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Coronavirus News Articles Commentaries

March 2024

By Gary F. Zeolla

These Commentaries are continued from Coronavirus News Articles Commentaries: April 2022.

    Following is a variety of Covid related headlines and quotes from news articles since the beginning of this year (2024). Despite claims to the contrary, these quotes show Covid is still very much a thing, meaning it is still causing severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths and at a greater rate than the flu. Yet despite that fact, vaccination rates for Covid are lower than for the flu. If not for that sad trend, many of those hospitalizations and deaths could have been avoided.

    That trend was sadly bolstered by a slight of hand by Florida's Surgeon General, made even sadder by research showing the effectiveness of the latest Covid booster shot. The quotes also show it is Covid not the vaccines that has serious consequences and for whom those serious Covid consequences are most likely. That includes the much touted risk of myocarditis. Finally, they show the deadly nature of the medically useless and destructive lockdowns.

Newsmax. COVID Raises Long-Term Risk for Irregular Heartbeat.

       According to Swedish researchers, the odds a person might develop atrial fibrillation — a common arrhythmia linked to stroke — rose 12-fold in the month after a COVID infection, compared to folks without the illness. The risk remained elevated for at least two months, they added.

      Age and COVID severity appeared to be key….

      "We could also see that unvaccinated people were at higher risk than vaccinated people," she added in a university news release. "Overall, the severity of the infection was the strongest risk factor." …

      Besides the sharply raised risk for atrial fibrillation, the team also discovered that having had a bout of COVID-19 raised the odds for another dangerous arrhythmia, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, for six months.

      There was a also five-fold higher risk of developing this irregular heart beat within a month of infection with the COVID virus, the research showed.

      Risks for another class of irregular heart beat, called bradyarrhythmias, tripled in the month after COVID, the study also found.
1/1/24

WBRE. COVID-19 on the rise post-holiday season (via Yahoo! News).

      Dr. Martin says the COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits are similar to what they saw this time last year at their hospitals.
1/6/24

NBC News. A new coronavirus variant has become dominant, but fewer people are being hospitalized this winter than last (via Yahoo! News).

      “The immunity that we’ve built up from prior infection and vaccinations — unless you got the most recent formulation that came out this fall — is really waning over time,” Russo said. “That’s part of why we’re going to be at increased risk for infections with JN.1.”

      The updated Covid vaccine appears to offer strong protection against severe disease caused by the new variant, according to the CDC. A preprint study found that the updated shots from Moderna and Pfizer boosted antibody protection against JN.1 up to 13 times, depending on a person’s history of vaccination and infection. The research hasn’t been peer-reviewed, though.

1/6/24

Newsmax. CDC: Flu, COVID Holiday Surge Expected to Continue.

      According to CDC estimates, since the beginning of October, there have been at least 10 million illnesses, 110,000 hospitalizations, and 6,500 deaths from flu so far this season. The agency said 27 children have died of flu….

      … COVID-19 is putting more people in the hospital than flu, CDC data shows.
1/7/24

Best of Life. Spiking COVID Variants Could Cause Worse Lung Damage, New Research Shows.

       COVID concerns are top-of-mind this winter, especially with the new JN.1 variant making the rounds in the U.S. and across the globe. But while this variant is dominating headlines, it's not the only one you can contract. According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), JN.1 was indeed the dominant variant as of Jan. 6, but BA.2.86, an ancestor of JN.1, is in the number five slot. And though it might not be on top any longer, it's just as concerning: According to new data, BA.2.86 may cause more severe lung damage. Researchers say the same could hold true for its currently surging descendant.

      Two studies published this month studied BA.2.86, Fortune Well reported. In the first study, published Jan. 8 in Cell, researchers at Ohio State University (OSU) created a pseudovirus (a lab-created variety that isn't infectious).

      While data showed that the variant was neutralized by vaccine-induced antibodies in the blood, it also showed that BA.2.86 has an increased ability to infect cells that line the lower lung (epithelial cells) and fuse to cells more efficiently, according to an OSU press release. Both traits are “linked to severe disease symptoms,” the release states.
1/11/24

NYT. Citing Misinformation, Florida Health Official Calls for Halt to Covid Vaccines.

      Federal health officials and other experts have repeatedly sought to counter erroneous comments about the vaccines by Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida’s surgeon general.

Daily News: Editorial: General quackery: Florida surgeon general defiles his duty (via Yahoo! News).

      In a stunning letter to federal health officials and subsequent statement released to the public, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo raised the frightening but evidence-free prospect of COVID mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna contaminating human DNA to recommend that the providers stop using the immunizations. His irresponsible attacks come as the nation is experiencing yet another wave of infection.

