QuoteReplyTopic: january 2024 Posted: January 02 2024 at 11:11pm
I have CoViD...sweating over my breakfast...a very limited one because of lack of apetite (very abnormal for me ;-) !
January 1 I expected to have a cold when I tested...And the test was "positive" - what a way to begin a new "challenging" year...As far as I know this is my first CoViD infection - I have had SIX vaccinations/boosters...that is supposed to limit damage & risk.
New JN.1 variants show to be more infective and immunity evasive...So I did get "the newest on the market" ???
Hope to do more work here soon...HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
DJ, The Gaza-genocide by now is almost ignored by both western media and "politics"....
So how "open and honest" are these two "foundations of democrazy" on CoViD...the pandemic ? If not ignoring it ...play with numbers....
Like with climate collapse "new baselines" can "change stories"; excess deaths for 2020 (first pandemic year) as BASELINE to compare 2024 with enable a lie to claim there are no excess deaths...
Why not use the year 2000 as a baseline for climate temperature rise ? In that way "we can lie and claim to keep rise under 1,5C" for years...also resulting in a "carbon budget" enabling even more fossil energy....
The very sad picture I am getting is "politics is a show"...the only goal is "economy" meaning a small group of people getting even more money...at the cost of even destroying all of the planet...
I had the hope the 2024 "world" would have more brains than the 1624 world...to make a jump of 400 years...
DJ, Slavery is a form of "labor relation" with maximum "power imbalance" ...the slave is "property"...the owner (in its worst form) even can "eat" the slave...And of course to provide a welcome excuse "religion" came up with "black people" are not humans...non-christians do not have a soul-therefor are animals etc...Later on "science" came with extra excuses...(white people had high IQ etc.)...
"living with disease" was expected of "the poor"...one of their expected roles was to produce a lot of children...to keep labor costs down...Also here "religion" played a welcome role (for the rich)....
-In 2024 "we" are supposed to be wiser...Are we ? The NATO-BRICS wars are about global dominance...the "west" wants to keep "civilizing" the rest of the globe the way that "west" did since 1492...Columbus...Only this time "the rest" has BRICS in its defense...
NOT because they fight the pandemic, climate collapse....NOT because they invest in housing, education, infrastructure...The west is spending close to A BILLION !!!! PER DAY !!!! on wars...
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
DJ, We ALL would love to see CoViD being over as any kind of risk...
-Politics; their (lack of) policies failed...spending billions on non-sterilizing vaccines resulted in those billions going to Big Pharma (shareholders...no doubt "donors of the same "politicians") and a "pandemic pause"...It did not end the pandemic because non-sterilizing vaccines should have been part of a much larger strategy...
-"Media" need a "re-starting economy" for advertisments...because "free flow of information" is about money...
-The public wants its "freedoms" ...even if those freedoms are a major danger for the public...
Reality -in my non-expert view- is CoViD early 2024 may be even more of a risk than it was in 2019/20...
It is a governments job to do all it can to protect its citizens ! The government has the "tools to get the info" on those risks...Both in pandemics and climate collapse the government looks the other way...Because the "way we do things" is the major problem...
Spain: Aragón imposes mandatory masking for health workers following respiratory virus surge. Masking is also "highly recommended" for those who do not treat patients and the entire population.
Switzerland: Zurich Covid incidence rate of ~5000 per 100K inhabitants in December 2023. Approximately one person in 20 becomes infected every week.
DJ, Flu results in immunity after catching that flu-type (at least so far) so "flu is self limiting"...Corona is NOT !!!
The latest variants of the -by now very likely over 1 million !!!!! sub-variants of CoViD- did find even "better" ways to infect and evade any form of immunity...
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What is needed ?
DJ-my non expert view;
It would be very welcome to see STERILIZING CoViD vaccines ! Vaccines that protect not only against severe disease but STOP infection !
Lots of countries will be working on those kinds of vaccines. I expect most from countries like China, Russia, Iran-Cuba cooperation, South Africa...
-Large population
-Pharma state owned or state controlled (limiting profits/greed)
-Lots of knowledge
But maybe a small producer comes up with a clever finding...It may not even need to be a vaccine but maybe a "supplement" that can limit new forms of CoViD enough to stop the pandemic.
The basic problem is mixing to many diseases with to many hosts..both human and non-human...So "stop mixing" -limit (long distance) travel !
Also climate collapse is increasing pandemic risks (exponential increase...The human role in climate "change" means "living with worsening pandemics" ...there is a lot of interaction ! Bio-climatologists could do a good job in more study on this subject ! )
GOOD INFO is essential ! Information should NOT be "for profit only"! It is a governments job to provide GOOD INFO !
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
Governments are supposed to work in PUBLIC interest -NOT private interest...Still either war, climate, economy, health to many politicians do not know what PUBLIC interest is....
DJ, so the worst of the CoViD pandemic may be IN FRONT of us !!! Not behind us....main reasons "saving the economy/profits" , "wishfull thinking/lack of imagination"...buying "science"...
I'm done manually logging the week's sequencing results for 76 sewersheds that averaged 5-8 different lineages per sewershed. Kind of exhausting. I'm noticing an overall shift in SARS-CoV-2 diversity.
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During the first 3 years of the pandemic the lineages were polite. One lineage would be dominant, then another one would move in and displace the circulating lineage quickly and thoroughly.
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But then the XBBs moved in and they just don't have any manners. It's been a street fight among the three main XBB clans and their descendants since this Spring.
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I was hopeful that JN.1 would establish some order (and make my job a little bit easier). So far that hasn't happened. Not only is it not eliminating the XBB complexity, it is having offspring of its own that I have to keep track of.
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JN.1 is becoming the most common lineage in most sewersheds, but it just seems to be added on top of what was circulating before. It's not really dominating in a lot of places.
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I'll be curious to see whether JN.1 is just taking its time at displacing the other lineages, or whether it is infecting a different subset of the population than the XBBs.
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Would it be a good thing or a bad thing if two highly divergent lineages continue to co-circulate? It's shitty for me, but I'm not sure if it's good or bad for public health in general.
DJ, The question is do we still see a single dominant variant of CoViD or may we be moving to SEVERAL variants circulating at the same time ? (And would that be good or bad ?)
My non-expert view;
-We have limited data...waste water is only part of the "big pandemic picture"....
-What matters is do variants result in more disease/disruption....
-In theory we may end up with-next to SARS-2/CoViD19- SARS-3/SARS-4/SARS-5 etc circulating at the same time....
-If people end up infected over and over-increasingly may end up infected by several forms of CoViD at the same time
-Global healthcare would need to make a triage list; maybe 5% of those in need of care may be able to get care
-It may be wise to make age (<35 y/o) a (major) criterium
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DJ, History should have told us a VERY CLEAR STORY !!!!! Pandemics END civilizations when they are not controlled...
Somehow those that should be listening do NOT want to hear it....CoViD is now very widespread in more than 100 species and may have over 1 million "sub-types" with potential high risk mutations/variants forming very likely EVERY DAY !!!!
We stopped testing, reduced sequencing go for hide & seek....There is NO strategy to stop the pandemic (like there is NO strategy to deal with climate collapse).
So...outcome is we are on or way to collapse....
Pushing for more wars may "save us from dying from CoViD" but could kill even more people/live faster in a nuclear war...that is not a policy...it is insanity !
