Why we shouldn’t yet be worried about the latest new Covid variant

Another day, another variant. While the reaction to Omicron was immediate and one laced with genuine fear and concern, the emergence of a new strain in southeastern France has been met with a shrug of the shoulders by many scientists.

On paper, B.1.640.2 looks problematic. Like Omicron, it has multiple mutations, 46 in total, many of which are located in its spike protein - the part of the virus responsible for gaining entry to human cells.

In reality, this is a variant that predates Omicron yet has failed to take off globally in the same way.

It appears to have first popped up on scientists’ radars in early November, when the first sequenced case of B.1.640.2 was uploaded from Paris to a global variant database called Gisaid.

The first sequence of Omicron was uploaded three weeks later, on 22 November, and in the time that followed has spread rapidly across the world, reaching all six continents by the turn of the new year.

In contrast, B.1.640.2 appears to have been limited to minor clusters here and there, as seen in southeastern France where 12 people were infected with the variant, according to a non peer-reviewed study released before Christmas.

The ‘index case’ - the first individual identified at the heart of a cluster - was vaccinated against Covid and had returned from Cameroon three days before his positive result. The study claims he developed “mild” respiratory symptoms the day before his diagnosis.

However, when the scientists took a dive into Cameroon’s own genomic data, they were unable to find any sequences of B.1.640.2, suggesting the variant either hasn’t been detected in the country yet, or originated from elsewhere.

Perhaps it could be the case that the French traveller had a fleeting encounter with someone in an airport who was infected with B.1.640.2. At this stage, we simply don’t know.

Regardless, the alarm bells have yet to be rung when it comes to this particular variant.

Tom Peacock, a virologist at imperial College, said B.1.640.2 was “not one worth worrying about too much” at the moment. “This virus has had a decent chance to cause trouble but never really materialised,” he said on Twitter.

Other close viral cousins of B.1.640.2 have similarly been in circulation for weeks, but have also struggled to make an impact.

As to why it has this variant hasn’t been as successful in spreading as Omicron - despite its high mutation count - we can only speculate.

Although B.1.640.2 carries many of the same mutations seen in previous variants of concern, much depends on how they combine with one another to shape the characteristics of the virus.

It could be the case that some of the mutations are actually detrimental to the virus’ ability to enter our cells or replicate, thus hindering its ability to rapidly spread.

Data on B.1.640.2 is light, and until scientists have more of it, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to provide a clear answer as to why this particular variant hasn’t come to dominate.

Should that remain the case, it will ultimately be a good thing. For now, Omicron is the main variant of concern. Unless the picture changes considerably for whatever reason, that should be the predominant focus of our attention and scientific endeavours in the weeks to come.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/ihu-variant-france-covid-cases-b1986956.html

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Puerto Rico Faces Staggering Covid Case Explosion

More evidence that vaccination is only weakly protective against Omicron

The island had a 4,600 percent increase in cases in recent weeks after mounting one of the nation’s most successful vaccination campaigns.

At one point this week, the daily case count had surpassed 11,000, a very high figure for an island with just 3.2 million inhabitants.

Armed with her vaccine passport and a giddy urge to celebrate the holiday season, Laura Delgado — and 60,000 other people in Puerto Rico — attended a Bad Bunny concert three weeks ago.

Three days later, she was sick with Covid-19, one of about 2,000 people who fell ill as a result of the two-day event.

“We did so well; we followed the rules,” said Ms. Delgado, a 53-year-old interior designer. “We followed the mask mandate. Our vaccination rate was so high that we let our guard down. The second Christmas came, we were like, ‘We’re going to party!’”

The superspreader concert helped usher in an explosion of Covid-19 cases in Puerto Rico, which until then had been celebrating one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the United States.

The concert was one of a series of business events, company holiday parties and family gatherings that fueled a 4,600 percent increase in cases on the island, a surge that public health officials worry could linger into the New Year; the Puerto Rican holiday season stretches to Three Kings Day on Jan. 6.

While the Omicron variant has besieged the entire country, it is especially worrisome in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory already overwhelmed by government bankruptcy, an exodus of health professionals and a fragile health care system. Officials imposed a new wave of tough restrictions on travelers and diners in hopes of staving off the new wave of cases.

Rafael Irizarry, a Harvard University statistician who keeps a dashboard of Puerto Rico Covid-19 data, tweeted the daunting facts: A third of all coronavirus cases the island has recorded since the start of the pandemic occurred in the past month. The number of cases per 100,000 residents jumped to 225, from three, in three weeks.

In December, the number of hospitalizations doubled — twice.

Without the polarizing politics that have plagued the debate over vaccines in other parts of the country, nearly 85 percent of those in Puerto Rico have received at least one vaccine dose, and about 75 percent have gotten both shots.

But in the face of a highly contagious new variant, a high vaccination rate is not that meaningful anymore, Mr. Irizarry said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/02/us/coronavirus-puerto-rico.html?smid=tw-share

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Governor Demands Biden Allow Florida to Purchase Blocked COVID Treatments

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has long been a bit of an outlier on the national scene when it comes to COVID-19, erring proudly and loudly on the side of liberty in terms of vaccine and mask mandates. This has, unsurprisingly, put him in the crosshairs of the Biden administration on several different occasions, as the two spar over an issue of states’ rights.

The latest battlefield that these two governmental entities are meeting upon is that of monoclonal antibodies – some of the leading treatments of COVID-19 currently available.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., called for the Biden administration to allow his state to obtain more monoclonal antibody treatments as it encounters the omicron variant of COVID-19.

“We’re past the point now where we’re able to get it directly from any of these companies,” DeSantis said during a press conference on Monday. “The federal government has cornered the entire market. They basically took control of the supply in September.”

This is the latest in a disturbing trend that seems to have pit the federal government against the Sunshine State.

The governor’s press conference came nearly a week after his surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, sent U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra a letter requesting the federal government restore distribution of monoclonal antibodies treatments to the state.

“The federal government is actively preventing the effective distribution of monoclonal antibody treatments in the U.S.,” Ladapo wrote. “The sudden suspension of multiple monoclonal antibody therapy treatments from distribution to Florida removes a health care provider’s ability to decide the best treatment options for their patients in this state.”

As Ladapo’s letter noted, HHS said in September that it would determine state-by-state distribution of certain drugs. An official reportedly said the move would “help maintain equitable distribution, both geographically and temporally, across the country.”

As of this writing, the Biden administration has not responded to Florida’s request or accusations.

https://flagandcross.com/governor-demands-biden-allow-florida-to-purchase-blocked-covid-treatments/

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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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'We'll be in the throes of Omicron for a month': Ex-FDA commissioner says COVID will peak in two weeks

The Omicron variant is continuing to create a surge in new COVID-19 cases through the United States in the new year, with former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb warning that we will be in the throes of the new wave in infections for the next month before cases drop off - even as the death rate remains relatively low.

The country recorded its highest seven-day average number of cases on January 2, with 413,304 people testing positive for the virus over the past week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. At the same time, on a seven-day average, there were 1,350 new deaths. That number is far lower than the seven-day average recorded at the peak of winter in January 2021, where the US averaged around 3,300 deaths.

Cases may continue to rise over the next few days due to a lag in reporting over the weekend, and on Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci told PIX 11 News: 'It is going to go higher.

'What we hope will happen is what we've seen in South Africa, you see a spike and then it turns around,' he said.

The country, which was one of the first in the world to fall victim to Omicron, hit its peak in the seven days leading up to December 17, when an average of 23,437 cases were recorded.

But by December 28, the number had plummeted by 38 percent to 14,390 cases.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former FDA commissioner, also said on Monday that he believes 'this is not going to last very long,' estimating 'we'll be in the throes of this for maybe a month.'

'Here in the northeast, I think you're going to see infections peak out within the next two weeks,' he claimed in an interview on CNBC's Squawk Box. 'So hopefully, here in New York City does find a peak within the next two weeks.'

He said that London, which was struck by the Omicron wave several weeks before it came to New York City, 'has already peaked and is probably on the way down.' New York City saw 85,476 new cases reported in the state over the weekend, whereas London saw 19,951 on January 2.

Both Fauci and Gottlieb, as well as a number of other experts now say catching the highly-contagious Omicron variant could actually be beneficial to society, as it has been proven to be less virulent than other strains but could create herd immunity.

This comes after a study by Columbia University revealed that Omicron-fueled cases could peak to around 2.5 million by January 9 with others estimating the surge to go to 5.4 million.

Meanwhile, another covid variant has been found in France, according to scientists. The mutant strain has 46 mutations that are thought to make it both more vaccine-resistant and infectious than the original virus.

About 12 cases have been recorded so far near Marseille, with the first linked to travel to the African country Cameroon. But there is little sign that it is outcompeting the dominant Omicron variant, which now makes up more than 60 per cent of cases in France. It is yet to be spotted in other countries or labelled a variant under investigation by the World Health Organization.

In another interview with the Today Show's Hoda Kotb on Monday, former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control Richard Besser said he expects 'these next few weeks are going to be really rough in terms of numbers of new cases.'

