World News
Coronavirus weakening, may disappear on its own, Italian doctor says
Fox – An Italian infectious disease doctor believes the coronavirus has become less dangerous — and could disappear on its own without a vaccine.
Dr. Matteo Bassetti, the head of the infectious diseases clinic at the San Martino hospital, said the virus appears to have become less potent, possibly due to genetic mutations, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
“The clinical impression I have is that the virus is changing in severity,” Bassetti told the outlet.
“In March and early April the patterns were completely different. People were coming to the emergency department with a very difficult to manage illness and they needed oxygen and ventilation, some developed pneumonia.”
But he said in the past month, “the picture has completely changed in terms of patterns.”
“It was like an aggressive tiger in March and April but now it’s like a wild cat,” Bassetti said. “Even elderly patients, aged 80 or 90, are now sitting up n bed and they are breathing without help. The same patients would have died in two or three days before.”
He said one of the reasons for the virus becoming weaker could be that it has mutated in response to social distancing measures.
“I think the virus has mutated because our immune system reacts to the virus and we have a lower viral load now due to the lockdown, mask-wearing, social distancing,” he said. “We still have to demonstrate why it’s different now.”
It’s possible that the virus will be eradicated before researchers find a vaccine, he said.
“We have fewer and fewer people infected and it could end up with the virus dying out,” Bassetti said.
But another expert was less optimistic about the prospect of the virus disappearing soon, saying it could take years, the outlet reported.
“I don’t expect it to die out that quickly,” said Dr. Bharat Pankhania, a professor at the UK’s University of Exeter Medical School, according to the report.
“It will if it has no one to infect. If we have a successful vaccine then we’ll be able to do what we did with smallpox. But because it’s so infectious and widespread, it won’t go away for a very long time.”
Spain Officially Ends State of Emergency, Reopens Borders
The Western Journal – Spain lifted its state of emergency Sunday, ending a lockdown that began in March in an attempt to contain the coronavirus.
As of Sunday evening, Spain has had 246,272 positive coronavirus cases, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. That total places Spain seventh in the world and third in Europe.
Spain had 28, 323 deaths, according to the site. The nation is fourth in deaths in Europe and sixth globally.
Residents of all European Union countries except Portugal are now able to enter Spain without having to quarantine themselves, according to Reuters. The same holds true for Britain, but British citizens who visit Spain face a 14-day quarantine when they return home, Reuters reported.
Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Arancha González Laya is hopeful that a mutual agreement can be worked out to avoid quarantines in either country, according to Yahoo Finance.
U.S. News, Politics & Government
LUCIFERIAN MARCH FOR ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT’: SATANIC GROUP ORGANIZES NATIONWIDE RALLIES PROMOTING NEW WORLD ORDER
Group reportedly considers erecting Satanic monuments in place of toppled American history statues
Infowars – A Satanic group is organizing an international march on behalf of The Fallen One to call for the globalists’ dream of a One World Government.
Yes, really.
The group, who call themselves The Disciples Of Lucifer, has a Facebook page showing a list of 22 cities where the “Luciferian March For A One World Government” will take place this Sunday — and on the Summer Solstice no less.
“We are the Disciples of Lucifer and we are here to fulfill the Prophecies of Revelations and build a foundation to form a One World Government,” the group’s Facebook page states.
The Satanic marches are set to be held in major cities like Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and New York City, but also smaller cities like Columbus, Raleigh, Jacksonville, and even Canadian cities like Toronto.
“The marches are intended to create chaos and it has been speculated by some that demonstrators may even try to erect satanic monuments at existing sites where Confederate and other allegedly racist statues have been torn down,” Intellihub reported last week.
Christian YouTuber Hannah Williamson sounded the alarm about the event on Saturday.
“Why would Satanic people want a One World Government? One reason I think the Devil would want One World Government is it would be so much easier to control people, and get to people and tear people down,” Williamson said, adding that the Book of Revelation mentions a One World Government system.
The rallies, which appear to be reasonably unpopular given the Facebook RSVPs to the events, are happening the same day as the Summer Solstice, which is an important date for LaVeyan Satanism.
Is it any surprise that Satanic groups are promoting world government along with their corporate and Deep State masters?
AFRICAN-AMERICAN FAMILY OF WOMAN WHO PORTRAYED AUNT JEMIMA: “WE DO NOT WANT THAT HISTORY ERASED”
“We would ask that you reconsider just wiping all that away.”
Infowars – An African-American family whose relative once portrayed the Aunt Jemima character says their history is being “erased” after Quaker Oats announced it was ditching the image.
Last week, the company said it was scrapping the famous name and image, which appears primarily on their pancake syrup product, because “Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype.”
Lillian Richard became a goodwill ambassador for the brand in 1925 and worked for Quaker Oats for 23 years before dying in 1956.
