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Last week, in a coordinated effort, Joe Biden’s White House issued a foolishly disturbing message that he seems certain to repeat today. On December 16, Biden declared,Due to the steps we’ve taken, Omicron has not yet spread as fast as it would’ve otherwise done and as is happening in Europe. But it’s here now, and it’s spreading, and it’s going to increase. For unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death — if you’re unvaccinated — for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm. YouTube screengrabThe next day, White House COVID response coordinator Jeff...

No evidence has come to light yet that indicates the Omicron virus variant causes more severe illness when compared to other strains, South African officials said Friday.South Africa scientists were the first to identify Omicron, a variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19.Science on Omicron’s severity “is not yet clear,” South African Health Minister Joe Paahla told reporters in a virtual briefing.COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have jumped in South Africa in recent weeks, driving fears that Omicron could cause more severe illness than earlier strains like Delta.The country reported 22,391 new cases on Thursday, up from...

A DEADLY terrorist weapon could be buried in the backyards of Darwin's northern suburbs, US scientists fear. US authorities say melioidosis - commonly known as Nightcliff Gardeners Disease - is a potential bioterror threat. The US Government believes the tropical disease, caused by soil-dwelling bacteria, could become the next anthrax-style bioterrorism threat.

Pupils in the same class as a positive Covid case "will not routinely be asked to isolate and book a test", ministers have said. ... The move brings Northern Ireland into line with England, Scotland and Wales. Teaching unions had called for the move ... Low risk.. Studies have shown that the overall risk of children becoming severely ill or dying from Covid is extremely low. Mr Swann and Ms McIlveen also said that there was evidence that the "vast majority of those identified as school close contacts and sent home to isolate during the 2020/21 school year did not...

One of the big COVID-19 mysteries is why some people suffer severe illness, while others experience mild colds. Research about reactive T cells produced during infection with other beta coronaviruses — which could explain a level of mitigating immunity for some people — has appeared in journals. Age certainly seems to be a significant risk factor. However, nothing to date explained all differences or provided any insight into which patients may suffer from severe disease.Now researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have found a specific and sensitive biomarker that may provide more insight:In a new retrospective study,...

It is bad and getting worse. I have a bigger Stack planned on the Pfizer trial results. But Israel has gone back to being more transparent, and the new data are now too bad not to highlight. A reminder - Israel and the United Kingdom were the two major countries that vaccinated earliest and most aggressively. And they are much better at providing data than the United States - they provide updates every day, which limits their opportunities to manipulate it. Israel is now segmenting the number of serious cases by vaccinated and unvaccinated and by age on its primary...

SINGAPORE — Fully vaccinated COVID-19 patients infected with the Delta variant experienced "significantly lower odds" of moderate or severe outcomes, according to a local study. "Vaccination was associated with lower peak measures of systemic inflammation, fewer symptoms, including more asymptomatic infection, and better clinical outcomes," the study, posted last Saturday (31 July) on medical database medRxiv ahead of peer review, added. Conducted by researchers across various medical institutions in Singapore, the study analysed 218 patients aged 18 and above who were infected with the Delta variant, which first originated in India, and were admitted across five hospitals or centres. Of...

We've been told for well over a year that widespread forced public masking should be implemented because, even if only moderately to slightly to negligibly effective at curbing the spread of COVID-19, there are ZERO drawbacks. "What's the harm?" they ask. "It's only a minor inconvenience," they bleat. "If it saves ONE LIFE, it's worth it!" they implore. Meanwhile, we on Team Reality have not only continued to point to real-world data that shows masking to be entirely ineffective, we've also maintained that forced public masking, especially long-term, has negative societal and even health ramifications that the powers-that-be are all-too-happy...

I created this thread to solicit input on one's experience with Covid. NOT to debate Covid, its origins, etc. If you had it, tested positive for it, then I'd like your input.

A mysterious illness at a Del Rio detention center that has killed two inmates and hospitalized two others within the past month has baffled health authorities, who have asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for help. All four men — three of them foreign nationals from Honduras and Mexico held on immigration charges, the fourth a Val Verde county prisoner who was one of the dead — were described as in their 20s and 30s, and apparently healthy when they arrived at the Val Verde Correctional Facility and County Jail. The privately operated 850-bed medium-security facility is under...

hope of ever turning things around no matter how hard you try? Right now, there are millions upon millions of Americans that have been emotionally crushed by this economic downturn, and many of them have completely lost all hope. Those around them may be telling them to “hang in there”, but month after month goes by and nothing ever seems to get better. For a moment, I would like for you to consider a scenario. Imagine that you own a successful small restaurant somewhere in the country. Despite the odds, the restaurant has been successful enough over the years for...

Dear beloved fellow FReepers, please keep me, my spouse and my parents in your prayers as I had to decide to put to rest one of our kitties. She had 17 years--a rescue, my spouse and my first of many, and not one day went by that this awesome, talkative sweet little silver tabby did not embellish us with such great love, such cuteness in personality, and was there every time for us when anyone ailed of sickness or pain, despite her own physical problems. The Lord put animals here for many reasons, the two I'd like to expound upon...

NEW DELHI (AP) — Health officials and experts are still baffled by a mysterious illness that has left over 500 people hospitalized and one person dead in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The illness was first detected Saturday evening in Eluru, an ancient city famous for its hand-woven products. People started convulsing without any warning, said Geeta Prasadini, the director of public health.

At least one person has died and more than 200 others have been hospitalized due to a mystery illness in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, according to reports. The unidentified illness was detected late Saturday in Eluru, an ancient city famous for its hand-woven products, where patients have experienced symptoms ranging from nausea and anxiety to loss of consciousness, according to doctors. A 45-year-old man hospitalized with symptoms similar to epilepsy who also suffered from nausea died Sunday evening, the Press Trust of India news agency reported

...But according to David Downs, the California bureau chief of cannabis-focused website and news outlet Leafly, the underlying factors that gave rise to these cases in the first place haven’t really gone away. Perhaps more than any outlet, Leafly has investigated these poisonings extensively. “What we found was that the structure of the market and the incentives to adulterate products had not changed. The profit motive still exists, you still make more money, fooling consumers and being unfair to them, such that the promise of injury was still there,” Downs said. Though the CDC said it would stop tracking the...

RUSH LIMBAUGH left his show in a HURRAY at 1:15pm today...with NO REASON GIVEN except that he had people speaking to him in his ear piece

As we slide into cold and flu season, it’s time to remind everyone that it’s most polite and sociable to keep yourself and your family home when you’re sick with something contagious. Most social difficulties in life should be solved with simple politeness and consideration. One of the most basic ways we function together as a society is by caring about each other, working together as families and communities. As we slide into cold and flu season, it’s time to remind everyone that it’s most polite and sociable to keep yourself and your family home when you’re sick with something...

Is Joe Biden okay? Joe Biden called a lid and shut down for the day shortly after 9 AM on Sunday. 30 days to go until the election and Biden is shutting it down and hiding in his basement. Biden on Saturday was seen on video with a cold/flu-like symptoms and a runny nose. Joe Biden appeared to have a cold during his virtual event with Amalgamated Transit Union. Ali Alexander 🟧 @ali SYMPTOMS JUST HOURS AGO... Please pray for Joe Biden. Not only is his sick with a long term condition (will be disclosed soon) but I hope he...

Are you having, or have you had, COVID? I am highly curious about actual symptoms and duration.

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was admitted to a hospital on Tuesday morning for treatment of a possible infection, the court said in a statement.