Emergent Biosolutions is the company with the sole-source contract to supply anthrax vaccine to the Strategic National Stockpile. In March, Emergent was forced to discard up to 15 million doses of coronavirus vaccine due to fears of contamination between the two vaccines that it was contracted to produce at its Bayview plant in Baltimore.
In June 2020, a top pandemic official (a manufacturing expert who has been a vaccine production supervisor for Operation “Warp Speed” since last year) warned after a visit to the plant (shortly after the company was awarded a contract worth up to $628 million to prepare the plant to produce coronavirus vaccines) that the plant was a “key risk” due to problems with quality control and lack of sufficient trained staff. See this New York Times (NYT) article from April 7 about the official’s warning– in a document that was not publicly released.
Another NYT article updated April 13 describes the company’s history as the sole producer of anthrax vaccine and a standby emergency provider of vaccines for the federal government over the last eight years.
A recent inspection of the plant showed major problems, from peeling paint to evidence that bags of contaminated trash had been dragged across the floors of supposedly clean rooms. Some personnel had not followed protocol before entering clean rooms, including not showering or changing into clean overalls.
The plant has been the sole source of the anthrax vaccine which has been stockpiled for almost twenty years, since an attack by an unknown terrorist killed several people using weaponized anthrax spores. The prime suspect committed suicide when he was tracked down by the FBI. Ever since then, producing anthrax vaccine to prevent the use of anthrax as a terror weapon has been a top priority among US counter-terrorist officials.
Emergent Biosolutions has been the sole provider of anthrax vaccine to the US for over eight years. Emergent is owned by a private equity company that has not been shy about raising its prices, to the point where almost half the annual expense for the Strategic National Stockpile has gone to Emergent for its anthrax vaccine. As a result, other emergency medical equipment (including face N95 face masks) has not been replenished.
The expense of anthrax vaccine was blamed for a lack of sufficient personal protective equipment in the stockpile, which led to a severe shortage of N95 masks early in the pandemic.
Emergent has been derelict in its management of this factory, possibly for many years. The full wrath of the inspectors should fall upon Emergent and its CEO soon. The business of manufacturing anthrax vaccine is too important to our national security to be left in the hands of corrupt or incompetent managers.
(photo by Liz Masoner via pixabay.com)
According to NPR, India has been overrun by COVID-19, with daily case rates shooting up like a wall. The perfect storm has hit; hospitals are full and running out of oxygen. People are dying in the hospital parking lot and crematoriums can’t keep up.
Known daily cases has hit a world record, over 300,000, beating the US from January, and known deaths are over 2,250. The rate of cases and even deaths is widely believed to be a gross underestimate due to testing limitations and the death of many who have not been tested.
What is worse for the rest of the world, a new variant has appeared, B1617, with probable enhanced contagiousness, lethality, and ability to evade vaccination.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 88, came down with the virus three weeks after being vaccinated. His condition is said to be “stable” as of Tuesday.
Read the report on NPR for the gory details. It’s free and there’s no ads. (Parenthetically, I have learned that you should use an ad blocker because some ads are now infected with malware, known as “malvertising”.)
This disaster has dangerous implications for the entire world. Just quarantining the country will not be enough; the country needs assistance to increase vaccination rates dramatically.
While India produces her own vaccine, said to be highly effective, she needs raw materials that are in short supply. The US needs to help with production– something we should all support. The pandemic cannot be controlled anywhere until it is controlled everywhere.
(photo: sars-cov-2 virions by EM: NIAID)
According to The Hill, the Senate has passed anti-AAPI (Asian-American and Pacific Islander) legislation by a vote of 94-1. This law provides a common-sense way to reduce and react to hate crimes. It will establish a Justice Department position specifically designated to oversee the prosecution of hate crimes; a voluntary database of AAPI hate crimes (not limited to acts specifically related to the pandemic); and guidance to local law enforcement on dealing with hate crimes.
The lone dissenter in the Senate was Josh Hawley. This “no” vote is typical for his political orientation, which is militantly anti-Chinese and has been characterized as “performative politics”.
At this time, I would like to post a shout-out to my fellow blogger, who posts at “megaworthit.com”, and has published on this subject quite recently. She identifies as Pacific Islander.
