Japan COVID adviser seeks better pandemic response

As for China's COVID response, Omi told reporters following his speech that he believes Beijing has "room for improvement"

A very diplomatic way to say it was a disaster. May have answered differently if the meeting was hosted in another country.

They usually happen every century or so unless they are released by accident by a lab. These days a of work is being done in labs about these type of virus, caution is required.

But Japan's accumulated number of deaths per million has been kept relatively low due partly to hardworking medical professionals' firm commitment to the protection of people's health, Omi said.

Indeed. Japan did remarkably well. I am proud I was part of that success story!!

Elvis

Glad you are proud, me too. Had a lovely time during Covid, flights and hotels were so cheap and I did my duty supporting the tourist industry by spending my Yen whilst acting in a responsible manner at all times of course

They usually happen every century or so unless they are released by accident by a lab

Or unless they come from an alien ship? I mean, no pandemic has ever happened because of an accident by a lab either, they have all been originated when infected animals get in close contact with human society. Understanding how pandemics actually happen is an extremely necessary step to have better preparation against them.

Virus

The experts have not concluded the origin of Covid 19 yet and probably never will, mainly by China hiding info.

Im open to seeing evidence form birth sides, are you?

The best way we can all prepare for the next "pandemic" would be to take an hour out of your day to research the difference between a fully approved medicine and a provisionally approved vaccine. Once you fully understand the different standards each are held to in order to reach the market, and then you understand the liabilities of manufacturers for a medicine versus a vaccine, you may be way less inclined to blindly roll up your sleeve the next time a shiny face from a big pharmaceutical manufacturer tells you to get a jab.

official data lacked credibility.

Official data from the Chinese Communist Party lacks credibility? I am shocked.

they have all been originated when infected animals

Thank goodness you're here to prove the conclusive findings incorrect and, even though the Wuhan Institute of Virology is just up the road, to remind us that Covid did come from a wet market bat after all!

Official data from the Chinese Communist Party lacks credibility? I am shocked.

Me too Jay. The most shocking thing is, some people believed the data.

Me too Jay

Welcome back Elvis.

Elvis

Glad you are proud, me too.

That's nice. But why did you tell me directly?

Japans so lucky the everyday citizen picked up the slack for the government. People immediately took up masks since you know, Japan already had this cultural idea to do so since the 70s when illnesses are going around. Businesses supplied their own alcohol spray and temp checks, all before or without any actual regulations

meanwhile the basic task of securing facilities and beds for the people who did get sick never materialized because … reasons? LDP keeps patting themselves on the back but they basically did nothing

Most countries already had pandemic plans before Covid. But those plans were ignored, mainly due to the captured agencies. The best thing the government can due is get rid of pharma's direct and indirect influence on policies, and then get out of the way and let doctors be doctors.

But Japan's accumulated number of deaths per million has been kept relatively low due partly to hardworking medical professionals' firm commitment to the protection of people's health, Omi said.

Ah yes, when they told infected people to go home and come back when they have trouble breathing.

Japan's accumulated number of deaths per million has been kept relatively low due partly to hardworking medical professionals' firm commitment to the protection of people's health, 

There's a lot to be learned from Japan's response to Covid.

A recent paper in Nature* notes the significant correlation between countries with obese populations and high covid mortality.

I would argue that low obesity rates, along with the timely vaccine campaign before the aggressive Delta wave, were the most significant factors in Japan's favor during the pandemic.

*https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-33093-3

Shigeru Omi, who headed a government panel on the novel coronavirus, told the gathering aimed at sharing COVID-19 knowledge that Japan had "not learned sufficiently" from the lessons of the 2009 new flu pandemic.

Japanese medical professionals like Omi did use one of the lessons from the 2009 flu pandemic, which was to encourage everyone to mask up, while the WHO, which was busy praising China's initial actions, was mistakenly telling the general population that masks were not necessary.

Of course, without the lab leak, as noted by the scientific experts in the biggest lab in the world, none of this would have happened.

The experts have not concluded the origin of Covid 19 yet and probably never will, mainly by China hiding info.

The experts have published studies that demonstrate the natural origin is the only realistically possible according to the available evidence, nobody has refute the scientific arguments used on those reports.

Why ignore this evidence and instead push for something that is supported exactly by zero evidence instead?

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abp8715

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abp8337

Thank goodness you're here to prove the conclusive findings incorrect and, even though the Wuhan Institute of Virology is just up the road, to remind us that Covid did come from a wet market bat after all!

There are many other institutes of virology in the area, that is because it is a well known epicenter for zoonotic coronavirus isolation, this is as strange as finding an institute dedicated to studying geothermal energy in Beppu. Epidemiological data clearly shows there is no realistic way for the cases in Wuhan to be originated outside of the animal market.

Most countries already had pandemic plans before Covid. But those plans were ignored, mainly due to the captured agencies

Calling every institution that says something you are unable to accept "captured" do not make it so, If your idea for doctors to do their job is to push for invalid treatments that is completely mistaken. When plans and treatments are supported by scientific data there is nothing wrong with making the professionals use those instead of whatever they personally believe may work.

Japanese medical professionals like Omi did use one of the lessons from the 2009 flu pandemic, which was to encourage everyone to mask up, while the WHO, which was busy praising China's initial actions, was mistakenly telling the general population that masks were not necessary.

that is still as false as every time you make the claim, Japanese authorities clearly, explicitly called people to prioritize the mask only on hospital environments and with sytmptomatic patients, which is completely in line with what the WHO said, which makes sense since no available evidence at the beginning of the pandemic indicated otherwise.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200207/k10012277301000.html

I would argue that low obesity rates, along with the timely vaccine campaign before the aggressive Delta wave, were the most significant factors in Japan's favor during the pandemic.

