(FREE) PAINE IN THE MORNING: 11 things you need to know this Monday – January 3, 2022

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Hospital ERs filled with symptom-less, COVID-positive people in one state – Emergency rooms in Vermont are being overwhelmed with people who have tested positive for COVID but have no symptoms, bolstering the criticism that mass testing amid a pandemic is counterproductive.

Vermont, with about 77% of the population vaccinated, has the nation’s highest rate, but local WCAX-TV reported Vermonters who take the rapid tests and test positive for COVID-19 are “clogging up emergency rooms.” – READ MORE

70% Of London’s COVID Hospitalisations Diagnosed AFTER Being Admitted For Other Ailments – 70 per cent of London’s COVID hospitalisations were diagnosed after the patient had already been admitted for other ailments, it has been revealed.

The figure is important because a so-called ‘surge’ in London hospitalisations for COVID is being used as a justification to lobby for further lockdown restrictions on the British public. – READ MORE

Booster Backfire? Some Experts Concerned Fourth COVID Shot May Weaken Body’s Ability To Fight Illness – Israel’s government is weighing approval of a four-shot vaccination strategy that some experts warn is not backed by data and could handicap recipients’ ability to fight off COVID-19.

A medical panel advising the government recommended last week approving the four-shot course, arguing that the country did not have time to waste amid the spread of the Omicron variant. Critics of the plan argued that the government should wait for more data over concerns that a fourth shot, or second booster shot, may weaken a recipient’s immune system. – READ MORE

COVID Antiviral Pills Cause Life-Threatening Reactions When Used With Many Common Meds: FDA – Pfizer’s antiviral oral drug developed to treat COVID-19 can cause severe or life-threatening effects when used with common medications including some anti-coagulants, some anti-depressants, and some cholesterol-lowering statins, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (pdf).

FDA does not recommend Paxlovid for those with severe kidney or liver disease.

The FDA on Dec. 22 granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to Pfizer’s COVID-19 treatment pill as treatment for mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19 in patients from 12 years of age. – READ MORE

New York Prioritizing Antiviral Pills for ‘Non-White’ People – New York state’s Department of Health (DOH) announced recently that non-white people should be prioritized over white people for anti-viral pills in short supply.

The DOH announcement, dated December 27, said limited supply of oral antivirals will “require providers to prioritize treatment for patients at highest risk for severe COVID-19 until more product becomes available.” – READ MORE

Shock! Doctors given bonus to euthanize ‘severely hospitalized’ COVID patients – The New Zealand government has announced that patients admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 can be killed via euthanasia, according to Scoop.

In November, anti-euthanasia group #DefendNZ asked the New Zealand Ministry of Health (MOH) questions about the practice of the nation’s End of Life Choice Act (EOLC Act). One of these questions was, “Could a patient who is severely hospitalised with Covid-19 potentially be eligible for assisted suicide or euthanasia under the Act if a health practitioner viewed their prognosis as less than 6 months?” – READ MORE

Fauci points out that many of the kids included in count of COVID-19 hospitalizations actually tested positive after being hospitalized for another reason – Dr. Anthony Fauci noted during an interview on MSNBC that many of the children included in the COVID-19 hospitalization numbers are actually hospitalized for reasons completely unrelated to coronavirus, but then included in the statistics because they tested positive after arriving at the hospital.

Fauci, who is the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden and the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made the comments while responding to a question about why there has been an increase in kids at the hospital with COVID-19. – READ MORE

CDC finally admits ‘gold standard’ COVID test is unreliable – It’s been common knowledge among medical scientists for more than a year that the “gold standard” PCR test is unreliable when used to diagnose COVID-19, and now the Centers for Disease Control is acknowledging that fact.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told ABC’s “Good Morning America” Wednesday that her agency’s newly updated guidelines don’t require testing at the end of isolation because PCR tests can remain positive for up to 12 weeks after infection. – READ MORE

Video: NY health commissioner admits using overblown claims about child COVID hospitalizations to scare parents into vaccinating their kids – New York’s acting health commissioner, Dr. Mary Bassett, openly admitted this week to misleading people about an “upward trend” in child COVID-19 hospitalizations in order to “motivate” parents to get their children vaccinated.

Last Friday, the state health department issued a health alert notifying pediatricians of a concerning trend — hospitalizations among children with COVID-19 were up across the state and had quadrupled in the New York City area. No official numbers were given. – READ MORE

Pelosi, Husband Buy Millions In Call Options Days After She Defended Congress Being Allowed To Buy Stock: Report – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and husband Paul Pelosi bought millions of dollars worth of call options for stocks just days after she defended members of Congress being able to buy stocks. – READ MORE

China Panic-Hoards Half Of World’s Grain Supply Amid Threats Of Collapse – About two and a half years ago, we told readers China was panic hoarding food, which was several months before the virus pandemic began to spread worldwide; Beijing has managed to stockpile more than half of the world’s maize and other grains that have resulted in rapid food inflation and triggered famine in some countries. – READ MORE