Parallel Universe: As Covid Fearporn Ramps Up, the Weaknesses of the Gov't, MSM, and 'Experts' is Exposed

Covid is baaaaaack in Austro-Covidistan, in particular among the Twitterati, technocrats, and their sycophantic booster boys

News about the premature demise of the vaccinators and their willing executioners may have been a tad overblown, but if the current uptick in legacy media coverage is any indication, these are signs of desperation. For background, see this:

Covid in Austria: Groundhog Day Edition, As 'Experts' and 'Journos' Wear Their Intellectual Bankruptcy with Pride

As we venture a wee bit further down this particular Austro-Covidian rabbit hole, I would ask you to keep in mind that I’m translating (and adding emphases, if needs be) to the below pieces.

Enjoy, if you will.

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A few days ago, you told us that there’s not much going on with respect to Covid these days—what changed?

Oh, there is quite a bit going on, but it is happening in a kind of parallel universe almost: yes, there is a significant increase in legacy media coverage these, and while I point to some of the most absurd examples below, the main take-away is—not many, and if polling data is to be believed, fewer and fewer people care (enough) to get agitated. Hence, the title of today’s posting.

Huhum, you mention polling data: what’s up with that?

In short—two days ago, I pointed to polls reported by alt-media outlet eXXpress, which suggested a mere 26% of the population would consider getting yet another jab this autumn.

And then I read, as reported by tabloid outlet Österreich, that the willingness to get yet another one of these products may be ‘as low as 10%’:

On the one hand, the willingness to get vaccinated in Austria—with the exception of TBE immunisation—is already far below the Western European average. On the other hand, the ‘politicisation of the vaccination debates’ has not exactly increased the willingness to vaccinate, public health expert Hans Peter Hutter and complexity researcher Peter Klimek commented.

Remember Peter Klimek? He is Covidistan’s modelling guru who called the fourth national ‘lockdown’ a ‘victory lap’ as there were neither data nor models that suggested efficacy of this particularly injurious measure. Shame on you, Mr. Klimek!

This polling data—of about 10% diehard vaccine aficionados is in the ballpark of data from the US; taking yet another (presumably useless) flu shot is something some 24% consider, that article purports.

What are the main reasons for people not getting jabbed? Did they catch up?

Kinda. One the one hand, as the above-linked piece in Österreich explains, due to Covid no longer being labelled a ‘public health emergency’,

home visits via health services to people in need of care are no longer provided, and not all doctors want to vaccinate either. Not because they are opposed to the vaccine…but because they fear that ‘we will then have to throw vaccines away again’, as some GPs tell Österreich.

This is easily explainable due to Big Pharma supplying ‘(as before) only vaccine vials with six doses’. Hence, if only one person shows up to get jabbed, and if the opened vials are not used up within a day, the rest is no longer usable’. This is why—monetary disincentives for GPs—more and more doctors are opting out.

You mentioned GPs, what’s their exact role in this scheme?

Due to the federal gov’t withdrawing a blank check for literally any kind of PR, reimbursements, fees, and extra payments to those ‘providing’ these services directly, it is now ‘back to normal’. In Austria’s federal system, this means, above all, that GPs must, again, file all claims and the like via their state-run public health insurance schemes. And this, because it’s ‘business as usual’, simply takes more time—and, perhaps more importantly, state-run public health insurance entities are also taking a closer look as the federal gov’t isn’t simply covering everything with no questions asked.

There are two other aspects to consider, which result from the above-mentioned ‘practical’ (only multi-jab vials) and ‘bureaucratic’ (reimbursement back to normal) issues:

On the one hand, as reported by Heute, ‘it is getting increasingly hard to arrange for an appointment to get vaccinated’ with the most recent booster jab. No more pop-up clinics being available, one of the smaller ones in Vienna-Erdberg offers a mere 4,000 appointments in October. And ‘while these are already fully booked, the next available appointments will be in November’. And while one could still get a ‘free vaccine’ at one’s GP, see above for the issues involved with this option.

On the other hand, as reported by state broadcaster ORF Online,

with the ending of the coronavirus measures at the beginning of July this year, the publicly funded testing system also came to an end. Coronavirus tests can be obtained at pharmacies in exchange for a fee.

