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Federal teams go door-to-door conducting health surveys in wake of Ohio train explosion | added February 27
Read more at CNN
Federal teams are going door-to-door to check in with residents of East Palestine, Ohio, and conducting health surveys as part of the federal government’s response to the toxic train derailment that has fueled anxiety about the safety of the air and water in the town, according to a White House official.
The teams are providing informational flyers with federal and local resources and completing the surveys after President Joe Biden directed the move, according to the official.
This latest step comes as frustrated locals in East Palestine complain about feeling sick and raise long-term health concerns after the Norfolk Southern train wreck earlier this month caused toxic chemicals to seep into the water, air and soil.
What must happen in and around E. Palestine: split sampling & analysis for dioxins and furans | added February 27
Read more at Planet Waves FM from Chiron Return
THE DIOXIN ISSUE associated with the East Palestine train derailment of Feb. 3, 2023 is not going away. It is officially in play. Everyone who needs to knows about it.
The local region and the reading/viewing public is informed, as long as they look somewhere besides major corporate media — which is doing a great job playing it down. However, the word dioxin comes up at every town hall meeting. U.S. Sens. Brown and Vance from Ohio have written to the EPA calling for dioxin testing, which made the AP wire on Friday.
This, in turn, pushed it into the Cincinnati Enquirer. Every chemical expert anywhere knows that dioxins are created when chlorinated compounds burn. The precautionary principle must be applied in this case: get the people out before the dioxin results come back. In order of who is evacuated: pregnant and nursing women; children; women who plan to have babies; and everyone else. Dioxin is toxic to everyone.
Federal environmental authorities halt Ohio waste removal due to contamination concerns | added February 27
Read more at Off Guardian
Federal environmental authorities have ordered a temporary halt in the shipment of contaminated waste from the site of the train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month, amid fears of further harm from the toxic waste.
Hazardous waste disposal facilities near Houston and Detroit are planning to receive most of the contaminated water and soil from the East Palestine train wreck site, raising the risk that some of the dangerous chemicals could end up in the environment elsewhere.
Debra Shore from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Saturday the agency had ordered rail company Norfolk Southern to “pause” shipments from the site but vowed that removal of the material would resume “very soon”.
Top CDC official spreads misinformation over ‘covid’ vax safety | added February 27
Read more at The Epoch Times
A top U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official gave false information about covid-19 vaccine safety monitoring to the agency’s vaccine advisory panel, and a spokesperson for the agency refused to correct the misinformation.
Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, director of the CDC’s Immunization Safety Office, presented on covid-19 vaccine safety to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Feb. 24. Shimabukuro went over updates to the safety signal for ischemic stroke following Pfizer bivalent booster vaccination that CDC officials detected in one of the agency’s monitoring systems.
After sharing the updates, Shimabukuro made the false statement. “No safety signals were detected for ischemic stroke for the primary series or monovalent boosters for Pfizer or Moderna covid-19 vaccines in U.S. and global monitoring,” Shimabukuro said.
U.S. Energy Department concludes ‘covid’ most likely leaked from Wuhan lab | added February 26
Read more at USA Today
The Energy Department has now concluded with “low confidence” that the covid-19 pandemic most likely began after an unintentional laboratory leak in China, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited a classified intelligence report provided to the White House and members of Congress.
There are two competing theories about what started the covid-19 pandemic in China: that the virus jumped from animals to humans at a market, and that it was accidentally leaked from a lab where researchers were studying coronaviruses. Neither has had enough evidence so far to be conclusive.
The Wall Street Journal and New York Times both reported that the Energy Department, citing new intelligence, changed its stance on the origins of the pandemic but the conclusion was relatively weak. USA TODAY could not independently confirm the reports.
A Seussian poem about the ‘covid’ vaxed | added February 27
Read more at Pierre Kory
“MORTON SUES THE WHO”
By Jenna McCarthy
The fifteenth of March seemed a nondescript day,
although something was festering far, far away.
It may or may not have escaped from a lab,
(but make no mistake; it would end in a jab).
Morton was working a job he could stand.
“That’s odd,” he said plainly. “My throat feels like sand.”
It was prickly and tickly and surely quite mild.
“It is the cold season,” Morton said, and he smiled.
Then he went back to doing the things you could do
before things were decided for you by the WHO.
New PWFM: East Palestine is Everywhere | added February 25
Read more at Planet Waves FM from Chiron Return
A new edition of Planet Waves FM is ready.
Important Dioxin Resources
I have prepared two resources that are making the rounds: an easy-to-follow dioxin overview that has been read by nearly 70,000 people, and a resource for journalists and citizens that provides articles and documents going back to the behind-the-scenes discovery of dioxin by Monsanto Co. in 1956.
I will be reading from that document tonight. Monsanto admits the history back to the 1930s and acknowledges that it knew its chemical processes were contaminated and constituted the risk of chemical release to the environment.
Focus on Dioxin Testing and Evacuation
Many people are contacting me with proposed remedies for dioxin exposure. This is not the time to be putting that out front; the words “dioxin” and “evacuation” are what must get the focus. Nobody should be within a few miles of ground zero without full environmental protection.
Public officials responsible for ensuring public safety go white at the mere mention of dioxin. There is a good reason: the moment there is one single positive test result, the discussion shifts to getting the people out. Under the precautionary principle, this must be done immediately.
Otherwise, pregnant women, people’s children and pets will be used as “laboratory animals,” finally sending the message of the seriousness of the problem.
Eric Coppolino joins Alec Zeck on The Way Forward to discuss dioxin issue | added February 25
Read more at Planet Waves FM from Chiron Return
This segment is cross-posted to The Way Forward and Planet Waves FM.
The full program is now ready on Planet Waves FM.
How the toxic Ohio train derailment negatively impacts young children and pregnant women | added February 25
Read more at ABC News
It’s been more than three weeks since the Norfolk Southern Railway train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, leaking dangerous chemicals into the air, soil and water. Crews are continuing cleanup of the area where hazardous materials including vinyl chloride, ethyl acrylate and isobutylene may have escaped into the environment — chemicals that are considered to be very toxic, possibly even carcinogenic with high exposures.
The most recent statement from the Environmental Protection Agency on the Ohio train derailment says they have not detected any levels of health concern in the air and they continue to investigate what impact the spill had on surface and ground water, including drinking water. Nearby community members were evacuated during a controlled burn of the chemicals and allowed to return when deemed safe.
While it’s unknown what residents were exposed to, and in what quantities, doctors told ABC News vulnerable groups — including pregnant women and children — could especially be harmed. “When we think about pregnant individuals who are exposed to anything, we want to think about the pregnant person themselves first,” Dr. Kathryn Gray, an attending physician in maternal-fetal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts, told ABC News. “So, you would want to proceed with an evaluation just like you would have any other adult who has the exposure.”
East Palestine residents diagnosed with bronchitis and other ailments due to chemical explosion | added February 25
Read more at NBC News
Residents and workers near the site where a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed this month have been diagnosed with bronchitis and other conditions that doctors and nurses suspect are linked to chemical exposure.
Melissa Blake, who lives within a mile of the crash site in East Palestine, Ohio, said she started coughing up gray mucus and was struggling to breathe on Feb. 5, two days after the Norfolk Southern train derailed. That day she evacuated her home and also went to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with “acute bronchitis due to chemical fumes,” according to medical records reviewed by NBC News.
“They gave me a breathing machine. They put me on oxygen. They gave me three types of steroids,” Blake said. She has yet to move back home since being discharged nearly three weeks ago. At CeramFab, a manufacturing company adjacent to the derailment site, five of its 10 workers were too sick to work as of Tuesday, according to general manager Howard Yang. Yang said the company suspended operations for about a week because of the derailment and subsequent release of vinyl chloride, a carcinogenic chemical onboard the train that was intentionally burned to avoid the risk of an explosion.
Safety regulators announce Ohio train derailment was 100 percent preventable | added February 25
Read more at The Guardian
Joe Biden received a briefing on Friday on the multi-agency response to the derailment in Ohio of a freight train carrying toxic chemicals, as his administration came under criticism and safety regulators said the incident had been “100% preventable” – although the train crew were not at fault.
The White House said the US president was being briefed a day after transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg visited East Palestine for the first time since the toxic spill and fire three weeks ago. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy expressed concern about rail safety measures, as the agency released an interim report. “We know for a fact what caused this derailment,” Homendy said on CNN on Friday morning, indicating that it was the dramatic overheating of a specific wheel bearing, and the fact that sensors on the track did not catch that overheating until it was too late.
“The crew did not do anything wrong,” she said, noting that they had responded correctly to an alarm but the train derailed anyway on 3 February. “Now it’s looking at how we got there,” Homendy said. “What conditions were present to allow that to happen? And then we’re going to look at what would prevent it from reoccurring in the future.” The NTSB said 38 cars had derailed and that a fire had damaged 12 more. Of those that derailed, 11 carried hazardous materials.
Texas and Michigan say they had no idea contaminated water and soil were being shipped into jurisdictions for disposal | added February 25
Read more at CNN
Officials in Texas and Michigan are complaining they didn’t receive any warning that contaminated water and soil from the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, would be shipped into their jurisdictions for disposal. About 2 million gallons of firefighting water from the train derailment site are expected to be disposed in Harris County, Texas, with about half a million gallons already there, according to the county’s chief executive.
“It’s a very real problem, we were told yesterday the materials were coming only to learn today they’ve been here for a week,” Judge Lina Hidalgo said Thursday. Contaminated soil from the derailment site is being taken to the US Ecology Wayne Disposal in Belleville, Michigan, US Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan said Friday. “We were not given a heads up on this reported action,” Dingell said in a news release on Friday. “Our priority is to always keep the people we represent safe.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said 4,832 cubic yards of soil have been removed from the ground in East Palestine and about six truckloads were on the way to Michigan. The complaints widen the controversy caused by the February 3 train derailment that left residents complaining about feeling sick after hazardous chemicals seeped into the air, water and soil. A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report found that one of the train’s cars carrying plastic pellets was heated by a hot axle that sparked the initial fire, according to Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the safety board.
Natural cure for ‘covid’ found in food, according to new Tokyo Institute of Technology study | added February 25
Read more at The Jerusalem Post
A new peer-reviewed study from the Tokyo Institute of Technology has, potentially, found a natural cure for covid-19. The study was published in the journal Plos One earlier this month. The study found that the natural amino acid called ‘5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA)’ is an effective way to reduce the expression of ACE2, which is the receptor for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a strain of the covid-19 virus, which allows the virus to infect a cell. Therefore, this amino acid can reduce the infectivity of covid.
ALA can be found in spinach, tomatoes, Shitake mushrooms, potatoes, squid, ground beef, wine and soy sauce, according to clinicaltrials.gov. There have been 6,850,594 global deaths from covid-19, according to the World Health Organization (WHO.) The WHO has also said that there have been a total number of 757,264,511 officially recognized covid infections. Similarly, the WHO reported that 13,223,135,400 vaccines have been administered to people to prevent the transmission of covid. However, there is no cure for the infection.
Researchers prepared human cell cultures and infected some of them with ACE2. In the cells treated with the amino acid, ACE2 was found to have not spread as much. Adding to the study, the researchers transformed cells from ALA into a protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), and then a heme. This led researchers to believe that ACE2 was biologically connected to both the compounds. The study has formed a new path for covid studies, in that now there may be future studies exploring how ALA and heme production can create a cure for covid.
Essential vitamins: Taco Bell (TB), Burger King (BK), Subway, Pizza Hut, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Budweiser beer do not exist last time we checked. Although, incentives to get ‘covid’ jabbed for a beer and doughnut did…
FDA authorizes first at-home test that claims to detect flu and ‘covid’ | added February 25
Read more at CNN
If you’ve got a fever and a cough, you don’t necessarily have to go to the doctor anymore to find out if it’s the flu or covid-19. On Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration authorized what it says is the first at-home test that can tell users if they have the flu and/or covid-19. The test, made by California biotech company Lucira Health, uses a single self-collected nasal swab and can provide results in about half an hour.
The test can be bought without a prescription. It’s authorized for anyone 14 and older for self-collection, or an adult can give it to a child 2 or older. The test is able to identify a negative result for influenza A with more than 99% accuracy and a positive result with more than 90% accuracy. It’s 100% accurate for negative covid-19 samples and more than 88% accurate for positive results.
There weren’t enough influenza B cases while Lucira was testing the product to measure that performance, so the company says it will have to do a real-world test when there is enough virus in circulation. But in lab studies, it caught nearly 100% of negative cases. All tests carry a risk of false positive or negative results. People who test positive for flu or covid-19 should take precautions so they don’t spread the illness. Negative results should be confirmed with a lab test, the FDA said, “if necessary for patient management.”
The war on birds is an extension of the war on humanity | added February 25
Read more at Mike Stone Antiviral
Over the last three decades, a war against our birds has been waged, taking a heavy toll of our avian population. This has all been done under the guise of the threat of the avian flu, a form of influenza A that is supposedly highly contagious and deadly to birds. It is said to primarily affect chickens, turkeys and ducks and it comes in two distinct categories: low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
Those inflicted with the lowly pathogenic garden variety are said to show zero to mild symptoms while those unfortunate enough to be labelled with an “infection” of the highly pathogenic strain may have a lack of energy with a cough and nasal discharge. “There are two types of avian influenza (AI) that are identified as H5N1. A difference exists in the virus classification; one is low pathogenic (LPAI) and the other is highly pathogenic (HPAI).
Pathogenicity refers to the ability of the virus to produce disease. HPAI H5N1, often referred to as the “Asian” H5N1, is the type causing worldwide concern. LPAI H5N1, often referred to as the “North American” H5N1, is of less concern.” “LPAI, or “low path” AI, commonly occurs in wild birds. In most cases, it causes minor sickness or no noticeable signs of disease.” These “viruses” are monitored through routine molecular testing of samples from bird carcasses as well as samples taken from healthy birds in order to determine whether or not an LPAI or HPAI “virus” is spreading amongst the population.
Nearly 45,000 animals dead from toxic Ohio train derailment, according to environmental officials | added February 24
Read more at BBC
Nearly 45,000 animals have died as a result of a toxic train crash this month in an Ohio town, environmental officials have said. The figure from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources updates the initial estimate of 3,500 animals dead after the 3 February derailment. The toll was all recorded within a 5-mile (8km) radius of the crash site, officials said.
Clean-up efforts continue in East Palestine amid a federal inquiry. A total of 38 cars derailed in the crash, 11 of which were carrying hazardous materials. Residents later reported feeling unwell. Mary Mertz, who directs the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), said in a news conference on Thursday that all of the 43,700 animals found dead were aquatic species, and that there is no evidence that any terrestrial animals were killed by the train’s chemicals.
None of the animals were believed to be endangered or threatened species. Some live fish have already been seen returning to one of the waterways affected by the train derailment, she said. There is no sign that any of the chemicals have killed animals in the nearby Ohio River, she said. “Because the chemicals were contained, we haven’t seen any additional signs of aquatic life suffering,” she said, adding that all of the deaths occurred immediately after the crash three weeks ago.
Toxic waste from Ohio train explosion headed to Texas for disposal | added February 24
Read more at Yahoo News
Toxic wastewater used to extinguish a fire following a train derailment in Ohio is headed to a Houston suburb for disposal.“I and my office heard today that ‘firefighting water’ from the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment is slated to be disposed of in our county,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a Wednesday statement.
“Our Harris County Pollution Control Department and Harris County Attorney’s have reached out to the company and the Environmental Protection Agency to receive more information,” Hidalgo wrote. The wastewater is being sent to Texas Molecular, which injects hazardous waste into the ground for disposal. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality told KTRK-TV that Texas Molecular “is authorized to accept and manage a variety of waste streams, including vinyl chloride, as part of their … hazardous waste permit and underground injection control permit.”
The company told KHOU-TV it is experienced in managing this type of disposal. “Our technology safely removes hazardous constituents from the biosphere. We are part of the solution to reduce risk and protect the environment, whether in our local area or other places that need the capabilities we offer to protect the environment,” the company said.
Ohio train crew warned about safety concerns just before derailment | added February 24
Read more at The New York Times
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The crew of a freight train that derailed in Ohio this month received an alert about an overheated wheel bearing only shortly before dozens of the train’s cars left the tracks, federal investigators said on Thursday, raising questions about the adequacy of safety measures used by the train’s operator.
An initial report from the National Transportation Safety Board found that while the wheel bearing had been heating up as the train carried toxic chemicals and other cargo through Ohio, an alarm did not sound to alert the crew to check a hot axle until the train passed a sensor not far from where it ultimately derailed. The sensor registered that the wheel bearing was 253 degrees above the ambient temperature, the report said.
The crew, already braking as the train followed another, slowed down even more after hearing the alarm, according to the safety board. The crew then saw fire and smoke and reported a possible derailment to the dispatcher. Thirty-eight of the train’s 149 cars ended up leaving the tracks. The timing of when the crew was alerted to the overheated wheel bearing is a key issue in the federal investigation into the derailment on the outskirts of East Palestine on Feb. 3
Ohio residents exposed to deadly debris from train wreck confront CEO of Norfolk Southern at town hall: “I don’t feel safe in this town now” | added February 24
Read more at CNN
Residents of a small Ohio town whose lives have been upended since a train hauling toxic chemicals derailed there earlier this month pressed top officials on the long-term health concerns and expressed their mounting distrust Wednesday night during a CNN town hall.
Following the February 3 crash, angry and frustrated residents of East Palestine grilled Gov. Mike DeWine and Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw on key concerns including air and water safety, cleanup efforts and whether the chemicals released following the crash could have long-term health effects on their families and children – some of whom have said they are still feeling sick weeks after the massive derailment.
Jim Stewart, a lifelong 65-year-old East Palestine resident, said he’s angry and disgusted about what happened to his hometown. “I don’t feel safe in this town now. You took it away from me,” Stewart told Shaw during the town hall. “Did you shorten my life now? I want to retire and enjoy it. How are we going to enjoy it? You burned me,” Stewart said, addressing Shaw. “You’ve made me an angry man.”Stewart, who said he lives near where the train crashed, added he experiences headaches after he inhales air near his home weeks after the derailment.
Erin Brockovich organizes justice campaign with legal team for East Palestine, Ohio | added February 24
Read more at East Palestine Justice
East Palestine Justice is a team of attorneys, environmental activists, and scientific and medical experts representing community members affected by Norfolk Southern’s negligence. Our team is unafraid of taking on giant corporations, like Norfolk Southern, who routinely hide their culpability, while injuring people in the blind pursuit of profit.
Famed environmental advocate Erin Brockovich and longtime water expert Robert W. Bowcock will work, alongside our team of attorneys and medical experts, to ensure that Norfolk Southern is held accountable for causing known carcinogens and other highly toxic and harmful chemicals to be released into the environment in and around East Palestine, ultimately contaminating the air, water, and soil.
Spearheading the fight against Norfolk Southern is trial lawyer Mikal Watts, who was recently appointed to a leadership team of attorneys helping women and their families hold drug companies accountable for damages for acetaminophen usage in pregnancy, causing autism in their children. Watts is also taking on pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson to compensate the scores of women who developed ovarian cancer and other potentially fatal ailments from using asbestos-laced talc products.
Ohio attorney Thomas W. Bevan, the founding partner of Bevan and Associates LPA, Inc., is our on-the-ground representative seeking justice for the community. Bevan’s firm has represented over 40,000 individuals, and he was the first lawyer to win a jury trial in Summit County on behalf of a rubber worker who died from asbestos-related cancer.
Environmental activist, Erin Brockovich arrives in East Palestine, Ohio ahead of town hall meeting | added February 24
Read more at 21 WFMJ
Although she said every contamination case she’s worked on has parallels, she hasn’t witnessed anything quite like the East Palestine disaster because she’s watching the aftermath unfold in real-time. “This is something I haven’t seen in my career,” Brockovich said, “I’m here today because the community by hundreds and hundreds have been reaching out to me since the 4th of February.”
She said almost all incidents she’s been a part of have some things in common: concerned citizens, a long road ahead, and unanswered questions. You don’t need to be a scientist or have a Ph.D. to question toxic contamination after witnessing a plum of black smoke involving hazardous chemicals, she said. “[East Palestine residents] are more than capable of critical thinking, their common sense is working for them.
They’re rooted to their land and their air and somethings wrong, and they’re going to keep pushing until they find out and get the answers they deserve,” she said, “They’re the ones that just were exposed. We need to be learning from them. The EPA needs to be learning from them.” Brockovich advises the people of East Palestine to document every health concern, follow their instincts, continue to ask questions and use their voice. Erin Brockovich’s town hall is Friday evening at 6 pm to answer the public’s questions at the East Palestine High School auditorium. Click here to register.
Florida Surgeon General Joe Ladapo investigated for falsifying ‘covid’ vax data | added February 24
Read more at Politico
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health’s inspector general last fall investigated Joseph Ladapo, the state’s surgeon general, after the agency received an anonymous complaint alleging he falsified a report focusing on the safety of covid-19 vaccines for young men.
Among other things, the complainant alleged Ladapo committed “scientific fraud” and “manipulated data” in a report that Ladapo later used to claim that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna covid-19 vaccines could increase the risk of cardiac death among young men, according to the complaint. Both brands use mRNA technology, which Ladapo contends was rushed to the market by the urgency of the pandemic without the proper testing.
“The analysis performed in DOH did not find this,” the individual wrote without providing evidence, according to the complaint. “He manipulated the final draft of the analysis.” Ladapo’s report was used as evidence in vaccine guidance he released in October that came under heavy criticism from the medical community, which said the surgeon general’s stance that the vaccine posed a health risk in healthy young men was flawed and went against covid-vaccine recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
California Supreme Court strikes down unlawful student ‘covid’ vax mandate | added February 24
Editor’s Note: It is always unlawful to mandate experimental medical procedures, especially the kind that injures people. These drugs are not a cure for all. — mmd
Read more at The San Diego Union Tribune
The California Supreme Court struck down San Diego Unified School District’s student covid-19 vaccine mandate this week and affirmed an appeals court ruling that school districts cannot create their own vaccine mandates.
On Wednesday, the state‘s highest court rejected a challenge to the lower court’s November ruling in favor of Let Them Choose, an initiative of the anti-mask mandate group Let Them Breathe. The group had first sued San Diego Unified in October 2021 over the district’s plans to mandate the original covid-19 vaccination for students 16 and older to attend school in person and participate in extracurricular activities.
Let Them Choose argued that the district lacked the legal authority to impose its own vaccine mandates, which it argued is something only the state can do. Judges at the district, appeals and now state Supreme Court levels agreed. Let Them Breathe founder Sharon McKeeman said she was happy but not surprised that the ruling against San Diego Unified was upheld. “This is the final finish line that we’ve crossed in protecting the rights of millions of California students against any unlawful covid-19 vaccine mandates,” McKeeman said.
George Mason University study reveals ‘covid’ shot mandates did not reduce infection cases | added February 24
Read more at FOX News
A new study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University concluded that covid-19 vaccine mandates in nine major cities did not appear to make a difference in terms of curbing cases deaths from the pandemic. The study examined mandates and statistics from Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C.
“We find no evidence that the announcement or implementation of indoor vaccine mandate in the cities listed had any significant effect on vaccine uptake, covid-19 cases, or covid-19 deaths, and this is largely consistent for all US cities that implemented the mandate,” said a working paper on the study, titled, “Indoor Vaccine Mandates in US Cities, Vaccination Behavior, and Covid-19 Outcomes.”
The authors, Vitor Melo, Elijah Neilson, and Dorothy Kemboi, noted that vaccine mandates were among a number of measures used with the intention of reducing the spread of covid-19 and deaths from the illness. As a result, they said, “[m]illions of people were prevented from entering restaurants, bars, gyms, theaters, sports arenas, and other public indoor areas without proof of covid-19 vaccination,” with people and businesses facing “large disruptions.”
“We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.” — Albert Einstein
Eric Coppolino joins Alex Jones and Mike Adams to discuss dioxins after Ohio train explosion | added February 23
Listen on Bitchute
The discussion focuses on the need to evacuate East Palestine until comprehensive testing is done to test for dioxins.
Independent chemical spills expert, Stephen Petty tests water, soil and air in East Palestine | added February 23
Listen on Instagram
Today we met with an expert who is independently testing the water, soil, and air in East Palestine. Meet Stephen Petty, an expert in chemical spills who has been used as an “expert witness” and “exposure expert” in many large-scale class action lawsuits nationwide.
Stephen tells us that he’s here taking samples of the air, water, and soil because it’s important for an independent investigator to verify what government officials and representatives of Norfolk Southern are saying.
Ohio farm owners worry about poisoned land and animals after toxic chemical spill | added February 23
Read more at The New York Times
ENON VALLEY, Pa. — Even with the trees still barren, Pam Mibuck could picture how the seasons would unfold on the land her uncle bought decades ago: a field of sunflowers in the summer, fresh apples for the horses and pie in the fall, and a tranquil place for her sons to come home to no matter the time of year.
But when officials decided two weeks ago to burn off the toxic chemical cargo of a derailed freight train a few miles away, sending a huge plume of smoke to blanket her farm and many others along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, the sense of safety Ms. Mibuck had long felt there was upended.
After the chemicals were released, Tina, the amiable white turkey that she bought less than a year ago for $3, was put on antibiotics for respiratory problems, and her chickens laid eggs with an unsettling purple hue, Ms. Mibuck said. Her son in California is urging her to move away, offering to build a barn on his land for her two horses, Samuel and Razor. And Ms. Mibuck, 54, who works as a custodian at a university, is seriously thinking about leaving the 14 acres that she considers a slice of heaven.
East Palestine makeshift clinic booked solid due to ailments from train explosion | added February 23
Read more at Rolling Stone
EAST PALESTINE, OHIO — Residents suffering ailments in the aftermath of the recent train derailment here came to a makeshift clinic Tuesday with their symptoms, stories, and, perhaps more pointedly, their frustrations.
It’s been three weeks since the derailment resulted in a massive toxic spill and a faint chemical smell still fills the air. Local hospitals and clinics have treated hundreds of people for a wide range of ailments associated with the spill, including headache, respiratory problems, eye irritation, rashes, and dizziness. In response to residents’ increasing frustration over their chase for straight answers, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called for a new Health Assessment Clinic, which opened Tuesday at a downtown church.
The first patient (noon sharp, appointment only) was Matthew Stokes, 43, a welder for CeramFab, a manufacturing company overlooking the train tracks. He was there for the initial clean-up effort, when, “they took one scoop of dirt, and the senior maintenance guy [with me] had to take a knee. I had to grab hold of something. I can’t explain it. I’ve never been exposed to toxic stuff.” His symptoms are typical, but he added, “Even my teeth hurt. I can’t breathe. I got the shit in me.”
