In the UK public investigations are ongoing on pandemic policy decissions. It is good to see "there is room for debate"...

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7tUwqPd6eQ[/url] or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7tUwqPd6eQ ;

indie_SAGE 01.12.2023

LIVE: Join our last briefing on 'COVID-19: Lessons learned for the next pandemic' with special guests Sir David King & Prof Deenan Pillay, Prof Alice Roberts hosting, and Prof Christina Pagel & Dr Kit Yates on numbers

A comment; "At the very end everyone said "bye" but one person said "till next time" I guess someone has the next global pandemic already pencilled into their calender.  Anyway, it's a shame your regular broadcasts are coming to an end, it was good to always be informed.  And looking back to when Boris was the PM and every word out of his mouth about any topic was a lie, it was invaluable to have information about the Pandemic from indie_SAGE where the information hadn't been tanted by Boris's lies.  Thank you for all your hard work."

DJ...The US,UK and NL in 2019 were "the best prepared countries for a pandemic" according to a publication or study...All three did a bad job..

Last indie_SAGE friday presentation;

Chapters  00:23 Intro Prof Alice Roberts 02:18 Indie_SAGE future: Prof Stephen Griffin 04:00 Stats: Dr Kit Yates & Prof Christina Pagel  14:13 Why Indie_SAGE? Prof Susan Mitchie 14:54 Sir David King, Founder of IS, former Chief Scientific Advisor 20:50 What has IS achieved? Prof Deenan Pillay, Emeritus Prof of Virology, UCL 25:50 Views on scientists communicating with govt & the public 26:10 Deenan Pillay  32:26 What are the lessons to be learned from IS? David King 36:50 Summary: Alice Roberts 42:50 Behaviour advisory group : Prof Elizabeth Stokoe, Psychological and Behavioural Science, LSE 45:58 Questions from the public 46.04 Are the risks of Long term health issues known? 49:36 Any news on JCVI recommending the latest Novovax vaccines? 51:50 How & when will the Covid pandemic be over? 54:41 FAQ & lessons to be learned: Stephen Griffin 56:30 Were we well prepared in 2020: Prof Martin McKee 58:30 What more could be done wrt using our test & tracing capabilities : Prof Gabriel Scally, visiting Prof of Public Health, Bristol Univ 1:02:08 Could herd immunity by infection have ever worked without vaccination? Sheena Cruickshank 1:04:06 Was the emphasis on modelling the right way forward? Kit Yates 1:06:34 What difference would it have made if our understanding of airborne transmission had been more broadly accepted? Dr Helen Salisbury & Susan Michie 1:11:55 What has been the impact on key workers? Dr Benita Kane 1:14:11 Impact on primary Healthcare? Helen Salisbury  1:16:06 Why did IS recommend maximum suppression? Christina Pagel 1:17:44 Balancing Lockdowns against economic harms? Prof Stephen Reicher 1:19:20 How could we have improved adherence to isolation etc? Prof Anthony Costello 1:21:30 What have we learned about rapid deployment of vaccines & treatments? Sheen Cruickshank 1:23:25 What can we learn from the experience of Pandemic of inequalities? Dr Zubaida Haque  1:25:55 Has the virus lost its teeth with Omicron? Prof Aris Katzourakis 1:27:34 Data sources & monitoring? Dr Duncan Robertsin 1:29:24 Did we get the behavioral approach right? Stephen Reichert 1:30:38 Final thoughts: Anthony Costello  1:33:14 Close: Alice Roberts   While the Briefings have now stopped, please continue to follow IS through the website independentsageDOTorg, Twitter (X) @IndependentSage & Substack open.substack.com/pub/independentsage

DJ More info/comments under the YouTube link...

One of the reasons independent sAGE is stopping its presentations is lack of good data...There is simply a lack of testing...

Cat in the Hat   

@_CatintheHat

Worrying outbreaks of pneumonia in children appear to be spreading to multiple countries around the world. 

@celestial_bean_

 has been keeping track… • China • France • Switzerland • Netherlands • Denmark • Scotland • Ireland • Ohio & Massachusetts, US • South Korea

May have CoViD links...immunity damage...

It is also very likely there could be more co-infections...flu AND CoViD "Flu-Rona" etc...Since war is a "great way" of making lots of profits-for a very few we do see an increase of wars...

Also climate collapse is worsening perspectives...The over 300 people killed by floods in NE Africa (Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia) are victims of "genocide by climate collapse"? What part of the drought/flood is climate "change" related and what is "normal"? 

Do people die "from" or "with" CoViD ? 

[url]https://www.euromomo.eu/graphs-and-maps/[/url] or https://www.euromomo.eu/graphs-and-maps/ Excess deaths may give an indication on "extra deaths"...but if you put a baseline on 2020 you may find there are no excess deaths...since 2020 was the first year of the CoViD pandemic...

A "solution" for the "climate discussion" could be putting a baseline for temperature-rise at the year 2000. We are -at least for now- able to keep global temperature rise under 1,5C compared to 2000...Even when fossil fuel usage is at new record highs...

