The effectiveness of mRNA vaccines in fighting COVID-19 cannot be underestimated. Without this novel vaccine technology, millions more would have died from the global pandemic up until now. It should be understood that the fight against COVID-19 has not ended. The virus has become endemic, requiring continued vigilance by health departments and the global general population. In recent weeks in the U.S., COVID-19 levels have been rising based on wastewater sampling.

Notwithstanding, Kennedy’s policy changes will likely disrupt future vaccine development to deal with new variants of the virus, let alone other viruses and infectious agents causing disease, where an mRNA solution could produce effective prevention and treatment.

mRNA vaccines for cancer treatments have been on the front burner of companies like Moderna, Pfizer and Merck, as well as universities and hospital research departments. What makes mRNA vaccine technology conducive to developing specific targeted and non-specific cancer treatments?

A July 2025 published article in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering describes how an mRNA vaccine developed at the University of Florida (UF), when combined with other drugs, is demonstrating the potential to become a universal cancer treatment.

Duane Mitchell, a co-author of the paper, describes the use of mRNA technology in cancer treatment, stating, “What we found is by using a vaccine designed not to target cancer specifically but rather to stimulate a strong immunologic response, we could elicit a very strong anticancer reaction. And so this has significant potential to be broadly used across cancer patients – even possibly leading us to an off-the-shelf cancer vaccine.”

Kennedy’s cancellation of mRNA funding, he claims, will not affect the use of the technology in treating cancer. When asked about his most recent mRNA ruling, Kennedy stated, “We’re still doing the research on oncology, on cancers, where it may be very, very effective.” UF researchers point out that funding cuts to overall mRNA research will impact research infrastructure, supply chains, and recruitment of those entering the field of infectious diseases, as well as cancer, noting that mRNA funding reductions cannot be disconnected from overall U.S. research into novel treatments of infectious diseases.

An August 8, 2025, article published on the Onco Daily site quotes Kennedy’s objections to mRNA vaccines, which he claims have failed to “protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.” Without any evidence, Kennedy states that mRNA vaccines “encourage new mutations and actually prolong pandemics.”

Virologists who lack Kennedy’s so-called “expertise” argue the opposite, noting that viruses naturally mutate whether vaccination programs are in place or not. They point to the rapid development and deployment of mRNA vaccines as “instrumental in slowing the COID-19 pandemic and saving millions of lives.”

Researchers working on mRNA technology state the Kennedy decision is creating a “self-inflicted vulnerability” and is “misguided” based on a fundamental misinterpretation of data coming from COVID-19 response studies.

For future responses to pandemics and cancer vaccine development, this funding decision will leave the U.S. less prepared for future pandemics. It will likely lead to ongoing research being conducted elsewhere, where mRNA development continues to be supported. Nature’s August 15, 2025, published an editorial entitled, “Cancelling mRNA studies is the highest irresponsibility.” It states that mRNA technology “should be feted to the  skies,” and continues stating, “shock and disbelief do not even begin to describe the reaction from mRNA and public-health researchers.”

The World Health Organization (WHO), which the Trump administration no longer acknowledges, describes mRNA vaccine technology as a means by which low and middle-income countries can be vaccine self-sufficient in health emergencies. In one project involving fifteen African countries, rapid development and deployment of the technology will establish and scale the manufacturing of mRNA vaccines to meet volume, quality, safety and efficacy standards. The Nature editorial states that until now, it was impossible to imagine mRNA research without U.S. involvement. Work on mRNA technology began in American laboratories back in the 1980s, and American researchers won Nobel prizes for unlocking its secrets.

What does the U.S. defunding mean for Canadian mRNA research? Recently, Canada’s federal government invested in vaccine and biomanufacturing facilities across the country, with tens of millions being given to research teams focused on developing, testing and manufacturing mRNA and other advanced vaccines. It appears Canada’s governments at the federal and provincial levels are putting more money into mRNA research, while displaced American researchers come to Canada to increase the talent pool. Expect America’s defunding to accelerate Canadian investment in mRNA vaccine research and to increase Canada’s collaboration with international partners, but not the U.S.

The Nature editorial doesn’t pull punches. It concludes that the rest of the world is choosing a different course than Kennedy’s abandoning of mRNA research with cancer, for the moment, the exception, concluding “the pandemic might seem like a distant memory to some, but we must never, ever, forget that millions are alive today, or in better health, because of this life-saving technology.” 

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In the United States, climate hasn’t been the motivator for similar action to date. I suspect, however, that the scientific community will soon find an equivalent independent voice to counter climate-skeptic Trump’s narrative and his policies to gut and repurpose the Environmental Protection Agency.

Instead, it is the health of Americans in the face of disinformation from its federal government that is the focus of the Vaccine Integrity Project, a non-government startup.

Why has disinformation crept into the conversation about vaccines? It appears that COVID-19 fuelled a growing rebellion against evidence-based science and vaccines. Anti-vaccine advocates, many of them celebrities, have entered the public discourse.

The anti-vax trend has been exacerbated by Donald Trump’s appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head up the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where a litany of anti-vaccine disinformation has emerged.  In interviews, Kennedy has linked vaccines to autism, attributed rising deaths from measles vaccine and not measles, withdrawn US $500 million from 22 ongoing mRNA research projects (mRNA vaccines saved millions of lives during the onslaught of COVID-19), cut research grants studying the H5N1 and H7N9 strains of avian influenza (bird flu), responsible for the culling of millions of chickens and other farm livestock, recommended healthy children and pregnant women not be vaccinated against COVID-19, cancelled HIV vaccine research, and removed the 17-member HHS advisory board, replacing them with people less qualified.

