The Next Pandemic: Covid for Cows

King Donald sticking his head in the sand; it’s what got us into this mess in the first place.

Jan 21, 2025

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source: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1872860577057448306?lang=en

“Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face”. This is how President Musk recently answered a critic on his X platform. Is this the co-president America voted for? I guess that really doesn’t matter since he spent $250 million to get his buddy Trump elected.

Just think of that return on Elon’s investment. For his $250 million, his Tesla stock more than doubled in value, from $200 billion to $400 billion just a few weeks later. I don’t know. Maybe the Beatles had it all wrong when they sang, “Can’t Buy Me Love, Love, Everybody Told Me So”. Oh wait, that was before Musk was born in white supremacist South Africa.

Musk has begun to take a globalist approach as he seeks to influence the political outcomes in elections in Germany, Britain and France. His rightward leanings has him tacking to the extremes as he backs neo-Nazis in the Alternative for Germany, the AfD Party, as well as the far-right movement in Nigel Farage’s British Reform Party and Marie Le Pen’s National Front party in France. Taking up residence since the American election in a cottage at Mira Largo, Trump’s southern White House, he has become the Donald’s best pal, dining together every night, strategizing their putsch and purge of “the deep state” of the U.S. government.

The Covid Weave and Dodge (or DOGE)

Past president and future King Donald of America came to the conclusion early on that the best way to deal with the Covid Crisis in 2020 was to bury his head in the sand. Rather than take it head-on, he convinced a great many of his supplicants to just ignore it. “It’ll blow over in a couple of days”. Only seven Americans had died of the scourge at that time and he encouraged fellow delusionals, especially in red-leaning states, like Louisiana, to just stop reporting cases. If they did that, the number of cases would simply stop climbing and that would solve it. Cut it in the bud and that would be the end of it.

Sadly, just the other day, a man over 65 years of age became the first American to die of bird flu. Guess where he lived and kept a flock of birds in his backyard? Louisiana, of course. The governor of that fine state declared he would not issue any more information other than the man’s sex and age, in deference to the medical confidentiality laws and to preserve the privacy of his family. Five years post-pandemic, it all sounds a bit too familiar. Whitewash and obfuscate.

In the last pandemic, so many of Sir Donald’s fellow Republicans said the quite part out loud. Very casually, yet very seriously, they mused that since most of the deaths occurred in the over 65 population, it was really O.K. After all, those folks would all die soon, anyway. What’s a couple of years between friends. The nation could go on its merry way, a few million light of those old codgers who had the temerity to take their Social Security benefit and suck the fund bone dry. Perhaps this was the fix that would save the Social Security program from extinction, preserving the eventual retirement of the millennials. This was the solution, hiding in plain sight, that had evaded policy wonks and lawmakers all these years. No biggie.

King Donald is now just days away from assuming the throne again, and the same old same old seems to be happening. It’s dejavu all over again. “Ground Hog Day” is back with a vengeance. Just look at who he chose to head the Health and Human Services Department. Bobby Kennedy, Jr. is often referred to as the Vaccine Denier in Chief.

Because he dithered as president, Trump’s delay in recognizing the seriousness of the situation resulted in hundreds of thousands of excess, unnecessary deaths. Over one million of our fellow Americans died because he felt his approach, to duck and cover, would help him to survive politically. Seems he was right, since he was never held accountable for his incompetent response and this past November, 49.5% of the electorate decided this was the king they wanted to lead them forward and dismantle the institutions of government for the next four years. Watch what you wish for. Now that his Supreme Court (he appointed three of the conservative judges himself, making a 6 to 3 majority for the conservatives) has ruled he is in fact above the law for anything he does in service of the presidency, there will be no guard rails and the king will do as the king wants to do.

Idi Amin of Uganda, and Pol Pot of Cambodia both massacred millions of their own citizens. Theirs was an act of commission.They were deliberate and intentional. Trump’s consisted of many acts of omission as he refused to prepare adequately all along the way in stocking up protective clothing and supplies, including masks, needles and respirators. Even when he was responsible for quickly bringing about the manufacture of several viable vaccines, he refused to sell it properly to his loyal servants. All the while, he continued to push unproven solutions, like ivermectin, medicine used on horses, or household laundry products like bleach. Hundreds of the king’s servants died following this advice while hundreds of thousands died, refusing to get stuck by a needle with a vaccine that would have saved their lives.

The difference between those dictators' actions and those of America’s former president and future king is subtle, but the outcome was the same; mass death on a huge scale the country had not seen since the Pandemic of 1917.