NJ residents warn East Palestine to prepare for legal battle after toxic train explosion | added February 23
Read more at The New York Post
“Make sure you’ve got lawyers, because I’m telling you, I don’t think they [Norfolk Southern] really care,” she continued. “We had a class action lawsuit, but you don’t really get anything from it. I can’t even remember the amount, but it was book money for my daughter for the first semester. It was nothing.”
In the aftermath of the Paulsboro ordeal, multiple class action lawsuits were filed on behalf of first responders and the hundreds of local residents who lived or worked near the site of the Nov. 30, 2012 derailment. But some residents claim the rail company paid them off with “chump change” compensation to prevent them from seeking more cash if they developed serious health ailments down the line, including cancers.
“People signed letters to get money, but they waived all their rights,” said Paulsboro mayor Gary Stevenson, who was the deputy fire chief in 2012 when the derailment occurred. “My advice to the [Ohio] residents is understand what you’re singing. You might be signing your life and health away if you do that.” Exposure to vinyl chloride – a carcinogenic – has already been linked to liver, brain and lung cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute. The mayor, who lived less than 100 yards from where the train derailed, said he hadn’t heard of anyone being diagnosed with cancer and blaming it on the Paulsboro incident.
East Palestine residents voice health and safety concerns during town hall meeting | added February 23
Read more at CNN
Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, asked their questions directly to officials during a CNN town hall — but were left with mixed feelings about the future of their town after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed earlier this month.
“I don’t believe what they’re saying,” said resident Nene Stewart. Jessica Conard, who is a lifelong resident of the town, warned other communities in Ohio and beyond. “If you have a train near you or a waterway near you, this is a problem for you too,” she said. “Stand up, stand with us and we’re gonna fight until the promises are kept.” Andris Baltputnis, however, had a more optimistic view, saying, “I was very encouraged. Everything was in the positive direction and I think good things are on the horizon.”
“I feel confident to bet on ourselves. I think that’s what I took today, we have the one opportunity in our life to rewrite the greatest comeback story in American history and we have the pen. So, if we’re betting on us, I’m happy it’s East Palestine residents that get it,” said DJ Yokley, another resident and small business owner. Here are the other key moments from the town hall:
Safety assurances: Experts doubled down on their reassurances that assessments of the air and water have come back normal so far. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he felt it was safe enough to stay in the area overnight. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said while he understands the skepticism by families “as a father,” he would raise his children in the community based on air readings that indicate safe levels.
“We’re afraid to shower”: Ohio residents worried over safe living conditions despite assurance from government officials | added February 23
Read more at NBC News
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Doug Brayshaw was sitting on his porch when a massive plume of black smoke rose over the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment like a scene out of a horror movie. “It was like a storm, like a big storm was coming,” said Brayshaw, a truck driver who lives less than 3 miles from the site where Norfolk Southern chose to burn hazardous chemicals to avoid the risk of an explosion.
Since then, Brayshaw, 63, has fretted over whether his well water is safe. Some 15 days passed before officials finally arrived at his home Tuesday to test it, but he is going to have to wait even longer before he gets any answers. He said he was told it could take up to 10 days for the results to come back. “We’re afraid to shower,” said Brayshaw, who has been cooking with bottled water he picks up from an assistance center the rail company set up at a local church.
“I won’t even give my dog drinking water out of my well right now because I’m worried.” East Palestine residents have been on edge since the Feb. 3 derailment of a 150-car Norfolk Southern train. The company initiated the controlled burn of vinyl chloride from five rail cars on Feb. 6. More than two weeks later, many East Palestine residents said they remain gripped by fear and anxiety despite assurances by government officials that the air and drinking water are safe.
Australian study reveals possible link to blood clots after ‘covid’ shot inoculation | added February 23
Read more at Medical Xpress
A new Australian study led by SAHMRI and Flinders University has uncovered fundamental differences in how the AstraZeneca and Pfizer covid-19 vaccines impact the immune system. The Covid-19 Vaccine Immune Responses Study (COVIRS), published in Cell Reports Medicine, tracked the immune responses of 102 adults of varying ages, all living in South Australia where there was no community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at the time.
Participants had their bloods taken immediately after each dose of either the Oxford/AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech covid-19 vaccines to assess early immune response. They were also tested 28 days after every immunization to evaluate B and T cell activity. Both are critical, as B cells produce antibodies and T cells kill infected cells. The vaccines are alike in the sense that they induce the immune system to recognize and protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but they differ in how this is achieved.
The Pfizer vaccine uses mRNA technology to induce host cells to produce the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein, while the AstraZeneca vaccine uses a harmless virus (a chimpanzee adenovirus) to encode the Spike protein. Head of SAHMRI’s Systems Immunology Laboratory and Flinders University Professor David Lynn led the study, using a method of biological analysis known as ‘multiomics’ to examine immune responses in many different ways in thousands of blood samples.
‘Covid’ linked to increasing ‘auto-immune’ diseases by 40 percent | added February 23
Editor’s Note: Yet again, we see ‘covid’ the alleged virus being blamed for ‘auto-immune’ diseases. The study links ‘covid’ to Guillain-Barré syndrome which is a neurological disease and a side effect from the flu vaccine that happened in the 1970’s. The alleged Swine Flu pandemic forced the resignation of CDC Director David Sensor for pushing a vaccine that was known to have adverse side effects. — mmd
Read more at Live Science
Catching covid-19 may raise the risk of developing autoimmune disease by 43% in the months following the infection, according to the largest study of its kind. “The impact of this study is huge — it’s the strongest evidence so far answering this question of covid-19 and autoimmune disease risk,” said Anuradhaa Subramanian, a research fellow in health informatics at the University of Birmingham, who was not involved in the study.
The new research, which has yet to be peer reviewed, was posted Jan. 26 in the preprint database medRxiv. Scientists previously linked covid-19 to an increased risk of autoimmune disease, in which the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy parts of the body. However, this research was limited to small studies that focused on just a few conditions, such as autoimmune hemolytic anemia, which affects red blood cells, and Guillain-Barre syndrome, which affects nerve cells.
Now, researchers have analyzed the health records of 640,000 people in Germany who caught covid-19 in 2020 and 1.5 million people who didn’t knowingly catch the coronavirus that year to explore how the infection might affect the risk of developing any of 30 autoimmune conditions. They examined the rate at which people were newly diagnosed with autoimmune diseases in the three to 15 months after they tested positive for covid-19. They compared these rates to those of the people who hadn’t caught covid-19. Roughly 10% of the participants in each group had preexisting autoimmune diseases.
Backhanded Compliments | added February 23
Watch on YouTube
There’s always another side.
Episode 56: Eric Coppolino on dioxins, the East Palestine spill and the dangers they’re not telling us | added February 22
Listen on the Terrain Theory
Eric F Coppolino is an investigative reporter who has focused the past 40 years on dioxin-related fraud. He leads the Chiron Return investigative team and is host of Planet Waves FM. In this conversation with Eric we discuss:
His history of reporting on dioxin spills and cover ups
Why dioxin is the “anti-life” molecule and what it does to humans
What actually happened in East Palestine, Ohio
Why testing for dioxin is incredibly difficult
Who should be concerned about dioxin exposure from this spill
…and more.
Dioxin dorms and why I can’t give up | added February 22
Read more at the Ecologist
[June 2009] Joe Ramos, interim dean of fine and performing arts at the state college in New Paltz, New York, hung up on me – terminated the call, as he politely put it – just before replacing the handset. A relatively new arrival, he had never heard that Parker Theater, where his students study and perform, was contaminated with PCBs and dioxins after a transformer explosion in December 1991.This gives an idea of how quiet it’s kept on campus, how taboo a subject it is. So, I explained to him the history of the incident. I described the theatre, wrapped in plastic sheeting for weeks after the explosion so that rainwater would not spread the toxins further into the environment. I described the pipes freezing and bursting in January 1992 during the early phase of the cleanup, and the hundreds of toxic waste barrels that were used to collect the contaminated water.
I told him I didn’t know whether the theatre’s costume collection had been thrown out after the building fogged over with dioxin and furan-laced smoke, or whether students were still performing in clothing that could never be cleaned and only be tested by being destroyed. I explained how PCB smoke works its way into crawl spaces, above hung ceilings and into pipe chases, and how, once the contamination has seeped in everywhere, it verges on impossible to get a building clean.
And I assured the dean that his bosses and their bosses would give him a very different story: a blanket reassurance of safety and the usual line that I am the one who has a problem.
Eric Coppolino and the health ranger call for the total evacuation of East Palestine | added February 22
Read more at Natural News
URGENT: Today we join Eric Coppolino in calling for the immediate, total evacuation of East Palestine, Ohio due to the dioxin fallout now taking place there. The full interview with Eric Coppolino is now available at the bottom of this article. The interview also appears at the HR Report channel page on Brighteon.com.
The toxic cloud event that’s dropping extremely toxic dioxins across a large area of residential housing and farmland was deliberately generated by the open burning of vinyl chloride, creating combustion byproducts of dioxins which are many orders of magnitude more toxic and dangerous than the original substance.
Understand that the combustion of chlorinated compounds always results in the formation of dioxins. This simple fact is known by all competent chemists and is openly admitted by the EPA itself on its dioxins warning page, which states:
Studies have shown that only small amounts of chlorinated materials in waste are required to support dioxin formation when burning waste… Much of the dioxins created and released into the air through backyard burning settle on plants. These plants are, in turn, eaten by meat and dairy animals, which store the dioxins in their fatty tissue. People are exposed to dioxins primarily by eating meat, fish, and dairy products, especially those high in fat. Backyard burning occurs most commonly in rural farming areas where dioxin emissions can more easily be deposited on animal feed crops and grazing lands. These dioxins then accumulate in the fats of dairy cows, beef, poultry, and swine, making human consumption of these harmful chemicals difficult to avoid.
EPA demands Norfolk Southern pay for the cleanup of toxic chemical release in East Palestine | added February 22
Read more at AP News
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Norfolk Southern on Tuesday to pay for the cleanup of the East Palestine, Ohio, train wreck and chemical release as federal regulators took charge of long-term recovery efforts and promised worried residents they won’t be forgotten.
Speaking to reporters near the derailment site, Norfolk Southern’s CEO promised to undertake necessary steps to ensure the long-term health of the community and become a “safer railroad.” EPA used its authority under the federal Superfund law to order Norfolk Southern to take all available measures to clean up contaminated air and water. It also said the company would be required to reimburse the federal government for a new program to provide cleaning services for impacted residents and businesses.
“Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess that they created and the trauma that they inflicted on this community,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan vowed at a news conference in East Palestine. “I know this order cannot undue the nightmare that families in this town have been living with, but it will begin to deliver much-needed justice for the pain that Norfolk Southern has caused.”
Pennsylvania officials make “criminal referral” against Norfolk Southern’s train wreck in Ohio | added February 22
Read more at CNN
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said state environmental officials made a “criminal referral” against Norfolk Southern – the company who operated the train that derailed in an Ohio village near the Pennsylvania border – to the state attorney general’s office.
“My department of environmental protection made a criminal referral to the attorney general’s office,” he said in a Tuesday afternoon news conference. “My office of general counsel is looking at other legal steps that we might take.” And the Ohio attorney general is also reviewing all actions the law “allows him to take,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said. The February 3 disaster ignited a dayslong inferno, shot plumes of black smoke into the air and led to the intentional release of vinyl chloride to help avert a more catastrophic blast. Some residents have reported health problems, and about 3,500 fish have died in Ohio waterways since the wreck.
And the the train operator allegedly gave officials “inaccurate information” and “refused to explore or articulate alternative courses of action,” in the days following the toxic wreck, Shapiro claimed Tuesday. “In sum, Norfolk Southern injected unnecessary risk into this crisis,” he said, adding he plans to hold the company accountable for their actions. CNN has reached out to Norfolk Southern in regards to the governor’s comments and the criminal referral.
‘Covid’ virus linked to heart damage | added February 22
Editor’s Note: It would be useful if the autopsies were also tested for environmental pollutants like dioxins and heavy metals considering how negatively these chemicals effect organ function. Everything is blamed on ‘covid’. — mmd
Read more at NBC News
Covid can cause damage to the heart on a cellular level that can lead to lasting problems, including irregular heartbeats and heart failure, preliminary research suggests. Covid’s effects on the heart have been well documented, but a new study zooms in on the microscopic changes thought to be caused by the virus.
Researchers from Columbia University in New York City examined autopsied heart tissue from people who had Covid, and found that the infection damaged the way cells in the heart regulate levels of calcium, a mineral that plays an important role in how the organ contracts and pumps blood throughout the body. In another part of the study, the same damage was seen in mice with covid. The findings, presented Monday at the Biophysical Society Meeting in San Diego, have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
When a person is infected with covid, the immune system launches a hefty inflammatory response in an effort to fight off the virus. That inflammation, the new study found, disrupts how calcium is stored in the heart. Calcium ions — a version of the element that carry a positive charge — are important messengers that regulate heart function, including how quickly and how forcefully the organ contracts. These ions are stored inside cells, on deck for when the body needs to use them. They’re released through channels in the cellular membrane, which ensures that just the right amount of calcium can get out.
Project Veritas and the ‘virus’ | added February 22
Watch on Dr. Sam Bailey
It’s hard to believe that we are now over three years into the covid-19 fraud. We have exposed every aspect of virology and it is clear that the virus model is not supported by the scientific literature.
However, belief in the “virus” is necessary to achieve control of the population and this is maintained through one distraction after another. Project Veritas have produced the latest nonsense that unfortunately keeps people trapped within the fraudulent virus and contagion paradigms.
Belief in viruses is as deadly as the belief in the authority of the state. Many of the freedom community don’t seem to realise that changing the actors won’t free them from the plantation. The good news is that team “no virus” continues to gain more traction…
New study examines how the threat of mandates coerced people to get ‘covid’ jabs | added February 22
Read more at WTOP News
When the covid-19 vaccines started becoming readily available, several cities around the country, including D.C., rolled out indoor vaccination mandates. These required restaurants to check for a customer’s proof of vaccination before seating them inside, and they required some people to get a vaccine to keep their job.
A new study examines the effectiveness of the mandates. The study — conducted by researchers at three universities, including George Mason University’s Mercatus Center — looked at the impact indoor mandates had in cities that imposed them, including D.C., New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. “Their intended outcomes were to raise vaccination rates, for people to get more vaccines; and consequently, the expectation was that covid cases and deaths would go down,” noted Vitor Melo, a postdoctoral fellow at the Mercatus Center.
As compared to cities that didn’t implement mandates, Melo said his study found “there’s not much to show for it.” “Covid cases were not affected, covid deaths were not affected, and really, there’s no evidence that people got more vaccinated because of these mandates,” Melo said. While admitting the mandates had an impact on people who wouldn’t get vaccinated, Melo added “there really doesn’t seem much to show for it.” A spokesperson for the D.C. Department of Health did not respond to a request for comment.
The long-term effect of the ‘covid’ pandemic on children’s education | added February 22
Read more at VOX
It began on February 27, 2020. That day Bothell High School in Washington — the state where the first confirmed US cases of the novel coronavirus had occurred — announced it would close down temporarily after a staffer’s relative became ill after traveling internationally, prompting fears about what we were coming to understand was covid-19.
By March 15, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, in a tense Sunday evening press conference, told students, parents, and teachers at the nation’s largest school system that “there is no school tomorrow.” By March 25, every public school building in the country had been closed, taking more than 50 million students out of the classroom. And so the US began an emergency experiment, one with no precedent and no foreseeable end, in what would happen to America’s children if we took away the place where they spend, on average, over a thousand hours a year.
It can be difficult to remember now — after years of increasingly vicious political debates, after the war of epidemiologists against economists, after the mea culpas and the hysteria — that one of the few things most Americans agreed on in mid-March 2020 was this: For our children’s sake, we had to close the schools. In the spring of 2020 the novel coronavirus was truly novel — there were no vaccines, no clear treatments. America didn’t even have reliable tests. It wasn’t clear yet who would be most vulnerable to infection, how deadly the disease was, or precisely how it spread.
Ohio vs. Ukraine, what’s your president’s job? | added Feb. 22
Watch on YouTube
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” — Mahatma Ghandi
Carol van Strum and Eric Coppolino address residents of East Palestine | added February 21
Read more at Planet Waves FM from Chiron Return
An organization is forming called United for East Palestine. Carol & I were asked to present what we know about the dioxin problem and how to handle it. We have both been through local dioxin events.
Tonight author and dioxin historian Carol van Strum and I spoke to residents of East Palestine, Ohio, prepping them for what might happen in the coming months. This was sponsored by the nascent group United for East Palestine.
Here is our dioxin resource for citizens and journalists. We will continue to update this page with resources as they become necessary.
More on my program Planet Waves FM.
This Substack is a publication of Chiron Return, the nonprofit investigative team and publisher specializing in scientific fraud. It can be reached directly at PlanetWaves.org.
Ohio senators call on EPA to test for toxic dioxins in East Palestine | added February 21
Read more at WFMJ 21
Ohio U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance wrote a letter to the EPA, calling for them to monitor dioxins in East Palestine and the surrounding areas after the train derailment. Part of their letter sites the EPA, writing, “Dioxins are highly toxic, can interfere with hormones, and can cause cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, or damage to the immune system.,” adding, “the combustion of vinyl chloride can lead to the formation of dioxins.”
Vinyl Chloride is a toxic chemical that was released in the controlled burn. According to the EPA, dioxins are “a group of toxic chemical compounds” and in the environment, generally disperse and attach to soil and dust particles, as a result of combustion processes. There is a concern about whether dioxins could be in the village and potentially travel into other communities, following the derailment and controlled explosion.
Kent State University Director of Environmental Studies, Dr. David Kaplan, said in general, dioxins can also get into the water and “almost all aspects of everything that people eat,” but experts said without more data disclosed, they don’t know if there are dioxins in East Palestine from the derailment. Dioxins are known to cause cancer, heart disease, reproductive problems, and much more, and can take a very long time to break down, according to the National Institute of Health.
A resident in East Palestine, Ohio wears a mask at a car wash. Photo by Michael Swensen/Getty Images
Masked Ohio residents deal with toxic plume after train derailment | added February 21
Read more at CNN
More than two weeks after a toxic train wreck unleashed plumes of black smoke, contaminated the soil and fueled anxiety in East Palestine, Ohio, residents have reported a growing number of ailments – from rashes to nausea to trouble breathing.
Now, the state will open a health clinic Tuesday for residents who worry their symptoms might be linked to the February 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train and the subsequent release of the toxic chemical vinyl chloride. And medical teams from the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention and the US Department of Health will be on the ground in Ohio this week, at the request of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. The teams will help assess what dangers might remain in the community of about 5,000 people.
US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan is headed back to East Palestine Tuesday to meet with residents and local and state officials, according to an EPA official with knowledge of the visit. Regan had visited the town last week. It’s unclear what – if any – long-term health problems might arise from the train wreck, the subsequent inferno and the controlled release of vinyl chloride to help avert a catastrophic explosion.
U.S. Senators write EPA letter urging testing for cancerous dioxins after Ohio train explosion | added February 21
Read more at United States Senate
Ms. Anne Vogel
Director
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency PO Box 1049
Columbus, OH 43216
The Honorable Michael S. Regan Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20460
Dear Director Vogel and Administrator Michael Regan:
We write regarding the February 3, 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment near the Ohio- Pennsylvania border in East Palestine, Ohio and to inquire about the scope of monitoring in East Palestine and the surrounding communities. Specifically, we request additional information regarding the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA)’s and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s plans to monitor East Palestine and the surrounding area for dioxins.
We appreciate the swift responses both of your agencies have executed in response to this crisis, and for the assistance to local authorities and residents. We also appreciate the extensive air monitoring U.S. EPA has undertaken related to vinyl chloride and several known by-products that are produced when vinyl chloride burns including phosgene and hydrogen chloride. However, following our visits to East Palestine this past week where we heard directly from members of the community, we remain concerned that it does not appear that the U.S. EPA, OEPA, or Norfolk Southern is texting for dioxins.
The combustion of vinyl chloride can lead to the formation of dioxins. Dioxins are a group of compounds that are persistent environmental pollutants known to bioaccumulate in animals and humans. According to the U.S. EPA, dioxins are highly toxic, can interfere with hormones, and1 can cause cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, or damage to the immune system. We are concerned that that the burning of large volumes of vinyl chloride may have resulted in the formation of dioxins that may have been dispersed throughout the East Palestine community and potentially a much large area.
U.S. EPA administrator, congressman, OH and PA governors return to East Palestine, Ohio to provide updates on toxic train explosion | added February 21
Read more at WFMJ 21
U.S. EPA Administrator, Michael Regan will be returning to East Palestine on Tuesday to provide an update on the recent train derailment incident. According to a press release, Regan will also announce additional measures to ensure the health and safety of the community and to hold Norfolk Southern accountable.
This visit coincides with the opening of a clinic for residents who have medical questions or concerns regarding the derailment. The clinic will be run by the Ohio Department of Health along with partnering agencies including both the Ohio and U.S. EPAs.
Following the visit, a press conference will be held at approximately 12:30 p.m. In addition to Regan, Ohio Governor, Mike DeWine, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Valley Congressman Bill Johnson will also be at this press conference. 21 News will be streaming this conference live on the 21 WFMJ Facebook Page.
Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan address corporate greed and bomb trains | added February 21
Editor’s Note: Meanwhile, Norfolk Southern donated $6 million dollars to lobbyists and only $1 million dollars to help the town where the toxic train derailed. — mmd
Watch on YouTube
We look at the failures that led to the massive train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that blanketed the town with a toxic brew of spilled chemicals and gases, fouling the air, polluting waterways and killing thousands of fish and frogs. Residents are suffering ailments including respiratory distress, sore throats, burning eyes and rashes, all with unknown long-term consequences.
Many say they do not trust officials who tell them it is safe to return to their homes. This catastrophe could have been prevented, had it not been for lax regulation and the outsized lobbying power of corporations like Norfolk Southern, says Matthew Cunningham-Cook, a researcher and writer at The Lever who is part of a team that is reporting on the disaster.
Greater Cincinnati Water Works shuts water intake from Ohio river after detection of 2-Ethyl-1-hexanol | added Feb. 21
Read more at WLWT 5
Greater Cincinnati Water Works officials are continuing to monitor the chemical contaminants traveling down the Ohio River following the train derailment in East Palestine. Officials said GCWW shut the water intake from the Ohio River at 2 a.m. Sunday.
In a release sent Sunday afternoon, GCWW said in river samples collected upstream of GCWW intakes and analyzed Sunday morning, a compound called 2-Ethyl-1-hexanol was detected. This compound is commonly used in industrial applications including for flavorings and fragrances. The release went on to say that analyses of water drawn from GCWW’s intake have not indicated a detectable concentration of this compound.
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure the water is safe,” said Jeff Swertfeger, GCWW superintendent of water quality. “Our intakes are shut down right now, so the intent to that is to allow that chemical to go by in the river and then we don’t even bring it into the plant.” GCWW uses granular activated carbon on a continuous basis to treat these types of compounds and has begun using powdered activated carbon as a precaution.
This deadly chemical should be banned | added Feb. 21
Read more at The New York Times
Like a scene out of some postapocalyptic movie, Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio convened a news conference on Feb. 5 to deliver a stark warning. “We are ordering them to leave,” he said of residents of the small rural community of East Palestine, Ohio, and a neighboring part of Pennsylvania. “This is a matter of life and death.” To emphasize the point, he added: “Those in the red area are facing grave danger of death if they are still in that area.”
In this case, the “grave danger of death” was not a zombie fungus or lethal bacteria but chemicals. The red area was an area one mile by two miles surrounding the town, on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border about 40 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
Two days earlier, it was the site of a fiery derailment of train cars carrying the gas vinyl chloride and other chemicals. Freight trains typically transport more than two million carloads of hazardous materials each year, including many chemicals. Vinyl chloride is particularly dangerous and increasingly common, used primarily to make polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC, a hard plastic resin used to produce pipes, wire, cable coatings and packaging. We should begin phasing out the use of this chemical.
Health clinic opens in Ohio as residents report adverse reactions to train explosion — headaches, burning eyes, sore throats and skin rashes | added February 21
Read more at BBC News
A Norfolk Southern train derailed in the midwestern town on 3 February, releasing toxic chemicals into the air. Since then, residents have reported headaches, nausea, burning eyes and sore throats. The clinic will offer nurses, mental health specialists and a toxicologist, Ohio’s Department of Heath says.
Frustrated residents say they have been unable to get clear answers from officials regarding the safety of the town following the disaster. They point to contradictory advice from officials and various agencies, some of which have claimed local water sources are safe while others have advised drinking bottled water. About 3,500 fish died off in the nearby creeks after the accident, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Some residents have reported sick pets and dying chickens.
Others have spoken of experiencing psychological trauma. Among the chemicals released in the incident was vinyl chloride, a colourless, hazardous gas that is used to make PVC plastic and vinyl products. It is also a known carcinogen. Acute exposure is linked to dizziness, drowsiness and headaches, while prolonged exposure can cause liver damage and a rare form of liver cancer.
Representatives from the train company Norfolk Southern skipped a town hall meeting last week, where they had been scheduled to answer residents’ questions.
Chinese “spy” balloons turn out to be hot air | added Feb. 21
Watch the video on YouTube
The Chinese “spy” balloon may have turned out to be a lot of hot air and not the dangerous invasion of U.S. airspace some believed, but that’s no reason not to panic. Republican Senators like Alaska’s Dan Sullivan and Idaho’s Jim Risch have shifted into full-on fearmonger mode, demanding that the U.S. respond forcefully to this threat, ideally with ramped up military spending. What a surprise!
Dr. Sam Bailey interviews Eric Coppolino on dioxin issue, and a request to readers | added February 20
Read more at Planet Waves FM from Chiron Return
This is pre-release of audio from an interview scheduled to appear on Dr. Sam Bailey’s channel next week. She and her husband Mark are the New Zealand based dropout medical doctors who do such amazing work covering health and science issues. Sam had to learn the dioxin issue fast, and you will hear her address misinformation she was given in med school. Here is her channel.
Dear Friend and Reader:
I’ll be redoing my mailing list patterns this week to dial back the mail volume — though this is one that needs to reach everyone. I know not everyone likes to hear from me daily, especially on such a grim subject as this. So, thank you. For any astrology fans on this list who want my reading of the Pisces New Moon chart, here you have it. (I also do a closer reading of the train derailment chart.)
