Coronavirus (COVID-19) Research

[vesta]

https://ijvtpr.com/index.php/IJVTPR/article/view/23/51

ABSTRACT

Operation Warp Speed brought to market in the United States two mRNA vaccines, produced by Pfizer and Moderna. Interim data suggested high efficacy for both of these vaccines, which helped legitimize Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the FDA. However, the exceptionally rapid movement of these vaccines through controlled trials and into mass deployment raises multiple safety concerns. In this review we first describe the technology underlying these vaccines in detail. We then review both components of and the intended biological response to these vaccines, including production of the spike protein itself, and their potential relationship to a wide range of both acute and long-term induced pathologies, such as blood disorders, neurodegenerative diseases and autoimmune diseases. Among these potential induced pathologies, we discuss the relevance of prion-protein-related amino acid sequences within the spike protein. We also present a brief review of studies supporting the potential for spike protein “shedding”, transmission of the protein from a vaccinated to an unvaccinated person, resulting in symptoms induced in the latter.We finish by addressing a common point of debate, namely, whether or not these vaccines could modify the DNA of those receiving the vaccination. While there are no studies demonstrating definitively that this is happening, we provide a plausible scenario, supported by previously established pathways for transformation and transport of genetic material, whereby injected mRNA could ultimately be incorporated into germ cell DNA for transgenerational transmission. We conclude with our recommendations regarding surveillance that will help to clarify the long-term effects of these experimental drugs and allow us to better assess the true risk/benefit ratio of these novel technologies.


Conclusion:

Experimental mRNA vaccines have been heralded as having the potential for great benefits, but they also harbor the possibility of potentially tragic andeven catastrophic unforeseen consequences. The mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have been implemented with great fanfare, but there are many aspects of their widespread utilization that merit concern. We have reviewed some, but not all, of those concerns here, and we want to emphasize that these concerns are potentially serious and might not be evident for years or even transgenerationally. In order to adequately rule out the adverse potentialities described in this paper, we recommend, at a minimum, that the following research and surveillance practices be adopted:
•A national effort to collect detailed data on adverse events associated with the mRNA vaccines with abundant funding allocation, tracked well beyond the first couple of weeks after vaccination.
•Repeated autoantibody testing of the vaccine-recipient population. The autoantibodies tested could be standardized and should be based upon previously documented antibodies and autoantibodies potentially elicited by the spike protein. These include autoantibodies against phospholipids, collagen, actin, thyroperoxidase (TPO), myelin basic protein, tissue transglutaminase, and perhaps others.
•Immunological profiling related to cytokine balance and related biological effects. Tests should include, at a minimum, IL-6, INF-α, D-dimer, fibrinogen, and C-reactive protein.
•Studies comparing populations who were vaccinated with the mRNA vaccines and those who were not to confirm the expected decreased infection rate and milder symptoms of the vaccinated group, whileat the same time comparing the rates of various autoimmune diseases and prion diseases in the same two populations.
•Studies to assess whether it is possible for an unvaccinated person to acquire vaccine-specific forms of the spike proteins from a vaccinated person in close proximity.
•In vitro studies to assess whether the mRNA nanoparticles can be taken up by sperm and converted into cDNA plasmids.
International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice, and Research2(1), May 10, 2021 Page | 68
•Animal studies to determine whether vaccination shortly before conception can result in offspring carrying spike-protein-encoding plasmids in their tissues, possibly integrated into their genome.
•In vitro studies aimed to better understand the toxicity of the spike protein to the brain, heart, testes, etc.

Greetings:
Thank you for posting this.

Given that Japanese research suggests that the mRNA injections may concetrate toxic spike proteins in the ovaries, I believe women who desire children should refuse these experimental gene therapies, all the more so that early COVID19 can be easily treated with cheap drugs.

Pro-Vaccine’ Doctor Byram Bidle Issues Warning… – … https://citizenfreepress.com/column-1/t ... ro-vaccine...

Dr. Byram Bridle Professor of Viral Immunology University of Guelph
‘We finally learned how and where the Vaccine antibodies are stored in the body’
‘The spike protein in Vaccines can kill you’
Dr. Bridle is not an alarmist. When he issues a warning, readers should listen.
Pfizer Japanese government study…
1. Pfizer/BioNTech animal trials show dangerous ...

https://freewestmedia.com/2021/06/04/pf ... mal-trials...