Climate collapse, wars make pandemics much worse...Currency backed by debts are not helping either...

The TMN article [url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-u-s-cdc-sounds-alarm-as-covid-19-resurges-across-america,-particularly-in-the-midwest-and-mid-atlantic-along-with-rising-hospitalization[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-u-s-cdc-sounds-alarm-as-covid-19-resurges-across-america,-particularly-in-the-midwest-and-mid-atlantic-along-with-rising-hospitalization is full of links; 

[url]https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data-research/dashboard/snapshot.html[/url] or https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data-research/dashboard/snapshot.html ;

Reported on Friday, December 1st, 2023.

Note: data summaries are based on CDC subject matter expert interpretation of publicly available findings across multiple data systems, some of which are not included in the data visualizations on these web pages.

The amount of respiratory illness (fever plus cough or sore throat) causing people to seek healthcare is increasing across most areas of the country. 

The U.S. is experiencing elevated RSV activity, particularly among young children. After a period of limited change, COVID-19 activity is increasing again especially in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Influenza activity continues to increase in most of the country. Hospital bed occupancy for all patients, including within intensive care units, remains stable nationally; however, pediatric inpatient bed occupancy has been increasing. Vaccines are available and can help protect people from the most serious health effects of fall and winter viruses.

• COVID-19 test positivity (percentage of tests conducted that were positive), emergency department visits, and hospitalizations have increased nationally. A group of Omicron variants (XBB and its sublineages) are the predominant lineages detected in the U.S., with HV.1 being most common. The prevalence of another lineage, BA.2.86, is projected to account for 5-15% of currently circulating variants. CDC continues to monitor HV.1, BA.2.86, and all other lineages.
• National test positivity, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations for influenza continue to increase.
• RSV emergency department visits and hospitalizations continue to increase across the country. RSV-associated hospitalization rates remain elevated among young children and are increasing among older adults; of note, only 14.8% of adults 60+ report having received an RSV vaccine.
• National vaccination coverage for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV vaccines increased less than one percentage point for children and adults, where indicated, compared to the previous week and remains low for both groups.

DJ. Lots of other countries fail to give an update...

[url]https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#ed-visits_separated_by_age_group[/url] or https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#ed-visits_separated_by_age_group also showing increase of CoViD cases in the US.

Thanksgiving may have made matters worse...Flu numbers still expected to increase...very likely a lot of FluRona...co-infections...

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/sars-cov-2-news-russian-scientists-warns-that-sars-cov-2-contaminated-waste-water-supplies-can-infect-various-reptiles-including-crocodiles[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/sars-cov-2-news-russian-scientists-warns-that-sars-cov-2-contaminated-waste-water-supplies-can-infect-various-reptiles-including-crocodiles 

DJ, CoViD infections have been detected in over a hundred species. Non-human hosts will increase mutations/recombinations...

[url]https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/15/12/2350[/url] or https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/15/12/2350 ;

Currently, the global spread of SARS-CoV-2 is no longer considered a public health emergency of international concern [69]. At the same time, the circulation of the virus among animals and occasional hosts, independent of the human population, ensures the emergence of new variants with unknown and unpredictable infectious properties. 

We have shown the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to effectively replicate in the cells of certain reptile species without adaptation—in a continuous epithelial-like cell culture of the eastern box turtle heart (Terrapene carolina) TH-1 and primary fibroblasts of Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) embryo CNI at 29 °C. In terms of sensitivity to SARS-CoV-2 infection, TH-1 cells incubated at 29 °C were comparable to the reference Vero E6 cell culture incubated at 37 °C. The results obtained by a number of researchers in the successful adaptation of virus to replication at low (21 °C) temperatures in susceptible Vero E6 cells [52] suggest that such adaptation is also possible in reptile cells sensitive to SARS-CoV-2. 

The findings also provide a basis for special attention to reptiles as occasional susceptible hosts of SARS-CoV-2 in the context of the ongoing global spread of the virus and its continuous evolution.

DJ...so far often mycoplasma infections -often in unvaccinated young age groups- were presented as "post CoViD" and as an outcome of weaker immunity...However ...the problem may be a lot worse...Again in farm animals the only way to control corona viral disease outbreaks was killing all the possibly infected farm animals...

Public health is NOT a priority in almost all countries...-economy is...This comes with a -very high- price...

Nate Bear

@NateB_Panic

·

Jul 8

A California man caught covid at work. He infected his wife who ended up in ICU. So he sued his bosses. The largest lobbying group in the US got involved. The court ruled against the man because a victory would mean “dire financial consequences for employers.” Is it clear yet?

"saving the economy"...you pay...with your health !

Nate Bear

@NateB_Panic

·

8h

New study shows nearly 50% of people in Africa have long covid. Disastrous. Mass covid infection, like climate breakdown, is an issue of north-south equity and justice. Too many people still don't get this.

-

Dr. Sean Mullen

@drseanmullen

·

1h

Sooo half a continent (~700 million) now has an invisible disability. 15% (105 million Africans) have cognitive impairment. I am dumbfounded…

others pay with their lives...

