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New WHO Estimate Puts Coronavirus Death Rate at Only 0.13%

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Lost in the reporting of the World Health Organization’s new estimate that about 760 million people – more than 20 times the confirmed cases – have been infected by the coronavirus worldwide is the impact on the estimated survival rate.

If, indeed, 760 million have been infected at some point during the outbreak and the number of confirmed deaths is about 1 million, the infection fatality rate is only 0.13%.

That’s a little more than one-tenth of 1%, which the WHO says is the rate for the seasonal flu.

The WHO’s estimate in March of a death rate of 3.4% sparked panic worldwide, fueling the catastrophic lockdowns.

A rate of 3.4% is more than 26 times higher than a rate of 0.13%. (Read more from “New WHO Estimate Puts Coronavirus Death Rate at Only 0.13%” HERE)

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Serious Coronavirus-Related Condition May Be Impacting More Than Originally Thought

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A rare but serious coronavirus-related inflammatory condition in children was also recently identified among adults, per a report released Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) usually involves shock, heart malfunction, stomach pain and hyperinflammation. The CDC drew on reports of 27 adult patients to describe a new, similar condition — multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS-A).

“These 27 patients had cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, dermatologic, and neurologic symptoms without severe respiratory illness and concurrently received positive test results for SARS-CoV-2…,” per the report. Fortunately, the vast majority (24 of 27) of MIS-A patients survived, which was said to mirror outcomes seen in MIS-C patients treated in intensive health care settings.

There is still much unknown over MIS-A, with a deal of uncertainty over the timeline from SARS-CoV-2 infection to MIS-A onset, but the report suggests “MIS-A and MIS-C might represent postinfectious processes.” Adults who reported typical COVID-19 symptoms went on to develop MIS-A about two to five weeks later.

Patients with MIS-A may not test positive for COVID-19, given the onset of the syndrome weeks later. The agency emphasized the importance of antibody testing for previous SARS-CoV-2 infection to recognize and treat MIS-A. (Read more from “Serious Coronavirus-Related Condition May Be Impacting More Than Originally Thought” HERE)

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MSNBC Host Believes Trump Is Faking COVID Diagnosis

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MSNBC’s Joy Reid is pushing the idea that President Donald Trump’s Wuhan coronavirus is a hoax. The so-called “motivation” for the ruse would be to get out of the next presidential debate, which is scheduled for Oct. 15. It was a clear nod to the Presidential Debate Commission contemplating whether or not debate moderators should have the ability to cut off the microphones of disruptive candidates.

Reid posted her conspiracy theory on Twitter on Friday:

If someone on the right posted these kind of conspiracy theories if the roles were reversed and Joe and Jill Biden had the coronavirus, the left would trash them. They would say the right is being mean and cruel. Why is it that decorum goes out the window when it comes to President Trump? (Read more from “MSNBC Host Believes Trump Is Faking COVID Diagnosis” HERE)

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WATCH: White House Physician Says Trump Likely to Be Discharged Within Days

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President Trump’s medical team said the president’s health continues to improve following his coronavirus diagnosis, and he may be discharged from the hospital as early as Monday.

During a press conference late Sunday morning at Walter Reed National Military Medical Hospital, Dr. Sean Conley confirmed that Trump was given supplemental oxygen on Friday out of concern of “possible rapid progression of the illness,” which the president was adamantly against. Conley said the president had a “high fever,” and his oxygen saturation was dipping below 94%.

“Today he feels well. He’s been up and around. Our plan for today is to have him to eat and drink, be up out of bed as much as possible, to be mobile. And if he continues to look and feel as well as he does today, our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House where he can continue his treatment course,” said Dr. Brian Garibaldi. . .

Conley said Trump “experienced two transient drops in his oxygen saturation,” one experienced Friday and the other on Saturday. He said he was unable to state whether Trump was given supplemental oxygen on Saturday, adding that he’d “have to check with the nursing staff.”

(Read more from “WATCH: White House Physician Says Trump Likely to Be Discharged Within Days” HERE)

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New Study Debunks This Belief About Face Masks

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Breathe easy. A new study suggests that surgical face masks don’t cause a buildup of carbon dioxide or restrict oxygen, despite opposing claims.

The study, on the “Effect of Face Masks on Gas Exchange in Healthy Persons and Patients with COPD,” which was published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society on Friday, was conducted after a group of Florida residents challenged Florida’s mask-wearing mandate in June, arguing that wearing the protective face coverings could result in the buildup of too much carbon dioxide.

Researchers led by Dr. Michael Campos, a pulmonologist with the Miami VA Medical Center and the University of Miami Hospital and Clinics, looked at problems with changes in oxygen levels or carbon dioxide levels in healthy individuals and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) before and while wearing surgical masks.

The small study included 15 military veterans with severe COPD, each with lung function under 50%, and 15 healthy participants. All participants wore masks for 30 minutes and were told to walk for six minutes while wearing the surgical masks. Researchers then gave each participant a blood test and discovered there were no differences in levels of oxygen or carbon dioxide.