Speaking to Danish TV 2, Tyra Grove Krause - the chief epidemiologist at Denmark's State Serum Institute - said a new study from the organisation found that the risk of hospitalisation from Omicron is half that seen with the Delta variant.

This, she said, has given Danish authorities hope that the Covid-19 pandemic in Denmark could be over in two months.

'I think we will have that in the next two months, and then I hope the infection will start to subside and we get our normal lives back,' she said on Monday.

Despite early fears that Omicron could prolong the pandemic due to its increased level of infection, Ms Krause said it actually could spell the end of the pandemic.

According to the study: 'Omicron is here to stay, and it will provide some massive spread of infection in the coming month. When it's over, we're in a better place than we were before.'

But while infection numbers in countries with the variant are soaring, the expert said that the highly infectious Omicron appears milder than the Delta variant, and therefore more people will be infected without having serious symptoms.

As a result, she said, this will provide a good level of immunity in the population.

Denmark has seen a spike in new cases in recent weeks, and on Sunday recorded its highest ever seven-day average infections, recording an average of 20,886 across the previous week, or 3,592.74 per million people - one of Europe's highest rates.

It reported its highest ever new infections on December 27 (41,035).

By comparison, the UK's seven-day average daily new confirmed Covid-19 cases per million people sits at 2,823.31 as on Monday, while in the United States, that number is 1,215.76 - lower than many countries in Europe.

Ms Krause stressed that there was still work to be done to beat the pandemic in the coming months, however.

'Omicron will peak at the end of January, and in February we will see declining infection pressure and a decreasing pressure on the health care system,' she said.

'But we have to make an effort in January, because it will be hard to get through.'

The epidemiologist said Danes should continue to follow the now well-known measures to help slow the spread, such as good hygiene, social distancing where possible, and staying at home when symptoms present themselves.

Omicron's increasing spread will continue to put pressure on Denmark's healthcare system, she said. 'This is definitely what will be the challenge in the future.'

Professor Lars Østergaard, chief physician at the Department of Infectious Diseases at Aarhus University Hospital, also looked towards the end of the pandemic in comments made on January 1.

He said that while the coronavirus will not be characterised as a pandemic forever, it will likely never fully disappear.

I never think we'll ever wave goodbye to the corona,' he said.

'But we want such a good immunity in the population - partly because of new vaccines, partly because people have been infected - that we can handle it as another of the infections we know that come especially in the winter month.'

Ms Krause agreed, saying: 'In the long run, we are in a place where coronavirus is here, but where we have restrained it, and only the particularly vulnerable need to be vaccinated up to the next winter season.'

But, he said, 'this could be the path out of this pandemic - as this variant spreads around and infects more and more people.

'Hopefully, the protection you get from having had an Omicron variant will provide some protection from other variants,' he continued, noting: 'The key, I think, is focusing on global protection. We have done a terrible job at providing vaccines around the globe and as we've seen with Omicron, new variants can arise anywhere.

'So from an equity and justice standpoint, we need to do more - but in terms of our self interest and being protected against future variants we need to do a lot more to make vaccines available.'

As of Monday, 9.2 billion people worldwide have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, and as of Thursday, 73.3 percent of all Americans have received at least on dose and 62 percent are fully vaccinated.

But just 33.4 percent of all fully-vaccinated Americans have received a booster dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control, as federal health officials consider changing the definition of 'fully vaccinated' to include booster doses amid a surge in children being hospitalized with the virus.

A Danish health official has also said that the Omicron variant is bringing about the end of the pandemic, saying 'we will have our normal lives back in two months'.

Speaking to Danish TV 2, Tyra Grove Krause - the chief epidemiologist at Denmark's State Serum Institute - said a new study from the organization found that the risk of hospitalization from Omicron is half that seen with the Delta variant.

This, she said, has given Danish authorities hope that the Covid-19 pandemic in Denmark could be over in two months.

'I think we will have that in the next two months, and then I hope the infection will start to subside and we get our normal lives back,' she said on Monday.

Despite early fears that Omicron could prolong the pandemic due to its increased level of infection, Ms Krause said it actually could spell the end of the pandemic.

According to the study: 'Omicron is here to stay, and it will provide some massive spread of infection in the coming month. When it's over, we're in a better place than we were before.'

But while infection numbers in countries with the variant are soaring, the expert said that the highly infectious Omicron appears milder than the Delta variant, and therefore more people will be infected without having serious symptoms.

As a result, she said, this will provide a good level of immunity in the population.

Denmark has seen a spike in new cases in recent weeks, and on Sunday recorded its highest ever seven-day average infections, recording an average of 20,886 across the previous week, or 3,592.74 per one million people - one of Europe's highest rates.

It reported its highest ever new infections on December 27, with 41,035 new cases.

As of Monday, the United States saw 254,091 new cases with just 244 new deaths. That number is likely to be higher due to a lag in reporting over the weekend.

But other experts have said that society is going to have to live with COVID, with Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious disease specialist at the Yale School of Public Health saying: 'Certainly COVID will be with us forever.

'We´re never going to be able to eradicate or eliminate COVID, so we have to identify our goals.'

At some point, the World Health Organization will determine when enough countries have tamped down their COVID-19 cases sufficiently - or at least, hospitalizations and deaths - to declare the pandemic officially over. Exactly what that threshold will be isn´t clear.

But even when that happens, some parts of the world still will struggle - especially low-income countries that lack enough vaccines or treatments - while others more easily transition to what scientists call an 'endemic' state.

They´re fuzzy distinctions, said infectious disease expert Stephen Kissler of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He defines the endemic period as reaching 'some sort of acceptable steady state' to deal with COVID-19.

The omicron crisis shows we´re not there yet but 'I do think we will reach a point where SARS-CoV-2 is endemic much like flu is endemic,' he said.

For comparison, COVID-19 has killed more than 800,000 Americans in two years while flu typically kills between 12,000 and 52,000 a year.

Exactly how much continuing COVID-19 illness and death the world will put up with is largely a social question, not a scientific one.

'We´re not going to get to a point where it´s 2019 again,' said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. 'We´ve got to get people to think about risk tolerance.'

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, is looking ahead to controlling the virus in a way 'that does not disrupt society, that does not disrupt the economy.'

In his interview with PIX 11 on Monday, Fauci said that if people comply with the CDC recommendations and get a booster shot 'we will get through this quicker.'

Another Covid variant has been found in France, according to scientists.

The mutant strain has 46 mutations that are thought to make it both more vaccine-resistant and infectious than the original virus.

Some 12 cases have been spotted so far near Marseille, with the first linked to travel to the African country Cameroon.

But there is little sign that it is outcompeting the dominant Omicron variant, which now makes up more than 60 per cent of cases in France.

The strain was discovered by academics based at the IHU Mediterranee Infection on December 10, but has not spread rapidly since.

It is yet to be spotted in other countries or labelled a variant under investigation by the World Health Organization.

Professor Philippe Colson, who heads up the unit that discovered the strain, said: 'We indeed have several cases of this new variant in the Marseille geographical area.'We named it "variant IHU". Two new genomes have just been submitted.'

The variant has been dubbed B.1.640.2 and its discovery was announced in a paper posted on medRxiv. This has not been published in an academic journal.

Scientists say the lineage is genetically different to B.1.640, which is thought to have emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo in September.

Tests show the strain carries the E484K mutation that is thought to make it more resistant to vaccines.

It also has the N501Y mutation — first seen on the Alpha variant — that experts believe can make it more transmissible.

It is a distant relative of Omicron, which scientists say likely evolved from an older virus.

Omicron — or B.1.1.529 — carries around 50 mutations and appears to be better at infecting people who already have a level of immunity. But a growing body of research proves it is also much less likely to trigger severe disease.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10363971/How-pandemic-end-Omicron-clouds-forecasts-endgame.html

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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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UK: My model has got it right on the Covid pandemic; and it tells me we don't need a new lockdown

By Philip Thomas, a Visiting Academic Professor at the University of Bristol

That alarm bells are ringing loudly in response to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant is no secret in Whitehall.

Civil servants are reportedly drawing up urgent plans for further restrictions and yesterday's emergency Cabinet meeting was perhaps a sign of things to come.

So far, ministers are resisting further Covid curbs, though Boris Johnson made clear that a clampdown was being held in 'reserve'.

Throughout the pandemic, ministers have frequently insisted that they 'follow the science' in their decision-making.

And a key ingredient of the mounting pressure for action being demanded in some quarters can be found in the guidance produced by the members of the consistently doom-laden Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), whose oft-criticised modelling has been central in the development of official policy over the past two years.

Hysterical

Their latest document is typically grim, with its claim that there could be 6,000 deaths a day in a new Covid wave, more than three times higher than the peak daily toll last January (when we didn't have mass vaccination) and equating to 180,000 deaths a month, more than we've seen the entire pandemic.

Despite these arguably hysterical numbers leading bulletins, Sage does concede that this represents their 'worst-case scenario' if the Government sticks to Plan B and imposes no further measures.

Yet even with that caveat, we should all be deeply concerned about Sage's modelling.