Cat in the Hat   

@_CatintheHat

·

4h

DJ, bodies piling up....

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-news-latest-actions-by-china-indicates-that-a-new-sars-cov-2-variant-is-possibly-behind-the-mysterious-white-lung-pneumonia-surge[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-news-latest-actions-by-china-indicates-that-a-new-sars-cov-2-variant-is-possibly-behind-the-mysterious-white-lung-pneumonia-surge China falling back to Non Pharma Interventions (masks, lock downs etc?) 

There may be new variants of CoViD testing may not detect...[url]https://www.euromomo.eu/graphs-and-maps[/url] or https://www.euromomo.eu/graphs-and-maps may be one of limited statistics giving an indication on the ongoing pandemic. 

tern

@1goodtern

 Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine, UCLA, today on recent pneumonia cases presenting at hospital there: "I've had more than a handful of healthy  people with no underlying illnesses, who come in with very rapid progression  of pneumonia, and they have very atypical  presentations of the pneumonia.  They have upper lobe pneumonias, very quickly end up being hospitalized, and some end up on the ventilator. All cultures are coming back negative,  but it's giving me that fear, that COVID  fear, from before."

-

and

DJ...we should be ACTING NOW -NOT reacting when healthcare collapses....Lots of indications we are moving into a "very bad winter"...

Like with climate collapse lots of warnings on CoViD to "be ignored" by "our leaders".....

Cat in the Hat    reposted

The Ancient One

@_TheAncientOne_

·

19h

Whatever is happening with SARS2 variant JN.1* I sure hope public health officials are looking into it with appropriate concern. This level of viral load is unprecedented. We've all heard the use of terms like "immunity wall" or endemic. Those theories go out the window here.

Is there any point ? 

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-news-u-s-cdc-admits-that-jn-1-is-possibly-more-transmissible-as-infections-and-hospitalizations-rise-in-united-states[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-news-u-s-cdc-admits-that-jn-1-is-possibly-more-transmissible-as-infections-and-hospitalizations-rise-in-united-states 

-

LowCovid  Kano

@falsel_net

·

20h

DJ...it was known corona-virus disease in farm animals only could be controlled by killing/culling all the farmanimals...Somehow in humans "CoViD would become mild, seasonal, not worse than a flu"...WHY ????

Cat in the Hat    reposted

Ξpi-Yeti

@TheMemeticist

·

Aug 13

This graph is a time series projection of #longCOVID rates assuming 1-3 infections yearly. This will lead to a tipping point around 2025. The implications are profound, affecting society and the economy. Immediate action is needed to mitigate the long-term impact. #Collapse

DJ, In NL the current number of "Long CoViD" cases seems to be 100,000+. There is a trial getting started on [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metformin[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metformin to see if it will bring improvements...DJ-Let me be very clear-improvements would be VERY WELCOME !!!

However ME-CFS cases may indicate a lot of long term damage resulting in chronic disease for the rest of the patient live....

We have to avoid Long CoViD by avoiding CoViD !

"The '100 day cough' is quickly spreading across the UK" apparently. But notice that word in the line at the bottom "whooping cough appears to be spreading around the country". Whooping cough positive tests in the UK are lower this year than any year between 2012 and 2020. So I wonder what's causing that 100 day cough.

DJ "whooping cough" also "on the rise" in NL...so...we are going for wordgames are we ? No testing...simply do no longer call it CoViD but call it whooping cough...[url]https://www.rivm.nl/en/national-immunisation-programme/whooping-cough[/url] or https://www.rivm.nl/en/national-immunisation-programme/whooping-cough vaccines were supposed to limit "the cough"!

Cllr Maria Dollard

@DollardMaria

·

7h

There simply must be deal at #COP28UAE 

@greenparty_ie

 

@KkCarlow

-

DJ, COP29 is planned in Azerbadjan...another oil state....

[url]https://www.reuters.com/world/italy-france-germany-call-ad-hoc-eu-sanctions-hamas-2023-12-11/[/url] or https://www.reuters.com/world/italy-france-germany-call-ad-hoc-eu-sanctions-hamas-2023-12-11/ ;

ROME, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Italy, France and Germany called on the European Union to impose ad hoc sanctions against Hamas and its supporters, the foreign ministers of the three nations wrote in a joint letter to the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell

DJ, Israel may have killed 25,000+ Palestinians...so "western leaders" sanction Hamas...

PMC COVID-19 Tracker, Dec 11, 2023 The surge continues. 

Today:   

1.2 million daily infections 

1 in 41 infectious (2.5%)   In 4 weeks (Jan 8): 

1.6 million daily infections 

1 in 30 infectious (3.3%) 1/ 

A few key methodologic updates.

1) Biobot correct levels downward for the past two weeks, so you might notice that this week's estimates seem similar to last week's or marginally lower. 