Also, thanks to Cristian Mihai for the information that there are some 500 million bloggers in current circulation. My wish is to have 4 billion bloggers (on the way to 10 billion) by 2030. I personally don’t care (very much) how many people follow my blog. That’s your business whether you have time for that.
You see, I buy into the notion that we should reduce our carbon output by 50% by 2030, just as does President Biden.
PS On a personal note, I would like to inform all and sundry that I identify as really and truly Anglo-Saxon, as my ancestors are from Germany, Ireland, and Sweden. I come by the name Conrad Seitz honestly. As a true Anglo-Saxon, I deplore the presumption of certain Republican Congresscritters who think they can tell me what Anglo-Saxon politics, culture, and architecture is! With much clashing of sword upon mail-covered breast and swilling of mead, I reject the notion that thains should not show fealty to the king! (Just kidding!)
Previous early-pandemic warnings of increased suicide rates have not been borne out in an English, mostly white population. In nonwhite populations, however, there has been an apparent increase in suicide rates. A Japanese study, published in JAMANetwork Open, found an increase in suicides among young men and young- and middle-aged women during the fall of 2020.
Americans, black and brown, have had an increased suicide rate, as shown in a study in Maryland where rates among black people doubled..
There have been robust increases in distress, manifested in an increased need for psychiatric services and a sort of existential dread that we are in a horror movie subjected to never-ending peril of death, and even vaccination won’t save us.
(photo: Boris the dog on Muscat Avenue facing East– personal photo collection)
I am a White person.
I am an evangelical Christian.
I am seventy one. Upon turning seventy, I changed my party affiliation to “Democrat.” I am an elder in my church (Norm speaking, not Susan) and have many conservative friends.
Including (as I believe) the interim senior pastor and the associate pastor. I care about these people–deeply. I love and admire them. That being said– –the thought has crossed my mind more than once. That it might be necessary to deal with at least some of today’s conservatives–with the unrestrained use of force.
Making me think–sorry, New York Times! of the old south after Lincoln’s election. When as Professor MacPherson (Princeton) pointed out: they brought upon themselves the very denouement they professed to dread. Mr. Trump’s “big lie” seems to have crystalized everything.
The inveterate contempt for truth displayed by this man–the contempt for laws–the contempt for norms and standards–the contempt for the ordinary decencies– –which were zealously adopted by thousands or millions of his fans and followers– –culminating in the storming of the Capitol back in January–
–well gosh, New York Times! What else IS there for me to think? Especially considering the pure LUNACY of Ms. Greens–the cynical opportunism displayed by Senator Hawley–the inimitable SPINELESSNESS exhibited by Senator Graham. . .
But I could be wrong.
God grant that I am!
Please, God. Please.
Gallup published a poll on Monday that revealed fewer than half of people in the US belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque. This proportion has fallen from highs of 73% reported in Gallup’s first survey in 1937 and 76% in 1945. Their report noted that “Over the past two decades, the percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religion has grown from 8% in 1998-2000 to 13% in 2008-2010 and 21% over the past three years.”
Additional detail is available in this article from NPR.
Another Gallup poll from November 2019 showed that between 87% of Americans “believe in God” to 64% are “convinced that God exists”.
In a side note, Derek Chauvin has just been convicted of second degree murder, third degree murder, and second degree manslaughter. It is raining dollar bills in George Floyd square, according to the New York Times.
(photo of Santa Magdalena Alta in Italian Alps (the Dolomites, Funes or Villnoss) by alexy82 via pixabay.com)
A study of neutralizing antibodies to SARS-COV-2 variants in vaccinated people and those who had recovered from natural infection was published in “Nature Medicine” on March 26, 2021. The conclusions of the study are troubling: vaccination (from Pfizer) produced less neutralizing antibody against the B.1.351 variant from South Africa, suggesting that it will be less effective.
