. Reality:: Omicron makes all experimental vaccines superfluous as the risk to die from Omicron is lower than the vaccine risks...
I am sure some smart people other than you will find out after this mess if more people have died from Omicron than from their vaccination or the other way around. Hopefully not so far in the future…
Taking a page out of the communist playbook?
As COVID misinformation spreads, Maine medical boards investigate doctors (bangordailynews.com)
A state licensing board’s decision this week to suspend an Ellsworth doctor is part of a growing national trend of disciplinary actions against medical professionals accused of spreading misinformation about COVID-19.
Public health officials contend that disinformation is a major obstacle to national vaccination efforts. Maine’s two medical licensing agencies, the Board of Licensure in Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Licensure, have launched two investigations into doctors in response to complaints about potential misinformation.
On Wednesday, the Board of Licensure in Medicine released a lengthy list of allegations against Dr. Meryl Nass as part of the order temporarily suspending her ability to practice medicine in the state pending a deeper investigation.
The board’s preliminary inquiry alleges Nass repeatedly failed to follow basic “standards of practice” during telemedicine appointments with COVID-19 patients and admitted to lying to a pharmacist to obtain drugs not authorized to treat the disease. The board also quoted 17 public statements from Nass questioning the safety of COVID vaccines and espousing conspiracy theories about the government’s pandemic response.
Another physician, Dr. Paul Gosselin of Waterville, also had his license suspended last month by the osteopathic board over allegations of spreading misinformation and other potential misconduct. Because of confidentiality rules, however, it is unclear how many other COVID-related complaints regulators have received.
But complaints against doctors have soared nationally during the pandemic. And more than 20 percent of state boards have taken disciplinary action against physicians for COVID-related issues, according to Lisa Robin, chief advocacy officer with the Federation of State Medical Boards.
“We do know from our recent survey of the state boards that there has been quite an increase in the number of complaints against doctors and that that has really skyrocketed during COVID,” Robin said. “But what we really don’t know is the number of those that are currently under investigation. Because in most jurisdictions, that information is confidential.”
Last July, the federation created a stir when it released a statement warning that doctors who spread or generate COVID misinformation risk license suspension, revocation or other disciplinary action. The statement said physicians must “share information that is factual, scientifically grounded and consensus-driven for the betterment of public health.”
“But tragically we still have a small number of physicians and other health care professionals that are spreading disinformation,” Robin said. “And we are concerned that it is endangering lives and exacerbating this pandemic. We believe it is one of the largest threats in addition to the spread of the virus itself.”
A Bad News,Good News Story on how Media does it’s job
in a Free Country.
Display MoreOn the other hand, two days ago Rossi was very blunt when asked if he had the funds to start manufacturing one million units : "No".
One would think that answer should be generating a tidal wave of concern, but I haven't seen it.
2022-01-13 11:18 Frank Acland
Dear Andrea,
Let’s assume hit the 1 million orders needed to start production. Obviously you will need funds to start production.
Since you are not taking up-front payments from customers, do you have the necessary funds to mass produce Ecats, before customer payments start coming in?
Thank you and best wishes,
Frank Acland
2022-01-13 12:00 Andrea Rossi
Frank Acland:
No.
Warm Regards,
A.R.
A ”tidal wave of concern” from who?
The people that blindly believe what this guy says aren’t concerned at all, the people that see thru his charade aren’t concerned either.
I always said you miss most of your primary school math. So please stop your FUD and just repeat the calculation. Any 12 year old can do it. The only thing we must agree is that all vaccinated have S antibodies...Else the rate would even be higher....
Clown!
Let me simplify it for you:
W: UK report says x + y = 8, so it is obvious x = 8 + y
THH: Umm - but you have not said what y is - so you can't work out x = 2
THH: In any case this is wrong maths: if x + y = 8 => x = 8 - y not x = 8 + y
W: Clown! Please stop your FUD and repeat the calculation... Any 12 year old can do it. All we need to know is that y is a number.
THH
A ”tidal wave of concern” from who?
The people that blindly believe what this guy says aren’t concerned at all, the people that see thru his charade aren’t concerned either.
Is everybody happy.
Dear Dr Andrea Rossi,
Congratulations for reaching over 600000 orders. This gives evidence of how well your presentation of the Ecat SKLep has been accepted. I don’t think you need to make other demos: now all you have to do is manufacture and deliver, so you will have a tremendous mouth-to-mouth universal demonstrations.
Cheers,
Rupert Feathreweight
Rupert:
I agree,
Warm Regards,
A.R.
