Did an official study show that COVID-19 vaccines cause VAIDS in children?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Study Show COVID-19 Vaccines Cause VAIDS In Children!
People are sharing an article by The Expose (formerly Daily Expose), which claims that an official study just showed that COVID-19 vaccines cause VAIDS (Vaccine-Induced Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) in children!
Here is an excerpt from the really long article, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
A new study shows covid injections cause VAIDS in children
A study published last Friday showed that Pfizer’s covid injections cause VAIDS in children.
The study aimed to investigate the effects on the functioning of children’s immune systems after being injected with Pfizer’s covid “vaccines.”
It found that covid-vaccinated children had decreased immune system responses to a variety of commonly encountered pathogens 28 days after the second dose. Many specific immune reactions declined by a factor of over ten times.
Decreased immunity to pathogens caused by vaccination is what is referred to as Vaccine-Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or VAIDS.
Finally, we have scientific confirmation that vaccination against covid-19 causes a marked decrease in immunity to heterologous pathogens. Heterologous means “derived from a different organism” such as other viruses, bacteria and fungi. This decreased immunity to other pathogens, or acquired immune deficit, is what people colloquially refer to as “VAIDS.” VAIDS stands for Vaccine-Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
The study titled ‘BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccination in children alters cytokine responses to heterologous pathogens and Toll-like receptor agonists’, set out to measure the quality of immune responses in children injected with the Pfizer covid “vaccine.”
Blood samples from 29 children, aged 5-11 years old, were taken on the day of the FIRST dose of covid vaccination and subsequently retaken on the 28th day after the second dose.
Unfortunately, the 29 covid-vaccinated children aged 5-11, had markedly decreased immune responses 28 days after the second dose of Pfizer. Many specific immune reactions declined by a factor of over ten times.
In the ideal world, careful scientists, cautious public health authorities, and principled medical doctors would investigate covid injections’ effects before vaccinating tens of millions of children and billions of adults. Had they investigated and done the basic science – such as the study above – before mandating and injecting covid “vaccines,” such dangerous injections would never have been given to children and young adults!
Instead, in the mad rush to “vaccinate the world” with “vaccines” that do not even work, we ruined the immune responses of millions of children and likely others.
Headlines about the “unexplained rise in children infected” with the above-mentioned bacteria abound:
Truth : Study Did Not Show COVID-19 Vaccines Cause VAIDS In Children!
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 website that capitalises on making shocking but fake stories to generate page views and money. It was later rebranded as The Expose.
Founded in November 2020 by Jonathan Allen-Walker – a mechanic from Lincolnshire, The Expose / Daily Expose is infamous for publishing COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation.
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 stories that I personally debunked earlier:
Anyone who reads through this study will note that it does not mention AIDS, VAIDS, or even immunodeficiency.
So the claim that this study showed that COVID-19 vaccines cause VAIDS is utter nonsense. The study has nothing to do with AIDS, VAIDS, or immunodeficiencies of any kind.
Fact #3 : It Was A Laboratory Study On Blood Samples
I should also point out that this study was conducted in the laboratory, using blood samples from 29 children.
To be clear – no children were found to have developed any side effect or disease from their COVID-19 vaccinations.
Again, the claim that this study showed that COVID-19 vaccines cause VAIDS is utter nonsense.
In addition, because this is an in vitro (laboratory) study, it does not necessarily mean it accurately reflects what happens in our bodies. This research will need need to be verified and replicated in animal and human studies.
The study authors also pointed this out in their paper, noting that:
There are currently no data on the clinical effects of COVID-19 vaccination-related heterologous effects in children.
Fact #4 : Study Showed Changes In Cytokine Response
The study does not show any actual changes in the children’s immunity against viral or bacterial infections, because it was only evaluating the cytokine response in their blood samples.
A whole blood stimulation assay was used to investigate in vitro cytokine responses to heterologous stimulants (killed pathogens, Toll-like receptor ligands) and SARS-CoV-2 antigens.
The study showed that there was a decrease in cytokine response to bacterial and viral stimulants one month after vaccination. But that changed six months post-vaccination – there was increased cytokine response to bacterial stimulants.
In addition, it should be noted that while the study showed “evidence of temporal associations between BNT162b2 vaccination and altered heterologous effects”, there was “no consistent correlation between BNT162b2 vaccination-induced anti-RBD IgG antibody titre at V2 + 28 and cytokine responses”.
To be clear – there is no medical disease called VAIDS – Vaccine-Induced Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. It appears to be something made-up by anti-vaccination activists to scare people.
AIDS is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Nothing else causes AIDS. Certainly no vaccine, not even the COVID-19 vaccine, causes AIDS.
Robert Charles Gallo – one of the two scientists who independently discovered that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was responsible for AIDS, said in response to the 2021 claim by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro that COVID-19 vaccines cause AIDS:
[I]t’s hard to believe anyone would claim that the covid-19 vaccine causes AIDS. We know what causes AIDS.
Perhaps your president wanted to say that, immediately after vaccination, HIV can become a little more active, which is true of any foreign antigen. Or that vaccines might activate immune cells, but that doesn’t have any meaning, and it doesn’t last long.
I don’t know what your president said. So I don’t want to be too critical. But it is obvious that neither the covid-19 vaccine nor any other vaccine causes AIDS.
Just to be clear, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a completely different virus from SARS-CoV-2 – the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
HIV viruses are single-stranded retroviruses from the Lentivirus genus, and are transmitted through sexual contact, or transfer of blood and bodily fluids.
SARS-CoV-2 is a single-stranded coronavirus from the Betacoronavirus genus, and is airborne, mainly transmitted through respiratory droplets and aerosols.
There is no conceivable way for COVID-19 vaccines, or even COVID-19 infections, to cause AIDS…. or to create a new form of AIDS. That’s nonsense.
Everything posted by The Expose must be regarded as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.
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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.
Did a new Belgian study just prove that the Pfizer mRNA vaccine causes turbo cancer?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2023-08-20 : Updated info, and corrected some minor mistakes. Originally posted @ 2023-07-09
Claim : New Study Proves Pfizer Vaccine Causes Turbo Cancer!
People are sharing a new Belgian study published in Frontiers in Oncology, which they claim proves that the Pfizer mRNA vaccine causes turbo cancer! Here is an example posted by the Died Suddenly account on Twitter:
🚨TurboCancer: New Study proves Pfizer mRNA induced turbo cancer
In a new Belgian study by Sander Eens et al. they injected 14 mice with 2 Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
2 days after 2nd Pfizer dose, 1/14 mice (7%) died suddenly, had turbo cancer with lymphoma infiltration of many organs: liver, kidneys, spleen, lungs & intestines.
The turbo cancer mouse had shown no clinical signs of illness before sudden death.
This is the 2nd study to show turbo cancer after Pfizer mRNA vaccination.
These were the types of studies that Pfizer & Moderna should have performed on mice but never did.
Key point: This 14 mouse study was larger than the study done to approve COVID-19 Omicron bivalent mRNA booster shots which were given to 100s of millions of people – that study only had 8 mice!
Truth : New Study Did Not Prove Pfizer Vaccine Causes Turbo Cancer!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Frontiers Was Labelled As Predatory Publisher
First, I think it is important to note that Frontiers Media – the publisher of Frontiers in Oncology, was labelled by Predatory Reports as a predatory publisher in this damning report on March 2023.
This is important to know as predatory publishers are more interested in maximising profits over the quality of the papers they publish. Predatory publishers tend to minimise or eliminate reviews to publish a lot of articles, because they are paid for each article that is published.
Frontiers launched its first journal, Frontiers in Neuroscience, in 2008; since then, it has started more than 50 journals — together harboring more than 400 specialty sections — covering everything from physics and chemistry to computer science and social sciences.
In 2021, Frontiers published over 85,000 articles. An increase of 77% compared to 48,000 in 2020. To date, Frontiers has published more than 280,000 articles and author fees for most types of articles are $1900.
A 13-page manifesto published on 8 May by 31 Frontiers chief editors alleges that Frontiers not only allows authors to “pick their preferred associate editor“, Frontiers staff can even override editorial decisions!
Frontiers staff interfere with editorial decisions, for instance by moving manuscripts from one editor to another to accelerate review, inviting authors to write a commentary without the knowledge of editors, and sometimes “deliberately overriding” editorial decisions.
Fact #2 : Norway Rates Frontiers As “Not Academic”
Since 2018, Frontiers Media has been rated as “level 0” in the Norwegian Scientific Index by the National Publication Committee of Norway, indicating that the publisher is “not academic“.
Fact #3 : It Was A Case Report, Not A Study
Now, the reputation of its publisher aside, let’s take a look at the actual Belgian study that people say proves that the Pfizer mRNA vaccine causes turbo cancer.
First, let’s start with the fact that it was NOT even a study. It was a “case report” published in Frontiers in Oncology on 1 May 2023.
This was even stated in its title, with my emphasis in bold : B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma following intravenous BNT162b2 mRNA booster in a BALB/c mouse: A case report.
Fact #4 : There Was No Booster Vaccination
The case study confusingly states that the mice were given “booster vaccination”, but from what I can tell – only two doses of the Pfizer mRNA vaccine were given – at 6 weeks and 8 weeks into the experiment.
The Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccine is a two-dose mRNA vaccine, taken 21 days apart. The second dose is part of its primary vaccine dose, and is not a booster dose. Only the third and fourth doses are considered “booster vaccinations”.
Fact #5 : They Injected Vaccine At Much Higher Doses
To conduct their experiments, the Belgians purchased 28 BALB/c mice, and began their experiment at 12 weeks old of age, which would roughly correspond to a human teenager – 17 years of age.
They split the groups into two – half (n=14) receiving the Pfizer mRNA vaccine, and half (n=14) given normal saline injections (control group). However, it does not appear that the mice were given the appropriate dosage of the Pfizer vaccine.
Human adults and teenagers will receive 30 μg of the Pfizer vaccine in each dose. Given that teenagers have an average weight of 65 kg and a BALB/c mouse weighs about 27 grams, each mice should have received only 0.0125 μg – 1/2400th of the human dose.
Instead, the mice were injected with 6 μg of the Pfizer vaccine – equivalent to 14,400 μg in human dosage, or 480 vaccine doses in one shot.
At the end of this experiment, the mice received 12 μg of the Pfizer vaccine – equivalent to 28,800 μg in human dosage, or 960 vaccine doses in two injections.
Fact #6 : They Injected Vaccine At Large Intervals
Instead of adjusting the vaccine interval to match mice age, they gave the second dose two weeks later – corresponding to about 5.5 human years.
In other words, the mice were given two extremely massive Pfizer vaccine doses at approximately 17 years of human-age, and 22.5 years of human-age.
While the large interval may not matter as much as the massive doses used, it would likely have skewed the experiment results somewhat in human equivalency.
The Pfizer COMIRNATY vaccine is meant to be injected intramuscularly (IM – into the muscle) – commonly into the deltoid muscle of the upper arm. This site was chosen because muscle tissue have a ready pool of dendritic cells that can take up the antigens and spread them to the T and B cells in the lymph nodes.
However, in the Belgian experiment, the Pfizer vaccine was bizarrely injected intravenously (IV – into the vein) – into the tail vein of the mice. The authors admitted this as much in their discussion:
[T]he BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine was administered intravenously and not via the designed intramuscular route of delivery.
Their reasoning was that accidental intravenous injection have occurred, and the IM injection was said to “initiate an adaptive immune response in the lymph nodes”.
Accidents may well have occurred during human vaccinations, but their choice to inject the mice intravenously was no accident. It’s like crash testing a car with the test dummies not wearing a seatbelt because some drivers were reportedly not wearing them, and then saying – look at how terribly unsafe this car is!
And if they believe that the mRNA vaccine would end up in the blood via the lymph nodes even with IM injections, then why bother with the IV injection?
The Pfizer vaccine was never meant to be injected intravenously. Not only is it less effective (bypassing the lymph nodes) and more vulnerable to destruction and degradation, intravenous injection can cause more side effects including inflammation.
Fact #7 : Lymphomas Can Occur Naturally In BALB/c Mice
Finally, it is important to point out that BALB/c mice are popular in cancer research because they are more susceptible to carcinogenesis, and can spontaneously (naturally) develop lymphomas.
This study, for example, shows that most of the lymphomas that spontaneously developed in BALB/C mice are of the B-cell type – similar to what was seen in the Belgian experiment.
Considering that only one mice (out of fourteen) developed B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, that could fall within this “baseline” of spontaneously occurring B-cell lymphomas in BALB/c mice.
Hence, the case report does not prove, or even suggest, that the Pfizer mRNA vaccine causes or predisposes to B-cell lymphomas in mice, never mind humans.
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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.
Is the Pfizer mRNA vaccine for COVID-19 responsible for the surge of leprosy cases in Florida and elsewhere?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Pfizer Vaccine Is Responsible For Leprosy Cases!
People are sharing an article on two leprosy cases after COVID-19 vaccination, claiming or suggesting that the Pfizer mRNA vaccine for COVID-19 is responsible for the surge of leprosy cases in Florida and elsewhere!
Steve Kirsch : OK, so here’s the deal: 98% of the patients who developed Leprosy had the COVID vax before they got the leprosy. Just a “coincidence.” Safe and effective!!! 😉
Emerald Robinson :The COVID vaccines have brought back leprosy! Thank you @DARPA. Thank you @NIH & FDA. Great job, everybody.
Dr. Colleen Huber : Another adverse event from the COVID vaccine. Injury to T-cells and Type I interferon has left the COVID-vaccinated vulnerable to leprosy.
The study, which was published in PLOS on 4 August 2023, is currently in the uncorrected proof stage. This was highlighted in red at the top of the article. That does not mean it is wrong. It just means that the authors may still make corrections or changes to the article.
Fact #2 : Everyone In Study Had Leprosy
Now, it is important to point out that everyone in this study had leprosy.
In fact, only five out of the 52 patients were “newly diagnosed with leprosy”. The remaining 47 patients were diagnosed with leprosy earlier.
In other words – the study does NOT show that COVID-19 vaccination causes leprosy, or reduces a person’s immunity and makes it easier to get leprosy.
Fact #3 : Leprosy Is A Bacterial Infection
Now, I should point out that leprosy (which is also called Hansen’s disease) is a bacterial infection caused by either Mycobacterium leprae or Mycobacterium lepromatosis.
Leprosy is not a viral infection, and is not remotely related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus (which is a coronavirus), or the COVID-19 vaccines.
Fact #4 : Leprosy Is Slow Growing
In addition, leprosy develops slowly – the average incubation period is five years. Most people don’t notice any symptoms until a year later, with some only noticing symptoms 20 years after getting infected.
Generally, people have been infected for many months or years by the time they are diagnosed with leprosy.
In other words – people in that study would very likely have been infected with leprosy months or years before they received their COVID-19 vaccinations.
The study also pointed out that twenty-two of those leprosy patients (41.5%) were on a systemic immunosuppressant drug during 2021.
This is important to know, because leprosy patients are prescribed immunosuppressants like steroids to treat leprosy reactions and neuritis. In fact, this was noted in the second sentence of the article:
Leprosy reactions require systemic immunosuppression which is a risk factor for severe COVID-19.
This suggests that potentially those twenty-two patients had earlier been diagnosed with leprosy reaction and/or neuritis from their existing leprosy infections.
This shows just how common it is for leprosy patients to develop leprosy reactions, even without getting COVID-19 vaccinations.
Fact #6 : There Was No Statistical Analysis
As there was no control group, the authors could not conduct any statistical analysis to determine a causal relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and leprosy reactions.
This was pointed out by the reviewers and acknowledged by the study authors in their response (Word document):
We apologize for not including a detailed statistical analysis plan in the manuscript. We performed a simple analysis of the data due to the retrospective nature of the study and the absence of a control group.
We agree that a comprehensive statistical evaluation would be essential to establish a causal relationship between SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and leprosy reactions definitively.
In other words – the study did not show any causal relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and developing new leprosy reactions.
Fact #7 : Only Two Had New Leprosy Reaction Post-Vaccination
The study wanted to look at whether the COVID-19 vaccination could trigger a T cell response, which would provoke an immunological response to a latent (hidden) leprosy infection.
Out of the 52 people in the study, the COVID-19 vaccination status was only known for 50. Out of those 50 people, 49 were vaccinated, while 1 was not.
Out of the 49 people who were vaccinated against COVID-19, only two individuals developed new leprosy reactions.
Even if we believe that COVID-19 vaccination can trigger leprosy reactions, and take this result at face value, the risk of existing leprosy patients developing new leprosy reactions after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is only 1 in 25 people (4%).
Fact #8 : Thousands Of Leprosy Cases Are Reported Every Year
While some people have suggested that leprosy is extinct, or extremely rare, the truth is – more than 200,000 new cases are reported every year, in over 120 countries!
Even in the United States, about 150-200 new cases are reported every year, with many cases reported in Florida.
If COVID-19 vaccination makes you more susceptible to leprosy, there would have been a global surge in leprosy cases. There has been no such surge in leprosy cases.
In fact, the 2023 surge in cases in Central Florida appear to be localised in Brevard County, suggesting that leprosy is now endemic in that area, and has nothing to do with COVID-19 vaccines.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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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.
Do newly-released clinical trial documents show that Moderna tried to cover up deaths caused by its COVID-19 vaccine?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2023-08-08 : Updated with some additional information. Originally posted @ 2023-07-25
Claim : Moderna Tried To Cover Up Vaccine Deaths!
People are sharing articles by The Epoch Times and Children Health Defense which claim or suggest that newly-released clinical trial documents show that Moderna covered up deaths caused by its COVID-19 vaccine!
Here is an excerpt of The Epoch Times article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts:
‘Serious Doubt’ About COVID-19 Vaccine Safety After Forced Release of 15,000 Pages of Clinical Trial Data: Legal NGO
Conservative public interest advocacy group Defending the Republic (DTR) has obtained almost 15,000 pages of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial data, claiming the data show an “utter lack of thoroughness” of the trials and calls the vaccine’s safety into “serious doubt.”
As a result of successful Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the group recently announced it had obtained—and is releasing—nearly 15,000 pages of documents relating to testing and adverse events associated with “Spikevax,” Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
One of the key takeaways from the documents is that many of those who died after receiving the Moderna vaccine were not given an autopsy.
“According to one study, 16 individuals died after being administered the Moderna vaccine. The study’s authors indicated that out of those 16 deaths, only two autopsies were performed, five of the dead were not autopsied, and the autopsy status of nine of the dead was ‘unknown,’” DTR said in a statement.
