Health & Fitness

In June 2020, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services gave the go-ahead to a plan to release millions of genetically engineered mosquitoes in the Florida Keys this summer to fight mosquito-borne illnesses.¹ The plan follows the EPA's recent granting of an experimental use permit (EUP) for the GMO (genetically modified organism) mosquitoes so they can be released in Florida in 2020 and in Texas in 2021.²

The mosquitoes, engineered from the Aedes aegypti mosquito species,³ were created by the U.S.-owned, Britain-based company Oxitec, which originated as a spin-off company from Oxford University and subsidiary of Intrexon.⁴ The company has also created genetically modified pink bollworm moths and GMO cabbage moths.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito species,⁵ also called A. aegypti, carries yellow fever, dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika, West Nile and Mayaro,⁶ a dengue-like disease. (Malaria is transmitted by a different mosquito, Anopheles.⁷) In the U.S., Oxitec⁸ is marketing the insects as Oxitec Friendly™ mosquitoes that are a "safe, targeted vector control technology" to combat mosquito-transmitted diseases.⁹

Citizens Question GMO Mosquito Release

Despite the previous release of Oxitec's GMO mosquitos in the Cayman Islands, Malaysia, Panama and Brazil,¹⁰ questions remain about the GMO mosquitoes' effect on wildlife as well as unforeseen and uncontrollable "Jurassic Park-like" events that are feared once the insects are released and can't be "called back."

During the public comment period before the EPA's EUP authorization, 31,000 written comments were received. Many expressed concern about the GMO mosquito's effect on food webs and ecosystems and fears that the released mosquitoes could interbreed with wild insects, creating dangerous hybrid mosquitoes.¹¹

A similar concern about interbreeding with wild organisms accompanied the approval of GMO salmon by the FDA in 2015.¹² In 2016, residents of Key Haven, Florida, voted against the release of Oxitec GMO mosquitoes¹³ and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District board abided by their wishes.¹⁴

Reclassification Gives Oxitec Mosquitoes a Boost

The history behind this is a tale of moves and countermoves. Originally, Oxitec had submitted their genetically-engineered mosquitoes for approval to APHIS, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service division of the USDA.¹⁵ But since mosquitoes aren’t considered to be pests on plants, the FDA took over Oxitec’s review under its regulations for GE animals.

Oxitec followed up with a petition to the FDA to release its mosquitoes in Florida.¹⁶ But, after Key Haven’s citizens rejected Oxitec’s request in November 2016, the FDA decided a few weeks later, in January 2017, to hand over the regulation of GE mosquitoes to the EPA — basically reclassifying the mosquitoes as an insecticide, a product the EPA oversees.¹⁷

The transfer was a huge win for Oxitec, as the EPA is required to review new pesticides quickly, within 12 months of submission. (The FDA, on the other hand, has no time lines on its approval process — something that Oxitec officials admitted had frustrated them for years.¹⁸) Oxitec got another boost in 2018 when the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation decided to fund one of its other mosquitoes, for malaria, to the tune of $4.1 million.¹⁹

After the hand over to the EPA, Oxitec wasted no time in resubmitting its request to release mosquitoes in Florida, as well as Texas — and won the EPA’s approval. Now, as a GMO mosquito release again approaches, angry Florida residents say they refuse to be treated as "guinea pigs" for a "superbug," "Robo-Frankenstein" mosquito.

Well-funded GMO-backed PR campaigns are rushing to assure Floridians that the GMO mosquito doesn't bite.²⁰

Mosquitoes Kill More People Than Any Other Creature

There was a time when people who lived in the U.S. thought of mosquitoes as just annoying insects whose itchy bites could be an impediment to enjoying summer nights. But with the emergence of West Nile, Zika and the spreading of Saint Louis encephalitis²¹ in the U.S., Americans now realize, like their counterparts in warmer nations, that mosquitoes can and do kill.

In addition to the diseases caused by A. aegypti, other mosquitoes transmit chikungunya,²² which can cause debilitating joint pain,²³ and lymphatic filariasis, a disease that dwells in the human lymph system.²⁴ Taken together, mosquitoes kill more people than any other creature in the world.²⁵ According to the Independent:²⁶

"Yes, mosquitoes — the pesky bugs that suck blood and transmit viruses from person to person — are responsible for the most animal-related deaths (830,000 per year to be exact). For comparison, humans are responsible for 580,000 human deaths per year, snakes account for 60,000 deaths per year and sharks claimed just six lives per year."

In 2015, dengue sickened 1.5 million people in Brazil alone, including 1,600 in the city of Piracicaba located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.²⁷ The United Nations estimated that in Africa, mosquito nets could save 500,000 lives a year.²⁸

Deadly mosquito-borne diseases are also getting worse, in part because of climate change, according to an article in Yale Environment 360, a publication of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.²⁹

"[A]n international team of researchers has found that by 2050, two key disease-spreading mosquitoes — Aedes aegypti [the species that Oxitec engineered] and Aedes albopictus — will significantly expand their range, posing a threat to 49 percent of the world’s population.

'If no action is taken to reduce the current rate at which the climate is warming, pockets of habitat will open up across many urban areas with vast amounts of individuals susceptible to infection,' said Moritz Kraemer, an infectious disease scientist at Boston Children’s Hospital and the University of Oxford and a co-author of the new research."

Oxitec's GMO Mosquitoes Are Not New

Oxitec's first release of GMO mosquitoes was in the Cayman Islands in 2009.³⁰ Critics charged that the company rushed a GMO organism into use without informing or consulting the public, but Oxitec reported a 96% reduction in the mosquito population in a small release area in the islands.³¹

Oxitec also conducted GMO mosquito tests in Panama and Malaysia, but its showcase project was in Brazil, resulting from a collaboration with the University of São Paulo and the nonprofit research facility Moscamed.³² In three treated Brazilian neighborhoods, Oxitec reported a 90% mosquito population reduction.³³

Brazil was chosen as a primary location for "a major scale-up" and "proving ground for tailored mosquitoes" because of the nation's high dengue fever rates and the ineffectiveness of pesticides against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, wrote Science magazine.³⁴

Pesticide resistance in Brazil was verified when some of Oxitec's lab-grown GMO mosquitoes perished in Brazil upon release because they "had never been exposed to insecticides [and were] so much less resistant to them than wild mosquitoes." wrote the magazine.³⁵

The GMO mosquitoes, all male, have an inserted gene in their DNA that contains a "self-destruct mechanism."³⁶ The gene creates "tetracycline repressible activator variant," or tTAV, a protein that inhibits other genes in the insect and causes it to die before it reaches adulthood if it does not receive tetracycline.³⁷

However, because the GMO mosquitoes are given the antibiotic tetracycline in the lab, they survive to maturity and can mate with wild female mosquitoes and pass along the self-destruct genes so future females will not survive to breed.³⁸ According to Oxitec:³⁹

"… when Friendly™ mosquito males mate with wild females, their offspring inherit a copy of this gene, which prevents females from surviving to adulthood. Since these females do not mature to reproduce, there is a reduction in the wild pest population."

According to the EPA, the effects of the Friendly mosquito should be "multigenerational" and reduce the Aedes aegypti mosquito populations in areas where it is released.⁴⁰ The EPA insists it won’t pose risks:⁴¹

"Since only male mosquitoes will be released into the environment and they do not bite people, they will not pose a risk to people. It is also anticipated that there would be no adverse effects to animals such as bats and fish in the environment."

