What a surprise!
The mainstream fake news media hailed the news last week that Merck Corporation had discovered a drug treatment for the COVID virus.
This comes over a year after the discovery that hydroxychloroquine was successful in treating the coronavirus in its early stages and months after it was discovered the Ivermectin had amazing success in treating the coronavirus, especially in India.
Merck is not just giving their new drug away. The company is charging the US government 40 times what it costs to produce their new wonder drug.
A FIVE-DAY COURSE of molnupiravir, the new medicine being hailed as a “huge advance” in the treatment of Covid-19, costs $17.74 to produce, according to a report issued last week by drug pricing experts at the Harvard School of Public Health and King’s College Hospital in London. Merck is charging the U.S. government $712 for the same amount of medicine, or 40 times the price.
Last Friday’s announcement that the new medicine cut the risk of hospitalization among clinical trial participants with moderate or mild illness in half could have huge implications for the course of the coronavirus pandemic. Because it’s a pill — as opposed to monoclonal antibodies, a comparable antiviral treatment that is administered intravenously — molnupiravir is expected to be more widely used and, hopefully, will cut the death rate. In the first 29 days of the trial, no deaths were reported among the 385 patients who received the drug, while eight of the people who received a placebo died, according to the statement put out by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, the two companies that are jointly launching it.
In addition to having huge implications for health, the pill could bring staggering profits to both Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. A small Miami-based company, Ridgeback licensed the medicine from Emory University in 2020 and two months later sold the worldwide rights to the drug to Merck for an undisclosed sum. Although Ridgeback remains involved in the development of the drug, some have described the deal as “flipping.”
Battlefield medicine has made leaps and bounds through improved infrastructure and a near-universal deployment of the IFAK or Individual First Aid Kit. As a result some lessons can be taken when considering both the rising civil unrest in cities like Minneapolis, as well as remaining prepared during more peaceful times. By taking an approach similar to our article on Layering Your EDC Survival Gear, we can divide our Medical Gear into four layers: Personal EDC, Kit-Mounted, Vehicle-borne, and Home base.
Foundational Considerations
Considering that most of us don’t have the same medical infrastructure as the military or a hospital’s resources at our disposal, we must take elements of what they have taught us, and apply it in the context of our daily lives. Similar to our article on the Tactical and Survival Application of Body Armor, we began by recognizing that Plate Carriers are for a world with Hospitals. Access to a medical facility will have an influence on how we set up each layer of medical preparedness.
Above: These older IFAKs come from a time before a smaller, slimmer kit was in vogue.
In our modern environment, what separates an emergency kit from long-term sustainment is access to professional medical treatment. We may be able to prevent a gunshot wound from becoming fatal, but our objective will still be to get the wounded to a hospital. If there is no access to medical facilities, the situation is much more dire. However, we can begin from the known and expand further.
In a past life, Ranger First Responder training taught the acronym M.A.R.C.H. Each letter stood for a different type of injury, and established a hierarchy of greatest immediate threat, descending to long-term care. Broken down, M.A.R.C.H. stood for:
This acronym is one of many used for emergency medical responses, and the importance of training cannot be overstated. Without spending time with these tools in your hands, their value is greatly diminished, and in the brief moments when an emergency medical response is needed, the additional confidence and skill impact more than the possibilities of life and death, but the emotional aftermath.
The EssTac DST Medical Pouch features a tear-away main storage container, so the wearer doesn’t have to remove their belt to get at their IFAK.
The important element to take away from M.A.R.C.H. today is that they represent different types of life-threatening injuries where time is of the essence. While we can leave the order of treatment to another time, we can address what different levels of an IFAK should, and could contain.
Personal, Kit, Vehicle, Home
The four categories we’ve chosen: Personal EDC, Kit-Mounted, Vehicle-borne, and Home can integrate into one another, are best thought of as a physical representation of a Venn Diagram: their contents overlap often, with each tailored toward a situationally specific direction.
Personal EDC
Two elements dictate what and someone’s Personal EDC will contain: what they need, and what they’re comfortable carrying. Needs are a given and typically prescribed by a doctor. Comfort, however, is where one must seriously pick and choose, as the primary limitation of EDC gear is space.