As you may know, long before my “covid” investigation, I had decades into the dioxin issue, publishing in many publications over the years. I seem to be one of the only journalists still around who is fully conversant on this topic. I have documents, resources and experience, and I am here to make them avaialble.
Please note I am continuing to update my primary article on the Ohio situation with corrections about issues involving the response by Norfolk Southern and various governments. Do not miss this letter from Pennsylvania’s Gov. Josh Shapiro to Norfolk Southern railroad that establishes his position.
As for my errand today
First, do you know anyone in East Palestine, eastern Ohio or western Pennsylvania close to the scene, who will talk to me — on or off the record? Please send them my way.
Second, I have prepared a dioxin resource for citizens and journalists that will acquaint anyone willing to spend a few hours reading with the issues. My intent is to offer access to the information that was given to me when I faced a similar situation in New York in 1991, and much else that I have learned since.
It comes with introductory audio to orient anyone who might use it.
Please distribute it for me — boldly, far and wide, even where you think it’s irrelevant. Post it to comments, to social, to your Stack and to your friends. We need to get it to the scene of the incident. After the East Palestine fire department hung up on me three times on Friday saying “we don’t need resources,” I pulled this page together because I know that in fact they do.
If there is interest, I will do a live briefing and Q & A for reporters and others via Zoom. Just let me know in the comments and I will schedule the event.
And please — to the extent you can, I ask you to aid and abet our reporting efforts by getting a paid subscription to this Substack, or by direct donation. You will see the button here. We have a long road ahead, and I must feed the tree that allows me to do this work for you. If there is a philanthropist in the reading audience who has wanted to fund an environmental journalism project, I have one for you.
Thank you kindly.
With love,
— efc
Invisible threat of dioxins surfaces after toxic Ohio train explosion | added February 20
Read more at CBS
Vinyl chloride entered the spotlight after the Feb. 3 Ohio train derailment. But the hazardous substance has been around for decades and is everywhere – from buildings and vehicle upholstery to children’s toys and kitchen supplies – and factories have been emitting the EPA-designated toxic chemical into the air for years.
The train that derailed had the manmade and volatile compound on board, prompting temporary evacuations amid concerns it could quickly impact people in the area. Then when officials decided to burn it, there were also concerns it could release phosgene, a gas that can be highly lethal and was used as a chemical weapon in WWI. But the derailment isn’t the first time vinyl chloride has alarmed experts. They’ve been concerned about its potential impacts for decades.
On Jan. 2, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a draft toxicological profile for the substance. In it, experts say that the volatile compound, “used almost exclusively by the plastics industry,” has “leached into groundwater from spills, landfills, and industrial sources,” and that people who live around plastic manufacturing facilities “may be exposed to vinyl chloride by inhalation of contaminated air.”
Hazard waste expert says Ohio was ‘nuked’ | added Feb. 20
Watch on YouTube
Hazardous waste expert Sil Caggiano joins ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ to break down the aftermath of 50 rail cars, 10 which of which were carrying vinyl chloride, derailing in East Palestine, Ohio.
Surveillance video shows train wheel overheating before derailment | added February 20
Watch on YouTube
The NTSB says new surveillance video obtained by CNN shows a wheel on the train that crashed in East Palestine, Ohio, was overheating 43 to 57 minutes before the derailment. CNN’s Jason Carroll explains.
Feds deploy medical assistance to assess dangers of Ohio train explosion | added February 20
Read more at CNN
The Biden administration said it has deployed federal medical experts to help assess what dangers remain at an Ohio village where a train carrying hazardous materials derailed this month – a ramp-up of federal support at the governor’s request as anxious residents point to signs of adverse effects.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday asked the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Health and Human Services to send teams to East Palestine, where the train derailed February 3 and sparked a dayslong blaze. “This request for medical experts includes, but is not limited to, physicians and behavioral health specialists,” DeWine wrote in a letter to the CDC. “Some community members have already seen physicians in the area but remain concerned about their condition and possible health effects – both short- and long-term.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Friday it will be sending a team to “assess the public health needs” at the site of the derailment. “CDC is working closely with US EPA and the Ohio Department of Health to assess the public health impact of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. We will be sending a team to provide technical assistance and assess the public health needs,” CDC spokesperson Bert Kelly told CNN in a statement on Friday.
Erin Brockovich warns of dioxin and continued health threats from Ohio train explosion | added February 20
Watch on YouTube
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said there were no signs the air or water quality in East Palestine is unsafe two weeks after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed, this despite complaints from residents of health issues like respiratory distress and headaches. Environmental and consumer advocate Erin Brockovich joined CBS News to discuss the misinformation being spread about the incident, and what accountability she believes needs to take place.
Prison deaths rose 50 percent during ‘covid’ pandemic, according to data | added February 20
Read more at The New York Times
Deaths in state and federal prisons across America rose nearly 50 percent during the first year of the pandemic, and in six states they more than doubled, according to the first comprehensive data on prison fatalities in the era of covid-19.
The tremendous jump in deaths in 2020 was more than twice the increase in the United States overall, and even exceeded estimates of the percentage increase at nursing homes, among the hardest-hit sectors nationwide. In many states, the data showed, high rates continued in 2021.
While there was ample evidence that prisons were covid hot spots, an examination of the data by The New York Times underscored how quickly the virus rampaged through crowded facilities, and how an aging inmate population, a correctional staffing shortage and ill-equipped medical personnel combined to make prisoners especially vulnerable during the worst public health crisis in a century. “There are so many who passed away due to not getting the medical care they needed,” said Teresa Bebeau, whose imprisoned friend died from complications of covid and cancer in South Carolina. “Most of these people, they didn’t go in there with death sentences, but they’re dying.”
Two wild plant extracts have ability to prevent ‘covid’ from infecting cells | added February 20
Read more at SciTech Daily
Two common wild plants contain extracts that inhibit the ability of the virus that causes covid-19 to infect living cells, an Emory University study finds. Scientific Reports published the results — the first major screening of botanical extracts to search for potency against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
In laboratory dish tests, extracts from the flowers of tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima) and the rhizomes of the eagle fern (Pteridium aquilinum) each blocked SARS-CoV-2 from entering human cells. The active compounds are only present in minuscule quantities in the plants. It would be ineffective, and potentially dangerous, for people to attempt to treat themselves with them, the researchers stress. In fact, the eagle fern is known to be toxic, they warn.
“It’s very early in the process, but we’re working to identify, isolate and scale up the molecules from the extracts that showed activity against the virus,” says Cassandra Quave, senior author of the study and associate professor in Emory School of Medicine’s Department of Dermatology and the Center for the Study of Human Health. “Once we have isolated the active ingredients, we plan to further test for their safety and for their long-range potential as medicines against covid-19.”
‘Covid’ vax mandates remain for health care workers in Missouri | added February 20
Read more at AP News
At Truman Lake Manor in rural Missouri, every day begins the same way for every employee entering the nursing home’s doors — with a swab up the nose, a swirl of testing solution and a brief wait to see whether a thin red line appears indicating a positive covid-19 case.
Only the healthy are allowed in to care for virus-free residents. Despite those precautions, a coronavirus outbreak swept through the facility late last year. An inspector subsequently cited it for violating the federal government’s covid-19 vaccination requirement for health care facilities.
Truman Lake Manor is one of about 750 nursing homes and 110 hospitals nationwide written up for violating federal staff vaccination rules during the past year, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Most were given a bureaucratic nudge to do better — though some nursing homes also received fines, especially when they had multiple other problems.
Let’s go EPA, use your power correctly! Let’s go citizens of the planet, use your power correctly!
Tales from the secret history of Dioxin, and a message to East Palestine | added February 18
Editor’s Note: Ohio Gov. DeWine spoke at a press conference yesterday and stated the decision to blow up the chemicals was made based on a team of experts (including the NAVY) as the best one to avoid more damage. Interesting to note, the governor also mentions that some homes tested were high in chemicals where industrial materials such as paints are used, but that the chemicals were not linked to poisons found on the train. So, why are we allowing these toxic commercial products to be sold? — mmd
Read more at Planet Waves FM from Chiron Return
Dioxin has a long history — and the federal government is adept at concealing the truth, losing samples, lying in court, and conspiring with the companies it’s supposed to regulate. How will the people of East Palestine navigate this medical, legal and scientific maze?
Dear Friend and Listener:
This week on Planet Waves FM, I will look at events in East Palestine, share what I know about getting governments to do honest testing and why they do not, and consider the potential fate of East Palestine.
I will be joined by Carol van Strum and take you through some of the history of dioxin, which begins one morning in BASF’s Building 41 on March 8, 1949 in Nitro, West Virginia. It continues through Vietnam, Times Beach, Love Canal and a 1979 train wreck in Missouri — and goes right through the Feb. 3 derailment in Ohio.
I’ll have a comment about the movie White Noise, and a full article about “predictive programming” on Saturday.
One interview is already posted. The full program usually goes up ahead of its scheduled Fridays at 10 pm time. Thank you for tuning in, spreading the word, and sharing a few dollars to help with our basic reporting and production costs.
with love,
— efc
Natural ‘covid’ immunity provides high protection against hospitalization and death, according to study | added Feb. 18
Editor’s Note: It has taken roughly two and a half years to acknowledge that natural immunity works. There was a time when ‘covid’ shots were considered the best source of protection against severe illness. Once upon a time it was also considered ‘safe and effective’ to spray DDT and Monsanto’s roundup, poisoning the waters and soil. Appears to be a viral issue that heavy metals kill people and the planet. — mmd
Read more at U.S. News
Previous covid-19 infection provides strong and long-lasting protection against severe disease, according to a new study. The research, published Thursday in the journal The Lancet, reviewed 65 studies on natural immunity to find that the average effectiveness was at least 88% against hospitalization and death for all coronavirus variants 10 months after infection.
The research did not include omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, which is dominant in the U.S. But natural immunity provided substantially reduced protection against symptomatic infection against omicron subvariant BA.1 at 10 months, mounting about a 36% efficacy. The researchers emphasized that the data should not be used to discourage vaccination, which they said in a better way to acquire protection against covid-19.
“Vaccination is the safest way to acquire immunity, whereas acquiring natural immunity must be weighed against the risks of severe illness and death associated with the initial infection,” lead author Stephen Lim from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine said in a statement. The authors suggested that the data could be used for guidance on when individuals should get vaccinated.
CDC reports preliminary effectiveness of ‘covid’ shots in children aged 6 months-4 years-old may wane after a few months | added February 18
Editor’s Note: Incredible. Even the CDC admits that ‘covid’ shot efficacy appears to wane in children. — mmd
Read more at CDC
On June 18, 2022, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) issued interim recommendations for use of the 2-dose monovalent Moderna covid-19 vaccine as a primary series for children aged 6 months–5 years* and the 3-dose monovalent Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine as a primary series for children aged 6 months–4 years,† based on safety, immunobridging, and limited efficacy data from clinical trials (1–3).
Monovalent mRNA vaccine effectiveness (VE) against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection was evaluated using the Increasing Community Access to Testing (ICATT) program, which provides SARS-CoV-2 testing to persons aged ≥3 years at pharmacy and community-based testing sites nationwide§ (4,5). Among children aged 3–5 years with one or more covid-19–like illness symptoms for whom a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) was performed during August 1, 2022–February 5, 2023, VE of 2 monovalent Moderna doses (complete primary series) against symptomatic infection was 60% (95% CI = 49% to 68%) 2 weeks–2 months after receipt of the second dose and 36% (95% CI = 15% to 52%) 3–4 months after receipt of the second dose.
Among symptomatic children aged 3–4 years with NAATs performed during September 19, 2022–February 5, 2023, VE of 3 monovalent Pfizer-BioNTech doses (complete primary series) against symptomatic infection was 31% (95% CI = 7% to 49%) 2 weeks–4 months after receipt of the third dose; statistical power was not sufficient to estimate VE stratified by time since receipt of the third dose. Complete monovalent Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech primary series vaccination provides protection for children aged 3–5 and 3–4 years, respectively, against symptomatic infection for at least the first 4 months after vaccination.
FDA authorizes emergency use of Pfizer and Moderna ‘covid’ injections for children under 5 years-old to protect against infection | added February 18
Read more at USA Today
An elderly but healthy woman who normally walks laps around her senior center fell to the ground, too weak to get up. A man with dementia stopped eating and started becoming violent with his loved ones. And a middle-aged unvaccinated woman is hanging onto life on a ventilator.
In the past few months, I have taken care of these patients in the hospital and many like them. What they all have in common is that their ailments were set off by a covid-19 infection, with each likely transmitted by a young infant. Infected at daycare or trip to the supermarket, these young children passed the virus on a visit to their aunt, their uncle, their grandmother, or grandfather.
With the recent FDA emergency use authorization of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for children under 5, it is vitally important we get our littlest ones protected against covid-19, not just for them, but also for vulnerable adults throughout the nation. Almost 2 1/2 years since the start of the pandemic, life is showing signs of returning to normalcy, with mask mandates dropping around the nation. But that does not mean covid-19 is not still circulating and causing mortality and morbidity.
Republican senators seek to end federal ‘covid’ vax mandate for truckers crossing U.S.-Canada border | added February 18
Read more at The Epoch Times
A group of Republican senators on Feb. 15 introduced a bill to end the federal covid-19 vaccine mandate for international travelers, which they say is disrupting the flow of goods at the U.S.-Canada border by blocking unvaccinated truckers.
The legislation, called the “Travel Freedom Act,” is sponsored by Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.). It specifically targets air travel vaccination requirements for non-immigrant foreigners set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as the vaccination requirements from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for land and ferry travels between the United States and Canada.
If passed, the bill will prohibit any federal funding from being used to enforce those vaccine mandates. On top of that, the DHS in the future may not demand foreigners to show proof of covid–19 vaccination as a condition on entering the United States, unless otherwise approved by Congress. “Millions of individuals, including many involved in the North American supply chain, need to legally travel in and out of the United States on a regular basis for their jobs,” Marshall said in a release, calling the covid vaccine requirement an “unnecessary headache” for commuter workers having to cross the U.S.-Canada border from time to time.
Idaho lawmaker introduces bill that makes administering mRNA shots a crime due to rising safety concerns and lack of data | added February 18
Read more at FOX News
A pair of Republican lawmakers in the Idaho state legislature have introduced a bill that would make the administering of mRNA vaccines throughout the state a crime. Introduced by state Sen. Tammy Nichols and state Rep. Judy Boyle, House Bill 154 would make it possible to charge those who administer mRNA vaccines, such as the Pfizer and Moderna covid-19 vaccines, in the state of Idaho with a misdemeanor.
“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person may not provide or administer a vaccine developed using messenger ribonucleic acid technology for use in an individual or any other mammal in this state,” the bill states. “A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.”
“We are seeing more and more concerns rising because of the mRNA vaccine,” Nichols told the committee. “We have issues that this was fast-tracked, there’s no liability, there’s no access to data, risk-benefit analysis has not been done, there’s no informed consent.” “There are other options available if people want to get a shot that works with covid,” she added. “So, I think there’s a lot of discussion that needs to be done on this, I think there’s a lot of information that continues to come out with concerns of blood clots and heart issues, and the correlation versus causation needs to be addressed.”
A look at how ‘covid’ infection effects the heart over time | added February 18
Read more at TIME
While covid-19’s effects on the lungs and respiratory system are well known, there is growing research suggesting that the virus is also affecting the heart, with potentially lasting effects. In a presentation at the annual meeting of the Biophysical Society, an international biophysics scientific group, Dr. Andrew Marks, chair of the department of physiology at Columbia University, and his colleagues reported on changes in the heart tissue of covid-19 patients who had died from the disease, some of whom also had a history of heart conditions.
The team conducted autopsy analyses and found a range of abnormalities, particularly in the way heart cells regulate calcium. All muscles, including those in the heart, rely on calcium to contract. Muscle cells store calcium and open special channels inside of cells to release it when needed. In some conditions such as heart failure, the channel remains open in a desperate attempt to help the heart muscle contract more actively.
The leaking of calcium ultimately depletes the calcium stores, weakening the muscle in the end. “We found evidence, in the hearts of covid-19 patients, abnormalities in the way calcium is handled,” says Marks. In fact, when it came to their calcium systems, the heart tissue of these 10 people who had died of covid-19 looked very similar to that of people with heart failure. Marks plans to further explore the heart changes that SARS-CoV-2 might cause by studying how the infection affects the hearts of mice and hamsters.
Look! Up in the sky! UFOs derail attention from one of the worst dioxin releases in history | added February 17
Read more at Planet Waves FM from Chiron Return
While everyone was looking up at alleged UFOs, plenty was happening on the ground — most significantly, one of the worst dioxin releases in history at the scene of the E. Palestine train wreck.
Part One: War of the Worlds, During the Superbowl
Dear Friend and Reader:
This weekend, while many Americans were watching the Super Bowl, the United States Air Force claimed to be shooting down UFOs. The same Air Force that did not scramble jets on Sept. 11, 2001 was taking to the sky like World War I flying aces ready for dog fights with visitors from another world.
Everyone knows what the term “UFO” means in plain speech — a flying saucer full of little green men. Yes, technically, it could be any object that is both unidentified and flying (such as a Frisbee before you recognize it), but in actual use, by actual people, the word means alien spacecraft.
UFO was the term used even in The New York Times, without a hint that these might not be flown by alien visitors.
As part of this performance, we were treated to the scene of a morally indignant Justin Trudeau, the mayor of Canada, claiming he had ordered American fighters to take down one of the objects over his country’s airspace. Pres. Biden would not have given an especially compelling performance, so another leader of the previously free world did the stunt on his behalf.
It was not until Wednesday that the White House declaratively said we are not actually at war with the space brothers. But this was after plenty of confusion about the meaning of “UFO” had spread.
For anyone wondering, the nearest star to our Sun is Proxima Centauri, located within our galaxy 25 trillion miles that-a-way from where you’re now sitting (that’s 4.24 light years). Any notion a spacecraft able to travel that far can be shot down by a missile is a joke.
Florida State Surgeon General alerts health care sector of substantial increase in mRNA ‘covid’ shot adverse side effects | added February 17
Read more at Florida Health
The covid-19 pandemic brought many challenges that the health and medical field have never encountered. Although the initial response was led by a sense of urgency and crisis management, the State Surgeon General believes it is critical that as public health professionals, responses are adapted to the present to chart a future guided by data.
The State Surgeon General is notifying the health care sector and public of a substantial increase in Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports from Florida after the covid-19 vaccine rollout. In Florida alone, there was a 1,700% increase in VAERS reports after the release of the covid-19 vaccine, compared to an increase of 400% in overall vaccine administration for the same time period (Figure 1). The reporting of life-threatening conditions increased over 4,400%.
This is a novel increase and was not seen during the 2009 H1N1 vaccination campaign. There is a need for additional unbiased research to better understand the covid-19 vaccines’ short- and long-term effects. The findings in Florida are consistent with various studies that continue to uncover such risks. To further evaluate this, the Surgeon General wrote a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) illustrating the risk factors associated with the mRNA covid-19 vaccines and emphasizing the need for additional transparency.
‘Covid’ boosted Americans seek more jabs instead of annual injections | added February 17
Read more at U.S. News
The U.S. tried something new about six months ago. Federal health agencies authorized and recommended an updated covid-19 booster shot that matched the coronavirus variants that were circulating at the time. Some Americans were quick to line up to get the latest shot.
But as the weeks rolled into months, just under 16% of the population eventually joined them. The low uptake forced health officials to focus their attention on the vast majority of Americans who hadn’t gotten the shots rather than the few that did. Now the group of Americans who eagerly lined up when the booster was first offered are asking questions. Namely, when can they get their next shot?
“It’s one of the most common questions I’m asked right now, with varying degrees of urgency, particularly among the immunocompromised who are especially concerned because there is still quite a bit of covid out there,” says Dr. Peter Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Federal health officials are eyeing a switch to an annual covid-19 booster shot beginning in the fall, but some Americans are hoping to get their next shot sooner than that, citing concerns that the efficacy of the shots starts to wane after a few short months.
U.S. Navy ends ‘covid’ shot mandate for deployed sailors | added February 16
Read more at The Epoch Times
The U.S. Navy will no longer consider the covid-19 vaccination status of sailors when making decisions about their deployment, according to newly updated Navy guidance published this week. The updated guidance comes shortly after Congress removed the military’s vaccine requirement as part of the $858 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2023.
Biden signed the (NDAA) into law in December and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin officially rescinded the vaccination mandate in January.“Commanders should seek advice from medical providers regarding medical readiness of personnel to inform deployment and other operational mission decisions,” the Navy’s new guidance said. “Covid-19 vaccination status shall not be a consideration in assessing individual service member suitability for deployment or other operational missions.”
“Under no circumstances shall a Commander mandate that any Navy Service member receives the covid-19 vaccination,” it adds. Prior to the updated guidance, the mandate requiring that vaccine status be considered before the deployment of sailors had been in place for more than a year. Thursday’s updated guidance also noted, “Commanders retain the authority to implement Health Protection Measures at any time or manner deemed necessary in support of operational safety and effectiveness, and where necessary, to restrict movement of service members in order to comply with host nation quarantine regulations.”
WHO welcomes Canada’s $30 million dollar initiative to inject high-risk communities across with Africa with ‘covid’ shot | added February 17
Read more at WHO
A CAD$ 30million project in partnership with Canada’s Global Initiative for Vaccine Equity (CanGIVE) is set to significantly bolster targeted, equitable delivery of covid-19 vaccines to high-risk communities across Africa. Through World Health Organization (WHO), the Government of Canada will provide funding over two years to support the scale-up of vaccine delivery, specifically addressing people in hard-to-reach areas, while also strengthening health systems in the African region.
The project will prioritize efforts in seven CanGIVE countries: Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania, with flexibility to respond to emerging needs in the region in countries such as Cameroon, Malawi and The Gambia. The funding is part of Canada’s signature CanGIVE initiative aimed at supporting vaccine delivery and reinforcing health systems in 12 countries, most of which are in Africa.
Additional allocations announced in January brought the total value of the programme to CAD$ 275 million (US$ 205 million). “Canada is proud to partner with the World Health Organization to advance covid-19 vaccination efforts and build more resilient health systems in the African region. The opportunity before us now is to work together to apply what we have learned from the past three years so that we are, collectively, better prepared to face the health crises of the future,” stated Christopher Thornley, High Commissioner for Canada to the Republic of Kenya.
CHD sues CDC to obtain data on agency’s safety monitoring of ‘covid’ shots through VAERS | added February 17
Read more at The Defender
Children’s Health Defense (CHD) today filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to obtain documents related to the agency’s safety monitoring of the covid-19 vaccines through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database.
The lawsuit alleges the CDC violated provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by failing to respond to CHD’s FOIA requests to provide key analysis of reports in the vaccine safety database and intra- and inter-agency communications about those reports. CHD submitted the FOIA requests in the summer of 2022.
The agency said the requested information would be forthcoming by December of last year, but the documents were never delivered. CHD is asking the court to compel the release of the requested documents in compliance with the FOIA. Mary Holland, CHD president and general counsel, explained the significance of the lawsuit to The Defender: “The CDC continues to ask the American public to believe that covid shots are safe, without providing the evidence. Our lawsuit demands that the CDC give us hard data to back up its claim. No one should take vaccine safety on faith.”
Pentagon admits ‘drug overdose epidemic’ among US military service members in the past five years | added February 17
Read more at RT News
More than 15,000 US military service members have overdosed on illicit drugs in the past five years, and 332 of those cases have resulted in death, the Pentagon has reportedly admitted in response to questions from Congress.
The data was given this week to five US senators, led by Massachusetts Democrats Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, Rolling Stone reported on Wednesday. The senators had written to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin last September, demanding information on overdoses in the ranks, after the magazine revealed that as many as 30 US soldiers died from overdoses at Fort Bragg in 2020 and 2021. The base in North Carolina is the headquarters for America’s special forces, among other things.
“The loss of a single service member to a fatal overdose is one loss too many,” Markey said on Wednesday. “With hundreds of fatal overdoses reported on US military bases, the toll is mounting. We can and must stop America’s overdose crisis.” Fentanyl accounted for more than half of the military overdose deaths, the Pentagon said. In fact, deaths from the synthetic opioid have more than doubled since 2017, following a similar trajectory with America’s overall drug crisis.
Lancet-published study suggests ‘covid’ infection protects against reinfection for about 10 months | added February 17
Read more at CNN
For at least 10 months after a covid-19 infection, your immune system can provide good protection against symptomatic illness the next time around, a new study found, and the risk of severe illness is even lower.
The researchers, from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Covid-19 Forecasting Team, said their study is the largest review yet of available data on the subject. The study, published Thursday in The Lancet, is a meta-analysis that looks at 65 studies from 19 countries.
Covid diabetes risk
Risk of developing diabetes after covid-19 continued in omicron period, study says. Ten-month immunity after covid-19 infection seems strong against all variants of the coronavirus, the study found. “There’s quite a long sustained protection against severe disease and death, almost 90% at 10 months. It is much better than I had expected, and that’s a good thing for the world, right? Given that most of the world has had omicron,” said Dr. Chris Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. “It means there’s an awful lot of immunity out there.”
Utah passes bill in both houses to ban majority of ‘covid’ vax mandates enforced by business and government agencies l added February 17
Read more at St. Georgia News
A bill that would make it illegal in Utah for public entities like businesses and government agencies to restrict people and employees based on their vaccination status has now passed both houses of the Utah Legislature and is heading to the governor. Vaccine Passport Prohibition, or HB 131, cleared the Utah Senate Wednesday after a 19-5 vote with five abstentions. It was a party-line vote with all Republicans voting for the bill and all Democrats voting against it.
Of Southern Utah’s senators, three of the four voted yes with Sen. Don Ipson, R-Washington County, absent. The legislation will, with some exemptions, keep businesses and other public places in Utah from requiring employees or patrons to be vaccinated for any disease. Supporters say it brings Utah law back to pre-covid pandemic policy and protects people from having to divulge their health status.
Sen. Michael Kennedy, R-Utah County, who like last year was the Senate floor sponsor of the bill, said during consideration of the bill at the State Capitol in Salt Lake City Wednesday the fact that the bill has had more than one go-through on the Senate floor has made the bill a better one. “There’s a lot of half-baked ideas around the Capitol, but it’s nice to have one that has been baked and examined through two sessions,” said Kennedy, who complimented the work Brooks has done with supporters and opponents of the bill. “Rep. Brooks has worked with a variety of entities. And while I know there are still concerns, I’m impressed by this work.”
This is not a joke | added February 17
Watch on YouTube
Despite media attempts to downplay or dismiss the severity of the recent train derailment and toxic explosion in East Palestine, Ohio, additional news is gradually emerging and it’s looking grim. Transportation Secretary maintained radio silence about the disaster for ten days and has only since issued milquetoast statements.
