CORONAVIRUS INFO PROVIDED BY DR. JIM HARRIS – 4/1/2022

Photo of what you will get if you type in Harrison County, Texas”

From Hopkins:

1. A New Federal Website Aims to Solve a Key COVID Problem: Where to Get Antiviral Pills (NPR) The search for COVID vaccines, tests and treatments could get easier Wednesday with the White House launch of COVID.gov, [SEE ABOVE] a website meant to be a one-stop shop for everything from free high quality masks to antiviral pills. With the website launch, the White House is following through on a promise President Biden made in his State of the Union address. Up until this point, actually finding participating clinics and pharmacies wasn’t simple. According to the White House, there are now more than 2,000 test-to-treat locations around the country where people can get tested for COVID-19 and, if a prescriber says they need it, immediately get antiviral pills. COVID.gov has a new locator tool, making it easier to find these services quickly.

2. White House Turns to Air Quality in Latest Effort to Thwart Coronavirus (Washington Post) The White House is pivoting to emphasize that poorly ventilated indoor air poses the biggest risk for coronavirus infections, urging schools, businesses and homeowners to take steps to boost air quality. “Let’s Clear the Air on COVID,” a virtual event hosted Tuesday by the White House science office, came after President Biden’s coronavirus response team and other leaders have elevated warnings that airborne transmission is the primary conduit of coronavirus infections, a reversal of earlier federal guidance. The Biden administration’s turn toward improving ventilation comes as experts focus on new ways of managing a pandemic that continues to challenge global leaders more than two years after the virus first emerged. Its recommendations range from simple tactics, such as propping open doors and windows, to more complex investments to upgrade ventilation systems by installing better filters and portable cleaners, with officials urging building operators to tap funds previously made available through coronavirus stimulus packages.

FROM BECKERS:

DRUG STORES HAVE 4TH JABS

FROM LA TIMES:

Column: Did Sweden beat the pandemic by refusing to lock down? No, its record is disastrous (AN EDITORIAL WHICH SHOULD BE READ)

”…“The Swedish response to this pandemic,” the researchers report, “was unique and characterized by a morally, ethically, and scientifically questionable laissez-faire approach….

The lesson of the Swedish experience should be heeded by its fans here in the U.S. and in other lands. Sweden sacrificed its seniors to the pandemic and used its schoolchildren as guinea pigs. Its government plied its people with lies about COVID-19 and even tried to smear its critics.”

”…And in December 2020, King Carl XVI Gustaf shocked the country by taking a public stand against the government’s approach: “I think we have failed,” he said. “We have a large number who have died and that is terrible”….He was correct. If Sweden had Norway’s death rate, it would have suffered only 4,429 deaths from COVID during the pandemic, instead of more than 18,500.”

Evaluation of science advice during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden (THE ARTICLE ITSELF WHICH IS A LONG AND FRIGHTNING READ.)

FROM JAMA:

Reducing “COVID-19 Misinformation” While Preserving Free Speech

”Current legal interpretations of the First Amendment confer substantial free speech rights on COVID-19–related communication, even when the professional and scientific mainstream condemns it as false or misleading. As a result, private organizations and entities can do more to monitor and counter COVID-19 misinformation than state medical boards and other public bodies, which must choose their issues carefully and approach them strategically.”

HELLO,

Moderna COVID-19 Variant Vaccine Candidate Begins Phase 1 Study

”…”Preliminary data show that the COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States should adequately protect against SARS-CoV-2 variants…..

However, out of an abundance of caution, NIH/NIAID has continued its partnership with Moderna to evaluate this variant vaccine candidate if an updated vaccine is needed…”

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AVIAN FLU IN THE US

”…AI viruses, such as the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, can, on rare occasions, cause disease in humans. According to the U.S. CDC, transmission to humans occurs when people have had close contact with infected birds or heavily contaminated environments…Due to the potential for human infection, it is recommended that people working with poultry suspected of being infected with AI or in contact with such poultry wear protective clothing, face masks, goggles, gloves, and boots.However, as of March 31, 2022, the CDC says the HPAI risk to humans is ‘low.’ There have not been any human cases of AI viruses detected in the U.S…”

FROM LANCET:

Comparative analysis of the risks of hospitalisation and death associated with SARS-CoV-2 omicron (B.1.1.529) and delta (B.1.617.2) variants in England: a cohort study

Interpretation

The risk of severe outcomes following SARS-CoV-2 infection is substantially lower for omicron than for delta, with higher reductions for more severe endpoints and significant variation with age. Underlying the observed risks is a larger reduction in intrinsic severity (in unvaccinated individuals) counterbalanced by a reduction in vaccine effectiveness. Documented previous SARS-CoV-2 infection offered some protection against hospitalisation and high protection against death in unvaccinated individuals, but only offered additional protection in vaccinated individuals for the death endpoint. Booster vaccination with mRNA vaccines maintains over 70% protection against hospitalisation and death in breakthrough confirmed omicron infections.

(J. Harris: A large English study: You still need to be vaccinated and boosted.)

LASTLY: YESTERDAYS JOKES DIDN’T COME THROUGH: