The document captures the struggle of the nation’s top public health agency to persuade the public to embrace vaccination and prevention measures, including mask-wearing, as cases surge across the United States and new research suggests vaccinated people can spread the virus.

by Dr. John D. Flack I joined Beecham Research Laboratories in 1970 as a pharmacologist/endocrinologist charged with discovering new anti-fertility ‘drugs’. My team came close but ultimately failed in this endeavor but as is the norm in the discovery of pharmaceuticals we made the serendipitous discovery of an anti-inflammatory compound which became a very successful … Why Weren’t These Vaccines Put Through the Proper Safety Trials For Gene Technology, Asks a Former Pharmaceutical Research Scientist Read More »

Human antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 differ between vaccination and infection, with mRNA vaccination inducing more productive lymph node GC responses and several vaccine types stimulating IgG antibodies capable of recognizing a broader range of viral variants.

Reference is made to the Request for Comments and Advice submitted 04 February 2021 regarding Pfizer/BioNTech’s proposal for the clinical and post-authorization safety data package for the Biologics License Application (BLA) for our investigational COVID-19 Vaccine (BNT162b2). Further reference is made to the Agency’s 09 March 2021 response to this request, and specifically, the following request from the Agency.

This nonprofit, made up of public health professionals, medical professionals, scientists, and journalists exists solely to obtain and disseminate the data

Abstract: Purpose: The risk of myopericarditis following COVID-19 booster vaccination has not been extensively evaluated. We provide a timely case ascertainment of myocarditis following COVID-19 booster vaccine in individuals age 18-39 years from an integrated health system. Methods: We studied a cohort of 65,785 Kaiser Permanente (KP) Northwest Health Plan members aged 18-39 years who received a COVID-19 vaccine booster at least 5 months following completion of the primary series. We identified cases of myopericarditis by searching the electronic health record for the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) text label for myocarditis or pericarditis diagnosis codes in all inpatient and outpatient encounters through January 18th 2022. The cohort was followed for 21 days after their booster. We excluded anyone with a documented diagnosis of myocarditis or pericarditis before their first COVID-19 vaccination. Two physicians independently reviewed the identified patient records and applied the CDC myocarditis and pericarditis surveillance case definition to classify records as confirmed, probable or excluded based on the prior published definition. Results: Our method identified 6 patients who met the confirmed or probable CDC case definition for acute myocarditis or pericarditis within 21 days of COVID-19 booster dose among 65,785 eligible members. Four cases occurred in 27,253 men. Overall, we estimated 9.1 cases (exact 95% CI 3.4 to 19.9) of post-booster myopericarditis per 100,000 booster doses given. In men, we estimated 14.7 cases (exact 95% CI 4.0 to 37.6) per 100,000 booster doses given. Conclusion: We identified a rate of 9.1 cases of myopericarditis per 100,000 COVID-19 booster doses which is higher than prior estimates reported by the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Myopericarditis occurs following COVID-19 booster vaccine and may be underreported by current surveillance methods. High sensitivity of these case estimates is essential when modeling risk and benefit for sequential COVID-19 vaccinations for the general population. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: IRB of Kaiser Permanente gave ethical approval for this work I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors

Mass youth hospitalizations, COVID-induced diabetes, and other myths from the brave new world of science as political propaganda

Different interventions have been implemented worldwide for the house-hold monitoring of patients with mild COVID-19 to reduce the burden of healthcar…

Omicron vaccine may not be more effective against Omicron than original vaccine is

This study uses serologic testing to characterize natural immunity and the long-term durability of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among unvaccinated US adults by history of COVID-19 infection.

A link to the vaccines is not certain, and investigations are underway in some reported cases. (NYT article from before the media consortium agreement)

Risk of Myopericarditis following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination in a Large Integrated Health System: A Comparison of Completeness and Timeliness of Two Methods "The true incidence of myopericarditis is markedly higher than the incidence reported to US advisory committees."

Brain fog, headaches, blood pressure swings are being probed by NIH and other researchers

The importance of understanding SARS-CoV-2 evolution cannot be overlooked. Recent studies confirm that natural selection is the dominating mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 evolution, which favors mutations that strengthen viral infectivity. Here, we demonstrate that vaccine-breakthrough or antibody-resistant mutations provide a new mechanism of viral evolution. Specifically, vaccine-resistant mutation Y449S in the spike (S) protein receptor-binding domain, which occurred in co-mutations Y449S and N501Y, has reduced infectivity compared to that of the original SARS-CoV-2 but can disrupt existing antibodies that neutralize the virus. By tracking the evolutionary trajectories of vaccine-resistant mutations in more than 2.2 million SARS-CoV-2 genomes, we reveal that the occurrence and frequency of vaccine-resistant mutations correlate strongly with the vaccination rates in Europe and America. We anticipate that as a complementary transmission pathway, vaccine-breakthrough or antibody-resistant mutations, like those in Omicron, will become a dominating mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 evolution when most of the world’s population is either vaccinated or infected. Our study sheds light on SARS-CoV-2 evolution and transmission and enables the design of the next-generation mutation-proof vaccines and antibody drugs.

It is not normal for young athletes to suffer cardiac arrest or death while playing sport, but most of these come shortly after a COVID shot.

rGO was able to be detected and monitored in the brain over time provided by a novel application for MALDI-MSI and could be a useful tool for treating a variety of brain disorders that are normally unresponsive to conventional treatment because of BBB impermeability.

ivm studies on nih site (why wd they do this for horse paste?)

If the new variant is spreading preferentially among the vaccinated, it may not mean much for the future course of the pandemic.

Why we should rethink COVID safety protocols for children — and everyone else.

Fundamental differences in the immune response of adults and children can help to explain why children are much less likely to become seriously ill from SARS-CoV-2, according to new research from the ...

So now that people (not enough of them!) are getting vaccinated in the US with the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines, let's talk about some more details of what are in those injections and what happens once the shot is given. The workings of an mRNA vaccine touch on a lot of different cellular processes and a lot of drug-delivery issues, so we can Talk Corona while also talking drug discovery, biology, and chemistry at the same time. I want to start off by recommending this piece by Bert Hubert on the workings of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine - Bert goes into a lot of detail that I'm going to run through rather quickly in the next few paragraphs, and you're probably going to have a better shot understanding it from him than you do from me!)One theme that will show up many times in this post is that these vaccines were not invented from scratch.

We report two cases of patients developing COVID-19 shortly after CoronaVac vaccination in which VADE is likely. We recommend that current vaccination strategies consider the measurement of neutralizing antibody titer as a guide in ensuring the safest strategy for mass immunization. Studies are need …