2) Our forecasting model uses a combination of historic data (situation past several years) and current data (past 4 weeks). In the historic model, we switched from using mean-type data to median-type data. This avoids overestimating levels based on the BA.1 surge and allows us to predict accurately a little faster, rather than predicting high and waiting for the current 4-week's data to correct it. 

3) The forecasts depend a lot on the most recent week's data. To the extent Biobot is accurate or inaccurate in real-time, this leads to divergent forecasts.

DJ, Lots of indications new CoViD variants and (co)infections will soon be a very major global issue...

Biden will see zelensky today for more bribes/aid...

Present western politics rotten to the root...on top of that western economies face recession/depression, high/hyper-inflation...

In every definition "this is bad"!

-DJ-most things in live will never be perfect...

Aysha  MBS, Stem Cell Biologist 

@ModelAyshaMirza

There are still lots of things you can do ! If you read this you try to stay informed...

There are safest ways to gather indoors this holiday season. In past seasons I would discourage from gathering. We have more tools (do not read that to be “all the tools”). But if you have the tools, The newest variants of SARS-CoV-2 are the most highly transmissible ones. 

JN.1 is making its way around the world. My expertise is in cell biology and safest spaces. 

Let me remind you that repeat infections are not good for anyone.

 I’m looking forward to holiday parties that take precautions to protect others. 

Babies are innocent and don’t have a choice - we as adults are trusted to protect them from long-term disease. That includes vaccinating them from preventable illnesses and disease. The best way to be healthiest is to control that which you can control. You only get one body. Protect it as best you can. 

 Sad when families put the most vulnerable at greater risks than necessary. Then they BEG the same physicians and experts who warned them not to place their family members in this position of prolonged disease states to now save their loved ones’ quality of life and bring them back to normal. 

A little bit ironic, don’t you think?

DJ [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc[/url] or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc ;

Alanis Morissette - Ironic 

-mutations in CoViD;

-

-CoViD -again- did 

NOT get mild

NOT run out of mutations

NOT stop spreading

DJ-Again I am not an expert; trying to get a view...Could it be CoViD is now most spread in non-human hosts ? That non-human hosts could bring even more variants/recombinations even worsening CoViD ? 

We live in "crazy times"! CoViD spread soon may be at levels worse than ever before in this pandemic-but media ignore it...

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-news-sars-cov-2-hides-in-the-body-via-extracellular-vesicles-and-reactivates-later-while-constantly-testing-negative[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-news-sars-cov-2-hides-in-the-body-via-extracellular-vesicles-and-reactivates-later-while-constantly-testing-negative link to [url]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542568423000491[/url] or https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542568423000491 ;

5. Conclusions

Although this study is not directly related to liver disease, the identification of SARS-CoV-2 in EVs is a highly important and relevant to COVID-19 infection in liver disease patients and for better management of these patients. The identification of SARS-CoV-2 RNAs in the EVs isolated from patients with negative RT-PCR indicates the persistence of infection and likely recurrence of the infection, which suggests another route of transmission as EVs harbor SARS-CoV-2 RNAs. Therefore, in the case of COVID-19 where we are unable to understand the mechanism of recurrence or false negativity, we may find the prolonged association of SARS-CoV-2 with EVs, which can easily be detected even in patients with negative RT-PCR. This could pave way for future directions to determine the cause of reactivation and also post-COVID-19 mortality.

DJ, It may explain "unclear re-infections" but also how testing can miss CoViD...

Today newest NL CoViD numbers will become available via [url]https://www.rivm.nl/corona/actueel/weekcijfers[/url] or https://www.rivm.nl/corona/actueel/weekcijfers -tomorrow also in English-translate does a good job ! Very likely NL is moving to "very serious" CoViD numbers as well...

DJ, In NL JN.1 and XDD are growing fast. Unclear if XDD is growing even faster than JN.1

[url]https://www.corona-lokaal.nl/locatie/Nederland/waterzuivering/Nederland[/url] or https://www.corona-lokaal.nl/locatie/Nederland/waterzuivering/Nederland NL waste water samples "very high"...(upper left press the - to + to get an overview for all of the pandemic. We are now at record high level...Most high in SW "Zeeland" not far from Belgium/Antwerp(en)...so I wonder what the Belgian/Flanders statistics show...

13-12-2023 | 4:00 PM

Weekly coronavirus update SARS(severe acute respiratory syndrome)-CoV(coronavirus)-2: December 13, 2023
Spread of the virus and withdrawals
In week 49 (4-10 December), the national average number of virus particles in sewage water rose sharply by 57% compared to the previous week. Last week, the share of participants with a positive corona test result in Infection Radar(external link) increased compared to the week before (2.4% to 3.1%)*. The number of hospital admissions of patients with SARS-CoV-2 also increased compared to the previous week (daily average number of admissions from 108 to 143).** Last week there were an average of 686 patients with SARS-CoV-2 in hospital; this is higher than the week before (average 541 patients).

"bad"

DJ, The US via NATO trying to stop "BRICS-extra" with the Ukraine "project" lost-so yet another NATO criminal war in West Asia. 

