11:33 AM 7/7/2020 - Who believes in COVID-19 conspiracies and why it matters

A flock of sheep in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Province. China said a herder had recently tested positive for the bubonic plague.

Bubonic Plague Found in a Herder in Inner Mongolia, China Says
A city put control measures in place after one confirmed case of the disease, which caused the Black Death in the Middle Ages. - nytimes.com

11:33 AM 7/7/2020 - Who believes in COVID-19 conspiracies and why it matters

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Saved Stories - None: We dont know about Covid 19 yet but the possibility is there, he said. Read more at DutchNews.nl: Coronavirus leading to plagues of vermin, rats top the list - go.shr.lc/3iCtH7E via @shareaholic
Saved Stories - None: China news: Ex MI6 boss says Wuhan lab theory should not be dismissed | UK | News
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Saved and Shared Stories from Michael_Novakhov (3 sites) 
Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks: Who believes in COVID-19 conspiracies and why it matters

Michael_Novakhov shared this story from Policy Options.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a daunting array of baseless speculation about its origins. Uncertain times are fertile ground for disinformation, and conspiracy theories can have serious consequences not only for individuals who believe them, but for public health in general.
Unfortunately, only sparse polling exists on the degree to which Canadians are vulnerable to conspiracy theories related to COVID-19.
To better understand the pervasiveness and consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy theories in Canada, we conducted a large, nationally representative survey as part of the Vox Pop Labs COVID-19 Monitor initiative (table 1). We surveyed 2,271 adults across Canada between April 24 and 28 and weighted the results to ensure that they are representative of the Canadian population.
We examined the perceived legitimacy of six conspiracy theories that have been circulating in the news media and on the internet. Our findings show that not all COVID-19-related conspiracies are equally as pervasive among Canadians. The most popular conspiracy belief is related to a theory that received extensive media coverage: that the coronavirus escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China. A sizable 1 in 4 Canadians believe that there is at least some truth to that claim. Scientists seem to agree that it is extremely unlikely, but there is some circumstantial evidence that it is at least possible, which might help explain the popularity of this view.
The second most popular conspiracy theory is that the Chinese government engineered the coronavirus in a lab, which nearly 1 in 5 Canadians believe. And almost 1 in 10 Canadians believes that the COVID-19 pandemic is a way for billionaire Bill Gates to microchip people. The other conspiracies are more fringe: only 6 percent of Canadians believe the pharmaceutical industry is involved in the spread of the virus, while 4 percent of Canadians believe in the link between 5G technology and the virus, or that the US military developed the coronavirus as a bioweapon.
Canadians who believe these conspiracies differ in some ways from those that do not. One pattern in our data is that men are much more likely to believe in these theories than women. For example, nearly twice as many men than women believe the virus escaped from a Wuhan lab. Men are also more likely to believe that the Chinese government engineered the virus, and that Bill Gates is using it as a ploy to microchip people around the world. As an example, 12 percent of men believe in the Bill Gates conspiracy, compared to 7 percent of Canadian women.
We also find that people who get no COVID-19 news on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit and others, are less likely to believe conspiracy theories than those who get considerable amount of news that way. For example, nearly 1 in 3 Canadians who gets COVID news on social media believes that coronavirus escaped from a lab in Wuhan, while only 1 in 5 who does not get their news on social media share this view.
Importantly, the political profiles of COVID conspiracy believers differ from nonbelievers. With the exception of the theory linking the pharmaceutical industry with COVID-19, it is the Conservative Party of Canada supporters who are the most likely to endorse these conspiracy theories. For example, nearly half of Conservative party voters (42 percent) believe that coronavirus escaped from a Wuhan lab, compared to 13 percent of Liberal voters and 10 percent of New Democratic Party voters. A very large number of Conservatives also believe that the Chinese government developed the coronavirus in a lab (34 percent) and that Bill Gates is using the coronavirus to push a vaccine with a microchip capable of tracking people (18 percent). For comparison, only 5 percent of NDP voters, and 4 percent of Liberals believe the Bill Gates conspiracy.
Taken together, our results show that although an overwhelming majority of Canadians do not believe in COVID-19 conspiracies, a worryingly high number hold some of these beliefs. That is concerning because these views can easily be linked to action. There have already been people arrested in Quebec for setting a cellphone tower on fire because they believe that 5G has been linked to the spread of the disease. Importantly, though, this is not just about an admittedly small handful of people who will burn down a cellphone tower. Conspiracy thinking has been linked to other behaviours, especially health behaviours.
In our survey, we examined seven behaviours recommended by public health officials to battle the spread of COVID-19: washing hands more often, avoiding common greetings like a handshake, avoiding gatherings of more than 5 people, cleaning and disinfecting surfaces more often, using alcohol-based sanitizers more often, practicing social distancing, and wearing a mask.
On average, those who believe COVID-related conspiracies were 6 percentage points less likely to practice these behaviours. For example, those who believe that COVID-19 pandemic is a way for Bill Gates to microchip people are 17 percentage points less likely than those who do not believe this conspiracy to wash their hands more frequently.
This highlights that these are not just harmless, fringe beliefs. They have consequences for how individuals respond to the pandemic. These individual behaviours, in turn, have consequences for the larger population. Unsafe individual behaviours promote the spread of coronavirus with devastating consequences for public health and the economy. These conspiracies might deter believers from becoming vaccinated if/when a safe COVID-19 vaccine is developed. This may prevent vaccine coverage from reaching the level necessary to protect the larger population.
This article is part of the The Coronavirus Pandemic: Canadas Response special feature.
Photo: <a href="http://Shutterstock.com" rel="nofollow">Shutterstock.com</a>,  by ABC Photo
Do you have something to say about the article you just read? Be part of the Policy Options discussion, and send in your own submission. Here is a link on how to do it. 


Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks
Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks: 10:06 AM 7/7/2020 - US Army study reveals coronavirus can stay active on skin from 8 hours to 14 days depending on ... 07/07/20 09:34

Michael_Novakhov shared this story from Covid-19-Review.



Heres one remarkable difference between COVID-19 and the 1918 Spanish flu

There are also similarities between the 1918 influenza and SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China. <a href="http://marketwatch.com" rel="nofollow">marketwatch.com</a>

10:06 AM 7/7/2020

Is COVID-19 the dreaded 'Disease X' scientists warned us about?
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» Saved Stories - Disease X-19: Google Alert - Coronavirus and skin: US Army study reveals coronavirus can stay active on skin from 8 hours to 14 days depending on ...
07/07/20 09:34 from Disease X-19 from Michael_Novakhov (82 sites)
... Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, say that SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID -19 disease, can stay on the skin for ... Google Alert - Coronavirus and skin Saved Stories - Disease X-19
» Saved Stories - Disease X-19: Google Alert - sars cov 2 as bioweapon: Who believes in COVID-19 conspiracies and why it matters
07/07/20 09:33 from Disease X-19 from Michael_Novakhov (82 sites)
Our findings show that not all COVID-19 -related conspiracies are equally as pervasive among Canadians. ... believe in the link between 5G technology and the virus, or that the US military developed the coronavirus as a bioweapon . Googl...
» Saved Stories - Disease X-19: We dont know about Covid 19 yet but the possibility is there, he said.Read more at DutchNews.nl:Coronavirus leading to plagues of vermin, rats top the list - go.shr.lc/3iCtH7E via @shareaholic
07/07/20 09:33 from Disease X-19 from Michael_Novakhov (82 sites)
We dont know about Covid 19 yet but the possibility is there, he said. Read more at DutchNews.nl : Coronavirus leading to plagues of vermin, rats top the list - go.shr.lc/3iCtH7E via @shareaholic Posted by mikenov on Monday, July 6th,...
» Saved Stories - Disease X-19: China news: Ex MI6 boss says Wuhan lab theory should not be dismissed | UK | News
07/07/20 09:32 from Disease X-19 from Michael_Novakhov (82 sites)
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from Daily Express :: UK Feed. Sir Richard Dearlove said he wants a more open debate about the origins of the Covid-19 outbreak.  The former MI6 chief believes the coronavirus was engineered and escaped...
» Saved Stories - Disease X-19: Research suggests protective effect of influenza vaccine against COVID-19 severity and mortality
07/07/20 09:32 from Disease X-19 from Michael_Novakhov (82 sites)
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Medical News. A new study involving over 92,000 patients with COVID-19 in Brazil shows that the odds of severe disease, ventilatory support requirement, and death are reduced with a recent triv...
» Saved Stories - Disease X-19: Michael Novakhov SharedNewsLinks: Inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine is associated with lower mortality among Covid-19 patients in Brazil | medRxiv
07/07/20 09:31 from Disease X-19 from Michael_Novakhov (82 sites)
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . Abstract We analyzed data from 92,664 clinically and molecularly confirmed Covid-19 cases in Brazil to understand the potential associations between influenza vaccination and Covid-19 outcomes. Contro...


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Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks: Google Alert - Coronavirus and skin: US Army study reveals coronavirus can stay active on skin from 8 hours to 14 days depending on ...

