OP-ED: Best Approach to the Coronavirus Crisis (Hint: We’ve Thus Far Gotten It Wrong)

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By Rabbi Judge Sander Goldberg (in consultation with experts)

First, my conclusion: The country has taken the wrong approach in confronting the Coronavirus Crisis. The draconian shutdown of the country purportedly to save lives will prove to cause more damage than the Coronavirus.

  1. In truth, there were NO experts in how to deal with this unique crisis when it began in earnest. Just because a person has MD or PhD behind his name or Smichas Rabbonim, or for that matter a politician or a judge, does not make him an expert at how a unique public health crisis should be managed. Even most health care policy professionals had no experience in the best way to handle corvid-19 since it is a new disease, whose level of lethality, contagion, cure and prevention was heretofore unknown. As soon as it started spreading and killing people, the first reaction was, as in the initial turmoil of surprise battle attack, to retreat and regroup, which certainly makes sense. Thus, draconian measures were quickly established for the entire population; closing of schools, closing houses of prayer and even private prayer gatherings, non-essential businesses, government offices, sheltering in place, banning gatherings (even of immediate family), wearing masks in public, social distancing, frequent hand sanitizing, etc. It soon became apparent that among the population there were different risk levels. (Healthy) Children and young adults were at extremely low risk, more often than not, upon being infected, exhibiting mild or no symptoms. Some areas of the country, such as Utah suffered very few deaths. Elderly and immuno-compromised individuals are at the greatest risk for deadly effects of the disease; namely respiratory system failure. But even as the nature of the disease became apparent, the draconian measures were not modified to reflect these facts. Should “one size fits all” be the right approach in confronting the crisis? At this point we know how to protect the most vulnerable individuals to a tolerable risk level. The rest of society, including the great (unknown) number of individuals who were infected and recovered, and those to whom the disease is not (generally) a mortal threat, could and should resume the routine of a vibrant society, and with the proper precautions, can do so without jeopardizing themselves or the vulnerable.
  2. Schools, and all businesses should be reopened, perhaps at first maintaining social distancing, limiting the number of people in any one place and masks, except school children, who should freely mix, since for them it may not be a bad idea to become infected, so that they can develop immunity (like we do for Chickenpox). Every day the draconian measures are continued, the economy suffers damage, some of which is irreparable. Eventually, even before a bona fide cure or vaccine is found, the society will have to reopen and the disease will not miraculously disappear with time. When you stick your finger in the dam to prevent a flood, it can be for a minute or a year; when you pull it out the waters are still there ready to flood. Kicking the can down the road is unproductive and most likely, very counterproductive.
  3. How do we know that coronavirus is worse than the dire consequences the protective measures are causing? Millions of people are out of work, many can’t pay their bills. It’s not just the financial burden; many of those people are suffering mental and physical stress and depression.

Many others are suffering emotionally from the isolation requirements. The number of suicides is way up. Yonason Rosenblum wrote a telling article about these factors recently. http://www.jewishmediaresources.com/2047/it-not-about-life-vs-money

