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Most misleading spin ever?

Africa was winning the Covid-19 battle. Then came rising death rates (and waves of misinformation).

" African states appeared to be faring better than many other nations during the Covid-19 crisis. Now, Africa has the highest infection-to-death ratio in the world, according to statistics released on Feb. 4 by the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number of deaths in Africa so far, more than 95,000 people, accounts for less than 4 percent of the global total. But the 2.6 percent rate at which people are now dying from complications related to Covid-19 in Africa is almost half a percent higher than the 2.2 percent global average."

Before continuing, let’s just look at just how bad things are in Africa:

Covid-19 deaths per million over last 7 days:
Africa 2.7
Asia 1.2
Europe 44.7
North America 53.3
South America 30.0
(data collected from Worldometer)

"“Our case fatality rate is becoming very troubling,” said John Nkengasong, the Africa C.D.C. director, reporting at a press conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that the continent now had the highest worldwide death rate. “It used to be the reverse.”

Dr. Nkengasong worried that the number of deaths—2.2 million worldwide lost to Covid-19 since the pandemic’s outbreak in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019—have had a dulling effect. “I would like us to continue to remember that these individuals, they are loved ones, they are sisters, mothers, brothers, uncles…to put a face to these numbers They are not just statistics.

“It would be a tragedy,” he said, “if we begin to normalize these deaths going forward.”"

For the ‘misinformation’, take Tanzania ‘for example’. But that’s the country that banned vaccines - hardly typical of Africa. Even so, if the reported death rate there per million is anywhere near correct, it is 1/100th of that of the main western populations.
The writer says it’s not correct.

@PontiusPrimate, do you have any insight into this?

The fact remains that the article purports to be about misinformation in Africa, and the only example given is in Tanzania.
I might be reacting too hastily - he seems to be mainly pushing vaccines but maybe the wider plan is to appeal for financial help; there’s always that nice ‘edit’ button :slight_smile:

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The Vatican machine seems to be fully on-board with the GatesWHO’s specious spiel on the covid/experimental-injectable scam. I wonder how the machine’s massive investment funds are disposed at the moment…? Do ‘vaccine’ producers figure noticeably…?

Good response by the Tanzanian president: “Sod off, whitey!”

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Nice dissection of the figures ED. It probably needn’t be added, but what the heck, if ‘cases’ are identified by counting genuinely ill people (rather than 111 year old nuns who produced a +ve test) then the rate of lethality is gonna be higher. It’s all those asymptomatic (trans: healthy) people causing the casedemic, innit.

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Thanks @Evvy_dense - an interesting infuriating article alright!

I’ve been in touch with folks back in Tz a few times over the last few months. They all tell me the same thing - they see no covid, no one they know has had it, no one in their wider circles (mosques etc) have had it, and life is just continuing as normal. Not just in Dar es Salaam - the biggest city - but in other parts too. Not particularly scientific, but it’s what I’m hearing.

I’m a bit surprised at the “pray the disease away” approach by President Magufuli, but then again not that surprised. Religion, by and large, is taken very seriously in Africa, and belief in the power of prayer etc. is a pretty widespread cultural phenomenon. As far as testing goes, I remember that back in May 2020, Magufuli ordered the imported coronavirus tests to be tested, and according to him, samples of pawpaw and a sample taken from a goat were sent to the labs and both came back positive for the coronavirus. He ditched the tests ever since.

As far as I understand his approach to Covid, he seems to be of the opinion that Tz has many greater problems to focus on at this time, and Covid is way down the list of priorities.
Overall, unless there has been a recent change, people I speak to in Tz are shocked by the state of the coronavirus outbreak in the UK. They are experiencing nothing like this at all…

Cheers
PP

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This sort of anecdotal “the way it is” feedback is enormously useful. I have family in ZA where the picture is more mixed, but then again it is on the fringes of the AngloZionosphere where the dominant narrative most strongly holds sway, at the moment.

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“It probably needn’t be added, but what the heck, if ‘cases’ are identified by counting genuinely ill people (rather than 111 year old nuns who produced a +ve test) then the rate of lethality is gonna be higher. It’s all those asymptomatic (trans: healthy) people causing the casedemic, innit.”

Thanks Karen - it did need to be added!
Yeah 2.6 instead of 2.2 - hard to call that a real difference, unless you know the pattern of people going to be tested is the same.
Back in the spring, when the UK was mainly testing people in hospitals we had an apparent case fatality rate as high as 15%.

(Lol) Thanks Rhis for that observation, I wondered what to make of the priests references.
There seem to be takeover bids for westernization of African health - they have a CDC that seems mainly interested in vaccination. (The WHO seems the main instrument).

And look, it’s even the same script! African CDC warns doctors against using things that work, unless it’s in randomized controlled trials, and hurry up with those VACCINES!
Sound familiar?

"The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control (CDC) has advised against the use of an anti-parasite drug called Ivermectin to combat COVID-19.

It is being hailed in some quarters as a wonder drug in fighting the virus. Some doctors claim it is effective in alleviating the suffering of patients who have contracted Covid-19.

But Ivermectin is only officially approved for use in treating parasitic diseases in humans and animals, according to Africa CDC head John Nkengasong.

Speaking to the BBC, Dr Nkengasong said doctors should not use it as a Covid-19 remedy until clinical trials can prove its efficacy:

“I want to issue a cautionary note here that Ivermectin is safe when used at appropriate dose in treating the parasitic diseases that the drug was designed for; but we have to be careful that we do not use it without evidence that it is safe and effective against Covid-19,” he said.

“[Doctors] should not use it, they should only be relying on results from randomised controlled clinical trials… without results from such trials any other reports in anecdotal reports and is not scientifically good.”"

The World Health Organization says it will temporarily drop hydroxychloroquine from its global study into experimental coronavirus treatments following safety concerns

The Africa Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention is warning African nations against using the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, for treating COVID-19 patients.

This comes as the World Health Organization says it will temporarily drop hydroxychloroquine from its global study into experimental coronavirus treatments following safety concerns.

The drug has been controversially used by some world leaders- including US President Donald Trump.

Dr Nkengasong, in a tweet, said the second wave of the pandemic is peaking in Africa and that it’s crucial for governments and suppliers to unite to get the vaccine out in the numbers needed."

Africa CDC warns against the use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 treatment

Ivermectin: Africa CDC Warns Against use O Parasite drug To Treat COVID-19

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Thanks for this on-site feedback PP! Very valuable - I hadn’t even thought that the country might have MORE to worry about! Yeah religion is maybe bigger than over here, but we also have a competitor in blind faith in the miracles of ‘science’ - no matter how often the miracle fails, and the miracle men make off with the money, until next time.
Presume the paw-paw is out of self-isolation by now, or should they do a lateral flow test just to be sure? What a great science/PR coup that was, I’d forgotten which country it was. One to watch, will the president be Mugabe-ized?

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