Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA
News on disease control, Singapore, Taiwan, CCP, U.S.
Image of sunny Singapore : Researcher's Picture
News (1)
Covid
prevention strategies should include optimizing Vitamin D, Magnesium, Vitamin
K2 intake
According
to American osteopathic physician, best-selling author Joseph Mercola, Florida’s new surgeon general, Dr.
Joseph Ladapo, has issued a statewide public service announcement in support of
commonsense covid (short for COVID-19, synonym for novel coronavirus pneumonia)
prevention strategies such as optimizing vitamin D level, staying active,
eating nutrient-dense foods, and boosting one’s immune system with supplements.
Florida
Health’s HealthierYouFL.org website
now urges Floridians to “Talk to your health care provider about how certain
supplements or foods containing vitamins and minerals might help boost your
immune system, such as zinc, vitamin D, vitamin C and quercetin.” These are all
well-known supplements that have been shown to have a positive impact on a person’s
covid risk.
The
surgeon general also supports the use of monoclonal antibodies in acute cases,
and as prevention in high-risk patients who have been exposed to covid.
Available treatment locations can be found on FloridaHealthCOVID19.gov.
News (2)
Doctors
should use clinical judgment when recommending treatment options
Florida
Health even highlights emerging treatments such as fluvoxamine and inhaled
budesonide. Importantly, Florida Health now states that, “Doctors should use
their clinical judgment when recommending treatment options for patients’
individualized health care needs. This may include emerging treatment options
with appropriate patient informed consent, including off-label use or as part
of a clinical trial.”
News (3)
Vitamin
D supplements reduce the risk of influenza, covid infections and deaths
On
31 October 2021, Joseph Mercola published a scientific review in the journal
Nutrients, co-written with William Grant, Ph.D., and Dr. Carol Wagner, both of
whom are part of the GrassrootsHealth expert vitamin D panel.
As
of 31 October 2021, their paper, “Evidence Regarding Vitamin D and Risk of COVID-19 and Its
Severity”—which you can download and read for free—was the second
most downloaded study from this journal in the past 12 months. It was also No.
2 in citations and No. 4 for views.
The
study with the most downloads in the past year and the all-time highest number
of views was another vitamin D paper by Bhattoa et al., which found that
vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of influenza and covid infections
and deaths.
A
third vitamin D paper, by Gaƫlle Annweiler et al., also found that vitamin D
supplementation improved survival in frail elderly covid patients.
Clearly,
vitamin D has been at the forefront of many minds, and the Florida surgeon
general recognizes its importance as well. While mainstream media and many
health authorities still refuse to recognize the scientific basis for the
recommendation of vitamin D for covid, the tide may be changing.
As
early as the end of September 2020, data from 14 observational
studies—summarized in Table 1 of Joseph’s paper—showed that vitamin D blood
levels are inversely correlated with the incidence and/or severity of covid.
Many critics of vitamin D will claim that these associations are not causal.
However, there are statistical tools such as the Bradford Hill criteria that
can actually prove causation when these associations are strong enough.
The
Bradford Hill criteria are a group of nine principles (i.e., strength of
association, consistency of evidence, temporality, biological gradient,
plausibility or mechanism of action, and coherence, although coherence still needs
to be verified experimentally) that can be useful in establishing epidemiologic
evidence of a causal relationship between a presumed cause and an observed
effect.
Hill’s
criteria have been widely used in public health research. When it comes to
whether vitamin D insufficiency is a risk factor for covid, Hill’s criteria
have largely been satisfied, meaning responsible clinicians should not overlook
it.
News (4)
How Vitamin D protects against covid
It is important to realize that the human
body is well-equipped to handle just about any infection, provided the human immune
system is working properly, as our body’s first line of defense. Vitamin D
receptors are found in a large number of different tissues and cells, including
a person’s immune cells. This means vitamin D plays an important role in our
immune function specifically.
If vitamin D is lacking, the human body immune system
will be impaired, which in turn makes a person more susceptible to diseases of all
kinds, including COVID-19. As explained in Joseph’s paper, having sufficient
vitamin D in a person's body can reduce risk of covid and other respiratory diseases
through several different mechanisms, including but not limited to the
following:
- Reducing the survival of viruses
- Inhibiting the replication of
viruses
- Reducing inflammatory cytokine
production
- Maintaining endothelial integrity
(endothelial dysfunction contributes to vascular inflammation and impaired
blood clotting, two hallmarks of severe COVID-19)
- Increasing angiotensin-converting
enzyme 2 (ACE2) concentrations. Angiotensin II is a natural peptide
hormone that increases blood pressure by stimulating aldosterone. ACE2
normally consumes angiotensin I, thereby lowering the concentration of
angiotensin II. However, SARS-CoV-2 infection downregulates ACE2,
resulting in excessive accumulation of angiotensin II, which worsens the
infection
- Boosting a person's overall immune
function by modulating his/her innate and adaptive immune responses
- Reducing respiratory distress
- Improving overall lung function
- Helping produce surfactants in a person's lungs that aid in fluid clearance
- Boosting T cell immunity, which
plays an important role in a person body’s defense against viral and bacterial
infections. When vitamin D signaling is impaired, it significantly impacts
the quantity, quality, breadth, and location of CD8 T cell immunity,
resulting in more severe viral and bacterial infections.
