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Video on young mother possibly killed by unsafe US Amazon COVID policies

This is a heartbreaking situation. The late Poushawn Brown was tasked by Amazon with administering COVID-19 testing despite having no medical training. without adequate protection. She did not receive hazard pay."She never said no" to Amazon's exploitation. Poushawn leaves an 8 year old daughter. Thanks to Trump corporations have been spinning the US as a Mexico-like country without health and safety regulation. This is the neoliberal future the incumbency is offering to young Americans who want to work in their home country. Amazon is known for working conditions, they are well known for low pay, anti union activities, and making workers work in warehouses under high heat conditions. Related article: https://statuscoup.com/amazon-worker-who-suddenly-died-after-working-in-covid-testing-area-complained-about-unsafe-conditions/

‘A good day for global health’: US to join COVAX program, fulfill obligations to WHO

The United States under President Joe Biden intends to join the COVAX vaccine facility that aims to deliver vaccines to poor countries, his chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci has told the World Health Organisation. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the announcement to the WHO executive board, saying: “This is a good day for WHO and a good day for global health.” “President Biden will issue a directive later today which will include the intent of the United States to join COVAX and support the ACT-Accelerator to advance multilateral efforts for COVID-19 vaccine, therapeutic, and diagnostic distribution, equitable access, and research and development,”

Protective effects of resveratrol on acute kidney injury in rats with sepsis.

Resveratrol significantly decreased the mortality rate of septic rats and alleviated AKI, probably by attenuating endoplasmic reticulum stress, inhibiting activation of the NF-κB pathway and mitigating the inflammatory response. --- The survival rate of cecal ligation + Res group (75.00%) significantly exceeded that of the CLP group (41.67%) (P<0.05). At postoperative 12 h, resveratrol significantly decreased serum creatinine and urea nitrogen levels (P<0.05). Resveratrol evidently relieved renal tubular swelling and luminal narrowing in CLP rats, and significantly reduced the high expressions of GRP78, BiP, phosphorylated IRE1 and p65 proteins (P<0.05). P65 was mainly located in the cytoplasm of Sham, Sham + Res and CLP + Res groups, and in the nucleus of the CLP group. At postoperative 12 h, resveratrol significantly reduced serum levels TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in CLP rats (P<0.05), whereas elevated that of IL-10 (P<0.05). This has application to COVID-19 ICU treatment.

Effective inhibition of MERS-CoV infection by resveratrol.

By consecutive administration of resveratrol, we were able to reduce the concentration of resveratrol while achieving inhibitory effectiveness against MERS-CoV. CONCLUSION: In this study, we first demonstrated that resveratrol is a potent anti-MERS agent in vitro …

For Covid-19 Vaccines, Some Are Too Rich — and Too Poor

"CAPE TOWN — A few months from now, a factory in South Africa is expected to begin churning out a million doses of Covid-19 vaccine each day in the African country hardest-hit by the pandemic. But those vials will probably be shipped to a distribution center in Europe and then rushed to Western countries that have pre-ordered them by the hundreds of millions. None have been set aside for South Africa. The country, which will help manufacture the vaccine and whose citizens have enrolled in clinical trials, does not expect to see the first trickle of doses until around the middle of next year. By then, the United States, Britain and Canada may already have vaccinated more than 100 million people. The first year of the Covid-19 pandemic revealed that a country’s wealth would not spare it from the virus. Overconfidence, poor planning and ignored warnings felled some of the world’s richest nations. But now, money is translating into undeniable advantages. Over the past few months, rich nations like the United States and Britain have cut deals with multiple drug manufacturers and secured enough doses to vaccinate their citizens multiple times over. China and Russia have conducted their own trials and begun mass vaccination programs. Yet countries like South Africa are in a singular bind because they cannot hold out hope for charity. Although its government is nearly insolvent and half of its citizens live in poverty, South Africa is considered too rich to qualify for cut-rate vaccines from international aid organizations. “Where you’re not rich enough but you’re not poor enough, you’re stuck,” said Salim Abdool Karim, an epidemiologist who leads the country’s coronavirus advisory council."