Doubts about the reliability of Sage's figures are hardly new, but scepticism will have only been increased following the remarkable Twitter exchange between Fraser Nelson, the editor of the Spectator magazine, and Professor Graham Medley, chair of Sage's modelling committee, over the weekend.

Puzzled by the gap between the reassuring reports from South Africa and Sage's dark forebodings, Nelson asked Medley how the group's conclusion was reached.

If, as the South Africans think, Omicron is mild and there is no need for lockdown, why didn't Sage include this scenario 'given that this is a very plausible option that changes outlook massively', asked Nelson. Simple enough.

But then came Medley's telling reply: 'Decision-makers are generally only interested in situations where decisions have to be made.'

Does Sage exclusively model bad outcomes that require further restrictions and omit more welcome outcomes for which no action would be required, even if such scenarios are just as likely to occur, Nelson wondered?

Then came the hammer blow: 'We generally model what we are asked to model,' Medley replied.

It was an extraordinary exchange and hardly how most people expect scientific advice to be provided.

In reaching its decisions, surely the Government needs to know the likelihood of all scenarios rather than just an outline of the worst possible cases?

Those who advocate a return to lockdown to halt the transmissibility of Omicron, for instance, ignore the wider impact of such a drastic measure on the economy, the backlog of other NHS treatments, mental health, domestic abuse and education.

The latest Government figures, published this month, show Britain's GDP is still 0.8 per cent lower than it was before the pandemic.

Without a strong economic rebound, it's probable that more people will be killed by the financial consequences of lockdown restrictions than ever died with Covid.

Even the more limited restrictions of Plan B are having a devastating effect on the hospitality trade, the travel industry and the entertainment sector.

Once again there is a clamour for the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to produce a rescue package out of thin air to tide businesses over this fraught winter, even though he has already spent more than £400 billion of taxpayers' money on support programmes, with debts that will saddle future generations to the tune of £2.2 trillion.

We have, of course, known about Omicron for less than a month and it would certainly be foolish to be too dismissive of its potential impact.

But nevertheless, a counter-weight must be offered against Sage's gloom. I can do that through the mathematical model I developed at Bristol University (the Predictor Corrector Covid Filter, or PCCF) which has proved a highly accurate forecaster of the progress of the pandemic.

Early in the new year, active Omicron infections may reach two and a half million, which added to the slowly declining Delta infections will generate a combined total peak of 3.5 million cases.

But while that number sounds huge, it does not necessarily spell the disaster that Sage has outlined.

Infected

I predict that Omicron's rise will be very fast — as seen already in London — but that will equate to a decline at almost the same speed, so that active infections are likely to be below where we are now in a month's time, and set to fade away as we move into spring.

That outlook is backed up by evidence from South Africa, who are a month ahead of us, where the National Institute of Communicable Diseases estimates that the fatality ratio (the percentage of those infected dying) is less than half the level it was for the Delta wave last winter, and more than four times lower for the particularly vulnerable 70 to 79-year-olds.

The relative mildness of the new strain is confirmed not only by the fact that hospital stays are much shorter for Omicron patients — around three days as opposed to 11 for Delta patients — but also that fewer such patients need oxygen or intensive care when in hospital.

That does not mean we will have it easy. The PCCF model indicates that deaths will certainly rise above the current level of 100 per day.

But even so, they are unlikely to go beyond 500 a day in England. This total, of course, represents a very significant number of individual tragedies, but is far below the daily peak of over 1,800 UK-wide deaths last January.

Booster

In the same vein, according to the PCCF, hospitalisations may reach around 3,000 per day, higher than the current rate of 800 but still below January's peak of 4,100 — a number that was achieved during a full national lockdown, and which was considered not to have overwhelmed the NHS.

Indeed, my modelling predicts numbers will remain manageable without the introduction of any further Covid curbs.

As I say, we cannot be complacent, but nor should we fall into despair or panic. I see no justification for further restrictions, let alone another lockdown, whatever Sage propounds.

The Government is right to see the booster programme as our main defence, just as we should also put our trust in the good sense and self-restraint of the British people.

Those who are vulnerable or risk-averse are already adjusting their behaviour without the need for more bureaucratic edicts. We all want to have a good Christmas, after all.

We must remember, too, that an uptick in respiratory deaths and hospitalisations is normal for winter.

Give in to the doom-mongers yet again, and we risk being trapped in a relentless cycle of authoritarian controls.

Normality beckons if the Government continues to hold its nerve, keep to the pragmatic path and refuse to be bullied into fearful measures by modelling that is predicated on exaggerated fears.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10331009/My-model-got-right-Covid-pandemic-unlike-writes-PROFESSOR-PHILIP-THOMAS.html

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Compilation of nurse whistleblowers

The world has been embroiled in the most devastating public health crisis in more than a century. COVID-19 has disrupted the entire world.

It has been a catastrophe. However, the deadliness of COVID-19 has been made exponentially worse by terrible policies. Medical bureaucrats have lied and misled so often, they’ve lost the trust of the people they were entrusted to protect. These policies are even killing people.

Lockdowns have created a global catastrophe aside from what the virus caused. An entire generation of children has been harmed by unnecessary school closures. Even a vaccine critical to saving the lives of the elderly and immune compromised has been abused.

Nurses have been on the COVID frontline since day one. They have seen it all firsthand. These dedicated healthcare professionals have been heroes. However, they have consistently reported some harsh realities that mainstream media ignore.

A recent video compilation from nurses worldwide sheds a disturbing light on the potential adverse side effects caused by the COVID vaccine. Like anything which goes contrary to the bureaucratic narrative, these concerns are being buried.

However, Gateway Pundit compiled a series of video interviews with nurses from around the world. Every one of these healthcare professionals spoke candidly. Many have either quit or gotten fired. What they openly share is shocking.

One former nurse from Canada reported watching elderly patients being held down against their will and vaccinated. She witnessed full-term miscarriages within days of getting a COVID shot. Nurses reported elderly patients showing up sick with COVID days after getting vaccinated.

Other nurses shared about how people were never tested for COVID, despite showing profound symptoms, until after they died. Many nurses nearly came to tears during their testimony. In addition, some bemoaned how hospital administrators harassed them over vaccine mandates.

Paramedics and other healthcare workers also shared alarming concerns towards vaccine mandates and the safeness of the COVID vaccine itself. RN Collette Martin answered questions from Louisiana State Representative - Health and Welfare Committee chair Larry Bagley.

The 17-year veteran RN strongly cautioned against the COVID vaccine for children. She also stressed that adult reactions to COVID vaccine side effects are being ignored. However, she admonished medical professionals for ignoring these dangers arising in vaccinated children.

These dangers far outweigh any advantages. Children are now more prone to dying from vaccine complications than they are from COVID. Martin continued to express her concern about what is an obvious cover-up of vaccine related dangers.

She insisted that thousands of patient deaths are a direct result of the COVID vaccine, not the virus. Martin insisted that an alarming percentage of these deaths are not being reported to the Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System (VAERS).

She indicated that many of her fellow nurses do not even know what VAERS is. Medical bureaucrats informed her that the VAERS database is a poor determiner of vaccine side effects. Like many in her field, Martin wanted to know why.

These complicit medical bureaucrats had no viable answer. Another healthcare worker from a U.S. hospital stressed that the numbers of COVID vaccine-related deaths on VAERS has doubled within the last nine months. These are the ones being reported.

This shocking revelation is even more disturbing when we consider reports that a huge bulk of vaccine-related deaths is not being reported. The more we hear from these brave healthcare professionals, the more frightening are the conclusions.

A virus leaked out of a virology lab in Wuhan, China. This lab received funding, deviously funneled through U.S. channels, using taxpayer money. The lab was practicing dangerous gain-of-function research on deadly coronaviruses. Safety protocols at the lab were horrific.

It is a scam. It is criminal. We’re barely one year from the official release of the COVID vaccines. Thousands have died from the shot already. As years pass, how many more health crises will be experienced

https://steadfastclash.com/the-latest/shocking-compilation-of-nurse-whistleblowers-from-around-the-world-warning-about-the-sharp-thing-we-musnt-mention/

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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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Crooked statistics about vaccination status

False statistics and misinformation are being used to push the baseless narrative that most COVID-19 hospital patients are unvaccinated.

On Friday, September 17, the CDC published a study that refutes the common claim that Covid-19 is a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Coauthored by more than 50 MD’s and Ph.D.’s, the study contains data on the vaccine status of adults hospitalized with Covid-19 at 21 U.S. hospitals across 18 states during March to August of 2021.

Contrary to assertions from the Associated Press and Anthony Fauci that fully vaccinated people comprise only 1% of those being hospitalized or killed by C-19, the study found that 13% of patients hospitalized with C-19 had been fully vaccinated. Moreover, that 13% figure is just the tip of iceberg because the authors excluded from their study a large group of hospitalized C-19 patients, the bulk of whom were likely vaccinated.

