10.1080/23311983.2022.2037229

This study investigated the effect of media and information literacy (MIL) on the ability to identify fake news, disinformation and misinformation, and sharing intentions. The experimental approach was selected to study both the control group and experimental group made up of a total of 187 respondents. Comparative analysis of the two groups revealed that although more respondents in the experimental group were able to identify the inauthenticity of information presented to them, some of the respondents in the control group were also able to do the same, even though they did not receive MIL training. Conversely, some respondents in the experimental group, even though they were trained in MIL, could not determine the inauthenticity of information, possibly because the one-off training given to them did not allow them to assimilate all the information in one sitting. Nonetheless, the results of the bivariate correlation computation showed that MIL trained respondents were more likely to determine authenticity or otherwise of information and less likely to share inaccurate stories. This means that when MIL increases, sharing of fake news decreases. This is yet another evidence that MIL enables information consumers to make informed judgments about quality information. It is recommended that MIL is incorporated into mainstream educational modules and consistently revised to reflect the demands of the times. MIL programs must also consider how to effectively reach those without formal education. Actors within the information, communications, and media ecology must contribute to their quota in making information consumers more discerning with the right MIL sensitisation.

Combating fake news, disinformation, and misinformation: Experimental evidence for media literacy education

Pandemic fatigue has been pushed aside by a new phenomenon in many places around the world; endemic fatalism. The raging Omicron variant of COVID-19 has ushered in the highest case positivity rates since the beginning of the pandemic, flooding hospitals and attacking even those vaccinated and boosted against the disease. “We’re all going to get it,” is a phrase now heard almost daily. Omicron has in many ways shifted the narrative of COVID-19. Against this backdrop has emerged a new idea, that COVID-19 is transitioning from a pandemic to an endemic disease. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, for example, publicly asserted that the European Union should reduce surveillance, testing, and quarantine periods, and treat COVID-19 more like the seasonal flu than a deadly pandemic. This is against the backdrop of COVID-19 cases rising 48% worldwide in just one week, shattering previous records even in countries that have been relatively successful at keeping the disease at bay, such as Australia and Japan.

Endemic Fatalism and Why It Won’t Resolve COVID-19

Way too distracting. Can’t breath my ass. #MaskUp #COVIDisAirborne #CovidIsNotOver

SA is fortunate to have a network of genomics surveillance that can generate and analyze data quickly so this can inform public health response. Thanks to @rjlessells @houzhou @moir_monika @nicd_sa @ceri_news @krisp_news

At present, the Omicron BA.2 is not of great concern in South Africa. But our network is following very close and is alerted to its emergence. Anyone interested on why we are currently not concerned about BA.2 in SA, please see the recent FT piece.

Vaccines are equally effective against BA.2 and BA.1 No evidence of any difference in disease severity between BA.2 and BA.1 https://gov.uk/government/publications/investigation-of-sars-cov-2-variants-technical-briefings

Preliminary data from Denmark and UK suggests BA.2 may have higher intrinsic transmissibility than BA.1 - Lyngse FP et al. medRxiv 2022

But what we know about Omicron BA.2 - - BA.2 is increasing in frequency in several locations, including SA – but an increase needs to be placed in the context of case incidence (which is low for SA).

First, this comes on a background of decreasing infections. South Africa takes an approach of random and proportional surveillance. Below is a number of high-quality genomes per week which matches cases per week.

As expected, Omicron BA.2 takes over in South Africa, close to 100% of the new genomes. What does it mean?

