Medical News of the Day
Friday, December 24th, 2021
Medical News of the Day - Friday, December 24th, 2021
Note: I greatly apologize that I have not posted in the past couple of days. I posted a few additional news stories in this Substack.
Covid
Omicron
What makes the Omicron variant spread so easily? - Los Angeles Times
The Omicron variant arrived in the United States right around Thanksgiving. Less than a month later, it's the country's dominant coronavirus strain, accounting for 73% of new infections last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
How did that happen? Infectious disease experts say there are two key factors that determine how quickly a virus will spread: how easily it is transmitted and how well it eludes the body's defenses.
United and Delta cancel more than 200 flights due to Omicron virus spread - CBS News
United and Delta have canceled more than 200 flights on Christmas Eve as a surge in COVID-19 cases impacts their staff, the airlines said Thursday. The cancellations come as the Transportation Safety Administration says the number of people traveling for the holiday is returning to pre-pandemic levels.
Three new studies suggest omicron has lower hospitalization risk and is milder than other variants - CNBC
The Covid omicron variant is less likely to result in hospitalization than earlier strains and appears to be milder in comparison, according to early data released this week.
Data from South Africa, England and Scotland indicate that people infected with omicron are significantly less likely to be admitted to a hospital than if they contract other strains, and the latter study further emphasized the importance of getting a booster shot.
COVID cases in the US have soared by 38 per cent in the last 24 hours to 238,278 new infections as the Omicron variant continues to spread, with some states seeing cases rocket by up to 670%.
Thursday's update in infection numbers from Johns Hopkins University saw diagnoses climb from 172,072 for the previous day. Deaths were also up slightly, from 2,093 yesterday to 2,204 today.
Omicron may bring record-breaking daily coronavirus cases but fewer deaths, forecast say - Los Angeles Times
A highly influential COVID-19 forecast is projecting that the Omicron surge may result in as many as 400,000 new coronavirus cases a day across the nation — significantly higher than last winter's record of 250,000 cases a day.
The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects the Omicron surge will continue rising swiftly through December and into January, potentially peaking later next month or in early February. Despite the increase in cases, predictions indicate there will be fewer daily deaths than during last winter's devastating peak.
As COVID cases soar across the U.S., health experts have predicted things will get worse in 2022 as the Omicron variant is expected to cause 140 million new infections from January to March, infecting 60 percent of all Americans, the majority of which will be asymptomatic cases.
Researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington updated their COVID-19 model and expect the virus to hit the US hard come January, peaking at 2.8 million new cases a day by January 28.
UK Covid infections hit 120,000 in 24 hours in another record high - UK Metro
The UK has reported another record amount of Covid cases with almost 120,000 people testing positive in the last 24 hours.
Today’s figure of 119,789 is the highest daily number since the pandemic began and the second day in a row infections have topped 100,000.
As Omicron variant spreads, New England hospitals are under unprecedented strain - The Washington Post
On a recent morning, Neil Meehan opened a spreadsheet he has come to dread.
It showed the number of intensive-care beds available in an area of New Hampshire that is home to 350,000 people: two.
A day earlier, there was just one. Very often there are none.
Substacks
RESEARCH VIDEO: Vitamin D against Cv19 per "Journal Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2021 June" summarized in less than 2 minutes - Healthy Thinking
4 excellent studies that should have reasonably changed the trajectory of the politicized pandemic and liberated hundreds of millions of people from fear-mongering, isolation, and forced drugging
Culture War as Vaccine Promotion - Rounding the Earth
"90% of selling is conviction and 10% is persuasion." - Shiv Khera
While I was in San Juan, I talked with a wealthy cryptocurrency entrepreneur who was worried that pandemic policy and effect could be used as a tool to manipulate the electorate, if not attack one side ahead of something like a civil war (I'm taking small liberties in description of his concerns). I told him that other than the young-old (Blue-Red) correlation, I had not seen specific evidence of that, though the notion that democracy could be steered by culling the old should concern people (as should allengineering of democratic power illusions).