Many See Risks With Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes

Because the mosquitoes need tetracycline to survive, doctors addressing the Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board expressed concern that the insects could promote tetracycline-resistant organisms. Key West physician Dr. John Norris said:⁴²

“These insects are designed to get into people’s houses and cause the extinction of whatever Aedes live there, but the bacteria they leave behind is left to breed because it has no death chain.

No physician is going to stand in front of you and speak negatively against the GMs, but … [t]here was a real mistake made, in my humble opinion, when they used an antibiotic as the maturation factor to an organism designed to get into people’s houses and deposit whatever else was along for the ride.”

Dr. Norris is right. Moreover, since the GMO mosquitoes were designed to die in the absence of tetracycline and the assumption was that they would not have access to the antibiotic in the wild, there is another problem.

Tetracycline and other antibiotics are now often found in soil and surface water because of their overuse, especially in farming. This could potentially create a nightmarish scenario — especially since the EPA has approved Florida and Texas citrus growers’ use of tetracycline to fight invasive bacterial infections in their groves.⁴³

Writing in the Boston Globe, Natalie Kofler, founder of Editing Nature and an adviser for the Scientific Citizenship Initiative at Harvard Medical School, and Jennifer Kuzma, professor in the School of Public and International Affairs and co-director of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center, stated the GMO mosquito should not be released until much more thorough study is conducted:⁴⁴

"For starters, an external independent group of experts should be convened to review the first GM mosquitoes … To address the complexity of such a decision, this group should consist of interdisciplinary experts representing diverse identities with expertise in ecology, genetics, vector biology, risk assessment, entomology, public health, ethics, and social science.

External peer review is a cornerstone of good science and could ensure that all necessary risks are being addressed."

Environmental Groups Plan to Sue

The EPA has said it will have Oxitec monitor the GMO mosquito release to assure safety.⁴⁵

"Oxitec is required to monitor and sample the mosquito population weekly in the treatment areas to determine how well the product works for mosquito control and to confirm that the modified genetic traits disappear from the male Aedes aegypti mosquito population over time.

EPA has also maintained the right to cancel the EUP at any point during the 24-month period if unforeseen outcomes occur."

Of course, canceling the EUP won't remove the already released GMO mosquitoes. Meanwhile, the Center for Food Safety, the International Center for Technology Assessment and Friends of the Earth say they plan to sue the EPA for failing to consult with wildlife agencies before determining the mosquitoes to be risk-free.⁴⁶

In a letter to the heads of the U.S. EPA, the Department of Commerce, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service, the groups wrote:⁴⁷

"EPA’s 'no effect' findings and failure to consult are arbitrary and capricious and violate the ESA [Endangered Species Act] because they fail to follow the ESA’s mandated procedures, fail to use the best scientific and commercial data available, fail to consider significant aspects of the issue, and offer an explanation that runs counter to the evidence."

There is a reason that careful study is part of the Endangered Species Act. Mutations and behavioral adaptations to human interventions occur in nature and cannot be predicted.

For example, National Geographic recounted that "different species of mosquitoes have changed their predatory behavior to outside and earlier in the day in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Tanzania," as a response to insecticides.⁴⁸ In another instance, wrote National Geographic:

"… a fascinating study in behavioral resistance is the corn rootworm, an insect that lays its eggs in cornfields so larvae will come up the next year and feast on the roots. Farmers evaded it by rotating crops so what was a cornfield one year will be soybeans the next.

By the 1990s, however … rootworms had changed — instead of hatching every year, one species was hatching every other year, to be there when the corn returned. Another species was leaping into neighboring soybean fields to wait for them to take their turn as cornfields in the next season."

The GMO Mosquito Plan Is Too Dangerous

While engineering insects to stop the spread of mosquito-transmitted diseases might sound preferable to insecticides and vaccines, there are too many unknowns.

At present, the use of GMO insects is in its infancy. Not only are there no precedents from which to draw potential ecological consequences, proper risk assessments have not been done — and quite possibly might be impossible to conduct, considering the many unknown aspects of tinkering with DNA and allowing it to mingle with other species.⁴⁹

What will be the effect on native species like Florida Keys bats that eat mosquitoes? Are any studies investigating whether the GMO mosquitoes will harm the native bat population? Will the more virulent Asian tiger mosquito, that also carries dengue, fill the void left by reductions in A. aegypti caused by the GMO mosquito and become even more dangerous? Serious questions remain.

In a study published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, researchers attempted to identify potential ecological effects of GMO insects and cited concerning developments that could occur.⁵⁰

"For instance, if vector populations were suppressed, a reduction in acquired immunity could cause a transient increase in disease incidence, a phenomenon which is not necessarily unique to GE control strategies. Disease incidence may ultimately subside, but a transient increase could have significant implications for risk management and communication.

Conversely, identifying effects occurring in the steady state phase highlighted effects that might result as the ecosystem adjusts to the changed population. For GE mosquitoes, this might include evolution of increased vector capacity, or knock-on effects through the ecosystem, which might harm valued ecological interactions."

The authors conclude there are disturbing unknowns about GMO mosquitoes.

"[I]n evaluating GE mosquitoes, the knowledge gaps in mosquito ecology are striking … particularly with respect to mosquito effects on consumer and resource species. Data and theory on ecological hysteresis in insect communities are also lacking, which makes it difficult to assess whether any changes are irreversible."

Genetic engineering of plants and animals is a dangerous prospect. We’re already seeing "super weeds" and resistance drift arising from the use of GMO crops, an unintended consequence that GMO critics predicted and that could easily have been foreseen. Similarly, resistant super pests are spreading across American farmland and wreaking havoc, while the human health concerns keep mounting.

Genetic engineering of plants and animals may be lucrative to the biotech companies that invent and patent them but they are no answer to farm pests or, in this case, the prevention of mosquito-transmitted diseases.

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By now, you probably understand the importance of hand-washing to prevent the spread of infectious illness. But did you know flushing your sinuses might be an even better way to inhibit the progression of a viral illness such as COVID-19? In an April 20, 2020, article,¹ MSN’s Best Life features the recommendations of Dr. Amy Baxter, a pediatric emergency medicine physician in Atlanta, Georgia.

Nasal irrigation, she says, is a rarely discussed strategy that can help reduce the progression of illness in those who have tested positive for COVID-19 infection. In an April 2, 2020, response² to a BMJ paper about the lack of personal protection equipment on COVID-19 frontlines, professor Robert Matthews also brought up the importance and potential usefulness of oropharyngeal washing to protect health care workers from infection. As reported by MSN Best Life:³

“Nasal irrigation, or a nasal wash, has long been considered an effective way to remove viruses or bacteria from sinus cavities. Baxter has multiple reasons for believing that this approach can be effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus from worsening in a sick patient.”

Why Nasal Irrigation?

As noted by Baxter, researchers have found that the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 tends to be heaviest in the sinuses and nasal cavity. Regularly rinsing your sinuses therefore makes sense since it would help clear out the pathogen and prevent it from gaining a strong foothold and migrating into your lungs.

The age and gender discrepancies observed in COVID-19 also supports nasal irrigation. Children are at virtually no risk from COVID-19, while death rates among the elderly are at their highest. More men than women also die from the infection. 

“Children don't develop full sinuses until teens; males have larger cavities than women, and the cavities are largest [in those] over 70 years,” Baxter notes.

Research has previously demonstrated that nasal irrigation reduces the symptoms and duration of other viral illnesses such as the seasonal flu and common cold.

In one randomized controlled trial,⁴ nasal irrigation and gargling with hypertonic saline were found to reduce the duration of the common cold by 1.9 days and reduce transmission within the household by 35% by reducing viral shedding when done within 48 hours of symptom onset.