The abstract of the study is worth quoting in full:
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants were first identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa, respectively, and have since spread to many countries. These variants harboring diverse mutations in the gene encoding the spike protein raise important concerns about their immune evasion potential. Here, we isolated infectious B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 strains from acutely infected individuals. We examined sensitivity of the two variants to SARS-CoV-2 antibodies present in sera and nasal swabs from individuals infected with previously circulating strains or who were recently vaccinated, in comparison with a D614G reference virus. We utilized a new rapid neutralization assay, based on reporter cells that become positive for GFP after overnight infection. Sera from 58 convalescent individuals collected up to 9 months after symptoms, similarly neutralized B.1.1.7 and D614G. In contrast, after 9 months, convalescent sera had a mean sixfold reduction in neutralizing titers, and 40% of the samples lacked any activity against B.1.351. Sera from 19 individuals vaccinated twice with Pfizer Cominarty, longitudinally tested up to 6 weeks after vaccination, were similarly potent against B.1.1.7 but less efficacious against B.1.351, when compared to D614G. Neutralizing titers increased after the second vaccine dose, but remained 14-fold lower against B.1.351. In contrast, sera from convalescent or vaccinated individuals similarly bound the three spike proteins in a flow cytometry-based serological assay. Neutralizing antibodies were rarely detected in nasal swabs from vaccinees. Thus, faster-spreading SARS-CoV-2 variants acquired a partial resistance to neutralizing antibodies generated by natural infection or vaccination, which was most frequently detected in individuals with low antibody levels. Our results indicate that B1.351, but not B.1.1.7, may increase the risk of infection in immunized individuals.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01318-5
(I have added emphasis to some statements in order to make a point)
The South African variant may escape antibodies produced by vaccination in some cases, leading to productive infection. A Pfizer press release claims that the vaccine is fully effective against this variant, although it admits that antibody levels are lower.
The presence of lower neutralizing antibody titers warns us that a new vaccine will be necessary in a few months. Officials are saying that a “booster” shot will be given in six months to a year after the initial two-dose vaccination. They have not stated what the booster would consist of, but it is clear that the vaccine will have to be changed to reflect the RNA sequence of the South African variant and possibly other variants that will appear in the next few months.
<p value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">Another<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-initiate-study-part-broad-development" target="_blank"> Pfizer press release</a> posted February 25, 2021 proposes to produce variations of the vaccine to adjust to the changes seen in B.1.351..Another Pfizer press release posted February 25, 2021 proposes to produce variations of the vaccine to adjust to the changes seen in B.1.351..The coronavirus represents a moving target. Vaccines will only be effective for a year or even less. Until the spread of the virus has been stopped, it will continue producing variations that elude our best efforts at vaccination. The uncontrolled spread of the virus has allowed it wide latitude to evolve, especially when it infects people with weak immune systems and continues to percolate for months within compromised hosts.
Another concerning issue is the absence of neutralizing antibody in the nasal secretions of immunized people. This may allow virus to replicate in the nasopharynx (although it may not be able to invade the body). The implications of this finding are equally troubling. It is possible that immunized people may asymptomatically carry virus in the nasal cavity and allow it to spread to others.
The answer to this conundrum may be found by challenging immunized people with live virus in the nose– how will their bodies respond and how long will they carry replicating virus? We need to know this, and the only way to find out is to look at the responses of immunized people to exposure. Perhaps testing all immunized people to see if they ever carry the virus in the nose will help– although very large numbers of subjects will be needed to determine what happens under natural conditions.
(SARS-COV-2 EM photo courtesy NIAID)
A new report in “Wired” describes microplastics floating in the sky and raining down upon everyone, even in the most apparently pristine wilderness. The report describes a modeling study published in “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” on April 11, 2021. The model “constrains” the source of the roughly 1,100 tons of plastics suspended in the air over the western United States (US) at any given time.
Since the appearance of microplastics is anonymous (only tire dust can be distinguished from other types of plastics) it was incumbent upon the researchers to calculate the sources from various parameters. For example, once suspended in air, the average plastic particle remains floating for about a week. Circulation of the air, therefore, suggests that a large proportion of plastic in the air comes from the marine environment and is probably launched by wave action from the sea.
Plastic dust from land sources is probably launched into the air by car and truck tires on the roads. Some of this dust comes from the tires themselves. A significant amount of plastic comes from cloth: tiny particles break off when you wash your clothes and are suspended in the water, then go to waste treatment plants and end up in the sewage sludge which is spread on fields as fertilizer. Much of the rest is produced by degrading plastic debris left as trash on the roadsides.
