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Pfizer and Moderna to Investigate Their Own Vaccines for Myocarditis Risks

ZeroHedge reported:

Why is Big Pharma investigating their own COVID vaccines for myocarditis side effects if the vaccines were already supposedly tested and proven safe and effective? Both Pfizer and Moderna have announced that they will be undertaking studies to determine the longer-term risks of myocarditis (an inflammatory condition of the heart which can lead to death) for people who have been injected with the mRNA-based COVID vaccines.

The decision comes after the release of multiple medical studies which show a correlation and causation between the vaccines and an exponential increase in heart problems, specifically among men 40 years old and younger. Only a year ago the link between COVID vaccinations and myocarditis was widely denied.

Studies also show that myocarditis risk increases with the number of boosters a person has taken.

Before the year 2020, the average vaccine was tested and re-tested by pharmaceutical companies and the FDA for 10 to 15 years before it could be released to the public. This was done not only because testing is a complex process with a lot of red tape involved, but also because it is the only way to discover any long-term side effects that might be associated with a particular immunization product. If you read any medical journal or scientific outline on vaccine development published before 2020, they all agree that long-term testing is necessary for public safety.

How the Speed of the COVID Vaccine Breakthrough Is Changing the Way Pfizer Thinks About the Future

CNBC reported:

The mRNA technology underlying COVID vaccines was being perfected in the lab for decades ahead of its biggest real-world test during the pandemic, but the actual breakneck pace at which COVID vaccines and antiviral drugs like Paxlovid came through clinical trials and to the market was unprecedented. That’s an experience and speed of discovery that Pfizer hopes to replicate as it looks to the future of vaccine and drug development.

Aamir Malik, who joined Pfizer in August 2021 as chief business innovation officer, said far from any letdown after the huge success of the COVID vaccine, he came into a company where “there was almost an even renewed energy” within the organization after the vaccine success.

“Let’s do that again, and let’s figure out what are all the other problems that we can bring this kind of mindset, our resources, our capabilities, to try and solve,” Malik said at the recent CNBC Work Summit. Tapping into that energy, Malik said, means understanding and learning from the “importance of speed” in the COVID vaccine success story.

“It was very evident in the pandemic because it needed to be solved with urgency, and we’ve taken this concept of speed now and applied it to everything we do,” he told CNBC’s Bertha Coombs. “If we can find a way to take three years out of the timeline of developing a drug which can last orders of magnitude longer, that’s three years faster we can bring medicine to a patient. And in order to make a change like that requires tremendous ingenuity, but there’s a belief it can be done.”

High Court Injunction Sought Over Use of COVID Vaccines on Children

The Irish Times reported:

Two individuals have asked the High Court to make orders preventing the State from administering COVID-19 vaccines or booster shots to children aged between five and 11 years of age until full information about any alleged risks has been given to the public. The action has been brought by Limerick housewife Sharon Browne and data analyst David Egan.

They are seeking to injunct Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the former chief medical officer, Dr. Tony Holohan. The pair, who were not legally represented, claim they are seeking an injunction to protect the rights of children. They claim that alleged harm is being caused by the vaccines, which breaches the Constitutional right to bodily integrity.

The action is opposed by the State and the HSE, which is represented by David Leahy SC. They deny all the adverse claims about the vaccine’s safety.

If granted, the applicants claim, the order would allow parents and guardians to be fully informed about what the applicants allege are the risks, deaths, injuries, illnesses and disabilities caused by the vaccines. This information, it is claimed, would allow parents to give informed consent regarding vaccination.

Australia Recommends Against Fifth Vaccine Dose as Fresh COVID Wave Builds

Reuters reported:

Australian health authorities have recommended against getting a fifth COVID-19 vaccine shot, even as they urged those eligible to sign up for their remaining booster doses as the country’s latest COVID wave grows rapidly.

Health Minister Mark Butler said the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunizations (ATAGI) had recommended against a fifth dose, or third booster, after evidence from Singapore’s recent wave showed that severe illness and death were rare among the vaccinated and that a fifth shot had minimal impact on virus transmission.

Butler also accepted ATAGI recommendations that Pfizer‘s (PFE.N) Omicron-specific vaccine be approved as a booster dose for adults; 4.7 million doses will arrive ahead of a rollout due to begin on Dec. 12. The company’s vaccine for children aged six months to five years will also be approved for use on the severely immunocompromised.

