Why I am unvaccinated

By Kevin Baldeosingh
October 06, 2021

Kevin BaldeosinghI am not vaccinated against Covid-19 and do not intend to take any of the existing vaccines. Here are my reasons.

Medical: I am under 70 years of age, have no co-morbidities, am not obese, and can run one mile in under nine minutes. This puts me in a cohort that Covid does not seriously affect. Thus, the vaccine does not benefit me.

Statistical: If I do catch Covid, the odds of me dying are virtually nil; and for hospitalisation, extremely low. The overall fatality rate is 1.3 per cent, and 99 per cent of those who die have already exceeded the average life expectancy of their country (73 years in Trinidad), have co-morbidities, and/or are obese.
Full Article : trinidadexpress.com

19 thoughts on “Why I am unvaccinated”

  1. Mr Baldeosingh gives no evidence. How does he mean “In all previous pandemics, two principles have applied—protect the sick and vulnerable and carry on as normal.” –emphasis on carry on as normal. That’s absolutely not true. I don’t even know why that was published by Express. It’s reckless.

    Health authorities employ different ways to delay the spread of diseases depending on the level of contagiousness. And in earlier pandemics, transmission routes were not always as clear, that was part of why there may be inconsistencies in approaches. He also says “I know the risks of Covid” … But he does not put a figure for “It is now known that even vaccinated people can infect others.” If he does, why doesn’t he put a percent figure for that? He is happy to state that only “1.3 per cent” have died…

    He has not even talked about what part of society these people who have died (4.55 million and counting) come from (persons from lower income settings, who do not have the luxury to “stay away from others”). He is also throwing the elderly, who may come into close contact with so-called healthy carriers under the bus.

    Either he is being dishonest to suit his perspective, or he is a lazy journalist, or both.

  2. The Express has a social responsibility to avoid the publication of unsupported,biased, non-factual, anti-science garbage like this Baldeosingh article.
    It is unconscionable that the editor of the Express permitted the publication of this article, providing fodder for the anti-vaxxers and creating more doubt in the minds of the undecided at a time when the government is following the science and trying to persuade the population to get vaccinated.
    As an established journalist, Baldeosingh’s influence could be very damaging. There is a difference between free speech and responsible speech.

  3. I read the full article and I can’t find anything that is “non Factual”.kevin is spot on.This is a virus of the sick and elderly and the statistics support that.

  4. Didn’t think I would see the day when I agreed with Tman on anything, but his comment on Baldeosingh’s article is right on point. Baldeosingh’s article is garbage. Statistics from September 29, 2021 show that 687,172 people have died from Covid 19 in the United States, of that amount 158, 923 people who have died are under the age of 64, i.e. from birth to 64 years old. In other words, 23% of the people who have died from Covid 19 in the US are under 64 years old. Hagley’s comment is also loony. It’s not a virus of the old and elderly, it’s a virus of the unvaccinated. In the US almost 99% of the people who are dying now from Covid 19 are unvaccinated. Also in T&T from the figures given out by the CMO, 95% of the people who have died from Covid 19 recently are unvaccinated. One wonders why the Express is passing on this sort of misinformation, in another article, “Doctors, human rights activists, lawyers for Covid summit” by Kim Boodram, there is talk about a World Council for Health launching a three-day summit with “concerns over mandatory vaccinations policies”. Well the World Council for Health is a group of 45 NGOs that was launched in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil ( you know where Bolsanaro pushes his wacky ideas on Covid 19) on September, 2021. Among the members who sit on the Global health Council’s steering group is Dr. Tess Lawrie of the UK. A YouTube video on March6, 2021 featured Dr. Tess Lawrie claiming that ivermectim reduces the risk of death from Covid 19, it received more than 140000 views on YouTube and had to be refuted by Health Feedback, healthfeedback.org/cl. Tess Lawrie is just an ivermectim pushing crackpot. I don’t know what this article is doing in the Express.

  5. Mr Baldeosingh’ continuance of MIS-REPRESENTATION, is doing a great injustice to his people, and the wider populace. It is mr Baldeosingh’ CHOICE in taking or not taking the VAX, most will conclude that it is a selfish option. Covid-19 have given Mr Baldeosingh’ community a tremendous hit, in terms of Mortalities. KARMA lifestyles makes up a vast % of those taken out by this virus, some in FREEPORT would endorse Mr Baldeosingh visiting the HEALTH center on Mission road, the foods stated on the banner, are the ones conducive to covid. with the intake of Alcohol and lack of exercise, plus street and fast foods, poisoning of the immune have had the eternal gardens living it up. In the Forest, there is only Darkness, and for a very long time, Mr Baldeosingh has been lost in the Forest, not seeing theTrees, but the Darkness of his commune division. In Trinidad, we see the GUT of a Man/Woman, before recognizing their faces. Below the two layers of that individuals Gut, lies Covid-19 in the form of a very poor DIET, Trinidad style. Mischief journalism have had a home in Trinidad the last 40+ yrs, with Mr Baldeosingh being in the forefront of that path. To be honest, Trinidad’ Belly Fat population is at risked. Chronic Inflammation, Heart disease, HBP, Stroke, Type 2 diabetes, Asthma and Genetics seems to be living in the homes of Trinidad’ mis-educated. Impurity of all these Organ destroying add ons, results in Fever, Cough, Shortness of breath, Pain and Tiredness with little or no relief, the end result is DEATH. The SHAMSHAN have been LIT for a while now, with Mr Baldeosingh providing the wood for the PYRE. Trinidad needs the AWAKENED in this present hour, not the DEAD.

