Category: Covid-19

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New COVID-19 strain KP.3 circulating in US. What is the situation in Riverside County? - Desert Sun

NEW DELHI: During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the US military undertook a covert operation to counter China's increasing influence in the Philippines, a country severely impacted by the virus. This clandestine mission, which had not been previously disclosed, aimed to create doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid provided by China, according to a Reuters investigation. Utilising fake internet accounts that impersonated Filipinos, the military's propaganda turned into an anti-vaccine campaign. Social media posts criticised the quality of face masks, test kits, and Chinas Sinovac vaccine, which was the first available in the Philippines. The program was initiated under former President Donald Trump and continued for several months into Joe Bidens presidency. This was despite concerns expressed by social media executives to the new administration, warning that the Pentagon was spreading Covid misinformation. In spring 2021, the Biden administration issued a directive to halt the anti-vaccine effort, which also targeted vaccines made by other rivals, and the Pentagon commenced an internal review. Reuters claimed to have found at least 300 accounts on X (formerly Twitter) that fit descriptions given by former US military officials familiar with the operation in the Philippines. Most of these accounts were created in the summer of 2020 and revolved around the hashtag #Chinaangvirus, which means 'China is the virus' in Tagalog. COVID came from China and the VACCINE also came from China, dont trust China! one tweet from July 2020 read in Tagalog. The message was next to a photo of a syringe beside a Chinese flag and a rising chart of infections. Another post stated, From China PPE, Face Mask, Vaccine: FAKE. But the Coronavirus is real. After Reuters informed X about the accounts, the social media platform removed them, determining they were part of a coordinated bot campaign based on activity patterns and internal data. The US military's anti-vaccine effort began in the spring of 2020 and spread beyond Southeast Asia before being terminated in mid-2021, Reuters revealed. The campaign adapted its propaganda to local audiences across Central Asia and the Middle East, using fake social media accounts on multiple platforms to incite fear of Chinas vaccines among Muslims. A significant part of the strategy was to amplify the controversial claim that, because some vaccines contain pork gelatin, Chinas shots might be considered forbidden under Islamic law. The US military is prohibited from using propaganda to target Americans, and no evidence was found that the Pentagon targeted US citizens. Officials for both Trump and Biden did not respond to requests for comments regarding the clandestine program. A senior Defense Department official confirmed the US military engaged in secret propaganda to discredit Chinas vaccine in the developing world but refused to provide more details. A Pentagon spokeswoman stated that the US military 'uses a variety of platforms, including social media, to counter those malign influence attacks aimed at the US, allies, and partners. She added that China had started a 'disinformation campaign to falsely blame the United States for the spread of Covid-19.' In an email, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that the US government has a long history of manipulating social media and spreading misinformation. The Philippine embassy in Washington did not respond to Reuters' inquiries, including whether it was aware of the Pentagon's operation. A spokesperson for the Philippines Department of Health, however, commented, Findings by Reuters deserve to be investigated and heard by the appropriate authorities of the involved countries. Some aid workers in the Philippines reacted with outrage upon learning about the U.S. militarys propaganda effort. Upon being briefed by Reuters about the Pentagons secret anti-vaccine campaign, some American public health experts condemned the program, arguing it jeopardized civilian lives for potential geopolitical gains. They noted that a campaign designed to win hearts and minds ultimately endangered lives. I dont think its defensible, said Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease specialist at Dartmouths Geisel School of Medicine. Im extremely dismayed, disappointed, and disillusioned to hear that the US government would do that, added Lucey, a former military physician who assisted in the response to the 2001 anthrax attacks. Pandemic had hit Philippines especially hard In the wake of the US propaganda efforts, then-Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte expressed frustration over the low vaccination rates among Filipinos and threatened to arrest those who refused to get vaccinated. You choose, vaccine or I will have you jailed, Duterte said in a televised address in June 2021, wearing a face mask. There is a crisis in this country Im just exasperated by Filipinos not heeding the government. When Duterte made these remarks, the Philippines had one of the lowest vaccination rates in Southeast Asia. Only 2.1 million out of its 114 million citizens were fully vaccinatedfar below the governments target of 70 million. By this time, Covid-19 cases had exceeded 1.3 million, and nearly 24,000 Filipinos had died from the virus, contributing to the highest death rate in the region. Some Filipino healthcare professionals and former officials were shocked upon learning about the US anti-vaccine effort, which they believe exploited an already vulnerable population. Public concerns about a Dengue fever vaccine introduced in the Philippines in 2016 had already led to widespread skepticism towards vaccinations in general, said Lulu Bravo, executive director of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination. The Pentagon campaign, she said, preyed on these fears. Why did you do it when people were dying? We were desperate, stated Dr. Nina Castillo-Carandang, a former adviser to the World Health Organisation and the Philippines government during the pandemic. We dont have our own vaccine capacity, she said, and noted that the US propaganda effort 'contributed even more salt into the wound.' The campaign also played into longstanding suspicions of China, exacerbated by Beijings aggressive actions in disputed areas of the South China Sea. Due to these suspicions, Filipinos were reluctant to trust Chinas Sinovac vaccine, which first became available in the country in March 2021, said Esperanza Cabral, a former health secretary under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Cabral mentioned that she was unaware of the US militarys secret operation.