Therapeutic blockade of inflammation in severe COVID-19 infection with intravenous N-acetylcysteine

Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency facilitates human coronavirus infection due to glutathione depletion. G6PD deficiency may especially predispose to hemolysis upon coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection when employing pro-oxidant therapy. However, glutathione depletion is reversible by N-acetylcysteine (NAC) administration. We describe a severe case of COVID-19 infection in a G6PD-deficient patient treated with hydroxychloroquine who benefited from intravenous (IV) NAC beyond reversal of hemolysis. NAC blocked hemolysis and elevation of liver enzymes, C-reactive protein (CRP), and ferritin and allowed removal from respirator and veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenator and full recovery of the G6PD-deficient patient. NAC was also administered to 9 additional respirator-dependent COVID-19-infected patients without G6PD deficiency. NAC elicited clinical improvement and markedly reduced CRP in all patients and ferritin in 9/10 patients. NAC mechanism of action may involve the blockade of viral infection and the ensuing cytokine storm that warrant follow-up confirmatory studies in the setting of controlled clinical trials. Keywords: Coronavirus 19, COVID-19, N-acetylcysteine, Glutathione, Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, Mechanistic target of rapamycin, C-reactive protein, Ferritin, Respirator, Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Potential therapeutic effects of Resveratrol against SARS-CoV-2

Home Acta Virologica 2020 Acta Virologica Vol.64, No.3, p.276-280, 2020 --- Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 or Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as well as Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), are human pathogens. Current pandemics of SARS-CoV-2 represents a major health problem worldwide, with over four million cases and more than 300,000 deaths in the world. Development of effective therapy thus became an emergency. This report aims to highlight Resveratrol as possible therapeutic candidate in SARS-CoV-2 infection. The antiviral efficacy of Resveratrol was demonstrated for several viruses, including coronavirus. Resveratrol was shown to mitigate the major pathways involved in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2, including regulation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), stimulation of immune system and downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines release. It was also reported to promote SIRT1 and p53 signaling pathways and increase cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and natural killer (NK) immune cells. In addition, Resveratrol was demonstrated to be a stimulator of fetal hemoglobin and a potent antioxidant, by trapping reactive oxygen species (ROS). According to these reports, Resveratrol could be proposed as potential therapeutics in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; Resveratrol; antiviral activity; immune response; ACE2; oxidative stress; HbF.

Medical journal article shows several key aspects of RESV and virus inhibition against another highly virulent virus in pigs.

Antiviral properties of resveratrol against pseudorabies virus are associated with the inhibition of IκB kinase activation. (Note, this study is not about COVID-19 directly, however its illustrative of how RESV can work to prevent and/or atetnuate a much more pathogenic virus that infects the brain in a way that is relevant to COVID-19, when we consider that RESV has similarly been shown to inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 virus (as well as MERS and SARS-CoV-1) in vitro, in the lab.

Stilbene-based natural compounds as promising drug candidates against COVID-19

Note that resveratrol is already available in the supply chain and inexpensive. J Biomol Struct Dyn . 2020 May 12;1-10. doi: 10.1080/07391102.2020.1762743. Online ahead of print. Hussain Mustatab Wahedi , Sajjad Ahmad , Sumra Wajid Abbasi PMID: 32345140 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2020.1762743 The pandemic coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) presents a great threat to public health. Currently, no potent medicine is available to treat COVID-19. Quest for new drugs especially from natural plant sources is an area of immense potential. The current study aimed to repurpose stilbenoid analogs, reported for some other biological activities, against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and human ACE2 receptor complex for their affinity and stability using molecular dynamics simulation and binding free energy analysis based on molecular docking. Four compounds in total were probed for their binding affinity using molecular docking. All of the compounds showed good affinity (> -7 kcal/mol). However, fifty nanoseconds molecular dynamic simulation in aqueous solution revealed highly stable bound conformation of resveratrol to the viral protein: ACE2 receptor complex. Net free energy of binding using MM-PBSA also affirmed the stability of the resveratrol-protein complex. Based on the results, we report that stilbene based compounds in general and resveratrol, in particular, can be promising anti-COVID-19 drug candidates acting through disruption of the spike protein. Our findings in this study are promising and call for further in vitro and in vivo testing of stiblenoids, especially resveratrol against the COVID-19. Stilbenoid analogs could be potential disruptors of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and human ACE2 receptor complex.In particular, resveratrol revealed highly stable conformation to the viral protein: ACE2 receptor complex.The strong interaction of resveratrol is affirmed by molecular dynamic simulation studies and better net free energies. Keywords: COVID-19; MM-PBSA; Stilbenoids; molecular docking; molecular dynamic simulations