While it has not yet been studied as a preventive method for COVID-19 specifically, there’s reason to suspect nasal irrigation might be helpful.

Baxter points out that COVID-19 death rates in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Laos have been surprisingly low, and nasal irrigation is common practice in those areas. According to Baxter, some 80% of the Southeast Asian population do it.

How to Irrigate Your Sinuses

Baxter suggests irrigating your sinuses any time you’ve been exposed to an infected individual or test positive for COVID-19. She recommends flushing your sinuses in the morning using a mixture of boiled lukewarm water (8 ounces) and povidone-iodine (half a teaspoon).

Povidone-iodine has been shown to effectively kill not only Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, but to also rapidly inactivate SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, H1N1 influenza virus A and rotavirus after 15 seconds of exposure.⁵

The mixture used in this study — 7% povidone-iodine diluted 1-to-30, which equates to a total concentration of 0.23% povidone-iodine — inactivated over 99% of the coronaviruses causing SARS and MERS.

Either a neti pot or NeilMed sinus rinse bottle can be used. The water pressure you get from a sinus rinse bottle can provide a more effective flush. If higher pressure is uncomfortable, a neti pot, which relies on gravity, may be a more comfortable choice. In the evening, Baxter recommends flushing your sinuses again with a mixture of:

• 8 ounces of boiled lukewarm water
• 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon table salt

Gargling May Also Be Helpful

You may also be able to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 migrating into your lungs by gargling. As noted by Dr. Neal Naito in a March 29, 2020, New York Times article,⁶ while there’s “no firm proof” that gargling can prevent COVID-19, there are virtually no downsides to the advice.

Like Baxter, Naito points out that many East Asian countries such as Japan see gargling as a commonsense hygiene practice.

“In East Asia, particularly in Japan, gargling is strongly encouraged by the national government, along with other practices like hand-washing, wearing face masks and social distancing, as a matter of routine hygiene during the regular cold and flu season.

(Not everyone, though, can gargle effectively, including some people with neck pain, stroke or dementia, as well as children generally under the age of 8.) Most of the early studies⁷ suggesting that gargling may help to prevent and treat upper and lower respiratory infections, not surprisingly, come from Japan,” Naito writes.

An over-the-counter povidone-iodine⁸ oral gargle solution, used for decades by the Japanese for the treatment of sore throat, appears most useful. One small study⁹ from Japan, published in 2002, found patients diagnosed with chronic respiratory disease who gargled with a povidone-iodine solution at least four times a day reduced their incidence of acute respiratory infection by about 50%.

Do Not Use Iodine-Based Skin Disinfectant for Gargling

Importantly, Naito stresses that povidone-iodine solutions sold as skin disinfectants are NOT suitable for gargling as they contain potentially harmful ingredients that should not be ingested.

“It’s critical that people not gargle with skin disinfectant solutions, including those that contain povidone-iodine,” he says. So, when using povidone-iodine for gargling, be sure to look for solutions such as Betadine formulated specifically as a sore throat gargle, not products intended for cuts and wound care.

Nebulized Hydrogen Peroxide — Another Prevention Strategy

While gargling and nasal irrigation may certainly be useful, I believe nebulizing hydrogen peroxide or colloidal silver may be even more effective. Dr. Thomas Levy¹⁰ has issued guidance¹¹ on how to use nebulized hydrogen peroxide for the prevention and treatment of viral respiratory infections, including COVID-19.

To inactivate viruses with hydrogen peroxide, all you need is a face mask that covers your mouth and nose and a nebulizer that emits a fine mist with properly diluted food grade hydrogen peroxide.

Typically, food grade peroxide comes in concentrations of 12%, which must be diluted down to 1% or less before use, as described in the chart below and video above. If you are using 3% hydrogen peroxide, then you would multiply the number in the first column by 4, or divide the second column by 4.

The microscopic mist, similar to smoke or vapor, can be comfortably inhaled deep into your nostrils, sinuses and lungs. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) consists of a water molecule (H₂O) with an extra oxygen atom, and it is the additional oxygen atom that allows it to inactivate viral pathogens.

Coronaviruses are held together by a lipid (fat) envelope. Soap, being amphipathic¹² — meaning it can dissolve most molecules — dissolves this fat membrane, causing the virus to fall apart and become harmless.

Hydrogen peroxide works in a similar way. You can find more details about the mechanism of action in my previous article, “Could Hydrogen Peroxide Treat Coronavirus?”

Some of your immune cells actually produce hydrogen peroxide to destroy pathogens. By killing the infected cell, viral reproduction is stopped. So, hydrogen peroxide therapy is in essence only aiding your immune cells to perform their natural function more effectively.

Hydrogen peroxide is also a key redox signaling agent that creates oxidative eustress.¹³ Contrary to oxidative stress or oxidative distress, oxidative eustress denotes an oxidative challenge that has positive or beneficial effects and is essential in redox signaling.

Many studies have looked into the use of hydrogen peroxide against different pathogens. One of the most relevant is a review¹⁴ of 22 studies, published in March 2020 in the Journal of Hospital Infection. They found 0.5% hydrogen peroxide effectively inactivated a range of human coronaviruses, including those responsible for SARS and MERS, within one minute of exposure.

If you’re already presenting with a runny nose or sore throat, Levy recommends using the nebulizer for 10 to 15 minutes four times a day until your symptoms are relieved. You can also use nebulized hydrogen peroxide for prevention and maintenance, which may be advisable during flu season, or while the COVID-19 pandemic is in full swing. According to Levy:¹⁵

“As it is a completely non-toxic therapy, nebulization can be administered as often as desired. If done on a daily basis at least once, a very positive impact on bowel and gut function will often be realized as killing the chronic pathogen colonization present in most noses and throats stops the 24/7 swallowing of these pathogens and their associated toxins.

If daily prevention is not a practical option, the effectiveness of this treatment is optimized when somebody sneezes in your face or you finally get off of the plane after a trans-Atlantic flight. Don’t wait for initial symptoms. Just nebulize at your first opportunity.”

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It’s often touted as a ‘healthier’ alternative, but its claims have yet to be substantiated. Dietitian Melissa Meier debunks some myths about coconut sugar and explains why she won't spend her money on it. 

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Your tongue can tell you a surprising amount about your health. Traditional Chinese medicine doctor Dr. Irene Prantalos explains the ways in which your tongue might be trying to tell you something isn't as it should be. 

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The social distancing restrictions keep easing, hallelujah. But just what is opening, and where? 

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In a tense time when a pandemic rages, politicians wrangle for votes and protesters demand racial justice, a little politeness and courtesy go a long way. Now researchers have developed an automated method for making communications more polite. Specifically, the method takes nonpolite directives or requests -- those that use either impolite or neutral language -- and restructures them or adds words to make them more well-mannered.

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According to research¹ conducted in Switzerland, SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies are only found in the most severe cases — about 1 in 5. That suggests COVID-19 may in fact be five times more prevalent than suspected. It also means it may be five times less deadly than predicted.

The study,² “Systemic and Mucosal Antibody Secretion Specific to SARS-CoV-2 During Mild Versus Severe COVID-19,” was posted on the prepublication server bioRxiv, May 23, 2020. According to the authors:

“When symptomatic, COVID-19 can range from a mild flu-like illness in about 81% to a severe and critical disease in about 14% and 5% of affected patients, respectively.”

The Swiss study,³ which sought to investigate SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody responses, found that even though people who had been exposed to infected individuals had SARS-CoV-2-specific immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies in their mucosa, there were no virus-specific antibodies in their blood.

IgA is an antibody that plays a crucial role in the immune function of your mucous membranes, while IgG is the most common antibody that protects against bacterial and viral infections and is found in blood and other bodily fluids. As explained by the authors:⁴

“As with other coronaviruses, symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 disease causes an acute infection with activation of the innate and adaptive immune systems. The former leads to the release of several pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-6 …

Subsequently, B and T cells become activated, resulting in the production of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies, comprising immunoglobulin M (IgM), immunoglobulin A (IgA), and immunoglobulin G (IgG).

Whereas coronavirus-specific IgM production is transient and leads to isotype switch to IgA and IgG, these latter antibody subtypes can persist for extended periods in the serum and in nasal fluids. Whether SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies correlate with virus control is a matter of intense discussions.”

Antibody Response Dependent on Severity

In COVID-19-positive patients with mild symptoms, SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA titers turned positive an average of eight days after onset of symptoms and were mostly transient. In some cases, however, IgA were completely absent. Serum IgG levels either remained negative, or reached positive values nine to 10 days after symptom onset.

In patients with severe symptoms, a “highly significant” increase of both SARS-CoV-2-specific serum IgA titers were found on day three or four, and even more pronounced IgG titers were present on day four or five. Both were independent of age or comorbidities. Only in severe cases of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) were “very high” levels of IgA found. According to the authors:⁵

“Interestingly, some of the SARS-CoV-2-exposed healthcare workers with negative SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA and IgG serum titers had detectable SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA antibodies in their nasal fluids and tears. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA levels in nasal fluids of these healthcare workers were inversely correlated with patient age.

These data show that systemic IgA and IgG production against SARS-CoV-2 develops mainly in severe COVID-19, with very high IgA levels seen in patients with severe ARDS, whereas mild disease may be associated with transient serum titers of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies but stimulate mucosal SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA secretion. The findings suggest four grades of antibody responses dependent on COVID-19 severity …

We think these findings suggest a model where the extent and duration of SARS-CoV-2-related clinical symptoms, which likely correlates with virus replication, dictates the level of virus-specific humoral immunity.

This hypothesis is consistent with previous publications demonstrating that the magnitude of the humoral response toward SARS-CoV-2 is dependent on the duration and magnitude of viral antigen exposure.

Low antigen exposure will elicit mucosal IgA-mediated responses, which can be accompanied by systemic IgA production; however, systemic virus-specific IgA responses can also be absent, transient or delayed. This type of ‘mucosal IgA’ antibody response seemed to be particularly prevalent in younger individuals with mild SARS-CoV-2 infection without evidence of pneumonia.”

The Young Have Greater Mucosal Immunity Than the Old

The Swiss researchers suggest these findings could be “a reflection of increased mucosal immunity in the young or decreased mucosal immunity in the old.” They point out previous data showing HKU1-specific IgG — antibodies responding to another type of coronavirus that causes the common cold — are absent in people under the age of 20, while higher levels of these antibodies are found in older people.

Extrapolation suggests infants and children “have primed mucosal innate and IgA antibody responses due to their frequent upper respiratory tract infections and, therefore, respond preferentially in this manner to SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the researchers state.

On the other hand, studies have shown the strength of antiviral immune responses, including T cell activation and proliferation, slows with age. This can partially explain why older people are vastly more susceptible to severe COVID-19 illness and death. Other factors like vitamin D levels and immunosenescence that increases in the elderly are also likely important.

Mortality Is a Fraction of What Was Predicted

As noted in an article on Off-Guardian.com, which reported the results of the Swiss study:⁶

“… if the authors are indeed correct in their estimation, this might mean SARS-COV-2’s infection rate (IFR) would need to be revised downward yet again. If 80% of those infected really do not produce antibodies then there is a live possibility the virus is present in many more people than usually supposed. Which would in turn potentially reduce the IFR, possibly considerably.

In the early stages, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated the virus’ IFR to be as high as 3.4%. The models based on those numbers have, however, been shown to be wildly inaccurate …

Dissenting experts⁷ appear to have been vindicated by the serological studies, using blood tests looking for Sars-Cov-2 antibodies done across different populations all over the world, which routinely suggest that the IFR is closer to 0.3%⁸ than the WHO’s initial figure of 3.4%.

From Japan to Iceland to Los Angeles, the numbers returned were between 0.06 and 0.4. Within the range of seasonal influenza. As a result of these studies, the U.S. CDC’s most recent ‘estimated IFR’ is between 0.26% and 0.4%.⁹ Roughly 1/10th of the initial estimates.”

Innate and Adaptive Immunity

For clarity, it’s important to realize you have two types of immunity. Your innate immune system is primed and ready to attack foreign invaders at any moment and is your first line of defense. Your adaptive immune system,¹⁰ on the other hand, “remembers” previous exposure to a pathogen and mounts a response when an old foe is recognized.

Your adaptive immune system is further divided into two arms: humoral immunity (B cells) and cell mediated immunity (T cells). The B cells and T cells are manufactured as needed from specialized stem cells. The graphs below are from my Vitamin D document and will help you understand the components of these systems and their timing.

If you have never been exposed to a disease but are given antibodies from someone who got sick and recovered, you can gain humoral immunity against that disease. Your humoral immune system can also kick in if there’s cross-reactivity with another very similar pathogen.

In the case of COVID-19, there’s evidence¹¹ to suggest exposure to other coronaviruses that cause the common cold can confer immunity against SARS-CoV-2. 

Majority Resistant to COVID-19 Even Without Exposure

One such study^12,13 was published May 14, 2020, in the journal Cell. It found 70% of samples obtained by the La Jolla Institute for Immunology from patients who had recovered from mild cases of COVID-19 had resistance to SARS-CoV-2 on the T-cell level.

Curiously, 40% to 60% of people who had not been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 also had resistance to the virus on the T-cell level. According to the authors, this suggests there’s “cross-reactive T cell recognition between circulating ‘common cold’ coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2.” In other words, if you’ve recovered from a common cold caused by a particular coronavirus, your humoral immune system may activate when you encounter SARS-CoV-2, thus rendering you resistant to COVID-19.

May 14, 2020, Science magazine reported¹⁴ these Cell findings, drawing parallels to another earlier paper¹⁵ by German investigators that had come to a similar conclusion. That German paper,¹⁶ the preprint of which was posted April 22, 2020, on Medrxiv, found helper T cells that targeted the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in 15 of 18 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. As reported by Science:¹⁷

“The teams also asked whether people who haven’t been infected with SARS-CoV-2 also produce cells that combat it. Thiel and colleagues¹⁸ analyzed blood from 68 uninfected people and found that 34% hosted helper T cells that recognized SARS-CoV-2.

The La Jolla team¹⁹ detected this crossreactivity in about half of stored blood samples collected between 2015 and 2018, well before the current pandemic began …

The results suggest ‘one reason that a large chunk of the population may be able to deal with the virus is that we may have some small residual immunity from our exposure to common cold viruses,’ says viral immunologist Steven Varga of the University of Iowa. However, neither of the studies attempted to establish that people with crossreactivity don’t become as ill from COVID-19.

Before these studies, researchers didn’t know whether T cells played a role in eliminating SARS-CoV-2, or even whether they could provoke a dangerous immune system overreaction. ‘These papers are really helpful because they start to define the T cell component of the immune response,’ [Columbia University virologist Angela] Rasmussen says.”

Herd Immunity Theory May Need Revision

Now, if it’s true that a majority are already resistant to COVID-19 due to previous exposure to other coronaviruses, then we’ve probably already reached the threshold for herd immunity, and vaccinating every human on the planet (or close to it) will not be necessary. In fact, it’s starting to look as though a vaccine may be entirely moot.

This research also hints at the possibility that herd immunity isn’t what we think it is. The cross-reactivity on the T cell level seen with SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses may also exist for other viruses.

On the flip side, there’s a phenomenon known as viral interference, where exposure to one virus makes you more susceptible to another virus. Research²⁰ has found that those who received the influenza vaccine were 36% more susceptible to coronavirus infection. This too may be playing a role in COVID-19 deaths among the elderly, since most who reside in nursing homes are given the flu vaccine each year.

Long-Term Immunity Against COVID-19 Appears Prevalent

Yet another study,^21,22,23 this one by researchers in Singapore, found common colds caused by the betacoronaviruses OC43 and HKU1 might make you more resistant to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and that the resulting immunity might last as long as 17 years.

In addition to the common cold, OC43 and HKU1 — two of the most commonly encountered betacoronaviruses²⁴ — are also known to cause bronchitis, acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia in all age groups.²⁵ As reported by the Daily Mail:²⁶

“They share many genetic features with the coronaviruses Covid-19, MERS and SARS, all of which passed from animals to humans. Coronaviruses are thought to account for up to 30 percent of all colds but it is not known specifically how many are caused by the betacoronavirus types.

Now scientists have found evidence that some immunity may be present for many years due to the body's 'memory' T-cells from attacks by previous viruses with a similar genetic make-up — even among people who have had no known exposure to Covid-19 or SARS …

Blood was taken from 24 patients who had recovered from Covid-19, 23 who had become ill from SARS and 18 who had never been exposed to either SARS or Covid-19 …

Half of patients in the group with no exposure to either Covid-19 or SARS possessed T-cells which showed immune response to the animal betacoronaviruses, Covid-19 and SARS. This suggested patients' immunity developed after exposure to common colds caused by betacoronavirus or possibly from other as yet unknown pathogens.”

In other words, if you’ve beat a common cold caused by a OC43 or HKU1 betacoronavirus in the past, you may have a 50/50 chance of having defensive T-cells that can recognize and help defend against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. According to the researchers:²⁷

“These findings demonstrate that virus-specific memory T-cells induced by betacoronavirus infection are long-lasting, which supports the notion that Covid-19 patients would develop long-term T-cell immunity. Our findings also raise the intriguing possibility that infection with related viruses can also protect from or modify the pathology caused by SARS-Cov-2.”

Support Offered by Updated Statistical Models

All of these studies add support to the latest COVID-19 mortality models suggesting there is in fact widespread resistance and prior immunity. Freddie Sayers, executive editor of UnHerd, recently interviewed professor Karl Friston, a statistician whose expertise is mathematical modeling, who believes prior immunity across the global population might be as high as 80%.²⁸

Friston is credited with inventing the statistical parametric mapping technique, which is now the standard for understanding brain imaging. As the pandemic erupted, he began applying this method of analysis (which he refers to as “dynamic causal modelling”) to COVID-19 data, coming up with a model that predicts far lower mortality rates than earlier models.

The reason for this is because the “effective susceptible population,” meaning those who are not already immune to COVID-19 and therefore at risk of infection, was never 100%. At most, it was 50% and most likely only around 20%.

Friston’s model effectively vaporizes claims that social distancing is necessary, because once sensible behaviors such as staying home when sick are entered into it, the positive effect of lockdown efforts on “flattening the curve” simply vanish. In all likelihood, the global lockdowns were completely unnecessary, and certainly should not continue, now or in the future.

COVID-19 Growth Projections Were All Wrong

Support for Friston’s model comes from Michael Levitt,²⁹ a professor of structural biology at the Stanford School of Medicine who received the Nobel Prize in 2013 for his development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems.

According to Levitt, statistical data reveal a mathematical pattern that has stayed consistent regardless of the government interventions implemented. While early models predicted an exponential explosion of COVID-19 deaths, those predictions never materialized. As reported by Sayers in the video above:

“After around a two-week exponential growth of cases (and, subsequently, deaths) some kind of break kicks in, and growth starts slowing down. The curve quickly becomes ‘sub-exponential.’ This may seem like a technical distinction, but its implications are profound.

The ‘unmitigated’ scenarios modelled by (among others) Imperial College, and which tilted governments across the world into drastic action, relied on a presumption of continued exponential growth …

But Professor Levitt’s point is that that hasn’t actually happened anywhere, even in countries that have been relatively lax in their responses.”

Levitt believes prior immunity plays a significant role in why we simply don’t see an exponential growth pattern of COVID-19 deaths, and that certainly seems to make sense in light of the studies reviewed above. A majority of people simply aren’t (and weren’t) susceptible to COVID-19.

According to Levitt, the indiscriminate lockdowns implemented around the world were “a huge mistake.” He believes a more rational approach would have been to protect and isolate the elderly, who are by far the most vulnerable and make up the bulk of COVID-19 deaths around the world.

How to Mitigate COVID-19 Risks Further

Now, while the risks associated with COVID-19 may be far more insignificant than feared for a majority of the population, they still exist for a minority. The elderly are clearly at greatest risk for severe infection and death, but African-American, Asian and other darker-skinned individuals are also susceptible, likely due to the fact that they tend to have lower vitamin D levels.

To bolster your immune system and lower your risk of COVID-19 infection in the future, be sure to follow the instructions given in “Your Vitamin D Level Must Reach 60 ng/mL Before the Second Wave.” This is particularly true if you or someone you love is elderly or has darker skin. By addressing widespread vitamin D deficiency, we can significantly lower the COVID-19 mortality rate in the future. But we need to start now.

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A concerning proportion of scientists — so far 54 in all — have been fired or resigned due to an investigation by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is looking into the researchers’ undisclosed ties to foreign institutions.¹

While Charles Lieber, the former head of Harvard’s chemistry department, is one of the highest profile names in the investigation, NIH has been investigating a total of 189 scientists from 87 institutions.

Among them, 93% received undisclosed support from China, and many had active NIH grants while accepting foreign grants that were not disclosed. About 75% of those being investigated had received an active NIH grant, and close to half had at least two of them. In all, 285 active grants totaling $164 million were counted among those being investigated.

NIH director Francis Collins described the information as “sobering,” noting, “It’s not what we had hoped, and it’s not a fun task.”²

70% of Researchers Did Not Disclose Foreign Grants

In an astonishing glimpse into what appears to be a covert recruitment program, 133, or 70%, of the researchers being investigated did not disclose to the NIH that they had received foreign grants. More than half (54%) also did not disclose their participation in a foreign talent program, while 9% hid ties to a foreign company and 4% did not disclose a foreign patent.^3,4

The investigation is part of larger efforts to limit threats to the U.S. economy and national security, as cutting-edge technologies and other information at the forefront of new industries that are being supported by federally funded research could be flowing into the wrong hands. A broader investigation is also ongoing, with NIH highlighting 399 scientists “of possible concern,” 121 of which the Federal Bureau of Investigation is also investigating.

According to Dr. Michael Lauer, NIH’s deputy director for extramural research, after the NIH looked into the scientists “of possible concern,” 63% of the investigations came back positive, revealing the true scope of the underhanded dealings.⁵

China’s ‘Thousand Talent Plan’

In an “integrity update” to a senior advisory panel working on foreign influences on research, Lauer highlighted China’s talent recruitment plans as a threat to the U.S. research enterprise.⁶ The Thousand Talents Plan (TTP), created by the Chinese Communist Party in 2008, was said to be a method to create an innovative society, but has raised red flags for posing a threat to U.S. technology endeavors.

