“Matt Gaetz has had a really bad couple of weeks, and it only looks like things will be getting worse for him as the year rolls on. This week, we learned that one of his buddies, Joe Ellicot, has pleaded guilty to unrelated criminal activity, but he has agreed to provide info in the Gaetz investigation – and he has already dropped a major bombshell about the Congressman’s relationship with an underage girl. Farron Cousins explains why things are likely to go downhill very quickly for Gaetz.
“Donald Trump lashed out at the media (again) this week, furious that they have no interest in pushing the debunked conspiracy theories that he likes to talk about. Specifically, he was angry that the media isn’t blaming the Capitol Riots on Antifa, even though there’s no evidence to support that claim. Farron Cousins explains why Trump is so desperate to shift the blame of that day onto anyone other than himself.
“Doug Logan, the CEO of Cyber Ninjas, has announced during a deposition that he will continue to defy a court order to turn over documents from the Arizona ballot audit. This decision is costing him $50,000 per day, but it could end up costing him his freedom if the judicial system decides to take further action against him for his continued defiance. Farron Cousins explains what’s happening and why Logan wants to keep his documents secret.
Academics who requested access to the data for independent analysis were denied
Godlee F. We want raw data, now. BMJ2009;339:b5405doi:10.1136/bmj.b5405.
FREE Full TextGoogle Scholar
Godlee F, Clarke M Why don’t we have all the evidence on oseltamivir?BMJ2009;339:b5351.doi:10.1136/bmj.b5351 pmid:19995815
FREE Full TextGoogle Scholar
Cohen D Complications: tracking down the data on oseltamivir. BMJ2009;339:b5387.doi:10.1136/bmj.b5387 pmid:19995818
FREE Full TextGoogle Scholar
Doshi P Neuraminidase inhibitors—the story behind the Cochrane review. BMJ2009;339:b5164.doi:10.1136/bmj.b5164 pmid:19995813
FREE Full Text
Today
Despite the global rollout of covid-19 vaccines and treatments,
the anonymised participant level data underlying the trials for these new products remain inaccessible to doctors, researchers, and the public
This is morally indefensible for all trials, but especially for those involving major public health interventions.
Pfizer’s pivotal covid vaccine trial, designed, run, analysed, and authored by Pfizer employees.
The company and the contract research organisations that carried out the trial hold all the data.
Pfizer has indicated that it will not begin entertaining requests for trial data until May 2025, (NCT04368728).
Moderna data
may be available … with publication of the final study results in 2022
Datasets will be available upon request and subject to review once the trial is complete
Eestimated primary completion date 27 October 2022 (NCT04470427).
AstraZeneca
As of 31 December 2021
timelines vary per request and can take up to a year upon full submission of the request
Regeneron’s phase III trial of monoclonal antibody therapy REGEN-COV
Participant level data will not be made available to others EMU)
Should the drug be approved, sharing will be considered
Remdesivir
US National Institutes of Health, (funders) The longitudinal data set only contains a small subset of the protocol and statistical analysis plan objectives
In our view, there is no dilemma
the anonymised individual participant data from clinical trials must be made available for independent scrutiny.
US Food and Drug Administration, freedom of information request to the agency for Pfizer’s vaccine data
UK, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
does not proactively release clinical trial documents
Transparency and trust
Transparent decision making is essential.
At least three of the many companies making covid-19 vaccines have past criminal and civil settlements costing them billions of dollars
The BMJ supports vaccination policies based on sound evidence.
The same applies to treatments for covid-19
Data must be available when trial results are announced, published, or used to justify regulatory decisions.
There is no place for wholesale exemptions from good practice during a pandemic.
The public
Has paid for covid-19 vaccines through vast public funding of research
that takes on the balance of benefits and harms
has a right and entitlement to those data, as well as to the interrogation of those data by experts.
Pharmaceutical companies are reaping vast profits without adequate independent scrutiny of their scientific claims.
The purpose of regulators is not to dance to the tune of rich global corporations and enrich them further;
it is to protect the health of their populations.
We need complete data transparency for all studies, we need it in the public interest, and we need it now.”
“Canadian rocker Neil Young has come out firmly on the side of censorship, demanding that his music be removed from Spotify as long as the online music platform continues to run Joe Rogan’s podcast, which Young alleges is a source of COVID misinformation.”
I’ve wondered more than once if Neil wasn’t gay, himself…a closet case.
“A 31-year-old man who needs a new heart isn’t getting one because he hasn’t been vaccinated against COVID-19. David Ferguson said his son DJ refuses to get the shot, and the hospital treating him said the coronavirus vaccine is one of several required for transplant candidates. Paul Burton of CBS Boston reports.”
I agree it’s his decision…He’ll certainly die, it seems…
Is it fair?…well…no…but little about life honestly is fair.
“Top Israeli immunologist Dr. Ehud Qimron has penned a scathing open letter excoriating the Israeli government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, detailing all the misinformation, bad science and duplicity that has characterized policy-making since COVID-19 first appeared.
Jimmy and comedian Kurt Metzger discuss Qimron’s specific accusations.”
“With Russian troops amassing along the border and Joe Biden promising swift, aggressive action if Ukraine is invaded, the threat of a larger war between NATO and Russia looms. How much responsibility does the United States bear for this game of political brinksmanship and what’s likely to happen next?
Jimmy breaks down the looming crisis with RT host and Russia expert Peter Lavelle.”
“Both the UK and Ireland have announced that they will soon drop nearly all COVID restrictions on the general public, meaning the elimination of mask mandates, compulsory boosters and vaccination, and limits on social distancing and attendance to public events. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says his government is making this move now that the omicron surge appears to be subsiding.
Jimmy and comedian Kurt Metzger discuss this new “rollback” phase of the pandemic.”