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US military ran covert anti-vax operation during Covid-19 peak to counter China's influence in Philippine - The Times of India

Metro

By Vaughn Golden and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

Published June 14, 2024

Updated June 14, 2024, 8:56 p.m. ET

A scathing new report slams former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for botching the states COVID-19 response saying he erred by bumping state health officials out of the way so he could micromanage the pandemic from the executive office.

Cuomo made an a significant and unnecessary mistake. when he ignored established health department protocols set up to address the virus and took the initiative away from local communities, according to the 262-page report by The Olson Group, a consulting firm.

The state had the plans but did not follow them because the executive chamber wanted to do their own thing, said one official interviewed by the authors. If the state had used the plans that were available and written, then, yes, they would have had the proper plans in place.

But instead we were stuck with all these executive orders.

The report said the Cuomo administration simply abandoned preparedness plans already in place which called for the state health department to take the lead.

For example, the departments long-planned system for providing community-based vaccination sites was thrown out the window, with Cuomo instead dictating that hub hospitals would offer the shots despite not having the capability to do so effectively.

The structures developed through hard-won experience from events including 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy were largely ignored and the states chief executive office served as the central point of the response.

Although decisive actions were widely praised during the early stages of the pandemic, his failure to shift to full incorporation of the states established institutions in coordinating the ongoing response operation resulted in unnecessary confusion at a time when New Yorkers needed clarity.

While the report raps Cuomo for alleged micromanaging, it does not say if his approach led to extra cases for deaths. The Empire State suffered 77,000 deaths during the pandemic.

The report also chided the states reporting of nursing home fatalities, calling it lacking in transparency hitting on one of Cuomos biggest controversies during the health crisis.

While the pandemic overwhelmed the states health and educational systems and brought the business and retail community to its knees, Cuomo didnt help things, the report said.

The state did not consider the appearance of impropriety related to how it was reporting COVID-19 nursing home deaths until the public was already upset, having noticed and reported the discrepancies.

Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi defended his former boss in a statement Friday, saying the former governor brought the unified force of government to bear during the deadly pandemic.

His daily press briefings were internationally recognized for providing the facts amid a chaotic lack of a national response to this pandemic where 1.2 million Americans lost their lives, Azzopardi said.

While this report cuts through the political garbage that has consumed the nursing home issue and points out how circumstances were consistent nationwide, its ridiculous to suggest that this pandemic response be treated the same as H1N1 or Legionnaires outbreaks, he said.

The truth is in the numbers, he added. In 2020 New York was number 39 in terms of pro rata nursing home deaths, according to federal stats, and and we went from having the second most deaths because New York was hit first and hardest to 30th.