History does show mixing wars with pandemics and climate change is a "very bad idea"...however present western "leaders" seem to live in a 2-dimensional world...ignoring history or any other reality...

Dr. Sean Mullen

@drseanmullen

DJ, CoViD is NOT flu !  

Flu provides a much better form of immunity against reinfection than CoViD does. Reinfections/co-infection increase risk of serious complications...

-Lots of countries see very high virus-loads in waste water. So far however healthcare is not yet in a major crisis.

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/excess-mortality-figures-shows-that-more-young-adults-in-the-united-states-and-united-kingdom-are-dying-early[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/excess-mortality-figures-shows-that-more-young-adults-in-the-united-states-and-united-kingdom-are-dying-early lots of further links

DJ also [url]https://www.euromomo.eu/graphs-and-maps[/url] or https://www.euromomo.eu/graphs-and-maps is very clear...unvaccinated young people deaths are still on pandemic levels....The only "new" thing is "it is now presented as a new normal"...CRAZY !!!

Also CoViD did -again- not run out of new mutations...

Jerome Adams

@JeromeAdamsMD

·

14h

From a messaging and credibility POV, it's baffles me that CDC steadfastly refuses to update (or abandon) the term, 'fully vaccinated.” If we truly value the importance of receiving the updated vaccine, shouldn't we ensure accurate communication, vs misleading the public? 

DJ...my view; what is needed even more now is good information/communication !!! 

Masks, ventilation, avoiding crowds, better testing should be a bigger part of the strategy...A.o. this forum was ruined by "political bla-bla" making matters worse !

CRS, DrPH, Chuck,  thanks...

Of course my goal is not only to find an outlet for my "energy and enthusiasm" ! I hope to be of some use in informing people...If I can be of help in making up other minds-getting a view -at least based on some info-it would be very welcome !

We now have very high level of CoViD-virus-particles in NL wastewater [url]https://www.corona-lokaal.nl/locatie/Nederland/waterzuivering/Nederland[/url] or https://www.corona-lokaal.nl/locatie/Nederland/waterzuivering/Nederland .  Maybe part of these record high -looks like record high- wastewater findings may be more testing ?  However so far in this pandemic we did see high waste water findings did bring high hospital cases...

DJ...lots of countries do see high number of hospital cases linked with "respitory infections"...so it may be a mix of flu, CoViD and other virus disease...A problem may be the virus-mix may not only show up in hospital beds but also in patients....

Here in NL flu numbers are still low. NL has a relative high number of people with at least some vaccinations. Also "natural immunity" after an earlier infection may -for now- bring less hospital cases due to infectious disease...

[url]https://www.rivm.nl/en/coronavirus-covid-19/current/weekly-update[/url] or https://www.rivm.nl/en/coronavirus-covid-19/current/weekly-update ;

In week 49 (4 – 10 December 2023), sewage surveillance showed that the national average viral load increased significantly (+57%) compared to the week before

-

DJ, In English; December 6 (!!)  Since I think we are at the beginning of a gigantic (!!!!)  JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) Corona infection wave, I want to point out that everyone (except very young children ?)  now can get a vaccination...

DJ-AGAIN !!! 

-In most countries people can get vaccinated (often without costs)

-Lots of statistics point out vaccinated people see less/less severe CoViD

-Also "Long CoViD" risk is limited by vaccination !

DJ-Are CoViD vaccines "100% safe" ? NO !!! But name me things that are 100% safe ! If you have a certain allergy or health condition (cancer, pregnancy) talk with (your/a) doctor/GP. 

Masks are also part of a strategy...limiting contacts, limiting viral loads via ventilation...

AGAIN !!! Even after vaccination against both CoViD and flu catching both diseases at the same time can result in (very) severe disease or death...

---------------

Should gouvernments be warning the public ? YES !!!!! They should ! 

"saving the economy" was/is "top-priority" for "politicians-for-sale"...Even if it by now is getting clear Long CoViD may do much more damage than even lock downs did...still "most politicians" seem to live on another planet...promoting war (industry)...

So..I am not an expert ! But lots of good experts on internet try to warn the public..."get ready-course here I come" (I=CoViD)...

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rsMB5cxPc8[/url] or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rsMB5cxPc8 

Rare Earth Get Ready 1973 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DJ...stay informed !

DJ, main political priority is control over global energy...so we see NATO proxies "ukraine" and "israel" fighting BRICS-extra to keep global dominance for the US$ and "white-west"...Present politics do NOT care for health, climate..."saving the economy"  in interest of their financial sponsors, war/fossil fuel industry and "banksters" seem to be their only concern...

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-indonesia-battles-escalating-december-surge-while-jakarta-records-over-200-daily-covid-19-cases[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-indonesia-battles-escalating-december-surge-while-jakarta-records-over-200-daily-covid-19-cases just another indication the world is getting out of -at best- a "pandemic pause"...

-

DJ, like with climate "politics" simply defund unwelcome medical science..."hurting profits/economy"...let the bodies pile up in bojo words...