  1. I believe a modified version of the Swedish approach to the crisis is best. In Sweden schools and businesses, even restaurants, remained open. Higher risk individuals can voluntarily take protective measures. Not more than 50 people can gather, many public events have been closed or cancelled. The economy is not greatly affected and the government had no need to spend billions or trillions to keep the society afloat. It is true that the death rate is much higher than in the U.S. or other Scandinavian countries that have shut down the society. But a high percentage (about 33%) of those deaths are from the elderly who are housed in huge nursing homes and due to isolated Muslim neighborhoods who are less prone to taking protective measures (about 8% of the population is Moslem). In the Swedish model, “herd immunity” will greatly mitigate a reemergence of the disease. Yes, Sweden is paying up front, but that usually works better than working up debt to be paid later. As for the number of deaths, theoretically they should peak soon, whereas in other places that require isolation, there is no reason that deaths should peak since the draconian measures will have to be lifted, either gradually or quickly. Thus it is “unscientific” to rely on the present figures. In a year from now we will probably see the rest of the world balance out its numbers close to those in Sweden. One thing I would recommend differently than Sweden is better protection including greater isolation for the elderly and at risk individuals. The top health policy maker for Sweden is Dr. Johan Giesecke, whose medical and health care policy credentials are a mile long. For an honest, accurate and comprehensive analysis of the Swedish model, see Dr. Giesecke’s interview. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/04/18/swedish_epidemiologist_johan_giesecke_ why_lockdowns_are_the_wrong_policy.html?utm_source=spotim&utm_medium=spotim_recirc ulation
  2. Hydroxychloroquine, is it a game changer (as President Trump touted), does it work, is it safe and should it be used? Lately, the President has been all but mum on it. His medical authority, Dr. Anthony Fauci has argued that Hydroxychloroquine is not effective and is dangerous for the heart. A few small studies have been prominently presented in the media, indicating Hydroxychloroquine is no good. However, here in America there is at least one doctor, an Orthodox Jew, who happens to be a community doctor for the Chasidic village of Kiryat Joel and who has seen and treated thousands of covid-19 disease patients. His name is Dr. Vladimir (Zev) Zelenko. He has developed a regimen of Hydroxychloroquine+Zinc+Azinthromycin, which he claims has worked extremely well when given at the right stage of the disease and to the right people (he doesn’t recommend it for young people whose symptoms are light or for people on death’s door in the hospital). He has looked at the negative studies, such as the recent VA study, and claims they are totally bogus and designed to fail. Furthermore, he claims Hydroxychloroquine in the dosage that he prescribes is safe. He has been trying to convince the world to use his regimen and has met with success in several foreign countries that are serious. But here in the U.S., the FDA requires long drawn-out studies before you can recommend a drug and until then it is deemed “unproven” and should not be used since it could possibly cause more harm than good. The countries using Dr. Zelenko’s regimen such as Honduras, Turkey and Ukraine, have categorically stated it is a wonder drug saving 100s of lives.
  1. Are politics and financial considerations entering into the coronavirus pandemic? Remdesivir, a drug developed by Gilead Sciences to treat Ebola and some other viruses was a complete failure. Gilead spent 1 billion dollars developing it and now is trying to get it repurposed for covid-19. Allegedly, some early studies show promise and it is being pushed by some on Wall Street and even mentioned by Dr. Fauci as a possible cure for coronavirus, while at the same time, Fauci and others are dismissing or ignoring Dr. Zelenko’s regimen of Hydroxychloroquine+Zinc+Azinthromycin. I have spoken to a top immunologist in our community and he believes Remdesivir won’t work well for covid-19. It appears obvious Gilead and its investors are trying to recoup their tremendous losses at the expense of the taxpayer. Remdesivir is very expensive and must be given intravenously. At thousands of dollars per treatment, even if the patient dies, they will claim no medication works 100%, but it won’t hurt (they are proposing to use it only on people who are severely ill) and is worth the try… even if it can’t be proven it helped anyone at all. The entire regimen of Hydroxychloroquine+Zinc+Azinthromycin costs at most $20, and when it will be publically proven that it is the game-changer for coronavirus, people will wake up and understand that Remdesivir is a scam. See the remarks of the top medical researcher in France, Dr. Didier Raoult, commenting on both Hydroxychloroquine and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhoi1JKjClk
  2. People will have a lot to be angry about, because Dr. Zelenko has been pleading for months with local, state, and federal governments to authorize mass administration of his regimen. Had they listened to him, he claims 90% of the lives lost, could have been saved. He also claims that a lighter regimen of Hydroxychloroquine+Zinc works prophylactically. He himself was very sick a few years ago and miraculously recovered, therefore he is in the category of immuno-compromised and has been taking his prophylactic regimen. He has seen thousands of ill covid-19 patients since this began, and he has not contracted the disease. Assuming Dr. Zelenko is correct, there was no need to shut down society and the economy… at least for so long. By the way, Dr. Zelenko with a German research team jointly plan to present a paper very soon that should be scientifically definitive.
