Return of the MASK: COVID 2.0 is already snaking its way across the country



If you thought the pandemic was over, we're sorry to say that you're wrong.

As the 2024 election looms closer and the presidential candidates are increasingly at each others' throats, so it seems COVID is at ours. And Lauren Chen is well aware.

“It does seem like COVID part two is back. That’s right, the pandemic strikes back,” Chen says. “A lot of people, if you ask me, have been a little too quick to move on and forget that hey, you actually had neighbors who are calling the police on you if you tried to have guests over.”

“There were actually people who were dying that were prevented from seeing their loved ones,” she adds.

We need to remember, because if we don’t, then it could easily all happen over again. And in some ways, it already is.

Lionsgate, a production company based in California, has re-implemented a mask mandate for some employees after a few employees tested positive for COVID.

The employees were told in an email to “wear a medical grade face covering (surgical mask KN95 or N95) when indoors except when alone in an office with the door closed, actively eating, actively drinking at their desk or workstation, or if they are the only individual present in a large open workspace.”

“If you are still afraid of COVID in this day and age, you haven’t been paying attention and you should probably go see some sort of mental health professional, rather than place all of your concern in something like COVID,” Chen says.

It’s not only the Hollywood studio that’s making a big deal out of re-implementing mask mandates. Morris Brown College has also reintroduced a mask mandate for both students and staff.

The college made this decision because there have been reports of students testing positive for COVID.

“Yes, the fatality rates for COVID are very similar to that of the flu. Do we institute mask mandates for the flu now? Absolutely not. It’s just something we live with and we understand that we live in a society. People get sick. So, the fact that some people out there still have this irrational fear when it comes to COVID,” Chen says. “It’s not based in science. It’s not based in medicine. This is an ideological thing.”


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Bill Gates warns of possible 'more fatal' COVID variant, calls for pandemic task force helmed by WHO that will cost $1 billion a year



Bill Gates – the software developer – gave an interview to the Financial Times where he rang the alarm about the possibility of a "more fatal" variant of COVID-19. In an interview with the British economic publication, the Microsoft billionaire petitioned for a pandemic response task force that would cost $1 billion.

Despite there being more than 6.2 million COVID-19 deaths, Gates warned that the pandemic could get even deadlier.

"We’re still at risk of this pandemic generating a variant that would be even more transmissive and even more fatal," Gates told the Financial Times.

"It’s not likely, I don’t want to be a voice of doom and gloom," Gates added. "But it's way above a 5% risk that this pandemic, we haven’t even seen the worst of it."

In a CNBC interview in February, Gates discussed the Omicron variant.

"Sadly, the virus itself, particularly the variant called Omicron, is a type of vaccine," Gates stated. "That is it creates both B cell and T cell immunity. And it has done a better job of getting out to the world population than we have with vaccines."

Gates also warned, "We'll have another pandemic. It will be a different pathogen next time."

Gates has been cautioning about pandemics for years.

In a 2015 TED Talk, Gates declared that the world was "not ready for the next epidemic," and viruses posed the "greatest risk of global catastrophe" compared to other threats to civilization.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Gates warned then-President Donald Trump in December 2016 about the potential danger of a pandemic.

In a 2018 discussion about epidemics hosted by the Massachusetts Medical Society and the New England Journal of Medicine, Gates warned that a pandemic could happen within the next decade. The businessman claimed that a flu-like disease could kill 30 million people in six months.

Gates has a new book coming out this week, where the software developer outlines the need for a firefighter-like pandemic task force named "global epidemic response and mobilization." He believes the GERM would be a part of the World Health Organization and could stop outbreaks of disease from spreading.

My back-of-the-napkin estimate is that GERM would need about 3,000 full-time employees. Their skills should run the gamut: epidemiology, genetics, drug and vaccine development, data systems, diplomacy, rapid response, logistics, computer modeling, and communications. GERM should be managed by the World Health Organization, the only group that can give it global credibility, and it should have a diverse workforce, with a decentralized staff working in many places in the world.

Gates estimates that the pandemic task force headed by the WHO would cost "over $1 billion a year."

