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Covid Quarterly Commentaries for Q1 of 2025

By Gary F. Zeolla

      In this article, I will be quoting from and commenting upon various news articles about Covid from the first quarter of 2025 (January to March).

Health Day. Study Finds Paxlovid May Help Against Long COVID (via Newsmax).

       For the study, doctors prescribed up to 15 days of Paxlovid for a baker’s dozen patients with long COVID, and tracked the results.

      Success stories included a 56-year-old man who had improvements in symptoms after more than two years of fatigue, headaches, photosensitivity, brain fog, elevated heart rate and joint pain.

      In addition, a 51-year-old man who regularly experienced “crashes” related to fatigue, headaches, brain fog, and nerve pain in the hands and feet, found that his symptoms all resolved following 15 days on Paxlovid….

      Long COVID has proven difficult both to treat and to pin down, researchers said. More than 200 symptoms have been ascribed to the condition, due to COVID-19’s effects on many different systems and organs within the body.

      I’ve written before that if there is such a thing as “long influenza” then I got it. Many of my health problems began with a case of the flu way back in February of 2001. Consequently, I can sympathize with the many who are now suffering with long Covid, as many of their symptoms are the same as mine.

      Fatigue has especially been a struggle for me for all these years, so finding something that might help relieve it would be great. As such, I am happy to hear that some in this study got relief from Paxlovid.
1/9/25 

NYT. Kennedy Sought to Stop Covid Vaccinations 6 Months After Rollout.

      Estimates had begun to show that the rapid rollout of Covid vaccines had already saved about 140,000 lives in the United States….

      Vaccines have rare side effects, and there have been cases of injury from the Covid shots. Government officials weigh the harms against the potential to save lives. An estimate released in early 2024 found that the Covid vaccines and mitigation measures saved about 800,000 lives in the United States.

      Another study found that in late 2021 and 2022, Covid death rates among unvaccinated people were 14 times the rates of those who had received a Covid booster shot. Researchers also estimated that from May 2021 through September 2022, more than 230,000 deaths could have been prevented among people who declined initial Covid inoculations.

      “Kennedy” in the title of this article is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.), now head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). For my thoughts in that regard, see RFK Jr. to Lead HHS (Will He Make America Healthy Again?).

      But here, I want to focus on what this article has to say about the Covid vaccines, which RFK (and many others) opposed. I know those so opposed will just discount these estimates, but they are based on solid research. That is seen in the linked to scientific research articles. I’ll leave the reader to purse them.
1/18/25 

NYT. Thousands Believe Covid Vaccines Harmed Them. Is Anyone Listening?

       One linked to article from the quote above needs a closer look, as I am sure it is the one antivaxxers will focus one. But it is the only one that is not an actual scientific study but just an article in the New York Times (NYT), “Published May 3, 2024. Updated May 4, 2024.” The article opens with a story of a woman who claims to have suffered significant harm from a Covid vaccine. It then states:

      As of April, just over 13,000 vaccine-injury compensation claims have been filed with the federal government — but to little avail. Only 19 percent have been reviewed. Only 47 of those were deemed eligible for compensation, and only 12 have been paid out, at an average of about $3,600….

      “Hundreds of millions of people in the United States have safely received Covid vaccines under the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history,” Jeff Nesbit, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said in an emailed statement.

      But in a recent interview, Dr. Janet Woodcock, a longtime leader of the Food and Drug Administration, who retired in February, said she believed that some recipients had experienced uncommon but “serious” and “life-changing” reactions beyond those described by federal agencies….

      Federal health officials say they do not believe that the Covid vaccines caused the illnesses described by patients like Mr. Barcavage, Dr. Zimmerman and Dr. France. The vaccines may cause transient reactions, such as swelling, fatigue and fever, according to the C.D.C., but the agency has documented only four serious but rare side effects.

      Two are associated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is no longer available in the United States: Guillain-Barré syndrome, a known side effect of other vaccines, including the flu shot; and a blood-clotting disorder.

      The C.D.C. also links mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna to heart inflammation, or myocarditis, especially in boys and young men. And the agency warns of anaphylaxis, or severe allergic reaction, which can occur after any vaccination….

      But the National Institutes of Health is conducting virtually no studies on Covid vaccine safety, several experts noted.  William Murphy, a cancer researcher who worked at the N.I.H. for 12 years, has been prodding federal health officials to initiate these studies since 2021.

      The officials each responded with “that very tired mantra: ‘But the virus is worse,’” Dr. Murphy recalled. “Yes, the virus is worse, but that doesn’t obviate doing research to make sure that there may be other options.”

      A deeper understanding of possible side effects, and who is at risk for them, could have implications for the design of future vaccines, or may indicate that for some young and healthy people, the benefit of Covid shots may no longer outweigh the risks — as some European countries have determined.

      That last sentence is the most important and what I have been saying all along. Yes, for those who are elderly or who have specific comorbidities, the benefits of the vaccines far outweigh the risks. But for those who are young and healthy, things are much more murky.

      As indicated in this quote, the much-touted risk by antivaxxers of myocarditis is mainly with “boys and young men.” Yet, such are at little risk of serious consequences from Covid. The same goes for young, healthy women.

