A brief tutorial in health education to show you how sound health education models have been used for manipulation instead of creating health awareness during the COVID 19 pandemic. We'll uses masks as an example of a health behavior.
Are you ready to explore? 1/n

The Health Belief Model (HBM) consists of 5 components: perceived threat (lethality + Susceptibility),
perceived benefits,
perceived barriers and
cues to action.

Familiarise yourself with the definition of each concept in this table. 2/n
https://t.co/1tOz1cJFvc
Study this diagram to understand how the components are interrelated. 3/n
https://t.co/iUoaqNkgyP
Now let’s apply this to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Review this diagram to see how the HBM applies to the behaviour of mask-wearing.
“perceived susceptibility appeared to be the most significant factor determining compliance” 4/n
https://t.co/xF6uwUx12N
Part I: The HBM
Increase the perceived threat of a disease
1) increase perceived severity: Confusing the general public with CFR & IFR- 2 indicators that are an order of magnitude apart.
People understood wrongly that the fatality rate of C19 is 3.4%.
5/n
https://t.co/gxyEd0E9H0
2) Increase perceived susceptibility:
People were told that this virus is 'novel' and we are all immuno-naive to it and thus all susceptible. 6/n
https://t.co/C6ySpWQTw7
Both of these elements increase the perceived threat. So now the entire population feels threatened by a disease that is in fact only harmful to the very few (mostly the elderly with comorbidities). Fear is rampant at this point. 7/n
3) Increase perceived benefits: make people believe that masks can protect them and protect their loved ones
a) Recommendations by authoritative figures such as WHO ...
8/n
https://t.co/rdaMdtA2P3
and the CDC that listed studies with unsound methodologies on their website to support the benefits of wearing masks, such as the 2 hairdressers study!
9/n
https://t.co/8PUPrd3axu
b) create public acceptance through expert endorsements like Dr Tedros, Dr Fauci, and Dr Birx.
(I know what you are looking at. Give him a break. His perceived threat is low.) 10/n
a) another benefit is the avoidance of negative events
avoid stares and harassments by others (fitting in)
avoid being reported on. 11/n
https://t.co/d7UAAMxVgZ
avoid fines and being harassed by the police
12/n
https://t.co/yh51hCRgxG
4) Decrease perceived barriers:
a) increase the accessibility of masks by increasing their supply and promoting cloth masks as an option
13/n
https://t.co/MXNaQHuY06
b) reduce the sense of embarrassment from wearing maks =>turn them into a fashion statement
for women... you are sexy
for men... you are strong
for teens... you are cool
for kids ... you are cute
14/n
4) cues to action:
a) voice reminders in public places & signs in shops and public spaces
15/n
b) Using celebrities to promote masks
16/n
https://t.co/krwsfivfec
c) AD campaigns playing on emotions.
17/n
(FYI: Big budgets behind AD campaigns...) 18/n
Videos playing on emotions 19/n
https://t.co/NPN6S2pjdd
And to my utter disappointment, my favourite superheroine also participated in this...
20/n
https://t.co/cWKoGzW8Hk
=> the outcome of the analysis of perceived benefit minus the perceived barriers within the context of perceived threat determines the likelihood of engaging in the desired behaviour 21/n
Part II: Why is this a manipulation?
1) The severity was exaggerated
The fatality rate is much lower than initially insinuated by WHO. The median IFR (Infection fatality rate) is 0.23%.
22/n
https://t.co/fonxVwW9rE
2) The susceptibility was exaggerated

We are not all susceptible to the virus. SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID 19) is closely related to SARS-CoV (2003 epidemic). Many people might have pre-existing immunity that will protect them from this not-so-novel virus. 23/n
NIH reports:
“the evidence that a subset of people has a cross-reactive T cell repertoire through exposure to related coronaviruses is strong.“ 24/n
https://t.co/wQzeAWkKg5
3) Public health is never coercive. People are given accurate unbiased information about risks & benefits then respected to make their own decisions. In this case, people were given misleading information then mandated to abide by certain behaviours. 25/n
4) The health behaviour in question is not even shown to lead to the claimed benefit

“It would appear that despite two decades of pandemic preparedness, there is considerable uncertainty as to the value of wearing masks.” @carlheneghan @CebmOxfo 26/n
https://t.co/Eo7n9CVzB5
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health review:
"wearing facemasks to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is not recommended for individuals in the community without respiratory symptoms who are not in near contact with people who are known to be infected." 27/
https://t.co/iggSJjRDV0
from the same review...
“200 000 people would need to wear facemasks to prevent one new infection per week in the current epidemiological situation." 28/n
“we did not find evidence that surgical-type face masks are effective in reducing laboratory-confirmed influenza transmission, either when worn by infected persons (source control) or by persons in the general community to reduce their susceptibility.”-CDC
https://t.co/ulazJvURSI
“At present, there is no direct evidence (from studies on COVID19 and in healthy people in the community) on the effectiveness of universal masking of healthy people in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses, including C19.”- WHO 30/n
https://t.co/zdAsllF1vv
5) Mixed messaging from authoritative bodies such as the WHO & CDC recommending masks for the general public on their social media & websites but then publishing reviews that the public will not dig out saying that there is a lack of evidence to support mask mandates. 31/n

More from Abir Ballan 😊

The corrupt Lebanese government put the country in lockdown to flatten the “revolution”. As a result of the worsening economic situation, many healthcare workers were laid off and now the Lebanese people are paying for it by being denied access to care. 1/n


Here’s what would reduce mortality in #Lebanon:
1) protecting the vulnerable
2) increasing healthcare capacity
3) supporting healthcare workers