“Yet this did not stop those running these ‘studies’ from concluding, despite the absence of evidence, that the Moderna vaccine was not related to these deaths,” the group added.
As an example, the group gave the case of a 56-year-old woman who experienced ‘sudden death’ 182 days after receiving the second dose of the Moderna vaccine.
“The cause of death was unknown, and no autopsy was conducted. It seems they purposely decided not to investigate suspicious deaths in case the Moderna vaccine might be the cause,” the group stated.
And here is an excerpt of Children Health Defense article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts:
Exclusive: Clinical Trial Documents Suggest Moderna Skimped on Autopsies, Discounted Serious Injuries — Did FDA Know?
A 13,685-page tranche of documents related to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials released Tuesday contain details about the deaths of 16 trial participants, the prevalence of severe adverse events (SAEs) and other abnormalities.
The documents, previously submitted by Moderna to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of the licensing process for Moderna’s Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine, also exposed an “utter lack of thoroughness” in how the trials were conducted, according to Defending the Republic (DTR), a Dallas-based nonprofit that obtained the documents via a a still-pending Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against Moderna.
The documents, shared with The Defender in advance of their public release, are the first set of “Moderna documents” to be released as part of the lawsuit — with approximately 8,000 more pages expected to follow later this year.
Travis Miller, a Fort Worth-based attorney representing DTR, told The Defender, “These documents include over 13,500 pages relating to serious adverse event listings that document injuries — such as shingles and Bell’s palsy and other more serious conditions — which we believe may be related to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.”
Miller criticized Moderna’s lack of scientific rigor in determining the causes of the deaths and adverse events, saying that, in several cases, “Individuals who died after receiving the Moderna vaccine were not given an autopsy.”
According to DTR, “The study’s authors indicated that of those 16 deaths, only two autopsies were performed, five of the dead were not autopsied, and the autopsy status of nine of the dead was ‘unknown.’”
In one instance, a 56-year-old woman experienced “sudden death” 182 days after receiving her second dose of the Moderna vaccine. The cause of death was listed as “unknown” and no autopsy was performed.
“It seems they purposely decided not to investigate suspicious deaths in case the Moderna vaccine might be the cause,” DTR stated in its summary.
Yet the deaths “did not stop those running these ‘studies’ from concluding, despite the absence of evidence, that the Moderna vaccine was not related to these deaths,” DTR added.
No Evidence Moderna Tried To Cover Up Vaccine Deaths!
In this article, I will go through some of their claims, and show you what the facts really are!
Fact #1 : Adverse Events Are Not Necessarily Vaccine Side Effects
First, let’s start with the fact that adverse events are not necessarily vaccine side effects.
Like with Pfizer, Moderna has to monitor for these adverse events, which are “unfavourable” or “unintended” events that happen after vaccination or taking a drug, like having an anaphylactic reaction or getting into a car accident.
All reported adverse events have to be investigated to find out if they are related (anaphylactic reaction) or not (getting into a car accident) to the vaccine or drug that was taken.
Even if an adverse event was “possibly caused” by the vaccine, it must still be confirmed that the vaccine directly caused it, because an anaphylactic reaction (for example) can also occur from a bee sting, or an existing peanut allergy.
Only once an adverse event is confirmed to be caused by the vaccine, is it then a vaccine side effect. Otherwise, it is merely an adverse event, not a side effect.
Fact #2 : Moderna Sponsored Trial, But Did Not Run It
It is important to point out that Moderna only sponsored and created the protocol (PDF download) for the Phase 3 clinical trial of its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate for COVID-19. Moderna itself did not conduct the mRNA-1273 vaccine trial.
The Moderna mRNA-1273 Phase 3 clinical trial was conducted by CoVPN investigators funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and NIAID.
Moderna is leading the trial as the regulatory sponsor and is providing the investigational vaccine for the trial. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and NIAID are providing funding support for the trial.
The NIH Coronavirus Prevention Network (CoVPN) will participate in conducting the trial. The network brings together expertise from existing NIAID-supported clinical research networks. The mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate will be tested at approximately 89 clinical research sites in the United States, 24 of which are part of the CoVPN.
Hana M. El Sahly, M.D., principal investigator of the NIAID-funded Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium site at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston; Lindsey R. Baden, M.D., principal investigator of the NIAID-funded Harvard HIV Vaccine Clinical Trials Unit at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston; and Brandon Essink, M.D., principal investigator and medical director of Meridian Clinical Research, will serve as co-principal investigators for the Phase 3 trial of mRNA-1273.
Defending the Republic (DTR) – the NGO that obtained and released the Moderna documents highlighted that only two autopsies were performed even though 16 people died during the clinical trial.
Just to be clear – Moderna itself did not conduct the clinical trial. Therefore, it does not have any say on whether an autopsy should or should not be conducted.
In fact, it is likely that the attending doctors / hospitals were the ones deciding whether to conduct the autopsies, while study authors only collected the data. That’s why many of the deaths were listed with Unknown autopsies. If the study authors were the ones conducting the autopsies (and refusing to do so), they would have listed them as None.
As I will show you below, there is no evidence that the study authors deliberately refused to conduct autopsies or investigate suspicious deaths in the Moderna vaccine clinical trial.
Fact #4 : Half The Deaths Were On Placebo
Many of these articles pointed out that sixteen people who received the Moderna vaccine died. What they did not tell you is that sixteen other people who received the placebo also died. In other words, a total of 32 people died during the clinical trial – half received the vaccine, and half received the placebo.
While that sounds like a lot – I should point out that the Moderna mRNA-1273 Phase 3 clinical trial involved 30,420 volunteers, and ran for approximately 3 months.
The mortality rate in the US for 2021 was 879.7 per 100,000 people, so for those three months, we should expect 89 people to die out of those 30,420 participants. Yet only 32 people died. There is simply no evidence in the clinical trial’s data to show an increase in deaths from the Moderna vaccine.
Fact #4 : Subject US3292023 Died From Heart Failure
In its summary, DTR highlighted some of those suspicious deaths that lack an autopsy. Sounds suspicious, right? Not really, if you actually look at the Moderna documents.
The first case was Subject US3292023 – an 80 year-old White male who died on 23 January 2021 due to an Adverse Event, and his autopsy status was listed as None.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
He had history of significant cardiac disease and diabetes.
He received Dose 1 on 4 August 2020, and Dose 2 on 1 September 2020.
He reported no adverse effects from both vaccinations.
He suffered from diabetic ketoacidosis (serious complication from his existing diabetes) on 26 October 2020.
He suffered from End Stage Congestive Heart Failure on 23 January 2023.
I’m sure you can see why there was absolutely no need for anyone to conduct an autopsy on this man.
Fact #5 : Subject US3472001 Likely Died From Heart Attack
The second case was Subject US3472001 – a 70 year-old White male who died on 27 November 2020 due to an Adverse Event, and his autopsy status was listed as Unknown.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
He had history of significant cardiac disease and severe obesity.
He received Dose 1 on 31 August 2020, and Dose 2 on 1 October 2020.
He reported no adverse effects from both vaccinations.
He tested positive for Hepatitis C on 29 September 2020.
He suffered from a sudden fatal event, likely myocardial infarction on 27 November 2020.
It is unknown if an autopsy was conducted, but with a history of significant cardiac disease and severe obesity, it would not be surprising if the doctor / hospital did not bother to conduct an autopsy, especially during a pandemic that was straining doctors and hospital facilities.
Fact #6 : Subject US3512042 Died From Cardiac Arrest
The third case is Subject US3512042 – a 78 year-old White male who died on 1 September 2020 due to an Adverse Event, and his autopsy status was listed as Unknown.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
He received Dose 1 on 12 August 2020, but never received a second dose.
On 30 August 2020, he reported nausea and malaise.
On 31 August 2020, he vomited three times.
On 1 September 2020, he suffered from cardiopulmonary arrest and died.
It is unknown if an autopsy was conducted, but it is not uncommon for a 78 year-old man to die from cardiopulmonary arrest.
Fact #7 : Subject US3622169 Died From Metastatic Liver Cancer
The fourth case was Subject US3622169 – a 56 year-old White male who died on 21 January 2021 due to an Adverse Event, and his autopsy status was listed as Unknown.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
He had history of severe obesity and diabetes.
He received Dose 1 on 9 September 2020, and Dose 2 on 7 October 2020.
On 29 November 2020, he reported worsening dyspnea (breathing difficulties) with nasal congestion.
On 6 December 2020, he was diagnosed with pneumonia.
On 30 December 2020, he was diagnosed with metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (metastatic liver cancer).
On 16 January 2021, he suffered sepsis and his metastatic liver cancer worsened, and he ultimately died on 21 January 2021.
Needless to say, there was simply no need to perform an autopsy, after confirming his metastatic liver cancer diagnosis.
The fifth case was Subject US3702010 – a 74 year-old Hispanic male who died on 25 February 2021 due to an Adverse Event, and his autopsy status was listed as Unknown.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
He had history of liver disease and HIV infection.
He received Dose 1 on 4 September 2020. He never received a second dose.
He complained of nausea issues on the same day, which resolved.
He complained of fatigue and pain of the injection site on 5 September 2020, which resolved.
He complained of fatigue again on 11 September 2020, which resolved.
He complained of lower abdominal pain on 23 October 2020, which resolved.
He got infected with COVID-19 on 1 January 2021, with diagnosis confirmed on 5 January 2021
On his last follow-up 175 days after his first dose, he was still suffering from COVID-19
He died from COVID-19 on 25 February 2021
I’m sure you can see why there was absolutely no need for anyone to conduct an autopsy on this man.
Fact #9 : Subject US3752173 Died From Heart Attack
The sixth case was Subject US3752173 – a 77 year-old American Indian / Alaskan native male who died on 1 November 2020 due to an Adverse Event, and his autopsy status was listed as None.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
He received Dose 1 on 20 August 2020, and Dose 2 on 18 September 2020.
He did not report any adverse events from both Moderna vaccine injections.
He suffered a myocardial infarction (heart attack) on 1 November 2020, and died from it.
Again, you can see why there was absolutely no need for anyone to conduct an autopsy on this man.
Fact #10 : Subject US3862141 Died From Cardiac Arrest
The seventh case was Subject US3862141 – a 72 year-old Asian male who died on 9 March 2021 due to an Adverse Event, and his autopsy status was listed as Unknown.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
He received Dose 1 on 8 September 2020, and Dose 2 on 6 October 2020.
He did not report any adverse effects from both vaccinations.
On 9 March 2021, he suffered from cardiopulmonary arrest and died.
It is unknown if an autopsy was conducted, but it is not uncommon for a 72 year-old man to die from cardiopulmonary arrest.
The eighth case was Subject US3872318 – a 62 year-old White male who died on 16 September 2020 due to an Adverse Event, and his autopsy status was listed as None.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
He received Dose 1 on 27 August 2020, but never received a second dose.
He did not report any adverse effects from the first vaccination.
On 16 September 2020, he died after committing suicide.
Needless to say – an autopsy was completely unnecessary in this case.
Fact #12 : Subject US3872496 Died From Unknown Cause
The ninth case was Subject US3872496 – a 61 year-old Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander male who died on 17 December 2020 due to an Adverse Event, and his autopsy status was listed as Unknown.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
He had history of severe obesity and diabetes.
He received Dose 1 on 9 September 2020, and Dose 2 on 9 October 2020.
He did not report any adverse effects from both vaccinations.
On 17 December 2020, he died but the details behind his death is unknown.
It is unknown how the man died, and unknown if an autopsy was conducted.
Fact #13 : Subject US3912024 Died From Organ Failure
The tenth case was Subject US3912024 – a 72 year-old White male who died on 22 November 2020 due to an Adverse Event, and his autopsy status was listed as None.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
He received Dose 1 on 28 August 2020, and Dose 2 on 24 September 2020.
On 31 October 2020, he was diagnosed with obstructing nephrolithiasis (kidney stones blocking the flow of urine).
On 3 November 2020, he was diagnosed with thrombocytopenia (low platelets), as well as acute renal failure, Klebsiella-complicated pyelonephritis (kidney infection), and atelectasis (collapse) of the lower lobes of both lungs.
On 8 November 2020, he was found to have ascites (intra-abdominal fluid), anasarca (severe, generalised accumulation of fluid in the interstitial space), and a perforated duodenal ulcer with bleeding.
On 15 November 2020, he was diagnosed with anaemia.
On 18 November 2020, the collapse of his lungs worsened and he developed pleural effusion (accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavity) as well.
On 20 November 2020, he died from multi-system organ failure and acute hypoxic respiratory failure.
Needless to say – an autopsy was also completely unnecessary in this case.
Fact #14 : Subject US3932197 Died From Unknown Cause
The eleventh case was Subject US3932197 – a 37 year-old Black female who died on 13 March 2021 due to an Adverse Event, and her autopsy status was listed as None.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
She received Dose 1 on 26 September 2020, and Dose 2 on 27 October 2020.
On 13 March 2021, she died, but her cause of death was unknown.
In this case, an autopsy might be warranted. However, that is impossible to determine, because we do not know the circumstances behind her death – she could have died from any number of causes – an accident, suicide, a fall, a surgical procedure, an infection, etc.
Fact #15 : Subject US3962094 Died From Suicide
The twelfth case was Subject US3962094 – a 56 year-old White female who died on 15 October 2020 due to an Adverse Event, and her autopsy status was listed as None.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
She had history of severe obesity.
She received Dose 1 on 9 September 2020, but never received a second dose.
On 12 September 2020, she was diagnosed with high triglycerides
On 7 October 2020, she suffered from acid reflux.
On 15 October 2020, she fell and died from head trauma.
Needless to say – an autopsy was also completely unnecessary in this case.
Fact #16 : Subject US3972010 Is Pending Autopsy
The thirteenth case was Subject US3972010 – a 27 year-old Black male who died on 8 January 2021 due to an Adverse Event, and his autopsy status was listed as Unknown.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
He received Dose 1 on 24 August 2020, and Dose 2 on 21 September 2020.
He did not report any adverse effects from both vaccinations.
On 8 January 2021, he died but the details behind his death is unknown, pending an autopsy.
It is unknown how the man died, but in this case, an autopsy was conducted.
Fact #17 : Subject US3972045 Likely Died From Heart Disease
The last case was Subject US3972045 – a 62 year-old White male who died on 3 December 2020 due to an Adverse Event, and his autopsy status was listed as Unknown.
If you search through the Moderna document (PDF download), you will see that this sequence of reports:
He had history of diabetes.
He received Dose 1 on 27 August 2020, and Dose 2 on 24 September 2020.
He did not report any adverse effects from both vaccinations.
On 21 October 2021, he was diagnosed with diabetic gastroparesis – delayed stomach emptying due to diabetes.
On 3 December 2020, he died from a suspected coronary artery disease – a complication of his diabetes mellitus.
It is unknown if an autopsy was conducted, but it is not uncommon for a 62 year-old man to die from heart disease.
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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.
Did Bill Gates develop a new mRNA vaccine patch technology that he hopes to force poor people to wear?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Bill Gates Developed mRNA Vaccine Patches For The Poor!
People are sharing an article by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), which claims that Bill Gates just unveiled a new mRNA vaccine technology that uses patches that he hopes to force poor people to wear!
Here is an excerpt for that long-winded article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts:
Bill Gates Developing mRNA ‘Vaccine Patches’ That Low-Income Families Will Be Forced To Wear
Bill Gates has unveiled a new mRNA vaccine technology that uses patches instead of needles that he hopes government’s will force low-income people to wear.
Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Health Organization (WHO), and Gavi, the vaccine-containing microarray patches (VMAP) – also known as “micro-array patches” or “microneedle patches” – have been the subject of dozens of scientific papers in recent years.
According to Gates, the mRNA patches will solve the problem of vaccine hesitancy in countries that cannot afford traditional needle-based vaccines.
Childrenshealthdefense.org reports: Scientific and medical experts who spoke with The Defender raised questions about the technology and warned of potential dangers.
Brian Hooker, Ph.D., P.E., senior director of science and research for Children’s Health Defense, said that the term “vaccine patch” may also be misleading, as it might be confused with nicotine patches for smokers.
Hooker told The Defender:
“The term ‘vaccine patch’ is misleading in that this microarray technology is nothing like other patch-based delivery systems for nicotine or hormones. This ‘patch’ still breaks the skin in order to deliver the liquid vaccine that is contained in the microarray’s matrix.
“As such, I don’t quite understand how this injection system will be delivered to patients and parents to administer the vaccine directly. That seems quite risky.
“Unfortunately, repackaging the same vaccines in this different platform does nothing to improve their safety — as this seems more a ploy to convince consumers otherwise.”
Truth : Bill Gates Did Not Develop mRNA Vaccine Patches For The Poor!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created about Bill Gates, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Bill Gates Did Not Develop VMAP
As clever as Bill Gates may be, he did not develop vaccine-containing microarray patches (VMAP), or even the microarray patch technology.
Microarray patch technology, which is also known as microneedle patches, was first developed by a research group headed by Mark Prausnitz at the Georgia Institute of Technology,
Just because the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funded some of this research, does not mean Bill Gates invented or developed VMAP, any more than any stock investor or venture capitalist can claim to be the inventor of the technologies developed by the companies they invest in.
Fact #2 : VMAP Has Been In Development Since 1998
Vaccine-containing microarray patches (VMAP) isn’t really new technology. They have been in development since Mark Prausnitz’s team demonstrated in 1998 that microneedles can penetrate the uppermost layer (stratum corneum) of the human skin, and therefore could be used to deliver therapeutic agents.
Since then, many research teams have worked on developing and improving the microarray / microneedle patch technology, and there are now 5 main types:
Solid microneedle array to create microscopic wells in the skin, for the drug to be applied via a transdermal patch.
Hollow microneedles to deliver the drug directly into the skin.
Coated microneedles to deliver the drug directly into the skin.
Dissolvable microneedles to ensure the drug only dissolves once inside the body.
Hydrogel-forming microneedles to create a hydrogel that releases the drug inside the skin.
Fact #3 : There Are No mRNA Vaccine Patches
The claim that Bill Gates has developed mRNA vaccine patches that he hopes to force poor people to use is utter nonsense. There are no mRNA vaccine patches, period.
No mRNA vaccine patches are known to have been developed to date, never mind tested and approved!
