What Would A Virus Optimized For Rapid, Lethal Spread Look Like
The author of this article, Charles Hugh Smith, doesn't use the word "bioweapon" even once, but it takes just about no imagination at all to realize that's exactly what he's describing--a virus engineered for use as a weapon. Call it an argument for "intelligent design," if you wish. I offer this as further evidence that what we're dealing with in Covid 19 is a bioweapon that's escaped into the wild--and nobody really knows what the consequences will be. Which explains the very obvious alarm of governments around the world--they know something that isn't being made public for fear of panic. That's my guess. Excerpt from When Will We Admit Covid-19 Is Unstoppable And Global Depression Is Inevitable?
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If we asked a panel of epidemiologists to imagine a virus optimized for rapid spread globally and high lethality, they'd likely include these characteristics:
1. Highly contagious , with an R0 of 3 or higher.
2. A novel virus, so there's no immunity via previous exposure.
3. Those carrying the pathogen can infect others while asymptomatic, i.e. having no symptoms, for a prolonged period of time, i.e. 14 to 24 days.
4. Some carriers never become ill and so they have no idea they are infecting others.
5. The virus is extremely lethal to vulnerable subpopulations but not so lethal to the entire populace that it kills its hosts before they can transmit the virus to others.
6. The virus can be spread by multiple pathways, including aerosols (droplets from sneezing/coughing), brief contact (with hotel desk clerks, taxi drivers, etc.) and contact with surfaces (credit cards, faucets, door handles, etc.). Ideally, the virus remains active on surfaces for prolonged periods, i.e. 7+ days.
7. Those infected who recover may catch the virus again, as acquired immunity is not 100%.
8. As a result of this and other features, it's difficult to manufacture a vaccine that will reliably protect against infection.
9. The tests designed to detect the virus are inherently limited, as the virus may be present in tissue that isn't being swabbed.
10. The symptoms of the illness are essentially identical with less contagious and lethal flu types, so people who catch the virus may not know they have the novel pathogen.
As you probably know by now, these are all characteristics of Covid-19, and this is why it is unstoppable. As we now know, millions of people left Wuhan while the epidemic was raging in January, spreading the virus throughout China and the world via hundreds of airline flights to other nations.
As noted here before-- no data doesn't mean no virus . Even in the U.S., facilities do not have test kits, for example: No one in Hawaii has been tested for coronavirus as health officials wait for kits from CDC (2/20/20).
The situation in developing nations is similar: few if any test kits, which are not 100% reliable and so multiple tests may be required, and so there is no means to ascertain who is a carrier. No data doesn't mean no virus .
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The author goes on to discuss how economists would design a global economic system "optimized for vulnerability to external shocks." Not surprisingly, after listing 8 factors, he concludes:
These are precisely the characteristics of our precarious global economy, dependent on rising debt, vast speculative bubbles, vulnerable supply chains and marginal consumers and producers.
You may or may not agree with all of it, but it's definitely worth considering.