With all the attention paid to defensive tools such as knives and handguns, it’s natural that we turn to medical gear as a close second. A tourniquet handy can quickly save a life, from witnessing a motorcycle wreck to an active shooter, to improvising a splint in the wilderness, it has more uses than simply stopping major bleeding.
A TQ can be easily kept in a bag, carried in a pocket, or stored in a holder. However as not all wardrobes will facilitate these options, a serious consideration of fitting into one’s environment comes into play. Dressing for galas is rarely a daily occurrence, and the homeless look works in some urban environments, but little stands out more than a person trying too hard to conceal something that they should have kept off-body.
Various EDC medical kits have tried to remedy this: from self-contained wallet-sized packages, to ankle kits, and a few more. Ultimately it is up to the individual to make the choice about what they carry and pay the consequences for it.
Kit-Mounted
Inspired by the Military, adding an Individual First Aid Kit to one’s plate carrier or shooting belt separates itself from their personal EDC in both tone and focus. Since it is connected to firearm-related gear, whether for practice or for protection, the focus of this IFAK is for conflict-induced injuries. This is the place to focus on gunshot wounds and lacerations.
Massive Hemoraging: Tourniquets, Pressure Dressings, Gauze Bandages, and Clotting Agent. Airway: Nasopharyngeal Airway Respiratory: Chest Seals of some type. Only carry a Decompression Needle if trained in its use. Circulation: While Combat Medics will likely be concerned with maintaining enough blood pressure to keep the blood flowing during an emergency, this is the opportunity to cover smaller wounds. Consider the value of carrying an IV starter kit without maintaining access to IV solution. Head Trauma and Heat Injury: For those in cold climates, a micro space blanket will go a long way in the event of injury.
Additional Considerations: Non-Latex Gloves, a CPR Mask, combat shears, additional tourniquets, disinfectant, over-the-counter pain killers, sharpie and laminated card to write details on.
Above: The Ferro Concepts x Forward Observations Roll 1 trauma pouch can replace a belt-mounted IFAK, or be used as supplemental storage. Utilizing the space between the plate carrier and the belt line, it also provides additional lumbar support, especially when riding in a vehicle.
A little goes a long way when it comes to kit-mounted medical gear. The primary focus of an IFAK is to meet the needs of the wearer. Whether for self-care or to treat another person, the objective is in the title: Individual First Aid Kit.
At least annual maintenance should be performed on a belt-mounted IFAK. Whether it rarely sees use, or if the range is a frequent occasion, the contents will degrade over time. Set a date, and stick to it.
Vehicle-borne
A vehicle-borne portable medical kit is built primarily for a mass casualty situation, where multiple people might need treatment, with the possibility that some might need transportation to a hospital. According to military terms, mass-casualty typically refers to when at least 10% of the force is killed or wounded, but for survival and private citizen considerations, it informs a vehicle kit to focus on treating more than one person.
Above: The Tactical Tailor First Responder Bag fits into a wheelwell, and can be quickly strapped on as a Fanny Pack or a sling-bag.
With special considerations for things like car accidents, a vehicle-portable medical kit will contain many of the same things as an IFAK. However, it should be understood as more than just a larger version of a personal medical kit. Seasonal appropriate inclusions, like winter clothes, or regional necessities, such as additional water define the focus of this kind of kit.
Larger fanny-pack or sling bag style bags such as the Tactical Tailor First Responder Bag easily store in a vehicle, taking up little enough space to have a dedicated location.
Home Base
If this type of portable medical kit could have another name, it would call itself family emergency first aid. Heavily dependent on the number of people in your household, the political and natural environment, and the emergency plans one has in place, the largest of options doesn’t need to be as portable, so long as it’s purpose is pre-determined. Is your family planning on bugging out in the event of an emergency? Do you live in a condo or a single-family home?
Above: While it’s capable of being used as an EDC pack, the 5.11 Tactical Rush12 backpack can carry a comprehensive medical kit, without getting too specialized, and is easily marked with patches. However, don’t get trapped into thinking that emergency gear is equivalent with tactical equipment.
