Show Notes
With Professor Robert Clancy.Uploaded 01-03-25Link to Quadrant, https://quadrant.org.au/news-opinions/uncategorized/after-covid-now-its-the-lawyers-turn/ Monovalent mRNA XBB.1.5 vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 hospitalization in Quebec, Canada: impact of variant replacement and waning protection during 10-month follow-uphttps://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.13.24317190v1 Protection Conferred by COVID-19 Vaccination, Prior SARS-CoV-2 Infection, or Hybrid Immunity Against Omicron-Associated Severe Outcomes Among Community-Dwelling Adults https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/78/5/1372/7450138 Comparing frequency of booster vaccination to prevent severe COVID-19 by risk group in the United Stateshttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45549-9 Two-Dose Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Vaccine Effectiveness With Mixed Schedules and Extended Dosing Intervals: Test-Negative Design Studies From British Columbia and Quebec, Canadahttps://academic.oup.com/cid/article/75/11/1980/6570607COVID-19 mRNA VACCINES: THE PROBLEM THAT WON’T GO AWAY.Emeritus Professor Robert Clancy AMThis month we ‘celebrate’ 5 years since the covid pandemic began in Australia. This is the 10th article I have written for Quadrant on covid pandemic management. Prior to the pandemic my 300+ publications had been in peer reviewed medical journals. Most reported research on airway immune protection which has been my passion for 50 years. In 2019 the University of Newcastle awarded me a Doctor of Science for this work (I was informed that this was the first such award given by the University). My point is that in 2020 with the appearance of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing Covid-19), entirely by circumstance, I was as well placed as anyone to understand this new airway infection, its pathogenesis and its management. Specifically, the likely place for vaccination in the control of the pandemic. That is what I did. So, why write 10 articles for Quadrant that were critical of the official response to the pandemic? The answer is a simple one. Everything I had understood about the history of pandemics, the science-based development of an Australian Pandemic Plan, the immunology of mucosal (airway) infections, and the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship, had been summarily replaced with a narrative centred on a genetic vaccine that had never been used in man, and that did not exist. At this stage the medical press that I had worked with for 50 years had been bought by the narrative and would publish nothing that threatened to compromise it. The legacy press (including its ‘experts’) wore ignorance on a grubby sleeve. But these were the prisms through which medical professionals and the public would learn about the pandemic to inform decisions that affected their patient’s, and their own, health.The narrative made no sense to me. It denied historic experience. It was confused with inherent dangers by neglecting what could be done, while failing to anticipate what might happen. The official Australian Pandemic Plan had been updated in 2019 for an anticipated influenza pandemic. This was modified to cover the new SARS-CoV-2 pandemic early in 2020. Experience with influenza was considered an appropriate model for a pandemic involving a corona virus mutant.How did this narrative conflict with the Plan it replaced? First, it ignored the lessons of epidemiology and science. The corollary was the punitive lockdowns and senseless vaccine mandates. Second, it denied the use of safe, cheap and effective repurposed drugs, decisions that contributed to needless loss of life amongst the most vulnerable. Third and at its centre, it distorted views regarding what could be expected as clinical outcomes of a global mRNA vaccination programme, while minimising concerns an untested genetic vaccine may have unexpected adverse event Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Dr. John Campbell
the medical people I interact with at the hospital are far more optimistic than I've seen them since this all began in April last year
Our world in dataUploaded 11-06-23https://ourworldindata.orghttps://ourworldindata.org/grapher/excess-mortality-p-scores-average-baselinehttps://ourworldindata.org/excess-mortality-covidExcess mortality is a term used in epidemiology and public health that refers to the number of deaths from all causes during a crisis above and beyond what we would have expected to see under ‘normal’ conditionsExcess deaths = Reported deaths – Expected deathshttps://ourworldindata.org/excess-mortality-covid#excess-mortality-our-data-sourcesThe Human Mortality Database is maintained by a team of researchers based at the University of California, Berkeley, USA and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic Uploaded 16-09-2214th September 2022https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)01585-9/fulltexthttps://covid19commission.orgWHO responseWHO acted too cautiously and too slowlySeveral important mattersTo warn about human transmissibility of the virusTo declare a Public Health Emergency of International ConcernTo support international travel protocols designed to slow the spread of the virus(This delay contributed to the spread of the virus and limited the possibilities for risk mitigation.)To endorse the public use of face masks as protective gearTo recognise the airborne transmission of the virus.