Attacks on Physicians and Scientists During the Pandemic - Rounding the Earth
After last night's article, I decided that one of the better campfire.wiki projects to move forward with would be to document the attacks on doctors and scientists that those of us paying attention have witnessed. A comprehensive summary of those attacks might prove valuable in helping many people understand the dangers of the trajectory that we are on, not to mention shake them loose of the false notion that our political establishment is dedicated to good science and medicine. One way or another, Moloch dies, but the fight is in protecting as many people as possible, and that means educating them. That's where I need your help.
The Art of Gaslighting: Argument by Distant Denigration - Rounding the Earth
When no argument is made before combat, we know we're not talking science.
Manipulative Interpretations of Trial Statistics - Rounding the Earth
On a distant planet, in a galaxy far far away, the 2022 Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball (March Madness) tournament was hosted in Seattle Washington. Bill Gates sponsored the event, including a sideshow featuring the two finalists in an international search for the best unknown 3-point shooter. The sideshow sold as many tickets as did the games.
Pandemic of the vaccinated - Alex Berenson
This absolutely brutal preprint from Denmark shows zero vaccine effectiveness against Omicron beginning two months after “peak” protection (lol peak), and sharply negative protection three months out.
Yet again Team Apocalypse is wrong: Omicron has already peaked in South Africa - Alex Berenson
See how the line is already plunging?
An accurate summary of the situation post-Omicron - Alex Berenson
Put another way: Virus gonna virus. Bluechecks gonna bluecheck.
VSRF call today: Meet Maddie's mom, Stephanie de Garay - Steve Kirsch
Today I'll be interviewing Stephanie de Garay. Her 13-year old was paralyzed less than 24 hours after getting the Pfizer vaccine...you know, that "safe and effective" one
NIH is still unsure whether fluvoxamine should be used to treat COVID - Steve Kirsch
The NIH recently acknowledged that fluvoxamine completed a Phase 3 study showing it works that was published in the Lancet Global Health. The study noted that “there was one death in the fluvoxamine group and 12 in the placebo group for the per-protocol population (OR 0·09; 95% CI 0·01–0·47).”
In plain English, if you started the drug early (shortly after symptoms) and you took at least 80% of the doses you were told to take (which means you stopped caffeine and alcohol which would impact compliance), you reduced chance of death by an astonishing factor of 12X.
PAXLOVID and Molnupiravir: Avoid - Steve Kirsch
How good is the FDA at EUA approval for COVID drugs? Well, so far, to be honest, pretty shitty.
The first three Covid drugs approved under EUA were Remdesivir, Baricitinib, and Tofacitinib. All were EUA approved for inpatient use (in hospital) only, demonstrate dismal effectiveness and are replete with black box warnings and side effects such as organ failure, blood clots, serious infections and malignancy.
60X increase in athletes dropping on the sports field is just a fluke according to Twitter - Steve Kirsch
The fact checkers say it is just a fluke. None of the incidents were vaccine related. One player may have had COVID before. One player wasn't vaccinated. So nothing at all to see here. Move along.
I agree with WHO: Don't use the vaccines to kill children - Steve Kirsch
I never thought I'd see the day when the WHO and I agree on something. I was wrong. That day arrived today. We both think countries shouldn't use the vaccines to kill children.
Athlete collapses/deaths following vaccination - Steve Kirsch
A former CIA operative fact checked the stories and found they were true. Why isn't the mainstream media doing these stories??
How RFK Jr. went from "a good guy" to an "anti-vaxxer" - Steve Kirsch
I talked to him this morning about what led him down the anti-vax path nearly 20 years ago. Here's the story, condensed to make it a quick read.
Please retweet this now. RFK Jr. challenging Jake Tapper. - Steve Kirsch
Please retweet this ASAP. Thanks!!!
Treatment
U.S. Weighs How to Ration Pfizer Pills Early On Among High Risk - Bloomberg
The U.S. has cleared Pfizer Inc.’s Covid pill, and now comes another hurdle -- deciding who should get it.
Pfizer’s Paxlovid, authorized Wednesday by the Food and Drug Administration, has shown promising results in substantially reducing severity in cases, with President Joe Biden hailing it as “a promising new treatment.” But it will be available in limited quantities at first as Pfizer grinds through a months-long manufacturing process.
