Thank you Mr. Nikiforuk and The Tyee. I believe there are citizens alive today and COVID-free because of your diligent reporting and the experts willing to honestly warn us about the virus. It’s not just a cold, it’s not just the flu, it’s not endemic; Canada’s lying provincial Chief Medical Officers of Health are social murderers. It appears they are using the pandemic to intentionally over load our health care system to destroy it and give it to American-for-profit care. Anti-public health and anti-Canada Steve Harper must be delighted.
Dr. Bonnie Henry of B.C., may you rot in hell for intentionally infecting kids in BC schools and studying them – without parental permission. How many died because of your callous?
9/25 of The Tyee’s most read articles of 2022 by British Columbians were by Mr. Nikiforuk;
13/25 of the most read by all were by Mr. Nikiforuk.
Bravo!
This is a testament to Nikiforuk’s excellent reporting and the integrity and brilliance of the experts he interviewed.
Thank you. I continue to wear N95s indoor in public, avoid crowds and spaces that do not have ventilated filtered air, and remain safe because of your work and The Tyee’s courage.
The Tyee’s Most Read Stories of the Year, In 2022, you pounced on pieces about COVID, ‘rage farming,’ surviving extreme temps and that weird, self-crowned ‘Queen of the World.’ by Dave Beers, Dec 30, 2022, The Tyee
What stories on The Tyee drew the most attention in 2022? We searched our page views two ways to answer that question. First we filtered to find out which stories were most read by just folks in B.C. Then we looked at which stories got the most traffic, period.
… Here are the top 25 most read pieces in each category.
TYEE STORIES MOST READ BY BRITISH COLUMBIANS IN 2022
- Get Ready for the Forever Plague
Public health officials’ COVID complacency has opened the door to new illnesses and devastating long-term damage. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- ‘I’m Dropping My COVID Hubris,’ Vows a Top Immunologist
After the virus harmed Chris Goodnow’s heart, he joined a growing chorus against reinfection complacency. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- A Convoy Revved by Foreign Actors Spreading Lies
‘The pandemic proved a huge opportunity for Russian propaganda,’ says one expert. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- Where Did Convoy Support Come From? Here Are the Maps
Our analysis of hacked donor data, from foreign interference to ‘blessings.’ By Christopher Cheung
- Who’s Fuelling the Truckers Protesting Vaccine Mandates?
When the convoy left BC Sunday a fundraiser had pulled in $2 million. A key organizer is tied to the Alberta separatist scene. By David Climenhaga
- How Citizens Should Respond to Omicron
Seven prescriptions for cutting through the confusion to endure the big fifth wave. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- The Attack on Freeland Sprouts from ‘Rage Farming’
Reached by The Tyee, the bully caught on video echoes messages fomented by right-wing politicians. Expect more threats, says an expert. By Charles Rusnell
- Don’t Be Fooled by the Great Pandemic Denial
Leaders pretend lifting restrictions is fine. But vaccines alone can’t protect us from spread and harm. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- The Billionaire and the Mayor
Controversial billionaire Chip Wilson and Vancouver’s new mayor Ken Sim are friends. But do they share the same politics? By Jen St. Denis
- ‘Forever Plague’: Nikiforuk Responds to Critics
The Tyee writer published a detailed caution against COVID minimizing that went viral and sparked fierce debate. Here’s his response. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- What If COVID Reinfections Wear Down Our Immunity?
Dr. Anthony Leonardi is a lightning rod for debate. If he’s right, this pandemic poses a greater threat than widely assumed. By Andrew Nikiforuk
This is my favourite of Nikiforuk’s 2022 articles.
Monica Brozio@MonicaBrozio Nov 8 2022 Replying to @LeonardiBot and
@fitterhappierAJ:
Best COVID article I’ve ever readI agree!
- Inside June’s Deadly Heat Dome. And Surviving the Next One
Hundreds succumbed to scorching temperatures. Why was BC’s toll so much higher than Washington and Oregon? A Tyee special report. By Jen St. Denis
- The Case of BC’s Missing COVID-19 Data
This story was supposed to be about the virus and work camps. It became about a failing FOI system. By Amanda Follett Hosgood
- So Many Parties! Your Guide to Vancouver’s Crowded Election
Why have so many political brands emerged and what do they stand for? Read on. By Christopher Cheung
- Why I Stopped Giving to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank
The problem is older than me, and this Band-Aid solution needs to be replaced by true food security. By Katie Hyslop
- A Reply to Jordan Peterson’s Pandemic Demands
The famously opinionated psychologist told Canada to open up or else. This response includes some reading advice. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- My Doctor Dumped Me. Here’s Why That’s So Common
Forced to search for a scarce primary care physician or nurse, I joined 700,000 British Columbians without one. By Mark L. Winston
- Pierre Poilievre Is a Symptom of the Conservatives’ Sickness
The party remains under the Harperites’ spell — or curse. By Michael Harris
- If You Want to Live on Salt Spring, You Need to Be Rich
Looking for work and housing, writer Lori Fox spends a summer as a farmhand. An excerpt. By Lori Fox
- ‘He Was Always with Other Girls, Giving Them Free Drugs’
He died — then two more bodies were found in his SRO room. Now one woman alleges she was drugged and assaulted by Jimmy Pham. By Jen St. Denis
- Retired Forester Blasts Professional Association in Resignation Letter
‘Unable to see the forest for the timber.’ After 40 years, Herb Hammond says he’s done. By Amanda Follett Hosgood
- Is Two-Tier Health Care Growing in BC?