About half of the omitted group and 27% of the C-19 patients in these hospitals were people with “immunocompromising conditions,” such as cancer, HIV, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, scleroderma, and Crohn’s disease. In the words of an FDA official and 18 other coauthors published in a medical journal, “immunocompromised individuals” were “prioritized for early immunization” and are “plausibly more likely to be offered and seek vaccination” because they are highly vulnerable to C-19.

On September 21, Just Facts asked Dr. Wesley Self, the lead author of the study, to release the data on the vaccination status of the C-19 patients with immunocompromising conditions. He has not replied.

The authors of the CDC study also excluded another 25% of all people hospitalized with C-19 because they were partially vaccinated, “received a Covid-19 vaccine other than Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, or Janssen [J&J],” or “received doses of two different Covid-19 vaccine products.”

Accounting for all of the C-19 patients in these hospitals, including those the authors excluded, a majority may have been fully or partially vaccinated against Covid:

Filling the gap left by vagueness of the CDC’s study, a precise measure of the vaccine status of people who died from the Covid-19 Delta variant is available from the United Kingdom, where the government keeps detailed healthcare records on nearly all citizens. Relevantly, the U.S. and UK have very similar C-19 death rates and had roughly equivalent vaccination rates over the period of the CDC study.

In the UK from February through August 2021, 62% of all Covid-19 Delta variant deaths were among the fully vaccinated. This amounts to a conclusive majority in a dataset with virtually every death included.

Seeing Through False Statistics

The story behind the talking point that Covid-19 is “a pandemic of the unvaccinated” is a textbook case of how false statistics are born and proliferate. Hence, it provides valuable insights about the dangers of blind trust and how to recognize deceitful rhetoric.

Late in June 2021, the Associated Press published an article titled, “Nearly All COVID Deaths in US Are Now Among Unvaccinated.” Written by Carla K. Johnson and Mike Stobbe, it was republished or cited by more than 100 media outlets and so-called fact checkers like PBS, Snopes, Bloomberg, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, FactCheck.org, Yahoo News, and WebMD.

The article claims the AP conducted an “analysis” that found only 1.1% of all C-19 hospitalizations and 0.8% of C-19 deaths in May were due to “breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people.” While using those decimal points that convey a false sense of precision, the authors slipped in this craftily worded admission: the AP calculated these rates based on “figures provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” but the CDC has not published such rates due to “limitations in the data.”

Those limitations, in the words of the AP, include the reality that “some” states are “more aggressive than others in looking for such cases.” The word “looking” is a coy way of saying that the states don’t have a comprehensive system to count these deaths, a fact that throws the entire analysis into doubt.

With a subtle nod to that reality, the AP confesses that the “data probably understates” the number of vaccinated people who died from Covid-19. Compare that softly worded disclosure to the CDC’s explicit warning that its data on breakthrough infections “relies on passive and voluntary reporting, and data might not be complete or representative.” On August 25, the CDC strengthened that language to make clear that the “data are not complete or representative.”

Put simply, the AP’s statistics are meaningless because they are based on materially incomplete data. That was evident from the outset from a close look at the AP’s methodology, and it is now undeniable given the CDC study and UK data detailed above. Again, these indicate that fully vaccinated people comprise about 50% of all Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths, not 1% as reported by the AP.

Nevertheless, Fauci appeared on the July 4th edition of NBC’s Meet the Press with Chuck Todd and parroted the AP’s bogus stat without mentioning any of its caveats. “If you look at the number of deaths,” declared Fauci, “about 99.2% of them are unvaccinated. About 0.8% are vaccinated. No vaccine is perfect. But when you talk about the avoidability of hospitalization and death, Chuck, it’s really sad and tragic that most all of these are avoidable and preventable.”

As Fauci uttered this misinformation, Todd, the political director of NBC News, never expressed a hint of skepticism. Acting like a mouthpiece instead of a journalist, Todd ended the segment by praising Fauci for “focusing” on his job and this “massive success story when it comes to vaccines and what this government-led effort did.”

Instead of correcting the AP and Fauci for misrepresenting CDC data, the director of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, amplified it. During a July 16th White House press conference with Fauci by her side, Walensky stated that “over 97 percent of people who are entering the hospital right now are unvaccinated” and that Covid-19 “is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

In turn, media outlets acted as megaphones for Fauci and Walensky without a word of critical analysis. This involved reports from the likes of ABC News, NPR, The Hill, CNN, Politico, Rolling Stone, USA Today, The Guardian, and the Washington Post, as well as three separate articles from the New York Times.

The Times later conducted its own analysis using the same ruse as the AP, reporting that fully vaccinated people were only 0.1% to 5% of Covid-19 hospitalizations across 40 states since vaccinations began. Buried near the end of the story, the Times revealed that it calculated these rates by lumping C-19 patients “with unknown vaccination status” into the “data for individuals who were not fully vaccinated.”

One week later, the Times began walking back those claims. On August 17, it alleged that reports from seven states with “the most detailed data” indicate that “breakthrough infections accounted for 12 percent to 24 percent of Covid-related hospitalizations.”

Despite those larger figures—which are still far removed from reality—the Times did not correct any of its earlier articles touting figures of 1% to 3% accompanied by quotes like this:

“The takeaway message remains, if you’re vaccinated, you are protected,” said Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York. “You are not going to end up with severe disease, hospitalization or death.”

Implications

The most glaring lesson from this affair is that people entrusted to protect and inform the public are untrustworthy. Government officials with prestigious credentials and prominent media outlets repeatedly misreported the facts of this simple matter with life-or-death consequences. Thus, it is crucial to learn and apply proven methods to sort out the claims that surround important issues.

Secondly, Covid-19 still poses a considerable risk to some fully vaccinated people because a vaccine is only as good as each person’s immune system. Vaccines don’t directly attack virulent microbes in the same manner as antibiotics or anti-viral medicines. Instead, vaccines trigger people’s immune systems to react more quickly than usual and kill pathogens before they can do harm. If a person’s immune system is compromised by factors like poor general health, old age, obesity, immunosuppressing drugs, or lack of sleep, a vaccine will be less effective or ineffective.

Also, the currently available C-19 vaccines create an immune response to only one part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (the “Spike” protein). This produces narrower immunity than exposure to the actual virus. In accord with this fact, a study in Israel that has not yet undergone peer review has found that the Pfizer vaccine is much less effective in protecting against the Delta variant than naturally acquired immunity.

Third, none of the above means that C-19 vaccines are ineffective. Randomized controlled trials, which are the gold standard for determining clinical efficacy, have found that the C-19 vaccines significantly reduce the odds of having a bout of severe Covid-19. The Pfizer vaccine, for example, reduced the odds of severe C-19 by 71% to 100% for people who were not immunocompromised over a period of six months. Whether or not this protection lasts and if the benefits exceed the harms will be the subjects of upcoming article

https://www.heartland.org/news-opinion/news/covid-19-is-not-a-pandemic-of-the-unvaccinated

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Doctors with covid-19 put early at-home treatment to the test

Two physicians who are leading the charge on early at-home COVID-19 treatment to reduce hospitalization and death, have themselves become infected with the virus and following the regimen they, themselves preach

Two physicians who are leading the charge on early at-home COVID-19 treatment to reduce hospitalization and death, have themselves become infected with the virus and following the regimen they, themselves preach.

The surprise announcement of their illnesses came during an October 27 webcast by Covexit.com. Peter McCullough, M.D., a public health expert, researcher and cardiologist at the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute in Dallas, Texas, was scheduled to discuss the COVID treatment algorithm he helped design and was published August 7 in the American Journal of Medicine. During the presentation, McCullough revealed he was currently sick with the virus and is following his own protocol.

“I fully expect to have a prompt recovery, to return to work and avoid the risk of hospitalization and death,” said McCullough.

Moderator Jean-Pierre Kiekens then brought in another champion of early at-home treatment to the discussion, Brian Tyson, M.D., a family physician in California. Tyson said, he too, tested positive with the virus, and felt remarkably better after two days of the at-home regimen.

Physicians Avoiding the Hospital

McCullough said he tested positive the day before his presentation but showed symptoms several days earlier. The day before his test result came back, McCullough said he began treatment for his particular cohort in the algorithm, a patient over age 50 and with two or more pre-existing conditions (asthma, heart disease).

McCullough’s home regimen consists of the anti-viral drug, Ivermectin (IVM), the antibiotic, Azithromycin, zinc, vitamin D, an increase in his daily dose of aspirin for mild heart disease, and plenty of fresh air to avoid re-inoculation. If his symptoms don’t improve in 5 days, McCullough says he will start taking prednisone.

Tyson said he also used IVM in his treatment and noticed a huge improvement in symptoms on day two. “It is still lingering a little, bit. It’s more like a head cold, but the IVM seemed to really knock it out,” said Tyson.

The IVM and the antibiotic are “off label” use, meaning, they have been approved for other illnesses, not for COVID-19. Both physicians looked well, but tired, and McCullough sneezed a few times and sounded congested. McCullough said he ran six miles, four days earlier.