Meanwhile, there is ample evidence to suggest that lax oversight by both the Trump and Biden administrations contributed to the problems that caused the derailment and Norfolk Southern, the responsible rail carrier, has shifted into full damage control mode. All while the people of East Palestine and the surrounding areas fear that their lives have been forever altered.
We must demand dioxin tests in East Palestine and for many miles around | added February 16
Read more at Planet Waves FM from Chiron Return
My coverage of the dioxin train wreck will continue tomorrow. Tonight, I have a public appeal: we must speak up on behalf of E. Palestine residents and demand proper testing after this calamity.
Dear Friend and Reader:
My coverage and analysis of the Feb. 3 East Palestine dioxin train wreck continues tomorrow night; we are putting the final touches on the articles. They will be distributed by Planet Waves and by Substack, and I will devote the whole Planet Waves FM program to this incident on Friday night before 10 pm ET.
For now, I have a request: please do what you can to demand dioxin testing in the region of this disaster, particularly in and around East Palestine. Comments on articles and social media asking about the dioxin levels will raise the profile of the issue and send the signal that the public is hip to the situation.
I can tell you one thing: putting pressure on governmental authorities can get results. I have seen this work many times. But the pressure has to be there, from the public and the media. That’s us.
Note to other journalists: I am available for interviews.
Their Lives Have Been Overturned
The government has gone into “let’s get back to normal” mode.
When a chemical release like this happens in someone’s area, their life is overturned and there is no back to normal. There is, perhaps, a long, long healing process, but it’s difficult to trust the air and water ever again.
Something similar to this happened to my community in 1991, and it was a living nightmare. I have maintained an entire website devoted to those events. (If you get some kind of warning, it’s safe to ignore it.)
Erin Brockovich: Ohio community is left to fend for themselves | added February 16
Watch on YouTube
Thirteen days into this disaster and Erin speaks on the horrible mismanagement of such a catastrophic deadly event. “We can’t continue to operate this way, I don’t think getting trust back will happen that quickly for these agencies,” said Brockovich.
New York Times sues European Commission over refusal to release texts on ‘covid’ vax deal with Pfizer | added February 16
Read more at Fierce Pharma
Twenty-two months after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen admitted to The New York Times that she negotiated a covid-19 vaccine deal with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Ph.D., through text messages, the newspaper is suing the commission over its refusal to make the texts public.
While the lawsuit was filed on Jan. 25 and listed on the European Court of Justice’s public website Monday, Feb. 13, none of the documents related to the case are available to the public. Two people familiar with the suit confirmed it to Politico. The NYT argues that the EC is required legally to turn over the messages. Last year—in response to a public information request—the commission wrote that text messages do not need to be stored because they are treated as “short-lived ephemeral documents.”
In addition, last June, von der Leyen said she no longer had the messages in her possession. Shortly afterward, Europe’s ombudsman Emily O’Reilly opened a probe. Between September and December 2022, Bourla twice declined to testify before European Parliament. In October, Pfizer’s president of international development markets Janine Small appeared at a Parliament hearing, saying that talks are too detailed and involve too many parties to be executed through text messages.
‘Long covid’ symptoms more likely to impact black and hispanic patients than white, study shows | added February 16
Read more at Weill Cornell Medicine
Black and Hispanic patients were more likely than white patients to develop a wide array of lasting symptoms and conditions after a covid-19 diagnosis, according to a new study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators.
The study, published in the Journal of General Medicine on Feb. 16, adds to a growing body of evidence demonstrating profound racial and ethnic disparities in the impact of covid-19 in the United States. Previous research showed a higher rate of covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths among Black and Hispanic individuals than among white individuals. Now investigators have found racial and ethnic differences in the frequency and types of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, commonly known as long covid.
“Identifying potential racial and ethnic disparities in long covid is an important step toward making sure we have an equitable response to the long-term consequences of coronavirus infection,” said lead author Dr. Dhruv Khullar, who is an assistant professor of Population Health Sciences and the Nanette Laitman Clinical Scholar in Healthcare Policy Research/Quality of Care Research at Weill Cornell Medicine and a hospitalist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Moderna to give its ‘covid’ jab away for free at no cost to consumers | added February 16
Read more at ABC News
Moderna will keep its covid vaccine on the market at no cost to consumers, even after the federal government stops paying for it, the company announced Wednesday. “Everyone in the United States will have access to Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine regardless of their ability to pay,” the company said in a statement.
Last month, the vaccine maker was slammed for reportedly considering a dramatic price increase for the shot, which it had developed with the help of the federal government. The proposal was also bad timing: The Biden administration was moving toward ending its designation of a public health emergency on May 11, which meant that federal funding for vaccines would soon dry up and uninsured Americans would have to pay out of pocket for their boosters.
Among the critics of Moderna’s reported consideration of a price increase — from about $26 a shot to as much as $130 — was Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has long advocated for government-funded health care and alleged the move would result in deaths. “How many of these Americans will die from covid 19 as a result of limited access to these lifesaving vaccines?” Sanders, I-Vt., wrote in a January letter to Moderna.
China reports it has treated 200 million people for ‘covid’ since lifting quarantine restrictions | added February 16
Read more at U.S. News
BEIJING (AP) — China says more than 200 million of its citizens have been diagnosed and treated for covid-19 since it lifted strict containment measures beginning in November. With 800,000 of the most critically ill patients having recovered, China has “decisively beaten” the pandemic, according to notes from a meeting of the ruling Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee presided over by President and party leader Xi Jinping.
China enforced some of the world’s most draconian lockdowns, quarantines and travel restrictions and still faces questions about the origins of the virus that was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. Heavy-handed enforcement prompted rare anti-government protests and took a heavy toll on the world’s second-largest economy.
The official Xinhua News Agency quoted Xi as saying that policies to control the outbreak had been “entirely correct.” The abrupt lifting in November and December of the “zero covid” policy that had sought to eliminate all cases of the virus led to a surge in infections that temporarily overwhelmed hospitals. Case numbers have since peaked and life has largely returned to normal, although international travel in and out of China has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Medical researcher decodes ‘covid’ genetic sequence calling it a bioweapon | added February 16
Read more at The Epoch Times
In his 135-page book “Is Covid-19 a Bioweapon? A Scientific and Forensic Investigation,” Dr. Richard M. Fleming decodes the genetic sequence of covid-19. The nuclear cardiologist, lawyer, and medical researcher has discovered in this sequence, many—if not all—of the components of what he calls “a biological weapon.”
He writes: “SARS-CoV-1 was a genetically modified (gain-of-function) virus that was also a bioweapon developed by the Chinese Communist Party, with SARS-CoV-2 being the upgraded version of this bioweapon.” The doctor determined this was the case mainly based on interviews—one of which is transcribed in the book—conducted with Dr. Li-Meng Yan, a Chinese medical doctor and virologist who escaped to the United States in 2020.
Fleming states Yan asserted that “SARS-CoV-1 was the first bioweapon and that SARS-CoV-2 is the advanced version.” Yan contends that the Chinese military knew about the development of artificial viruses as potential bioweapons, as revealed in the book. She is still in hiding in fear for her life. In colorful charts and graphs, Fleming explains, in layman’s terms, each component in the SARS-CoV-2 sequence, detailing how each was likely added to the mix to create a potential monster out of existing viruses, in a Wuhan lab. The details of the genetic sequencing alone would make this book well worth purchasing.
Religious freedom group files class-action lawsuit for thousands of fired unvaxed city employees | added February 16
Read more at The New York Post
A religious-freedom group has filed a last-minute class-action lawsuit to try to save the jobs of thousands of city employees set to be fired Friday for missing the deadline to get vaccinated. The suit, filed in Brooklyn federal court on Thursday, claims the city mandate constituted a “war on the unvaccinated” and violates workers’ “fundamental religious and constitutional rights.
“Many of these employees face a termination date of February 11, 2022, which is tomorrow,” said the Thursday filing. “The mass termination of City employees who have refused to obey the various vaccine mandates because of their firmly held religious beliefs is a tremendous injustice that urgently needs to be addressed — and immediately.”
The suit was filed by New Yorkers for Religious Liberty on behalf of 13 named city workers — including FDNY Capt. Brendan Fogarty — who face “immense pressure” to choose between their faith and their jobs, court papers say. The suit sought to be a class-action case because of the nearly 4,000 employees at risk of losing their livelihoods, the group said. “Plaintiffs respectfully ask that the Court act immediately to enjoin the Defendants from terminating thousands of their religiously-observant employees, who have thus far received intolerant and unconstitutional mistreatment of their religious accommodation requests,” the lawsuit says.
China denies reports it has not cooperated with WHO study into ‘covid’ origins, according to Nature | added February 16
Read more at FOX News
The People’s Republic of China is denying reports the government has not cooperated with the World Health Organization’s study into the origins of covid-19. According to a report published in Nature Tuesday, the WHO has unceremoniously canceled the “second phase” of its investigations into the origin of the covid-19 pandemic.
The report cited key officials within the organization claiming China has proved too uncooperative to conduct the intended studies. “There is no phase two,” WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove told the outlet. “The politics across the world of this really hampered progress on understanding the origins.” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin pushed back on these assertions Wednesday in a press conference in Beijing.
“China’s position on the study of the origins of SARS-CoV-2 is consistent,” Wang said, when asked about China’s transparency with the WHO. “We always support and participate in science-based global origins tracing. At the same time, we firmly oppose all forms of political manipulation.” The spokesman cited two previous envoys of WHO scientists allowed into the country, claiming this demonstrated China was “open” and “transparent” with the international community.
White flour | added February 16
Watch on YouTube
See how easy it is to get it twisted?
Please send to Palestine, Ohio: Interview with dioxin expert Carol van Strum | added February 15
Editor’s Note: This is an early release of an interview conducted for Friday’s Planet Waves FM. This mailing is from the nonprofit investigative team Chiron Return. — efc
Read more at Planet Waves FM from Chiron Return
Dear Friend and Reader:
The dioxin problem associated with the Palestine, Ohio train wreck is being well-concealed; the incident itself is barely breaking the surface of national news.
Carol van Strum of Tidewater, Oregon, knows what it’s like to have dioxin sprayed all over her home, the forest she lives in, and the whole region of her state. In the 1970s, this was due to the intentional release of the Vietnam-era herbicide Agent Orange. Among other accomplishments, she was responsible for having the product registration pulled for the most toxic component of Agent Orange, 2,4,5-T.
She also personally litigated the Bureau of Land Management and the National Forest Service to stop the spraying. We discussed that in our interview from May 2022.
Tonight, we discuss what happened 10 days ago in Palestine, Ohio.
I have also prepared this omnibus resource about dioxin, which links to other articles. Earlier this weekend, I published a history of PCBs by Peter Montague that covers many issues related to dioxin. And you can read my history of PCBs and dioxin from Sierra.
Please do what you can to get this information to people in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and also into the hands of reporters and other Substackers who may be willing to cross-post it.
Link of ‘covid’ to increased risk of developing diabetes still unclear during ‘omicron’ wave | added February 15
Read more at CNN
People who’ve had covid-19 have a higher risk of developing diabetes, and that link seems to have persisted into the omicron era, a new study finds. Mounting evidence suggests covid-19 infections are tied to a new diagnosis of diabetes, though it’s not clear whether this relationship is a coincidence or cause-and-effect.
For their study, published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open, researchers at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles studied the medical records of more than 23,000 adults who’d had covid-19 at least once. hey looked to see how likely it would be for these people to get a new diagnosis of diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol in the three months after their covid-19 infection compared with the three months before it.
Because health care visits were often disrupted during the pandemic, many people are just getting around to getting routine physicals and checkups that they might have missed. The researchers realized this could make them more likely to get a new diagnosis of a condition, such as diabetes, that they may have been developing anyway. To control for this, they also looked at the risk of something they called a benchmark diagnosis – a new diagnosis of either acid reflux or a UTI – as a way to address this bias.
Americans hospitalized for ‘covid’ report long-term health and financial struggles, according to study | added February 15
Read more at U.S. News
Many American adults who were hospitalized for covid-19 experienced lingering symptoms, physical limitations and financial problems six months after being discharged, according to a new study. The study, which was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and published Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open, looked at more than 800 adults who were hospitalized for covid-19 between August 2020 and July 2021.
It found that at the six-month mark, more than 7 in 10 participants reported problems affecting the heart or lungs like coughing, rapid or irregular heartbeat and breathlessness. More than half of survivors reported fatigue after half a year. Notably, rates of heart and lung problems and fatigue increased from one month to six months after hospital discharge, highlighting that new symptoms can develop even after the initial covid-19 illness is over.
“My clinic patients often want to know how soon they’ll get back to their usual health,” study author Andrew Admon, a pulmonologist at Lieutenant Colonel Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center, said in a statement. “Based on these data, it seems that many people hospitalized for covid-19 should expect symptoms to last for up to six months or even longer.” Rates of reported financial problems and physical limitations decreased from the one-month mark to six months after hospitalization but remained high, according to the study.
America’s Chernobyl: Devastating chemical explosion in Palestine, Ohio | added February 15
Watch the video on YouTube
The train derailment and subsequent chemical explosion in East Palestine, Ohio is being described by many as “devastating” and potentially “America’s Chernobyl.” Mind you, not by Norfolk Southern, the rail company responsible or the Biden administration, which took a full ten days before making even a statement about the catastrophe. But a catastrophe it appears to be nevertheless, and in 21st century America it’s likely that the powerful interests responsible won’t be held accountable while the poorer victims will bear the brunt.
Moderna runs new video with mom claiming she felt “safer during covid than ever” | added February 15
Read more at Fierce Pharma
When covid-19 hit and much of the world was forced to stay in place from spring 2020, many of us were left scared and uncertain about the future. But for parents with chronically ill children, they actually felt safer during the pandemic.
Speaking in a short, 30-second video posted to Moderna’s corporate Twitter account as well as its LinkedIn page, Honey Stecken, whose child Maren has the rare metabolic disease propionic acidemia, is one parent who had a very different view when the pandemic began. “It’s interesting: I felt safer during covid-19 than ever,” she says in the video. “That’s because people were practicing the precautions [such as mask wearing and keeping a distance] that my family has to take all the time.”
Maren’s condition is an inherited disorder in which the body is unable to process certain parts of proteins and fats properly and that can initially cause weakness, vomiting and low muscle tone. Without treatment, propionic acidemia can lead to seizures, brain damage, heart failure and increased risk of stroke. Because of this, Honey has always ensured that the family protected Maren from respiratory and other infections as much as possible.
‘Covid’ linked to accelerated brain aging and degeneration | added February 15
Read more at The Epoch Times
Is it merely a coincidence that covid-19 and aging are both accompanied by cognitive decline? Could covid-19 alone cause aging? Do aging and covid-19 combine to make cognitive function worse, or do they impair cognitive function separately? What can we do to prevent cognitive decline? This paper will examine these questions.
A large-scale UK study published in Lancet Psychiatry analyzed a two-year retrospective cohort including 1,284,437 patients. It revealed that the risk of dementia was significantly higher in the covid-19 group than in the control group. Moreover, this risk remained higher even two years after recovery. Another UK study evaluated the cognitive function of 46 patients with severe covid-19 infection.
These patients had a significant decline in attention, complex problem-solving skills, and memory. Their cognitive deficits were equivalent to aging by two decades and losing 10 IQ points. Research in Europe investigated the correlation between covid-19 infection and aging. The authors compared the brain images in seven hospitalized patients in the acute phase, one month later, and six months after covid-19 onset.
FBI “flagged” unvaxed NYC teachers after being sent their finger prints, according to affidavit | added February 15
Read more at The Defender
Unvaccinated New York City teachers were reportedly “flagged” and their fingerprints sent to the FBI, according to an affidavit filed in federal court last week. In the New Yorkers for Religious Liberty Inc. v. The City of New York appeals hearing, challenging the now-rescinded vaccine mandate for city employees, plaintiff’s attorney John Burch said that “flagged” teachers were labeled with “problem codes” that impact their ability to get another job.
The allegations were based on a June 2022 affidavit written by Betsy Combier, president of the due process advocacy group Advocatz, detailing how the New York City Department of Education (DOE) flagged unvaccinated teachers without evidence of misconduct and sent their information, including fingerprints “to the national databases at both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and [New York’s] State Division of Criminal Justice Services.”
Sujata Gibson, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, commented on these revelations to The Defender: “These are hardworking teachers and educators with excellent employment records who dedicated their lives to teaching in the New York City public schools. It is unacceptable that the DOE would place problem codes on their employment files and flag their fingerprints with the FBI simply because they were not able or willing to get vaccinated.
California doctors willing to carry out legal fight over ‘covid’ views and state’s ‘misinformation law’ | added February 15
Read more at FOX News
A team of California doctors say they would be willing to “take it all the way to the top” in their legal fight against Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom over a state covid-19 misinformation law that would punish doctors who disseminate coronavirus information deemed out of line with the “scientific consensus.”
The law, known as Assembly Bill 2098, would have taken effect Jan. 1, 2023 after being signed into law by the governor in September. However, the implementation of the law was temporarily halted after Aaron Kheriaty and four other doctors sued Newsom in November, alleging First and Fourteenth Amendment rights violations.
“We explained in our declarations that we’re still asked advice from patients frequently on covid-related matters — masking, for example. Parents may ask me if that mask seems to be exacerbating their child’s anxiety disorder,” Kheriaty told Fox News Digital. “This is a good idea to explain situations clinically in which we could potentially be impacted by this law. And in the order granting the preliminary injunction, the judge first said, ‘Yes, all five of the plaintiffs have standing to bring this case.’”
‘Covid’ continues to hit West Virginia seniors the hardest, according to recent testing results | added February 15
Read more at WV News
West Virginia’s aged population — those 60 and older — makes up about 20% of the state’s 1.8 million residents. Yet West Virginians ages 61 and older accounted for about 40% of the reported positive covid-19 tests in the past seven days.
Meanwhile, state residents under age 20 account for about 25% of West Virginia’s total population, while those birth through age 20 accounted for 18% of the reported covid tests in the past seven days. And there were three more state deaths Tuesday, all over age 70: A 71-year-old female and a 76-year-old male, both from Raleigh County, and an 85-year-old male from Hampshire County.
The statistics continue to mirror what’s been reported from early on in the pandemic that started globally in late 2019 and in West Virginia in March 2020: The virus is either more likely to hit older people, or it’s more likely to hit them hard enough that they enter the state’s testing system. Allison Adler, spokeswoman for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, provided the following numbers for WV News upon request.
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” — William Shakespeare
WHO abandons second phase of ‘covid’ origins investigation | added February 14
Editor’s Note: A world health organization that does not want to investigate further the origins of an acclaimed virus that shut the world down and continues to kill millions seems a bit off. — mmd
Read more at Nature
The World Health Organization (WHO) has quietly shelved the second phase of its much-anticipated scientific investigation into the origins of the covid-19 pandemic, citing ongoing challenges over attempts to conduct crucial studies in China, Nature has learned.
Researchers say they are disappointed that the investigation isn’t going ahead, because understanding how the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 first infected people is important for preventing future outbreaks. But without access to China, there is little that the WHO can do to advance the studies, says Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada. “Their hands are really tied.”
In January 2021, an international team of experts convened by the WHO travelled to Wuhan, China, where the virus that causes covid-19 was first detected. Together with Chinese researchers, the team reviewed evidence on when and how the virus might have emerged, as part of phase one. The team released a report in March that year outlining four possible scenarios, the most likely being that SARS-CoV-2 spread from bats to people, possibly through an intermediate species. Phase one was designed to lay the groundwork for a second phase of in-depth studies to pin down exactly what happened in China and elsewhere.
U.S. House panel seeks Fauci’s testimony on ‘covid’ origins | added February 14
Read more at The Epoch Times
Two influential congressional committees are seeking testimony from Dr. Anthony Fauci and key figures in the Biden administration regarding the origins of covid-19 and the allocation of U.S. taxpayer funds to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).
Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, and Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, are leading the investigation. They are also seeking testimony and information from Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance; Avril Haines, director of National Intelligence; Dr. Francis Collins, acting science adviser to President Joe Biden; and Xavier Becerra, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The investigation marks a renewed effort by Republican representatives to uncover the truth about the covid-19 pandemic and its origins. The committees hope to shed light on the funding and research activities of the Wuhan institute and its potential impact on the spread of the virus. On Feb. 13, Wenstrup and Comer sent a letter to Fauci to renew a request made on Dec. 13, 2022, for his testimony (pdf).
Novavax sells 1.5 million more doses of ‘covid’ shots to U.S. | added February 14
Read more at Bloomberg
Novavax Inc. sold 1.5 million more of its covid-19 shots to the US, bringing total orders of the vaccine from the government to about 4.7 million. The delivery is part of a modification to its existing agreement with the US, Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Novavax said Monday in a statement. The deal will also help the vaccine maker develop smaller dose vials and update its protein-based vaccines with newer covid strains.
Novavax and other covid vaccine makers are preparing to sell their shots directly to US health providers instead of the government, which has been its main customer in the country. The company received some $1.6 billion in US subsidies to develop and make its shot.
Shares of Novavax rose 2.2% before US markets opened. The drugmaker’s protein-based vaccine technology is more traditional than the messenger RNA-based products made by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. It was hoped to appeal to the vaccine-hesitant, but has seen relatively little use compared with the mRNA shots that were authorized earlier.
Face masks did ‘little to nothing to curb the transmission of covid’, according to scientific study | added February 14
Read more at FOX News
The stance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on face masks has taken many twists and turns throughout the covid pandemic. After initially claiming face coverings weren’t necessary, the CDC changed course in April 2020, calling on all Americans — even children as young as 2 years old — to mask up.
That September, then-CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said during a Senate hearing that “face masks are the most important powerful health tool we have,” even suggesting that they might offer more protection than vaccines. Those recommendations likely played a large part in 39 U.S. states eventually enacting mask mandates.
Now, a new scientific review — led by 12 researchers from esteemed universities around the world — suggests that widespread masking may have done little to nothing to curb the transmission of covid-19. Published by Cochrane Library, the review dug into the findings of 78 randomized controlled trials to determine whether “physical interventions” — including face masks and hand-washing — lessened the spread of respiratory viruses.
Utah’s chief scientist warns ‘covid’ variant orthrus is ‘pretty nasty’ | added February 14
Editor’s Note: These ‘covid’ variants are sounding more and more like a transformer movie. — mmd
Read more at Deseret News
Could the latest version of covid-19 cause a repeat of last winter’s huge surge in covid-19 cases? It’s possible, Kelly Oakeson, chief scientist for next generation sequencing and bioinformatics for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, told the Deseret News.
“We could be in for a wild ride,” Oakeson said, if the omicron subvariant known to scientists as CH.1.1 and also being called orthrus after the two-headed dog of Greek myths, is able to take hold. “We’ve said that before with other variants and they didn’t take off. But this one does seem to have a pretty nasty mutational constellation spectrum that looks like it evades neutralizing antibodies pretty effectively,” he said.
How effectively? Well, even people who have covid-19 antibodies from a previous infection or vaccination still have pretty much zero protection against orthrus, Oakeson said, adding it also does a “really good job” of binding to cellular receptors. Those two attributes mean the latest version of the omicron variant that sent covid-19 cases soaring to record levels just over a year ago could spark another huge surge. Oakeson said it’s not yet known whether CH.1.1 infections are more severe.
The threat of avian flu | added February 14
Watch the video on Dr. Sam Bailey
While everyone has been distracted by the covid-19 fraud, many other aspects of the globalists’ agenda have been cooking in the background. One of them is the removal of poultry and eggs from the food supply.
The so-called Avian Flu is being used as the excuse to cull hundreds of millions of birds. It may be a surprise to some people that this is essentially a reboot of a narrative that was first tested two decades ago.
In 2005, a publication blew apart the fraudulent science used to invent a non-existent pandemic. Let’s have a look at the paper they don’t want you to know about as they attempt to take away your chickens.
Managing Director of the IMF warns we live in “a more shock-prone world” following ‘covid’ pandemic | added February 14
Read more at CNBC
The Managing Director of the IMF warned that we need to “think of the unthinkable,” as we live in “a more shock-prone world” impacted by the covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the recent earthquake across Syria and Turkey.
“We all have to change our mindset to be much more agile and much more oriented towards building resilience at all levels, so we can handle the shocks better,” Kristalina Georgieva said Tuesday, during a World Government Summit panel hosted by CNBC’s Hadley Gamble. “What we are very concerned [about] is the unexpected,” Georgieva said.
The IMF chief signaled the need for resilience in our planet, in societies that must allow equal opportunities, and in people, who must benefit from education, health and good social protection. “We are not where we should be in being good stewards of our planet for our children,” Georgieva added. In a previous interview with CNBC, Georgieva said that more private investments were needed to help developing countries meet their climate change goals, which cannot be sufficiently covered by public aid and local government funding.
A biotech company that claimed to have ‘cure for covid’ files bankruptcy | added February 14
Read more at Yahoo Finance
Sorrento Therapeutics, a biotech company working on a covid-19 therapy and once targeted by short-seller Hindenburg Research, plunged as much as 61% after the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.
Shares of the company traded around 39 cents at 1:15 p.m. ET. Sorrento made headlines in May of 2020 when founder Dr. Henry Ji claimed that the company discovered a cure to covid-19, which caused its stock to soar 243% in a single day. This took the company’s market cap from millions to well over a billion.
“We want to emphasize there is a cure. There is a solution that works 100 percent,” Ji told Fox News, a statement that was refuted by health care experts. “If we have the neutralizing antibody in your body, you don’t need the social distancing. You can open up a society without fear.” Hindenburg released a scathing report on the biotech firm following Ji’s comments, which caused Sorrento’s stock to drastically decline in value.
WHO continues global polio emergency after containment breach at a Dutch vax manufacturer | added February 14
Read more at Cidrap
[Feb. 2, 2023] Though progress has been made against polio, the risk of international spread of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) remains high, and the situation still warrants a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.The announcement follows a recommendation from the WHO’s polio emergency committee, which met on Jan 25 to discuss the latest developments. The group also noted a wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3) containment breach at a vaccine manufacturer in the Netherlands, which Dutch researchers detailed today in the latest issue of Eurosurveillance.
Cases down in Afghanistan, Pakistan
The WHO first declared a PHEIC for polio in May 2014 owing to the international spread of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1), and its emergency committee—which typically meets every 3 months—has now met 34 times.
In its statement, the emergency committee noted that WPV1 cases in Afghanistan and Pakistan have dropped considerably, but detection of WPV1 in the environment continue, which suggests continuing spread. The committee said only three WPV1 genetic clusters remain, which are in Afghanistan, Africa, and Pakistan, and that genetic diversity of the virus has reduced.
