera module. The S20 appears to share similar if not identical photography capabilities with the newer S 21. in this case, this device is 3 generations more advanced than my previous Galaxy. I was obviously curious to assess the improvements.

The specifications are certainly interesting. This camera has 3 sensors. The main camera has a 12-megapixel chip and an F1.8 fixed aperture lens. The native focal length however appears to be equivalent to a normal lens unlike the default wide-angle focal length seen in most earlier cameras. This makes it much more useful in my style of photography. There is another 12-megapixel sensor for an ultra-wide lens. Both of these sensors were apparently redesigned with larger pixels, which will reduce noise, and improve low light performance (there is a “low light” mode).

The third sensor is a 64-megapixel sensor serving a telephoto lens. Though it has 30 X combined optical and digital zoom capability (digital zoom is generally a bad thing) It has 3x lossless zoom. This is, it retains a full 12 megapixel of data up to a 3X magnification. This really opens up possibilities for photography on a smartphone. The S20 also shoots raw images in the Adobe proprietary .dng format which simplifies processing in their software.

There also seems to be a capable video section, with a 4K resolution. I don’t shoot much video, but I did capture some footage that looked significantly better than anything seen on previous cameras. This camera appears to have stabilization though I’m not sure whether it is electronic or mechanical (sees probably the former).

I tried the low light (Night) mode. It’s a jpg-only mode and lets the shutter speed drift pretty slow. This was shot in my dark workshop with my lights off but minimal window lighting.

My initial landscape efforts looked pretty promising. The images, at least on screen actually appeared to have enough dynamic range and micro-contrast that it occurred to me that I might want to get more serious.

Now, I find shooting images with a smartphone extremely awkward as they are difficult to hold, and it’s hard to trigger the shutter without camera movement.

I found a possible solution on Amazon. I purchased an inexpensive cell phone holder with threads for a tripod puck. Included in the package was a simple Bluetooth remote with a lanyard allowing it to be permanently attached to the mount. This was simple to connect to my phone, allowing me to take shake-free images, and truly explore this camera’s potential.

Another nice improvement in the new phone regards the treatment of raw (.dng) files. I preferentially shoot this format in my cameras because of the flexibility it gives you in editing. It was available on my previous phone, but the files were difficult for Photoshop to read. It requiring me to import the files to the computer before they could be sorted and edited. This phone allows Photoshop to read them directly, and records and displays them in a 4/3 format rather than the wider format JPEG’s, so they can be quickly identified. This is also a more photographic format in my view.

So I begin carrying the S20 alone, without any backup camera gear on my outdoor outings. At first, I had the settings wrong, and the camera only took jpegs. These look promising on the screen.

Back at the computer, however, Samsungs processing algorithms are revealed. They feature high contrast, over-sharpening, and at the same time smoothing of details. This may be great for an 18-year-old’s cleavage squeezing puckered-up selfie shot, but it’s lousy for landscape.

But then I set the camera up on the tripod, and put it into Pro mode, shooting raw files. Suddenly things were different. I took these two shots one in .jpg, one in .dng both on the tripod to assess the difference. For reference, I then mounted and shot my pocket camera, the Sony RX100 Mark III which is not the most current model of the camera and has more resolution than the Samsung ( 20 megapixels versus 12). I processed them as closely as I could in Adobe Camera Raw.

The “pro mode” shoots with the main sensor and lens, there are no zoom capabilities. It allows you to adjust, shutter speed, iso, white balance (the aperture is fixed. Because of the small sensor, the depth of field is significant, even at an open aperture. As you can see above, the issues seen in the jpg files go away, and the results are impressive, approaching those of the much more sophisticated Sony. This is a much better result than was achieved by the S8 which I tested in a similar fashion some years ago.

I wanted to see how much adjustment flexibility, the Samsung .dng files would have given that one of the main that we shoot in “raw” modes is to have the flexibility to adjust them later in Photoshop. The image below I’d like to say was deliberately overexposed. The native file was completely blown out with no detail particularly in the snow, but it recovered nicely upon processing.

So what does it all mean? Basically, the Galaxy S20 sports pleasant jpg image quality for small screen viewing but suffers from over-processing when more critically evaluated. Shoot in “pro mode” and image quality is much improved, but you must deal with the fixed focal length and aperture. Still, the “normal” field of view is useful and because of the small sensor, the depth of field is probably a good compromise.

Am I going to stop carrying my Fujifilm equipment?…no.

Am I going to play with this some more? …absolutely.

As always, I would be honored if you would share this with your friends.

Header Image: Clearing the Storm ((Samsung Galaxy G20 UW 5G)

It is the 38^th week of our battle with the Wuhan modified “gain of function” Bat virus known as SARSCoV-2 and the cult of obedience it has spawned. Overall, in the United States, we are just coming out of our second peak of “cases” and hospitalizations. Deaths have also begun to fall. There are significant regional differences, however.

In Pennsylvania for instance, we are clearly past peak with daily “cases” roughly 2/3 of those seen in the third week of December. Hospitalizations have seen a similar decline. Deaths too are on the downslope but as always, are lagging the other indicators. This rise and fall of cases seems to be occurring independently of other factors. My sense is that there was little impact, for instance, from the tightening of restrictions over the holidays.  