In addition, there is no evidence that Bill Gates ever claimed that “mRNA patches will solve the problem of vaccine hesitancy”. After all… there are NO mRNA vaccine patches!
Fact #4 : No One Is Forcing Poor People To Get Vaccinated
The claim that these non-existent mRNA vaccine patches are being developed to force poor people to get vaccinated is utter nonsense as well.
As UNICEF points out – the VMAP technology is an alternative immunisation method that has the potential to:
increase acceptability by caregivers and recipients
make vaccines easier to administer
improve safety for healthcare workers
reduce the need for cold chains
enable easier storage and transportation
remove the risk of needle waste
There is no mandate to vaccinate using VMAPs, just as there is no mandate to vaccinate using standard intramuscular injections.
Truth be told – if people are really forced to get the COVID-19 vaccine, poor or otherwise, the “evil government” can just inject them all using existing intramuscular syringes. There is no need to develop new VMAP technology at all!
Needless to say, The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch) offered no evidence to back up its claim that Bill Gates developed mRNA vaccine patches that “he hopes governments will force low-income people to wear“.
Fact #5 : The People’s Voice Is A Fake News Website
The People’s Voice is the new name / brand for NewsPunch, which likely changed its name because it has been so thoroughly discredited, its brand was worthless.
Like Real Raw News, NewPunch was a FAKE NEWS website that capitalises on making shocking but fake stories to generate page views and money.
It was founded as Your News Wire in 2014, before being rebranded as NewsPunch in November 2018. A 2017 BuzzFeed report identified NewsPunch as the second-largest source of popular fake news spread on Facebook that year.
Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should NEVER share anything from NewsPunch / The People’s Voice. Here are some of its fake stories that I personally debunked earlier:
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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.
Did new Chinese research prove that you can prevent COVID-19 infections by drinking fermented tea?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Fermented Tea Can Prevent COVID-19!
This message has gone viral on WhatsApp and social media platforms, claiming that new Chinese research has proven that you can prevent COVID-19 infections by drinking fermented tea!
Chiayi Chang Gung Hospital, and China Medical University published: The so-called principle that drinking tea can prevent coronavirus is as follows:
Scientists put the virus into the tea water and let it stand for 1 minute~ They found that 90% of the virus in the tea water was killed. It can kill 100% if left for 3 minutes. Especially tea species with a high degree of fermentation (such as black tea/Taiwan oolong tea/Pu-erh cooked tea, etc.) have a good bactericidal effect~because the virus survives on the oral and nasal mucosa when it is just infected.
Drinking tea at this time can destroy the virus cell wall and flush the virus into gastric juice to kill the virus. There are tea products with high thearubigin content at home that can be drunk at any time after brewing~ As long as the tea leaves are less irritating, they can be drunk all day without causing headache/stomach pain or scraping of the stomach/tea that does not affect sleep can effectively prevent the epidemic.
Please share this information~ Drink more tea to help yourself and use kind knowledge to help others.
This is yet another example of COVID-19 fake news circulating on WhatsApp and social media, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : No Evidence Of Such Research
First, let’s start with the fact that there is no evidence that the Chiayi Chang Gung Hospital, and the China Medical University – both from Taiwan, ever published joint research proving that drinking fermented tea can prevent COVID-19 infections.
Back in March 2020 (before COVID-19 vaccines and treatments were developed) researchers at the Chiayi Chang Gung Hospital’s Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine used a computer program to identify potential antiviral components in traditional plants.
They identified theaflavin – a polyphenolic compound found in black tea leaves, as a potential inhibitor of protease activity in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Thearubigin mentioned in the viral message is an oxidation product of theaflavin.
The head of that research team, Wu Ching-yuan (吳清源), claimed that its antiviral effect was similar to remdesivir. But since its publication in March 2020, there has been no further development on using theaflavin to treat or prevent COVID-19.
Even remdesivir was found to be ineffective against COVID-19, with the WHO recommending against its use in November 2020.
In any case, the researchers did not even claim that drinking tea – whether black or fermented, can prevent COVID-19 infections.
Fact #2 : SARS-CoV-2 Is A Respiratory Virus
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a respiratory virus, which means it primarily infects you through your respiratory system, and to a lesser extent – through your eyes.
Therefore, drinking hot water and drinks, even coffee or tea, has absolutely NO EFFECT on the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
This study identifies possible associations between COVID, the vaccine and the development of SJS/TEN.
We propose three theories for this seven-fold increase in case number; a virus induced, a vaccine induced and a threshold lowering pathway.
We advise future research investigates the impact viruses such as SARS-COV-2 have on immune mediated diseases such as SJS/TEN.
The viral message claims that highly-fermented tea like black tea, Taiwan oolong tea, Pu-erh kills the COVID-19 coronavirus, because they have “good bactericidal activity“.
This is like pointing out that water has good firefighting activity while recommending it for cleaning an oil spill… The creator of this fake news does not seem to understand that SARS-CoV-2 is a virus, not bacteria.
The viral message also wrongly claims that the COVID-19 coronavirus has cell walls. As a virus, SARS-CoV-2 does not have any cell wall. It only has a protective protein coat called a capsid.
Fact #4 : SARS-CoV-2 Is Sensitive To Temperature
It is no surprise that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is sensitive to temperature. This has been confirmed through numerous research early in the pandemic. You don’t even need boiling hot water or tea to kill it!
At normal room temperatures, 90% of the virus will be automatically destroyed / deactivated after 20-50 hours. But if you raise the temperature to just 54.5°C, the time is cut down to less than 1 hour!
Based on those research, conservatively, the COVID-19 coronavirus can be killed by simply heating contaminated objects for:
3 minutes at temperature above 75°C (160°F).
5 minutes for temperatures above 65°C (149°F).
20 minutes for temperatures above 60°C (140°F).
Needless to say, at 100°C, the virus is instantly destroyed. There is no need to leave the virus in boiling hot water / tea for 3 minutes to kill it, as the viral message claims.
Fact #5 : This Is Just COVID-19 Fake News
This is just another example of COVID-19 fake news circulating on WhatsApp and social media. Here are other recent examples:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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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.
Should you be alarmed about a reported 7X increase in Stevens-Johnson Syndrome / toxic epidermal necrolysis from COVID-19 and the vaccine?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Alarming 7X Increase In Stevens-Johnson Syndrome Linked To COVID-19 And Vaccine!
People are sharing an Epoch Times article, claiming that it is evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine can cause the dangerous Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) or toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN)!
Here is an excerpt of the Epoch Times article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts:
‘Alarming’ Sevenfold Increase in Steven-Johnson Syndrome Linked to COVID-19 and Vaccine
A sudden increase in Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS)—a rare and potentially fatal skin disorder—may be triggered by COVID-19, increased vaccination rates, or a lowered threshold caused by vaccines or previous infection, according to a large case series recently published in Burns.
Researchers with the burns unit at Concord Repatriation General Hospital in Australia saw two to four cases of SJS, or toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), per year prior to COVID-19. In the first six months of 2022 alone, the same burn center observed a sevenfold rise in cases.
Of the 14 reported cases, five patients had COVID-19 a month before developing SJS/TEN, and three of 14 patients received a COVID-19 vaccine one month prior. Not a single case of SJS/TEN was reported in an unvaccinated individual. Researchers said the rarity of the condition and presence of medications known to trigger the disease make the link difficult to prove, but the rapid rise in cases since the beginning of the pandemic and vaccine rollout is “alarming.”
SJS/TEN is a severe hypersensitivity condition where the skin develops rashes, blisters, and peels forming painful areas that resemble a severe hot water burn. Mucous membranes, including the eyes, genitalia, and mouth, are often affected or severely damaged, leading to sepsis, pneumonia, infection, or death.
Although SJS and TEN were once considered separate conditions, they are now part of the same disease—with SJS representing the less severe end of the disease spectrum and TEN representing the most severe.
Medications, including epilepsy medicines, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory painkillers, are the chief cause of SJS/TEN, but certain viruses and vaccines can also cause the condition. Due to its potentially fatal nature, SJS/TEN is considered a medical emergency, and patients are treated in burn units.
The researchers proposed three theories for the sudden increase in SJS/TEN cases.
Virus-Induced
The first theory is that the SARS-CoV-2 virus may induce SJS/TEN by directly binding to receptors that trigger a T-cell-mediated response. Other viruses known to cause SJS/TEN include the herpes simplex virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and influenza.
Vaccine-Induced
A second theory is that COVID-19 vaccines may directly bind to cell receptors that trigger SJS/TEN and influence the body’s T-cell immune response initiating SJS/TEN. This T-cell response peaks at seven and 28 days post-vaccination, consistent with the observed cases.
According to the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), 198 cases of SJS/TEN following COVID-19 vaccination were reported between Dec. 14, 2019, and June 23, 2023. Historically, VAERS has been shown to report fewer than 1 percent of actual vaccine adverse events, which means other cases of SJS/TEN may have occurred but were unreported.
Threshold Lowering
The third theory proposed by the authors is that developing a COVID-19 infection or receiving a vaccine “primes” the immune system, lowering the threshold for a drug to trigger SJS/TEN. Without this “priming,” the drug would otherwise not cause the condition.
Regulatory agencies in the United States and abroad have not acknowledged the potential link between SJS/TEN and COVID-19 vaccines or studied the ability of the virus or vaccine to prime the immune system. The study’s authors say more research should be done to investigate the impact viruses like SARS-CoV-2 have on immune-mediated disorders such as SJS/TEN.
Stevens-Johnson Syndrome May Be Linked To COVID-19 And Vaccine
In this article, I will go through the Epoch Times article, and share with you what the facts really are!
Fact #1 : Stevens-Johnson Syndrome Is An Immune System Disorder
First, let’s start with a quick overview of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN).
Both SJS and TEN are severe skin reactions caused by the body’s own immune system. They are classified as part of the same disease spectrum, with SJS being less severe (<10% body surface affected) and TEN being the most severe form (>30% body surface affected).
SJS / TEN usually occurs as a reaction to new medication or infection, with genetic factors making some people more vulnerable than others. It progresses fairly quickly:
It usually starts with a fever, sore throat, cough and burning eyes for the first 1-3 days
Then you may feel widespread skin pain, and a red or purple rash develops and spreads
You will start to get blisters on your skin, and the ulcers of the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, eyes, and genitals
The affected areas of your skin will start to blister, and eventually peel off
However, recovery takes much longer – skin regrowth takes 2-3 weeks, and full recovery often takes several months.
SJS has a mortality rate of about 5%, but TEN which has greater skin involvement has a mortality rate of 30% to 40%. So this is indeed a very serious disorder.
Fact #2 : Case Report Only Identified Possible Associations
The Epoch Times article is based on a case report published online in the journal Burns, called The seven-fold rise in incidence of Stevens-Johnson syndrome & toxic epidermal necrolysis: Associations with COVID-19 and the vaccine.
It is currently listed as an Uncorrected Proof, which means it still needs to be “proof-read and corrected by the author(s)”. But I personally don’t see anything troubling in the article – it is a case report and discussion on the 7X increase in SJS / TEN cases the authors saw in their hospital.
However, I should point out that this case report only refers to SJS / TEN cases seen in one hospital – the Concord Repatriation General Hospital in Sydney, Australia. That does not mean there is something wrong with the case report. It only means that this is one case report. More research is required before any association can be made.
The authors specifically pointed out that their study only identified three “theories” and “possible associations” for future research to look into:
This study identifies possible associations between COVID, the vaccine and the development of SJS/TEN.
We propose three theories for this seven-fold increase in case number; a virus induced, a vaccine induced and a threshold lowering pathway.
We advise future research investigates the impact viruses such as SARS-COV-2 have on immune mediated diseases such as SJS/TEN.
Fact #3 : COVID-19 / Vaccine-Related SJS Only Increased By 2.67X
As Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is triggered by a new medication or infection, it is definitely possible for a COVID-19 infection, or vaccine, to cause it. However, it is important to note that SJS / TEN develops soon after the person gets infected, or receives the medication / vaccine.
That’s why the study authors look specifically at just 8 cases (out of 14) where the patients recently had a COVID-19 infection, or received a COVID-19 vaccine. The other 6 cases were not mentioned because they were likely caused by something else.
Because only those 8 cases were deemed to be potentially associated with COVID-19 or the vaccine, the actual increase over the baseline average of 3 cases for that hospital was 2.67x higher than normal, not 7X.
Fact #4 : SJS Risk Appears Higher For COVID-19 Infections
When we look at the breakdown of the eight patients whose SJS / TEN could have been caused by either COVID-19 infection or vaccine:
five patients had COVID-19 in the preceding month
three patients received a COVID-19 vaccine in the preceding month
Even if we assume that the SJS / TEN of all eight patients were indeed caused by COVID-19 or the vaccine, the results suggest that you are 33% more likely to get SJS / TEN with a COVID-19 infection, than with a COVID-19 vaccine.
COVID-19 infection : 2.67X risk over baseline
COVID-19 vaccine : 2X risk over baseline
Fact #5 : SJS / TENS Risk Is Still Very Low
Whether the risk of developing Stevens-Johnson Syndrome from a COVID-19 vaccine increases by 7X or just 2X, the risk is still very low.
By the end of 2022, New South Wales vaccinated over 6.5 million people. Taking into account that just three SJS / TENS cases were linked to the COVID-19 vaccine that year, the risk is only about 1 in 2.17 million!
Even if you assume that all 14 SJS / TEN cases (instead of just 3) were caused by the vaccine, that works out to just 1 in 464,286 vaccinated people. Still very rare.
Fact #6 : Unvaccinated People Have Developed SJS / TENS
The Epoch Times article took pains to point out that “Not a single case of SJS/TEN was reported in an unvaccinated individual.” That’s not surprising because 95% of New South Wales residents were fully-vaccinated by that point in time!
It would be wrong to believe that being unvaccinated means your risk of developing SJS / TEN is zero. Before COVID-19 vaccines were administered, doctors have already reported cases of Stevens-Johnson syndrome in unvaccinated COVID-19 patients:
an unvaccinated 6 year-old boy developed life-threatening TEN after a COVID-19 infection
two unvaccinated adult females in India developed TEN after COVID-19 infection
And I should point out that before the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence for people who never got infected or vaccinated was:
Stevens-Johnson syndrome : 1.6 cases per million people per year
Toxic epidermal necrolysis : 9.2 cases per million people per year
In other words, New South Wales alone would normally see about 13 cases of SJS, and 75 cases of TENS per year, before the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccine!
Fact #7 : Risk Of SJS / TENS Much Higher With COVID-19 Infection
A December 2022 review looked at 34 published cases of SJS and TEN developing after COVID-19 infection and vaccination – 12 cases after vaccination, and 22 cases after infection.
Based on their review of the multiple case reports, their tally shows that the risk of getting SJS / TEN from a COVID-19 infection is 4-10X higher than the risk of getting it from any COVID-19 vaccine!
Fact #8 : Underreporting Of SJS / TEN Is Very Unlikely
While the Australian study never once mentioned VAERS (which is an American reporting system), the Epoch Times article took pains to claim that “historically, VAERS has been shown to report fewer than 1 percent of actual vaccine adverse events, which means other cases of SJS/TEN may have occurred but were unreported.”
That “less than 1 percent” claim was based on a very old 2011 report (PDF download) on improving vaccine adverse event reporting to VAERS, based on data collected from June 2006 to October 2009. Needless to say – VAERS has improved significantly in the last 14 years!
More importantly, Stevens-Johnson syndrome is such a severe and traumatising event for both doctor and patient, it is extremely unlikely to go unreported or under-reported.
Many people will probably not bother to report adverse events like muscle ache or a fever after getting the COVID-19 vaccine, but you can be sure they will rush to the hospital once their skin starts peeling off!
Fact #9 : The Epoch Times Appears To Be Promoting This
Interestingly, the Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) parameters at the end of some of these links suggest that The Epoch Times may be promoting the article through certain partners. For example:
The Chief Nerd utm_source = partner utm_campaign = TheChiefNerd
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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.
Is Bill Gates manufacturing and releasing 30 million genetically-modified mosquitoes every week?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Bill Gates Is Releasing Millions Of GMO Mosquitoes!
People are sharing a World Mosquito Program video as evidence that Bill Gates is manufacturing and releasing 30 million genetically-mosquitoes every week, from his mosquito factory in Colombia.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr : Should Bill Gates be releasing 30 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild? Part of the mentality of earth-as-engineering-object. What could possibly go wrong?
Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis : BILL GATES – This is Bill’s mosquito factory in Colombia. It’s the largest in the world. 30 million genetically modified mosquitoes are released every week into 11 countries. Because Bill knows better than nature, what could possibly go wrong.
Dr. Lynn Fynn-derella : How is @BillGates allowed to do this? They are likely testing mosquito-borne disease spread in order to roll out more vaccines for the diseases they create. The entire mosquito population should be eradicated- including the king mosquito-
Truth : Bill Gates Is NOT Releasing Millions Of GMO Mosquitoes!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created about Bill Gates, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Mosquito Factory Video Was Released In 2022
First, let me just point out that the mosquito factory video is not new. It was posted by Bill Gates on his YouTube channel some 9 months ago, on August 16, 2022, garnering over 6.9 million views.
Fact #2 : Mosquito Factory Does Not Belong To Bill Gates
The “world’s biggest mosquito factory” in Medellin, Colombia, does not belong to Bill Gates. It is not Bill Gates’ mosquito factory. He doesn’t own one.
As the viral video clearly states, that mosquito factory belongs to World Mosquito Program.
Fact #3 : World Mosquito Program Has Many “Factories”
The World Mosquito Program actually has a number of mosquito breeding facilities worldwide. The Medellin mosquito factory is merely its biggest. To be clear – Bill Gates does not own any of them.
Fact #4 : Those Are Not Genetically-Modified Mosquitoes
The claim that those are genetically-modified mosquitoes is false. Those are regular Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that have not been genetically modified.
As the video itself explained, the mosquitoes are only being infected with the Wolbachia bacteria, which are extremely common bacteria found naturally in 50% of insect species.
The World Mosquito Program also clearly stated on its website that it does not genetically modify any mosquito:
Unlike most other techniques that aim to prevent mosquito-borne diseases, our Wolbachia method is natural and self-sustaining.
Our method does not suppress mosquito populations or involve genetic modification (GM), as the genetic material of the mosquito is not altered.
Fact #5 : Wolbachia Mosquitoes Prevent Diseases
When Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are infected by the Wolbachia bacteria, scientists discovered that the bacteria competes with viruses like dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever!