Side affections from the shot | added February 14
Watch the video on YouTube
Now if only we could show some side affections and love to the people who became injured from ‘covid’ shots to the heart… happy valentines day
Chinese woman grieves daughter’s ‘covid’ death; “I want justice” | added February 13
Read more at BBC News
“The pain lasts for a lifetime. Even healing a little is difficult.” It’s been three years since Yang Min’s only child, Yuxi, died. The 24-year-old had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was admitted to hospital in mid-January 2020 in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the earliest coronavirus cases were detected.
Wuhan was the first place in China – and the world – to be locked down to stop the spread of covid. The announcement came in the early hours of 23 January and it sent people, scared and uncertain, fleeing into the night. That city-wide lockdown, lasting 76 days, would become integral to China’s zero-covid playbook. The country has now scrapped the policy and recently announced that the current wave, driven by a hasty reopening, is drawing to a close.
But as much of China moves on, Ms Yang cannot. She says she will not rest until she finds “justice” for her daughter. She believes Yuxi would not have died had the government warned the public at the beginning of the pandemic. When Yuxi went to the hospital in 2020, Wuhan was gearing up for the Chinese New Year celebration – large family dinners, streets filled with shoppers, and the city covered in festive red, customary during the Spring Festival.
Hawaii launches first ever unvaxed dating app | added Feb. 13
Read more at The Epoch Times
Nowadays, online dating seems less a game of hit or miss than medical truth or dare, given the deal-breaker question, “Are you vaccinated?” Businesswomen Shelby Thomson and Heather Pyle of Maui, Hawaii, found the online dating game a frustrating experience for the un-jabbed at the height of the covid-19 vaccine rollout in 2021.
Faced with discrimination and censorship, many unvaccinated people lost jobs and relationships because they chose to remain unvaccinated. The un-jabbed “didn’t have the option to say they were unvaccinated” to potential online dating partners, Thomson said. “They were only allowed to be vaccinated. And you had to have this badge in your [online] profile.”
Too often, the unvaccinated would hear on dating sites, “Swipe left”—move on. In May 2021, the two business partners, moms, and best friends launched “Unjected,” a dating app for the unvaccinated, on the Google and Apple stores. “We started seeing people wanting to find partners,” Thomson said of their unvaccinated friends. However, soon after the app’s launch, Thomson and Pyle started receiving hate emails, then negative publicity in the media. Apple decided to remove “Unjected” from the app store, claiming it provided medical disinformation.
Pfizer ‘covid’ shot becomes DNA in liver cells, according to in-vitro Swedish study | added February 13
Watch the video on YouTube
[Feb. 26, 2022] An accepted and published Swedish study demonstrates for the first time the presence of Pfizer-BionTech vaccine DNA in the cell. It is reverse transcribed by LINE-1 proteins of the cells. They are not sure if it gets integrated in our DNA or not.Scientists wonder why some people never catch ‘covid’, “science takes time” | added February 13
Editor’s Note: The fact the entire world was shut down for an alleged deadly disease and yet some people seem to miraculously never catch the virus is astounding. Treatments and vaccines were rushed to treat a disease that some people never seem to get? Mandates of experimental drugs for everyone were issued worldwide with no scientific justification to do so. If the ‘covid’ tests disappeared, it’s probable so would ‘covid’. — mmd
Read more at Science
It’s been over three years since the first known covid-19 infection. Since then, we’ve seen hundreds of millions of cases around the globe. You’ve probably had it – at least once, if not multiple times – as has nearly everyone you know. As continued waves of infections arrive, fewer and fewer people have never caught covid-19.
But, even taking into account those who have had it and not realized, there are probably still some people out there who have managed to avoid the virus altogether (so far). Last year, I wrote about people who had yet to be infected. Were they somehow immune? Did they possess some advantageous genetic mutation? Were they simply avoiding people and continuing to take precautions? Or had they just been lucky, and their time was inevitably going to come?
Unfortunately, we still don’t know why some people have managed to avoid covid-19 for so long. Science takes time. We saw research occur at unprecedented speed in 2020 to understand SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes covid-19) and to develop treatments and vaccines. But that level of funding and collaboration is hard to sustain in a world with so many worthwhile areas of research.
Wear a mask, prevent UFO’s. You may need to wrap your nose more than twice in order to prevent oxygen droplets from entering your lungs despite being perfectly healthy. Stay tuned, science takes time…
‘Long covid’ conditions appear to dissipate within a year, according to Israeli study | added February 13
Read more at Science Tech Daily
According to a large study from Israel published in The BMJ, most symptoms or conditions that arise following a mild case of covid-19 tend to persist for several months, but typically return to normal within a year.
Specifically, the study found that individuals who have been vaccinated are at a reduced risk of developing breathing difficulties, the most prevalent effect to occur following a mild case of covid-19, compared to those who have not been vaccinated. These findings suggest that, although the long covid phenomenon has been feared and discussed since the beginning of the pandemic, the vast majority of mild disease cases do not suffer serious or chronic long-term illness, say the researchers.
Long covid is defined as symptoms persisting or new symptoms appearing more than four weeks after initial infection. In March 2022, an estimated 1.5 million people in the UK (2.4% of the population) reported long covid symptoms, mainly fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of smell, loss of taste, and difficulty concentrating. But the clinical effects of long covid one year after mild infection and their association with age, sex, covid-19 variants, and vaccination status are still unclear.
‘Covid’ cases in Tokyo under 1,000 for first time in eight months | added February 13
Read more at Kyodo News
The Tokyo metropolitan government said new cases of novel coronavirus infections fell below 1,000 for the first time in around eight months, slipping to 799 on Sunday with concern receding about an eighth wave of covid-19 outbreak.
The fall comes as the Japanese government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been relaxing covid-19 restrictions, which have been imposed since early 2020, toward the normalization of social and economic activities in the country. The capital reported that the hospital bed occupancy rate by covid-19 patients was 31.2 percent on Sunday in Tokyo, while the number of deaths was eight.
Across the nation, Japan saw 13,203 newly confirmed cases on Sunday, down more than half compared to the week before, according to health authorities. In Japan, the Kishida administration has recently decided to ease coronavirus guidelines on mask-wearing from mid-March and loosen medical rules on covid-19.
Senior Americans still in danger of ‘covid’ despite an official end of pandemic | added February 13
Editor’s Note: The pandemic began with seniors and “protecting grandma” and appears to be ending with them as well. — mmd
Read more at The New York Times
In early December, Aldo Caretti developed a cough and, despite all his precautions, came up positive for covid on a home test. It took his family a couple of days to persuade Mr. Caretti, never fond of doctors, to go to the emergency room. There, he was sent directly to the intensive care unit.
Mr. Caretti and his wife, Consiglia, both 85, lived quietly in a condo in Plano, Texas. “He liked to read and learn, in English and Italian,” said his son Vic Caretti, 49. “He absolutely adored his three grandchildren.” Aldo Caretti had encountered some health setbacks last year, including a mild stroke and a serious bout of shingles, but “he recuperated from all that.”
Covid was different. Even on a ventilator, Mr. Caretti struggled to breathe. After 10 days, “he wasn’t getting better,” said Vic Caretti, who flew in from Salt Lake City. “His organs were starting to break down. They said, ‘He’s not going to make it.’” At least, this late in the pandemic, families can be with their loved ones at the end of life. When the family agreed to remove Mr. Caretti from the ventilator and provide comfort care, “he was alert, very aware of what was happening,” his son said. “He was holding everyone’s hand.” He died a few hours later, on Dec. 14.
Senior ‘covid’ deaths well above the norm in Nova Scotia | added February 13
Read more at CBC News
As the covid-19 pandemic lingered and the death toll increased, Nova Scotian Judy Aymar noticed how the province’s leaders no longer offered condolences when new deaths were announced. “These are real people,” she said. “These are people who at one point in their lives, they built families, they built communities and they helped build the province. Why have they become a statistic and not a person?”
The province’s covid-19 briefings once started with updates on how many people had died and would include condolences from the premier and chief medical officer of health. But briefings have been discontinued. Updates on the state of the pandemic now come from a weekly update to the province’s covid-19 dashboard, as well as monthly epidemiology reports.
The province says 753 people have died from covid-19 — including 27 that were announced Thursday. The median age of death during the Omicron wave is 84. Aymar, a 76-year-old retired social worker from Upper Tantallon, said Nova Scotians pride themselves on helping and supporting people during times of loss. But she’s worried. “Why have we, as Nova Scotians, accepted this silence?” said Aymar. “Why are we so silent that seniors are still dying and why aren’t we giving them dignity and acknowledgement and a thank you for all that they did?”
Disciplinary action hearing postponed for British Columbia doctor who criticized ‘covid’ mitigation protocols | added February 13
Read more at The Epoch Times
The first doctor in British Columbia to face a disciplinary hearing in front of the province’s College of Physicians and Surgeons related to covid-19 protocol has had his review postponed. Dr. Charles Hoffe from Lytton, B.C., was scheduled to begin his 10-day hearing before a college discipline committee panel on Feb. 13, but his lawyer, who spent several weeks in hospital recently, had applied multiple times to postpone the hearing so he could prepare.
After a case conference on Feb. 7 and 8, the panel notified Hoffe and his lawyer of the adjournment on Feb. 9. A new date for his hearing has not yet been publicly announced. Hoffe says he’s relieved. “We initially asked for this adjournment seven and a half weeks ago, but the college was so reluctant to give it that they’ve literally approved it four days before the trial starts,” he told The Epoch Times.
“Clearly, they have done this with great reluctance. But you know, time and truth go hand in hand, and with every passing week, more and more scientific evidence validates everything they have accused me of, showing they are wrong. So they clearly need to drop all of these absurd charges against me and all of the other doctors, and they need to go back to [being] the guardians of medical ethics, which is what they’re supposed to be.”
Remembering Dr. Ward Stone, an American environmental hero | added February 11
Read more at Planet Waves FM from Chiron Return
Listen to my 2017 interview with Ward Stone. Planet Waves FM is off this week.
Dear Friend and Reader:
Days after the 1991 PCB electrical explosions and fires in six campus buildings at SUNY New Paltz, someone said, “You have to call Ward Stone.”
Not realizing it was someone’s name, I thought: What’s a ward stone?
Exactly.
I found out a little while later when I called him up and he explained to me what it meant that six transformers filled with toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) had exploded in college dormitories, a massive science building and a theater — and that the state was about to move students back in without adequate testing.
Ward was the New York State wildlife pathologist from 1969 through 2010, whose job was to track causes of sickness and death in New York’s critter population. He was essentially the state’s coroner of wild animals, doing his best to determine their cause of death. But as he described it in a 2017 Planet Waves FM interview, this role gave him a wide berth to work on all kinds of toxins issues — and doing so, he quickly became a citizen advocate within state government.
Ward died Wednesday where he lived, in a care home in Troy, New York. I do not know his exact age, but I would estimate it to be 84. His death was confirmed Wednesday by his son, Jeremiah Stone, via a close friend, Henny Wise.
CUNY orders colleges to slash budgets, implement hiring freeze | added February 11
Editor’s Note: This is an obvious knock-on effect of 2020. I’m happy everyone felt so good about being so safe. — mmd
Read more at Planet Waves FM
By Cayla Bamberger
New York Daily News | Link to Original
The City University of New York has ordered colleges to slash budgets by an average of at least 5 percent and implement a hiring freeze, according to an internal memo obtained by the Daily News. The cutbacks, ordered by CUNY Chief Operating Officer Hector Batista, will likely be felt most sharply by students, faculty and staff and could lead to larger class sizes, increased fees and reduced library hours, among other changes.
Each of the system’s 25 campuses will be required to develop plans that cut costs and increase revenue by March 3. Colleges closing out the fiscal year in a negative position, including many of the community colleges, will need to cut more. “CUNY students deserve a quality education,” said Salimatou Doumbouya, CUNY Student Trustee and chair of the University Student Senate. “This quality education will be lost with a decrease in the amount of lecturers and professors.
We are already seeing this with the drastic amount of students who are having troubles with registering for class. The cuts come as CUNY is in a tight spot. Federal pandemic aid to the public college system is running out, while Mayor Eric Adams cut city funding and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal did not meet CUNY’s funding request. Students could also face 3 percent or lower tuition hikes next year, if included in the state’s final budget. At the same time, student enrollment took a nose-dive during the pandemic and has yet to bounce back.
Enrollment has fallen by more than 10 percent over the past couple of years to fewer than 243,400 students in fall 2021. CUNY has lost more than 350 faculty members over that time, data show. “The City University of New York continues to look for cost-saving measures without cutting student services, efforts that will become increasingly important as federal pandemic stimulus money dries up,” said CUNY spokesperson Joseph Tirella, who pointed to enrollment-boosting initiatives already underway like an outreach program for former students to complete their degrees and advertising campaigns. While the full impact of the cuts will not go into effect until next school year, the system’s budget crunch is already being felt in a number of ways.
A writing center at Hunter College previously staffed with three full-time faculty is now run by two part-time adjuncts, who barring new hires could remain in those roles. At John Jay College of Criminal Justice, chair of the political science department Susan Kang told The News she had to cut sections of required classes this semester, forcing professors to over-enroll classes and students to scramble for other ways to finish their coursework.
“The directives don’t match the realities — our students need these classes so they can graduate, so they can succeed,” said Kang, an associate professor of international political economy and human rights. “A lot of them are the first in their families to graduate from college, and they want to walk [at the ceremony] this spring.” The entrance to John Jay College of Criminal Justice, located on Manhattan’s west side. Lehman College librarian Robert Farrell said colleges across the system will need to reduce library hours. The Bronx campus already has needed to rid of 24-hour schedules during finals season as a result of previous cuts.
New York to drop mask mandates for healthcare facilities regardless of ‘covid’ vax status | added February 11
Read more at News10
New York state ready to drop its masking requirements for healthcare facilities. The end of masking rules for hospitals and doctor’s offices coming Monday, after the last couple of years of restrictions. Starting February 12, new guidelines from the department of health will affect hospitals, nursing homes, and health care facilities throughout the state. People will no longer have to mask up, regardless of vaccination status.
Phil Barrett, the Chairman of Health and Human Services for Saratoga County, says the new change is a welcomed one. “With the new change it’s very important to monitor the level(s) of covid within your municipality/county, so we will continue to monitor that very closely as we have for years now,” said Barrett.
The D.O.H. advises facilities to follow CDC guidelines to control infectious diseases, like covid-19, and implement their own plan based on transmission levels. “We’ve always believed that getting a vaccination is a personal choice and that’s something people should do their own research, speak to their own healthcare professionals and make their own personal decision. That’s been our stance throughout the entire pandemic. And that stance hasn’t changed, and I don’t see it changing anytime soon,” said Barrett.
Since ‘covid’ pandemic more young people are dying from heart attacks, according to study | added February 11
Read more at Today
When Demi Washington, a basketball player at Vanderbilt University came down with covid-19 in late 2020, her symptoms were mild, just a runny nose. But to ensure her safe return to the court, the school required her to undergo an MRI.
The results brought Washington to tears. Following the infection, the now college senior had developed myocarditis — when the heart muscle becomes inflamed, which can decrease the heart’s ability to pump blood. The condition can lead to stroke or heart attack, according to Mayo Clinic. Washington was not vaccinated against covid-19 at the time.
“I was scared because any internal organ, you’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I need that to live,'” she recalled to TODAY. “I didn’t really know what was going to come of it, how long was it going to take for it to resolve.” Washington had to skip the rest of the 2020 to 2021 season, but ultimately she was grateful. “I think about the fact that Vanderbilt does do the MRI and a lot of other schools didn’t,” she told TODAY in a segment aired Feb. 9. “The fact that I could have played if we didn’t is hard and scary to think about.”
‘Covid’ shot advocate Peter Hotez a likely replacement for Fauci? | added February 11
Editor’s Note: Peter Hotez also enjoys bags of chips, burgers and fries and taking no vitamins. He believes jabs are the best way to protect yourself, never mind eating healthy. His medical expertise was discussed on episode #1451 of the Joe Rogan podcast. — mmd
Watch the video on YouTube
Peter Hotez is an American scientist, pediatrician, and advocate in the fields of global health, vaccinology, and neglected tropical disease control. He’s also a leading candidate to replace Anthony Fauci, and that’s bad news because Hotez is even more of a Covidian maniac than the current NIAID director. Hotez has not only misrepresented the truth about covid and vaccines, but he’s also criticized vaccine skeptics as anti-semites, claimed Putin was responsible for spreading anti-vaxx propaganda in the U.S and advocated for the CDC deposing the President and the rest of the Executive Branch.
Massachusetts to see up free ‘covid’ jab booster clinic with gift card incentives | added February 11
Read more at WWLP News
HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – As we wait for a decision from the FDA concerning annual covid booster shots, free covid-19 vaccine and booster clinics are opening up. Cataldo Ambulance is hosting a free clinic at the Holyoke Library, with a $75 gift card incentive for those who get the shot.
The first dose, second dose, and booster are available for people ages 6 months and older. And while all of Western Massachusetts is considered low-risk for covid infection, the goal is to get as many people through the door as possible.
“We would like for everyone to wait the three months after having the covid virus, but generally, the healthier you are, the better you are so as long as you are not exhibiting symptoms. And things of that nature should be eligible to get vaccinated.” Cataldo Ambulance will be holding another clinic in Holyoke on March 7th, from 2 pm to 6 pm.
The desecration of the microbiome due to environmental poisons like glyphosate | added February 11
Read more at The Epoch Times
Our microbiome is dying. This essential collection of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live in our body and on our skin is disappearing. Herbicides like glyphosate are partly to blame, but special attention must be paid to certain medical interventions, research suggests.
Enough warning signs have arisen that researchers are raising alarm to fix, protect, and preserve the human microbiome—the flora made up of symbiotic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live on the skin and in the body. At least 70 percent of the immune system resides in the gut microbiome.
“Paying attention to the microbiome is crucial moving forward because it is disappearing. It’s disappearing because the diversity is disappearing,” Dr. Sabine Hazan told The Epoch Times.
Hazan is the founder and CEO of Progenabiome, a genetic sequencing research laboratory, that in the company’s words is trying to “crack the genetic code of a trillion bacteria, fungi and viruses that live in our gut.” Hazan is a specialist in gastroenterology, internal medicine, and hepatology.
Over 56,000 ‘covid’ antigen tests recalled | added February 11
Read more at WFSB
Over 56,000 covid-19 antigen tests have been recalled, according to Universal Meditech Inc. The company issued a nationwide recall of the Skippack Medical Lab rapid test kits, saying they were distributed without appropriate clearance or approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The kits could potentially cause inaccurate test results. The recalled products were manufactured from October 2021 to December 2021 and distributed in January 2022. Consumers should stop using the devices immediately and contact the distributor for product return.
Singapore’s spike in excess cardiovascular deaths points to implementation of ‘covid’ shots | added February 11
Read more at Daily Sceptic
The Singapore Government released data on its excess deaths in 2021, which is a window into what has caused excess cardiovascular deaths. Singapore is interesting because covid deaths did not feature until September 2021. Prior to that date only 29 deaths had been attributed to covid. It is worth noting that cardiovascular disease is not a prominent cause of death in Singapore. In 2021, 28% of deaths were from cardiovascular disease compared to 48% in England. Given those pieces of information we can predict what would happen under different hypotheses.
Hypothesis 1: Covid caused excess cardiovascular deaths
Hypothesis 2: Long covid caused excess cardiovascular deaths
Hypothesis 3: Lack of access to healthcare from fear and lockdown
Hypothesis 4: Vaccine related increase in cardiovascular disease
Hypothesis 1: Covid caused excess cardiovascular deaths
This is an odd hypothesis because there were no non-covid excess cardiovascular deaths following covid in England in 2020 (grey bars above purple line). But it’s a popular hypothesis so let’s go along with it. Covid accounted for 3% of deaths in Singapore in 2021 but 14% in England. The lower proportion of deaths and the fact covid did not really take off until Sept 2021 in Singapore means that if covid is the cause we would expect fewer excess cardiovascular deaths in Singapore than in England.
It’s time we take the masks off for good. Happy Saturday.
CDC adds ‘covid’ jabs to schedule of routinely recommended vaccines | added February 10
Editor’s Note: We have been facing a pandemic of so-called ‘auto-immune’ diseases since before the ‘covid pandemic.’ Drugs interfere with an infant’s natural immunity and liver function by adding extra stresses to developing organs. — mmd
Read more at CNN
Covid-19 shots are included in new schedules of routinely recommended vaccines released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. The immunization schedules summarize current vaccine recommendations for children, adolescents and adults, but do not set vaccine requirements for schools or workplaces.
Key changes to the schedules, published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Thursday, include the addition of covid-19 primary vaccine series and recommendations on booster dose vaccination; updated guidance on influenza and pneumococcal vaccines; and new vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and for hepatitis B.
The schedule also recommends additional doses of MMR vaccine during a mumps outbreak and administering inactivated poliovirus vaccine in adults who are at an increased risk for exposure to the virus. The proposed changes were recommended by the CDC’s vaccine advisers, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices or ACIP, and signed off on by the CDC, which worked with physicians, nurses and pharmacists on the recommendation.
John Hopkins University shuts down ‘covid’ tracker with end of pandemic, “it’s bittersweet” | added February 10
Read more at NPR News
In another sign of the changing state of the pandemic, an invaluable source of information about the virus over the last three years is shutting down, NPR has learned. The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center plans to cease operations March 10, officials told NPR.
“It’s bittersweet,” says Lauren Gardner, an engineering professor who launched the project with one of her students on March 3, 2020. “But it’s an appropriate time to move on.” When the pandemic erupted, no one knew much of anything about the virus and how to respond. Was it safe to go grocery shopping? How easily could someone get infected on a bus or train? Could runners get sick just by passing another jogger in the park?
“As everyone can remember, there was very little information, particularly at the beginning of the pandemic,” says Beth Blauer, an associate vice provost at Johns Hopkins who has helped run the center. “And when we started to see the cases move out of China and in through Europe and headed toward our shores, we knew that there were going to be a series of public policy decisions that would have to be made,” Blauer says.
‘Covid’ case numbers on the decline in wake of less PCR testing at hospitals and clinics | added February 10
Read more at The Gothamist
[Jan. 18, 2023] In New York City, the number of people taking official covid-19 tests — those traditional PCR tests given at hospitals and clinics – is the lowest it’s been since May 2020. Back then, the U.S. was still recovering from early setbacks with developing PCR tests, which left the country uncertain about where and how the coronavirus was spreading.The PCR testing drop affects official recordkeeping. NYC — like most jurisdictions — doesn’t collect results from at-home kits. Public metrics used to capture and communicate the spread of covid, such as the positivity rate, are set by the number of PCR tests that come back with “Hey, you have covid-19.’ “It makes it hard to interpret the case numbers — and to get a sense of how much covid might really be out there,” said Denis Nash, an epidemiology professor at CUNY. “Anytime there’s less testing, the positivity rate means less.”
NYC’s current testing lull extends back to Christmas, when the average number of PCR tests taken each day dipped below 20,000 in New York City — where it remained as of Tuesday. This seven-day average hit its lowest point — 16,785 tests — on Dec. 29. A year earlier in December 2021, this average was more than six times higher at 110,514 tests per day, as the first omicron variant ran amok, drove case rates to new records and filled hospitals.
FDA grants EUA to combine diagnostic testing for ‘covid’, flu and respiratory syncytial virus | added February 10
Read more at Pharmacy Times
The FDA has granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Becton, Dickinson and Company’s BD MAX Molecular Diagnostic System combination test for SARS-CoV-2, influenza A + B, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The test involves a single nasal swab or nasopharyngeal swab sample to determine whether a patient has covid-19, influenza, RSV, or a combination of the 3 viruses. The system is an RT-PCR assay that detects and differentiates the nucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2, flu A, flu B, and RSV in as little as 2 hours for the initial test result.
“While fears of a ‘tripledemic’ this respiratory season have largely diminished, accurately differentiating influenza and RSV from covid-19 and providing appropriate treatment remains a challenge for our customers,” said Nikos Pavlidis, vice president of Molecular Diagnostics at BD, in the press release. “This diagnostic test provides the ability to identify multiple pathogens using a single sample and can quickly pinpoint the causative virus or viruses and enable clinicians to administer appropriate treatment early in the course of infection.”
The new molecular diagnostic combination test may eliminate the need for multiple tests or visits to a physician and may enable providers to initiate the correct course of treatment more quickly, according to BD. Co-testing can also help to improve testing capacity during peak seasons for transmission of respiratory illnesses and to speed the time to diagnosis. The BD MAX System has already been used at thousands of hospitals and laboratories throughout the world, and can analyze hundreds of samples over a 24-hour period, according to BD. Under the EUA, the test has not yet been cleared or approved by the FDA but is authorized for emergency use by authorized laboratories.
‘Covid’ testing company Thermo Fisher Scientific lays off hundreds of workers amid drop in demand | added February 10
Read more at Fierce Pharma
Fresh off publishing an earnings report showing a two-thirds drop in sales of its covid-19 tests in 2022, Thermo Fisher Scientific has begun laying off hundreds of workers at three manufacturing sites in California. According to a trio of Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices added to the state’s database this week, Thermo Fisher is permanently eliminating a total of 230 jobs at the sites, all of which are in San Diego County.
In a letter sent to California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) regarding the workforce reduction, Nancy Austin, vice president of human resources within Thermo Fisher’s genetic sciences group, wrote that the layoffs began Jan. 31 and are expected to continue through Feb. 28. The cuts “are due to unforeseeable business circumstances caused in part [by] a sudden downturn in demand for covid-19 testing products and other evolving economic and business conditions,” Austin wrote in the letter, which was sent to Fierce Medtech by the EDD.
The staffing reduction allows Thermo Fisher to improve efficiency and “remain in line with current manufacturing volume demands,” according to a company statement sent to Fierce Medtech. “Decisions that impact colleagues and their families are never taken lightly,” the statement continued. “These actions are designed to better help us serve our customers, strengthen our global competitive position and provide for the long-term growth and success of our organization.”
Australian researchers find protein in lungs that sticks to ‘covid’ like velcro | added February 10
Read more at The Guardian
Australian researchers have found a protein in the lungs that sticks to the covid-19 virus like velcro and immobilises it, which may explain why some people never become sick with the virus while others suffer serious illness.
The research was led by Greg Neely, a professor of functional genomics with the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre in collaboration with Dr Lipin Loo, a postdoctoral researcher and Matthew Waller, a PhD student. Their findings were published in the journal PLOS Biology on Friday. The team used human cells in tissue culture to search the whole human genome for proteins that can bind to Sars-CoV-2, the virus which causes covid-19.