Also notice that this outbreak is declining in the dead of winter. Last spring, when we assumed that the warming conditions were responsible for the reduction in cases but there’s no warming now. This further suggests that the virus is on its own schedule, not ours.

Still the current number of new “cases” is formidable, in most cases far higher than the spring. Thankfully there is generally far less hospital utilization.

I am disturbed by several developments. First is the sudden change of heart among governors and mayors who have had a miraculous epiphany and now realize that remaining in lockdown will destroy what’s left of their economies. Funny thing that with a new president inaugurated, that suddenly their positions have changed.

I am disturbed by this on multiple levels. With the possible exception of Illinois, where cases clearly have bottomed out, all of the involved states still have significant disease burdens. New York in particular has just probably rounded the curve. So, with numbers the same or worse than in late November and December but with the electors counted and accepted, now we can reopen our restaurants and businesses. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is the right decision. But it should absolutely destroy any remaining trust between our elected officials, and the citizens who have suffered under their capricious dictates.

Now let’s turn to the newest utterance from the venerable Anthony Fauci, who has essentially supported the wearing of two, yes count them, two masks. Asked by Savannah Guthrie on The Today Show as to the advisability of “doubling up” Dr. Fauci responded: “It likely does because this is a physical covering to prevent droplets and virus to get in. If you have a physical covering with one layer and you put another layer on it, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective”.

 Not so fast.

First off, “America’s doctor” is up to now been a devout adherent to empiric data, first noted when he rejected case reports suggesting hydroxychloroquine might be useful for the virus (it is). Now we’re going with common sense? I could find no empirical data to support that two masks are better than one.

Secondly, I think, the good Doctor is unfamiliar with the dynamics of respiratory devices. The more you increase the resistance of air penetration through the masking material, the more likely the air will seek an alternate route. Most of the masks currently in use fit poorly to the face and thus tend to leak. With 2 masks, during inhalation one is more likely to “entrain” air from around the mask and then reverse the process when exhaling. Thus, you will be inhaling and exhaling more unfiltered air. How is this helpful?

By coincidence I had a gentleman enter my clinic office today with 2 masks on, one paper, and one cloth. I could watch the sides of the masks flare as he breathed. It looked like a fish’s gills.

There is also the issue that we refer to in pulmonary medicine as “work of breathing”. For people who have reduced pulmonary reserve, increasing the airflow resistance with a second mask would likely result in significant increases in shortness of breath. I know this because I do have respiratory problems, and wearing a single mask makes it difficult for me during any exertion. Two masks for some could be extremely uncomfortable.

It’s also worth remembering that this is the same Dr. Fauci who suppressed the use of masks in the initial phases of the pandemic, so to preserve the limited supply of the PPE’s. I hope we have lots of supply now because his words could double facemask consumption.

My final point will be an “I told you so”. Very quietly on January 20, the World Health Organization released new guidelines for Covid testing. They finally addressed what we have known all along: that the PCR test has been incorrectly used, which has inflated the number of cases. They now recommend, a decrease in the amplification cycles (sound familiar?) and the use of other confirmatory evidence such as actual symptoms and a second, different diagnostic study, such as an antigen test,

Just how many “cases” have been diagnosed incorrectly is anyone’s guess; but let me try. I’m thinking…a lot (between 60 and 90% according to the August 29th New York Times article).

I received an email today from the Feds on the topic of COVID-19 immunization. the email explains that the vaccine does not confer immunity, but the antibodies and immunity derived, merely help those who are vaccinated to fight off the virus (We knew this, though). It states that “guidelines for masking, social distancing all remain in place and should be adhered to regardless of vaccination or antibody status”.

In other words, there is no end in sight for this truncated, stilted lifestyle that we have all been forced to adopt. Even if 100% of people are vaccinated, there will likely always be vulnerable people that need to be protected. You know, the same way it has been with influenza over the years.

The pandemic was real. But it was shamefully manipulated by people in power for their own benefit. Yes, people have died from this virus much as people have been dying from respiratory virus infections for centuries. But the illogical, emotion-based restrictions placed upon us, are also causing financial, educational, and emotional devastation which may have very long-term effects.

It’s time to leave the cult, and return to life.

As always, I would be honored if you would share this post.

Header image: St William’s at Raquette Lake (Fujifilm XE2, XF 18-55mm f2.8-4)

I was going to post a “Viral Post” today. Given yesterday’s fiasco at the nation’s capital, I felt that such a post would seem obtuse. Given the postings in my Facebook stream, I have been provoked to weigh in.

As a conservative and at least for now, a Republican, I unequivocally condemn the invasion of the capital. It is a stain on the MAGA movement for whom peaceful protests were part of the brand. Just who incited the invasion remains obscure (Q Anon vs. Antifa). It was an act of insurrection, one that was tactically stupid.

