Tag Archives: Laboratory

Did US Pay For COVID-19 Research Before It Existed?!

Did US Pay For COVID-19 Research Before It Existed?!

Did the US government pay for COVID-19 research in Ukraine, before the coronavirus even existed?!

Take a look at the viral claim and find out if it’s evidence the US created COVID-19!

Updated @ 2023-04-09 : Added a new Clayton Morris segment, and various updates.
Originally posted @ 2022-05-22

 

Claim : US Paid For COVID-19 Research Before It Even Existed!

People are sharing an article by The Expose (formerly Daily Expose), which claims that the United States paid for COVID-19 research to be performed in Ukraine, three months before it even existed!

Other people are sharing a video by former Fox News presenter, Clayton Morris, talking about The Expose’s article.

Here is an excerpt from the really long article, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

U.S. Department of Defense issued a contract for ‘COVID-19 Research’ in Ukraine 3 months before Covid was known to even exist

The world first started to hear about a novel coronavirus in early January 2020, with reports of an alleged new pneumonia like illness spreading across Wuhan, China. However, the world did not actually know of Covid-19 until February 2020, because it was not until the 11th of that month that the World Health Organisation officially named the novel coronavirus disease as Covid-19.

So with this being the official truth, why does United States Government data show that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) awarded a contract on the 12th November 2019 to Labyrinth Global Health INC. for ‘COVID-19 Research’, at least one month before the alleged emergence of the novel coronavirus, and three months before it was officially dubbed Covid-19?

The shocking findings however, do not end there. The contract awarded in November 2019 for ‘COVID-19 Research’ was not only instructed to take place in Ukraine, it was in fact part of a much larger contract for a ‘Biological threat reduction program in Ukraine’

Perhaps explaining why Labyrinth Global Health has been collaborating with Peter Daszak’s EcoHealth Alliance, and Ernest Wolfe’s Metabiota since its formation in 2017.

Read more : Did FDA just admit Pfizer vaccine has Graphene Oxide?!

 

Truth : US Did Not Pay For COVID-19 Research Before It Existed!

This is just another example of FAKE NEWS from the notorious fake news website, The Expose, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : The Expose Is A Notorious Fake News Website

Like Real Raw News and NewsPunch, Daily Expose is a FAKE NEWS website that capitalises on making shocking but fake stories to generate page views and money. It was later rebranded as The Expose.

It was founded in November 2020 by Jonathan Allen-Walker, a mechanic from Lincolnshire, and is infamous for publishing COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation that were quoted by Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, and Chinese state media.

Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should NEVER share anything from Daily Expose / The Expose. Here are some of its fake stories that I personally debunked earlier:

Everything posted by The Expose must be considered fake news, until proven otherwise.

Fact #2 : That Was An Old Article

Clayton Morris and Natali addressed this article by The Expose in their Redacted video on 11 March 2023, and appear to believe that it was a new story.

However, that was really an old article that The Expose apparently keeps reposting. In fact, I last fact checked their article and debunked it in May 2022.

It is unfortunate that Clayton and Natali Morris did not appear to read up on what I and many others had already “exposed” before doing their segment.

Recommended : Did Bill Gates Call For COVID-19 Vaccine Withdrawal?!

Fact #3 : China Publicly Announced Outbreak On 31 December 2019

The world first knew about the new coronavirus on the last day of 2019, not early January 2020 as The Expose claimed.

The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission in China first reported a cluster of pneumonia from a novel coronavirus publicly on 31 December 2019.

That’s why the WHO eventually called the disease, COVID-19, which stood for Coronavirus Disease 2019. If Chinese authorities announced the outbreak just one day later, it would have been known as COVID-20.

If The Expose cannot even get this simple fact right, what hope do you have that they are right about anything else?

Fact #4 : COVID-19 Name Was Announced On 11 February 2020

The WHO only issued the official names for the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), and the disease it caused (COVID-19) on 11 February 2020.

Before COVID-19, the naming conventions were completely different. The preceding disease caused by SARS-CoV-1 was known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and not COVID-02 (because it started in 2002)

So how is it possible for the US Department of Defense or their contractor, Black & Veatch to issue a subcontract to Labyrinth Global Health for “COVID-19 Research”?

That is only possible if the subcontract was modified after the COVID-19 name was established on 11 February 2020.

Read more : Did US Refuse WHO Investigation Of Fort Detrick For COVID-19 Source?!

Fact #4 : DOD Subcontract Was Modified Twice In 2020

The contract that The Expose was talking about exists, but it is interesting that they did not include a direct link, but here it is, so you can check it out yourself. I also included a screenshot below.

It was a $369,511 subcontract given to Labyrinth Global Health Incorporated, by Black & Veatch Special Projects Corporation that started on 12 November 2019.

The US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) had contracted with Black & Veatch to support Ukraine’s biological detection and diagnostic capabilities by providing them with equipment, supplies and training.

After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they modified the contract twice to provide COVID-19 support to Ukraine – in April and June of 2020. The modification dates were merely not listed in the USASpending.gov page.

The DTRA explained it all in an email to Lead Stories :

No, DOD did not award a contract in 2019 for COVID-19 research. In this case, DTRA’s contractor modified a task order in 10 June 2020 to assist Ukraine in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, many months after the pandemic had begun. However, the date in the database reflects the original date the Master Servicing Agreement was entered into the system.

Read more : Was COVID-19 Virus Created By US Biolabs In Ukraine?!

Fact #5 : Timeline Shows No Discrepancy

To make it easier for you to understand, here is a simplified timeline of what actually happened :

2019

  • October 2 : DTRA signed the Master Servicing Agreement (MSA) with Black & Veatch for training support to Ukraine
  • November 12 : The MSA was submitted to the system on 12 November 2019 (as shown in the screenshot below).
  • December 31 : China publicly announced novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.

2020

  • February 11 : WHO issued official names of SARS-CoV-2 for the virus, and COVID-19 for the disease.
  • March 3 : First case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine.
  • April 25 : MSA was modified to provide COVID-19 pandemic support to Ukraine. *
  • June 12 : MSA was modified again, to provide COVID-19 pandemic support to Ukraine. *

* The modified task order directed the servicing contractor, Labyrinth Global Health Inc., to provide “high-level subject matter expert mentorship support” on “laboratory diagnosis, biological safety and laboratory emergency response” in Ukraine.

As you can see, there is no discrepancy in the timeline. The changes in the task order occurred only after COVID-19 spread to Ukraine in March 2020.

Everything posted by The Expose must be regarded as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this article out, and supporting our work!

 

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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China Caught Lab Workers Paid To Spread Covid-19?!

Did China just catch 250 lab workers who were paid by the West to spread COVID-19?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : China Caught Lab Workers Paid To Spread COVID-19!

The Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens are now promoting a video as evidence that 250 lab workers were just caught spreading COVID-19 in China for Western countries!

China wonders why there is no end to covid, it turns out that there are 250 laboratory people who are accomplices of the West to spread the virus, have been arrested by the police, it can be confirmed that the punishment is death by firing squad.

Western countries have a cheap & effective way to stop China’s progress. . .

 

Truth : China Did Not Catch Lab Workers Paid To Spread COVID-19!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Video Was Taken From Kuaishou

The original video was posted on Kuaishou – a Chinese short-video platform like Douyin / TikTok, by a user called 水果花花 (Fruit Blossoms) on November 30, 2022.

Fact #2 : Video Was About Fake / Wrong PCR Test Results

My Mandarin isn’t good, but with a ton of help from Chai, I was able to determine that the video was not about lab workers spreading COVID-19 in China.

Instead, the narrator of the video was talking about a person called Zhang Shanshan who is backed by Zhang Hezi (who may or may not be her father) who owns a company which conducts PCR tests.

Unfortunately, the company was found to be falsifying test results, because they can make more money from more testing. Allegedly, that is why whenever they open up a new testing centre, there is a surge of COVID-positive cases.

The video did not mention anything about these lab workers spreading COVID-19, only that they were falsifying or making mistakes in PCR test results.

Here is a rough transcript of what the narrator in the video was saying:

On the 27th (November), Zhang Shanshan was said to be connected to 35 Nucleus Gene Technology, which was related to the incident of PCR test forgeries.

This company is Lanzhou Huaxi, which Zhang Shanshan was the supervisor. Based on the research of netizens, Zhang Shanshan was backed by Zhang He Zi, who owns 62 companies, of which 33 was managed by Zhang Shanshan.

According to info, Zhang He Zi enrolled into China Medical Univerity, specialising in DNA. After his Masters, he setup one of the first DNA test labs in China.

In the recent years, they opened 37 PCR test centers all over China. The strange thing is – wherever they open (a test centre), there will be outbreak in that area. And within a few days of the company registration, mass nucleic acid tests were ordered. Their business was skyrocketed. If there is no dark secret behind this, they must be really good at prediction.

Questions raised:

1. In 2022, sixteen He Zi Huaxi companies were setup. Registration time was within these 3 months.

2. What’s the greatest is – being a new setup company with unconfirmed capital, they managed to dominate the local nucleic test business, which should be an open tender by the government. Within just 3 months, they managed to expand their business empire and predicted the trend of COVID spread. After their business registration, the local city started to have outbreak and mass testing – which was the reason of the Lanzhou test results inconsistency. This is not an isolated case.

If this has become a business, the pandemic will never end. We must break this profit chain in order to have the air of freedom again.

Incidentally, here are some translations of the labels in the video:

后梅当初 : Back then
被告人: 希望审判长 少判我一点 : Defendant: I hope the presiding judge will give me a milder sentence
被告人: 少判我一点 : Defendant: Please give me a shorter sentence
一副手铐 锁住一个人 : A pair of handcuffs for each person

Fact #3 : Arrested Lab Workers Not Accused Of Spreading COVID-19

The lab workers, including Zhang Shanshan, were arrested because they were accused of giving false PCR test results, either intentionally or due to negligence.

They are all from the Chinese testing company called Shenzhen Nucleus Gene Technology Go. which is being accused of falsifying or improperly conducting PCR tests.

To be clear – the lab workers were not accused of helping Western countries spread COVID-19.

Fact #4 : There Were Only 8-9 People In The Video

If you look carefully at the video, there were only 8-9 lab workers who were standing trial in that courtroom.

There is no evidence of 250 lab workers being arrested in China for falsifying or mishandling PCR testing, never mind working for Western countries to spread COVID-19.

Fact #4 : Shenzhen Nucleus Gene Technology Co Is Under Investigation

Shenzhen Nucleus Gene Technology Go. (核子基因科技) is currently in hot water after on-site inspection by local authorities in Lanzhou (in the northwest province of Gansu) found inconsistencies in their PCR test results.

On November 25, 2022, the Lanzhou Municipal Health Commission reported that when they transferred people who tested positive in tests conducted by Nucleus Gene, some of them had green health codes which meant that their PCR test was negative.

Their investigation found that the staff of the Lanzhou Huaxi laboratory (华曦医学检验灾验室, owned by Nucleus Gene) mistakenly entered the wrong information into the health code database.

Recommended : US Intel : Xi Jinping Won’t Accept Western Vaccines!

Fact #5 : Nucleus Gene Accused Of Multiple Crimes

Chinese media outlets have accused Nucleus Gene of crimes like manipulating test results to create demand for more tests.

Since April 2020, Nucleus Gene has been fined at least 10 times for mishandling test samples to lying and manipulating test results, as well as forging medical certifications.

Nucleus Gene was also fined for hiring unqualified personnel to handle test samples, and wrongly labelling people as COVID-19 positive.

Fact #6 : Zhang Shanshan Allegedly Supervises 38 Testing Companies

After recent Nucleus Gene testing controversy came to light, Chinese netizens began looking into its supervisor, Zhang Shanshan.

They found that Zhang Shanshan allegedly supervises 35-38 medical testing companies across China, most of them only registered in recent months.

In fact, the Lanzhou Huaxi laboratory was only registered in August 2022, with a capital of 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million), and immediately secured a large contract to provide PCR testing in Lanzhou.

Netizens joked that, “Where her company is found, that’s where a pandemic breaks out!”, and “Give an umbrella seller the ability to make rain, will the rain stop?”.

While it is not confirmed, Zhang Shanshan is allegedly the daughter of Zhang Hezi, who owns Nucleus Gene – the parent company which was established in Shenzhen in 2012.

He [Zhang Hezi] told us himself that he had a daughter who was studying abroad. He didn’t say what his daughter’s name was. My friends said his daughter’s name is Zhang Shanshan.

Recommended : New Symptoms + Dangers of Omicron BA4, BA5?!

Fact #7 : This Is Just Chinese Propaganda

This is just another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).

All of the wumao articles and videos that I looked at so far have proven to be false… at every instance. So please watch out for such false claims.

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Can Bak Kut Teh Herbal Soup Cause Liver Damage?!

Can a herbal soup like Bak Kut Teh cause liver damage, as alleged by an Australian study?!

Take a look at what the study showed, and what the facts really are!

 

Study : Bak Kut Teh Herbal Soup Can Cause Liver Damage!

Australian scientists recently caused a ruckus when their study alleged that the Asian herbal soup called Bak Kut Teh can cause liver damage.

The media excitedly jumped on it, with alarming titles to draw attention (and drive traffic?) :

ABC : Bak kut teh herbal soup may cause liver damage and interact with medication, study finds

Medical Xpress : Popular Malaysian soup can cause liver damage when mixed with medication

Adelaide Now : Adelaide forensic expert issues safety warning over liver failure soup

The Epoch Times : University Professor Warns of Risks Caused by Popular Chinese Soup

Says : Australian Researchers Find Bak Kut Teh Can Cause Liver Damage When Taken With Medicine

Truth : Study Does Not Show Bak Kut Teh Causing Liver Damage!

Despite the alarming titles, there is no need to panic… because the study does NOT show the herbal soup causing any liver damage.

