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Thursday, December 30, 2021

Omicron is more transmissible but less deadly


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Omicron cases are on the rise, but it’s clear that vaccines and boosters are making a difference. Vaccines and boosters help prevent severe illness and death — if you haven’t already, go get your vaccine and booster. 

The country will remain under Alert Level 2 from Jan. 1 to 15 despite the uptick in COVID-19 infections and growing concerns over the Omicron variant, Malacañang announces.

Don't be scared, omicron is more transmissible but is less deadly than all the strains that came before, the kids are safer than anyone else and vaxed or not so long as people are staying healthy I've heard it's about as bad as a head cold. Possible endemic in the future I hope.

Omicron is less deadly than previous coronavirus strains, and results in a quarter of the deaths recorded in earlier waves, data from South Africa suggests. 

As per the current data, Omicron is a mild infection...Oxygen requirement may not be that much...I would request everyone to refrain from hoarding oxygen cylinders, medicines. 

It sure is looking that this variant has less virulence, less chance of inducing Covid pneumonia.

Added to our immunity wall and T cell defense, this is all good. 

There’s no guarantee that Omicron is the worst this virus will throw at us. We must get past partisanship and pandemic fatigue and use the tools we have to fight Covid: vaccines, masks, ventilation, testing, effective treatments.

Although Omicron is very capable of evading antibodies and causing reinfections/breakthroughs, it barely evades T-cells at all, meaning vaxxed or recovered people are likely to retain very good protection against severe disease.

We have new results on T cell responses to Omicron, and its good news! 

Most of your T cell responses from vaccination or previous infection still recognise Omicron. 

Why did we do this study? 

Omicron has more than 30 mutations in its Spike protein, and many studies now show that this knocks out a lot of the neutralising antibody binding sites. 

We wanted to check if other parts of the immune system - T cells - still recognise Omicron Spike. 

We describe T cell responses to #Omicron compared to original SARS-CoV-2 in ppl vaxxed with JnJ (1x and 2x) and Pfizer (2x). We also studied Omicron-infected patients and compared their T cells to patients hospitalised in previous waves (n=138 participants in total). 

Unlike antibodies, which bind in hotspots, T cells can target the whole of Spike - shown as a mountain range, with Omicron mutations in red.

So we expect that T cells would still be able to target Omicron- even though it has lots of changes, there is lots of Spike NOT mutated.


 Why is this important?‼️👇🏾

While antibodies block infection, T cells come in and kill infected cells, preventing the virus from growing & spreading more & causing worse disease

They can't prevent you from getting infected, but they can minimise the damage that comes afterwards.. 


How did we do this study? 

We measured T cell responses using peptides -small chopped up bits of proteins that T cell recognise. 

We compared a pool of peptides based on the original (“Ancestral”) SARS-CoV-2 and Omicron spike protein. 

Thank you Sette Lab for sending us the peptides.

We isolate white blood cells from patient samples, mix the cells with the peptides, and then use a technique called intracellular cytokine staining and flow cytometry, to check for a T cell response. 

We measured both CD4 ‘helper’ cells and CD8 ‘killer’ cells. 



Results - First CD4 T cells: 

Compared to ancestral virus, there was a small decrease when tested against Omicron spike. 

This was a consistent decrease across all study groups.

However, most of the CD4 T cell response was still there and cross-recognised Omicron. 


Next, CD8 T cells:

Here too, compared to ancestral virus, there was a small decrease when tested against Omicron spike for some of the groups, no major change for most people. 


If we plot fold-change of Omicron responses compared to ancestral, we see that 70-80% of T cell responses are preserved.

This means that most people who were vaccinated with 1x / 2xJnJ, 2xPfizer & those who had COVID 1-6 mo ago, still have T cells that can recognise Omicron. 



Important to point out - there were a minority of CD8 T cell “knockouts”.

These represent people who may have had a narrower response targeting only a few regions in Spike, that happened to coincide with mutations in Omicron and a specific HLA bkg – we’ll be following up on these.

When we compared the cross-reactivity of T cells to Omicron with Beta and Delta variants, we found that they were very similar, even though Omicron has 3-4x more spike mutations than Beta and Delta.

This emphasises just how robust the T cell response is. 