10.1016/j.cell.2022.02.005

The emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) threaten the effectiveness of current COVID-19 vaccines administered intramuscularly and designed to only target the spike protein. There is a pressing need to develop next-generation vaccine strategies for broader and long-lasting protection. Using adenoviral vectors (Ad) of human and chimpanzee origin, we evaluated Ad-vectored trivalent COVID-19 vaccines expressing Spike-1, Nucleocapsid and RdRp antigens in murine models. We show that single-dose intranasal immunization, particularly with chimpanzee Ad-vectored vaccine, is superior to intramuscular immunization in induction of the tripartite protective immunity consisting of local and systemic antibody responses, mucosal tissue-resident memory T cells and mucosal trained innate immunity. We further show that intranasal immunization provides protection against both the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and two VOC, B.1.1.7 and B.1.351. Our findings indicate that respiratory mucosal delivery of Ad-vectored multivalent vaccine represents an effective next-generation COVID-19 vaccine strategy to induce all-around mucosal immunity against current and future VOC.

Respiratory mucosal delivery of next-generation COVID-19 vaccine provides robust protection against both ancestral and variant strains of SARS-CoV-2

Living here is pain. Every single day. If you're someone who is at high risk, it's a daily reminder of how little your life matters. But who gives a shit, right?

I feel grief for our children- they didn't even have a chance. No opportunity to get protected by vaccination that they'd have got had they lived in another country. While hundreds get hospitalised each week - entirely preventable- let's strip away the only protection they had.

And I fully accept that our media will help normalise this exceptionalism as somehow rationale. England descended into anti-science propaganda ages ago, and those with influence did very little. Many of screamed our hearts out but no one listened or cared.

This is what anti-science agendas do- ultimately this is social murder. And all we can do is watch helplessly, while those we love are put at risk, and get ill. Some will die, but I guess that's a cost our govt is willing to accept, because not all lives matter the same.

Feel free to tell me why this is the right decision - taking away the only protection we have because after all this is now 'endemic' or 'the flu' and isolation is just causing disruption, and we need to 'accept the risks' as a society - when you don't even understand them.

Yeah, sure, go on and tell me why we can't be anything like them because of 'our culture' and whatever you want to say to convince yourself that it's ethical or moral or okay to put millions of people including children at risk. Whatever helps you live with yourself.

And this decision isn't inevitable - there are countries who are 'living with it' in very different ways than we are. Who haven't accepted these deaths, reductions in life expectancy, and long-term illness in hundreds of thousands of people. Japan. Singapore.

This is a political decision. Let's be clear. There is no basis in science. COVID-19 is nothing like the flu- the flu hasn't left >1 million people chronically ill, and spread like wildfire, causing disruption, mass suffering and death over the past two years.

Disproportionately in CV, elderly, minoritised, poor & disabled people who can do little to protect themselves - as they enter workplaces, transport, society with people who are infected. But who cares about these groups? Our govt never have, and they never will.

I don't even know what to say. There were 2.8 million people estimated to have prevalent infection in the last ONS survey. 1 in 19 people in the community in England. ~1,800 deaths/wk in the UK. Removing requirements for self-isolation will lead to preventable illness & death.

10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110429

Continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) is fueling the COVID-19 pandemic. Omicron (B.1.1.529) rapidly spread worldwide. The large number of mutations in its Spike raise concerns about a major antigenic drift that could significantly decrease vaccine efficacy and infection-induced immunity. A long interval between BNT162b2 mRNA doses elicit antibodies that efficiently recognize Spikes from different VOCs. Here we evaluate the recognition of Omicron Spike by plasma from a cohort of SARS-CoV-2 naïve and previously infected individuals that received their BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine 16-weeks apart. Omicron Spike is recognized less efficiently than D614G, Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta Spikes. We compare to plasma activity from participants receiving a short (4-weeks) interval regimen. Plasma from individuals of the long interval cohort recognize and neutralize better the Omicron Spike compared to those that received a short interval. Whether this difference confers any clinical benefit against Omicron remains unknown.

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Spike recognition by plasma from individuals receiving BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination with a 16-weeks interval between doses

Results of a global research project, led by Eva Pressman, M.D., and Tim Dye, Ph.D., with the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), indicate that trust in science is the most powerful determinant of whether a person will decide to get a COVID vaccine.

