The tragedy of Anthony Fauci – and his critics.

Many politicians and “pundits” are missing the point on Dr. Fauci and the pandemic response.

Yes, Dr. Fauci is arrogant and did a terrible job communicating during the pandemic. However, his critics are using his deficiencies to spread their own misinformation. Criticizing a liar doesn’t make your own lies OK.

Did the 6 foot rule make any sense? No, it did not. However, that doesn’t mean it was perfectly safe to go into a crowded bar during the height of the pandemic when no one had been vaccinated and hospitals were overrun with sick and dying people. The virus was spreading as an aerosol. Being in any enclosed space with a lot of people greatly increased your risk of infection. The 6 foot rule was a stupid attempt to pretend that crowded buildings were safe if only you followed it when clearly they were not.

Did asking small children to wear loose paper masks make any sense? No, it did not. However, that’s not because a properly fitted N95 doesn’t work, it is because it was unrealistic to expect small children to wear a N95 properly. Although children were less at risk than others, some children did die of Covid. Many teachers also died. Should we forget them?

Was it accurate to suggest that the Covid vaccine would stop transmission of the virus and that that the vaccination would last indefinitely. No, it was not. However, vaccination did slow transmission and did protect, to varying extents during the pandemic, the vaccinated from serious illness. Repeated vaccination at intervals of about 4 months greatly reduced the risk of death and Long Covid. And why do none of the pandemic revisionists mention Long Covid and the brain damage and other health risks it causes?

With a few notable exceptions, Members of Congress are missing the most important point about NIH funding of EcoHealth and the transfer of grant funds to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Dr. Fauci did not plan to create a pandemic. He’s not in league with the Chinese government. The funding of EcoHealth was intended to gain cooperation of Chinese scientists to identify new strains of virus that might pose a threat to the United States in exchange for instruction on how to manipulate viruses in the lab. However, given the nature of the Chinese government, this plan was dangerously stupid, and did not receive proper review.

Dr. Fauci and many other scientists know little about international politics or the ideology of the Chinese government. Dr. Fauci’s hope that the Chinese government would cooperate to warn the world about new viruses was naive. The Chinese government is aggressively seeking to create biological weapons with which to “clear the world” of non-Chinese. Xi Jinping is a genocidal maniac and so are many members of the Chinese government. Their racism includes a belief in a separate, and superior, evolution of the Chinese people, something they are rarely called on. Our intelligence agencies should know about this and should be warning anyone who has dealing with the Chinese government about this belief system. Frankly, the American people should know about this as well.

The NIH did arrange for money to go to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which intelligence agencies knew, or should have known, was engaged in biological weapons research. More importantly, NIH through its grants, facilitated the transfer of knowledge on how to engineer viruses to make them more dangerous from US scientists to Chinese scientists. This transfer of gain-of-function knowledge, without any review of potential danger by NIH or US intelligence agencies, is the most important fact for Congress to focus on. Until the US Congress, intelligence agencies and the Defense Department take biological weapons seriously, and I can assure you, they do not, presently, we will be at grave risk from attack after attack. We also have to stop pussyfooting around about the nature of the Chinese Communist Party and government. They are evil. They look at the Nazis as a cautionary tale. Not because the Nazis did evil things, but because the Nazis didn’t go far enough. Our government needs to start saying this, out loud.

Anthony Fauci is 83 years old. 20 years ago he was an able administrator. 40 years ago, he was an outstanding scientist. Now, however, he is a bitter old man with an inflated ego, a pathetic need for attention and a failing brain. His agency was poorly run before and during the pandemic. Funding EcoHealth alliance and teaching Chinese scientists the techniques they needed to make biological weapons was a huge mistake, but not an intentional one, on Dr. Fauci’s part. What was intentional was the cover up. Dr. Fauci’s reputation cannot be saved by any politician, no matter how well meaning. However, all the “personality stuff” about Dr. Fauci is not really important. Please, Congress, focus. The Chinese government means us ill. They are working on biological weapons. SARS-CoV-2 was likely an in-progress project that escaped through sloppiness. It is not the only project they are working on.

Focus. Focus. Focus.

References

THE STRATEGIC CONSEQUENCES OF CHINESE RACISM: A Strategic Asymmetry for the United States. Mr. Andrew Marshall Director OSD Office of Net Assessment. January 7, 2013.

The Han Chinese ‘Master Race’. Charles Burton. The Dorchester Review. October 20, 2023.

Chinese Persecution of the Uyghurs. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

China committed genocide against Uyghurs, independent tribunal rules. December 9, 2021. Joel Gunter, BBC.

State Department cables: Wuhan Institute of Virology conducted classified research. Emily Kopp. June 14, 2023. US Right to Know.

Long-Term Effects of SARS-CoV-2 in the Brain: Clinical Consequences and Molecular Mechanisms. Granholm, A-C. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2023.

Gestalt #185

Sweden

Sweden is a small country with advanced technology. Most people don’t pay much attention to it. They should, because Sweden has a history of taking care of itself while situated in a dangerous neighborhood. In WW II, Sweden avoided invasion by Nazi Germany by attaching explosives to every single piece of infrastructure and factory of value, drafting everyone who could possibly hold a gun and telling Hitler that if he invaded Sweden, he would “win”, but since the Swedes would fight to the last man Hitler would lose a huge number of his troops and they would gain nothing because Sweden would blow up everything of value before German troops got to it. Instead, the Swedes offered to remain neutral and trade with both the Allies and Nazi Germany. Hitler took the latter deal. As a result, Sweden was not bombed, did not lose a large portion of its population and was well-positioned to achieve a socialistic paradise in the 1950s. This history lesson is to provide context for a recent announcement by the Swedish Civil Defense Minister and Commander-in-Chief:

Bohlin expressed concern that the modernisation of the Swedish civil defence system was not happening fast enough and urged everyone, from managers and local councillors to private citizens, to take action.

