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It's all very well lauding Israel's achievements in fighting COVID-19, however, if we fail to recognize that the world is akin to a small village, we do so at our peril.Opinion | #coronavirus | #Omicron [_link]— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) November 30, 2021
It's all very well lauding Israel's achievements in fighting COVID-19, however, if we fail to recognize that the world is akin to a small village, we do so at our peril.Opinion | #coronavirus | #Omicron [_link]
The #Omicron coronavirus variant detected in southern Africa could be the most likely candidate to displace the highly contagious #Delta variant, the director of South Africa's communicable disease institute said on Tuesday. [_link]— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) November 30, 2021
The #Omicron coronavirus variant detected in southern Africa could be the most likely candidate to displace the highly contagious #Delta variant, the director of South Africa's communicable disease institute said on Tuesday. [_link]
Indeed, US press duly noted that Joe's ban of travel to and from the 7 (or 8) "hot spots" excludes US citizens. Evidently, Joe's experts are unconcerned about the virulence (transmissibility or "grave danger") of their EXPOSURE to either this SARS-CoV-2 variant or any other variant. I idly wonder though, when the feds will reveal the mandate to quarantine those repatriated Americans at US military bases for an unspecified period.
archived Fri Mar 6th, 2020
Dr @mvankerkhove gives an update on #COVID19 virus variant B.1.1.529, during the #AskWHO session on 25 November 2021 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ZpflfEYzW9— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) November 25, 2021
Dr @mvankerkhove gives an update on #COVID19 virus variant B.1.1.529, during the #AskWHO session on 25 November 2021 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ZpflfEYzW9
The government's Authority for Privacy told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee it is questionable whether using the Shin Bet is justified for tracking citizens infected by the new coronavirus #OmicronVariant.Report by @jeremybob1 [_link]— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) November 30, 2021
The government's Authority for Privacy told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee it is questionable whether using the Shin Bet is justified for tracking citizens infected by the new coronavirus #OmicronVariant.Report by @jeremybob1 [_link]
Heute ist ein 4-jähriger an covid gestorben. Im übrigen allein, weil die Mutter von der Behörde abgesondert wurde und nicht mit ins Spital durfte. DAS ist einfach nur mehr unmenschlich. [_link]— @anna_thalhammer (@anna_thalhammer) December 1, 2021
Heute ist ein 4-jähriger an covid gestorben. Im übrigen allein, weil die Mutter von der Behörde abgesondert wurde und nicht mit ins Spital durfte. DAS ist einfach nur mehr unmenschlich. [_link]
Corona infections skyrocket after "freedom tour" of the FPÖ in Carinthia The "freedom tour" of FPÖ chairman Herbert Kickl in Carinthia at the beginning of November, which took him from Wolfsberg to Gmünd, caused heated debates. A major FPÖ event took place in Wolfsberg on November 5th. In the near future, the number of infections in the district skyrocketed; the seven-day incidence is currently over 2000, making the district the sad leader in Austria. Singer of the "Fidelen Mölltaler" died There was also material for debate after it became known that the singer of the folk music group "Die Fidelen Mölltaler", Ludwig "Lucky" Ladstätter, died on Monday after a two-week fight against Corona in the Wolfsberg hospital. He had also attended the FPÖ event, as shown by a photo of him with Kickl, which he himself posted on Instagram. According to information from Kabeg, the state hospital in Wolfsberg is working at full capacity. Since all hospitals in the state cooperate with intensive care patients, the question of whether the intensive care unit in Wolfsberg is overloaded cannot be answered that way. 57 people in Carinthia are currently receiving intensive medical care due to corona.
The "freedom tour" of FPÖ chairman Herbert Kickl in Carinthia at the beginning of November, which took him from Wolfsberg to Gmünd, caused heated debates. A major FPÖ event took place in Wolfsberg on November 5th. In the near future, the number of infections in the district skyrocketed; the seven-day incidence is currently over 2000, making the district the sad leader in Austria.
Singer of the "Fidelen Mölltaler" died
There was also material for debate after it became known that the singer of the folk music group "Die Fidelen Mölltaler", Ludwig "Lucky" Ladstätter, died on Monday after a two-week fight against Corona in the Wolfsberg hospital. He had also attended the FPÖ event, as shown by a photo of him with Kickl, which he himself posted on Instagram.
According to information from Kabeg, the state hospital in Wolfsberg is working at full capacity. Since all hospitals in the state cooperate with intensive care patients, the question of whether the intensive care unit in Wolfsberg is overloaded cannot be answered that way. 57 people in Carinthia are currently receiving intensive medical care due to corona.
#CoronaInfoCHTroisième cas d'infection au variant Omicron confirmé en Suisse. La personne est isolée et ses contacts sont en quarantaine.— BAG - OFSP - UFSP (@BAG_OFSP_UFSP) December 1, 2021
#CoronaInfoCHTroisième cas d'infection au variant Omicron confirmé en Suisse. La personne est isolée et ses contacts sont en quarantaine.
The in Basel known Omikron-Fall is it a 19 year old high school student. He is a student at the Kirschgarten High School. The source of infection is unknown and it has no travel activity given in advance, informs the Basel health department. Of the fully vaccinated high school student have mild symptoms, it was said. The case was discovered with the regular mass testing in schools. The subsequent individual test was sequenced and the omicron virus was confirmed. During the contagious period he was in contact with his class as well as with the choir and orchestra with whom he had a performance last week. The contact tracing team has informed the school management, parents and other private contact persons of the student. Around 100 people have to be in quarantine for ten days.
During the contagious period he was in contact with his class as well as with the choir and orchestra with whom he had a performance last week. The contact tracing team has informed the school management, parents and other private contact persons of the student. Around 100 people have to be in quarantine for ten days.
UK Health Services
A matter of National Security. 'Sapere aude'
No cream. No sugar.
Vaccination rate vs death rate in EU countries.https://t.co/Dz4gRCVVYm pic.twitter.com/bs05kNsF8y— Peter Lawrey (@PeterLawrey) November 24, 2021
Vaccination rate vs death rate in EU countries.https://t.co/Dz4gRCVVYm pic.twitter.com/bs05kNsF8y
She noted that "if you look at the numbers we have now, 77% of the adults in the European Union vaccinated, or if you take the whole population, it's 66% -- and this means one-third of the European population is not vaccinated, these are 150 million people". [...] While the European Commission pre-purchased Covid vaccines for use in the EU, von der Leyen emphasised that the individual countries had the responsibility on how their vaccination programmes were done.
It's also a conjugate vaccine, which have been in use almost 100 years now. So it's a pretty well known technology. Apparently the Cubans have also vaccinated close to two million kids with their vaccine since summer, and it seems to be both safe and effective.
And this is according to Nature. I doubt the sciency stuff doesn't matter, when we have "values" to defend.
Big Pharma and anthrax scare or anti-terror in general
Postal Anthrax Aftermath: Has Biodefense Spending Made Us Safer? | Scientific American - Nov. 1, 2008 |
NIAID director Anthony S. Fauci set an ambitious goal.
From Covid-19 vaccine mix-up between AstraZeneca and Pfizer BioNTech production ...
Emergent BioSolutions anthrax attacks in the United States. ... budget more typical of some big pharmaceutical companies. 'Sapere aude'
Cuba's bet on home-grown COVID vaccines is paying off: Preprint data show that a three-dose combo of Soberana jabs has 92.4% efficacy in clinical trials
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Cuba decided not to wait on the rest of the world to develop vaccines. The United States' 60-year-old economic embargo against the country, which prevents US-made products from being exported there, would make it difficult for Cuba to acquire vaccines and therapies, researchers and officials knew. "It was best, for protecting our population, to be independent," says Vicente Vérez Bencomo, director-general of the Finlay Institute of Vaccines in Havana. So the Finlay Institute and Cuba's other state-run biotechnology centres started developing their own COVID-19 vaccines in the hope that at least one of them would be effective. Their bet seems to be paying off: in a 6 November preprint published on medRxiv1, Vérez Bencomo and his colleagues report that one of the institute's vaccines, Soberana 02, is more than 90% effective in protecting against symptomatic COVID-19 infection when used in combination with a related vaccine. Importantly, the combination seems to be effective against the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which has caused surges in hospitalizations and death across the world and now accounts for nearly all COVID-19 cases in Cuba
So the Finlay Institute and Cuba's other state-run biotechnology centres started developing their own COVID-19 vaccines in the hope that at least one of them would be effective. Their bet seems to be paying off: in a 6 November preprint published on medRxiv1, Vérez Bencomo and his colleagues report that one of the institute's vaccines, Soberana 02, is more than 90% effective in protecting against symptomatic COVID-19 infection when used in combination with a related vaccine. Importantly, the combination seems to be effective against the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which has caused surges in hospitalizations and death across the world and now accounts for nearly all COVID-19 cases in Cuba
As an aside, WHO is forecasting a shortage of syringes so it's completely pointless to stockpile vaccines that will only sit there and rot. Which would be par for the course since historically ~50% of vaccines sent to the Third World pass their 'Use By' date due to logistic barriers. She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
Namaste, the unroll you asked for: COVID-19 surveillance, England. The most recent 5 days (to 28 Nov)... [_link] Enjoy :) 🤖— Thread Reader App (@threadreaderapp) December 2, 2021
Namaste, the unroll you asked for: COVID-19 surveillance, England. The most recent 5 days (to 28 Nov)... [_link] Enjoy :) 🤖
Thanks @StephenAtHome for the wonderful satire. 23 countries currently reporting and many more to come, yet Africa, home to #vaccineInequity is being further devastated economically & socially by travel bans. The Global North has a lot of introspecting to do. #Shame pic.twitter.com/2peRS6M2kD— Marc Mendelson (@SouthAfricanASP) December 1, 2021
Thanks @StephenAtHome for the wonderful satire. 23 countries currently reporting and many more to come, yet Africa, home to #vaccineInequity is being further devastated economically & socially by travel bans. The Global North has a lot of introspecting to do. #Shame pic.twitter.com/2peRS6M2kD
Thanks @CTVNews for opportunity to discuss what we know about #Omicron in 🇿🇦 here & now (not enough yet ) & the damage the #TravelBans are doing to southern 🌍. Hope that 🇨🇦 will also reflect on vaccine hoarding & #VaccineInequity @satsa_sa @paimadhu . [_link]— Marc Mendelson (@SouthAfricanASP) December 2, 2021
Thanks @CTVNews for opportunity to discuss what we know about #Omicron in 🇿🇦 here & now (not enough yet ) & the damage the #TravelBans are doing to southern 🌍. Hope that 🇨🇦 will also reflect on vaccine hoarding & #VaccineInequity @satsa_sa @paimadhu . [_link]
COVID-19: Omicron can evade some immunity, not all, data from South Africa shows 'Sapere aude'
South Africa 🇿🇦 into its 4th wave 🌊As Gauteng surges, with other provinces now following, case incidence across SA now above 8.8 new cases per 100k and test positivity above 12% 🚩Based on previous experience, have breached tipping points or thresholds for sustained increase pic.twitter.com/XlwbmQ5yR8— Ridhwaan Suliman (@rid1tweets) December 2, 2021
South Africa 🇿🇦 into its 4th wave 🌊As Gauteng surges, with other provinces now following, case incidence across SA now above 8.8 new cases per 100k and test positivity above 12% 🚩Based on previous experience, have breached tipping points or thresholds for sustained increase pic.twitter.com/XlwbmQ5yR8
Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant: a new chapter in the COVID-19 pandemic | The Lancet | The first sequenced omicron case was reported from Botswana on Nov 11, 2021, and a few days later another sequenced case was reported from Hong Kong in a traveller from South Africa. Several sequences from South Africa followed, after initial identification that the new variant was associated with an S-gene target failure on a specific PCR assay because of a 69-70del deletion, similar to that observed with the alpha variant. The earliest known case of omicron in South Africa was a patient diagnosed with COVID-19 on Nov 9, 2021, although it is probable that there were unidentified cases in several countries across the world before then. In South Africa, the mean number of 280 COVID-19 cases per day in the week before the detection of omicron increased to 800 cases per day in the following week, partly attributed to increased surveillance. COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly in the Gauteng province of South Africa; the early doubling time in the fourth wave is higher than that of the previous three waves (figure).
