How can you tell the difference between information and propaganda? Commentary

How can you tell the difference between information and propaganda?One tip, provided by America's Frontline Doctors (AFLDS) founder Dr. Simone Gold, is to compare “before” and “after.”Were we hearing the same advice BCE (Before the Coronavirus Era) as we are now?What, if anything, changed to justify the change in policy?Consider this (from CNN, September, 2020):“Concern that the FDA may be moving too quickly heightened when FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn told the Financial Times that his agency could consider an emergency use authorization (EUA) for a COVID-19 vaccine before late-stage trials are complete…”After all, “Once the data is collected, FDA advisers usually spend months considering it … vaccines [usually] go through the entire clinical trial process and FDA approval process, which can [and almost always does] take months or years.”Furthermore, “When the vaccine making process has been rushed, there have been bad outcomes.”Then the article gives an example of “bad outcomes”:“In 1976, scientists predicted a pandemic of a new strain of influenza … President Ford was basically told by his advisers that [it] may be as bad as Spanish flu.”Sound familiar?“A vaccine was hastily put together.”“Ford made the decision to make the immunization compulsory.”And then?“That vaccination campaign was later linked to cases of a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome … there were a few hundred cases … The CDC said the increased risk was about 1 additional case of Guillain-Barre for every 100,000 people who got the vaccine.”So, what did the government do? Did they say, “Oh, it’s a minute risk, and the risk-benefit analysis justifies it? Remember, at this point they still thought they had a pandemic looming.Not quite:“Due to this small association, the government stopped the program.”In fact, they didn’t just stop the program and go home. “They stopped … to investigate.”They actually wanted to find out what had gone wrong.Even though there were “only” a few hundred cases.Fast-forward to October, 2021, looking again at CNN.“It’s what parents around the country have been waiting for: Pfizer and BioNTech announced Thursday they are asking the US Food and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization for their Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.”No concern about an EUA this time around.“It may take some weeks for the data to make its way through the FDA’s protocols…”Some weeks, and certainly not the months described above. But we’re still not concerned.But just in case you were getting worried, CNN brought in a “pediatrician and child development expert, Dr. David Hill,” to answer all your burning questions.Let’s hear them:

• Do you think children … will be overly concerned about getting the COVID-19 vaccine?
• “What do you think is a child’s biggest fear about getting a vaccine of any kind?"
• Kids want to know whether they can go on playdates … will that be possible for vaccinated children?
• Will children be able to stop wearing masks…?
• … Why should a parent consider giving their 5- to 11-year-old the COVID-19 vaccine?

Which is all rather curious, given CNN’s very obvious concern, just a year ago, that insufficiently vetted vaccines could lead to “bad outcomes.”This time around, they weren’t even concerned enough to ask: Is this safe? How do we know?Dr. Hill actually answered that (in a fashion) as part of his response to the first question.“Kids always want to know: ‘Am I going to be OK?’ As parents, we need to be able to give them honest and reassuring answers. The data on the dose for 5- to 11-year-olds is not out yet to be scrutinized, but based on our experience with the other vaccines, we hope we’re going to be able to say, ‘Yes, this is very safe…’”