POSTSCRIPT/ERRATUM
In the meantime, there is a definite answer about Clapton's phenomena. We now know that the corona jabs can cause Transverse Myelitis. These are inflammations of the spinal cord. The symptoms vary with the location of the inflammation(s).
- 1. Motor symptoms:
- Weakness or paralysis in the limbs (arms and/or legs).
- Difficulty with coordination and balance.
- Muscle cramps or stiffness.
- 2. Sensory symptoms:
- Altered sensation, such as numbness or tingling in the limbs.
- Loss of sensation, making it difficult to feel touch, heat or cold.
- Pain ranging from mild discomfort to severe, sharp pain.
- 3. Problems with bowel and bladder function:
- Difficulty controlling bowel movements (incontinence) or constipation.
- Difficulty controlling bladder function (urinary incontinence) or difficulty urinating.
- 4. Other neurological symptoms:
- Decreased reflexes.
- Sensitivity to light touch or pressure on the affected areas.
- Vision problems, such as blurred or double vision.
- Speech problems (rare).
Pain in the hands can occur with transverse myelitis, especially if the inflammation is in a part of the spinal cord that affects the nerves that run to the hands. Pain in the hands can range from mild to severe pain and may be accompanied by other symptoms such as numbness, tingling, weakness, or paralysis in the hands and fingers.
As with other symptoms of transverse myelitis, the presence and severity of hand pain can vary from person to person and depend on the specific location of the inflammation in the spinal cord.
I'll leave the article below anyway. It turns out that patients can indeed have a clear idea of what is happening in their bodies. And I see for myself that I don't just blame vaccinations everywhere.
[Read yesterday's article? Here is a very readable link about it GOF in the Netherlands, from the Bumblebee blog ]
I sympathize with Clapton. He sensed in his water that something was not right, went along anyway, also under pressure from his children and got vaccinated. He now regrets it and feels lonely because his concerns are not heard. Relatable.
At the same time, I also see a man who is aware of his age (76) and wonders how long he will be able to tour, perform and play guitar at all. He knows very well that he will have to enjoy every tour that is given to him. His hands are his capital because he plays the guitar and without flexible hands it won't go as well, so if they don't want to play anymore... At least physically, there comes a time when it stops. And damn, what is bothering him after his vaccination: his hands. They sting, they are painful – his worst fear seems to be coming true. Maybe he should stop.
Now I'm pretty keen on side effects; I posted about blood clotting when the EMA flatly denied it and I also saw myocarditis looming before, which is now also slowly being recognized as a side effect. Now there are other heart failures and cerebral hemorrhages or infarcts and then it is fingers crossed that long-term effects are not achieved (that is what the next post will be about). So I don't really believe in the official lists of side effects at the moment and I also think that this is not closely monitored. There is a considerable delay in the signalling and the confirmation or debunking. But a side effect that gives you sore hands, I really haven't come across that anywhere.
All kinds of things are attributed to vaccinations and to Covid that in reality have no connection with it. This applies just as much to illness and death after vaccination as it does to long-Covid cases after illness.
People live around stories. Stories occupy a central place, which can be ideologies, religions, beliefs. Like-mindedness is key, belonging to a group, being able to identify with something. Health is sensitive to social factors. Psychological factors are related to diseases. We are complex.
Was it Mattias Desmet who told the story about a man who wanted to commit suicide and had swallowed a jar of medicine? He was wheeled to the hospital in an ambulance with siren blaring: heart arrhythmia, fever, high blood pressure, breathing problems. Once there, they asked how he had gotten the medicine. It turned out that he had it at home because he was involved in a medical examination. Fortunately, it turned out that he was in the control group: they were placebo pills. Fifteen minutes later he walked out again.
Ben Goldacre
The effects experienced with side effects of vaccinations, as with the effects of diseases, depend to a large extent on the expectations of the person undergoing the disease or treatment. That's the power of the placebo effect. Not only does that work; It also has side effects. Someone who can tell you about this very tastefully is Ben Goldacre, known for his column 'Bad Science' in The Guardian, seen here on Nerdstock (classic). For those who can't follow -or don't want to watch- the hilarious super-fast 5-minute video, here are a few take-aways, based on full-fledged medical research (at least if Ben says so, I believe that):
- People who took two sugar pills a day recovered faster from stomach ulcers than people who were prescribed only one pill a day. (white coats and stethoscopes also help, I read elsewhere)
- Saltwater injections are much more effective at pain relief than sugar pills. Not because salt works better than sugar, but because an injection as a medical intervention makes a much bigger impression than a small pill.
