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U.S. Cardiologist Defends Novak Djokovic’s Vaccine Stance: Can’t Risk Heart Damage
American cardiologist Doctor Peter McCullough has defended Novak Djokovic‘s vaccine stance as he claims the COVID-19 vaccines can cause heart damage. Djokovic, 35, hasn’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 and he is in danger of missing out on the U.S. Open because of his vaccination status.
“The COVID-19 vaccines, all of them, in the medical literature, there are over 200 papers, they all cause heart damage and that is the last thing that an athlete can possibly risk,” Doctor McCullough said in a conversation with Dave Martin on NTD News, as quoted on Sportskeeda.
“Heart damage can lead to heart failure or tragically, sudden death. He has clearly made the right choice and the vaccine injuries extend beyond the heart. There can be damage to the skeletal muscle, the nerves and the brain, so much of what an elite tennis player is, is at risk when they take a COVID-19 vaccine.
“They shouldn’t have any more restrictions than the general public. There was a paper published by NCAA athletes on testing that was done on a routine basis. The athletes have a lower rate of COVID-19 than the general student population,” Doctor McCullough added.
A CDC Panel Has Endorsed Novavax’s COVID Vaccine
An influential scientific panel on Tuesday recommended that a newly authorized vaccine from Novavax, a Maryland pharmaceutical company, be used as an option for adults seeking a primary immunization against the coronavirus.
The next step will be for the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, to accept the panel’s recommendations, which typically happens swiftly. That will be the final regulatory hurdle for the fourth COVID-19 shot authorized in the United States.
The Novavax vaccine is expected to play a limited role in the country’s immunization campaign, at least initially. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized it as a primary immunization for adults but has not yet considered it for a booster shot.
The 12 voting members of the CDC panel, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, voted unanimously to endorse the vaccine.
CDC Stops Reporting Coronavirus Cases on Cruise Ships
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stopped reporting coronavirus levels for cruise ships in U.S. waters, ending a pandemic-era program that allowed the public to monitor the spread of the virus at sea.
A notice posted on the CDC website for cruise travel said the program ended Monday. A sortable color-coded chart and spreadsheet that detailed the level of spread on ships is no longer viewable on the webpage, the agency confirmed.
CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said cruise lines “will determine their own specific COVID-19-related requirements for cruise travel, as well as safety measures and protocols for passengers traveling on board based on CDC recommendations for reducing the risk of COVID-19.”
COVID Czar Cautiously Optimistic Sixth Wave Will Recede Soon
Despite the discovery of a new COVID subvariant in Israel this week, coronavirus czar Salman Zarka sounded a note of calm on Monday, suggesting the current wave would soon be subsiding.
Two weeks after he urged the public to wear masks indoors and said health officials were weighing reintroducing a mask mandate, Zarka told North Radio 104.5FM that he did not think such a move was necessary. Israel canceled its indoor face mask requirement in April after having made them mandatory for close to two years, barring a two-week period in 2021.
The discovery of three new cases of the BA2.75 subvariant in Israel on Sunday did not prevent Zarka from maintaining a positive outlook, though he noted that any time a new variant arises there is “cause for concern.”
Nicknamed “Centaurus,” the relatively new variant has been detected in other countries as well, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and the Netherlands.
We’ll Never Be Rid of COVID
Nearly eight in 10 Americans think we won’t be rid of COVID-19 in our lifetimes, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
The poll is new evidence that most Americans have moved past the pandemic, and are likelier to be focused on inflation and making ends meet than what variant is spreading or what COVID treatments are available.
Seventy-eight percent of respondents strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement, “We will never fully be rid of the coronavirus in my lifetime.”
Study: Student Gains Last Year Narrowed COVID Learning Gap
Despite a year of disruptions, students largely made academic gains this past year that paralleled their growth pre-pandemic and outpaced the previous school year, according to new research released Tuesday from NWEA, a nonprofit research group that administers standardized tests.
The results are a measured sign of hope for academic recovery from COVID-19. But sustained effort and investment in education remain crucial.
The study used data from more than 8 million students who took the MAP Growth assessment in reading and math during the three school years impacted by COVID. Those numbers were then compared with data from three years before the pandemic.
The BA.4 and BA.5 Subvariants Now Dominate Worldwide
In the past year, the rapid mutation of the coronavirus has triggered new variants, which have swept across the world: Delta last summer, then Omicron in winter and more recently Omicron’s subvariants BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5.
The last pair has quickly become the world’s dominant forms of the coronavirus, as recorded in the GISAID international repository of coronavirus genetic sequences analyzed by The Washington Post.
Blood Thickness May Play Role in Risk of COVID Death
U.S. News & World Report reported:
The thickness of a person’s blood can be a matter of life or death if they contract COVID-19, a new study suggests.
Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who have higher blood viscosity are at greater risk of dying from COVID-related complications, the researchers found.
This was the first large-scale study to try to use blood viscosity to predict death risk among COVID-19 patients, the researchers said. For this study, the investigators analyzed data from more than 5,600 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 between February 2020 and November 2021.
The researchers found that hospitalized patients with higher blood viscosity in their arteries had a 60% higher death rate, while thicker blood in the smallest vessels increased death risk by 32%.
DC Leads the Nation in Monkeypox Cases per Capita
DC has more cases of monkeypox per capita than any state, prompting public health officials to launch an aggressive vaccination campaign aimed at blanketing the most at-risk communities.
Although not considered a pandemic, a global outbreak of monkeypox has touched more than 60 countries, including the United States, where more than 1,800 cases have been reported since the first one in mid-May in Massachusetts.
The District has received about 8,300 doses, most of which arrived last week, and about 2,600 first doses of the two-dose regimen have been administered, she said.
Australia Provisionally Approves Moderna’s COVID Shot for Children Under 5
Moderna Inc. (MRNA.O) said late on Monday Australia’s drug regulator Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has provisionally approved its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax, for use in children aged six months to five years.
So far, the shot was provisionally approved in the country for individuals aged six years and older and as a booster dose for those aged 18 years and older, TGA said in a separate statement.
Last week, Argentina and Canada also approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged six months to five years.
Japan’s Shionogi Starts COVID Vaccine Trial Among Children
Japan’s Shionogi & Co Ltd (4507.T) said on Tuesday it started a clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate among children aged 5 to 11.
The phase I/II/III clinical trial of the recombinant protein-based vaccine known as S-268019 will be carried out among 48 children in Japan, the company said in a release.
The vaccine has not yet been approved by Japanese regulators for use among adults.