Yes, it was already known very early in the pandemic that obesity was a major risk factor for Covid complications. And it appears that is a major reason why Japan was doing very well at first.... until they started the mass vaccination program.

When plans and treatments are supported by scientific data there is nothing wrong with making the professionals use those instead of whatever they personally believe may work.

Remdesivir is not supported by data, it doesn't work and is very toxic. But because it is very expensive, it was quickly approved....

As for China's COVID response, Omi told reporters following his speech that he believes Beijing has "room for improvement"

A very diplomatic way to say it was a disaster. May have answered differently if the meeting was hosted in another country.

Another Mea Culpa.

This character supported lockdowns for 3 years.

Glad Mr. Omi and I can finally agree on something: Japan's Covid response was a disaster. Here are my main points:

-Travel restrictions lasted far too long, and planted the idea in peoples heads that Japanese are helpless/not responsible for their own Covid problem, and that the blame always comes back to the foreigner.

-State of Emergencies were a joke. They were fine with people spreading Covid at schools, offices, and coffee shops, because those are places where people commit to the grind. But bars and restaurants, naw, only lazy people need to eat after 8PM because the good, upstanding members of society are either at the office or getting ready for early night of sleep.

-Vaccine spending was out of control. There is no justification for how much money was wasted on doses people didn't want to take. And now we get to enjoy the weakening of the yen and the inflation thanks to this policy.

-Olympics never needed to be spectatorless, or even postponed. I understand why so many people hate the IOC. If you wanted the Olympics cancelled because you think they are corrupt, fine, that was a valid stance. Covid was not. They gained nothing from postponing it. They gained nothing from not allowing people into the country to spectate. There was no benefit or risk mitigation. All they did was put on this giant show, that they could still host the Olympics, but just needed to do so in this pathetic, apologetic, prudish manner. Meanwhile, they still people to attend baseball, soccer, basketball games and other sporting events.

-Facemasks have become the symbol of Japan's national identity. They let the charade carry on for too long, and now it is permanent. Many of them are still wearing masks during the extreme summer heat. They can't move on past Covid.

And it appears that is a major reason why Japan was doing very well at first.... until they started the mass vaccination program.

The only problem with Japan vaccination was that it was initiated quite late, it definetely did not make the response worse in any way.

Remdesivir is not supported by data, it doesn't work and is very toxic. But because it is very expensive, it was quickly approved....

Baseless accusations about conspiracies that can be disproved with examples like dexamethasone are not arguments, they are excuses for not having arguments.

Another Mea Culpa.

This character supported lockdowns for 3 years.

Nobody "supported lockdowns for 3 years" that is false, the experts recommended them when the alternatives were much worse, the coming of the Omicron strains made the costs of the measure unjustifiable and the benefits much less important, which is why many countries stopped having the lockdowns at that point, all supported scientifically,

Glad Mr. Omi and I can finally agree on something: Japan's Covid response was a disaster.

He did not say the covid response was a disaster, just that can be improved, which is completely true, trying to misrepresent his declaration to fit what you want to believe is not a valid way to argument for it, instead it is a way to recognize you can support your personal opinion based in what was actually said.

Remdesivir is not supported by data, it doesn't work and is very toxic. But because it is very expensive, it was quickly approved....

Baseless accusations about conspiracies that can be disproved with examples like dexamethasone are not arguments, they are excuses for not having arguments.

How does dexamethasone disprove Rawbeer's comment? Dexamethasone is not an antiviral?

Remdesivir was shown to be very dangerous, and it didn't work.

I'm sure that when the next pandemic comes, I will ignore all government recommendations, and I will likely do the opposite of what you recommend.

How does dexamethasone disprove Rawbeer's comment? Dexamethasone is not an antiviral?

But is an extremely cheap drug that is being used without problems in the treatment of covid even if it makes drugs 100 times more expensive unnecessary, if the supposed conspiracy to push drugs based only on profit was true that would make this example impossible to see. Drugs with limited efficacy being approved is simply consequence of not having anything better to use and balancing the possible benefits until it becomes clear other options are better, no need to use imaginary reasons that can be so easily disproved.

I'm sure that when the next pandemic comes, I will ignore all government recommendations, and I will likely do the opposite of what you recommend.

People can be irrational and act against their own benefit, that does nothing to prove they know better than the scientific and medical communities of the world.

This is welcomed news .!. It is better to be proactive and prepared than reactive and completely unprepared.!. It’s good to see FFS come out of denial and finally acknowledge that Covid was and is a pandemic .!. The deadliest disease to hit earth since the Spanish flu.!. And where the next pandemic originates from is completely irrelevant.!. Still have to be prepared.!.

People can be irrational and act against their own benefit, that does nothing to prove they know better than the scientific and medical communities of the world.

We saw the WHO acting against science and instead siding with China, and actually praising China for its transparency, while at the same time going against the science and advising the general public not wear masks.

Japanese medical experts though, advised the public early on to wear masks, well before the WHO made a 180 degree turnaround and decided to follow the science instead of the CCP.

We saw the WHO acting against science and instead siding with China, and actually praising China for its transparency, while at the same time going against the science and advising the general public not wear masks.

No we did not, we say the WHO recognizing one single contribution and then heavlly critizicing China repeatedly precisely for acting against the best available science.

Japanese medical experts though, advised the public early on to wear masks, well before the WHO made a 180 degree turnaround and decided to follow the science instead of the CCP.

That is still as false as the last time it was debunked with a reference that proved Japanese medical experts repeated the same recommendation from the WHO, which was the only that could be justified scientifically at the time.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200207/k10012277301000.html