Resveratrol inhibits the replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) in cultured Vero cells

Phytotherapy Research/Early View OPEN ACCESS Dear Editor, An emergence of the novel coronavirus designated as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) at the end of 2019 has triggered an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) globally. As of 22nd September 2020, more than 30,949,804 confirmed cases and 959,116 deaths have been reported worldwide (WHO, 2020). COVID‐19 bears several pathological hallmarks including fever, breathing difficulty, bilateral lung infiltration, and death in the most extreme cases (Huang et al., 2020). Several anti‐viral drugs have been used to target the SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. These drugs include remdesivir, ribavirin, penciclovir, lopinavir/ritonavir, chloroquine (Wang, Cao, et al., 2020). However, most of these medicines have limited efficacy to reduce the severity and, particularly the mortality of COVID‐19 patients. In addition, some of them have serious side effects (Cao et al., 2020; Wang, Zhang, et al., 2020). The shortcomings of current medicines lead scientists and physicians to continuously look up for better remedies for COVID‐19. Resveratrol is a promising one of those remedies. Resveratrol (3,4,5‐trihydroxy‐trans‐stilbene, RES) is a phenolic compound produced by various members of spermatophytes such as grapes, mulberry, and peanuts. It displays potential effects to suppress replication of several viruses including dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV), as well as influenza virus (Mohd, Zainal, Tan, & Sazaly, 2019; Paemanee, Hitakarun, Roytrakul, & Duncan, 2018). Particularly, RES has the capacity to significantly inhibit MERS‐CoV infection and increases the viability of cells infected by this virus (Lin et al., 2017). Based on these observations, we have initiated a study to test whether RES also inhibits the replication of SARS‐CoV‐2. This study has been approved by the ethics committees from Shenzhen Third People's Hospital and strictly follows the approved protocol. All procedures involving SARS‐CoV‐2 infection were performed in a biosafety level 3 laboratory. First of all, the dose‐responsive study of RES (from 1.56 to 200 μM) was performed to assess whether RES exhibits cytotoxicity on Vero cells (ATCC, CCL‐81). The results showed that cell viability of Vero cells remained above 90 and 80% with the RES at concentrations of 100 and 200 μM for 48 hr, respectively (Figure 1a). The results suggested that RES had little cytotoxicity to Vero cells even at such high concentrations which is consistent with previous reports on various other cell types including oocytes or embryos (Li et al., 2016). To test the effects of RES on SARS‐CoV‐2 replication, the Vero cells were infected with SARS‐CoV‐2 (BetaCoV/Shenzhen/SZTH‐003/2020 strain virus GISAID access number: EPI_ISL_406594) at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.01 and treated with different concentrations of RES. The viral replication was analyzed at 48 hr postinfection with quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) and immunofluorescence assay (Figure 1b,c). The results showed that RES significantly inhibited the replication of SARS‐CoV‐2 with an EC50 (half‐maximal effective concentration) of 4.48 μM. To examine the time window of RES on SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, RES was incubated with cells before and/or after their infection and the time‐of‐addition assay was used to evaluate the effects described by Wang, Cao, et al. (2020). Briefly, viral RNA was extracted from the harvested supernatants and then qRT‐PCR was performed. The SARS‐CoV‐2 mRNA copy number was compared between the mock‐treated and RES‐treated cells. The results showed that the inhibitory rate for SARS‐CoV‐2 replication in cells pre‐treated with RES 50 μM for 2 hr was less than 20%; however, inhibitory rate in cells treated with RES after virus infection was excessive at 98% which was similar to the full time treatment (pre and after treatment together). The results indicate that the inhibitory effects of RES on SARS‐CoV‐2 replication have a strong presence after the viruses are inoculated into the culture medium. It has been reported that RES possesses highly stable conformation to the viral S protein‐ACE2 receptor complex (Wahedi, Ahmad, & Abbasi, 2020). Interestingly, when cells were co‐incubated with virus and RES for 1 hr and then the RES was removed for additional 48 hr incubation, the inhibitory rate was still at around 64% (Figure 1d). This suggests that RES has a blocking capacity to the viral entry into cells. These novel data support the potential utility of RES on SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.