Politico. Florida surgeon general altered key findings in study on Covid-19 vaccine safety.

      Researchers with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and University of Florida, who viewed Ladapo’s edits on the study and have followed the issue closely, criticized the surgeon general for making the changes. One said it appears Ladapo altered the study out of political — not scientific — concerns….

      The newly released draft of the eight-page study, provided by the Florida Department of Health, indicates that it initially stated that there was no significant risk associated with the Covid-19 vaccines for young men. But “Dr. L’s Edits,” as the document is titled, reveal that Ladapo replaced that language to say that men between 18 and 39 years old are at high risk of heart illness from two Covid vaccines that use mRNA technology.

The Ledger. Polk providers mostly mum on Fla. surgeon general's warnings against COVID vaccines (via Yahoo! News).

       Only BayCare, a nonprofit health care system covering West Central Florida, provided a statement on the safety of mRNA vaccines.

      “The FDA has thoroughly assessed the entire process for Pfizer’s and Moderna’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccines,” Dr. Laura Arline, BayCare Health System’s chief quality officer, said in a written statement. “Researchers and scientists confirm that there is a 0% chance that mRNA vaccination would in any way affect a person’s DNA. The COVID vaccine is one of the most studied vaccines we’ve ever had, with over a billion doses administered worldwide and millions of lives saved.”

      BayCare operates hospitals in Winter Haven and Bartow and other facilities in Polk County.
1/16/24

University of Edinburgh. All-UK study reveals impact of missed Covid vaccines.

      Between a third and a half of the populations of the four UK nations did not have the recommended number of Covid vaccinations and boosters by summer 2022. Findings suggest that more than 7,000 hospitalisations and deaths might have been averted in summer 2022 if the UK had had better vaccine coverage. With Covid-19 cases on the rise and a new variant strain recently identified, the research provides a timely insight into vaccine uptake and hesitancy and could inform policy-makers, experts say.

1/16/24

The Guardian. Mask policies return in US as respiratory viruses threaten to strain hospitals (via Yahoo! News).

      Cases of and hospitalizations for respiratory viruses, including Covid, the flu and RSV, continue rising across the US, and some health systems have begun returning to mask and limited-visitation policies as health officials warn that hospital capacity may become strained.

      Vaccination rates for all three illnesses remain low, despite the efficacy of updated flu and Covid boosters and the entrance of new RSV vaccines for older and pregnant people….

      About 44% of adults have received flu shots this season, but less than half of that number – about 17% – of Americans eligible for the updated Covid shots have received them, with only one in three nursing home residents being up-to-date.

      The updated Covid boosters protect well against currently circulating variants, according to early research.

      Only 17% of adults 60 and up have received the new RSV vaccines, and Beyfortus, the new, highly effective treatment to prevent RSV among infants, has been very difficult to access.

1/16/24

 MedRxiv. BNT162b2 XBB1.5-adapted Vaccine and COVID-19 Hospital Admissions and Ambulatory Visits in US Adults.

Findings The BNT162b2 XBB1.5-adapted vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech 2023–2024 formulation) provided significant additional protection against a range of COVID-19 outcomes during a period when XBB sub-lineages were predominant but JN.1 was also co-circulating and rapidly increasing in prevalence. Older versions of COVID-19 vaccines offered little, if any, additional protection compared to the unvaccinated, including against COVID-19 hospital admission, regardless of the number or type of prior doses received.

Meaning Our findings reaffirm current recommendations for broad age-based use of annually updated COVID-19 vaccines.

1/16/24

Los Angeles Times. 'If it's COVID, Paxlovid'? For many, it should be easier to get. Here's what to know about antivirals.

      Risk factors for severe COVID-19 include being age 50 and up; not being current on COVID vaccinations; and a wide array of medical conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, kidney disease, heart disease, having anxiety or depression, and being overweight. Other factors that influence health, such as limited access to healthcare and having a low income, can also heighten someone's risk.

1/24/24

CNN. After four years with Covid-19, the US is settling into a new approach to respiratory virus season.

       There have been at least 29 million illnesses, 320,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 deaths from flu this season, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. And the burden from Covid-19 has been about twice as large.

      At least 42,000 people have died from Covid-19 since the beginning of September, according to provisional data from the CDC, reaching a peak of more than 2,500 deaths during the week ending January 13. Covid-19 hospitalizations also peaked in early January, with more than 35,000 new admissions during the week ending January 6 and more than 570,000 total hospitalizations since September….

