Monthly Archives: August 2023

An uptick in Covid-19 cases and the fast-approaching new school year have many people wondering when they should get their next booster. The short answer, according to experts: not quite yet youll be a lot better off if you wait another month or two.

In June, an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended that the next Covid vaccine formulation target the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant.

Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax are now working to update, test and mass-produce their vaccines, which will then need to be officially authorized by the F.D.A. Experts estimate that shots will be available to the public by late September or early October.

For most people right now, it seems to me waiting makes more sense, said Dr. Paul Sax, the clinical director of the division of infectious diseases at Brigham and Womens Hospital.

There are two main reasons to hold out for the updated vaccine. First, it will be a better match for the variants that are currently circulating.

The majority of the coronavirus strains infecting people right now are either descended from, or related to, XBB.1.5, so the decision to target that variant with the vaccine was about as good as you could imagine for the moment, said Trevor Bedford, a professor in the vaccine and infectious disease division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

The vaccine will most likely also provide some protection against EG.5, which recently became the dominant variant in the United States, accounting for about 17 percent of current cases. EG.5 is descended from another XBB variant and has a few additional mutations, so antibodies produced by the updated vaccine may not be quite as effective against it. But the new booster is still a better fit for EG.5 than last years booster, which targeted both the original Covid strain and the BA.5 Omicron variant neither of which appear to be circulating anymore.

Dr. David Boulware, a professor of medicine specializing in infectious diseases at the University of Minnesota Medical School, added that because the new vaccine is a better match for the current variants, he is somewhat optimistic that it will help prevent not only severe disease but also infection.

Once youre boosting with the variant that is closest to whats actually circulating, you will most likely regain some protection against infection, he said.

The second reason to wait a month or two for the new vaccine is that it will increase the odds that your defenses against the virus will be strongest when cases are expected to peak, historically between December and February. Antibodies wane over time, and protection is highest during the first three months following an infection or vaccination.

Case numbers are increasing now, but theyre not at exceptionally high levels, Dr. Sax said. I cant imagine, though, that they wont go up again in November, December or January, as they did every single year in the past three years.

If youve had Covid recently, experts suggest waiting a few additional months before getting the new shot. Your antibodies are already elevated because of the infection, and so the vaccine wont provide you with much additional benefit during this time.

In case you need a little extra motivation to get the new booster, vaccination is the only proven way to shorten a case of Covid, Dr. Boulware said. In a study published last year, he found that people who got Covid within six months of receiving a shot had less severe disease and shorter duration of illness.

If youre worried about catching Covid in the meantime, use the behavioral protections youve employed throughout the pandemic: Avoid big crowds; wear a high-quality, well-fitting N95, KN95 or KF94 mask when youre in indoor public settings; and try to make sure rooms are well-ventilated even opening a window can help.

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Should You Get Another Covid Booster Now, or Wait Until the Fall? - The New York Times

aerosol: (adj. aerosolized) A tiny solid or liquid particle suspended in air or as a gas. Aerosols can be natural, such as fog or gas from volcanic eruptions, or artificial, such as smoke from burning fossil fuels.

antibodies: Any of a large number of proteins that the body produces from B cells and releases into the blood supplyas part of its immune response. Theproduction of antibodies is triggered whenthe body encounters an antigen, some foreign material. Antibodies then lock onto antigens as a first step in disabling the germs or other foreign substances that were the source of those antigens.

commercial: An adjective for something that is ready for sale or already being sold. Commercial goods are those caught or produced for others, and not solely for personal consumption.

coronavirus: A family of viruses named for the crown-like spikes on their surface (corona means crown in Latin). Coronaviruses cause the common cold. The family also includes viruses that cause far more serious infections, including SARS and COVID-19.

COVID-19: A name given to the disease that erupted into a massive global pandemic in 2020. It first emerged in 2019 and is caused by a new coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2. Symptoms can include pneumonia, trouble breathing, feeling too tired to walk more than a few steps, fever, headaches, low blood-oxygen levels, blood clots and brain fog.

cyclone: A strong, rotating vortex, usually madeof wind. Natural examples includea tornado or hurricane.

electricity: A flow of charge, usually from the movement of negatively charged particles, called electrons.

electrode: A device that conducts electricity and is used to make contact with non-metal part of an electrical circuit, or that contacts something through which an electrical signal moves. (in electronics)Part of a semiconductor device (such as a transistor) that either releases or collects electronsor holes, or that can controltheir movement.

electron: A negatively charged particle, usually found orbiting the outer regions of an atom; also, the carrier of electricity within solids.

filter: (n.) Something that allows some materials to pass through but not others, based on their size or some other feature. (v.) The process of screening some things out on the basis of traits such as size, density, electric charge. (adj. filtration)

flu: Short for influenza. A highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory passages causing fever and severe aching. It often occurs as an epidemic.