State broadcaster Wien ORF Online even highlighted the confluence of the above notions, stating that ‘it takes a lot of patience to get a Covid vaccination appointment’ this autumn. This is explained as follows:

However, not all of the 200 or so vaccination clinics listed online by the Vienna Medical Association are actually vaccinating, as a survey by ORF Vienna has shown. Of those doctors who actually vaccinate, most do not expect the vaccine until next week. Vaccinations are also only carried out on a certain day of the week, as soon as the vaccine has been delivered, it was said several times.

Although it remains unmentioned, this is likely done to pool vaccine enthusiasts and avoid having to pay for vials that must be discarded.

How are the powers that be (re)acting this autumn?

Oh, the above problems aren’t because the powers that be don’t want to jab people anymore; what the above shows you is how ‘the (publicly-run, socialised) healthcare system ‘works’ under conditions approximating ‘normal’: delays, a bureaucratic obstacle course, and time-consuming reimbursement schemes are par for the course.

In fact, Austria’s biggest tabloid, Kronen Zeitung, while knowing all of the above, is running weird infomercials about the incipient jabbing campaign:

‘In wastewater monitoring, you see a slight increase in circulating viruses’, says Maria Paulke-Korinek from the Department of Immunisation at the Ministry of Health. There is a ‘certain incidence of infection’. Corona is no longer a notifiable disease, but ‘the coronavirus is here to stay’…

‘Get a booster! Reduce the risk of a severe course!’, ÖVIH President Renée Gallo-Daniel quoted the slogan of the campaign initiated by her advocacy group. ‘There is some vaccination fatigue, but we also see that Covid cases are on the rise again.’

Two things here: ‘get a booster’ (‘gemma boostern’ in German) is the slogan of the totally cringe-worthy new agit-prop campaign by the Austrian Association of Vaccine Manufacturers (Österreichischer Verband der Impfstoffhersteller). In other words: the tabloid provides a platform for an industry lobby group—would you care to take a look?

Sure, how crappy is their stuff?

Well, here’s their website:

Betraying their collectivist-totalitarian mindset, their website reads:

Getting vaccinated means the assumption of responsibility.

For the individual and for society.

In case there's any doubt left, here's the 'with friendly support from' notice on the website of the pro-vaccine campaign referenced above:

Brought to you by AstraZeneca, novavax, and Pfizer.

So far, so hopeful, I suppose. What are the Hate’n’Covid’n’Fearporn-mongers over at Der Standard up to today?

Same shit, different smell, I think, is the most appropriate short-form answer.

On 21 Sept., notorious ‘journo’ Jasmin Altrock composed another Q&A for those in doubt about any one of the seasonal influenza-like-illnesses, namely Covid, the flu, and RSV:

Not only Covid, but also influenza and RS viruses infect many during the cold season. Vaccinations can significantly reduce the burden of disease and even protect against infection. When and where you can get immunised

There is literally everything said that could reasonably be pointed out here, in particular as Ms. Altrock is recycling some of the crap she put out the day before.

The one ‘new’ thing here is a quip by notorious pro-vaccine shill and virologist Monika Redlberger-Fritz who is also a member of the National Immunisation Consortium. Asked, ‘when is the best time for the Covid 19 vaccination?’, here’s her reply:

‘It depends on when the last contact with the virus took place’, says Monika Redlberger-Fritz, virologist and member of the National Vaccination Panel. At least six months, but ideally twelve months, should have passed between the last contact and the vaccination. ‘So anyone who had a Corona infection last winter or earlier should get a vaccination now.’ Then you are well protected against the next wave.

Many people, however, do not know exactly when their last infection was or whether the cold and cough last winter was perhaps an infection with Covid-19. Paulke-Korinek [remember her?] from the Department of Immunisation at the Federal Ministry of Health therefore recommends ‘getting vaccinated anyway, even if you are not sure when and whether you were infected with the coronavirus’. Even if an infection occurred unnoticed and less than six months ago, an earlier vaccination is not problematic.

