A concise update of what’s going on and what it would take to convince everyone.
Everyone wants an answer to the origin of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the culprit behind the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. It’s not just a want but a need as well. We need to know; otherwise, we may be repeating the same mistakes and playing dice roll.
Without knowing how a pathogen of pandemic potential came to be, we won’t know how to stop the next one. Sure, we can take more stringent precautions, but we won’t know if they are the correct ones to take. …
Topics discussed include acute Covid-19, long-COVID, MIS-C, anaphylaxis, Shoenfeld’s syndrome, ITP, myocarditis, VITT, societal factors, and X-factor.
While I won’t hesitate to get the Covid-19 vaccine when my turn comes, my parent is anxious about it (even though I’m already 21). Other parents probably feel the same way. After all, we can’t help but wonder if it’s really necessary to inject a bioactive substance into our body — much more into our child’s body — when there might be no need for it. But others may feel relieved, knowing that their child can return to some level of normalcy after getting vaccinated.
In May 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use…
A newsletter providing a short account of the articles published in the past month.
The lab-leak hypothesis of Covid-19 has been the hot topic during the past month, appearing across almost every news outlet. For example, here’s one from April I wrote that summarizes the 120-page WHO-China report and discusses the current knowledge and, more crucially, the next steps forward. But I digress. As usual, here’s a short note of the articles (friend linked) that Microbial Instincts or I covered in May that I hope will keep you more scientifically informed.
Coronavirus vaccine
- Why Vaccine Boosters May Not Solve the Mutating Coronavirus Problem: With the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) spreading far and wide, mutations will happen. Some mutations…
We got it wrong with cholera, measles, tuberculosis, and SARS-CoV-2
How an infectious disease spreads from one person to another is a question so vital that if we get it wrong, we will fail to control its spread and may even make it worse than it has to be.
During the 19th century in London, people believed that miasma (‘bad air’) spread cholera, a diarrheal bacterial disease. So, stinky sewers were dumped into the Thames River, a major source of drinking water. This move ended up killing far more people, as in fact cholera spreads via contaminated food and water.
We have made similar mistakes with measles and tuberculosis, which…
The third, most worrisome one is just recently noted.
As global mass vaccination is going on, we have been fixating on the risks of Covid-19 vaccines. At least I’ve written a number of such articles, namely on the biodistribution of mRNA and DNA vaccines, vaccine-induced blood clots and low platelets, and original antigen sin. But this time, let’s look at the virus (SARS-CoV-2) or disease (Covid-19) more closely.
First, let’s briefly recap what most of us already knows about the health risks of SARS-CoV-2 or Covid-19:
- It can cause severe pneumonia, blood clots, and multi-organ failure that can hospitalize a person and can be fatal, especially for those who…
Humans don’t always win against evolving viruses, but there are reasons to be optimistic
In 1960, Thomas Francis Jr., MD, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan who was the first to isolate the influenza virus in the U.S., published a paper titled “On the Doctrine of Original Antigenic Sin” in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society that is pertinent to our understanding of immunological memory to this day.
Sadly, the concept of original antigenic sin (OAS) has not been given the scrutiny it deserves. …
A newsletter providing a brief account of the topics covered last month.
We have seen at least two major developments on Covid-19 during the past month: the vaccine-induced thrombotic (blood clots) thrombocytopenia (low platelets) and the origin of Covid-19. These two important topics, as well as other fascinating vaccine stores, are covered in Microbial Instincts. And here’s a short description of them that I hope keeps you more scientifically informed:
Coronavirus vaccines
- Platelet Disorders and Genetic Vaccines Might Have A Biological Link, but It’s Negligible: As genetic (mRNA/DNA) vaccines are relatively new technology, many things about them are still unclear. Specifically, data on the tissue biodistribution of mRNA (e.g., Pfizer and Moderna) and DNA…
Making sense of the information on vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) out there to see what this is all about.
Unfortunately, the Oxford/AstraZeneca (Ox/AZ) and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines for Covid-19 have caused — or at least with high certainty of causing —a few cases of severe and fatal blood clots for every million doses of vaccine injected. Although this rate is minuscule — bearing possible underreporting in mind — one unwanted death is always one too many. And deaths with unclear causes need to be examined to prevent more of the same.
That said, let’s see what the vaccine-induced blood clots (accompanied by low platelet levels) — that make everyone anxious and worried — are all about. …
An overview of the WHO-China investigation report, an update on current knowledge, and some next steps
The causative agent of Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, is one successful coronavirus that has initiated a global pandemic. How did it emerge in humans, however, remains a question so crucial that nobody has a full answer to it. After all, knowing how a clinically important virus came into existence is key to anticipating and stopping the next one.
Just as the World Health Organization (WHO) did an investigational field visit in China between January 14 and February 10, 2021, and published their report on March 30, 2021, we thought we might finally have the answer to the origin of Covid-19. Unfortunately, we…
After 15 months of consistent scientific writing online, here’s what I’ve got to share
On 1st January 2020, I wrote and self-published my first blog article online. (It’s mediocre, obviously, so you might not want to read it.) After 15 months of consistent writing online, I’ve written about 200 articles and earned 20,000 USD. The time went by quickly, but the experiences gained are lasting. I’m sharing them here because I hope they can benefit you too.
1. Measure your cumulative progress rather than your weekly or monthly performance
Your content views and earnings can fluctuate wildly due to various factors, many of which are outside your control. Some months are simply disappointing. In December 2020, for example, my earnings fell by 1000 USD, almost half…