France cancels order for Merck’s COVID-19 antiviral drug - Reuters
France has cancelled its order for Merck & Co's COVID-19 antiviral drug following disappointing trial data and hopes instead to receive Pfizer's competing drug before the end of January, the health minister said on Wednesday.
NY Times Casually Admits New FDA-Approved Merck COVID Drug Might Actually Mutate Healthy Human DNA by Accident and Impact Male Fertility - Freedom Rock Radio (12/14/21)
In normal times, in a normal world, this news might make headlines.
But in 2020 during the Big Pharma bonanza pandemic, it’s stuffed at the bottom of the New York Times article.
The new Merck drug molnupiravir was approved two weeks ago by the Food and Drug Administration. The “expert” committee narrowly voted to recommend authorizing the drug.
But hidden towards the bottom of the article you learn molnupiravir might actually mutate healthy DNC by accident.
Judge denies ivermectin treatment for Elgin couple in ICU - Daily Herald
An Elgin couple remained in an intensive care unit in Elgin battling COVID-19 on Monday, days after a Kane County judge denied a motion to allow them to receive the controversial drug ivermectin.
Attorney Patrick Walsh filed an emergency motion Dec. 15 on behalf of Elgin Maria and Sebastian Abbinanti. The couple's doctor and family members believe ivermectin, which has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a COVID-19 treatment, could help them.
Censorship/Lockdowns/Mandates
Feds admit tracking 33 million mobile phone devices during lockdowns - Toronto Sun
The Public Health Agency admits it tracked 33 million mobile devices to monitor the population’s movement during lockdowns, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
The agency says cell tower locators were used to “understand the public’s responsiveness during lockdown measures.”
Politics
The Biden Administration Rejected an October Proposal for “Free Rapid Tests for the Holidays” - Vanity Fair
With omicron cases spreading like wildfire, the White House is finally taking steps to make free antigen tests available to all. But this fall, Vanity Fair has learned, it dismissed a bold plan to ramp up rapid testing ahead of the holidays. Frustrated experts explain how confusion, distrust, and a single-minded fixation on vaccinating Americans left testing on the back burner for so long.
Axios-Ipsos poll: Lack of trust puts the unvaccinated at risk - Axios
Unvaccinated Americans' already low trust in the federal government plummeted over the course of 2021, exacerbating the challenges in getting the pandemic under control, according to a year's worth of data from the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
Why it matters: The implications extend beyond shots and boosters. Unvaccinated Americans in our surveys were far less likely to limit their social interactions or to wear masks outside the home, which correlated significantly with their reported rates of COVID-19 infection.
What we're watching: Republicans and Black Americans make up two disproportionately high segments of the unvaccinated population — but the survey found they're managing that decision in dramatically different ways.
He’s not saying what he thinks he’s saying - Alex Berenson Substack
A little more on Berenson v. Twitter, for those of you who are interested
Other Covid News
Covid-19 Marches Toward Endemic Status in U.S. as Omicron Spreads - The Wall Street Journal
The Omicron variant’s aggressive advance is the latest twist in the course of a disease that public-health experts say is on a path toward becoming endemic in the U.S.
In other words, the Covid-19 pandemic won’t have an end date. Rather, a crisis that engulfed the world within months of the coronavirus’s discovery in China will dissipate in fits and starts into something that feels more like normal over the course of years, infectious-disease experts say.
I Got COVID Three Times - BuzzFeed News
“I think someone entered something in your chart wrong,” a physician's assistant said to me over a video call on Saturday. “It says you’ve had COVID-19 three times.”
“Nope, not a mistake.” I smiled, chuckling at her confounded expression. “Isn’t that hilarious?”
At this point, nearly two years into this pandemic, vaccinated and having symptomatic COVID for the third time, all I can really do is laugh.
New York will require masks and social distancing at scaled-back Times Square New Year’s celebration - CNBC
The Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration will be scaled back, and attendees will have to wear masks, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday.
A crowd limit of 15,000 people in viewing areas was also set to allow for some social distancing. Usually, there are 58,000 people allowed in viewing areas.
Why won’t Florida, CDC release state’s breakthrough COVID data? - Tampa Bay Times
For more than two months, the Tampa Bay Times and other news organizations have been asking Florida for data that breaks down how many vaccinated people have been infected, hospitalized or died of COVID-19.
