Saturday, August 14, 2021
Lone Republican Hagerty Slams Brakes On Fast-Tracking Infrastructure
Chuck Schumer Just Got Stopped In His Tracks – Lone Republican Hagerty Slams Brakes On Fast-Tracking Infrastructure
August 9, 2021
What’s Happening:
For months we’ve heard all about this bipartisan infrastructure bill.
D.C. claimed it was a win for America. Until we got a look at it.
Aside from all the pork packed in there by the left and RINOs, it seems to be creeping towards Biden’s socialist dreams.
Donald Trump has repeatedly warned Republicans not to support this toxic bill. Few of them are listening.
Only one Republican opposed this bill. And he slammed the breaks on Schumer’s mad dash to the finish line.
From Reuters:
Republican Senator Bill Hagerty took to the Senate floor to underscore his opposition to expediting the process, saying the legislation would add to the national debt and set the stage for Democrats to move forward with a separate $3.5 trillion spending package which Republicans vehemently oppose…
“While I believe in hard infrastructure, I cannot participate in doing it this way.”
The media keeps claiming this bill is “bipartisan,” but only a handful of senators worked on it.
There was a reason this bill was crafted in secret, without the input of the right committees.
It’s because they didn’t want Americans to know what was in the 2,700-page bill.
Only Sen. Hagerty opposed this bill, preventing it from being quickly passed. He called on the Senate to, you know, actually look at what’s in it.
The hope is so that either Republicans oppose the bill or make significant amendments to it.
We can’t say if either will happen. Numerous Republicans in the Senate approved this bill without even reading it.
What we have seen is troubling, including the government taxing you per mile, breathalyzers in every car, and other Green New Deal attachments.
Not to mention billions for swamp dwellers.
Worse still is the fact that this bill will add to the national debt. Much like Biden’s “stimulus” plan, the government will be paying for things it does not have the money for. How did that work out the last time?
Well, do you like paying more for everything?
Key Takeaways:
- One Republican in the Senate opposed fast-tracking the infrastructure bill.
- Hagerty claims this bill is not “hard infrastructure.”
- The bill contains massive spending and “Green New Deal” ideas.
Senator Dan Crenshaw of Texas
Senator Dan Crenshaw of Texas
Verified
Here’s the truth: Delta Variant.The Delta Variant is more contagious than the former COVID mutations but we shouldn’t let it scare us into poor public health decisions.
The truth? The vaccine is still your best defense against being sick, hospitalized, or dying from COVID.
Dr. Dan Stock's Presentation to the Mt. Vernon School Board in Indiana
Dr. Dan Stock's Presentation to the Mt. Vernon School Board in Indiana Over The Futility of Mask Mandates and Covid-19 Protocols
On Friday, August 7th Dr. Dan Stock addressed the Mt. Vernon School Board in Indiana over the futility of mask mandates and Covid-19 protocols in most schools.
Part 1: Dr. Dan Stock on what the NIH/CDC Did Wrong With The Covid-19 Response
Part 2: Dr. Dan Stock on NIH & CDC's COVID-19 Diagnostic Errors
Part 3: Dr. Dan Stock on Vaccine Methods of Covid-19 Disease Modification
Part 4: Dr. Dan Stock Discusses Non-Vaccine Methods of Covid-19 Disease Modification
Click on the links to access the following studies.
1. SARS-CoV2-Transmission Among Marine Recruits during Quarantine.
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
2. Longitudinal analysis shows durable and broad immune memory after SARS-CoV-2 infection with persisting antibody responses and memory B and T cells.
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
3. Vitamin D for prevention of respiratory tract infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
6. Federalist cases/mortality mask comparison
7. Heritage Foundation Study - In fact, mask use during the pandemic has been recommended by The Heritage Foundation’s Coronavirus Commission guidelines. However, our findings do suggest that public health strategies relying predominantly on mask mandates are inadequate, and thus other initiatives, in addition to mask wearing, should have been a component of policies aimed to limit the spread of the disease.
8. Declaration of Great Barrington- The Great Barrington Declaration- As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies, and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection. Over 60,000 medical experts have signed this declaration.
