Gerhard Bedding: Not all published coronavirus case counts are trustworthy

To The Daily Sun,

The headlines scream: “More and more positive COVID cases!,” thus increasing fear, driving new lockdowns, and deepening depression. Case counts come from the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test. But can we trust these counts?

The PCR test can only find the tiniest bits of any virus. It takes a DNA sample and multiplies it up to millions of times. This enhancement is measured in “cycles.” The problem is such multiplication can reveal an infinitesimal amount of any of the trillions of viral particles that are circulating in all of us all the time.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has stated that the PCR test is useless and misleading when run at “35 cycles or higher.” (This Week in Virology, 7/16/20). A representative PCR study shows that testing above 17 cycles introduces false positives. At 33 cycles, 80% of test results are false positive. At higher cycles, the error rate approaches 100%. Thus many healthy, non-contagious persons are counted as “positive.” And the more tests, the more “cases”!

So why do the CDC, FDA, and WHO recommend using 40 to 45 cycles? No wonder we have ever-rising case counts that are not reflected in hospitalizations or mortality counts. It’s not just misleading to use such inflated counts to drive public policy — it’s fraudulent.

Recognizing these problems, a Portuguese court just ruled PCR tests to be unlawful “evidence” of COVID-19 infections and thus invalid as a basis for quarantines.

It’s clear that the cycle threshold used for testing should be published with every test. And until this happens, our media should flag newly reported cases with a warning note that huge questions overhang the accuracy and reliability of case counts.

A petition encompassing such points is posted at www.riseupnh.org/ Please consider signing it. It will be submitted to NH medical professionals, senators, representatives, etc. You will find this website also to be a rich source of solidly researched information that is being ignored or censored by the mainstream media.

Gerhard Bedding

Keene