-

Until Omicron, our frame was a respiratory virus that infected & killed rapidly. Low population immunity and limited understanding of what the virus does to the body, meant that incidence rate,  ICU capacity, and deaths told us when things were better or worse. Not now.

-

B/c COVID is a whole-body disease w/ vascular, neurological, immune, & endocrine harms. Less *acute respiratory* harm now, b/c: a. the most vulnerable already died b. we have some population immunity c. Omicron is less severe than Delta Much more diffuse harms instead ...

-

By reporting deaths and hospitalizations data, COVID continues to get framed as a problem only for really vulnerable people. "Just like flu". :( So, no masking, no precautions, low XBB vaccination, and no thoughts about COVID harms. Politicians may like this but I don't.

-

-

Who is going bother with indoor air quality when the media focuses on what COVID isn't doing, instead of talking about what it IS doing? There is a lot of Long COVID research coming out. Don't let it gather dust on the shelf. This is too important to be incurious. Please.

DJ...of course "free western media" owned by war industry will deal with health like they deal with climate...Both bad for advertising and profits...

DJ, much to complex for most "journalists"...good in rewriting press releases and following "media-made stars"...

Stupid -at the moment- is winning ! 

DJ...there is an anti-science politics/media "culture"...Every 16/18 y/o has a "right" for his/her own car...holliday-flights presented as basic human needs (but also great in spreading disease)...

Like with "climate" DJ-I am giving up...

Critical voices in a democrazy do run risks...If I would go into NL politics and claim on TV for NL mobility if would be better to move towards 4,5 or 6 million cars in NL -instead of the 9 million record high number of cars we now have in NL-I would need 24/7 protection...

By keeping this "once-a-forum" ongoing I do run increasing risks...

I do believe in public education but may try to find more safe ways to "spread info"...

Pandemics are NEVER isolated...in history both wars and climate/weather were major factors...

Paige1@zeroes.ca

@PaigePang1

·

6h

My Grandmothers brother was sick with COVID for about 2 days, tested pos yesterday & hospitalized, died today from covid pneumonia. Now his wife is in the hospital w/cov pneumonia. Whatever this variant is, it hits hard & fast! N95 folks! Vax if your body can tolerate.

-

DJ...or will media/politics increase silencing science ? 

DJ...

(Western) governments strategy on the pandemic = saving the economy...

strategy on climate collapse = saving the economy...

strategy in wars = saving the economy....

kicking cans down the road is supposed to be a new form of leadership....

Buying time, printing money, debts beyond imagination...while NOT solving ANY problem !!!

The underlying problem in this CoViD pandemic is "terrible politics in the hands of crazy people"....

lucy 

@lucyveepee

·

12h

We are ethically obligated to Rage Against A Machine that knowingly enacts policies leading to our death and disability. #SARSCoV2 #Covid #SARS2isAirborne

link [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxk3c_SbWMg[/url] or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxk3c_SbWMg ;

Rage against the machine - Killing in the name Lyrics

DJ, blind capitalism -only profits count- is a mental disease...Sadly also a "new normal"....

DJ...again...I am NOT any kind of "expert" (if there are any "experts" on this global chaos ?) ...even vaccinated people may run increasing risks with the "mega mix of diseases" spreading...So mask up if possible ! (Here in NL hardly anyone wears a mask...may be time to start a trend...Could help to wake up "politics"...)

Juanita Jackson #

@WestcoastBCLife

·

Dec 18

“A study by the Royal Academy of Engineering showed that improving ventilation could reduce long-range aerosol transmission of diseases by about 50%. Improving ventilation and ensuring good air quality could also enhance productivity by around 1-4%.”

DJ, a simple way could be opening a door or window in public spaces...

DJ, fear of needles may stop some of getting vaccinated...besides that "easy to use-Do It Yourself vaccines may even be cheaper (if produced by a non-profit company...Pfizer, Moderna make billions out of their vaccines paid for twice by your tax money...). 

DJ, lack of testing = lack of sequencing...we may not have a good idea of what (mix of) disease(s) are spreading...Testing positive for one may not exclude another disease...with the mix ( a.o. Flu-Rona)  making symptoms much worse...

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-news-who-declares-sars-cov-2-jn-1-strain-as-variant-of-interests-and-admits-that-it-is-more-transmissible[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-news-who-declares-sars-cov-2-jn-1-strain-as-variant-of-interests-and-admits-that-it-is-more-transmissible 

DJ-There is lots of info on CoViD damaging also the brain....lots of countries see hospital cases increasing again...I did not see much info on CoViD in non-human hosts...however (like H5N1)spread in mammals will worsen the picture....

A "leaders" job is to "lead" and not be in the way of trying to get out of (many) crises....We are now dealing with "for-profit-politics" working for shareholders to maximize profits from all the crises they created....Insanity rules !

DJ...

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-weekly-covid-19-hospitalizations-and-icu-admissions-in-singapore-reaches-record-levels-for-2023[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-weekly-covid-19-hospitalizations-and-icu-admissions-in-singapore-reaches-record-levels-for-2023 ...

