Misinformation & Covid

All over the world, we see people protesting the pandemic measures designed to protect people and misinformation is at the heart of the problem. Facebook started to work on some features that help reduce the spread of misinformation by flagging videos that they deem misleading and reducing its reach. The problem who is qualified in making these decisions? Maybe the field experts can review each and every videos and flag the ones with misleading data but even them are prone in making errors. 

Few of the problems:

• Part of the problem comes from the Schooling system, and society in general, that teaches kids to not question the information from authority figures. Because of this, which ever piece of information that's the loudest takes precedents even though it may not make the most sense (misinformation and negativity does tend to be louder).
• Misinformation, and negative news, have a shock factor to it which help spread it faster than truth or trustworthy information.
• More often than not, people ask what is legal rather than what is right. It's not illegal to spread misinformation, in order to profit from it(from social media or other), but it's not the right thing to do.
• Internet algorithms put emphasis on stories that are more likely to sell and misinformation/shocking news sell more.
• People no longer see their Government as a trust worthy source of information. Governments, all over the world, are sharing the information given to them by top medical professionals but this is seen as unreliable because of the many errors committed, by those Governments, in the past.
• Celebrities' have more influence than Governments and/or medical professional among the masses. If a Celebrity says something that doesn't align with the medical professional it could still be believed solely due to status. Some celebrities' have voiced their oppositions to the vaccines and the security measures which had a devastating effect.
• Virus, vaccine, Covid-19... these are all things that only experts fully understands and some people don't trust what they don't understand no matter the source. All that they know is that one day they used to be able to go to restaurants and now they can't.
• We live in a "Microwave / I want everything now" type of society and the pandemic has been around for a few years now... people are exhausted.

What's the solution? It took years for some of these problems to materialize therefor there are no quick fixes/easy solutions here. People will continue believing what they want to believe but we first need to be more patient and we need to revisit some of these beliefs as well as how we function as a society. We need to build a society that's not a representation of who we are but who we need to be. A society that seeks truths rather than shocking.

In the meantime, my hope for the world is that the Pandemic ends and that these protest don't turn into something uglier.

Stay safe.

Should There Be Another Lockdown?

In Canada, many provinces are tackling their 4th wave and one has to wonder: Should there be another lock-down? 

The answer to this question becomes increasingly difficult as more and more people are getting their vaccines. The vaccine, let us recall, doesn't prevent us from getting the virus - it just greatly diminishes our chances of needing to go to the hospital or actually dying from the disease while also being less contagious. Most people that are in the hospital, right now, are those that don't have both shots.

In an ideal world, the only people that we should see in hospital right now are those with both vaccines that still have complications from the virus.

I don't really have any pity left for those that could, but didn't, take the vaccines. I believe there will be a time when medical professional will have to make the difficult decision not to treat those that don't have both vaccines. I hope we never get to this point, because who would want to make such a decision, but what do you do when the only other alternative is total collapse of the medical system? What do you do when you can only save 1 of 2 COVID patients and one of them has the vaccines and the other doesn't? Ideally, you would want to put your effort towards the person that, statistically, has a better chance at survival.

This would be way more easier, on everybody, if everyone would just get vaccinated. We're fortunate to live in a world where we have vaccine to fight off deadly diseases and I fail to understand why some people are more afraid of the vaccine than the virus itself.

Some people say that they want to "do their own research" before taking the vaccine well how about you look at the statistics? How many people died of the virus? How many people died of the vaccine? How many people died of Covid with the vaccine vs how many died without it? 

The data is already available for people looking to do their own research. What they heck are they waiting for? Do the research, come to the same conclusion as the majority, and get vaccinated. 

The Great Divide

The Pandemic has brought with it a great divide in the world. There are those that got vaccinated and follow the rules set in place by medical experts and there are those that don't (also referred to as "anti-vaxxers").

Both parties are frustrated with each other but there's one thing that we can all agree on and that is we all want the pandemic to end.

The anti-vaxxers seems to believe that the pandemic is a conspiracy and choose to deny its existence which, in a way, is a way for them to end the madness.

Those that follow the rules want the pandemic to end by having everyone else follow the rules as well. 

There's a right and a wrong way for the pandemic to end but it will eventually end whether it be with 500 000 deaths or 5+millions.

Which way is the right way? 