With science under threat as well as the health of Americans, the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) began an initiative that has led to the aforementioned Vaccine Integrity Project (VIP).

Its charter is to “safeguard the development and use of vaccines in the United States so that immunization policies and programs remain grounded in the best available science, free from external influence, and focused on optimizing protection of individuals, families, and communities against vaccine-preventable diseases.”

Since its formation in April 2025, VIP has been collecting and synthesizing data from public health experts, academics, industry, insurers, medical associations, not-for-profits and community organizations to retain existing expertise on vaccinations and vaccine policies.

VIP, in releasing its first report, has made the following commitments:

• To strengthen communication and improve information dissemination about vaccines.
• To develop and disseminate best practice clinical tools and guidelines.
• To maintain America’s vaccine infrastructure.
• To stabilize vaccine safety.
• To assist state and local health authorities.
• To safeguard vaccine insurance coverage.
• To ensure the flow of accurate health information and vaccine data and prevent further erosion of the public trust in health agencies.
• To create an overarching coalition in vaccine leadership to counter the disinformation emanating from HHS.

Of immediate concern is the upcoming fall and winter, with respiratory infections on the rise, looking at influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and COVID-19. VIP’s goal is “to develop and disseminate a robust evidence base for immunization recommendations and clinical considerations” to guide public health decision-makers and Americans.

In VIP’s first report, entitled “Securing the Foundation: Stakeholder Insights and Strategies for Maintaining a Strong Vaccine Infrastructure Across the U.S.,” the executive summary states:

“Americans must have access to clear, credible, evidence-based information to make decisions about how best to keep themselves and their families healthy, including against vaccine-preventable infectious diseases.”

VIP received an initial $240,000 from Alumbra, a foundation created by Christy Walton of the Walmart family. It is headed up by Dr. Michael Osterholm at the University of Minnesota, accompanied by Margaret Hamburg, at the University of Washington and former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Harvey Fineberg, at UC San Diego, President of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and former President of the National Academy of Medicine, and five more qualified academics and researchers who make up the eight-member steering committee.

When Australia’s Climate Council came into being, its launch was supported by a crowdfunding campaign that raised AUS $800,000 in three days.  Since then, the Climate Council has been supported by public donations and philanthropies. It receives no government money, and in 2022/23 reported annual revenues of AUS $7.88 million.

From humble beginnings like that described above, can VIP follow? One would hope so because the integrity of America’s health system and science is at stake, as well as the lives of thousands of Americans.

The arrival of VIP cannot have come too soon. The latest data on the upcoming fall and winter respiratory disease season shows an uptick in COVID-19, while RSV and influenza are expected to begin showing up with the reopening of schools and as temperatures cool. In their newsletter, Your Local Epidemiologist, Katelyn Jetelina and Hannah Totte recommend it is time to mask in crowded indoor settings and when travelling, particularly on airplanes, to avoid getting sick.

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In his second term, Trump picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy, while stating he is not anti-vaccine, has repeatedly demonstrated quite the opposite. He links autism to vaccines. He has banned thimerosal, a preservative, from vaccines, even though there is no evidence to indicate it has ever been a health hazard.

He associates with and holds similar views to anti-vaccine groups and has been a promoter of conspiracy theories. He has targeted fluoridation of drinking water as a health risk and outlawed its use. Dentists will be on the receiving end of that action in years to come as young people develop cavities and mouths have to be filled with amalgams. He associates the measles vaccine with autism even though the only study that supported such conclusions has been rejected by the scientific community.

Kennedy recently fired the 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) responsible for providing advice on immunizations. The reason given was that the 17 were too aligned with the biopharmaceutical industry, advocates for vaccine orthodoxy and, therefore, in conflict of interest.

His replacement advisors align more with him than with scientific consensus on vaccine research and safety. Some have no background in virology and epidemiology. Instead of scientific expertise, the new committee members state they will focus on safe vaccine practices. Like him, Kennedy’s new “experts” appear to be going down rabbit holes in search of evidence to undermine existing vaccination programs and future research.

It should be no surprise, therefore, that the Trump administration recently cancelled $500 million in contracts to researchers and developers of mRNA vaccines. mRNA vaccine research is creating treatments for Amapari (a viral disease native to Brazil), Adenoviruses (causing respiratory, eye, gastrointestinal, and urinary tract infections), Dengue fever, Ebola, Bird and swine flu, Influenza (the flu), HIV, Herpes, Malaria, Rabies, Reovirus (causing severe diarrhea and dehydration in children), Rhinovirus (the common cold), Sickle-cell disease, Tacaribe (spread by bats, often fatal and infecting multiple organs), TMEV (a disease of the brain), Varicella (chicken pox) and Zika.

Kennedy justifies the defunding of mRNA research by describing the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines as unsafe and ineffective, even though the data says otherwise.

Kennedy has recently stated he “supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them. That’s why we’re moving beyond the limitation of mRNA vaccines for respiratory viruses and investing in better solutions.” The overwhelming response to Kennedy’s views on mRNA vaccines and COVID-19 from virologists and epidemiologists is that the new Secretary of Health and Human Services, responsible for the public health of Americans, is uninformed and backward.

Here are just a few examples:

• In response, Michael Osterholm, who runs the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told NPR, “This may be the most dangerous public health judgment that I’ve seen in my 50 years in this business. It is baseless, and we will pay a tremendous price in terms of illnesses and deaths.”
• Jennifer Nuzzo, who runs the pandemic research program at Brown University School of Public Health, agrees with Osterholm, stating, “This is a profoundly disappointing development. When there’s the next pandemic, we’re going to be caught flat-footed.”
• Rick Bright, who ran BARDA, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority in Trump’s first term, describes the Kennedy move as irresponsible, and that in taking funding away from mRNA vaccine research, he is taking U.S. research in 2025 back to where we were in 1940, which is in his opinion, “a recipe for disaster and failure.” Bright notes that the advantage mRNA vaccine research has given medicine is the ability to develop quick responses to a pathogenic threat, where “speed is the name of the game.” 

Meanwhile, COVID-19, the first virus to be tackled using mRNA technology, has demonstrated its effectiveness. The mRNA mechanism for vaccine delivery lies in its simplicity. The technology is described by Drew Weissman, a Professor of Infectious Diseases at the Perelman School of Medicine at UPenn, as “essentially plug-and-play.” Weissman continues, “We believe you can change the part of the mRNA that encodes a protein, plugging in new code specific to the virus we hope to protect against, and cause one’s body to produce proteins that match that virus’s proteins. We do not have to develop and manufacture an entirely new formula.”

With Kennedy in charge, however, a promising medical technology is being defunded by the American government for what he says are “better solutions.” Along with an infodemic of public misinformation coming from the Trump administration, this latest health decision is bizarre.

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I recovered, and two years later, with vaccines up to date and the virus appearing to be in retreat, I went with my wife on holiday to the Caribbean. We upgraded our airplane tickets to business class to minimize exposure, wore our masks throughout the flight, and five days later, we had COVID again. Of the two weeks we were on holiday, a week was spent isolated in our hotel room, cleaning it, changing the bedding, and meals and sheets delivered outside our door. The local doctor saw us virtually, advising us to fly home, even if we were still testing positive. When we finally emerged, we were too exhausted to enjoy the last remaining days of our vacation. Getting back on the horse became hard, with us not flying again until last summer.

COVID-19 has changed humanity dramatically. Besides the more than 5 million people directly killed by the virus, and the millions more who died because the virus made them susceptible to other underlying conditions, COVID-19 changed how humans interacted in the face of isolation.

Now, two new studies have been published, one from the Harvard Medical School, and the second, involving a joint effort by researchers from the U.S., Sweden, Israel, Canada and the U.K., that suggest COVID-19 was even more problematic.

Harvard Study Shows The Pandemic Accelerated Brain Ageing

The first study looked at the brain health of 1,000 people during the pandemic, some infected and others not. The findings showed that structural changes to the brain, indicating accelerated ageing, happened whether individuals were infected or not. The changes were more noticeable in the elderly, in men, and disadvantaged people.

Were these changes reflected in cognitive decline? With those who were not infected, there was no evidence, but with those who contracted the virus, the answer is yes. This suggests that even if physical symptoms of brain ageing are present, it doesn’t necessarily lead to impaired memory or dementia.

How much had the brains aged during the pandemic when compared to the norm? The total was 5.5 months. The researchers concluded that over the five years of the pandemic, the virus did shape brains in vulnerable populations, but so did isolation, loss of employment and low income, as well as other health factors.

The researchers have called for further studies looking at ageing and brain function related to diseases that lead to pandemics. Their paper appeared in the July 22, 2025, edition of Nature Communications.

COVID-19 Study Linked To A Surge In Gut-Brain Disorders

A study comparing pre- and post-pandemic populations indicates gut-brain interaction disorders leading to increases in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia (FB). Using data sets collected between 2017 and 2023, the research is the first to do a population-wide comparison of gut-brain disorder rates before and after the pandemic. It revealed that incidents of IBS rose 28% and FB, 44%.

IBS is a chronic disorder that affects the gastrointestinal tract (GI), causing visible damage to the stomach and intestines. Estimated to affect between 10 and 15% of the human population, it is more prevalent in women, younger populations and in those living in cities. It is highest in Latin America and lowest in the Middle East. It is higher in low and middle-income countries, and regional diets, health care access and other factors are seen as contributors to it.

Dyspepsia is commonly known as indigestion. FB, however, is a chronic condition that causes pain, burning, bloating and early fullness when eating. It has no identifiable biochemical or structural cause. It is called functional because testing produces normal, or what gastroenterologists call, unremarkable findings.

The link to increased IBS may have more to do with reduced quality of life and increasing levels of depression and other mood disturbances associated with the period of the pandemic.

The research has been published in a paper released on July 30, 2025, in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

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The second time COVID-19 struck happened because I convinced my wife that it was finally safe to take a vacation. We flew to Aruba for a two-week getaway. On the flight, we wore masks. The crew that served us didn’t. We had upgraded our seats to business class to keep us away from crowded economy seating. The passenger in the seat in front of us was sick and coughing for the entire flight. Three days after we arrived in Aruba, I became sick and tested positive for COVID. A day later, my wife tested positive. Aruba didn’t have Paxlovid. We isolated for one week in our hotel room, and when we emerged, we were exhausted. It was our fiftieth wedding anniversary, and COVID had turned it into a living hell.

Two weeks ago, I got the latest COVID booster. There is another variant in the works, which means a fall booster will be needed as well. The first bout of COVID left me ill for almost a year. The second bout has made me more susceptible to respiratory infections, including pneumonia, which I had in December 2024.

COVID, however, has dropped off government radar around the world, most noticeably in the United States under the insane leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump. Here in Canada, the government of Alberta is no longer providing COVID shots for free.

What, then, is the actual state of COVID globally?