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SARS-1 in 2003 WAS stopped !!!! SARS-2/CoViD-19 should have been stopped in 2019/20....but "economy/profits" was more important for "many leaders/countries"...
Blaming trump or China only delays solutions....
Like in a wildfire a first step has to be "stop the spread"....it is something we still should be doing ! STOP THE SPREAD !!!!
In practice this means governments going for a global -by now draconian- program.....
-As good as NO air travel...
-Work/study from home
-Masks outside that home 24/7
-Testing/isolating high intensity
DJ-again I am not an expert....Rules need to be risks related....CoViD-19 soon may get 5 years old....We do NOT have any serious grip on it....It will kill billions...
So do we repeat the previous steps that did NOT work ?
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The picture I get a house is on fire...instead of getting out of the house the family locks itself into a bathroom, fill up the bath and think they will survive that way...Can "live a normal live in the bathroom"....
DJ-Maybe two (major) scenario's remain;
-slow death; We may survive for a few more years seeing both the health and climate crisis getting worse by the hour....In this pandemic we did see -worldwide- over 100,000 deaths per day...(Official statistics may have much lower maximum deaths) We did survive that...We may see a million deaths per day...Hey-there are over 8 billion of us....
Of course society breaks down at a certain moment....Long CoViD cases NOW must be proberbly in the hundreds of millions already....
-fast death; New CoViD variants and co-infections start increasing pressure on healthcare that fast there is no basic healthcare left....Total chaos, social-economic collapse, wars/riots...famines...
DJ, Nuclear safety needs 24/7 surveilance to avoid nuclear disasters....But also watersystems/supply are essential...You need to keep that going, may be able to without that just for a few days...
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In Gaza we see what priorities "those in power in the west" have...Killing Muslims, Arabs....A western elite "loves" to kill Russians, did kill over 1 million Iraq-citizens...love to play games with creations like "IS"....as a proxy army starting a war with Iran....
Again....this pandemic, like most wars, were avoidable and should have been avoided !
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
Holy crap—“Make your own decisions (on COVID), that’s not something we get involved in”—can’t believe WH Press Secretary said this! I think Biden needs a new spokesperson after this. I cannot fathom that is official policy amid 2nd largest #COVID wave.
DJ, this pandemic is the outcome of total political failure...
DJ...CoViD once in may "never leave"...a flu may see CoViD reactivated...even over 5 years from now...
With billions of hosts both human and non-human we need anti-virals that stop CoViD NOT anti-virals pushing for more immune evasion....
But-like with climate change- we have run out of time...The "big boat" is sinking and we may have to try to survive in life-boats...hope there is some perspective ...
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
Israel's Ministry of Health has alerted hospitals in the north of the country to be prepared to receive thousands of casualties as tensions with Hezbollah reach a breaking point
DJ, neo-con hardliners seem to be succesfull in getting even more war...
DJ, we now live in a 1,5C+ world...so from "increase of spread of tropical infectious disease" towards to "major increase of extreme weather and spread of infectious disease"...
Pandemics are not isolated events...wars are a bad combination in many ways...
Plant-based diets, pescatarian diets and COVID-19 severity: a population-based case-control study in six countries. A study from 2021 also found a reduced risk of Covid-19 amongst those with plant based diets.
With new variants, follow stories of more pathology. There is no convincing evidence that variants cause more severe disease after Delta. New variants are selected to be better at infecting us, mostly via part avoiding a part of our defences: neutralising antibodies
DJ, JN.1 would be going for lower respitory system/lungs also better at cell-to-cell spread...
However a very major problem is a total lack of any serious testing...
Jeremy Farrar
@JeremyFarrar
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Scientists knew 2023’s heat would be historic — but not by this much https://washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/01/09/record-hot-year-2023-global-temperatures/
DJ, experts have their limits...One factor easy to underestimate is speed of a proces. Global temperature rise going faster than "models" predicted means the models are not reflecting reality enough...
I guess the difference is that the covid deniers want to be right, and the covid cautious want to be wrong.
group psychology...I would LOVE to be very wrong !
-I think I was right on climate, CoViD to often...I did not see wars coming...not in the way they did...Hyperinflation can go very fast-if it comes (that is why it is called "hyper" !!!).
-Healthcare capacity is under pressure for many reasons...A major one is "making it a bussiness"
Despite the dangerous rise, fuelled by the abandonment of public health measures and highly infectious new COVID variants, the Ministry of Health paused its regular weekly reporting of deaths and other data for three weeks between December 18 and January 8.
DJ...neo-liberalism is a mental disease, a dogma...destroying the planet for short term profits...
interesting !
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
WHO, 10,000 deaths from Covid in December "In December there was a 42% increase in [Covid] hospital admissions and a 62% increase in hospitalizations in intensive care units compared to November."
and
Maria Van Kerkhove
@mvankerkhove
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Sadly at the end of 2023, we passed the 7 million mark for the number of #COVID19 deaths reported to @WHO. 7,010,586 to be exact. The true death toll is higher, with estimates of at >3 times more deaths globally.
expanded GISRS was 6-10% & from non-sentinel sites was 18% in Dec. Wastewater surveillance systems suggest actual cases are 2-19 times higher than what is reported to WHO.
Japan: JN.1 about twice as infectious BA.2.86 "The new variant's immune escape ability is 3.6 to 4.5 times that of the Pirola strain for antibodies created in the body following vaccination."
Spain: Face masks mandatory in hospitals as flu and Covid cases surge Spain’s health minister said “It’s an effective, commonsense measure and one that is backed by scientific evidence and that is well received by the public.”
United Kingdom: economic inactivity due to long term sickness now amounts to approximately 1.5 percent of all 16-64 year olds, and is increasing at a rate of 0.45 percentage points per year. The rate of change is increasing.
DJ, lots of countries "saving their economy" by denying the ongoing pandemic-resulting in further destroying their economy...(spending billions on criminal wars already is doing a lot of damage ! "ukraine" may have seen 50% of its populatien seeking safety outside that country, "israel" now could see 10% of its population moving/staying out...Syria, Iraq are other victims of NATO agression-supported by most western political parties...even "left wing"...with German "green party" an insult to the basic idea !)
As expected, wild circulation leads to wild evolution First signs of JN.* convergence at old-fashioned R346T, L455S again (preferred to L455F), S:T572I (4 branches designated out of 28 identified) and A475X. L452W is no longer Pirola-specific since found in HV.1.10.
DJ, The CoViD-pandemic may be worsening with newer variants better able to evade (ignore) immunity...The vaccine-created pandemic pause is over...and we are now empty handed...
Since most "politicians/media" misrepresented the WHO "end of EMERGENCY" !!! (emerging is for a NEW disease--CoViD can no longer be seen as new !) as "the end of the pandemic" (the WHO and lots of experts warned it is NOT over ! But "economy/profits"....) we may be out of needed public support for Non Pharma Interventions...
We hardly have good data on spread/co-infections...We MISS info on CoViD in animals...
DJ-In fact we now may be in a WORSE position than when the pandemic started in 2020...
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
A LONG-TERM STRATEGY FOR CLIMATE, NATURE AND ENERGY
Preparing for Disease X
With fresh warnings from the World Health Organization that an unknown “Disease X” could result in 20 times more fatalities than the coronavirus pandemic, what novel efforts are needed to prepare healthcare systems for the multiple challenges ahead?