      Only about 23% of US adults and 14% of children have gotten the latest Covid-19 vaccine, according to data from the CDC. And just about half of the population got their flu shot this year, a tick down from recent years.

      “The Covid vaccine is a really safe and effective vaccine that’s kind of a miraculous scientific advancement. It’s discouraging to me that so many people seem to be ambivalent or unwilling to get it, and we really need to work on that,” said Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “This should be a real asset for our society, and people should be taking better advantage of it.”

3/23/24

Canadian Journal of Cardiology . Myocarditis and Pericarditis Following mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination: 2024 Status and Management Update.

       The incidence of post-vaccine myocarditis and/or pericarditis is low. As of January 2024, over 105 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Canada, with 1,231 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis meeting Brighton Collaboration level of certainty 1 to 3 reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Health Canada through the Canadian Adverse Events Following Immunization Surveillance System (CAEFISS)2

      This yields an overall incidence rate of 1.2 per 100,000 vaccine doses, noting this includes all doses and vaccines, which is consistent with estimates worldwide.

      The incidence of myocarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination varies significantly by age and sex. In a Canadian living evidence synthesis updated in March 2023 the incidence following a second dose of either mRNA vaccine was less than 2.0 per 100,000 doses [0.002%] in males and females under 12 years of age, increasing in males 12 to 17 and 18 to 29 years of age to between 1.3 to 39.0 cases [0.0013% to 0.039%] and 2.9 to 15.7 cases per 100,000 doses, respectively [0.0029% to 0.0157%]. Myocarditis is less frequent in females across all age groups following a second dose acknowledging greater imprecision in these estimates. …

      Public health recommendations suggest avoiding further mRNA vaccination in cases of definite post-vaccine myocarditis until further data is available. The central question is how to consider the small risk of post-vaccine myocarditis in the context of public health measures to prevent severe disease secondary to COVID-19 infection. Given the relative rarity of these events, the true risk of myocarditis following vaccination cannot be ascertained from clinical trial data.

3/25/24

   Note: The preceding study verifies previous studies:

Circulation. Risk of Myocarditis After Sequential Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine and SARS-CoV-2 Infection by Age and Sex.

      Myocarditis is more common after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection than after COVID-19 vaccination, but the risks in younger people and after sequential vaccine doses are less certain….

      In 42,842,345 people receiving at least 1 dose of vaccine, 21,242,629 received 3 doses, and 5,934,153 had SARS-CoV-2 infection before or after vaccination. Myocarditis occurred in 2,861 (0.007%) people ….

      Overall, the risk of myocarditis is greater after SARS-CoV-2 infection than after COVID-19 vaccination and remains modest after sequential doses including a booster dose of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. However, the risk of myocarditis after vaccination is higher in younger men, particularly after a second dose of the mRNA-1273 vaccine.

8/22/22

Conversation. What the research shows about risks of myocarditis from COVID vaccines versus risks of heart damage from COVID – two pediatric cardiologists explain how to parse the data.

       Studies have largely confirmed that the overall myocarditis risk is significantly higher after an actual COVID-19 infection compared with vaccination, and that the prognosis following myocarditis due to the vaccine is better than from infection. …

      A survey of all currently available research reveals that the risk of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination is highest in young men between the ages of 18 and 39 and older teen boys in the age range of 12 to 17, with the highest risk after the second dose of vaccine. The cause appears to be related to how the immune system processes the mRNA and sometimes generates an excessive immune response.

      Myocarditis risk related to COVID-19 immunization is markedly lower in children younger than 12 years of age and much lower in adult males older than 50. The risk of severe disease from COVID-19, particularly in those older than 50 years, has been far higher throughout the pandemic than the risk of myocarditis from COVID-19 vaccination. The risk of vaccination myocarditis is uniformly lower in girls than in boys. …

3/13/23

The Federalists. Four Years Later, Indiana Attorney General Corrects Governor’s Inflated Covid Data.

    “Non-COVID excess deaths from lockdowns and societal panic are estimated at about 100,000 per year in the United States and zero in non-lockdown Sweden.”

3/26/24

    The approach of this book is to study different foods and food groups, with a chapter devoted to each major classification of foods. First the Biblical evidence is considered, then the modern-day scientific research is reviewed. Foods are then classified as “God-given foods” and “non-God-given foods.” The main point will be a healthy eating plan is composed of a variety of God-given foods and avoids non-God-given foods.

These commentaries are continued at: Forthcoming.

March 2024 Coronavirus Commentaries. Copyright © 2024 By Gary F. Zeolla.

The above commentaries were posted March 29, 2024.