Trust in science at root of vaccine acceptance

PS: All data from @OurWorldInData and using up to Oct 1st, 2021 data to avoid Omicron. Peak and half-peak detection is automatic and uses Python Scipy peak detector. Input for peak detection = smoothed cases using a Gaussian window of 14 days, std=5, centered. 11/11 END

Final message: Even if cases peaked and going down now in your area, watch out . Most people will get Covid19 at the post-peak days than at the pre-peak days... Stay safe! 10/11

So post-waves are longer - but do they generate more cases? The answer is YES! The histogram shows the ratio between total cases in the post-wave compared to pre-wave (notice the log10 scale). On average, post-waves generate 1.4x more cases than their pre-waves! 9/11

An intermediate summary: once the sh*t hits the fan, it takes longer to go back to normal* than it takes to get to the peak from normal*. *I say normal but our lives are anything but normal. 8/11

This density histogram (gray bars) shows the difference between the # days post-peak versus # days pre-peak (black: smoothed distribution). In 75% of the waves, the post-wave was longer. And it was significantly longer (p<0.02, t-test), by 11 days on average! 7/11

Many people expect that the waves are symmetrical. In other words, they believe that it takes the same amount of time to go from half of the peak to the peak and from the peak back again to half of the cases. Let's tests it empirically using 20 waves! 6/11

Back to the initial figure! The average wave takes 49 days (SD=27days) with a median of 37 days . Waves don't only feel long, but they are long... 5/11

Why are we interested only at ½ of the cases of the peak? 1. This is the time of last doubling. 2. As you well know, not all waves have strong valleys (here is an example from Italy). 3. In signal processing, pulse width is usually defined as ½ of the peak. 4/11

We define a wave to start and finish with ½ of the cases in the peak. For instance, here is an example from Cyprus . The peak () at about 1100 daily cases per 1M. The wave's start & finish are labeled w/ an line at ~550 cases. Gray: raw data Blue: smoothed (our input) 3/11

The figure shows the strongest wave (grey lines) in 20 countries around with the largest testing per capita. The peak is centered to be at day 0 and the cases are normalized to its height. Black: the averaged wave 2/11

What we can learn from 20 waves of SARS-CoV-2? A thread 1/11

The pandemic will get better if we work together. While news of Omicron and implications on vaccine effectiveness are disheartening, more systems are in place to respond to this change and future changes in the pandemic. Pfizer, one of the drug makers of the effective COVID-19 vaccines, has already announced a readiness to produce vaccines adapted to the changing virus. We can expect other manufacturers to follow suit, ensuring that the therapies needed to meet this challenge are available. This leaves it up to consumers — us — to do our part in ending the pandemic.

Omicron: Vaccines remain the best defence against this COVID-19 variant and others

This is a deep dive into the epidemiology of COVID19 indicators among kids in the wake of Omicron.

State of Affairs: Pediatrics and Omicron

... people don't care if a politician is a liar provided s/he is "their" liar: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.12586… 6/n

And here is another angle about the attractiveness of lying demagogues: https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0003122417749632… . This paper (and previous one) provide perspectives on why ...

And for really global context, this article by @M_B_Petersen is cool. Evolution and demagoguery .... https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.02.003… It provides one angle on *why* politicians can get away with so much untruthfulness. 4/n

And this one showing that Trump diverts attention via Twitter from issues that are politically damaging to him--and how the media alter coverage in response: https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19644-6… 3/n

To place into context, here are some related recent papers. For example this one showing striking linguistic differences between Trump's factually correct and incorrect tweets. Suggests the falsehoods were not mere accidents? https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09567976211015941… 2/n

This is an extremely important development. The main vector for misinformation are not fringe websites but "mainstream" politicians who inherit and adapt fringe material. So keeping track of their effect is crucial, and this is a very welcome first step by @_mohsen_m @DG_Rand 1/n

If you had #COVID19 once you can get it again (and again). Risk of reinfection in England with #Omicron was ~5.4 fold higher compared to #Delta The relative risk were 6.36 & 5.02 for unvaxxd & vaxxd cases - implies protection against reinfection by Omicron may be as low as 19%