The release of the report which cost $4.3 million comes on the heels of Cuomos grilling by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, with the GOP majority on the panel accusing him of deflecting responsibility for the order that shuffled sick patients into senior care facilities in 2020.

The report said the scandal was a part of the theme of mistrust in the handling of the pandemic.

However, Ken Girardin, director of research at the Empire Center for Public Policy, called the Olson report little more than a high school term paper about the states handling of the COVID crisis.

The biggest cost incurred by state government was the theft from the unemployment system, Girardin said. There appears to have been zero investigation into the warning signs and failures at NYS DOI.

Asked about the report at a briefing Friday. Gov. Kathy Hochul said she had not yet read it but took her own shot at Cuomos handling of the pandemic.

We knew that things had to be done differently, they had to be done better and we had to prepare for the possibility that this would happen again, Hochul said.

She said steps have been taken to better prepare the state, including a bump in funding for the state Office of Emergency Management and a $1.7 billion investment in a new research lab.

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Andrew Cuomo ripped for 'significant and unnecessary mistake' during COVID-19 response: scathing report - New York Post

The trial of Senator Robert Menendez was paused on Thursday after the judge announced that one of the senators co-defendants, Fred Daibes, a New Jersey real estate developer, had tested positive for Covid-19.

The judge, Sidney H. Stein, said it was the expectation and the hope of the court that the trial could resume Monday, given revised federal Covid guidelines and depending on how quickly Mr. Daibes begins to recover.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer recommends that people isolate themselves if they have been free of fever for at least 24 hours without the aid of medications and if their symptoms are improving.

Mr. Daibes is on trial with the senator and another defendant in a sprawling bribery conspiracy case in which prosecutors say Mr. Menendez, 70, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, 57, accepted gold, cash and a luxury car in exchange for the senators agreeing to dispense political favors at home and abroad. Ms. Menendezs trial was postponed until at least August because she is being treated for breast cancer. All four defendants have pleaded not guilty.

The delay comes near the end of the trials fifth week in Federal District Court where, one day earlier, Mr. Daibes, who is in his late 60s, could be heard coughing loudly throughout the proceeding. Then, on Thursday, Judge Stein said in court that Mr. Daibess lawyers had emailed him at 8:18 a.m., notifying him that their client was feeling clearly much worse.

I dont think we have much choice, Judge Stein said Thursday morning. I cannot proceed without a defendant being present.

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What Happens When a Defendant Gets Covid During a Trial? - The New York Times

Jun 14, 2024, 07:05 PM IST

A new coronavirus variant is rising to dominance across the U.S. as experts warn of a potential summer wave of COVID-19 cases. The new FLiRT variant, named KP.3, began spreading in June. Heres all you need to know about it.

The KP.3 variant is a sub-lineage of the JN.1, the major viral lineage circulating since December 2023, which arises from the Omicron variant.

The common symptoms associated with KP.3 include fever or chills, cough, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, headache, muscle aches, difficulty breathing, fatigue, loss of taste or smell, brain fog and gastrointestinal symptoms such as upset stomach, mild diarrhoea and vomiting. These may appear two to 14 days after exposure.

Currently, it is estimated that KP.3 viruses make up between 16% and 37% of all SARS-CoV-2 virus cases in the United States.

Most key COVID-19 indicators in the U.S. show low levels of activity of KP.3; therefore, experts believe that the total number of infections this variant may cause is likely low. However, it is very similar in terms of disease severity and can evade the immune system.

Experts suggest that everyone who is 6 months and older should get vaccinated for COVID-19 and maintain hygiene. The vaccine will help to protect against any serious illnesses from the virus. Disclaimer: The content provided on the website is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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COVID KP.3 Variant: What To Know About The Newest Strain - WION

Indias large informal non-agricultural sector was badly hit by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, but has recovered gradually since then, with the number of unincorporated firms and their employees rising almost 6% and 8%, respectively, by the latter half of 2022-23, according to findings of an official survey.