Two seniors were told they would need to pay $4,600 each to keep seeing their family doctor after he moved to a Telus clinic. By Andrew MacLeod
- Sweden’s Deadly COVID Failure
The verdict is in on the nation’s light touch approach. More died. Herd immunity proved a mirage. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- Review Found Poor Budgeting and Oversight at Major BC Housing Operator
Former BC Housing staff say a 2018 review of Atira Women’s Resource Society was shelved before it could be completed. By Jen St. Denis
- The N95 Is the Mask We All Should Be Wearing. Here’s Why
Properly worn, it’s vastly superior against Omicron. Say it loud and ramp up its availability. By Colin Furness
TYEE STORIES MOST READ BY ALL IN 2022
- Get Ready for the Forever Plague
Public health officials’ COVID complacency has opened the door to new illnesses and devastating long-term damage. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- ‘I’m Dropping My COVID Hubris,’ Vows a Top Immunologist
After the virus harmed Chris Goodnow’s heart, he joined a growing chorus against reinfection complacency. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- What If COVID Reinfections Wear Down Our Immunity?
Dr. Anthony Leonardi is a lightning rod for debate. If he’s right, this pandemic poses a greater threat than widely assumed. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- The Attack on Freeland Sprouts from ‘Rage Farming’
Reached by The Tyee, the bully caught on video echoes messages fomented by right-wing politicians. Expect more threats, says an expert. By Charles Rusnell
- Indigenous People Have Been Here Forever. Why Won’t Archeologists Believe It?
An Indigenous archeologist on how her discipline has shaped the view of the ground beneath our feet. By Crawford Kilian
- Sweden’s Deadly COVID Failure
The verdict is in on the nation’s light touch approach. More died. Herd immunity proved a mirage. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- Who’s Fuelling the Truckers Protesting Vaccine Mandates?
When the convoy left BC Sunday a fundraiser had pulled in $2 million. A key organizer is tied to the Alberta separatist scene. By David Climenhaga
- The Russian Economy Is Headed for Collapse
Putin steered his nation out of one ‘Times of Troubles,’ but it’s now headed into an even deeper ditch. By Eric Werker
- Is Our Pandemic the Ghost of the 1889 Russian Flu?
The ‘dreaded disease’ that claimed 1.5 million looks a lot like COVID-19, including the long-term threat posed by ‘viral promiscuity.’ By Andrew Nikiforuk
- Pierre Poilievre Is a Symptom of the Conservatives’ Sickness
The party remains under the Harperites’ spell — or curse. By Michael Harris
- ‘Forever Plague’: Nikiforuk Responds to Critics
The Tyee writer published a detailed caution against COVID minimizing that went viral and sparked fierce debate. Here’s his response. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- The Opioid Toll, by Neighbourhood, that Alberta Tried to Hide
The Tyee obtained internal Alberta Health ‘heat maps’ of opioid-related emergency calls and deaths in various parts of Edmonton. By Charles Rusnell
- Ten COVID Facts Health Officials Dangerously Downplay
We should be rallied to defend ourselves and our kids. Our leaders offer timid silence. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- What People Don’t Get about This Inflation Spike
Rising costs signal the ‘long emergency’ we face after glutting on cheap energy. Part one of two. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- Jordan Peterson, the Climate Crisis Deniers’ New Mouthpiece
Touting myths to millions is ‘highly irresponsible,’ say experts trying to avert disaster. By Geoff Dembicki
- A Convoy Revved by Foreign Actors Spreading Lies
‘The pandemic proved a huge opportunity for Russian propaganda,’ says one expert. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- A Reply to Jordan Peterson’s Pandemic Demands
The famously opinionated psychologist told Canada to open up or else. This response includes some reading advice. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- Don’t Be Fooled by the Great Pandemic Denial
Leaders pretend lifting restrictions is fine. But vaccines alone can’t protect us from spread and harm. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- This Is ‘Kenneyism’
How the unpopular premier’s recipe of intimidation, disinformation and sweeping new laws is transforming Alberta’s culture. By Taylor Lambert
- Where Did Convoy Support Come From? Here Are the Maps
Our analysis of hacked donor data, from foreign interference to ‘blessings.’ By Christopher Cheung
- Canada Is Giving a Master Class in Eroding Democracy
Witness our two kinds of leaders. One eggs on government overthrow while another proves inept at governing. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- The Dangerous Delusions of Canada’s ‘Queen of the World’
BC’s Romana Didulo calls for violence and spreads conspiracy theories. She also has 65,000 followers. By Christine Sarteschi
- How Citizens Should Respond to Omicron
Seven prescriptions for cutting through the confusion to endure the big fifth wave. By Andrew Nikiforuk
- Inside the Kenney Government’s System of Secrecy
Staff is told to delete emails, use apps and personal phones to avoid scrutiny, insiders reveal. A Tyee investigation. By Charles Rusnell and Jennie Russell
- Alberta’s ‘World Class’ University Risks Collapse, Says Expert
Leaked minister’s letter shows ‘egregious political interference’ threatening ‘survival’ of Athabasca U, says UT professor. By Charles Rusnell
These are just a few dozen of more than 1,000 original Tyee stories we published in 2022. If you appreciate our coverage and that we keep it paywall free so that everyone can have access to our journalism, please consider becoming a Tyee Builder by contributing our fundraising campaign due to finish on Dec. 31.
