Newswise — Experts who recommend strict COVID lockdowns often have an undisclosed financial conflict of interest (COI), says Leslie Norins, MD, PhD, CEO of MCI911.com. “It’s an atypical sort of COI; they are not gaining any extra money by voting for a lockdown. Instead, they are causing many others—often lower-paid workers-- to lose their livelihoods, while they themselves suffer no economic pain because they continue to be paid by their government or academic employers.”
This is no secret, he says, but it is never spotlighted so it can be considered in weighing the advisors’ advice to implement a general lockdown.
“In medical circles, it is obligatory to disclose potential COIs,” Dr. Norins says. “But all the regulations seem to focus on the possibility of additional unrevealed financial gain exerting undue pressure on an opinion. There seems to be little attention to the potential for a cavalier attitude toward other’s losing their jobs, because you, yourself, will remain secure in yours.”
He feels that most medical advisors will be sensitive to the economic impact of draconian lockdowns on the citizenry, and will tailor the freeze to be as limited as scientifically possible. However, he says, the potential for overzealousness is still there.
Therefore, he recommends that at the bottom of every report urging a lockdown it be disclosed which of the expert authors and government officials will retain their income despite it.
MCI911.com is a web information service furnishing information on tactics to fight mild cognitive impairment, which is sometimes the harbinger of an Alzheimer’s disease process. It is independent, privately held, and does not accept donations. Nursing home residents, especially those with Alzheimer’s disease, have been especially hard-hit by COVID-19.
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