Despite these uncertainties, the authors of the study say: ” Results suggest that atmospheric microplastics in the western United States are primarily derived from secondary re-emission sources including roads (84%), the ocean (11%), and agricultural soil dust (5%).”
Studies of this type are necessary because microplastics have become an universal scourge of the twenty-first century. Plastic debris is everywhere, especially in the ocean, and the amount in circulation increases every year. No effective, practical means has yet been found to remove significant amounts of plastic waste from the ocean. Organisms from single-cell to whales ingest plastic, often mistaking it for food. Malnourished or starving fish, birds, and marine mammals wash up on beaches with their stomachs full of plastic, especially plastic bags.
Over the next few years, our planet will be increasingly blanketed with invisible microplastics. Unsightly plastic bags, toys, shoes, and other debris will appear more and more often on our beaches. Often, animals will choke on larger pieces of plastic or be strangled by plastic objects (like the rings that hold six-packs of beer together).
Micro-organisms that use plastic as a source of energy (that is, feed on plastic) are evolving only too slowly. We can encourage this evolution by searching for these “bugs” and seeding them into environments that are already saturated with plastic debris. Before spreading such organisms we will need to test them to make sure they are benign.
We can imagine a nightmare scenario in which plastic boat hulls will suddenly begin to disintegrate in seas that are overtaken by plastic-eating bacteria. The alternative will be malnourished fish and birds and ugliness over all our coastlines.
Overpopulation and “convenience” have led to ubiquitous plastic littering our planet. People must do our best to try to clean up the environment, literally by picking up after ourselves.
(seagull by Eveline de Bruin courtesy of Pixabay.com)
A 65 year old man came down with COVID-19 a few months ago. He recovered, mostly, but suffered from debilitating tinnitus and other post-COVID symptoms afterwards. He killed himself a few days ago. This blog post is based on a report in the Washington Post.
This man was very successful, rich even. He worked hard all his life as a restaurant entrepeneur, becoming known as the CEO of a chain, the Texas Roadhouse. When his company went public in 2004, he got a $60 million payout. He was said to have sacrificed part of his fortune to support the employees of his restaurants when they were hit by the pandemic, showing his humanity and empathy.
His death highlights some of the more painful aspects of the last year. Reports of mental illness or emotional distress have dramatically increased since the pandemic encouraged shutdowns all over the world. Suicides have increased both among those affected only by isolation and among those with persistent COVID symptoms.
What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus (the sensation of hearing a noise when there is no sound, derived from the Latin word which means “tinkling” or “ringing”) is a common symptom that can be trivial or completely debilitating. It is most often a consequence of hearing loss due to exposure to loud noises, like gunfire or music, but can also be caused by ear canal blockage, middle ear infections, medications, or, rarely, brain disorders.
The sensation of tinnitus is usually described as a buzzing noise, roaring, ringing, clicking, or humming. The sound of tinnitus may be constant or intermittent. It is most obvious (and distressing) in quiet places and at night. There are no really good treatments for tinnitus, but the most effective remedy in mild or moderate cases is to have a blocking noise going– like music, or specially adapted hearing aids that produce a buzzing sound.
The symptoms of tinnitus may be completely destructive to a person’s feeling of well-being or even sanity. There are anecdotes of people committing suicide because they cannot tolerate the symptoms. Another Washington Post article on tinnitus and COVID states that 50 million Americans have experiences with tinnitus, and some 2 million have “extreme and debilitating cases” that could cause severe distress.
Does COVID cause tinnitus or predispose to suicide?
The virus can cause damage to the audio-vestibular system, which helps us with standing upright and maintaining our balance as well as hearing. This systematic review discusses what is known about COVID and the audio-vestibular system.
This being said, one wonders whether the single symptom of tinnitus alone could cause a person to kill themselves unless the sensation is overwhelming. Surely there are contributing symptoms that lead to the decision to end your life? Despair, self-hatred, failure, unrelenting pain, loss of loved ones?
