{"id":2526,"date":"2020-11-08T20:02:50","date_gmt":"2020-11-08T20:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/?p=2526"},"modified":"2020-11-08T20:03:08","modified_gmt":"2020-11-08T20:03:08","slug":"vaccines-healing-powers-better-be-better-than-bidens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/vaccines-healing-powers-better-be-better-than-bidens\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaccines’ Healing Powers Better be Better than Biden\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 239 [8 November 2020]<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Going down the Pandemic ~ or just when you thought it couldn\u2019t get much worse \u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Published: 8 November 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all the gushing, fulsome and hypocritical talk in the western media of a \u2018new dawn for democracy\u2019, clearly it is time to steer clear of Google News for a few days until the gloating and rhetoric subsides, and the \u2018New Management but Business as Usual\u2019 sign resumes its rightful place among the beer cans and spliff ends of yesterday\u2019s party aftermath. As sure as the Devil finds work for idle hands, he is sure to find soundbites for delusional minds. Best to keep busy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Olga, and I are busy translating and editing a book from Russian into English about a young Russian soldier\u2019s experiences as a prisoner in Austria\u2019s notorious Mauthausen Nazi Concentration Camp, known at that time as the Bone Grinder. Not exactly bedtime reading, but it serves to remind us that the privations and hardships endured by the wartime generation puts our gripes about lockdown and the associated inconveniences of Covid-19 firmly into perspective and underlines the difference between the Grim Reaper\u2019s mortality harvest now compared to then as one of existential proportions ~ a difference on the scale of a sniper\u2019s bullet and the bomb that they dropped on Nagasaki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diary of a self-isolating Englishman in Kaliningrad
Previous articles:<\/strong>
Article 1: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 1 [20 March 2020]<\/a>
Article 2: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 6 [25 March 2020]<\/a>
Article 3: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 7 [26 March 2020]<\/a>
Article 4: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 9 [28 March 2020]<\/a>
Article 5: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 10 [29 March 2020]<\/a>
Article 6: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 16 [4 April 2020]<\/a>
Article 7: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 19 [7 April 2020]<\/a>
Article 8: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 35 [23 April 2020]<\/a>
Article 9: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 52 [10 May 2020]<\/a>
Article 10: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 54 [12 May 2020]<\/a>
Article 11: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 65 [23 May 2020]<\/a>
Article 12: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 74 [1 June 2020]<\/a>
Article 13: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 84 [11 June 2020]<\/a>
Article 14: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 98 [25 June 2020]<\/a>
Article 15: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 106 [3 July 2020]<\/a>
Article 16: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 115 [12 July 2020]<\/a>
Article 17: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 138 [30 July 2020]<\/a>
Article 18: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 141 [2 August 2020]<\/a>
Article 19: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 169 [30 August 2020]<\/a>
Article 20: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 189 [19 September 2020]<\/a>
Article 21: Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 209 [9 October 2020]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am not saying that the situation is good, far from it. You may be of the opinion that it is not good that \u2018Healing\u2019 Joe Biden is the new incumbent in the Whitey House, but it is one of those awkward \u00a0things that we have to live with, and when we think of it in relative terms, coronavirus that is, not the resuscitation of globalism, we would do worse than recall Phil Collin’s words, \u201cHey, think twice. It\u2019s another day in paradise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am sure those migrants think so, those that are escorted across the English Channel first by the French Navy and then by the British<\/a>, and when they land at Dover are chauffeur driven to 4-Star hotels. Home and dry, you might say! But it is not such plain sailing for the rest of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With summer having waved goodbye and taking with it further opportunities to socialise outside, in, as we have been led to believe, the relative coronavirus safety of pub gardens and on bar decking areas, and with the media everywhere ramping up second-wave horror stories, the imposition of lockdown in the UK and here, in Kaliningrad, self-isolation, or at best cautious socialising, is back with a vengeance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vaccines’ healing powers better be better than Biden\u2019s<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, what do you do? Your mother who is about to turn 80 has been looking forward to celebrating this significant milestone in her life with friends at a restaurant. Arrangements have been made, but as the date approaches, one by one her friends shy away, taking the view that discretion is the better part of valour, that there is clear and present danger in social mixing. This is the coronavirus conundrum for older people, is it not? The older you get the more precious time becomes? So do you go for it, regardless? Get out there and live life whilst you can or allocate the time you have left for hiding in the house? It is, to say the least, a difficult trade-off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The media repeatedly tells us that the infected world is on the cusp of vaccine roll-out, but what does that mean, exactly? A recent article in The Moscow Times<\/em>1<\/sup> claims that \u201cThe share of Russians unwilling to vaccinate against Covid-19 has risen to 59% in October from nearly 54% in August, according to the Levada Center pollster.