They are called “breakthrough” cases, data that would show how effectively the vaccine has protected Floridians — and how vulnerable the unvaccinated are.
Faking a COVID-19 Vaccine Card in New York Can Now Get You a Year in Jail - News 4 New York
Falsifying a COVID-19 vaccination card is now a class A misdemeanor in the state of New York, and tampering with computer records related to vaccinations is now a class E felony, after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed new legislation late Wednesday.
The bill clarifies that "a COVID Vaccination Card shall be considered a written instrument for purposes of the forgery statute," which makes faking one a crime punishable by up to 1 year in jail or 3 years' probation.
Royal Caribbean cruise ship prevented from entering 2 island nations due to Covid-19 outbreak - CNN Travel
A Royal Caribbean cruise ship was denied entry into two island nations after 55 fully vaccinated crew members and passengers contracted Covid-19 only days after the ship had set sail from Fort Lauderdale, the Miami Herald reported Wednesday.
Odyssey of the Seas was barred from entering Curacao and Aruba, effectively remaining at sea until its planned return December 26 to Fort Lauderdale, according to the Herald.
COVID-19 variants detected in U.S. deer, virus capable of jumping to humans - Study Finds
Deer may be the next carriers of COVID-19 who are able to infect humans, a new study warns. Scientists at The Ohio State University report that they have detected at least three variants of the virus in wild white-tailed deer throughout the state.
Researchers add that the animals may also be a potential “reservoir” for coronavirus, meaning COVID could survive within their bodies and evolve before jumping to humans.
Censorship
Israeli research on fourth COVID-19 vaccine blocked - The Jerusalem Post
Research on administering a fourth COVID-19 vaccine has been stalled and might not move forward at all, a spokesperson for Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer has said.
The hospital applied for approval for the fourth shot trial from the Health Ministry’s Helsinki Committee but the request has still not been approved.
Covid Studies
Systemic immune cell dynamics during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are extensively documented, but these are less well studied in the (upper) respiratory tract, where severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replicates
Other Medical News
Another danger to illicit drug users: Animal tranquilizer - AP News
Brooke Goodwin came home one night last March after being out with friends. She had just turned 23 the day before, had a good job and was planning to go away with friends the following weekend. Her mother, whose bedroom is next door to the kitchen, heard her daughter get some food and go to bed.
But Brooke never came downstairs the next day. Her older sister found her in her room. She had overdosed on a toxic mix of the powerful opioid fentanyl cut with xylazine, an animal sedative that is making its way into the illicit drug supply, particularly in the Northeast.
FDA Approves First Injectable Treatment for HIV Pre-Exposure Prevention - FDA
Today (December 20, 2021), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Apretude (cabotegravir extended-release injectable suspension) for use in at-risk adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kilograms (77 pounds) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV. Apretude is given first as two initiation injections administered one month apart, and then every two months thereafter. Patients can either start their treatment with Apretude or take oral cabotegravir (Vocabria) for four weeks to assess how well they tolerate the drug.
I am working with Mathew Crawford, who runs the very successful Rounding the Earth Substack, on Operation Uplift Wristband, where you can show your Medical Freedom solidarity. My profile photo on here is what the wristband looks like with Mathew’s Substack on the other side.
If you’re interested in purchasing wristbands, please email us at operationuplift@protonmail.com.
Here are the prices, which includes shipping in the United States. You will need to pay for shipping if you live outside of the US.
10 for $10
50 for $40
100 for $60
500 for $250
You can read Mathew’s Substack from last week for information about Operation Uplift.
It is time for us to stand up against the medical tyranny that has devastated humanity around the world for the past generation and let’s stand up for MEDICAL FREEDOM.
Lastly, on a personal level, my prayers and well wishes go out to my sister, brother-in-law and two friends, who have contracted Covid. This Substack will never do what other social media feeds have done and ridicule, harass and taunt people based on vaccination status. Medical Freedom is for everyone, even those who want to be in the tyrannical rule of the corporatists in the medical field. Like I have said, this is much more than just COVID.
God Bless my family, friends and everyone who is battling the virus.
Merry Christmas and blessings to your family.