  3. There is an on-going outrageous media circus against the efficacy and safety of Hydroxychloroquine+Zinc+Azinthromycin. In several states, most prominently NY, the governor has issued an executive order banning pharmacies from filling a legitimate doctor ordered prescription of Hydroxychloroquine unless the patient could prove they tested positive for covid-19. It makes no difference that a doctor made a clinical diagnosis of the illness and prescribed Dr. Zelenko’s regimen. Dr. Zelenko and others who know the efficacy of his drug regimen have characterized Gov. Cuomo’s restriction: a crime against humanity. One of the claims of Cuomo and his ilk is that there won’t be enough of the medicine to go around for individuals suffering from approved uses, namely, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and malaria (very little malaria in NY state). But I ask, is the blood of lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and malaria sufferers redder than that of covid-19 sufferers? Oh, the FDA hasn’t approved Hydroxychloroquine for covid-19 except as experimental and it is hyped as having dangerous side effects (no one mentions the side effects of Remdesivir, which are respiratory failure and blood biomarkers of organ impairment, including low albumin, low potassium, low count of red blood cells, low count of platelets that help with clotting, et al. Of course it is mostly given to severely ill people). According to Dr. Zelenko, Dr. Raoult and rheumatologists who have been prescribing Hydroxychloroquine for decades, they don’t know of a single case of serious side effects, the claims it damages heart rhythm is nothing but a big lie (it may be true if 10 times the prescribed dose is taken or the patient is very sick with other problems). The doctors who have experience with it unanimously claim it is safe. See the following news report by Laura Ingram. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RexUJeWmzSE
  1. I am not qualified to attest to how Zelenko’s regimen works. But I will parrot a general explanation that may have important ramifications. Zinc is a key to blocking the virus from propagating. However, ionized zinc cannot penetrate the cell membrane in order to interfere with the virus’s RNA function and needs an ionophore to carry it into the cell. Hydroxychloroquine is a zinc ionophore (among other therapeutic functions to counter the virus). What I have discovered (with a little internet research) is that several other compounds, naturally occurring in plants, are also zinc ionophores and should be almost as effective as Hydroxychloroquine in this regard. The two main ones are Quercetin and EGCg (Epigallocatechin gallate). Extracts of EGCg made from Green tea in capsule forms are commonly sold over the counter and studies have shown this compound, even by itself, to promote good health in many functions, the same is true of Quercetin (also plant based). Compounds of zinc such as Zinc Sulphate and Zinc Gluconate are also commonly and cheaply available over the counter. Some health care professionals are recommending using this combination (Zinc+EGCg or Quercetin) to counter covid-19. I am sure research into this therapy is in progress. Ask your health care professional if it would be beneficial for you to take these supplements; perhaps as prophylaxis against the severe effects of covid-19.
  2. After these introductory remarks, I am expressing my opinion of how we should go forward. Of course I don’t have control over governmental mandates, but I do commend Governor Hogan for removing the restrictions on golf, tennis and recreational boating; these activities should never have been banned in the first place. Tefila B’tzibur, is tremendously important and there is no reason now for not dovening with a minyan. Even the state did not ban gatherings of ten people. I am not talking about opening shuls and dovening as usual. I mean, as I have commented in the past, that ten people who know each other form a group that meets in a large room, be it in a shul, a classroom or a private house (certainly outside is no problem). Once the group is formed, it does not allow random individuals, walk-ins, to join. The meeting place is large enough so that the mispallelim can be safely spread out. Each one has his own siddur and chumash. All sensible safe practices are employed. The groups are limited to vetted individuals who are presently healthy. High risk individuals should not be accepted to join a group. If everybody in a group is taking a daily regimen of Zinc+EGCg, even better. Normally, the only time two people have to be in proximity of each other is by Krias HaTorah. That can be remedied by: 1. the Baal Koreh and the Oleh wearing masks, 2. the Oleh is the Baal Koreh, 3. the Baal Koreh receiving all the aliyos, 4. Opening a second Sefer Torah for the Oleh to follow along from. With the experience of the past few months, intelligent people can figure out how to reasonably safely doven with a minyan. Just now the Agudath Israel of America came out with a set of guidelines for reopening kehillos that are almost identical with the ones I have been recommending in my past comments and have reiterated here in this op-ed.