The above articles on the pandemic and a few tweets below show how callously our health authorities and politicians intentionally fail us and other species harmed by SARS-CoV-2, and lie about it:
SARS Cov 2’s New-Year Groove, Turning over a new leaf on the Phylogenetic tree by Anthony J Leonardi, PhD, Jan 1. 2023, Easy Chair Substack
What more suitable way is there to ring in a new year than with a new variant of SARS Cov 2? Courtesy of NYC, the orbs will drop over Madison Square Garden, symbolizing a departure of BQ.1.1 and the arrival of XBB.1.5. But not to fret, just as in years past, electronic hearths tuned in to the experience in the big apple, so too will the heartland have her share of the festivities. XBB.1.5 is coming or has already arrived at a theater near you.
DALL E
Permit me to be serious for a moment. I want you to think about all the people who claimed the “Omicron Soup” would not yield “an explosive new variant.” Or the officials and people who told the public the pandemic was nearing an end. I want to reiterate this: the virus’ evolution is so rapid it can nucleate epidemic-like behavior in a rapid fashion from variants. And as the slow kids in the classroom have finally picked up, the T cell cross-reactive immunity is offering little protection from reinfection and the antibody immunity quickly fades AND is escaped by that evolution. This was a nightmare scenario most people claimed was unlikely but I maintained was an unfortunate possibility. As hospitalizations for Covid have already reached February highs, we can see that T cells have not saved us from Covid-19.
In fact, someone needs to save the T cells from Covid-19.
Easy Chair is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
The CDC itself has shown absolute capitulation, with its leadership claiming little can be done to prevent the onslaught. So what do they do? Refuse to acknowledge the issue. Kick the can down the road and put their faith in magical thinking. The kind of magical thinking where long covid rates go down with reinfection and mild infection has no pathophysiology if one is vaccinated. And there is a new issue to contend with: how the immune system may in fact be choosing tolerance, to “live with Covid,” rather than “violence” or rooting out every infected cell, like zero covid. When you choose tolerance with Cov2, friends, you allow the virus to persistently dwell and challenge the immune system. Like the study that showed asymptomatic kids with cov2 in their tonsils and adults with it in their stomachs.
DALL E
I don’t foresee much changing in what we do to approach the constant onslaught of waves of Cov2 because leadership has decided this is all that is to be done. But at least something is taking charge and making changes around here, and getting a head-start on it, too.
Happy New Years, Everyone
AJ
Anthony J Leonardi, PhD, MS@fitterhappierAJ Dec 31, 2022:
I will make a thread about this later admonishing the people who said the pandemic is over, etc.
BNO News@BNOFeed:
BREAKING: Number of Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 rises to 45,279, the highest since February
Yaneer Bar-Yam @email hidden; JavaScript is required@yaneerbaryam Dec 31, 2022:
On @mehdirhasan @DrEricDing says masks and air filtering can be used against all variants.
T. Ryan Gregory@TRyanGregory Dec 31, 2022:
Nonsensical. The current variants of the most concern are NOT from China. XBB.1.5 is from New York.
People who think there’s nothing we can do to stop mass infectious disease should not be in charge of our response to mass infectious disease.
Regina Bateson@regina_bateson Dec 31 2022:
Once again, Canada has jumped on the bandwagon of irrational, xenophobic, performative public health. We can’t be bothered to take basic measures like requiring masks on planes or trains, but let’s test every incoming traveler from China, dammit!
Emmett Macfarlane @EmmMacfarlane: Dec 31, 2022:
This is embarrassing. You guys didn’t even keep mask mandates on planes, and now you’re targeting a handful of places when COVID is already rampant everywhere in Canada.