Here is a quick summary for those who just need to know the basics :

  1. It was a laboratory study, which means the results may not translate into actual effect in a living human being.
  2. What we eat is digested and broken down, so our body absorbs the nutrients and not the actual food. Hence, the study does not accurately replicate what happens in our body.
  3. They didn’t test bak kut teh… they only tested four soup bases used to make bak kut teh.
  4. The soup concentrations were unspecified, so it is unknown if the doses are equivalent to what our livers are subjected to after a meal.
  5. They did not test drug interactions, so it is amazing how so many media outlets claimed that the study showed that bak kut teh may interact with medication!

In short, this study does not show that bak kut teh causes liver damage. Neither does it show bak kut teh causing drug interactions of any kind.

I understand Professor Byard’s concerns about the “unknown” contents of these soup base preparations. Certain traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) have been associated with acute liver failure.

However, that isn’t so much a “bak kut teh” problem, but rather a problem with traditional Chinese medicine or Chinese herbal medicine.

For those who are interested in the details, please scroll down to the next section.

 

Why Study Does Not Show Bak Kut Teh Causing Liver Damage

Let’s start with the basics, and work our way through the Australian study.

Fact #1 : Study Was Conducted By Australian Scientists

First, the study was conducted by University of Adelaide and University of Melbourne scientists – Susan M. Britza, Rachael Farrington, Ian F. Musgrave, Craig Aboltins and Roger W. Byard.

It was published in the journal Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology, and you can read the study here.

Fact #2 : It Was A Laboratory Study

It is important to note that this was an in-vitro study – a laboratory study, not a clinical study.

In-vitro studies are important, but they cannot be extrapolated to make any conclusion about what actually happens in a human body.

For example, in-vitro studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin have an inhibitory effect on the SARS-CoV-2 virus; but once tested in actual human beings – they were shown to have no clinical benefit.

In other words – what happens in a test tube, may not happen in an actual human being.

Read more : Did Study Show Pfizer Vaccine Altering Liver DNA In 6 Hours?!

Fact #3 : What We Eat Is Not What Our Body Absorbs

There is one big problem with doing in-vitro tests on food – what we eat is not what our body absorbs.

Food gets digested, and broken down into nutrients that are absorbed in our intestines. Even simple sugar gets broken down into glucose, fructose, galactose, maltose, sucrose, etc.

So soaking liver cells in a bak kut teh soup would most definitely not reflect what our liver cells actually experience after a bak kut teh meal.

In short, this study does not replicate what happens in our liver when we eat bak kut teh.

Fact #4 : There Are Many Types Of Bak Kut Teh

Bak Kut Teh is not so much a “herbal soup” as it is a pork soup dish. The name “bak kut teh” literally means “meat bone tea” in the Hokkien dialect, but there is no tea in it.

It is usually just a dish of pork ribs simmered for hours in a broth of common herbs and spices like star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dong quai, fennel seeds and garlic.

But there are many variants of bak kut teh. In Malaysia and Singapore where bak kut teh is most popular, there are at least four main “styles” :

  • Teochew style : light in colour, with more pepper and garlic
  • Hokkien style : darker and more fragrant, thanks to a variety of herbs and soy sauce
  • Cantonese style : includes medicinal herbs for a stronger flavoured soup
  • Klang style : a thick and sticky gravy, like a stew

On top of that, there are also chicken and beef versions of bak kut teh. Muslims, for example, love the chicken version, which is colloquially called chi kut teh, chi being short for chicken.

And the Malaysian town of Melaka serves a delicious beef bak kut teh, which is based on a unique black pepper soup with red fermented bean curd.

Fact #5 : They Tested Four Soup Bases

The Australian team were somewhat aware of the wide variety of bak kut teh soup bases. They tested four varieties :

  • Formulation 1 : Dried hawthorn
  • Formulation 2 : Goji berries, ginseng, bark, and dried mushrooms
  • Formulation 3 : Polygonatum odoratum, ligusticum chuanxiong, codonopsis pilosula, cinnamomum cassia, angelica sinensis, illicium verum, piper nigrum, and Eugenia caryophyllata
  • Formulation 4 : Spices, pepper and salt

It is important to note that instead of preparing bak kut teh like you and I would – with meat, vegetables, bean curd slices, etc., the researchers tested soups that were created only using the ingredients listed above.

In short, they did not actually test bak kut teh… they tested soups made from the ingredients above.

Fact #6 : Soup Concentration Was Unspecified

To prepare the four soups for testing, researchers added a sachet of each soup mix to boiling water (of unspecified quantity) for 5 minutes.

The concentration of each soup base was unspecified. They only listed the dilution factor. As such, it is quite impossible to draw any sort of conclusion from the results.

As any toxicologist will tell you – the dose makes the poison. This is why the concentration of any substance is critical in any study. Even water and oxygen – essential to human life to be sure – is toxic at high doses.

Fact #7 : Soups Were Prepared In 5 Minutes

It is important to point out that the soups the researchers used were prepared in just 5 minutes. Bak kut teh is usually prepared by simmering the meat in the soup for hours.

It would have been a good idea to prepare the soup bases like real bak kut teh soup, because boiling the soup for several hours could potentially break down toxins present in its ingredients.

In fact, it would have been better for the researchers to just buy real bak kut teh, instead of resorting to their soup bases prepared in just 5 minutes.

Fact #8 : They Tested Using HepG2 Liver Cancer Cells

It is also important to note that the researchers tested the soup bases by adding them to HepG2 cell cultures, not normal liver cells.

HepG2 is a hepatoblastoma (a type of liver cancer) cell line that was obtained from a 15 year-old boy suffering from liver cancer in 1975.

Now, there is nothing wrong with that – HepG2 is commonly used to test cytotoxicity of substances. Still, it must still be pointed out that HepG2 is not the same thing as normal liver cells.

In-vitro studies based on these cells should not be used to draw any conclusion, only used to drive further research.

Differences HepG2 Cells Normal Liver Cells
Cell Size 12-19 µm 15 µm
Cell Shape Polygonal Cube
Nuclei Single large nuclei
with 3-7 nucleoli
Two or more nuclei
Mitochondrial Content Low High
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum Poorly Developed High
No. of Chromosomes 50-60 46
DNA Content 7.5 pg ~6 pg
Genome Stability Unstable Stable

Fact #9 : Spices, Pepper + Salt Did Worst In Their Tests

What I found most interesting in their results was the fact that the most “toxic” soup was Formulation 4, which consisted of nothing more than spices, pepper and salt.

Formulation 4 showed the most significant toxicity to the HepG2 cell line with approximately 83% cell death before dilution (p < 0.0001) and persistent toxicity even with dilution 1:10 (15% ± 3.7, p = 0.023) and 1:1000 (14% ± 3.8, p = 0.024)

Well, that’s gonna worry fans of Kentucky Fried Chicken, which boasts 11 herbs and spices, including pepper and salt!

Jokes aside, this result suggest that common spices, pepper and salt are more toxic to HepG2 liver cells than the more fanciful bak kut teh preparations!

Fact #10 : They Did Not Test Drug Interactions

I’m not sure how this study touches on drug interaction, since they didn’t test the soup bases with common hepatotoxic drugs like paracetamol to see if there is a synergistic effect.

No matter how you slice and dice this study’s results, they tell us nothing about any possible interaction with other herbs / drugs.

Yet so many media outlets made the startling claim that the study showed that bak kut teh may interact with medication! Nowhere in the study does it say that!

It seems obvious that most of these journalists did not even bother to read the study, and only paraphrased what other people were writing.

 

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Support my work through a bank transfer /  PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

Recommended Reading

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Did Study Show Pfizer Vaccine Altering Liver DNA?!

Did a Swedish study show that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine altered the DNA of human liver cells in just 6 hours?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Study Show Pfizer Vaccine Altering Liver DNA In 6 Hours!

The Expose is back again, with yet another “fakexpose” on the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. This time, they are recycling a February 2022 fake story that I fact checked earlier.

Here are selected excerpts from their long-winded article. Feel free to skip it, and head to the next section for the facts.

A Swedish study has demonstrated and confirmed that the mRNA in the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid injections infiltrates cells and transcribes its message onto human DNA within 6 hours, altering our own DNA.

The findings come after a previous study published in October 2021 from Sweden found the spike protein enters our cells nuclei and impairs the mechanism cells have to repair damaged DNA.

Read more : Did 800 People Quit Pfizer Vaccine Trial Over Death / Injury?!

 

Truth : Study Did Not Show Pfizer Vaccine Altering Liver DNA In 6 Hours

This is yet another example of vaccine fake news based on the intentional misinterpretation of a single scientific study.

Here is what you really need to know about this Lund University study… and The Expose.

Fact #1 : The Expose Is A Fake News Website

The Expose is notorious for creating and propagating fake news on everything from COVID-19 to vaccines and the Ukraine war.

I investigated several articles they wrote, and they were all found to be completely false, or intentionally misleading.

Everything posted by The Expose must be considered fake news, until proven otherwise.

Fact #2 : Study Did NOT Say Pfizer Vaccine Alters Our DNA

First things first – the Lund University study is called Intracellular Reverse Transcription of Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 In Vitro in Human Liver Cell Line, and you can read it in its entirety here.

If you read just the discussion, you will note that the study authors actually pointed out that their study does NOT show that the Pfizer vaccine integrates with the liver cell DNA, or alters it in any way.

At this stage, we do not know if DNA reverse transcribed from BNT162b2 is integrated into the cell genome.

To be clear, the study offers no evidence that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine alters our DNA in any way or form.

Fact #3 : It Was A Laboratory Study

I should also point out the obvious fact that this was an in-vitro study – a laboratory study, not a clinical study.

In-vitro studies are important, but they cannot be extrapolated to make any conclusion about what actually happens in a human body.

For example, in-vitro studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin have an inhibitory effect on the SARS-CoV-2 virus; but once tested in actual human beings – they were shown to have no clinical benefit.

In other words – what works in a laboratory, may not work in an actual human being.

Read more : Study Shows 10X Ivermectin Can’t Prevent Severe COVID-19!

Fact #4 : Study Was Based On Liver Cancer Cells

The casual reader of the Lund University study will not realise that Huh7 (or Huh-7) cells are not ordinary liver cells that you or I have.

Huh7 cells were derived from the liver tumour of a 57 year-old Japanese man, and are special because :

  • they are immortal liver cancer cells that can keep multiplying
  • they are highly-susceptible to Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection
  • they are genetically different, with an abnormal number of chromosomes (between 55 and 63, normal human cells have 46)

The Huh7 cell line is useful for the study of liver cancer and Hepatitis C, as well as drugs that may combat HCV; but it is important to understand that Huh7 cells are not representative of normal human cells.

Fact #5 : Huh7 Liver Cells Were Cultured In Plates

For a “more physiologically relevant study of viruses“, these Huh7 cells have to be cultured in a NASA-designed 3D Rotating Wall Vessel (RWV) bioreactor.

These RWV bioreactors create 3D aggregates of Huh7 cells that are more “similar in structure and function” to their in vivo counterparts, with “completely altered gene expression and differentiation patterns“.

In other words, these RWV-grown Huh7 cells look and behave differently, more like regular human cells compared to plate-cultured Huh7 cells.

For the record, the Lund University study used plate-cultured Huh7 cells, and not RWV-grown Huh7 cells.

There is nothing wrong with that, but we should keep in mind that these cells are not an ideal representation of human cells.

This is what a 24-cell culture plate looks like

Fact #6 : Normal Human Cells Don’t Produce LINE-1 Enzyme

The scientists chose to use these Huh7 cells because like many cancerous cells, they express (produce) the LINE-1 enzyme.

LINE-1 is a reverse transcriptase that converts mRNA into DNA, so it is not surprising that the study would show it converting mRNA from the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine into DNA. That is literally what it is meant to do.

Normal human cells have the LINE-1 gene, but it is not expressed. Normal human cells do not produce the LINE-1 enzyme, which is why they could not use regular human cells in this study.

That is also why it is inappropriate to use the Huh7 cell culture to evaluate how mRNA vaccines would actually work or behave in humans.

Fact #7 : Transcribed DNA Did Not Enter Nucleus

The study only looked at whether mRNA from the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine can be transcribed into DNA by the LINE-1 enzyme.

As the study showed – yes, it can… because that’s what the LINE-1 enzyme does. But the study does not show that the transcribed DNA entered the cell nucleus and altered human DNA.

While that is plausible, it would require another enzyme called integrase, that viruses produce, to move that DNA into the cell nucleus itself.

Without the integrase enzyme, the DNA transcribed by the LINE-1 enzyme will only float outside, and will never integrate with the DNA inside the cell nucleus.

Did Pfizer mRNA Vaccine Combine With DNA In Liver Cells?!

Fact #8 : mRNA Vaccines Do Not Modify Our Genes

An mRNA vaccine only contains a limited number of lipid nanoparticles containing those delicate mRNA instructions. So only a limited number of cells are involved in the vaccination process.

Even if it is somehow possible for the mRNA instructions from the vaccine to enter the cell nucleus and integrate with the DNA inside, it will only affect those cells.

Our cells die and are replaced by new cells all the time, so even if hypothetically the vaccine “infects” and modifies the DNA of a few hundred thousand cells, those cells will eventually die and be replaced by new cells without the modified DNA.

It is simply not possible for mRNA vaccines to modify our genes.

Fact #9 : Viruses Integrate With Cell DNA

Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 and HIV-1 (diagram below) integrate their genes with the host cell DNA, to hijack the cell and use it to produce copies of itself.

You can see how a typical RNA virus would infect a host cell, convert its RNA into DNA which is moved into the cell nucleus using the integrase enzyme.

HIV-1 virus cell infection, credit : Günther Witzany

Once inside, the viral DNA integrates with the host cell DNA, which gets transcribed into instructions for the cell to produce copies of the virus.

This is the same way how the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects our cells, to produce copies of itself to infect even more cells.

If you are truly worried about anything modifying your cell’s DNA, you should try to avoid viral infections like COVID-19. Better still – vaccinate yourself, and get protected against COVID-19!

Everything posted by The Expose must be regarded as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.

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Did US Biolabs In Ukraine Create COVID-19 Virus?!

