Coronavirus

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

I'm not vaccinated either man (obviously). Like BSC above I did plenty of research into the vaccines but I drew the complete opposite conclusion to him with regard to their safety and efficacy.
I haven't had Covid that I know of but to be fair I spend 70% of my time on my own outside, I live in the middle of nowhere, and I'm rarely in a town so I'm at low risk of contracting it, which was a contributing factor in my decision not to take the vaccine.
My brother in law was in a hoop after the vaccine for a few months with heart problems, wound up in hospital for tests and all that, the doctors refused to entertain the idea that there was any connection between his problems and the vaccine despite him having no history of heart problems at all and his symptoms (irregular heartbeat, racing heart, thinking he was going to pass out, frightened the shit out of him) starting two days after the second vaccine.
My cousin, a young woman with kids was found on the floor unconscious two weeks after her second vaccine, was the guts of two months in hospital with a brain injury (they don't seem to know what happened to her other than she developed a bleed on the brain and passed out, I don't know the full details) and is still recovering, again a perfectly healthy person, again the doctors disregarded any connection to the vaccine.
Anyone I know, either vaccinated or not, that had covid, suffered what amounts to a dose of flu for a few days
I don't know of anyone, nor does anyone I've asked (and I've asked a lot), who died or suffered long term ill effects from covid.
Make of that what you will.

I've heard of some mild to serious reactions to the vaccine, and there were a handful of tragic deaths. Personally, I don't know anybody who suffered ill effects from the vaccine, and I know many times more people who are vaccinated than who had COVID. Conclusion? Nothing. You can't draw conclusions about public health matters involving billions of people based on what happens to the few dozen individuals in your own circle.

What happened in the house I got stuck in over Christmas is just an amusing anecdote because it happened to confirm the latest science to a great extent: in another house, something totally different may have happened. It was almost certainly omicron though, so the science did also help to understand that that's probably why essentially everyone got hit by it within a couple of days (it's more transmissible), all cases were relatively mild (it's less effective at replicating in the lungs), it hit both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated (its mutations give it the ability to evade antibodies generated against the earlier strains), the only recently boosted person escaped it completely (despite vaccine protection against serious forms dropping off at an unacceptably fast rate, initial protection even against omicron is nevertheless high), and so on.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Back to the good news: while global cases continue to be over twice as high as they have ever been, even during previous peaks, global deaths are still lower than they've been since the end of October 2020.

[open face surgery]

I believe it was all started by Zuckerberg to get people used to living their lives at home making his new Metaverse the new beacon of hope.

This is how conspiracy theories start, right?

[Blackout]

It was started by an unnamed beer company.

[Snare]

While there might be good news re Omnicron severity, it remains to be seen how the sheer numbers will work out here.

My wife's friend has been in hospital with their 5yo who has Kawasaki disease since last week and was expected to stay in for the next month as they monitor how much damage has been done to the kid's heart.

However CUH had 60 Covid illness admissions last night alone, so they've cleared the wards of anyone who can walk out in preparation for a continued influx  (number of hospital staff out probably doesn't help either). So the 5yo was kicked out this morning despite the seriousness of their illness.

5 other very young kids have had Kawasaki disease there the past few weeks - 1 died, 1 has serious liver damage, 1 has major heart problems, all after contacting Covid the previous few weeks and then developing Kawasaki disease as a consequence. Presuming they were Delta related by the timeline so hoping Omicron doesn't have the same consequences for kids.

Despite other people's feedback here, I know of enough deaths, hospitalisations and heart problems for healthy and unhealthy people pre-vaccines, but I don't have the same knowledge since vaccines were introduced (bar a fit 40yo neighbour was hospitalised for a day due to Covid, but she was vacinnated so likely less severe than what it could have been). Still mad the way Covid and vaccines affect people differently, and I've had no issues whatsoever after any of my 3 shots (Pfizer x2, Moderna booster), but vaccines are certainly working from my point of view and this is backed up by actual stats, i.e. not throwing any old soccer issue out there without a clue of their prior health or recent vaccine status and yet insinuating that it's down to vaccines and that there were never such issues before 🤦🏼

[son of the Morrigan]

