COVID-19 News and Discussions

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Study Unveils First Global Dataset for SARS-CoV-2 Infections in Animals
July 26, 2022

Introduction:

(EurekAlert) [Vienna, July 2022] In a pioneering initiative, a multidisciplinary Austrian team created the most comprehensive global dataset of SARS-CoV-2 infections in animals. Their findings were published Saturday, July 23, in the journal Scientific Data and the epidemiological information is available on a dashboard at https://vis.csh.ac.at/sars-ani/

“There was an urgent need for a global dataset on SARS-CoV-2 events in animals that can be easily imported, processed, and analyzed,” says Amélie Desvars-Larrive, the principal investigator of the study and a researcher at the Complexity Science Hub Vienna (CSH).

The initiative intends to facilitate One Health approaches on SARS-CoV-2. The idea is to create a collaborative approach that recognizes the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health to obtain optimal health for all.

“To tackle major threats to human health, we need integrated approaches,” points out Desvars-Larrive. “Although animals do not appear to play a significant role in the spread of COVID-19 among people currently, One Health tools that enable the integrative analysis and visualization of SARS-CoV-2 events are critical.”

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/959900

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COVID outbreaks hit TSA, American and Southwest airlines at LAX
Source: LA Times

COVID-19 outbreaks have hit Los Angeles International Airport with at least 400 confirmed cases among Transportation Security Administration staff and workers at American and Southwest airlines, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

At least 220 staff with the TSA at LAX have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the county agency.

The outbreak among TSA staff would make it the largest active outbreak currently being monitored by county health officials, which records outbreaks at residential care facilities, workplaces, food and retail stores, homeless service locations, schools, jails, law enforcement settings and courts.

Despite the number of cases being reported, LAX and TSA officials said services have not been impacted because of them.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/california/stor ... nes-at-lax

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Study Identifies Regions on the SARS-CoV-2 Genome Linked to Virus Replication and Transmission
July 26, 2022

Introduction:

(EurekAlert) Since COVID-19 emerged, scientists worldwide have sequenced more than 6 million genomes of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus behind the disease. Today, the number of SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences exceeds the total number of all other viral genomes.

Genomes are valuable because they provide a record of the evolution of a virus in a human host, along with information on the emergence of mutations. In a study ( https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ ... ia%3Dihub ), published in KeAi’s Journal of Biosafety and Biosecurity, a team of researchers analysed 2.8 million of the sequenced SARS-CoV-2 genomes and used the results to compile a ‘mutations blacklist’ of virus weak spots, and a ‘whitelist’ of mutations that make SARS-CoV-2 more transmissible. In addition, the team has developed an online SARS-CoV-2 mutation and variant monitoring and pre-warning system (MVMPS).

Professor Jianguo Xu of China’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases Control and Prevention led the study. Reflecting on the findings, he explained: “We found that six types of gene-level mutations had reached saturation in the sequenced genome population we examined – when you reach saturation, it means that no novel mutations should appear in the future, even if more genomes are sequenced. This result points to most subsequent variants of SARS-CoV-2 being a combination of existing high-frequency mutations, rather than a newly-emerged mutation. For example, the variant BA.5 has a L452R mutation that escapes host immunity. Although this mutation appears in the Omicron variant, it was also found in the Delta variant. This kind of information is crucial, as it suggests these mutations might have a negative effect on viral survival, replication and transmission, information that can aid vaccine and drug development research.” These mutations were used to compile the team’s SARS-CoV-2 ‘mutations blacklist’.

He continued: “Some mutations can affect the virus transmission rate. We identified a total of 185 mutations that are significantly positively correlated with viral transmission, information that scientists can use to evaluate the transmissibility of new variants.” These findings were used to create the team’s SARS-CoV-2 ‘mutations whitelist’.

In addition, the team has built an online alert system – the MVMPS ( https://www.omicx.cn/ ) – which is home to a dynamic curve that shows, in real-time, proportions of each mutation and variant in all the SARS-CoV-2 strains.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/960026

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New Breakthrough Brings Us a Step Closer to a Universal Coronavirus Vaccine
by Dr. Alfredo Carpineti
July 29, 2022

Introduction:

(IFL Science) As the COVID-19 pandemic continues across the world, scientists continue to look at ways to not only improve current vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – but to go one step further and create a vaccine that protects against many different types of coronaviruses, including the common cold.