Did Russia just prove that US biolabs in Ukraine created the COVID-19 virus?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : US Biolabs In Ukraine Created COVID-19 Virus!

People are sharing this message on WhatsApp, claiming that Russia has proven that US biolabs in Ukraine created the COVID-19 virus!

It’s rather long, and we removed the links, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

America and Ukraine must pay for damages & life lost for the creation of Covid19 pandemic

Russia is presenting its case to the world on the U.S. Biolabs in Ukraine— along with China, Brazil, Mexico & India, calling for an immediate investigation. U.S. DS is in a panic state, denying it & does not want an investigation.

The DS U.S. doesn’t want an investigation. 3.2 BILLION people in China, India, Brazil, Mexico & Russia — nearly half of the world’s population are calling for an investigation into the U.S. for bioweapon facilities. UN, US, Nato will be found guilty of these crimes. BIG CHANGES are happening. These entities will be dissolved.

 

Truth : US Biolabs In Ukraine Did NOT Create COVID-19 Virus!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and promoted by pro-Russian and pro-CCP netizens, including the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).

It is really a hodgepodge of different false claims that try to shift the blame for the COVID-19 pandemic from China to the United States, while offering Russia a “legitimate reason” to invade Ukraine.

Fact #1 : UN Members Did Not Call For Investigation

On 11 March 2022, Russia accused the US and Ukraine of plotting to use migratory birds, bats and insects to spread pathogens across Europe.

The Russian permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, however, provided no actual evidence to back up those claims.

The fake news falsely claimed that China, Brazil, Mexico and India called for an immediate investigation. Only China called for “clarification” by the US and Ukraine, in an attempt to support Russia’s claims.

The UN High Representative for Disarmament, Izumi Nakamitsu, said that the United Nations was “not aware of any biological weapons programme” in Ukraine.

The UN Security Council certainly did not call for any investigation. In fact, many UN members publicly said that they are worried that it was a pretext for Russia to use its own biological / chemical weapons.

Fact #2 : US Does Not Have Biological Labs In Ukraine

Igor Kirillov, the Chief of the Russian Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Force, claimed that the US has 30 biological weapons laboratories in Ukraine.

The truth is – they are Ukrainian biological laboratories, some of which receive financial and other support from the US, the European Union and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

This is not unique to Ukraine – biological labs in many countries receive similar support from the US, EU and the WHO.

Read more : Does US Have Biological Warfare Labs In South Korea?!

Fact #3 : Biological Labs Are Essential To All Countries

Biological labs do not conduct biological warfare research, because that is banned in 183 countries under the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).

Instead, they are on the forefront of a country’s biosecurity defences, and are absolutely essential in developing tests and cures (including vaccines) for new and emerging diseases, like the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.

In fact, both Russia and China have a number of biological labs, including the famous Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is located right at the epicentre of the first COVID-19 outbreak.

It would be hypocritical (and intentionally?) misleading for both Russia and China to demonise biological labs. After all, they are ESSENTIAL to every country’s national security, including their own.

Fact #4 : Biological Threat Reduction Program Is Designed To Reduce Threats

Igor Kirillov’s “evidence” of US biological warfare program in Ukraine centred around the “Biological Threat Reduction” program.

Just in case the name isn’t descriptive enough, the Biological Threat Reduction Program is a US Department of Defense initiative to counter the threat of infectious diseases, whether they are deliberate, accidental or natural.

The program aims to counter biological threats in a partner country, at the source, before the threat can reach the homeland of impact U.S. Armed Forces or allies.

The program also prevents proliferation by cooperating with partner countries to eliminate their biological weapons, associated materials, and production facilities.

In other words, the bioweapon programme that Kirillov was ranting about is designed to identify and prevent or mitigate threats from biological weapons, as well as natural diseases.

I should also point out that whatever Kirillov mentioned was already publicly stated on the US Embassy in Ukraine’s website.

Read more : Secret NATO Headquarters Under Azovstal Exposed?!

Fact #5 : US Biological Threat Reduction Program Started In Russia

The US Biological Threat Reduction Program actually started in Russia in 1998.

Russia was the program’s original partner country, and the Program spent the first ten years working with former Soviet Union partner countries.

The Russians are fully aware of what the US Biological Threat Reduction Program is all about, so their claims are outright, shameless lies.

This is even more egregious when they personally benefited from the Program for so many years, at the US government’s expense.

Fact #6 : WHO Warned Ukraine About Risk From Russian Bombing

All biological labs have to work with pathogens, which are by nature, dangerous. That is their purpose. A biological lab without pathogens would be like an airport without airplanes.

It is only logical for the WHO to remind Ukraine that they should destroy their samples of pathogens at their biological labs, after Russia invaded them.

Russian bombing could inadvertently or intentionally “free” those pathogens from their laboratory storage facilities, and disperse them into the nearby area.

Not only would that be dangerous for the nearby population, it could serve as a pretext for Russia to use its own biological or chemical weapons to “retaliate”.

Fact #7 : COVID-19 Pandemic Originated In China

China has repeatedly tried to “tai-chi” (shift) the blame for the COVID-19 pandemic to other countries, like the United States, and more recently – Ukraine.

But the truth is – the COVID-19 virus originated in Wuhan, China. The first cases were reported there, not in the United States or in Ukraine.

If the SARS-CoV-2 virus was created in Fort Detrick or the Azovstal laboratory, the cities of Maryland or Mariupol would have been the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, not Wuhan.

Genomic analyses of COVID-19 variants also proved that SARS-CoV-2 did indeed originate in China.

This does not mean China should be blamed for COVID-19. It only means that it is wrong for the Chinese to repeatedly blame other countries for the virus.

Read more : Did COVID-19 Leak From Gilead Sciences Lab In Fort Detrick?

This FAKE NEWS is being shared by pro-Russia and pro-CCP netizens.

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Is Monkeypox Outbreak From Lab Strain Made In Ukraine?!

Is the current monkeypox outbreak from a lab strain made in Ukraine?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Monkeypox Outbreak Is From Lab Strain Made In Ukraine!

People are sharing tweets by a Dr. Benjamin Braddock who claimed that the 2022 monkeypox outbreak is from a “third lab strain” made by the US in Ukraine!

ECDC source tells me that the preliminary analysis of monkeypox indicates that it is “a third lab strain with unknown characteristics” and that there is chatter about this being somehow related to Moscow’s charges against U.S. biological activities in Ukraine.

A Russian-Chinese joint task force has been tasked with establishing: where it originated, whether it is detectable in research conducted by the US in Ukraine, Georgia; whether there is a link to biological research conducted by the US on smallpox in Ukraine.

Main ECDC focus right now is on buying up as much of BN’s vaccine as possible. “They’re buying before they know whether it is even effective against this strain of monkeypox. I wouldn’t be surprised if they skipped testing it’s efficacy altogether.”

 

Truth : Monkeypox Outbreak Is Not From Lab Strain Made In Ukraine!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS being created and shared by people on social media, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : There Is No Third Lab Strain

The monkeypox virus has two clades, based on where they were commonly found – Congo Basin (Central Africa), and West Africa.

There is no such thing as a third lab strain or species or clade of the monkeypox virus.

Fact #2 : Strain Is A Subset Of Species

While it is impossible to prove what does not exist (Bertrand Russell’s teapot analogy), the claim that there is “a third lab strain” shows that the person creating the fake news does not know the difference between strain, species and clade.

In virology, a clade is technically a group of species that arose from a common ancestor, of which each species may give rise to different strains (sub-species).

Credit : Galaxy Advanced Microbial Diagnostics

If there is a new strain, it would not have been called “a third lab strain”. It would have just been called a new strain.

The introduction of the word “third” implies that the fake news creator believes that clade = strain, which is completely false.

Obviously, the fake news creator does not know much about virology, and is very unlikely to be working at the ECDC.

Fact #3 : 2022 Monkeypox Outbreak From West African Clade

Neither the European Centre for Diseases Prevention and Control (ECDC) or other health authorities like the US CDC has announced the discovery of a new strain or clade of the monkeypox virus.

In fact, the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated on 21 May 2022, that all cases in the 2022 monkeypox outbreaks have been confirmed to involve the “West African clade“.

Fact #4 : No Evidence Current Virus Was Lab Made

Again, it is impossible to prove what does not exist – that the current monkeypox virus was not made in the lab. However, all the evidence points to a natural source of this virus.

Not only is the 2022 monkeypox virus is from an existing clade, genomic sequencing also indicated that this current virus was a close match of the monkeypox virus that were “exported” from Nigeria to the United Kingdom, Israel and Singapore in 2018 and 2019.

In other words – all of the evidence so far point us to a natural variant of an existing monkeypox virus that had already caused several outbreaks in the past.

Read more : Monkeypox Outbreak In 20 Countries : Is It A New Pandemic?

Fact #5 : US Does Not Have Biological Labs In Ukraine

Braddock is repeating the oft-debunked false claim that the US has biological labs in Ukraine.

The truth is – they are Ukrainian biological laboratories, some of which receive financial and other support from the US, the European Union and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

This is not unique to Ukraine – biological labs in many countries receive similar support from the US, EU and the WHO.

Fact #6 : US Sponsored Biological Threat Reduction In Ukraine

US sponsorship of biological labs in former Soviet Union countries like Ukraine go back decades, and is centred around the Biological Threat Reduction Program.

As the name implies, the program aims to train and equip the partner nation to detect and prevent the threat of infectious diseases, whether they are deliberate, accidental or natural.

The program aims to counter biological threats in a partner country, at the source, before the threat can reach the homeland of impact U.S. Armed Forces or allies.

The program also prevents proliferation by cooperating with partner countries to eliminate their biological weapons, associated materials, and production facilities.

Fact #7 : Biological Labs Are Essential To All Countries

Biological labs do not conduct biological warfare research, because that is banned in 183 countries under the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).

Instead, they are on the forefront of a country’s biosecurity defences, and are absolutely essential in developing tests and cures (including vaccines) for new and emerging diseases, like the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.

In fact, both Russia and China have a number of biological labs, including the famous Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is located right at the epicentre of the first COVID-19 outbreak.

It is therefore misleading for anyone to demonise biological labs. After all, they are ESSENTIAL to every country’s national security, including their own.

Read more : Does US Have Biological Warfare Labs In South Korea?!

Fact #8 : There Is No Russian-Chinese Task Force

Braddock claimed that a Russian-Chinese task force was formed to find out where the monkeypox outbreaks originated, or whether it is “detectable in research conducted by the US in Ukraine / Georgia”.

Again, it is impossible to prove what does not exist, but we know that this is a false claim because :

  • Braddock offered no evidence for the formation of such a Russian-Chinese task force.
  • The 2022 monkeypox outbreak did not affect either Russia or China, so they have no access to any samples.
  • The US did not conduct any biological research in Ukraine or Georgia.
  • Smallpox is closely related to monkeypox, but is a completely different virus.

A Russian-Chinese joint task force has been tasked with establishing: where it originated, whether it is detectable in research conducted by the US in Ukraine, Georgia; whether there is a link to biological research conducted by the US on smallpox in Ukraine.

Fact #9 : JYNNEOS Was Tested Against Monkeypox

The monkeypox and smallpox viruses are so closely related that the smallpox vaccine has been used for years to protect against monkeypox and other orthopoxviruses.

The earlier ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine has been largely replaced by the JYNNEOS vaccine (also called Imvamune / Imvanex), which was proven to be at least 85% effective in preventing monkeypox.

In fact, it was licensed in 2019 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the prevention of both smallpox and monkeypox.

And again, the monkeypox virus causing the 2022 outbreak is a close match of the Western Africa clade monkeypox virus that caused the 2018 and 2019 outbreaks.

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Monkeypox : What You Must Know About This Viral Infection!

zFind out what Monkeypox is all about, and whether it is a new viral infection we have to worry about!

 

Monkeypox : What You Need To Know

People are now worried about the rapid spread of monkeypox globally, with cases in at least 20 countries outside of Africa.

Here are some facts about monkeypox that you should know…

Monkeypox Is Different From COVID-19

First, let me just clearly state this – the monkeypox virus is completely different from the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.

The monkeypox virus is a double-stranded DNA virus from the Orthopoxvirus genus in the Poxviridae family. It is closely related to the smallpox virus (variola)

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a single-stranded RNA virus from the Betacoronavirus genus in the Coronaviridae family. It is closely related to the SARS virus (SARS-CoV-1).

Monkeypox Is A Zoonotic Disease

Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease that is primarily carried and spread by animals, especially primates.

It was first discovered in monkeys in 1958, giving rise to the name – monkeypox. The first human case was only reported in 1970.

Monkeypox Is Getting More Common

The monkeypox virus used to be a relatively rare zoonotic virus, with about 400 human infections reported from 1970 to 1986 that were mostly limited to Central and West Africa.

It is becoming more common though, with 2000 cases per year reported between 2011 and 2014. Several small outbreaks in the US (2003 and 2021), UK (2018 and 2021), and Singapore (2019) were also reported.

In the current 2022 outbreak, over 200 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported in 21 countries.

 

Monkeypox : Transmission, Mortality + Disease Progression

Monkeypox Transmission

The monkeypox virus are generally transmitted through these methods :

  • animal-to-human : close contact, scratches or bites, or direct contact with bodily fluids
  • human-to-human : respiratory droplets or contact with bodily fluids or fomites (contaminated surfaces)

The virus enters the body through broken skin and the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth.

Risk factors for human transmission include sharing the same bed or room with an infected person, as well as having sexual intercourse or sharing utensils.

Read more : Monkeypox Outbreak In 20 Countries : Is It A New Pandemic?

Monkeypox Mortality Rate

Monkeypox is not as easily transmitted as COVID-19, but has a significantly higher mortality rate depending on the strain :

  • West African strain : 1% to 3%
  • Central African strain : 10%

Fortunately, the infections in the 2022 monkeypox outbreak are of the less virulent West African strain.

How A Monkeypox Infection Progresses

After infection, the incubation period is usually 7-14 days, but can vary from 5-21 days.

The patient will start experiencing general symptoms like fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.

Within 1-3 days though, the patient will develop lesions in the mouth, before they appear on the face and then spread to other parts of the body.

  • The first lesions appear on the tongue and in the mouth
  • A macular rash (flat, discoloured) then appears on the face, before spreading to the arms and legs and then hands and feet.
  • The macular rash will typically spread to the entire body within 24 hours, but is most concentrated on the face, arms and legs.
  • By the third day of the rash, the lesions will develop into elevated and palpable papules.
  • By the fourth to fifth day of the rash, the lesions will become fluid-filled vesicles.
  • By the sixth to seventh day, the vesicles will become pustular (filled with pus).
  • The pustules will be round and firm, with a depression in the centre, for the next 5-7 days.
  • By the end of the second week, the pustules will scab over for about a week before falling off.

Only after ALL of the scabs have fallen off is a person considered no longer contagious.

After the scabs have fallen off, the affected skin may appear pale before becoming dark marks, sometimes becoming pitted scars.

 

Monkeypox : Testing, Treatment + Prevention

Monkeypox Testing

Confirmation of a monkeypox infection is based on the detection of its viral DNA through real-time or conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

The doctor will swab the lesions and/or exudate and/or crusts, which is different from how samples are collected for COVID-19 tests.

Monkeypox Treatment

There is currently no proven treatment for monkeypox infections, which will generally resolve over 2-4 weeks.

Patient care is usually supportive in nature (antipyretic medicine, fluid balance and oxygenation), but in severe cases, several antiviral treatments can be attempted :

  • Cidofovir and Brincidofovir (CMX001), which have proven activity against poxviruses in laboratory and animal studies.
  • Tecovirimat (ST-246), which was shown in animal studies to be effective in treating orthopoxvirus-induced disease.
  • Vaccinia Immune Globulin (VIG)

I should point out that none of these antiviral treatments have been proven to work against monkeypox.

Smallpox Vaccine Can Protect Against Monkeypox

The monkeypox virus is so closely related to the (eradicated) smallpox virus, that the smallpox vaccine can protect against monkeypox.

The smallpox vaccine called JYNNEOS (Imvamune / Imvanex) was earlier proven to be at least 85% effective in preventing monkeypox, and was thus licensed for use against monkeypox. Another smallpox vaccine called ACAM2000 may also be used.

The smallpox vaccine can also be given to those who were just exposed to the virus, to reduce its symptoms.

But please do NOT call up your local clinic to ask for the smallpox vaccine. It has not been available in many countries for decades because smallpox was effectively eradicated in 1980.

Other Preventive Measures

In the absence of the smallpox vaccine, the same measures used to avoid COVID-19 can be adopted to also avoid monkeypox :

  • Avoid contact with animals that can harbour the virus, particular animals that are sick or have been found dead
  • Avoid contact with infected monkeypox patients and their close contacts
  • Avoid contact with objects or surfaces that have been in contact with a sick person / animal
  • Use personal protective equipment (PPE) while caring for patients – N95 face mask, face shield, etc.
  • Practice good hand hygiene, washing with soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand sanitiser

Monkeypox Isolation

Monkeypox patients must be isolated either in a hospital or at home, until all lesions are clear with a fresh layer of skin.

Close contact with other people should be avoided until all scabs have dropped off, which usually takes 2-4 weeks.

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Was Captured Canadian General In Charge Of NATO Biolab?!

Was captured Canadian general Trevor Cadieu helping NATO run their Biolab No. 1 in Azovstal, Ukraine?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Captured Canadian General Cadieu Was In Charge In NATO Biolab!

The Expose and pro-Russian websites are claiming that captured Canadian general Trevor Cadieu was in charge of a NATO biological warfare lab under the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine.

The article is very long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Russian armed forces arrested disgraced Canadian General Trevor Cadieu in Mariupol. Russian sources often refer to Trevor Cadieu as Trevor Kadier or Trevor Cadier. At the beginning of this month, Russians said they captured Cadieu at the Azovstal iron and steel factory during the Siege of Mariupol. He is currently in Moscow awaiting trial.

Cadieu was apparently not on a mission for his government but was in charge of a bio laboratory, Biolab No.1, with 18 staff working under his command.

Biolab No.1 is reportedly managed by US company Metabiota. The company Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, and Christopher Heinz, John Kerry’s son-in-law, had organised subcontracting arrangements for Ukrainian research laboratories through their firm Rosemont Capital, on behalf of the Pentagon’s Defence Threat Reduction Agency (“DTRA”).

Who Is Trevor Cadieu?

Trevor John Cadieu is a Canadian military officer who reached the rank of lieutenant general but retired after allegations of sexual misconduct. He then travelled to Ukraine, to join the fight against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Cadieu left the Canadian military on 5 April and travelled to Ukraine shortly after with the intention to volunteer for that country’s military against Russian forces, multiple defence sources confirmed to Global News.

On 21 April, the Canadian Department of National Defence confirmed that lieutenant-general Trevor Cadieu retired on April 5 after more than 30 years in uniform, even as military police continued their investigation into his conduct.

Cadieu, in a statement to CBC, portrayed his decision to retire from the Canadian military as being for the best. “I have opted to release [from the Canadian military] and am exploring other opportunities to contribute to the greater good,” he noted.

Senior Canadian military leaders were briefed about Cadieu’s decision to travel to Ukraine, according to Ottawa Citizen’s sources.

Defence Department spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said Cadieu’s release from the military followed proper procedures, “as he is now a private citizen, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further on his personal plans.”

“There has been no CAF [Canadian Armed Forces] support, material or otherwise, given to Cadieu since his departure as it pertains to his personal endeavours,” Le Bouthillier said.

The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service released a statement noting that the “member’s release has no bearing on investigative work, nor does their personal travel. As the investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.”

Cadieu’s LinkedIn page is still showing he is employed by CAF.

The Arrest of Trevor Cadieu

Russian online newspaper Vzglyad reported that Russian troops arrested Cadieu on 1 May while he was trying to escape from Azovstal. It was first reported on Russian TV channel 360° however we were unable to find the original report and John Goss confirms the same on his blog: “[this] report appears now to have disappeared.”

It is alleged that the West and Kiev authorities came up with the idea of civilian humanitarian corridors from Azovstal to enable the “evacuation” of Cadieu, New Eastern Outlook (“NEO”) wrote. Confirmation of this can be found in a report by the Azerbaijan Press Agency which stated: “[Cadieu] tried to break out of the encirclement at Azovstal several times. It was for this that the West insisted on humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians: among them, foreign specialists had to leave the catacombs.”

NEO continued:

“[This plan] involved French President Macron and his Turkish counterpart Erdogan, as well as the UN Secretary-General. The idea was that under the guise of ‘refugees’, Cadieu, [along] with a number of other senior NATO officials, could leave the Russian-controlled war zone in Donbass and avoid not only shameful captivity but also a show trial by Moscow. It is noticeable that, according to reports circulating, Cadieu was in charge of Azovstal’s underground bunkers, including Biolab No.1, where 18 people worked with deadly viruses.”

Reports of Cadieu’s arrest seem to be based on the initial 360° channel report and internet leaks, John Goss wrote, Svetlana Nikolaevna gave the most thorough account but was unable to reveal her source, only saying that it was from somebody on the front line and that no official statement had been made.

 

No Evidence Canadian General Cadieu Was In Charge Of Any Biolab!

This is yet more FAKE NEWS from the notorious fake news website, The Expose, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : A Person’s Name Does Not Change With Travel

A noteworthy element of most fake news is that they are based on “secret” sources that are often fake, or made-up (non-existent).

One of the hallmark of such fake sources is they often get the name of the persons wrong. The Expose tries to pass it off as a translation thing, but that’s just plain stupid.

Trevor Cadieu’s name remains Trevor Cadieu no matter where he is in the world. Just like how Vladimir Putin is called Vladimir Putin all around the world.

Claiming that the Russians call the general “Trevor Kadier” or “Trevor Cadier” is as asinine as claiming that Americans call the Russian President “Vlad Pootin“.

Fact #2 : Trevor Cadieu Did Not Update His LinkedIn Profile

The Expose presented Cadieu’s LinkedIn profile as evidence that he is still employed by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), even though Cadieu and CAF has publicly and separately announced his retirement.

What The Expose (intentionally?) left out is that Trevor Cadieu last used his LinkedIn account more than 3 years ago, when he Liked someone’s comment.

For the benefit of the writer, Rhoda Wilson, the LinkedIn user must manually update his/her employment record before the change is reflected.

It does NOT magically get updated by itself. And before you ask, Rhoda, no – the CAF cannot do it for him.

Fact #3 : No Evidence Cadieu Was Arrested In Azovstal

Cadieu left for Ukraine sometime after retiring from the CAF, to volunteer against the Russian invasion.

To date, there has been no evidence he was arrested by Russian forces while trying to escape from Azovstal on 1 May 2022.

The source for The Expose’s sensational claim does not exist. The writer, Rhoda Wilson, claimed that the 360° report had “disappeared”, even though there was no evidence it even existed in the first place!

Read more : Did Russia Capture Canadian General Cadieu In Azovstal?!

Fact #4 : Vzglyad Is A Russian Propaganda Website

The Expose based their sensational claim on two sentences in a Russian propaganda website called Vzglyad. Now, I don’t call Vzglyad a propaganda website out of bias.

Its own former editor-in-chief, Alexander Shmelev admitted it, “it was through us that the toughest propaganda materials passed, as a result of which the word “Vzglyad” itself became negative in blogs and social networks“.

He also shared that articles posted on the Vzglyad website were supervised by Alexei Chesnakov, the deputy head of the internal policy department of the Russian President.

Finally, Vzglyad was placed under the control of the Russian presidency, first through the Institute for Socio-Economic and Political Studies (ISEPI) and then the Expert Institute for Social Research.

Fact #5 : Cadieu Was Promoted To Head Canadian Army

Trevor Cadieu is a Lieutenant-General who was originally slated to take command of the Canadian army in September 2021.

His appointment was suspended amidst “historical allegations” of sexual misconduct, but Cadieu was the top-ranking officer in the Canadian army until his retirement.

It is absurd to claim that he actually heads a small NATO biological lab under the Azovstal steel plant. Think about how stupid it sounds.

Why on Earth would Cadieu go from running the Canadian army of over 100,000 soldiers to managing just 18 scientists in an underground bunker??

Fact #6 : Russia Surrounded Mariupol Since 2 March 2022

While no one really knows where Cadieu is right now, it would be quite impossible for him to enter Mariupol after his retirement on 5 April 2022.

That’s because Mariupol was amongst the first Ukrainian cities to be attacked by Russian forces that completely surrounded it three weeks into the war.

There was no way for Ukrainian civilians and soldiers to leave Mariupol, and no way for anyone to get into the city after it was completely surrounded on 2 March 2022.

By the time Cadieu resigned, the Russians had already captured most of Mariupol, except the massive Azovstal steel plant. It would literally take a miracle for Cadieu to get into the Azovstal plant.

Read more : Did Russia Capture US General Roger Cloutier In Azovstal?!

How Russian forces besieged Mariupol. Credit : BBC

Fact #7 : Cadieu Would Be Useless In Azovstal

Even if it was possible to smuggle him into the Azovstal steel plant in early April, it would be illogical to do so.

What can he do? Pick up a gun and shoot at Russian soldiers like Rambo in the movies?

Take over a biological lab under a steel plant that was being bombarded on a daily basis?

Oh wait – maybe his job was to run into Azovstal, so he can try to escape and get caught by the Russians??

Fact #8 : Civilian Were Evacuated During Several Ceasefires

There were several ceasefires during which small numbers of civilians managed to escape. Cadieu was not amongst them.

It would have been easy for the Russians to pick Cadieu out from the Ukrainian civilians they allowed to leave.

After all, every one of those civilians who were evacuated from the Azovstal bunkers were thoroughly vetted by Russian forces.

Fact #9 : Russians Would Have Paraded Captured Cadieu

If Russian forces did indeed capture Cadieu, they would have paraded him on Russian TV, just like they did with two British volunteers they captured – Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin.

Yet the Russians did no such thing. In fact, the only “sources” of these claims are no-name blogs in Russia, China and Azerbaijan, as well as WhatsApp and Telegram groups.

There is simply no evidence of Cadieu being captured by Russian forces, not even a picture.

Heck, Putin didn’t even mention any captured NATO officer during his May 9 speech, even though it would have greatly helped him prove his narrative that Russia was really fighting against NATO.

Fact #10 : DPR Rep Confirmed Cadieu Not Arrested

Official Russian news agency, TASS, reported on 28 April 2022 that Cadieu “may be holed up” in the Azovstal steel plant.

Their source was Eduard Basurin, the spokesman for the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), who gave no evidence for his claim.

In fact, Basurin appeared to be making up that claim based on the Canadian Defense Ministry announcing that Cadieu had resigned.

Information appeared now and then that one of former Canadian army generals may be holed up there [in the Azovstal steel complex].

He first seemed to get out of sight and then the Canadian Defense Ministry issued a statement that this general gave a notice that he was resigning from the army and moving to Ukraine. Perhaps, it [the UN] is trying to rescue him.

As I pointed out earlier, it would be impossible for Cadieu to be present in Azovstal, unless he went AWOL from the Canadian Armed Forces and entered Mariupol before 17 March 2022.

More importantly, Basurin confirmed that Russian forces did not capture Cadieu.

Fact #11 : No Evidence Of NATO Facility Under Azovstal

There is no evidence that any NATO facility called PIT-404, pit_40 or Biolab 1 exists, or ever existed.

These claims were created out of thin air by Russian conspiracy theorists… and a board game called Blackout: Journey into Darkness.

Read more : Secret NATO Headquarters Under Azovstal Exposed?!

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out!

And please STOP sharing anything from The Expose! It’s all fake news!

 

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Does US Have Biological Warfare Labs In South Korea?!

Is the US conducting biological warfare experiments at their secret labs in South Korea?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : US Has Biological Warfare Labs In South Korea!

Official Chinese state media outlets like Xinhua,  People’s Daily, China Daily, and their 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) are claiming that the US is conducting biological warfare experiments at their secret labs in South Korea.

