If the Secret Service can't protect a former President/Presidential candidate; and if the Department of Homeland Security does nothing to keep out homeland secure from millions of illegal aliens and criminals, then how hard can it be to pull off an attack on ordinary citizens who are unprotected?
We're still waiting for the report on the first assassination attempt, which will be bad enough. Imagine the report on the second.
Why hasn't Alejandro Mayorkas had the decency to resign?
-------------------------------
The vaccination rate of Florida kindergarteners has fallen to 90.6%, the lowest in over a decade, and concerned pediatricians say they are exhausted trying to combat anti-vax information – including from the state government.
“It's gotten difficult to manage,” said Dr. Lisa Gwynn, a Miami pediatrician and medical director for a mobile clinic that serves uninsured children.
Nearly 91% may seem high, but for highly contagious diseases like measles, for example, public health experts recommend a vaccination rate of at least 95%. Lower than that increases the risk of outbreaks of diseases that are otherwise preventable. That's especially a problem in schools, where children are in close contact with each other.
"Kids aren't getting the protection they need. We're just one step away from another outbreak," Gwynn said. “The data is very clear. Vaccines are safe and effective, but we're up against this polarization right now. It's difficult; it's hard to do the work that we've been trained to do.”
The kindergarten vaccination rate does not just affect children, she added, but also adults with immunodeficiencies, people undergoing chemotherapy and other “vulnerable members of our society.”
In Florida, a religious exemption is all that’s needed to avoid immunizations for diseases like measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), pertussis (whooping cough) and varicella (chicken pox).
According to a Florida Department of Health report for July 2024, the proportion of children 5-17 with new religious exemptions are increasing each month. St. John’s, Flagler, Sarasota and Walton counties have the highest number of children with religious exemptions, according to that data.
Since the pandemic, vaccine hesitancy over the mRNA “jab” spread to other vaccines, pediatricians say, who add that it’s becoming difficult to practice in the state. Some refuse to take unvaccinated patients, and the ones that do accept them don’t have the capacity.
Gwynn, the past president of Florida's chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has seen an increase in unvaccinated patients in the past 20 years — first with the wave of misinformation from fraudulent research about how MMR vaccines cause autism, and now with COVID-19 vaccines.
Dr. Jeff Goldhagen, professor and chief of the Division of Community and Societal Pediatrics at the University of Florida, said the rise of unvaccinated children has multiple reasons, but points to the state’s own messaging about mRNA vaccines as “the most perverse.”
“It's an issue across the country, but it's a pertinent issue, a particular issue in Florida, because of the policies of our governor and our surgeon general,” said Goldhagen, who was also the previous director of the Duval County Health Department for 13 years.
In Florida, the state’s own surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, has been an outspoken critic of COVID-19 vaccines and has tried to win over vaccine skeptics by appearing on right-wing and conspiracy theory-promoting talk shows.
In January of this year, Ladapo called for a halt of all COVID-19 mRNA vaccines: “The American people and the scientific community have a right to have all relevant information pertaining to the COVID-19 vaccines to properly inform individual decision making,” Ladapo wrote to the heads of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Thursday evening, DOH issued guidance that advises against the latest COVID-19 booster. Its press release alleges "the federal government has failed to provide sufficient data to support the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 boosters."
In a section called "Safety and Efficacy Concerns," the health department lists seven bullet points of issues with the mRNA vaccine. "Based on the high rate of global immunity and currently available data, the State Surgeon General advises against the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines."
Goldhagen says DOH's report is deceptive, and many of its issues aren't scientifically-based.
For example, the department lists the risks of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, from the COVID-19 vaccine as an example of a safety and efficacy concern. But Goldhagen says the risk is far greater from a COVID infection than getting it from the vaccine.
Another example DOH includes, DNA integration, has been debunked, Goldhagen said. "You have a better chance of becoming Spider-Man” than being harmed by DNA from the COVID vaccines, said Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who serves on an FDA advisory committee for the COVID vaccines, in a Scientific American article.
Goldhagen said Ladapo is "absolutely wrong" when they say the new booster doesn't provide protection among circulating variants. According to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Yale Medicine, all say the new booster protects against the latest variants.
"This is beyond infuriating," he said. "Ladapo is playing on people's fears."
Goldhagen said the latest press release sends a message, and COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are the “tip of the iceberg.”
The last time the vaccination rate dipped below 90% was in 2009 when it was 89.8%. A recent WalletHub report lists Florida’s vaccination rates among the lowest, at 46 among U.S. states and Washington, D.C.
In Florida, to obtain a religious exemption, Gwynn said parents used to have to consult with a nurse at the department of health about the risks of not getting children vaccinated.
But not anymore.
Goldhagen and other physicians have said families are moving to the state in part because of how easy it is to obtain a religious exemption to vaccines. To obtain an exemption for school-entry health examinations and immunizations against communicable diseases, Florida law says the parent of the child can object in writing that a vaccine “conflicts with his or her religious tenets or practices.”
But Gov. Ron DeSantis has labeled the decision of vaccination as a parents’ rights issue, a point of view that has been at the forefront of not only his public health agenda but also education.
When hospitalizations of children soared during the delta wave of 2021, he implemented the Parents Bill of Rights and banned mask mandates in schools. Later, he banned vaccine requirements for businesses as well.
This year, after a measles outbreak at a school in South Florida, the state did not follow the CDC’s recommendations that students should remain at home to quarantine and left the decision up to parents on whether to send their children to school.
“Once again, Florida has shown that good public health policy includes personal responsibility and parents' rights,” DeSantis said in a press release. “While the national medical health establishment and media have lost the public’s confidence, Florida continues to restore sanity and reason to public health, and will always do so under my leadership.”
In the July 2024 Vaccine-Preventable Disease Surveillance Report, the state recorded 66 whooping cough infections, a steep increase from the previous month. The 66 infections were also above the previous five-year average. Most of those infections were in infants under 1.
While Hepatitis A, meningitis and chicken pox were below the previous five-year averages, the disease rate for meningitis and incidence rate for chicken pox were the highest among infants under 1.