According to a Dec. 11, 2020, paper published in Vaccine: X,
high-quality T cell response actually appears to be far more important
than antibodies when it comes to providing protective immunity against
SARS-CoV-2 specifically
- Increasing expression of antimicrobial
peptides in a person's monocytes and neutrophils—both of which are cell types
that help fight infections and play important roles in COVID-19
- Enhancing expression of an
antimicrobial peptide called human cathelicidin, which helps defend
respiratory tract pathogens.
From Joseph’s
perspective, vitamin D optimization is one of the easiest, least expensive, and
most impactful strategies to reduce a person’s risk of serious SARS-CoV-2
(covi) infection and other respiratory infections.
Vitamin D optimization is particularly important for
dark-skinned individuals (who tend to have lower levels than Caucasians unless
they spend extended time in the sun), the elderly, and those with preexisting
chronic health conditions. All of these are also risk factors for covid. So
population-wide optimization of vitamin D levels could significantly improve covid
outcomes among the most vulnerable.
News (5)
How Vitamin D influences a person’s covid risks
At this point, there’s no shortage of studies showing that
higher vitamin D levels beneficially impact all stages of covid. Having
sufficient vitamin D has the following benefits:-
Vitamin D lowers risk of testing positive for covid: The largest observational study to date, which looked at
data for 191,779 American patients, found that of those with a vitamin D level
below 20 ng/ml (deficiency), 12.5% tested positive for covi, compared to
just 5.9% of those who had an optimal vitamin D level of 55 ng/ml or
higher. This inverse relationship persisted across latitudes,
races/ethnicities, sexes, and age ranges.
Vitamin D reduces risk of symptomatic illness: SARS-CoV-2-specific investigations have found that covid
is far more common in vitamin D deficient individuals.
In one such study, 82.2% of covid
patients tested were deficient in vitamin D, compared to 47.2% of
population-based controls. (Mean vitamin D levels were 13.8 ± 7.2 ng/ml,
compared to 20.9 ± 7.4 ng/ml in controls.)
They also found that blood levels of vitamin
D were inversely correlated to D-dimer levels (a measure of blood coagulation).
Many covid patients have elevated D-dimer levels, which are associated with
blood clots. This was particularly true with the original SARS-CoV-2 virus.
While less common with subsequent variants, some blood clotting, just less
intense, can still occur.
Vitamin D reduces infection severity: Joseph’s vitamin D paper also lists data from 14
observational studies that show that vitamin D blood levels are inversely
correlated with the incidence and/or severity of COVID-19. This is quite
logical, considering that vitamin D regulates inflammatory cytokine
production—a lethal hallmark of covid—and is an important regulator of our immune
system.
Vitamin D reduces risk of hospitalization: Reduced severity would translate into a lower risk for
hospitalization, and that is precisely what researchers have found.
A Spanish study found baseline vitamin D levels inversely
correlated with the risk of ICU admission, and that giving supplemental vitamin
D3 calcifediol at 532 micrograms to a hospitalized patient on their first day
of admission, followed by 266 mcg on days 3, 7, 15 and 30 reduced ICU
admissions by 82 percent.
Vitamin D reduces risk of death: Covid patients with a vitamin D level between 21 ng/mL
(50 nmol/L) and 29 ng/mL (75 nmol/L) had a 12.55 times higher risk of death
than those with a level above 30 ng/mL, an Indonesian study found. Having a
level below 20 ng/mL was associated with a 19.12 times higher risk of death.
Another study by researchers in the United
Kingdom found that the risk of severe covid and related deaths virtually
disappeared when vitamin D levels were above 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L).
A third paper published in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics found
a marked variation in mortality depending on whether the patients lived above
or below 35 degrees North latitude. As noted by the authors, having adequate
vitamin D “could be very important in preventing the cytokine storm and
subsequent acute respiratory distress syndrome that is commonly the cause of
mortality.”
Vitamin D speeds viral clearance: While having enough vitamin D in our body system will
reduce odds of infection and serious illness, taking oral vitamin D once
infected can still help us recover faster.
Research published by BMJ’s Postgraduate Medical Journal in
November 2020 found oral vitamin D supplementation in SARS-CoV-2-positive
individuals with mild symptoms who also had low vitamin D, helped speed up
viral clearance.
Participants were randomly assigned to
receive either 60,000 IUs of oral cholecalciferol (nano-liquid droplets) or a
placebo for seven days. The target blood level was 50 ng/mL. Anyone who had not
achieved a blood level of 50 ng/mL after the first seven days continued to
receive the supplement until they reached the target level.
Periodically, all participants were tested
for covi as well as fibrinogen, D-dimer, procalcitonin, and CRP, all of
which are inflammatory markers. The primary outcome measure of the study was
the proportion of patients testing negative for covid before day 21 of the
study, as well as changes in inflammatory markers.
Of the 16 patients in the intervention
group, 10 (62.5 percent) tested negative by Day 21, compared to just five of
the 24 controls (20.8 percent). Fibrinogen levels were also significantly
decreased in the treatment group, indicating lower levels of clotting.
News (6)
How to optimize a person’s Vitamin D level
For optimal health, immune function and
disease prevention, attain a vitamin D blood level between 60 ng/mL and 80
ng/mL year-round. In Europe, the measurements are 150 nmol/L and 200 nmol/L.
In sunny Singapore and other tropical countries,
practice sensible sun exposure year-round, and any supplement may be unnecessary.
