Covid in Norway: IPH Monkeys w/Data, 'unvaxxed' virtually unaffected by Omicron in May, Authorities Call for End of Covid Passports

Again, the IPH is caught fudging the data, 'injected' hospitalisations now exceed 'unvaxxed' ones while the 'unvaxxed' die older than those who went for the jabs

This is to fill you in on recent developments in Norway, which will cover the following issues: epidemiological developments in the second half of May; a brief round-up of where we are right now; and a few thoughts about what will happen next.

Monkeying With the Data

Not much happening here—in fact, with ‘Omicron’ as much in the rearview mirror, the Institute for Public Health (IPH) determined to reduce the number of dedicated weekly reports by half from next week onwards. In other words: bi-weekly reports.

There was no such report in week 20, which means that Covid-19 isn’t much of a thing here in Norway any longer. If personal experience is any guide (or at least a valid guess), the topic itself has all but disappeared from media a while ago; by now, it’s a non-thing in interpersonal communication. Yes, I know, Norwegians are famously bad at ‘small-talk’ (one of their very much redeeming qualities, in my opinion), but it’s no longer talked about (same with Monkeypox, by the way): perhaps we’ve (finally) moved on?

Sidenote: curiously enough, it’s kind of comparable to ‘Ukraine’ coverage. With Russia securing tactical success upon success in the Donbass in the past few days, it’s hardly surprising that there’s so little chatter about it—and it’s quite striking, to me at least, that policy blunders in such diverse undertakings lead to virtually indistinguishable outcomes. The regression of western politics to the state of 7yo telling everyone that ‘it wasn’t me’ or ‘I didn’t do anything’ is clearly problematic to the extreme.

That said, here’s what the IPH admitted to in its most recent ‘weekly’ report (16-22 May 2022), which goes a long way, I’d argue, to explain why no-one wishes to talk about it anymore: basically the disease pressure is gone, but the most important issue is the difference between ‘vaccinated’ and ‘unvaccinated’ in this regard.

Summarised in Table 1 (p. 5), there’s the money information:

Even allowing for whatever ‘argument’ in favour of the injections (Chief Epidemiologist Preben Aavitsland is a huge fan), at the latest since week 14 (4-10 April 2022) the incidence differential was in favour of ‘the unvaccinated’.

Also, note that the number of ‘new admissions…of unvaccinated’ (nye pasienter…blant uvaksinerte) stands at 5 in the above table. The last time this was higher was in week 16 (18-24 April 2022) when it was 6.

In other words: if you’re ‘unvaccinated’ in Norway, congrats—you’ve made it! That shitshow of an ‘event’ is firmly beyond you, it would appear.

If you’ve taken these injections, well, that’s quite a different story, isn’t it? I’m very sad and filled with profound sorrow for those who were misled by the likes of Preben Aavitsland, his superior (IPH Director Camilla Stoltenberg), and the politicians from both the left-of-centre (in charge since autumn 2021) and the right-of-centre (in charge before).

Incidence and hospitalisation rates are bad enough, the way the (generally o.k.-ish) data is presented continues to be thoroughly misleading. As recently as week 18 (2-8 May 2022, p. 11), there was the now-infamous table 6, represented below:

There is no such table 6 in the most recent report (week 20), and my ‘guess’ is that this has been done to hide the massive discrepancy between ‘unvaccinated’ vs. ‘all-cause vaccinated’ incidence rates.

Back in early May, there were 3,050 three-dose recipients who had been hospitalised ‘since the beginning of the vaccination program’ (siden begynnelsen av vaksinasjonsprogrammet); to these we may add the 1,824 two-dose-recipients for a combined total to 4,874 admissions—which is ‘already’ higher than the total number of ‘unvaccinated’.

Yes, I know that it’s the incidence rates etc., but keep in mind the above table 1, which clearly showed much higher incidences among the ‘all-cause injected’ for a few weeks now.