This summer, during the BLM/Antifa multi-city riots, we were told by Democrats and the press, that these were essential political activities by citizens that feel frustrated, and have no other recourse. We watched attacks on federal courthouses, businesses burned to the ground and people assaulted and even murdered. This occurred with the tacit approval of Democratic mayors and district attorneys. these disturbances occurred over many months, not just one over one afternoon. Our upcoming vice president actually supported a program to bail these criminals out of jail, returning them to the street.

I also remember the invasion of the Senate Office building during the Kavanaugh hearings. The leftists involved were lauded by the press and allowed to come into contact with Republican senators who were harrassed. Democrat response…crickets.

Now after a 4-hour MAGA tantrum in the Capital, the left suddenly finds their outrage. To be blunt, when I see their indignation on Facebook, it makes me want to vomit. They have no shame.

Make no mistake, the people of the right have been exposed to real evidence of voter and election fraud, largely through the alternative media. They believe that the “no evidence ” mantra of the left is a lie. When they watch the leaders of both political parties cut off their options, they believe that they are without recourse.

75 million people voted for Donald Trump. The vast majority feel that they were disenfranchised by Democrat-run election fraud. More powerfully, they can see no way forward where this doesn’t happen again. Whether you agree with them or not, this is an untenable situation.

It is in everybody’s best interest, in the long run, to reassure all voters that are elections are valid. This could be accomplished by creating a truly non-partisan Election Commission( if it is still possible). It would have to proceed with the understanding that the 2020 election is over

We need to fix this quickly, or we will lose this country.

As always, I would be honored if you would share this post.

Header image: At the Capital (Panasonic G1, Zuiko 12-40mm f2.8)

It is week 30 of the Chinese-sourced scourge that is the COVID pandemic. Throughout the country, cases are soaring. Everything is increasing including the percentage of positive PCR tests, the number of hospitalizations, and to a lesser extent deaths.  Happily, the ratio of hospitalizations to new cases remains significantly better than in spring.

This matters to me, as I too have become a statistic.

I was feeling fine until Saturday. I have had a very nice prime beef brisket in my freezer probably since the winter. With no possibility to socialize, it remained frozen. This week I decided to cook it, either to share with friends or freeze it for further use. Cooking a brisket at 225° can be an 18-hour event. I started it late at night and then tended to it periodically until morning. When I woke up Saturday morning feeling tired, it was no surprise.

I went to bed early that night and awakened on Sunday, nine hours later having apparently slept well. If anything I was more fatigued and began to notice muscle aches and pains, and a cough. I figured I had developed a more mundane viral infection, but realized as a practical matter I would have to be tested before going to work at the hospital on Monday. I ultimately had a rapid COVID test in our hospital emergency room Sunday morning which turned out to be positive.

I was uncomfortable most of Sunday, with fatigue caused undoubtedly by the interleukin levels provoked by the virus. In the late evening as I prepared for bed I had a sensation of flushing and brief nausea which cleared after about 10 minutes. 15 minutes later, I was no longer fatigued and felt better. Other than some minimal sporadic headaches, I have basically felt fine since.

Therapeutically, I have been taking zinc and vitamin D on a fairly regular basis. Back in March, I had obtained a course of hydroxychloroquine, and azithromycin; despite the conflicting data, I elected to take them in the morning right after I was diagnosed. I’m not sure whether they were helpful or not but I’ve experienced no unpleasant side effects.

I think the worst part of this has been the isolation. I’m lucky to live in a big old rambling Victorian, and it’s easy enough for my wife and me to isolate from each other. I have been basically existing in my office at the back of the home which has my computer, and a pullout couch (not particularly comfortable). There is an outside entrance so that I can go up to my shed/workshop in the back. I distance myself from my wife and wear a mask in her presence.

I don’t know why, but she seems pretty happy with the arrangement.

This is not meant in any way to trivialize the pandemic. I know that my friends working in other healthcare facilities are once again under stress. People are really sick.  I suspect, if my good fortune continues, it is because of the fact that for 37 years as a physician I have been quite intimate with the coronavirus family of viruses, and thus probably have some immunity. Obviously, others have not been so lucky.

With my newfound perspective, it is interesting to watch the states respond to this surge. I’m actually sympathetic to Governor Wolf in this situation, as his options are very, very limited. Hopefully, he understands that another shutdown like the one in March would truly devastate the economy, wiping out the businesses that barely survived the restrictions in the spring. The new Pennsylvania restrictions tighten up on interstate travelers except those that have to travel every day (which kind of makes this moot) and increased mask-wearing to include certain outdoor circumstances, and indoors when your family has a visitor.

Governments, after all, have to be seen to do something about crises. But as I’ve said before, it’s becoming more and more clear that this virus is on its own schedule. It’s likely to run its course, at least until there’s a viable vaccine. This will hopefully be soon. Happily, the current surge means that a lot of people’s immune systems are becoming familiar with this coronavirus, and will hopefully have relative immunity to it. I suspect over the years it will join the rest of the coronavirus family, as merely a periodic irritant.

Meanwhile, I’ll continue my exile, and maybe even wallow in self-pity.

At least there’s brisket.

As always, I’d be honored if you’d share this post.

Header image: View from Elba (Sony RX100 Mark 3)