Resveratrol, a widely available nutritional supplement, inhibits COVID-19 in cell cultures.

This is not surprising as the roots of japanese knotweed, which are a potent source of resveratrol, is one of the traditional medicines most used to treat COVID-19 in China. This blog has been suggesting it as a possible therapy for quite some time. Its profile of activity makes it a natural match for COVID-19. What this means is that its likely safe to use to prevent COVID-19 associated brain injury and coagulopathy.

Resveratrol And Pterostilbene Potently Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Infection In Vitro

The current COVID-19 pandemic is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has an enormous impact on human health and economy1. In search for therapeutic options, researchers have proposed resveratrol, a food supplement with known antiviral, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties as an advantageous antiviral therapy for SARS-CoV-2 infection2–4. Here, we provide evidence that both resveratrol and its metabolically more stable structural analog, pterostilbene, exhibits potent antiviral properties against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Resveratrol and pterostilbene showed antiviral activity in African green monkey kidney cells and in human primary bronchial epithelial cells cultured in an air-liquid interface system. Mechanistic analyses demonstrated that both compounds actively interfere with the post-entry steps of virus replication cycle and their antiviral activity is long-lasting. Collectively, our data indicate that resveratrol and pterostilbene are promising antiviral compounds to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection and advocate evaluation of these compounds in clinical trials

Potential therapeutic effects of Resveratrol against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

"This report aims to highlight Resveratrol as possible therapeutic candidate in SARS-CoV-2 infection. The antiviral efficacy of Resveratrol was demonstrated for several viruses, including coronavirus. Resveratrol was shown to mitigate the major pathways involved in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2, including regulation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), stimulation of immune system and downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines release. It was also reported to promote SIRT1 and p53 signaling pathways and increase cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and natural killer (NK) immune cells. In addition, Resveratrol was demonstrated to be a stimulator of fetal hemoglobin and a potent antioxidant, by trapping reactive oxygen species (ROS). According to these reports, Resveratrol could be proposed as potential therapeutics in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. " Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; Resveratrol; antiviral activity; immune response; ACE2; oxidative stress; HbF. -- Acta Virol . 2020 Sep 28. doi: 10.4149/av_2020_309. Online ahead of print.

ip-health mailing list Archives

Discussions of Intellectual Property and Health Care "To see the collection of prior postings to the list, visit the Ip-health Archives." This is one of the very best places to learn about the battle -access to medicines vs drug patents and the drug cartel. If you saw the film "Fire in the Blood" you saw how, in this era of global epidemics and corporate greed people must stand up for the rights of human beings to lifesaving drugs at affordable and not extortionate prices. This URL brings one straight to the list archives.