(These delayed and vague recommendations from WHO continued until late April, 2021.) Just 1 example, after receiving an open letterFrom 238 scientists in July, 2020,asking the organisation to address airborne transmissionWHO did not change until April 30, 2021.Multiple failures of international cooperationToo many governments have failed to adhere to basic norms of institutional rationality and transparency, and the world's major powers have failed to collaborate to control the pandemic.Specific pointsLack of timely notification of the initial outbreak of COVID-19Costly delays in acknowledging the crucial airborne exposure pathway of SARS-CoV-2, and in implementing appropriate measures at national and global levels to slow the spread of the virus.Lack of coordination among countries regarding suppression strategiesFailure of governments to examine evidence and adopt best practices for controlling the pandemic,and managing economic and social spilloversShortfall of global funding for low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs)Failure to ensure adequate global supplies and equitable distribution of key commodities,protective gear, diagnostics, medicines, medical devices, and vaccinesLack of timely, accurate, systematic dataInfections, deaths, viral variants, health system responses, and indirect health consequencesAgain the report raised lab leak possibilityPoor enforcement of appropriate levels of biosafety regulations in the lead-up to the pandemic, raising the possibility of a laboratory-related outbreakFailure to combat systematic disinformationLack of global and national safety nets to protect populations experiencing vulnerability.As of May 31, 2022There were 6·9 million reported deaths and 17·2 million estimated deaths from COVID-19Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluationhttps://covid19.healthdata.org/global?view=cumulative-deaths&tab=trendThis staggering death toll is both a profound tragedy and a massive global failure at multiple levels. Sustainable development processSet back by several years, Deep underfinancing, Sustainable Development Goals and,aims of the Paris Climate Agreement. Previous publicationsLancet 2021https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02833-6/fulltextLancet Jan 2022https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02871-3/fulltexthttps://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)01585-9/fulltext Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr. Melissa McCann is a general practitioner in Queensland, Australia
Monkeypox virus, seldom reported outside African until now, Uploaded 27-07-22https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2207323?emp=marcom&utm_source=nejmlist&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=aomev2&utm_content=version-a&ssotoken=U2FsdGVkX19dsxXEVZT5ggLZ3zieDxejeViMkwTigM4Q7ECfBTJmfTXUrKWkbZ3up0jDhhQjYR6OydzgkC%2F1LL8S5l7OuFDLsP2LiBwfKJ3ymNN4hp0Z%2FNASEYMuetIqeQIQ9ETL8BABCQut7e8xEQeWPlduFdyPMYgAugUePHtSEs5rFR%2BGWfFOCIPZs9Wb7aJf%2FyzhvvLSrzqDKmNt4Q%3D%3D&cid=DM1289135_Notable_Articles_Engaged&bid=1085207852Endemic in AfricaCases now worldwideMETHODSFormed an international collaborative group,international case series, presentation, clinical course, outcomes of PCR confirmed infectionsRESULTSWe report 528 infections diagnosed between April 27 to June 24, 2022Cases, 528, at 43 sites in 16 countries98% in gay or bisexual men, 75% were White, 41% had HIVmedian age 38Transmission suspected to have occurred through sexual activity95% of casesPresentation in this series95% rash (with 64% having less than 10 lesions)73% anogenital lesions41% had mucosal lesions(with 54 having a single genital lesion)Common systemic features preceding the rashfever (62%)lethargy (41%)myalgia (31%)headache (27%)lymphadenopathy (56%)Concomitant sexually transmitted infections109 of 377 (29%)Among the 23 people with a clear exposure historymedian incubation period, 7 days (range, 3 to 20)Monkeypox virus DNADetected in 29 of the 32 (in whom seminal fluid was analyzed)ManagementAntiviral treatment given to 5% of cases70 (13%) were hospitalizedMostly for pain managementsevere anorectal pain (21)soft-tissue superinfection (18)pharyngitis limiting oral intake (5)eye lesions (2)acute kidney injury (2)myocarditis (2)infection-control purposes (13)No deaths were reportedCONCLUSIONSMonkeypox manifested with a variety of dermatologic and systemic clinical findings. Need for rapid identification and diagnosis of cases to contain further community spread. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices