Friday, August 26, 2022

Sunday, August 21, 2022

Effect of mRNA Vaccine Boosters against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Infection in Qatar | NEJM

Compared to the primary series, booster effectiveness against symptomatic omicron infection was 49.4%, with the primary series 76.5%.

Study shows probability of getting COVID for mask wearers vs. non-mask wearers

In the healthcare setting, 9% of the mask wearers and 33% of the non-mask wearers tested COVID-19 positive. 

 Additionally, in community settings, the team noted that 6% of mask wearers and 83% of non-maks wearers tested SARS-CoV-2 positive.

Sunday, August 14, 2022

COVID.gov/tests - Free at-home COVID-19 tests

The government is allowing people to get a third round of free COVID tests.  If you should get seriously ill, you might want extra test kits.  It may take several tests to verify that you are recovered, and you may have family members who also need to be tested.

https://www.covid.gov/tests

Saturday, August 13, 2022

Fwd: Possible COVID exposure

FYI

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: John Coffey 


Thank you for supporting the Greenwood Chess Club.

On Monday someone attended the Greenwood Chess Club who was symptomatic and later tested positive for COVID-19.  If you attended the chess club on Monday, I suggest taking an in-home test.  I tested myself and the test came out negative.  However, I quarantined this week just in case.

You can get free tests from the government.  They take several weeks to get delivered.  https://www.covid.gov/tests  

Drug stores also sell COVID-19 tests.

I feel like I should not have to say this again, but please do not come to the Greenwood Chess Club if you are feeling sick or if you have symptoms.


There is much misinformation being spread about COVID, so I will address some of these issues here:

1.  The pandemic is over.

It has been my observation that most people are acting as if there is no pandemic.




One out of every 310 Americans has died from the disease.  I lost a cousin to COVID.  David Prowse (Darth Vader), Chloris Leachman, and Herman Cain died from the disease.


It used to be that measles was the most infectious disease on record, but the Omicron variant has surpassed measles.  In early November of last year, we had barely heard of the Omicron variant, but by late January of this year, it had caused a major surge in the United States.

https://fortune.com/2022/07/09/is-covid-omicron-more-transmissible-infectious-than-measles-ba4-ba5/


2. Cloth masks don't work.

People who attack mask usage always say that cloth masks don't work, which is true.  However, they ignore that other types of masks are at least partially effective at preventing the spread of COVID.

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2021/09/surgical-masks-covid-19.html

"Wearing an N95/KN95 respirator (aOR = 0.17; 95% CI = 0.05–0.64) or wearing a surgical mask (aOR = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.13­–0.90) was associated with lower adjusted odds of a positive test result compared with not wearing a mask (Table 3). Wearing a cloth mask (aOR = 0.44; 95% CI = 0.17–1.17) was associated with lower adjusted odds of a positive test compared with never wearing a face covering but was not statistically significant."

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7106e1.htm


3.  Vaccines don't prevent the spread of COVID.

As the virus has evolved, it reportedly has been more likely to have a vaccine breakthrough infection.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness/why-measure-effectiveness/breakthrough-cases.html

"Raw data shows the risk of breakthrough cases is very small for vaccinated people, potentially 1 in 5,000.

Additionally, the risk of being hospitalized from COVID-19 after vaccination is extremely small, at about 5 in 100,000.

A new study found people who were not vaccinated were five times as likely to get COVID-19 compared to people who were fully vaccinated."

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/what-is-your-actual-risk-of-getting-covid-19-if-youre-vaccinated

"COVID 19 vaccines are effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, and even dying."

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/vaccine-benefits.html

"Booster Shots of COVID-19 Vaccines Effective Against Omicron Subvariant"

https://covid19.nih.gov/news-and-stories/booster-shots-covid-19-vaccines-effective-against-omicron-subvariant#:~:text=A%20small%20study%20has%20found,and%20its%20most%20common%20subvariant.

I personally have stayed up to date with the booster shots and I have not yet caught the disease.


4.  The vaccines are experimental.




5. The vaccines rewrite your DNA.

The only known case of this was outside the human body in a petri dish with just liver cells. 


However, the actual vaccines work primarily at the injection site.

"Research shows that spike proteins (here) remain stuck to the cell surface around the injection site and do not travel to other parts of the body via the bloodstream, they added. The 1% of the vaccine that does reach the bloodstream is destroyed by liver enzymes."


The vast majority of viruses rewrite your DNA in some of your cells.  Your immune system finds these cells and destroys them.  This is a much bigger issue with the disease than it is with the vaccines.


6. The spike protein is toxic.

First of all, you are going to get much more spike proteins with the disease than you are going to get with the vaccines.




Second, the vaccine spike protein was deliberately made different to prevent insertion into cells.




COVID-19 can have serious long-term consequences.  COVID can damage your organs.  COVID can cause 2% brain shrinkage, which is normally 0.1 to 0.2% per year in adults.



--
Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com