Medical News of the Day
Saturday, December 18th, 2021
Medical News of the Day - Saturday, December 18th, 2021
U.S. COVID-19 vaccine mandate revived, Supreme Court showdown looms (Reuters)
A U.S. appeals court on Friday reinstated a nationwide vaccine-or-testing COVID-19 mandate for large businesses, which covers 80 million American workers, prompting opponents to rush to the Supreme Court to ask it to intervene.
The ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati lifted a November injunction that had blocked the rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which applies to businesses with at least 100 workers.
New email dump showing Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins coordinating a propaganda campaign to attack the Great Barrington declaration last October. (Phil Magness Twitter)
Stay tuned as there will be updates to this story coming out soon.
Has Omicron shifted receptor binding specificity away from deep lung tissue? (Robert Malone Substack)
Could this be why it appears that Omicron is less severe than other variants?
Omicron more likely to reinfect than Delta, no milder - study (Reuters)
The risk of reinfection with the Omicron coronavirus variant is more than five times higher and it has shown no sign of being milder than Delta, a study showed, as cases soar across Europe and threaten year-end festivities.
The results of the study by Imperial College London were based on UK Health Security Agency and National Health Service data on people who tested positive for COVID-19 in a PCR test in England between Nov. 29 and Dec. 11.
Omicron is dominant in wastewater samples in Florida county (Associated Press)
Even though there have been practically no cases of clinical infection, wastewater samples show that the new omicron variant is now the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the Florida county that is home to the nation’s largest theme park resorts, officials said this week.
The omicron variant has quickly surpassed the delta variant in collections taken from wastewater sampling sites in Orange County, officials said.
Regeneron’s COVID-19 antibody drug may be less effective against Omicron (Reuters) - Article from November 30, 2021
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc's COVID-19 antibody drug could be less effective against Omicron, it said on Tuesday, adding to fears about the efficacy of existing treatments after Moderna's top boss raised similar concerns about the company's vaccine.
South African hospitalization rates drop during Omicron surge (Bloomberg)
South Africa delivered some positive news on the omicron coronavirus variant on Friday, reporting a much lower rate of hospital admissions and signs that the wave of infections may be peaking.
Only 1.7% of identified Covid-19 cases were admitted to hospital in the second week of infections in the fourth wave, compared with 19% in the same week of the third delta-driven wave, South African Health Minister Joe Phaahla said at a press conference.
Follow up from Alex Berenson Substack: From a South African reader
The BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 reprograms both adaptive and innate immune responses (Jessica Rose Substack)
A brand new medRxiv preprint study entitled: “The BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 reprograms both adaptive and innate immune responses” has graced our pre-print world. This paper is so important and it provides evidence to support what many prominent immunologists and vaccinologists have been saying for a long time, including myself. These COVID-19 mRNA injectable products are causing, yes, causing, immune system dysregulation - and not just the adaptive system, but the innate system. Not only that, but these findings provide very good reasons as to why we are seeing resurgences of latent viral infections and other adverse events reported in VAERS (and other adverse event reporting systems) and perhaps more importantly, why we should under no circumstances inject this crap into our children. Children are fine in the context of COVID-19 (for the 80 millionth time - this well documented) and this is due to their extraordinary innate immune response systems.
CDC recommends Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 shots over J&J’s (Associated Press)
Most Americans should be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot that can cause rare but serious blood clots, U.S. health officials said Thursday.
The strange clotting problem has caused nine confirmed deaths after J&J vaccinations — while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines don’t come with that risk and also appear more effective, said advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pfizer’s Years-Long Cozy Relationship with CDC Official Revealed (Informed Consent Action Network)
On December 16, 2020, ICAN submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which resulted in the production of an email showing the cozy relationship between Pfizer and the CDC official now heading up its COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force.
In February, CDC produced 40 pages of emails with redactions. ICAN, through its attorneys, appealed these redactions in May, and the CDC has now finally produced the documents with the major redactions lifted.
Moderna COVID-19 shot more likely to cause heart inflammation than Pfizer’s, study shows (Reuters)
Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is up to four times more likely to cause inflammation of the heart muscle, a very rare side effect, than its rival vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech, according to a Danish study published in the British Medical Journal late on Thursday.
The study, in which almost 85% of Danes, or 4.9 million individuals, aged 12 and older participated, investigated the link between mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines and heart inflammation, also known as myocarditis or myopericarditis.
‘Tidal wave’: Omicron could put U.S. COVID-19 surge into overdrive (Reuters)
Two years into the coronavirus pandemic, the United States is confronting another dark winter, with the red-hot Omicron variant threatening to worsen an already dangerous surge of cases.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 have jumped 45% over the last month, and confirmed cases have increased 40% to a weeklong average of 123,000 new U.S. infections a day, according to a Reuters tally.
De Blasio rejects calls for COVID lockdown, says it’s ‘not March 2020’ (New York Post)
Mayor Bill de Blasio rejected calls for a new round of lockdowns in New York City on Friday as officials race to get ahead of a coronavirus outbreak likely fueled by recent arrival of the new and hyper-contagious Omicron variant.
Hizzoner’s statements come as city data shows COVID cases spiking across Gotham as daily test positivity rates soared above 6 percent this week and nearly 6,000 new cases were reported on Tuesday alone, the most recently posted 24-hour period.