This session is linked to the Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience and the Collaborative Surveillance Initiative of the World Economic Forum.
Disease X is a placeholder name that was adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2018 on their shortlist of blueprint priority diseases to represent a hypothetical, unknown pathogen that could cause a future epidemic.[4][5] The WHO adopted the placeholder name to ensure that their planning was sufficiently flexible to adapt to an unknown pathogen (e.g., broader vaccines and manufacturing facilities).[4][6] Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasesAnthony Fauci stated that the concept of Disease X would encourage WHO projects to focus their research efforts on entire classes of viruses (e.g., flaviviruses), instead of just individual strains (e.g., zika virus), thus improving WHO capability to respond to unforeseen strains.[7] In 2020, experts, including some of the WHO's own expert advisors, speculated that COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus strain, met the requirements to be the first Disease X.[1][2][3]
DJ In CoViD news;
Raj Rajnarayanan
@RajlabN
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JN.1.4 (BA.2.86.1.1.4, with signature mutation ORF1a:T170I) is quickly emerging as one of the top three lineages in the #USA 1/n twitter.com/RajlabN/status…
So are some new CoViD variants "Disease-X" like ?
-immunity escape/evasion is a growing problem
-the more times people catch CoViD the higher the chances for chronic disease
-even if new variants "only" would see high numbers NOT more severe disease-healthcare may be in crisis soon...
-However...there are indications new variants may bring more problems (higher capacity to spread from cell to cell a.o. in lungs)
Shit is getting real—Johns Hopkins Hospital medical system has now instituted mandatory mask wearing for all visitors, patients, faculty & staff statewide at
Even with our statistical adjustment, I’d encourage caution in interpreting the exact magnitude and timing of epidemic peaks right now The transient effect of holiday testing behaviour should become clearer with more data in the coming weeks
DJ, people may not have gone for any testing, only worst cases did see hospitals...even some stations did not report waste-water sequencing...So the picture we now get from end of 2023 may be "a bit optimistic" (again...).
A common example cited is 'Russian flu', presumed by some to have been a coronavirus. And yet, this is just that-an assumption. Such statements are completely lacking in evidence and follow several fallacies in understanding of viral evolution. 3/n
NSW Health released a surveillance report yesterday including data to 6 Jan, the first data since 16 Dec.
"COVID-19 activity remained at high levels .. Indicators suggest COVID-19 activity .. is higher than the 2023 winter peak, and .. is approaching levels observed in Dec 2022."
DJ, New South Wales is Australia-now in summer ! December 2022 was part of the pandemic-time...even by those claiming "the CoViD pandemic is over"....
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US/NATO did send over 100 cruise-missiles [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomahawk_(missile)[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomahawk_(missile) costs 4 million US$ each to start yet another war...So 400 million+ in another crazy war...
DJ-Climate collapse and pandemics are urgent very major problems...yet we have a crazy joe biden going for confrontation outside and inside the US....
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
DJ-Again...we may now be in a worse position than where we were 4 years ago at the start of global spread of CoViD-19....Than we did not act in time-to "save the airlines, tourism etc."...Now "politics" actively lying...downplaying the very major risks...because "politics" did make matters worse !
A wave of respiratory infections is rapidly spreading across Spain since the last weeks of 2023. The wave has been dubbed “tripledemia”a combination of infections of three different viruses, COVID-19, Influenza A and RSV, a virus that can cause bronchiolitis that mainly affects children.
The latest report posted January 4 from the Carlos III University Health Institute states that the rate of respiratory infections now stands at a total of 952.9 cases per one hundred thousand inhabitants at national level, 78 percent more than a month ago.
DJ, there is growing concern (WHO a.o.) ;
-Long term damage of CoViD
-Long term damage growth of risks after reinfection
CIDRAP: 4 cases of deer-to-human TB transmission in Michigan "Scientists report on four people in Michigan who contracted tuberculosis linked to wild deer and domestic cattle from 2019 to 2022"
Yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases, scientists report on four people in Michigan who contracted tuberculosis (TB) linked to wild deer and domestic cattle from 2019 to 2022, raising the total number of zoonotic cases in the state to seven since 2002.
DJ, spread of all kinds of diseases in non-human hosts are increasing risks for those diseases ending up in humans...
-The WHO thinks CoViD may have killed 21 million people, the "Economist" calculated over 33 million CoViD deaths...there are some estimates over 40 million people may have died because of CoViD...(dying with or from...CoViD as a complicating factor...how do you define a "CoViD-death" ?)
-10,000 CoViD deaths per month based on (very limited) reporting from 50 countries (of the 234 countries/territories member of the WHO); real number may be 3x the reported number (or 4x ???)...DJ-If we still would be at 30,000 "CoViD deaths" per month that would be 360,000 per year...
What would be a working definition for "CoViD death" ? "With" or "from" CoViD ? The WHO number seems to cover deaths FROM CoViD...However lots of people now may be dealing with BOTH CoViD AND Flu, RSV etc...
-Only 29 countries report CoViD hospitalizations (at least once a week), just 21 countries report ICU cases...part of the problem may be even not always testing in hospitals....
Cornell: Mice without immune cells show no SARS-CoV-2 symptoms "While the inflammatory response from adaptive immune cells – such as B and T lymphocytes – clears the body of the virus, it also causes the characteristic symptoms of COVID-19."
“Unlike the main other respiratory viruses that circulate, without the adaptive immune response, on its own, SARS-CoV-2 doesn’t seem to cause the damage that leads to significant pathology,” said Avery August, professor of immunology in the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and deputy provost. August and Hector Aguilar-Carreño, professor of virology, also in CVM, are co-corresponding authors of the study.
“It means that we can explore therapeutics that modulate the immune response, so that we can dampen those parts that are causing inflammation while leaving those parts alone that are important for clearing the virus,” August said.
DJ, As far as I know the finding that it is the immune reaction causing the disease is NOT new...How to deal with it is often the problem...
Are there any studies looking at whether those with asymptomatic infections have a *weaker* immune response to SARS-CoV-2, rather than a stronger one as previously assumed?
DJ, Another question is -the studied mice may have not been infected with CoViD/had their immunity "neutralized"...In "real life" there is suggestion immunity after (several) CoViD infection gets weaker...NOT stronger...So immunity-reaction can not explain all of the illness...
Study: Eight mutations to SARS-CoV-2 virus in just seven weeks SARS-CoV-2 in an immunocompromised host: convalescent plasma therapy and viral evolution elucidated by whole genome sequencing BMJ Case Reports: https://casereports.bmj.com/content/16/12/e255255
DJ.....again...the number of CoViD-19 (sub)variants may be over 1 million..."Older" variants may still be around in a.o. deer, but also immuno compromised may be dealing with old variants mutating in their body...
DJ-Even worse...if the virus is able to "hide" in an organ inside a host-to be reactivated later on...it may even be able to spread...
Chile: Omicron variant BA.4.1 lineage found in dogs "In COVID-19+ households, 6.06% [of pets] tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, belonging to 3 dogs, indicating human-to-pet transmission."
DJ...testing in pets may be aproblem in itself...blood samples may provide most info...but it is expensive...
My only conclusion can be present leaders are leading us to our end..."Politics" ran out of solutions...