04/06/2021 · Pfizer/BioNTech animal trials show dangerous concentrations of nano-particles in organs. In Japan, upon request under the Freedom of Information Act, the licensing authority published previously inaccessible animal test data on the mRNA …
“The infamous spike protein of the coronavirus gets into the blood where it circulates for several days post-vaccination and then accumulated in organs and tissues including the spleen, bone marrow, the liver, adrenal glands, and in quite high concentrations in the ovaries”; “a large number of studies has shown that the most severe effects of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, such as blood clotting and bleeding, are due to the effects of the spike protein of the virus itself.”

Best regards, Vesta

[NHE]

Well, this is really no surprise...

The Most Influential Spreader of Coronavirus Misinformation Online
Researchers and regulators say Joseph Mercola, an osteopathic physician, creates and profits from misleading claims about Covid-19 vaccines.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/24/tech ... nline.html

The article that appeared online on Feb. 9 began with a seemingly innocuous question about the legal definition of vaccines. Then over its next 3,400 words, it declared coronavirus vaccines were “a medical fraud” and said the injections did not prevent infections, provide immunity or stop transmission of the disease.

Instead, the article claimed, the shots “alter your genetic coding, turning you into a viral protein factory that has no off-switch.”

Its assertions were easily disprovable. No matter. Over the next few hours, the article was translated from English into Spanish and Polish. It appeared on dozens of blogs and was picked up by anti-vaccination activists, who repeated the false claims online. The article also made its way to Facebook, where it reached 400,000 people, according to data from CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned tool.

The entire effort traced back to one person: Joseph Mercola.

Dr. Mercola, 67, an osteopathic physician in Cape Coral, Fla., has long been a subject of criticism and government regulatory actions for his promotion of unproven or unapproved treatments. But most recently, he has become the chief spreader of coronavirus misinformation online, according to researchers.

An internet-savvy entrepreneur who employs dozens, Dr. Mercola has published over 600 articles on Facebook that cast doubt on Covid-19 vaccines since the pandemic began, reaching a far larger audience than other vaccine skeptics, an analysis by The New York Times found. His claims have been widely echoed on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

The activity has earned Dr. Mercola, a natural health proponent with an Everyman demeanor, the dubious distinction of the top spot in the “Disinformation Dozen,” a list of 12 people responsible for sharing 65 percent of all anti-vaccine messaging on social media, said the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate. Others on the list include Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, and Erin Elizabeth, the founder of the website Health Nut News, who is also Dr. Mercola’s girlfriend.

“Mercola is the pioneer of the anti-vaccine movement,” said Kolina Koltai, a researcher at the University of Washington who studies online conspiracy theories. “He’s a master of capitalizing on periods of uncertainty, like the pandemic, to grow his movement.”

Some high-profile media figures have promoted skepticism of the vaccines, notably Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham of Fox News, though other Fox personalities have urged viewers to get the shots. Now, Dr. Mercola and others in the “Disinformation Dozen” are in the spotlight as vaccinations in the United States slow, just as the highly infectious Delta variant has fueled a resurgence in coronavirus cases. More than 97 percent of people hospitalized for Covid-19 are unvaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

President Biden has blamed online falsehoods for causing people to refrain from getting the injections. But even as Mr. Biden has urged social media companies to “do something about the misinformation,” Dr. Mercola shows the difficulty of that task.

Over the last decade, Dr. Mercola has built a vast operation to push natural health cures, disseminate anti-vaccination content and profit from all of it, said researchers who have studied his network. In 2017, he filed an affidavit claiming his net worth was “in excess of $100 million.”

And rather than directly stating online that vaccines don’t work, Dr. Mercola’s posts often ask pointed questions about their safety and discuss studies that other doctors have refuted. Facebook and Twitter have allowed some of his posts to remain up with caution labels, and the companies have struggled to create rules to pull down posts that have nuance.

“He has been given new life by social media, which he exploits skillfully and ruthlessly to bring people into his thrall,” said Imran Ahmed, director of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which studies misinformation and hate speech. Its “Disinformation Dozen” report has been cited in congressional hearings and by the White House.