This is consistent with what we recently published on cross-reactivity of the T cell response to the Beta variant:

https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/scitranslmed.abj6824

To get a full picture of immunity,  they measured neutralising antibody responses in the same participants. 

You can see that while neutralisation is substantially decreased in most people, overall their T cell responses are only impacted in a small way. 


South Africa’s COVID epidemic is characterised by virologically distinct waves, each dominated by a different form of the virus – first original, then Beta, Delta and now Omicron. 

Next we tested blood samples from each wave & compared them to patients from the 4th wave (Omicron).


We measured T cell responses to Spike, Nucleocapsid and Membrane proteins (viral proteins most targeted by T cells when you become infected).

Omicron-infected patients had T cell responses in the same range as patients hospitalised with ancestral, Beta or Delta virus infection. 


Finally, we also tested some Omicron-infected patients with ancestral and Omicron Spike, and there was hardly any difference between them, showing that most of the parts of Spike that people make T cell responses to are conserved - parts that are not affected by the mutations. 



Finally, we also tested some Omicron-infected patients with ancestral and Omicron Spike, and there was hardly any difference between them, showing that most of the parts of Spike that people make T cell responses to are conserved - parts that are not affected by the mutations. 

The limited effect of Omicron’s mutations on the T cell response suggests that vaccination or prior infection may still provide protection from severe disease.

Well-preserved T cell immunity to Omicron is consistent with early clinical observations from South Africa, UK and Scotland of lower severity - a decoupling of case loads from hospitalisations, and shorter hospital stays, which may be due to this remaining T cell immunity.

Finally: The resilience of the T cell response demonstrated here also bodes well in the event that more highly mutated variants emerge in the future.

We still need to see how long T cell immunity lasts, but after SARS1 it was still detectable after 17yrs..

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2550-z

Who did the work? 

Dr Roanne Keeton is the amazing researcher who generated much of the T cell data, along with my lab team, and I co-led this work with the brilliant Dr Catherine Riou.

This work was also made possible by wonderful collaborators, and many others who contributed to this work.

Thank you to all the volunteers and patients who made this work possible, and our funders.

Shout out to Biocair for all their efforts in getting critical reagents to us when they were stuck in Dubai because of NONSENSICAL TRAVEL BANS.

From the Virus Monologues

If you're considering going to some sort of indoor event – a concert, a movie, dinner – and you're wondering how to "make it safe" – and by "safe" you mean avoid omicron?

In simple terms, the answer is "don't go to indoor events"

This incorrect, false notion has persisted that SARS-CoV-2 spreads only by droplets – but the truth is it also spreads via aerosol that can hang around in the air for quite some time.

So going to eat inside that restaurant after the lunch rush? It's probably not all that 'safe'

In order to make the kind of risk assessments I see folks trying to do? You'd need much more information about the venue than is likely available - information about indoor air quality as it relates to SARS-CoV-2, things like "air changes per hour" and "equivalent ACPH"

If the restaurant is opening up gigantic windows in December to completely change out the air? That will lower risk, sure

But if the movie theater was full for the showing before the movie you want to go to? I'd assume that the air has aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 floating around in.

That may be within your risk tolerance, but I want you to be aware of the level of risk you're actually accepting.

The only way to stop this rise is for the national government to raise the alert level in NCR. LGUs are not monitoring the people anymore. What if omicron is circulating already? 

Vaccine mandate for everyone who wants to move around. Only the vaccinated should be allowed to travel except those who have conditions who are allowed to avoid the vaccine.

It is quite saddening that data scientists did their best to provide predictions but the government seems like to wait first for the prediction to really happen before they act.




Amazing 10 Tips For Taking Care Of Older Adults


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As people grow old, their body begins to slow down, making them prone to some health conditions forcing them to adapt to a new lifestyle. Although it is difficult, they may require friends and family to help them navigate old age.

Taking care of older adults requires you to offer a lot of love, care, and attention. It may be stressful sometimes, but you will help increase their lifespan and make them feel happy. You need to familiarize yourself with the best tips to be successful in taking care of the elderly, and they include;


Buy them Essential Items

While visiting the elderly, you can go shopping for essentials they may require. Older adults may face mobility issues, and you can get them a wheelchair to help them move around.