https://files.constantcontact.com/4194289d301/d161fb9a-3556-4584-91b2-92c25dcd5262.pdf

  1. Of course there are varying opinions among rabbonim when reopening should begin. I subscribe to the plethora of rabbonim, Gedolei Torah, and health care professionals that we are overdue to reopen Tefila B’tzibur utilizing safety precautions that have been in place for other necessities such as buying food.

Rabbi Sander Goldberg is the Moreh D’asra of Congregation Nachal Chaim in Baltimore. He is also a state judge in the Maryland Tax Court. He has published a sefer in Hebrew, Nachal Chaim Al HaTorah and four popular English Jewish themed novels.


57 COMMENTS

  1. Experts, at best, provide educated guesses whether it’s a medical issue, financial issue, or betting on a horse race. This piece is no exception. The 1918 Flu pandemic, a historical fact, provided a blue print for dealing with a pandemic of this enormity and complexity. In 1918 the U.S. and other nations did not have the medical advances that we have today, our medical advances have been no better than throwing darts in resolving the virus. Just another expert chiming in with an opinion not uniquely qualified to deal with a unique crisis.

    • Dr Zalenko is an expert. By now he has treated well over 1,000 patients with only one death from a person who was convinced by others NOT to take the hydroxychloroquine zinc zpac.
      This is in Monroe! High density, great mix of ages.
      I had a dear friend, a chashuveh machanech in Brooklyn, got sick on Purim. The evil Governor would not allow hydroxychloroquine etc until he had a fever and was taken to the hospital.(perhaps so it could be documented for that $50K “gift”)

      He waited, getting weaker by the day, finally got a fever 3 weeks later…called Hatzolah…..and died on the way to the hospital!
      Then i found out about Dr. Zalenko’s way of treatment. And shortly thereafter, I spoke to my younger brother, who lives in Monsey, who was getting harder to understand by the day, from his coughing. I was very concerned and I asked him to find a way to get the regimen. He got the prescription but couldn’t get a pharmacist to fill it in NY! I begged him, insisted, that he find a way.
      Baruch HaShem he found a CVS in New Jersey that agreed to fill it.
      He was by then too weak to drive himself, so his wife (who had just started to feel the virus herself) drove in and got the prescription.
      Chasdei HaShem, they both recuperated, he after a long 10-12 days.

      Last week I heard a female doctor, Dr Ivette Lozano, in Texas discuss hydroxychloroquine etc. she had heard of the idea from the President (quoting a small study from France) at a press conference.
      She started to prescribe it to patients and the pharmacy called her to say they needed to know what it was being prescribed for. If for lupus or rheumatoid arthritis (I think) then fine. She refused, stating the HIPAA laws forbid it. She was told that the state forbade it without informing the pharmacist for what it was being prescribed. I don’t remember if she was able to fight it but she said that EVERY patient was cured from the hydroxychloroquine etc.

  2. Hope he doesn’t catch it or his family. Sweden is a mess and they dont care about life. Hashem should watch over us all

  3. Those high risk individuals just might be yesomim saying kaddish. They might be leading shul or community rabbonim. You can’t just leave them out of your overall plan.

  4. With all due respect an issue like this of nefashos needs Da’as Torah of Gedolei Yisrael.
    Did the author speak to Rav Dovid Feinstein? Rav Dovid Cohen? Rav Asher Weiss? Or any other Gadol B’Yisrael of that stature?

  5. Finally a person taking some sense. We need some more Rabonim Doctors & the general public speaking up in order to get out of this horrible situation we have put our self’s into.

  6. i didnt bother reading past this line:
    “The draconian shutdown of the country purportedly to save lives will prove to cause more damage than the Coronavirus.”
    So saving lives is not as important as…?
    Even if we saved 1 life by the shutdown it was worth it according to my Torah.

    I also peaked at your ending:
    “reopen Tefila B’tzibur utilizing safety precautions that have been in place”

    I dont know about proper people of Baltimore but in the tri-state area there are plenty of people who are NOT “utilizing safety precautions” in the supermarkets and in street minyans.

    So by reopening shuls or minyans you are just advocating for having more and more people gather in dangerous situations. In my opinion even if the whole world opens up we should value our lives more and should be more strict with our gatherings.

  7. A well-researched and convincing argument. My question is why have the physicians in the United Stets not risen up in arms screaming about this catastrophe. Why are laypeople makng the argument.
    While nicely done, the Rabbi is not a medical expert of any kind.

  8. I agree the covid is over-rated. I concur it is a political democrate stunt to win the presidency. It’s a power grab. If Biden wins then covid will dissapear ASAP.

    • See what this respiratory RN says and how we are being fooled .
      Rn says:
      1. Masks are hurting your body and health
      2. Masks( even the real ones) are highly ineffective worthless for viruses only good for Bactria
      3. a bacteria is 1 thousand times larger then virus !
      4. Dont wear a maskfor CV. masks are not protecting anyone!
      5.why are we working against our immune system?
      https://youtu.be/Zqifg-R9qS0?

  9. Birshus Rabbi Judge,

    You state in 1- “In truth, there were NO experts in how to deal with this unique crisis when it began in earnest. Just because a person has MD or PhD behind his name or Smichas Rabbonim, or for that matter a politician or a judge, does not make him an expert at how a unique public health crisis should be managed.”