The Case for Early Treatment

There are four pillars to controlling a pandemic, stated McCullough, but the media and public health authorities focus on only three of them, with Dr. Anthony Fauci’s presentation on the Yale Global Health Network October 26, being a case in point. “The entire message was contagion control, shelter in place, and wait for a vaccine. There was no mention of early home treatment.” Incidentally, Fauci’s presentation on Zoom was standing room only, McCullough’s presentation had 57 participants.

People are going to get sick with COVID-19 if they haven’t already, said McCullough. “Early home treatment can be the only method for reducing hospitalizations and death once an individual gets sick. The hospital should only be a safety net for survival. It should not be the first place of treatment” said McCullough. McCullough says the U.S. should follow what India and Brazil have done and make available at-home COVID-19 treatment kits.

https://www.heartland.org/news-opinion/news/doctors-with-covid-19-put-early-at-home-treatment-to-the-test

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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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Pathology Reports Show Systemic Autoimmune Response from Covid-19 Vaccination

Recent pathology reports from Germany show that covid-19 vaccines can trigger self-destructive processes that lead to debilitating illness and death. The organ that is most often affected is the heart. Which makes covid-19 vaccines a new cause of heart disease. Since heart disease is the main subject of this website it is important that this new cause of disease is documented here.

In order to understand the significance of these pathology reports we have to first discuss the basics of how the covid-19 vaccines damage the body.

Covid-19 vaccination disease relates to the spike proteins. Spike proteins are found on the surface of SARS-CoV-2. These spike proteins allow the virus to penetrate host cells and cause infection.

The mRNA vaccines contain mRNA created in a laboratory. The mRNA tells the body’s cells to make spike proteins. Our bodies recognise these spike proteins as a threat and the immune system is activated.

The spike protein generated via the mRNA vaccines is described by the CDC as “harmless”. The theory, of course, is that the “harmless” spike protein stimulates the body so that it is better prepared to cope with the real virus. However, there are two fundamentally important flaws in this theory, and not enough people are talking about these flaws. In essence, the vaccines induce immunity in the wrong place and in the wrong way.

The vaccines invade the lymph nodes and the bloodstream and produce an immune response in those parts of the body. However, the virus itself enters the mucous membrane of the airways. This is the reason why the vaccines only protect against severe disease but do not prevent infection or the transmission of the virus. Only in severe covid-19 cases does the virus pass beyond the membrane of the airways and into the bloodstream - where it has the opportunity to encounter vaccine-induced immunity.

Confirmation of this can be found in a recent article published in Nature, the most respected science journal in the world:

“While the currently approved vaccines induce systemic immune responses, they probably do not evoke mucosal immunity in form of mucosal, secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA) or tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM)”

Other discussions about the lack of mucosal immunity from the vaccines have also recently appeared on Science Daily from the University of Buffalo and Ohio State University.

"We think it is a serious omission to ignore the mucosal immune response to SARS-CoV-2, given its initial sites of infection," said Michael W. Russell, PhD, emeritus professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at University of Buffalo.

Although most people are aware that any protection offered by the covid-19 vaccines is temporary - only lasting four to six months, it is fair to assume that most people lining up for their third or fourth shot are unaware that the vaccine does not offer immunity at the site of infection.

The second flaw relates to the fact that once the vaccines enter the body they start a colossal civil war.

In the bloodstream, the mRNA gene goes to the inside wall of the blood vessels. The cells in the blood vessel wall then produce spike proteins. Within hours or days of being injected with the vaccine the immune system will scratch at the inside wall of the blood vessels in order to try to remove the cells that are now producing the spike proteins.

The gene from the mRNA vaccine also invades the lymph nodes and triggers a civil war between the cells that make the spike proteins and the lymphocytes whose job it is to kill cells that make those spike proteins.

After the first dose of the vaccine there will be varying degrees of damage caused by this civil war, but the second dose of the vaccine causes even more damage, since the second dose is likely to trigger an even bigger immune response. Something that is considered desirable by covid-19 vaccine proponents. This could explain why it is more common for people to experience greater adverse reactions after the second dose than the first dose. Something that is acknowledged by the CDC

However, it is important to be aware that this greater immune response takes the form of direct tissue damage. The scratching at the inside wall of the blood vessels becomes more intense since any cells that dare to make the spike protein will be attacked by the immune system.

Of course, if the person receiving the vaccine has a strong immune response, then the potential exists for greater damage to the inside wall of the blood vessels. This could explain why people below 60 years of age (who have stronger immune systems) are more likely to experience adverse effects from covid-19 vaccines.

IF THE DAMAGE TO THE INSIDE WALL OF THE BLOOD VESSELS CONTINUES, THE GENE FROM THE VACCINE CAN LEAK THROUGH THE WALLS OF THE BLOOD VESSELS AND BECOME SYSTEMIC.

Once the mRNA has escaped it can enter the cells of any of the internal organs such as the liver, the spleen and the heart. Once inside these organs the covid-19 vaccine gene will continue to make spike proteins. This will trigger the body’s killer lymphocytes to carpet bomb and destroy those tissues that have spike proteins. This is an auto-immune response. The body starts destroying its own internal organs in order to stop the propagation of the spike proteins.

At the same time, the supply of lymphocytes is eventually reduced because they themselves are fighting their own civil war within the lymph nodes - where the gene for the spike protein has also invaded. Eventually, there is an immune deficiency of lymphocytes. This could have implications for the prevention of tumors. Normally, the lymphocytes will keep the cancerous cells under control and prevent tumors, but if large quantities of lymphocytes are destroyed by the vaccine gene and the autoimmune response to the spike protein, then there will not be enough of them to prevent cancerous cells from propagating.

According to Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi (see footnote for credentials) this general immune deficiency could have longer-term implications for viruses such as herpes and shingles, which are always trying to take hold within the body but are normally suppressed by lymphocytes.

So, once the gene from the vaccine has escaped through the wall of the blood vessels it has the potential to cause system wide effects by triggering an autoimmune response in all of the organs of the body. The most definitive way to find out if this is actually happening is to perform an autopsy.

Professor Arne Burkhardt is a pathologist who has taught at the Universities of Hamburg, Berne and Tübingen (full credentials in the footnotes). Professor Burkhardt was able to conduct post-mortem examinations on 15 people who died after receiving covid-19 vaccinations.

The microscopic evaluation of the tissues showed an autoimmune attack on multiple organs. The most frequently affected organs were the heart (fourteen of fifteen cases) and the lung (thirteen of fifteen cases). Pathologic alterations were furthermore observed in the liver (two cases), thyroid gland ( two cases), salivary glands (two cases) and brain (two cases).

For example, the two images below show the microscopic evaluation of the small blood vessels of the heart. The endothelial cells that line the blood vessels have been heavily attacked and are inflamed.

Professor Arne Burkhardt in an interview said that in his forty years of experience he had not seen anything like these combinations of killer T lymphocytes throughout the body.

Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi and Professor Burkhardt have published an article summarising these findings on the Doctors for Covid Ethics website. They conclude:

“Histopathologic analysis show clear evidence of vaccine-induced autoimmune-like pathology in multiple organs. [This] must be expected to very frequently occur in all individuals, particularly following booster injections…

Beyond any doubt, injection of gene-based COVID-19 vaccines places lives under threat of illness and death. We note that both mRNA and vector-based vaccines are represented among these cases, as are all four major manufacturers.”

We do not know how many people have died or been seriously injured as a result of taking the covid-19 vaccines. Some reports have suggested that less than 1% of vaccine adverse effects are actually reported.

It seems obvious though that coercing people to take third and fourth booster shots is a terrible idea. If an individual person survived two shots of a covid-19 vaccine without inducing autoimmune organ damage, can they survive a third shot or a fourth? It is important to note that most of the people in this pathology report who died after vaccination, died at home or in the car. Presumably unaware of the damage that was taking place inside their body?

And how many shots does it take before the person’s immune system is compromised in general and the person becomes susceptible in the longer-term to other viruses and cancer?

Scientists in Israel who are members of the government's advisory panel raised this alarm recently, as the government seems intent on pushing for a fourth booster shot. These scientists warned that the plan could backfire, because too many shots might cause a sort of immune system fatigue, compromising the body’s ability to fight the coronavirus. According to the New York Times and Japan Times.

During the last two years many countries have seen the enforcement of a number of illogical rules. The authorities have been intent on trying to enforce further lockdowns and vaccine shots. The lockdowns ravage economies and the shots ravage our bodies.

Not to mention the fact that there has been a much safer and more effective option available all along - early treatment. As discussed in my previous article.

It might be difficult for some of us to accept that our governments and health authorities could get things so wrong (either by design or through incompetence), however, I think we have to keep in mind that these are the same authorities that spent tens of billions of dollars lowering peoples’ cholesterol levels even though people live longer and healthier with higher cholesterol and advises people with type 2 diabetes to eat more grain based foods that disrupt blood glucose levels. Not to mention the numerous drug scandals such as Vioxx that killed more Americans than the Vietnam War, and the opioid scandal that has so far killed more than 400,000 people in the United States alone.

http://statinnation.com/blog/2021/12/30/pathology-reports-show-systemic-autoimmune-response-from-covid-19-vaccination

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A Brand New Study Suggests The Omicron Variant Will Mean the End of Covid as We Know It

The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has spread across the world like wildfire. But the mutant Covid-19 virus, although highly transmissible, has not brought with it the high death counts of previous waves, such as the Delta variant.