New work has found that a vaccine focused on the S2 portion of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is capable of creating antibodies that would not only deal with SARS-CoV-2 but also neutralize other coronaviruses. The design was tested in vitro and in an animal model and the findings are reported in Science Translational Medicine.

“Our goal was to develop new vaccination approaches against SARS-CoV-2 variants and any new variants that may arise in the future," lead author Kevin Ng, a graduate researcher at The Francis Crick Institute, told IFLScience.

"To do this, we made a vaccine based on the S2 region of the spike protein, which is the bit of the protein the virus uses to enter cells. When we vaccinated mice with this S2 vaccine, they generated antibodies that bind and block a wide range of human and animal coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 variants and the common cold coronaviruses.”

Vaccinating mice with SARS-CoV-2 S2 led to the formation of antibodies in those animals that not only dealt with several variants of the COVID-19 virus we have experienced so far, but also with the common cold coronavirus HCoV-OC43, as well as two coronaviruses found in bats. S2 seems to be a very promising target.

Read more here: https://www.iflscience.com/new-breakth ... ine-64670 and here: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sci ... ed.abn3715

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President Joe Biden tests positive for Covid-19 again
Source: CNN

(CNN) President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid-19 again Saturday morning, per a letter from presidential physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor, in what is likely a "rebound" Covid-19 positivity that the doctor noted is "observed in a small percentage of patients treated with Paxlovid." Biden has experienced "no reemergence of symptoms, and continues to feel quite well" and will, as a result, not resume treatment, the White House said. O'Connor said the President tested negative on Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning, Thursday morning and Friday morning before testing positive on Saturday morning.

"However, given his positive antigen test, he will reinitiate strict isolation procedures," the doctor noted. Biden ceased isolating on Wednesday after testing negative on successive antigen tests, celebrating his return in remarks from the White House Rose Garden. Biden's physician said the President is not experiencing any symptoms but that he will isolate at the White House. "Folks, today I tested positive for COVID again," Biden wrote on Twitter. "This happens with a small minority of folks. I've got no symptoms but I am going to isolate for the safety of everyone around me. I'm still at work, and will be back on the road soon."

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wrote Biden is "asymptomatic, feeling fine, and working in isolation from the Residence to protect others." A White House official said contact tracing efforts were underway Saturday after Biden's positive Covid-19 test. The President had resumed events at the White House after testing negative this week, though he was seen wearing a mask more regularly. White House officials said they worked to ensure there was social distancing at the public events he held at the White House. Biden, 79, first tested positive on July 21. During his first bout with the disease, he experienced mild symptoms, including runny nose, fatigue, high temperature and a cough, according to his doctor.

The President completed a five-day course of Paxlovid, which requires a doctor's prescription and is available via emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 in people 12 and older who are at high risk of severe illness. When Biden first tested positive last week, the White House said he'd had 17 close contacts, none of whom ended up testing positive themselves. First lady Jill Biden remains in Delaware, where she has been since the President first tested positive for Covid-19, a White House official told CNN. She has not been back to the White House. The first lady had been scheduled to join the President when he traveled to Wilmington on Sunday.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/30/politics ... index.html

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New at-home, saliva-based COVID test as effective as PCR in preliminary analysis
https://phys.org/news/2022-08-at-home-s ... e-pcr.html
by Mariah Chuprinski, Pennsylvania State University

PCR tests, also called molecular tests or nucleic acid tests, are considered the gold standard in detecting the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that gives rise to COVID-19. However, they can take a few days to process, resulting in unnecessary quarantine for negative individuals or delays for those who require proof of negative testing for travel or other commitments. Rapid antigen-detecting tests, on the other hand, are convenient, but less reliable than PCR tests.

To bridge the gap between accuracy and convenience, Penn State researchers have developed an at-home, saliva-based testing platform that can provide results in 45 minutes. In preliminary tests, the platform detected the COVID-causing virus with the same level of sensitivity as PCR tests. Their results published this week in ACS Sensors.

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New Test May Predict COVID-19 Immunity
August 9, 2022

Introduction:

(EurekAlert) CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Most people in the United States have some degree of immune protection against Covid-19, either from vaccination, infection, or a combination of the two. But, just how much protection does any individual person have?

MIT researchers have now developed an easy-to-use test that may be able to answer that question. Their test, which uses the same type of “lateral flow” technology as most rapid antigen tests for Covid-19, measures the level of neutralizing antibodies that target the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a blood sample.