\u201d The same article makes the claim, \u201calmost half of Russians would never vaccinate against the coronavirus regardless of whether it\u2019s produced in Russia or another country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are not alone. People in the UK who I know personally are on the same wavelength. When I spoke to a friend recently, a retired biochemist, a scientist, aged 81, he said that he had never been vaccinated for anything and would not be now. Mind you, I suspect that he owes his longevity more to a frugal diet of muesli and oily fish than to his lifelong avowal of the risk of medication-taking and his strict regime of non-medication use, but then on second thoughts \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vaccines’ healing powers better be better than Biden\u2019s<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In an article from The Lancet<\/em>2<\/sup>, it is affirmed that \u201cVaccination is widely regarded as the only true exit strategy from the pandemic that is currently spreading globally.\u201d But, \u201cHold Hard!!\u201d as my auntie used to say (unfortunately, and I am not sure why?), as we read on we find, \u201c\u2026 we do not know that we will ever have a vaccine at all. It is important to guard against complacency and over-optimism. The first generation of vaccines is likely to be imperfect, and we should be prepared that they might not prevent infection but rather reduce symptoms, and, even then, might not work for everyone or for long.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Having read this, you could be forgiven for believing that\u00a0 the vaccine has about as much chance of warding off coronavirus as Biden has of ~ according to the liberal media ~ healing America\u2019s rifts, which the ideology that he represents ironically created. Why else did so many Americans vote for Trump initially and continue to vote for him now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vaccine vote still hangs in the balance, but not wanting to take it or, conversely, dying to take it (so to speak) is not a Russian phenomenon, it is global not Russian roulette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vaccines’ Healing Powers Better be Better than Biden\u2019s<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What we need now is a plethora of articles elevating science with the same degree of shameless enthusiasm as that used to hoist Joe Biden to a level that he does not really deserve. Or do we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tone of the liberal media on Biden\u2019s election victory has Biden cast in the image of a crusading saintly Other, ordained by the deity and sent to earth, his divine mission being to restore the neoliberal globalist vision of an incongruous imperialist democracy. If Trump was the pantomime villain that kept oons of leftist scribblers in feverish employment during his term in office, and how entertaining their toil has been, Jo Biden is the Second Coming, America\u2019s last great hope for the salvation of a dying doctrine, everything and nothing that stands between the meltdown of the melting melting pot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On every American dollar you will find the words, \u201cIn God We Trust\u201d. With Uncle Joe Biden about to be installed (they need a couple of days to attach the strings), these words could take on an entirely new and ominous meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over here, the Almighty is held in no less high regard, but it is also generally believed that vodka cures everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the time being, at least, I think I will stick with that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong> (Vaccines’ Healing Powers Better be Better than Biden\u2019s)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. https:\/\/www.themoscowtimes.com\/2020\/11\/02\/mistrust-grows-for-russias-coronavirus-vaccine-poll-a71929 [Accessed 8 November 2020]<\/li>
  2. https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lancet\/article\/PIIS0140-6736(20)32175-9\/fulltext<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Copyright \u00a9 2018-2020 Mick Hart. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 239 [8 November 2020] Going down the Pandemic ~ or just when you thought it couldn\u2019t get much worse \u2026 Published: 8 November 2020 With all the gushing, fulsome and hypocritical talk in the western media of a \u2018new dawn for democracy\u2019, clearly it is time to steer clear of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,6],"tags":[1266,1268,578,1265,309,15,199,211,1267,1270],"class_list":["post-2526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diary-2019-2020","category-kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary","tag-biden-healer-or-quack-doctor","tag-diary-of-a-self-isolator-day-239","tag-englishman-living-in-kaliningrad","tag-englishman-living-in-russia","tag-englishman-self-isolating-in-kaliningrad","tag-kaliningrad","tag-self-isolating-in-kaliningrad","tag-self-isolating-in-russia","tag-vaccine-not-100","tag-will-the-vaccine-work"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Old-Mr-B-Rz.jpg?fit=1260%2C879&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4891,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/qr-codes-enforced-in-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":2526,"position":0},"title":"QR Codes Enforced in Kaliningrad","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"11 \u043e\u043a\u0442\u044f\u0431\u0440\u044f, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 576 [11 October 2021] 8 October 2021, QR codes are officially introduced in Kaliningrad and across the Kaliningrad region. What are they? Think Vaccination Passports in the UK and you are on the right track. Published: 11 October 2021 ~ QR Codes Enforced in Kaliningrad\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Diary 2021"","block_context":{"text":"Diary 2021","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/diary-2021\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Bear-slamming-door.png?fit=300%2C250&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3018,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/no-lockdown-in-kaliningrad-russia\/","url_meta":{"origin":2526,"position":1},"title":"No