A famous case of suicide occurred many months ago, at the beginning of the pandemic: a highly accomplished, young emergency room physician who appeared to recover quickly from the virus returned to work but was unable to tolerate it or even fulfill the functions of her job. She killed herself within a few weeks after coming down with COVID. She was said to have no prior history of depression (although no-one knows for sure about this subtle and often hidden symptom.)
COVID and psychosis
What if COVID itself is the cause of this psychotic breakdown?
I raise this possibility because it has been raised by others, including in the comments section to the article in the Washington Post. Many people have suffered neurological and psychological problems related to COVID, so it is not outside the realm of possibility that suicidal depression could be caused by the virus as well.
Even a commenter to the above-mentioned article mentioned that they had remarkably strange dreams for months after a severe bout of COVID. They were hospitalized with pneumonia but recovered, apparently completely. The only residual was a new onset of frighteningly strange, memorable dreams. It may be that this person remembered their dreams for the first time– after all, dreams are strange, even scary, routinely, but you normally don’t remember them at all or only in scraps.
Other people have had psychotic episodes labelled as schizophrenia with no remission (yet)– see, again, the comment section of the above-mentioned article.
The possibility that infection with this virus leads to a risk of depression and suicidal impulses deserves to be carefully researched. If a causative relation can be found, it may be advisable to closely observe recovered patients for subtle signs of depression. Close observation is essential because symptoms may be covered up or unrecognized by the patient.
Remember, if you yourself or a close one (or even someone you just care about) feels suicidal, help is always available. If worse comes to worst, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.
(photo by Jakub Orisek courtesy of pixabay.com)
This comment was attached to an article in the New York TImes. The article points out that some $570 billion dollars in taxes are not collected each year in the United States, in part because the IRS has been systematically starved of funds for enforcement. The agency has been “increasingly unable to detect or address blatant tax cheating by high-income filers and the largest businesses. In February, the IRS commissioner, Charles P. Rettig, told Congress that about $570 billion in taxes owed in 2018 were not paid. That tax gap is projected to total about $7.5 trillion over this decade.”
“From 2010 to 2019, lawmakers cut the IRS enforcement budget by more than 20 percent. But Mr. Biden and the Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, have pledged to rebalance tax enforcement, and this spring presents a chance to deliver. Any responsible recovery package would include a multiyear stream [of revenue] for rebuilding the IRS. Fully funding the agency would defeat tax cheats while raising revenue for critical investments. It would help the overwhelming majority of Americans who want to pay whatever they owe. It would help honest businesses better thrive and compete. And restaffing the IRS through restored funding would help fight corruption and strengthen the rule of law.”
“… the wealthiest are the prime beneficiaries of the status quo. Estimates suggest that the top 1 percent of filers account for [between 28 and 70 percent of the uncollected taxes]… The wealthiest households and the largest businesses often use a complex maze of financial arrangements and offshore entities that make it incredibly hard and time-consuming for the IRS to untangle what taxes are owed but not paid.”
We should note here that most wage-earners pay their full assessed share of taxes by virtue of money with-held from their paychecks automatically by their employers, whereas those with independent sources of income are free to keep all of their receipts if they wish, especially if they fail to report their income or use a “dodge” to avoid paying– an incentive to cheat on their taxes.
The Comment, by “Mike” of Tucson:
(One important point, not mentioned in the article, is that we are not heavily taxed in this country.)
- Total US tax receipts (federal, state, local, excise, and social insurance) as a percent of GDP is one of the lowest in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development: 37 of the richest nations in the world) with only two nations lower, one being Mexico.
- Federal tax receipts as a percent of GDP have fallen from 20% in fiscal year 2001 — which was the last time we had a budget surplus — to 16% today.
- Corporate tax receipts are at historic lows at 1.1% of GDP, down almost half from 2001 and only 1/3 of the OECD average.
We are not a highly taxed country by any measure.
(personal note to explain lack of recent posts: I have been seriously ill– not with COVID– and am not fully recovered. New posts will appear on an as-able basis. Fortunately, I have been recently vaccinated against the dread virus.)
(photo by steve buissinne courtesy of pixabay.com)
Conrad Theodore Seitz 