And now, we have co-president Musk to deal with. Following Robert Kennedy, Jr.’s lead, Musk is wont to believe that vaccines are responsible for much of today’s ADHD problem with nearly 10% of vaccinated newborn’s diagnosed with symptoms of being on the spectrum, otherwise referred to as Autism. This, despite all the scientific research and evidence that disputes these scurrilous claims of causation. Heaven help us if these science deniers lead millions more to their grave.

Another Spectrum: Moral to Immoral

Buying tobacco stocks is immoral. Investing in alcohol purveyors is sinking to the lowest level, especially now that the surgeon general has suggested labels be affixed to alcoholic beverages warning of a cancer connection. Anyone who seeks to profit off the misery of others is a degenerate. How many times have you heard this argument against investing in any stock that seeks to profit from the misfortunes of others? This type of stock is usually referred to as a “sin stock”. Companies like Altria (MO) and Diageo (DGE.L) fall into this category that many “do good” investors shy away from.

Sure, millions around the globe are about to contract and suffer the horrendous symptoms that come with bird flu. This pandemic could be much worse than the one we all just lived through. With Covid-19, the death rate was as high as 4.5% in 2020. Current bird flu, worldwide, has been shown to kill 50% of those who contract it. Many millions might die this time, in America alone. But if you had the opportunity to commit some capital to the one and only FDA-approved maker of bird flu vaccine and make it more widely available around the world, wouldn’t this be a virtuous thing to do? If you buy stock, you’re expanding the capital base so that this company can make this vaccine more widely available, possibly saving millions more lives worldwide.

Friday, December 6th, the FDA acted decisively. With the infection of 70 farm workers spread by over 700 cattle herds over 15 states the agency ordered mandatory testing of all milk before it has been pasteurized.

Before Bobby Kennedy, Jr. takes over authority of the FDA and “goes wild” on public health as President-elect Trump has sanctioned, and before RFK, Jr. has the power to influence the population to steer them away from vaccinations of all types, public health officials throughout the nation have warned of a growing threat of bird flu morphing into the next pandemic.

“In a pre-emptive move, the Biden administration has doubled down on its bird flu prevention efforts by committing an additional $306 million to preparedness efforts, mRna vaccine development and other measures to take this possible pandemic head-on.”

source: The New York Times

Critics have faulted the Biden administration for not acting fast enough. This new money will be distributed before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in a few weeks to make sure the money gets put to work before vaccine antagonists take over the Department of Human and Health Services.

Federal health officials have been keeping a close eye on H5N1, a strain of avian influenza that is highly contagious and lethal to chickens, and has spread to cattle. The virus has not yet demonstrated that it can spread efficiently among people. However, the latest case in Louisiana was a severe one, and health officials say it contained a mutated gene that is just one mutation away from making it transmissible from human to human.

Raw milk is the very product anti-vax Kennedy has been hawking for the populace to consume for its supposedly healthy aspects. Increasingly, raw milk is coming under more scrutiny, both in the public and scientific communities.

A fast-growing outbreak of avian flu has now upended California’s dairy industry, the nation’s largest producer of milk, infecting most of the state’s herds and putting thousands of farmworkers at risk for contracting the virus.

In just about four months, cows in 645 dairies in California have tested positive for H5N1, even as many ranchers have taken strict precautions to stop the virus from spreading. Gov. Gavin Newsom was concerned enough Wednesday, December 18th, that he declared a state of emergency over the outbreak in California.

The virus is spreading so quickly that dairy farmers are calling it “Covid for cows,” and scientists are racing to figure out how to stop the contagion.

“We’re trying to do everything we possibly can, and this has just been the worst crisis we’ve ever dealt with in the dairy industry in California,” said Anja Raudabaugh, the chief executive of Western United Dairies, a trade organization that represents most of the state’s dairy farms.

source: The New York Times

Avian flu primarily affects birds, but it can also infect mammals, including humans. There have been 61 human cases reported in the United States so far this year, and most of the individuals have had mild symptoms, including pink eye, fever and muscle ache.

But officials reported on December 18th that the nation’s first severe human case of infection had been identified in an individual in Louisiana who had been hospitalized with bird flu. And that man succumbed and died.

Bird flu is currently the next pandemic, hiding in plain sight. The scientific community in public health has been ringing increasingly louder alarms, but the mainstream media has been delinquent in highlighting this threat to the general public. As bird flu becomes a wider threat, it is time to consider our best defense to this deadly disease. As investors, we can put our money where our concerns lie. The biggest maker of bird flu vaccine might be a good place to begin our due diligence.

