Thursday, January 27, 2022



The SON of Omicron: health expert warns about new Covid-19 variant that's even MORE contagious

A version of Omicron that is even more contagious than the original strain could extend Australia's deadly latest wave of cases, a leading health expert has warned.

The new BA.2 subvariant has been detected across Europe and already makes up 45 per cent of all cases in Denmark.

Scientists fear the 'stealth' variant could also be even harder to track than previous strains as it can only be confirmed through lab analysis rather than a PCR test.

University of Melbourne epidemiologist Professor Nancy Baxter said initial data showed BA.2 could be even more infectious than its more common BA.1 ancestor.

She said it was unclear if BA.2 would worsen the latest wave of Omicron cases or whether it would even land on Australian shores.

'It looks like, if people can believe it, it could be more contagious than Omicron,' she said. 'So if it gets here, it may extend our waves and they may take a lot longer to get out of. But we don't know enough yet, so stay tuned.'

Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke on Wednesday said the BA.2 subvariant appeared to be more contagious than the original Omicron variant.

The BA.1 lineage accounts for 98 per cent of all cases globally but in Denmark has been pushed aside by BA.2, which became the dominant strain in the second week of January.

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency has designated BA.2 a variant under investigation, saying it could have a growth advantage.

Preliminary calculations suggest BA.2 could be 1.5 times more infectious than BA.1, Denmark's top infectious disease authority Statens Serum Institute (SSI) said in a note on Wednesday.

However, an initial analysis by the institute showed no difference in the risk of hospitalisation for BA.2 compared to BA.1. "There is some indication that it is more contagious, especially for the unvaccinated, but that it can also infect people who have been vaccinated to a greater extent," SSI's technical director Tyra Grove Krause said at the briefing.

This could mean the peak of Denmark's epidemic will extend a bit further into February than previously forecast, Krause said.

BA.2 cases have also been registered in the UK, Sweden and Norway but to a much lesser extent than in Denmark.

Denmark on Wednesday announced plans to scrap the last of its Covid-19 restrictions by February 1, the latest country in Europe to do so despite record high daily infection numbers

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Military Whistleblowers May Blow Up the COVID Vaccine Narrative

On January 26, thousands showed up in Washington, D.C., to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The protest received little if any coverage in the corporate media. To try and give the clinicians and researchers fighting the vaccine mandates more coverage, Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) held an all-day panel on Monday

Two speakers shared some shocking statistics about illness and disease in the military over the 11 months COVID vaccines have been available. Human rights attorney Leigh Dennis raised concerns about data on myocarditis in the Department of Defense (DOD) tracking system. Myocarditis is the only side effect warning the FDA places on the mRNA vaccines.

Dennis told Johnson that in August of 2021, when a DOD report was run on the incidence of acute myocarditis, there were 1,239 cases. When the report is run for the same period now, there are only 307 cases. She added that the initial report for January of 2022 showed 176 cases. Now it only shows 17.

Dennis said the military data was one of the most comprehensive because it contains baseline rates. The occurrence of disease across all categories for the previous five years averaged 1.7 million. Ten months after the vaccine program launched, it jumped to nearly 22 million. Dennis added:

“We need to not be calling this suspicious. With all due respect, we need to be asking hard questions of the DOD. And I will close by saying they are charged at least in part with protecting the sanctity and the welfare of the brave men and women who are defending this country. And right now these numbers indicate something is drastically wrong.”

Dennis is working with attorney Thomas Rentz to support three whistleblowers who are doctors in the military and who signed affidavits under the penalty of perjury. Renz identified them as Lt. Colonel Dr. Theresa Long, Dr. Samuel Sigoloff, and Colonel Dr. Peter Chambers. According to Renz, the data the physicians provided showed alarming increases in several diagnoses:

Data like this provides a signal that requires further investigation. Much like any correlation, researchers must prove causation. However, it does not appear from the testimony that any serious question is underway. There has been anecdotal data on reproductive issues following the vaccines, and the agencies just released information affirming that vaccines can affect a woman’s menstrual cycle. The DOD data, if confirmed, raises questions about safety in pregnancy and childbearing years. Yet, the CDC still recommends vaccines for Americans down to the age of five and pregnant women.