“Many have said it before me, but let me say it with the force of my office – there could be a war in Sweden.”, he said, adding that awareness needs to be translated into practical action.

He also drew parallels with Ukraine, which faced a full-scale Russian invasion with “total resilience”, according to him.

“Such an effort can only be made quickly enough if the vast majority of people are aware of the situation and understand what is at stake,” Bohlin said.

Commenting on Bohlin’s take on Swedish broadcaster SVT on Monday, Swedish Commander-in-Chief Micael Bydén said he agreed with what the minister said.

“On an individual level, you have to prepare yourself mentally,” Bydén said, adding, “This is a very serious situation, and the clarity yesterday was unmistakable. It is now about moving from words and understanding to action”.

Charles Szumski, January 8, 2024, Swedish minister, commander-in-chief warn of possible war in Sweden, Euractiv.

Many Swedish families have “Stugas”, cottages in the woods that they can go to in an emergency. For those who don’t, there are 7 million well-equipped bomb shelters waiting for them to go to. Sweden has a surprisingly sophisticated military given the size of the country. They make their own fighter aircraft, the Gripen, designed specifically to fight over Swedish territory. All of this is public knowledge. I suspect that preparations for war that are not public will be serious. Sweden will do what it must to survive.

Iran

The attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 by Hamas was suicidal from the standpoint of the Gazans. Obviously, they did not benefit. This could easily be foreseen. The attack was ordered by Iran who view Gazans as easily manipulated and entirely expendable. The Houthis of Yemen have launched suicidal attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The US and other western militaries have been responded by bombing the Houthis, as could easily be foreseen. The Houthis are backed by Iran. Once again, Iranian leaders have manipulated an unsophisticated people to be their catspaw. How many other chess pieces will Iranian leaders sacrifice to win? When will those who are being attacked by Iran’s pawns go for the King in Tehran? To me, this is just one of the theaters of WW III. The big show is yet to come in Asia.

Dementia Dystopia

Imagine a giant warehouse, except, instead of being filled with boxes and crates, it’s filled with thousands of older people on cots. There is an unpleasant smell that hits you as soon as you enter. The moans, groans and inarticulate mutterings of the people on the cots combine to make waves of sound suffused with suffering. As you approach closer, you see heavily tattooed workers roughly changing the diapers of the people on the cots. Crude robots, mostly carts with cameras on them, bump along crowded aisles carrying human waste to a back area. Not infrequently, a larger cart comes to pick up the body of someone recently expired. It goes to the same back area.

The United States is facing a debt crisis. The US debt is now 34 trillion dollars and rapidly climbing. How will this be paid? There is no plan. Both Social Security and Medicare will soon be insolvent. What happens then? There is no plan. Study after study has shown that being infected with SARS-CoV-2 causes damage to the brain. There is evidence that the risk for long covid goes up with each re-infection. This damage is relatively mild in young people, but it may be taking its toll. On almost every metric of cognitive and mental health, young people are struggling. We are told that this is because they had to learn remotely for a few months. Is this believable? Or is the alternative hypothesis, that SARS-CoV-2 is slowly causing an erosion of mental faculties of those it infects more believable?

Consider the following possibility: What if the brain shrinkage known to be caused by SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the declining cognitive and mental health of people in the US? What if there is a massive wave of dementia in a few years as a result? What if Congress does not act and no funds are provided for the long term care of people with dementia?

References

Brain disorders: Impact of mild SARS-CoV-2 may shrink several parts of the brain. (2023) Kumar et al. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 149: 105150.

COVID-19 Associated with Long-Term Cognitive Dysfunction, Acceleration of Alzheimer’s Symptoms. (2021) Alzheimer Association.

Medicare Won’t Have Enough Money to Pay Full Benefits After 2031: Report. April 5, 2023. Adam Hardy.

Gestalt #175 – Survey of Viral Threats – The Coronaviridae

In the following weeks, I will focus on several families of viruses that affect human health and which have recently caused outbreaks in humans. These blogs won’t be comprehensive, just quick summaries of currently available information. I will provide references for those who wish to delve further.

Background

Viruses can be categorized in different ways. Scientists use information about nucleic acids to organize descriptions of viruses. Nucleic acids contain information that is used to produce proteins which in turn give structure to and perform functions for, viruses. Differences in nucleic acids can also be used to identify individual viruses and to group viruses based on their ancestral relationships. Viruses may use either RNA or DNA as their nucleic acid. The RNA or DNA may be either single or double stranded. Viruses are formally grouped together in different “families” such as the Coronaviridae which include SARS-CoV-1; SARS-CoV-2 and MERS. These names are less useful to laymen who want to know what the viruses actually do. So, viruses are often referred to as “respiratory”, “enteric” or “neurotropic”. The problem with the latter type of nomenclature is that it is imprecise and can be misleading. For example, “respiratory” and “enteric” viruses can invade the nervous system. Some viruses also have negative effects on the host not by direct attack, but instead, by causing the host immune system to attack host cells. In the survey that follows, I will use scientific nomenclature to describe groups of viruses but will also try to give meaningful information about how each virus attacks the host.

The Coronaviridae

The coronviridae are single-stranded RNA viruses. This group contains many viruses that cause what people call the “common cold”. Coronaviruses typically spread via particles in the air and enter the lungs. They can directly damage the lungs but can also infect and/or damage many other organs of the body including the heart and the brain.

SARS-CoV-1 is a coronavirus that emerged in China 2002 (Payne 2017). It infected over 700 people and had a 10% case fatality rate killing mostly through damage to the lungs (Payne 2017). The origin of this virus was initially covered up by the Chinese government which allowed it to spread to other countries (Greenfield 2007). SARS-CoV-1 was primarily spread by droplets in the air. Such transmission was usually inefficient. However, there were incidents where large numbers of individuals were infected most likely because the virus was given a mechanical assist. Specifically, machines aerosolized the virus making it possible for SARS-CoV-1 to infect far more people than it would normally (Yu et al. 2004; McKinney et al 2006). Lack of access to N95s resulted in unnecessary infections in nurses in Canada (Loeb et al 2004). The ongoing transmission of the virus in humans ended in 2003. Infection of personnel working in labs with SARS-CoV-1 occurred in China (in April 2003)(Walgate 2004) and Taiwan (in December 2003) (Orellana 2004).