In climate studies changes often go "faster than expected"...The IPCC-like WHO-a "political tool"...
DJ-I think enlarging NATO, EU was and is unwise...better first set goals, improve the basis...That idea does NOT make me "pro-Putin"...Just like my view biden may be the worst US president ever makes me pro-trump...(second worst...In my NL view a head of state first job is to unite the country...NOT divide it to end up much weaker).
Oxfam’s new report, Inequality Inc., explores the disparity between the uber-wealthy and the rest of society. Since 2020, five billion people have become poorer, while the world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes—at a rate of $14 million per hour. Meanwhile, people worldwide face a prolonged cost-of-living crisis, climate breakdown, and conflict. Many are still reeling from the pandemic and working harder and longer hours, often for poverty wages in precarious and unsafe jobs.
DJ, who is funding neo-nazi parties in the west ? The goal should be clear...greed ! History repeating itself with "a rich elite" hundred years ago supporting hitler and his nazi's...
In 2024 "totalitarianism"-power to an elite with the rest-99,9%- as modern slaves-is a nightmare scenario...Private companies now may know more of you than any dictatorship in the past ever had the means for...
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
China: Possible Covid rebound with JN.1 subvariant Chinese health authorities warned Sunday of a potential resurgence of COVID-19 in January, driven by the rising prominence of JN.1. http://CGTN.com report:
DJ only underline global public health, climate should be top of the list...but it is not...
Delta's still hanging around—and packing heat, in the form of 30+ spike mutations. As w/other recent Delta singlets, this is very likely 1 chronically infected person‚ not a circulating variant. But it's a healthy reminder that the prospect of a Delta comeback always looms. 1/15
DJ, western "politics" still believe the lie they created "the pandemic is over"..."vaccines saved us"....Non-sterilizing vaccines did buy us time...time we wasted...
The cycle of COVID waves... 1. We're monitoring the situation. 2. It doesn't seem to be worse than the previous worst. 3. (Briefly) We're concerned that people aren't taking this seriously. 4. It has peaked, so back to normal now.
DJ,by now lots of indications for long term chronic health risks in large groups...If half of the global population did catch CoViD and 1-in-10 gets Long CoViD we are talking about 400 million people...and we are far from "post-pandemic" !
An increase of excess deaths statistic is corrected for aging...So heatwaves, extreme weather is a factor...Increase in deaths from "infectious diseases" may be hidden in number of heart-problem, cancer deaths...CoViD is a slow killer-for now often easy to ignore while it may be -in numbers over years- be the worst problem we are facing...Maybe even a larger risk than climate collapse...
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There are lots of things we should be doing !!!!
-better testing/sequencing
-more study on CoViD in animals and the risks it brings
-limiting of global spread
-limiting of local spread
But all of the above is ignored...even ventilation is not solved...A legal right to work/study from home is far away...
CoViD means poverty for most...loss of economic perspectives...
It looks like "learning the hard way" is the only option....
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
I am back, It has been a long time since I was here. So, here is an update. I got my back worked on last year and was out of commission for a while. My heart needed some help so they put a heart monitor on me. I am able to do some work on my model kits. Vicki and I are doing ok, but we had a accident and totaled our van. We are now without a vehicle. Jill and Becky are still with us and my dad 's insurance company has every under control. Becky's husband divorced her and she and her kids moved in with us. We had a few minor hiccups with our various devices to keep us alive. I may get a [pacemaker in June and Vicki is teaching a class on Zoom.
It's nice to see you back ME163 and I'm glad to hear things are ticking along with you all. Everything seems so crazy in the world at the moment, it's lovely to hear some good news.
Those who got it wrong, for whatever reason, may feel defensive and retrench into a position that doesn’t accord with the facts.
Well, Kiwi, It has been a wild time for us. We hadn't planned on 3 kids moving in with us along with Becky. Her ex was such a mean man that we were compelled to get them into a place of safety. Jill and Becky take care of us and we help them by being grampa and grandma to the 5, 7 and 9 year old kids. We all have to be careful not to infect Vicki or myself with viruses or germs. We are happy with the kids .
ME163, "we live in very interesting times"...I would LOVE to see the present become a bit less interesting...
I hope you can manage to keep virus/disease out (by keeping the kids in...?)...For parents with young children this time is very hard...what is wisdom ?
Once "catching a childdisease" was often welcomed as a phase building up immunity...those days are history...
If you can avoid CoViD avoid catching CoViD !
-I am still recovering from CoViD myself...runny nose/cough, fatigue...tested positive New Years Day...what a way to start 2024 !
As far as I know it was my first CoViD-infection...SIX Covid (booster) vaccinations may help to limit the damage...in combination with enough rest...
There is a limit to what people on an individual scale can do...certainly if families are in disagreement on (masking/social activities) issues/needs...
Children NEED to play, get outdoors, meet other kids...For "us" the "old people" it is a different story...I find it "very hard" to think of the future for young children...It simply does not "look good"...
Stay safe & sane !
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
I had Covid once and then Vicki got it. She had problems with post covid issues. I thought I had it again but nope. was lucky again. The big issue with the kids is the lack of post play cleaning. I got sick from them at least twice. I got the best infection control known to man. I get what you are saying and yes the kids play outside. They do have playdates and sleepovers with other families. However, they go thru decontamination like everyone else. We have a direct line to the University of Nebraska infection control unit. They were flabbergasted by our setup. The UNL medical staff were impressed with our ICU unit. Jill and Becky were better trained then most of the staff. They call us for advice. Josh , we know it is a crazy world out there. We have a great setup and a great support staff. Thanks for your work.
Like other "western sanctions" by now it is "the west" damaging itself...Russia, China, India, South Africa are global Pharma-players...Iran-Cuba worked together to develop new CoViD-vaccines...It is the "west" wasting TRILLIONS !!!! on endless wars making war-industry share holders (buying/donating to "politicians for sale") very powerfull...
DJ-In many ways BRICS already did win...a next step may be integration of BRICS+, OPEC+, SCO and EAEU into a new "global trade agreement" and going for non-western currencies...(Maybe "play" with the Euro/€ trying to break up the "west").
As a neurologist specializing in #Dysautonomia, I see patients with #LongCovid every day. Most of these patients were vaccinated and had either no or minimal health problems prior to #Covid.
I am going to be honest: even those Long Covid patients that have improved are at risk of getting worse with recurrent Covid infections. Additionally, every healthy person is at risk of getting Long Covid and numerous other post-Covid neurologic, cardiovascular, metabolic and immune complications.
Of course we don't want to scare the public, of course things are definitely better now than in 2020, of course treatment of acute Covid is a lot better now, of course hospitalization rates are down now compared to 2020, but... what is NOT better is us dropping all of the mitigation strategies that we had for Covid starting in 2020, what is NOT better is our lack of FDA-approved therapies for Long Covid, what is NOT better is the general health of Americans because of the ongoing Covid #pandemic and the ongoing shadow pandemic of #LongCovid. #LongCovid and all post-Covid complications are a major threat to public health in the United States and worldwide.
We can pretend that things are fine and that we are "back to normal" pre-pandemic state of affairs, but it's not our reality, it's wishful thinking. Our "new normal" should not include at last 7-10% of population falling chronically ill with Long Covid and post-Covid complications. Our "new normal" should not include billions of dollars in economic loss and disability payments to previously employed people who are too sick to work.