Gross Value Added (GVA) by such enterprises grew by 9.83% at current prices during the period October 2022 and March 2023, in comparison with the financial year 2021-22, as per a fact sheet on the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

It appears that the unincorporated manufacturing, trade and other service activities were hit by the second wave of the pandemic badly; however, the situation improved gradually from July 2021 onwards, the NSSO noted.

During April-June 2021, at the peak of the most fatal COVID wave, the number of estimated informal enterprises were pegged at 50.32 lakh, with 85.6 lakh workers. By contrast, surveys carried out between January and March 2022 estimated 1.91 crore such firms with 3.12 crore employees. The NSSO said the lower reporting in the first quarter affected the overall annual estimates for 2021-22 of 5.97 crore firms with almost 9.8 crore workers, to a great extent.

Between October 2022 and March 2023, the number of estimated informal firms had risen to 6.5 crore with 11 crore employees. This 7.84% annual growth [in jobs] demonstrates the sectors capacity to generate employment, the NSSO said, adding that the maximum growth in employment during the period was observed in other services (13.42%) followed by manufacturing (6.34%).

The survey data, released by the Statistics Ministry on Friday, is used in compiling national account statistics as the countrys unincorporated non-farm sector plays a key role in generating jobs, creating economic value and the overall socio-economic landscape.

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NSSO survey finds COVID-19s second wave hit informal economy hard - The Hindu

In recent weeks, a new COVID-19 variant called KP.3 has gained dominance in the United States. KP.3 is part of a family of mutated strains nicknamed "FLiRT," which are driving an increasing proportion of cases across the country. As KP.3 spreads, some are concerned about potential summer wave.

The FLiRT strains which include KP.3, KP.2, and KP.1.1 now account for more than half of all COVID-19 infections nationwide, according to the latest data fromthe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

These new variants, which scientists dubbed"FLiRT"after the locations of their spike protein mutations, have been circulating in the U.S. since the early spring. In April, KP.2 quickly overtookJN.1,theomicron subvariantthat drove asurge in COVID cases this past winter.

In a matter of weeks, the KP.3 variant overtook KP.2 to become the most prevalent strain in the U.S., per the CDC.

During a two-week period ending on June 8, KP.3 made up an estimated 25% of cases in the U.S., up from about 9% in early May. After KP.3, the next most common variant is KP.2, another FLiRT variant that gained dominance in May and now accounts for about 22% of cases. It's followed by LB.1, a JN.1 subvariant, and another FLiRT variant, KP.1.1.

Together, the FLiRT variants make up an estimated 55% of cases in the U.S.

Although hospitalizations are down and COVID-19 numbers are relatively low, there has been a small uptick in test positivity and emergency room visits, per the latest CDC data. These trends, along with previous summer waves, have stoked fears about a surge of infections this summer.

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Scientists are warning that the FLiRT variants may be better at evading the immune system due to their spike protein mutations, and that waning immunity and poor uptake of the latest COVID-19 vaccine have created a more susceptible population.

Will there be another COVID-19 wave? What are the symptoms of the FLiRT variants? Are vaccines still effective? We spoke to experts to learn more.

KP.3 is one of the FLiRT variants along with KP.2 and KP.1.1 which are spinoffs of JN.1.11.1, a direct descendant of JN.1. They were initially detected in wastewater samples from across the country.

KP.3 and the other new variants have additional mutations that set them apart from JN.1 and appear to give them an advantage over previous variants, Dr. Albert Ko, infectious disease physician and professor of public health, epidemiology and medicine at Yale School of Public Health, tells TODAY.com.

The nickname "FLiRT" is based on the technical names for their mutations, according to theInfectious Disease Society of America.

Just like other COVID-19 strains that have gained dominance in the U.S. over the last year JN.1,HV.1, EG.5 aka Eris, andXBB.1.16 or Arcturus the FLiRT variants part of theomicron family.

The emergence of KP.3 and other FLiRT variants is the "same old story," Andrew Pekosz, Ph.D., virologist at Johns Hopkins University, tells TODAY.com. The SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates and gives rise to a new, highly contagious variant, which becomes the dominant strain. "The timeline that it happens in, three to six months, is much faster than we see with other viruses like influenza," says Pekosz.