This makes it harder for the dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever viruses to multiply in the Wolbachia-infected mosquito, and thus, block the transmission of those viruses.
A randomised controlled trial conducted in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, found that Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes reduced the number of dengue cases in the city by a whopping 77%, and dengue hospitalisations by 86%!
Another study conducted in Medillin (where the mosquito factory is located) showed that the mosquitoes reduced dengue cases there by 89% since they were first released in 2015.
On top of that, scientists also discovered that male Wolbachia mosquitoes can reduce the population of uninfected mosquitoes by breeding with normal female mosquitoes – the eggs they produce won’t hatch!
All this can be accomplished by breeding and infecting mosquitoes with the Wolbachia bacteria, and releasing them. There is no need for any genetic modification.
Fact #6 : World Mosquito Program Is A Monash University Project
The World Mosquito Program is not a Bill Gates project. Formerly known as the Eliminate Dengue Project, it is a non-profit initiative by Monash University of Australia, with funding from the Australian government, as well as other donors.
Fact #7 : Bill + Melinda Gates Foundation Helped Fund The Project
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, together with the Wellcome Trust, awarded the World Mosquito Program with AUD$50 million (US$33.7 million) in additional funds in September 2022.
It is unknown how much the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation alone contributed to the World Mosquito Program, but both foundations have contributed a total of AUD$185 million (US$124.6 million) in funding since 2010.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
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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.
Did the US and UK governments create COVID-19 as part of a coronavirus bioweapon project since 1965?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : US + UK Created COVID-19 As Bioweapon!
People are sharing TikTok, YouTube and Rumble videos of David E. Martin at International COVID Summit III, explaining how the US and UK governments allegedly developed the coronavirus as a bioweapon since discovering it in 1965.
Some are sharing it as evidence that COVID-19 was created as a bioweapon, while pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) are sharing it as evidence that the COVID-19 was created by the West, not China!
“This [covid] is an act of biological and chemical warfare perpetrated on the human race” Dr DavidMartin International Covid Summit, European Parliament:
COVID was First Isolated in 1965. Pfizer’s First Spike Protein Patent was filed in 1990. That’s Also When They Found Out That Vaccines For COVID Can’t Work. – Dr DavidMartin International COVID Summit III – European Parliament, Brussels 05.04.2023
Folks – listen to this to understand where covid came from.
Finally, we know the true culprit that created and caused the Covid-19 pandemic which killed millions, so who is the evil of the world today…..China or the USA?
No Evidence US + UK Created COVID-19 As Bio-Weapon!
This appears to be yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp and social media platforms like TikTok and Twitter, and here are the reasons why!
Fact #1 : It Was From International COVID Summit III
The viral video clip above is from the International COVID Summit III, which appears to be a private conference organised by COVID-19 conspiracy theorists and anti-vaccination activists:
Held in the Anna Lindh room of the European Parliament, it was not an official EU or European Parliament event, and had only 5 MEPs attend as “co-hosting members” of the event.
David Martin said that the first coronavirus as a model of a pathogen was isolated in 1965. Well, I have no idea what he meant by “as a model of a pathogen”, but that’s wrong on several counts.
first coronavirus sample (IBV) was isolated in 1930s
second coronavirus sample (MHV) was isolated in 1947
third coronavirus sample (B814) was isolated in 1961
fourth coronavirus sample (229-E) was isolated in 1966
all four virus samples were determined to be from same group, and named “coronavirus” in 1967
The first known sample of a coronavirus was isolated and identified as a virus in 1933. That virus was called infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in 1936, but later renamed as Avian coronavirus.
The second sample of a coronavirus was discovered in 1947. At that time, it was also not known as a coronavirus, but called mouse hepatitis virus (MHV). It would later be renamed as Murine coronavirus.
In 1961, a sample was isolated from a British schoolboy who was suffering from the common cold. That sample, designated as B814, was later confirmed to be a novel (new) virus in 1965. However, it was not called a coronavirus in 1965 either.
In 1966, new samples of a different virus – designated 229-E, were collected from University of Chicago medical students suffering from the common cold. Even then, that virus was not known as a coronavirus.
Fact #3 : Coronavirus Was Identified + Named In 1967
In the video, David Martin appears to say that the “coronavirus was identified in 1965 as one of the first infectious, replicatable viral models that could be used to modify a series of to her experiences of human conditions“.
I have no idea what most of the word salad meant, including the word “replicatable”, but I can tell you that the coronavirus was only identified as a new group of viruses in 1967, not 1965.
Remember the four coronavirus samples that were collected earlier? They were new viruses, but were not known as coronavirus at that time. It was only in 1967 that an electron microscope analysis of those four different viral samples showed that all four viruses belong to the same group.
It was only in 1967, that June Almeida and David Terrell made that discovery, and called the new group of viruses “coronavirus”, based on the characteristic spikes on their surfaces that make them look like the sun’s corona.
Fact #4 : 1967 Experiment Did Not Involve Human Manipulation
In the video, David Martin appears to say that “in 1966, the very first CoV coronavirus model was used as a transatlantic biological experiment in human manipulation“.
He would later repeat this saying “in 1967 – the year I was born, we did the first human trials on inoculating people with modified coronavirus“.
He listed his source as the 1967 study called Effects of a “New” Human Respiratory Virus in Volunteers (PDF download). He may have mixed up his dates a little. In any case, his claim is wrong on multiple levels:
that was the fourth and most recent coronavirus sample – 229-E
the virus was not known to be a coronavirus at that time
the study did not involve human manipulation
What the British scientists did was give the 229-E virus to volunteers to determine :
if it causes colds, and
the serum neutralising antibody when infected with viruses of this type
There was no manipulation and no modification of the 229-E virus sample before it was given to volunteers.
Fact #5 : Biological Weapons Convention Only Began In 1975
In the video, David Martin appears to wonder, “Where were we when we actually allowed, in violation of biological and chemical weapons treaties? Where were we, as a human civilisation, when we thought it was an acceptable thing to do to take a pathogen from the United States and infect the world with it? Where was that conversation and what should have been that conversation in 1967? “.
Well, for one thing – the 1967 experiment happened long before the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) came into effect on 26 March 1975. There was no conversation to be had.
In addition, the BWC does not limit scientific experiments on viruses, so even if it had been in effect, the 1967 experiment on volunteers would not have breached its rules as it was not being developed as a bioweapon! Again, there was no conversation to be had.
Fact #6 : There Are Many Coronavirus Species
The coronavirus family consists of a multitude of different viruses, with completely different characteristics. Think of them as car models – they are all cars, but every model has a different look and different characteristics.
Hence, it is wrong to associate past coronaviruses with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Any genetic link has to be determined by its genetic code, not by when a virus was discovered!
By 2020, scientists have discovered at least 45 coronavirus species, which were classified into four different genera – Alphacoronavirus, Betacoronavirus, Deltacoronavirus, and Gammacoronavirus.
SARS-CoV-2 is a Betacoronavirus that is most closely related to SARS-CoV-1 – the virus that caused the SARS outbreak in 2002-2004. However, it was a novel (new) coronavirus when it was discovered, and was not derived / engineered / developed from SARS-CoV-1.
There is simply no evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 was developed as a bioweapon from the SARS-CoV-1, or any other coronavirus species.
What David Martin said at the International COVID Summit sounds startling, but if you analyse his word salad and sources carefully, you will realise that he has not actually offered any evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 was engineered in any way, much less developed as a bioweapon!
It is plausible that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was created in the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and accidentally released in a leak of some sort, but that has never proven one way or another. It is just as plausible that it was brought into Wuhan by some yet-to-be-identified animal host.
There is currently no evidence that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered and released as a bioweapon.
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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.
Will eating vitamin C and prawns on the same day create toxic arsenic which has already killed one woman?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the FACTS really are!
Claim : Eating Vitamin C + Prawns Will Poison Us With Arsenic!
People are sharing this message on WhatsApp and social media platforms, claiming that eating vitamin C and prawns on the same day can create toxic arsenic which has already killed one woman!
This is a long message, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
Very Educative:
A woman suddenly died unexpectedly with signs of bleeding from her ears, nose, mouth & eyes. After a preliminary autopsy it was diagnosed that death was due to arsenic poisoning. Where did the arsenic come from?
The police launched an in-depth and extensive investigation. A medical school professor was invited to come to solve the case. The professor carefully looked at the contents. In less than half an hour, the mystery was solved.
The professor said: ‘The deceased did not commit suicide and neither was she murdered, she died of accidental death due to ignorance!’
Everyone was puzzled, why accidental death?The professor said: ‘The arsenic was produced in the stomach of the deceased.’ The deceased used to take ‘Vitamin C’ everyday, which in itself is not a problem.
The problem was that she ate a large portion of shrimp/prawn during dinner. Eating shrimp/prawn is not the problem that’s why nothing happened to her family even though they had the same shrimp/prawn. However at the same time the deceased also took ‘vitamin C’, that is where the problem was!
Researchers at the University of Chicago in the United States , found through experiments, food such as soft-shell contain much higher concentration of five potassium arsenic compounds.
Such fresh food by itself has no toxic effects on the human body.
However, in taking ‘vitamin C’, chemical reaction occurs and the original non-toxic elements change to toxic elements.
Arsenic poisoning has magma role and can cause paralysis to the small blood vessels. Therefore, a person who dies of arsenic poisoning will show signs of bleeding from the ears, nose, mouth & eyes. Thus as a precautionary measure,
DO NOT eat shrimp/prawn when taking ‘vitamin C’.
After reading this; please do not be stingy. It’s our duty to take care of our friends. Pls share with then. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Prawns and Vit C cannot be eaten together.
Here is an older version that has been going around since 2014:
This is a story that happened to the relative of a friend of mine. If you love your family and your friends, just tell them about this story.
There was a woman who suddenly died with blood coming from her eyes, ear, mouth, nose, skin and tongue. After the authorities investigated, they claimed she died of food poisoning.
Before she died, she ate a lot of shrimp, but so did the rest of her family and they didn’t die. It turns out that the problem was that she drank a liquid vitamin C supplement immediately after she ate the shrimp.
Basically, Shrimp contains an Arsenic Pentoxide (As2O5) and when she ate shrimp, she drank Vitamin C at the same time. This caused a chemical reaction in her stomach. The Arsenic Pentoxide (As2O5) in the shrimp become Arsenic Trioxide (As2O3), which was very poisonous. Her heart, liver, kidneys, and blood vessels failed, and she died from massive blood loss.
So, be careful if you eat shrimp. Wait a few hours before you take Vitamin C. Don’t allow vitamin C and shrimp to occupy your stomach at the same time.
Truth : Eating Vitamin C + Prawns Will Not Poison Us With Arsenic!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp and social media platforms, and here are the reasons why!
Fact #1 : This Is An Old Hoax
The claim that eating prawns together with vitamin C can poison you with arsenic isn’t new. It’s been circulating on email since at least 2001, before being shared on WhatsApp and social media in more recent years.
Fact #2 : Hoax Is Based On Actual Research
While many fact checkers immediately dismissed this as fake news, I need to point out that this hoax is based on actual research by the University of Illinois.
In 1985, three researchers in the University of Illinois’ animal sciences department reported that they unexpectedly found that vitamin C and cysteine can convert harmless arsenic pentoxide into strongly poisonous arsenic trioxide.
The unexpected finding by Gail Czarnecki, David Baker and John Garst concerns the way molecules of arsenic compounds are constructed. If atoms within the compounds share five electrons with neighboring atoms, they are said to be ”pentavalent” and are fairly harmless.
Several foods, especially shrimp and prawns, may contain high concentrations of such arsenic compounds. What the Illinois researchers found is that high doses of vitamin C convert the pentavalent compounds into trivalent arsenic, a highly toxic poison.
Cysteine, a chemical sometimes given as a treatment for heavy metal poisoning, also converts arsenic to the trivalent, highly toxic form.
That said, I have to point out that this research does not appear to have been published. None of the three scientists listed any paper on vitamin C’s effect on arsenic compounds:
While that does not mean that they were wrong about their findings, I should also point out that this finding does not appear to have been confirmed or even reviewed by other scientists / researchers.
The researchers did not say that eating prawns / shrimps while consuming vitamin C can kill you through arsenic poisoning. They merely pointed out that shellfish, particularly prawns and shrimps, “may” contain high levels of normally harmless arsenic pentoxide.
In other words – any food that contains high levels of arsenic pentoxide can present with these risks. Not just prawns or shrimps. Common foods that contain higher amounts of arsenic include rice, Brussel sprouts, chicken, mushrooms, beer and wine.
Fact #4 : Risk Involves High Doses Of Vitamin C
The researchers also pointed out that the risk of harmless arsenic in food being converted to poisonous arsenic trioxide involves high doses of vitamin C – megadosing with vitamin C, as they called it.
Normal consumption of vitamin C would not convert sufficient amounts of arsenic to make a difference.
Fact #5 : Danger Was Long-Term Cancer Risk
Finally, the researchers never said that eating prawns / shrimps while taking megadoses of vitamin C can kill you with arsenic poisoning. They were worried about “chronic exposure” to arsenic which is carcinogenic, and can cause cancer if exposed for a long time.
Chronic exposure to arsenic is known to cause cancer in humans. We now must wonder whether megadosing with vitamin C increases the risk of cancer by changing the form of arsenic in food.
Fact #6 : Acute Arsenic Poisoning Does Not Present That Way
You can die if you consume too much arsenic, but you won’t die bleeding from your ears, nose, mouth and ears.
Acute arsenic poisoning presents with diarrhoea and stomach pain, cramps and vomiting (with or without blood), blood in the urine, and convulsions.
I should point out that there is no known case of anyone dying from arsenic poisoning after consuming both vitamin C and prawns / shrimps.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
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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.
Do the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines increase your risks of serious adverse events, hospitalisation, and death?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : mRNA Vaccines Increase Risk Of Death + Injuries
People are sharing a Twitter post and video of Dr. Aseem Malhotra telling Joe Rogan that a reanalysis of Pfizer and Moderna’s original clinical trial data shows that mRNA vaccines INCREASE your risks of serious adverse events, hospitalisations, and death!
Dr. Aseem Malhotra tells Joe Rogan that a reanalysis of Pfizer and Moderna’s original clinical trial data shows that their COVID mRNA vaccines *INCREASE* your risks of serious adverse events, hospitalization, and death:
“In my whole career, looking at all of the drugs and knowing about many different prescribed medications, I’ve never seen something that when you look at the data has such poor effectiveness and unprecedented harms. In the summer of last year, in the journal Vaccine, the highest-impact medical journal for vaccines, they published a reanalysis of Pfizer and Moderna’s original double-blinded randomized controlled trial.
This is the highest quality of scientific evidence. Joseph Fraiman is an ER doctor and clinical data scientist from Louisiana. Associate editor of the BMJ, Dr. Peter Doshi. Dr. Robert Kaplan from Stanford. Some real eminence of integrity published this reanalysis, and what they found was this. In the trials that led to the approval of regulators worldwide, you were more likely to suffer a severe adverse event from taking the vaccine, hospitalization, disability, or life-changing event than you were to be hospitalized with COVID.
This mRNA vaccine should likely have never been approved for a single human in the first place, and that rate of serious adverse events is at least 1 in 800… 1 in 800 is a very, very high figure. We’ve pulled other vaccines for much less. The 1976 Swine Flu vaccine was pulled because it was found to cause a debilitating neurological condition called Guillan-Barre syndrome in about 1 in 100,000 people. The Rotavirus vaccine was suspended in 1999 because it was found to cause a form of bowel obstruction in kids in 1 of 10,000. This is at least 1 in 800. It’s a no-brainer. So the question is, why have we not paused it?”
Truth : mRNA Vaccines Not Proven To Increase Risk Of Death + Injuries
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : The Study Was Published In September 2022
The study that Dr. Aseem Malhotra was referring is called “Serious adverse events of special interest following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in randomized trials in adults“.
It was published in the journal Vaccine on September 22, 2022, and you can read the full version here (PDF).
Fact #2 : The Article Looked At Reported AESI
The article looked at Adverse Events of Special Interest (AESI) reported in the original Phase 3 trials of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines from 2020. It’s short, so I’m reproducing the results here for your convenience:
Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were associated with an excess risk of serious adverse events of special interest of 10.1 and 15.1 per 10,000 vaccinated over placebo baselines of 17.6 and 42.2 (95 % CI -0.4 to 20.6 and -3.6 to 33.8), respectively.
Combined, the mRNA vaccines were associated with an excess risk of serious adverse events of special interest of 12.5 per 10,000 vaccinated (95 % CI 2.1 to 22.9); risk ratio 1.43 (95 % CI 1.07 to 1.92).
The Pfizer trial exhibited a 36 % higher risk of serious adverse events in the vaccine group; risk difference 18.0 per 10,000 vaccinated (95 % CI 1.2 to 34.9); risk ratio 1.36 (95 % CI 1.02 to 1.83).
The Moderna trial exhibited a 6 % higher risk of serious adverse events in the vaccine group: risk difference 7.1 per 10,000 (95 % CI -23.2 to 37.4); risk ratio 1.06 (95 % CI 0.84 to 1.33).
Combined, there was a 16 % higher risk of serious adverse events in mRNA vaccine recipients: risk difference 13.2 (95 % CI -3.2 to 29.6); risk ratio 1.16 (95 % CI 0.97 to 1.39).
Fact #3 : Adverse Events Of Special Interest Are Not Necessarily Side Effects
I should now point out that Adverse Events of Special Interest (AESI) are not necessarily vaccine side effects. That’s why they are called “adverse events” and not “side effects”.
Adverse events are “unfavourable” or “unintended” events that happen after vaccination or taking a drug, like having an anaphylactic reaction or getting into a car accident.
All reported adverse events have to be investigated to find out if they are related (anaphylactic reaction) or not (getting into a car accident) to the vaccine or drug that was taken.
Even if an adverse event was “possibly caused” by the vaccine, it must still be confirmed that the vaccine directly caused it, because an anaphylactic reaction (for example) can also occur from a bee sting, or an existing peanut allergy.
Only once an adverse event is confirmed to be caused by the vaccine, is it then a vaccine side effect. Otherwise, it is merely an adverse event, not a side effect.
Fact #4 : Brighton AESI List Is More Specific
Unlike the much wider infamous AESI list of 1,291 adverse events used by Pfizer, the priority AESI list from the Brighton Collaboration is much more specific. You can download the December 2020 version here (PDF).