Our "new normal" should not include children having Covid every year and long-term neurologic and cognitive dysfunction as a result of the repeated Covid.
Our "new normal" should not include adults with brains 20 years older than their age because of Covid.
Our "new normal" should not include a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, blood clots and stroke for every person, young and old, who has had Covid once and a higher risk with every repeated Covid infection.
So... it's not a good time to deny and dismiss the gravity of #Covid pandemic.
What we need:
Bring indoor masking back during the months with high Covid rates Improve ventilation at schools and all crowded buildings
Require at least 7-days of quarantine for students and employees with Covid before returning to school/work.
Provide free Covid testing everywhere and to everyone
Require all healthcare facilities and clinics to have indoor masking for heatlhcare providers and patients
Invest in developing better Covid vaccines
Make Paxlovid free and available to most Americans
INVEST IN REAL LONG COVID THERAPEUTICS (not exercise or psychotherapy trials)
INVEST IN REAL LONG COVID CLINICS (not the ones that gather data and have nothing to offer to patients)
1.2-1.5 million daily U.S. infections the next month
41.2 million total infections the next month
66.7 million total infections over the next 2 months
These infection rates are 30% higher than a year ago. Yet, expect considerable minimizing. Many people believe that once the peak day has passed, it's smooth sailing, what I would call "Descent Neglect."
Take an analogy: More people die, supposedly, going down Mt. Everest than going up.
With COVID surges, people also underestimate how bad the 2nd half of surge mountain is likely to be. They overestimate how spiky or leptokurtic a a surge tends to be. Transmission will go down gradually, meaning extremely high transmission the next 4-6 weeks especially.
This may be fueled by a misunderstanding of how quickly transmission declines, defense mechanisms to temporarily and artificially reduce anxiety, short-term political or capital interests, or a combination of these factors.
I do not see any reason this healthcrisis soon will be over...Lots of indications point to a "global healthcrash" on the horizon...Less immunity giving room for more diseases with both climate collapse and diseases jumping from animals (back) to humans making matters worse...
Even if the "west" would stop its wars against BRICS it will be a "very big job" to "limit" damage both in global public health and climate collapse...
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
"Each reinfection increases the risk of developing Long COVID. If you are under the impression that once you've gotten COVID you never need to worry about it again, you are mistaken." - @BernieSanders
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Sawyer
@SawyerBlatz
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"The disease burden of #LongCovid is on par with cancer and heart disease." - @zalaly
DJ, some studies indicate countries that did see masks being used in high numbers/quality did see less CiViD-deaths...one of my questions/worries is-should we be wearing masks often/outdoor "the rest of our lives"?????
Of course the pandemic is not the only crisis governments/politicians face...how they deal with climate collapse, international relations, economy/debt may give a "general impression" on how they deal with crises...DJ-A very major conclusion for me; most politicians are to old...leave next generations with unsolved worsening problems..."Generation conflict" may get a different meaning; main stream politics in many countries come up with "old men" as leaders...("bierbock" in Germany is a young woman...but showing to be even worse...[url]https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annalena_Baerbock[/url] or https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annalena_Baerbock )
An order line for restriction endonuclease BsmBI--and no other restriction endonuclease--in a draft of EcoHealth's 2018 DEFUSE proposal is equivalent to a smoking gun. There is no--zero--remaining room for reasonable doubt that EcoHealth and its associates caused the pandemic. https://twitter.com/VBruttel/status/1747823329958821979
DJ-IF this pandemic would have been caused by a leak from a level IV-(highest security) bio-lab it would be very alarming...Those kinds of labs are not supposed to allow anything getting out uncontrolled...So if CoViD-19 -with all procedures being followed- managed to "get out" CoViD-19 may be a "very strong virus"....
My view is the world is a big bio-lab...SARS-! and MERS are NOT linked to any bio-lab claim...
Risk of AUTOIMMUNE diseases following COVID-19
(mega-thread)
DJ (if you copy top-line you may learn more on it) by now it should be clear there are lots of LONG TERM health issues related to CoViD...It is not like a cold or flu a short term problem...
We knew that already-very early in the pandemic...but "saving the economy/profits" was the only priority...Underestimating all other risks-profit as the only issue may be a form of insanity...
If you want something that is taking off, it's XDDs with Spike S704L
10 uploaded today
49 total
On Jan 5 there were 19
DJ, lots of new variants/recombinations showing up...We are moving high speed out of the (non-sterilizing vaccines created) "pandemic pause"...Masks may be our best defense now...(as part of a wider Non Pharma Interventions-strategy)....Again...politics ignore the problem...politicians promote wars....crazy !
NATO needs no less than 90,000 troops to "exercise" for 4 months - till the end of May. Now THAT's a fitness regime. Keep a close eye on this gym, just in case.
DJ, western "policies" to end the pandemic, solve climate problems are disasters...only getting the rich more rich...So lets put a few hundreds of billions to the war-industry political donors...
Ukraine sane persons do not want to die for zelenski....so NATO may try to get western soldiers to die for zelenski...beyond crazy !
If you would have asked me january 2019 what the world would look like over 5 years the present reality would be even worse than my worst-case scenarios...
UK: National Incident declared over measles outbreak As of 18 January, there have been 216 confirmed cases and 103 probable cases in the West Midlands since 1 October 2023. Around 80% of cases have been seen in Birmingham. http://GOV.UK
Reuters: UK health agency warns 'very real risk' measles outbreak spreads UKHSA warned on Friday that an outbreak of measles in central England could spread to other towns and cities.
is extremely contagious, but surviving the infection results in lifelong immunity,[1] so its continued circulation in a community depends on the generation of susceptible hosts by birth of children. In communities which generate insufficient new hosts the disease will die out.
Argentina: Seal pup die-off from avian flu looks apocalyptic “It’s the first report of massive elephant seal mortality in the area from any cause in the last half century."
Argentina: Catastrophic mortality of southern elephant seals caused by H5N1 avian influenza "In 2023, mortality reached at least 96% by early November."
DJ, in theory measles, flu "contain themselves"-if you survive the (co)infection you may have long term/live long immunity...CoViD may have changed the immunity story...
CoViD itself is;
-spread in over a hundred species...flu/measles are "human" diseases
-CoViD can reinfect over and over...NO long lasting immunity !
-Long CoViD in 10% of cases...with half the global population more than likely infected 5% of the global population may see -already- long term healthissues...so (over !!!) 400 million people!
-New forms/variants of CoViD may now develop even faster-since it is that widespread...
Here in NL "CoViD" cases supposed to have gone down-flu cases increasing...however there is hardly any testing ! Waste water/sewage testing may give some indications...but not all of the story...
link [url]https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(23)00331-0/fulltext[/url] or https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(23)00331-0/fulltext
DJ-It is unclear how bad (more than one) CoViD-infections work out. My view is a.o. the WHO by now is getting "very worried"...
It is also unclear how many people may have had CoViD with mild/no acute symptoms-but may see long term damage...
Japan: Flesh-eating bacterium cases hit record high in Japan in 2023 The number of patients diagnosed with streptococcal toxic shock syndrome had decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but confirmed cases surged to 941 last year, H/t
DJ...are these flesh-eating bacteria CoViD linked ? Is the M-pox outbreak (NOT over...the news is under the control NOT the outbreak itself !) CoViD-linked ? Measles may be linked with lower vaccinations against it...but is that all of the story ?