Biden Administration to Renew Fight for More COVID Funding With $10 Billion Request

ABC News reported:

The White House will return for another round of the fight for COVID-19 funding. After multiple failed attempts this past winter and spring to secure more money to address the pandemic, the White House plans on requesting $10 billion during the lame-duck session of Congress before newly elected lawmakers begin in January, sources familiar with the discussions confirmed to ABC News.

It could potentially be one of the last chances for Democrats to receive additional COVID funding if there is a divided government next year, but it also comes at one of the lowest points of public concern over the entire pandemic. In a recent poll from Quinnipiac University that asked voters about the most urgent issues ahead of the midterms, only 1% said the pandemic.

People familiar with the budget discussions told ABC News that that $10 billion request would go toward the “research and development of next-generation vaccines and therapeutics” — which has been a major priority for the administration — as well as research into long COVID and global efforts to combat the virus. There would also be some money set aside for combating other infectious diseases, these people said.

Sick With a New Omicron Variant? Be Prepared for This Symptom, New Study Says

Fortune reported:

If you’ve come down with one of the newer COVID variants related to “stealth Omicron” BA.2, you might want some fever-reducer at the ready. Among more than 200 patients in India who were infected with several BA.2 strains, the vast majority — 82% — experienced a fever, according to an article published last week in Cureus Journal of Medical Science.

Just under half had a cough, researchers found, and more than a third had cold symptoms. Other symptoms included fatigue (27%), headache (21%), and muscle pain (20%).

Most patients recovered with minimal treatment. Only 5% percent required hospitalization, a little over 4% required oxygen, and three died, researchers noted. About a quarter of patients provided vaccination information, and virtually all had received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.

Fauci’s Pandemic Leadership Needs to be Investigated: Dr. Scott Atlas

The Epoch Times reported:

Former White House COVID-19 adviser Dr. Scott Atlas sees multiple reasons for an investigation into Dr. Anthony Fauci, the outgoing director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Such a probe has been in the talks as Republicans inch closer to a House majority that would grant them subpoena powers. Some GOP lawmakers have accused Fauci of playing a role in misleading the public about the origins of COVID-19 and supporting pandemic mandates they describe as draconian.

While Atlas, a vocal critic of the NIAID head, is “very skeptical” that an investigation like this could get away from politics or the perception of it being political, he thinks it’s warranted. Fauci’s changing stance on certain COVID-19 policies needs to be put under the spotlight, Atlas recently said on the EpochTV’s Newsmakers program.

He further questioned if there had been any “cover-up” of funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Fauci’s division, citing the awards to the Wuhan Institute of Virology through the New York nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance as an example.

What Is BN.1? Meet the Newest Omicron Spawn Being Tracked by the CDC

Fortune reported:

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday added a 16th variant to the list of those it’s tracking — BN.1.

The newly singled-out strain was estimated to comprise just over 4% of U.S. infections through Saturday, making it the sixth most common variant in the country. It came in just above BA.4.6, a descendant of Omicron spawn BA.4, which was prominent globally this summer.

Just what do we know about one of the newer additions to COVID’s autumn “alphabet soup”? BN.1, also a strain of Omicron, is a shorter name for B.1.1.529.2.75.5.5.1, according to cov-lineages.org, a collection of COVID data run by contributors at universities in the U.K. and Australia. The new variant is also a descendant of “stealth Omicron” BA.2, which became famous for producing confusing results on lab-based COVID tests when it was prominent this spring and summer.

So far, the largest concentrations of BN.1, first identified in late July, have been found in the U.S., the U.K., Austria, Australia and India, according to cov-lineages.org. Each country is home to about 15% of the nearly 4,000 identified cases throughout the world.

Pandemic Still Affecting U.K. Students’ Mental Health, Says Helpline

The Guardian reported:

The pandemic is still taking its toll on U.K. university students’ mental health, experts are warning, as figures show that growing numbers are seeking help from peer-run helplines for anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.

Nightline, which is staffed by anonymous student volunteers, said it had recorded a 51.4% increase in calls in 2020-21, and that this has grown since, with early data suggesting numbers for 2021-22 were 30% higher, and up a further 23% since the new academic year began.

The helpline, which has been running for more than 50 years, said there had been a significant increase in callers discussing stress and anxiety, reaching 10.9%. This has risen to 17% since September, including a rise in calls from students worried about their finances.

Despite a small reduction in calls from students attempting suicide, Nightline recorded an increase in the number expressing suicidal thoughts, which has risen even higher this year, reaching 7.4% of calls.