Tokyo reported a record daily number of Covid cases on Tuesday as the virus spreads in the Olympic host city. The number of new infections record a high of 2,848 on day 4 of the Games, official figures showed, exceeding the earlier record of 2,520 cases from 7 January. That was double Monday’s figure of 1,429, which itself was almost double the number on the same day a week earlier. It takes the total number of cases in Tokyo, which is under its fourth state of emergency, to more than 200,000 since the pandemic began last year. Tuesday’s figure also marked the eighth day in a row that Tokyo has recorded more than 1,000 reported cases. Other prefectures outside the capital have reported record levels of infections in recent days. Hospitals in Tokyo are making more beds available for Covid patients in response to the surging case rates, Japanese media reported. Fears about a surge in Covid cases in Japan linked to the competition have threatened to overshadow the Games and led to opposition from sections of the Japanese public to the country hosting the spectacle. Olympics visitors have already brought fast-spreading variants of the virus into a nation that is only approaching 25 per cent fully vaccinated. Olympics organisers reported 16 new Games-related cases on Monday, bringing the total since 1 July to 148. Several athletes have had to withdraw from their fixtures after becoming infected and organisers have decided to bar spectators from most venues as a Covid precaution. Medals are presented on a tray due to Covid protocols and judges, coaches and other officials must wear masks.
Around 85% of New COVID Delta Infections in Israel are Fully Vaccinated
Israeli Health Ministry announcement, It is the vaccinated who are more likely to be hospitalized and develop critical illness. If Israel was a ‘world experiment,’ as Benjamin Netanyahu presented it at one stage, this experiment is now turning into a disaster (at least for the vaccinated). “In Israel, the vaccinated are becoming infected at a growing rate and as such are spreading the virus rather than stopping it. We also have a good reason to believe that the rest of the Western world will witness a similar pattern as it has followed the Israeli vaccine doctrine.” On July 9, we learned that Pfizer planned to ask U.S. and European regulators to authorize an urgent booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine, “based on evidence of greater risk of infection six months after inoculation and the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.”
On the same day we also learned that the FDA and CDC weren’t very enthusiastic about the idea. In a joint statement both institutions announced that “Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster COVID-19 shot at this time.”
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also said that “it was too early to determine whether more than the two shots that are currently required would be called for, saying it was confident for now that the established regimen was sufficient.”
It was revealed later that day that Pfizer’s emergency booster request was initiated following some catastrophic data from Israel.
Searching for a clue in Hebrew media sources, I came across a spectacular revelation dated 6 July that showed around 85% of new COVID Delta infections in Israel are fully vaccinated.
The above data suggests that while in the youngest age group (20-29) the vaccinated were about 2.3 over-represented amongst COVID infection cases. In some of the older age group (50-59 for instance), the vaccinated were over-represented by even more than 15-fold. We should take into consideration that in Israel most senior citizens are fully vaccinated. And yet, since in Israel only 57% of the population is fully vaccinated, one would expect the balance between Delta cases in Israel to be shared by a rate that doesn’t exceed beyond a 6:4 ratio between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. Clearly this is not the case. On average, according to the data above the vaccinated are more likely to catch delta by a ratio of 5:1 on average.
Being slightly suspicious of the above data and its origin, I asked my Israeli partners to trace an official government document that could confirm the above numbers. Within a few minutes the Israeli Health Ministry announcement for July 6 surfaced in my email inbox and it validates the above finding.
The most significant information is produced by the following table.
