Doubling Down Again

My mother in law had a stroke on Christmas day. Her son was near by, and got her safely to the hospital where she spent the subsequent six days. By then, she was sufficiently fit to move in with us, and she's been under our care ever since. She's still tired from the experience, but she's in good spirit, and there's progress. My mother in law is 95 years old, so it would be disingenuous to blame her heart attack on the booster she took a few weeks back. However, the thought can't be completely dismissed.

I don't mind having her here with us. She's no trouble to anyone, and she's clear of mind. It's better to have her here than to park her in a care home. To have her stuck in such a place would be a depressing alternative for all of us. The only annoying part of her stay is her insistence on having the TV permanently stuck on news channels. The propaganda is even worse than I remember it from last time I watched mainstream news. It's nauseating how they push the mystery serum. However, there're signs of hope. Things are not going too well on social media for the snake oil salesmen. 

Some genius salesman came up with a story that was widely shared on Facebook, not because it alarmed anybody, but because it was so blatantly disingenuous that it was funny. The story got more laughs than likes.

The claim was that 90% of people ill in hospitals are unvaccinated. Considering that Portugal has an official vaccination rate of close to 90%, it would mean that hardly any vaccinated person was ill at all. The mystery serum would be a cure all; the snake oil of our time.

Clearly, someone in the sales team had over-interpreted a few things. The number may have been based on the idea that only those with a booster is properly vaccinated. But even that would make the 90% number hard to defend.

As it turned out, the number was wrong any which way it was interpreted and the article had to be changed. What was 90% two days ago is now 60%, which would be about right if their numbers classify people with less than three shots as unvaccinated.

The official narrative is falling apart. But, as I noted back in July, the salesmen are too deep into their shenanigans to retreat. They cannot back down, and react to the budding backlash by doubling down yet again.

Trapeze Artists

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