By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD*
The USA was the bellwether of the world during the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr Anthony Fauci, who headed the USA’s Covid-19 task force, became a medical dictator whom the world followed blindly. He even went to the extent of saying that “he is the science,” and attacks on him were attacks on science. He was instrumental in recommending most of the Covid-19 protocols, such as masking, social distancing, lockdowns, and mass vaccinations—including for those who had recovered from natural infections and children. Most of these measures had no scientific evidence and caused immense collateral harm without any benefit. He had to admit during Senate hearings in the USA that there was no evidence for measures like social distancing, and that they just made them up!These hearings in the USA established that the whole world was misled during the pandemic. This was easily achieved, as any scientist who had alternative views on how the pandemic should be handled was de-platformed, censored, and, in some cases, lost their medical licences. There was total opacity and unaccountability, along with considerable arrogance among “mainstream” scientists. Even the mainstream media refused to entertain alternative views on the pandemic. Knowledge is power—and knowledge control led to absolute power, bringing with it the downside of corruption, conflicts of interest, and the politicisation and suppression of science.
With a change of guard, things in the USA are now moving rapidly towards transparency and accountability in public health. Senate hearings are inviting testimonies from experts who were silenced and victimised for their views during the pandemic. In anticipation of being indicted, even Anthony Fauci took an unprecedented presidential pardon from outgoing President Biden. The mainstream media also seems to be gradually shifting away from selective reporting. According to a YouTube video uploaded by the leading news media outlet, The Times of India, the Senate hearings in the USA have produced “chilling testimonies” from leading experts.
On May 21, the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing titled "The Corruption of Science and Federal Health Agencies: How Health Officials Downplayed and Hid Myocarditis and Other Adverse Events Associated with the COVID-19 Vaccines," where top medical experts and legal voices testified, including Dr Peter McCullough, Dr Jordan Vaughn, Dr James Thorp, and Dr Joel Wallskog, among others.
Findings were presented from a large autopsy series suggesting that in 73.9% of examined post-vaccine deaths, COVID vaccines were considered the likely cause. These findings have sparked intense debate within the medical community. The hearings also revealed that there is one serious adverse event for every 800 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine administered.
Extrapolating this 1-in-800 risk to a large country like India, where over 200 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses were administered, the estimated number of serious adverse events would be around 25 lakh. This estimate is concerning—but it is the best we have, as India lacks a robust Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) monitoring system capable of capturing even a fraction of these adverse events.
Most clinicians will fail to notice anything amiss. In their practice, they may see 799 patients out of 800 with no adverse events, and the one solitary case may be dismissed as coincidental. They will honestly believe the vaccines are safe and effective—and one cannot blame them.
To illustrate this, one eminent clinician appeared on TV recently and claimed that the Covishield vaccine administered in India was more effective and safer than the mRNA vaccines—demonstrating his ignorance of the fact that adverse effects from AstraZeneca (marketed as Covishield in India) were much higher than those from mRNA vaccines. This led many European countries to suspend its use, while the USA never licensed it due to mishaps during clinical trials. The clinician also seemed unaware that the AstraZeneca/Covishield vaccine was withdrawn globally by the manufacturer following litigation in UK courts linking the vaccine to serious adverse events such as vaccine-induced thrombocytopenic thrombosis (VITT).
Regrettably, such ignorance (or denial?) and sweeping statements by our “experts” enable the authorities to sweep under the carpet the estimated 25 lakh vaccine injury cases in the country. Innocent victims are deprived of compensation and justice.
A critical appraisal of the impact of measures and interventions is essential after any pandemic. Findings from such exercises help identify acts of omission and commission, and fix accountability. Admittedly, some of these may be honest lapses, while others may be mala fide—driven by profit or politics. These reviews should be a regular feature in any vibrant democracy. Alas, as a democracy, we have a long way to go. Leave aside hearings and appraisals—there is hardly any discussion of these critical issues in our Parliament.
Even if most independent countries (barring a few like the USA) did not conduct such transparent enquiries—(the UK Covid Inquiry was a whitewash)—it should have been incumbent upon the WHO to conduct a proper appraisal of the pandemic measures and their impact. Instead of encouraging transparency, the WHO is pushing for a Pandemic Treaty and amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR), which would empower it and world governments to repeat the same blunders made during the past pandemic.
While the USA has withdrawn from the WHO, India—like most countries—seems poised to sign the WHO’s Pandemic Treaty. This treaty will strip countries of autonomy during a pandemic declared at the whims and fancies of the WHO. And, of course, the acts of omission and commission during past and future pandemics will go unchecked and unaccounted for due to the lack of public hearings.
While honest men like Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Jay Bhattacharya, and Vinay Prasad are at the helm of health affairs in the USA, in the rest of the world it is “business as usual” with the WHO in charge of international health. With its many conflicts of interest—owing to strong ties and financial support from the pharmaceutical industry and China—it cannot be trusted to ensure transparency and accountability.
After the most vibrant democracy has stood up for transparency and accountability in public health, the largest democracy in the world had a chance to stem the tide of corruption and politicisation of science. Alas, it now seems ready to fall into the abyss called the WHO, heavily influenced by our arch-rival China. This will lead to the free fall of honest scientists—and the rise of careerist and opportunistic ones.
"The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones."
—William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
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*Dr Amitav Banerjee is a renowned epidemiologist, currently Professor Emeritus at Dr DY Patil Medical College in Pune, India. Having served as an epidemiologist in the armed forces for over two decades, he ranked in Stanford University’s list of the world’s top 2% scientists two years consecutively in 2023 and 2024. He is the author of the book 'Covid-19 Pandemic: A Third Eye'
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