COVID-19

It’s a debate that just won’t go away.

It seems every couple of months there is new information to support claims that COVID-19 resulted from a lab leak. The same could be said for the theory that it is linked to an animal that was at a Chinese wet market. Knewz.com has learned that the former is the latest claim being made.

Scientists in New South Wales, Australia have reignited the debate thanks to a new tool called the modified Grunow-Finke assessment tool (mGFT).

According to Study Finds, the scientists’ new tool — which uses an in-depth data examination — scored the possibility of the lab being accurate at 41 out of 60, which equates to a 68 percent likelihood.

“This risk assessment cannot prove the origin of SARS-CoV-2 but shows that the possibility of a laboratory origin cannot be easily dismissed,” researchers write in the study, published in the journal Risk Analysis.

To come to its conclusion, the mGFT examined 11 criteria including the geographical distribution of the virus, the unusual nature of the disease and the intensity of the pandemic.

Scores were graded from 0-3 for each category. Therefore, how each variable scored added up to an overall probability as to where the virus originated.

One of the key factors that led to the mGFT prediction was the fact that the Wuhan Institute of Virology — which was known to be studying one of the closest known bat coronaviruses — was in close proximity to where the pandemic began.

The study also weighed the fact that there were abnormalities in the coronavirus’ furin cleavage site, which is critical in helping diseases spread. Those abnormalities have not been seen in other viruses, further making the animal theory less believable.

The study further argues that the evidence of COVID in different corners of the world before the outbreak was discovered in Wuhan, China suggests there was a broader and earlier spread than originally thought.

Was the Truth Suppressed?

The study further argues that scientists involved in the leak kept the information about what really happened from the public for years.

The study points to conversations between scientists who said one thing publicly and another thing privately.

“Other evidence that came to light in 2023 under Freedom of Information requests in the US further indicates that virologists who publicly stated that SARS-COV-2 had a natural origin simultaneously privately communicated doubts about this to each other, and discussed the fact that research at WIV could have led to the creation of SARS-COV-2,” the study authors reveal in Risk Analysis.

“It is possible that U.S. funding of some of the research at WIV was a motivation for the public messaging about natural origins to be promoted and the discussion of a lab accident to be suppressed. The events and incidents above suggest a laboratory incident is possible, so we have assigned a score of 3 to this criterion.”

It wasn’t the only time scientists’ beliefs about the COVID origin were censored.

As Knewz.com reported on August 24, 2023, information revealed at the time indicates that intelligence agency scientists who concluded COVID-19 was most likely genetically engineered had their input censored.

The probe was initiated by President Joe Biden in May 2021 following reports of researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology being hospitalized with COVID-like symptoms in November 2019. 

According to Sky News, the investigation’s findings suggested that the Wuhan Institute could be the source of the first cluster of the pandemic.

The scientists at the Defense Intelligence Agency’s National Center for Medical Intelligence (DIA NCMI), who had been working closely with the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction unit, were at the forefront of this research. 

Their rigorous analysis of the genomic sequencing of the virus led them to believe that it was most likely a laboratory construct.

The scientists’ research also uncovered a significant piece of evidence – a fragment of COVID-19 that closely resembled research conducted by the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2008. 

This fragment, which was the same technique used by the Institute in grant applications to create chimeric viruses, was described internally as a “smoking gun.”

However, despite their critical findings, their input into the 90-day origins probe was censored. 

“They had been working with the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction unit, until the co-operation between the two agencies was blocked, with a director at the Defense Intelligence Agency claiming the FBI was “off the reservation” on the topic of the origins of Covid-19.” 

Sources close to the inquiry estimate that around 90% of the DIA NCMI’s edits were deleted, censored or simply not included in the final report and the scientists were told that their information was too technical to be included.

A man in Germany who reportedly received a record 217 COVID-19 vaccine injections “for private reasons” is being studied by scientists.

The man, a 62-year-old from Magdeburg, Germany, received the shots despite having “no signs” of ever being infected with the virus, Knewz.com has learned.