All impossible to do in a country that is gasping for dear life. 2/n

And yet the #Lebanese people are being blamed for not following guidelines and not following the rules.
The Lebanese people are not to blame. Wearing masks, social distancing, lockdowns and stupid curfews don’t do anything. 3/n

It is those politicians who transferred their money to Swiss accounts, while #Lebanese citizens can no longer transfer university fees for their children studying abroad, who are to blame.
Stop shifting the blame to the people. 4/n

Public health practitioners like @firassabiad and @petra who have bought blindly into the narrative are reinforcing this displaced scapegoating.
Please be aware of the harm of supporting the government’s narrative. 5/n
All you need to know about COVID19
FACTS NOT FEAR

Covid 19 is a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. SARS-CoV-2 is one of 7 coronaviruses known to man. 1/n

The pandemic is real. Excess deaths were observed in many countries. Not all countries were affected in the same way due to pre-existing immunity, the health status of the population and demographics (the proportion of elderly in the population) 2/n
https://t.co/65elPq3gp5


COVID 19 presents a high risk for the very few and negligible risk for the many.

The infection fatality rate in different age groups:
<19 y, IFR= 0.003%
20-49 y: IFR= 0.02%
50-69 y: 0.5%
>70y, IFR=

Not everybody is susceptible to the virus. If reinfected, pre-existing immunity from related viruses gives protection from developing the disease or from developing serious symptoms.
4/n

“The evidence that a subset of people has a cross-reactive T cell repertoire through exposure to related coronaviruses is

More from Category c19

1/12

RT-PCR corona (test) scam

Symptomatic people are tested for one and only one respiratory virus. This means that other acute respiratory infections are reclassified as


2/12

It is tested exquisitely with a hypersensitive non-specific RT-PCR test / Ct >35 (>30 is nonsense, >35 is madness), without considering Ct and clinical context. This means that more acute respiratory infections are reclassified as


3/12

The Drosten RT-PCR test is fabricated in a way that each country and laboratory perform it differently at too high Ct and that the high rate of false positives increases massively due to cross-reaction with other (corona) viruses in the "flu


4/12

Even asymptomatic, previously called healthy, people are tested (en masse) in this way, although there is no epidemiologically relevant asymptomatic transmission. This means that even healthy people are declared as COVID


5/12

Deaths within 28 days after a positive RT-PCR test from whatever cause are designated as deaths WITH COVID. This means that other causes of death are reclassified as
1/: Avicenna was a Persian scientist, who lived 1000 years ago. He put two lambs in separate cages, which had the same health conditions. But only one lamb could see a wolf that was put in a third cage. The observations were astounding. (h/t @farmer_student) ⬇️a thread⬇️


2/: Both lambs were provided with the same feed. Also, the weight was exactly the same when the experiment started. Several months later, the lamb with sight on the wolf became cranky, restless, weak, and showed a significant weight loss and signs of poor development.

3/: The lamb that was under chronic stress as it was placed in a situation of constant apparent danger died eventually. 🐑🪦 In fact, the wolf did not pose a danger at all, but this was beyond the lamb's perception.

4/: This experiment showed that increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol have a bad impact on the metabolism of mammals. And 1000 years after this experiment, we are facing a similar situation again but with the difference that we are aware of the impact of stress.

5/: Currently, we are overwhelmed with medial and governmental propaganda with respect to a common cold virus (that might hypothetically be more lethal though) that doesn't do harm to the majority of the people. Extreme global measures are taken.

You May Also Like

क्या आप जानते हैं कि क्या है, पितृ पक्ष में कौवे को खाना देने के पीछे का वैज्ञानिक कारण!

श्राद्ध पक्ष में कौओं का बड़ा ही महत्व है। कहते है कौआ यम का प्रतीक है, यदि आपके हाथों दिया गया भोजन ग्रहण कर ले, तो ऐसा माना जाता है कि पितरों की कृपा आपके ऊपर है और वे आपसे ख़ुश है।


कुछ लोग कहते हैं की व्यक्ति मरकर सबसे पहले कौवे के रूप में जन्म लेता है और उसे खाना खिलाने से वह भोजन पितरों को मिलता है

शायद हम सबने अपने घर के किसी बड़े बुज़ुर्ग, किसी पंडित या ज्योतिषाचार्य से ये सुना होगा। वे अनगिनत किस्से सुनाएंगे, कहेंगे बड़े बुज़ुर्ग कह गए इसीलिए ऐसा करना

शायद ही हमें कोई इसके पीछे का वैज्ञानिक कारण बता सके।

हमारे ऋषि मुनि और पौराणिक काल में रहने वाले लोग मुर्ख नहीं थे! कभी सोचियेगा कौवों को पितृ पक्ष में खिलाई खीर हमारे पूर्वजों तक कैसे पहुंचेगी?

हमारे ऋषि मुनि विद्वान थे, वे जो बात करते या कहते थे उसके पीछे कोई न कोई वैज्ञानिक कारण छुपा होता था।

एक बहुत रोचक तथ्य है पितृ पक्ष, भादो( भाद्रपद) प्रकृति और काक के बीच।

एक बात जो कह सकते कि हम सब ने स्वतः उग आये पीपल या बरगद का पेड़/ पौधा किसी न किसी दीवार, पुरानी

इमारत, पर्वत या अट्टालिकाओं पर ज़रूर देखा होगा। देखा है न?

ज़रा सोचिये पीपल या बरगद की बीज कैसे पहुंचे होंगे वहाँ तक? इनके बीज इतने हल्के भी नहीं होते के हवा उन्हें उड़ाके ले जा सके।