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Russians are given a way to spend 


New Year without harm to health


by Oleg Davydov (Editor - of the 


Internet and Mass Media Dept)


December 20th, 3:01am


(Lenta.ru)






Rehabilitation doctor and TV presenter Sergey Agapkin 


named a way to spend the New Year without harm to 


health. On the air of the program "About the most 


important thing" on the channel "Russia 1",


the expert advised Russians to eat 


small portions. 






The doctor said that during the New Year's feast, it is 


necessary to limit the use of.. fatty, fried and smoked 


foods. As Agapkin explained, such food can provoke 


pain in the gallbladder, liver and pancreas.






"We, of course, in no case, encourage you to give up


 your favorite dishes. You can just start by reducing


 their number, because it is very important - not to 


overeat. Even at the New Year's table, it is better


 to make portions small. If you are hungry, then 


eat the same portion again," the expert 


recommended.








__________________________________________



The combination of imlunestrant and abemaciclib 

improves progression-free survival rates in 

advanced ER+ HER2- breast tumors, 

regardless of genomic profile, 

according to a study 

released Monday.

December 16th, 5pm

 (Prensa Latina) 

 

The study, published in The New England Journal 

of Medicine, surveyed 874 women with estrogen 

receptor-positive (ER+) & HER2-negative (HER2-) 

advanced breast cancer, who had progressed 

after endocrine therapy.

 

Participants were randomly assigned to receive 

imlunestrant monotherapy, the imlunestrant-

abemaciclib combination, or standard 

endocrine therapy. 

 

The combination of imlunestrant and abemaciclib 

increased median progression-free survival to 9.4 

months, versus 3.8 months for standard therapy.

 

However, imlunestrant as monotherapy only showed 

a benefit in people with ESR1 gene mutations, 

achieving a median of 5.5 months, versus 

3.8 months for standard therapy.

 

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and 

the second most common cancer overall in the world, 

with approximately 2.3 million diagnoses in 2022.

 

 

________________________________________________


 

Doctors warned about the 

dangerous consequences 

of refusing breakfast

by Oleg Davydov (Editor of the 

Internet and Mass Media Dept)

December 11th, 4:41pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

Cardiologist Herman Gandelman and immunologist 

Andrey Prodeus on the air of the program "Live 

healthy!" on Channel One -- warned about the 

dangerous consequences of refusing to eat

a breakfast. 

 

Gandelman said that skipping a morning meal increases 

the risk of heart disease by 22 percent, and the risk
of 
premature death - by 25 percent. In addition,

 according to the expert, refusing breakfast 

once a week, also increases the risk of 

developing diabetes by six percent.

 

"If....... you skip breakfast four to five times a 

week - almost 55 percent," the medic added.

 

According to research, breakfast is necessary until eight 

o'clock in the morning, said Prodeus. "If you do it after 

nine, then every next hour increases by six percent 

....the risks that Herman Shaevich [Gandelman] 

spoke about," concluded the immunologist.

 

Earlier, therapist Elena Malysheva and immunologist 

Andrey Prodeus ----- named other unpleasant 

consequences of refusing breakfast. 

 

Doctors said the lack of breakfast leads

----- to stress and reduced productivity.


Image: The top healthiest foods for the heart include bananas, nuts and olive oil


 

The top healthiest foods for the heart 

include bananas, nuts and olive oil

by Anastasia Rumyantseva

December 7th, 2am

(RT.ru)

 

In case of heart diseases, the body needs potassium.
Products with a high content of this trace element
include --- apricots, bananas, strawberries, and 

currants, said Oksana Pivovarova, therapist 

at the Department of Therapy at the 

Medical Faculty of the State 

University of Education, in 

an interview with RT.

 

"But you need to be careful: some of them... are sweet, 

and excessive sugar consumption is contra-indicated 

in patients with heart disease. Potassium is also 

found in nuts, liver, and dairy products. They 

should preferably be consumed - with a fat 

content of up to 1%. The use of fermented 

milk drinks and low-fat cottage cheese
is 
welcome," the expert advised.

 

In addition, according to her, you need magnesium, 

because it affects the vascular wall, preserving

 its tone.

 

"Magnesium..... is found in legumes, carrots, strawberries, 

avocados, as well as in cereals ------ buckwheat, oatmeal 

and wheat. You need foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids - 

which play a major role in the metabolism of the heart 

muscle. They improve its functioning, contractility, 

reduce the level of so-called bad cholesterol and 

maintain the energy value of the diet -- which is 

important, when following a diet. Foods rich in

omega-3s include salmon, tuna and olive oil," 

she said.

 

In addition, she explained that fibre is important, 

which binds excess fat, thus reducing the level 

of bad cholesterol.

 

"And these ----- are fruits and vegetables. Vegetables, of 

course, in boiled or baked form, but not fried. Low fat
varieties of meat and poultry - mainly beef, veal, 

rabbit, chicken - are useful for heart diseases. 

And it is necessary, of course, to remove 

the skin and subcutaneous fat layer.

 

Spices should be limited, because they will adversely 

affect the work of not only the gastrointestinal tract

---- but also, the cardiovascular system," 

the therapist believes.

 

She also stressed that it is useful to drink weak tea and 

weak coffee drinks, preferably without caffeine, fruit 

and vegetable juices, various decoctions, for 

example, rosehip broth.

 

The doctor also recommended to exclude too salty foods

 & the use of table salt, because the sodium contained 

in it ---- contributes to the development of edema.

 

Earlier, Elena Ostrovskaya, an endocrinologist, a 

specialist in preventive and anti-age medicine 

at the European Medical Centre, told RT that 

with the onset of autumn, you do not need 

to give up a variety of fresh fruits 

and berries.

Image: alcohol makes you bald


 


The psychiatrist told how alcohol


 influences a winter melancholy


by Roman Polosikov


December 3rd, 3:39pm


(Komsomolskaya Pravda)


 


With the onset of the cold season, many of us face a decline in 


strength and a deterioration in mood. Psychiatrist Victoria 


Zakharova shared with RIAMO simple but effective ways 


to deal with the autumn blues.


 


According to her, alcohol - is not a friend in this matter. On


 the contrary, its use will only increase the negative state, 


adding to the emotional fatigue and physiological 


consequences. 


 


The doctor advised to pay attention to the power of nature: herbal 


decoctions of motherwort, mint, peony, valerian, oregano and St. 


John's wort can gently calm the nerves. However, before using


 it, it is recommended to consult with a specialist.


 


But it's not just your mood, that can be affected by alcohol. Drinking 


alcohol harms not only the soul, but also the body. Andrey Svintsov, 


Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information 


Policy, made a proposal to tighten the rules for the sale of 


alcohol — to offer it exclusively in specialized stores with 


separate entrances, completely restricting access to 


teenagers. According to the deputy, such measures 


will help reduce the popularity of alcohol among 


young people, writes Rossiyskaya Gazeta.


 


However, the problem of alcohol is not limited to the social sphere. 


Scientists have discovered an unexpected effect of regular 


alcohol consumption: it increases the risk of developing 


androgenetic alopecia (AHA), one of the most common 


forms of baldness. Research has shown that people 


who abuse alcohol are 40% more likely to lose


 their hair than those who give it up. This


 is reported by Life.ru.


 


 


__________________________________



Doctor Shmelev explained........ why 

smoking on the go is more harmful

December 2nd, 6:08pm

(RT.ru)

 

Professor, pulmonologist Evgeny Shmelev, 

commenting on the initiative of deputies 

to ban smoking on the move, explained 

that smoking on the move harms not 

only the health of the smoker... but 

also others who inhale this smoke.

 

He told about this in an interview with Life.ru.

 

"When a person smokes on the move, more harmful 

substances get into him, he inhales this poison 

more strongly. And they will do the right thing

......if they penalize those who smoke while 

walking. This is a huge harm to everyone
around you. Second
-hand smoke is very
harmful -- 
especially for those who do 

not smoke, but they have to breathe
it. This --- is 
equivalent to a gas 

attack," the doctor said.

 

Evgeny Shmelev also said that 

smoking on the go is a sign 

of bad taste.

 

Earlier, the deputy from the" New People " Amir 

Khamitov, spoke in the State Duma, with an 

initiative - to combat smoking on the go.

 

Image: An effective way to remove a fat apron


 Freepik by Anastasia Kazakova, PDM

 

An effective way to
remove a fat apron

November 20th, 6:12pm

(Pravda.ru)

 

Health mentor, Georgy Surenyan, told whether 

massage will help to get rid of the "fat apron".

 

Often, after losing weight, the skin on the abdomen 

sags...... and an ugly so-called apron is formed. To 

prevent this you could take a course of massage 

- hardware or manual. It will help to remove 

excess fluid --- contribute to a faster 

reduction of the fat layer --- and 

tighten the skin, writes "SE".

 

"Sustained weight loss takes time and consistency. 

Patience, perseverance and a comprehensive 

approach are the best helpers to achieve 

long-term results - and improve your 

overall well-being," said Surenyan.

 

He added that massage alone will not help to get rid of

the tummy. Without changing your lifestyle you won't 

be able to achieve a pronounced result. However, if 

you add proper nutrition and sports to the massage,

in a month.. the stomach will noticeably decrease.

 

 

___________________________________




The doctor pointed out the benefits 


of home training against the blues


November 18th, 11:45am


(Izvestia.ru)


 


Nutritionist Sofia Kovanova on Monday, November 18th, 


announced the benefits of home training to preserve 


the figure in winter ...and get rid of the blues.


 


In a conversation with the site aif.ru - the specialist 


urged to include joint warm-up, myofascial release, 


as well as light exercises ---- for general physical 


fitness in such trainings.


 


Kovanova stressed - that such work should be


 performed at least three times a week. Thus, 


you can reduce puffiness and clamps in the 


muscles, as well as generally improve your 


well-being ....and overcome the off-


season blues.


 


In addition, it is useful to count calories and not go 


beyond the limits - so in winter you will be able to 


save weight, or lose it.


 


Earlier, on November 13th, the gastro-enterologist of 


the Mytishchi hospital, Irina Perminova, called the


persimmon a fruit that beats the autumn blues. 



Also, according to her, this fruit is a champion


 in the content of beta-carotene, which slows 


down the aging process of the body.


 


On November 12th, psychologist Daria Dugentsova, said 


that taking a break from social networks ------ will help 


overcome autumn depression. According to her, long


-term scrolling of the news feed and social networks 


negatively affects the psyche. It is recommended
to 
spend the free hours on an activity that brings 


pleasure and joy, notes 360.ru.


 


On November the 8th, social psychologist Alexey Roshchin, 


in an interview with NSN, called communication a better 


protection from the autumn blues. He noted ------- that 


autumn melancholy, is a disorder associated with a 


change in the general state of nature and affecting


mood. He added that lonely people....... are more 


susceptible to the autumn blues, as they have 


no one to share their experiences with.


 


In October, psychiatrist Alexander Meshcheryakov - told 


the site kp.ru - to prevent depression.. you should go to 


bed earlier, and alternate between relaxing and active 


moments in life, fill the house with comfort and warm 


aromas, and plan something new and interesting.


 


Also in October, psychologist Galina Krasnoruzhenko 


explained that --- if a bad mood, fatigue and other


symptoms of autumn blues do not disappear 


after more than two weeks, it is better 


to visit a doctor. In such cases, 


phototherapy can help, 


notes Pravda.Ru.


 


In March, psychologist Ekaterina Tubis advised to 


adjust the diet to combat the off-season blues, 


giving preference -- to foods rich in useful 


substances. She also pointed out - the 


importance of walking and physical 


activity, writes RT.


 


 


____________________________________


Basic memory mechanisms

are 
not exclusive to
the brain

November 14th, 11:02am

 (Prensa Latina) 

 

Memories do not only reside in the brain, but also in 

other cells of the human body capable of storing 

and processing information, details a new 

study published today in the journal 

Nature Communications

 

According to the research, cells in non-neuronal tissues 

also respond with greater strength and persistence
when they receive spaced chemical signals, and 

this change in molecular state, represents an 

equivalent to the “memory” that neurons 

activate, when they detect patterns 

of information in the brain.

 

This process is associated with the activation of 

proteins crucial to memory, such as CREB and 

ERK, whose inhibition interferes with the 

cell’s ability to respond to the spaced 

stimulus, the text states.

 

With this finding --- experts suggest that memory does 

not depend exclusively on complex neuronal circuits,

 but may be embedded in the dynamics of chemical 

and protein signals common in different types 

of cells.

 

To test their hypothesis, the scientists replicated one 

of the principles of memory formation, the so-called 

“spacing effect,” in 2 types of non-neuronal human 

cells.

 

They exposed the cells... to spaced pulses of chemical 

signals and discovered that, just as neurons do, these 

cells could “remember” and respond differently when 

the stimuli were applied intermittently - rather 

than continuously.

 

“Knowing the ways in which these “cellular memories”

 work could help us improve treatments and develop 

innovative therapies to address learning problems 

and memory disorders,” the study states.

 

It also reveals that if all cells possess a kind of 

“memory,” in the future it would be possible to 

use this quality to train cells in vital organs so 

that they respond better to certain patterns 

or treatments.

 

Image: Pay special attention to citrus fruits, berries & herbs.


Health Doctors - Autumn

November 13th, 5:04pm

(Izvestia.ru)

 

The doctor spoke about strengthening

 the immune system in late autumn

 

Chief physician of Zaraisk Raptsun Hospital: 

proper nutrition will strengthen the immune 

system in the autumn.

 

Chief physician of the Zaraisk Hospital Roman Raptsun 

gave advice on Wednesday, November 13, on how to 

strengthen the immune system in late autumn. The
expert noted -- that a few simple rules will help 

protect the body from seasonal diseases.

 

"The first ---- is proper nutrition. The diet should be filled 

with fresh vegetables, fruits and foods rich in vitamins.
Pay special attention to citrus fruits, berries & herbs. 

 

Make sure that your menu contains 

sources of vitamins C, D, and zinc.

 

 The second rule -- is regular physical activity. Even 

simple walks in the fresh air... will improve blood 

circulation and strengthen the immune system, 

"Radio 1 quotes the doctor.

 

Raptsun added that stress can negatively affect your 

health, so you need to find time -- for recreation and 

hobbies to relax and restore your mental balance.

 

An important step to prevent colds, the doctor called 

regular hand washing, especially after visiting 

public places.

 

In addition, flu vaccination is also one of the most 

effective ways to protect yourself in the cold 

season, the expert concluded.

 

Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, and Head of the 

Department of Pediatrics of the Faculty of Advanced 

Training and Professional Retraining of Doctors, 

Vice-rector of Novosibirsk State Medical 

University Elena Kondyurina, told how

 to support the immunity of children 

in the off-season.

 

According to the expert, to protect the child from 

flu and colds, it is better to use both methods of 

prevention at once: strengthening the body and 

increasing its defenses in various ways, as 

well as vaccination, reports RT.

 

In October, general practitioner Lyudmila Lapa spoke 

about useful products for colds. According to her, in 

particular, milk and honey are histamine liberators 

and contain a large amount of histamines. 

 

Their use leads to the fact that the immune system 

becomes aggressive and begins to produce a 

huge amount of anti-inflammatory proteins.

 

Image: smelly old man





 


Taking care of yourself


by Alexandra Lisitsa


Editor of the Self-


Care Department


November 12th, 3:33pm


(Lenta.ru)


 


The therapist explained the 


appearance of the smell


 of old age.


 


Therapist Kondrakhin --- the smell of old 


age appears due to digestive disorders.


 


The characteristic smell of old age... begins to appear in 


a person after 50 years, confirmed cardiologist Andrey 


Kondrakhin. He explained the nature of this 


phenomenon in an interview with 


Vechernaya Moskva.


 


The smell, according to him, may appear due to chronic


diseases and medication. "As you know, the skin is 


one of the excretory organs that brings various 


substances to the surface with sweat, which 


acquire certain odours in the process of 


vital activity. Of course... older people 


are prescribed different medications 


depending on their diagnosis -- but 


the drug affects the metabolism 


in this way - by the release of 


an odour," Kondrakhin 


explained.


 


The smell of old age appears against the background 


of ---- urinary incontinence, digestive disorders and 


incorrectly working fat cells, because of which


 fat acquires a different smell — senile, 


he continued. 


 


"In the skin folds of an elderly person, microorganisms 


that are not typical of a healthy person start up, and 


therefore there are changes in the composition of 


sebum. They feed on this fat ------ provoking the 


appearance of a senile smell," the 


therapist said.


 


The doctor noted that it is difficult for many elderly 


people to take care of themselves. However, if a 


person follows the rules of personal hygiene, 


the specific smell will be less pronounced.


 


 


_______________________________________





Proven benefits of
increasing sleep
duration

by Alexander Enikeev (Editor of Science 

and Technology Department)

November 6th, 9:16pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

Baylor University researchers -- have shown that even a 

small increase in sleep duration --- can have a positive 

effect on mental well-being. According to the results 

published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, 

adding 46 minutes of sleep per night - is 

associated with improved measures 

of gratitude, resilience, prosperity, 

and pro-social behaviour.

 

The study focuses on the effects of sleep on positive 

psychological states, such as gratitude, rather than 

studying the negative effects of lack of sleep. 

 

Scientists have tested the hypothesis that increasing 

sleep duration may in itself contribute to improving 

mood and well-being, and not just prevent the 

negative effects of lack of sleep.

 

For the study ---- methods were used to track the 

participants' exact sleep time using actigraphy. 

 

Researchers selected 90 young people and randomly 

assigned them a later, earlier, or regular bedtime 

during the work week - to identify possible 

changes in their psychological state 

and emotional well-being.

 

The results of the study showed that participants who 

increased their sleep duration showed significant 

improvements in indicators - such as gratitude, 

resilience, and overall life satisfaction. 

 

In particular, those who added 46 minutes to bedtime 

experienced greater feelings of gratitude and 

satisfaction with life, as well as showed 

a more stable emotional state.

 

In contrast, participants who had a reduced sleep time

of 37 minutes per night --- showed a reduction in the 

same indicators. This indicates that even a small 

reduction in sleep time can negatively affect 

mental health and social behaviour.

 

In conclusion, the researchers emphasized --- that 

increasing the duration of sleep contributes not 

only to better physical well-being, but also to 

an improvement in emotional state and 

social activity. 

 

The study also reveals that well-rested people are 

more likely to engage in pro-social behaviours, 

such as giving to charity and participating 

in social life.

 

 

___________________________________________



The clinical psychologist told how 

to cope with autumn melancholy

November 4th, 4:34am

(Donetsk news agency) 

 

Autumn melancholy is a seasonal phenomenon 

accompanied by a feeling of depression, that 

occurs in many people due to the reduction 

of daylight hours -- and the usual useful 

things can help to fight it — physical 

activity, healthy food and a careful 

monitoring of your emotional state.

 

Yaroslavl clinical psychologist 

Daria Ivanova, told about this.

 

Autumn is the time of year... when people often start 

complaining about their psychological state and an 

everyday series of gray, dreary days. 

 

This phenomenon is called autumn melancholy and 

there are several reasons for its appearance and 

a couple of ways to cope with seasonal spleen.

 

According to the psychologist, we can begin to feel 

changes in mood... from the beginning of autumn, 

because the heat gradually leaves the streets, 

the amount of light --- we need so much 

decreases, and rain begins. All this 

together affects our emotional 

background.

 

"Seasonal depressive disorder (SDD)... is on the horizon. 

SDR, is not just a bad mood. It's a form of depression 

that manifests itself in certain seasons, most often 

in autumn and spring. Constant sadness, a 

decreased interest in life and fatigue -

that's what awaits us. SDR can 

seriously impair the quality 

of life, as opposed to a 

temporary malaise," 

Ivanova notes.

 

But seasonal depressive disorder should not be 

confused - with just a bad mood, as the first 

requires serious measures and treatment 

from a specialist and the second comes 

to naught with the change of season. 

 

To understand what exactly is happening to your body, 

you could listen to yourself. Autumn blues have 

specific symptoms — mild fatigue, bad mood 

and irritability, but they are not intense and 

usually go away on their own. It.. is also 

believed that women.... have a greater 

tendency to such an autumn ailment,

 if you compare the two sexes.

 

So, how to deal with the state of apathy and fatigue? 

Ivanova noted that you need to start with activity — 

sports, hiking, any movement can give you energy 

and a good mood. Light therapy --- is also 

recommended — special lamps and 

exposure to sunlight. 

 

Just as important -- is proper nutrition, you could 

pay special attention to foods high in omega-3s 

and vitamins. 

 

Your favorite hobbies, support for loved ones, and 

keeping a diary of emotions - can also help you 

cope with autumn sadness, in order to clearly 

sort out your thoughts. If the melancholy 

drags on for just two weeks, it will be 

superfluous to consult a specialist.

 

 

_____________________________________





How not to kill kidneys at ARVI:

the therapist ---- explained why
anti-
coagulants are necessary

November 1st, 7:32am

(DAN News Agency)

 

A respiratory infection such as severe flu or covid, can 

lead to kidney failure, so it is extremely important not 

to forget anticoagulants. Chairman of the Moscow 

City Scientific Society of Therapists, Professor 

Pavel Vorobyov, explains about it.

 

"Any infection can cause glomerulonephritis - this is an
autoimmune process - that can be triggered by both 

bacteria and viruses. For example, streptococcus 

also causes glomerulonephritis, that is, after a 

sore throat, the kidneys can get sick," 

said Vorobyov.

 

During glomerulonephritis, the immune system begins 

to attack the glomeruli — the glomeruli that function 

as blood filters, which can lead to kidney failure. 

 

Symptoms of the disease include rapid fatigue, fever, 

nausea, low back pain, swelling.... and high blood 

pressure. However - often the disease proceeds 

without obvious complaints - and a diagnosis 

is made on the basis of tests.

 

''The acute form of the disease is manifested by fever, 

general weakness, swelling and aching pain in the 

lower back; nausea and vomiting, are possible.

 

''Severe forms of H1N1 influenza ("swine flu") 

and COVID-19, which can cause multiple 

organ failure, are also dangerous.

 

"With a severe respiratory infection, DIC-syndrome 

develops-intravascular blood clotting ---- which 

primarily affects the kidneys. Blood clots go

 to the kidneys ---- and their function is 

disrupted. You can die from it. 

 

''Sometimes you need dialysis (connection to an 

artificial kidney machine-ed. note), although 

not for everyone. Pyelonephritis may occur. 


''After acute renal failure, there is a very 

long period of kidney recovery, which 

is, necessarily, accompanied by an

 infection," the professor added.

 

Anticoagulants are an effective means of protection. 

They help prevent complications such as DIC, 

which can damage the kidneys.

 

''When the blood's microcirculation is disturbed, 

microthrombosis forms, so anticoagulants 

become necessary. This is true for both 

infectious diseases, and autoimmune 

diseases. Even with a common cold,

 their use is justified. 

 

''The guidelines for the treatment of thrombosis 

emphasize that acute respiratory infection ---

 is a risk factor. 

 

Therefore, people with pre-existing kidney problems 

should consider taking preventive anticoagulants 

during respiratory infections.

 

 

______________________________



NHS privatized, taken 

over by Zionist entity

October 29th, 6am

 (PressTV)

 

Israel is encroaching into the British National Health 

Service, an institution which is lauded across the 

world for providing care at the point of need to 

millions of people daily, has been targeted 

by stealth.

 

A key way Israel has been able to entangle itself with

the NHS is through the UK Israel Tech Hub. This 

shady organization is based inside the British 

Embassy of the Zionist entity, and is staffed 

entirely by former Israeli military and 

intelligence personnel.

 

In addition to the British Embassy itself, the UK Israel 

Tech Hub is funded by three other institutions of the 

British government; The Department for Culture, 

Media and Sport (DCMS), the Department for 

Business and Trade (DBT), and, the Foreign

 Office itself.

 

The UK Israel Tech Hub's stated objective is procuring

contracts in Britain for Israeli tech companies, most

of which were founded by alumni of the Israeli spy 

unit 8200.

 

The UK Israel Tech Hub launched the UK Israel 

Dangoor Health Initiative in 2018 which aimed

 to direct profits from the privatization of the 

NHS towards Israeli tech companies.

 

This scheme is funded by David Dangoor, who 

commented: "We ---- are in the midst of a bio 

health revolution, and Israel is in a supreme 

position to take advantage - and carve a 

lead in this. With all this new computer 

power, we are absolutely at the 

threshold --- of a health care 

revolution, and I'm hoping 

that Israel and the UK ---

will be at the forefront 

of that, hand in hand.”

 

David Dangoor and his family foundation have funded 

various Israel lobby groups; The Board of Deputies 

of British Jews, the Islamophobic Henry Jackson

 Society, the settlement building, Jerusalem 

Foundation, &, perhaps most interestingly, 

the interfaith Zionist subterfuge, 

Nisa-Nashim, which targets 

Muslim women.

 

There is a convergence happening around the NHS, 

with the installment of long-time Zionist asset, Wes 

Streeting as Health Secretary, alongside the 

activities of the UK Israel Tech Hub... the 

NHS, is clearly under threat from the 

genocidal Zionist entity and its 

privatization profiteers.

 

Have you ever heard of the company charging people

two pounds per hour to use wheelchairs in hospitals 

in Britain?

 

WHEELSHARE uses the phrase 'Simply Care' to market 

its products within the National Health Service. 

It is behind the smash and grab scheme in 

hospitals today.

 

What is not well-known about the company is that it's 

directed by three Israelis based in a settlement in 

occupied Palestine. The individuals listed as

 directors of the firm on Companies House 

are Israel Kasirer, David Michael and 

Meir Slater, all three are listed as 

citizens of the Zionist entity. 

 

They give their address as 21 Hamelacha, 

Rosh Haayin, Israel, 48091577.

 

Rosh Haayin is a Zionist settlement built on top of the

 Palestinian village and Ottoman fort, Ras Al Ayn. The 

village was destroyed when Zionist settlers expelled 

the Palestinians from it in the 1920s.... during the 

British Mandate of Palestine.

 

There is a plethora of other Israeli companies, 

and British companies run by Israelis, that 

are milking off the privatization of the 

British National Health Service.

 

The new Health Minister, Wes Streeting, is likely 

to escalate the process, as he has spent over 

a decade as an asset of the Zionist lobby.

 

Over the past year, Streeting has received funding 

for 'Office Costs' from the key Israel lobbyists, 

Jonathan Mendelsohn and Trevor Chan.

 

Mendelsohn even funded Streeting through his vehicle, 

Red Capital, at the same time as he directed Europa 

Healthcare Group, which was benefiting from the 

privatization of the NHS.

 

 

________________________________




 HEALTH NEWS

October 24th, 3:43pm

(Izvestia.ru)

 

The doctor told how to distinguish 

ordinary fatigue ....from asthenia

by Valentina Brykalina

 

Chronic fatigue can lead to insomnia

 

In Autumn, many people feel tired, but - it is important 

not to confuse normal fatigue, with asthenia. This is

a condition when rest is no longer enough... and 

treatment is required, the general practitioner 

Svetlana Burnatskaya warned, in an 

interview with RIAMO.

 

''One of the main symptoms of asthenia, is fatigue, 

which does not go away after rest. A person may

feel exhausted even after a full night's sleep or 

vacation. People with asthenia ---- cannot 

withstand the usual physical or 

mental stress," the 

doctor explained.

 

The doctor added that emotional instability, can also

 indicate that a person has developed asthenia.


 Another disturbing symptom, is sleep 

disorders and insomnia, which 

also do not give a full rest.

 

Previously, he reported that asthenia is a pathological 

condition of fatigue under normal exercise. Causes 

of chronic fatigue syndrome... include endocrine 

diseases, anemia, viral infections, stress, 

and injuries.

 

It is important to remember that with asthenia, 

you should consult a specialist ------ for an 

accurate diagnosis.

 

 

________________________________________




Taking care of yourself


October 18th, 6:35pm


(Lenta.ru)


 


The 4 most useful supplements to


 porridge for breakfast are named.


 


Oatmeal, rice, buckwheat, barley and many other options for 


porridge can be made even more useful, if you supplement 


it with various delicious additives. The four most useful of 


them, gastroenterologist Elena Yakusheva named to the
Russians... during a conversation with aif.ru.


 


The first recommendation of the doctor is to add fruits and 


berries to the morning porridge, which are perfectly
combined with any type of cereals. At the same 


time, it is better to choose peaches, bananas 


and other sweet fruits for oatmeal, while 


citrus fruits and cherries are more 


suitable for semolina or 


corn porridge.


 


Another useful addition to porridge for breakfast Yakusheva 


called seeds and nuts, both whole and ground. They will 


add additional nutritional value to the dish and saturate 


the body with healthy fats, which are also necessary 


for brain function. However ------ it is still not worth 


abusing seeds and nuts, as they are very high in 


calories, the gastroenterologist reminded.


 


The doctor also considers dried fruits in small quantities to 


be an excellent option. Raisins, dried apricots and prunes 


are very high in sugar, so you can only eat them 


individually. "Also, dried fruits should be 


especially carefully added to cereals 


for those people who have been 


diagnosed with diabetes," 


Yakusheva warned.


 


The last useful addition to porridge... will be a small spoonful


 of honey, the doctor believes. Only put it in the finished dish, 


and not when cooking, otherwise all the useful substances


 in it, will be destroyed, the expert warned.


 


Earlier, general practitioner, and TV presenter, Elena 


Malysheva and her co-host, ophthalmologist Mikhail 


Konovalov, on the program "Live healthy!" on 


Channel One called the best for Russians 


protecting from obesity --- porridge. 


 


Experts said that the use of logaza porridge, which 


is prepared from barley groats, peas and lard, 


reduces the risk of obesity.


 


 


_______________________________





 Murashko called physical activity 

a "universal pill" for all diseases

October 7th, 12:46pm

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Physical activity can be called a "universal pill" for 

all diseases. This was announced on October 7 by

 the Minister of Health of the Russian Federation 

Mikhail Murashko.

 

"Physical activity has a positive effect on 35,000 different

 biochemical processes. Here is a universal pill - if we 

must say so, then for treatment and prevention - this 

is, among other things, physical activity," Murashko

 said during a speech at the Bioprom forum. His 

words are quoted by RIA Novosti.

 

He also noted that no medical technology has such 

a broad positive effect as physical activity.

 

The forum "Bioprom: Industry and technologies for 

humans" is being held on October 7-8 in Gelendzhik.

 

According to the National Health League, the main risk 

factors for chronic diseases include high cholesterol,

 salt abuse, a lack of fruits and vegetables in the

diet, smoking, low physical activity, obesity 

and high blood pressure.

 

 

 

_____________________________________________




The doctor explained...... the 

craving for harmful products

October 2nd, 5:58pm

Izvestia.ru

 

The dietitian, MD Mikhail Ginzburg, told about the reasons
for cravings for harmful products. In his opinion, it should

 not be explained by the lack of important substances 

that the body is supposedly trying to fill itself.

 

In an interview with Radio 1, on Wednesday, October 2nd, 

the doctor noted that when certain bioactive substances 

are deficient, an inversion of tastes occurs when you 

want something inedible. If such incorrect taste 

preferences occur, you should pay attention 

and conduct tests. A lack of iron, which is

 poorly absorbed in the body, can cause

 cravings for meat.

 

According to the doctor, the usual conversation with the 

patient about his diet helps to identify the lack of some 

substances in the body. For example, he will have an 

insufficient intake of vitamin C if he neglects 

vegetables and berries. B vitamins will be 

lacking --- if the diet is low in nuts and 

cereals. A lack of legumes and nuts 

may indicate a lack of the mineral 

selenium. Its deficiency in people 

over 50 years of age can speed 

the development of athero-

sclerosis ---- especially in the 

absence of favorable factors.

 

Ginzburg noted that it is important to contact doctors 

who will help you adjust your diet, so that you can 

avoid certain health problems. You can also take 

vitamin and mineral complexes, but also after 

consulting with a specialist.

 

The doctor called it normal to want to eat chips, buns and

 other harmful products, because a person wants a 

variety of tastes, from which you can get joy and,

 as it were, a reward for your efforts. When a 

person refuses to eat, he risks falling into 

depression. He stressed that frankly 

harmful products should never be 

eaten instead of food.

 

On the same day, endocrinologist Yurgita Varaeva told the

 website aif.ru about products that will help to overcome

 cravings for sweets. According to her, these include
cereals, and whole-grain bread, as well as fruits, 

berries, poultry meat, fish, some cheeses, soy, 

quinoa, and bitter chocolate. Also, to combat 

this, sweets should not be allowed for long 

periods without food. In addition, it is 

important to observe the sleep and 

wake regime, and maintain 

physical activity.

 

On October 1st, the doctor Irina Nikulina advised to eat 

fresh fruit to fight cravings for sweets. She pointed out 

that it is necessary to remove sugar and sweeteners 

for three to seven days in order to move away from 

addiction, RT clarifies.

 

On September 27, rehabilitation doctor Sergey Agapkin, 

on the air of Rossiya 1 TV channel, advised to include 

liver dishes in the diet in order to reduce cravings for 

sweet foods. According to him, the liver is rich in 

chromium. Its lack in the body --- just causes an 

inexplicable desire to eat sweets, notes 360.ru.

 

In November last year, scientists from the University of 

Sydney found that a lack of protein in the diet can lead 

to weight gain. Consuming high-carb and fatty foods, a

 person can still feel hungry due to a lack of protein,

 and its dilution in a diet with a high content of fats

and carbohydrates, leading to increased energy 

consumption, is called a protein lever, notes

 IA Regnum.

 

In July, endocrinologist Kamilya Tabeeva said that to 

overcome sugar addiction, it is necessary first of all 

to pass tests, get enough sleep and play sports. It

is also important to check whether there is a lack 

of carbohydrates, iron, B vitamins and other trace 

elements in the diet.

 

In May, a dietitian, Candidate of Medical Sciences Daria 

Rusakova called a constant craving for sweets a 

harbinger of serious diseases. According to her, 

in the state of prediabetes and diabetes, a lot 

of insulin is produced in the blood, and 

serious glucose spikes are observed. 

 

Because of this, the person feels dizzy, weak and 

nauseous and wants to eat sweets to return to 

a stable state.

 

 

______________________________________________




Doctor: it is important to form the 

right eating habits of children 

as early as possible

June 29th, 3:30am

by Anastasia Rumyantseva

(RT.ru)

 

Olga Sazonova, market expert at NTI "HealthNet", 

director of the Institute of Preventive Medicine 

of Samara State Medical University, and chief 

freelance dietitian of the Ministry of Health

 of the Samara Region, told RT ---- how to 

properly form food habits in children.

 

"It is very important, for parents to form the right eating 

habits of their children as early as possible. Of course, 

our eating habits are formed not only from childhood 

and not only in the family — they are influenced by 

society and marketing, but it is the principles of 

nutrition that were defined in childhood that 

model eating behaviour in adulthood," 

Sazonova said.

 

She specified, that all food groups should be present in 

the diet of children. At the same time, according to the 

expert, special attention should be paid to cooking.

 

"You should give preference to stewing and steaming. 

The fried crust contains a lot of harmful substances, 

which, if used frequently, eventually lead to the

 appearance of inflammatory processes in 

the body," the source warned RT.

 

The nutritionist stressed - that breakfast should 

consist of vegetable salads and two hot dishes.

 

"The first is porridge, potato and vegetable dishes, eggs, 

cottage cheese, and the second, is various hot drinks. 

Lunch includes soup, meat or fish dishes with a side 

dish. Afternoon tea should meet the child's need for 

fluids, since children are thirsty after lunch and 

daytime sleep — it consists of liquids, fruits 

and berries," she said.

 

According to her, dinner should include necessarily hot

meals, in the form of cottage cheese, vegetables, 

cereals and other dishes, as seconds — 

milk, jelly, kefir, or yogurt.

 

In addition, the expert noted that you should not eat 

from bags or boxes, as it is difficult to estimate the 

amount of food in them.

 

"During meals.... it is also necessary to turn off the TV 

and not use gadgets; this will allow you to feel timely 

satiation and avoid overeating," Sazonova concluded.

 




__________________________________________




Taking care of yourself

June 26th, 7:01pm, 

(Lenta.ru)

 

The doctor revealed the main

secrets... of women's health.

 

To maintain women's health..... it is necessary to have a 

good rest, and follow simple rules of personal hygiene, 

said Tina Gadiati, a leading obstetrician-gynecologist
-endocrinologist, and surgeon at La Salute Clinic. 

 

According to the doctor, every woman who cares about 

her health should visit a gynecologist at least once a 

year (and ideally once every six months), even if 

there are no complaints. 

 

"A preventive examination..... allows you to identify many 

female pathologies at the earliest stages --- which may 

initially be asymptomatic. And in the presence of any 

discomfort, abdominal pain, atypical discharge, 

itching and burning, delayed menstruation or 

irregular cycle — and do not self-medicate 

at all. It is important to visit a doctor as 

soon as possible," Gadiati said.

 

Huge damage to women's health --- is caused by sexually 

transmitted infections --- that can occur for a long time

either with mild symptoms or totally asymptomatic, 

the obstetrician-gynecologist added. She drew 

attention to the fact that --- even with full 

confidence in your partner -- you should 

not lose vigilance and forget about 

protective measures.

 

Condoms, of course, do not provide an absolute 

guarantee of protection from all diseases, but 

nevertheless, serve as a barrier to sexually 

transmitted infections. If you have a new 

sexual partner, you should visit a 

gynecologist - and take the 

necessary tests.

 

The doctor also called for weight control, the doctor said. 


She explained that if the weight is constantly changing 

or if a woman follows a strict diet, then the level of 

hormones in the body is disturbed and the 

microflora suffers. And this - in turn -

affects the menstrual cycle and 

overall well-being.

 

You need to sleep at least seven to eight hours a day, and 

you should go to bed - before midnight. It is during this 

period that the body produces hormones that are 

important for the female body.

 

The specialist also recommended, not to forget about 

compliance with the rules of intimate hygiene. You 

should wash at least twice a day. 

 

She recommended performing this procedure after each 

act of defecation, since intestinal bacteria enter the 

vagina and disrupt the microflora. 

 

"During menstruation, intimate hygiene should be

 monitored very carefully:  change pads every 

two to three hours:  do not use tampons at 

night or for more than two to three hours. 

And the use of daily pads, should be 

reduced to a minimum, since they

provoke ------ the reproduction 

of pathogenic bacteria," 

Gadiati summed up.

 

Earlier, obstetrician-gynecologist, Evgeny Shipovsky,

 dispelled popular myths about menstruation. He 

called ''incorrect'' .....beliefs that, during 

menstruation, you can not exercise 

and you need to just endure pain.

 

 

 

_________________________________





Microplastic found 


in male semen


June 10th, 10:11pm


(Lenta.ru)


 


Chinese scientists have found microplastics in each 


tested sample of human sperm obtained from 36 


healthy adult men. The results of the study are 


published in the journal Science of the 


Total Environment.


 


Previous studies have shown that microplastics are 


present in almost all ecosystems of the Earth: from 


mountain peaks to the depths of the world's oceans. 


 


Scientists have found that the average person consumes 


the equivalent amount of plastic to one credit card per 


week. This occurs through drinking from plastic 


bottles, inhaling air particles, or eating food 


heated in plastic containers. It is noted 


that it is impossible for people to 


avoid swallowing plastic.


 


In a new paper, researchers have questioned whether 


ingested microplastics could be responsible for a 


global drop in the birth rate. To do this, they 


recruited 36 healthy adult men from the 


city of Jinan (eastern China) who did 


not work in the plastics industry, 


and collected seminal fluid 


samples from them 


for analysis.


 


Each semen sample was mixed with a chemical solution 


and filtered for subsequent microscopy. Microplastics 


were found in every semen sample, with polystyrene, 


commonly used in packaging foam, being the most 


common of the eight types of plastic identified.


 


Also, sperm samples containing polyvinyl chloride plastic


 particles showed lower sperm motility. According to the


 authors, this finding may help explain the decline in 


male fertility.


 


 


 


_______________________________________________




Russia develops network to 

detect Alzheimer’s disease 

and dementia

June 10th, 1:03pm

 (Prensa Latina) 

 

NtechLab director Aleksei Palamarchuk reported on 

Monday that the company is developing a neural 

network for early detection of Alzheimer's

 illnesses, dementia, and other 

neurodegenerative diseases.

 

TASS reported that - according to Palamarchuk - using 

video analysis studies based on Artificial Intelligence 

(AI), the brain changes that lead to these diseases 

can be identified ten years before the clinical 

manifestations appear and preventive 

treatment can begin.

 

Right now, we have created the neural network that 

will help identify degenerative changes in the brain,

 such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, he said.

 

Palamarchuk explained that the neural network 

...trained with top doctors from major Russian 

hospitals and medical centres.... will process 

the brain’s images by computed tomography

 (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

 

NtechLab announced earlier that it had received a 

certificate for a neural network to help physicians 

diagnose ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes.

 

 

[Rhondda Records adds: for President Guiseppe 

Biden - this might just be......... a little too late.] 




 

__________________________________________________






The endocrinologist listed the 

microelements necessary
for 
a woman's health

May 28th, 2:24am

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Timely intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids 

(PUFAs) helps women maintain their youth. This is 

stated by endocrinologist, Solgar expert Lira

 Gaptykayeva..... in an interview with

 "Gazeta.En " on Tuesday, May 28.

 

"Studies show that this solves several problems at once: 

it allows you to lengthen telomeres and thus delay 

biological aging, helps to fight both systemic

 inflammation, which provokes heart and 

vascular problems, type 2 diabetes and 

other chronic diseases, and mito-

chondrial dysfunction.... and 

oxidative stress --- which 

are considered the key 

causes of malignant 

tumors", - said

the expert.

 

An equally important trace element in the female body, is 

iron. The endocrinologist warned that its deficiency can 

cause disturbances in the synthesis of hemoglobin, 

which is responsible for the movement of oxygen

 in the body.

 

"Normally, the iron index varies in the range of 9-30 

micromol/l . You can try to support it through 

nutrition by including meat, liver, poultry, 

fish and eggs in your diet. However, 

heat treatment and deterioration 

of the quality of the products 

themselves leads to a 

decrease in the 

content of the

nutrients in 

them," - the 

doctor said.

 

The third important element is folic acid, which is also 

called vitamin B9. This substance contributes to the 

proper functioning of the immune system, gives a 

healthy appearance to hair, nails and skin, and

 is also responsible for energy exchange.

 

"During the pre-gravidar preparation of the body and 

directly during pregnancy, the need for this vitamin 

increases by 1.5 times, since it is necessary for 

proper fetal formation, protein division, growth

 and development," the specialist explained.

 

You can get enough folic acid by eating spinach, peanuts,

 beets, liver, lentils, and asparagus daily. However, all 

these products must be consumed fresh, as any

 treatment -- or even long-term exposure to 

direct sunlight - destroys up to 90% of 

the vitamin B9 contained in them.

 

"In addition, some people have a genetic predisposition 

to non-assimilation of this substance (polymorphism
of 
the MTHFR gene)," the expert concluded.

 




___________________________________




Taking care of yourself

 

Men are warned: about the 

dangerous consequences

 of loving beer

May 24th, 4:31pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

The love of beer threatens men with serious health 

problems, said surgeon Alexander Umnov. He 

warned men about the dangerous 

consequences of drinking this 

drink, in an interview with

NEWS.ru.

 

According to him, beer alcoholics quickly develop obesity 

and metabolic syndrome. "Hence the increased blood 

glucose and the development of type 2 diabetes," 

he explained.

 

Umnov added that because of the heavy metal salts

 contained in beer, men's testosterone production

 decreases, which threatens to change their 

appearance to the female type, and 

problems in intimate life, 

including infertility.

 

Earlier, Umnov named the devastating health 

consequences of drinking vodka. According 

to him, when drinking this drink, the cells of

 the pancreas die, then the liver tissue 

becomes scarred, because of which 

this organ...... cannot effectively 

remove toxins from the body.

 




____________________________________________




The doctor spoke on - the benefits of

 greens for reducing blood pressure

April 25th, 12:01am

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Natalia Denisova, a dietitian, senior researcher at the 

Research Centre for Nutrition and Biotechnology, 

PhD, told how to make a diet in such a way --- to 

reduce the dose of blood pressure medications.

 

In a conversation with the site aif.ru on Wednesday, April 

24, the specialist pointed out that greens are one of the 

main sources of potassium, which helps to remove 

fluids. This reduces blood pressure and reduces 

swelling. According to her, in the absence of 

problems with the pancreas in each meal, 

you should eat 3-4 sprigs of dill, parsley, 

and/or lettuce - this is about 10-15 g 

per serving. Also, greens are useful

for people with excess weight ---

since the dietary fibre of greens 

helps to remove excess 

fat, and cholesterol.

 

In addition, according to Denisova, fresh greens contain 

antioxidants: vitamin C, carotenoids, and chlorophyll. 

Vitamin C and other antioxidants help improve blood 

circulation, stimulate hematopoiesis, and improve

the oxygen supply to tissues and organs.

 

The doctor added that the greens are also rich in

 essential oils. In particular, dill reduces gas 

formation, and improves digestion.

 

On April 18, Natalia Denisova told what foods should 

be included in the diet for people who have a 

predisposition to hypertension. 

 

In particular, according to her, boiled potatoes help 

reduce blood pressure due to the content of 

potassium, which removes water from the

 body. Potatoes are also considered a 

mild diuretic.

 

On April 16, endocrinologist and dietitian Ekaterina

 Kazachkova urged not to eat fast food more often

 than once every two weeks. According to her, 

heavy food is best combined with fibre-rich 

foods. Vegetables and herbs are able to 

absorb some of the trans fats, as well 

as help to process the dish without 

harm to health, reports TV 

channel "360".

 

In February, the surgeon, oncourologist Mark Gadziyan 

called chips and smoked sausage ---- the most harmful 

products. According to him it is important to consume 

sufficient amounts of clean water for the prevention 

of urolithiasis. For the same purposes --- it is 

necessary to reduce the amount of salt 

in the diet and limit meat consumption.

 

Earlier, cardiologist Denis Sokolov told how to properly 

measure blood pressure. According to him, this should 

be done in a quiet environment, not immediately after

 smoking or drinking coffee. 

 

The hand should not be held in the air, it is necessary 

to put it on the table and relax, fix it in one position. 

The middle of the cuff should be at the level of the 

heart when measuring, the website kp.ru. writes. 




_________________________________________________

 

 

 

Ent pointed out the connection 

between the common cold

 and the use of sweets

April 24th, 11:21pm

(Izvestia.ru)

 

An otorhinolaryngologist of the highest category,

 Vladimir Zaitsev, said that sugar can lead to a 

runny nose, that is, an active discharge of 

mucus from the nose.

 

In a conversation with the site aif.ru on Wednesday, April 

24, the doctor explained that sugar is an ideal breeding 

ground for microorganisms.

 

"Micro-organisms normally live in every person - we carry 

about 2.5 kg of microflora. And without it, we would not 

have lived, we would simply have died. However, the 

question is in the number of these microorganisms:

 if their number increases multiple times, it is bad 

for the body," the expert explained.

 

According to him, in addition to sugar, milk, fermented milk

 products and yeast are also nutrient media for microflora.


 Sugar, for example, acts as a provocateur of 

inflammatory diseases of the 

paranasal sinuses.

 

The doctor explained that if a person has inflamed 

maxillary sinuses, then with a large amount of 

sugar in the diet, it will be constantly 

maintained due to the nutrition 

of bacteria.

 

"Further, the discharge will disturb and move from the 

sinuses to the nasal cavity. When they get there, 

active irritation of the lower nasal concha 

begins. It will be under the constant 

influence of mucus," said Zaitsev.

 

Thus, the nasal cavity becomes inflamed and is also 

involved in the process of the active production of 

mucus, which irritates the throat.

 

As lore emphasized, it is also important to take into 

account that excess sugar increases its level in 

the blood, against which there is a decrease in

 immunity. So, for example.... patients with 

diabetes suffer greatly with a runny nose.


 Due to reduced immunity, such patients 

catch any infection transmitted by 

airborne droplets.

 

The doctor urged to reconsider the approach to the use of 

sugar as it is not provided in a natural food chain of the

 person. It should be a treat or delicacy. If a person is 

ready to "sacrifice their sweet tooth" --- then the

 situation can be corrected, but ---- if not, then, 

according to the doctor, you should prepare

 for a constantly flowing..... nose. This is 

already...... a consequence of such a 

pathology..... as chronic vasomotor 

rhinitis of a neurovegetative form.

 

 


__________________________________________



The doctor told about
dangerous 
diseases
for pensioners




April 24th, 1:31am

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Elvira Fesenko, PhD, Head of the Department of Therapy, 

Geriatrics and Anti-Aging Medicine of the Academy of 

Postgraduate Education of the Federal State 

Budgetary Institution of the Federal 

Research Centre of the FMBA of 

Russia, told which diseases 

are most dangerous... for 

patients over 65 years 

of age.

 

In a conversation with the site aif.ru on Tuesday, April 23, 

the specialist pointed out the danger of problems of the 

cardiovascular system. According to her, these are the 

main problems of older people. She explained that 

with age, the risk of coronary heart disease and 

the blockage of blood vessels supplying it 

increases.

 

She noted that people of retirement age often face

 hypertension, the main danger of which is that it 

can be asymptomatic for a long time. Signs of 

high blood pressure include chest pain, pain 

in the temporal and occipital parts of the 

head, palpitations, & feelings of anxiety. 

In addition, high blood pressure puts a 

strain on the heart, blood vessels and 

kidneys, and can lead to a stroke or 

heart attack.

 

The doctor also considered diseases of the

 musculoskeletal system to be dangerous: 

osteoporosis, arthritis. Also dangerous is 

type 2 diabetes, as it causes problems 

with the pancreas, which becomes 

unable to produce enough insulin. 

 

Dangerous cataracts, which significantly 

reduce the standard of living due to the

 inability to focus on objects.

 

In addition, the doctor added, the exhaustion 

of the nervous system in old age can lead to

 memory loss. It all starts with short-term 

episodes, but the condition worsens and 

the person loses the ability to 

serve themselves.

 

In February, Olga Shuppo, scientific director of the Grand 

Clinic network of immunorehabilitation and preventive 

medicine, named the causes of early dementia. 

 

According to her, lifestyle, immunity, social activity, 

and diet, largely determine the risk of this disease.

 

 

 

Image: Link found between microplastics and heart diseases

Link found between 

microplastics and

 heart diseases

April 13th, 00:46am

(Prensa Latina) 

 

The accumulation of tiny plastic particles in blood vessels

 is now linked to an increased risk of heart attacks, 

strokes and deaths, according to a new study 

published in the New England Journal 

of Medicine.

 

The study, which included some 300 people with

 atherosclerosis, also found that they had tiny 

plastic particles (microplastics and nano-

plastics) encrusted in plaques in the 

carotid artery, a major blood vessel 

in the neck that supplies blood to

 the brain.

 

“Patients with plastic plaques were more than four times 

more likely to have a myocardial infarction or a stroke 

or to die from any cause within three years,” the 

report noted.

 

According to the experts, when plaque builds up in the 

arteries, known as atherosclerosis, the thickening of 

the vessel walls reduces the blood flow to parts of 

the body, increasing the risk of a stroke, angina 

pectoris and myocardial infarction.

 

Such plaques are usually a mixture of cholesterol, fatty 

substances, cellular debris, calcium and a blood-

clotting protein called fibrin or fibrinogen.

 

Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic no larger than 

five millimetres and are formed when larger plastics

 decompose through chemical degradation 

processes or physical wear and tear.

 

 

__________________________


 

The doctor listed products 

that improve vision

April 10th, 4:50am

(Izvestia.ru)

 

The Doctor-ophthalmologist, doctor-microsurgeon, 

doctor-laser surgeon "SM-Klinika", and Candidate 

of Medical Sciences, Svetlana Mirgorodskaya,

listed products - that can improve vision.

 

In an interview with Gazeta.En, on Tuesday, April 9, the 

specialist noted that vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, P, 

D and E, as well as lutein, zeaxanthin, zinc and

anthocyanins, have a positive effect on your

eye health and vision.

 

According to her, vitamin A is present in fish from the 

cold northern seas, in eggs, milk, liver, butter, wild

 garlic, celery, and parsley, writes RT.

 

Mirgorodskaya noted, that B vitamins can be found in meat,

heavy cream, cereals, bananas, and vitamins P and C, are

 found in raspberries, citrus fruits, blackberries, cherries, 

black currants, grapes, rosehips, paprika, bell peppers, 

cabbage, potatoes, and tomatoes.

 

In addition, it is worth including sea fish and mushrooms in 

the diet, because they are rich in vitamin D. Also useful for 

vision... is zinc, which is high in pumpkin seeds, oysters, 

pine nuts and beans. kp.ru.

 

Earlier, on March 20, Irina Zimina, an ophthalmologist at 

Atlas clinics, said that in order to prevent deterioration 

of vision, it is necessary to take breaks during visual 

loads, exercises for the eyes, and also moisten the

 air in the room.

 

In February, nutritionist Alexandra Razarenova said that 

regular use of rosehip helps to strengthen the immune 

system, as well as cope with viruses and bacteria. In 

addition, red fruits can protect against premature 

aging. Vitamin A, which is present in rosehip,

 improves vision, reports the TV 

channel "360".

 

In August last year, dietitian Elena Solomatina, told 

"Moscow 24" - that eating pumpkin helps maintain 

good vision in the elderly. According to her, it is 

rich in fiber, zinc and antioxidants that are 

good for vision.

 

Prior to this, Solomatina noted that apricots restore visual 

acuity and have a beneficial effect on the nervous and 

cardiovascular systems. In addition ------ they are 

easy to quench thirst, as they (85%) consist

of water, notes NSN.

 

 


________________________________________________




 The expert named four 

principles of longevity

April 8th, 11pm

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Life expectancy in Moscow, has reached a record 78 years

 on average, Vladimir Filippov, Deputy head of the Moscow 

Department of Labour and Social Protection and head of 

the Moscow Longevity program told Izvestia. According 

to him, this is influenced by a number of fundamental 

factors, such as the quality and accessibility of 

healthcare.... a variety of leisure and self-

realization opportunities, but there 

are also four main principles 

of longevity.

 

To the first important principle, the expert attributed the 

ability of a person to find happiness in everyday affairs.

 

"For example, the Japanese, a nation of centenarians, 

have such a popular term --- "ikigai". It means, the 

meaning of life in the most applied sense ----- as 

the ability to find happiness in everyday affairs.'' 


''So ---- most Japanese retirees have a specific plan

for each day of their lives: finish tying a blanket,

feed their grandchildren, go to the market, 

clean the house, walk the dog, and so on.

They are not afraid to plan for months 

-- and years -- ahead.'' 

 

''This is a serious mental factor that affects life

 expectancy, " Vladimir Filippov explained.

 

The expert called physical health and timely passing

 of high-quality medical examinations the second 

and third principles.

 

"Today.... there is an opinion that the best patient, the so-

 called "patient 2.0", is the one who goes to the doctor 

in advance, and passes the necessary checkups to 

prevent or detect diseases at an early stage," 

Filippov said.

 

According to him, the fourth important law of 

most centenarians --------- is to load the brain.

 

"In Japan, where old age is probably better studied than 

anywhere else, another study proved that older people 

who were engaged in intellectual work, regularly 

read, guessed crosswords, or played Go, life 

expectancy on average, was four years

 longer," Filippov said.

 

In addition, one of the key factors affecting longevity, the 

expert called the human environment. Single people on

 average live five to six years less. 

 

Warm communication prolongs life - the authors of the 

famous Harvard 75-year study on happiness came 

to this conclusion, Filippov stressed.

 

Earlier, on March 31, Tamara Moseva, brand chief of the 

network of boarding houses for the elderly "Warm 

Conversations", told Izvestia that the secret of

 active longevity lies not only in genetics and 

the level of physical activity, but also in a 

certain diet.

 

 According to her, it is important for health that the meal 

is varied and balanced and includes: vegetables, fruits, 

cereals, legumes, nuts, seeds, dairy products, meat
or
 its alternatives. 

 

This diet helps meet the body's needs for vitamins, 

minerals, protein, fat, and carbohydrates. A lack 

of nutrients..... can lead to various diseases,

 she explained.




 

_________________________________________





 The doctor named the early signs
of Parkinson's disease

April 1st, 1:02pm

 (Izvestia.ru)

 

Excessive movement during sleep, such as twitching,
can be the first signs of Parkinson's disease. About
this on April the 1st, in Gazeta.Ru, stated Sergey
Illarioshkin ---- an Academician of the Russian
Academy of Sciences, and Deputy Director
for Research at the Scientific Centre
of Neurology.

 

According to him, such a symptom may appear even 10-20 

years before motor manifestations. In this case, a person 

can wave his hands in a dream and throw objects from

 the bedside shelves.

 

"This is a sign of developing pathology in those parts of

 the brain that are responsible for controlling sleep 

mechanisms and are involved in the earliest 

stage of the disease," Illarioshkin said.

 

The specialist explained that disabling muscle tone during 

REM sleep is normal, but in people with Parkinson's

 disease, the pathology of certain nuclei of the 

brain stem leads to the fact that the tone is 

preserved. So, a person begins to 

"participate" in his dream.

 

Illarioshkin cited as an example a case from the United 

States, when a man at the time of such an attack in a

dream strangled his wife. As a result -- he was able 

to avoid criminal liability, since polysomnography 

proved that the patient suffers from a violation

 of behaviour... in the REM sleep phase.

 

"If a person has such a disorder isolated, then with a 70% 

probability he will develop either Parkinson's disease, or 

dementia with Lewy bodies, or multisystem atrophy —

 three diseases associated with the pathology of 

alpha-synuclein," the neurologist summed up.

 

Earlier, on March 22nd, it was reported, that Russian 

scientists have patented a drug for the treatment of 

Parkinson's disease in the early stages. It acts on

 the enzyme glucocerebrosidase, which is 

encoded by the GBA1 gene. 

 

Mutations in it increase the risk of developing pathology 

by 10 times. Tests on patient cells have shown that the

molecule created by scientists.... restores the activity 

of the enzyme.

 

 

____________________________________________





Taking care of yourself

March 25th, 2:33pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

 Products that help with bloating named

 

Some products help with bloating, said

the proctologist, Elena Smirnova. 

 

Among such products, she named celery — it fights 

dehydration, thereby protecting against bloating.

 In addition -- avocados and tomatoes rich in 

potassium.. can reduce the risk of this 

problem, according to Smirnova. 

 

Potassium, she said, reduces the level

of sodium in the body ------ which 

causes bloating.

 

In addition, the doctor included kefir in the list, citing a 

study - that proved that the use of this fermented milk 

product removes gases in the gastrointestinal tract

 by 70 percent. This is due to the fact - that kefir 

helps break down sugar in milk, which leads 

to bloating, said Smirnova. She also warns:

that large portions of food, sweets, and 

fatty foods, can lead to heaviness in 

the stomach... and bloating.

 

 

____________________________


 


Doctors named 3 cancer 

- protecting products

March 20th, 3:01am

(Lenta.ru)

 

Therapist, Elena Malysheva, and cardiologist, Herman 

Gandelman on the air of the program "Live healthy!" 

on Channel One named three products, the use of 

which is useful for the prevention of cancer. The

 program is available on the channel's website.

 

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts and white cabbage have been 

added to the list of foods that protect against cancer. 

"Include it in your diet," Malysheva urged Russians.

 

According to experts, all these vegetables contain 

the substance sulforaphane. "Sulforaphane 

prevents cancer cells from multiplying 

and, consequently, prevents cancer 

from developing," Gandelman

 explained.

 

Earlier, doctor Alexander Myasnikov on the air of the 

program "About the most important thing" on the 

channel "Russia 1" said that the presence of 

a cyst in the ovary after menopause is a 

symptom of cancer. According to 

the doctor, such a cyst must 

be removed.

 

 

 

________________________



 

The professor listed the important

 symptoms of kidney problems

March 15th, 4:17pm

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Olga Vetchinnikova, MD, Professor of the Department of 

Transplantology, Nephrology and Artificial Organs at 

the Vladimirsky Moscow State Medical University, 

spoke about what can provoke the development 

of kidney diseases - and explained how to 

recognize abnormalities.

 

In an interview with Radio 1 on March 14, the specialist 

pointed out that the most common kidney diseases are 

kidney damage in other diseases. We are talking about 

cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension.

 

"All these diseases are currently treated as non-

communicable pandemics. Chronic kidney 

disease, also belongs to these non-

communicable pandemics," 

the doctor explained.

 

According to her, diseases that can cause kidney damage 

also include arterial hypertension, systemic infections, 

autoimmune diseases, hepatitis, HIV infections, 

urolithiasis, tuberculosis, as well as urinary

tract infections ....and some 

urological diseases.

 

Vetchinnikova warned that uncontrolled medication intake 

is an unfavorable factor for kidney function. Their health 

is also affected by smoking, obesity, and lipid 

metabolism disorders, so people with such 

ailments should carefully monitor 

their health - and undergo the 

necessary examinations.

 

The professor noted that kidney diseases are 

characterized by an asymptomatic course of

 the disease. It is important to pay attention

 to changes in the volume and colour

 of urine. 

 

Also, a symptom of problems with this organ can be an 

increase in blood pressure, especially at a young age,

 the appearance of edema. Also, kidney disease in 

relatives, changes in the size and shape of the 

kidneys during ultrasound examination 

should be alarming. 

 

In addition, changes in the overall 

urinalysis, protein and red blood 

cell counts - are important.

 

On March 14, the nephrologist Olga Kozina warned against 

self-medication for kidney stones. According to her, the

 treatment of urolithiasis depends on many factors 

that can only be evaluated and taken into 

account by a specialist.

 

 In particular, if the stone is large and causes repeated

 episodes of unbearable pain, it is necessary to 

remove it, writes RT. 

 

She also advised drinking more water to prevent the 

formation of kidney stones. An adult should drink 

at least 1.5 litres of clean drinking water 

a day, the 360 TV channel notes.

 

On March 3, dietitian, MD Mikhail Ginzburg, in an 

interview with Zvezda TV channel, warned that

 excessive consumption of fat-soluble vitamins

 leads to dangerous overdoses. According to 

him, the main danger lies in the removal of 

excess elements from the body. 

 

Absorbed together with fat, excess vitamins can not 

be removed by the kidneys, as is the case with 

water-soluble drugs. The most dangerous is 

an overdose of vitamin D: first of all, the

harm is manifested --- in the form of 

calcium retention in the body.

 

In February, urologist-andrologist Dmitry Zhuravsky said 

that kidney stones are formed due to changes in the 

chemical composition of urine and an increase in

 its salt level. The urologist advised patients 

with oxalate kidney stones to use sorrel, 

spinach, parsley, dill, rhubarb, beetroot, 

and citrus fruits --- with caution.

 




_________________________________





Taking care of yourself

March 11th, 3:2pm

(Lent.ru)

 

Russians listed available products

 ...............that slow down aging.

 

Endocrinologist Mikhaleva urged --- to eat

herring and mackerel to slow down aging.

 

To slow down aging, it is necessary to regularly eat 

herring, mackerel and other varieties of cold-water

 fish, endocrinologist Oksana Mikhaleva advised.


 She listed these and some other available 

anti-age products, to Izvestia.

 

Mikhaleva urged to eat wild fish, because it is rich in

 polyunsaturated Omega-3 fatty acids -- which help 

reduce the risk of osteoporosis and prolong the 

youthfulness of the skin. 

 

Most of the fatty acids - according to her - are found in 

mackerel and herring, and not in expensive red fish,

 as many people used to think.

 

Herbs, fruits and vegetables, also play a significant role in 

prolonging youth, the endocrinologist continued. An adult 

needs to eat at least half a kilogram of these anti-aging 

foods a day, she said.

 

To slow down aging...... according to Mikhaleva, the body 

needs a sufficient amount of fibre, which is rich in whole 

grains and legumes. As a healthy source of animal 

protein --- the endocrinologist recommended
eating
 lean meat: rabbit and poultry.

 

In addition, as the doctor noted, many older people face 

osteoporosis. To reduce the risk of its development, it 

is necessary to include dairy products in the diet.

It 
is important that they are low-fat and
do not 
contain sugar, she stressed.

 

Earlier, endocrinologist, Natalia Tananakina, told what 

products can replace fatty and fried foods, as well as 

pastries and sweets. According to her, meat, fish, 

as well as fruits and cereals are alternatives 

to these products.




 

___________________________________________


 


Taking care of yourself

March 6th, 3:32pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

Three available breakfast options for

 preventing bowel cancer are named.

 

Meredee Birdie, a dietitian who specializes in treating 

cancer patients, named three affordable breakfast 

options for preventing the development of bowel 

cancer. Her advice is provided by 

Business Insider.

 

According to Birdie, you can prevent bowel cancer if you 

regularly eat oatmeal porridge with milk and added fruit

 for breakfast. She explained... that oatmeal provides a 

positive effect due to the large amount of fiber in the 

composition, which feeds on "good" bacteria in the

 intestines. Also, this porridge protects the mucous 

membranes of the colon.

 

The second option... for a healthy breakfast for the

 intestines, she called a mixture of unsweetened 

yogurt with berries, nuts and seeds. According

 to Birdie, this simple dish is rich in calcium, 

protein, and probiotics to help support 

normal digestion.

 

Finally, the dietitian suggested eating scrambled eggs with

 vegetables and halloumi cheese for breakfast. For this 

dish, according to her, you need to fry tomatoes, 

mushrooms and spinach, and in another pan 

— cheese.

 

Next, you need to mix the ingredients, break the eggs into

 the resulting mixture and continue to fry until the whites 

thicken, the doctor explained. She noted that it is best

to serve the finished dish... with a slice of avocado.

 

Earlier, nutritionist Mikhail Ginzburg warned against

 excessive consumption of white bread. He pointed 

out ---- that bread made from sifted flour can
eventually 
provoke diseases. such as
hypertension, 
atherosclerosis,
diabetes, tumors, 

and gout.

 

 

____________________________________

Tories and Labour take away
your right - to see a doctor!



 

 

Ultra-processed foods - may

 increase risk of depression

February 29th, 5:35pm

(Prensa Latina) 

 

Eating high amounts of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) —

particularly those containing artificial sweeteners —

may increase the risk of developing depression,

 according to a new study co-authored by

 researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan 

School of Public Health.

 

The study was published on September 20th ---- in JAMA 

Network Open. Harvard Chan co-authors included Dong 

Wang, the assistant professor in the Department of 

Nutrition; Olivia Okereke and Mingyang Song --- 

both associate professors in the Department 

of Epidemiology & Andrew Chan, professor 

in the Department of Immunology and

 Infectious Diseases.

 

To assess the link between UPFs such as packaged snacks

 and frozen meals — and depression, researchers collected 

data on diet and mental health from 31,712 middle-aged 

women enrolled in the Nurses Health Study II between 

2003 and 2017. Participants filled out a questionnaire 

on their dietary habits every four years. They also

reported... if they received a clinical diagnosis of 

depression &/or started taking antidepressants

during the study period.

 

The study found that participants who were in the top fifth 

of consumers of UPFs — eating 9 or more servings per
day - had a 50% higher risk of developing depression 

than those in the bottom fifth of consumers, eating 

four or fewer servings per day.

 

The researchers also identified a link ----- between artificial 

sweeteners and depression: Participants in the top fifth of

 consumers had a 26% higher risk of developing 

depression than those in the bottom fifth.

 

Chan said in a September 20 article in Forbes that people 

“may wish to limit their intake of ultra-processed foods 

wherever possible” — particularly people who already 

live with depression or other mental health conditions.

 

He noted that the study controlled for confounding factors 

such as exercise and smoking status. In addition, none 

of the study’s participants had depression at the 

outset, which was the study’s strength, Chan

 told The Guardian. 

 

“We minimized the likelihood that our findings are simply

 due to individuals with depression being more likely to

 choose ultra-processed foods,” he said, in a 

September 20 article.

 

 

Image: losing weight eat no more than 25 g of dark chocolate per day


  

Those who lose weight are advised

 to eat ....no more than 25 g of 

dark chocolate per day

by Anastasia Rumyantseva

February 25th, 2am

(RT.ru)

 

Lecturer at the Russian Biotechnological University,

 (ROSBIOTECH University) Inga Belyaeva explained 

in an interview with RT -- that almost any of the 

existing diets.... involves a complete rejection

 of sweets ------ but chocolate, can be useful 

for weight loss.

 

"The main thing is to choose the right product and consume

 it in reasonable quantities. Preference should be given to

 dark chocolate, which contains a lot of natural cocoa 

and little sugar. Such a product helps to reduce the 

level of stress that occurs when following a diet: 

it stimulates the release of endorphin and 

serotonin -- and neutralizes the effect 

of cortisol --- thereby, preventing 

overeating," the expert said.

 

According to her, cocoa butter.... which is part of 

chocolate, is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids.

 

"They speed up your metabolism and fat burning. 

And even a small piece of dark chocolate can 

effectively - satisfy your hunger. The fibre in 

this product creates a long-lasting feeling 

of satiety," the expert said.

 

Modern dietetics recommends using no more
than 
25 grams of dark chocolate per day,
when 
reducing weight, Belyaeva noted.

 

"This is a quarter of a 100-gram tile, six pieces. 

This portion contains about 155 kcal. The use 

of white and milk chocolate can be harmful 

- as it does not contain at all, or contains 

very little, cocoa, but a lot of sugar, 

animal fat, and sometimes other

 additives," she concluded.

 

 

____________________________




Taking care of yourself

February 20th, 6:01pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

The doctor explained the reasons for the 

appearance of an unpleasant symptom 

of menopause

 

Hot flushes in menopause appear -- due to fluctuations 

in the level of estrogens, directly related to the work 

of neurotransmitters, explained obstetrician-

gynecologist, Ekaterina Volkova. 

 

The doctor explained the reasons.... why 

this unpleasant symptom occurs during 

menopause in her Telegram channel.

 

According to Volkova, most women learn about 

menopause by the absence of menstruation, 

and many of them - face hot flushes. The 

doctor noted, that everyone feels this

 symptom differently.

 

Hot flushes can ferl like a feeling of warmth, 

especially in the upper body and not even 

accompanied by heavy sweating. And...

they can be a real attack with sweat, 

fever and tachycardia.

 

The obstetrician-gynecologist, Ekaterina Volkova,

clarified that the occurrence of hot flushes is 

associated with a lack of estrogen.

She 
explained, that this hormone is 

important --- for the functioning 

of neurotransmitters, which 

transmit information from 

the body to the central 

nervous system. 

 

If there are no estrogens, then the information is

transmitted incorrectly. "You don't overheat, 

but in the centre you "hear" ....that it is 

time to cool down," the doctor said.

 

Earlier, Volkova named five vitamins for 

women over 40 years old. Among 

others..... she recommended 

taking vitamins A and B.

 




______________________________




 Study:

Exercise can help ease pain 

for people with cancer

February 17th, 8:16am

 (Prensa Latina) 

 

Engaging in intense exercise might not be the first thing 

that people fighting cancer think to do ---- but a new

study by Trusted Source, reports that a workout 

can help ease cancer-related pain.

 

“It may feel counterintuitive to some, but physical activity 

is an effective, non-pharmacologic option... for reducing 

many types of pain,” said Dr. Erika Rees-Punia, a study

senior author & the American Cancer Society’s senior 

principal scientist for epidemiology and behavioral 

research, in a press statement.

 

 “As our study suggests, this may include

 pain associated with cancer and 

its treatments.”

 

In the study published in the journal Cancer, Rees-Punia 

and Dr. Christopher T.V. Swain, first study author and a 

fellow at the University of Melbourne in Australia, 

looked at 10,651 adults with a past cancer 

diagnosis and 51,439 adults without 

a history of cancer.

 

Participants were asked to rate their average pain level 

from 0 to 10, with 0 being no pain and 10 being the 

worst pain imaginable. They also were queried 

about their engagement in exercise.

 

The researchers reported that more physical activity 

was associated with lower pain intensity, whether 

or not individuals had a history of cancer.

 

Among those with a past cancer diagnosis, those 

exceeding the physical activity guidelines 

established by the U.S. government — 

getting 150 to 300 minutes a week 

of moderate-intensity exercise, or

75 to 150 minutes per week of 

vigorous - intensity aerobic 

physical activity ----- were 

16% less likely.. to report

moderate-to-severe pain 

compared to those who 

exercised less.

 

Less pain also was reported by those who were

 consistently active or became active as older 

adults compared to those who remained

 inactive, the researchers said.

 

“Cancer pain can be debilitating and most patients

 in palliative care, often require opioid-based pain 

medications like morphine, just to get by,” Dr. 

Ryan Peterson --- a pain medicine specialist 

and anesthesiologist at NuView Treatment 

Center, a Los Angeles-based addiction 

treatment program, told Medical 

News Today.

 

''While pharmacological interventions are good, 

I recommend non-pharmacologic therapies 

such as gradual exercise, as tolerable 

when possible ------ so as to prevent 

muscle atrophy and further pain.'' 

 

''Exercise is also known to aid in the release of 

endorphins ---- which may be helpful in pain 

alleviation and tolerance,” said Peterson,

 who was not involved in the study.

 


 

_____________________________________




The doctor named ways to reduce 

the daily consumption of sweets

February 5th, 2:13pm

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Regular exercise and the use of sugar substitutes will help 

reduce your daily intake of sweets. This was announced 

on Monday, February 5, by the endocrinologist of 

Meditsina JSC (Academician Roitberg Clinic) 

Natalia Tananakina.

 

"It is possible to get hooked on sweets because of their

 ability to cause a person to feel pleasure and stimulate 

the pleasure centres in the brain. Giving up on this can 

be difficult because of the possible development of 

physiological dependence, as well as 

psychological habits," the doctor 

shared with RIAMO.

 

According to her, the difference in the use of natural sugar 

and sweeteners lies in their metabolic effects. The first 

product is high in calories, it increases the level of 

glucose in the blood, while the sweetener has 

zero calories. 

 

The specialist emphasized that it is impossible to

 completely switch to substitutes, since using 

them in large quantities can have a negative 

impact on health.

 

Earlier, in December, the surgeon, oncourologist Mark

Gadziyan, said that the most harmful products are 

sugar and salt. He explained - that an excess of 

salt in the body can cause blood clots to form 

in the blood vessels, as well as a decrease 

in testosterone levels and an increase 

in blood pressure. 

 

Sugar is also dangerous, as it negatively affects the 

suppression of insulin production and leads to fat 

deposition in the abdominal organs.

 

 

__________________________________________



High blood omega-3 levels 

linked to lower risk of 

Alzheimer’s disease

February 3rd 1:28pm

(Prensa Latina) 

 

Having high levels of omega-3 in the blood is associated 

with a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, 

according to a study co-led by the Hospital del 

Mar Research Institute and published in 

the journal Nutrients.

 

This is the study with the largest number of participants in 

this field to date, analyzing data from 260,000 people from 

the UK Biobank database. Researchers from the Fatty 

Acid Resarch Institute of the United States and
the 
CIBER de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y 

Nutrición (CIBEROBN) have participated

 in the study.

 

The authors of the study, have been able to access the

blood metabolite profile of individuals included in the 

UK database. As well as examining the associations 

by different types of omega-3, being able to work 

with such a large number of participants has 

made it possible to include younger 

population groups - than those 

traditionally studied.

 

Thus, they have divided the participants into volunteers 

aged 40 to 50 years, 50 to 60 years and over 60 years. 

They have also been able to relate this information 

to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease or other 

dementias, as distinct entities.

 

As Dr. Aleix Sala-Vila, a researcher in the Cardiovascular

 Risk and Nutrition Research Group at the Hospital del 

Mar Research Institute, explains, “it has helped us to 

study whether having high levels of omega-3 at age 

50 can help prevent the onset of dementia many

 years later”.

 

The study has taken into account the age, sex, level 

of schooling of the participants and the genetic 

characteristics associated with an increased 

risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

 

The conclusions indicate that “high levels of omega-3 are 

associated with lower risk for all age groups, for men
and 
women and for both diseases, but the strongest

 associations, are found in men, in people over 

60 years of age, and for dementias other 

than Alzheimer’s disease,” explains 

the lead author of the study.

 

At the same time, the associations are also particularly 

beneficial for omega-3s other than DHA (docosa-

hexaenoic acid). This omega-3... is provided by 

oily fish, and, therefore, the study “reinforces 

the idea that there are some foods, which 

do not have to be fish, such as walnuts, 

that could be beneficial for brain

health,” says Dr. Sala-Vila.

 

 

___________________________________


 

Report: Progress on Cancer Survival 

in UK -------- at Slowest in 50 Years

February 3rd, 10:25am (FNA)

 

 Progress on cancer survival in the UK has slowed to its 

lowest rate in 50 years, a report found ----- with experts 

blaming the impact of austerity on the nation’s health.

 

The study - by researchers at the London School of Hygiene 

and Tropical Medicine, commissioned by Cancer Research 

UK, projects there will be half a million new cancer cases 

each year in the UK by 2040, The Guardian reported.

 

The report says nearly half of all patients (49.8%) now 

survive cancer for at least 10 years. But the rate of 

progress in improving prognosis slowed markedly 

after 2010 -- rising by an average of 0.6% a year 

between 2011 and 2018. In previous decades, 

10-year survival rose by 1.5%-2.7% a year.

 

Figures from WHO’s cancer arm, the International Agency 

for Research on Cancer, have suggested global cancer 

cases will rise by more than 75% by 2050 --- due to a 

combination of factors including tobacco use, 

alcohol consumption and obesity.

 

Mark Lawler --- a professor of digital health at Queen’s

 University Belfast and the chair of Lancet Oncology’s 

European Groundshot cancer commission, said the 

slow improvement in 10-year cancer survival as 

detailed in Cancer Research UK’s study 

made for startling reading.

 

“Good health and austerity do not mix, leading to less 

resources being focused on cancer prevention and 

treatment. And the bad news is it’s not going to 

get any better soon, as the impact of COVID 

and national lockdowns has set back 

survival for certain cancers like 

bowel by almost a decade,” 

he said.

 

“Inexplicably, this is the very time that the government has

 moved away from a national cancer strategy to a major 

conditions strategy, going against international best 

practice,” he added.

 

John Ashton, a former president of the UK Faculty of 

Public Health, said public health budgets meant 

cancer prevention --- is increasingly difficult.

 

“The agenda for preventing cancer is about smoking

 cessation, healthy weight, less alcohol --- and a 

healthy diet. Public health teams don’t really 

have the resources to get upstream of the 

prevention side of cancer. [Coupled with

 pressures on GP practices and the 

wider NHS] the picture is gloomy 

from a prevention point of view

 ...from an early intervention 

point of view -- and from a 

treatment point of view,”

 he added.

 

Jon Shelton, the head of cancer intelligence at Cancer 

Research UK, said, “Cancer survival is not improving

 quickly enough. People are waiting far too long for

 diagnosis and to start treatment, with cancer 

waiting time targets consistently being 

missed. And we need to prevent 

more cancers."

 

Dr Cary Adams, the head of the Union for International
Cancer Control, said, “Despite the progress that has 

been made in the early detection of cancers and 

the treatment and care of cancer patients --- 

significant disparities in cancer treatment 

outcomes exist not only between high- 

and low-income regions of the world, 

but also within countries."

 

“Where someone lives should not determine whether they

 live. Tools exist to enable governments to prioritise 

cancer care and to ensure that everyone has 

access to affordable, quality services. This 

is not just a resource issue but a matter 

of political will,” Adams added.

 

 


______________________________




The doctor told - how 

to support immunity 

in winter

by Evgeny Odintsovo

January 5th, 8:55pm

(Gazeta.ru)

 

Doctor Turtleneck recommended eating
garlic
 and ginger in winter for immunity

 

In winter, the immune system plays a special role in

 maintaining health, as cold temperatures and 

viruses can have a negative impact on the 

body. About this in "Newspaper.En" said 

Angelina Vodolazkaya, a nutritionist 

and endocrinologist at Biogena.

 

"Without enough UV light, the active form of vitamin D3 

is no longer produced in the skin — it regulates fat 

metabolism, helping to maintain a normal weight,

 and ensures the health of the skin, hair, and 

nails," she explained.

 

The doctor has identified several products that 

support our health and mood - even in the 

cold season.

 

"Vegetables are the main suppliers of dietary fibre, 

thanks to which cholesterol is removed from the 

body and the gastrointestinal tract functions. 

One of these vegetables is spinach. It is a 

source of vitamin C, and spinach also 

contains beta-carotene and anti-

oxidants that help strengthen 

the immune system," the 

expert added.

 

The next important product needed in winter,

 is garlic.

 

"It has powerful antiviral and antibacterial properties. 

Garlic can help reduce the risk of colds and flu and 

boost the immune system. Ginger, a product that 

can be added to tea or used in the preparation 

of various dishes, also has anti-inflammatory 

properties. It lowers cholesterol levels, 

which protects us from heart disease. 

In addition, ginger, is good for the 

brain ---- it improves memory and 

concentration ---- and also helps 

in the prevention of Alzheimer's 

disease," the doctor stressed.

 

Vodolazka noted that it is important to use these products 

in combination with a varied and balanced diet in order to

 get all the necessary nutrients to maintain health and 

immunity in winter.

 

 

___________________________________






How to avoid the negative health 

consequences..... of overeating

January 3rd, 8:47am (DAN) 

 

The Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer 

Rights Protection and Human Welfare has 

compiled recommendations in case of 

overeating. They include 

four main tips.

 

It is noted that to improve the functioning of the digestive

 system and relieve stress from the body... you should 

drink more water. To reduce discomfort --- you can 

perform simple physical exercises, or stretching, 

take a walk. It is useful to arrange a fasting day 

to give the stomach a break from digesting and 

assimilating food.

 

After overeating, you should return to healthy eating habits, 

in particular, eat more vegetables, fruits and protein, and

less food --- with a high content of sugar and fat.

 

 

_________________________________________________



 

Report: Expired Pfizer COVID 

Antiviral Drugs Set to Cost 

Europe $2.2bln

January 1st  2024, 4:22pm (FNA)

 

 More than a billion dollars worth of Pfizer’s COVID-19

 antiviral drugs procured in Europe have been wasted,

 according to health data, as tight controls over who 

can receive the medication left millions of doses

 unused before their expiry date.

 

Paxlovid — designed to be given to patients shortly after 

they test positive for the virus — has been far easier to

 obtain in the US than in Europe, where access has 

often been restricted to the elderly, or people at 

high risk of developing severe COVID-19, The

 Financial Times reported.

 

But data from analytics group Airfinity, shows European

countries --- including the UK, France, Spain and Italy 

could have made the medication more accessible 

without using up supplies, as more than 1.5mln 

5-day courses of the pill worth about $1.1bln 

have expired despite their use dates being 

extended ------- by six to 12 months.

 

By the end of February 2024, a total of about 3.1mln

 courses are set to expire, pushing the cost to 

European health systems to about $2.2bln, 

according to Airfinity. The data does not 

include contracts that were EU-wide.

 

There have also been concerns, over how Paxlovid 

interacts with other common medications, which 

restricts how often it can be prescribed.

 

The European country with the biggest expiry rate is the 

UK, where an estimated 1mln doses worth $700mln 

were out of date - by early December, the data 

shows. Another 550,000 doses are expected

 to expire in February, with a further 

650,000 by the end of June.

 

In December 2021, at the height of the Omicron wave,

 the UK agreed to buy 2.75mln courses of Paxlovid.


 The country’s National Institute for Health and 

Care Excellence, the public health body... 

recommends the drug be used - only for 

people with serious underlying health 

conditions such as cancer and HIV 

or recipients of transplants.

 

The UK health and social care department said more 

courses had been used, without offering its own 

data. A spokesperson, said the government 

had “acted fast to secure enough stock 

of antivirals” at a time of “high 

global demand”.

 

The restrictions have been less stringent in other 

European countries... with elderly citizens and 

people with more common risk factors such 

as diabetes and obesity able to obtain the

 drug. Yet more than 200,000 Paxlovid 

courses expired before they could be

 used in Spain and about 100,000 

each went out of date in 

France and Italy.

 

Even in the US — the largest market for COVID outpatient 

treatments — demand for COVID antivirals has fallen, 

tracking the reduced burden of COVID and a drop

 in testing for the virus.

 

About 5.3mln courses were prescribed in the US this year, 

24 percent down on 2022. The US government arranged

 with Pfizer, to return 7.9mln Paxlovid courses at the 

end of 2023, at an estimated cost to the company

 of $4.2bln.

 

 

___________________________________________________




 

Taking care - of yourself

 December 18th, 3:03pm

(Lenta.ru)


The doctor revealed a non-obvious sign of severe stress.

 

With chronic stress, a person can have a so-called

psychogenic cough --- said neurologist Marina 

Anikina. A non-obvious sign - of a strong 

nervous strain and its difference from 

a cough caused by a cold, she 

explained, in an interview 

with Sputnik radio.

 

After a respiratory infection, the doctor specified, two

 weeks are enough... for the cough caused by a cold 

to fade. A prolonged cough, she explained, can 

start with chronic stress and a sense of 

global danger. 

 

"First ---- the presence of a pronounced anxiety disorder

increases the likelihood that the cough is psychogenic 

in nature. Secondly, such a cough has its own 

frequency ---- it occurs during an emotional 

conversation or some kind of traumatic 

situation ---- but it is not present at 

night," Anikina explained.

 

If you have a prolonged cough, she continued, you need 

to consult with a number of specialists and undergo a 

serious examination. 

 

Anikina advised to do a chest X-ray, pass blood 

tests prescribed by the therapist, and consult 

an oto-laryngologist, an allergist, and a

gastro-enterologist.

 

 

_____________________________________



 Doctor Bolibok talked about ways

------- to combat whooping cough

by Anastasia Belousova

December 13th, 9:24pm

(RT.ru)

 

Allergist-immunologist Vladimir Bolibok in an interview 

with RT spoke about ways to combat whooping cough 

.....and outbreaks of diseases in schools.

 

"The most radical method is not to take your child to school.

Go to quarantine in advance. Especially if the child is often

ill. There is probably no other method that guarantees 

not to get infected," the doctor noted.

 

He also added that whooping cough

----- is a controlled infection.

 

"We need to raise the documents and see if the child has 

been vaccinated or not. According to the vaccination

 calendar, you need to repeat this vaccination. Our

 immune system is weakened. There are many 

migrant children who are not vaccinated at 

all. Accordingly, whooping cough is 

spreading. The particular danger 

is not so much the microbe 

itself but the toxin that it 

spreads," Bolibok said.

 

The doctor said that whooping cough is especially 

dangerous for children under four years of age.

 

"Mostly unvaccinated children under

the age of two --- die," he stressed.

 

 

_____________________________________



Russian Defense Ministry has hard proof 

US conducted pre-pandemic 

Coronavirus research

December 11th, 4:34pm (TASS) 

 

The Russian Defense Ministry has obtained documents that 

indicate the US carried out coronavirus research between 

2016 and 2020, Chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical and

 Biological Protection Troops, Lieutenant-General Igor 

Kirillov, said on Monday.

 

"I would like to remind you - that it was four years ago, in 

December 2019, that the first patients infected with the 

COVID-19 virus were identified," Kirillov stated. "By a 

'curious coincidence' -- the pandemic was preceded 

by a series of research projects on the systematic

 study of coronaviruses funded by the 

US Government."

 

"Thus, since 2009, the United States Agency for

 International Development (USAID) has 

implemented the Predict Program to 

study coronavirus diseases - and 

capture their vectors," Russia’s 

military official continued. 

 

"According to the reporting documents available to us for

 the Project 'Assessing Risk of Emerging Infections from 

Insectivorous Bats in Ukraine and Georgia,' 

coronavirus studies were conducted 

in 2016-2020."

 

"The report notes '... that during the work in Ukraine, bats 

were identified that migrate up to 800 km deep into 

countries such as Hungary and Russia...'

Kirillov said.

 

According to him, it was suspicious, that scientists who

were experts in the field of bioinformatics participated

in the research on coronavirus strains, although they 

were tasked to study genomes of the 

detected disease.

 

"It is also worth noting that the research involved 

bioinformatics specialists whose work included 

editing and combining the genomes of 

identified pathogens, i.e. research 

traditionally associated with 

improving the functions of 

dangerous viruses," 

Kirillov said.

 

Russia’s senior military official also noted that the US 

medical establishment’s preparedness for the COVID

 outbreak points to an alleged deal between "various 

U.S. government agencies & so-called Big Pharma."

 

"It is, also, difficult to explain the high level of preparedness

 of US mRNA vaccine manufacturers for the pandemic of a 

new coronavirus infection," Kirillov stated. "This suggests 

collusion between various U.S. government agencies and 

so-called Big Pharma."

 

"The spread of the new coronavirus infection ---- has led to a 

significant increase in the profits of biotech companies that 

produce vaccines and drugs against coronaviruses, as well

 as increased the dependence of developing countries on 

the United States - and created the conditions for the

 continued implementation of dual-use programs," 

Kirillov said.

 

According to the latest statistics provided by Worldometer

 online stats counter --- over 699,232 million people have 

been infected worldwide with COVID-19 since 2020 

while the global death toll currently stands at 

over 6,954.100 million.

 




________________________________________




The nutritionist listed the most 

useful products for the brain

December 10th, 2:45am

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Nutritionist Rusakova named foods that 

affect human cognitive functions.

 

Nuts, dairy products, and fish are the most brain-healthy 

foods. On December 9, a nutritionist, Candidate of

 Medical Sciences Daria Rusakova told Regnum

 news agency about this.

 

"If a person is concerned about the state of his brain, then 

he should focus on fish, dairy products, as well as various

 nuts and seeds," Rusakova said.

 

In addition, the doctor named products that negatively

 affect the functioning of the brain. Sausage products 

and bacon ----- are dangerous.

 

According to Rusakova, sausage products are indeed

 subjected to processing that causes a carcinogenic 

effect. Moreover, they contain excessive amounts 

of salt, cholesterol and various additives, which 

makes this product not very useful not only for 

the brain, but also for the entire body 

as a whole.

 

The doctor warned -- that excessive consumption of

cholesterol-containing products leads to disorders

of the cardiovascular system, impaired blood 

supply and brain function. In addition, 

processed red meat --- can trigger 

cancer of the gastrointestinal 

tract, liver and other organs.

 

Which foods improve mental performance:

doctors told how fish, nuts & vegetables 

slow down the aging of cells.

 

Earlier, on December 8, doctor Tikhomirova also 

listed harmful products for the brain. Among 

them, are alcohol, margarine and fast food.

 

 

__________________________________



Physical exercise
improves 
sleep
quality

December 4th, 12:40pm

 (Prensa Latina) 

 

Poor sleep can reduce cognitive performance, attention

 span, judgment and the emotional state of people, but 

by opting for physical exercises the quality of sleep 

improves, a specialized source revealed toda

 

According to the journal Physiology and
Behaviour, 
cardiovascular diseases,
obesity, 
neuro-degenerative
disorders and 
depression
 - 
conspire against.....
optimal rest.

 

Scientists found that 20 minutes of moderate exercise

 can compensate for a poor night’s sleep.

 

Cognitive performance improves during a session of
moderate-intensity physical activity, regardless of

 a person’s sleep status or oxygen levels.

 

“One possible hypothesis why exercise improves cognitive

 performance is related to increased cerebral blood flow 

and oxygenation, however, our findings suggest that 

even when exercising in an environment with low 

oxygen levels, participants were still able to 

perform cognitive tasks better than when 

at rest under the same conditions,”
the 
experts argued.

 

Scientists with this study reinforced the thesis that 

movement ------- is medicine for the body and brain.

 

 

______________________________________




A Healthy diet extends

your life - by ten years

November 28th, 9:30pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

An international team of scientists has found that switching

 from a typical Western diet to a healthier lifestyle can 

extend the life of the average middle-aged person 

by 10 years. The results of the research are 

published in the journal Nature Food.

 

The researchers analyzed data from 467,354 participants in 

the UK Biobank long-term study aged 40 to 69 years, which

 examines the impact of genetic predisposition and

environmental exposure on the development of 

diseases in humans. To learn more about
the
 impact of eating behaviours on life 

expectancy, researchers grouped 

people by their eating patterns

 ..tracking how they changed

 over the years.

 

Comparing people who switched from an unhealthy diet to a 

healthy one with participants who were still living the same

lifestyle, experts found that in the first case, life 

expectancy increases by an average of 

several years. 

 

In particular, middle-aged people who switched from an 

unhealthy diet to a healthy one and followed this

 regime, extended their lives by an average of 

almost ten years. Moving at a later age, 

also added extra years of life, 

but not by as much.

 

The results show that a diet associated with longevity

 involves the moderate consumption of whole grains, 

fruits, fish, and white meat; a high consumption of 

milk and dairy products, vegetables, nuts, and 

legumes; relatively low consumption of eggs, 

red meat, and sweetened beverages; and

 low consumption of refined grains and 

processed meat.

 

The strongest positive association with mortality 

was found for sweetened beverages and 

processed meat, while the strongest 

inverse association was found for 

whole grains and nuts.

 

 

______________________________

 


The doctor named ----- the main 

symptoms of iodine deficiency

November 25th, 9:20pm 

(Lenta.ru)

 

Cardiologist Chugunnikova: main symptom of iodine
deficiency ---- the appearance of a goiter.

 

Cardiologist "Invitro-Ural" Anna Chugunnikova: one of 

the main indicators of iodine deficiency in the body

 is the occurrence of a goiter - an increase in the 

size of the thyroid gland.

 

"In most cases, in conditions of mild and moderate iodine 

deficiency, the pathology is formed imperceptibl.., with
goiter
 of a small size. In conditions of severe iodine

 deficiency ---- goiter can reach huge sizes... and

 be accompanied... by difficulty swallowing 

and breathing, discomfort in the neck, 

and a hoarseness of the voice,"
the 
specialist said.

 

A long-term lack of iodine.. leads to the development of 

pathologies caused by a violation of the production of

 thyroid hormones: a decrease in the functions of the 

nervous system: a constant feeling of fatigue, 

drowsiness..... and a decreased memory, 

performance, and attention.

 

Iodine deficiency also leads to a violation of the metabolism

 of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, impaired functioning of

 the cardiovascular system (increased or slower heart rate, 

heart failure, fluctuations in blood pressure, shortness of 

breath), and reproductive function disorders, including 

menstrual disorders, and infertility.

 

It is especially important to monitor the level of iodine for 

pregnant women, as it affects not only her health, but 

also the development of the unborn child, the 

doctor explained.

 

 

___________________________________________





Named: simple effective means 

--- to rid the apartment of mold

November 23rd, 4:52pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

You can fight mold in the house without using household 

chemicals. Remove black plaque by using a simple 

remedy based on vinegar. Folk recipes are

 revealed.... by "BelNovosti".

 

For the solution, you will need water and table vinegar in 

a one-to-one ratio. The concentrate is sprayed on the 

mildewed area... and then wiped with a napkin or 

brush. It is particularly noted that the product

is not suitable for surfaces made of natural 

stone and wood.

 

Tea tree oil has also proven its effectiveness. For a single 

treatment, the solution is prepared.. in the ratio of five to 

seven drops of oil, per tablespoon of water. In advanced 

cases — one teaspoon of oil per 200 millilitres of water. 

 

Before the procedure, you must first remove mold from the 

surface. This product will not only eliminate mold, but 

also fill the house with a pleasant aroma.

 

The fungus likes to settle in places where moisture 

accumulates: in cold weather, condensation often 

collects on window frames and slopes. Having 

decided to get rid of mold once and for all, 

you must first eliminate the cause of its 

appearance. It is also necessary to 

regularly ventilate the premises 

and monitor the humidity in
the 
house. 

 

Experts of the publication remind that folk remedies do 

not guarantee the complete disappearance of mold.

 

Earlier, Russians named cheap means to eliminate 

fungus --- in the bathroom. Products based on 

sodium hydrochloride, whiten the surface 

well --- and kill mold.

 




____________________________




The dentist spoke about the dangers 

of children's habit - of chewing

 pencils and pens

by Roman Polosikov

November 22nd, 11:58am

(RT.ru)

 

TO SHARE

 

At an early age... many children often begin to chew pens 

and pencils, but this habit can adversely affect not only

 the teeth and gums, but also the development of the

 jaw. This was told by the dentist Yulia 

Zhuchkovskaya in an interview 

with Gazeta.Ru.

 

"If you chew something constantly, then cracks appear on

the enamel, and the teeth become more sensitive and 

can react to cold and hot food --- or even just

to cold air," Zhuchkovskaya added.

 

Dentist Elena Dunaeva urged not to ignore toothache and

immediately contact specialists. The earlier a person

goes to the dentist, the greater the chance to avoid 

serious consequences. 

 

 

__________________________________



The doctor spoke about ----- the dangers 

of low-quality snacks and canned food

November 21st, 10:02pm

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Larisa Gabdulkhakova, a nutritionist, explained to Izvestia

 whether low-quality, falsified and expired canned food, 

sauces and snacks can be dangerous and whether 

there is a need to label such products.

 

Snacks are not the most healthy food, because most snacks 

contain dyes, preservatives, and harmful sweeteners, the

 expert explained. At the same time, according to her, 

there are exceptions: if the composition is "clean", 

then there is less harm to the body.

 

"There are chips made from a prepared mixture ---
(starch, 
stabilizers, flavour enhancers, colorants)
& others 
from real potatoes with natural spices.
The 
difference between these products ---- is 

huge for health," said the nutritionist.

 

But finding healthy chips or bread rolls can be quite

 problematic. In some cases --- the product list is 

printed in small print, and it is rarely possible 

to understand it.

 

The expert noted that the shelf life of the product is

 important, and it is not necessary to use products 

even with a long shelf life — such as snacks — 

after its expiration.

 

At the same time, the doctor said that poor-quality 

and expired canned food ---- can cause serious 

damage to health.

 

"If it's a jar with a lid on, then you need to look at the lid.

 If it is swollen or damaged, it is not recommended to 

buy it. It is generally better not to buy canned food 

from your hands, because they are made at home.'' 


''A person can get sick with dangerous intestinal

 infections, and pathogens can get into canned 

food. This also applies to botulism — if poorly 

preserved, the risk of getting sick, is also 

high," Gabdulkhakova explained.

 

According to the expert, it is impossible to blame stores 

for selling low-quality canned food: if there is a fake, 

claims should be made to the manufacturer.

 

"If it is improperly preserved, the technology is disrupted,

 then harmful bacteria, fungi, or toxins, can multiply in 

canned food. This is a large toxic load on the body, 

which can lead to serious health problems - and 

death. Children's fragile bodies, of course, are

the most sensitive," the doctor warns.

 

There are not so many cases of canned food poisoning, 

Gabdulkhakova added. But there is also falsification. 


At the same time, in Russia, specialists, including 

those from Roskachestvo, conduct random 

inspections of canned food.

 

Speaking about sauces, the expert noted that in 

this category of goods, there is a problem of 

low-quality products.

 

"For example, often instead of tomatoes in ketchup 

is put applesauce, sugar and dyes. Sauces.. are a 

liquid product, and the lid can  be depressurized
and it is usually 
stored on shelves in the store 

and not in their refrigerators.'' 

 

''This can lead to the development of various bacteria 

and molds in the sauce ---- which can provoke
poisoning," 
Gabdulkhakova explained.

 

 

______________________________






Mediterranean diet --- improves 

brain function in older adults

November 20th, 5:03pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

A team of researchers from the University of Barcelona and 

the University of California has found that a Mediterranean 

diet can improve brain function in older adults, reducing 

the risk of cognitive decline. The results of the study 

are published in the journal Molecular Nutrition and 

Food Research (MNFR). A brief overview is 

provided by Medical Xpress.

 

The study involved 840 undiagnosed dementia patients 

over the age of 65, who were followed up for 12 years. 

 

Blood serum and gut microbiome samples were collected 

from the subjects and then analyzed for biomarkers. By 

identifying a specific indicator associated with a group 

of products included in the Mediterranean diet, 

experts assessed its association with 

cognitive impairment.

 

The results showed that following a Mediterranean diet 

formed a long-term protective effect against cognitive 

decline in older adults. The findings are also 

consistent with previous studies.

 

In September, researchers at Flinders University concluded

 that the Mediterranean diet has a beneficial effect on the

 gut microbiome, increasing the number of beneficial 

bacteria in the gut.




 

__________________________________





The doctor spoke about the benefits ---

 and harmful effects of chewing gum

November 15th, 3:55pm

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Doctor-gastroenterologist, Natalia Belova, told about 

how to chew chewing gum correctly and not cause 

harm to health.

 

In a conversation with Pravda.En on Wednesday, November 

15, the specialist noted that chewing gum itself does not 

harm the body, but it should be borne in mind that its

 uncontrolled use can negatively affect health. For 

example, intense and constant chewing can 

cause overexertion of the maxillofacial 

joints, which is fraught with pain in 

the face and head. It can also

lead to tooth decay.... and

other dental problems.

 

The doctor urged to give preference to sugar-free chewing 

gums in order to minimize the risk of tooth decay. 

Chewing gum should be no longer than 20-30 

minutes, after which you need to rest the 

jaw joints for at least an hour, let the

 muscles relax.

 

The gastroenterologist also pointed out the benefits of 

chewing gum. So, for example, chewing movements

 stimulate the production of saliva, and this in turn

 contributes to the natural protection of the gums

 and teeth from bacteria and acid attacks. 

 

Chewing gum can also help reduce anxiety and stress 

levels, as well as improve memory and concentration.

 

In July, general dentist Lyudmila Shemyakina also warned 

that chewing gum with sugar can cause tooth decay and 

tooth decay. She advised choosing sugar-free chewing

 gums that contain a component such as xylitol. This 

will avoid damage to the enamel of the teeth and
the
 development of caries, writes RT.

 

In June, orthopedic dentist Vladimir Yeshidorzhiev said that

 chewing gum can remove all food residues between the 

teeth and remove plaque. He warned that... however, 

you should not try to replace the usual brushing of

 teeth with chewing gum, reports TV channel 

"360". Also, you can not use chewing gum 

on an empty stomach.

 

Earlier, gastroenterologist Alexey Bueverov warned that the

 constant use of certain chewing gums can cause diarrhea.


 The reason for this is the xylitol contained in the gum, 

which has a laxative effect on the digestive tract,

 the Moscow city news agency notes.

 

 

__________________________________






The nutritionist named the vegetable 

that helps "to renew" an organism

November 9th (Lenta.ru)

 

Cabbage helps to renew the body thanks to the sulphur 

contained in it, said Margarita Koroleva, MD, dietitian. 