Its still early days, but the initial impression is that this variant is rather transmissible, Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells TODAY.com.

The proportion of cases caused by KP.3 is increasing, while the proportion caused by other variants is decreasing, which suggests the FLiRT variants have features that give it an advantage, the experts note.

Over 97% of people in the U.S. have natural or vaccine-induced antibodies against the the SARS-CoV-2 virus, per the CDC, but this immune protection fades over time.

Low vaccination rates and waning immunity create a vulnerable population, which may allow the FLiRT variants to take hold. Only time and more data will tell, the experts note.

Laboratory studies suggest that the FLiRT variants are mutated enough such that current vaccines and immunity from prior infection will only provide partial protection, says Schaffner. "We'll have to see how true that is, but it appears, over time to be becoming a more prominent variant," he adds.

Its still really early ... but I dont think we need to sound the alarm bells as of yet, says Ko.

It's too soon to tell whether KP.3 and the FLiRT variants will cause a summer wave or surge, the experts note. However, it is clear that COVID-19 is still circulating and won't be taking any time off.

"We're seeing these infections year-round, at modulating levels. ... Were probably not at the stage yet where well see COVID go away completely at any time of the year, says Pekosz.

Test positivity, which is an early indicator of case levels, was 5.4% as of June 8, up 0.8% from the previous week but a sharp decline from a peak of about 12% in mid-January,per the CDC. (The CDC no longer tracks the total number of cases in the U.S.)

"We're not seeing a lot of hospitalizations, and we're certainly much lower than we were in the winter, so I'd say right now we're at a low point, which is reassuring," says Ko.

Wastewater datapublished by the CDC show that the viral activity level for COVID-19 is currently low it was considered high or very high for most of January and February.

"It seems like transmission is pretty low right now, and that makes sense because usually the big peaks are in the winter, when people are inside and in more contact," says Ko.

COVID-19 has caused summer wavesin the past, the experts note, which are often smaller than the winter surges. I dont think that well see any kind of massive surge in cases, says Pekosz.

The seasonality of COVID-19 is something scientists are still trying to understand. But one thing is obvious: This virus is now integrating itself into our population and our way of life, says Schaffner.

Adds Ko: Im not expecting a large surge in the summer, but again, we have to be cautious and we have to follow the data. ... We always have to be humble because SARS-CoV-2 has taught us a lot of new things.

It is still too early to tell whether the symptoms of KP.3, KP.2 and other FLiRT variants are different from previous strains.

The FLiRT variants are probably not going to create very distinctive symptoms. It looks at the moment to follow the other subvariants, says Schaffner.

The symptoms of the FLiRT variants are similar to those caused by JN.1, which include:

According to the CDC, the type and severity of symptoms a person experiences usually depend more on a persons underlying health and immunity rather than the variant that caused the infection.

Similar to JN.1 and other omicron subvariants, the FLiRT variants seem to be causing milder infections, says Schaffer.

Early laboratory studies indicate that the vaccines will continue to provide protection the FLiRT variants "a little less protection, but not zero by any means," says Schaffner.

As the virus mutates, it is becoming progressively different from the omicron strain targeted in thelatest updated boosterreleased in the fall of 2023. "We would expect that to happen, and we anticipate the plan is to have an updated vaccine in the fall available to everyone," says Schaffner.

Advisers to theU.S. Food and Drug Administrationmet on Tuesday, June 5, to decide which strains to include in the updated COVID-19 vaccines for 20242025. The committee unanimously voted to recommend a monovalent vaccine targeting the JN.1 variant for this fall, the agency said in a press release.

Even if vaccines do not prevent infection, they can still offer some protection by preventing severe disease, hospitalization, and COVID-19 complications,TODAY.com previously reported.

Its still clear that the more severe cases that come into the emergency room predominate in people who either are not up to date on their vaccines or havent gotten a vaccine in a really long period of time, says Pekosz.