9. Covid-19 Breakthrough Infections in Vaccinated Health Care Workers.
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
10. Calcifediol Treatment and Hospital Mortality Due to COVID-19: A Cohort Study
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
11. Experimental Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Content in Inhaled Air With or Without Face Masks in Healthy Children.
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
12. Calcifediol treatment and COVID-19-related outcomes
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
13. "Effect of calcifediol treatment and best available therapy versus best available therapy on intensive care unit admission and mortality among patients hospitalized for COVID-19: A pilot randomized clinical study.
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
14. Effectiveness of Adding a Mask Recommendation to Other Public Health Measures to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Danish Mask Wearers
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
15. Community Use Of Face Masks And COVID-19: Evidence From A Natural Experiment Of State Mandates In The US
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
16. Face-Masks in the COVID-19 era: A health hypothesis
17. Infection Fatality Ratios for COVID-19 Among Non-Institutionalized Persons 12 and Older: Results of a Random-Sample Prevalence Study
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
18. Open Schools, COVID-19, and Child and Teacher Morbidity in Sweden.
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
19. Face-Masks to prevent transmission of influenza virus: a systematic review
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
20. Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Infections, Including COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Infections, Associated with Large Public Gathering- Barnstable County, Massachusetts, July 2021
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
21. Short term, high-dose vitamin D supplementation for COVID-19 disease: a randomized, placebo-controlled, study
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
22. Rapid Expert Consultation on the Effectiveness of Fabric Masks for the COVID-19 Pandemic (April 8, 2020)
READ THE PDF STUDY HERE.
This is the Greatest School Board Speech you will EVER HEAR
This is the Greatest School Board Speech you will EVER HEAR
Friday, August 13, 2021
GRUESOME TAXPAYER-FUNDED EXPERIMENTS ON DOZENS OF PUPPIES
BREAKING: FAUCI’S CABAL PERFORMED GRUESOME TAXPAYER-FUNDED EXPERIMENTS ON DOZENS OF PUPPIES
The institute headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, has funded a study in which dozens of dogs were needlessly tormented, advocacy group White Coat Waste (WCW) said, citing government documents.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which Fauci has run since 1984, gave $424,455 to the University of Georgia to inject a group of beagles with experimental vaccines and then infest them with parasites, WCW reported last week, citing documents obtained from the government under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
The revelation has since attracted the attention of several conservative-leaning news outlets, including the Daily Caller and the Federalist. “Fauci’s budget has ballooned to over $6 billion in taxpayer funding annually, at least half of which is being wasted on more questionable animal experimentation like these deadly and unnecessary beagle tests and other maximum pain experiments,” Justin Goodman of White Coat Waste told the Daily Caller.
Earlier this year, the WCW documented NIAID’s pain experiments on a variety of animals. Emails obtained by WCW indicate the study began in November 2020 and is scheduled to end in early 2022. According to the documentation, some 28 beagles would be infected and euthanized after 196 days, for blood collection and analysis. This means the dogs may have already been killed, in June this year.
WCW has published a photo of one infested dog, and a screenshot of an email mentioning how a group of animals was “vocalizing in pain” after being injected with the second dose of the experimental vaccine, the name of which was redacted. According to the Daily Caller, however, the vaccine is called LFGuard and is intended to treat lymphatic filariasis (also known as elephantiasis), a disease caused by parasitic worms who attack the lymphatic system. It has already been extensively tested on other animals, such as mice, gerbils and rhesus macaques.
The FLCCC Alliance
The FLCCC Alliance
Formed by leading critical care specialists in March 2020, at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, the ‘Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance’ is now a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to developing highly effective treatment protocols to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and to improve the outcomes for patients ill with the disease.
We are dedicated to
- Reviewing all emerging published medical literature on COVID-19 from in-vitro, animal, clinical, and epidemiologic studies.
- Developing effective treatment protocols for COVID-19 that evolve by incorporating newly identified, applicable therapeutic and pathophysiologic insights.