The above study reveals that while in February 2020 (31/1-27/2) the unvaccinated dominated the COVID cases by a ratio of 20:1, six months later in June 2020 (6/6-3/7) it is actually the vaccinated who are prone to be infected by a ratio of 5:1. It is the vaccinated who happen to develop symptoms by a ratio of 5:1. It is the vaccinated who are more likely to be hospitalized and develop critical illness. If Israel was a ‘world experiment,’ as Benjamin Netanyahu presented it at one stage, this experiment is now turning into a disaster (at least for the vaccinated). In Israel, the vaccinated are becoming infected at a growing rate and as such are spreading the virus rather than stopping it. We also have a good reason to believe that the rest of the Western world will witness a similar pattern as it has followed the Israeli vaccine doctrine. People like to fiddle with statistics and draw the conclusions that suit them. If only 11 out of the 1271 vaccinated cases develop critical illness, we are dealing with slightly less than 1% of the vaccinated developing critical illness. At the same time more than 2% of the unvaccinated develop critical illness. Yet, since Delta cases are 5 times more common amongst the vaccinated as time passes by, I may suggest that we are facing a possible emerging disaster as far as the Pfizer-vaccinated are concerned.
I guess that Pfizer scientists understand all of this very well and this is why they asked for an immediate booster approval.
Ivermectin, media outlets “debunk” as an effective antiviral
Michael Capuzzo, a New York Times best-selling author , has just published an article titled “The Drug That Cracked Covid”. The 15-page article chronicles the gargantuan struggle being waged by frontline doctors on all continents to get ivermectin approved as a Covid-19 treatment, as well as the tireless efforts by reporters, media outlets and social media companies to thwart them. Because of ivermectin, Capuzzo says, there are “hundreds of thousands, actually millions, of people around the world, from Uttar Pradesh in India to Peru to Brazil, who are living and not dying.” Yet media outlets have done all they can to “debunk” the notion that ivermectin may serve as an effective, easily accessible and affordable treatment for Covid-19. They have parroted the arguments laid out by health regulators around the world that there just isn’t enough evidence to justify its use. For his part, Capuzzo, as a reporter, “saw with [his] own eyes the other side [of the story]” that has gone unreported, of the many patients in the US whose lives have been saved by ivermectin and of five of the doctors that have led the battle to save lives around the world, Paul Marik, Umberto Meduri, José Iglesias, Pierre Kory and Joe Varon. These are all highly decorated doctors. Through their leadership of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care (FLCCC) Alliance, they have already enhanced our treatment of Covid-19 by discovering and promoting the use of Corticoid steroids against the virus. But their calls for ivermectin to also be used have met with a wall of resistance from healthcare regulators and a wall of silence from media outlets.
“I really wish the world could see both sides,” Capuzzo laments. But unfortunately most reporters are not interested in telling the other side of the story. Even if they were, their publishers would probably refuse to publish it.
That may explain why Capuzzo, a six-time Pulitzer-nominated journalist best known for his New York Times-bestselling nonfiction books Close to Shore and Murder Room, ended up publishing his article on ivermectin in Mountain Home, a monthly local magazine for the of the Pennsylvania mountains and New York Finger Lakes region, of which Capuzzo’s wife is the editor. It’s also the reason why I decided to dedicate today’s post to Capuzzo’s article. Put simply, as many people as possible –particularly journalists — need to read his story.
As Capuzzo himself says, “I don’t know of a bigger story in the world.”
Total News Blackout
On December 8 2020, FLCCC member Dr Pierre Kory gave nine minutes of impassioned testimony to the US Homeland Security Committee Meeting on the potent anti-viral, anti-inflammatory benefits of ivermectin. A total of 9 million people (myself included) saw the video on YouTube before it was taken down by YouTube’s owner, Google. As Capuzzo exhaustively lays out, both traditional and social media have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep people in the dark about ivermectin. So effective has this been that even in some of the countries that have benefited most from its use (such as Mexico and Argentina) many people are completely unaware of its existence. And this is no surprise given how little information is actually seeping out into the public arena.
A news blackout by the world’s leading media came down on Ivermectin like an iron curtain. Reporters who trumpeted the COVID-19 terror in India and Brazil didn’t report that Ivermectin was crushing the P-1 variant in the Brazilian rain forest and killing COVID-19 and all variants in India. That Ivermectin was saving tens of thousands of lives in South America wasn’t news, but mocking the continent’s peasants for taking horse paste was. Journalists denied the world knowledge of the most effective life-saving therapies in the pandemic, Kory said, especially among the elderly, people of color, and the poor, while wringing their hands at the tragedy of their disparate rates of death.