DJ-Non Pharma Interventions have to become part of our lives -long term- (5-10 years) if we want to get out of this crisis worst part...However what we may win via NPI and better vaccines may be lost with climate collapse speeding up...(food/water crises !)
DJ, "War" is the dominant news...NATO spreading war to fight BRICS and bring chaos...Do pandemics and climate disasters "fit in" NATO plans ?
Both NATO proxies "israel" and "ukraine" are sinking into chaos-SOON WE WILL END UP IN THE SAME CHAOS !!!!!
-In both -once- countries "recruiters" are hunting for "soldiers" with (secret) police arresting/beating up/killing protestors...It reminds me of Nazi-Germany in the last months of the war-1945.
"Looters" trying to save goods from their bombed homes being shot on the spot, "deserters" as example hanging on lampposts...both "ukraine" and "israel" may be in that phase already...WE ARE NEXT !
“God created war so that Americans would learn geography” - Mark Twain
DJ-Growing public unrest in "the west" from farmers-paying to save airlines and for Ukraine exports to climate/peace demonstrations and anti-fascism demonstrations in Germany.
DJ, Alternative for Germany/AfD may have some links with neo-nazi groups-so does the NL anti islam "party" pvv (with geert wilders as the only member...so NO democracy in that party-still the major party in what is supposed to be a democratic NL)...In lots of other countries right wing parties have contacts with neo-nazi's, or neo-nazi's (in Italy, Spain) themselves openly show nazi salute etc. Who is paying for that ?
Again...who paid hitler ? We should know that...it is NOT a secret ! Bush-banking, royal families, indistrial companies (henry ford did get a nazi-price, shell-deterding was a prominent nazi...lufthanse sponsored hitler...so the war-industry/fossil fuel did sponsor hitler...now sponsor neo-nazi's...)
What does that have to do with the pandemic ? "what pandemic"? "What climate change"? neo-nazi's simply deny those crises...blame refugees, blame Muslims, the Jews, the poor...neo-liberals paved the way for fascism to return !
absolutely nails it in this video. Ventilation is key to reducing the spread of Covid in schools… but the government’s advice to open windows is not good enough. It’s just a shame this was 2 years ago…and the Labour rhetoric has done a u-turn since then.
DJ, while spending TRILLIONS on crazy wars almost NOTHING has been done on improving ventilation of schools !
Investing tens-of-billions in non-sterilizing vaccines/Big Pharma -without proper NPI/any form of strategy-"living with the virus" now resulted in new far more dangerous variants of CoViD evading ANY form of immunity and even destroying immunity (T-cells) ! CoViD is NOT a form of flu or cold !!!!
PS excess deaths also don’t just reflect Covid impacts anymore. Healthcare system is coming under strain for a multitude of reasons. We need to be pragmatic rather than ideological. We need to seek solutions to improve outcomes generally and not fixate on any one cause.
-Non-sterilizing vaccines against a corona-virus can buy time-but NOT end the spread/pandemic !!!
Measles vaccines are believed to be safe enough-it would be welcome to see more children vaccinated ! Also flu-vaccines are safe and "wise"...(in my non-expert view)..We managed to increase life-expectancy from 40 years around 1900 (high number of children dying) to over 80 in some countries in 2020...vaccines, better waste control/living conditions, better healthcare-linked to economic growth all were part of that story...
“H5N1 now presents an existential threat to the world’s biodiversity,” warned Chris Walzer, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Executive Director of Health, in a statement. “It has infected over 150 wild and domestic avian species around the globe as well as dozens of mammalian species. The bird flu outbreak is the worst globally and also in U.S. history, with hundreds-of-millions of birds dead since it first turned up in domestic waterfowl in China in 1996.”
While we generally think of reassortment happening in birds, pigs, or humans, over the past 20 years we've learned that the host range of influenza is much larger than we thought. Today marine mammals, mink & foxes,rodents and even companion animals like dogs and cats are on our watch list (see graphic above).
While once believed unlikely hosts, dogs are now increasingly on our radar. In 2007 we learned that an avian H3N2 virus (from chickens and doves) had jumped to dogs in South Korea (see Transmission of Avian Influenza Virus (H3N2) to Dogs).
Since then we've seen multiple reports of influenza viruses in dogs (mostly from Asia), many involving novel reassortments
DJ, H3N2 with link to H9N2, another H3N2 with H1N1 links, H5N8, H6N1...all in dogs...so a lot may not even see any testing...
Translation; Lots of animals may develop new kinds of flu..."it is a flu-zoo" !!! The H5N1 virus is just one of many...
If CoViD infection results in less immunity (T-cells), if measles brings immunity problems, doors open for all kinds of other diseases (M-pox just one of them-the much more dangerous Congo-DRC variant could be on the rise ! And not only "sex" related-may spread via droplets/contact !)
XI JINPING (2023): "Western modernization was fraught with sanguineous crimes such as war, slave trade, colonization, and plunder, which inflicted untold misery on developing countries. Having suffered from aggression, bullying, and humiliation by Western powers, we Chinese are keenly aware of the value of peace and will never follow the beaten path of the West."
"The biggest problems with Western modernization are that it is capital-centered rather than people-centered and that it seeks to maximize capital gains rather than serve the interests of the vast majority of the people."
DJ, Blind capitalism-gaining dominance since the end of the Soviet Union-is "self destructive"....Maximizing profits has to end up destroying everything "public"...ending civilization...
We can not get out of the many crises if we do not "change the system"...
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There seems to be a trend; Women becoming "mother" and "housewife"...a bizarre kind of nostalgia. We do NOT have ANY room for that kind of madness !!! Aging will see "workers" already becoming a problem...if women want to "stay home and have kids" it will worsen problems...Worldwide aging is NOT !!! a problem-overpopulation is !
It would be more than welcome (should be enforced by law !!) women had the same chances as men in jobs, income etc. Children have to find a place in pre-school safe places, education should be tax-funded...We NEED URGENTLY !!!! well educated people...
The "political" trend is more blind neo-liberal capitalism, education only for the rich..."politicians" creating fascism to show "they are the better alternative"...while they are part of the problem...
I often hope to be wrong...we did survive 2023...I will from now on post on the "genocide" items...while it will be a mix. Genocide by climate collapse does increase genocide by pandemics...genocide by war worsens everything...
We are running out of time...
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
While we are dealing with yet another storm here in NL/NW Europe lots of "news"...unclear yet what it means...
-Russia may have started creating a buffer zone south of Belgorod-just west of the frontline in Ukraine
-Russia also published a first list of 30 French soldiers killed in Kharkow-French/NATO officers came to collect those NATO soldiers did see another Russian missile strike
We live in a dystopian world where it’s completely normalized to subvert human interests to commercial interests, to toss tens of thousands of lives into the incinerator for wealth and convenience. Where war profiteers rake in vast fortunes for selling instruments of mass murder to genocidal governments, and where the most powerful empire in history declares a war to defend shipping containers at the cost of human life.
Don’t ever let these sick freaks convince you that this is normal.
DJ, some crazy criminals get very rich from war...They buy the politicians...as "donors"...(tax-deduction of course...you end up paying for them destroying you !)