The first sequenced omicron case was reported from Botswana on Nov 11, 2021, and a few days later another sequenced case was reported from Hong Kong in a traveller from South Africa.
Several sequences from South Africa followed, after initial identification that the new variant was associated with an S-gene target failure on a specific PCR assay because of a 69-70del deletion, similar to that observed with the alpha variant.
The earliest known case of omicron in South Africa was a patient diagnosed with COVID-19 on Nov 9, 2021, although it is probable that there were unidentified cases in several countries across the world before then. In South Africa, the mean number of 280 COVID-19 cases per day in the week before the detection of omicron increased to 800 cases per day in the following week, partly attributed to increased surveillance.
COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly in the Gauteng province of South Africa; the early doubling time in the fourth wave is higher than that of the previous three waves (figure).
Omicron vs. Delta: Comparing COVID's most worrisome variants Emergence Delta: First identified in India in December 2020, Delta is presumed to have come from someone whose immune system was suppressed, perhaps due to medications or an illness such as HIV/AIDS.
Emergence
Delta: First identified in India in December 2020, Delta is presumed to have come from someone whose immune system was suppressed, perhaps due to medications or an illness such as HIV/AIDS.
Progressive Increase in Virulence of Novel SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Ontario, Canada The period from February to June 2021 was one during which initial wild-type SARS-CoV-2 strains were supplanted in Ontario, Canada, first by variants of concern (VOC) with the N501Y mutation (Alpha/B1.1.17, Beta/B.1.351 and Gamma/P.1 variants), and then by the Delta/B.1.617 variant. The increased transmissibility of these VOCs has been documented but data for increased virulence is limited. We used Ontario's COVID-19 case data to evaluate the virulence of these VOCs compared to non-VOC SARS-CoV-2 infections, as measured by risk of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death.
The period from February to June 2021 was one during which initial wild-type SARS-CoV-2 strains were supplanted in Ontario, Canada, first by variants of concern (VOC) with the N501Y mutation (Alpha/B1.1.17, Beta/B.1.351 and Gamma/P.1 variants), and then by the Delta/B.1.617 variant. The increased transmissibility of these VOCs has been documented but data for increased virulence is limited. We used Ontario's COVID-19 case data to evaluate the virulence of these VOCs compared to non-VOC SARS-CoV-2 infections, as measured by risk of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death.
Deaths are limited as gratitude for many patients already vaccinated before being infected by the Delta variant. However as I stated above, for the elderly in nursing homes, once infected by the Delta variant to mortality rate is above 20%. The Omicron mutant will be devastating for the unvaccinated group of the population: toddlers and young children under 12 years old. 'Sapere aude'
In november overleden 3500 meer mensen dan normaal | Liveblog [_link] pic.twitter.com/NSXy7huhCP— RTL Nieuws (@RTLnieuws) December 2, 2021
In november overleden 3500 meer mensen dan normaal | Liveblog [_link] pic.twitter.com/NSXy7huhCP
Many countries have started booster jabs by early September, not the Dutch. In November 3,500 excess deaths, funeral parlors can barely handle the numbers. In the province of Limburg excess deaths reached 53%, the Carnival province has the worst rate of Covid-19 infections. Dutch policy in The Hague gives priority to individual "freedom", respects rightwing anti-vaxxers and sacrifices the elderly. In 40% of the nursing homes, the Delta variant ravages the population. The anti-vaxxers makes it clear by statements the want "quality" of life and will not heed the mitigation rules in society. The anonymous killers.
Translation: Do I want to add years to my life or add life to my years? Do I want to grow old safely for the rest of my life, or do I want to be able to go outside in freedom with all the risks that life has in store for me?
Do I want to grow old safely for the rest of my life, or do I want to be able to go outside in freedom with all the risks that life has in store for me?
A$$hole ... who gives a sh*t about you when you don't care about a large group in society. Wish you a fun ending.
Booster jabs with Belgium compared ... 15.6% to the Netherlands 1.5% 'Sapere aude'
In South Africa, in the week since it alerted the world of the new Covid variant, infections have spread faster than in the country's three previous waves. Wassila Jassat, from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), said: "We've seen quite a sharp increase across all age groups, particularly in the under fives," referring to hospitalisations.
#gauteng #omriconsees rapid rise in Covid-19 infections, younger people hospitalised [_link] via @TimesLIVE— moonman (@malayali6) December 3, 2021
#gauteng #omriconsees rapid rise in Covid-19 infections, younger people hospitalised [_link] via @TimesLIVE
This week has seen huge Covid case growth in RSA, centered around #Gauteng, evidencing accelerating, exponential spread. [_link]— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) December 3, 2021
This week has seen huge Covid case growth in RSA, centered around #Gauteng, evidencing accelerating, exponential spread. [_link]
Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 harbors a unique insertion mutation of putative viral or human genomic origin The emergence of a heavily mutated SARS-CoV-2 variant (B.1.1.529, Omicron) and it's spread to 6 continents within a week of initial discovery has set off a global public health alarm. Characterizing the mutational profile of Omicron is necessary to interpret its shared or distinctive clinical phenotypes with other SARS-CoV-2 variants. We compared the mutations of Omicron with prior variants of concern (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta), variants of interest (Lambda, Mu, Eta, Iota and Kappa), and all 1523 SARS-CoV-2 lineages constituting 5.4 million SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Omicron's Spike protein has 26 amino acid mutations (23 substitutions, two deletions and one insertion) that are distinct compared to other variants of concern. Whereas the substitution and deletion mutations have appeared in previous SARS-CoV-2 lineages, the insertion mutation (ins214EPE) has not been previously observed in any SARS-CoV-2 lineage other than Omicron. The nucleotide sequence encoding for ins214EPE could have been acquired by template switching involving the genomes of other viruses that infect the same host cells as SARS-CoV-2 or the human transcriptome of host cells infected with SARS-CoV-2. For instance, given recent clinical reports of co-infections in COVID-19 patients with seasonal coronaviruses (e.g. HCoV-229E), single cell RNA-sequencing data showing co-expression of the SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-229E entry receptors (ACE2 and ANPEP) in respiratory and gastrointestinal cells, and HCoV genomes harboring sequences phomologous to the nucleotide sequence that encodes ins214EPE, it is plausible that the Omicron insertion could have evolved in a co-infected individual. There is a need to understand the function of the Omicron insertion and whether human host cells are being exploited by SARS-CoV-2 as an 'evolutionary sandbox' for host-virus and inter-viral genomic interplay.
The emergence of a heavily mutated SARS-CoV-2 variant (B.1.1.529, Omicron) and it's spread to 6 continents within a week of initial discovery has set off a global public health alarm. Characterizing the mutational profile of Omicron is necessary to interpret its shared or distinctive clinical phenotypes with other SARS-CoV-2 variants.
We compared the mutations of Omicron with prior variants of concern (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta), variants of interest (Lambda, Mu, Eta, Iota and Kappa), and all 1523 SARS-CoV-2 lineages constituting 5.4 million SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Omicron's Spike protein has 26 amino acid mutations (23 substitutions, two deletions and one insertion) that are distinct compared to other variants of concern. Whereas the substitution and deletion mutations have appeared in previous SARS-CoV-2 lineages, the insertion mutation (ins214EPE) has not been previously observed in any SARS-CoV-2 lineage other than Omicron. The nucleotide sequence encoding for ins214EPE could have been acquired by template switching involving the genomes of other viruses that infect the same host cells as SARS-CoV-2 or the human transcriptome of host cells infected with SARS-CoV-2.
For instance, given recent clinical reports of co-infections in COVID-19 patients with seasonal coronaviruses (e.g. HCoV-229E), single cell RNA-sequencing data showing co-expression of the SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-229E entry receptors (ACE2 and ANPEP) in respiratory and gastrointestinal cells, and HCoV genomes harboring sequences phomologous to the nucleotide sequence that encodes ins214EPE, it is plausible that the Omicron insertion could have evolved in a co-infected individual. There is a need to understand the function of the Omicron insertion and whether human host cells are being exploited by SARS-CoV-2 as an 'evolutionary sandbox' for host-virus and inter-viral genomic interplay.
Anecdotal reports and vacuous inanities from the Infotainment Mediums should be treated with extreme skepticism. When they are right it's either by happenstance or the fact a stopped 12 hour clock is accurate twice a day. She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
Getting Delta déjà vu with #Omicron... pic.twitter.com/0kpLxDb2tC— Radical Centrist, wrathful tantric deity (@RadCentrism) December 3, 2021
Getting Delta déjà vu with #Omicron... pic.twitter.com/0kpLxDb2tC
The Delta/ B.1.617.2 genome has 13 mutations (15 or 17 according to some sources, depending on whether more common mutations are included) which produce alterations in the amino-acid sequences of the proteins it encodes.
Press release: Vaccines highly effective against B.1.617.2 variant after 2 doses | UK Gov - May 22, 2021 | New study by PHE shows for the first time that 2 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against the B.1.617.2 variant first identified in India. The study found that, for the period from 5 April to 16 May: the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant 2 weeks after the second dose, compared to 93% effectiveness against the B.1.1.7 variant 2 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were 60% effective against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant compared to 66% effectiveness against the B.1.1.7 variant
New study by PHE shows for the first time that 2 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against the B.1.617.2 variant first identified in India.
The study found that, for the period from 5 April to 16 May:
Let's recap evolution of broadcast "threat" levels: about one week after South African beta collided with UK alpha, two weeks into First World BioNTech-Pfizer/Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine launch, and six months before 2021's delta-branded "wave" eliminated the 2020 variants of interest and concern.
ecdc | Rapid increase of a SARS-CoV-2 varient with multiple spike protein mutations observed in the United Kingdom, 20 Dec 2020
Over the last few weeks, the United Kingdom (UK) has faced a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in South East England, leading to enhanced epidemiological and virological investigations. Analysis of viral genome sequence data identified a large proportion of cases belonged to a new single pylogenetic cluster. The new variant is defined by [9] spike protein mutations (deletion 69-70, deletion 144, N501Y, 4570D, D614G, P681H, T716I, 6982A, D1118H) present as well as mutations in other genomic regions. While it is known and expected that virus constantly change through mutation leading to the emergence of new variants, preliminary analysis in the UK suggests that this variant is significantly more transmissible than previously circulating variants, with an estimated potential to increase the reproductive number (R) by 0.4 or greater with an estimated increased transmissibility of up to 70%. This new variant has emerged at a time of the year when there has traditionally been increased family and social mixing. There is no indication at this point of increased infection severity associated with the new variant. A few cases with the new variant have to date been reported by Denmark and the Netherlands and, according to media reports, in Belgium.
Finally, there is the issue where if 20A.EU1 did expand to >20% global frequency, it would be confusing to relabel it from 20A.EU1 to, for example, 20E. Consequently, we propose an updated [nomenclature] strategy, where major (year-letter) clades are named when any of the following criteria are hit: A clade reaches >20% global frequency for 2 or more months A clade reaches >30% regional frequency for 2 or more months A VOC (`variant of concern') is recognized (applies currently to 501Y.V1 and 501Y.V220B , GISAID clade GR, lineage B.1.1.7. Phylogenetic analysis (Figure 4) reveals that there are very few intermediary forms between this variant and other circulating viruses reported to GISAID. The cluster differs by 29 nucleotide substitutions from the original Wuhan strain ["pre-alpha"], which is higher than current molecular clock estimates of around two substitutions per genome per month
Consequently, we propose an updated [nomenclature] strategy, where major (year-letter) clades are named when any of the following criteria are hit:
Moreover, given last weeks announcement of brand "omicron"--while C.1.2 (May 2020) doubtless slowly mutated as it circulated worldwide by commercial transit. Patent "outbreak" headlines and talking points a triggered by foregone conclusions to limited laboratory "detection" established place: global frequency >20%--absolute count over time--not newly "discovered" cases.
What irks me isn't so much errors in pseudo-scientific theory and practice , but the arrogance of First World "leadership" in pursuit of totally perverse domination.
Who is the Omicron variant's patient zero? Detected for ["]the first time["] in South Africa, the variant formally known as B.1.1.529 sparked immediate concern in the international community. Indeed, Omicron's unprecedented number of mutations - more than 30 compared with the original strain of this coronavirus - present two potential threats: that it could be particularly contagious and that it might prove resistant to existing ["]vaccines["]. While governments around the world have set out to bolster restrictions to stem Omicron's spread, scientists have set about tracing the origins of the "super mutant" variant to understand how it came into being. Among the theories put forward, some researchers are looking at mutations that appeared in one infected patient with a compromised immune system. Over the course of several months, they have studied the effect of a possible link between the emergence of variants of the highest concern [VOHC] and immune systems weakened in patients who are, for example, suffering from [CHF, COPD, diabetes I-III, herpes I-IV, MS, malaria, TB, obesity, etc], cancers [chemo drugs], waiting for an organ transplant [ACE inhibitors] or living with untreated HIV [?!]...
While governments around the world have set out to bolster restrictions to stem Omicron's spread, scientists have set about tracing the origins of the "super mutant" variant to understand how it came into being.
Among the theories put forward, some researchers are looking at mutations that appeared in one infected patient with a compromised immune system. Over the course of several months, they have studied the effect of a possible link between the emergence of variants of the highest concern [VOHC] and immune systems weakened in patients who are, for example, suffering from [CHF, COPD, diabetes I-III, herpes I-IV, MS, malaria, TB, obesity, etc], cancers [chemo drugs], waiting for an organ transplant [ACE inhibitors] or living with untreated HIV [?!]...
It is not the first time that South Africa has detected a new Covid-19 variant before anywhere else. Prior to the Omicron variant, two others had been dubbed "South African" variants before those names were changed; first, the Beta variant and then C.1.2.
"But that can be explained, first of all, by the fact that the country conducts a lot of sequencing, which is what enables it to identify variants on its soil," Maréchal explained. "It doesn't necessarily mean that the patient zero (of the Omicron variant) is in South Africa."
China has not detected such cases so far except in Hong Kong. Its health authority said the country will stick to its current anti-COVID strategy of preventing imported cases and a domestic resurgence, noting that such an approach is also effective against Omicron. "No matter how the virus mutates, it is still the novel coronavirus," said Zhang Wenhong, head of the Center for Infectious Diseases at the Shanghai-based Huashan Hospital of Fudan University. [...] All the local clustered cases in the COVID-19 resurgence since mid-October in China originated from overseas. The resurgence has spread to more than 20 provincial-level regions at its peak. When dealing with these imported Delta variant cases, most regions managed to contain the outbreak within an incubation period of about 14 days. Aiming to contain an outbreak within an incubation period, relevant Chinese agencies have been making full use of the "golden period," the first 24 hours of a discovered case, to find those who were in close contact, isolate potentially infected individuals before the virus spreads, or before the infected person can transmit the virus. [...] Immediately after the three cases were reported, authorities there activated an emergency response. The local government ordered epidemiological investigators to arrive at the scene within two hours, complete the core investigations within four hours, and finish the epidemiological reports within 24 hours.
When dealing with these imported Delta variant cases, most regions managed to contain the outbreak within an incubation period of about 14 days. Aiming to contain an outbreak within an incubation period, relevant Chinese agencies have been making full use of the "golden period," the first 24 hours of a discovered case, to find those who were in close contact, isolate potentially infected individuals before the virus spreads, or before the infected person can transmit the virus. [...] Immediately after the three cases were reported, authorities there activated an emergency response. The local government ordered epidemiological investigators to arrive at the scene within two hours, complete the core investigations within four hours, and finish the epidemiological reports within 24 hours.
Under a scenario of 90% population immunity against previous variants, we get the following picture where Omicron could lie anywhere along the dashed line ranging from an intrinsic R0 of 3 and 83% immune escape to an intrinsic R0 of 9 and 20% immune escape. 14/18 pic.twitter.com/nh2CzoL0L4— Trevor Bedford (@trvrb) December 1, 2021
Under a scenario of 90% population immunity against previous variants, we get the following picture where Omicron could lie anywhere along the dashed line ranging from an intrinsic R0 of 3 and 83% immune escape to an intrinsic R0 of 9 and 20% immune escape. 14/18 pic.twitter.com/nh2CzoL0L4
But anything about severity is stage two: Wouldn't want to make the Dow cry by closing airports.
"We need to somehow figure out that all of us are either in this together or we're not. You cannot have a pandemic in part of the world and not in others.And for the record, we're very much in the middle of this pandemic."-@mvankerkhove at the @WHO #COVID19 briefing last week pic.twitter.com/bM6SO0SLHE— Global Health Strategies (@GHS) December 4, 2021
"We need to somehow figure out that all of us are either in this together or we're not. You cannot have a pandemic in part of the world and not in others.And for the record, we're very much in the middle of this pandemic."-@mvankerkhove at the @WHO #COVID19 briefing last week pic.twitter.com/bM6SO0SLHE
UK's progress on Covid now squandered, warns top scientist
The emergence of the Omicron variant shows that the world is "closer to the start of the pandemic than the end", one of Britain's most senior scientific figures has warned, as he lamented a lack of political leadership over Covid. 'Sapere aude'
Having treated more than one unvaccinated protester over recent months, I can tell you that their hubris evaporates when they realise they are having trouble breathing. #Covid19Vic #Covid19Aus [_link][— Stephen Parnis (@SParnis) December 4, 2021
Having treated more than one unvaccinated protester over recent months, I can tell you that their hubris evaporates when they realise they are having trouble breathing. #Covid19Vic #Covid19Aus [_link][
"Quality of life remains compromised in patients even with initially mild COVID-19"[_link]— ɪᴀɴ ᴍ. ᴍᴀᴄᴋᴀʏ, ᴘʜᴅ 🦠🤧🧬🥼🦟🧻🧙♂️ (@MackayIM) December 4, 2021
"Quality of life remains compromised in patients even with initially mild COVID-19"[_link]
We're grateful to support @tuliodna, @houzhou and their team with top class viral analysis tools and the metagenomic databases of Genome Detective. We are very impressed by the results they keep producing! [_link]— Genome Detective (@genomedetective) December 3, 2021
We're grateful to support @tuliodna, @houzhou and their team with top class viral analysis tools and the metagenomic databases of Genome Detective. We are very impressed by the results they keep producing! [_link]
I am agreeing with my good friend @christian_happi ! We, Africa, should have put the U.K. on red list months ago! They had >40,000 cases a day and today the UK put #Nigeria on the red list for 27 cases of #Omicron! is that global or colonialism and racist Britain?— Tulio de Oliveira (@Tuliodna) December 4, 2021
I am agreeing with my good friend @christian_happi ! We, Africa, should have put the U.K. on red list months ago! They had >40,000 cases a day and today the UK put #Nigeria on the red list for 27 cases of #Omicron! is that global or colonialism and racist Britain?
Racism & discrimination is getting out of hand (La Tribuna, Spain). Specially as over 80% of the initial COVID intro in South Africa came from Europe - Tegally et al Nature Medicine 2021. Is not time to stop the discrimination and face this global epidemic together? pic.twitter.com/DmWWJKcmmT— Tulio de Oliveira (@Tuliodna) December 5, 2021
Racism & discrimination is getting out of hand (La Tribuna, Spain). Specially as over 80% of the initial COVID intro in South Africa came from Europe - Tegally et al Nature Medicine 2021. Is not time to stop the discrimination and face this global epidemic together? pic.twitter.com/DmWWJKcmmT
In Germany @rheinpfalz tells their readers that the virus from Africa has arrived. What does this even mean?! We must push back against this racist, discriminatory and xenophobic narrative. #OmicronVariant has its roots in inequity & injustice - let's not add insult to injury! pic.twitter.com/kfvLf8rFEp— Dr. Ayoade Alakija (@yodifiji) December 3, 2021
In Germany @rheinpfalz tells their readers that the virus from Africa has arrived. What does this even mean?! We must push back against this racist, discriminatory and xenophobic narrative. #OmicronVariant has its roots in inequity & injustice - let's not add insult to injury! pic.twitter.com/kfvLf8rFEp
12) key - notice how hospital admissions are increasing ⬆️ in children and young men (compared to the previous wave) while are decreasing in older age-groups. Young people are least vaccinated - the surge is hitting unvaxxed young people hard. (HT @Antonio_Caramia) pic.twitter.com/CgMlvYlUaL— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) December 6, 2021
12) key - notice how hospital admissions are increasing ⬆️ in children and young men (compared to the previous wave) while are decreasing in older age-groups. Young people are least vaccinated - the surge is hitting unvaxxed young people hard. (HT @Antonio_Caramia) pic.twitter.com/CgMlvYlUaL
Scientists find 'stealth' version of Omicron that may be harder to track [_link]— The Guardian (@guardian) December 7, 2021
Scientists find 'stealth' version of Omicron that may be harder to track [_link]
Omicron Covid variant is 'already everywhere', WHO says 'Sapere aude'
Moeilijk voor te stellen: De gevolgen van Delta zónder vaccinatieprogramma. [_link] pic.twitter.com/8HExWwuf4O— Ruben van Gaalen (@rubenivangaalen) December 5, 2021
Moeilijk voor te stellen: De gevolgen van Delta zónder vaccinatieprogramma. [_link] pic.twitter.com/8HExWwuf4O
The people that jumped down Chris Murray's throat about the superflu and that posit a frequent superantigenic infection isn't harmful are wrong.HIV's sag is implicated in a dementia, no?You guys lack scientific imagination or candor. idk which lolhttps://t.co/q0ID775TcU— Anthony J Leonardi, PhD, MildS (@fitterhappierAJ) December 8, 2021
The people that jumped down Chris Murray's throat about the superflu and that posit a frequent superantigenic infection isn't harmful are wrong.HIV's sag is implicated in a dementia, no?You guys lack scientific imagination or candor. idk which lolhttps://t.co/q0ID775TcU
Within the first 5 years of consultation with experts and armed with a rudimentary, secondary school education in biology, chemistry, and logic, I arrived at a conclusion, or plausible threshold, to my own risk management of malpractice by differential diagnoses: Apart from radical and cosmetic surgery and routine mechanical recovery (bone-setting and "high-risk" organ replacement), moderne medical canon is a massive collection of misplaced precision populating descriptive speculations (primary research d/b/a "peer-reviewed" publications of abstruse and unreproducible experiments with eugenically mass-produced mice populations or eugenically mass-produced human stem cells) that has not advanced prescriptive (applied research) praxis in quite a number of "knowledge domains"--be that hematology, endocrinology, neurology, cardiology, neurology, pulmonology, or more exotic, discrete organizational divisions of uhhh sociology d/b/a abnormal health professions like epidemiologists, the accountants of defective electronic public health records.
Accordingly, pharmacology dispensed to date is not well understood. Experts licensed to prescribe "therapeutic" formulae, approved for consumption by proprietors of government buildings, rarely encounter much less acknowledge the clinical consequences of their "bioethics" (duly noted by dearly departed Dr. MarketTrustee, my Robert). Much of analog isolated compounds, or mRNA classified, chemistry, is palliative and transitory in their effects d/b/a "disease modulating" chemistry AKA synthetic catalytic conversions expected to replace adverse chemical interactions and "normalized" homeostasis, which is not well understood either. IOW, complex interactions expressed by an "essentialized" schema of What we know about elements associated with regulation of "immune system" DNA organisms that metabolize RNA products.
atm, I hesitate to post an entry here describing my own experience reporting a confounding Rx reaction to combined "disease modulating" Rx1 and Rx2, because I've been advised by Drug 2 manufacturer's agent pharmacists and "nurse educators" as well my prescribing physician that no such ADR and no differential dosage "end-points" have been published, so; more important, the zeitgeist here seems to me not amenable to interrogation of units of measurement employed by experts to evaluate any pharmaceutical cost and benefit other than prescribed ineffectual SARS-CoV-2 retroviral agents d/b/a "vaccine hesitancy" and atavistic right-wing ideologues.
Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency (phmpt.org) which appears to have established a public repository for FIOA-cleared receipts of FDA embargoed safety reports, 38 pp
with, ahem, voluminous supporting documents such as aggregate COVID-19 Countermeasure Claims compiled by the US HRSA a/o 1 Oct 2021, submitted to the Nevada Board of Health by an illegible signature, 359 pp
Infected, Vaccinated, or Both: How Protected Am I From COVID? Are Antibodies Different After Infection Compared to Vaccination? Yes. And researchers don't yet understand what these differences mean. It seems to come down to a question of quality versus quantity. Vaccines seem to produce higher peak antibody levels than natural infections do. But these antibodies are highly specialized, able to recognize only the parts of the virus they were designed to target. "The mRNA vaccine directs all the immune responses to the single spike protein," says Alice Cho, PhD, who is studying the differences in vaccine and infection-created immunity at The Rockefeller University in New York. "There's a lot more to respond to with a virus than there is in a vaccine." During an infection, the immune system learns to recognize and grab onto many parts of the virus, not just its spike. The job of remembering the various pieces and parts of a foreign invader, so that it can be quickly recognized and disarmed should it ever return, falls to immune cells called memory B cells. Memory B cells, in turn, make plasma cells that then crank out antibodies that are custom tailored to attach to their targets.
Are Antibodies Different After Infection Compared to Vaccination?
Yes. And researchers don't yet understand what these differences mean.
It seems to come down to a question of quality versus quantity. Vaccines seem to produce higher peak antibody levels than natural infections do. But these antibodies are highly specialized, able to recognize only the parts of the virus they were designed to target.
"The mRNA vaccine directs all the immune responses to the single spike protein," says Alice Cho, PhD, who is studying the differences in vaccine and infection-created immunity at The Rockefeller University in New York. "There's a lot more to respond to with a virus than there is in a vaccine."
During an infection, the immune system learns to recognize and grab onto many parts of the virus, not just its spike.
The job of remembering the various pieces and parts of a foreign invader, so that it can be quickly recognized and disarmed should it ever return, falls to immune cells called memory B cells.
Memory B cells, in turn, make plasma cells that then crank out antibodies that are custom tailored to attach to their targets.
33% to "more than half" of Covid patients - research is on-going - are Long Covid cases, those that the patient is still suffering the effects of the disease as much as 6 months after being "cured" (sic.) Lingering, potentially life-long, after affects of Covid-19 include heart, lung, liver, brain, and kidney damage.
Not getting vaccinated is stupid She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
We screened 3360 titles and included 112 studies with 21 different drug classes identified as influencing ACE2 activity. Ten studies were in humans and one hundred and two were in animal models. None examined ACE2 in human lungs. [...] Previous studies suggest that dysregulation of ACE2 activity in the lungs could promote early neutrophil infiltration and subsequent uncontrolled activation of the RAS.8 In mice models, acute lung injury was observed in response to SARS-CoV-1 spike protein, so it is plausible that similar responses will be observed with SARS-CoV-2.9 This is particularly problematic in organs containing high ACE2 such as the lungs as it may contribute to cytokine release syndrome (cytokine storm) and the subsequent respiratory failure that has been observed in those who have died from the disease.7 Many prescribed drugs in common use are known to mediate effects through the RAS pathway. Over 45 million of these prescriptions were issued in the UK last year alone, and of these, 15 million were for ACE inhibitors (ACE-I) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). Acting through the RAS pathway, these drugs may impact ACE2 regulation but their role in the COVID-19 pandemic is not clear. Given the number of people that are potentially on these drugs, it has caused substantial public concern and clinical uncertainty about continuation or cessation of prescribed medications during the pandemic.
If this hypothesis were to be confirmed, it could lead to a conflict regarding treatment because ACE2 reduces inflammation and has been suggested as a potential new therapy for inflammatory lung diseases, cancer, diabetes, and hypertension [...] We suggest that patients with cardiac diseases, hypertension, or diabetes, who are treated with ACE2-increasing drugs, are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 infection and, therefore, should be monitored for ACE2-modulating medications, such as ACE inhibitors or ARBs
archived sick care jobs saved or created!, commonly prescribed immune-suppressing mRNA medications not limited to ACE-inhibitors or ARBs
Mayo, common Angiotnsin 2 receptor blockers (ABRs) a/k/a angiotensin II inhibitors
Age is not "the marker" of adverse outcome of COVID-19 disease.
ACE I and ACE2 represent elemental catalysts in every human cell regardless of age.
Comorbidity d/b/a degenerative diseases, or "pre-existing conditions", is the marker-concerning secondary conditions derived from a smorgasbord of mRNA drugs d/b/a "disease modifying" therapies, or "biologics," prescribed sales staff to disrupt immune system processes and hormonal regulation associated with this one enzyme modified by SARS RNA transcription within cells.
Academic controversy (notably unsupported by trial results involving human subjects captured by commonly prescribed ACE-modifying reactions) have acknowledged, pharmacology can neither control nor predict how those (ACE-receptor) drugs intercept, counter-indicate, or interdict dominant SARS-CoV-2 "vaccines" designed to bind this one, specific receptor region...
without regard to cascading adverse reactions (documented pathology) resulting in hospitalization, morbidity, and predictable death.
AFICT, the controversial T- and B-cell leucocyte "memory" power, arising from FAILED HIV/AID cocktail marketing confirms one fact: mRNA designers have no idea what they're dealing with. They can't even express rational hypotheses pursuant to predictable viral "neutralization" by "cocktail" prescription.
Preliminary findings from the Oslo Christmas party omicron outbreak: https://t.co/QhyGlvvoQK pic.twitter.com/syU1u05zng— Lars Mølgaard Saxhaug (@load_dependent) December 9, 2021
Preliminary findings from the Oslo Christmas party omicron outbreak: https://t.co/QhyGlvvoQK pic.twitter.com/syU1u05zng
López-Otín and Judith S. Bond, "Proteases: Multifunctional Enzymes in Life and Disease" (2008)
Thus, proteases regulate the fate, localization, and activity of many proteins, modulate protein-protein interactions, create new bioactive molecules, contribute to the processing of cellular information, and generate, transduce, and amplify molecular signals. As a direct result of these multiple actions, proteases influence DNA replication and transcription, cell proliferation and differentiation, tissue morphogenesis and remodeling, heat shock and unfolded protein responses, angiogenesis, neurogenesis, ovulation, fertilization, wound repair, stem cell mobilization, hemostasis, blood coagulation, inflammation, immunity, autophagy, senescence, necrosis, and apoptosis. [...] In terms of specificity, diversity is also a common rule. Thus, some proteases exhibit an exquisite specificity toward a unique peptide bond of a single protein (e.g. angiotensin-converting enzyme); however, most proteases are relatively nonspecific for substrates, and some are overtly promiscuous and target multiple substrates in an indiscriminate manner (e.g. proteinase K). Proteases also follow different strategies to establish their appropriate location in the cellular geography and, in most cases, operate in the context of complex networks comprising distinct proteases, substrates, cofactors, inhibitors, adaptors, receptors, and binding proteins, which provide an additional level of interest but also complexity to the study of proteolytic enzymes.
Pretty sure the Ivermectin stuff is still nonsense, though. Unless you have worms when they shoot you full of steroids, then it should help.
Why uncontrolled HIV may be behind the emergence of Omicron [_link]— The Guardian (@guardian) December 11, 2021
Why uncontrolled HIV may be behind the emergence of Omicron [_link]
Covid live: booster 'significantly reduces' risk of Omicron symptoms; Taiwan detects first case of variant [_link]— The Guardian (@guardian) December 11, 2021
Covid live: booster 'significantly reduces' risk of Omicron symptoms; Taiwan detects first case of variant [_link]
The neutralizing ability of even three shots of the @Pfizer coronavirus #vaccine is four times less against the #Omicron than the Delta variant, according to researchers at Sheba Medical Center.By @MaayanJaffe [_link]— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) December 11, 2021
The neutralizing ability of even three shots of the @Pfizer coronavirus #vaccine is four times less against the #Omicron than the Delta variant, according to researchers at Sheba Medical Center.By @MaayanJaffe [_link]
U.K. reports that new omicron cases doubled in a single day and the strain is expected to become the dominant variant in the country by mid-December [_link]— Bloomberg (@business) December 12, 2021
U.K. reports that new omicron cases doubled in a single day and the strain is expected to become the dominant variant in the country by mid-December [_link]
Covid alert raised to level 4 in UK as Omicron cases surge [_link]— The Guardian (@guardian) December 12, 2021
Covid alert raised to level 4 in UK as Omicron cases surge [_link]
#OmicronVariant latest information1239 additional confirmed cases of the #Omicron variant of #COVID19 have been reported across the UK. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 Omicron cases in the UK is 3137. pic.twitter.com/vQFep3RiVe— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) December 12, 2021
#OmicronVariant latest information1239 additional confirmed cases of the #Omicron variant of #COVID19 have been reported across the UK. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 Omicron cases in the UK is 3137. pic.twitter.com/vQFep3RiVe
3,137 Omicron cases have now been reported in the UK 'Sapere aude'
The decline of vaccine effectiveness vs Omicron. Simplified (no 95% CI) summary for Pfizer vaccine vs Delta, + booster, and vs Omicron, + booster (early @UKHSA data) vs symptomatic infection.This is substantially reduced protection. And we have no data yet vs severe Covid pic.twitter.com/xqdpbqZa6e— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) December 11, 2021
The decline of vaccine effectiveness vs Omicron. Simplified (no 95% CI) summary for Pfizer vaccine vs Delta, + booster, and vs Omicron, + booster (early @UKHSA data) vs symptomatic infection.This is substantially reduced protection. And we have no data yet vs severe Covid pic.twitter.com/xqdpbqZa6e
We don't know.
Indications the unvax'ed are going to be dropping like flies. ? Possibly/Maybe? We don't know that either as of Dec 13, 2021 She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
Japan's Ministry of Health of health website encourages citizens to receive the "vaccine"; however, they stress it is not mandatory.Although we encourage all citizens to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, it is not compulsory or mandatory. Vaccination will be given only with the consent of the person to be vaccinated after the information providedIn addition, the government recommends those who are considering taking the shot carefully consider both its effectiveness and side effects.Please get vaccinated of your own decision, understanding both the effectiveness in preventing infectious diseases and the risk of side effects. No vaccination will be given without consent.Furthermore, they stress ...Please do not force anyone in your workplace or those who around youThe government even links to a "Human Rights Advice," including instructions for handling any complaints if individuals face "vaccine" discrimination at work. to be vaccinated, and do not discriminate against those who have not been vaccinated.
Although we encourage all citizens to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, it is not compulsory or mandatory. Vaccination will be given only with the consent of the person to be vaccinated after the information provided
Please get vaccinated of your own decision, understanding both the effectiveness in preventing infectious diseases and the risk of side effects. No vaccination will be given without consent.
Please do not force anyone in your workplace or those who around youThe government even links to a "Human Rights Advice," including instructions for handling any complaints if individuals face "vaccine" discrimination at work. to be vaccinated, and do not discriminate against those who have not been vaccinated.
OTOH, the US new car market has been collapsing (into the secondary market) for two decades, because of escalating MSRP (offset by manufacturers' finance ops) is beyond the reach of median HH income, where value, inventory, and preference for shitty mpg ICE vehicles converge. Moreover, average trade-in cycle ("lifespan") which ranged 4-7 years at the turn of the century is now around 12 years.
Doom of the day is strictly for American consumption
As far as cars go, they currently sell a lot. But their EV situation is pretty bad. Maybe they will catch up with South Korea, China, the US, and the EU, but they had better get going.
Pressed several times about whether a "plan C" of further restrictions would be necessary, Johnson said: "Throughout the pandemic I've been at great pains to stress to the public that we have to watch where the pandemic is going and we take whatever steps are necessary to protect public health. "We think the steps that we are taking - so plan B, combined with a hugely ambitious acceleration of the booster campaign, bringing it forward by a month so we offer a booster to every adult by the end of the year - we think that's the right approach."
"We think the steps that we are taking - so plan B, combined with a hugely ambitious acceleration of the booster campaign, bringing it forward by a month so we offer a booster to every adult by the end of the year - we think that's the right approach."
No 10 said about 750 troops have been mobilised to support the NHS with its vaccination programme, including medics, strategists and 50 military planning experts. Johnson's spokesman also insisted that people should have no worries about cancer appointments being cancelled for the vaccination programme.
WaPoo sez, Johnson says 'at least one' person has died from omicron archived world leaders in repatriations, contact, tracing, and testing Fri Jan 24th, 2020, Mon Feb 3rd, 2020
The Omicron variant could cause tens of thousands of deaths in England by the end of April if additional virus restrictions are not imposed, new modelling suggests.
Researchers said the new variant, which is expected to be more transmissible, could cause 24,000 deaths by 30 April 2022 in the most optimistic scenario and nearly 75,000 deaths in the most pessimistic scenario.
More worrisome are the long term effects of both the Covid-19 illness and the vaccines. Two children died while participating in sports ... one from a bleeding on the brain an another from heart failure 😞
In a parochial primary school in England two children died unexpectedly. My fear is this will be more common as both the illness and vaccine cause complications on a small scale, but won't go unnoticed. 'Sapere aude'
They did the exact same bullshit when Delta broke.
I stopped following the "surge" of NHS service and equipment complaints (illustrated with corridor triage gurneys) last spring, because I gave up trying to decode Guardian headlines.
Have hospital capacity and clinical prognosis improved with treatment protocol over the period? I hesitate to assume that they have, simply because the presses aren't bragging about it.
🧵The Deltavariant is absolutely RIPPING through the Dutch youth.Cases rose quickly from ECDC 'Green' to 'RED; in just 6 days.📈After that, it took Delta ONLY 3 days to push the daily number of cases from 'Red' to 'Dark Red'.🚀 pic.twitter.com/MVsuUlE9Sd— Yorick Bleijenberg (@YorickB) July 9, 2021
🧵The Deltavariant is absolutely RIPPING through the Dutch youth.Cases rose quickly from ECDC 'Green' to 'RED; in just 6 days.📈After that, it took Delta ONLY 3 days to push the daily number of cases from 'Red' to 'Dark Red'.🚀 pic.twitter.com/MVsuUlE9Sd
Reproduction factor 2.0 - highest since Feb. 2020 | July 13, 2021 | 'Sapere aude'
Systematic review of current knowledge on rate of decline of antibodies after primary vaccination schedule. [_link] Shows why boosting just before a new wave (omicron) could have strong impact pic.twitter.com/sIFzorgSVX— Marion Koopmans (@MarionKoopmans) December 13, 2021
Systematic review of current knowledge on rate of decline of antibodies after primary vaccination schedule. [_link] Shows why boosting just before a new wave (omicron) could have strong impact pic.twitter.com/sIFzorgSVX
Three charts show South Africa's Covid crisis as omicron takes hold | CNBC | 'Sapere aude'
Modelling in uncertainty, great report [_link]— Marion Koopmans (@MarionKoopmans) December 11, 2021
Modelling in uncertainty, great report [_link]
And, for those interested, here's a log scale version of the plot above:Comparison of reported #COVID19 deaths during each wave in Gauteng 🇿🇦 shown on a semi-log scale pic.twitter.com/OOIfcsgbQx— Ridhwaan Suliman (@rid1tweets) December 9, 2021
And, for those interested, here's a log scale version of the plot above:Comparison of reported #COVID19 deaths during each wave in Gauteng 🇿🇦 shown on a semi-log scale pic.twitter.com/OOIfcsgbQx
Is it turning?Early indications that confirmed #COVID19 cases and #Omicron wave in Gauteng 🇿🇦 may have reached a peak!Don't have latest provincial test numbers, but based on previous waves' trajectories, this looks promising 🤞🏽 pic.twitter.com/Nr9PrltfgL— Ridhwaan Suliman (@rid1tweets) December 12, 2021
Is it turning?Early indications that confirmed #COVID19 cases and #Omicron wave in Gauteng 🇿🇦 may have reached a peak!Don't have latest provincial test numbers, but based on previous waves' trajectories, this looks promising 🤞🏽 pic.twitter.com/Nr9PrltfgL
South African has seen none of Delta variant's lethal cytokine storm in Omicron. More good news.— Allison Pearson (@AllisonPearson) December 13, 2021
South African has seen none of Delta variant's lethal cytokine storm in Omicron. More good news.
South African Dr Angelique Coetzee discusses whether the UK has overreacted to Omicron:"As far as I know there were no cases yet of people dying related to Omicron. As long as the patients sitting in front of you have a mild disease your system will not be overrun."@JuliaHB1 pic.twitter.com/adVfkKgFxH— talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) December 13, 2021
South African Dr Angelique Coetzee discusses whether the UK has overreacted to Omicron:"As far as I know there were no cases yet of people dying related to Omicron. As long as the patients sitting in front of you have a mild disease your system will not be overrun."@JuliaHB1 pic.twitter.com/adVfkKgFxH
Please don't quote her on ET.
Just because it came across my Twitter:
If anyone heard me in the media today (Dec 13), I would like to retract any comments that suggest Omicron may cause less severe disease. A lot still unknown right now and things look like they will be MUCH worse than I thought. Watch for more news in the next 24 hrs. 1/— Jeff Kwong (@DrJeffKwong) December 13, 2021
If anyone heard me in the media today (Dec 13), I would like to retract any comments that suggest Omicron may cause less severe disease. A lot still unknown right now and things look like they will be MUCH worse than I thought. Watch for more news in the next 24 hrs. 1/
I would expect we get some indication about severity this week or the next. Letting it run wild before we have anything is pure lunacy.
Get your booster shot and be safe. I'll get mine next week.
In the meantime do not lower your guard!
6. Use #RapidTests if you must gather7. But better not to gather if there will be vulnerable people present (if they have not yet received 3 doses)8. Don't rely on vaccine certificates to keep you safeOmicron requires that we go all-out on anti-coved measures.3/3— Jeff Kwong (@DrJeffKwong) December 13, 2021
6. Use #RapidTests if you must gather7. But better not to gather if there will be vulnerable people present (if they have not yet received 3 doses)8. Don't rely on vaccine certificates to keep you safeOmicron requires that we go all-out on anti-coved measures.3/3
Lateral/rapid tests have a lag of a day or so during which you can be infectious but the test isn't sensitive enough to show it. The best option continues to be masking and distancing. And full avoidance if possible.
BOOSTER NEWSPeople aged 30 and over in England can book a COVID-19 booster vaccine from tomorrow.Boosters are absolutely crucial to topping up your immunity against Omicron, so please take up the offer ASAP. #getboosted [_link]— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) December 12, 2021
BOOSTER NEWSPeople aged 30 and over in England can book a COVID-19 booster vaccine from tomorrow.Boosters are absolutely crucial to topping up your immunity against Omicron, so please take up the offer ASAP. #getboosted [_link]
A paper in @Nature provides evidence for robust T cell memory at least one year after acute infection with SARS-CoV-2. [_link] pic.twitter.com/YmrRKee6Ak— Nature Portfolio (@NaturePortfolio) December 14, 2021
A paper in @Nature provides evidence for robust T cell memory at least one year after acute infection with SARS-CoV-2. [_link] pic.twitter.com/YmrRKee6Ak
Waning COVID super-immunity raises questions about Omicron | Nature | 'Sapere aude'
South African doctors see signs omicron is milder than delta | ABC News / AP News | According to South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases: Only about 30% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 in recent weeks have been seriously ill, less than half the rate as during the first weeks of previous pandemic waves. Average hospital stays for COVID-19 have been shorter this time - about 2.8 days compared to eight days. Just 3% of patients hospitalized recently with COVID-19 have died, versus about 20% in the country's earlier outbreaks. "At the moment, virtually everything points toward it being milder disease," Willem Hanekom, director of the Africa Health Research Institute said, citing the national institute's figures and other reports. "It's early days, and we need to get the final data. Often hospitalizations and deaths happen later, and we are only two weeks into this wave."
According to South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases:
New work from AHRI's @sigallab strongly suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 #Omicron variant escapes antibody immunity induced by the Pfizer vaccine, but that considerable immunity is retained in people who were both vaccinated & previously infected. [_link] pic.twitter.com/3phPFyKEPh— Africa Health Research Institute (@AHRI_News) December 7, 2021
New work from AHRI's @sigallab strongly suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 #Omicron variant escapes antibody immunity induced by the Pfizer vaccine, but that considerable immunity is retained in people who were both vaccinated & previously infected. [_link] pic.twitter.com/3phPFyKEPh
How do vaccines work. Explained in 3 min 37 secH/t @Xamo76 [_link]— Malgorzata (Gosia) Gasperowicz (@GosiaGasperoPhD) December 15, 2021
How do vaccines work. Explained in 3 min 37 secH/t @Xamo76 [_link]
Dr. Tedros: "Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant."
Omicron is rising rapidly in the US--3% of cases nationally, 13% in NY and NJ
Currently, the US is seeing around 120,000 new COVID cases per day, a 49 percent increase over two weeks ago. The country is averaging 66,500 hospitalizations a day, which is a 22 percent increase. For now, nearly all of the cases and hospitalizations are due to delta, but that will likely change quickly with omicron.
We should have a good idea of its virulence in about 10 to 14 days. She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
"I need to be very clear," Dr. Tedros said. "Vaccines alone will not get any country out of this crisis... It's not vaccines instead of masks. It's not vaccines instead of distancing. It's not vaccines instead of ventilation or hand hygiene. Do it all. Do it consistently. Do it well."
If the world had followed China's example instead of the US' we'd have this thing under control. She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
"Our DELTA surge is ongoing and, in fact, accelerating. And on top of that, we're going to add an OMICRON surge," said Dr. Jacob Lemieux, who monitors variants for a research collaboration led by Harvard Medical School [...] Most likely, he and other experts said at a press briefing Tuesday, an omicron surge is already under way in the United States, with the latest mutant coronavirus outpacing the nation's ability to track it
The Omnicron virus loves anti-vaxxers, red states and the very young persons across the USA.
Natural immunity after illness plus a few jabs of vaccines makes the spread of invections more difficult. Strict basic rules too are important ... humans are tired, the virus is reinvigorated ... we'll see in a few weeks or months who is winning.
The goal of herd immunity is a farce, the virus is here to stay.
The UK at it's best in the vaccination program has followed Tory preference to save the economy and don't look "stupid" to ban drinks in pubs, the English way.
#TeamVaccine or #TeamCorona? The unvaccinated are protecting #SARSCoV2. Die Ungeimpften schützen COVID. Les non vaccinés protègent du COVID. Los no vacunados protegen al #COVID19. I non vaccinati proteggono il #COVID. pic.twitter.com/FtkQ5DlpTr— Dr. Melvin Sanicas 🩺🔬 (@Vaccinologist) December 13, 2021
#TeamVaccine or #TeamCorona? The unvaccinated are protecting #SARSCoV2. Die Ungeimpften schützen COVID. Les non vaccinés protègent du COVID. Los no vacunados protegen al #COVID19. I non vaccinati proteggono il #COVID. pic.twitter.com/FtkQ5DlpTr
UK the numbers 78,610 new cases today. 'Sapere aude'
WA State GOP senator dies from COVID after repeatedly calling for Gov. Inslee's resignation due to His stringent COVID vaccination mandates. Ignorance kills. Republicans are ignorant. [_link]— Tikun Olam (@richards1052) December 19, 2021
WA State GOP senator dies from COVID after repeatedly calling for Gov. Inslee's resignation due to His stringent COVID vaccination mandates. Ignorance kills. Republicans are ignorant. [_link]
His lobby killed him ...
GOP State Senator Doug Ericksen confirms to @KIRORadio he's in rough shape with Covid. He says he's currently in El Salvador & unable to leave the country. Monoclonal antibodies not available there. He's asking House and Senate R's to find a way to get those meds to him
Why Is a Washington State Senator Lobbying for Cambodia? 'Sapere aude'
JUST IN - Democrat Senator Warren has breakthrough #COVID19, experiencing mild symptoms.— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) December 19, 2021
JUST IN - Democrat Senator Warren has breakthrough #COVID19, experiencing mild symptoms.
Early studies have shown much stronger protection after three doses, though. Early data from the UK showed effectiveness against infection with three [mRNA] doses rose back to 75 percent, from about 30 percent after two doses.
📍DEATHS BY POLITICS--The pandemic shouldn't be political, but it has become so. ➡️ In recent weeks, #COVID19 death rates in US counties that voted 80%+ for R have TRIPLED--big divergence from D counties. So tragic. #vaccinate #MaskUpAnalysis by @maolesen [_link] pic.twitter.com/aOA9MFriFO— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) December 16, 2021
📍DEATHS BY POLITICS--The pandemic shouldn't be political, but it has become so. ➡️ In recent weeks, #COVID19 death rates in US counties that voted 80%+ for R have TRIPLED--big divergence from D counties. So tragic. #vaccinate #MaskUpAnalysis by @maolesen [_link] pic.twitter.com/aOA9MFriFO
American scientist contrasts Taiwan's coronavirus cases with Florida's | Taiwan News |
Rightly so, each Florida Covid-19 death could be traced to DeSantis policy. Can't we just publish the Florida war with the DeSantis mutant? Honor where honor is due. Normally one would have to go to war to claim this number of civilian deaths ... 'Sapere aude'
Health ministry faces having to destroy millions of unused surgical masks The Dutch government will have to destroy much of its stock of 848 million face masks because it is unable to give them away during a pandemic, the Volkskrant reported on Tuesday. A recent audit of PPE gear found that the Netherlands has enough supplies of surgical masks to keep hospitals stocked for more a century and 50 years' worth of FFP2 masks.
The Dutch government will have to destroy much of its stock of 848 million face masks because it is unable to give them away during a pandemic, the Volkskrant reported on Tuesday.
A recent audit of PPE gear found that the Netherlands has enough supplies of surgical masks to keep hospitals stocked for more a century and 50 years' worth of FFP2 masks.
Price of face masks plummets following Dutch government fire sale Fleur Bakker, of the Mondmaskerfabriek, said her company had been offered boxes of masks from Lithuania for between 1.25 and 2 for a box of 50 masks via a Dutch intermediary. Further enquiries revealed that the masks were the same ones the Lithuanian firm had bought from the government's procurement agency LCH for around 0.64 per box last year.
Fleur Bakker, of the Mondmaskerfabriek, said her company had been offered boxes of masks from Lithuania for between 1.25 and 2 for a box of 50 masks via a Dutch intermediary.
Further enquiries revealed that the masks were the same ones the Lithuanian firm had bought from the government's procurement agency LCH for around 0.64 per box last year.