The World Health Organization (WHO), from which Trump has removed the United States, describes COVID as on the increase since February of 2025, with test positivity rates reaching 11%. The latest variants are LP.8.1 and NB.1.8.1, the former peaking early in 2025 and the latter appearing in global test results 10.7% of the time.

The WHO advises all member states to manage COVID with “a risk-based, integrated approach.” What, however, has happened is that countries are less forthcoming with COVID data, including hospital admissions and deaths. Furthermore, countries are downplaying Long COVID symptoms, and the collateral damage the virus has caused to infants and the elderly with underlying conditions.

It appears that COVID-19 has put severe strain on governments, which today increasingly report less and less about the persistence of the virus. Why is this?

• Politics – In the United States, particularly, the leadership under the Republican Party and Donald Trump have pressured health agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to downplay the science and evidence in favour of a political agenda. The Trump budget cuts have taken away funding for public health initiatives. The vaccines are being scrutinized by political appointees, not scientists and medical professionals. Political interference is suppressing actual data and delaying the release of information to the public to undermine trust and reinforce vaccine skepticism.
• Overburdened Health Resources – For the Global South, the lack of funding to buy vaccines and the lack of infrastructure to support national vaccination programs remain significant challenges. There appears to be no hurry to support conditions in Global South countries where refrigeration capacity is inadequate to support the current crop of mRNA and other vaccines. Even in the Global North, infrastructure and adequate funding to support sustained education and vaccination programs appear lacking. This may be a sign of government fatigue.
• Less Information Being Shared – Outside of academia and journal publications, reporting on COVID-19 has become background noise. When the pandemic started, reporting provided daily case totals. The numbers were frightening, but at the same time indicated the seriousness of the situation and the openness to share data. Today, reporting on COVID is incomplete, and less is shared across countries. Even decision makers in health and government are finding public health information on COVID insufficient to help with decision-making.
• Variation in Information Quality – Missing data is the most common complaint of those tracking the progress of COVID-19. This includes case identifiers, patient outcomes, and reporting on deaths associated with the virus or attributed to it when underlying conditions exist. Laboratories cannot keep up with the real-time picture of the virus either because of a lack of funding, insufficient resources, or delays in receiving public data.
• Misinformation and the “Infodemic” – There is a growing flood of misleading and false information about COVID, which began right from the outset with people like Donald Trump parading in front of the media, talking about false cures. What is worse, however, is that the phenomenon has persisted into the present, in many countries including the United States, creating confusion and mistrust, and hindering public health efforts to manage the continuing threat responsibly.

What are COVID-19’s real numbers and global impact?

COVID-19 has caused 6.6 million deaths globally, hundreds of thousands of annual hospitalizations, and created post-COVID conditions lasting three months or more in up to 15% of those infected based on Canadian compiled data.

Persistent Long COVID symptoms include fatigue, cardiovascular and respiratory changes, and neurological issues.

Of patients hospitalized because of COVID, 75% had at least one underlying health condition such as hypertension, Type 1 and 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases like heart failure and stroke, chronic lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis, COPD, asthma and cystic fibrosis, chronic kidney disease, cancer, tuberculosis, HIV, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia, and substance use disorders. All of these conditions have contributed to increased morbidity numbers, many not necessarily assigned to COVID-19 global data.

In the Thursday, July 3, 2025, edition of the Toronto Star, Iris Gorfinkel, a family physician and clinical researcher here in Toronto, reinforces the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over. She describes the ongoing evolution of the virus as new variants emerge because there is no herd immunity. She notes one in nine Canadian adults have experienced Long COVID, doubling the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death for up to three years after being infected. The risk increases with each infection, with immunization the only mitigating factor.

She accuses government statisticians and politicians of ignoring the uncomfortable truth of COVID’s long-delayed effects, and of failing to account for excess deaths since the start of the pandemic that are not included in the morbidity data.

The government of Canada’s Province of Alberta recently announced they would no longer provide COVID vaccines at no cost to Albertans. Alberta’s right-wing government is led by a vaccine skeptic. Now she will make every Albertan pay CDN$110 (approximately US$80) for COVID vaccines, putting immunization out of reach of low-income earners, community-dwelling seniors, children, and personal support workers (PSWs), even though COVID deaths in the province have outnumbered those from influenza (given free) and RSV (another respiratory viral infection) combined. Gorfinkel states, “Public health should never be weaponized by political agendas.”

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The first story in this posting brings encouraging news for treating the virus. A nasal spray nano vaccine that is easily transportable and doesn’t require refrigeration has been developed and has shown to be equal to or better than existing mRNA vaccines.

The second story is about Long COVID. Estimates of Long COVID vary from 1.2% to 13.4% of those infected by COVID-19 depending on the symptoms associated with the condition.

In March 2024, 17 million Americans had Long COVID symptoms. Women were three times more likely to report symptoms than men. Research is identifying specific proteins that appear to cause the condition which may soon lead to effective treatments.

More on both these COVID stories follow.

A Nasal Spray Nano-Vaccine Breakthrough

Tel Aviv University and the University of Lisbon have cooperatively developed a nano-vaccine for COVID-19 that is administered through a nasal spray and targets all key variants of the virus. The vaccine can be stored in ambient temperatures rather than requiring refrigeration making it eminently portable. The nanoparticle is a mere 200 nanometers in size.