JN.2.5 with S:G482K, S:V483S, S:N481- just dropped. I think it actually Jn.2.5 with S:G482S, because it is equivalent. Regardless, it seems like a potent immune escape RBD mutation even if it might just be a Canadian cluster. It has a 94% growth advantage over Jn.1 meta.
DJ, my view-there is hardly any testing left..."Politics" have war as priority...Very likely lots of flu-types around...
According to the NHS, early warning signs of measles are cold-like symptoms, incl. runny nose. Even at this early stage, measles is highly infectious. And yet the DfE just launched a new school attendance campaign telling kids with these exact symptoms to still come to school…
Measles R0 in an unvaccinated human population can be 18...One person may infect 18 others...very high R0...Still H5N1 in some birds may have a R0 of 100....HUNDRED infected by one bird...with H5N1 spreading in lots of mammals...Also lots of recombinations...(Will we get a H3N1 "human variant" with a R0 of 100 and CFR of 80%+ ??? We are not doing much to stop it...)
But the scientists fear viruses capable of infecting humans likely also lurk in the permafrost. “We see the traces of many, many, many other viruses,” Professor Claverie told CNN in March, adding: “If the amoeba viruses are still alive, there is no reason why the other viruses will not be still alive, and capable of infecting their own hosts.”
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“Our immune systems may have never been in contact with some of those microbes, and that is another worry,” said Prof Claverie. “The scenario of an unknown virus once infecting a Neanderthal coming back at us, although unlikely, has become a real possibility.”
Prof Koopmans added: “If you look at the history of epidemic outbreaks, one of the key drivers has been change in land use. Nipah virus was spread by fruit bats who were driven from their habitats by humans. Similarly, monkeypox has been linked to the spread of urbanisation in Africa.
“And that is what we are about to witness in the Arctic: a complete change in land use, and that could be dangerous, as we have seen elsewhere.”
DJ...we are doing ALL WE CAN to destroy ourselves...
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
DJ, Here in NL (after a third storm in january-the 4th storm this winter) Flu is supposed to be increasing-for now CoViD-cases decreasing...However waste-water samples may hint CoViD may soon be increasing again...
We did NOT see the healthcrisis here in NL I did think was quite likely...Christmas/New Year in NL may have seen only limited spread. (Maybe linked to NL culture now-people get together but often with limited-and same-group...So if there is a virus they still would catch it-even without a special day.) Schools could play a bigger role in spread...
There are tens-of-thousends of children in NL dealing with Long CoViD-like health issues...yet there are lots of diseases...Quite often a sick child may be sent to school (like in many countries). Measles vaccination in general in NL may still be 90%...Not the 95% to "stop" spread...Problem may be the uneven spread of vaccinations;
-orthodox christians in the bible belt -more rural
-"minorities" in the major cities
-anti-vax limited groups may be all over NL...
DJ-Part of ANY !!!! vaccination campain has to be good information !!!!
The idea of Herd Immunity to SARS Cov 2 achievable via infection was false and deserved a rapid scientific takedown Arguably, its pursuit made herd immunity a self-defeating prophecy Not to mention its ethical reprehensibility
Infants born to COVID-infected mothers found to have triple the risk of developing respiratory distress
DJ, The long term health damage of CoViD is "a growing worry" with also more questions on some safety aspects of mRNA-vaccines. (In NL, Germany etc.-by science community)
-The NATO genocide in Gaza goes on...more than half a million Palestinians starving...the healthcrisis there-lots of diseases spreading-is a nightmare...
Still NATO is pushing for more wars "to stop BRICS"...wasting trillions that are needed for stopping the healthcrises and climate disasters...We need better leaders...for that matter a repeat of the "trump-biden november US election" is a total disaster and insult to democracy !
The idea of Herd Immunity to SARS Cov 2 achievable via infection was false and deserved a rapid scientific takedown Arguably, its pursuit made herd immunity a self-defeating prophecy Not to mention its ethical reprehensibility
DJ, My general view of "the global situation" is waiting for escalation/crash....
-CoViD is widespread-"low numbers" simply means "low testing"...Lots of stories of people with flu-like symptoms catching CoVid in care/hospital...
-The financial crash for the west has already started...Central banks soon will be unable to hide it....
-Since "war" is the western priority healthcare, climate further will be destroyed..."defunded"
-Spain, Portugal "very sunny-summerlike temperatures" (28C/80F) ...it is supposed to be winter !
-Ukraine war is 1,000+ deaths per day, genocide on Palestinians 250+ deaths per day...both countries (Ukraine, Palestine) face famine, health collapse...
-Yemen has been in such a crisis...so NATO again bombing Yemen...
England virus update: This week we're seeing an unusual double flu wave in hospital admissions (32% increase in last week), and Covid admissions also increasing slightly (3% up). Winter surges not over yet, but scale smaller than last winter which is good.
DJ...my impression; NO TESTING !!!! We simply do not have any realistic idea...Even NL waste-water statistics are "unclear" because no testing/reporting in many places...
Genocide by war, climate change, pandemics may also include genocide by economic, political collapse...We see major crises in the US, Germany..."pseudo left wing" governments creating an extreme right wing -so "biden is better than trump, German greens are better than AfD..." all part of the same divide and rule destruction of democracy...
NO ! Forbidding a party or candidate to run -when they may win- is NOT a sign of a healthy democracy...it is a sign of decay, of dictatorship by an elite...
Arnhem Mayor Ahmed Marcouch plans to firmly press national politicians for a national ban on Quran burnings. He thinks such a burning is “a poisonous act that leads to others being provoked,” he said on Wednesday during a City Council debate.
He was speaking about the attempt by Pegida leader Edwin Wagensveld to burn a Quran on January 13 in Arnhem, a protest which got out of control. Marcouch warned on Wednesday evening against “toxic polarization” and said he advocates more respect for each other’s opinions and views.
DJ, We live close to the German border. Anti-fascists, Muslim groups and many others may be fed up with "politics" opening doors to fascism...
I am against religion-but I will never burn a book or flag ! I simply know I may be wrong, change my opinion...Hate never is an answer !
We live now in a world ruled/ruined by hate...hate against Russia, Islam, China...hate promoted by a war industry making money out of hate...ignoring very serious problems for profits...
We can NOT survive this way !!!
"they shall not hate" !!! (Not only for others but hate is bad for you !)
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
DJ, one of many questions I have is how the corona-virus started to become such a problem in the 21st century...
-Did we miss corona-virus problems in the 20th century ?
-Is climate change/collapse a major factor ?
-Did the end of the Soviet Union/Eastern Block see more global travel ?
-Rise of China ?
Very likely all these factors are playing a role...this may mean growing and ongoing public health risks...
How to deal with that ?
-Good surveilance and information sharing
-Better prevention via Non Pharma action; masks, ventilation
-More testing/sequencing to detect new diseases as soon as possible
-Developing better medication/vaccines
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We can not ignore the NATO-BRICS war. In part it is an ideological conflict. The "west" is profit/money centered, the rest of the world may put human live more central.
This CoViD-19 -in my view- is the outcome of western neo-liberal blindness..."living with CoViD" is NOT ending the pandemic...Long CoViD is undermining the economy...
