Full vaccination with AstraZeneca offers 92% protection against hospitalisation with delta variant — Science Chronicle

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With the delta variant, both AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines offer high protection against hospitalisation. One dose of AstraZeneca vaccine offered 71% protection against hospitalisation, while two doses offered 92% protection. In the case of Pfizer vaccine, the protection against hospitalisation was 94% after one dose and 96% after two doses. A real-world study undertaken by […]

Full vaccination with AstraZeneca offers 92% protection against hospitalisation with delta variant — Science Chronicle

The study referenced is a pre-print and has not been peer reviewed.

Mortality in biopsy-confirmed nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: results from a nationwide cohort

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Conclusion All NAFLD histological stages were associated with significantly increased overall mortality, and this risk increased progressively with worsening NAFLD histology. Most of this excess mortality was from extrahepatic cancer and cirrhosis, while in contrast, the contributions of cardiovascular disease and HCC were modest.

Mortality in biopsy-confirmed nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: results from a nationwide cohort — https://gut.bmj.com/content/70/7/1375?rss=1

Also see previous posts:

NAFLD – Why are Life Insurers Taking This Risk at Standard Rates?

NAFLD

NAFLD and Obesity: What Is the Mortality Risk? | Medpage Today

NAFLD = Higher Mortality Rate

The Saddest Covid-19 Statistic

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“For those of us in public health, it’s nothing short of amazing,” Dr. Jeff Duchin, the chief health officer for Seattle and King County, told me the other day. I had called Duchin to ask about a startling claim he made recently. At a weekly health briefing, he offhandedly remarked that of King County’s recent COVID-19 cases, 97% had occurred in unvaccinated people. It effectively meant the only people still catching coronavirus here in King County are people who haven’t gotten the shots. It also means the disease that just a few months ago threatened the entire nation is now almost exclusively circulating among a shrinking few.

“We’re getting to the point where it’s a tale of two societies,” says Dr. Umair Shah, the state health secretary.Shah reported this past week that unvaccinated people between ages 45 and 64 are now being hospitalized for COVID at rates 21 times higher than the vaccinated.

The ‘two societies’: 97% of new COVID cases are among people who haven’t gotten the shots — https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/the-two-societies-97-of-new-covid-cases-are-among-people-who-havent-gotten-the-shots/#comments

At the Seattle Times website for this article you’ll find over 500 comments. After reading several comments I had to stop. Every comment I read made me sad about all of the things we have gotten wrong during the pandemic. One of the worst things that has happened was the politicization of Covid-19. Sometimes I just wish it would stop.

If for whatever reason you choose to refuse the vaccine I have no interest in debating your decision. I’ll present some facts and we can remain cordial.

More Retirement Income Ahead!

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Total individual life insurance policy sales increased 11% in the first quarter, compared with first quarter 2020. This is the highest growth in the number of policies sold in a quarter since 1983. New annualized premium also experienced significant growth, up 15% from prior year, according to LIMRA’s First Quarter U.S. Individual Life Insurance Sales Survey.

LIMRA: First Quarter U.S. Life Insurance Policy Sales Highest Since 1983 — https://www.limra.com/en/newsroom/news-releases/2021/limra-first-quarter-u.s.-life-insurance-policy-sales-highest-since-1983/

I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.

Bryan Mills, played by Liam Neeson in the film Taken

I had my annual wellness visit earlier this week.

5.10 168 130/84 BMI 24.14 O2 sat 98%

CHOLESTEROL 175 mg/dL
TRIGLYCERIDE 69 mg/dL
HDL 65 mg/dL
LDL CALCULATED 96 mg/dL
NON-HDL CHOLESTEROL 110 mg/dL

All of my other labs were normal too.

I have multiple relatives who have lived well into their 90’s. My maternal grandmother lived to 100. I’m going to need another source of retirement income. And for all of my friends and colleagues who never thought I would make it this far…

AST 23 U/L

ALT 7 U/L

GGT 36 U/L (12/2015)

PSA 0.7 (9/2020)

SARS-CoV-2 infection induces long-lived bone marrow plasma cells in humans

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Memo to Owners of Original Content

I have been to your website and read your Terms of Use. I understand you have granted me you a limited, personal, revocable, non-exclusive, and non-transferable license to use your Services for my personal, non-commercial use only and can print or download pieces of the Content for my personal and non-commercial use.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way…

“Last fall, there were reports that antibodies wane quickly after infection with SARS-CoV-2, and mainstream media interpreted that to mean that immunity was not long-lived,” said senior author Ali Ellebedy, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri. “But that’s a misinterpretation of the data. It’s normal for antibody levels to go down after acute infection, but they don’t go down to zero — they plateau. Here, we found antibody-producing cells in people 11 months after first symptoms. These cells will live and produce antibodies for the rest of people’s lives. That’s strong evidence for long-lasting immunity.”

Mild COVID-19 Induces Lasting Antibody Protection — https://ntk-institute.org/article/mild-covid-19-induces-lasting-antibody-protection

Here’s the link to the original research article abstract:

Turner, J.S., Kim, W., Kalaidina, E. et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection induces long-lived bone marrow plasma cells in humans. Nature (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03647-4

Obvious but not Proven – PCOS and Covid-19

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Roach’s and Gotluru’s research, published in the March issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, shows the potentially higher risk for PCOS patients comes down to “comorbidities, androgens and lipotoxicity.

“People with PCOS often have higher levels of and sensitivity to androgens, male sex hormones. This could “potentially directly affect the susceptibility to COVID-19,” Roach and Gotluru wrote. Androgens work as a “gateway,” in very simple terms, to let in Covid-19, Roach says.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/23/health/women-covid-pcos-high-risk/index.html — The women possibly at higher risk for Covid-19 that no one is talking about

Many thanks to Ol Red Hair for directing my attention to this article.

The Bottom Line – Got PCOS? Get vaccinated.

Type 2 Diabetes Risk and…Sardines?

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Older people with prediabetes who followed a diet rich in sardines for 1 year show significant reductions in risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with those placed on a similarly healthy diet but without the sardines, results from a new randomized trial show.

 “A 1-year, sardine-enriched type 2 diabetes-preventive diet in an elderly population with prediabetes exerts a greater protective effect against developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular events, by improving anthropometric parameters, blood chemistry profile, lipid composition in erythrocytes membranes, and metabolomics data,” report the authors in research published in Clinical Nutrition by Diana Díaz-Rizzolo, PhD, of the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain, and colleagues.

Sardines Linked to Reduced Type 2 Diabetes Risk — https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/951528?src=rss#vp_1

Very small study with very interesting findings.

If I only liked sardines.

New Source For Jet Fuel

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Researchers have developed an innovative way to convert plastics to ingredients for jet fuel and other valuable products, making it easier and more cost effective to reuse plastics. The researchers in their reaction were able to convert 90% of plastic to jet fuel and other valuable hydrocarbon products within an hour at moderate temperatures and to easily fine-tune the process to create the products that they want.

Washington State University. “New technology converts waste plastics to jet fuel in an hour.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210517124937.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Yeah I know this has absolutely nothing to do with mortality risk but it was SO COOL I had to post it.