She spoke about the benefits of the product,
in an 
interview with Sputnik radio.

 

The specialist explained... that cabbage helps maintain the

 necessary level of the antioxidant glutathione in the cells 

— a substance that helps to remove toxins from the
body, in a timely manner.

 

 In addition, according to her, the use of this vegetable will

 avoid chronic intoxication. "If you live in a city, with a 

lot of industrial pollution --- it is important to take 

care of detoxification of the body. Glutathione 

helps us in this, and -- accordingly -- sulphur  

containing products, including cabbage," 

concluded Koroleva.

 

Gynecologist, endocrinologist Olga Kaplina

 advised: eating beets, pumpkins and other 

seasonal vegetables and root vegetables 

to maintain immunity. 

 

She pointed out that they contain lots

 of vitamins and useful substances.

 

 

______________________________________


 

 HEALTH NEWS

by Valentina Brykalina

November 8th, 4:39pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

Nutritionist Senatova: hazelnuts, 

buckwheat and warm water, 

will help to cope with PMS

 

Expert advises eating foods
rich in magnesium

 

TO SHARE

 

A proper diet will help to cope with 

PMS symptoms, says the expert.

 

Premenstrual syndrome... is often accompanied by pain,

a bad mood, irritability and weakness. However, some 

products will help reduce the unpleasant sensations
the nutritionist Daria Senatova, told the online 

publication, Podmoskovye Segodnya.

 

''It is useful to eat foods rich in magnesium: sesame, 

hazelnuts, pine nuts, buckwheat, carrots and 

sunflower seeds. Green tea, lentils.... and

pistachios have analgesic properties," 

the specialist said.

 

According to Senatova, women are also recommended
to 
drink plenty of warm water - it helps to relax the
internal 
organs and to improve the outflow of bile.

 

Previously KP.RU reported that the main cause of PMS is

 monthly fluctuations in hormone levels, which cause a 

decrease in the production of endorphins - which are

 responsible for.... good moods. Mood swings are not 

the only sign of PMS. This condition can seriously 

affect both the psychological and physical 

condition of a woman.

 

 

_____________________________________________



Do not eat fatty foods 

for dinner or drink soda

by Valentina Brykalina

November 2nd, 7:15pm

(Komsomolskaya Pravda)

 

To share

 

Before going to bed, it is better to 

eat light food in small quantities.

 

You should not eat red meat, dark chocolate or lard 

at night - these products are most likely to provoke

 insomnia. This was reported by endocrinologist 

Kamilya Tabeyeva.

 

''Dark chocolate contains caffeine, spicy food and 

spices.. increase the level of endorphins. This 

stimulates the nervous system and disrupts 

sleep,'' said the doctor.

 

According to the expert, it is better to exclude fatty 

foods, as well as red meat, from the evening menu: 

these products are difficult to digest and take a 

long time, which also interferes with the 

process of falling asleep.

 

Earlier, the Tsargrad TV channel reported that insomnia 

is one of the most common problems that ultimately 

adversely affects people's health. To get better 

sleep, somnologists recommend eliminating 

coffee and sugary sodas from the diet. In 

addition, it is important to sleep in the 

dark, at a comfortable temperature.

 

In order to improve your circadian rhythm and wake up 

better in the morning, you can give yourself physical 

activity -- and use the light more actively, Izvestia 

writes. For example, you can use light alarms 

that simulate dawn, or seasonal depression

 light therapy — a bright white lamp of 

10 thousand lux.

 

 

__________________________

 

 

 

Nutritionist tells of foods

that can provoke

blood clots

by Valentina Brykalina

November 2nd, 5:42pm

(Komsomolskaya Pravda)

 

TO SHARE

 

Doctors recommend avoiding

sweets and fast food, to 

reduce the risk of 

thrombosis

 

Poor nutrition, can lead not only to obvious problems, 

such as gastrointestinal disorders or excess weight, 

but also to serious diseases, explains dietitian 

Natalia Lazurenko.

 

''Frequent snacking instead of a full meal, the use of

 sugary carbonated drinks, or fast food... and a

 sedentary lifestyle, increases the risk of 

thrombosis,'' said the doctor.

 

Lazurenko clarified that the nutrition system determines

 the viscosity of blood. And if there is a small amount of 

water in the diet, then it provokes venous stagnation.

 

To reduce the risk of thrombosis to zero, it is necessary,

according to doctors, to move regularly, eat right, take

rest and relaxation seriously, and also increase stress

tolerance. In addition -- experts recommend reducing 

weight and using movement and nutrition to regulate 

sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure.

 

If there are reasons to suspect thrombosis, a full

 cardiological examination is necessary, after 

which the doctor will decide on the 

appointment of drugs.

 

 

____________________________________



 Taking care of yourself

October 27th, 5:23pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

Cosmetologist named ways to keep

 your skin beautiful and healthy 

in winter.

 

In winter, the skin becomes dull, pale and dry due to

 temperature changes in the premises, and on the 

street, said the cosmetologist Nana Nosareva. 


To the Life edition, the doctor called ways 

to keep skin beautiful and healthy in the 

cold season.

 

In winter, the skin can peel off due to dryness, for many

during this period - wrinkles become more pronounced,

the cosmetologist warned. To prevent such changes,

it is necessary to adjust your home care, 

Nosareva assured.

 

A rich cream with ceramides, lipids and antioxidants 

will help protect the skin. For night use, it is better 

to choose a cream with an enhanced moisturizing 

effect ----- with hyaluronic acid algae extract,
the 
doctor listed.

 

In winter, alcohol lotions, alkaline soaps and even hot 

water are harmful to the skin, Nosareva said. She 

urged to wash your face with a neutral foam, 

and then wipe the skin with a 

pH-normalizing tonic.

 

Finally, the cosmetologist advised to apply skin care

 products on the face at least an hour before going 

out, and also encouraged to drink more water, 

thus moisturizing the skin in a natural way.

 

 

______________________________________

 

 

 

The doctor listed 3 types of shoes 

----- that are dangerous to health

October 27th, 5:20pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

Orthopedic doctor and blogger Paul (last name unknown) 

from the UK ---- listed three types of shoes that are

dangerous to health. He shared the relevant 

information in his TikTok account.

 

First, the influencer with the nickname

paulthepodiatrist, called ---- flip-flops. 

 

According to him, they do not provide any support 

to the feet, and can also easily lead to a fall, 

since the shoes are held solely by 

special loops.

 

In addition, the expert also added stiletto shoes to the 

list. "A one-and-a-half-inch heel, for example, will suit

 most people. But high-heeled shoes, carry a high

 risk of injury — is it worth it? Even if you want 

to look beautiful?" He asked, indignantly.

 

In conclusion, the doctor noted that the shoes of the 

US company, Skechers, are unsafe. These items of

 clothing are too soft, which is why the leg is very 

tense while walking, the doctor said. In addition, 

according to Paul, models of this brand can 

squeeze your fingers. "They.... are also 

quite short-lived," he concluded.

 

Earlier in October, orthopedic traumatologist Sergey 

Aleksutov --- warned Russians about the danger of

unsuitable shoes --- for winter. According to the 

doctor, popular models on flat soles provoke

the appearance of --- flat feet, corns and 

fasciitis... which is accompanied by

inflammation and pain in the

heel area.

 

Image: Doctors named berry that reduces the risk of developing dementia



Doctors named berry that reduces 

the risk of developing dementia

October 23rd, 8:30pm 

(Lenta.ru)

 

Scientists at the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre

 found that daily consumption of strawberries increases

 cognitive abilities ---- reducing the risk of developing

 dementia. The results of the study are published 

in the journal Nutrients.

 

The study involved five men and 25 women aged 50 to 65 

years with moderate cognitive impairment. Scientists

collected the necessary information ----- about the 

patients' health status and took blood samples

 from them. Then the participants were

 divided into two groups.

 

The first group ate strawberries in dried powdered form 

for breakfast.... and the second group received a 

placebo, with the same taste and smell.

 

After 12 weeks of the study ---- participants completed 

cognitive tests. Patients who consumed strawberries 

performed better than participants in the placebo 

group. The berry also improved the mental 

health of the subjects in the first group.


People have been shown --- to have

 reduced symptoms of depression.

 

Scientists suggested that the improvement in cognitive

 abilities could occur due to the fact that strawberries 

are rich in polyphenols.

 

In July, scientists from San Diego State University

 recognized strawberries as useful for improving 

cognitive abilities, as well as lowering blood 

pressure in the elderly.

 

The study examined data from 35 healthy men and women

 aged 66 to 78 years. Experts concluded --- that in the

 strawberry group.... the speed of cognitive abilities

 increased by 5.2 percent, systolic blood pressure

 decreased by 3.6 percent, and overall

 antioxidant protection - increased 

by 10.2 percent.

 

 

_____________________________________





Fitness trainer advised: a set
of 
exercises for the back
after 
a working day

October 20th, 11:03pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

Fitness coach Denis Chernoguzov advised a set of

 exercises that will help relieve tension from
the 
back.... after a working day. 

 

The specialist recommended starting with head tilts. 

 

"Turn your head to the right -- and start bending up and down 

five times. Next, move your head to the left side and repeat 

the up-and-down inclines," he described, noting that you
should feel the stretching of the muscles. 

 

After that, on the inhale, you need to stretch your 

head forward, and on the exhale — take it back.

 

Next, you can perform 20 forward tilts of the body. Starting

position - standing, feet shoulder-width apart, straight 

arms behind your back, in a "lock". 

 

"On the inhale, lean forward and round your back, try not to 

control the position of the hands, you should feel as if
they 
are outweighing and pulling forward, feel the
tension of 
the back muscles. On exhalation,
you should 
straighten your back and
bring your 
shoulder blades
together,"
 he said.

 

To straighten the spine, Chernoguzov suggested alternately

 pulling up the knees in a supine position. This will stretch 

your middle and lower back. To complete the complex, 

he advised the child's pose - sit on your heels, lean 

forward with a rounded back and stretch your 

arms forward.




________________________________




Doctor Gadziyan named fat 

- main killer of human body

October 14th, 12:16am

(RT.ru)

 

Fat is the main killer of the human body, said 

Mark Gadziyan, a surgeon and oncourologist.

 

"Obesity on average shortens life by 10 years. Every 

extra three kilograms that are dropped after the 

age of 60, increases the average life 

expectancy of a person -- by one 

year," Gadziyan wrote, in 

his Telegram channel.

 

According to him --- the waist size and 

body mass index should be monitored.

 

He noted that for men, a waist 

of more than 94cm, is already 

a problem.

 

Image: Nutritionist Faerman named oatmeal and buckwheat porridge as most useful


  Photo: TASS/Svetlana Denisova
 


Nutritionist Faerman named 


oatmeal and buckwheat 


porridge as most useful


October 10th, 4:56pm


(Izvestia.ru)


 


Oatmeal and buckwheat porridge are the most beneficial for


the human body. About what important trace elements and


vitamins are contained  in oatmeal and buckwheat, is told 


in an interview with the "Gazeta.En" nutritionist, Larisa


 Faerman, on Tuesday, October 10.


 


According to her, oatmeal contains beta-glucans that have a 


positive effect on cholesterol levels in the blood, as well as


 B vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, including iron and


 magnesium, which help to normalize digestion 


and increase the feeling of satiety.


 


"For children --- it provides the energy necessary for active 


growth and physical activity, and also contributes to the 


normal development of the nervous system due to the 


content of B vitamins," the doctor said.


 


"Cereal, is ideal for breakfast, as it provides the body with


 energy for the whole day, supports the digestive system 


& helps to control weight. Porridge is also suitable for


 children, as it is a source of iron ----- which prevents
the
 development of anemia," said the nutritionist.


 


She added that among the healthy cereals, you can 


also distinguish kenoa porridge, which is also rich


 in vegetable protein, which contains all the 


necessary amino acids.


 


Faerman called semolina.. the least useful porridge. 


She explained that semolina is a product of wheat


 processing, it is high in fast carbohydrates, 


which can cause a sharp jump in 


blood sugar.


 


At the end of August, dietitian Elena Solomatina also spoke 


about the harmfulness of semolina porridge. She noted 


that semolina has a high glycemic index & promotes 


weight gain... and the development of diabetes. 


 


According to her, semolina porridge used to be valued for its 


high caloric content, but now the level of physical activity


 has decreased --- so an increase in the amount of 


nutrients in the diet, has come to the fore.


 


At the same time, nutritionist Michael Mosley spoke about


 the dangers of instant cereals --- due to their high sugar


 content. One bowl of instant oatmeal can contain up 


to three tablespoons of sugar, and some brands 


contain a staggering 16 grams per serving, 


he noted.


 




VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV



The therapist told - what vitamins 

are needed for those suffering 

from herpes on the lips

by Valentina Brykalina

October 5th, 7:59pm

(Komsomolskaya Pravda)

 

TO SHARE

 

If herpes occurs frequently, your doctor may prescribe 

vitamins and dietary supplements

 

A cold on the lips is a rather unpleasant, but common 

phenomenon, the cause of which is the herpes virus. 

How to protect yourself from the appearance of 

new rashes? Life.ru's general practitioner,

 Anna Sokol answers.

 

''Many people have the virus, in order to protect themselves

 from exacerbations, you need to normalize the work of the

 intestines, eat right, try to exclude alcohol, avoid stress,''

 the therapist believes.

 

The doctor clarified that in case of exacerbations, it is

 necessary to monitor the level of vitamins and trace 

elements in the body. Namely, pay attention to 

vitamin D, iron, and vitamins A and B.

 

Earlier, the Tsargrad TV channel reported that the frequent 

occurrence of a cold on the lips may indicate serious

 disorders in the body. The fact is that the virus 

constantly lives in the body, but in a normal 

state, the body is able to suppress it.

 

With a pronounced decrease in immunity, a herpetic infection

 can affect internal organs, Izvestia was told. The result may 

be damage to the facial and trigeminal nerves.

 

 

_______________________________________________




Ukraine plans to abolish

the concept of disability

October 4th, 10:59pm

(RT.ru)

 

The Minister of Health of Ukraine, Viktor Lyashko, said 

the country plans to abolish the concept of disability 

from 2025, and instead introduce the concept of 

"assessment of loss of functionality".

 

Information about this appeared in 

A Country.ua's Telegram channel.

 

According to the minister, the problem in Ukraine, is that 

citizens are chasing disability, because it gives benefits 

and compensation.

 

"We didn't ask what a person wants ----- but we say that
we 
can give them this. This is the post-Soviet model, 

which we must abandon," said Lyashko.

 

In August, it was reported that the Armed Forces 

of Ukraine - were being tricked into attacking 

disabled people.

 

 

_________________________________________________




Dr. Ginzburg named

aging-inhibiting 

vitamins

by Maria Rurikova

September 20th, 8:20pm 

(Lenta.ru)

 

Vitamins that inhibit aging were named by dietitian 

Mikhail Ginzburg in his blog on the Yandex.Zen 

platform. According to him, these are 

B vitamins.

 

According to the doctor, with age, the body accumulates 

homocysteine - a toxic substance that affects blood 

vessels. Vitamins B6, B9 and B12 promote the 

conversion of homocysteine to the useful 

amino acid methionine. 

 

They are found in large quantities -- in cereals, berries, 

cabbage, salads and fish. By consuming these foods

 in sufficient quantities, you can extend your life for 

several years, in old age, Ginzburg noted.

 

A lot of methionine is also found in animal protein -- but its 

excessive synthesis in the body is harmful to the elderly. 


As an alternative, the doctor advised eating soy and

 legume products, as well as taking vitamin and 

mineral complexes

 

 

_____________________________________



 Nutritionist - told about the 

dangers ...of oil and butter

September 14th, 12 midnight

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Our body needs variety, so each product carries some benefit.

 If we are talking about vegetable oils --- their benefits in the

 form of vitamins and antioxidant properties are preserved
- only when they are cold-pressed, 
nutritionist Larisa
Gabdulkhakova, told Izvestia.

 

"When refined, the oil loses all its useful properties, only 

omega-6 fatty acids remain in it, which are harmful to 

the body - in large quantities," she said.

 

However, the expert still does not recommend frying on 

cold-pressed oils: when heated, harmful substances 

are formed, which leads to inflammation in 

the body.

 

"Vegetable oils retain all their useful properties if they are 

not subjected to serious heat treatment. Therefore, cold-

pressed oils are recommended to be added to salads, 

porridge, ready-made soups, smoothies, protein 

shakes, coffee, tea or in a natural cocoa 

drink," Gabdulkhakova explained.

 

As for butter and ghee, they also contain a lot of useful 

trace elements, just like vegetable oils, but they also 

contain animal cholesterol, which stimulates brain 

function and improves bile flow.

 

However, the doctor drew attention to the fact, that 

there are many low-quality products on the market.

 

"If butter is of high quality, then it has all the useful

 substances, but there are a lot of fakes on the 

market when good butter is mixed with trans 

fats. Trans Fats do not spoil, do not oxidize 

— manufacturers are increasingly using

 them to significantly extend the shelf 

life of the product and reduce the

 cost of the product," Larisa 

Gabdulkhakova warned.

 

"Natural milk fat is expensive. Unscrupulous market

 participants replace it with vegetable or beef and 

do not write about it in the composition, which is 

already called a fake. As a result, the production 

cost is lower, the shelf life is longer, and the 

addition of beef fat to vegetable oils also 

complicates the analytical control 

process. There is no benefit in 

such a product and the buyer

is also deceived," the 

expert said.

 

According to him, olive oil is also actively faked - they sell 

hot pressed oil under the guise of the first cold one, and 

sometimes... they simply mix olive oil with ordinary 

sunflower oil.

 

At the same time, he noted that the amount of counterfeit 

goods on the butter market is gradually decreasing due

 to the introduced "Honest Sign"labeling system.

 

He also drew attention to the fact that vegetable oils are not 

subject to labeling, so only vigilance in the store, as well as 

the work of public organizations & supervisory authorities, 

can protect the buyer from purchasing counterfeit goods.

 

To detect fake olive oil, the expert recommends dropping

a drop on the skin and rubbing it in: good olive oil is
quickly 
absorbed and does not leave any trace.

 

 

______________________________




 

Psychologist: up to 

how many years...

men need women

September 7th,

(RT.ru)

 

There was no need for a woman at his age. I think this 

phrase has been heard by many at least once, when 

it was addressed in the direction of one or another 

representative of the stronger sex. So we decided 

to ask the opinion of a psychologist, up to what 

age women are still needed by men, in reality.

 

Such thoughts.. were prompted by another story. Just recently, 

a neighbour started complaining about his elderly father. Tom 

is almost eighty, his wife has been dead for five years, and 

the children are adults, as are their grandchildren. Oh, my 

great-grandchildren. And so they put him in the hospital.

 There, he met a middle-aged nurse and blossomed. 

He began to take care of himself, shaved, cut his 

hair, dressed.

 

The last straw for the children was the statement of the

father, who was thinking of getting married. Moreover, 

she is almost three decades younger. And he 

resisted --- the taste of life, they say, 

returned, and he felt a man again.

 

Naturally, all the relatives are hostile. She is accused of 

self-interest, she is in a state of confusion. They say - 

why does he need that woman in his old age?

 

And here it is necessary to understand consistently. For 

women to men. Spiritual love, physical love, family love, 

procreation love, is all there, of course. That's just 

not the end of it.

 

A representative of the stronger sex wants to see a muse 

next to him, a source of inspiration that will make him 

feel the value and taste of life, makes him set goals 

and go for them.

 

Remember that every successful man's personal story is

 inextricably linked to a smart and correct woman who 

inspired and supported him. And if such a muse was

met by an elderly father --- who inspired him with 

strength, forced him to return to life. Is this any 

worse than a suffering and lonely old man who 

has already forgotten that it is necessary to 

strive for something?

 

Everyone, regardless of age, wants to see such a muse next

 to them. It is such women, and just special women, that 

give a sense of the fullness of life.

 

And if this woman really has sincere feelings, and not a desire

 to profit and self-interest, then why not. Before you accuse

 the ladies of calculating, you should think about her real

 intentions. And not always, are they associated only

 with the thirst for profit.




 

_______________________________________________






Zakharova reminded -
about

danger of depleted uranium

for the human body

September 6th, 9:30pm

(RT.ru)

 

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry,

 Maria Zakharova, recalled the toxicity and danger of 

depleted uranium for the human body.

 

Thus, the diplomat commented on the statement of the official

 representative of the White House, John Kirby, that the shells 

with depleted uranium transferred to the Ukrainian army...
do 
not pose a radioactive threat.

 

"What is it: lies or stupidity? About the toxicity of depleted 

uranium, its special danger to the human body ...they 

wrote repeatedly," the message reads.

 

Zakharova noted that in places where such ammunition

 is used, a serious increase in oncological diseases 

is recorded.

 

She stressed that the victims of the consequences 

of the use of depleted uranium - are both military 

personnel and civilians.

 

On September 6, the United States announced the 

supply of depleted uranium shells for Abrams

 tanks to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

 

Image: Marijuana consumers have high levels of metals in their bloodstream September 2nd, 10:13am (Prensa Latina) A study by the Columbia University School of Public Health in the United States, detected significant levels of metals in the blood and urin


 

Marijuana consumers have

 high levels --- of metals
in 
their bloodstream

September 2nd, 10:13am

(Prensa Latina) 

 

A study by the Columbia University School of Public Health 

in the United States, detected significant levels of metals

 in the blood and urine of marijuana consumers, the

journal Environmental Health Perspectives 

published today.

 

The authors concluded that marijuana may be an important 

and under-recognized source of lead and cadmium 

exposure --- by comparing these parameters 

between marijuana users and non-users.

 

This is one of the first studies to report biomarker levels of

 metals in marijuana addicts and most likely the largest 

investigation to date, linking self-reported use with

 internal measures of metal exposure.

 

Because the cannabis plant is a known metal eliminator, 

it was hypothesized that smokers will have higher 

standards of metal biomarkers compared to 

other non-users, as explained by Katelyn

 McGraw, a researcher in Columbia 

Public Health’s Department of 

Environmental Health 

Sciences, and 

first author.

 

In the future, research on cannabis use and its contaminants,

 particularly metals, should be conducted to address public

 health concerns related to the growing number of 

consumers, stressed Tiffany R. Sanchez, 

assistant professor of environmental 

health sciences at Columbia Public 

Health, and lead author.

 

Marijuana is the third most widely used drug 

in the world, behind tobacco and alcohol.

 

 

__________________________________________


Maduro recalls 18th anniversary 

of the Sandino Commitment

August 21st, 3:37pm

(Prensa Latina) 

 

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro recalled today

 the 18th anniversary of the historic Sandino 

Commitment, promoted by Cuba and 

Venezuela, which since then has 

made it possible... to assist 

visually impaired people 

in Latin America.

 

In a message posted on his account on the social network X 

(formerly Twitter), accompanied by a video of that date, the

 president recalled Commander Hugo Chavez (1954-2013) 

and the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel 

Castro (1926-2016), leading figures of that health 

agreement, undertaken by both nations.

 

‘It is 18 years - since the historic Sandino

 Commitment was made. Venezuela and 

Cuba, healing the sight of millions of 

people in our continent. A brother-

hood that remains firm with the 

examples of Chavez and Fidel.

Building paths of union - and 

true solidarity in the world’, 

wrote the President.

 

With the signing of the Sandino Commitment, signed in 2005, 

the two countries ratified their solidarity with the rest of the 

peoples of the continent, together with the will to promote

 an integral development based on the complementary 

support between Latin American and 

Caribbean governments.

 

The program takes its name from the town of Sandino, 

in the western Cuban province of Pinar del Rio, where 

on August 21st, 2005, a special transmission of the 

program, Alo Presidente, conducted by Chavez,

 along with Fidel.

 

Since then, thanks to this initiative, more than six million

 patients in Latin America and the Caribbean --- have

 received ophthalmologic assistance through 

the Milagro Mission.

 

Image: ideal way to use chicory


Dr. Pavlova explained the

 ideal way to use chicory

August 19th, 3:42pm 

(Lenta.ru)

 

An endocrinologist, Candidate of Medical Sciences,

 Zukhra Pavlova, named the ideal way to use 

chicory in her Telegram channel. 

 

The specialist recommended drinking

this, without adding sugar and milk.

 

The medic clarified that for the preparation of weak chicory, 

you will need one or two teaspoons of this powder per 200 

millilitres of water. At the same time, you can use it

in this form even at night, because this product 

is not invigorating.

 

The expert also noted that chicory is rich in vitamins and 

minerals, including magnesium, which is useful for

 maintaining the nervous system. 

 

Also in this product there is inulin, which is responsible

for the stable functioning of the intestines. In addition, 

chicory can reduce cravings for sweets, 

Pavlova stressed.

 

Earlier, endocrinologist Pavlova warned 

about the non-obvious danger, of sugar.

 

 

__________________________________________



The nutritionist told about 
the products accelerating 

metabolism after 40 years

August 16th, 2:30am

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Endocrinologist & nutritionist Anton Polyakov, said 

that a person after the age of 40, has a decrease 

in their  metabolism, which makes it difficult to
keep 
the body slim.

 

In an interview with Vechernyaya Moskva --- on Tuesday, 

August 15, the doctor pointed out that an acceleration 

of the metabolism, depends, not only on the products 

consumed ---- since this is a related work of the
 whole body.

 

Food and drink can only have an impact on the 

mechanisms that support metabolism, but 

not directly accelerate it. 

 

According to the nutritionist, cocoa stimulates mitochondria,

 which provide the body's cells with energy. If they are not 

enough --- the nutrients are not converted into useful 

energy. For this reason, a person consumes more 

calories ...and experiences constant fatigue.

 

The growth of mitochondria... is also affected by
pomegranates. 
As noted by the endocrinologist,
it also delivers energy to the
 cells. In addition,
fish is able to improve the cell membranes --- 

so that they better perceive signals from
the outside world. 


The omega-2 found in fish, converts calories
into heat, 
and speeds up your metabolism.

 

According to the 360 TV channel, bitter chocolate,
ginger, 
garlic, cinnamon and green tea --- can
also speed up 
your metabolism.

 

In January, a nutritionist, a doctor of preventive integrative 

medicine, PhD Rimma Moisenko, said that the use of fresh 

pomegranate juice, will help replenish the energy supply, 

increase immunity - and improve internal processes in 

the body. The surge of energy that occurs.... after a 

glass of pomegranate juice, according to the 

expert, is due to a rise in the level of 

hemoglobin in the blood.

 

 

______________________________________






Doctor shares little-known

 facts ------ about vitamin D

August 9th, 2:49pm

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Vitamin D plays a very important role in maintaining human 

health and is responsible for many processes in the body. 

 

Various myths revolve around it, and some interesting 

facts remain little known, Lyubov Stankevich, Director 

of laboratory Medicine at the LabQuest Laboratory, 

Candidate of Medical Sciences, told Izvestia, on 

August 9.

 

In particular, she drew attention to the fact that many people 

believe that to produce enough vitamin D, you need to be in 

the sun.

 

"The skin is really capable of synthesizing vitamin D. But to

 do this, you need to tan the entire surface of your skin 

every day in a bikini or without clothes at all, up to a 

slight erythema. Literally every day to slightly burn. 

Then there is hope to synthesize it through the 

skin," said Stankevich.

 

At the same time, the doctor noted that, firstly, it is harmful 

to the skin, and secondly, it is unlikely that you can find so

 much time for tanning. In addition, the angle at which 

sunlight falls on the skin is also important. Based on

this, according to her, the generally accepted 

opinion that with the help of tanning you can

 accumulate vitamin D is nothing more than 

a myth.

 

Speaking about little-known facts about vitamin D, the doctor 

noted that in the last decade it was found out that it is rather

 a hormone, since it has hormonal activity and is responsible 

for 600 biochemical reactions in the body. The receptors 

that are susceptible to it are found in all organs and

 systems throughout the body.

 

"This is a very powerful immunomodulator. The immune

system... is made up of different cells. Some cells are 

activated by vitamin D - and then antiviral protection

is activated and, very importantly, antitumour 

protection, that is, protection against cancer.

 

And other cells of the immune system are inhibited, their

activity is suppressed. And this has a therapeutic effect 

for patients with pathologically excessive activity of 

the immune system, " Stankevich said.

 

According to her, it is from vitamin D, and not from vitamin C, 

that protection against viral infections depends. In addition,

 it is a predictor of cardiovascular diseases, reducing the 

risk of their development.

 

In addition, as the doctor said, it determines the work of the 

brain. According to her, the relationship between mental 

activity and vitamin D levels occurs even during the

 intrauterine development of the child during 

pregnancy of the mother. It was found that 

pregnant women who were in the process 

of carrying a child in a state of vitamin D 

deficiency, children in adulthood have 

an increased risk of developing 

schizophrenia.

 

"Vitamin D, is linked to the reproductive system, not only 

of women, but also of men, since the male reproductive 

potential also depends on the right amount of it," the 

doctor added.

 

She also said that contrary to advertising, vitamin D should

 not be taken together with calcium, but with vitamin K2, 

which is actively involved in the absorption of calcium. 

 

According to her, entering the circulatory system, calcium 

should end up in bone tissue, but without vitamin K2, this 

does not happen, and the risk of calcium deposits in

 blood vessels, internal organs and soft tissues,

 increases.

 

Your doctor will help you determine 

the exact dosage.

 

In June, Mariyat Mukhina, a dietitian and cosmetologist, 

pointed out the danger of an overabundance of vitamin

 D in the body. According to her, this can lead to 

chronic pyelonephritis, cardiosclerosis and

increase the risk of fractures.

 

Image: vape- related lung damage


Ulankina's doctor called 

shortness of breath one 


of the signs --- of vape-


related lung damage


August 6th, 3:30am


(RT.ru)


 


Olga Ulankina, an expert doctor at the Hemotest 


Laboratory --- told RT how vaping can affect a 


person's health.


 


"When vapes were first invented, they were advertised as a 


safe alternative to cigarettes. However, in fact, it turned
out --- 
that they are not so harmless, because they
contain a lot of
 toxic substances. For example,
phenols.... irritate the mucous 
membranes of
the mouth and nose, formaldehyde can lead


 to cancer, glycerin negatively affects the
nervous and 
cardiovascular systems,
and acrolein belongs to the
 list of
extremely toxic substances and
generally 
has a detrimental
effect on health," the 


doctor explained.


 


She added that lung damage associated with smoking 


e-cigarettes and vapes is called EVALI-e-cigarette 


and vaping use-associated lung injury.


 


"This disease ---  is associated with the inhalation of 


substances.. that are traditionally added to liquids


 for smoking. It is believed that the lungs perceive
them as a foreign object, and 
give an immune
response. It leads to -
 inflammation, allergic
reactions and 
a dangerous accumulation
of fluid 
in the respiratory system," 


Ulankina said.


 


Usually, the disease is manifested by shortness of breath, 


which increasingly occurs even with the usual physical 


exertion, the interlocutor of RT said.


 


"In addition, there may be other symptoms -- cough, chest 


pain, fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. The most


 dangerous thing in this disease is the development of 


severe complications up to acute respiratory failure 


----- which can lead to death," the doctor warned.


 


In addition, according to her, vaping increases blood 


pressure, damages blood vessels and increases the 


risk of developing a myocardial infarction, or stroke.


 


"So.. when comparing the vessels of smokers and vapers, 


the same pathological processes are noted. If you inhale 


toxic fumes, you can also develop "popcorn disease", or


 obliterating bronchitis. This is an inflammation of the 


lungs, which is quite difficult to treat — with the use 


of hormonal drugs, up to a lung transplant," the 


doctor explained.


 


Other side effects, including constant smoking of 


vape with nicotine-free liquids - are considered to 


be weakened immunity and cognitive impairment.


 


"It is impossible to predict what kind of damage a 


particular person will have. But the fact that


 inhaling toxic fumes is unsafe can be said 


--- with confidence," the expert noted.


 


Earlier, Anastasia Marienko, head of the 


oncology department of the Euroonko 


clinic in St. Petersburg, told RT that 


the main factor in the occurrence 


of lung cancer --- is smoking, 


which provokes almost 90% 


of cases of the disease.


 


 


_________________________________





Nutritionist Ginzburg:

to prevent aging,


 you need to eat
fish every day


July 27th, 7:17pm


(Izvestia.ru)


 


Daily consumption of fish slows down the aging process


 of the body. This was announced on Thursday, July 27, 


by nutritionist Mikhail Ginzburg, in an interview
with Vechernyaya Moskva.


 


According to the doctor, to get nutrients to support the brain,


 which over the years loses its former activity, you need to
give preference to oily sea fish.


 


"Such fish are a source of omega-3 fatty acids, which
are
 essential for the formation of cell membranes.
They  are 
also a source of iodine and vitamin D.
These 
components ------ support the central
nervous 
system," explained Ginzburg.


 


In addition, the expert attributed cereals, dairy 


products, vegetables, berries, fruits, as well 


as nuts and seasonings, to foods that slow 


down the aging process. The latter, in 


particular - ginger, turmeric, pepper, 


garlic and onion, can also improve 


brain function.


 


Earlier, on July 27th, experts in the field of nutrition, 


listed foods that affect human cognitive functions,


 which, in turn, depend on the daily diet. 


 


These include dark leafy greens, avocado, olive 


oil, nuts, rosemary, mint, saffron, and seafood.






___________________________________



fruit and porridge 

are great options 

for breakfast

July 27th, 3am

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Breakfast is a very important meal that you should definitely 

not miss. However, in order for it to benefit, it is important to

 choose the right products. On July 27, Elena Tikhomirova, a 

general practitioner and dietitian at SM-Klinik, told Izvestia 

what the right breakfast should be.

 

First of all, she noted that eggs are an ideal product 

for breakfast, as they contain protein and fat in the 

necessary balance. Eating them in the morning 

helps the body get the necessary nutrients. In 

addition the protein contained in eggs is one 

of the most useful and easily digestible 

sources of protein for the body.

 

"To make breakfast even healthier, you need to add 

carbohydrates to the eggs, such as vegetables or

 a small piece of bread. Scrambled eggs.... made 

from two or three eggs, with fresh vegetables, 

or a small piece of bread are an ideal source 

of protein, fat, and the so-called complex 

carbohydrates ----- as well as vitamins 

and fibre necessary for maintaining

 health and energy throughout the 

day," said Tikhomirova.

 

Another good breakfast option, the 

nutritionist called cottage cheese

 with fruit.

 

"Cottage cheese is rich in full-fledged milk protein 

and proper milk fat, which are necessary for the 

proper functioning of our body.  And fresh fruits 

enrich this breakfast with vitamins & minerals. 


''This combination also provides the body with 

the necessary and balanced amount of 

protein, fat and carbohydrates," the 

doctor noted.

 

Also, according to her, a useful breakfast option

 is porridge, which can provide the body with 

energy for a long period of time.

 

"Cereals are sources of carbohydrates, so if you lead 

an active lifestyle, do sports, especially in the 

evening, the day before or during the day, 

then they will suit you best.''

 

''Ideal combinations are buckwheat porridge with milk 

and oatmeal porridge with milk or water. Also --- you 

can add nuts (not dried fruits) to the porridge --- as 

they contain useful fats, proteins and vitamins," 

Tikhomirova said.

 

 

Image: A berry that improves cognitive abilities is named July 23rd, 11:45pm (Izvestia.ru) Researchers at King's College London have found that eating blueberries has a positive effect on the brain and blood vessels of older people. The results were publis


A berry that improves 

cognitive abilities

 is named

July 23rd, 11:45pm

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Researchers at King's College London have found that eating

 blueberries has a positive effect on the brain and blood

 vessels of older people. The results were published in 

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN).

 

It is noted that with age, susceptibility to cardiovascular and 

neurodegenerative diseases increases, while cognitive 

functions in people over 60 years of age, on the 

contrary, decrease faster.

 

Scientists in the study looked for ways to slow down or

 prevent these age-related changes. Observations were 

made on 61 people aged 65 to 80 years. The study 

participants were divided into two groups, one of 

which took a placebo, and the second — 

26 g of blueberry powder.

 

The study found that older adults who consumed blueberry 

powder daily for 12 weeks had healthier blood vessels
and
 performed better on cognitive tasks
compared to the
 group that
received a placebo.

 

According to scientists, polyphenols, one of the types of

 which — anthocyanins, are found in blueberries, can 

prevent the deterioration of health. It is at its 

expense that the berry has a blue colour. 

 

Anthocyanins are strong antioxidants, neutralize the action 

of free radicals, prevent the growth of tumors, and have a 

beneficial effect on the human body. Therefore, 

vegetables and fruits of bright colours are 

considered useful for the body.

 

Earlier, on June 27, experts listed foods in the diet that affect 

a person's cognitive functions. These include avocados and

 berries, especially grapes and blueberries, as they protect

 the brain... from the harmful effects of oxidative stress, 

prevent premature cell aging and the development 

of dementia.

 

 

_________________________________________




India develops project --- on 

cannabis-based medicines

by Javier Arana Villasusa

July 23rd, 11:50am

(Prensa Latina) 

 

India is developing its first research project on the use of

 cannabis in the medical sector, which Minister Jitendra

 Singh considered today of great potential to use this 

drug for the good of humanity.

 

In a public-private partnership with a Canadian company,

 the initiative is being carried out by the Indian Institute 

of Integrated Medicine, in the territory of Jammu,
and 
will contribute to the production of quality 

medicines for export to patients suffering

 from neuropathies, cancer, diabetes and 

epilepsy, the Minister of Science and 

Technology said during a tour of 

the centre.

 

Singh described the agreement that gave life to the project

 as historic not only for the region of Jammu and Kashmir, 

but for the whole of India for the scientific contribution, 

and highlighted the role of biotechnology in this effort.

 

He also commended the work of the scientists in charge 

of the research, mainly those from the Indian Institute 

of Integrated Medicine.

 

Singh obtained first-hand information on the cultivation 

practices in the protected area and the research work 

being carried out on the plant.

 

He also visited the greenhouses with climate control 

facilities to improve the varieties according to the 

desired cannabinoid content.

 

According to the Indian minister, there are already 

medicines in other countries derived from the 

cannabis plant for the treatment of nausea 

and vomiting, neuropathic pain and 

epilepsy, among others.

 

 

__________________________________

 

 

Report Warns ‘Sickness Explosion’

 in UK ----- Costing Billions
Per Year

July 19th,  2:25pm (FNA)

 

The UK is being gripped by a “sickness explosion”

 which is costing the economy £15 billion a year,

 experts warned.

 

The nation has “among the worst population health in 

Europe” --- due to high levels of obesity, excessive 

drinking, & large health inequalities, according
to a new report by health
 experts and peers,
The 
Independent reported.

 

Poor health in the population, a rising number of elderly 

people and “ballooning demand” for care, are leading 

to a “health emergency”, experts said.

 

As a result there is a high level of “premature often 

avoidable ill health” which is damaging the 

economy and the NHS, they said.

 

The new report, titled A Covenant for Health, states 

that millions are becoming prematurely ill, which 

is forcing many to drop out of work.

 

It has been estimated.. that this cost the economy 

£15 billion in 2022/23 due to higher welfare costs

 and lower tax revenues.

 

The authors wrote, “It is urgent to act – the UK has among

 the worst population health in Europe, the highest levels 

of obesity, the worst excess drinking levels, very large 

health inequalities, and very many people become ill 

much earlier than they should."

 

“Our high level of premature, often avoidable, ill health, 

damages lives, our society, localities & our economy. 

Without resolute action it will get worse,”
they added.

 

The new report --- penned by former Labour Minister Lord 

Filkin, former Health Minister Lord Bethall, public health 

experts and academics from the King’s Fund think tank, 

calls for an “emergency programme for better health”.

 

Lord Filkin, chairman of the Covenant for Health 

Commission, said, “We have a population health 

emergency – poor population health, more older

 people, ballooning demand, and costs on the 

NHS are leading to a sickness explosion. 

There will be 16 million people living 

with obesity by 2030 and 500,000 

will die from smoking and poor 

air quality, over the next

 five years."

 

“The NHS alone cannot solve this. Far too many of us get

 avoidable illnesses which harm our lives and cause us 

to drop out of work. Estimates from last week’s OBR 

indicate that in 2023-24 welfare spending due to 

health inactivity, increases in ill-health among 

those in work, and tax losses, as a result of 

rising health-related inactivity and in-work

 ill-health will cost the Government more 

than £15 billion," Filkin said.

 

“We need to keep well to be happy, to contribute and to

 sustain our economy and our NHS. Yet Government, 

business, society, ourselves, we have all done far

 too little to prevent ill health," Filkin added.

 

“Yet a great deal can be done rapidly and for low cost to help 

us live healthier longer lives, as our report A Covenant for 

Health sets out. We call for bold action across society 

and by all political parties to develop an Emergency 

Programme for Better Health to help our society be

 healthier and so help make for happier lives and 

to treat fewer illnesses,” he said.

 

Former Health Minister Lord Bethell added, “Our leaders

 should recognise the public do support measures to 

tackle smoking, obesity, heart disease and other 

chronic illnesses and address junk food, and 

dirty air, to support healthy communities --

and to engage people in their own health.”

 

Richard Murray, chief executive of The King’s Fund,

 added, “The health of the nation is in bad shape."

 

“Whether looking at life expectancy, levels of chronic ill-

health, inequalities, mental health or the drivers of poor 

health like obesity, England’s recent record is poor and

 often compares badly to our neighbours," he said.

 

“Apart from the obvious fact that no-one wants to be ill or to

 die prematurely, this state of affairs weighs heavily on the 

economy and the Exchequer, whether in terms of higher 

treatment costs, increased welfare payments or the 

loss of potential staff to ill-health at a time when 

many parts of the economy are facing deep 

workforce shortages," he added.

 

“Tackling this problem is not just a job for the NHS – we 

cannot treat our way out of a public health crisis," 

Murray said.

 

“Improving the nation’s health will require urgent cross-

Government action that encompasses better quality 

housing, policies to ensure the air we breathe is 

clean, and the use of tax and regulation, to 

encourage healthy behaviours," he added.

 

“And beyond national Government, local councils, 

the NHS, business, and charities all have power 

to improve the health of their employees, 

citizens and beneficiaries,” he said.




 

_____________________________________

 



The pediatrician - named the
ways to 
increase immunity
of often ill child

July 16th, 4:49pm 

(Lenta.ru)

 

Marina Voevodina, a pediatrician of the Budu online health

management service, said in an interview with Moslenta 

that it is possible to increase the immunity of a 

frequently ill child. She advised parents to 

follow their children's daily routines
more 
closely and walk with them
in the fresh 
air more often.

 

"It is important --- to pay attention to cleanliness in the

 apartment. It is necessary to regularly carry out wet 

cleaning, ventilate the premises. It is advisable to 

remove things that accumulate dust: carpets, 

soft toys that the child does not use. Toys 

should be stored in special closed 

containers to avoid excess dust,"

 the doctor said.

 

Vaccination is one of the most important steps in the process

 of developing a child's immunity. It is not superfluous to

 purchase an air humidifier. It is also necessary to 

teach the child to observe personal hygiene — 

first of all, you need to instill in him the habit 

of washing his hands when returning home 

from the street, the specialist continued.

 

It is important for the child to spend enough time outside. 

After a walk --- you can clean your nose with sea water 

(special baby products). In the cold season -- you can 

reduce the walking time, but increase their number. 

On walks, children move a lot, and physical 

activity has a positive effect on human 

immunity, explained Voevodina.

 

"It is necessary, to carefully monitor the child's daily routine.

 A sufficient amount of rest and activity, a full sleep of about 

ten hours (the exact amount depends on the age). The diet

 should be varied, fruits and vegetables are mandatory. It

 is important to observe the normal ratio of protein, fat 

and carbohydrates," the pediatrician warned.

 

At the same time, the expert stressed that the effect of 

pharmacy vitamins to increase the child's immunity 

has not been proven. Vitamins, according to her, 

should be prescribed only for identified 

deficiencies, with the exception of 

vitamin D in a preventive dose.

 

Earlier, the pediatrician dispelled the myth 

about the benefits of wiping children 

with vodka, for fever !

 

 

Image: aspartame in the diet?

 Photo: Pheelings media / Shutterstock / Fotodom

 

To be or not to be aspartame in the diet?

 

Nutritionist Antonina Leontieva admits 

that soda with aspartame content has 

advantages. First of all, it really has 

almost no calories, which attracts 

people who want to lose weight. 

 

Secondly, it does not increase the level of 

glucose in the blood. However, according 

to the expert, the negative effects of 

synthetic sweeteners negate any 

benefits. So, their regular use 

leads to dysbiosis in the 

intestines ------- and to 

disorders of its work.

 

Sweeteners have another side to the coin. It is 

connected to the nervous system. The fact is 

that when we put aspartame or some other 

sweeteners in our mouths, signals about 

this go to the brain. Then... a whole 

cascade of reactions is triggered

 

Antonina Leontieva dietitian, 

nutritionist, physiotherapist:

 

According to Leontieva, carbon exchange occurs

 in the body, but it is not glucose that gets into

the stomach --- but a substance that is not 

embedded in it. As a result, the process

 is idle. In the long run, this can lead to 

damage, warned Leontieva.

 

The World Health Organization also recommended 

avoiding drinks with artificial sweeteners. 

 

According to the recommendation issued in May, 

sweeteners do not help either adults or children

 lose weight. Moreover, experts have found that 

the use of aspartame and other sweeteners 

leads to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular 

diseases, and generally increases 

the risk of death.

 

How to replace aspartame?

 

Antonina Leontieva and WHO experts agree that there is no 

need to replace aspartame with anything. The nutritionist 

advised not to try to find an alternative to sugar, but to 

try to get rid of this habit altogether --- or limit the 

consumption of sweets, to reasonable limits. 

 

She pointed out that often cravings for desserts are not due

 to the body's need for insulin, but to psychological factors,

 hormonal disorders, or a lack of essential substances, 

such as iron.

 

 

________________________


 


New --- targeted method of 

cancer therapy developed

July 6th, 12:11pm 

(Lenta.ru)

 

Scientists from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced

 Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences 

have developed a targeted cancer therapy 

method. The findings... are published in
the 
journal Nature Communications.

 

The development, is a technology of a new type of acoustic

 tweezers, which allows you to move the target object using 

an acoustic wave. Thanks to their high tissue permeability 

and powerful impact, such tweezers have become much 

more effective than optical and magnetic tweezers in

 destroying cancer cells.

 

Chinese specialists have created holographic acoustic 

tweezers with a phased array (PAHAT). They are 

based on a high-density planar matrix 

transducer, that generates three-

dimensional acoustic waves.

 

The researchers were able to precisely control the bacteria

 that destroy cancer cells, so that they reach the lesion 

site in accordance with a pre-planned plan. As a 

the technology effectively slowed down the 

growth of the tumor.

 

 

_________________________________





Vitamin D supplements 

recommended against 

heart attacks

by Alina Ramos Martin

June 29th, 2:50pm

(Prensa Latina) 

 

The risk of suffering a heart attack decreases 

when vitamin D supplements are consumed, 

a specialized source informed.

 

According to the journal The BMJ, this becomes more

 relevant in people over 60 years of age and 

especially in those.... who take statins or 

other drugs for cardiovascular diseases.

 

During five years, vitamin D was administered to 31,215 

participants in the clinical trial carried out in Australia, 

of whom 1,336 suffered a serious cardiovascular 

accident, 6,6% in the placebo group and 6% 

in those who took the supplements.

 

The rate of serious cardiovascular events was 9% lower

 in the vitamin D group compared to the placebo group, 

equivalent to 5,8 fewer events per 1,000 participants.

 

The source points out that the rate of myocardial infarction

 was 19% lower and that of coronary revascularization 11% 

lower in the vitamin D group, but there was no difference

 in the rate of strokes, between the two.

 

The publication notes - that cardiovascular ailments are a 

leading cause of death worldwide, and heart attacks and 

strokes are set to increase, as the population continues 

to age and chronic diseases become more prevalent.

 

 

__________________________________



Report: Britons’ Earlier Deaths - 

Linked to NHS Underinvestment

June 26th, 2pm (FNA)

 

 Britons die sooner from cancer and heart disease 

than people in many other rich countries, partly 

because of the NHS’s lack of beds, staff and 

scanners, a study found.

 

The UK “underperforms significantly” on tackling its 

biggest killer diseases, in part --- because the NHS
has 
been weakened by years of underinvestment, 

according to the report from the King’s Fund 

health thinktank. 

 

It “performs poorly” as judged by the number of avoidable

 deaths resulting from disease and injury and also by

 fatalities --- that could have been prevented had 

patients received better or quicker treatment,

 The Guardian reported.

 

The comparative study of 19 well-off nations concluded 

that Britain achieves only “below average” health 

outcomes because it spends a “below average”

 amounts for every person on healthcare.


_________________________________________


 

Report: Almost 25,000 Doctors, 

Nurses Trying to Leave UK

June 25th, 2:34pm (FNA)

 

Record numbers of British doctors, nurses and midwives 

are trying to move abroad — with Australia top of their 

list, MailOnline revealed.

 

Almost 25,000 applications to get the documents needed 

to secure a job overseas were made to UK healthcare 

regulators in 2022. The vast majority represent 

NHS workers. 

 

The toll, uncovered by our investigation, dwarfs the 10,000 

figure seen before COVID struck. Senior leaders in the 

health service on Sunday warned "the exodus is 

only just beginning" and said the stats 

should ''stun ministers into action".

 

Disgruntled NHS medics say the pandemic has shone a light 

on how poorly they are valued in the UK, a factor that 

helped launched a wave of strike action across the 

UK to boost their pay. But, at the same time, they
have 
been lured by promises of up to £130,000
salaries - 
and a better work-life balance.

 

Australia has also launched --- a wave of "cheeky" 

tactics touting the merits of a move Down Under, 

such as deploying mobile billboards to NHS 

strike picket lines... to recruit 

disenfranchised medics. 

 

Yet some medics who have made the move Down Under,

have complained, that it's not exactly the dream some

are selling. British health staff wanting to apply for a

job overseas need to get documents from their UK 

regulator, as part of the application.

 

These prove to their potential employers they don't have

any marks on their record, their training is up to date, 

and they can be trusted with patients. 

 

Figures obtained by MailOnline reveal nearly 7,000 doctors 

applied for documents to support an application to work

 abroad from the British medical regulator, the General

 Medical Council (GMC), in 2022.This was up from 

6,100 in 2019. 

 

Separate figures for 2023, which only go up until May,

suggest this year will see an even bigger exodus, 

with almost 3,500 applying for their documents 

so far. For nurses and midwives, the figures 

are even starker. 

 

Nearly 16,000 similar applications were made in 2022/23 

— compared to just under 5,500 in 2018, according to 

the UK's Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

 

Pristine beaches & sunny weather appear to have

convinced many o seek a job in Australia. 

Australia topped the charts for 

total applications, in both 

professional groups. 

 

Nearly 9,000 doctors have applied to work Down Under in 

the last five years. A 3rd of these, were made in 2022/23. 

And Australian efforts... to lure medics Down Under, 

appear to be paying off. 

 

Data from the Australian Medical Council, the Aussie

 equivalent of the GMC, show almost 1,000 British 

medics signed up in 2021/22, the latest data 

available, up 16 percent on the year before, 

and the biggest number of any nation. 

 

This is roughly equivalent to half the UK medics who

 applied to work Down Under, getting a job there. 

 

For nurses and midwives, 11,000 applications were made to 

Australia since 2017/18. But the number has accelerated in

 recent years, with 4,000 making an application in the last

 financial year alone. The figures also revealed that its 

not just the Aussies looking to poach highly skilled 

NHS staff.

 

Doctor applications to work in the United Arab Emirates have 

almost doubled from 550 in 2019 to just over 1,000 in 2022, 

lured by higher, tax-free salaries, which can come with 

perks such as subsidized accommodation and 

generous leave packages. 

 

Nurse and midwife applications to the US have undergone 

an even more dramatic explosion. Applications to the US

reached 6,433 last year, almost 10 times what they 

were in 2017/18. 

 

The data obtained by MailOnline only records applications

and, therefore ----- are not a confirmation that the health
professional in question actually got the job overseas. 

 

Multiple applications can be made by individual staff. For 

example, a nurse applying for jobs in both Canada and 

Australia, would be counted twice. 

 

However, NHS unions said the data demonstrated NHS

 workers' intention to leave, with UK medics feeling 

underpaid and overworked and prepared to vote 

with their feet.

 

Dr Latifa Patel, the British Medical Association's workforce

 lead, said, "These numbers show the sad reality that, with

 junior doctor pay down by 26 percent, and consultant pay

 down by 35 percent since 2008, more and more doctors 

are making the logical conclusion: this Government 

does not value them or their work and, given the 

current NHS pressures, they would be better 

off abroad."

 

"With a global shortage of doctors, there are plenty of

 countries willing to pay them what they are worth," 

she said, adding, "The Australian government has 

already noted its popularity as a destination: last 

week they even sent trucks with job adverts to 

picket lines, where junior doctors were 

protesting over their lost pay."

 

She added that it was "not unreasonable" to conclude 

that even more doctors would look to leave this year, 

leaving the NHS in a further crisis ----- if ministers

 don't act. 

 

"The Government needs to urgently pull its head from the 

sand and fix their pay and conditions, alongside tackling

 the wider NHS funding issues, to prevent disaster," 

she said.

 

Pat Cullen, the Royal College of Nursing's general 

secretary, said MailOnline's figures should prompt 

ministers into urgent action. 

 

''A trebling of applications to head overseas should stun

 ministers into action and end the exodus from the 

nursing workforce," she said, adding, "This trend 

can be reversed with investment in the nursing

 workforce and can start --- by coming back to 

the table to speak about fair pay."

 

"Failure to act will leave tens of thousands of vacant

 nursing posts, waiting lists at record levels and

 patient care at risk," she added.

 

NHS sources also told this website Government policy 

was driving some international recruits to abandon

 the health service.

 

A senior nursing leader in the Midlands, speaking on

 condition of anonymity, said international nurses

 recruited from outside Britain were looking to

 leave --- due to the costs of bringing their 

partners and children to live in the UK.

 

Under UK visa rules, international nurses must pay £285 

to bring their partner, £315 for one child, and £200 for 

each additional child, to Britain. 

 

They then have to pay an additional fee of between £247

 and £479 per family member, depending on if they want

 them to stay for under, or over, three years. 

 

The senior nurse leader said other nurse-hungry nations 

were offering more generous visa packages for 

dependents and this was often cited by

 international nurses as their reason

 for leaving.

 

Such nurses are considered prime candidates for

 international recruiters from Australia, New 

Zealand, and the US.

 

This is because Britain essentially does all the validation 

work for them, with the internationally-trained nurses 

able to demonstrate by working here they can work 

effectively in an English-speaking nation.

 

The senior nurse also warned that "the exodus is only just 

beginning", with many international nurses who were 

recruited by the NHS in the darkest days of the 

COVID pandemic, now approaching the end 

of their three-year contracts. 

 

Such international nurses can be recruited on special three 

to five year contracts where the NHS pays for their flights, 

initial accommodation, and registration fees in exchange

 for a guarantee they will work for the health service for

 a set period. 

 

They added even further woe could be on the way, with

 America now following Australia --- and ramping up 

efforts to recruit the UK's international nurses. 

 

While they could not offer any proof, the huge spike in 

British nurses applying to American employers does 

suggest a potential recruitment drive is ongoing. 

 

Responding to MailOnline's figures a Department of 

Health and Social Care spokesperson said, "There

 are record numbers of staff working in the NHS 

with over 53,600 more people... compared to a 

year ago – including over 5,400 more doctors 

and over 12,000 more nurses."

 

They added that Government plans to publish a plan

 to recruit and retain more NHS staff "shortly" but 

din't detail any specific measures that might 

be included. 

 

The spokesperson also said the Government was 

offering "fair and reasonable" pay to NHS staff.  

 

"Over 1 million eligible NHS staff, including nurses, 

are receiving their pay rise and one-off payments

this month ----- and we have begun work to 

implement wider measures which will 

better support the workforce, 

including improving 

opportunities for 

nursing career 

progression," 

they said. 

 

"We have made a fair and reasonable opening pay offer to 

the BMA and stand ready to resume confidential talks 

once they agree not to call further disruptive strikes 

and show willingness to move significantly from 

their unreasonable position," the spokes

person added.

 

Both NHS doctors and nurses are in long-running pay dispute 

with the Government which has resulted in waves of strike

 action and the subsequent cancellation of thousands of

 appointments for ordinary Brits.

 

Unions argue rising inflation is making working in the NHS

 unaffordable and is exacerbating the health service's 

long running staffing issues as workers leave to 

take up better paying roles. 

 

However, ministers claim unions' demands for double digit 

pay rises are simply unaffordable and would have to 

come at the expense of patient services.

 

There are very little signs of any compromise in the future 

and, while the dispute continues, NHS waiting lists 

continue to rise to record levels and more and 

more staff apply to leave the UK. 

 

 

___________________________________


 

The nutritionist named the drink 

helping to fall asleep quicker

June 20th, 2:45am

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Nutritionist Matyskina said that a drink made from milk,
honey and cinnamon..... helps you fall asleep faster.

 

Warm milk has a calming effect on the body, its use at night 

helps to fall asleep faster. This was announced on Monday, 

June 19, in an interview with Sputnik radio by a member 

of the community "Nutritionists of Russia" and the 

Association of Nutritionists, the nutritionist

 Ekaterina Matyskina.

 

According to her, recipes of the so-called "moon milk" are

 popular online. In social networks.. they claim that it will 

serve as an effective tool for improving sleep. In Russia, 

the most common version of the drink, consists of 

warm milk, honey and cinnamon.


''The basis of the drink is warm milk. Its protein component

 is really able to cause a feeling so we relax & calm down.

 Protein before going to bed is also good  ....because it is 

actively involved in the regeneration processes that are

 triggered in the body at night. Vegetable milk can also

 be used, but not any.'' 

 

''Banana milk is not suitable because it contains a lot of 

sugar. Rice milk is made from plain white rice, with a 

low fibre content.. and is also perceived by our body 

as a set of simple carbohydrates," the expert said.

 

In addition, she did not recommend drinking nut milk at night, 

as it contains a large amount of fat, which is processed for 

a long time and can put additional stress on the liver and 

gallbladder at night.

 

Matyskina noted that the "moon milk" should not contain

 more than one teaspoon of honey. She pointed out that 

honey contains a large amount of glucose, which 

causes a rush of energy. It should be added in 

small amounts, then the person will not feel 

the excitement of the nervous system.

 

The nutritionist advised.. to add spices, spices and herbs to

the milk to enhance the calming effect. For example, mint,

camomile and lavender extract, have an effective 

relaxing effect.

 

At the same time, the expert warned that people with health

 problems and those who adhere to a diet, should not abuse

 "moon milk". According to the expert --- it should not be 

drunk by people with diabetes, as well as those who

 are allergic to honey or herbs.

 

Matyskina concluded that in the absence of 

contra-indications, "moon milk" can be 

drunk no more than two or three 

times a week.

 

 

__________________




The nutritionist named ways

 to get rid of night snacking

June 15th, 6:04pm 

(Lenta.ru)

 

Nutritionist Sofia Kovanova recommends not eating fruit 

in the evening, so as not to get hungry at night. In a 

conversation with "Lenta" she named other ways

 to get rid of late-night snacks.

 

Nighttime snacking is a direct consequence of the 

incorrect distribution of meals throughout the day, 

says the nutritionist. If the body does not receive 

the necessary amount of protein, fat, and 

carbohydrates, it will demand food.

 

Kovanova is sure that biochemistry cannot be defeated 

by willpower. The diffuse neuroendocrine system is 

responsible for saturation. It regulates the cycle
of
 hormone production, including telling the
body 
that it's time to eat.

 

Often, nighttime snacks lead to strict diets or significant

 dietary restrictions. In a state of stress and fatigue, 

it is difficult to find the strength to restrain 

yourself from eating

 

The acute feeling of hunger is affected not only by the

 amount of food consumed, but also by its quality, the

 nutritionist added. A balanced diet helps control 

your appetite and keep your hormones 

in balance.

 

To get rid of late-night snacking, you need to avoid skipping 

daytime meals, says Kovanova. In any case, the body will

 need to make up for the lack of nutrients. According to 

her, it is better to have dinner in the evening after 

work than to eat at night before going to bed.

 

It is necessary to reduce the amount of fast carbohydrates

 in the diet (sausages, white bread, sweets, potatoes), 

because of them the feeling of satiety passes in 

a short time

 

Fruit increases blood sugar levels and increases hunger. 

Therefore, it is better to eat them in the first half of 

the day, Kovanova noted.

 

"Drink plenty of fluids. If you drink water or a cup of tea, you

 can trick your hunger. That is why nutritionists recommend 

drinking a glass of water before a meal," she concluded.

 




______________________________________________________




Study:  Most UK Carers - 

Not Paid for Travel Time

Between Appointments

June 15th, 2:10pm (FNA)

 

 Three out of four UK care staff, who look after people 

at home are not being paid for the time it takes them 

to travel between appointments, according to 

new research.

 

Unison said its survey of more than 300 care workers 

across England --- revealed that employers are 

effectively breaking minimum wage laws, 

costing staff hundreds of pounds each

 month, The Independent reported.

 

Homecare workers spend a fifth of their working day 

travelling between people’s homes, mostly paid at 

or just above the minimum wage, but this is 

“dramatically” reduced if their employer 

does not pay travel time, added 

the union.

 

Unison called for travel time payment to become a

 contractual requirement, warning that vacancy 

levels across care – currently 165,000 – will 

increase, if action is not taken by

 the government.

 

“Both care staff and those they look after are the victims 

of this pay scandal. Vulnerable people suffer when their

 already-rationed care visits are cut short or delayed," 

General secretary Christina McAnea said, adding, 

“Unison has been highlighting this exploitation 

for over a decade. Yet - the Government has 

responded with inaction and indifference."

 

“These appalling working practices must be tackled 

urgently if more people are to be encouraged to 

work in a sector desperately short of staff," 

she continued.

 

“Disabled and elderly people receiving care support will 

want an end to the exploitation of those looking after 

them. When it does, everyone will benefit,”

 she noted.

 

 

 

________________________________________



 

Reduced time in deep sleep may 

raise risk of cognitive decline

by Pavel López Lazo

June 8th, 4:46pm

(Prensa Latina) 

 

A new study reveals a potential link between sleep apnea, 

reduced time in deep sleep, and brain biomarkers 

associated with increased risk of conditions 

like stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and 

cognitive decline.

 

This research involved 140 people with obstructive sleep

 apnea and primarily focused on biomarkers related to 

the health of the brain’s white matter.

 

Participants with severe sleep apnea displayed a higher

 volume of white matter hyperintensities (small lesions

 visible on brain scans) and reduced axonal integrity.

 

The study looked at sleep factors and biomarkers 

of the health of the brain’s white matter.

 

The biomarkers measure how well the brain’s white matter

 is preserved, which is important to connect different 

parts of the brain.

 

One of the biomarkers, white matter hyperintensities, are tiny

lesions visible on brain scans. White matter hyperintensities

 become more common with age or with uncontrolled high

 blood pressure. The other biomarker measures the

 integrity of the axons, which form the nerve

 fibres that connect nerve cells.

 

“Finding that severe sleep apnea and a reduction in slow-

wave sleep are associated with these biomarkers is

 important... since there is no treatment for these 

changes in the brain, so we need to find ways 

to prevent them from happening.... or 

getting worse.”

 

The study stresses that sleep disturbances are not

 definitively the cause of these brain changes, but 

the correlation warrants further investigation. 

 

The ultimate goal is to identify prevention strategies or 

treatments to halt or slow these detrimental changes

 in the brain. Knowing that severe sleep apnea and 

reduced slow-wave sleep are associated with 

these biomarkers is important, as there is no

 treatment for these changes in the brain, 

so it is necessary to find ways to 

prevent them from occurring 

or worsening.

 

The researchers found that for every 10-point decrease in the

 percentage of slow-wave sleep, there was an increase in the

 amount of white matter hyperintensities similar to the effect

 of being 2.3 years older.

 

People with severe sleep apnea had a higher volume of white

 matter hyperintensities than those with mild or moderate

 sleep apnea. They also had reduced axonal integrity 

in the brain.

 

pll/jcm/joe

 

#cognitive decline #deep sleep

 #health #RISKS #SCIENCES

 

 

_______________________________




UK Radiologists Warn Cancer Patients

 Face Life-Threatening Delays

 Due to Lack of Staff

June 8th, 1:18pm (FNA)

 

 Cancer patients in the UK face life-threatening hospital

 delays and the prospect of more gruelling treatment 

as a result of NHS staff shortages, senior 

radiologists warned.

 

A poll of all 60 directors of the UK’s cancer centres by the 

Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) found staff shortages 

at 97% of the centres were leading to longer waiting 

times and delays in treatment, The 

Independent reported.

 

The poll showed 88% were concerned about shortages

 affecting the quality of care. The RCR pointed out that 

for every four-week delay to treatment, the risk of 

death increased by about 10%.

 

Half of those surveyed reported “frequent delays” every

 month or most months in patients starting radiotherapy, 

while this was happening at 22% of centres most 

weeks or every week.

 

The RCR warned that staff shortages meant people were 

waiting longer than necessary to start chemotherapy or 

radiotherapy, while some doctors were having to make 

“difficult decisions” about who to prioritise and 

sending patients to other hospitals.

 

According to one head of service, prostate radiotherapy 

patients in their area were facing a 3-month minimum 

wait to receive treatment, while breast cancer 

patients had a seven- to eight-week wait.

 

Staff shortages also meant costly medical devices, including

 linear accelerator machines for radiation, had to be 

switched off --- owing to the lack of people able to 

operate them, the RCR said.

 

Its report states that the UK has a 15% shortfall of clinical

 oncologists but by 2027 this figure would rise to 25%.

 

Over the next five years, one in five clinical oncologists are

 expected to retire, and more than half (54%) of current

 clinical oncology vacancies have been open for 

more than a year, it adds.

 

Meanwhile, the proportion of more expensive locum staff
being used, has grown from 4% to 8%, in the 

past two years.

 

The RCR published two reports on Thursday, one looking 

specifically at cancer care and the other at the clinical 

radiology workforce.

 

In the second report, 80% of directors surveyed said they

 believed a shortage in the number of interventional 

radiology consultants, was causing patients to

receive more invasive treatment.

 

In 97% of centres, patient treatment had been delayed

 because of staff shortages over the past year, while

 in about half of centres.. shortages were causing 

delays almost every month, the RCR audit found.

 

About 90% of those questioned thought workforce

 shortages would affect patient safety and only 

one in four said they had enough staff to 

deliver safe and effective care.

 

The report says just 52% of trusts, could provide 

adequate 24/7 interventional radiology services.

 

The RCR warned that across the UK there were 4,745 

whole-time-equivalent radiologists working in the 

NHS and the consultant workforce had a 29% 

shortfall. It said there was a “ticking time

bomb”, adding, “Without action --- there 

will be a 40% shortfall of radiologists

 by 2027".

 

Most consultants who left in 2022 were under 60, with many

 experiencing burnout, according to the RCR. It said new

 community diagnostic centres set up by the NHS had 

increased the workload on already stretched staff.

 

Dr Katharine Halliday, the RCR president, said, “There are

 simply not enough doctors to safely treat the volume of 

patients needed, and this will only worsen as demand 

rises and more doctors leave the NHS."

 

“Action from the government -- is now critical. We must train 

more doctors, while doing more to retain the ones we have. 

There is no luxury of time: doctors are stretched, 

stressed, and scared for their patients,” 

she continued.

 

Michelle Mitchell, the chief executive of Cancer Research 

UK, stated, “Due to underfunding and poor planning from

 governments across the UK, there isn’t enough staff 

or equipment to diagnose and treat cancer in a 

timely way."

 

“We urge political leaders in all UK nations to act now 

to address chronic staffing issues and unacceptable 

waiting times across the NHS,” she noted --- adding 

without long-term and strategic planning matched

with sufficient investment, it would continue to 

be difficult for people to benefit quickly from 

life-saving cancer checks and treatment.

 

Minesh Patel, the head of policy at Macmillan Cancer Support,

 said Macmillan and the Royal College of Radiologists have

 been sounding the alarm about the devastating impact of

 staffing shortages on delays to diagnosis and treatment 

for years - but the crisis continues to be brushed aside 

by governments.

 

“At the heart of this crisis is a failure to recruit and retain 

enough specialist cancer professionals,” Patel added.

 

Lady Delyth Morgan, the chief executive of Breast Cancer

 Now, stated, “Today’s report is the starkest warning yet, 

that the government’s failure to tackle the crisis facing

 the cancer workforce, risks pushing cancer diagnosis 

and treatment to the brink of disaster.”

 

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said

 there are more doctors, nurses and staff working in the 

NHS than ever before, with 50% more specialist cancer

 doctors treating patients now, compared to 2010.

 

“The NHS is also seeing, treating and saving record numbers

 of people with cancer but we know there is more to do. That

 is why we are seeking views on our major conditions

 strategy and the NHS will soon be publishing a 

long-term workforce plan setting out how it 

will recruit and retain even more staff,”

 the spokesperson added.

 

 

_____________________________________




There is a proven link - between 
viewing social networks in the 

evening - and sleep disorders

May 30th, 2:30am 

(Lenta.ru)

 

A team of scientists from Duke University and Yale University 

has proven a link between viewing social networks in the

evening and sleep disorders. According to a study 

published in the journal Sleep Medicine, viewing

an hour before your normal bedtime.... delays 

bedtime... by up to three hours.

 

Previous research has shown that blue light emitted from

 gadgets can cause sleep problems because it interferes

 with the production of melatonin, a hormone that 

regulates circadian rhythms. Now we found out 

that sleep can also be directly affected... by 

actions within the social network.

 

To do this, the authors analyzed 120 million posts made by 

44 thousand Reddit users over 15 years. As with other 

social networks, you can leave comments or links to 

content on Reddit and comment on what others 

have posted.

 

Based on the data of regular site visitors, experts established

 a normal bedtime, which allowed us to measure the impact 

of posting on social networks before the usual bedtime.

 

The results showed that if the user posted messages on the

 site about an hour before the usual bedtime, then they were

 much more likely to stay for another one to three hours. 

And if they posted several times before their usual

bedtime, they went to bed..... even later.

 

Researchers suggest that this is due to an increase in

 dopamine levels while waiting for a response from 

other users of the site, which prevents them from 

relaxing and falling asleep.






zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz



The expert named the six most 

effective types of training 

for weight loss

May 25th, 10:12pm 

(Lenta.ru)

 

Fitness expert Amy Goodson named six types of workouts

 that are most effective in losing weight. Her words are

 quoted by the portal Eat This, Not That.

 

The specialist noted the benefits of swimming, basketball, 

rock climbing and cycling. She also advised to do zumba, 

because with such loads, an average of 500 to 800

 kilocalories is burned.

 

In addition, according to Goodson, flag football - a type of

 American football — is effective for weight loss. The 

match includes two halves of 20 minutes and 

allows you to burn up to 605 calories, 

depending on the weight of

 the athlete.

 

 

______________________________



Shocking New Figures Reveal
NHS 
Forced to Pay Out £4mln
in 
Compensation, Legal Fees 

to Victims of Sex Attacks 

in Hospitals

May 22nd, 4:58pm

(FNA)

 

The NHS has paid out millions of pounds in compensation 

and legal fees over sex attacks since 2018, figures show.

 

The health service has paid £2,174,658 in damages as 

well as £1.5 million in claimants' legal costs. It has 

also spent £338,194 on its own legal fees, 

bringing the total bill to more than 

£4million, The Times reports. 

 

The revelation comes weeks after the Health Secretary Steve

 Barclay vowed to put an end to sex attacks in hospitals after

 a Mail investigation found that there had been 6,500 rapes 

and sexual assaults in three years. 

 

Fewer than one in five NHS Trusts offer training 

to prevent sexual harassment, a study found. 

 

Data obtained under the Freedom Of Information Act revealed

 that 1,571 reports of sexual misconduct have been made by

 staff and patients at 167 NHS Trusts in England and Wales

 since 2018. 

 

Allegations of rape, inappropriate touching and comments 

are among the incidents that have been reported, with 

the majority of alleged perpetrators men and the 

victims female.  

 

Surviving In Scrubs, a campaign group supporting NHS staff

 who have faced sexual harassment, said the findings 

were "not surprising". 

 

"Trusts seem to hold their reputations in such high regard 

that they are glossing over the issues of sexism, 

misogyny, sexual harassment and sexual 

assault. More needs to be done to 

protect and support survivors 

of these behaviours," the

 report added.

 

Jemima Olchawski, CEO of the Fawcett Society, a 

women's rights charity, said women are "at

 their most vulnerable" with NHS staff. 

 

Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman, 

said that all patients should feel safe but these

 "shocking findings show that this is simply

 not the case". 

 

Health Secretary Steve Barclay held a meeting with NHS

 chiefs in April after it was revealed that at least 2,088 

rapes and 4,451 sexual assaults were reported in 

hospitals between January 2019 and October 

2022 – a rate of 33 a week.

 

Image: Mediterranean diet for longer life


 

Association between oleic acid

 and increased life expectancy

 was found

May 15th, 4:12pm 

(Lenta.ru)

 

Scientists at Stanford School of Medicine have found a 

link between monounsaturated fatty acid intake and 

life expectancy. The results of the study...  are 

published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

 

Oleic acid, which is a fat molecule characteristic of the 

Mediterranean diet, increases the number of two key 

cellular organelles and protects cell membranes 

from oxidative damage. Roundworm worms 

Caenorhabditis elegans, which were fed 

food rich in oleic acid, lived about 35%

longer compared to worms that were

 given food containing unhealthy

 trans fats (elaidic acid).

 

The researchers found that oleic acid contributed to 

an increase in the number of lipid droplets - cellular

 reservoirs that store fats. These organelles play a

 central role in cellular metabolism, regulating
the 
use of fat as an energy source. 

 

Blocking the genes encoding proteins for lipid droplets

 restored the worms to their previous life expectancy. 

In addition, an increase in peroxisomes - organelles 

containing enzymes involved in redox processes -

was noted.

 

The number of lipid droplets and peroxisomes is higher in

 young animals -- and naturally decreases with age. The 

effect of monounsaturated fatty acids had a stronger 

effect on older animals - an increase in the number 

of lipid droplets in the cells of which contributed 

to an increase in life expectancy, by 33%. 

 

Oleic acid also reduces lipid oxidation, which damages 

cell membranes. In contrast, elaidic acid enhanced 

lipid oxidation.


Image: best night time snack a banana


The nutritionist called banana 
or lean turkey... ideal for
a night snack.

May 13th, 9:29pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

Natalia Gridina, a nutritionist at Budu, an online health

 management service, named the ideal products for a 

night snack, in an interview with Moslenta. 

 

"At night, of course, you want something harmful: sugar,

 cakes, or fast food. However, these products will only 

cause problems. There is a healthier alternative," 

the expert said.

 

 According to her, such a snack can be a portion of lean

 turkey meat. It contains tryptophan, which improves 

the quality of sleep, by affecting the production 

of melatonin.

 

In addition, you can also eat a piece of fish at night: 

mackerel, salmon or tuna. Thanks to OMEGA-3
in 
its composition, the amount of serotonin 

increases, and it has a positive effect 

...on the quality of sleep, the expert 

continued. Nuts are also suitable 

as a night snack.

 

"Bananas... are a good source of tryptophan. If you feel hungry,

you can eat one banana. Cheese is also healthy, and it can be

eaten with a portion of crackers, which contain lots of fibre. 

In addition, dairy products (cheese, yogurt) they promote

the production of melatonin --- thanks to calcium," 

explained Gridina. 

 

She clarified, that it is better to use unsweetened yogurt 

without additives. If there are no contra-indications,
you 
can add honey to it, which also contributes
to the 
production of melatonin.

 

 

____________________________________________




 

High energy prices possibly 

killed more Europeans than 

COVID in winter: Report

May 12th, 3:22pm

(PressTV)

 

The steep rise in energy prices across Europe following the

 bloc's anti-Russia sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine 

may have killed more Europeans in winter than the 

COVID-19 pandemic, The Economist has reported.

 

Electricity and gas prices rose by 69 percent and 145

 percent, respectively, last winter, The Economist 

wrote in an article published on Wednesday.

 

The British weekly explained that the higher energy prices

 discouraged people from heating their homes properly 

and being in the cold increases the risk of heart and 

respiratory problems.

 

The Economist had predicted back in November that 

expensive energy could cause between 22,000 and 

138,000 deaths in a mild winter, and more in a 

harsh one.

 

The prediction came true unfortunately and the surge in

 energy prices resulted in 149,000 additional deaths --

 of which 60,000 were registered as COVID death -- in 

the 28 European countries examined by the paper 

between November 2022 and February 2023.

 

The report said the 7.8 percent increase in the number of 

deaths compared to the same weeks of 2015 to 2019 

can be attributed to several factors, the main cause 

being the people's inability to heat their homes

 properly and getting ill ...due to the 

cold conditions.

 

In the meantime, the West blames Russia for the energy

 crisis in Europe, claiming Moscow weaponized energy 

supplies to European states to achieve its political 

and military objectives.

 

Moscow, in turn, has rejected this claim,  pointing to the

 West’s joint sanctions against the Russian nation as 

the main factor that hampered the increasing gas 

exports from Russia to Europe.

 

In this regard, the Russian side had invested tens of 

billions of dollars to build pipelines to transfer its

 gas to northern Europe.

 

Multiple media reports said the US blew up the 

Nordstream pipeline to undermine Russian 

influence in Europe and maintain US' 

hegemonic control, over its EU 

vassal states. 

 

 

[Rhondda Records adds:

Bit too political - but 

possibly true.]

 

Image: Cost-of-Breathing Crisis in UK


Disabled People in UK - Facing A 

‘Cost-of-Breathing’ Crisis Due
to
 High Energy Bills

May 9th,  2:35pm (FNA)

 

 Many disabled people are facing a cost-of-breathing crisis 

amid higher energy bills, a new television advert warned.

 

Disabled people who rely on energy to move around, speak

 and breathe risk losing their independence, health and

 wellbeing, a charity said as it revealed a quarter of

 the callers to its helpline who rely on medical 

equipment have had to switch it off to save

 money, The Independent reported.

 

Scope, a disability equality charity, said that while much of

 the population is looking forward to using less energy as 

the weather warms up in the summer, many disabled 

people will not have that option.

 

The charity’s advice lines have supported almost 38,000

 disabled people over the past year and more than a third

 (38%) of callers to its energy helpline are in energy debt 

– on average by more than £1,000.

 

Scope said two in five calls to its helpline have medical 

equipment and that almost a quarter of these people

 (23%) have had to switch medical equipment off

 to cut costs.

 

In research published last month, the charity said that, on 

average, disabled households need an additional £975 a 

month to have the same standard of living as

 non-disabled households.

 

The new advertising campaign will air on ITV throughout 

May and June to highlight how disabled people are 

being affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

 

Featuring six disabled actors, it shows disabled 

people relying on electrical equipment such as 

CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) 

machines to breathe, hoists to get in and 

out of bed, and communication devices

 to speak.

 

The charity said its disability energy support service 

has saved disabled people almost £2 million over 

the past year, through advice and support.

 

Image: respiratory disorders due to steam inhalation of potatoes



 


The doctor warned about the risk of


 respiratory disorders due to steam


 inhalation of potatoes


April 25th, 4am


(Izvestia.ru)


 


Inhaling the steam of boiled potatoes with a cough and runny


 nose can do much more harm than good, especially in the 


case of children. In particular, this can lead to bronchial 


spasms and respiratory disorders, Olga Tatarkina, a 


pediatrician at SM-Clinic for Children, told Izvestia 


on April 25th.


 


"Hot steam when inhaled can cause swelling of the airway


 mucosa or provoke bronchial spasm, which will inevitably 


lead to respiratory disorders --- which are not always 


possible to cope with at home," Tatarkina warned.


 


She also noted that respiratory diseases are often accompanied


 by an increase in body temperature. And hot steam inhalation 


in this case can only aggravate the situation and lead to the 


development of complications, especially in children. In


 addition, inhalation of hot steam, is fraught with burns


 of the respiratory tract mucosa and skin.


 


According to her, such a procedure is strictly contra-indicated if 


purulent discharge from the nose or bronchi appears. It is also


 contra-indicated to breathe hot potato broth in the presence


 of repeated nosebleeds.


 


"Such procedures are strictly contra-indicated for people with


 diseases of the cardiovascular system, who have suffered a


 heart attack or stroke, since such inhalations can lead to 


an increase in blood pressure, sometimes quite sharp," 


Tatarkina warned.


 


Also, she said that there is an unobvious harm from inhaling 


the vapors of potato broth. First, it contains solanine - a 


toxic glycoside that protects the plant from damage by 


bacteria, fungi, and some types of insects. It is toxic 


to humans.


 


"The effect of solanine on the human body... depends on its


 amount. Small doses of the toxin do not cause significant 


harm and can only cause mild discomfort. But high 


concentrations of solanine can be extremely 


dangerous, especially if inhaled. If we talk 


about young children, even small 


concentrations of solanine 


can harm them," the 


pediatrician said.


 


In addition, the doctor warned that potatoes may contain traces 


of chlorprofam (a plant growth regulator that is used to restrain 


the germination of tubers during storage) and thiamethoxam 


(used to control pests, including the Colorado potato beetle).


 Also, potato tubers, as in all vegetables that grow in the 


ground, may contain nitrates, which fall into the potato 


broth, during cooking.


 


"In addition, potatoes can absorb harmful substances 


that accumulate in the soil, including heavy metals. 


In particular, cadmium. And cadmium, as you 


know, is the most carcinogenic element


 that can accumulate in the body," the 


doctor summed up.


 


 


_______________________________________




 
Taking care of yourself

April 24th, 2:52am 


(Lenta.ru)


 


Nutritionist Jasna Vujicic named the best ways 


to prepare food. Her words are quoted by the 


Serbian newspaper, Politika.


 


The specialist advised to cook and stew vegetables 


or meat. Also, according to her, when cooking for
couple, all the minerals and useful properties
of 
protein in products, are preserved.


 


Nutritionist urged to fry food less often, as the products 


absorb the oil --- and harm the body, during digestion.


 


Vujicic added that it is important to preserve the 


nutritional value of food during cooking, so you 


should use healthy fats... in moderation.


 


 


____________________________________



 


Nutritionist told about healthy


 fruits in the spring period


April 22nd, 8:42pm


(Izvestia.ru)


 


Fruits in the spring are the most important source of vitamins. 


As the general practitioner and nutritionist, chief physician of 


the clinic Biogena, preventive medicine doctor Anna Kireeva


 said on Saturday, April 22nd, it is best to eat citrus fruits, 


currants, bananas and pineapple.


 


"Vitamin C - helps to keep iron in the blood at a sufficient level.


 It is obtained from citrus fruits, rosehip berries, strawberries, 


currants. Citrus fruits are also high in potassium. Potassium


 lowers blood pressure, which can help people suffering 


from hypertension, " the therapist said.


 


Oranges are useful, not only because of the vitamin C they


 contain. This fruit is also rich in folic acid, which is 


necessary for the human body for good 


functioning of the nervous and 


reproductive systems.


 


Fruits help prevent hypovitaminous stress. To strengthen the


 immune and endocrine systems in the spring, you should 


eat orange and green foods that contain vitamin A, such 


as oranges and apples.


 


The benefits of bananas are also noted, which are rich in pectin, 


potassium, fluoride, sodium and B vitamins. This high-energy


 product quickly increases blood sugar levels, which gives


 a boost of energy for physical and mental exertion.


 


The nutritionist emphasized that pineapple is an excellent


 source of fibre. It also contains manganese and calcium.


 Despite its low calorie content, pineapple increases the


 feeling of fullness and even helps to stabilize blood 


sugar levels.


 


"Pineapples are rich in the enzyme bromelain, which plays 


the role of a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, as well as


the antioxidant vitamin C, which has anti-inflammatory 


properties that help to reduce joint pain caused by 


osteoarthritis, supports the health of the 


immune system and reduces the risk of 


heart disease," added Anna Kireeva.


 


Earlier, on April 17th, the nutritionist called avocado and oats


 the most useful products for the prevention of diseases of 


the gastrointestinal tract. She also noted the benefits of 


flax seeds, chickpeas, raspberries and broccoli, which 


are suitable for the prevention of intestinal diseases.


 


 


________________________________________________________





Taking care of yourself

April 20th, 7:33pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

Five unusual harbingers of heart and 

vascular problems --- are named

 

Davis - a surgeon - described numbness and poor 

appetite as unusual symptoms of heart problems.

 

One of the most common unusual harbingers of problems 

with the cardiovascular system, Davis called numbness 

of the extremities. Because of the narrowing of blood 

vessels, it is more difficult to circulate blood, so the 

hands and feet begin to get cold and numb, even 

when the person is generally warm. In

 particularly severe cases, the limbs 

may turn bluish or purple, the 

doctor explained.

 

As the next non-obvious symptom of developing cardiovascular 

pathology, Davis identified problems with the digestive system, 

in particular, poor appetite, frequent abdominal pain, diarrhea 

and upset stomach.

 

Also, according to Davis, due to circulatory disorders, the hair 

follicles on the legs no longer have enough nutrients, which

 is why they die, and, as a result, the hair falls out.

 

In addition, ulcers on the legs are a sign of poor blood

 circulation, the surgeon noted. Usually, such wounds

 appear on the back of the lower leg, do not heal for 

a long time and can cause discomfort.

 

In conclusion, Davis urged to be wary of sudden memory

problems and frequent dizziness, as such problems 

occur due to chronic hypoxia of the brain --- due 

to poor blood circulation.




 

______________________________________________




Taking care of yourself

April 12th, 1:34am 

(Lenta.ru)

 

The doctor named harmless snacks before going to bed.

 

Nutritionist Razarenova called nuts, avocado and 

eggs... the most harmless snack for the night.

 

Dietitian, nutritionist Alexandra Razarenova said that at night 

the human body does not need additional food intake, as it is

 in a state of rest. The correct diet involves avoiding late 

dinners -- but if a person can not cope with the feeling 

of hunger before going to bed, then they can choose

 a few harmless snacks, the expert named them,
in 
an interview with Sputnik radio.

 

"Bone broth, a few pieces of beef, veal, lamb tongue, nuts: 

pecans, walnuts, almonds, Brazil, macadamia, pine nuts.

 You can take pumpkin or hemp seeds, chicken or quail 

eggs, or avocado," Razarenova said.

 

If a person can not cope with the evening feeling of hunger, 

then it is necessary to "choose products containing the 

"right" fats and protein components."

 

 

______________________________________






Pfizer vaccine released 

with side effects due to

 collusion — Russian 

Defense Ministry

April 7th, 2:16pm (TASS)

 

 The collusion between US officials and the Pfizer COVID
vaccine 
producer --- made it possible to produce
pharmaceuticals with 
serious side effects,
Chief of Russia’s Radiation, 
Chemical
and Biological Protection Force,

 Igor Kirillov, said on Friday.

 

"According to information we have, the collusion between

 officials and the Pfizer COVID vaccine producer made it 

possible  --- to release pharmaceuticals with serious 

side effects. Meanwhile, Pfizer had real evidence 

at the time of vaccine approval, supporting the

higher risk of serious cardiovascular system 

pathologies after vaccination," Kirillov said.

 

This is how officials from US federal agencies, 

"later.. held key positions in pharmaceutical

companies," the Ministry of Defense said.

 

Image: Why pregnant women need to listen to classical music



 Why pregnant women need


to listen to classical music


April 4th, 1:56pm


(Vesti.ru)


 


The baby in the mother's stomach...  hears almost all sounds, 


so it's important for pregnant women to listen to good music.


 Classical music therapy, is especially useful.


 


Opera singer Irina Gold told the "Let's Watch" media platform


 why classical music is popular among pregnant women, and 


whether it is useful for the early development of the baby.


 


According to the expert, the healing properties of music that 


affect the spiritual and physiological state of a person have


 been known for a long time.


 


How does it affect you?


 


Scientists have long established the relationship between the 


frequency of sound vibrations and specific physiological 


processes, said the opera singer.


 


"Sound is a powerful information carrier that acts on the human


 brain. And it doesn't matter what we are talking about: noise 


on the street or a concert of symphony music," Gold said.


 


According to the singer, classical music has a positive effect on


 the child even in the period of intrauterine development. When 


the expectant mother listens to classical music, the


 physiological and emotional development of


 the fetus, is stimulated.


 


"These children have significantly better physical 


and intellectual performance," she added.


 


So, it is very useful for a pregnant 


woman to listen to Mozart's work.


 


"You may have heard of the Mozart Effect. It consists in the 


fact that listening to Mozart's works has a positive effect 


on the development of a child's intelligence," Irina 


Gold shared.


 


In general, Mozart's music works wonders. Scientists in the


 course of experiments proved that fans of the composer 


have a higher IQ coefficient. And Israeli scientists in 


2009, said that only 30 minutes of Mozart a day, is 


enough for a child in the mother's belly, to 


grow well, recover and gain strength.


 


It is also useful to listen to Brahms, Debussy, Schubert,


 Beethoven, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Chopin, 


Paganini, Glinka --- and other composers.


 


Numerous studies have confirmed that classical music 


not only creates a sense of psychological comfort, but


also develops the attention, intelligence and creativity 


of the child, and helps to reveal the inner potential.


 


In conclusion, Gold said that pregnant women need to focus


 primarily on their personal preferences. A woman should 


only listen to the music that she likes. Only then will 


music therapy benefit both mother and baby.


 


[R.R: This last piece of advice..... excludes,


surely, those who ''like'' aggressive music.]


 


 


____________________________________________




Taking care of yourself

 March 30th, 8:49pm


(Lenta.ru)


 


Nutritionist warned about the dangers 


of out-of-season fruits and vegetables.


 


Nutritionist Nikulina: out-of-season fruits 


and vegetables contain large amounts


 of pesticides.


 


Irina Nikulina, a general practitioner, nutritionist, head of 


the Department of Integrative Health Technologies at 


the Academy of Social Technologies, in an interview 


with the Prime news agency --- warned about the 


dangers of unseasonal fruits and vegetables.


 


According to her, their use can do more harm than good. 


She said that unseasonal fruits contain a large amount 


of pesticides and nitrates, which are used to increase


 the shelf life.


 


The expert noted that these substances, when used 


excessively, adversely affect the human body. So, 


they can cause allergic reactions, as well as 


problems with the respiratory, nervous and 


endocrine systems. In addition, according 


to the doctor, pesticides and nitrates are 


associated with the development 


of cancer.


 


Nikulina recommended using extra caution to introduce 


out-of-season fruits and vegetables into the diet of 


children, as their detoxification process is not as


 fast and active as in adults.


 


The nutritionist added that the necessary dose of 


vitamins and trace elements --- can be obtained 


from frozen foods.


 


Earlier, nutritionist, gastroenterologist Anastasia 


Timoshchenko named products that accelerate 


aging. The nutritionist says that the love of 


sweets --- accelerates aging most of all: 


excessive sugar consumption, leads


to weight gain, insulin resistance,


and contributes to skin aging ---


it becomes less elastic  ---


wrinkles appear faster, 


and damage takes


longer to heal.


 



 


___________________________________





This document 'The health hazards of depleted
uranium munitions' document 2001 has quite
a detailed analysis 
of Uranium toxicity.




Basically seems to support evidence Alpha
radiation 
from Depleted Uranium and
compounds lodged 
long term in 
tissues like 
lungs --- and even
short 
term non-lethal doses,

can cause DNA damage
---- leading to cancers

and birth defects.

Press the link below:

'The health hazards of depleted uranium munitions'



Image: Researchers find Yoga essential for seniors


Researchers find Yoga 

essential for seniors

by Pavel López Lazo

March 17th, 4:41pm

(Prensa Latina) 

 

A regular exercise routine can improve your quality of life 

and help you maintain your independence. However, 

many older adults struggle to find a safe, low-

impact exercise that fits within their fitness

 levels. Luckily, yoga for seniors offers 

a viable solution.

 

According to the Annals of Internal Medicine, scientists 

studied gait speed, grip, balance, lower extremity 

strength and endurance, and multicomponent 

physical performance measures.

 

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and 

Harvard Medical School, in the US, explained seniors

 have a higher burden of chronic diseases, disability 

and frailty.

 

In the case of frailty, it affects up to 50% of seniors 

aged over 80, so prevention and treatment is a top 

priority for public health.

 

According to the specialists, Yoga improved 

walking speed and lower limb strength.

 

Yoga is an exercise you can do all your life. It’s low-impact 

nature makes it suitable for those with joint pain, 

osteoporosis, or limited mobility. Plus, yoga 

poses can easily be modified to fit your 

comfort level and physical ability, 

making it a wonderful exercise

 for any age group.

 

Yoga can benefit your mind as much as your body. Studies

 showed practicing yoga causes decreased depression,

 stress, anxiety, and cortisol levels, and increase

 feelings of hope, over time.

 

Taking care of your mental health is important at any age. 

However, the risks associated with mental health 

struggles increase as you grow older. Those who 

suffer from heart disease, diabetes, high blood 

pressure, and stroke, have an increased risk 

of suffering from depression. In addition, 

depression can complicate the 

treatment of these conditions,

 making treatment 

more difficult.

 

 

Image: warts the best safest treatment



 


Myasnikov's advice on the main 

method of fighting warts

March 14th 3:42pm 

(Lenta.ru)

 

The main method of fighting warts is 

named by dermatologist Irina 

Gosteva and TV presenter 

Alexander Myasnikov.

 

According to them, this is cryodestruction, 

that is, surgical treatment of the affected 

skin areas with liquid nitrogen.

 

The doctor noted that cryodestruction is a proven 

and most inexpensive way, to get rid of this kind 

of neoplasm. Myasnikov recommends a vaccine 

against the human papillomavirus, as a 

preventive measure.

 

The dermatologist warned that you cannot remove warts

yourself, with the help of folk remedies. When using 

pumice stone, iodine, tea tree oil, vinegar, garlic, 

celandine tincture and salicylic acid, an

infection can be introduced into

 the wound.

 

 

_________________________________




Report: Over Half of UK 

Ambulance Workers See 

Patient Die Due to Delay

March 6th, 2:10pm (FNA)

 

 More than half of ambulance workers have seen 

a patient die because of a delay in reaching 

them after a 999 call or overcrowding in 

A&E, a new survey found.

 

The findings, from a survey of frontline paramedics and 

other ambulance staff, are another stark illustration of

 the patient safety risks created by the crisis in NHS

 urgent and emergency care, The Guardian reports.

 

“These findings are utterly terrifying,” stated Rachel 

Harrison, the national secretary of the GMB union, 

which sought the views of more than 1,200 

members working in NHS ambulance 

services in England and Wales.

 

It asked them if they had ever witnessed a death that had

 occurred - because of a delay involving an ambulance or

 other part of the care system. Just over half (53%) said

 they had done so and another 30% were aware of it 

happening with a colleague.

 

Three-quarters (76%) of those surveyed said that delays had

 an impact on patient care every day. And over half (52%) 

said they had spent an entire shift waiting outside an 

A&E to hand a patient over to hospital staff.

 

The findings are disclosed in a Channel 4 Dispatches

 documentary being shown this Thursday about how 

long delays..... in ambulance crews handing over 

patients to A&E staff, and thus being unable 

to respond quickly to 999 calls..... are 

affecting both patients and staff.

 

The programme is based on footage secretly shot 

over three months, by Daniel Waterhouse, an 

emergency medical technician with the 

East of England ambulance service, 

who has since resigned.

 

“The delay and dilation of care that we see - is just

 unconscionable,” Dr Adrian Boyle, the president 

of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, 

told the programme.

 

The RCEM, which represents A&E doctors, last week, 

issued new analyses which found that a patient dies 

every 23 minutes - as a direct result of spending at 

least 12 hours in A&E - usually because they are 

waiting for a bed in the main hospital.

 

“We’ve seen patients this winter who have been harmed 

because of ambulance delays,” Dr Sanjeev Nayak, a

 leading stroke doctor, told Dispatches, adding, “If 

they’re late, we cannot treat them, there’s very 

little we as doctors can do. A couple of hours’ 

delay ------- means the patient can die or 

suffer disability.”

 

Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, a consultant cardiologist 

and the associate medical director of the British 

Heart Foundation, noted when a patient has had

 a heart attack it is vital that an ambulance gets

 to them as soon as possible because “minutes 

can be the difference between life and death”.

 

 

_________________________________________





Deaths in UK attributed to long 

emergency waiting times

 by Javier Arana Villasusa

March 1st,  11:18am

(Prensa Latina)

 

The UK's National Health Service NHS reported 

today that long hours of admission periods in 

hospital emergency departments caused 

some 23 thousand deaths in 2022.

 

Workers’ unions in the sector criticized the Government’s 

handling of problems related to the NHS, claiming a

 heavy workload of its staff, discontent --- over 

working conditions and concern over wages. 

Meanwhile, authorities acknowledge staff 

shortages, but disagree that the excess 

death totals are definitely accurate, 

television in this capital city 

commented.

 

According to reports, the Royal College of Emergency

 Medicine sent Freedom of Information requests to 

the NHS for its latest data on accidents and 

emergency waiting times.

 

According to the report received, more than 1.6 million 

British patients had to wait more than 12 hours in the 

department from the time they entered.

 

The medical school then calculated the death rates

 linked to long waits, which last year, often made 

headlines in the country.

 

Addressing the issue at the NHS Recovery Forum last month, 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said long waits in accident and

 emergency departments, are among the problems on the

 minds of all people in Britain. (sic)

 




_________________________________________________________




 


Study Shows Just 10% of Britons 


Think Tory Ministers Have 


Right Policies on NHS


February 24th, 4:25pm (FNA)


 


 Just 10% of Britons think ministers have the right policies 


on the NHS --- though public support for the service’s


 founding principles remains strong, according 


to new polling.


 


The proportion of voters across the UK who believe that


 ministers are tackling the NHS’s many problems in the 


right way is lowest in England, at 8% – a record low, 


The Guardian reported.


 


It is higher in both Scotland (28%) and Wales (19%). However, 


across the UK as a whole just one in 10 people thinks the 


government is taking the right approach to the NHS.


 


The notable lack of public confidence in ministers’ handling of


 the health service emerged in a survey that pollsters Ipsos 


undertook for the Health Foundation thinktank.


 


“That public confidence in the government’s handling of the


 NHS has reached a new low should ring alarm bells in


 No 10,” said Tim Gardner, a senior policy fellow at 


the Health Foundation.


 


In a series of gloomy conclusions that reveal dwindling


 confidence in and growing public concern about the 


NHS, Ipsos also found that:


 


Only 33% think the NHS is providing a good service, a lot


 fewer than the 43% who said it was when the survey 


was last done in May 2022.


 


62% fear that the standard of NHS care will get worse over


the next year – a big jump from the 39% who said that last


year. 74% expect the already serious pressure placed 


on NHS staff --- will intensify.


 


However, the research also shows that 90% think the NHS


 should remain free at the point of delivery, 89% back it 


being a comprehensive service, that is available to 


everyone and 84% believe it should be mainly


 funded through taxation.


 


Some right-of-centre thinktanks and commentators, as well as


 the former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, have recently called 


for a rethink of how the NHS is funded and organised. 


 


However, Ipsos found that 82% of voters think the NHS needs 


more money in order to function better. That view is shared


 across all age groups, the four home nations and among


 both Labour (94%) and Conservative (63%) voters.


 


“There is no evidence voters want a radical change to the


 NHS model; they just want the current one to work
better,”
 said Gardner.


 


NHS bosses and experts are worried that satisfaction with the


 NHS is falling, especially as a result of long waiting times to


 see a GP, get an ambulance, receive A&E care, or mental 


health treatment, or undergo an operation.


 


Research published last year by the King’s Fund and Nuffield


 Trust thinktanks found that public satisfaction with the 


health service had fallen to its lowest level since 1997.


 


Their finding of significant dissatisfaction with the time taken


 to get an appointment with a GP is borne out by Ipsos’s new 


research, which found that 44% think it takes to long to see 


a family doctor and 43% believe that it is too hard to book


 an appointment.


 


“This polling shows the NHS is being let down by government


 inaction, which is contributing to reduced public confidence,


 while support for the founding principles of the NHS remains


 strong,” said Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS


 Confederation, which represents care providers in England, 


Wales and Northern Ireland.


 


The Department of Health and Social Care said, “We are


 committed to ensuring that the NHS is here for people 


to give them the healthcare they need.... when they 


need it. That is why we are building a sustainable 


NHS, with patients at its centre – backed by up 


to £14.1bln for health and social care over the


 next two years, on top of record funding."


 


“Our urgent and emergency care recovery plan, seeks to


 deliver the prime minister (Rishi Sunak)’s priority, to cut


 waiting lists, whilst reducing pressure on hospitals, by 


scaling up community teams, expanding virtual wards, 


and getting 800 new ambulances on the road – on top 


of £750mln to speed up hospital discharge and free 


up beds this winter,” it added.


 


 


___________________________________





Survey: European Countries 

Face Continued Medicine 

Shortages

January 31st  1:57pm (FNA)

 

 European countries are still experiencing a high incidence

 of medicine shortages, with a deteriorating burdensome

 impact on patients, according to a recent survey.

 

The Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU)

 conducted a survey with pharmacies in 29 countries, 

including EU members, Turkey, Norway, and North 

Macedonia, Anadolu news agency reported.

 

The survey results showed that the medicine shortages

 in most European countries worsened substantially 

compared to last year.

 

More than 600 drugs are scarce...  in a quarter of these

 countries, while 20% reported 200-300 drug shortages, 

it said.

 

Three-quarters of the countries reported that the

shortages were worse this winter, compared to 

a year ago.

 

The survey also showed... that the most difficult drugs to 

be obtained in pharmacies across Europe are especially,

 amoxicillin group antibiotics used in the treatment
of respiratory tract infections, cough syrups used
in 
treating pediatric diseases, paracetamol in 
syrup form, and some blood pressure drugs.

 

The reason for the drug problem is a decline

 in supply --- despite a surging demand.

 

Seasonal infections, especially influenza and respiratory 

syncytial virus (RSV), started early and progressed 

stronger than normal, in European countries 

this year.

 

Experts say weaker immune systems are related to 

COVID-19 lockdowns as people were not exposed

 to some viruses during this period.

 

Pharmaceutical manufacturers are also unprepared for the 

high demand in the face of increasing infections, with
the 
energy crisis in Europe and the rising raw
material 
prices, affecting production.

 




__________________________________________






The doctor explained...
the 
most useful snack 


for elderly people


January 21st, 11:30pm


(Izvestia.ru)


 


Dietitian Mikhail Ginzburg said on January 20th,


that a fermented milk drink, with muesli and 


apple, or a vegetable salad combined with 


grain bread, is the best snack for 


the elderly.


 


"The most healthy snack for the elderly, is one that 


contains sour-milk drinks and cereals, such as 


muesli. Also, in this snack, it is very good to 


eat an apple. There may be vegetables, 


some kind of vegetable salad, or 


vegetable slicing. Coarse bread, 


grain bread, bread with bran," 


the doctor said, in an 


interview with 


Moskva 24.


 


According to the nutritionist, this meal contains
everything 
that the body needs ---- dietary fibre,
probiotics, vitamins &
 complex carbohydrates.


 


As Ginzburg noted, nutrition enriched with
all the necessary
 elements protects the
body from the deterioration of age-


related diseases.


 


Earlier, on January 13th, dietitian Elena Solomatina said that


 turkey is the most useful product for the nervous system of


 the elderly. According to her, the meat of this bird is rich in


 B vitamins, the lack of which often affects older people, 


which can cause them to have an unsteady gait, 


or dizziness.


 


 


___________________________________________



Fentanyl deaths of children

 under 14 surging – Report

by Pavel López Lazo

January 19th, 4:08pm

(Prensa Latina) 

 

The United States has reported an accelerated increase

 in deaths of children under 14 --- due To fentanyl 

poisoning, according to a new report from 

Families Against Fentanyl (FAF), a 

nonprofit spreading awareness 

about the deadly opioid.

  

Between 2019 and 2021, synthetic opioid fatalities led by

 fentanyl poisonings among U.S. children under 14 years 

old increased faster than among any other U.S. age 

group, according to an FAF analysis of Centres 

for Disease Control and Prevention data.

 

Infant fentanyl deaths increased twice as fast between 2019

 and 2021. Fentanyl deaths among toddlers between the 

ages of 1 and 4 more than tripled, and deaths among 

children between the ages of 5 and 14 nearly 

quadrupled, according to FAF.

 

In many cases, the drug is ingested without the person’s

 knowledge. People are taking pills — such as at parties 

— not knowing the pills are counterfeit and heavily 

laced with fentanyl.

 

Two milligrams of fentanyl, which is the size of a mosquito, 

is enough to kill an adult. The CDC said more than 100,000 

people died of a drug overdose in 2021, and more than 

65,000 of those deaths, were linked to fentanyl.

 

Americans 25 to 44 accounted for 53.2% of the total 

number of fentanyl deaths in the U.S. in 2021.

 

Fentanyl spread across the United States in recent years 

and is the latest wave of a drug crisis started with 

addictive painkillers and followed by heroin.

 

The Drug Enforcement Administration warned that Fentanyl

 is the deadliest narcotic nationwide and according to 

federal agents 379 million potentially deadly doses 

were intercepted in 2022.

 

Image: the importance of sleep for health


 

The clinical psychologist ---
spoke on 
the importance
of sleep --- for health

January 18th, 8:20pm

(Izvestia.ru)

 

Olesya Tolstukhina, a clinical psychologist at the Doctor Next

 Medical technology company, said in a conversation with

 Izvestia on January 18th, that regular full — fledged 

sleep is an extremely important element of mental 

and physical health.

 

"During sleep, many processes in the nervous system 

are stabilized, as well as physical stabilization and

 regeneration in internal organs. When the sleep 

regime fails, the psyche suffers first of all, a 

prolonged lack of normal sleep can 

indicate the beginning of

psychotic states," 

she said.

 

According to Tolstukhina, the longer a person is without 

sleep, the more severe the consequences: the body's 

key life support systems fail.

 

"Severe changes in brain tissue critically reduce 

immunity, the body is depleted to the point of 

death," the expert warned.

 

She noted that with complaints of disturbed sleep, you 

should contact a neurologist or psychiatrist to find out 

the causes of sleep problems, as they may be 

psychological or organic.

 

Earlier in the day in Moscow, a 16-year-old teenager died 

from a rare form of insomnia, which refers to incurable

 hereditary diseases.

 

Candidate of Medical Sciences, neurologist-somnologist 

Elena Tsareva told Izvestia on January 18th about how 

to recognize the symptoms of the rarest form of 

insomnia — fatal family insomnia, which 

caused the death of a teenager.

 

According to her, the key signs that insomnia has a deadly

 form are the complete inability of a person to fall asleep 

and the lack of response to sleeping pills due to the

 fact that the disease changes the structure of 

the brain.

 

 

____________________________________________







US Guards Use Pepper Spray, Stun
Guns --- to Subdue Prisoners 

in Mental Health Crisis

January 3rd, 1:49pm (FNA)




 Prison guards in the US state of Pennsylvania use

 aggressive and distressing tactics to subdue

 prisoners with mental health illness, who 

may not be able to comply with orders,

 an investigation found.




According to a joint probe by WITF and NPR that

 looked at 456 incidents from 25 county jails in

 Pennsylvania, nearly 1 in 3 "use of force" 

incidents.. involved a person who was 

having a mental health crisis or who 

had a known mental illness during 

the last quarter of 2021.




In many cases, guards used weapons like stun guns

 and pepper spray... to control and subdue such

 prisoners despite the fact that their severe

 psychiatric conditions meant they may 

have been unable to follow orders — 

or even understand what was 

going on.




Most uses of force in prisons don't lead to death, but

 the practices employed by prison guards every day

 in county jails can put prisoners and staff at risk 

of injury.




“There are always going to be use-of-force incidents 

at the prison," Dauphin County Spokesman Brett 

Hambright told NPR.




And Craig Haney, a psychology professor, says some

 of those mentally ill inmates are being traumatized.




“Some mentally ill prisoners are so traumatized by the

 abuse that they never recover, some are driven to

 suicide, and others are deterred from bringing

 attention to their mental health problems 

because reporting these issues often 

results in harsher treatment," 

Cruz said.




Correctional authorities, however, claim the use of

 physical force is an important option to prevent

 violence between inmates, or violence 

against guards themselves.




Records kept by correctional officers at the 25

 Pennsylvania county jails, however, show that

 just 10% of "use of force" incidents were in 

response to a prisoner assaulting 

someone else.




Records also show one in five uses of force — 

88 incidents — involved a prisoner who was 

either attempting suicide, hurting them

selves or threatening self-harm.




Pamela Rollings-Mazza, who provides medical and

 behavioural services at about 35 county jails in

 Pennsylvania, says her team frequently sees 

people come to jail -- who are "not reality-

based" due to psychiatric illness, and 

can't understand or comply with 

basic orders.




In one of such “use of force” incidents in a jail in

 Harrisburg county in Pennsylvania, a prisoner 

with mental health proble...., Ishmail 

Thompson, was killed after a guard 

covered his head with a hood and 

put him in a restraint chair, 

strapping down his arms 

and legs.




Some 20 minutes later, an officer noticed something

 wrong with Thompson's breathing. He was rushed 

to the hospital, but 5 days later, Thompson died.




The district attorney.. declined to 

bring charges against the officer.




According to experts, prison is not an appropriate

 setting for treating serious mental illness.




Currently there are thousands of local jails across

 the US, and they depend on the local and state

 governments... that set correctional policies, 

and that fund — or fail to fund — the mental 

health services that could keep vulnerable 

people out of jail in the first place.







_____________________________________





UK Chancellor Admits NHS

 Is on Brink of Collapse 

After 12 Years of 

Tory Rule

November 13th,  4:44pm (FNA)

 

 UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Sunday admitted 

the NHS is on the brink of collapse, after 

12 years of Tory rule.

 

The Chancellor warned... “we’re all going to be paying 

a bit more tax”, as he unveils his Autumn Statement 

Budget on Thursday, The Daily Mirror reported.

 

Reports suggest he will cut the £150,000 threshold for

45p tax to £125,000 to generate £1.3billion a year,

and cut energy bills support from £60bln in the

current six months, to just £20bln... in the 

six months afterwards.

 

But health leaders have demanded extra funds 

for the NHS --- amid record waiting times.

 

He was told by Sky News presenter Sophy Ridge that

 “Frankly this doesn't look like a health service that 

can find efficiency savings - this looks like a 

health service that is on the brink 

of collapse”.

 

The top Tory, a former Health Secretary and ex-

chairman of the Commons Health Select 

Committee, replied, “There are massive

 pressures in the NHS."

 

"Obviously --- it’s something I know very well, from

previous jobs I’ve done, and I think that doctors, 

nurses, on the frontline, are, frankly, under 

unbearable pressure --- so I do recognise 

the picture you say" he said --- adding, 

"It’s also true there is a lot of money 

going into the NHS.”

 

NHS England figures showed a record 43,792 people 

waited longer than 12 hours in October, from
decision to admit, to actually being

admitted on to a ward.

 

These ‘trolley waits’ were up a staggering 34% 

from 32,776 in September - the highest since 

records began in 2010.

 

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said, “Public 

services are already on their knees - seven 

million people are waiting for an NHS 

operation or support.”

 

It came as Hunt admitted he will be a “Scrooge”

 in his Autumn Statement on Thursday with

 no "rabbits out of the hat”.

 

He refused to deny it would mark a “return 

to austerity”, replying --- there will be 

“difficult decisions” and “we will 

be asking everyone for 

sacrifices”.

 

He warned he won’t be offering “motherhood and

 apple pie” or "cakeism" - an accusation he laid 

at Boris Johnson’s door.

 

The Chancellor... is eyeing up £33bln a year of 

spending cuts and £21bln a year of tax rises

 by 2027 in a bid to balance the books.

 

Echoing George Osborne’s austerity rhetoric, he 

tried to claim the nation’s finances were like a

 family budget - despite the £2.4trillion 

national debt.

 

“We are going to see everyone paying more tax, 

we are going to see spending cuts”, he told 

the BBC.

 

Speaking to Sky he added, “Families have to make

 sure that in the end, they can pay their bills. They

 don't just max out on their credit card without 

having any way of repaying those debts. It's

 just the same for countries - and we have

 to do that."

 

“Because if we want to put more money into the NHS,

 if we want to help people who are going to find it 

very, very difficult this winter,..then we need to 

have the resources to do that and that means 

we have to take difficult decisions even at 

moments like this,” he added.

 

The Chancellor will slash back the Energy Price

Guarantee - which limits average annual bills

to £2,500 - from April ---- after warning it is 

costing the same as “an entire 

second NHS”.

 

On Sunday, more details emerged of what that 

will cost Brits, as it is limited to only the very

 most vulnerable.

 

The scheme is costing about £60bln between 

October and March, but the Sunday reports

 it may cost only £20bln in the six months 

afterwards.

 

Treasury officials have discussed the average 

bill going up from £2,500 to between £2,850 

and £3,100.

 

That could mean a £600 rise on current bills, 

and a rise of nearly £2,000 a year since 2021.

 

Hunt said, “We don't want anyone, not to be able

 to afford to heat their home over this winter or

 indeed future winters."

 

"But in the long run, what you need is a plan that

 means we don't need to have to give very, very

 expensive support as taxpayers,” he added.

 

He added, “We need to recognise there's only so 

much you can ask from people on the very 

lowest incomes so that will be reflected 

in the decisions that I take.”

 

But he rejected striking nurses' demands for a 17% 

pay rise, which his Health Secretary blasted as

 "neither reasonable nor affordable".

 

Hunt said, “I think we have to recognise a difficult

 truth that if we gave everyone inflation-proof pay

 rises, inflation would stay, we wouldn't bring 

down inflation.”

 

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said “it’s a badge 

of shame”.. that nurses are staging their first ever 

nationwide strike in England, but also refused

 to commit to a 17% pay rise.

 

She said "I’m not going to pluck numbers out of the

 air" and "it’s up to the pay review bodies to work 

with the unions", despite the fact the pay review

 bodies have already reported back and it's up 

to the government.

 

Reeves said, “I don't believe that austerity 2.0 after

 the austerity that we've gone through for the last 

12 years... is the right approach.”

 

She said she would close tax loopholes on “big 

global multinationals” to bring in £7billion a year.

 

She also repeated Labour’s pledge to levy 45% 

capital gains tax on private equity fund 

managers, instead of the current 28%.

 

 

_________________________________________

 


Italy eliminates sanctions 

against anti-vaccine 

health personnel

by Ana Luisa Brown

October 28th, 3:38pm 

 (Prensa Latina) 

 

The Italian Health Ministry announced today 

that sanctions against doctors, nurses and 

other health personnel, imposed for their 

refusal to be vaccinated against 

Covid-19  ---  will no longer
be 
in effect.

 

The new Italian Health Minister, Orazio Schillaci, made 

the announcement on Friday and added that, data on

 those infected and deceased as a result of the 

disease will no longer be published on a daily 

basis, as has been the case up to now.

 

According to the communiqué, the health authorities

 consider it necessary to initiate a gradual return to

 normality, although they call for responsible 

behaviour, in compliance with the rules 

still in force.

 

The suspension of employment for non-compliance with

 the vaccination obligation is revoked ‘in view of the

 expiration of the provisions in force on December 

31st and the worrying shortage of medical

 personnel’, the document states.

 

Schillaci also announced the creation of a 

commission of inquiry ‘to clarify what 

happened from the administrative 

point of view’ --- regarding the 

expenses incurred... by the 

previous administration, 

to face Covid-19.

 

And in Wales?


Image: Hearing Discovery Reveals Ear Architecture That Turns Vibration into Sound


 

Hearing Discovery -- Reveals 

Ear Architecture That Turns 

Vibration into Sound

October 17th, 1:31pm (FNA)

 

 In what’s described as a breakthrough decades in the

 making, scientists at Oregon State Health & Science

 University (OHSU) have revealed the inner ear

 architecture that converts vibrations into 

sound, in near-atomic detail.

 

The ability of the ear to turn vibrations into the

 sensation of sound... is facilitated by an inner 

structure, called the mechanosensory trans-

duction complex. Despite its critical role in 

human hearing, the composition of this 

structure & mechanisms that underly 

its function... have remained poorly 

understood.

 

“This is the last sensory system in which that 

fundamental molecular machinery has 

remained unknown,” said senior 

author of the new study Eric 

Gouaux. 

 

“The molecular machinery that carries out this

 absolutely amazing process has been 

unresolved for decades.”

 

The team’s work involved the roundworm

 Caenorhabditis elegans, a popular model 

for scientists as the creature shares a 

similar genome and many cellular 

pathways with humans. 

 

The scientists spent five years ---- studying more than

60 million worms through cryo-electron microscopy, 

an emerging technique used to create 3D

 reconstructions of proteins.

 

This enabled the scientists to piece together the

 protein complex that turns vibrations into the 

electrical impulses our brain recognizes as 

sound. The highly detailed portrait of this

 intricate biological architecture.. was a
long time coming, according to fellow 

OHSU hearing scientist, Peter 

Barr-Gillespie, who wasn’t 

directly involved in

 the research.

 

“The auditory neuroscience field.. has been waiting for

 these results, for decades, and now that they are right

 here - we are ecstatic,” he said. “The results from this

 paper immediately suggest new avenues of research, 

and so will invigorate the field for years to come.”

 

Because hearing loss can came about through genetic

mutations that change the proteins making up the

mechanosensory transduction complex... an 

ability to now visualize the protein complex 

may present new ways to counter

 the mutations.

 

“It immediately suggests mechanisms by which one 

might be able to compensate for those deficits,” 

said senior author Eric Gouaux. “If a mutation 

gives rise to a defect in the transduction 

channel that causes hearing loss, it’s

 possible to design a molecule that 

fits into that space and rescues 

the defect. Or it may mean we 

can strengthen interactions,

 that have been weakened.”

 

 

Image: Are Smartwatch Health Apps to Detect Atrial Fibrillation Smart Enough? October 13th, 2:25pm (FNA) Extended cardiac monitoring in patients and the use of implantable cardiovascular electronic devices can increase detection of atrial fibrillation (


 

 

Are Smartwatch Health Apps 

to Detect Atrial Fibrillation 

Smart Enough?

October 13th,  2:25pm (FNA)

 

 Extended cardiac monitoring in patients and the use 

of implantable cardiovascular electronic devices can

 increase detection of atrial fibrillation (AF), but the

 devices have limitations including short battery 

life and lack of immediate feedback. 

 

Can new smartphone tools that can record an

 electrocardiogram (ECG) strip and make an 

automated diagnosis overcome these 

limitations and facilitate timely 

diagnosis? 

 

The largest study to date, in the Canadian Journal of 

Cardiology, published by Elsevier, finds that the use 

of these devices is challenging in patients with

 abnormal ECGs. Better algorithms and 

machine learning may help these tools 

provide more accurate diagnoses, 

investigators say.

 

"Earlier studies have validated the accuracy of the

 Apple Watch for the diagnosis of AF in a limited 

number of patients with similar clinical profiles,"

 explained lead investigator Marc Strik, MD, PhD, 

LIRYC institute, Bordeaux University Hospital, 

Bordeaux, France. "We tested the accuracy 

of the Apple Watch ECG app to detect AF 

in patients with a variety of coexisting 

ECG abnormalities."

 

The study included 734 consecutive hospitalized

 patients. Each patient underwent a 12-lead ECG,

 immediately followed by a 30-second Apple 

Watch recording. The smartwatch's 

automated single-lead ECG AF 

detections were classified as 

"no signs of atrial fibrillation,"

 "atrial fibrillation," or 

"inconclusive reading." 

 

Smartwatch recordings were given to an

 electrophysiologist who conducted a 

blinded interpretation, assigning each 

tracing a diagnosis of "AF," "absence 

of AF," or "diagnosis unclear." 

 

A second blinded electrophysiologist interpreted 

100 randomly selected traces to determine the 

extent to which the observers agreed.

 

In approximately one in every five patients --- the 

smartwatch ECG failed to produce an automatic

 diagnosis. The risk of having a false positive

 automated AF detection was higher for 

patients with premature atrial and 

ventricular contractions (PACs/

PVCs), sinus node dysfunction, 

and second- or third-degree 

atrioventricular-block.

 

 For patients in AF, the risk of having a false negative

 tracing (missed AF) was higher for patients with

 ventricular conduction abnormalities (inter-

ventricular conduction delay) or rhythms 

controlled by an implanted pacemaker.

 

The cardiac electrophysiologists... had a high level of 

agreement for differentiation between AF and non-AF.

 The smartphone app correctly identified 78% of the

 patients who were in AF and 81% who were not in 

AF. The electrophysiologists identified 97% of the 

patients who were in AF and 89% who were not.

 

Patients with PVCs were three times more likely to have

 false positive AF diagnoses from the smartwatch ECG, 

and the identification of patients with atrial 

tachycardia (AT) and atrial flutter (AFL) 

was very poor.

 

"These observations are not surprising, as smartwatch

 automated detection algorithms are based solely on

 cycle variability," Dr. Strik noted, explaining that 

PVCs cause short and long cycles, which 

increase cycle variability. 

 

"Ideally, an algorithm would better discriminate 

between PVCs and AF. Any algorithm limited to

 the analysis of cycle variability will have poor 

accuracy in detecting AT/AFL. Machine 

learning approaches may increase 

the smartwatch AF detection 

accuracy in these patients."

 

In an accompanying editorial, Andrés F. Miranda-

Arboleda, MD, and Adrian Baranchuk, MD, 

Division of Cardiology at Kingston Health 

Science Centre, Kingston, ON, Canada, 

observed that this is the first "real-

world" study focusing on the use 

of the Apple Watch as a 

diagnostic tool for AF.

 

"It is of remarkable importance because it allowed us

 to learn the performance of the Apple Watch in the

 diagnosis of AF is significantly affected by the

 presence of underlying ECG abnormalities. 

In a certain manner, the smartwatch 

algorithms for the detection of AF in 

patients with cardiovascular 

conditions are not yet smart 

enough. But they may soon 

be," Dr. Miranda-Arboleda 

and Dr. Baranchuk said.

 

"With the growing use of smartwatches in medicine, 

it is important to know which medical conditions 

and ECG abnormalities could impact and alter 

the detection of AF by the smartwatch... in 

order to optimize the care of our patients,"

 Dr Strik said. "Smartwatch detection of 

AF has great potential, but it is more 

challenging.... in patients with 

pre-existing cardiac disease."

 

Image: bRITISH WOMEN MORE DEPRESSED OVER COST OF LIVING CRISIS


British women ‘more depressed 

than men’ over cost-of-living 

crisis: Poll

October 7th,  2:30pm

(PressTV)

 

Women in the UK are more worried than men about 

paying bills and household expenses and are more 

depressed than men when faced with financial 

crises, according to the findings of a survey.

 

The survey was conducted by YouGov, a charity and

 representative of British psychologists in the UK 

between September 6 and 7.

 

The results of the survey showed that 61% of women

 compared to 47% of men are more worried about 

paying their bills compared to last year.

 

Also, 3 out of 10 women said that financial worries

 make them feel depressed. This rate is 26% in men.

 

The results of the research show that women are more

 worried about meeting household expenses in the

 coming year, including paying energy bills (77%

 of women and 65% of men).

 

Julia Faulconbridge, official psychologist and a member 

of the clinical psychology department of the British

 Psychological Society (BPS) said: “We know 

women often shoulder more of the childcare

 and home responsibilities and are more 

likely to be in low-paid and insecure 

work, increasing their chances of 

being hit by rising prices, and 

subsequently experiencing 

greater anxiety, stress 

and worry.”

 

“There is a clear causal link between living in poverty

 and mental health difficulties,” she said. “We know 

that the stress of raising a family in poverty can 

have a huge impact on parents’ mental health 

and that poverty is one of the major risk 

factors for the development of mental 

and physical health problems 

in children.”

 

“This is magnified in a single-parent household, which

 is why we urgently need the Government to confirm

 they will support those who need it most by 

uprating benefits in line with inflation.”

 

The BPS is joining a range of organizations and 

politicians calling on the government to 

increase benefits in line with inflation.

 

The UK government has not ruled out actual

reductions in benefits, as reports suggest

payments could increase in line with 

average income increases.

 

The decision is expected to be made in 

November .....and implemented in April.

 

 

____________________________________________



 


Physiotherapist spoke 


about the 'dangers' of


 heavily roasted coffee


 for digestion...


 September 30th, 4:21pm,


(Lenta.ru)


 


Doctor Philip Glubokov: strongly roasted 


coffee depresses digestion.


 


Heavily roasted coffee can depress digestion, warned 


the physiotherapist Philip Glubokov in an interview 


with the"Fifth Channel".


 


Glubokov referred to the opinion of scientists, about the 


different effects of roasting coffee on digestion. "There 


is evidence that coffee of different degrees of roasting


 has different effects on digestion. For example, 


strongly roasted coffee, can slightly depress 


digestion, make it slower, while coffee with 


a lighter roast will, on the contrary, speed 


up digestion," the physiotherapist said 


about the harm of the drink.


 


Therefore, Glubokov continued, it is not necessary to


 combine strong coffee with full meals — it is better


 to use it in between meals.


 


Earlier, the doctor Monica Wassermann warned 


about the dangers of coffee. According to her, 


drinking coffee can increase the risk of 


blood clots.


 


 


________________________________________


Endocrinologist named lard 

and pumpkin products --- to 


support the immune system


September 21st, 2022, 11:03pm


(Izvestia.ru)


 


Lard, pumpkin, sunflower seeds and kefir will help


 strengthen the immune system, said Elena


 Evdokimova, an endocrinologist and a


member of the Russian Association 


of Endocrinologists and the 


European Association for 


the Study of Diabetes.


 Writes " Gazeta.Ru", 


September 21st.


 


According to the doctor, fat, thanks to a large amount 


of arachidonic acid, helps prevent viral diseases and 


strengthens the immune system. Kefir fungi, which 


are contained in kefir, help to normalize the 


microflora, and vitamin D, which is also 


contained in it, is a source of protein 


that is easily absorbed in the body.


 


"Another product with non-obvious benefits is pumpkin. 


It contains a huge amount of carotenoids and trace 


elements, which greatly strengthen the immune 


system. Many dishes made from pumpkin are 


useful: juice, mashed potatoes, cream soup, 


as well as baked pumpkin," 


says Evdokimova.


 


Also, peeled sunflower seeds have a beneficial effect


 on the immune system. Seeds contain a lot of fat-


soluble vitamins A, D and E, as well as a large 


number of minerals ---- that have


 immunomodulatory effects.


 


On the same day, hepatologist Alexandra Yakovleva


 also spoke about the benefits of using fat. 


 


According to the doctor, the fats present in fat


 contribute to the formation of a protective 


film on the surface of the lungs.


 


 


_________________________________________





China creates mask with sensors

 --- capable of detecting viruses

by Aleynes Palacios Hurtado

September 21st, 11:07am

 (Prensa Latina)

 

 Chinese scientists have developed a face mask that

 has sensors, uses a rechargeable lithium battery 

and can detect different types of viruses, 

including SARS-CoV-2, which causes 

Covid-19, CGTN reported 

on Wednesday.

 

The face mask was developed by professionals at

 Shanghai’s Tongji University --- and the built-in 

system allows the wearer know if he or she

 is exposed to pathogens ...such as the 

common flu, H5N1 & H1N1 influenza.

 

The device sends alert signals wirelessly to cell 

phones and works best in enclosed spaces 

with poor ventilation, such as elevators.

 

To test its effectiveness, its creators sprayed virus-

laden liquid on it, simulating scenarios with 

people talking and coughing.

 

As part of its strategy to fight Covid-19, China 

maintains the mandatory use of face masks, 
to access any public place and most people

keep it on, even if they walk in the street
in 
the open air.

 

Since October 10th, 2021 and until the end of October, 

2022, the government put into effect new adjustments

 to the sanitary mechanism, also coinciding with the

 week of holidays for its National Day and the

 celebration of the 20th Communist 

Party Congress.

 

The changes imply that all provinces require
the
 population to present negative results
of 
RT-PCR test taken 48 hours before 

boarding any means of public 

transportation, that is, a
bus, 
train, plane or ferry.

 

 

__________________________________

 



Pfizer Isn’t Sharing.... COVID

Vaccines with Researchers 

for Next-Gen Studies

September 8th, 12:37pm  (FNA)

 

Researchers studying next-generation vaccines to fight 

an evolving Covid-19 threat, are running into problems

 getting existing vaccines to use in their research.

 

Because Pfizer and Moderna hold the patents for the 

current vaccines, researchers would likely have to 

get the companies’ permission to use them for 

research into products like nasal or pan-

coronavirus vaccines. 

 

Right now, Pfizer isn’t sharing its vaccines for research

purposes, a spokesperson confirmed to STAT. 

Moderna, didn’t comment when we asked.

 

Some university researchers argue the posture slows

 global progress toward more effective vaccines in 

the future, especially since the United States has

 already wasted tens of millions of doses of the 

Covid-19 vaccines.

 

Yale University virologist and immunologist Akiko

 Iwasaki has designed a study of nasal vaccines

 against Covid-19, which - she argues - could 

provide better protection against infection

 and transmission than shots alone. 

 

The ideal study would be conducted on subjects that 

have already had a primary vaccine series, to 

simulate real-world scenarios. She inquired 

with Pfizer about obtaining some vaccine

 to use in her study of nasal vaccines, 

but has not received any.

 

“In order for us to develop a better vaccine -- we need 

a comparator. For that reason, everyone who’s doing

 research in this area is in the same boat, we don’t 

have access to do a comparison,” Iwasaki said.

 

California Institute of Technology professor Pamela

 Bjorkman said her lab has had similar troubles 

obtaining existing Covid-19 vaccines, that 

would otherwise be discarded, in order 

to research a vaccine candidate that

 could provide protection against a

 variety of Covid-19 variants.

 

“Whatever policy prevents using such vials, does a

 great disservice to global efforts to develop new 

and improved vaccines,” Bjorkman said.

 

When asked whether Pfizer has provided any vaccines

 for research purposes, spokesperson Sharon Castillo

 said, “We are not accepting or reviewing 

applications for possible clinical 

research that studies the 

Covid-19 vaccine.”

 

 

 

Image: COVID godfather prepares to start a new career chapter



COVID godfather prepares to 

start a new career chapter

September 1st, 3:08pm

https://en.news-front.info/

 

Coronavirus fine-tuning takes place 

in US biolaboratories --- in Ukraine.

 

President Biden’s top medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci, 

dubbed Dr Evil, has announced he is stepping down 

next December to “continue the next chapter” of 

his career: “I am announcing today, that I am 

stepping down.. as director of the National 

Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases 

(NIAID) and head of the NIAID immuno-

regulation laboratory and as chief 

medical adviser to President
Joe 
Biden.''


The departure of Fauci, 
one of the protagonists
of the 
recent world-wide “pandemic” 

is no small event.

 

One of America’s most prominent political

 commentators, Tucker Carlson, told Fox 

News that “for the last two years, Fauci 

recommended treatments & preventive 

measures against COVID that did

 not work.''

 

 ''He admitted to the New York Times, that he lied about

 collective immunity in order to sell more vaccines…

 which really weren’t even vaccines and have 

hurt tens of thousands of people.''

 

The report of the placebo vaccines turned out to be just

 one of the information bombs. Global Research says: 

“It’s been almost a year since the FDA (U.S. Food and

 Drug Administration) gave full approval to Pfizer’s

 COVID mRNA injection… Many will be surprised 

to learn that this particular vaccine in FDA-

approved form never actually existed and 

never will. The widely touted --- ''FDA'' 

approval by the Biden administration 

was just a sleight of hand. It was a 

bureaucratic sham.”

 

The U.S. government ran a drug campaign, deceiving

 citizens into giving them vaccinations --- that the

 authorities assured them were FDA-approved.

 In fact, everyone in America has been 

administered and continues to be 

administered, another version of

 the vaccine with what is known 

as an “Emergency Use 

Authorisation” (EUA). 

 

The FDA-approved Comirnaty vaccine has 

never been available to Americans.

 

Fauci lied not only about vaccines, but also about 

quarantine, about self-isolation, about masks:

“You have to wear masks when you cycle, 

you get too much life-enhancing oxygen. 

What you really need, is more carbon 

dioxide.” This Dr Evil spelled it out 

publicly. And, privately, he was 

saying that:- “the usual mask 

you buy at the drugstore is

 actually ineffective in 

protecting against

 the virus”.

 

When Fauci testified under oath before 

Congress, he concealed that he had 

helped create the coronavirus:

 

Senator RAND PAUL: ''Dr. Fauci, knowing that it is a 

crime to lie to Congress, do you want to withdraw 

your May 11 statement where you claimed that

 the NIH [National Institutes of Health], never 

funded the Wuhan enhancement research?''

 

FAUCHI: ''Senator Paul, I have never lied to Congress and

 I am not retracting that statement. That document 

you referred to is qualified by staff at all levels

 as ineffective…''

 

RAND PAUL: ''You take an animal virus and enhance its 

ability to be transmitted to humans. Are you saying 

that’s not enhancing the function?''

 

The Intercept... spoke to virologist, Vincent Racaniello, 

professor of microbiology & immunology at Columbia 

University. “There is no doubt,” said Ricaniello, “that

 the weight loss in the mice in the study is a gain of

 function. Tony Fauci is wrong to say it is not.”

 Fauci was yowling and wiggling his way 

through the conversation to interpret 

the term “gain of function,” and 

The Intercept reports:

 

''Scientists working under an NIH grant, to the

Environmental Health Alliance to study bat 

corona viruses (2014) --- combined 

genetic material from the parent 

coronavirus -- known as WIV1, 

with other viruses.'' 

 

They produced more potent viruses 

--- and Fauci supervised the work.

 

This kind of work was banned in the US, so the 

experiments were conducted abroad. And not 

just in Wuhan, but in us biolaboratories in
Ukraine. Tucker Carlson writes that:

 

''At some point, someone… will ask the question, 

why are all these bio-laboratories of ours, in 

Ukraine, located everywhere? Ukraine 

does not seem to be a hotbed of 

pharmaceutical research.''

 

In a letter to the House Oversight Committee, NIH 

spokesman Lawrence Tabak wrote that a “limited 

experiment” was conducted in Wuhan to test 

whether -- “spike proteins from natural bat 

coronaviruses circulating in China could 

bind to the human ACE2 receptor, in a 

mouse model”. The finalisation of the 

virus took place --- in Ukrainian 

biolaboratories.

 

In early 2020, Christian Andersen, a virologist at the

 Scripps Institute in La Jolla, California, wrote to 

Fauci about the COVID-19 virus as follows: 

“Some functions (potentially) look 

engineered.” And Nobel laureate 

in medicine, biochemist and 

virologist David Baltimore 

said he had found: 

“incontrovertible 

evidence of the 

artificial origin 

of the virus”.

 

It can be considered established, that the coronavirus

 has been artificially bred. Why is a separate question. 

As for a vaccine against the American-created virus, 

in 2020 Fauci proclaimed that the solution to COVID 

would be remdesivir, a drug produced by the 

pharmaceutical giant. Gilead. 

 

“The time has come” --- declared Dr Evil. 

He only did not say what the time is for.

 

The Biden administration, government health agencies

 and Pfizer have launched a massive PR campaign to

 overcome “indecision on vaccines”. The media 

joined in this campaign. Fake FDA-approved 

status was used to put pressure on private 

companies to get their employees 

vaccinated. And millions of 

Americans were forced to 

vaccinate because they 

could not afford to be 

unemployed.

 

And after a while it was discovered that the mRNA

 drug didn’t work, that it was dangerous for young

 men and wasn’t a vaccine, in its classic 

definition, at all.

 

So the Biden administration first sanctioned the

 creation of the virus -- and then, together with 

Big Tech and Pfizer, tricked Americans into 

taking “FDA approved” vaccines against

 COVID --- that did not exist.

 

by Agniya Krengel, FSC

 

Image: Pictured - UK air pollution The toxicologist told about millions of deaths annually because of polluted air August 21st, 7:30pm (Lenta.ru) Professor, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Ac

Pictured  - UK air pollution

 

The toxicologist --- told about

millions of deaths annually 

because of polluted air

August 21st, 7:30pm  

(Lenta.ru)

 

Professor, Academician of the Russian Academy 

of Natural Sciences, Corresponding Member of 

the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, 

toxicologist Mikhail Kutushov, in an 

interview with Ura.ru --- said that 

every year -- about seven million

people die, due to polluted air. 

 

He explained that death occurs 

due to the diseases caused by 

the environmental situation.

 

"Many people suffer from health problems.... 

especially if they live near large industrial 

facilities, or near busy highways. 

Approximately seven million 

people a year, die from 

polluted air.'' 

 

''It is believed that a third of strokes, and 

other heart diseases -- and lung cancer, 

are caused by a polluted environment. 

Diseases begin with asthma, and

 bronchitis," the specialist said.

 

He noted that, since human lungs work together 

with the heart, diseases begin to worsen in the 

event of air pollution. According to him, the 

main disease that can occur in humans is 

cancer. In addition, cases of asthma or 

chronic bronchitis are common, the 

toxicologist added.

 

Kutushov stressed that the greatest danger for

 residents --- is represented by enterprises 

located within the city limits, that work 

with toxic substances. 

 

He said that it is necessary to move such enterprises

 out of the city, green the city, and people should 

drink more water, as well as eat more 

vegetables and fruits.

 

Formerly, Shanghai, Moscow and Tehran, have 

been named as the cities with the highest 

level of nitrogen dioxide air pollution in 

the world. This is the conclusion 

reached, by the US non-profit 

organization, Health Effects 

Institute - and the research 

institute for Health Metrics 

and Evaluation.

 

FOOTNOTE:

 

86% of UK Towns and Cities 

Fail Air Pollution Tests
- 
Gibbons Group

 


Image: Possible control of type 2 diabetes by rhodiola root say scientists by Elsy Fors Garzon August 17th, 00:11am (Prensa Latina) The extract from the roots of the Rhodiola rosea plant, known as rhodiola, could be effective in helping to control type 2


 

Possible control of type 2 

diabetes by rhodiola root

 say scientists

by Elsy Fors Garzon

August 17th, 00:11am

(Prensa Latina) 

 

The extract from the roots of the Rhodiola rosea plant, 

known as rhodiola, could be effective in helping to

 control type 2 diabetes, a scientific source 

reported today.

 

Experts from the University of California at Irvine, 

United States, found that “it reduced fasting 

blood sugar levels, improved response to

 insulin injections, modulated the 

composition of bacteria in the 

gastrointestinal tract and 

decreased...  several bio-

markers of inflammation”.

 

The team used a genetically engineered mouse 

model that develops obesity, insulin resistance,

 and hyperglycemia, similar to advanced 

human type 2 diabetes.

 

Such a laboratory procedure – specifies the journal 

Scientific Reports – had the objective of verifying

 if rhodiola could improve glucose homeostasis.

 

The extract from the roots of this plant acts through

 changes in the microbiome that lead to an increase

 in the integrity of the intestinal barrier and a lower 

translocation of inflammatory molecules to the

 blood circulation.

 

“The integrity of the intestinal barrier, influences body

 weight and the response to insulin, and could improve

 the responses of liver and muscle tissues to insulin 

produced by the pancreas,” the specialists 

point out.

 

Known as rhodiola, this herb grows in the colder, 

more mountainous regions of Europe and Asia.

 

The golden root, as it is also called in the Scandinavian

 culture and Siberian peoples --- is used to increase

 resistance at work and improve altitude sickness.

 

A clinical trial showed that taking 400 milligrams of

 Rodhiola rosea extract daily for 12 weeks improved

 symptoms of anxiety, exhaustion, and irritability.

 

Its properties are related to two of its active 

ingredients, rosavin and salidroside.


Image: Chinese scientists have found a new way to reduce the risk of heart and vascular diseases August 8th, 7:59pm (trud.ru) For the prevention and treatment of such diseases, it is necessary to reduce the level of lipids in the blood serum and liver. Chi


Chinese scientists have found a 

new way to reduce the risk of 

heart and vascular diseases

August 8th, 7:59pm

(trud.ru)

 

For the prevention and treatment of such diseases, 

it is necessary to reduce the level of lipids in the

 blood serum and liver.

 

Chinese scientists have found that inhibiting the ASGR1

 receptor in the liver can reduce serum and liver lipids, 

thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

 

This was reported on Monday, August 8th, by the

Xinhua news agency, with a link to an article 

published in the journal Nature.

 

As the authors explain, the ASGR1 receptor is

expressed - exclusively - in the liver. Little is 

known about how it affects the metabolism 

of cholesterol, the accumulation of which 

can lead to an increased risk of 

heart disease.

 

 At the same time, reducing the level of lipids is

 necessary for the prevention and treatment 

of these diseases.

 

A research team from Wuhan University in China found

 that inhibition of ASGR1 promotes the elimination of

 cholesterol – with bile and faeces, which reduces 

the level of lipids in the serum and liver.

 

Based on the results of the study, biologists have

 developed a neutralizing anti-ASGR1 antibody 

that can effectively reduce lipid levels, by

 increasing cholesterol excretion.

 

 

___________________________________


 

Russian Defense Ministry 

considers the possibility 

of US involvement in 

the spread of COVID

August 4th, 2:50pm

https://en.news-front.info/

 

The Ministry of Defense of Russia suggests that the United
States was involved in the emergence of the COVID-19
pandemic and its spread in the world.

 

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world,

suggests the deliberate role of US organizations in

 its emergence. This -- was announced at a briefing 

on August 4th, by Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, 

Chief of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological 

Defense Forces of the RF Armed Forces.

 

“We are considering the possibility that the United

 States Agency for International Development 

(USAID) is involved in the emergence of the 

new coronavirus,” Kirillov said.

 

The general recalled the words of the leading expert of 

the authoritative medical journal, The Lancet, Jeffrey 

Sachs, who said in May 2022, that the COVID-19
virus --- was 
artificially created. 

 

Sachs specified that there is a high
probability: 
that US achievements
in the field of 
biotechnology,
were used in 
its creation.

 

 "There is enough evidence, that this should be

investigated, but it is not being investigated,

neither in the United States - nor anywhere

else. I think they (US officials - Gazeta.En) 

don't really want to look too much, under

the carpet," Sachs emphasized.

 

 

Image: The "Achilles heel" of almost all types of cancer, including drug-resistant ones, has been found by Olga Muraya July 31st, 2:05pm (Vesta.ru) New genetic data is helping to better understand t


 

The "Achilles heel" of almost 

all types of cancer, including 

drug-resistant ones, 

has been found

by Olga Muraya

July 31st, 2:05pm 

(Vesta.ru)

 

New genetic data is helping to better understand the

 causes of different types of cancer in humans. 

This, in turn, will help to develop new methods 

of cancer treatment.

 

Medical researchers from several leading institutes 

in the United States have found that at least 70% 

of cancer types and 8% of all individual tumors

 activate a single gene that is normally 

"turned off" in most body tissues.

 

It turns out that scientists have 

discovered a universal cancer switch?

 

So far, the study is improving our understanding of how

 different types of cancer develop. But the team that 

made this discovery has already begun working 

with chemists and biologists to figure out how 

to target this gene with possible 

new treatments.

 

What did the scientists find? It turned out that many

 cancers show abnormal expression of the FOXR2

 gene. This gene is normally expressed 

("switched on") only in the testes —

 the male sex glands.

 

In a further study involving mice that artificially

 activated the FOXR2 gene, it turned out that 

the expression of the gene increases the 

growth rate of brain tumors.

 

The team suspects that FOXR2 may be part of 

a broader scheme in which normally inactive 

testicular genes --- are switched on in 

cancer patients.

 

The authors are already working with other 

laboratories to develop cancer treatments 

that target FOXR2.

 

The study was published in the July 

8th, 2022 issue of Cancer Research.

 

At the same time, scientists from Spain have 

revealed the mechanism by which some 

cancer patients do not respond well 

to treatment.

 

A condition known as multi-drug resistance (MDR) 

can seriously reduce the number of available 

cancer treatment options. However, exactly 

what factors contribute to the development 

of MDR and how it can be controlled...

 remains unclear.

 

The team started by looking at genes that may play 

arole in causing cancer resistance to drugs. To do 

this, the researchers used CRISPR gene editing

technology in mouse stem cells. A gene 

known as FBXW7 quickly caught 

their attention.

 

The researchers found that mutations in the FBXW7

 gene endow cells with resistance to most existing

 drugs, with lower levels of FBXW7 expression

 associated with a poorer response 

to chemotherapy.

 

But importantly, the team also found 

a way to use this feature for good.

 

The researchers found that a drug called tigecycline

 activates a process known as the integrated stress 

response (ISR). This process helps to" clean" cells

 of toxic proteins that are produced due to a 

mutation in the FBXW7 gene.

 

Subsequent tests with other drugs that activate

the ISR... also showed some effectiveness.

 

The work of the Spanish scientists, was 

published in EMBO Molecular Medicine.

 

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_________________________________


 

 

NHS England... Short of 

Tens of Thousands of Staff in
'Greatest Workforce Crisis 

in Its History'

July 25th, 9:30am (FNA)

 

 NHS England is short of tens of thousands of doctors, 

nurses & midwives with the persistent understaffing 

creating a "serious risk to staff and patient safety", 

MPs said in a damning report.

 

Health and social care services in England face “the

 greatest workforce crisis in their history” and the

 government has no credible strategy to make the 

situation better, according to the cross-party 

Health and Social Care Committee, 

ITV reported.

 

Fresh research by the Nuffield Trust shows the NHS in 

England is short of 12,000 hospital doctors and more 

than 50,000 nurses and midwives, revealed in a new 

report from the committee.

 

It said maternity services are “under unsustainable 

pressure”, while the number of full-time equivalent 

GPs also fell by more than 700 over three years,

 to March 2022.

 

Projections suggest an extra 475,000 jobs will be 

needed in health and an extra 490,000 jobs in 

social care... by the early part of the 

next decade.

 

The report said staff are under pressure and the NHS 

loses millions of full-time equivalent days to staff 

sickness caused by anxiety, stress 

and depression.

 

“The result is that many in an exhausted workforce, 

are considering leaving - and if they do pressure will 

increase still further on their colleagues,” the study 

said, adding that some simple things are not in 

lace, such as access to hot food and drink on 

shifts and flexible working.

 

MPs said the government has shown a "marked 

reluctance to act decisively", adding, “The 

workforce plan promised in the spring has 

not yet been published and will be a 

‘framework’ with no numbers, which

 we are told could potentially follow 

in yet another report --- later 

this year.”

 

MPs said that while some progress has been made

 towards a target of recruiting 50,000 nurses, the 

government is set to miss its target to recruit 

6,000 more GPs, as promised in the 

Conservative Party manifesto.

 

“The persistent understaffing of the NHS now poses a 

serious risk to staff and patient safety both for routine

 and emergency care. It also costs more as patients

 present later with more serious illness," it added.

 

“But most depressing for many on the frontline is the

 absence of any credible strategy to address it,” 

it said.

 

MPs said the government’s “refusal” to make

 workforce planning data public “means that 

the basic question which every health and 

care worker is asking: 'are we training 

enough staff to meet patient need?' 

will remain unanswered”.

 

The report also criticises NHS pension arrangements

 which are leading to senior doctors reducing their 

working hours, owing to facing hefty tax bills.

 

More needs to be done on social care worker 

pay to stop people leaving, it added.

 

A separate report by the committee’s panel of 

independent experts rates the government’s 

progress overall to meet key commitments 

it has made on workforce as “inadequate”.

 

Health and Social Care Committee Chairman and Tory

 MP Jeremy Hunt said, “We now face the greatest 

workforce crisis in history in the NHS and in 

social care with still no idea of the number 

of additional doctors, nurses and other 

professionals we actually need."

 

“NHS professionals know there is no silver bullet to

 solve this problem but we should at least be giving

 them comfort that a plan is in place. This must be 

a top priority for the new prime minister,” he added.

 

He told Times Radio that before Brexit, both parties

 believed that if there was a staffing problem, they 

will “fill it with immigration”.

 

The report said almost every part of the NHS was

 suffering staff shortages. On maternity, it said 

552 midwives left in the last year showing a 

“clear problem with midwifery retention”.

 

MPs criticised the government and NHS England for

 failing to set out when safe staffing in maternity 

would be reached, a failure that “demonstrates

 a lack of responsibility” and “is absolutely 

unacceptable”.

 

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, 

which is part of the NHS Confederation, said the

report “once again highlights the extent of the

workforce crisis now facing both the NHS and 

social care”. He said “it is time for a reality 

reset on the NHS”.

 

He added health leaders are “beyond worried that the

 government has shown a sustained reluctance to act

 decisively on NHS and social care staffing and echo

 the Committee’s concerns that the lack of long-term

 planning and investment risks the government’s 

plans to tackle the waiting list backlog and 

poses a serious risk to both staff and 

patient safety”.

 

Patricia Marquis, the Royal College of Nursing’s

 director for England, added, “On pay, the 

committee was very clear saying it is 

unacceptable that some NHS nurses

 are struggling to feed their families,

 pay their rent, and travel to work."

 

“Their recommendation that nursing staff should be

 given a pay rise that takes account of the cost of 

living crisis should make government rethink the 

latest pay deal that follows a decade of, in real 

terms, pay cuts --- that will force even more to 

leave the profession,” she said.

 

Unison General Secretary Christina McAnea said, 

“The government’s had years to improve the 

workforce situation, but has done little."

 

“Only last week ministers could have acted to stop 

the exodus of porters, healthcare assistants and 

other NHS staff with an above-inflation wage 

rise. But chose not to,” she added.

 

Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting 

accused the government of having “utterly 

failed” to address the crisis.

 

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson

said, “We are growing the health and social care

workforce, with over 4,000 more doctors, and 

9,600 more nurses compared to last year, 

and over 1,400 more doctors in general

practice, compared to March 2019."

 

“As we continue to deliver on our commitment to 

recruit 50,000 more nurses by 2024, we are also 

running a £95 million recruitment drive for 

maternity services and providing £500 

million to develop our valued social 

care workforce, including through

 training opportunities and new 

career pathways," the spokes

person added.

 

“We have commissioned NHS England to develop a

 long term workforce plan to recruit and support 

NHS staff while they deliver high quality, safe 

care to patients and help to bust the COVID 

backlogs,” the spokesperson said.



Rhondda Records adds:


and in Wales? Would you bet your life

everything's just fine and dandy???

 




_______________________




Up to 70% of recovered patients

 --- experience post-COVID
conditions,
 expert says

July 22nd, 4:56am (TASS)

 

Up to 70% of recovered coronavirus patients

 experience post-COVID conditions, the 

Russian Health Ministry’s Chief 

Freelance Neurologist Nikolay 

Shamalov, told reporters.

 

"The professional medical community, has been

 discussing the so-called post-COVID syndrome

 recently. In fact, 30 to 70% of recovered 

coronavirus patients experience these 

conditions. The figure ranges because 

experts use various research methods 

but in any case, it is about a large 

number of patients.'' 

 

''When it comes to the post-COVID syndrome, cognitive 

functions are affected in the first place, which concern

 qualities such as memory, attention and speech, as

 well as motor and cognitive skills. Besides, people

 often suffer from headaches, sleep disorders and

 asthenia," Shamalov pointed out.

 

According to the expert, the older the patient, the

 higher the risk of the post-COVID syndrome 

because the coronavirus... often 

exacerbates already existing

 health issues.

 

"When patients notice symptoms of the post-COVID

 syndrome, they should consult a neurologist," 

Shamalov added.

 

Image: Drug overdose epidemic wreaks havoc in the US by Pavel López Lazo June 24th, 3:29pm (Prensa Latina) A drug overdose epidemic kills two people an hour in the US, The New York Times reported on Friday. The report stated that many more people ar

Drug overdose epidemic 

wreaks havoc in the US

by Pavel López Lazo

June 24th, 3:29pm  

 (Prensa Latina) 

 

A drug overdose epidemic kills two people an hour

in the US, The New York Times reported on Friday.

 

The report stated that many more people are 

currently dying in the US of drug overdoses 

than at any other time, Jeneen Interlandi, 

member of the US newspaper’s editorial

 board, stressed.

 

The North American country´s drug overdose death

 rose afresh to record-breaking levels, by exceeding

 100,000 cases per year for the first time in 2021, 

and as of mid-2022, it appears to be increasing 

even much higher (latest figures come out to 

about 300 people per week or over 2 people 

per hour).

 

Interlandi pointed out that it is tempting to see 

such a crisis as the inevitable byproduct of an

 unprecedented moment. The astonishing 

malpractice of the drug industry, the rise 

of economic inequality and the Covid-19 

pandemic conspire to ramp up the drug 

overdose death rate.

 

The analyst said that drug addiction itself is 

as enduring a part of human experience as 

cancer, diabetes or Alzheimer’s.

 

In fact, it is at least as common as any of them. 

And the fact we do not treat it early and 

carefully is not an accident. It’s a 

choice, she pointed out.

 

 

___________________________________


 

What goes around?

‘Playing with fire’: COVID-19 cases in

 US 30 times higher than reported

June 3rd, 7:56am (PressTV)

 

The United States finds itself in the throes of the

 fourth wave of coronavirus, according to the 

official case count, albeit experts say the 

actual current rate could be 30 times 

higher than reported.

 

About 94,000 people in the world’s worst-hit 

country are contracting the virus every day, 

and hospitalizations have also surged this 

month, but officials insist --- the rate is
lower 
than in previous waves.

 

A new survey of the surge in New York, cited in a

 Guardian report, on Thursday, suggests that the 

virus cases could be undercounted by a factor

 of 30.

 

“It would appear that official case counts are under-

estimating the true burden of infection, by about 

30-fold, which is a huge surprise,” Denis Nash, 

an author of the study and a professor of 

epidemiology at the City University of 

New York School of Public Health, is 

quoted as saying in the report.

 

According to the study, which has not been peer-

reviewed or published, at least 1 in 5 people in 

New York.. had COVID-19 between April 23rd 

and May 8th, constituting about 22 percent 

of the city's population.

 

This means that more than 1.5 million people in the

 city have been infected with coronavirus, in just 

two weeks, which is more than the official 

figure, the study finds.

 

While it is focused on New York, the findings may be

 true throughout the rest of the country, Nash said, 

adding that undercounting could be even 

worse elsewhere.

 

“It’s very worrisome. To me, it means that our ability

 to really understand and get ahead of the virus is 

undermined,” Nash said.

 

This week marks the eighth consecutive week of

 a surge in COVID-19 cases in the United States.

 

In recent weeks, confirmed daily US cases have 

been rising again, powered by a rising tide of

 Omicron sub-variants currently circulating

in the country.

 

US hits another grim milestone 

with 900,000 COVID-19 deaths

 

The milestone comes more than 13 months into 

a vaccination drive that has been confounded 

by misinformation, political and legal strife, 

and vaccine hesitancy in segments of
t
he population.

 

It also marks the seventh consecutive week that child

 COVID-19 cases have been increasing in the country, 

according to the American Academy of Pediatrics 

(AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.

 

More than 112,000 child COVID-19 cases were

 reported in the United States during the past 

week, a doubling of case counts from the 

four weeks before that.

 

The daily COVID-19 death count is also increasing.

 More than 500 COVID-19 deaths were reported

 nationwide on Wednesday, sending shock-

waves across the country.

 

Amid a rise in infections, a growing list of school

 districts and universities... are now moving to 

bring back mask requirements.

 

“This idea that we need to return to normal and that’s

 the most important thing, rather than just actually

 using mitigation measures to save lives – it’s not 

that hard, and if it were normalized, we could do

 it,” Lara Jirmanus, a family physician and 

clinical instructor at Harvard Medical 

School, is cited in the report.

 

“To just decide that it’s perfectly fine for everyone to

 be infected three to four times a year in the future

 with a new virus, whose effects we don’t fully

 understand, is a huge, huge gamble,” she

 continued. “We just don’t know what 

Covid could lead to in the future… 

We’re playing with fire.”

 

Reports citing medical experts say the most 

dominant form of COVID-19...  currently 

spreading in the US, appears to spread 

faster than earlier variants and

is believed to be a mutation

genetically linked.. to both 

Omicron & Delta versions 

of COVID-19.

 

 

____________________________






Four US biolabs operate in Nigeria,

 where monkeypox came from 

— Defense Ministry

May 27th, 5:47pm (TASS)

 

At least four US-controlled biological laboratories

operate in Nigeria, where monkeypox came from,

the Russian Nuclear, Chemical and Biological 

Protection troops head, Igor Kirillov,

stated on Friday.

 

He pointed out that, according to the World Health

 Organization, the monkeypox pathogen strain was

 imported from Nigeria, where the US deployed its

 biological infrastructure.

 

"According to the available information, at least four

 US-controlled biolaboratories operate in Nigeria,"

 Kirillov said.

 

According to Kirillov, in this regard, it is necessary 

to point out a "strange coincidence that requires 

additional inspection by specialists."

 

"According to European and US media, materials 

of the 2021 Munich Security Conference (that is 

amid the COVID-19 pandemic), mentioned the

practice of a monkeypox countering 

scenario," the NCB troops 

commander said.

 

 

___________________________







Confirmed Monkeypox Cases 

Hit US, Europe, Australia, 

Canada

May 20th, 11:01am (FNA)

 

Cases of Monkeypox are being investigated in

 European countries, as well as the US, 

Canada and Australia, according to 

health authorities and local 

media reports.

 

A case of monkeypox has been confirmed in

 Melbourne, while a probable case in Sydney 

remains under investigation, the Australian 

ABC News reported on Friday. 

 

Canada has confirmed its first two cases of 

monkeypox, both in the province of Quebec, 

the country's Public Health Agency said in 

a statement issued on Thursday.

 

On Wednesday, the US Massachusetts Department 

of Public Health said it had confirmed a single 

case of monkeypox virus infection in a man 

who had recently traveled to Canada.

 

Several European countries have also reported their 

first confirmed monkeypox cases, including the UK, 

Sweden, Italy, Spain and Portugal.

 

The outbreak spread in Europe after cases 

were initially reported in the UK.

 

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) 

confirmed that an individual.. has been 

diagnosed with monkeypox in England 

who has traveled from Nigeria, where 

they are believed to have contracted 

the infection, before travelling to 

the UK.

 

Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that occurs

 primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central 

and West Africa and is occasionally exported 

to other regions, according to the World 

Health Organization (WHO).

 

The WHO said monkeypox is usually a self-limited 

disease with the symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 

weeks, but severe cases can occur.

 

 PressTV adds:


Monkeypox causes fever, body aches, 


enlarged lymph nodes and eventually 


"pox," or painful, fluid-filled blisters 


on the face, the hands, and feet, 


according to medical experts.


 


Most people recover from the illness (which is 


endemic in parts of central and western 


Africa and usually the result of close 


contact with infected animals)


within a few weeks,
but it 
can be
fatal.


 


One of its versions is deemed deadly and kills 


up to 10% of those people infected, but the 


version spreading presently in the UK, is 


said to be milder with a 1% fatality rate.





_____________________________________




John Ioannidis: 'Public Health 

Officials Need To Declare 

The End Of The Pandemic'

by Tyler Durden

Authored by Ross Pomeroy

via RealClear Science,

April 2nd, 12pm (ZeroHedge)

 

John Ioannidis, a Professor of Medicine, of

 Epidemiology and Population Health and 

by courtesy, of Statistics & Biomedical 

Data Science at Stanford University, 

lauded for championing evidence-

based medicine, has been harshly 

criticized over the past two years. 

 

Like many highly-credentialed health experts,

Ioannidis made some predictions during the

pandemic that eventually proved incorrect. 

 

During a once-in-a-century pandemic replete

 with unknowns, that is to be expected. But

 perhaps.. the greatest reason he has come

 under fire is for questioning the orthodoxy 

of strict lockdowns, divisive vaccine 

mandates, and other restrictive 

measures to manage the 

pandemic. 

 

Ioannidis is sure to court more controversy with

 a new commentary published to the European

 Journal of Clinicial Investigation, in which he

 argues that it's time to declare the end of 

the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

"This does not mean... that the problem is 

inappropriately minimized or forgotten, 

but that our communities move on 

with life," he writes.

 

"Pandemic preparedness should be carefully

 thought and pre-organized, but should not

 disrupt life."

 

While Ioannidis recognizes that there are 

no quantitative definitions for the end of 

a pandemic like COVID-19, he contends 

that the amount of immunity now 

present worldwide exceeds the 

threshold needed to declare 

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that 

causes COVID-19, endemic

 – constantly present but 

not a public health 

emergency.

 

"By the end of 2021, probably 73-81% of the

 global population had been vaccinated,
infected or both," he says. Pockets of 

low immunity, such as in places that 

pursued zero-COVID policies and/or 

with limited access to effective 

vaccines, may persist, causing 

regional outbreaks but we will 

likely never see COVID-19 

again trigger a global 

emergency.

 

Declaring the pandemic phase of COVID-19 

to be concluded means understanding and

 accepting a new "normal".

 

"A decrease of COVID-19 deaths back to typical

 seasonal influenza levels may not necessarily

 happen in 2022 or even beyond," Ioannidis

 cautions. "With an increasingly aging 

global population, "normal" may still 

correspond to higher death counts.. 

This should not be mistaken as a 

continued pandemic phase."

 

Easing out of the pandemicm, requires a

 widespread mental shift, as well. This 

means focusing more on indicators 

such as hospital intensive care 

admissions to guide policy, 

rather than just infections.

 

"If the perception of risk focuses on the number

 of documented cases, the spurious perception

 of emergency situations may be difficult to 

quell," Ioannidis writes.

 

Exiting the pandemic, also means reducing 

fearmongering coverage of COVID-19 in the

 popular media, the propagation of which,

 undoubtedly contributed to the public's 

warped perception of COVID's risks 

throughout the pandemic. 

 

On average, Americans believed in early 2021

that 8% of deaths had occurred, in people 

under the age of 24. The real percentage

as of today, is 0.3%. Moreover, a third of

 the population has consistently 

believed that COVID leads to 

hospitalization in over half 

of infections. During the 

most recent Omicron 

wave, the proportion

 was 3% or lower.

 

Declaring an end to the pandemic phase of

COVID-19 has benefits, Ioannidis says. For 

example.. it could allow public health

organizations... to refocus their time 

and money, on more pressing global 

health issues like poor nutrition and

hunger, which collectively claim the

lives of 9 million people each year, 

including 3.1 million children. 

 

For comparison, at least 6.2 million people have

died from COVID-19 over the past two years, 

the vast majority over age 65. Accepting

endemicity and reducing societal 

restrictions & disruptions would 

also permit economies to 

stabilize more rapidly 

..alleviating hardship, 

easing inflation and 

reducing global 

inequality. 

 

Lastly, moving on from the pandemic could 

ease some of the political divisions that 

have fractured societies across 

the globe.


Image: drink water to reduce heart failure risk


 


 Good hydration may reduce 


long-term risks for heart 


failure – Study


by Pavel López Lazo


March 30th, 4:28pm (Prensa Latina) 


 


UK scientists strongly recommended 


staying well-hydrated to reduce the
risk 
of developing heart failure, a 


specialized source reported 


on Wednesday.


 


''Similar to reducing salt intakes, drinking enough


water and staying hydrated, are ways to support


 our hearts, and can help reduce long-term risks


 of heart disease,'' the European heart Journal


 magazine said.


 


The team assessed how hydrated the


 participants were by analyzing serum 


sodium levels which increases when


 fluid levels decrease. This can be a 


useful marker for identifying


 individuals at risk of


 heart failure.


 


The research also helped pinpoint older adults


 at higher risk of developing both heart failure


 and left ventricular hypertrophy.


 


“Serum sodium and fluid intake can easily be


assessed in clinical exams and help doctors


identify patients...  who may benefit from 


learning about ways to stay hydrated,” 


the experts said.


 


 


_______________________________



Distribution of pathogenic
materials
 from Ukraine will
lead to pandemic
-like situation

March 24th, 10:11am (TASS) 

 

Sending pathogenic biomaterials from Ukraine to Europe
...could lead to a situation comparable to the COVID-19
pandemic the chief of Russia's radiation, chemical
and biological protection force, Igor Kirillov,
said on Thursday.

 

"The current situation... with the distribution 

of pathogenic biomaterials from Ukraine to 

European countries, could result in death 

and create a hotbed of epidemiological 

instability, the scale of which would
be 
comparable to the COVID-19
pandemic," 
Kirillov said.

 

 

Image: fat people have all kinds of risks

 Obesity may impact on 
mental and emotional

 health


by Pavel López Lazo


March 17th, 4:43pm  (Prensa Latina) 


 


A study revealed that excess weight is closely


 related to people´s mental and emotional


 health, who can suffer from depression, 


insecurity and low self-esteem, a 


specialized media reported 


on Thursday.


 


Other psycho-social damage linked to obesity


 include problems getting a job, falling asleep, 


poor sex life, social isolation, 


and discrimination.


 


Infosalus.com website pointed out that personal


looks, shape and weight are all-important


 elements in the 21st century.


 


Excessive weight and feeling bad creates more


 anxiety, we generate cortisol levels, so this 


sustained situation causes low moods, 


causing an overweight person to be 


worse off, with greater emotional 


lability which can appear with 


an uncontrollable burst 


of crying.


 


Sometimes depressed people tend to have a


 huge binge, take refuge in food; so this will 


cost much more when dating or socializing.


 


Obesity not only affects psychologically, but


 also socially, emotionally, and personally, 


experts said.


 

Image: vitamin D3


  


Vitamin D3 helps strengthen


 defenses against Covid-19


 – Study


by Pavel López Lazo


February 24th, 7:41pm (Prensa Latina) 


 


Vitamin D3 could balance people's immune


 system and help strengthen defenses 


against viral infections including 


Covid-19, the Swiss publication 


Frontiers in Immunology 


reported Thursday.


 


In a collaborative study by the Universities of


 Surrey & Brighton, researchers investigated 


the impact of vitamin D supplements – D2 


and D3 – taken daily over a 12-week 


period on the activity of genes in 


people’s blood.


 


Those involved in the research, contrary to


widespread opinion, found significant


differences between the two vitamin 


D supplements, as they discovered 


that vitamin D2... leaves a 


questionable mark on


human health.


 


“Vitamin D3 appears to stimulate the type I 


interferon signaling system in the body –
a key part of the immune system that 


provides a first line of defense... 


against bacteria and viruses.'' 


 


Thus, a healthy vitamin D3 status may help


 prevent viruses and bacteria from gaining 


a foothold in the body,” said Professor 


Colin Smith, lead-author of the study


 from the University of Surrey.


 


“Our study suggests that it is important that


 people take a vitamin D3 supplement, or


 suitably fortified foods, especially in


 the winter months.”


 


Although some foods are fortified with vitamin


D, like some breakfast cereals, yogurts, and


bread, few naturally contain the vitamin.


Vitamin D3 is produced naturally in the 


skin from exposure to sunlight or 


artificial ultraviolet UVB light, 


while some plants and fungi 


produce vitamin D2.


 


Many people have insufficient levels of vitamin


 D3... because they live in locations where 


sunlight is limited in the winter, like the 


UK. The Covid-19 pandemic has also 


limited people’s natural exposure to 


the sun, due to people spending 


more time in their homes.


 


 


__________________________________





Withholding vaccine safety

data ‘morally indefensible,’ 

medical journal says

January 22nd,, 4:17pm (RT)

 

The British Medical Journal (BMJ), has urged public

health regulators & pharma majors to immediately

 release all raw data from Covid-19 vaccine trials

 for independent scrutiny --- arguing that

 “complete data transparency” is a 

matter of “public interest.”

 

Branding Big Pharma as “the least trusted industry,” 

a recent op-ed by BMJ editors stated that it was 

“morally indefensible” that this information

remains inaccessible to doctors, public,

and researchers -- despite the global
rollout 
of vaccines and treatments.

 

In the scathing editorial, the writers – senior BMJ

 editor Peter Doshi, former editor-in-chief Fiona

 Godlee and her successor Kamran Abbasi – 

accuse pharmaceutical companies... of 

“reaping vast profits without adequate

 independent scrutiny of their

 scientific claims.”

 

At least 3 of the many companies making Covid-19

 vaccines have past criminal and civil settlements

 costing them billions of dollars. One pleaded 

guilty to fraud. Other companies have
no 
pre-Covid track record.

 

In particular, the editorial collective calls out Pfizer,

 Moderna and AstraZeneca for not providing “timely

 access” to “anonymized individual participant
data” 
from their clinical trials. 

 

This granular data is available to regulators like the 

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which told

 a judge last month to give it 75 years to publish all

 data relating to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

 

But the BMJ said Pfizer – whose trial was “funded 

by the company and designed, run, analyzed, and 

authored by Pfizer employees” ------ has indicated

 that it will not entertain data requests until May

 2025, a full two years after the primary study

 is completed.

 

This lack of access to data is “consistent across 

vaccine manufacturers,” the editors write, 

noting that the industry is not “legally 

required” to honour requests from 

independent researchers.

 

Further, they point out that regulatory bodies like

 Health Canada and the European Medicines

 Agency, do not even “receive or analyze”

 trial data, whereas the UK’s Medicines 

and Healthcare Products Regulatory 

Agency does not “proactively

 release” such info.

 

“The purpose of regulators is not to dance to 

the tune of rich global corporations... and 

enrich them further; it is to protect the 

health of their populations,” 

they concluded.

 

 

__________________________







Ireland: To Fully Lift

 COVID-19 Restrictions

January 21st, 11:50pm (teleSUR)

 

Irish Prime Minister, Micheal Martin, announced 

that COVID-19 restrictions that have been in 

place for almost two years, are now lifted.

 

Micheal Martin, Irish Prime Minister disclosed that

 the governments decided that almost all COVID-19

 restrictions placed for about two years, are lifted.

 

Ireland is placed among the countries with the highest 

rate of COVID-19 infections in Europe, and now also, 

the continent's highest uptake of booster vaccines,

 which made possible the number of seriously ill 

people remained below the previous peak.

 

"We have weathered the Omicron storm," the minister

 stated, on Friday's televised address --- in which he

 noted, booster vaccines had "utterly transformed"

 the country's situation. "I have stood here and 

spoken to you on some very dark days. But 

today is a good day," he added.

 

Ireland was one of the most cautious countries

 in Europe about the risks of COVID-19, having 

some of the longest-running restrictions on

 travel and hospitality. According to public 

health officials' advice, the government

 decided: that bars and restaurants will 

no longer need to close at 8pm, a rule 

held late last year when the Omicron 

wave struck, or to ask customers 

for proof of vaccination.

 

The full capacity has been restored for the indoor

and outdoor events --- paving the way for full 

crowds, for next month’s Six Nations rugby

 championship. Martin highlighted that the

 measure which decreed.... the need of 

wearing masks in public places will 

remain at least until the end 

of February.  

 

The Irish hospitality sector, which has been
hit 
by one of Europe’s toughest lockdown

 regimes, has welcomed the decision.

 

[and in Wales?]




__________________________







Bye Bye, Mask and Covid Pass: 

Boris Johnson --- Announces
End 
of Plan B Restrictions

in England

January 19th, 1:43pm (Sputnik)

 

 UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced 

on Wednesday the end of the so-called Plan B

 implemented in England since December, to 

prevent the spreading of the Omicron

 variant of the SARS-CoV-2.

 

Addressing Parliament, Johnson said.. that the 

working from home guidance, the requirement

 to wear face masks, and the use of COVID 

passports, in some settings, will be 

dropped, next week.

 

"This government got the toughest decisions right,"

 the prime minister told lawmakers, adding that the

 government "will trust the judgment of the British

 people" ...when it comes to social distancing 

measures and face mask covering... to 

prevent the spreading of the virus.

 

The so-called Plan B was originally rolled out in 

December to combat the spread of the highly 

transmissible variant.

 

Reacting to the announcement, the leader of 

the Labour Party, Keir Starmer, called it an 

attempt to distract the public’s opinion on 

the crisis the prime minister is facing... 

following revelations, that he and his 

staff in Downing Street held parties 

during the COVID-19 lockdown.

 

[Rhondda Records adds - and in Wales?]

 

 

_____________________________



 

 

Booster programs... will 

prolong COVID pandemic,

 not end it, WHO chief
warns

January 17th, (various media)

 

Blanket vaccine booster programs are likely to

 prolong the COVID-19 pandemic, as inequity

 in access to jabs, could lead to more 

mutated variants that drag out the 

crisis, the head of the World 

Health Organization 

(WHO) warns.

 

[The UK and others in the West...
simply don't care, Rhondda
Records adds]




__________________________________







Cannabis could prevent 

Covid --- study claims

January 12th, 2:57pm (RT)

 

The next breakthrough in stopping Covid-19, may

 come not from Big Pharma, but from the humble

 pot plant. Researchers in Oregon in the US,

 discovered that two compounds found in
t
he devil’s lettuce can stop the virus
in
 its tracks.

 

Rather than attempting to smoke their way 

to immunity, a team of scientists at Oregon 

University isolated two compounds from 

hemp -- cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) and

 cannabidiolic acid (CBDA)  -- and found 

 they bind to the coronavirus’ spike 

protein and stop it from binding
to 
the outer membrane of
human cells. 

 

This latter binding process, is normally how the

virus enters the human lungs and other organs.

 

The two compounds are precursors to CBG and 

CBD, which are widely legal, and available to 

consumers. The CBG and CBD cannabis oils 

and extracts are commonly used to treat 

anxiety, sleep disorders, epilepsy, and
wide range of other ailments. 

 

CBGA and CBDA “are not controlled substances like

 THC... the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana and

 have a good safety profile in humans,” said Richard 

van Breemen, a researcher with Oregon State’s 

Global Hemp Innovation Centre. Van Breemen 

added that these compounds “can be taken 

orally,” and “have the potential to prevent 

as well as treat infection” by 

the coronavirus.

 

Van Breemen and his team published their research in

 the Journal of Nature Products on Tuesday. However,

 they have a long way to go before doctors begin 

writing hemp oil prescriptions en masse. While

 the study found CBGA and CBDA effective 

against both the Alpha & Beta variants 

of the coronavirus, it was carried out
on 
human cells in a laboratory rather
than 
actual human test subjects.

 

Still, the scientist sees these hemp compounds

eventually being used alongside vaccines... to 

make “a much more challenging environment” 

for Covid-19. One of the main criticisms of the 

current crop of vaccines is that they use the 

original spike protein of the virus as an 

antigen, meaning that when variants

emerge... with new spike protein 

mutations, they are more likely 

to evade the protection
offered 
 by a vaccine.

 

“These variants are well known for evading antibodies

 against early lineage [Covid-19].... which is obviously

 concerning given that current vaccination strategies 

rely on early lineage spike proteins as an antigen,”

 said van Breemen. “Our data show CBDA & CBGA

 are effective against the two variants we looked
at, 
and we hope that trend will extend to other

 existing and future variants.”

 


 

_________________________________





 

 UK government gives NHS

to private companies 

to ''help''with Covid

January 10th 10:52am (PressTV)

 

The National Health Service (NHS), the publicly funded

 healthcare system in the UK, is seeking ''help'' from
private health companies to deliver critical treat-

ments... such as cancer surgery.

 

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has ordered England's

 NHS to strike a ''3-month'' agreement with private

 health companies --- to allow patients to get 

specific treatments, as the NHS hospitals

 are ''overwhelmed'' with COVID-19.

 

David Sloman, NHS England chief operating officer

and COVID incident director, said on Monday the 

deal “places independent health providers on 

standby to provide further help should 

hospitals face unsustainable levels of 

hospitalizations or staff absences.”

 

The agreement includes Practice Plus Group, Spire 

Healthcare, Circle Health Group, and several other

 leading private companies, according to the NHS.

 

Circle CEO Paolo Pieri said the company has been

helping the NHS, since the first COVID wave in 

March 2020, performing urgent treatments 

for over 400,000 NHS patients.

 

According to the Spire Healthcare, under the agreed

deal the company “will grant NHSE access to 100%

of its facilities and teams on a local, regional or 

national basis, in the event of a surge of 

COVID-19 patients in NHS hospitals 

in England.”

 

The Spire said the deal ''expires'' on March 31st, 2022.

 

The new plan comes in the wake of the highest level of 

hospital staff absence in England, since the vaccine

 rollout began.

 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed

sorrow over the “terrible toll” of more than 150,000

deaths inflicted by the coronavirus in the UK.

 

The UK’s death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic 

has reached more than 150,100, making it the 

world's seventh worst official pandemic toll.

 

PM Boris Johnson confirmed the number and

 expressed sorrow over the fatalities last

weekend. He said the coronavirus has 

“taken a ‘terrible toll’ on the country.

 

Housing Secretary Michael Gove was at pains
to
 assert that there is mounting pressure on 

British hospitals... and the country is ''not 

yet'' in a position to live with 

the pandemic.

 

 

_______________________________________




UK care sector declares
‘red’ alert
 amid Covid
staffing shortage

January 5th, 1:42pm (RT)

 

Over 11,000 care home workers are currently unable

 to work, amid the spread of the Omicron strain, with

 staffing shortages leaving the UK sector struggling 

to cope and infections delaying hospital discharges.

 

Government data shows that, across England, 9.4% of 

care home staff are temporarily off work, with around

 3% self-isolating due to Covid. Although the figures

 could be higher, having been undercounted... due 

to the festive period and bank holiday weekend.

 

The situation has forced more than 90 care operators

 to declare a “red” alert, meaning that they don’t have

 the staff to meet patient demands. This has been

 exacerbated by a shortage of PCR tests, 

delaying workers from getting test 

results and forcing them to 

isolate at home longer 

than needed.

 

Barchester, one of the UK’s largest care home

 operators, running 250 establishments, has 

warned: that it is facing Covid outbreaks
in 
105 of its homes. Under government 

guidelines, care homes with active 

outbreaks cannot accept hospital

 discharges, creating a backlog 

and preventing the struggling

 NHS from clearing beds.

 

Staffing shortages have forced care agencies to offer

 up to £80 ($108.31) an hour for temporary staff – four

 times the normal cost – as well as resulting in homes

 poaching staff from other providers at the last minute.

 

“The spread of Omicron across the country will bring

 more care homes into outbreaks, put huge pressure

 on the already compromised staff group, and mean

 those who need care, do not get it,” said Vic 

Rayner, the chief executive of the
National 
Care Forum.

 

To address the situation, one care operator in

 Yorkshire, Mike Padgham, called on the UK

 government to establish a “volunteer 

army”... of retired nurses, doctors, 

and carers who could potentially

 fill shifts at short notice.

 

Despite the situation in care homes, the chief 

executive of Barchester, Pete Calveley, says 

that the virus is not causing serious illness

 and death among the majority of residents

 ....with most only showing “minor or 

cold-like symptoms.”

 

 

 

____________________________



 

Growing evidence that 

Vitamin K improves 

heart health

by Pavel López Lazo

January 2nd, 5:27pm (Prensa Latina) 

 

New Edith Cowan University (ECU) research 

has found that people who eat a vitamin K-

rich food... have up to a 34% lower risk of

 atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular

 disease, the US magazine 

SciTechDaily reported.

 

Researchers examined data from over 50,000

 people taking part in the Danish Diet, Cancer, 

and Health study, over a 23-year period. 

 

They investigated whether people who ate 

more foods containing vitamin K, had a 

lower risk of cardiovascular disease 

related to atherosclerosis (plaque 

build-up in the arteries).

 

There are two types of vitamin K found in foods 

we eat: vitamin K1 comes mainly from green

 leafy veggies and vegetable oils, while 

vitamin K2 is found in meat, eggs, 

and fermented foods, such 

as cheese.

 

The study found....  that people with the highest

intakes of the vitamin K1.. were 21% less likely

 to be hospitalized with cardiovascular disease

 closely related to atherosclerosis.

 

For vitamin K2, the risk of being 

hospitalized was 14% lower.

 

University of Western Australia researcher Dr. Jamie

 Bellinge, the first author on the study, said the role 

of vitamin K in cardiovascular health, and 

particularly in vascular calcification, 

is an area of research... offering 

promising hope for the future.

 

“Current dietary guidelines for the consumption of

 vitamin K are generally only based on the amount

 of vitamin K1 a person should consume, to 

ensure that their blood can coagulate,”

 explained ECU researcher and 

senior author on the study,

 Dr. Nicola Bondonno.

 

However, there is growing evidence that intakes of

 vitamin K - above current guidelines - can afford 

further protection against the development of

other diseases, such as atherosclerosis.

 

“Although more research is needed to fully

 understand the process, we believe that

 vitamin K works by protecting against 

the calcium build-up in the major 

arteries of the body leading to

 vascular calcification.”

 

“Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause

 of death in Australia... and there’s still a limited

 understanding of the importance of different 

vitamins found in food and their effect on 

heart attacks, strokes, and peripheral 

artery disease,” Dr. Bellinge said.

 

 

 

_______________________________________





Chinese Think Tank:
US Most 
Likely Origin
of COVID-19


December 25th, 1:50pm (FNA)

 

The US is most likely the country where the

 coronavirus originated and it is most 

responsible for the fast global 

spread of the deadly viral 

pathogen, according to 

a research report.

 

The report titled...  ‘US Responsible for Global Spread 

of COVID-19’ was jointly released by the Intelligence 

& Alliance Think Tank and the Taihe Institute in 

China ,on Friday.

 

China's official Xinhua news agency, published
the
 report’s findings, saying data from multiple 

sources had shown that the US was to blame
for the coronavirus out-
break as its political
manipulation of
 the disease had made the
global 
anti-pandemic efforts, difficult 

and challenging.

 

“Evidence indicating COVID-19 originated from

 the United States has kept cropping up,” the 

report said.

 

“For example, the timeline of the outbreak in the 

United States has been continuously backdated, 

the role of the US military is implicated in the 

origin and spread of COVID-19, and early 

cases, in many countries, are linked to

 the United States,” it added.

 

Calling the United States "the main force of global

 COVID-19 spread", the report said... the country 

missed the best time to contain the pandemic

 at an early stage... and its open-door policy
as well as its irresponsible 
repatriation
of immigrants... had 
exacerbated the
global spread
 of the virus.

 

Xinhua also said that the US troops stationed

 overseas have repeatedly violated epidemic

 prevention protocols and accelerated 

the transmission.

 

The country's failure to control COVID-19 in

international events, has led to "super-

spreading" of the virus and its 

unilateral sanctions have led

to a humanitarian crisis, 

according to 

the report.

 

Stressing that the US political manipulation has made

 the global fight against the pandemic more difficult,

 the report said the country shirked responsibility 

for pandemic prevention, which undermined 

international anti-pandemic efforts.

 

“The United States has been obsessed with political

 self-interest and evaded due responsibility,” Xinhua

 cited the report as saying, adding that political

 polarization harmed both America and the

 world at large.

 

Underlining that the US should abandon its obsession

 with political self-interest, and reflect on epidemic

 prevention and control, the report called on the

 country to stop politicizing the coronavirus 

and undermining international anti-

pandemic cooperation.... and 

 actively share its vaccines 

with the world.

 

It also urged the US, to conduct origins tracing

 research in a scientific manner and facilitate 

global economic recovery, so that the 

COVID-19 pandemic will be 

eventually defeated.

 

The theory that the contagion had leaked from a 

Chinese lab was originally hyped up by, among

 others...  the administration of former US 

President Donald Trump, as part of his 

hawkish anti-China policies.

 

Since infecting its first victims in the central Chinese

 city of Wuhan, in late 2019, the pandemic has 

spread to nearly every country across the 

globe, causing more than 278 million 

infections and nearly 5.4 million 

deaths worldwide.

 

Last week, Trump said the US should make China pay

for the COVID disaster, demanding that the US tariffs

 on Chinese goods be increased “very substantially”

 as reparation payments for the chaos unleashed
by 
the virus.

 

China has repeatedly called on the US to give a full

 clarification on its bio-military activities at home 

and abroad, a matter of concern shared by 

Russia and others.

 

 

 

___________________________________


 


Doctor who flagged Omicron 

advises against harsh

 restrictions

December 14th, 1:23pm (RT)

 

There is ''no need'' to impose tougher restrictions over

 the Omicron variant as the cases are “predominantly

 mild”, the head of South Africa Medical Association

 Dr. Angelique Coetzee, has said.

 

The South African GP was the first medic who raised

 concern about the new Covid-19 variant four weeks

 ago. Answering questions of the UK Parliament’s

 Science & Technologies committee on Tuesday, 

Dr Coetzee said... that “we don’t have all the 

answers” and that “we need to see how

 this virus progresses”.

 

However, the current picture shows that Omicron is a

 “mild disease”, & less dangerous than Delta variant,

 thought it might be more transmissible, she added.


 Dr Coetzee said that the existing data, though 

limited, shows that the symptoms in Omicron 

patients, even in those who are hospitalized,

 are milder, they get better quicker & there

 have been no cases of long COVID in 

these patients.

 

Therefore, she noted that, before imposing travel bans

 and other tough restrictions, it would make sense for

 governments to take measures internally:  to get 

more people vaccinated, make sure that they 

are wearing masks, avoid crowded places, 

and keep social distance.

 

Saying that South Africa is “still on the same level of

 restrictions”, she underlined that “we don't see 

the need for stricter restrictions."

 

“The virus is everywhere. Maybe, in a way, we

 need to learn how to live with this,” she said.

 

Earlier, in an article for Daily Mail, Dr. Coetzee was

 even more straightforward.. in her criticism of 

what she called “knee-jerk reactions”, to the 

news of discovery of the new COVID variant. 


The UK was one of the first countries to

 impose bans on travel from South 

Africa in the aftermath of the

 announcement.

 

“Indeed, I am disappointed by such knee-jerk

 reactions. They bear no relation to what we

are seeing in surgeries in South Africa, 

where people rarely even discuss 

Omicron.

As one Twitter user 
commented:

'Covid's become a UK neurosis’”,

 she wrote.


 

Image: impotent vapers?


 


Study names major 


risks for vapers


December 1st, 2:36pm (RT)


 


Men who vape or use e-cigarettes are more than twice


 as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction than those


 who have never used the popular nicotine-based 


smoking alternatives, a new study has found.


 


The study, which analyzed self-reported data from 


almost 14,000 US men aged between 20 and 65, 


found that regular e-cigarette users were 


around 2.2 times more likely to 


experience impotence than 


non-smokers. 


 


The findings were published in the American


 Journal of Preventive Medicine on Wednesday.


 


The risk was found to be 2.4 times greater in a smaller


 sample of men younger than 65 – with normal body


 mass indexes and no history of heart disease – 


when compared to non-vapers. The study did 


not include data on whether the respondents 


were taking medications that can raise the 


risk of erectile dysfunction.... such as 


antidepressants or heart medication.


 


Researchers noted the “abundant evidence” already 


linking smoking and nicotine to sexual dysfunction 


and theorized that the particularly high level of


 nicotine in vaping liquid reduces blood flow 


to the penis and interferes with the normal 


functions of blood vessels, though they


 didn’t definitively prove the link.


 


Nonetheless, the study’s authors – from New York


 University and Johns Hopkins University – noted 


that vaping enthusiasts needed to be warned 


about the potential impact on their 


sexual health.


 


Citing research based on rodent models, the


 researchers also noted that another 


“plausible” link was exposure to 


e-cigarette “refill liquids.. with or 


without nicotine.” These contain 


chemicals that may reduce 


testosterone levels in the 


human body and impair 


normal erectile function.


 


“Overall, e-cigarettes are likely less harmful than


 smoking cigarettes to the degree that they 


substitute cigarette smoking,” the study’s 


lead author, Omar El Shahawy, told Insider. 


He added that men who view vaping as a


 healthier alternative should try to “limit”


 the habit as it is “simply not risk free.”


 


The study comes as England gears up to become


 the first country to prescribe e-cigarettes as a 


method to help smokers kick the habit. In 


October, the UK’s Medicines and Health-


care products Regulatory Agency issued


 updated guidance.. that would allow the 


products to be offered through the NHS.


 


But El Shahawy warned that the relationship 


between vaping and impotence needs to be 


“fully investigated” in further studies. The 


study did not detail whether the risk of 


erectile dysfunction was comparable 


to that posed by smoking.


 


 


 


________________________________







Report: Tens of Thousands
Missed 
Cancer Referrals
in UK ''
Due to COVID-19''


December 1st, 11:43am (FNA)


 


 The NHS may be missing more than 9 million 


referrals, while patients face - a “postcode 


lottery” for cancer treatment and routine


 operations, a parliament watchdog


has warned.


 


Millions of patients... have either avoided, or been 


unable to obtain healthcare during the pandemic


leaving the NHS with a potential unknown back-


log of operations, which could push the 


national waiting list to 12 million by 


2025, The Independent reported.


 


A report from the government’s National Audit Office,


on Wednesday, also warned that patients across 


England are facing a postcode lottery in terms 


of waits - with some hospital waiting lists far


 larger than others following the pandemic.


 


The findings come ahead the government’s plan to


 tackle the NHS’ treatment and surgery backlog, 


which is expected to be published this week. 


In November the NHS recorded its highest 


ever waiting list, at 5.8 million.


 


According to the NAO’s analysis NHS services in 


Birmingham and Solihull have racked up the 


longest waiting lists - with 51 percent of 


patients waiting more than 18 weeks, 


compared to 20 percent in Surrey.


 


Birmingham and Solihull also had the worst for 


cancer waiting times according to the data, 


with 57 percent waiting more than three 


months compared to Surrey, Kent 


and Cornwall.


 


The NAO said variations may reflect, differences in


 areas, such as poverty levels and rates of routine


 operations, prior to March 2020, as well as the 


direct impact of the pandemic.


 


The findings come after NHS data in November,


 revealed the number of patients waiting more


 than two years for treatment following a 


referral, rose to a record 12,491.


 


The report also estimated there were between 240,000


 and 740,000 “missing” urgent GP referrals for 


patients with suspected cancer between 


March 2020 and September 2021 and 


up to 60,000 patients, missing first 


treatments, in the same period.


 


The NAO warned, “The NHS was doing more work


year-on-year, before the-pandemic, but the 


demand for its services was increasing... 


even faster. To keep pace, it would have 


needed either more beds and more staff 


or a different way of working, or most 


likely, a combination of all three.”


 


When COVID-19 first hit England, the NHS rapidly


 agreed a deal with 27 private sector hospitals to


 carry out routine operations.... amid fears 


hospitals would be overwhelmed.


 


Under this national contract, during 2020-21, the NHS 


will have paid £2.1 billion to private sector providers


in return for 3.3 million completed treatments,
according to the NAO’s report.


 


Between March 2019 and February 2020, 


independent providers carried out 8% 


of routine operations for the NHS.


 


Following the pandemic... the NAO said there was
“sharp” reduction in operations carried out by 


private sector hospitals in the initial stages of 


the pandemic but that this increased to pre-


pandemic levels from June 2021.


 


It is not clear how many operations and treatments


 were expected to be carried out by private 


providers under the £2.1 billion contract, 


and NHS England has never officially 


released this information.


 


However, in November last year, the Health Service


 Journal reported just one third of capacity paid 


for by the NHS in private hospitals was used 


following the first pandemic wave.


 


Eve Byrne, head of campaigns and public affairs,
at 
Macmillan Cancer Support, said, “This report


 confirms what we hear --- day in, day out, from 


people living with cancer.... Chronic staffing 


shortages are already having a devastating 


impact on cancer patients, and we have


 major concerns that is only set to 


worsen without urgent action."


 


She said the government’s plan to tackle 


the operations backlog must be backed 


up by steps.... to ensure enough 


nursing staff.


 


“Without these critical pieces of the puzzle, we 


risk increasing numbers of people facing later


 diagnoses, poorer care and potentially worse 


chances of survival. This has to change,” 


she added.


 


As part of its recommendations the NAO has said 


the government, NHS England and education 


body Health Education England, should 


develop a detailed plan to address 


shortages in the workforce over 


the next 12 months to 3 years.


 


The recommendation comes just after the government 


rejected an amendment to the Health and Care Bill by


 MP Jeremy Hunt which would have required the


 Secretary of State for Health and Care to 


publish independent assessments of 


NHS workforce gaps, every 2 years.


 


Dr Tim Mitchell, vice president of the Royal College 


of Surgeons of England said, “The NHS faces huge 


challenges as staff continue to treat COVID-19 


patients, while trying to reduce the vast 


waiting list for planned care.


 


He called for the government’s upcoming plan to


 include guidance --- on how it would set up 


“surgical hubs” and separate planned 


surgery from emergency care... to
allow 
for operations to continue
safely 
during the pandemic.


 


The royal college vice president added, “Also we urge


 the government to amend the Health and Care Bill, to


 ensure there are independently verified assessments


 of workforce numbers. It will take investment both
in
 surgical hubs and staff to bring waiting times
down
 to acceptable levels.”


 


An NHS spokesperson said, “Treating more than half 


a million patients in hospital for COVID...  as well as 


delivering a world-leading vaccination programme,


has inevitably had an impact on some routine and


non-urgent care, yet, since the pandemic began, 


the NHS has performed millions of routine 


procedures, and over 450,000 people 


have started treatment for cancer."


 


“NHS staff are now pulling out all the stops to recover


 elective activity levels, making good use of additional 


resources to open new surgical hubs and diagnostic


 centres, develop innovative ways of working and


 perform more operations, tests, checks and 


scans, so anyone who is concerned about


 their health should come forward so the


 NHS can help you,” the spokes-


person added.


 


(Rhondda Records adds: and in Wales?)





__________________________



Long-term efficacy of Russian 

Sputnik V jab revealed

November 24th, 6:32pm (RT)

 

The Russian-made Sputnik V Covid vaccine 

has demonstrated high long-term efficacy, 

according to data collected in San Marino.

 

 The jab remains around 80% effective 

against the disease 6 to 8 months 

after being administered.

 

The data was revealed on Wednesday by the 

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the 

sovereign wealth fund which bankrolled

 the vaccine’s development.

 

Evaluation of the vaccine’s performance is based 

on analysis of real-world experience obtained in

 the Republic of San Marino. About 70% of the

 microstate’s 34,000-strong population have

 received the Russian-made vaccine.

 

“The data is based on the number of Covid infections

 in San Marino, in November 2021. Efficacy was

 calculated based on data obtained from over 

18,600 individuals fully vaccinated with 

Sputnik V not less than five months 

before November,” the RDIF said

 in a statement.

 

The analysis shows that the vaccine remained some

 “80% effective against coronavirus infection from 

6 to 8 months, after administering the second 

dose.” Hospitalization rates among those

 Sammarinese who got vaccinated with 

Sputnik V have been extremely low, 

with “only 0.75 per 1,000 people” 

ending up in hospital, over the 

span of the mass vaccination 

campaign, from February
to 
November 2021. 

 

“This rate is more than two times lower than that 

of any other vaccine used in the country,” the

 RDIF noted.

 

“Efficacy of Sputnik V in 6-8 months, is much higher

 than the officially published efficacy of mRNA
vaccines,”
 the fund added.

 

Multiple studies have raised the alarm: about the

 waning efficacy of mRNA vaccines - with the US

Pfizer jab in particular, faring rather poorly over 

a long period of time. According to a study, 

bankrolled by Pfizer itself - and published 

in the leading medical journal the Lancet

-- the jab demonstrated 88% efficacy in

 the first month, after full vaccination, 

dropping to only 47% after 5 months. 

 

The study was based on analyzing a large amount

 of data, harvested during vaccination campaigns 

in the US.

 

A competing mRNA vaccine, the Covid-19 shot by

 Moderna, another US company, has apparently 

shown significantly better long-term efficacy 

than Pfizer’s shot. According to the firm’s 

own claims, the jab remains some 93%

 effective... six months after full 

vaccination, compared to the

 shot’s initial efficacy of 94%.

 

These estimates have been corroborated by 

research from the US Centres for Disease 

Control and Prevention (CDC).

 

The research showed the Pfizer jab’s efficacy 

falling from 91% to 77% over the 120-day 

period after vaccination, compared to 

Moderna’s shot -- demonstrating a

decline from 93% to 92% during 

the same period.

 

An analysis of effectiveness of the mRNA shots over

 a longer period of time, however, has produced

 worrying results. According to a study, based 

on data from of nearly 800,000 US veterans 

and published in the Science journal early 

this month, both Pfizer and Moderna jabs

 demonstrated ''a major decline'' in
efficacy,
 over a 7-month period. 

 

While effectiveness against the disease was 

some 89% for Moderna and 87% for Pfizer 

in March, it dropped to 58% and 43% 

respectively, by September.

 

 

___________________________________

 

 

 

Assisted death...
only for vaccinated, 

euthanasia association says

November 24th, 9:21am (RT)

 

Anyone wishing to be euthanized now, has to first

 present proof of vaccination, or recovery from 

Covid, as per the new guidelines issued by 

Germany's euthanasia association.

 

A statement put out by the Hamburg-based group on

 Friday reads... “assisted suicide and the preliminary

 examination of a patient’s ability to make decisions

 freely implies physical closeness between people. 

However, that is precisely the precondition for
the 
spread of Covid.”

 

In February 2020, Germany's top court overturned 

a ban on providing euthanasia as unconstitutional.

 

A number of German regions have put in place strict

 curbs, banning the unvaccinated from most public

 places. Across the country, only recovered or 

inoculated people can enter restaurants, 

museums, and similar venues, while 

those even with a negative Covid 

test cannot. Amid the surge in 

cases, the German states of 

Saxony and Bavaria have

 both cancelled.... all 

Christmas markets.

 

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, told her fellow 

party members on Monday that the current wave 

of Covid in Germany, was worse than any 

previous one, and called for stricter 

measures to contain it. 

 

The country’s health minister, Jens Spahn, went 

even further, claiming that “by the end of this 

winter, everyone in Germany will either be 

vaccinated, recovered, or dead.”

 

Those statements came as the seven-day infection

 rate per 100,000 people broke a new grim record 

on Wednesday, reaching the 404.5 mark.... as 

reported by Germany’s disease control and

 prevention authority, the Robert Koch 

Institute.

 

 

 

______________________________________





 

Covid jab compensation 

claims soar in Australia

November 17th, 3:15pm (RT)

 

Australia’s government could be forced to spend tens

 of millions in payouts - after receiving over 10,000

 compensation claims from people who suffered 

side effects and a loss of income, due to 

Covid-19 vaccines.

 

Under a no-fault indemnity scheme, eligible claimants 

can apply for compensation amounts... of between 

AU$5,000 (US$3,646) to AU$20,000 (US$14,585) 

to cover medical costs and lost wages, as a 

result of being hospitalized, after getting 

the shot. The scheme’s online portal 

is scheduled to be launched 

next month.

 

Official figures suggest, however, that over 10,000 people

 have already indicated their intention to make a claim, 

since registration opened on the health department’s

 website in September. If each claim was approved, 

the government could face a bill of at least 

AU$50 million (US$36.46 million).

 

There were around 78,880 adverse events to Covid-related 

vaccination in Australia as of November 7th, according to 

the Therapeutic Goods Administration, which regulates

 national health products. The majority of side effects 

were minor, including headaches, nausea, and 

arm soreness.

 

Only people who experienced a moderate to significant 

adverse reaction that resulted in a hospital stay of at 

least one night are eligible for coverage under the 

government’s scheme. Those seeking $20,000 

or less have to provide proof their claims are 

vaccine-related – although there has been 

no information, as yet, on exactly what 

evidence would be acceptable.

 

“Adverse events, even though they happen to a tiny

 proportion of people, for the people it does impact

 it’s really quite devastating,” Clare Eves, head of

medical negligence at injury compensation firm 

Shine Lawyers, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

 

Among the adverse reactions covered... are the blood 

clotting disorder “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia

 syndrome (TTS)” linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine 

and... the “myocarditis and pericarditis” heart 

conditions associated with the Pfizer vaccine.

 

 Other reportedly accepted side effects are Guillain-Barré

 syndrome, a rare neurological condition, and immune

 thrombocytopenia (excessive bleeding due to low

 platelet levels).

 

Claims for over $20,000, including those for vaccine-

related deaths, will be assessed by an independent

 legal panel of legal experts and compensation 

paid on its recommendations. Nine people 

have reportedly died after an adverse 

reaction to one of the 3 vaccines

 in the country.

 

Eves told the Morning Herald that her firm was 

representing a number of litigants over the 

vaccine side effects, including several 

who are not eligible for the scheme.

 

 

 

_______________________________




Ambulance Logjams Leave 

Patients Dying With 12,000 

Annually Suffering 'Severe 

Harm', Says NHS Report

November 15th, 3:30pm (Sputnik)

 

Although the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is 

known to have struggled for a long time to meet 

'recommended ambulance response times' for 

patients who have suffered a stroke or severe

 burns – classified as Category 2 – in recent 

months some patients have been forced to

 wait for nearly an hour, after calling 999.

 

Increasingly long times to hand patients arriving in 

ambulances, over to the Accident & Emergency 

department (A&E) are resulting in more people 

either dying or suffering a permanent setback

 to their health, according to a damning report 

by the UK NHS ambulance service.

 

Long periods of waiting before patients can be admitted

 to hospitals --- because of bed shortages caused by 

COVID-19, delays in discharging patients and 

record demand for care, could be affecting 

up to 160,000 patients annually, said the

 report, cited by the  daily newspaper, 

the Guardian.

 

Clarifying that a typical handover, takes much longer 

than the projected 15 minutes, an estimated 12,000 

of the aforementioned patients, suffer “severe 

harm”, stated the document, drawn up by the 

Association of Ambulance Chief Executives

 (AACE) and based on official NHS figures. 

 

The conclusions were drawn after all handover delays 

of more than an hour, spanning 10 ambulance trusts 

on January 4th - and the ensuing harm – had been 

analysed.

 

The data was used to estimate... how many patients 

annually suffer a deterioration in their health, or a 

condition necessitating more invasive treatment 

such as surgery, as a direct result of 

waiting times.

 

“When very sick patients arrive at hospital and then have 

to wait an excessive time for handover to emergency

 department clinicians to receive an assessment and 

definitive care, it is entirely predictable and almost 

inevitable that some level of harm will arise. This 

may take the form of a deteriorating medical or 

physical condition, or distress and anxiety, 

potentially affecting the outcome for 

patients and definitely creating a 

poor patient experience,”
states 
the document.

 

Those patients who finally get admitted to hospital after

 languishing in the back of an ambulance or waiting in 

their home after dialing 999, are increasingly not 

saved - because paramedics are overwhelmed 

at A&E departments.

 

Although stopping short of saying how many patients 

die annually because of ambulance logjams, the 

report is cited as adding:

 

“We know that some patients have, sadly, died while 

waiting outside ED [emergency departments], or 

shortly after eventual admission to ED, after

a wait. Others have died while waiting
for
 an ambulance response in 

the community.”

 

The AACE report also estimated that because of the 

pressure that hospitals are under, about 190,000 

handovers a month – around half the total –
take
 longer than they should.

 

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth was cited

 by the outlet as deploring the scale of harm being 

done to patients thanks to “years of Tory NHS 

neglect”. In the wake of the report, a 

Department of Health and Social 

Care spokesman was cited 

as saying:

 

“We are committed to supporting ambulance crews who 

work tirelessly, responding to emergencies every day. 

NHS England and Improvement, has given ambulance 

trusts an extra £55 million to boost staff numbers for 

winter, helping them to bolster capacity in control 

rooms and on the frontline.”

 

The UK Department of Health and Social Care, also stated 

it had pledged support to the NHS to meet unprecedented 

challenges amid the coronavirus pandemic. It cited 

record investments this year, including an extra 

£5.4 billion over the next six months to support

the  COVID-19 response, and £36 billion for 

“health and care over the next 3 years”.

 

 

 

______________________________________







Latest scientific discovery may

 lead to a cure for Alzheimer’s

November 15th, 11:11am (RT)

 

A team of scientists from the UK and Germany has

 managed to reverse memory loss in mice...  and 

says the treatment could, potentially, lead to a 

breakthrough in fighting Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Researchers used the “humanized” therapeutic 

antibody called TAP01_04, and the vaccine 

called TAPAS.

 

According to a study published in Molecular Psychiatry, 

both drugs triggered “a striking reduction” in the 

formation of harmful deposits of protein, that 

prevent communication between neurons 

of the human brain.

 

Previous drugs for Alzheimer’s have a similar 

mechanism, but have shown little success 

and have sometimes produced negative

 side effects.

 

One of the study’s authors, Mark Carr, a professor 

from the Institute of Structural and Chemical 

Biology at the University of Leicester, said, 

“While the science is currently still at an 

early stage, if these results were to be 

replicated in human clinical trials,

 then it could be transformative.”

 

The researchers are now looking for a
commercial 
partner to run the anti-
body, and the vaccine, 
through
clinical trials on humans.

