Category: Press Release

Current intense controversy concerns whether the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the causative agent for COVID-19, came from nature or from a laboratory. And if the latter, was it an accidental or a deliberate release?

Doctors for Disaster Preparedness (DDP) asks: How can we establish a definitive answer, and what action would be advisable?

Some proponents of a laboratory origin have focused attention on a virologist at a major American university. An enormous fire occurred at a laboratory at that university (coincidentally?), despite its sprinkler system, causing extensive damage on multiple floors.

“What is achieved by ‘doxing’ an individual scientist, even if the scientist is guilty?” asks DDP president Jane Orient, M.D. “Killing Osama bin Laden did not remove the terrorist threat. And accusing the wrong man diverts attention from the real culprits and discredits the accusers.”

DDP makes several observations:

• It seems unlikely that an evil scientist bent on making a bioweapon to kill millions would work openly at a public university and patent his product.
• The actual product may not be the same as an accuser claims. It is important to read the patent first-hand. For example, one patent claimed to be a “smoking gun” actually concerned developing a veterinary vaccine against porcine transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE), a plague that kills pigs en masse.
• Molecular biology is a highly complex subject. Most physicians do not have the expertise to independently assess claims by “experts” that they may be repeating.
• Animal infections (zoonoses) do have the potential to “jump species” and infect humans (e.g., Ebola). SARS-CoV-1, which is the “older brother” of SARS-CoV-2 but not the same, evidently did so. Thus, we need sophisticated labs for monitoring.
• Any technology can be used for good or ill.
• There are hundreds of laboratories, many funded by the U.S., capable of making bioweapons—or defenses against same, located in the U.S., Ukraine, China, or unknown locations. China has reportedly been working explicitly on bioweapons and genetic weapons.

“Our first priority should be effective pandemic response, which COVID-19 revealed to be woefully lacking,” Dr. Orient stated. “We need to investigate the source, but premature accusations, which may terrorize scientists, are counterproductive.”

Prospects of escalation in the Ukraine conflict have sparked concerns about nuclear war, according to the latest issue of the Doctors for Disaster Preparedness Newsletter.

Governmental response to a nuclear detonation could be the equivalent of Lockdown 2.0, warns DDP, citing the “Get Inside, Stay Inside” public relations campaigns in some states and the same advice on the federal website ready.gov.

How long must one stay inside? The ads say “Stay tuned” for official advice, but DDP points out the essential need for measuring radiation levels where you are located and the lack of appropriate instruments.

“The purpose of the civil defense program started by President Kennedy was to keep the country working,” states DDP president Jane Orient, M.D. “Rescue work and essential tasks cannot be done if everyone is in lockdown.”

Five million instruments were disposed of in the 1990s and not replaced. A low-cost technology called SIRAD (“see-rad”) was developed by the Department of Defense and tested by Homeland Security in 2007, but was never deployed by government, DDP states. At the suggestion of Tom Ridge, first U.S. secretary of DHS, volunteers used the SIRAD technology to create safe/not safe (“Oh Shucks!”) monitors.

There is also the option of the Kearny Fallout Meter (KFM), designed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to be made by children. Instructions can be downloaded free from oism,org/nwss.

In a crisis, ready-made instruments will not be available, but knowledge is free and available to all, Dr. Orient says. The poor man’s rad meter is seeing fallout particles, which look like sand or grit, on a shiny surface or piece of white paper.

            “Panic could kill more people than radiation in a nuclear attack,” states Dr. Orient. “People outside a bomb’s radius of complete destruction have an excellent chance of survival—if they know what to do.”Doctors for Disaster Preparedness provides information to help save lives in the event of natural or man-made disasters.

Procrastination is easy, especially in preparing for events you don’t want to think about.

But since we told you about the New Jersey bus ads on radiation emergencies, new happenings might make you want to step up your preparedness efforts.

The British Daily Mail ran an Oct 19 article on New York City’s Cold War fallout shelters. It provided information on how New Yorkers could find the nearest shelter, while showing many photos of the shelters’ deplorable condition. There are no supplies, and no radiation measuring instruments such as Geiger counters.

Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu made phone calls to his counterparts in the U.S., UK, France, and Turkey, warning that Ukraine was planning to explode a “dirty bomb” (radiological dispersal device) and blame it on Russia. Ukraine denies this. Ukraine has the ability to make a dirty bomb, and Zelensky has mentioned it, but the significance of various officials’ statements is unclear.

Continue reading “Ukraine: What about a Dirty Bomb?”

As pandemic fears are somewhat quieted, another threat is gaining attention. New Jersey transit buses are bearing the message below:

These appeared days after similar ads were placed in New York City subways, two months after the message appeared on poster boards in New Jersey shopping malls, and just before New York City Emergency Management created a TV Public Service Announcement telling New Yorkers what to do if a nuclear bomb hits. It is unlikely that officials are doing this for no reason.

Continue reading “What if Ukraine War Goes Nuclear?”

As California and additional states contemplate banning the internal combustion engine (ICE), we need to watch what is happening in Florida, states DDP president Jane M. Orient, M.D.

“Most Floridians have a car with an ICE,” she states, “and they had enough warning to fill their gas tank before they were ordered to evacuate.”

Power lines are down, and millions are without electricity, she notes. “Renewables” will be producing zero electricity and may be destroyed by the high winds. Even if you find a roadside charging station, it will probably have no power.

Continue reading “Hurricane Ian Has Lessons about Electric Vehicles”

New York City’s emergency management agency has released a 90-second public service announcement (PSA) about what to do if the “big one” hits, stating there was no specific reason for the timing. The message is simple: 1. Get inside, fast. 2. Stay inside. 3. Stay tuned to media for official announcements, and don’t go outside until officials say it’s safe.

“Awareness is prudent, but this PSA lacks vital information,” states Doctors for Disaster Preparedness (DDP) president Jane Orient, M.D. DDP refers people to the 60-second nuclear detonation training card, which has been distributed to thousands of first responders, and has issued the following statement:

• In the event of a nuclear detonation, the most important life-saving measure is to drop and cover immediately if you see a bright flash. A blast wave will follow, with hurricane-force winds, turning windows into shards of glass. Survival is much more likely if you are lying flat on the ground.
• Fallout looks like sand, ash, or grit. If there is fallout, you need to take cover for several days. If a building has no basement, get as close to the middle of the building as possible.
• Fallout loses 90% of its radioactivity in the first 7 hours, and an additional 90% for each sevenfold increase in time.
• Official communications are likely to be unavailable, and officials may lack appropriate radiation monitoring instruments. Citizens can acquire detection devices now, or instructions and common materials for making an expedient instrument (Kearny Fallout Meter).
• If not within the zone of complete destruction, most people could survive if they do not panic and have some basic knowledge.

Doctors for Disaster Preparedness provides information to help save lives in the event of natural or man-made disasters.

Last week President Biden warned that global food shortages were going to be “real,” because of the war in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine together supply about a fourth of the world’s wheat exports.

“The price of [U.S.] sanctions is not just imposed upon Russia, it’s imposed upon an awful lot of countries as well, including European countries and our country,” Biden said.

Russia’s exports of fertilizers—18 percent of the potash market, 20 percent of ammonia exports—are also off market. It is unclear how much the West will want to buy, or how much Russia will be willing to sell, and on what terms, now that its foreign exchange reserves have been frozen, effectively invalidating all previous economic contracts.

Doctors for Disaster Preparedness (DDP) also notes that natural gas is a key ingredient in nitrogen-based fertilizers, so shortages affect food production, not just heating and electricity generation. At present, 41 percent of Europe’s natural gas comes from Russia.

DDP has long advocated that Americans stockpile food as an insurance policy against all kinds of natural and man-made disasters. Many convenient forms of survival foods are offered. Buckets of unprocessed wheat, corn, and beans are the most economical. Salt, sugar, and oil are also needed. Methods of storage and field-tested preparation are detailed in the book Nuclear War Survival Skills, available free on line.

“Americans are once again stocking up on toilet paper,” stated DDP president Jane Orient, M.D., “but they should first make sure they have at least a minimum of staples, salt, and canned goods in their pantry.”

Doctors for Disaster Preparedness is a group of scientists (including physicians) founded in 1984, which provides information to help save lives in the event of natural or man-made disasters.