I'm not vaccinated either man (obviously). Like BSC above I did plenty of research into the vaccines but I drew the complete opposite conclusion to him with regard to their safety and efficacy.
I haven't had Covid that I know of but to be fair I spend 70% of my time on my own outside, I live in the middle of nowhere, and I'm rarely in a town so I'm at low risk of contracting it, which was a contributing factor in my decision not to take the vaccine.
My brother in law was in a hoop after the vaccine for a few months with heart problems, wound up in hospital for tests and all that, the doctors refused to entertain the idea that there was any connection between his problems and the vaccine despite him having no history of heart problems at all and his symptoms (irregular heartbeat, racing heart, thinking he was going to pass out, frightened the shit out of him) starting two days after the second vaccine.
My cousin, a young woman with kids was found on the floor unconscious two weeks after her second vaccine, was the guts of two months in hospital with a brain injury (they don't seem to know what happened to her other than she developed a bleed on the brain and passed out, I don't know the full details) and is still recovering, again a perfectly healthy person, again the doctors disregarded any connection to the vaccine.
Anyone I know, either vaccinated or not, that had covid, suffered what amounts to a dose of flu for a few days
I don't know of anyone, nor does anyone I've asked (and I've asked a lot), who died or suffered long term ill effects from covid.
Make of that what you will.

I've heard of some mild to serious reactions to the vaccine, and there were a handful of tragic deaths. Personally, I don't know anybody who suffered ill effects from the vaccine, and I know many times more people who are vaccinated than who had COVID. Conclusion? Nothing. You can't draw conclusions about public health matters involving billions of people based on what happens to the few dozen individuals in your own circle.

What happened in the house I got stuck in over Christmas is just an amusing anecdote because it happened to confirm the latest science to a great extent: in another house, something totally different may have happened. It was almost certainly omicron though, so the science did also help to understand that that's probably why essentially everyone got hit by it within a couple of days (it's more transmissible), all cases were relatively mild (it's less effective at replicating in the lungs), it hit both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated (its mutations give it the ability to evade antibodies generated against the earlier strains), the only recently boosted person escaped it completely (despite vaccine protection against serious forms dropping off at an unacceptably fast rate, initial protection even against omicron is nevertheless high), and so on.

Here's your  "few mild to serious reactions and a handful of tragic deaths" as of December -

According to VAERS in america - 19,886 dead.   32,644 permanently injured.
figures for Europe - 34,337 dead.   3,120,439 injuries.
According to HPRA in Ireland - 94 dead.   16,313 injuries.

Of course these are only a fraction of the true numbers as, like for instance the two cases I mentioned above, the reactions were never reported to the HPRA as they should have been by the so-called doctors.
I don't know that what happened to these two people was caused by the vaccine, neither do the doctors, that's the fucking reason for having a reporting system, to compile information and analyse it for similar reactions experienced by a statistically relevant number of people, ya know like, fucking science.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Without a source, I'm afraid I can't take those figures as currency. And even with a source, VAERS is not reliable since it's an open platform that anybody can submit information to. That means it has the opposite problem of what you're rightly criticizing the HPRA for. But I would be interested to know where your figures came from, since I can't readily find them, and I trust the anti-vax movement ever so slightly even less than state bodies, although it's a battle of transparent bullshit at this stage.

[Snare]

Here's your  "few mild to serious reactions and a handful of tragic deaths" as of December -

According to VAERS in america - 19,886 dead.   32,644 permanently injured.
figures for Europe - 34,337 dead.   3,120,439 injuries.
According to HPRA in Ireland - 94 dead.   16,313 injuries.

Of course these are only a fraction of the true numbers as, like for instance the two cases I mentioned above, the reactions were never reported to the HPRA as they should have been by the so-called doctors.
I don't know that what happened to these two people was caused by the vaccine, neither do the doctors, that's the fucking reason for having a reporting system, to compile information and analyse it for similar reactions experienced by a statistically relevant number of people, ya know like, fucking science.

There's so much wrong and out of context here I can't let it go without comment. I don't know where to start, other than to guess you've caught a bad dose of the KC's 

Have you actually looked at the HPRA website, not to mind the actual report? Or have you just copied and pasted from your friendly local anti-vaxxer?

I'm just looking at the HSE area of operations in Ireland, not the rest of Ireland, the EU or the US.

First off, when you attend for a vaccine here you get an information leaflet. It clearly highlights you can report any side-effects yourself and how you can go about it. Indeed you're encouraged to report any issues. It doesn't say submit to your GP and let them decide.