 

 

_______________________________




UK: NHS Waiting List at Record High
as 5.8mln Still Waiting for Treatment

November 11th, 2:14pm (FNA)

 

 More than 5.8 million patients were waiting for routine

 surgery by the NHS, in England, by the end of 

September, new data revealed.

 

This is the highest figure since August 2007 and comes 

as hospital leaders have warned: the health service is 

at “breaking point”, The Independent reported.

 

Ambulance services answered 82,000 emergency 999 

calls in October, which was more then any other 

month on record, while response times

 have skyrocketed.

 

The average response time for category two patients 

who needed emergency, but not life threatening, 

care such as strokes, was nearly 54 minutes -

 the longest average waiting time since 

records began in 2017.

 

Response times for urgent calls - such as late stages of

 labour, non-severe burns and diabetes - averaged three 

hours, nine minutes and 58 seconds. This is up from 

two hours, 35 minutes and 45 seconds in September, 

and again is the longest average since current 

records began.

 

The Independent has previously revealed ambulance

 response times doubled during the pandemic, amid 

a spike in patient deaths recorded by services.

 

Patients waiting for more than 12 hours in A&E also 

reached the highest levels ever in October, with 

7,059 waits recorded. This is more than five 

times higher than the number of 12 hour 

waits recorded in October 2020, which 

saw 1,268 patients waiting.

 

Meanwhile there were 121,000 patients waiting over 

four hours in A&E, following a decision to admit, 

during the same month. Which is the highest 

number on record.

 

The number of patients waiting more than year for 

treatment has also risen for the first time in five 

months, from 292,138 in August to more than 

300,566 in September.

 

A total of 12,491 people in England were also waiting 

more than two years to start routine hospital 

treatment at the end of September 2021.

 

This is up from 9,754 at the end of August and is more

 than four times the 2,722 people who were waiting

 longer than two years in April.

 

NHS England has told hospitals to eliminate all waits 

of more than two years by March 2022 and is due to

 publish a plan on how the NHS will recover its 

growing backlog of routine operations, later

 this month.

 

For key diagnostic tests like X-rays and MRI scans, NHS

 England data shows almost 370,000 people have waited

 longer than six weeks. This is an improvement on 

September 2020, when there were 419,841.

 

But in September 2019, before the pandemic, there were 

just 38,802 people waiting longer than six weeks for a

 diagnostic test.

 

The NHS has been given £5 billion to reduce NHS backlogs

 including opening 100 community diagnostic hubs to try

 and carry out more tests away from hospitals.

 

The number of urgent cancer patients who waited more 

than two weeks to see a doctor was the highest-ever 

on record in September, as was the number of 

people who were left waiting more than a 

month for treatment. 

 

However, the numbers of people starting treatment for 

cancer, in September, had risen.... compared to 

pre pandemic levels.

 

Responding to figures, head of policy at Macmillan Cancer

 Support Minesh Patel, stated it was “deeply concerning” 

to see record numbers of people waiting too long for

 specialist cancer treatment, in addition to this 

she said “progress to clear the 

backlog, stalled".

 

Professor Stephen Powis, medical director for the NHS 

noted, “there is no doubt pressure on the health 

service remains incredibly high”

 

He added, “But, despite high demand, NHS staff are 

going above and beyond to see more patients and 

deliver millions more tests, checks, treatments 

and operations.

 

“Increasing numbers are coming forward for 

treatment and this is expected to go up, but 

it remains really important -- people do not 

delay seeking help from the NHS, if they 

feel unwell,” he continued.

 

Tim Gardener, senior fellow for think tank the Health

 Foundation said, “Today’s figures provide further 

evidence of the increasingly serious pressures 

facing hospitals across the country."

 

“The government has said that the NHS is under 

‘sustainable pressure’, but it would be extra-

ordinary to look at what’s happening in the 

NHS right now.... and claim that it is 

sustainable," Gardener continued:

 

“That we are facing pressures this significant, 

before we have reached the peak of winter, is 

concerning, particularly as cases of seasonal 

viruses, and rising staff absences, are likely
to 
add further pressure.”

 




Image: pancreatic cancer detection






 

 New symptoms that could

help doctors diagnose
pancreatic cancer

by Pavel López Lazo

November 10th, 5:10pm (Prensa Latina) 

 

Researchers at the University of Oxford, UK, have
identified
 a series of symptoms associated with
pancreatic 
cancer, including two previously
unrecognized
 symptoms - feeling thirsty
and having 
dark urine.

 

The study has confirmed a further 23 signs of pancreatic

 cancer, after looking at data from 24,230 patients who 

were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in England 

between 2000 and 2017, using a large electronic 

database (QResearch).

 

The research, which is the largest study of its kind, 

found 23 symptoms linked with the diagnosis of 

PDAC... (yellowing of the skin, bleeding in the 

stomach or intestine, problems swallowing, 

diarrhea, change in bowel habits, vomiting, 

indigestion, abdominal mass, abdominal 

pain, weight loss, constipation, fat in 

stool, abdominal swelling, nausea, 

flatulence, heartburn, fever, 

tiredness, loss of appetite, 

itching, back pain, thirst, 

and dark urine).

 

Nine symptoms were linked with PNEN (yellowing of

the skin, blood in stool, diarrhea, change in bowel 

habits, vomiting, indigestion, abdominal mass,

abdominal pain, and weight loss).

 

“When pancreatic cancer is diagnosed earlier, patients 

have a higher chance of survival. It is possible to 

diagnose patients when they visit their GP, but 

both patients and GPs... need to be aware of
the
 symptoms associated with pancreatic

cancer.” Dr. Weiqi Liao said.

 

While most symptoms were not specific to pancreatic 

cancer and could be due to other benign conditions,

 the researchers found patients diagnosed with 

pancreatic cancer, had a higher chance of 

experiencing some of these non-specific 

symptoms, one year before diagnosis.

 

Dr Liao said: “These new findings enable us to conduct

 further work on understanding symptoms that could 

suggest pancreatic cancer. This will help GPs to 

make decisions - about who to refer for urgent

 tests, especially when patients have several 

seemingly non-specific symptoms.”

 

 

 

____________________________________




Swedish doctors sign petition 

to stop Pfizer rollout
over 
suspected fraud

November 9th, 9:36am (PressTV)

 

A group of doctors from Sweden, along with researchers

 have signed a petition demanding the suspension of 

vaccination with Pfizer jabs --- over reports of 

violations in the trial of the vaccine.

 

In the petition, a group of 16 Swedish medical 

practitioners have expressed grave concern 

over what they call “gigantic” side effects
of
 the Pfizer vaccine --- amid reports of
suspected research fraud.

 

It comes as the British Medical Journal (BMJ), a weekly

 peer-reviewed medical journal from the UK, last week 

cited a whistleblower as saying that a subcontractor 

to Pfizer falsified data and failed to promptly follow 

up on adverse events reported during the crucial 

phase III trial of the vaccine last autumn.

 

Brook Jackson, who served as the regional director at 

the Ventavia Research Group, told the BMJ that the 

company unblinded patients, and employed

 inadequately trained vaccinators.

 

According to the report, staff members who conducted

 quality control checks were “overwhelmed by the 

volume of problems they were finding.”

 

An employee at a US-based contract research company

 helping to carry out Pfizer’s pivotal covid-19 vaccine 

trial was fired, after reporting massive clinical trial 

violations, a report says.

 

‘Extremely serious'

 

The group of Swedish doctors considered the 

report surrounding Pfizer “extremely serious”.

 

“It undermines confidence in Pfizer, which is responsible 

for testing the vaccine and for the safety of the vaccine

 currently used by Swedes, including hundreds of 

thousands of children,” the petition said.

 

The health experts also suggested that the extent of 

the number of reported suspected side effects of 

Pfizer jabs, is “gigantic”.

 

They put the number of suspected side effects reported

during the 10 months that vaccination has taken place, 

at 83,744 ------ 10 times more than all the side effects
reported,
 per year.

 

“The strong suspicion, that parts of the clinical trial of 

Pfizer's vaccine were not performed in a scientifically

 acceptable manner, and where the study results can 

not be considered reliable, combined with the large 

extent of reported suspected side effects, after 

vaccination - many of a serious nature - makes 

us, as doctors, researchers & immunologists 

--- deeply concerned,” the petition stated.

 

 

 

____________________________________







UK Senior Adviser Says 

Vaccinated Patients 

Dying of COVID Due

 to Waning Immunity


November 8th, 11:46am (FNA)

 

Double-jabbed vulnerable and elderly people are 

dying from COVID-19 due to the efficacy of the 

vaccine waning, a senior adviser said.

 

The effects of coronavirus vaccines are known to 

wane some five or six months after the second 

dose, as discovered in multiple studies 

during the pandemic, PA news 

agency reported.

 

It comes as the government launches a campaign 

to encourage take-up of booster jabs this autumn.

 

While most of those dying with COVID-19 are 

unvaccinated, reports last week said Number

 10 was concerned about hospital admissions 

& deaths among double-vaccinated people

 rising, due to waning immunity.

 

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK 

Health Security Agency... told the BBC’s Andrew 

Marr Show there are deaths among the elderly 

because around 5% remain unvaccinated.

 

She added, “We’re still seeing deaths in mainly the

 unvaccinated population ... but increasingly, 

because of immune waning effects, there 

are deaths in the vaccinated group 

as well.”

 

She added that the majority of deaths are occurring

 in the older age-groups --- particularly the over-70s, 

and also among the clinically/extremely vulnerable

 and those with underlying medical conditions.

 

She continued, “As we’ve mentioned, the immune 

effects wane and what we see is, especially in
the 
older or the vulnerable groups, those are
the 
people whose immunity will wane
the most."

 

“So, if you’re a healthy 30-year-old, then two doses 

will protect you for a longer period. That’s why

 those people need to come forward for their 

third dose as soon as possible,” she added.

 

Patients over 50 and those most at risk from COVID-19 

are currently eligible for a booster six months after 

their second jab.

 

More than seven in 10 people aged 80 and over have 

had their boosters while almost three in five people 

50 and over have also had their top-ups, 

according to NHS figures

 from Sunday,

 

From Monday, booster jabs can be booked 

one month earlier than previously allowed.

 

Under previous rules, people could only book their 

booster six months after receiving their second 

dose. Now, they will be able to arrange an 

appointment after five months, and 

attend as soon as the six-month

 period is up.

 

The move is meant to accelerate the programme by 

making it easier for people to book their inoculation.

 

Dr Hopkins said that, while the uptake of booster jabs

has  been “quite good”... it has also been slower 

than with previous doses.

 

“I think.. that may be due to people thinking they’re already
protected, which is why we’re giving a lot of public health
messages about why it’s so important for them to come
forward for that third dose,” she added.

 

She added, “We know the virus is circulating at very 

high levels in our community. So... unless people get 

vaccinated, we will have a long and difficult winter.”

 


 

_________________________________________







Veteran care worker loses job 

over vaccine mandate, blasts 

government

November 8th, 7:07am (RT)

 

A UK care worker who worked in the field for over a dozen

 years, decried the Covid-19 vaccine mandates, after her

 refusal to be vaccinated cost her... her job. The story 

has grabbed national headlines.

 

Louise Akester, 36, worked at Alderson House in Hull for

 the last three years and in the healthcare field for 14 

years, but has now lost her job, due to her non-

compliance with a mandate stating that all 

care workers must be fully vaccinated 

after November 11th, unless they 

receive a medical exemption. 

 

Opponents of vaccine mandates have argued that this

 approach could lead to major staffing issues over 

the winter months, while supporters insist it will

 offer more protection to vulnerable care 

home residents. 

 

In a video she reportedly took... on Friday afternoon, 

after her final shift, Akester tearfully explained how

 losing her job and walking away from the people 

she has cared for, was the hardest thing she
has 
ever done.

 

“I just can't believe what the bloody government 

is doing to us, I just don't get it, I don't 

understand,” she said. 

 

Akester said the situation is unfair, as residents and 

guests are not required to be vaccinated under the 

new rules. She claimed residents at her facility 

are “crying their eyes out” over her departure, 

and noted that she has been tested for 

Covid-19 regularly --- and has worn 

proper protective gear at her job.

 

Thousands could lose their jobs after November 11th, 

and Akester, who said she made the minimum wage
at her last job, said she has received lots 
of
messages of support.

 

“It’s nice to know I’m not alone - that there’s 

other people in my shoes,” she said. 

 

Akester insisted that she is not against vaccines, 

but is not ready to be vaccinated for Covid-19 

just now. She previously told the Daily Mail 

she is waiting -- due to concerns over the 

potential long-term side effects.

 

“This choice should be my basic human right. 

I do not deserve to be punished for saying 

no,” she said. 

 

However, she did not rule out being 

vaccinated for Covid-19... at some 

point in the future.




 

_____________________________







Covid-19 causes hearing


 and balance disorders


by Pavel López Lazo


November 4th, 8am (Prensa Latina) 


 


A team of experts disclosed that the SARS-CoV-2


virus causes hearing and balance disorders ---


the Massachusetts Institute of Technology


 (MIT) reported.


 


“Coronavirus can infect cells of the inner ear, including


 hair cells, which are critical for both hearing and 


balance, causing hearing loss and tinnitus,” 


researchers stressed.


 


In both human inner ear samples and stem cell-derived 


cell models, specialists found that certain cells
(ciliated 
and Schwann) express proteins
necessary for the 
SARS-CoV-2
virus to enter.


 


A new study... from MIT and the Massachusetts Eye and 


Ear provides evidence that “these two proteins include


 the ACE2 receptor, which is found on the cell surface, 


and two enzymes called furin and serine 2


 transmembrane protease, which help the


virus to fuse with the host cell.”


 


Damage to cochlear hair cells, which can cause hearing


 loss, is generally assessed by measuring otoacoustic 


emissions, sounds made by sensory hair cells when 


they respond to auditory stimulation.


 


Possible pathways for the virus to enter the ears include 


the Eustachian tube, which connects the nose to the


middle ear.


 


The virus can also escape through the nose via small


 openings surrounding the olfactory nerves. That 


would allow the virus to enter the brain and
infect
 the cranial nerves, including the
one connected
 to the inner ear.


 


According to the Reports Nature’s Scientific journal, 


Covid-19 causes more than 50 negative effects in


 humans. These discomforts can last for weeks 


and even months after a patient’s recovery is 


decreed. The list of complaints is led by 


fatigue, headache, attention disorder, 


hair and tooth loss, shortness of 


breath, loss of taste, smell, 


cough, chest discomfort,


the decreased ability to 


pulmonary diffusion, 


sleep apnea....  and 


pulmonary fibrosis.


 


Patients may also have heart disorders such 


as arrhythmias and myocarditis; in addition 


to tinnitus (when a ringing or other noise is


felt in one or both ears) and night sweats


...in addition to neurological disorders, 


including dementia, depression, 


anxiety... and obsessive-


compulsive disorders.


 


 


 


______________________________








High efficacy of Russia’s Sputnik V
vaccine 
in protecting the elderly
confirmed by the large
Argentinian study

November 1st, at 10:57am (RT)


 


A real-world study carried out in Argentina's capital 


of Buenos Aires, has proven the high efficacy of 


Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 


in those aged above 60, the distributor of 


the jab has said.


 


The results of the large-scale research by the Ministry 


of Health of the City of Buenos Aires were published


 in the prestigious, peer-reviewed Journal of the 


American Medical Association (JAMA)
last week.


 


The study included more than 660,000 elderly residents 


of Buenos Aires who'd been vaccinated with Sputnik V,


 AstraZeneca, and Sinopharm jabs, between June the


1st and June the 15th, 2021.


 


According to the paper, infection rates decreased by 


over 88% among those fully vaccinated, while 


mortality dropped by 96.6%.


 


Two-dose vaccination also contributed to a 94.2% 


reduction of all-cause deaths among those aged 


80 and over, and a 98.2% reduction among 


those aged between 70 and 79.


 


Sputnik V was the leading vaccine in the survey, 


with over 63% of the participants injected with


the Russian-designed jab.The Argentinean 


study: “reconfirms the great efficacy of 


Sputnik V, in protecting the elderly,” 


the Russian Direct Investment 


Fund (RDIF), which funded 


the development of the 


Russian jab, and now 


oversees distribution 


...said in a statement. 


 


The RDIF pointed to other research by the Buenos 


Aires health ministry that was published in June


 ...and revealed the single-shot Sputnik Light 


vaccine had an efficacy of 78.6–83.7% 


among people aged between 


60 and 79.


 


Sputnik V has been one of the main vaccines used in 


Argentina’s immunization drive. Russia's jab has


 contributed to Covid-19 cases in the capital 


dropping “at least 15 times”, over the
last 
five months, the RDIF said.


 


Its high efficacy of 97.6% in those fully vaccinated 


and its lack of any significant known side effects 


has generated praise in the international 


scientific community --- including from 


the prestigious medical magazine,


 The Lancet.


 


The Russian jab is already registered in 70 countries 


but still lacks authorization from the EU's regulator, 


the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the 


World Health Organization (WHO). 


 


In late October, the WHO said it was resuming the 


approval procedure after a month-long pause 


...caused by the claimed discovery of 


''irregularities'' at one of the plants 


where Sputnik V is manufactured.


 


During his address to the G20 summit over the 


weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin 


urged the world’s leading nations to work 


out a mechanism: to efficiently update 


vaccines against Covid-19. in light of 


the new variants and accelerate the 


recognition of each other’s jabs. 


 


Competition in the area of vaccines, only 


undermines global vaccination efforts, 


and exacerbates inequality in access


to the jab, he pointed out.


 


Putin again highlighted the high effectiveness 


of Sputnik V, and said its single-component 


version could be used as a booster shot... 


to vaccines produced by other countries. 


 


 


 


___________________________________





Pandemic-hit NHS -- wastes over 

£560mn yearly on ‘unnecessary’ 

and addictive pills with severe 

withdrawal symptoms – study

October 19th, 2:46pm (RT)

 

Despite the Covid pandemic, the NHS is reportedly 

wasting as much as £568 million yearly on habit-

forming drugs like painkillers and sleeping pills 

that the majority of patients do not need,

 leading to dangerous addictions.

 

Doctors in England, are unnecessarily pushing 

dependency-causing opioids, antidepressants 

and other pills, according to a new study by 

the Council for Evidence-based Psychiatry.

 

Researchers found that 3 in 4 prescriptions 

were totally unnecessary in some cases.

 

The study, published Tuesday in the journal Addictive

Behaviours, revealed that, for many patients, their 

symptoms... were not severe enough to warrant 

such medication. In other cases, safer options 

of treatment such as counselling or less toxic

 drugs, were not fully explored, while there 

were also instances of patients who were 

put on the pills for longer than required.

 

“Money is being wasted at a time when the health service 

is strapped for cash. The NHS, is not taking this problem

 seriously and many doctors don’t appreciate the extent 

to which withdrawal from these medicines is a
problem,” 
Dr James Davies, the study’s
co-lead author, told the

 Daily Mail.

 

Between 2015 and 2018, the study estimated, there 

was a taxpayer bill of £1.7 billion for prescriptions

 for... antidepressants, opioids, gabapentinoids, 

benzodiazepines and Z-drugs (sleeping pills). 


The total costs accounted for the price of the 

drugs, the average consultation cost (about 

£33) of seeing a General Practitioner (GP), 

and dispensing fees.

 

NHS figures reportedly show that nearly 17 million people 

a year, in the country, are getting a prescription for such 

drugs. The level of waste is so colossal that it could go 

towards paying the salaries of another 10,000 GPs or 

20,000 nurses, according to the Daily Mail, which 

reported that the Department of Health and 

Social Care is yet to finalise plans to 

tackle the issue.

 

Nearly half the taxpayer money being wasted each year
– 
to the tune of £288 million – goes towards highly 

addictive opioid painkillers followed by £158 

million a year for gabapentinoids. But the 

researchers, at Roehampton University, 

Greenwich University, plus University 

College London, warn that it is likely 

the total amount lost is far higher 

than the “conservative” 

estimates in the study.

 

In addition, the study does not account for the significant

 costs related to harms caused by habit-forming drugs. 

These include higher disability payments and lost tax

 revenues, as well as workplace absenteeism and

 decreased productivity.

 

Besides the financial losses, unnecessary prescription also

 exacts a human cost: when people try to kick the habit, they

 suffer severe withdrawal symptoms --- including stomach

 cramps, blurred vision & loss of appetite. For instance, 

studies on benzodiazepine usage reportedly show that 

50% of those on the drugs for as little as four weeks 

suffer anxiety, dizziness, concentration problems,

 nightmares and weakness. That figure rises to 

100% for people taking the medication for

 over six months.

 

Commenting on the study, the Tory MP Danny Kruger, who

 chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed 

Drug Dependence, said a “fraction of these wasted 

costs should now be invested in a helpline and
dedicated
 withdrawal support services.”

 

In 2019, a Public Health England report revealed that

 “hundreds of thousands” of patients... .had become 

dependent on medicines.. and recommended face-

to-face support, better training for doctors on the 

risks of drug dependency, and a 24-hour helpline 

on how to reduce medication.

 

While little action has occurred since, a Department of

 Health and Social Care spokesman told the Daily Mail

 that ministers are finally backing plans for a helpline 

and will be “working closely” with the NHS to

 implement the recommendations.




 

______________________________






Psychosis Cases Soar in England 

as Pandemic Hits Mental Health

October 18th, 3:22pm (FNA)

 

Cases of psychosis have soared over the past two years 

in England... as a rising number of people experience

hallucinations and delusional thinking, amid the 

stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

There was a 75% increase in the number of people referred

 to mental health services for their first suspected episode 

of psychosis between April 2019 and April 2021, NHS
data 
shows, The Guardian reported.

 

The rise continued throughout the summer, with 12,655

 referred in July 2021, up 53% from 8,252 in July 2019.

 

Much of the increase has been seen over the last year, 

after the first national lockdown, according to data 

analysed by the charity Rethink Mental Illness. 

More than 13,000 referrals were made in May

 2021, a 70% rise on the May before, when 

there were 7,813 referrals.

 

The charity is urging the government to invest more 

in early intervention for psychosis to prevent any
further
 deterioration in people’s mental health,
from which...
 it could take them years
to recover.

 

It says the statistics - provide some of the first concrete

 evidence... to indicate the significant levels of distress
experienced across the population in the pandemic.

 

A study earlier this month, found that anxiety & depression

around the world, increased dramatically, in 2020, with an 

estimated 76mln extra cases of anxiety and 53mln extra 

cases of major depressive disorder than would have 

been expected.. had COVID not struck. Women and 

young people were disproportionately affected, 

the researchers said.

 

Psychosis can involve seeing or hearing things that other

 people do not (hallucinations) and developing beliefs that 

aren't based on reality (delusions), which can be highly

 distressing. It can be a symptom of mental illness...
such 
as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or severe 

depression, but psychosis can also be a 

one-off, potentially triggered by a 

traumatic experience, extreme 

stress or drug and alcohol 

misuse.

 

Despite the continued pressure on mental health services, 

Rethink Mental Illness is highlighting the importance of 

rapid access to treatment to prevent further episodes 

of psychosis... and reduce people’s risk of 

developing severe mental illness.

 

Nice guidelines for people experiencing a suspected 

first episode of psychosis state they should receive 

an assessment within two weeks. However, the 

charity fears that if the increase in referrals is 

sustained, more people will have to wait 

longer for vital treatment.

 

Brian Dow, the deputy chief executive of Rethink Mental

 Illness, said, “Psychosis can have a devastating impact 

on people’s lives. Swift access to treatment is vital to 

prevent a further deterioration in people’s mental 

health... which could take them years to 

recover from."

 

“These soaring numbers of suspected first episodes of 

psychosis are cause for alarm. We're now, well beyond 

the first profound shocks of this crisis and it’s deeply

 concerning, that the number of referrals remains so 

high. As first presentations of psychosis typically 

occur in young adults, this steep rise raises 

additional concerns about the pressures 

the younger generation have faced 

during the pandemic," he added.

 

“The pandemic has had a ''gamechanging'' effect on our 

mental health and it requires a revolutionary response.

 Dedicated additional funding for mental health and 

social care must go to frontline services to help 

meet the new demand, otherwise thousands 

of people could bear a catastrophic cost,” 

he added.

 

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social 

Care said, “It is vital everyone can get the right support 

when they need it and we are delivering the fastest 

expansion in mental health services in NHS 

history, backed by an additional £2.3bln a 

year, by 2023/24, benefiting hundreds
of
 thousands more people.

 

“On top of this, we’ve invested an additional £500mln

 this year to help people whose mental health has 

been particularly impacted by the pandemic. All 

NHS mental health providers have established 

24/7 urgent helplines, which have answered

 around three million calls... during the 

pandemic,” the spokesperson said.

 

 

 

_____________________________




 
López Obrador - again - asks WHO to

 recognize all anti-Covid-19 vaccines

 October 14th, 4:30pm (Prensa Latina) 

 

President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, 

asked today, again, the World Health Organization 

(WHO)... to approve the anti-Covid-19 vaccines 

that have already been positively tested.

 

In the morning press conference at the National Palace,

 the president said that, if it is already proven they are 

not harmful, but quite the opposite, that they help
people 
and the efficacy is also proven, why are
they not 
yet ''authorized'', he wondered.

 

In the case of the United States, there is already some

advance... since they stopped talking about allowing 

entry to that country only to those vaccinated with 

locally made immunizers. Previously, they said 

only Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, but now

 they accept AstraZeneca and others.

 

Apparently they will allow the entry of people vaccinated 

with those authorized by WHO. It is no longer a single 

country deciding, but a world organization, and
it 
must be without political or ideological

interests, but exclusively supported
by science.

 

It should not be possible, he said, that there is an effective

 vaccine in a country with a different political system and

 they try to marginalize it, as that resource is used in 

many other countries and has shown it helps.

 

Political issues should not be mixed with those of health 

and science, he reiterated. Hopefully, all (vaccines) in 

progress, finish the analysis and are approved and 

authorized by WHO... and we can travel
everywhere.

 

To a question about Cuba's 'Abdala' and its application in

children, the president said there is an agreement with 

the government of Havana, to acquire their vaccines,

but it has not yet been possible, and reiterated the 

optimal relationship of bilateral cooperation in 

the field of medicine, and that they will 

continue to work together.

 

It is the 2nd time the president addresses the issue 

due to the delay of WHO... to approve numerous 

vaccines from other countries, outside those 

where the drugs are already authorized.

He 
said the world institution has to act
with 
rectitude, without political or 

ideological bias, and with 

adherence to science.

 

Concerning the case of Mexico and the reopening of 

borders with the United States, the problem is the 

large number of Mexicans vaccinated with 

Russian and Chinese drugs -- which have 

not yet been approved by WHO, despite 

their wide and generalized use.

 

López Obrador asked WHO to hurry, because they have 

been in the process for a long time, and there are 

vaccines being applied by millions of doses that 

have saved lives. And most importantly, there
is 
no report in the world, that they have 

caused harm.

 

 

 

_________________________________




 


Users Unable to Access 


NHS App, Website 


& COVID Pass


October 13th, 3:48pm (Sputnik)


 


Brits were stranded in airports on Wednesday, unable 


to access their Covid-19 vaccination records, due to


 technical issues.


 


The National Health Service (NHS) reported problems 


with user access to the Covid Pass on the NHS app 


and the website, adding that the issue is being 


investigated.


 


The NHS Covid Pass is used to prove one's vaccination


 record and allows people to travel, as well as access 


events and venues in the UK and other countries.


 


Travellers took to social media on Wednesday to
complain
 and fume about the incident, saying
they couldn't take 
their trips, take tours,
or go to museums.




The NHS said it would update users 


on the matter "as soon as we can."


 


 



_________________________________






‘Alarming’ drop in life expectancy 


in England --- even before Covid


 pandemic hit, new university 


study shows


October 13th, 12:53pm (RT)


 


 


Life expectancy across the UK was falling even before 


the Covid pandemic hit, with researchers finding an


 “alarming” drop over the past decade, according 


to a study published by Imperial College


 London (ICL).


 


Having examined around 8.6 million death records in 


England from 2002-2019, ICL found life expectancy


 decreased in one of five communities for women 


and one in nine areas for men, over the 


past decade.


 


The analysis, published on Wednesday, comes after 


the Office for National Statistics (ONS), released a


 report earlier in 2021, estimating life expectancy 


for men had fallen for the first time in 40 years... 


due to the Covid pandemic. 


 


However, ICL researchers found it had actually 


started to decline, years before the pandemic


 impacted communities.


 


“There has always been an impression in the UK that


 everyone's health is improving, even if not at the 


same pace,” said Professor Majid Ezzati, who


 led the study, but “data show that longevity 


has been getting worse for years, in large 


parts of England.”


 


For such declines to be seen in 'normal times' 


--- before the pandemic --- is alarming.


 


Beyond the national picture across England... the study


 outlined the stark difference between life expectancy 


in different parts of the country. At the most extreme


 point, there was a 20-year gap between women 


living in the London borough of Camden and 


Leeds, West Yorkshire, while there was a 


27-year gap between Kensington and 


Chelsea and Blackpool, Lancashire.


 


The analysis, released in the peer reviewed Lancet 


journal, blamed the differences in life expectancy


on poverty, employment issues, welfare support, 


and healthcare, urging the government to boost


 investments in areas that have the lowest life 


expectancies.


 


Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government 


recently pledged to tackle inequalities between 


different regions --- laying out his so-called 


‘levelling-up’ agenda, which will seek to 


providing funding to towns, cities and 


rural areas, giving local authorities 


''greater control'' over how 


government investment 


is spent.


 


(Rhondda Records adds: twenty years ago, the


Rhondda's life expectancy was worse than


Ruanda's - want to guess what Wales'


figures are now?)


 


 


 


______________________________






Phthalates in toys, shampoo,

 makeup, linked to early 

deaths in US

October 12th, 8:21pm (PressTV)




A new study has found that the chemical phthalates 

used commonly in various industries, has been 

causing early deaths in the United States. 

 

According to the study published on Tuesday

 in Environmental Pollution: Phthalates, also 

known as plasticizers, may contribute to 

some 91,000 to 107,000 premature 

deaths a year, among people 

ageD 55 to 64 in the US.  

 

The lead author of the study, Dr. Leonardo Trasande, 

said the research confirmed earlier studies showing

that Phthalates exposure, led to a range of health 

problems.

 

Trasande, who is a professor of pediatrics, environmental

 medicine, and population health at NYU Langone Health 

in New York City, said industries needed to stop, or at 

least reduce, the use of the hazardous man-made 

chemicals found in hundreds of consumer 
products, including food storage 

containers, shampoo, makeup, 

perfume, and children's toys.

 

 "This study adds to the growing database
on the impact 
of plastics on the human
body, and bolsters public 
health and
business cases --- for reducing or 

eliminating the use of plastics."

 

Several earlier studies had shown that Phthalates 

exposure was linked to obesity, diabetes, heart 

disease, and cancer.

 

According to the National Institute of Environmental 

Health, phthalates can interfere with important 

hormone functions: affecting the immune and 

reproductive systems, as well as the brain, 

liver, and other organs.

 

People are exposed to phthalates almost everywhere

 because they are added to most consumer products.

 

Exposures commonly come from breathing contaminated

air, or eating or drinking foods that came into contact
with 
the plastic, according to the US Centres for
Disease 
Control and Prevention.

 

 

___________________________________




 

Iceland Halts Moderna Jabs... 

over Heart-Inflammation Fears

October 10th, 10:47am (FNA)




Iceland, on Friday... suspended the Moderna 

coronavirus jabs citing a slightly increased 

risk of cardiac inflammation, going further 

than its Nordic neighbours which,

previously, only limited the
use 
of the vaccine.

 

"As the supply of Pfizer vaccine is sufficient in 

the territory ... the chief epidemiologist has 

decided not to use the Moderna vaccine 

in Iceland," said a statement published

 on the Health Directorate website, 

AFP reported.

 

This decision owes to "the increased incidence of 

myocarditis and pericarditis after vaccination with

 the Moderna vaccine, as well as with vaccination 

using Pfizer/BioNTech", the chief epidemiologist 

said in a statement.

 

For the past two months, Iceland has been administering 

an additional dose "almost exclusively" of the Moderna

vaccine to Icelanders vaccinated with Janssen, a 

single-dose serum, marketed by America's 

Johnson & Johnson, as well as to elderly 

and immunocompromised people, who 

received 2 doses of another vaccine.

 

This will not affect the vaccination campaign in the island 

of 370,000 inhabitants, where 88% of the population over

 12 years old, is already fully vaccinated.

 

Since Thursday, Sweden & Finland have also suspended 

the use of Moderna vaccine, but only for those under 30, 

because of a risk of inflammation of the myocardium, 

the heart muscle, and the pericardium, the 

membrane covering the heart.

 

Denmark and Norway... have formally 

advised against it, for those under 18.

 

According to the Swedish authorities, most of these

inflammations are benign, and pass on their own, 

but it is recommended that medical advice be 

sought, should symptoms occur.

 


Image: picture of depressed man




 Image by Holger Langmaier





Study: Covid has caused 


dramatic rise in anxiety,


 depression


October 9th, 11:44am (PressTV)


 


Cases of depression and anxiety went up by more than


a quarter worldwide, in 2020, due to Covid-19, shows 


a study.


 


Cases of major depression and anxiety around the world 


increased dramatically in 2020 due to the Covid-19 crisis, 


according to the first global estimate of the impact of
the
 pandemic on mental health.


 


The study, published in the Lancet medical journal, is the


 latest to suggest the pandemic has taken a serious toll 


on mental health, with an estimated 76 million extra 


cases of anxiety and 53 million extra cases of 


major depressive disorder, than would have


 been expected, had Covid not struck.


 


In 2020, cases of major depressive disorder and anxiety


 disorders increased by 28% and 26%, respectively.


 Women were affected more than men, and 


younger people were more affected than


 older age groups, according to the 


recent study.


 


Countries with high Covid-19 infection rates, and major


reductions in the movement of people - a consequence 


of measures such as lockdowns and school closures – 


had the greatest increases in the prevalence of major


 depressive disorder and anxiety disorders.


 


The head of the research group from the Queensland 


Centre for Mental Health Research, School of Public 


Health, University of Queensland, Australia, said, 


“This study is the first to quantify the prevalence 


and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders 


by age, sex, and location globally in 204 


countries and territories, in 2020.”


 


Women and young people are more likely to be affected 


than men or older people. The study showed... that 


almost 52 million of the added cases for anxiety 


during the first Covid year were accounted for


 among women, contrasted with 24 million 


for men.


 


“We believe [that] is because women are more likely to 


be affected by the social and economic consequences 


of the pandemic,” said the lead author, Dr. Damian 


Santomauro of the University of Queensland.


 


“Women are more likely to take on additional career and


 household responsibilities, due to school closures, or


 family members becoming unwell. Women also tend


 to have lower salaries, less savings... and less 


secure employment than men....  and so, are 


more likely to be financially disadvantaged 


during the pandemic,” he said, adding: a 


rise in domestic violence, may also
play 
a role.


 


Although Covid caused more death and serious illness 


among older people, it was younger people who faced 


the greatest burdens of depression and anxiety.  


 


The category with the highest burden, the 20 to 24-year 


age bracket, had an estimated 1,118 added depression 


cases per 100,000 people, and 1,331 more per 100,000


 for anxiety.


 


“School closures and wider restrictions limiting young


 people’s ability to learn and interact with their peers,


 combined with the increased risk of unemployment, 


also meant that young people were also more 


heavily impacted by major depressive 


disorder and anxiety disorders 


during the pandemic,” says 


Alize Ferrari, one of the 


University of Queens


-land researchers.


 


“We are hoping that these findings encourage more dialogue
by policy makers, governments, 
researchers and people
considering 
resource allocation and planning for
mental health responses….
 It is crucial --- that
policymakers 
take underlying factors such as
these into account... as 
part of measures


to strengthen mental health services,”


 he added.





_______________________________________________________







Armed police... drag passenger off 


Eurostar train - after staff member 


accused him of wearing the 


‘wrong type of mask’


October 8th, 1:46pm (RT)


 


Eight armed, uniformed French police boarded a 


Eurostar train on Thursday afternoon, after it 


made an emergency stop in Lille, to forcibly


 remove a passenger who was accused of


 “not wearing the right type of mask.” 


 


The incident occurred on a Eurostar service that was


 traveling from Paris Gare du Nord to St. Pancras on


 Thursday afternoon but was halted in Lille after a


 train manager reportedly got into an aggressive 


argument with a man over his face mask, 


according to passengers.


 


Following the confrontation, the manager stated that 


they would be informing the police at Lille, for his


 failure to follow Covid regulations, with the train 


making an emergency, unscheduled stop at the 


station where eight officers forcibly removed 


the passenger. 


 


As he left the train, the passenger, thought to be in 


his 40s, claimed he had been accused of “not 


wearing the right type of mask” and would


 now “be left alone in France,” calling it 


“very cruel treatment.”


 


A spokesperson for Eurostar defended the response to
the situation, claiming that “the passenger became


 aggressive and intimidating toward the on-board 


team” after they reminded him of their rule on 


mask wearing and as a result, he “was asked


 to leave the train at Lille station.” 


 


In accordance with the company’s “normal 


procedure” police officers were called “to


 attend and assist.”


 


French police confirmed the man had been arrested 


over the incident on the train, but provided no 


further update on the situation.


 


Eurostar states on its website that all passengers 


must wear a face covering on its trains, even if 


they have been fully vaccinated, with those 


who fail to comply potentially being 


refused travel. 


 


The company’s guidelines don’t state what type of 


mask is required, only that it must cover the 


mouth and nose of passengers.


 


 


 


_________________________________


 


 


 


Now scientists have confirmed 


that natural immunity is more 


effective than vaxxed
immunity,...


why can’t I have my 


freedoms back?


October 8th, 10:36am (RT)


 


By Rachel Marsden, columnist, political strategist 


and host of an independently produced French-


language program that airs on Sputnik France.


 Her website can be found at 


rachelmarsden.com


 


I’ve got immunity from having had the virus, so where’s


 my permanent health pass and an end to testing hell? 


Governments are ignoring an avalanche of clinical 


studies proving that the Covid-recovered could
simply 
be left alone.


 


As someone who has recovered from Covid-19, I’m tired 


of spending the better part of a year, now, contending 


with brainwashed sheeple glued to every word of our 


flip-flopping, agenda peddling, manipulative govern-


ment authorities trying to sell us on the idea that
if 
you’ve already had the virus, you still need to
get
 at least one approved anti-Covid jab.


 


The fact that governments can’t even agree on whether 


the Covid-recovered should get either one or two jabs


to qualify for their government-issued QR code health 


pass, allowing them to live & travel freely, as before 


this fiasco, should already make thinking people 


skeptical. 


 


Here in France, government propaganda requires the 


Covid-recovered to take just one jab to qualify for the 


national QR code health pass – which is insufficient 


for travel to my home country of Canada, which


 requires that all travelers be double-jabbed 


three months after any Covid infection.


 


But If I have evidence that my acquired immunity is equal 


to or superior to the jabs, then getting even a single dose


 implies potential risk...  for little or no reward – or even 


potential detriment. So why would I roll that dice? It's


not like hospitals are filling up with the unjabbed 


Covid-recovered. So why aren't the authorities 


acknowledging this - & reacting accordingly 


- to remove us from their jab treadmill.


 


An Israeli study is often cited to justify jabbing the Covid-


recovered, claiming they are twice as protected from


 re-infection than if they relied solely on acquired 


immunity. But when you dig into the data, you 


realize that the odds of re-infection are


 already infinitesimal, and that two 


times nil, is still nil. 


 


Another study, published in the medical journal, Viruses,


 concluded that “compared with mRNA vaccination... 


natural infection induces a more robust humoral 


immune response” ...meaning that the Covid-


recovered, have systems better primed with


memory to respond to any future exposure 


...even after blood antibody levels wane. 


 


And in a bombshell undercover video sting published this


 week, Project Veritas revealed ... Chris Croce, a senior 


associate scientist at Pfizer, admitting on camera the 


advantage of acquired immunity over his company’s


 vaccine. “You’re protected most likely for longer 


since it’s a natural response,” Croce revealed. 


 


Nick Karl, a Pfizer biochemist, told the undercover operative:


 “When somebody is naturally immune – like they got COVID


 – they probably have… more antibodies against the virus


 because what the vaccine is that protein is just on the


 outside… It’s just one antibody against one specific 


part of the virus. When you actually get the virus - 


you’ll start producing antibodies against multiple


 pieces of virus, not only the outside portion but 


the inside portion, the actual virus -- so your 


antibodies are probably better at that point


 than the vaccination.” 


 


Another article published last month on Cold Spring


 Harbour Laboratory’s preprint server... concluded: 


 


“While vaccinations are highly effective at protecting 


against infection & severe COVID-19 disease, our 


review demonstrates that natural immunity in 


COVID 19-recovered individuals is... at least 


equivalent to the protection afforded by full 


vaccination of COVID-naïve populations.  


 


There is a modest and incremental relative benefit to


 vaccination in COVID-recovered individuals;  how-


ever, the net benefit is marginal on an absolute 


basis.” The researchers recommended that... 


“vaccination of COVID-recovered individuals 


should be subject to clinical equipoise
and 
individual preference.” 


 


And that’s not all... “Israelis who had an infection were 


more protected against the Delta coronavirus variant -
t
han those who had an already highly effective COVID-


19 vaccine,” wrote Science Magazine... of the bench-


mark Israeli study from August (while still bizarrely,


 claiming vaccinations were “vital”). Since then, 


we’ve learned that the effectiveness of these


 ‘highly effective vaccines’ – like Pfizer/


BioNTech’s – wanes after 6 months. 


 


In Pfizrael, sorry, Israel – the primary ground for Covid-19 


jab experimentation according to Dr. Philip Dormitzer, 


vice president and chief scientific officer at Pfizer, 


who called the country a “sort of laboratory” – a 


record explosion of Covid infection has resulted


 in calls for a FOURTH dose, even as the double
-
jabbed who haven’t yet received their 3rd jab 


started losing their QR code health pass


 privileges... this week. 


 


It looks like endless jab hell. So how about just giving 


the Covid-recovered our lifelong health pass already 


and leaving us alone, so we can ignore this circus


 and move on with our lives? Why are you holding


 us hostage? Let me take my own ‘jab’ at 


answering that.


 


What’s clearly lurking behind the reluctance of authorities 


to acknowledge acquired immunity is the fear that if they 


just decided to leave us alone while subjecting everyone


 else to their endless jab and pony show --- then an 


increasing number of people would eventually 


decide to find a way to deliberately catch
and
 recover from Covid, so they could
be left
 alone, too.


 


The authorities are literally going against the science and


 lying to victims of Covid... in order to avoid creating a 


benefit that others might seek out at a potential risk.



 Except that, they themselves....  are responsible for 


creating the restrictive system, from which, people 


are now literally seeking out infection to find relief


 – if only to acquire a health pass good for six 


months so they’re able to access everyday


 venues and basic freedoms.


 


As Sir Walter Scott once wrote, in his epic poem: 


“O what a tangled web we weave, When first we 


practise to deceive!” So maybe stop manipulat


-ing people, in a lousy attempt at social


engineering and start actually follow-


ing your beloved ‘science’, rather 


than cherry picking it, to suit 


your corrupt narrative, you


 inept clowns.


 






_________________________________





Finland becomes Third country
 to
limit use of the Moderna vaccine 

over cardiovascular side effects


October 7th, 5:25pm (PressTV)


 


Finland becomes the third country, after Sweden and


 Denmark, to pause the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 


vaccine for younger males, over reports of its
rare
 cardiovascular side effects.


 


In a statement on Thursday, Mika Salminen, director 


of the Finnish health institute, announced the news, 


saying that Finland would instead give Pfizer-BioN


Tech COVID-19 vaccine, to men born in 1991 


and later.


 


The precautionary decision was made by Helsinki after


 a Nordic study found that those aged 30 and below 


had a “slightly higher risk” than others, of 


developing myocarditis.  


 


“A Nordic study involving Finland, Sweden, Norway and


 Denmark, found that men under the age of 30, who 


received Moderna Spikevax, had a slightly higher


 risk than others, of developing myocarditis,” 


he said.


 


Finland currently offers COVID-19 


vaccines to people aged 12 


and over.


 


The decision by Finnish authorities came, just a day after 


Swedish and Danish health officials announced that they


 would halt the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
for 
all young adults and children, citing the same 


unpublished Nordic study.


 


Norway already recommends the Cominarty vaccine, 


and Finland was expected to publish a decision later.


 


Salminen said the study will be published in the next 


couple of weeks, and that the European Medicines 


Agency (EMA) had already received preliminary 


data, for further assessment.


 


Back in July, the safety committee of the EMA 


announced that the reported inflammatory 


heart conditions could be observed in 


very rare cases after the use of 


Spikevax, or the Pfizer/BioN


Tech Cominarty jab, more 


often in younger males, 


after the second dose.


 


 


 


_________________________________



 
‘Fact-checkers’ rush to defend 

Bill Gates --- as video of him 

praising vaccines’ abilities

 to reduce population 

growth, goes viral

October 6th, 5:59pm (RT)

 

Self-proclaimed ‘fact-checkers’, have been forced 

to walk back some of their more forceful denials 

of Bill Gates’ opinions on population control, in

 another effort to frame the philanthropist’s 

critics, as loonies.

 

FactCheck.org has seemingly revised its view of 

Gates’ infamous 2010 TED Talk... in which he 

declared doing a “great job” on vaccination 

in the developing world... could bring down 

the population count. In ITS statement on 

Wednesday, the organization announced

 that while Gates had -- “said health care 

& vaccines could reduce unsustainable 

population growth,” his words had 

been taken out of context – and
he
 had never said “3 billion
people
 need to die.”

 

The ‘fact-checker’ had gleefully seized upon a 2019 

video featuring naturopath R. Young addressing a
group of judicial-cosplay 
conspiracy theorists
known as the
 International Tribunal for
Natural 
Justice, noting that there is
no 
documented evidence of Gates 
uttering any of the words Young
was putting 
into his mouth –
especially 
the “3 billion
people” line.

 

However, most of Gates’ detractors have never 

accused him of outright claiming 3 billion 

people need to die, though many have 

referred to him - in one form or
another - 
as a eugenics fan. 

 

The vaccine evangelist’s claim that the world’s 

population, standing in 2010 at 6.8 billion and 

“headed up to nine billion”, at the time of the 

infamous TED Talk, could be reduced “if we

 do a really great job on new vaccines, 

health care, reproductive health 

services,” and the like...  “by, 

perhaps, 10 or 15% percent” 

can itself be considered an
incriminating statement -- 

and FactCheck.org ..has 

acknowledged that he 

said it.

 

Many of the self-proclaimed ‘fact-checking’ groups 

have become somewhat notorious for seizing on 

bizarre conspiracy theories about figures like 

Gates and using such falsehoods to smear 

legitimate criticism of those figures.

 

Additionally, a Gates TED Talk, from last year, was 

edited post-broadcast to remove a line regarding

 vaccine certificates, which, at the time, were 

considered to be much too redolent of the 

police-state mentality... for any of the 

democratic countries to accept.

 

A year and a half later, lockdown-mad populations 

have been driven into the arms of such passport 

regimes, and Gates’ prediction - which persists

in the audio version of his talk - sounds

 almost restrained.




 

__________________________________




1 in 4 Brits give up on NHS

 non-emergency calls due
to
 long queues caused
by
 staff shortages

October 3rd, 11:14am (RT)

 

Almost a quarter of callers hang up, while attempting
to 
ring the National Health Service’s non-emergency 

111 phone line, because of waiting times that far 

exceed the service’s call-handling target.

 

The average wait time across the UK, was roughly eight 

minutes in July, but in northeast England, some callers 

were left waiting for up to 25 minutes, The Guardian 

reported on Sunday. In comparison, NHS targets 

suggest a caller should not be waiting for
more
 than 20 seconds.

 

111 is an NHS phone line that can be used to report health

 concerns that are not considered to be an emergency. 

It’s used by many British people when they need to

reach a medical practitioner more quickly than it 

would take to secure an available appointment

 with their own doctor.

 

Due to the lengthy queues, 24% – or nearly one in four 

callers – bailed on their attempts to reach 111 in July 

– up by 16% since April, when callers were left 

waiting for just over a minute and a half... on 

average. In the Northeast... the figure was 

even higher, with half of all callers giving 

up before reaching a staff member. NHS 

targets suggest that just 3% of callers 

should be put in a position where 

they consider it preferable to 

hang up before connecting.

 

A spokesperson for the NHS told The Guardian that the

long waiting times were due to an “increased demand” 

amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the backlog it has 

caused, with “call handlers seeing a 44% rise

 in calls during July compared with the
same 
month in 2019”.

 

The GMB trade union’s public-services officer... Rachel

 Harrison...   said the long queues were also due to: “a 

staffing crisis” in the health sector, with “exhaustion 

and burnout, Covid sickness and the impact of low 

pay on workers”, leading to fewer staff to deal
with
 the increased numbers of callers.

 

“When people can’t get through to 111, they turn to 999 –

 which, in turn, increases the demands and pressures 

on our already-overstretched ambulance services,” 

Harrison added.

 




_____________________________________





Canadian Military Used COVID-19


 to Test Afghan-Like Propaganda 


Techniques on Citizens: Report


September 30th, 6:40pm (RT)


 


The government in Ottawa reportedly didn’t authorise 


a covert propaganda operation against its own 


citizens, according to a plan designed by 


Canada's military leadership.


 


The Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) used


 the COVID-19 pandemic to test its propaganda 


techniques - similar to those used during the


 Afghanistan war - on its own citizens, the 


daily paper Ottawa Citizen reported, 


citing documents obtained through
the 
Access to Information law.


 


What the Operation Was About


 


According to the newspaper, the plan was hatched last year 


by the CJOC, which at the time was headed by Lt-Gen Mike 


Rouleau. The operation called for “shaping” & “exploiting”


 information during the health crisis to make the 


government’s messages about the pandemic 


more effective and prevent any civil 


disobedience from Canadians.


 


The CJOC reportedly issued the directive for the plan on 


April 8th 2020 but it was quickly shut down by General 


Jonathan Vance, then-chief of the defence staff who 


stepped down from his post in January 2021.


 


Vance was reportedly prompted to kill the initiative after 


hearing the concerns from his advisers about the 


scheme’s legality and ethics. The plan was still


 reportedly active until May 2nd... when the 


general’s halting order finally took effect.


 


Investigation Launched


 


Vance then invited retired Major-Gen Daniel Gosselin to 


investigate how the CJOC had been able to launch the


 propaganda scheme without getting authorisation 


from higher levels. Gosselin’s report concluded 


that military commanders were not seeking 


approval from the authorities because they 


apparently didn’t believe they needed it. 


Canada’s federal government never 


authorises initiatives, Gosselin 


argued.


 


According to the investigative report... the CJOC saw
the 
pandemic as a “unique opportunity” to test their 


''techniques'' on ordinary citizens. Gosselin notes 


that the plan did not emanate from “passionate” 


propaganda specialists but was a result of the 


CJOC’s deeper “mindset” that supported the 


use of such techniques.


 


Gosselin cited the views of the body’s former chief of 


staff, Rear-Adm Brian Santarpia, who believed that
the
 pandemic was “an opportunity to monitor and
collect 
public information to enhance awareness
for better 
command decision-making.”


 


The report concluded that CJOC held a “palpable, 


dismissive attitude” towards concerns of other 


military bodies and leaders when launching 


the scheme.

Gosselin has recommended 
that Canadian
Forces review their policies,
 when it
comes to information operations 


– especially those concerning
domestic audience.


 


‘Controversial’ Issue?


 


Ottawa Citizen argues that “military propaganda training 


and initiatives within Canada, over the past year....  have 


proved controversial”. The paper cites a recent incident
in Nova Scotia, when a fake letter from
 the government
designed by the military, 
warned about “wolves on the
loose”, 
causing panic among locals and officials who
were unware about 
the ongoing ''operation'.'


 


But revelations about the military’s reported move didn’t 


simply stir controversy among some readers but down-


right outrage.


 


As such, Lorne Gunter - a columnist on another daily 


newspaper, the Toronto Sun - has raged in a recent


 piece, against “censorship, propaganda and 


manipulation” --- which typifies the
Canadian 
government's “toolkit”.


 


“The military should never treat Canadian citizens as if 


they are the enemy,” he wrote, suggesting that this 


attitude is “increasingly popular among the


Canadian elites”.


 


Canada’s political leaders have 


kept silent on the report so far.


 


 


 


_______________________________









Antibodies in Fully Vaxxed 


With Pfizer, AstraZeneca


 --- Decline Steeply After 


Several Months – Study


September 30th, 7:05am (Sputnik)


 


Swedish national broadcaster SVT described the new 


findings as a piece of the puzzle why Sweden and 


other heavily-vaccinated countries are now 


seeing more and more breakthrough 


infections among those who duly 


received their two shots.


 


Antibody levels among fully vaccinated people wane


 faster than researchers previously thought, a major


 recent study performed in Sweden has concluded.


 


In total, over 2,000 healthcare employees have been 


included in the Community Study -- whose goal is to


 learn more about immunity after COVID-19 and the 


effect of vaccines, inasmuch as how quickly 


immunity wears off.


 


For Pfizer-vaccinated people who haven't had COVID-19, 


antibody levels were halved after only three months. 


After seven months, only 15 percent of the original


 levels remained – a decrease of 85 percent, 


national broadcaster SVT reported.


 


Because the staff who received the AstraZeneca vaccine 


received the booster shot later, the researchers were 


only able to follow them for three months. Never-


theless, the decline was even steeper. After 


barely three months, AstraZeneca-


vaccinated people had only one-


fifth of the Pfizer-vaccinated 


antibody levels.


 


A handful of participants received Moderna's vaccine, 


but that group was too small... and had a too short 


follow-up time. for the researchers to say 


anything conclusive.


 


“The fact that antibody levels fall over time is fully expected, 


but I am surprised that it has dropped so significantly in 


such a relatively healthy and young group”, research


 leader Charlotte Thålin told SVT. “The low levels 


mean that we can have an increased spread 


even in vaccinated groups, and this can 


have consequences for our elderly. 



This is worrying and indicates that 


the elderly and fragile must 


receive a third refill dose


 as soon as possible”,


 she added.


 


SVT described the new findings as a piece of the puzzle 


why Sweden and several other heavily-vaccinated 


countries have begun to see more and more 


breakthrough infections among those who 


have duly received their two shots. How-


ever... researchers still don't know
where 
the protection line goes.


 


“Antibodies are only part of the immune system, we know 


that high antibody levels.. are associated with protection 


against infection. But the immune system also contains


 memory cells, that quickly supplement the antibody 


levels when we are exposed to the virus and we do


 not know exactly where the limit is, for becoming 


infected or ill”, Charlotte Thålin.


 


Sweden, a nation of over 10 million, has vaccinated over 


63 percent of its population. So far, it has had 1.15 


million cases of the disease, with over


 15,000 deaths.


 


While famous for not introducing any comprehensive 


lockdowns even at the height of the pandemic,


 unlike its neighbours, earlier on Wednesday


 September 29th, Sweden lifted the last 


restrictions in place. In practice, this 


means that the number of guests at 


events, is no longer limited, that 


Swedes are no longer recom-


mended to work from home 


and that the distancing 


requirements... 


disappear.


 


 


 


_________________________________







Pope Francis calls for

 a comprehensive 

approach to health

September 27th, 3:07pm (Prensa Latina) 

 


Pope Francis said here today, that considering health 

in its multiple dimensions, at a global level, helps 

to understand and responsibly assume the 

interconnection between phenomena.

 

Upon receiving participants in the Plenary Assembly of

 the Pontifical Academy for Life, the Supreme Pontiff 

pointed out that this is how it is better seen how 

living conditions derived from political, social

 and environmental decisions, produce an 

impact on the health of human beings.

 

If we examine life expectancy, and healthy life... in
different 
countries and social groups, we discover
deep 
inequalities, Francis said, at the three-day 

event, inaugurated today, and focused 

on the theme 'Public health in a 

global perspective. Pandemic,

 bioethics, future'.

 


After noting that these differences depend on variables 

such as... level of income and education and places of 

residence, the Pope specified that 'we state that life 

and health are equally fundamental values for all, 

based on the unalienable dignity of the 

human person'.

 

But if that declaration does not follow the appropriate 

commitment to overcome inequalities, in fact, we 

accept the painful reality: that not all lives are 

equal, and health is not protected in the 

same way, for everyone, he said.

 

When highlighting how the Covid-19 pandemic made clear 

the profound interdependence 'both between us and 

between the human kind and our common home', 

he recalled that 'our societies, especially in
the 
West, have tended to forget that

 interconnection', with the 

resulting 'bitter 

experiences'.

 

The Pope called to reverse this trend through synergy 

between different disciplines, such as biology and 

hygiene, medicine and epidemiology, but also 

economics and sociology, anthropology 

and ecology.

 

In this sense, he stressed that the objective should be 

- in addition to understanding the phenomena - to

 identify the technological, political and ethical 

criteria for action --- on the health system, 

the family, employment, and 

the environment.

 

 


 

____________________________



Back to normal everyday life’: 

Norwegian PM announces 

end of Covid restrictions

September 24th, 1:22pm (RT)

 

Speaking at a press conference... on Friday, Norway’s 

prime minister, Erna Solberg, stated that the country 

will reopen the country on Saturday... ending Covid 

restrictions on businesses and social interactions.

 

The decision to remove the strict Covid measures comes 

561 days after they were first introduced to reduce the 

spread of the virus, with Norwegian health authorities 

also giving the green light for other restrictions, 

such as those on sports venues and travel, 

to end in the coming weeks. 

 

“Now we are going back to a normal everyday life,” Solberg 

stated... as she announced that, from 4pm (3pm GMT) on 

Saturday, the country will “remove most of the infection 

control measures,” giving “a big thank you” to citizens 

for complying.

 

Celebrating the removal of restrictions, Solberg hugged 

Health Minister Bent Hoie at the press conference, 

which the two said was acceptable, as they are 

both fully vaccinated. 

 

While measures will be lifted in the next 24 hours,
the
 Norwegian PM urged businesses to not start 

preparing for customers to return until 
tomorrow, as the rules are still in 

place until the “common time” 

that has been agreed. 

 

Although Norwegian officials feel comfortable enough to 

start reopening the country, the official urged eligible 

citizens to ensure they are fully vaccinated, 

describing it as their “civic duty” and

 issuing a plea to “minority 

communities” who have

 not yet had the jab.

 

Responding to the announcement, the head of the 

Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise, Ole Erik 

Almlid, declared that this is what “the whole 

society has longed for,” even though “the 

finish line has not yet been reached,” 

with more work to come until

 industries have fully

 rebounded.




 

________________________________







England’s cancer treatment backlog 


could take ‘decades’ to clear after 


Covid pandemic crippled patient


 care – report


September 24th, 11:25am (RT)


 


The cancer treatment backlog in England could “take 


decades to address” ...after the Covid pandemic 


caused the health service to “collapse rapidly”, 


according to a new report from the Institute


 for Public Policy Research (IPPR).


 


In the research, released on Friday, the independent 


progressive think tank warned of the impact of the 


pandemic on cancer treatment, urging officials to 


take steps to prevent potentially “severe” 


consequences... that will require 


“considerable catch-up” 


work to be done.


 


While the UK government has announced a three-year 


funding proposal to address issues that have 


emerged in the NHS during the pandemic,
the
 IPPR said there was “more to be
done” if 
Britain is to “build back
better”... as 
Prime Minister
Boris Johnson 
promised.


 


Highlighting how the impact of coronavirus had caused 


the health service to “collapse rapidly”, the think
tank 
said the crisis had forced the NHS to take 


“unthinkable steps --- like cancelling cancer
treatments”, leaving an 
estimated 19,500
people with 
undiagnosed cancers.


 


Examining the ways to clear the backlog, the study warned


 that it would take until 2033 before hospitals, already 


“stretched” to capacity...  could clear the backlog


- even if treatment interventions were increased


 by 5%. If they rose by 15%, it could potentially 


be cleared by next year. However, if the NHS 


didn’t boost cancer treatments, the backlog 


“could take decades to address”, the 


researchers said.


 


The IPPR’s report urges the government to implement 


greater funding as a matter of urgency, as the funds 


announced so far were “just about enough to keep 


the health service afloat”, it said, given that data 


showed that, before the pandemic, the cancer 


survival rate in the UK already lagged “far 


behind most similar countries”.


 


“These alarming estimates lay bare just how urgently 


investment in equipment, and, crucially, in NHS 


staffing, is needed to avoid a devastating 


decade of further disruption to cancer 


diagnosis and treatment,” the chief 


executive of Breast Cancer Now, 


Baroness Delyth Morgan, said


 following the release of


 the report.


 


The UK government has not yet issued 


a response to the IPPR’s findings.


 


 


[Baroness Delyth Morgan, hmm...


that's a Welsh name -- wonder


if she could offer to publicise


what on earth is happening


in Wales?]


 


 


 


_______________________________



ER Doc Accuses Gov’t of ‘Shoving’ 

Vax Side Effects ‘Under the Mat’

 in Vid Leaked to Project Veritas

September 22nd, 8:35pm (Sputnik)

 

A Department of Health and Human Services ER doctor from 

the Phoenix Indian Medical Centre, has been caught on 

hidden cam footage... calling the vaccines being 

administered in the US “bullsh*t” and accusing

 the federal government of willfully ignoring 

serious and potentially fatal side effects.

 

The video, published by investigative journalism collective 

Project Veritas, shows a discussion between DHHS doctor 

Maria Gonzales and her colleague, Dr. Dale McGee, as 

well as Jodi O’Malley, a registered nurse, regarding 

vaccine safety and effectiveness.

 

“So how come after 18 months, we haven’t had any research?

 Isn’t that fishy to you?” O’Malley, who filmed and leaked the

 footage to Project Veritas, asks Gonzales. “It does – it is 

fishy,” the doctor replies.

 

“It’s not that it hasn’t been done. It hasn’t been 

published, that’s why,” Dr. McGee interjects.

 

“It hasn’t probably been done because the government 

doesn’t want to show that the darn vaccine is full of 

sh*t,” Gonzales alleges.

 

In separate conversation with Gonzales, O’Malley complains 

to the ER doctor that a 30-something-year-old patient began 

suffering from congestive heart failure after receiving a 

second dose of the jab.

 

“He’s probably got myocarditis!” Gonzales exclaims. “All this

 is bullsh*t. Now probably myocarditis due to the vaccine.... 

But now, they’re not gonna blame the vaccine,” she adds.

 

“They are not reporting. Because they want to shove it under 

the mat,” Gonzales says, referring to federal guidelines put 

out by the Centres for Disease Control requiring hospitals 

to report severe adverse side effects, including congestive 

heart failure –a side effect occasionally reported in mRNA

-based vaccines, including the Pfizer and Moderna jabs 

being deployed in the US.

 

“The problem in here is that they are not doing the studies. 

People that had it and the people that have been vaccinated, 

they’re not doing any antibody testing,” Gonzales tells

 O’Malley.

 

O’Malley also secretly filmed a conversation with Deanna Paris,

 another DHHS registered nurse at the hospital, discussing the

 situation of people falling ill after being vaccinated.

 

“It’s a shame they are not treating people like they’re supposed 

to, like they should. And, I think they want people to die,” Paris

 bluntly tells her colleague.

 

“How many have you seen that have gotten vaccinated here?”

 O’Malley asks. “A lot!” Paris replies, adding that “nobody” 

is writing the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System 

(VAERS) reports “because it takes over a half hour to 

write the damn thing.”

 

O’Malley told Project Veritas that she decided to come forward 

after an unnamed colleague of hers who had expressed 

vaccine hesitancy died from complications after getting

 the jab. “She didn’t want to take it. She didn’t want to 

take it because of her religious beliefs and she was 

coerced into taking it. Nobody should have to 

decide between their livelihood, being ‘a part 

of the team in the hospital’, or take the 

vaccine,” the nurse said, tearing up.

 

“Now we’re just making people take it and then there’s reactions

 to it, and then you have a medication that has been shown 

effective and surely has no adverse reactions for trying it,”

 the nurse added, referring to Ivermectin, a medication 

often derided in mainstream media reporting as

 “horse paste.”

 

O’Malley further explained that the vaccines that the US has been 

using are currently in stage three clinical trials. “Normally, stage 

three clinical trials is where you gather your data. What the

 responsibility on everyone is, is to gather that data and 

report it. And if we’re not gathering that data and 

reporting it, then how are we going to say that 

this is safe and approved for use?” 

she asked.

 

The nurse admitted that she was afraid that the government might

 retaliate against her, but said her “faith lies in God and not man,” 

and that her career was to “help people,” not harm them.

 

VAERS: The Figures

 

According to the latest CDC data, about 6,000 people across the 

United States have died from various complications after taking 

at least one dose of the available Covid vaccines, with “death” 

appearing 6,055 times under “2021VAERSSYMPTOMS.” To 

date, about 182 million Americans have been fully 

vaccinated against the coronavirus.

 

OpenVAERS, an independent non-profit VAERS reporting service

 which bases its figures largely on US data, but also information 

coming from other countries, has reported nearly 15,000 

fatalities to date, plus over 1.5 million reports of other 

‘adverse effects’, ranging from hospitalizations and 

urgent care to doctor office visits, anaphylaxis, 

Bells Palsy, heart attacks, miscarriages, 

Shingles and severe allergic reactions.

 

In addition to the mRNA-based Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the 

US Food and Drug Administration has also approved Johnson 

& Johnson's Janssen vaccine, a viral vector-based single jab

 preparation. Like the AstraZeneca preparation, which has 

not been approved in the US, the Janssen vaccine has 

been associated with rare blood clots, with CDC 

guidelines advising women younger than 50

 years of age to be aware of the risks of 

this particular vaccine.

 

Earlier this month, the Biden administration began pushing a

 federal vaccine mandate, requiring all businesses with more 

than 100 employees to either get staff vaccinated or provide 

weekly testing for infection. The directive has run into 

resistance from some governors, lawmakers, mayors, 

and industry leaders, as well as ordinary Americans

expressing hesitation amid concerns of the 

potential side effects.




(Of course, the above is all about the USA...
AREN'T YOU GLAD YOU CAN TRUST BORIS?)




Image: waxing gibbous moon




 


Men Sleep Worse During


 Waxing Moon, Women 


Unaffected – Study


September 20th, 8:53am (Sputnik)


 


One hypothesis concerns the amount of sunlight that is


 reflected from the moon around the time when people 


usually go to bed. Men's brains are suggested to be 


more receptive to ambient light conditions 


than women's.


 


Men's sleep seems to be affected more than women's by


 the moon's cycle, a study conducted by researchers at 


Uppsala University has indicated.


 


While many men sleep worse during the waxing stage of


 the moon, women's sleep was largely unaffected, the 


researchers concluded, having studied the quality 


of sleep of 492 women and 360 men who slept at 


home in their own beds.


 


To this end, they used polysomnography – a comprehensive


 test used to diagnose sleep disorders. Polysomnography 


records brain waves, the oxygen level in the blood, heart 


rate and breathing, as well as eye and leg movements.


 


The people whose sleep was registered were unaware of the


 researchers' interest in the link to the moon's movements 


that the researchers were interested in.


 


Men, but not women, exhibited lower sleep efficiency, and 


were longer awake after sleep onset on nights during the 


waxing period.


 


“We could see that men whose sleep was measured during 


the first phases of the moon had poorer sleep quality and


 woke up more often during the night compared with men 


whose sleep was measured during the waning phases of


 the moon. In women, sleep was largely unaffected by the 


lunar cycle. 


 


Our results were robust for adjustments for chronic sleep 


problems and sleep apnea,” Christian Benedict, associate 


professor and sleep researcher at Uppsala University, 


said in a statement.


 


According to researchers, a possible mechanism that can 


explain the moon's effect on sleep is the amount of sun-


light that is reflected from the moon around the time 


when people usually go to bed. As a recently 


published study suggested, men's brains 


may be more receptive to ambient light 


conditions than women's.


 


“However, our study cannot determine whether it is the lunar 


cycle that affects sleep in men or whether the lunar cycle 


co-varies with some other factor that affects sleep,” 


Christian Benedict told the science news portal 


Forskning.se, suggesting further research.


 




 


_____________________________________






Appeals court overturns ruling on
child gender treatment --- in UK;

 doctors CAN prescribe puberty 

blockers to under-16s

September 17th, 3:47pm (RT)

 

 

The Court of Appeal has ruled that under-16s do not lack

 the capacity to give informed consent concerning 

medical treatment which delays the onset of 

puberty --- overturning a ruling from
last year.

 

On Friday, the court overturned a 2020 ruling by a divisional 

court which stated that under-16s lacked the capacity to 

give informed consent to treatment concerning 

transitioning gender. The original case had 

been brought forward by Keira Bell... who 

claimed doctors should have challenged

her more, when she requested puberty 

blockers at a young age.

 

However, on Friday, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the 

appellant, the Tavistock Trust, which runs the UK’s only 

gender identity clinic for young Britons, and overruled

 the 2020 decision.

 

Friday’s ruling noted that the divisional court “had made no 

findings of illegality”. Judges at the Court of Appeal said 

they understood “the difficulties and complexities” of 

the issue, but insisted “it is for the clinicians to 

exercise their judgement --- knowing how 

important it is, that consent is properly

obtained according to the particular 

individual circumstances.”

 

In its written conclusions, the court acknowledged that clinicians 

will inevitably take great care before recommending treatment to 

a young patient and ensuring that both the parent and child are 

aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the 

proposed treatment.

 

The court also contended that doctors are subject to professional

 regulation and oversight, and while some may have fallen short 

of standards in the past, it did not impact the lawfulness of 

the practice.

 

The NHS prescribes gender identity treatment, including the use 

of puberty blockers, to some children who are experiencing 

gender dysphoria. The blockers are drugs which pause the 

process of puberty by suppressing the body’s release 

of hormones.

 

In December 2020, the divisional court ruled that children under 13 

were “highly unlikely” to be able to give informed consent, adding

 that it was “very doubtful” that those aged 14 and 15 would have

 the requisite understanding to make the life-changing decision.

 

Bell - now 24 - started taking puberty blockers at 16. 

She has said she now regrets her “brash” decision.

 

 

 

___________________________________________






Wales to impose mandatory vaccine

 certificates for nightclubs and large 

events... from October 2021

September 17th, 2:22pm (RT)

 

The Welsh government announced on Friday that, from 

October 11th,, over-18s will be required to prove they 

have been fully vaccinated against Covid or tested 

negative in the past 48 hours, to enter clubs or 

large events.

 

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford stated that the 

requirement to show an NHS Covid pass, to enter 

these venues was needed because “coronavirus 

cases have risen to very high levels,” resulting 

in more people “dying from this terrible virus.”

 

“My message to you, today, is a simple but serious one – 

the pandemic is not over and we all need to take steps 

to protect ourselves and our loved ones,” Drakeford 

said in his announcement.

 

The vaccine certificate mandate will apply to nightclubs, 

indoor non-seated events that have more than 500 

people, outdoor non-seated events with an

attendance of more than 4,000 and any 

event with an audience over 10,000.

 

The measure comes despite warnings from the Night Time

 Industries Association that the Covid restriction will have

 a “hugely detrimental impact on trade,” potentially

 resulting in customers leaving Wales to visit 

businesses in England.

 

In a letter, the trade group cautioned that “any implementation

 of vaccine certification will be inevitably arbitrary,” as Welsh 

officials have failed to outline the criteria required to identify

impacted businesses. 

 

Alongside the need to show a Covid pass, the Welsh government 

urged people to work from home if they can and stated that 

enforcement of social distancing measures, including the

 need to wear face coverings in public places and on 

public transport, would be stepped up.

 

Wales saw a rise in Covid infections since the start of August, 

and has a rate of 494.3 cases per 100,000, compared with 

neighbouring England’s rate of 347.9 cases per 100,000.

 

The decision to implement a vaccine passport scheme in Wales 

comes after England scrapped similar plans, with the UK 

Health Secretary Sajid Javid claiming the government 

“shouldn’t be doing things for the sake of it.” 

 

Scotland is set to require proof of vaccination for entry

into nightclubs and large events, from October the 1st.

 

 

 

_______________________________________________






First in EU, Denmark FULLY lifts 

Covid restrictions almost 550

days after lockdown was 

introduced

September 10th, 10am (RT)

 

 

All remaining anti-coronavirus rules, including an 

obligatory Covid pass, were officially cancelled 

in Denmark on Friday, making it the first state

 in the EU to wholly get back to pre-pandemic

 daily life.

 

Starting from midnight on September 10th, the deadly 

virus is no longer classified as a “socially critical 

disease” by the Danish government, meaning no 

special measures will be applied to deal with 

Covid-19 in the European country.

 

 All restrictions previously enforced by authorities, including

 ‘coronapass’ requirements to enter night clubs and other 

venues, a ban on mass gatherings and obligatory mask-

wearing, have been lifted, 548 days after Prime Minister 

of Denmark Mette Frederiksen initially declared a lock
-
down in his country, local media reports.

 

 In March 2020, Denmark was among the first nations 

to enforce harsh measures to fight coronavirus.

 

Having first announced the decision to abandon the legal

 basis for restrictions last month, Danish authorities said 

“the epidemic is under control.” They reserved the right 

to reinforce special measures “if the pandemic again 

threatens important functions in society.”

 

According to Denmark’s health officials, “record high 

vaccination rates” helped the country set a 

precedent in the European Union and 

return to life with no Covid-related 

restrictions whatsoever. 

 

Three out of four Danish citizens consider vaccination 

against the virus a civic duty, according to a Euro-

barometer survey conducted last month on

 behalf of the European Parliament.

 

Out of 1,000 representatively selected Danes, 43% 

completely agreed to the statement that everyone 

should be vaccinated, while 31% said they tend 

to agree. For all of the EU, the percentage of 

people who completely or predominantly 

agree to the statement stands at 66%, 

Denmark’s Ekstra Bladet 'paper 

reported on Friday.

 

“Throughout the pandemic, Denmark has had higher 

acceptance than many comparable countries,” 

Professor Michael Bang Petersen, who 

advised the Danish government on 

the subject, wrote on Twitter,

 adding that “no mandates

 [were] needed.”

 

 An “incredibly high and completely stable” trust in 

the authorities’ management of the pandemic, is

 behind the vast vaccine acceptance in the 

country, Petersen wrote.

 

 He also suggested that lifting of the restrictions 

became possible thanks to collective action... 

after the government “formulated distancing 

as a moral project, which gained high 

public support.”

 

By September, over 73% of Denmark’s 5.8 million 

population had been fully vaccinated, with more 

than 8.6 million anti-Covid doses administered 

in total. 

 

Throughout the pandemic, the EU country 

registered over 352,000 cases of the virus.

 

 

___________________________________








AstraZeneca vaccine designer says


Covid boosters are unnecessary for 


most people - & should be sent to 


countries in need instead


September 10th, 10:59am (RT)


 


The designer of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine 


has called for surplus doses in the UK to be 


sent to countries with lower levels of 


vaccination --- calling plans for a 


booster program unnecessary


for the majority of
immunised 


people.


 


Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert – who also developed


 the universal flu vaccine – expressed doubt over 


the vaccination of healthy children and booster 


shots for people who are still well-immunised 


from their first 2 shots, in an interview with 


the Telegraph newspaper on Thursday.


 


Professor Gilbert urged the UK to instead send their 


doses to countries in need, declaring, “We need to 


get vaccines to countries where few of the 


population have been vaccinated so far. 


We have to do better in this regard. 


The first dose has the most impact.”


 


“The immuno-compromised and elderly will receive 


boosters. But I don’t think we need to boost every-


body. Immunity is lasting well in the majority of 


people,” she added.


 


AstraZeneca and Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccines have 


both been approved by government regulators 


to be used as booster shots.


 


The professor previously questioned the government’s 


plan to vaccinate children, and in July she told La 


Republica, “If you can’t prevent transmission 


by vaccination... and the children are not at


 risk of severe disease and hospitalisation 


and death, which the vast majority of 


children are not, you have to ask 


yourself: ‘What would be the 


benefits of vaccinating 


children?’”


 


On Friday, the Times reported that the UK’s Joint Committee 


on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) had been 


“presented with data yesterday showing that a 


top-up Pfizer-BioNTech dose months after a 


second jab greatly boosted” the immune 


system against Covid-19 and that the 


government may be looking to 


provide booster jabs to old 


people in the late autumn 


to protect them ahead 


of winter.


 


Health Secretary Sajid Javid also declared on Thursday 


that “we are heading towards our booster programme” 


and said he is confident the booster programme “will 


start later this month,” subject to final advice.


 






_________________________________




Children can get Covid-19 vaccine 

even if their parents are opposed, 


UK minister says


September 5th, 2:14pm (RT)


 


Asked by Times Radio’s Tom Newton Dunn what would 


happen if a teenager’s parents said no to vaccination


 but the teenager said yes, the UK vaccine minister 


Nadhim Zahawi, said they would still be able to


 get jabbed without permission.


 


Claiming that the NHS “is really well-practiced in this 


because they’ve been doing school immunisation 


programmes for a very long time,” Zahawi told 


Newton Dunn on Sunday  “what you essentially
do is make sure that the clinicians
 discuss
this with the parents, with the 
teenager,
and if they are then deemed
 to be able
to make a decision that is 
competent,
then that decision will 
go in favour
of what the 
teenager decides
to do.”


 


Newton Dunn questioned...  “So to be clear, the teenager 


can override the lack of parental consent? If a teenager 


really wants a jab and is only 15, the parents say no, 


the teenager can have it?” ...to which, Zahawi 


responded, “They’d need to be competent 


to make that decision, with all of the 


information available.”


 


Bizarrely, on the same day, Zahawi told Sky News 


that children would require parental consent to 


get vaccinated against Covid-19.


 


Asked by Sky News’ Trevor Phillips... whether he could 


“assure parents that if there is a decision to vaccinate 


12 to 15-year-olds, it will require parental consent,” 


Zahawi declared, “I can give that assurance, 


absolutely.”


 


Despite the fact that the UK’s Joint Committee on 


Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) refused to 


recommend - on Friday - that healthy children


 between the ages of 12 & 15, be vaccinated 


against Covid-19, given they are considered 


extremely low risk, the government is still 


pushing for vaccination – with The Times 


newspaper reporting that child 


vaccination could occur as


 early as next week.


 


JCVI’s deputy chairman, Professor Anthony Harnden, 


noted on Saturday, that: “the health benefits from 


vaccinating well 12- to 15-year-olds” are only 


“marginally greater than the risks,” and said 


that any decision should ultimately require 


“parents’ consent.”


 


“Both the teenagers and the parents need 


to be involved in that choice,” he argued.


 


The age of consent in the UK is 16.


 


On Friday, protesters stormed the London H.Q.


of the UK’s Medicines & Healthcare Products 


Regulatory Agency --- in protest over the 


government’s likely intention to 


vaccinate children under


the age of 16.


 


 


_____________________________



UK care workers leave industry 

en masse after being told to 

get vax or quit, with unions

begging govt to reconsider 

September 4th, 3:55pm (RT)

 

Many care workers in the UK who were told to get 

vaccinated against Covid-19 --- or lose their jobs, 

have left the industry en masse for better paid 

positions at companies such as Amazon, 

creating massive staffing shortages.

 

According to the Guardian, which spoke to several 

care home industry officials, “three-quarters of 

care home operators are reporting an increase

in staff quitting since April,” with the reasons

being... “a desire for less stress and for

higher pay” and “to avoid mandatory 

vaccination... which comes into
effect 
on November the 11th.”

 

The newspaper reported that many care workers 

are leaving for other positions in the NHS, where 

vaccination has not yet been made compulsory, 

and for unrelated jobs at companies such as 

Amazon, where they have been offered... a 

30%increase in pay and other incentives.

 

One care worker left their £9.30 an hour job to work 

as an Amazon warehouse picker, which pays

 £13.50 per hour and also offers a £1,000 

joining bonus, according to the report.

 

In response to the mass exodus, the industry is now 

desperately calling on the government to end its 

mandatory vaccination policy for care workers, 

warning that a “catastrophe” is on the horizon.

 

National Care Association executive chairman Nadra 

Ahmed told the Guardian that the National Health 

Service (NHS), will ultimately “have to pick up

 this mess” and called on the government to 

reconsider its policy, while public service 

union Unison declared that ministers 

“must immediately repeal ‘no jab, no 

job’ laws for care home staff in 

England, to avert a staffing 

crisis - that threatens to 

overwhelm the sector.”

 

The government must scrap the ‘no jab, no job’ rule 

now. Widespread care home closures could be the 

consequence if they ignore the warnings. This 

would be disastrous for elderly people... and 

those who cannot live without care support.

 

Unison warned that the “draconian” mandatory vaccination

 policy is “pushing thousands to the brink of quitting care 

work” and said the government is “sleepwalking into a 

disaster”... by ensuring a massive shortage of staff 

during a pandemic.

 

The union also revealed that many care workers – who are 

already underpaid and overworked – “feel totally under-

valued” and that “being bullied” into taking a vaccine

they didn’t want, was “the last straw” for many in 

the industry.

 

The vacancies for care workers could total more than 

170,000 people -- with 70,000 being those who refuse

the jab - after mandatory vaccination is implemented 

later this year, according to government estimates 

cited in the media.

 

During the first wave of the pandemic, elderly people in 

care homes made up roughly half of all Covid-19 

deaths in the UK between March and 

September 2020.

 

Nearly 30,000 residents died and it was later discovered 

that a shortage of personal protective equipment 

contributed to the problems experienced.

 

 

 

______________________________________







‘More data needed’: Top health officials 

reportedly urge White House to ‘follow 

science’ & DELAY vaccine booster plans

September 4th, 10:15am (RT)

 

 

Top US health officials have called on the White House 

to pump the brakes --- on plans to administer Covid 

vaccine booster shots to millions of US citizens 

later this month, pointing to insufficient data, 

according to multiple reports.

 

While President Joe Biden’s administration already moved 

ahead with its booster announcement last month – with

 Biden stating that all US adults should receive a third 

dose within eight months of their second shot...

 beginning September 20th.

 

US health agencies have said the move could be premature, 

as they have yet to approve universal boosters for any of 

the three jabs used in the country. 

 

During a White House meeting earlier this week, the heads of 

the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centres for 

Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) told officials their 

agencies may be able to recommend boosters for the 

Pfizer vaccine alone sometime in the coming weeks
– 
and possibly only for certain recipients at that – 

according to a Friday report in the New York 

Times and corroborated by Axios.

 

The briefing from the agency heads... suggests Biden’s 

September rollout date could have been set too early, 

not allowing enough time for regulators to authorize 

third doses for the other inoculations. 

 

Asked about that meeting on Friday, a White House spokes-

man told the Times that “We always said we would follow 

the science, and this is all part of a process that is now 

underway,” noting that the Biden team is seeking a 

“full review and approval” for boosters.

 

While the FDA, CDC and other top health agencies have 

publicly backed Biden’s booster plan, citing waning 

vaccine-induced immunity in the US, acting FDA 

head Janet Woodcock has expressed her

reservations in private... according to 

sources cited by the Times...  In one 

closed-door discussion, Woodcock

reportedly said it was “risky” to 

put a hard date on the booster 

campaign, before regulators 

had an opportunity to look

 through the data. 

 

Further controversy was stirred over the booster debate 

earlier this week after two top FDA executives involved

 in vaccine research abruptly resigned their posts, 

reportedly in protest over a number of federal 

missteps, with Biden’s premature booster 

announcement, apparently, the 

last straw.

 

US health officials have vacillated on the question of 

additional vaccine doses in the past. In July, top 

White House Covid-19 adviser Anthony Fauci 

suggested it was far too early to discuss 

boosters, even noting that Pfizer CEO 

Albert Bourla had apologized to him 

for publicizing the company’s work 

on boosters at such an early stage. 

 

Just a few weeks later, however, Fauci changed his tune,

 arguing that all US citizens... would “inevitably” need 

extra doses...  explaining that many vaccines lose 

effectiveness over time – a factoid he apparently

forgot to mention in more than a year of prior

regular public appearances . 

 

Pharmaceutical firms stand to reap a massive windfall 

from a booster drive, while Pfizer’s Bourla has gone 

even further, floating the idea of regular, yearly 

Covid-19 immunizations. Between Pfizer and 

Moderna – the top two vaccine producers in 

the US – $50 billion in coronavirus jab sales 

are expected this year alone, according to 

Reuters. That figure does not account for 

the millions of additional doses that will

 be produced and sold as boosters... 

which will be sure to further juice 

Big Pharma’s already-massive 

pandemic profits.

 

 

 

________________________________





 

Major UK Covid-19 test provider 

faces probe by market watchdog,

 reportedly still selling tests

September 3rd, 6:54pm (RT)

 

 

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has 

opened an inquiry into Expert Medicals – one of the 

nation’s major Covid-19 test providers – following 

customer complaints. The company still 

allegedly sells the tests, though.

 

Expert Medicals, one of the largest providers of PCR
travel 
tests in the UK, has been removed from a list
of 
companies that “self-declare that they meet
the government’s 
minimum
standards for
COVID-19 testing,” 
the CMA said, in
a press release, 
on Friday.

 

The competition watchdog said it had opened a formal probe 

into the test provider since it had been “the subject of a high 

number of complaints.” Expert Medicals has reportedly 

been accused of failing to provide tests and results in 

a timely manner, or even at all, as well as failing to 

respond to customer complaints and issue 

refunds... when due.

 

“Our actions today are the next steps in our work to ensure 

the PCR testing market works for consumers and we are 

preparing to take further action in this sector,” said 

Andrea Coscelli, the CMA’s CEO.

 

One of the cheapest Covid test providers on the UK market, 

Expert Medicals has been selling kits for travelers for £28 

($39), including postage and packing. The company 

received a large number of complaints over delays 

in delivery of its tests and customer results, 

according to some media reports.

 

However, the test provider is apparently still able to sell the kits 

despite being removed from the government list, the UK’s 

‘Which’ media outlet said. That is despite Oncologica – 

one of the Covid-19 test laboratories Expert Medicals

 used to work with – telling ‘Which’ it is unlikely to 

cooperate with the test provider, after it was 

pulled from the official list.

 

Apart from taking action against Expert Medicals, the CMA also 

warned further Covid-19 test providers that they should 

improve their pricing information, or face some action 

from the watchdog.

 

The move comes about a week after the agency issued 

another statement, telling Covid test providers that 

some of their “harmful” practices could be in 

breach of consumer protection law.

 

The chief issue concerned some companies advertising PCR 

test prices that do not include additional obligatory charges, 

or advertising very cheap tests that are available only in 

very small quantities or not at all.

 

Failures to meet the required timeframe and refusals to provide

 customers with refunds when due were also on the CMA’s list 

of “practices of concern.” The watchdog demanded that test 

providers include the full cost of tests in their ads and 

provide “honest, accurate and clear timescales on

 when tests will be received.”

 

“PCR test providers should be in no doubt that they need to get 

on the right side of the law. If they don’t, they risk enforcement 

action,” said the CMA General Counsel, Sarah Cardell.

 

 

 

_________________________________________







How (and why) Israel changed 


what “fully vaccinated” means


by Kit Knightly


September 2nd (off-Guardian)


 


Newspeak definition opens the door for more 


authoritarian control, huge Big Pharma 


profits…and, potentially, the worst 


deception of the entire 


“pandemic”.


 


Israel... has been at the forefront of the vaccination
push 
ever since November 2020, when they signed 


agreements with Pfizer, to run what were 


essentially medical experiments on


 their civilian population.


 


They were the first country to roll out the Pfizer vaccine. 


They were the first country to try out the (abandoned)
“Green passes” system of
 medical segregation. And
now they’re
 the first country to change the terms 


of the “get vaccinated and get your freedom
back” contract.


 


That’s right. Just as “three weeks to flatten the curve” 


turned into around 18-months (and counting), 


“double jabbed” is now evolving into 


“triple jabbed”.


 


To quote Dr Salman Zarka, Israel’s “coronavirus czar”:


''We are updating what it means to be vaccinated,”


 


So, there you have it. In Israel, officially, those who have 


been injected with two doses of Pfizer’s so-called 


vaccine, are no longer counted as vaccinated.


 


What does this mean?


 


Well, first of all, it means all those “vaccinated” people 


can kiss their recently acquired freedoms goodbye, 


unless they’re willing to get at least one


 more booster.


 


According to the Wall Street Journal [paywalled article]:


 


''Holders of Israel’s vaccine passports must get a third dose 


of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine within six months of their 


second dose, or lose the so-called green pass that 


allows them more freedom.”


 


It should also be noted that the third booster is not considered


 the last. The Israeli Ministry of Health “has not ruled out 


further boosters in the future” and the third shot will 


only extend the “vaccinated” status for six months, 


not permanently.


 


So, essentially, the precedent has been set that your freedoms 


are the state’s to take away on a whim. And, if you comply, 


they will simply use your compliance... as an excuse to


 take even greater liberties (pun very much intended).


 


Israel has been the Petri dish for this since the beginning. 


If it works there, expect the “booster shot requirement”


to be instituted in other countries all over the world, 


fairly quickly.


 


To all the people who have taken the vaccine, and are now 


realising they may have done something foolish. Sorry, 


but we did try to warn you this would happen.


 


Financially speaking, this is yet another boon in a golden 


year, for Pfizer, who can now ship even more doses of 


their experimental (and unnecessary) gene therapy


 to people who are, literally, legally obliged to use


 it. If you don’t want to take the jab, just take 


some of Pfizer’s new magic anti-Covid 


pills instead.


 


So don’t worry about the death of freedom and democracy 


in the name of an almost-completely-harmless disease. At 


least the Pfizer shareholders can afford that second 


private island, and golden costumes for their 


human chess sets.


 


However, the predictable seizure of freedoms, and obvious 


financial motives behind it, aren’t even the worst part.


 


The potentially far more cynical part comes later. In three


 months or so, when the flu season hits and the elderly 


and infirm start dying, as they do every winter.


 


It won’t be called “flu season”, of course. It will be all
be 
classified as “Covid”. Combined with this new 


definition of “vaccinated”, the “fourth wave”


 or the “sigma variant”... (or whatever they 


call it) could now be used to produce a 


whole new manipulated statistic.


 


Think about it: Every Israeli citizen who gets sick and/or 


dies, after being double jabbed but not triple jabbed, 


will be officially labelled “not fully vaccinated”.


 


They could therefore claim that Covid is primarily affecting


 “unvaccinated people”, even if the majority of people 


getting sick have had two doses of Pfizers 


mRNA cocktail.


 


Just as they used linguistic tricks to turn “deaths from any 


cause” into “Covid deaths”, and “asymptomatic positive


 tests” into “Covid cases”, they have now created a


 loophole to turn “vaccinated people” who get


 sick into “unvaccinated people”.


 


Worse still, it’s possible that, over the coming winter, 


people who have been “vaccinated”, may die at an


 even greater rate than normal.


 


If the theory that the mRNA vaccines may cause antibody-


dependent enhancement (ADE) proves correct, a lot of 


people could be killed by viruses this winter as a 


direct result of being “vaccinated” …and then 


be used as evidence to prop up the idea of 


“vaccine effectiveness”.


 


In twenty months of obvious scientific malpractice,
data 
manipulation, statistical dishonesty, and full
-on 
linguistic reversal…we may be about to see


 the worst lie of all.


 


This is all supposition at this point, of course. But for anyone 


out there thinking “they would never do that”, I remind you


 that a man was counted as a Covid death, after shooting 


himself in the head. There is, literally, no bar so low


 that the powers-that-be couldn’t limbo under it.


 


Even if time proves my theory wrong, the solid, admitted 


reality of the booster-shot system, is bad enough. 


Freedom forever, under a dangling sword of 


Damocles, and yet another assault on 


language as part of a years-long 


campaign... to rob our very 


words of meaning.


 


And while all this may seem incredibly cynical, if you 


haven’t become incredibly cynical in the last two 


years, then you weren’t paying attention.


 


 


________________________________________



Japan suspends Moderna 

Covid vaccine: as another

 million doses are found 

contaminated bringing

 total to 2.6 million

August 30th, 10:41pm (RT)

 

Japanese officials have suspended the use of millions

 of doses of the Moderna Covid vaccine, after foreign 

substances were found in a number of batches
and
 two people died after receiving jabs
from the 
affected lots.

 

The Japanese government discovered the contamination 

over the weekend, in a batch of the Moderna Covid 

vaccine in Gunma prefecture, close to Tokyo, 

forcing officials to temporarily suspend
use 
of the vaccines.

 

The decision to suspend a total of 2.6 million doses of 

the Moderna vaccines comes after 1.63 million shots

 were halted, last week, following the discovery of 

contaminants in some vials, in a batch that was 

shipped to over 860 vaccination centres

 across the country.

 

While the source of the contamination has not been confirmed, 

Moderna and pharmaceutical company Rovi, which 

manufactures the Moderna vaccines, said that it 

could be due to a manufacturing fault on one of

 the production lines, rather than anything

 more concerning.

 

The country’s health ministry has confirmed that two 

individuals who were vaccinated, using doses from 

the batch have died. However, the cause of death 

in both cases is under investigation and officials 

claim, that no safety concerns have been

 identified yet. 

 

In a statement, Moderna and Japanese distributor Takeda 

stated that “we do not have any evidence that these 

deaths are caused by the Moderna 

COVID-19 vaccine.”

 

Gunma is now the seventh Japanese prefecture to discover

 contaminants in doses of the Moderna vaccine, after 

similar incidents in Aichi, Gifu, Ibaraki, Okinawa, 

Saitama and Tokyo. It comes as Japan battles 

a surge in Covid cases --- that has pushed 

nearly half of the country’s prefectures

 into a state of emergency.

 

Since the start of the pandemic, Japan has recorded 

1.38 million confirmed cases of Covid and 15,797 

fatalities from the virus. So far... Japanese 

officials have administered 118,310,106 

doses of a Covid vaccine. 

 

 

_______________________________________



 

Scientists Discover - Chilling 

Similarity Between COVID-19

 Infection and Rattlesnake Bite

by Max Gorbachev

August 30th, 6:56pm (Sputnik)

 

Using machine learning algorithms, researchers analysed 

blood samples from hundreds of individuals. They say 

the results of their study could be used to better
treat 
coronavirus patients, as well as
potentially... to save 
hundreds of
thousands of lives across

 the globe.

 

An international group of scientists claims to have discovered 

one of the leading causes of death from SARS-CoV-2. 

According to their study, published on August 24th
in 
the Journal of Clinical Investigation, getting a 

severe case of the novel coronavirus, is like 

getting bitten by a rattlesnake. An enzyme 

that skyrockets, after a person falls ill
with
 a serious case of COVID-19, is
from the 
same family as the
enzyme in
 rattlesnake
venom.

 

Ironically, the human body contains the secreted A2 p

hospholipase group (sPLA2-IIA) in low concentration,

with the enzyme protecting the organism from 

microbes, and fighting off infections.

 

But in high quantities, sPLA2-IIA is perilous to humans, 

as it can "shred" vital organs, said Floyd "Ski" Chilton

 ...a professor at the University of Arizona, and lead 

author of the study.

 

"In other words, this enzyme is trying to kill the virus... but 

at a certain point it is released in such high amounts that

 things head in a really bad direction. It is a disease 

resistance mechanism until it has the capacity
to
 turn on the host human", Chilton said.

 

Professor Chilton and his colleagues discovered this enzyme

 in blood samples from patients who had severe cases of 

COVID-19. The researchers say that medicines used for 

treating snake bites could be repurposed for battling 

the coronavirus.

 

"Because inhibitors of sPLA2-IIA already exist, our study 

supports the use of these inhibitors... in patients with 

elevated levels of sPLA2-IIA... to reduce, or even 

prevent, COVID-19 mortality", said D. Maurizio 

Del Poeta of Stony Brook’s Renaissance 

School of Medicine, a co-author of

 the study.

 

 

 

________________________________





 

Two Men Die in Japan... 

After Receiving 2nd Dose 

of Moderna Vaccine

August 28th, 7:24am (Sputnik)

 

The Japanese Health Ministry said on Thursday

 it had halted the use of 1.63 million Moderna 

doses from three lots produced at ROVI’s

 manufacturing site in Spain.

 

Two people died: after receiving Moderna COVID-19 

vaccine shots that were from the same production

 line suspended following the discovery 

of ''contaminants''.

 

According to Japan's health ministry, two men in their 30s 

died recently, within days of receiving their second 

Moderna doses. Each had a jab from one of three 

manufacturing lots suspended on Thursday. 

 

However, the cause of the deaths

 is still being investigated.

 

Japan froze the use of 1.63 million Moderna doses 

delivered to 863 vaccination centres nationwide

after reports of ''contaminants'' in some vials.

 

Spain's ROVI pharmaceutical firm...  which is 

manufacturing Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, 

opened an investigation - on Thursday - to 

determine how vials of the vaccine sent 

to Japan were contaminated with 

''foreign particles''.

 

US vaccine maker Moderna is reportedly

 conducting a parallel investigation.

 

Japan's NHK broadcaster cited the ministry 

as saying: that the ''contaminants'' were 

magnetic and appeared to be metallic 

particles. No safety issues linked to 

the three lots have been observed.

 

 

[A blogger observes: The magnetic property 

of the experimental mRNA vaccines was 

discovered several months ago, I think

by a Spanish lab... but was ignored,

I suspect, in favour of the dollar.]

 

 

 

____________________________





NHS plans Covid-19 vaccination

 for 12-year-olds that would NOT 

require parental permission

 – reports

August 26th, 12:19pm (RT)

 

The UK National Health Service (NHS) has reportedly 

made plans to vaccinate children as young as 12 

without the need for their parents’ permission –

a plan that government advisers have not 

yet supported.

 

Under the NHS’ plan, children between the ages of 12 

and 15 would start being vaccinated in less than two 

weeks’ time after returning to school following the 

summer holidays, according to The Telegraph, 

which obtained emails sent by NHS’ regional 

offices. The newspaper also reported on 

Thursday that the children “would not 

need parental consent” to 

get vaccinated.

 

Though Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine has been approved

 in the UK for children aged 12 and over... the 

Department of Health said on Wednesday 

that a decision on the vaccination of 

young children had not yet

 been made.

 

Government advisers on the Joint Committee on 

Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) have been

 reviewing whether to approve widespread 

vaccination of children, but had earlier 

said only children with certain health 

conditions would receive jabs.

 

Earlier this month, England’s deputy chief medical 

officer, Jonathan Van-Tam, expressed his support 

for the vaccination of under 18s, claiming to be 

“very much in favour” of 16- and 17-year-olds 

getting jabbed.

 

Vam-Tam also said that it was “more likely rather 

than less likely” that the number of children

between the ages of 12 and 15 who were

eligible to get vaccinated, would 

soon expand.

 

News of the NHS’ plan angered many people on social 

media ,who pointed out that the risk vs reward 

conclusion for vaccinating young children, 

was still uncertain.

 

Reform Party leader Richard Tice called the plan 

“shocking” while pub entrepreneur Hugh 

Osmond called it “grotesque.”

 

 Conservative academic Adrian Hilton --- a former 

adviser to Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove 

--- pointed out that “12-year-olds cannot 

consent to a medical procedure.”

 

Other Brits protested that “the government does 

not own my child” and threatened to pull their 

children out of public schooling.

 

Some supported the idea, with one Welsh social media

user stating that she agreed 12- to 15-year-olds “can 

consent” and are “mature enough to make that call,”

but thought it should be “done near to medical care

like mine was, not in school.”

 

In the United States, the Centres for Disease Control 

and Prevention (CDC), advises all US citizens aged
12 
and over, to get vaccinated against Covid-19. 

Roughly 600,000 children between the ages 

of 12 & 15, were vaccinated in less than
week after Pfizer’s vaccine was
approved 
for under 16s,
in May.

 

Many European Union countries, have also started 

vaccinating children - with the EU approving Pfizer 

for 12- to 15-year-olds in May and Moderna in July.

 

 


_____________________________




Physical exercise helps 

stroke survivors reduce

risk of death by 54%

 August 20th, 12:36pm (Prensa Latina) 




People younger than 75 years of age, stroke survivors 

who engage in physical activity three to four hours 

per week, can lower their risk of death, according 

to new data published in Neurology magazine.




A new study has shown that people who walk at least

 three to four hours per week or bike at least two to 

three hours per week, or the equivalent after 

having a stroke, may have a 54 percent 

lower risk of death --- from any cause.




'Our results are exciting - because just three to four hours

 a week of walking was associated with big reductions in 

mortality & that may be attainable for many community 

members with prior stroke,' said study Raed Joundi 

study author, M.D., D.Phil., at the University of 

Calgary in Canada and a member of the

 American Academy of Neurology.




The study found the most benefit for younger stroke 

survivors. When people under the age of 75 

exercised at least that amount, their risk 

of death was reduced by 80 percent.




Looking specifically at stroke survivors under 75 years 

of age, Joundi et al. found that 11% of patients who 

were physically active died and 29% of patients 

who were not physically active died.




Meanwhile, stroke survivors over 75 years of age who met 

minimum physical activity requirements were 32% less 

likely to die—not quite as much of a benefit, but still

 a significant number.




''Our results suggest that getting a minimum amount of 

physical activity may reduce long-term mortality from 

any cause, in stroke survivors,'' Joundi said. ''We 

should particularly emphasize this, to stroke 

survivors who are younger in age, as they 

may gain the greatest benefits from 

walking just 30 minutes each day.'






___________________________






Welsh Labour govt. blasted
over 
‘catastrophic’ record 

NHS waiting lists as ''Covid
pandemic'' 
exacerbates
delays 
to hospital
treatment

August 19th, 3:01pm (RT)




The NHS in Wales has reported record long waiting lists

 for non-urgent treatment, as the number of people who

 have had their medical care delayed, reached almost 

625,000 in June, the latest month for which data

 is available.

 

The growing waiting list came as A&E departments and the 

ambulance service in Wales recorded their busiest period 

since the Covid pandemic began, further delaying 

appointments for those awaiting non-urgent 

treatment.

 

June saw the number on the list grow to 624,909, marking a 

41% rise since the start of the pandemic, with 233,210
people
 waiting more than 9 months for treatment.

Similarly, 
waiting times within the country’s A&E
departments, 
were the worst ever recorded,
with 30.2% of 
patients not being seen
within four hours.

 

Addressing the situation, the opposition Conservative Party’s 

health spokesperson, Russell George, criticised the Welsh 

government, calling the situation “catastrophic.”