This was done using the genetic engineering tool known as Crispr, which allowed them to turn on all genes in the human genome, then look to see which of those genes give human cells the ability to bind to the Sars-CoV-2 spike protein. The spike protein is crucial to the virus’s ability to infect human cells. “This let us find this new receptor protein, LRRC15,” Neely said.
FEMA to close all ‘covid’ disaster declarations on May 11 | added February 10
Read more at at Reuters
WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said on Thursday it will close all covid-19 disaster declaration incident periods on May 11 when the U.S. government ends two major pandemic-related emergency declarations. All 50 states, five territories and three tribal nations are seeing a major disaster declaration for covid-19, said FEMA Associate Administrator for Response and Recovery Anne Bink.
“With the administration’s announcement to end the public health emergency and the national emergency declaration on May 11, 2023, today we announced the incident period for all FEMA covid-19 disaster declarations will also close on May 11 2023,” Bink told reporters on a press call. FEMA provided over $104 billion in assistance to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as nonprofits and survivors for emergency projects, funeral assistance, lost wage assistance, and crisis counseling services. It also opened community vaccination clinics.
All eligible costs under the FEMA disaster declarations will continue to be eligible until May 11, and there will be a follow-up period afterwards for applicants to submit reimbursement requests, said Bink. Funeral assistance will continue beyond May 11, she said. Families who lose loved ones to covid are eligible for up to $9,000 in costs related to funeral services.
No evidence to support ‘covid’ virus linked to excess deaths, Denis Rancourt reports to RFK Jr. | added Feb. 10
Editor’s Note: At the nine minute mark of this podcast, Rancourt says,“it doesn’t mean that viruses don’t exist, it doesn’t mean any of that, it just means that I cannot understand this phenomenon in terms of the depth, in terms of the story we are being told.” When will RK Jr. and his expert guests take this very crucial part of the ‘covid’ pandemic seriously and investigate deeply the narrative that ‘covid’ is killing people does not scientifically make sense. There are a lot of assumptions in this conversation without stating the very fact that without testing, the ‘covid’ pandemic disappears. — mmd
Read more at The Defender
The narrative that the covid-19 virus was largely responsible for excess deaths during the pandemic isn’t supported by statistical analyses, according to Denis Rancourt, Ph.D., all-cause mortality researcher and former physics professor and lead scientist for 23 years at the University of Ottawa in Canada.
During an episode of “RFK Jr. The Defender Podcast,” Rancourt told Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., chairman and chief litigation counsel for Children’s Health Defense, that the numbers suggest covid-19 countermeasures — such as lockdowns and social distancing — imposed by governments and public health officials were key contributors to the rise in excess deaths since 2020 when the pandemic began. Rancourt — author of more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles — said that if the covid-19 virus had a “certain property” that was most responsible for causing death while the virus spread, then that idea should be reflected in the rate of deaths during that time period. “But in fact,” he told Kennedy, “that’s not what was happening in terms of the overall deaths.”
Rancourt said: “The people who died were overwhelmingly disabled and extremely poor, and they were obese and they had diabetes, and they normally get a lot of antibiotics. A lot of them were institutionalized, and they were now isolated in their rooms and no one wanted to touch them and so on. These are the people who died, overwhelmingly: 1.3 million in the U.S. That’s the kind of evidence that leads us to conclude that it was about the measures — what was being done — and how treatment was being done or not done.”
In memory of those who died suddenly in the United States, Jan. 30- Feb. 6, 2023 | added February 10
Read more at Mark Crispin Miller Substack
WWE Icon Tragically Dies
World Wrestling Entertainment, better known throughout the world as WWE, has legions of adoring fans. These fans were saddened today with word that one of the all-time greats of the wrestling world has passed away at the age of 68. Lenny Poffo, who was known in the ring as “The Genius” and “Leaping Lanny Poffo,” passed away, according to a statement by WWE.
In addition to being an absolute legend of wrestling in his own right, he was the brother of perhaps the best known wrestler outside of Hulk Hogan and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Poffo’s brother is WWE Hall of Famer “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Poffo was one “of the first high-flyers in WWE.” He later “achieved some success as a fan favorite reading his own poetry and throwing his own poetry and throwing frisbees to the crowd.” No cause of death reported.
Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl champion running back dies
The team announced Wednesday that Sidney Thornton has died. He was 68 years old. Thornton was drafted by the Steelers in the second round of the 1977 NFL Draft. He was a member of two Super Bowl champion teams in 1979 and 1980. Thornton played his entire six-year career with the Steelers. He finished with 1,512 rushing yards, 18 rushing touchdowns, 515 receiving yards, and six receiving touchdowns. Thornton was named to Northwestern State’s N-Club Hall of Fame in 1986, meaning that he was one of the top athletes of their football program.
No cause of death reported.
Ten minutes of Burr being a savage | added February 10
Watch the video on YouTube
From mixed dogs to McDonalds, Happy Friday.
Veteran Liberal MP takes up thousands of ‘covid’ shot injury cases who became severely damaged | added Feb. 9
Read more at Sky News
Thousands of Australians suffering from covid-19 vaccine injury feel they are “not being heard” or treated fairly by the government. Veteran Liberal MP Russell Broadbent has taken up the case of the thousands of Australians who have experienced an adverse reaction after getting the covid-19 jab.
He’s met with a number of vaccine injury victims in person, in the hopes he can encourage a better response from the government. “It’s very distressing to have these people face-to-face and be speaking to them when you see some of them are so severely damaged,” he told Sky News host Chris Kenny. The long-serving member for Monash said he had met with Jacob, a “tough as nails” former fencing contractor who had been forced into truck-driving after a debilitating vaccine injury.
“Every one of these vaccine injuries were strong, healthy, well men and women before they took the vaccine,” Mr Broadbent said. Former AMA president Kerryn Phelps is one of many Australians speaking out about vaccine injury in an attempt to ignite a conversation about the vaccine program and response. Dr Phelps penned a lengthy submission to a parliamentary inquiry into long covid last year, revealing she and her wife had both been injured after receiving Pfizer jabs.
Merck’s questionable ‘covid’ drug molnupiravir could be responsible for creating new variants | added February 9
Editor’s Note: It’s a never ending questionable game of efficacy and safety with pharmaceutical drugs. An early report alleged molnupiravir was said to cut hospitalizations by 50 percent and then was later changed when a final FDA analysis showed 30 percent reduction rate. This is why mandating experimental drugs on entire populations is unethical and not scientific. In February 2021, the Daily Mail started an investigation into ‘covid’ deaths when readers said their family members had comorbidities, but were being falsely classified as ‘covid’ deaths. — mmd
Read more at Nature
A drug widely used to treat covid-19 might be spurring the evolution of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. The drug, molnupiravir, works by introducing a flurry of mutations to the viral genome; this helps to clear infections. But a study of more than 13 million SARS-CoV-2 sequences has uncovered sequences that bear molnupiravir’s fingerprints. The study’s authors say the results suggest that molnupiravir treatment has sparked the evolution of viral lineages carrying numerous mutations that, in at least some cases, have the capacity to spread to other individuals.
The study was posted on the medRxiv preprint server in January. It has not yet been peer reviewed. “Whether this should be of concern — that is an open question,” says Jesse Bloom, an evolutionary virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. Mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 genome can help the virus to evade immunity and become more transmissible, but most mutations are likely to harm it.
Molnupiravir was developed by the pharmaceutical giant Merck, based in Rahway, New Jersey, and was authorized by regulators in the United States and United Kingdom in late 2021, and in Australia in early 2022. A company-sponsored clinical trial found that the drug — a pill taken for five days — reduced hospitalizations and deaths in people at risk of severe covid-19. Molnupiravir mimics some of the building blocks of RNA, the genetic material in SARS-CoV-2.
Experimental ‘covid’ antiviral treatment interferon lambda offers possible alternative to Paxlovid, according to New England Journal study | added February 9
Read more at USA Today
An experimental covid-19 antiviral appears to be effective at preventing hospitalizations without some of the downsides of other treatments. A study appearing Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine found that a shot of interferon lambda prevented 51% of hospitalizations among people who have been vaccinated — an already low-risk group and one that hasn’t been proven to benefit from other treatments.
Interferon lambda still has to go through the regulatory approval process, so it’s not available. But the study suggests it could be a viable alternative to authorized treatments like Paxlovid and is superior in some ways. “The data look quite promising and other treatments have now fallen by the wayside,” said Dr. Paul Sax, who directs the division of infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and was not involved in the research.
Monoclonal antibodies, which were effective against earlier variants, are no longer working, leaving people who can’t take Paxlovid with fewer options. “It’s been a frustration of mine that it has not been available,” Sax said of interferon lambda. Interferons are made by the immune system to limit viral infections and boost the body’s ability to fight them. Lambda is a type of interferon that has effects specifically in the liver and lungs, not the whole body.
Whitney Webb on WHO’s new chief scientist | add February 9
Watch the video on YouTube
In this video, investigative journalist Whitney Webb discusses the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recent appointment of Jeremy Farrar as its new chief scientist. Webb raises concerns about the WHO’s plans to expand its power by forcing member states to adhere to its guidelines and the potential consequences of this power grab. She also delves into Farrar’s background as the director of the Wellcome Trust, a major funder of medical research in the UK with ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Webb suggests that the Wellcome Trust’s influence on public health policy has been largely overlooked and warns of the potential implications of Farrar’s new role at the WHO.
Doctor Kizzmekia Corbett led team of scientists to produce experimental ‘covid’ shots at record speed during pandemic | added February 9
Read more at The New York Times
Kizzmekia Corbett had gone home to North Carolina for the holidays in 2019 when the headlines began to trickle in: A strange, pneumonialike illness was making dozens of people sick in China.
By the first week of January 2020, the number of infected people in China had climbed to the hundreds, and Dr. Corbett, a viral immunologist, was back at her desk at the National Institutes of Health, where she served as a senior research fellow at the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. And that’s when the news was confirmed: The mysterious illness was a novel coronavirus, exactly the category of infection that she had been probing for the past five years in a bid to develop a vaccine.
Coronaviruses can cause all kinds of illness, like the common cold or more crippling diseases like MERS and SARS. Novel coronaviruses are new strains that are identified in humans for the first time. And when it came to the race for a vaccine against covid-19, Dr. Corbett, who was part of important work on other coronavirus outbreaks, was at the vanguard. Next month will be the three-year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s declaring covid-19 a pandemic, on March 11, 2020.
Meet VEXAS; the future of genomic diagnosis | added Feb. 9
Read more at Mike Stone Antiviral Substack
I recently wrote about the magic tricks utilized by virologists to create the appearance that a disease has either been successfully eradicated or diminished due to vaccines. These tricks included breaking the same symptoms into new diseases with different “viral” and/or bacterial causes as well as changing and manipulating the way a particular disease was diagnosed. With that ruse exposed, it’s time to examine how these tricks are employed to create the illusion that a new “viral,” bacterial, or mystery disease exists.
The creation and confirmation of a “specific” condition is linked entirely to how it is diagnosed. This process has been manipulated throughout the centuries to look for the most minute differences at both a macro and micro level. In the past, diseases were said to be differentiated based upon clinical symptoms. However, this in and of itself, was a mirage as many diseases presented with the exact same symptoms. The “specific” clinical signs, such as the type of pustules and/or the order in which the symptoms presented themselves, were indeed not specific and often times overlapped with various other conditions. Any “differences” were miniscule and were entirely subjective as seen in this example of the interpretation of the differential diagnosis of smallpox and chickenpox with renowned physician William Osler:
At the time, however, even physicians, had trouble telling the difference. In one famous account of Osler’s skills as a diagnostician, he was called in to show his students what had been pronounced by several distinguished physicians at Johns Hopkins to be a severe case of chickenpox in an adult male. Interested, he gathered 30 or 40 students and doctors, and went to take a look. When the hapless resident pulled back the sheets to reveal the patient’s symptoms, a horrified Dr Osler exclaimed, “My God, Futcher, don’t you know smallpox when you see it?” Isolation measures were immediately put into place, the necessary vaccinations administered and a potentially disastrous situation was averted.”
Singapore to allow unjabbed travelers to enter country without negative pre-departure test | added February 9
Read more at CNBC News
SINGAPORE — Singapore is set to allow non-fully vaccinated travelers to enter the country without a negative pre-departure test from next week, health authorities announced Thursday. The country is set to remove mask-wearing on public transport from Monday, as it seeks to exit the “acute phase” of the pandemic, said the Ministry of Health.
The country’s covid task force, created in January 2020, will be deactivated. “Our covid situation has remained stable over the recent months, despite increased travel over the year and holidays and China’s shift from zero covid,” said Singapore’s deputy prime minister Lawrence Wong, who is also co-chair of the covid task force.
“Our population has developed a high level of hybrid immunity. The risk of infections leading to severe illness or deaths is very low — comparable to other endemic respiratory diseases like influenza.” The further relaxation of pre-departure travel and mask requirements are “significant steps” that mark covid-19 as an endemic and “new norm” for Singapore. All travelers entering Singapore via air or sea must still to submit a health declaration before or on arrival, said the ministry.
U.S. House passes legislation to eliminate ‘covid’ vax mandate for foreign travelers | added February 9
Read more at The Hill
Legislation that would eliminate a requirement that most foreign travelers arriving in the U.S. be vaccinated against covid-19 passed the House Wednesday. Under the requirement imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), all adult visitors who are not citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. are required to show proof of covid vaccination before boarding their flight to the country.
The legislation passed on a mostly party-line vote of 227-201. Seven Democrats joined all Republicans voting in favor. “This policy is out of touch with the rest of the world,” Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee, said on the floor during debate. Ending the requirement “will align the United States with the rest of North America’s covid-19 vaccine policy for people coming into the country and recognize covid-19 is an endemic—rather than a pandemic,” Guthrie said.
Democrats argued the legislation doesn’t allow for any future mandates if cases rise or the virus mutates, putting more people at risk. “This is dangerous and ties the hands of our public health experts to the political whims of the most ideologically extreme in a way that makes our nation less safe and more vulnerable in the future,” said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
CDC quietly introduced program to track unvaxed patients, according to National File documents | added February 9
Read more at Reclaim The Net
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) quietly introduced a new program to track people who have not been vaccinated against covid-19 after they visit a doctor or go to a hospital, according to documents and a video highlighted by National File but published back in 2021.
In September 2021 the ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee held a meeting to discuss new ICD-10 codes that the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) wanted to be created for marking people as “Partially Vaccinated for Covid-19,” “Unvaccinated for Covid-19,” and “Other underimmunization status.”
ICD-10-CM codes were introduced by the CDC to track patients who are not vaccinated, partially vaccinated, and those who fall under the “other underimmunization status” category. The ICD-10 committee said that those who had adverse reactions to a vaccine in the past would be categorized as unvaccinated or partially vaccinated even if they cannot get other vaccines or boosters. The new codes were implemented in April 2022.
What’s the worst that could happen? | added February 9
Watch the video on YouTube
Redmond ends ‘covid’ shot mandate for firefighters, refusing to reinstate those who did not comply | added February 8
Read more at The Seattle Times
Redmond firefighters and paramedics will no longer be required to be vaccinated against covid-19 to work in the Eastside city. The firefighters who lost their jobs for not complying with the state’s 2021 coronavirus vaccine mandate won’t be getting their jobs back as a result, however. The city says the former firefighters have the option to apply for a job, regardless of their vaccination status — but currently there are no open positions in the department.
Redmond Mayor Angela Birney this week terminated two executive orders that mandated firefighters and paramedics be vaccinated against covid, echoing decisions by King County and the city of Seattle to no longer require proof of vaccination for employees. The change “is in keeping with up-to-date recommendations from public health officials,” Birney wrote in her termination order.
Nine Redmond fire department employees left their jobs because of the vaccine mandate, according to city documents. Under Gov. Jay Inslee’s vaccine mandate, thousands of state employees and those in health care settings, which included firefighters, paramedics and EMTs, were required to be vaccinated by an October 2021 deadline. The vast majority complied. Those restrictions were lifted a year later, but Birney issued a second executive order that continued the city’s vaccine requirement for firefighters and paramedics.
National Institute of Health alleges bivalent boosters provide better protection against ‘severe covid’ after efficacy concerns over the jabs | added February 8
Read more at NIH
To date, more than 80% of people in the U.S. have received at least one dose of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes covid-19. The original mRNA vaccines, developed by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, targeted the initial strain of the virus. Since then, different variants of the virus have evolved.
These included Delta in 2020 and omicron in late 2021. Subvariants of omicron continue to emerge. Currently, ones called BQ.1, BQ.1.1, and XBB.1.5 predominate in the U.S. In September 2022, both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech released updated booster shots. These are called bivalent boosters because they target both the initial strain of the virus and the original omicron variant.
The bivalent boosters were approved based on data showing they were safe. But whether they provide protection against current omicron subvariants beyond that provided by the earlier booster shots wasn’t known. To help answer this question, NIH-funded researchers led by Dr. Dan-Yu Lin from the University of North Carolina looked at data collected by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services between May and December 2022. Omicron subvariants BA.4.6, BA.5, BQ.1, and BQ.1.1 predominated during this time.
Georgia Senate votes to prohibit schools from mandating ‘covid’ shots | added February 8
Editor’s Note: Three years into the pandemic and it is increasingly obvious how ‘covid’ is political rather than about health and protecting people from a ‘deadly disease’. Despite the Georgia Senate voting to prohibit schools from mandating the shot, this is not the case for some state and local government agencies who are still enforcing experimental shots on people as a term of employment. — mmd
Read more at FOX News
The Georgia Senate approved a measure Tuesday to prohibit schools and most state and local government agencies from mandating the coronavirus vaccine. The legislation, Georgia State Senate Bill 1, passed the state Senate 31-21. The bill would not apply to healthcare providers subject to federal requirements that employees must be vaccinated to continue receiving federal payments.
A one-year ban on vaccine requirements was enacted last year, and this bill would make that measure permanent. We have lived for a year under the previous version of this law,” said Republican state Sen. Greg Dolezal, the bill’s main sponsor. “That law is set to sunset this summer so we just removed the sunset and said that we’re never going to have a day in Georgia where governments refuse services to its constituents based on whether or not they have received a covid-19 vaccine.”
Dolezal said he does not believe the government should “discriminate against citizens” based on their vaccination status. The current one-year ban passed in 2022 is set to expire on June 30. “We know that there’s been a movement building in America to demonize vaccinations and do it in the name of individual rights,” Democrat Sen. Nan Orrock said, adding that lawmakers who voted for the new bill are “fundamentally signing on to the anti-vaccination movement” and tying the government’s hands should covid-19 worsen again.
Free consumption of ‘covid’ drugs and at-home tests to end soon | added February 8
Read more at NPR News
Time is running out for free-to-consumer covid-19 vaccines, at-home test kits and even some treatments. The White House announced this month that the national public health emergency, first declared in early 2020 in response to the pandemic, is set to expire May 11. When it ends, so will many of the policies designed to combat the virus’s spread.
Take vaccines. Until now, the federal government has been purchasing covid-19 shots. It recently bought 105 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent booster for about $30.48 a dose, and 66 million doses of Moderna’s version for $26.36 a dose. (These are among the companies that developed the first covid vaccines sold in the United States.) People will be able to get these vaccines at low or no cost as long as the government-purchased supplies last.
But even before the end date for the public emergency was set, Congress opted not to provide more money to increase the government’s dwindling stockpile. As a result, Pfizer and Moderna were already planning their moves into the commercial market. Both have indicated that as soon as that happens, they will raise the price they charge, somewhere in the range of $110 to $130 per dose, though insurers and government health programs could negotiate lower rates.
Negative ‘covid’ test results leaves symptomatic people confused as to why | added February 8
Read more at CNN
It has been over three years since covid-19 cases were first diagnosed in the United States. And while President Joe Biden announced last week that he intends to end the state of national emergency around covid-19, this does not mean the pandemic is over.
Although much is now known about this coronavirus, many questions remain, especially as the virus continues to evolve and infect people on a large scale. There were more than 280,000 new coronavirus cases diagnosed in the last week, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is almost certainly an undercount, given the many home tests not included as part of the official tally. A frequent question from CNN readers and viewers is what it means if someone has covid-19 symptoms but tests negative for the virus, especially if they have been exposed.
Why does that happen? Should they test again and when? Are there other tests they should get, including for other viruses? How can someone find out if they’ve already had covid-19? To help us with these questions, I spoke with CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She is also the author of “Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health.”
President Biden calls for ‘covid’ fraud investigations during State of the Union address | added February 8
Read more at The Epoch Times
During his State of the Union address on Feb. 7, President Joe Biden called for investigations into fraudulent use of funds authorized for covid-19 economic relief. The call comes as a concession from the president to Republicans, who are gearing up for investigations on topics ranging from Biden’s family to the Department of Justice and FBI.
An estimated $500 billion has been lost to waste, fraud, and abuse in pandemic relief spending. The House Oversight Committee was told by expert witnesses that nobody has lost their job for this enormous fraud. Republicans, most prominently Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), have called for investigations into pandemic fraud.
Biden conceded to the need for such an investigation during his address. “As we emerge from this crisis, stronger, we’re also gotta (sic) double down on prosecuting criminals who stole relief money meant to keep workers and small businesses afloat,” Biden said. The declaration was met with a round of applause from Republicans, as well as from Attorney General Merrick Garland. As head of the Department of Justice, Garland would be responsible for carrying out such prosecutions.
U.S. Right to Know obtains email that questions Peter Daszak’s claim about shutting down ‘covid’ research | added February 8
Read more at The Defender
A new email obtained by U.S. Right to Know raises new concerns about the veracity of statements by a scientist close to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and renews questions about his organization’s research. The email shows that EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak, a longtime collaborator of the WIV, planned to continue work unfunded on a grant that was revoked by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The grant in question, called “Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence,” was a collaboration between EcoHealth Alliance, the WIV, several other Chinese institutions and the Baric lab at the University of North Carolina. It was originally awarded from 2014 to 2019 and renewed from 2019 to 2026. It was suspended from April to July 2020 over EcoHealth’s ties to the WIV.
“My plan is to continue this work, unfunded for now…” said Daszak in an email dated April 28, 2020, just four days after the grant was retracted. Daszak’s email generates questions about NIH oversight of grantees conducting research with pandemic risks. An audit published last week by the inspector general overseeing health programs uncovered several deficiencies in NIH’s oversight of EcoHealth.
No new ‘covid’ variants born in China despite winter outbreak, according to Chinese-funded study | added February 8
Read more at NBC News
HONG KONG — Analysis of covid-19 cases in Beijing suggests that no new variants emerged from China’s recent outbreak, according to a study published Wednesday. Facing rare mass unrest after nearly three years of strict “zero-covid” policies, the Chinese government dropped most restrictions on Dec. 7.
The sudden change unleashed the coronavirus over the winter on a population of 1.4 billion people who had barely been exposed to it, raising fears that the outbreak could produce a new variant of concern and leading dozens of countries, including the United States, to impose testing and other curbs on travelers from China.
But the Chinese-funded study, which was published in The Lancet, found that of 413 sampled infections in Beijing, all belonged to existing covid variants. The most common were omicron subvariants BA.5.2 and BF.7, which together accounted for more than 90% of local infections. The samples were randomly selected for genomic sequencing from a larger group of 2,881 high-quality samples collected in Beijing from Nov. 14 to Dec. 20, 2022.
Why are we inoculating infants for ‘covid’? | added February 8
Read more at The Daily Skeptic
In December, after the U.K. approved the covid vaccine for infants, I asked the Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland, Dr. Michael McBride, why we were vaccinating babies against covid-19. The question was the title of an article in the Daily Sceptic in which I also asked him to address other related issues.
I have now received a reply. He writes: The Department of Health, along with the equivalent Departments across the rest of the U.K., has been guided by the expert advice provided by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) regarding vaccine safety and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an independent expert advisory committee, on vaccine strategy.
In early December 2022 the MHRA approved a new age appropriate formulation of the Pfizer BioNTech covid-19 vaccine (Comirnaty) for use in infants and young children aged from six months to four years after the vaccine met the required safety, quality and effectiveness standards. This approval was given following a thorough review of safety data specific to the vaccine. The vaccine has already been approved by the EMA in Europe and the FDA in the USA.
What did Bill Gates say about vaccines? | added February 8
Watch the video on YouTube
Bill Gates has been spitting truths about vaccine efficacy and covid origins, including that the next pandemic – EXCITING – could be man-made. Nothing like the last pandemic, which, as we all know, came from that stinking wet market. Right Bill?
NYC to end ‘covid’ vax mandate for Department of Education employees and municipal workers | added February 7
Read more at The Wall Street Journal
Covid-19 vaccinations will no longer be mandatory for New York City municipal workers, Mayor Eric Adams said Monday. The vaccinations will be optional for current and prospective city workers beginning Feb. 10, following an expected passing vote at the Board of Health meeting next week, the mayor’s office said in a statement.
“With more than 96% of city workers and more than 80% of New Yorkers having received their primary covid-19 series and more tools readily available to keep us healthy, this is the right moment for this decision,” said Mr. Adams. A vaccine mandate will also end for New York City Department of Education employees.
The city faced numerous lawsuits after it issued covid-19 vaccine mandates in 2021 for various staff, including teachers, public healthcare workers and municipal workers. The mandate was set under former Mayor Bill de Blasio. Many workers in New York City and in other cities were fired over the vaccine mandates. The approximately 1,780 former New York City employees who were fired for failing to submit proof of vaccination won’t automatically be given their former roles back and must apply for those positions again, the mayor’s office said.
Uncovering the ‘covid’ fraud part 9 | added February 7
Read more at Mike Stone Antiviral Substack
While I want nothing more than to move on from Bill Gates, it is hard to do so as his presence was consistently felt throughout this pandemic. The computer “virus” guy was ironically paraded around as a human “virus” expert.
This was mainly due to his financial influence as the 2nd largest donor to the WHO. The money from the Gates Foundation bought Gates unwarranted power, an inflated “authority,” and valuable media air time. He had the ear of President Trump and advised him not to create a vaccine safety committee. He championed lockdown measures, promoted the necessity of a national vaccine ID tracking system, and provided the funding to massively speed up vaccine production. Gates even funded the Leadership Council for the Global Vaccine Action Plan which was spearheaded by Anthony Fauci. It was clear that this unelected official with an agenda had bought his way into an influential position.