The Role of Glutathione in Protecting against the Severe Inflammatory Response Triggered by COVID-19

The novel COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the world’s population differently: mostly in the presence of conditions such as aging, diabetes and hypertension the virus triggers a lethal cytokine storm and patients die from acute respiratory distress syndrome, whereas in many cases the disease has a mild or even asymptomatic progression. A common denominator in all conditions associated with COVID-19 appears to be the impaired redox homeostasis responsible for reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation; therefore, levels of glutathione (GSH), the key anti-oxidant guardian in all tissues, could be critical in extinguishing the exacerbated inflammation that triggers organ failure in COVID-19. The present review provides a biochemical investigation of the mechanisms leading to deadly inflammation in severe COVID-19, counterbalanced by GSH. The pathways competing for GSH are described to illustrate the events concurring to cause a depletion of endogenous GSH stocks. Drawing on evidence from literature that demonstrates the reduced levels of GSH in the main conditions clinically associated with severe disease, we highlight the relevance of restoring GSH levels in the attempt to protect the most vulnerable subjects from severe symptoms of COVID-19. Finally, we discuss the current data about the feasibility of increasing GSH levels, which could be used to prevent and subdue the disease. Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), glutathione, inflammation, ROS, N-acetylcysteine, NAC, glycine.

European Parliament votes to strongly endorse new WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), de-linkage mechanisms, transparency, and compulsory licensing

On Friday, 10 July 2020, the European Parliament adopted a resolution entitled, *The EU’s public health strategy post-COVID-19* <https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2020-0205_EN.html>, by 526 votes to 105 and 50 abstentions. This resolution paves the way for the creation of a European Health Union and the establishment of a European Health Response Mechanism; the resolution contains strong language in support of WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), de-linkage mechanisms, transparency, and compulsory licensing.

The COVID-19 situation illustrates why trade agreements should never have been used to hijack the peoples wishes to lock in bad policy on healthcare and drugs, trapping politicians in big lies.

Most Americans mistakenly believe we can just vote to fix these things, and solve them. Unfortunately, its not so easy. We've been misled by the people in high places, and the media. The fact is the government now has intentionally created a system to TIE ITS OWN HANDS, locking out all progressive change, it hopes, forever. Showing how Its so very confident of its ability to pull the wool over our eyes, indefinitely.

'Ticking Time Bomb': Corporate Lawyers Openly Discussing Suing Nations Over Profits Lost to Covid-19 Measures

By Jake Johnson, Common Dreams. This is a major issue, Like Slovakia with its health insurance mess, in Achmea, once countries sign trade deals, they can't enact regulations that they need for common sense reasons, ISDS makes it impossible for countries to do things like close for epidemics, or limit business operations in needed ways, or (if they apply to foreign companies and their workers) It may even make it FTA illegal to raise minimum wages. Imagine if you could not fix deep seated problems like environmental risks, lack of affordable healthcare or rising education prices. That would be the US today. Thanks to ISDS and ISDS-like provisions in the WTO, now, for 20 years, corporations have always come first. This is why people can't be allowed to vote for improvements.

MSF briefing and position paper regarding WHA73 and COVID-19

MSF recommends the following actions to ensure access and equitable allocation of COVID-19 medical tools: * Adopt binding and enforceable measures * Encourage Member States to explore and use fully the existing policy and legal measures, including flexibilities under the TRIPS Agreement and the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health * Ensure full transparency of all R&D funding agreements with explicit and binding obligations Briefing: https://msfaccess.org/sites/default/files/2020-05/WHA73-Briefing-12May2020.pdf Position paper: https://msfaccess.org/msf-access-campaign-position-paper-sharing-technologies-covid-19-ensure-equitable-access-all

Health Policy Watch: World Health Assembly Prepares For Show Of Unity On Global COVID-19 Response – But Potential Dispute Over Taiwan

Analysis 15/05/2020 • Elaine Ruth Fletcher The world seems set to make at least a symbolic display of unity in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic at the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA), which begins on Monday. The WHO’s 194 member states are expected to overwhelmingly approve a European Union-led Resolution that aims to step up the global COVID-19 response, and ensure equitable access to treatments and future vaccines. But the show is unlikely to go off as smoothly as some might hope, and not only because the 73rd Assembly is meeting for the first time ever in a virtual format.