Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, tells CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell that Americans need to “double down” on mask-wearing and social distancing to help control a surge in new coronavirus cases. He also spoke about President Trump’s recovery from COVID-19, progress towards a vaccine, and how the pandemic will affect this year’s holiday gatherings. Watch the full interview.
The World Health Organization’s European office says that the soaring number of Covid-19 cases in Europe has caused “great concern”, but said the situation was still better than the peaks in April. “The evolving epidemiological situation in Europe raises great concern. Daily numbers of cases are up, hospital admissions are up,” the WHO’s Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told a press conference. “Covid is now the fifth leading cause of deaths and the bar of a 1,000 deaths per day has now been reached.” More European countries have decided to reimpose nationwide lockdown measures to counter fast-rising coronavirus infection rates. Northern Ireland announced Wednesday that it would become the first among the United Kingdom’s four nations to try a so-called circuit breaker lockdown. The tactic will see pubs and restaurants closed for all but takeout service, all schools closed and many other businesses greatly restricted for a short, defined period to try and break the cycle of spiraling infections. Nick Note: You survived the First Wave. Do not let your guard down because the Second Wave is coming. From China with love!. This next attack from China is another genetically modified strain. Manipulated to generate even smaller particles and spread as an highly ineffective aerosol. And its protein shell is sufficiently changed as to render vaccine under development useless And And able to reinfect as we are seeing people that have antibodies to the first wave virus.
Face masks and coverings are not 100% effective at preventing the spread of the coronavirus, according to a September study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The study, conducted in July, found that over 70% of the 154 “case-patients,” who had tested positive for COVID-19, were infected despite making efforts to abide by CDC guidelines, including the wearing of face masks.
It is possible that some of the infections may have been caused by removing face coverings for food or drink. Another possibility is airflow, as “direction, ventilation and intensity of airflow might affect virus transmission, even if social distancing measures and mask use are implemented according to current guidance,” according to the CDC report.
This is reflective of an incident at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center, where a doctor and two nurses may have been infected with the coronavirus by the aerosol coming from a ventilator being used on a patient.
However, the CDC report further explained that it is impossible to evaluate exactly where someone contracted the virus. “Characterization of community exposures can be difficult to assess when widespread transmission is occurring, especially from asymptomatic persons within inherently interconnected communities,” the report stated. Infection with COVID-19 despite wearing protective measures has been recorded, with even medical professionals equipped with maximal personal protective equipment (PPE) occasionally contracting the virus. Despite this, face masks are still shown to be the most effective means of slowing the spread of the virus, and medical bodies worldwide recommend wearing them and maintaining social distancing measures. Nick Note: As you know we solved the problem with our ULPA U15 filter cartage. We bought all we could of the P3 filters their were MARGINALLY up to spec. So i decided to make them ourselves. And since we were making them i using Borosilicate Glass median (not fiberglass material) and i sourced the same material used in Biolabs Level4 filtration systems. We started shipping the new filters to our loyal subscribers that demonstrated they are smart enough to care and want help themselves. Please accept these state of the art P3R ULPA U15 cartage filters with my complements. They are lab certified and meet or exceed all applicable EU and CE categorizations. They are made in Europe not snake den China!