SARS-CoV-2 emerged in China in late 2019 or early 2020 (CDC). The origin of this virus was initially covered up by the Chinese government which allowed it to spread to other countries, again (Sparrow 2021). The source of the virus is disputed (Salzberg 2023). The two major hypotheses are that it was either caused by a laboratory accident in Wuhan China or natural spread from animals to humans at market in Wuhan China where meat was sold. SARS-CoV-2 is primarily spread through the air as an aerosol. It enters the upper respiratory system (nose, mouth and throat) and can spread from there to the lower respiratory system (lungs) or other tissues including the brain. The loss of smell commonly associated with SARS-CoV-2 is primarily due to damage of the olfactory epithelium which is in very close proximity to the brain. SARS-CoV-2 can also damage the heart through several different mechanisms (Post and Gilotra). The disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 is referred to as COVID-19. The case fatality rate of COVID-19 has varied widely in different countries, from nearly zero to 18% (Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Mortality Analyses). In the US, the case fatality rate is estimated at 1.1% (Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Mortality Analyses). The case fatality rate varies hugely based on age with a steep increase in the probability of death in the elderly, which has been variously defined as “over 50”; “over 60”; “over 65” or “over 70”. Other factors affecting the likelihood an individual will survive infection with SARS-CoV-2 include: vaccination status; preexisting illnesses; type of care (this improved over the course of the pandemic) and access to Paxlovid and other treatments. SARS-CoV-2 kills by attacking the lungs, but also by damaging other organs. Once again, nurses in Canada were unnecessarily exposed to a SARS virus due to a lack of access to N95s (Brophy et al 2021). Long Covid or Post-Acute Coronavirus (COVID-19) Syndrome is an ill-defined condition in which the patient continues to experience symptoms long after the initial infection with SARS-CoV-2 appears to have been cleared (Davis et al 2023). A wide variety of symptoms associated with long COVID have been reported including “brain fog” and fatigue. The long term consequences of long COVID will not be known for many years. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is ongoing with continued evolution of new strains (Haseltine 2023).

MERS was first observed in Saudi Arabia in 2012 (CDC). It is reported to have originated in camels and then transmitted to humans (WHO). It appears to be spread primarily by close contact. There have been numerous cases where spread has occurred in hospitals (Hui et al. 2018). The case fatality rate is estimated at about 35% (Hui et al 2018). MERS infections continue to be reported, but at a low level.

References

Payne S. (2017) Family Coronaviridae. Viruses. p149–158.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7149805/

SARS-CoV-1

Wong O. (2004) Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
https://oem.bmj.com/content/61/1/e1

Orellana C. (2004) Laboratory-acquired SARS raises worries on biosafety. Lancet Infectious Diseases. 4:24.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7128204/

Walgate R. (2004) SARS escaped Beijing lab twice. Genome Biology.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7096887/

Yu et al. (2004) Evidence of Airborne Transmission of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Virus. The New England Journal of Medicine.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa032867

Loeb et al. (2004) SARS among Critical Care Nurses, Toronto. Emerging Infectious Diseases.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3322898/

McKinney et al (2006) Environmental transmission of SARS at Amoy Gardens. Journal of Environmental Health.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16696450/

Greenfield K.T. (2007) China Syndrome: The True Story of the 21st Century’s First Great Epidemic.

Huddleston T. (2020) This hotel is infamous as ground zero for a SARS ‘super spreader’ in the 2003 outbreak—here’s what happened. CNBC.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/14/hong-kong-hotel-hosted-super-spreader-in-the-2003-sars-outbreak.html

SARS-CoV-2

CDC Museum COVID-19 Timeline.
https://www.cdc.gov/museum/timeline/covid19.html

Post W.S and Gilotra N. A. Heart Problems after COVID-19.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/heart-problems-after-covid19

Mortality Analyses. Johns Hopkins University.
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality

Number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) deaths in the U.S. as of June 14, 2023, by age. Statista.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1191568/reported-deaths-from-covid-by-age-us/

Sparrow A. (2021) The Chinese Government’s Cover-Up Killed Health Care Workers Worldwide. Foreign Policy.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/18/china-covid-19-killed-health-care-workers-worldwide/

Brophy et al. (2021) Sacrificed: Ontario Healthcare Workers in the Time of COVID-19. NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1048291120974358

Salzberg S. (2023) The Scientific Error That Might Have Caused The Covid-19 Pandemic. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2023/02/27/the-scientific-error-that-might-have-caused-the-covid-19-pandemic/

Davis et al. (2023) Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations. Nat Rev Microbiol. 21:133-146
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9839201/

Chippa et al. Post-Acute Coronavirus (COVID-19) Syndrome. Stat Pearls.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK570608/

Haseltine W. A. (2023) Covid-19: The Shapeshifting Protean Virus. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2023/08/24/covid-19-the-shapeshifting-protean-virus

MERS

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). CDC.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/index.html

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). WHO.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/middle-east-respiratory-syndrome-coronavirus-(mers-cov)

Hui et al. (2018) Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: risk factors and determinants of primary, household, and nosocomial transmission. Lancet Infectious Diseases 18: e217–e227.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7164784/

Gestalt # 134 – Breathless – The Effect of SARS-CoV-2 on the Respiratory System

The lungs are among the first organs attacked by SARS-CoV-2. Early in the pandemic, it was clear that this virus could cause changes in the lungs apparent on X-Rays. In fact, before RT-PCR assays were developed and widely deployed, many COVID-19 patients were diagnosed based on a specific type of image (ground glass opacities) identified in their lungs with X-Rays.