[continued]

[NHE]

Doctors Worry That Memory Problems After COVID-19 May Set The Stage For Alzheimer's
July 26, 20215:00 AM ET

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... alzheimers

Before she got COVID-19, Cassandra Hernandez, 38, was in great shape — both physically and mentally.

"I'm a nurse," she says. "I work with surgeons and my memory was sharp."

Then, in June 2020, COVID-19 struck Hernandez and several others in her unit at a large hospital in San Antonio.

"I went home after working a 12-hour shift and sat down to eat a pint of ice cream with my husband and I couldn't taste it," she says.

The loss of taste and smell can be an early sign that COVID-19 is affecting a brain area that helps us sense odors.

Hernandez would go on to spend two weeks in the hospital and months at home disabled by symptoms including tremors, extreme fatigue and problems with memory and thinking.

"I would literally fall asleep if I was having a conversation or doing anything that involved my brain," she says.

Alzheimer's researchers sharing findings on COVID-19

Now, researchers at UT Health San Antonio are studying patients like Hernandez, trying to understand why their cognitive problems persist and whether their brains have been changed in ways that elevate the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

The San Antonio researchers are among the teams of scientists from around the world who will present their findings on how COVID-19 affects the brain at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference, which begins Monday in Denver.

What scientists have found so far is concerning.

For example, PET scans taken before and after a person develops COVID-19 suggest that the infection can cause changes that overlap those seen in Alzheimer's. And genetic studies are finding that some of the same genes that increase a person's risk for getting severe COVID-19 also increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's diagnoses also appear to be more common in patients in their 60s and 70s who have had severe COVID-19, says Dr. Gabriel de Erausquin, a professor of neurology at UT Health San Antonio. "It's downright scary," he says.
A loss of smell can signal trouble

And de Erausquin and his colleagues have noticed that mental problems seem to be more common in COVID-19 patients who lose their sense of smell, perhaps because the disease has affected a brain area called the olfactory bulb.

"Persistent lack of smell, it's associated with brain changes not just in the olfactory bulb but those places that are connected one way or another to the smell sense," he says.

Those places include areas involved in memory, thinking, planning and mood.

COVID-19's effects on the brain also seem to vary with age, de Erausquin says. People in their 30s seem more likely to develop anxiety and depression.

"In older people, people over 60, the foremost manifestation is forgetfulness," he says. "These folks tend to forget where they placed things, they tend to forget names, they tend to forget phone numbers. They also have trouble with language; they begin forgetting words."

The symptoms are similar to those of early Alzheimer's, and doctors sometimes describe these patients as having an Alzheimer's-like syndrome that can persist for many months.

"Those people look really bad right now," de Erausquin says. "And the expectation is that it may behave as Alzheimer's behaves, in a progressive fashion. But the true answer is we don't know."

Another scientist who will present research at the Alzheimer's conference is Dr. Sudha Seshadri, founding director of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio.

The possibility that COVID-19 might increase the risk of Alzheimer's is alarming, Seshadri says. "Even if the effect is small, it's something we're going to have to factor in because the population is quite large," she says.

In the U.S. alone, millions of people have developed persistent cognitive or mood problems after getting COVID-19. It may take a decade to know whether these people are more likely than uninfected people to develop Alzheimer's in their 60s and 70s, Seshadri says.

Studies of people who have had COVID-19 may help scientists understand the role infections play in Alzheimer's and other brain diseases. Previous research has suggested that exposure to certain viruses, including herpes, can trigger an immune response in the brain that may set the stage for Alzheimer's.

"If one understands how the immune response to this virus is accelerating [Alzheimer's] disease, we may learn about the impact of other viruses," Seshadri says.
A long road back from COVID-19

Meanwhile, people like Cassandra Hernandez, the nurse, are simply trying to get better. More than a year after getting sick, she says, her brain is still foggy.

"We were at dinner and I forgot how to use a fork," she says. "It was embarrassing."

Even so, Hernandez says she's improving — slowly.

"Before this I was working on my master's," she says. "Now I can do basic math, addition and subtraction, I can read at a fifth-grade level. I'm still working hard every day."