- Fake surgeries reduce joint pain.
- Fake heart surgeries improve angina.
- Placing pacemakers reduces heart problems – even before they are switched on.
- Blood values rise or fall depending on what you tell people about a pill they are given.
Mass hysteria is of all times
If you look at history, you will see that cases of mass hysteria were local things. Point infections. A story spread within a (sub)community. You can imagine what happens when such a story is poured out like an avalanche of information on the world's population, from government scare campaigns to anecdotal evidence in the media. Not to mention what's happening on social media.
The turmoil, the muddled messages, the fear campaigns, the denials without data – all of that adds to Clapton's side effects. What Clapton says has scope, but how many other people have had these kinds of side effects? We don't even count it, bet? "Unrelated".
Wikipedia has a lemma on Mass hysteria. Incidents from the past five years I have translated here.
Clown sightings in 2016
Sightings of people in evil clown costumes in the United States, Canada, and 18 other countries were dismissed as a case of mass hysteria, stating that fear of clowns (which is common among children and adults) may be an underlying cause. The website Vox also claimed that "The great clown panic of 2016 has been perpetuated by virtually everyone except real clowns."
Recurring epidemic of mass hysteria in Nepal (2016-2018)
A unique phenomenon of "recurring mass epidemic hysteria" was reported from a school in the Pyuthan district of western Nepal in 2018. After a 9-year-old schoolgirl started crying and screaming episodes, other children from the same school were soon affected, resulting in 47 affected students (37 women, 10 men) on the same day. Since 2016, similar episodes of massive psychogenic illness have occurred in the same school every year. In 2016, twelve students were affected, and in 2017, a total of 18 students from the same school were affected with different symptoms in one day. Therefore, it was seen as a unique case of recurring mass hysteria.
Emirates Flight 203 (September 2018)
106 of the 521 passengers on a 14-hour flight from Dubai to New York reported symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, fever or vomiting. The pilot notified the airport's ground staff and grounded the plane in New York. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention personnel evaluated the passengers, 11 of whom were sent to the hospital. A few passengers on the "flight from hell" were found to have colds or flu, while the other passengers were convinced they had fallen ill after observing the people around them.
Ketereh, Malaysia (2019)
In August 2019, the BBC reported that schoolgirls at Ketereh National Secondary School (SMK Ketereh) in Kelantan started screaming, with some claiming to have seen "a face of pure evil." Professor Simon Wessely, former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, suggested it was a form of 'collective behaviour'. Robert Bartholomew, a medical sociologist, thought this was due to the stricter implementation of Islamic law in the school. The school responded to the outbreak by cutting down the trees around the school, believing that they were home to supernatural spirits. [That helped.]
Starehe Girls' Centre, Kenya (October 2019)
52 students were isolated with an unknown illness, which showed symptoms of a high-pitched cough, sneezing, and low-grade fever. This number later increased to 68. When the number increased so much, the school board closed the school and instructed the parents to pick up their daughters. Samples collected from the affected students showed only two cases of rhinovirus (a common cold virus). After conducting psychological assessments of the students, a medical team sent to the school by the Kenyan Ministry of Health concluded that the "mysterious" illness was a case of mass hysteria.
Really bummed for Clapton
Coming back to Eric Clapton's complaints, I respect his concerns and also share his concern about the lightheartedness with which the vaccines are being distributed. His story does force me to face the facts: you have to be incredibly careful with these kinds of anecdotal stories, just like with long-covid experiences. It all seems to have just gone away for him and maybe the vaccination will save his life. I imagine Clapton coming from the hospital: "I wouldn't have made it without vaccination."
What I really mind is that the data is not there to simply rule out such a symptom as sore hands. Still, there is a lot of prodding. And if such a side effect is already denied by the pharmaceutical and health institutes then it is no longer credible, see the blood clots and the myocarditis (and maybe brain problems). Fallopian tubes are also in the picture. Maybe it's nonsense? Maybe it's temporary? They have no idea. They completely screwed up.
In preparation: reassuring and alarming stories about side effects of these vaccines and other (fake?) news.