In the report, on the first page and in bold, DOH says: “Unvaccinated children are at increased risk of vaccine-preventable diseases like mumps, pertussis (whooping cough), and varicella. Communities with a higher proportion of religious exemptions (REs) to vaccination are at increased risk of vaccine-preventable disease transmission.”
The state does provide free vaccinations through county departments and its Florida Vaccines for Children Program, including immunizations for MMR, chicken pox, polio, tetanus, human papillomavirus (HPV) and the flu.
DOH, however, does not provide COVID-19 vaccines at the county health departments “due to the widely available supply in communities,” a spokesperson said.
In Florida, children over 3 can get a COVID-19 vaccine at Walgreens. CVS Pharmacy can vaccinate children age 5 and over for COVID-19, and the company’s MinuteClinics can vaccinate children 18 months and older.
Physicians can order COVID-19 vaccines through the Florida SHOTS system, which is overseen by DOH, but shipments of vaccines are not sent to DOH before being sent to doctors’ offices. Vials are sent directly from the manufacturer to the physician’s practice.
Gwynn said she has ordered the new COVID-19 immunizations for children 6 months and older for her mobile clinic through Florida SHOTS. While the numbers of hospitalizations aren’t as high as the delta wave, children are still becoming seriously ill because of the latest COVID variants, she said.
Thank goodness that this one didn't succeed in assassinating Trump where Crooks had failed. Donald Trump is a very lucky man, and a very strong man, to have been able to cheat death twice. Let's hope there won't be a third time.
-----------------
From CNN: FBI investigating apparent assassination attempt of Trump in Florida . Secret Service agent was able to spot rifle barrel sticking out of fence and engaged suspect, sheriff says
"Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said that a Secret Service agent was able to spot a rifle barrel with a scope sticking out of a fence at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach and 'engaged' with the suspect.
"The shooter was 300 to 500 yards away from former President Donald Trump, an official said."
From UK Daily Mail: FBI shares pictures of rifle, backpack and GoPro 'assassin' had hidden in the bushes while lying in wait for Trump on his Florida golf course
"New images reveal the backpack, GoPro camera and AK-47 style rifle that a gunman left behind when fleeing the scene where he was attempting to assassinate Donald Trump."
All Americans should be rolling up their sleeves to do their part in trying to defeat COVID.
---------------------------------------
‘You don’t want to wait’: Doctors urge Utahns get updated COVID-19 vaccine
"SALT LAKE CITY — Respiratory virus season is fast approaching, which means an uptick in flu, COVID-19 and RSV cases. But there are vaccines that can protect you against all three of these diseases, including a new COVID-19 vaccine.
"The updated FDA-approved 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine targets the KP.2 strain — a descendant of the JN.1 variant. Experts say since vaccine immunity wanes over time and the virus mutates, this updated vaccine provides the best protection against the strains currently circulating.
“This is the time where we start spreading the disease more. We’re not waiting for COVID season to hit — it’s already starting to hit,” said Dr. Tamara Sheffield, medical director for immunization programs for Intermountain Health.
"Sheffield said not only do vaccines protect us from serious infection, but prevent us from spreading COVID-19 to others.
“It’s our community responsibility to protect those who can’t protect themselves,” she said.
"The CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older should receive the new COVID-19 vaccine, regardless if you’ve had a previous COVID-19 shot. Those 65 and older and those with underlying medical conditions are at greater risk for severe cases.
“If it’s been a while since you got that vaccine, you need to re-boost your immune system, and you need to target it to the current type of variant,” she said.
"If you’ve recently had COVID-19, experts say you can wait three months before receiving the vaccine.
"Sheffield said it’s safe to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and the flu shot at the same time, however, since COVID-19 cases are already on the rise, it’s best to get it sooner rather than later.
“You don’t want to wait to get the vaccine,” she said.
"To schedule a vaccine, contact your local pharmacy, health department, or doctor’s office, or go to vaccines.gov to find an appointment near you.
"The new COVID-19 vaccine is free under most private health insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid plans. Federal funding for the Bridge Access Program — making the vaccine free to everyone — just ended, so uninsured individuals could pay up to $200 for the new vaccine.
"Pfizer and Moderna said free vaccines will be available through a
patient assistance program, but it is unclear who would qualify. The Vaccine for Children Program offers vaccines to uninsured children ages 18 and younger."
This Gary Varvel cartoon sums it up perfectly, as seen at Lucianne.com on 9/15/24.
Despite FDA recommendations Florida Surgeon General Ladapo warns against new COVID booster - 9/13/24
"The summer COVID-19 surge continues, with nearly half the country reporting "very high" levels of COVID activity as measured by wastewater data, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"The new COVID vaccine is now available at CVC and Walgreens and through clinics and healthcare providers. With the release of the vaccine, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo is urging everyone to stay up to date... with information about how dangerous it is.
"In a statement Thursday with the title, "Updated Guidance for COVID-19 Boosters for the Fall and Winter 2024–2025 Season," the Florida Department of Health repeated the same arguments against mRNA COVID shots that Ladapo used when he recommended against their use in January, saying the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did not provide an adequate response to his questions regarding the drugs' safety.
"Based on the high rate of global immunity and currently available data, the State Surgeon General advises against the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines," the FDOH statement said.
"The FDA's response to Ladapo in December rebutted each of his concerns, warning that vaccine "misinformation and disinformation" would result in fewer people getting vaccinated, which contributes to the "continued death and serious illness toll of COVID-19."
...
"Along with a lengthy list of concerns over the effectiveness and health risks of mRNA vaccines and boosters, the FDOH statement warned that "this booster does not protect against the currently dominant strain, accounting for approximately 37% of infections in the United States" and said that the vaccine was approved without specific trials in humans.
"The FDA said in a release that the updated vaccines granted an emergency use authorization for distribution this fall were designed to target the KP.2 strain but also "more closely target currently circulating variants and provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death."