The "west" in fact is denying problems they are unwilling to solve...Those problems, "economic growth/profits" demand system-change...More realistic taxations...more equality...
The "west" did manage to keep the rest of the world poor the last 500 years...The rest has an alternative...
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Western citizens have to get rid of neo-liberals/profits above humans...we are facing a hard road ahead of us...
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
has collated this list of 40 sources explaining exactly what Covid does to your immune system. We can’t blame lockdowns forever. It’s time to acknowledge the harm that’s being done by the continued rampant spread of Covid. https://raindrop.io/JW_Lists/covid-and-the-immune-system-30487300
It's rare anything gets this kind of attention in medicine. Rare that the entire world research something at once. We're getting a very clear picture of what Covid really is and what it does. It isn't pretty. We need to re-evaluate our approach urgently.
We are always learning...we did not know all there is to know on virus-infection. It may be even more complicated-and that could explain Long CoViD, ME-CVS, etc.
Denmark: 2.5 million tonnes soil landslide from mink farm waste The waste is mainly from Denmark's mink farms, which were ordered to be shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic.
If you want to spread CoViD in wild animals dumping CoViD-infected waste in nature is a perfect way...Very likely that is how CoViD ended up in deer...
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"We" -as humans- are doing all we can to worsen the ongoing healthcrisis...Dealing with it needs international cooperation and would cost billions...in many ways it is an impossible job...just like the climate collapse...War as distraction ?
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
It’s heartbreaking to hear the personal testimonies from teachers seeing first hand the devastating consequences of repeated Covid infections on the children in their classes. THIS is why we must do more to reduce the spread of Covid in schools.
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I'm a teacher. Through continual tracking & observations, I've seen many cognitive changes in students, some of which I've taught 3yrs so have lots of data for & know well. The most upsetting was a 14yo who sat at his desk crying as something he'd been able to do unassisted
Another DM from a teacher: “We had CO2 monitors (but no means of ventilation other than going outside). My HT wasn’t happy that I followed the guidelines & took classes outside when CO2 was too high. Now we’ve been told to ignore the CO2 monitors….
Had three teachers reach out to me today and yesterday to talk about the amount of sickness and Covid that’s crippling their workforce and causing long term problems with the children they teach. Any investigative journalists out there?
Very. very little Covid data now so not much for the media or anyone else to report.
It is still a pandemic, many are still getting ill, being hospitalised & dying just without note.
Long Covid sufferer numbers continue to grow with no real prospect of a cure.
DJ...we are destroying a young generation, getting teachers/HCW-ers ill in very high numbers..."media" is ignoring it....
Covid: So where are we now in the UK ? Over 237,000 deaths so far in total Still approx 4000 admissions a week around 200 are children 450+ deaths a week But please panic about measles.
or "Russians"...of course measles on top of CoViD is bad !!!
Human H5N1 cases-so far this year Cambodia did see two cases;
-#1 a 3 y/o boy SE Cambodia-Prey Vang province
-#2 a 69 y/o man NW Cambodia -Siem Reap province
DJ-Cambodia may be watching for human H5N1 cases-other countries may miss it...So far the idea is birds/limited mammals catch H5N1-if a human catches it it will NOT spread any further...
Even without human-to-human (H2H) spread if H5N1 mutates to a form that can spread more easily from infected animals to humans it may become a very major problem ! If aerosol-spread from infected (wild) birds could infect humans in the area one still may see a sharp increase of human H5N1 cases...
More H5N1 in mammals/humans will bring/select mutations that may increase even further spread...
The newer clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 virus - which has conquered much of the world and has killed tens of thousands of mammals since 2021 - has (thusfar) proven far less lethal in humans.
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The caveat being, that we only know about the cases that get reported. It is quite likely that some (perhaps, many) cases (both mild & severe) have occurred and have simply gone unrecognized or unreported around the world.
This idea was revisited again last August in a BMJ Global Health Journal commentary (see below) which reported on human seropositivity in 5 live bird markets in Egypt - a country which hasn't reported a human infection since 2017 - which found increasing evidence of previous infection with H5N1.
DJ...lack of testing means missing lots of info...We "do not want to find CoViD is still widespread" and end up ignoring H5N1 getting widespread...and H5N1 can get a lot worse !
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
DJ-On this forum I started three discussions on genocide. Genocide by war, climate collapse and pandemic...of course they are all linked to eachother...
H5N1 now killing pinguins in Antarctica-here in NL we may see more surveilance/monitoring on H5N1 in pigs...making it easier to jump to humans...
Antarctic: First suspected deaths of penguins from H5N1 bird flu "At least one king penguin is suspected to have died from bird flu in the Antarctic."
Even the US now admits the West Asia crisis may be very dangerous....still the main problem -my view- is NATO agression...Why did Ukraine needed to join NATO ? Why are there US military still in Syria, Iraq ???? Of course starving Palestinians is another way of killing them than using NATO weapons...but it is NOT an improvement...
I would love to believe "things will get better" but I do NOT see how....
-We are NOT doing much to stop climate collapse. What we do we undo a.o. via wars...
-Non-sterilizing vaccines do NOT stop pandemics...if you even fail to test you are "blind"...
-NATO keeps fighting for western dominance and exploitation of the rest...it is the basis of western rule...The US$ is backed by debt and terror...
So...happy ? Why do we not see massive protests against totally insane policies ?
"social media distraction"...."infotainment"...most people in the west simply do not know how bad the situation is...They often also do not want to know or are unable to understand how bad it can get...
Again-if you would have asked me 5 years ago how likely it would be we would be in such a big mess by now I would have anwered that I think such a mess was very unlikely....
In february 2022 well informed people did NOT expect Russia to invade Ukraine...
Till early 2020 most experts expected the next pandemic would be a flu-pandemic....
Basic point-reality beats imagination....A 0,1% chance could become reality by 2030-beating the "idea" supported by 90% "realism"....
Are we on the brink of mass extinction via pandemics, wars, climate (so food/water) crises etc ? Very likely...maybe "90% realism"....
Do we find the right answers to get out of it-by 2030-maybe the 0,1% chance...
Looking back in history very unlikely scenarios became reality-very likely ones showed to be not becoming reality...
The Roman empire had at least five (land)expeditions into Sub-Sahara Africa...yet did not include that part of Africa...There is still a lot of discussion on the factors that ended the West- and East Roman Empire...
Till 1492 "Indians" ruled the "Americas"...one can claim European diseases more than Europeans themselves killed 90-95% of the "Indians"....Diseases spreaded much faster than Europeans...
An interesting spot José - perhaps HK.3 has picked up something new? The sample sizes are a bit low, so a chance it's not representative. It seems the epicentre is Tokyo, where the frequency of HK.3 was higher (~80%) for mid-January. Less than 10 samples/day for most of January.
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Bring indoor masking back during the months with high Covid rates 
Improve ventilation at schools and all crowded buildings 
Require at least 7-days of quarantine for students and employees with Covid before returning to school/work. 
Provide free Covid testing everywhere and to everyone 
Require all healthcare facilities and clinics to have indoor masking for heatlhcare providers and patients 
Invest in developing better Covid vaccines 
INVEST IN REAL LONG COVID THERAPEUTICS (not exercise or psychotherapy trials) 
INVEST IN REAL LONG COVID CLINICS (not the ones that gather data and have nothing to offer to patients)
