Summary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s HHS nominee, expressed belief in the “plandemic” conspiracy, suggesting the COVID pandemic was planned by the government.

He also compared COVID efforts to Nazi experiments and accused the government of using bioterrorism to implement social controls.

Kennedy’s statements raise concerns about his understanding of infectious diseases and his potential impact on pandemic response.

  • NaibofTabr@infosec.pub
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    7 hours ago

    There’s strong evidence it was in the USA well before the first cases were reported in China.

    In fact there is strong evidence against this conclusion. Here is a graph showing reported instances for China and the rest of the world (ROW) starting in January 2020:

    In which you can see that Global Cases match China Cases until the end of February 2020.

    And here is a graph showing cases in Hubei province, the rest of China, and the rest of the world starting in January 2020:

    And here is an animated map showing confirmed cased starting January 2020.

    source

    It is very, very clear that the COVID-19 pandemic started in China, specifically in Hubei province, and that anyone who says otherwise is a liar.

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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      6 hours ago

      What you’ve got there is a graph of testing. The slopes are all the same, because that’s when each country received tests, and that’s how quickly they ramped up testing. Covid 19 wasn’t even sequenced until 40 people were extremely ill from the virus. We know now that it is spread through the air, and carriers of the virus can be contagious without being symptomatic. Zero countries were wasting precious tests on deceased people who died in the previous weeks.

      China made for a convenient target for xenophobes and racists to blame. It spread quickly through dense populations, and their government was using (ineffective) draconian methods to contain the spread. Westerners spread the image of indigent communists eating bats and civets, ignoring the growing number of anomalous respiratory illnesses at home.

      Maybe it started in China. Maybe it didn’t. We cannot know for sure, because we deliberately did not collect the data. And anyone trying to convince you differently has an agenda.

      • NaibofTabr@infosec.pub
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        40 minutes ago

        If you have some contradictory evidence from a reliable source to present to substantiate your claims, please present it now. If not, then your

        Maybe it started in China. Maybe it didn’t.

        is a super weak and transparent attempt to spread doubt of the actual research. Your claims, made without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.

        Westerners spread the image of indigent communists eating bats and civets, ignoring the growing number of anomalous respiratory illnesses at home.

        We can tell the difference between SARS-CoV-2 and other sources of viral respiratory illness because we can test that shit, so again your attempt to spread doubt is super weak and transparent. There is research, there is data, there is corroboration from multiple sources. You haven’t presented any sources.

        Science works. Denialism is stupid. Nobody with any brain cells is buying your garbage. Go home.