Obesity leads to worse COVID-19. A study showed that obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2) was associated with a significantly increased risk of critical COVID-19 and mortality. There is excess fatty or adipose tissue deposits in obesity. New research from Stanford University, SARS-CoV-2 infects human adipose tissue and elicits an inflammatory response consistent with severe COVID-19, showed that SARS-CoV-2,…
The Lancet posted a retrospective study about the waning effectiveness of several COVID-19 vaccines among Sweden’s population. The study group involved 842,974 matched pairs of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. The individuals were immunized with two doses of AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19), Moderna (mRNA-1273), or Pfizer (BNT162b2). Two critical endpoints were measured: symptomatic infections and severe Covid-19…
The media and health agencies have conditioned the population that variants are dangerous. The discovery of the Delta and omicron variant has led governments to push for more vaccinations, whether first, second dose, booster, or further boosters. They also use it as an excuse to vaccinate children who don’t need it. The paper, Intra-host variation and…
Research presented in this article answers the question, Are antibodies from natural infection and vaccines effective against the omicron variant? The omicron variant (B1.1.529) has 60 mutations, and fifteen of them are in the receptor-binding domain (RBD). The mutations can change the shape of the RBD and make it unrecognizable to existing antibodies from previous COVID…
Preprint research from the University of France in Lyon answered the question. How soon can you have a breakthrough infection after complete vaccination? They studied 1,630 fully vaccinated individuals from February to July 2021. 94.1% of the samples available for gene sequencing have the Delta variant. Several vaccine strategies are available in France. It can…
This article continues Autopsy findings in 29 breakthrough cases, shows what’s wrong with the COVID shots Part 1, and offers several explanations of why viral dissemination happened. Part 1 is about a study of 29 vaccinated patients who had breakthrough infections that died and had an autopsy. The findings surprised the pathologist as they showed…
Sometimes the dead speak to you. – Kenneth Eade A series of autopsy cases among 29 fatal COVID-19 breakthrough infections were published as a preprint in medRxiv. Pathologists and other faculty members from the University of Augsburg in Germany did the research. Sixteen partially and 13 fully vaccinated deceased individuals were included. They received Pfizer,…
The article presents the number of omicron variants per country today. The data is from the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data or GISAID. The omicron variant is now in 30 countries. The other names for omicron are #GR/484A and B.1.1.529 This report serves as a reference only and not to cause panic or anxiety. Underdeveloped countries may have…
The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recently recommended that booster shots be given every three months. Greece is also recommending booster shots every three months. The emergence of the omicron variant influenced the recommendation. However, research published in the British Journal of Medicine may have provided the scientific background. The study done…
This article presents the result of a study that evaluated the effectiveness of the Pfizer and Moderna booster shots among military veterans. The study is from the US Department of Veterans Affairs and Stanford University. It is a relevant study because it includes older people with comorbidities. The research included individuals who had received the…
The effects of heat-not-burn tobacco products, cigarette smoking, and alcohol use lowered the antibody response to the Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccine. That’s the summary of the study from Tokyo, Japan. The study was published recently at medRxiv. The goal of the Pfizer COVID vaccine is to increase the antibodies against the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2…
RNA viruses like the SARS-CoV-2 constantly mutate. The mutations happen inside a person’s body during a COVID-19 infection. The alterations in the gene change the protein sequences and conformation of the virus. The mutations alter the viral properties. For example, a study showed that a change in a single nucleotide, the building block of an…
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control studied 10 European Union member countries and evaluated the outcome of COVID-19 in children 0-17 years old. Their findings published in Eurosurveillance included 820,404 symptomatic pediatric cases and showed the following results: 1.2% were hospitalized 0.08% required intensive care 0.01% died. Those findings are similar to previous…
A FaceBook friend asked me what is the chance of reinfection if you recovered from COVID-19. A quick search revealed many studies that show a low risk of infection. I answered her and made this article. The studies are listed in no particular order. Emphasis added. 1. Re-infection Rates among Patients who Previously Tested Positive…