New Info Indicates Good AND Bad News Regarding Omicron Variant | @Glenn Beck

New Info Indicates Good AND Bad News Regarding Omicron Variant | @Glenn Beck

Israeli immunologist says Omicron variant could be 'light at the end of the tunnel'



An Israeli immunologist suggested this week that the spread of the newly detected Omicron variant — which has sparked panic and resulted in travel bans worldwide — may actually signal the beginning of the end of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

"In my view maybe this new variant is the light at the end of the tunnel," Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Zvika Granot said Tuesday in an interview with i24 News, an Israeli international media network, adding, "This is a variant that is highly infectious but maybe not as aggressive."

During the interview, Granot argued that pandemics don't normally end due entirely to an effective vaccine. Rather, he said, "herd immunity" is often achieved when the virus ultimately mutates to become highly transmissible but minimally aggressive.

There are early indicators coming out of South Africa — where Omicron was first detected last week — showing that such may be the case for the new variant of concern.

"When you look at the future and try to envision how this will end one day, it's most likely not going to be because we got a fantastic vaccine. It just doesn't work this way and we have a lot of experience with viruses like the flu," Granot said.

"The way that it will end, at least in my view, is when we encounter this new variant that is highly infectious but is not very aggressive, meaning that a lot of people will get infected but none of them will develop serious symptoms. And in a sense that will be the way the population will really gain herd immunity, and then the coronavirus will just fade away," he added.

'Maybe this new variant is the light at the end of the tunnel,' says immunologist www.youtube.com

Mass hysteria followed Omicron's identification last week, as scientists issued warnings about the strain's unprecedented number of mutations and governments around the world enacted travel bans to stem the pathogen's spread. Global markets also cratered in response to concerns over the new variant.

On Monday, Moderna's CEO caused further alarm by suggesting that current COVID-19 vaccines may not be effective against Omicron.

Granot was careful to note that further study is needed and that there still may be reasons for concern. It's certainly possible that the current vaccines are less effective against the variant, he said, though he noted that "the truth is, we really don't know."

But the issue of vaccine efficacy could prove largely inconsequential if Omicron is found to be minimally aggressive, as Granot surmised.

He noted that such a revelation would not be surprising since respiratory viruses like the coronavirus generally fizzle out by evolving to "be less and less aggressive."

After White House bans travel from 8 African countries, tweets resurface of Biden saying travel bans don't work and accusing Trump of 'xenophobia'



Previous tweets from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are igniting accusations of hypocrisy after the administration announced a travel ban in response to a new COVID-19 variant.

A World Health Organization panel convened on Friday to assess the potential of the SARS-CoV-2 variant "omicron," formerly known as B.1.1.529. The WHO classified the latest variant as a "highly transmissible virus of concern," which is also what the health agency previously named the delta variant as.

"We don't know very much about this yet. What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations. And the concern is when you have so many mutations it can have an impact on how the virus behaves," said Maria van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist and WHO technical lead on COVID-19. "This is one to watch, I would say we have concern. But I think you would want us to have concern."

The Botswana government said there were four cases of the omicron variant reported on Nov. 22, and that all four patients were fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

MEDIA RELEASE\n#LetsDefeatCOVID19Together\n#AReFenyengCOVID19Mmogo pic.twitter.com/LVMbmtLQx4
— Botswana Government (@Botswana Government) 1637849790

Cases of the omicron variant have already been identified in Belgium, the U.K., Germany, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, and Israel.

The WHO cautioned against countries implementing travel bans.

"At this point, implementing travel measures is being cautioned against," WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said during a United Nations briefing in Geneva. "The WHO recommends that countries continue to apply a risk-based and scientific approach when implementing travel measures."

Dr. Michael Ryan — the head of emergencies at the WHO — warned against "knee-jerk responses."

"We've seen in the past, the minute there's any kind of mention of any kind of variation and everyone is closing borders and restricting travel," Ryan said. "It's really important that we remain open, and stay focused."

Despite the WHO recommendation, several countries implemented travel restrictions on African nations, including Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and all 27 member states of the European Union.

The South African foreign ministry reacted to the travel bans by saying the country was being punished for being one of the first nations to identify the new COVID-19 variant. South Africa first reported cases of B.1.1.529 to the WHO on Nov. 24.

"This latest round of travel bans is akin to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker," the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement. "Excellent science should be applauded and not punished."

The White House issued a statement on the travel ban, "The United States Government, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within the Department of Health and Human Services, has reexamined its policies on international travel and concluded that further measures are required to protect the public health from travelers entering the United States."

Biden's travel ban goes into effect on Nov. 29, 2021.