"As of the latest CDC's Nowcast data tracker, which displays COVID-19 estimates and projections for two-week periods, the Omicron KP.3.1.1 variant accounted for 52.7% of positive infections between Sept. 1 and Sept. 14, followed by KP.2.3 at 12.2%, with LB.1 at 10.9% and KP.3 at 10.6%.
“These updated vaccines meet the agency’s rigorous, scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality," said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. "Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants.”
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends
that everyone ages 6 months and older receive an updated COVID-19
vaccine to protect against the potentially serious outcomes of COVID-19
for this fall and winter season.
Ladapo's history of COVID vaccine criticism:
By ,
"I can’t think of anyone who enjoys dealing with COVID-19. We’re tired of hearing about it, we’re tired of the prevention measures and we’re just tired of the whole topic. Unfortunately, the virus isn’t done with us.
"At the start of my summer vacation, I got the worst case of COVID-19 ever since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Instead of taking relaxing dips in the pool, I was drowning in NyQuil.
"COVID-19 isn’t going away, and it isn’t as harmless as we’d like to believe. We’d like to think that it’s no big deal because it’s not as deadly as it used to be. But that doesn’t mean the symptoms aren’t getting worse and the recovery isn’t getting longer.
"I consider myself a very healthy person, and still I was sick for a month. Even after I recovered from the worst of the symptoms, the cough and fatigue lasted even longer.
"The real question you should be asking is: What symptoms don’t the new COVID-19 variants have? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified the long laundry list of symptoms that derails what we thought we knew about the disease:
"You may look at this and think you only get 3-5 symptoms at a time, but I had every single one.
"Thankfully, data from the World Health Organization shows that fewer people are dying from COVID-19 than in the early days of the pandemic. As of the week of August 18, 2024, 997 deaths were reported, a decrease from the estimated 1,700 deaths reported during the same period last year.
"While the numbers show that COVID-19 regulations are continuing to improve, it sure didn’t feel like I walked away without lasting scars. This is still a dangerous virus that seriously threatens at-risk individuals. It still has the power to make even healthy people very sick.
"The first week of my 6 week recovery was painful. I had a sore throat that made even my favorite comfort foods dreadful to swallow. The headaches were pounding away at every slight turn of my head or any light that threatens to peek through my curtains. My nights weren’t any better. There was only so much Advil could do for my pain when I would still get the chills every night despite never being able to stop sweating.
"This would go on for days until I would get a break from the restless sleep and drink steaming hot tea in the middle of June.
"I feel much better now, but I learned an important lesson: I need to continue to get updated vaccinations and boosters. I need to protect myself and others when I’m around large crowds.
"What makes me mad is that I had no warning. Local media didn’t cover the summer COVID-19 wave until it was too late. I had to search the internet to find reports from Los Angeles and San Francisco that provided the information about it.
"The Los Angeles Times was one of the firsts to identify this summer sickness as the FLiRT variant. Wastewater testing showed extremely high levels of COVID-19 throughout the West Coast.
"The virus was surging and local media either ignored it or refused to cover it. The topic is simply not popular.
"I know what you’re thinking: you’ve already had COVID-19, and it wasn’t that bad. You have natural immunity. You’re not an at-risk individual. You don’t want to hear about it anymore.
"I can relate, because I felt the same way. But COVID-19 still sucks, even for healthy people, and it can still make you very sick.
"I know I’d like to get that month back from my summer.
"Do yourself and everyone else a favor. Get the new vaccine that’s coming out this Fall. Protect yourself in high-risk circumstances. Get tested if you’re sick. Do the right thing.
"Trust me, you still don’t want to get COVID-19."
----------------
If you still shrug it off even after reading this powerful first-hand account, good luck to you.
If this is the result, then public health officials must not be doing a good enough job at getting the message out.
------------------------
"Many Americans Wary of Vaccines as Fall Flu, COVID Season Looms: Survey"
"THURSDAY, Sept. 12, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- A lot of Americans are on the fence regarding annual flu and COVID shots, a new survey finds.
"More than one-third of those polled (37%) said they’d gotten vaccines in the past but don’t plan to this year, according to results from a nationwide Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center survey.
"Just a slight majority -- 56% -- plan to get the flu shot this fall, researchers found.
"Less than half (43%) say they’ll get the updated COVID vaccine.
“We’re at the start of respiratory virus season, when you have the triple threat of flu, COVID-19 and RSV,” said researcher Dr. Nora Colburn, medical director of clinical epidemiology at Ohio State’s Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital.
“Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation about vaccinations, but the reality is that they are safe and highly effective in preventing serious illness and death,” Colburn added in a university news release. “Older adults, people with certain chronic medical conditions and those who are pregnant are especially at risk during respiratory virus season.”
"Everyone age 6 and older is recommended to get the annually updated flu vaccine, and everyone 6 months or older is recommended to get updated COVID vaccines.
"RSV vaccines are recommended mainly for seniors, including everyone 75 and older and those 60 to 74 at increased risk of severe disease. Pregnant women also are recommended to get the RSV jab.
“Vaccinations play a critical role in helping to keep individuals and communities healthy,” Colburn said. “Other things you can do is to stay home when sick, avoid those who are sick and wear a mask if you’re not feeling well and going out of your home. All of these things can help prevent you from getting sick and spreading it to others.”
"The survey involved 1,006 people who were polled in mid-August."
Every year on this traumatic day, I watch the memorial ceremonies on TV, watch the great documentaries, and compare "where were you?" stories with others. We recall the days of unity, of flag-waving, of anger, and of mourning. We remember how the Palestinians celebrated because they assumed that only Jews worked in the World Trade Towers.
I always wonder how the survivors cope with this day, the ones who were actually at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, at the White House, and in the flight control towers.
And meanwhile, after 23 years, the masterminds of this heinous mass murder are still alive while so many innocent souls are dead.
We must never forget this day.
------------------------------
More FDNY members have died from World Trade Center illnesses than killed on 9/11.
"Twenty-three years after Sept. 11, 2001, illnesses linked to the World Trade Center terrorist attack have now killed more members of the New York City Fire Department than were killed on 9/11 itself.