Three days after Kory’s testimony, an Associated Press “fact-check reporter” interviewed Kory “for twenty minutes in which I recounted all of the existing trials evidence (over fifteen randomized and multiple observational trials) all showing dramatic benefits of Ivermectin,” he said. Then she wrote: “AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. There’s no evidence Ivermectin has been proven a safe or effective treatment against COVID-19.” Like many critics, she didn’t explore the Ivermectin data or evidence in any detail, but merely dismissed its “insufficient evidence,” quoting instead the lack of a recommendation by the NIH or WHO. To describe the real evidence in any detail would put the AP and public health agencies in the difficult position of explaining how the lives of thousands of poor people in developing countries don’t count in these matters.
Not just in media but in social media, Ivermectin has inspired a strange new form of Western and pharmaceutical imperialism. On January 12, 2021, the Brazilian Ministry of Health tweeted to its 1.2 million followers not to wait with COVID-19 until it’s too late but “go to a Health Unit and request early treatment,” only to have Twitter take down the official public health pronouncement of the sovereign fifth largest nation in the world for “spreading misleading and potentially harmful information.” (Early treatment is code for Ivermectin.) On January 31, the Slovak Ministry of Health announced its decision on Facebook to allow use of Ivermectin, causing Facebook to take down that post and removed the entire page it was on, the Ivermectin for MDs Team, with 10,200 members from more than 100 countries.
In Argentina, Professor and doctor Hector Carvallo, whose prophylactic studies are renowned by other researchers, says all his scientific documentation for Ivermectin is quickly scrubbed from the Internet. “I am afraid,” he wrote to Marik and his colleagues, “we have affected the most sensitive organ on humans: the wallet…” As Kory’s testimony was climbing toward nine million views, YouTube, owned by Google, erased his official Senate testimony, saying it endangered the community. Kory’s biggest voice was silenced.
Continue reading “Ivermectin, media outlets “debunk” as an effective antiviral”
Ivermectin to be investigated as a possible treatment for COVID-19 in Oxford’s PRINCIPLE trial
- PRINCIPLE is one of UK Government’s national priority platform trials of COVID-19 treatments, and the world’s largest currently taking place in community settings looking for treatments at home.
- Ivermectin, a widely used antiparasitic drug, has been added to the trial and is being evaluated in participants from today.
- For COVID-19, ivermectin has shown promising results as a potential treatment in small studies in humans.
- Anyone eligible and with COVID-19 symptoms can join the trial from anywhere in the UK, either online, over the phone or via their health care professional.
From today, ivermectin is being investigated in the UK as part of the Platform Randomised Trial of Treatments in the Community for Epidemic and Pandemic Illnesses (PRINCIPLE), the world’s largest clinical trial of possible COVID-19 treatments for recovery at home and in other non-hospital settings.Led by the University of Oxford, PRINCIPLE is investigating treatments for people at more risk of serious illness from COVID-19 which can speed up recovery, reduce the severity of symptoms and prevent the need for hospital admission. The study has so far recruited more than 5,000 volunteers from across the UK.
Ivermectin is a safe, broad spectrum antiparasitic drug which is in wide use globally to treat parasitic infections.