Easy access to this kind of test could help people determine what kind of precautions they should take against Covid infection, such as getting an additional booster shot, the researchers say. They have filed for a patent on the technology and are now hoping to partner with a diagnostic company that could manufacture the devices and seek FDA approval.

“Among the general population, many people probably want to know how well protected they are,” says Hojun Li, the Charles W. and Jennifer C. Johnson Clinical Investigator at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. “But I think where this test might make the biggest difference is for anybody who is receiving chemotherapy, anybody who’s on immunosuppressive drugs for rheumatologic disorders or autoimmune diseases, and for anybody who’s elderly or doesn't mount good immune responses in general. These are all people who might need to be boosted sooner or receive more doses to achieve adequate protection.”

The test is designed so that different viral spike proteins can be swapped in, allowing it to be modified to detect immunity against any existing or future variant of SARS-CoV-2, the researchers say.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/961334

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Long COVID Case Study: Recovery Process for Impaired Hormone Secretion
August 8, 2022

Introduction:

(EurekAlert) Recently, ‘Long COVID’ is becoming a significant issue worldwide. It refers to a variety of symptoms that persist over an extended period after the patient has recovered from a novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). In many cases, it is unclear what causes Long COVID symptoms, and there is insufficient information regarding recovery time.

To help address this, a research collaboration between Kobe Graduate School of Medicine and Hyogo Prefectural Kakogawa Medical Center report a 15-month case study on a patient’s recovery from impaired adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH, Note 1) secretion brought on by novel coronavirus infection. The research team included Professor OGAWA Wataru and Assistant Professor YAMAMOTO Masaaki (both of the Division of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine), and Dr. IIDA Kenji (Head of the Division of Diabetes and Endocrinology at Hyogo Prefectural Kakogawa Medical Center).

This case study provides an example of the recovery period for a hormone secretion disorder, one of the widely reported aftereffects of COVID-19. This information will hopefully help people whose quality of life (QoL) has declined due to Long COVID.

This case study was published in the Endocrine Journal on July 14.

Main Points
• After the patient had recovered from respiratory failure, impairment occurred in a part of the brain called the hypothalamic-pituitary system (Note 2), resulting in insufficient secretion of ACTH. This long-term case study shows the recovery process.
• It is unclear what causes the aftereffects of novel coronavirus infection and it is not known how long they continue. Therefore, many people are suffering from decreased QoL even after recovering from a novel coronavirus infection.
• This case study is important because it provides an example of a recovery treatment course for impaired secretion of pituitary hormones, which is one of the aftereffects of novel coronavirus infection.
…
Notes

1. Adrenocorticotropic hormone: One of the steroid hormones secreted by the adrenal glands. Its effects include raising blood pressure and blood sugar levels, promoting appetite and anti-inflammation. This hormone is necessary for the body to overcome stress.

2. Hypothalamic-pituitary system: As the ‘command center’ for hormone secretion, it plays a central role in regulating various biological activities.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/961314

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CDC loosens coronavirus guidance, signaling strategic shift
Source: Washington Post

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday loosened many of its recommendations for battling the coronavirus, a strategic shift that puts more of the onus on individuals, rather than on schools, businesses and other institutions, to limit viral spread. No longer do schools and other institutions need to screen apparently healthy students and employees as a matter of course. The CDC is putting less emphasis on social distancing. It’s quarantine rule for unvaccinated people is gone.

The agency’s focus now is on highly vulnerable populations, and how to protect them — not on the vast majority of people who at this point have some immunity against the virus and are unlikely to become severely ill. The new recommendations signal that the Biden administration and its medical advisers have decided that the lower fatality rate from covid-19 in a heavily vaccinated population permits a less demanding set of guidelines. “The current conditions of this pandemic are very different from those of the last two years,” CDC epidemiologist Greta Massetti said Thursday in a briefing for reporters.

CDC officials have repeatedly pointed to greater protection against the virus because of high levels of vaccine- and infection-induced immunity in the country, coupled with the rollout of effective treatments that have reduced severe illness. A report released Thursday by the agency explaining the guidance revisions said the more favorable circumstances allow public health officials to focus on “sustainable measures to further reduce medically significant illness as well as to minimize strain on the health care system, while reducing barriers to social, educational, and economic activity.”