"On the day the Twin Towers fell, 343 members of the FDNY were killed, according to officials.
"In the 23 years since, more than 360 FDNY members have died of World Trade Center-related illnesses, the department said. Twenty-eight of those FDNY deaths were over the last year, according to the FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association.
"Twenty-eight of those FDNY deaths were over the last year, according to the FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association.
"Those insurmountable losses did not end at the World Trade Center site," New York City Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said. "Instead, we have seen our members become sick because of time they spent working in the rescue and recovery."
"Of the 2,753 people killed at the World Trade Center, about 40% -- 1,103 people -- remain formally unidentified. There has not been a new identification of remains since January.
"The National September 11 Memorial & Museum's annual commemoration ceremony will take place on Wednesday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET"
As COVID Surges, the High Price of Viral Denial - 9/3/24
"COVID is surging once again and, if you live in British Columbia, you probably already know someone sick with fever, chills and a sore throat.
"As of mid-August, about one in every 19 British Columbians were enduring an infection, with or without symptoms.
"Although the media routinely dismisses all COVID infections as an inconsequential nuisance, that’s not what the science says. The virus remains deadlier than the flu and repeated infections can radically change your health.
"An important new Nature study, for example, has now proven that the spike protein of the virus can bind with a blood protein, fibrin, setting off a chain of blood clots resulting in chronic inflammation and brain damage. Fibrin can actually form a mesh impeding blood flow in arteries to multiple organs in the body.
"Repeated studies show in the bluntest terms that the initial acute infection is only the tip of the iceberg. Even a mild bout of COVID can leave a legacy of blood clots, heart failure, diabetes, decreased brain function (see sidebar), long COVID (now affecting 400 million people worldwide) and immune damage that increasingly makes people more vulnerable to a plethora of infectious diseases and possibly cancers.
"These problems can erupt three years after an infection and are especially prevalent in patients who’ve been hospitalized by COVID.
"Which is why physical therapist and COVID specialist Dr. David Putrino emphasizes, “There is no such thing as a SARS-CoV-2 infection that does NOT have prolonged consequences.”
"And yet the estimated daily level of infection in Canada now hovers around the highest points reached during the Omicron variant’s peaks in January 2022 and October 2023.
"That’s the finding of University of Toronto infectious disease expert Tara Moriarty, whose team bases the latest COVID-19 Hazard Index on a combination of wastewater data and modelling. In a discursive and highly valuable X posting Moriarty adds “there’s not a fresh vaccine in sight.” In fact, they are weeks away.
"That means about one million infections are occurring every week and that this “severe” level of infection translates like clockwork into more than 1,000 deaths per week from COVID-19 in Canada based on five-week average trends. Ultimately these infections will result in more cases of long COVID in both younger and older populations.
"While Moriarty’s estimates of COVID deaths are higher than provincial reports, the scientist asserts that her methods counteract chronic underreporting. Only 20 per cent of actual deaths from COVID are now reported, claims Moriarty.
"There is more bad news: on an annual basis COVID infections still account for 20 times more deaths than influenza.
"The data is not complete but this death toll likely made COVID the second or leading cause of death in the country last month.
"According to Moriarty’s data, the number of COVID deaths per infection remain highest in Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan because they have older populations often compromised by serious medical conditions. They are also served by shrinking health resources.
"Alberta, whose population is Canada’s youngest on average, claims the lowest infection fatality rate yet has already reported more than 700 COVID deaths this year. B.C. ranks somewhere in the middle.
"These grim trends mirror COVID’s permutations south of the border. In the United States COVID infections hospitalized nearly five out of 100,000 Americans during the week of Aug. 4 to 10.
"Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, one of North America’s leading COVID researchers, notes that, “This crucial, yet lagging indicator hasn’t been this high since February 2024.” In addition, spotty U.S. data indicates that COVID has hospitalized twice as many people than the flu since October last year.
Rocking the system
"Meanwhile Canada’s hospital emergency rooms, many already stretched before the pandemic, continue to open and close with troubling frequency across the country due to chronic staff shortages and sick workers.
"With little surge capacity, the continued presence of highly infectious COVID variants continues to leave many health-care systems in shambles year after year.
"According to Moriarty’s data, Canadian hospitals are now spending about $37 million dollars a day on COVID hospitalizations, which averaged more than 1,500 people a day two weeks ago.
"Here’s some more damning math: “On average, since the beginning of Omicron, people needing hospitalization for COVID-19 account for 14 per cent of hospital bed capacity (seven per cent if you admit only half of people needing hospitalization).”
"The resulting bed shortage has created a circular crisis, says Moriarty. “A constant annual seven-per-cent increase in hospital beds required for COVID-19, in a very low surge capacity environment with a serious health-care workforce labour shortage, can have profound upstream and downstream effects on health care and health.”
"The evidence is everywhere. Five Interior B.C. emergency rooms closed over the long weekend. In the last week five rural hospitals temporarily closed in Alberta, including facilities in Swan Hills, Fairview and Rocky Mountain House. In Ontario some rural citizens refer to ER closures as an “epidemic.”
"Dr. Alan Drummond, an Ontario rural physician, adds that the disruption of “emergency medicine delivery in Canada continues unabated as our political leaders fail to recognize and declare the obvious crisis that it is. They do nothing, they pray for divine intervention, they obfuscate, they lie through their teeth.”
‘A recipe for forever burn’
"The subject of how to respond to a slow burn pandemic remains taboo because most public health officials have already declared the emergency over. They’ve also stopped collecting critical data. COVID-19 deaths in Canada are not reported in a readily publicly accessible fashion. And most of the media pretends that an immune-destabilizing virus that can harm the functioning of your organs including your brain has little more import than a benign cold.
"As a consequence, authorities can’t now turn around and admit to the breadth of their mistake, let alone acknowledge the growing disorder in public health. Nor do they dare collect critical data documenting the scale of their errors including the relentless march of long COVID.