Display MoreDear Dr Andrea Rossi,
Congratulations for reaching over 600000 orders. This gives evidence of how well your presentation of the Ecat SKLep has been accepted. I don’t think you need to make other demos: now all you have to do is manufacture and deliver, so you will have a tremendous mouth-to-mouth universal demonstrations.
Cheers,
Rupert Feathreweight
Rupert:
I agree,
Warm Regards,
A.R.
According to my list there are up to 4 clues that this is one more sock puppet comment. And poor Rupert can't spell his own name correctly.
I am sure some smart people other than you will find out after this mess if more people have died from Omicron than from their vaccination or the other way around.
The Japanese government just now discusses to classify Omicron as level 2 disease = same level as flu. This would end all CoV-19 specific politics, rules etc..
Let me simplify it for you:
I do it for you. I hope you have no reading disability:
Overall population weighted (by age group, sex and NHS region) antibody prevalence among
blood donors aged 17 years and older in England was 24.1% (95% CI 23.3% - 24.9%) using the
Roche N assay and 98.7% (95% CI 98.4% - 98.9%) using the Roche S assay for the period 8 November to 31 December (weeks 45 to 52 2021).
Just more of the same sorta
understood, why I waited this long to post a x22 cov related content so a few of you can copy the url to look it up as this go's
To know when trigger point will pop without the need for my filling the site with the time line of other events.
Open Sourcing COVID-19 Vaccination: Pfizer & Moderna Look Out
With 10 billion vaccine doses produced since mid-2020, 70% of those doses have gone to inoculate people in rich countries. What if a COVID-19 vaccine sponsor could avoid the patient restrictions of Big Pharma? Perhaps, that is part of what is needed to ensure the development of an economical, easy-to-produce COVID-19 vaccine that could address vaccine equity issues in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). To date, COVID-19 vaccination has been highly skewed in favor of the wealthiest nations as measured by gross domestic product (GDP). But that could change soon as an investigational vaccine product developed by physicians at Baylor College of Medicine and the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development could possibly be used worldwide to overturn vaccine inequity. Already hundreds of millions of doses are in production, quietly, with little mention in the heavily biased North American media.
‘The World’s COVID-19 Vaccine’ made in Texas
Known as Corbevax, this experimental vaccine was recently showcased by Baylor College of Medicine. A protein subunit COVID-19 Vaccine, TrialSite reported that the product has already received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to launch in India with other underserved countries to follow.
TrialSite provides a brief breakdown for a product update.
What is the primary use case for this vaccine?
The need for safe, streamlined, low-cost vaccines for middle-to low-income countries is central to the world’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Without widespread vaccination of populations in the Global South, additional virus variants will arise, hindering the progress achieved by currently available vaccines in the United States and other Western countries.
In places like Africa, the total COVID-19 vaccination rate persists at under 10% of the entire population. In a place like Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, less than 2.5% of the population has received a full vaccination.
Parts of Asia, South America, and the Middle East are unvaccinated. About 5% of the Syrian population is vaccinated while in Yemen about 1% are vaccinated.
What’s the genesis of the vaccine?
This group in Texas utilized more traditional methods of vaccine development to address the first SARS outbreak nearly 20 years ago.
What research center initially supported Corbevax development?
Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development with licensing managed by BCM Ventures, Baylor College of Medicine’s integrated commercialization team.
What company received a license thus far?
Biological E. Limited, a Hyderabad, India-based biotech company.
How far along is Corbevax in the clinical trials process?
The investigational vaccine product has been through two Phase 3 clinical trials involving over 3,000 participants; the results look good with the vaccine found to be safe, well-tolerated, and immunogenic.
What are key vaccine highlights based on research to date?
In the recent press release Baylor reported the following:
CORBEVAX™ demonstrated superior immune response in comparison with COVISHIELDTM vaccine when assessed for Neutralizing Antibody (nAb) Geometric Mean Titers (GMT) against the Ancestral-Wuhan strain and the globally dominant Delta variant. CORBEVAX™ vaccination also generated significant Th1 skewed cellular immune response.
CORBEVAX™ nAb GMT against Ancestral-Wuhan strain is indicative of vaccine effectiveness of >90% for prevention of symptomatic infections based on the Correlates of Protection assessment performed during Moderna and Astra-Zeneca vaccine Phase III studies.
CORBEVAX™ nAb GMT against the Delta strain indicates a vaccine effectiveness of >80 percent for the prevention of symptomatic infections based on published studies.
