Free Republic

The Lockdown Files have dished up a curious exchange among Britain’s top policy advisers in early 2020. On 29 February, responding to a WhatsApp message from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings that Israeli scientists were just weeks away from developing a Covid vaccine and if this was credible, Chief Scientist Sir Patrick Vallance replied “Short answer is no.” Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty explained: “For a disease with a low (for the sake of argument 1%) mortality a vaccine has to be very safe so the safety studies can’t be shortcut. So important for the long run.”...

A study has linked key nutrients, including protein, zinc and niacin, to improvements in heart health. Improvements in metabolic and cardiovascular health seen during weight loss in people with obesity are traditionally attributed to either the weight loss itself or the accompanying changes in glucose, blood pressure or blood fats. Participants with metabolic syndrome and obesity (55.5% male, average age 53 years) were enrolled in a one-year intensive multidisciplinary weight loss program. Arterial wall stiffening is linked to a heightened risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and so blood vessel flexibility was used as a proxy for cardiovascular health. Three...

Interim findings in a study led by Sheba Hospital show that the effectiveness of the fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in preventing infection is low, but it reduces symptomatic morbidity and leads to an increase...antibodies.

People with diabetes account for a staggering 40 percent of those who have died from COVID-19 in the US, according to the American Diabetes Association ... the risk of hospitalization and death related to COVID being six to 12 times higher for people with diabetes ... Alarmingly, the ADA has also said that cases of type 2 diabetes have almost doubled in children since the pandemic.

The first-ever national study of Latino life expectancy reveals that Latinos in the United States live 2.5 years longer than their white counterparts -- a poor-in-wealth, rich-in-health paradox that mystifies doctors. A Latino baby in the U.S. will live to the average age of 80.6 years, compared with 78.1 years for a white baby, according to the new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, released Wednesday. "This is surprising because of low social status," said Elizabeth Arias, of the CDC. Based on rates of poverty, education and access to care -- factors long known to be linked to...

FORT PIERCE — A St. Lucie County firefighter who allegedly took a Melbourne man’s severed foot from the scene of a traffic accident last week is under investigation, Fire Chief Ron Parrish announced Thursday. Parrish said the incident calls into question “the public’s trust in our responsibility and commitment to provide emergency care to our citizens. It’s an extremely serious matter, and one I find personally disturbing. This is a very serious allegation, and we have an obligation to the public and those involved to investigate it thoroughly.” Parrish would not answer further questions, he said, until the investigation is...