"Meanwhile the virus continues to out-evolve our response and vaccines. Two months ago, when new COVID cases exceeded 100,000 a day in Japan, the research scientist Hiroshi Yasuda imagined the following discussion in a hospital.
"Nurse: COVID hospitalizations are increasing again.
Doctor: I know.
N: Are we fighting an endless, losing battle against SARS-CoV-2?
D: No, you are wrong.
N: Oh, you have different ideas, doctor?
D: We are not even fighting.
N: [Nods in agreement.]"
"Richard Corsi, the noted U.S. indoor environmental engineer and creator of the Corsi-Rosenthal box, has summed up this predicament as a profound public health failure. “The general response to COVID-19 remains reactionary over precautionary. Wait until the fire gets hot and starts to burn rather than taking very simple steps to not fuel the fire in the first place. This is a recipe for forever non-containment, forever burn.”
"He then points out: “The solution’s been with us since day one of the pandemic. We’ve [generalized] just lacked the will, determination and grace to make it end. Reduce inhalation dose of virus-laden respiratory aerosol particles. It’ll never end if we continue to run in the opposite direction, folks.”
"The problem with running in the opposite
direction, however, is that we increase the chances of landing in the
arms of another COVID infection. And the reasons for avoiding such viral
encounters just grow stronger by the sheer weight of evidence.
Why infection prevention still matters
"Nobody sane really wants to play Russian roulette, but that’s how we should view every COVID infection. Although most people will get away with just an unpleasant biological disruption of daily life, others will take a bullet to their heart, brain, gut or immune system for reasons not fully understood.
"No COVID infection is completely benign because each infection plays a role in deregulating the immune system. Even a mild infection, as one recent study noted, can increase “autoantibodies associated with rheumatic autoimmune diseases and diabetes in most individuals, regardless of vaccination status prior to infection.”
"According to an increasing number of researchers, immune deregulation triggered by COVID probably plays a significant role in the dramatic global upticks in infectious diseases. The suspects include RSV, a variety of herpes viruses, whooping cough (now burning up the charts in Canada and England), scarlet fever, dengue fever, fungal infections and tuberculosis. Forty-four countries have now reported a 10-fold increase in the incidence of at least one of 13 infectious diseases compared to trends prior to the pandemic.
"Although vaccine hesitancy, climate change and permissive travel have also played a role in this microbial wave, researchers strongly suspect that COVID’s disruption of the immune system has made it harder for many people to fight other infections.
"Putrino, a COVID specialist at New York’s Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, recently explained the situation this way. “For the longest time we’ve told people that if you get an illness and you recover, it just makes you stronger. What we’re seeing over and over again is that’s not the case with COVID. Every time you get a COVID infection, your immune system seems to suffer.
“It’s kind of like a boxer, every fight takes a little bit more out of them. And they’re not getting stronger with every fight, they’re not getting stronger with every hit that they take. Every single time there’s an increased chance that something bad is going to happen to the immune system and I think that this influx of illness that we’re seeing is related to that.”
"Another significant risk posed by playing Russian roulette with COVID infections is that each one could result in long COVID, which has sidelined 400 million people around the world at a cost of a trillion dollars. Some manifestations of long COVID include heart disease, diabetes, myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome, and a raft of autoimmune diseases that may last a lifetime.
"Here, then, is where we’ve arrived. We’ve entered a vicious cycle where more infections generate more COVID variants. The new variants have become more immune evasive. At the same time society has generally abandoned masks, testing and basic public health messages.
"We could slow and suppress the cycle by facing the challenge squarely. For example, by cleaning dirty air the way we once tackled the disease-ridden spectre of cholera-infested water.
"But public health officials are afraid to talk about clean air let alone the obvious: avoiding infection.
"Beating back COVID requires hard work, communal wisdom and clear policies that markedly reduce the level of infection in society.
"To date we have chosen viral denial, dirty air and a triumphant reign for long COVID."
But I just wish we didn't have to have this tradition at all.
---------------------------------
From The Associated Press 9/9/24:
A 9/11 anniversary tradition is handed down to a new generation
"NEW YORK (AP) — A poignant phrase echoes when 9/11 victims’ relatives gather each year to remember the loved ones they lost in the terror attacks.
“I never got to meet you.”
"It is the sound of generational change at ground zero, where relatives read out victims’ names on every anniversary of the attacks. Nearly 3,000 people were killed when al-Qaida hijackers crashed four jetliners into the twin towers, the Pentagon and a field in southwest Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.
"Some names are read out by children or young adults who were born after the strikes. Last year’s observance featured 28 such young people among more than 140 readers. Young people are expected again at this year’s ceremony Wednesday.
"Some are the children of victims whose partners were pregnant. More of the young readers are victims’ nieces, nephews or grandchildren. They have inherited stories, photos, and a sense of solemn responsibility.
"Being a “9/11 family” reverberates through generations, and commemorating and understanding the Sept. 11 attacks one day will be up to a world with no first-hand memory of them.
“It’s like you’re passing the torch on,” says Allan Aldycki, 13.
"He read the names of his grandfather and several other people the last two years, and plans to do so on on Wednesday. Aldycki keeps mementoes in his room from his grandfather Allan Tarasiewicz, a firefighter.
"The teen told the audience last year that he’s heard so much about his grandfather that it feels like he knew him, “but still, I wish I had a chance to really know you,” he added.
"Allan volunteered to be a reader because it makes him feel closer to his grandfather, and he hopes to have children who’ll participate.
“It’s an honor to be able to teach them because you can let them know their heritage and what to never forget,” he said by phone from central New York. He said he already finds himself teaching peers who know little or nothing about 9/11.
"When it comes time for the ceremony, he looks up information about the lives of each person whose name he’s assigned to read.
“He reflects on everything and understands the importance of what it means to somebody,” his mother, Melissa Tarasiewicz, said.
"Reciting the names of the dead is a tradition that extends beyond ground zero. War memorials honor fallen military members by speaking their names aloud. Some Jewish organizations host readings of Holocaust victims’ names on the international day of remembrance, Yom Hashoah.
