Hear That Sucking Sound?
That’s Wall Street setting up another group of sheep to the slaughter. There is nothing to celebrate in this market.
Dr. Fauci says this simple drug that’s already available might reduce coronavirus risks
- A new coronavirus study shows that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of COVID-19 complications and deaths, echoing similar findings from earlier this year.
- Dr. Anthony Fauci has endorsed vitamin D in a recent interview, emphasizing that it might help people who are vitamin D deficient fight a potential covid infection.
- There’s no randomized clinical trial to prove the effectiveness of vitamin D therapy in COVID-19, however.
The novel coronavirus will remain a significant danger to all of us until effective vaccines and drug therapies are widely available. COVID-19 has killed more than 1 million people worldwide as of this past weekend, out of more than 33.4 million confirmed cases. While it’s true that it’s usually people who suffer from other medical issues and the elderly who are most at risk of death, there have been plenty of exceptions to that rule. Young people, including children who had no other medical problems, have died of COVID-19 complications. On top of that, many of us have preexisting conditions that we’re not even aware of. That’s why it’s so important to protect yourself as well as possible until treatments are widely available. Dr. Anthony Fauci already endorses. The best part about it is that you might not even need to take it in order to benefit from it. A study claimed a few months ago that vitamin D deficiency had been correlated with COVID-19 complications and death, and another study argued there’s no proof vitamin D can prevent or treat COVID-19. We’ve always told you that nothing is set in stone with coronavirus studies, and more research will be required to confirm early findings. When it comes to vitamin D, we already have more research that indicates sufficient levels can indeed reduce complications and death. The newest vitamin D data comes from the Boston University School of Medicine, via SciTechDaily. Doctors found that patients who were vitamin D sufficient (a blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D of at least 30 ng/ml) had a significantly decreased risk for complications, including unconsciousness, hypoxia, and death. People who had enough vitamin D in their systems had lower blood levels of C-reactive protein, which is a marker of inflammation that goes up when an infection is present. Lymphocyte counts were also higher. Those are the immune system cells that can fight illnesses, and which are diminished in COVID-19 cases. The doctors tested vitamin D levels in 235 COVID-19 patients and compared the outcomes of patients who were deficient to those who had sufficient vitamin D.
The researchers wrote that patients older than 40 who were vitamin D sufficient were 51.5% less likely to die from the infection.
Michael Holick, professor of medicine, physiology, biophysics and molecular medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, is one of the authors of the study. Previously, he published a paper concluding that a sufficient amount of vitamin D could reduce the risk of catching coronavirus by 54%. The risk of infection is still there, and vitamin D is not going to be a magical cure for COVID-19. However, the good news here is that vitamin D is something we already get from food. The skin even synthesizes it from sun exposure. Of course, vitamin D is also available as an over-the-counter supplement that anyone can take. Dr. Fauci also recommends vitamin D to possibly reduce the risk of infection. “If you are deficient in vitamin D, that does have an impact on your susceptibility to infection,” the health expert said during an Instagram Live chat with Jennifer Garner a few days ago. “So, I would not mind recommending, and I do it myself taking vitamin D supplements.” Testing for vitamin D deficiency might be advised before taking supplements. As CNBC points out, not all experts agree that routine testing for vitamin D is advised. It’s not just that the test results take longer to process, but they’re also costly and could lead to more people seeking vitamin D supplements. The report notes that there’s not enough scientific evidence to prove that taking vitamin D does anything helpful for people who do not have a vitamin D difficiency. Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern of Bar Ilan University told The Times of Israel on Sunday that vitamin D is “like a steroid,” after publishing what she says is the world’s largest population-based study of its kind. Her team studied a 7,807-strong sample of Israelis who were tested for the coronavirus. It found that the average vitamin D level for people who screened negative was in the internationally-accepted “adequate” range, while the average for those who tested positive fell in the “inadequate” category. Vitamin D levels of less than 20 nanograms per milliliter of blood are considered inadequate.