- Educating physicians on safe and effective treatment approaches to all phases of COVID-19, from disease prevention strategies to the use of our combination-based therapy protocols in both early-stage (I-MASK+) and hospitalized patients (MATH+).
- Improving outcomes for people impacted by COVID-19 disorders through preventive and treatment strategies designed to optimize health.
- Teaching the public ways to prevent transmission of the virus and to advocate for the best possible care.
- Coordinating and accelerating the formation of research studies that will support effective prevention and therapeutic treatments for all impacted by COVID-19.
We accomplish these goals by sponsoring high quality medical education for both the public and health care providers, via the publication of scientific manuscripts, media interviews, and medical lectures for medical providers and the public.
Our funding needs are
- To conduct a public awareness campaign to promote disease prevention and early treatment by hiring media and public relations professionals to engage and optimize the use of radio, print, television, and social media to gain awareness of, and interest in, our medical insights and effective treatment protocols, in particular the recently proven prophylaxis and early treatment protocol called I-MASK+.
- To fund website design professionals to keep our internet presence and information portals current, up-to-date, user friendly, and informative with the latest medical information and treatment recommendations.
- To support staff able to lobby government and other major healthcare agencies with the aim of both having those agencies validate the evidence in support of our identified therapies and consequently adopt them on a large scale, ideally forming a new standard of care for COVID-19.
Thousands of Canceled flights ...
Thousands of Canceled flights after Rumored Pilot Vaccination Protest Strike
“It’s pretty simple. They don’t have enough pilots, and they don’t have modern scheduling practices to do more with what they have,” said union spokesman Dennis Tajer. He said that bad weather “hits every airline, but American is the last to recover. This has to change.”
VACCINATED PEOPLE...
NEW DATA: VACCINATED PEOPLE TO BLAME FOR 74% OF CASES IN THIS CITY
An internal report from the CDC claimed vaccinated people can still spread the delta COVID-19 variant.
The CDC referred to an outbreak study out of Barnstable County, MA, writing “Delta variant vaccine breakthrough cases may be as transmissible as unvaccinated cases.” Three-quarters of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 after numerous large public events were fully vaccinated. Among the 469 COVID-19 cases identified, 346 (74%) occurred in fully vaccinated people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found.
Most of the vaccinated patients, 79%, experienced symptomatic breakthrough infections, according to the Washington Times.
Continuing, the CDC said, “Vaccines prevent more than 90 percent of severe disease, but may be less effective at preventing infection or transmission. Therefore, more breakthrough and more community spread despite vaccination.”
According to the CDC, which isn’t the most reputable source, the delta variant is different from previous strains, highly contagious, and likely more severe, it is more transmissible than Ebola, the common cold, the seasonal flu, and Smallpox. The public health agency’s next steps include communicating with Americans that
“the war has changed,” impose “universal masking” and “reconsider other community mitigation strategies,” such as lockdowns.
First obtained by the Washington Post, the leaked information was communicated in what appear to be presentation slides shared within the CDC. In recent months, public trust in the CDC has diminished as the agency and its directors flip-flop on policy. Just last week, a less than three-week-old mask policy was reversed, now suggesting vaccinated individuals wear a mask.
BOSTON’S LIBERAL MAYOR DESTROYS...
WATCH: BOSTON’S LIBERAL MAYOR DESTROYS VACCINE PASSPORTS IN VIRAL VIDEO
This week, Boston Mayor Kim Janey absolutely destroyed the pro-vaccine passport angle following New York City’s new mandate, which went into effect recently.
Janey was asked if Boston was going to consider forcing vaccine passports requirements for private businesses. Her response — if a bit partisan and anti-Trump — was a clear rebuke of these draconian measures.
Her own reasoning against vaccine passports is rooted in race, and you can’t blame her, considering the unreliable and too often abusive history of the medical community in America, especially for black people.
WARNING: She does suggest Trump’s request for Obama’s birth certificate was birtherism — a form of ‘racism’ conjured up by bored liberals — which is obviously insane… but all eyes should be on the vaccine passport debate at the moment.
