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Antibody neutralizing all Covid variants found,
Chinese scientists claim
1 Dec, 2021 14:49
Chinese scientists claim to have isolated an antibody which can effectively neutralize all strains of Covid-19, referencing both lab experiments and those performed on a living organism.
In a study published on Tuesday, Chinese scientists from a variety of institutions, including Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou and Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, suggested that they may have the panacea to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The authors claim that monoclonal antibody 35B5 has been shown in both in vitro (laboratory or test-tube experiment) and in vivo (performed on living organism) studies to neutralize wild-type Covid-19 (without mutations) as well as variants of concern (VOCs). The in vivo tests were carried out on humanized mice.
The scientists noted that the antibody also works on the highly mutated Delta variant, which has been responsible for deadly waves of infection around the world since it first emerged in India earlier this year.
“35B5 neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 [Covid-19] by targeting a unique epitope [part of the antigen molecule which the antibody attaches itself to] that avoids the prevailing mutation sites,” the study explains. In other words, 35B5 targets a unique part of the virus that does not change during the mutation process.
By targeting part of the virus which is not impacted by the mutations identified in circulating VOCs, antibody 35B5 demonstrated capacity for “pan-neutralizing efficacy” across multiple strains. These findings, the scientists argue, could be “exploited for the rational design of a universal SARS-CoV-2 [Covid-19] vaccine.”
The part of the antigen targeted by antibody 35B5 is also present in the Omicron variant, the researchers note.
The research could prove particularly valuable amid the spread of Omicron, which is highly mutated. Leaders and scientists around the world are concerned the mutant virus could evade vaccine-induced immunity and immunity gained from previous infection.
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Hungary slams EU for ‘political’ refusal to recognize
Russian Covid-19 vaccine
27 Nov, 2021 21:15
Hungarian FM Peter Szijjarto told RT he’s “frustrated” with Western officials playing politics with Russia’s Sputnik V, the world’s first Covid vaccine. He says they can’t bring themselves to publicly admit it’s “the best.”
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved vaccines by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Janssen, yet Russia’s Sputnik V is still awaiting the agency’s nod despite getting approval in over 70 countries worldwide. For Hungarians vaccinated with Sputnik V, that means they’re frozen out of the EU’s bloc-wide Digital Covid Certificate system, even though Hungary will start locally producing the vaccine next year.
“This is a political and ideological issue and I am very frustrated about this,” Szijjarto told RT, describing how under EU regulations, either the EMA or national governments can approve vaccines, as Hungary’s government did with Sputnik V and China’s Sinopharm shot. “We don’t understand why [this approval] is not respected by the other member states,” he added.
It's not in the Deep State narrative, Peter!
The EU’s cold shoulder for the Sputnik V shot is more a question of politics than efficacy, Szijjarto suggested.
“Whenever I talk to Western European colleagues... they always tell me that they know that Russian scientific performance can be spoken about only very highly,” he said. “I tell them ‘Look, it works the best. Of course it works well.”
Privately they all say that… when it comes to publicly, they all say differently.
“I hoped for the conflicts to be left behind. And I hope for countries’ understanding that we need to cooperate on the issues like saving the lives of people. But, unfortunately, I have to be disappointed because this is not the case,” the minister said.
Saving lives is never part of the Deep State narrative!
Szijjarto added that the timely arrival of Sputnik V and the Chinese vaccine made by Sinopharm had helped the Hungarian economy reach pre-pandemic level by the summer.
“At the beginning – I mean [during] the first part of this year – the deliveries from Western producers were [at times] late. They were cancelled even sometimes, or the volume was less compared to what was contracted,” Szijjarto said.
The fact that both Sinopharm and Sputnik delivered additional volumes [on time] compared to others, gave us a huge advantage. We could reopen the country and the national economy around two months earlier than the European average.
Phase 3 trial data showing the efficacy of Sputnik V has been published in the authoritative medical journal, The Lancet, while a comparative study based on data from Hungary and published this week found the Russian jab to be the most effective of five different vaccines in preventing Covid-related deaths. Sputnik V came in second behind the US-made Moderna shot in preventing infection in the first place. The study was based on data from 3.7 million people.
When it came to choosing his own vaccine, Szijjarto turned to the Russian-developed jab. “The reason for my vaccination with Sputnik is crystal clear,” he told RT. “When I was a kid, I was vaccinated by Soviet vaccines. Since I am still alive and doing well, I decided, why should I change?”
Szijjarto went on to talk more about the politicization of vaccination, and had some choice words for the European politicians and bureaucrats who “attacked” Hungary over its hardline immigration policies.
Up to 740,000 missed cancer referrals in UK due to Covid-19
1 Dec, 2021 07:01
in London, March 23, 2021 © Reuters / Hannah McKay
As many as 740,000 urgent cancer case referrals have been missed in the UK since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic due to backlogs and growing waiting lists, a new report has warned.
The UK National Audit Office (NAO) estimated in a report on Wednesday that between 240,000 and 740,000 urgent referrals for suspected cancer cases were missed from the start of the pandemic until September 2021, as “millions of people have avoided seeking, or been unable to obtain, healthcare.”
The report claimed that the number of people undergoing cancer treatment dropped to such levels as Covid-19 took hold in the UK. “By June 2021, NHS cancer services activity had recovered to pre-pandemic levels. However, in September 2021 only 68% of patients requiring treatment within 62 days of urgent referral by their GP were receiving that treatment on time,” the NAO said.
The NAO also warned that the waiting list in 2025 could be much higher than it is today, explaining that if “50% of missing referrals return to the NHS and activity grows only in line with pre-pandemic plans, the waiting list would reach 12 million by March 2025.”
Catchup With Cancer co-founder Professor Pat Price said the report “shows we are in the middle of the biggest cancer catastrophe ever to hit the NHS.”
“There is a deadly cocktail of delays across the board, a regional lottery of cancer inequality and a growing cancer backlog. And it feels like the Government and NHS leaders have their heads in the sand,” she said, calling the situation “frightening.”
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