If you discarded the info then guess what - the HPRA website clearly states at the top how you can report side effects. Click and voila https://www.hpra.ie/homepage/about-us/report-an-issue/covid-19-vaccine-adverse-reaction

You can then fill in the position of the person submitting the report, including an option to select as a patient.

So based on these facts I have to call shenanigans on your hysteria to what you wrongly believe is a censored reporting system. The patients themselves have the power to submit if they so wish.


With regards to the comment " According to HPRA in Ireland - 94 dead.   16,313 injuries", it's a sobering headline but is without context, is totally selective and conveniently misses the main points.

Report: https://www.hpra.ie/docs/default-source/default-document-library/safety-update-covid-19-vaccines-overview-of-national-reporting-experience-(09122021).pdf?sfvrsn=0#page12

Re 16,313 "injuries" "according to the HPRA", they don't refer to injuries at all but to suspected side-effects of varying degrees which are well detailed in the report (I've added comments in italics):

"As of 30 November, a total of 16,313 reports of suspected side effects were notified to the HPRA. The number of COVID-19 vaccines administered as of that date was reported as 7,503,706... (so there's suspected side-effects in 0.2% of vaccine doses administered here ). Additionally, as of that date, 761,065 booster doses have been administered. (so that 0.2% goes to 0.18%, but as discussed below this depends on people actually reporting suspected side-effects and covers varying degrees of severity that are largely mild to moderate)
- Whilst not experienced by everyone, all vaccines have some side effects, the vast majority of which are mild to moderate in nature. These side effects need to be continuously balanced against the benefits, given the risk of COVID-19 illness and related complications, and as scientific evidence shows that they reduce deaths and hospitalisations due to COVID-19. Overall, the national reporting experience continues to support the favourable assessment that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the risks."

The type of KC-friendly post also misses these pertinent facts:

" UNDERSTANDING THE DATA PRESENTED WITHIN THIS SAFETY UPDATE
... it is important to understand that conclusions on the safety of a vaccine cannot be drawn based on the information provided, given well-established and known limitations in interpreting such data in isolation, examples of which are described below

Causation
 The HPRA receives reports based on suspicion that an adverse experience may be associated with vaccination. This does not mean the vaccine caused the adverse experience. As such, these are referred to as 'suspected' side effects.
 Reports may describe coincidental events, which have occurred post-vaccination, but would have occurred even if vaccination had not taken place (e.g. they may be due to an underlying medical condition, or be signs and symptoms of another illness).
 Each individual report is carefully reviewed, however, the totality of data from all sources (e.g. clinical and epidemiological studies and literature) must be considered as part of ongoing safety monitoring to ensure evidenced based conclusions are drawn.
Number/volume
 As the HPRA system is based on voluntary reporting, not all suspected side effects will be reported. As such, the number and types of reports notified can vary for a variety of reasons.
 An increased number of reports is expected for COVID-19 vaccines, given public interest as well
as HPRA calls encouraging reporting. This is known as stimulated reporting.
 A single report may describe more than one suspected side effect in an individual (e.g. headache and nausea reported together), therefore, the number of side effects may exceed the total of reports received."


Re deaths, I note families of some here have come out afterwards to say they were still glad the deceased member got the vaccine and still encouraged others to get the vaccine and not be put off as these people already had underlying conditions.

I digress, so back to the report that was so conveniently butchered, with emphasis added in bold by me...

Reports of deaths following COVID-19 vaccination
 A total of 94 reports have been received describing an individual who was known to have been vaccinated and subsequently passed away... The majority of reports (approximately 80%) with a fatal outcome describe an individual aged 75 years and over, with the median age of the individuals being 83 years.. For a number of reports, the cause of death was unconfirmed at the time of reporting, with post mortem results awaited.
 Reports describing a death are carefully reviewed. However, it can be expected that fatalities due to progression of underlying disease or natural causes will continue to occur, including following vaccination. This does not mean that the vaccine caused the deaths.


I note that from https://covid19ireland-geohive.hub.arcgis.com/pages/detailed-profile-of-cases that about 3% of all Covid cases have been hospitalised here. This is after the mass role out of vaccines and the huge increase in cases as restrictions were lifted. It seems the hack has ruined the HPSC.ie surveillance reports for pre-Sept 2021 but that figure was much higher previously.

