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There was a lot we knew these last two years that we haven’t been able to say for fear of being cast out of polite society. But now these facts are openly discussed by politicians and in the media. Check out the four latest Covid ‘conspiracy theories’ that have come true.

In a recent article entitled Our Leaders Now Echo the Covid ‘Conspiracy Theorists’, I documented four facts now widely accepted that were rejected as nonsense just months ago.

If you insisted on those facts during earlier phases of the Covid-19 pandemic, you were dismissed as a conspiracy theorist or even —gasp — a ‘grandma-killer’. But as I explained, it is finally dawning on most people that:

• The vaccines don’t prevent transmission
• Everyone will eventually get Covid
• Hospitalisation numbers have been overstated
• Your health is your responsibility

As the mainstream Covid narrative continues to unravel, consider four more alleged conspiracy theories that have recently ‘come true’.

Natural Immunity Beats Vaccine Immunity

During the global vaccine rollout, natural immunity from Covid-19 was generally ignored and even criticised. Early on, the CDC published a study insisting that vaccination offers up to five times better protection than prior infection. Media outlets and ‘fact checkers’ echoed this lack of confidence in antibodies gained through a previous bout of Covid-19.

“Get vaccinated even if you’ve had Covid” was the mantra. If you chose not to, you were likely labelled an ‘anti-vaxxer’ and a risk to others. It was a mindset that shaped policy all over the world, forcing the already-recovered out of careers and daily life for refusing a medical treatment they weren’t convinced they needed.

People who questioned the status quo were demonised. But they were standing on decades of research and common sense about infectious diseases. And they have been proven right.

The CDC released a new study last week that considered immunity during the delta wave (May to November 2021) in California and New York. Its findings directly contradict the previous study: by October, those who were vaccinated but had no natural immunity were six times more likely to get infected with Covid-19 than those who previously had it but didn’t take the vaccine.

The study also showed that both vaccination and prior infection together provided the best immunity. But it certainly demolished the myth that natural immunity doesn’t work, or that the previously ill who decline the vaccine are a danger to others.

Covid Deaths Have Been Overstated

Worldometer has been a vital resource for many of us over the last two years. Collating data from governments worldwide, it currently puts the Covid-19 death toll at over 5.6 million.

Every one of these deaths is a tragedy. But accuracy matters.

The question many are now asking is whether the national statistics we’ve relied on provide an accurate count of Covid-19 deaths. These numbers often include people who died of a different cause while Covid-positive, or deaths where Covid-19 was just one of several contributing factors.

Of course, medical professionals rightly point out that discerning a single cause of death can sometimes be difficult, if not impossible. We will never have exact data on deaths where Covid-19 was the definitive factor. But recent freedom of information requests in the UK have shed more light on this issue.

In the UK, 153,800 people have died within 28 days of a positive Covid test — this is the nation’s official death toll. But the Office for National Statistics has revealed that only 17,300 of these were deaths from Covid-19 with no other underlying causes. In a seperate report, it was revealed that just 6,200 Brits had Covid-19 as the only cause of death on their death certificate.

The death toll is certainly higher than these figures. Many people with underlying conditions such as diabetes, obesity or high blood pressure, for example, would have lived longer had they not encountered Covid-19. But at the very least, the official numbers we’ve been relying on are murky and overstated.

Given that this data drove so much policymaking and fear, it is only right to ask if our response might have been more measured with a clearer picture of Covid-19 deaths.

Covid Definitely Discriminates

Another popular mantra from public figures has been that “Covid doesn’t discriminate”. Though this was an appeal for every person to act with caution, it falsely implied that all people were equally at risk.

Until recently, if you suggested otherwise — believing that the young and healthy should safely go about their lives while the elderly and at-risk were protected — you were seen as dangerous and irresponsible.

But Covid-19 does discriminate. Now that omicron is on the loose, we are allowed to admit this fact in polite society. But it was true long before omicron arrived. For all but the well advanced in years, the virus has posed a remarkably small risk:

This means a vaccinated 80-year-old is as likely to die as an unvaccinated 50-year-old. Likewise, a vaccinated 25-year-old is at greater risk of death than an unvaccinated 10-year-old.

Obviously, this isn’t an argument against vaccines. But it does count as further evidence that Covid-19 is highly age-selective — and that vaccination should always have been a choice for people based on their relative risk.

Moreover, it is a major rebuke to every leader who laid the greatest burdens on the young and healthy. We will regret these policies for decades to come — a reality that is only now dawning on those who refused to listen at the start of our lockdown madness.

The Unvaccinated Are Not to Blame

In May 2021, Channel 9 released an ad featuring celebrities who promised that vaccination was Australia’s ticket to freedom. “Now we have a shot to get our lives back to normal,” began Scott Cam, host of The Block. In a long queue, big names promised that vaccination would mean everyone reuniting for Christmas, friends being welcomed back to Australia’s shores, and a return to business as usual.

Australia is now 93 per cent vaccinated — one of the highest rates in the world. But many people were not allowed to reunite for Christmas, our international borders are still effectively closed, and rolling restrictions continue for schools, events and businesses. Vaccination mandates still prevent many Australians from earning an income, for no discernible benefit to anyone.

Australia’s omicron surge is finally subsiding but there is little hint from our leaders that we are allowed to “live with Covid” in 2022 as promised. Despite a far less deadly new variant, case numbers are still driving public policy and too much panic.

To blame the vaccine-free for this is disingenuous. Like so many other nations with exceptionally high vaccination rates — including Israel, Denmark, Spain and Israel — cases have risen regardless. Those without immunity remain at greater risk of hospitalisation and death, but they are not to blame for case spikes and ongoing restrictions.

Today, the unvaccinated are the whipping boy for all our country’s ongoing woes, but even the most hard-headed can see that this is no ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’. It’s a virus we are yet to fully understand and control — and the onus is on the government to let those who are immune or at otherwise low risk to get on with their plans, dreams and lives.

Until then, pay attention to other Covid ‘conspiracy theories’: their fulfilment may be just around the corner.

Image by Engin Akyurt on Unsplash.