Category: Unsettled Science

Reading The Fine Print

Unsettled Science Wuhan Flu 56 Comments

A nice large sample size in this one.

The Lancet- Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccination Against Risk of Symptomatic Infection, Hospitalization, and Death Up to 9 Months: A Swedish Total-Population Cohort Study

Vaccine effectiveness of BNT162b2 against infection waned progressively from 92% at day 15-30 to 47% and from day 211 and onwards no effectiveness could be detected. Overall, vaccine effectiveness was lower and waned faster among men and older individuals. The effectiveness waned slightly slower for mRNA-1273, being estimated to 59% from day 181 and onwards. In contrast, effectiveness of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 was generally lower and waned faster, with no effectiveness detected from day 121 and onwards.  whereas effectiveness from heterologous ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 / mRNA was maintained from 121 days and onwards.

Overall, vaccine effectiveness was lower and waned faster among men and older individuals. For the outcome severe Covid-19, effectiveness waned from 89% at day 15-30 to 42% and onwards, with sensitivity analyses showing notable waning among men, older frail individuals, and individuals with comorbidities.

 

Where’s The Beef?

Unsettled Science 21 Comments

Oxford Academic- Behavioral Characteristics and Self-reported Health Status Among 2029 Adults Consuming a “Carnivore Diet”

In a survey of over 2000 adults following a “carnivore diet” (i.e., one that aims to avoid plant foods), health benefits and satisfaction were generally reported.

Conclusions- Contrary to common expectations, adults consuming a carnivore diet experienced few adverse effects and instead reported health benefits and high satisfaction. Cardiovascular risk factors were variably affected. The generalizability of these findings and the long-term effects of this dietary pattern require further study.

The Sound Of Settled Science

Unsettled Science War On Meat 11 Comments

Sebastian Rushworth M.D.,

In a sense, I can’t believe I’m writing this article. From a scientific perspective, this issue has been firmly settled. The answer is very clearly “NO!”. And yet, if I google “is saturated fat unhealthy?”, then seven of the top nine results proclaim with great certainty that “yes, it is”.

Here’s what the NHS says to people living in the UK: “Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease.”

And here’s what the US government tells its citizens: “Eating too many foods high in saturated fats can be bad for your health. By replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats, you may lower your risk of getting heart disease.”

To be fair, the US government doesn’t sound quite as confident as the UK health authorities. There’s a lot of “can” and “may” in that sentence. Which is actually a bit funny, when you consider that it was the US government that got the whole world to cut down on saturated fats in the first place.

Interestingly, none of the self-appointed fact checking organizations that have sprung up in recent years has yet tried to pull the NHS or the US government off the internet for spreading misinformation.

If you’re in a habit of subscribing to interesting newsletters, Rushworth’s a good one.

The Sound Of Settled Science

Climate Cult Unsettled Science 11 Comments

You’re gonna lose your funding if you continue down this path.

The Arctic Ocean has been warming since the beginning of the 20th century, fueled by a process known as Atlantification, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

The new research highlights the connection between the North Atlantic and Arctic between Greenland and Svalbard, a region known was Fram Strait, where warmer, saltier water from the south has been steadily infiltrating northern waters.

A firing offense?

Unsettled Science Wuhan Flu 10 Comments

How long will it be before this doctor gets turfed for challenging the standard Covid narrative? If she manages to avoid dismissal, that may be an indication that there is a little more light at the end of this very dark tunnel. She’s definitely pro-vaccine, but still recognizes the bizarre contradictions and futility of many aspects of current Covid strategy.

Politicians need to abandon the quixotic quest for COVID zero, making many of the interventions intended to stop virus circulation irrelevant. Public mask-wearing, social distancing etc. were only going to defer, not eliminate, transmission.

Society also needs to shift how it sees the unvaccinated. The prevailing opinion, including among many of my colleagues, is that the unvaccinated pose a threat to others. Since the vaccinated are still likely to be infected and transmit disease, with similar viral loads as those who are unvaccinated, this is not entirely true.

The “Vaxxed”

Unsettled Science Wuhan Flu 46 Comments

CNN- French prime minister tests positive for Covid-19, forcing Belgium’s leader into isolation

NP- Double-vaccinated Manitoba Opposition leader Wab Kinew tests positive for COVID-19

Global- Sen. Forest-Niesing, 56, dies after battle with COVID-19

The BBC’s Rich Preston, triple jabbed.  More on that here. 

Then there’s the latest UK numbers. 

All of which has people thinking…

Dionne Pohler and Rafael Gomez: Why vaccine mandates are in legal trouble
Waning immunity and infections among the vaccinated will be noted by labour arbitrators.

Francisco- Side note, when I look at all of the infected people, particularly in the “vaxxed” column, a little clip from this interview plays in my head, “My colleague,  Dickson Despommier calls viruses -safecrackers-“.

