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The natural immune protection that develops after a SARS-CoV-2 infection offers considerably more of a shield against the Delta variant of the pandemic coronavirus than two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to a large Israeli study that some scientists wish came with a “Don’t try this at home” label. The newly released data show people who once had a SARS-CoV-2 infection were much less likely than vaccinated people to get Delta, develop symptoms from it, or become hospitalized with serious COVID-19. The study demonstrates the power of the human immune system, but infectious disease experts emphasized that this vaccine...

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla predicted in a Wednesday interview that people will most likely need annual COVID-19 booster shots, a sign that we'll be contending with the novel coronavirus for years to come. Speaking with Insider by phone, Bourla acknowledged the uncertainty around his guess. But he said he believes regular vaccinations will be needed because of the potential for new variants to emerge and vaccine protection to wane over time. "The most likely scenario is we will be needing annual re-vaccination, as we do with the flu vaccine," Bourla said. Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, which was co-developed with the German...

AbstractBackground: Ivermectin is a drug that has been shown to be active against coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) in previous studies. Healthcare personnel are highly exposed to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Therefore, we decided to offer them ivermectin as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) method. Purpose: Primary outcome was to measure the number of healthcare workers with symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and a positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) COVID-19 test in the ivermectin group and in the control group. Secondary outcome was to measure the number of sick healthcare workers with a positive RT-PCR COVID-19 test whose...

Even as the United States made the controversial announcement this week that it would begin to offer COVID-19 vaccine booster shots in September, scientists and public officials were scrambling to assess the rationale officials offered: that the vaccines’ protection against the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is waning. As vaccines rolled out early this year, the pandemic coronavirus seemed to almost magically melt away in some countries. But now, as Delta infections surge in highly vaccinated countries that once seemed to have COVID-19 on the run, including Israel and the United Kingdom, many fully vaccinated people are wondering how protected they...

Life expectancy in the United States fell by 1½ years in 2020, the largest annual decline in life expectancy since World War II. Now, one and a half years into the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 626,000 American lives lost, we have an abundance of safe, accessible COVID vaccines, and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine just received full approval beyond emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Summer 2021 was supposed to be a return to normalcy, a “hot vax” summer of connection and prosperity. Instead, we saw a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the return of Center...

It’s just the flu, bro. The belief of many covidiots is that they save lives when they get the vax. They also believe that restricting the activities of those without the vax saves lives. These beliefs are incredibly empowering for these losers. They actually believe they are truly doing good by limiting the freedom of those who don’t get vaccinated. It is very difficult to stop someone from doing what they perceive to be good and right. Additionally, they get to virtue signal and receive encouragement from their peers. I believe in many locations in excess of 50% believe they...

COVID Booster Shots for All Americans, Starting Sept. 20 WEDNESDAY, Aug. 18, 2021 -- After concluding that a third dose of a coronavirus vaccine is needed to fight off waning immunity in the fully vaccinated, the Biden administration said Wednesday it will begin offering booster shots to all Americans starting Sept. 20. The plan, which only involves the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines at this point, calls for Americans to get a booster shot eight months after their second dose. The officials said they expect a booster shot will be needed for people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but...

On July 4, the overall 7-day average of Covid cases per 100,000 was 4.6. Today, that number has risen to 23.2 per 100,000. The 7-day average of cases is considered a good measure of the rate of infection spread. And while the rise from an average of 4.6 per 100,000 to 23.2 per 100,000 is a 400% jump, the data was much, much higher for the unvaccinated. In mid-July, the average case rate among unvaccinated Californians was 20.7 per 100,000 per day and the average case rate among vaccinated Californians was significantly lower at 3.5 per 100,000 per day. Put...

China coronavirus infection closes shipping terminal at massive Ningbo-Zhoushan Port as container rates soarOperations suspended indefinitely at critical terminal servicing North America and Europe, but rest of Ningbo shipping port remains operational ‘Significant problems’ for container movement in critical shipping region may be seen ahead of peak holiday season, analyst warnsThe world’s largest shipping port by cargo tonnage has shut down one of its key terminals following a confirmed case of Covid-19, putting further strain on the global shipping industry and disrupting supply chains. The news came as container shipping rates from China and Southeast Asia to the east coast...

This is an article from 2015 about disease evolution being driven by vaccines that are not highly effective. This may explain the origin of the different variants of SARS-CoV-2 we have seen since the beginning of vaccination. You might not want to read the whole thing, but the abstract gives you a good idea of why we have all these variants. When I had Covid-19 the Chief of Staff of a large hospital in our area, who is also a pulmonologist, told me there was only one strain. That was before the vaccines had been introduced. The doctor most likely...