HEPA: An acronym for high-efficiency particulate air. It's a term for a type of pleated air filter (usually made of cloth). It can theoretically remove at least 99.97 percent of airborne particles that are at least 0.3 microns in diameter. That includes most bacteria, dust, mold and pollen. Any particles that are larger or smaller may be trapped even more efficiently. Such filters are often used on vacuums, ventilation systems and as covers to protect the nose and mouth.

immune system: The collection of cells and their responses that help the body fight off infections and deal with foreign substances that may provoke allergies.

infection: A disease that can spread from one organism to another. Its usually caused by some type of microbe.

link: A connection between two people or things.

liquid: A material that flows freely but keeps a constant volume, like water or oil.

nasal: Having to do with the nose.

particle: A minute amount of something.

PCR: An acronym for polymerase chain reaction. It's a biochemical process that repeatedly copies a particular sequence of DNA.

protein: A compound made from one or more long chains of amino acids. Proteins are an essential part of all living organisms. They form the basis of living cells, muscle and tissues; they also do the work inside of cells. Antibodies, hemoglobin and enzymes are all examples of proteins. Medicines frequently work by latching onto proteins.

SARS-CoV-2: A coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019. It would go on to cause widespread and sometimes lethal disease throughout China and many other nations. Its name reflects its close similarity to the original coronavirus known as SARS (for severe acute respiratory syndrome). That SARS virus sparked a global outbreak of disease in 2003.

system: A network of parts that together work to achieve some function. For instance, the blood, vessels and heart are primary components of the human body's circulatory system. Similarly, trains, platforms, tracks, roadway signals and overpasses are among the potential components of a nation's railway system. System can even be applied to the processes or ideas that are part of some method or ordered set of procedures for getting a task done.

virus: Tiny infectious particles consisting of genetic material (RNA or DNA) surrounded by protein. Viruses can reproduce only by injecting their genetic material into the cells of living creatures. Although scientists frequently refer to viruses as live or dead, in fact many scientists argue that no virus is truly alive. It doesnt eat like animals do, or make its own food the way plants do. It must hijack the cellular machinery of a living cell in order to survive.

voltage: A force associated with an electric current that is measured in units known as volts. Power companies use high voltage to move electric power over long distances.

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A 'mini cyclone' helps detect coronavirus in the air - Science News Explores

Overview

TheInfection prevention and control in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a living guidelineconsolidates technical guidance developed and published during the COVID-19 pandemic into evidence-informedrecommendations for infection prevention and control (IPC). Thisliving guidelineis available both online and PDF.

This version of the living guideline (version 5.0)includes the following seven revised statements for the prevention, identification and management of SARS-CoV-2infections among health and care workers:

Understanding the updated section

Prevention of infections in the health care setting includes a multi-pronged and multi-factorial approach that includes IPC and occupational health and safety measures and adherence to Public Health and Social Measures in the community by the health workforce. The underlying infection prevention and control strategy of this section is the notion that early identification of symptomatic cases, testing and quarantining/isolating health and care workers decreases the risk of nosocomial infection to patients and to other health and care workers.

Version 5.0 of the living guideline supersedes the previous guidance on thePrevention, identification and management of health worker infection in the context of COVID-19issued in October 2020.

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Infection prevention and control in the context of coronavirus ... - World Health Organization

Participants and surveys of residual symptoms

Higashiosaka City Medical Center is the central public hospital of Higashi-Osaka City, a city in the Kinki region of Japan, with a total population of approximately 500,000. This hospital is a tertiary medical center in Osaka Prefecture offering treatment for COVID-19. All patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 by positive nasopharyngeal swab polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In general, patients admitted to our hospital were either elderly or at a high risk of severe respiratory failure; however, patients who required tracheal intubation were transferred to other hospitals that provided intensive care for COVID-19 respiratory failure. After receiving acute medication for COVID-19, they were discharged or transferred to rehabilitation hospitals, long-term care hospitals, or intensive care hospitals for tracheal intubation management for severe respiratory failure.