With known antiviral properties, ivermectin has been shown to reduce SARS-CoV-2 replication in laboratory studies. Small pilot studies show that early administration with ivermectin can reduce viral load and the duration of symptoms in some patients with mild COVID-19. Even though ivermectin is used routinely in some countries to treat COVID-19, there is little evidence from large-scale randomised controlled trials to demonstrate that it can speed up recovery from the illness or reduce hospital admission. Professor Chris Butler, from the University Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Joint Chief Investigator of the PRINCIPLE trial, said, ‘Ivermectin is readily available globally, has been in wide use for many other infectious conditions so it’s a well-known medicine with a good safety profile, and because of the early promising results in some studies it is already being widely used to treat COVID-19 in several countries. By including ivermectin in a large-scale trial like PRINCIPLE, we hope to generate robust evidence to determine how effective the treatment is against COVID-19, and whether there are benefits or harms associated with its use.’ Following a screening questionnaire to confirm eligibility, participants enrolled in the study will be randomly assigned to receive a three-day course of ivermectin treatment. They will be followed-up for 28 days and will be compared with participants who have been assigned to receive the usual standard of NHS care only. People aged 18 to 64 with certain underlying health conditions or shortness of breath from COVID-19, or aged over 65, are eligible to join the trial within the first 14 days of experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or receiving a positive test. People with severe liver disease, who are on the blood-thinning medication warfarin, or taking other treatments known to interact with ivermectin, will be excluded.
New Ivermectin Study By Prof. Eli Schwartz (Awesome Results) – Israeli Study
https://youtu.be/YV2H6_0i4f0
According to a new study conducted at Sheba’s Center for Travel Medicine and Tropical Disease, one viable and readily available treatment option can be found in Ivermectin, a broad-spectrum antiparasitic agent, most commonly used in developing countries. The study, directed by Prof. Eli Schwartz, indicated that Ivermectin reduces the duration of COVID-19 infection.
According to Prof. Schwartz: “We decided to go for Ivermectin because we knew its safety profile well … I decided to test it on patients during the early stages of the disease, to see if it can act a bit like a vaccine and shorten or prevent the contagious stage, and thus break the transmission chain and shorten the isolation period … the study showed that Ivermectin really acted well and shortened the contagious period … The results are very encouraging, and indicate that the drug has antiviral effects.”
Favorable outcome on viral load and culture viability using Ivermectin in early treatment of non-hospitalized patients with mild COVID-19 – A double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial
Abstract
Background Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic agent, also has anti-viral properties. Our aim was to assess whether ivermectin can shorten the viral shedding in patients at an early-stage of COVID-19 infection.
Methods The double-blinded trial compared patients receiving ivermectin 0·2 mg/kg for 3 days vs. placebo in non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients. RT-PCR from a nasopharyngeal swab was obtained at recruitment and then every two days. Primary endpoint was reduction of viral-load on the 6th day (third day after termination of treatment) as reflected by Ct level>30 (non-infectious level). The primary outcome was supported by determination of viral culture viability.
Results Eighty-nine patients were eligible (47 in ivermectin and 42 in placebo arm). Their median age was 35 years. Females accounted for 21·6%, and 16·8% were asymptomatic at recruitment. Median time from symptom onset was 4 days. There were no statistical differences in these parameters between the two groups.
On day 6, 34 out of 47 (72%) patients in the ivermectin arm reached the endpoint, compared to 21/ 42 (50%) in the placebo arm (OR 2·62; 95% CI: 1·09-6·31). In a multivariable logistic-regression model, the odds of a negative test at day 6 was 2.62 time higher in the ivermectin group (95% CI: 1·06–6·45). Cultures at days 2 to 6 were positive in 3/23 (13·0%) of ivermectin samples vs. 14/29 (48·2%) in the placebo group (p=0·008).
Conclusions There were significantly lower viral loads and viable cultures in the ivermectin group, which could lead to shortening isolation time in these patients.
The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT 044297411.
PS Israel has started a even bigger clinical study.
UK sees highest COVID death rate since March
The UK has recorded 23,511 new COVID-19 cases and 131 more coronavirus-related deaths in the latest 24-hour period, according to government data.It is the seventh day in a row that the number of infections has fallen.