Note : It’s a long post, so please feel free to skip to the next section for the facts…

China Daily Fri, Apr 15, 2022

US biolabs create fear in South Korea
XINHUA

SEOUL — South Koreans are gripped with fear over the prospect that US biological weapons laboratories operated by the US Forces Korea, or USFK, will transform the country into Washington’s “overseas hub” for biological warfare experiments.

The United States has flouted international conventions by steadily advancing its germ warfare program in the country. It sees South Korea as a country “friendly” enough to let the US military test lethal toxins without institutional hurdles.

 

Truth : US Does NOT Have Biological Warfare Labs In South Korea!

Now, I must first point out that it is impossible to prove a negative – that something that doesn’t exists, doesn’t actually exist.

But based on a complete lack of evidence, this is yet another example of Chinese propaganda warfare, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : This Story Has Been Repeated Since 2020

A quick check shows that the Chinese state media have been promoting the story of the US biological warfare labs in South Korea since April 2020, if not earlier.

So this story isn’t new. It was repeated in July 2020, and then in August 2021, before the current slew of coverage in March and April 2022.

Fact #2 : No Evidence Of US Biological Warfare Lab In South Korea

Despite waxing lyrical about the US military conducting biological warfare experiments in their South Korea labs, the Chinese state media offered ZERO evidence.

There is no evidence of biological warfare experiments being conducted in South Korea, and there is no evidence of US setting up laboratories for the research and development of such weapons.

Fact #3 : Anthrax Was Sent To 9 US States, Australia + Canada Too

Chinese state media claimed that US biological warfare experimentation was “exposed” when live anthrax samples were sent to the Osan Air Base in South Korea.

The truth is – the same anthrax samples were sent to 51 laboratories in nine US states, as well as Australia, Canada and South Korea.

So the claim that US sent anthrax to South Korea because they let the US military “test lethal toxins without institutional hurdles” is nonsense.

This incident was covered widely by the global press, so it is peculiar that Chinese state media would (intentionally?) misinform their readers.

Fact #4 : Anthrax Samples Were Used For Tests

These anthrax samples were mailed to those laboratories as part of ongoing efforts to develop field tests for anthrax.

These tests are usually conducted using dead samples of anthrax, because live anthrax would obviously be a biosecurity risk.

Fact #5 : Anthrax Samples Were Supposed To Be Dead

What the Chinese state media won’t tell you is that those anthrax samples were supposed to be dead.

In March 2014, the Dugway Proving Grounds – a US Department of Defense laboratory which conducts biosecurity research – irradiated a batch of anthrax samples with gamma rays to kill them.

In April 2015, they mailed the “dead” anthrax samples to 51 labs in the US, Canada, Australia and South Korea, by commercial postal services because the samples were supposed to be completely “dead”.

This incident was covered widely by the global press, so it is peculiar that Chinese state media would (intentionally?) misinform their readers.

Fact #6 : US Military Was Unaware Anthrax Samples Were Active

What the Chinese state media will also “forget” to tell you is that the US military was unaware that the anthrax samples were still active.

It was a commercial laboratory in Maryland that alerted the Pentagon on 22 May 2015, after they discovered that their sample had some active spores.

As CDC spokesperson Jason McDonald explained, the samples were quickly transferred to the CDC :

The samples are being carefully transferred to the CDC in Atlanta. They are starting to arrive, but cautioned that the samples need five more days to grow before officials can determine if they contain live anthrax.

While this was a deeply concerning accident that could have been disastrous, it was most definitely not an attempt to conduct biological warfare experiments in South Korea.

This incident was covered widely by the global press, so it is peculiar that Chinese state media would (intentionally?) misinform their readers.

Officials from the South Korea-U.S. joint working group conduct an on-site inspection of a laboratory at Osan Air Base, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday, about 70 days after the Pentagon admitted that live anthrax samples were accidently delivered there. / Joint Press Corps

Fact #7 : Anthrax Sample In South Korea Was Destroyed

The anthrax sample in South Korea was quickly destroyed, even though there was no evidence it was still active – the batch was simply assumed to have not been sufficiently irradiated.

The military destroyed the anthrax on Wednesday after the sample, which was thought to be inactive, was suspected of being live. None of the personnel in contact showed signs of exposure. But they were given exams, antibiotics, and in some cases, vaccinations.

The military stresses there was no risk to the public. The exposure happened in a contained lab environment on the Osan Air Base, which is 65 miles south of Seoul. It’s one of a number of bases that houses the estimated 28,000 American military personnel based in South Korea.

Fact #8 : No One Got Sick

Four lab employees in the states of Texas, Delaware and Wisconsin, as well as 22 military and civilian personnel at the Osan Air Base, were given antibiotics as a precaution.

However, no one got sick from the potential exposure to the anthrax spore samples. I have to stress – there was no actual evidence that anyone got infected by those anthrax samples.

Fact #9 : Anthrax Is Naturally Found In Soil

Despite its fearsome reputation, anthrax is a disease caused by bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis, that is naturally found in soil, and commonly affects domestic and wild animals.

While people can get infected by breathing in its spores, it usually does not spread from human to human.

As long as the anthrax samples were not being weaponised, the US did not contravene the Biological Weapons Convention.

The use of dead anthrax samples to develop or improve or certify tests for anthrax most certainly do not contravene the Biological Weapons Convention.

Fact #10 : USFK Must Report To Korea CDC When Importing Biological Agents

The South Korea-US Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) was revised in 2015 to mandate that the USFK must file a report with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) when importing any biological agents, including inactivated biological agents.

So the claim that the US military can bring in biological materials without informing the South Korean government is no longer true since 2015.

It is interesting that Chinese state media are still (intentionally?) not aware of that development…

Fact #10 : JUPITR Was Designed To Detect Biological Threats

Chinese state media claim that US biological warfare experiments are being conducted under the JUPITR program.

That’s nonsense, because JUPITR (Joint United States Forces Korea Portal and Integrated Threat Recognition) is a bio-surveillance program.

JUPITR was set up to monitor for biological threats posed by North Korea, using new bio-surveillance analysis equipment like :

  • BioFire Film Array, which can process Dry Filter Unit samples in 5-6 hours, instead of several days
  • IQuum Liat, which is a sample-to-result molecular diagnostic system
  • 3M Focus

To be clear – JUPITR does not involve biological warfare experiments.

JUPITR Biosurveillance Station

Fact #11 : JUPITR Ended Development In 2018

Interestingly, Chinese state media (intentionally?) forgot to mention that the development of the JUPITR program ended in 2018.

While its passive early warning capability remains in place, there has been no further work done on the JUPITR program since 2018.

So I have to wonder why they are still harping on JUPITR in 2022… Do they really have nothing new to report on?

Fact #11 : CENTAUR Was Designed To Detect Biological Threats

The Chinese state media also claim that US biological warfare experiments are being conducted under the CENTAUR program, which is also nonsense.

CENTAUR, which is short for “Capabilities to Enhance NBC Threat Awareness, Understanding & Response“, is an early warning system that looks for biological threats in South Korea.

To ensure that such a system works, the USFK (US Forces Korea) uses samples of dead pathogens (like the anthrax samples mentioned earlier) to test its detection capabilities.

The USFK has publicly announced that they do not use live samples for testing, after a few dozen people protested against the CENTAUR program.

We hold the health and safety of our service members, civilian employees, family members and Korean neighbors in the highest regard. The CENTAUR system is safe. USFK does not and has never used live agents for testing.

Photo credit : Yonhap

Fact #12 : Biological Warfare Banned In 183 Countries

Biological warfare has long been banned by the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) that was signed on 10 April 1972, and came into effect on 26 March 1975.

As of January 2022 – 183 countries have become party to this treaty, which means they agreed to stop development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological weapons.

Fact #13 : Biological Labs Are Essential To All Countries

What the Chinese state media (intentionally?) don’t mention is that biological labs are a necessity in ALL countries.

Biological labs do not conduct biological warfare research, because that is banned in 183 countries under the BWC (see Fact #12).

Instead, they are on the forefront of a country’s biosecurity defences, and are absolutely essential in developing tests and cures (including vaccines) for new and emerging diseases, like the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.

In fact, China itself has a number of biological labs, including the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is located right at the epicentre of the first COVID-19 outbreak.

It would be hypocritical and (intentionally?) misleading for Chinese state media to demonise biological labs. After all, they are ESSENTIAL to every country’s national security, including China’s.

Read more : Did GSK Make COVID-19 In Their Wuhan Lab?

This fake news appears to be part of the disinformation campaign conducted by the Chinese state media and their 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).

Please help us fight such malicious fake news – SHARE this fact check far and wide!

 

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Name : Adrian Wong
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Did US Refuse WHO Investigation Of Fort Detrick?!

Did the United States refuse to let WHO investigate Fort Detrick for evidence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus?!

Take a look at this viral post from China, and find out what the FACTS really are!

 

Claim : US Refused WHO Investigation Of Fort Detrick For COVID-19 Evidence!

This post from China is being repeatedly shared by in WhatsApp groups, as evidence that the United States is trying to hide that they created the COVID-19 virus.

It’s a long read, so if you just want the facts, skip to the next section.

Till today, USA has refused to let WHO International team to investigate Fort Detrick, the origin of the Trumpp virus…your say 🥶

Shocking! Today the poisoning killer was finally found, and it really was the United States!
The truth is creepy, the new crown virus is man-made and originated from the [骷髅] P3 virus laboratory in North Carolina, USA!

 

Truth : WHO Did Not Even Ask To Investigate Fort Detrick!

The super-long WhatsApp post appears to be Google translated from Chinese, with mistakes like :

  • crown virus = coronavirus
  • First News Network = One America Network
  • Greg Roubini = Greg Rubini
  • Ralph Barrick = Ralph Baric
  • Radixivir = Remdesivir
  • Stanley Chela = Stanley Chera

It is also nothing more than a collage of past and present Chinese propaganda on COVID-19, some of which we had already debunked in the past :

And now, let’s go through and fact check the super-long article, to show you why this is just more fake news and yet another piece of Chinese propaganda.

Claim #1 : USA refused to let WHO investigate Fort Detrick
Verdict : FALSE

The WHO team that looked into the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus never requested to investigate Fort Detrick.

That’s simply because Fort Detrick, which is located in the city of Frederick in the US state of Maryland, was not the epicentre of the first COVID-19 outbreak.

The first COVID-19 outbreak happened in Wuhan in the Hubei province of China.

Claim #2 : Fort Detrick Is Source Of SARS-CoV-2
Verdict : FALSE

China’s repeated suggestions that there may have been a leak at the Fort Detrick laboratory is illogical.

If SARS-CoV-2 leaked from Fort Detrick, the city of Frederick in Maryland would have been the epicentre of the initial COVID-19 outbreak, not Wuhan.

That is why the WHO international team not only asked to investigate the Huanan Seafood Market, they also asked to investigate the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Now, this does not mean that the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. It merely means the Chinese claim about Fort Detrick is nonsensical.

Claim #3 : Greg Rubini is an American intelligence expert
Verdict : FALSE

Greg Rubini was exposed by Buzzfeed as the alias of a 61 year-old Italian man who worked in marketing and music promotions.

He is definitely NOT American. Neither was he an intelligence expert of any kind.

This false claim was extensively debunked long ago, so it is peculiar why the Chinese keep repeating it.

Claim #4 : SARS-CoV-2 originated in the BSL-3 laboratory in North Carolina
Verdict : FALSE

Wait, didn’t this piece of Chinese propaganda claim that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was created in Fort Detrick?

Fort Detrick is in the state of Maryland; while the University of North Carolina (UNC) is in the state of North Carolina.

Which is it? The virus cannot be created in two separate places.

If it was created in the BSL-3 laboratory at UNC, then why ask for Fort Detrick to be investigated?

The lack of logic in Chinese propaganda is astounding…

UNC Burnett-Womack BSL-3 laboratory

Claim #4 : Luc Montagnier revealed that virus has HIV sequence
Verdict : FALSE

This claim was made in April 2020, when Luc Montagnier actually hypothesised that the SARS-CoV-2 virus came “out of a laboratory in Wuhan“.

Not surprisingly, this piece of Chinese propaganda adroitly skipped past that inconvenient claim…

At that time, Montagnier cited an Indian pre-published study as evidence that the coronavirus was engineered. He did not “reveal” that the virus has HIV genetic sequences.

That Indian paper was withdrawn

Claim #5 : Indian scientists discovered the HIV virus insert in SARS-CoV-2
Verdict : FALSE

The Indian paper that Luc Montagnier cited was posted on BioRxiv, not in February as claimed, but in January 2020.

In their paper, that group of Indian scientists claimed that there were “uncanny similarity of unique inserts” between SARS-CoV-2 and HIV-1, suggesting that the coronavirus was engineered.

That pre-published study was widely criticised by the scientific community, as the similarities it pointed out were very common amongst similar viruses.

The authors quickly withdrew their paper, which was not peer-reviewed, after it was criticised for jumping to conclusions. Subsequent research has shown that their conclusions had no merit.

Claim #6 : COVID-19 originated in the United States
Verdict : FALSE

Analysis of blood samples of donors in various countries, including the United States, revealed that people were infected with COVID-19 before China reported it to the WHO on 31 December 2019.

That led China to push the narrative that the COVID-19 pandemic originated in the United States.

However, there are two problems with that narrative – SARS-CoV-2 is highly contagious, and scientists can analyse its genomic changes over time.

SARS-CoV-2 Is Highly Contagious

SARS-CoV-2 is so contagious that an outbreak is very hard to contain. Look at the severe lockdown measures the Chinese undertook in Wuhan.

There were no such lockdowns in the US, so if SARS-CoV-2 originated in the US, it would have resulted in a massive outbreak.

Obviously, that did not happen, ergo COVID-19 could not possibly have originated in the United States.

Genomic Analysis

Viruses mutate and create new variants over time. A novel virus like SARS-CoV-2 would start with a single ancestral variant and evolve into multiple variants as it spreads globally and mutate over time.