We surveyed post-COVID syndrome by sending questionnaires. Questionnaires were mailed to patients at least 5 months after admission. Responses to the question, Do you feel foggy or unfocused 1 month after onset of COVID-19? and Do you feel foggy or unfocused 3 months after onset of COVID-19? were categorized as 0=never, 1=rarely, 2=occasionally, 3=frequently, or 4=always. This study included patients admitted to our hospital between October 10, 2020, and October 31, 2021. The participants were categorized into three groups according to their admission date: third wave, October 10, 2020, to February 28, 2021 (surveyed on May 10, 2022); fourth wave, March 1, 2021, to June 20, 2021 (surveyed on May 10, 2022); and fifth wave, June 21, 2021, to October 31, 2021 (surveyed on March 25, 2022). Questionnaires were not sent to patients who died at our hospital. Questionnaires were sent to 1061 patients, 404 of whom responded. We included 253 patients 1 month after onset of COVID-19 in the analysis, excluding those hospitalized for 1 day, who had no data on ferritin, C-reactive protein (CRP), or white blood cell counts, and those who left the Brain Fog question blank (Fig.1). We included 229 patients when the data 3 months after the onset was used, which was fewer than 1 month as more patients left the Brain Fog question blank.

The following data were collected from the medical records, namely, age, sex, days in the hospital, length of hospitalization, tracheal intubation or not, peak white blood cell count, red blood cell count, platelet count, and levels of albumin, creatinine, Na, K, peak CRP, D-dimer, procalcitonin, HbA1c and treatment.

The questionnaire was used to obtain Brain Fog scores 1 month after COVID-19 infection onset (No symptoms:0, few:1, sometimes:2, frequently:3, always:4). Patient characteristics and ferritin levels were compared in the presence and absence of any Brain Fog. Unless otherwise specified, categorical variables were tested using a Chi-Squared test and continuous MannWhitney U or Students t test. Furthermore, the peak ferritin level of each Brain Fog-point group was analyzed using Linear Regression.

Propensity score analyses were conducted to exclude confounders as far as possible. Some variables (Model 1; age, sex, Model 2; age, sex, CRP, and WBC, Model 3; age, sex, CRP, WBC, length of hospitalization, intubation, and maximal oxygen dose, Model 4; age, sex, CRP, WBC, length of hospitalization, intubation, maximal oxygen dose, D-dimer, creatinine, sodium, potassium, albumin, red blood cell count, platelet counts, and procalcitonin values, Model5; age, sex, CRP, WBC, length of hospitalization, intubation, maximal oxygen dose, D-dimer, creatinine, sodium, potassium, albumin, red blood cell count, platelet counts, and procalcitonin values, remdesivir, steroid therapy, antibody cocktail therapy) were regressed by Logistic Regression using the presence of Brain Fog as a predictor. Each patient propensity score was calculated as the probability of being classified into one specified group. The variables of each model were selected for the following reason, Model 1; basic social background, Model 2; inflammation-related parameters, Model 3; factors used for the determination of severity, Model 4: factors including maker of bacterial inflammation, Model 5: factors including treatment. Following greedy pair matching, each group of patients was matched using the nearest propensity scores, and we compared the two groups using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

Finally, the contribution of ferritin levels to the difference among patients with and without Brain Fog was tested between each COVID-19 phase using a permutation test. Specifically, the ferritin values of individuals with Brain Fog and those without Brain Fog were randomly permuted within each phase, and the median difference values of those with Brain Fog and those without brain fog were calculated based on 5000 samples. Then, a one-sided p value was calculated as the proportion of sampled values where the true median difference was located. All analyses were performed using Python 3 (Python Software Foundation, Wilmington, DE, USA).

This study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki on Research Involving Human Subjects. All methods were performed according to the relevant guidelines and regulations and observational studies. The Ethics Committee of Higashiosaka City Medical Center approved the study design and protocol and waived the need for the requirement of Informed Consent because of the retrospective nature of the study.

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Serum ferritin level during hospitalization is associated with Brain ... - Nature.com

BOSTON A Rhode Island man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his involvement in a fraudulent scheme to obtain and misuse COVID-19-related unemployment assistance.