Comparing this with 0.2% reporting suspected side-effects from a vaccine (including the most minor of issues, and ignoring that only a fraction of which could conceivably require hospital treatment to account for the under-reporting by patients), coupled with the over-representation of unvaccinated people hospitalised and in ICU, then it's difficult to understand how not taking a vaccine is seen as a better and safer option in the grand scheme of things. I'm not downplaying what those people experienced but they obviously can and should report issues, despite your unfounded assertions. In any event the headline stat is clearly misleading, completely ignorant of the actual report and is of very little merit.

[son of the Morrigan]

Without a source, I'm afraid I can't take those figures as currency. And even with a source, VAERS is not reliable since it's an open platform that anybody can submit information to. That means it has the opposite problem of what you're rightly criticizing the HPRA for. But I would be interested to know where your figures came from, since I can't readily find them, and I trust the anti-vax movement ever so slightly even less than state bodies, although it's a battle of transparent bullshit at this stage.

The best source of information I've found to date is on the Integrity Ireland homepage man.
When ya go onto it go up to Home on the top left and you'll see the vax data link, when ya go to that you'll see vax data on a grey grid type thing, go into that and down the page a bit you'll see a blue link to the Data Analytica data base.
It's a huge compilation of information, all with links to the source information and I'm inclined to trust it.

I'm not an anti-vaxer by any means man but I strongly believe in transparency, freedom of choice and fairness.
I may not agree with your stance on this vaccine issue but I admire the strength with which you defend it, as I admire anyone who has a strongly held opinion and is prepared to stand by it.

As an aside, there's a lot of interesting stuff re. the Gards, the judiciary and the dept. of justice re. corruption, collusion etc. etc. on that Integrity Ireland website. I'd encourage anyone with an interest in such matters to check it out, they have a heap of videos and stuff on facebook too I believe and some stuff on You Tube, although a lot of the stuff on You Tube seems to have disappeared of late.
They are a very interesting organisation.

[son of the Morrigan]

Here's your  "few mild to serious reactions and a handful of tragic deaths" as of December -

According to VAERS in america - 19,886 dead.   32,644 permanently injured.
figures for Europe - 34,337 dead.   3,120,439 injuries.
According to HPRA in Ireland - 94 dead.   16,313 injuries.

Of course these are only a fraction of the true numbers as, like for instance the two cases I mentioned above, the reactions were never reported to the HPRA as they should have been by the so-called doctors.
I don't know that what happened to these two people was caused by the vaccine, neither do the doctors, that's the fucking reason for having a reporting system, to compile information and analyse it for similar reactions experienced by a statistically relevant number of people, ya know like, fucking science.

There's so much wrong and out of context here I can't let it go without comment. I don't know where to start, other than to guess you've caught a bad dose of the KC's 

Have you actually looked at the HPRA website, not to mind the actual report? Or have you just copied and pasted from your friendly local anti-vaxxer?

I'm just looking at the HSE area of operations in Ireland, not the rest of Ireland, the EU or the US.

First off, when you attend for a vaccine here you get an information leaflet. It clearly highlights you can report any side-effects yourself and how you can go about it. Indeed you're encouraged to report any issues. It doesn't say submit to your GP and let them decide.

If you discarded the info then guess what - the HPRA website clearly states at the top how you can report side effects. Click and voila https://www.hpra.ie/homepage/about-us/report-an-issue/covid-19-vaccine-adverse-reaction

You can then fill in the position of the person submitting the report, including an option to select as a patient.

So based on these facts I have to call shenanigans on your hysteria to what you wrongly believe is a censored reporting system. The patients themselves have the power to submit if they so wish.


With regards to the comment " According to HPRA in Ireland - 94 dead.   16,313 injuries", it's a sobering headline but is without context, is totally selective and conveniently misses the main points.