Despite receiving so many vaccines, the man did not report any related side effects, according to researchers from University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, per The Independent.

The scientists learned of the man’s bizarre situation from the media.

“We learned about his case via newspaper articles,” Dr. Kilian Schober said, whose team then asked if they could study his body’s response to the barrage of shots. “We then contacted him and invited him to undergo various tests in Erlangen. He was very interested in doing so.”

Schober said there is official documentation for 134 of the vaccines and proof that he took eight different injections.

“The observation that no noticeable side-effects were triggered in spite of this extraordinary hyper-vaccination indicates that the drugs have a good degree of tolerability,” Schober added.

The scientists looked at the man’s previous blood tests and compared them to samples after taking all the vaccines.

“The individual has undergone various blood tests over recent years, he gave us his permission to assess the results of these analyzes,” Schober said. “In some cases, samples had been frozen, and we were able to investigate these ourselves. We were also able to take blood samples ourselves when the man received a further vaccination during the study at his own insistence. We were able to use these samples to determine exactly how the immune system reacts to the vaccination.”

To the scientists’ surprise, they found that the man’s immune system was fully functional.

However, the team said that certain immune cells and antibodies that produce COVID-19 were present in significantly higher levels compared to people who had the usual three-shot sequence.

“Overall, we did not find any indication for a weaker immune response, rather the contrary,” said one of the leading study authors, Katharina Kocher.

The study is significant because some people have had adverse effects from the vaccines.

For example, Knewz.com reported on March 4 that multiple studies have shown that some people suffered sudden hearing loss after taking a COVID vaccine.

“I did all the exams and could not find any other reason other than because of the shots,” Dr. Clarice Saba, who developed hearing loss in her right ear a week after receiving her first dose, told The Epoch Times.

The latest study into the connection between COVID-19 vaccines and hearing loss found strong links between the two.

Of 400 post-vaccine sudden sensorineural hearing loss cases, 345 were found to be linked to a COVID-19 vaccine, two audiology experts say.

“[Sudden sensorineural hearing loss] after COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are very rare adverse events,” the French authors concluded, adding that these rare adverse events “do not call into question the benefits of mRNA vaccines but deserve to be known given the potentially disabling impact of sudden deafness.”

Though the cause of the hearing loss has not been completely identified, researchers believe it is linked to the cochlea, a fluid-filled, spiral cavity in the inner ear that helps process sounds into electrical signals in the brain.

The reason for that theory is that cochlea implants have been successful in restoring hearing in many patients.

It’s advisable for Americans 65 and older to receive an extra COVID-19 shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Even if people received a booster last fall, the CDC recommends the additional dose due to an increased risk of “severe disease” among older adults, Knewz.com has learned.

And U.S. health officials also announced on Friday, March 1, that Americans who test positive for COVID-19 no longer need to stay in isolation for five days, The Associated Press reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people can return to work or regular activities if their symptoms are mild, and it’s been 24 hours since they’ve experienced fever.

CDC Director Mandy Cohen said on February 28, that current available data on vaccine effectiveness played a role in the recommendations.

In its official statement the CDC said it was backing the recommendation made by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) during a meeting held earlier on February 28.

 “Adults 65 years and older are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” said Cohen, “with more than half of COVID-19 hospitalizations during October 2023 to December 2023 occurring in this age group.”

She also noted that data continues to show how important it is to protect those most at risk for “severe outcomes” when it comes to the virus, and that vaccine efficiency has waned since the fall boosters.  “An additional dose of the updated COVID-19 vaccine may restore protection,” she said, “providing increased protection to adults ages 65 years and older.”

According to the Associated Press, the advisory panel discussed at length whether people aged 65 and older “may” or “should” get the booster, given that experts have debated whether these recommendations are necessary given that there is growing “vaccine fatigue” among the public.

US News and World Report reported that while there was no clinical trial data on an additional updated COVID-19 shot, the CDC said that effectiveness of an additional dose in older adults has been “demonstrated by past additional doses.”