Michael_Novakhov shared this story from Disease X-19 Symptoms from Michael_Novakhov (16 sites).

... Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, say that SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID-19 disease, can stay on the skin for ...

 Google Alert - Coronavirus and skin

Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks
Saved Stories - None: Google Alert - Coronavirus and skin: US Army study reveals coronavirus can stay active on skin from 8 hours to 14 days depending on ...

... Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, say that SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID-19 disease, can stay on the skin for ...

 Google Alert - Coronavirus and skin


Saved Stories - None
Saved Stories - None: Google Alert - sars cov 2 as bioweapon: Who believes in COVID-19 conspiracies and why it matters

Our findings show that not all COVID-19-related conspiracies are equally as pervasive among Canadians. ... believe in the link between 5G technology and the virus, or that the US military developed the coronavirus as a bioweapon.

 Google Alert - sars cov 2 as bioweapon


Saved Stories - None
Saved Stories - None: We dont know about Covid 19 yet but the possibility is there, he said. Read more at DutchNews.nl: Coronavirus leading to plagues of vermin, rats top the list - go.shr.lc/3iCtH7E via @shareaholic

‘We don’t know about Covid 19 yet but the possibility is there,’ he said.
Read more at DutchNews.nl:
Coronavirus leading to plagues of vermin, rats top the list - go.shr.lc/3iCtH7E via @shareaholic



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Saved Stories - None: China news: Ex MI6 boss says Wuhan lab theory should not be dismissed | UK | News

Michael_Novakhov shared this story from Daily Express :: UK Feed.

Sir Richard Dearlove said he wants a more open debate about the origins of the Covid-19 outbreak. The former MI6 chief believes the coronavirus was engineered and escaped by accident from a lab in Wuhan where the first cases were found.
Speaking to Sky News, Sir Dearlove said: “I subscribe to the theory … that it’s an engineered escapee from the Wuhan Institute (of Virology)”.
Scientific experts along with US and British intelligence communities reportedly all have the view that the coronavirus was not man-made.
This comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) are preparing to send a team of scientists to China in order to investigate the origin of the deadly disease.
Sir Dearlove served as head of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, between 1999 and 2004.
He said: “I am not saying anything other than it was the result of an accident and that the virus is the consequence of gain-of-function experiments that were being conducted in Wuhan, which I don’t think are particularly sinister.
“There is an accumulation of evidence that this is something that has to be openly discussed in the scientific community.”
Sir Dearlove added: “If we are going to have an inquiry in the UK - which I’m sure will happen - about the pandemic and government policy, it will have to start with the science.
“Where did this virus actually come from?”
READ MORE: China FINALLY admits coronavirus failure as it announces crackdown
She continued: “We know spillover from animals was a risk … The virus may have passed through an intermediate species on its way into the human population from bats but we may never know which animal this was - candidates include pangolins and small carnivores like palm civets or mongooses.
“Unfortunately we can’t go back in time and start monitoring from before the outbreak so we only have very patchy samples to try and work this out from.”
The fact that Wuhan was the location of two laboratories who conducted coronavirus research in bats is reportedly seen as more than a coincidence by those who support the lab origin theory.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology, who have been surrounded by speculation from lab theory supporters, said there is “no way the virus came from us”.
In April, the institutes vice director, Yuan Zhiming, said: “We have a strict regulatory regimen.
“We have a code of conduct for research so we are confident of that.
“Why are there rumours? Because the Institute of Virology … [is] in Wuhan people can’t help but make associations, which I think is understandable.
“But it is bad when some are deliberately trying to mislead people. This is entirely based on speculation.”
Sir Dearlove said he was “staggered” that the Britain’s intelligence and security services reportedly do not support the lab theory.
He added: “They clearly haven’t read the science. And they haven’t attempted to understand it.
“The onus is now on the leadership of China to explain why the theory and the hypothesis that it could be engineered is wrong.”


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Saved Stories - None: Research suggests protective effect of influenza vaccine against COVID-19 severity and mortality

Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Medical News.

