Rosella Tolfree's World
A series set in a politically dark and dystopian future of the U.S.A.
Featuring blogs that explains Rosella's World
Rosella Tolfree's World is a fictional world.
An Early Disease in Rosella Tolfree’s World A New COVIDIt's Just The SnifflesThe Sniffles That's Stopping WorkAfter the COVID-19 pandemic, human society embarked on efforts to deal with potential zoonotic viral sources. Out of panic, a few governments resorted to burning whole forests to wipe out potential zoonotic sources. This didn’t change the equation of how the viruses worked, and it created new niches. Niches that would cause economic disruptions in human society.
From Mice to Rabbits to Humans One such niche was the migration of mice from a burn near the port city of Matadi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From there they ended up in France via cargo containers. The mice were infected with a weakened strain of SDAV. It did nothing to the mice, but once it got to Europe, it infected meat producing cuniculture farms near the Port of Marseille. The dead rabbits were tested, and they found the meat to be safe for human consumption. During the following month after the mean went to market, a strange seasonal allergy surfaced around the region of Marseille. Its symptoms were like most seasonal allergies, with runny eyes and nose, with an occasional sneezing and cough. Except traditional antihistamines were not working. It wasn’t until this “seasonal allergy” began to spread to other parts of France, and both infants and elderly were dying from it did medical experts realize they were dealing with a new epidemic. It wasn’t long before the scientists had identified the virus as a mutated version of Sialodacryoadenitis virus (SDAV), a Murine coronavirus (M-CoV). The new disease was given the designation of H-SDAV, and they developed a new mRNA vaccine to combat it. This new mRNA included coding for the M, N, and S proteins allowing for a maximum human immune response. The problem was initial dose testing showed that having all three proteins caused recipients to experience a severe adverse response. It was determined the most effective regiment was to spread four shots over a six-month period. By the time vaccine production was ramping up, the virus had already spread throughout Europe and had made it to the United States. Governments were in acting various infection spread controls such as regional quarantines, shopping restrictions, school closures, and travel restrictions. Major businesses reported large numbers of sick employees which caused the European and U.S. stock markets to drop by 27% in a month long sell off. An economic depression was settling in Europe and the United States despite central bank and legislative efforts to prop up the economies. Too many people were becoming sick to do work with the infants, immunocompromised, and elderly taking the brunt of the deaths. The Effects of Social Media During this time, a considerable number of cure-alls and remedies were circulating on the precursor to the Social Media Net. One of the biggest social media influencers was Dr. Ida Kofol. She had published a few scientific studies that supported her claims with funding from the Contemporary Patriot Coalition (CPC). Majority of her medical claims concerning H-SDAV were that if one made improvements to their lymphatic system flow, this disease wouldn’t be so severe or long lasting. She advocated drinking plenty of water to flush the lymph system; taking garlic, turmeric, and citrus pills; and doing a lymphatic cleanse by eating asparagus for an entire week. She also featured videos showing various exercises and personal ways to clear your lymphatic system. Not to mention a lymphatic drainage detox suit that could be purchased from her online store for a discounted amount of $350 USD. Her claims were challenged by various scientific and mainstream sources, and yet her ideas kept circulating at a high volume around social media sites. This was despite attempts by the social media operators trying to curb the flow of the information by removing fake sites and flagging the shares. The Post Pandemic Changes After the pandemic, the FTC enacted regulatory changes concerning health and fitness claims as it related to “Truth in Advertising.” These changes narrowed what was scientific evidence to non-competing interest; peer-reviewed journals and/or publications of high standards; and not to include industrial or special interest sponsors. They attached all claims to include recirculated social media posts amplifying the original claim either organically or through an influencer platform. These changes sent shock waves through much of the social media community that depended on either scientific backed claims, and/or the recirculation of posts. Then the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program requested help from the FTC concerning a review of cases involving the mRNA vaccines. The cases dealt with occurrences of hepatitis, enteritis, and encephalitis. The claim that the vaccines caused hepatitis had been ruled as fake by the CDC. These claims were based on rat studies years earlier. The encephalitis cases were never linked to the vaccines but were found to be issues associated with the births themselves. Only the enteritis was considered a valid problem with one of the mRNA vaccines. It wasn’t certain if one compound in the vaccine or the LNP was reducing the effects of medications for Chron’s disease. As a precaution, those with Chron’s disease were advised to receive one of the other vaccines. All these claims in the injury compensation program had one commonality, all the victims were supporters or customers of Dr. Ida Kofol. While Dr. Kofol never advocated to people not to get the vaccine, she wanted to inform people of alternatives and possible unspoken risks. The FTC reviewed all of Dr. Kofol’s online material and noticed that under the current regulations she would be in violation. The problem was, under the old rules, she wasn’t in violation during the pandemic itself, but only the current activity. The FTC then reviewed other similar sites and social media active during the pandemic and found similar claims to that of Dr. Kofol. Under the direction of the White House, the Chair of the FTC pushed legal action against the operators and influencers of these sites. All these lawsuits would end up in the U.S. Supreme Court as a free speech case versus the commerce clause. The court would rule in favor of the commerce clause citing “that free speech doesn’t include the promotion of false claims for nefarious purposes” but added that “it’s up to commissions and government entities, such as the FTC, to prove to the courts both that the claims are false and nefarious.” It was at this point in the United States that the supplement, diet and “alternative medicine” market collapsed. An approximate 75-billion-dollar industry was replaced with the established medical and pharmaceutical complex. The only alternative medicine groups to survive were those that had state licensing boards, like those for Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, and massage therapy. While not part of the lawsuits, physical trainers and exercise experts pulled their videos for fear of being the next target. How we dieted and exercised changed in the post-human-SDAV pandemic economy. People had to use certified dietitians, clinics or medical professionals for supplements and diet issues. While you could still do exercise on your own, more people used monitored gyms and/or signed up for classes since there was a lack of videos. Some saw this as a major social improvement since now the quackery and misinformation was gone, but it had a chilling effect on medical science by reinforcing entrenched biases. |
AuthorSeth Underwood writes adult science fiction and political dystopian science fiction. His future political dystopian U.S. world features decades of despot presidents, a flooded world, and new para-military force known as the Ranger Marshals. He has freemium stories at www. sethunderwoodstories.com Archives
May 2023
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