Vaccination is especially important for the elderly, says Pekosz, which is why the CDC recently recommended adults ages 65 and older get an additional dose of the2023-2024 updated COVID-19 vaccine.

Unfortunately, vaccination uptake is still poor, the experts note. "The vaccines are still showing signatures of effectiveness, but they're not being utilized anywhere close to the level that they should be," says Pekosz.

As of April 2024, only about 22% of adults and 14% of children have reported receiving the updated COVID-19 vaccine released in September 2023,according to the CDC.

All current PCR and at-home tests are recognizing KP.3 and other FLiRT variants, the experts note. (Though if you havesymptoms of COVID and test negative, it's a good idea to stay home to avoid potentially exposing other people, TODAY.com previously reported.

If you are using an at-home antigen test, always remember to check the expiration date and whether its been extended bythe FDA.

Antivirals (such as Paxlovid) are also working well. ... Theres not any major signals of antiviral resistance in the population, which is a positive sign, says Pekosz.

While it's too early to tell how the FLiRT variants will pan out this summer, people can always take steps to protect themselves and others against COVID-19.

The CDC recommends the following prevention strategies:

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from Today:

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KP.3 COVID variant is dominant in the US: What are the symptoms? - NBC DFW

According to a new investigative report by Reuters, the Pentagon ran a year-long vaccine disinformation campaign using social media bots all part of an anti-China political play built on problematic COVID-19 disinformation.

One part of a larger, locally-targeted anti-vax campaign around the world, the propaganda efforts sought to discredit the validity of Chinas Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine among internet users in the Philippines, where the vaccine had been deployed. Messaging included the phrase #Chinaangvirus, reportedly Tagalog slang for "China is the virus."

Reuters reports that the campaign was reportedly run to "undermine Chinas growing influence in the Philippines," after the vaccines and other public health interventions were made readily available. The efforts "aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy" of such aid. The strategy was greenlit by a secret order signed by then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper elevating China and Russia to the priority of "active combat" and allowing for non-State Department-sanctioned psyops.

At least 300 fake accounts impersonating Filipinos were active on X/ Twitter between spring 2020 and mid-2021, right before a period of record deaths in the country the platform later removed all of the accounts after being asked about their existence by Reuters.

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"We werent looking at this from a public health perspective. We were looking at how we could drag China through the mud," an anonymous senior military officer told the publication.

A wider network of bots and fake accounts created by the U.S. military ran to local audiences across Central Asia and the Middle East, proliferating misinformation such as the idea that vaccines were not halal according to Islamic law. Some accounts had tens of thousands of followers.

Spanning across both the Trump and Biden administrations, former military officials told the publication that there were also accounts spreading such claims on Facebook and Instagram. Meta reportedly alerted the Pentagon that the accounts would be removed for violating platform policies, but they remained.

In 2021, the National Security Council ordered an end to the propaganda campaign in favor of an entirely pro-vaccine messaging push.

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The US military ran an anti-vaccine propaganda campaign during the pandemic, new investigation shows - Mashable

The journal BMJ Public Health is placing an expression of concern on a paper it said gave rise to widespread misreporting and misunderstanding, namely, claims that it implies a direct causal link between COVID-19 vaccination and mortality.

The article, Excess mortality across countries in the Western World since the COVID-19 pandemic: Our World in Data estimates of January 2020 to December 2022, appeared online June 3, and quickly attracted attention and criticism. The expression of concern is not yet live.

In their conclusions, the authors wrote:

Excess mortality has remained high in the Western World for three consecutive years, despite the implementation of COVID-19 containment measures and COVID-19 vaccines.

The next step, they wrote, was to distinguish between the various potential contributors to excess mortality, including COVID-19 infection, indirect effects of containment measures and COVID-19 vaccination programmes.

Lots of outlets covered the study. The Telegraph ran its story with the headline, Covid vaccines may have helped fuel rise in excess deaths.

The New York Posts story took a similar angle, writing that the researchers found excess mortality has remained high since 2020 despite the widespread rollout of COVID vaccines and various containment measures, and quoting the papers statements about reported serious injuries and deaths following vaccination. The Post later corrected its story and added the following note:

An earlier version of this article did not reflect that the study did not analyze the impact of vaccination nor establish a link between mortality and vaccination status.