The Mayor’s rant can be watched here:
“There’s a long history in this country of people needing to show their papers,” Janey says.
“During slavery, post-slavery, as recent as, you know, what immigrant population has to go through here, we heard Trump with the birth certificate nonsense,” she continues. “Here we want to make sure that we are not doing anything that would further create a barrier for residents.”
CDC CHIEF ADMITS...
CDC CHIEF ADMITS ON CNN: ‘JAB CAN’T PREVENT TRANSMISSION’
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has previously gushed over the COVID vaccines’ ability to prevent the public from COVID-19. But Thursday, Walensky admitted that the jab actually CAN’T prevent transmission of the virus.
Despite propaganda in support of the vaccine as a lifesaver for others, it seems that the jab does not have that effect. Considering this, and the fact that the vaccines, which are all still under Emergency Use Authorization, are unapproved by the FDA, many Americans are continuing to pass up on the needle.
In fact, in many unreported cases, the vaccines have had extremely adverse effects. Here are a few articles regarding VAERS numbers and no-spin vax data:
- July VAERS Data Show Spiking Post-Vax Complications and Deaths
- NEW DATA: Vaccinated People to Blame for 74% of Cases in THIS City
Director Walensky said the following to Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room” regarding the efficacy of vaccines across multiple laterals:
“Our vaccines are working exceptionally well … they continue to work well for Delta with regard to severe illness and death, they prevent it. But what they can’t do anymore is prevent transmission.”
WATCH HERE:
And this is why Americans are finding it impossible to “follow the science” nowadays. Because in March, Walensky claimed WITH CERTAINTY that the virus was not able to be carried, no less transmitted, by vaccinated individuals:
She has also, as recently as July, promoted China Virus vaccine passports as a ‘path’ forward for Americans:
“You know, I think some communities are doing that … And that may very well be a path forward.”
Clearly, Walensky’s ‘data’ is no more than propaganda that fits the Biden administration narrative at every single turn. Now that she has admitted to the vaccine’s inability to protect against transmission of (and general defense from) the virus for healthy people, Americans will likely remain hesitant to the jab.
https://www.roguereview.net/cdc-chief-admits-on-cnn-jab-cant-prevent-transmission/
NEW PEER-REVIEWED REPORT FINDS “DEVASTATING”...
NEW PEER-REVIEWED REPORT FINDS “DEVASTATING”...
ASTRAZENECA JAB ASSOCIATED WITH BLOOD CLOTS
In a new peer-reviewed paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists from the Massachusetts Medical Society identified over 200 cases of a “devastating” blood clot side effect linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
CNBC reported the following:
“All of those patients had been given their first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot, and went to hospital with symptoms between 5 and 48 days after their vaccination. The median time between patients receiving their vaccination and going to hospital was 14 days, the findings showed.
The overall mortality rate for VITT in the study was 22%.
Researchers also found that 41% of patients presenting with VITT had no diagnosed underlying health issues. Of those who reported a past or current illness, the study found that no conditions or medications were prevalent that “would be unexpected in the general population.'”
Here’s what the study said:
- “Against the backdrop of a successful vaccination program in the United Kingdom, VITT has emerged as a rare but devastating complication.”
- “We have found that it often affects young, otherwise healthy vaccine recipients and that it is associated with a high mortality.”
- “In our cohort, 85% of the patients were younger than 60 years of age, despite the predominance of (Oxford/AstraZeneca) vaccination in older adults.”
Secret Government Plans EXPOSED
BREAKING: Secret Government Plans EXPOSED! We Have ALL The Details Inside!
It wasn’t too long ago we were all under the benevolent ruling of king Barry Hussein and all of his cronies and commie pals. During that time, we saw all kinds of stories pop up about things like FEMA death camps, United Nations coming to the states to patrol the streets. None of this ever came to fruition thank God! But it did keep a lot of people on their toes and help raise awareness to people to become more self reliant and make valuable community connections within your own states and so on.