While the Brighton Collaboration AESI list is more specific, it includes adverse events that may not be related to the vaccine itself. As stated at the top of its Executive Summary on Page 4, the AESI list was crated based on:
known association with immunization or a specific vaccine platform;
theoretical association based on animal models;
occurrence during wild-type disease as a result of viral replication and/or immunopathogenesis.
As noted in Fact #3, these adverse events are not necessarily vaccine side effects. Again, that’s why they are called “adverse events”, and not “side effects”.
Fact #5 : The Study Used An Expanded Brighton AESI List
At first glance, one may be forgiven for thinking that the authors used the more specific Brighton Collaboration AESI list.
However, they actually expanded the Brighton list with 29 additional adverse events that the Brighton Collaboration rejected because they were “known to have been reported but not in sufficient numbers to merit inclusion on the AESI list“.
The 29 additional adverse events (see Page 8) that Brighton Collaboration declined to include in the priority list, but the authors added anyway include adverse events like:
breast milk, ectopic pregnancy, pregnancy, neonatal diagnoses, foetal diagnoses
host-specific diagnoses not related to pregnancy : geriatric, HIV
In other words – the results in the article are skewed by the inclusion of 29 additional adverse events that were rejected by the Brighton Collaboration.
Fact #6 : The Study Proved Nothing
Dr. Aseem Malhotra wondered why this study did not pause vaccinations. Well, it’s simple – this study is not “the highest quality of scientific evidence” as claimed.
In fact, it offered ZERO EVIDENCE that the mRNA vaccines increased the risk of death or hospitalisation or injury. Neither does it show that the risks of getting the mRNA vaccines exceed its benefits.
There is already a lot of data on actual, proven COVID-19 vaccine side effects, after more than 20 months of vaccinations (from December 2020 until September 2022). If they wanted to prove that the mRNA vaccines are dangerous, they could have reanalysed the original Phase 3 trial data using provenserious side effects, not serious adverse events.
Unfortunately, they chose to use adverse events instead of side effects, and ended up proving nothing in their article. What a waste of time.
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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.
Did the US try to send 7,000 Drosophila insects into China to destroy their crops?!
Take a look at viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : US Sent 7,000 Insects To Destroy Crops In China!
People are sharing a video of a Chinese news report about Chinese custom officials discovering 66 containers of some 7,000 insects in a parcel shipped from the US.
They allege that this is evidence of American sabotage – that the US sent those insects to destroy crops in China. The video is often shared with such messages :
The video showed China🇨🇳 Port Custom, checked a luggage claimed to contain clothing. But when scanned through & upon suspicion, Custom Officers opened up the bag. They found there were more than 60 bottles containing the larvae of Drosophila, some 7k of it. If these bottles of larvae Drosophila were successfully smuggled into China & the matured Drosophila spread throughout the whole China. It will destroy all the fruits plantation/orchards. The matured ones multiplies & spread very fast. The luggage is from USA🇺🇸. The acts of inhumanity in infecting & destroying China🇨🇳 food chain. Evilness knows no boundries.
China customs found 7000 insects sent from the USA. Out to destroy crops in China.
An evil country on the way down trying to pull others down too with sickening and rather despicable tactics ! 🤬🤬🤬
In addition to claiming that these insects are dangerous to crops, some pro-CCP or Chinese-sponsored websites are promoting the claim that these insects had their genes edited to become “more infectious”, like a “super mosquito”.
They also point out that each of these insects can reproduce every 10 days, laying 400 eggs in their lifetime to quickly produce a swarm that will destroy fruits in China, by corrupting them with bacteria and fungi.
Truth : US Did Not Send 7,000 Insects To Destroy Crops In China!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and shared by pro-CCP netizens and websites, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : The Incident Happened In July 2022
First, let us establish what we know about this case.
Sometime in early July 2022, Qingdao customs officers examined a package sent from the United States. Its declaration form claimed that the parcel contained clothes.
When they opened it up, they found two pieces of clothes inside, with 66 sealed tubes containing eggs, larvae, pupae and adult insects.
After analysing them, Qingdao custom officers estimated that the 66 tubes contained roughly 7,000 fruit flies, specifically of the species Drosophila melanogaster.
Fact #2 : Drosophila megalogaster Is Present Worldwide
Drosophila melanogaster is known as the common fruit fly, which is commonly present across the world. Yes, this fruit fly is already present in China.
Despite originating in Africa – it is now present on all continents across the world, including islands.
Fact #3 : Drosophila megalogaster Can Lay Up To 2,000 Eggs
The Chinese media promoting this story can’t even get their facts right, claiming that these fruit flies lay up to 400 eggs in their lifetime.
Drosophila melanogaster females are far more productive than that – they can lay up to 100 eggs a day, and up to 2,000 eggs in a lifetime.
Fact #4 : Drosophila megalogaster Do Not Cause Fruits To Rot
Drosophila melanogaster is not an economic pest, even though no one welcomes them in their home.
It is often confused with Tephritidae – a different family of insects that are also called fruit flies, some of which are economic pests that destroy fruits.
Unlike Tephritidae fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster do not destroy fruits. They are attracted to fruit that is already rotting, but do not cause fruits to rot.
The claims that the US sent Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies to destroy crops in China is nonsense.
Fact #5 : Drosophila megalogaster Is Commonly Used For Research
Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies are very popular in scientific research, for many reasons :
they are easy and cheap to care for, requiring little equipment and space
they have a rapid life cycle of 10 days, allowing several generations to be studied in a few weeks
each female can produce many offspring, laying up to 2,000 eggs in its lifetime
they have simple genetics, with only four pairs of chromosomes
their genome was completely sequenced and published in the year 2000
Scientists do not mention this as a reason for using Drosophila melanogaster, but I think it is important to note that it is not a pest, so accidental release of these fruit flies would not pose any danger of any form or kind.
Fact #6 : Drosophila megalogaster Is Commonly Shipped Worldwide
Because it is a model organism for research, Drosophila melanogaster is bred and shipped internationally to researchers worldwide.
The College of Agriculture and Life Science at Cornell University, for example, breeds and sellsDrosophila melanogaster fruit flies, which they ship internationally including China.
Fact #7 : 2021 Seized Shipment Was Meant For Chinese Research Institute
This wasn’t the first time China seized live Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies in such tubes.
In June 2021, Chinese custom officials found 58 tubes containing more than 1,000 of these fruit flies in an imported parcel addressed to a Chinese research institute.
They seized the parcel because its contents were not declared, and it lacked an import permit.
Fact #8 : China Requires Quarantine For Live Insects
China forbids live insects from being mailed or carried into the country, without special quarantine or approval.
However, quarantine is a problem for Drosophila melanogaster because it has such a short lifespan of just 50 days.
Hence, it is possible that Chinese researchers are trying to circumvent the quarantine by importing live Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies, without an import permit which would require quarantine.
It is also possible that these fruit flies are being imported as a live food source for people’s pet fish, frogs and other animals.
Fact #9 : Cornell University Warned About Chinese Import Permit
Cornell University specifically warned Chinese researchers trying to purchase these fruit flies that :
As of November 1, 2014, we can only offer free replacements for shipments of live flies to China that were accompanied by an import permit.
That suggests that they lost shipments to China in the past, because they lacked import permits.
This is really nothing more than yet another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).
All of the wumao articles that I looked at so far have proven to be false… in every instance. So please watch out for such false claims. Here is just the latest dozen,.
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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.
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.
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 Exposemust 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.
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.
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.
Information from USASpending.gov reflects data from a Master Servicing Agreement, or MSA, which can be modified by the DOD over time to better address emerging issues through its ongoing contracts. Contractors frequently sign additional sub-awards through task orders. These task orders, too, can be modified or amended. The date of each modification is not reflected on the USASpending.gov page, which stays as the date the original MSA was entered into the system, but the description is updated to reflect the latest changes in the task order.
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) contracted with Black & Vea[t]ch to continue to support Ukraine’s peaceful and safe biological detection and diagnostic capabilities and to reduce biological threats, whether they are naturally-occurring, accidental, or intentional, through the provision of equipment, supplies, and training.
Black & Vea[t]ch signed the MSA with DTRA on 2 October, 2019, to modify DTRA’s requested non-COVID training support, which was submitted to the procurement system on 12 November 2019. After the pandemic began, the MSA was modified to provide additional COVID-19 pandemic-related support to Ukraine on 25 April 2020 and again on 12 June 2020.
The task order directed the servicing contractor to provide high-level subject matter expert mentorship support on COVID-19 Laboratory Diagnosis, Biological Safety and Laboratory Emergency Response in Ukraine.
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.
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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.
Did the FDA just confirm that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has a toxic substance called Graphene Oxide?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : FDA Just Admitted Pfizer Vaccine Has Graphene Oxide!
People are sharing an article by The Expose (formerly Daily Expose), which claims that the FDA just confirmed that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has a toxic substance called Graphene Oxide!
Here is an excerpt from the really long article, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
BREAKING: FDA confirms Graphene Oxide is in the mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines after being forced to publish Confidential Pfizer Documents by order of the US Federal Court
The Covid-19 vaccines have been at the centre of a heated debate since their introduction, with many questions and concerns raised about their safety and effectiveness.
Speculation has also been rife that the Covid-19 injections may contain traces of Graphene Oxide, a highly toxic and conductive substance.
Medicine regulators, with the support of the Mainstream Media, have repeatedly denied these claims.
But they were lying to you.
Because recent evidence has emerged that confirms the presence of Graphene Oxide, a highly toxic and conductive substance, in the Pfizer vaccine. And it has come from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which has been forced to publish the confidential Pfizer documents by order of the Federal Court in the USA.
The FDA had initially attempted to delay the release of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine safety data for 75 years, despite approving the injection after only 108 days of a safety review on December 11th, 2020.
However, a group of scientists and medical researchers sued the FDA under FOIA to force the release of hundreds of thousands of documents related to the licensing of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
In early January 2022, Federal Judge Mark Pittman ordered the FDA to release 55,000 pages per month, and since then, PHMPT has posted all of the documents on its website as they have been published.
One of the most recent documents published by the FDA saved as 125742_S1_M4_4.2.1 vr vtr 10741.pdf, confirms the use of Graphene Oxide in the manufacturing process of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.
The document is a description of a study carried out by Pfizer between April 7th 2020 and 19th August 2020, with the objective being “to express and characterize the vaccine antigen encoded by BNT162b2.”
In layman’s terms, the study was conducted to determine how the vaccine works. The study found that the vaccine used mRNA to instruct your cells to produce a protein (called P2 S), which is the Spike protein of the alleged Covd-19 virus.
The millions of spike proteins then bind to a receptor called ACE2 on the surface of your cells, inducing an immune system response.
But what is most interesting about the study is that it confirms on page 7 that reduced Graphene Oxide is required to manufacture the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine because it is needed as a base for the lipid nanoparticles.
Pfizer states on page 7 of the study in section 3.4 the following –
This is most peculiar because medicine regulators with the help of the Mainstream Media, have denied for months on end that Graphene Oxide is an ingredient of the Covid-19 vaccine. They’ve been able to say this because those who’ve proven and speculated Graphene Oxide is in the Pfizer Covid19 injection have been asking the wrong question.
What everyone should have been asking is, ‘is Graphene Oxide used in the manufacturing process of the Pfizer Covid vaccine?’
Because as this document, which the FDA attempted to keep confidential and sealed the 75 years, shows, Graphene Oxide is indeed used in the manufacturing process of the vaccine because it is vital in helping to make the vaccine’s lipid nanoparticles stable.
Therefore, trace amounts or large amounts, depending on the batch, of reduced Graphene Oxide inevitably make their way into the Pfizer Covid-19 injections.
Truth : FDA Did Not Admit Pfizer Vaccine Has Graphene Oxide!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS by The Expose (formerly Daily Expose), and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Daily Expose Is A 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 Exposemust be considered fake news, until proven otherwise.
Fact #2 : FDA Did Not Try To Delay Release Of Pfizer Vaccine Safety Data
The Expose falsely claimed that the FDA attempted to delay the release of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine safety data for 75 years.
For one thing – Pfizer publicly released its COVID-19 vaccine trial results and safety data (PDF download) for the Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) on 10 December 2020.
Also, the 75 year claim was the “interpretation” of Aaron Siri, the lawyer working for PHMPT (Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency) – the group requesting the data that the FDA used to licence the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
And that was because the PHMPT insisted on asking for everything related to the approval process, not just what Pfizer released to the FDA, including “all correspondence and written summaries of oral discussions”.
Fact #4 : Pfizer Document Does Not Refer To Vaccine Components
The Pfizer document that The Expose claim was “proof” that graphene oxide was used in the manufacturing process of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is nothing of the sort.
The document doesn’t show that graphene oxide was used to create or manufacture the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Neither does it show that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine contains graphene oxide.
In fact, the document does not even refer to the components of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at all!
Rather, the document describes how Pfizer scientists analysed the structural and biophysical characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (P2 S) that the vaccine produces in our cells.
The study then determines if the vaccine antigen that is produced by the body accurately replicates the ACE2 binding site and other epitopes (part of an antigen that produces an immune response) targeted by neutralising antibodies.
PF-07302048 : Structural and Biophysical Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein (P2 S) as a Vaccine Antigen
OBJECTIVESThe purpose of this study was to express and characterize the vaccine antigen encoded by BNT162b2.
If you read Section 3.2 of the Pfizer PF-07302048 document (PDF download), it will explain how the scientists obtained those P2 S spike proteins from Expi293F embryonic kidney cells used for research.
Section 3.3 then explains how they used the P2 S spike proteins to test binding kinetics – to see how quickly they bind to human ACE2 and a neutralising monoclonal antibody.
It is fascinating how The Expose missed all that…
Fact #5 : Graphene Oxide Was Only Used In Electron Microscopy
Now, we come to Section 3.4, which The Expose claims is evidence that “Graphene Oxide is required to manufacture the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine because it is needed as a base for the lipid nanoparticles“.
That’s utter nonsense, because the section title specifically referred to Cryogenic Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM) of the P2 S spike protein. In other words – Section 3.4 detailed how Pfizer scientists used cryogenic electron microscopy to determine its 3D structure.
Graphene oxide is commonly used in cryogenic electron microscopy to fix the sample onto a meshed grid before it is frozen to extremely low temperatures for the electron microscope to take its images.
Here is an example of a gold Quantifoil R1.2/1.3 300 mesh grid coated with graphene oxide – similar or even exactly what Pfizer scientists used:
As the Pfizer document detailed, its scientists applied 4 μL of the purified P2 S spike protein sample onto two gold Quantifoil R1.2/1.3 300 mesh grids overlaid with graphene oxide.
After blotting the sample and plunge-freezing it in liquid ethane, the Titan Krios electron microscope took 27,701 micrographs, to determine the 3D structure of the spike protein that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine produces in our cells.
Page 11 of the Pfizer PF-07302048 document actually shows how they created the 3D structure of the P2 S spike protein using those images from the cryogenic electron microscope.
Fact #6 : Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Does Not Contain Graphene Oxide
Anti-vaccination activists and conspiracy theorists have been claiming for years that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine contains graphene oxide, and they have never been able to prove that to date.
And this new claim is no different. That’s because there is NO graphene oxide in the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
In addition to the tozinameran mRNA vaccine, each vial contains these excipients (inactive substances).
The first four are components of the lipid nanoparticles that protect the delicate mRNA vaccine. Trometamol, which is also known as tromethamine or Tris, is a buffer to maintain the vaccine’s pH level, and stabilise the nucleic acid macromolecules.
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine does not contain graphene oxide, because the vaccine does not require it.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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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.
Take a look at the viral video by MIT professor Retsef Levi, who called for the immediate suspension of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, and find out what the facts really are!
MIT Professor Retsef Levi Calls For Suspension Of mRNA Vaccines!
A video by MIT professor Retsef Levi has gone viral, after he claimed that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were causing serious harm to young people, and called for their immediate suspension!
Here is my rough transcript of what Retsef Levi said in his viral video. It’s VERY long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
Hi, my name if Retsef Levi, and since 2006, I’m a faculty member at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I have more than 30 years experience as a practitioner and an academic in using data analytics to assess and manage risk, particularly in the context of health systems, health policies, as well as the management of safety and quality of manufacturing of biologic drugs.
I’m filming this video to share my strong conviction that that at this point in time, all COVID mRNA vaccination programs should stop immediately. They should stop because they completely failed to fulfill any of their advertised promises regarding efficacy. And more importantly, they should stop because of the mounting and indisputable evidence that they cause unprecedented levels of harm, including the death of young people and children.
I personally became concerned with the vaccine safety around the middle of 2021 when it became known that the mRNA vaccines cause myocarditis, and inflammation of the heart. Since myocarditis is known to be hard to diagnose because it often has the vague symptoms, or can even be subclinical with no symptoms, it is also known to a frequent cause of out-of-the-hospital sudden cardiac arrests, especially in young people.
I was very concerned that it would not be detected by the existing vaccine safety surveillance systems. Motivated by that, we decided to analyze the Israel National EMS data to see if there are any signals of increased out of hospital adverse events,.
The analysis of the EMS calls and the diagnosis data from 2019 throughout the first half of 2021 reveals some very concerning signals. We detected an increase of 25% in the calls with cardiac arrest diagnosis amongst ages 16-39 in the first half of 2021. Exactly when the vaccination campaign in Israel was launched.
A smaller increase was also detected in the older ages. Moreover, we also detected a statistically significant temporal correlation between the number of the Pfizer vaccine doses administered to this population and the number of EMS calls with cardiac arrest diagnosis.
Interestingly, we did not find any statistically significant correlation with the number of COVID-19 infections during this period of time.
While this is not a proof of causal relationship, it left us very concerned especially given the known suspect of clinical mechanism. And we called for an immediate thorough investigation by the Israeli Ministry of Health, to investigate what are the underlying causal mechanisms of these observed increase in cardiac arrest calls. Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, such thorough investigation was never conducted.
By now, I believe that the the cumulative evidence is conclusive and confirms our concern that the mRNA vaccines indeed cause sudden cardiac arrest as a sequel of vaccine-induced myocarditis. And this is potentially only one mechanism by which they cause harm.
Data from the UK, Scotland, and Australia replicate the data from Israel. Additional data from Israel indicates that in 2021, the EMS in Israel conducted more than 3,000 more resuscitations compared to 2019, which amounts for an increase of 27%. Two prospective studies from Thailand and Switzerland in which vaccinees were tested before and after they received a vaccine, indicate that the rates of heart damage are likely to be significantly higher than the rates detected by clinical diagnosis. This is exactly the same finding that the US military found in 2015, when it conducted a similar study on the smallpox vaccine.
