PHD doctor of virology says Covid-19 is just FLU. "COVID 19 was imaginary and fictitious"

[AlexR]

Not really. It's an example of one of several things that can cause loss of smell. You're making an unsupportable claim that loss of smell is greater now than it has been due to other factors. That may be your experience, but that has no relevance to the broader truth.

Oh, boy. I’m really not looking to get into a pissing contest with you. Loss of smell and taste this flu season is clearly more prevalent than any other year. Any sources I give of that fact will not be accepted by you. I’ve never known of anybody losing those senses until this year and the fact that it lines up with what is reported is enough for me to believe it’s real. People like you who are hyper-skeptical of everything will never believe that anything is real once your beliefs have been made. It’s obvious that there isn’t some widespread zinc deficiency causing a lack of smell this year, but nothing will convince people too far gone like you.

 

[Perry Staltic]

Loss of smell and taste this flu season is clearly more prevalent than any other year

That's probably more a function of the media-driven zeitgeist of the time. Everyone obsesses about it now as being some distinguishing feature of covid, whereas before they probably weren't that concerned about it and didn't talk about it incessantly. You mentioned that belief drives your perception of reality ("what is reported is enough for me to believe it’s real"), then accused me of not being amenable to evidence because of fixed belief. I actually am very persuaded by claims that can by supported by evidence, but I'm not persuaded by, and am very skeptical of, claims based on media frenzy and anecdotes.

 

[tankasnowgod]

Once again, just because you are unhappy with the way that the virus is being handled, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. There has never been a flu season where this many people have lost their sense of taste and smell. The virus clearly exists.

Prove it. What is the normal rate of "loss and taste and smell" during a cold and flu season, and how much higher is it this year? And then prove it's NOT due to things like increased mask wearing, which has increased dramatically in countries like the US.

Earlier, you were arguing that your ignorance of anosmia (which is estimated to affect hundreds of thousands of Americans every year) was proof that SARS-Cov-2 exists. Now, you've simply moved the goalposts and say that severity and degree of anosmia proves the existence of this "novel corona virus." Of course, neither of these arguments prove the existence of any virus. You are simply rambling illogically at this point.

 

[AlexR]

That's probably more a function of the media-driven zeitgeist of the time. Everyone obsesses about it now as being some distinguishing feature of covid, whereas before they probably weren't that concerned about it and didn't talk about it incessantly. You mentioned that belief drives your perception of reality ("what is reported is enough for me to believe it’s real"), then accused me of not being amenable to evidence because of fixed belief. I actually am very persuaded by claims that can by supported by evidence, but I'm not persuaded by, and am very skeptical of, claims based on media frenzy and anecdotes.

Yes, the media is the cause of the loss of smell and taste this year. So is a new zinc deficiency that magically appeared this year. Where is your evidence, buddy?

 

[tankasnowgod]

Yes, the media is the cause of the loss of smell and taste this year. So is a new zinc deficiency that magically appeared this year. Where is your evidence, buddy?

I never claimed "the media" was the cause of loss of taste or smell.

I posted evidence showing that loss of taste or smell was associated with colds, flus, and other sorts of infection, all known about before the discovery of this "novel corona virus" in December 2019. You are the one making the claim that there is an "increased rate" of this (after previously claiming no knowledge of it ever happening before), so the onus is on YOU to prove your case.

 

[Perry Staltic]

Yes, the media is the cause of the loss of smell and taste this year. So is a new zinc deficiency that magically appeared this year. Where is your evidence, buddy?

Not the cause of loss of smell, the cause of excessive fixation on it as a sign of covid. How do you know that all of the other instances of non-covid-anosmia aren't being swept up in the covid hysteria and being blamed on covid? You don't.

 

[AlexR]

Prove it. What is the normal rate of "loss and taste and smell" during a cold and flu season, and how much higher is it this year? And then prove it's NOT due to things like increased mask wearing, which has increased dramatically in countries like the US.

Earlier, you were arguing that your ignorance of anosmia (which is estimated to affect hundreds of thousands of Americans every year) was proof that SARS-Cov-2 exists. Now, you've simply moved the goalposts and say that severity and degree of anosmia proves the existence of this "novel corona virus." Of course, neither of these arguments prove the existence of any virus. You are simply rambling illogically at this point.

COVID’s toll on smell and taste: what scientists do and don’t know

Researchers are studying the sensory impact of the coronavirus, how long it lasts and what can be done to treat it.

www.nature.com

What exactly can I prove to you? You have already made it clear you will never believe it and you think ridiculous things like wearing a mask will cause you to lose your sense of taste and smell. Every source says that you lose your taste and smell, but they are all the establishment and you will never believe them because you are hyper-politicized. I know three people that got COVID, had a positive test, and lost their sense of taste and smell completely and have never experienced that with any other flu. Unlike you, I don’t need a study to confirm every aspect of reality. It’s ironic that you are this way given that every study is performed by the establishment and their institutions and you are hyper-skeptical of them. You’re a walking contradiction.