Let's answer this question by looking in our history. How did we end Polio? In the U.S. the last case of naturally occurring Polio was recorded in 1979. Thanks to the Polio vaccine, Polio was eradicated in most parts of the world for more than 40 years.

The right way is obvious to me... 

What Scares Me The Most about the Pandemic...

What scares me the most about the Pandemic, besides the Covid-19 virus, is how idiotic some people are towards it. 

Why isn't there anyone protesting drunk driving rules? Nobody protest drunk driving rules because there's an understanding for the need to protect those that use the roads. 

It's one thing to follow, blindly, rules and another to understand why they were created in the first place.

Why isn't there such understanding when it comes to the Pandemic? Why are people protesting the use of mask, vaccine or social distancing? Some people go as far as protest in-front of hospitals where some patients are dying from COVID-19... like patients can literally see them protest out of their windows and somehow the protesters are okay with that.

Why isn't there an understanding that we need to vaccinate in order to protect the masses the same way as we shouldn't be driving on the road drunk as to not injure our peers?

Some anti-vaxxers are quick to say that they're not taking the vaccine because they're not "sheep" but then proceed to take horse medicine. Maybe someone needs to tell them that they're also not a horse?

In Canada, many provinces are well into their 4th wave of this Pandemic and It's surprising that some people are still not vaccinated. During wave 1 & 2 vaccines were difficult to come by but became readily available in wave 3. Unless you're underage, or have a medical reason, you should of gotten both your shots by now. 

Personally, I didn't want to see a wave 4 but here we are and now I feel like we're going to see wave 5, 6, 7, 8,... because this thing won't stop until most either get the vaccine or get infected with the virus. By the time we're done with Covid-19 we'll likely see another virus come about and what are those protesters going to do then?

This College Humor video, titled "Livin' Mask-Free', is probably the best thing to come out of this Pandemic as it perfectly illustrate the problem. 

Are The Canadian Liberals Going to Loose Due to The Pandemic?

Canada is going through an election initiated by the Liberals who are attempting to gain more power/seats but it doesn't look like this is going to happen for them. If history taught us anything is that every 8-10 years there's a major political shift happening in Canada and it looks like it's about to happen again only this time it seems to be driven by misinformation caused by the Pandemic.

After talking to a few of my peers, I found that some of them were going to vote against the Liberals and the most common reason given was because of how they handled the Pandemic. They didn't want to have a Government force mask, vaccine or a passport unto them as they saw this as an attack on their "Freedom".

Obviously, the discussion I had with my friends is by no means a reflection of the opinion of the entire Canadian population but it did make me want to discuss about it some more here.

It's my hope that any other political party in power would of made similar decisions as the Liberals did, in regards to the Pandemic, because it's a good idea to be listening to the subject matter experts in a time of crisis. To not vote for Liberals, because they did what subject matter experts have suggested, is a bit silly to me and makes me wonder what kind of political party are they looking for? Do they want the kind that doesn't listen to the experts, in a time of crisis, and end up making a bigger mess of things? (see Donald Trump handling of the Pandemic...)

The Liberals made mistakes, as everyone makes from time to time, but not to vote for them because of how things turned out with the Pandemic is a bit silly. You actually want a Government party that isn't afraid to listen and apply the suggestions of experts during time of crisis because this is what good leadership is about. Maybe what we could say of them is that they didn't listen to the expert enough?

Shame on YOU if You Need an Incentive to Vaccinate!

We're very fortunate to have a vaccine that help us on our fight against COVID-19 but it seems that some people are still reluctant on getting it. Some countries have offered incentives to get more people vaccinated and if you're one of those people that needed an incentive beyond the, you know, not dying and being a threat to your entourage - shame on you!

If you are one of those people, I know you think that those of us that got vaccinated are all brainwashed by taking our information by trusted sources and the media. I know you prefer listening to a youtuber, who's only goal is to get more views, than the facts of the experts. I know you think the vaccines contains a microchip designed to control and track you (like a cellphone). I know you think vaccine causes autism...

Some of you think that if everyone else gets vaccinated then you will be fine but the reality is that you will remain a risk to yourself and those around you. People going through chemo, for example, have a weakened immune system and can still get the disease even though they got vaccinated.

Unless you have a medical condition that prevents you from taking the vaccine, there's absolutely no reason for you not to take it. 