But the revision in guidance carries some risk, according to infectious-disease experts: Another fall and winter wave of cases, or the emergence of a new coronavirus variant, could call into question the wisdom of the CDC’s strategic pivot or hamper the agency’s ability to reimpose tougher guidelines. Under the new guidance, quarantine procedures have been relaxed: Unvaccinated people who have had close contact with someone who is infected no longer are advised to go through a five-day period of quarantine if they have not tested positive for the virus or shown symptoms.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... endations/

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First Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Approved by UK Medicines Regulator
August 15, 2022

Introduction:

(UK Government) An updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna that targets two coronavirus variants (known as a “bivalent” vaccine) has today been approved for adult booster doses by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) after it was found to meet the UK regulator’s standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.

The decision to grant approval for this booster vaccine in the UK was endorsed by the government’s independent expert scientific advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines, after carefully reviewing the evidence.

In each dose of the booster vaccine, ‘Spikevax bivalent Original/Omicron’, half of the vaccine (25 micrograms) targets the original virus strain from 2020 and the other half (25 micrograms) targets Omicron.

The MHRA’s decision is based on data from a clinical trial which showed that a booster with the bivalent Moderna vaccine triggers a strong immune response against both Omicron (BA.1) and the original 2020 strain. In an exploratory analysis the bivalent vaccine was also found to generate a good immune response against the Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5.

Safety monitoring showed that the side effects observed were the same as those seen for the original Moderna booster dose and were typically mild and self-resolving, and no serious safety concerns were identified.

Read more here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fir ... regulator

This news release was called to my attention by this article: https://www.iflscience.com/uk-approves ... rst-64889

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House Report Shows Trump 'Deliberately and Repeatedly' Undermined Covid-19 Response
by Brett Wilkins
August 24, 2022

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) White House officials during the tenure of former President Donald Trump "deliberately and repeatedly" pressured the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize unproven and potentially dangerous Covid-19 treatments, while working to derail the agency's vaccine guidance ahead of the 2020 presidential election, a congressional report published Wednesday revealed.

The report, published by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, is the second installment in a series documenting what the panel calls the Trump administration's "rampant political interference with the federal public health response" to a pandemic that has now killed more than 1,040,000 people in the United States.

The publication states that "the Trump administration's nearly yearlong crusade against FDA resulted in damaging consequences for the coronavirus response: Morale inside the agency cratered, and public confidence in FDA's scientific integrity was shaken in the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic."

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn told the committee that Peter Navarro, who headed the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, "exerted inappropriate pressure" on the FDA to renew the emergency use authorization for the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a Covid-19 treatment, even after it was shown to be ineffective and possibly dangerous.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... -response

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New Antibody Neutralizes All Known COVID-19 Variants
by Jack Dunhill
August 18, 2022

Introduction:

(IFL Science) As experts continue to warn that ignoring COVID-19 and the 15,000 deaths a day it is causing is a grave mistake, it has become clear a lasting solution to the virus will require something that neutralizes all coronavirus variants, else we risk constantly trailing behind. Now, Harvard researchers believe they have found just that – a single antibody that neutralizes all known SARS-CoV-2 variants in their laboratory tests.

The antibody could be used within existing vaccination strategies to finally put an end to the constant cycle, should the results transfer well to human trials. The findings were published in Science Immunology.

“We hope this antibody will prove to be as effective in patients as it has been in preclinical evaluations thus far,” said Frederick Alt, the HMS Charles A. Janeway Professor of Pediatrics at Boston Children’s and a senior investigator on the study, in a statement.

“If it does, it might provide a new therapeutic and also contribute to new vaccine strategies.”

To create a broad-spectrum antibody across multiple variants, the researchers turned to mouse models that were previously created for HIV research. These mice have been turned into models of our own immune system, identifying foreign pathogens and going through the same trial-and-error motions to create antibodies that neutralize them. This way, the mice are essentially mini machines that can efficiently provide new antibodies for use in therapeutics.

Read more here: https://www.iflscience.com/new-antibod ... nts-64956

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Government to pause free at-home COVID tests by Sept. 2
Source: Axios

Time is running out to order free at-home COVID-19 tests after the government said on its coronavirus website that it will pause orders on Sept. 2 or “sooner if supplies run out.”

Why it matters: Consumers should prepare to soon pay for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines as the federal government prepares to shift costs back to health insurers, Axios’ Arielle Dreher reports.