CSL Seqirus

CSL Seqirus (CSLLY), two months ago, was awarded a contract worth tens of millions of dollars to expand its supply of the only FDA-approved bird flu vaccine. As this pathogen continues to spread amongst herds and farm workers and expands its presence to the other 35 states and probably to the globe, there will be nowhere, other than CSLLY, for the government to turn to safeguard the population.

Sales, revenues and profits will likely soar. The same way that Pfizer (PFE) and Moderna (MRNA) saw huge sales and profit expansion from their sales of Corona Virus vaccines, CSLLY stands to benefit from sales of its bird flu vaccine this time around.

We were quick to recommend several specific stocks to subscribers to our RODAT newsletter during the Corona Virus pandemic and make huge profits from vaccine makers, specialized needle manufacturers and makers of all manner of protective gear, clothing and masks. By getting in early, we can maximize our profits from this coming pandemic while also doing good.

Having sold off 19% from its three year high, it would seem an opportune time to consider a starting investment in this $86 billion market cap pharmaceutical behemoth.

Description

CSL Limited researches, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes biopharmaceutical and vaccines in Australia, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, China, Hong Kong, and internationally. The company operates through CSL Behring, CSL Seqirus, and CSL Vifor segments. The CSL Behring segment offers plasma products, gene therapies, and recombinants. The CSL Seqirus segment provides influenza related products and pandemic services to governments. The CSL Vifor segment offers products in the therapeutic areas of iron deficiency and nephrology. The company also licenses CSL intellectual property. CSL Limited was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia

Source: Yahoo Finance

July 12th of this year marked the stock’s 52 week at $104.71. Closing Thursday at $87.16 represents a 21.3% discount from its 5 year high of $110.81. The stock currently pays a dividend of $1.32, making for a current yield of 1.51%.

News Bulletin

A disaster declaration was declared on December 9th by Governor Ivy in Iowa in 2 counties where bird flu was detected in two more flocks. One was a chicken flock, the other a flock of turkeys.

The governor appealed to all farmers to immediately call their vets if they suspected a disease in their flocks. The sooner a determination can be made, the quicker a flock can be quarantined or destroyed to keep the infection spreading further to other animals and farm workers.

The only way to put a ring around this spread is to choke it off and stop it in its tracks before it gains enough of a foothold to become a full-fledged pandemic.

The U.S. government has granted $72 million to European pharma giants GSK Plc (NYSE:GSK), Sanofi SA (NASDAQ:SNY) and Australian firm CSL Limited (OTC:CSLLY) to more than double the U.S. supply of bird flu vaccines.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bird flu was detected in 254 dairy herds across 14 states. It has now spread to 700 dairy herds in 15 states and infected 70 farm workers.

Including the most recent two cases in California, 16 human cases of H5 have been reported in the United States during 2024, bringing the total to 17 cases since 2022.

As part of the agreement, GSK, Sanofi, and CSL will produce extra bulk vaccine components tailored to the circulating strains of avian influenza.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Dawn O’Connell, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services, noted that the companies plan to allocate the funds to fill vials and pre-filled syringes with stored vaccine components. The goal is to increase the nation’s total supply of ready-to-administer doses to 10 million by the first quarter of 2025.

According to O’Connell, the virus responsible for the ongoing outbreak has not changed in a manner that would compromise the effectiveness of the vaccines stored in stockpiles.

Additionally, some traditional flu vaccines are produced using eggs. Sanofi will ensure a steady supply of these vaccines to the United States to prepare for potential bird flu outbreaks and other needs.

The Bloomberg report added that Finland is the sole nation vaccinating its population against bird flu.

Richard Webby, a bird flu researcher at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, noted that similar actions may be contemplated elsewhere if genetic mutations in the H5 viruses are in circulation.

The latest award from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response of $72 million includes $37.9 million for CSL, $23.4 million for Sanofi, and $10.5 million for GSK.

Please share your thoughts about these developments and your opinion about investing in CSLLY at the current price level in the comment section.

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Your Takeaway

We may be on the cusp of facing a scourge much greater than the last pandemic. If we act positively, we may be in a position to help advance the fight against this disease.

Some DEI investors regard the practice of investing in anything that takes advantage of the suffering of their fellow man to be sinful. This falls into the category commonly referred to by investors as “sin stocks”. In this case, we are proposing just the opposite. When a company seeks to expand its footprint, it sells additional shares and floats bonds to increase its capital base. If we participate in this process, we are engaging in a virtuous investment, helping to make more vaccines available around the world to mitigate death and suffering. Our aim is clearly to reduce the overall damaging effects of the coming bird flu pandemic.

Please leave a comment and let’s discuss this issue further in the comment section.

Retirement: One Dividend at a Time

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