States Professor Satchi-Fainaro, “The new nano-vaccine’s development was inspired by a decade of research on cancer vaccines. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, we set a new goal: training our cancer platform to identify and target the coronavirus. Unlike Moderna and Pfizer, we did not rely on full protein expression via mRNA. Instead, using our computational bioinformatics tools, we identified two short and simple amino acid sequences in the virus’ protein, then synthesized them, and encapsulated them in nanoparticles.” The vaccine is effective against the Beta, Delta, Omicron and other variants.

Being needle-free is a distinct advantage. No medically trained staff are needed to administer it. There is no contamination risk from using needles. Unlike the mRNA-based Moderna and Pfizer vaccines which need to be stored respectively at -20 and -70 Celsius (-4 to -94 Fahrenheit), the vaccine is stored as a powder that is then mixed with saline to create the liquid spray.

Current vaccines provide protection that decreases approximately 4 months after being given. The nano vaccine appears to provide longer-lasting protective immunity of up to 10 months.

The vaccine targets peptides in the virus with low mutation frequency. The nanoparticle’s physicochemical properties provide high peptide entrapment. In animal studies using mice, the results have proven promising compared to Pfizer and Moderna mRNA alternatives.

You can read the research article that describes how this next-generation COVID-19 treatment was developed in the journal Advanced Science published in August of this year.

The Latest Long COVID-19 Findings Hold Promise for Sufferers

After my first bout of COVID-19, it took me a long time to recover. I suffered from prolonged fatigue and couldn’t concentrate. For several months I stopped writing this blog. No one could tell me why this was happening. No one had yet coined the term “Long COVID” to describe the post-infection malaise that caused my fatigue, cognitive impairment and other symptoms. I couldn’t read. I couldn’t concentrate. I watched television. There were no vaccines.

According to the Schmidt Initiative for Long COVID, today more than 65 million have Long COVID. Research is ongoing to identify the biological mechanisms underlying Long COVID points to a series of chemical reactions that control cell function. Inflammatory proteins have been identified such as Galectin-9 associated with inflammation and brain fog. In Long-COVID patients, higher than normal levels of artemin, a protein associated with neuron development, is believed to be associated with symptoms of widespread pain and cognitive impairment. Another finding shows that virus proteins shed during an initial infection persist at detectable levels for 4 to 7 months in the blood of Long-COVID sufferers.

Current clinical trials to inhibit Galectin-9 using monoclonal antibodies are focused on cancer treatment. A monotherapy showing promise, called FG-3165, is targeting cancerous tumors and leukemia. Existing artemin suppression clinical trials also focus on cancer treatment. I could not find any Long COVID clinical trials targeting these proteins.

Another avenue of approach is being done at the London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute in London, Ontario. A global clinical trial using repurposed drugs involves 1,200 patients in a blind study that will look at quality of life, symptoms and biomarkers. States Dr. Douglas Fraser of the Schmidt Initiative, “Repurposing existing drugs would help rapidly address the urgent medical needs of Long COVID patients and could reduce health-care costs associated with prolonged disability.” The drugs being used are not identified. All the clinical trial states is that the drugs being used are affordable, available on the market and have been approved with half of those enrolled receiving placebos. Among the likely candidates are Metformin, Guanfacine, Celecoxib, Emtricitabine, Tenofovir, Folic Acid and Aspirin. Note, no Hydroxychloroquine or Remdesivir, drugs that were hyped during the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic but were found to be ineffective.

Hope for Our COVID Future

For me, it took more than 6 months to see my Long COVID symptoms dissipate. I have had no relapses. I’ve kept my vaccinations up to date. I have only had a repeat infection from the Omicron variant while on holiday in the Caribbean. Fortunately, it did not cause Long COVID symptoms.

The literature states that unvaccinated people are twice as likely to develop Long COVID as those who are vaccinated. I’ve talked to many who have not been vaccinated and have never been infected. I don’t know if this is the luck of the draw or if they have genetic or epigenetic advantages that have kept them healthy. My only tell to them is you only need to be infected once to potentially end up with a life-threatening condition or a prolonged bout of Long COVID and the impairments it can cause.

Fortunately, with current vaccines available and soon a nasal spray nano vaccine that could provide prolonged coverage for all variants, the tools are in place to end the COVID-19 pandemic that officially has been responsible globally for 7.7 million deaths and unofficially 18 million including those who have died from Long COVID.

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In our household, because I likely was infected by COVID-19 at a supermarket before vaccines were available, we decided to use third-party shoppers to purchase groceries for us.

There was a run on Hepa air filtration systems being installed in offices and homes.

All of this extra hygiene vigilance produced public health results. Rhinovirus infections, the cause of the common cold, went way down. Influenza outbreaks lessened.

The children born and growing up during the pandemic were spared exposure to childhood diseases like chicken pox, measles, mumps, whooping cough and more, some caused by viruses and others by bacteria.

We Are More Than The Sum Of Our Human Cells

Viruses and bacteria are very different in how they impact the human body. You may not be aware that our bodies contain more bacterial cells than the total number of human cells. These bacteria have been with us through our species’ evolution.

Never confuse viruses with bacteria. Most viruses are not welcome in us. They seldom produce positive benefits. The only good viruses are the ones we modify to deliver vaccines and medications.

As for bacteria, they can be good and bad. The bad ones include salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Listeria and Clostridium Perfringens to name a few. We seldom talk about the good ones which are classified as commensals and symbionts. These bacteria have co-existed with us for a long time and contribute to our normal healthy body functions. Those who study human bacteria describe our bodies as walking, talking sacks containing a biome of healthy bacteria. These, along with our immune systems, protect us from viruses, bad bacteria, and other hostile invaders.