Instead, the effects of Omicron have been described as “generally mild,” and comparable to the Common Cold. Even an initial reported single case of a Texas man having died from the Omicron variant has been thrown into question.

One of the mysteries of the Omicron variant is why the reaction appears to be so consistently mild, regardless of vaccination status. There has been a lot of questioning about whether prior infection to Delta and wild variants has provided some antibody response to Omicron, which can cause infections even in those who have been vaccinated and “boosted.”

The Africa Health Research Institute has undertaken an innovative study to look into whether there is any transferrability of natural immunity between the Omicron and Delta variants. The lead author in the pre-print study submitted for publication, Alex Sigal, spearheaded a team of over thirty researchers revealed the promising preliminary results.

https://trendingpolitics.com/a-brand-new-study-suggests-the-omicron-variant-will-mean-the-end-of-covid-as-we-know-it-knab

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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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Catching Omicron strain may protect against Delta and usher in endemic phase of Covid, study suggests

Academics took blood samples from people struck down with the ultra-infectious variant and measured their antibody levels. They then looked at how well the virus-fighting proteins reacted to both Omicron and Delta.

Lab tests, conducted two weeks after patients joined the study, showed antibody levels spiked 14-fold in response to Omicron.

But there was also a 4.4-fold increase against Delta, according to the findings which took the researchers by surprise.

Other studies delving into the topic of cross-variant immunity showed antibodies made in response to Delta reacted poorly to Omicron.

Professor Alex Sigal, a virologist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa who led the research, said it suggested Omicron could usher in the endemic phase of the pandemic. He said: 'The increase in neutralising immunity against Omicron was expected, that is the virus these individuals were infected with.

'However, we also saw that the same people — especially those who were vaccinated — developed enhanced immunity to the Delta variant.'

Professor Alex Sigal, a virologist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, found in research that infections with the super-variant also boost protection against Delta.

He said: 'If, as it currently looks like from the South African experience, Omicron is less pathogenic, then this will help push Delta out as it should decrease the likelihood that someone infected with Omicron will get re-infected with Delta.

'If that's true, then the disruption Covid has caused in our lives may become less.'

Professor Nathan Grubaugh, a virologist from Yale University, told the New York Times that the results matched observations on the ground.

He said: 'We are seeing Omicron exponentially rise while Delta cases are falling.

'This suggests to me that Omicron is outcompeting Delta for susceptible individuals, leaving them less susceptible to Delta in the aftermath and driving down Delta cases.'

UK data shows that Delta cases fell 24 per cent over the fortnight to December 18, the latest available, while Omicron infection skyrocketed.

It comes amid the roll out of boosters in the country, which bolster protection against the variant.

Professor Sigal added: 'If, as it currently looks like from the South African experience, Omicron is less pathogenic, then this will help push Delta out.'

He said this was because it should 'decrease the likelihood someone infected with Omicron will get re-infected with Delta'.

'If that is true, then the disruption Covid has caused in our lives may become less,' Professor Sigal continued.

An ever-growing body of evidence shows Omicron is milder than its rivals, and less likely to put people who catch it in hospital.

The variant is already dominant in Britain, and has caused cases to hit record levels.

It has also driven a surge in infections in the US, which has seen infections top 500,000 a day — also a record high.

In the new research, Professor Sigal and colleagues analysed blood from 13 patients who had recovered from Omicron. Six were unvaccinated.

And the majority of the volunteers had been hospitalised during their battle with the virus.

Their blood samples were then tested in laboratory experiments against live versions of both the Omicron and Delta variants.

The paper was published as a preprint on MedRxiv, and is yet to be peer-reviewed by other scientists.

But Professor Nathan Grubaugh, a virologist from Yale University, told the New York Times that the results matched observations on the ground.

He said: 'We are seeing Omicron exponentially rise while Delta cases are falling.

'This suggests to me that Omicron is outcompeting Delta for susceptible individuals, leaving them less susceptible to Delta in the aftermath and driving down Delta cases.'

Scientists did not confirm whether the individuals had previously been infected with Delta, which could have skewed the results.

But this is likely to have been the case because of South Africa's mammoth waves of infection.

Previous research has suggested that people who had previously been infected with Covid were less likely to catch other variants of the virus.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10355617/Catching-Omicron-strain-protect-against-Delta-study-suggests.html

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CDC admits that its PCR test for Covid is not fit for purpose

07/21/2021: Lab Alert: Changes to CDC RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 Testing

CDC's Laboratory Outreach Communication System (LOCS)

Audience: Individuals Performing COVID-19 Testing

Level: Laboratory Alert

After December 31, 2021, CDC will withdraw the request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel, the assay first introduced in February 2020 for detection of SARS-CoV-2 only. CDC is providing this advance notice for clinical laboratories to have adequate time to select and implement one of the many FDA-authorized alternatives.

Visit the FDA website for a list of authorized COVID-19 diagnostic methods. For a summary of the performance of FDA-authorized molecular methods with an FDA reference panel, visit this page.

In preparation for this change, CDC recommends clinical laboratories and testing sites that have been using the CDC 2019-nCoV RT-PCR assay select and begin their transition to another FDA-authorized COVID-19 test. CDC encourages laboratories to consider adoption of a multiplexed method that can facilitate detection and differentiation of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses. Such assays can facilitate continued testing for both influenza and SARS-CoV-2 and can save both time and resources as we head into influenza season. Laboratories and testing sites should validate and verify their selected assay within their facility before beginning clinical testing.

https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dls/locs/2021/07-21-2021-lab-alert-Changes_CDC_RT-PCR_SARS-CoV-2_Testing_1.html?fbclid=IwAR2itZ5JswHu0yCAKnNeGimMcTypCymj0U__OP_xQNZRQcNgmoY4bkeT9eg

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How long is Omicron’s incubation period? How it differs from Delta and other Covid variants

One thing that has become clear over the last few weeks is how the Omicron variant differs from the original Covid strain.

While the World Health Organisation estimated that symptoms took anywhere between two days to two weeks to materialise in cases of people infected with the first coronavirus strain, the Omicron variant is thought to incubate much faster, closer to three to five days.

“Recent analysis from the UK Health Security Agency suggests that the window between infection and infectiousness may be shorter for the Omicron variant than the Delta variant,” UK health secretary Sajid Javid told MPs.

That would explain why it has spread so swiftly and successfully, as the shortness of its incubation period gives sufferers a shorter window between suspecting they have contracted the virus and experiencing a flare-up, making it less likely a positive test result will be recorded in time to warn others, enter isolation and prevent the contagion being passed on.

A shorter incubation period “makes a virus much, much, much harder to control,” Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, warned The Atlantic this week.

Another aspect of Omicron that makes it potentially harder to detect than other strains is that its symptoms differ somewhat from the three primary indicators we have learned to be on the lookout for: coughs, fever and any loss of sense of taste or smell.

Early warning signs for the new variant, by contrast, include a scratchy throat, lower back pain, a runny or blocked nose, a headache, muscle pains and fatigue, sneezing and night sweats.

The current evidence from Omicron cases analysed in Britain is that patients will recover within five days to a week on average, although some of the symptoms like coughing and fatigue may linger for longer.

Shortness of breath has also been reported in more severe cases, which has been seen to last for as long as 13 days after.

Covid sufferers are, typically, thought to be infectious to others from around two days before their first symptoms start to materialise and for around 10 days after.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/incubation-period-omicron-variant-uk-delta-b1983692.html

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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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Vaccination offers little protection against Omicron

Recent reports from the CDC target 43 new COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant. Of these 43 documented infections, 34 of these patients were fully vaccinated. From the vaccinated count, 14 also had their recommended booster shot.

Of the remaining nine people who tested COVID-19 positive with Omicron, eight were documented as unvaccinated. One person’s status was unknown. That means nearly 8 out of 10 of the newest positive Omicron triggered COVID-19 cases are in vaccinated patients.

There is even more interesting data coming from these 43 cases. Virtually every patient reported mild symptoms. The symptoms ranged from a cough, some fatigue, to congestion or a runny nose. A single vaccinated patient was hospitalized for two days.

None of the Omicron COVID-19 infections have died. This is another perfect example of a government-funded program that’s not working. However, these power hungry buffoons won’t acknowledge it’s not working. Why do they continue to insist on something that’s failing?

Why are medical bureaucrats still pushing COVID as a pandemic of the unvaccinated when the data prove they are lying? Furthermore, why isn’t natural immunity being studied intently? How many of the latest positive COVID-19 infections have had a previous variant and recovered?

This information will prove critical. Since there is zero indication of a breakthrough infection happening in patients with natural immunity, that speaks volumes about the push for mandatory vaccinations. It’s nothing but a push for compliance.

Studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine clearly show vaccine immunity wanes after a few months. Moreover, similar studies, research also conducted in Israel, have indicated naturally acquired COVID-19 immunity could last in some people for years.