Most people who die of COVID-19 are thought to die because of respiratory failure (although long term studies may ultimately find other major causes of death in patients with long Covid). SARS-CoV-2 can cause immediate and severe damage to the lungs by a type of pneumonia. Patients can be saved from death using a variety of strategies. Early on, many patients were put on ventilators. Unfortunately, only about 50% of patients would survive this procedure. More recently, other measures have been adopted to reduced the need for ventilation. This has resulted in improved survival rates. Of course, treatment with Paxlovid can prevent the disease from progressing to the stage where ventilators are necessary. For extremely sick patients, Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) may be their only hope. This is a type of combination therapy which takes over many of the functions of the lungs and other organs while the patient recovers. It requires expensive machines and a team of trained health care professionals. We need more ECMOs in this country for COVID-19 and future respiratory pandemics.

SARS-CoV-2 can also cause longer term damage through a process called fibrosis. There is a new clinical term: post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis (PCPF) used to describe what can happen to the lungs in people who were infected with SARS-CoV-2. Basically, cells called fibroblasts overproduce themselves in response to factors stimulated by SARS-CoV-2. This overgrowth results in production of substances that can narrow the fine passages needed for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. This leads to a number of symptoms including shortness of breath and fatigue. Although there are a number of therapies for fibrosis under development, there is no cure for it at this time.

The diaphragm is the muscle that moves the lungs and is necessary for breathing. The diaphragm is in turn controlled by the phrenic nerve which emerges from the spinal cord. There is evidence breathing problems in some patients may be not be due to damage to the lungs per se but rather due to damage to the diaphragm and/or phrenic nerve. There are exercise programs that may help recovery from this disorder, but their efficacy is still being studied.

SARS-CoV-2 can cause breathing problems through several, distinct mechanisms. People who are “short of breath” need to know what the exact cause of this non-specific symptom is in order to get the right therapy for them. Of course, best of all is to avoid getting infected in the first place. You know the drill: vaccine, N95 and avoid crowds. These three preventative measures are not going to stop being important any time soon.

References

Bösmüller (2021) The pulmonary pathology of COVID-19. Virchows Archive.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7892326/

Hama Amin (2022) Post COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis; a meta-analysis study. Ann Med Surg (London).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8983072/

Marginean et al. (2022) Challenges in the Differential Diagnosis of COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Pictorial Review. Diagnostics (Basel).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9689132/

Severin (2022) The effects of COVID-19 on respiratory muscle performance: making the case for respiratory muscle testing and training. European Respiratory Review.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9724806/

Shi et al. (2021) Diaphragm Pathology in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19 and Postmortem Findings From 3 Medical Centers. JAMA Internal Medicine.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7670391/

Gestalt # 131 – Goblin Mode: The Effect of SARS-CoV-2 on the Nervous System

Goblin mode is an internet meme suggesting laziness, disorganization and disregard of personal hygiene as a lifestyle. It has apparently become more common, and accepted, during the pandemic. Indeed, the phrase “goblin mode” was chosen as Oxford word of the year for 2022. What struck me about the official description of “goblin mode”: “unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations” is that it also describes, quite precisely, the effects of damage to the frontal lobes of the brain, something that has been reported as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Goblin mode may not be a new form of “self care” but, instead, an old sign of brain damage.

I’m going to write a series of blogs about the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on body systems. I start with the acceptance of our ignorance of many of the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection and, indeed, our ignorance of many aspects of normal functioning of the human body. I think sometimes that many people do not realize how incomplete is our understanding of basic cell function in health and disease. Biomedical research is still at its earliest stages. There is so much we do not understand. I will attempt to present some of what we know about SARS-CoV-2 given the tools and the knowledge that we do have. I admit up front that I am NOT an expert on SARS-CoV-2. You should take what I write with a large grain of salt and should consult a physician if you have concerns about your health.

The human body has a variety of interrelated systems. Although it is convenient to consider them separately, in fact, damage to one system often affects another. Disentangling the cause(s) of individual symptoms can be challenging. Take for example “fatigue” or “being tired all the time.” This can have many causes. Problems with the heart or lungs can be cause fatigue. So can depression. Depression may be caused by specific environmental events such as the loss of a loved one or as a result of a genetic disorder causing a chemical imbalance in the brain. If a patient complains of “fatigue”, it is important to understand what is the exact cause so that the appropriate treatment may be offered. This is why we need to use precise language to describe what is wrong with people rather than vague terms like “brain fog.”

One of the first questions we should address is whether we have any evidence that SARS-CoV-2 really causes damage to the brain or is “brain fog” just due to stress associated with the pandemic. Here the evidence is clear: SARS-CoV-2 can cause the brain to shrink in size. We know this because Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies have been conducted to measure the brain size of patients who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2. Why does SARS-CoV-2 cause the brains of some people with the disease to shrink? There are many possible reasons. The virus may directly infect the brain and kill brain cells. This has been reported, but apparently seems to be relatively rare. The virus may also cause strokes which can damage the brain due to interruption in the supply of oxygen. This is more common. One of the most active areas of research today for the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the brain involves the immune system. One of the causes of many degenerative diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer disease is neuroinflammation. The inflammatory response is one way our bodies defend against infection. Unfortunately, as we age this response becomes dysregulated and is increasingly “on” even when we are not fighting an infection. This is one of the major causes of aging. There is evidence that SARS-CoV-2, like aging, also causes the inflammatory response to be dysregulated. In the brain, this results in atrophy, which also occurs in aging. This is likely one of the reasons that dementia is much more common in older people than younger people. In effect, SARS-CoV-2 may be causing accelerated aging of the brain. We do not know this for certain. This is only an hypothesis. What we do know is that SARS-CoV-2 causes the brain to shrink in some people and that it appears to dysregulate the immune system. Shortening the time that SARS-CoV-2 has to damage your immune system, and ultimately your brain, with Paxlovid seems to be a good idea, to me.