The Hygiene Hypothesis Revealed

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the lifestyle changes described above. This created an absence of exposure to COVID-19, other viruses and microorganisms. The lack of exposure has reinforced a theory first proposed in 1989 by an immunologist, David P. Strachan who argued that early childhood exposure to viruses and microbes that make us sick ultimately strengthens our immune systems and protects us from developing allergies and autoimmune diseases.

The hygiene hypothesis says a little bit of dirt exposure is a good thing. Several living examples support the hypothesis. These include:

• Studies that show children born by Caesarian section are more susceptible to bacterial infections than those that go through normal birth canal delivery. The reason is that a Caesarian child doesn’t benefit from exposure to the mother’s bacterial biome resident in the birth canal.
• Studies make the same argument for breastfed versus bottle-fed children. The former is said to be advantaged through exposure to a mother’s bacteria in the milk.
• Studies also argue that people living with pets or people exposed to farm animals benefit from exposure to alien biomes producing positive autoimmune benefits.

Strachan’s hypothesis came from his observations of 17,414 British children over 23 years looking at perinatal, environmental and social factors influencing those who got hay fever, a seasonal allergy.

Strachan theorized that reduced exposure to infections impacts gut flora in children and leads to higher risks for abnormal allergic and immune system tolerance. He equated the improvements in Britain in sanitation and hygiene with a growing trend of weaker immune systems in children. The theory caught on rapidly with anti-vaxxers proposing to disband vaccination programs for children.

The Hygiene Hypothesis Questioned

Is the hygiene hypothesis correct? I discovered 11 unanswered issues that question Strachan’s observations. These include:

1. There is a lack of clear evidence to link improved hygiene to childhood allergies including a lack of specificity regarding which of the bacteria in our gut biome protect us from allergic and autoimmune diseases.
2. There is an oversimplification of how the immune system develops and works.
3. The hypothesis has led to public confusion about personal hygiene practices instilled in us since childhood. Should we be questioning the desire to keep our environment clean if that means it could be making us sicker?
4. The hypothesis has stirred up a segment of the population to question medical science and practice today with fewer parents paying attention to inoculating children against common childhood illnesses.
5. The hypothesis doesn’t consider epigenetic responses to environmental factors contributing to increases in allergies and weakened autoimmune responses.
6. The hypothesis doesn’t look at genetic factors that make children predisposed to allergies and autoimmune diseases.
7. The hypothesis doesn’t consider our living environments today versus the past. More of us live in cities than in rural settings. Having become citified have we lost exposure to co-evolved microbes that were with us when we lived in rural settings and small towns?
8. What roles does lifestyle play in allergic and autoimmune responses? This is certainly more than just washing our hands and an internal plumbing sanitation issue. Does being physically more active versus sedentary alter our gut microbiome?
9. What role does diet play in allergic and autoimmune responses? Does our increased eating of processed foods and fat and the decline in fibre intake shape our gut microbiome?
10. The hypothesis doesn’t consider the role Vitamin D deficiency can play through reduced sun exposure and a lack of it in the diet.
11. What role do viruses play in triggering allergic and autoimmune responses?

For further reading on this fascinating subject, I suggest you look at Jean-François Bach’s article that appeared in Frontiers in Immunology in 2021 entitled, “Revisiting the Hygiene Hypothesis in the Context of Autoimmunity.”

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The Black Death’s Impact on Human DNA

When the Black Death, also called the Bubonic Plague, struck Europe in the 14th century, from 1346 to 1353 it killed an estimated 50 million which represented nearly 50% of that continent’s population at the time. The bacteria Yersinia pestis was both a killer and a shaper of European evolution. The evidence remains in our DNA to this day.

How did exposure to Yersinia pestis change European populations? Evidence from 200 skeletal remains dated before, during and after the Black Death from London and Danish sites identified up to 245 differentiated genetic variants.

The most notable is the ERAP2 gene responsible for disease detection and the arming of the immune system. It became far more common in the European population after the passing of the pandemic. Individuals with two copies of the ERAP2 protein were 40% more likely to survive the plague because the signalling molecules released in the presence of the plague bacterium incited the body to produce macrophages that killed the Y.pestis bacteria, the cause of the Black Death.

The genetic change is still found in European populations today. An unfortunate consequence of that change is the ERAP2 gene variant that became more dominant has increased the risk for Crohn’s and inflammatory bowel disease, while another gene variant more common after the Black Death is associated with a higher risk for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

The Holocaust, Genetics, Epigenetics and the Jews

The mass murder of European Jews didn’t just occur with Nazi Germany before and during the Second World War. It was preceded by European persecution of Jews living on the continent for many centuries. From the 11th to the 13th century during The Crusades, Jewish communities in Europe vanished through mass killings. These murderous acts altered the genome of European Jews who are called Ashkenazi. Jews in the Middle East, North Africa and India were isolated from their Ashkenazi brethren. They developed distinctive genomic signatures and are called Sephardim.

Discrimination, persecution and mass murder have left elevated genetic markers passed along by the few survivors of the Holocaust in which 6 million Jews perished. These survivors represent the few among the many and in the repopulation of Jews in Europe have passed along amplified genetic variants.

A good example of amplification is how two survivors from Vilna in Lithuania who escaped the massacre of their Jewish neighbours produced in their descendants elevated markers for Canavan disease. This is just one of dozens of Jewish genetic diseases that run from Alport to Zellweger Syndrome and represent the legacy of repeated persecution and murders.