The official Twitter account for President Biden issued a statement:

The @WHO has identified a new COVID variant which is spreading through Southern Africa. As a precautionary measure until we have more information, I am ordering air travel restrictions from South Africa and seven other countries. As we move forward, we will continue to be guided by what the science and my medical team advises. For now the best way to strengthen your protection if you're already vaccinated is to get a booster shot, immediately. For those not yet fully vaccinated: get vaccinated today. For the world community: this news is a reminder that this pandemic will not end until we have global vaccinations. The U.S. has already donated more vaccines to other countries than every other country combined. It is time for other countries to match our speed and generosity.
The @WHO has identified a new COVID variant which is spreading through Southern Africa. As a precautionary measure until we have more information, I am ordering air travel restrictions from South Africa and seven other countries.
— President Biden (@President Biden) 1637955501


For the world community: this news is a reminder that this pandemic will not end until we have global vaccinations. The U.S. has already donated more vaccines to other countries than every other country combined. It is time for other countries to match our speed and generosity.
— President Biden (@President Biden) 1637955502

However, many commentators resurfaced old tweets by Biden that are deemed as hypocritical.

On Jan. 31, 2020, then-President Donald Trump declared a public health emergency in response to the global COVID-19 outbreak and temporarily suspended the entry of travelers from China. A day later, then-candidate Biden responded by saying Trump was xenophobic, "We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus. We need to lead the way with science — not Donald Trump's record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering. He is the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency."

We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus. We need to lead the way with science \u2014 not Donald Trump\u2019s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering. He is the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency.
— Joe Biden (@Joe Biden) 1580594460

On March 11, 2020, then-President Trump suspended travel from Europe in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus. The next day, Biden said travel bans would not stop the spread of COVID-19, "A wall will not stop the coronavirus. Banning all travel from Europe — or any other part of the world — will not stop it. This disease could impact every nation and any person on the planet — and we need a plan to combat it."

A wall will not stop the coronavirus.\n\nBanning all travel from Europe \u2014 or any other part of the world \u2014 will not stop it.\n\nThis disease could impact every nation and any person on the planet \u2014 and we need a plan to combat it.
— Joe Biden (@Joe Biden) 1584057900

In January 2020, when Trump added new immigration restrictions on six African and Asian countries — Nigeria, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Eritrea, Sudan, and Tanzania — Democrats claimed the policy was "driven by hate."

Biden tweeted, "Trump further diminished the U.S. in the eyes of the world by expanding his travel ban. This new 'African Ban,' is designed to make it harder for black and brown people to immigrate to the United States. It's a disgrace, and we cannot let him succeed."

Trump further diminished the U.S. in the eyes of the world by expanding his travel ban. This new \u201cAfrican Ban,\u201d is designed to make it harder for black and brown people to immigrate to the United States. It\u2019s a disgrace, and we cannot let him succeed.https://medium.com/@JoeBiden/statement-from-vice-president-joe-biden-on-donald-trumps-expanded-travel-ban-17ac0ee039b9\u00a0\u2026
— Joe Biden (@Joe Biden) 1580613364

Kamala Harris responded by saying, "Trump's extended un-American travel ban undermines our nation's core values. It is clearly driven by hate, not security."

Trump\u2019s extended un-American travel ban undermines our nation\u2019s core values. It is clearly driven by hate, not security.https://www.npr.org/2020/01/31/801615610/trump-administration-to-curb-immigrants-from-6-nations-including-nigeria\u00a0\u2026
— Kamala Harris (@Kamala Harris) 1580595361

At the time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement, claiming Trump's immigration policy "undermined our Constitution" and was "bigoted."

The Trump Administration's expansion of its outrageous, un-American travel ban threatens our security, our values and the rule of law. The sweeping rule, barring more than 350 million individuals from predominantly African nations from traveling to the United States, is discrimination disguised as policy.

America's strength has always been as a beacon of hope and opportunity for people around the world, whose dreams and aspirations have enriched our nation and made America more American. With this latest callous decision, the President has doubled down on his cruelty and further undermined our global leadership, our Constitution and our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants.

In the Congress and in the Courts, House Democrats will continue to oppose the Administration's dangerous anti-immigrant agenda. In the coming weeks, the House Judiciary Committee will mark-up and bring to the Floor the NO BAN Act to prohibit religious discrimination in our immigration system and limit the President's ability to impose such biased and bigoted restrictions. We will never allow hatred or bigotry to define our nation or destroy our values.

