This story goes back to when the Covid vaccine came out. At that time, I was part of a medical freedom activist group. It kept me sane, and allowed me to actually be with people (many of my friends were very fearful and stayed in the house).
One of the activities we did was to go to large public areas, and chalk messages on the sidewalk that were basically anti-vaxx, or more specifically anti-vaxx mandate. Slogans like "Think before you jab", "Medical Freedom Now!".
So there were a group of us doing this one day, and a guy walked by, initially very supportive, telling us what a good job we were doing. But he thought that we were encouraging people to get the shot. When he realized we were doing the opposite, he became hostile, told us we were idiots, and that his brother had been paralyzed by polio.
Some of the folks I was with tried to engage with him a little bit. But I hung back, and didn't really know what to say. Of course he was pro-vaccine in general, it would have saved his brother from a lifetime of paralysis.
That's the background for me reading the book The Moth In The Iron Lung.
I could not put this book down. It's a fascinating, page-turner of a story.
The most interesting parts were the actual history of polio. Bottom line - it's a new disease. And we now know that it's definitively linked not (just) to the polio virus. Instead, it's toxicity from heavy metals poisoning, substances such as lead arsenic that were just starting to be used as pesticides. They were used as pesticides specifically against species of moths (thus the Moth in the title).
The consumption of this lead arsenic pesticides (also mercury and other toxins, common in medications of the time) caused leaky gut. And that was a necessary condition for the polio virus (and other viruses, the polio virus was just one of many) to migrate to the backbone and actually cause paralysis. Otherwise it would just cause a few days of diarrhea.
Bottom line, after you read this book you'll understand how what we're told about the vaccine eliminating polio is just not true. There are actually some horrific stories of the first polio vaccines that came out, which actually caused polio outbreaks.
When I think about what a sucker I used to be for all the pro-vaccine propaganda, and how I thought that people that didn't vaccinate were at best idiots and worst evil - I realize how powerful propaganda can be.
I am very dubious about the premise of this book and it sounds like made-up anti-vax crap. Wikipedia doesn't mention this theory for one thing. Maybe Wikipedia is in the pocket of Big Vax.
https://vaxopedia.org/2024/05/15/the-first-five-errors-in-the-moth-in-the-iron-lung-book/
In the article you mention, "five errors" are listed, that Forrest Maready supposedly made in The Moth in the Iron Lung.
This is the first one mentioned in the article:
Maready specifically refutes this exact argument in the book.
Aren't these inconsistent points of view? Or had you already become vaccine-skeptical before Covid started?
I see...it was clear in my head but not in my post.
Anyway, my original position (pre 2020) was pro-vaccine, all of them. I had a yearly reminder in my calendar to get the flu shot every fall, and did, without fail.
And then after a couple months of covid insanity and medical tyranny in 2020, I started to realize that the pro-vaccine propaganda was just that - propaganda. I started reading up on it. This particular book was recently referenced in an interview by Aaron Siri.
What's inconsistent? Pre covid vaxx - I was basically positive on vaccines in general.
Post covid vaxx - eyes wide open to the propaganda. Never got it. Never gonna get another flu shot.
amazing! Heard lots about this one and meant to read it
It's a great read. I learned about this book on the recent interview that Aaron Siri gave on the Dark Horse podcast (Brett Weinstein). The interview was really fascinating.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0iNJnENTx55PYnrroJxHOj.
Aaron Siri was talking about his own book (Vaccines, Amen), which I plan to read as well.
Since you apparently believe that the institution of science writ large is all conspiracy and bunk, at least wrt vaccines, and the process of science includes about a zillion papers having been written, with methods reported, etc., I'm curious about the epistemology by which you read one book that accords with your pre-formed views and decide that it, and nothing else, is the source of truth to be relied on?
And in fact I'm curious about your larger epistemology, since at the beginning of the story you've already arrived at the position stated above. How?
Las propagandas nos esclavizan, " Una mentira dicha mil veces se convierte en verdad", las personas llegan a creerlo todo basta que se lo pongan en la mente.También está el factor humano, no me gusta mucho vacunarme, en Cuba desde que naces te están vacunando cuando no es por una cosa es por otra, soy una persona muy vulnerable mi sistema inmunológico es pobre no tengo muchas defensas para los virus los atrapó a todos dengue, chucunyunga, conjuntivitis, fiebre amarilla o meningo bacteriana, COVID, gripe, varicela, en fin siempre estoy enferma, recuerdo cuando el asma me vacunaban los mismos bichos que me producían las alergias y nada tuvo resultados pues sigo siendo asmática lo heredé de mi familia paterna ahora estoy mejor pero debo usar salbutamol y fluticasona de por vida, puede ser posible que alguna vacuna alivie o no pero debo admitir que si hay medicamentos que alivian un padecer sean vacunas o no. Es la nota que puedes leer y creer, como aquella que salía en Expedientes X " la verdad esta alla afuera"