Today, modern Ashkenazi derive from as few as 350 survivors from The Crusades. Their genome when compared to other ethnic groups is largely homogeneous. Before the Holocaust Jewish genetic diversity in Europe wasn’t akin to different population groups. After the Holocaust, genetic diversity lessened. Before it, Ashkenazi Jews accounted for 92% of the world’s population. After that, the number dropped well below; in the past 80 years, the numbers have never completely made up the difference. Today, Ashkenazim represent 80% of the world’s Jews.

In some cases, genetic disorders among Ashkenazi Jews are less prevalent than before the Holocaust. In the case of the survivors of Vilna, however, the genetic bottleneck has passed on traits and mutations which have negative consequences.

The Holocaust has produced interesting research looking at epigenetic effects on population groups from environmental stresses. Recent epigenetic studies of Holocaust families show environmentally forced changes in survivors and their children. The changes are in the FKBP5 gene associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. The exposure to trauma has caused genetic methylation, the addition of methyl groups to DNA affecting gene expression without altering the underlying sequence. Severe trauma experienced during the Holocaust, therefore, has had and continues to have a pronounced biological impact persisting for generations.

Similar methylation occurrences have been observed from World War Two acts by Nazi Germany. During the occupation of The Netherlands, the Dutch experienced a Hunger Winter from 1944 to 1945. The children born to mothers pregnant at the time exhibited increased rates of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease which has then been passed along to subsequent generations.

Another historic example occurred during China’s Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. Victimized populations show changes in the expression of the FKBP5 gene. Similarly, the 1994 Rwandan Genocide caused epigenetic changes in survivors and their children affecting immune function and stress response.

COVID-19’s Impact on Human DNA

We as of yet don’t know the full impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on human genetics. Research being done presently indicates a few key areas where our genetics will have been altered. These include:

• Studies currently being done that indicate certain genetic variants are associated with a higher risk of getting severe responses to COVID-19. These genetic variants appear to have been inherited from ancestral Neanderthal DNA and non-African populations.
• Evidence that COVID-19 induces DNA damage through mechanisms like oxidative stress. Oxidative stress causes apoptosis, the signalling to cells to cease dividing leading to their death.
• Research that is studying the potential for COVID-19 DNA to integrate into human DNA, permanently altering it.
• Epigenetic impacts that may lead to increased risk of infections from other chronic diseases in recovered patients, those experiencing Long COVID, and their descendants.
• Speculation on the long-term effect of large-scale deaths from COVID-19 and its altering effect on human genetic variation.

On this last point, it seems less significant if you only consider the total direct number of deaths which is a little over 7 million. The more interesting number, however, is the total who contracted the virus. That number has reached 775 million or 9.5% of the world’s population. Then there are the 10 to 20% of cases where people have experienced or continue to suffer from Long COVID symptoms. I suspect we will see several epigenetic studies published in the next few years.

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Other excess mortality factors to consider include those that are climate-related, particularly hotter than normal temperatures, the spread of vector-borne diseases and the increased frequency of extreme weather events.

COVID is associated with higher mortality rates in populations with underlying chronic conditions that by themselves may have not led to death. COVID has turned out to be the tipping point.

The Lancet in studies it has published estimates the real number of COVID deaths to be 18 million. The World Health Organization has a different set of estimates that vary between 19.1 and 36 million. Why these numbers are so different is because COVID reporting has suffered from data gaps from different parts of the planet, particularly Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific and Indigenous communities in Canada.

Even at 7 million, COVID ranks as the worst worldwide calamity of the 21st century, and rivals death totals during the 20th century from the Spanish Flu pandemic during and post World War One and the deaths that occurred as a consequence of World War Two.

This week, an article on NPR’s website states that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is no longer classifying COVID as a pandemic. According to Aron Hall, the Deputy Director for Science in the Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division, “At this point, COVID-19 can be described as endemic throughout the world.”

What’s the difference between a disease being classified as a pandemic versus endemic? The differences lie in predictability, prevalence and spread. Pandemics spread rapidly across the planet, show exponential growth, and lead to large-scale disruptions to societies and economies. Endemics are characterized as diseases that are chronic, predictable and largely regional in their reach usually contained within a population group. They do not lead to large-scale economic and social disruption but rather become a constant presence that communities learn to manage.

The use of multiple COVID-19 vaccine iterations has been key to moving the classification of the virus from pandemic to endemic. Hall notes that COVID remains “a very significant problem but one that can now be managed against the backdrop of many public health threats and not as sort of a singular pandemic threat.” Hall believes COVID can be best described at this stage as being endemic but with periodic epidemics. He goes on to state, “Those epidemics can vary in terms of their timing and magnitude. And that’s exactly why ongoing vigilance and surveillance is critical.”

The NPR article cites other epidemiologists who disagree with Hall and the CDC’s latest reclassification of COVID. They point to recent statistics that show COVID on the rise throughout this summer in the Northern Hemisphere at a significant rate. Katelyn Jetelina, a Masters in Public Health and PhD. in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, who publishes a blog called Your Local Epidemiologist, is cited in the NPR article stating “There’s still a lot of unpredictability with this virus, and a lot of scientists including myself think it’s going to take at least a decade for SARS-CoV2 [COVID-19’s scientific name] to find this really predictable pattern. I hope that over time it will fade into the background. But we’re just not there yet.”

By introducing the term endemic, the CDC is creating confusion state some scientists who point out that malaria and tuberculosis are both classified as endemic.  In 2022, malaria infected close to a quarter billion people and killed more than 600,000. In 2021, tuberculosis infected more than 7.8 million and led to more than 1 million deaths. The latest COVID data shows that the rate of deaths has declined since 2021 but that 50,000 are still dying because of the virus each year, mostly the elderly.

