The Roundup: Weeks Ending February 18, 2023

Feb 18

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
"Notes from the Trail" is a reader-supported publication. When you become (or invite someone to become) a subscriber, you’re an encouragement to me, and in a sense you’re saying, “Write more! Do it again.” Paid subscribers are extra encouragements!

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.

In a show of bravery and courage, President Biden also shot down a hobbyist club’s balloon with a missile.

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.

David Zweig @davidzweig

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

Carl Heneghan @carlheneghan

Just out Cochrane review on Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses https://t.co/fI4Ac6VbAa

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

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.

Gummi Bear @gummibear737

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: cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-r…

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.
8

ZUBY: @ZubyMusic

New 'science' just dropped. Like the old science... But now approved by the mainstream.

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

“Anti-Vaxxers Have a Dangerous Theory Called ‘Natural Immunity.’ Now It’s Going Mainstream”

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

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.”
11

Credit: Kentucky Today/Robin Cornetet // Source: *FIRST PERSON: My Asbury Journey* by Don Pucik

On Wednesday morning, February 8, an ordinary weekly chapel service at Asbury University transformed into a movement of God.

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.

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.
14

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