Hundreds of thousands of Pfizer and Moderna doses estimated to be about to expire after sharp fall in take-up

Covid booster jabs in England to be thrown away as demand falls

10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100360

With the global evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), for almost 2 years, various control strategies have been utilized around the world. While most of the western countries gradually lifted the border control and quarantine measures, elimination strategy aiming at “zero COVID-19” remains in place in Western Pacific Region such as mainland China and Hong Kong, where inbound travelers are required to undergo quarantine in designated quarantine hotels (DQHs) for up to 21 days. However, not designed for the purpose of quarantine, especially for infectious diseases with potential airborne spread, DQHs may be potential venues for COVID-19 transmission.1Dinoi A Feltracco M Chirizzi D Trabucco S Conte M Gregoris E et al.A review on measurements of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in air in outdoor and indoor environments: Implication for airborne transmission.Sci Total Environ. 2021; 151137Crossref PubMed Scopus (1) Google Scholar We recently reported an incident of community outbreak of imported SARS-CoV-2 beta variant due to possible intra-hotel transmission in a DQH.2Cheng VC Siu GK Wong SC Au AK Ng CS Chen H et al.Complementation of contact tracing by mass testing for successful containment of beta COVID-19 variant (SARS-CoV-2 VOC B.1.351) epidemic in Hong Kong.Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2021; 17100281Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Google Scholar Smoke tests in DQHs demonstrated that aerosols could leak out from guest rooms to the corridors, and guests in neighboring rooms may inhale the infectious aerosols when the doors were opened.3Wong SC Chen H Lung DC Ho PL Yuen KY Cheng VC. To prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission in designated quarantine hotel for travelers: Is the ventilation system a concern?.Indoor Air. 2021; 31: 1295-1297Crossref PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar We also conducted a serological survey of the hotel staff members in the implicated DQHs, which showed no serological evidence of guest-to-staff-to-guest transmission of COVID-19.4Li X Chen H Lu L Chen LL Chan BP Wong SC et al.High compliance to infection control measures prevented guest-to-staff transmission in COVID-19 quarantine hotels.J Infect. 2021; (S0163-4453(21)00533-8)Summary Full Text Full Text PDF Google Scholar This provides reassurance that our infection control training of hotel staff members, which was similar to the training of healthcare workers in hospitals and community treatment facilities, was effective at preventing intra-hotel transmission to staff.5Wong SC Leung M Tong DW Lee LL Leung WL Chan FW et al.Infection control challenges in setting up community isolation and treatment facilities for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Implementation of directly observed environmental disinfection.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2021; 42: 1037-1045Crossref PubMed Scopus (6) Google Scholar After this incident, portable air purifiers with high-efficiency particulate air filters were installed in the corridors of DQHs. Residents are required to wear surgical mask for the purpose of mutual protection while opening the doors.Despite these additional measures, another incident of SARS-CoV-2 transmission inside a DQH was reported.6Gu H Krishnan P Ng DYM Chang LDJ Liu GYZ Cheng SSM et al.Probable Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in Quarantine Hotel, Hong Kong, China, November 2021.Emerg Infect Dis. 2021 Dec 3; 28https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2802.212422Crossref PubMed Google Scholar The asymptomatic index case (M/36), who had completed two doses of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (BioNTech) in June 2021, had anti-spike protein receptor-binding domain (anti-RBD) of 1142 AU/ml (14 November 2021). The secondary case (M/62) also completed two doses of BioNTech in May 2021. He developed respiratory symptoms on day 8 after arrival and clinically stable after hospitalization, with anti-RBD of 250 AU/ml (19 November 2021). Both cases had no chronic illness. Whole genome sequences of specimens collected from the two cases were different by only 1 nucleotide and belonged to the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529 lineage).6

Transmission of Omicron (B.1.1.529) - SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern in a designated quarantine hotel for travelers: a challenge of elimination strategy of COVID-19

had the misfortune (via @fatemperor) to come across Dr Paul Alexander -apparently credentialed yet in single blog post demonstrates perfectly either a disconnect from rational thought or deliberate misinformation spreading of the #masspsychosis of the anti-Vax crew let’s examine

1. A thread on the CDC’s recommendation to de-isolate five days after the onset of symptoms or positive test. First, a disclosure: I was paid as a consultant for this work, done in collaboration with @Color Health, which provides COVID testing services and vaccination logistics.