Dquintz Alexander, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley to three years in prison and three years of supervised release. Alexander was also ordered to pay forfeiture of $318,281. In April 2023, Alexander pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy, five counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) created a temporary federal unemployment insurance program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). PUA, administered by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance, provides unemployment insurance benefits for individuals who are not eligible for other types of unemployment benefits (e.g., the self-employed, independent contractors or gig economy workers).

From April to June 2020, Alexander conspired with his co-worker, Norman Higgs, to submit fraudulent PUA claims using stolen identifying information of other individuals. The PUA payments were directed into bank accounts controlled by Alexander and Higgs. In total, accounts controlled by Alexander and Higgs received over half a million dollars in fraudulent PUA payments. While the majority of the funds were frozen by banks or recovered through the efforts of law enforcement, Alexander and Higgs were able to use over $200,000 of the funds for their personal benefit, including to pay off credit card debt and to fund digital currency and online retail brokerage accounts. On August 2, 2023, Higgs was sentenced for his role in the scheme.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Christopher DiMenna, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations-Labor Racketeering and Fraud made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Departments response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justices National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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Rhode Island Man Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Theft and ... - Department of Justice

SciCheck Digest

A Swiss study found that after a COVID-19 booster, less than 3% of people briefly had a slightly elevated blood level of a protein that can be a marker of heart injury. No one in the study had any serious heart damage, and other experts say the findings are unlikely to be clinically significant. Viral posts, however, are spinning the results to falsely claim that the study shows the vaccines risks are off the scale.

Multiple studies have shown that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective in protecting against severe disease and death. While myocarditis and pericarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle and its surrounding tissue, have been identified as rare serious side effects of the vaccines, the benefits of mRNA COVID-19 vaccination still outweigh the risks across all age groups.

Myocarditis is a potentially serious condition that can be triggered by a viral infection, including an infection with the coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2. As weve written, studies have shown that even though both the vaccine and COVID-19 can cause myocarditis, the overall risks associated with COVID-19 are higher. Vaccine-associated myocarditis is rare, occurring most frequently in young males after a second dose, and is usually mild and resolves quickly.

Areviewof studies on the topic published in May in the American Heart Associations journal Circulation Research found that in people 12 years and older, the frequency of myocarditis after two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines is estimated at 3.5 cases per 100,000 people, and 1.9 per 100,000 people for those 16 years and older.

But viral social media posts, including one by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, misrepresent a recent study published by Swiss researchers to say it proves mRNA vaccines are too risky.

Two USC basketball players experience cardiac arrest in the past year and both almost certainly were forced or misled into taking a vaccine never proven to meaningfully benefit young, healthy people, but definitely proven to cause cardiac injury, Ladapo posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on July 27. Florida data and a new Swiss study show it, he added, linking to the study, and referring to a flawed Florida analysis that weve written about before.

There is no evidence to suggest that the cardiac arrests suffered by University of Southern California basketball players Vince Iwuchukwu in July 2022 and Bronny James, LeBron James son, in July 2023 were due to the vaccines.

John Campbell, a nurse educator in the U.K. who often spreads misinformation on his YouTube channel, said the risk shown by the Swiss study was off the scale. The only way you would take this kind of risk in health care is if the alternative was certain death, he said in a video that has over a million views.

An Instagram user posted a snapshot of a headline from the conservative news site the Gateway Pundit that reads: KILL SHOT: Recent Peer-Reviewed Report Finds 1 in 35 People Who Took Moderna COVID Shot Had Signs of Heart Damage.

But these claims are distorting a study published by researchers at the University Hospital of Basel in the European Journal of Heart Failure in July. It found mild and transient levels of a protein that can be a marker of heart injury, but no cases of myocarditis or other serious cardiac events, among 777 hospital workers who received a booster of the Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

No patient had electrocardiographic changes, and none developed major adverse cardiac events within 30 days, the abstract reads, referring to changes in an electrocardiogram. No definitive case of myocarditis was found, the study continues, although there were two probable cases.

The study measured the volunteers levels of cardiac troponin three days after they received a Moderna booster. Cardiac troponin is a protein that exists inside heart muscle cells. Normally, only tiny amounts of it circulate in the bloodstream. But when cardiac muscle cells are injured, more troponin is released into the blood.

The University of Basel researchers wanted to find out if myocardial injury was more common after vaccination than reported if they proactively looked for indicators of possible injury, instead of relying on passive surveillance that mostly detects myocarditis cases that require hospitalization. To do so they measured high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T, using a test that can detect very low levels of troponin that go undetected in regular tests.