It takes the total number of people who have died in the UK within 28 days of a positive COVID test to 129,303. Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that since the pandemic began there have been 154,000 deaths registered in the UK where coronavirus was mentioned. It has been the highest number of daily deaths since March amid the coronavirus pandemic. The 141 more deaths have brought the total to 129,303. Meanwhile new infections have continued to dip daily, with the UK recording ONLY 23,511 NEW Covid cases. The UK is battling a surge in COVID-19 cases, attributed in part to the ultra-infectious Delta variant. Thursday’s figures represent a significant increase on Wednesday, when 49 people were reported dead within 28-days of a positive coronavirus test. In total Britain recorded 48,553 new coronavirus cases, up from 42,302 on Wednesday.
Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England (PHE), said: “Rates are still high and the pandemic is not over yet, today we have recorded the highest number of deaths since March.
“This is in part due to the high number of cases recorded in recent weeks. We know deaths follow when there are a high number of cases and data today highlights we are still in the third wave.” She continued: “We can all help. Meeting outside is safer than inside, get two doses of the vaccine as soon as you can and isolate if you are told to by NHS Test & Trace. If you show symptoms, stay home and get a PCR test. Limiting your contacts is the best way to stop the virus spreading.” Today’s figures compare with 24,950 infections and 14 deaths reported yesterday, while 46,558 cases and 96 deaths were announced this time last week. SAGE member Professor Mark Walport admitted “everyone’s scratching their heads a little bit as to exactly what the explanation is”, while other scientists have urged caution. And Dr Duncan Robertson, an expert in COVID-19 modelling and analysis, said we should be looking at the positivity rate (or percentage of tests coming back positive) – which remains “very high” and could indicate not enough testing is being carried out.
CDC updates guidance, recommends vaccinated people wear masks indoors in certain areas
To prevent further spread of the Delta variant, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask guidance on Tuesday to recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors when in areas with “substantial” and “high” transmission of Covid-19, which includes nearly two-thirds of all US counties. “In recent days I have seen new scientific data from recent outbreak investigations showing that the Delta variant behaves uniquely differently from past strains of the virus that cause Covid-19,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told a media briefing on Tuesday. “This new science is worrisome and unfortunately warrants an update to our recommendations,” she said. “This is not a decision that we or CDC has made lightly.”
New unpublished data showing that vaccinated people infected with the Delta coronavirus variant can have as much virus as those who are unvaccinated is the primary driver for the CDC’s latest mask guidance change, a source involved with the decision process told CNN. Overall, vaccinated people still play a small role in transmission and breakthrough infections are rare.
In addition, the source noted two other factors that led to this decision: the prevalence of the Delta variant and low vaccine uptake. When the CDC previously revised its guidance on May 13 for vaccinated people to unmask, Delta only represented 1% of reported infections. Now, according to the CDC, it represents at least 83% of cases. The source also noted that the country’s overall level of vaccination is lower than what was initially expected and that most transmission is happening in areas with vaccination levels below 40% of the population. “When you get information about risks and how to mitigate risks, there’s a public health obligation to let people know about it,” a senior administration official said. The White House is hoping that the new guidance will give local officials “a lot of cover” to implement new mask mandates where appropriate. Meanwhile, the guidance for unvaccinated people remains the same: continue masking until they are fully vaccinated. Nearly half — 46% — of US counties currently have high transmission and 17% have “substantial” transmission, according to data from the CDC, as of Tuesday morning. In two states, Arkansas and Louisiana, every county is currently listed as having “high” levels of community transmission of Covid-19, according to CDC data. Several other states — including Missouri, Mississippi and Alabama — also have “high” transmission in nearly every county. In Florida, every county was listed with high transmission on Monday; as of Tuesday morning, one — Glades County — has substantial transmission. “Vaccinated individuals continue to represent a very small amount of transmission occurring around the country. We continue to estimate that the risk of a breakthrough infection with symptom upon exposure to the Delta variant is reduced by seven-fold. The reduction of 20-fold for hospitalizations, and deaths,” Walensky said during Tuesday’s briefing. “As CDC has recommended for months, unvaccinated individuals should get vaccinated and continue masking until they are fully vaccinated,” she said. “In areas with substantial and high transmission, CDC recommends fully vaccinated people wear masks in public, indoor settings, to help prevent the spread of the Delta variant and protect others — this includes schools.” The CDC’s latest guidance also recommends for community leaders to encourage vaccination and mask-wearing to prevent further outbreaks in areas of substantial and high transmission. The agency recommends that local jurisdictions encourage universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status.
