TallGuyJohninBKK

Unapproved stem-cell therapies marketed to people with long COVID October 31, 2023 "New research has identified 38 direct-to-consumer businesses marketing stem-cell treatments and exosome therapies for COVID-19 infections and, especially, long COVID, despite lacking approval by US Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory body in the United States. ... Twenty-four of the 60 clinics (40%) listed on websites of the identified businesses were in the United States, 22 (37%) were in Mexico, four (7%) were in Ukraine, and two (3%) were in the Cayman Islands. Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Spain, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates had one clinic each (around 2% per country). ... In a conclusion on the study, the authors wrote that, until evidence of efficacy is studied and approved by regulatory bodies, vulnerable patients will be exploited by online businesses." https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/unapproved-stem-cell-therapies-marketed-people-long-covid

Similar here... My online submission to BKK CW was done on the 23th of October, and I got my acceptance back in email today on Oct. 31. So eight days turnaround time. I submitted mine two weeks ahead of my deadline, and got back the acceptance almost a week prior to my deadline. So at least they didn't run me right up until the end like other reports in recent months.

Study: Regardless of variant, half of long-COVID patients fail to improve after 18 months October 31, 2023 "More than 50% of long-COVID patients failed to improve 1.5 years after their initial diagnosis, according to a new study based on cases seen at a Danish post-COVID clinic, both before and after the Omicron variant period. The study was published yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. ... "At 1.5 year after infection, patients had no clinically meaningful decline in severity of long COVID, and 57% (245/429) of patients failed to improve 1.5 years after infection, with no differences between variants," the authors wrote." https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/study-regardless-variant-half-long-covid-patients-fail-improve-after-18-months

And more on the YT accuser being disowned by his own party: Anti-vax Coalition MP Gerard Rennick dumped July 7, 2023 "A Coalition senator known for anti-vaccine views and odd claims about climate change will be dumped from parliament after he lost his position on the party’s Senate ticket. ... Rennick’s loss means Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who wrote an endorsement for Rennick, will no longer need to deal with the negative media attention attracted by the maverick’s conspiratorial claims. ... He has compared COVID jabs to AIDS, prompting widespread backlash including from conservatives such as 2GB radio host Ray Hadley who labelled Rennick a “complete and utter dickhead”. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/anti-vax-coalition-mp-dumped-20230707-p5dmnb.html Renegade Queensland senator Gerard Rennick appeals after being booted from LNP ticket Fri 14 Jul 2023 An LNP source has confirmed Senator Gerard Rennick has lodged an appeal after being dropped from a winnable spot on the party’s Senate ticket. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jul/14/renegade-queensland-senator-gerard-rennick-appeals-after-being-booted-from-lnp-ticket

It's also not clear the Pfizer website this anti-vax politician is quoting from in his YT video, not surprisingly, has anything to do with Pfizer's COVID vaccine. The Spectator Australia media outlet's website includes a link to a Pfizer website that supposedly is the source of Rennick's quotes. But the linked Pfizer website doesn't contain the exact language quoted by Rennick nor does it mention the COVID vaccine at all. "Senator Rennick: ‘I have a Pfizer document here from their own website. It says, “Gene therapies are delicate, intentional processes encapsulating the desired gene. Manufacturing gene therapies is challenging and it requires certain steps including transfection.” That is on Pfizer’s own website." source link: That link leads to the following Pfizer webpage, which makes no mention whatsoever of Pfizer's COVID vaccine: Gene Therapy: Behind the Scenes Unlocking the Promise of Gene Therapy "Pfizer is working to unleash the next wave of treatment innovation for patients living with rare genetic diseases." https://www.pfizer.com/science/innovation/gene-therapy/manufacturing Pfizer is working on gene therapy treatments for various genetic diseases. But COVID is not a genetic disease, and Pfizer's COVID vaccines are not any kind of gene therapy.

These are claims by an anti-vax politician with a history of peddling COVID misinformation, and his claim has been widely debunked by numerous authorites: No, COVID-19 vaccines aren’t gene therapy "CLAIM: The COVID-19 vaccines “are a gene therapy, NOT a vaccine.” AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The COVID-19 vaccines do not change a person’s genes, as gene therapy does, experts say. The shots from Pfizer and Moderna use messenger RNA, or mRNA, to instruct the body to create a protein from the coronavirus. ... THE FACTS: False claims that the vaccines alter humans’ DNA have circulated since before their debut in late 2020." https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-covid-vaccines-gene-therapy-806280914802 And as for the credibility of the politician: FACT CHECK: Experts rubbish senator’s deadly vaccine claim Queensland senator Gerard Rennick claimed that Australia’s 2021 official death statistics provide evidence COVID-19 vaccines have caused thousands of excess deaths. But experts say that the claim is false. https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/en/article/fact-check-experts-rubbish-senators-deadly-vaccine-claim/f3rolwvxu "Senior health officials have rejected claims made by Gerard Rennick that Covid-19 vaccinations amount to “experimenting” on children after the Liberal senator questioned the safety of the vaccine for children aged five to 11 in a Senate inquiry. It comes after Rennick posted anti-vaccine content on Facebook making similar claims." https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/dec/07/liberal-senator-gerard-rennicks-vaccine-claims-condemned-by-health-officials-in-covid-inquiry "We also check in with his parliamentary colleagues Craig Kelly and Gerard Rennick, who have shared misleading information about a document from vaccine manufacturer Pfizer." https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-11/coronacheck-george-christensen-vaccinated-death-statistic/100899316