Sadly some of those great networks we saw rise up were then infiltrated by feds who have since used those relationships they cultivated to exploit and persuade their “friends” to commit crimes. We saw hints of this in the January 6th ordeal in Washington D.C. We also saw pieces of this in the plot to kidnap the Michigan governor. All of these plans hatched and pushed forward by feds. While I am no attorney, just a simple layman, I say that this is the epitome of entrapment!
Why do people have such a mistrust of the government though that they would lean into these networks of folks who want to form militias and such for self defense though? It is because of all of the Tom foolery we as humans have seen come from the government of the United States. When you mention FEMA Death camps, and Operation Jade helm, some people took that seriously and prepared very seriously for these events that never happened.
They did so because of events in the past like Ruby Ridge, The Bundy’s and their cattle ranch stand-off, Waco, just to name a few times where Government went absolutely bonkers in modern times. Oh and let’s not forget the Boston marathon bombing when the shut down an entire city and drove tanks through neighborhoods knocking on doors. Now I fully understand that the bombing was HORRIBLE, and the scum bags needed to be punished. That doesn’t mean we toss out the rule of law, Constitution, and protections just because we’re afraid though!
Earlier today in one of my random internet travels of the day, I stumbled across a link to the Center for Disease Control and prevention. Normally they put out useless information that ends up being more confusing. However in this memo or quiet release, they detailed out something that is very disturbing. In this report seen here, the CDC lays out very intricate and detailed plans for setting up camps for “high risk people.”
Interim Operational Considerations for Implementing the Shielding Approach to Prevent COVID-19 Infections in Humanitarian Settings
This document presents considerations from the perspective of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) for implementing the shielding approach in humanitarian settings as outlined in guidance documents focused on camps, displaced populations and low-resource settings.1,2 This approach has never been documented and has raised questions and concerns among humanitarian partners who support response activities in these settings. The purpose of this document is to highlight potential implementation challenges of the shielding approach from CDC’s perspective and guide thinking around implementation in the absence of empirical data. Considerations are based on current evidence known about the transmission and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and may need to be revised as more information becomes available. Please check the CDC website periodically for updates.
What is the Shielding Approach1?
The shielding approach aims to reduce the number of severe COVID-19 cases by limiting contact between individuals at higher risk of developing severe disease (“high-risk”) and the general population (“low-risk”). High-risk individuals would be temporarily relocated to safe or “green zones” established at the household, neighborhood, camp/sector or community level depending on the context and setting.1,2 They would have minimal contact with family members and other low-risk residents.
Current evidence indicates that older adults and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.3 In most humanitarian settings, older population groups make up a small percentage of the total population.4,5 For this reason, the shielding approach suggests physically separating high-risk individuals from the general population to prioritize the use of the limited available resources and avoid implementing long-term containment measures among the general population.
In theory, shielding may serve its objective to protect high-risk populations from disease and death. However, implementation of the approach necessitates strict adherence1,6,7, to protocol. Inadvertent introduction of the virus into a green zone may result in rapid transmission among the most vulnerable populations the approach is trying to protect.
A summary of the shielding approach described by Favas is shown in Table 1. See Guidance for the prevention of COVID-19 infections among high-risk individuals in low-resource, displaced and camp and camp-like settings 1,2 for full details.
Table 1: Summary of the Shielding Approach1
Level
Movement/ Interactions
Household (HH) Level:
A specific room/area designated for high-risk individuals who are physically isolated from other HH members.
Low-risk HH members should not enter the green zone. If entry is necessary, it should be done only by healthy individuals after washing hands and using face coverings. Interactions should be at a safe distance (approx. 2 meters). Minimum movement of high-risk individuals outside the green zone. Low-risk HH members continue to follow social distancing and hygiene practices outside the house.
Neighborhood Level:
A designated shelter/group of shelters (max 5-10 households), within a small camp or area where high-risk members are grouped together. Neighbors “swap” households to accommodate high-risk individuals.
Same as above
Camp/Sector Level:
A group of shelters such as schools, community buildings within a camp/sector (max 50 high-risk individuals per single green zone) where high-risk individuals are physically isolated together.