“[O]ver the years, the program, which is estimated to have had approximately 7,000 participants, has become extremely controversial, generating deep concern within the U.S. government about Chinese IP theft,” the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) explained.⁷

Lauer’s presentation also homed in on the risks of the TPP, quoting a committee hearing from the Department of Homeland Security & Government Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which noted in November 2019:⁸

“Thousand Talent Plan members sign legally binding contracts with Chinese institutions, like universities and research institutions. The contracts can incentivize members to lie on [US] grant applications, set up ‘shadow labs’ in China … and, in some cases, transfer U.S. scientists’ hard-earned intellectual capital.

Some of the contracts also contain nondisclosure provisions and require the Chinese government’s permission to terminate the agreement … These provisions are in stark contrast to the U.S. research community’s basic norms, values, and principles.”⁹

In December 2019, Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, agreed to pay a $5.5 million settlement amid allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting federal grant applications to NIH that failed to disclose Chinese government grants received by two VARI researchers.

Allegations also included that VARI intentionally “made certain factual representations to NIH with deliberate ignorance or reckless disregard for the truth regarding the Chinese grants.”¹⁰

Bioweapons Lab Collaborated With Wuhan Lab

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the NIH, sent a warning to 10,000 academic institutions warning of foreign threats to U.S. biomedical research in 2018. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, even more scrutiny is being placed on the ties between China, including Wuhan, and U.S. academia, especially as the idea that SARS-CoV-2 originated in a bioweapons laboratory in Wuhan, China, gains traction.

The Galveston National Laboratory (GNL), which is part of the University of Texas, is a level 4 laboratory that studies highly dangerous pathogens.

It is now being investigated, as it had approximately 24 contracts with Chinese universities and technology companies, along with ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and exchanges between national security scientists and research sharing. This could be a red flag, as Stephane Segal, a political economist at CSIS, told Fox News:¹¹

"Increased collaboration between the United States and China is consistent with a general trend toward greater cross-border collaboration in science globally; however, the data also show a heavier reliance on bilateral collaboration with one another than with any other single country.

At the same time, the U.S. intelligence community has accused China of exploiting scientific collaboration and 'stealing innovation.'"

Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chair for the Hudson Institute, further told Fox News that, due to the FBI and NIH investigations, "The scope of China's exploitation of our open universities, including medical, biology and other scientific labs, is only recently coming into focus.”¹² Further:

“In almost all cases, the alleged theft of biomedical research information was done by Chinese citizens or Americans of Chinese descent. Bit by bit, China found ways into government scientific labs.”

Former Harvard Chemist Charged for Ties to China

The former chairman of the Harvard department of chemistry, nanoscience expert Charles Lieber, Ph.D., was arrested in early 2020 by federal agencies, suspected of illegal dealings with China.¹³

Lieber joined Chin’s TTP in 2012 and allegedly oversaw the Nano Key Laboratory, a joint collaboration by the Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) and Harvard, although Harvard officials claimed they had no knowledge of the lab before 2015. In my interview with bioweapons expert Francis Boyle, Boyle dismissed the idea that Harvard was unaware Lieber was working on nanotechnology for biological materials with the Chinese as “preposterous.”

In February 2020, Andrew Lelling, U.S. attorney for the Massachusetts district, said that Lieber isn’t being prosecuted because he was a world-renowned Harvard chemist or because the Department of Justice thinks he’s a spy. Rather, the concern came from the allegation that Lieber was paid to perform research for China, then failed to disclose the relationship, making it possible that he could succumb to pressure from China in the future.

Reportedly, Lieber received more than $1.5 million from China for research purposes along with $50,000 a month in salary and about $158,000 in living expenses,¹⁴ all while “brazenly” hiding the connection. “That is a corrupting level of money,” Lelling said. “When people begin to hide things, that’s when law enforcement authorities get all excited.”¹⁵

Lieber had also received more than $15 million in grant funding from NIH and the Department of Defense — grants that require the disclosure of any foreign financial conflicts of interest.¹⁶ In January 2020, the U.S. Attorney’s Office charged Lieber with “making a false statement to federal investigators about his financial ties to a university and foreign talent recruitment program in China.”¹⁷ According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ):

“The complaint alleges that in 2018 and 2019, Lieber lied about his involvement in the Thousand Talents Plan and affiliation with WUT. On or about, April 24, 2018, during an interview with investigators, Lieber stated that he was never asked to participate in the Thousand Talents Program, but he ‘wasn’t sure’ how China categorized him.

In November 2018, NIH inquired of Harvard whether Lieber had failed to disclose his then-suspected relationship with WUT and China’s Thousand Talents Plan. Lieber caused Harvard to falsely tell NIH that Lieber ‘had no formal association with WUT’ after 2012, that ‘WUT continued to falsely exaggerate’ his involvement with WUT in subsequent years, and that Lieber ‘is not and has never been a participant in’ China’s Thousand Talents Plan.”¹⁸

Two Chinese nationals who were engaged in research programs at Massachusetts universities were also charged. This included Yanqing Ye, who was charged with visa fraud, making false statements, acting as an agent of a foreign government and conspiracy, and Zaosong Zheng, who was charged with attempting to smuggle 21 vials of biological research to China, along with making false, fictitious or fraudulent statements.¹⁹

The Ongoing ‘China Initiative’ Began in 2018

The DOJ’s ongoing campaign to identify and stop so-called “nontraditional collaborators” — known as the China Initiative — began in November 2018. Most of the cases involve scientists in academia or high-tech industries, with varying levels of allegations.

In some cases, prosecutors ask universities to reign in researchers who have stepped out of bounds without actually committing a felony. In other cases, official charges are filed. In deciding who to prosecute, Lelling told Science they evaluate several factors, asking, “Is there deception? How much money was involved? What kind of technology was transferred? And what other steps did a researcher take to develop the relationship?”²⁰

It’s important to keep in mind, NIH noted, that U.S. scientists routinely collaborate with researchers from foreign countries, and such collaborations are essential for productive research. “We must not reject brilliant minds working honestly and collaboratively to provide hope and healing,” NIH’s integrity update explained.²¹

Still, Lelling described U.S. researchers accepting support from Chinese researchers while also receiving federal funding as a “dangerous game” that could easily backfire, telling Science:²²

“The Chinese government has a very strategic approach to obtaining technology. It targets researchers who specialize in areas where the Chinese are deficient, in the hopes that they can piggyback on their expertise to close that strategic gap.

What concerns us … is that a scientist who accepts their support becomes dependent on it to the point where they are willing to accept [an assignment] from the Chinese government or a Chinese university for whatever it is they need.

Those of us that work on public corruption cases develop a radar for when person or entity A is attempting to coopt or corrupt person or entity B. And a large enough amount of money can shift loyalties.”

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You may soon be living in a world where your personal health data — including results from COVID-19 testing and data proving whether or not you've received certain vaccines — must be shared and authenticated before you're able to enter a sports arena, travel by air or even enter your workplace.

The technology behind such innovations, which many are calling a threat to civil liberties and privacy, is already available to the general public in the App Store and Google Play via Civic Technologies' Civic Wallet. Civic Technologies, which bills itself as a "leading innovator in digital identity solutions,"¹ released its "Civic Wallet" app June 16, 2020. Previously it was only available in private beta mode.

