In looking at the states (CA/OR/WA/IL/NY/DE/MA/CT/NJ/MD/NV/NM/VA/RI) with required masking in schools compared to those without mask mandates (UT/FL/AZ/TX/OK/MO/IA/AR/TN/SC), where very few students are wearing masks, we see nearly identical case rates. In fact, those with no masking requirements actually have lower current case rates:
The proportion of pediatric positive tests is similar in all parts of the country right now, this is the same regardless of seasonality or government restrictions.
For the states requiring masks, COVID-19 pediatric hospitalizations are averaging 4.23 per 100,000 kids.
For the states not allowing mask mandates, COVID-19 pediatric hospitalizations are averaging 4.90 per 100,000 kids.
The hospitalization rates are nearly identical. There is no discernible statistical difference between outcomes of infection or hospitalization for kids in communities where face masks are required in school and those where face coverings are optional.
In data published from Stanford, for young people under the age of 20 the Covid mortality risk is 0.0013%. That means 99.9987% of under-20 year olds survive a bout of Covid. These survival rates include people with underlying health conditions, who make up the vast majority of deaths. For healthy children the fatality rates are much, much lower.
TAKE HOME_
Masks for children have no effect on case rates.
Masks for children have no effect on hospitalization rates.
Masks for children have no effect on mortality rates, which at 0.0013% are lower than the seasonal flu.
Both children and adults should be able to wear masks if they choose to do so. This data overwhelmingly shows there is no measurable health benefit to REQUIRING children to wear face masks in school.
TWO
A gene that reduces the severity of Covid infections by 20 per cent has been discovered by researchers publishing their data in Nature Genetics.It helps to explain why the disease's symptoms are so variable, hitting some harder than others.The gene tells the body to make a protein that is effective at breaking down the virus that causes Covid.
It is found in 33% of people of white European ancestry, according to researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
In those of African heritage, it was present in 80% of individuals.
While blacks, Hispanics, and Asians are more likely than whites to be hospitalized for COVID, they are less likely to die of it, according to a recent analysis of 4.3 million patients.
A study of Maryland and District of Columbia hospitals found no relationship between race and severe disease “after adjustment for pre-existing clinical risk factors."
TAKE HOME-
Africa has not been hit as hard as other continents by Covid. Africans and African-Americans may be somewhat protected from Covid by a gene which is 20% protective for severity of disease. The discovery may help to create drugs that are effective against Covid.
THREE
The Chinese regime has likely understated the COVID-19 death rate by as much as 17,000 percent in a systematic data suppression campaign.
That would put the real number of COVID-19 deaths in China at around 1.7 million rather than 4,636, the two-year cumulative death figure that the Chinese authorities have maintained officially.
Those findings made by George Calhoun, director of the quantitative finance program at Stevens Institute of Technology, were based on data as of January generated by a model developed by The Economist.
A vast majority of China’s officially recorded deaths came from Wuhan during the first three months of the pandemic, with only hundreds more reported in the rest of the country.
The Chinese regime only reported two additional deaths since April 1, 2020, ranking China as having the world’s lowest COVID-19 death rate. “That’s impossible. It’s medically impossible, it’s statistically impossible,” according to Dr. Calhoun.
TAKE HOME-
The Covid data and information presented by Chinese scientists and the Chinese government are literally not credible.
FOUR
The increase in antibodies produced by a fourth shot of COVID-19 vaccine is not enough to prevent infections from the omicron variant, according to preliminary research at an Israeli hospital. Two groups received either Pfizer or Moderna shot number four after previously being inoculated with three Pfizer shots. Both groups showed the boost in antibodies was “slightly higher” than after the third vaccine last year, but thatdid not preventthe spread of omicron. The third shot or booster appears to give some protection for ten weeks against omicron. Despite increased antibody levels, the fourth vaccine only offers a minimal defense against the virus.The ability to prevent infection represents only one aspect of vaccine efficacy. The other is the ability to prevent serious symptoms.
TAKE HOME-
A fourth dose or second booster Covid vaccination hasNOimpact on prevention of illness. It was too early to estimate any effect of the fourth shot on the severity of subsequent disease. Pending further data, unless you are seriously immunocompromised, there is no benefit to getting a fourth Covid shot.