Hospital staff infected with coronavirus in air released from ventilator
A doctor and two nurses at Sourasky Medical Center may have been infected with the coronavirus by the aerosol coming from a ventilator being used on a patient, according to an initial investigation of the incident, Israel Hayom reported. Eight ventilators were being used in tandem at the time. After the investigation, the hospital decided to place a limit of six patients on Vapotherm ventilators in each ward. Vapotherm ventilators are devices that use a nasal cannula with high pressure air flow instead of a mask or invasive tube. The ventilators will also be placed under air vents in order to reduce the amount of aerosol in the air. The infection in coronavirus wards of medical staff, who are equipped with maximal personal protective equipment (PPE), is considered a rare occurrence. In the first wave, only a few isolated cases of medical staff who were infected with the virus were those working in coronavirus wards, according to Israel Hayom, while most who were infected were infected in other wards, by family members or at social events.
“We have almost no infections within the coronavirus wards; this is an uncommon occurrence,” Dr. Yael Paran, an expert on infectious diseases and head of Sourasky’s Traveler’s Clinic, told the newspaper. “These are departments with an air intake system and negative pressure, departments that are entered into with ‘space suits’ in a very controlled manner and with observation on protection. Therefore, we investigated in order to understand what happened this time.” She added that, “When we investigated, we found that these were employees who were very strict about the procedures even outside of work and that none of their family members became infected. This is a sequence of incidents that happened during the last week and it lit a red light for us. Infection in the coronavirus ward is something we are very afraid of.” The hospital checked the integrity of the ventilators and the staff’s attention to regulations without finding anything wrong. After checking the schedule, they arrived at the conclusion that a week before the infections, the coronavirus ward was at peak capacity, with eight patients on ventilators at once.
Paran hypothesized that “when a certain threshold of aerosol formation is exceeded, it exceeds the flow threshold of the ventilation and protection systems,” according to Israel Hayom. There is some literature that supports this hypothesis as well, she said. A hospital in northern Israel also reported a similar incident. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an updated guidance last week said COVID-19 can spread through airborne transmission, saying some people could get infected by exposure to the novel coronavirus in small droplets and particles or aerosols that can linger in the air for minutes to hours. Aerosols lingering in the air could be a major source of COVID-19 transmission, a group of US scientists warned in an unrelated open letter published in the medical journal Science last week.
Researchers around the world have reported findings showing evidence that the virus may be airborne since as early as April, although it remains unclear how infectious airborne droplets are.
Trump’s stimulus proposal draws opposition from congressional Democrats and Republicans
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new $1.8 trillion economic stimulus proposal from the Trump administration drew criticism from congressional Democrats and Republicans on Saturday, diminishing hopes for a coronavirus relief deal before the Nov. 3 election. In a weekly letter to Democratic colleagues, Pelosi said the Trump administration’s proposal lacked a “strategic plan to crush the virus” and gave President Donald Trump too much discretion to decide how funds were allocated. “At this point, we still have disagreement on many priorities, and Democrats are awaiting language from the Administration on several provisions as the negotiations on the overall funding amount continue,” Pelosi’s letter said.
On a conference call on Saturday morning with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, multiple Republican senators criticized the price tag of the Trump administration’s proposal, a source familiar with the matter said.
Mnuchin floated the $1.8 trillion proposal in a 30-minute Friday afternoon phone conversation with Pelosi, according to the White House. The new White House package was higher than an earlier $1.6 trillion Mnuchin offer and closer to the $2.2 trillion the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed last week. White House spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said the administration wanted to keep spending below $2 trillion but was eager to enact a fresh round of direct payments to individuals as well as aid for small businesses and airlines. Friday marked the third straight day of talks between Pelosi and Mnuchin. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in Congress, said on Friday he doubted lawmakers would pass a package before Nov. 3, although he has not directly participated in the talks. “The proximity to the election and the differences of opinion over what is needed at this particular juncture are pretty vast,” McConnell told a news conference. There was no immediate comment on Saturday from the Treasury, White House, or McConnell’s office.
Pelosi rejects Trump’s $1.8T stimulus proposal
Pelosi accuses Trump of MONEY GRAB as she slams proposed $1.8 trillion stimulus package with more $1,200 checks
2
“When the President talks about wanting a bigger relief package, his proposal appears to mean that he wants more money at his discretion to grant or withhold,” Pelosi said. She added the Democrats should push for more funding and details on the plan. The Democrats had previously rejected a $1.6trillion package, claiming it wasn’t generous enough. While hosting a “virtual rally” Friday on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show, Trump said: “I would like to see a bigger stimulus package frankly than either the Democrats or Republicans are offering.” He also wrote on Twitter that the aid package should “Go Big”. Americans have been waiting for months on a second round of $1,200 coronavirus stimulus checks, but talks between the White House and Pelosi have failed to reach a consensus and the GOP-controlled Senate has voiced opposition even to plans Trump supports.