Because the vax is non-sterilizing there’s a lot of “safecrackers” out there right now that are moving around all while improving their lock picking skills. It seems a bit foolhardy to think the vax lock is going to be anything but temporary given what we’re already seeing.

The Grinch’s Small Heart Grew Three Sizes That Day

Unsettled Science Wuhan Flu 21 Comments

Cardiology Advisor- ACS Risk Biomarkers Significantly Increase After mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine

The risk of developing acute coronary syndrome (ACS) significantly increased in patients after receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, according to a report presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2021, held from November 13 to 15, 2021.

The PULS Cardiac Test measures multiple protein biomarkers, including hepatocyte growth factor [HGF], soluble Fas, and IL-16, and uses the results to calculate a 5-year risk score for new ACS. The PULS score increases with above-normal elevation. All participants received this test every 3-6 months for 8 years.

That sounds like one heck of a good base line to start from.

As a result, the 5-year ACS PULS risk score increased from 11% to 25%. By the time the report was published, changes had persisted for 2.5 months or more after the second vaccine dose.

The study author concluded that “mRNA [vaccines] dramatically increase inflammation on the endothelium and T cell infiltration of cardiac muscle and may account for the observations of increased thrombosis, cardiomyopathy, and other vascular events following vaccination.”

Emphasis mine

Some more on ACS or “acute coronary syndrome” .

There seems to be quite a bit of overlap between the risk factors for ACS and the comorbidities associated with covid.

The Sound Of Settled Science

Unsettled Science 19 Comments

Alaska student’s research upends understanding of upper atmospheric wind;

“All of the computer models say that this wind spills out quite some distance toward the equator and then eventually slows and blends into the background flow, just like traffic merging onto a highway,” Conde said. “There should be quite a strong flow extending far equatorward, but we find that it basically just hits a wall over Alaska on some occasions. It really should continue and spill out just like the models say.”

The finding has implications for spacecraft orbits, space debris avoidance, ionospheric storm modeling and our understanding about the transport of air in the thermosphere.

The thermosphere is far less dense, almost to a vacuum, compared to air at the Earth’s surface. And that means the occasional stalling of the cross-polar jet won’t be noticed on the surface or affect life here.

But what causes this stalling? That hasn’t been resolved yet. Itani’s paper does offer a correlation, however: A review of seven years of data shows a “strong influence” from solar activity. Thermospheric wind stalling is most likely to occur during solar minimum, the period of low disturbance on the sun’s surface.

What?

Unsettled Science Wuhan Flu 44 Comments

Unheard Concerns: Thousands blame COVID-19 vaccine for hearing problems Tinnitus sufferers explain sudden onset after shot.

More than 10,000 Americans have reported tinnitus as a possible side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine, and some are now questioning why the FDA and CDC are not taking a deeper look into their claims about hearing problems.

“It’s a constant high pitch string,” Robert Edmonds told ABC15 during a July visit to Phoenix for tinnitus-related medical care. Tinnitus is a ringing or buzzing noise in one or both ears that may be constant or come and go. It is often associated with hearing loss.

How does this compare to previous years? Have a look.

For anyone who’s interested in tip toeing through the VAERS reports.  Hit the red “search vaers” button, type “tinnitus” into the symptom slot and hit search.

And for those who like to dump all over the VAERS reports here’s a detailed paper just for you. 

Contrary to claims that most of these reports are made by lay-people and are hence clinically unreliable, we identified health service employees as the reporter in at least 67%. The sample contains only people vaccinated early in the programme, and hence is made up primarily of those who are elderly or with significant health conditions. Despite this, there were only 14% of the cases for which a vaccine reaction could be ruled out as a contributing factor in their death.

h/t Jean Marc Benoit

Remember when…

Unsettled Science 16 Comments

… they used to take pretty much everyone’s tonsils out?

In this study of almost 1.2 million children, of whom 17 460 had adenoidectomy, 11 830 tonsillectomy, and 31 377 adenotonsillectomy, surgeries were associated with increased long-term risks of respiratory, infectious, and allergic diseases. Although rigorous controls for confounding were used where such data were available, it is possible these effects could not be fully accounted for. Our results suggest it is important to consider long-term risks when making decisions to perform tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy.

Not 100%, but….

It's Probably Nothing Unsettled Science Wuhan Flu 47 Comments

In what seems to be a remarkable turn of events, the CBC actually ran this story  without attempting to hide a whole lot.

The cases are linked to a three-on-three league for men over the age of 50, who had been playing at the rink for several years. All are considered breakthrough infections because they were among fully vaccinated people, the health unit said.

“I’m still trying to figure out how this all sort of happened.”

The medical authorities may have a lot of “figuring” to do over the next few months. Perhaps they could start by walking back the widely accepted but absolutely false idea that vaccination means you cannot spread Covid. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that since last spring I’d be considering early retirement.

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