One of the striking results of the MRI studies as that the brain shrinkage problem is observed even in young people who had only mild symptoms. However, there is no doubt that the worse symptoms you had from COVID-19, the more likely you are to have obvious long term effects. For example, we know that people who need mechanical ventilation often have long term cognitive impairments, regardless of why they needed mechanical ventilation. In the early days of the pandemic, many people were being put on ventilators who may not have needed it. Better understanding of COVID-19 has led to decreased use of mechanical ventilation and substitution of less invasive methods to deliver oxygen. I personally would still would ask for mechanical ventilation if that was the only way to save my life. If anyone you know needs ICU level care, it is a good idea to try to get that care at the best hospital with the most experienced staff you can find.

Problems with smelling (olfaction) is one of the cardinal signs of COVID-19. Some people dismiss this as a trivial symptom. They shouldn’t. Problems with olfaction are some of the first signs of Alzheimer and Parkinson disease. There is a concern that people with persistent problems with olfaction after SARS-CoV-2 may ultimately go on to develop neurodegeneration similar to Alzheimer and Parkinson disease. If so, we may face a tsunami of people with dementia in the coming years. It will start with decreased productivity due to lack of motivation and an increased error rate. Are we already seeing that? I think it is possible. There are some treatments for Parkinson Disease. Not much is available for Alzheimer disease unfortunately. However, there is a lot of research on neurodegeneration and we can hope that some of this will help should SARS-CoV-2 be shown to cause degeneration of the brain.

Psychological issues associated with the pandemic have been attributed to stress. Chronic stress is certainly bad for the brain and can cause serious psychological issues. However, there have been cases of extreme psychiatric disorders associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, including terrifying hallucinations and other signs of psychosis, that may be due to effects of the virus itself.

If you have any doubts about the above, please check out the references below. People who suggest that concern about Long Covid is a conspiracy to help big Pharma are just plain wrong. These people are not just attacking Big Pharma (who truly are guilty of greed). They are also attacking medical science, just plain Science, and just plain Reason. Their path leads to a new Dark Ages. Please, think for yourselves. The radio and TV people don’t care about you. They will encourage you to do things that they know will result in your death. I am certain of this.

References

Bahranifard et al. (2022) A review of neuroradiological abnormalities in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Neuroradiology Journal.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8819585/

Bassi et al. (2022) Systematic review of cognitive impairment and brain insult after mechanical ventilation. Critical Care.
https://ccforum.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13054-021-03521-9

Crunfli et al. (2022) Morphological, cellular, and molecular basis of brain infection in COVID-19 patients. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2200960119

Dintica et al. (2019) Impaired olfaction is associated with cognitive decline and neurodegeneration in the brain. Neurology.
https://n.neurology.org/content/92/7/e700

Douad et al. (2022) SARS-CoV-2 is associated with changes in brain structure in UK Biobank. Nature.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04569-5

Klein et al. (2021) COVID-19 induces neuroinflammation and loss of hippocampal neurogenesis. Brain.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8562542/

Kluger (2022) COVID-19 May Be Linked to Spontaneous Psychosis. Researchers Are Trying to Figure Out Why. Time.
https://time.com/6153809/covid-19-psychosis-symptoms/

Sofiaa et al. (2021) Is the Frontal Lobe the Primary Target of SARS-CoV-2? Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad210008

Tu et al. (2021) Acute Ischemic Stroke During the Convalescent Phase of Asymptomatic COVID-2019 Infection in Men. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2779040

Gestalt # 130 – Long Covid, Symptoms and Potential Treatments

Long Covid, also known as Post-COVID, chronic COVID and post-acute COVID-19, describes a variety of symptoms (and likely pathologies). Patients often complain of fatigue and “brain fog”. Documented ailments include: shortness of breath; persistent cough; tachycardia (rapid heart beat); blood clots; chest pain; difficulty concentrating; altered sense of smell and/or taste; dizziness; head ache; depression; anxiety; insomnia; hallucinations; diarrhea; and joint and muscle pain. Many of these symptoms will worsen upon physical or mental exertion. Several different systems are involved including the: respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal systems. Not every patient has every symptom.

Covid skeptics allege that people claiming to experience Long Covid are fakers just trying to get out of work. There is no question that there is a class of people who are falsely claiming disability to get checks and avoid work. This was happening before Covid and some of these people may be using Long Covid to continue their fraudulent claims. However, there is undeniable evidence that many people are suffering real, demonstrable disability as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection (see references below). For every Long Covid faker, I suspect that there are many people experiencing decline in cognitive or physical functioning who are in denial about their disability. No one can fake having a shrunken brain. Unfortunately, this feature of Covid has been documented with MRIs in large numbers of people who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 (Hellgren et al 2021; Douaud et al 2022).

What are potential treatments for Long Covid? These include the following:

To clear up hidden, persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection:
Paxlovid
Lagevrio (controversial. some think use of this drug can result in dangerous mutations in SARS-CoV-2).
Remdesivir

To treat microclots:
Rivaroxaban
Colchicine
famotidine
loratadine
Pravastatin
Maraviroc (anti-HIV drug)
clopidogrel, aspirin and Apixiban

Immune modulator:
Naltrexone

Antihistamines:
famotidine
diphenhydramine

GammaCore Saffire CV vagus nerve stimulation device

Physicians vary in their knowledge of and/or willingness to treat Long Covid. If you suspect that you may have Long Covid, you are most likely to receive treatment if you seek out experts in infectious diseases at more prominent tertiary or quaternary care facilities. This usually means famous or “big city” hospitals. Since so little is known about Long Covid and what will be the most effective treatment, there are a large number of clinical trials attempting to understand and find safe and effective treatments. Participating in such a trial may be your best hope for getting cutting edge treatment. At the least, you will be examined by a physician who is expert at diagnosing Long Covid. The NIH has a website called: ClinicalTrials.gov. There are wide variety of organizations around the world recruiting participants for over 1,000 interventional studies. You can find a list of these opportunities for participation here.