"The names of the 168 people killed in the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City are read annually at the memorial there.
"On Sept. 11 anniversaries, the Pentagon’s ceremony includes military members or officials reading the names of the 184 people killed there. The Flight 93 National Memorial has victims’ relatives and friends read the list of the 40 passengers and crew members whose lives ended at the rural site near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
"The hourslong observance at the 9/11 Memorial in New York is almost exclusively dedicated to the names of the 2,977 victims at all three sites, plus the six people killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. All are read by relatives who volunteer and are chosen by lottery.
"Each is given a subset of names to render aloud. Readers also generally speak briefly about their own lost kin, frequently in touching detail.
“I think often about how, if you were still here, you would be one of my best friends, looking at colleges with me, getting me out of trouble with Mom and Dad, hanging out at the Jersey Shore,” Capri Yarosz said last year of her slain uncle, New York firefighter Christopher Michael Mozzillo.
"Now 17, she grew up with a homemade baby book about him and a family that still mentions him in everyday conversation.
“Chris would have loved that” is a phrase often heard around the house.
"She has read twice at the trade center ceremony.
“It means a lot to me that I can kind of keep alive my uncle’s name and just keep reading everybody else’s name, so that more of the upcoming generations will know,” she said by phone from her family’s home in central New Jersey. “I feel good that I can pass down the importance of what happened.”
"Her two younger sisters also have read names, and one is preparing to do so again Wednesday. Their mother, Pamela Yarosz, has never been able to steel herself to sign up.
“I don’t have that strength. It’s too hard for me,” says Pamela Yarosz, who is Mozzillo’s sister. “They’re braver.”
"By now, many of the children of 9/11 victims — such as Melissa Tarasiewicz, who was just out of high school when her father died — have long since grown up. But about 100 were born after the attacks killed one of their parents, and are now young adults.
“Though we never met, I am honored to carry your name and legacy with me. I thank you for giving me this life and family,” Manuel DaMota Jr. said of his father, a woodworker and project manager, during last year’s ceremony.
"One young reader after another at the event commemorated aunts, uncles, great-uncles, grandfathers and grandmothers whom the children have missed throughout their lives.
“My whole life, my dad has said I reminded him of you.”
“I wish you got to take me fishing.”
“I wish I had more of you than just a picture on a frame.”
“Even though I never got to meet you, I will never forget you.”
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From the Jerusalem Post 9/2/24:
Only one moral end: Hamas surrenders, releases all hostages unconditionally - opinion
What does our enemy want? Nothing we can accept. By Einat Wilf
"We are facing a totalizing ideology, known as Palestinianism, executed by Hamas and its enablers, that seeks nothing less than ending the humiliating specter of sovereign Jews.
"Our enemy is dedicated, by all means necessary, to teaching a final lesson to those Jews who dared imagine themselves equal, sovereign, and masters of their fate in their own state on their ancestral land—so that they never attempt to do so again.
"We are up against an enemy that not only invaded our country and our homes to gleefully murder and mutilate the most peace-loving people in their beds but went on to kidnap hundreds of them to ensure they face no consequences for what they did on October 7.
"The brutal executors of the ideology of Palestinianism, Hamas, did not kidnap people for the limited goal of releasing murderers from Israeli jails. Rather, they did so to ensure they pay no price for what they did, enabling them to do it again, and again, and again.
"Make no mistake: as far as Hamas is concerned, it has paid no price and suffered no consequences for October 7. The devastation in Gaza and the people killed are all meaningless to Hamas. Buoyed by global pressure to provide it with ongoing supplies even as it conducts a total war, Hamas remains in firm control of Gaza and its people.
"It has secured a position as a legitimate negotiating partner. At the same time, all the pressure is placed on Israel to yield to its demands to return to the status quo of October 6—with no consequences for its actions. Nothing is being done against the backers of Hamas—Qatar, Egypt, and Iran—with the first two being falsely portrayed as helpful (they're not) and the latter as uninvolved.
"Once Hamas exchanged the women and children it kidnapped—who were, above all, a liability for their total cause—for guaranteed ongoing supplies that secure its rule in Gaza, the only additional deal to which it would agree, as it has repeatedly made clear, is one that returns to October 6: Hamas remains in charge of Gaza, including the border with Egypt that has been the site of endless supplies for its army and economy, Israel withdraws completely, and Hamas continues receiving billions from the world through UNRWA and other channels, allowing it to become even more effective in executing acts of mass murder in the future.
"Hamas executes hostages or attempts to do so when Israeli soldiers are close to rescuing them because the one thing they cannot accept is the idea of lowly Jews rescuing their own people. The kidnapped hostages are Hamas's insurance policy to continue fighting until there is no more Israel.
"In the face of a totalizing ideology that plays a long game with an annihilationist goal, there is only one moral position for any government or international organization to pursue (and it should have been the policy from October 8):
1. Unconditional release of the hostages.
2. Unconditional surrender of Hamas.
"That is the only way to end the immediate war.
"(Ending Palestinianism as the ideology that negates a sovereign Jewish state in any borders is necessary to end the century-long war.)
"And until then? It is war and should be waged as such, with no illusions about the enemy we face."
Einat Wilf is a former Israeli politician and author who served as a member of Knesset for Independence and the Labor Party.
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"The summer COVID wave appears to have peaked in most places except the midwest. But peaking does not mean that this wave is over. Nationally, there are about 870,000 new infections per day and about 1 in every 38 people is infected. Emergency department visits for COVID infection are starting to decrease, but are still fairly high. Hospitalization data is still spotty, but American hospitals will be required to report their COVID hospitalization data again on November 1. Weekly deaths from COVID continue to rise with more than 1,000 COVID deaths reported last week for the third week in a row.
Wastewater SARS-CoV-2
"Oregon, North Carolina and Oklahoma have extremely high levels of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater now, followed by very high levels in South Carolina, Minnesota, Arkansas, Idaho, Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana and Wyoming.