Fortunately, Gates was not the only focus over these next 5 days in April 2020. Other areas that were explored were:
The empty hospitals and lack of work for nurses
The fraudulent ways that deaths caused by other factors were being labelled as “covid” deaths based upon PCR results
The fact that “recovered” cases of “covid” were once again testing positive days after a negative test supposedly confirmed “recovery”
The shifting herd immunity narrative
The lack of evidence behind the superspreader concept
The financial conflicts of interests between medical journals and the pharmaceutical industry
The link between “covid” cases and vaping in August 2019 prior to the first case in Wuhan in December 2019
How and why we fast | added February 7
Editor’s Note: Anthony William, Medical Medium, also shares some insight on fasting and ways it can be done safely. He also debunks a lot of the trendy fasting diets that can potentially put added unnecessary stress on the body. — mmd
Watch on Dr. Sam Bailey
Fasting is a simple concept, except it is one of the most misunderstood health practices in the modern era. Much of this confusion comes from the medical establishment, which generally has an unfavourable view of fasting. However, the practice is actually one of the most powerful curative techniques known.
Fasting works through aiding the body’s eliminative system, but is more than just bringing about physiological changes by restricting food intake. Fasting is as old as we are and is mentioned numerous times in Scripture. In fact, a successful fast has the additional benefits of encouraging right thinking and developing a stronger connection on the spiritual plane.
Take a look at the reasons for how and why we fast…
Virax Biolabs Group to launch and market ‘covid’ and flu a+b antigen combo rapid detection kits | added February 7
Read more at Yahoo Finance
LONDON, Feb. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Virax Biolabs Group Limited (“Virax” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: VRAX), an innovative diagnostics company focused on the prevention, detection, and diagnosis of viral diseases, announced that it has signed a Purchase Order with Cosmos Health (Nasdaq: COSM) (“Cosmos”) to launch and market Covid-19 and Influenza A+B Antigen Combo Rapid Detection Kits.
Pursuant to their previously signed distribution agreement dated September 2022, Cosmos will have exclusive distribution rights for Greece and Cyprus, with the opportunity to distribute the ViraxClear branded test kits across Europe on a non-exclusive basis. Virax’s Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. James Foster, commented, “Covid-19, Influenza A and Influenza B are major sources of illness and mortality in humans across the globe.
We are pleased to offer a dual solution, that can accurately identify infections related to these viruses, with results typically available in 15 minutes, and improve health outcomes through early identification.” “Covid-19 continues to threaten lives across the world. According to the World Health Organization (“WHO”), as of February 2, 2023, there have been approximately 750 million confirmed covid-19 cases and about 7 million covid-19-attributable deaths,”1 said Mr. Greg Siokas, Chief Executive Officer of Cosmos.
‘Covid’ to blame for another delay in Ohio state’s largest public corruption trial | added February 7
Read more at WHIO 7
CINCINNATI — The largest public corruption trial in Ohio is being delayed again because of covid-19. U.S. District Court Judge Tim Black sent jurors home with at-home covid tests on Monday and told them to take the tests before returning to court, our news partners at WCPO in Cincinnati reported. One juror was reported to have tested positive.
This is the second time that covid-19 has caused a delay in the trail involving former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former Ohio GOP chair Matt Borges. A juror tested positive for the virus on Jan. 25 and the trial was subsequently delayed for four days. When testimony resumed, Black wore a mask and those in court to wear them as well. One juror was dismissed after refusing to wear a mask and being unable to produce a negative covid test, WCPO reported.
Householder and four associates were arrested in 2020. News Center 7 previously reported that prosecutors allege they took around $60 million from FirstEnergy Corp. in exchange for orchestrating a scheme to elect Householder as speaker and his allies to House seats, allowing them to then pass a $1.3 billion bailout bill for two Ohio nuclear power plants. While Householder and Borges have maintain their innocence while facing racketeering conspiracy, WCPO reported that FirstEnergy admitted its guilt, signed a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay a $230 million fine.
NY Supreme Court judge rules ‘covid’ mandate null and void | added February 7
Watch the video on Real America’s Voice
Listen to Attorney Cox and Senator Borrello on America’s Voice Live discuss Supreme Court Judge Gerard Neri’s ruling that the covid-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers is now “null, void, and of no effect.” The NYS Department of Health does not have the authority to impose such a mandate as this power is reserved to the state legislature. Just like our quarantine camp regulation lawsuit! Also, the court found that the mandate was “arbitrary and capricious” as covid-19 vaccines do not stop transmission.
King County and the city of Seattle drop ‘covid’ mandates due to high intake level of booster jabs | added February 7
Read more at Komo News
SEATTLE — King County and the City of Seattle are no longer requiring proof of the covid-19 vaccine as a condition of employment. King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell made the announcement Monday following guidance from Public Health – Seattle & King County.
“While the significant benefits of vaccination have not changed, the acute threat to our community and healthcare system has decreased. Therefore, it makes sense that vaccination is highly recommended but no longer required for King County and Seattle staff and contractors outside of health care settings,” Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County said.
Public Health issued the recommendation to lift the employee vaccine mandate after looking at the impacts of a potential winter surge in 2022-2023. However, they said because of the county’s high level of vaccination boosters, lower levels of community spread, and a “safe level” of covid-19 hospitalizations they felt confident in lifting the recommendations. “At this stage in the pandemic, we have higher levels of immunity from vaccination and from many people having had covid-19 infections. Treatments such as Paxlovid antiviral treatment are available for people who get infected and may be at higher risk,” said Duchin.
Analysis of the ‘covid’ lab leak theory | added February 7
Read more at The Epoch Times
News Analysis
Between 2014 and 2019, U.S. tax dollars were funneled to the Wuhan Institute of Virology via EcoHealth Alliance. Given that U.S. scientists have far more virology expertise than the Chinese, this begs an obvious question: what type of research were U.S. tax dollars paying for in Wuhan, China? Dr. Fauci’s surprising statement in an interview might provide the short answer to this question: “You don’t want to go to Hoboken, NJ or Fairfax, VA to be studying the bat-human interface that might lead to an outbreak, so you go to China.”
Given what we’ve endured for the past three years, Fauci’s “so you go to China” comment suggests that he hadn’t considered the global implications of a highly transmissible coronavirus leaking from a Chinese lab plagued by serious safety issues.
Unwilling to admit that he, EcoHealth Alliance, and their Chinese collaborators, are suspects in one of the largest crimes against humanity, Fauci instead opted to conspire with his boss, Francis Collins, to declare “lab leak” a “destructive conspiracy” that must be “put down.” Sadly, it’s clear that from the beginning, these two distinguished scientists made up their minds about virus origin without evidence from both sides of the debate.
Researchers admit myocarditis in young adults linked to elevated spike proteins from ‘covid’ shots | added February 7
Read more at Health News
[Jan. 9, 2023] The researchers suggest these findings could help improve safety and guide the development of future covid vaccines. Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle caused by the body’s immune response to infection or, in rare cases, a vaccine. Symptoms of this heart condition include chest pain, shortness of breath, and fast heartbeats.Although rare, myocarditis has occurred in people after receiving mRNA covid-19 vaccines, most often after the second dose. According to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) data, many individuals affected are young adults. To investigate post-covid vaccine myocarditis in this age group, scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital collected blood samples from 16 young adults hospitalized with myocarditis after receiving mRNA covid-19 vaccines.
They also analyzed blood samples from 45 vaccinated, healthy young people. The participants were between 12 and 21 years of age. After analyzing the samples, the research team found that antibody profiling and T-cell responses in the young people who developed post-vaccine myocarditis were similar to vaccinated, healthy individuals. However, the scientists discovered markedly elevated levels of full-length spike proteins in the plasma of those with post-vaccine myocarditis.
So, you wanna ride my ass? | added February 7
Watch the video on YouTube
Tailgating is not okay any day of the week — BACK OFF.
Lab leak? Which lab? How did it get out? | added February 6
Read more at Planet Waves FM from Chiron Return
Open discussion thread: I have a question for proponents of the “lab release” theory: which lab did “it” escape from? And how exactly did “it” get out? I am interested in your theories, and also any primary and secondary sources you may have that support your concept. Thank you. Apologies to everyone who is sick of the issue in all of its forms; I feel you. I have had enough, but I have not been excused from the story, so thanks for bearing with me. — efc
Six-year old vaccinated and immune compromised Ohio girl ‘dies suddenly’ | added February 6
Editor’s Note: In reality, if the six-year old experienced lifelong health problems such as epilepsy, asthma and frequent hospitalizations perhaps she should NOT have received the ‘covid’ drug. Fact of the matter is, we may never know in the mainstream media considering health organizations such as the CDC constantly promote the shots for immune-comprised while ignoring the very real and devastating side effects people are having from the shots. If the autopsy took place in the same record speed the CDC and other world governments tend to push the jabs as the ‘cure for all’, we may know what exactly happened to Anastasia. — mmd
Read more at AP News
Results from 6-year-old Anastasia Weaver’s autopsy may take weeks. But online anti-vaccine activists needed only hours after her funeral this week to baselessly blame the covid-19 vaccine. A prolific Twitter account posted Anastasia’s name and smiling dance portrait in a tweet with a syringe emoji. A Facebook user messaged her mother, Jessica Day-Weaver, to call her a “murderer” for having her child vaccinated.
In reality, the Ohio kindergartner had experienced lifelong health problems since her premature birth, including epilepsy, asthma and frequent hospitalizations with respiratory viruses. “The doctors haven’t given us any information other than it was due to all of her chronic conditions. … There was never a thought that it could be from the vaccine,” Day-Weaver said of her daughter’s death.
But those facts didn’t matter online, where Anastasia was swiftly added to a growing list of hundreds of children, teens, athletes and celebrities whose unexpected deaths and injuries have been incorrectly blamed on covid-19 shots. Using the hashtag #diedsuddenly, online conspiracy theorists have flooded social media with news reports, obituaries and GoFundMe pages in recent months, leaving grieving families to wrestle with the lies.
‘Long covid’ leaves family caregivers extra stressed with new multiple medical responsibilities | added February 6
Read more at NPR News
For Louise Salant, long covid has meant new stress, new responsibilities, and multiple medical crises to manage. It’s transformed her life. But there’s a twist. She’s had to deal with this condition not just as a patient but also as a caregiver for her 86-year-old aunt Eileen Salant, who has coped with long covid’s disabling symptoms for almost three years.
Eileen and Louise both caught an acute bout of covid-19 in March of 2020. Eileen had been taking care of her brother, who was admitted to a New York City hospital with heart failure during those dark days of the early pandemic. He got covid there, and died from his infection with the virus. Both aunt and niece also became very ill.
It was early days of the pandemic in New York, and hospitals were so crowded that Louise was told to stay home and fight out the illness on her own. Meanwhile, Eileen was hospitalized and stayed there all spring, including two months on a ventilator. After that, she spent five months at a rehab hospital. She finally came home to her apartment in Riverdale, the Bronx, the day before Thanksgiving in 2020 — but she was very weak.
Biden’s extensions of ‘covid’ pandemic health emergencies expanded massive welfare state | added February 6
Read more at USA Today
Is the covid-19 pandemic over? President Joe Biden has said so for five months, yet he plans to keep the federal public health emergency into May – and he has already extended it a 12th time. Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress just voted to end the emergency effective immediately.
That should have happened a long time ago, because the public health emergency is merely cover for a massive welfare state expansion that will cost Americans for generations. For at least the past year, the public health emergency has been more about sending checks than saving lives. Washington, D.C., is soaking taxpayers with hundreds of billions of dollars in higher food stamp and Medicaid costs tied to the emergency, while pushing millions of people out of the workforce.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The public health emergency was supposed to help America contain the spread of a little-understood illness. Then, in March 2020, Congress passed a slew of policies making the welfare state more generous and less connected to work while the emergency lasts. Lawmakers surely thought these policies would be temporary, but Democrats discovered they could move toward a permanently larger welfare state by repeatedly extending the emergency.
U.S. House votes to end ‘covid’ shot mandates for foreign travelers | added February 6
Read more at Reuters
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote next week on a bill that would end a requirement that most foreign air travelers be vaccinated against covid-19, Majority Leader Steve Scalise said on Friday.
The Biden administration in June dropped its requirement that people arriving in the country by air must test negative for covid-19 but has not lifted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccination requirements. Currently, adult visitors to the United States who are not citizens or permanent residents must show proof of vaccination before boarding their flight, with some limited exceptions.
Republican Representative Thomas Massie introduced the measure to rescind the vaccine requirement. “The CDC’s unscientific mandate is separating too many people from their families and has been doing so for far too long. It needs to end,” he said on Twitter. The CDC says vaccines continue to be the most important public health tool for fighting covid-19 and recommends all travelers be vaccinated. The CDC did not immediately comment Friday.
Two major Kentucky hospitals take opposite stances on mask mandates based on ‘covid’ transmission rates | added Feb. 6
Read more at WLKY
Wearing masks in hospitals has become common practice since the covid-19 outbreak. But without any further state mandates, entities have been making the rules independently, based on whatever factors or data sets they choose.
It was particularly interesting this week when two of Louisville’s biggest hospital systems made opposite mask policy changes on the exact same day. UofL Health decided this week to drop its mask mandate for team members, patients and visitors. And that same day, Norton Hospital reinstated theirs. So if these choices are based on science and metrics, why such different approaches?
For Norton, PR Manager Lynne Choate said they make their mask decision on the transmission rate in Jefferson County. They said, per the CDC website, the county is in the “red,” or highest level. See the data here. As for UofL, their approach seems a little more involved, or as they called it, “holistic.” Heather Fountaine said they’ve had consistently low patient numbers around town, and while the county is in the red, the transmission rate has declined.
Rights group fights to keep lawsuit over Canada’s ArrivaCAN mandate during ‘covid’ pandemic going | added February 6
Read more at The Epoch Times
A constitutional rights group is fighting to keep alive its legal challenge against the federal government’s ArriveCAN mandate, after the government said the issue is moot because the policy requiring mandatory use of the app has since been lifted.
In response, the group argued that the lifting of the policy has no bearing on the lawsuit since the mandate orders never made it a legal requirement for travellers to specifically use ArriveCAN as part of covid-19 measures. It said the orders only required travellers to submit information via “electronic means” but did not indicate ArriveCAN as the specific means that must be used.
The lawsuit was initiated in August 2022 when The Democracy Fund (TDF) filed a notice of application in the Federal Court against the health minister over the use of ArriveCAN. The group said the app’s collection and use of private health information breached Canadians’ charter rights. It also said the hefty fines for non-compliance—over $6,000—have been financially devastating for many people.
99 Luftballons | added February 6
Watch the video on YouTube
This one’s for China….
Doctors and advocates warn Black community faces barrier to long ‘covid’ care | added February 6
Read more at ABC News
Throughout the pandemic, Black Americans have made up a disproportionate share of cases, hospitalizations and deaths compared to any other racial or ethnic group. Now, doctors and advocates are warning the Black community is facing another barrier: access to long covid care.
Long covid occurs when patients who were infected with the covid-19 virus have lingering symptoms for more than four weeks after recovering. In some cases, these symptoms can persist for months or even years. It’s unclear what causes people to develop the condition, but research is ongoing.
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, with the latest update conducted between Jan. 4 and Jan. 16, 28.7% of Black respondents said they currently have or have had long covid. By comparison, 27.6% of white adults reporting having or having had long covid. Hispanic adults were the only racial/ethnic group with a higher percentage reporting long covid at 31.7%.
Unjabbed actor Matthew Marsden defends choice despite losing his career | added February 6
Read more at FOX News
Actor Matthew Mardsen was lambasted by Hollywood for refusing to take the covid-19 vaccine, but the actor known for action flicks like “Black Hawk Down” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” as well as Amazon’s “Reacher” series, told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson he stands by his decision to do the right thing.
“I’ve worked a lot with soldiers, and it’s really difficult for me to say that losing my career is a difficult decision to stand up for what is right when they’ll go, and they’ll die, and they’ll lose everything,” he said on Fox Nation’s “Tucker Carlson Today.” “To me, it wasn’t [a difficult decision] at all. I’d be very cowardly if I didn’t,” he added.
He told Carlson that his career is insignificant and sacrificing that career means little if “our freedoms are taken away.” “This is all happening because we’re letting it happen,” he said, warning that “It doesn’t matter who you are, they’ll come after you… they’re relentless.” Marsden said he believes that, if more people take a stand against those forcing the mandates on others, the rules would come to a halt.
PWFM season finale: A bit o’Full Moon, plus John O’Looney, the editorial integrity disaster o’Substack, and Tantra Studio | added February 4
Read more on Planet Waves FM from Chiron Return
Dear Friend and Listener:
First, I’ll be on two panels and an interview on the Aquarian
I have a new program planned for you tonight — check the front page of Planet Waves FM before 10 pm ET.
I’ll open with a little Leo Full Moon, though I suggest you check those two recent editions covering this event on the STARCAST page.
Tonight, my guest is outspoken funeral director John O’Looney, who is anything but. I ask him the questions I imagine you would want to ask, about what he has seen inside the taboo walls of the mortuary since 2020.
The biggest revelation out of the interview: he witnessed a biosecurity zone in a hospital funeral chapel in December 2019, long before there was any concept of a viral outbreak. Seems that like WTC7, the press release went out a little early.
Along with this, I am planning a Tantra Studio on why every sexual “identity” is a ruse, and why masturbation is at the core of all sexual existence.
Thank you for making the program possible by sending your friends, through your contributions modest and lavish, and hanging out Friday nights.
With love,
— efc
Winter’s ‘covid’ surge appears to be ‘fading fast’, according to doctors | added February 4
Read more at NPR
This winter’s covid-19 surge in the U.S. appears to be fading without hitting nearly as hard as many had feared. “I think the worst of the winter resurgence is over,” says Dr. David Rubin, who’s been tracking the pandemic at the PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
No one expected this winter’s surge to be as bad as the last two. But both the flu and RSV came roaring back really early this fall. At the same time, the most contagious omicron subvariant yet took off just as the holidays arrived in late 2022. And most people were acting like the pandemic was over, which allowed all three viruses to spread quickly.
So there were big fears of hospitals getting completely overwhelmed again, with many people getting seriously ill and dying. But that’s not what happened. “This virus continues to throw 210-mile-per-hour curve balls at us. And it seems to defy gravity or logic sometimes,” says Michael Osterholm, who heads the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
University of Florida study reveals ‘covid’ inoculated mothers pass antibodies to newborns via breast milk | added February 4
Read more at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A mother’s milk is good for more than just providing essential nutrients — it also has antibacterial properties, and a recent study found more evidence that mothers vaccinated against covid-19 passed immunity on to their infants, who are too young to be vaccinated against the virus themselves.
The study by the University of Florida was a follow-up of previous research there in 2021 that found evidence of antibodies against the coronavirus in breast milk. This hinted at a link to babies acquiring what they called “passive immunity” against the virus, but the new study took it further and measured infants’ stool for those same antibodies.
Joseph Aracri, chair of the Allegheny Health Network Pediatric Institute, said he thought the study was a good way to investigate how antibodies transfer from mom to baby. Aracri was not involved in the research. “As we always knew with breastfeeding, there are antibodies in milk that give a baby protection in the first delicate months of life,” he said. “It’s no surprise that covid antibodies also transfer and give the baby a level of protection against covid.”
Senior Pfizer employee raises concerns about ‘covid’ jabs on women’s reproductive systems | added February 4
Read more at The Epoch Times
A senior employee at drug manufacturer Pfizer is allegedly concerned about the possible side effects of the covid-19 vaccine as it relates to women’s menstrual cycles, according to a conversation that was filmed by the nonprofit journalism group, Project Veritas. Video footage of the conversation with Dr. Jordon Walker, a senior Pfizer employee, with the undercover reporter for Project Veritas was published on Twitter on Feb. 2.
Walker is the director of research and development at the pharmaceuticals giant, according to a Pfizer receptionist. The company has not disputed that it employs Walker. In the footage, the senior Pfizer employee can be seen and heard expressing concerns over potential negative side effects of the company’s vaccine on women’s reproductive health, pointing to irregular menstrual cycles in women.
“There is something irregular about the menstrual cycles. So, people will have to investigate that down the line because that is a little concerning,” Walker said in the video. “The [covid-19] vaccine shouldn’t be interfering with that [menstrual cycles]. So, we don’t really know,” he said, before pointing to “the science” which he said suggests that the vaccine shouldn’t be interacting with something known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG axis), which are “the hormones that regulate their menstrual cycle and things like that,” according to Walker.
Antiviral ‘covid’ Paxlovid pill compared to HIV treatments in wake of safety concerns | added February 4
Read more at USA Today
The antiviral Paxlovid has changed the battle against covid-19. It’s so effective that more than 85% of people at risk for severe disease can avoid a bad outcome with a five-day course of the prescription medication given within five days of symptoms starting.
But word of its effectiveness has been slow to catch on. Only about 7.6 million Americans have taken the medication, with nearly 1.6 million doses currently available nationwide. People have been apparently scared off by misinformation and side effects – one that’s minor and goes away after the medication’s five-day course and the other that might not be due to the drug at all.
And doctors, concerned about interactions with other medications, have withheld Paxlovid from vulnerable people rather than stop the other drugs for a handful of days. This has left only a fraction of those eligible receiving them, despite a strong lobbying effort by the Biden administration and public health officials. Like other antivirals, Paxlovid is designed to stop a virus from making copies of itself. Limiting the number of copies helps the immune system fight off the virus.
R.I.T and St. John Fisher University announce an end to mandatory ‘covid’ jabs | added February 4
Read more at ABC 13
Rochester, N.Y. — At least two local colleges are dropping their covid-19 vaccine requirements for students. Rochester Institute of Technology announced Monday it would no longer require the vaccination, while St. John Fisher University announced a similar move Thursday.
“Recognizing that some members of our community or their loved ones are more susceptible to severe illness, we strongly urge everyone to stay up to date with immunizations, boosters and masking when appropriate or asked,” RIT President David Munson said in a statement. “New vaccine strategies are under development and we will continue to monitor their progress. That said, RIT will no longer require covid-19 vaccination for students, employees and extended visitors.
Although vaccination is no longer required, we hope our collective resolve to protect our community continues to translate into a very high vaccination/booster rate on campus. “Since its implementation, this requirement has protected our campus community and helped us maintain our strong commitment to in-person instruction,” a message to the St. John Fisher campus read Thursday.
China’s CanSino claims its mRNA ‘covid’ jabs as good as Moderna and Pfizer despite no direct testing of the shots in head-to-head trials | added February 4
Read more at Reuters
LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – CanSino Biologics (6185.HK) Chief Executive Yu Xuefeng said on Friday he was confident his company’s experimental covid-19 vaccine using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology was as good as shots from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
As the covid-19 pandemic evolves in China after the country abandoned its zero-covid policy in December, domestic companies like CanSino are racing to develop mRNA covid vaccines. The country – which experienced a wave of infections across its 1.4 billion population after the sudden relaxation of covid restrictions – has so far declined to use mRNA vaccines from abroad, and has yet to approve a domestic one that uses the technology.
Approved vaccines in China are widely considered less effective than the Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) and Pfizer Inc-BioNTech SE (PFE.N), (22UAy.DE) mRNA shots. Yu acknowledged that it was not possible to directly test the CanSino vaccine versus the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech shots in a head-to-head trial because they were not available in China. “But just based on published data…I’m confident our product is as good as the already launched mRNA vaccines,” he told Reuters in an interview.
In memory of those who ‘died suddenly’ in Canada, Jan. 23-30, 2023 | added February 4
Read more at Mark Crispin Miller Substack
As high as it is—higher even than the toll in Italy, although Canada has a much smaller population—the weekly toll that we have been recording in these compilations is much lower than it ought to be, due to the terseness of obituaries from some of Canada’s highly multicultural populations. The death notices from those communities are less detailed than those from the general population.
There is a similar void of information in our northern regions. It is extremely difficult to find death notices of any kind for those communities, whose rate of “sudden deaths” may well be hidden. What all this means, in short, is that the true rate of “sudden deaths” in Canada is probably much higher—perhaps five times higher—than the quite high rate that we’ve recorded here. Canada now has 400 reported deaths and more than 10,000 serious injuries following people receiving a covid-19 vaccine, but Health Canada indicates it has confidence in vaccinations to battle coronavirus variants.
However, for families behind those numbers, it’s not about statistics. “Evidence indicates that the benefits of covid-19 vaccines continue to outweigh the risks of the disease,” Health Canada states in its new adverse reaction update. “Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the provinces and territories, and manufacturers continue to closely monitor the safety of covid-19 vaccines. We’ll respond to any safety issues right away and will inform Canadians about any risks that arise in Canada.”
‘Covid’ fact checks: Masking still doesn’t work | added Feb. 4
Read more at Off Guardian
Both the US and UK have seen the (attempted) re-introduction of facemask mandates amid “surging covid cases” in the New Year.
On January 9th, ABC news headlined:
More US schools institute mask mandates as covid cases rise
Reporting that public schools in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Michigan were re-introducing mask mandates. That follows late-December mandates imposed in Oakland and Iowa, among others. It’s not much different in the UK, where there have been no mandates issued, but “experts” are “urging” people to wear masks to “limit the spread of flu, covid and Scarlet Fever”, according to the Daily Mail. The OKHSA issued “guidance”, as they are wont to do.
Meanwhile, the Guardian is back to publishing manipulative op-eds attempting to “end the culture war” on masks, and turning the whole issue into nothing but a virtue signal. All of this is, of course, pure propaganda that ignores actual science in favour “The ScienceTM“. Masks don’t work, that was our 6th Covid Fact-check, back in June of 2020.
Shhh… | added February 4
Watch the video on YouTube
A little-noticed provision of the omnibus spending bill could give the FDA power to control how your doctor advises you. Good job there are no ties between the FDA and Big Pharma that might influence which medication they will and won’t push, right? Funny how authorities seem to think we aren’t paying attention… Happy weekend.
Hong Kong customs seizes 257,000 tablets of illegally tainted ‘covid’ drugs | added February 3
Read more at The South Morning China Post
Hong Kong customs officers have seized about 257,000 tablets of smuggled covid-19 drugs estimated to be worth more than HK$15 million (US$1.2 million) and arrested 20 suspects in connection to the illegal imports since January. Customs on Friday revealed 33 cases involving the smuggling of covid-19 oral drugs had been detected since it began special enforcement operations after noticing a rising trend in the beginning of January.
“We believe that most of the illegally imported covid-19 oral drugs have been blocked,” said Lie Yan-ning, special investigation divisional commander of the syndicate crimes investigation bureau, adding he expected the trend to decrease as the local pandemic situation stabilised. He said 27 of the cases involved illegal imports of the drugs through postal parcels, express deliveries and freight, with the number of tablets in each case ranging from hundreds to more than 100,000.