Omar Alghabra@OmarAlghabra Dec 31, 2022:
As of January 5, air travellers on flights from China, Hong Kong or Macao will be required to show a negative COVID-19 test result to the airline prior to boarding. The safety of Canadians and the transportation industry will always be top priorities. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2022/12/government-of-canada-announces-negative-covid-19-test-requirement-for-travellers-arriving-from-the-peoples-republic-of-china-hong-kong-or-macao-air.html
Forlorn Theresa@forlorn_theresa Replying to @TRyanGregory:
I blocked him
Years ago
He is always wrong
T. Ryan Gregory@TRyanGregory Dec 30, 2022:
Going to say it again. The XBB.1.5 variant (Kraken) that is absolutely rocketing in the USA and spreading globally, which has both major immune escape and high ACE2 binding, evolved in New York.
Not in China.
In. The. USA.
Dr. Eric Topol:
Wow. XBB.1.5 more than doubled across the United States in 1 week, now ~40%,
out-competing all variants
Eric Feigl-Ding@DrEricDing Dec 31, 2022:
Recap why #XBB15 (storming USA & UK) is a super variant:
among most immunity-evasive ‘escape variants’ to date
one of the best variants for invading human cells via ACE2.
Spreads much faster than old XBB or BQ
Causes increased hospitalizations wherever dominant (NY CT MA NJ)
… 3) New York and New England has been the epicenter of #XBB15. In fact, XBB15 first emerged in New York of anywhere in the world. Talks of travel bans against China / testing only China is discriminatory— XBB15 is the worst variant of the world right now. In fact- it’s a US variant.
Top it all with yet another terrifying new paper:
David Joffe PhD, FRACP@DavidJoffe64 2022 Replying to @TRyanGregory:
Dr Leonardi’s Translate Bot@LeonardiBot Dec 30 2022:
Horrors.
Dr Leonardi’s Translate Bot@LeonardiBot Dec 30, 2022:
I usually only translate Dr Leonardi but have had this request. I hope it helps:
TITLE: During the initial immune response to Covid-19, activated white blood cells (the monocytes) undergo massive changes, such as increasing the risk of clots.
Monocytes are white blood cells that sense pathogens and activate against viral infection. The study compares monocytes in patients in the acute phase of Covid with monocytes in healthy humans.
In patients with mild to moderate Covid, T cells’ strong “attack programme” goes ahead, but damaged monocytes are unable to help recognise which cells were infected or regulate the response.
The monocytes became unresponsive, triggering an exaggerated and harmful immune response. Their regular functions also changed to a state that would encourage clotting.
These results provide a potential means by which Covid-19 leads to the breakdown of the immunity humans are born with, contributing to disease.
The important part. In Dr Leonardi’s words, is what the paper really means for humans:
Anthony J Leonardi, PhD, MS@fitterhappierAJ Dec 30:
It looks like Covid suppresses innate immunity toward other viruses and Bacteria
This doesn’t bode well for the severity of other infections that aren’t even covid
Think of all the people saying “The worst cold of my life”
Mild covid is harming the response to the common cold
Patients were 18 and older and unvaccinated. Samples were taken 3-14 days after symptom initiation, classified as mild/moderate, and again 0-2 days after hospitalisation and positive PCR. 7/END
Malgorzata (Gosia) Gasperowicz@GosiaGasperoPhD Dec 30:
Some of us predicted such outcome in Dec 2021. Warned about consequences of reckless and misinformed abandoning of public health protections. “Screamed” about what was happening (& what was going to happen) in Feb, Mar, Summer & Fall. Reported numbers & facts.
BC PH ignored all.
CBC British Columbia@cbcnewsbc Dec 29
As the year wraps up — one where the province dropped public health restrictions, including mandatory masking — 2022 will go down as the deadliest year of the COVID-19 pandemic so far in British Columbia. https://buff.ly/3PY5olZ
We still “scream”.
SARS2 evolves. In humans AND in animals.
Repeated infections cause cumulative damage.
SARS2 dysregulates immune system.
Unless gov’s & PH start doing their job and prevent infections / reduce transmission —> the future looks bleak.
Reducing (not stopping. Reducing) infection/transmission is childishly easy.
Mandate masks. Educate people that #CovidIsAirborne and what it means. Ventilate, filtrate air.
Be honest about SARS2 harmfulness.
It’s easy. It’s inexcusable that gov’s and PH choose not to do it.
2022 COVID death toll is horrific.
If gov’s and Public Health don’t change the course and if they don’t implement simple health protections in 2023 — it’ll mean that they are very ok with what happened.
And that would be horrific too.
Bring on the Shitfuckery! Gonna be one hell of a lot of new SARSCov2 offspring and COVID cases/deaths and bullshit by the authorities. I am ready.