One entry point is used for exchange of food, supplies, etc. A meeting area is used for residents and visitors to interact while practicing physical distancing (2 meters). No movement into or outside the green zone.
Operational Considerations
The shielding approach requires several prerequisites for effective implementation. Several are addressed, including access to healthcare and provision of food. However, there are several prerequisites which require additional considerations. Table 2 presents the prerequisites or suggestions as stated in the shielding guidance document (column 1) and CDC presents additional questions and considerations alongside these prerequisites (column 2).
Table 2: Suggested Prerequisites per the shielding documents and CDC’s Operational Considerations for Implementation
Suggested Prerequisites
*As stated in the shielding document*
Considerations as suggested by CDC
- Each green zone has a dedicated latrine/bathing facility for high-risk individuals
- The shielding approach advises against any new facility construction to establish green zones; however, few settings will have existing shelters or communal facilities with designated latrines/bathing facilities to accommodate high-risk individuals. In these settings, most latrines used by HHs are located outside the home and often shared by multiple HHs.
- If dedicated facilities are available, ensure safety measures such as proper lighting, handwashing/hygiene infrastructure, maintenance and disinfection of latrines.
- Ensure facilities can accommodate high-risk individuals with disabilities, children and separate genders at the neighborhood/camp-level.
- To minimize external contact, each green zone should include able-bodied high-risk individuals capable of caring for residents who have disabilities or are less mobile. Otherwise, designate low-risk individuals for these tasks, preferably who have recovered from confirmed COVID-19 and are assumed to be immune.
- This may be difficult to sustain, especially if the caregivers are also high risk. As caregivers may often will be family members, ensure that this strategy is socially or culturally acceptable.
- Currently, we do not know if prior infection confers immunity.
- The green zone and living areas for high-risk residents should be aligned with minimum humanitarian (SPHERE) standards.6
- The shielding approach requires strict adherence to infection, prevention and control (IPC) measures. They require, uninterrupted availability of soap, water, hygiene/cleaning supplies, masks or cloth face coverings, etc. for all individuals in green zones. Thus, it is necessary to ensure minimum public health standards6 are maintained and possibly supplemented to decrease the risk of other outbreaks outside of COVID-19. Attaining and maintaining minimum SPHERE6 standards is difficult in these settings for the general population.8,9,10 Users should consider that provision of services and supplies to high risk individuals could be at the expense of low-risk residents, putting them at increased risk for other outbreaks.
- Monitor and evaluate the implementation of the shielding approach.
- Monitoring protocols will need to be developed for each type of green zone.
- Dedicated staff need to be identified to monitor each green zone. Monitoring includes both adherence to protocols and potential adverse effects or outcomes due to isolation and stigma. It may be necessary to assign someone within the green zone, if feasible, to minimize movement in/out of green zones.
- Men and women, and individuals with tuberculosis (TB), severe immunodeficiencies, or dementia should be isolated separately
- Multiple green zones would be needed to achieve this level of separation, each requiring additional inputs/resources. Further considerations include challenges of accommodating different ethnicities, socio-cultural groups, or religions within one setting.
- Community acceptance and involvement in the design and implementation
- Even with community involvement, there may be a risk of stigmatization.11,12 Isolation/separation from family members, loss of freedom and personal interactions may require additional psychosocial support structures/systems. See section on additional considerations below.
- High-risk minors should be accompanied into isolation by a single caregiver who will also be considered a green zone resident in terms of movements and contacts with those outside the green zone.
- Protection measures are critical to implementation. Ensure there is appropriate, adequate, and acceptable care of other minors or individuals with disabilities or mental health conditions who remain in the HH if separated from their primary caregiver.
- Green zone shelters should always be kept clean. Residents should be provided with the necessary cleaning products and materials to clean their living spaces.
- High-risk individuals will be responsible for cleaning and maintaining their own living space and facilities. This may not be feasible for persons with disabilities or decreased mobility.11 Maintaining hygiene conditions in communal facilities is difficult during non-outbreak settings.7,8,9 consequently it may be necessary to provide additional human resource support.
