By Jeff Crouere, CP Op-ed Contributor
A new Israeli study involving 270 vaccinated medical workers showed that even a fourth shot, a second booster, is not very effective in stopping COVID infections. According to Dr. Gili Regev-Yochay, the director of the group leading the study, “Despite increased antibody levels, the fourth vaccine only offers a partial defense against the virus.”
Similar data regarding vaccine limitations is also available in the United Kingdom. A recent report from their Health Security Agency reviewed hospitalizations from December 20, 2021 through January 16, 2022. In that period, only 26 percent of those COVID-19 patients, 18 years of age and older, were unvaccinated. In addition, among the remaining 74 percent of hospitalized patients, most were “triple vaccinated.”
With vaccines offering only a “partial defense” against the virus and millions of people in this country and globally are still becoming infected, what is the answer? If the virus is everywhere, swirling around in the air and inhabiting the mouths and noses of people worldwide, how can any individual be protected from its consequences?
One potential answer for people is to eat right, exercise, and live a healthy lifestyle. People should make healthy decisions and take care of their bodies, enjoy the great outdoors, and get plenty of sunlight. These old-fashioned health recommendations are as applicable during this pandemic as ever.
Multiple studies have identified a connection between obesity and COVID-19. Overweight individuals are more susceptible to harmful effects of the virus and the lingering impact of the symptoms known as “long COVID.”
In the view of Dr. Philipp Scherer of the University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center, “the virus can infect fat cells directly.” He also noted that “Whatever happens in fat doesn’t stay in fat. It affects the neighboring tissues as well.”
Armed with this evidence, it would seem logical for Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to the president of the United States, to focus on limiting the impact of COVID-19 by advocating healthy lifestyles for Americans.
Instead, in a recent interview on ABC’s This Week, program, Fauci discussed his openness to a possible fourth vaccine shot, but only after the impact of the third shot is fully evaluated. Fauci hoped that Americans would eventually learn to “live with” the virus. He stressed that a “low level” of the virus could be achieved with “vaccine testing, masks, therapy.”
The answer from Fauci, and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control, is always the same, a continuation of the focus on masks and vaccines, supporting mandates for all Americans, even for young children. If those policies worked, after two years of the pandemic, Americans would be rid of this dreaded virus. In contrast, it is still dominating our lives and leading to the greatest governmental assault on our freedoms in American history.
Fortunately, some liberals like comedian Bill Maher are now coming to the realization that our policies have not worked. In the season opener of his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher, the comedian noted that “I feel like COVID is still the dominant issue of our lives right now and it should not be anymore.”
Maher said that the major threat remains to the incredibly old and those with comorbidities, but not to people who are “in good health.” Unfortunately, the virus alarmists never seem to mention the benefits of a healthy lifestyle or the effectiveness of natural immunity. Recently, there has been some mention of beneficial therapeutic treatments, but not the level of discussion needed.
For Biden administration officials, it has become an obsession to focus on vaccines and push for mandates. This stance has been adopted in many “blue” cities and states nationwide. Rather than fixate entirely on vaccines, which are only partially effective, there should be dire warnings about the dangers of obesity and the connection to the virus.
Overeating will place tremendous pressure on the heart, lungs, and many other organs in the body. An unhealthy lifestyle cannot be fixed with multiple vaccines or triple masking. Even if those measures did offer the level of protection promised by Fauci and others, it will not negate the dangers and medical risks of living an unhealthy lifestyle.
Today, “blue” cities are patrolled by self-appointed members of the mask and vaccine police who often engage in deranged rants against people not living up to 100% compliance with their view of the proper virus mitigation standards. We have seen countless online videos of incidents on airplanes, restaurants, and in other public settings of these individuals berating and insulting their fellow Americans.
What are their crimes? It is not donning a cloth mask, which even the CDC admitted, offers limited protection or not being fully vaccinated.
This is especially infuriating because many of these COVID-19 cops exhibit a disregard for healthy lifestyle choices while screaming at others for not wearing a mask or being vaccinated. These are the people who will contract heart disease and diabetes due to their eating habits and lack of exercise and their medical bills will be paid by the very people on the receiving end of their abusive treatment.
There should be a law that a person who lives an unhealthy lifestyle cannot make rules regarding other people’s health choices. It is only logical. For example, if someone refuses to mow the lawn in front of their house, they should not be allowed to complain about a neighbor’s tall grass. It is just not fair.
People who voluntarily live an unhealthy lifestyle will not lower their blood pressure or unclog their arteries by wearing a mask or taking multiple vaccine shots. Although it is probably too much to ask, they should stop deluding themselves into thinking that they will be “safe” and healthy by following the latest dictates issued by Dr. Fauci.
In our country, people should have the freedom to make their own decisions, such as whether to eat unhealthy food, wear a mask or take a vaccine booster, which does not offer protection from contracting the virus.
Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and his award winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs locally at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and at 10:00 p.m. Sundays on PBS affiliate WLAE-TV, Channel 32, and from 7-11 a.m. weekdays on WGSO 990-AM & www.Wgso.com. He is a political columnist, the author of America’s Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on www.JeffCrouere.com. For more information, email him at jeff@jeffcrouere.com