The DMinder app is a helpful tool to see how much vitamin D a person's body can make
depending on his/her location and other individual factors.
Many, unfortunately, if there is not enough
sun exposure for one reason or another, and in these cases, an oral vitamin D
supplement may be required. Just remember that the most important factor here
is a person's blood level, not the dose, so before start, get tested to know a person's baseline.
News (7)
How to ensure ideal Vitamin D dosage
First, measure a person's vitamin D level: One of
the easiest and most cost-effective ways of measuring our vitamin D level is to
participate in the GrassrootsHealth’s personalized nutrition project or any
personalized nutrition project, which should include a vitamin D testing kit.
Once knowing our blood level, assess the dose needed to maintain or improve our
blood level.
Assess our individualized vitamin D dosage:
To do that, you can either use the chart below, or use GrassrootsHealth’s Vitamin D*calculator. (To convert ng/mL into
the European measurement (nmol/L), simply multiply the ng/mL measurement by
2.5.) To calculate how much vitamin D you may be getting from regular sun
exposure in addition to your supplemental intake, use the DMinder app.
News (8)
Magnesium important for converting Vitamin D into its
active form
Factors that can influence vitamin D
absorption include magnesium and vitamin K2 intake. Magnesium is required for
the conversion of vitamin D into its active form. If your magnesium level is
insufficient, the vitamin D you ingest orally may simply get stored in its
inactive form.
News (9)
Taking Vitamin D with magnesium and Vitamin K2 helps
Research by GrassrootsHealth shows a person
needs 146 percent more vitamin D to achieve a blood level of 40 ng/ml (100
nmol/L). If a person does not take supplemental magnesium, compare it to taking
vitamin D with at least 400 mg of magnesium per day.
The best bet is to take vitamin D with both
magnesium and K2.
According to GrassrootsHealth, “combined intake of both
supplemental magnesium and vitamin K2 has a greater effect on vitamin D levels
than either individually,” and “those taking both supplemental magnesium and
vitamin K2 have a higher vitamin D level for any given vitamin D intake amount
than those taking either supplemental magnesium or vitamin K2 or neither.”
Data from nearly 3,000 individuals revealed
244 percent more oral vitamin D was required to get 50 percent of the
population to achieve a vitamin D level of 40 ng/ml (100 nmol/L) if they were
not concurrently also taking magnesium and vitamin K2.
Retest in three to six months: Re-measure vitamin
D level in three to six months, to evaluate how sun exposure and/or supplement
dose is working for a person.
News (10)
Take calcitriol in case of covid
According to Joseph Mercola, take activated
vitamin D (calcitriol) if vitamin D level is low and in case of an acute
infection such as covid. The dose is 0.5 mcg on day one and then 0.25 mcg daily
for seven days.
News (11)
Joseph Ladapo recommended statewide Vitamin D intake
Ladapo
was appointed Florida surgeon general and secretary of the Florida Department
of Health by Gov. Ron DeSantis on 21 September 2021, and it is refreshing to
finally see covid guidance that makes sense. In his acceptance speech, Ladapo
said, “I
am honored to have been chosen by Governor DeSantis to serve as Florida’s next
Surgeon General. We must make health policy decisions rooted in data and not in
fear.
“I
have observed the different approaches taken by governors across the country,
and I have been impressed by Governor DeSantis’ leadership and determination to
ensure that Floridians are afforded all opportunities to maintain their health
and wellness while preserving their freedoms as Americans.”
Ref: https://www.theepochtimes.com/florida-surgeon-general-promotes-nutraceuticals-for-covid_4166126.html
Video
It is also effective against mutant viruses! The "interferon" that everyone has, is a powerful backing against covid virus! 4 simple ways to improve interferon in the body | Health 1+1 · Live
Image : Ways to increase interferon level in the human body including consuming less sugar, quit smoking, reducing intake of alcohol, replenishing protein, Vitamins A, C, D, iron intake, be kind, considerate and maintain a sincere heart. (Video Screenshot)
Images : Video Screenshots
News (12)
Employees who have not been vaccinated will not be allowed to return to the Singapore offices from 15 January 2022
Image of a Pfizer vaccination centre in Kebun Baru : Researcher's Picture
From 15 January 2022, Singaporean employees who have not been vaccinated will no longer be able to enter the workplace with pre-event testing.
The government announced earlier that it will adjust epidemic prevention and control from 1 January 2022 to allow more employees to return to work at the company. At the same time, it also stated that it will review measures to allow those who have not been vaccinated to return to the company based on a pre-event test negative report.
"After discussing and reviewing with labour, management and administration, we decided to cancel the measures to allow those who have not been vaccinated to return to the company based on the pre-event test negative report from 15 January." The government inter-departmental anti-epidemic working group on Sunday (26 December 2021) emphasized in the proclamation.
For those who have not completed the vaccination (such as those who have only received at least one dose of the vaccine), they must complete the vaccination before the end of the grace period on 31 January. During the grace period, they can continue to enter the workplace with a negative result of the pre-event test.
The authorities emphasized that this measure has the support of the labor administration and administration, which will help protect the unvaccinated and create a safer workplace for everyone. The authorities have also updated guidelines on vaccinations against covid in the workplace to provide guidance for employers and employees.