    BUT you are using the term Rabbi Judge to espouse views in which you apparently have no training for…
    Let’s move past the easy ad hominem that you opened up by including your title and get to some substance.
    In Truth, there were AND ARE experts how to deal with these crises! They are called Infectious Disease Doctors and they spent years studying and practicing medicine in these fields! Also there are EXPERTS called Poskim. Not a Rabbi, Rosh Yeshiva, or even a Gadol but a universally accepted POSEK. Only Poskim that have big enough shoulders to deal with LIFE and DEATH matters and yet they still must be are afraid of their own Yom Hadin. It is their responsibilty to hear the FACTS from the doctors and then translate that into actions for us to do.

    You state in 2- “except school children, who should freely mix, since for them it may not be a bad idea to become infected, so that they can develop immunity (like we do for Chickenpox).”

    Guess what- We don’t even know if there is something called immunity! Sorry to be strong on this one but you disqualify yourself from holding any opinion on this matter 100x over with that line. You compare this to Chickenpox… Guess what- maybe COVID will be like the FLU or even better like any other coronavirus linked to the common cold where there is no immunity. The point is YOU DON’T KNOW. The infectious disease experts say as an actual FACT that they DO KNOW that sometimes viruses mutate quick enough so any immunity is short lived.

    For point 3- stop telling people how shver it is and stop living with how shver it is. We have one of the most unique mitzvahs of all time (and imy”H will only be available once in our lives). Every single time someone is careful they are making such a nachas ruach to HKB”H!

    These times made me realize 2 very important points about people and life
    1) Not every Rabbi is qualified for answering shailos. It is a shame because all the Rabbis that I keep close to will be the first one’s to say they DON’T KNOW something! Rabbis should be handheld during semicha and be given some serious training to recognize when they don’t know something.
    2) After 120 for us all – (long after quarantine will be forgotten) I have a feeling (not an expert opinion but a feeling) that we are going to be very very shocked when we see where exactly people are sitting in Shamayim.

    May Hakodesh Baruch Hu heal the world and end this current crises!

    • Everyone is an expert in pointing out problems, yet have no solutions. “There maybe no immunity because the disease mutates” that is a possibility (even though in that case, immunizations would be worthless as well). So what do you propose to resolve this issue. permanent lockdown?

      School Children are the quickest way to develop herd immunity and have the lowest risk from receiving and shedding the virus, that is why a number of countries including Israel, opened up schools.

      Being an infectious disease expert has a purpose and is useful for providing input. However in analyzing the best response, data scientists and mathematicians are equally if not more important.

      You don’t become the head of a department in D.C> by being the best scientist, rather by being the best bureaucrat. Their are plenty of experts whose opinions very sharply from the one who has been guiding policy in the U.S.

      Sweden’s death rate is slightly higher than some other countries, but they will shortly obtain herd immunity. Which is the only way historically, to achieve safety from a virus. Taiwan, HG and Germany also did not ave the severe lockdowns the U.S. did, rather they stayed open with precautions, and there death rates are among the lowest in the world

      • If this is true – “Sweden’s death rate is slightly higher than some other countries, but they will shortly obtain herd immunity.” then your in essence saying your fine with your family members dying as long as you get to walk outside

  10. This author is very unintelligent.
    This article is riddled with blatant incorrect information and logical fallacies that it is hard to go through it all.

    LEts take an easy obvious one “except school children, who should freely mix, since for them it may not be a bad idea to become infected, so that they can develop immunity”

    Who does he think these kids are going home to?

    Now I am not saying that perpetual lockdown makes sense easier. The reality is now that the pressure on the ICU’s has eased a bit it probably makes sense to reopen the economy, let more people get sick let more people die, the ICU’s will save who they can and life will continue for the rest.

    It might sound harsh, but this is the only alternative to lockdown. (Again I’m not sure which is preferred and that isn’t my point) But this article about reopening the economy letting kids get it and they somehow won’t give it to their parents is pure old gobbledygook.

    gobbledygook should be ignored no matter how long it is, and even if (perhaops especially if) it was made “consultation with experts”

  11. With all due respect you begin your article by saying that just because someone is a rabbi or Dr or any other professional does not mean that he knows how to deal with this issue. You are correct with that however after that you go on and say your own opinion as to how we should be dealing with it.
    you also are in the same boat and you don’t know how to deal with it either.
    I’m not saying an opinion here whether or not we should open shuls etc. whether we should do Sweden’s way.
    All I’m saying is that you begin by saying nobody knows what the right thing is to do but then you go ahead and say your own opinion

    • Sweden is changing course. It doesnt work
      Rabbi shimon bar yochai lived in a cave for years because the romans were going to kill him. Pikuach nefesh.
      Guess what- he didnt daven with a minyan the whole time he was in quarantine.