Report: https://www.hpra.ie/docs/default-source/default-document-library/safety-update-covid-19-vaccines-overview-of-national-reporting-experience-(09122021).pdf?sfvrsn=0#page12

Re 16,313 "injuries" "according to the HPRA", they don't refer to injuries at all but to suspected side-effects of varying degrees which are well detailed in the report (I've added comments in italics):

"As of 30 November, a total of 16,313 reports of suspected side effects were notified to the HPRA. The number of COVID-19 vaccines administered as of that date was reported as 7,503,706... (so there's suspected side-effects in 0.2% of vaccine doses administered here ). Additionally, as of that date, 761,065 booster doses have been administered. (so that 0.2% goes to 0.18%, but as discussed below this depends on people actually reporting suspected side-effects and covers varying degrees of severity that are largely mild to moderate)
- Whilst not experienced by everyone, all vaccines have some side effects, the vast majority of which are mild to moderate in nature. These side effects need to be continuously balanced against the benefits, given the risk of COVID-19 illness and related complications, and as scientific evidence shows that they reduce deaths and hospitalisations due to COVID-19. Overall, the national reporting experience continues to support the favourable assessment that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the risks."

The type of KC-friendly post also misses these pertinent facts:

" UNDERSTANDING THE DATA PRESENTED WITHIN THIS SAFETY UPDATE
... it is important to understand that conclusions on the safety of a vaccine cannot be drawn based on the information provided, given well-established and known limitations in interpreting such data in isolation, examples of which are described below

Causation
 The HPRA receives reports based on suspicion that an adverse experience may be associated with vaccination. This does not mean the vaccine caused the adverse experience. As such, these are referred to as 'suspected' side effects.
 Reports may describe coincidental events, which have occurred post-vaccination, but would have occurred even if vaccination had not taken place (e.g. they may be due to an underlying medical condition, or be signs and symptoms of another illness).
 Each individual report is carefully reviewed, however, the totality of data from all sources (e.g. clinical and epidemiological studies and literature) must be considered as part of ongoing safety monitoring to ensure evidenced based conclusions are drawn.
Number/volume
 As the HPRA system is based on voluntary reporting, not all suspected side effects will be reported. As such, the number and types of reports notified can vary for a variety of reasons.
 An increased number of reports is expected for COVID-19 vaccines, given public interest as well
as HPRA calls encouraging reporting. This is known as stimulated reporting.
 A single report may describe more than one suspected side effect in an individual (e.g. headache and nausea reported together), therefore, the number of side effects may exceed the total of reports received."


Re deaths, I note families of some here have come out afterwards to say they were still glad the deceased member got the vaccine and still encouraged others to get the vaccine and not be put off as these people already had underlying conditions.

I digress, so back to the report that was so conveniently butchered, with emphasis added in bold by me...

Reports of deaths following COVID-19 vaccination
 A total of 94 reports have been received describing an individual who was known to have been vaccinated and subsequently passed away... The majority of reports (approximately 80%) with a fatal outcome describe an individual aged 75 years and over, with the median age of the individuals being 83 years.. For a number of reports, the cause of death was unconfirmed at the time of reporting, with post mortem results awaited.
 Reports describing a death are carefully reviewed. However, it can be expected that fatalities due to progression of underlying disease or natural causes will continue to occur, including following vaccination. This does not mean that the vaccine caused the deaths.


I note that from https://covid19ireland-geohive.hub.arcgis.com/pages/detailed-profile-of-cases that about 3% of all Covid cases have been hospitalised here. This is after the mass role out of vaccines and the huge increase in cases as restrictions were lifted. It seems the hack has ruined the HPSC.ie surveillance reports for pre-Sept 2021 but that figure was much higher previously.

Comparing this with 0.2% reporting suspected side-effects from a vaccine (including the most minor of issues, and ignoring that only a fraction of which could conceivably require hospital treatment to account for the under-reporting by patients), coupled with the over-representation of unvaccinated people hospitalised and in ICU, then it's difficult to understand how not taking a vaccine is seen as a better and safer option in the grand scheme of things. I'm not downplaying what those people experienced but they obviously can and should report issues, despite your unfounded assertions. In any event the headline stat is clearly misleading, completely ignorant of the actual report and is of very little merit.

Yes, I have read the official report and am very aware of the caveats attached to the data.
If you had read the last two lines of the post you are replying to you would know that I am fully aware that the reported side effects are unverified, you would also have seen that I am fully aware of the reason such reporting systems are in place.
I am also aware that any individual can report to the HPRA system, the simple fact is that they do not, it is abhorrent that the doctors seem not to be either.