Furthermore, keep in mind that the 3,050 hospitalised three-dose recipients occurred ‘only’ within the past six months. The third injection was ‘only’ offered (pushed) from autumn 2021 onwards, as well as that there were virtually no 3-dose recipients in the hospital in early January 2022 (see here for details). In other words: the increase in ‘vaccine failure’ is a testament to vaccine failure.

Three more illustrations from week 20’s report to round this off:

Fig. 4 visualises the above information, albeit incl. week 20 (but the report doesn’t show the numbers anymore)

Can you spot the meaningful difference in test positivity rate between ‘unvaccinated’, two-dose, and three-dose recipients?

Final words, as always, about people dying of Covid-19, summarised in Table 7 (p. 16). The numbers are self-explanatory and show the expectable failure of these injections to ‘prevent death’ among the vaccinees. Do note, specifically, that ‘the unvaccinated’ are actually living a bit longer in the past four weeks (it’s the highlighted part):

No More Mass Vaccination Program, No More Covid Passports

…the authorities are reacting to these facts in quite telling ways—by not saying much too loudly or directly, which is, in and of themselves, not only very Norwegian but also a very sensible way forward, I think (even though it’s extremely disingenuous, for both sides of the political continuum are implicated in the policy failure called ‘mass vaccination program’).

So, there’s some media chatter about the next steps (e.g., here in Bergens Tidende), which may be summarised as follows: people over 60 will be offered yearly boosters each autumn while ‘healthy people under 45 will not need another booster injection’.

There you have it: very quietly, the IPH is shifting policy (strategy) in a radical way: it would appear that the end of the mass ‘vaccination’ program has arrived.

What about the darned Covid Passport? As little as a month ago, the EU ‘Parliament’ has re-authorised these instruments of biomedical tyranny irrespective of whatever happens to, or with, Sars-Cov-2 or Covid-19. St to expire on 30 June 2022, as of today there’s no indication what the EU Commission will do now.

And while this is a travesty, here’s the funny thing the Norwegians are preparing these days: the IPH told TV2 that the Covid Passport ‘should be abolished’:

Across Europe, the number of cases has been declining in recent weeks. Most countries have given up on strict measures and reverted back to normal.

Although the Corona Pandemic appears to be under control, several countries still require a valid Covid Passport upon entry.

‘For the time being, it seems that the use of Covid Certificates has become more modest when traveling between countries in Europe, but it is of course wise to check which rules apply to the country you are traveling to’, says assistant health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad in the Norwegian Health Directorate.

Funny enough, it’s Preben Aavitsland—of all people—who’s also quoted as follows:

In February, the EU Commission proposed extending the legal basis for the EU's digital Covid Passport by one year until 30 June 2023. The extension of the regulations and the continuation of the technical solution is a prerequisite for travelers to continue to be able to use their Covid Passport when traveling.

‘That the EU has signaled that they will maintain the certificate scheme until 2024, does not mean the same as that the certificate is in use throughout the period’, Nakstad says.

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health, for its part, believes it is time to abolish the scheme. ‘The EU Commission has asked the countries to stop using Covid Passports as soon as the situation allows. We believe it should happen as soon as possible’, says chief epidemiologist Preben Aavitsland…

‘We do not quite see the point of the corona passport for travel in Europe now, especially because vaccinated people are also infected and can spread the disease’, he continues.

The experience with Omicron has been that the virus variant is highly contagious. Vaccinated people are also infected to a large extent, but more rarely develop serious illness.

While I object to the latter point, at least a modicum of sanity appears to be returning to the premises of the IPH.

Speaking of consequences, authorities are also following up on this change, as evidenced by, e.g., Bergen Municipality. As announced on its website, the last public test station in Spelhaugen will no longer be offering PCR tests after 31 May.

If one needed a Covid Passport thereafter, registered residents may arrange for a rapid test time slot whose results will be entered into the IPH database. In exchange, those who don’t have a Covid Passport yet will receive one.

For travel abroad, people must resort to private actors (at the costs of € 195 per PCR test).

Bottom line—here we are: Covid turns into a nuisance, with authorities quietly walking away from the potential catastrophe they created. Time will tell about the size of this blunder, but we should all remember their names, if (when?) push comes to shove.