I have watched with interest how the mainstream media has covered the Aaron Rodgers Covid story over the last week.
Rodgers tested positive for Covid and it was disclosed that he was unvaccinated.
This resulted in an endless string of media types stating what a miserable, irresponsible human being Rodgers was for doing his own research and making a choice on what he believed what best for his body.
Rodgers has been of accused of endangering people's lives, being a dumb jock, being a crackpot, spreading misinformation, taking a cattle dewormer, promoting conspiracy theories, being divorced from reality and someone who doesn't care.
View this clip for a sampling of the vitriol directed at Rodgers.
Never mind the fact that Rodgers, like almost every other young, healthy individual, had almost no symptoms of the illness and appears to have fully recovered in a couple of days.
Also ignore the fact that Aaron Rodgers is anything but the uniformed ignoramus he is being accused of being.
Does anyone remember Rodgers on Celebrity Jeopardy a few years ago?
He defeated both Kevin O'Leary of Shark Tank fame and astronaut Mark Kelly (now a U.S. Senator from Arizona) in his celebrity appearance.
My bet would be on Rodgers should there be a debate on Covid and the vaccines versus Terry Bradshaw or some of the other media types who have attacked him.
Contrast the media attention on Rodgers with a string of other reported Covid positive results in which you barely hear a whisper of news.
The only difference is the fact that the assumption in all these cases is that the athletes were vaccinated.
Why spread that inconvenient news?
For example, Cleveland Browns running backs Nick Chubb and Demetric Felton both tested positive on Tuesday two days after Chubb ran for 137 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns on Sunday.
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| Source: https://www.nfl.com/news/browns-rb-nick-chubb-tests-positive-for-covid-19 |
In fact, every NFL team has had players out with positive tests this year with the exception of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans have both had 13 on the Covid list at some point in the season. Almost all have been fully vaccinated.
NHL star Sidney Crosby, his coach and another Pittsburgh Penguins teammate tested positive for Covid last week.
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| Source: https://theathletic.com/news/penguins-mike-sullivan-joins-sidney-crosby-brian-dumoulin-in-covid-19-protocol/rnJjzAGhwW2G/ |
Before the season began the NHL said all active players were fully vaccinated.
The NHL St. Louis Blues have also had five players that were fully vaccinated test positive for Covid recently.
The list of Blues players to hit the COVID list overall this season has grown to five, as Torey Krug and Niko Mikkola joined that list this week. It’s a big hit to the Blues’ defense, and their cap issues are prevalent considering they could be playing shorthanded if another player either gets injured or hits the list.
These cases are small potatoes compared to the the 44 cases of Covid that surfaced among the Cal-Berkeley football team this week that has caused postponement of its game on Saturday with USC.
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| Source: https://abc7news.com/cal-game-cancelled-football-covid-arizona/11221773/ |
By now, you've probably heard that Cal's football game against USC has been rescheduled after more than 40 players and staff tested positive for coronavirus. These seem to be breakthrough cases, since Cal says 99 percent of the team is fully vaccinated.
These are the current stats from the Cal-Berkeley Covid dashboard on those fully vaccinated among students.
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| Source: https://coronavirus.berkeley.edu/dashboard/immunization/ |
Considering the facts, how was this outbreak the result of the unvaccinated?
What I also find interesting in all of the stories about these breakthrough cases are statements like these which appeared in this article about the Cal outbreak.
None of the players or staffers have been reported as seriously ill, which is line with the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines.
It's a testament to the efficacy of the vaccines that members of Cal's football program have thus far avoided serious illness.
Rodgers must have also been doing something right. He had mild symptoms. He avoided serious illness. He seems to have had the same result of those who were vaccinated.
A double standard?
At the same time that all of this is going on, several new studies indicate that all of the attention focused on shaming and marginalizing Aaron Rodgers and others who are unvaccinated is misplaced.
For example, consider this study from UC Davis that was released this week.
The viral loads carried between vaccinated and unvaccinated people are similar and both can potentially spread the virus to other people based on the viral loads.
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| Source: https://www.ucdavis.edu/health/covid-19/news/viral-loads-similar-between-vaccinated-and-unvaccinated-people |
A new study from the University of California, Davis, Genome Center, UC San Francisco and the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub shows no significant difference in viral load between vaccinated and unvaccinated people who tested positive for the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. It also found no significant difference between infected people with or without symptoms.
Although vaccinated people with a breakthrough infection are much less likely to become severely ill than unvaccinated, the new study shows that they can be carrying similar amounts of virus and could potentially spread the virus to other people.
Another study from the UK published in the Lancet medical journal stated that while the vaccines accelerated viral clearance once someone was infected they did not inhibit transmission of the infection.
"..fully vaccinated individuals with breakthrough infections have peak viral load similar to unvaccinated cases and can efficiently transmit infection in household settings, including to fully vaccinated contacts. Host–virus interactions early in infection may shape the entire viral trajectory."
The study found no real difference in the transmission of the virus within household settings between those vaccinated and unvaccinated.
25% of household members exposed to a vaccinated family member who had Covid became infected.
This compares to 23% of household members who became infected from an unvaccinated family member.
This argues completely against the use of vaccine mandates. A vaccinated person can spread the virus just as easily as an unvaccinated person according to the study.
The study did indicate that the vaccine may provide some protective benefit to those vaccinated.
38% of unvaccinated household contacts got the virus compared to 25% who were fully vaccinated.
However, those numbers suggest a vaccine efficacy that is far from the 95% effectiveness that was claimed when the vaccines were authorized.
In looking at the interviews that Aaron Rodgers has done on the subject it is evident that he has done a lot of research on Covid and the vaccines. As he stated, this is more about politics than anything else.
Considering his high profile status it is clear he did not come to his decision lightly. He evaluated his risks from Covid as well as the benefits and risks of the vaccines to his health. He made what he believed what the best decision for him overall. It is what everyone should do.
No one should blindly get in line to take the jabs just as no one should decide that the vaccines have no value in combating the virus.
Each person needs to weigh the benefits and risks of the vaccine individually. For many, the benefits will outweigh the risks, especially those at highest risk. However, many will not benefit from the vaccine and some number will undoubtedly be harmed.
It seems to me that Rodgers should be respected rather than rebuked for his stance.
Other news out of Europe this week puts a finer point on all of this.
Are the vaccines really as safe as stated, especially to healthy, young athletes?
This is from an article in Zero Hedge.
The German newspaper had a list of soccer players in Europe who have had various heart issues that culminated in sudden collapse on the field or death.
Are all of these just random events that Aaron Rodgers should not give a thought to?
Perhaps none of these cases have anything to do with the vaccines.
The mainstream media seems willing to accept that premise without even a question.
Elsewhere in the world more and more countries are also advising against vaccinating people age 30 or under with the mRNA vaccines.
The list now includes France, Germany, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Taiwan.
Is the science different in these other countries?
Has anyone noticed that most of the athletes in the NFL, NBA and NHL are under 30 years of age? Aaron Rodgers is an elder statesman at 37.
However, in the United States, it is apparently not enough to coerce young athletes to get the vaccines.
We now are focused on making sure those as young as 5 years old get the shots as well.
A double standard?
You decide.
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