Lockdown in Kaliningrad Russia","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"18 \u044f\u043d\u0432\u0430\u0440\u044f, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 310 [18 January 2021]or Business as Usual Published: 18 January 2021 There is no lockdown in Kaliningrad, Russia. In fact, I think I am right in saying, and I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, that there is no lockdown across\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Diary 2021"","block_context":{"text":"Diary 2021","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/diary-2021\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Bottle-with-mask-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Bottle-with-mask-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Bottle-with-mask-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Bottle-with-mask-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Bottle-with-mask-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Bottle-with-mask-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2239,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/self-isolating-englishman-in-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":2526,"position":2},"title":"Self-isolating Englishman in Kaliningrad","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"19 \u0441\u0435\u043d\u0442\u044f\u0431\u0440\u044f, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 189 [19 September 2020]The thin dividing line between caution and common sense Published: 19 September 2020 Reckless, lax, less cautious, or a simple case of resumed normalcy? How should I describe the shift in my attitude to coronavirus, having, at the time of writing, completed\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Diary 2019\/2020"","block_context":{"text":"Diary 2019\/2020","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/diary-2019-2020\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Me-pint-at-night-2-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Me-pint-at-night-2-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Me-pint-at-night-2-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3447,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/spring-brings-people-out-in-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":2526,"position":3},"title":"Spring Brings People Out in Kaliningrad","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"12 \u0430\u043f\u0440\u0435\u043b\u044f, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 394 [12 April 2021]And what has all this got to do with coronavirus and self-isolation? Published: 12 April 2021 ~ Spring Brings People Out in Kaliningrad With the temperature shooting up to a \u2018very nice spring day\u2019 18 degrees, my wife, Olga, had no difficulty\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Diary 2021"","block_context":{"text":"Diary 2021","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/diary-2021\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring Brings People Out in Kaliningrad","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/People-out-in-Kaliningrad-Rz-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C554&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/People-out-in-Kaliningrad-Rz-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C554&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/People-out-in-Kaliningrad-Rz-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C554&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/People-out-in-Kaliningrad-Rz-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C554&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/People-out-in-Kaliningrad-Rz-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C554&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3314,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/running-out-of-kitchen-cabinets-in-the-uk\/","url_meta":{"origin":2526,"position":4},"title":"Running out of kitchen cabinets in the UK","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"14 \u043c\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 365 [14 March 2021] Anniversary of self-isolating in Kaliningrad Congratulations to who, exactly? To WHO? Today marks my first anniversary of self-imposed self-isolation ~ of sorts. Three hundred and sixty-five days of watching where I go and who is standing three hundred and sixty degrees\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Diary 2021"","block_context":{"text":"Diary 2021","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/diary-2021\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Running out of kitchen cabinets in the UK","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/R.I.P..png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/R.I.P..png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/R.I.P..png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/R.I.P..png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/R.I.P..png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3180,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/russia-aims-for-pre-covid-near-normality\/","url_meta":{"origin":2526,"position":5},"title":"Russia aims for pre-Covid Near Normality","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"10 \u0444\u0435\u0432\u0440\u0430\u043b\u044f, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 333 [10 February 2021]or Russia's Near Normal vs the West's New Normal Published: 10 February 2021 ~ Russia aims for pre-Covid Near Normality There are a few weeks to go yet before I can legitimately celebrate my first Covid self-isolation anniversary, but as that peculiar\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Diary 2021"","block_context":{"text":"Diary 2021","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/diary-2021\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Russia aims for pre-Covid Near Normality","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/zulmaury-saavedra-zh0J32MrJfA-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=674%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/zulmaury-saavedra-zh0J32MrJfA-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=674%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/zulmaury-saavedra-zh0J32MrJfA-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=674%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}