  6. Allyuh, go easy on Brother BaldeoSingh, nah.. (He did admit that called called him Ethiopian in foreign)…

    Anyway,

    Hoyte: Tobago’s delta variant case was fully vaccinated
    COREY CONNELLY 17 HRS AGO

    County Medical Officer of Health for Tobago Dr Tiffany Hoyte has revealed the first pateint to contract the delta covid19 variant on the island was fully vaccinated.

    https://newsday.co.tt/2021/10/07/hoyte-tobagos-delta-variant-case-was-fully-vaccinated/

    Back in the day they would have called these vaccines, Snake Oil..

  7. Baldeosingh’s article contains misinformation, cynical manipulation of statistics and an idea (that may be even called an ideology) that needs to be countered. (1) Misinformation: Reputable studies and reports from hospitals (many in the US) show that young, healthy people are getting the virus and dying from it. There is even a great deal of concern about children who are getting the virus, are in ICUs and are even dying from it (any serious journalist should find out about this before he jumps to conclusions). Let me just give you some data from the American Academy of Pediatrics. “As of September 30, nearly 5.9 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. The number of new child COVID cases remains exceptionally high. Over 173,000 cases were added the past week, with nearly 850,000 child cases added over the past 4 weeks.” … “Since the pandemic began, children represented 16.2% of total cumulated cases. For the week ending September 30, children were 26.7% of reported weekly COVID-19 cases (children, under age 18, make up 22.2% of the US population).”… “At this time, it appears that severe illness due to COVID-19 is uncommon among children. However, there is an urgent need to collect more data on longer-term impacts of the pandemic on children, including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects.” The mortality rate among children is small, around 0.01%, they haven’t done studies of all 50 states, but on the whole that seems like the average of reporting states. Seems small, but 0.01% of the 5.9 million who have tested positive for the virus is 59,000 children. Can we risk 0.01% of those dying from Covid 19 being children? That would be a possibility of about 17 children dying from the virus so far. Is that ok? There is much research going on about the virus; and that is why bodies like the WHO are important in that they can collect, collate and study the vast amount of research available. Peer reviewed research and publications are essential to the process of scientific knowledge so it is important to state where the research is coming from. There is much that is known, a growing body of information, but much that is still not known about the virus. (2) If the game is to “play the numbers” or assess the probabilities of dying while vaccinated or un-vaccinated (that seems like the point of the article), the obvious conclusion would be to vaccinate, because at this time almost 99% of the people dying from Covid 19 are unvaccinated, and since many of them are young and healthy (again check the research), then the obvious probability one should gravitate towards is the extremely low probability of dying from Covid 19 if you are vaccinated, it’s better than the probability of not taking the vaccine and dying if you are young, healthy and unvaccinated. Ideology: If we probe into the idea that animates this way of dealing with the virus, we will notice the idea of an almost Nazi, survival of the fittest, natural selection, cull the weak and sick, ideology lying behind it. If you have the virus and are young, healthy you can still pass it on to your parents, or elderly folks that you interact with, so you have the social impact of getting the virus. So unless you think it’s ok to cull the old, weak and sick, you must be concerned about this. There is also an ethnic aspect to this type of thinking. Some ethnic groups may think that they are stronger, healthier and younger than other groups and so they are safer from the virus than other ethnic groups. Scientific data has shown that such thinking is unsubstantiated. Blacks in America, for example have a higher rate of mortality than whites, but studies have shown that that they have less access to medical care rather than showing an ethnic predisposition to it. At the same time Africans in Africa have shown lower rates of infection and lower mortality rates. There have not been much research done on this but the little research done has indicated that testing for the virus is one of the problems in Africa; there is little finance available for widespread testing or testing of any kind so there is no accurate data about how many people do have the virus there. So again don’t jump to conclusions. You may say, for example, Togo people strong, they don’t get the virus; this shutting down the economy is discriminating against us, we strong. But you will be deadly wrong. Get vaccinated, you will have the best probability for avoiding hospitalization, severe illness and death. The research shows that.