In addition to offering a way for users to send and receive digital currency, including bitcoin, ethereum, CVC and USDC, which are U.S. dollars converted to assets on the ethereum blockchain,² Civic Wallet will also offer proof-of-health verifications via its so-called Health Key.

This, according to a news release, "will offer the ability to provide secure and regulation-compliant health checks for employers,"³ which means your employer may one day require you to prove you're COVID negative and/or vaccinated in order to hold a job and earn a living.

Hundreds of Employees Will Have Health Data Verified by Phone

Civic Technologies has partnered with Circle Medical, an affiliate of San Francisco-based hospital UCSF Health, which will use the app so 500 of its employees can prove their health and vaccination status. First, the employees will be tested for COVID-19 at a Circle Medical facility in the San Francisco Bay area — more facilities are also expected to be coming soon.⁴ As noted by Forbes, the partnership:⁵

"… will let employees prove to their employers the results of their most recent Covid-19 tests, and when a vaccine is developed, whether or not they've received it.

Far from a theoretical blockchain application that might be of value at some future date, the app, which lets users prove a wide range of personal information, as well as spend bitcoin, ether, a version of the U.S. dollar issued on the ethereum blockchain, and Civic's own token is available … on both Apple's App Store and Google Play."

Civic plans to roll out its proof-of-health verification for companies with more than 500 employees. When an employee signs up, they will be verified as a real person using a mix of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain-based technology, then have the option to share their "Health Key" with third parties.

Vinny Lingham, Civic's co-founder and CEO, told Forbes, "You don't have to transmit your name, or anything like that … So you can walk into a stadium anonymously like you do today, but just prove that as you walk through the gates that you'd been vaccinated."⁶

As for those who may feel that having to "prove" they've been vaccinated to enter a stadium or other facility is a violation of their privacy and right to informed consent, Lingham stated, "If you're part of a society where the majority of the people want everyone to be vaccinated, and you don't want to be part of that society change countries, move somewhere else."⁷

The app had more than 100,000 people signed up on its waiting list, and more than 12,000 downloads occurred on the first day of its launch.⁸ Circle Medical's founder and CEO told Forbes, "I think with COVID there is a real need on the part of the employer to be able to screen and assess COVID risk before they let people back into the workplace."⁹

Vending Machines, Buildings Could Require Data Verification

In addition to employers, services like vending machines and building security services could be among those that would require people to provide certain information prior to using the machine or entering the building. The data exists on an ethereum-powered decentralized identity network, in which the user owns the identity of the information, which is requested by a service. At that point, Forbes reported:¹⁰

"An agreed-upon fee paid for in Civic's native token (CVC) is placed into an escrow account and the validator software scans the requester's required personally identifiable information (for example, age or vaccine status). CVC now sells for $$0.0327, according to Messari, with a total market value of $29 million.

If the user meets the criteria and the requester is satisfied access is granted and the fee in escrow is released. Thanks to cutting-edge mathematical breakthroughs called zero-knowledge proofs, not even the validator actually has the information, but just knows whether or not the requirement is met."

In early testing phases, Civic partnered with beer giant Anheuser-Busch Inbev to create vending machines for beer, with users proving their age using a version of Civic Wallet. Since then, 12 companies have contracted with Civic to sell age-restricted products via vending machines.

What's more, "Civic is currently in conversations with health care companies and government agencies under terms of a nondisclosure agreement," Forbes noted, in addition to plans by Johnson Controls International (JCI) to use the technology as part of its credentials for building access.¹¹

Another Move Toward Global Currency?

In addition to its proof-of-health verification, Civic Wallet is intended to allow users an "easy way to pay friends and family around the world" using digital currency, which can be "sent globally with low fees for a limited time." Funds can be sent to usernames, addresses or QR codes using the app, and Civic Wallet offers a $1 million cryptocurrency protection guarantee insured by Lloyd's of London underwriters.¹²

"If you have up to a million dollars in your wallet," Lingham told Forbes, "you lose your phone, you break your phone, you're fleeing your country in some part of the world and your phone falls in the ocean, you will get your funds on the other side."¹³

Cryptocurrencies are developed for a variety of reasons. For instance, Bitcoins are used to buy and sell products and services. However, some companies are using cryptocurrency to give buyers access to a product or service that the company is offering or plans to offer.¹⁴

It's a way of raising money but, unlike stock where you own part of the company that's offering it, during an initial coin offering (ICO) you are buying a future service or product — Civic Technologies raised $43 million in a 2017 ICO.¹⁵

The backbone of cryptocurrency systems is meant to be decentralized. However, Google, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation formed Mojaloop, which is open-source software designed to be used for financial transactions that is intended to be hosted by a government or financial institution authorities.

Mojaloop is poised to create a platform that allows people from all over the world to send money to each other with low transaction fees, similar to Civic Wallet. Ripple, a payment cryptocurrency and platform currently used by some banks, will be the foundation of payment processing for Mojaloop.

Unlike other cryptocurrencies that rely on blockchain to encrypt and safeguard the transactions, Ripple uses a patented technology called Ripple protocol consensus algorithm (RPCA). Included in their network, called RippleNet, are several institutional payment providers that people use to send money around the world.

These providers include American Express, PNC Bank, Interbank and MoneyGram.¹⁶ Together with Google, Gates and other large tech companies in the coalition, Ripple is positioned to potentially gain control of a created global currency and drive down the value of country-based currency.

First State Hands Over Vaccine Mandate Power to ACIP

Meanwhile, as Civic Technologies quietly released an app to track your vaccination status, the Virginia legislature passed H.B.1090 earlier in 2020, which amended a law requiring children attending day care and public and private schools in the state to receive vaccines.

The bill proposed that children enrolled in Virginia day care or schools automatically be required to receive all vaccines recommended by the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) as a condition for getting a school education.

The final bill gives the Virginia Board of Health the legal authority to add any vaccines recommended by ACIP, except for the annual influenza vaccination, to the list of vaccines required for children to attend school without holding public hearings or a vote by elected state legislators.

In so doing, Virginia citizens have been blocked from participating in the vaccine law-making process and legislators have turned over their law-making authority to unelected members of the board of health and a federal advisory committee. The Vaccine Reaction reported:¹⁷

"In handing the power to make vaccine laws to unelected members of a federal advisory committee and state Board of Health, the Virginia legislature has abdicated responsibility and accountability to constituents by cutting out elected representatives and the voters who elected them from the vaccine law making process.

Although the new law provides for a 60-day public comment period after the Board of Health issues a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action to add a new vaccine to the required list for daycare and school attendance, the legislature will never again hold a public hearing where citizens can testify for or against the addition of a new vaccine mandate for children."

What's more, in a legislative committee public hearing on the proposed law that was held January 21, 2020, no time restrictions were placed on those speaking in favor of the bill, but a 10-minute cap — total — was placed on those speaking in opposition. This meant the majority of those waiting to testify in opposition were prevented from speaking, blocking their right to participate in the democratic law-making process.

The same pattern occurred again when the bill moved to the House Appropriations Subcommittee, with no time limit place for those in favor of the bill and a 10-minute cap placed on those speaking against it. The bill's passing is even more concerning in light of the current race to develop COVID-19 vaccines, which are being fast-tracked and will likely be mandated despite legitimate concerns about potential risks and concerns about effectiveness. According to The Vaccine Reaction:

"The automatic adoption by state public health officials of all new federally recommended vaccines to the required list for children to attend school in the Commonwealth without input from citizens and elected representatives is even more concerning because COVID-19 vaccines are being fast tracked to licensure.

