Post #7258 J

 Pandemic Report

The latest weekly stats from CDC:

Nationwide, despite the rise of the new razor-blade throat symptom omicron variant, nationwide statistics continue to tail from the winter surge. People are still getting infected, like Secretary of State Blinken.

Perhaps the biggest news item over the past week is the WHO investigation on COVID origins; basically they tend to favor the zoonotic versus lab-leak hypothesis, but because of incomplete data from China, the lab leak hypothesis cannot be ruled out. Domestically, the biggest news is probably the vaccine-skeptic HHS/FDA is requiring more detailed warnings about rare side effects (like up to 2-digits per million doses), e.g., myocarditis and pericarditis. The increasingly politicized Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has led to a split from the American Academy of Pediatrics on childhood vaccine schedule: "His [committee chairman Martin Kulldorff] announcement reflected a common message of vaccine skeptics: that too many shots may overwhelm kids’ immune systems or that the ingredients may build up to cause harm. Scientists say those claims have been repeatedly investigated with no signs of concern."

Relevant news items include:

• "Analysis shows 2023-24 COVID vaccine offered strong protection against critical illness"
• "COVID-19 Pandemic Linked to Surge in Digestive Disorders"
• "Invivyd (IVVD, Financial) has disclosed detailed results from its Phase 1/2 clinical trial for VYD2311, a promising monoclonal antibody aimed at both preventing and treating COVID-19."
• "COVID-19 Hospitalisation Tied to Higher Kidney Failure Risk"
• "Without COVID-19 vaccines, death toll would be much higher: Pfizer analysis"
• "Inventprise, a clinical stage vaccine invention company, today announced the publication of a landmark preclinical study in Vaccine Journal (Vol. 54, April 30, 2025, Article 126988) showcasing the potential of its novel bivalent SARS-CoV-2 conjugate vaccine to provide broad and durable protection against evolving COVID-19 variants. The 18-month study, initiated in 2022 and completed in late 2023, leveraged Inventprise’s proprietary linker protein conjugation technology platform. This advanced technology is designed to enhance vaccine immunogenicity by stimulating both arms of the immune system: B-cell (antibody-mediated) and T-cell (cellular) immunity."

• Prosecutors continue to go after COVID relief and other crimes"
• "Four people from the Los Angeles area have been federally charged for their alleged roles in what the FBI calls the "nation's largest known" $93 million COVID-19 tax credit fraud scheme."
• "NJ woman guilty of using COVID-19 money to pay off mortgage, fund cryptocurrency account"
• "South Carolina man accused of faking COVID-19 job loss for $10K in benefits"
• "Clayton man sentenced for role in COVID-19 fraud, identity theft schemes"
• "Shelton man pleads guilty to COVID-19 relief fund fraud"
• "DeSoto woman ordered to prison for using COVID-19 relief money to fund personal expenses"
• "Accused of Acting as a Chinese Agent, NY Governors' Ex-Aide Now Faces Pandemic Fraud Charge, Too"
• "Chicago Lab Owner Jailed for COVID-19 Fraud Scheme"
• "Ex-Loretto Hospital Exec Stole $300 Million Through COVID Testing Scams"
• "Montco Man Led Scheme To Steal $5.6M In COVID, Unemployment Benefits"

More Notes

The blog is continuing to attract dubiously high pageviews although the average post barely breaks double-digits. No big tweets on Twitter/X, but my followers are approaching 130.

It's amazing to realize Hallmark is already celebrating Christmas in July. I noticed its sister Mystery channel did have a preview of some favorite holiday flicks last weekend. I had rejoined Prime a few weeks back and more recently I had binge-watched Reacher's second and third seasons. I've also been watching Chris Wallace's interviews on Max.

WWE held its Night of Champions PLE Saturday--but actually only a couple of men's singles titles were defended. The bigger matches were the King/Queen of the Ring finals, winning championship matches at SummerSlam. I was disappointed by their having one of my favorite wrestlers Karrion Kross job in the first PLE match he's had in a couple of years. I knew they had to push Jade Cargill over a returning Asuka, but I'm an Asuka fan.