  8. Here are the references for the studies mentioned concerning the lack of testing for the virus in Africa.
    BioMed Journal, 19, September, 2021: “Estimates of the COVID-19 Infection Fatality Rate for 48 African Countries: A Model-Based Analysis”
    Authors: Amobi Andrew Onovo, Office of HIV/AIDS and TB, U.S. Agency for International Development, Abuja 900211, Nigeria; Abiye Kalaiwo, Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland; Christopher Obanubi, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Abuja 900211, Nigeria; Gertrude Odezugo, Office of Health, Population and Nutrition, U.S. Agency for International Development, Abuja 900211, Nigeria; Janne Estill, Institute of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Bern; Olivia Keiser, Unit Infectious Disease and Modelling, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland.
    The aim of the study was to “Examine global data from 48 African countries to estimate the SARS-CoV-2 infection fatality rate”. Conclusion: “Assessing the infection fatality rate of COVID-19 is crucial to determine the appropriateness of mitigation strategies and to enable planning for healthcare needs as epidemics unfold. Without population-based serologic studies in Africa, it is not yet possible to know what proportion of the population has been infected with COVID-19.”
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16 August 2021, “What Could Explain the Lower COVID-19 Burden in Africa despite Considerable Circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus?” Authors: Richard G. Wamai , Jason L. Hirsch, Wim Van Damme , David Alnwick , Robert C. Bailey , Stephen Hodgins, Uzma Alam and Mamka Anyona
    “Because of low testing capacities, Africa has conducted the least number of tests of all global regions given its population size, but has exceeded the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) targets of 8000 tests per million. This should be seriously considered as having contributed to an underestimation of cases… Nevertheless, improving completeness of data collection and reporting is an ongoing mission for Africa and elsewhere. Strengthening lab capacities, validating current rapid tests in the context of other infectious diseases, and standardizing data and survey reporting will also expand the true picture…”

  9. Birdie, imagine that.. the only person reported to contract the Delta Variant (in Tobago) was, ‘fully vaccinated’.. Let me repeat,
    The only person reported to contract the Delta Variant (in Tobago), was fully vaccinated!

    We must ask some serious question here.. out of all the people in Tobago, the only person to get the Delta Variant was fully vaccinated….

    Let’s dig a little deeper here..

    TT Express:
    Updated Oct 7, 2021

    > Tobago has recorded its first confirmed case of the Delta variant. The individual has no travel history and is not a known contact of any positive case.

    The confirmation of the Delta variant was received via gene sequencing at the Faculty of Medical Sciences Laboratory, University of the West Indies. The Delta variant is more contagious than the previous strains of COVID-19, which means it spreads more easily.<

    https://trinidadexpress.com/newsextra/delta-variant-reaches-tobago/article_c7c583e0-26d1-11ec-a9e8-2f827902c43a.html

    Did that person get the Delta Variant from the vaccine, Birdie?

  10. Why I am vaccinated
    Hariharan Seetharaman, professor of anaesthesia and critical care medicine, The UWI
    I am vaccinated against Covid-19, and here are the reasons based on science and ethics. I am under 70 years of age and I have no co-morbidities, I am not obese, and I can climb up a steep hill, which I do every day effortlessly. This does not put me in a cohort that Covid-19 will not seriously affect—I can still contract it and die in an ICU.

  11. You know Ramk, this may be a good opportunity to dig a little deeper into the responses from some here in T&T. The Nicki Minaj’s comment about her cousin’s friend and your response to this incident are good examples of this type of response. “Did that person get the Delta Variant from the vaccine, Birdie?” Medical science (and science in general) has its methodology for assessing whether a hypothesis or theory about something is true or false. I think it’s important to understand the difference between that methodology and what seems to be a popular way here of assessing whether things about medicine and medical treatment are true or not. “My friend went to the hospital with cancer, they gave her a bowl of jello, and you know the next day she tested negative for cancer. The jello cured her yes”. “The man took the vaccine and you know the next thing he test positive for the Delta Variant. The vaccine gave him the Delta, yes”. Let’s call one method the scientific method, and the other the anecdotal method. Now anecdotal evidence in medicine is not thrown out as unworthy of study, in fact it may be investigated and lead to hypotheses which themselves have to be rigorously tested and may prove to be useful. But anecdotal evidence may lead to a commonplace fallacy, the “post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy, the human tendency to assume that if one event happens after another, then the first must be the cause of the second”. In other words we mistake occurring together with cause, if things occur at the same time, we mistake a casual relationship between them. To really investigate whether they may be a casual relationship, we have to repeat the study many times, in fact the study has to be repeatable, and results have to be analyzed; that in contrast to anecdotal evidence, is the scientific method. Now that is why organizations like the WHO are important. They have access to vast amounts of studies, vast amounts of data, so that they can statistically analyze the data and tell whether the correlation between two events is statistically significant and to what degree it is statistically significant. As a matter of fact you can determine to what degree you want the relationship to be statistically significant. The more statistically significant, the more accurate and reliable the conclusion. Our best way of determining whether the vaccine can cause the Delta Variant is to look at the reliable research that has been done by international bodies such as the WHO, and reflect on what they say. So think about these things and see if we can introduce more light into the conversation.