      • btw for accuracy’s sake r shimon vechavairav didn’t daven, yup he was potur i’ll let u do ur research to find out why

  12. bimchilas kevodo, as orthodox jews don’t we have an obligation to save a life at least temporarily for as long as we can, and take all measures possible to save lives that are endangered in front of us, and not to sacrifice definite chayei sha’ah, possibly full life spans as new info, treatments and vaccines come out for the economy, if i am wrong about the halachic approach can someone please comment and explain the halachic reasoning behind it in detail

  13. Well said!! This should be mandatory reading for all those out there that are still not davening btzibur. #theresnoexcuse

  14. In his introduction he claims this”op ed” was written in “consultation with experts” and immediately goes on to say that since this is a novel virus no one has expertise
    For Matzav to give space for such foolishness is is at best irresponsible

  15. Please, shut your “mouth”. Here is a quote from the above article, all that you need to know:
    “It is true that the death rate is much higher than in the U.S. or other Scandinavian countries that have shut down the society.”

  16. Children are getting pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome. Shouldn’t they wear masks? American healthcare relies on studies of controlled groups to approve medicine. In the meantime, people get sicker.
    Hashem is covering up people’s eyes. Maybe because people like ther governor of NY covered up their eyes from seeing Hashem snd expousing beliefs that run contrary to the sheva mitzvoos bnei Noach.

  17. Rabbi Goldberg begins with “ In truth, there were NO experts in how to deal with this unique crisis when it began in earnest”. Then he states “I believe a modified version of the Swedish approach to the crisis is best.” In truth, NO ONE knows which approach is best. Rabbi Goldberg speculates that, at the end of this odyssey, Sweden will have less deaths, but we surely don’t know that at this time. We do know that the NY area implemented an approach more similar to Eretz Yisroel’s. EY has a population of 9 million and with approximately 250 deaths appears to be low per capita. Based on that, perhaps there is reason to believe that the “shut down” model could be effective.
    More importantly, the goal of the “shut down” approach was to flatten the curve, meaning that we would slow the spread so that not everyone would get sick at the same time and overwhelm the healthcare system as happened in Italy and Spain. Rabbi Goldberg doesn’t address this issue at all.
    I invite responses to what I’ve just written.

  18. Maran Rav Chaim Kanievsky shlit”a does not allow taking a second sefer. Quarrantine and social distancing are required according to the gemara in Taanis, Kesubos and other places. Sweden is not our example, we follow the Torah.

  19. “ that they can develop immunity (like we do for Chickenpox)”
    Most people actually use vaccines.

    “ Gilead spent 1 billion dollars developing it and now is trying to get it repurposed for covid-19. Allegedly, some early studies show promise”
    No, a scientific study showed that it shortens hospitalization time. Just because someone’s making money it doesn’t prove a conspiracy.

    “ How do we know that coronavirus is worse than the dire consequences the protective measures are causing?”
    Because millions of dead people is a lot worse than what the protective measures will cost.

    “ a top immunologist in our community and he believes Remdesivir won’t work well for covid-19”
    Interesting, I assume he did a study? Or was it just a “gut feeling”

    “ in a large room, be it in a shul, a classroom or a private house (certainly outside is no problem).“
    Since outside is no problem and it is much safer, Why would you even bother with indoors? In many communities there already are outdoor minyanim, so what are you suggesting different?

  20. Just to back this up, there was recently an NYU Study that showed HCQ with Zinc reduced mortality by 50%. If you google it, you will find it, but for some reason, news sites are not reporting it

  21. Finally some common sense. All those responsible for the knee-jerk shutting down of our shuls should apologize to their communities, resign from all public positions, and spend the rest of their lives in repentance. The shuls should have been kept open as long as some basic hygiene, distancing, and self isolation of the at-risk persons were kept. Instead our “leaders” signed us up for shibud mitzraim by volunteering for paroh’s public works project: now the gubmit can request to shut down shuls anytime and for any reason, since there is this precedent.