The big picture: White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha said on Aug. 16 that the Biden administration will stop buying vaccines, treatments and tests as early as this fall, CNN reported.

The Department of Health and Human Services has a meeting scheduled Tuesday with drugmakers, pharmacies, and state health departments to address the changes, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2022/08/27/free-c ... ment-pause

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House Report Shows Trump 'Deliberately and Repeatedly' Undermined Covid-19 Response
by Brett Wilkins
August 24, 2022

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) White House officials during the tenure of former President Donald Trump "deliberately and repeatedly" pressured the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize unproven and potentially dangerous Covid-19 treatments, while working to derail the agency's vaccine guidance ahead of the 2020 presidential election, a congressional report published Wednesday revealed.

The report, published by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, is the second installment in a series documenting what the panel calls the Trump administration's "rampant political interference with the federal public health response" to a pandemic that has now killed more than 1,040,000 people in the United States.

The publication states that "the Trump administration's nearly yearlong crusade against FDA resulted in damaging consequences for the coronavirus response: Morale inside the agency cratered, and public confidence in FDA's scientific integrity was shaken in the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic."

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn told the committee that Peter Navarro, who headed the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, "exerted inappropriate pressure" on the FDA to renew the emergency use authorization for the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a Covid-19 treatment, even after it was shown to be ineffective and possibly dangerous.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... -response

But yet more people died under Biden and Trump did more to develop the vaccine. You just can't give any credit.

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Scientists uncover how SARS-CoV-2 blocks antiviral defenses
https://phys.org/news/2022-08-scientist ... viral.html
by The Francis Crick Institute

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have found one way SARS-CoV-2 manipulates the environment within human cells to prevent them raising a full antiviral response.

While vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 have helped protect millions from severe infection, the disease still infects and kills many people around the world and there are still some gaps in our knowledge about how virus infects and replicates inside cells and evades the body's defenses.

In their study, published in PLOS Pathogens on Wednesday, August 25, the scientists studied a group of SARS-CoV-2 proteins, called accessory proteins. Little is currently understood about the role these proteins play in COVID-19.

"Lots of viruses have accessory proteins, which do not form part of the virus particle but help them to replicate, by playing other roles in the course of infection. Our lab usually studies these kinds of proteins in the context of HIV, but because of the pandemic, we refocused some of our work to also investigate the accessory proteins in SARS-CoV-2," says Kate Bishop, lead author and group leader of the Retroviral Replication Laboratory at the Crick.

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House Report Shows Trump 'Deliberately and Repeatedly' Undermined Covid-19 Response
by Brett Wilkins
August 24, 2022

Introduction:

...

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... -response

But yet more people died under Biden and Trump did more to develop the vaccine. You just can't give any credit.

But yet more people died under Biden and Trump did more to develop the vaccine. You just can't give any credit.

While Operation warp speed under Trump may have facilitated vaccine distribution, it is worth noting that Pfizer developed the vaccine through private efforts:

Pfizer has distanced itself from Mr. Trump and Operation Warp Speed. In an interview on Sunday, Kathrin Jansen, a senior vice president and the head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer, said, “We were never part of the Warp Speed,” adding, “we have never taken any money from the U.S. government, or from anyone.”

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/hea ... speed.html

In a November 2021 Washington Post article a comparison was made between Trump and Biden:

The comparison between 2020 and 2021 is also inapt in that Trump was still president in early 2021, and the effects of choices made before Biden took over (such as Trump not really encouraging people to get vaccinated) lingered into Biden’s early presidency. The biggest wave of the coronavirus in this country, in fact, peaked around the exact time Biden was inaugurated on Jan. 20. Inheriting a trendline that showed 3,000 deaths per day, as Biden did, is a recipe for inflating your numbers.

(To a significant degree, that wave was outside Trump’s control, of course; most places in the world were experiencing the worst wave of the virus at the time.)

Even if we assumed all things were equal, though, the comparison still struggles.

Both presidents presided over about 10 months of the pandemic. The World Health Organization declared that label on March 11, meaning Trump was president for a little more than 10 months of the formally declared pandemic. Biden has now passed a little more than 10 months in office as well.

Thus far, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Biden has presided over about 353,000 deaths in a little over 10 months, compared to about 425,000 for Trump in his final 10-plus months. So there have still been fewer deaths under Biden than under Trump, in a similar time period.