They also noted that older adults were more willing to get the first round of boosters, with  42% of those 65 and older reporting they received a shot compared to 22% of all adults, according to survey data. And finding presented at the meeting showed that last fall, 68% of those 65 and older said they would definitely get an additional booster.

Dr. Camille Kotton from Massachusetts General Hospital who was a member of the scientific advisory panel told the New York Times following the meeting, “I was impressed with data supporting the need for an additional dose of vaccine for those 65 years and older. Given the risk of severe, even life-threatening, disease, I would encourage those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised to take the opportunity for another dose,” she added.

The CDC had previously ensured that immunocompromised people are already eligible for additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Cohen stated that the CDC and the ACIP will “continue to monitor COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness. CDC continues to recommend that everyone stay up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines, especially people with weakened immune systems.”

Despite many in the public believing COVID-19 is no longer a threat, hospitalization and death rates are still high. The Associated Press reported that according to the CDC, there have been more than 20,000 hospitalizations and more than 2,000 deaths each week from COVID-19. CDC data also shows that those 65 and older have the highest hospitalization and death rates.

The number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. in the first 30 months of the pandemic was probably much higher than first believed, researchers have discovered.

Knewz.com has learned that death certificates showed almost 1.2 million extra deaths, and many likely due to COVID-19 were attributed to natural causes.

Of those 1.2 million excess deaths from natural causes — that did not include accidents, firearms, suicides and overdoses — about 163,000 of those were not attributed to COVID, but should have been, according to the researchers.

From March 2020 through August 2022, 1,194,610 excess natural-cause deaths occurred nationally. A total of 162,886 of these excess natural-cause deaths were not reported to COVID-19. Overall, 15.8 excess deaths were reported to non-COVID-19 natural causes for every 100 reported COVID-19 deaths.

“Excess natural-cause mortality in US counties and its association with reported COVID-19 deaths” – PNAS

The new study from the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts, Boston University and University of Pennsylvania titled “Excess natural-cause mortality in US counties and its association with reported COVID-19 deaths,” was published February 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences.

The researchers used past mortality trends and created monthly estimates of deaths from natural causes in different counties between March 2020 and August 2022. This allowed them to estimate how many deaths would have occurred if there had been no pandemic. From there, they calculated how many people died above those estimates.

Tracking these numbers in different counties across the country allowed the researchers to also determine precisely how many excess deaths there were in both rural and urban communities. From this, they learned that the gap between official COVID-19 deaths and excess natural deaths was biggest in the South, the West, and non-metropolitan counties.

Their research also revealed that almost 1 in 7 deaths were not attributed to COVID-19 and that many deaths preceded COVID-19 surges and were misattributed to natural causes.

In an article for The Conversation, the study’s authors wrote, “This was the case even for excess deaths associated with causes like Alzheimer’s disease that are unlikely to rapidly change due to patients avoiding hospitals or other changes in behavior during the pandemic.”

One of the study’s authors, Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, an associate professor of sociology in the U of M College of Liberal Arts noted, “Like many other health systems, the death reporting system in the U.S. is a decentralized, patchwork system that operates differently throughout the country. These results suggest that improving the quality of death reporting, so deaths are attributed to the correct cause, is an important aspect of preparing for future pandemics — and one that is easily overlooked.”

The researchers also noted that in the early days of the pandemic the virus was new, and testing was not readily accessible, making it even more difficult to determine which deaths were COVID-19 related.  

These latest findings, they say, can help scientists move closer to learning what the true death toll has been due to COVID-19 as well as help prepare for future pandemics.

Speaking with The Guardian, Wrigley-Field said, “What does it take to be able to respond to a disaster as it’s unfolding? Where are the places that, when there was a crisis, really were not able to keep people alive?”

The judge overseeing E. Jean Carroll’s defamation trial against former President Trump has been postponed due to Covid precautions. Trump was expected to testify in the trial today.

Get live updates from the federal defamation trial of former President Trump to determine any additional damages for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll in 2019.