Free Republic

Don't read this if you're vaccinated A powerful new paper in Science magazine suggests the vaccines are useless if not harmful against Omicron mRNA Covid vaccines offer essentially no defense against Omicron only months after a booster shot, according to a major new study from British researchers. Both antibody and T-cell protection are nearly non-existent, the scientists found. In an even more worrisome development, when vaccinated but previously uninfected people suffer breakthrough Omicron infections, their T-cell response is biased toward earlier versions of Sars-Cov-2 - not to the Omicron variant that has actually infected them. In other words, the mRNA...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea had its deadliest day yet of the pandemic on Tuesday, with 293 deaths reported in the latest 24 hours, as the country grapples with a record surge in coronavirus infections driven by the fast-moving omicron variant. ...South Korea has reported a daily average of around 337,000 new cases in the past seven days, including 362,283 on Tuesday, representing more than an 80-fold increase from levels seen in mid-January, when omicron emerged as the dominant strain. The country’s caseload is now over 7.2 million...

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and veteran of South Africa's struggle against white minority rule, has died aged 90, the presidency said on Sunday. "The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa," President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

T he number of daily Covid-19 cases recorded in the UK hit a new record high on Thursday with 88,376 reported new infections. The tally is nearly 10,000 higher than the previous record of 78,610 set on Wednesday and comes after health authorities estimated the Omicron variant R (reproduction) rate was currently between three and five.

I think it’s pretty clear by now that the pandemic is going to be around indefinitely, and by pandemic, I don’t mean the COVID-19 virus, I mean the pharmaceutical gold rush.The writing’s on the wall if you look for it. While on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla was discussing the vaccines with host Becky Quick who mentioned the fourth dose already in the works. Bourla said that this dose would be necessary in order to keep people safe from the virus, especially with Omicron now making the rounds:“I think when we see real world data will...

Scientists say they have identified a “stealth” version of Omicron that cannot be distinguished from other variants using the PCR tests that public health officials deploy to gain a quick picture of its spread around the world. The finding came as the number of cases of the original Omicron variant detected in the UK rose by 101 to 437 in a single day and Scotland announced a return to working from home. The stealth variant has many mutations in common with standard Omicron, but it lacks a particular genetic change that allows lab-based PCR tests to be used as a...

Pfizer said results from an "initial laboratory study" showed that their COVID-19 vaccine neutralized the omicron variant of the coronavirus after three doses, or the full two-dose regimen plus a booster shot

A FULLY VACCINATED, traveler from S Africia.

President Biden on Monday repeatedly mispronounced Omicron as he claimed he was on top of the potentially more contagious COVID-19 variant — before wishing reporters a “Merry Christmas” a month early. “It’s called the Omni-cron,” Biden said, mangling the name during a midday speech in the White House Roosevelt Room. The president’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, also botched the name of the variant, which was announced last week by the World Health Organization. The WHO controversially skipped over the Greek letters Nu and Xi, the surname of Chinese President Xi Jinping to land on Omicron. Fauci noted that...

President Joe Biden on Monday urged Americans to get vaccinated or get their booster shots amid warnings about the spread of the Omicron variant – but insisted that the infectious new variant was not a cause for 'panic' and said no new restrictions were needed. 'We'll fight this variant with scientific and knowledgeable actions and speed, not chaos and confusion,' Biden said at the White House. But even amid the pressing nature of the new variant, Biden misstated the name of the variant. 'It's called the Omnicron,' he said, inserting an extra 'n' – an error his coronavirus advisor, Dr....

And just like that, it was gone...Nasdaq has roared back from its Omicron-triggered losses after President Biden said - despite some fearmongering over the need for vaccines ("cause for concern but not for panic") for the "omNicron" variant (that he just could not say correctly) - "...US won't need shutdowns, lockdowns this winter."Biden went on to say that "vaccines are the reason why lockdowns are off the table," but added that he "encourages people to wear masks when indoors with crowds."Will that be Biden's "Read my lips" moment?Despite there being no need for a lockdown, he is maintaining his 'racist'...

On Friday the stock market crashed by 900 points as politicians in cities across the globe started to panic over the latest variant of Wuhan coronavirus. But based on what we know so far, the latest version of the disease isn't making people sicker. South African Doctor Angelique Coetzee, who is on the team that discovered the variant, has repeatedly said symptoms are "very very mild." "What we are seeing clinically in South Africa, and remember that I’m at the epicenter, that’s where I’m practicing, is extremely mild," Coetzee said during an interview with the BBC. "We haven’t admitted anyone....

Yesterday the WHO labelled the sars-cov-2 variant B.1.1.529 as a “variant of concern” and officially named it “Omicron”.This was as entirely predictable as it is completely meaningless. The “variants” are just tools to stretch the story out and keep people on their toes.If you want to know exactly how the Omicron variant is going to affect the narrative, well The Guardian has done a handy “here’s all the bullshit we’re gonna sell you over the next couple of weeks” guide:The Omicron variant is more transmissable, but they don’t know if it’s more dangerous yet (keeping their options open)It originated in...