Encourage employees to test regularly
On the other hand, as more employees will return to the workplace from 2022, the risk of spreading the virus in the workplace will also increase. Therefore, the authorities encourage all employers to implement regular tests on their employees in order to detect suspicious cases as soon as possible, and then take preventive measures to protect families, friends and colleagues.
Among them, high-risk workplaces are already undergoing mandatory rotating periodic testing (RRT), and the authorities have also extended the RRT financial assistance for vaccinated people until 31 March 2022.
As for those workplaces that are not in Rotational Periodic Testing (RRT), the authorities will launch the second round of applications for free rapid antigen test (ART) kits from 3 to 31 January 2022. Each employee who has been vaccinated will receive a set of eight ART kits to implement a two-month weekly voluntary test.
Update PR and long-term certificate vaccination list conditions
In addition, in order to maintain a high vaccination rate and safely reopen the economy, starting from 1 February 2022, the authorities will make vaccination as a condition when approving applications for new or renewed long-term permits, work permits, and permanent residents.
Comments on vaccine mandate in Singapore from 15 January 2021
Source : Facebook
Image of the sanitization robot at Ocean Financial Centre : Researcher's Picture
My comments
Resuming Work From Home Default please to prevent further spikes in Omicron infection and stop the discrimination between vaccinated and unvaccinated people. It is preferred to prevent disease infection rather than get infected by covi variants such as Delta, Omicron and future new covi variants.
Workers' Party, please voice up for the unvaccinated. Ministry of Manpower is dividing Singapore. It has forgotten about justice and equality. To protect Singaporeans from the Omicron infection and future covid virus infection, it is best to resume the Work From Home Default for both vaccinated and unvaccinated. Studies have shown that Omicron loves to attack vaccinated people and vaccinated people going back to offices may spread covid virus to other staff in the offices, hence inconveniencing everyone. To lower offices' utility costs, it is best to lock down offices until the pandemic is over.
Singapore Democratic Party, please focus on themes like justice and equality when you reach out to the local communities. The latest Ministry of Manpower issue about banning unvaccinated people from returning to the offices and dismissing them for not vaccinated is a discriminatory issue, just like racial discrimination, religious discrimination. Unvaccinated people dismissed will increase the unemployment rate of Singapore. This is not the right way to go for Singapore to recover from the pandemic. Let's stop vaccination discrimination.
There are other ways to reach out to the unvaccinated like teaching them what nutrients to take to protect their bodies against covid. Besides they wear masks and conduct ART tests. Why must threaten their livelihood if they are unvaccinated? There is no justice and equality at all!
Please note vaccinated people are also hospitalized. It's just that the MOH does not want to reveal who have breakthrough infections or vaccinated.
Please do not allow vaccinated people to return to offices to spread Omicron covid. It is best to prevent infection rather than getting oneself infected by covi.
It is unconstitutional to impose vaccinate mandate. We do not want to end up like the U.S. Even barring the unvaccinated from returning to the workplace is like locking them down and unfair. To prevent Omicron infection and prevent further new covi variant infection and increase in the number of covid cases, it is best to lock down offices of non-essential services, non-essential work and resume Work From Home Default. No need to lock down airport, harbour, markets, shopping malls, hospitals, clinics that offer essential services.
Why can't the Ministry of Health teach people how to enhance their immunity instead of stressing vaccination when side-effects can be threatening?
Ma Chao's comments
Smokers harms themselves and people around them too, all the more so during a pandemic whereby they would take out their mask and exhale their cigarettes.
But would we do the same to them and scrutinise them and make them lose their livelihoods?
No. Because we live and let live.
All these divisions are pushing Singapore to a route where we might see history repeats itself.
Look at other countries and their riot. Do we want that in Singapore?
Fully vaccinated or not, we can all catch, spread and die of covid.
according to Israel the booster wanes off within weeks.
This is no vaccination, it seems more like a supplement instead since you need to take it 3-4 times a year, and if your body is already weak, you would still die of covid.
There are also many who got seriously ill or died after taking the vaccine.
How many of them managed to claim? How many are even being acknowledged?
You expect their friends and families to take the jab after seeing what happened to them?
There are also people that chose to not take it because of pre existing conditions or they are allergic to past vaccinations.
Not like they are able to get the medical exemptions even though they have these issues.
Some chose to not take it because of religious or moral reasons whereby the ingredients does contains aborted feutus cells even if its derived from long ago.
Also the full ingredients in the Mrna wasn't published too. The clinical trial hasn't ended.
The full data requires up to 55 years to be published.
If you want to push it this way, be prepared for people that are willing to stand against such unrighteousness even if it means they would be jailed or killed.
Our country population is only this much, yet you want everyone to join in this experiment that no one knows what will happen in future.
Worst is you are doing it even to children.
The Singapore I knew wouldn't allow a drug with so many issues to continue in the past.
Yet we are doing these things today.
We are a small country that was united when the pandemic hit us, we were small enough to contain the virus and so we can move about like how china did. My friends there doesn't have measures we have, they can meet in large groups and whether you are vaccinated or not.
We don't need to lock down forever too.
We just need to get everyone tested and stay indoor for a few days and properly quarantine those infected. Instead of letting the virus run wild. There are many who still died after getting the vaccines.
But instead of doing what was best for the citizens,
we chose a route that requires boosters after boosters, divisions after divisions.
More and more people are coming up with side effects from the vaccines, many of us also know people who died after taking it.
Also those that died of covid even after fully vaccinated.