/ I just spoke with two journalists about data that shows how the U.S. healthcare system is collapsing before our eyes. The million dollar question during both interviews was, “What else could we be doing right now?” The answer: flatten the *hospitalization* curve. Now.

This paper is not published..not reviewed...and has serious problems that will hopefully be fixed during the review process. The lead authors know this. See posts by me @linseymarr @jljcolorado .

the study quoted here looked at an 18 month time interval. In our Covid19 FB group of 34.5k, we have reports of recovery after 18 months—2 years is not unknown @Dr_Ellie⁩ ⁦@MailOnline

Some more context, digging beyond face value:

In other words, above estimates (taken at face value*) would suggest this particular evidence for cloth masks is in situation (A) below and other two are in (C)... https://twitter.com/TAH_Sci/status/1490701257769734145?s=20&t=Y5CfhYro_R3nSG1eb_WjrQ… *no pun intendedQuote Tweet

Below figure being widely shared (from: https://cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7106e1.htm…), but think it's important to include uncertainty (i.e. 95% confidence intervals) when reporting estimates: Cloth mask: 56% (-17%-83%) lower odds than no mask Surgical mask: 66% (10%-87%) N95/KN95: 83% (36%-95%)

An announcement from @allthecitizens:

An Alberta mother has been granted authority by the courts to have her immunocompromised nine-year-old son vaccinated against COVID-19 despite the separated father’s opposition.

Alberta court grants mother right to vaccinate immunocompromised son against COVID-19

Here is the study on severity of Omicron versus Delta in UK

And what about the next variant causing damage by reinfection accumulating organ damage? Variants can form much more rapidly than by mutation when someone is infected by both Omicron and Delta mutation because the virus can combine parts of both. 5/

And children are much more severely affected by Omicron than Delta, which was much more severe for children than prior variants. Children should surely be protected from Omicron. Everyone should be. 4/Quote Tweet

A just released study shows that the virus remains active in many organs of the body including many places in the brain for months after infection. The "acute" phase of the infection is only the beginning.

Also the medical definition of "mild" continues to mean "not hospitalized". Both so-called mild cases and long covid that can follow can be devastating and life changing. 2/Quote Tweet

UK data: Omicron is as severe as Delta for cases that would be infected by Delta, and infects people who would not be infected by Delta (due to immunity of prior infection or vaccination). Those cases are less severe. By Simpsons paradox Omicron seems less severe, but is more. 1/

NEW: Daily #COVID19 admissions among U.S. children are twice as high as they were during the peak of the Delta wave source: HHS, https://healthdata.gov/Hospital/COVID-19-Reported-Patient-Impact-and-Hospital-Capa/g62h-syeh

/1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=- Thread: Mortality in 2020 and myths =-=-=-=-=-=-=- 2020, unsurprisingly, came with excess death. There was an 18% increase in overall mortality, year on year. But let's dive in a little bit deeper. The @CDCgov has updated WONDER, its mortality database.

Friday report is now out. https://covidactuaries.org/2022/01/07/the-friday-report-issue-58/… I am struck that perception of a “mild” Covid situation is relative. In SA natural deaths were >30% higher than predicted in Dec. The last time weekly death rates in E&W were more than 30% above 2015-19 levels was in Jan 2021.

Apart from (e.g.): 1. Severe disease in clinically vulnerable (they are people too); 2. Long covid in many; 3. Strokes / heart attacks / kidney failure from micro-clots; 4. New-onset diabetes and MIS-C in children; 5. High potential for recombinant mutations.

