Get the latest information on emerging health issues from our worldwide coalition of independent doctors, nurses, science and medicine journalists, and international civil society groups. Includes Early Covid-19 treatment guidelines: A practical approach to home-based care for healthy families.
Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance
The ‘Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance’ (FLCCC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing highly effective treatment protocols to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and to improve the outcomes for patients ill with the disease. Includes essential evidence documents.
A review: Antibody-dependent enhancement in COVID-19: The not so friendly side of antibodies
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), represents an unprecedented global public health emergency with economic and social consequences. One of the main concerns in the development of vaccines is the antibody-dependent enhancement phenomenon, better known as ADE. In this review, we provide an overview of SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as the immune response generated by the host. On the bases of this principle, we also describe what is known about the ADE phenomenon in various viral infections and its possible role as a limiting factor in the development of new vaccines and therapeutic strategies.
Sánchez-Zuno, G. A., Matuz-Flores, M. G., González-Estevez, G., Nicoletti, F., Turrubiates-Hernández, F. J., Mangano, K., & Muñoz-Valle, J. F. (2021). A review: Antibody-dependent enhancement in COVID-19: The not so friendly side of antibodies. International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1177/20587384211050199
Vaccinating people who have had covid-19: why doesn’t natural immunity count in the US?
The US CDC estimates that SARS-CoV-2 has infected more than 100 million Americans, and evidence is mounting that natural immunity is at least as protective as vaccination. Yet public health leadership says everyone needs the vaccine. Jennifer Block investigates.
Buyer beware: molnupiravir may damage DNA
There is a certain irony that vaccine shy people who have believed the untruth that vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 alter DNA seem poised to reach for a perceived “alternative” that may actually alter their DNA adversely.
Johan M van Schalkwyk, perioperative physician Auckland District Health Board, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
Covid-19: Researcher blows the whistle on data integrity issues in Pfizer’s vaccine trial
Revelations of poor practices at a contract research company helping to carry out Pfizer’s pivotal covid-19 vaccine trial raise questions about data integrity and regulatory oversight. Paul D Thacker reports.
The use of mRNA vaccines in pregnancy is now generally considered safe for protection against COVID-19 in countries such as New Zealand, USA, and Australia. However, the influential CDC sponsored article by Shimabukuro et al. (2021) used to support this idea, on closer inspection, provides little assurance, particularly for those exposed in early pregnancy. In this article, we draw attention to these errors and recalculate the risk of this outcome based on the cohort that was exposed to the vaccine before 20 weeks’ gestation.
"The study indicates that at least 81.9% (≥ 104/127) experienced spontaneous abortion following mRNA exposure before 20 weeks, and 92.3% (96/104) of spontaneous abortions occurred before 13 weeks’ gestation."
Brock, Aleisha & Thornley, Simon. (2021). Science, Public Health Policy, and the Law Rapid Communication Spontaneous Abortions and Policies on COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Use During Pregnancy.
Informed consent disclosure to vaccine trial subjects of risk of COVID‐19 vaccines worsening clinical disease
Patient comprehension is a critical part of meeting medical ethics standards of informed consent in study designs. The aim of the study was to determine if sufficient literature exists to require clinicians to disclose the specific risk that COVID‐19 vaccines could worsen disease upon exposure to challenge or circulating virus.
Cardozo, T., & Veazey, R. (2021). Informed consent disclosure to vaccine trial subjects of risk of COVID-19 vaccines worsening clinical disease. International journal of clinical practice, 75(3), e13795. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcp.13795
Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Infections, Including COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Infections, Associated with Large Public Gatherings — Barnstable County, Massachusetts, July 2021
In July 2021, following multiple large public events in a Barnstable County, Massachusetts, town, 469 COVID-19 cases were identified among Massachusetts residents who had traveled to the town during July 3–17; 346 (74%) occurred in fully vaccinated persons. Testing identified the Delta variant in 90% of specimens from 133 patients. Cycle threshold values were similar among specimens from patients who were fully vaccinated and those who were not.
Brown CM, Vostok J, Johnson H, et al. Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Infections, Including COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Infections, Associated with Large Public Gatherings — Barnstable County, Massachusetts, July 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:1059-1062. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7031e2
Community transmission and viral load kinetics of the SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2) variant in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in the UK: a prospective, longitudinal, cohort study
Vaccination reduces the risk of delta variant infection and accelerates viral clearance. Nonetheless, fully vaccinated individuals with breakthrough infections have peak viral load similar to unvaccinated cases and can efficiently transmit infection in household settings, including to fully vaccinated contacts. Host–virus interactions early in infection may shape the entire viral trajectory.
Anika Singanayagam, Seran Hakki, Jake Dunning, Kieran J Madon, Michael A Crone, Aleksandra Koycheva, Nieves Derqui-Fernandez, Jack L Barnett, Michael G Whitfield, Robert Varro, Andre Charlett, Rhia Kundu, Joe Fenn, Jessica Cutajar, Valerie Quinn, Emily Conibear, Wendy Barclay, Paul S Freemont, Graham P Taylor, Shazaad Ahmad, Maria Zambon, Neil M Ferguson, Ajit Lalvani, Anjna Badhan, Simon Dustan, Chitra Tejpal, Anjeli V Ketkar, Janakan Sam Narean, Sarah Hammett, Eimear McDermott, Timesh Pillay, Hamish Houston, Constanta Luca, Jada Samuel, Samuel Bremang, Samuel Evetts, John Poh, Charlotte Anderson, David Jackson, Shahjahan Miah, Joanna Ellis, Angie Lackenby,
Community transmission and viral load kinetics of the SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2) variant in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in the UK: a prospective, longitudinal, cohort study, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2021, ISSN 1473-3099, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00648-4.
The trend line suggests a marginally positive association such that countries with higher percentage of population fully vaccinated have higher COVID-19 cases per 1 million people.
Subramanian, S. V., & Kumar, A. (2021). Increases in COVID-19 are unrelated to levels of vaccination across 68 countries and 2947 counties in the United States. European journal of epidemiology, 1–4. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-021-00808-7
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