 

[Perry Staltic]

Every source says that you lose your taste and smell, but they are all the establishment and you will never believe them because you are hyper-politicized

What's happened is that loss of sense of smell has now become synonymous with covid. So if a person loses smell, yet tests negative, it will be assumed that person has covid. That's how distorted perception has become.

 

[Ben.]

Yes, the media is the cause of the loss of smell and taste this year. So is a new zinc deficiency that magically appeared this year. Where is your evidence, buddy?

I dont know about loss of smell or taste in general, just that when one has a big "flu like" situation with fever and impaired hunger,then smell and taste being gone or missing or impaired seems "normal" to me. And before covid people weren't big on exlaining there symptoms like we are now. Is it increasedly happening due to covid now? Maybe.

But what i am certain is, is that people immedieatly think of being sick and having covid whenever they feel like sneezing or coughing or having a itch in their throat or so.
And that is media driven hysteria. Usually one would brush it off as "oh im under the weather". Now its "damn did i catch it? oh nooo gotta go test it".
It's this wierd mental thing when you tell someone something like "dude i think your hairline is receeding" and bam that guy is selfconscious of his hairline eventho it has been fine all along. Placebo or Hypochondria or w/e. I think many people suffer from this due to covid being the allstar on every media platform out there.

Edit: I am not implying that there is no covid tho.

 

[AlexR]

I dont know about loss of smell or taste in general, just that when one has a big "flu like" situation with fever and impaired hunger,then smell and taste being gone or missing or impaired seems "normal" to me. And before covid people weren't big on exlaining there symptoms like we are now. Is it increasedly happening due to covid now? Maybe.

But what i am certain is, is that people immedieatly think of being sick and having covid whenever they feel like sneezing or coughing or having a itch in their throat or so.
And that is media driven hysteria. Usually one would brush it off as "oh im under the weather". Now its "damn did i catch it? oh nooo gotta go test it".
It's this wierd mental thing when you tell someone something like "dude i think your hairline is receeding" and bam that guy is selfconscious of his hairline eventho it has been fine all along. Placebo or Hypochondria or w/e. I think many people suffer from this due to covid being the allstar on every media platform out there.

Edit: I am not implying that there is no covid tho.

A friend of a friend (I know, bad source) has lost their smell and taste months past recovering from the infection. I simply can’t reject that COVID-19 isn’t something new because the symptoms are unlike anything else for the people I’ve known that have gotten it. They all recovered just fine, but it was completely different to their symptoms from other viruses.

 

[tankasnowgod]

COVID’s toll on smell and taste: what scientists do and don’t know

Researchers are studying the sensory impact of the coronavirus, how long it lasts and what can be done to treat it.

www.nature.com

What exactly can I prove to you? You have already made it clear you will never believe it and you think ridiculous things like wearing a mask will cause you to lose your sense of taste and smell. Every source says that you lose your taste and smell, but they are all the establishment and you will never believe them because you are hyper-politicized. I know three people that got COVID, had a positive test, and lost their sense of taste and smell completely and have never experienced that with any other flu. Unlike you, I don’t need a study to confirm every aspect of reality. It’s ironic that you are this way given that every study is performed by the establishment and their institutions and you are hyper-skeptical of them. You’re a walking contradiction.

Prove what you claimed. In case you forgot what you typed an hour ago, it was this-

The article says loss of taste. Can’t explain the loss of smell unique to COVID-19. The virus exists and I have never known anybody who had lost their smell and taste until this year. Now I know multiple people.

Nothing about "loss of smell" is unique to COVID. You claim that I said "wearing a mask" was responsible. I never said that masks AND MASKS ALONE were responsible for "loss of taste or smell." I did suggest that they could be a factor, and gave a plausible mechanism. But I also posted an article to Healthline showing that loss of taste and smell happens with quite a number of common conditions, including colds and flu (a fact that you constantly ignore). Here's a link from The Mayo Clinic with even more conditions that cause loss of smell.

