Peter Todd @pete@petertodd.org

COVID-Zero: Was It Worth It? – Quillette
https://quillette.com/2021/08/09/covid-zero-was-it-worth-it/

"Sober, conservative analysis suggests that COVID-Zero costs hundreds of Australian lives each month."

"If COVID-19 was your ancestor’s saber-tooth tiger, then the lives lost every day to COVID-Zero is the cost of running away. The obvious difference is that your ancestor got away from the saber-tooth tiger. When we eventually reopen, COVID-19 will catch us."

Good sign: an older man had no qualms asking to sit at the same table as me in the restaurant car on the train as the rest were full, and he took of his mask immediately. No covid distancing nonsense.

Arrivals at Zurich airport does however have this going for it.

Looks like you get this useless message automatically via SMS when entering Switzerland. It applies to no-one right now as no countries are on that list.

#CovidTheater

I probably could have convinced the security guard to let me stay with Canadian and maybe US (CDC) "proof" of vaccination. But pretty lol that the staff don't know the rules at an airport.

At the airport I just sat down anyway. Someone called security and I eventually convinced them to go away by showing the receipt for the antigen test I had done an hour prior (flying to Switzerland).

I spent a bit over a week in Italy, and got asked for a green pass (Italy's vax passport) in three types of locations: McDonald's, Starbucks, and the dining are at Rome airport.

The latter was particularly funny as you're still allowed to eat without one. You just have to stand up at tables provided for that purpose, located in tbe same area.

In all three cases the staff said _only_ green pass was accepted. _Not_ proof of vaccination from non-EU countries. Which is supposed to be accepted!

"Deakin University epidemiology chair Catherine Bennett said she could not fathom why people would use such an app. She said data was only accessed by authorities in the event of an outbreak."

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Australia already has given track and trace data to police.

https://theconversation.com/police-debacle-leaves-the-mcgowan-government-battling-to-rebuild-public-trust-in-the-safewa-app-162850

"The [fake] app passes no information to government"

Sounds like a feature!

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3897733&s=09

"Neutralizing antibody levels after vaccination and at diagnosis of the cases were lower than those in the matched uninfected controls. There was no correlation between vaccine-induced neutralizing antibody levels and viral loads or the development of symptoms."

Paper on the failure of vaccines to prevent transmission among healthcare workers in Vietnam.

Vietnam was doing well until their vaccination program started. Possible it even made things worse w/ delta.

Outside Milano Central Train station.

Interesting they just evaded the riot police who had been in front the whole time.

Press guy was on a bike share bike! 😂

At the Milan anti-vax passport right now.

COVID-19 in Iceland: Vaccination Has Not Led to Herd Immunity, Says Chief Epidemiologist
https://www.icelandreview.com/society/covid-19-in-iceland-vaccination-has-not-led-to-herd-immunity-says-chief-epidemiologist/

AKA compliance has not lead to freedom.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-says-it-will-lock-in-returning-citizens-who-permanently-live-abroad-20210805-p58gb9.html

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-06/covid-rules-australians-overseas-visit-home-change-exemption/100356366

tl;dr: If you're an Australian citizen who lives outside Australia, and visit Australia, the authorities might not let you leave the country again.

Most Useless Citizenship Ever

"The largest decrease in hesitancy between January and May by education group was in those with a high school education or less. Hesitancy held constant in the most educated group (those with a Ph.D.); by May Ph.D.’s were the most hesitant group."

https://www.upmc.com/media/news/072621-king-mejia-vaccine-hesitancy?s=09