While it normally takes 15 to 20 years to develop a vaccine, a vaccine for COVD-19 may be on the market by this September and federally recommended for use by all children and adults in 2021."¹⁸

Now that Virginia has handed over its vaccine law-making power to the CDC and ACIP, others are likely to follow, just as more employers are likely to adopt Civic Technologies' proof-of-health verification app and others like it.

Ultimately, this and other privacy violations, like contact tracing apps, could lead to a future in which a vaccine certificate or "unique patient ID number" replaces personal identifications such as your driver's license, state ID card, Social Security card and passport, and is tied not only to your medical records in total, but also your finances.

If you may soon be required to "prove" that you've passed certain medical tests and received certain vaccines just to enter a building or go to work, what other information may also be required one day? Will state governments continue to take away additional freedoms and eliminate your right to privacy in the name of public health?

If you're concerned about preserving your rights to vaccine choice and would like more information on how to proactively protect those rights, please visit the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) website, where you can find an illustrated and fully referenced "A Guide to Reforming Vaccine Policy & Law," which is an excellent vaccine education tool for you, legislators and friends and family, too.

The challenges are great, but so are the opportunities to educate and empower legislators and residents of every state to defend vaccine freedom of choice. NVIC is committed to continuing to make that happen and they look forward to working with you through the NVIC Advocacy Portal to help you protect vaccine informed consent rights in your state in 2020 and beyond.

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Dan Churchill is a celebrity chef, a qualified exercise physiologist and the resident food expert for Chris Hemsworth's Centr app, so we're guessing he knows a thing or two about how healthy snacking. Here, he shares his go-to recipe for a mid-afternoon munch to keep those hunger pains at bay. 

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Treat yourself to activewear heaven with Body+Soul’s incredible P.E Nation gift pack. Enter online for your chance to WIN big!

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In a recent study of epilepsy patients and healthy volunteers, researchers found that our brains may withdraw some common words, like ''pig,'' ''tank,'' and ''door,'' much more often than others, including ''cat,'' ''street,'' and ''stair.'' By combining memory tests, brain wave recordings, and surveys of billions of words published in books, news articles and internet encyclopedia pages, the researchers not only showed how our brains may recall words but also memories of our past experiences.

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Using DNA origami as a virus-like scaffold, researchers designed an HIV-like particle that provokes a strong response from human immune cells grown in the lab. They are now testing this approach as a potential vaccine candidate in live animals, and adapting it to SARS-CoV-2, as well as other pathogens.

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Long-term morbidity as well as a lower level of education and employment rate are common among adults who underwent congenital heart surgery during childhood, regardless of the severity of the defect.

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It is well-known that victims of bullying can have higher risks of future health and social problems. However, different victims experience a broad range of responses and some may not suffer at all. Researchers felt this implied there might be factors that could protect against some consequences of bullying. In a study of over 6,000 adolescents in Japan, they found a strong candidate in the moderation of what is known as emotional competence.

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After one consumes food or a beverage containing fructose, the gastrointestinal system, or gut, helps to shield the liver from damage by breaking down the sugar before it reaches the liver, according to a new multi-center study. However, the consumption of too much fructose -- particularly in a short period of time -- can overwhelm the gut, causing fructose to ''spill over'' into the liver, where it wreaks havoc and causes fatty liver, researchers discovered.

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An innovative treatment for patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) which uses transplanted gut bacteria to treat the infection, is a more effective and more cost-efficient treatment than using antibiotics, a new study has found.

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CAR-T therapy has been used successfully in patients with blood cancers such as lymphoma and leukemia. It modifies a patient's own T-cells by adding a piece of an antibody that recognizes unique features on the surface of cancer cells. In a new study, researchers report that they have dramatically broadened the potential targets of this approach - their engineered T-cells attack a variety of solid-tumor cancer cells from humans and mice.

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Bioengineers have designed a glove-like device that can translate American Sign Language into English speech in real time though a smartphone app. The system includes a pair of gloves with thin, stretchable sensors that run the length of each of the five fingers. These sensors, made from electrically conducting yarns, pick up hand motions and finger placements that stand for individual letters, numbers, words and phrases.

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Everyone talks about the importance of treating high blood pressure, the “silent killer.” And everybody knows that untreated high blood pressure can lead to heart attacks and strokes. But can treating high blood pressure reduce your risk of cognitive impairment and dementia?

High blood pressure is a risk factor for cognitive impairment and dementia

Cognition encompasses thinking, memory, language, attention, and other mental abilities. Researchers have known for many years that if you have high blood pressure, you have a higher risk of developing cognitive impairment and dementia. However, just because high blood pressure is a risk factor, it does not necessarily mean that lowering high blood pressure will lower your risk. Many things in health and science correlate without one causing the other (my favorite is the correlation between the drop in birth rate and the decline in the stork population). Thus, randomized, double-blind, controlled studies are needed to answer this question.

Prior studies have not provided clear answers

There have, in fact, been a lot of these studies. The most recent relevant study is the SPRINT-MIND study, designed to measure the effects of lowering high blood pressure on dementia and/or mild cognitive impairment. This study was so successful at reducing the risk of mild cognitive impairment by lowering high blood pressure that it ended early, because the data and safety monitoring board felt that it was unethical to continue the control group. However, the dementia endpoint had not yet reached statistical significance — likely because of this early termination. Thus, while the study succeeded in one sense, it ultimately concluded that treating systolic blood pressure to below 120 mmHg (versus lower than 140 mmHg) did not reduce risk of dementia.

A new analysis of many studies

Because SPRINT-MIND and many other prior studies have not clearly shown whether lowering our high blood pressure can reduce our risk of cognitive impairment and dementia, meta-analyses are needed to answer this question. Researchers in Ireland looked at data from 14 studies comprising almost 100,000 participants, followed over an average of more than four years. They found that older individuals (average age 69) who lowered their blood pressure are slightly less likely to develop dementia or cognitive impairment (7.0% versus 7.5%). Thus, the answer is: Yes! Lowering high blood pressure will lower our risk of dementia and cognitive impairment.

The relationship between high blood pressure and dementia

So, how does lowering high blood pressure reduce our risk of cognitive impairment and dementia? Most people who have dementia don’t have just a single cause. Two or even three different problems in the brain cause their cognitive impairment and lead to their decline in function. One study estimates that the fraction of dementia risk attributable to cerebrovascular disease — that is, strokes — was nearly 25% in people who developed significant memory loss late in life. These researchers also found that the dementia risk attributable to Alzheimer’s disease was considerably higher, nearly 40%.

My reading of the literature is that lowering blood pressure reduces dementia risk because it reduces the risk of stroke. It’s the strokes — not high blood pressure by itself — that cause cognitive impairment. Note, however, that the strokes may be so tiny that one doesn’t even know that they have them. But developing a lot of these tiny strokes (or a few big ones) will greatly increase our risk of dementia.

Optimal blood pressure for optimal brain health

Okay, but what’s considered a healthy blood pressure from the perspective of the brain? The SPRINT-MIND study answers that question: people are less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment if their systolic blood pressure is lower than 120 mm Hg compared to the control condition of between 120 and 140 mm Hg. Thus, for optimal brain health, it’s best to keep your systolic blood pressure below 120 mm Hg — at least according to the SPRINT-MIND study.

The bottom line

The take-home message is clear: You can reduce your risk of cognitive impairment and dementia by lowering your systolic blood pressure to less than 120 mm Hg, preferably with aerobic exercise, a Mediterranean diet, and a healthy weight, and by adding medications if those lifestyle changes alone are not sufficient.

The post Can controlling blood pressure later in life reduce risk of dementia? appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

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