“This data find that gas exchange is not significantly affected by the use of surgical mask, even in subjects with severe lung impairment,” Campos said in the study. (Read more from “New Study Debunks This Belief About Face Masks” HERE)

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President Trump Tests Positive for COVID-19, Admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center as Precautionary Measure (VIDEO)

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President Trump thanked Americans for their “tremendous support” and said he is “doing very well” in a pre-recorded video he tweeted out Friday as he was being flown by Marine One to Walter Reed Military Medical Center where he will be treated for mild symptoms after testing positive for the COVID-19.

The president’s message was upbeat, though his tone was more subdued than usual in the video, which is believed to have been shot just before he was transferred to Walter Reed “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the White House. . .

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany first announced Friday that the president, who she said “remains in good spirits,” has “mild symptoms” and had been “working throughout the day.”

“Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days,” she said. “President Trump appreciates the outpouring of support for both he and the First Lady.” (Read more from “President Trump Tests Positive for COVID-19, Admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center as Precautionary Measure” HERE)

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Still No Deal on New Round of Coronavirus Aid

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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Speaker Nancy Pelosi concluded several hours of talks Wednesday afternoon without a new deal on a coronavirus aid package, but the two sides said they will continue to negotiate.

“We’re going to go back and do a little more work again,” Mnuchin told reporters Wednesday as he left the Capitol. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress in a lot of areas.”

The package would include new aid for small businesses and another round of stimulus checks, as well as money for schools and healthcare, among other provisions. It has been stalled for weeks because the two parties cannot agree on the cost or scope of the bill.

House Democrats plan to leave town this week to campaign ahead of the Nov. 3 election but would return to vote on a deal if one is reached, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said Wednesday.

Without an imminent deal, Democrats plan to vote tonight on a pared-down aid package they released earlier this week that is meant as a compromise offer to Republicans. The measure costs $2.2 trillion, which is a reduction from a $3 trillion aid package House Democrats passed in May. (Read more from “Still No Deal on New Round of Coronavirus Aid” HERE)

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Elon Musk Says He Won’t Take Coronavirus Vaccine, Calls Bill Gates a ‘Knucklehead’

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SpaceX founder Elon Musk stirred the pot yet again after claiming that neither he nor his family would take a COVID-19 vaccine even if it was readily available.

The 49-year-old billionaire dropped the bombshell during a Monday appearance on the New York Times opinion podcast “Sway.”

“I’m not at risk, neither are my kids,” Musk told host Kara Swisher about the rationale behind his decision. . .

Later on, the automotive mogul addressed Bill Gates’ criticisms of his skepticism toward the coronavirus, which Musk called “dumb” in March. During a CNBC interview in July, the Microsoft founder claimed that Musk didn’t know much about vaccines and said he hoped that the SpaceX head “doesn’t confuse areas he’s not involved in too much.”

“Gates said something about me not knowing what I was doing,” Musk told Swisher. “It’s like, ‘Hey, knucklehead, we actually make the vaccine machines for CureVac, that company you’re invested in.’” He was referring to the fact that Tesla manufactures equipment for the German biopharmaceutical firm CureVac. (Read more from “Elon Musk Says He Won’t Take Coronavirus Vaccine, Calls Bill Gates a ‘Knucklehead’” HERE)

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Mother’s Milk Could Help Fight Coronavirus, Study Finds

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Mother’s milk could prevent or treat COVID-19, according to a new study by Chinese scientists.

A research team in Beijing tested the effect of human breast milk on cells exposed to the Sars-CoV-2 virus. The milk was collected in 2017, well before the start of the pandemic, and the cell types tested varied from animal kidney cells to young human lung and gut cells.

The results were the same: most living virus strains were killed by the milk.

The breast milk was “blocking viral attachment, entry and even post-entry viral replication,” the team led by Professor Tong Yigang from the Beijing University of Chemical Technology wrote in two non-peer-reviewed papers posted on biorxiv.org on Friday.

Breastfeeding has previously been seen as increasing the risk of viral transmission. (Read more from “Mother’s Milk Could Help Fight Coronavirus, Study Finds” HERE)

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Active-Duty Suicides up 20% During COVID-19 Pandemic

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Suicides among active-duty U.S. military service members have increased by as much as 20% during the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports.

While the data is incomplete, Army and Air Force officials said they believe the isolation and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic is adding stress to an already strained force. Senior Army leaders have seen a roughly 30% jump in active duty suicides this year, or 114 suicides this year compared to 88 at the same time last year.

The first three months of 2020 actually saw a decrease in self-inflicted violent behavior and murders, according to Newsweek.

The Pentagon has yet to provide 2020 data, but Army officials said discussions in Defense Department briefings indicate that there has been up to a 20% jump in overall military suicides.

“I can’t say scientifically, but what I can say is—I can read a chart and a graph, and the numbers have gone up in behavioral health-related issues,” Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said in an Associated Press interview published Sunday. (Read more from “Active-Duty Suicides up 20% During COVID-19 Pandemic” HERE)

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