A new study involving over 92,000 patients with COVID-19 in Brazil shows that the odds of severe disease, ventilatory support requirement, and death are reduced with a recent trivalent flu vaccine. This seems to indicate that these vaccines should be used as widely as possible to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19, especially among high-risk groups. The study is published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020.
Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (blue) heavily infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (red), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAIDNovel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (blue) heavily infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (red), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID

The COVID-19 Situation in Brazil

Brazil has seen a massive upsurge in the number of COVID-19 cases over the last few weeks. With the outbreak seemingly under control in most countries in the temperate zone, except for the USA, the pandemic is still expanding in countries south of these latitudes. Elderly and sick individuals bear the brunt of the pandemic with conditions such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.
At present, non-pharmaceutical interventions are the primary route of challenge to the pandemic, including regional or national lockdowns, restriction of public mobility, and the use of hand sanitizers and face masks. This has caused the single largest global economic hit since the Second World War, primarily due to the absence of an effective drug treatment or vaccine.

Impending Flu Season in the Southern Latitudes

Many of the countries now hit by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are approaching winter, and this may cause seasonal increases in influenza cases. These cause up to 650,000 deaths every year, in the temperate zone. Influenza vaccines are available and recommended, but they remain under-used because of doubts about their safety and effectiveness. Misinformation about their connection to adverse outcomes in COVID-19 patients has also contributed to their under-use.

The Study: Does Flu Vaccination Benefit COVID-19 Patients?

The current study examines the outcomes in over 92,000 COVID-19 patients in Brazil, who have and have not taken flu shots recently. About 84% of these patients had tested positive for the virus by RT-PCR. The rest were clinically diagnosed. About 57% were male, with a group-wise median age of 59 years.
Most individuals were in the age group of 60-69 years, with 37% requiring intensive care at some point, while 23% were eventually put on mechanical ventilation. About 47% of the patients died. The mortality rate, already high, goes from about 15% among children under 10 years to 83% among those above 90 years.
About 66% already had cardiovascular disease, while 55% had diabetes mellitus. About 11% were obese or had a neurological disease, and 12% had kidney disease.
About a third of these patients had taken a flu shot during the last immunization cycle, mostly among those aged 60 years and over, and the better educated.
Study: Inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine is associated with lower mortality among Covid-19 patients in Brazil. Image Credit: Emmy1622 / Shutterstock

The Flu Vaccine Situation in Brazil

The seasonal influenza season in Brazil is at its peak between the 18th and 19th weeks, falling in April and May, while it is later, at the 25th to 27th weeks, in more southern states. The current year’s annual flu shot campaign was conducted a month earlier than planned in anticipation of the coming peak of COVID-19. It is directed at older patients and health workers first of all, then to patients with chronic health conditions, and other workers in direct, prolonged contact with the public. Children and other high-risk groups are immunized in phase 3. The current round used the WHO-recommended trivalent vaccine.
All groups had less than 50% of coverage by the flu vaccine, with the highest coverage being among children and adults aged 60 years and above. About two of three individuals were vaccinated in the current campaign, but about 7% after they reported the symptoms of COVID-19.

Lower Mortality Following Flu Vaccination

The researchers found that in the non-immunized group, the COVID-19 mortality rose from about 14% in the under-10 age group to 84% among those aged 90 years or more. However, mortality was lower in all age groups in the immunized group, with the risk being 17% lower in the 10-19 age group, and 3% less in those aged 90 years and more.
When the age-influenza vaccine relationship was explored, there was a large reduction in the odds of dying of COVID-19 by over a third, at 35%. The researchers then looked at rates of death among vaccinated and nonvaccinated patients in the same facility. They found that the odds of dying of COVID-19 remain lower by 18%.
They also adjusted for multiple health variables and for socioeconomic variables but found that this did not change the magnitude of the positive association significantly.
When only patients with a positive RT-PCR-proved diagnosis are considered, the association remains significant. As shown in earlier studies, the presence of obesity and lung disorders, as well as renal and kidney disorders, had a higher risk of death, but those with asthma had a lower risk.

Reduced Odds for Poor Outcome Following Flu Vaccination

Patients who had the flu shot had 8% lower odds of needing intensive care and about 20% fewer odds of requiring respiratory support. Overall, they found that people vaccinated in the current round were protected but not those vaccinated earlier. Those who were vaccinated before developing symptoms of COVID-19 had 20% reduction in the odds of mortality. Still, if given after the onset, the vaccine was linked to a 27% reduction in the odds of death, though the difference is not significant.
In the latter group, the protection was more significant for those under the age of 60 years when given before the onset of COVID-19 symptoms.