IM Doctor Sounds The Alarm On Breakthrough Cases… This was posted today at Naked Capitalism by an internal medicine doctor who is a regular contributor. IM Doc August 8, 2021 at 8:33 am We continue to have quite a bit of infection in the community. In my own practice, I am usually seeing 5-15 cases a day of COVID. The majority of these cases are vaccinated breakthroughs. There have been 2 whole days this week where the entire day were all vaccinated breakthroughs. Please note this is the outpatient side. Despite Dr. Walensky’s reassurance to Americans that these are very...

COVID cases among vaccinated on the rise in Clark County Cases of COVID-19 in fully vaccinated people are on the rise, accounting for 15 percent of July’s confirmed cases in Clark County, a Southern Nevada Health District official said Thursday. This is compared with 2 percent in March and 3 percent in April, ballooning to 12 percent in June, Cassius Lockett, the district’s director of disease surveillance and control, said in an afternoon interview. So far in August, the percentage is 16 percent. The increase in these breakthrough cases coincides with the delta variant, a far more infectious strain of...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause economic and social disruption in addition to infections and deaths, it is slowly becoming clear that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is changing as it spreads to different regions. This trend is driven by spontaneous adaptive mutations, shaped by the different selection pressures exerted by varying environmental conditions and hosts. This has been enhanced by the adoption of lockdowns and other social distancing measures. Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 shows the importance of uncovering the dynamics of the virus with particular attention...

Breakthrough cases: Over 25% of new COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County are fully vaccinated people In June fully vaccinated people accounted for 20% of all the cases diagnosed in LA County, while unvaccinated and partially vaccinated people accounted for 80% of the cases.Video of the news report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ulrcte_S06k

Abstract The immune response to SARS-CoV-2 is critical in controlling disease, but there is concern that waning immunity may predispose to reinfection. We analyzed the magnitude and phenotype of the SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell response in 100 donors at 6 months following infection. T cell responses were present by ELISPOT and/or intracellular cytokine staining analysis in all donors and characterized by predominant CD4+ T cell responses with strong interleukin (IL)-2 cytokine expression. Median T cell responses were 50% higher in donors who had experienced a symptomatic infection, indicating that the severity of primary infection establishes a ‘set point’ for cellular immunity....

New Evidence Suggests COVID Vaccine May *SPREAD* the Virus: NBC News Report Deleted from USA Today Article“NBC News, citing unnamed officials aware of the decision, reported it comes after new data suggests vaccinated individuals could have higher levels of virus and infect others amid the surge of cases driven by the delta variant of the coronavirus,” the USA Today reported in a passage that was later scrubbed from an article. A screenshot from the article and an online archive of the passage points out the surfacing evidence. “VACCINATED individuals could have higher levels of virus and infect others amid the...

Higher COVID Rate Found In Some Counties With Higher Vaccination Rate – Why, And What It Says About The Delta VariantState workers and health care employees will now be required to show proof of vaccine or get tested for COVID at least once a week. The governor announced the new guidance today and is urging private employers to “replicate the example.” This comes as the highly contagious Delta variant is now dominant in the state and COVID rates have skyrocketed in the month since California officially reopened, including breakthrough cases among vaccinated Californians. A new analysis finds several counties with...

Scandal: Newly Leaked Data Show Over Half of ‘COVID Hospitalizations’ Were for Other Ailments in U.K.The COVID-19 data have been largely distorted and utilized for political purposes. A scandalous development from the United Kingdom is shedding light on just how exaggerated the pandemic threat has been. New data leaked from the NHS in the United Kingdom show that “over half” of hospitalizations that were classified as “COVID hospitalizations” were admissions for other ailments that subsequently incurred positive COVID tests.In an exclusive in the Telegraph, the data were leaked casting further doubt on COVID data all over the world.“More than half...

CDC Quietly Revokes RT-PCR Emergency Use Authorization Because They Counted Covid-19 and Influenza Together Here’s a punch in the gut for a nation that’s already hurting. As it turns out, the so-called “gold standard” testing referenced by so many “doctors” like Anthony Fauci, as well as government officials across the board, has had its Emergency Use Authorization revoked. The CDC announced, albeit quietly, on Wednesday that the RT-PCR tests used to tell millions of Americans they’re infected with Covid-19 has been unable to accurately differentiate between the various coronaviruses. Of particular note is the inability of these tests to know...

A prestigious global research institute based in France has published a preclinical study in EMBO Molecular Medicine revealing that ivermectin is associated with a reduction in COVID-19 symptoms. Yet even after dozens of studies showcasing such results in real-world scenarios, the World Health Organization (WHO) has yet to embrace the opportunity of the drug for low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Institut Pasteur’s Jean-Pierre Changeux suggests the drug acts on the nicotinic receptor, leading to what undoubtedly will fuel an interesting debate on the topic. In a comprehensive preclinical study involving hamsters, the study team concluded that ivermectin represents a powerful immunomodulatory...