New COVID variant considered 'worse than' Delta is 'spreading rapidly' in South Africa and worrying health experts across the globe



A new COVID-19 variant recently identified in South Africa is causing concern from public health experts across the globe due to its high number of mutations and increased transmissibility among young people. Some are even warning the new strain could prove to be more dangerous than the Delta variant.

What are the details?

It's unclear where exactly the new strain, formerly known as B.1.1.529, initially arose but it was first detected in South Africa and has since been detected among South African travelers in neighboring Botswana as well as Hong Kong, the Associated Press reported. On Friday, Israel also said it had detected cases.

South Africa's minister of health, Joe Phaahla, announced this week that the variant has been linked to a rapid increase in the number of cases in the country's Gauteng province over the last few days.

"Over the last four or five days, there has been more of an exponential rise," Phaahla said, according to Time. The magazine noted that South African scientists are presently working to determine the percentage of new cases that were caused by the new variant, but they suspect it to be high.

Over the past several weeks, COVID-19 transmission in the country had settled to a relatively low rate at just over 200 new confirmed cases per day. But in the past week, the daily new cases suddenly shot up to more than 1,200. And then on Thursday, the number of new cases skyrocketed to 2,465.

One of the most worrying elements about the new variant is its "constellation" of more than 30 new mutations, said Tulio de Oliveira of the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa.

"We can see that the variant is potentially spreading very fast," de Oliveira added. "We do expect to start seeing pressure in the healthcare system in the next few days and weeks."

"[The] very high number of mutations is a concern for predicted immune evasion and transmissibility," he explained.

What has been the international reaction?

News of the new variant has caught the attention of scientists and public health officials around the world.

The British government on Thursday announced that it would be banning flights from South Africa and five other southern African countries effective Friday. Other European countries, such as the Netherlands, have followed suit.

Video surfaced on social media Friday appearing to show travelers from South Africa being instructed not to exit their plane after landing in Amsterdam.

NOW - Passengers from South Africa are currently not allowed to exit the plane in Amsterdam amid fears over the new variant.pic.twitter.com/XiTX7I5uBK
— Disclose.tv (@Disclose.tv) 1637929051

The U.K.'s health secretary, Sajid Javid, told reporters there were concerns that the new variant "may be more transmissible" than the Delta strain and that current vaccines "may be less effective" against it, according to Time.

On Friday, Israel was reportedly on "the threshold of an emergency situation" over the new variant.

One scientist, Tom Peacock, a virologist at the Imperial College in the U.K., reportedly described the variant's combination of mutations as "horrific" and warned it had the potential to be "worse than nearly anything else," including the dominant Delta strain.

According to the AP, another U.K. scientist, Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick, described the variant as "spreading rapidly" and as "the most heavily mutated version of the virus we have seen."

WHO adds new COVID variant — 'Mu' — to its watchlist, warns that it could evade vaccines



The World Health Organization on Tuesday added a new coronavirus mutation to its "variants of interest" watchlist, citing fears that the variant could be resistant to immune defenses provided by vaccines.

What are the details?

In its weekly coronavirus pandemic update, the health agency said the new variant, named "Mu," or B.1.621, was added to its watchlist on Monday after it was detected in 39 countries and showed certain worrisome features.

According to the bulletin, "The Mu variant has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape."

Preliminary data presented to the Virus Evolution Working Group showed that the variant may evade or be resistant to vaccine immune defenses in a similar way to the Beta variant, which was first discovered in South Africa, though more studies are needed to confirm the theory.

Since it was first discovered in Colombia in January 2021, there have been "a few sporadic reports of cases" of the Mu variant and "some larger outbreaks" in South America and Europe, the WHO noted.

The agency added that while the Mu variant's global prevalence has declined significantly in recent months, its increasing prevalence in Colombia (39%) and Ecuador (13%) was cause for continued monitoring.

The WHO did add a disclaimer, noting, "The reported prevalence should be interpreted with due consideration of sequencing capacities and timeliness of sharing of sequences, both of which vary between countries."

What else?

In addition to concerns about its vaccine resistance, scientists will be eager to determine whether or not the Mu variant is more transmissible or causes more serious illness than the Delta variant, which is currently plaguing much of the world, the Guardian reported.

"The epidemiology of the Mu variant in South America, particularly with the co-circulation of the Delta variant, will be monitored for changes," the WHO bulletin noted.

