Unclassified Report Of US Covid Origins Probe Expected To Be Released
President Joe Biden was briefed yesterday by intelligence officials on the 90-day review he had ordered. Before anything has even been released to the public, China criticized the investigation as "propaganda." Meanwhile, a group of scientists warn that time is running out to get the necessary data to truly pinpoint the source of the coronavirus that sparked the global pandemic.
CNN:
90-Day Review Into Origins Of Covid Ends, But Public May Have To Wait On Unclassified Report
It has now been 90 days since President Joe Biden ordered the intelligence community to investigate the origins of Covid-19, but the public may have to wait a few more days to view an unclassified version of that report. In May, Biden told US intelligence agencies to "redouble" their efforts in investigating the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, including the possibility that it emerged from a lab accident, and report back to him in 90 days. After months of work, that review ended Tuesday. The President was briefed on the findings of the report Tuesday, two administration officials told CNN. (Collins, Sullivan and Cohen, 8/25)
Fox News:
China Criticizes US Ahead Of COVID Origins Report, Peddles Conspiracy Theories
Chinese state-owned media has pushed aggressive claims of U.S. "propaganda" aimed to "scapegoat" the communist nation ahead of a report by American intelligence agencies into the origins of COVID-19. Efforts to uncover more information about how the virus first spread continue to face difficulties as the Chinese government maintains a tight grip on lab records, genomic samples and other data that could shed light on the pandemic. It has also been spreading misinformation about the United States. (Aitken, 8/25)
The Wall Street Journal:
Covid-19 Origin Researchers Warn Time Is Running Out To Find Answers
Time is running out for conducting crucial studies into the origin of the coronavirus that caused the Covid-19 pandemic, a group of scientists involved in the inquiry warned on Wednesday. Eleven members of an international group led by the World Health Organization said it would soon be “biologically impossible” to get reliable information about animals and people who might have been exposed to the virus in 2019, when reports of the novel coronavirus began to emerge, according to the scientists’ commentary in the journal Nature. They called on researchers and governments to expedite those studies. (McKay and Marcus, 8/25)
In other covid research —
The New York Times:
Heart Problem More Common After Covid-19 Than After Vaccination, Study Finds
The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is associated with an increased risk of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, a large new study from Israel confirms. But the side effect remains rare, and Covid-19 is more likely to cause myocarditis than the vaccine is, scientists reported on Wednesday. The research, which is based on the electronic health records of about two million people who are 16 or older, provides a comprehensive look at the real-wold incidence of various adverse events after both vaccination and infection with the coronavirus. (Anthes and Weiland, 8/25)
CIDRAP:
COVID-19 Patients At Higher Risk Of Blood Clots After Surgery, Study Shows
Venous thromboembolism (VTE), a dangerous complication of surgery, is 50% more likely to occur in current COVID-19 patients and nearly twice as likely in those with recent infection, according to an international study yesterday in Anaesthesia. The researchers also found that this type of blood clot, the top cause of preventable death in hospitalized patients, poses a fivefold increased risk of death in the first 30 days after surgery relative to patients without VTE (pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis). (Van Beusekom, 8/25)
Nature:
COVID Vaccines And Blood Clots: What Researchers Know So Far
It was when the second person with unusual clots came in that Phillip Nicolson knew something was wrong. Blood clots are uncommon in young people, and it’s even rarer to see a combination of blood clots and alarmingly low levels of platelets — cell fragments that help to form clots. Yet in the space of one week in March, two young people with this pairing of symptoms had arrived at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, UK, where Nicolson works as a haematology specialist. And both had recently been given the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. (Ledford, 8/24)
Axios:
Living With The Coronavirus Will Likely Never Be Risk-Free, Even For The Vaccinated
Vaccinated Americans are facing a disheartening reality: Even after getting the shot, they'll have to live with some level of risk from the coronavirus for the foreseeable future. A glut of data released over the past few weeks supports the idea that coronavirus vaccine effectiveness against infection begins to wane over time, although it remains effective against severe disease. (Owens, 8/26)