New cases of coronavirus infections in Germany have soared to 6,638 in the past 24 hours, official data showed Thursday, reaching a daily level not seen since the start of the pandemic.The alarming jump in numbers came just hours after Chancellor Angela Merkel met with the leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states to agree tougher restrictions designed to slow the spread of the contagion. The highest number of new cases previously recorded in one day was 6,294, on March 28, according to figures from the Robert Koch Institute disease control centre. Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday night announced new limits on people gathering at events as well as mandatory mask wearing in crowded places. Under the new measures, if an area records more than 35 new infections per 100,000 people over seven days, masks will become mandatory in all places where people have close contact. “We can see that … infection rates are rising and that we have a very high infection rate in some regions,” Merkel said. “We must therefore prevent an uncontrolled or exponential increase.” The number of people allowed to gather will also be limited to 25 in public and 15 in private spaces. Once a threshold of 50 new infections per 100,000 is exceeded, even tougher restrictions will apply. These include limiting private gatherings to 10 people or two households, and the closure of restaurants after 11:00 pm.Even more curbs could be imposed if the upwards trajectory of new infections is maintained, Merkel warned. “We will see if what we’ve done today is enough,” she said after Wednesday’s decisions. Nick Note: you cannot solve a problem you do not know you have. The world is under a constant and ongoing bioterror attack out of China. Paper N95 Masks simply do not work. 80% effective. The Chinese did not sent one virus just once. I suspect they have SUCCESSFULLY released 6 mutations. So they wait 3 months and bomb the world again. Pretty simple…. brew up another batch and send Tyfoid Chens the world over on those flying incubation tubes. Talk about a stealth bomber. See Big pharma is not about to let a penny a dose remedies see the light of day. Simple quinine extracts and tonic water and Vitamin D3 is shown to be VERY effective…… Its a lot cheaper to isolate yourself then end up on a ventilator at $10,000 a day. I am told the Chinese military establishment is ecstatic as they see on News feeds crowds forming people rioting and western economies crashing. Yes my loyal subscriber we are losing the war as our leaders refuse to see and the masses refuse to protect themselves. They rather go to restaurants, bars, crowd fest they isolate. My Chinese dead scientists told me they discovered the Wests fatal flaw. People lack all discipline in ther mindless pursuit of transient pleasures.
https://youtu.be/UtKy1pkAjkw
Melania Trump said Wednesday that after an initial negative test, 14-year-old Barron Trump tested positive for COVID-19. “It was two weeks ago when I received the diagnosis that so many Americans across our country and the world had already received—I tested positive for COVID-19,” the first lady said in a statement. “To make matters worse, my husband, and our nation’s Commander-in-Chief, received the same news.” She continued: “Naturally my mind went immediately to our son. To our great relief he tested negative, but again, as so many parents have thought over the past several months, I couldn’t help but think “what about tomorrow or the next day?” My fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive. Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms. In one way I was glad the three of us went through this at the same time so we could take care of one another and spend time together. He has since tested negative.” Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s chief of staff and spokeswoman, told USA TODAY on Oct. 2 that Barron “has tested negative, and all precautions are being taken to ensure he’s kept safe and healthy.” Nick Note: this story is far from over….
After showing a lack of direction earlier in the session, stocks have come under pressure in recent trading on Wednesday. The major averages have pulled back firmly into negative territory after bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line for much of the day. Currently, the Dow is down 142.86 points or 0.5 percent at 28,536.95, the Nasdaq is down 96.99 points or 0.8 percent at 11,766.91 and the S&P 500 is down 21.16 points or 0.6 percent at 3,490.77. The weakness that has emerged on Wall Street comes after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said getting something done on a new stimulus bill before the election “would be difficult.” “We continue to make progress on certain issues, but on certain issues we continue to be far apart,” Mnuchin said about negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in remarks to the Milken Institute Global Conference. Ahead of Mnuchin’s remarks, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill said the Speaker and Mnuchin had a “productive” phone call earlier this morning. “One major area of disagreement continues to be that the White House lacks an understanding of the need for a national strategic testing plan,” Hammill said on Twitter. He added, “The Speaker believes we must reopen our economy & schools safely & soon, & scientists agree we must have a strategic testing plan.” Hammill noted Pelsoi and Mnuchin would speak again on Thursday, although the Treasury Secretary’s comments have partly offset optimism the negotiations will bear fruit. The choppy trading seen earlier in the day came as traders digested a mixed batch of earnings news ahead of the release of a flood of corporate results in the comings days. Shares of Bank of America (BAC) have come under pressure after the financial giant reported third quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates but on weaker than expected revenues. Banking giant Wells Fargo (WFC) has also shown a notable move to the downside after reporting weaker than expected third quarter earnings, although its revenues came in above estimates. On the other hand, shares of Goldman Sachs (GS) are seeing modest strength after the investment bank reported third quarter results that blew past analyst estimates. U.S. Bancorp (USB) has also moved higher after the bank holding company reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines. Retail stocks have come under pressure over the course of the session, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index down by 1.4 percent. The index is pulling back after reaching a record intraday high during trading on Tuesday. Considerable weakness is also visible among telecom stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent drop by the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index. Commercial real estate and software stocks have also moved to the downside, while energy stocks continue to see significant strength amid an increase by the price of crude oil. Crude for November delivery is climbing $0.63 to $40.83 a barrel. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index has surged up by 3.7 percent, while the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index is up by 2.3 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index is up by 1.9 percent. Airline stocks also continue to see notable strength on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index climbing by 1.7 percent.
President Donald Trump is down in the polls, running out of time, and facing a resurgent coronavirus across the United States. Yet seemingly headed for defeat, he is doing nothing to change course. Proud of his status as a non-politician who won the White House in his first shot, Trump brushes off polls ahead of November 3, preferring nostalgic reminiscences about his 2016 upset. There’s no question that he still has the raw energy on stage of the candidate who surprised everyone to beat Hillary Clinton. This week he began a punishing cycle of rallies, his first since recovering from hospitalization for Covid-19 at the start of October. In Florida on Monday and Pennsylvania on Tuesday, he entertained large, enthusiastic crowds. He even did a little boogie on stage to the thumping rhythm of the Village People song “YMCA,” perhaps buoyed by the lyrics of “I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground.” On Tuesday in Johnstown, a small Pennsylvania town, he delivered his now well-known speech in the cold autumn air, warning apocalyptically of Democrats turning the United States into a “large-scale version of Venezuela.” Just as he used to mock and insult Clinton, he mocked and insulted challenger Joe Biden. “He has no idea what he is saying! How the hell do you lose to a guy like this?” he asked. “He’s shot,” Trump said. “In his best of years, he was considered a dumb guy.” The biggest issue of the day — Covid-19 and its more than 215,000 victims in the United States — was largely brushed off with typical Trump optimism. He’d got over the virus himself, he said, and “the vaccines are coming soon.” About his plans for a new four-year term, there was almost nothing other than the vague, patriotic climax to his stump speech which the crowds now know almost by heart. “The best is yet to come,” he intoned. “We are going to keep on fighting, and we are going to keep on winning, wining, winning.” Trump often contrasts his enthusiastic events with the quieter, much smaller versions on the Biden campaign trail. But polls show Biden is more popular and the Democrat has chosen a low-key campaign in keeping with his message of responsibility during the pandemic. When not on stage, Trump is likely to be on Twitter, where he openly vents frustration at the situation. Frequently blaming the media and “fake” polls for his image, he even lashes out increasingly at Fox News, although the network gives him a frequent platform with its friendly star presenters. When he’s not attacking journalists, he’s often winding deep through right-wing conspiracy theories, in large part aimed at his predecessor Barack Obama or Clinton. The false and convoluted accusations come in such volume that they often go almost ignored. David Axelrod, a former Obama advisor, wondered on Twitter if Trump has “turned his own political suicide into a surreal reality show.” With 20 days to go there could still be game-changing surprises, just as there were in 2016. But right now, Republicans are increasingly worried that Biden will lead a Democratic wave — or even tsunami. Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate are showing signs of trying to keep their distance from the president, even if he still exerts tremendous influence over the activist right of the party. When he came down with Covid-19, there was talk that perhaps now he’d seize the unique opportunity to become a more inclusive president. After months of dismissing the virus would he pivot to a show of empathy for the pain felt by ordinary Americans? That didn’t happen. Instead, he ended up demonstrating the gulf between regular voters and the elite when it comes to health care and the ability to confront the potentially deadly illness. “One great thing about being president, if you’re not feeling 100 percent, you have more doctors than you thought existed in the world. I was surrounded with like 14 of them,” he told Tuesday’s rally. Nick Note: Trump is down…. but do not be to quick to count him out. Always remember the election is not decided until he and his army of lawyers decide its over. Prepare yourself for the Supreme Court or militias to decide the results of this election!
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s long-fraught relationship with Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease specialist, ruptured again this week in an ugly public dispute just as U.S. coronavirus cases have ticked past 50,000 per day and with three weeks left in a presidential campaign dominated by the government’s response to the pandemic. Trump on Tuesday responded to Fauci’s warnings that the president’s decision to resume campaign rallies this week was “very troublesome” by mocking him in a tweet that unfavorably compared his medical guidance to his errant ceremonial first pitch at a Washington Nationals’ game in July. “Actually, Tony’s pitching arm is far more accurate than his prognostications,” Trump wrote, erroneously suggesting that Fauci’s advice in the early days of the pandemic that the public need not wear face masks meant that the doctor was playing down the virus. Nick Note: A house divided against itself cannot stand. Up to now Trump was a master at divide and conquer his enemies. The lesson he failed to learn was to divide YOUR house. His is in big trouble. Fauci is the Dr Marcus Welby, M.D. the fictional TV doctor. People love and trust Fauci. Trump has chosen in his insanity to flame the wrong guy.