  22. Can there not be civil discourse without name calling and back stabbing?! If you’d like to know more about some of these “experts” google brighteon.com and watch Plandemic. That will tell you all you need to know.

  23. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2765830?guestAccessKey=fb278e0b-644c-4111-9860-2b2a979fd6b9&utm_source=silverchair&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=article_alert-jamapediatrics&utm_content=olf&utm_term=050720 JAMA Pediatr. Published online May 7, 2020

    “The exclusion of children from COVID-19 clinical trials is a tremendous lost opportunity to generate timely knowledge to guide treatment of pediatric populations. Without adequate studies, if any COVID-19 therapies successfully obtain regulatory approval, clinicians would need to prescribe them for children off label. Simple extrapolation from adult to pediatric patients may not account for developmental differences in pathophysiology and drug metabolism. In the absence of pediatric data available at the time of regulatory approval, children may be exposed to ineffective dosing or possibly unsafe treatments.”

    THIS VACCINE HAS NOT BEEN TESTED ON CHILDREN. WATCH THIS VIDEO, “FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD…”
    https://www.brighteon.com/648a9558-b1cc-4e56-8e9c-fb98963ae713

    Please post whether you and your children will or will not line up for this vaccine.

  24. Sorry to contradict you! The correct word is not “herd immunity”, it is “endemic”. Also, in a few weeks or months we see pregnancies in Western countries with covid19 exposure in first trimester. We do not know yet the effect on embryogenesis, but the lack of info from Asia, and not only from tightly authoritarian countries such as Pop. Rep. China but also from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippine etc. sounds rather worrying to me.

  25. Great article to point out some really disturbing political shenanigans going on. And if u weren’t scared enough, democratic states with lockdown that want to keep that power suddenly are saying kids are dying. Kawasaki disease is highly treatable…so why are the kids doing. A doctor I spoke to said he and his colleagues have opted to take low dose aspirin for them and their kids. But…don’t reopen schools. Our spiritual response has been way off mark too. Kids are still being abused, mistaught and yes even kicked out of classes on zoom. If our mexhanchim don’t wake up that this tzara is Hashem saying keep your hands off the kids and stop damaging hundreds of kids, then keep them away from the kids. Some programs turned kids int ATM machines for those who got degrees. How many developmentally delayed kids were mainstreames back in the day and set up wonderful full lives. Today, even kids who are normal get a diagnosis and are pulled out and put into special Ed schools and programs to make a buck for others…and then can never get a job, get married or live a normal life. When we talk of those who slaughtered the children for the molich, we are not talking about dumb folks. They had their financial reasons for Des those kids lives. Today we do the same saying it is “for the good of the kid’. I was once asked to be the to between for a teacher who had trashed a girls reputation and who then had a kid become brain damaged. Horrific story. A mechanech who let motzeee Shem rah happen to a student and threw her on the streets when it wasn’t even true lost his son recently. The schools must be overhauled and reset. I have helped kids who were given bogus diagnosis and there is nothing really wrong with the kids other than a very corrupt and misguided system.

  26. didnt they estimate around a guess of about 8000 extra suicides a year from Corona. Rabbi match that number to an open economy and see which number is bigger!

    • Sorry, the actual statistics are 48,344 suicides in USA in 2018, with a phenomenal economy and no corona lockdown.
      Dr. Birx said that she doesn’t “trust any statistics coming out of the CDC.” She claimed last week that she thinks that at least 25% of the COVID deaths are not true. ER Doctors have gone on record in interviews stating that there is great pressure on them and their colleagues to record COVID as the cause of death on death certificates even when it was not their opinion.
      Why? There are those who say that the stimulus packages state that hospitals receive $9,200-13,200 for COVID care and $39,000 for ventilators.

      $50,000 per patient

      Good incentive for recording the wrong thing, especially when surgeries, etc. are closed down!

      הכסף יענה את הכל!

  27. Shouldn’t we listen to those most knowledgeable – specifically experts on infectious disease only? For example I am getting letter from the “doctors of lakewood” with opinions about this and if you look closely the list is full of everything from OBGYN, opthalmologists, dermatologists and so forth who may not know much more about this highly unique topic than many laypeople. I think we need to get only the most knowledgeable on this issue and trust them for the better or worse.

  28. le’meisa if Coumo and De’Blasio didn’t handle it like a bunch of celery knishes then maybe we be here know “actions have consequences vote smart

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