Mechanism of Protection with Flu Vaccine

The study shows that influenza vaccines do not increase the risk of an adverse outcome after COVID-19, but have a protective effect. This could be through several mechanisms. One of these is the potential prevention of influenza coinfection with COVID-19, but this is rare, being found in only 30 cases among the large study population.
The second explanation is the vaccine’s effect of eliciting long-lasting protective neutralizing antibodies and specific T cell responses. These could cross-react with SARS-CoV-2. This is also unlikely because of the great diversity among influenza viruses, and also because of the lack of protection conferred by prior rounds of flu shots compared to taking it in the current campaign.
The most likely mechanism is, therefore, a vaccine-induced change in innate immunity. Immunological memory cells are found in the innate immune compartment and tissue-resident stem cells. These can be activated both by natural or artificial antigen challenges. As a result, these innate immune cells will defend the body against multiple pathogens, including those not targeted by the vaccine.

Implications and Recommendations

Earlier studies have shown that after subjects had first received BCG or flu shots, and then peripheral blood mononuclear cells were re-stimulated with unrelated antigens, a broad range of cytokines was released, with dominant TNF-α and IL-6 secretion. Similarly, live measles, smallpox, and polio vaccines resulted in significant protection against other pathogens as well. All these contribute to the significant reduction in death rates following vaccination.
The researchers suggest: “Given the high similarities of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses with respect to viral structure, transmission, and pathogenic mechanisms, it seems plausible that both viruses are detected by similar or identical pattern recognition receptors. Their binding to viral RNA can then trigger suitable inflammatory and antiviral responses.”
This is supported by research showing that single-stranded RNA of the flu virus binds to Toll-like receptor (TLR), and this elicits immune responses, both humoral and T cell., as well as innate immune responses due to priming by increased cytokine release. This results in trained natural killer (NK) cells, which can then be activated by other viruses like SARS-CoV-2 as well.
This hypothesis is supported by the evidence of lower protection in older patients, which is known to be the case with the flu vaccine since the innate immune system could be less active with advancing age.
As for the enhanced recovery following flu vaccination even after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms, this may be explained by the resulting increase in rapid and efficient clearance of the virus, which prevents its spread into the lower lung areas. Secondly, it could reduce the intensity of the unregulated cytokine storm seen in progressive, often fatal, COVID-19. Thus, future research should focus on these off-target effects to help uncover the nature and duration of the protection offered by the flu vaccine, both systemically and in the respiratory tract.
The study concludes: “In the absence of a Covid-19 vaccine and without a well-established treatment to avert disease progression, induction of trained immunity exerting beneficial, off-target effects might be a fruitful avenue for improving Covid-19 outcomes. “ Governments should seriously consider promoting flu vaccination at this time in view of the many benefits since reducing the number of severe COVID-19 cases will help relieve the strain on the healthcare system and allow the sickest patients to receive adequate care.

*Important Notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.


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Saved Stories - None: Michael Novakhov SharedNewsLinks: Inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine is associated with lower mortality among Covid-19 patients in Brazil | medRxiv


Michael_Novakhov
shared this story
.

Abstract

We analyzed data from 92,664 clinically and molecularly confirmed Covid-19 cases in Brazil to understand the potential associations between influenza vaccination and Covid-19 outcomes. Controlling for health facility of treatment, comorbidities as well as an extensive range of sociodemographic factors, we show that patients who received a recent influenza vaccine experienced on average 8% lower odds of needing intensive care treatment (95% CIs [0.86, 0.99]), 18% lower odds of requiring invasive respiratory support (0.74, 0.88) and 17% lower odds of death (0.75, 0.89). Large scale promotion of influenza vaccines seems advisable, especially in populations at high risk of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection.
 Michael Novakhov – SharedNewsLinks℠


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Saved Stories - None: Google Alert - Sars-Cov-2 origins: Origins of Future discussed Vienna Process launched

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9:35 AM 7/28/2020 - To #CDC, Dr. #Redfield: I think, the link between aggressive and likely infected and sick rodents in #RocklandCountyNY and the high Covid-19 rates there has to be explored to the fullest. These studies and actions may provide the key to solutions for the other areas. ASAP! #FBI

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3:39 PM 7/24/2020 - Coronavirus in brooklyn: The Church Deacon Died of Covid-19. Then His Body Went Missing. 24/07/20 12:42

10:12 AM 8/12/2020 - Can SARS-CoV-2 be transmitted via feces? "Various observational and mechanistic evidence support the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 can infect and be shed from the human gastrointestinal tract." | Sars-Cov-2 fecal-respiratory transmission

7:27 AM 7/26/2020 - Study reveals #Covid-19 can infect #ears - Michael Novakhov - Posts on Twitter

Sars cov 2 as bioweapon: When in doubt, check it out 21/11/20 18:37 from Disease X-19

12:07 PM 7/28/2020 - Rats move to suburbs - What does this mean? Do they escape the smell of death of other rats?