- Green zones should be more spacious in terms of shelter area per capita than the surrounding camp/sector, even at the cost of greater crowding of low-risk people.
- Ensure that targeting high-risk individuals does not negate mitigation measures among low-risk individuals (physical distancing in markets or water points, where feasible, etc.). Differences in space based on risk status may increase the potential risk of exposure among the rest of the low-risk residents and may be unacceptable or impracticable, considering space limitations and overcrowding in many settings.
Additional Considerations
The shielding approach outlines the general “logistics” of implementation –who, what, where, how. However, there may be additional logistical challenges to implementing these strategies as a result of unavailable commodities, transport restrictions, limited staff capacity and availability to meet the increased needs. The approach does not address the potential emotional, social/cultural, psychological impact for separated individuals nor for the households with separated members. Additional considerations to address these challenges are presented below.
Population characteristics and demographics
Consideration: The number of green zones required may be greater than anticipated, as they are based on the total number of high-risk individuals, disease categories, and the socio-demographics of the area and not just the proportion of elderly population.
Explanation: Older adults represent a small percentage of the population in many camps in humanitarian settings (approximately 3-5%4,5), however in some humanitarian settings more than one quarter of the population may fall under high risk categories13,14,15 based on underlying medical conditions which may increase a person’s risk for severe COVID-19 illness which include chronic kidney disease, obesity, serious heart conditions, sickle cell disease, and type 2 diabetes. Additionally, many camps and settlements host multiple nationalities which may require additional separation, for example, Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya accommodates refugees from 19 countries.16
Timeline considerations
Consideration: Plan for an extended duration of implementation time, at least 6 months.
Explanation: The shielding approach proposes that green zones be maintained until one of the following circumstances arises: (i) sufficient hospitalization capacity is established; (ii) effective vaccine or therapeutic options become widely available; or (iii) the COVID-19 epidemic affecting the population subsides.
Given the limited resources and healthcare available to populations in humanitarian settings prior to the pandemic, it is unlikely sufficient hospitalization capacity (beds, personal protective equipment, ventilators, and staff) will be achievable during widespread transmission. The national capacity in many of the countries where these settings are located (e.g., Chad, Myanmar, and Syria) is limited. Resources may become quickly overwhelmed during the peak of transmission and may not be accessible to the emergency affected populations.
Vaccine trials are underway, but with no definite timeline. Reaching the suppression phase where the epidemic subsides can take several months and cases may resurge in a second or even third wave. Herd immunity (the depletion of susceptible people) for COVID-19 has not been demonstrated to date. It is also unclear if an infected person develops immunity and the duration of potential immunity is unknown. Thus, contingency plans to account for a possibly extended operational timeline are critical.
Other logistical considerations
Consideration: Plan to identify additional resources and outline supply chain mechanisms to support green zones.
Explanation: The implementation and operation of green zones requires strong coordination among several sectors which may require substantial additional resources: supplies and staff to maintain these spaces – shelters, IPC, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), non-food items (NFIs) (beds, linens, dishes/utensils, water containers), psychosocial support, monitors/supervisors, caretakers/attendants, risk communication and community engagement, security, etc. Considering global reductions in commodity shortages,17 movement restrictions, border closures, and decreased trucking and flights, it is important to outline what additional resources will be needed and how they will be procured.
Protection
Consideration: Ensure safe and protective environments for all individuals, including minors and individuals who require additional care whether they are in the green zone or remain in a household after the primary caregiver or income provider has moved to the green zone.
Explanation: Separating families and disrupting and deconstructing multigenerational households may have long-term negative consequences. Shielding strategies need to consider sociocultural gender norms in order to adequately assess and address risks to individuals, particularly women and girls. 18,19,20 Restrictive gender norms may be exacerbated by isolation strategies such as shielding. At the household level, isolating individuals and limiting their interaction, compounded with social and economic disruption has raised concerns of potential increased risk of partner violence. Households participating in house swaps or sector-wide cohorting are at particular risk for gender-based violence, harassment, abuse, and exploitation as remaining household members may not be decision-makers or responsible for households needs.18,19,20
Social/Cultural/Religious Practices
Consideration: Plan for potential disruption of social networks.