Hernandez has been working with Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, chair of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at UT Health and director of the COVID-19 recovery clinic.

Verduzco-Gutierrez says her practice used to revolve around people recovering from strokes and traumatic brain injuries. Now she spends some days seeing only patients recovering from COVID-19.

The most common complaint is fatigue, Verduzco-Gutierrez says. But these patients also frequently experience migraine headaches, forgetfulness, dizziness and balance issues, she says.

Some of these patients may never recover fully, Verduzco-Gutierrez says. But she's hopeful for Hernandez.

"She's made so much improvement and I would love for her to go back to nursing," Verduzco-Gutierrez says. "But again, we don't know what happens with this disease."

[NHE]

I finally got the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine last month. It was no big deal. The first shot was uneventful. I felt a little cruddy after the second shot, but that only lasted for a day.

[NHE]

Humoral and T-Cell Response to SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis Treated With Ocrelizumab
JAMA Neurol. 2021 Sep 23;e213599.

Importance: B-cell-depleting therapies may affect the development of a protective immune response following vaccination. Understanding the ability to develop vaccine-specific immunity to COVID-19 in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with B-cell-depleting therapy is of importance for clinical decisions.

Objective: To assess SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-specific humoral and cellular responses in patients treated with ocrelizumab compared with healthy controls.

Design, setting, and participants: This single-center study performed at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel, included patients with MS treated with ocrelizumab, healthy controls, and untreated patients with MS. Vaccination occurred between December 2020 and April 2021. Participants donated blood 2 to 4 and 2 to 8 weeks after the second vaccine dose for antibody and T-cell assessments, respectively.

Exposures: All participants received 2 doses of BNT162b2 vaccine (Pfizer/BioNTech) and completed the study.

Main outcomes and measures: Proportion of patients treated with ocrelizumab with SARS-CoV-2-specific serology and/or T-cell responses following vaccination. All participants underwent SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing; 29 patients treated with ocrelizumab and 15 healthy controls had evaluation of SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses.

Results: Of 112 participants, 49 (43.8%) had MS and were treated with ocrelizumab (33 [67.3%] female; mean [SD] age, 47.9 [13.3] years), 23 (20.5%) had MS and were not treated with disease-modifying therapies (18 [78.3%] female; mean [SD] age, 49 [13.4] years), and 40 (35.7%) were healthy controls (25 [62.5%] female; mean [SD] age, 45.3 [16] years). Twenty-six of 29 patients (89.7%) treated with ocrelizumab and 15 of 15 healthy controls (100%) had SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells following vaccination at similar levels (mean [SD], 15.4 [7.6] and 14.3 [6.3] spot-forming cells, respectively). Mean antibody titers and positive serology rate were lower in the group of patients treated with ocrelizumab (mean [SD] antibody titers and positive serology rate, 26.2 [49.2] and 376.5 [907.6] AU/mL; 10 of 40 [25%] and 20 of 49 [40.8%] for S1/S2 and receptor-binding domain, respectively) compared with healthy controls (mean [SD] antibody titers and positive serology rate, 283 [100] and 12 712 [9114] AU/mL; 100% S1/S2 and receptor-binding domain) and untreated patients (mean [SD] antibody titers and positive serology rate, 288.3 [113.8] and 10 877 [9476] AU/mL; 100% S1/S2 and receptor-binding domain), with positive association to time from ocrelizumab infusion (S1/S2: r = 0.7, P < .001; receptor-binding domain: r = 0.4, P = .04).

Conclusion and relevance: In this study, patients with MS who were treated with ocrelizumab generated comparable SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses with healthy controls and had lower antibody response following vaccination. Given the potential role of T cells in protection from severe disease, this is reassuring and will help physicians develop consensus guidelines regarding MS treatment in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Comment: It would be interesting to know about memory B cells as well.

[NHE]

Those unvaccinated may find that life is about to become much more difficult.

Vaccine verification starts Monday in King County: What to expect

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/vaccin ... I6MN7U2AQ/

Other regions will likely enact similar policies.

[NHE]

Beware the New Delta Plus Variant | A New Vaccine to the Rescue?
https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/article ... he-rescue/

The Delta Variant of COVID-19 ravaged India. Now there's the Delta Plus variant. Is it more contagious than the already nasty Delta variant?