Here in NL ;

Chantal Rovers

@Rovers_Chantal

·

Dec 21

Nee in november kwam het ziekteverzuim niet door griep: er was toen nog maar heel weinig influenza. Er was toen al wel, net als nu, heel veel COVID. Ziekteverzuim in november liep op door griep | Economie | http://NU.nl

Translation; No, november sickleave was NOT caused by the flu; flu then was very limited. There was then-just as now- a very high number of CoViD cases.... 

"Sickleave increased due to flu" misleading headline...

DJ...very likely a lot of CoViD-cases are missed or called "flu"....It would explain why (record) high CoViD levels in waste water still are NOT linked with very high spread of CoViD in (non) humans...

Jerome Adams

@JeromeAdamsMD

·

11h

In my book Crisis and Chaos, I talk about Colin Powell’s 40/ 70 rule. If you make decisions before having at least 40% of the information you’re likely to be wrong and if you wait until having more than 70%, you’ll likely be irrelevant. Time and again CDC has been irrelevant. 

DJ...even worse when "politics" does not want to know reality...

In most countries "saving the economy=profits" is turning into a disaster...very likely resulting in healthcare crashing end of january (my-non expert- view)...

[url]https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/12/who-statement-risk-assessment-on-covid.html[/url] or https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/12/who-statement-risk-assessment-on-covid.html ;

But now there is new contender (JN.1). 

How long it will reign, and where it - and its descendants - will take us in 2024 and beyond is anyone's guess. But it reminds us that viral evolution doesn't stop just because we are tired of dealing with the COVID threat. 

and [url]https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/12/viruses-how-spike-mutations-l455f-and.html[/url] or https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/12/viruses-how-spike-mutations-l455f-and.html ;

While a lot of people hoped that within 12 to 18 months we'd all either have contracted the virus - or have been vaccinated - and that we'd have acquired `herd immunity', after 4 years the virus continues to reinvent itself in new and unexpected ways.  

Although it is possible the SARS-CoV-2 virus will eventually run out of `biologically fit' avenues for immune escape, for now, the virus appears to have a new set of tools to play with going into 2024.  

DJ, like with climate collapse the strategy is to buy time, denial, ignoring excess deaths...blame-games (bio-weapon non-sense...)

My non-expert view; Since CoViD must be widespread also in animals the corona-virus may "deal" with the human problem...Like with climate "doomed if we do act, doomed if we do not act"...we may have run out of time...

SARS-2/CoViD may now jump from human to non-human hosts and back...Increase of immunity only resulting in selection of immunity evading mutations...

Like climate collapse we may be worsening the pandemic -only to buy time....save profits....

Some major differences with historical pandemics;

-Population during the Spanish Flu [url]https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-by-year/[/url] or https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-by-year/ was around 1,8 billion...it now is getting close to 8.1 billion...

-Travel means a lot of diseases may be around the globe within 24 hrs once it ends up in international air travel...The speed of spread now is extreme but due to flying and number of passengers/potential hosts

-Flu is "selflimiting"...recovery from flu ends up with a form of immunity against that flu...CoViD can infect over and over again...

-Non expert view; in fact the number of CoViD variants is now that high and "wide" we may no longer be dealing with "Sars-2" but with lots of types of SARS...

-In the past public health was priority #1 (based on historical experience...) somehow the "political elite" is unable to see the very real dangers...

DJ-hope to be very wrong; both climate collapse and pandemics are now "ending" humans....Neo-liberal greed and insanity are to blame...

So "more wars" , more repression, more lies...again I hope to be very wrong !

[url]https://www.dutchnews.nl/2023/12/health-minister-warns-about-sky-high-coronavirus-cases/[/url] or https://www.dutchnews.nl/2023/12/health-minister-warns-about-sky-high-coronavirus-cases/ ...just words...NO action...even vaccinations stopped (you still may be able to get a vaccine against CoViD, Flu via your GP)....

In NL 20% of the public lost all trust in government/politics...

DJ, my view; Two worlds; A political one...there is even a "carbon budget" -climate problems will show up in 2100...bla bla..."Vaccines control the pandemic"..."the west" still rules "the world"...

Reality; Climate collapse, pandemics "out of any form of control"...BRICS-extra ruling the world (and doing so more each day)...the "west" ignoring "genocides by allies" in proxy-states like "ukraine" and "israel"...Those -once- countries became NATO-BRICS frontlines...

DJ-I do not believe in "revolutions" -often resulting in another "elite" taking power.................However "collapse" may be a real risk...

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-united-states-worrisome-rise-of-sars-cov-2-and-influenza-infections-in-northern-texas[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-united-states-worrisome-rise-of-sars-cov-2-and-influenza-infections-in-northern-texas Thailand Medical News/TMN one of limited sources of info...

We are a few days away from 2024...CoViD-19 started in 2019 (DJ-the Wuhan military games october 2019 -my view- could be a starter for global spread...the CoViD-19 virus must go back (much) further...) "living with the virus"..."herd-immunity" and "booster-vaccines" should have brought us -somehow- to an end of the pandemic...At least some "light on the end of a pandemic-tunnel, some perspective....