Refugees lack COVID shots because drugmakers fear lawsuits - documents (Reuters)
Tens of millions of migrants may be denied COVID-19 vaccines from a global programme because some major manufacturers are worried about legal risks from harmful side effects, according to officials and internal documents from Gavi, the charity operating the programme, reviewed by Reuters.
Novavax Gets WHO Nod for Covid Shot for Developing Countries (Bloomberg)
The World Health Organization gave emergency-use status to a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Novavax Inc., the first protein-based shot to get approval against the virus.
The WHO said Friday the vaccine, known as Covovax, could be used globally and will help accelerate vaccination drives in lower-income countries. Covovax is a product based on Nuvaxovid, a vaccine made by Novavax that’s still under assessment by the European Medicines Agency. Novovax shares rose as much as 8.7%.
Taylor Swift-themed party explodes into nearly 100 COVID-19 cases (The Hill)
Nearly 100 people contracted COVID-19 after attending a Taylor Swift-themed party in Sydney, Australia, health officials said Thursday.
New South Wales Health (NSW) said in an advisory it has linked 97 COVID-19 cases to the “On Repeat: Taylor Swift Red Party” at Metro Theatre on Dec. 10, adding “it is likely some of these cases have the Omicron variant of concern.”
C.D.C. Virus Tests Were Contaminated and Poorly Designed, Agency Says (New York Times)
An internal review documented two serious flaws in the test kits, which were distributed to public health laboratories in early 2020.
The faulty coronavirus testing kits developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the early weeks of the pandemic were not only contaminated but had a basic design flaw, according to an internal review by the agency.
CEOs of two major airlines question the need for mask mandates (Steve Kirsch Substack)
Why masks are important
Masks are an easier win. Everyone HATES wearing masks (well, almost everyone… there are people who are convinced it is protecting them).
Winning on masks shows people that the authorities got it wrong. If we show the public that the CDC is making us do things that are nonsensical, it erodes trust in the CDC. That make the next argument (that the CDC got it wrong on the vaccine) easier to win because the CDC is no longer infallible.
Defiance of Gov. Hochul’s mask mandate grows as all of LI refuses to enforce it (New York Post)
The Democratic leaders of both Long Island counties have joined with dozens of Republican officials around the state to defy Gov. Kathy Hochul’s private-sector mask mandate— and boost the ranks of renegade county governments to nearly two-thirds the total.
“While we will not be actively enforcing the mandate, we will respond to complaints and assist businesses with education and compliance however we can,” Democratic Nassau County Executive Laura Curran told The Post on Friday.
The new normal: dying in your sleep (Steve Kirsch Substack)
Just the latest of a string of healthy people who die in their sleep after the vaccines/boosters rolled out.
Viral Absurdities (Rounding the Earth Substack)
"Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath." -George Carlin
Go ahead, laugh at the absurdity. It's horrible. It's painful. But what else can you do?
Depression is a withdrawal into a healing mode, but you can't stay in that mode forever. You have to recognize who and what is horrible, do a bit of thinking to understand it, and then just laugh. The more joy good people express, the more attractive a good world becomes.
We’re All Anti-Vaxxers Now (Nathan Munn)
I can’t wait to no longer be vaccinated.
By that I mean: I look forward to the government of Canada changing the definition of “fully vaccinated” from what it’s been for the past year (i.e. having gotten two doses of Covid vaccine) to the new, improved, ridiculous version (having gotten three doses of Covid vaccine.)
Once they do that, and they will, I will no longer be vaccinated against Covid-19!
Brooklyn Nets to bring back Kyrie Irving for road games outside New York, Toronto (ESPN)
The Brooklyn Nets are bringing back All-Star guard Kyrie Irving as a part-time player for games outside of New York and Toronto, the team announced Friday.
Irving, who has been unwilling to satisfy New York City mandates and become vaccinated to play in home games or road games at Madison Square Garden, will be eligible to play in select road games once he is able to pass a series of COVID-19 tests and get back into shape, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Professional sports just had their worst week of COVID since the beginning (New York Post)
The NFL has rescheduled three games. The NHL has put three teams on ice through the holidays. COVID-19 is back in sports. And it’s as bad as ever.
The NFL’s hand was forced on Friday afternoon as a result of the sheer number of positive cases within the Browns, Rams and Washington organizations. The league moved this week’s Raiders-Browns matchup to Monday at 5 p.m. ET and slotted both Seahawks-Rams and Washington-Eagles for 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Judge Overturns Purdue Pharma’s Opioids Settlement (New York Times)
A federal judge on Thursday evening unraveled a painstakingly negotiated settlement between Purdue Pharma and thousands of state, local and tribal governments that had sued the maker of the prescription painkiller OxyContin for the company’s role in the opioids epidemic, saying that the plan was flawed in one critical area.
The judge, Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said that the settlement, part of a restructuring plan for Purdue approved in September by a bankruptcy judge, should not go forward because it releases the company’s owners, members of the billionaire Sackler family, from liability in civil opioid-related cases.
How Exercise Affects Metabolism and Weight Loss (New York Times)
A new analysis of data from “The Biggest Loser” highlights the complex ways the body compensates when we drop pounds.