Recently, a Romanian Deputy of the European Parliament accompanied by a handful of other dissenting Members of European Parliament (MEP) delivered a message to colleagues and anyone else bothering to listen to them about the COVID-19 pandemic, transparency, democracy, and the slide to a more totalitarian tomorrow. The dissenting MEPs sought to express concern about the new integrated green passes of Europe. 42-year old MEP Christian Terhes, educated in America, conservative, and member of the clergy pointed out to reporters that the COVID-19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented, continent-wide power grab led by a program of forced vaccination based on the economic and social dependencies on the digital green pass. In what might be considered firebrand speech in proper, upper-tier European circles, Terhes displayed to reporters an example of a vaccine company contract with the EU—revealing page after page of blacked out, redacted space. “This is transparency?” the MEP shouted to the cameras as he reminded all its European citizens the entire pivot to what feels like, at least to some social conservatives and many others, a “brave new world.” But do Terhes and peers acknowledge the severity of the situation as well? Lacking masks (a standard protocol there), the Romanian and other MEPs on the one hand conveyed some important points, but on the other hand, espousing extreme views won’t find much of an audience among governing peers. Transcending COVID-19 means also acknowledging its ongoing menace while supporting science/evidence-based, incremental steps toward the absolute necessary pivot out of this health, as well as political and economic crisis.
Europe & the Next Surge
As protests, some turning violent, sprung up across European cities against new COVID restrictions, the pandemic surges across the continent leading to record high SARS-CoV-2 infection rates in many nations. A combination of intertwining forces and elements leads the crisis onward, and it appears to be not dissipating anytime soon.
Consequently, social, political, and ultimately economic tensions mount as the socio-economic and political implications of uniform pandemic response planning and action produce inevitable economic winners and losers.
Cases surge at unprecedented levels in some European nations. The following EU members now experience record numbers of daily infections:
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Germany
Netherlands
Denmark
Belgium
Austria
Czech Republic
Hungary
Slovakia
Croatia
Greece
Romania (but cases rapidly declining)
The surge has impacted economically challenged Romania hard, where 574 people died from the coronavirus over a 24-hour period—a record for the nation of 19.3 million people. Romania has the second-lowest vaccination rate in the entire EU at 37%.
Vaccination rates fluctuate but generally tend higher in both the western and southern parts of the continent. For example, Italy and Spain are both highly vaccinated (Spain fully at 80%), while also faring much better than many other nations.
TrialSite has reviewed the European numbers, and clearly, in many cases, higher vaccination rates are associated with reduced hospitalization and death rates due to SARS-CoV-2. However, while it may initially slow it down, vaccination by no means stops transmission. While small, nations such as Gibraltar, essentially 100% vaccinated, now experience unprecedented surges, https://trialsitenews.com/100-vaccinated-and-christmas-cancelling-surge-the-gibraltar-situation/ the limitations of the current early batch of COVID vaccine products also becomes apparent. At the end of the day, they don’t stop viral transmission. TrialSite has reported on this observation across the world, from Singapore and Iceland to the UK. Israel is a place to watch as much of the population went through an intensive third booster program. The number of cases has plummeted due more than likely to the vaccinations, natural immunity, and possibly seasonal factors. If cases take off again necessitating the fourth booster, then a far more intense debate will manifest worldwide.
MEPs Line Up
Perhaps, Mr. Terhes isn’t happy about the fact that even MEPS now must line up and get their jabs if they want to function properly in their job descriptions. Why? Because if an MEP (and staff) don’t obtain digital vaccine passes they cannot enter any official European government premises. As of the first of November, all leaders and their staff involved in EU governance must prove they are fully vaccinated or, recently recovered. That includes producing evidence of a negative PCR test within 48 hours.
European decision-makers do appear to accept natural immunity more than their American peers, where it’s barely a discussion. TrialSite suggests that this becomes a far more rational approach than the current one in the U.S. that doesn’t recognize the concept at all. The mandate is presently on hold due to the ruling of a federal circuit court while the justices look into the constitutionality of the POTUS edict.
Right Wing Thing?
Mr. Terhes was joined at the press conference with a far-right German politician named Christine Anderson. Part of what appears to be a German nationalist political group called AfD, Anderson declared she would opt for jail over the vaccination in protest over whether the vaccines are experimental or not. While representing just a fringe contingent, the politicians’ reactions perhaps fail to truly recognize that the world is going through its worst pandemic in the modern era.
Nationalism, or for that matter a patchwork of nationalist-minded rebellious political movements, at least as measured by past historical lessons, doesn’t lead to a more open, free, and prosperous world. Regardless of belief set, ideology, or paradigmatic stance, ever more globally integrated societies seem inevitable.
Note, that the unfolding reality of today also could open up new opportunities to advance greater inclusion, access, and representation for all people. In other words, history isn’t set—but rather is made by people. However, the simultaneous downplaying of the present health-centered crisis married with fervorous, extremist-tending agendas probably won’t contribute to a better, more democratic, and prosperous outcome post the pandemic, if history is any steady guide.
Who is in Control?
Back to Mr. Terhes, the Romanian politician issued a warning about a movement to a colder, more top-down, digitally repressive, and even more bureaucratic brave new Europe. Representing the conservative and rural-based constituents in what is one of the poorer and most vaccine-hesitant countries in Europe, he was actually educated in Orange County, California studying journalism and becoming a clergy with the Romanian Greek Catholic Church.
The politician reminded the other European MEPs that they are elected “for the people,” and that they should have the people’s best interests in mind. The politician emphasized:
“That is the reason why they elected us here in the European Parliament. All these leaders of the European Parliament, like to praise themselves, every time they have a press conference, they go on to say that this is the most democratic institution of the European Union. The question for them is: Is this really so?”
The conservative MEP asked, why are people’s fundamental rights being taken away? He followed up with his primary point that there should be absolutely no medical treatment imposed upon people that they do not freely accept, under informed consent. But of course, this already happens. In most of Europe’s most advanced democracies and economies, children must be vaccinated to go to school for example.
Terhes emphasized his outrage with the lack of transparency between the pharmaceutical companies making the vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, etc.) and the European Commission. At the onset of 2021, some MEPs demanded access to the contracts between the EU and the vaccine companies. The MEP finally was able to access one of those contracts to showcase for the press conference: holding up the artifact, flipping blacked-out page after page of redacted information. This is transparency shouted by the MEP—who is in control here?