Moreover, you can also get other essentials like the Tena Adult diapers, which prevent them from soiling their clothes if they can't reach the toilet in time. 


Visiting Them Frequently

Older adults require frequent social interaction to help them feel like part of society. Besides, it is also suitable for their mental health. You can also check on their physical health if they are suffering from an underlying condition that may need tending.

Furthermore, during your visit, you can search for any problems in the house like leakages or things that require fixing. Visiting the elderly will give you time to catch up and learn some of the issues they are going through.


Get in Care Home-services

Since it is difficult for older adults to move around, you can get in care home services. You can hire a nurse or doctor to give hospital services at home. It will reduce the number of hospital visits which may be an inconvenience.

You can coordinate all the health care providers' visits to ensure your loved ones get frequent check-ups; this will help prevent them from missing out on essential visits.




Enable Social Inclusion

Sometimes, the elderly are given minor roles, making them feel neglected, resulting in emotional distress. To prevent your loved one from experiencing seclusion, you can provide them significant roles in family-like decision-making.

You can also involve them in family vacations and activities. However, you need to consult their doctor before organizing any vacation or training to know whether it will affect their health.


Help them Exercising

Exercise helps keep the body strong and makes you feel re-energized. Moreover, it enables you to bond with your loved ones. Besides watching entertaining shows to prevent boredom, Older people can engage in exercises to refresh their minds and keep their bodies fit. You can start by taking evening and morning walks to help stretch your muscles.

Furthermore, you can also organize yoga sessions at home to boost their energy and help them relax. You can also hire a gym instructor to help with the sessions.


Get them an Affordable Insurance Policy

Older people may get sick frequently due to weakening their immune systems. They may spend a lot of money on hospital bills making them broke and stressed; to prevent this from happening, you can get them a health insurance policy to cover their bills and expenses.

You need to ensure the insurance is affordable since they are retired. It would also help look for long-term insurance cover options to avoid extra costs.



Practice Mindful Communication

Communicating with the elderly helps you know more about them and what they want. You can hold tough conversations regarding their end-of-life care. You can utilize some resources from the internet to help them identify what they want.





Create a Safe Environment

Older adults may find it challenging to defend themselves when attacked by thieves; therefore, you need to ensure the area where your loved ones life is very secure. You can hire a security officer or install security cameras. Notably, you can also provide the elderly live in areas where many people can look after them.



Helping them Join Online Support Networks

Support networks consist of people experiencing similar problems. By allowing older adults to communicate with people sharing the same challenges, you will help them relieve any form of stress or tension they may be experiencing.


Stay Updated on the Latest Technology

Many ongoing technological advancements help in making life easier. An example is that you can now use skype to have a doctor's appointment; this prevents the elderly from traveling long distances to seek medical help.


Conclusion

You can use the above tips to help take care of your loved ones. You can also educate the community on ways to prevent older people from feeling neglected. Moreover, you can help them by looking for suitable support groups for the elderly they can join. Remember, some simple steps can go a long way to support your loved ones.


Kratom for Sustainable Living: Learn Everything


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Environmental and climatic change are two topics that are essential for human growth and development. Its effects on breathing organisms, such as plants and animals, are too obvious to ignore. People have made significant changes as a result of this concern. Owing to it, there has been a considerable movement away from excessive plastic and toward environmentally beneficial alternatives. In the same spirit, some people look up to kratom as a long-term solution to climate change.

Is kratom cultivation having any significant effects on the environment? If you're interested in saving the environment and finding out the truth about living an eco-friendly way of life with kratom, then you're at the right place. Read on to learn more about how kratom may help you live an eco-friendlier lifestyle.


What is kratom?

Kratom is an evergreen shrub whose roots are linked to coffee. The Mitragyna speciosa plant, which is native to Southeast Asia and Africa, produces kratom.

Because of its mood-altering qualities, the leaves of this plant have historically been utilized for medical reasons. Kratom leaves were initially used in a variety of ways, including:

· Chewing

· To combat exhaustion and boost productivity.

· As an opium replacement

· As a medication

· For religious rites


If you're living in Canada and trying to get a hold of kratom for your use, then you can get best deals on Gold Bali Kratom online.


 
Why does one need a sustainable lifestyle?