You should know that “Long Covid” is considered an official disability under the “Americans with Disability Act”. See: “Guidance on “Long COVID” as a Disability Under the ADA, Section 504, and Section 1557” for more information.

References:

Hellgren et al. (2021) Brain MRI and neuropsychological findings at long-term follow-up after COVID-19 hospitalisation: an observational cohort study. British Medical Journal Open.
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/10/e055164

Douaud et al. (2022) SARS-CoV-2 is associated with changes in brain structure in UK Biobank. Nature.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04569-5

Vannorsdall et al. (2022) Cognitive Dysfunction, Psychiatric Distress, and Functional Decline After COVID-19. Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667296021001853

Kell et al. (2022) A central role for amyloid fibrin microclots in long COVID/PASC: origins and therapeutic implications. Biochem J.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8883497/

O’Kelly et al. (2022) Safety and efficacy of low dose naltrexone in a long covid cohort; an interventional pre-post study. Brain, Behavior & Immunity – Health.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666354622000758

Shaffer (2022) Lots of long COVID treatment leads, but few are proven. PNAS.
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2213524119

Gestalt #95 – Biology

1 Million

Long Covid

The media focuses on the number of deaths due to the SARS-CoV-2, most recently, the million Americans killed by this virus. Drs. Walensky and Fauci and most journalists are currently ignoring the long term illnesses associated with surviving Covid. The idea is, if we can keep the rate of death within “acceptable” limits, everyone can go back to their maskless lives and spend, spend, spend. It is worth reviewing what SARS-CoV-2 is doing to survivors.

Lungs

Lung injury may persist during the recovery period of COVID-19 as shown through imaging, six-minute walk, and lung function tests. (Snip) The patient’s lungs remain vulnerable during the recovery stage due to persistent shedding of the virus, the inflammatory environment, the prothrombotic state, and injury and subsequent repair of the blood-air barrier. The transformation of inflammation to proliferation and fibrosis, hypoxia-involved vascular remodeling, vascular endothelial cell damage, phosphatidylserine-involved hypercoagulability, and continuous changes in serological markers all contribute to post-discharge lung injury.

Xiang et al. Persistent Lung Injury and Prothrombotic State in Long COVID. Front Immunol 2022 Apr 7.

Heart

Acute cardiovascular complications of COVID-19 infection include myocarditis, pericarditis, acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular dysfunction, and arrhythmia. Long-term follow-up shows increased incidence of arrhythmia, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, right ventricular dysfunction, myocardial fibrosis, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. There is increased mortality in COVID-19 patients after hospital discharge, and initial myocardial injury is associated with increased mortality. Emerging data demonstrates increased incidence of cardiovascular illness and structural changes in recovered COVID-19 patients.

Tobler et al. Long-Term Cardiovascular Effects of COVID-19: Emerging Data Relevant to the Cardiovascular Clinician. Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2022 May

Brain

Neuromuscular manifestations of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection are frequent, and include dizziness, headache, myopathy, and olfactory and gustatory disturbances. Patients with acute central nervous system disorders, such as delirium, impaired consciousness, stroke and convulsive seizures, have a high mortality rate. The encephalitis/encephalopathy that causes consciousness disturbance and seizures can be classified into three conditions, including direct infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, encephalopathy caused by central nervous system damage secondary to systemic hypercytokinemia (cytokine storm) and autoimmune-mediated encephalitis that occurs after infection. The sequelae, called post-acute COVID-19 syndrome or long COVID, include neuromuscular manifestations, such as anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, muscle weakness, brain fog and cognitive impairment.

Shimohata et al. Neuro-COVID-19 Clin Exp Neuroimmunol. 2021 Sep 29

Happy Mother’s Day

It is not fashionable to celebrate motherhood these days. In the movies, kickboxing supermodels are favored over women who have children and take care of them. This was not always the case. People used to celebrate, even at times worship, women who had many children. This goes back thousands of years, even to prehistorical times. The reason was simple: the health of the tribe (or a global civilization) is completely dependent on the production and successful rearing of children. Without children who have been properly raised, we have no future. Whatever you accomplish in your career is worthless if there is not a next generation to take advantage of it.

Some people substitute animals for children. I am a big animal lover, but I know the difference between and a dog and a child. The people who don’t have my pity.

Some say climate change is going to destroy the Earth so there is no point in having children. This is nonsense. I have no doubt that climate change is real, but it is not going to destroy the Earth. It will make some areas difficult to live in but will open up other areas for new life. The change will be both bad and good depending on where you live. This is not a good reason to avoid having children.

There are many problems in the world today. That is also not a reason to avoid having children. If our ancestors had waited for the right time to have children, none of us would exist today. There are always problems. Frankly, our ancestors faced far worse conditions than we do.

Not everyone would make a good parent. Not everyone has to have children. But women who like babies should not be discouraged from having them. They should know that working in a grey windowless cubicle shuffling digital bits around is not more important than having and raising children. We haven’t properly valued motherhood – the cornerstone of all civilization.

So, Happy Mother’s Day. Thank you all for giving our civilization a chance of survival.

Gestalt#79-SARS-2 Pandemic

COVID-19 can result in brain damage, even in cases with apparently “mild” symptoms

SARS-CoV-2 infects the respiratory system and is spread primarily by respiratory droplets. It can certainly kill by direct damage to the lungs. However, the virus can also infect and damage other tissues. Damage to the heart via myocarditis is well-documented. However, perhaps the most insidious damage people who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 suffer is to the brain. This is because symptoms of brain damage may be attributed to other causes such as stress or aging. Analysis of potential brain pathology requires expensive imaging or postmortem analyses. The few studies that have been done are not reassuring.