 

“To record the worst ever A&E waiting times and the longest 

NHS treatment waiting list in the same month, shows a 

complete lack of leadership,” George said in 

a statement.

 

While a spokesperson for the government conceded that 

“waiting times for treatment continue to grow,” they 

expressed optimism that the number of people 

waiting more than 52 weeks has fallen “for 

the third month in a row.”

 

The latest figures come... as £551 million ($753.29 million) in 

extra funding was handed to the Welsh NHS to help alleviate

 the pressure caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 


The money is set to be spent on the country’s vaccination 

programme, Covid testing, PPE, and cleaning, to prevent 

the spread of the virus, according to Health Minister, 

Eluned Morgan.

 


Image: vaccine jabs and periods





‘Is it anti-vax to be concerned?’: 
Magazine editor reports 

changes to period after 

Covid jab, the latest in 

over 30,000 UK women

August 19th, 11:32am (RT)

 

 

At least 30,304 British women, have disclosed 

changes to their menstrual cycle after getting

 vaccinated against Covid-19.  An editor for 

The Spectator is one of the most recently

 affected, and says many more are
afraid 
to come out.

 

Lara Prendergast, an executive editor at London's 

Spectator magazine, raised some concerning 

questions in a column, on Thursday, after 

reporting that she had been affected 

since receiving her first Pfizer
dose
 in May.

 

Noting that it is an “uncomfortable” and sensitive topic
to discuss – indicating that the true number 
of women
with period-related vaccine side effects 
could be far
greater than the 30,304 documented 
– Prendergast
revealed that her cycle has not 
been right, since
she was vaccinated, 
months ago.

 

“Millions of British women have been jabbed, so 

30,304 reports will be a tiny proportion: a 

negligible number, you might say.  But it 

doesn't seem negligible if you're one of

 those women” she wrote, adding that 

friends have told her  “they've also 

been affected” but “didn't report it 

either” due to the topic being both 

awkward and sensitive... and 

because of ''fears'' of being 

branded an ‘anti-vaxxer’.

 

“Is it ‘anti-vaxx’ to be concerned that these jabs may 

be having an effect on our menstrual cycles?” 

Prendergast questioned...  before claiming 

that a women's health doctor had told her 

it is not exactly normal, “for vaccines
to 
affect periods in such a way.”

 

Prendergast also expressed concern that “if the jabs 

are affecting so many women's periods, who knows 

what else might be going on,” noting that millions 

of women can only “hope and trust” that the 

medical officials and influencers who are 

pushing for young women to get 

vaccinated are right about the 

allegedly low risks involved.

 

Though she acknowledged that officials, such as Royal 

College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) 

President Dr. Edward Morris, have assured women 

that it would be ''impossible'' for the vaccines to 

affect a woman's fertility, Prendergast pointed 

out that most women do “associate their 

periods with their fertility,” and that side 

effects are thus extremely alarming
to
 those who experience them.

 

“A month after my second jab, I make a note that
my 
latest cycle is messed up, once again,” she 

concluded in the column.

 

The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory 

Agency (MHRA) has advised concerned women that 

menstrual issues are “mostly transient in nature” 

and that “there is no evidence to suggest that 

Covid-19 vaccines will affect fertility and
the 
ability to have children.”

 

RCOG Vice President Dr Jo Mountfield has also said that 

although “changes to periods can be concerning,” it 

appears “most women's menstrual cycles return 

to normal after one to two cycles.”

 

Menstrual cycle changes do not appear on the list of 

side effects given to Brits, before they receive a 

Covid-19 vaccine in the UK.

 

The UK government announced on Monday that the MHRA 

was reviewing “suspected side effects of menstrual 

disorders and unexpected vaginal bleeding 

following vaccination against Covid-19 

in the UK.”




 

___________________________________







COVID App Error Possibly Caused 

Thousands to Needlessly Isolate, 

Media Says

by Andrei Dergalin

August 18th, 6:17pm (Sputnik)

 

The matter regarding the app was reportedly brought 

to the attention of the former Health Secretary Matt 

Hancock shortly before his resignation, but it 

wasn't until a month later that his successor 

Sajid Javid announced that the app would 

be updated.

 

Thousands of people in the United Kingdom may have 

isolated for no reason due to an error with the NHS 

COVID app, The Guardian reports, citing a source

 in Whitehall.

 

As the newspaper points out, while official guidelines 

for the app "defined close contact as occurring two 

days before the infected person had symptoms,"

 users apparently weren’t told that the app could

 "notify of contact with an infected person as far 

back as five days before the positive test."

 

"The standard definition of a contact in all the scientific 

and public stuff from Public Health England and NHS 

test and trace is someone who has been in contact 

from two days before they have symptoms and if 

they don’t have symptoms but test positive, you 

go back two days from the test," the source 

said. "But the app had five days in it."

 

They also mentioned that this matter was apparently 

brought to the attention of former Health Secretary 

Matt Hancock, shortly before his resignation.

 

"A submission was made to Hancock from test and trace 

people around the time of his resignation saying ‘it’s five

 days but it should be two days: should we change it 

now? And it didn’t happen,’" the source remarked.

 

The Labour Party has apparently used this opportunity to 

take pot shots at the government, with Shadow Health 

Minister Justin Madders calling it "another shambolic 

situation from hapless ministers."

 

"The COVID app has been one mess after another and a 

lack of clear information and guidance around the app 

only undermines its effectiveness," he said.

 

About a month after that, Hancock’s successor, Sajid Javid, 

said that the app would be updated in order to have the 

contacts of people who tested positive for COVID 

tracked from the last two days instead of five.

 

The health secretary reportedly said that it was being 

"updated based on public health advice to look back 

at contacts two days prior to a positive test."

 

The Department of Health and Social Care didn't challenge 

the whistleblower’s account, the newspaper notes, adding 

that the department is "making the case that the COVID 

app had different definitions of a close contact to test 

and trace... with a five-day period chosen for the 

asymptomatic, because it is the halfway point 

in a potential 10-day infectious period."




 

_________________________________




WHO slams wealthy nations’ 

rush towards COVID 

vaccine boosters

August 18th, 5:03pm (PressTV)

 

 

The World Health Organization has condemned the rush 

by wealthy countries to provide COVID vaccine booster 

shots, while millions around the world have yet to 

receive a single dose.

 

Speaking before US authorities announced that all 

vaccinated Americans would soon be eligible to 

receive additional doses, WHO experts insisted 

there was not enough scientific evidence that 

boosters were needed --- and said providing 

them, while so many were still waiting to 

be immunized, was immoral.

 

"We're planning to hand out extra life jackets to people who 

already have life jackets, while we're leaving other people 

to drown without a single life jacket," WHO's emergency 

director Mike Ryan told reporters from the UN agency's 

Geneva headquarters, on Wednesday.

 

"The fundamental, ethical reality is we're handing out second 

life jackets while leaving millions and millions of people 

without anything to protect them."

 

WHO called earlier this month for a moratorium on COVID 

vaccine booster shots to help ease the drastic inequity
in
 dose distribution, between rich and poor nations.

 

But that has not stopped a number of countries from 

moving forward with plans to add a third jab, as
they
 struggle to thwart the Delta variant.

 

US authorities warned Wednesday that COVID-19 vaccination

 efficacy was decreasing over time, and said they had 

authorized booster shots for all Americans from 

September 20th, starting eight months after

 an individual has been fully vaccinated.

 

The officials said while the vaccines remain "remarkably 

effective" in reducing the risk of severe disease, 

hospitalization and death, from the effects of 

COVID, protection could diminish in the 

months ahead... without boosted 

immunization.

 

Washington had already authorized an extra dose 

for people with weakened immune systems.

 

The coronavirus pandemic has killed at least 

4,382,528 people and infected 208,617,866 

people.

 

'Shame on all humanity'

 

But WHO experts insisted that the science was still out 

on boosters and stressed that ensuring that people in 

low-income countries, where vaccination is lagging,

received jabs ------ was far more important.

 

"What is clear is that it’s critical to get first shots into arms 

and protect the most vulnerable before boosters are 

rolled out," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom 

Ghebreyesus told Wednesday's 

press conference.

 

"The divide between the haves and have nots will only 

grow larger, if manufacturers and leaders prioritize 

booster shots, over supplies to low- and middle-

income countries," he said.

 

"The virus is evolving and it is not in the best interests 

of leaders just to focus on narrow nationalistic goals 

when we live in an interconnected world and the 

virus is mutating quickly."

 

Tedros voiced outrage at reports that the single-dose 

J&J vaccine ...currently being filled and finished in 

South Africa, was being shipped for use in Europe

 "where virtually all adults have been offered 

vaccines at this point".

 

"We urge J&J to urgently prioritize distribution of their 

vaccines to Africa before considering supplies to rich 

countries that already have sufficient access,"
he said.

 

"Vaccine injustice is a shame on all humanity... and if we 

don’t tackle it together, we will prolong the acute stage 

of this pandemic for years - when it could be over in a

 matter of months."

 

(Source: AFP)





_________________________________________





Drug, Alcohol Deaths

 ...Hit Record High...
After 
UK Government 

Cuts Funding for the

Treatment Services

August 15th, 12:35pm (FNA)

 

 

 Deaths from drug and alcohol misuse hit a record 

high, following sharp cuts to treatment services 

across the UK, according to a report.

 

An analysis by the House of Commons Library found 

that more than £100 million less was being spent per 

year on services between 2016-17 and 2019-20, The 

Independent reported.

 

In a record high, more than 11,000 people died from 

drug and alcohol-related diseases in England and 

Wales, in 2020.

 

In the years leading up to the peak, services were cut 

by 15 percent, with sharper slashes to local council 

areas, in particular.

 

The Commons Library figures show that just 10 councils

have been ''able to'' find the cash to increase resources 

for drug and alcohol misuse.

 

Meanwhile, in four local authorities – South Tyneside, 

Wiltshire, Staffordshire, and Medway – cuts of more 

than 40 percent were made to drug and alcohol

misuse services.

 

“Years of Tory cuts to vital public health services have 

seen sickness increase and health inequalities widen,”

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health 

Secretary, said.

 

“It’s unacceptable for public health services that tackle 

alcohol and drug addiction, to be left so weakened 

because of deep cuts, when we know that they 

can cause huge harm and death," he noted, 

adding, “We need a new settlement for 

public health services, a clear target 

to reduce inequalities and action to

minimise harm... and help prevent 

so many dying from addiction.”

 

In total, spending on services fell from

£762mln in 2016-17 to £690mln

 in 2019-20.

 

Government figures show that in 2020 a record 

number of 7,423 people in England and Wales 

died from diseases that were a direct

consequence of alcohol, with a 

further 4,561 people dying 

from causes related to 

drug poisoning.

 

A government spokesperson said, “Any death 

due to substance misuse, is a tragedy."

 

“We are investing £148mln to tackle the root causes 

of drug misuse including £80mln for treatment and 

recovery – the largest investment in the drug 

treatment system for 15 years – as well as 

tightening controls on dangerous 

substances... and we will bring 

forward an ambitious drug 

strategy later this year,"

the spokesperson 

continued.

 

“On top of that, we are backing local authorities, 

who know their communities best, with over 

£3.3bln in 2021-2022 to spend on public 

health services, including drug and 

alcohol treatment,” the spokes-

person added.

 

 

Image: Our planet Earth



Experts Say Booster Jabs

for Rich Countries --- 

Will Cause More 

Deaths Worldwide

August 14th, 10:02am (FNA)




 Many more people around the world, will die of COVID, 

if Western political leaders “reject their responsibility

 to the rest of humanity” by prioritising booster shots 

for their own populations, instead of sharing doses,

 the head of the Oxford vaccine group warned.

 

Writing for the Guardian, Professor Andrew Pollard, and 

Seth Berkley, the chief executive of Gavi, the vaccine 

alliance, say that the scientific and public health 

case for large-scale boosting, has not been 

made ---- and could have far-reaching 

consequences in other countries.

 

“This is a key moment for decision-makers,” they write, 

adding, “Large-scale boosting in one rich country will 

send a signal around the world - that boosters are 

needed everywhere. This will suck many vaccine 

doses out of the system, and many more people

will die because they never even had a chance 

to get a single dose. If millions are boosted,
in 
the absence of a strong scientific case, 

history will remember the moment at 

which, political leaders decided to

reject their responsibility to the 

rest of humanity, in the 

greatest crisis of 

our lifetimes.”

 

On Tuesday, Sajid Javid said plans were in place, to 

offer all over-50s a COVID booster at the same time 

as they receive the flu jab.

 

But Prof Adam Finn, who sits on the Joint Committee 

on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which 

advises the government, said such a mass 

rollout may not be needed, with it more 

likely boosters would only be needed 

to protect a small number of the 

most vulnerable people.

 

Germany, France and Israel are all planning, or already 

administering, boosters for older citizens, although

 the eligibility details vary by country.

 

This is despite the World Health Organization saying that 

halting booster shots until at least the end of September 

would help ease the drastic inequity in vaccine 

distribution between rich and poor nations. 

The US also indicated it would not heed 

the WHO’s call, describing it as a 

“false choice”.

 

But Pollard and Berkley write that while vaccines have 

brought hope and will likely save millions of lives 

globally... thousands are still dying of COVID 

every week, and many countries are still in 

despair, with their hospitals overwhelmed.

 

“The vast majority of people who will die of COVID this year 

could have been saved if we had got this right,” they said, 

adding, “Vaccinating those at risk everywhere, is in our 

self-interest. It may reduce the risk of new variants 

arising, and will relieve pressure on health 

systems, open travel, resuscitate the 

global economy, and raise the

 international authority of 

politicians prepared to

 take such moral 

leadership.”

 

They also stress that the level of antibody or T-cells required 

to prevent people from getting seriously ill cannot yet be 

measured. While the yellow fever vaccine, which 

provides lifelong protection with one dose, the 

flu jab is given annually. Somewhere in-

between is the tetanus vaccine, which

 requires five to six doses for lifelong 

protection. Pollard and Berkley say

 it is ''unclear'' where the COVID 

vaccine sits on the spectrum 

but – so far – it is clear it is

 offering protection against 

severe disease, including 

that caused by the 

main variants.

 

“The focus of vaccination policy... cannot be
on sustaining 
very high levels of antibodies
to prevent mild infection,”

 they write.

 

"If we focus on antibody levels alone, we could end up 

vaccinating everyone repeatedly to cope with a virus 

that keeps mutating. The point of vaccination isn’t to 

prevent people from getting mild infections; it’s to 

prevent hospitalisation and death,” they added.

 

They say that it is not an “all or nothing” argument, 

with careful analysis of data required to ensure

 there are no groups for whom boosters are 

already warranted. But... they add that,
for 
those who do not respond well to 

vaccines – a group which some 

have suggested, should get
booster – “more doses 

won’t help”.

 

The pair conclude, “Since we have the two-dose luxury 

of having time on our side, we should not rush into 

boosting millions of people, while time is running 

out for those who have nothing. First doses
first.
 It’s that simple.”

 

A government spokesperson said, “We are preparing for

 a booster programme and the independent JCVI has 

published its interim advice on who to prioritise
for 
a third vaccine from September 2021."

 

“The UK is committed to supporting a global recovery 

to the COVID-19 pandemic and improving access to

 vaccines – and we have committed to donate 

100mln doses by June 2022, with the first 

deliveries starting last week,” the 

spokesperson added.

 




_________________________________



 

Study Finds One in Ten
UK Patients 
Caught COVID
in Hospital
 in First Wave

August 13th, 3:49pm (FNA)

 

About 1 in 10 patients were infected with coronavirus while 

in hospital during the first wave of the pandemic in the UK  

and that figure rose to about one in six after the peak of 

COVID hospital admissions, researchers found.

 

However, vaccines, improvements in diagnostics and PPE 

supply, and an enhanced understanding of the virus have 

dramatically reduced the risk of catching COVID in 

hospital settings, they stressed, The 

Guardian reported.

 

“Things have changed for the better - enormously - ” said
Dr 
Christopher Green, a senior clinical lecturer and
consultant 
physician in infectious diseases,
at the University 
of Birmingham.

 

During the first wave, on average 11.3% of COVID patients in 

the UK contracted COVID-19 after being in hospital for other 

reasons, and that percentage spiked to about 15.8% in May 

after the peak of hospital admissions. This was the worst 

of the pandemic, as far as hospitals were concerned, 

said Green.

 

The average level of hospital-acquired COVID was not entirely 

surprising, the researchers said, given that the average risk 

of contracting flu in hospital settings is about 10%.

 

The researchers studied 72,157 patients (two-thirds
of 
all UK hospital admissions) admitted across 314 

hospitals... during the first wave. They inferred
which 
patients were infected after admission,
based on 
information on how long it takes to
show 
symptoms, following infection with
the 
virus that causes COVID-19.

 

Using the cut-off date of August 1st, 2020, the researchers 

estimated that between 5,699 to 11,862 patients were 

infected, during their hospital stay...  but cautioned

that this range was likely to be an underestimate, 

given that the researchers could not identify 

patients who were infected during 

admission, but were discharged 

before developing symptoms 

...or patients infected during 

another healthcare visit 

before admission.

 

There were the stark variations in the risk of contracting 

COVID in different hospital settings: acute and general 

care hospitals had the lowest proportion at about 

9.7%; residential community care and mental 

health hospitals had a higher overall 

proportion, 61.9% and 67.5% 

respectively.

 

Given that patients in residential and long-term facilities 

tend to stay for protracted periods, it is not unusual 

that those rates were higher.

 

However, there were also substantial variations among 

acute and general hospitals. In some busy hospitals, 

there were outstanding examples of good infection 

prevention control and practice... but there were 

also instances where the standard was not as 

good, said Calum Semple, a professor in 

child health and outbreak medicine at 

the University of Liverpool.

 

The scientists attributed the variations to multiple factors, 

including inadequate PPE and test supply as well as a 

poor understanding of how the virus transmits.. but 

noted that these wide variations meant that there 

were important lessons to be learned, for 

future outbreaks.

 

Although this data has now been published in the Lancet 

journal, the researchers have been sharing their 

analysis with the NHS and policymakers since 

last year. They continue to monitor what 

proportion of cases could be hospital-

acquired – and that range is looking 

much better at 3% to 5% now, 

said Green.

 

“I don’t want people to be afraid about coming into hospitals 

because we do actually understand a lot more that we 

didn’t know back then,” he said.

 

“One of the key differences, of course, is the high rates of 

vaccine coverage – being vaccinated … dramatically 

reduces the risk of you getting sick – but even if 

you’re unlucky enough to still be infected,

 despite being vaccinated... it also 

dramatically reduces the ability 

for you to transmit to some-

body else,” he added.

 

Hopefully, there will now be a greater focus on reducing

the risk of hospital-acquired infections, added Semple.

 

“Looking at hospital-acquired infections needs to be 

business as usual for [NHS] trusts, rather than an 

exceptional activity,” he said.





____________________________




Vietnamese herbal medication 

effective to fight Covid-19

August 10th, 2:56pm (Prensa Latina) 

 

 

A Vietnamese medicine based on medicinal herbs 

and already subjected to preclinical research, 

has showed high effectiveness in treating 

Covid-19 patients, national scientists 

announced on Tuesday.

 

The medicine, called Vipdervir, is capable of preventing 

SARS-CoV-2 from sticking to host cells, or in any case 

activating immune cells so that they can recognize, 

block, and eliminate the viral particles, Chu Hoang 

Ha, vice president of the Vietnam Academy of 

Science and Technology (VAST), explained.

 

Synthesized as of medicinal herbs whose names the 

scientist did not reveal, the medication remains 

under evaluation for its safety, stability and 

capability to inhibit the spread of the 

deadly virus, as well as 

A/H5N1 influenza.

 

If the research is successful, as it appears to be, the 

relevant studies will be carried out to master the 

manufacturing technology of Vipdervir and 

turn it into a new tool in anti-Covid-19 

treatment.

 

The VAST's Institute of Biotechnology, the Vinh Gia 

Pharmaceutical JSC and the Vietnam Chemical 

Pharmaceutical JSC, are participating in

 the research.

 


Image: catnap better


 


A daytime nap helps to

increase productivity.. 

more than night sleep

: study

 August 6th (Prensa Latina)

 

 In an interesting study, Massachusetts Institute 

of Technology researchers have shown that a 

daytime nap, rather than a night sleep of a

longer duration, will be more beneficial

 in increasing the productivity 

of people.

 

Spending more time in bed, does not confer any 

benefits in work productivity, earnings, a sense

 of well-being, or even lowered blood pressure.

 

Scientists - according to the statement - proved 

that daytime naps tend to be more beneficial, 

as they contribute to improving the process 

of cognition, efficiency, decision-making 

and well-being, in a general sense.

 

'Sleeping more hours does not equate to greater 

well-being - an aspect that is closely linked to
the 
quality of sleep,' the source emphasized.

 

Regarding the quality of sleep, the Mayo Clinic 

scientific website suggested reviewing the
drugs
 and supplements that people take.

 

Avoid drinking fluids up to two hours before 

going to bed, to reduce times going to the 

bathroom, and keep the environment as 

dark as possible.

 

Liquors help people to fall asleep, but once 

the effect wears off, the person is more 

likely to wake up during the night.

 

 

__________________________





China stops issuing passports 


due to Covid-19 rebound


August 4th, 6:21pm (Prensa Latina) 


 


China, on Wednesday, announced the suspension 


of procedures to issue passports and other 


travel documents, as part of its strategy
to 
stop the outbreak of Covid-19, that
has 
forced the authorities to declare
risk of contagion, for 144 cities.


 


National Immigration Administration Director Liu Haitao said 


they will only process applications from individuals with 


real and urgent needs to leave the country; that is, for 


study, work or business.


 


China will work with neighbouring countries to carry out joint 


patrols, neutralize illegal crossings, smuggling and other 


criminal activities at border points.


 


Liu reported on a tightening in the supervision of each ship,


 passengers and cargo arriving at the country's air and 


maritime terminals.


 


The Administration proceeded with these measures in order 


to minimize cross-border movements and entrance from 


abroad of Covid-19-infected people, while China faces
a
 rebound, with the dangerous Delta variant of the 


SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.


 


The Government is on the alert due to the rapid spread of 


the virus in some twenty provinces, the daily rise in local 


cases and the concentration of infectious outbreaks in 


at least three cities.


 


Authorities ordered the relevant departments to use up
all 
resources to contain the outbreak, as it is already 


considered the worst, after the beginning of the 


pandemic in Wuhan.


 






________________________________________







British study shows children 


unlikely to contract severe 


Covid, as UK reportedly set 


to begin vaccinating teens


August 4th, 2:47pm (RT)


 


 


A new study has found that prolonged illness from Covid 


among minors is uncommon, reaffirming data showing 


that the virus is rarely deadly for children. The findings 


come as the UK prepares to start giving teens the shot.


 


The research, conducted by King's College London 


scientists, revealed that children aged between 5


 and 17, who test positive for coronavirus,


 typically recover in less than a week. 


 


Headaches and tiredness were the most common symptoms


observed, according to their paper, which was published on 


Tuesday in the Lancet. 


 


Using data provided by parents to a non-profit group that 


supports Covid research, the study examined medical


 information collected from 1,734 minors, who 


developed symptoms and tested positive


 for the virus, between September
2020
 and February 2021.


 


The researchers said they were “reassured” to find that


 fewer than one in 20 of those with the virus exhibited 


symptoms, for four weeks or more. Incidences in 


which children showed symptoms for more than


 eight weeks, were even rarer, being recorded
in
 one in 50 cases.


 


The scientists also examined cases where children had 


symptoms but tested negative for coronavirus. Only a 


handful of subjects remained symptomatic for
28 days
 or more. 


 


The main takeaway from the study, is that it’s uncommon 


for children to suffer from prolonged illness after getting 


Covid, Emma Duncan, professor of clinical endo-


crinology at King's College London, said. She


 also stressed that it would be ill-advised
to 
focus only on Covid-linked
sickness 
among children. 


 


“We need to be looking after all children who have protracted 


illnesses, irrespective of whether that illness is Covid-19 or


 anything else,” the researcher noted.


 


Although the data used in the study was more than six months 


old, the findings seem consistent with the current figures 


regarding Covid among UK youth. While some experts 


have suggested that the more transmissible Delta 


variant may pose a greater risk to the general 


public... the disease continues to have an 


almost non-existent impact on mortality 


among children. In the first 12 months 


of the pandemic, NHS data shows 


only 25 under-18s died from


 the illness.


 


While the study seems to caution against overstating the virus’ 


effect on children, there may be limitations to accurately 


gauging Covid infections among young Britons: last 


month it was revealed that pupils in the UK were 


applying orange juice to Covid lateral flow test 


kits, in order to test positive for the virus and 


get a two-week holiday from school. 


 


The study coincides with reports that the British government


 is preparing to approve Covid jabs for 16- and 17-year-olds. 


According to the Telegraph, Downing Street is expected
to 
update its advisory to include teens in the nation’s 


inoculation drive. The youngsters will be urged to 


get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, the outlet 


reported, citing a government source. 


 


The British government had previously signaled that jabs 


would only be offered to vulnerable 12- to 15-year-olds 


and those nearing their eighteenth birthday.


 


The reported U-turn would mean that the UK is joining
the 
United States and European states that have
already 
begun to vaccinate minors as
young as 12.


 


 


 


__________________________________






Covid-19 speeds up 
Alzheimer's-like symptoms


 August 3rd, 12:14pm (Prensa Latina) 


 


 


Scientists have assured, that suffering from Covid-19 


speeds up Alzheirmer's-like symptoms, a specialized 


source reported.


 


Many people with Covid-19 experience short- and long


-term neuropsychiatric symptoms, including loss of 


taste and smell, and persistent cognitive and 


attention deficits and care, knows as


brain fog.


 


Experts who attended the International Conference of the 


Alzheimer's Association - in a virtual way - said thanks 


to the studies conducted, a considerable number of 


older adults, frequently suffer with persistent
cognitive 
impairment.


 


Other key findings by the consortium suggest that the


biological markers of brain injury, neuroinflammation 


& Alzheimer's, correlate strongly with the presence 


of neurological symptoms in a Covid-19 patient.


 


Individuals experiencing cognitive decline, post-Covid-19 


infection, were more likely to have low blood oxygen 


following brief physical exertion, as well as a poor 


overall physical condition, the researchers said.


 


More than half showed persistent problems 


with forgetfulness, and roughly one in four 


had additional problems with cognition...


including with language and executive 


dysfunction, the researchers stated.


 


 


 


_______________________________________



UK govt is working with companies 

to offer cheap fast food for Covid-

vaxxed youth, despite warning

 of obesity risk

August 1st, 11:25am (RT)




The UK government is cooperating with major food 

delivery companies such as Uber and Deliveroo,
to 
offer discounted fast foods for young people
who 
get vaccinated against Covid-19.

 

According to the Department of Health and Social Care

 (DHSC), Uber, and its takeaway delivery service, Uber 

Eats, as well as rival food delivery service Deliveroo,

 chain restaurant Pizza Pilgrims, & the ride-hailing

 platform Bolt, are involved with the plan.

 

The DHSC announced - on Sunday - that the companies 

"will be offering discounts & incentives to customers

 who get a Covid-19 vaccine, and help protect the 

country from the virus," ...as it continues in its 

plan "to further drive uptake in young people."

 

"Uber, for example, will be sending reminders to all users

 in August, encouraging them to get the vaccine, & will 

be offering discounted Uber rides and meals on Uber 

Eats... for young adults who get the jab," the 

government revealed, while Bolt will offer

 free rides to vaccination centres.

 

Discount coupons and vouchers could also be offered to 

people getting vaccinated at pop-up sites and other 

vaccination facilities, although the participating 

companies will not store any health data,
the
 DHSC pledged.

 

Health Secretary Sajid Javid thanked the companies in a 

statement and urged the youth to "go out and take 

advantage of the discounts" ...when they 

become available.

 

Many Brits, however, described the scheme as dystopian 

and questioned how giving young people access to 

cheap, discounted fast food, would help 

public health.

 

"One reason why the UK has suffered so badly from Covid

 is due to having a large, unhealthy population," pointed 

out one social media user. "So offering more junk food 

makes perfect sense…"

 

Another person noted that the scheme "seems at odds with 

the eat healthy and save the NHS policy," while 90s pop 

band, Right Said Fred, compared the situation to
"an 
episode from Black Mirror."

 

GB News producer Liam Deacon, however, argued, "A little 

carrot is surely better than compulsion, force, and the 

removal of freedoms?"

 

In July 2020, the DHSC unveiled a new strategy 

to combat obesity and "protect the NHS."

 

"Obesity is one of the biggest health crises the country faces," 

the Department of Health claimed at the time, warning that 

"almost two-thirds (63%) of adults in England are over-

weight or living with obesity" while "1 in 3 children

 leave primary school overweight or obese."

 

The department also warned that "living with excess weight 

puts people at greater risk of serious illness or death from 

COVID-19," noting that "nearly 8% of critically ill patients 

with COVID-19 in intensive care units have been 

morbidly obese, compared with 2.9% of the 

general population."

 

Roughly 67% of people in England between the ages of 18 

and 29 have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose.

 




_____________________________________








Delta COVID-19 Variant 

Shed by Vaccinated People, 

Spreads Like Chickenpox
-- CDC Document

July 30th, 5:31pm (al Manar)

 

 

The Delta COVID-19 strain spreads as easily as chickenpox,

 with fully vaccinated people also transmitting the virus, 

The Washington Post has reported, citing an internal

 document from the US Centres for Disease Control 

and Prevention (CDC), expected to be published 

later on Friday.

 

The transmissibility of the Delta variant is almost as high as 

chickenpox, with each infected person, on average, 

infecting eight or nine others, according to 

the document.

 

Fully vaccinated people can transmit the virus as well as 

unvaccinated people, it also said. Vaccination, however, 

provides substantial protection against the virus, the 

document added.

 

The disease control centre called for universal mask

 requirements and vaccination, as the best tool

 against the Delta variant.

 

The United States is now experiencing a spike in COVID-19 

cases, with the Delta strain accounting for over 80% of new 

infections as of July 20th. Some 70% of US adults, or 178 

million, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 

vaccine and 60%, or 155 million, are fully vaccinated,

 according to the CDC.

 

 

Source: Sputnik

 

 

 

Image: Certain standards of beauty are impossible to achieve

 Certain standards of beauty are impossible to achieve.

 

From perfection
to depression

July 28th, 6:18am (Prensa Latina)

By Joel Michel Varona cyt@prensa-latina.cu

 

 

The obsession for physical perfection is suffered by many 

people, who, dissatisfied with their image, look for 

alternatives that, sometimes, far from satisfying 

them, cause them to end up totally depressed, 

because of the expenses and time wasted.

 

Such fixation not only leads to problems such as depression,

 but even digestive problems, according to a team of 

scientists from the Moscow State University of 

Psychology and Pedagogy.

 

Reaching certain standards of beauty sometimes becomes

 impossible and then the level of dissatisfaction generates 

a crisis.

 

To counteract the effects of such a tendency, a method was

 developed to diagnose this psychological state that 

attaches great importance to appearance, which 

will help to develop measures of psychological 

hygiene and prevention of disorders to help 

young people achieve a healthy and 

harmonious treatment of their 

bodies, Konsultativnaya 

magazine reports.

 

Experts claim that the phenomenon of 'negative
treatment' 
of one's own physique, is a
consequence of
'the internalization
of the ideal image, that 
exists in
today's popular culture'.

 

Thus, many resort to the use of retouching and various

 alterations, which in the end, the psychologists point 

out, is unrealistic and unnatural... if it does not 

result in feelings of rejection of oneself.

 

This procedure consists of a questionnaire that includes 

three subscales that evaluate the manifestation of the 

willingness to resort to plastic surgery to correct 

imperfections, high standards of physical 

appearance and the degree of attention.

 

Also, the inclination to make unfavorable comparisons

 with other people, and suffering in relation to their

alleged defects.

 

The research proved that 'there are close links between

 indicators of this method, with body dissatisfaction

 and symptoms of depression and worry'.

 

 

(Taken from Orbe)

 

 

__________________________________


 

 

Majority of Covid patients in hospital 

may have been admitted for OTHER

 ailments before testing positive, 

leaked NHS data suggests

July 27th, 12:38pm (RT)

 

 

Over 50% of Covid patients in England tested positive 

only after being hospitalised – likely for other reasons

 – leaked NHS data has suggested, raising questions 

about the true impact the virus is having on the

 healthcare system.

 

The previously hidden figures --- covering all NHS trusts in 

England, showed that as of last week, only 44% of those 

classified as Covid patients had tested positive for the 

virus, by the time they were admitted to hospital. 

 

Despite broad public testing for the disease, an incredible

 56% of Covid hospitalisations involve already-admitted 

patients who were administered routine Covid tests,
the
 Telegraph reported. Forty-three percent of Covid
-
positive patients were identified within two days 

of admission, while 13% were flagged in the 

following days and weeks. 

 

According to the outlet, health officials were instructed last 

month to begin placing Covid patients into two categories:

 those who were in hospital primarily because of the virus, 

and those who were admitted for other reasons. However,

 the NHS has, so far, withheld this data from the public. 

 

With the majority of Covid patients being diagnosed after 

admission - in some cases weeks later - the leaked data

 points to the possibility that the virus may only have a

 minor or negligible role, in many hospitalisations 

blamed on coronavirus. 

 

The leaked figures also suggest that a large number of Covid

 hospitalisations are the result of nosocomial transmission, 

meaning that healthcare facilities – rather than restaurants, 

stadiums, schools, or other public venues – may be 

driving up infections requiring medical care. 

 

Ultimately, the NHS leak indicates that many Covid patients are

 actually in hospital for non-Covid reasons, especially when 

one considers the widespread and regular use of PCR tests, 

Professor Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre for 

Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of 

Oxford, told the Telegraph. 

 

“When people hear about hospitalisations with Covid, they will

 assume that Covid is the likely cause, but this data shows 

something quite different – this is about Covid being 

detected after tests were looking for it,” he said, 

adding that the current data being fed to the 

public could lead to “false conclusions” 

and exaggerate the virus’ actual 

impact on the NHS. 

 

Heneghan described the leaked figures as “incredibly

 important” and urged the government to stop 

withholding such data.

 

Tory MP Graham Brady issued a similar call for greater 

transparency, noting that even after 18 months of the 

health crisis, the government has failed to make 

detailed information about hospital admissions 

publicly available, on a regular basis. 

 

Brady’s colleague, Conservative MP Greg Clark, said that

 he would write to Health Secretary Sajid Javid and urge 

him to be more forthcoming with hospital data. The 

lawmaker noted that the accuracy of such 

information was vital, seeing as it is used

 to determine “how quickly restrictions 

should be lifted.”

 

He added that there is a “big distinction” between people 

admitted solely for Covid, and those who are in hospital 

for something else but “have Covid in such a mild form

 that it was not the cause of their hospitalisation." 

 

An NHS data expert who spoke with the Telegraph said that

 the government’s published statistics were “despicable” 

because they do not provide a “true picture” of how 

Covid is affecting public health. 

 

An NHS spokesperson insisted that many patients are 

admitted with symptoms linked to the virus, and are

 later confirmed Covid cases.. upon receiving a post-

admission test. Other patients in hospital may have

 “presymptomatic or asymptomatic” cases, the 

spokesman said. 

 

Recent news reports, have been highlighting renewed 

pressure on the NHS, with Downing Street suggesting 

that the decision to lift many Covid restrictions earlier 

this month, has led to an uptick in cases.

 

However, even senior health officials appear to admit that

 the issue cannot be blamed on Covid alone. A letter from

 NHS hospital trusts to the government, warned that a 

“massive backlog” of patients in need of care, as 

well as a large number of medical staff ordered 

to self-isolate or on annual leave, was 

exacerbating the crisis. 

 

In April it was reported that 4.7 million were waiting for 

operations and procedures in England, after the NHS 

stopped offering routine care, in order to focus on

 Covid patients.

 

 

 

____________________________________





Questions Arise - as More Than 

One in Five Danes Infected With 

Delta COVID Have 'Corona Pass'

by Igor Kuznetsov

July 27th, 5:07am (Sputnik)

 

 

Given the new circumstances, rules for the validity of
the 
passport should be changed, experts have argued. 


However, despite the apparently poorer protection,

 the country's medical authorities have urged their 

compatriots to fully vaccinate themselves, 

emphasising that even a single shot can 

still contribute to a milder experience 

with the disease.

 

More than one-fifth of the new, more contagious delta 

variant of coronavirus has been found in vaccinated 

Danes issued a so-called “corona pass”, the State

 Serum Institute (SSI) has warned.

 

22 percent of those infected with the delta variant
had a 
valid corona pass after the first shot
when they were 
found infected.

 

“The first tests we did of the vaccine showed that they 

protected well after the first jab. These were the 

studies that led to the vaccine being approved. 

Now we have a dominance with delta virus, 

and there we have a poorer protection,”

 SSI department head Palle Valentiner

-Branth ,told Danish Radio.

 

According to SSI's latest estimate, the delta variant 

accounts for up to 91.2 percent of those newly 

infected with coronavirus, making this strain

 the most dominant in Denmark.

 

However, despite the apparently poorer protection, Palle 

Valentiner-Branth emphasised that even a single shot 

can still contribute to a milder experience with the 

disease, if one should become infected.

 

“You will probably be infected to a lower degree
than if 
you were unvaccinated, and you will
not be as ill,” 
he said.

 

Jørgen Eskild Petersen, a professor at the Department of 

Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University, calls it “worrying” 

that people can still go out and use their corona pass, 

even though they may be infected with the delta 

variant. To rectify this, he proposed only 

handing out corona passports after
the 
second shot.

 

“It is not the vaccines that have changed since
they were 
introduced, but it is simply a new
virus that is less 
sensitive to the immunity
that the vaccines 
provide,”
he underscored.

 

He cited a major study from England, which showed that 

both AstraZeneca, and Pfizer, only gave a 30-percent 

protection after a single shot, calling it unreasonable

 to grant corona passports, after only a single shot.

 

However, Danish parties from both left and

 right, were against changing the rules.

 

Liselott Blixt, health spokesperson for the national-

conservative Danish People's Party, argued it was

''too late'' to change the rules now, and, instead, 

urged people themselves to take responsibility.

 

“Keep your distance and make sure you maintain good 

hygiene. People are already confused enough and we

 are tired of hearing about corona. If we change that

 now, then I think we're losing people,” she mused.

 

The Socialist People's Party, urged Danes to listen to the

 SSI and the National Board of Health, in which it has full 

confidence.


Palle Valentiner-Branth cautioned fellow Danes that they 

can still become infected with only one shot - and urged 

them to become fully vaccinated, at the first opportunity.

 

“When you are fully vaccinated, we rarely see that you get 

a breakthrough infection,” Palle Valentiner-Branth said, 

citing figures from the SSI, according to which, only
0.1 
percent of fully vaccinated people have been
found
 infected with COVID-19.

 

As of now, the corona pass becomes valid 14 days after 

the first vaccine shot. A valid passport can also be 

obtained, after previously becoming infected, or 

producing a negative PCR or antigen test.

 

Denmark has fully vaccinated 50.9 percent of its population. 

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, it has seen 312,000 

cases, with some 2,500 fatalities.

 

 

 

__________________________________________







'Worse Than Useless': UK Councils

 Warn 'Pingdemic' May Disrupt Key 

Sectors for Weeks to Come

by Oleg Burunov

July 24th, 5:55am (Sputnik)

 

 

On Friday, UK Cabinet ministers announced that workers 

critical to the food supply industry will be exempt from 

the "pingdemic", in order to prevent supermarket 

shelves in the country from going empty.

 

The UK government plans to set up a scheme in order to 

let more key workers take daily COVID-19 tests rather 

than isolate for ten days... to tackle a possible 

economic meltdown over the so-called

 "pingdemic".

 

In the past week, over 600,000 British workers have been 

"pinged" by the National Health Service app, telling 

them to stay at home for up to 10 days after they
were 
recorded as being in close contact with
COVID-
positive people.

 

On Friday night, the government said that police, fire service 

staff, border staff, transport, and freight, should also be 

included in the exemption scheme, which is expected

 to resolve increasing numbers of isolating staff.

 

Earlier that day, Environment Secretary George Eustice and 

Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced plans for daily 

contact testing for the food and drink industries, 

saying that critical food-supply employers will 

be exempt from self-isolation, if they test 

negative for coronavirus on a daily 

basis and are fully vaccinated.

 

UK Councils Urge London to Clarify
on Self-Isolation Exemptions


The country's councils and companies have, meanwhile, warned

 that England may face weeks of "pingdemic" disruption, which

 will most likely ride roughshod over key services and the

supply of food.

 

The British Meat Processors Association urged the government 

to publish more information as soon as possible to give "clear,

 unambiguous guidance on which sites are exempt [from self-

isolation], which job roles qualify for exemption, and exactly

 how these new rules will be applied".

 

"Our fear is that, if infections keep rising at the current rate, there 

will be so many non-exempt workers taken out of the system that,

 regardless of those protected 'key sites', the rest of the supply 

chain around them will start failing", the association said.

 

This position was echoed by Richard Harrow, chief executive of the

 British Frozen Food Federation, who called the current situation 

"worse than useless", with confusion "continuing to pervade".

 

James Jamieson, chair of the Local Government Association, for 

his part, urged Downing Street to clarify what councils and 

employers should do, when it comes to exemptions for

 their critical workers.

 

"Residents will need to bear with us if they experience disruption 

to some services, if councils are forced to prioritise services that 

protect the most vulnerable in their communities", Jamieson 

pointed out. 

 

Shadow Environment Secretary Luke Pollard, in turn, insisted that 

security of the food supply is fundamental and that empty shelves 

in supermarkets "show the system is failing".

 

"The government caused this chaos by recklessly releasing all 

restrictions at once in the face of the Johnson variant, hitting 

the accelerator while flinging off the seatbelt", he said, in an 

apparent nod to the July 19th lifting of all coronavirus 

restrictions in England, touted by Prime Minister 

Boris Johnson as "freedom day".

 

Pollard welcomed the government's "right" move stipulating that 

"some critical workers in the food supply sector may be exempt

 if fully vaccinated and, crucially, tested daily", adding, however, 

that ministers "must be cautious, given the surging 

transmission rate".

 

"Labour warned against removing all restrictions in one go and 

we want to see a return of mandatory mask wearing in shops 

and the continuation of workplace testing. The rushed plan 

ministers have now published looks like a bureaucratic 

nightmare for businesses, while being unlikely to be 

sufficient. They have a right to be furious", the 

shadow environment secretary noted.

 

Gov't Lifts Stage Four COVID Restrictions

 

He spoke after the government went ahead with scrapping Stage

 Four restrictions on Monday, allowing nightclubs and music 

venues to reopen, and lifting the last restrictions on pubs, 

cafes, and restaurants and the attendance limits at 

weddings and funerals.

 

Some employers have, however, complained that up to 10% of

 their staff cannot work, after being told to isolate for 10 days 

by the NHS app.

 

Downing Street responded by announcing that as of August 16th, 

those who have had both doses of the coronavirus vaccine more

 than two weeks prior, will no longer have to isolate if "pinged", 

but must undergo a PCR-type test as soon as possible, to see 

whether they are infected.

 

COVID-19 death rates in the UK have approached triple figures 

this week, peaking at 96 on Monday. The total death toll in the 

UK since the first case was identified there in January 2020 

stands at 128,980, according to the World Health 

Organisation's latest estimates.

 

 

________________________________



 

French hospital goes on 

INDEFINITE strike: to protest

 Covid-19 vaccination mandate

July 23rd, 6:09pm (RT)

 

 

The staff of the hospital in Montelimar, in the French 

department of Drome, have gone on indefinite strike

 to protest at the new rules demanding they take a 

vaccine against Covid-19 by mid-September --

 or face losing their jobs.

 

The strike against “forced vaccination” was announced on 

Thursday by the CGT-GHPP trade union, and affects some 

200 doctors and 1,500 nurses in the southeastern 

French city. 

 

Hundreds of them gathered outside the hospital on Friday, 

denouncing lockdowns and vaccine mandates and 

chanting “liberté!” (freedom). 

 

The French legislature is finalizing the proposal that would 

require all medical professionals in contact with the 

vulnerable, to be fully vaccinated by September
15th, 
or else lose their salaries and even
their jobs.

 

“We are against mandatory vaccination and vaccine coercion,” 

Elsa Ruillere, local union representative, told Sputnik France. 


“There is no choice between tests or vaccination: vaccination 

is compulsory. No, we don't agree. We want to have the choice

 like the rest of the world and we do not want compulsory 

vaccination.”

 

Ruillere says her union supports “free and informed consent” 

and is not against vaccination on principle but is against 

coercion. Some of the medical workers said they are 

waiting for the French-made Sanofi-GSK vaccine, 

promised for December. 

 

“We are well aware of the evolution of the virus. We do not 

take it lightly,” Ruillere said. However, she and her striking 

colleagues point out that, even with the rise in positive

 tests for the Delta variant of the coronavirus, there is 

no commensurate rise in hospitalizations.

 

“Yes, we turned ‘red’ but that's in fact due to the positive tests.

 In terms of hospitalizations, we are fine at the moment, we did 

not need to reopen beds, we have far fewer hospitalized 

people than before and fewer people in intensive care,”

 she added.

 

Another union gripe is the lack of public debate, since France’s 

National Assembly seems to have simply proceeded on the 

advice of the High Health Authority (HAS), which called
the 
vaccination mandate “justified.”

 

There have been widespread protests in France since mid-July,

 as the government of President Emmanuel Macron imposed 

the vaccination mandate on health workers and introduced 

a  “health pass” requirement to access public venues with

 more than 50 people in attendance. The pass requirement 

will extend to cafes, restaurants and shops, starting on

August 1st. 

 

There has been a 150% increase in coronavirus cases over

 the past week in France, attributed to the Delta variant. The

 government says 96% of those infected are unvaccinated.

 

 

 

________________________________________




People jabbed with PLACEBOS 

during vaccine trials will have

same privileges as those 

‘fully’ vaxxed, UK 

minister says

July 23rd, 11:18am (RT)

 

 

The UK government views people who were given 

placebos during Covid-19 vaccine trials... as fully 

inoculated, Britain’s vaccines minister has said, 

adding that they would enjoy all the privileges 

granted by the NHS Covid Pass.

 

In remarks given before Parliament on Thursday, 

vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi touted the 

country’s controversial NHS Covid Pass as

 having an “important role to play in 

slowing the spread of the virus,” 

and urged 'certain businesses' 

and large venues, to adopt the

 domestic health certificate in 

order to “keep their clients
or
 their customers safe”. 

 

The NHS app can be used to show proof of vaccination 

status, negative test results, or natural immunity. 

 

But it seems the urgent need to methodically document

people’s vaccination status, and to use this private 

medical information, to grant certain privileges,

 contains at least one loophole ----- individuals 

who have participated in vaccine trials will 

be viewed as “fully vaccinated”, whether 

they received a placebo, or an actual 

shot, Zahawi said. 

 

It’s unlikely that he misspoke, as he made the same 

declaration in two separate exchanges, while 

answering questions from Parliament

 

Labour MP Rupa Huq complained to Zahawi, that several of

 her constituents who took part in Novavax trials, are “now 

being treated as if they are vax deniers with the texts they

 get from the NHS”. She also seemed to suggest they had 

been “grounded”  --- due to not being considered fully 

vaccinated. She pointed to the case of an American

 who had participated in the drug trial who said he

 felt it was on account of “xenophobia” that he 

could not access events that Brits can.

 

“People think that they are being punished for doing the 

right thing. Will the Minister rectify that?” she pressed 

Zahawi. 

 

According to the official transcript of their conversation, 

Zahawi promised the MP that those in clinical trials, 

including that by Novavax, would have their status 

on the NHS Covid app recorded as ‘fully 

vaccinated’, whether they received

 the placebo or the vaccine.

 

Minutes later, Labour MP Barbara Keeley echoed Huq’s 

concerns and asked for a solution to be found for the 

“wonderful volunteers” who had joined the 

Novavax trial. 

 

“They now find themselves not able to travel, as they 

cannot get a vaccine certificate and their vaccines 

are not recognised in the EU,” the lawmaker said. 

 

Zahawi repeated his previous position on the matter. 

 

“We are working with other countries to make sure that 

that is recognised, but as far as the UK is concerned, 

they will be considered fully vaccinated, whether 

they have had the placebo or the vaccine,” he

 reassured the MP. 

 

The vaccine developed by US-based Novavax has yet 

to receive emergency use authorisation in the UK. 

 

Participants in trials for the drug have complained that

 they have been denied an approved jab --- due to their 

involvement with the clinical tests. The Department 

of Health said in June that it would ensure that the

 volunteers weren’t disadvantaged by their 

participation in the trials. 

 

Britain’s rollout of ITS domestic digital Covid passport 

has aggravated many, who see the scheme as a 

serious government intrusion, into peoples’ 

ability to carry out their normal activities. 

Notably, Zahawi described the divisive

policy as “discriminatory” while 

speaking about the concept,

 in February. 

 

However, he later changed his tune. In April, he insisted that

vaccine passports wouldn’t be discriminatory, if they could 

also be used by people who had tested negative for 

the virus. 


 


__________________________



 

India reports over 45,000

 ''Black Fungus'' cases,

 Health Minister says

July 21st, 12:05pm  (Prensa Latina) 

 

 

A total of 45,432 cases of mucormycosis (black fungus) 

have been reported by states and Uts., till July 15th, of 

which, 21,085 affected people are receiving treatment 

and 4,252 have passed away, the Health and Family 

Welfare Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, said in a 

written reply.

 

A large majority of mucormycosis patients (84.4%), 

had reported a history of Covid-19, Mandaviya said.

 

In the wake of the 2nd wave of Covid-19, an increased

 number of mucormycosis cases were reported and
the 
ministry of health, after thorough gap analysis
and 
consultations, took a number of steps to
address
 the problem.

 

Mucormycosis and other fungal infections, are most 

commonly seen as an opportunistic infection. They

 are found in those with underlying immunity either 

due to diabetes, cancers, particularly hematolo-

gical malignances, etc., or, as a side effect of 

the prolonged/irrational use of certain drugs 

like steroids, & immunosuppressive drugs

 for management of other disorders... 

including Covid-19, the minister 

explained.

 

Taking cognizance of the association between elevated 

blood sugar levels (in those with pre-existing diabetes
mellitus, or hyperglycemia due to steroid 
therapy), an
updated Clinical Guidance on the 
Diagnosis and
Management of Diabetes, 
at the Covid-19
Patient Management facility, 
was
issued by the ministry, on
June 11th.

 

Mucormycosis, which affects patients recovered from this 

disease, is acquired by contact with spores of the fungus 

present in the environment, or by the skin, through cuts 

or open wounds.

 

It can have serious consequences for

 those with AIDS, cancer, or diabetes.

 

The most common symptoms are poor appetite, weight 

loss, tiredness, and necrosis or death of cells and tissue.

 

In addition to itchy eyes and nose, fever, bloody vomiting, 

coughing, and shortness of breath, signs include: one-

sided facial swelling, headache, nasal congestion, 

and black lesions on the nasal bridge and the

upper, inner part of the mouth.

 

 

 

_________________________________






‘Save our NHS!’: Some in alcohol

 & obesity-ridden Britain fear Tory 

bill just passed by MPs, could 

privatise the health service

July 16th, 10am (RT)

 

 

Many Britons have taken to social media, to register 

their anger at the government’s Health and Care Bill 

after MPs passed a contentious motion, on its 2nd

 reading, with some claiming it will lead to further

 NHS privatisation.

 

On Wednesday evening, the governments Health and 

Care Bill passed through the House of Commons by

 356 votes to 219... While the bill’s future impact on 

the National Health Service (NHS) is disputed, the 

movement from paying publicly owned trusts to 

private companies to provide services, has 

stoked fears that the Tory government 

may further privatise the NHS.  

 

Following the vote, Green Party leader Caroline Lucas 

called on her supporters to join their campaign to 

scrap the bill, which she claimed “entrenches 

privatisation & does nothing to address
the 
social care crisis.” 

 

Lucas was backed up by Labour MP and Corbynite 

Zarah Sultana, who said the Tory privatisation 

would “open the floodgates to cronyism, & 

incentivises cuts & closures.” She vowed

 to keep fighting against what she called

 an “NHS Corporate Takeover Bill.” 

 

With #SaveourNHS trending on Twitter, many commenters

 jumped to slam Boris Johnson’s government... One person 

said he didn’t realise there could be a more “destructive” 

government than that of former Prime Minister Margaret 

Thatcher, who oversaw widespread privatisation, 

adding “Johnson’s government are evil,

 terrifyingly so. #ScrapNHSBill” 

 

While many criticised the government, others highlighted

 the nation’s hypocrisy, as the UK, one of Europe’s fattest

 and most alcoholic states, suffers immensely under the 

strain of alcohol- and obesity-induced illness. The 

government estimates that it spent over £6 billion

 on treating obesity related illness in 2014-2015, 

with around two-thirds of the UK’s adult 

population considered overweight... or 

obese. In 2020, more than one million

 people in the UK were hospitalised 

due to obesity-related illnesses.

 

Meanwhile, it is estimated that the effect of UK alcohol 

consumption costs the NHS around £3.5 billion each 

year, marking a huge increase from the decade 

before ...when the spend was around 

£2.7 billion a year.

 

One person noted that while people were locked down to 

“save the NHS,” it’d be equally effective if people looked 

after themselves, to stop them being unnecessarily 

hospitalised for being fat. 

 

Others concurred, one said the country is too soft on fat, 

claiming “obesity is crippling our NHS.” Another 

suggested the NHS stop treating fat people 

and save billions.

 

“How long before obese people are called selfish, for 

putting a strain on the NHS?” one commenter asked, 

stating that the country should move from the Covid

-19 track-and-trace system, to fitness trackers. 

 

We “don’t need 107 new hospitals”, wrote one Twitter
user, 
responding to a Labour MP who proposed new 

investments in the NHS, adding that the country 

should focus on ...preventing the UK from 

“being the most obese country

 in Europe.” 

 

Another person admitted to being a “big lad” and said it 

was his fault and he should foot the bill. “Obese people 

shouldn't get anything from the NHS if they need it, 

They should be made to pay for it,” he wrote. 

 

The NHS has been at the centre of many policy discussions

 in recent months, following a year in which it was tested 

extensively by Covid-19. In June the government passed

 a new law that would ban the advertising of unhealthy 

food before 9am, although it won’t come into effect 

until the end of 2022. The law hopes to stamp out 

childhood obesity, which is also rife in the UK. 




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____________________________________






Some Britons angry, as 
govt quietly passes bill 
making Covid-19 vaccines

mandatory for carehome
staff in England

July 14th, 12:38pm (RT)




Some Britons have slammed the government after 

the UK parliament voted on Tuesday to make 

vaccines compulsory for care home staff
in
 England, unless they have medical 

exemption. There are others that 

back the move.

 

On Tuesday the British parliament voted by 319 votes to 246 

to make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for those working

 in England's care homes. As a result, from October, anyone 

who works in a Care Quality Commission-registered care 

home in England, must prove they have been jabbed 

twice in order to retain their job. Some people will 

be medically exempt.

 

While the bill was criticised in the house by Tory MPs, as there

 had been no impact assessment published before the vote, 

its passing was also slammed by some on social media. 

 

On Wednesday, references to the Nuremberg Code – a post-

WWII convention that seeks to protect people from cruelty 

and exploitation...  including non-voluntary medical 

procedures... trended on Twitter, as exasperated 

Britons claimed that the UK government has 

contravened the more than 70-year-old

 principle, by making vaccines 

compulsory for work.

 

“The UK is now a medical fascist state” wrote politician 

David Kurten, leader of the Heritage Party, blasting the 

vote to make what he termed “experimental injections” 

compulsory. He added that “those who did not vote 

against are responsible for breaking the 

Nuremberg Code.” 

 

One person claimed that the British MPs must either be 

“stupid or paid off,” while another asserted that they 

were now guilty of committing crimes against 

humanity, adding the hashtag #nuremburg2, 

a reference to the convention and the 

historic Nazi war crimes trials.

 

However, these opinions were not held by everyone, and

 a number of people were keen to point out the need for 

workers in care homes to be vaccinated, reiterating 

anger from earlier in the year when it emerged that 

care workers, many of them from non-white back-

grounds, had a certain hesitancy in taking the 

Covid-19 vaccine. 

 

“On the one hand, obviously staff should be vaccinated as 

they are caring for societies most vulnerable,” one lady 

wrote, adding that her mother, a care home resident, 

may now lose seven “valuable carers that are sadly

 victims of vaccine misinformation.” 

 

This sentiment was reinforced by Dr Rohin Francis, a 

cardiologist and Youtuber who ran a poll on Twitter, 

asking “Should healthcare workers, including care 

home staff, have mandatory covid vaccination?” 

Around 9% of the 941 people who voted 

answered "no." 

 

Meanwhile, human rights barrister Adam Wagner sought 

to dispel the myth that “the Covid-19 vaccines are 

experimental,” also sharing a document which 

outlined why mandating Covid shots is not in 

conflict with the Nuremberg Code. It’s 

“difficult policies to protect vulnerable

 people which involve trade-offs in 

personal autonomy,” he wrote in

 a tweet.  

 

In June, the government said that 78%, or 1.2 million, care 

home staff had received the vaccine, despite vaccinations 

being open to care home staff for seven months.

 

Analysis from February suggests that frontline healthcare 

staff were showing a degree of scepticism in taking the jab. 

While many white staff had been inoculated, only 37% of 

black staff were jabbed. 


 

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_______________________


 


Autistic People in UK 
are Suffering From 

'Intolerable Treatment'

 at Inpatient Facilities,

 Report Says

by Oleg Burunov

July 13th, 2:03pm (Sputnik)

 

 

Earlier on Tuesday, the British Department of Health and 

Social Care claimed that the number of people with 

autism in the country's mental health hospitals

 has decreased by around 30%, over the 

past few years.

 

A UK House of Commons committee has called for a ban

 on all new long-term detentions of autistic people and

 individuals with learning disabilities, except

 admissions for forensic cases.

 

In a new report released on Tuesday, the Health and Social Care

 Committee claimed individuals can be subjected to "intolerable

 treatment", including "abusive restrictive practices", at 

inpatient facilities across the UK.

 

The survey claimed that autistic people and those with learning

 problems can be kept for "long periods of time in facilities that

 do not meet their needs" and that such individuals are kept 

long distances from their families and friends.

 

The report also referred to the "fatal misunderstanding" that

autistic people at inpatient facilities are treated as if their 

conditions are illnesses, not a fundamental part of 

their identity.

 

This results in a situation where they start to suffer from mental

 or physical illnesses, something that is then used to justify 

their detention.

 

The MPs pointed to a "shocking" six-year average stay of autistic 

people in assessment and treatment units, which should be 

closed in the next few years amid the "immediate action on

 the use of restrictive practices by staff".

 

The lawmakers stressed that some descriptions of the use of 

physical restraint and long-term segregation at in-patient 

facilities are not "worthy of a 21st century healthcare 

system". According to them, bespoke community 

care should be offered, instead of individuals 

being detained in hospitals.

 

Committee chairman Jeremy Hunt, for his part, insisted it is

 a "national shame" that "far too many" people are still 

being detained.

 

This was followed by a Department of Health and Social
Care spokesperson, stressing that the government's
priority is "to
 ensure autistic people and people
with learning disabilities
 are supported to
live well in their communities, receive

safe and high-quality care, and are
treated with dignity
 and respect".

 

The spokesperson also claimed the department is "building" 

on an alleged 30-percent reduction in the number of autistic 

inpatients and those with learning disabilities "with 

additional funding to cut admissions further and

 support the discharge of these patients back 

into the community".

 

According to statistics from the UK's National Health Service 

(NHS), there are about 2,000 people with autism and/or

 learning disabilities, who are still being locked away 

in the country's inpatient units... on a long-

term basis.

 

 

_________________________________



 

France’s call not to recognize 

Russian, Chinese vaccines 

unacceptable — diplomat

July 8th, 3:48pm (TASS)

 

 The French Foreign Ministry’s call not to recognize Russian 

and Chinese vaccines in the EU is unacceptable, Russian 

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said 

on Thursday.

 

"Such remarks are unacceptable. This is a hybrid of racism,

 imperial hegemonism and neo-Nazism: entire peoples are 

denied equal rights and opportunities, and this is being 

done in violation of laws, ethics and morals, pushing

 the world towards confrontation at a moment when 

it endures the most difficult trials by the
pandemic," 
she said, in her Telegram
channel, on Thursday.

 

"The nerve, the cynicism and brutality, with which the Western 

states fight for profit, abandoning their own humanistic ideals 

- without thinking about the fates of millions of people during 

humanity’s fight against the pandemic - are shocking,"

 the diplomat said.

 

"The people who authored these words have nothing to do 

with the France that gave humanity the ideals of liberty,

 equality and fraternity," Zakharova added.

 

 

_________________________________




Real-world evidence clearly shows 

Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 jab 

both ‘safe & effective’ -  British 

science journal Nature reports

July 7th, 11:16am (RT)




World-leading academic journal Nature has published

 a new analysis of Russia’s flagship coronavirus jab, 

Sputnik V, saying its efficacy has been 

demonstrated, despite the EU and 

others dragging their feet on 

approving it for use.

 

The article, published on Tuesday by Australian science

 journalist, Bianca Nogrady, describes the formula, 

developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, as 

"the subject of fascination and controversy 

since the Russian government authorized 

its use last year, before early-stage trial 

results were published." The news that 

the country had become the first in the 

world, to register a jab against the 

virus, was met with a mixture of 

surprise and derision, by the

Western commentators.

 

However, Nogrady goes on to say, "evidence from Russia 

and many other countries, now suggests it is safe and 

effective." Approved in 67 countries, and with all 

the published data seemingly in, Nature accepts
that there
 is little doubt that the vaccine works.

 

Despite a number of companies in the EU vying for the rights

 to manufacture Sputnik V, the bloc's central regulator, the 

European Medicines Agency, is still conducting a drawn-

out review of the evidence behind the jab. Two member 

states, Hungary and Slovakia, have jumped the gun 

and begun including the Moscow-made formula 

in their national immunization programs.

 

However,  the article notes, there are still some questions

 about monitoring for side effects, which are thought to 

be similar to such formulas as those made by Astra-

Zeneca and Johnson & Johnson. 

 

While some vaccines, most notably AstraZeneca's, have been 

thought to be associated with very rare side effects such as 

blood clots, Russian scientists have insisted that there is 

no record of major adverse events from their jab.

 

Revealing in June that he himself had received two doses of 

Sputnik V, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “now 

more than 20 million – 23 million – … have already been 

vaccinated [in Russia]... you can see everything is fine 

with us. Thank God, we haven’t had such tragic 

situations, after vaccination, as [have 

occasionally been seen] following

the use of AstraZeneca or 

Pfizer elsewhere.”

 

For the EMA, Nogrady notes, this could be a sign that Russia's

 population surveillance system is not robust enough to detect

 any cases. However, she notes, several studies are underway

 in countries that have already approved the jab, like Argentina, 

Venezuela and Turkey, so more evidence will soon be available 

to wary regulators.

 

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__________________________________





England’s legal Covid-19 restrictions 

to be dropped - in two weeks - PM 

Johnson says, despite warning

 ‘more deaths’ on way

July 5th, 4:24pm (RT)

(updated 20hrs ago)

 

Nearly all of the remaining Covid-19 curbs in England, 

including all legal restrictions, will be lifted on July 

19th, despite an increase in cases and the 

expectation of more deaths from the 

virus, Prime Minister Boris 

Johnson said.

 

Face masks will no longer be required on public transport,

 nightclubs will reopen and the limit on group sizes in 

private homes to six people, will all be scrapped, 

Johnson told a press conference on Monday.

 

Other limits on the number of people at weddings and funerals

 will also end, as will social distancing requirements and 

limiting bars and restaurants to table-service only.

 

Johnson said England was still seeing a rising number of 

Covid-19 infections and hospital admissions -- warning

 that there could be 50,000 cases per day by July 19th.

 

“We must reconcile ourselves sadly to more deaths from 

Covid,” he said, adding that the government must take a 

“careful and balanced” decision on restrictions.

 

Johnson said he expects the government will be able to 

lift the majority of remaining restrictions on July 19th, 

with a review of the latest health data, set for 

July 12th.

 

The national test, trace and isolate system will remain in 

operation from July 19th, Johnson said, although the 

government is looking at different arrangements for 

fully-vaccinated people, and for children. People

 must still self-isolate if they test positive for 

the virus, or are ordered to quarantine by

 NHS Test and Trace.

 

The PM also indicated that restrictions 

could be re-introduced down the line.

 

"I didn't want people to feel that this is, as it were, the 

moment to get demob happy... it is very far from the

 end of dealing with this virus," Johnson said.

 

"Obviously, if we do find another variant that doesn't 

respond to the vaccines... then clearly, we will have 

to take whatever steps we need to do to protect 

the public."

 

As the restrictions are lifted, the government will no 

longer require people to work from home and a 

limit on the number of people allowed to visit 

care homes will be dropped. A statement is 

set to be made this week by the UK’s 

Education Sec., Gavin Williamson,

 on the 'possible end' of so-called

 classroom “bubbles” which are 

designed to protect schools 

from Covid outbreaks.

 

Johnson said the pace of the UK’s vaccine rollout would

 also speed up so that people under 40 years of age will 

be offered their second dose eight weeks after their
first, 
as opposed to the current 12-week interval.

 

Speaking alongside the PM on Monday, England’s chief 

medical officer Professor Chris Whitty warned of the 

potential pressure Covid-19 may place on the 

National Health Service (NHS) next winter.

 “This coming winter may be very 

difficult for the NHS, and I don’t 

think that’s a particularly 

controversial point,”

 he said.

 

On Monday the UK reported a further nine deaths within 28 

days of a positive Covid test, and more than 27,000 new

 infections. The current rate of infection, is 230 per 

100,000 people, and, in the last seven days, there

 has been a 50% increase in new cases 

compared to the previous week, 

according to the latest

 government data.

 

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________________________________



 

Delta Variant of COVID-19 

Claims Lives of 50 

Vaccinated Britons

June 28th, 5:28pm GMT (Sputnik)

 

The Delta variant of COVID-19 has killed just 

over 100 people in the UK — but 50 of those

 were fully-vaccinated.

 

A briefing paper by Public Health England (PHE) 

published Friday, showed that just 117 people

had died of the so-called "Indian" variant of 

concern, out of just over 92,000 

identified cases.

 

The figures represent a mortality rate of just 0.13 

per cent — less than a twentieth of the overall 

2.88 per cent for UK cases, since the start
of
 the pandemic.

 

But worryingly, 50 of those who died had been given 

both doses of the coronavirus vaccine, although all 

of those were in the over-50 age group... which 

accounts for 99 per cent of deaths in the UK.

 

Eight people under the age of 50 died of the Delta 

variant, but none were fully-immunised against 

COVID-19 and only two had even received 

their first jab.

 

"Does this mean the vaccines are ineffective? Far 

from it," statisticians, David Spiegelhalter and 

Anthony Masters, wrote for The Observer on 

Sunday. "It's what we would expect from
an 
effective but imperfect vaccine".

 

Fears of the Delta variant, thought to be more transmissible 

than other strains of COVID-19, prompted Prime Minister 

Boris Johnson's government to postpone the final lifting 

of lockdown restrictions by four weeks from June 21st, 

to July 19th, to buy time to get all the over-40s 

double-vaccinated.

 

The latest PHE data, published on Monday afternoon, 

showed just three deaths nationwide — despite new 

infections soaring by almost 70 per cent week-on-

week. Almost 23,000 new cases were recorded 

on Sunday. Another ray of hope, was that 

hospital admissions had only risen by 

10% over the past week, with 227
new patients admitted with
the 
virus, on Sunday.

 

 

______________________________

 




300+ confirmed cases of 

heart problems among 

teen recipients of 

Pfizer vaccine

June 23rd,  3:37pm (PressTV)

 

 

The United States’ Centres for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC) is to host a panel of experts on 

Wednesday, to discuss the more than 300 

confirmed cases of heart problems 

among adolescents who have 

received the Pfizer/BioN

Tech vaccine.

 

During the session, the experts will hear a risk-

benefit analysis about whether the shots can

cause myocarditis, as well as cases of 

inflammation of the heart lining.

 

"These cases are rare, and the vast majority have fully 

resolved with rest and supportive care," said the CDC 

director Rochelle Walensky last week.

 

Although 300 cases out of 20 million adolescents who 

have received their shots is not a great number, many

 believe that it is still likely higher than what would 

otherwise be expected for the age group.

 

The vaccination of adolescents in the US was begun in 

mid-May after the CDC voted 14 to 0 in favor of the use

 of the mRNA vaccine made by the Pfizer/BioNTech.

 

A federal advisory panel claimed that children between 

12 to 15 years old can receive the COVID-19 vaccine 

made by the Pfizer and BioNTech.

 

This came as, according to the national polls, only a 

limited number of families were eager to get their 

children inoculated.

 

Nearly a month later, the CDC announced that the 

preliminary findings from two vaccine safety 

monitoring systems suggest a higher-than

-expected number of cases of heart 

inflammation after the second dose 

of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in

 young men.

 

More than half of the myocarditis or pericarditis cases 

reported to the US Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting 

System after patients had received Pfizer/BioNTech 

vaccines were in people between the ages of 12 

and 24, the CDC said on June 10th, 2021.

 

The body also promised to hold a meeting of its Advisory 

Committee on Immunization Practices... to further
evaluate 
the evidence and assess the risk of
myocarditis after
 mRNA vaccinations
for COVID-19.

 

Press TV’s website can also be accessed 

at the following alternative address:

 

www.presstv.ir


 

________________________




US Warns of Illness Caused 

by Hand Sanitizers ...in

Latest COVID-19 Update

June 22nd, 10:35pm GMT (Sputnik) 




 Hand sanitizers ---  a ubiquitous presence during the 

coronavirus pandemic, threaten users with nausea, 

dizziness and occasional adverse events requiring

 treatment by healthcare providers, the US Food 

and Drug Administration (FDA) warned 

on Tuesday.

 

"FDA reviewed case reports submitted to FDA and cases

 from calls to US poison control centres... of adverse 

events after applying alcohol-based hand sanitizers

 to the skin. While the majority of cases resulted in

 minor or minimal effects, some cases resulted in

 treatment by a health care professional," an
FDA
 press release said.

 

The FDA explained in the release that common symptoms, 

including headache, nausea, and dizziness, typically 

result from fumes released by alcohol-

based sanitizers.

 

Consumers should limit use of sanitizers to well-

ventilated areas, and to use soap and water,
when 
available, the FDA said.

 

"The best way to prevent the spread of infections and 

decrease the risk of getting sick, is by washing your 

hands, frequently, with plain soap and water, for at

 least 20 seconds", it said.

 

Some 50 cases of serious adverse events have
been
 identified after applying alcohol-based
hand 
sanitizers, all reported after the
coronavirus 
pandemic sent much of
the US into lock-
down mode, in
March 2020, the 
FDA added.

 

(and no, it's not April Fool's Day!)

 

 

________________________






New Season of Pandemic?

 Chinese Researchers Discover 

New Coronaviruses in Bats

 Similar to COVID-19

by Max Gorbachev

June 12th, 11:03am GMT (Sputnik)

 

 

The news comes amid heightened attention over 

the origins of the infectious disease, which

-- according to John Hopkins University --
has 
killed 3.7 million people worldwide. 

Initially, scientists brushed aside 

allegations that SARS-CoV-2
was 
a man-made virus, as
conspiracy
 theories.

 

While the international community is yet to gain the upper

 hand in the fight against COVID-19, Chinese scientists 

say they have discovered a new batch of corona-

viruses similar to the infectious disease that
has
 been ravaging the world.

 

According to their study, researchers collected samples 

of urine, faeces, and saliva from small bats that lived in

 the forests of Yunnan Province, between May 2019 

and March 2020. They assembled 24 novel 

coronavirus genomes, including "four 

SARS-CoV-2-like" diseases.

 

Scientists write that one strain of the virus discovered 

in the bat species Rhinolophus pusillus had a striking 

resemblance to SARS-CoV-2, although there were 

differences in spike proteins, which are used to 

attach to cells they infect.

 

Researchers note their discovery demonstrates that 

viruses related to COVID-19 continue to circulate in 

bat populations and in some regions "may occur 

at a relatively high frequency".

 

Origins of the Virus

 

The news comes amid heightened attention over the origins

 of the infectious disease that has so far infected 175 million

and killed 3.7 million (number provided by Johns Hopkins 

University). At the beginning of the pandemic, scientists 

said the virus originated in bats, and jumped on an 

intermediary animal (most likely a pangolin), 

and then to humans.

 

As the pandemic swept more and more countries, allegations 

started appearing that the outbreak began due to a leak in a 

laboratory in Wuhan, where the first known cases of COVID

-19 were reported. These claims were supported by several

 high-ranking US politicians, ex-Secretary of State Mike 

Pompeo and former President Donald Trump, who 

accused Beijing of a cover-up and called for
an
 international investigation.

 

Chinese officials, for their part, alleged that COVID-19 

patient-zero came from the United States, claiming

 the virus may have originated at a US military 

base in Maryland that hosts the nation's

 biological defence programme.

 

The majority of scientists dismissed the allegations of 

a Chinese lab leak --- as wild conspiracy theories and 

misinformation. The World Health Organisation, too, 

rejected the allegations, saying in a report, written 

with Chinese scientists, that it is "extremely 

unlikely" COVID-19 was man-made.

 

At the end of May, The Wall Street Journal wrote, citing 

previously undisclosed documents... written by US

 intelligence, that three employees of the Wuhan 

Institute of Virology sought medical care for a 

disease similar to COVID-19, three weeks 

before Chinese authorities reported the 

first case of COVID... There has since

 been a ''change in attitude'' towards 

the lab leak scenario, with several 

officials voicing regret that the

 international community did

 not pay attention to 

this hypothesis.

 

The same month, the Biden administration announced
a
 new probe into the origins of COVID-19. The move 

prompted a rebuke from Beijing --- which accused 

Washington of "political manipulation” and said

 the White House "does not care about facts 

and truth, nor is it interested in serious 

scientific origin tracing".

 




____________________________________




EU adds another rare blood 

condition as side effect of 

AstraZeneca coronavirus 

vaccine

June 11th, 8:25pm (PressTV)

 

 

Europe’s drug regulator on Friday identified another 

very rare blood condition as a potential side effect

 of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and said it 

was looking into cases of heart inflammation 

after inoculation with all coronavirus shots.

 

The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) safety 

committee said that capillary leak syndrome 

(CLS) must be added as a new side effect to

 labeling on AstraZeneca’s vaccine, known

 as Vaxzevria.

 

People who had previously sustained the condition, 

where fluids leak from the smallest blood vessels 

causing swelling and a drop in blood pressure, 

should not receive the shot, the EMA added.

 

The regulator first began looking into these cases, in 

April and the recommendation adds to AstraZeneca’s 

woes after its vaccine was associated with very rare 

and potentially lethal cases of blood clotting, that 

come with a low platelet count.

 

Last month, the EMA had advised against giving a 

second AstraZeneca shot to people with that 

clotting condition... known as thrombosis 

with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).

 

The committee reviewed six validated cases of CLS 

in people, mostly women, who had received 

Vaxzevria, including one death. Three
had
 a history of the condition.

 

More than 78 million Vaxzevria doses have
been 
administered in the European Union,

 Liechtenstein, Iceland & Norway, 

and Britain.

 

In a statement, AstraZeneca pointed to the extreme

 rarity of CLS cases, at less than 1 in 10 million 

vaccinated individuals.

 

Britain’s regulator, the MHRA, said it was considering 

precautionary advice for people with a history of CLS 

but does not see a causal link with the vaccine.

 

Two of eight reports of capillary leak syndrome 

following AstraZeneca vaccination in the UK 

were in people with a history of the 

condition, and 40 million doses of 

the vaccine had been given,

 it said.

 

Separately, the EMA said it was continuing its probe 

into cases of heart inflammation known as myo-

carditis and pericarditis, primarily following

 inoculation with the Pfizer/BioNTech, and

 Moderna mRNA shots, but also, after
the 
J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines.

 

US health officials said on Thursday they had 

registered a higher-than-expected number of 

heart inflammation cases in young men who 

received a second dose of the mRNA shots, 

though a causal relationship could not

 be established.

 

Both Pfizer and Moderna have acknowledged the 

observations but said a causal association with

 their vaccines has not been established.

 

BioNTech said adverse events, including myocarditis 

and pericarditis, are being regularly and thoroughly 

reviewed by the companies and regulatory 

authorities.

 

“More than 300 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech 

COVID-19 vaccine have been administered globally 

and the benefit-risk profile of our vaccine 

remains positive.”

 

(Source: Reuters)

 

 

______________________________________






 Over 1,000 terminally-ill patients 

rejected for UK benefits each year

 and spend final weeks fighting for
aid,
 charities warn

June, 9th, 3:50pm (RT)




Two British charities have called for the rule 

which requires terminally-ill people to prove 

they have six months or less to live, to 

qualify for state benefits, to be 

abolished, as hundreds die

every year, without 

support.

 

More than 100 people per month are being denied 

their lawful benefits by the UK government within

 the last six months of their life, the end-of-life

 charity Marie Curie and the Motor Neurone 

Disease Association (MND) said 

on Wednesday.

 

The figure comes from data released to Parliament

 by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

 last year, which indicated that there were at
least 
1,860 such incidents, over an
18-month period.

 

Marie Curie expressed “serious concerns” over the 

DWP’s ability to properly evaluate the condition of

 terminally-ill patients, saying that, due to its 

actions, “many spend their final weeks of

 life, either fighting for support, or dying 

without any.”

 

“When somebody is diagnosed with a terminal illness,

 a DWP benefits assessor is not well-placed to judge 

how long they have left to live,” Mark Jackson, 

policy and public affairs manager at Marie 

Curie, said. “The current law plunges 

dying people into uncertainty – they 

know they are dying, but because 

they do not know how long they

 have left they can’t access 

financial support quickly.”

 

Marie Curie and the MND have been campaigning for 

the six months rule to be scrapped, saying that key 

state benefits should become accessible... as soon

as patienst are diagnosed with a terminal disease.

 In their statements on Wednesday, the charities 

described the current regulations as “arbitrary, 

outdated and amount to cruelty toward some

 of the most vulnerable people in society.”

 

They also called upon the government to
finally release
 the findings of a 2019
review into the benefits system 

for the terminally ill.

 

“The publication of the review is well overdue and 

people are still struggling and suffering. It’s not 

good enough. We need the Government to 

publish the review immediately and make 

the changes to the system, that are so 

desperately needed,” Susie Rabin, 

MND’s head of policy and 

campaigns, argued.

 

When questioned on the issue by the Mirror 'paper,

 a UK government spokesman said dealing with 

 benefits applications of terminally-ill people
“quickly 
and compassionately” is a priority
for the authorities, 
adding that this work,
has also continued during
 the pandemic.

 

“We are working across government, on proposals 

including changing the six-month rule and raising 

awareness of the support available,” he added.

 

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__________________________




Israel finds ‘likely’ link between

 Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine... and 

cases of heart inflammation

 in young males

June 2nd, 10:58am (RT)

 

 

A specially appointed epidemiological team has found 

“a likelihood of a link” between receiving the second 

dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine and the onset of 

myocarditis in young men, Israel’s Health
Ministry
 said, in a statement.

 

The ministry says the team was set up following reports 

of cases of heart inflammation, known as myocarditis, 

among males aged 16 to 30 shortly after the second 

dose of the Pfizer vaccine was administered. The 

link was found to be stronger in people aged 16-

19 relative to other age groups, and weakens
as 
the age of the recipients increases.

Most 
patients who experienced the problem spent
up to four days in the hospital, 
and 95% of the
cases were 
classified as mild, according to

 the ministry.

 

The Health Ministry commissioned the study after 275 cases 

of myocarditis were reported in Israel between December 

2020 and May 2021. Nearly 150 cases were recorded 

after the vaccine was administered. The number of 

cases reported after the second shot, was four 

times greater than those recorded after the

 first, the ministry said.

 

Myocarditis is a condition characterized by chest pain, 

shortness of breath, or palpitations, and can be 

caused by Covid-19, according to the ministry.

 

While the type of vaccine in question is not directly 

mentioned in the statement, Israel relies almost 

exclusively on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, 

and it’s the only product mentioned on the 

vaccination information page of the
Health 
Ministry website. 

 

Pfizer said in a statement cited by Reuters that it has
not
 recorded a higher rate of myocarditis than would 

normally be expected in the general population. 

The pharma giant added, that it was aware of 

the Israeli observations of myocarditis, but 

has not established a causal link to

 its vaccine.

 

The Israeli Health Ministry says that given the findings, it

 will review the 12-15-year-old population’s eligibility for

 the vaccine. The shot was recently approved in the 

EU for people aged 12 and older. 

 

Israel has been a leader in the world’s vaccination effort, 

having already inoculated 55% of its population of 9 

million. It has now removed social distancing 

restrictions and the vaccination passes that 

were required in order to enter 

certain venues.

 

Last week, the US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention 

reported that since April 2021, there has been an increase in 

cases of inflammation of the heart – myocarditis and 

pericarditis – occurring after mRNA Covid-19 

vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna)

 in the US. 

 

It recommended further study of the potential link between 

the heart conditions and mRNA vaccines, such as those of

 Pfizer & Moderna, but reiterated that it still recommends

 the vaccines for patients aged 12 and older.

 

Last month, three cases of a rare disorder affecting the 

blood’s ability to clot – hemophilia – were reported 

among recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-
19 
vaccine in France. The country’s health 

authorities are investigating the matter.

 

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____________________________________




 Canadian health officials apologize 

after children receive unapproved 

Covid-19 vaccine by MISTAKE

June 1st, 8:28am (RT)




A regional health authority in British Columbia apologized

 - after admitting that 12 children were given the Moderna

 vaccine, which is yet to be approved for use in those

 under 18, as the child vaccination campaign 

kicked off.

 

Vancouver Coastal Health, a regional health authority that 

serves one in four residents of British Columbia, Canada, 

has confirmed that 12 children were given the wrong 

vaccine on Friday and Saturday, last week, as

teenagers in the province became eligible 

for vaccination.

 

Currently, only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been 

cleared for use in children aged 12 to 17 in Canada. 


However, officials said they do not expect the 

children to develop any adverse side effects, 

noting that Moderna claimed recently, citing 

preliminary data, that their vaccine protects 

children, the same as it protects adults, 

while triggering similar side effects.

 

Children from 12 to 17, around 310,000 people, became 

part of British Columbia’s vaccine rollout on May 20th.


 Although young children are considered to be at lower

 risk of developing Covid-19 complications, & are less
likely to spread the disease, compared to adults, 

Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry,
said at 
the time, that - by vaccinating
children - the 
government seeks to
reduce “the overall 
transmission
of Covid in the population.”

 

According to data from Health Canada, Canadians under 

19 account for 18.9% of the total Covid-19 cases, trailing 

only the 20-29 age group. However, only 1.8%, or 1,245

 teenagers, were hospitalized, including 11 who died 

from the disease – the lowest percentage of all 

age groups.

 

As of last week, a little more than half of Canada’s total

 population has received at least one dose of the 

coronavirus vaccine. Fewer than 5% have been 

fully vaccinated, however.

 

Last week, Health Canada approved the use of 45,000 

AstraZeneca vaccine doses past their original expiry 

date. Canada’s Ministry of Health said the doses can

 be used until July 1st, citing assurances from

 AstraZeneca that they would still be safe and 

efficient past the expiry date of May 31st.

 

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____________________________






UK doctors call for special 

surgery hubs - to address

 ‘colossal’ Covid-19 back-

log of operations

May 28th, 12:14pm (RT)

 

 

The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) has called on the 

UK government to set up special surgery hubs to 

address the “colossal backlog” of non-urgent 

procedures that were cancelled because of

 the Covid outbreak.

 

Issuing a warning to the UK government, the professional 

body said that the issue had to be tackled urgently or

 there is a risk that waiting lists will become 

“insurmountable.” 

 

The proposal from the RCS would see temporary surgery 

hubs set up in every region of England to ensure that 

procedures can continue even if there is another 

wave of Covid-19 infections or other diseases 

that impact the ability of the NHS to deal 

with non-urgent cases.

 

“We need government support for a New Deal for Surgery 

to reduce the colossal backlog in elective surgery and to 

help the NHS weather future pandemics,” the president 

of RCS, Professor Neil Mortensen, said in a statement.

 

We cannot allow surgery to grind to a halt again

 or waiting lists will become insurmountable.

 

The RCS is asking the government to include an extra £1 

billion ($1.42 billion) of spending on surgery annually for

 a five-year period, as well as 11 other recommendations 

that would seek to provide long- and short-term 

measures “to improve the future sustainability 

of surgical services.”

 

The UK government has previously pledged a one-time 

provision of £1 billion to address elective-surgery 

delays but the chief executive of NHS Providers, 

Chris Hopson, has warned that the money 

could be spent by autumn, with more 

required to get through the bulk of 

delayed procedures.

 

NHS figures released earlier in May found that almost 

five million people in England are currently on waiting 

lists in a record backlog of delayed non-urgent 

hospital procedures, with more than 400,000 

already having waited more than a year

 to have their surgery.

 

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Image: y




Drinking alcohol causes 

damage to the brain, 

study finds

 May 21st (Prensa Latina) 

 

Drinking any amount of alcohol damages the

human brain´s structure and functioning, a 

study by researchers from the University

 of Oxford warned.

 

Although alcohol consumption risks have been long 

known, with this observational study, which has not 

yet been peer-reviewed, researchers noted that the 

more people drank, the less the volume of their 

gray matter, in other words, in those regions in 

the brain that make up important bits where 

information is processed, according to lead 

author Anya Topiwala, a senior clinical 

researcher at Oxford.

 

'So many people drink moderately and think this is 

either harmless or even protective,' Topiwala said.

 

Previous research has found that brain damage 

can crop up in subtle ways, which are not 

immediately detectable in routine tests 

and can ''progress'' uncontrollably.

 

On the other hand, Sadie Boniface, head of research 

at the UK´s Institute of Alcohol Studies, added that 

while we cannot yet say for sure whether there is

 no safe level of alcohol regarding brain health 

at the moment, it has been known for decades

 that heavy drinking is bad for brain health.

 

We also shouldn´t forget alcohol affects all parts of 

the body and there are multiple health risks, said 

Boniface, who was not associated with the 

University of Oxford study.

 

A study published in the scientific journal The Lancet 

in 2018 pointed out that alcohol was the key risk 

factor for disease and early death in men and

 women aging 15 to 49, worldwide, in 2016.

 



_______________________________________________________







Boris Johnson's Nurse Resigns 

Because of 'Lack of Respect' 

For NHS - Report

May 18th, 1:54pm GMT  (Sputnik)




Last spring Boris Johnson fell seriously ill with the 

COVID-19 virus. On April 6th, 2020, he was taken 

into an intensive care unit and there were fears 

he would become the first prime minister in

 modern Britain, to die while in office.

 

A nurse who looked after Prime Minister Boris Johnson 

when he was seriously ill with the COVID-19 virus last 

year has reportedly resigned in disgust at the "lack 

of respect" shown for NHS workers by 

the government.

 

Jenny McGee made the remark during a Channel 4

 documentary, which will be broadcast in Britain

 next week.

 

Ms McGee was one of the team who were by Mr Johnson's 

bedside, in an intensive care unit at St Thomas' Hospital 

in London, for two days.

 

She said she was angered by the one percent pay rise

 being offered to NHS staff and said in the film: "We're 

not getting the respect and now pay that we deserve.

 I'm just sick of it. So I've handed in my resignation".

 

Ms McGee said the pay offer was the last straw, after

 a year in which the pandemic had rocked Britain.

 

"Lots of nurses feel that the government hadn't led very 

effectively – the indecisiveness, so many mixed 

messages. It's just very upsetting",
Ms 
McGee added.

 

In the documentary, entitled "The Year Britain Stopped", 

she also referred to seeing Mr Johnson when he first 

arrived in the intensive care unit.

 

"All around him there was lots and lots of sick patients, 

some of whom were dying. I remember seeing him and 

thinking he looked very, very unwell. He was a
different 
colour really", she said.

 

It is not clear whether Ms McGee plans to return 

to her native New Zealand, after quitting her job. 





_____________________________________




Sweden records: 30,000 

suspected side effects

 from Covid vaccines: 

with AstraZeneca’s jab

 linked to more than 

half of all reports

May 12th, 12:16pm (RT)

 

 

An official tally of suspected side effects resulting from 

Covid vaccination in Sweden, has surpassed 30,000, 

with the majority of cases occurring in people 

inoculated with AstraZeneca’s shot.

 

According to the Swedish Medical Products Agency, as 

of last week, the Scandinavian nation had received 

31,844 reports of adverse reactions linked to the

 rollout of Covid-19 vaccines. 

 

Sweden is currently offering three variants of the drug. 

There are currently 2,103 reports of side effects from 

the Moderna shot, while the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine 

has been associated with 9,117 health issues. But

 the number of suspected adverse reactions from 

the two shots seems relatively small --- when 

compared to the 19,961 reports linked to

 AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria.

 

The most common side effects for all three drugs were 

fever and headache. Other reported adverse reactions

 included nausea, joint pain, and dizziness. 

 

Notably, the AstraZeneca shot only accounts for about 

26% of the roughly 2.7 million vaccines that have been 

administered so far in Sweden, but makes up around 

63% of the side effects reports. 

 

Of the nearly 32,000 reports, 663 cases have been 

registered where it’s unclear which vaccine was 

administered. Two-thirds of the reports have 

been submitted by the general public. The 

agency cautioned that individual reports 

do not - necessarily - demonstrate a 

correlation between the medical 

episode and the vaccine. 

 

Ebba Hallberg, an official with the Medical Products Agency, 

told Swedish media that it was unusual to receive so many 

reports of side effects, but noted that the figure was likely 

high, because of public focus on the new vaccines. 

 

Healthcare providers are likely only reporting more “serious” 

side effects, the official theorized. Hallberg also said that it 

was possible that AstraZeneca was overrepresented in 

the data, because the shot was given to many young 

people and healthcare workers, who are more tech

-savvy and would therefore be more likely to 

report an issue. 

 

According to one Swedish outlet, the agency has
received 
more reports of suspected side effects
over the past 
several months, than it
typically does, over
 four years. 

 

In March, Sweden was one of several nations to temporarily 

suspend the use of the AstraZeneca jab, following reports 

of abnormal blood clotting in recipients. AstraZeneca, as 

well as the European Medicines Agency, have insisted 

that the vaccine is safe, after it came under scrutiny. 

 

Since then, new reports have linked the drug to severe 

medical episodes, and even death. Earlier this month, 

a 35-year-old female medical worker in Vietnam died 

from anaphylaxis after being injected with the jab,
in 
what has been described as a “very rare” case
of 
adverse reaction to the vaccine. 

 

 

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___________________________


 


Not only blood clots? EMA 

‘assessing reports’ - of
Astra
Zeneca jab link to
rare IMMUNE DISORDER

May 7th, 1:40pm (RT)

 

 

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is investigating 

reports of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine causing 

Guillain-Barre syndrome, as the pharmaceutical 

company remains embroiled in controversy 

over the jab’s link to blood clotting.

 

In a meeting this week, the European Medicines Agency’s 

Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) 

revealed that it was “assessing reports” of the rare 

immune system disorder being found in people 

following vaccination.

 

“As part of the review of the regular pandemic summary 

safety reports for Vaxzevria, AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 

vaccine, the PRAC is analysing data provided by the

 marketing authorization holder on cases of
Guillain
-Barre syndrome (GBS) reported
following 
vaccination”, the
PRAC declared.

 

“GBS was identified during the marketing authorization 

process as a possible adverse event requiring specific 

safety monitoring activities”, the committee continued
adding that it has requested “further detailed data”
on 
the cases and will release new information, as
it
 becomes available.

 

According to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), 

Guillain-Barre syndrome is a “very rare and serious

 condition that affects the nerves”, and can create 

feelings of numbness, weakness, and pain, in 

those who have it.

 

Though the NHS advises that Guillain-Barre syndrome is 

a treatable condition and: “most people will eventually 

make a full recovery”, it can also be life-threatening
and 
leave those who have had it, with “long-
term problems”

 

Following hundreds of cases of blood clotting – and 

dozens of deaths – AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine 

has already been restricted in many countries...
to 
older people only (sic).

 

In the UK, those under the age of 40, are set to be offered 

an alternative vaccine, provided this causes no “delays” 

in the vaccination program, however, the European 

Medicines Agency maintains that the vaccine’s 

benefits outweigh the risk, for much of 

the population.

 

ALSO ON RT.COM

 

UK vaccination committee says the under-40s
should 
opt for alternative to blood clot-linked
AstraZeneca
… unless it causes ‘delays’

 

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___________________________






Denmark Stops Using 

Johnson & Johnson

 COVID-19 Vaccine

May 4th, (teleSUR)




Nevertheless, citizens still have the opportunity

 to choose both the dropped AstraZeneca and 

Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, 

voluntarily and for free.

 

The Danish Health Authority (DHA) has decided 

to drop the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from

 its mass coronavirus vaccination program.

 

"Taking the present situation in Denmark into account, 

what we are currently losing in our effort to prevent 

severe illness from COVID-19, cannot outweigh the 

risk of causing possible side effects in the form of 

severe blood clots in those we vaccinate," the 

DHA Deputy Director-General Helene 

Probst said.

 

"In the midst of an epidemic, this has been a difficult 

decision to make, especially since we have also had 

to discontinue using the COVID-19 vaccine from 

AstraZeneca."

 

The authority's decision that "the benefits do not 

outweigh the risks" comes after the European 

Medicines Agency (EMA) concluded that a 

possible link existed between rare but 

severe cases of blood clots (vaccine

-induced immune thrombotic throm-

bocytopenia or VITT), and the 

Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

 

The decision will affect those in the 20 to 39 age group, 

who will now face a delay of up to four weeks in their 

vaccination. However, the DHA noted that the 

decision does not rule out that Johnson & 

Johnson vaccines may be used later.

 

On April 14, Denmark decided to entirely cease administering 

the AstraZeneca vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer

/BioNTech and Moderna are currently included in Denmark's

official vaccination program. Nevertheless, citizens still have

the opportunity to choose both the dropped AstraZeneca &

Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, voluntarily and 

for free.

 

In a majority vote, the Danish Parliament has supported the 

decision. The optional vaccination scheme is expected to 

begin in May, the Danish news agency Ritzau reported 

on Monday.

 

Denmark on Monday registered 762 new COVID-19 infections

 with no new deaths in the past 24 hours. To date, the country 

has reported 253,673 cases and 2,490 deaths, while 1,367,495

 Danes have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine,

 which corresponds to 23.4 percent of the population.

 

 

________________________________




TUC Calls for Immediate

 Public Inquiry into

 COVID Deaths

April 28th, 12:24pm (FNA)

 

 The Trades Union Congress is calling for an 

immediate public inquiry, into the handling
of
 the COVID pandemic, insisting it should 

examine whether workers were kept 

safe enough, after about 15,000 

people of working age, died 

from COVID in England 

and Wales.

 

The GMB union, said the Prime Minister, Boris 

Johnson’s reported comments, that he would 

rather see “bodies piled high”, than approve 

a third lockdown, “shows why a public 

inquiry is needed now”, The 

Guardian reported.

 

It said its members “deserve to know why they 

were put in harm’s way unnecessarily, and if 

the prime minister think it’s OK for them

 to die”.

 

The unions want Downing Street to announce the 

start date and consult the public about its scope.


 Men working in processing plants, security, 

care and restaurant work were most at risk 

of dying from COVID --- according to figures 

up to the end of last year, while for women 

it was machine operators and 

care workers.

 

No 10 told bereaved families earlier this month, the 

government did not have time for an inquiry and 

would not, for months to come. It has said
there 
will be “an independent inquiry
at the
 appropriate time”.

 

Calls for an immediate inquiry are gathering momentum. 


The TUC’s affiliated unions represent 5.5 million workers 

...and its intervention follows similar demands for an 

inquiry from the archbishop of Canterbury, Labour, 

government scientific advisers, and thousands
of 
the bereaved, who have voiced outrage at 

Johnson’s alleged comments.

 

They include Lobby Akinnola, whose father Olufemi, 60, 

was a care worker in Leamington Spa, who died a year 

ago. He was visiting different clients’ homes,

 improvising PPE from a winter scarf 

and gloves.

 

“If we had locked down a week earlier, how many people 

could have been saved?” said Akinnola, adding that he 

was “disgusted” by reports the prime minister said
“let 
the bodies pile high”.

 

“My dad was on the threshold of life and death, but fell on 

the wrong side. Throughout this pandemic we have relied

 on frontline workers, but the government didn’t seem to 

support them,” Akinnola added.

 

The TUC has set five priorities for an inquiry: workplace 

infection control, including financial support to self-

isolate; the impact of a decade of spending cuts on

 the capacity of public services; COVID’s unequal 

impact on workers, particularly ethnic minorities 

and people in insecure jobs; the impact of 

employment support packages, such as 

furlough; and government procurement 

and its effect on supplies of PPE.


 

____________________________



‘Whose lab? America's’: 

Speaker says coronavirus

 might have escaped 

from US facility

April 27th, 12:51 (TASS) 

 

The coronavirus disease might have escaped 

from a US biological laboratory and the 

Russian government should raise the

 issue of responsibility for the virus'

 leak, Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker 

of Russia’s State Duma, or lower

 parliament house, said 

on Tuesday.

 

"Since the client states of the United States are silent, 

and the United States itself remains mum as well, one

 conclusion could be logically drawn: obviously, this 

is because of a leak from one of the laboratories 

they have set up across the globe. It would be

 right for the government to raise these

 matters," he said at a meeting of the 

Council of Legislators of the 

Russian Federation.

 

He urged the United States to halt research that 

might have spawned the COVID-19 outbreak. 

"And, let them think about how to compensate

 all those countries for the losses they have

 sustained. The virus was found in Wuhan. 

But whose laboratory is it? It is an 

American one, financed by 

America," he noted.

 

He did not rule out that work was being conducted 

to model the virus "and it is being done by the

 United States." If such research is not 

stopped, the world "will be held 

hostage to another similar 

situation," he warned.

 

The lower house speaker noted that American 

laboratories were operating in Georgia and 

Eastern Europe. "It should be placed under

 control. <…> these matters should be 

raised. Let us have a closer look at 

them," he said, addressing Deputy 

Prime Minister, Tatiana Golikova.

 

 

_____________________________




UK Health Regulator
Concerned over 
Use of
Rapid Coronavirus
Tests

April 26th, 11:09am (FNA)




 The UK’s healthcare regulator has expressed concern 

to the government that its multibillion-pound mass 

testing programme is “a stretch” of the authorised 

use of rapid tests, the Guardian learned.

 

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

 (MHRA) has approved the lateral flow devices to be used to 

find coronavirus cases but not to act as a “green light” for 

people who test negative to enjoy greater freedoms.

 

The regulator is concerned that people who test negative 

will be given false reassurance by their result and will let 

down their guard if they believe they are COVID-free.

 

There is very little data to show how well the Innova lateral 

flow devices detect the virus when used as a self-test by 

someone who has no symptoms. They are being used 

by millions of people a week in England under the 

government’s universal testing programme.

 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has put mass testing at the 

centre of his strategy to lift the UK permanently out of 

lockdown, alongside the vaccine programme. The 

government has bought millions of the lateral flow 

tests as part of the £37bln budget for NHS test 

and trace.

 

However, the MHRA told officials in the Department of Health

and Social Care (DHSC) that the twice-weekly testing regime

unveiled earlier this month, was “a stretch” of its 

authorisation for how the tests should

 be used.

 

The regulator raised the concerns before and after the 

programme was announced on April 5th, the Guardian

 has learned.

 

The MHRA has authorised LFTs to be used as a “red light” test

 – to find infectious people and order them to self-isolate – but 

not as a “green light” test to allow people greater freedoms if 

they test negative. The regulator is concerned that the 

government’s universal testing programme blurs the

 lines between the two.

 

The concern stems from a lack of data on how well the tests 

perform when taken by people who do not have COVID-19 

symptoms. It is estimated that one in three infected people 

will display no symptoms of the virus, making it more 

difficult to track.

 

A recent Cochrane review – an analysis of 64 studies – found 

that rapid tests correctly identify on average 58% of people 

who are infected with the virus but have no symptoms, 

meaning more than one in three cases are missed. 

However, this was based on relatively few 

samples, limiting the conclusions that 

could be drawn.

 

The concern is that people will take a one-off test before visiting 

loved ones indoors, for example, and that they may be carrying 

the virus even though they have tested negative.

 

The MHRA is understood to have asked Matt Hancock’s department 

to provide evidence about the expected accuracy of the test – and 

how it performs in reality – and to carry out a public information

 campaign to explain the benefits and risks of universal testing.

 

The MHRA said the government was “the legal manufacturer of the

 test and as such are responsible for the safety and performance 

of the test whilst it is in use in the UK”.

 

The regulator said it met government officials regularly “to discuss

 a range of issues, including the data they collect on performance”, 

and added, “False negatives carry a risk of unwitting onward 

transmission. Therefore, even with a negative test result 

people must continue to follow national and local rules

 and guidelines including regular handwashing,

 social distancing and wearing face coverings, 

where required.”

 

A million people a day are taking coronavirus tests, with the majority

 using lateral flow tests that produce a result in about 30 minutes. 

Use of the tests has risen steadily to about 830,000 a day since 

April 9th, when every adult in England was encouraged to 

request free twice-weekly tests to be taken at home in 

the biggest expansion of the government’s testing 

programme to date.

 

A DHSC spokesperson said the department had been clear that 

nobody should interpret a negative test result or a vaccine dose 

as a green light to drop their guard and that, regardless of a test 

or vaccine, people must stick to lockdown rules.

 

She added, “There is clear evidence that by using rapid testing we 

are identifying cases we would otherwise not find, allowing people

 to isolate, so they can prevent further spread of the disease and

 save lives.”

 

Innova’s lateral flow devices are cheaper and quicker than the gold

-standard PCR tests and are good at finding the most infectious 

cases and those that might not otherwise be found, but they

 are more likely to produce erroneous results.

