I dare you, try saying that 10 times quickly, without screwing up!

Well, the Times, yes, The New York Times ran a counter narrative article on Monday, QUESTIONING BOOSTERS. Not “fake news” you can fact check me! The headline was “Israel Considers 4th Vaccine Dose, but Some Experts Say It’s Premature.”

The subhead was even more interesting: “Some scientists warn that too many shots might actually harm the body’s ability to fight the Covid-19 virus. But Israeli experts say there isn’t time to wait.”

Say it isn’t so, “too many shots?” Better send SWAT over, as I’m thinking some right-wing conspiracy nutbars must have seized the Times and are now writing the headlines.

Now, that kind of medical misinformation subhead can and does have you thrown off Twitter in seconds of going live. The Twitter censors must be perplexed about what to do about this one, I’m sure an emergency meeting is being called as I write this.

The article comes just a few days after the paper’s 49-year-old Asia editor died, which on it’ own, isn’t out of the ordinary as folks die every day, but what is out of the ordinary is the fact that he died just 24 hours after getting his Moderna booster. The Times, now having lost one of their own, has pivoted and is now reporting that boosters might not be a good idea, in fact not at all, explaining “some scientists warned that the [booster] plan could backfire, because too many shots might cause a sort of immune system fatigue, compromising the body’s ability to fight the coronavirus.”

Hold the presses!

Not only that, but the Times in another rare display of journalism reported that a “new British report shows that booster doses are less effective against Omicron than previous variants, and their effectiveness wears off faster — within 10 weeks.” You mean to tell me that the experts didn’t see that coming? To be fair, who can blame them, I mean after all, it’s not like there were signs of this happening everywhere!

So now after almost six months of pushing boosters every chance it got, the Times now decides to give unbiased journalism a try and quotes from Israeli scientists that disagree with the proposed booster plan. “I respect the opinion of those who say better safe than sorry,” Professor Hagai Levine said, “and there is no problem with being prepared. But before giving a fourth shot, it is preferable to wait for the science.”

Wait for the science? Madness, hasn’t anyone told these folks that we’re in the middle of a pandemic? So why wait, look how well not waiting has turned out so far!

The story doesn’t just quote one person. It quotes SEVERAL people raising questions about the wisdom of boosting in response to the Omicron variant, yes once again a rare display of journalism is put on display at the Times. They want to ensure you don’t miss the point, got it! For example, it quoted Chely Edery, 59, the owner of a gift shop in Jerusalem. “Like many people, I’m very ambivalent. The last thing I want is for my business to close, but I have the feeling that this time, they don’t know enough.”

What was the Times thinking, printing the shameful words of Chely Edery, another one of those “flat earthers” questioning the experts?

Now for all of you lucky enough not to have a journalism degree, it’s important to understand that when biased media quotes some random person, it’s to editorialize, to push the reporter’s view disguised as “just the news.” They quoted shopkeeper Edery to make a point. Does this signal a change at the Times, are they now beginning to question the wisdom of their love affair with boosters? Did the untimely death of its Asia editor have something to do with it? Inquiring minds want to know!

The story concludes on this note: Benny Muchawsky, 80, an architect, said the booster plan “seemed like hysteria.” Hysteria! It’s a Christmas Covid miracle! Who could have imagined that the Times would use the word hysteria in an article surrounding a government’s handling of its Covid response, certainly not me!

Maybe there’s hope for 2022 after all!