By analysing the genomic changes of these variants, scientists have pretty much concluded that SARS-CoV-2 did indeed originate in China.

The blood sample studies only serve to reinforce the growing opinion that China was either unaware of COVID-19 for many weeks, or covered up the fact that they had a new viral epidemic on their hands.

Claim #7 : Robert Redfield said many deaths in September 2019 were from COVID-19
Verdict : FALSE

Chinese media, like CGTN and New China TV, have actively pushed this false narrative after CDC director, Dr. Robert Redfield, said that some deaths that were initially diagnosed as influenza were later detected as COVID-19.

This happened on 11 March 2020, during the US House Oversight Committee discussion :

Rep. Harley Rouda asked Dr. Redfield if it’s possible that some flu patients may have been misdiagnosed, and actually had COVID-19.

Dr. Redfield replied, “Some cases have actually been diagnosed that way in the United States today“.

At no point did he say that that those deaths were detected in September 2019.

Claim #8 : US soldier Maatje Benassi spread COVID-19 to Wuhan
Verdict : FALSE

Chinese media and netizens have assiduously claimed that COVID-19 was introduced to Wuhan by US soldiers participating in the 2019 Military World Games.

They initially used a video of a Belgian man to push this fake narrative, but later shifted to targeting one specific US soldier – Maatje Benassi.

Maatje Benassi was just one of the hundreds of US soldiers participating in the 2019 Military World Games – essentially the military version of Olympics.

A competitive cyclist, she suffered an accident in the final lap of a 50 mile race, suffering a fractured rib and a concussion.

Despite not being diagnosed with COVID-19, she was accused of being Patient Zero, who spread COVID-19 to Wuhan.

Both Chinese propaganda outlet, Global Times, and Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, participated in this false narrative.

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Maatje Benassi of the U.S. Armed Forces Cycling Team leads the group during the women’s road race event of the 2019 CISM Military World Games in Wuhan, China Oct. 20, 2019. (DoD/EJ Hersom)

Claim #9 : Maatje Benassi works at Fort Detrick
Verdict : FALSE

Maatje Benassi does not work at Fort Detrick.

She was an Army reservist assigned to the 312th Observer-Controller Trainer unit at Fort Meade – about 91 km away from Fort Detrick.

Claim #10 : Ralph Baric developed the SARS-CoV-2 virus
Verdict : FALSE

There is no evidence that Ralph Baric, or any other person, developed the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Claim #11 : Remdesivir was developed for COVID-19 before it existed
Verdict : FALSE

Remdesivir is a broad-spectrum antiviral medication, that works by inhibiting viral RNA polymerase, which exists in most RNA viruses. That means it could work against a broad range of viruses.

It was initially developed to treat hepatitis C and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in 2009, but failed to work against them.

It was then studied as a potential treatment for Ebola and Marburg virus infections, before it was discovered to work in vitro (in the lab) against multiple filoviruses, pneumoviruses, paramyxoviruses and coronaviruses.

Therefore, the claim that Remdesivir was created to treat COVID-19 before it existed, is false.

Claim #12 : Remdesivir is an antidote for COVID-19
Verdict : FALSE

The US FDA approved remdensivir for use in COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalisation on 22 October 2020, after three promising trials.

However, in November 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended AGAINST the use of remdesivir in COVID-19 patients, after the Solidarity trial determined that it had “little to no effect on hospitalised COVID-19“.

Therefore, the claim that Remdesivir is an antidote or cure for COVID-19 is also false.

 

Why Would China Push Fake Fort Detrick Claim?

With China’s aggressive foreign policy moves in recent years, it is not uncommon to see fake pro-China, anti-America stories being created and shared.

Many believe it’s part of a concerted attempt to burnish China’s image overseas, and drown out negative coverage of China’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative, and their aggressive moves in the South China Sea..

China has also been blamed for not handling the initial COVID-19 epidemic better, and unfairly – for being the origin of this new virus.

Hence, they have been trying their best to deflect blame by casting aspersions unto others, using aggressive Wolf Warrior diplomacy tactics, propaganda outlets like Global Times and CTGN, and their 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).

This fake news appears to be part of the disinformation campaign conducted by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).

Please help us fight such malicious fake news – SHARE this fact check far and wide!

 

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Why Steve Kirsch Is Wrong That Taylor Hawkins Died From Vaccine

Tech millionaire Steve Kirsch challenged me to a debate, claiming to have “the inside story” on how Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins died from vaccine-induced myocarditis.

So let’s take a look at his “inside” information, and see what the facts really are!

 

Steve Kirsch : Taylor Hawkins Most Likely Died From Vaccine!

Tech millionaire Steve Kirsch has been actively creating misinformation about COVID-19 and the vaccines.

In his latest effort, he claimed to have “the inside story” on how Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins died from vaccine-induced myocarditis.

He even called me out, and challenged me to a debate, for fact checking that false claim earlier. Hilarious!

I would love to debate Dr. Wong on this, but he doesn’t seem anxious to engage with me or Peter McCullough. I’ve posted the link to this story on his “fact check” but it has to be approved by him to appear.

So I’m going to publicly expose the truth about what Steve Kirsch shared, because facts aren’t subject to a debate. They remain true, irrespective of our opinions.

 

Why Steve Kirsch Is Wrong About Taylor Hawkins Dying From Vaccine

In case you guys don’t know him, Steve Kirsch is a tech millionaire who made his money as one of two people who independently invented the optical mouse.

So he’s definitely a smart guy… when it comes to tech. But let’s see if Steve Kirsch is correct in any of his claims…

I will go through the list of “facts” that Steve Kirsch posted, and tell you what the facts really are.

Claim : He was found dead in his hotel room… after complaining about chest pains.
Fact : Hawkins called the hotel front desk for help, complaining of chest pain. He was treated by a health professional (doctor) hired by EMI, who failed to revive him.

Claim : Press reported he died of cardiac arrest. The vaccine causes death by cardiac arrest.
Fact : There is ZERO evidence that any COVID-19 vaccine causes death by cardiac arrest.

Claim : Marijuana and heroin and the other drugs aren’t consistent with the symptoms observed before he died.
Fact : No one actually observed his symptoms that we are aware of. Hawkins only reported chest pain, so what other symptoms is Kirsch alluding to?
Fact : A cardiac arrest is pretty much consistent with opioid overdose, and less commonly, marijuana use. Even if we discount marijuana, Hawkins had heroin and other opioids in his urine.

Claim : Taylor Hawkins was all about the music and his fans. He was just a great guy.
Fact : Unless his passion for music was a trigger for the vaccine to kill him, it is completely irrelevant and is just Kirsch name dropping his “inside source”.

Members of the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI) remove the lifeless body of the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins, at the Casa Medina hotel, in Bogota, Colomia

Claim : He was married for 17 years and had three kids. He had everything to live for.
Fact : People with everything to live for can still partake in drugs. A strong desire to live does not prevent a drug overdose either. Does Kirsch really believe that being married for XX years and having X number of kids precludes death from opioid overdose? Seriously?

Claim : There was no mention of the amount of each substance (in the toxicology report).
Fact : This is true, probably because the forensic team would have to first corroborate the urine test results, with the blood test results. It does not change the fact that the 10 types of substances in his urine included marijuana, antidepressants, benzodiazepines and opioids.

Claim : People have mentioned that drug reports from Columbian sources can be unreliable.
Fact : Not only is that incredibly condescending, it is an opinion that is not backed by facts. Where is the evidence that a simple urine test that any laboratory in the world can perform is unreliable because it was conducted in Colombia?

Claim : Columbian authorities claim … Columbian sources…
Fact :
The demonym of Colombia is Colombian, not Columbian. Hawkins died in the country of Colombia, not Columbia, South Carolina or the District of Columbia.

Claim : COVID vaccine can cause a heart to double in size and then kill you.
Fact : Vaccine-induced myocarditis can cause the heart to enlarge (but not necessarily so), and in rare cases, it can be fatal. However, you are many times more likely to get myocarditis from a COVID-19 infection, than from any COVID-19 vaccine. If you are worried about myocarditis, you will want to get vaccinated.
Read more : Vaccine Myocarditis Risk Less Than 1 In Million!

Claim : It seems unlikely that he just decided on a spontaneous heroin / benzo / cocaine bender right before a show.
Fact : Unlikely? The fact is the preliminary toxicology test showed that he had 10 different substances in his urine, and a police officer reportedly told prosecutors that he saw a “cocaine-like powder” in Hawkins’ room. Does Kirsch have any “inside” facts to share? Or was he just pontificating?

Claim : He still smoked weed. This was well known [Insider].
Opinion : I’ll take his insider’s word for that, and point out it refutes Kirsch’s point that Hawkins learned his lesson in 2001 (when he almost died from an overdose). If he can still smoke weed, he certainly can still partake in cocaine and heroin.

Claim : Hawkins made it very clear he was against masks, lockdowns and the COVID vaccines.
Opinion : While plausible, there is no public record of Hawkins saying that he was against masks, lockdowns and the COVID vaccines.

Claim : Hawkins was under pressure from both Dave Grohl and the band manager to take the vaccine.
Opinion : While plausible, there is no public record of Hawkins being forced to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Claim : Hawkins’ heart was likely already somewhat damaged from an earlier vaccine dose when … his doctor said he had a “big heart”.
Fact : That is a baseless opinion by Kirsch, unless he is willing to share with us evidence that Hawkins’ “big heart” was related to any vaccine he took.

Claim : So the timing on this suggests that Hawkins had his first and/or second dose before the medical exam.
Fact : This is complete bullshit. Kirsch is doing a logic pretzel – claiming (without evidence) that Hawkins’ cardiomegaly in June 2021 was definitely due to the vaccine, and then using that as “evidence” that Hawkins must have been vaccinated before that.
Opinion : If Kirsch really spoke to insiders who knew Hawkins on a personal basis, they would have told him when Hawkins got his vaccine doses. Kirsch doesn’t even know what vaccine Hawkins took. It may not even have been an mRNA vaccine, for all we know.

Claim : So this is all consistent with a damaged heart on an earlier vaccine shot.
Fact : Kirsch conspiciously “forgot” to point out that Hawkins’ doctor told him that he was “in amazing shape“. If Hawkins had vaccine-induced myocarditis, he would have had noticeable symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath and heart palpitations. His doctor certainly would not have told him that he was in great health.

Claim : Hawkins got a booster on Feb. 26, 2022 [Insider], just a month before he died.
Fact : There is no way to confirm this insider claim, but I should point out that none of the countries that the Foo Fighters were going to play at required a booster dose. They only required travellers to be fully-vaccinated, so it would not have been necessary for Hawkins to get a booster dose before flying to Australia – the first overseas stop.
Opinion : Assuming that his insider source was correct, it actually PROVES that Hawkins did not suffer from vaccine-induced myocarditis – an acute condition that occurs within a few days of receiving an mRNA vaccine. It wouldn’t crop up a month later, and Hawkins would not have been able to undertake strenuous activities like playing with the Foo Fighters in Australia, Chile and Argentina.

Claim : Large study in JAMA said most heart problems surfaced 3 weeks after the vaccine
Fact : Kirsch interestingly did not reference the JAMA study, so we will never know which study he was referring to. In any case, vaccine-induced myocarditis surfaces WITHIN DAYS of receiving an mRNA vaccine.

Claim : Those involved in physically demanding activities are … more likely to get myocarditis due to catecholamine release interaction with the vaccine.
Fact : There is currently no evidence that individuals who participate in physically demanding activities are more likely to get myocarditis. The paper Kirsch quoted to back up that claim is a literature review (not an actual clinical study) by his friend, that has not been peer-reviewed.
Fact : The paper Kirsch quoted mentioned that “vaccine-induced myocarditis … and increase in sudden deaths” are “overrepresented in young males“. That kind of proves Kirsch wrong – Hawkins was 50 years old when he died. The risk of vaccine-induced myocarditis for his age group is practically non-existent.

Age Group Vaccine Myocarditis
Male Rate
(per million doses)
Classic Myocarditis
Male Baseline
(per million doses)
12-17 32.4 2.0
18-24 30.7 1.8
25-29 12.2 1.9
30-39 6.9 1.9
40-49 3.5 1.9
50-64 1.9 1.9

Claim : Their stage manager Andy Pollard died suddenly as well.
Fact : That’s true, but Kirsch does not tell us why that is pertinent information. Bob Saget also died suddenly. Is that equally relevant to Hawkins’ death? Or is he suggesting some kind of Foo Fighters curse?

Claim : [Vaccine-induced myocarditis] fits all the facts like a glove
Opinion : Those must be really weird gloves for aliens with 8 fingers, because Kirsch offered ZERO EVIDENCE that vaccine-induced myocarditis was the cause of Hawkins’ death.

Claim : Hawkins was boosted 30 days before he died, giving his heart plenty of time to double in size
Fact : Hawkins already said he had a “big” heart a year ago… MONTHS before he received that [alleged] booster dose in February 2022.

Claim : Hawkins was observed shortly before his death and appeared not under the influence of drugs.
Fact : Kirsch hilariously used this photo of Hawkins with band members Pat Smear and Samantha Sidley taken TWO DAYS prior to his death as proof. How does the photo prove that Hawkins did not partake in any drugs two days LATER? Let me help him with this analogy – if I post a picture of myself eating a salad today, it does not mean I won’t be eating a steak tomorrow.

Taylor Hawkins (back) on a plane with band member Pat Smear (left) and Samantha Sidley (right) on Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Steve, thank you for helping to invent the optical mouse, but please stop creating and sharing misinformation.

Why not join me in fighting fake news instead? Let your legacy be the unerring pursuit of the truth.

 

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Did Pfizer Vaccine Combine With DNA In Liver Cells?!

Did scientists prove that the Pfizer mRNA vaccine combined with the DNA of liver cells?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Pfizer mRNA Vaccine Combined With DNA In Liver Cells!

Anti-vaccination and ivermectin proponents have gone bananas over the new study from the Lund University in Sweden.

