Reflecting on the Measures Used to Counter COVID-19 Pandemic

(Minghui.org) Governments around the world have been using lockdowns and vaccines to fight COVID-19 for more than two years. These measures have created other problems and led many people to question if they were the right ones to take.

Shanghai’s lockdown, from April and May this year, exemplified the problems. Amid the strict lockdown, lack of food or access to non-COVID medical care have left many in a dire situation, perhaps taking more lives than COVID-19 itself. In addition, the city’s economy and even part of China’s overall economy have taken huge hits as a result of the lockdowns.

There are studies indicating that the lockdowns and vaccinations have not been as effective as promised.

Lockdowns

China has consistently stuck to lockdown measures for the past two and half years in attempts to ensure zero-COVID. Many other countries started with lockdowns and gradually opened up after vaccinations and reaching herd immunity.

In China’s enforced lockdown, the authorities become super powerful and violate individual rights at their discretion. They force everyone to stay at home, seal buildings or even the apartments themselves, enter homes to spray disinfectant without consent, and enforce use of health apps to control movement. Of course, there are also significant economic collapse and financial losses to the people locked down.

According to a report by The Epoch Times, an elderly man in Nangong City, Hebei Province, dropped dead while making a call to the mayor’s hotline, asking for help after he developed a fever. Many other residents fell ill at home and were not allowed to go out for medical treatment at all during the lockdown.

Ms. Gong of Hulan District, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, said, “Overnight, the government ordered closure of all schools, factories and businesses. No one was allowed to go to work. Stores weren’t allowed to open. No pedestrians or motor vehicles were allowed on the road. Everyone had to stay home. The whole city was like a ghost town.” Without enough food and basic supplies, a group of residents of a community lost control of their emotions and stabbed a volunteer guarding the community gate to death on February 3, 2021.

During Shanghai lockdown, a young father went to the hospital’s emergency room, but the doctors wouldn’t render medical attention until his Covid test result came back. He passed away while waiting for his test result, leaving behind his wife and their five-year-old child. His last words to his wife were, “Please check if my PCR test result has come out?”

A young couple argued with a government worker who came to take them to a makeshift hospital for quarantine. The couple said that something was wrong since their test results were negative, but the worker said he didn’t care: His job was to take them, so they must go with him; otherwise he would use force.

However, was the lockdown effective in containing the virus?

The Imperial College London conducted a REACT-1 (Real-time assessment of community transmission of coronavirus) research in January 2021. The United Kingdom imposed its third lockdown on January 4, 2021, but the research determined: “During the period 6 January to 22 January, infections remained high through the period with the SARS-CoV-2 virus circulating at a high prevalence.”

Studies in Applied Economics published an article in January 2022 titled “A Literature Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Lockdowns on COVID-19 Mortality.” The authors found that lockdowns have had little to no effect on COVID-19 mortality.

“More specifically, stringency index studies find that lockdowns in Europe and the United States only reduced COVID-19 mortality by 0.2% on average. SIPOs [shelter-in-place orders] were also ineffective, only reducing COVID-19 mortality by 2.9% on average. Specific nonpharmaceutical intervention (NPI) studies also find no broad-based evidence of noticeable effects on COVID-19 mortality,” wrote the authors. “In consequence, lockdown policies are ill-founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy instrument.”

Vaccinations

In order to control the pandemic, many countries implemented “vaccine passports” to force people to get vaccines. In China, the authorities use various ways to force people to take vaccines.

But such practices raise many concerns given the reasons below.

According to an official Israeli report on August 7, 2021, 90% of the Israeli adult population has completed the COVID-19 vaccination. There were 3,849 new cases of infections on August 6, 2021 alone, of which 324 (close to 10%) were severely ill. Among the 324 severely ill patients, 209 people have been vaccinated. Earlier reports also indicated that more than 70% of confirmed cases in Israel had received two shots. Such data shows that vaccines are of limited effectiveness in preventing the spread of the virus, infection, and severe illness.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of June 4, 2021, there were 329,021 reports of adverse events after vaccination, including 5,888 deaths, 19,597 hospitalizations, 43,891 emergency room visits, 58,800 outpatient visits, 2,190 heart attacks, 1,087 myocarditis, 4,583 disabilities, 652 miscarriages, 15,052 severe allergic reactions, etc. Other symptoms include Bell’s palsy, thrombocytopenia, etc.

In an open letter posted on its website on May 25, 2021, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) mentioned the views of anti-vaccine epidemiologists, infectious disease experts, and microbiologists from around the world who are very concerned about the side effects of vaccines. The letter also listed severe headaches, nausea and vomiting, altered consciousness, altered speech, altered vision, hearing problems, different degrees of paralysis in different parts of the body, and loss of motor control, cerebral thrombosis, and other adverse effects.

In mainland China, despite the cover-up by the CCP authorities, netizens have revealed that there have many cases of deaths, leukemia, dizziness, and other symptoms believed to have been caused by COVID-19 vaccines.

On August 3, 2021, a doctor of pharmacology named Tan Yadi pointed out the great harm of vaccines on Weibo (a Chinese microblogging website). She wrote, “How to prevent the COVID vaccines from being repeatedly injected in everyone with the support of unconfirmed hypotheses? The current vaccine rush is absurd, completely unconventional with the lightning-speed approval and vaccination. However, with the mutation of the virus, an immune barrier cannot be formed at all.”

The spike protein, the main component of the vaccine, combines immunogenicity and toxicity in one, she explained. Each vaccination is equivalent to being poisoned once, and she is afraid people will be dead or disabled after repeated vaccination.

She wrote, “Getting the first shot has already resulted in many women having irregular menstruation, men becoming impotent, and many elderly developing a myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, and others.”

Testing

According to the U.S. CDC data published in January 2022, in the week ending on January 17, the new COVID cases due to omicron strain accounted for 99.5% of all cases. Its end of March data showed the three most popular omicron variants were BA.1, BA.1.1, and BA.2. By early July, the omicron variants have evolved into BA2.75 and then quickly to BA.5.

As the virus keeps mutating at a faster pace, will the research and production of PCR testing kits keep pace? What effect will there be when using the outdated testing kits?

Researchers have found that the severity of omicron strain is much less than delta but much more contagious.

China has been ordering residents to take PCR test every two days in high-risk areas. Lining up to test every two days not only disturbed people’s daily routines but also increased the risk of exposure.

Also, this every two days test was only to find out who is positive. Then the person will be either taken to quarantine or locked down at home. There is no real cure for the COVID virus.

China’s National Health Insurance Agency estimated in April 2022 that it will cost 1.45 trillion yuan (US $220 billion) to do the routine PCR test in only the big cities in China.

New Hope

The measures the governments have taken so far in fighting COVID, from lockdowns and vaccinations to PCR tests, may not be the right approaches.

Plagues came and went many times in history. Some examples included the Plague of Athens (430 BC), the Black Death in the 14th century, and the Spanish flu during World War I. Almost every time, the pandemic came suddenly and disappeared mysteriously. The governments’ prevention and control measures didn’t contribute to the disappearance of plagues.

Some people called it miracles when people survived the plagues or the plagues disappeared. But to others, there is a divine reason.

When a plague-infested Wittenberg in 1527, Martin Luther decided to stay and take care of the sick and dying. He believed that those who helped patients with virtue, devotion, and sincerity would be protected. In the end, he was able to survive the plague.

Another example was the village of Oberammergau in Bavaria, Germany. When a plague hit the region in 1633, half of the villagers died. The remaining residents vowed to perform “The Passion of Christ” every 10 years if God protected them from the plague. No one else in the village died of the plague after that, and the tradition of doing the play has continued to this day.

A similar situation happened in the late Ming Dynasty in China. A plague broke out that infected only Ming Dynasty soldiers but not the Manchu army. When the Shunzhi Emperor declared the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, however, the plague disappeared mysteriously.

There are always many uncertainties in life, but following our conscience and remaining good-natured will always bring blessings, for you, for me, and for our society.