Of course, it also didn't help that Republican lawmakers in the U.S., in their COVID denying, anti-vax zeal, managed to substantially cut the government's funding against COVID, including public education funds that would have supported and promoted the new vaccines rollout. "In May, during the budget negotiations between Republicans and the White House, the administration agreed to give back $27 billion that had been allocated to efforts to fight Covid-19. One of the programs that was affected was a $150 million effort by HHS called “We Can Do This,” which was in the midst of planning a fall education campaign to boost awareness of the Covid-19 vaccines. As a result of the rescission, HHS lost that entire program, which was launched in 2021." https://www.wsiltv.com/news/health/with-education-funding-cut-and-trouble-tracking-doses-experts-see-scattered-covid-19-vaccine-rollout/article_f151ddee-f941-5c73-a5cc-c1d1aca9666d.html

Interestingly, CNN has reporting indicating that the vaccination levels for this year's new COVID vaccines in the U.S. -- one month into the rollout -- weren't far off from those for the bivalent COVID vaccines last year, despite all of this year's privatization snafus. "Through October 13, about 31 days into the rollout of the updated vaccines, about 10 million Americans have received a shot, according to HHS. But that number is probably an underestimate because the vaccines are now commercialized, so the government can no longer track vaccination data as closely as it did when it was the distributor of the vaccines. At 31 days into last year’s rollout of the Covid-19 bivalent vaccines, about 12 million doses had been given, according to CDC data." https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/18/health/covid-vaccine-awareness-campaigns/index.html

And meanwhile, COVID illness continues to take its toll on Americans, as many still go unvaccinated or are undervaccinated (those who never received the prior bivalent vaccines): Oct 27, 2023 "Cases remain low compared with the pandemic’s early months. Even so, health officials say about 18,000 hospitalization and 1,200 deaths are still being reported each week." https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/vaccine-data-shows-rates-for-latest-covid-19-booster-is-abysmal-only-7-percent-of-u-s-adults-with-shot

And for the uninsured: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2023-10-25-26/02-COVID-Stokley-508.pdf

In the U.S., for this year's COVID vaccine, basically no one should actually have to be paying for the shot themselves -- notwithstanding the publicity about the retail pricing for the vaccines... Because, the COVID vaccines basically required to be covered by all private insurance plans and the federal government's own Medicare and Medicaid programs. And beyond that, the feds have launched programs to provide free vaccine access to those without health insurance. COVID-19 shots will be free for most, regardless of insurance "Though it's the first season that COVID vaccines will no longer be covered by the government, insurance companies as well as government-run programs like Medicaid and Medicare are expected to cover the shot. ... The estimated 25-30 million adults without insurance or with limited insurance plans will still have access to the vaccines for free through a CDC initiative called the Bridge Access Program." ... Uninsured children will also be able to access vaccinations through the Vaccines for Children program, which offers them at no cost to eligible kids through a national network of participating health care providers." https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-shots-free-insurance/story?id=103167181 Part of the reason for the slow vaccine rollout has been problems with the first-time transition from free government provided COVID vaccines to those now handled thru the private health insurance industry and commercial pharmacies. In the early going, a lot of people went looking to obtain the vaccine, only to be wrongly told they'd have to pay directly for the vaccines, because insurers hadn't fully updated their systems to show the status of the COVID vaccines as covered treatments. Supposedly those kinds of problems have now been remedied. Many people experiencing COVID vaccine cost confusion due to delay in insurance coding "CIGNA Healthcare said it updated its systems with the new codes almost two weeks ago, but some pharmacies are submitting claims incorrectly. Independence Blue Cross said, "We are aware of the unexpected delay in coding. As of Tuesday, September 19, the delay has been addressed and pharmacies are able to bill Independence directly." The bottom line is your COVID boosters should be covered. If your claim is denied at the pharmacy, contact your insurer for reimbursement and make sure you're at a pharmacy covered by your plan. https://abc7chicago.com/covid-booster-insurance-costs-paying-out-of-picket-for-vaccine-cvs-shots/13810459/