'Sywert van Lienden earned a lot from the import of face masks'
Making of three multi-millionaires over night. One scandal after another ... the "new" Rutte cabinet should not survive it's maiden debate ... more of the same in old wine sacks. 'Sapere aude'
Updated 🚦 maps are online!These maps aim to support the @EUCouncil recommendation on travel measures in the EU during #COVID19 pandemic.Color-blind friendly map in the next tweet.[_link] pic.twitter.com/ZbKrAj5vWN— ECDC (@ECDC_EU) December 16, 2021
Updated 🚦 maps are online!These maps aim to support the @EUCouncil recommendation on travel measures in the EU during #COVID19 pandemic.Color-blind friendly map in the next tweet.[_link] pic.twitter.com/ZbKrAj5vWN
Dutch Health Ministry: spending hundreds of millions on PPE as the elderly died from lack of protection ...
Enough Surgical Masks for A Century 'Sapere aude'
In November, the Walter Reed [Army Institute of Research] vaccine -- which would provide immunity against several different coronaviruses -- completed phase 1 human trials [n=29 after exclusions], marking an important step forward. Unlike the mRNA vaccines developed at warp speed to combat Covid-19, universal coronavirus vaccines remain several years away from distribution.
reference C-SPAN | Universal Flu Vaccine Milkin Institute panel, 2019 feat. Fauci Warren offers infectious-disease plan amid China outbreak 2020 "including a universal immunization against the flu ... to increase NIH funding by $100 billion"
archived living lab Thu Jan 30th, 2020
Research has shown that the first case from the latest outbreak "likely represented a new flare-up of the 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak due persistence of the virus in the community," WHO said Thursday. Scientists have previously documented Ebola survivors who inadvertently [?!] infected others long after they had recovered. For example, health officials have warned that the virus can persist in male survivors' semen for more than a year. [...] While the 2018-2020 pandemic [sic] marked the first time that vaccines could be given to those at risk, insecurity in rural areas prevented health workers from safely accessing many.
Scientists have previously documented Ebola survivors who inadvertently [?!] infected others long after they had recovered. For example, health officials have warned that the virus can persist in male survivors' semen for more than a year. [...] While the 2018-2020 pandemic [sic] marked the first time that vaccines could be given to those at risk, insecurity in rural areas prevented health workers from safely accessing many.
Right now, "ring" vaccination is being used. This entails vaccinating anyone who's been in contact with someone infected with Ebola, as well as all of their contacts. The reasoning behind the method isn't bad per se. But implementing it is time-consuming and challenging (problems with identifying each and every person's individual contacts) and it's not adapted to the insecurity affecting North Kivu.
archived living lab Sat May 12th, 2018 vaccines, Tue Jun 4th, 2019 Merk, Sat Aug 18th, 2018 more vaccines, Fri Mar 13th, 2020 ring vaccination
While the SpFN has yet to be tested on the omicron variant, "testing against the variants is ongoing in a ["]neutralization["] assay [FKA serological assay AKA antibody test] in the laboratory [in vitro]," the facility noted. The WRAIR went on to claim that facility scientists "remain encouraged" by early data from preclinical trials, which were published on December 16 in Science Translational Medicine, an interdisciplinary medical journal.
Researchers are now analyzing data from Phase One of human trials, but no timeline was provided. The WRAIR's protein subunit nanoparticle [FKA CRISPR substitution] vaccine works by presenting a fragment of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to one's immune system to elicit a broad, protective response. The SpFNincludes ALFQ, a vaccine adjuvant that is part of the Army Liposome Formulation (ALF) family[ [..] According to the facility, the vaccine could potentially be useful on a global scale, as it remains stable at a wide range of temperatures, unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna-developed vaccines, which require refrigeration. [...] "We need to evaluate it in the real-world setting and try to understand how does the vaccine perform in much larger numbers of individuals who have already been vaccinated with something else initially [...] or already been sick," [Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad] told the outlet in an exclusive interview.
There have been 885,499 new cases in the last 7 days.
At the moment there are ~2.8 million news cases of Covid-19 per month.
17% of US citizens are fully vaccinated, meaning fully shot and boosted. She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
Today the ministers and the OMT scientists state they won't look back, but ahead what needs to be done to mitigate the new variant no one had expected ...:taken by surprise ... Mark Rutte and Health Minister De Jong "go by the science" and specifically "monitor neighboring countries."
A very compliant main stream media, especially the nitwits of editorial teams of television channels offer no arguments to defy the caretaker cabinet. No leadership and deficient in taking courageous
One member of the OMT team argued they followed the modeling of cases, hospitalization and ICU occupancy. Science and politicians have been too optimistic and the virus mutations changed their plans. The budget for 2022 was written with the expectation the pandemic would have ended.
The scientist was aware the input for the modeling was based on inputs which were largely assumptions. No one is 100% correct ...
Indeed, the Dutch defying all odds and end at the bottom of the heap. Math, probability and stats is not on everyone's curriculum. Sometimes it appears simple math is lacking in new generations and all needs to be presented in ready to consume conclusions. Critical thinking is not part of Dutch politicians and media.
Consumers rush to do last minute shopping; Rotterdam municipality asks people to avoid center [_link]— NL Times (@NL_Times) December 18, 2021
Consumers rush to do last minute shopping; Rotterdam municipality asks people to avoid center [_link]
Netherlands to enter 4-week lockdown from Sunday: Source
From the diaries ...
Israel Data Indicates 3rd Booster Jab Pfizer | July 9, 2021 |
The Netherlands has announced a Christmas lockdown amid concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant. Non-essential shops, schools, bars, restaurants and other public venues will be closed until at least mid-January. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the restrictions were "unavoidable". It marks the strictest rules to have been announced over Omicron so far.
Non-essential shops, schools, bars, restaurants and other public venues will be closed until at least mid-January. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the restrictions were "unavoidable".
It marks the strictest rules to have been announced over Omicron so far.
City centres busy as shoppers rush to buy Christmas gifts [_link]— DutchNews.NL (@DutchNewsNL) December 18, 2021
City centres busy as shoppers rush to buy Christmas gifts [_link]
Prime Minister (not caretaker anymore) Mark Rutte starts us off. "I, we, stand here with a somber mood."(Welcome to the club, buddy)— DutchNews.NL (@DutchNewsNL) December 18, 2021
Prime Minister (not caretaker anymore) Mark Rutte starts us off. "I, we, stand here with a somber mood."(Welcome to the club, buddy)
WRONG! Is still a caretaker cabinet ... new ministers are sought and new cabinet expected in 2nd week January. 'Sapere aude'
Rutte says that there is a very difficult story to tell, so he's brought along van Dissel. (Sure, let him to do the heavy. Classic.)— DutchNews.NL (@DutchNewsNL) December 18, 2021
Rutte says that there is a very difficult story to tell, so he's brought along van Dissel. (Sure, let him to do the heavy. Classic.)
He says that over the last two years, we've seen variants create waves of infections. While the last peak is behind us (what does peak even mean anymore), the pressure on health care is still very high. And the OMT is very worried about omicron.— DutchNews.NL (@DutchNewsNL) December 18, 2021
He says that over the last two years, we've seen variants create waves of infections. While the last peak is behind us (what does peak even mean anymore), the pressure on health care is still very high. And the OMT is very worried about omicron.
Schools are closed, the whole way through, including university. He notes that they are asking education to prepare to return after the break with distancing.— DutchNews.NL (@DutchNewsNL) December 18, 2021
Schools are closed, the whole way through, including university. He notes that they are asking education to prepare to return after the break with distancing.
"Together we will come through this period," Rutte says. (Will we though?)— DutchNews.NL (@DutchNewsNL) December 18, 2021
"Together we will come through this period," Rutte says. (Will we though?)
NOS: Do you understand that people are despondant? Rutte says yes, we were totally blown away by the OMT. (Blown away, huh? People were already asking you questions on Tuesay about it being enough!)— DutchNews.NL (@DutchNewsNL) December 18, 2021
NOS: Do you understand that people are despondant? Rutte says yes, we were totally blown away by the OMT. (Blown away, huh? People were already asking you questions on Tuesay about it being enough!)
What you need to know about the rules for tomorrow: [_link]— DutchNews.NL (@DutchNewsNL) December 18, 2021
What you need to know about the rules for tomorrow: [_link]
As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies, and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection. [...] As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all - including the vulnerable - falls. We know that all populations will eventually reach herd immunity - i.e. the point at which the rate of new infections is stable - and that this can be assisted by (but is not dependent upon) a vaccine. Our goal should therefore be to minimize mortality and social harm until we reach herd immunity [!]. The most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity, is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk. We call this Focused Protection. ...
So now I know what it feels like to be the subject of a propaganda attack by my own government. Discussion and engagement would have been a better path. pic.twitter.com/p5tqigdRgg— Jay Bhattacharya (@DrJBhattacharya) December 17, 2021
So now I know what it feels like to be the subject of a propaganda attack by my own government. Discussion and engagement would have been a better path. pic.twitter.com/p5tqigdRgg
A friend from Japan writes: "I hear that Covid prevails all over the UK. Do take care."Deaths in Japan 18,000. UK 147,000. Japan's population is almost twice as large.There are more than 'cultural reasons' for this difference. It is heartbreaking, catastrophic and shameful.— John Launer (@JohnLauner) December 18, 2021
A friend from Japan writes: "I hear that Covid prevails all over the UK. Do take care."Deaths in Japan 18,000. UK 147,000. Japan's population is almost twice as large.There are more than 'cultural reasons' for this difference. It is heartbreaking, catastrophic and shameful.
From 22 December, new rules will apply for travellers from outside the EU/Schengen to the Netherlands. All passengers must present a negative test resultTravellers from very high risk areas, including the UK, must self-isolate for 10 days— UK in NL🇬🇧🇳🇱 (@ukinnl) December 18, 2021
From 22 December, new rules will apply for travellers from outside the EU/Schengen to the Netherlands. All passengers must present a negative test resultTravellers from very high risk areas, including the UK, must self-isolate for 10 days
Percentage positief en aantal testen. pic.twitter.com/FWMQKrdIxN— Yorick Bleijenberg (@YorickB) December 19, 2021
Percentage positief en aantal testen. pic.twitter.com/FWMQKrdIxN
Dutch caretaker cabinet and OMT Team surprised by serie of SARS CoV-2 variants.
Loosening too soon, ahead in Europe with economic recovery and surprising low unemployment ... a matter of priority. 'Sapere aude'
The proportion of people with immunity to Covid-19 (from infection and/or vaccination) has risen substantially, exceeding 60-80% in several serosurveys [measuring of antibody levels against infectious diseases]. "We have learned more about the manner in which Covid-19 is spread, and also now have to contend with variants of concern whose epidemiology differs from that of the ancestral strains of SARS-CoV-2. [...] "In addition, among the small proportion of symptomatic cases, testing is far from universal, since patients may not seek testing when their symptoms are mild and when testing would be burdensome and expensive. Furthermore, the SARS-CoV-2 test sensitivity is suboptimal, sometimes leading to false negative results. "The inability of the current testing strategy to identify the bulk of cases is illustrated by the high SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity rates seen across multiple provinces in serosurveys, implying that only a fraction of cases (perhaps one in 10, or even less) are ever diagnosed."