  12. Birdie and that is the problem with y’all (and this government). You fail to acknowledge ‘our’ history.
    Maybe you will like to ‘forgive and forget, but, we all are not willing to give up our arms and our hearts. And, as a so-called Black/AfricanTrini government who were elected by mainly ‘AfricanTrinis’, we deserved better… Maybe it’s too late now, as it seems the government has lost its base.

    Anyway Birdie, you have BAD BLOOD.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3tQ93fQf8U

  13. RamK it may be that we are both trying, I don’t know, in our own ways, to get us to a better place. For me we are living in traumatic times, global pandemic, everybody cooped up, people suffering, people dying, many losing their livelihoods, little businesses closing, food prices going up, it’s tough, global. Not easy at all. But I think we may have a way out – vaccines. I think that vaccination can lessen the impact of the virus, less people dying and getting seriously sick. The country can open back up, the little businesses and big ones can reopen, people can get back their jobs, their full salaries, beaches open again, that saltwater and seabreeze can cure anything, music back out on the streets, the energy of the people exploding. That’s my solution. Others think differently, I haven’t really heard what their solutions are; really they don’t seem to offer any. In any case how else can we sort this out but by getting to the truth? We get into the gayelle. We expose up misinformation, we challenge wrong ideas, we logicify the illogical, we reasonify unreason. How else can we do this? And we hope the only thing that survives that merciless gayelle, this santimanitay, is the truth and maybe that will get us to a better place.

    1. Thanks, News.
      Here Birdie… Madagascar, less than 1% vaccinated… A state-sanctioned Covid medication, CVO, I think they are on their 3rd version now (and they are still telling ‘allyuh’ that Merck is the first.) …
      These are the results… No vaccination cards are required.

      Madagascar Tribune … Translated:

      Reopening of borders: the first international flights for 23 October
      Thursday, October 14, | Mandimbisoa R.
      Good news for the tourism sector. The government decided yesterday in the Council of Ministers to reopen Malagasy air borders to international flights. The return to normal flights will take place in two stages.

      From 23 October, regional flights from the Indian Ocean islands, Mauritius and Reunion Island, through Air Mauritius and Air Austral respectively, are allowed. Long-haul flights from Europe are scheduled from 6 November. Apart from medical evacuations, the arrival of a private jet or a special flight must be validated by the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic.

      This reopening is accompanied by certain health measures such as the obligation to perform a PCR test which now becomes paying and costs 25 euros. This screening test is included in the price of the plane ticket. Upon arrival, the confinement of passengers will last two days while waiting for the results of the test. If it is negative, the passenger can move freely, otherwise, he will be quarantined, the time to treat him.

      The authorities also indicate that the frequency of flights entering Madagascar will be limited to comply with the guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organization. ICAO sets the arrival distance between two flights at 5 hours. Similarly, the authorities plan to publish a list of countries that are not yet authorized to send their nationals to Madagascar. These countries on the red list are those where the epidemic is considered very active.

      https://www.madagascar-tribune.com/Reouverture-des-frontieres-les-premiers-vols-internationaux-attendus-le-23.html

      All made possible by their local Covid medication/s…

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6U-j4MvySg

    1. Thanks, News… But I could only read about 1 paragraph of the ‘SPIN’… They have me giddy… And not just the TT press… But here.

      Why vaccinated people dying from Covid-19 doesn’t mean the vaccines are ineffective

      Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell died on Monday of Covid-19 complications. His family announced that he was fully vaccinated. He was 84 years old, and had multiple myeloma, a blood cancer.

      https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/18/health/covid-19-vaccination-colin-powell-death-wen-wellness/index.html

      There is a time when one must face reality and say… Enough is enough… Anyway…

      RIP Soldier..

      https://youtu.be/RkQ3PVYfAO8

  14. Vermont has the highest vaccination rate in the country. So why are cases surging?
    Regarding the recent case surge, Vermont may also be a “victim of our success,” Levine said Tuesday, pointing to a lack of natural COVID-19 immunity among unvaccinated residents “because we kept the virus at such low levels throughout the entire pandemic.” Vermont has one of the lowest levels nationwide of people who have developed natural immunity to the virus, CDC data shows.

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