It obviously never occurred to Ms. Altrock to actually do journalism, instead of merely performing to do so, as there are at least two pertinent questions I could think of:

1. Ms. Redlberger-Fritz, what about natural immunity?

2. Ms. Paulke-Korinek, if I was ‘infected’ but didn’t ‘notice’ it, why would I now get yet another jab?

Alas, these people never learn.

Any new contenders for the ‘stupidity of the day’ competition?

There’s so many, it’s hard to chose the ‘right’ one. What about this (from the piece by Ms. Altrock):

Question: Is it possible to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and influenza at the same time?

Answer: In principle, simultaneous vaccination is possible. However, if you tend to have a stronger vaccination reaction, you should keep at least two weeks between the jabs. But also because of the timing, it is not always entirely sensible to combine both vaccinations, says virologist Redlberger-Fritz.

And if that’s not cringe-worthy and stupid enough for you, what about this (same source):

Question: The respiratory syncytial virus, RSV for short, is one of the ‘big three’. Why can it be dangerous?

Answer: RSV is a very common cold virus; in Austria there are a approx. 300,000 infections every year. The most common symptoms include a cold, cough, sore throat and fever. About 1,530 of those who fall ill have to be treated in hospital. The vast majority of those affected, around 85%, are babies under one year of age… [oh, the children, must bring up babies to incite fear]

What’s your bottom line as of today?

I think some people will—perhaps even less than 10%, as intimated by polling data—will get yet another Covid shot, if only it is not rendered available like in the past. Call it ‘lack of convenience’ (personally, I’d call it ‘decadence’), but the end result is the same: excessive materialism leads people to expect more and more, and while critical thinking and free will decline, their cognitive-mental spaces are gobbled up by ever more impertinent sentiments of entitlement. And if spoiled brats don’t get what they want immediately and without them having have to ask for it in the first place, they will throw a tantrum and eventually focus (redirect) their attention elsewhere.

Case in point: the final two paragraphs in Ms. Altrock’s shilling piece:

The Corona vaccination is free for everyone. For the influenza vaccination, a co-payment of seven euros is charged throughout Austria. Also, you no longer have to get the vaccine yourself, it is in stock at the respective vaccination centres. For children up to 18 and persons exempt from prescription fees, the immunisation [sic] is free of charge.

The situation is different for the RSV vaccination. You have to pay for this yourself and it costs 275.60 euros.

I could imagine that not too many parents will pay for this out of pocket, which reduces the number of recipients per (prospective) adverse reaction, which might eventually trigger Big Pharma into action to ‘lobby’ (buy) regulators and politicians to include the RSV shot into the ‘national vaccine program’, which allows Big Pharma to sell more and receive liability protection in exchange.

Nothing new under the sun, but I think it will result in a very close race to the reputational bottom of Big Pharma and legacy media. Keep moving, folks, you’re almost irrelevant.

Huhum, obviously this will be the consequence—but what are the odds of this happening anytime soon?

Different topic, but I think it’ll happen sooner rather than later.

Freedom Party chairman Herbert Kickl, smeared daily by legacy media and the woke Twitterati, recently declined an invitation to appear in one of the ‘systemic’ media outlets (Puls4) and elected to spend some time on private, alt-media outlet Auf1.

And while legacy media went batshit crazy (e.g., here), it signifies a massive break: Mr. Kickl and the Freedom Party are leading all polls by a substantial margin, and his refusal to engage with legacy media is a harbinger of things to come, I think.

What Mr. Kickl—sitting next to AfD chairwoman Alice Weidel—is telling legacy media is: ‘I don’t need you anymore’, and ‘I don’t want to waste my time with you asking insulting questions so that you may later celebrate this on Twitter’. (My renditions.)

While that is an obvious thing to think about this episode, it also signifies that Mr. Kickl—not unlike Donald Trump using social media to his massive advantage in 2016—understands that he reaches more people via alt-media appearances than via the declining share of the electorate that still watches and reads legacy media output.

I suspect that, much like the indie content producers in the fields of music or podcasters, this constitutes a massive power shift that will eventually transform legacy media, politics, and propaganda as we know it.

Time will tell.