Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/q0PeLQEeG-U

As the vaccines made against the wild type CoVid are helping us weather the pandemic fueled by variants that first arose in Great Britain, the B.1.117 alpha, in South Africa, the B.1.351 beta, in Brazil, the P.1 gamma, and yes in India, the B.1.617 delta, all is not well.  Since not enough people have been fully vaccinated, even in countries with advanced health systems such as the US and European countries, the virus has continued to mutate.

One particularly worrisome variant has arisen in South America, the C.37 lambda.  While the Delta variant is more contagious than the wild type and earlier variants and can break through mRNA vaccine immunity to cause infection, those vaccine-immunized do clear the virus quickly.  The lambda variant, now dominant in some South American countries and in the process of spreading around the world, appears to even more poorly bind the protective antibodies generated by our current vaccines.  The result: more severe CoVid breakthrough infections.

What’s the message.  You’d better get vaccinated and boosted.  And you’d better have an ample supply of effective masks including the KN95s and the N95 dust masks.  In all probability, you’ll may want to combine the two in particularly risky settings that include indoors or in crowds outdoors.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.25.457692v1.full.pdf+html

#CoVid #delta #lamda #vaccines #masks

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/q0PeLQEeG-U

As the vaccines made against the wild type CoVid are helping us weather the pandemic fueled by variants that first arose in Great Britain, the B.1.117 alpha, in South Africa, the B.1.351 beta, in Brazil, the P.1 gamma, and yes in India, the B.1.617 delta, all is not well.  Since not enough people have been fully vaccinated, even in countries with advanced health systems such as the US and European countries, the virus has continued to mutate.

One particularly worrisome variant has arisen in South America, the C.37 lambda.  While the Delta variant is more contagious than the wild type and earlier variants and can break through mRNA vaccine immunity to cause infection, those vaccine-immunized do clear the virus quickly.  The lambda variant, now dominant in some South American countries and in the process of spreading around the world, appears to even more poorly bind the protective antibodies generated by our current vaccines.  The result: more severe CoVid breakthrough infections.

What’s the message.  You’d better get vaccinated and boosted.  And you’d better have an ample supply of effective masks including the KN95s and the N95 dust masks.  In all probability, you’ll may want to combine the two in particularly risky settings that include indoors or in crowds outdoors.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.25.457692v1.full.pdf+html

#CoVid #delta #lamda #vaccines #masks

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/THKzX2Ygo6o

This question continues to pop up, and now we have a randomized, multicenter study to provide a definitive answer.    Collaborators at Duke, Vanderbilt, Baylor, Temple, the University of Kansas, and the Universities of Florida and South Florida studied 1360 health care workers during the pre-vaccine era between April and November, 2020.  A group of 683 participants were randomly chosen to receive a month of HCQ and 676 were selected to receive a placebo.  Each participant was studied for any side effects from the HCQ or placebo, and the chief outcome measure was the development of a CoVid infection as authenticated by a positive PCR test.

When the numbers were tallied, there was good news and bad news associated with the HCQ therapy.  The good news:  those receiving it compared to an innocuous placebo suffered no increase in reported adverse effects.  The bad news: the HCQ does not significantly reduce the risk of CoVid infection.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.19.21262275v1.full.pdf+html

#CoVid #hydroxychloroquine 

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/THKzX2Ygo6o

This question continues to pop up, and now we have a randomized, multicenter study to provide a definitive answer.    Collaborators at Duke, Vanderbilt, Baylor, Temple, the University of Kansas, and the Universities of Florida and South Florida studied 1360 health care workers during the pre-vaccine era between April and November, 2020.  A group of 683 participants were randomly chosen to receive a month of HCQ and 676 were selected to receive a placebo.  Each participant was studied for any side effects from the HCQ or placebo, and the chief outcome measure was the development of a CoVid infection as authenticated by a positive PCR test.

When the numbers were tallied, there was good news and bad news associated with the HCQ therapy.  The good news:  those receiving it compared to an innocuous placebo suffered no increase in reported adverse effects.  The bad news: the HCQ does not significantly reduce the risk of CoVid infection.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.19.21262275v1.full.pdf+html

#CoVid #hydroxychloroquine 

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/hOZb_hIGmBk

From the FDA’s science and engineering lab comes the warning that your iPhone or any electronic device with a strong magnetic coupling interface could generate magnetic fields capable of activating the magnetic switches that control implantable pacemakers and cardioverter-defibrillators.

The magnetic switches in these devices are designed to be triggered by magnetic fields stronger than 10 gauss.  To test the ability of the Apple iPhone 12 series and the Apple Watches to accidentally set off these switches, the FDA measured the magnetic fields around these devices at various distances.

All the 12 series iPhones and the Apple Watch generate magnetic fields greater than 10 gauss up to 11 millimeters or nearly a half inch away.  For safety sake, the FDA scientists recommend keeping these phones and the watch at least 6 inches away from the implantable device site.  

Why?  If a pacemaker’s magnetic switch is activated, it could begin pacing when unneeded leading to abnormal heart rhythms.  Mistakenly activating the switch on an implantable defibrillator prevents it from functioning and providing a heart-starting, lifesaving jolt when needed. Other implantable devices with magnetic switches including cochlear implants, infusion pumps, and neurostimulators may be similarly affected.

So let me repeat, for safety sake, keep your iPhones and Apple Watches at least 6 inches from any implantable device.  One more thing…recent iPads have magnets too.

https://www.heartrhythmjournal.com/article/S1547-5271(21)01859-2/fulltext

#iPhone #applewatch #magnetic #pacemaker #defibrillator #cochlear #implants

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/hOZb_hIGmBk

From the FDA’s science and engineering lab comes the warning that your iPhone or any electronic device with a strong magnetic coupling interface could generate magnetic fields capable of activating the magnetic switches that control implantable pacemakers and cardioverter-defibrillators.

