Summary of Randall Bock: Overturning Zika: The Pandemic That Never Was | Tom Nelson Pod #160

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The Zika virus, once believed to cause a microcephaly syndrome linked to birth velocity, was widely documented before 2015, according to Dr. Randall Bach in a video discussing the origins and consequences of the Zika microsopy pandemic. The myth of Zika microsopy arose due to misinformation and lack of proper testing, and there were no cases of microcephaly associated with Zika in Uganda before the phenomenon, nor any human illness from Zika in literature before 2007. This video also discusses the history and current state of the Zika virus, its relationship with microcephaly syndrome, and the standard deviation used to diagnose microcephaly, as well as the misconceptions and biases surrounding the virus.

00:00:00 In this section, Dr. Randall Bach debunks the myth of the Zika microsopy pandemic. According to Dr. Bach, the before times were in 2015 and 2016 when a puzzle came out, and he was tasked with researching what Zika was. He ended up using his medical school-trained Google fingers and found that Zika causes cases of microcephaly, a condition with small head circumference. The four other microcephalies emanated from Africa and were named One D, Two D, Three D, and Four D. Dr. Bach also points out that Zika itself is a virus, and it is named for the Zika Forest in Uganda. The myth of Zika microsopy pandemic was created because of misinformation and lack of proper testing during that time. However, there were no cases of microcephaly associated with Zika in Uganda before the Zika microsopy phenomenon, and there are no cases of human illness from Zika in literature before 2007.
00:05:00 In this section of the transcript, the speaker discusses the origins of the Zika virus and how it was politicized in Brazil. The speaker points out that Brazil's political divisions are different from those in the United States, with the north generally more left-wing and the south more right-wing. The speaker then talks about a group in Northeast Brazil called Chick V, which formed a WhatsApp group to hunt for a disease like Zika. The group was influenced by the movie The Mission and wanted to draw attention to the poverty and inequality in Brazil through a disease outbreak. The speaker suggests that the abrupt appearance and disappearance of Zika in the United States was due to a combination of factors, including a heightened awareness of the disease and the movement of people around the world.
00:10:00 In this section of the video, the host discusses the history and current state of the Zika virus. They point out that before 2014, there is little literature on the Zika virus and that it seems to have effectively disappeared from our conscious awareness. The host then uses the analogy of "the dog that didn't bark in the night" to understand the importance of absence and data in the context of the Zika virus. They go on to point out that the Zika virus does not know where it is and that it does not have the ability to speak or understand different languages or cultures. The host also discusses a study by Dr. Co, the chair of epidemiology at Yelmo More, who is puzzled by the disappearance of the Zika virus. They lead to consider for people who read the literature and study the topic in more detail and to keep an open mind.
00:15:00 In this section, the speaker explains that Zika virus and microcephaly syndrome are two separate issues that can be misunderstood as interconnected. Zika virus causes a rash and can lead to a birth defect called microcephaly in babies born to infected mothers. There is only one case of an exactly one-to-one link between Zika virus and microcephaly where the mother was infected with both at the same time and the baby was born with a microcephaly brain stem malformation. The speaker uses the example of German Measles to explain that a rare syndrome that occurs during pregnancy is often associated with poverty-related factors such as folate deficiency, malnutrition, and disruptive injuries. The complexity of the issue and the rarity of micropcephaly syndrome make it difficult to attribute a cause to it, and it takes a thorough investigation to make a diagnosis of microcephelpy.
00:20:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the use of thegamma standard deviationthey were calling microscopic during the Zika virus outbreak inIn this standard deviationwas based on two sigma deviationsfrom the norm, but it was very limiting. One of the big mistakes made during this time was the use of this standard deviation by Brazilian scientists to classify newborns as microsopic, even if they had only two microsopic bacteria in their blood. This was a mistake because the Brazilian government did not keep a registry of microsopic data and therefore had no way to prove the number of cases in their country. After the world health organization (WHO) intervened and the scientists used a more stringent standard deviation, the number of cases dropped from 602 to 178, and this was a result of using better math. Brazilian scientists should have used a more stringent standard deviation in the first place and the pandemic would not have been reported as a pandemic if the Brazilian scientists had used this standard deviation.