Since Biden took over, the world as a whole has seen more deaths in his 10 months (3.07 million) than the preceding 10 months (2.14 million), but the United States has seen fewer. In Biden’s 10-plus months, the United States has accounted for less than 12 percent of worldwide deaths, which is down from 19.9 percent under Trump. That’s a decline of more than 40 percent in our proportion of the worldwide death rate.

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politic ... vid-deaths


If the numbers for Biden are higher, it is only because he has been president for a longer period in which the epidemic has been active. As my previous citation indicated, Trump also helped to sabotage efforts to contain the epidemic through supporting people who opposed mask mandates, pushing phony cures, etc.

If others want to argue on behalf of Trump, be my guest. That is not my job or anything to which I wish to lend my energy. Trump receives enough help from billionaire contributors, Fox News, etc. None of which have been fair or balanced. (Although Fox News does show signs of finally having had enough of Trump)

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Of course, after pointing out Pfizer's insistence that it developed its vaccine free of governmental help, I suppose it would be unfair to ignore this controversy:

Moderna is Suing Pfizer Over Its Coronavirus Vaccine
by Nicole Wetsman
August 26, 2022

Introduction:

(The Verge) Moderna is suing Pfizer and BioNTech over alleged infringement of its mRNA vaccine technology patents, the company announced today.

“We are filing these lawsuits to protect the innovative mRNA technology platform that we pioneered, invested billions of dollars in creating, and patented during the decade preceding the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Moderna chief executive officer Stéphane Bancel in a statement.

Moderna said in 2020 that it would not enforce its patents during the pandemic to allow for an unhindered public health response. It’s still not planning to enforce patents in low- and middle-income countries, the company said in a statement. But it’s coming after Pfizer and BioNTech, which it said it expected to “respect its intellectual property rights.” In the filing, the company said, “Moderna refrained from asserting its patents earlier so as not to distract from efforts to bring the pandemic to an end as quickly as possible.”

The lawsuit shouldn’t have a major effect on vaccine availability — Moderna said that it’s not looking to remove the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, known commercially as Comirnaty, from the market. It’s looking for payment, said Shannon Thyme Klinger, Moderna’s chief legal officer, in the statement: “Moderna expects Pfizer and BioNTech to compensate Moderna for Comirnaty’s ongoing use of Moderna’s patented technologies.”

It’s not asking for damages from vaccines sold to the United States government. But the US is planning to stop paying for COVID-19 vaccines, and they’ll be sold through normal commercial pathways.

Read more here: https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/26/233 ... ne-patent

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Research Reveals Widespread Use of Ineffective COVID-19 Treatments After FDA Deauthorized Their Use
August 29, 2022

Introduction:

(EurekAlert) BOSTON – Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-designed treatments tailor-made to fight specific infections. In early 2021, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued emergency use authorization for two monoclonal antibodies (bamlanivimab/etesevimab and casirivimab/imdevimab) for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in high-risk, non-hospitalized patients. However, these treatments were shown not to work against the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which emerged in the United States in December 2021 and was responsible for a record-breaking COVID-19 surge in the winter of 2021-22. As a result of the monoclonal antibodies’ reduced efficacy against the variant, the FDA deauthorized their use in early January 2022.

In a paper published in JAMA Network Open, physician-scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) assessed the use of these two monoclonal antibodies for patients with COVID-19 before and after FDA deauthorization. The team observed that though overall use of the two monoclonal antibodies declined gradually following deauthorization, a large number of doses were administered to patients well into 2022.

Altogether, over 158,000 doses of monoclonal antibodies were administered, providing little to no benefit to patients and potentially contributing millions of dollars in costs. Whether the FDA will take regulatory action against those violating guidance remains unknown at this time.

“Continued use of these treatments represents low value care and may reflect conflicting state government guidance or a lack of hospital awareness of deauthorization,” said lead author Timothy Anderson, MD, MAS, Lead for Improving Value in Healthcare at Center for Healthcare Delivery Science at BIDMC and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Though the FDA clearly stated these treatments were no longer authorized for use, the FDA did not fully revoke their emergency use authorizations based on the possibility that they may work to treat future COVID-19 variants. This could have led to confusion and misinterpretation.”

Read more of the EurekAlert article here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/962937

Read more on the JAMA Network Open paper here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman ... e/2795735 .