Coronavirus and Avian Flu Tidbits #300, June 23, 2024

Perspective:

Thoughtful perspective on our worsening #denial: We’ve Hit Peak Denial. Here’s Why We Can’t Turn Away From Reality by @coopermarianne and @DrMaximVoronov

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/weve-hit-peak-denial-heres-why-we-cant-turn-away-from-reality/

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Transmission:

The US Walgreens Covid positivity rate is now the highest since September 2023!

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Mike Hoerger: 

Expect 400,000 to 500,000 daily Covid infections/day in the U.S. for the following month. This is relatively low at 25% of last winter's peak, while extremely high in the absolute sense. Get dental/medical care before it is worse.

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Long Covid: 

22.5 per cent failed to recover 90 days after infection.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-18/long-covid-research-study/103986302

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A new report in Emerging Infectious Diseases reveals an 11.8% prevalence of long COVID during the Omicron BA.5 wave in Japan, based on outcomes seen among 25,911 adults 20 years and older.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/study-shows-12-long-covid-prevalence-following-omicron-infection

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Long Covid and blood donations

"If the findings hold, clinicians might want to consider excluding individuals with long COVID from making blood donations, says Davide Robbiani, an immunologist at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Bellinzona, Switzerland."

(Because of "rogue" antibodies in Long Covid:) https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02010-7

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Yes, Everyone Really Is Sick a Lot More Often After Covid

Free link: https://archive.ph/2024.06.14-204606/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-06-14/why-is-everyone-getting-sick-behind-the-global-rise-in-rsv-flu-measles#selection-1413.0-1413.57

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Also:

A recent analysis by Bloomberg and Airfinity revealed...13 communicable diseases...—including tuberculosis, measles, pertussis, polio, influenza, RSV, chickenpox, invasive group A streptococcus, mycoplasma pneumoniae, parvovirus B19, dengue, and cholera—are "surging past pre-pandemic levels in regions across the world."

While this rise is certainly attributable to multiple factors, including vaccine hesitancy and climate change, Dr. David Putrino, Director of Rehabilitation Innovation for the Mount Sinai Health System, and a Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, recently discussed the issue with Chris Cuomo as part of Cuomo's ongoing series on COVID and Long COVID and emphasized one important cause: COVID-19 infections. We need to be very, very firm with our messaging that there is no such thing as a mild SARS-CoV-2 infection. There is no such thing as a SARS-CoV-2 infection that does NOT have prolonged consequences."

https://boingboing.net/2024/06/20/long-covid-expert-all-infections-have-prolonged-consequences.html

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Covid 19 and The Ears -

Direct Viral Invasion of Inner Ear Cells:  https://x.com/Dave_it_up/status/1803756191757078731

The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching consequences and illness, with emerging evidence suggesting that the virus can also affect the auditory system and cause hearing-related complications. This article explores the potential impact of COVID-19 on hearing, tinnitus, and balance disorders. - The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 can directly infect certain cell types in the inner ear, including hair cells and Schwann cells [1][3][4].  - Hair cells are the sensory receptors for hearing, while Schwann cells support and insulate auditory neurons. - The virus can enter these cells by binding to the ACE2 receptor and using the TMPRSS2 and FURIN enzymes, which are expressed in the inner ear tissue [3][4]. - Confocal microscopy studies on human inner ear tissue samples showed that SARS-CoV-2 can infect hair cells and Schwann cells [3][4].

Impact on Hearing - Infection and damage to hair cells in the inner ear can lead to sensorineural hearing loss, which was observed in COVID-19 patients with audiovestibular symptoms [1][3][4]. - Reduced or absent otoacoustic emissions (sounds produced by hair cells) were found in COVID-19 patients, indicating hair cell damage [5].

Tinnitus and Balance Issues - The viral infection and inflammation in the inner ear can also cause tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and vestibular dysfunction, leading to balance problems like vertigo [1][3][4]. - A study of 10 COVID-19 patients found that 9 experienced tinnitus, 6 had vertigo, and all had varying degrees of hearing loss [3][4].

Potential Congenital Effects on unborn children  - The study found that SARS-CoV-2 can infect otic progenitor cells (OPCs) present in the developing fetal inner ear [3]. - This raises concerns about potential congenital hearing loss in babies born to mothers infected with COVID-19 during pregnancy, similar to other viral infections like cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Zika virus [3].

In summary, the search results provide compelling evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect and damage various cell types in the inner ear, leading to hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, and potentially congenital hearing problems in some cases [1][3][4][5].

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Looking for like-minded groups?

Violet Blue suggests Covid Action Map and the Covid Advocacy Group has an extensive list of groups in the Canada and US.

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Mask bans are a growing trend:

I'll be writing more later this week, but includes NY proposal, NC, Chicago, Philly, and more:

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Harvard Public Opinion Poll

A majority of Americans say four key pandemic policies were “generally a good idea” in retrospect (Figure 1), including those related to:

• Mask requirements in stores and businesses – 70%
• Healthcare worker vaccination requirements – 65%
• Indoor dining closures – 63%
• K-12 public school closures – 56%

The percentage who say all four policies were generally a good idea:

• Democrats (71%); Independents (44%); Republicans (18%)
• Black adults (62%); Hispanic/Latino adults (55%); white adults (32%)
• People living in urban areas (55%); suburban areas (39%); rural areas (29%)

Notably, there is some policy receptivity among all subgroups, with majorities of each subgroup saying at least one of the four policies was generally a good idea. For example, 62% of Republicans say at least one was generally a good idea, as do 70% of people living in rural areas.

“These data suggest that keeping outbreak response policies focused on the most at-risk populations, communicating clear, limited time frames, and considering the broader economic and societal impacts of policies could go a long way to maintaining public support in the next outbreak and beyond.”

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/poll-majority-of-americans-say-key-covid-19-policies-were-a-good-idea-but-views-of-individual-policies-vary/

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Immune response to Covid:

As part of the UK Covid-19 Human Challenge study, led by Imperial College London, 36 healthy people were given the virus through the nose.

Researchers monitored the blood and lining of their noses, tracking the entire infection as well as the immune cell activity prior to the infection event for 16 volunteers.

The teams at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and UCL then used a technology called single-cell sequencing to generate a dataset of more than 600,000 individual cells.

Across all of those involved in the study, the team discovered previously unreported responses involved in immediate virus detection.

This included activation of specialised immune cells in the blood and a reduction in inflammatory white blood cells that normally engulf and destroy pathogens.

People who were able to immediately fight off the virus did not show a typical widespread immune response but instead mounted subtle, never-seen-before innate immune responses, researchers say.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/study-people-imperial-college-london-ucl-rosetta-stone-b2565427.html

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Pentagon ran secret anti-vax drive to undermine China

during Covid-19 pandemic, Reuters probe shows

WASHINGTON - At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the US military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit especially hard by the deadly virus.

The clandestine operation has not been previously reported.

It aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China, a Reuters investigation found.

Through phony internet accounts meant to impersonate Filipinos, the military’s propaganda efforts morphed into an anti-vax campaign.

Social media posts decried the quality of face masks, test kits and the first vaccine that would become available in the Philippines – China’s Sinovac inoculation.

Reuters identified at least 300 accounts on X, formerly Twitter, that matched descriptions shared by former US military officials familiar with the Philippines operation.

Almost all were created in the summer of 2020 and centred on the slogan #Chinaangvirus – Tagalog for “China is the virus”.

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/pentagon-ran-secret-anti-vax-campaign-to-undermine-china-during-covid-19-pandemic-reuters-investigation

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Avian Flu H5N1:

Excellent brief summary of what we should be doing to control Bird Flu:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/18/health/bird-flu-risk-opinion-frieden/index.html and how Finland has been successful, in Epidemics That Didn’t Happen.

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Transmission of Bird Flu:

Inadequate Bird Flu response

Many complaints, e.g., Seth Berkley, the former head of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, gave voice last week to a point of view STAT has been hearing for a while about the U.S. response to the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in dairy cows. “It’s been shocking to watch the ineptitude,” Berkley, an American currently living in Switzerland, said at an event on the future of vaccines held in London.

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“Although federal funds have been allocated, no farms have enrolled in voluntary on-site milk testing, according to the USDA. Fewer than a dozen farms have applied for separate financial aid in exchange for boosting biosecurity measures”

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/17/avian-flu-spread-response-00163294

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"Averting another pandemic is one challenge that can be solved. Why would leaders make any other choice?"

Political courage needed to prevent the next pandemic

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01260-1/abstract

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Other:

in a press release.

“....we’ve shown that BCG can protect type 1 diabetics from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.”  

The 18-month Phase III trial, published in iScience, was conducted when the highly transmissible Omicron variant was circulating.

A 15-month Phase II trial was conducted early in the pandemic; the results of that trial were published in Cell Reports Medicine.

https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/100-year-old-vaccine-protects-people-infectious-diseases-2024-06-13