00:25:00 In this section, biologist Randall Bock discusses the issues with the Zika virus pandemic, including the lack of baseline data, inaccurate testing, and misconceptions about the disease. Bock argues that the high number of cases of Zika in various regions was likely due to a combination of factors, such as a lack of testing and a high density of Aedes mosquitoes. Bock highlights the discrepancies in different regions, such as the northeast in Brazil and Mexico, where Zika was believed to have originated. He also notes the difference in size between European and non-European populations, which may have affected the measurement of baby head size. Ultimately, Bock suggests that ongoing research is needed to better understand the Zika virus and effective strategies to mitigate its impact on public health.
00:30:00 In this section of the YouTube video, the speaker discusses the misconceptions and biases surrounding the Zika virus and its effects on pregnant women. The speaker mentions that there was no retrospective study in the Zeki year in 2015, and that the general hospital in Pano, next door to Pan, found nothing extraordinary during that year. The speaker also discusses the concept of "onetoone identity Zika at its hypothetized worst," which implies that the Zika virus is a major threat to pregnant women, but in reality, only 4% of naive pregnant subjects contract the virus, and only one out of 25 women would come down with microcephaly, a condition that can affect development in fetuses. The speaker also mentions a study from the New England Journal, which posited that a huge microcephaly outbreak in Brazil was caused by the Zika virus, but in reality, this study was also misconstrued and did not undergo peer review.
00:35:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the overhyping and inaccuracies surrounding the Zika virus in the Americas. The speaker believes that the initial announcement of Zika in the region was for self-aggrandisement and that the medical professionals involved had contact with the Chik-W-Chik mission. The speaker suggests that the "discoverer" of Zika in the Americas, a doctor named Carlos Brito, went around traditional research paths and overdiagnosed cases of Zika, leading to a huge public health emergency. The speaker also states that Brito did not call a control group to confirm the diagnosis of Zika and that there has been a negative impact on the people who lived in the affected area.
00:40:00 This section talks about how the fear of Zika virus has been greatly exaggerated and has caused panic among people. It discusses how the disease has lowered birth rates in Brazil and other countries, with people leaving cities due to stagnation and economic burst. The claim that Zika virus causes birth defects is alsoSERVER_ID=220494782247
00:45:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the issue of funding for a Zika virus vaccine in 2016. The speaker explains that the disease did not cooperate as expected, with 45% of the billion-dollar Congressional allocation being used to create a vaccine. The speaker also mentions Dr. Fouchi, who he believes took advantage of the situation by admitting to "borrowing" money from other areas of research, including diabetes, cancer, and arthritis, in order to pressure Congress to pass a Zika funding bill. The speaker notes that the disease had already disappeared by September 2016, but that finding a vaccine was still a priority. Ultimately, the effort to fund a Zika vaccine failed, with the NIH and Walter Reed hospital spending a million dollars on an Ethics panel that determined that human challenge trials, which involve intentionally infecting humans with the virus in order to test a vaccine, were not worth the risk.
00:50:00 In this section of the video transcript, the focus is on the Zika virus and the decision by various entities to try to create a vaccine for it. The mission behind creating the vaccine was political and had to do with obtaining funding and attention. Despite objections from the ethics panel and the agency responsible for regulating Guinea pigs, the decision was made to proceed with the Zika vaccine research and development. Today, Dr. Anna de Rane is working with the Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins to develop a Zika vaccine using the RNA interference method. This vaccine is expected to be available soon, and the plan is to first roll it out in the tropics and then globally. However, there are concerns about the Zika virus vaccine because of the vaccine Dengvax, which has caused a severe reaction in the Philippines and was not widely used.
00:55:00 In this section of the video, the speaker discusses the idea that certain vaccines, particularly those related to Zika virus, contracted by the pharmaceutical industry, could be proportionate to the issues on public health, such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, and other diseases. He argues that the vaccine theory and spending more money on vaccines, including Zika, can lead to better sanitation, cleaner places, and a higher standard of living. He believes that it is more beneficial to work towards vaccines instead of controlling the disease through harmful and unnecessary measures. The speaker is located in the Boston area and is open to any discussions regarding his work, which includes a podcast, website, books, and speaking engagements.

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Randall Bock discussed the failure of experiments to find Zika microcephaly in India in 2018, despite the government's efforts to find it. While Zika-related microcephaly is a thing, it seems that the virus itself does not have a significant impact on microcephaly cases. According to Bock, all major experts believe that Zika does not cause microcephaly. He finds it challenging to convince people of this, but he believes that it is important to consider alternative explanations for microcephaly cases. Bock also expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to have a conversation and encouraged Tom to please repost his show.