Sustainable living is crucial because the choices people make affect the future of the planet. People strive to create a world that is more welcoming for future generations. Transformation to a more ecologically friendly style of living also enables everyone to address some of the societies' major structural problems.

Environmental deterioration is one of the most notable instances. Who is the most vulnerable to a deteriorating environment? The poor and children are two groups who are disproportionately affected by poverty. More impoverished populations are more likely to reside in areas prone to natural catastrophes such as floods and drought. Climate change exacerbates these natural catastrophes, damaging food supplies and contaminating water sources for these poor people.



What are the positive impacts of kratom on sustainable living?

Kratom-based products contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle by promoting an environmentally friendly environment. Here are a few ways that kratom may help you live a more sustainable life:


1. Growing kratom in a sustainable way:

Kratom is a native plant that grows in Southeast Asia's jungles. Farmers here are ecologically aware and cultivate in a decentralized manner. Plantations and cultivation are not used in kratom farming; instead, it grows alongside the natural variety of the rainforests. As a result, farmers may still collect kratom from wild-grown trees rather than destroying land and establishing huge kratom forests.

Furthermore, kratom may be produced in agricultural pods in tiny backyard farms, with no significant environmental impact when harvested.

 
2. It doesn't interfere with trees' natural development:

Kratom leaves aren't picked until the shrubs are at least four years old, and only from fully grown trees are they collected. This technique allows the tree to retain its nutrition and natural development for a long time without being chopped down. As part of the kratom eco-friendly lifestyle, this is an important thing to remember.

Because these trees are seldom cut down, they benefit the environment as a whole. Furthermore, the older the plant, the higher the quality of the yield.



3. Controlling the palm oil market:

Palm trees are indigenous to Africa. It is used in extracting palm oil which poses challenges to a sustainable way of life. How?

· Palm oil plants emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

· The plantation of palm palms has increased global temperature.

· Palm oil production has a direct effect on 193 highly endangered species across the globe.




Furthermore, palm tree farming has a substantial adverse effect on the surrounding environment since its extraction results in considerable deforestation, and its production significantly impacts groundwater levels. Now, the kratom business in Southeast Asia is directly linked with palm oil plants. The majority of growers are involved in the palm sector for their profit. It provides them a higher financial benefit than any other plant. But now, kratom is becoming an alternative way to earn profits without causing detrimental effects to the environment.

As kratom's popularity grows, farmers in these tropical areas no longer choose between ecologically healthy, sustainable living and money. They can accomplish both with kratom cultivation, passing on the environmentally beneficial benefits to the customer.


4. Wildlife habitats are well cared for:

Many species live in the rainforests and are destroying the forest cover for farming impacts these species. The natural order of the ecosystem is preserved with kratom fragmented farming, which does not disrupt the natural ecology or the habitat of these creatures.



What are the benefits of consuming kratom?

For hundreds of years, kratom has been utilized as a perfect home medicine throughout Asia. It's been natively used to treat tiredness, diarrhea, and even muscle spasms.

While contemporary science has backed up these and other claims made by traditional medicine, much more study is needed to discover what more this herb has to offer. Nevertheless, kratom is becoming a general medicine in the market that provides holistic, eco-friendly treatment. Besides the benefits as mentioned earlier, kratom also helps in:
 
1. Libido enhancement:

Kratom has been studied as a potential supplement for sexual enhancement. Researchers looked at a lot of clinical evidence and came to specific findings on kratom's aphrodisiac properties. They concluded that kratom is a potent plant-based sexual enhancer.


2. Relieving pain:

There are three strains of kratom, all of which are excellent pain relievers. By attaching to opioid receptors, white, green, and red vein variants offer pain relief. The kratom component 7-hydroxy mitragynine is 13 times more potent than morphine.

 
3. Mood-boosting:

Kratom is said to be an excellent therapy for opioid addiction. Kratom offers a wide range of mood-enhancing effects. It has been proven to alleviate the symptoms of morphine and ethanol withdrawal.


 
In conclusion

It may be challenging to live a sustainable lifestyle. With kratom, you may support the health and stability of the world for coming generations by living a sustainable approach. Just bear in mind that reducing waste and carbon emissions may help to create a cleaner world. Furthermore, utilizing natural products like kratom is grown using sustainable agricultural methods may help you reduce your carbon footprint.
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