The magnetic switches in these devices are designed to be triggered by magnetic fields stronger than 10 gauss.  To test the ability of the Apple iPhone 12 series and the Apple Watches to accidentally set off these switches, the FDA measured the magnetic fields around these devices at various distances.

All the 12 series iPhones and the Apple Watch generate magnetic fields greater than 10 gauss up to 11 millimeters or nearly a half inch away.  For safety sake, the FDA scientists recommend keeping these phones and the watch at least 6 inches away from the implantable device site.  

Why?  If a pacemaker’s magnetic switch is activated, it could begin pacing when unneeded leading to abnormal heart rhythms.  Mistakenly activating the switch on an implantable defibrillator prevents it from functioning and providing a heart-starting, lifesaving jolt when needed. Other implantable devices with magnetic switches including cochlear implants, infusion pumps, and neurostimulators may be similarly affected.

So let me repeat, for safety sake, keep your iPhones and Apple Watches at least 6 inches from any implantable device.  One more thing…recent iPads have magnets too.

https://www.heartrhythmjournal.com/article/S1547-5271(21)01859-2/fulltext

#iPhone #applewatch #magnetic #pacemaker #defibrillator #cochlear #implants

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/oTO39cwGbqQ

Vaccination with either the Moderna or the Pfizer mRNA vaccines triggers strong but gradually declining CoVid antibody and cell-mediated responses.  University of  Pennsylvania researchers studied the immune responses of 61 vaccinated individuals at 6 time-points: pre-vaccine to 6 months after the jab.  Sixteen of the 61 vaccine recipients were vaccinated after surviving CoVid.

The peak antibody levels were measured 1 week after the second dose.  Then, over the first 3 months following vaccination, the antibody levels dropped by one-half every 35 days.  Over the second 3 months, the antibody levels dropped by one-half every 60 days.  All those vaccinated did have detectable antibody by 6 months.  A gratifying finding is that populations of B cells that manufacture protective anti-Covid antibodies to CoVid variants actually increased over 3-6 months post-vaccination.  This indicates that the vaccine, made against so-called wild-type CoVid, triggers a response capable of responding to changing virus and more dangerous variants.

Cell-mediated anti-CoVid activity peaked one week after vaccination completion and then dropped from then until 3 months but was still present at 6 months.  Despite a decrease in virus killer cell numbers, there is evidence that these cells remain ready to rise to the occasion and kill on demand.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.23.457229v1.full.pdf

#CoVid #vaccine #antibodies #cellmediatedimmunity #variants

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/oTO39cwGbqQ

Vaccination with either the Moderna or the Pfizer mRNA vaccines triggers strong but gradually declining CoVid antibody and cell-mediated responses.  University of  Pennsylvania researchers studied the immune responses of 61 vaccinated individuals at 6 time-points: pre-vaccine to 6 months after the jab.  Sixteen of the 61 vaccine recipients were vaccinated after surviving CoVid.

The peak antibody levels were measured 1 week after the second dose.  Then, over the first 3 months following vaccination, the antibody levels dropped by one-half every 35 days.  Over the second 3 months, the antibody levels dropped by one-half every 60 days.  All those vaccinated did have detectable antibody by 6 months.  A gratifying finding is that populations of B cells that manufacture protective anti-Covid antibodies to CoVid variants actually increased over 3-6 months post-vaccination.  This indicates that the vaccine, made against so-called wild-type CoVid, triggers a response capable of responding to changing virus and more dangerous variants.

Cell-mediated anti-CoVid activity peaked one week after vaccination completion and then dropped from then until 3 months but was still present at 6 months.  Despite a decrease in virus killer cell numbers, there is evidence that these cells remain ready to rise to the occasion and kill on demand.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.23.457229v1.full.pdf

#CoVid #vaccine #antibodies #cellmediatedimmunity #variants

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ZzFGHB-xezI

Nearly 42% of patients infected with CoVid suffer longstanding brain fog and significant cognitive impairment.  This among the findings by Stanford researchers after their neuropsychiatric studies of 100 CoVid patients.

Most of these patients had milder cases with only 29% hospitalized and 12% treated in the ICU.  Nevertheless, the group performed poorly on cognitive tests with impaired sustained attention, working memory, and decision-making.  In addition, 22%  of the group demonstrated moderate to severe depressive and/or anxiety symptoms.

Over and over, studies prove that CoVid is not an innocuous disease that you can contract and recover from completely.  If you don’t die on a respirator, you may be left with a damaged brain, heart, or kidneys.  Then there’s this……Another study showed that 30% of CoVid19 survivors suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.23.21256078v1.full.pdf

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2776722

#CoVid #brain #memory #attention #depression #anxiety #ptsd

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ZzFGHB-xezI

Nearly 42% of patients infected with CoVid suffer longstanding brain fog and significant cognitive impairment.  This among the findings by Stanford researchers after their neuropsychiatric studies of 100 CoVid patients.

Most of these patients had milder cases with only 29% hospitalized and 12% treated in the ICU.  Nevertheless, the group performed poorly on cognitive tests with impaired sustained attention, working memory, and decision-making.  In addition, 22%  of the group demonstrated moderate to severe depressive and/or anxiety symptoms.

Over and over, studies prove that CoVid is not an innocuous disease that you can contract and recover from completely.  If you don’t die on a respirator, you may be left with a damaged brain, heart, or kidneys.  Then there’s this……Another study showed that 30% of CoVid19 survivors suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.23.21256078v1.full.pdf

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2776722

#CoVid #brain #memory #attention #depression #anxiety #ptsd