They are sharing it as evidence (finally!) of the Pfizer mRNA vaccine actually integrating with our DNA, and changing our genome, as they had always claimed.

Let that shock and horror sink in for a minute… and then let me explain to you what the facts really are in the next section…

 

Truth : Pfizer mRNA Vaccine Did NOT Combine With DNA In Liver Cells!

This is yet another example of vaccine fake news based on accidental / intentional misinterpretation of a single scientific study.

Here is what you really need to know about this Lund University study…

Fact #1 : Study Did NOT Say Pfizer Vaccine Alters Our DNA

First things first – the Lund University study is called Intracellular Reverse Transcription of Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 In Vitro in Human Liver Cell Line, and you can read it in its entirety here.

If you read just the discussion, you will note that the study authors actually pointed out that their study does NOT show that the Pfizer vaccine integrates with the liver cell DNA, or alters it in any way.

At this stage, we do not know if DNA reverse transcribed from BNT162b2 is integrated into the cell genome.

To be clear, the study offers no evidence that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine alters our DNA in any way or form.

Fact #2 : It Was A Laboratory Study

I should also point out the obvious fact that this was an in-vitro study – a laboratory study, not a clinical study.

In-vitro studies are important, but they cannot be extrapolated to make any conclusion about what actually happens in a human body.

For example, in-vitro studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin have an inhibitory effect on the SARS-CoV-2 virus; but once tested in actual human beings – they are shown to have no clinical benefit.

In other words – what works in a laboratory, may not work in an actual human being.

Read more : Study Shows 10X Ivermectin Can’t Prevent Severe COVID-19!

Fact #3 : Study Was Based On Liver Cancer Cells

The casual reader of the Lund University study will not realise that Huh7 (or Huh-7) cells are not ordinary liver cells that you or I have.

Huh7 cells were derived from the liver tumour of a 57 year-old Japanese man, and are special because :

  • they are immortal liver cancer cells that can keep multiplying
  • they are highly-susceptible to Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection
  • they are genetically different, with an abnormal number of chromosomes (between 55 and 63, normal human cells have 46)

The Huh7 cell line is useful for the study of liver cancer and Hepatitis C, as well as drugs that may combat HCV; but it is important to understand that Huh7 cells are not representative of normal human cells.

Fact #4 : Huh7 Liver Cells Were Cultured In Plates

For a “more physiologically relevant study of viruses“, these Huh7 cells have to be cultured in a NASA-designed 3D Rotating Wall Vessel (RWV) bioreactor.

These RWV bioreactors create 3D aggregates of Huh7 cells that are more “similar in structure and function” to their in vivo counterparts, with “completely altered gene expression and differentiation patterns“.

In other words, these RWV-grown Huh7 cells look and behave differently, more like regular human cells compared to plate-cultured Huh7 cells.

For the record, the Lund University study used plate-cultured Huh7 cells, and not RWV-grown Huh7 cells.

There is nothing wrong with that, but we should keep in mind that these cells are not an ideal representation of human cells.

This is what a 24-cell culture plate looks like

Fact #5 : Normal Human Cells Don’t Produce LINE-1 Enzyme

The scientists chose to use these Huh7 cells because like many cancerous cells, they express (produce) the LINE-1 enzyme.

LINE-1 is a reverse transcriptase that converts mRNA into DNA, so it is not surprising that the study would show it converting mRNA from the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine into DNA. That is literally what it is meant to do.

Normal human cells have the LINE-1 gene, but it is not expressed. Normal human cells do not produce the LINE-1 enzyme, which is why they could not use regular human cells in this study.

That is also why it is inappropriate to use the Huh7 cell culture to evaluate how mRNA vaccines would actually work or behave in humans.

Fact #6 : Transcribed DNA Did Not Enter Nucleus

The study only looked at whether mRNA from the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine can be transcribed into DNA by the LINE-1 enzyme.

As the study showed – yes, it can… because that’s what the LINE-1 enzyme does. But the study does not show that the transcribed DNA entered the cell nucleus and altered human DNA.

While that is plausible, it would require another enzyme called integrase, that viruses produce, to move that DNA into the cell nucleus itself.

Without the integrase enzyme, the DNA transcribed by the LINE-1 enzyme will only float outside, and will never integrate with the DNA inside the cell nucleus.

Did Pfizer mRNA Vaccine Combine With DNA In Liver Cells?!

Fact #7 : mRNA Vaccines Do Not Modify Our Genes

An mRNA vaccine only contains a limited number of lipid nanoparticles containing those delicate mRNA instructions. So only a limited number of cells are involved in the vaccination process.

Even if it is somehow possible for the mRNA instructions from the vaccine to enter the cell nucleus and integrate with the DNA inside, it will only affect those cells.

Our cells die and are replaced by new cells all the time, so even if hypothetically the vaccine “infects” and modifies the DNA of a few hundred thousand cells, those cells will eventually die and be replaced by new cells without the modified DNA.

It is simply not possible for mRNA vaccines to modify our genes.

Fact #8 : Viruses Integrate With Cell DNA

Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 and HIV-1 (diagram below) integrate their genes with the host cell DNA, to hijack the cell and use it to produce copies of itself.

You can see how a typical RNA virus would infect a host cell, convert its RNA into DNA which is moved into the cell nucleus using the integrase enzyme.

HIV-1 virus cell infection, credit : Günther Witzany

Once inside, the viral DNA integrates with the host cell DNA, which gets transcribed into instructions for the cell to produce copies of the virus.

This is the same way how the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects our cells, to produce copies of itself to infect even more cells.

If you are truly worried about anything modifying your cell’s DNA, you should try to avoid viral infections like COVID-19. Better still – vaccinate yourself, and get protected against COVID-19!

Now that you know the truth, please help us fight fake news by SHARING this article out!

 

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Did GSK Make COVID-19 In Their Wuhan Lab?

Did GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) accidentally make COVID-19 in their Wuhan Institute of Virology laboratory?

Find out what this new viral claim (pun intended!) is all about, and what the FACTS really are!

 

Claim : GSK “Accidentally” Made COVID-19 In Wuhan Lab!

The British multinational pharmaceutical company, GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) is the new COVID-19 villain in town!

People are sharing the viral message below about GSK “accidentally” creating COVID-19 on WhatsApp, and promoting them on TikTok :

This viral message claims to expose their dastardly links to many of the world’s most evil people – Dr. Anthony Fauci, George Soros and of course, Bill Gates!

Check out the viral message below, and read on to find out what the FACTS really are!

THE SNAKES ARE COMING OUT .

The masks begin to fall off ! “The Chinese biological laboratory in Wuhan is owned by GlaxoSmithKline, which (accidentally) owns Pfizer!” (the one who makes the vaccine against the virus which (accidentally) started at the Wuhan Biological Lab and which was (accidentally) funded by Dr. Fauci, who (accidentally) promotes the vaccine ! �

“GlaxoSmithKline is (accidentally) managed by the finance division of Black Rock, which (accidentally) manages the finances of the Open Foundation Company (Soros Foundation), which (accidentally) manages the French AXA !”

Soros (accidentally) owns the German company Winterthur, which (accidentally) built a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan and was bought by the German Allianz, which (coincidentally) has Vanguard as a shareholder, who (coincidentally) is a shareholder of Black Rock, which (coincidentally) controls central banks and manages about a third of global investment capital. “Black Rock” is also (coincidentally) a major shareholder of MICROSOFT, owned by Bill Gates, who (coincidentally) is a shareholder of Pfizer (which – remember ? sells a miracle vaccine) and (coincidentally) is now the first sponsor of the WHO !

Now you understand how a dead bat sold in a wet market in China has infected the WHOLE PLANET !””

Now you know pass it on until whole world knows….

 

50 Cent Army “Accidentally” Wrote Fake Story On GSK Making COVID-19?

This looks suspiciously like another attempt by China’s 50 Cent Army to divert attention from the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic was a result of a lab leak.

Needless to say, this is completely FAKE NEWS, with a plot so convoluted that people won’t bother checking, and will just accept as true.

The truth is – EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE is a lie! It is as if the writer was paid by the lie… Interesting!

Here are the FACTS! Share them out, so we don’t become the “useful idiots” they think we are!

Fact #1 : GSK Is A Pharmaceutical Company

GSK is a pharmaceutical company. They conduct research into, and manufacture, drugs and vaccines.

There is no reason for them to operate, much less own, a Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory like the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Almost all BSL-4 facilities are operated by governments or universities, because of the high costs and strict regulations.

The two private BSL-4 labs that we know of are operated by the Merial Animal Health in Pirbright, England and the Texas Biomedical Research Institute in Texas, USA.

Essential features of a NIAID Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory

Fact #2 : GSK Does Not Own Wuhan Institute of Virology

Most research institutes with BSL-4 laboratories are government-owned and -operated.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) is no different. It is owned and administered by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which reports to the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

That is why you can see the acronym CAS behind the name Wuhan Institute of Virology emblazoned on the institute’s facade (see picture below).

Fact #3 : Wuhan Institute of Virology Was Established In 1956

The WIV was actually established back in 1956 as the Wuhan Microbiology Laboratory, under CAS.

It was later renamed as the South China Institute of Microbiology in 1961, the Wuhan Microbiology Institute in 1962, and the Microbiology Institute of Hubei Province in 1970.

It finally adopted its current name – the Wuhan Institute of Virology – in June 1978.

For context – China did not initiate their economic reforms – the Opening of China – until December 1978. And the privatisation of state-owned industry did not happen until the late 1980s and 1990s.

So even history shows that it is IMPOSSIBLE for GSK to own the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Fact #4 : GSK Does Not Own Pfizer

GSK and Pfizer are both publicly-listed multinational pharmaceutical companies, which means that they are both owned by their shareholders, not any one particular conglomerate.

In any case, the claim that GSK owns Pfizer is ludicrous because GSK is much smaller than Pfizer!

With a market capitalisation of about US$95 billion, GSK is much smaller than Pfizer which has a market capitalisation of over US$215 billion!

In fact, GSK is only the tenth largest pharmaceutical company, while Pfizer is the largest pharmaceutical company in the world.

Fact #5 : NIH, Not Dr. Fauci, Gave WIV A Grant

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) gave the Wuhan Institute of Virology a grant through the non-profit EcoHealth Alliance.

The EcoHealth grant partially funded WIV’s research into bat specimens collected from caves in China, to study their potential for infecting humans.

This funding was given in the aftermath of the 2002-2004 SARS epidemic, which originated from bats.

However, the grant does not involve gain-of-function research by the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Fact #6 : BlackRock Does Not Manage GSK

BlackRock is the world’s largest asset management company, and they own about 7.5% of GSK shares (as of 29 January 2021).

However, BlackRock does not manage GSK, which has its own board (helmed by Jonathan Symonds) and its own management team (helmed by CEO Emma Walmsley).

Fact #7 : BlackRock Does Not Manage Open Foundation Company

First of all, there is no such thing as the Open Foundation Company. The fake news creator is probably referring to the Open Society Foundations, which was founded by George Soros.

Secondly, the Open Society Foundations is completely owned by George Soros, and is currently the world’s largest PRIVATE funder of charities and NGOs.

The Open Society Foundations is most certainly NOT managed by BlackRock. It is illogical to make this claim because managing OSF does not allow BlackRock to make a profit for their clients.

Fact #8 : Open Society Foundations Does Not Manage AXA

AXA is a publicly-listed French multinational insurance company, obviously with their own management team.

There is simply no logic (never mind evidence!) in claiming that a private grantmaking group is managing a public-listed company.

Fact #10 : Winterthur Was A Swiss Insurance Company

First of all, Winterthur is not a German company, as the fake news creator claimed. Winterthur is a Swiss company.

Secondly, Winterthur is an insurance company, and thus has no business building laboratories anywhere in the world, much less the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s laboratories.

Fact #11 : Winterthur Was Purchased By AXA

Winterthur was purchased by AXA in 2006, and is today known as AXA Switzerland. It was never owned by George Soros.

Fact #12 : Vanguard Is An Investment Management Group

The Vanguard Group is a private investment management company, that manages funds provided by their customers. In fact, they created the first index fund.

Therefore, it is no surprise that they own shares in Allianz, as well as BlackRock. They basically buy into any company that meets their criteria for profit or indexing.

Fact #13 : BlackRock Does Not Control Central Banks

Central banks are national institutions that are controlled by their respective governments, with different regulatory powers and structures.

There is simply no evidence that even a mega asset management company like Black Rock can control a single central bank, much less central banks all over the world.

In fact, BlackRock was hired by the US Federal Reserve in 2020 to help them manage commercial mortgage-backed securities. In other words, they were working under the control of a central bank, not the other way around!

Fact #14 : BlackRock Does Not Manage ⅓ Of Global Capital

It is true that BlackRock manages A LOT of money globally – US$9 trillion, as of 19 April 2021.

However, that is only 9.5% of the global equity market, which grew to US$95 trillion in 2019.

No matter how you slice and dice it, BlackRock does not manage ⅓ of the global market capital.

Fact #15 : Bill Gates Does Not Own Microsoft

Microsoft has been a public-listed company since 1986, so its shareholders are the owners, not Bill Gates.

Bill Gates himself ceased to be its largest individual shareholder since 2014. When he stepped down from the Microsoft board in 2020, he only owned 1.3% of Microsoft shares!

Fact #16 : Pfizer Is A Public-Listed Company

It is no surprise that Bill Gates is a Pfizer shareholder. Pfizer is a public-listed company, which means ANYONE can purchase Pfizer shares and become a Pfizer shareholder!

Fact #17 : WHO Is A UN Agency

The World Health Organisation is a United Nations agency, established on 7 April 1948, and funded by UN member countriesIt was not sponsored by Pfizer now or then.

 

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Support my work through a bank transfer /  PayPal / credit card!

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Fact Check : Ivermectin Triple Therapy By Professor Borody!

Can the Ivermectin Triple Therapy by Professor Thomas Borody really cure and prevent COVID-19?

Let’s take a look at his Ivermectin Triple Therapy, and see what the FACTS really are!

 

Professor Borody : Ivermectin Therapy Can End Pandemic In 6-8 Weeks!