All that aside, as questionable as the reported data is, it is all we have to go on when researching adverse vaccine outcomes.
The data available with regard to covid deaths is equally as questionable, no post mortems there either, rampant co- morbidities, a majority of deaths in an age group exceeding 75, etc etc.

I won't get into the questionable covid case data other than to say that it is a nonsense to suggest that a person who is perfectly healthy and free of any symptoms should be regarded a covid case on the back of a positive PCR test result, a PCR test alone cannot, and should not, be used as an indicator of illness.

Those who approve of the vaccines can pick holes in the vaccine reporting system to suit their own ends just as those who disprove of the vaccines can pick holes in the covid death/case reporting system to suit theirs.

Personally I don't want to either contract covid, due to the risks, or take the vaccine, due to the risks
I can reduce my risk of contracting covid by taking simple precautions and I can eliminate the risk of suffering adverse effects from the vaccine by not taking it.
Is that not a reasonable view to take?

[Caomhaoin]

Boyz the Astfgyl homage is touching but even he never went over the 5 paragraph threshold.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Without a source, I'm afraid I can't take those figures as currency. And even with a source, VAERS is not reliable since it's an open platform that anybody can submit information to. That means it has the opposite problem of what you're rightly criticizing the HPRA for. But I would be interested to know where your figures came from, since I can't readily find them, and I trust the anti-vax movement ever so slightly even less than state bodies, although it's a battle of transparent bullshit at this stage.

The best source of information I've found to date is on the Integrity Ireland homepage man.

This is their data:



It's just correlation though. That is just excess deaths vaguely mapped to vaccine rollout, but with no indication of whether those who died had been vaccinated or not. In January 2021, not all nursing home residents were all of a sudden vaccinated in one fell swoop. It took time to rollout, so there were still many unvaccinated in January 2021. What anyone interested in understanding the links would need to show first and foremost is what percentage of those excess nursing home deaths were due to infection. Notably they omit the data you can easily find here, which shows a huge spike in COVID deaths in January-March 2021:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/ireland/

So, "integrity", not really; pushing a narrative just like everyone else, and hiding the most relevant data in order to do so.

[son of the Morrigan]

Without a source, I'm afraid I can't take those figures as currency. And even with a source, VAERS is not reliable since it's an open platform that anybody can submit information to. That means it has the opposite problem of what you're rightly criticizing the HPRA for. But I would be interested to know where your figures came from, since I can't readily find them, and I trust the anti-vax movement ever so slightly even less than state bodies, although it's a battle of transparent bullshit at this stage.

The best source of information I've found to date is on the Integrity Ireland homepage man.

This is their data:



It's just correlation though. That is just excess deaths vaguely mapped to vaccine rollout, but with no indication of whether those who died had been vaccinated or not. In January 2021, not all nursing home residents were all of a sudden vaccinated in one fell swoop. It took time to rollout, so there were still many unvaccinated in January 2021. What anyone interested in understanding the links would need to show first and foremost is what percentage of those excess nursing home deaths were due to infection. Notably they omit the data you can easily find here, which shows a huge spike in COVID deaths in January-March 2021:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/ireland/

So, "integrity", not really; pushing a narrative just like everyone else, and hiding the most relevant data in order to do so.

You have either intentionally, to push your own narrative, or unwittingly, not gone to the data analytica section I directed you to at all, which is simply a database of international vaccine injury reports linked to the official sources, which is what you were looking for.

[son of the Morrigan]

Boyz the Astfgyl homage is touching but even he never went over the 5 paragraph threshold.

, somebody had to fill the void left by astfgyl or these cunts would do themselves an injury slapping one anothers backs while telling themselves how clever and unerringly right they always are.
A bit of balance is required.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

You have either intentionally, to push your own narrative, or unwittingly, not gone to the data analytica section I directed you to at all, which is simply a database of international vaccine injury reports linked to the official sources, which is what you were looking for.

This is where I ended up, and it's called "data analytica", so I presume it's the right place:
http://www.data-analytica.org/database.htm

That's where I got that graph from. I don't see any international data though.

I got there from here:
http://www.integrityireland.ie/page62.html

Oh wait, found it, finally:
http://www.data-analytica.org/page2.htm

Well, that would take ages to go through. But since they omitted crucial relevant data from the Irish case, why would I presume they can be trusted to properly collate and cross-reference US or EU data?? There's only so many hours in the day!