If it weren’t, we’d be stressing how to spur natural immunity all over the world.

https://steadfastclash.com/the-latest/cdc-releases-report-on-omicron-variant-and-guess-who-is-getting-it-most/

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Omicron infecting the vaccinated - WHO

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading faster than the Delta variant and is causing infections in people already vaccinated or who have recovered from the COVID-19 disease, the head of the World Health Organisation says.

"There is now consistent evidence that Omicron is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news briefing for Geneva-based journalists, held at its new headquarters building.

"And it is more likely people vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 could be infected or re-infected," Tedros said.

WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said that the variant was successfully evading some immune responses, meaning that the booster programmes being rolled out in many countries ought to be targeted towards people with weaker immune systems.

Omicron appears to be better at evading antibodies generated by some COVID-19 vaccines but there are other forms of immunity that may prevent infection and disease, WHO officials said.

"We do not believe that all vaccines will become completely ineffective," Swaminathan said.

WHO expert Abdi Mahamud added: "Although we are seeing a reduction in the neutralisation antibodies, almost all data shows T-cells remain intact, that is what we really require."

While the antibody defences from some courses have been undermined, there been hope that T-cells, the second pillar of an immune response, can prevent severe disease by attacking infected human cells.

Swaminathan, referring to a treatment for people with the disease, said: "Of course there is a challenge, many of the monoclonals will not work with Omicron." She gave no details.

But the WHO team also offered some hope to a world facing the new wave that 2022 would be the year that the pandemic, which already killed more than 5.6 million people worldwide, would end - with the development of second and third generation vaccines, further development of antimicrobial treatments and other innovations.

"(We) hope to consign this disease of a relatively mild disease that is easily prevented, that is easily treated ...and that able to cope easily with this disease into the future," Mike Ryan, the WHO's top emergency expert, told the briefing.

"If we can keep virus transmission to minimum, then can bring pandemic to end."

https://au.yahoo.com/news/omicron-infecting-vaccinated-173147913.html

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EU approves Novavax vaccine

The European Union has approved its fifth Covid-19 vaccine, stepping up its battle against the Omicron virus variant as the WHO called for greater efforts to ensure the pandemic ends next year.

Novavax’s Covid vaccine was given the go-ahead by the European Commission after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended it for use on Monday.

“We welcome today’s European Commission decision reflecting the first authorisation of a protein-based Covid-19 vaccine for the people of the EU,” said the company’s CEO Stanley C. Erck.

Called Nuvaxovid, it is the fifth vaccine authorised in the EU after Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca/Oxford, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson.

Nuvaxovid uses a more conventional technology than those used for the other vaccines already in use — it is similar to the technology used in the decades-old hepatitis B and pertussis vaccines — and does not need to be stored at ultra-low temperatures.

The so-called protein “subunit” vaccine contains purified fragments of the pathogen which then trigger an immune response.

The jab is given as two injections three weeks apart.

Results from clinical trials released in June showed 90.4 per cent efficacy against the disease, and 100 per cent efficacy against severe to moderate cases.

The company said it is “evaluating its vaccine against the Omicron variant” and working on a version specific to it.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/coronavirus/coronavirus-world-uk-prime-minister-weighs-up-another-lockdown-as-omicron-spreads/news-story/de1dd4ca8208f121fc332b70eb83e1a4

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Florida surgeon general says Biden admin 'actively preventing' monoclonal antibody treatments

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo accused the Biden administration of "actively preventing the effective distribution of monoclonal antibody treatments" in the United States, according to a Tuesday letter addressed to Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra.

The Biden administration recently paused shipments of COVID-19 antibody treatments manufactured by major drug companies Regeneron and Eli Lilly amid claims that such treatments are not effective against the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The federal government continues to supply Sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody from the company Glaxosmithkline, which reportedly does work against omicron.

Ladapo concluded his letter by referencing comments Biden made Monday that there wasn’t a solution by the federal government to end the nearly two-year-old pandemic.

"There is no federal solution. This gets solved at the state level," Biden said at the time in response to Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson warning the president against letting "federal solutions stand in the way of state solutions."

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.

Ladapo, whom DeSantis appointed in September after the former surgeon general resigned, has also made headlines for opposing measures such as school mask mandates.

In September, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hammered the Biden administration for overhauling the distribution of monoclonal antibodies in a way that will severely hamper the treatment's availability in several Republican-controlled states.

The Department of Health and Human Services alarmed authorities in several southern, red states — where the antibodies are widely used — after announcing that the agency would be changing how the COVID-19 treatment is distributed.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/florida-surgeon-general-says-biden-admin-actively-preventing-monoclonal-antibody-treatments

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FAA Vaccine Policy Violates Its Own Rules, Attorneys and Doctors Say

The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is breaking its own rule that states pilots should not fly after having taken medications that have been approved for less than a year, according to a group of attorneys, doctors, and other experts; including a pilot who says his career ended due to adverse reactions from a vaccine.

Airlines, which are government contractors, are affected by President Joe Biden’s order from September that states all employees of those companies have to be vaccinated against the CCP virus.

The group of attorneys and doctors wrote a letter directed at the FAA, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Justice, as well as several airlines, demanding that they medically flag all vaccinated pilots and have them re-examined for blood clotting problems as well as their cardiac health.

“The Federal Aviation Agency is charged with ensuring the safety of the flying public. Instead, as we speak the FAA, as well as the commercial airline companies, are acting in contravention of their own federal aviation regulations and associated guidance which tells medical examiners to NOT issue medical certifications to pilots using non-FDA approved products,” human rights attorney and primary author of the letter, Leigh Dundas, told The Epoch Times via email.

“The title of the section I’m talking about literally says ‘Do Not Issue—Do Not Fly’ and then instructs medical examiners to ‘not issue’ medical certifications to pilots using products that the FDA ‘approved less than 12 months ago.’ … The pilots are flying with products which are not even recently approved—in violation of the above wording—they are flying with injections in their bodies which were NEVER approved by the FDA at all (as no COVID vaccine which is commercially available in the U.S. has received FDA approval),” Dundas said.

Amid widespread confusion about the availability of the FDA-approved Pfizer vaccine, The Epoch Times did an investigation in October and discovered that the approved Comirnaty version of the vaccine was still not commercially available in the United States. Pfizer says it’s the same vaccine that originally received emergency use authorization.

Another one of the signers is Cody Flint, whose career as a pilot ended after voluntarily taking the jab and experiencing adverse effects. He is a father of two with no underlying conditions.

The 34-year-old agricultural pilot doesn’t remember how he landed after nearly blacking out in mid-flight.

He was flying his aircraft when tunnel vision started to kick in and a headache he had developed after getting the jab worsened.

About two hours after having taken off, he decided to pull up the plane to go back and felt an “extreme burst of pressure” in his ears, then immediately “nearly blacked out, [and felt] dizzy, disoriented, nauseous, and [was] shaking uncontrollably,” Flint told The Epoch Times.

As a commercial pilot, Flint was concerned when he first saw FAA’s 48-hour no-fly rule after a COVID-19 vaccination.

The FAA has stated that pilots and air traffic controllers may receive the COVID-19 vaccine, with appropriate precautions.

“I find it hard to comprehend how the FAA justified moving the goalposts of safety from one full year of post-marketing safety review to only two days. The dangers associated with a pilot experiencing a severe adverse reaction from an mRNA-type Covid vaccine while at the controls of an airplane can be horrifying and deadly to say the least.

“As a pilot that experienced a tragic and career-ending adverse reaction to the Pfizer COVID vaccine while actively flying an airplane, I feel I can honestly and creditably speak out about the dangers associated with pilots returning to flight duties too early following COVID mRNA type vaccination,” he added.

Another signer, Dr. Pete Constantine Chambers, D.O. has been practicing medicine for 25 years, 16 of which he served as a Flight Surgeon attached to Special Operations.

“Unfortunately, several of my soldiers have experienced hospitalizations for serious diagnoses to include brain hemorrhages, myocarditis, anaphylaxis, pulmonary emboli, and vertigo. These were all post-vaccination.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_morningbrief/faa-vaccine-policy-violates-its-own-rules-attorneys-and-doctors-say_4179114.html

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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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UK: Absurd new Covid rules that prove the Left just love to boss everyone else around

Like many, I am delighted that the Government has decided not to impose further Covid restrictions — at least until next year.

This welcome late Christmas present not only means that people in England can enjoy New Year's Eve, it also means that many restaurants, pubs, theatres and shops will now be saved from closure.

But not everyone shares my relief. Instead, arguing furiously for ever-tougher restrictions — even in the face of the demonstrably milder threat from the Omicron variant — are Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon and her Welsh counterpart Mark Drakeford.

They continue to display breathtaking political opportunism and a shocking refusal to prioritise people's livelihoods. Meanwhile, their allies indulge in endless handwringing, fury, virtue-signalling and political point-scoring. I've had enough of it all.

As a former Labour MP who was a member of the party for 34 years, it pains me to say this, but parts of the Left love bossing everyone else around.