The president’s nasty personal attack offered more evidence of the large gulf between the government’s top two public messengers on the pandemic, who have consistently contradicted one another. Trump has repeatedly undercut Fauci’s advice and sought to minimize the threat of a virus that has killed at least 215,000 Americans, while the doctor has tacitly criticized the president for failing to follow basic safeguards such as wearing a mask and social distancing.
Trump has not met individually with Fauci in more than a month, White House aides said, keeping tabs mostly by watching his appearances on cable news shows.
The latest tensions, though, illustrate a conundrum for Trump, who has sought to win public confidence with a relatively quick rebound from his own coronavirus diagnosis that forced him into a three-night stay at Walter Reed National Medical Center this month.
Though he has continued to denigrate Fauci, his campaign offered an acknowledgment of the public’s high regard for the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases by including an out-of-context clip of him in a recent advertisement – a move that angered Fauci.
The ad, which tout the president as “sparing no expense” to protect seniors from the virus, includes a brief video of Fauci saying, “I can’t imagine that anybody could be doing more” – a comment he made during a Fox News interview in March. The full interview makes clear, however, that Fauci was speaking about the White House’s coronavirus task force, of which he is a member, and not about the president.
Fauci, 79, said in a statement Sunday that he had never endorsed a political candidate in his nearly five decades of public service. In an interview with the Daily Beast on Monday, Fauci demanded the Trump campaign remove the clip. “By doing this against my will they are, in effect, harassing me,” he said.
Fauci, who has said he is not considering resigning, declined to comment for this story.
In an email, Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign’s communications director, did not respond to the accusations that the clip took him out of context. Asked about Fauci’s warning about Trump’s campaign rallies – including one in Sanford, Fla., on Monday that drew thousands of supporters – Murtaugh emphasized that the president’s events are generally “being held in open-air airplane hangars.”
Murtaugh added that the campaign is “screening everyone with temperature checks, providing masks which people are instructed to wear, and providing hand sanitizer. No matter how much the media and Democrats want to keep President Trump off the campaign trail, he’s going to talk to Americans and do it safely.”
Trump was scheduled to continue a daily slate of campaign events with a rally in Johnstown, Pa., on Tuesday evening, before heading to Des Moines, on Wednesday.
“That is asking for trouble when you do that,” Fauci said on CNN on Monday. “We’ve seen that when you have situations of congregate settings where there are a lot of people without masks, the data speak for themselves. It happens. And now is even more so a worse time to do that, because when you look at what’s going on in the United States, it’s really very troublesome.”
On Tuesday, Minnesota health officials tied 15 coronavirus cases to a pair of Trump rallies in the state and three more to an event with Vice President Mike Pence in Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. Another four cases were tied to protests around Trump’s visit, along with one case tied to an event held with Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
Trump and Fauci have existed in a state of uneasy tension for months with semiregular flare ups as the doctor has sought to offer public guidance through his own schedule of media appearances, despite efforts from the White House to muzzle him.
Trump aides have occasionally blocked him from prominent television interviews, chafing at how frequently he seems to book himself on shows. They have complained privately that Fauci appears on the airwaves far more often than Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator and others involved in the administration’s response.
One senior administration official said the White House moved to book Eric Trump, the president’s son, on the Sunday political talk shows this past weekend, rather than Fauci, to put forward a political, campaign-focused message. The official, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations.
Trump has complained to aides that Fauci labeled a Rose Garden event on Sept. 26 – which has been suspected of being at the center of a coronavirus outbreak that has infected Trump, first lady Melania Trump and at least 33 other White House aides and associates – as a “super spreader event.”
Fauci has regularly battled with Scott Atlas, the president’s coronavirus adviser, who regularly eschews wearing a face mask and is regularly at Trump’s side in the Oval Office.
Atlas has advocated for fully reopening schools and businesses without restrictions, questions well-established science on masks and social distancing and reducing testing – all positions that are in line with Trump’s desire to move past the pandemic and assure people life is returning to normal. Fauci has regularly been at odds with Atlas.
Fauci has been internally critical of the president’s campaign, telling other advisers they are regularly taking dangerous risks with big events, officials said.
The campaign did not tell Fauci in advance that they would be using him in the advertisement, two campaign officials said. But advisers bragged about the spot in advance, saying it could help turn around the president’s poor public approval rating over his handling of the coronavirus.
Recent polls show Biden with a widening lead nationally and a continued edge in several key swing states.
“Not sure why going to battle with the administration’s most popular member is the best campaign strategy for us,” one administration official said of Trump’s decision to go after Fauci Tuesday.
With his diminished White House influence, Fauci has instead sought to speak directly to the public through television appearances, where he has continued to advocate basic public health measures that the administration has flouted – making him unpopular with one regular viewer.
“The main place he sees Dr. Fauci is on TV,” one senior administration official said of Trump.
Eli Lilly’s late-stage trial of its leading monoclonal antibody treatment for the coronavirus has been paused by U.S. health regulators over potential safety concerns, the company confirmed to CNBC on Tuesday. “Safety is of the utmost importance to Lilly. We are aware that, out of an abundance of caution, the ACTIV-3 independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB) has recommended a pause in enrollment,” spokeswoman Molly McCully told CNBC. “Lilly is supportive of the decision by the independent DSMB to cautiously ensure the safety of the patients participating in this study.” The news comes less than 24 hours after Johnson & Johnson confirmed that its late-stage coronavirus vaccine trial was paused after a participant reported an “adverse event” the day before. Dr. Mathai Mammen, global head of the Janssen research and development arm at J&J, told investors on a conference call Tuesday that the company still has “very little information” on the reason for the holdup, including if the patient received the vaccine or the placebo. Preliminary information has been sent to the data safety monitoring board for review, he added. Medical experts note that pauses in large clinical trials are not uncommon. They added it’s possible the bad reaction could be the result of an unrelated illness, and not the drug itself. The review from the data and safety monitoring board will help determine that. The ACTIV-3 trial is designed to test a monoclonal antibody developed by Eli Lilly in combination with Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir, an antiviral with emergency use authorization for the virus. It’s one of several ongoing trials that are part of the National Institute of Health’s “Activ” program, which is designed to accelerate the development of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments. It is also backed by Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s effort to manufacturer and distribute vaccines to fight Covid-19. Eli Lilly’s drug is part of a class of treatments known as monoclonal antibodies, which are made to act as immune cells that scientists hope can fight the virus. The treatment was developed using a blood sample from one of the first U.S. patients who recovered from Covid-19. AstraZeneca and Regeneron, among other companies, are also working on so-called antibody treatments. Monoclonal antibody treatments hit the headlines this month after news broke that President Donald Trump received an antibody cocktail from Regeneron. As Trump’s health improved, he touted it as a “cure.” But Regeneron’s CEO, Leonard Schleifer, has stressed that more testing is required. Trump has previously touted Eli Lilly’s treatment and others. Earlier this month, when he was sick with Covid-19, he said, “We have these drugs, Eli Lilly and the others that are so good.” “They are in my opinion, remember this, they’re going to say that they’re therapeutic. And I guess they are therapeutic. Some people don’t know how to define therapeutic. I view it different. It’s a cure,” Trump said in a video posted Oct. 7 on Twitter. “For me, I walked in. I didn’t feel good. A short 24 hours later, I was feeling great. I wanted to get out of the hospital. And that’s what I want for everybody. I want everybody to be given the same treatment as your president because I feel great.” No details regarding Eli Lilly’s safety concern are yet known. “When scientists test promising treatments, sometimes unexpected side effects occur,” said Jeremy Faust, a health policy expert and emergency medicine doctor at Brigham and Women’s Health in Boston. Faust was part of the group of scientists that first reported the news via the research site Brief19. “When only a small number of patients have received a compound, it’s hard to tell what’s a real problem and what is noise,” he told CNBC. “That’s why patience and prudence are always warranted before doling out experimental treatments.” Nick Note Nothing good will come of rushing drugs and vaccines to market!