"During a press conference on Thursday, President Donald Trump asked that the White House coronavirus task force investigate whether a disinfectant could be injected as a treatment for coronavirus victims. His remarks, which did not specify the type of disinfectant, came after a DHS presentation on early research suggesting that the coronavirus may be decontaminated in sunlight." AND Coronavirus: Outcry after Trump suggests injecting disinfectant as treatment "US President Donald Trump has been lambasted by the medical community after suggesting research into whether coronavirus might be treated by injecting disinfectant into the body. He also appeared to propose irradiating patients' bodies with UV light, an idea dismissed by a doctor at the briefing. ... Pulmonologist Dr Vin Gupta told NBC News: "This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible and it's dangerous. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52407177

Long Covid and Vaccines: Separating Facts From Falsehoods July 14, 2023 "The COVID-19 vaccines have been a game changer for millions of people worldwide in preventing death or disability from the virus. Research suggests that they offer significant protection against long COVID. Studies have consistently found that these vaccines prevent the new onset of long COVID as well as flare-ups for people who already have the condition. False and unfounded claims made by some antivaccine groups that the vaccines themselves may cause long COVID persist and serve as barriers to vaccination." (more) https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/994385

More than 1 in 20 US adults have had long COVID, CDC survey finds September 26, 2023 "In 2022, more than one in 20 adults in the United States reported ever having long COVID, with women more likely than men to report lingering COVID-19 symptoms months after infection, a CDC survey found. “People who have had COVID-19 may continue to have symptoms or develop new symptoms months after being infected with SARS-CoV-2,” Dzifa Adjaye-Gbewonyo, PhD, and colleagues from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics wrote. ... Other research has shown that long COVID conditions can persist for as long as 2 years and are significantly more likely if a person has been hospitalized with COVID-19." (more) https://www.healio.com/news/infectious-disease/20230926/more-than-one-in-20-us-adults-have-had-long-covid-cdc-survey-finds

Twisted Anti-Vaxxers Rush to Blame Matthew Perry’s Death on Covid Vaccine For years, the actor was vocal about his health problems stemming from drug addiction, including 15 rehab stints, 14 surgeries, and a two-week coma "Matthew Perry, who charmed audiences across the globe as the sarcastic roommate Chandler Bing on the popular sitcom Friends, was reportedly found dead on Oct. 28 at his Los Angeles home from an apparent drowning, law enforcement sources confirmed to Rolling Stone. ... When the news of Perry’s passing broke Saturday afternoon, a number of prominent right-wing/anti-vax accounts on X (formerly Twitter) — including Kandiss Taylor, a former Republican candidate for governor of Georgia and current GOP chair of Georgia’s 1st congressional district (and who also recently compared Taylor Swift to Satan) — were quick to blame the actor’s death on Perry being vaccinated for Covid-19 — even before an official cause of death had been established. If that weren’t enough, anti-vaxxers edited Perry’s Wikipedia page to say, “It is unclear whether the drowning was due to complications from the COVID-19 vaccine.” (It has since been deleted.) https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/matthew-perry-death-blamed-on-covid-19-vaccine-by-anti-vaxxers-1234865224/

Long Covid has over 200 symptoms, for many sufferers the pandemic is far from over Nearly four years since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, you could be forgiven for believing the pandemic is behind us. But for many, it feels far from over. Close to two million people face a daily battle with debilitating symptoms of long Covid – the lasting symptoms of the virus that remain after the infection is gone – with some now housebound, unable to walk and even partially blind. ... As of March, an estimated 1.9 million people in the UK have experienced coronavirus symptoms for more than four weeks, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. (more) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/long-covid-uk-coronavirus-hospitals-b2435701.html

From the Associated Press: ‘Died suddenly’ posts twist tragedies to push vaccine lies ... "a growing list of hundreds of children, teens, athletes and celebrities whose unexpected deaths and injuries have been incorrectly blamed on COVID-19 shots. ... Rigorous study and real-world evidence from hundreds of millions of administered shots prove that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. Deaths caused by vaccination are extremely rare and the risks associated with not getting vaccinated are far higher than the risks of vaccination. But that hasn’t stopped conspiracy theorists from lobbing a variety of untrue accusations at the vaccines." https://apnews.com/article/vaccine-died-suddenly-misinformation-a8e3a80a015ba9bf78b6bd4f3c271f58

AP reported yesterday that according to a national survey of Americans from mid-October, 7% of U.S. adults said they had already received the newly updated COVID vaccine, in just a matter of weeks of actual availability. "[COVID] Cases remain low compared with the pandemic’s early months. Even so, health officials say about 18,000 hospitalization and 1,200 deaths are still being reported each week. One expert at the meeting, Dr. Camille Kotton of Harvard Medical School, called the numbers “abysmal” and said part of the problem may be patient confusion. She urged stepped-up public education efforts." https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/vaccine-data-shows-rates-for-latest-covid-19-booster-is-abysmal-only-7-percent-of-u-s-adults-with-shot

