Current Affairs

White House Launches Effort To “Recalculate” US COVID Hospitalization Numbers

Posted by Tyler Durden, zerohedge.com

on Tuesday, 8 February 2022 12:31

Since soon after the start of the pandemic, hospitals and public health authorities have refused to acknowledge the important distinction between patients being hospitalized with COVID and those being hospitalized (or those who eventually succumbed) because of COVID. Authorities unwillingness to acknowledge this distinction has led to both the “casedemic” and people who have died from motorcycle accidents being counted as COVID deaths.

Now, Politico reports that the Biden Administration is working on recalculating the number of COVID hospitalizations in the US to exclude those who may have tested positive for COVID, but were actually being treated for something else.

A task force comprised of scientists and data specialists at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are working with hospitals nationwide to improve Covid-19 reporting. The group is asking hospitals to report numbers of patients who go to the facility because they have Covid-19 and separate those from individuals who go in for other reasons and test positive after being admitted, the two officials said.

As the majority of Americans clamor for all COVID restrictions to be dropped after two years of living with the pandemic (and the onerous government restrictions imposed supposedly to help combat its spread), it seems the Biden administration is suddenly concerned with getting an “accurate sense” of hospitalizations caused by the virus.

The administration’s goal is to get a more accurate sense of Covid-19’s impact across the country and whether the virus is causing severe disease. Senior Biden health officials have increasingly relied on hospitalization numbers, rather than case counts, to determine how to respond to the virus as well as the efficacy of the vaccines. Lower hospitalization rates could inform the administration’s thinking on public health measures such as masking. More accurate Covid-19 numbers also could provide a better picture of the strain on hospitals and which resources they might need during surges.

Of course, accomplishing this won’t be easy. Each case will need to be reviewed by a “panel of experts” in an arduous process…read more.

Liberal MP decries ‘politicization’ of pandemic, questions federal policies

Posted by Rachel Aiello, ctvnews.ca

on Tuesday, 8 February 2022 11:44

A Liberal MP is speaking out against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and provincial governments’ pandemic policies, and politicians’ handling of the ongoing trucker convoy protests.

Joel Lightbound, the Louis-Hébert, Que. MP, held a press conference on Parliament Hill on Tuesday morning saying that he thinks those concerned about COVID-19 policies have “legitimate concerns” that should not be dismissed.

Citing the impact on Canadians’ mental health, families becoming divided, and people losing their jobs over decisions to not to get vaccinated, Lightbound said he thinks political leaders are “unwilling to adapt.”

“I’ve heard from hundreds of constituents and citizens who took the time to reach out to me these past weeks, folks who have nothing to do with these demonstrations, who are for the most part vaccinated, who have done everything as they should these last two years,” Lightbound said.

He thinks political leaders have failed at explaining to Canadians their rationale for continued public health measures, citing the vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers as the latest example.

“I fear that this politicization of the pandemic risks undermining the public’s trust in our public health institutions. This is not a risk we ought to be taking lightly,” Lightbound said…read more.

Stat of the Day

on Monday, 7 February 2022 15:19

Quote of the Day

on Monday, 7 February 2022 14:54

Canada Has Seen Suspicious Money Reports Surge And It’s Investigating A Lot Less

on Monday, 7 February 2022 12:08

Canada has earned itself a reputation as a hub for dirty money over the past years, and it doesn’t seem to be phased by it. Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC) data show reports of suspicious transactions have surged higher in recent years. At the same time, the financial watchdog is conducting fewer compliance audits. The move is particularly problematic for real estate, where housing is rising at a record rate and compliance audits are 60% lower than they were last year.

Canada Has Seen Suspicious Transactions Rise 270% Since 2016

Reports of suspicious transactions have exploded over the past few years in Canada. The agency received 468,079 suspicious transaction reports in the 2020-2021 period ending March 31. It’s 21.2% higher than a year before and 271.6% higher than the 2016-2017 period. Remember, these are just suspicious transaction reports — not the total received reports. The agency receives and “stores” over 30 million transaction reports annually.

FINTRAC Audits Have Fallen Over 62%

A surge in suspicious transactions didn’t cause FINTRAC to break a sweat, apparently. The agency dropped compliance audits sharply, conducting just 151 in the 2020-21 period. This is a drop of 62.2% from the previous period. The pandemic played a role in fewer audits, but this has been a longer-term trend…read more.