Another study from the Harvard Medical School detected in the blood of children with vaccine-induced myocarditis, an entire spike, which is another indication of the underlying mechanism of harm, but in fact has even broader implications about the safety of the vaccine given the repeated evidence that we have that the mRNA and the lipids are actually penetrating the blood system.
And finally, autopsies of people that died closely after they received the vaccine indicate that in a large number of cases, there is strong evidence that the death was caused by vaccine-induced myocarditis. So presented with all of this evidence, I think there is no other ethical or scientific choice but to pull out of the market, these medical products and stop all the mRNA vaccination programs. This is clearly the most failing medical product in the history of medical products, both in terms of efficacy and safety.
And we need to investigate and think hard how did we end up in a situation that is also the most profitable medical product in the history of medical products. Thank you for your attention.
MIT Professor Retsef Levi Vaccine Claims Examined!
You do not have to be an MIT professor like Retsef Levi to go through his claims, and discover these facts for yourself. It’s really not difficult at all. Let me show you…
Fact #1 : Retsef Levi Is Professor of Management + Operations Management
Normally, I do not like to comment on anyone’s credentials, as the merits of their facts and arguments should stand on their own. However, Retsef Levi made a point of promoting his credentials, so I feel it is necessary to have a clearer picture of his credentials.
Retsef Levi is a professor of Management, as well as Operations Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, which is a separate business school under the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
MIT Sloan focuses on MBA, Finance, Business Analytics, Management, etc. and is separate from the MIT School of Science, where the faculty teaches and researches the hard sciences from physics and biology to computational biology and statistics.
Management and Operations Management deal with business administration practices to create the highest level of efficiency within a business organisation, which are critical in managing large corporations like Pfizer and Moderna, but would have virtually nothing to do with the actual research and development (R&D) of their products.
Fact #2 : MIT Study Did Not Prove Pfizer Vaccine Raised Heart Problems!
The first study that Retsef Levi mentioned was the one he co-authored in April 2022, which I fact checked in May 2022. In my fact check article, I pointed out these problems:
No clinical research was conducted on any patient. The study only “analysed” data collected by a third party – the Israel National Emergency Medical Services.
The study relied on call data based on initial diagnosis by responding paramedics, not the final / actual diagnosis by doctors after the patients undergo all necessary clinical and laboratory investigations at the hospital.
The data did not include about 50% of cardiac arrest and acute coronary syndrome cases in Israel for that period of time.
The data was not tied to COVID-19 infection, or COVID-19 vaccination, or even pre-existing heart problems.
The authors themselves pointed out that they did not establish any causal relationship between COVID-19 vaccines and heart problems.
The authors also pointed out that the increase in cardiac arrests and acute coronary syndrome may be caused by “other underlying causal mechanisms”.
My fact check article goes much further, but suffice to say – that MIT study did not prove that the Pfizer vaccine increased the risk of heart problems like cardiac arrests in young adults.
Fact #3 : Adverse Events of Special Interest Are Not Vaccine Side Effects!
As supporting evidence, Professor Retsef Levi shared a September 2022 article called “Serious adverse events of special interest following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in randomized trials in adults“.
That article claimed that “secondary analysis of serious adverse events reported” in the Phase 3 trial of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines showed that they were associated with significantly higher risk of serious adverse events of special interest (AESI):
Pfizer : 36% higher risk of AESI
Moderna : 6% higher risk of AESI
Pfizer + Moderna combined : 16% higher risk of AESI
What I don’t understand about the article is why the authors performed their “analysis” of adverse events of special interest (AESI), when they are not side effects of the vaccines!
The AESI list is not specific to the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
The AESI list includes “exposure to SARS-CoV-2”, and other viruses like Herpes, MERS, Varicella, as well as other “communicable disease”.
The AESI list includes manufacturing and lab test issues like “Manufacturing laboratory analytical testing issue, Manufacturing materials issue, Manufacturing production issue“.
The AESI list includes product supply issues like “Product availability issue, Product distribution issue, Product supply issue“.
Fact #4 : Smallpox Vaccine Does Not Use mRNA Technology
Oddly enough, Retsef Levi referred to a 2015 US Military finding that the smallpox vaccine caused heart problems.
In this 2019 case study by the US military, the rate of myopericarditis was shown to increase by 50X after they switched from the older Dryvax smallpox vaccine, to the new ACAM2000 vaccine.
However, that new ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine does not use mRNA technology, but a single plaque-purified vaccinia virus derivative of Dryvax (NYCBH strain).
In other words – the smallpox vaccine uses a live but less dangerous virus called vaccinia, to help your body develop immunity against the smallpox virus.
Viral infections, even if they are mild, can lead to heart inflammation, so it would not be surprising if the smallpox vaccine (which uses an actual virus) can trigger heart inflammation in a small number of people.
Fact #5 : Implication Of Free Spike Protein In Vaccine Myocarditis Still Unknown
On 4 January 2023, a study published in the journal Circulation showed that 16 patients who developed myocarditis after mRNA vaccination had “markedly elevated levels of full-length spike protein” that were “unbound by antibodies”.
In contrast, no free spike proteins were detected in 45 control subjects who did not develop myocarditis after mRNA vaccination.
This is a very interesting finding, which suggests that free spike proteins (unbound by antibodies) may possibly be the cause of myocarditis in young adults who receive the mRNA vaccine. However, the implication isn’t clear because it is not known why there are free spike proteins in the first place.
The mRNA vaccines teach some of our cells to create spike proteins. Because they are expressed on the cell surface, those spike proteins do not float freely in the blood, but rather, trigger the immune system to develop antibodies that bind to them.
As the study noted, people who do not develop myocarditis after receive the mRNA vaccines do not show any free spike protein – precisely what was meant to happen.
So the implication of that finding of free spike protein is still unknown, and warrants additional research. It is, however, not evidence that the mRNA vaccines cause heart problems.
Fact #6 : Vaccine-Induced Myocarditis Can Be Confirmed
It is important to point out that vaccine-induced myocarditis can be clinically differentiated from classical myocarditis, as well as proven through histopathology.
Instead of relying on “statistical analysis” of partial data from emergency call centres, we should rely instead on proper medical diagnoses based on clinical and laboratory investigations.
That is how we can avoid prematurely claiming that people died from the COVID-19 vaccines, only for their autopsies to prove otherwise, like these cases:
Will these anti-vaccination activists apologise for lying to you? Nope! They will just move on to the next death / tragedy…
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Have COVID-19 vaccines been recalled after over 40,000 deaths were reported in major safety databases?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : COVID-19 Vaccines Were Recalled After 40K Deaths!
People are sharing a video of Dr. Peter McCullough testifying to a Senate Committee on Health & Human Services, as evidence that COVID-19 vaccines have been recalled after 40,000 deaths!
It is often shared with comments like this :
50 deaths is the threshold for a vaccine recall.
40,000 #COVID19 #VaccineDeaths and no recall.
Ask yourself, why is this the first in history?
The video shows Dr. Peter McCullough making a number of claims. Here is my transcript.
It’s long so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts…
This month, the World Council for Health, which represents 70 bodies worldwide, has called for a global recall of all vaccines, because worldwide 40,000 deaths that these safety databases across the world… 40,000 in the big ones – VAERS, the Yellow Card System, the VigiSafe [sic] and Eudrys [sic] system. 40,000 deaths with the vaccines.
Unacceptably high. Technical standard for any biologic product is 50 deaths – pull it off the market. Something’s gone wrong. 50, not 40 thousand.
So when there is a global recall by an international organisation, this committee ought to be having emergency meetings. What are we going to do? A worldwide body has called for these to pull off the market.
They are still giving it. You just heard from the pharmacy director ahead of me. He is still giving them out.
When there is a worldwide recall, there should be some committee meeting so you have it down, I mean you can tell something is going on here, that we are in trouble in terms of vaccine safety.
Doctor Malone’s covered vaccine efficacy, which has honestly waned. I will just tell you that the CDC told us, as of December 10th, 2021, with the Omicron strain, 79% of people with Omicron were fully-vaccinated. That is prima facie evidence that the vaccines have completely failed against Omicron.
Truth : COVID-19 Vaccines Are Safe + Were Not Recalled!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by anti-vaccination activists, including Dr. Peter McCullough himself, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : It Was A Texas Senate Hearing
First, let us understand the context behind the viral video.
It was a partial clip from a 10.5 hour long interim hearing on public health data and the COVID-19 pandemic response held by the Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee on June 27, 2022.
The Texas Senate hearing was just political theatre, in which the Republicans brought in fringe doctors or scientists like Peter McCullough and Robert Malone to, well, tell their lies.
I will now go through the McCullough clip (which starts at about 8:05:00), and show you why he has not changed his lying ways…
Fact #2 : No COVID-19 Vaccines Were Recalled
Just to be clear – no COVID-19 vaccines were recalled, either by health authorities or the manufacturers themselves.
Fact #3 : WCH Called For Vaccine Recall Since Sept. 2021
Despite its name – the World Council for Health (WCH) is really just another anti-vaccination organisation, filled with the usual suspects.
Just to be clear – it has no authority whatsoever. The WCH is nothing more than an antivaxxer club.
The WCH was launched on September 23, 2021 with the expressed purpose of calling for “an Immediate Stop to the Covid-19 Experimental Vaccines“.
They also issued a Cease and Desist declaration, claiming that “Covid-19 vaccinations are dangerous and unsafe for human use“.
So Peter McCullough falsely claimed that WCH called for a vaccine recall “this month”. It has been calling for a vaccine recall from the very first day it was established. That is really its sole purpose – to stop COVID-19 vaccinations.
Fact #4 : VigiSafe + Eudrys Do Not Exist
Peter McCullough referred to the VigiSafe and Eudrys vaccine safety databases, but they do not exist.
Perhaps he meant the WHO VigiBase / VigiAccess database, and the EudraVigilance system run by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
It is hilarious that Peter McCullough still insists on using pharmacovigilance data from VAERS, the Yellow Card system, etc. as evidence.
Anyone who even bothers to read the highlighted WARNINGS on those websites would have understood that their data and reports cannot be considered evidence of any kind, because:
they may contain duplicated information and/or reports
the reported event may be caused by an illness, like a COVID-19 infection for example,
the reported event may be caused by a different drug taken by the patient at the same time
they have not been assessed by health authorities to ascertain if it’s even “biologically plausible”
In addition, open systems like VAERS, or the UK Yellow Card system, are very susceptible to abuse because they allow anyone from anywhere to post anything they want, without evidence or verification.
Anti-vaccination activists can, for example, key in unlimited numbers of adverse reaction reports, even if they never received a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine!
Fact #6 : 40,000 Deaths Not Proven To Be Caused By Vaccines
Using pharmacovigilance data to claim that the COVID-19 vaccines caused 40,000 deaths is disinformation – false information deliberately created to deceive you.
Peter McCullough has no evidence that the 40,000 deaths reported in pharmacovigilance data were actually caused by COVID-19 vaccines.
Making an adverse reaction report is no different from making a police report. If you make a police report, it is registered in the system. However, that doesn’t mean a crime was actually committed. The police will have to investigate and determine if you were lying / mistaken, or there was indeed a crime.
Similarly, these adverse reaction reports are just reports. They must first be investigated, in order to determine if they are really side effects of the vaccine, or completely unrelated.
Fact #7 : There Is No 50 Death Threshold For Vaccine Withdrawal
There is no such thing as a 50 death threshold for a vaccine withdrawal.
Vaccines are often recalled for non-lethal reasons. In fact, they are most often recalled in batches by their manufacturers after quality control tests showed some irregularities in certain batches.
Health authorities like the US FDA also monitor vaccines continuously and determine if there is a safety concern that warrants a withdrawal. They do not have to wait for 50 people to die first. That’s just absurd!
Sometimes vaccines are also recalled due to “low vaccine potency or strength”. In such cases, people who received them would need to get an extra dose!
Fact #8 : There Were Only 43 Omicron Cases On Dec. 10, 2021
It is interesting that Peter McCullough would talk about Omicron cases six months in the past.
But if you dig a little deeper, you will realise that he chose to talk about Omicron cases on December 10, 2021 because it was the first CDC report on Omicron cases in the United States.
At that time, there were only 43 known Omicron cases in the United States. Even though it showed that 79% were fully-vaccinated, that is misleading due to the low number of cases.
Fact #9 : Vaccinated People Have Mild Symptoms, Fewer Deaths
What he does not tell you is that most fully-vaccinated people experience mild symptoms even if they were infected with the Omicron variant.
He also does not tell you that COVID-19 deaths for fully-vaccinated people remain low, even as surges increased deaths for unvaccinated people, regardless of variant.
Fact #10 : Vaccines Were Meant To Prevent Hospitalisation + Death
Peter McCullough falsely claimed that the 79% result was “prima facie evidence” that the COVID-19 vaccines failed to work against the Omicron variant.
The COVID-19 vaccines are not force fields – they cannot block infections. They were designed to prevent symptomatic infections, severe disease and death by training your own immune system to defend itself against the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The Omicron variant causes more breakthrough infections, but the COVID-19 vaccines continue to protect against severe disease leading to hospitalisations, and death from the Omicron variant.
The truth is – the COVID-19 vaccines still work well against the Omicron variants. They may not prevent infections, but they will ensure you have milder symptoms, and greatly reduce your risk of severe disease and death.
Fact #11 : Booster Doses Increase Protection Against Omicron
What Peter McCullough does not mention is the fact that you can improve your protection against the Omicron variant by getting a booster dose (or two).
A January 2022 study by the CDC showed that getting a third dose of any mRNA vaccine increases protection against both the Delta and Omicron variants.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
And please protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
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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.
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 :
It was a laboratory study, which means the results may not translate into actual effect in a living human being.
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.
They didn’t test bak kut teh… they only tested four soup bases used to make bak kut teh.
The soup concentrations were unspecified, so it is unknown if the doses are equivalent to what our livers are subjected to after a meal.
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.
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
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!
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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.
Is the Chinese herbal medicine Lianhua Qingwen more effective than the Pfizer Paxlovid antiviral combination?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Lianhua Qingwen Is More Effective Than Paxlovid!
People are sharing a link to a Bloomberg called “Pfizer’s Covid Pill Doesn’t Work For Healthier Patients, Will Focus On Those With higher Risk”, together with this message :
Pfizer scams the world with US$22 billion in sales of Paxlovid to treat Covid. Now finds that Paxlovid does not work and may cause rebound of disease. Malaysia has ordered 200,000 doses at a cost of RM500 million – RM2,500 per dose compared to a few bucks for China’s effective Lian Hwa pills.
Truth : Paxlovid Is More Effective Than Lianhua Qingwen!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) as part of their campaign to support Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Paxlovid Is Combination Of Two Antiviral Drugs
Pfizer PAXLOVID is an antiviral treatment that consists of two protease inhibitors :
two 150 mg tablets of Nirmatrelvir (the new protease inhibitor developed by Pfizer)
one 100 mg tablet of Ritonavir (an old antiviral approved in 1996)
Protease inhibitors work by binding to proteolytic enzymes used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to replicate. This prevents the virus from replicating in the infected cells, stopping the infection and preventing transmission.
Drug combinations like this offer a synergistic effect, above and beyond their individual abilities. In this combination, ritonavir helps to slow down the breakdown of nirmatrelvir, allowing it to remain in the body for a longer period at higher concentrations.
Fact #2 : Paxlovid Was Proven To Work Against COVID-19
Unlike Lianhua Qingwen, Paxlovid underwent and passed an actual randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
In the EPIC-HR clinical trial, Paxlovid was shown to reduce hospitalisation or death from COVID-19 by 88%, compared to placebo.
The EUA allows Paxlovid to be used for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and children 12 years and older, who are at high risk of developing severe COVID-19.
I should point out that the EPIC-HR trial involved adults who have a high risk of developing severe COVID-19 :
18 years and older with a risk factor for developing severe COVID-19, or
60 years and older, regardless of chronic medical conditions
All these patients also were not vaccinated against COVID-19, which puts them at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19.
Fact #4 : Paxlovid Not Effective In Normal Risk Patients
After successfully proving that Paxlovid worked for patients who are at high risk of developing severe COVID-19, Pfizer tested it on “standard risk patients”.
Their study showed a 51% relative risk reduction of developing severe COVID-19, which was not statistically significant.
That was why Pfizer halted further enrolment in its Paxlovid trial for “standard risk patients”, which are people who do not have co-morbidities – health conditions that put them at risk of developing severe COVID-19.
This “failure” actually shows the value of running clinical tests, before approving any drug. Unlike Paxlovid though, Lianhua Qingwen did not undergo any clinical trial to prove that it can treat or prevent COVID-19.
Fact #5 : Lianhua Qingwen Not Proven To Work Against COVID-19
Lianhua Qingwen (连花清瘟) has been heavily promoted by the Chinese government and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), leading to massive sales in the global Chinese diaspora.
It then gained oversized importance when both Hong Kong and Shanghai distributed boxes of these capsules to help stave off the surge of COVID-19 in both cities.
Yet, the mass distribution of Lianhua Qingwen has done nothing to stop the spread of COVID-19 in both cities.
That’s because, unlike Paxlovid, there never was any evidence that Lianhua Qingwen can treat or prevent COVID-19.
Its main “call to fame” was a small Chinese study conducted early during the pandemic, which showed that it had only a modest effect on symptom recovery :
time to recover from fever : 2 days, instead of 3 days
time to recover from fatigue : 3 days, instead of 6 days
time to recover from coughing : 7 days, instead of 10 days
There was NO DIFFERENCE in the viral load, or the risk of developing severe COVID-19.
In other words – Lianhua Qingwen only helped to reduce symptoms, and was no different from taking over-the-counter drugs like paracetamol.
Fact #6 : Lianhua Qingwen Should Not Be Taken To Prevent COVID-19
Official Chinese media outlets like CGTN and China Daily have falsely claimed that that Lianhua Qingwen was “proven effective for the treatment of COVID-19” and that it was “approved to treat [COVID-19] virus”.
However, Lianhua Qingwen cannot prevent COVID-19, and should not be taken on a long-term basis to prevent it, due to potential side effects.
The medicine could cause side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and rash.