"We have learned more about the manner in which Covid-19 is spread, and also now have to contend with variants of concern whose epidemiology differs from that of the ancestral strains of SARS-CoV-2. [...] "In addition, among the small proportion of symptomatic cases, testing is far from universal, since patients may not seek testing when their symptoms are mild and when testing would be burdensome and expensive. Furthermore, the SARS-CoV-2 test sensitivity is suboptimal, sometimes leading to false negative results.
"The inability of the current testing strategy to identify the bulk of cases is illustrated by the high SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity rates seen across multiple provinces in serosurveys, implying that only a fraction of cases (perhaps one in 10, or even less) are ever diagnosed."
The U.S. is currently recording more than 1.6 million daily Covid-19 tests, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University. Many at-home antigen tests are not reported to public health authorities -- meaning millions of results from the increasingly popular [if unavailable] rapid [COVID-19] tests are likely not included in that count.
estimates that the number of infections driven by the [omicron] is doubling every two days.
Public health experts and even some lawmakers have warned for months that the U.S. needs a ["]more robust["] testing system, especially with the virus[es] likely to continue circulating well after the pandemic officially[?!] ends
"The thing that's more important than the number of tests is how fast the results come back," [The Rockefeller Foundation's Pandemic Prevention Institute pathogen surveillance director Sam] Scarpino said. "In some ways, it would be more important for us to be doing fewer [COVID-19] tests and getting them back to people faster. We're gonna have to be ready for prioritizing who gets access to those tests."
Q. When is "overcounting" fully- and triple-vaccinated persons as a never- and partially-vaccinated population politically advantageous for FDA clients and democratically elected representatives of the most ignorant, litigious nation on planet? A. When pharmaceutical prescriptions for escalating "estimates in a range" of moderate and severe COVID-19 cases is demonstrably ineffective.
Vaccine Data Gaps Point to Millions More in U.S. Who Lack Shots
"We don't have any faith in the numbers on the CDC website, and we never refer to them," [James Garrow, a spokesman for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health] said. [...] The official U.S. gap between people with just one dose and those who are fully vaccinated -- about 11 percentage points -- far outpaces other nations. The next highest gap discrepancy among G7 nations is the U.K., at 6.7 percentage points, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker. ... In the European Union, it's just 2.6 percentage points. State officials say the explanation isn't that Americans are uniquely unlikely to get a second shot but instead that the country's health system, unlike its G-7 peers, is exceptionally fragmented. Each state maintains its own set of data, some have several, and all ["]blend["] their information with data from health providers such as pharmacies and federal programs
State officials say the explanation isn't that Americans are uniquely unlikely to get a second shot but instead that the country's health system, unlike its G-7 peers, is exceptionally fragmented. Each state maintains its own set of data, some have several, and all ["]blend["] their information with data from health providers such as pharmacies and federal programs
Hours before Crow announced his diagnosis, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) revealed that they tested positive for COVID-19 breakthrough cases. Warren said she tested positive on Sunday, noting that she "regularly test[s] for COVID." She said she is experiencing mild symptoms, crediting the vaccine and booster shot for protecting her against serious illness.
Warren said she tested positive on Sunday, noting that she "regularly test[s] for COVID." She said she is experiencing mild symptoms, crediting the vaccine and booster shot for protecting her against serious illness.
1 of 6:Gauteng #Omicron update:All variables are running below projections. Cases are declining consistently. Hospital beds are peaking.Despite light restrictions, Gauteng will have 25x less deaths in this wave compared to the Delta wave. pic.twitter.com/0K55SkeuKf— pieterstreicher (@pieterstreicher) December 18, 2021
1 of 6:Gauteng #Omicron update:All variables are running below projections. Cases are declining consistently. Hospital beds are peaking.Despite light restrictions, Gauteng will have 25x less deaths in this wave compared to the Delta wave. pic.twitter.com/0K55SkeuKf
"the real problem" for the U.S. hospital system is that "we have so many people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not yet been vaccinated." differential diagnoses and inadequate clinical therapies. [...] the country has been battered by an unrelenting waveCOVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 mutations and variations that have left many Americans emotionally exhausted, dispirited and worried about infections surviving COVID-19 health care in and discharge from hospital
With the threat that rising infections could worsen the supply chain challenges facing the United States and fuel inflation, [said] Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo.
The administration is expecting a series of breakthrough [vaccine or antiviral] infections[!] with the surge of holiday travelers. Fauci said most people who have been vaccinated and gotten a booster should be fine if they take precautions
Fauci told NBC he saw the variants coming and he thought [Kamala?!] Harris' statement "was taken a bit out of context," adding he believed she was referring to "the extraordinary number of mutations [alpha, delta, gamma, lamda, omicron] ... particularly with omicron. No one had expected it that much but we were well-prepared and expected that we were going to see variants."
Dutch Christmas Shopping Ends As Lockdown Returns
Gemeente waarschuwt voor drukte in Kalverstraat[_link] pic.twitter.com/Z3qHSAlMSD— AT5 (@AT5) December 18, 2021
Gemeente waarschuwt voor drukte in Kalverstraat[_link] pic.twitter.com/Z3qHSAlMSD
Dutch shopkeepers say Christmas lockdown has left them `broken' | The Guardian | In a devastating blow to many Christmas plans, households are allowed only four visitors a day on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and 31 January and New Year's Day. Two visitors are permitted on other days. The announcement on Saturday night by the prime minister, Mark Rutte, who had described the lockdown as "unavoidable" due to the wave of the Omicron Covid variant "bearing down", came ahead of what would be the biggest sales week for many shops. .... Across Europe, governments are contemplating tougher restrictions in the light of the spread of the Omicron Covid variant, including in Italy. In Belgium, where thousands of protesters demonstrated in central Brussels on Sunday for a third time against further restrictions, Christie Morreale, the minister for health in the Walloon region of Belgium, could only say a further lockdown was "not on the table for the government at this stage".
In a devastating blow to many Christmas plans, households are allowed only four visitors a day on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and 31 January and New Year's Day. Two visitors are permitted on other days.
The announcement on Saturday night by the prime minister, Mark Rutte, who had described the lockdown as "unavoidable" due to the wave of the Omicron Covid variant "bearing down", came ahead of what would be the biggest sales week for many shops.
.... Across Europe, governments are contemplating tougher restrictions in the light of the spread of the Omicron Covid variant, including in Italy.
In Belgium, where thousands of protesters demonstrated in central Brussels on Sunday for a third time against further restrictions, Christie Morreale, the minister for health in the Walloon region of Belgium, could only say a further lockdown was "not on the table for the government at this stage".
No leadership, poor decision making, slow implementation and execution, a long two year mess by Mark Rutte & Co. ... lockdown could have been avoided. This really hurts the middle class of The Netherlands. 'Sapere aude'
Omicron may sideline two leading drugs against COVID-19
For more than a year antibody drugs from Regeneron and Eli Lilly have been the go-to treatments for early COVID-19, thanks to their ability to head off severe disease and keep patients out of the hospital. [...] A third antibody from British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline appears to be the best positioned to fight omicron. But Glaxo's drug is not widely available in the U.S., accounting for a small portion of the millions of doses purchased and distributed by the federal government. U.S. health officials are now rationing scarce drug supplies to states.
NEVERTHELESS, observations such as supply chain failures (Q attenuated test devices, Q clinical personnel, Big Data std deviations, val + vol mRNA inventory, R&D, useful life), and authoritative controversies (political and clinical) continue to confound the predictive power of pharmaceutical agents (political and chemical) and furnish much larger markets populated by the living, ("long" or "recovered") COVID-19 "consumer-patients," already captured by multiple maintenance drug regimen "pharmacokinetics".
In Clinical Care, What Will Amazon Deliver?
Public education in healthcare offered by paid "social media" has well and truly undermined the credibility of industrial medicine as advertised, while contributing to GDP dominated by self-service economies of scale. archived single point of pharma mRNA engineered FAILURE, Fri Nov 5th, 2021, Wed Sep 8th, 2021
"We definitely saw variants coming. I think what one referred to, what was not anticipated was the extent of the mutations and the amino acid [ACE-*] substitutions in omicron, which is really unprecedented," Fauci said. "It kind of came out of nowhere, where you have a virus that has 50 mutations, 30 of which are in the spike protein and 10 or 12 of which are in the receptor binding domain. I mean, to me, that's really quite unprecedented."
Online doctors giving ivermectin to Covid patients; Investigation launched [_link]— NL Times (@NL_Times) December 22, 2021
Online doctors giving ivermectin to Covid patients; Investigation launched [_link]
Online doctors giving ivermectin to Covid patients; Investigation launched The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) is investigating a group of doctors who prescribed the controversial drug Ivermectin to people with Covid-19. The Inspectorate confirmed this on Tuesday after reporting by RTL Nieuws. It is not recommended to use Ivermectin in the treatment of Covid-19. The drug is used to treat parasites, for example, scabies, not viruses. Chief Inspector Roderick Runne said he understands that people are looking for good treatment for Covid-19. "But that's not Ivermectin. Doctors should inform their patients about it and certainly not prescribe it." The Inspectorate said it will tackle doctors and pharmacists who still provide the drug to patients with the coronavirus.
The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) is investigating a group of doctors who prescribed the controversial drug Ivermectin to people with Covid-19. The Inspectorate confirmed this on Tuesday after reporting by RTL Nieuws. It is not recommended to use Ivermectin in the treatment of Covid-19. The drug is used to treat parasites, for example, scabies, not viruses.
Chief Inspector Roderick Runne said he understands that people are looking for good treatment for Covid-19. "But that's not Ivermectin. Doctors should inform their patients about it and certainly not prescribe it." The Inspectorate said it will tackle doctors and pharmacists who still provide the drug to patients with the coronavirus.
Thailand Ivermectin Clinical Trial | Gates Foundation - May 2020 | 'Sapere aude'
Der Schul-Tiermedizin schenkt sie keinen Glauben mehr: Die österreichische Vollblutstute Anka, die derzeit unter Wurmbefall leidet, hat sich heute mit dem Wirkstoff Comirnaty der Firma BioNTech impfen lassen lassen. In den letzten Wochen wird die eigentlich zur Eindämmung der Corona-Pandemie entwickelte Impfung von immer mehr Querdenker-Pferden als Heilmittel gegen Würmer angepriesen.
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