The Guardian added that "at least 32 cases of the Mu variant have been detected in the U.K., where the pattern of infections suggests it was brought in by travelers on multiple occasions."

The nation's primary health agency, Public Health England reported in July that most of those infected with the Mu variant were people in their 20s, some of whom had been vaccinated.

Another PHE report in August reportedly found that "the variant is at least as resistant as the Beta variant to immunity arising from vaccination," the Guardian said, reinforcing the WHO's claims.

Report: COVID variant from UK 'likely' more lethal, could become dominant strain in America by March



British scientists believe that a coronavirus variant spreading throughout the United Kingdom is more lethal than the original COVID-19 strain.

Even more troubling, scientists believe the deadlier variant may become the dominant virus strain in the United States by March.

What are the details?

Government scientists in the U.K. revealed last week the viral variant, known as B.1.1.7, is "likely" responsible for an increased risk of hospitalization and death, the New York Times reported.

The variant has been reported in at least 82 different countries.

More from the Times:

The reasons for an elevated death rate are not entirely clear. Some evidence suggests that people infected with the variant may have higher viral loads, a feature that could not only make the virus more contagious but also potentially undermine the effectiveness of certain treatments. ...

But scientists are also trying to understand how much of the increased risk of death may stem from the propensity of the variant to spread very easily through settings like nursing homes, where people are already vulnerable.

Overall, scientists have estimated the variant is spreading 35% to 45% quicker than the original strain in the U.S. and is possibly 30% to as high as 70% more lethal, Axios noted.

However, Muge Cevik, an infectious disease expert at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, warned there remain "several limitations" with the results of the latest study by U.K. government experts.

Cevik told the Times "there are other explanations of this increased severity," citing the variant being able to "transmit disproportionately in settings with frailer people," like nursing homes.

Indeed, the study "struggled to account for the presence of underlying illnesses in people infected with the new variant, and for whether the cases originated in nursing homes," according to the Times.

US dominance by March?

Kristian Andersen, a virologist at the Scripps Research Institute who co-authored a U.S.-based study on the variant, predicted it would become the dominant strain in the U.S. by March if it spreads here at the same rate that it has in the U.K.

"We should probably prepare for this being the predominant lineage in most places in the United States by March," she said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new warnings about the variant last month.

"I want to stress that we are deeply concerned that this strain is more transmissible and can accelerate outbreaks in the U.S. in the coming weeks," Dr. Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the CDC, said. "We're sounding the alarm and urging people to realize the pandemic is not over and in no way is it time to throw in the towel."

Fortunately, Pfizer and Moderna have said their COVID-19 vaccines are effective against variants.

UK's new faster-spreading COVID strain found in Japan, Canada, possibly parts of US



A new faster-spreading COVID-19 variant first discovered in the United Kingdom has reportedly been detected in other corners of the world, including Canada and Japan.

What are the details?

Officials in Ontario, Canada, over the weekend announced that they had detected two cases of the new coronavirus strain, called B.1.1.7, which health experts say is 40%-70% more infectious than the original strain.

The two cases were carried by a couple in southern Ontario who reportedly had no known travel history, exposure, or high-risk contact.

"As the monitoring continues, it is expected that other cases of this variant and other variants of concern may be found in Canada," the Public Health Agency of Canada said in a statement. "Furthermore, as these two cases did not travel outside of Canada, it is important to follow public health measures and limit contacts with others, to reduce the transmission of the virus and any of its variants in communities."

Meanwhile, authorities in Japan moved to close the country's border to all non-resident foreign nationals through next month, as seven people in the country tested positive for the new variant.

Several other European countries, including France, Spain, and Sweden, also reported confirmed cases of the strain over the last several days.

What else?

The news comes after numerous countries around the world closed their borders to travel from the U.K. due to concerns over the new strain.

U.K. officials first raised the alarm about the variant earlier this month after it reportedly spread across 60 council areas in southeast England. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that while "initial analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster than the existing variants," more testing needed to be conducted.

So far, health experts are confident that the new strain, though more infectious, does not result in a worse disease and is not resistant to a vaccine.

Anything else?

On Saturday, health officials in Los Angeles County began testing virus samples out of suspicion that the new strain is what's driving a surge in confirmed COVID-19 cases in southern California.

While to date, no confirmed cases of the new strain have been discovered in the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested it's likely the variant has been present in the country for weeks but has simply gone undetected.