In response to the coverage, BMJ released the following statement:

Various news outlets have claimed that this research implies a direct causal link between COVID-19 vaccination and mortality. This study does not establish any such link. The researchers looked only at trends in excess mortality over time, not its causes. While the researchers recognise that side effects are reported after vaccination, the research does not support the claim that vaccines are a major contributory factor to excess deaths since the start of the pandemic. Vaccines have, in fact, been instrumental in reducing the severe illness and death associated with COVID-19 infection.

The message of the research is that understanding overall excess mortality since the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial for future health policy, but that identifying specific causes is complex due to varying national data quality and reporting methods.

In a similar episode, the New England Journal of Medicine added an editors note in 2017 to a 1980 letter published in the journal that, the note said, had been heavily and uncritically cited as evidence that addiction is rare with opioid therapy.

Despite BMJs statement, scientists critiqued the studys methodology on X (formerly Twitter). Ariel Karlinsky, an economist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, whose work the study cited, wrote:

Karlinsky told Retraction Watch he and a few colleagues have submitted a commentary and request for retraction to BMJ Public Health.

Three of the authors (Saskia Mostert, Minke Huibers, and Gertjan Kaspers) are affiliated with the Princess Mxima Center for Pediatric Oncology in Utrecht, The Netherlands; the fourth, Marcel Hoogland, is identified as an independent researcher in Amsterdam. Mostert, the corresponding author, has not responded to our request for comment.

On June 11, the Princess Mxima Center issued a statement saying it distances itself from the publication and will investigate the scientific quality of this study. The statement added:

Originally, the idea was to look at the effect of COVID measures on, among other things, the mortality rate of children with cancer in low-income countries. During the course of the study, the focus shifted and diverted in a direction that we felt was too far from our expertise: pediatric oncology. We are not experts in epidemiology, nor do we want to give that impression. The Mxima Center therefore emphatically distances itself from this publication. We should have been more alert to the formation and results of this publication and will further investigate the way it was created. If it turns out that carelessness was involved in the realization of this publication, it will of course be withdrawn.

On June 13, BMJ sent a press release to reporters saying it is investigating the quality of the research and the messaging of the paper, and would place an expression of concern on the article.

BMJs press release concluded:

As part of the investigation the authors will be asked to review and respond to the concerns raised to BMJ about the quality and messaging of the paper. BMJ will then decide what further action is needed.

Like Retraction Watch? You can make atax-deductible contribution to support our work,subscribe to our freedaily digestorpaid weekly update,follow uson Twitter, like uson Facebook, or add us to yourRSS reader. If you find a retraction thatsnot in The Retraction Watch Database, you canlet us know here. For comments or feedback, email us at team@retractionwatch.com.

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Expression of concern coming for paper some used to link COVID-19 vaccines to deaths - Retraction Watch

Coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2 virus cell with messenger RNA (mRNA) and syringe on blue background.

(Adobe Stock 404350586 by Matthieu)

The world of medicine has changed in the past half a decade. One evolving revolution is the new technology in RNA-mediated vaccines. Scientists conceived, created, tested, and delivered the COVID-19 vaccine at record speed and are now developing and testing RNA vaccines for HIV and malaria. The deep understanding of immune dysregulation as an underlying self-destructive cause of death in COVID-19 has translated to a new understanding of septic shock, adult respiratory disease syndrome, and many long-term indolent chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Our collective understanding of immune issues is what has changed the most. This new understanding offers immense promise as we look to eradicate diseases, solve chronic health care issues, and even tailor medicine to fit each patient's innate biological complexity. Researchers' ability to get into the minds of other experts and combine thinking with a new focus should allow for many advances. Here are five reasons our understanding of immune issues is changing and what it means for health care.

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Our Understanding of Immune Issues Is Evolving: Here Are 5 Reasons Why - Infection Control Today