In Canada, 1 in every 32 people is currently infected nationally with 1 in 26 people infected in Ontario and Nova Scotia. In North Toronto, wastewater levels of SARS-CoV-2 are almost as high as during the Omicron wave. The rest of Toronto has levels more consistent with the rest of the country.
Acute COVID infections
"UCSF LIINC is a biobank containing samples from people who had COVID and are being followed longitudinally over time. A new LIINC study compared 32 people who went on to get Long COVID (PASC) to 72 control patients who recovered without Long COVID. People who went on to get Long COVID (PASC) had higher SARS-CoV-2 RNA and N-antigen levels and higher virus shedding during their acute COVID infection, as well as lower SARS-2 spike IgG antibodies within the first 9 days of infection. Host cytokine marker levels during acute COVID infection were the same in people who went on to get Long COVID and those who did not.
Sex differences in immune response
"In general, males tend to be more vulnerable to severe acute COVID infections and females are more likely to have autoimmunity (Long COVID, lupus, multiple sclerosis). In order to study if this is due to differences in sex chromosomes (XX vs. XY) or differences in sex hormones, a group from Sweden looked at immune responses in 23 trans men who were born as female and have XX sex chromosomes, but were undergoing gender-affirming hormone treatment with testosterone. They found that when trans men started testosterone, it caused decreases type-1 IFN release from plasmacytoid dendritic cells and monocytes, increases in TNF, IL-6 and IL-15 production via monocytes, and activation of nuclear factor kappa B-regulated genes and interferon-γ responses in natural killer (NK) cells. They concluded that immune responses were modulated by the sex hormone testosterone and were not due to sex chromosomes.
"Regarding sex differences in immune response, there have been two other interesting studies from earlier this year that looked at immune differences in females vs. males with Long COVID:
3/4/24 MedRxiV (Guan, Putrino, Iwasaki): Sex differences in symptomatology and immune profiles of Long COVID https://buff.ly/3Ts2olc
6/19/24 BioRxiV (Stanford): Sex differences and immune correlates of Long COVID development, persistence, and resolution https://buff.ly/4eS6Mmj
COVID Lung Fibrosis
"In Pulmonary Long COVID, the lungs can be damaged by scarring, but by targeting specific immune cells, scientists were able to reverse lung fibrosis. Using a mouse model of COVID infection in the lungs, CD8+ T cells were found to be making high levels of IFN-gamma and TNF to stimulate local IL-1b production by monocyte-derived macrophages. This was preventing the differentiation of epithelial progenitor cells after COVID infection which made it hard for lung cells to repair themselves. Scientists were able to block lung fibrosis after SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice by blocking immune proteins IFN-gamma+TNF or IL-1b activity in post-viral fibrotic lungs.
Pediatrics
"This week, Danilo Buonsenso’s lab published a large study of 1296 children and teens with COVID-19 who were followed prospectively for up to three years finding that 23% of them developed Long COVID at three months and 7.1% were still affected by Long COVID at two years. Risk factors for Long COVID included being over age 12, female, and having pre-existing health conditions. Being infected by earlier variants was associated with an increased risk of developing autoimmune diseases after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Vaccination significantly reduced the risk of Long COVID, especially for adolescents. The study highlights the long-term impact of Long COVID on children and the need for further research into its causes and potential treatments
Vaccines
"Most studies have shown that vaccination reduces the risk of Long COVID. A new retrospective EHR study from Mayo Clinic looking at people with a Long COVID diagnosis code in their medical record shows that while 6.9% of people have Long COVID, in their population of 41,652 patients who met study criteria, they found no association between vaccination before COVID infection and the subsequent development of "medically diagnosed" PASC. This is contrary to what has been found by many others including Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly’s recent study which showed that vaccination reduces the risk of Long COVID by about 40 to 50%. His group’s data showed that vaccination can have "profound effect in pulmonary symptoms of COVID, and less on metabolic effects on Long COVID."
Social and Advocacy
"The Patient Led Research Collaborative (PLRC) is recruiting volunteers to join their Long COVID policy-driven advocacy efforts. They are especially looking for volunteers who are well versed in US government & policy.
"The New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) is New York state’s largest, not-for-profit workers’ compensation insurer. They have just published an educational pamphlet for employers to help them understand Long COVID, "the risks posed by Long Covid to the workforce, how to mitigate those risks, and how to support those affected.”
Antiviral treatments and Prevention
"A group from UT Austin was evaluating antibody formation after SARS-CoV-2 infections and vaccinations and they found an antibody from one person called SC27 that is able to neutralize all known SARS-CoV-2 variants as well as some SARS-like coronaviruses from animals. The group then evaluated what makes SC27 so broadly neutralizing so as to understand how to apply findings to future vaccines and treatments.
"Using an agent-based model calibrated on 178 outbreaks in acute care settings in Victoria, Australia between October 2021 and July 2023, researchers found that if hospital staff wore N95 respirator masks and patients were screened on admission for COVID infection with a rapid antigen test (RAT), A$78.4 Million per year was saved and 1543 deaths per year were prevented. Staff N95 masking alone saved A$54.7 Million and 854 deaths per year and screening with RAT alone saved A$57.6 Million and 1176 deaths per year. Prevention works.
"Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir) remains an effective treatment for preventing severe COVID-19, including hospitalization and death, in high-risk patients. A new study shows that racial and ethnic disparities affect access to Paxlovid. Regarding Long COVID, results are mixed as to whether Paxlovid can help prevent or treat the disease. Some studies suggest a small reduction in Long COVID risk, particularly when taken within five days of infection. Pfizer is developing a second-generation antiviral called Ibuzatrelvir which could offer similar benefits to Paxlovid without the side effects of ritonavir. A phase III trial still needs to be completed before Ibuzatrelvir could be FDA approved.
"Two new articles this week (here and here) talk about the importance of good indoor air quality in schools. With pandemic fatigue and the fact that politicians have declared that the COVID pandemic is over, people feel like they don’t need to worry about indoor air quality anymore. But, if people are no longer taking precautions and are no longer masking even in hospitals, it is especially important to make sure that the indoor air in schools, workplaces and health care facilities is well filtered to help prevent respiratory diseases like COVID and the flu.