Earlier this month, the CDC’s Covid-19 school guidance noted that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks, and then about a week later the American Academy of Pediatrics issued stricter guidance recommending that everyone older than 2 wear a mask in schools, regardless of vaccination their status.
Now the updated CDC guidance recommends everyone in schools wear masks. “CDC recommends that everyone in K through 12 schools wear a mask indoors, including teachers, staff, students and visitors, regardless of vaccination status. Children should return to full-time, in-person learning in the fall with proper prevention strategies in place,” Walensky said. “Finally, CDC recommends community leaders encourage vaccination and universal masking to prevent further outbreaks in areas of substantial and high transmission. With the Delta variant, vaccinating more Americans now is more urgent than ever.” The updated CDC guidance makes “excellent sense,” Dr. David Weber, professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill and board member of the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology, told CNN on Tuesday. “Breakthrough disease clearly occurs, and for those cases, we know they’re much more mild in vaccinated people, but we don’t know how infectious vaccinated people are,” he said. “But clearly, if you want to protect your children under 12 or grandchildren, or protect immunocompromised people, as well as protect your own health — from even mild disease — then you should be wearing a mask, particularly in areas of high transmission when indoors.”
UK sees highest COVID death rate since March
The UK has recorded the highest number of deaths since March despite a drop in Covid-19 cases. A further 131 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Tuesday – the highest day-on-day rise since March 17 bringing the UK total to 129,303. There had been a further 23,511 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK as of 9am on Tuesday, the Government said, meaning daily reported cases have fallen for a seventh day in a row. Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have been 154,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. Responding to the 131 deaths, Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England, said: “Rates are still high and the pandemic is not over yet, today we have recorded the highest number of deaths since March.
“This is in part due to the high number of cases recorded in recent weeks. We know deaths follow when there are a high number of cases and data today highlights we are still in the third wave.
Green passes are being introduced in these 13 European countries – even if you’re a tourist
The following number of countries in Europe are planning to make it illegal to enter bars and restaurants without proof of a COVID-19 vaccination. A rise in cases in countries including France, Italy and the Netherlands means ‘green passes’ will be required to enter all indoor hospitality venues. Each country has a slightly different plan for how the passes will work. So make sure you are informed of the rules before traveling to any of these countries. This will take the form of either paper documentation or an app that proves visitors to indoor dining and entertainment venues have been fully vaccinated and are allowed to enter, restriction-free. It is not expected to affect each country’s rules on outdoor hospitality and gatherings. These measures are being taken to ensure visitors to bars, restaurants, museums, indoor sports venues, and other cultural/entertainment sites are kept safe from infection and not limited to restrictions like mask-wearing or social distancing. Some nations are still in the process of legally verifying how the passes will work. Others have had this in place with their own apps since COVID-19 related travel restrictions started lifting across Europe earlier this year.
70% of EU adults received at least one COVID vaccine jab
Seventy percent of adults in the European Union have received at least one shot of the CVID-19 vaccines, Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday. “The EU has kept its word and delivered. Our target was to protect 70% of adults in the European Union with at least one vaccination in July. Today we have achieved this target,” von der Leyen said in a statement. The proportion of people aged 18 and over having been fully inoculated in the bloc now stands at 57%, she added. “These figures put Europe among the world leaders. The catch-up process has been very successful — but we need to keep up the effort,” she went on, warning that “the Delta variant is very dangerous.”