Oct 3, 2023 - Health COVID vaccine rollout issues may take 2 more weeks to resolve, experts say "There have been widespread reports of dropped or limited vaccine appointments, making it difficult for some to get the shot almost three weeks after federal officials cleared it and encouraged people to protect themselves as cases were rising. ... It appears one rollout problem has been largely fixed: Insurers last week said they'd resolved technical issues that resulted in some people being told they would have to pay over $100 for shots, even though they're supposed to be free at in-network providers. " https://www.axios.com/2023/10/03/covid-vaccine-rollout-delays All of the above made it very difficult for a lot of Americans who wanted the updated COVID vax in the early weeks of the rollout to actually get one -- which makes the early vax numbers misleading indicators of actual demand.

In the early stages of this year's vaccine rollout in the U.S., there have been MULTIPLE documented problems with the distribution and supplying and provision of the new COVID vaccines, mainly because this is the first year that the vaccine distribution is being handled by private parties (medical providers, pharmacies, distributors) instead of the federal government. Many reports of people seeking out the vaccines and being unable to find any anywhere close to their homes, and/or making an appointment at some pharmacy to go get vaccinated, and then having the provider cancel their appointment. Rollout of the new COVID vaccine has been hampered by distribution problems September 27, 2023 "For the first time, the federal government isn't picking up the tab. Private insurers are supposed to make the vaccine free of charge, but there have been glitches. ... When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the next round of COVID-19 boosters earlier this month, doses were supposed to be available that day at pharmacies. Two weeks later, consumers are reporting problems. ... One difference this time is that pharmacies had to buy vaccine from their suppliers - you know, wholesalers - and they're no longer getting these doses for free from the federal government." https://www.npr.org/2023/09/27/1201957006/rollout-of-the-new-covid-vaccine-has-been-hampered-by-distribution-problems

Perhaps the reason the U.S. went with a universal recommendation for getting the new updated COVID vax are the following CDC projections: And vs the option of not offering any updated vaccines at all: COVID-19 burden is currently lower than at previous points in the pandemic, however there are still thousands of hospitalizations and hundreds of deaths each week. ... The vast majority of the US population has an underlying condition that would qualify under a risk based recommendation • Prevalence of overweight and obesity alone is >70% of adults1 Evidence to Recommendations Framework: 2023 – 2024 (Monovalent, XBB Containing) COVID-19 Vaccine September 12, 2023 https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2023-09-12/11-covid-wallace-508.pdf

COVID vaccine during pregnancy still helps protect newborns, CDC finds September 28, 2023 "Getting a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy works to pass on protection against the virus to newborns during their most vulnerable early months of life, a new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Maternal vaccination was 54% effective against COVID-19 hospitalization in infants younger than 3 months old over the past season. ... COVID vaccines are currently approved in the U.S. for children ages 6 months and up, but not the youngest babies. So "these findings indicate that maternal vaccination during pregnancy could help prevent COVID-19–related hospitalization in infants too young to be vaccinated," the study's authors wrote. " https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-pregnancy-protects-newborn-babies-cdc-study/

From the FDA on why the world agencies went with a newly updated vaccine version for this year: "At an ICMRA COVID-19 Omicron variant workshop on May 8, 2023, FDA and other regulators met to discuss global regulatory alignment to adapt COVID-19 vaccines to emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and to discuss the preferred strain composition for future vaccine updates. There was general agreement among the participants that while vaccines based on the original virus strain can still be protective against severe disease, protection wanes with time and is reduced against subsequent waves of variant viruses. Both real world evidence and immunogenicity data suggest that a vaccine composition that more closely matches circulating virus strains can significantly improve vaccine-induced immunogenicity and protection." FDA Briefing Document Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting June 15, 2023 https://www.fda.gov/media/169378/download

Re the U.K.: Covid autumn booster vaccine 2023: Everything you need to know The following people are eligible for an autumn Covid booster: Residents in care homes for older adults All adults aged 65 years and over People aged 6 months to 64 years in a clinical risk group, as defined in tables 3 and 4 of the Covid-19 chapter of the UKHSA Green Book on Immunisation frontline health and social care workers. People aged 12 to 64 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression, as defined in the UKHSA Green Book People aged 16 to 64 years who are carers, as defined in the UKHSA Green Book, and staff working in care homes for older adults https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/08/08/covid-autumn-booster-vaccine-2023-everything-you-need-to-know/

Re the U.S.: Stay Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines Updated Oct. 4, 2023 CDC recommends the 2023–2024 updated COVID-19 vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax, to protect against serious illness from COVID-19. Everyone aged 5 years and older ‡ should get 1 dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness from COVID-19. People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get additional doses of updated COVID-19 vaccine. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html