The Roundup: Weeks Ending February 18, 2023

The RoundUp collects the news, listens and observations that caught my attention. It’s hard to keep up with this RoundUp series these days! Here’s a some things that I sat up and took notice about:

• Masks definitely, definitively and scientifically did not work to stop the spread of COVID.
• Suddenly everyone wants to say natural immunity is a thing again.
• Chinese spy balloons and Biden’s show of force
• Asbury University revival and movement of God

Chinese spy balloon

After letting a Chinese spy balloon float across the U.S. for over a week, collecting data and examining how we would react, we finally shot it down. ¹ In a show of bravery and courage, President Biden also shot down a hobbyist club’s balloon with a missile. ² Since then, we’ve seen the term “UFO” used to explain the presence of at least two other objects that were shot down.

The government is using the term “UFO” – freely! After years of denying the existence of UFOs. Is that exciting or alarming?

Facemasks failed phenomenally

Science knew facemasks couldn’t stop the spread of a respiratory disease in January 2020. Then science changed. Now facemasks are attributed to delayed childhood development, anxiety, depression, divisiveness and increasing risks of poor health from prolonged use.

Latest systematic review of mask RCTs:

"Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of influenza?like illness/COVID?19 like illness compared to not wearing masks"

N95 vs surgical "probably makes little or no difference"

CIs cross 1 https://t.co/wFfaHjfyYQ

— David Zweig (@davidzweig) January 30, 2023

A new scientific review of 78 randomized trials studying the effectiveness of physical interventions in lessening the spread of respiratory viruses found “little to no” evidence that large-scale masking efforts were effective at preventing the wide spread of Covid-19.

The meta-analysis, published by Cochrane Library and led by 12 researchers, found that the difference between wearing a regular surgical mask or not wearing a mask at all “may make little to no difference in how many people caught a flu-like illness/COVID-like illness.” It also “probably makes little or no difference in how many people have flu/COVID confirmed by a laboratory test.”

The research, which draws upon data derived from hundreds of thousands of participants, casts fresh doubts on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s flip-flopping recommendations about masking as an essential tactic for combatting Covid-19. ³

I wrote Masks Still Don’t Work ⁴ back in July 2022, and there’s nothing new here. It just seems that the MSM is finally catching up to what was common sense AND science before the politicization of a pandemic.

The CDC’s pre-Covid pandemic plan shows they knew masks neither worked nor were appropriate for large scale use

Notice at the end they say “any mask must be disposed of if it becomes moist”

We’ve had children wearing moist masks for years now?

Source: https://t.co/FPwmUKFKxQ pic.twitter.com/tx340MYkiR

— Gummi Bear (@gummibear737) February 3, 2023

Natural immunity is back!

You say “natural immunity.” I say “how God miraculously designed the human body.” During the height of the pandemic, all guidelines ignored natural immunity. Instead people were forced to receive a vaccination that has now been proven to not stop the spread of COVID. Many, including people in our military, lost their jobs over refusing to be vaccinated.

Now?

The natural immunity provided by infection was “at least as high, if not higher” than the immunity provided by two doses of Moderna or Pfizer mRNA vaccines against the ancestral, Alpha, Delta, and Omicron BA.1 variants, the study says… ⁵

“There’s quite a long sustained protection against severe disease and death, almost 90% at 10 months. It is much better than I had expected, and that’s a good thing for the world, right? Given that most of the world has had omicron,” said Dr. Chris Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. “It means there’s an awful lot of immunity out there.” ⁶

Of course, Murray has to give a nod to Pfizer. He can’t be seen as saying there’s no need for vaccination:

However, he’s careful to note that the findings don’t mean people should skip a vaccine or booster if it’s recommended.. “The safest way to get immunity is vaccination,” Murray said. ⁷

But people don’t seem to be listening anymore:

As of February 8, only about 69% of the total US population has gotten their primary series of vaccines. Only about 16% has gotten a dose of the updated booster, the CDC says. ⁷

New 'science' just dropped.