What’s on offer in the stimulus package?
- $1,200 direct payments to adults plus $1,000 for each dependent child
- $400 weekly federal unemployment benefits (end date unclear)
- $300 billion in aid to state and local governments
- $75 billion for coronavirus testing and tracing
Even if a deal was reached within the next few days, it’s unlikely most Americans would see the funds in their pockets until after the November 3 presidential election. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told attendees at an event in Kentucky that any deal would be unlikely in “the next three weeks,” according to Axios.
McConnell and Senate Republicans are more focused on uniting behind and confirming the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in the weeks ahead, a GOP source told Axios.
The source said: “You’re never going to get a deal out of Pelosi that Republicans can support. So do you really want to divide your party within days of an election?” The Axios source described Pelosi as “trying to jam up” Congress as they fight to get Barrett confirmed. “Pelosi’s out there doing 25th Amendment s**t today,” the source said. “Does this sound like a lady who wants a deal? There’s no way McConnell takes his eye off the ball. Republicans are intently focused on the Supreme Court.” The decision by Pelosi comes after she unveiled her 25th amendment plan to oust the president from office after she accused Donald Trump of being “in an altered state.” Pelosi mentioned that due to the drugs that Trump has been on since he was diagnosed with Covid last week, “medical professionals say this could have an impact on judgment.” “The president is, shall we say, in an altered state right now,” Pelosi said on Bloomberg TV. “I don’t know how to answer for that behavior.”
WHO reports record one-day rise in global coronavirus cases amid European outbreak
Oct 8 (Reuters) – The World Health Organization reported a record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases on Thursday, with the total rising by 338,779 in 24 hours led by a surge of infections in Europe. Europe reported 96,996 new cases, the highest total for the region ever recorded by the WHO. Global deaths rose by 5,514 to a total of 1.05 million. The previous WHO record for new cases was 330,340 on Oct. 2. The agency reported a record 12,393 deaths on April 17. As a region, Europe is now reporting more cases than India, Brazil or the United States. India reported 78,524 new cases, followed by Brazil at 41,906 and the United States with 38,904 new infections, according to the WHO, whose data lags the daily reports by each country. According to a Reuters analysis of more recent country data, COVID-19 infections are rising in 54 countries, including surges in Argentina, Canada and much of Europe. Infections in the United Kingdom have reached record levels with over 17,000 new cases reported on Thursday. “We are seeing a definite and sustained increase in cases and admissions to hospital. The trend is clear, and it is very concerning,” said Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director for Public Health England. France’s new daily COVID-19 infections remained above the record 18,000 threshold for the second day on Thursday with new measures to curb the outbreak expected. The average number of new infections reported in Belgium has been increasing for seven days straight and Germany reported its biggest daily increase in new cases since April on Thursday. While India still leads in the globe in most new cases reported per day, new infections are down 20% from its peak.
In the United States, which has the largest total number of cases and deaths in the world, new infections are edging higher along with the most hospitalized COVID-19 patients since early September.
Coronavirus could spread ‘uncontrollably’ over the next few weeks, German official warns
- Germany has issued a stark warning over the spread of the coronavirus.
- Top health officials are sounding the alarm over potential further outbreaks in the country.
- “The current situation worries me a lot. We don’t know how things will develop over the next few weeks,” Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases, said on
Germany has been seen as a poster-child for its response to the initial coronavirus outbreak, having implemented a robust testing regime earlier on, as well as tracking and tracing cases effectively. It’s modern health care infrastructure helped to keep deaths relatively low. While Germany has reported 311,503 cases, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University, and a similar number to Italy where the virus first emerged in Europe in February, it has reported far fewer deaths, with the tally still under 10,000. In recent weeks it has seen an increase in the number of new daily infections. On Thursday, it reported 4,058 new cases, with urban centers Berlin, Munich and Hamburg particular hotspots. Germany has moved to increase restrictions in such areas, with a curfew put on hospitality venues like bars and restaurants to curb the spread. Wieler warned against complacency, however, saying that while Germany “got through the summer comparatively well” that did not mean the epidemiological situation wasn’t dangerous. “Some claim that this shows that the virus is not that dangerous after all — that is a fallacy. Not that many people died because we took measures and kept to them,” the RKI tweeted, quoting Wieler. The RKI updated its risk assessment of the situation in Germany and worldwide Wednesday, saying it was “a very dynamic and serious situation.” “The number of cases continues to increase worldwide. The number of newly submitted cases in Germany declined from around mid-March to early July. Since the end of July, significantly more cases have been transmitted again, many of them initially related to travel. Since the end of August (week 35), more transmissions have been observed in Germany,” the RKI noted. “A continuous increase in transmissions in the population in Germany can currently be observed. The dynamic is increasing in almost all regions,” it said, adding that outbreaks were particularly connected to celebrations with family and friends, group events, and old people’s and nursing homes.The RKI continues to rate the risk to the health of the German population as “high,” and “very high” for particular at-risk groups.
