Tag: pandemic

RESEARCH: Dandelion leaf extract blocks spike proteins from binding to the ACE2 cell surface receptor

The engineered spike proteins from SARS-CoV-2 can be STOPPED by a common “weed” that is exterminated from lawns every year. A German university study found that the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) can block spike proteins from binding to the ACE2 cell surface receptors in human lung and kidney cells. The water-based dandelion extract, taken from the plant’s dried leaves, was effective against spike protein D614 and a host of mutant strains, including D614G, N501Y, K417N and E484K.

Dandelion extract blocks SARS CoV-2 spike proteins and their variants

The researchers used high molecular weight compounds taken from a water-based dandelion extract and put them to the test in human HEK293-hACE2 kidney and A549-hACE2-TMPRSS2 lung cells. The dandelion blocked the protein-to-protein interactions between the S1 sub unit of the spike protein and the human ACE2 cell surface receptor. This effect was also true against the spike protein mutations from the predominant variants in circulation, including the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7), South African (B.1.351) and Brazilian (P.1) variant.

The dandelion extract stopped SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudotyped lentivirus particles from attaching to lung cells and stopped an inflammatory process called interleukin-6 secretion. Because the study was conducted in vitro, further clinical studies are needed to understand how the dandelion extract is absorbed and utilized in biological systems of the human body.

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WHO Says Even Vaccinated People Should “Play it Safe” and Continue to Wear Masks

The World Health Organization says that even those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 should “play it safe” by continuing to wear face masks.

According to Dr. Mariangela Simao, WHO’s assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, “Vaccine alone won’t stop community transmission” of the virus.

This leaves the tens of millions of Americans who took the shot expecting that it would equate with them getting back to normal life sorely disappointed.

According to Simao, the delta (Indian) variant of COVID circulating the globe means that mask mandates and social distancing should continue indefinitely.

“People need to continue to use masks consistently, be in ventilated spaces, hand hygiene … the physical distance, avoid crowding. This still continues to be extremely important, even if you’re vaccinated when you have a community transmission ongoing,” she said.

Given that there are likely to be new variants of COVID for years to come, this essentially means that facial coverings and social distancing rules will not fully end at any point in the near future, despite many European governments slowly beginning to lift restrictions.

The WHO issued the guidance despite a British study finding that vaccines were “highly effective” against the delta variant.

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As variant rises, vaccine plan targets ‘movable middle’

Thrown off-stride to reach its COVID-19 vaccination goal, the Biden administration is sending A-list officials across the country, devising ads for niche markets and enlisting community organizers to persuade unvaccinated people to get a shot.

The strategy has the trappings of a political campaign, complete with data crunching to identify groups that can be won over.

But the message is about public health, not ideology. The focus is a group health officials term the “movable middle” — some 55 million unvaccinated adults seen as persuadable, many of them under 30.

“We’re not just going to do the mass vaccination sites,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “It’s door to door. It’s mobile clinics. We’re doing vaccinations at church, the PTA meeting, the barber shop, the grocery store.”

Officials have seized on a compelling new talking point, courtesy of the coronavirus. The potent delta variant that has ravaged India is spreading here. Now accounting for about 1 in 5 virus samples genetically decoded in the U.S., the more transmissible mutation has gained a foothold in Mountain West and heartland states. Many of those infected are young and unvaccinated.

The White House has lent its top names to the vaccine push.

President Joe Biden visited a mobile vaccination site in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday. Earlier in the day, first lady Jill Biden held the hand of a woman at a drive-thru vaccination site in Kissimmee, Florida.

Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, has racked up thousands of frequent flyer miles, visiting at least 18 or 19 states by his count.

The administration also has recruited celebrities and athletes, including country music star Brad Paisley and the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team. It has teamed up with Twitch and Riot Games to reach online gamers and with Panera and Chipotle to offer free food to those getting a shot.

The message, as Surgeon General Vivek Murthy put it: “If you are vaccinated, you are protected. If you are not, the threat of variants is real and growing.”

It’s unclear how well the levers of persuasion are functioning. Vaccination rates have dropped below 1 million a day, and there’s no sign yet of a turnaround. The administration has acknowledged that it will fall short of its goal of having 70% of adults vaccinated by July Fourth.

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Twitter censors UK hypocrite Health Secretary “Matt Hancock” from Photos and Videos search amid public scandal over affair and social distancing breach

The UK’s Health Secretary is currently embroiled in controversy after being caught on CCTV in a secret affair with an aide. The leaked CCTV footage shows Matt Hancock breaching social distancing guidelines and engaging in kissing and an embrace with his aide Gina Coladangelo. Hancock has been married to his wife Martha for 15 years and the couple have three children together.

Yet, while the video has caused national outrage at the hypocrisy of the Health Secretary, the video itself is suddenly harder to find on Twitter as the platform has censored the term Matt Hancock from its photos and videos search.

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Vaccines: Reasons for Concern

We can no longer trust the Centers for Disease Control to weigh honestly the risks and benefits of Covid vaccines for young people.

That is the only possible interpretation of Wednesday’s CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting about the link between Covid shots and serious heart problems in teens and young adults.

At the meeting, CDC scientists presented horrendous data. It showed that even without accounting for underreporting, a second dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines could increase the risk of problems up to 200-fold in young men.

But the scientists then went on to suggest the vaccines should still given – even to kids already suffering from heart problems.

The CDC’s focus yesterday was on two illnesses, myocarditis and pericarditis, forms of heart inflammation that can occasionally progress to heart failure and even death. The CDC and many reporters insist on calling the cases mild. In fact 95 percent of the 300+ post-vaccination cases the CDC has reviewed have led to hospitalization.

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NOT MAKING HEADLINES: CDC Officials Admit More Hospitalizations of Young People from Vaccine than From the Actual COVID Virus – Including HUGE Number of Heart Problems Reported

Earlier this week the CDC admitted to finding more cases of rare heart inflammation in young adults than was expected after receiving COVID vaccine shots.

The Wednesday CDC presentation shows a surge in myocarditis/pericarditis cases in young adults after their second dose of the COVID vaccine.

Former New York Times reporter and author Alex Berenson watched the CDC presentation was shocked with their results and dangerous advice to American parents and their young children.

The CDC’s own voluntary vaccine side effect reporting system received about 48,000 reports for ALL vaccines. This year that number is at least seven times that many for Covid vaccine cases alone.

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Berenson then notes that from the CDC’s own data they are seeing more children and young adults hospitalized from the COVID vaccine than they ever saw from the COVID virus.

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Doctor fired from University of Saskatchewan after posting online statement asking for “informed consent” on vaccines

Dr. Francis Christian was fired from his position at the University of Saskatchewan and is being investigated by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan for an online statement calling for informed consent when it comes to vaccines.

Dr. Christian has been a surgeon for over 20 years. In 2018, he was appointed to the position of Director of Surgical Humanities Program and Director of Quality and Patient Safety at the University of Saskatchewan. He also co-founded the Surgical Humanities Program and is an editor of the Journal of The Surgical Humanities.

On June 23, Dr. Christian was suspended from all teaching responsibilities, and will no longer be an employee of the University of Saskatchewan from September 2021. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan is also investigating him after receiving a complaint about a statement he released last week.

In a statement to over 200 doctors, released on June 17, Dr. Christian recommended informed consent when administering COVID-19 vaccines to children. The statement made it clear that he is pro-vaccine, does not represent any group, the University of Saskatchewan, or the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

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