Loss of smell (anosmia) Causes

Learn about the definition and possible causes of loss of smell (anosmia).

www.mayoclinic.org

​

Problems with the inner lining of your nose​

Conditions that cause temporary irritation or congestion inside your nose may include:

1. Acute sinusitis (nasal and sinus infection)
2. Common cold
3. Hay fever (allergic rhinitis)
4. Influenza (flu)
5. Nonallergic rhinitis (chronic congestion or sneezing not related to allergies)
6. Smoking

Obstructions of your nasal passages​

Conditions or obstructions that block the flow of air through your nose can include:

1. Deviated septum
2. Nasal polyps
3. Tumors

Damage to your brain or nerves​

Nerves leading to the area of the brain that detects smell or the brain itself can be damaged or deteriorate due to:

1. Aging
2. Alzheimer's disease
3. Brain aneurysm (a bulge in an artery in your brain)
4. Brain surgery
5. Brain tumor
6. Diabetes
7. Exposure to chemicals in certain insecticides or solvents
8. Huntington's disease
9. Kallmann's syndrome (a rare genetic condition)
10. Klinefelter syndrome (a rare condition in which males have an extra X chromosome in most of their cells)
11. Korsakoff's psychosis (a brain disorder caused by the lack of thiamin)
12. Poor nutrition
13. Medications (for example, some high blood pressure medications, antibiotics and antihistamines)
14. Multiple sclerosis
15. Paget's disease of bone (a disease that affects your bones, sometimes facial ones)
16. Parkinson's disease
17. Niemann-Pick (Pick's disease, a form of dementia)
18. Radiation therapy
19. Rhinoplasty
20. Schizophrenia
21. Sjogren's syndrome (an inflammatory disease that generally causes dry mouth and eyes)
22. Traumatic brain injury
23. Zinc deficiency
24. Zinc-containing nasal sprays (taken off the market in 2009)

That's 33 conditions, some very, very common (including colds, flus, allergies and diabetes), others more rare (like Rhinoplasty and Brain Surgery), and even zinc nasal sprays that are no longer available. But clearly, loss of smell isn't "new" and isn't "unique" to COVID. Even the Nature article you posted doesn't suggest that loss of smell is in any way "unique" with COVID patients, simply that it happens in COVID patients. But it also happens with colds and flus and allergies and diabetes and Parkinsons and Radiation Therapy and MS and all the other conditions listed by the Mayo Clinic, and possibly many other conditions as well.

Again, just because you were ignorant of Anosmia before 2020 doesn't mean it didn't exist. Clearly, it did, and is quite common as well.

 

[AlexR]

Prove what you claimed. In case you forgot what you typed an hour ago, it was this-



Nothing about "loss of smell" is unique to COVID. You claim that I said "wearing a mask" was responsible. I never said that masks AND MASKS ALONE were responsible for "loss of taste or smell." I did suggest that they could be a factor, and gave a plausible mechanism. But I also posted an article to Healthline showing that loss of taste and smell happens with quite a number of common conditions, including colds and flu (a fact that you constantly ignore). Here's a link from The Mayo Clinic with even more conditions that cause loss of smell.

Loss of smell (anosmia) Causes

Learn about the definition and possible causes of loss of smell (anosmia).

www.mayoclinic.org

​

That's 33 conditions, some very, very common (including colds, flus, allergies and diabetes), others more rare (like Rhinoplasty and Brain Surgery), and even zinc nasal sprays that are no longer available. But clearly, loss of smell isn't "new" and isn't "unique" to COVID. Even the Nature article you posted doesn't suggest that loss of smell is in any way "unique" with COVID patients, simply that it happens in COVID patients. But it also happens with colds and flus and allergies and diabetes and Parkinsons and Radiation Therapy and MS and all the other conditions listed by the Mayo Clinic, and possibly many other conditions as well.

Again, just because you were ignorant of Anosmia before 2020 doesn't mean it didn't exist. Clearly, it did, and is quite common as well.

Prove that it’s fake. You can’t. The symptoms are new, the genome has been sequenced, and anybody who has friends and doesn’t limit their worldview to internet propaganda can confirm as firsthand witnesses that their symptoms differed from any other cold or flu they’ve gotten before. When making such spectacularly stupid claims, the burden of proof is on you, buddy.

 

[tankasnowgod]

. The symptoms are new,

Clearly, they aren't. Loss of smell, your favorite "unique" COVID symptom, occurs in at least 33 other conditions, including the common cold and flu. I have to admire your complete denial of the facts at this point.

making such spectacularly stupid claims, the burden of proof is on you, buddy.

You mean stupid claims like "loss of smell is unique to COVID," when loss of smell has been proven to happen with colds, the flu, allergies, MS, Diabetes, Rhinoplasty, cancer, polyps and nerve damage, among other conditions? That kind of stupid claim?

GIVE. IT. UP. All COVID symptoms happen with other conditions, most of them are simply cold and flu symptoms, and pneumonia. Nothing about COVID symptoms is at all unique.

 

[AlexR]

Clearly, they aren't. Loss of smell, your favorite "unique" COVID symptom, occurs in at least 33 other conditions, including the common cold and flu. I have to admire your complete denial of the facts at this point.