Gloomy

Restricting personal freedom is the itch the Left loves to scratch whenever it can. Lockdowns and the baffling array of contradictory rules and guidelines have provided the perfect pretext for this.

Yes, the state has a role to play in life. But there is a vast and widening gulf between sensible citizens with jobs, businesses and responsibilities, who willingly accept restrictions while longing for the day when they are lifted — and those who constantly demand further curbs, howling with self-righteous fury and predicting disaster when they are loosened.

In England, these Leftist doom-mongers, including Corbynista Labour MPs, party activists and a ragbag of socialists, vent their spleen online and in some cases in the broadcast media. But in Scotland and Wales, Sturgeon and Drakeford's Left-wing governments (respectively SNP and Labour) actually wield the power to act on their urges.

So despite the encouraging data on Omicron, they have once again been trying to make political capital by upending people's lives more disruptively than Westminster, bringing in draconian new restrictions and decimating livelihoods.

In Scotland, large public events have been cancelled, one-metre social distancing has been imposed in pubs, restaurants, gyms, theatres and museums, and table service is now mandated anywhere alcohol is served. Nightclubs are closed and the New Year's party is effectively cancelled.

I live in Glasgow South, in the constituency I represented for Labour. The streets around me are gloomy and empty as they have been for so much of the past two years. Restaurant and business-owners are facing a second bleak midwinter.

This is not because Scotland's Covid cases are higher than in England — in fact, they are lower — but because of Sturgeon's relentless virtue-signalling which plays a huge role in all her decisions.

With impeccable political cynicism, she always insists on imposing tougher Covid restrictions than the Prime Minister is prepared to inflict.

During much of the pandemic, her press conferences were scheduled slightly before Boris Johnson's, making it seem as if she was acting against Covid with greater urgency. Now, in contrast, she is on the back foot as the Prime Minister appears to have been vindicated by his own policy decisions.

Wales's Labour government, under Drakeford, is similarly cynical. The latest rules in Wales are truly absurd. In a policy decision reminiscent of a Monty Python sketch, Welsh people are currently permitted to go to the pub — but can be fined £60 for going to work.

Like most of the hard Left, Drakeford — a self-professed acolyte of Jeremy Corbyn — is an instinctive authoritarian who clearly enjoys wielding the power to restrict ordinary people's freedoms.

So why does the Left have this sinister authoritarian urge? Part of the answer rests in how they see the role of the state.

Most on the Left believe the state should play an extensive role in people's lives. Many are also convinced it should own and run key industries and services — and take a lot of your income in taxes to do so.

Traditional liberals, in contrast, believe that the state should step back wherever possible and allow people to live their lives as much as possible without intrusion.

Rage

Covid has crystallised this distinction. The role of the individual has been shrunk, the role of the state expanded.

But history offers ample proof of why this is a dangerous move — and the trend takes no account of individual agency.

As John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, noted this week, the English have in fact been 'pretty responsible' in their response to the spread of the Omicron variant, regardless of the lack of restrictions.

Yet on social media in particular, prominent Left-wing voices are furious at the Government's 'recklessness'.

And what precisely sparks this rage? It is the belief that they are better people, that they care more, and if you don't subscribe to their view then you are just some 'evil Tory'.

Famously, Harold Wilson once said: 'The Labour Party is a moral crusade or it is nothing.' But that was a dangerously simplistic judgment.

Labour, like any serious political party, should leave the crusading to the Middle Ages and instead dedicate itself to taking practical steps to improve people's lives.

But many on the Left believe in this dangerously messianic vision, and that they are thus better people than those on the centre-right.

The pandemic has given them the perfect outlet to demonstrate this goodness. Their alleged 'fears' about the impact of loosening restrictions or their noisily expressed anger about people not wearing masks both work to bolster their self-importance.

Heroic

Anyone who fails to demand tougher rules is, in contrast, heartless and uncaring. And because the arguments against further lockdowns and restrictions often rest on the grievous effects on the economy, Labour claims that the Tories only care about profits and money.

But who suffers when businesses collapse and jobs are lost? Ordinary workers. The Labour Party too often forgets this because its power base is in the public sector — funded, of course, by the taxpayer's ever-expanding largesse.

Aside from the heroic NHS staff, many public sector employees have worked at home on full pay for much of Covid. It's hardly surprising that so many of them are in favour of further lockdowns.

The Labour Party seems to have forgotten that the public accounts are not some bottomless resource. Instead, when the economy declines, so do the tax revenues that keep public services going.

The Left must learn to abandon the ludicrous idea that people can't be trusted to make their own judgments about how to live their lives.

Two years into this pandemic, Sturgeon and Drakeford should be giving their citizens the facts and figures, and then trusting them to behave sensibly. It is now time British people were allowed to think for themselves.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10351509/Ex-Labour-MP-TOM-HARRIS-laments-urge-control-thats-destroying-livelihoods.html

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FDA approves first pill to treat COVID after Pfizer's oral medication reduced hospitalizations by 88%

U.S. health regulators on Wednesday authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus.

The Food and Drug Administration issued emergency authorization for Pfizer's Paxlovid, a pill that is available by prescription only and should be initiated as soon as possible after diagnosis of COVID-19 and within five days of symptom onset.

The long-awaited milestone comes as U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all rising and health officials warn of a tsunami of new infections from the Omicron variant that could overwhelm hospitals.

'Today's authorization introduces the first treatment for COVID-19 that is in the form of a pill that is taken orally — a major step forward in the fight against this global pandemic,' said Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research in a statement.

'This authorization provides a new tool to combat COVID-19 at a crucial time in the pandemic as new variants emerge and promises to make antiviral treatment more accessible to patients who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19.'

The drug, Paxlovid, is a faster, cheaper way to treat early COVID-19 infections, though initial supplies will be extremely limited. All of the previously authorized drugs against the disease require an IV or an injection.

An antiviral pill from Merck also is expected to soon win authorization. But Pfizer's drug is all but certain to be the preferred option because of its mild side effects and superior effectiveness, including a nearly 90 percent reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease.

'The efficacy is high, the side effects are low and it's oral. It checks all the boxes,' said Dr. Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic. 'You´re looking at a 90 percent decreased risk of hospitalization and death in a high-risk group - that´s stunning.'

The Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer's drug for adults and children ages 12 and older with a positive COVID-19 test and early symptoms who face the highest risks of hospitalization.

That includes older people and those with conditions like obesity and heart disease. Children eligible for the drug must weigh at least 88 pounds.

The pills from both Pfizer and Merck are expected to be effective against omicron because they don´t target the spike protein where most of the variant´s worrisome mutations reside.

Pfizer currently has 180,000 treatment courses available worldwide, with roughly 60,000 to 70,000 allocated to the U.S. Federal health officials are expected to ration early shipments to the hardest hit parts of the country. Pfizer said the small supply is due to the manufacturing time - currently about nine months. The company says it can halve production time next year.

The U.S. government has agreed to purchase enough Paxlovid to treat 10 million people. Pfizer says it's on track to produce 80 million courses globally next year, under contracts with the U.K., Australia and other nations.

Health experts agree that vaccination remains the best way to protect against COVID-19. But with roughly 40 million American adults still unvaccinated, effective drugs will be critical to blunting the current and future waves of infection.

The U.S. is now reporting more than 140,000 new infections daily and federal officials warn that the omicron variant could send case counts soaring. Omicron has already whipped across the country to become the dominant strain, federal officials confirmed earlier this week.

Against that backdrop, experts warn that Paxlovid's initial impact could be limited.

For more than a year, biotech-engineered antibody drugs have been the go-to treatments for COVID-19. But they are expensive, hard to produce and require an injection or infusion, typically given at a hospital or clinic. Also, laboratory testing suggests the two leading antibody drugs used in the U.S. aren't effective against Omicron.

Pfizer´s pill comes with its own challenges.

Patients will need a positive COVID-19 test to get a prescription. And Paxlovid has only proven effective if given within five days of symptoms appearing. With testing supplies stretched, experts worry it may be unrealistic for patients to self-diagnose, get tested, see a physician and pick up a prescription within that narrow window.

'If you go outside that window of time I fully expect the effectiveness of this drug is going to fall,' said Andrew Pekosz, a Johns Hopkins University virologist.

The FDA based its decision on company results from a 2,250-patient trial that showed the pill cut hospitalizations and deaths by 89 percent when given to people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 within three days of symptoms.

Less than 1 percent of patients taking the drug were hospitalized and none died at the end of the 30-day study period, compared with 6.5 percent of patients hospitalized in the group getting a dummy pill, which included nine deaths.

Pfizer´s drug is part of a decades-old family of antiviral drugs known as protease inhibitors, which revolutionized the treatment of HIV and hepatitis C. The drugs block a key enzyme which viruses need to multiply in the human body.

The U.S. will pay about $500 for each course of Pfizer's treatment, which consists of three pills taken twice a day for five days. Two of the pills are Paxlovid and the third is a different antiviral that helps boost levels of the main drug in the body.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10337029/FDA-approves-pill-treat-COVID.html

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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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