How many lives were sacrificed for these measures?
How many more lives are we going to sacrifice?
Not forgetting the unvaccinated that might commit suicide or hurt others because of these measures that are also killing them slowly.
If Lee Kuan yew was here he wouldn't allow this to happen. Because he knows divisions are the worst virus.
Marc Go's comments
Majority spreaders/carriers are actually fully vaccinated people, are you aware? Sg MoH data clearly shown it as early as July, but from early August they have stopped showing data. Even UKNHS is showing the same, it's the same trend for Omicron. It only differ when it comes to severity. People seems to be diverted by the authorities and media on illness severity but not on infection. Mutation came from continued infection, and with a denser population it becomes even worse - it acts as catalyst like in an echo chamber.
On the other hand, look at Taiwan !! They beaten covid TWICE - 2020 against wuhan L-type, 2021 against Alpha (predominantly) & Delta. 2020 they were covid-free >9 months and enjoy pre-covid lifestyle. 2021 November they hit >15 days consecutively having 0 covid cases not because of vaccination (pop were <30% back then). They depended nothing on vaccines.
Zunhua Wang's comments
Vaccination should be chosen to take because you feel it can protect your body health. But nowadays like I take vaxx because I need a job, I want to go shopping and I want to have dinner with friends. What a pity
Daniel Leow's comments
Restrict this restrict that and still government dun wish to mandate so just not to take any responsibility if your citizens suffer from adverse side effects. How ‘smart’ of you to say it is voluntary and yet push us to the corner of corners.
Chen Meifang's comments
Govt jus can’t leave this small gp of unvac people alone ? Freedom of choice n important decision-making for oneself becos ultimately Govt not responsible for any mishap...can jus leave them alone ???
Jac CL's comments
Soon they will apply this draconian measures to our kids. Look at what the adult population is facing now. Currently It is "encouraged" and "voluntary" for the kids. Really no sense!
Martin Wright's comments
this is correct. You can sense it. Give it 3 to 6 months and kids without vaccinations won't be allowed in to school. And there won't be any meaningful hbl for them because they will be the minority.
And elsewhere the same, shopping centres, cinemas etc.
They will be forced to take it or have no life (even less than they do now that is).
As sure as sure can be.
Na Lin's comments
So complications from the vaccines such as myocarditis and pericarditis not fatal to kids esp 5-12 age group? then booster how many times? Do you think these kids can even verbally tell you that they having example palpitations? can they avoid running here and there (refer to the extrenous activities that you shouldnt do after vaccination)? then why also ask us to sign a form with the risk that may develop after vaccination? If you want your kids to be vaccinated go ahead, but dont force us to vaccinate ours and experienced the after side effects of the vaccines.
Jonathan Wong's comments
Ministry of Health, Singapore if you lose credibility with this policy, you will, unfortunately, undo a lot of the trust built from good deeds you may have done in the past. And this will carry over to a lack of trust in the overall leadership of the nation. 
You can easily solve this by making all this voluntary.And if you can't convince a person to take it with informed consent (no bullying, VDS etc) then perhaps consider that you need either a better product or a better communications strategy. This is NOT the 1960s when most of the nation could not even read english well...
News (13)
CCP expert: Covi is a "perfect virus", don't think we won
Image : In an exclusive interview with CCTV, the vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Wang Chen, said that covi (short for novel coronavirus, synonym for SARS-CoV-2, CCP virus) is very smart and is a "perfect virus." There are countless possibilities for the development of the virus. (Video screenshot)
Wang Chen, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said recently that covi is very smart and is a "perfect virus". There are countless possibilities for the development of the virus. He warned, "Don't think we are victorious, we just lack imagination of this virus."
Wang Chen, deputy dean of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and dean of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, is an expert in respiratory and critical care medicine. In response to the current epidemic in mainland China, Wang Chen accepted an exclusive interview with CCTV's "Face to Face" program.
According to official reports from the Communist Party of China, 5 provinces and cities including Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Henan Weihui, and Hunan Changsha have found cases of highly infectious covi mutant strains, the Omicron variant (Covi29), and local cases of Covi29 have been found in Guangzhou.
The WHO reported that as of 23 December 2021, 110 countries had reported cases of Omicron. Omicron deaths occurred in the United Kingdom, the United States and lately in Australia.
Wang Chen said that covi is a very clever virus. The medical community calls it a "perfect virus." It knows how to survive and adapt to itself.
"Because there are too many variables in various aspects and they are uncontrollable, there are countless possibilities for the development of the virus. It is difficult to predict, and it is difficult to have a truly accurate time ‘forecaster’." Wang Chen said.
At present, the covid epidemic has been spreading for two years but the epidemic has not stabilized yet. Wang Chen said that human beings' understanding of this virus is still in progress, especially the virus is still in the process of mutation and evolution. The law of this virus is now "not mastered" and has not yet formed a relatively stable state.
In September 2020, the Chinese Communist government held an anti-epidemic celebration meeting, but this year the epidemic has returned. Wang Chen said bluntly, "I said don't think we won, we just lack imagination of this virus."
Wang Chen participated in the fight against the epidemic in Wuhan and witnessed the impact of the outbreak on the medical system. He believes that the government must increase investment and improve the public health system. Otherwise, in another epidemic, I am afraid that we will have to repeat the difficult situation we have had.