Pelosi questions Trump’s health, says ‘we’re going to be talking about the 25th Amendment’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a dramatic announcement during her weekly press conference Thursday by telling reporters that she intends to discuss a constitutional measure to remove President Trump from office, following questions regarding Trump’s health as he recovers from coronavirus.
The 25th Amendment allows for the vice president to become acting president if is determined that the president “is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
“Tomorrow, by the way, tomorrow, come here tomorrow,” Pelosi said. “We’re going to be talking about the 25th Amendment.” Pelosi had earlier questioned the status of Trump’s health, as well as exactly how long he has had COVID-19. “I think that the public needs to know the health condition of the President,” Pelosi said. “There’s one question that he refused to answer … when was his last negative test?” Pelosi said that this information is necessary in order to “make a judgment about the actions that were taken after that.” “Let us see a date, a time when you last tested negative,” she added. The 25th Amendment requires a declaration of the president’s inability from the vice president and either a majority of either the heads of executive branch departments “or of such other body as Congress may by law provide,” to be sent to the speaker of the House–in this case, Pelosi–and the president pro tempore of the Senate–currently Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. While the amendment allows for Congress to pass a law that would create a body to sign off on such a declaration, Pelosi would have to convince Senate Republicans to go along with it. Plus, Vice President Mike Pence would also have to sign the declaration as well, which would be highly unlikely. Trump said during a Fox Business interview Thursday morning that he is “feeling good,” and does not believe he is “contagious at all.” During a recent interview on ABC News’ “This Week,” Pelosi was discussing Trump’s nomination of a new Supreme Court justice to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Pelosi gave a cryptic response when asked whether she and House Democrats would move to impeach the president or Attorney General Bill Barr in an effort to prevent the Senate from acting on the nomination. “We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I’m not about to discuss right now, but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country,” Pelosi said. Since then, she appeared to rule out impeachment, telling reporters, “I don’t think he’s worth the trouble at this point.”
PIERS MORGAN: Donald Trump’s dying presidency is crashing and burning in a reckless, chaotic, dangerous, earth-scorching ball of fire
Trump fears the American people are about to tell him: ‘YOU’RE FIRED!’
The man who devotes every second of his waking life to the obsessive pursuit of winning is staring down the barrel of an election loss in four weeks that could be a total blow-out. A new CNN/SSR poll published yesterday revealed he’s 16 points behind his Democratic opponent Joe Biden. And the network’s poll of polls puts Biden’s lead at 11 points. He’s draining support from seniors and women in particularly alarming fashion and if things get much worse, Trump could even end up being the new Walter Mondale, who was obliterated in 49 out of 50 states by Ronald Reagan in the 1984 election. Of course, Trump was trailing badly in the polls before the 2016 election too. Then, I felt the polls were wrong. I was filming down in Texas and Florida at the time and could sense the Trump Train was steaming powerfully towards the White House, so repeatedly predicted a shock win. But this feels different. Very different. Trump’s not the renegade outsider now, promising to smash everything up and ‘Make America Great Again.’ He’s the incumbent President who’s smashed everything up… and made America a lot worse. The country is ravaged by coronavirus, suffering by far the worst death toll in the world and now experiencing a scary second wave in many states that threatens to send the current number of 210,000 fatalities much higher. It’s also been crippled by a devastating collapse in the US economy and jobs. And the death of George Floyd sparked huge and sometimes very violent protests, massively increased racial tensions and raging culture wars. The combined effect of all this is that America is on its knees and desperate for someone, anyone to save and revive them. But President Trump’s singularly failed to be that person. He’s never taken Covid-19 seriously – constantly downplaying its threat and encouraging a shockingly casual disregard among his staff and supporters for masks, social distancing, and other restrictive measures essential for suppressing the virus.