Fang Bangjiang, doctor from Long Hua Hospital of the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that Lianhua Qingwen has complex ingredients and is mainly suitable for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms of fever and pneumonia but unsuitable for prevention.
Its ingredients will affect the renal system.
Fact #7 : Chinese Official Admits Lianhua Qingwen Cannot Kill Coronavirus
When Chinese Deputy Consul General in Vancouver, Kong Weiwei, was confronted about these claims, he said that people should be “mature enough” to do their own research and understand that Lianhua Qingwen cannot kill the COVID-19 virus :
They’re not babies. We don’t want to be like a nanny telling every one of them that these [Lianhua Qingwen capsules] cannot kill the virus.
Fact #8 : Singapore HSA Warns Against Lianhua Qingwen Claims
The Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA) continues to warn the public not to believe the many misleading claims made about Lianhua Qingwen’s ability to treat or prevent COVID-19.
To date, there is no scientific evidence from randomised clinical trials to show that any herbal product, including Lianhua Qingwen products, can be used to prevent or treat COVID-19.
All herbal products formulated for common cold and flu, including CPM, should only be used to manage symptoms such as headache, runny or blocked nose, sore throat and cough.
We strongly advise members of the public not to fall prey to unsubstantiated claims or spread unfounded rumours that herbal products can be used to prevent or treat COVID-19.
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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.
Did the mainstream media just admit that the 4th vaccine jab can shut down our immune system?!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : 4th Vaccine Jab Can Shut Down Our Immune System!
Anti-vaccination activists are excitedly sharing this Good Morning America (GMA) video, claiming that the mainstream media has now admitted that the 4th vaccine jab can shut down our immune system!
For your convenience, here is my transcript of the relevant part of the video (at around 1:05) :
People who have high antibody levels… there is the potential – I want to underscore the potential, we haven’t seen any evidence of this immune phenomenon known as tolerance, where if you already have high antibody levels, and you get another booster that your immune system can start to say, well, what am I needed for, and can kind of start to shut down.
Truth : No Vaccine / Booster Jab Can Shut Down Our Immune System!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by anti-vaccination activists to scare people into not protecting themselves against COVID-19.
Let me share with you the FACTS, and tell you WHY this is just fake news…
Fact #1 : Jennifer Ashton Was A Guest On GMA
First, let me establish some context of the video. It was a Good Morning America (GMA) video, in which Dr. Jennifer Lee Garflen Ashton was a guest.
She is a board-certified obstetrician and gynaecologist, who is also ABC News chief medical correspondent. You will see that stated on the chyron at about 0:08 of the video.
Fact #2 : Video Was On Antibody Surge From 4th Vaccine Dose
The GMA segment was discussing the May 9, 2022 study published in the Lancet, showing that the 4th vaccine dose (a second booster dose) delivered a large surge of antibodies.
Fact #3 : Video Was Recorded On May 10, 2022
The video is actually pretty old, being recorded two months ago – on May 10, 2022.
It was only in July 2022 that anti-vaccination activists stumbled on what Dr. Jennifer Ashton said in that video.
Fact #4 : Tolerance Does NOT Shut Down Immune System
When Dr. Ashton said that your immune system “can kind of start to shut down“, she was referring to your immune system ignoring the vaccine, not that it would actually shut down your immune system.
This phenomenon is known as immune tolerance or immunotolerance, which she also mentioned in the video. It happens when your own immune system no longer reacts to the allergen (like peanut or a vaccine).
If you develop a tolerance to the vaccine, your immune system does not shut down. The vaccine simply does not trigger the immune system to produce additional antibodies. It just goes, “Who cares???”
Fact #5 : Dr. Ashton Said There Was No Evidence Of Tolerance
In the video, Dr. Ashton stated very clearly that “we haven’t seen any evidence of this immune phenomenon known as tolerance“.
She was only mentioning tolerance to explain why the CDC is being cautious and recommending the 4th vaccine dose – a second booster dose – only for 50 years and older, or those who are immunocompromised.
Unfortunately, anti-vaccination activists are twisting her words to convey the false narrative that the 4th vaccine dose can shut down our immune system.
Fact #6 : COV-BOOST Study Showed No Evidence Of Tolerance
The study the GMA video was discussing looked at whether the fourth dose, which is a second booster dose, would deliver a good boost of antibodies, or trigger tolerance and therefore produce little to no additional antibodies.
This study was based on the COV-BOOST trial – a multicentre, blinded, randomised controlled trial (RCT) of third doses, in which there was a sub-study of a fourth dose.
The study, which was peer-reviewed and published in the Lancet, showed that there was no immune tolerance to the 4th vaccine dose.
In fact, it showed that the 4th vaccine dose induced a significant boost in antibody levels, especially for the elderly – those who are 70 years and older.
14 Days After
4th Dose
Less than
70 Years Old
70 Years Old
+ Above
vs. Day 28 after 3rd Dose
+37%
+68%
vs. Day 0 after 4th Dose
+745%
+1239%
Fact #7 : Anti-Vaccine Claims All Proven False
This is yet another example of anti-vaccination activists twisting the facts to deceive you into believing that vaccines are dangerous.
So far, their COVID-19 vaccine claims have proven to be false… at every instance!
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
And please protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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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.
Both Pfizer and Moderna have successfully tested their bivalent COVID-19 vaccines which offer significantly better protection against Omicron and its sub variants!
Pfizer + Moderna Bivalent COVID Vaccines Are Almost Here!
Pfizer and Moderna announced, on 25 June and 8 June respectively, that they successfully tested their bivalent COVID-19 vaccines.
The Moderna bivalent COVID-19 vaccine targets both the original SARS-CoV-2 strain, as well as the current Omicron variant. Moderna says it’s their lead candidate for the Fall 2022 booster dose.
Pfizer tested both a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, as well as a monovalent vaccine that targets the Omicron variant, in two dose levels – the “regular” 30 µg, and a higher 60 µg.
All three mRNA vaccine candidates offered significantly higher neutralising antibody titres against the Omicron variant.
The US FDA and other health regulators are now looking into whether to offer them as a booster dose for the fall season.
Pfizer + Moderna Bivalent COVID Vaccines : What We Know So Far…
Moderna Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccine
Designed as a booster dose, the Moderna bivalent COVID-19 vaccine contains the original mRNA-1273 (Spikevax) vaccine and a vaccine candidate targeting the Omicron variant.
The resulting mRNA-1273.214 mix was tested at the standard 50 µg dose, and found to increase the geometric mean title (GMT) against Omicron by approximately 8X above the baseline level (without the booster dose).
Antibody levels dropped after a month, but the new mRNA-1273.214 vaccine candidate still showed significantly higher antibody levels against the Omicron variant, compared to the original Spikevax vaccine.
GMT Levels
(after 1 month)
Bivalent
Candidate
Original
Spikevax
Difference
Ancestral SARS-CoV-2
5977
5649
+5.8%
Omicron Variant
2372
1473
+61.0%
Moderna also said that the new bivalent vaccine candidate has a similar safety profile to its original Spikevax vaccine, when both vaccines were administered as a second booster dose.
Pfizer Bivalent + Monovalent COVID-19 Vaccines
Pfizer and BioNTech tested both an Omicron-specific monovalent vaccine, as well as a bivalent mix like Moderna. They also tested them in both the standard 30 µg dose, and a higher 60 µg dose.
The Omicron-only booster dose offered the strongest immune response against the Omicron variant – 2X to 3X higher than the original COMIRNATY vaccine.
Their bivalent booster dose candidate, on the other hand, offered 1.5X to 2X higher antibody levels against the Omicro variant than the original COMIRNATY vaccine.
However, health authorities are likely to prefer the bivalent version as it will boost protection against the original virus, as well as the Omicron variant at the same time.
Pfizer Vaccine Type
GMR
(vs. Omicron)
60 µg Monovalent
3.15
30 µg Monovalent
2.23
60 µg Bivalent
1.97
30 µg Bivalent
1.56
30 µg Original Vaccine
Baseline
One month after administration, both monovalent and bivalent Pfizer vaccine candidates offered significantly higher neutralising antibodies against the Omicron BA.1 variant.
Pfizer Vaccine Type
GMT
(vs. Omicron)
60 µg Monovalent
19.6X
30 µg Monovalent
13.5X
60 µg Bivalent
10.9X
30 µg Bivalent
9.1X
Without Booster
Baseline
Pfizer also said that both vaccine candidates demonstrated a favourable safety and tolerability profile, similar to the original Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
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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.
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.
Because of the findings of the animal studies and the MIT study, a group of Swedish scientists from Lund University conducted a study to investigate the effect the Pfizer/BioNTech injection (BNT162b2) had on human liver cells and if Pfizer’s encoded spike protein RNA can be reverse transcribed into DNA. The study, ‘Intracellular Reverse Transcription of Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 In Vitro in Human Liver Cell Line’, was published on 25 February 2022.
“In this study, we investigated the effect of BNT162b2 on the human liver cell line Huh7 in vitro,” the study authors wrote.
The study found that the mRNA injection is able to enter the human liver cell line Huh7 and that the injections’ mRNA is reverse transcribed into DNA as fast as six hours after the cells were exposed to it.
“A possible mechanism for reverse transcription is through endogenous [intracellular] reverse transcriptase LINE-1, and the nucleus protein distribution of LINE-1 is elevated by BNT162b2,” the study authors wrote.
“Huh cells are ‘immortal’ liver tumour cells and grow ad-infinitum if you give them love,” Jessica Rose explained, “LINE-1 is a reverse transcriptase that we carry and comprises ~17% of our genome!”
“Our study shows that [Pfizer’s mRNA injection] … can be reverse transcribed to DNA … and this may give rise to the concern if [injection]-derived DNA may be integrated into the host genome and affect the integrity of genomic DNA, which may potentially mediate genotoxic side effects.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
Did 800 people quit the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine trial, because they died or were injured by the vaccine?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : 800 People Quit Pfizer Trial Over Vaccine Death / Injury!
The Expose is back again, with yet another “expose” on the Pfizer documents.
This time, they claim that a confidential Pfizer document that the FDA was “forced” to publish by court order, revealed that 800 people never completed Phase 1 of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial, because they either died, suffered a serious adverse event, or withdrew their consent.
Here are excerpts from their article, which is long-winded, so please skip to the next section for the facts!
Pfizer Documents reveal at least 800 people never finished the COVID Vaccine Trial due to Death, Injury or Withdrawn Consent
One of the confidential Pfizer documents that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been forced to publish by court order reveals that approximately 800 people never completed the phase 1 Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial in the USA due to either losing their life, suffering a serious adverse event or suddenly withdrawing their consent.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) attempted to delay the release of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine safety data for 75 years despite approving the injection after only 108 days of safety review on December 11th, 2020.
But in early January 2022, Federal Judge Mark Pittman ordered them to release 55,000 pages per month. They released 12,000 pages by the end of January.
Since then, PHMPT has posted all of the documents on its website. The latest drop happened on 1st June 2022.
One of the documents contained in the latest data dump is ‘125742_S1_M5_5351_c4591001 fa interim discontinued patients.pdf’.
The document provides a 112-page list of subjects who withdrew from the phase 1 clinical trial of the Pfizer Covid-19 injection, and provides a vague description as to why.
The first 14 pages list 102 subjects who withdrew from the study. This equates to an average of 7.2 subjects per page. So based on a further 93 pages detailing withdrawn subjects this equates to approximately 780 people who withdrew from the first phase of the clinical trial alone. The actual number could be slightly more or slightly less.
Many of the subjects mysteriously revoked consent to continue in the trial due to reasons such as re-reading the consent form and deciding it is not what they had originally agreed to.
Whilst others withdrew their consent to continue in the study following receipt of dose 1 for unexplained reasons, meaning they did not want to receive the second dose.
But unfortunately, there are several who withdrew their consent to continue the trial due to suffering serious adverse events. Page 110 of the document lists one person who suffered a pulmonary embolism, which is a blood vessel in the lungs blocked by a blood clot. The condition can be life-threatening if not treated quickly.
Page 108 of the document lists one person who suffered a cerebral infarction. The condition is also known as an ischemic stroke and occurs as a result of disrupted blood flow to the brain due to problems with the blood vessels that supply it. A lack of adequate blood supply to brain cells deprives them of oxygen and vital nutrients which can cause parts of the brain to die off.
Everything posted by The Expose must be considered fake news, until proven otherwise.
Fact #2 : FDA Was Not Forced To Release Pfizer Documents
The Expose falsely claimed that the FDA was forced by a court order to publish / release documents on the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials.
The truth is – the group, PHMPT (Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency), asked the FDA to send them the Pfizer documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The FDA duly processed and released the first batch of Pfizer documents on November 17, 2021; and released the PHMPT’s priority list by January 31, 2022.
However, the PHMPT was not satisfied with the speed at which the FDA was processing and releasing the documents, so they sued the FDA to force them to deliver 329,000 Pfizer documents in 108 days.
In short – the FDA was already releasing the Pfizer documents. The lawsuit was merely to force them to speed up the process.
It appears that they didn’t read the document properly. The document clearly stated, in the first two pages no less, that no subject withdrew from Phase 1 of the clinical trial.
No subject meets the reporting criteria.
Fact #4 : There Were Only 42 People In Phase 1
It is hilarious that The Expose would (falsely) claim that about 800 people withdrew from the Phase 1, when only 42 people participated in Phase 1 of the Pfizer clinical trial!
Fact #5 : Only 1 Person Withdrew From Phase 2 Trial
Only one person withdrew from Phase 2 of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial.
That person withdrew because an adverse event was discovered – he/she had stomach cancer, specifically a gastric adenocarcinoma.
Just to be clear, especially for the geniuses at The Expose, you cannot get stomach cancer from any vaccine.
Fact #6 : Adverse Events Are Not Vaccine Side Effects
Adverse events are “unfavourable” or “unintended” events that happen after vaccination or taking a drug, like having an anaphylactic reaction or getting into a car accident.
All reported adverse events have to be investigated to find out if they are related (anaphylactic reaction) or not (getting into a car accident) to the vaccine or drug that was taken.
Even if an adverse event was “possibly caused” by the vaccine, it must still be confirmed that the vaccine directly caused it, because an anaphylactic reaction (for example) can also occur from a bee sting, or an existing peanut allergy.
Only once an adverse event is confirmed to be caused by the vaccine, is it then a vaccine side effect. Otherwise, it is merely an adverse event, not a side effect.
Fact #7 : Adverse Events Not Specific To Pfizer Vaccine
In any clinical trial, scientists look out for common adverse events that may affect the study, or suggest a potential side effect.
The list of adverse events is not specific to the Pfizer vaccine, and was specified before clinical trials even began.
Many of the adverse events mentioned in the document are definitely not caused by the Pfizer vaccine :
alcohol poisoning
cerebral infarction
pulmonary embolism
transient ischaemic attack
atherosclerotic disease
coronary artery occlusion
Parkinsonism
congestive heart failure
Fact #8 : AESI List Includes Irrelevant Adverse Events
The list of adverse events used in the Pfizer clinical trial included diseases involving other viruses – Herpes, MERS, Varicella; as well as “exposure to SARS-CoV-2” and other “communicable disease”.
The list also included manufacturing and lab test issues, like “Manufacturing laboratory analytical testing issue, Manufacturing materials issue, Manufacturing production issue“.
Even product supply issues were included – “Product availability issue, Product distribution issue, Product supply issue“.
They are obviously not vaccine side effects, nor related in any way to the performance or safety of the vaccine.
Nevertheless, those “irrelevant” adverse events affects the study. Therefore, subjects with such adverse events will generally be eliminated from the study.
Fact #9 : Many Withdrew From Study For Innocuous Reasons
The Expose falsely claimed that the FDA was desperate to hide this document because it showed that hundreds of people refused to continue in Phase 1 of the Pfizer trial.
The Pfizer document has 579 cases of Withdrawal By Subject, and many of them listed innocuous reasons :
busy work schedule / new job
family situation / personal reasons
moved to another town / state / country
wants to start a family
transportation issues
In the end, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial enrolled over 43,600 participants.
While 579 cases of withdrawals may sound like a lot, it’s less than 1.5% of the 43,600 people that actually participated in the study.
In other words, for every person who withdrew from the study, 75 other people stayed in the study.
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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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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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.
Did hundreds of athletes die of COVID-19 vaccine side effects, shortly after getting vaccinated?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Hundreds Of Athletes Died Of COVID-19 Vaccine Effects!
For many months now, the Good Sciencing website has been claiming that hundreds of athletes have died of COVID-19 vaccine side effects.
They compiled a list of athletes who died, and created a chart to prove that their deaths must be caused by the COVID-19 vaccine.
It is definitely not normal for so many mainly young athletes to suffer from cardiac arrests or to die while playing their sport, but this year it is happening. Many of these heart issues and deaths come shortly after they got a COVID vaccine. While it is possible this can happen to people who did not get a COVID vaccine, the sheer numbers clearly point to the only obvious cause.
The so-called health professionals running the COVID vaccine programs around the world keep repeating that “the COVID vaccine is a normal vaccine and it is safe and effective.”
In response to their pronouncement, here is a non-exhaustive and continuously growing list of mainly young athletes who had major medical issues in 2021/2022 after receiving one or more COVID vaccines.
Initially, many of these were not reported. We know that many people were told not to tell anyone about their adverse reactions and the media was not reporting them.
They started happening and ramping up after the first COVID vaccinations. The mainstream media still are not reporting most, but sports news cannot ignore the fact that soccer players and other stars collapse in the middle of a game due to a sudden cardiac arrest. Many of those die – more than 50%.
Truth : Hundreds Of Athletes Did NOT Die Of COVID-19 Vaccine Effects!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by anti-vaccination activists to scare people from protecting themselves with the COVID-19 vaccines.
The truth is – hundreds of athletes did not die from COVID-19 vaccine side effects, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Their Vaccination Status Are Unknown
Before anyone can come analyse this issue, one must first collect good data. The problem is Good Sciencing doesn’t have good data.
Specifically, they do NOT actually know if the athletes in their database were even vaccinated!
If they are not even sure those athletes were vaccinated, how can they be sure their injuries or deaths were due to the vaccine???
But instead of doing any actual research, they gave themselves a waiver by claiming that everyone from the clubs, sponsors and even the players are hiding that information.
Wow, what an easy way out! Everyone must be lying, therefore they must all be vaccinated! What bullshit.
Fact #2 : They Did Not Establish Causation
Good Sciencing believes that their chart shows a direct correlation between COVID-19 vaccinations (which began for most countries in early 2021) and the deaths of athletes.