Wang Chen mentioned that in 2019, the World Bank announced the health investment of various countries. China's investment is 5.4% of GDP, of which the government's investment is 2.9%. On the world average level, health investment accounts for 9.9% of GDP, of which government investment accounts for 5.9%.
Wang Chen said, "9.9% vs. 5.9%, 5.4% vs. 2.9%. Do you know whether our country's investment is sufficient or insufficient?"
In 2003, Wang Chen served as the chief expert of the Beijing SARS expert team; in 2009, during the H1N1 influenza pandemic, Wang Chen was the leader of the national medical expert team; in 2020, the covid outbreak broke out in Wuhan, and Wang Chen proposed to establish a "square cabin hospital". The recommendations of "square cabin hospitals" were adopted and implemented.
News (14)
Research: Covi can spread throughout the body and stay for several months
A US study found that the SARS-CoV-2 (covi) can spread from the respiratory tract to almost every part of the heart, brain, and body within a few days. This is an organ system, and may persist there for several months.
Bloomberg reported that scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said that they conducted the most comprehensive analysis to date on the distribution and persistence of covi in the human body and the brain, and found this pathogen can replicate in human cells outside the respiratory tract.
The research results were published online on Saturday (25 December 2021) as a manuscript under review by Nature. This study pointed out that the delayed clearance of the virus is an underlying factor that causes persistent symptoms that plague so-called long-covid patients.
The authors of the paper said that understanding the mechanism by which covi persists and the body's response to any virus reservoir is expected to help improve the work of caring for infected people.
"This is very important work," said Ziyad Al-Aly, director of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology of the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System in St. Louis, Missouri. He has led several studies on the long-term effects of covid.
"For a long time, we have been puzzled and asked why long-covid seems to affect so many organ systems. This paper reveals some problems and may help explain why long-covid may even be possible. It will happen to people with mild or asymptomatic symptoms." Al-Ali said.
These research results and methods have not been reviewed by independent scientists, and mainly involve data collected from fatal covid cases, rather than data collected from patients with long-covid.
News (15)
Three covi variants found on wild deer may threaten humans
Image : On 25 November 2020, two white-tailed deer frolicking in Henlopon Point State Park, Delaware. (Eva Hambach/AFP via Getty Images)
American scientists have discovered at least three covi variants of SARS-CoV-2 in wild white-tailed deer. Scientists warn that these variants may infect humans, thereby posing a threat to humans.
Researchers from Ohio in the United States published a paper in the journal Nature last Thursday (23 December 2021). The report stated that scientists have detected at least three kinds of covi variants.
Between January and March 2021, the research team conducted nasal swab tests on 360 white-tailed deer in northeastern Ohio. Among them, 129 (35.8%) of the deer sampled detected genetic material from at least 3 different virus strains. .
Based on the genome sequencing of samples collected between January and March 2021, researchers determined that the variant that infects wild white-tailed deer matched the SARS-CoV-2 strain that was circulating in covid patients in Ohio at that time. While testing the old variants, the team is testing more samples to discover new variants. The continued existence of these variants indicates that the virus can make a home and survive in the species.
Researchers estimate that the infection rate of deer is between 13.5% and 70%. The senior author of the paper and associate professor of preventive medicine at Ohio State University (College of Veterinary Medicine), Andrew Bowman, said that the fact that wild deer can be infected implies that in addition to humans, we may have a new Continue to host.
"According to evidence from other studies, we know that they are exposed in the wild, we can infect them in the laboratory, and the virus can spread between deer. Now, what we are saying is that they are infected in the wild," Bowman Explain further.
Professor Bowman pointed out that based on the genome sequence, humans passed the virus to the deer, "obviously we passed it to the deer several times."
"If they can maintain it, we have a new potential source of SARS-CoV-2 infection," Bowman said. "This may complicate future plans for mitigation and control of COVID-19."
Bowman said that the white-tailed deer as the SARS-CoV-2 virus library may lead to one or two results: The virus may mutate in the deer, which may promote the spread of new virus strains to other species (including humans) ; Or the virus may not survive in the deer body but has not mutated. When humans have no immunity to the virus strain that infects deer, these variants may return to humans.
There are still many questions that have not been solved including how deer are infected, whether they can infect humans and other species, how the virus behaves in animals, and whether the infection is temporary or long-term.
News (16)
Taiwan and EU recognize each other's "digital vaccination certificate"
Images courtesy : Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of China (Taiwan)
The European Union recognizes Taiwan’s "digital vaccination certificate". Taiwanese people who come to Europe in the future only need to present the QRcode certificate to shorten the time for entry inspection. In this regard, the command centre announced on 27 December 2021 that the download of the "Digital Coronavirus Health Certificate" will be available at 8 am from 28 December 2021. It can be completed in three simple steps.
The European Economic and Trade Office announced that the EU has recognized Taiwan’s covi vaccination certificate, which is equivalent to the EU’s digital covi vaccine certification, and Taiwan also recognizes the EU’s digital certificate, which will take effect on 22 January 2022.
Chen Shizhong has disclosed a few days ago that after the Taiwanese download their digital certificates, they can shorten the entry inspection time when traveling abroad for business negotiations. Some foreign restaurants and bars may also require relevant certificates.
Image : Digital covi health certificate issuance platform (1). (Photo/Central Epidemic Command Centre)
As the European Union is an important international alliance in the world, 60 countries have joined the "EU Digital Covi Certificate" system, including 27 EU member states and 33 non-EU member states (statistics until 22 December 2021).