 

Image: pregnant persons advised to get vaccine by USA



 

 

Eyebrows raised as 

'PREGNANT PEOPLE' 

green-lighted by US 

government to get 

Covid vaccine shots

April 24th, 12:04 (RT)




US health officials have encouraged “pregnant people” 

to get vaccinated against coronavirus... saying shots 

are safe for them. However, it’s not just the scientific 

credibility of the guidance that has been questioned.

 

“Pregnant people experienced the same side effects 

as others following vaccination,” the director of the 

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (

CDC), Rochelle Walensky said at a White House

 briefing on Friday. “Importantly, no safety 

concerns were observed for people 

vaccinated in the third trimester or

 safety concerns for their babies,”

 the health official added.

 

The go-ahead statement, is based on a recent study by 

CDC researchers published in the New England Journal 

of Medicine. Titled ‘Preliminary Findings of mRNA Covid

-19 Vaccine Safety in Pregnant Persons’, it suggested 

that Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have not 

proved more harmful for those who are expecting a 

child. During the vaccines’ preauthorization process,

 “pregnant persons” were excluded from clinical trials.

 

 The updated guidelines for “pregnant people” 

have been widely reported by US media.

 

Offering ‘Information about COVID-19 Vaccines for
People 
who Are Pregnant or Breastfeeding’, the
CDC, 
previously, cautiously advised people to
make a 
personal choice about receiving a
jab, after
 a consultation with a doctor. 

 

The recent “no safety concerns” recommendations are 

based on preliminary findings from self-reported data. 


More than 35,000 “persons … identified as pregnant,”

 from 16 to 54 years old participated in the research, 

using a smartphone-based tool for US vaccine
safety
monitoring systems. Over 800 of them
had a 
completed pregnancy. 

 

More frequent injection-site pain was reported among

 possible vaccine-related complications, “whereas 

headache, myalgia, chills & fever, were reported

 less frequently,” according to the study. 

 

Saying that pregnancy outcomes for the vaccinated 

patients were “similar” to pre-pandemic results,
the 
study concluded: “Preliminary findings did
not 
show 'obvious' safety signals, among
pregnant 
persons who received mRNA
Covid-19 vaccines.” 

 

US health officials have warned before that those who 

are pregnant during the new coronavirus pandemic, 

are “at increased risk” for more severe suffering 

from the illness, as well as being endangered
to 
adverse pregnancy outcomes, including 

preterm birth. 

 

On the same day as good news for “pregnant people” 

was delivered at the White House, UK politician 

and RT host, George Galloway, expressed his 

apparent concern, with the same choice of 

wording in the UK. The former MP shared 

a poster from an English hospital offering 

information for “pregnant people and 

their support partner.”

 

The tweet sparked a heated argument. Last year, a 

similar trans debate on Twitter got British writer 

JK Rowling into hot water. The Harry Potter 

author questioned the use of the term “

people who menstruate” --- evoking 

harsh criticism from transgender 

rights activists, as well as from 

actors featured in the 

popular series.

 

 

_______________________




Norway:  Risk of Dying from
AstraZeneca Higher
 Than
of COVID-19

April 23rd, 11:47am (FNA)




 Norwegians run a greater risk of dying from being 

inoculated with AstraZeneca's vaccine, than from 

COVID-19, the National Institute of Public Health 

(FHI) concluded in its analysis of the vaccine,
previously linked to serious 
complications
in the form of rare blood 
clotting and
haemorrhages, amid low 

platelet counts.

 

Abstaining from the vaccine could possibly prevent 

up to 10 deaths related to side effects, the FHI
said,
 according to the newspaper
Verdens Gang.

 

So far, Norway has seen five cases of serious incidents 

reported shortly after vaccination, with three fatalities. 

FHI has calculated the mortality rate from the Astra-

Zeneca vaccine as 2.3 per 100,000 vaccinated.

 

The FHI stressed that continuing to inoculate
will,
 by contrast, expose younger women to
an 
“unreasonably high risk”, given the 

current relative levels of infection 

in Norway.

 

Furthermore, the institute is against offering the 

vaccine on a voluntary basis, which has been 

proposed both in Norway and fellow 

Scandinavian nations.

 

“We believe that such an alternative may appear 

unethical, and with a high risk, that those who 

make such a choice, have not fully under-

stood the risk to which they are
exposed,” 
the institute said.

 

The FHI also ventured that recommending
the 
AstraZeneca vaccine for further use
could 
lead to lower confidence among
the
 population, in vaccination 

programmes in general.

 

“This could lead to a lower vaccination rate and 

vaccination rate in the long run, and that 

patients in risk groups, will also say
no
 to vaccines,” it added.

 

A recent survey by the FHI in collaboration with 

Mindshare and Norstat, indicated that 76% of 

respondents were sceptical of at least one 

of the vaccines, even though 82 % were,

initially, positive about getting 

vaccinated. 

 

Of the vaccines, AstraZeneca gained the highest level 

of scepticism at 99 percent, compared with Moderna
(
9 percent) and Pfizer (8 percent).

 

However, the government believes it is too early to 

discontinue the vaccine completely, and is instead 

launching a new expert group to further investigate 

both AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, which 

triggered similar concerns.

 

Pending a final decision, however, Norway has decided 

to distribute its stock of AstraZeneca to fellow Nordic 

countries that actually want to use them.

 

Of the Norwegian stock, Sweden will borrow 

200,000, while 16,000 will go to Iceland.

 

“If the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine is resumed, we will 

get back the doses we lend, as soon as we request it. 

Sweden and Iceland will then send back the doses

 from their first deliveries from AstraZeneca,” 

Health Minister Bent Høie said, as quoted 

by Verdens Gang.

 

The Swedish Public Health Agency has made a different 

assessment of the AstraZeneca vaccine and concluded 

that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks and

 the side effects.

 

The agency's Swedish equivalent, the Swedish Public 

Health Agency, has, however, made a completely 

different assessment and believes that the 

benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the 

risk of side effects.

 

State epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, described the 

contentious vaccine, as having a “high protective 

effect” and “reducing the risk of serious illness 

and death, especially among the elderly 

and weak”.

 

Earlier this spring, dozens of countries temporarily 

stopped the use of the AstraZeneca shot amid 

reports of side effects. Of them, many, like 

Sweden, have since resumed inoculation, 

citing a precarious infection situation 

and shortages of other vaccines.


 

_____________________________



FDA inspectors find peeling walls

 and residue at US plant that
ruined 
15m Johnson and
Johnson 
vaccine doses

April 22nd, 9:54am (PressTV)




Unsanitary conditions and other problems at a 

manufacturing plant, were what ruined over

15m doses of the Johnson & Johnson 

coronavirus vaccine, according to 

an inspection report: by the US 

Food and Drug Administration.

 

The FDA report published on Wednesday shows

 the Baltimore factory operated by Emergent

 BioSolutions “is not maintained in a clean 

and sanitary condition.”

 

The agency reported that proper manufacturing 

procedures were not followed and there were 

peeling paint, and black and brown residue, 

on the floors and walls in the factory.

 

Poorly maintained facilities and a lack of employee 

training, were other issues cited in the report, 

resulting in ''a contamination of material''
that 
was going to be put in the shots.

 

As a result, new production was halted at the
FDA's 
request, Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting
FDA 
commissioner, and Dr. Peter Marks, 

director of the FDA's Centre for 

Biologics Evaluation and 

Research, said in a joint 

statement released 

on Wednesday.

 

"For the vaccines already manufactured, the products 

will undergo additional testing and will be thoroughly 

evaluated to ensure their quality before any potential 

distribution," Woodcock and Marks said. "We will not

 allow the release of any product, until we feel 

confident that it meets our expectations 

for quality."

 

“The firm has failed to adequately train personnel 

involved in manufacturing operations, quality 

control sampling, weigh and dispense, and 

engineering operations, to prevent cross 

contamination.”

 

The report also shows that the equipment in the factory 

was not of adequate size to facilitate operations for its

intended use, or for cleaning.

 

The plant had been making coronavirus vaccines 

under contract for both Johnson & Johnson and 

AstraZeneca.

 

In March, a batch of Johnson & Johnson "drug product," 

which could have made 15 million doses of the vaccine, 

failed quality control, and was taken out of production.




US health officials have paused distribution of 

the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, as 

scientists probed the potential link between

 rare cases of blood clots and their vaccine.

 

 

____________________________________






UK border force ‘seizing 


ONE HUNDRED fake
Covid-19 
certificates’
every day, MPs told

documents ‘very
easy’ to forge


April 20th, 2021 (RT)






A representative of the UK’s immigration service 


has told MPs that border officials are spotting 


around 100 fake certificates, which are


 required as proof of testing negative 


for Covid-19, every day.


 


On Tuesday, Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Services


 Union (ISU), which represents border immigration and 


customs staff in the UK, told MPs of the practical 


challenges in implementing the government’s 


strategy for preventing people with Covid
-19 
from entering the country.


 


Moreton said that vaccine certificates were proving 


“very easy” to forge & that, in many cases, officers
simply had no way of checking
 whether the
documents were indeed 
real. Asked how
agents verified the 
documents, she said
“it’s pre
dominantly taken on trust,” 


adding:  “We do get 100, or more,
a day, of fake Covid 
certificates
– that 
we catch.” 


 


Moreton said that of the 20,000 people entering 


the UK every day, most of them were hauliers. 


 


She added that the queues at airports may well 


be a “breeding ground” for the virus and that 


there was “little to no” evidence as to
whether 
people were adhering to
quarantine rules.


 


While foreign travel for holidays is banned across 


the UK, people can still leave & enter the country 


for business purposes. On Monday, England (sic)
added 
India to its extensive “red list”, meaning
people
 trying to enter the country from there,
will 
either be turned away --- or made to 


quarantine in a government-approved
hotel for 10 days,
 due to concerns
about a 
new Covid variant,
first 
detected in India.


 


Scientists have expressed concern that variants, 


like those from South Africa and Brazil, could 


minimise the impact of the UK’s vaccination 


programme --- by being more resistant to 


antibodies. More than 500 cases of the


 South African strain, have been 


identified in the UK. 


 


 


If you like this story, share it with a friend!


 


 


__________________________________




''Fears'' Frontline NHS Staff, Are 

Refusing to Get COVID Vaccine

April 18th,14:36 (FNA)




Nearly 15% of health service workers in England 

remain unvaccinated -- and the numbers coming 

forward for a jab have decreased sharply in the

 last two weeks, NHS figures revealed, 

prompting concerns that many 

frontline staff are refusing

 the vaccine.

 

But health leaders, patients’ groups and unions have 

been quick to dismiss any suggestion of mandatory 

vaccinations after it emerged that Matt Hancock,
health secretary, had already embarked on plans
- before the 
pandemic - to make flu vaccinations
compulsory for 
NHS staff, The
Guardian reported.

 

Last week, the government began a consultation on 

whether or not to mandate vaccinations for care-

home workers, and a London NHS trust 

discussed making the vaccination

 a condition of employment.

 

The latest figures show that only 6,259 NHS staff
in 
England had their first dose in the seven days 

before April 11th, down from 11,483 the previous

 week.. and substantially lower than the average

 of 22,985 per week during March. Now 190,697

 workers out of 1,378,502 directly employed by

 the NHS, remain unprotected against the 

coronavirus --- four months, after they 

became 'eligible' for vaccination.. The

figures don't include agency workers, 

and will include some under-45s who 

are not frontline staff and are still 

waiting their turn.

 

Some NHS trusts would ''like to'' introduce mandatory 

vaccination because they believe efforts to persuade

the remaining staff are a distraction from other 

important tasks... such as tackling the 

enormous waiting lists that have 

grown during the lockdowns.

 

Lesley Watts, the chief executive of Chelsea and 

Westminster hospital foundation trust, wrote to 

other NHS trusts, with a draft letter to staff, 

saying COVID vaccination would be 

mandatory. 

 

After the letter was leaked, Watts said there was “no 

intention to mandate vaccination of our staff”, but 

did not explain why the letter was written 

or distributed.

 

Hancock was a strident critic of anti-vaxxer movements 

before the pandemic, and told a fringe meeting at the 

Conservative party conference, in 2019, that he 

favoured making vaccinations compulsory for 

all childhood diseases. He then asked civil 

servants at the Department of Health and 

Social Care to work out how to make flu

 vaccines mandatory for NHS staff. The 

DHSC did not say if the proposal was 

still being considered.

 

Opponents of mandatory vaccination believe it could be 

counterproductive & cause vaccination rates to fall in 

the future. If a vaccine is mandatory, it is harder for 

people to voice concerns they may have, & there 

are fewer opportunities to persuade them to 

get innoculated.

 

North Middlesex University hospital trust has drawn up 

32 reasons for hesitancy and matched them to clinical 

advice, so that staff can ''easily find evidence'' to
''help'' 
counter any concerns.

 

Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS 

Providers, said the issue was “incredibly complex”

 and that the consultation on social care had 

“inevitably put the spotlight on whether a 

similar policy should be introduced in the

 health service or other parts of 

social care."

 

“Mandatory vaccinations raise a number of legal and

 ethical questions and, as expected, there is a wide 

and diverse, range of views on this, among trust 

leaders,” she said, adding, “While we're pleased 

with the strong uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine 

among staff groups so far, we know more 

needs to be done to address vaccine 

''hesitancy'' within the workforce
and 
throughout society.”

 

One-to-one conversations had been 

particularly effective, she added.

 

Dame Donna Kinnair, the general secretary of the 

Royal College of Nursing, said compulsion might

 affect future vaccination programmes.

 

Unison’s general secretary, Christina McAnea, said, 

“Forcing NHS staff to have the COVID vaccine would 

be premature and counterproductive. Work must be

 done to understand and address the concerns of

 hesitant staff. A heavy-handed approach could 

stoke resentment and further erode morale,

 already near rock-bottom after the 

government’s insulting 1% pay 

rise recommendation.”

 

The NHS said:,“The vaccination programme has 

successfully vaccinated 19 out 20 people aged 

50 and over as well as nearly nine in 10 NHS 

staff. While the vast majority of staff have 

been jabbed, local NHS teams are 

making every effort to ensure 

staff feel confident in taking

 up the offer.”

 

 

Image: food greed



Scientists reveal new explanation 

for why people are persistently 

hungry all the time

April 18th, 12:58pm (RT)




A study between multiple universities has revisited 

the link between blood sugar and appetite, and

 found the relationship is far more complex 

than previously understood -- yielding new

 insights on how to tame persistent hunger.

 

The researchers examined blood sugar responses and 

other indicators from 1,070 participants, in the UK, & 

the US, sourcing data from the PREDICT (Person-
alised 
REsponses to DIetary Composition Trial)
nutrition 
research project. 

 

The volunteers ate standardised breakfasts, after which 

they were free to choose their remaining meals through-

out the remainder of the day, observing a fasting 

window for three hours after breakfast.

 

They continuously wore blood glucose monitors and 

recorded what and when they ate each day using a 

phone app, along with their self-reported hunger 

levels, over the study period of two weeks. 

 

The researchers discovered that dips in blood glucose

 levels, aka “sugar dips,” were significantly linked with 

appetite levels and energy intake/calorie consumption.

 

Participants with big blood sugar dips experienced a 

nine percent increase in appetite, consumed their 

second meal of the day half an hour sooner, and 

posted an overall average consumption of 300 

calories more throughout the course of the 

day, than those who didn’t experience 

these sugar dips.

 

The research shows “great potential for helping 

people understand and control their weight and 

long-term health,” says senior author and 

genetic epidemiologist Ana Valdes from 

the University of Nottingham.

 

“Many people struggle to lose weight and keep it off, 

and just a few hundred extra calories every day, can

 add up to several pounds of weight gain over a year.”

 

Prevailing wisdom and research in the modern era 

focuses heavily on hormones such as ghrelin, but 

this latest research indicates that glucose levels 

hours after eating can still have an impact on 

hunger levels throughout the day, to a far 

greater extent than previously thought.

 

“We've now shown that sugar dips are a better predictor 

of hunger and subsequent calorie intake than the initial

 blood sugar peak response after eating, changing how

 we think about the relationship between blood sugar 

levels and the food we eat,” says nutrition scientist

 Sarah Berry from King's College London.

 

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______________________________________






‘Public Deserve Answers’: 

UK Health Secretary Faces 

Pressure over Family 

Company Awarded

 NHS Contracts

April 17th, 1:17pm (FNA)

 


Matt Hancock is facing pressure to explain how
company with family links, and that he holds 

shares in, was awarded NHS contracts, as

Labour accused the health secretary of a

possible breach of the ministerial code.

 

In the latest MPs’ register of interests – published 

earlier this week –Hancock declared he now owns 

shares in the company Topwood Limited, which 

specialises in secure storage, shredding and 

scanning of documents.

 

It emerged last night the company was awarded a 

three-year £150,000 contract from NHS Wales – 

run by the devolved government – for THE
conf-
idential destruction of waste, last
month, 
just days after Hancock took
on 
the share.

 

The Health Service Journal (HSJ) first reported the 

firm, which is part-owned by the health secretary’s 

sister, Emily Gilruth, also won a place on a frame-

work to provide services to England’s NHS, in 

2019, after Hancock was appointed to his 

current cabinet role.

 

There is no suggestion the health secretary was 

directly involved in any of the contract awards 

and it also understood he has no direct 

involvement in the running of 

the company. 

 

However, the register of members’ interests did not 

mention the company’s family links, or that his 

sister is declared as a “director” of Topwood 

Limited, according to Companies House.

 

Labour’s Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner, said, “The 

health secretary needs to explain in a public state-

ment today, how a company owned by his family 

members which he holds shares in came to win

 a place on a business services framework to 

provide services to the NHS, as well as 

explaining why he did not declare that

 the company is owned by his 

family members.”

 

Citing the ministerial code, which states ministers 

“must scrupulously avoid any danger of an actual 

- or perceived - conflict of interest between their 

ministerial position, and their private financial 

interests”, Rayner added, “It appears that the 

health secretary has breached the ministerial 

code, and the public deserve answers”.

 

As the government faces questions over links to 

private business, amid the Greensill lobbying 

scandal, she went on, “It is clear that Tory 

sleaze and cronyism has engulfed this 

government, making it even more 

urgent --- that the government 

publish the delayed register 

of ministers’ interests in
full 
- immediately”.

 

Before registering that he had received “more 

than 15%” of TopWood’s shares... Hancock 

discussed his proposed involvement, with

 the top civil servant at the Department for 

Health and Social Care (DHSC), who said 

he was confident that, if any conflicts of 

interests arose they could be dealt with 

in line with the ministerial code.

 

A government spokesperson said, “Mr Hancock 

has acted entirely properly in these circum-

stances. All declarations of interest have 

been made in accordance with the 

ministerial code. Ministers have 

no involvement in the awarding 

of these contracts, --- and no 

conflict of interest arises.”

 

A man who answered the 'phone, when The 

Independent called Topwood on Thursday 

evening, to ask questions relating to the 

health secretary’s role in the company, 

said only “no comment”, before

 terminating the call.

 

 

________________________






Report: British Workers 

in Insecure Jobs Twice

as Likely to Die of COVID

April 17th, 11:34am (FNA)




 Workers on zero-hours contracts and other 

insecure jobs, are twice as likely to have 

died of COVID-19, as those in other 

professions, according to a 

report - revealing stark 

inequalities in the 

workplace.

 

The research from the Trades Union Congress 

in England and Wales, showed those on the 

frontline of the pandemic, such as care

 workers, nurses and delivery drivers,

 were at a higher risk of death,
The
 Guardian reported.

 

It said many of these key workers were in insecure 

work, such as zero-hours contracts and agency 

employment, landing them with a “triple 

whammy” of no sick pay, fewer rights 

and endemic low pay, while having

 to shoulder more risk of infection.

 

According to analysis of official figures by the trade 

union umbrella group, COVID-19 mortality rates 

among male workers in insecure jobs was 51

 per 100,000 people aged 20-64, compared 

with 24 out of 100,000 in more secure 

work. For female staff the rate was 

25 per 100,000, compared with 13 

per 100,000 in higher-paying 

secure work.

 

Insecure jobs were defined using occupations with 

a higher proportion of workers employed on 

contracts that did not guarantee regular 

hours or income, or low-paid 

self-employment.

 

According to the TUC’s analysis, sectors such as care,

 leisure, and occupations such as labouring, factory 

and warehouse work have the highest rates of 

insecure work, compared with managerial, 

professional and administrative roles, 

which have some of the lowest.

 

Official figures have previously indicated that men 

working as machine operatives, restaurant 

managers, chefs, taxi drivers, nursing 

assistants, local government 

administrators, nurses and 

bus drivers, all had higher 

COVID-19 mortality rates.

 

Insecure workers account for one in nine of the total 

workforce, with women, disabled people and BAME 

workers, more likely to be in precarious roles.

 

The TUC added the figures were stark, and called for

 more research --- to understand the links between 

precarious work and infection and death. It said 

the pandemic needed to be a turning point, so 

that everyone could enjoy dignity

 in employment.

 

The union body added the lack of proper sick pay was 

forcing those in insecure jobs --- to choose between 

protecting their lives and putting food on the table. 

The UK has one of the lowest rates of sick pay in 

Europe, and nearly 2 million workers, including 

many in insecure work, do not earn enough to 

qualify for it.

 

Polling by Britain Thinks on behalf of the union group 

found that 67% of insecure workers stated they had 

received no pay when off sick, compared with 7% 

of those in secure employment.

 

As COVID restrictions are gradually relaxed this spring,

 the TUC announced the UK’s lack of proper sick pay 

was failing those in insecure work and undermining

 the prospect of a safe return to work. It called on 

ministers to raise statutory sick pay in line with 

the real living wage, a voluntary minimum pay

 rate, set at £9.50 an hour and £10.85 in 

London, saying this would stop 

insecure workers suffering 

hardship, when needing 

to self-isolate.

 

 

________________________








A Quarter of deaths involving 


Covid-19 in England & Wales 


not caused by virus itself,


 govt statistics show


April 14th, 8:28am (RT)


 


In roughly a quarter of deaths involving Covid-19, 


in England and Wales, people actually died ‘with’


the coronavirus rather than ‘from’ it, new weekly


 data from the government reveals.


 


According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), 


400 coronavirus-linked deaths were registered in


 England and Wales, in the week ending April 2nd. 


Covid-19 was recorded as the underlying cause 


of death in 308 cases, which means that 23% of 


people died ‘with’ the virus, rather than ‘from’ it.


 


Deaths involving Covid-19 made up 4.9% of deaths 


registered in England and Wales over the same 


period, compared with 7.2% the week before 


and 45% in mid-January.


 


Daily Covid-linked deaths have been steadily 


decreasing in the UK since the second wave 


of infections peaked in mid-January.


 


Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, argues that the 


positive trend is mainly a result of lockdowns, 


rather than an ongoing vaccination campaign. 



The PM warns that the infection rate will 


“inevitably” rise again ---  if the country 


starts to reopen now.


 


More than 32 million people across the UK have


 received their first vaccine dose... On Tuesday, 


England started using the Moderna vaccine... 


joining Scotland & Wales that began using it 


earlier this month. Other vaccines that are 


currently in use, are the Pfizer/BioNTech 


and AstraZeneca/Oxford ones.


 


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_________________________________











 Denmark becomes 1st

European country to

completely halt 
use

of 
AstraZeneca jab

re:
‘the real 
risk of

severe side effects’

April 14th, 1:07pm (RT)

 

AstraZeneca’s increasingly scrutinized Covid-19 

vaccine has been permanently discontinued in 

Denmark, following investigations that linked 

the jabs to rare blood clotting.

 

In a statement on Wednesday, the Danish Health 

Authority announced it had “decided to continue

 the rollout, at this time, without AstraZeneca,”

 citing...  “a possible link between very rare 

cases of unusual blood clots, bleeding, 

low blood platelets counts” and

 the jabs.

 

“Our overall assessment is there is a real risk of 

severe side effects associated with using the 

COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca,” 

Danish Health Authority Director 

General Soeren Brostroem 

claimed, explaining the 

decision. 

 

He added that the country has other vaccines to 

distribute, while he considers that the epidemic

 is currently under control. Danish people who

 have already received their first AstraZeneca

 jab, will be invited to get vaccinated with 

another provider.

 

ALSO ON RT.COM

 

WHO ‘awaiting’ J&J Covid vaccine reviews as US 

suspension prompts drug maker to delay Europe

 rollout amid blood clot fears.

 

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

 

 

_____________________________________





Good Job We Left E.U.!



For the first time ever, the ECHR has weighed in

 on the issue of compulsory vaccinations. And

 the ruling has major implications, for those

 hoping to avoid a Covid jab in E.U. states.

 

In a decision bound to generate controversy, the 

European Court of Human Rights on Thursday 

ruled against several Czech families who had 

refused to give their children compulsory 

vaccinations. 

 

The parents had appealed against fines they had 

received, as well as the children’s exclusion from 

preschool. The ruling was not on Covid vaccines, 

but rather on vaccines for 9 diseases compulsory

 for children under Czech law: including measles, 

diphtheria and hepatitis B. The judges voted by

 a majority of 16 to one that there had been 

‘’no violation’’ of Article 8, the right to 

respect for private life.





UN - Unesco resolution, article 6, Universal 


declaration on bioethics and human rights: 


 


Article 6 – Consent


 


1. Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical 


intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, 


free and informed consent of the person concerned, 


based on adequate information. The consent should, 


where appropriate, be express and may be withdrawn


 by the person concerned at any time and for any 


reason without disadvantage or prejudice.


 


It is free to download from their website.


 


All state members signed this resolution.


___________________________________________________________




lies, damn statistics, and Bell's Palsy

 

The rates of Bell’s palsy in both Moderna’s 

and Pfizer’s trials, were higher than the 

known baseline levels (about 40,000 

people in the US, per year).

 

Paul Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Centre 

and professor of pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital 

of Philadelphia: “I’m not quite sure how we are so 

comfortable with this being a background rate.”

 

 Rachel Zhang, MD, a medical 

officer on the FDA panel:

 

“This is something we’re looking

into and thinking a lot about.”



_______________________________________

 


UK pauses AstraZeneca Covid-19 

vaccine study on children as drug

 regulator investigates blood clot

 risk among adults

April 6th, 7:33pm (RT)

 

A trial of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine 

on children has been suspended while the UK’s

 drug regulator investigates a potential link to 

rare blood clots in the brain reported among 

some adults who have received the jab.

 

The vaccine, which was developed in partnership 

with Oxford University, is awaiting approval
from 
the Medicines and Healthcare products 

Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for use among
children. It was greenlit 
by British
regulators for use 
in adults,
at the end of 2020.

 

“Whilst (sic) there are no safety concerns in the paediatric 

clinical trial, we await additional information from the 

MHRA, on its review of rare cases of thrombosis/

thrombocytopaenia that have been reported in 

adults, before giving any further vaccinations 

in the trial,” a University of Oxford spokes-

person told British media, on Tuesday.

 

The trial of the vaccine on children aged between six 

and 17 began in February, and is the first of its kind 

to test the jab’s ability to generate an immune 

response in the under-18s.

 

Reports have surfaced in recent weeks of blood clot 

incidents among a very small number of people who

 received a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the 

days before their illness - though no clear causal 

link has been established between the clots and 

the inoculation. The EU’s drugs regulator, the 

European Medicines Agency (EMA), said last 

month that the benefits of the jab outweigh 

its risks, after a number of member states 

paused their rollouts of the vaccine after 

reports of blood clots.

 

Following the regulator’s opinion, many states resumed 

their use of the vaccine, while investigations by the 

EMA’s safety committee into a causal link between

 the jab and rare blood clots, continued.

 

Fresh updates from the MHRA and the EMA about the use 

of the drug are expected in the next few days. The EMA

 said it expects its committee to issue an update on the 

jab this week, but the regulator’s head of vaccines 

strategy, Marco Cavaleri, on Tuesday, suggested

 that the vaccine is linked to blood clotting.

 

Although governments resumed their rollout of the vaccine, 

some countries imposed age restrictions on its use, due to

 the apparent higher prevalence of blood clots in younger 

people who had received it.

 

Germany’s medicines regulator limited it for use in people 

aged under 60, while Canada paused its rollout to those 

under 55. France has limited the jab for those under 55, 

and last month Denmark extended its suspension of 

the vaccine, for three weeks.

 

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Image: importance of dopamine to psychosis events revealed




Importance of dopamine

 in psychosis revealed

 April 6th (Prensa Latina) 




A scientific team has discovered the role of dopamine 

- and how it is linked to speech in mental disorders 

such as psychosis - the News Medical site reveals.

 

In a new study - developed by researchers at the 

Washington University in St. Louis, experts have

found elements of how this neurotransmitter 

changes brain circuits, to produce 

hallucinations.

 

They found that a rise in the levels of this hormone in
rodents, preceded events similar to hallucinations.

 

Although this is also known to occur in humans and 

can be treated with antipsychotic medications the 

finding shows.. the presence of a ''neural circuit''

regulated by dopamine, that, when unbalanced, 

produces hallucinations & psychotic episodes.

 

They also found that people's beliefs and 

expectations can prepare them to 

experience hallucinations.

 

Expecting to hear a certain word makes an individual 

more likely to actually say that they heard it, even 

when the word was not uttered in any context.

 

Consequently, the mysteries surrounding human 

speech & its understanding would also be vital:

 this system can become chaotic - from one 

moment to the next - and produce a 

''tendency'' to hallucinations.

 

 

___________________________________






Netherlands Halts
Vaccination With 

Astrazeneca COVID-19
Vaccine

April 3rd, 8:05pm (teleSUR)

 

The decision comes after reports of serious adverse 

effects in women between 25 and 65 years of age. 

 

The Netherlands' Health Minister Hugo de Jonge 

announced a temporary suspension on the use 

of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines for 

people below 60 years of age. 

 

At least five cases of serious adverse effects in
women
 between 25 and 65 years of age, one of
whom died, 
were reported in the country.

 

The decision comes days after the German government 

also decided to halt inoculations with AstraZeneca's 

vaccines over concerns of "unusual blood clots" in

 some patients. 

 

The Netherlands has applied this vaccine to people 

between 60 and 64 years of age, health personnel, 

and people with Down's syndrome or 

morbid obesity. 

 

It is the second occasion that Dutch health authorities 

have halted AstraZeneca vaccine use -  after a two
week 
suspension approved last month.

 

Recently, the European Medicines Agency authorized 

a new name (Vaxzevria) after AstraZeneca applied for

 the change. The agency maintains that the vaccine 

is "effective and safe" but does not rule out

 isolated risks.

 

"The key question is whether the problems observed 

in these people, are due to conditions before, or
after,
 the vaccine. Until then, it is best to
press the
 caution button,"  De Jonge
stressed.

 

RELATED:  Spain Could Produce Sputnik V Vaccine

 

 

________________________________




Germany says AstraZeneca Covid shot

should only be given to people over 60!!! 

(country has 9 deaths from blood clots)

March 30th, 1:58pm (RT)




Introducing ‘Vaxzevria’:
AstraZeneca 
renames Covid vaccine
as firm fights 
off controversy over drug...




Germany has restricted the use of AstraZeneca’s 

Covid-19 vaccine as a ''precautionary'' measure 

- amid reports the jab is being linked to more 

cases of suspected adverse effects - some

 resulting in death.




The country’s Standing Vaccination Commission 

recommended on Tuesday that AstraZeneca’s 

Vaxzevria only be given to men and women 

over 60!!!, or, in exceptional cases. 



The decision was made due to “available, 

albeit limited, evidence” concerning
the 
drug’s safety.




The commission announced its recommendation hours 

after the city of Berlin introduced an identical policy. 

Earlier, two state-owned clinics in the city halted 

AstraZeneca shots for women under 55 years 

of age. Munich followed suit with its own 

rule --- banning the shot for people... 

under 60!!! 




Health Minister Jens Spahn was scheduled to speak 

with regional counterparts about the AstraZeneca 

drug later on Tuesday, a ministry spokesperson 

announced. Germany had suspended its

emergency use of AstraZeneca shots, 

earlier this month --- then lifted the 

temporary ban, as EU regulators 

''deemed'' it to be safe.





The latest restrictions placed on the drug come after 

Germany's vaccine regulator, Paul Ehrlich Institute,

disclosed that, as of March 29th, the country has 

recorded 31 cases of CSVT (cerebral sinus vein 

thrombosis), 9 of which resulted in death, after 

people were given the Vaxzevria injection. 

CSVT is a rare form of blood clot that 

forms in the brain. 




Of the 31 cases of CSVT -- all except two involved women 

between the ages of 20 and 63. Before the new guidelines 

were issued in Berlin, a district in North Rhine-Westphalia 

state suspended shots for women under 55!!! --- after two 

women suffered from blood clots. 




Nearly 2.7 million first doses of Vaxzevria, have been 

administered in Germany. According to the official 

figures, women under the age of 70, make up two

-thirds of those vaccinated with the AstraZeneca 

drug. It’s believed that more women than men 

have received the shot because nurses were

 among the first group in Germany to take

 the jab. 




AstraZeneca has been scrambling to reassure governments

that its product is safe, after more than a dozen countries 

temporarily halted their rollout of the vaccine following 

similar reports of blood clots. Canada is the latest 

country to issue an advisory about the drug, 

instructing that the vaccine should not be 

administered to people younger than 55!!!




EU health authorities have insisted that the vaccine is safe

 and that the medical episodes cannot be linked to the jab. 




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Conversation & Comments




Sounds like they want to get rid of everyone over 

60. Maybe... to save on pension cheques...  lol




Yes, this decision is indeed unusual, to put it mildly. 

Had it not been for the influence of Big Pharma, 

few countries would buy Western vaccines, 

which are using new methods. According 

to analysts --- these newly introduced UK

vaccines should have been tested for a 

period of ten years. Instead, they were 

rushed into production, with doctors 

and nurses dying from them.




Anything for a dollar.




Oxford/Astrazeneca have changed their name - 

maybe their new name won't cause Blood clots. 






Image: trouble falling asleep



 The stuff of nightmares? 

Fewer than 1 in 10 adults

 sleeping well during UK’s

 Covid lockdowns,
study says

March 29th (RT)




Are you having trouble falling asleep at night,
or 
can’t sleep as well as you used too? Don’t
be 
surprised – fewer than one in 10 adults in
the 
UK are managing to sleep well during
Covid 
lockdowns, researchers say.

 

Since the pandemic began over a year ago, researchers 

say our quality of sleep has seriously deteriorated. A 

team from the University College London (UCL) has 

been looking at 70,000 people over the past year 

--- and their response to the pandemic. The

 researchers measured how they were 

following government advice each 

week, how their mindset changed, 

and how they were doing mentally.

 

The study found that when the pandemic started, many 

people couldn’t sleep because of fear of catching Covid.

 Less than a third (28.7%) of those surveyed now report

 being stressed by Covid – a big drop even from the end 

of 2020, when almost one in two (45.1%) feared
catching 
the coronavirus.

 

Dr. Elise Paul, the report’s lead author and a researcher 

in epidemiology & healthcare at UCL, said the findings

 show that many “have suffered from poor sleep quality”

 during the pandemic, adding that lockdown brought 

major disruption to normal daily routines, or
changes
 to living circumstances.

 

Stress is also likely to be a factor [in sleep quality], especially,

as those from groups living in more stressful circumstances, 

such as people with lower household incomes and those with

 mental or physical health conditions, are reporting higher

 levels of poor quality sleep.

 

The researchers say that less than one person in 10 reports 

sleeping well now, with study participants saying finances

 and job security are weighing heavily on them. One-third 

of respondents, on average, cited money woes as a
cause
 for worry.

 

People with lower household incomes, with a mental or 

physical health condition, those with lower levels of 

education, and people from ethnic minority back-

grounds, reported higher levels of ‘very poor’ 

sleep quality.

 

Conversely, people over 60 years of age, those in good 

health, men, those of white ethnicity, and people not 

living with children, reported sleeping better over

 the past year.

 

The researchers said that now that lockdown restrictions 

are starting to ease across the UK, people are beginning 

to sleep better.

 

The UCL study is also part of a larger international project 

that looks at people's mental health, across 70 countries.

 

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_______________________________


 



US Health Agency Says
AstraZeneca 
May Have Included
‘Outdated Information’ in 
COVID Vaccine Trial

March 23rd (FNA)




A US health agency, on Tuesday, said that AstraZeneca 

may have included outdated information in trial results 

of its COVID-19 vaccine, potentially casting doubt
over 
published efficacy rates.

 

It comes just one day after the findings of a large US trial 

showed that the vaccine was safe and highly effective, 

and throws into question, whether AstraZeneca can 

seek US clearance for the vaccine next month,
as 
planned, CNBC reported.

 

The Data Safety Monitoring Board “expressed concern that 

AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from 

that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of

 the efficacy data,” the US National Institute of Allergy
and
 Infectious Diseases, said in a statement.

 

“We urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the 

efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date 

efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible,” 

it said.

 

The NIAID was notified of the concerns late Monday, along with

 AstraZeneca, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and 

Development Authority. Led by White House Chief Medical 

Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, the NIAID is part of the 

National Institutes of Health.

 

On Monday, the US trial results showed that the coronavirus 

vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of 

Oxford, is 79% effective in preventing symptomatic 

illness, and 100% effective against severe 

disease and hospitalization.

 

The findings were welcomed as “surprisingly positive” and 

“good news for the global community”. It was thought the 

trial data could help to bolster public confidence in the 

shot, and move it a step closer, to US emergency
use 
authorization.

 

AstraZeneca did not immediately respond

 to a CNBC request for comment.

 

Shares of AstraZeneca dipped 0.7% 

during Tuesday trading in London.

 

AstraZeneca said it planned to prepare for the primary analysis 

to be submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration for 

emergency use authorization, before mid-April.

 

Data from the late-stage human trial study was based on more 

than 32,000 volunteers across 88 trial centres in the US, Peru 

and Chile.

 

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine had been temporarily 

suspended in several countries after reports of blood 

clots in some vaccinated people. Health experts 

sharply criticized the move, citing a lack of 

data, while analysts expressed concern 

about the impact on vaccine uptake,
as 
the virus continues to spread.

 

AstraZeneca said on Monday, that the independent 

DSMB had found no increased risk of blood clots.

 

Ruud Dobber, executive vice president of AstraZeneca’s

 biopharmaceuticals business unit, told CNBC’s 

“Squawk Box”, on Monday, that it was: “very 

pleasing to see that, even with a magnifying 

glass, the Data Saftey Monitoring Board 

didn’t see any imbalance between the 

vaccinated group and the 

placebo group”.

 

“So, that gives us a lot of confidence,” he added.

 

Europe’s drug regulator said, earlier this month,
that 
its initial investigation of possible side
effects 
concluded that the shot is safe
and effective, 
adding that the
benefits still 
outweigh
the risks.

 

The World Health Organization and the International 

Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis, have 

recommended that countries continue to 

use the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

 

Late last year, AstraZeneca faced criticism from US 

health experts over the results and methods used

 in their phase 3 vaccine trials. Analysts at US-

based health care and biotech investment 

bank, SVB Leerink, said at the time that

 they believed the vaccine would 

“never be licensed in the US”.

 

AstraZeneca pushed back against the criticism, saying 

the studies “were conducted to the highest standards” 

and that more data would follow.

 

 

______________________________





 

German Study Reveals Why 

AstraZeneca Vax Can Cause 

Brain Blood Clots as WHO, 

EU Give Jab Green Light

by Ilya Tsukanov

20.03.2021 (Sputnik)




AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, developed by the 

pharma giant together with Oxford University, uses 

a modified chimpanzee adenovirus vector to enter 

cells, release and transport genes to cell nuclei, 

and stimulate the formation of antibodies. This

 month, nearly two dozen nations temporarily 

suspended use of the vaccine amid safety

 concerns.

 

Researchers at Germany’s Greifswald University Hospital 

have completed a study of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus 

vaccine, concluding that “in rare cases”, the 

preparation can create antibodies which

 lead to the formation of blood clots in

 the brain’s venous sinuses.

 

In a press statement Friday, scientists explained that they 

reached their conclusions, by studying samples provided 

by Germany’s vaccine regulator. Analysis of the samples 

of six patients who had developed blood clots after 

getting vaccinated, determined that, in some
patients, 
vaccination triggers the activation
of platelets --- 
small colourless cell
fragments of bone 
marrow in our
blood, which, ordinarily, 
form
clots to stop bleeding and 

heal injuries.

 

On the basis of these findings, the researchers proposed

 a course of treatment using drugs that assist against

 thrombosis, but stressed that such treatment is 

possible only after blood clots are detected,

 and not on a preventative basis.

 

Greifswald University Hospital shared the findings with

 the German Research Association for Thrombosis and 

Hemostatis, who subsequently issued new guidelines 

for patients taking the AstraZeneca vaccine - urging 

them to seek medical assistance if they suffer from

 headaches, dizziness or vision problems, for more 

than 3 days after being jabbed. The association 

stressed that the complication is “very rare”
and 
that it couldn’t be ruled out that it is
brought on 
by “other causes.”

 

Commenting on the research, Greifswald University Clinic 

professor Dr. Andreas Greinacher similarly told reporters 

“very, very few people will develop this complication,”

 and “if it happens, we now know how to treat
the 
patients.”

 

The results of the scientists’ findings, set to be published
in 
the British medical journal The Lancet in the coming
days, 
echo the independently reached conclusions of
a group 
of Norwegian researchers, who issued their
own report 
this week, attributing blood clots in
some patients jabbed
 with the AstraZeneca
preparation, to an overly strong
 immune
system response.

 

The Norwegian scientists’ work was based on an examination 

of 3 Norwegian healthcare employees, who were admitted

 to hospital, suffering from acute pain, severe blood clots
in 
unusual places, including their stomachs and brains, 

bleeding, and low platelet counts. One of the workers
died on Monday shortly after 
being admitted for care.
All 3 were 
healthy and under the age of 50.

 

The evidence by the German and Norwegian researchers 

contradicts fresh statements by the European Medicines 

Agency (EMA) & the World Health Organization, both of 

which announced this week, that AstraZeneca’s
vaccine, 
is safe for use. 

 

At least 20 countries temporarily stopped inoculation
using 
the company’s vaccine in early March amid
growing reports 
of complications and deaths
from blood clots, but many 
countries,
including Germany and France,
decided to
 lift suspensions
after receiving the all
clear from 
the EMA.

 

On Friday, Chancellor Merkel of Germany said
she would 
“definitely” get vaccinated with
the AstraZeneca 
preparation --- but
that she... “would like to wait 

[her] turn”, before
doing so.

 

The AstraZeneca jab has yet to be approved by the US 

Food and Drug Administration, with reports citing 

Biden administration officials indicating that 

Washington is debating whether or not to
dump millions of doses of
 the vaccine
now sitting in
 US manufacturing
facilities 
abroad, including to
the 
EU, Brazil and Britain.

 

In other news... ssh...

 

Bill Gates says he is ‘not very surprised’ 

by the spinal cord damage caused by 

AstraZeneca’s Coronavirus vaccine.

 

 

___________________________________


 


Health Minister Says Lebanon 

Currently Suspending Usage 

of AstraZeneca Vaccine

March 17th at 14:27 GMT

(Source: Al-Manar Englih Website)






Caretaker Minister of Public Health, Dr. Hamad Hasan, on 

Wednesday told the Voice of Lebanon Radio station that 

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health was currently 

suspending the usage of the AstraZeneca 

vaccine pending the decision of the 

international health authorities.

 

“The ministry does not take any hasty decisions that 

might endanger the citizens’ health,“ Dr. Hasan
affirmed.

 

He went on to explain that the first shipment of AstraZeneca

 vaccine was supposed to arrive to Lebanon in mid-March, 

yet the company had postponed the delivery date, “which 

rules out any commercial intentions involving the vaccine.”

 

Dr. Hasan added that the private sector sought to secure the 

Russian and Chinese vaccines for private initiatives, and 

that the ministry had not prevented, but rather,

encouraged, private sector companies to 

do so.

 

“The Ministry of Health has given permission to more than 

thirty pharmaceutical companies and drug warehouses to 

negotiate with vaccine companies abroad, provided that

 the vaccine is provided to citizens free of charge,” he 

added, stressing that free vaccination for citizens is

 a nonnegotiable decision.

 

He finally added that next week, the state’s vaccination 

campaign will begin to target age groups that range 

between sixty-five and seventy-five years, as well 

as those suffering from chronic diseases.


 

 

_________________________________





 

Spanish Drug Regulator 

Probes Death of Woman

 Vaccinated With
AstraZeneca 

17.03.2021 (Sputnik) 

 

 

 The Spanish medicines agency is looking into the death 

of a woman who suffered a brain bleed, caused by a 

blood clot, days after getting an AstraZeneca shot,

 the Health Ministry said, on Wednesday.

 

"AEMPS, other regulators and the European medicines 

agency, EMA, are gathering data and conducting a 

thorough investigation, to determine whether,
in 
addition to a temporal connection to the 

administration of the vaccine, there was 

a possible causative relationship",
statement read.

 

The 43-year-old received the first dose of the AstraZeneca 

vaccine on March 3rd & reported a headache within hours,

which was dismissed as a common side effect. She sought

medical help 10 days later, after her symptoms worsened. 

The surgery revealed a brain bleed and swelling. She 

died on Monday.

 

The Health Ministry said she had suffered an ischemic 

stroke, which transformed into a brain haemorrhage.

 

The woman was among three people, reported to have 

developed a combination of unusual symptoms: blood 

clots & a low count of platelets -- which may point to 

an "abnormal activation of the coagulation system, 

associated with the formation of blood clots in 

unusual places".

 

 

___________________________________




Italian Prosecutors Open 

Manslaughter Probe -- as 

Man Dies After Receiving

 AstraZeneca Vaccine

March 16th (FNA)

 

 

 Prosecutors in Italy, launched a manslaughter probe, into 

the death of a 57-year-old music teacher, Sandro Tognatti, 

who died on Sunday, a day after obtaining AstraZeneca's 

coronavirus vaccine, the Daily Mail reported on Monday.

 

A preliminary investigation was launched in Northern Italy's 

Biella judiciary, and the teacher's cause of death remains

 unknown. They emphasized that there is no connection 

to AstraZeneca's vaccine, at this time, and that an 

investigation is being conducted, to see whether 

someone has a case to answer.

 

It comes after one health worker died and three others became

 ill as a result of clots after receiving the vaccine, despite the 

fact that the EMA, the World Health Organisation, and 

AstraZeneca, all say the vaccine is safe.

 

Meanwhile, Italy has also suspended the use of all AstraZeneca 

vaccines due to concerns that they cause blood clots, with 

France and Germany following suit and stating that they 

are awaiting guidance from European regulators.

 

It came as earlier in the day Italy reintroduced lockdown measures, 

with 13 of the country's 21 regions now in a "red zone", which 

means schools, restaurants, stores, and museums must 

close, and people are prohibited from leaving their 

homes, except for work, health, or other 

important reasons.

 

Seven more regions have been designated as "orange zones", 

with shops and beauticians permitted to remain open except 

during a night-time curfew, while all other businesses must 

close, and citizens' movement outside the local area, is 

limited. Only Sardinia is in a "white zone", that is not 

under lockdown.

 

On Monday evening, the EMA insisted that immunization with 

the AstraZeneca vaccine must continue. The EMA said earlier 

that there was no need to stop using the vaccine because 

"the benefits outweigh the risks of side effects", but the 

agency's review is still ongoing, with a new study 

expected to be released on Thursday.

 

Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Bulgaria 

have all suspended vaccinations with the AstraZeneca jab. One 

batch of vaccines believed to be connected to clots has been

 seized by Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

 

AstraZeneca said on Sunday that it had found no evidence of 

increased risk of blood clots from its COVID-19 vaccine after 

conducting a careful review of safety data of over 17 million 

inoculated people across the EU and the UK.

 

EU countries and drugmaker AstraZeneca have been in dispute 

over the vaccine for quite some time now, with the ministers 

enforcing export bans on the company's vaccines. 

 

The decision by some European countries to suspend the use 

of the vaccines comes as a third wave of the novel coronavirus 

sweeps the continent, forcing leaders to reimpose lockdowns 

as vast swaths of the population remain unprotected. Cases 

of COVID-19 are also on the rise in European countries, 

such as Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland,

 the Netherlands, and Sweden.

 

Due to the ongoing vaccine supply crisis in the EU, some member 

states have lost trust in Brussels and decided to make early 

orders, separately.

 

Thus, Hungary turned to Russia and China in a bid to ensure a 

sufficient number of vaccine doses. As a result, the country 

has the best results in the EU in terms of vaccinated people,

 far ahead of all the heavyweight EU countries.

 

 

_____________________________________





Norwegian Medical Worker 

Dies --- After Receiving 

AstraZeneca Shot

15.03.2021 (Sputnik) 




 One of the three medical workers hospitalised in Norway 

with unusual symptoms after receiving a shot of the 

AstraZeneca vaccine has died, the director of the 

Norwegian Drugs Agency said, on Monday.

 

The three people, aged under fifty, were taken to an Oslo 

University hospital on Saturday for blood clots, bleeding 

and a low count of platelets. Similar symptoms were 

reported in Denmark.

 

"Rikshospitalet said that one of those hospitalized 

has died", Steinar Madsen told a news conference.

 

He said the drug regulator was looking into all reports 

of patients developing potentially deadly blood clots.

 

Norway and several other Nordic countries suspended the 

use of the UK-Swedish drug on Thursday amid concerns 

over the drug’s safety. More nations have since paused 

the AstraZeneca rollout, including Germany.

 

 

________________________________






Ireland Becomes Latest Nation 

to halt rollout of AstraZeneca 

Vaccine --- Following New 

Reports of Blood Clotting

March 14th  (FNA)




 Ireland put the brakes on plans to administer the AstraZeneca 

COVID vaccine, following in the footsteps of other countries

 that have suspended its use, over concerns that the drug 

may be linked to blood clotting.




The Irish Department of Health confirmed to the media that the 

rollout of the jab had been “temporarily deferred”, RT reported. 




The decision came at the urging of Ireland’s National Immunisation

 Advisory Committee, following four new cases of “serious”
blood clotting, that occurred in adults who received
the vaccine 
in Norway.




Ireland's Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ronan Glynn, said 

shelving the drug was a “precautionary” measure and 

stressed that there was no established link between 

the medical issues and the vaccine. 




The European Medicines Agency is currently investigating the 

issue. AstraZeneca has said that it is conducting its own 

review, and will share any new information 

“without delay”.




The new advisory comes just two days after Irish medical

officials approved the AstraZeneca vaccine, for people

 older than 70.




Officials had previously determined that only people under

the age of 65 should be given the drug --- amid concerns 

about limited data on its efficacy for older age groups. 




Denmark announced on Thursday that it would suspend use 

of the AstraZeneca vaccine for two weeks, after some
r
ecipients of the jab developed blood clots. Norway 

followed suit, describing the move as a 

“cautionary decision”.




Austria, Iceland, Italy, and a number of other countries have also

 postponed or restricted their rollout of the jab, after reviewing 

the worrying reports about potential adverse reactions. 




The World Health Organization has insisted that the vaccine can 

still be used, as there is no established link between the drug 

and the blood clotting. 







______________________________________________





 

Boris Johnson Backs AstraZeneca 

COVID-19 Vaccine, After Countries 

Halt Jab Over Blood Clotting Scare

by Svetlana Ekimenko

12.03.2021 (Sputnik)

 

 

A probe was earlier launched by the EU after the 

European Medicines Agency said it received 

reports of 22 cases of blood clotting among 

those vaccinated with the Oxford/Astra-

Zeneca jab in continental Europe – 

including one person who died 

ten days later.

 

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on Thursday, 

dismissed growing concerns regarding the 

safety of the Oxford/AstraZeneca corona-

virus jab, after cases of blood clotting 

were reported in vaccinated people, 

urging Britons to continue taking it.

 

“We've been clear that it's both safe and effective, 

and when people are asked to come forward and 

take it, they should do so in confidence,” a 

spokesman for Downing Street was cited 

by the Daily Mail as saying.

 

The Prime Minister also hailed the success of

 the vaccination programme across the nation.

 

“And, in fact, you're starting to see the results of the 

vaccine programme in terms of the (lower) number 

of cases we are seeing across the country --- the 

number of deaths, number of hospitalisations,” 

added Johnson’s spokesman.

 

As over 11 million doses of the Oxford jab, have been 

administered in the UK, Dr. Phil Bryan, the Medicines 

and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) 

head of vaccines safety, was quoted by the outlet 

as saying:

 

“Reports of blood clots received so far are not greater 

than the number that would have occurred naturally 

in the vaccinated population. The safety of the 

public will always come first. We are keeping 

this issue under close review but available 

evidence does not confirm that the 

vaccine is the cause.”

 

Blood Clotting Scare

 

This comes after a number of countries, earlier, moved 

to halt the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab, amid an

 EU-launched probe into reports of blood clots in 

vaccinated Europeans.

 

22 cases of blood clotting had been registered so far 

by the European Medicines Agency, among the three 

million given the shot on the continent, with a nurse

 in Austria, 49, having died from a clot on 8 March, 

reported Reuters.

 

Despite millions of doses of the vaccine being administered 

safely, concerns spiralled, with Denmark becoming the first

 to announce its suspension of the vaccine for 14 days as a

 ‘precautionary’ move, 'following reports of serious cases 

of blood clots' among people who had received the 

vaccine, stated the country's Health Authority.

 

The nation suspended the shots after a 60-year-old woman 

who received an AstraZeneca jab from the same batch - 

ABV5300 - used in Austria, formed a blood clot 

and died.

 

Defending the move of the Danish health authorities, 

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told press:

 

“Things have gone well in Denmark, but there are some

 risks linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine that need to be 

examined more closely. That seems, to me, to be the 

right way to proceed.”

 

While also using vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, and 

Moderna, Denmark is to receive 2.6 million doses

 from AstraZeneca, over the coming months.

 

A host of European countries, such as Norway, and 

Iceland, have taken similar moves, blocking use of
the AstraZeneca jabs. Italy suspended a different 

batch, designated ABV2856, after the death of 

a non-commissioned naval officer, of cardiac

 arrest , 24 hours after receiving a dose,

 followed by the death of 

another person.

 

Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg 

have suspended the use of the specific batch of 

AstraZeneca vaccine linked with the fatal case

in Austria. That consignment had been sent 

to 17 European countries.




On Friday, Thailand's PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha,
and 
members of his cabinet, cancelled plans

 to receive AstraZeneca vaccine shots, when 
Thailand delayed use of the vaccines, over 

reports of blood clots in some European 

nations, a health official stated, at a
health 
ministry news conference.

 

However, other countries have decided to refrain from 

drastic moves regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine. 


France’s Health Minister, Olivier Veran, said at a 

Thursday news conference, that, after he 

consulted with the French medicines 

agency, he decided there was 'no 

need' to suspend use of the jab.

 

Other European nations, including Sweden, Spain and 

The Netherlands, have claimed they did not find 

sufficient evidence, to halt vaccination with

 the AstraZeneca's jab.

 

“There is nothing to indicate that the vaccine causes 

this type of blood clots,” stated Veronica Arthurson, 

head of drug safety at the Swedish Medical 

Products Agency, at a news conference.

 

French President, Emmanuel Macron, recently made 

a U-turn regarding the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

 

Macron had sparked a row after claiming, earlier,
that
 the jab was 'quasi-effective' in over-65s –
some
thing that was widely dismissed by
scientists – 
leading to France and a
host of other 
European nations, 
blocking the use 
of the jab
for the elderly.

 

However, French PM Jean Castex has since endorsed 

the jab, conceding that it was as effective as any
other 
vaccine approved in the EU.

 

Germany has also recommended the shot for

 the over-65s.

 

‘Benefits Outweigh Risks’

 

On 23 November 2020 the British-Swedish multinational 

pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, Astra-

Zeneca announced the completion of its COVID-
19 
vaccine's successful trial --- claiming it
stopped 
70% of people from developing
symptoms of
 the respiratory disease.

 

In January 2021, India approved the use of the Oxford–

AstraZeneca jab, with EU regulators following suit, 
on 
January 30th.

 

Following the recent developments, AstraZeneca sought

 to allay concerns regarding its vaccine, on Thursday.

 

“Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety 

standards for the approval of any new medicine, and 

that includes COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca. The 

safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied

 in Phase III clinical trials, and peer-reviewed data, 

confirms the vaccine is generally well tolerated," 

the company said in a statement.

 

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) added that the

 vaccine's benefits “continue to outweigh its risks”.

 

"...The vaccine can continue to be administered while 

investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is 

ongoing," stated the EMA.

 

The European Medicines Agency insisted there was 

'no indication that vaccination has caused these 

conditions (clots), which are not listed as side 

effects with this vaccine'. It has since 

launched a probe into the quality 

of the ABV5300 batch.

 




_____________________________________



 

Two separate studies debunk theory 

that vitamin D supplements offer 

greater protection against
Covid-19

March 10th  (RT)

 

 

Two separate non-peer-reviewed studies looking 

into the use and effectiveness of Vitamin D 

against Covid infection have both reached

 the same conclusion: there’s no clear 

benefit to using supplements.

 

In the first study, researchers examined a database 

of nearly 450,000 mostly white people of European 

ancestry, to understand whether giving them 

vitamin D supplements would lower the 

probability of contracting Covid-19.

 

The researchers, from 10 separate universities in 

Canada, Israel, Japan, Italy and the UK, looked
at 
genetic markers that would leave people 

predisposed to vitamin D deficiencies. 

 

They concluded that:  “vitamin D supplementation 

as a means of protecting against worsened Covid 

outcomes is not supported by genetic evidence,” 

they wrote in the study. “Other therapeutic or 

preventative… avenues, should be given 

higher priority for Covid-19 randomized 

controlled trials.”

 

In the second study debunking vitamin D’s usefulness 

against Covid, researchers from Aristotle University, 

Thessaloniki, in Greece, examined data on vitamin D 

deficiency from 24 European countries & compared

 it to data on Covid infections, recoveries, & deaths.

 

The researchers, who did not include data from those 

living in nursing homes, looked at how vitamin D 

deficiency rates varied across European nations 

- and compared that data to infection rates.

 

They concluded that the “prevalence of vitamin D 

deficiency was not significantly associated with 

either the number of infections, recoveries, or 

the mortality rate of Covid-19” across Europe.

 

The 2 new studies contradict a preprint study released 

in mid-February, by researchers at the University of 

Barcelona. It suggested that giving high doses of 

vitamin D to Covid patients in hospital, could cut 

deaths by 60 percent. The Lancet, a leading 

medical journal in the UK, has since 

removed the paper from its server, 

after concerns were expressed 

over the methodology used
to 
support its conclusion.

 

 

____________________________________




 

Labelling every bad habit as

an ‘addiction’ simply means 

people with no self-control 

fail to take responsibility

for their behaviour

by Frank Furedi

 

The medicalisation of everyday problems – such as spending 

too much time on your phone – is stunting our development. 

It is creating a society of powerless ‘patients’ who refuse
to
 take accountability for their actions.

 

So, what are we to make of a recently published alarmist report 

that claims that almost four out of 10 students are addicted to

 their smartphone?

 

The authors of the report claim that smartphone addiction 

causes serious sleeping problems and can be both a 

symptom and cause of mental health issues.

 

No doubt many young people spend far, far too much time 

messing around with their phones. But does it help to 

diagnose their bad habit as an addiction?

 

There are, unquestionably, many troubling aspects
of 
smartphone usage among young people. But to 

diagnose these as ‘smartphone addiction’, is to 

mystify, and also to medicalise, what are, in 

effect, social and cultural problems 

facing society.

 

The addiction that I really worry about is society’s 

addiction to addiction. Let me explain.

 

There was a time when the label of addiction was confined 

to alcoholics and drug abusers. In recent decades, society 

has become so medicalised, that it has embraced the 

unattractive idea of diagnosing normal bad habits 

and irresponsible behaviours, as mental health 

problems and the markers of an addiction. So, 

apparently, it is not only smartphones, but 

just about any technological gadget, that 

can now be portrayed as addictive. We 

have gaming addiction, technology 

addiction, and Internet addiction 

disorder.

 

The addiction industry is flourishing throughout the western 

world. Clinics and self-help groups devoted to treating the 

recently discovered epidemic of sex addiction, are doing 

a roaring trade. Celebrities gain publicity and headlines 

when pictures showing them check into a rehab clinic 

are flashed around the world.

 

Fashionable cultural norms are enthusiastic about
medicalising
 people’s bad habits. Just about any
character flaw can be 
recast as an addiction.
Through the years, society has 
become
''accustomed'' to using terms, such as 

workaholism, shopaholism, cybersex 

addiction, porn addiction, addiction 

to love, ''compulsive helping''(!), 

exercise addiction, tanning 

and chocolate addiction.

 

People who pray too much can be diagnosed as suffering from

 addiction to religion and some of them may even have to be 

weaned off the ‘God Drug’! And if you are too focused on 

another person, and feel too much affection for her or 

him, you may well be suffering from addiction to love.

 

Professionals promoting the ever-growing number of addictions 

insist that they are in the business of providing treatment and 

help. However, through medicalising every dimension of 

human behaviour, they turn us into patients and clients.

 

The real problem is the message that the diseasing of human 

behaviour sends to all of us. Take the fashionable label of an 

addictive personality. It encourages people to fatalistically 

acquiesce to their worst instincts. Addicts are portrayed 

as victims of circumstances beyond their control: they 

are literally counselled to accept powerlessness as 

the defining feature of their existence. Sexaholics 

Anonymous, mimics the '12-step' approach of 

Alcoholics Anonymous. The first step that a 

sex addict takes on the road to sexual 

sobriety, is to admit that “we were 

powerless over lust.”

 

The promotion of the ''myth of human powerlessness'' has fostered 

a climate where addiction has become normalised. Addiction plays

 the role of a cultural fetish -- through which, people’s potential to 

exercise moral independence is constantly called into question. 

The normalisation of this status of dependence is continually 

reinforced by constant exhortations to seek professional 

support. As a result, a new culture of dependency is 

constantly upheld and promoted.

 

In this context, the term “irresponsible” has undergone a radical

 transformation. People who cheat on their partners, cannot be 

held accountable for their addiction.

 

The only grounds for condemning them as irresponsible is if 

they refuse to seek professional support. Perversely, those 

who attempt to deal with their problems through the 

exercise of self-control, are castigated as being in 

denial, and criticised for failing to come to terms 

with the gravity of their illness. Seeking help is 

mandatory, not an option, for those diagnosed 

as addicts.

 

Western society has become so hooked on addiction, because it 

finds it difficult to ''imagine'', that people can be authors of their 

destiny. It's therefore drawn towards a fatalistic interpretation 

of human behaviour.... This idea that people “can't help it”, or 

are “victims of their emotions” represents an abandonment 

of the standard of accountability associated with the ideal 

of human choice. Through its devaluation of the idea of 

moral independence, the medicalisation of bad habits, 

diminishes the human capacity for self-determination.

 

The ''good news'', is that people can overcome their bad habits

if they choose to do so. People who, in one stage in their life 

became far too distracted by sex, can learn to value and 

cultivate a durable intimate relationship. And there is 

also hope for university students clutching their 

smartphones in their bedroom. Even without 

the help of professional counsellors, they 

are likely to get bored with waiting for 

the next message.

 

Though it has become unfashionable to say this, a bit of self-

control can go a long way towards limiting the negative 

consequences of your bad habits.

 

Frank Furediis is an author and social commentator. He is

an emeritus professor of sociology at the University of 

Kent, in Canterbury. Author of How Fear Works:
The 
Culture of Fear in the 21st Century.

Follow him onTwitter @Furedibyte

 

(Source  (RT)

 

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Image: evil spy








 

 

Looking into Palantir:
Activists
 want NHS
to
come clean
 about 

secretive deal with 
data-mining company

 

 

Under a deal negotiated in secret with the British government, 

shady data firm Palantir will continue to manage NHS data for 

two years. Activists calling for transparency have now

 brought the NHS to court.

 

When the British government unveiled its ‘Covid-19 data store’ 

last March, controversial “spy tech” firm, Palantir, was given 

control of the data collected from the public, which included 

sensitive data, such as patients’ ages, addresses, health 

conditions, treatments & whether they smoke or drink, 

among other private information. Given the contract 

for a nominal fee of £1 ($1.40), Palantir was only 

supposed to hold this data until the end of the

 coronavirus pandemic, but was awarded a 

second £23 million contract in December,

 ensuring the data-gathering project will 

continue until at least December 2022.

 

 

The government’s data store – used to inform its pandemic 

response – was criticized last March for its reliance on US 

tech firms, like Microsoft, Amazon, & the aforementioned

 Palantir, to handle Britons’ data. According to an NHS 

impact assessment, Palantir processes data that

 includes details on patients’ sex lives, political 

views, and religious beliefs.

 

The government inked the deal behind closed doors, and 

large sections of the contract are redacted – including 

sections laying out who has access to patient data, 

how it will be used, and with which third parties it 

will be shared. Readable in the contract is a line 

stating that, after the coronavirus pandemic 

subsides, the database may be repurposed 

for “general business-as-usual monitoring.”

 

Activists with OpenDemocracy and lawyers with Foxglove

 Legal this week sued the NHS, claiming that the renewed 

deal with Palantir warranted a fresh impact assessment

 and demanding public consultation over the deal, 

which was awarded without the usual 

tender process.

 

As news of the lawsuit broke on Wednesday, the Bureau 

of Investigative Journalism also revealed that Palantir 

executives had been lobbying the NHS for access to 

patient data since summer 2019, six months before 

the coronavirus first cropped up in China. 

 

According to emails seen by the bureau, Palantir’s UK boss, 

Louis Mosley, hosted a meal attended by Lord David Prior, 

chair of NHS England, in July. In the days afterwards, he 

thanked Mosley, for supplying him with “watermelon 

cocktails,” and asked him to get in touch with ideas 

to help the NHS “structure and curate our data.” 

 

In the months afterwards, Palantir offered demonstrations of

 its services to Prior and his colleagues at its San Francisco

 offices, and at the World Economic Forum in 

Davos, Switzerland.

 

In October 2019, NHS bosses reportedly met with representatives 

of Microsoft, Amazon, and vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca, to

 discuss the creation of a “single, national, standardised, event-

based longitudinal record for 65 million citizens,” which would 

be built in the following two years and contain medical and 

genetic records of every single UK resident. Palantir was 

said not to be present at the meeting, but Mosley 

reportedly told Prior, shortly afterwards, that
he 
had a “very positive meeting” with a
top NHS 
official, in private.

 

Like the mythical seeing-stone it’s named after, Palantir is 

a company shrouded in secrecy. Launched by billionaire 

Peter Thiel, Palantir received start-up funding from the 

CIA and counts multiple US government agencies, law 

enforcement departments, and military branches 

among its clients. Its true number of employees

 is unknown, and former workers are, 

reportedly, often forbidden from

 talking to the media.

 

Its software has been used by police departments to
profile
 likely offenders, and predict future crime; by
the 
military to predict roadside bombings in Middle 

Eastern war zones; and by immigration authorities
to help track, apprehend, 
and deport illegal
immigrants – a 
partnership it has tried
to keep 
under wraps, before.

 

With both Palantir and the NHS seemingly keen on continuing 

their partnership, Foxglove director Cori Crider told the BBC 

that her aim is to prevent the government using “the 

pandemic as an excuse: to embed major tech firms 

like Palantir in the NHS, without consulting

 the public.”

 

"The datastore is the largest pool of patient data in UK history.

 It's one thing to set it up on an emergency basis, it's a 

different kettle of fish to give a tech firm like Palantir 

a permanent role in NHS infrastructure," she added.

 
 (Source: RT)


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________________________________






Decline in Sperm Counts Caused by 

Chemicals Threatens Humanity's 

Existence, New Book Claims

by Andrei Dergalin

26.02.2021 (Sputnik)

 

 

Dr. Shanna Swan, leading environmental and reproductive

 epidemiologist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai,

 has warned of a potential threat to the very survival of the 

human race, in her new book.

 

According to Axios, Swan’s work points at an apparent decline 

in sperm counts, that has been "falling for decades", with the 

major reason for this development being chemicals that 

"disrupt the body's hormonal system".

 

"If you look at the curve on sperm count and project it forward 

— which is always risky — it reaches zero in 2045," she said. 

"That's a little concerning, to say the least."

 

The book, titled "Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening

 Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development,

 and Imperilling the Future of the Human Race", notes factors such as 

an increase in "boys with clear genital abnormalities" and a "decline 

in anogenital distance in infant males", as well as "earlier appearance 

of puberty signs among girls”"

 

Such outcomes are apparently related to "changes in hormones or

 endocrines", with Swan and her colleagues reportedly blaming the

so called "everywhere chemicals" such as phthalates and 

bisphenol-A, which are found in things like cosmetics, 

plastics and pesticides, and which affect endocrines.

 

"Chemicals in our environment and unhealthy lifestyle practices in 

our modern world are disrupting our hormonal balance, causing 

various degrees of reproductive havoc," Swan suggested.

 

She did point out, however, that other factors, such as growing 

obesity levels and smoking, also negatively affect both male 

and female fertility.

 

"The current state of reproductive affairs can't continue much

 longer without threatening human survival," Swan warned.

 

 

 

________________________________________




Click to read - then ask yourself why UK
says 
you do NOT have any choice... !!!



UK to deliberately expose 

volunteers to Covid-19
in
 world's first trial after 

study given green light

February 17th (RT)

 

 

The world’s first Covid-19 human challenge study has 

received ethics approval in the UK, with 90 healthy 

volunteers to be exposed to the virus in the 

coming weeks, in an attempt to learn
more 
about Covid’s effect on
the body.

 

Researchers have started their search for 90 people aged 

18-30 who will willingly expose themselves to Covid-19 as 

part of a study to learn more about the virus, which has 

killed more than two million people worldwide after the 

government announced the trial had received ethics 

approval on Wednesday. 

 

The British government said the study, which is backed 

by £33.6 million of taxpayers’ money, will “play a key 

role in developing effective coronavirus vaccines 

and treatments.”

 

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng added that, while 

there has been significant progress with regards to 

vaccine and treatment development, more
research
 is required.

 

The Covid-19 virus being used in the study has been 

created by a team at Great Ormond Street Hospital 

for the Children NHS Foundation Trust, in London, 

in collaboration with industry-leading clinical 

company, hVIVO.

 

Volunteers will be 'compensated' for their 

time and their participation in the study.

 

On Sunday the UK hit its target of inoculating 15 million 

of the most vulnerable people against Covid-19 and 

now aims to vaccinate 32 million people, all
at-risk 
groups, by May.

 

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 Share it with a friend!

 

 

________________________________




 


Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID shot


 less effective against South 


African variant: Study


February 7th (PressTV)


 


 


British drugmaker AstraZeneca AZN.L said on Saturday 


its vaccine developed with the University of Oxford 


appeared to offer only limited protection against 


mild disease caused by the South African 


variant of COVID-19, based on early 


data from a trial.


 


The study from South Africa’s University of the Witwatersrand 


and Oxford University showed the vaccine had significantly 


reduced efficacy against the South African variant, 


according to a Financial Times report published 


earlier in the day.


 


Among coronavirus variants currently most concerning for 


scientists & public health experts, are the so-called British, 


South African and Brazilian variants, which appear to 


spread more swiftly than others.


 


“In this small phase I/II trial, early data has shown limited 


efficacy against mild disease primarily due to the B.1.351 


South African variant,” an AstraZeneca spokesman said 


in response to the FT report.


 


The newspaper said none of the more than 2,000


 trial participants had been hospitalized, or died.


 


“However, we have not been able to properly ascertain its 


effect against severe disease and hospitalization, given 


that subjects were predominantly young healthy 


adults,” the AstraZeneca spokesman said.


 


The company said it believed its vaccine could protect 


against severe disease, given that the neutralizing 


antibody activity was equivalent to that of other 


COVID-19 vaccines that have demonstrated 


protection against severe disease.


 


The trial, which involved 2,026 people, of whom,
half formed
 the placebo group, has not been
peer-reviewed, the FT said.


 


While thousands of individual changes have arisen as the 


virus mutates into new variants, only a tiny minority are 


likely to be important or change the virus in an 


appreciable way, according to the British 


Medical Journal.


 


“Oxford University and AstraZeneca have started adapting 


the vaccine against this variant and will advance rapidly 


through clinical development so that it is ready for 


Autumn delivery should it be needed,” the 


AstraZeneca spokesman said.


 


On Friday, Oxford said their vaccine has similar efficacy 


against the British coronavirus variant, as it does to the 


previously circulating variants.


 


(Source: Reuters)


 


 


_____________________________






 
It’s not just Covid-19
that’s killing Britons… 

alcohol is taking them
out in record numbers

by Chris Sweeney

February 3rd (RT)

 

Chris Sweeney is an author and columnist who has 

written for newspapers such as The Times, Daily 

Express, The Sun and Daily Record, along with 

several international-selling magazines. Follow 

him on Twitter @Writes_Sweeney

 

Sales of booze have soared during lockdown, while alcohol-

related deaths leapt by 16% last year. Experts are calling for 

higher prices, and urgent campaigns to tackle the UK’s 

notoriously liberal attitude to drinking.

 

Newly released figures have uncovered shocking statistics, 

which reveal that England and Wales have just recorded the 

biggest death toll from alcohol since records began in 2001.

 

In the first nine months of 2020, there were 5,460 deaths, 

a dramatic 16.4 percent increase, compared to 2019.

 

While it’s impossible to prove direct causation, there is 

certainly a link to the first nationwide lockdown 

between March and June.  

 

Drinking during lockdown has soared in the UK. Weekly 

wine sales at Waitrose’s 338 supermarkets are up by a 

third, beer by 49 percent, while spirits such as rum and 

tequila have risen by 64 percent and 56 percent.

 

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of Alcohol Health Alliance 

UK, warned: “Alcohol dependence is often triggered by a 

number of factors including bereavement, job insecurity, 

mental health conditions or troubled relationships. 

 

“All of these issues have been exaggerated greatly, during 

the pandemic, for many. We must start preparing now, if we 

wish to limit future harm.”

 

That’s a grim warning and, with a new lockdown set to 

continue in some form for months, the numbers are 

expected to keep rising.

 

Julie Breslin of the drug, alcohol & mental health charity, 

We Are With You, said:  “While it is hard to pin-point the 

exact reasons behind the rise, front-line services have 

seen how social isolation and the anxiety of living 

through a pandemic, has led to an increase in

potentially harmful drinking. 

 

“At the same time people are understandably concerned 

about placing extra strain on health services at the 

current time, with many struggling alone.”

 

That extends to another unwanted trend: the numbers seeking 

help for alcohol addiction has fallen by 20 percent since 2014. 

Experts agree that for a variety of factors, alcoholics in Britain 

are becoming more hesitant to seek help. This has only been

 exacerbated by the lockdown with some individuals 

completely cut off from the outside world.

 

Breslin added: “We know that around 4 out of 5 dependent

drinkers aren’t accessing any kind of support. Sadly, these 

statistics show the impact of what occurs when a majority 

of people with an issue with alcohol, are not accessing

treatment or support, especially in a country with such

 a heavy drinking culture as the UK.”

 

A breakdown of the numbers, proves that 

lockdown is the main driver behind the rise.

 

The first quarter of 2020 was statistically similar to other 

years, but the second and third quarters showed large 

jumps - mirroring the beginning of lockdown in March.

 

The hardest hit group by age is those between 55-64 and 

We Are With You has created a dedicated helpline, to try 

to reach them.

 

“Many are unable to see their loved ones or friends, and are 

drinking more as a way to cope with increased loneliness, 

isolation and anxiety,” explained Breslin. 

 

“Our research showed that at the end of last year more than 

one in two over 50s were drinking at a level that could cause 

health problems now or in the future, with nearly one in four 

classed as high risk or possibly dependent.”

 

Healthcare workers are concerned that the advanced age of 

most victims points to years of alcohol misuse. So this is a 

problem that, even with intervention, may take many years 

to curb.

 

Another way to categorise the data and one which 

shows another strong pattern, is by location.

 

Compared to 2001, London and Scotland are the only 

UK regions to have witnessed a drop in deaths.

 

All the other parts of the UK have seen an increase. However,

 in the more affluent areas of the south east and south west 

of England, the rise has been minimal. Conversely, the 

northern regions of England have seen significant 

rises, which reflects their lack of relative 

economic prosperity.

 

Similarly, economically challenged Northern Ireland had already

 suffered record deaths in 2019, showing a jump of 18 percent. 

 

Professor Gilmore cautioned: “It is easy to forget how lax  the 

present regulation is for this psychoactive and addictive drug. 

 

“In France, for example, there is a complete ban on broadcast

 advertising and of sports sponsorship by alcohol producers,

 and is it sensible for alcohol to be available 24/7, for example 

at petrol stations?

 

“Most importantly of all, the government must set out an 

alcohol strategy to tackle the alcohol harm crisis once 

and for all. This strategy must be science-based and 

introduce measures to support and transform the 

lives of harmful drinkers, their families and 

communities.”

 

One possible initiative is to introduce Minimum Unit Pricing 

(MUP), which dictates the minimum price per unit of alcohol 

and legally bars producers from selling at lower prices.

 

It makes all drinks less attractive to consumers, but stronger 

spirits like vodka, whisky and gin will cost relatively more 

than lower strength options such as beer or wine. The 

difficulty though, much like smoking, is that alcohol 

has inelastic demand, meaning price rises will 

result in a less than proportionate effect 

on demand.

 

Scotland became the first country in the world to introduce 

MUP in May 2018, at a rate of 50 pence per unit. The nation 

has the highest alcohol death rate of anywhere in the UK, 

but it has been decreasing.

 

Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, 

said: “Scotland continues to experience considerably 

higher levels of alcohol-specific deaths than England 

and Wales. Every death from alcohol is preventable, 

and we should not be seeing these high numbers. 

 

“The evidence from the evaluation of MUP, so far, is 

encouraging. It appears to be having the intended 

effect on alcohol consumption, with a reduction of 

4 to f5 percent in off-sales in Scotland, compared 

to England and Wales, in the first year. 

 

“It is particularly encouraging that it is poorer, heavier 

drinkers – who are more likely to become ill or die due

 to alcohol use – that have cut down most.  

 

“Now it looks like we may be beginning to see this translate 

into health benefits, with alcohol deaths having reduced by 

over 10 percent in 2019.”

 

There are now calls for the Scottish government to increase 

the rate above 50 pence, as it has been eroded by inflation.

 

Wales brought in MUP last year (also at 50 pence), and there 

are plans to do it in Northern Ireland too, but England, is 

currently abstaining.

 

While it may be time-consuming to introduce legislation to 

tackle the current deaths spike, Professor Gilmore points 

to a quicker solution: “There are steps the government 

should take in the next few weeks that would start a 

fightback against alcohol harm. The chancellor 

needs to increase alcohol duty by two percent 

above inflation, in the upcoming budget. 

 

“Alcohol is now 74 percent cheaper than it was 30 years ago, 

and its availability at low prices, is having a catastrophic

 impact on our nation’s health.”

 

While most of the attention is directed at the increased death

 toll, there are serious secondary effects. Alcohol misuse has 

a devastating impact on home life, children and employment, 

and can lead to families falling into poverty or suffering 

mental health issues.

 

For example, men are six times more likely to commit 

domestic abuse if they have problems with alcohol. 

 

Leading calls to support families struggling, The National 

Association for Children of Alcoholics said: “We must 

remember that alcoholism is a family problem, rarely 

isolated. Behind these statistics are mothers and 

fathers whose children will have been living with 

the chaos of an alcoholic household. They take 

on caring roles and try to make everything okay

 for mum or dad.

 

“There will be countless children right now who feel that

 their parent’s untimely death was their fault. But with 

greater accessible help and support for families, we 

can help to break the cycle, find healthy ways to 

cope with lockdown, and bring these 

numbers down.”

 

Despite variations across ages and locations, there is no 

doubt that alcohol is having a devastating effect on the 

UK and killing too many. It is tattooed across daily life, 

with millions of Brits correlating drinking with 

enjoyment. Serious change has to happen 

if the rising death toll is to be reversed.

 

Professor Gilmore warned: “Alcohol harm is not taken 

seriously enough in the UK as drinking is so deeply 

ingrained in our culture.

 

“We must not forget that alcohol is an addictive and 

harmful substance that needs to be better regulated.

 It is linked directly to around 200 health conditions 

including seven forms of cancer, as well as heart 

disease and strokes. 

 

“We must, therefore, all start to take our health seriously, 

create safe spaces for those who wish to talk about the 

harmful effects of alcohol and carefully reassess our 

own relationship with alcohol.

 

“The latest figures serve as a stark reminder of what 

we risk when we do not take alcohol harm seriously.”

 

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_________________________




UK Covid-19 variant has mutated again

with some worrying new genetic

changes, scientists say

February 2nd  (RT)

 

 

A UK scientist who advises the government has warned 

of a “worrying” and “spontaneous” mutation of the 

British Covid-19 variant which may impact the 

efficacy of the vaccines currently in use.

 

“The mutation of most concern, which we call E484K,

 has also occurred, spontaneously, in the new Kent 

strain in parts of the country too,” Calum Semple, 

a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for 

Emergencies, told BBC radio on 

Tuesday morning. 

 

The new and perturbing E484K mutation had already 

been reported in a technical briefing published by 

Public Health England but had not been widely 

noticed outside of scientific circles.

 

“A limited number of B.1.1.7 VOC (variant of concern)...

genomes with E484K mutation have been detected,” 

said the summary of the briefing.




Dr. Julian Tang, a virologist at the University of Leicester, 

said the mutation was worrying, but not unexpected. 

 

“The acquisition [of the E484K mutation] may be due to a

recombination with one of the South African/Brazilian 

variant viruses that may have co-infected the same 

cell – as we see with different influenza viruses 

– but this is rarer with coronaviruses,”

 he explained.

 

The Kent strain, also widely referred to as the British variant, 

has been proven to be more contagious, while this new 

mutation may reduce the efficacy of the vaccines 

currently being administered around the UK.  

 

“If this E484K mutation is acquired by most of the UK B.1.1.7 

variants – the recent reassurances from recent studies 

showing that mRNA vaccines will still offer optimum

 protection against the original UK variant – may
no
 longer apply,” Tang said.

 

The E484K mutation has already been seen in the South 

African and Brazilian variants but while the mutation is 

likely to affect vaccine effectiveness, it is unlikely to 

make the current jab redundant. 

 

Studies conducted on the South African variant show that 

the mutation is capable of evading parts of the immune 

response induced by natural infection or vaccination.

 

 

 

__________________________________







'Vaccine for All Mankind': 


Lancet Article Validates 


Sputnik V Efficacy at 91.6%


 02.02.2021  (Sputnik)


 


 


This is the well-respected medical journal's second 


publication about Sputnik V since September 2020. 


It's dedicated to Stage 3 of the vaccine's
clinical trials.


 


Sputnik V is safe, efficient, and provides full protection 


against severe cases of COVID-19 - this is the key 


takeaway from a publication in The Lancet. It 


took months of research for Russian


immunologists....   and for 19,866 


volunteers to complete Phase III 


of the clinical trials, which have 


confirmed a 91.6% efficacy.


 


The other important finding is the immunogenicity of the 


Russian jabs. The 14,964 volunteers, who received 


actual shots of Sputnik V developed 1.3-1.5 times 


more antibodies against the novel coronavirus 


than those who recovered from COVID-19. 


During the study, the remaining 4,902 


participants received a placebo - as 


was required by the rules of regular 


large-scale clinical trials. 


 


The trial included a group of volunteers aged 60 to 87, 


showing impressive results for this particular age 


strata. Surprisingly, Sputnik V's efficacy among 


the elderly, was comparable to the 18-60 age 


group (91.8%).


 


When it comes to safety, the Independent Data Monitoring 


committee has confirmed 94% of all adverse effects were 


mild. No serious adverse effects or allergies connected 


with the product were detected, and most mild 


complications were limited to flu-like 


symptoms or headaches.


 


The Russian Direct Investment Fund -  the country's 


sovereign wealth fund - established to make equity 


co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside 


international strategic and financial investors,


is currently tasked with ramping up Sputnik


V's production & international distribution.


 


RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev has hailed The Lancet
publication, 
saying "this is a great day in the
fight against the 
COVID-19 pandemic": 


 


"The data published by The Lancet proves that not only 


Sputnik V is the world's first registered vaccine, but 


also one of the best. It fully protects against
severe 
COVID-19, according to data which
has been 
independently compiled, then 
reviewed by 
peers and then published
in The Lancet. 


 


''Sputnik V is one of only three vaccines in the world with 


an efficacy of over 90% but outperforms them in terms 


of safety, ease of transportation due to its storage
r
equirements of +2 to +8 degrees, and a more 


affordable price. Sputnik V is a vaccine for 


all mankind".


 


Globally, only 4 vaccine developers, including the 


Gamaleya Institute, have published their Phase 3 


clinical trial results, in leading peer-reviewed 


medical journals. Sputnik V, is one of only 


three vaccines in the world with a proven 


efficacy of over 90%. Other vaccines
show 
lower efficacy rates, such as
62.1% for 
AstraZeneca, 50.4% for
Sinovac, & 
79.3% for Sinopharm. 


 


However, it beats the other vaccines with an efficacy of 


over 90%, providing easier logistics, lower price, and a


 longer lasting immune response achieved through so-


called "heterogeneous boosting", and the use of
two 
different vectors, in two separate shots  


 


The RDIF has repeatedly said that Sputnik V is ready to 


help increase the efficacy of other vaccines, with an 


efficacy rate below 90%, by providing one of Sputnik 


V's shots. It's already cooperating with AstraZeneca 


to increase its efficacy from 62.1% to a higher level 


by adding a Sputnik V shot to AstraZeneca. 


 


'Easy to Produce and Convenient to Deploy'


 


With criticism of only several months ago gradually waning 


in the face of solid data, many Western scientists have 


also welcomed the new publication.


 


"The development of the Sputnik V vaccine has been 


criticised for unseemly haste, corner cutting, and an 


absence of transparency. But the outcome reported 


here is clear & the scientific principle of vaccination


 demonstrated, which means another vaccine can 


now join the fight to reduce the incidence of 


COVID-19", according to Dr Ian Jones from 


the University of Reading and Dr Polly Roy 


from the London School of Hygiene & 


Tropical Medicine, who were not


 involved in the peer review of


 the article in The Lancet.


 


Research Director at France's National Institute of Health 


and Medical research, Cecil Czerkinsky, emphasises 


Sputnik V's definite advantages, when it comes to 


logistics, as well as its formulation:-  "The interim 


results of the Phase 3 clinical trials of the Sputnik


V COVID adenovirus vector vaccine, are fairly 


impressive. This vaccine appears to be highly 


efficacious & immunogenic across age groups. 


This is, clearly, good news ---- as this dual 


formulation vaccine is comparatively easy


to manufacture - and to deploy - amid the 


anticipated global shortage of vaccines 


and logistical problems in vaccination 


rollouts of temperature-sensitive 


vaccines recently authorised 


for emergency use".


 


In Argentina – a country that has already received a 


shipment of the Russian vaccine and launched 


a successful immunisation campaign, health 


professionals praised the product's efficacy: 


 


"The paper, published in The Lancet, confirms successful 


results and provides additional information about the 


efficacy and the safety of this vaccine in different 


subgroups", says Omar Sued, the President of 


Argentina's Society of Infectologists.


 


"From the public health point of view, the efficacy of the 


vaccine was very high. The safety profile was very good. 


The dissemination of this information is vital for 


informing the scaling up and rollout of this 


vaccine worldwide".


 


"Presently, the world needs all the good vaccines that it 


can get against COVID-19", says David Livermore, a 


Professor of Medical Microbiology at the UK's 


University of East Anglia. "And these are 


impressive results: Sputnik V is the first 


adenovirus vector vaccine to achieve 


the 90% efficacy seen with the two 


mRNA vaccines".


 


In the meantime, as the number of people getting their 


shots of vaccines against coronavirus grows, US 


scientist, Hildegund C.J. Ertl, from the Wistar 


Institute's Vaccine & Immunotherapy Centre, 


highlights that Sputnik V "is 100% effective 


in preventing serious disease or death --- 


which, in the end, is the most crucial 


parameter; we can all deal with the 


sniffles, as long as we stay out of


 the hospital or the graveyard".


 


"Even after a single dose, of this prime-boost regimen, 


protection against disease was at 87.6%. Sputnik V is 


thus, more effective than the AZ or J&J.  Sputnik V, 


which, unlike the equally efficacious RNA vaccines


 of Pfizer and Moderna, can be stored in the fridge, 


will be of tremendous value to combat the global 


COVID19 pandemic".


 


Expanding Reach


 


Sputnik V was developed in May of 2020 by the Russian 


Health Ministry's Gamaleya National Research Centre 


for Epidemiology and Microbiology. The vaccine was 


designed, using a well-known and reliable human 


adenoviral platform, and it's also one of the least 


expensive in the world, with a price of $10 per 


shot. At the end of last year, the product 


received approval for use in a full-scale 


domestic vaccination campaign in 


Russia that began in December 


2020 and is completely free 


for Russian citizens.


 


According to the RDIF, Sputnik V has been registered in 


16 countries. It's expected that within the next few days 


shots of the Russian vaccine will be administered to 


people in:  


 


Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Palestinian Authority, 


UAE, Paraguay, Hungary, Armenia, Algeria, Bosnian 


Serb Republic, Venezuela, and Iran. 


 


More than 50 nations have requested 1.2 billion doses of 


Sputnik V, with the RDIF's partners in India, Brazil, China, 


South Korea, and other countries, preparing to produce 


the vaccine for the global market.






 


______________________________



WHO warns pregnant women 

NOT to take Moderna 

Covid-19 vaccine

January 26th (RT)

 

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued new 

guidance on the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, including 

worrying advice that pregnant women should not get 

the jab unless they are at high risk of exposure.

 

The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on 

Immunization issued a series of recommendations on the 

Moderna vaccine Tuesday, advising that pregnant women 

should not take the shot, unless they are health workers 

or at particularly high risk of exposure.

 

“While pregnancy puts women at a higher risk of severe 

COVID-19, the use of this vaccine in pregnant women is 

currently not recommended,” SAGE wrote.

 

WHO director of immunisation Kate O'Brien said that clinical trials 

of the Moderna vaccine were needed on pregnant women.

 

The report also stressed that the vaccine should be administered

 in two doses with an interval of 28 days between each shot, with

 the possibility of extending this interval up to 42 days,

 if necessary. 

 

The SAGE report also emphasised the need for the vaccine to be

 administered in facilities where treatments for allergic reactions

 are readily available. The group of experts issued guidance on 

the rival Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine several weeks ago.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US and the

 Independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said 

that there was insufficient evidence to suggest the Moderna and 

Pfizer vaccines were suitable or not for pregnant women, as 

neither contains the virus itself and they therefore cannot 

cause Covid-19 but insufficient data was available to

 make a call. 

 

The latest guidance from Public Health England supports this 

position, stating that, “The early Covid-19 vaccines do not 

contain organisms that can multiply in the body, so they 

cannot infect an unborn baby in the womb.”

 

 

 

____________________________________


 


 



People in English-Speaking Countries, 


Scandinavia, Get Drunk Most Often,


 Global Survey Finds


25.01.2021  (Sputnik) 


 


 


 The 2020 edition of the Global Drug Survey has found that 


residents in English-speaking countries and Northern 


Europe drink to intoxication more often than in any 


other region of the world.


 


"Based on data from > 90,000 people who drink, respondents 


to GDS from predominately English-speaking countries and 


Scandinavia, get drunk more times per year than in any 


other country," the report's executive summary read.


 


The survey defined drunkenness as “having drunk so much


 that your physical and mental faculties are impaired to the 


point where your balance / speech was affected, you
were 
unable to focus clearly on things and that
your 
conversation and behaviours were
very 
obviously different to people
who 
know you.”


 


UK residents top the list with 34 episodes of intoxication 


per year, or almost every 10 days. Next come Australia 


and Denmark with 32 episodes, and Finland with 


28 episodes.


 


The least frequent drunk drinkers reside in South America 


— people in Argentina and Colombia get intoxicated fewer 


than seven times per year, according to the findings.


 


The global average is 21 episodes of intoxication per year. 


Men aged 25 and younger get drunk most frequently (28 


times per year), while women aged 25 and older, get 


drunk the rarest (12 times per year). Regrets about 


excessive consumption are common among
33%
 of respondents, the poll found.


 


One in 30 women younger than 25 seeks emergency medical 


treatment from intoxication, which is almost three times
more 
than among men and women aged 25 and older.


 


The survey was conducted in 25 countries from November 7th
to December 30th 2019 --- before the COVID-19 pandemic.


 






______________________________________________






 
Israel’s Coronavirus Chief Says 
1st Dose of Pfizer’s Vaccine 
Less 
Effective Than 
Company Presented 

by Arty Katkov

24.01.2021 (Sputnik)





Over two million Israelis have already had their first 

Pfizer shot, while over 400,000 have had the second.




Israel’s coronavirus commissioner has criticized the 

Pfizer vaccine and warned that it may not protect 

against new strains of the virus.




During talks among Health Ministry officials ahead of 

Tuesday’s cabinet meeting on the issue of nationwide 

lockdown, Dr. Nachman Ash said that the protective 

effect of the first dose of the vaccine is “lower than 

Pfizer presented”, Army Radio reported.




Pfizer has previously claimed that trials of the vaccine it

produced with BioNTech show it is roughly 52% effective 

around 12 days after the first shot is administered and 

becomes about 95% effective ''a number of days'' after 

the second dose.




The Israeli government signed a deal with Pfizer and 

BioNTech in November for 8 million doses of their 

COVID-19 vaccine. Israeli Health Minister Yuli 

Edelstein has ordered healthcare workers to 

prepare to administer up to 250,000 daily 

injections in the coming days.




At the same time, there were some issues reported during

 the mass vaccination in Israel. Last week, media reported 

citing health ministry officials, that at least 13 Israelis have 

suffered mild facial paralysis as a side effect after getting 

the Pfizer vaccine. The report said, however, that the 

country's health ministry recommended the patients 

should go ahead with the second sot of the vaccine, 

but only if the paralysis passes.




Earlier, some 240 Israelis have been diagnosed with

 the coronavirus, days after being vaccinated.




Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases in Israel 

topped 10,000 on Tuesday morning - an all-time high 

since the pandemic began - despite lockdown 

measures and vaccination efforts.






_______________________________






Senior Doctors Attack UK Decision


 to Make People Wait 12 Weeks for 


Second Dose of COVID Vaccine


January 23rd (FNA)


 


 


Senior doctors criticized the decision to make people wait 


12 weeks for a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine in the 


UK, calling for the wait to be halved.


 


The UK is the only country to have introduced such a 


long gap, flouting a World Health Organisation (WHO) 


recommendation, the British Medical Association 


(BMA) announced, The Independent reported.


 


“What we're saying is that the UK should adopt this best 


practice based on international professional opinion,” 


Dr. Chaand Nagpaul, its council chairman, said, 


adding, “If the vaccine's efficacy is reduced....


then, of course, the risk is, that we will see 


those who are exposed maximally to 


the virus, may get infected.”


 


It emerged on Friday that the Sage advisory group
had 
raised a possible risk of triggering a “vaccine-


resistant mutation”, by delaying second doses.


 


However, both the chief medical officer and the chief 


scientific adviser, have backed the decision to rip up 


the original promise of a second Pfizer dose, after 


just three weeks.


 


Chris Whitty, the medical officer, stated it was a "public 


health decision" that would allow "many more people 


to be vaccinated much more quickly".


 


And Patrick Vallance, the scientific adviser, told the 


Downing Street press conference, “The most risky


 thing in terms of new mutations is to have very 


high prevalence.”


 


But the WHO recommended a gap of 4 weeks 


between doses ---  to be extended, only in 


exceptional circumstances, to 6 weeks.


 


Pfizer has announced it has tested the level of protection 


given by its vaccine, only when the two doses are given 


up to 21 days apart.


 


Nagpaul said he understood the “rationale” behind the 


decision to delay the second dose to 12 weeks, but 


argued it was “difficult to justify”.


 


“Most nations in the world are facing challenges similar 


to the UK in having limited vaccine supply and also 


wanting to protect their population maximally,” 


he told BBC Breakfast time show.


 


“No other nation has adopted the UK's approach. We think 


the flexibility the WHO offers, of extending to 42 days,


 is being stretched far too much to go from 6 weeks


 right through to 12 weeks," Nagpaul continued, 


adding, “I do understand the trade-off and the


 rationale but if that was the right thing to
do, 
then we would see other nations


 following suit.”


 


There is no similar concern over the 12-week wait for
second dose of the Oxford-Astra-Zeneca vaccine, 


which is being made in the UK.


 


Its trials provided greater confidence that the first dose 


can continue to provide protection for at least a few 


months before the booster shot.


 


The researchers found it delivered 64.1 percent protection, 


compared with 70.4 percent after two full doses and – in a 


baffling result – 90 percent in people who received one 


half dose, followed by one full dose.


 


 


_____________________________



Hacked emails allegedly detail 

how EU drug regulator was 

pressured to approve Pfizer 

jab despite ‘problems’ 

January 18th (RT)

 

 

An alleged cache of email exchanges between EU officials 

and the European Medicines Agency show that the drug 

regulator was uncomfortable about fast-tracking 

approval for the Pfizer and Moderna Covid jabs, 

Le Monde has reported.

 

The EMA has claimed that the contents of the messages, 

which were obtained by hackers and published on the 

dark web, were tampered with in order to undermine 

confidence in the drugs, without providing further 

details. However, the agency acknowledged to the 

French newspaper that the correspondences 

reflect “issues and discussions” that took 

place in the lead-up to the decision to 

grant approval to the vaccines. The 

agency said it can’t specify which 

documents are genuine. 

 

Some of the “discussions” appear to have been less than 

congenial. For example, in a document dated November 

19th, a senior EMA official described a “rather tense, 

sometimes even a little unpleasant” conference 

call with the European Commission regarding 

the review process for the drugs. The official 

said he felt there was a clear “expectation” 

that the vaccines would be approved. A 

day later, the same individual had an 

exchange with the Danish Medicines 

Agency --- in which he expressed his

surprise that Ursula von der Leyen, 

the president of the European 

Commission, had announced

that the Moderna and Pfizer 

jabs could receive the green

light before the end of 

the year. 

 

“There are still problems with both,” the unnamed 

EMA official noted in the leaked correspondence. 

 

According to Le Monde, the hacked documents primarily 

detail issues that the EMA had with the Pfizer/BioNTech 

drug. The regulator apparently had three “major issues” 

with the vaccine: certain manufacturing sites used for 

its production had not yet been inspected, data on 

batches produced for commercial use were still 

missing, and, most importantly, available data 

revealed qualitative differences between the 

commercial batches and those used during 

clinical trials. 

 

The EMA expressed particular concern about the last point, 

noting that mass production had decreased the purity of 

the RNA contained in the vaccine. The Pfizer jab uses a 

mRNA strand, a sequence of molecules that tell cells 

what to ‘build’ in order to produce a disease-

specific antigen.   

 

The EU drug regulator signaled that it was worried that less 

rigorous manufacturing methods would make the vaccine 

less effective and safe. However, Pfizer appears to have 

agreed to make the necessary adjustments, in order to 

meet the EMA’s standards. 

 

Despite its hesitancy, it appears the EMA understood that it

 was under a clear deadline. In an email exchange between 

colleagues at the agency, one employee said the EMA needs

 to “accelerate the process to align [with other agencies],” 

and risks facing “questions and criticisms” from Brussels, 

the media - and the general public -  if it did not fast-track 

approval. 

 

The Pfizer jab was granted approval by the EU on December 

21, while the Moderna variant was given the go-ahead earlier

 this month. Since then, numerous reports have emerged of 

both drugs being linked to adverse effects in countries 

around the world, prompting investigations by health 

authorities. 

 

Like this story? Share it with a friend!

 

 

 

_______________________________

 




 

Woman who suffered convulsions 

after taking Pfizer Covid jab being 

screened for permanent neuro-

logical damage, son tells RT

January 18th  (RT)

 

 

After a video of his mother’s condition went viral, the 

son of a woman who was hospitalized after receiving 

Pfizer’s Covid jab told RT that, even though he was 

not an anti-vaxxer, he had serious doubts about 

the drug’s safety.

 

Brant Griner issued an appeal on Facebook last week,

 after his mother began experiencing serious medical 

issues... several days after taking the vaccine. In a
now
-viral post, Griner shared a video of his mother 

shaking uncontrollably, as she attempted to walk,
using nearby walls and a door to 
support herself
as she inched forward. 

 

“Mom is getting even worse today and I still don’t have 

any answers from doctors as to how to fix this. Please 

pray for her. I can’t stand to see my mom this way. It 

makes me want to cry. knowing I can’t do anything 

to help her. Please don’t take the covid19 vaccine,”

 he wrote. 

 

The message and accompanying video has been 

shared nearly 160,000 times, and has racked up 

more than 35,000 comments. 

 

Some replies questioned the truthfulness of Griner’s story, 

but he told RT, in an interview, that there was nothing 

fictitious about what had happened to his mother. 

He stressed that she had been eager to take the

vaccine because she had wanted to do every-

thing she could, to lessen the chance of 

spreading the virus to her own elderly 

parents. Griner declined to disclose at 

which hospital his mother received the 

vaccine, explaining that he didn’t want 

the facility to become the target of an 

online harassment campaign. 

 

“I’m not in any way shape or form an anti-vaxx person. 

My mom wasn’t – she was all for the vaccine before 

this happened,” he said. 

 

Griner described his mother as a “very healthy” 45-year

-old who had never before suffered from any kind of 

serious disease or health condition. According to 

the Louisiana resident, she woke up with a 

headache a day after receiving the shot. 

Several days later, she began suffering 

from “seizure-like movements” in her 

left leg. By the fourth day, she had 

“no control” over her legs, & was

rushed to the emergency room. 

 

The hospital determined that she was experiencing a 

“neurological reaction,” he said, adding that doctors 

believe the medical condition was caused by “the 

metals in the vaccine.”

 

Although the headaches have been a daily occurrence, 

the convulsions have been sporadic, Griner explained. 

Sunday was the first day she had not experienced a 

headache, and her uncontrollable leg movements 

also seemed to be less severe, he said. 

 

Now discharged from the hospital, Griner’s mother is 

undergoing tests and her doctors are hopeful that 

she will make a full recovery, provided there is 

no permanent brain damage. 

