The #WheresWalensky watch is now over: CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has returned, unless her cat is wandering across her keyboard. I don’t know if she actually has a cat, but it would no doubt be a more honest broker of COVID-related information than she is. The following thread is another call-out of her hypocrisy and, dare I say, stupidity.
Summary
After testing positive for COVID on 21 October 2022, a month after she received her mRNA bivalent booster, she disappeared for 18 days other than a presentation to UVA Med and a propaganda-shoveling interview on CSPAN, both remote. She reportedly had a round of Paxlovid, rebounded, and then finally popped up again today, on 8 November.
So, let’s do a quick walkthrough, shall we?
15 September
Apropos of nothing, I included this tweet to show Walensky…WEARING A MASK in a group setting. She was touring a “Serious Communicable Disease Unit” while doing so. I guess that implies she wouldn’t wear one while touring a Non-Serious Communicable Disease Unit”? And do you see any hand sanitizer in there? Must be out of frame…
Also on this day (busy gig!), she got a bunch of her minions in an auditorium to discuss “moving CDC forward” (this brought to mind a turd moving its way “forward” through the large colon). While you can’t see in most cases, it appears that these dedicated public servants are…wearing masks. And they’re not even in a Serious Communicable Disease Unit. Huh.
22 September
Here we see our intrepid CDC Director getting her bivalent booster. Do you see anything odd going on here? WHY IS WALENSKY WEARING THE SCARLET LETTER OF THE PANDEMIC (note: yes, I’m being sarcastic)? And the tech, as well. I don’t know about you, but even when I went to get my second mRNA booster back in April, the pharmacist didn’t bother to wear a mask. Hmmm…does Walensky have a stunt double or something?
18 October
I skipped over a few generic “get vaccinated” pumps to fast forward to this point, when Walensky met with WHO leadership during the World Health Summit 2022 (#WHS2022). Again, I can’t help but call attention to the fact that Walensky is WEARING A SCARLET LETTER. What the heck, eh?
The fun continued at the Robert Koch-Institut (no trailing “e” – it’s German, okay?). No masks outside – I can dig it (unless I was immunocompromised).
But look at the this photo, when they go indoors? What’s this Rochelle? Can I call you that? I feel like we should be on a first name basis. I guess those mean German folks must’ve forced her to wear a mask, eh? (Yeah, working on my Canadian thing there).
Wait, wait – let’s pop back to #WHS2022:
What the hell, people? Look at all those masks! And aside from that one bonehead in center frame, no one visible in this shot is wearing a surgical.
Oh, wait: there she is. Speakers don’t have to mask, because we ALL know that virus-laden aerosols aren’t allowed up on the stage, right?
THIS…
NOT THIS…come on, Tedros!
Oh, wait…we must be getting to the YOLO part of the conference. Now, there’s a reason I’m bringing all this up – bear with me. Say “Cheese” and breathe deep, everyone! SARS2 isn’t allowed in selfies or unmasked portions of the conference! Ha. Ha.
Walensky having fun and sharing air…I sorta doubt they’re all holding their breath here.
Hand sanitizer?
And last but not least, if you look at the WHS2022 agenda, you’ll see they had a lunch break and one or two coffee breaks each of the three days (16-18 October: keep those dates in mind), AND…”WHS Night.”
I didn’t look very hard, but I have to wonder if WHS Night wasn’t a big YOLO event for all these global public health leaders. And I’m SURE they didn’t go out to dine indoors, unmasked, and ate outside for lunch and breakfast and coffee breaks, and…and…and…naaaaahhh.
21 October
This was Walensky’s last tweet before she went AWOL. Nice that she pointed out the rise in respiratory viruses in the U.S.; recommended an updated COVID-19 vaccine (and remember, it was literally one month before this that she’d had her bivalent booster) and a flu shot; stay home if you’re sick (but only for 5 days, per CDC guidance, right? And like we all have sick leave to stay home); and practice good hand hygiene. FOR RESPIRATORY VIRUSES. Wash your hands so you don’t suck in airborne viruses. I honestly don’t know how anyone can say stuff this stupid without their head exploding. But I digress.
You’re mileage may vary, but the median for symptom onset after exposure (for Omicron BA.1.1.529 back in December 2021) – according to CDC – was 73 hours: slightly over 3 days.
So, what’s 21 minus 3? Eighteen (18). I guess maybe that WHS Night thing (night of the 17th) must’ve been a helluva shindig. Or maybe it was the (presumably unmasked) breakfasts, coffee breaks, lunches, and dinners?
22 October
CDC reported that Walensky had tested positive for COVID the previous night (21 October). Thus began the #WheresWalensky game. After this, she disappears except for two brief remote gigs.
26 October
Walensky gives an hour-long presentation remotely to UVA Medical.
31 October
Walensky took Paxlovid, tested negative, had a rebound, and tested positive again as of 31 October.
1 November
But by golly, that rebound didn’t keep Rochelle from pumping propaganda on CSPAN on 1 November! You go, girl!!
Other than that, she was nil-heard.
8 November
SHE LIVES!! Rochelle returns to Twitter on 8 November! So, let’s take a look at these:
Maybe she should’ve said to get a booster under one month after the last one, as she was infected at around 26 DAYS and tested positive at 29.
But there’s another reason she mentions 2 months: that’s about how long the mRNA vaccines may be able to provide any protection at all from infection. Yes, you read that right: after about 70 days, you may as well be unvaccinated.
“COVID-19 vaccines may not prevent every infection…” COME ON, ROCHELLE! They don’t protect against MOST infections, and you had your tailored bivalent booster just over three weeks – enough time for it to generate an immune response – before you were infected! And let’s recall that “severe illness” means “hospitalization.” Mild can mean anything from a sniffle to feeling like you’re going to die, but can’t afford an ambulance ride to the hospital and decide to roll the dice to see if you’ll survive. That’s “mild.”
Remember that turd I mentioned that was “moving forward” through the large colon? I think it just popped out…followed by a steaming pile of bullshit.
She had “mild” symptoms that effectively kept her out of her accustomed place in the public eye, minus two remote sessions that we know of, for almost three weeks. Aside from the completely moronic, non-science-based CDC isolation guidance, how many people have the paid leave to go that long? Or to go partly or completely unpaid for that long?
Must be nice, eh, Rochelle? Ohhh, to be you.
So What’s The Point?
The point of all this is first, to call out more of Walensky’s bullshit in the context of what happened leading up to her positive test, and then her malarkey after she emerged from isolation (on Election Day, no less).
The second point is to dump on our public health leadership in general, from WHO on down. It’s bad enough that we have infectious disease experts going YOLO like these cretins at #IDWeek2022…
…but when we have Tedros, Walensky, a bunch (although certainly not all) of infectious disease “experts,” and heaven knows who else jumping into superspreaders at the national and global levels, we’re really well and truly screwed. The rot in our public health infrastructure toward controlling the worst pandemic in a century literally goes all the way to the top, and it’s a disease of hypocrisy, irresponsibility, ableism, callousness, a dash or two of evil, and outright stupidity.