The command centre further stated that the U.S. has publicly accepted passengers holding the EU's digital covi certificate for entry inspection, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) digital covi certificate is also interoperable with it. Therefore, international travel with the Republic of China's digital certificate is not limited to the above 60 countries.
Image : Digital covi health certificate issuance platform (2). (Picture/Central Epidemic Command Centre)
In addition, you can get the link from the official website of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. You can obtain the certificate in 3 steps.
1. Confirm your identity:
(1) Nationals: (1) ID card number + health insurance card number + valid passport number ;
(2) FIDO (for a safe and convenient biometric identification method, providing fingerprint or face recognition login) + valid passport number;
(3) natural person certificate + valid passport number. Choose one of three ways.2. Foreign population:
(1) Unified certificate number + health insurance card number; (2) Unified certificate number + entry and exit certificate number; (3) Unified certificate number + passport number. Choose one of three ways.
Image : Digital covi health certificate issuance platform (3). (Picture/Central Epidemic Command Centre)
2. Select item: Choose "Digital Certificate of Vaccination" or "Digital Certificate of Inspection Results".
3. Obtain the certificate: Click "Download/Print Digital Certificate" on the successful application screen. The file format is PDF. It is reminded to save it in the mobile device or computer hard disk first, and then print out the paper if necessary.
For those who do not have printing equipment but have printing needs, you can select the supermarket on the successful application screen and click "Get the supermarket print code". The system will produce the supermarket pickup barcode or pickup number, please bring it to Super business pays to print.
News (17)
Xi'an quarantine personnel assembled in a thrilling scene as if terracotta warriors
Xi'an announced its lockdown due to the severe covid epidemic. 5 rounds of nucleic acid tests have been carried out for all employees so far. Recently, a short video about Xi’an’s lockdown of the city and full inspection has been circulated on the Internet. On the screen, a large number of "fully armed" inspectors assembled late at night, which looked terrifying and was described by netizens as "terracotta warriors".
The covid epidemic in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province has recently continued to intensify. The latest news released by the Xi'an Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters stated that Xi'an will start a new round of nucleic acid screening for all employees from 27 December - this has been since Xi'an officially announced the first round of nucleic acid testing on 19 December the fifth round of full inspection.
Xi'an has been closed since 0:00 of 23 December. A few days ago, Xi’an officials even announced that starting from 12 pm on the 27th, the city’s policy that each household can send one person out to purchase living supplies every two days after the implementation of closed management in the city will be temporarily cancelled. Before all the results are released, the residents of the city must "stay at home."
According to official information, Xi’an is the largest city in Northwest China and an important hub city connecting Central Asia and Europe under China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative. The city has a permanent population of nearly 13 million. The implementation of the latest anti-epidemic policy mentioned above means that all 13 million people will not be able to get out of their homes until this round of full-staff testing is completed.
When Xi'an was closed down, a short video clip assembled by a large number of inspectors late at night has been circulated on the Internet recently. In the short film, quarantine personnel wearing full protective clothing lined up crowds of people on the streets of Xi'an. It was a little frightening against the dim lights. Some netizens left a message exclaiming, "Looking far away is like rows of terracotta warriors and horses."
[Related video: click here]
Officials also revealed that up to now, as many as 28,983 people in Xi’an have been sent to officially designated hotels for "centralized quarantine". At least 278 hotels in the city, a total of 41,671 rooms, have been officially requisitioned as "quarantine rooms." In addition, 7832 rooms in 41 hotels are spare "isolation rooms".
The Chinese Communist Party CCTV rarely reminded in relevant reports that after the completion of the screening of all employees in Xi'an City, there will be "more cases" in the next few days, asking the public not to panic. The outside world believes that this is the official last resort and is "vaccinating" the epidemic in the next few days in advance.
A few days ago, the Chinese Communist Party's official media "China News Weekly" also issued an article accusing the Xi'an government of tracing the source of the virus and related epidemiological investigations after the outbreak of the epidemic "basically a mess."
The article quoted experts saying that whether the virus spread to the community from the anti-epidemic hotel or was leaked at the airport from the time of entry. It is still unclear until now. When the epidemic was discovered in Xi'an, “the virus may have been spread through multiple generations."
News (18)
Xi'an epidemic heats up, prevention and control upgrade
A new wave of epidemics in China has spread to at least 13 provinces and cities. Covid cases have occurred in Sichuan and Guizhou. Xi'an in Shaanxi Province is the hardest-hit area. Today, the number of confirmed diagnoses is still high. On the 27th, people in Xi'an were suddenly asked for a new round of nucleic acid tests for all employees. Going out is prohibited and vehicles are not allowed on the road. They must wait for everyone to complete nucleic acid sampling and show negative before going out, which aroused public complaints.
The local epidemic in CCP China rebounded. Starting on the 23rd, the CCP has taken strict measures to lock down the city of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province. However, the number of confirmed cases remains high. The National Health Commission of the CCP reported that China added 162 new covid cases locally confirmed on 26 December. Shaanxi Province had 152 cases, and Xi'an accounted for 150 of them. Because the CCP has always concealed the truth, the outside world believes that these data may be severely shrunk.
