WOW
Remember when #Sweden advocated a "herd immunity" approach to #COVIOD19 -- no lockdowns, just let the virus spread. And Sweden's epidemic was the deadliest per capita in northern Europe. Here is a stunning account of how this happened.
MORE
2/ "The Public Health Agcy labelled advice from national scientists & intl authorities as extreme positions, resulting in media & political bodies to accept their own policy instead. The Swedish people were kept in ignorance of basic facts such as the airborne #SARSCoV2..."
MORE
3/ "...transmission, that asymptomatic individuals can be contagious & that face masks protect both the carrier & others. Mandatory legislation was seldom used; recommendations relying upon personal responsibility & w/out any sanctions were the norm."
MORE
4/ THIS IS GUT-WRENCHING:
"Many elderly people were administered morphine instead of oxygen despite available supplies, effectively ending their lives." #COVID19 in #Swedennature.com/articles/s4159…
BTW, the genius behind Sweden's no-lockdowns, no-masks #COVID19 policies was Anders Tegnell. Care to guess where he is now? As of Mar 9 he's "coordinating the COVID #vaccine response" @WHO . reuters.com/business/healt…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Putin meant to grab #Ukraine & drive wedges between #NATO & #Russian-bordering nations.
Instead, he's evoked unification of economic, military & political forces across Europe, G7, the @EU@imf@WorldBank & @NATO into a block of unprecedented unity & resolve, that met today.
MORE
2/ It's been called the strongest alliance since WWII. But today's @NATO declaration, coupled w/alliances #Biden has formed, leaves #Russia isolated, issues a clear call-out to #China & makes ironclad an all-of-Europe mutual defense posture that's quite unprecedented.
MORE
3/ This is one of the most historic declarations of the last century. It quite simply realigns the world, geopolitically -- going well beyond response to the #russianinvasion of #Ukraine . We are witnessing a crushing defeat of #Putin's masterplan to divide the West.
MORE
READ THIS. Lots of pharma, biotech & academia now use AI to search for novel drugs to treat diseases. A small biotech company wondered if the same AI programs could find the reverse -- new chemicals to kill people. They set the program to look for VX-like chemicals.
MORE
2/ "In less than 6 hours after starting on our in-house server, our model generated 40,000 molecules that scored within our desired threshold." -- Compounds not only likely to kill people, but far deadlier than VX gas.
This is Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) -- MORE
3/ -- good tech that can be put to evil purpose.
The stunned researchers: "We have spent decades using computers & AI to improve human health—not to degrade it. We were naive in thinking abt the potential misuse of our trade, as our aim had always been to avoid molecular..."
MORE
New @IPCC_CH
"#ClimateChange has adversely affected physical health of people globally & mental health of people in the assessed regions. Climate change impacts on health are mediated through natural & human systems, including economic & social conditions & disruptions."
MORE
2/IPCC
"In all regions extreme heat events have resulted in human mortality & morbidity. The occurrence of climate-related food-borne & water-borne diseases has increased. Animal & human diseases, including zoonoses, are emerging in new areas."
MORE
3/IPCC
"Food-borne disease risks have increased regionally from #climate-sensitive aquatic pathogens & from toxic substances from harmful freshwater cyanobacteria. In assessed regions, some mental health challenges are assoc'ed w/increasing temperatures, trauma..."
MORE
The appearance of a child suffering from wild #polio in #Malawi is a bitter discovery. afro.who.int/news/malawi-de…
African nations years ago celebrated eradication of the virus, continent-wide. A key failure of the global eradication prog has been environmental surveillance...
MORE
2/..in wastewater. We have the tools, they're easy & cheap, & everywhere in the world polio testing should be routine. Why? Because the virus is passed in human feces, even by some #vaccinated people. Routine monitoring is a must, but $ isn't there. doi.org/10.1016/S2666-…
MORE
Thoughts about the strange forms of #SARSCoV2 found in NYC wastewater. Last week NY researchers published discovery of novel mutant forms of the #COVID19 virus that were resistant to existing antibody treatments & seemed to have come from animals.
MORE
2/ As far as I know, nothing of this kind has been discovered in wastewater surveillance elsewhere -- just NYC, a very densely populated metropolis of nearly 9 million humans, >575,000 pet cats + 100s of strays, nearly 350K dogs & loads of rats & mice. The genetics...
MORE
3/...argue against rodent sources. Is there active zoonosis going on in NYC betwn people & pets? Could it lead to emergence of a viable, antibody-resistant form of #SARSCoV2 ? Researchers: "these cryptic lineages could be relevant to public health & necessitate further study."
"A @Quinnipiac poll found a majority of Americans – by a 58 to 37 margin – believe 'the nation’s #Democracy is in danger of collapse.' Some of that is right-wingers who think the 2020 election was stolen, but it’s 56 to 37% among #Democrats, too." presswatchers.org/2022/01/where-…
MORE
2/ Critic @froomkin noted >1/2 of, "Americans consider it very likely (19%) or somewhat likely (34%) that there will be another attack like the 1 at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021."
Then he asked, "Where are the interviews w/regular Americans terrified for our democracy?"
AND
3/ Twitterrati amazed @froomkin:
"I was struck by how many people responded by telling me that not only are they terrified, but that everybody they know is terrified, too."
I also hear this from most of my natl security cohorts, wondering why U.S. citizens aren't panicking.