The problem is – correlation does not imply causation. For example, if you get pregnant after getting the COVID-19 vaccine, does it mean that the vaccine made you pregnant? Of course, not.
Good Sciencing never offered proof that the deaths or injuries were caused by the vaccine. They only claimed that the athletes must have died or got injured by the vaccine, because they were so young and fit.
Good Sciencing suggests that it is rather rate for young and fit athletes to die suddenly. That’s really nonsense.
Let’s take a look at the sameMaron study they used as evidence. The chart from that study shows a progressive rise in sudden death reports of 6% per year, from 1980 to 2006.
Good Sciencing does not show you this chart, because it shows that sudden deaths in young and fit athletes more than quadrupled from 1980 to 2006!
This puts paid to their claim that such a rise in sudden death must be due to the COVID-19 vaccine, which obviously did not exist back then.
Good Sciencing claimed that over 680 athletes died in 17 months, compared to 1866 athletes in 27 years (324 months) of the Maron study.
But what they don’t tell you is that they were comparing athlete sudden deaths WORLDWIDE against the Maron study, which only looked at athlete sudden deaths in the United States.
Do they realise how stupid that is? The population of the United States in 2006 was 298 million, whereas the worldwide population right now is 7.9 billion.
No, they are not stupid. They are just dishonest. They skewed their data 26.5X in their favour, by comparing US deaths from the past to worldwide deaths today.
Fact #5 : Athletes Were Under Lockdown
Good Sciencing also (intentionally?) forgot to point out that the Maron study showed that 82% of those sudden deaths occurred with physical exertion during competition or training.
This is an important point, because most athletes were not competing or playing in the early months of 2021, due to COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions.
Those COVID-19 restrictions started to taper off as vaccination numbers rose, and sports tournaments and games started up towards the latter half of 2021.
The resumption of strenuous sporting activities would explain the increase in athlete sudden deaths throughout 2021. After all, many young athletes suffer sudden cardiac arrests during strenuous activities.
That is certainly far more plausible than blaming the COVID-19 vaccine without even knowing if they were vaccinated in the first place!
Good Sciencing intentionally skewed their data by including deaths from chronic diseases like cancer and chronic heart conditions.
Here is a selection of athletes whose deaths / conditions they are blaming on the COVID-19 vaccine, despite being of chronic conditions that would be started long before the vaccine was developed.
Danielle Kang : Golfer who was diagnosed with a tumour on her spine, which has not been determined to be malignant or benign.
Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa : Footballer who underwent a quadruple bypass heart surgery to clear blocked coronary arteries.
Justin Hardy : Basketball player who died from stomach cancer.
Bobby Hill : Australian football player who was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Lazar LaPenna : 10 year-old boy (who isn’t an athlete!) who suffered from epilepsy, and died after going into seizures.
Amazingly, they even included athletes who suffered from COVID-19 injuries! I’m surprised they didn’t include athletes who died from car accidents!
Fact #7 : They Included The Elderly Too!
While Good Sciencing claimed that it is not normal for “young athletes” to suffer from cardiac arrests or die while playing their sport, they didn’t hesitate to include the elderly to skew their data!
Here is a selection of “not so young” athletes they used in their data…
Peter Matera : 53 year-old former Australian footballer who had a cardiac arrest while chopping wood
Michele Bortignon : 51 year-old rally driver who had a cardiac arrest while driving.
Franco Del C Pendant : 58 year-old cyclist who had a cardiac arrest while cycling.
David Shaffer : 59 year-old football coach who collapsed from a heart condition while driving.
Unnamed 60 year-old cyclist (not even an athlete!) who died while cycling.
Another unnamed 65 year-old cyclist (not even an athlete) who died while cycling.
Fact #8 : They Included Suicides!
Astoundingly, Good Sciencing included people who died from suicide in their data!
Lauren Bernette : 20 year-old softball player
Sarah Shulze : 21 year-old track and cross-country runner
Jordan Michelle : 29 year-old rugby player
Olivia Podmore : 24 year-old cyclist
Cameron Burell : 27 year-old sprinter
Albert Linder : 25 year-old weightlifter
In one case, where the person committed suicide by self-inflicted gunshot, this was their reason for adding him to their database of athletes killed by the vaccine :
Was he vaxxed and if so, did he know his career was over?
Fact #9 : Good Sciencing Is Known For Fake News
Good Sciencing is known for creating and disseminating fake news about COVID-19 vaccines.
Everything posted by Good Sciencing (also called Real Science) must be regarded as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.
Please help us fight fake news websites like Good Sciencing – SHARE this fact check out!
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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.
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.
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.
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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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
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.
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.
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!
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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.
vivo just shared an inside look of their Tokyo mobile imaging R&D centre!
Find out how their Tokyo R&D centre helps vivo create smartphones with better photo and video capabilities!
vivo Tokyo Mobile Imaging R&D Centre : A Quick History
Back in 2017, the smartphone market was growing rapidly with intense competition amongst the many brands. It was then that vivo decided to differentiate itself from the pack by establishing a global R&D initiative.
The vision behind vivo’s strategy was to leverage valuable expert resources in different parts of the world to conduct different R&D work.
One of the steps they took was to establish the vivo Tokyo R&D centre to focus on mobile imaging technologies.
vivo chose Tokyo for its mobile imaging R&D centre because there is already a robust and mature imaging industry in Japan, with over 100 years of development history.
The first vivo Tokyo R&D centre was established in Shimbashi back in 2019, and when the team grew, they shifted to Gochome, Chuo-ku in the central area of Tokyo.
This new R&D centre not only works on mobile imaging technologies like the signature vivo gimbal smartphone camera, but also more niche areas like car cameras, sports cameras, and even industrial cameras.
vivo Tokyo Mobile Imaging R&D Centre : An Inside Look!
Coordinating R&D centres in different parts of the world has its challenges. For instance, prototypes need to fit into products manufactured in China during the transition from R&D to mass production.
This requires continuous testing and improvement during the R&D process, which is time-consuming because of the physical distance between Japan and China.
In addition, Japan and China follow different hardware specifications, which is why the vivo Tokyo centre uses locally unique resources for their R&D projects.
The geographical barrier also makes it hard for R&D centres in different parts of the world to gain the latest insights into consumer demand in different markets. Hence, vivo R&D teams across the world exchange valuable insights through online discussions.
The planning and product team in China will first analyse the future trends of smartphone imaging based on user feedback, before sharing their insights with the Tokyo R&D team.
Currently, the vivo team believes that “miniaturised and integrated” will be a major direction for imaging hardware development in the future.
Camera lenses now are generally assembled. In future, they might all be integrated into one piece, with sensors that are more sensitive and faster.
This is based on customer feedback that they favour high resolution imaging, but also prefer a smaller lens module.
If the vivo Tokyo R&D team can accomplish that contradictory goal, it will lead to a superior photography and videography experience in a more compact smartphone!
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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.
Last month, an abstract published in the medical journal, Circulation, went viral after it claimed to have proven that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines increase the risk of heart disease.
The abstract was dramatically titled “Mrna COVID Vaccines Dramatically Increase Endothelial Inflammatory Markers and ACS Risk as Measured by the PULS Cardiac Test: a Warning“.
Using the PULS Cardiac Test, a group headed by Steven R. Gundry claimed that the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines increased the 5-year risk of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) from 11% to a shocking 25%!
These changes resulted in an increase of the PULS score from 11% 5 yr ACS risk to 25% 5 yr ACS risk. At the time of this report, these changes persist for at least 2.5 months post second dose of vac.
We conclude that the mRNA vacs dramatically increase inflammation on the endothelium and T cell infiltration of cardiac muscle and may account for the observations of increased thrombosis, cardiomyopathy, and other vascular events following vaccination.
Truth : mRNA Vaccines Do NOT Increase Heart Disease Risk!
Antivaxxers have been touting this study as a stake into the heart of mRNA vaccines – a study that definitively proves that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines cause heart disease, and should be stopped at all costs.
The truth is – this is yet another attempt to mislead the public on the safety of mRNA vaccines. mRNA COVID-19 do NOT increase heart disease risk, and here are the facts…
Fact #1 : It Was An Abstract, Not A Peer-Reviewed Study
The article was an abstract (Abstract 10712), not a peer-reviewed study.
An abstract is meant to be a short factual summary of an actual study, describing its context, methods, results and conclusions.
However, the author – Steven R. Gundry – did not provide the actual study, so it is impossible for anyone to confirm that his results are even accurate, much less peer-review it.
Fact #2 : AHA Published An Expression Of Concern
Circulation is a reputable medical journal, published by Lippincourt Williams & Wilkins for the American Heart Association.
However, that does not mean that everything published in Circulation is peer-reviewed and/or endorsed by the American Heart Association.
Soon after publication of the above abstract in Circulation, it was brought to the American Heart Association Committee on Scientific Sessions Program’s attention that there are potential errors in the abstract.
Specifically, there are several typographical errors, there is no data in the abstract regarding myocardial T-cell infiltration, there are no statistical analyses for significance provided, and the author is not clear that only anecdotal data was used.
We are publishing this Expression of Concern until a suitable correction is published to indicate that the abstract in its current version may not be reliable.
Fact #3 : AHA Asked For Abstract Correction
According to Retraction Watch, the Director of National Science Media Relations at the American Heart Association stated that the author was given a deadline to issue his correction :
A correction from the research author has been requested and is due to the American Heart Association by 6:00 pm ET, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. The author’s corrections will undergo review before publication.
Fact #4 : PULs Test Does Not Directly Assess Cardiac Health
The PULs (Protein Unstable Lesion Signature) test is a proprietary blood test developed by GD Biosciences Inc. that claims to detect and diagnose early-stage heart disease in asymptomatic patients.
It does this by looking for plasma levels of 9 proteins that are allegedly the biomarkers of endothelial (blood vessel) damage. So the PULs test does not actually tell us anything about the condition of the patient’s heart.
It only infers the risk of a plaque forming in the blood vessels, that could potentially detach or rupture and lead to a heart attack.
Fact #5 : Measurement Units + 6 PULs Test Results Missing!
While the PULs test looks at 9 protein levels, Dr. Gundry only mentioned three of them. What happened to the other six protein levels?
Did Dr. Gundry forget about them? Or did their results go against the abstract’s dramatic conclusions? How did Circulation let Dr. Gundry post an abstract with ⅓ of the data?
Incredibly, Circulation also allowed Dr. Gundry to publish test results that were devoid of measurement units. Were they measured in mg/dL or pg/ml or PLUs units? Who knows?
No matter how you slice and dice this abstract, no one can come to any conclusion with just ⅓ of the PULs test results that lack even measurement units.
Fact #6 : PULs Test Not Used In Mainstream Cardiology
The PULs test is not used in mainstream cardiology, and its use is limited even in the few countries where it is offered.
For example, in the UK, it is only provided through a single medical practice that appears to be focused on “natural health”. Similarly, it is only available in India through a single provider.
Dr. Lander Foquet, an infectious disease scientist, pointed out that the PULs test was promoted heavily by the abstract author, and is “not something used by a real cardiologist”.
Fact #7 : Dr. Gundry Was Pitching Quercetin
This was not mentioned in the printed Circulation abstract, but presented to the meeting attendees.
In his slide, Results An [sic] Conclusions, Dr. Gundry recommended the use of low-dose aspirin and/or Quercetin to “treat” this increased risk of heart disease from the mRNA vaccines.
Despite the dramatic claim that mRNA vaccines greatly increase inflammation of the heart, his recommended use of a supplement suggests that he doesn’t even believe it’s particularly dangerous.
I should point out that his recommended treatment is based on ZERO EVIDENCE.
Dr. Gundry did not explain why he recommended either “treatment”. Neither did he provide any evidence to back them up.
Credit : Dr. Lander Foquet
Fact #8 : Dr. Gundry Sells Supplements
It should also be noted that Dr. Gundry sells a plethora of dietary supplements under his own brand name – Gundry MD.
There is nothing wrong with creating and selling your own dietary supplements, of course.
But many people would consider that to be a potential conflict of interest that should have been mentioned in the abstract’s disclosure. Dr. Gundry reported no conflict of interest.
Post-marketing monitoring of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have revealed that these mRNA vaccines introduce a small risk of myocarditis and pericarditis in young males.
However, there is NO EVIDENCE that mRNA vaccines cause increased risk of heart disease other than the aforementioned myocarditis / pericarditis risk.
Billions of doses of mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna have already been administered worldwide in the past 12 months.
If the Gundry abstract is correct, we should have seen MILLIONS of people keeling over from heart attacks in the last year or so. That is obviously not the case at all.
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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.
Can the Pfizer mRNA vaccine cause prion and neurological diseases like ALS and Alzheimer’s disease, as the Classen study claims?
Find out what the Classen study is all about, and whether the Pfizer mRNA vaccine can really cause prion diseases!
Classen Study : Pfizer Vaccine Can Potentially Induce Prion Disease
The journal Microbiology & Infectious Diseases just published a “research article” by J. Bart Classen, MD of Classen Immunotherapies.
This paper claims to have found that the Pfizer mRNA vaccine could potentially induce prion disease that would lead to the development of common neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and Alzheimer’s disease.
SHOCK! HORROR! OMG!
Now, take a minute to let the shock and horror subside, before you read on and find out what the facts really are…
Pfizer mRNA Vaccine Does NOT Cause Prion / Alzheimer’s Disease!
Here is the short version – there is no evidence that mRNA vaccines cause prion or neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s or ALS.
The truth is – the Classen study is not even a “study”, much less a research paper. It is just a 2.5-page opinion piece that makes a lot of bombastic claims, with ZERO evidence to back them up.
Unsurprisingly, it is only published in Microbiology & Infectious Diseases. Sounds impressive, but it is “not a reputable or reliable journal“, as Georgetown University virologist, Dr. Angela Rasmussen notes.
Dr. David Gorski, professor of surgery and oncology at Wayne State University concurred, pointing out that Microbiology & Infectious Diseases is listed is the Beall’s list of predatory publishers, and is not even indexed in PubMed.
But let’s go through J. Bart Classen’s claims, and find out what the facts really are…
Fact #1 : Prion Diseases Are Transmissible Misfolded Proteins
Prion diseases are transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) – brain disorders caused by prion proteins.
These are basically misfolded proteins that causes other proteins to fold themselves into the same shape.
Think of the prion protein as Agent Smith in Matrix Revolution, turning everyone he touches into a clone of himself.
Most people will have heard of Mad Cow Disease – Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), and you may have heard of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Kuru. These are all prion diseases.
Fact #2 : The Spike Protein Is From The SARS-CoV-2 Virus
The spike protein is both the “uniform” and the “weapon” of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The crown (corona) of protein spikes is what gives the virus family its distinctive appearance and name – coronavirus, and it is how the virus attaches to our cells and gains entry.
If the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein truly has multiple binding areas that can create prion proteins, then the virus itself would actually cause prion diseases!
As of 8 May 2021, there have been over 161 million cases of COVID-19 globally, with over 3.34 million deaths.
There have been ZERO cases of prion diseases associated with COVID-19 infections.
Fact #3 : Many COVID-19 Vaccines Use The Spike Protein
It is odd that Classen would focus on RNA-based vaccines, particularly Pfizer. After all, many other COVID-19 vaccines also target the spike protein.
As I pointed out in my earlier article, many COVID-19 vaccines are designed to specifically target the spike protein because :
it is the defining feature of the SARS-CoV-2 virus
antibodies targeting it will block the virus from binding with our cells
If Classen is correct that the spike protein induces prion disease, then it would be true of ALL vaccines that mimic the spike protein.
Yet, after over 680 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered (as of 13 May 2021), there have been ZERO reports of prion disease associated with any COVID-19 vaccine.
Fact #4 : RNA Binding Protein Is Not RNA / mRNA
Classen used this 2012 study to push the narrative that RNA binding proteins have been “shown” to cause “a number of neurological diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and ALS”, specifically TDP-43 and FUS.
The trouble is the study he used did not actually prove that those RNA binding proteins cause prion disease, much less Alzheimer’s disease or ALS or any other neurological disorders.
The study merely used an algorithm to “scour the human genome” to identify “RNA-binding prion candidates” for further investigations.
More importantly though – the study he referred to identified RNA binding proteins with prion-like domains, not RNA and certainly not mRNA which is used in … tadaa… mRNA vaccines.
That is like saying that since some dog breeds are potentially dangerous, cats and hamsters are therefore also potentially dangerous. Really???
Fact #5 : mRNA Vaccines Do NOT Enter Our Cell Nucleus
I have pointed this out many times before – the mRNA instructions in the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines do NOT enter the cell nucleus (where our DNA resides).
They are only read and used by the cell ribosomes in the cytoplasm (outside of the nucleus) to create the spike proteins, before being discarded.
This point is important because the two RNA binding proteins that Classen kept pointing out either predominantly exists in the nucleus (TDP-43) or can only be found inside the nucleus (FUS).
How is it possible for mRNA or the spike protein it creates interact with TDP-43 or FUS inside the cell nucleus, if they never enter the “locked room” that is the cell nucleus?
Fact #6 : Vaccine Spike Protein Do NOT Bind With ACE2 Receptor
After our cell ribosomes create the spike proteins, they are presented on the cell surface, to trigger the immune system.
These faux spike proteins do NOT bind with the ACE2 receptor, since they are actually part of the same cell surface as the ACE2 receptor.
Only the spike protein of a real SARS-CoV-2 virus will actually bind with the ACE2 receptor, in order to infect the cell.
Credit : The Conversation
Fact #7 : No Evidence Zinc Causes TDP-43 To Go Prion
There is simply no evidence that a zinc ion turns on TDP-43’s “pathologic prion transformation”.
Plus, zinc ions exist in all our cells – it is critical for cell division and growth, and our immune system.
These zinc ions would have turned on TDP-43’s prion tendencies long before any SARS-CoV-2 spike protein comes close to the ACE2 receptor!
Fact #8 : ACE2 Receptor Is On The Cell Surface…
As Dr. David Gorski brilliantly points out, the ACE2 receptor is on the cell surface, while the TDP-43 exists in the cell nucleus.
Think of the ACE2 receptor as the door to your house, and the TDP-43 is inside your locked bedroom. How does the zinc ion fly from the main door up the stairs, through the locked door into your bedroom?
By magic? Unfortunately, Classen did not elaborate how this miracle was achieved.
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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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.