While none of the subjects who took CORBEVAX™ or COVISHIELD™ had serious adverse events, CORBEVAX™ had 50 percent fewer adverse events than COVISHIELDT™.
In the continuous monitoring of phase II studies, CORBEVAX™ showed high persistence of immune response as indicated by <30% drop in nAb GMT till 6 months second dose as compared to >80% drop observed with majority of the vaccines.
What’s the developer’s point of view?
Dr. Maria Elena Botazzi, a professor and Associate Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor and Co-Director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development shared in their recent press release “Protein-based vaccines have been widely used to prevent many other diseases, have proven safety records, and use economies of scale to achieve low-cost scalability across the world.”
While Dr. Peter Hotez, Professor and Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor and Co-Director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development shared recently that their vaccine represented “an important first step in vaccinating the world and halting the pandemic. Our vaccine technology offers a path to address an unfolding humanitarian crisis, namely the vulnerability the low- and middle-income countries face against the delta variant.”
How did they get this vaccine funded?
As mentioned below, the U.S. government wasn’t of much help. TrialSite has chronicled the concept of regulatory capture and how vested industry interests ensured public taxpayer spend during Operation Warp Speed went to Big Pharma and biotech looking for large investor returns.
Consequently, the researchers turned to the non-profit sector including organizations such as the following:
Kleberg Foundation
The Dunn Foundation
JPB Foundation and more
Apparently, a total of approximately $7 million was raised.
Where has the vaccine been approved thus far?
India is under emergency use authorization as previously discussed. Biological E. Limited is already producing 100 million doses per month.
What other geographies are interested?
Vaccine producers in southeast Asia from both Bangladesh and Indonesia have already inked deals to produce the vaccine, while Botswana is also in discussions to license the product.
What is the implication for this approach?
Hundreds of millions of doses could be made available in poorer countries at a fraction of the cost.
Has the U.S. government supported this effort?
Not according to Dr. Hortez. In a recent interview with Al Jazeera, he shared that “No one cared in the U.S. government, and no one still really cares.” Of note, Al Jazeera tried to get in touch with the U.S. government but no response yet.
Noteworthy, the Biden administration did announce they would support LMICs with over 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses by the end of 2022. In fact, POTUS has claimed the U.S. does more than any other nation. To date, the actual number of vaccines shipped totals about 370 million.
What’s the economics behind the vaccine product?
The developers expect the cost at $2 per dose, according to the Indian government.
What about commercial company in India?
Based in Hyderabad, India, Biological E. Limited, was founded in 1953 and was among the first Indian private sector ventures to produce biological products. They pioneered Heparin production in India. Employing about 2,500, they are a major supplier of vaccines to international development groups such as WHO, UNICEF, and others.
What about Baylor’s BCM Ventures?
BCM Ventures is the commercial engine of the health sciences university, created to support the translation of academic knowledge and intellectual assets to benefit society.
The team is led by Shawn Davis, Vice President & Chief Ventures Officer
Long Covid: Common pill could help remove long term effects of virus
Many who have contracted coronavirus report feel ill effects as much as a year later
More than a million people in the UK are thought to be living with long covid - symptoms that last weeks or even months after the virus has gone.
Symptoms of long covid, the NHS says, can include extreme fatigue, sleep problems and memory or concentration issues.
There have been reports of people developing the condition, despite having had no symptoms when they tested positive for coronavirus.
Many of us take supplements on a regular basis, to feel better and boost vitamin levels.
One of these, a probiotic, has now been identified as likely to help treat long covid, according to research from a number of NHS Trusts.
A year-long investigation was undertaken by experts at Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) NHS Foundation Trust, Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the University of Bedfordshire, and volunteer patients across both counties.
It found treating the gut to a blend of five different friendly bacteria called lactobacillus probiotics, combined with a chicory-rich ingredient known as an inulin, could help with acute and long-term covid symptoms.
The study involved 126 people, a third of whom had an acute Covid infection with the majority reporting a wide variety of longer term symptoms lasting over 100 days.
Results, analysed by university statisticians showed that cough, fatigue, gut and well-being scores improved.
Many said gut symptoms suffered for years were also resolved.
Probiotics can be purchased in pill form from a number of health stores and pharmacies.
Authorities are concerned with Covid misinformation. YouTube videos have been taken down and every paper has a fact checker. Yet for two years a tik tok video has remained up for all our kids to see and maybe cook for you. They call it sleepy chicken, cooking chicken in NY quil. I call it meth chicken. It's still up!!!