Lin Xiaoxu, a former researcher of virology at the U.S. Army Research Institute, said, "If a big city like Xi'an becomes the second Wuhan, and another city with a population of tens of millions of people is closed, it will undoubtedly be a blow to this zero-clearing policy. Therefore, Officials must be sacked because of this. Of course, officials everywhere will have a serious chilling effect, and they will go more extreme in the future, so I think the overall impact on Chinese society will be even greater."
On 27 December, the Xi'an city authorities suddenly asked all residents to carry out a new round of nucleic acid testing. The original policy that every household can go out to purchase daily necessities by one person every two days was also suspended. All residents must wait until the nucleic acid result is negative before going out. .
Many netizens ask for help on social platforms, where they can buy food, and some netizens question the CCP’s policy of letting the people drink northwestern wind without food.
News (19)
Research report: "Hydra" spreading false propaganda by the CCP is still operating
The latest research report by Miburo, an independent research organization that focuses on false information, disclosed how thousands of accounts on overseas social platforms cooperate with the CCP’s operation of false propaganda. Mibro's director of China Studies refers to the entity behind these accounts as "hydra".
According to a report by the Voice of America, Mibro recently released a research report saying that they have discovered that there are more than 2,000 accounts on international social networking platforms that are specifically cooperating with the Chinese Communist government to spread false information and propaganda. These accounts operate as a dedicated message group, coordinate with each other on sensitive issues involving Xinjiang, Taiwan, and the covid epidemic, and produce and spread false information needed by the CCP’s propaganda agencies. Mibro's researchers determined that the entity behind these more than 2,000 accounts is Spamouflage.
The so-called "Spamouflage" is a new dedicated vocabulary formed by the combination of the English word "spam" (Spam) and the word "camouflage", which means "spam camouflage". In 2019, the independent network analysis company Graphika detected this entity in a report. Now Mibro's researchers have discovered that the entity is still operating.
Mibro’s report pointed out that Spamouflage is a fully-resourced disinformation actor, because the entity often disguises itself through spam irrigating stickers, using long-term latency or concealing its true intentions to evade detection by social media platform managers. System, so it got the name "garbage camouflage". This entity has been spreading propaganda consistent with the position of the CCP for a long time, spreading false information in order to support the CCP government, and operating on a large scale.
Mibro discovered 2009 accounts linked to the Spamouflage network, of which 1,632 were on Facebook, 319 were on YouTube, and the other 60 were on Twitter.
Mibro’s Director of China Studies Nick Monaco tweeted on December 22 that if one of the accounts in the Spamouflage network is suspended, two such accounts will soon appear. , So he called this behind-the-scenes entity the "hydra" (hydra) that spreads false information about the CCP.
Monaco said in a post that there is no conclusive digital signal that can clearly tie Spamouflage to the Chinese Communist government, but it doesn’t matter who “knocked the input key”, what’s important is that it shows that there is a well-known one. , Actors with sufficient resources continue to disseminate mass propaganda messages of the Chinese Communist government on international social media networks.
The post emphasized that “The content of Spamouflage, the timing of its release, and its promotion of Chinese (CCP) government officials and Chinese (CCP) state-owned media statements clearly show that its goal is to promote the goals of the CCP.”
Monaco pointed out that Mibro’s research has found that these accounts are always “self-like and self-magnifying”, and the interactive numbers on all platforms may include a considerable number of robots and “click farm” operation. Different from the past, the interaction and scale of Spamouflage's operations this year have all “pointed to a sufficiently resourced, growing, and larger astroturfing effort”.
News (20)
The CCP said the U.S. "mainstream media" interviewed Qin Gang but there were no reports in the U.S. media
Image : Information photo of Qin Gang, the new CCP Chinese ambassador to the United States. (China Photos/Getty Images)
The CCP’s "wolf of war" dominates diplomacy, and its external propaganda has increasingly disgusted the international community. A few days ago, the CCP Chinese Embassy stated that Qin Gang, the ambassador to the United States, accepted an interview with "a number of mainstream media in the United States" but none of the mainstream American media reported the incident.
The official website of the Embassy of the Communist Party of China in the United States posted on 24 December 2021 that Qin Gang accepted a "joint interview with editors-in-chief and senior reporters of many mainstream media in the United States" on the 20th. This interview was organized by the Bloomberg Innovation Economic Forum.
However as of 27 December, none of the American mainstream media reported Qin Gang's "interview" this time. Only a few Chinese Communist Party media issued press releases. Han Peng, a Chinese reporter based in the United States, posted on Weibo, accusing the U.S. media of "missing important news with news," and saying that "U.S. media does not publish it."
Qin Gang not only said this so-called "interview," Qin Gang delivered a speech at the Bloomberg New Economic Forum in September this year, and there was no report in mainstream American media.
The official website of the CCP Embassy published the full translation of Qin Gang's interview on December 20, which contained only one question and one answer, and did not mention the name of any "mainstream American media." Whether the mainstream American media interviewed Qin Gang is questionable.
In this interview, Qin Gang mentioned a number of issues such as US-China relations, the South China Sea and the South China Sea, basically declaring the official position of the Chinese Communist Party. For example, in response to the CCP's escalating military threat to Taiwan, Qin Gang responded by saying that "Taiwan is trying to unilaterally change the status quo."
Qin Gang was accused of being a representative of the CCP’s "War Wolf". This year, Qin Gang publicly clamored for the US government to "shut up" at an event in the United States, which once aroused the attention of mainstream American media.
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