This message on Ivermectin Triple Therapy by Professor Thomas Borody is being circulated on WhatsApp.

It’s quite long, so just skip to the next section for the facts.

👍👍👍👍👍👍
Latest fantastic news

Sharon Stambolieff

Fantastic news today worthy of celebration!

The Sydney outbreak could be under control much sooner with this treatment protocol. Get onto it peeps 👏👏
Australian GPs Can Legally Prescribe Ivermectin Triple Therapy Protocol — Professor Thomas Borody.
By COVEXIT

The Centre for Digestive Diseases issued today a press release titled “Ivermectin Triple Therapy Protocol for COVID-19 Released to Australian GPs for Infected Elderly and Frontline Workers.”

As we previously covered, this early treatment protocol combines ivermectin with doxycycline and zinc.

“Triple therapy specialist Professor Thomas Borody, famous for curing peptic ulcers using a triple antibiotic therapy saving millions of lives, today released the COVID-19 treatment protocol to Australian GPs, who can legally prescribe it to their COVID-19 positive patients. They can also prescribe it as a preventative medication. Borody says this could be the fastest and safest way to end the pandemic in Australia within 6-8 weeks.”

 

Fact Check : Ivermectin Triple Therapy By Professor Borody

Australian gastroenterologist, Professor Thomas Borody, has been actively promoting his Ivermectin Triple Therapy to cure COVID-19.

Here are the FACTS about his Ivermectin Triple Therapy, and the WhatsApp message above :

Fact #1 : That Was From 19 August 2020

While the message claims to be “Latest fantastic news”, it’s really OLD NEWS.

Professor Thomas Borody first released his Ivermectin Triple Therapy protocol on 19 August 2020.

Fact #2 : TGA Opened An Investigation Into His Claim

Right after Professor Borody issued that press statement, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) opened an investigation, as it may potentially breach the ban on advertising COVID-19 treatments.

In February 2021, the TGA ordered former Australian senator David Leyonhjelm to take down his tweet advertising ivermectin. As his case showed, the TGA forbids :

  • all advertising of therapeutic goods containing the active ingredient ivermectin
  • making claims or representations in advertisements for any therapeutic goods that those goods [ivermectin] have any effect on COVID-19 (including that said therapeutic goods are capable of preventing, treating or alleviating COVID-19).

Fact #3 : Ivermectin Triple Therapy Still Not Approved

Almost a year after Professor Borody “released” his Ivermectin Triple Therapy protocol, it is still NOT approved for use against COVID-19, either as a treatment or a prophylaxis.

The Australian Department of Health advised that (as of 1 June 2021), ivermectin, doxycycline and zinc should only be used in “properly conducted clinical trials with appropriate ethical approval”.

Fact #4 : Ivermectin Triple Therapy Not Proven To Work

The Australian Department of Health also pointed out that Professor Borody’s Ivermectin Triple Therapy protocol has not been proven to be safe or effective against COVID-19.

There is currently insufficient evidence to support the safe and effective use of ivermectin, doxycycline and zinc (either separately, or in combination) for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19.

More robust, well-designed clinical trials are needed before they could be considered an appropriate treatment option.

Fact #5 : Borody Was Working On Patentable Ivermectin Triple Therapy

Back in August 2020, Professor Borody announced that he was involved in a Phase 2 study in the US to potentially develop the triple therapy as a single “blister pack” compliance product.

This appears to be a patentable ivermectin triple therapy product by Topelia Therapeutics, with the study funded and run by ProgenaBiome.

Professor Borody has “corporate affiliation” with both ProgenaBiome LLC and Topelia Therapeutics.

Fact #6 : Borody Phase 2 Trial Stalled

Professor Borody’s Phase 2 study (ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT04482686) appears to have stalled.

Despite kicking off on 22 July 2020, it was still in the Recruiting stage, as of their last update – 14 May 2021, even though they were supposed to start the trial on 9 December 2020!

Fact #7 : Borody Switched To An Even Smaller Trial

After the Phase 2 trial stalled, Professor Borody moved to an even smaller trial, whose results were released on 7 July 2021 as a pre-print (not peer-reviewed).

The study reported “a highly effective ICT (Ivermectin Combination Therapy) which led to 100% survival and cure” in “moderately to severely ill COVID-19 patients with hypoxia”.

However, there are a few immediate concerns over that study :

  • It was a very small study, with just 24 participants – two of whom refused the treatment.
  • It was not a randomised controlled trial – the researchers picked who could participate
  • It was not a double-blinded trial, so patients knew they were receiving the ICT, not a placebo
  • The subjects were treated remotely, so compliance is uncertain.
  • The subjects were asked to self-monitor and self-record symptoms, and medical readings (EKG, blood pressure, temperature and SpO2), so accuracy of those data is uncertain.
  • The subjects were asked to perform their own swab tests for SARS-CoV-2, so test accuracy is uncertain.

Fact #8 : Australian GPs Always Had Right To Prescribe Off-Label

Professor Thomas Borody claimed that the release of his Ivermectin Triple Therapy allows Australian GPs to legally prescribe ivermectin. That’s not true.

Australian doctors have long had the ability to prescribe medicine off-label. As Richard Day in Australian Prescriber notes :

There is no legal impediment to prescribing off label, however the onus is on the prescriber to defend their prescription for an indication that is not listed in the product information.

Fact #9 : Ivermectin Did Not Help Australia Control Pandemic

When I watched the recent MAECC briefing, where they claimed ivermectin can end the COVID-19 pandemic in 6-8 weeks, I wondered how did they come to this conclusion?

I now realise that they plucked that claim from Professor Borody, who said on 19 August 2020 that ivermectin could end the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia within 6-8 weeks.

When Professor Borody made that claim, Australia was already handling the pandemic very well though contact tracing, interstate border closures, travel bans, as well as curfews and lockdowns.

They maintained a very low number of cases over the last 11 months, even without using Professor Borody’s Ivermectin Triple Therapy.

Fact #10 : Ivermectin Did Not Help Other Countries Control COVID-19

To be fair to Professor Borody, Australians did not take up his Ivermectin Triple Therapy.

So let’s take a look at India and Peru where pro-Ivermectin proponents claim have successfully controlled COVID-19 with ivermectin.

Despite the use of ivermectin, India suffered a massive and disastrous wave of COVID-19 infections and deaths from March 2021 onwards. That’s why India stopped using ivermectin on 27 March 2021.

Peru continues to suffer high numbers of COVID-19 cases over the last 18 months. Does it look like ivermectin is working for them???

Read more : India Drops Ivermectin, HCQ + Favipiravir As COVID-19 Drugs!

Fact #11 : Ivermectin Triple Therapy Fuelling Online Scams

Ivermectin and ivermectin protocols like I-MASK+ (from the FLCCC) and Borody’s own Ivermectin Triple Therapy, have NOT been proven to work against COVID-19.

Unfortunately, Professor Borody’s promotion of his ivermectin triple therapy protocol has allowed online scams to proliferate.

Case in point – the Ziverdo Kit online scam.

Made by Windlas Biotech in India, the Ziverdo Kit uses the same combination of ivermectin, doxycycline and zinc that Borody recommended.

Even though this combination only only US$2 per kit, scammers are selling at highly inflated prices to gullible people online.

Read more : Scam Alert : Ziverdo Kit To Treat COVID-19!

 

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PCR Test Cannot Differentiate COVID-19 vs. Influenza?

Did the CDC just admit that the PCR test cannot differentiate between COVID-19 and influenza?

Find out what’s going on, and what the FACTS really are!

 

PCR Test Cannot Differentiate COVID-19 vs. Influenza?

COVID-19 deniers and antivaxxers are claiming that the CDC has admitted that the current PCR test cannot differentiate between COVID-19 and influenza.

Their evidence? A screenshot of a CDC laboratory alert issued on 21 July 2021, stating that the CDC will withdraw the EUA (Emergency Use Authorisation) for the COVID-19 RT-PCR test.

What is fuelling their claim is the part where the CDC asked laboratories to switch to other COVID-19 tests that can “facilitate detection and differentiation of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses“.

COVID-19 deniers and antivaxxers are calling this a CDC admission that the current RT-PCR test cannot differentiate between the two viruses, and COVID-19 could really just be influenza.

It also doesn’t help that some mainstream media misunderstood what the CDC is saying.

Yahoo! News, for example, claimed “CDC urges labs to use COVID tests that can differentiate from flu“, which unfortunately suggests that the current RT-PCR test cannot differentiate between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses.

 

Truth : PCR Test Can Differentiate COVID-19 vs. Influenza

The truth is using PCR to test for a single pathogen like the SARS-CoV-2 virus is incredibly wasteful.

In normal times, a patient’s sample would be tested against a panel of multiple respiratory illnesses, allowing a single PCR test to detect and differentiate for multiple viruses.

To speed things up during an emergency, the CDC applied for the Emergency Use Authorisation for their RT-PCR test that only detects SARS-CoV-2, which was introduced in February 2020.

The Emergency Use Authorisation is necessary to allow patients to be tested for a single infectious agent (the SARS-CoV-2 virus) in a given emergency (the COVID-19 pandemic).

To test for other pathogens, another PCR test would have to be performed, which wastes time and laboratory resources.

The FDA has since authorised multi-analyte panels for RT-PCR tests, which can test for multiple viruses at the same time. So it only makes sense for laboratories to start using them.

The CDC issued that laboratory alert to encourage laboratories to start using these multi-analyte panels, which would be useful in :

  • conserving resources and laboratory time : instead of requiring multiple tests, the sample can be tested once for multiple pathogens
  • helping doctors determine if the patient has COVID-19, or a similar respiratory viral illness, or both.

In particular, this would help doctors during the influenza season to quickly determine if the patient has COVID-19, or just influenza, or in rare cases – both of them at the same time!

COVID-19 deniers and antivaxxers will continue to push this lie, but the truth is – the PCR test can differentiate between COVID-19 and influenza virus.

 

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China : Was COVID-19 Created In Fort Detrick Bio Lab?

China keeps suggesting that COVID-19 was created as a bioweapon by the US Army bio lab at Fort Detrick, Maryland.

Find out what why China wants the world to believe this, and what the FACTS really are!

 

China : Was COVID-19 Created In Fort Detrick Bio Lab?

For more than a year now, Chinese spokespersons and media have aggressively promoted the claim that the SARS-CoV-2 virus did not originate in Wuhan.

Instead, the virus was created as a bioweapon by the US Army at their bio lab at Fort Detrick, Maryland.

Their evidence? The fact that the CDC shut down the Fort Detrick lab on 2 August 2019 after finding “biosafety lapses” there.

But how did the SARS-CoV-2 virus get from Maryland in the United States to Wuhan, China?

They claimed that the US Army sent their soldiers to spread COVID-19 in Wuhan during the 2019 Military World Games held there from 18 to 27 October 2019.

They even spread a fake video, claiming to show an American soldier spreading the COVID-19 virus in a subway in Wuhan.

The theory heavily promoted by Chinese media and even Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, who asked, “When did patient zero begin in the US? It might be the US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan!

They also spread the fake story that Japanese Nobel laureate Professor Dr. Tasuku Honjo confirmed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was created at the Fort Detrick lab.

Recommended : Nobel laureate Tasuku Honjo confident US created COVID-19?

 

Fort Detrick COVID-19 Origin : Just Chinese Propaganda

The Fort Detrick origin story of COVID-19 is really nothing more than Chinese propaganda.

And here are the FACTS…

Fact #1 : SARS-CoV-2 Is Natural, And Related To Bat Coronaviruses

Genomic analysis have proven that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is natural, for these reasons :

  • an artificial virus would have to be created from existing viruses
  • the SARS-CoV-2 virus has components that have never been seen before
  • it is very similar to existing bat coronaviruses.

Therefore, it is unlikely to be created in a biological lab like the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases lab at Fort Detrick; or the Wuhan Institute of Virology, for the matter.

Fact #2 : Multiple Strains Denote A Later Time Line

Viruses mutate and create new strains over time. A novel virus like SARS-CoV-2 would start with a single strain and evolve into multiple strains as it spreads globally and mutate over time.

Hence, the very fact that there are five strains in the United States would actually refute it as the source of SARS-CoV-2 – the COVID-19 coronavirus.

In fact, by analysing the genomic changes of these strains, scientists have pretty much concluded that SARS-CoV-2 did indeed originate in China.

Fact #3 : Fort Detrick Sterilisation Plant Failed

The CDC temporarily shut down the US Army lab at Fort Detrick on 2 August 2019, after finding “biosafety lapses” there.

However, that was not because viruses actually leaked from the facility, but rather :

  • the lab was no longer able to decontaminate wastewater from its highest security labs.
  • their steam sterilisation plant was damaged in a flood in May 2018, and they had been using a chemical decontamination method instead.
  • no disease-causing materials were found outside authorised areas

USAMRIID Steam Sterilisation Plant at Fort Detrick, when it first became operational in May 2012 | Photo Credit : US Army Corps of Engineers

Fact #4 : Wuhan Was Epicentre Of COVID-19 Outbreak

China’s continuous suggestions that there may have been a leak at the Fort Detrick laboratory is illogical.

If SARS-CoV-2 leaked from Fort Detrick, Maryland would have been the epicentre of the initial COVID-19 outbreak, not Wuhan.

Now, this does not mean that the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. It merely means the Chinese claim about Fort Detrick is nonsensical.

 

Why Would China Push Fake Fort Detrick Claim?

With China’s aggressive foreign policy moves in recent years, it is not uncommon to see fake pro-China, anti-America stories being created and shared.

Many believe it’s part of a concerted attempt to burnish China’s image overseas, and drown out negative coverage of China’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative, and their aggressive moves in the South China Sea..

China has also been blamed for not handling the initial epidemic better, and unfairly – for being the origin of this new virus.

Hence, they have been trying their best to deflect blame by casting aspersions unto others, using aggressive Wolf Warrior diplomacy tactics, propaganda outlets like GlobalTimes and CTGN, and their 50 Cent Army.

 

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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