Inevitably, this woefully complacent attitude has now resulted in the President and numerous members of his White House team catching it turning the epicentre of American power into a virtual Covid-colony.
But even that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to treat the whole thing with shocking flippancy – including performing pathetic joyrides to wave to fans outside the hospital and ripping off his mask on the White House balcony, so he could pose like some ‘tough-guy’ dictator. Trump’s reprehensibly irresponsible chest-beating ‘I beat Covid and so can you!’ response to catching this killer disease will mean millions of Americans view it in the same dismissive way, and that will cost lives. His reckless disregard for the truth about this virus is so bad that Facebook had to delete a post yesterday in which Trump claimed Covid-19 was ‘less lethal’ than the flu, saying the US had ‘learned to live with’ flu season, ‘just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!’ This is completely untrue. The coronavirus is far more deadly and virulent than normal flu. In fact, Covid has killed more Americans in a few months this year than flu killed in the past five years combined.
Trump: Discussing airline relief, $1,200 checks
President Donald Trump pushed for more coronavirus relief Wednesday after abruptly calling off talks a day earlier — further muddling the administration’s messaging as millions remain unemployed and key industries falter. In an interview on “Fox & Friends,” White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said that he and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were actively considering a stimulus measure aimed at distributing checks to Americans while providing aid to airlines and small businesses. The remarks from Meadows — who, along with Mnuchin, has served as one of Trump’s top negotiators on Capitol Hill — came just hours after the president announced that he was postponing talks to secure a new economic aid package until after the November election.
“The president [has] already been on the phone this morning talking to Secretary Mnuchin,” Meadows said Wednesday. “The secretary and I have been talking about what we could do with stand-alone bills to help airlines, small businesses and the American people, with stimulus checks. So, hopefully, we can convince Speaker Pelosi to do something on a stand-alone basis.” Trump’s decision Tuesday to abandon stimulus negotiations sent the stock market into a downward slide. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had warned earlier in the day that if Congress and the White House did not do more to boost the economy, it could lead to “unnecessary hardship” — a view Trump now appears to endorse. Speaker Nancy Pelosi had proposed at least $2.4 trillion in stimulus, but Trump said he would not agree to a deal of more than $1.6 trillion. “I am rejecting their … request, and looking to the future of our Country,” he tweeted Tuesday afternoon after a phone call with Mnuchin and Republican congressional leaders. But later Tuesday night, Trump reversed course and seemingly sought to restart relief talks, tweeting that Congress should “IMMEDIATELY” authorize billions of dollars in spending to support airlines and small businesses. He also tweeted that he would approve a measure to send Americans $1,200 checks amid the pandemic. The president confused matters further Wednesday morning, minutes after Meadows’ interview, when he tweeted at Pelosi: “Move Fast, I Am Waiting To Sign!” Although talks between the speaker and the White House have stalled, her discussions with Mnuchin intensified last week. Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill tweeted that Mnuchin asked the speaker about a standalone airlines bill Wednesday morning, but the she “reminded him that Republicans blocked that bill on Friday & asked him to review the DeFazio bill so that they could have an informed conversation.” Pelosi, in an interview on ABC’s “The View” on Wednesday, suggested that Trump may have realized the political downside to halting negotiations, though “it’s hard to see any clear, sane path in anything that he’s doing.” Pelosi and congressional Democrats have previously expressed opposition to a piecemeal stimulus proposal, arguing it does not meet the mammoth needs of an economy still reeling from the effects of Covid-19 restrictions and unemployed workers. Millions have lost their jobs, and the coronavirus has claimed the lives of more than 200,000 Americans. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also would face difficulty convincing his GOP caucus to get on board with a big, last-minute agreement, as he remains focused on the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. But some vulnerable Republicans, including Maine Sen. Susan Collins and New York Rep. John Katko, broke with the president over ending talks, with Katko urging Trump to rethink his decision. Nick Note: A smart although liberal Italian Pelosi knows the value of bread and a circus for the masses. Its a lesson Caesar learned and used. In this day and age its a happy check and Netflex. In the roman times checks and TV had not been invented yet