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Japanese Surgeon Calls for Suspension of COVID Boosters
BY JENNIFER MARGULIS AND JOE WANG
Bright
AUGUST 3, 2022
In a letter to the peer-reviewed journal Virology, a Japanese cardiovascular surgeon, Dr. Kenji Yamamoto, has called for the discontinuation of COVID-19 booster shots. “As a safety measure, further booster vaccinations should be discontinued,” Yamamoto wrote. Among his urgent concerns are the fact that the COVID-19 vaccines have been linked to vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia, which, in some cases, has been lethal to patients.
Yamamoto works at Okamura Memorial Hospital in Shizuoka, Japan. In the letter he explains that he and his colleagues have “encountered cases of infections that are difficult to control,” including some that occurred after open-heart surgery and were still not under control after several weeks of treatment with multiple antibiotics.
These patients, says Yamamoto, showed signs of being immunocompromised, and some of them died.
Yamamoto believes their suppressed immune function is likely to have been caused by COVID-19 vaccination.
It is rare for a cardiac surgeon to get involved in government vaccination policy. It is even rarer for a practicing medical doctor to express an opinion like this that flies in the face of the medical status quo in a prestigious medical journal, and for the medical journal itself to publish the opinion.
If you thought Covid-19 was largely over, you might be right, but not in the far-east. The quality of writing in this article is a bit problematic.
COVID-19: Japan's prime minister tests positive amid
200,000 cases per day in past week
By Allen Cone
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a memorial service marking the 77th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II at the Nippon Budokan hall in Tokyo, Japan, on Aug.15. The prime minister tested positive for COVID-18 on Sunday. Photo by Yuichi Yamazaki/pool/EPA-EFE
Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has tested positive for COVID-19, the government announced Sunday, as the country averaged 200,000 cases in the past week, which was 29.8% of world's total, and record deaths.
The coronavirus situation continues to ease worldwide with 14% weekly decline in cases and 17% drop in deaths.
On Saturday night, Kishida, 65, experienced mild symptoms, slight fever and cough, and took a PCR test on Sunday morning, according to the Prime Minister's Office.
Kishida is resting at his official residence in Tokyo after canceling a planned trip to Tunisia to attend a Tokyo International Conference on African Development, a source told the Japan Times Sunday. He plans to join the conference online.
Last month, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, the government's top spokesman, tested positive after ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Taro Kono.
On Sunday, Japan reported 226,171 cases, including 24,780 in Tokyo. The nation added a record 255,534 on Thursday.
Also 226 deaths were added, two days after a record 287. Until this seventh wave, the record was 272 Feb. 23. The country's cumulative fatalities are 37,076 in 28th worldwide.
In the past week, Japan added a world-high 1,400 infections, which was actually a 3% decline, one week after a 3% gain. The nation's deaths were 1,754, which is a 24% gain, and second in the world behind the United States' 2,170, which dropped 28%.
Though BA.5 Omicron subvariant spreads worldwide, infections dropped to 4,999,812 with a daily average of 714,259 and passing 1 million the last time on April 13, according to tracking by Worldometers.info. On Jan. 21, the daily record was set at 3,839,998. The total passed 600 million at 600,830,865, including 553,726 Sunday and 628,620 Saturday when Japan added 253,265.
Fatalities in the past week were down to 14,197. That daily average is 2,028 with the recent low 1,297 on June 21, the fewest since 1,073 on March 21, 2020, 10 days after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The total is 6,471,847, including 946 Sunday and 1,316 Saturday. It was last under 1,000 on June 19 with 946.
Some nations do not report data on weekends. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn't report data on Saturdays and Sundays.
Other case increases in the past week with more than 25,000 in descending order were Russia with a fourth-high 160,580 with a fourth-high 40%, Hong Kong 39,682 with 28% up.
South Korea reported the second most cases, 893,032 with a 5% gain, No. 3 United States 513,235 with a 30% decline, No. 4 Germany 272,836 with 11% fewer, No. 6 Taiwan 153,130 with 1% rise, No. 7 Italy 150,922 with 22% decrease, No. 8 France 122,486 with 21% lower, No. 9 Australia 122,486 with 26% decrease, No. 10 Brazil 114,894 with 25% drop.
Among nations reporting more than 100 deaths with big increases in the past week: No. 11 South Korea 414 with a 25% gain, Philippines 316 at 56%, Indonesia 157 at 25%, Hungary 117 at 46%.
Brazil had the third-most deaths with 1,080 but a 26% decline. No. 4 Germany 806 with a 4% drop, No. 5 Italy 677 with 26% lower, No. 6 Britain 533 with 46% drop, No. 7 Australia 492 with 9% decrease, No. 8 Iran 471 with a 2% increase, No. 9 France 437 with 9% fewer, No. 10 Russia 324 with 14% rise.
Every continent reported a weekly cases decrease for the second week in a row, led by two with 30%: North America cumulative 113,218,104 and South America 63,308,256 followed by Africa 22% for 12,588,262, Oceania 20% for 11,990,574, Europe 17% with a world-high 219,851,663, Asia 6% for 179,873,285.
Asia reported the only deaths increase for the second consecutive week with 4% for 1,460,307. Decreases were led by two with 25%; Europe a world-high 1,895,340 and North America 1,517,300 followed by South America 23% for 1,322,871, Oceania 10% for 18,729, Africa 3% for 257,285.
The U.S. leads with 1,065,569 fatalities and 95,345,858 infections, according to Worldometers.info. The U.S. holds the world record for daily cases at 909,397 on Jan. 13. Brazil is second in deaths at 682,587, including 27 Sunday and fourth in cases at 34,284,864, including 5,079 Sunday, the least since 3,809 April 24. India is second in cases at 44,339,429, including 11,539 Sunday and 8,813 Monday and 9,062 Tuesday, the last time under five digits since 7,891 June 14, and third in deaths at 527,332, including 43 Sunday.
India has the daily deaths record at 4,529 on May 18, 2021, with no adjustments from regions.
Russia is fourth in deaths at 383,560, including 64 Sunday with 34 22 days ago, tied for the least since April 16, 2020.
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