A number of studies have demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 can invade the brain and damage it in patients with moderate to severe symptoms such as those that require hospitalization. A recent study shows that SARS-CoV-2 can also cause substantial brain damage even in patients with apparently “mild” symptoms. This careful study examined MRIs of the brains of individuals before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Substantial evidence of brain damage was observed, even in patients who had not been hospitalized for COVID-19:

We used structural and functional brain scans from before and after infection, to compare longitudinal brain changes between these 394 COVID-19 patients and 388 controls who were matched for age, sex, ethnicity and interval between scans. We identified significant effects of COVID-19 in the brain with a loss of grey matter in the left parahippocampal gyrus, the left lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the left insula. When looking over the entire cortical surface, these results extended to the anterior cingulate cortex, supramarginal gyrus and temporal pole.

Douaud et al. 2021 medRXiv

The brain areas identified as damaged in COVID19 patients are responsible for judgement, memory and emotional control. One wonders if some of the strange behavior we have seen in public settings is due to stress, as has been assumed, or actual brain damage as a result of a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Given the profound implications of the study cited above, possible widespread brain damage as a result of infection with SARS-CoV-2, even in “mild” cases, we should not assume that sudden changes in personality or cognition during the pandemic is due to stress or social isolation. The “brain fog” observed in long COVID cases may be occurring even people who did not know that they had been infected with SARS-CoV-2.

The possibility that brain damage is common in people infected with SARS-CoV-2 has special implications for children. The developing brain is even more susceptible to damage than the adult brain. To my knowledge, there is relatively little information on how the different strains of SARS-CoV-2 affect the brains of children. Given that brain damage is permanent, the precautionary principle suggests that we should do everything we can to prevent children from being infected with SARS-CoV-2.

China’s pandemic strategy

Although SARS-CoV-2 originated in China, China has been among the countries in the world least affected by the pandemic. This is partly because East Asians are less likely to suffer severe symptoms from SARS-CoV-2 than other ethnic groups. However, it is also the case that the government of China has enacted draconian travel restrictions. Contrary to public health authority predictions, these restrictions have been strikingly effective in preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 within China. In the last 28 days, the US has suffered 38,374 deaths as result of SARS-CoV-2 infections. In the same time period, China has suffered 0 COVID-19 deaths. China, with about 4 times the population of the United States, has suffered a total of 4,849 COVID-19 deaths while the US currently has a total of 836,603 deaths. This remarkable disparity has received little notice from public health authorities. Also, consider the potential impact of brain damage on a large percentage of a country’s young people. One begins to understand why the Chinese government is willing to take such drastic action to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections.

CDC meltdown

Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, is both an idiot and a political hack without an ounce of brains or integrity. She tells bold-faced lies without batting an eyelash. She hired a political operative to improve her “messaging”. But really, how hard is it to tell the truth and recommend the course of action that saves the most lives? The CDC has had a series of bad directors (although Dr. Walensky wins the dubious prize of being the absolute worst, ever). I have no expectation that the next CDC director will be any smarter or more honest than Dr. Walensky. The fundamental problem is that the Director of the CDC, and most public health officials, are appointed by politicians. Hence, anyone who prioritizes the health of Americans over the economy is automatically disqualified for consideration for these positions. Those of us who seek information from non-traditional channels have little choice when the officials are so obviously compromised. I know, this leads some, too many, to get their information from grifters and anti-science nincompoops with disastrous results for their health. The only solution I can see is for credible scientists to speak out more strongly about the failings of Dr. Walensky and other public health officials. I know that there are a few who are doing this, to some extent, and that there is danger in exposing official public health malfeasance. But what else can we do to prevent disaster?

Gestalt #54 – SARS-2 Pandemic

The Conspiracy Call

On Feb 1, 2020 there was a secret conference call organized by Drs. Anthony Fauci (Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [NIAID]) and Francis Collins (Director of the National Institutes of Health [NIH]) to discuss the origins of the SARS-2 virus. This call was triggered by previous communications from scientists who believed that the virus not natural.

A day before the teleconference, Kristian Andersen, an expert in infectious disease genomics at the prestigious Scripps Research Translational Institute in California, had told Fauci first by phone and again later by email that the genetic structure of the virus looked like it might have been engineered in a lab.

“The unusual features of the virus make up a really small part of the genome (<0.1%) so one has to look really closely at all the sequences to see that some of the features (potentially) look engineered,” Andersen said in an email to Fauci on Jan. 31, 2020. Andersen added that he and University of Sydney virologist and evolutionary biologist Edward Holmes, plus a handful of other top scientists with whom Fauci was on a first-name basis, “all find the genome inconsistent with expectations from evolutionary theory.”

Allison Young, USA Today, June 17, 2021

The details of the call are still being kept secret by Dr. Collins:

…details of what was said in the meeting, including extensive notes taken by one participant and further thoughts shared by others, were blacked out by the NIH before the emails were made public.

After the call, Dr. Andersen and others publicly claimed that the virus must have emerged naturally.

“A small group of scientists, and a larger group of science journalists, established and enforced the false narrative that scientific evidence supported natural spillover, and (also) the false narrative that this was the scientific consensus,” said Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist and biosafety expert at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

There were other views out there, they just weren’t given much coverage as being credible.

“The February 1 telecon,” Ebright said, “appears to have played an important – probably crucial – role in establishing and enforcing that false narrative.”

It is hard to interpret the call on Feb 1, 2020 as anything other than a conspiracy, organized by Drs. Collins and Fauci, to shut down discussion of the possibility of a non-natural origin of the SARS-2 virus. Given the national security implications of a possible non-natural origin, it is surprising that US intelligence agencies were not part of this conference call. There should be a Congressional investigation to determine whether Drs. Collins and Fauci abused their overwhelming power in the US biomedical community to intimidate scientists into keeping silent about the possibility that SARS-2 originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Drs. Collins and Fauci should resign

There are calls to “fire Fauci”. Some of the organizers of this effort are, themselves, questionable characters who are using this movement to make political hay with their supporters. They know perfectly well that President Biden will not “fire Fauci” because his political opponents order him to do so. Indeed, the partisan nature of the attacks makes it politically difficult for him to “fire Fauci”, even if he wanted to.