Vera Harris, who is the family historian for the Richard family of Hawkins and Lillian’s second cousin, said the move to erase Aunt Jemima is an insult to Lillian Richard’s legacy.
“A lot of people want it removed. We want the world to know that our cousin Lillian was one of the Aunt Jemima’s and she made an honest living. We would ask that you reconsider just wiping all that away,” she told KLTV.
“She was considered a hero in Hawkins, and we are proud of that. We do not want that history erased,” Harris added.
According to Harris, Richard “made an honest living out of it for a number of years” by touring around Texas during a time when it was difficult for black women to get jobs.
She also voiced her opposition to the more widespread attempt to erase history, which has manifested itself in the removal of statues since Black Lives Matter protests were re-ignited last month.
“I wish we would take a breath and not just get rid of everything. because good or bad, it is our history. Removing that wipes away a part of me. A part of each of us. We are proud of our cousin,” Harris said.
She also expressed her opposition to the renaming of military bases because many of her relatives are veterans.
At Least 100 Shot over Father’s Day Weekend in Mayor Lightfoot’s Chicago
Breitbart – At least 100 people were shot, 14 fatally, in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s (D) Chicago over Father’s Day Weekend 2020.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports the first non-fatal shooting of the weekend occurred around 6:30 p.m. Friday, when a vehicle pulled up near a 35-year-old woman and the occupants opened fire. The woman was transported to hospital with gunshot wounds to her arm.
NBC Chicago reports the last non-fatal shooting of the weekend took place around 12:30 a.m. Monday, when an 18-year-old woman was shot while “driving in the 5100 block of South Calumet.”
The first fatal shooting of the weekend occurred at 9:52 p.m. Friday, when a car pulled up on three men and the occupants opened fire. Two 34-year-old men and a 43-year-old man were shot, and the wounds of one of the 34-year-old men proved fatal.
The last fatal shooting of the weekend occurred just after midnight Monday morning, when occupants of a car opened fire on a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old as they walked “in an alley in the 4700 block of West Superior.”
On June 21, 2020, Breitbart News reported at least 56 people had been shot in Chicago by Sunday morning of Father’s Day Weekend alone. Nine of those shooting victims died.
More than 30 were shot, two fatally, in Chicago last weekend and 35 were shot, five fatally, the weekend prior.
The Sun-Times reported 85 shot, 24 fatally, in Chicago during the last weekend of May 2020.
NJ Republicans Receive Misprinted Ballots with Democratic Candidates Listed Instead
The Western Journal – Many Republican voters in one New Jersey community got a surprise when they opened their mail ballots for a July 7 primary.
Their choices were all Democrats.
Between 500 and 700 Republicans received the wrong ballots out of about 2,400 enrolled Republicans in Bernardsville, NJ.com reported.
“The slate of candidates was all Democrat from Joe Biden down to dogcatcher, but on the upper right it clearly stated it was a Republican ballot and it had my name and correct information on the return envelope,” Karen Gardner, the chairwoman of the Bernardsville Republican Municipal Committee, said.
The error was laid at the door of the printing company that sent out the ballots, but the government still had a role in the mixup.
Donald Trump: Mail-In 2020 Ballots Will Be ‘SCANDAL OF OUR TIMES!’
Breitbart – President Donald Trump warned Monday that the Democrat push for mail-in ballots in the 2020 election would lead to an enormous scandal.
“RIGGED 2020 ELECTION: MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WILL BE PRINTED BY FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND OTHERS,” Trump wrote in all-caps on Twitter. “IT WILL BE THE SCANDAL OF OUR TIMES!”
The president shared a Breitbart News article featuring Attorney General Bill Barr’s comments about mail-in voting in an interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.
“That could take the country to a very dark place if we lose confidence in the outcomes of our elections,” he said.
Barr warned that mail-in ballots would also invite fraud.
“It absolutely opens the floodgates to fraud,” Barr said, warning that it could open up foreign interference in U.S. elections.
“Right now, a foreign country could print up tens of thousands of counterfeit ballots and be very hard for us to detect which was the right and which was the wrong ballot,” he continued. “So I think it can — it can upset and undercut the confidence in the integrity of our elections. If anything, we should tighten them up right now”
NASCAR investigates noose found in Bubba Wallace’s garage stall
Wallace successfully pushed for NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag at its tracks and properties two weeks ago.
Al Jazeera – NASCAR has launched an investigation after a noose was found in the garage stall of Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver in the elite Cup Series who just two weeks ago successfully pushed the stock car series to ban the Confederate flag at its venues.
“Late this afternoon, NASCAR was made aware that a noose was found in the garage stall of the 43 team,” NASCAR said in a statement on Sunday. “We are angry and outraged, and cannot state strongly enough how seriously we take this heinous act.”