      The story that opens this NYT article is of a 37-year-old woman who regularly rode her bicycle 20-miles a day and taught a dance class. She had little need of the vaccine, but she claims to have suffered serious consequences from it. Such stories are sad and unnecessary, but most of all, very rare. “Much of the narrative on the purported dangers of Covid vaccines is patently false, or at least exaggerated, cooked up by savvy anti-vaccine campaigns.”

      One last point from this article is worth noting:

Among the hundreds of millions of Americans who were immunized for Covid, some number would have had heart attacks or strokes anyway. Some women would have miscarried. How to distinguish those caused by the vaccine from those that are coincidences? The only way to resolve the question is intense research.

      This is another point I have been making all along. Just because someone gets vaccinated then sometime afterwards experiences some health issue does not mean the vaccine caused the health issue. A casual connection is not a causal connection.

CNN. 5 expert-approved ways to eliminate artificial sweeteners in your diet (via WTAE).

      Various nonnutritive sweeteners have also been linked to heart disease and early death, …

      Sugar substitutes may also be linked to heart disease. Recent studies have found xylitol and erythritol — sugar alcohols used to tame the intense sweetness of stevia, monk fruit and lab-made sweeteners — associated with an increase in blood clots.

      “Every sugar alcohol we’ve looked at has the same property of fostering an increase in clotting,” said Dr. Stanley Hazen, chair of the Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute.

      “In the case of like erythritol, it takes days to get out of your system, and during that time you’re going to be at higher risk for a clotting event like a heart attack or stroke,” said Hazen, lead author on the recent xylitol and erythritol studies.

      Covid antivaxxers just assume every case of blood clots is due to the “clot shot” (their disparaging name for the Covid vaccines). But there are in fact many other causes of them. That sugar alcohols cause them is very significant given the wide spread use of such in low-carb processed foods due to the popularity of low-carb diets.

      As I’ve said before, rather than asking if someone who was diagnosed with blood clots if he ever got a Covid vaccine, a better question is if he is following a low-carb diet utilizing low carb processed foods. That is a more likely explanation for the blood clots than the Covid vaccines.
1/24/25

UPMC. Heart Attacks Can Happen in Young People — Learn More About Heart Attacks Under 50.

COVID-19

      A 2022 Journal of Virology study examined the link between COVID-19 and heart attacks. Researchers found that people ages 25 to 44 had about a 30% increase in heart attack deaths in the first two years of the pandemic. In fact, heart attack deaths rose most sharply in that age group compared to all other age groups.

      Scientists know COVID-19 can impact your heart and lungs, but they’re still trying to understand the exact link. They suspect that COVID-19 increases the likelihood of blood clots, which can block arteries. They also know that COVID-19 can inflame the heart. It may also cause a rise in blood pressure.

      This article is from a mailer I receive from one of the two major health networks in my (Pittsburgh, PA) area. Along with sugar alcohols, Covid can cause blood clots and other heart issues, resulting in heart attacks. Thus, rather than asking if someone who was diagnosed with blood clots if he ever got a Covid vaccine, a better question is if he ever had Covid. Therefore, here have two reasons for blood clots other than the Covid vaccines.

      This goes to an earlier point—just because some gets vaccinated then later develops blood clots does not mean the vaccine caused the blood clots. A prior Covid infection or consumption of low-carb processed foods could very well be the cause.
2/13/25 

Newsmax. Trump to Sign Order Ending School COVID-19 Shot Mandates.

      President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Friday [2/14/25] ending COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the nation's schools. …

      One week after taking office, Trump also signed an executive order that reinstated members of the military who were discharged for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

      There never should have been Covid vaccine mandates for these two groups of people, as they were and are at low risk from Covid. And there would not have been if Trump had been declared the winner of the 2020 election. But since Biden was installed as President instead, many military personal and school children were forced to get a shot they had little need of, with some suffering side effects as a result.

      Such mandates extended beyond these two groups to college students, professional athletes, and many others, none of which really needed it. It was those mandates that fueled vaccine hesitancy and led to those who did need to get the shots to not doing so, leading to unnecessary suffering from Covid in those groups. Thus, in two ways Covid vaccines mandates did more harm than good.
2/16/25

Women’s Health. Scientists found out the flu virus can shape shift: Here’s how you can outsmart it.

      You’ve heard this before, but doctors stress that getting the flu vaccine is the best way to protect yourself. While being vaccinated against the flu isn’t a guarantee that you won’t get infected, it can still lower the odds you’ll get seriously ill from the virus. Also, make sure to wash your hands often, and avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.

      If you’re considered high risk for serious complications of the flu (or you have something coming up that you don’t want to be sick for), Dr. Adalja says it’s also worth masking up in crowded indoor settings, too.

      Substitute “Covid” for “the flu” in this quote, and all points would be just as applicable.
2/18/25

Newsmax. Rare Syndrome Linked to COVID Vaccine.

      The study, conducted by researchers from Yale School of Medicine, discovered that although the condition is exceptionally uncommon, it manifests with a variety of neurological symptoms. These symptoms include headaches, dizziness, and sensory disturbances, such as tinnitus, that can appear shortly after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine….