The results did show a small, temporary, above-average presence of troponin in 22 of the 777 hospital employees, or about 1 in 35 people.These people did not report more symptoms than those who did not have elevated troponin levels. The median age of the participants in which troponin was detected was 46 years, and 20 of the 22 cases occurred in women. Troponin levels decreased in all but one patient in a follow-up visit.

These increases in cardiac troponin are not clinically significant and would not be associated with any quantifiable effect on the heart using imaging, Dr. Nicholas Mills, professor of cardiology at the University of Edinburgh, who studies troponin, told us in an email.

The principle conclusion that if you look really hard for minor amounts of injury after vaccination you can find it is likely true, Dr. James de Lemos, a cardiologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, told Lead Stories. But, he said, the results were overplayed and the levels of troponin found were trivial.

These small troponin elevations are not likely events of clinical significance, he said.

Mills explained that troponin elevation is not always an indication of consequential damage it also occurs in healthy people after exercise, where it is not thought to have any pathophysiological consequences, he said, pointing us to a 2008 study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.He also said the fact that the study showed higher troponin elevation among women, contrary to the existing evidence on vaccine-associated myocarditis, is counter-intuitive and suggests troponin elevations were less likely to be a consequence of subclinical myocarditis.

Mills, who has collaborated with the University of Basel researchers but had no participation in this study, said the results merit further study. But the study had an important limitation, he said, since it didnt measure troponin levels prior to vaccination, and the researchers attempts to address this limitation werent adequate.

It is therefore not possible to determine whether troponin elevation was a consequence of vaccination or occurred at this frequency in this population prior to vaccination, he said.

According to the authors, their findings confirm their hypothesis. mRNA-1273 booster vaccination-associated elevation of markers of myocardial injury occurred in about one out of 35 persons (2.8%), a greater incidence than estimated in meta-analyses of hospitalized cases with myocarditis (estimated incidence 0.0035%) after the second vaccination, the study reads.

Yet, that doesnt mean the vaccines are harmful or should be avoided.

[A]ll cases were mild with only a transient and short period of myocardial injury, the study reads. COVID-19 associates with a substantially higher risk for myocarditis [than] mRNA vaccination,and myocarditis related to COVID-19 infection has shown a higher mortality than myocarditisrelated to mRNA vaccination, the study adds.

Dr. Christian Mueller, director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute Basel and the senior author of the study, told us in an email that even though his study found myocardial cells were severely injured, the results have to be considered taking into account all the benefits of vaccination. To do so, we would need to know the prevalence and extent of myocardial injury after COVID-19 infection with the strain circulating at that time and the (possible) reduction in the likelihood that people get infected and/or get ill from infection, he said.

Furthermore, the authors explain that even though the long-term consequences of the low and temporary troponin elevations they found are unknown, good long-term outcomes can be expected.

As we said, Mills and de Lemos said the troponin levels werent likely to be clinically significant.

In an interview published in November 2022 on the University of Baselswebsite, Mueller explained that the marker they used is extremely sensitive and emphasized that the damage to the cardiac muscle is mild. People should not be skeptical about mRNA vaccination based on these results, he added. mRNA vaccination technology is a fantastic development The vaccines saved millions of lives, he said.But he said the findings could help improve vaccination in the future.

A spokesperson for Moderna told us the company has a robust pharmacovigilance function and makes sure all adverse events are reported to regulators.

mRNA-1273 has been administered to hundreds of millions of people worldwide and has been shown to reduce severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths caused by COVID-19. Regulatory agencies around the world have stated that the benefits of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines significantly outweigh the risk across all age groups, Luke Mircea-Willats, senior director of media relations and communications, told us in an email.

Editors note: SciChecks articles providing accurate health information and correcting health misinformation are made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation has no control over FactCheck.orgs editorial decisions, and the views expressed in our articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation.

Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines. CDC. Updated 7 Mar 2023.

Altman, Natasha L., et al. Vaccination-Associated Myocarditis and Myocardial Injury. Circulation Research. 11 May 2023.

Goddard, Kristin, et al. Risk of myocarditis and pericarditis following BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccination. Vaccine. Jul 12 2022.

Klein, Nicola.Myocarditis Analyses in the Vaccine Safety Datalink: Rapid Cycle Analyses and Head-to-Head Product Comparisons. PowerPoint presentation for Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. 04 Feb 2022.

