No problem with Moderna

(Reuters) -A safety monitoring system flagged that U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech's updated COVID-19 shot could be linked to a type of brain stroke in older adults, according to preliminary data analyzed by U.S. health authorities.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday that a CDC vaccine database had uncovered a possible safety issue in which people 65 and older were more likely to have an ischemic stroke 21 days after receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech bivalent shot, compared with days 22-44.

An ischemic stroke, also known as brain ischemia, is caused by blockages in arteries that carry blood to the brain.

The FDA and CDC said that other large studies, the CDC's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, other countries' databases and Pfizer-BioNTech's databases had not flagged this safety issue, adding that it requires more investigation. https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/u-s-fda-cdc-see-early-signal-of-pfizer-bivalent-covid-shot-s-link-to-stroke/ar-AA16kqXg

https://twitter.com/virusesimmunity/status/1609928349551403010?s=46&t=q6zw64DfYnV_fWRPxP7whw


She is the professor doing the Yale/Mt Sinai study of long Covid people. She found long Covid people have exhausted T cells.

CNN
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Pfizer has issued a recall for a high blood pressure medication distributed under three names, according to the company.

Accuretic and its two generic versions distributed by Greenstone – quinapril and hydrochlorothiazide tablets and quinapril HCl/hydrochlorothiazide tablets – are subject to the recall.

The medications treat hypertension, which increases the risk for potential dangerous cardiovascular events like strokes.

The recall is voluntary, and stems from the tablets containing higher levels of nitrosamines, which pose a cancer risk, although Pfizer said in a news release “there is no immediate risk to patients taking this medication.” https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/23/health/pfizer-blood-pressure-medication-recall-wellness/index.html

November 21, 2022, 6:00 AM MST
Photos and internal documents from a Beyond Meat Inc. plant in Pennsylvania show apparent mold, Listeria and other food-safety issues, compounding problems at a factory the company had expected to play a major role in its future.

Products from the plant tested positive for Listeria, a harmful bacteria, on at least 11 occasions during the second half of last year and the first half of 2022, according to an internal document provided by a former employee concerned about conditions at the plant. The occurrence of the bacteria at the facility was confirmed by two former employees, who asked not to be named discussing private information about the company. While Listeria is frequently present at food plants, it’s more unusual for it to be found in the products themselves.


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-21/beyond-meat-bynd-photos-reports-describe-pennsylvania-plant-s-dirty-condition?leadSource=uverify%20wall

NYTs alert - House Republicans, who are within one seat of a majority, chose Kevin McCarthy for speaker over a challenger from the right. Senator Rick Scott said he will challenge Senator Mitch McConnell for minority leader. Former President Donald J. Trump is expected to launch a presidential run Tuesday evening.

10 min ago - link won’t work for me)

Not good -

USA DUA, Indonesia (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday he has COVID-19 and is canceling his events at the Group of 20 meetings in Bali, just days after hosting many world leaders, including President Joe Biden, for a summit in Phnom Penh. https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/health-news/cambodias-hun-sen-has-covid-19-at-g-20-after-hosting-summit/ar-AA146NER

It’s a delicate balance. As one of the world’s top producers of oil and natural gas, the US is facing calls from its allies in Europe and around the globe to help ease an energy crisis inflamed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But with just weeks to go before the midterm elections, it’s also under pressure to help Americans hit by price gains for everything from gasoline to food.

The Biden administration is “being very careful to reassure European allies that we are going to continue supplying energy,” says Kevin Book, managing director of research firm ClearView Energy Partners LLC. “They’re also being very careful not to make it seem like American energy is going to other countries” and to prove they’re shielding US consumers. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-12/biden-walks-fine-line-to-keep-gas-prices-low-before-midterms

Gazprom PJSC told European gas customers that part of the damaged Nord Stream network could still transport fuel -- but only on the new pipeline that Germany ditched in February in protest at Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline was set to go into operation earlier this year when Germany pulled the plug on the project just before Russia’s invasion. The pipeline, which was set to double the capacity of Nord Stream, had been sanctioned by the U.S. and faced strong opposition in parts of Europe, forcing Germany to eventually give up on the project.

After the suspected sabotage of the network last week in a series of explosions, Gazprom said on Monday three of the lines were affected and one wasn’t. The gas giant has lowered pressure on the unaffected line B of Nord Stream 2 to inspect the link for damage and potential leaks, it said in a statement on its Telegram account.

Any start of Nord Stream 2 would require approval from the EU and is unlikely as tensions between the Kremlin and the West https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-03/gazprom-ready-to-ship-gas-via-shelved-nord-stream-2-pipeline?leadSource=uverify%20wall

The OPEC+ alliance announced Wednesday that it will cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day, a move that's likely to send gas prices higher again after a year of tumult at the pump.

In its statement announcing the cuts, the OPEC+ alliance cited the "uncertainty that surrounds the global economic and oil market outlooks.”

It represents the largest cut in production since the start of the pandemic.

In a statement, the Biden administration said it was disappointed in the decision, calling it “shortsighted” in light of global energy prices already lifted higher by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/opec-announces-will-cut-production-2-million-barrels-day-move-likely-s-rcna50808

As a direct result of the EPA’s laissez-faire regulatory approach, in 2019 the U.S. used over 70 agricultural pesticides that were banned in the European Union, amounting to 322 million pounds used each year.[8] That means over a quarter of all U.S. agricultural pesticide use was from pesticides that all EU member states have prohibited. And with more recent bans on pesticides like chlorothalonil and the EU’s new farm-to-fork strategy which aims to cut pesticide use in half by 2030, that regulatory disparity is growing significantly by the year.

It is not just Europe that is embracing these prohibitions. The U.S. uses 26 and 40 million pounds of pesticides that Brazil and China have banned or are phasing out, respectively.[11] India is currently considering banning 27 highly hazardous pesticides, like atrazine, 2,4-D, and acephate, which the U.S. uses over 100 million pounds of each year.[12] [13] Atrazine is a known endocrine disruptor linked to fertility problems[14] [15]; 2,4-D is associated with certain cancers and birth defects in children[16] [17]; and acephate is a known neurotoxin in the same class of chemicals as those developed for use as nerve agents in World War II.[18]. https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-the-epas-lax-regulation-of-dangerous-pesticides-is-hurting-public-health-and-the-us-economy/