Explanation: Community celebrations (religious holidays), bereavement (funerals) and other rites of passage are cornerstones of many societies. Proactive planning ahead of time, including strong community engagement and risk communication is needed to better understand the issues and concerns of restricting individuals from participating in communal practices because they are being shielded. Failure to do so could lead to both interpersonal and communal violence.21,22
Mental Health
Consideration: Ensure mental health and psychosocial support*,23 structures are in place to address increased stress and anxiety.
Explanation: Additional stress and worry are common during any epidemic and may be more pronounced with COVID-19 due to the novelty of the disease and increased fear of infection, increased childcare responsibilities due to school closures, and loss of livelihoods. Thus, in addition to the risk of stigmatization and feeling of isolation, this shielding approach may have an important psychological impact and may lead to significant emotional distress, exacerbate existing mental illness or contribute to anxiety, depression, helplessness, grief, substance abuse, or thoughts of suicide among those who are separated or have been left behind. Shielded individuals with concurrent severe mental health conditions should not be left alone. There must be a caregiver allocated to them to prevent further protection risks such as neglect and abuse.
Summary
The shielding approach is an ambitious undertaking, which may prove effective in preventing COVID-19 infection among high-risk populations if well managed. While the premise is based on mitigation strategies used in the United Kingdom,24,25 there is no empirical evidence whether this approach will increase, decrease or have no effect on morbidity and mortality during the COVID-19 epidemic in various humanitarian settings. This document highlights a) risks and challenges of implementing this approach, b) need for additional resources in areas with limited or reduced capacity, c) indefinite timeline, and d) possible short-term and long-term adverse consequences.
Public health not only focuses on the eradication of disease but addresses the entire spectrum of health and wellbeing. Populations displaced, due to natural disasters or war and, conflict are already fragile and have experienced increased mental, physical and/or emotional trauma. While the shielding approach is not meant to be coercive, it may appear forced or be misunderstood in humanitarian settings. As with many community interventions meant to decrease COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, compliance and behavior change are the primary rate-limiting steps and may be driven by social and emotional factors. These changes are difficult in developed, stable settings; thus, they may be particularly challenging in humanitarian settings which bring their own set of multi-faceted challenges that need to be taken into account.
Household-level shielding seems to be the most feasible and dignified as it allows for the least disruption to family structure and lifestyle, critical components to maintaining compliance. However, it is most susceptible to the introduction of a virus due to necessary movement or interaction outside the green zone, less oversight, and often large household sizes. It may be less feasible in settings where family shelters are small and do not have multiple compartments. In humanitarian settings, small village, sector/block, or camp-level shielding may allow for greater adherence to proposed protocol, but at the expense of longer-term social impacts triggered by separation from friends and family, feelings of isolation, and stigmatization. Most importantly, accidental introduction of the virus into a green zone may result in rapid transmission and increased morbidity and mortality as observed in assisted care facilities in the US.26
The shielding approach is intended to alleviate stress on the healthcare system and circumvent the negative economic consequences of long-term containment measures and lockdowns by protecting the most vulnerable.1,24,25 Implementation of this approach will involve careful planning, additional resources, strict adherence and strong multi-sector coordination, requiring agencies to consider the potential repercussion among populations that have collectively experienced physical and psychological trauma which makes them more vulnerable to adverse psychosocial consequences. In addition, thoughtful consideration of the potential benefit versus the social and financial cost of implementation will be needed in humanitarian settings.
References
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These people went so far as to talk about how they would separate kids from families if needed. They laid out how some might become angry and start “trouble” if they were denied certain bereavement ceremonies, and other religious rights.
So you keep asking why people don’t want to trust the government. It’s loads of horse manure like this that makes people take up arm’s and say stay the hell away from my family, and get off my lawn! Will any of this actually transpire and come to fruition? I for one hope nothing like this ever occurs in this country or any other country in this world. That of course will be up to each and every single one of us as to how much malarkey we tolerate for the sake of security in financials and comforts of consumerisms.