 

Although he has been smeared, by some, as peddling 

disinformation, Griner insists he initially had nothing 

against the jab. “I wanted it to be good. My mom 

wanted it to be good. That’s the reason she got 

it. Everybody wants their immunity. Everybody’s 

ready for Covid to go away,” he said. Now, 

however, he seems less sure about 

being inoculated himself. 

 

If it’s going to cause reactions like what it 

caused to my mom, it’s not worth it to me.

 

Since posting the video of his mother, Griner says he 

has received messages from “hundreds” of people 

sharing their stories, about vaccines triggering 

serious medical episodes. One woman who 

contacted him said she was experiencing 

“continuous” health issues, after 

receiving the Moderna
Covid shot. 

 

In a follow-up video posted by Griner on Saturday, his 

mother explained that she opted to have the jab to 

“protect her parents” and that, so far, MRI scans 

and blood tests have not revealed any 

underlying condition that might have 

prompted the adverse reaction.

 

 

“Before you take this vaccine, please think. It has 

definitely changed my life,” she said in the video, 

as she held back tears. 

 

Pfizer said in a statement to RT that it was “researching”

 the case, but has so far been unable to “confirm” it. 

“Neuromuscular disorders have not been a safety 

signal identified to date,” a representative of the 

pharmaceutical firm said. 

 

Like this story? Share it with a friend!




 

______________________________







Second Dose in Doubt After
Pfizer Vaccine Reportedly 


Leaves Dozen of Israelis 


With Facial Paralysis


17.01.2021 (Sputnik) 


 


 At least 13 Israelis have suffered mild facial paralysis 


as a side effect, after getting the Pfizer vaccine,
media 
reported, citing health ministry officials.


 


According to Israeli news site Ynet, doctors estimate 


that the number of similar cases could be higher 


and are questioning if they should administer 


the second dose of the vaccine to those 


who suffered facial paralysis.


 


However, the country's health ministry recommends 


they should go ahead, but only if the paralysis 


passes, the report says.


 


The Israeli government signed a deal with Pfizer and 


BioNTech in November for 8 million doses of their 


COVID-19 vaccine. More than 20% of Israel's 9 


million citizens has so far received the first 


vaccine dose since the rollout began. At 


least two elderly people with chronic 


underlying conditions died after 


being inoculated.


 


Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Epoch Times reported -- citing 


the data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System 


(VAERS) -- that 55 people in the United States have died 


after receiving Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines. 


In some cases, patients passed away, just hours 


after being injected.


 


The media outlet reported around 96 life-threatening cases
f
ollowing COVID-19 vaccinations, as well as 24 permanent 


disabilities, 225 hospitalisations, and 1,388 emergency 


room visits, in the US.



 


_____________________________________




Belgian Resident Dies 5 Days 


After Receiving Pfizer 


COVID-19 Vaccine


15.01.2021  (Sputnik) 





A resident of Belgium has died five days after receiving
Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine against COVID-19, the 


Federal Agency for Medicines and Health 


Products (FAMHP) said in a statement, 


adding that an investigation has 


been launched.






"On 14 January 2021 … the FAMHP was informed of the 


death of an 82-year-old with health problems, five days 


after vaccination. The case will be further investigated 


to determine whether there is a causal link between 


vaccination and the individual's death", the agency 


said in a statement on Thursday.






An investigation is also ongoing in Norway after 23 people 


died after being inoculated with Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine 


against the disease, the Norwegian Medicines Agency 


said, on Thursday.






Several European countries, including the Netherlands and 


Bulgaria, have reported instances of individuals suffering 


adverse side effects, such as swelling around the eyes 


and rashes, after receiving Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine


 against the coronavirus disease.






European Union member states launched their mass 


vaccination campaign, using the US-German vaccine,


 in late December.









________________________________







 About 100 people 
Report Side effects 
After Pfizer
Vaccine Shots in 
Netherlands,
Reports Suggest

15.01.2021  (Sputnik) 

 

About 100 people in the Netherlands reported developing 

side effects after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine developed 

by Pfizer/BioNTech, the NOS broadcaster reported on 

Friday, citing pharmacovigilance centre Lareb.

 

Lareb director Agnes Kant told NOS that severe allergic 

reactions to the Pfizer shot were identified in two cases 

in the Netherlands.

 

"These people had symptoms such as rashes and swelling 

around the eyes. They received treatment and recovered 

quickly," Kant said.

 

The health expert added that other cases of side effects are 

more usual for the post-vaccination period and include 

headache, fatigue and pain at the injection spot. 


According to Kant, such side effects are logical 

consequences of the vaccination, as shots 

activate the immune system.

 

"We thought that 20 to 25 reports [of side effects] would occur 

for every 10,000 vaccinations, so this is in line with our 

assumptions. But not all cases of side effects are 

reported to us," Kant added.

 

The Netherlands launched its vaccination campaign on 

January 6th, with medical workers being the priority 

group to receive the vaccine. According to the

 latest data, approximately 47,000 people 

have received the shots.

 

A number of counties have shared data on the side effects 

of Pfizer’s vaccine. The Norwegian Medicines Agency said 

on Thursday that specialists are investigating the deaths 

of 23 people, who died after being vaccinated with the 

Pfizer vaccine.

 

Moreover, the Israeli Health Ministry said in late December 

that one in 1,000 vaccinated Israelis developed mild side 

effects from the vaccine --- while Bulgaria reported four 

side effect cases, after inoculating nearly 5,000 people.





_____________________________




Norway Links 13 Deaths to 

Pfizer Vaccine’s Side Effects

January 15th  (Sputnik)

 

4 days before New Year’s Eve, inoculation with 

the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine began in Norway. 

 

Since Svein Andersen (67) at Ellingsrudhjemmet 

elderly home became the first Norwegian to take 

the jab, over 33,000 Norwegians have received 

the vaccine in the subsequent weeks.

 

It was announced in advance that the vaccine may 

cause side effects of varying severity, and now the 

Norwegian Medicines Agency has mapped which 

ones have occurred in the country. A total of 29 

side effects were reported, yet with an 

alarming share of deaths.

 

“Of these, there are 13 deaths, nine serious side effects 

and seven less serious side effects”, medical director 

of the Norwegian Medicines Agency Steinar Madsen 

told national broadcaster NRK.

 

A total of 23 deaths have been reported by the Norwegian 

Medicines Agency, in connection with the vaccination. 

However, only 13 of these have been assessed so far.

 

All surveyed deaths have occurred among frail, elderly 

patients in nursing homes. All of the dead are over 80 

years old and some of them are even over 90.

 

“It seems that some of these patients get such severe side 

effects in the form of fever and malaise, that it can lead to 

a very serious illness even a more serious one, which 

may lead to death”, Madsen said.

 

At the same time, Madsen emphasised that these cases 

are rare and that many thousands of frail people have 

been vaccinated, without a fatal outcome. “Frail” 

means patients with advanced heart conditions, 

dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary 

disease and other serious diseases.

 

Madsen said his authority is not worried about

 the extent of side effects confirmed so far.

 

“We are not alarmed by this. It is quite clear that these 

vaccines have very little risk, with a small exception 

for the most frail patients”, Madsen said.

 

The nine patients who have had serious side effects 

complained of allergic reactions, strong malaise 

and severe fever. The seven less serious side 

effects included severe pain at the

 injection site.

 

Still, the Norwegian Medicines Agency cautioned 

the authorities to carefully consider the order 

of vaccination.

 

“Doctors must now carefully consider who should be 

vaccinated. Those who are very frail and at the very 

end of life, can be vaccinated after an individual 

assessment”, Madsen said.

 

This is in line with the recommendations released by the 

Norwegian Institute of Public Health, earlier this week.

 

Previously, six people died during the Pfizer/BioNTech 

vaccine trials, but only two of them were actually 

given the vaccine. The other four were given a 

safe placebo solution of salt and water.

 

As of today, Pfizer and Pfizer and the Centres for Disease 

Control and Prevention (CDC) are looking into the death 

of a doctor who died after taking the jab. The 56-year-

old doctor at Miami’s Mount Sinai Medical Centre 

died 16 days after receiving the vaccine, 

developing a rare blood disorder.

 

Norway has seen over 57,000 cases 

of Covid-19 and over 500 deaths.

 

 

______________________________






 


UK nurse catches COVID-19


 three weeks after getting 


Pfizer vaccine


January 10th (Press TV)


 


 


A British nurse has caught COVID-19 three weeks 


after getting the vaccine, prompting experts to 


issue warnings that it would take time for


 immunity to build up.


 


The nurse, who has been working for the Hywel Dda 


University Health Board area in west Wales, said that


 she got the virus while waiting for the second dose 


of the Pfizer-BioNtech jab, which was first rolled 


out in the UK last month.


 


She said she was “angry and heartbroken” 


about catching the fatal disease at this stage.


 


"It gave me peace of mind. It made me feel safer and


 that I was doing the right thing for my family... but it 


gives a false sense of security," she said.


 


The nurse, who asked not to be identified, said she 


was told it would take 10 days for the vaccine to 


offer some protection, however, she started 


feeling unwell three weeks later.


 


She said she had "quite severe symptoms" of a bad 


cough, high temperature and breathlessness, and 


that she was shocked when she tested positive.


 


Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Executive of Hywel Dda 


health board, Dr Philip Kloer, said that, although 


a COVID vaccine “reduces your chance of 


suffering” from the virus, no vaccine is 


ever 100% effectual.


 


On Friday, the Welsh First Minister warned people 


receiving the vaccine to “continue to act in a 


precautionary way.”


 


Professor Tim Spector, who heads up the ZOE Symptom 


Tracker App study, has also said that some junior NHS 


staff members have contracted the virus after getting


 the shot.


 


"We are getting reports of reinfections, some soon after 


vaccination, "I'm a junior doctor and have had Covid 


twice: the last one five days post vaccination..."',
he 
wrote on Twitter.


 


"Remember vaccinations take several weeks to have 


a preventive effect so keep alert and keep logging!"


 


This comes after a 56-year-old American doctor in South Florida 


died two weeks after getting a first dose of a Pfizer vaccine.


 


Two weeks after getting a first dose of a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, 


a 56-year-old American doctor in South Florida has died, the US 


media have reported.


 


Dr. Gregory Michael, a Miami-Beach obstetrician, was in good 


health, the Sun-Sentinel reported. He received his first dose 


of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on December 18 at Mount 


Sinai Medical Center.


 


However, small spots began to appear on his feet and hands 


after three days and he went to the emergency room at 


Mount Sinai, where he had worked in private practice


 for 15 years.


 


Michael’s blood count was far below normal ranges, and he 


was admitted to the intensive care unit. Doctors tried for


 two weeks but could not raise his platelet count.


 


The doctor was “conscious and energetic” through the 


process, but just days before a last resort surgery, he 


suffered a stroke and died.


 


Health officials from Florida and the Centers from Disease 


Control and Prevention (CDC) are investigating whether 


the vaccine played a role in his death, which possibly


 is the country's first death linked to the vaccine.


 


Also, a California nurse tested positive for the coronavirus 


more than a week after receiving Pfizer vaccine.


 


Matthew W., 45, who works at two different local hospitals, 


said in a Facebook post on December 18 that he had 


received the vaccine.


 


He told the ABC News affiliate that except for his arm, that 


was sore for a day, he had suffered no other side-effects.


 


However, six days later on Christmas Eve, he got sick after 


working a shift in the COVID-19 unit. He got the chills and


 later came down with muscle aches and fatigue.


 


He then went for a test, to find that he was infected 


with the COVID-19 virus, the day after Christmas.


 


 


________________________________________





Killer vaccine? 'Healthy' South Florida 

doctor died 2 weeks after receiving 

COVID-19 vaccine

January 8th, (Press Tv)

 

A 56-year-old doctor passed away this week, two weeks 

after getting his first dose of a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine,

 the Sun-Sentinel reported.

 

Two weeks after getting a first dose of a Pfizer COVID-19 

vaccine, a 56-year-old American doctor in South Florida 

has died, the US media have reported.

 

Dr. Gregory Michael, a Miami-Beach obstetrician, was in 

good health, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

 

Health officials from Florida and the Centers from Disease 

Control and Prevention (CDC) are investigating whether 

the vaccine played a role in his death, which possibly 

is the country's first death linked to the vaccine.

 

The doctor received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech 

vaccine on December 18 at Mount Sinai Medical Center, 

according to his wife, Heidi Neckelmann.

 

Small spots began to appear on his feet and hands after 

three days and he went to the emergency room at Mount 

Sinai, where he has worked in private practice for 15 

years, according to reports.

 

According to his wife, Michael’s blood count was far 

below normal ranges, and he was admitted to the 

intensive care unit.

 

Doctors tried for two weeks but could not raise Michael’s 

platelet count. “Experts from all over the country were 

involved in his care,” she wrote. “No matter what 

they did, the platelets count refused to go up.”

 

Michael was “conscious and energetic” through the process, 

but just days before a last resort surgery, he suffered a 

stroke and died.

 

Michael's wife said that he spent the pandemic delivering 

hundreds of babies and was a COVID-19 vaccine advocate.

 

Iran cancels import of US' Pfizer COVID-19 

vaccines after Leader bans it

 

The Iranian Red Crescent Society announced the news in 

the wake of a national address by Ayatollah Khamenei.

 

On Friday, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said the 

import of American Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines had been 

cancelled after Leader of the Islamic Revolution 

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei banned the 

purchase of coronavirus vaccines 

produced by the US & UK.

 

“The import of 150,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine 

[developed by] Pfizer Inc from the United States to the 

country by the Iranian Red Crescent Society is 

cancelled,” the IRCS spokesman Mohammad 

Hassan Qosian Moqaddam told IRNA 

on Friday.

 

US COVID-19 vaccines more dangerous

 than the virus: Professor

 

US COVID-19 vaccines are more dangerous than the virus 

itself, because they have not been tested properly, says 

E Michael Jones, an American writer and former professor.

 

In an interview with Press TV, Professor Jones said, “The 

people in America, right now, are afraid of the vaccines.

 

 

_____________________________________________






Investigation launched as 2 people die

 in Norway nursing home... days after 

receiving Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine

5th of January, 2021 at 8:45pm (RT)





The Norwegian Medicines Agency has announced that 

two nursing home residents passed away, days after 

receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, 

and that an investigation has been launched 

into the deaths.




“We have to assess whether the vaccine is the cause of 

death, or if it is a coincidence that it happened soon 

after vaccination,” Medical Director Steiner 

Madsen said, in a statement about 

the deaths. 




He also noted that, because people of advanced age are 

receiving the vaccine first, it is entirely possible the 

deaths could be coincidental. Around 400 people 

die every week in Norwegian nursing homes. 




The agency, along with the National Institute 

of Public Health, are looking into the deaths.




Reported side effects from the vaccine have been minor 

and temporary, although there have been reports of 

allergic reactions in the US and UK among people 

who had a history of such. 




Numerous government officials have received the 

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, including US Vice 

President Mike Pence. Vaccinations with 

the drug began in Norway on 

December 27th.





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_________________________________






Family of Mexican Doctor Paralysed 

After Pfizer Shot Calls for Additional 

Vaccine Studies

 05.01.2021 (Sputnik) 




 Carlos Palestino, the brother-in-law of Mexican doctor 

Karla Cecilia Perez, paralysed hours after receiving 

Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, has told Sputnik 

that the vaccine should be exposed to additional 

testing to find out whether it can cause such 

severe side effects.




The Mexican Health Ministry said that it started the research 

on the incident, saying that Perez had been diagnosed with

 encephalomyelitis (inflammation of the brain and spinal 

cord). Before the inoculation, Perez experienced an 

allergic reaction to antibiotics called trimethoprim 

and sulfamethoxazole that can cause similar 

severe adverse reactions.




"We are not insisting that it was caused by the vaccine... 

However, it is necessary to clarify whether it is connected

 to the inoculation with the vaccine. We are not arguing 

that it was the reason. There should be a research to 

confirm it", Palestino said.




Perez's brother-in-law stressed that the doctor's relatives 

had decided to draw the attention of the media to the 

incident, not to discourage people from vaccination, 

but to make sure that Perez would be cured 

adequately and this case would be studied 

to prevent further incidents.




"The main goal is to care for the health of my sister-in-law, 

to make sure that she will have no complications. Since it

 is a new case, no one is able to determine its nature. 

That's why it's necessary to disseminate [information]", 

Palestino said, adding that Perez's relatives did not 

support "the anti-vaccination movement" and did 

not have "any political or economic interest" in 

boosting publicity around the case.




On 30 December Perez was paralysed several hours after 

being inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine developed 

by US-based Pfizer and German BioNTech 

pharmaceutical companies.




Earlier that month, the US Centres for Disease Control and 

Prevention reported on 4 cases of partial facial paralysis

 experienced by the recipients of the Pfizer vaccine.






__________________________________








'Alarming' number of US 

health care workers, are

refusing COVID-19 vaccine

by Kenneth Garger

(New York Times)




US health care workers are first in line to receive 

the COVID-19 vaccine - but an alarming number 

across the country are refusing to do so. 




Earlier this week, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine disclosed 

that about 60 percent of the nursing home workers

in his state have so far chosen not to get vaccinated. 




More than half of New York City’s EMS workers have 

shown skepticism, The Post reported last month.




And now California and Texas are experiencing 

a high rate of health care worker refusals, 

according to reports.




An estimated 50 percent of front-line workers in Riverside 

County in the Golden State opted against the drug, the 

Los Angeles Times reported, citing public 

health officials. 




More than half of the hospital workers at California’s St. 

Elizabeth Community Hospital who were eligible to

 receive the vaccine, did not, the newspaper. 




And in the Lone Star State, a doctor at Houston Memorial 

Medical Center told NPR earlier this month, that half the 

nurses in the facility would not get the vaccine, citing 

political reasons. 




The excuse shared by the Texas nurses was echoed in a 

recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey that found 29%

 of health workers were “vaccine hesitant,” the 

Times reported. 




Majority of Ohio nursing home workers

 not taking COVID-19 vaccine




Survey respondents leaning against taking the vaccine 

said, among other reasons, that they were concerned 

how politics influenced the development of the 

vaccine, the newspaper reported. 




A nurse at a California hospital, who chose to not take

 the vaccine, because she is pregnant, said her co-

workers who chose the same path as she,
believe
 that they don’t need the vaccine
to make it through
 the pandemic. 




“I feel people think, ‘I can still make it until this ends, 

without getting the vaccine,’” April Lu, a 31-year-old 

nurse at Providence Holy Cross Medical Centre, 

told the Times. 




A high percentage of vaccine refusal among not just 

health care workers, but the general population, 

could be problematic, Harvard epidemiologist 

Marc Lipsitch told the newspaper. 




“Our ability as a society to get back to a higher level 

of functioning depends on having as many people 

protected as possible,” said Lipsitch.






_______________________________






Boston doctor says he almost had to be 

INTUBATED after suffering severe allergic 

reaction from Moderna Covid vaccine

26th of December, 2020 (RT)





A physician in Boston said he suffered one of the worst allergic 

reactions he’s ever experienced after receiving Moderna’s 

Covid-19 jab, following a string of similar cases resulting 

from Pfizer’s vaccine.




Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh, a hematology oncology fellow at Boston 

Medical Center, was given the drug on Christmas Eve. The health 

care worker, who has a severe shellfish allergy, said his heart 

began to race after taking the vaccine. Initially, he thought his

 increased heart rate was due to anxiety he had about the jab, 

stemming from reports of serious medical episodes 

occurring after people with allergies were injected

with Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.  




However, he soon realized that he was suffering from something 

far more dangerous. Within minutes, Sadrzadeh’s tongue and 

throat began to tingle and go numb, a reaction that he 

associated with his shellfish allergy. Even more 

concerning, his blood pressure then dipped 

so low that it wasn’t even detectable with 

a monitor. 





Luckily, the doctor had brought his own EpiPen, which he 

administered on himself before hospital staff rushed him

to the emergency room. He was given several medications, 

including steroids and Benadryl. A record of his hospital 

visit stated that he was admitted to the ER for “shortness 

of breath, dizziness, palpitations and numbness after 

receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.”




By Friday morning, he said that he was feeling normal. But 

the doctor seemed to suggest that the episode could have 

been far more harrowing had he not come prepared for 

the worst. 




“I feel that if I did not have my EpiPen with me, I would be

intubated right now, because it was that severe,” he said, 

adding that it was the worst allergic reaction he had 

experienced since he was 11 years old. 




The physician said he now recommends that people with 

allergies receive the vaccine in a hospital setting, instead 

of getting it from a clinic or local provider. 




“I knew the symptoms. I had the experience. I was a physician,

 and I was scared to death. Imagine someone who does not 

have the information,” he noted. Sadrzadeh has offered 

Moderna a blood sample in an effort to help the firm 

identify what ingredient in the vaccine may have

 triggered the allergic reaction.




“I really don’t want anybody to go and experience 

this and go through this event that I had,” he said.




The concerning case is the first of its kind to be linked to the 

Moderna jab. Officials with the Food and Drug Administration 

and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are 

investigating at least six cases of severe allergic 

reactions occurring in people who took the 

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. However, it is still 

being determined whether an ingredient 

in the vaccine is responsible for the

 health episodes.




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Image: super ghonerhea



Overuse of antibiotics amid Covid-19 crisis 

could drive surge in ‘untreatable SUPER 

GONORRHEA’, health experts warn

23rd December, 2020 (RT)

 

The excessive use of antibiotics during the Covid-19 pandemic 

could be fueling a spike in a highly drug-resistant STI – “super

 gonorrhea” – the World Health Organization has warned amid

 a recent uptick in the disease.

 

While no antibiotic has been found to be effective in fighting off 

the coronavirus, the drugs were heavily administered in the 

early stages of the pandemic, with one Cambridge study 

showing that more than 70 percent of Covid-19 patients

 in the US received them between March and April. 

 

Though they are also used to prevent “co-infections” in hospital

 settings, the researchers found the drugs were still overused,

 reporting a “significant mismatch” between bacterial co-

infections and patients receiving antibiotics.

 

The over-reliance on the medications risks unleashing a new wave 

of antibiotic-resistant infections, such as “super gonorrhea” – a 

more hardy and drug-resilient version of the sexually-transmitted

 infection (STI) – a World Health Organization spokesperson told

 the Sun.

 

“Overuse of antibiotics in the community, can fuel the emergence 

of antimicrobial resistance in gonorrhea,” the WHO representative 

said, adding that Azithromycin, a common antibiotic for treating 

respiratory illnesses, was given to countless Covid-19 patients

 earlier in the health crisis.

 

Such a situation can fuel the emergence of resistance in gonorrhea

 including gonorrhea superbug (super gonorrhea) or gonorrhea 

with 'high level resistance' to current antibiotics recommended

 to treat it.

 

The spokesperson also pointed to disruptions in STI services 

during the pandemic, saying “this means more STI cases are 

not diagnosed properly with more people self-medicating as

 a result.”

 

Kevin Cox, the executive chairperson for British biotech firm 

Biotaspheric Ltd., said the 'phenomenon' could soon render 

the disease untreatable, telling the Sun that new approaches 

are “urgently” needed as those infected pass on the illness 

and “accelerate” its drug-resistance.

 

The WHO has warned elsewhere that antimicrobial resistance

 in gonorrhea has “increased rapidly in recent years” and 

“reduced options for treatment,” even prior to the 

emergence of the coronavirus on the world stage 

late last year. 

 

Though the lion’s share of the 90 million or so gonorrhea cases

 reported worldwide annually are recorded in Africa, Europe 

has also recorded an uptick in the illness, seeing a 22%

 spike between 2017 and 2018, according to the latest 

data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention

 and Control. The US experienced a smaller surge, 

about 5 percent, in the same period, official 

numbers show.

 

ALSO ON RT.COM

 

Chlamydia & gonorrhea rates in younger US women SOAR, as 

health experts raise alarm over drop in tests during pandemic

 

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_________________________________





A global team of experts
has found 10 FATAL FLAWS 

in the main test for Covid
and is demanding 
it’s urgently axed.
As they should

December 1st, 2020  (RT)




By Peter Andrews, Irish science journalist and writer based in 

London. He has a background in the life sciences, and 

graduated from the University of Glasgow with a 

degree in genetics




A peer review of the paper on which most Covid testing is based 

has comprehensively debunked the science behind it, finding 

major flaws. They conclude it’s utterly unsuitable as a means

 for diagnosis – and the fall-out is immense.




Last week, I reported on a landmark ruling from Portugal, where 

a court had ruled against a governmental health authority that 

had illegally confined four people to a hotel this summer. They 

had done so because one of the people had tested positive 

for Covid in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test – but 

the court had found the test fundamentally flawed and 

basically inadmissible. 




Now the PCR testing supremacy under which we all now live has 

received another crushing blow. A peer review from a group of 22

 international experts has found 10 “major flaws” in the main 

protocol for such tests. The report systematically dismantles

 the original study, called the Corman-Drosten paper, which 

described a protocol for applying the PCR technique to 

detecting Covid.




The Corman-Drosten paper was published on January, 23, 2020, 

just a day after being submitted, which would make any peer 

review process that took place possibly the shortest in history. 

What is important about it is that the protocol it describes is 

used in around 70 percent of Covid kits worldwide. It’s 

cheap, fast – and absolutely useless.




The 10 deadly sins




Among the fatal flaws that totally invalidate

 the PCR testing protocol are that the test:




is non-specific, due to erroneous primer design




is enormously variable




cannot discriminate between the
whole virus and viral fragments




has no positive or negative controls




has no standard operating procedure




does not seem to have been
properly peer reviewed





Oh dear. One wonders whether anything at all was correct in the

 paper. But wait – it gets worse. As has been noted previously, 

no threshold for positivity was ever identified. This is why

 labs have been running 40 cycles, almost guaranteeing 

a large number of false positives – up to 97 percent,

 according to some studies.




The cherry on top, though, is that among the authors of the 

original paper themselves, at least 4 have severe conflicts 

of interest. 2 of them are members of the editorial board 

of Eurosurveillance, the sinisterly named journal that 

published the paper. And at least three of them are 

on the payroll of the first companies to perform 

PCR testing!




Heroes we deserve




The 22 members of the consortium that has challenged this 

shoddy science deserve huge credit. The scientists, from

 Europe, the USA, and Japan, comprise senior molecular 

geneticists, biochemists, immunologists, and 

microbiologists, with many decades of 

experience between them.




They have issued a demand to Eurosurveillance to retract the 

Corman-Drosten paper, writing: “Considering the scientific 

and methodological blemishes presented here, we are 

confident that the editorial board of Eurosurveillance 

has no other choice but to retract the publication.’’ 

Talk about putting the pressure on.




It is difficult to overstate the implications of this revelation. Every 

single thing about the Covid orthodoxy relies on ‘case numbers’,

 which are largely the results of the now widespread PCR tests. 

If their results are essentially meaningless, then everything we

 are being told – and ordered to do by increasingly dictatorial 

governments – is likely to be incorrect. For instance, one of 

the authors of the review is Dr Mike Yeadon, who asserts 

that, in the UK, there is no ‘second wave’ and that the 

pandemic has been over since June. Having seen 

the PCR tests so unambiguously debunked, it is

 hard to see any evidence to the contrary. 





The house of cards collapses




Why was this paper rushed to publication in January, despite clearly 

not meeting proper standards? Why did none of the checks and 

balances that are meant to prevent bad science dictating 

public policy kick into action? And why did it take so 

long for anyone in the scientific community to 

challenge its faulty methodology? These 

questions lead to dark ruminations, 

which I will save for another day.




Even more pressing is the question of what is going to be done about

 this now. The people responsible for writing and publishing the paper 

have to be held accountable. But also, all PCR testing based on the 

Corman-Drosten protocol should be stopped with immediate effect. 

All those who are so-called current ‘Covid cases’, diagnosed based

 on that protocol, should be told they no longer have to isolate. All 

present and previous Covid deaths, cases, and ‘infection rates’ 

should be subject to a massive retroactive inquiry. And lock-

downs, shutdowns, and other restrictions should be 

urgently reviewed and relaxed.




Because this latest blow to PCR testing raises the probability that we 

are not enduring a killer virus pandemic, but a false positive pseudo-

epidemic. And one on which we are destroying our economies, 

wrecking people’s livelihoods and causing more deaths than 

Covid-19 will ever claim.




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_______________________________________________







Efficacy vs safety?
AstraZeneca
vaccine is ‘busted flush’

 IF it cannot help elderly –
but US jabs may be worse, 

UK doctor tells RT

November 26th, 2020  (RT)



AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine could be a lost cause if

 it turns out that it cannot protect the elderly against the 

disease, Malcolm Kendrick, an NHS GP, told RT. He 

warned that on the other hand, US vaccines 

could be dangerous.




“Realistically, it has got to work for the elderly, otherwise it is a

busted flush,” the Scottish doctor said, commenting on the 

recent media reports about the jab’s potential efficacy. 




Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the vaccine developed by 

the British-Swedish drug manufacturer 'might be' much 

less effective for the elderly population, than it is for 

younger people.




The reports came after the company released quite puzzling 

Phase-III clinical trials data demonstrating diverging results 

in two different groups of participants. The jab somehow 

turned out to be much more effective when a half dose 

was injected and then followed by a full dose, a 

month on.




Bloomberg suggested, citing Moncef Slaou, the head of the US 

Operation Warp Speed program, that the surprisingly 90%-

effective half-dose regimen, was injected to people of 

younger ages, while another group, which included 

the elderly, had received two full doses that 

showed only a 62%-efficiency.




If Bloomberg’s report turns out to be true, Kendrick says that 

would mean the vaccine is virtually useless, explaining that 

the younger population is “remarkably unaffected by the

 virus itself” and has an extremely low Covid-linked 

mortality rate. So, it would hardly need as strong 

protection as people of older age.




The doctor cautioned against jumping to conclusions as he said 

that any trial results published by pretty-much any vaccine 

developer nowadays should be considered “a very early 

stage efficacy testing, rather than a major trial.”




“So, all the [tests] are at very, very early stages. It is too early for 

other companies to be jumping up and saying: ‘yours does not 

work and ours does’.”




In fact, other vaccines developed by AstraZeneca’s rivals across 

the pond – Moderna and Pfizer, which also collaborates with 

Germany’s BioNTech – might pose a much greater risk than 

just a possibility of a vaccine being not as effective, 

Kendrick warned.




Both American vaccines use messenger RNA (mRNA) to combat 

the virus. That is an advanced genetic therapy that uses the 

virus’ own genetic material against it. Kendrick, however, 

warns that the technology is really new and untested, 

meaning no one really knows how it could affect 

human health, since it literally hijacks the 

cellular reproduction mechanism.




“When you are dealing with something that has never been tried 

before, the efficacy might not be so important but safety issues 

should absolutely be looked at very carefully,” he said. “We 

really do not know what these things might end up doing, 

after a prolonged period of time.”




The fact that this rivalry between the drug manufacturers could

 end up with information of vital importance to the public being

 concealed, is something that is completely out of place during 

the global pandemic, the doctor said.




“They are still playing these secret games, which is not appropriate

 right now when the world needs to feel confident that people are 

being given as much information as possible,” Kendrick said, 

while calling on the vaccine developers to “be as honest 

and open and share as much data as they possibly can.”



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Image: peace



Frank Furedi:



''Since the pandemic, anxiety about the mental health 

consequences of loneliness, have intensified. This 

tendency to interpret the act of fearing, existential 

pain, disappointment & distress, through the prism

of mental health, is best captured by the concept 

of medicalisation.The term medicalisation draws 

attention to the 'trend' towards interpreting the 

problems people encounter in their daily lives, 

as medical ones.

This means human problems 
often come with a
diagnosis. You are no longer 
shy, for example
– you suffer from social phobia. 


Energetic boys who are ''deemed'' to be too active 

and don’t pay attention to their teacher, are given 

the label Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.


 A child’s temper tantrum is now described as 

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder. Is it 

surprising that mental illness is always said 

to be on the increase?''





_________________________________________________________





 

Researchers: UK Government Justifies 

2nd National Lockdown Using Outdated 

Death Scenarios That May Be 4 Times 

Too High

November 2nd, 2020 (FNA)

 

 

The British government has used out-of-date death-scenario

modelling to illustrate the coronavirus crisis and justify a 

second national lockdown, new research showed.

 

The selection of data has not been based on the current 

reality, Carl Heneghan, the director of the Centre for 

Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford University 

said, in comments published on Monday, 

RT reported.

 

The death forecasts could be four to five times too 

high, Heneghan insists.

 

"I cannot understand why they have used this data, 

when there are far more up-to-date forecasts from 

Cambridge that they could have accessed, which 

show something very different," Heneghan added.

 

The government’s scientific advisers showed a scenario 

from Cambridge University at a Downing Street press 

conference on Saturday, and graphs suggested 

England could see 4,000 daily deaths early 

next month. But this data was based on 

different models from at least three 

weeks ago, Heneghan and Daniel 

Howdon of Leeds Institute of 

Health Sciences explained 

on Monday.

 

The Cambridge estimated projection for November 1st 

is 1,000 deaths, the experts stated.

 

The most recent research from Cambridge forecasts 

240 daily deaths for next week, while this figure 

stands at around 500 in the second half 

of November.

 

 

 








 


No Sputnik V for you!
EU insists only ‘approved’

 Covid vaccines allowed
---
after Orban says 

Hungary is in talks
with Russia & China

 October 31st, 2020 (RT news agency)

 

 

EU member states will be allowed to use only official 

EU-approved Covid-19 vaccines, Brussels said --- in 

response to remarks by Hungarian Prime Minister 

Viktor Orban that Budapest was negotiating for 

shots with Russia and China.

 

“There is no question that any vaccine that is, or could 

be, made available on the territory of the European 

Union would have to comply both with the quality 

standards that are expected for these types of 

products in the EU and follow the approval 

procedures” currently in effect, European 

Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said 

at a press conference on Friday, asked 

about Orban’s comments.

 

While not calling out Orban by name, Mamer’s comments 

came after the Hungarian PM said Budapest was talking
to 
Beijing and Moscow and hoping to have two or three 

different vaccines by early next year.

 

The first shipment of vaccines should arrive in December 

or January, and Hungary will be able to “declare victory 

over the pandemic” by next spring, Orban said on 

Friday in a radio interview.

 

It appears that Brussels will not allow Hungary to do so, 

however, as the bloc has signed agreements with 

AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, and Johnson and 

Johnson for “safe and effective vaccines” 

against the coronavirus, once they 

complete the clinical trials.

 

“We are not in negotiations with either Russian or Chinese 

companies,” Mamer added. “That is the European vaccine 

strategy. All member states have signed up to this process.”

 

Johnson & Johnson had paused its trials in mid-October, 

citing an “unexplained illness” in one of the participants. 

AstraZeneca had also halted their trials over a UK 

volunteer experiencing complications, but 

restarted them, even after a Brazilian 

volunteer died on October 20th.

 

Russia was the first in the world to register a coronavirus 

vaccine. Dubbed ‘Sputnik V’, it is based on the adenoviral 

vector platform previously studied and considered safe, 

and is currently undergoing phase-three trials. Moscow 

has applied for the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 

Emergency Use Listing program, which would allow 

accelerated approval of the vaccine for use.

 

Brussels and Washington have objected to the Russian 

vaccine, ostensibly on the grounds of safety. The US 

also appears to have leaned on governments to 

pressure them away from ‘Sputnik V’. On 

October 16th, the US embassy in Kiev 

announced that Ukraine “will NOT 

be buying Russia’s [Covid-19] 

vaccine, which has not 

passed clinical trials 

for safety!”

 

Meanwhile, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has 

expressed his distrust of Western pharmaceutical 

companies, accusing them of being “all about 

profit.” Duterte said he would seek a deal to 

buy the vaccine from China or Russia --- 

which Manila was prepared to pay for.

 

Some 2,000 doses of the Russian vaccine were sent to 

Venezuela in early October, after the authorities in 

Caracas asked for help due to US & EU sanctions 

ravaging the country’s healthcare system. 

 

The virus, which was first detected in China in December 

2019, quickly spread around the world, with the WHO 

declaring a pandemic in March. Almost 45.5 million 

people have been infected so far, with 1.18 million 

deaths attributed to the virus. Much of Europe 

and the US have locked down in an effort to 

slow the spread, with disastrous economic 

consequences.

 

The EU’s Mamer did acknowledge that “at some point” 

vaccines produced outside the bloc “may” be 

considered for distribution, but declined 

to elaborate.

 

ALSO ON RT.COM

Are Western attacks on the Russian Covid-19 

vaccine a corporate cold war against humanity?

 

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_____________________________________







Maduro says Venezuelan scientists
developed medicine 
that ‘cancels
100% of Covid-19’ --- with no
side-effects

October 26th, 2020 (Source - RT)





Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says his country has

designed “a highly effective antiviral”, which decimates 

coronavirus --- without any side effects. The drug will 

be presented to the WHO for certification, he added.




"I want to say that Venezuela has developed a medicine 

that annihilates 100% of the coronavirus," Maduro said 

on Sunday, describing it as a “highly effective antiviral.”




It was designed by the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific 

Research (IVIC), which has been working on a cure for 

the virus for the past six months, he noted.




The medicine is based on a molecule called TR-10, 

which was isolated and, when pitted against the 

virus, proved its absolute effectiveness, 

he claimed.




Maduro said the study has already been reviewed by 

experts and scientists, and will be presented to the 

World Health Organization (WHO) so that it can 

certify its findings. 




As he touted the potential breakthrough in Covid-19 therapy, 

Maduro said Venezuela looks forward “to offering this 

treatment to the world,” congratulating the IVIC on 

“this great contribution to humanity.” Mass 

production of the drug will be facilitated 

through “international alliances,” he 

said, without elaborating.




The newly-developed drug is completely safe, the institute 

claimed, insisting it “does not affect healthy molecules in 

the body” and does not result in any side effects. 




The studies were conducted on virus cells isolated from 

Venezuelan coronavirus patients, Gabriela Jiménez, the 

minister of science and technology, said.




The molecule is an ursolic acid derivative, which “has 

shown 100 percent inhibition of virus replication in 

vitro [outside of a living organism],” she said, as 

cited by EFE News Agency.




Earlier this month, Venezuela became the first Latin 

American nation to receive Russia’s Sputnik V 

Covid-19 vaccine. Around 2,000 people are 

expected to be immunized in Venezuela 

as part of the phase III trial. It was 

registered in Russia in August 

--- making it the world’s first 

registered Covid-19 vaccine.




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___________________________________________












Brazilian Volunteer in Clinical Trials
of Oxford 
Anti-Covid Vaccine
Dies, Health Authority Says

17:13 GMT 21.10.2020 (Sputnik News Agency)





It's not clear yet whether the late participant 

was receiving the vaccine...  or a placebo.





A volunteer from Brazil who was taking part in 

the Oxford coronavirus vaccine trials has died, 

the country's Health Regulatory Agency 

Anvisa confirmed.





According to the agency, they were notified about 

the death of a 28-year-old volunteer on 19 October. 

The person's death has apparently occurred as a 

result of "complications from COVID-19", Globa 

newspaper reported.





Anvisa did not, immediately, clarify whether the
v
olunteer was taking the vaccine or the placebo, 

and the situation is still under review.





The anti-COVID vaccine in question is being developed 

by the University of Oxford in partnership with British-

Swedish multinational pharmaceutical giant 

AstraZeneca. It is presently in the third 

stage of clinical trials in Brazil, UK, 

India and South Africa.





AstraZeneca has refused to comment on 

the situation so far, amid the lack of an 

official position.







___________________________________________










Pippa Bartolotti: No Compassion

in Capitalism during Covid-19

October 12th, 2020  (FNA)





 Pippa Bartolotti, former Leader of Wales Green party, says 

a capitalist system sacrifices people for the sake of the

economy, as witnessed in the coronavirus outbreak in 

the US.





Speaking in an exclusive interview with FNA, Mrs. Bartolotti 

said the mismanagement of the US Administration is obvious 

during the Covid-19, and added, “The queuing for miles at 

foodbanks, the attitude of the banks in withholding 

stimulus checks to the poverty stricken, the many 

thousands of homes with no water supply because 

they could not pay the bills, the empty shelves in 

supermarkets, are all juxtaposed against the 

$500-billion in bail-out gifts made to the 

already wealthy, pointing the long finger 

of mismanagement at a system which
is 
weak at best, failing at worst.”





Pippa Bartolotti is an author and political activist. She 

served as the Wales Green Party Leader from 2012 

for four years, and then as the joint-deputy leader 

until 2017. She is now based in the US.





Below is the full text of the interview:





Q: Do you believe that Americans are benefitting from the 

“all-time high market” during the coronavirus outspread?

''


A: ''It is becoming more and more evident that markets, just 

like GDP and other monetary measures, do not reflect the 

true health of a nation. Indeed, even the words ‘strong 

economy’ are more a reflection of hubristic neo-

liberalism than reality. Covid-19, whilst a death 

knoll for too many, is allowing many ordinary 

people a space for reflection & consideration.''
 

''The queuing for miles at foodbanks, the 

attitude of the banks now in withholding 

stimulus checks to the poverty struck,

the many thousands of homes with no 

water supply, because they could not 

pay the bills, the empty shelves in 

super-markets, are all juxtaposed 

against the $500-billion in bail-out 

gifts made to the already wealthy, 

pointing the long finger of mis-

management at a system 

which is weak at best, 

failing at worst.''





Q: Why does Donald Trump firmly insist on 

Americans returning to work? Does this 

put the lives of Americans at risk?





A: ''The cracks in the system are widening. When a country, 

for so long reliant on a ‘just in time’ policy discovers that 

the policy is in fact ‘just too late’, there is panic at the
top. 
Food shortages are very close. Starvation has an 

immediacy, like no other. Never before have so 

many people lived more than one day’s walk 

from a food supply. Urban dwellers will take 

to the streets -- and system collapse will be 

inevitable. That's why there's huge pressure 

to get people back to work. For those who do 

not, run a 'very high risk' of losing their lives, 

their legs or their loved ones, engineering a

situation whereby people start demanding 

to go back to work, is likely. There is no 

compassion in capitalism. People will 

be sacrificed, to prop up what passes 

for the economy.''





Q: How do you believe the capitalist system 

implemented in the US can deal with the

coronavirus outbreak?





A: ''I believe that those who have been working the 

capitalist system for their own ends, will find it 

almost impossible, to change the way they do 

things. Even if they did, there would be great 

suspicion and mistrust. Capitalism has failed 

us. It cannot stand up to disasters such as a 

virus pandemic, and it will not be able to 

stand up to the problems brought by 

climate change. Ordinary people are 

likely to become disengaged from a 

system, which they can now see with 

their own eyes, has impoverished the 

vast majority. Of course the mass media 

plays a big part in what news and current 

affairs people may or may not hear about, 

but the mounting numbers of dead --- the 

lack of equipment for doctors and nurses, 

cleaners and front line workers, the pitting 

of state against state for PPE & ventilators 

will not be forgotten. Advanced capitalism 

- otherwise known as vulture capitalism - 

leaves no room for doubt – for capitalism 

to survive, it has to put itself before the 

needs of the people who've unwittingly 

made it such as success.''





''Ultimately it is down to individuals themselves to value 

their lives and their loved ones above the economy. 

Right now, we are seeing the magnificent sight of 

cleaner air and resurgent wildlife, whilst at the 

same time allocating a diminishing importance 

to consumerist spending. This in turn will cut

 manufacturing demand. As the price of dollar-

backed oil & fracked gas plummets, we hover 

on the brink of a complete re-evaluation of our 

economy, our priorities, and the way we live. 

The people of the world could go back to 

the old ways, but why would they?''







______________________________________











YOU ARE ADVISED ON NHS/GOV. WEBSITES: Phone 

119 if you're in England, Wales or Northern Ireland

(BUT THIS 119 NUMBER DOES NOT WORK - yet the 

Scotland number given below will result in friendly, 

expert [non-privatised] GOOD help and advice)




So phone 0300 303 2713 if you're 

in Scotland, England, or Wales!




P.S. The tests themselves are of very dubious value

as they are complicated, self-administered, and

controlled by (privatised) non-medical staff, who
are more 
alert to their own ''safety'' than yours!

 



_______________________________________________






Privatisation to Blame for
Track and Trace Disaster 

--- Not the NHS

23:12 GMT 27.09.2020

by Tommy Sheridan




For over a week now I have been racked with the pain 

of an aggressive bout of Shingles and largely confined 

to bed and ordered to swallow daily medication 

designed to undermine the virus and relieve 

my pain.




However no amount of tablets in the world could relieve 

my anger at this dishonest, deceitful, and corrupt Tory 

government which is literally privatising the National 

Health Service before our eyes and playing an 

almighty con-trick on the public with the 

shabby and shameful assistance of the 

pathetically docile and deferential 

mainstream media.




The NHS Track and Trace system that Unscrupulous Johnson 

and Hopeless Hancock keep bleating on about doesn’t exist. 




They privatised it in June, to reward Tory donors with 

lucrative government contracts, despite the dubious 

and dodgy records of performance, including criminal 

behaviour, of those Tory supporting companies. This 

privatised system is an expensive, chaotic cock-up, 

and no proper or honest journalist should ever allow 

it to be associated with the NHS.




Privatised Track and Trace System is a Shambles




The ‘world beating’, privatised scheme is not just incapable 

of testing enough people locally or timeously - it has had to 

send off almost 200,000 swabs and tests to other countries 

to be processed, as the testing lab network introduced by 

the private providers has proved woefully understaffed, 

ill-prepared and overrun.




To add insult to world-wide embarrassment and bemusement 

we now learn that the over-hyped but essential App system 

required to facilitate the effective operation of any test 

track and trace scheme, is not compatible with the 

existing NHS England data systems, meaning that 

users of the App cannot currently input positive or 

negative results from tests carried out at NHS 

hospitals or Public Health England Labs (PHE) 

labs, according to the app’s website.




And just in case anyone doubted the shambolic nature of the 

whole situation, the information that tens of thousands of 

tests couldn’t be input to the new contact tracing App 

was discovered by accident, when NHS England 

informed a man who was trying to input his test 

results that it wasn’t possible to do so, only a 

day after a massive public launch, costing 

tens of millions to advertise.




Track and Trace in England is
NOT an NHS Run Service




It was launched on Thursday, after months of delay, but 

within twenty-four hours came the humiliating admission 

that more than 60,000 tests couldn’t be input, thereby 

making a mockery of the whole system. A comedic, 

expensive, politically criminal reality, which was 

confirmed by the Tawdry Tory government 

last Saturday:




“The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said 

it is “working urgently” to make sure people can add their 

positive test results to the app who are not given a code 

to do so”.




What is infuriating and merits investigation by the Trades 

Description enforcement officers is the use of ‘NHS COVID

-19 app’ to describe this privatised system on Twitter, as 

the ignominious truth was revealed.





Repeat it over and over again. It is NOT an NHS Track 

and Trace system and it is NOT an NHS Covid-19 app.





It is a farce designed and delivered entirely by private 

companies at great cost to the public purse. Ministers

like Hancock should be sacked - or resign - over this 

whole fiasco, but to sack him would take leadership

from Johnson, and to resign would require integrity 

from Hancock. Neither of them possesses leader-

ship qualities or integrity.




Channel 4 Report Rare Exposure 

of Privatisation at Heart of NHS




Take the time to check out the Channel 4 News Report the 

other night, which uniquely examined the background of 

the test and trace mess and exposed the fact that the 

responsibility for the current omnishambles lies with 

the Tory privateers and the companies they 

appointed, not the NHS.




The Tories were irresponsibly slow in setting up a track 

& tracing system to get to grips with the Covid19 threat. 




All across the world, without exception, the countries 

which have dealt best with the Covid19 pandemic and 

protected their citizens and economies, are the ones 

who responded quickest to the threat and introduced

 robust and extensive test, track and trace systems.




The World Health Organisation advice couldn’t have been 

simpler, so even dodos like Johnson and Hancock cannot 

claim they didn’t understand the “test, test, test” advice 

issued away back on 16th March. World Health 

Organisation head, Tedros Adhanom 

Ghebreyesus, said then to the world:




“… there has not been an urgent enough escalation in testing,

 isolation and contact tracing, which should be the "backbone"

 of the global response … it is not possible to "fight a fire 

blindfolded", and social distancing measures and hand-

washing will not alone extinguish the epidemic”.




Yet the Tories didn’t launch a track and trace system until 28th May, 

over two months after the World Health Organisation exhortations. 


An allocation of £10 billion was announced and testing was 

originally conducted at 8 Public Health England Labs and 

44 NHS Labs. Scotland launched their own distinct Test 

and Protect scheme.




Within weeks the privatising instincts and intentions of the 

Tories in relation to the NHS, were laid bare. The Covid19 

crisis brings out the best in public servants like health 

and care workers, but exposes the creed of greed 

which courses through the Tory blue veins of the 

rich and powerful.




Behind the scenes lobbying and promises of sinecures and 

future paid consultancy posts, led to Hancock appointing 

consultancy firm Deloitte to take over the track and trace 

scheme. They built the website for booking tests, the one 

that advises thousands seeking tests to travel hundreds 

of miles to get one, and then sub-contracted private firms 

like Serco, Sodexo and G4S, to run testing centres. How 

much each company is being paid is not entirely clear, 

but no tendering process was carried out. Private 

consultancy firm Deloitte was awarded money, 

allocated originally to the NHS, to pick and 

choose their pals and pay them juicy sums 

to run testing centres under the flag of 

the NHS.




Test swabs were to be sent to a series of ‘Lighthouse Labs’ 

for processing with a mixture of private and public labs. 

The private labs used different equipment to the public 

ones, leading to kit compatibility problems whenever 

help was requested. Latest figures show that the 

number of tests turned around in 24 hours has 

dropped from an uninspiring 32% a week ago, 

to a positively pathetic 14% this week. So 

much for super duper Tory Peer Dido Harding 

who was appointed head of the new Health 

Protection Agency, whatever the hell that’s

supposed to be, despite not possessing 

any health service skills, qualifications 

or experience. She has been a high heid 

yin at Sainsbury, Tesco and Talk --- but 

would you trust her to keep the health

service well-funded & in public hands?




Outsourcing Giants are Modern Day
Pirates Pillaging the NHS




If someone tests positive, contact tracers employed by Serco 

and Sitel are paid to plot the infected person’s interactions 

with people during the infectious period. Serco’s tracing 

contract alone is worth £108 million, but will rise to 

£432 million if it continues into 2021.




This huge privatisation of a vital health service responsibility 

is carried out in camouflage. Like Pirates in the lawless days 

of high seas robbery who used to sail under dishonest flags 

to dupe and surprise their unsuspecting victims before 

pillage and robbery, so the private companies running 

the track & trace system are allowed by government 

to describe their operation as NHS Test and Trace - 

when it is nothing more or less than a profit driven 

exercise in ripping off the public purse and 

denying the NHS vital monies.




The Pirate analogy is entirely appropriate here. Serco

 is a company soaked in dishonesty and exuding 

incompetence and fraud in equal doses. They 

were fined £19.2 million last year, after a six 

year Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation 

into a massive scam in connection with a 

prisoner electronic tagging scheme which 

unearthed fraudulent claims for tagging 

dead people, people who didn’t live at 

the addresses submitted, and people 

who were actually in prison. The fraud 

raked in millions dishonestly for Serco 

& G4S and the admission to the fraud 

is what prevented a criminal trial.




Under the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) scheme Serco 

and G4S avoided criminal charges by paying back millions to 

the Ministry of Justice, admitting guilt to three of the many 

charges and paying fines and SFO investigation costs. G4S 

paid £121 million back to the Ministry of Justice, Serco 

paid back £70 million. G4S paid a fine of £38.5 million 

and £5.9 million costs to the SFO. Serco paid £19.2 

million and £3.7 million respectively.




Of G4S the SFO director Lisa Osofsky said:


“G4S Care & Justice repeatedly lied to the
Ministry of Justice, 
profiting to the tune of
millions of pounds --- and failing to provide 

the openness, transparency and overall
good corporate 
citizenship --- which
UK taxpayers expect and deserve
from 
companies entering into

government contracts.”


Her comments on Serco were equally damning. 


They were, she said: “engaged in a concerted
effort to lie to the Ministry of Justice
 in order
to profit unlawfully at the expense of
UK taxpayers.”




Companies Guilty of Criminal Fraud 

Given Multi-Million NHS Contracts




Deloitte was complicit in the 2011-2013 electronic tagging scandal

as they were supposed to monitor and check the activities and 

books of Serco and G4S, but failed miserably. They were 

investigated by the Financial Reporting Council and pled

guilty to financial incompetence charges - coughing up 

£4.2 million to pay a fine that was reduced by £2 million

because they pleaded guilty. Clearly, deep pockets in 

the corporate world ensures you avoid proper justice. 


Imagine just how much Serco and G4S defrauded the 

public purse by, if they agreed to pay back £191 

million in connection with their criminal scam?




Both companies pay for expensive PR, to try and convince us 

these criminal frauds were the actions of rogue directors and

not part of the DNA of outsourcing firms existing like parasites 

on billions from the public purse. The Serco contract to house 

5,000 asylum seekers awarded last year is worth £1.9 billion 

alone. It reminds me of the consciously dishonest defence 

against illegal phone hacking offered up by the putrid News 

of the World before the extent of their illegality was partially 

exposed and they were compelled to close down the rag.




Deloitte, Serco, G4S, Sodexo, Sitel and several other

profit crazed outfits, desperate to get their hands-on 

public money which should be invested in public 

services, are the villains behind the test and 

trace system in England and Wales. It should 

NEVER be referred to as ‘NHS Track and Trace’.


 How can companies like Serco, with their 

criminal past, continue to secure massive 

public contracts?  Serco’s CEO is a former 

Bullingdon Club member and brother of 

recently retired Conservative MP 

Nicholas Soames. His name is 

Rupert Soames and he has 

said he wants Serco to:

“cement the position of
theprivate sector” 
in
the NHS supply chain.




The current junior health Minister is Edward Argar. 

Guess who he worked for before being elected to 

Parliament? Yep. He was Head of Public Affairs 

for Serco. The contact tracing contract they 

were awarded was not subject to any tender.




Deloitte has advised the Tories for years on how to 

cut NHS budgets, through staff reductions and 

increased outsourcing. Now they are in the 

heart of the health service and in charge
of 
a vital service. The track and tracing 

disasters are theirs, but they will seek 

to shift blame onto the NHS and hope 

to undermine public confidence in it 

and support for it. They must not be 

allowed to succeed.



Hidden under all the headlines of anti-lockdown protests 

the other day, the Tories have removed ear-wax syringing 

from the NHS, and a private pharmaceutical NHS supplier 

has raised the price of Lithium tablets from £3 to £87 a 

packet for people with bipolar. These are not isolated 

decisions. The no-deal Brexit Johnson is hoping for, 

and the free trade deal with America, are absolutely 

critical dangers to the survival of the NHS. It is one 

of the many reasons Scottish independence is now 

so popular. We love the NHS and we will not allow 

the cold, cruel, callous and unrepresentative Tories

in London to sell it off. The NHS is being privatised 

before our eyes. We will defend ours in Scotland, 

via independence. England and Wales must 

mobilise decent citizens and the trade
union 
movement to defend theirs,
before it is 
too late.





_____________________________________________






Link between social media use
and mental health stronger
 in girls: study
January 6th, 2019


Xinhua - Teenage girls who spend more time on social media
have a higher risk of depression, according to a study
published in the British journal EClinicalMedicine
on Thursday.


Researchers led by Yvonne Kelly from University College
 London (UCL) in Britain found that almost 40 percent
of girls who spend more than five hours a day on
social media show symptoms of depression,
while the rate is much lower for boys,
which is less than 15 percent.


The researchers said the underlying processes
 of this phenomenon are not well understood.


Simon Wessely, an ex-president of the Royal College of
 Psychiatrists, told the British newspaper The Guardian
 that the researchers "still cannot definitely say that
social media usage causes poor mental health,
although the evidence is starting to point in
that direction."


Two-fifths of girls studied by UCL researchers have
suffered online harassments or online bullying
compared to a quarter of boys, while 40%
of girls, compared to 28% of boys, have
 suffered sleep loss because of online
habits, according to the study.


Compared with boys, girls are more likely to have
 low self-esteem and body weight dissatisfaction,
 and be unhappy with their appearance, said
the study.


The research is based on interviews with almost
11,000 14-year-olds who are taking part in the
Millennium Cohort Study, a major research
 project into children's lives.


The researchers claimed that these findings are
highly relevant to current policy development
on guidelines for the safe use of social media
 and call on industry to more tightly regulate
hours of social media use for young people.


Image: walk into a bar



Clean cut: Dutch hospitals ditch
US body-part distributors

 over ethics, disease
December 9th, 2018.


Hospitals in the Netherlands are dropping US body-part
 distributors on ethical grounds after a decade of
unregulated trade in dissected human limbs.


In the United States, everything has its price, and as
the large scale dead-body market shows, this does
not end, after death. In a Reuters exclusive, two
Dutch hospitals revealed that they would be
cutting off their business ties to American
companies that have been profiting off
the sale of human body parts, in light
of disturbing revelations.


The scrutiny began after Oregon-based MedCure came
under suspicion of selling diseased body parts to
customers in America and abroad, drawing
attention from the FBI. The company has
sold tens of thousands of pounds of
human parts all over Europe,
including numerous severed
heads that were purchased
by Amsterdam’s Academic
Medical Centre (AMC) for
training and research.


No evidence of disease was discovered in these particular
shipments, but AMC and another Dutch hospital said they
 would drop the suppliers over their questionable ethics.


The parts the companies sell are often acquired from
 macabre deals where families are offered discounts
 on incredibly expensive funeral arrangements (with
 an average price-tag of $7,000 to $10,000 dollars in
 the US), in exchange for allowing companies to
 dismember and sell pieces of their loved ones’
corpses... yet, most don’t even realize that
someone is making money from their
'donation'.


According to another Reuters article from 2017, many funeral
homes have struck mutually beneficial deals with body-parts
 distributors – tipping them off on potential donors, in
exchange for referral fees – to take advantage of a
‘product’ that can easily be obtained for free.


Whereas Dutch law is fairly strict in regard to the transport,
sale and use of human organs, the body-part market is
essentially a free-for-all, with the health industry
claiming that regulations are not needed as the
 hospitals themselves are trusted to take
precautionary measures.


Freek Dikkers, a nose, ears and throat specialist at AMC
whose department had purchased heads from MedCure,
called such morbid business strategies “unacceptable.”

 Reuters reports that the going rate of a human head
on the US market is $500 dollars and an entire body
can fetch as much as $10,000...  although the
hospitals themselves declined to comment
on how much they had been paying.


MedCure say they are “an accredited and regulated
institution and adhere to the best-in-class industry
standards for safety ethics, and transparency,”
 who sells the parts in order to facilitate
scientific and medical research.


MedCure is not the first global medical supply company
to draw heavy scrutiny for exploiting an unregulated
market. The International Consortium of Independent
Journalists published a study, just this year, about
American based Medtronic, which made millions
selling faulty biometric implants - linked to
thousands of deaths.


(Source - RT)



______________________________________________





Alcohol dependence & 
psychiatric disorders, 
share genetic links
- study

November 28th at 1:13am.


Xinhua - An international team of researchers have
 identified a gene, known to affect the risk for
alcohol dependence, and determined many
 other genes which contribute to the risk, 
to a lesser degree.


The researchers linked genetic factors associated
 with alcohol dependence to other psychiatric
 disorders, such as depression, and showed
that genetic factors tied to typical drinking
sometimes are different from those linked
 to alcohol dependence.


The study involved 50,000+ people. It compared
 genetic variants from nearly 15,000 individuals
 diagnosed with alcohol dependence to nearly
 38,000 people without such a diagnosis.


The one gene that stood out, called ADH1B, regulates
how the body converts alcohol to a substance called
 acetaldehyde. Variants in the gene speed the
 conversion to acetaldehyde, a compound
 linked to unpleasant side effects from
 drinking, and that compound has a
protective effect, making people
less likely to drink heavily or
become alcoholics.


The researchers found that the genetic risk factors
 related to alcohol dependence, were also linked to
 risk for other psychiatric disorders, such as
depression, schizophrenia, ADHD and the
use of cigarettes and marijuana.


A key aspect of the study is that it included genetic data
 from 46,568 European people and 6,280 people of
African ancestry. Although the same ADH1B gene
 was linked to alcoholism risk, both in people of
 European ancestry, and African ancestry, the
researchers found that different variants in
the gene altered risk in the 2 populations.


The researchers also found that the genetic factors
 related to simply drinking alcohol, were a little
 different, from the genetic factors that
 contributed to alcohol dependence.


In other words, at least at the genetic
level, there is a difference between
simply drinking alcohol, even large
amounts of alcohol, and becoming
 dependent on it.


"People suffering from alcohol dependence generally
drink a great deal, but they also experience other
problems, related to their drinking, like losing
 control over when and how much they drink,"
 said senior author Arpana Agrawal, a
professor of psychiatry, at
Washington
University
School of Medicine, 
in
St. Louis.


"I think it's likely that, as the sample sizes of our studies
 increase, we may find new DNA variants related to
these problematic aspects of alcohol dependence
- but possibly not related to typical drinking"
Agrawal said.


"The risk conferred by the ADH1B gene is one of the
strongest single-gene effects seen in people with a
psychiatric illness, but overall, it explains only a
small proportion of the risk," Agrawal said.


"Many additional gene variants are making small
contributions to alcoholism risk, but to find
them,
we'll need to study more people."


The researchers plan to continue investigating those
 links between genetic susceptibility to alcohol
dependence, and the risk for other types of
psychiatric illness.


It is estimated that one in eight Americans
 suffers from alcohol dependence.


The study was published online, on November
 26th, in the journal, 'Nature Neuroscience'.























































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Image: toothpaste can cause type 2 diabetes



Toothpaste Can Cause
Diabetes, Study Says
July 24th, 2018


The titanium dioxide present in toothpaste favours
 the appearance of diabetes type two, according
 to research by the University of Texas, USA.


To demonstrate that statement, the authors analyzed
small samples of pancreas tissue from eleven
volunteers,
says an article in the journal
Chemical Research
in Toxicology.


As a result, eight of them suffered from diabetes type
two, and titanium dioxide (E171) was found in their
parts. No trace of the chemical was found in the
remaining three people.


The authors announced they expect to repeat
the experiment in a larger group of people.


E171 is widely used in cosmetics and food industries
for its ability to provide a whitish colour to products.


Diabetes type two is a metabolic disorder characterized
by high blood sugar levels. Its classic symptoms
are excessive thirst, frequent urination and
constant hunger.


(Source - Prensa Latina)



Image: when the Welsh are marching instead of watching rugby...


Huge explosion in numbers
waiting to get NHS care
by Ceren Sagir


The number of patients waiting over a year for NHS care
has seen a sharp 75 per cent rise, according to a new
official report.


Figures from NHS Improvement show that 2,647 people
said they had waited for over a year for treatment in
March, compared to 1,513 the previous year.


Recent figures show that GP closures have forced
 1.3 million patients to move surgeries in the last
five years.


Shadow health and social care secretary Jonathan
Ashworth said it “exposes a real crisis” in primary
care after “eight years of grinding Tory austerity.”


“Labour has long called for primary care to be
given greater priority and investment,“ he said.


“A key test for Theresa May in the coming weeks
will be whether or not she finally delivers the
 level of investment and support that
primary care so obviously needs.”


The report also highlights that NHS providers ended
 the year with a “challenging level of vacancies” of
 more than 92,000 posts.


A national survey of GPs has revealed that those
who plan to leave the profession in the next five
 years, is at an all-time high.


More than nine out of 10 GPs reported experiencing
considerable or high pressure, from increasing
workloads.


Fresh calls have been made on the government through
 a petition to review immigration policies for overseas
doctors who are applying to work in the NHS.


Between December 2017 and March, over 1,500 visa
applications from doctors with job offers in Britain
 were refused as a result of the Home Office’s cap
on the number of tier 2 visas it issues to workers
 from outside the European Economic Area.


(Source - Morning Star)




_______________________________________________




Depressed parents blamed for
childhood friendship breakup
- study
May 10th 2018
(Source: Xinhua) 


A study published on Thursday in the Journal of Family Psychology
sheds light on why childhood friendships tend to fall apart,
demonstrating that parents are an important source
 of those breakups.


Looking at data from 1,523 children, among them 766 boys,
 from grades one to six, researchers from Florida Atlantic
 University (FAU) and the University of Jyvaskyla in
Finland conducted a survival analysis to identify
 the characteristics of parents that predict the
 stability of their children's friendships.


The researchers examined mother and father reports of their
 own depressive symptoms and parenting styles to predict
the occurrence and timing of the dissolution of kids' best
 friendships from the beginning to the end of elementary
school (grades one to six).


The researchers assessed three commonly recognized
parenting styles: behavioral control such as curfews
and monitoring; psychological control such as
 shaming and guilt; and warmth and affection.


They also assessed parental depression to disentangle the
unique contributions of parenting styles from parents'
 mental health difficulties known to shape parenting.


Lastly, they assessed the children's peer social status or
how well-liked they are by other children to separate the
effects of parenting from difficulties that children have
 getting along with peers.


"We already know that peer status plays an important role
 in friendship outcomes. For example, well-liked children
have more long-lasting relationships than do their class-
mates," said Brett Laursen, a co-author of the study and
 a professor and graduate studies coordinator in the
 Department of Psychology in FAU's Charles E.
Schmidt College of Science.


Laursen, who collaborated with lead author Daniel J. Dickson
and co-author Melissa Huey, both of whom received their
doctorates from FAU's Department of Psychology, and
 their collaborators in Finland, wanted to determine if
negative parenting characteristics such as
 manipulative and coercive behaviours
disrupt children's friendships.


Results from the study found clear support for their hypothesis
that negative features of parenting, such as depression and
psychological control, increase the risk that best
friendships would end.


According to the study, for children with clinically depressed
parents, the risk of best friendship dissolution increased by
up to 104 percent.


There was a similar, although not quite as dramatic, increase
 in the risk of best friendship dissolution for children with
psychologically controlling parents.


Parent depression and parent psychological control, uniquely
predicted subsequent child friendships breaking up, above
and beyond the contributions of peer difficulties.


A surprising finding from the study that was contrary to the
 researchers' expectations, was that they did not find any
 evidence that positive parenting behaviours like warmth
and affection, altered the stability of children's best
friendships.


"We were hoping that positive behaviours would help extend
the life of friendships and that it would be a buffer or a
protective factor," said Laursen. "This wasn't the case.
Warmth and affection don't appear to make that much
of a difference. It's the negative characteristics of
parents that are key in determining if and when
 these childhood friendships end."


Findings from this study also confirmed that most friendships
were transitory. Fewer than 10 percent of first-grade best
friendships survived from the first to the sixth grade,
 with roughly half or 48 percent dissolving within
a year of initiation.


"We believe that children with depressed and psychologically
 controlling parents are not learning healthy strategies for
 engaging with other people, which could have long-term
 consequences for their future relationships,"
 said Laursen.




Image: an alcoholic liver failure



Chronic drinking in adolescence
adds risks of liver diseases
 in adulthood: study
Monday, January  22nd, 2018.
 
Xinhua - Swedish researchers confirmed in a study
 published Sunday, that chronic consumption of
alcohol during adolescence can lead to greater
risks of developing liver diseases later in life.


The research by the Swedish scientists with Karolinska
University Hospital of Sweden showed that young men
who drank 20 grams or more of alcohol each day during
 their adolescence have higher risks of developing liver
diseases, including liver cirrhosis or even liver-related
deaths, later in their adult life.


The study, published in the Journal of Hepatology, was
based - partly - on the retrospective statistics of over
 49,000 Swedish young men aged between 18 and 20.


The data were collected in a nationwide survey conducted
from 1969 to 1970 on Swedish males conscripted then into
 military service.


The Swedish researchers examined the link between alcohol
 consumption early in life and later development of severe
liver disease.


After 39 years of follow-up research, the scientists found
that 383 men developed severe liver diseases later in
their life, such as liver cirrhosis, decompensated
liver disease, liver failure, or were killed by
liver diseases.


In some countries, recommended cut-off levels suggest that
safe alcohol consumption for men to avoid alcoholic liver
disease is 30 grams a day, roughly equivalent to 3 drinks.


However, the latest study indicates that the risk is dose-
dependent and young men consuming only two drinks,
or about 20 grams or more of alcohol every day, would
face greater risks of developing liver diseases in
adulthood.


It is generally known that alcohol is the leading cause of
 liver cirrhosis and liver-related deaths, and a 2014 report
 by the World Health Organization says that alcohol-related
cirrhosis leads to 493,300 deaths globally each year.


While alcohol-related disease is theoretically 100 percent
preventable, the scientists believe that it is needed to take
 measures to curb excessive alcohol consumption among
young people.



Image: put the phone down


Put the phone down:
US health officials warn
of cancer & infertility risk
16th of December, 2017

The California Department of Public Health has issued guidelines
on cell phone exposure, warning residents to keep their cell
phone away from their body to reduce potential cancer
and infertility risks.

The release follows a legal battle initiated by UC Berkeley researcher
Joel Moskowitz last year after he discovered draft documents on the
 issue had existed since 2010, without being made available to
the public.

The precautionary document, ‘How to reduce exposure to radio f
requency energy from cell phones’, states that while the science
is still evolving, some studies have suggested a link between
long-term mobile phone use and cancer.

Qualifying that these studies have not established a definitive
relationship between the two, and that potential health risks
from cell phones are still contentious among scientists, the
health department states its advisory is for those
 concerned about the possible risks.

The main piece of advice issued by the authority is to keep the
phone away from your body. “Keeping your phone just a few
feet away from you, can make a big difference,” it says.

This means using the speakerphone option or a headset
instead of holding the phone up to your ear and keeping
your mobile device in a backpack or handbag and not
 in a pocket.

The guidelines also warn against a common habit for those
who also use their device as an alarm clock – sleeping next
 to your cell phone. Unless the phone is off or in airplane
mode, keep it at least a few feet away from your bed,
the guidelines recommend.

The report highlights that children could be at greater risk
as their body is still developing and over their lifetime
they will have a lot more exposure.

The release of the CDPH guidelines follows a ruling by the
 Sacramento Superior Court handed down in March. The
state argued in court that the unofficial document would
 cause unnecessary panic, reported KAZU.

A draft document was initially released but these
 new guidelines offer a more detailed picture.

In July, the California Brain Tumor Association held a
demonstration in Sacramento outside the CDPH
building to call for the public release of the cell
phone warning document.

CDPH director Dr Karen Smith said they released the guide-
lines because of a continued public interest in cell phone-
related health risks and the decision had little to do with
the court battle.

The latest safety recommendations are similar to those
issued by the Connecticut Department of Public Health
 in May, 2015.

A number of expert agencies including the US Food and
Drug Administration, the National Cancer Institute and
the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have
said sufficient evidence has not been presented to
show an ''association'' between exposure to radio
frequencies from a cell phone & health problems.

The agencies suggest more research is needed. The
International Agency for Research on Cancer has
classified radio waves as “possible carcinogens”
but note there is limited evidence. The US's
 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
the National Toxicology Program (NTP),
meanwhile, have not formally classified
 cell phones as to their cancer-causing
 potential.

A study published earlier this year by University College Cork
in the Republic of Ireland, on ''myths'' about cell phones and
a cancer risk, found huge disparities between fact and fear.

“The results of our research show that a significant proportion
of Irish males incorrectly believe certain cancer myths, for
example between 45% to 52% believed that wearing tight
underwear, carrying mobile phones in pockets or the
extended use of laptop on the lap, increased their
risk of testicular cancer,” the team concluded.


Image: FAT uk



UK is fattest country in Western Europe
 with 63% of adults overweight & obese
 – OECD study
12th of November, 2017

The UK is the most overweight country in Western Europe,
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) has stated.

Over 63% of UK adults are overweight, OECD says.

The 2017 Obesity Update report found that the UK is the sixth
fattest nation out of 35 OECD member countries, with a 27%
adult obesity rate. The US, Mexico, New Zealand, Hungary
and Australia fare worse than the UK, though. The countries
 with the lowest levels of obesity are Japan, Korea, Italy
 and Switzerland.

Adult obesity rates in the UK have increased by 92 percent
since the 1990s, while in the US with an obesity rate of 38%,
the increase has been a “mere” 65 percent. A further 36% of
the UK population are overweight. When it comes to children,
 the UK falls slightly below average, with a 24% obesity rate,
 compared to the average of 25 percent.

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of more
than 30. Overweight people are classed as those with a BMI
of between 25 and 30.

While the overall health and life expectancy of Britons are
average, obesity rates of 27% far surpass the average
OECD rate of 19 percent. According to the study, 40%
 of Britons will be obese by 2030.

“One could weep over the figures,” Tam Fry, chair of the
National Obesity Forum told the Times. “The result of
successive governments who have, for 30 years,
done next to nothing to tackle obesity.”

Obese people are at risk of cholesterol, diabetes and heart
disease. OECD says “more could be done” to fight the issue,
 while recognising the UK’s efforts to ban super-size
chocolate bars from hospitals and the impending
sugar tax. The report also pointed a finger at the
 UK for its teenage drinking, and its shortage of
doctors and nurses.

(Source - RT)

Image: drink kills brain cells - especially for women


Drinking frequently kills new brain
cells, especially
for women: study

10/11/2017 

Xinhua - Frequent alcohol drinking kills new cells in key brain regions,
with females being more vulnerable, a new study on mice said Thursday.

Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at
 Galveston discovered that alcohol killed the stem cells that are
responsible for creating new nerve cells and important to
maintaining normal cognitive function in adult mouse brains.

And for the first time, the research showed that brain changes
due to alcohol exposure are different for females and males.

The findings, published in the journal Stem Cell Reports,
may help open a door to combating chronic alcoholism.

For the study, UTMB researchers used a cutting-edge technique to tag
brain stem cells in order to observe how they migrate and develop into
 specialized nerve cells over time.

This allowed the researchers to study the impact of long-term alcohol
consumption on the cells. It showed that chronic alcohol drinking
 killed most brain stem cells and reduced the production and
 development of new nerve cells.

However, the effects of repeated alcohol consumption
differed across brain regions.

The brain region most susceptible to the effects of alcohol was one
of two brain regions where new brain cells are created in adults.

The researchers also found that female mice displayed more severe
intoxication behaviors and more greatly reduced the pool of stem
cells in a brain region called the subventricular zone.

Ping Wu, UTMB professor in the department of neuroscience and cell
 biology, who led the study, said in a statement that the discovery
 "provides a new way of approaching the problem of alcohol-
related changes in the brain."

"We need to understand how alcohol impacts the brain stem cells
 at different stages in their growth, in different brain regions and
in the brains of both males and females," Wu said.

Image: Pollution Causing More Deaths Worldwide Than War or Smoking: Lancet Prensa Latina - Environmental pollution, from filthy air to contaminated water, is killing more people every year than all war and violence in the world.


Pollution Causing More
Deaths Worldwide
 Than
War or Smoking
: Lancet


Prensa Latina - Environmental pollution, from filthy air to
 contaminated water, is killing more people every year
than all war and violence in the world.

More than smoking, hunger or natural disasters. More than
AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. One out of every
six premature deaths in the world in 2015, about 9 million,
could be attributed to disease from toxic exposure,
according to a major study released on Thursday
October 19th, in the Lancet medical journal.

The financial cost from pollution-related death, sickness
 and welfare is equally massive, the report says, costing
some $4.6 trillion in annual losses, or about 6.2 per cent
 of the global economy.

The report marks the first attempt to pull together data
 on disease and death caused by all forms of pollution
 combined.

Asia and Africa are the regions putting the most people
at risk, the study found, while India tops the list of
 individual countries.

Still, many poorer countries have yet to make
 pollution control a priority, experts say.

Image: cancer drugs in us and eu not proven


Europe's cancer drugs
mostly ineffective: Study
Thursday October 5th, at 4:02pm

European regulators approved 39 new cancer drugs between
2009 and 2013, despite having no evidence that they worked
better than existing medicines, or at all, researchers said on
Thursday.

The number represented more than half of 68 treatments to
become available for European cancer patients during this
period, they said, "raising serious questions about the
current standards of drug regulation."

Apart from dashing patient hopes, allowing unproven medicine
onto the market also unnecessarily exposed people to toxicity
 inherent in all drugs, while inflating state pharmaceutical
spending.

Writing in The BMJ medical journal, a team of public health
experts expressed concern about the approval of often-
pricey new cancer drugs by the EU regulator, the
European Medicines Agency (EMA).

"This situation has negative implications for
patients and public health," they warned.

"When expensive drugs that lack clinically meaningful
benefits are approved and paid for within publicly
 funded healthcare systems, individual patients
can be harmed, important societal resources
wasted, and the delivery of equitable and
affordable care, undermined."

Many drugs were approved on the basis of inconclusive,
early test results such as lab experiments, which were
unable to predict whether they would actually make a
patient feel better or live longer.

Another study, published in 2015, had found that most
cancer drugs approved by the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) between 2008 and 2012
similarly came with no evidence that they
boosted patient survival or improved
the
quality of life.


One of the authors of the American study, Vinay Prasad
from the Oregon Health & Science University, pointed
out that the average cancer drug in the US costs
more than $100,000 (85,000 euros) per person
 per year.

"In the US, this broken system means huge expenditures on
cancer drugs with certain toxicity, but uncertain benefit,"
 he wrote in a comment also carried by The BMJ.

"The US Medicare program is legally required to pay for any
 drug approved by the FDA, without any negotiation on price."

Given the toxicity and expense of cancer drugs, patients
should be exposed only "when they can reasonably
expect an improvement in survival or quality of
life," said Prasad.

The new study found that 11 new drugs approved by the EMA
between 2009 and 2013 were not shown to work any better
than existing medicines to which they were compared, co-
author Courtney Davis of King's College London told AFP.

In the case of 20 drugs, they worked no better than a placebo
or "dummy" drug, and another eight were not compared to
anything at all, "so we don't know whether they extend
or improve life," she said.

(Source: AFP)


___________________________________________________

Image: i think i won


Humanity at risk as sperm levels among
 Western men plummet to a record low

Chemicals, diet, stress, and lifestyle choices have caused
 the sperm levels of Western men to plummet to less than
 50 percent of what they were four decades ago, a new
study has found.

The research found that sperm in the ejaculate of men from
 Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand fell by
 1.4 percent every year between 1973 2011, leading to an
 overall drop of just over 52 percent.

“The results are quite shocking,” said study co-author
 Hagai Levine, an epidemiologist from the Hebrew
 University of Jerusalem, according to Reuters.
 He called the results an "urgent wake-up call."

Levine added that, while fertility treatments such as
IVF can sometimes offer solutions to the procreating
problem --- little is being done to address the root of
the issue: an overall general decline in men's health.

Poor sperm counts have also been associated with
testicular cancer, increased male mortality rates,
 children born with one or both testicles missing,
and the onset of male puberty, according to the
 researchers.

"Eventually, we may have a problem, and with
 reproduction in general, and, it may be, the
 extinction of the human species,”
Levine told the BBC.

Environmental influences, heat, lifestyle factors,
bad diet, stress, smoking, and obesity --- both
prenatally and in adult life --- have all
been “plausibly associated” with
 the decline, states the study.

“Therefore... sperm count may sensitively reflect the
impacts of the modern environment on male health
throughout the life course,” the paper reads.

In particular, the paper notes, chemical exposures or
 maternal smoking “during critical windows of male
reproductive development, may play a role in
prenatal life, while lifestyle changes and
 exposure to pesticides, may play a
role in adult life.”

Published in the medical journal Human Reproduction
Update, the “rigorous and comprehensive” research
analyzed data from 185 studies. Researchers from
Israel, Denmark, the US, Brazil, and Spain, took
 part in the study.

The trend has not been recorded among men in Africa,
 Asia, or South America, 'though the authors concede
that fewer studies have been made, in those regions.

The study’s authors have called for urgent work to
narrow down the causes for the decline in sperm
 levels among Western men.

“This definitive study shows - for the first time - that this
decline is strong & continuing,” said one of the study’s
authors, Professor Shanna Swan, of the Icahn School
of Medicine, at Mount Sinai.

(Source - RT)

____________________________________________________


Recreational cocaine users get addicted
much earlier than they think – study

Folks who snort lines of cocaine “only recreationally,” to
socialize and have fun with friends, are actually much
 closer to becoming hooked than they think, say
researchers, who found that just watching
 someone using cocaine, can
 bring on cravings.

Even among non-dependent cocaine users, cues associated
 with cocaine consumption trigger the release of dopamine,
the so called “pleasure chemical,” in an area of the brain
 believed to promote compulsive use, scientists at
 McGill University in Canada say.

This means that people that refer to themselves as modest,
 recreational users, who think they can give up at any time,
 could be much closer to being addicted than they think.

“The study provides evidence that some of the characteristic
brain signals in people who have developed addictions are
also present much earlier than most of us would have
imagined,” Marco Leyton, an expert on neurobiology
 drug use and addiction and professor in McGill’s
 Department of Psychiatry, said in a statement.

Just standing in the corner while quietly watching someone
else using cocaine is enough to trigger a dopamine release
 and lead to cravings, the findings, published in Scientific
 Reports, say.

As the addiction gets worse, the cue-induced release of
 dopamine spreads towards the dorsal striatum, a
 structure deep inside the brain, whose role in
determining how we respond to pleasure,
 has been intensively studied.

“This area of the brain is thought to be particularly important
 for when people start to lose control of their reward-seeking
behaviours,” Professor Leyton said.

“The dorsal part of the striatum is involved in habits – the
difference, for example, between getting an ice cream
 because it will feel good versus being an automatic
 response that occurs even when it is not enjoyable
 or leads to consequences that you would rather
 avoid, such as weight gain or serious health
 hazards,” he explained.

Scientists used positron emission tomography (PET) scans
to see what happens in the dorsal striatum of recreational
cocaine users. They filmed participants ingesting cocaine
 in the laboratory with a friend with whom they had used
 the drug before. The participants later underwent a PET
 scan while watching the video of their friend taking
 cocaine. Exposure to cocaine-related cues proved
to increase both craving and dopamine release
 in the dorsal striatum.

“An accumulation of these brain triggers might bring people
 closer to the edge than they had realized,” Professor Leyton
 said, highlighting the “importance of providing help early”
to avoid the grave effects of dependency.

______________________________________________



Record Number Of
Nurses Quit NHS
by Felicity Collier

Bargain-basement Britain has lost more than 10,000
 nurses and midwives over the last four years, driven
 out by poverty pay & worsening working conditions.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said more
nurses are leaving than joining the profession, with
 those from Britain, leaving in the largest numbers.

The latest stats add to mounting pressure on the
Tories, to end their hated public-sector pay cap.

Alarmingly, the NMC study shows that workers below
 retirement age, are leaving at over twice the rate,
than in 2012-13.

Overall, the number of leavers - including workers
 from overseas -- rose from 23,087 in that period,
to 34,941 in 2016-17. Those who first registered
for the profession in Britain, made up 85% of
 the entire register.

Staffing levels and workload were top concerns for
those aged 21 to 30, while low pay and benefits
 were also cited, alongside the worsening
quality of care for patients.

An increased number of staff left for similar jobs abroad.

Both the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the Royal
 College of Midwives (RCM,) urged the government to
 scrap the pay cap to alleviate the crisis.

About 1,783 left the profession in 2016-17, but
that figure shot up to 3,264 for this year alone.

RCM policy director Jon Skewes said pay freezes
 and increasing workloads, have left workers
“demoralised and disillusioned.”

Unison head of health Sara Gorton said:

“Many organisations, including the NHS pay review body
 have warned that the pay freeze was not sustainable.

“Nurses and midwives’ pay has been held down for too
many years, despite demand for their expertise
growing. So it is no surprise, that they are
leaving the NHS.

“Ministers must also grant an automatic right to remain
for the 30,000 EU workers in the NHS as well as scrap
the pay cap --- if they are serious about keeping
patients safe.”

NHS Providers policy director Saffron Cordery insisted
 that a new staff retention programme will assist NHS
 trusts with the highest leaving rates, though this will
 help little, in the face of the 1 per cent pay cap.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove has hinted that
 the government could lift the pay cap for NHS staff —
despite the Conservatives recently voting against
 raising the derisory cap for public-sector workers.

He said: “These pay review bodies have been set up
 in order to ensure that we can have authoritative
 advice on what’s required in order to ensure
that the public services on which we rely
are effectively staffed and the people
within them, are effectively
supported.”

His comments came amid claims in the Observer that
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will be calling for a lift
of the pay cap for NHS workers, in light of a report by
 the NHS pay review body -- highlighting “widespread
concerns” about recruitment, retention & motivation.

Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth called on the
government to give NHS workers a pay rise as it will
improve recruitment & staff retention and reduce the
need for agencies, saving money in the longer term.

During the election campaign, Prime Minister Theresa
May came under fire after she told a nurse who hadn’t
 had a pay rise for eight years, that there was
 “no magic money tree.”

(Source - Morning Star)

____________________________________________


Nurses
Don’t Deserve This

Britain’s nurses are on the brink of industrial action for the first time.

The Royal College of Nursing’s consultative ballot shows 78 per cent
of nurses are ready to strike — and more than nine in 10 are up for
action of other kinds, to resist Conservative plans for an eighth
successive year of shrinking wage packets.

The RCN estimates that the below-inflation 1 per cent rises since the
 Tory-Lib Dem coalition imposed “austerity”, mean nurses’ incomes
 have shrunk by 14 per cent since we last had a Labour government.

At the same time the catastrophic squeeze on NHS Trust budgets
across the country, as a result of chronic underfunding, means
that trusts around the country are proving unable to fill nursing
vacancies, a task made harder by the removal of bursaries for
 student nurses by the Tories in their 2015 “spending review.”

There are some 40,000 posts unfilled across England,
 twice as many vacancies as existed just 4 years ago.

The Royal College of Nursing has not taken strike
action once --- in the 101 years of its existence.

Nursing is a vocation, a job taken up by people
who devote their lives to looking after others.

It has always been appallingly underpaid, considering the vital
 role nurses play in caring for the sick and elderly, the highly
 skilled nature of the work, the grave responsibilities that fall
 on their shoulders and the huge societal contribution they
make by comparison with many more lucrative professions.

Even so, nurses have not walked out for higher wages. Nobody
becomes a nurse in order to rake in the big bucks, and they
have shown a principled reluctance to do anything that
 might risk the health of the people in their care.

Far from earning them respect, this fortitude and generosity
 of spirit has led the government to take them for mugs,
forcing their pay down for years and leaving them
struggling to cope in understaffed wards.

Confronted on the Andrew Marr show over the scandal
of nurses relying on foodbank handouts to survive, PM
 Theresa May didn’t miss a beat, sneering that there were
“many complex reasons” nurses might go to foodbanks.

As the author David Rosenberg retorted, she must be a
genius — having pondered it for hours, he could only
think of one.

May’s obfuscation is easily explained. The PM knows
 there are nurses living in poverty.

She doesn’t care — any more than she cares about the
 millions of other working people who've lost thousands
 of pounds a year in pay ---  thanks to seven years of
government of the rich, for the rich and by the rich.

Health Minister Philip Dunne might plead that nurses
 deserve a pay rise, but that it's unaffordable in these
hard economic times.

But this month’s Sunday Times Rich List surely gave the
 lie to that threadbare excuse. Britain’s billionaires are
rolling in it, with the 1,000 richest people adding 14/%
 to their wealth over the last year — bringing their ill-
gotten gains to an eye-watering £658 billion.

Nurses planning a summer of protest
deserve our
solidarity and support.

(Source - Morning Star)




















































































There's a new petition taking off on Change.org, and
we think you might be interested in signing it.











































Minister for Disabled People Penny Mordaunt MP: End the uncertainty for disabled people who are having their adapted vehicles taken away

























Dave Gale
United Kingdom


































































My name is Dave Gale. I have Becker muscular dystrophy, a muscle-wasting condition that severely impacts my mobility. 


I need a car to get to my job 30 miles away to provide for my family. I can’t use a regular car because of my condition, but I have a government-funded Motability car that is adapted to my needs.


However, the government is in the process of reassessing all disabled people’s benefits, and when mine were assessed in 2016, they decided to take my car away.


On 11 October, I had to give my Motability vehicle back. I was devastated and lodged an appeal to get it back.


In the meantime I had no choice but to use our family savings to buy a new adapted car in order to keep my job.


An appeal tribunal eventually overturned the original decision– but our savings are gone.


Sadly, mine is not an exceptional story. Since 2013, 50,000 people have lost their Motability vehicles as the government has been moving people from the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Many get them back on appeal. But before that point, too many of us have seen our savings wrecked or our independence compromised because the Government haven’t conducted their assessment process correctly.


There is a very simple solution: people should be allowed to keep their vehicles until their appeals have been heard.


Penny Mordaunt MP, the Minister for Disabled People, told Parliament last year that she was going to do something to help people in my position. But months later, the minister has said nothing more.


We need to make sure that Penny keeps her promise, and we need your support to make sure that thousands more people don’t face the problems I have faced. 































Image: sleep can cure

Happiness in Life
Could Be as Easy as
a Quick Afternoon Nap
4/4/2017
 
British researchers have found that power napping can not
 only help get you through the day, but can actually make a
you happier person -- an effect the researchers have
dubbed “nappiness.”

More than 1,000 people of various ages participated in an
 online survey conducted for the Edinburgh International
Science Festival. The findings showed that their level of
 happiness depended somewhat on whether or not, and
 for how long, they snoozed in the daytime.

Participants were divided into three groups: those who
don't nap, short nappers of 30 minutes or less, & long
 nappers of 30 minutes or more... Having analyzed the
 participants' responses to a number of psychological
questions, the researchers found that 66 percent of
short nappers not only increased their productivity
but also felt happier, compared with 60 percent of
 non-nappers, and 56 percent of long nappers.

On the five-point happiness scale, short nappers had
 an average score of 3.67, as compared to 3.53 for
 non-nappers, and 3.44 for long nappers.

Almost 15% more participants aged 18-30
took naps, than those over 50.

"Previous research has shown that naps of under 30
 minutes make you more focused, productive, and
creative, and these new findings suggest the
tantalizing possibility: you can also become
 happier, just by taking a short nap," said
psychologist Richard Wiseman, of the
University of Hertfordshire, pointing
out how firms like Google... install
 special nap spaces for employees.

Among survey respondents, only 11 percent
said they were allowed to take naps at work.

Wiseman stressed that while brief naps, from 20 to
 30 minutes, benefit health and boost performance,
frequent longer dozing is associated with various
 health risks.

In another study on sleepy military pilots, the US space
 agency NASA, found that taking a short nap when the
co-pilot was in control, boosted alertness by more
than 50 percent.

___________________________


Planned Parenthood Director
Caught Admitting: 
Babies
Born Alive After Abortion
are Killed

Thursday, 30 March, 2017 at 10pm


A shocking new undercover video exposes a Planned
 Parenthood medical director admitting that babies
born alive after abortion, are sometimes killed.
 
The top Planned Parenthood official is caught on video
essentially admitting that it “depends on who is in the
room” as to whether or not a baby who is born alive
after a failed abortion, is taken to the hospital,
 or left to die.

The new undercover video shows DeShawn Taylor, former
 Medical Director of Planned Parenthood of Arizona and
longtime abortion practitioner at Planned Parenthood
 Los Angeles, graphically describing how to deliver
intact fetuses in late-term abortions to harvest
high-quality body parts, and indicating a
possible cover-up of infanticide.

The footage is never-before-released material obtained by
 The Centre for Medical Progress, whose undercover videos
 recorded top-level Planned Parenthood leaders negotiating
 the harvesting and sale of the hearts, lungs, livers, and
brains of aborted fetuses, for financial benefit.

At a networking reception at a Planned Parenthood
conference, CMP investigators posing as buyers
from a biotech company, are introduced to Dr.
Taylor by Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned
 Parenthood Federation of America’s
 Senior Director of Medical Services.

Taylor explains to the investigators, “In Arizona, if the
 fetus comes out with any signs of life, we’re supposed
 to transport it. To the hospital.” When an investigator
 then asks, “Is there any standard procedure for
verifying signs of life?”

Taylor replies, “Well, the thing is, I mean the key
is, 
you need to pay attention to who’s in the
room, right?”


Taylor then laughs as she repeats what the Arizona
 law requires, and says, “It’s a mess. It’s a mess.”

The Planned Parenthood medical director, also admits
 that Planned Parenthood does its best to obtain intact
 fetal organs to sell — essentially the body parts of
aborted babies.

Taylor confirms she does elective abortions on healthy
 fetuses and pregnant women up to 24 weeks. When the
 investigators ask her about obtaining intact fetal organs,
 Dr. Taylor replies, “It’s not a matter of how I feel about it
 coming out intact - but I gotta worry about my staff and
 people’s feelings about it coming out looking like a baby.”

Additionally, the Planned Parenthood official says she
doesn’t like it when people call unborn children babies
-- because she considers that “creepy.”

She continues, “We have the people who do our paperwork
 for the fetal death certificates, they email us calling them
 ‘babies’. Baby this, baby that, baby so-and-so, and I’m
like, that’s creepy!”

(Source: Lifenews.com)


_________________________________



Revolving doors:-  Former Tory government health
 adviser joins US firm involved in NHS privatisation
5th of February 2017
Posted by Mike Sivier

The most worrying part of this is that services 
 the Conservative government is paying your
money to private firms, include contract
negotiations.

Is that really a constructive use of our millions?

Wouldn’t that money be better-used helping
people to actually, you know, get healthy?

A former Government health adviser has joined a
US firm involved in NHS privatisation – in a move
 campaigners say demonstrates the “wafer-thin
partition” between Tory policy makers and
the
 private health industry.

Nick Seddon, who was Cameron’s Special
 Adviser for Health, became Executive Vice
President of Optum, just four months after
he left his political role in July last year.

For-profit health management company Optum is
 part of multinational insurance firm UnitedHealth
Group, which made more than $8.4bn (£6.7bn)
in 2015.

The head of NHS England, Simon Stevens,
is also a former UnitedHealth executive.

Optum already provides 156 NHS organisations,
 which it calls its “partners”, services such as
 contract negotiations and medication
management.


A policy change made by David Cameron’s government
 in 2014, meant Mr Seddon’s move to the private sector
did not need to be vetted for conflicts of interest by a
 semi-independent advisory committee, as was
previously the case.

Instead his new appointment was approved by the
 Cabinet Office, which did so on the condition he
did not lobby the UK Government on behalf of
Optum in his first 2 years in the role or “draw
 on privileged information available to him,
as
a Crown servant”.


(Source - Vox Political)


_____________________________________



CALL ON Government
TO ACT – NHS CRISIS



Add your name to the letter demanding action


Dear Secretary of State

I am writing following events brought to my attention
 at (fill in)University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
site in recent weeks. In all of my dealings with
(fill in) NHS Trust, as a Local Ward Councillor
 and Member of Parliament, there has never
been a time when the sheer number of
people
 raising concerns with me
has been so great.


I've been inundated with emails from constituents
 detailing the problems with waiting times and
 specifically the accident & emergency depts
 being overcrowded – particularly during the
last week.  There have been various social
media posts, including images, which have
 depicted the sad state of affairs.

I care passionately about our NHS, but it is currently
 engulfed in a crisis that has been allowed to ensue
on this Government’s watch. These increasing

pressures have led to an already overstretched
 system appearing to be at near breaking point.

Whilst we all recognise the fantastic work of
 our doctors, nurses and other staff who work
in our NHS, they need Government support
at this difficult juncture – so that their
extraordinary efforts are not only
 recognised, but underpinned
with practical help.

Therefore, I would be grateful if you could
 outline what steps your  Department is
 taking to urgently address the problems
 hospitals are facing in my constituency
 and indeed across the country.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,
Signature


(fill in gap)

And…

We the undersigned, demand
 the government takes action
to end the NHS crisis:


please go here to add your name today:

http://www.steverotheram.com/nhs-crisis-time-to-act/


________________________________________


A&Es Forced To
Turn The Sick Away

by Steve Sweeney
Saturday 7th January, 2017

And now... even Red Cross is intervening in
 the crisis as Tories run service into ground

Patients are dying in corridors as a crisis engulfing
the NHS has pushed overflowing A&E departments
to shut their doors to urgent cases, it was revealed
 yesterday.


A woman died in a resuscitation bay after she
 had suffered an aneurysm and waited on an
emergency trolley in an A&E corridor.

A second patient died from a heart attack
while on a trolley for more than 35 hours
 waiting to be transferred to a ward.

Overall, A&E departments in England couldn't
attend patients on 143 occasions in December
 — an astonishing 63 per cent rise compared
to
the same period in 2015 — according to

 figures from NHS England.

The latest statistics revealed a record number of 42
 diverts --- when patients are sent to other hospitals
as a “last resort” -- in the week ---  compared with
an average of 20 over
 a typical week in the NHS.

And 50 out of the 150 NHS trusts in England told the
 Nuffield Trust they have been struggling to cope with
the demand. Seven warned that they were not able
to deliver even the most basic care to patients.


Nuffield Trust chief executive warned that the
situation could worsen in the coming weeks.

He told Radio 4’s Today programme: “As we know,
 there are major problems in social care. But also
in NHS community services. The ability of
hospitals 
 to get people out, is still
really tricky.


“The real crunch point generally comes in week two
 or three after the Christmas break. I think there
are
 early signs, that there is a problem.”

The crisis has become so bad that even the UK
Red Cross is diverting resources to help. The
humanitarian charity, more usually seen at front-
line disaster zones, has responded to what it is
 calling the “humanitarian crisis in our hospital
 and ambulance services across the country”
by deploying its own staff to ease the burden
on the NHS, according to the charity’s chief
executive Mike Adamson.

Royal College of Emergency Medicine president
Dr Taj Hassan blamed chronic underfunding and
 understaffing: as he warned that hospitals are
“in an absolute acute state of distress.”

Unison head of health Christina McAnea said:
“The NHS is a lifesaver but it’s being starved
of cash — and patients are suffering.”

Labour's Shadow health secretary:

“The government urgently needs to take action to
make sure that our NHS can cope, and is able to
provide the best 
possible care for patients.”



Image: Tory Cuts Cost Lives


Sufferers with progressive and mental
 illnesses have benefits cut by the DWP
15 Dec 2016 - by Mike Sivier

The figures cover a period beginning under
David Cameron and ending with Theresa May.

The Department for Work and Pensions’ current
 system of assessing the sick and disabled for
 benefits is on a par with medieval tests for
 witchcraft*.

Back in the day, people accused of being witches
 were submerged in a nearby river using a ducking
 stool --- on the expectation that their evil powers
 would allow them to survive. When they died, the
 conclusion was - they weren’t witches after all.
This was, of course, no comfort to the dead
suspect or their bereaved family.

Now, people with illnesses that are expected to end
 their lives in the near future are being deprived of
 Personal Independence Payments because “they
were expected to live beyond six months”.

What if they don’t?

The DWP will conclude that they were terminally ill
 after all – but you can bet there will be no comfort
for the dead claimant or their bereaved family ---
 as the DWP will not even offer a back-payment
 of benefit.

This is despite the possibility that deprivation of
 benefit may contribute to the deaths of claimants.

It is a sick, sick system.

This Writer would advise anybody who has lost
benefits to start going through an appeal process.
 If the DWP’s treatment of you affects your mental
 health in such a way that you consider self-harm,
 or even suicide – write a letter to them, spelling it
 out, and give a copy to a near family member or
 friend. And keep a diary of ways your health is
 affected because of the DWP’s decision.

The government gets away with this treatment of
 innocent people because it has been able to deny
 responsibility for what happens to them.... If you
make this denial implausible, these people will
 have to think again – possibly while facing
 criminal charges.

Thousands of people with progressive diseases
 and mental illness have lost their disability
benefits in a cruel Tory cut.

Charities sounded the alarm tonight over a
 “devastating” shake-up which has axed or
 reduced 230,000 people’s Personal
 Independence Payments (PIP).

Around 110,000 DLA claimants reassessed for
the new benefit – 21% of the total – have been
 rejected since PIP launched in 2013.

Another 121,000 – 23% of those reassessed –
were given PIP but at a lower rate than their
previous benefit.

Those who lost out include many with progressive
 diseases – around 450 Parkinson’s sufferers, 3,069
 people with multiple sclerosis and 4,450 suffering
 unspecified ‘malignant diseases’.

Others with progressive conditions who saw benefits
 axed or reduced were around 294 cystic fibrosis
sufferers, 36 people with motor neurone disease
 and 1,617 people classed as “terminally ill”.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said
 those in the last group were found to no longer be
 “terminally ill” because they were expected to
live beyond six months.

Mental health charity Mind warned 74,580 former
 DLA claimants with 4 key psychiatric disorders
 lost some or all of their benefits – 55% of all
 those who were reassessed.

PIP was denied or cut back for around 2,525 blind
 people, 570 people with AIDS, 128 haemophiliacs
 and 19 double amputees.

Also hit were approx 20,050 people with back pain,
----- 34,545 with arthritis, 8,084 with chronic pain
 syndromes & 10,725 with learning difficulties.

All figures are approximate because the DWP rounded
 the total number of claims for each condition to the
 nearest hundred.

The figures, covering April 2013 to October 2016
 and compiled by the Department for Work and
 Pensions (DWP), were slipped out without
 fanfare on the government’s website.

*Don’t congratulate me on the comparison;
 I’m simply quoting somebody else.

Join the Vox Political Facebook page.

If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget
 to share it. Politics is about everybody – so
let’s
try to get everybody involved!

Image: Circumcision on young boys



‘Informed & personal choice’: Danish
 doctors rise against child circumcision

The doctors association in Denmark calls to ban
child circumcision, & the country’s government
has made it obligatory to report circumcision
 to the authorities, starting next year, in a
move
to tighten restrictions on the
currently
unregulated practice.


Circumcision must be “an informed, personal choice,”
and therefore should be postponed until adulthood,
the Danish Medical Association says, in a press
release. It believes the current state of affairs
 deprives boys of the ability to make their
own decisions about their bodies and
 their cultural and religious beliefs.

Norway may ban non-medical circumcision of boys

“Circumcision, should be an informed, personal
 choice. It is most consistent with an individual’s
right to self-determination, that parents not be
 allowed to make this decision but that it is left
 up to the individual when he has come of age,”
The Local quoted Lise Moller, the chairwoman
 of the doctors’ association’s ethics board,
as saying.

The Danish association does not favor a total ban
on
circumcision, however, but believes it should

 be performed, on children, only for medical
reasons.

“We have discussed it thoroughly, also in our
ethics committee. We came to the conclusion
 that it's difficult to predict the consequences
of a ban – for the involved boys, who could
for example face bullying or unauthorized
procedures with complications – and for
the cultural and religious groups they
 belong to,” Moller said.