Long COVID
"A new review by Alzheimer's experts shows that some Long COVID patients have cognitive impairments including memory problems, confusion and difficulty concentrating that are similar to those seen in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Slowed brain activity on EEG is also seen in both Long COVID and dementia patients and may be related to shared mechanisms like neuroinflammation, astrocyte activation, and blood vessel damage. The authors recommend that cognitive dysfunction in Long COVID be evaluated and followed with routine EEG.
"Another review explores the potential link between Long COVID and pituitary dysfunction, particularly involving the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. The hypothalamic-pituitary axis is responsible for hormone pathways that result in cortisol and growth hormone and may be impaired in some people after COVID infection. Long COVID symptoms, such as fatigue, neurocognitive issues, and muscle weakness, overlap significantly with symptoms of pituitary dysfunction and hormonal imbalances. This review emphasizes the need for further research into this connection, particularly regarding adrenal insufficiency, hypogonadism, and growth hormone deficiency, and calls for routine hormonal assessments in Long COVID patients.
"A group from the University of Toronto looked at subjective and objective measurements of cognitive function in 150 people with Long COVID and found that subjective symptoms correlated with objective cognitive testing. They recommend that doctors treating patients with Long COVID (PASC) with cognitive issues rely on patient-reported information when assessing cognition during check-ups.
"Many with Long COVID complain of unrefreshing sleep. Forty-two people with PASC (Long COVID) underwent sleep studies. “Five categories of sleep disorder syndromes were observed following a sleep clinic evaluation, including obstructive sleep apnea, chronic insomnia disorder, primary hypersomnia, REM behavior disorder (RBD), and new onset circadian phase delay. Seven patients had idiopathic hypersomnia, and two had narcolepsy type 2… A peculiar form of insomnia was a persistent loss of sleep regularity.” Since sleep symptoms are common in Long COVID, the authors recommend a complete sleep evaluation in symptomatic patients.
"A new study discusses that “Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP) is an FDA-approved, non-invasive treatment for the management of cardiovascular symptoms with a mechanism of action which stimulates pathways that induce endothelial homeostasis, improving microvascular function, inflammation, and immune regulation, thereby potentially targeting the underlying etiology of long COVID.” The authors had previously reported using EECP on 231 patients with Long COVID improved their symptoms, but that study did not include a control group. This new study looks at 33 Long COVID patients vs 33 controls. It found that people with Long COVID who received EECP had a decrease in fatigue, an increase in their activity level, and an improvement in their breathing compared to Long COVID controls. The authors recommend a larger randomized clinical trial to test the benefits of EECP in Long COVID. Of note, author Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez tweeted that EECP therapy “can be too much” for Long COVID patients with ME/CFS and significant post-exertional malaise (PEM).
"Two physicians, Drs. Blitshteyn and Verduzco-Gutierrez, with expertise in Long COVID wrote a piece stating that although the world has tried to move on to a “new normal”, COVID infection continues to cause long term disabling diseases such as Long COVID and other chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. They review the data and recommend mitigation techniques including masking, improving air quality, quarantining for a minimum of 5 days if COVID positive, investing in Long COVID clinics, looking for treatments for Long COVID and providing medical education on Long COVID.
H5N1
"The CDC reports that a person with no known exposure to infected animals was hospitalized with H5N1 avian flu in Missouri. This raises the possibility of community transmission, but the CDC is still investigating how the person became infected.
Mpox
"99,000 donated Mpox vaccines arrived this week to the DRC in Africa and another 101,000 doses will be delivered within a few days.
Other news
"In a nationwide Danish study, air pollution was found to be associated with male infertility. Road traffic noise was associated with female infertility in women age 35 and older and in men aged 37 to 45.
"HPV (human papillomavirus) can cause cervical cancer and several other cancers. Vaccination against HPV is recommended for both boys and girls, but boys have much lower vaccination rates than girls. At an andrology clinic in Argentina, semen analysis was conducted on 205 men and showed that 19% of the samples tested positive for HPV. Samples that were PCR-positive for High-Risk HPV (HR-HPV) showed a higher proportion of dead sperm.
"Unlike a study from last month, two new studies in JAMA both show that Semaglutide does not increase suicide risk:
9/3/24 JAMA: Psychiatric Safety of Semaglutide for Weight Management in People Without Known Major Psychopathology https://buff.ly/4eco0tm
"this post hoc analysis suggest that treatment with semaglutide, 2.4 mg, did not increase the risk of developing symptoms of depression or suicidal ideation/behavior vs placebo and was associated with a small but statistically significant reduction in depressive symptoms (not considered clinically meaningful)."
9/3/24 JAMA: GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Use and Risk of Suicide Death https://buff.ly/4dT8zqi
In a study of 124,517 adults starting a GLP-1 receptor agonist versus 174,036 initiating an SGLT2 inhibitor, no increase in suicide was seen with GLP-1 receptor agonists liraglutide and semaglutide.
"A press release announced that the iDart Lyme IgG ImmunoBlot Kit just received FDA approval. It tests for IgG antibodies against Borrelia-causing Lyme disease and includes 31 Lyme antigen bands, which is more than other Lyme immunoblot tests available.
"Thirty years ago, approximately 28,000 healthy women had a single blood test for High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and lipoprotein(a) and then were followed. The higher the initial blood levels of those 3 tests, the higher the future risk of heart attacks and strokes in the next three decades.
"New Māori Queen Nga Wai Hono i te Po was chosen by Māori elders to replace her father, King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, who died at age 69 last week. The 27 year old queen has two older brothers, but was chosen to ascend the throne. “The new queen holds a Master of Arts in Tikanga (societal lore of) Māori and has served on a number of boards including that of the Te Kohanga Reo National Trust, an organization charged with revitalizing Māori language.”
"Have a great rest of your weekend,
"Ruth Ann Crystal MD
"P.S. I will be taking next week off."
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