What Is the 'Sleepy Chicken' TikTok Trend, Exactly?
Toward wide-spectrum antivirals against coronaviruses: Molecular characterization of SARS-CoV-2 NSP13 helicase inhibitors
Abstract
To date, effective therapeutic treatments that confer strong attenuation against coronaviruses (CoVs) remain elusive. Among potential drug targets, the helicase of CoVs is attractive due to its sequence conservation and indispensability. We rely on atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to explore the structural coordination and dynamics associated with the SARS-CoV-2 Nsp13 apo enzyme, as well as their complexes with natural ligands. A complex communication network is revealed among the five domains of Nsp13, which is differentially activated because of the presence of the ligands, as shown by shear strain analysis, principal components analysis, dynamical cross-correlation matrix analysis, and water transport analysis. The binding free energy and the corresponding mechanism of action are presented for three small molecules that were shown to be efficient inhibitors of the previous SARS-CoV Nsp13 enzyme. Together, our findings provide critical fresh insights for rational design of broad-spectrum antivirals against CoVs.
DISCUSSION
Identifying compounds that exhibit a broad antiviral spectrum (34) by targeting highly conserved structures has proven to be effective against a wide array of viruses. In this sense, the SARS-CoV-2 Nsp13 helicase protein emerges as an attractive target given its sequence conservation and importance across all CoV species (15, 16).
The first part of this study focused on deciphering the structural coordination that exists between the Nsp13 domains and the behavior of the enzyme’s complex with its natural ligands. The results from PCA and the DCCM matrix reveal a structural assembly that is characterized by a complex communication network among the five principal protein domains that is selectively activated by the presence of different natural ligands. As an example, the transition from Nsp13 apo form to Nsp13+ADP, the final product of the NTP nucleotide hydrolysis in the active site, gives rise to a high degree of interdomain communication that is absent in the apo state of the enzyme. A similar response was observed when both natural ligands, ADP and ssRNA, are incorporated into the assembly. A SASA analysis supports the existence of a communication mechanism between the ADP binding site and the ssRNA binding site in the RecA2 domain; the solvent surface exposure of regions 1, 2, and 3 is altered, and the increase of the active pocket volume (Fig. 3) serves to point out how the binding of ADP induces the opening of the RecA1 and RecA2 domains. Experimental studies on the previous SARS-CoV Nsp13 helicase have reported a similar behavior and response of the Nsp13 assembly to the natural ligand, ADP (10), suggesting that similar Nsp13 dynamics exist among CoVs. The opening of the RecA1 and RecA2 domains is also evident from the PCA, where the 1B and RecA2 domains (Fig. 2) separate from RecA1, either when only ssRNA or when both ligands are attached to the protein. PCA also highlights the rigidity of the ZBD and how the presence of the natural ligands affects its mobility. The cross-correlation maps reveal pronounced anticorrelations with the other domains upon binding to the natural ligands. The allosteric communication in the Nsp13 protein is also evident in the strain analysis, which shows conformational changes of the helicase conserved motifs located in the ADP binding site and the RNA binding region, with motif I (Walker A) and motif Ia showing the largest effects.
Having characterized the structure and dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 Nsp13 protein, the second part of this work was focused on the characterization of three compounds that offer potential to hinder its activity. Specifically, we found that SSYA10-001, bananin, and chromone-4c all form thermodynamically stable complexes with the Nsp13+ADP+ssRNA assembly, with SSYA10-001 and chromone-4c exhibiting the highest affinity. Both ligands bind to Nsp13 at the RecA2 domain, in regions 2 and 3, underscoring these as important regions for the helicase’s activity (10). In addition, the numerical value of the binding free energies is in the same order of magnitude than the experimental values, giving confidence on the model and results obtained. On the other hand, the computed binding free energy for bananin underestimates its inhibition power, where the causes of that could be related to the limitations of the selected force field to capture the complex interaction in the adamantane motif present in bananin. On the other hand, it could be possible that bananin exerts its antiviral activity by inhibition of other molecular target apart from Nsp13. Shear strain and β-factor analyses revealed that the largest perturbations of the assembly take place in motif I (Walker A) and motif Ia; the reduced flexibility in motif Ia may be responsible for the reduced Nsp13 helicase activity, as reported for these ligands and as predicted for SARS-CoV-2 by our models. In addition, the largest strain responses occur in the three binding regions for ssRNA (190 to 210), (330 to 350), and (490 to 530). This result, in conjunction with the contact maps and LIE analysis (which shows a reduction in the interaction between the ssRNA oligonucleotide and the Nsp13 protein), could explain the helicase inhibition mechanism. SSYA10-001 shows a different behavior than that of the other molecules: This small drug leads to a large strain in the ZBD-Stalk region, which, in turn, induces a conformational change of the protein. Given the importance of ZBD in the helicase activity, as well as its leading role on the interaction among Nsp13 and the RdRp, it is reasonable to expect these perturbations over the enzyme structure and dynamics to impair its function. Following the important role of NSP13 in the RTC complex, additional atomistic studies on the protein-protein interactions are now being pursued. The possible mechanism of disruption of the NSP13-RdRp complex by small molecules will be the focus of that work.