Six cases involved passengers bringing a total of about 87,000 tablets into Hong Kong through the city’s airport, mainly from India, Bangladesh, Thailand, the Netherlands and other European countries. Lie said those arrested included both local residents and foreigners. He did not rule out the possible involvement of smuggling syndicates, adding the cases were still being investigated and more arrests could be made.
Surge in ‘covid’ cases to blame for Japan’s overwhelmed hospitals and low immunity | added February 3
Read more at BBC News
Low immunity against covid-19 and a growing population of frail elderly is driving a surge in coronavirus deaths in Japan which had, for a long time, upheld some of the strictest pandemic restrictions. Japan once boasted one of the lowest covid mortality rates, but the figure has been trending upwards since the end of 2022. It hit an all-time high on 20 January this year, surpassing the UK, US and South Korea, according to Oxford University’s Our World in Data.
Japan was largely closed to foreign visitors from 2020 till mid-June last year. It opened its borders cautiously – at first, travellers had to be part of a package tour, buy medical insurance, and be masked in all public places. Some schoolchildren had meals in silence for over two years as schools imposed bans on lunchtime conversations. As restrictions are eased, however, the population’s low covid immunity may be causing infections to spike, local health experts told the BBC.
Most of the latest covid fatalities are elderly people with underlying medical conditions, experts said. This contrasts with the initial spate of deaths that were due to pneumonia and were often treated in intensive care. “It is also difficult to prevent these deaths by treatment,” says Hitoshi Oshitani, one of Japan’s leading virologists, adding that covid was only the trigger. “Due to the emergence of immune-escaping variants and sub-variants and the waning of immunity, it is getting more difficult to prevent infections,” he says.
Scientists to test if we live in a simulation | added February 3
Read more at NBC News
Is the world around us real — or are we living in a simulation, like characters trapped inside some space alien’s video game? That sounds like a question you might hear at a midnight screening of “The Matrix,” but lately it’s become the subject of serious academic debate. High-profile proponents of what’s known as the “simulation hypothesis” include SpaceX chief Elon Musk, who recently expounded on the idea during an interview for a popular podcast.
“If you assume any rate of improvement at all, games will eventually be indistinguishable from reality,” Musk said before concluding, “We’re most likely in a simulation. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson agrees, giving “better than 50-50 odds” that the simulation hypothesis is correct. “I wish I could summon a strong argument against it, but I can find none,” he told NBC News MACH in an email.
The current assault on reality began with a 2003 paper by Nick Bostrom. In it, the University of Oxford philosopher laid down some blunt logic: If there are long-lived technological civilizations in the universe, and if they run computer simulations, there must be a huge number of simulated realities complete with artificial-intelligence inhabitants who may have no idea they’re living inside a game — inhabitants like us, perhaps.
U.S. government issues fraud alert over 69,323 potentially fraudulent social security numbers used to obtain ‘covid’ relief loans | added February 3
Read more at Yahoo News
A U.S. government watchdog has issued a “deeply disturbing” fraud alert over the widespread use of “questionable” Social Security numbers (SSNs) to get pandemic loans. The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) found that 69,323 potentially fraudulent SSNs were used to obtain $5.4 billion from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Covid-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
The shocking revelation dropped just days before a hearing by the Republican-led House of Representatives Oversight Committee on fraudulent pandemic spending was set to begin. “What PRAC has discovered is deeply disturbing,” said Sens. Rand Paul and Joni Ernst, who are demanding an investigation into covid-19 loan fraud. “The extent of the fraud could be far greater.”
The Small Business Administration (SBA) launched the PPP and EIDL programs in 2020 to help small businesses and their employees recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic. Over the pandemic, the SBA provided about $800 billion in PPP loans and over $378 billion in EIDL loans — not all of them, it would seem, to deserving businesses and individuals. But with that much money being distributed in pandemic relief — and so quickly — oversight was a must. And so the CARES Act created PRAC for just that purpose. In a review of more than 33 million PPP and EIDL applications, the committee uncovered 221,427 potentially invalid SSNs.
Canada extends ‘covid’ travel restrictions for travelers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau | added February 3
Read more at The Epoch Times
Canada is extending the covid-19 restrictions for travellers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau that were set to expire on Feb. 5, citing the need to protect the health-care system and concerns about the lack of scientific data from Beijing despite a “dramatic increase” of cases in the country.
Last December, the government announced temporary pre-boarding test requirements and arrival screening for travellers coming from these regions. The measures took effect on Jan. 5 and were set to expire on Feb. 5. “On February 4, 2023, at 12:01 a.m. EST, Canada intends on extending these current health measures for travellers arriving on flights from these regions, regardless of nationality or vaccination status. The requirements are expected to remain in effect until April 5, 2023, 12:01 a.m. EDT,” the government said in a statement on Feb. 2.
Ottawa said the decision to extend the existing covid-19 measures was based on several factors, including the continued reports of a “dramatic increase of covid-19 cases in China” since the regime lifted its restrictions on border travel starting Jan. 8. Another reason for the extension is concerns about the limited epidemiological data made available by Chinese authorities, including those related to genomic sequencing and potential variants of concern.
California to end ‘covid’ state of emergency and vax mandates for school children | added February 3
Read more at The New York Times
Perhaps you heard the announcement this week that President Biden plans to end the nation’s covid public health emergency in May, signaling that the pandemic has moved into a less dire phase. California’s version is set to end even sooner. The state’s coronavirus emergency declaration will expire on Feb. 28, almost three years after it began.
It gave Gov. Gavin Newsom broad power to issue mandates intended to slow the spread of the virus, as well as to bypass certain state laws. He announced in October that he would end the emergency in February, and a spokesperson from his office confirmed on Wednesday that that’s still his plan. The sunsetting of the emergency declaration, which has been the basis for more than 500 legal and policy measures in California, reflects a shift in how state officials are approaching the pandemic, experts say.
Newsom released a statewide plan last year that calls for treating the virus as a manageable risk, as opposed to a crisis. The coronavirus is still killing about 40 people a day in California, and is infecting people at the level of a “very bad flu season,” said Dr. Timothy Brewer, an epidemiologist at U.C.L.A. But the state seems to have avoided a catastrophic winter surge, and reports of new cases have been falling in recent weeks. Three-fourths of all Californians have received at least an initial vaccination against the virus.
‘Covid’ life hookey | added February 3
Watch the video on YouTube
‘Covid’ — the only way to get mentally healthy is to get physically sick. Happy Friday.
White House announces ‘covid’ treatments will soon transition to the private market | added February 3
Read more at CBS News
The supply of free treatments and vaccines for covid-19 purchased by the federal government could end as soon as this summer, the White House’s top pandemic official said Thursday, as the Biden administration prepares to transition the medicines to the private market.
“All I can say, because I literally don’t know, we don’t have the specific dates, is that it’s going to happen sometime over the summer into early fall. And you’ll see that transition and we’ll kind of give people as much notice as we can possibly give,” Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s Covid-19 Response Coordinator, told a webinar hosted by the University of California San Francisco.
His timeline echoes the one recently laid out by Pfizer executives. The company told shareholders this week they predicted to be able to begin selling their Comirnaty covid vaccine and Paxlovid pills “at commercial prices” to Americans through the private market in the second half of this year. Federal officials have long warned that they would likely run out of government-bought supplies of covid-19 vaccines and drugs this year, after Congress failed to pass a White House’s funding request to replenish their stocks. The White House reshuffled funds last year to buy a final tranche of the updated “bivalent” booster shots.
Autopsy reveals histopathologic cardiac findings in two adolescents following mRNA inoculations | added February 3
Read more at Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Context.—
Myocarditis in adolescents has been diagnosed clinically following the administration of the second dose of an mRNA vaccine for coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19).
Objective.—
To examine the autopsy microscopic cardiac findings in adolescent deaths that occurred shortly following administration of the second Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 dose to determine if the myocarditis described in these instances has the typical histopathology of myocarditis.
Design.—
Clinical and autopsy investigation of 2 teenage boys who died shortly following administration of the second Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 dose.
Results.—
The microscopic examination revealed features resembling a catecholamine-induced injury, not typical myocarditis pathology.
Conclusions.—
The myocardial injury seen in these postvaccine hearts is different from typical myocarditis and has an appearance most closely resembling a catecholamine-mediated stress (toxic) cardiomyopathy. Understanding that these instances are different from typical myocarditis and that cytokine storm has a known feedback loop with catecholamines may help guide screening and therapy. Myocarditis in adolescents (particularly teenage boys) has been reported following the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine.1–7 Since cardiac biopsies are rarely performed in these instances with clinically stable patients, the myocardial pathology has not been clearly elucidated.8
Merck’s ‘covid’ pill linked to increasing mutations of virus | added February 2
Read more at Bloomberg
Merck & Co.’s covid-19 pill is giving rise to new mutations of the virus in some patients, according to a study that underscores the risk of trying to intentionally alter the pathogen’s genetic code. Some researchers worry the drug may create more contagious or health-threatening variations of covid, which has killed more than 6.8 million people globally over the past three years.
Mutations linked to the use of Merck’s pill, Lagevrio, have been identified in viral samples taken from dozens of patients, according to a preprint study from researchers in the US and at the Francis Crick Institute, Imperial College London and other UK institutions. The drug-linked mutations of the virus haven’t been shown to be more immune-evasive or lethal yet, according to the study published Friday without peer review on the medRxiv website.
But their very existence highlights what some scientists say are potential risks in wider use of the drug, which was recently cleared in China. Lagevrio works by creating mutations in the covid genome that prevent the virus from replicating in the body, reducing the chances it will cause severe illness. Some scientists had warned before it was authorized in late 2021 that by virtue of how it works, the drug could give rise to mutations that could turn out to be problematic. The preprint paper has reawakened those worries about the Merck drug.
First ever recipient of ‘covid’ jab Sandra Lindsay becomes advocate for the shots in Jamaica | added February 2
Read more at NBC News
February marks Black History Month, a time to pay tribute to those Black and Afro-Latinx who broke boundaries and continue to make history. Long Island critical care nurse Sandra Lindsay became a national name when she received the first official dose of the covid-19 vaccine in the U.S. in December 2020. Three years later, she returned to her homeland in Jamaica to continue her mission work.
Since the first jab, Lindsay has been engaged in her new leadership role as Vice President of Public Health Advocacy at Northwell Health, monitoring the spread of coronavirus and ensuring high-risk localities are getting the proper healthcare, including those abroad. In partnership with medical supply nonprofit MedShare, Northwell donated over $800,000 worth of medical equipment to Jamaica in 2021, which Lindsay facilitated in the handover. This January, Lindsay traveled to Kingston to be hands-on with surgeries.
“Jamaica also reached out needing help for a backlog of surgeries related to covid. People couldn’t get their care and schedule surgeries because of the pandemic,” Lindsay told NBC New York, who assisted on upwards of a dozen gynecologic cases postponed for two years. Besides working at the University Hospital of the West Indies, Lindsay contributed to educational events and community screenings in rural surrounding areas. She even donated a vital piece of equipment courtesy of Northwell to the Noel Holmes Hospital in the western part of the island.
Rwanda FDA approves Platform Life Sciences to launch clinical trial of mRNA ‘covid’ shots | added February 2
Read more at Yahoo News
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ – Platform Life Sciences, a high impact Clinical Research Organization, with the mission to modernize clinical trials on a global scale, has signed a key agreement with GreenLight Biosciences to support their Phase I clinical trial, GLB-003, for a novel mRNA vaccine against covid-19 in Rwanda – that today has been approved by the Rwanda FDA.
The trial will be performed by leading clinical investigators in Rwanda, in partnership with Platform Life Sciences. Rwandan scientific leaders have conducted several clinical trials for large pharmaceutical companies and are at the forefront of advancing end-to-end research and development in Africa. Platform Life Sciences has built an innovative global partnerships network for executing clinical trials with modern technology and infrastructure that has the potential to lower costs and accelerate the time to market for products.
The network has expertise in covid-19, vaccines, viral respiratory, and other infectious diseases. “We share a common vision with Platform Life Sciences of working towards global vaccine self-sufficiency and look forward to using Platform Life Sciences in the conduct of our clinical trial,” said Andrey Zarur, CEO, and co-founder of GreenLight Biosciences.
Millions to lose Medicaid with official end of ‘covid’ pandemic | added February 2
Read more at Forbes
Right before the holiday recess, leaders in Congress reached a sweeping health policy deal. The omnibus bill contains a number of healthcare stipulations, including an easing of Medicare pay cuts to physicians, modest investments in future pandemic preparedness, and major changes to Medicaid enrollment policy.
The legislation allows state Medicaid agencies to begin kicking adults off of the Medicaid rolls on April 1st, regardless of the status of the covid-19 public health emergency, which is now set to expire on May 11th. The people most impacted by the bill are those who signed up for Medicaid coverage during the covid-19 pandemic. Between five and 14 million Americans could lose their Medicaid coverage this spring, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the nonpartisan health policy organization.
In a memorandum issued January 30th, referring to the omnibus bill the White House asserted that “Congress enacted an orderly wind-down of [the public health emergency] rules to ensure that patients do not lose access to care unpredictably.” This begs the question, does it materially matter whether people are deprived of access to care predictably or unpredictably? Normally, states run routine checks – also called redeterminations – on Medicaid enrollees to ensure they’re still eligible for the program.
Katherine Watt on the emergency rollout of bioweapons | added February 2
Watch the video on YouTube
On January 24, 2023 Katherine Watt was an attendee at a press conference that discussed the ongoing emergency use rollout of bioweapons being marketed as covid vaccines. She discussed the legal framework by which this is happening and provides ways to circumvent the WHO/BIS/DOD initiatives that undermine sovereignty.
Efficacy of updated ‘covid’ jabs on healthy people remains unclear among FDA and health experts | added February 2
Read more at The New York Times
Three years into the pandemic, it has become evident that covid-19 isn’t going anywhere, and neither are vaccine boosters. Last week, an advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration unanimously agreed that the vaccine and booster process for covid-19 needs to be simplified in terms of which version of the shot is offered and when and how often people should receive it. There was less consensus about what that simplified process will look like.
The F.D.A.’s desire to streamline vaccine recommendations is a reflection of just how complicated and confusing they have become. When the bivalent booster, which targets both the original coronavirus strain and the BA.4/BA.5 omicron subvariants, was rolled out in September 2022, there was little data about how well it would work. But the basis for the decision was relatively clear: The virus is evolving, and so should the vaccine. Over the past few months, as the results of initial studies have come in, the picture has gotten murkier.
The good news is the bivalent booster does appear to provide protection against severe infection, which is critical for high-risk individuals. It “is doing a much better job of protection, both for symptomatic infections” and hospitalizations, said Dr. Eric Topol, executive vice president of Scripps Research. The relative benefit for low-risk populations, who are unlikely to die or be hospitalized from covid-19, is less clear. There are also questions of how often people should get boosted and how the vaccine should be updated as the virus evolves.
Duke University researchers testing mRNA technology to treat cancer | added February 2
Editor’s Note: Should university researchers look into the root causes of cancer, the disease could be avoided all together. What about the industrial pollutants, toxic heavy metals and nuclear fallout from weapons testing polluting the soil and waters? Mono-agriculture? — mmd
Read more at PBS
Cancer cells and coronavirus infections are completely different. Thanks to mRNA (or messenger RNA) technology, however, there may eventually be a lot of similarities in how modern medicine fights them.
“Remember, people were expecting that a successful covid-19 vaccine using mRNA would provide protective immunity to about 50% of patients,” said Dr. Herbert Kim Lyerly, George Barth Geller Distinguished Professor of Immunology at Duke University School of Medicine. “But the first two mRNA vaccines provided over 90% protection, which is a remarkable achievement.”
Most vaccines work by delivering either a dead or inactive version of a pathogen, or a protein from that pathogen, into the body. Immune system cells in the body recognize these key proteins in the vaccine and prime the entire system to respond quicker if it later encounters the pathogen for real. mRNA vaccines are fundamentally different from most vaccines. mRNA, which stands for messenger RNA, works with your DNA. The genes in DNA encode protein molecules, the “workhorses” of the cell, carrying out all the functions needed for life. But to encode these proteins, DNA needs a messenger. Enter mRNA, which reads the DNA and acts as a template to form proteins.
A look at why the EKGs of pilots remain abnormal | added February 2
Read more at The Epoch Times
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires first-class airline pilots to receive an electrocardiogram (EKG) starting at age 35 and continuing annually after age 40. EKGs record the heart’s electrical activity to provide a measure of heart health and certain parameters must be met in order for pilots to be deemed fit to fly. Oct. 24, 2022, the FAA changed the EKG requirements necessary for pilots to fly—but not to make them safer.
With no public announcement or explanation, the agency expanded the allowable range for the PR interval, a measure of heart function. Widening this parameter means those with potential heart damage, disease, or injuries are now allowed to fly commercial aircraft, potentially putting passengers at risk, should they suffer a heart attack or other event while in the air. Why would the FAA make such a drastic and risky move without informing the public?
On an EKG, a normal PR interval measures 0.12 to 0.2 seconds. If the PR interval is shorter or longer than this, it can be indicative of a problem. According to Steve Kirsch, executive director of the Vaccine Safety Research Foundation, the FAA widened the acceptable EKG parameters from a PR max of 0.2 to 0.3, and potentially even higher. He says:
“They didn’t widen the range by a little. They widened it by a lot. It was done after the vaccine rollout. This is extraordinary. They did it hoping nobody would notice. It worked for a while. Nobody caught it. But you can’t hide these things for long. This is a tacit admission from the U.S. government that the covid vaccine has damaged the hearts of our pilots. Not just a few pilots. A lot of pilots and a lot of damage.”
Pfizer CAUGHT | added February 2
Watch the video on YouTube
Pfizer’s stock plummeted on Thursday – which could be connected to a potentially massive story from Project Veritas – not that anyone in the mainstream media is talking about it.
EXCLUSIVE: Interview with In-Silico Virus MN98094.72 | added February 1
Listen on Planet Waves
MN98094.72 shares insight on being developed by its master in a computer with a mix of Chinese snot. It currently resides in a CDC database somewhere.
West Point reimposes travel restrictions on unvaxed members despite DOD reversal of mandates | added February 1
Read more at Washington Examiner
The U.S. Military Academy is reimposing restrictions on cadets who haven’t been vaccinated for covid-19 in line with an Army guidance, despite the Department of Defense’s reversal on the mandate.
West Point implemented a policy preventing cadets from traveling for sports or other events at the height of the pandemic, though it had been lifted last semester, before being reimplemented, Just the News reported. “The U.S. Military Academy at West Point continues to follow Department of Defense’s guidance regarding unvaccinated service members,” a spokeswoman with the U.S. Military Academy Office of Public Affairs and Communications told the Washington Examiner.
“U.S. Army policy states unvaccinated service members are not eligible for official travel without prior approval from the Under Secretary of the Army. Until the policy is rescinded, West Point will continue to follow it.” Military attorney R. Davis Younts told the outlet that restarting the rule “feels like coercion” to force vaccination on the cadets. “Is there suddenly a crazy spike in covid deaths in West Point, New York,” or could it be the result of not having “anything left to coerce [the cadets] into compliance?”
Where’s the science? Biden slammed by Twitter users over Supreme Court ending ‘covid’ pandemic | added February 1
Read more at FOX News
President Biden was slammed by Twitter users for his confusing messaging about the end of the covid-19 state of emergency. The president told Congress Monday he would end the covid-19 emergency declarations on May 11. As he walked in front of the White House on Tuesday, he was asked by NBC’s Kristen Welker, “What’s behind your decision to end the covid emergency?”
Biden came over to grasp her hand as she held an umbrella and replied, “The covid emergency will end when the Supreme Court ends it. We’ve extended it to May the 15th to make sure we get everything done. That’s all.” Twitters users from political figures to commentators slammed the president for his head-scratching statement.
Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, tweeted, “Biden to reporters: ‘The Covid Emergency will end when the Supreme Court ends it.’ Not if Congress ends it first. It’s way beyond time to rein in out-of-control executive authority. #EndTheEmergencyNOW.” Lawyer Tom Spencer said that Biden’s statement was a “Complete and utterly outrageous Lie,” while Georgetown Law professor Randy Barnett balked at the suggestion that the Supreme Court decides when a pandemic’s emergency status is over, “What? Now that would be true judicial supremacy.”
House Republicans pass bill to end ‘covid’ pandemic despite Biden declaring an end in May | added February 1
Read more at The Hill
House Republicans passed a bill on Tuesday to end the covid-19 public health emergency, moving ahead with the legislation despite the Biden administration announcing one day earlier that the declaration would end in May.
The legislation — titled the Pandemic is Over Act — passed in a 220-210 party-line vote. The measure, which stretches two pages, would terminate the covid-19 public health emergency on the day it is enacted. The Trump administration implemented the declaration in January 2020 and it has remained in place since. The bill, however, is unlikely to move in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
House Republicans revealed last week that the legislation would hit the floor on Tuesday. On Monday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the vote, the Biden administration announced that the covid-19 public health emergency would end on May 11, setting an expiration date for the declaration that has been extended 12 times since it was first implemented.
Pfizer-funded study claims ‘covid’ shots and boosters keep children out of ER | added February 1
Editor’s Note: Pharmaceutical companies who fund their own studies present a conflict of interest. — mmd
Read more at Fierce Healthcare
Covid-19 vaccines and booster shots go a long way toward keeping children ages 5 to 11 suffering from respiratory illness out of emergency departments and urgent care centers, according to a new study. Researchers with Kaiser Permanente Southern California measured the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was approved for use in this age group in October 2021 by the Food and Drug Administration.
The study was funded by Pfizer. The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Pediatric Infectious Disease Society, found that two doses of the vaccine were 85% effective at preventing emergency department or urgent care visits associated with the delta variant in kids aged 5 to 11. Against the omicron variant, the vaccines were 60% effective at preventing visits, through effectiveness decreased to about 30% within three months.
A booster shot, though, did as its name suggests and boosted protection against omicron-related ER or urgent care visits by 80% in the first two months after the shot, the study found. However, a vaccine or booster for covid-19 or any other condition only works for individuals who get it, and uptake for covid boosters has been an ongoing problem.
Ohio woman suffers vaccine-induced traverse myelitis from Pfizer’s ‘covid’ jab | added February 1
Read more at The Defender
Ohio native Danielle Baker had a career she loved, working as a certified hospice and palliative care registered nurse. She married the love of her life in the summer of 2020 and was enjoying life with her husband, her son and her stepdaughter.
By 2021, Baker was “the healthiest I had ever been,” she told The Defender. But Baker’s life as she knew it came crashing to a halt, just days after being coerced in June 2021, by her then-employer, into receiving the two-dose series of the Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine. Today, Baker, now 43, is permanently disabled, unable to work, faces financial ruin and has lost the ability to perform numerous everyday tasks and basic bodily functions.
In an interview with The Defender, following a separate interview with CHD.TV’s “The People’s Testament,” Baker shared her story. Baker provided The Defender with extensive documentation and photographic evidence verifying her vaccination status, multiple diagnoses, including transverse myelitis, and current medical conditions.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla makes “misleading” statements on inoculating young children with ‘covid’ shots | added Feb. 1
Read more at The Epoch Times
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has made “misleading” and unsubstantiated statements on the merit of giving covid-19 vaccines to young children, according to a case report published by a UK pharmaceutical watchdog on Friday.
During an interview with the BBC published on Dec. 2, 2021, Bourla was asked whether he believed it was likely that 5- to 11-year-olds in the UK and Europe would be vaccinated against covid-19 and whether it was a good idea. The interview was published after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorised the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine for young children, but the UK’s medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), didn’t approve the product for the same age group until Dec. 22, 2021.
While acknowledging that it was up to the UK authorities to decide whether or not to approve and deploy the vaccines, Bourla replied, “I believe it’s a very good idea.” He cited disruptions in education and the potential of developing so-called long-covid, saying, “so there is no doubt in my mind about the benefits completely are in favour of doing it.”
How the ‘official’ end of ‘covid’ pandemic will alter temporary systems people rely on | added February 1
Read more at ABC News
On May 11, the U.S. will no longer officially be in a covid-19 emergency for the first time since the pandemic began three years ago. While hundreds of covid-19 deaths are still reported each day in the U.S. — adding to a toll of more than 1 million — public health experts said the Biden administration is likely looking to end the national and public health emergencies related to covid-19 because the omicron subvariants that are circulating are producing milder disease and the U.S. has high levels of immunity from previous vaccinations or infections.
The threat of the virus has also receded for many Americans, thanks to testing, treatments and vaccines. Jen Kates, with the nonpartisan nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), called the end of the emergencies “symbolically a big change.” But it will also alter systems that people have come to rely on without realizing they were temporary, at the same time that experts say that it’s unclear what the future will hold.
“I think the administration is hoping that we are clearly transitioning into an endemic period, and that the pandemic period is in the past,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, told ABC News. “Now, that said, those of us in infectious diseases and public health are a little nervous. And the reason is, here we are at the end of January predicting what the circumstances will be in May,” Schaffner added. “This is a very unpredictable virus.”
“Ministry of Truth” report reveals secretive government units spied on citizens to measure their fear levels during ‘covid’ | added February 1
Read more at Reclaim The Net
The report, “Ministry of Truth: The Secretive Government Units Spying On Your Speech” – an extensive, over 100-page long deep dive into the subject matter, among other things analyzed how the UK government used the country’s military to glean “how scared people were” during covid.
Read the report here. This, the Big Brother Watch privacy and civil rights group – that says the report is based on Freedom of Information Act responses and whistleblower accounts – meant creating a facade of dealing with “fake news,” while in reality conducting “large-scale monitoring of the British public on social media.”
According to the newly released document, the unit involved was the British Army’s 77th Brigade (aka 77x), whose purpose is to conduct “information operations” – within the military – including audience analysis and spreading “counter-propaganda.” Previous “clients” they targeted included the Taliban and al-Qaeda, but now, it was time to turn to Twitter users and suss out anything that the authorities might consider to be covid “misinformation.”
Australians consider fifth ‘covid’ jab amid confusion over efficacy if a previous shot was skipped | added February 1
Read more at AU News
Australians will consider further vaccination against covid-19 with new booster recommendations to be made ahead of winter. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is expected to make a decision on the fifth dose within weeks. Currently, only those who are severely immunocompromised and over 16, are eligible to get the fifth covid-19 jab.
As federal authorities prepare to recommend a fifth jab, what happens if you have skipped a dose? Here’s what we know so far. “We really need to think about how recent someone’s last vaccine was, rather than how many doses they have had,” Monash University associate professor James Trauer says.
“Evidence for the fourth dose was that people were protected for a few months, but that the protection waned back to the level we would see for three doses relatively quickly. So these repeated boosters seem to be providing a window of extra protection for a few months.”