      “I want to emphasize that this is still a work in progress,” said Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale School of Medicine who lead the research that was posted online but has not yet been published in a scientific journal, says The New York Times. “It’s not like this study determined what’s making people sick, but it’s the first kind of glimpse at what may be going on within these people.” …

      In the meantime, experts say that since this was a small study, more research and data are needed to reach a definitive conclusion (bolding added).

NYT. Scientists Describe Rare Syndrome Following Covid Vaccinations.

      The study was posted online Wednesday [2/19/25] and has not yet been published in a scientific journal. …

      Independent experts noted that the findings were not conclusive on their own….

      Between December 2022 and November 2023, Dr. Iwasaki and her team collected blood samples from 42 people with post-vaccination syndrome and 22 healthy people without it. People with the syndrome were generally in poorer health than the average American, the researchers found.

      Dr. Iwasaki and her team found that people with post-vaccination syndrome had significantly higher plasma levels of the coronavirus spike protein than everyone else — including those with long Covid — from 26 to 709 days after receiving the vaccine….

      Dr. Wherry suggested caution in interpreting that result. For example, it’s possible that some of the protein may result from undetected coronavirus infections. “I would like to see more data on this topic,” he said (bolding added).

      The symptoms the people experienced are similar to those of long Covid. And Covid antivaxxers jumped on this study, saying it proves their antivaxxism was justified. But I have bolded phrases that should be noted. The last indicates these symptoms of long Covid could very well be long Covid and the result of a Covid infection that was not detected because the person never tested for it.
2/25/25

CNN. Federal government no longer accepting orders for free Covid-19 tests.

      The testing website says orders placed before 8 p.m. ET Sunday, March 9, will still be shipped. Home tests are also sold at grocery stores and pharmacies.

      Ordering on Covidtests.gov has been suspended off and on since it started in the winter of 2021. Last year, the Biden administration stopped the program as virus numbers fell in the spring but restarted it last fall ahead of the respiratory virus season.

      Prices for tests can range from $10 to $35 each. Some insurance plans may cover the tests, and local health programs sometimes offer free tests.

      Given Trump’s desire to cut the federal government, it makes sense for it to no longer offer free Covid tests since the pandemic is over. However, this does mean people will be far less likely to test for Covid. That then ties into previous points.

      Given the cost of Covid tests, people will be less likely to attain them and use them when they get sick. Consequently, they will never know if they had Covid or not, so if they develop blood clots or the symptoms of long Covid, they will be more likely to blame it on a vaccine, as people know if they got a shot or not. But it could be that sickness they had months before was indeed Covid and that is the cause of the problem.
3/10/25

Five Years Since Covid Declared a Pandemic

NYT. Marrying Amid the Pandemic, and Still Going Strong. 

NYT. How the Pandemic Upended Our Lives. 

NYT. How Covid Changed the Lives of These 29 Americans. 

NYT. Pandemics Change History. Covid Was No Different. 

NYT. 30 Charts That Show How Covid Changed Everything. 

CNN. Dr. Gupta on the impacts of Covid-19 five years later. 

      There were many retrospective news articles and reports on this day, March 11, 2025, as it was on this day five years prior that Covid was declared a worldwide pandemic. And conservative talk shows were awash with talk about the alleged mistakes made during the pandemic.

      For me, it was all a reminder of why I began to write so much about Covid. I was frustrated with the fearmongering being promulgated by the left and the lies about Covid being promulgated by the right. That frustration led to numerous articles and commentaries which evolved into this website.
3/11/25

Newsmax. Former CDC Director Redfield to Newsmax: COVID-19 Result of US-Funded Lab Research.

Breitbart. UK Gov’t Told by Intelligence Officials in 2020 That COVID-19 Was ‘Engineered’ in Wuhan Laboratory: Report.

      I never got much into the debate over the origins of Covid. But right after that five-year anniversary, these reports came out confirming that what back then was deemed a “conspiracy theory” was indeed the most probable origin of Covid.
3/16/25

Health Day. COVID Shot in Pregnancy Not Linked to Birth Defects (via Newsmax).

      For the new study, researchers examined more than 78,000 pregnancies detailed in claims data from public and private health insurance providers.

      In all, 1,248 birth defects were noted among unvaccinated people and 199 among vaccinated folks, results show.

      Overall, there were no significant differences between birth defects in vaccinated and unvaccinated women.

      There were a little more than 160 birth defects per 10,000 live births among the unvaccinated, compared with 156 per 10,000 for women who were vaccinated, results show.

      The claim of birth defects being caused by the Covid vaccines was often made by Covid antivaxxers, but “without evidence” (to steal phrase often used by the news media about Trump’s claims). But here, it is true. There never was any evidence of such. And now we have rather strong contrary evidence to that claim.
3/17/25 

Covid Quarterly Commentaries for Q1 2025. Copyright © 2025 by Gary F. Zeolla (www.Zeolla.org).

Overcoming Back Pain: A Mind-Body Solution

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The above article was posted on this website April 4, 2025.