Intestinal bacteria could be behind Japan's low COVID deaths, study says
The abundance of a specific intestinal bacteria known to suppresses the binding of the coronavirus to human cell receptors is likely to play a role in the low COVID-19 mortality rates seen in Asia and Northern Europe, according to a study led by a team of researchers at Nagoya University.
Many scientists have speculated there may be an X-factor when it comes to the low death rates from COVID-19 in Asia, including Japan, and some countries in Northern Europe such as Finland. Genetic and immunological differences, as well as the taking of the BCG vaccine in early childhood to protect against tuberculosis, have often been cited as possible reasons. An in-vitro study by the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine has also shown that compounds in green tea known as catechins significantly reduced the infectiousness of the coronavirus.
The highly contagious omicron variant is known to lead to less serious cases than the delta variant, and the mortality rate has been lowered to be more or less comparable to that of influenza.
But the death rate from COVID-19 tends to go up with age. Other risk factors include obesity, diabetes, smoking and a history of respiratory infections, though COVID-19 vaccination curbs the possibility of severe illness and death.
To shed light on what the mysterious factor may be behind the low death rates in some countries, Nagoya University scientists analyzed raw sequencing data of gut micro-organisms in 953 healthy subjects in 10 countries from a public database.
The team analyzed the relationship between the composition of intestinal bacteria and the mortality rates of COVID-19, applying an advanced machine learning model in February 2021, when vaccines were not yet commonly available. It analyzed 30 important intestinal bacteria and found that having the lowest amount of one called collinsella was the highest predictive factor behind high COVID-19 mortality rates, with a markedly high statistical significance.
The scientists then categorized the data into five types of gut bacteriological ecosystems, called enterotypes, based on the compositional similarity of their micro-organisms. They compared them with the mortality rates of the 10 countries and found that the level of collinsella was negatively correlated with the mortality.
Where COVID-19 mortality rates are low, such as in South Korea, Japan and Finland, the enterotype with the highest amount of collinsella was dominant, accounting for 34% to 61% of the total, the study said. In Belgium, Britain, Italy and the U.S., where mortality rates were high, the enterotypes with the two of the lowest levels of collinsella were predominant, and only 4% to 18% of subjects had the enterotype with the largest amount. The other countries examined were Canada, Germany and Mexico.
“I’m not saying that intestinal bacteria alone can cure COVID-19,” said the study’s lead researcher, Masaaki Hirayama, an associate professor at the university’s Graduate School of Medicine. “The purpose of this study was to see if we could make a breakthrough in treatment if we could find at least one thing related to factor X.”
Hirayama said that collinsella transforms the gut’s bile acids into ursodeoxycholic acid, which has been known to suppress the binding of the coronavirus to its receptor and inhibit the potentially deadly immune response called a cytokine storm.
The study has undergone a full peer review and was published in the U.S. open access science and medicine journal Plos One in late November. Diverse factors, such as age and stress, can influence gut micro-organisms, but enterotypes are thought to be affected by intake of foods and are not strongly associated with race or gender, the Nagoya University researchers said.
Hirayama says it remains unclear whether mortality rates are higher for vaccinated individuals whose collinsella levels are lower. But based on results of the study, he has already begun work on joint research with respiratory medicine doctors to see if substances produced by this intestinal bacteria play a role in whether some patients become seriously ill while others do not.
“Serious cases of the disease have rapidly declined due to vaccination, so I don’t think we need to worry too much about low collinsella levels in some Japanese people,” he said. “In fact, most Japanese and other Asians have high levels of bifidobacteria and collinsella
To shed light on what the mysterious factor may be behind the low death rates in some countries, Nagoya University scientists analyzed raw sequencing data of gut micro-organisms in 953 healthy subjects in 10 countries from a public database.
The paper:: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p…0263/pdf/pone.0260451.pdf
