Politics
CDC Continues Fear-Mongering
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) double-down on their Coronavirus-based fear-mongering, the CDC has now announced an additional possible outbreak that will encourage parents to keep children home from school and away from socialization.
“Outbreaks” of Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM), a serious neurologic condition that can cause paralysis, typically peak every two years between August and November, and are expected to increase again in 2020. The last “outbreak” occurred in 2018, when 238 cases were reported to the CDC.
Every parent’s worst nightmare, the CDC warns that AFM progresses quickly, even within hours, and can result in permanent paralysis or life-threatening respiratory failure in otherwise healthy children.
In other words, if you have seen the positive news about COVID-19 not affecting children without pre-existing conditions, don’t be too optimistic. The CDC will be sure to notify you about an incredibly rare but frightening virus that specifically targets your young, healthy children.
The CDC does not have information about how many children die in connection to AFM, but warn that many end up with a permanent disability.
Symptoms can include recent or current respiratory illness, fever, pain or numbness in limbs, difficulty walking, talking or swallowing, headache, back or neck pain, or facial weakness. The pain or numbness in limbs is the key symptom that parents should look for and seek immediate medical attention for.
Thomas Clark, deputy director of CDC’s Division of Viral Diseases, continues the fear-mongering by admitting that there is nothing specific parents can do to prevent AFM.
https://twitter.com/News_Bazooka/status/1279534428176465920
“Not understanding risk factors means I also can’t tell parents anything specific they can do to prevent AFM but it’s important to remember usual hygiene measures we recommend in respiratory virus season,” including regularly washing hands and sanitizing frequently touched objects in addition to getting vaccinated for the flu, Clark added.
The median age of those diagnosed with AFM in 2018 was 5 years old. 98% of patients were admitted to the hospital, and 54% of those ended up in an intensive care unit.
In a year marked by uncertainty and a fear of touch and closeness, children are now being held hostage at home by terrified parents. The only recommendations being made are more incessant handwashing and of course, increased vaccinations.
The CDC describes AFM as “polio-like” and all mainstream news articles about the condition include photographs of children in wheelchairs or hooked up to ventilators.
After encouraging Americans to stay home, scaring them to the point of failing to seek medical treatment for conditions as serious as strokes and heart attacks, the CDC is now reminding parents that children exhibiting symptoms of AFM will benefit from immediate medical attention.
“We are concerned that, in the midst of a Covid pandemic, that cases might not be recognized as AFM, or we are concerned that parents might be worried about taking their child to the doctor if they develop something as serious as limb weakness,” Clark said.
So to recap, the CDC told you to stay home and hide. But now, rush your child to the emergency room. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Because if it isn’t Covid that will kill your family, they will be sure to find something else to scare you into submission.
Again, mask wearing, constant cleaning, and social distancing are all recommended to ward off AFM and other enteroviruses. Incidentally, they also lead to isolation and mental and physical health issues of their own.
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