For those who live alone, the home kit should be the place where backup supplies are stored. That way, what doesn’t make it into the IFAK can be kept in a centralized location, and serve as a resupply opportunity if something gets damaged or used. As its purpose is to treat emergencies, not everyday cuts and bruises, it should be kept separate than a household first-aid kit. There’s nothing against keeping bandages in both the bathroom and the bug-out kit, but it would be a tragedy if the emergency supplies were raided and not replenished before an unexpected tragedy.
A spare backpack can easily accomplish the needs of family kit. The items in this kit prioritize long-term storage, and should have a dedicated storage location in the house: a coat closet by the front door, or hanging from a door to the basement.
The size of the bag comes down to personal preference and what training family members have received.
Putting It All Together
We began this article on portable medical kits with the understanding that we will not have the infrastructure and supply line capabilities of a hospital or military unit. That spirit continues in not only how one layers their IFAK with other medical gear, but also how they go about acquiring it. With companies like North American Rescue, Guerilla Tactical, and Live the Creed providing full medical kits for what might go on your battle belt, plate carrier, or chest rig, the best approach to the next layers: vehicle-borne, and home base supply, is to remain methodical.
For example, a single pack can serve as both the vehicle portable medical kit and home base supply, doubling duties by having a designated storage location in a vehicle that is typically parked, unlocked, in an attached garage. Folded Gauze, pressure dressings, and tourniquets are often sold in packs, ready to be distributed across a growing system.
The primary objective of layering emergency medical quipment is to be able to scale one’s response to a changing scenario. Since it is impossible to create a single kit that works for every situation, each step up: from IFAK to Vehicle Kit, recognizes the known and likely hazards that one could face. By tailoring each layer to the known and likely scenarios one could face, they improve their position at each level.
Gear Shown
Blue Force Gear Micro Trauma Kit NOW!
Colors: Black, Coyote Brown, OD Green, Wolf Grey, Multicam
Option To Come Stocked? Yes
MSRP: $73 Empty, $110 with Essentials Kit, $140 with Pro Kit, $200 with Advanced Kit
URL: www.blueforcegear.com
Esstac DST Medical Pouch
Colors: Black, Ranger Green, Coyote Brown, Wolf Grey, Tan 499, OD Green, Kryptek Typhoon, Kryptek Highlander, Multicam, Multicam Black, Multicam Tropic, Multicam Arid, M81 Woodland, Woodland Marshal, Desert Marshal
Option To Come Stocked? No
MSRP: $50
URL: esstac.com
Tactical Tailor First Responder Bag
Colors: Black, OD Green, Ranger Green, Coyote Brown, Multicam
Option To Come Stocked? No
MSRP: $110
URL: tacticaltailor.com
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The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday passed a Covid vaccine mandate for all indoor restaurants, bars, shopping malls, theaters and more.
People in Los Angeles will have to show proof of Covid vaccination in order to enter most indoor venues starting November 6.
Grocery stores and pharmacies were not included in the new sweeping ordinance.
Enforcement will begin November 29 and businesses that violate the mandate will be fined up to $5,000.
Businesses will be fined $1,000 fine for its second violation, $2,000 fine for a third violation and a $5,000 fine for a fourth violation, CBS Los Angeles reported.
The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday approved a sweeping ordinance that will require proof of a COVID-19 vaccination to enter restaurants, bars, shopping centers and other establishments.
The ordinance will apply to:
Restaurants, bars, fast food establishments, coffee shops, tasting rooms, cafeterias, food courts, breweries, wineries, distilleries banquet halls and hotel ballrooms.
Gyms and fitness venues, including recreation facilities, fitness studios (including for yoga, pilates, dance, and barre), boxing gyms, fitness boot camps and facilities that hold indoor group fitness classes.
Entertainment and recreation venues including movie theaters, shopping centers, concert venues, performance venues, adult entertainment venues, commercial event and party venues, sports arenas, convention centers, exhibition halls, museums, malls, performing arts theaters, bowling alleys, arcades, card rooms, family entertainment centers, pool and billiard halls, play areas and game centers.
Personal care establishments, including spas, nail salons, hair salons, barbershops, tanning salons, estheticians, skin care, tattoo shops, piercing shops and massage therapy locations, unless medically required.