Jaramillo, Catalina. Benefits of COVID-19 Vaccination Outweigh the Rare Risk of Myocarditis, Even in Young Males. FactCheck.org. Updated 5 Apr 2022.

Purtill, Corinne. Q&A: Why would a young, healthy athlete go into cardiac arrest? Los Angeles Times. Updated 26 Jul 2023.

Trela, Nate. No evidence Bronny James, other athletes, were injured by COVID-19 vaccine | Fact check. USA Today. 28 Jul 2023.

Thompson Payton, LOreal. Bronny Jamess cardiac arrest reignites rumors linking rare instances of myocarditis to the COVID-19 vaccine. Fortune. 25 July 2023.

Buegin, Natacha, et al. Sex-specific differences in myocardial injuryincidence after COVID-19 mRNA-1273booster vaccination. European Journal of Heart Failure. 20 Jul 2023.

Troponin Test. Cleveland Clinic. 17 Mar 2022.

Mehta, Parang. What Is a Cardiac Troponin Test? WebMD. 28 Apr 2022.

Mills, Nicolas. Professor of cardiology at The University of Edinburgh. Email sent to FactCheck.org. 4 Aug 2023.

Payne, Ed. Fact Check: Video, Swiss Study Do NOT Prove 1 In 35 Given COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Develop Heart Injury. Lead Stories. 31 Jul 2023.

Middleton, Natalie, et al. Cardiac troponin T release is stimulated by endurance exercise in healthy humans. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 25 Nov 2008.

Mueller, Christian. Director of Cardiovascular Research Institute Basel. Email to FactCheck.org. 29 Jul 2023.

Jacobs, Angelika. Temporary mild damage to heart muscle cells after Covid-19 booster vaccination. University of Basel. 9 Nov 2022.

Mircea-Willats, Luke. Senior director ofmedia relations and communications at Moderna. Email sent to FactCheck.org. 5 Aug 2023.

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Posts Exaggerate Significance of Swiss Study on Heart Risk and ... - FactCheck.org

WASHINGTON Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) is examining potential waste and abuse of pandemic-era education funds designed to address historic learning loss, reopen schools safely, and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Chairman Wenstrup is requesting data from the Department of Education detailing the use of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds by state and local education agencies to evaluate any academic benefit stemming from the program and investigate the reported misuse of tax-payer dollars on unrelated, non-academic programming or politically motivated pet projects. Americas children continue to experience historic learning loss, higher rates of psychological distress, and decreased physical well-being as a result of COVID-19 related school closures and federal policies. The Select Subcommittee is concerned that instead of utilizing ESSER funds to alleviate the harm caused to children, education agencies used the funds to forward a leftist agenda.

[M]any criticsincluding concerned parentshave questioned the efficacy of the program and how much of these funds went toward helping students succeed in the classroom. This is especially concerning in light of mounting evidence that Americas students are continuing to fail academically and struggling to recover pandemic-related learning deficits. Troublingly, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) recently reported that 13-year-olds performance in math and reading had declined to their lowest recorded levels since 1990 and 2004, respectfully. For example, none of the eighth-grade students enrolled at Lebron James I Promise School in Akron, Ohio have passed the states standardized math test in three years. This is unconscionable and unacceptable, said Chairman Wenstrup.

Previous COVID-19 education related hearings conducted by the Select Subcommittee revealed conclusive evidence that the science never justified prolonged school closures and political leaders, including teachers union head Randi Weingarten, exerted uncommon influence over supposedly scientific school reopening guidance. Investigating whether political activism played a role in the misuse of COVID-19 education funds is essential to address the academic well-being of children should another pandemic arise. The Select Subcommittees request for ESSER data will shed light on any fraudulent use of these funds and bring accountability to American families and students who deserve answers.

Unfortunately, the funds seemingly few restrictions, coupled with the Departments limited accounting, has meant that Congress has largely been without the information necessary for it to assess the programs benefit for students academically (if any) and ensure that funds were neither wasted nor abused. Still, theres been numerous credible reports of funds being expended for questionable programs and projectsnot related to academic success in the classroomincluding for upgrades to sports facilities and to indoctrinate children in core tenets of leftist ideology, continued Chairman Wenstrup.

Read Chairman Wenstrups letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona here.

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Wenstrup Presses Department of Education for Answers on Misuse ... - House Committee on Oversight and Reform |