A new variant of SARS-CoV-2 is starting to spread around the US. Scientists have named it AY.4.2. The popular press, on the other hand, has dubbed it the Delta plus variant. This subvariant of the Delta coronavirus is spreading in the UK, making up over 11% of cases there. It has also been isolated in dozens of other countries.

Now, the Delta plus variant is spreading in the US. At least eight states are reporting cases and it is expected to spread even faster than the original Delta variant. How worrisome is this variant of a variant? British public health authorities suggest it may be more transmissible than Delta, but the available vaccines still protect people from this new version.

At the moment, people who have caught the Delta plus variant do not appear to be sicker than those with COVID infections attributed to earlier forms of the coronavirus. Needless to say, the CDC is tracking the emergence of the Delta+ subvariant very closely to make sure it doesn’t develop into something more worrisome.
–•–•–•–•–•–•–•–•–•–•–•– The Delta Plus Variant Has Emerged:
This new mutant form of the SARS-CoV-2 is the Delta plus variant. It arose in India. That’s hardly a surprise. India has been slammed for weeks. Vineeta Bal is an immunologist at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune, India.

She told NPR (June 23, 2021):

“The fear in everybody’s mind is that now there is a further mutation and it might again take us towards another wave.”

[continued]

[NHE]

Unvaccinated Oregon man spends 102 days in hospital, now has a message for Americans

Howard Breidenbach used to think COVID wasn’t a serious threat to his health, so didn’t get vaccinated when he had the opportunity. But now after spending a grueling 102 days in the hospital he wishes he had got the vaccination.

[NHE]

Kids Are Coming Down with Diabetes After Getting Over COVID

https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/article ... ver-covid/

Insurance data show that youngsters under 18 have been coming down with diabetes after they recover from COVID-19 infections.

The researchers used two large insurance databases to compare the health of youngsters under 18 who had contracted COVID to those who had avoided the infection. In one of the databases, health care providers diagnosed more than 80,000 kids with COVID-19 between March 2020 and February 2021. The other database included nearly 440,000 youngsters diagnosed between March 2020 and June 2021.

Scientists compared rates of newly diagnosed diabetes within each dataset. Kids were matched for all variables except the diabetes diagnosis. In both datasets, children recovering from infection were significantly more likely to develop diabetes. In the database from IQVIA, the rate of diabetes was 316 per 100,000 person-years among kids diagnosed with COVID-19. By comparison, the rate for children who did not have COVID-19 was 118 per 100,000 person-years.

Other respiratory infections did not increase the likelihood of children coming down with diabetes. As the authors conclude, this increased risk underscores the importance of measures to prevent COVID-19 infections among young people.

[NHE]

Covid vaccine response was significantly lower in MS patients taking Ocrevus, fingolimod and cladribine.

Humoral- and T-Cell-Specific Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination in Patients With MS Using Different Disease-Modifying Therapies

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34810244/

[NHE]

Could COVID-19 Infection Harm Your Gut Microbiota?

A study shows that COVID-19 infection can harm your gut microbiota, reducing diversity and beneficial bacteria. Will probiotics help?

https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/article ... icrobiota/

Over the past decade, scientists have learned a lot about the importance of the gut microbiota. This is the collection of bacteria, fungi and viruses that hang out mostly in the large intestine. All these microbes form a sort of ecological system. A healthy system is diverse and thriving, and helps keep its host healthy as well. But certain drugs and infections can harm your gut microbiota.

COVID-19 Infection Can Harm Your Gut Microbiota:

New research indicates that COVID-19 infection alters the gut microbiota. A study of elderly French patients hospitalized with COVID-19 examined how the bacteria in their digestive tracts differed from uninfected healthcare workers who served as controls (medRxiv, Feb. 8, 2022).

Researchers analyzed stool samples and recorded clinical outcomes among the patients. Bacterial diversity of the gut microbiome was far lower among the COVID patients.

Unfortunately, some of the types of bacteria that were reduced or went missing are known to be beneficial. They secrete butyrate, which improves the intestinal barrier and calms inflammation. In addition, COVID patients were less likely to have normal levels of Bifidobacteria, which are beneficial bacterial strains.

[continued]