People will be exempt from the mandate if they have medical conditions that restrict their ability to get vaccinated or a “sincerely held religious belief,” which will be reviewed by the location the person is trying to enter. People who are exempt would be able to use outdoor areas of the location, but if unavailable, they may be allowed to enter the indoor area by providing proof of a negative COVID-19 test.The ordinance will also require people to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to attend outdoor events with 5,000 or more people.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday agreed to allow a short-term debt ceiling extension.
The debt limit will be increased into December.
“The unified Democratic government had two and a half months to address the debt limit through reconciliation. Instead, they drifted to the doorstep of yet another self-created crisis,” McConnell said in a statement on Wednesday.
“To protect the American people from a near-term Democrat-created crisis, we will also allow Democrats to use normal procedures to pass an emergency debt limit extension at a fixed dollar amount to cover current spending levels into December. This will moot Democrats’ excuses about the time crunch they created and give the unified Democratic government more than enough time to pass standalone debt limit legislation through reconciliation.”
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Big banks and the IRS want you to think, the only way to save for retirement is to load up on stocks – and feed the Wall Street beast.
I’m sure that I don’t need to tell you that this “beast” can bite the hand that feeds it, just as it did in 2008 and again last year, when the “Corona Crash” tanked Wall Street.
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Have you heard about Section 408(m)(3)? It’s a little-known cousin of Section 401(k) of IRS code. I like to call it the “cheat code” that unlocks investments you simply can’t find on Wall Street. Here’s what I mean…
Section 408(m)(3) lets you open a Precious Metals “Self Directed” IRA and put REAL gold and silver into a tax-advantaged account.
Here are three good reasons to consider this IRS “cheat code”…
#1: Gold protects against stock crashes.
#2: Unlike the dollar, gold maintains its purchasing power over time.
#3: If something catastrophic happens to the dollar, gold can be used as currency around the world.
While you still can: Get a no-cost info kit on gold, and the IRS “Cheat Code” to legally move your IRA or 401(k) to precious metals – with NO tax consequences.
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When I get a new gun, I want my holster NOW! Wait times for custom holsters can rival the drive-through at In-N-Out on a Saturday night, but I also want to make sure I get what I want. Fortunately, Blackhawk has introduced a new option for reasonable holster wait times. Just unveiling the Blackhawk Custom […]
They are not even hiding it anymore. The agenda is in plain sight and it revolves around this “vaccine.” They didn’t even need a real pandemic, just to tell people there was one and the blind belief that the master would never lie to their slaves is keeping this hoax alive.
One so-called “expert,” says that COVID and its variants will only continue to thrive and mutate until the entire world is vaccinated. Some expert considering the ruling class has already admitted you can still get and transmit COVID-19 even if you’ve been vaccinated three times against it. So exactly how is the vaccine the solution? It isn’t. Not to COVID anyway. The solution to COVID is easy. Turn off the TV and live free.
Moderna Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel said the vaccine could quite literally end the pandemic by the middle of next year if everyone got vaccinated. Interesting that the people making the most money off injecting everyone on earth are pushing the vaccine the hardest other than the masters who need the slaves to take it. “If you look at the industry-wide expansion of production capacities over the past six months, enough doses should be available by the middle of next year so that everyone on this earth can be vaccinated. Boosters should also be possible to the extent required,” he told the Neue Zuercher Zeitung newspaper.
Dr. Vidya Mony, the pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, California said it’s hard to say what could happen next, but the virus sticking around is likely. She added the United States may have ended their restrictions too soon, aiding in the latest wave of COVID despite knowledge of the Delta Variant in India, according to a report by Desert News.
“I think at this point, it’s hard to predict anything,” Mony said. “By definition, this is an infectious disease that is spread worldwide,” Mony said. “Unless we are able to vaccinate the entire world, it is quite possible that we will continue to have variants and continue to have transmission.”
But these same propagandists already told us the Mu variant has now been eradicated and not everyone on the planet has been vaccinated. The shit these psychopaths continue to expect us to believe gets more asinine and ridiculous as time goes on.
We were told a long time ago that this was about the “vaccine.” It sure looks like their agenda will fail without close to a 100% “vaccination” rate worldwide.