A majority of circumcisions in Denmark,
take place outside the public healthcare
system --- in religious ceremonies, and
 in private clinics. Somewhere between
1,000 & 2,000 circumcisions, mainly on
 Muslim and Jewish boys, take place
 yearly, according to estimates from the
 Danish Health and Medicines Authority.

A 2015 study, based on the data of 340,000
Danish boys, links circumcision with autism.

The study argues that autism is related to
painful experiences in early childhood.
 Critics say correlation does not mean
causation & more research is needed.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is banned
in Denmark, yet male circumcision is legal
& almost unregulated. Circumcision 'fans'
 claim that it is a beautiful tradition, which
 helps people hold to their ethnic, cultural
and religious roots, and that banning it
would violate basic human rights.

Circumcision opponents, however, say that
 keeping their privates intact is also a human
 right, and while the procedure does not have
any confirmed health benefits, it could harm
 children, both physically and mentally.

Multiple polls and studies indicate that
the majority of Danes support banning
 it on underage boys.

The Danish government, however, has
ruled in favor of the pro-circumcision
 minority.

(source - RT)


_________________________________



Remember Mark Wood?
Tories QUADRUPLE
the number
of people likely to die like he did

(by Mike Sivier, Vox Political)    


Mark Wood: He died of starvation several months
 after his ESA was stopped without warning by
 the DWP.

Mark Wood starved to death four months after the
then-government sickness benefit assessor, Atos,
 found him fit for work.

His death was never entered in Department for Work
 and Pensions death statistics, as it did not happen
 within 2 weeks of his claim being cut off. So the
 DWP could deny responsibility, even though he
 plainly wasn't fit for work when he
was assessed.


Now it seems government policies are deliberately
sending thousands of people to die the same way
poverty-stricken malnutrition.


Perhaps ministers think they have found a
way
to make the deaths look coincidental?


Consider: Government policies make people too poor
to eat, so they either starve to death at home like Mr
 Wood, or they become a burden on an already-
overworked National Health Service, forcing
it 
further towards collapse.

If they live, they have helped push the NHS further
into difficulty, that can be used later to justify a
switch to insurance-based private health;- if
they
die, they cease to claim state benefits.


It’s easy to understand that this is how
Jeremy Hunt and Damian Green think.

    The number of people so ­malnourished
they need
 hospital treatment has
QUADRUPLED in 10 years.


    In a shocking indictment of the nation’s food
 poverty, 16,000+ cases of malnutrition were
 reported in hospitals in England last year,
 an average of 45 every day.

    Over 900 of these cases were classed as
   severe; meaning patients were in danger
of starving to death.


    But these alarming NHS figures... are just
the
extreme tip of an iceberg of misery &

deprivation as GPs treat thousands more
 poverty-stricken patients for malnutrition.

    Campaigners blame spiralling food prices,
 falling wages and ruthless benefits cuts
 and sanctions.


Image: Heated vegetable oil toxic



Heated vegetable oil is so toxic
even lard is healthier, says study

Vegetable oils produce harmful toxins when they
are fried that could lead to cancer and dementia,
 according to research that contradicts the
NHS’s healthy living recommendations.

Unsaturated fats found in corn and sunflower oil have
 well-documented health benefits when used at room
 temperature.  However, vegetable oils lose these
 qualities when heated, -- undergoing “a complex
series of chemical reactions which results in
the 
accumulation of large amounts of toxic
compounds,” 
said professor Grootveld
of De Montfort University 
Leicester,
who has carried out research
on oils.


He told The Telegraph:

This major problem has received scant or
limited
 attention from the food industry
and health research.


The toxic chemicals are called aldehydes, and are
formed in sunflower and corn oil at temperatures
above 190C (374F). A standard meal of fish and
chips fried in vegetable oil produces 100 to 200
times more than the safe aldehyde daily limit
set
 by the World Health Organization.


 In the De Montfort University study, butter, olive
oil and coconut oil and even lard were all found
to release fewer of these toxins, which enter
the body through eating or inhalation.

However, the NHS Live Well website says that
 government guidelines advise using vegetable
oil and not butter when frying food, sticking
to the idea that ''unsaturated fats'' should
always be chosen over saturated fats.

Reports from as early as 2012 warn of the heated
 vegetable oil and toxicity, although few studies
have attracted the media’s attention and the
government continues to support their use
 – not least because there is still strong
support
 for the use of vegetable oil
instead of butter in
 the medical
community. For example Jean

 Gazzaniga-Moloo, PhD, RD, a
spokeswoman
 for the USA's
Dietetic Association, said:


Replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats is still
one of the healthiest changes most people can make.

The new study’s conclusion, however, dismisses the
 plausibility of Gazzaniga-Moloo’s comments, not
only
 highlighting the toxicity of vegetable oils,
but also 
questioning the safety of their high
levels of 
omega-6 fatty acids.

Fatty Acids

Omega-6 is an essential fatty acid, like omega-3.
The two work together: omega-3 decreases the
 inflammation that some omega-6 acids cause.
Both are “essential” because the body does
 not produce them naturally.

The problem is that the western diet includes
 far more omega-6 than omega-3, causing an
 imbalance that leads to a greater risk of
inflammation, which can contribute to
cardio-
vascular disease, depression
and some 
forms of cancer.

John Stein, Oxford University’s emeritus professor
of neuroscience believes the balance of fatty acids
is vitally important, and that vegetable oils must
be consumed in moderation. He said:

If you eat too much corn oil or sunflower oil, the brain
is absorbing too much omega-6, and that effectively
forces out omega-3. I believe a lack of omega-3 is
 a powerful contributory factor to such problems
as
 increasing mental health issues, and other
problems, 
such as dyslexia.


For now...  health experts are yet to come to a
conclusive opinion on the issue, so it appears
that when it comes to maintaining good health,
the key to a healthy diet could be moderation.

(from article in The Canary)

Image: chemo toxic danger



Shocking: UK Study Reveals Deadly
Dangers 
of Chemotherapy
Cancer Treatment



A startling study by Public Health England and Cancer
Research UK has found that cancer treatment itself
may be killing up to 50 percent of patients.

Chemotherapy has long been controversial, as the
 treatment does specifically target cancerous cells,
& destroys healthy cells in the process. In a first-
of-its-kind study, researchers researched cancer
 patients who died within 30 days of starting their
 treatment, indicating that the treatment caused
 the death, not the cancer.

Across the nation, they found that 8.4 percent of
those undergoing treatment for lung cancer, and
2.4% of those being treated for breast cancer,
died within a month of beginning treatment.

 Results varied greatly based on the hospital
however, as an alarming 50.9% of those in
 Milton Keynes Hospital beginning chemo-
therapy treatment for lung cancer, died
 within 30 days.

Researchers note that the total number of patients
 treated at the hospital was much smaller than the
norm, but the numbers remain eye-opening. “The
 statistics do not suggest bad practice overall
- but there are some outliers,” said Professor
 David Dodwell, Institute of Oncology at Saint
James Hospital, Leeds, a researcher behind
 the study. “It could be data problems, and
figures skewed because of just a few
deaths, 
but, nevertheless, it could
also be down to 
problems with
clinical practice.”


One particularly important finding in the study
 showed that there were significant differences
in fatality, based on patients age and health.

Researchers now suggest not to opt for
chemotherapy if patients are in poor
health
 or are weak, as the invasive
treatment can
do more harm
than good.


 “I think it’s important to make patients aware that
 there are potentially life threatening downsides to
 chemotherapy. & doctors should be more careful
about who they treat with chemotherapy,”
Dodwell 
wrote.

 Hospitals with higher-than-average mortality rates
 were notified, and asked to review their practice.

“The identification of hospitals with significantly
 higher 30-day mortality rates, should promote
review of clinical decision making in these
hospitals. Furthermore, our results highlight
 the importance of collecting routine data
beyond clinical trials to better understand
the factors placing patients at higher risk
of 30-day mortality, & ultimately improve
 clinical decision making,” the
report stated.





NHS BEING DESTROYED
- MEDIA BLACKOUT -


If you’re desperate to see a GP,
 new scheme will make you pay
by Jessica Gay
 (Source The Canary)

A new scheme has been launched which enables
 people to skip queues in GP surgeries and have
an on-demand doctor visit them in their own
home. Within 90 minutes. The only catch
 — it costs £120.

The service

The new ‘private primary care’ service, developed by
 GP Delivered Quick (GPDQ) --- has people ‘booking’
 a doctor via a smartphone app. They select a date
 and time for them to visit. Each consultation lasts
 around 25 minutes and the doctors are on call
seven days a week between 8am and 11pm.

But if you’re desperate to see a doctor, it’ll cost you.
To book a 25-minute weekday consultation costs
 £120. For weekend visits, it’s £150. And for a
 bank holiday, £200!

The service, which has been approved by Care
 Quality Commission (a ''health regulator'' which
 the UK regime now controls), was launched in
London in 2015. It has now recently been
 rolled out across Birmingham.

The man behind the app:

Dr Anshumen Bhagat is the N. London GP behind
the app. After working 15 years in the NHS and in
 private healthcare, Bhagat decided to launch the
 app to provide greater flexibility for patients.

 He said:

This is digitising the home visit – it really is that
 simple. Patients benefit from speed & flexibility,
 with the ability to see a doctor when & where
 it suits them, booking and tracking their GP
 through their smartphone. Our 25-minute
 appointments allow for a more in-depth
 consultation, whilst our two-hour
 prescription delivery service
provides an extra level of
convenience.

Regarding how GPs will benefit from
the service, Bhagat continued:

It also enables all GPs in the UK to see patients on
a private basis, work flexibly, and earn extra income
in the process – they’re essentially running a virtual
clinic through our state of the art mobile platform.

While the consultation price does include written
 prescriptions and referrals, the fact that this app
 prioritises those with money is troubling. £120,
 for example, is a lot of money. Especially for
those on benefits and low incomes, and for
 children and elderly people.

Also, London and Birmingham (where the service
 has been rolled out) have some of the highest
 levels of poverty in the UK.  27% of people in
London and 37% of children in Birmingham
live in poverty. Given this, it is almost
 impossible for society’s vulnerable
 people, to afford this service.

GPs

According to the app’s website:

 “every GPDQ doctor must meet our
high standards of clinical experience
 and patient care”. As well as this,
 each doctor “continues to work
 within the NHS”.

But with the cutting of NHS budgets left, right
 and centre, it questions whether the NHS will
 even exist, in a couple of years. The cuts have
 already forced many local practices to close,
 much to the delight of private healthcare
 services (like Virgin Care), which have
 been snapping them up.

So while the service secures a role for GPs if the
 NHS goes under, it does little to provide for those
 who depend on national heath care. The service,
which has been approved under Hunt’s watch,
gives us another indication of how the Health
 Secretary envisages future health care.

So far, it involves sucking the NHS dry, over-
exerting doctors, and shaking hands with
billionaire privateers. Sadly, it’s the same
 tale. And we’re wondering how he’s
still able to get away with it.


________________________________


Are you insured?!?

    NHS doctors are now being ordered by chiefs
-- to ask patients if they have private health
 insurance and, if so, to ‘gently’ remind
them 
--- to use it.

    This unprecedented move now exposes the dire
 financial predicament the NHS is currently in -
and confirms that the ‘universal’ commitment
of the health service... is well and truly over.

 Labour built the NHS. Now it
 must fight to save and rebuild it.

If you're interested, go now to:

https://labournhslobby.wordpress.com/about/





From wales:

My late partner was told she couldn't enter
the room where her son was then near to
death - unless she had an MMR vaccine.
I advised her to refuse the vaccine and
to insist on seeing her son, anyway...
the staff relented. (Her son survived).

Why did I do this? Because a dear
friend had had the MMR vaccine &
shrank from a fit, 14 stone man

-- to a thin, shaking wisp of his
former self. His friends were
horrified - and when, after a
year of watching him suffer,
they advised him to sue...
he was told it was 'too late.'

From the US:

Parents must be informed
From Jon Rappoport:
 
"On July 29, US Congressman Bill Posey made his
 last stand on the floor of the House. Granted five
 minutes to speak, he laid bare the lying of the CDC
 in a now-famous 2004 study, that exonerated the
 MMR vaccine and claimed it had no connection
 to autism."

"No connection to autism" was the lie...

"Parents who are, in ignorance, allowing their
children to receive the MMR vaccine, must be
informed. They must know what is going on.

They must know the danger to their children."

"Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Germany,
 France, India, China, South Africa…wherever the
 MMR vaccine is given…parents must be made
aware: they’re gambling with their children’s
lives."

"Government officials anywhere in the world who
 make this continuing crime possible are liable."

"So are manufacturers of the MMR."

https://jonrappoport.wordpress.
com/category/vaccinegate/



YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY


Determining Factor
in Child Autism

    by Kenji Tsuchiya

The age at which parents have children, shapes
their neurophysiological development, and the
 diagnosis of the autistic spectrum, Japanese
 expert, Kenji Tsuchiya, explained, at the 18th
 Conference on Psychophysiology, in Havana.

Starting from his lecture, the 'Neurological
Development of Children during the First
Years of
Life. An analysis of the Child's
Development and the
Diagnosis of the
Autistic Spectrum,' the expert
said that
his study is based on the information

collected from 1,250 children in Japan.

With the data from this research, it is possible to
verify how children from parents at an advanced

 age, meaning 35 years or older, are at higher risk
of being autistic and of having slower progress
in developing
language abilities and physical-
motor capacities -
characteristics that could
appear during the first
24 months of life,
Tsuchiya asserted.


Image: Theresa May and her husband Philip


Tory Plot To Sell Our
Medical Records


It seems the government is about to resurrect the
privatisation of our medical records, but this time
 without even telling us.

The government review into the care.data
scheme recommended that it be scrapped.

But buried in the report is a new scheme to
sell our medical records to big corporations.

The government’s review proposes to allow medical
 records from your family doctor, (possibly including
 NHS Numbers, diagnoses, referrals, prescriptions
- along with postcodes and dates of birth - ) to be
 uploaded to a giant national database – but this
 time without telling us or asking for our consent.

One of the schemes to replace care.data is called
 the “Single GP dataset”. The government’s review
 into care.data proposes to send all patient records
 from family GPs to the central database without
 the express consent of patients. Once in the
system, it can be “sold” to any customers of
the ‘Health and Social Care Information
centre”, including private companies.

The government buried this announcement
 on the day of the report into the Iraq War.
It is hoping no one will notice this new
land grab on our medical records.

As is now inevitable with such attempts
 at skulduggery, the plan is now exposed
and there is a petition against it, which
you can sign here:


https://actions.sumofus.org/a/scrap-the-
sale-of-our-medical-records?sp_ref=22
1294929.99.173667.f.548834.2&source=fb




Image: cancer caused by meat eating say researchers



A Sad Day for Carnivores:
 Meat Eaters Higher Cancer Risk

Eating meat could be linked to cancer, whereas
 consuming whole grains, fruit and vegetables,
 may lessen the cancer risk, Danish
researchers 
find.

A research team at the National Food Institute
 reviewed several studies on meat consumption
 and cancer risk, after last year's International
Agency for Research on Cancer summary,
which listed processed meat in the same
category of carcinogens as cigarette
smoke
 and asbestos, Food
Navigator reports.


 In June, the World Health Organization (WHO)
 published a report indicating that processed
 meat may be carcinogenic. The WHO report
said processed meats like bacon, sausages,
salami and canned meat, may all increase
 the risk of cancer.

Preben Vestergaard Hansen, a doctoral candidate
 in human nutrition from Metropolitan University
 College, explained to Danish Radio which three
 details aroused researchers' suspicion.

"According to new official dietary guidelines, we
need to cut down on fatty meat and red meat, and
 this applies to all meats from four-legged animals,
including pork. This concerns both fried and
cooked meat," Hansen told Danish Radio.

"Blood in the meat is the first probable culprit, as
iron (hemoglobin) takes oxygen around the body
- and is suspected to influence the development
 of cancer. Basically, we know that red meat is
 associated with ncreased risks of colo-rectal
 cancer, but the link has never been
established 
with certainty,"
Hansen explained.


The second hypothesis is that all kinds of fried
meat can cause greater risk of cancer. In this
case --- so-called nitrosamines from the meat
membrane are the apparent culprit. And finally,
nitrite salts, which are used in processed meat
for preservation, are also associated with a
higher risk of cancer.

According to the reports, a daily intake of above
 50 grams a day -- leads to an increased risk of
 developing cancer. This amounts to roughly 3
 slices of bacon or one slice of ham, which is
 not much, considering that Danes consume
up
 to 100 kg of meat per year.

Despite a lack of conclusive evidence, Danish
food authorities are discouraging Danes from
eating processed meat --- if possible.

However, there are indications that other life-
style-related causes such as lack of activity,
alcohol and smoking --- must be taken into
account to understand the whole picture.

Cancer is the leading cause
of death, in Denmark.


Image: Cancer charity naughty investments


 UK cancer research pensions plan funds
 invest millions in British American Tobacco


Pension plans for scientists working at Cancer
 Research UK are among those to have invested
 in British American Tobacco to the tune of £211
 million (US$308 million).

The fund, which caters for university lecturers
and staff, is worth just shy of £50 billion. Its
 biggest investment (£344 million) is in Royal
 Dutch Shell, and is equally controversial,
reports The Guardian.

News that Cancer Research UK money has
 essentially been used to fight the effects of
 smoking and to fund the tobacco industry,
 comes as a shock to many.

A UK Universities' spokesperson, defends
the investments choice of the Universities
 Superannuation Scheme - and insists that
financial return takes precedence over
 any moral dilemmas raised.

“The USS, as part of its investment duties,
 takes into account wider social, ethical,
 environmental & governance issues, so
long as that ensures that the assets

 of the scheme are invested in the
best
 financial interests of the
members and 
their
beneficiaries,”
they say.


Earlier this year, the European Public
 Health Association (EUPHA) called on
people & companies to stop investing
in tobacco.

“For decades, it has actively sought to
mislead the world about harms caused
by its products. It has corrupted public
officials, been complicit in illicit acts,
 such as smuggling, and undermined
legislation to protect the health of
 the public,” reads the statement.

EUPHA President, Professor Martin McKee
 added that “it is simply unacceptable that
USS should continue to invest in this
 discredited industry.”

Cancer Research UK Tobacco Policy Manager
George Butterworth admitted he was unhappy
 with the investment situation, but insisted the
 Tobacco Free Portfolios movement shows
 that things can change.

“The tobacco industry’s deadly products,
are responsible for 1 in 4 cancer deaths.
Many people would be shocked to learn
 their pensions are invested in tobacco
 company shares --- especially those
striving to develop cures for those
diseases
 caused by this lethal
industry,” 
he said.

“Cancer Research UK’s own pension
 funds are tobacco-free, but many of our
 researchers, are based at institutions
 where that isn't the case,” he added.

“To help make it easier for organisations’
pension schemes to opt out of tobacco
 shares, we are now funding the UK arm
 of Tobacco Free Portfolios to encourage
 investment funds to divest from tobacco
 stocks. AXA’s move earlier this week to
withdraw billions in investment from
the tobacco industry, shows what
 can be done.”


Image: blood dialysis machine


Surgery should be standard treatment
option for diabetes: guidelines

New clinical guidelines endorsed by forty-five
international diabetes organizations, call for
bariatric surgery, involving manipulation
 of
the stomach / intestine, to be considered

as a "standard treatment option" for
type 2 
diabetes.


The guidelines recommend surgery to induce
 weight-loss for certain categories of people
 living with type 2 diabetes, including those
 who are mildly obese and fail to respond
 to conventional treatment.

The recommendation is based on evidence
from 11 clinical trials, that bariatric surgery
--- can improve blood glucose levels more
effectively than any lifestyle or pharma-
ceutical interventions, in obese people
 with type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes Care Editor in Chief William Cefalu
 said in a statement that the new guidelines
 mark the 1st time surgery is recommended
 as a treatment option ------ for diabetes.

"Given the rapid developments in the field,
it's important to focus on this topic for
those
 who care for individuals with
diabetes," Cefalu
said.

"These new Guidelines - based on
results
of multiple clinical studies - validate
that
metabolic surgery's indicated for
certain
people with diabetes ------ and can
yield
significantly improved outcomes."


Bariatric surgery involves the removal of
 part of the stomach -- or a reroute of the
 small intestine.

Although it's as safe as other common
operations such as gallbladder surgery
--- there are risks of complications and
 long-term nutritional deficiencies that
 require rigorous long-term follow-up
 by expert teams.

The new guidelines emerged from the
Second Diabetes Surgery Summit, an
 international consensus conference
 held in London in September 2015
 - and jointly organized with the US
 Diabetes Association, International
 Diabetes Federation, Diabetes UK,
Chinese Diabetes Society, and
Diabetes India.

According to the new guidelines, bariatric
 surgery should be recommended to treat
patients with type 2 diabetes who have a
 BMI of 40 and those with a BMI of 30 who
 are not able to adequately control their
 blood glucose levels via other means.

These BMI thresholds should be reduced
 by 2.5 for Asian patients as they develop
type 2 diabetes at lower BMI than other
populations.

The BMI is a measure of obesity for adult
 men and women --- and is calculated by
 dividing body weight in kilograms, by
 height, in metres squared.

"Surgery represents a radical departure
 from conventional diabetes approaches"
 stated Francesco Rubino, professor of
Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery at King's
 College, London, in Britain, and the
first
author of the report.


"The new Guidelines effectively introduce,
both conceptually and practically, one of
 the biggest changes for diabetes care
 in modern times," he added.



Image: Global Sleep Crisis


‘Global sleep crisis’ caused by
 social pressures – scientists

A new study, using data collected via
a smartphone
app worldwide, shows
modern-day social pressures
are eat-
ing into more and more of everyone's
bedtime.


The data was compiled by scientists at
the University
of Michigan --- who were
looking to analyze sleeping
patterns
around the globe.

They used information
such as age,
gender and even the amount of light

 that people sleeping are exposed to.

The aim of the study, carried out in 100
countries,
was to get a better under-
standing of how cultural
pressures
can have the ability to supersede

 biological rhythms.

"The effects of society on sleep remain largely
 unquantified," the study, published on May 6th
 in the Science Advances journal, states,
 according to Reuters.

"We find that social pressures weaken and/
or conceal biological drives in the evening,
leading individuals to delay their bedtime
and shorten their sleep."

A lack of sleep can lead to an increase in
the
risk of becoming obese or contracting
diabetes
or heart problems.

The study found that middle-
aged men
suffer the most from sleep deprivation

-- and get less than the recommended
eight hours
per day -- which can also
prove to be a danger
to society.


"It's middle-aged men that seem to be getting
 a remarkably little amount of sleep, and we
 think that is very significant," the study's
 lead author, Professor Daniel Forger, of
the
University of Michigan, told CBC.


 "They are behind the wheel driving trucks,
driving airplanes, and when they do it with
 so little sleep, that can pose risks to them-
selves --- and also to society."

Around 6,000 people over the age of 15 were
 asked to send data on their sleeping patterns
such as when they went to bed and woke up,
 and how much light they were exposed to.

The amount a person sleeps is affected by
20,000 nerve cells located behind the eyes.
They adjust to how much light
they are
exposed to, especially natural light ---
which can cause a person to
wake up earlier.

Wake up! Too much sleep increases risk
 of dying from heart disease, study says.

"If you've very little sleep, you can perform
just as well as when you're drunk, so not
getting much sleep, is, indeed, a global
crisis
right now," Forger says.


The study found that those in Japan and
Singapore, received the least sleep, at 7
hrs
& 24 mins, and Netherlands subjects

got the most, at 8 hours and 12 minutes.

Although this is a difference of less than
 an hour, even a difference of 30 minutes
can impact on a person’s health, & how
 they are able to function.

"Impaired sleep presents an immediate,
 pressing threat to human health," the
 study mentions, according to Reuters.

However, a recent study shows that getting
 too much sleep may not be good for you, as
 those sleeping for more than 8 hours, face
 a higher risk of dying from heart disease.

Although previous studies had shown that a
lack of sleep was linked to stress, increased
 blood pressure & the secretion of adrenaline
 – all of which are factors of an increased risk
of
heart disease – the effects of too much
sleep
on heart disease, came as a surprise.


“We don’t know which mechanism can
explain a direct causal link --- between
 long sleep duration & an increased risk
 of dying from coronary heart disease,”
 lead author, Dr. Linn Beate Strand,
says, in a statement.


Image: breastfeeding is best feeding

Breastfeeding may reduce mother's
 heart attack, stroke risk: study
June 22nd, 2017.
 
Breastfeeding is not only healthy for babies, it may also
 reduce a mother's risk of having a heart attack or stroke
 later in life, according to a new study of 300,000 Chinese
women published today.

Those who breastfed their babies, had about a 10 percent
 lower risk of developing heart disease or stroke compared
 to those who did not, and the longer they breastfed, the
greater effects they had, according to the study,
published in the Journal of the American
Heart Association.

"The findings should encourage more widespread breastfeeding
 for the benefit of the mother, as well as the child," study co-
author
Zhengming Chen, a professor of epidemiology at
the University
of Oxford, said in a statement.

"The study provides support for the World Health Organization's
recommendation, that mothers should breastfeed their babies
exclusively, for their first six months of life," Chen said.

Previous studies have suggested that mothers get short-term
 health benefits from breastfeeding, such as weight loss and
 lower cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose levels after
pregnancy. However, the long-term effects of breast-
feeding on the risk of developing cardiovascular
diseases in mothers, were unclear.

In the new study, researchers from the University of Oxford,
 the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking
University, studied 300,000 Chinese women aged 30
 to 79 years, as part of a large prospective cohort
study called the China Kadoorie Biobank,
which provided detailed information
about their reproductive history
 and other lifestyle factors.

After eight years of follow-up, there were 16,671 cases of
 coronary heart disease which includes heart attacks,
 and 23,983 stroke cases among the 290,000 women
who had no previous history of cardiovascular
 disease, when enrolled in the study.

The researchers found that compared to women who had
 never breastfed, mothers who breastfed their babies had
a nine percent lower risk of heart disease and an eight
percent lower risk of stroke.

Among mothers who breastfed each of their babies for
two years or more, heart disease risk was 18% lower
and stroke risk was 17 percent lower, than among
mothers who never breastfed.

Each additional six months of breastfeeding per baby was
 associated with a four percent lower risk of heart disease
 and a three percent lower risk of stroke, researchers said.

"Although we cannot establish the causal effects, health
benefits to the mother from breastfeeding may be
explained by a faster 'reset' of the mother's
metabolism, after pregnancy," said study
co-author Sanne Peters, research fellow
at the University of Oxford.

"Pregnancy changes a woman's metabolism dramatically,
 as she stores fat to provide the energy necessary for her
 baby's growth & for breastfeeding once the baby is born.
 Breastfeeding could eliminate the stored fat faster and
more completely," Peters added.

__________________________


UNICEF says breastfeeding has lifesaving benefits


Breastfeeding has lifesaving benefits, the
 United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF),
states, reports Xinhua news.


"Investing in breastfeeding has a significant impact
 on the health of women and children --- and on the
 economies of both rich and poor countries," says
 UNICEF Chief of Nutrition Werner Schultink, citing
 a new series published by the UK weekly medical
 journal, The Lancet.

"The series provides crucial evidence for the case
 that breastfeeding is a cornerstone of children's
 survival, health, growth and development --- and
 contributes to a more prosperous & sustainable
 future," he says.

The study found that breastfeeding saves babies
 lives, reducing the risk of sudden infant deaths
 and intestinal diseases.

It also highlighted the economic benefits of
breastfeeding and called on governments to
support mothers with policies --- such as a
 minimum of 14 weeks maternity leave.

It found that countries lost over 500 billion
 dollars a year -- through losses in cognitive
 ability which led to lower earning capacity
 for people not breastfed as babies.

In China, the study found that breastfeeding
 decreased by 5% between 2003 & 2008 and
 that a 10% rise in breastfeeding, could cut
the treatment costs of childhood disorders
 by 30 million dollars, in urban China alone.

UNICEF, which contributed to the Lancet
series, says the study shows that breast-
feeding can help to achieve the UN's
 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

These are 17 economic, social and environ-
mental goals all UN member states agreed
 to work towards achieving by 2030.

"Breastfeeding is..... the most natural, cost
effective, environmentally sound & readily
 available way we know, to provide all our
children, rich or poor, with the healthiest
start in life," stresses Schultink. "It's a win-
win for all concerned, to make it a priority."

Image: vaccination terror

Recent Italian Court Decisions
on Vaccines and Autism

On September 23, 2014, an Italian court in Milan
 awarded compensation to a boy --- for vaccine-
induced autism.

A childhood vaccine against six childhood
 diseases caused the boy’s permanent autism and
 brain damage.  While the Italian press has devoted
 considerable attention to this decision & its public
 health implications, the U.S. press has been silent.

Like the U.S., Italy has a national vaccine injury
compensation program to give some financial aid
to those people who are injured by compulsory
 and recommended vaccinations.

The Italian infant plaintiff received three doses of
GlaxoSmithKline’s Infanrix Hexa --- a hexavalent
vaccine administered in the first year of life. The
 doses occurred from March to October, 2006.

The vaccine is to protect children from polio,
 diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B, pertussis,
 and Haemophilus influenza type B.

 In addition to these antigens, however, the
 vaccine contained thimerosal, the mercury-
containing preservative, and aluminum, an
adjuvant, as well as other toxic ingredients. 

The child regressed into autism shortly after
receiving the three doses.  When the parents
 presented their claim for compensation first to
 the Ministry of Health, as they were required
to do, the Ministry rejected it. So the family
sued the Ministry in a general jurisdiction
 court, an option which does not exist
 in the same form in the U.S.

Based on expert medical testimony, the court
 concluded that the child more likely than not
 suffered autism and brain damage because of
 the neurotoxic mercury, aluminum and his
susceptibility from a genetic mutation. 

The Court noted that Infanrix Hexa contains
 thimerosal, now banned in Italy because of
 its neurotoxicity, “in concentrations greatly
exceeding the maximum recommended
levels for infants weighing a few kilograms.”

Presiding Judge Nicola Di Leo considered
another piece of damning evidence: a 1271-
page confidential GlaxoSmithKline report
 (now available on the Internet).

  This industry document has provided ample
 evidence of adverse events via the vaccine,
 including 5 known cases of autism resulting
 from the vaccine’s administration during its
 clinical trials.

In many developed countries, government,
 not industry, compensates families in the
 event of vaccine injury. So GSK’s apparent
 lack of concern for the vaccine’s adverse
 effects is notable & perhaps not surprising.

  In the final assessment, the report states:
 “[t]he benefit/risk profile of Infanrix hexa
 continues to be favourable,” despite GSK’s
 acknowledging that the vaccine causes
side effects including:

 “anaemia haemolytic autoimmune,
 thrombocytopenia, thrombocytopenic
purpura, autoimmune thrombocytopenia,
 idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura,
 haemolytic anemia, cyanosis, injection
site nodule, abcess and injection site
abscess, Kawasaki’s disease, important
neurological events (such as encephalitis
and encephalopathy), Henoch-Schonlein
 purpura, petechiae, purpura, haematochezia,
 allergic reactions (including anaphylactic &
 anaphylactoid reactions),” and death.

The Milan decision is sober, informed and
well-reasoned. The Ministry of Health has
stated, that it has appealed the Court’s
 decision, but that appeal will likely take
 several years & its outcome is uncertain.


____________________________________



US Senate Passes Bill Approving
 Mandatory Vaccinations for Veterans

Basically..... biological warfare is sneaky.
 It involves a microbial sucker punch to its
 intended target, often accomplished in a
 manner in which the aggressor can claim
 clean hands, while his victim may suffer
or die.

Biological warfare can take a number of forms.
The question—how to get a bacteriological or
toxic agent on board without the target being
 alerted– has been asked and answered.....

 In addition to using humans and animals as
 vectors, biological warfare agents can be
 airborne, waterborne, foodborne, or put
into pharmaceuticals.

Substantial concerns have been voiced.
Polio vaccines have been found to contain
cancer. A Merck rotavirus vaccine was
found to be contaminated with a pig virus.

Another Merck product, the Hepatitis B
vaccine, was reported to have been laced
 with the AIDS virus., In addition, a tetanus
vaccine distributed in the third world was
 found to contain human chorionic gonad-
otrophin, an anti-fertility agent known to
 produce spontaneous abortions.

The correlation between the rise in
 vaccinations of children & autism,
 has become an urban legend.

A Bill has just passed the US Senate:

Section 101 of Senate Bill 1203, named the
21st Century Veterans Benefits Delivery Act,
says the Department of Veterans Affairs will
 be tasked with the mandate to “ensure that
veterans receiving medical services under
ch. 17 of title 38, US Code receive each
 immunization on the recommended adult
immunization schedule at the time such
 immunization is indicated on that schedule.”

The schedule is frankly staggering.
Over ninety vaccines are listed.

The issues. First, an entire group of individuals,
who at one time were in military service, will
 lose their inherent right to opt out of receiving
what is considered prophylactic treatment.

Anita Stewart, who served in the Air Force,
& now hosts Wise Women Media radio show:
“This could include experimental vaccines,
 or vaccines that have not been tested.”

It is believed that those who refuse will,
under this Bill, lose their medical benefits.

Second, the numbers of immunizations on
 the required schedule could be enough to
 sicken anyone.

Flu vaccines have been known to cause Guillain-
 Barre syndrome, which is a neurological disorder
 wherein a person’s own immune system attacks
 the nerve cells and can cause paralysis.

Gulf War Syndrome, which may manifest with
 such symptoms as:- rashes, severe fatigue,
muscle and joint pain, headache, irritability,
 depression, gastrointestinal and respiratory
 disorders and neurological cognitive defects,
is thought by some researchers to have been
 caused by “vaccine overload.”

 According to Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Professor
Malcolm Hooper, US Gulf war soldiers had
“at least 17 different vaccines, including
 live vaccines (polio and yellow fever as
well as experimental vaccines that had
not been approved (anthrax, botulinum
 toxoid) and were of doubtful efficacy.”

Others attribute Gulf War Syndrome
specifically to the anthrax vaccine
given to the troops.

In addition, a certain cluster of vaccines has
 been linked to type one diabetes.  The H1N1
vaccine has been linked to miscarriages and
 stillbirths. According to this report, the H1N1
 shot resulted in SIXTY TIMES the rate of
 miscarriage associated with the seasonal
 flu vaccine.

H1N1 was also found to be linked to a spike
 in narcolepsy in children. According to this
study, there was a 400 percent increase in
 the incidence of narcolepsy in those under
20 years, who received swine flu vaccine.

It would literally be possible to go on for
pages here. The pattern is clear. Vaccine
 safety is a realistic concern.

In light of the considerable scientific evidence
that vaccines cause illness, one must ask what
 this piece of legislation hopes to attain. Writes
Anita Stewart:

“Forced mandates are nothing more than medical
 tyranny….Vaccines in most cases do not cure or
 protect us, but could make some of us sicker and
 definitely create a huge and continuing revenue
 stream for Big Pharma.”

There are no studies of the effects of these
numbers of vaccines on adults. Equally,
 there are no studies concerning the “poly-
pharmacy” effects of combining them.

Given the increasing scrutiny of civil rights
 abuses in the US, plus escalating concerns
 over apparent covert US biological weapons
 activity in a number of different venues, one
 might expect that Senate Bill 1203 will
result in an upsurge of protest.

Veterans have already served their country.
To re-enlist them as lab rats diminishes both
 the concepts of freedom and democracy ---
 & those who served to protect these ideals.


Image: Drug deaths in US soar



‘We’ve never really seen
 anything like this’:
US suicide rates
hit 50-year peak
November 29th, at 9:42am


The US witnessed the most deaths in a single year, since
 official records began, in 2017, with suicide and drug
overdose deaths soaring among an aging population,
 according to the Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).


It marks the third consecutive year life expectancy has
dropped in the US, and the longest life expectancy
decline trend since the late 1910s, when WWI
and
the worst flu pandemic in modern
history,
combined, to kill
approximately 675,000

Americans.


All told, the US recorded 2.8 million deaths in 2017, with
middle-aged deaths making the biggest impact on life
expectancy. 


“These sobering statistics are a wake-up call that we
are losing too many Americans, too early and too
often, to conditions that are preventable,” Dr.
Robert Redfield, the CDC’s director, said.


The suicide rate in 2017 was the highest in 50 years,
 reaching roughly 47,000 cases (up from just below
45,000 the previous year).


“We’ve never really seen anything like this,” said Robert
Anderson, who oversees CDC death statistics. Suicide
is the tenth leading cause of death in the US, for the
 tenth year in a row.


Increases have been prominent among the female
 population, despite the fact that most people who
 die by suicide, are still male. The female suicide
 rate rose by 53 percent between 1999 and 2017,
 with a 26 percent increase for men, during the
same period.


“I really do believe that people are increasingly hopeless,
and that that, leads to drug use, it leads potentially to
suicide,” said Dr. William Dietz, a disease prevention
 expert, at George Washington University.


Among the 10 leading causes of death, only cancer
deaths
fell, while there were increases in suicide,
stroke,
diabetes, Alzheimer’s, flu/pneumonia,
chronic
lower respiratory diseases, and

unintentional injuries.


The number one cause of death in the US, heart disease,
levelled off. Improvements in prevention and treatment
of the condition, usually offset increases in other
 leading causes of death.


Meanwhile, drug overdoses surpassed 70,000 in 2017,
solidifying the ongoing crisis as the  deadliest such
epidemic in US history. Accidental drug overdoses
accounted for one third of unintentional injury
deaths, while intentional overdoses made up
roughly a tenth of suicides, according to
the CDC. The CDC’s numbers are
subject to change as more data
becomes available, however.


The US still ranks as having among the lowest
life expectancy rates, for developed nations.


(Source - RT)


________________________________________________



Drug abuse leading cause of
injury & deaths in US: Report

Drug abuse in the US is at “epidemic levels” where
 they are the leading cause of injury-related deaths,
surpassing car accidents and gun violence, says a
 new US government report.

About 46,470 US citizens died of drug overdoses in
 2013, the last year which data was available, while
 35,369 people died in traffic-related accidents and
33,636 were killed by guns, the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) says, on November 4th.

"Drug abuse is ending too many lives too soon
and destroying families and communities,”
DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg says.

"We must reach young people at an even earlier
 age --- and teach them about its many dangers
and horrors."

Drug overdose deaths have risen sharply in
the last ten years, up more than 50 percent
 from 30,711 fatalities in 2004.

"Overdose deaths, particularly from prescription
 drugs & heroin, have reached epidemic levels,"
 Rosenberg says.

The DEA report also finds that heroin and
 prescription pain killers, are among the
top drug threats in the US.

Heroin use in the US has skyrocketed in
 recent years and there was a 51 percent
 increase in users between 2013 and 2014.

According to new findings by researchers,
middle-aged white people in the US have
suffered a startling rise in death rates
since 1999 --- most likely because of
problems with legal and illegal drugs,
alcohol and suicide.


Image: transplanting wombs


Womb transplants given UK go-ahead

Doctors have been granted approval to carry out
 the UK's first 10 womb transplants, following the
 success of the procedure in Sweden.

The go-ahead has been given by the Health
Research Authority as part of a clinical trial
 - which launches in the spring.

Around one in 7,000 women are born without a
 womb, while others lose their womb to cancer.

If the trial is successful, the first UK baby could
 arrive in early 2018.

Over 100 women have already been identified
 as potential recipients of donor wombs.

Dr Richard Smith, a consultant gynaecologist
at the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital
 in London who has been working on the project
 for 19 years, will lead the transplant team.

He said childlessness could be a "disaster"
 for couples, but the technique would offer
hope to those whose only other option is
 surrogacy or adoption.

How would the procedure work?

    The operation takes around six hours,
with the organ coming from a dead
 donor, whose heart is kept beating.

    The recipient will need to take immuno-
    suppressant drugs after the transplant
    and during any pregnancy --- to prevent
rejection of the donor organ.

    The woman's health is monitored closely
 for a year and then an embryo implanted
 in the womb.

    This embryo would arise from a combination
 of the woman's own eggs and the partners'
 sperm - using an IVF procedure.

    If all goes well the baby will be delivered
 eight months later by caesarean section.

    Couples will be given the option of trying for
 2 pregnancies before the womb is removed.

    Once it is no longer needed, the womb can
be taken out by a team of surgeons. This
 prevents the need for the woman to be on
 immunosuppressants for the rest of her life.

Dr Smith on BBC Radio 4's Today programme:
"Over the years I've had quite a lot of crises
with this... but when you meet the women
 who have been born without a uterus, or
who have had their uterus removed, for
one reason or another, this is really
heart-rending stuff and that is what
 has kept us going.

According to his team at Womb Transplant
 UK, each procedure costs up to £50,000,
but women will not have to pay for this.

The project has so-far been self-funded
 & supported by public donations which
researchers say will allow them to take
 on two procedures for now.

The women selected for the trial must
meet criteria set by Womb Transplant
 UK, which include being 38 or under,
having a long-term partner and being
 a healthy weight. They will also need
 to have healthy ovaries that are able
 to produce their own eggs.

More than 300 women have approached
the team, of whom 104 meet the criteria.

In October last year a woman in Sweden
 became the first in the world to give birth
 to a baby after having a womb transplant,
 but from a living donor.

Womb transplants are still very much at
 an experimental, trial stage.

For years researchers tried to perfect
 the technique on animals - from mice
 to monkeys.

A further three babies have since been
 born in Sweden using transplanted wombs.

There have been concerns that using
anti-rejection drugs in pregnancy
 could harm the foetus.

But researchers argue these medications are
 likely to be safe at the right dose, building on
 the success of earlier pregnancies involving
anti-rejection drugs for kidney transplants
 and other conditions.

How many need or want this procedure?

Estimates suggest one in 5,000 women are
 born with Mayer Rokitansky Küster Hauser
 syndrome... where they have no vagina,
cervix or uterus.

In some cases women may have wombs
 removed after surgery for, eg, cancer.

But not all these patients will be eligible.

 For the first few volunteers there is still
 a long and cautious road ahead.


Image: glioma brain tumour


Australian Researcher:
Phone Radiation
 is a
Hotline to Brain Cancer


A highly respected Australian doctor, currently
in
remission from brain cancer, is speaking out
  about his
belief that radiation from wifi, cell
phones and their
towers, is a major factor
in increasing brain cancer
rates.


Dr. John Tickell is trying to raise awareness
and
calls for more funding for brain cancer
research,
as it has become the number one
most deadly cancer
for young Australians. 

According to the
Australian government,
there are 35 new cases of
the cancer
discovered each week, with four out
of
 five cases being fatal in the first
5 years.


"Leukaemia was once the leading cause of
cancer
deaths in Australia for under 40s,
but it now has a
5 year survival rate
of 80%+.

Breast cancer is about
90% --- compared to
brain cancer, which is around
20%," Tickell
tells the Herald Sun.


The Australian Mobile Telecommunications
 Association denies there are any detrimental
 health effects at all from their radiation, but
the World Health Organization has recently
 upgraded the radiation threat to category
 B2, meaning "possibly carcinogenic."

"You can say you can't prove it but in my mind
 it's proven, looking at the studies that are not
 funded by the industry," he says.


The largest study to take place so far, was
conducted among 5,000 cancer patients.
 
The study found no increased risk of cancer
overall, but cellphone use was linked to the
patients having a 40% increased likelihood
 of developing Glioma, a common type of
brain cancer.

Tickell blasts the US Federal Communications
 Commission (FCC) and the fact that they have
 seemingly left all investigative studies, to the
 telecommunications companies themselves.

"The telco-funded studies say they’re safe but
 the FCC has not done any tests on radiation
 from 'phones, in 20 years," Tickell laments.

"There's a million more times radiation in the
 air today than there was fifty years ago —
that is frightening," he says.


Image: aging and cancer prediction



Early diagnosis: Revolutionary study says most
cancers can now be predicted years in advance

After a 13 year study, US scientists identify a
'specific pattern of change' in the length
of a
biomarker present in cells which occurs
years
before patients begin having
cancer symptoms.


A joint Harvard and Northwestern team monitored
 792 initially cancer-free people for the period, 135
 of whom were eventually diagnosed with various
 forms of cancer. In those years, they constantly
 monitored their telomeres.

Telomeres serve as a protective cap on the ends
of chromosomes. As people age, and their cells
 replicate more and more times, telomeres grow
 shorter, until eventually the cell can't multiply
 again, and simply dies. They can be both an
 indicator of ageing -- a sort of internal body
clock -- and a cause of it, as cells with worn-
down telomeres can malfunction, causing
 a range of age-related diseases.

Those eventually diagnosed with cancer saw
 their telomeres deplete alarmingly many years
 before cancer actually developed – with some
 future patients having telomeres typical for a
person 15 years older.

Some of this catastrophic shortening could be
 predicted and diagnosed externally: eg, simply
 by looking at patients who are already suffering
 from inflammations, oxidative stress and other
 conditions that age their cells at a rapid rate.
But in other people, who appeared to have few
 external risk factors for cancer, measuring this
 rate could produce a revelatory diagnosis.

But this is not the most surprising part of the study.

Suddenly, three to four years before the diagnosis,
 the shortening would stop, and stabilize – but this
 was not good news.

“We found cancer had hijacked the telomere
 shortening, in order to flourish in the body,”
says Dr. Lifang Hou, a professor of preventive
 medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg
 School of Medicine, and the lead author of the
 study, published in EBioMedicine magazine.

Normally, a cell with a shortening telomere
might be “aged,” but would self-destruct, to
 prevent any of the cell abnormalities being
 allowed to spread through the body. But in
 future cancer patients, the cells multiplied,
 as if with the help of the enzyme telomerase,
 eventually, likely, contributing to the cancer.

The study's authors say previous “snapshot”
studies failed to understand the long-term
complex interaction between telomeres and
cancer, but that the relationship is clear &
consistent.

“Understanding this pattern of telomere growth
 may mean it can be a predictive biomarker for
 cancer. Because we saw a strong relationship
 in the pattern across a wide variety of cancers
 - with the right testing, these procedures could
 be used to eventually diagnose a wide variety
of cancers,” says Hou.

To go beyond merely early testing, scientists
 now face two separate medical battles.

One is to slow down the telomere shortening,
 or whatever underlying conditions may cause
 it. The other, according to Hou, is to develop
 a potential cancer treatment that will force
 the afflicted cells to self-destruct instead of
making copies, but which won't merely age,
and kill off swathes of healthy cells.



Image: Chemotherapy brain changes irreversable


Chemotherapy causes
irreversible brain changes



Post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment, also
 called 'chemo brain' has long been suspected,
 but no research could confirm it.

 Now research shows cognitive impairment
 does result from chemotherapy treatment.

The research was conducted by scientists
 from the University of British Colombia's
Departments of Psychology and Physical
Therapy.

Chemotherapy treatment, they conclude,
 can generate 'mind wandering' and an
inability to concentrate.

Patients recovering after breast cancer
 therapy, were asked to complete tasks.
The results showed their brains stayed
 in a 'disengaged' state.

Todd Handy, a professor of psychology
 at UBC:- "A healthy brain spends some
 time wandering & some time engaged.
 We found that a 'chemo brain' is a
chronically wandering brain -- they are
essentially stuck in a 'shut out' mode."

Even as women were trying to focus
 on a subject, measurements showed
that the major part of their brain was
turned off. They couldn't concentrate.
They were focused on their 'inner
world', instead.

'Physicians now recognize that the effects
 of cancer treatment persist long after its
 over, and these effects can really impact
 a person's life,' says Kristin Campbell, an
 associate professor in the Department of
 Physical Therapy & research team leader.

It was also evidenced that, in a relaxed
 state, the brain was excessively active.

This 'forgetfulness', as patients have to
deal with it, brings major challenges at
work, and in social situations.


Image: e-cigarettes



E-cigarettes more addictive than tobacco

59% of e-cigarette smokers are less likely to
 give up smoking & 49% are less likely to cut
 down on their usage of cigarettes.

These are the results of a new study by the
University of California's San Diego School
of Medicine.

Previous major research on the success
of e-cigarettes devices is refuted by the
new report.


Wael Al-Delaimy, MD, PhD, professor, and
 head of the Division of Global Public Health
 in the Department of Family Medicine and
 Public Health, concludes:

"We need further studies to answer why
they
can't quit. One hypothesis, is that
smokers
are receiving an increase in
nicotine doses,
by using e-cigarettes."


In addition to vapour, smokers inhale
 heavy metals and particles of aero-
solized
nicotine.


The US Food and Drug Administration is
 still misinforming American citizens with
 its guidelines on e-cigarettes appeal and
 safety, ignoring the new study's results.


Image: Women's brains danger with pill



Contraceptive pills ‘shrink’ part
of brain influencing emotions

California scientists say contraceptive pills
may change the structure of users’ brains -
 eventually leading to anxiety & depression.

The new find adds to those previously known
 side effects, which include: headaches, mood
swings, nausea, blood clots, breast, liver and
cervical cancer.

Specifically, synthetic hormones in the pill
 shrink 2 principal regions of women's brains
--- changing their structure and function...
Also, the same ingredients are believed to
suppress women's natural hormones.


Neuroscientists at the University of California
Los Angeles, studied the brains of 90 women,
44 of whom took contraceptive pills.

The researchers found that the lateral orbito-
frontal cortex and posterior cingulate cortex,
 were much thinner in the women on the Pill.

The lateral orbitofrontal cortex regulates both
 emotions and responses to rewards, while the
 posterior cingulate cortex governs the ‘internal
 state’: inward-aimed thoughts, the processing
of emotions and finding memories.

Taking the Pill can lead to increased anxiety
 and depression and other alarming symptoms
 such as decreased attraction to their partner.

“Some women experience negative emotional
 side effects from taking oral contraceptive pills,
 although scientific findings have been mixed.
 So it's possible that this change in the lateral
 orbitofrontal cortex may be related to emotional
 changes that some women experience when
 using birth control pills,” Nicole Petersen, the
 research’s lead author, tells media.

The scientists say they aren’t certain if the
 effects last after a woman stops taking the
 contraceptive pill.

Further, all risks associated with the Pill
 rise if a woman smokes, has thrombosis,
 is overweight, diabetic, has high blood
pressure, or high cholesterol levels.

The study was published in the Human
 Brain Mapping journal.


Image: caesarean-sections-WHO warning



Caesareans should only be performed
 when medically necessary: WHO

25% give birth by Caesarean section
now, in
the UK.


The World Health Organization calls
 for more careful use of caesareans,
 and states they should only be per-
formed when 'medically necessary'.

Caesarean section is one of the most
 common world surgeries. Rates keep
 rising mostly in high & middle-income
 countries.

WHO says 'though caesarean section
 can save lives, it is often performed
with no
medical need, & puts women
and babies at
risk of short and long-
term health problems.


According to WHO, the world's health
community since 1985, has thought
an
"ideal rate" for caesareans, to be

 between 10% to 15%.

But new studies show when they are
 10% of births or under, mother & new
-born deaths fall
--- yet when the rate
goes above 10%,
there is no evidence
that death rates improve...


The UN's WHO makes several points:

 1) Bad effects like stillbirths, or deaths by
birth asphyxia, need to be made clear.


 2) More research on their impact
on women's psychological and

 social well-being, is needed.

3) High rates of unnecessary caesarean
 sections can pull resources from other
needs in overloaded and weak health-
care systems.

4) WHO proposes Robson classification as
 an internationally applicable caesarean
 section classification system, as there
is no standard world system in place.

5) The variation in Europe is far too high
- 25% give birth by Caesarean section in
 the UK. In Cyprus it's 52%; Sweden, 17%.

The UK's Royal College of Midwives:

'We need a review of policies, guidelines
 and further research - to ensure that UK
clinical practice is based on evidence',
says Professor Alison Macfarlane, of
City University, London.

Its study says Caesarean section rates
in most EU states show "a continuous
 rise", 'though in a few countries there
are signs that they are flattening out'.

There are several possible explanations
 for the rise "including a fear of litigation,
 financial incentives, women's requests
 for Caesarean section, and the common
perception that Caesarean section is a
safe procedure".

The study says there are consequences
 to this -- including potential raised risks
for mothers and babies -- such as more

 still-births in future pregnancies.

The countries with the highest rates for
Caesareans planned even before labour
starts, are Cyprus (38.8%) & Italy (25%).

The lowest rates are in Finland (6.6%),
the Netherlands (7.7) & Norway (6.6).

Prof Alison Macfarlane:- "Given that people
 are supposed to be practising according to
the evidence, it's surprising there are such
 wide variations between countries.

She stresses the importance of mothers'
 and children's health being prioritised...
more than at present.

Gail Johnson, professional advisor for
 education and research at the Royal
 College of Midwives, affirms that the
percentage of UK women giving birth
 by Caesarean section is 'a bit too high'.

"A Caesarean is an emergency procedure
 done if normal birth is not going to work.
It's not a lifestyle choice, and although
 it's a safe operation, it does carry more
 risks than a vaginal birth."


Image: Nuts help you live longer


   Go NUTS!  ---  For Heart Health  
             


A recent study published in 'Amazing' finds
that
people from different ethnic and socio-
economic
backgrounds who consume nuts
- and peanuts
(considered a legume) tend
to have a lower risk
of death from cardio-
vascular disease --- and live
longer too!


"We found consistent evidence that high nut/
peanut consumption, is associated with a
reduced risk of total mortality and of CVD
mortality," the authors of the study state.

"This inverse association was observed
among both men & women and across
 each racial/ethnic group ------ and was
independent of metabolic conditions,
smoking, alcohol consumption
and BMI.


Vanderbilt University's School of Medicine
 research team, headed by Dr. Xiao-Ou Shu,
gathered data from 71,764 black and white
 men and women from the southeastern US,
 & 134,265 Chinese men and women, from
 Shanghai, China.

Researchers were able to assess nut and
peanut consumption equally in participants
from the US;  but only peanut consumption
 was analyzed in participants from China.

Men in both groups consumed
more
 peanuts than women.

Nut and peanut consumption led to a reduced
 risk for overall mortality due to cardiovascular
 disease and ischemic heart disease --- across
 gender, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.

Risks for overall mortality were reduced by
21% among participants from the US, and
 by 17% among participants from China,
who
ate the most peanuts.


Although peanuts are often included as nuts
 in data, they are classified as legumes, with
 a nutrient content similar to tree nuts.

Nuts aren't only a healthy source of protein,
 fibre, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants,
but are also high in mono-unsaturated fats,
which are emphasized as part of the heart
-
healthy 'Mediterranean' diet.

The American Heart Association recommends
 eating four servings of unsalted, unoiled nuts
 a week -  'serving size' being a small handful,
 one and a half ounces of whole nuts, or two
 tablespoons of nut butter.

Image: WHO OWNS YOUR BODY



50% of all children to be autistic in 10
years - Mass. Institute of Technology

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of
 Technology's Computer Science & Artificial
 Intelligence Laboratory, state that half the
 children in the world, will be suffering
with 
autism, by 2025.

Senior Researcher, Stephanie Seneff,
says the drastic rise is largely thanks
to Monsanto, and the use of its own
brand of glyphosate (a pesticide),
known as Roundup Ready.

Monsanto is a world leader in herbal bio-
technology. It sells genetically modified
corn seeds, soybeans and cotton, plus
 the world's most widely used herbicide.

According to researchers, the substance
 created when glyphosate is metabolized
by plants and animals, is highly toxic.

Its cytogenetic toxicity is 1,000 times
higher than the parent compound, say
the scientists.

Glyphosate is used to suppress annual
 & perennial weeds. It's recommended
 for use in vineyards and orchards, &
 in tea and citrus plantations.

Unfortunately, Roundup ''contributes'' to the
 destruction of beneficial intestinal bacteria
 required for the proper functioning of the
human immune system.

Another study in 2014, showed Roundup
 as 125 times more toxic than glyphosate.

Roundup use is linked to inflammation,
 cellular damage and an increased risk
of developing multiple cancers. It has
 been associated with a higher risk of
Parkinson's & Alzheimer's diseases.

Autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder
 characterized by: impaired social inter-
action, impaired verbal and non-verbal
 communication, restricted or repetitive
 behavior, typically developes gradually
--- although some individuals hit their
 childhood development milestones at
 a normal pace, and then regress.

Repetitive stacking or lining up of
objects, is sometimes displayed. 


________________________________
________________________________



India Celebrates Declaration of
               International Day of Yoga              

 Indian state and private institutions specializing
 in Yoga, practitioners, social institutions and the
media, celebrate the United Nations’ decision to
declare June 21st as 'International Day of Yoga'.


"I have no words to describe my joy", PM Narendra
 Modi, promoter of the initiative, writes on Twitter.

In a message on passage of the resolution,
 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says:

"Yoga can contribute to resilience against
non-communicable diseases and can bring
 communities together in an inclusive way
that generates respect. Yoga is a sport
that 
can contribute to development &
peace and 
can even help people in
emergency situations, 
to find
relief from stress."


In suggesting June 21 as International the
Day of Yoga, Modi said that it is the longest
day in the Northern Hemisphere, and has
a special significance, in many parts of
the 
world.

Estimates suggest that about 250 million
people practice Yoga worldwide.


_______________________________________
_______________________________________


If you are taking hormones from the
major pharmaceutical companies...

READ THIS !


http://www.thedoctorwithin.com/women/

every-woman-needs-to-read-this-chapter-now/


________________________________________
________________________________________



Russia bans methadone in Crimea

Russia will ban methadone - a narcotic drug
used
to treat of drug addiction - in Crimea,
Russia’s
Federal Drug Control Service chief,
Viktor
Ivanov, says (on Wed, March 26).


Methadone has become a criminal business in
 Ukraine says Ivanov, and although its efficacy
 isn't clinically proven, there are hard statistics
 showing that deaths from its use in the US and
 UK -- have risen considerably, as addiction to
 methadone is much stronger than with heroin.

“Methadone is not a cure. Practically all methadone
 supplies in Ukraine are circulating on the secondary
 market as a narcotic drug in the absence of control.

 "As a result, it has spread to the black market and
trades there at much higher prices. It has become

a source of criminal income,” Ivanov says & adds
 that 200 million US dollars are spent in Ukraine
on
methadone therapy.

 Russian specialists and their colleagues in other
 countries, including the US, do not recognise it
 as a means of efficient treatment, he states.

There are twice as many drug addicts in Crimea

 as in Russia, Ivanov says. He describes the drug
 situation on the peninsula as “difficult”; blaming
 unemployment, the available means of making
poppy straw, its closeness to Turkey (a transit
 country for Afghan heroin), and the trading of
 methadone, in Ukraine.



Image: noise kills


Death from Respiratory Causes

                  Linked to Noise Pollution               
 
Experts have shown - for the first time -
a close relationship between deaths
from 
respiratory diseases, with
environmental
 noise levels in
a city.


To establish this link, the experts analyzed
 daily deaths from respiratory causes data,
registered from 2003 to 2005, in Madrid.

The European Respiratory Society publishes
 that these results may be extrapolated to
any
 town registering noise levels similar
to those 
existing in Madrid.

According to the authors of the article, the
 cause of increase in deaths from respiratory
 problems can be linked to the rise of
cortisone
 levels in the blood, a
hormone released in stress

 situations, including noise.

The study affirms the effect of noise on mortality
 is 6.2% for every decibel of rise in noise levels.

It also states that the most vulnerable individuals
 are those over 65 years old.


Image: the sun



PREGNANT MUM? - GET OUT IN THE SUN!

New research indicates that higher levels of
vitamin D in mothers during pregnancy help
babies have stronger muscles in later life.

The study conducted by the scientists at the
University of Southampton shows the impact
 of vitamins on baby during mum’s pregnancy.

The study on 678 children unveiled that women
 with high levels of vitamin D in the late stages
 of pregnancy are more likely to have children
with greater muscle strength.

When the children were four years old, their grip
strength & muscle mass were measured,

 researchers show in the study report
published in
 the journal of Clinical
Endocrinology and Metabolism.


"There's some evidence that 'fast' muscle fibres
 go down, in vitamin D deficiency, and you get
more fat in muscle," says the lead scientist
Dr Nicholas Harvey, from Medical Research
 Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit (MRC
 LEU), at the University of Southampton.

“These associations between maternal vitamin D
 and offspring muscle strength --- may well have
 consequences for later health; muscle strength
peaks in young adulthood, before declining in
 older age & low grip strength in adulthood
has
 been associated with poor health
outcomes
 including diabetes, falls
and fractures," he adds.


An earlier study by Australian researchers shows
 that women with low blood levels of vitamin D
during pregnancy are more likely to have
babies
with language problems.


Their study, published in Pediatrics journal
 in 2012, highlighted the role that vitamin D
 levels play especially during the 2nd & 3rd
trimesters, in the development of certain

brain regions used in language learning.

 10 to 15 minutes of sunshine, 3 times
 a week, is highly recommended. 

Many experts recommend a daily 10
 microgram vitamin D supplement
for
 pregnant mums.

Vitamin D may also be obtained with a well-
balanced diet, including various types of
fish,
 soymilk, broccoli, egg, liver, cheese
& butter, 
and fortified milk and cereals.


____________________________________



Each year, of those diagnosed with AIDs,
80% are between 15 & 19 years old.

8 out of 10 are men --- and 9 out of 10
are men who have sex with other men.


The use of a condom is advised.

Perhaps better still, continence.


Image: keeping healthy



GRANDAD KNOWS BEST


Leading an active lifestyle through the
practice of healthy hobbies
- such as
gardening -
may reduce the risk of
heart attacks and strokes, affirms

a specialized source.


According to a recent edition of the British
Journal of Sports Medicine, daily activities
like gardening are as effective as physical
exercise in helping elderly people to lower
their risk of suffering from these diseases.


The study monitored the heart health and
activities of almost 4 000 people aged 60
or older in Stockholm, Sweden, for 12 and
a half years.


Over the course of the study, the highest
level of physical activity, regardless of the
amount of formal exercise, was linked to
a 27% cut in heart attack or stroke risk
and a 30% lower risk of death from
all causes.


Previous studies affirmed that a healthy diet,
keeping to a proper weight, and exercise,
are some of the main factors that help
prevent these types of illness.



Image: UK toddlers milk over-sweetened



The UK government is being criticizised over
the lack of nutrition information for toddler’s
milk -- as new research shows the milk has
less than the recommended daily intake of
calcium -- and over twice the amount of
sugar compared to natural cow’s milk.


Consumer group Which? says parents could be
wasting hundreds of pounds on “unnecessary"
toddler milks that can contain more sugar and
less calcium than cows' milk. In their survey
they found 46% of mums use toddler’s milk.


“Ministers should make their advice much
clearer --- and introduce guidance on the
ingredients of toddler milks, including the
level of sugar and calcium,” says Richard
Lloyd, the executive director at Which? .


Baby and toddler dairy products companies
that distribute across the UK, like Aptamil
and Hipp, and the UK-based Cow & Gate,
mix additives - such as vanilla extract -
which attracts a child to that type of
milk and builds a preference for
sweetened food.


 Conventional milk has 4.7g of sugar in 100ml
--- compared to 7.9g of sugar per 100ml in
toddler’s milk. In 100ml of toddler milk by
Aptamil and Cow & Gate there is 86mg of
calcium, which means children drinking
that milk, get half of the 122mg of
calcium in conventional milk.


And the toddler milk is more expensive than
cow’s milk. The annual cost of toddler milk,
has been shown to be almost 10 times more
expensive than cow’s milk, at £62 per year
for cow’s milk compared to £593 for ready-
to-feed toddler milk.


“At a time when so many household budgets
are severely squeezed, parents could be
saving hundreds of pounds on toddler
milks, that the government says are
unnecessary”,says Lloyd.



Image: Save the NHS


Up to one-third of children in the UK have either

 attempted or considered taking their own lives,
according to a new report which sheds light on
 the ‘shocking statistics’ of suicide in the UK.

The latest study for the mental health charity
MindFull, a sister of the BeatBullying charity,
reveals that 29% of UK youngsters have
 deliberately harmed themselves, 32 % have
 considered suicide, and over 12% have felt
 they were failures on an almost daily basis,
 before they reached the age of 16.
 
Almost 75% of the 850,000 UK youngsters
 with diagnosable mental health problems,
 get no treatment at all, due to a huge lack of
 support for those seeking help, says the report.

“Too many children who try to speak out about
the way they are feeling are being let down or
simply ignored,” says Emma-Jane Cross,
 founder and chief executive of MindFull.

“It’s unacceptable that so many are having to
resort to harming themselves on purpose in
order to cope, or worse still are thinking
about ending their own lives.”

The ‘Alone with my thoughts’ research was based
 on the first-hand experiences of over 2,000 UK
 youngsters between 16 and 25 years of age.
 
“We are at risk of failing a generation of young people,”
the report warns, calling for a “transformation in the
way we address young people’s mental health.”
 
"Children and young people are growing up in a toxic climate,
that they exist in a 24/7 online world where they never switch
off, where cyberbullying, consumerism and pornography,
sexting and the pressure to have the perfect body bombard
them daily, where any exam grade below a C means failure
and employment prospects are bleak,”  the director of
YoungMinds policy Lucie Russell says, at Mindfull's launch.
 
“These shocking statistics highlight what YoungMinds
has been saying for many years - that children and
young people’s mental health is a vital issue that
must be prioritized,” she adds.

According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics,
 there were 6,045 suicides in people aged 15 and over
 in the UK in 2011 - an increase of 437 people from the
 year before. Over 4,000 children under the age of 14
 attempted to take their own lives in 2007, according
 to NHS figures. The figures show a 50% increase
 in student suicides between 2007 and 2011.

Among the key factors for childhood depression
 appears to be a growing fear of the future, a
 permanent lack of confidence, and constant
 pressure from schoolwork.

Mindfull, which has the support of Labour leader
 Ed Milliband and clinical psychologist Professor
 Tanya Byron, is offering free professional online
 help to 11-17 year olds who feel they cannot
 overcome life's ups and downs alone.

The organization offers to work with schools
across the UK, to teach youngsters how to
 manage anxiety and stress.


Image: link between cell phones and brain tumours



LINK BETWEEN CELL PHONES AND BRAIN TUMOURS


The Italian Supreme Court has ruled that there is a
causal link between mobile phone use & brain tumours.
The ruling sets a legal precedent that could potentially
trigger a deluge of lawsuits.


Innocente Marcolini, a 60-year-old retired businessperson
argued that excessive use of his mobile phone for around
six hours every day for 12 years caused a benign brain
tumour that left his face partially paralyzed.


The Italian court ruled in the businessperson’s favour,
conceding that there is a “causal link” between phone
use and the development of the tumour.


"This is significant for very many people. I wanted this
 problem to become public because many people still do
not know the risks,”
said Marcolini to Corriere della Sera.
“I was always on the phone for at least five or six hours
a day. Always with a mobile pressed to my ear.”


Marcolini’s tumour was on the trigeminal nerve, close
to where his cellphone touched his head. Although the
tumour was non-cancerous, it endangered his life, as
it could have spread to the carotid artery and blocked
one of the main blood vessels to the brain.


He argued that the electromagnetic radiation emitted
by cellphones can damage cells, making tumours
more likely to occur.


Oncologist and professor of environmental mutagenesis
Angelo Gino Levis, who gave evidence during the court
hearing, says the ruling is “extremely important.”


“Finally a correlation has been officially recognized
between electromagnetic waves and the development
of tumours, in spite of the anti-alarmist propaganda and
research financed by mobile phone manufacturers,”

 
Levis told the Corriere. He stressed that after working
on several case studies the relationship between the
use of mobile phones and the increased risk of brain
tumours, is proven.


"It'll open, not a road, but a motorway to legal actions
by victims. We're considering a class action,”
Levis
told UK newspaper The Sun.


Currently the World Health Organization classifies
mobile phones as “carcinogens” and places them
in the same category as pesticides.



Image: alzeimers cured with spring water



Silicon-rich mineral water prevents cognitive decline
in those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, a study
by UK researchers at Keele University shows.


UK researchers suggest that drinking silicon-rich
mineral water can reduce the levels of neurotoxin
aluminium in the body, which is linked to dementia.

Their study reveals that the majority of patients
who consumed at least one litre of mineral water
every day for 13 weeks showed no further signs
of cognitive decline; an improved mental health
condition was also noted in some patients.

Aluminium levels have long been linked with
Alzheimer’s-related mental damage, but the relationship
has never been conclusively proven scientifically.



“When you drink silicon-rich mineral water, aluminium

 throughout the body is gathered up into the blood and

 then excreted through the urine,” says Professor

Christopher Exley, Keele University, research leader.

“The most interesting thing was that we did see this

potential relationship between the removal of aluminium

 and the positive improvement in cognitive function.”

Aluminium levels were reduced by as much as 70% in

 some patients, which gives hope to those struggling

with the devastating disease.



Image: heading football causes brain damage



HEADING FOOTBALL CAUSES BRAIN DAMAGE

Heading footballs frequently, may cause brain
damage leading to subtle but serious declines
in thinking and coordination, a new
study suggests.


Researchers used an advanced MRI (Magnetic
Resonance Imaging) technique to analyse
changes 
in the brain's white matter of 32
adult amateur 
soccer players who head
balls 436 times a year, 
on average, and
found that players who head 
footballs
frequently --- 1,000 or more a year ---

show abnormalities similar to traumatic
brain
injuries suffered in car accidents.


"This is the first study to look at the effects
of heading on the brain using sophisticated
diffusion tensor imaging," says Dr. Michael
Lipton, a leading researcher and associate
director of the Gruss Magnetic Resonance
Research Center at the Albert Einstein
College
of Medicine in New York City.


"We found the real implication for players isn't
from hitting headers once in a while, but
repetitively, which can lead to the
degeneration of
brain cells,"
he adds.


The researchers compared neurological images of
study participants, whose average age was 31,
and found those with the highest volume of
headers had abnormalities in 5 areas of the
brain, responsible for attention, memory,
physical mobility and high-level
visual functions.


The findings come in the wake of mixed reports
on the so-called "cognitive" consequences of
frequently heading soccer balls at practice.

Dr. Chris Koutures, a pediatrician and sports
medicine specialist in Anaheim Hills, California,
says the imaging study is fascinating, but needs
more data to effectively determine safe header
limits, especially for younger players.

Dr. Lipton agrees that neuropsychological damage
from headers is hard for a coach or physician to
notice, as cognitive problems develop gradually,
and even the players might not be aware of
memory loss.


"We can't tell an individual today not to head
a ball, but caution is a good thing," Lipton
says. "We need more research for
definitive 
answers, and we have
the advanced 
imaging tools
to do it."



Image: idigenous people aren't psychopaths


SO YOU'RE A STOCK TRADER? CRAZY!

Der Spiegel reports that two researchers at
the
University of St Gallen in Switzerland, in

comparing profiles for 28 successful stock
market traders, with an equal number of
diagnosed psychopaths, found that the
brokers
easily “outperformed” all crazies
-- in terms of
“reckless manipulation”.

Even at the risk of
hurting their own profit
margins, according to
Dr Thomas Noll, a
prison administrator, “they
spent a lot of
energy trying to damage
their opponents.”



Image: white fleshed fruit helps stop strokes


WHITE FRUIT FLESH LOWERS STROKE RISK

Daily consumption of white-fleshed fruits and
vegetables - -such as apples and pears -- can
significantly cut the risk of developing a stroke.

During a 10 year study and follow up of 20,069
healthy adults aged between 20 and 65, Dutch
researchers analyzed the effects of the daily
eating of fruits and vegetables of various
colours in lowering the risk of
developing a stroke.


Results show that the risk of a stroke is
52%
lower for people who ate a lot of
white-fleshed
fruits and vegetables.


Every 25 grams per day of white fruits and
vegetables such as apples, pears, bananas,
cauliflower, chicory, cucumber and mush-
rooms, 
led to a 9% decrease in the risk
of strokes, 
say Wageningen University
scientists.


According to the report published in Stroke:
Journal of the American Heart Association,
the colour of the edible portions of fruits &
vegetables shows the presence of beneficial
phytochemicals (plant compounds), such
as 
carotenoids and flavonoids.

“Green, orange/yellow & red/purple fruits and
vegetables weren't related to stroke. Yet the
risk of stroke incidence -- was 52% lower for

people with a high intake of white fruits and
vegetables, compared to people with a low
intake,” says lead author, Linda M.
Oude Greip.


“To prevent strokes, it may be useful to consume
considerable amounts of white fruits and
vegetables,” she adds, saying “an apple
a day, 
which weighs approximately
120 grams, is an 
easy way to raise
white fruit & vegetable intake.”


"However, other fruit & vegetable colour groups
may protect against other chronic diseases.

Therefore, it remains of importance to
consume 
a LOT of fruit & vegetables."


Image: good news for worlds children



A=PLUS FOR CHILDREN

Giving vitamin A supplements to children under
the age of five can save the lives of 600,000 in
low and middle-income countries, every year!


A review of 43 trials --- shows that vitamin A
supplements reduced child mortality by 24%
in developing countries by preventing many
deadly infections in children.

A team of researchers from the UK and Pakistan
studied over 200,000 children aged 6 months to
5 years, and found that taking vitamin A can
also reduce disabilities such as severe
visual 
impairment, blindness and
complications caused 
by
severe infections.


According to the World Health organization (WHO),
vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is the leading cause
of preventable blindness in children, and
increases the risk of disease and death
from 
severe infections such as diarrhea
and measles.


About 190 million children under the age of five
might have vitamin A deficiency, especially in
Africa and South-East Asia, a condition that
hits young children and pregnant women in
many 
low-income countries.

Supplements are already distributed twice a year
in at least 60 countries, but about 20% of the
target population is not covered.

"I've never really seen something that works so
clearly," says author of the study, Evan Mayo-
Wilson. "From the 1970s through to today, the
picture hasn't changed. It's striking because
the evidence of a really big reduction in
mortality, is very consistent."

"Until other sources are available, supplements
should be given to all children who are at risk
of vitamin A deficiency,” he recommends.

Researchers from the University of Oxford and
Aga Khan University, stress that the findings
are so compelling and clear that further
trials 
of vitamin A with placebos, would
be unethical.



Image: UK drugs expensive and unsafe


USING UK LEGAL DRUGS "LIKE TOSSING A COIN"

The UK pharmaceutical industry is in “crisis.”
UK scientists are finally raising their worries
about the growing number of ineffective

medicines, with their adverse drug
reactions 
named as "side effects"
by the industry's chiefs.


The clinicians express their worries in a letter
to PM David Cameron & Health Sec Andrew
Lansley, 
urging a rethink of the way
new medicines are tested.


The signatories say in The Lancet, that currently,
“epidemic proportions” of drugs cause adverse
reactions, while patients have to pay
increasing 
sums of money for
their prescriptions.


Figures show that some 197,000 citizens of
the EU
die of an adverse reaction to drugs
every year.


The letter calls for a change of approach
to 
drugs testing, as testing on animals
produces 
results that are not the same
for humans.


"Our reliance on animals to establish safety
results in the exposure of clinical volunteers
and patients to many treatments, are at best
ineffective and at worst dangerous," their
letter says.


Tony Dexter, one of the signatories, and head
of
a research lab in Cheshire, describes trying

drugs on animals and assuming they are safe
for
humans as; “really the toss of a coin."


"A fundamental problem -- is that a rat is not a
human. They are different sizes, have different
metabolisms and have different diets; so using
animals to predict effects on humans is difficult.

"50% of compounds that prove to be safe in rats
prove not to be safe in humans, so it really is
the toss of a coin," Dexter tells Sky News.

The signatories of the letter urge new procedures
in favour of testing medicines on human cells -
before issuing certificates for any new drugs.

They also voice concerns about the soaring costs
of most new drugs, that make them unsustain-
able, 
as high prices are “creating an ever-
increasing 
burden on the National
Health Service”.


A lack of adequate treatment for diseases like
Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, many cancers,
and strokes, is another source of concern for
the scientists and clinicians.

"The UK pharmaceutical industry is in crisis.
Likewise, health care, is in a web of crises,
many of which, are intimately linked to the
pharmaceutical industry's major problems"
- the scientists' letter cautions.



Image: angel news


READ AND SHARE, PLEASE !!

Blood Clots/Stroke - They Now Have a 4th
Indicator, the Tongue.

STROKE: Remember the 1st 3 Letters;- S. T. R.


STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little
fall - she assured everyone that she was fine
(they offered to call paramedics). She said she'd
just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes.

They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate
of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up,
Jane enjoyed herself for the rest of the evening.

Jane's husband called later telling everyone that
his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6pm
Jane passed away.) She'd suffered a stroke at the
BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of
a stroke, perhaps Jane would be with us today.
Some don't die. They end up in a helpless,
hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this.

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke
victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the
effects of a stroke ....totally. He says the
trick is getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed,
and then getting the patient medically cared for
within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Thank God for the sense to remember the '3' steps,
STR. Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to
identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness
spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer
severe brain damage, when people nearby fail to
recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke
by asking three simple questions:

S *Ask the individual to SMILE.

T *Ask the person to TALK
and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)
(i.e. It is sunny out today.)

R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these
tasks, call the emergency number immediately
and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

New Sign of a Stroke --- Stick out Your Tongue

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this:
Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue.
If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one
side or the other, that's also an indication
of a stroke.

A cardiologist says if everyone who reads this
passes it on by email to 10 people; you can bet
that at least one life will be saved.

I have done my part. Will you?


Image:



TO SEE - VITAMIN D !

The University at Cardiff, Wales, headlined research
last year that vitamin D is a major health boost.

Now new research indicates that taking vitamin D
can ward off vision loss from age-related
macular degeneration (AMD), in women
younger 
than 75, according to media
reports today.


In the research, women under 75 who consumed
sufficient vitamin D, cut their risk of developing
early age-related AMD,a leading 
cause of
vision loss and blindness, by 59%,

when compared to women with
vitamin D-poor diets.


Researchers found that vitamin D levels among
patients in the study were most affected by
the amount of vitamin D they consumed,
through certain fish, dairy, eggs, and
leafy greens, NOT by the amount of
outdoor exposure they had.

Considering that many in the West are deficient
in vitamin D, this study may offer one more
reason for women to include vitamin D-rich
foods 
in the diet, says the lead author on
the study,
Amy Millen of the University
of Buffalo.



TAKE IN VITAMIN D - OR DIE !!!


A fresh study at the University of Eastern Finland
shows that vitamin D deficiencies can increase
a person's risk of death, Finnish media report.

Researchers studied the effects of vitamin D on
over 1,000 people aged from 53 to 73 who didn't
suffer from cancer or vascular diseases, but
65% of the subjects were found to have low
levels of vitamin D. Subjects were monitored
for an average of nine years. A total of 87 of
the participants died in the course of
the study.


The study confirms that a lack of vitamin D
increases the risk of chronic diseases.
Individuals with low levels of vitamin D
are about twice as likely to die early --
compared to those with higher levels.

During the summer months in Finland, people
are able to obtain vitamin D from exposure
to the sun. However, persons living in
Finland 
must rely on vitamin D from
food or supplements 
during the
darker months of the year.


Oily fish & eggs are major sources of vitamin D.
As, of course, is sunlight. The Cardiff study
highlighted exposure for "at least" half an
hour 
per day, as vital for health
and wellbeing.



Image: The brain after meditation grows!



MEDITATE ON THIS...

Meditation has REAL pain relieving effects,
a study in the Journal of Neuroscience
says now.


In the study, researchers mildly burned 15 men
and women in a lab on two separate occasions,
before and after the volunteers attended four
20-minute meditation training sessions,
in 4 days.


The second time, after the participants were
instructed to meditate, they rated the same
pain stimulus - 120-degree heat on their
calves  - 
as being 57% less unpleasant
and 40% less intense.


"This is the first study to show that only a
little over an hour of meditation training
can ''dramatically reduce''  --- both the
experience of pain and pain-related
brain activation,"

says Fadel Zeidan, lead author of the study and
a post-doctoral research fellow at Wake Forest
Baptist Medical Centre, in North Carolina.

The reduction in pain ratings was substantially
greater than those seen in similar studies
involving placebo pills, hypnosis, and
even 
morphine and other painkilling
drugs, he adds.


Past research has found that Buddhist-style
meditation known as mindfulness meditation
can help people cope with pain, anxiety, & a
number of other physical and mental health

problems. But in most cases, the training
takes 
weeks, not days (as in this study).


**************************************************


DON'T LAUGH - MEDITATORS ARE GROWING THEIR BRAINS

Eight weeks of meditation can trigger measurable
changes in the brain, contributing to increases
in the amount of grey matter in areas associated
with learning and awareness.

A study of 16 volunteers who took the eight-week
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program,
shows that meditation can actually alter the
brain's structure, report scientists from Mass.
General Hospital, & Giessen University, Germany.

A comparison between the brain MRI scan of
meditators and non-meditators, two weeks prior
to the study, and 8 weeks after the meditation
program, shows that the practice can increase
grey-matter density in the hippocampus, the part
of the brain related to learning and memory, and
in brain areas associated with self-awareness.

The program included weekly meetings to practice
mindfulness meditation and audio recordings for
guided meditation practice. The participants
were asked to keep track of the time they spent
practicing each day.

The meditation group spent an average of 27 mins
per day doing mindfulness meditation exercises
which focused on nonjudgmental awareness of
one's feelings, sensations and state of mind.

According to the study published in Psychiatry
Research: "Neuro-imaging", participants reported
reduced stress after 8 weeks of meditation.

"It is fascinating to see the brain's plasticity
and that, by practicing meditation, we can play
an active role in changing the brain, and can
increase our well-being and quality of life,"
says the main author, Britta Holzel.

While previous studies have found structural
differences between meditators and other non-
meditating individuals, they couldn't prove
that meditation had caused this effect.

"Other studies in different patient populations
have shown that meditation can make significant
improvements in a variety of symptoms, and we
are now investigating the underlying mechanisms
in the brain that facilitate this change," she adds.


Image: Left wingers think more!!


JUST FOR A LAUGH

They say laughter is the best medicine,
so perhaps this news item will make
you smile!


Neuroscientists are examining whether political
allegiances are hard-wired into people, after
finding evidence that the brains of Tories
are 
a different shape to those of
left-wingers.


Scans of 90 students' brains at University
College London (UCL) uncovered a "strong
correlation" between the thickness of two
particular areas of grey matter, and an
individual's views, reports
The Independent.


Self-proclaimed right-wingers had a more
pronounced amygdala - a primitive part of
the brain associated with emotion - while
their political opponents from the
opposite end 
of the spectrum had
thicker anterior cingulates.


The research was carried out by Geraint Rees,
director of UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuro-
science, who says he's "very surprised" 
by
the finding, which is being peer reviewed

before publication this year.

It was commissioned as a light-hearted experiment
by actor Colin Firth, as part of his turn, guest
editing BBC Radio 4's Today program, but
has now 
developed into a serious effort
to discover if 
we're programmed with
a particular political view.


Professor Rees says that, although it's not
precise enough to be able to predict some-
one's 
stance simply from a scan, there is
“a strong 
correlation that reaches all our
scientific 
tests of significance.”


Image: The US Dream becomes a sick show



STOP FOLLOWING THE US NIGHTMARE!!!

It seems the US culture of slaughter, is reaching
out to our children from a US dream gone wrong.

The received wisdom is that whatever happens in
the US, the UK will soon do too. Time, perhaps,
for our physical and mental health, to change
& stop following the US to fat and ruin now?

Take a look at US "Health"... if you live there.

Most of the beef you eat, has been exposed to
excrement during processing. Your poultry is
infected with salmonella. Your stock animals
and poultry are overdosed with hormones
  and antibiotics.

In most countries, governments try to protect
their citizens against all this, but in the US
the government's increasingly bribed by
companies to avoid regulations and
proper inspections.

In a few years, the majority of all produce
for sale in the US will be from genetically
modified crops --- thanks to the cozy
relationship between Monsanto
Corp & the US government.

Worse, due to vast quantities of high-fructose
syrup US people consume, fully one-third of
US children born today, will be diagnosed
with Type 2 diabetes at some point in
their lives.

And it's not just the food that's killing you,
it's the drugs. If you show any signs of life
when you're young, they put you on Ritalin.

Then, when you get old enough to take a good
look around, you'll get depressed, so they'll
give you Prozac. If you're a man, this makes
you chemically impotent, so.... you'll need
Viagra to get it up. Meanwhile, your steady
diet of trans-fat-laden food is guaranteed
to give you high cholesterol, so you'll be
given Lipitor.

Finally, at the end of the day, you'll lay awake
at night, worrying about losing your health
plan, so you'll need Lunesta to go to sleep.

Is this the way you want for you & your children?
And it all started in the good ole US, where ten
years ago they started diagnosing lively
children, 
with little respect for
authority, as "sick"....


"Hyperactivity" and "Attention Deficit Disorder"
are now being misdiagnosed to control OUR kids,
yet they ARE exposed to extreme violence on TV
in their US created video games - and can watch
so-called superstars, publicly decapitate Santa.

Good Health !?!

There is, surely, a better, brighter way.



Image: stinging nettle



NO MORE PAIN FOR UK DIABETICS?

Urtica dioica, a herbaceous perennial flowering
plant also known as stinging nettles, has long
been known for its many medical properties.
The herb is effective in treating prostate
disorders, respiratory problems,

stomach Catarrh and anemia.

The high content of secretin in the plant makes
Urtica dioica an effective herb for treatment of
several gastrointestinal-related conditions.

Now scientists have succeeded in producing the
world's first oral vaccine from stinging nettles
to fight diabetes and high blood sugar levels.

Its "discoverer" says that a peptide cycle found
in Urtica dioica improves the entrance of blood
sugar into the cells, a process believed to be
impaired in diabetic patients.

Shabani Domala, the researcher, says the drug has
successfully finished its trials and is expected
to enter the market by next year. He says the
best benefit is that the new oral drug, unlike
injecting insulin, is completely pain free.

“I started the project fifteen years ago in Tehran
University of Medical Sciences, for my diabetic
nephew, who was forced to inject insulin on a
daily basis,” the lead researcher, says.

So perhaps we in Wales won't get any benefit
from this at all... since we're slaves to the
UK's pharmaceutical monopolies, & "our"
UK regime
, for its own reasons, doesn't
want 
"its" subjects to be friends
with Iran.


Mind, if Wales got off its ***e and produced its
own biotechnology, that would be true liberation.

An economy for Wales - is good for yewer health!!!



Image: Cancer cells


CHANGE OR DIE: IT REALLY IS NECESSARY!

A new study suggests that cancer was extremely
rare in antiquity and is therefore a modern,
manmade disease caused by
environmental factors.


Researchers at Manchester's KNH Centre for
Biomedical Egyptology Cancer studied mummified
remains and literary evidence from ancient Egypt,
literary evidence from ancient Greece, & medical
studies of human & animal remains from earlier
periods, going back to the age of the dinosaurs.

According to the study published in Nature
Reviews Cancer, cancer is the result of diet
& pollution in the modern age. Only one
case 
of cancer was found among
hundreds of Egyptian 
mummies,
withfew written references
to it.


One unnamed mummy was diagnosed with rectal
cancer
by Professor Michael Zimmerman, visiting

Professor at the KNH Centre, PhysOrg reports.

The rate of cancer, especially childhood cancer,
has exploded since the Industrial Revolution,
showing that old age is not the main reason
behind cancer, scientists say.

“In industrialized societies, cancer is second
only to cardiovascular disease as a cause of
death. But in ancient times, it was extremely
rare,” says Professor Rosalie David, of the
Faculty of Life Sciences.

“There is nothing in the natural environment
that can cause cancer. So it has to be a man-
made disease, down to pollution & changes
to our diet and lifestyle.”

Scientists believe that the short life span of
ancients, precluded the development of cancer,
but people of ancient Egypt and Greece did live
long enough to develop cancer, having diseases
such as atherosclerosis, Paget's & osteoporosis.

The team found the first descriptions of cancer
operations in the 17th century, and the first
reports in scientific literature of distinctive
tumors, within the past 200 years.


Image: you CAN choose to be happy!



YOU CAN CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY!!!

In a new study, Australian behavioral scientists
explode the theory that happiness is linked solely
to genetics, in a study viewed as a breakthrough
in psychological research.

The results of a 25-year study on 60,000 Germans
show very strongly that long-term happiness IS
determined by lifestyle decisions;- including
partner choice, love for others, work & religion.

The study discovers that people who put their
relationship with their partner & children first
are happier than those interested in careers or
material success, as are those who help others
through social or political activities.

Working less hours doesn't necessarily lead to
happiness, but working a lot more or less than
they want, makes people VERY unhappy.

"Other things that matter are social activities,
getting involved in social and community
things
with friends in an active kind of way,"

Professor Headey, team leader, says.

He adds that a link between religion and
happiness is also quite evident.

"Religion seems to work for people - people
who
regularly attend church or mosque are
a bit
happier on average, than people who
are non-
religious or non-attenders...


"So having some kind of belief system that
gives you
a sense of meaning or purpose
is important for happiness."


"People who select or happen to be selected
by
partners with relatively benign personalities,

with low levels of neuroticism, and who are
reasonably extroverted and outgoing, tend to
be happier than average, and happier than
they
would be, just on the basis of their own

personality traits," adds Professor Headey.

Professor Headey says these findings are
the
first of their kind on such a large scale.


"It is, I think, something of a breakthrough,"
Professor Headey says.


"People want to be happy, they want to know
what
they can do to make a difference, and
this gives
some indication of the kinds of
choices that matter.


"So we don't have to be stuck with the idea
that
happiness is set, like disease or height
or genes."


Study leader and Associate Professor at the
University of Melbourne, Australia, Bruce
Headey,
says the study turns the idea of
happiness being
linked to personality,
firmly on its head.


"Happiness isn't just a matter of heredity;
it isn't just in the genes," he says.

"Genes might be about 50% of the story,
but the rest depends on lifestyle choices:
choices relating to your partner, and also
relating to your work life."

The study is being published in the official
journal of the US National Academy of Sciences,
& based on data from the German Socio-Economic
Panel, conducted by scientists partly from Australia.

It analyzed responses from a representative sample
of people aged 16 & over, who answered questions
every single year from 1984 to 2008.



Image: Plastic people



PLASTIC KETTLES KILL!

Plastic dishes or packaging were very rare
in the Soviet Union. Soviet food stores did
not use polyethylene film & fresh groceries
were wrapped in fresh clean packing paper.

Now it's considered normal to have foodstuffs
packed in various plastic containers, bags,
with fizzy reactive drinks in plastic bottles
& even plastic kettles are used to boil water !

Disposable plastic kitchenware appeared first in
the USA at the beginning of the 20th century.
Mass production started at the end of the 1950s,
and paper was gradually replaced with plastic.

Yet plastic kitchen utensils can be dangerous,
because as they're heated in a microwave oven
or filled with hot water, they discharge toxins
into both food and drinks.

Drinks in plastic bottles can be very dangerous
for children. When such bottles are heated, they
emit bisphenol A. This substance can trigger the
development of various cancers, heart ailments,
obesity, diabetes, etc. Bisphenol A is dangerous,
and especially for boys: it can often affect the
reproductive system of male embryos in
the womb.


Baby bottles containing bisphenol are banned in
the US. US companies now manufacture plastic
bottles without the chemical. Nothing has been
changed for other countries, though.

Phthalate is another extremely toxic substance
used in the production of plastic kitchenware.
Phthalates are used as plasticizers: they make
plastic materials flexible and soft.... They are
contained in polyethylene films that are used
for packing meat, sausages & other foodstuffs.
Phthalates can most easily penetrate into fats.

Therefore, specialists recommend that people
keep food in glass, metal or ceramic containers.
It's best to use plastic just for cold food & drinks.

Dmitry Zykov, a food technologies specialist:

"For hot food and water, you should only use
materials that have been exposed to a process
of being burnt in a furnace. Surfaces become
inert as a result of this process, and no toxins
can penetrate from such dishes or containers
into
your food. Tableware made of glass or
stainless
steel, doesn't react chemically
with hot food.

If you have a plastic electric kettle at home,
I would recommend that you replace it with
metal one. It's more expensive, but it's a
lot 
better for your health."



Image: green veg and wholemeal bread to avoid diabetes



EAT WHOLEMEAL BREAD & GREEN VEG
TO AVOID DIABETES


For the Welsh, cursed with a high incidence of
diabetes, here's some welcome research...

Following a diet rich in whole grains, which are
high in magnesium, lowers the risk of developing
diabetes in the long run, AND mitigates further
complications for diabetics, a new study finds.

Previous studies have reported that adopting a
healthy diet rich in vegetables and fruits
lowers the risk of developing diabetes, coronary
heart disease, strokes, and some cancers.

According to a study published in Diabetes Care,
individuals who receive about 200 milligrams of
magnesium from foods and vitamin supplements
for every 1,000 calories they consume, are at
a 47% lower risk of developing diabetes over
the next 20 years.

The higher magnesium an individual receives,
the lower would be the blood levels of several
markers of inflammation. High blood levels of
magnesium are linked to low insulin resistance.

"Increasing magnesium intake may be important for
improving insulin sensitivity, reducing systemic
inflammation, and decreasing diabetes risk,"
says lead researcher Ka He, at the University
of North Carolina.

Magnesium is needed for the proper functioning
of several enzymes responsible for the precise
process of glucose in the body, the study finds.

Scientists therefore are urging both diabetics
& individuals at risk of developing the condition
to follow a healthy diet rich in magnesium in
order to lower the risk of developing diabetes
and avoiding wosening its complications.



Image: Little Jamie "back from dead"...


THE HEALTH-ENHANCING POWER OF FAITH & LOVE


IMAGINE YOU'RE TOLD YOUR BABY IS DEAD !

A mother saved her premature baby's life recently,
after being told by doctors "Sorry, we couldn't
save him". Read what happened next here...


http://english.pravda.ru/health/27-08-2010/114781-mum_baby-0/


Image: less meat better for your health




WANT TO LIVE LONGER? EAT LESS ANIMALS


Following a low-carbohydrate diet in which plants,
rather than animals, are the main source of fat
and protein, can lower the overall risk of death.

Previous studies all report that low-carbohydrate
diets can promote weight loss and improve blood
cholesterol levels. According to a new study,
published in the Annals of Internal Medicine,
adopting a higher-vegetable low-carbohydrate
diet, can lead to a 20% lower risk of death.

A low-carbohydrate diet rich in meat? -
this increases mortality rates by 23%.

A diet rich in meat is linked with a higher risk
of dying from cardiovascular diseases. It also
increases the risk of a cancer-related death,
albeit not "significantly".

Following the "Eco-Atkins" diet, which is rich
in vegetable-derived fats and proteins, lowers
the overall risk of death and the heart disease-
related mortality rate, by about 20%.

Lack of unsaturated fats, dietary fibre, vitamins,
minerals and phytochemicals in meat-based diets
may be responsible for the high death rate in
individuals following a meat-rich diet.

"These results suggest that the health effects of
a low-carbohydrate diet may depend on the type
of
protein and fat, and a diet that includes mostly

vegetable sources of protein & fat is preferable
to a diet with mostly animal sources of protein
and fat," says lead researcher, Frank B. Hu.



Image: US Health industry



FOLLOWING THE US HEALTH WAY?

As we now see Health insurance company salesmen
on our streets, pretending to be "legal advisors",
and watch helplessly as the UK's health "industry"
is touted to more and more "experts" - by bribing
GPs to front the smashing of the UK's once world-
famous National Health Service; take a good look
at the US way... and see the dark abyss loom!


1 - Even as the rest of the US economy deeply
struggles, US health insurance companies
increased their profits by 56 percent in 2009.

2 - According to a report by Health Care for
America Now, the US's five biggest for-profit
health insurers ended 2009 with a combined
profit of $12.2 billion.

3 - The top executives at the five largest for-
profit health insurance companies in the US
received $200 million in "compensation" in 2009.

4 - According to an article on the Mother Jones
website, health insurance premiums for small
US employers increased 180% between 1999 and 2009.

5 - Health insurance premium increases are
getting totally out of control. For example,
the 39% increase in health insurance premiums
Anthem Blue Cross imposed on some California
customers last year, made national headlines.

6 - Since 2003, health insurance companies have
given $42 million in state election contributions.

7 - More than two dozen pharmaceutical companies
made over a billion dollars in profits in 2008.

8 - Each year, tens of billions of dollars is
spent on pharmaceutical marketing in the US alone.

9 - Nearly half of all US citizens now use
prescription drugs on a regular basis, according
to a CDC report that was just released.

According to the report, approximately one-third
of all US citizens use 2 or more pharmaceutical
drugs, and more than ten% of all US citizens
use 5 or more prescription drugs, regularly.

10 - According to the CDC, approximately three
quarters of a million people a year are rushed
to emergency rooms in the US because of adverse
reactions to pharmaceutical drugs.

11 - According to a very surprising new study,
85% of new pharmaceutical drugs are "lemons"
and pose serious health risks to their users.

12 - The Food and Drug Administration reported
1,742 prescription drug recalls in 2009, which
was an increase from 426 drug recalls in 2008.

13 - Shocking new research has found that
expectant mothers taking antidepressants
have an astounding 68% increase in the
overall risk of miscarriage. Yet pharmaceutical
companies are doing nothing to stop this.

14 - The use of psychiatric medications among 18
to 34 yr old members of the US military & their
wives, increased by 42% between 2005 and 2009.

15 - There are new medical studies that suggest
that many of the most popular anti-depressant
drugs are no more effective than a placebo.

16 - Pharmaceutical companies continue to rake in
billions of dollars from selling vaccines and
are encouraging even pregnant women to take them,
even though there is mounting evidence that
taking vaccines while pregnant, dramatically
increases the rate of miscarriage.

17 - One woman in New Hampshire is seeking more
than $24 million in damages from the manufacturer
of a prescription drug that she took for shoulder
pain. It turns out that as a result of taking
the drug, she is now blind and has been left
scarred by internal and external burns.

18 - According to a study, the medical liability
system in the US added approximately $55.6
billion to the cost of health care in 2008.

19 - Pharmaceutical companies have become so
greedy that now they are even attempting to
patent our genes. It is being reported that
over three million gene patent applications
have been filed with the US government so far.

Tens of thousands of gene patents have already
been granted at this point. It is estimated
that companies hold approximately 40,000 patents
on sections of the human genome right now. Those
patents cover approximately 20% of our genes.

20 - According to a recent report, US citizens
spend about twice as much as residents of other
developed countries on health care, but get much
lower quality and far less efficiency in return.

Image: You are what you eat



GHOULS OF UK's BODY PARTS

There was a massive campaign in Wales to make
people have to carry an "I don't want my organs
donated" card, in order to be able to opt out
from having body parts taken at death...

and in 2015, Welsh AMs capitulated to
the lobbyists... but beware!

Now that system -- of only donor card carriers
having organs removed automatically - is gone,
the ghouls have carte blanche to steal organ
parts --- when they were stealing them from
UK people illegally already... !!!

An inquiry has found that organs and bones
from the bodies of dead UK nuclear industry
Sellafield workers, were illegally harvested
without their consent for over 30 years.

The inquiry's findings reveal that relatives of
64 staff discovered that their loved ones had
been stripped of livers, tongues and even
legs, decades after they were buried, the
Belfast Telegraph reported.

The findings also proved the existence of an
“old boys' club” among pathologists, coroners
& scientists around Sellafield, prior to 1992,
which prioritized the needs of the nuclear
industry, above grieving family members.

The workers r
epresentatives told the inquiry's
Chair, Michael Redfern QC, that they felt as if
bodies had been “mutilated” and treated as
“commodities” to assist in research on behalf of
the industry to try to disprove the link between
cancers and radiation at Sellafield & elsewhere.

Some missing bones had been replaced with
broomsticks for deceased workers' funerals.
Redfern says families have been “wronged”.

“In most cases considered by the inquiry,
relatives were let down at a time when they
were most vulnerable, by those in whom they
were entitled to place absolute trust," he says.

In the Commons, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne
apologized to the families, and stated that the
practice has now "been stopped".

The 650-page report, following a three-year
inquiry, which also examined 3 other studies
involving the nuclear industry, in which 6,500
bodies, including children, were used, says the
removal of organs & tissue was “unnecessary
  & inappropriate” in a majority of Sellafield cases.


************************************************


DID YOU KNOW...


that microwaves were originally developed
as a weapon of war to destroy human flesh?

that ALL microwave cookers were banned
in Russia - until the collapse of the USSR?

that research shows that microwave cooking
mutates molecules and is probably responsible
for stomach cancers, Russian research shows?


*************************************************
*************************************************


BINGE DRINKERS HAVE BRAIN DAMAGE:
AND DON'T KNOW IT!


Meyerhoff, group leader of new research, says that
the alcohol consumption among the heavy drinkers
his team studied, was only 60% of that typically
found among alcoholics in clinics...

These are the ONLY group normally ever studied.
But his team studied - for the first time - heavy
drinkers living among the general population.

Even in these "binge" drinkers, they found that
frontal white matter NAA was much lower in heavy
drinkers than light drinkers, and was associated
with lower executive & working memory functions.

In other words, binge drinkers are brain-damaged!

"Although the men and women who drank heavily for
many years demonstrated fewer changes in brain
metabolites than do alcoholics in treatment,"
Meyerhoff says, "the abnormalities we found, are
nonetheless associated with lower brain function."

Lower cognitive functioning, he says, can affect
daily living routines in not-so-obvious ways –
the changes may be too gradual or too weak to
be
noticeable – but they may still interfere with
basic cognitive processes, such as: decision
making; planning; regulation of emotion and
motivation; memory; and motor control.

"These deficits may have an affect on a heavy
drinkers' ability to judge his/her drinking, as
adversely affecting his/her life," he adds, "and
can also interfere with the drinker's decision

to seek treatment or reduce drinking, thus
perpetuating drinking behaviour."


Meyerhoff says some behaviours associated
with these metabolite changes, include the
inability to apply consequences from past actions;
difficulties with abstract concepts of time & money;
difficulties with storing and retrieving information;
and frequently needing external motivators.

Both Martin & Meyerhoff say the study's findings
of chemical abnormalities in the brains of heavy
social drinkers provide evidence of brain damage,
even if the drinkers cannot see it themselves.

"Our major aim was to detect the early adverse
effects
of alcohol drinking on brain function, and
to
provide useful information to the heavy alcohol
drinker, family practitioners, and society," says
Meyerhoff. "Our message is: 'Drink in moderation!

Heavy drinking damages your brain ever so slightly,
reducing your cognitive functioning in ways that
may not be readily noticeable. To be safe...
don't overdue it.'"




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