Then there is the incidence of Long COVID which is still poorly understood and leaving the infected with lifetime disabling conditions. A New York Times article this week cites a study appearing in the journal Nature Medicine which states that the “cumulative global incidence of Long COVID is around 400 million individuals, which is estimated to have an annual economic impact of approximately $1 trillion—equivalent to about 1% of the global economy.” 

The thing we have going for us today is the incredible surge in research into COVID vaccines that target the evolving variants. Coronaviruses like SARS-CoV2 change rapidly, and fortunately, our science and technology are keeping up. New vaccines targeting the latest variants are being produced and approved in rapid succession much the way the annual influenza vaccine continues to go through its many annual iterations.

That’s why the CDC recommends everyone from age 6 months and up be vaccinated this fall and winter in the same way it recommends influenza vaccinations. The 2024-25 vaccines will be out this and next month. COVID is expected to peak along with the flu over the winter.

Just in case you think the need for vaccinations is overblown, in January 2024, U.S. COVID deaths were 2,600 weekly. That was down considerably from three years earlier with weekly deaths ten times greater, and even more falling ill from being infected. The reported number of deaths dropped COVID from number 3 in 2020-21 to no longer in the top 10 causing death (see the graph appearing at the beginning of this article).

Vaccine fatigue, however, has set in for the U.S. and Canada which may make Hall’s prediction of periodic epidemics a reality. Based on recent fall and winter CDC data, only 22% of adult Americans, and 14% of eligible children received COVID vaccinations. For those adults who were diagnosed and hospitalized with COVID, only 11% were vaccinated. Comparable data from Canada reports that 18.2% of Canadians across all ages received the most recent COVID vaccines.

If you have been reading the above, you should now be convinced that COVID vaccinations represent the most effective way to prevent infections and death from the virus because who likes being sick or dying from something that today can be prevented or minimized?

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We returned from Costa Rica to Toronto on February 17th. I was scheduled for knee replacement surgery and had a pre-op appointment with the hospital on March 13, 2020. My operation was supposed to happen on April 30th. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency, the SARS-COV2 pandemic. Our world began to shut down. Two days after my pre-op appointment, all surgeries were cancelled.

Today marks the fourth anniversary of the WHO’s pandemic declaration. COVID-19 remains with us but the world is wide open now with no restrictions on travel, or for public events. Yet the global count of infected and dead continues to rise.

The Worldometer website, the best source of COVID-19 statistics, as of this week, shows almost 704 million reported COVID-19 cases. The unreported numbers are much higher. Recent data indicates that 98% of Canadians have had COVID-19, with over 54% of adults having antibodies indicating a past infection. U.S. data is similar showing 94% of the population as having had COVID-19 at least once in the last four years.

The official WHO total of deaths from COVID-19 is more than 7 million. The unofficial total is three times higher. There are tens of millions who have contracted COVID-19 and have never seen a doctor. Tens of millions still have symptoms or post-infection complications.

We still don’t know if COVID-19 will become an annual scourge or in time be seen as no more threatening than the common cold. As we have incubated the virus it has adapted to its human hosts, killing less of us although becoming more virulent in its spread. Evolution is working for SARS-COV2 to ensure it continues to thrive by not killing a lot of us.

COVID-19 Vigilance Has Waned

The level of urgency that erupted with the arrival of COVID-19 marshalled the efforts of biopharmaceutical companies to develop rapidly, new vaccines and medications. Within a very short time window, new vaccines and medications were rushed out for use. The planet’s entire population became guinea pigs in short order as multiple companies rolled out ways to combat the virus.

Since the initial launch of these novel vaccinations and medications, the public has participated in publicly-funded vaccination drives. After multiple shots, vaccine fatigue is settling in.

Wearing masks in public indoor spaces was readily adopted at the beginning of the pandemic. Today, however, mask use like vaccination rates, is declining even in the face of reported spikes in infection rates.

Public Policy and Pandemics

There have always been vaccine naysayers. COVID-19 vaccine naysayers are not alone. They are joined by measles, mumps, rubella, whooping cough, chicken pox and many other vaccine naysayers. All of these diseases have run rampant in human populations. COVID-19 is just the latest and most dangerous because high levels of immunity were non-existent when the pandemic started.

Social media and the Internet have amped up the naysayer messaging to the crowd turning many away from life-saving vaccines and medications. Deadly measles outbreaks are on the rise today because of naysayer messaging.

Then there is a public perception that the threat of COVID-19 has been oversold. This is hard to believe as we enter the fourth year of the pandemic. For the scientific community and public health officials, there has to be better salesmanship to win community trust and larger engagement.

In a September 2022 WHO policy brief it listed the following actions needed to engage the public to better understand pandemic threats in light of what has been learned from COVID-19. These actions include:

• Creating information to share with the public that is credible, trusted, relevant, timely, understandable, and accessible.
• Continuous public engagement in the preparation of emergency response plans to pandemic threats.
• Governments to establish operational readiness teams that are funded to act quickly when facing unpredictable events such as a pandemic threat.
• Health messaging to guide the public, including the business sector, to change behaviours such as:
  • encouraging staying at home when feeling unwell,
  • testing, isolating and reporting the onset of symptoms,
  • avoiding crowds and keeping a distance when there is a known public health threat,
  • wearing protective gear like well-fitted masks when avoidance and distancing are impossible,
  • improving ventilation in homes and the workplace,
  • establishing better hygiene when in the workplace and at home,
  • and making washing hands habitual.

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