It's because of people like you that we need to isolate ourselves for longer than we should. We're all tired of this pandemic and want to move on with our lives but that won't happen until the numbers of new infections goes down and it will go down faster only if people keep lining up to get vaccinated.

Vaccine - The Choice that Isn't One

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."

-Daniel Patrick Moynihan

When we only think of ourselves, it's easy to say no to a vaccine but we have to remember that these, important, decision doesn't only impact us. It impacts our family, friends and strangers both near and far - all good and decent people that deserve to live a life free of deadly diseases.

While I can certainly understand the fear some people have in regards to vaccines we can't, however, deny it's efficiency as there are many more people surviving a vaccine than people surviving the disease the vaccines were designed to protect us against.

There's no choice in regards to vaccines designed to protect us against an infectious, deadly, disease. Not taking those types of vaccines means that you are a potential risk to yourself and your entourage in spreading the infection. It's our duty, as individuals, to insure that we don't become a vehicle for infections for diseases with a high mortality rate.

If you choose not to take the vaccine, you potentially become a danger to yourself and others. It's illegal for anyone to kill someone else; why is it legal for someone to spread a deadly disease? We could argue that the method of killing is different but the result is the same from the victim's perspective. 

Being responsible for spreading a deadly, infectious, disease may end up killing more people than a knife, or a gun, ever could in your hands.

Be part of the solution and get vaccinated. 

Who's The Sheep?

When it comes to Covid, I like to take my information from trusted sources. I've recently been told that I was a sheep for believing "everything that's on TV" related to Covid. To her, Covid was the biggest hoax of our time and designed to keep control over the population; something which she "learnt" online. Who's the biggest sheep? The person that's looking for facts or the person that looks at conspiracy theories on Youtube?

Things to consider:

• Youtubers/Influence/Internet Celebrities' only make money based on views/subscriptions. Knowing this, it make sense that they would say, or do, what ever is necessary to increase these numbers regardless of facts and some of those idiocies are believed.
• It's difficult for me to understand how "Sexymama_Youtube" has more credibility, to some people, than all the top scientist in the world.
• What is there to gain in having everyone stop working and potentially going trough a recession? Who's benefiting from this? Everyone is loosing!
• You can have a few people agree on something, some of the time, but how can you get every Government in the world to agree on a lockdown?

Recently, there's been pressure on the major social media sites to monitor, and remove, miss-information and/or information that entice violence. Whether or not we should censor these things could be a discussion of it's own but it does seem like it's necessary at this point as there's this belief that a major conspiracy is brewing. I'm not saying there are no conspiracies anywhere but I really doubt that "Sexymama_Youtube" would have all the information related to it but it is a problem because her voice has the potential to reach millions of people and we all know that lies travels faster than truth.

The best way to fight misinformation is with information but the problem is that misinformation is louder than the facts. 

Sometime I think the best way to be informed, in this information age, is to take a step back and think beyond the obvious problem. 

Some of the questions I asks myself are:

• Why is that person sharing this information?
• Is the person sharing the information in a position to have a credible opinion of it? 
• What are other people, in similar credible positions, saying? 
• Is the person sharing this information benefiting from having me think a certain way?

I would like to think that I'm pretty good at spotting facts from fiction but I get duped like everyone else on some things. Covid, however, isn't fiction - it's real and we have to do what we can to get rid of it.

I Miss the Gym

Those that don't go to the gym, on a regular basis, don't understand the true meaning of "missing the gym". When I share this, with my non-gym friends, they tell things like "well why don't you just workout at home?" or "why don't you just go outside for a walk?". The gym is more than just a place to exercise - it's a sanctuary. It's like a church for millennials; a place where we go to exercise and mingle with people of similar goals. It's a place filled with people that understands the true meaning of discipline and hard work. It's a place to forget about your problems and focus on the moment.
Sure, I do some workouts at home with the tools that I have but it's nowhere near as good as a proper gym. I feel "flabby" in places I wasn't flabby before.

I was recently asked "what is the first thing you're going to do when the quarantine is over?" and the first answer that popped in my head is that I was going to the gym. Assuming I'm still working when the quarantine is over I fully intend on taking a few days off to go workout.

What's is the first thing that you'll be doing after the quarantine is over?