You mean stupid claims like "loss of smell is unique to COVID," when loss of smell has been proven to happen with colds, the flu, allergies, MS, Diabetes, Rhinoplasty, cancer, polyps and nerve damage, among other conditions? That kind of stupid claim?

GIVE. IT. UP. All COVID symptoms happen with other conditions, most of them are simply cold and flu symptoms, and pneumonia. Nothing about COVID symptoms is at all unique.

Do you not have any friends or coworkers who have gotten COVID? This many people have never lost their taste and smell from the flu until COVID came around. It’s quite a shocking and unsettling symptom when it happens and literally nobody has known about it as a flu symptom until this year. Some of us don’t have to rely on the news or the internet for information and can actually get it from real life experiences. Shocking, I know.

 

[Perry Staltic]

A friend of a friend (I know, bad source) has lost their smell and taste months past recovering from the infection. I simply can’t reject that COVID-19 isn’t something new because the symptoms are unlike anything else for the people I’ve known that have gotten it. They all recovered just fine, but it was completely different to their symptoms from other viruses.

Were your friends in a lockdown that disrupted their lives? Stress? Changes to nutrition and exercise? Wearing a mask? More drugs/alcohol use?

 

[AlexR]

Were your friends in a lockdown that disrupted their lives? Stress? Changes to nutrition and exercise? Wearing a mask? More drugs/alcohol use?

You don’t lose your taste and smell, have difficulty breathing, have flu like symptoms, and have a positive COVID test from any of those things. Yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and say it was COVID and you can believe it was a zinc deficiency or whatever crazy beliefs you have. Putting your fingers in your ear and saying lalalalala doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You’re in so much denial it reminds me of people who can’t accept a traumatic event occurred and have to make all sorts of crazy excuses to cope with it.

 

[Perry Staltic]

You don’t lose your taste and smell, have difficulty breathing, have flu like symptoms, and have a positive COVID test from any of those things. Yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and say it was COVID and you can believe it was a zinc deficiency or whatever crazy beliefs you have. Putting your fingers in your ear and saying lalalalala doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You’re in so much denial it reminds me of people who can’t accept a traumatic event occurred and have to make all sorts of crazy excuses to cope with it.

I just asked some simple questions, which you avoided answering. My point was, the terrain has changed, drastically for some people, and disrupted terrain can and does affect immunity. So it's not like it's normal times that your can say covid is unlike anything we've ever seen before. We haven't seen times like this before.

 

[AlexR]

I just asked some simple questions, which you avoided answering. My point was, the terrain has changed, drastically for some people, and disrupted terrain can and does affect immunity. So it's not like it's normal times that your can say covid is unlike anything we've ever seen before. We haven't seen times like this before.

No, you made a snarky comment implying my friends were alcoholics and drug users. My last comment still answers your question perfectly and I didn’t avoid anything. Anyways, I don’t need to argue this any further. Just because you don’t like how the virus is being handled, doesn’t mean the virus doesn’t exist. See ya!

 

[Perry Staltic]

No, you made a snarky comment implying my friends were alcoholics and drug users

No, seriously I wasn't being snarky. I was just looking for things that affect immunity and have a high likelihood of being done by the general population when it's bored/stressed.

 

[tankasnowgod]

Do you not have any friends or coworkers who have gotten COVID? This many people have never lost their taste and smell from the flu until COVID came around. It’s quite a shocking and unsettling symptom when it happens and literally nobody has known about it as a flu symptom until this year. Some of us don’t have to rely on the news or the internet for information and can actually get it from real life experiences. Shocking, I know.

I have one family member that tested positive for COVID. Total number of symptoms she had...... zero. Zilch. Nada, for months prior to the test, and the 2 weeks after. I guess she was an "asymptomatic patient."

As for co-workers.... no clue. I haven't seen them in 11 months. The ones that weren't laid off/furloughed last March, that is.

You have totally shifted from "Loss of taste/smell is unique to COVID" to "This many people have never lost their taste and smell from the flu." But all you have offered up in support of that is three friends, all of whom recovered from that symptom. So how many is it, total? 5? 10? 500? 500,000? 17 Million? 800 Billion? What's your source for the number? Since all the research or proof you've offered in this area is your friends and such, I guess the total is 3 people. I would think more than 3 people suffer from Anosmia in a normal flu season, seeing as the estimates go up to 3% of Americans. Nothing there indicates a new high for anosmia.

You also claim " literally nobody has known about it as a flu symptom until this year," but you are clearly lying. The Mayo Clinic and Healthline knew about it, The Wikipedia page cites 51 sources on their Anosmia page, at least 80% of which were published before 2020. Some date back to the 1960s- Error - Cookies Turned Off