Even more disturbing, Renz alleges the CDC receives data from the Department of Defense through a program called Project Salus. In the weekly report for September 28, 2021, Renz stated that 71% of the new COVID cases and 60% of the hospitalizations were fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared multiple times on television to assert the late summer wave was a pandemic of the unvaccinated.

Unlike the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), where anyone may submit a report, the information provided by these would be more like insurance claims data that contain diagnosis codes. A recent preprint study on claims data from Kaiser Northwest showed the frequency of myopericarditis was 1 in 1,860 for males 18-24 and 1 in 2,650 for boys 12-17. This finding was more than two times higher than the previously cited number from the FDA of 1 in 5,000. It would not be surprising if DOD data showed higher rates of post-vaccine illnesses that the CDC or FDA report from the less rigorous systems the agencies use.

Dennis asked Johnson to take the testimony of the whistleblowers and put them on the record. Johnson committed to taking their transcribed interviews and shared he has put the DOD on notice to preserve all records pending an investigation. As of December 2021, an estimated 40,000 active troops remained unvaccinated and under threat of discharge. Each branch is implementing its own policy under the mandate. Increases in serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease will further impair military readiness. All while hotspots worldwide, like the Ukrainian border, are heating up.

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Two-thirds of Covid cases in England last month may have been in people who were REINFECTED, official data suggests

One of the country's largest surveillance studies — which randomly tested 100,000 people in the fortnight ending January 20 — found 4.4 per cent had the virus.

Imperial College London experts, who carry out the project, said it was the highest rate ever recorded, mirroring other swabbing surveys.

The team also claimed England's Covid outbreak was now starting to plateau after the Omicron wave 'rapidly' dropped off on its own.

Analysis of the data showed 2,315 of the 3,582 positive tests in the sample (64.6 per cent) were people who had coronavirus before.

And a further 267 (7.5 per cent) suspected they had caught Covid previously, even though their case was not confirmed with a test at the time.

Getting Covid after being fully-jabbed triggers 'super-immunity'

Fully-vaccinated people who catch Covid end up with 'super immunity', scientists have claimed.

Oregon Health and Science University experts say the same is also true for people who get infected before getting two jabs.

Academics took blood samples from more than 100 fully-vaccinated volunteers and exposed them against three different strains of coronavirus.

Volunteers with 'hybrid' immunity produced an 'amazingly high' antibody response, tests showed.

Their antibodies were 10 times more potent than proteins made by participants who managed to dodge Covid completely.

Despite the study being carried out before the emergence of Omicron, the authors believe the findings will hold up against the highly-transmissible variant.

And the high levels of protection among those with hybrid immunity could see the virus become a 'mostly mild' infection and bring about the end of the pandemic, the researchers said.

Professor Paul Elliott, director of the REACT programme, told a press briefing: 'What we are essentially seeing is the same sort of people catching Covid before are catching it again.'

The REACT-1 data suggests one in 23 people in England were infected with the virus over that two-week period.

Despite extremely high prevalence last month, cases have been dropping in all age groups other than under-18s.

It was highest in those aged five- to 11-year-olds over the course of the month (7.81 per cent) and lowest in those aged 75 and over (2.43 per cent).

Professor Elliott added: 'There is good news in our data in that infections had been rapidly dropping during January.

'But they are still extremely high and may have recently stalled at a very high prevalence.

'Of particular concern is that there is rapidly increasing prevalence among children now they are mixing more following the start of the school term.

'And, compared with December, prevalence in older people aged 65 and over has increased seven- to 12-fold, which may lead to increased hospitalisations.

'It's therefore vital that we continue to monitor the situation closely to understand the impact of the Omicron variant, which now makes up almost all infections in the country.'

Regionally, Covid was most prevalent in the North East, where 6.85 per cent of residents had the virus during the month.

In comparison only 2.93 per cent of people in the South East ended up testing positive during the month.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: 'It's reassuring to see Covid infections beginning to slow across the country, as we move back to Plan A.

'Covid rates are still high so as we learn to live with the virus it is vital we continue to be vigilant — wash your hands, let in fresh air, get tested and, if you haven't already, get boosted now.'

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

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