Like the old science… But now approved by the mainstream. pic.twitter.com/2s7E4Hq053

— ZUBY: (@ZubyMusic) February 17, 2023

Compare these “revelations” to what the liberal press was screaming back in 2020:

How long does natural immunity last? That’s the question. Some studies suggest over two years! ⁹

How many Americans have natural immunity? Way back in November 2021:

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has quietly acknowledged that far more people have natural immunity than was earlier reported. The CDC quietly acknowledged that a staggering 146.6 million people have been infected by the Sars-CoV-2 virus and have survived it.” ¹⁰

The Asbury Revival

On Wednesday morning, February 8, an ordinary weekly chapel service at Asbury University transformed into a movement of God. ¹¹ That chapel service has continued to this day, and people are traveling from all over to witness and experience the wonder and power of God being poured out.

Bill Elliff has a series of blog articles about the revival. ¹²

February 1970 was the year God broke into a normal chapel service which continued non-stop for the next seven days and nights at Asbury University. The Jesus Movement was already beginning, but the Asbury Revival accelerated it dramatically. Eventually, teams of students left Asbury and went across the country, telling the story. Everywhere they went, revival and awakening broke out. We came this week because our lives were transformed by the movement at Asbury in 1970 and the Jesus movement that occurred. We have longed for and sought revival ever since. ¹³

You can also see my post The Asbury Revival for more links.

1. “It had collection pod equipment, including high-tech equipment that could collect communications signals and other sensitive information, and solar panels located on the metal truss suspended below the balloon, according to government officials. It had equipment that was “clearly for intelligence surveillance,” including “multiple antennas” that were “likely capable of collecting and geo-locating communications,” according to a statement by a senior State Department official.” (Balloon shot down, by Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, February 13, 2023) [↩]
2. Illinois hobby club fears its balloon was shot down by the USAF, by Matt Berg, Politico, February 17, 2023[↩]
3. New Research Finds ‘Little to No’ Evidence Masks Effectively Lessened Covid Spread, by Ari Bluff, National Review, February 14, 2023

   See also:

   • Face masks made ‘little to no difference’ in preventing spread of COVID, scientific review finds, by Melissa Rudy, Fox News, February 13, 2023
   • Peer-reviewed Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews finishes international, long-term study showing masks make “little to no difference” in stopping respiratory illness, including Covid, by Not The Bee, February 2, 2023
   • Why N95 Masks Fail to Stop the Spread, by Megan Mansell, Rational Ground, January 27, 2023
   • CDC admits: no RCTs support mask efficacy vs COVID, Bad Cattitude Substack, April 27, 2021[↩]
   • In one of the footnotes to that post:

     It seems the dam has broken, and even MSM outlets are now questioning the effective of mask mandates – though some still want to claim masking for individuals works! (See this New York Times piece)

     “In U.S. cities where mask use has been more common, Covid has spread at a similar rate as in mask-resistant cities. Mask mandates in schools also seem to have done little to reduce the spread. Hong Kong, despite almost universal mask-wearing, recently endured one of the world’s worst Covid outbreaks.”[↩]

   • COVID Infection Provides Immunity Equal to Vaccination: Study, by Ralph Ellis, WebMD, February 17, 2023[↩]
   • Study shows natural immunity to COVID can provide good protection at least 10 months after infection, by Jen Christensen, CNN, February 17, 2023[↩]
   • Ibid.[↩][↩]
   • Anti-Vaxxers Have a Dangerous Theory Called “Natural Immunity.” Now It’s Going Mainstream, by Kiera Butler, Mother Jones, May 12, 2020[↩]
   • New John Hopkins Study Shows 99% of ALL Covid Prior Infections Resulted in ‘Natural Immunity’ That Lasted at Least 650 Days, by Howard Roark, DC Patriot,February 16, 2022[↩]
   • The CDC Finally Admits a Massive Number of Americans Have ‘Natural Immunity,’ By Kyle Becker, Becker News, November 23, 2021[↩]
   • Christian university in Kentucky draws pilgrims nationwide amid spiritual revival: ‘Gives me so much hope,’ by Jon Brown, Fox News, February 15, 2023[↩]
   • Look on his blog, Graceful Truth, for his Reflections on Asbury series.[↩]
   • Reflections on Asbury, by Bill Elliff, February 11, 2023[↩]