Australian governments must immediately take action to tackle the present COVID crisis by delaying the return to face-to-face schooling, and reinstating necessary infection mitigations and financial supports.  

Major COVID course correction immediately required

This Friday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about two federal vaccine mandates: the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) mandate for health care workers, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) vaccine-or-test mandate for employers with over 100 workers. In each case, a key question will be whether the Court should apply the so-called “major questions doctrine.” The Court’s adoption of this approach in the mandate cases would not only remove an important tool for combating the pandemic; it also would severely limit the federal government’s capacity to address many other health threats, while expanding the Court’s ability to substitute its judgment for Congress’.

Major Questions about Vaccine Mandates, the Supreme Court, and the Major Questions Doctrine

Manaus, Brazil Hospitalizations - Herd immunity attempt #4665 - What do you see?

While #Omicron BA.1 leads the race, the little sister BA.2 is catching up in numbers. They are rather different with likely functional implications. BA.2 might be more immune evasive in RBD, less in NTD. And due to reduced mutation load in NTD maybe different fusion properties?

A call had to be made very early on about whether BA.1 & BA.2 (the most notable) would be given one name or two. There was a lot of discussion of options among scientists. In the end, @WHO decided that all 3 would be called Omicron.

The first sequences identified were BA.1 - spreading quickly & now coming to dominate. BA.2 & BA.3 looked a bit like 'little sisters' who weren't as quick - they didn't do much. BA.3 is still not doing much, but BA.2 is now catching up on her sister's heels.

Just to clarify some confusion about what 'Omicron' is. 'Omicron' has always applied to the whole family (BA.1-3 - we've known about them all since late-Nov/early-Dec). But the prevalence of BA.1 meant that it got shorthanded as 'Omicron' - that's causing some confusion now!

8% of UK primary school kids had covid last week. Eight percent.

In the U.S. more people died of Covid in the past week than died of Ebola during the whole 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic. Maybe it’s me, but the slew of ‘the pandemic is essentially over’ articles seem a bit premature.

...some dying, they’re certain that it’s due to the vaccine. But there’s no way to prove that of course." I believe that this is dangerous misinformation that he is peddling to Ugandan citizens Why is the GBD peddling this nonsense? What's in it for them to do this? 3/3

.. it’s associated with a lot of adverse outcomes and effects, and I can just tell you right now, all day and every day as president of the Brownstone Institute, I get letters from parents whose children have developed very serious heart conditions..."

His vax disinformation is at 34.55 in the video His full comments: "But people do not trust this vaccine. It’s not been through the normal trials, it’s a technology that’s not been proven as safe & effective, & now the data is coming in on the vaccine that’s showing that.." 1/3

NYC update (GREAT news heading into weekend) Cases down 43% with positive rate 7.3% (Manhattan 6.2%). lowest rate since December 15. Hospital census down 13% back to levels of January 2. All trends (except deaths) favorable. Thanks to everyone who has helped get us here.

More scholarly study and new strategies are needed from public health and other arms of government to counter these anti-vaccination cults.

Enough with the harassment: How to deal with anti-vax cults

Here's the latest variant picture for Australia. BA.1 (Omicron) is still very dominant. The new sub-lineage BA.1.1 (with the Spike R346K mutation) is significant, but not growing rapidly.

Increase driven by jump in infections among schoolchildren and then spreading to their parents

UK coronavirus cases tick up 10%, symptom tracker app shows

U.S. COVID update: Daily cases drop 13 days in a row, deaths still rising - New cases: 546,598 - Average: 600,789 (-29,966) - States reporting: 46/50 - In hospital: 143,574 (-2,881) - In ICU: 25,099 (-254) - New deaths: 3,061 - Average: 2,525 (+88) Data: https://newsnodes.com/us

“many drivers are complaining they have to use brakes despite wearing their seatbelts at all times”