What if the first months of 2024 will see global pandemic-linked health crisis is the worst so far...? 

"Saving the economy/profits" ended destroying that economy...undermining "trust" in how countries are run...politics works...

DJ-kicking cans down the road is NOT a durable strategy...however it seems all "markets-politics" can think of...neo-liberal phantasy world..."Companies/private sector will save us"...so lets "pump trillions" into the private sector...

Reality is housing crisis, health crisis, climate crisis, political crisis...collapse...

Somehow "neo-liberals" ignore (even recent) history on the role governments have to play...

So -unable to change- more repression and censorship continue to push "neo-liberalism" policies that keep failing...So nuclear war as a way out ? 

DJ-My view-a lot of nuance needed- BRICS-extra has a major role for governments..."Strategic industries" (pharma, war) are under government control NOT privatized...

If an even "better" Russian anti-tank weapon only costs 5% of a less "good" US one maybe "blind capitalism" is NOT the best way to organize a society...

How many Long CoViD cases are there now in this world ? Over 100 million ? Is there one clear definition ? If it is six months of health problems-how many more people will be included in the "long CoViD" statistics mid-2024 ? 

Excess deaths are still high in many places...most in age groups that do not get that much vaccinations...(<45 y/o) ...This does NOT mean "vaccines are perfect" ! 

Non-sterilizing vaccines should be just a small part of a much wider strategy...however in most countries "get vaccinated" seems to be "all of the strategy"....

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoMH2R0vVxM[/url] or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoMH2R0vVxM Geert van den Bossche may be very controversial...I do not get a real idea of his plan of getting out of the pandemic...What -to me- looks realism; non-sterilizing vaccines may "select" for immunity evading variants...JN.1 and many others could show to be "ignoring almost" vaccine immunity...

I hope to be VERY, VERY WRONG !!!!! I LOVE to be WRONG !!!! But;

-Climate collapse will worsen in 2024...a.o. El Nino doing its bit...

-CoViD may be out of control...(again non-human CoViD spread is "out of the news-not out of animal-hosts"...may be a very major problem !)

-Co-infections may show to become a nightmare

-More war may bring more (tax funded-YOU pay !) profits to war-share holders and the politicians they buy...That money is NOT used to solve very major problems...

Statistics/"news" will show how wrong I have been...If CoViD/disease stays limited, excess deaths numbers stay limited GREAT !!! I would LOVE that ! 

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od-FAmMa5cA[/url] or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od-FAmMa5cA ;

Ukraine Uses People With Special Needs On The Front Line. Military Summary And Analysis 2023.12.30

DJ, Voha-a young man with down syndrome being mocked by fellow ukraine "soldiers" in trenches..."he has to fight-with a stick-to get his own gun"...

If this special needs case is not a false flag and not isolated, then the West is surely culpable and complicit because the very stereotype of bandera is this kind of idea of removing the weak and needy from the system. This is what the West is knowingly waving the flag (literally and figuratively) for. This will get the West utterly condemned.

and ukraine killing "Russian subhumans" in a cluster bomb attack on a christmas market in Belgorod...

NATO/US also sending more weapons to its proxy "israel" in Palestine to kill more Palestinians...

DJ-If I translate the above to how "the west" is dealing with the pandemic "living with the virus", "saving the economy/profits" I have to give up any idea of western "civilization"...politicians-for-sale only going for the money...Again-this pandemic is political-caused by NOT stopping the virus in time ...it would be "bad for bussinesses"...

Salvatore Mattera

@SalvMattera

·

Dec 30

Objectively speaking, covid is worse than polio. 75% of kids who get polio have no symptoms at all. Only 0.5% of them have any degree of paralysis, and only a fraction of those paralyzed actually require iron lungs. You can get reinfected with polio, but it is rare. In contrast

DJ..."only the old and weak" die from disease A criminal corrupt political elite ignoring all science...

CoViD will keep infecting over and over.."do not test-do not tell"...control the media...

This is how we move into 2024...NOT 1624 or so...Did "we" not learn ANYthing from history ? Have "we" to keep making the same (insane) mistakes over and over again ? 

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-after-jn-1,-expect-new-spawns-jn-1-1,-jn-1-1-1,-jn-8,-jn-9-and-spawns-with-t572i-mutation-to-continuously-reinfect-till-lethal-strain-em[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-after-jn-1,-expect-new-spawns-jn-1-1,-jn-1-1-1,-jn-8,-jn-9-and-spawns-with-t572i-mutation-to-continuously-reinfect-till-lethal-strain-em erges...

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-covid-19-situation-in-peru-escalates-as-weekly-infections-now-exceeds-1700-despite-extremely-low-testing-rates-hospitals-stressed[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-covid-19-situation-in-peru-escalates-as-weekly-infections-now-exceeds-1700-despite-extremely-low-testing-rates-hospitals-stressed 

In most countries "Long CoViD" for politics also only a money-matter...