All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Covid: Fake news ‘causing UK South Asians to reject jab’ – BBC News

Reena Pujara is a beauty therapist in Hampshire and a practising Hindu. She said she’s been bombarded with false information.

“Some of the videos are quite disturbing especially when you actually see the person reporting is a medic and telling you that the vaccine is going to alter your DNA,” she said.

“For a layman it is very confusing. And also when you read that the ingredients in the vaccine derive from a cow – and as Hindus the cow is sacred to us – it is disturbing.”

About 100 mosques have a joined a campaign to counter vaccine disinformation and persuade their communities to take the vaccine. They’ve said they’ll use their Friday sermons to urge people to have the jab.

“There should be no hesitation in taking [the vaccine] from a moral perspective,” said Qari Asim, chair of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB), which has organised the campaign. “It is our ethical duty to protect ourselves and others from harm.”

Source: Covid: Fake news ‘causing UK South Asians to reject jab’ – BBC News

Revealed: US Capitol protesters are still fundraising via Amazon and PayPal | openDemocracy

six of the rally’s “coalition partners” are still using either Amazon or PayPal to raise money – along with two other groups whose leaders were present at the Capitol. Following the riot, some of these organisations released statements that seemed to justify the attack on the Capitol.

Both companies have policies that prohibit groups from using their platforms if they are involved in promoting violence or hate. Civil rights advocates said the tech platforms must take action – and that their policies have not meant enough in practice for too long.

Amazon, along with other tech firms, has announced plans to halt campaign contributions to lawmakers that voted against certification of the Electoral College results. Online platforms have also taken action against some groups and individuals involved in the day’s events.

Source: Revealed: US Capitol protesters are still fundraising via Amazon and PayPal | openDemocracy

Half of Americans call themselves ‘flexitarians’ now, eating more plant-based options than meat

Man eating salad, enjoying healthy diet

NEW YORK — When health experts talk about the “Western diet,” they usually mean people eating a lot of red meat and fried foods. They may have to update their definition as a new survey finds nearly one in two Americans now consumes more plant-based meals than meat. In fact, 47 percent of the United…

The post Half of Americans call themselves ‘flexitarians’ now, eating more plant-based options than meat appeared first on Study Finds.

New Study Explores Risk Played By Children in COVID Spread – DER SPIEGEL (They spread as fast and all other age groups – Keep schools virtual and support parents who cannot work from home)

Gurdasani told DER SPIEGEL that the evidence is clear. “It’s clear from evidence across the globe and within the UK that schools have contributed significantly to community transmission,” she said. She cites numerous studies showing the extent to which school closures slowed the spread of the pandemic. In the U.S., for example, closures reduced the number of cases and mortality by up to 60 percent. In addition, recent analysis by the Office for National Statistics found that two- to 12-year-olds were twice as likely to be infected as adults. In other words, they are carrying the virus into their homes, where they can pass the virus to their parents and siblings. Their older siblings (up to age 16) are seven times more likely to be infected. Source: New Study Explores Risk Played By Children in COVID Spread – DER SPIEGEL

Donald Trump supporters flock to niche social media sites | Americas| North and South American news impacting on Europe | DW | 15.01.2021

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Pinar Yildirim is an assistant professor of marketing at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and last year co-authored a study called “Social Media and Political Contributions: The Impact of New Technology on Political Competition.”

“With regards to Merkel’s concerns, I think she also has the right to express her concerns and I can understand where she’s coming from,” she says. “I think the companies had to take action. [They couldn’t] simply sit back and let the exchange of information that is potentially creating violence be exchanged on their platform.”

But Yildirim recognizes Twitter’s quandary.

“For them this is between a rock and a tough place,” she says. “This is a difficult, challenging decision to make because they had to make the decision to give individuals the ability to express themselves. At the same time they need to make sure that the exchange of information on their platform is not creating violence on the streets, is not creating damage to individuals and property, is not creating harm to the democracy.”

And that’s exactly what Trump was doing, Yildirim says. “Social media is the most effective tool to inform them [your base], excite them, mobilize them,” says Yildirim. “Trump has used Twitter very effectively in order to inform, sometimes to misinform, manipulate his base, to mobilize them, to make example of people he doesn’t like.”

Source: Donald Trump supporters flock to niche social media sites | Americas| North and South American news impacting on Europe | DW | 15.01.2021

Full article: COVID-19 vaccine: where are we now and where should we go?

Here, the literature regarding the COVID-19 vaccine candidates currently in the clinical trials, as well as main candidates in pre-clinical stages for development and research, were reviewed. These candidates have been developed under five different major platforms, including live-attenuated vaccine, mRNA-based vaccine, DNA vaccines, inactivated virus, and viral-vector based vaccine.

Using vaccines with or without the adjuvant as an enhancement for immunogenicity during the development of the COVID-19 vaccine is another challenge. Investigating vaccine safety toward different pathogens can be possible through animal model experiments as well as clinical trials, which are very challenging in the small-time duration of this pandemic. In addition, there is a concern in the field of the live attenuated and inactivated vaccine which may revert to virulence. Thus, safety is considered as one of the most important challenges in the rapid development of the vaccine. Designing a vaccine within a short time is another main challenge, which includes detection of potential antigen, administration route, animal model experiments, the immune-response study, clinical trials, determining the safety and efficacy, etc. Possible COVID-19 vaccine should be designed to be suitable for different age groups without interfering with other vaccination protocols in pediatrics. Other challenges are large scale production of vaccines with the high purity of the antigen, sufficient antigen, and half-life stability. Source: Full article: COVID-19 vaccine: where are we now and where should we go?