None of this prevents Drs. Collins and Fauci from resigning. In my opinion, it is past time that they did so. They have proved themselves completely incompetent in managing the scientific response to the pandemic. Despite having access to billions of dollars and the most advanced sequencing technology in the world, the United States became a laughing stock when it came to sequencing new variants of the virus. This is at least in part due to the mismanagement of the scientific response by Drs. Collins and Fauci. They were slow to move and often made the wrong moves. Dr. Fauci repeatedly made public statements that were later proven to be incorrect (e. g. not wearing masks). In some cases, he deliberately lied to the public (e. g. the herd immunity percentage). Dr. Collins said little during the pandemic and showed a complete lack of courage in countering misinformation. His career as a science administrator was boosted by strong political support from Newt Gingrich, a right-wing Republican. He has also been successful in enlisting the support of left-wing Democrats by demonstrating sympathy to animal rights activists. His policies at NIH left us unprepared for the pandemic which most scientists knew was inevitable.

In the past, NIH enjoyed broad, bi-partisan support by Congress. Most citizens in the US would like to see cures for Cancer, Heart Disease, Alzheimer’s disease, etc. The actions of Drs. Collins and Fauci are now jeopardizing that support. Further, Dr. Fauci’s attempt to insinuate himself with one political party and shameless desire for publicity now make him a public health liability. If he now says “wear a mask”, then many Republicans will refuse to wear a mask. If he says “get the vaccine”, then many Republicans will refuse to get a vaccine. Refusing to resign under these circumstances reveals an egotism that matches any politician’s.

Thought disorders

I am a scientist. That means I subscribe to certain beliefs about how to determine what to think and what to do. For example, when deciding what is true, I form hypotheses and test these with experiments in the real world. I distinguish between facts and opinions. I do not care where the facts come from. It doesn’t matter whether the facts come from people I don’t like and opinions come from people I do like. I make decisions based on facts, not opinions.

Some scientists say that they didn’t speak up about the lab-leak hypothesis because they didn’t want “to help Trump” or were afraid that they would “give aid to racists”. This is nonsense. Facts are facts. A real scientist says the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth regardless of who this helps or hurts. Once scientists start shading their statements for political ends they cease to be scientists.

Some members of the public do the opposite of whatever Dr. Fauci tells them to do. This is also nonsense, dangerous nonsense. Stalin believed in the power of science to advance Soviet goals. What would have happened if, in the 1950s, the US government said “Stalin likes science, so we will abandon science.” We would all be speaking Russian now or else be dead. Sometimes Dr. Fauci does say things that are true, such as “You should get vaccinated against SARS-2”. Refusing to be vaccinated because he says this may lead directly to your death. Examine the data for yourself and make your own decisions. Think for yourself. That has always been my motto.

Gestalt#42 – SARS-2 Pandemic

Brazil

Brazil is currently experiencing a catastrophic health care crisis. Part of the problem is that the President of Brazil has apparently lost his mind and abandoned his people. But this is not the only problem. There is a SARS-2 variant that is biologically more dangerous than the original strain.

The new variant, known as P.1, is 1.4 to 2.2 times more contagious than versions of the virus previously found in Brazil, and 25% to 61% more capable of reinfecting people who had been infected by an earlier strain, according to a study released Tuesday.

Several doctors have reported a surge in younger patients in their Covid-19 wards, many in their 30s and 40s with no underlying health problems. In Peru, some doctors said patients are becoming seriously ill faster, just three or four days after the first symptoms emerged, compared with an average of nine to 14 days last year.

“The virus is behaving differently,” said Rosa Lopez, a doctor in the intensive-care unit at Lima’s Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen Hospital. “It’s really aggressive…the situation is very difficult, really terrible.”

Samantha Pearson and Ryan Dube, Wall Street Journal, March 2, 2021

This strain has been found in other countries, including the US. Will our current vaccines hold against this strain? We don’t know. But the fact that it can re-infect and kill people who were already infected once is cause for concern. Is the virus killing more young people because it is truly more lethal or is it killing more young people because it is so much more infectious? We don’t know yet. But neither possibility is good.

The “it must get milder myth”

I understand the rationale of public health authorities to offer hope to the stressed-out public. But it is dangerous to lead them to expect a rosy scenario when a worse case may be occur. It is also wrong to repeat wrong interpretations of evolution. For years, I have been seeing claims that a virus or bacteria “doesn’t want to kill its host, so therefore, it must get milder”. This is false. Pathogens don’t think. They just infect. The only selection on a virus is to replicate itself. Its main competition is other viruses. There has been little discussion of what this means. Brazil has demonstrated that new strains of SARS-2 may not be milder, they may be worse. One possibility is that once many people are infected with SARS-2, selection favors a strain of virus that is better able to evade our immune systems. This new strain could easily be more infectious and more lethal. If this true, then what will happen once we have vaccinated a large number of people in the US? If we don’t completely eradicate all strains of SARS-2 within our borders, and prevent new strains from coming in, then we can expect that selective pressure will result in, not milder strains, but instead, more dangerous strains.

Unease

I am feeling uneasy about some signals I am getting from multiple sources. I think that many people are having a difficult time with the pandemic and are getting to the end of their ropes, psychologically. They are being told to hang on, the vaccine is coming and then all will be well. I have been vaccinated and encourage everyone I know to get the vaccine. But… I’m not sure that once everyone has been vaccinated that all will be well (see above). I am also getting signals that something is up in China. I don’t think Xi will let much time go by before he does something dangerous. I am hoping we have a few years to prepare for this, but I’m not sure. If the vaccines do give us a respite, we should use that time to prepare for perhaps even greater disruptions than we have already experienced. As we all now know, this should include financial preps. You don’t want to be in the position where you have to work in a dangerous location to keep food on the table.