So what’s really going on? Totalitarian takeover for sure. The illusion of freedom shattering all over. We know that this vaccine is a part of the plan. But what we don’t know is what role these shots will play. All anyone has is speculation until they make it known. Stay alert and know what’s going on. It’s all we can do right now.
The student who shot and wounded four people on Wednesday morning at Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas has been identified as 18-year-old Timothy George Simpkins.
Simpkins is at large and considered armed and dangerous.
At least four people were hurt Wednesday morning during a shooting at Timberview High School in Arlington, police say.
Arlington police said there was a fight between students on the second floor of the school when one of the students pulled out a gun.
That student has been identified as 18-year-old Timothy George Simpkins who is now at large and considered armed and dangerous.
It’s believed that Simpkins is driving a 2018 silver Dodge Charger with license plate PFY-6260.
Police say if you encounter this person, or know anything about his whereabouts, to immediately call 911.
Video from inside of one of the classrooms via KTLA reporter:
My daughter just texted me that there was a school school shooting at Timberview H.S. In Mansfield ISD in Arlington, TX. She sent this video that’s out. Her nearby school is on lockdown also, and we hear police sirens rushing in. Police confirm there is an active shooter. Praying pic.twitter.com/m90QzZUfTz
Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Wednesday was caught on video admitting she only wears a face mask for the cameras.
“Oh, no, oh, not you!” Tlaib said said to one of the attendees during a community event in Detroit.
“No, no, no, I’m just wearing it because I’ve got a Republican tracker here.” Tlaib said, admitting masks have nothing to do with stopping the spread of Covid.
VIDEO:
Caught on Video: @RashidaTlaib Admits She Only Wears Mask for Cameras
“I’m just wearing it because I’ve got a Republican tracker here”
On Tuesday Facebook “whistleblower” and Democrat donor Frances Haugen went before a Senate subcommittee this week two days after appearing on “60 Minutes” to push for more tech control of free speech as they see fit.
Facebook, Google-YouTube, and Twitter have been eliminating conservative voices on their platform for years. Even President Trump was banned from Facebook after their fake news reports that he organized an “insurrection” at the US Capitol on Jan. 6th.
According to FOX News, Haugen has donated 37 times and given nearly $2,000 to Democrats and related PACs since 2016 while being employed at Facebook, Pinterest, and Gigster, according to Federal Election Commission records.
On Wednesday morning, Rep. Madison Cawthorne (R-NC) joined Stuart Varney on Varney and Co. to discuss Facebook and the peculiar “whistleblower” Frances Haugen.
Cawthorne told Stuart he is concerned with this so-called whistleblower who is demanding more censorship on conservatives.
Rep. Madison Cawthorne: This whistleblower who they had come up to Capitol Hill went out on 60 Minutes just on Sunday and then 48 hours she ended up in front of Congress? let me tell you, that’s the fastest I’ve ever seen Congress move. I believe that she is actually there to try and advocate for more censorship and less freedom of speech. Because this is an anti-competition marketplace for Facebook as long as there are more regulations.
Rep. Cawthorne is correct. She was just another far left hack pushing for less freedom in America. She wasn’t even a good pretender.
Above: These older IFAKs come from a time before a smaller, slimmer kit was in vogue.
The EssTac DST Medical Pouch features a tear-away main storage container, so the wearer doesn’t have to remove their belt to get at their IFAK. 
Above: The Ferro Concepts x Forward Observations Roll 1 trauma pouch can replace a belt-mounted IFAK, or be used as supplemental storage. Utilizing the space between the plate carrier and the belt line, it also provides additional lumbar support, especially when riding in a vehicle. 
Above: The Tactical Tailor First Responder Bag fits into a wheelwell, and can be quickly strapped on as a Fanny Pack or a sling-bag. 
Above: While it’s capable of being used as an EDC pack, the 5.11 Tactical Rush12 backpack can carry a comprehensive medical kit, without getting too specialized, and is easily marked with patches. However, don’t get trapped into thinking that emergency gear is equivalent with tactical equipment.
When I get a new gun, I want my holster NOW! Wait times for custom holsters can rival the drive-through at In-N-Out on a Saturday night, but I also want to make sure I get what I want. Fortunately, Blackhawk has introduced a new option for reasonable holster wait times. Just unveiling the Blackhawk Custom […]