On Twitter, Wallace said: “The despicable act of racism and hatred leaves me incredibly saddened and serves as a painful reminder of how much further we have to go as a society and how persistent we must be in the fight against racism.”
Ex-NY Times reporter Alex Berenson rips New Yorker for ‘panic porn’ over coronavirus hospitalization reporting
Fox – Former New York Times journalist Alex Berenson called out The New Yorker for reporting coronavirus hospitalization figures that the magazine later admitted were inaccurate.
In a piece published last Friday titled “As New York Reaches a Coronavirus Landmark, Parts of Red America Are Facing a Potential Disaster,” New Yorker writer John Cassidy initially wrote that in Florida, “12,673 people were hospitalized, compared to the 8,553 a month ago, according to the COVID Tracking Project.”
On Saturday, Berenson called out the error in what he described as “panic porn.”
“It should come as no surprise that the most crucial and scariest fact in this New Yorker piece of panic porn is wrong: @johncassidy reports that 12,673 people ‘are hospitalized’ in Florida with #coronavirus, up 4,000 in a month. Nope…” Berenson began a Twitter thread. “12,673 HAVE BEEN hospitalized in Florida since hospitalizations began in March. The vast majority of those patients are home now. Florida has never had over ~2,000 people hospitalized with #Covid, 3.5% of its total hospital beds. Which presents a slightly different picture.”
He continued, “Saddest part is that @johncassidy is generally a good reporter. And ~13,000 hospitalizations would be a big number – almost as many as NY at the peak. But the media is so in love with the disaster narrative, so ready to believe the worst, that that figure raises no eyebrows.”
Economy & Business
Coronavirus changed everything. Except T.J. Maxx.
Shoppers are flooding reopened stores, pushing sales higher than they were a year ago
Fox – The coronavirus pandemic ushered in a surge in online shopping, and most retailers are scrambling to adapt. Not T.J. Maxx.
The discount chain isn’t looking to quickly ramp up e-commerce beyond its minuscule level or add new features allowing American customers to buy products online and pick them up in stores. It stopped taking online orders during the lockdowns and even now is limiting the number of items for sale on its website.
Parent TJX Cos., which also owns Marshalls, HomeGoods and other discount chains, is as focused as ever on drawing shoppers to its more than 4,500 stores world-wide, betting consumers are desperate to roam the aisles after months of being stuck at home. As of June 17, about 85% of TJX stores had reopened.
“Strategically, nothing will change,” TJX Chief Executive Ernie Herrman told analysts in May. “We will not look to e-commerce as our major leveraging point to get us through Covid and out the other side.”
Off-price retailers such as T.J. Maxx have found the economics of e-commerce unattractive, but they risk losing more sales should another lockdown occur.
For now, though, shoppers are flooding reopened stores, pushing sales higher than they were a year ago, Mr. Herrman said in May. Meanwhile, other chains, including Macy’s Inc. and Kohl’s Corp., say sales are running below prepandemic levels.
Last Monday morning two dozen women waited outside a T.J. Maxx in Ann Arbor, Mich., before it reopened after months of lockdown.
“I love the deals,” said Trina Meadows, a chemical dependency counselor who drove an hour north from Maumee, Ohio. Most Ohio stores reopened last month, so her local store “is very picked over,” she said, and doesn’t have a Runway section, T.J. Maxx’s selection of discounted high-end designer brands.
Antifa Doc Reveals Organized Warfare Tactics in Siege of Police Precinct
The New American – Never underestimate your enemy.
The mainstream media would have us believe that the protests and riots that have swept the nation after the death of George Floyd are spontaneous demonstrations whose large turnouts validate the notion that the ideas they argue for— such as abolishing the police — are widely popular.
The average American does not have a full understanding of how much time and money it takes to pull off mass organization such as the one currently taking place. But at The New American, we have long reported on the vast amount of money and institutional resources being poured into Black Lives Matter and Antifa by global elites such as George Soros.
That these radical insurrectionists are so highly funded, organized, and armed should be a cause for concern among Americans and inspire patriots to greater involvement in the well-being of their local communities.
Nevertheless, many continue to write off Antifa, BLM, and other left-wing revolutionary groups as nothing more than unorganized college kids who, should they turn violent, could swiftly be dealt with by a lone gun-toting patriot.
Yet reality presents a far different picture. A recently published document by rioters in Minneapolis who successfully ran police out of the Third Precinct reveals an understanding of the principles of fourth-generation warfare, along with a well-honed level of coordination.
In short, what we’re dealing with is more than a mere unruly mob. It’s a well-planned rebellion playing out on the streets of urban America.
Published at the blog CrimethInc, which describes itself as a “rebel alliance” and a “think tank” for “anonymous collective action,” the article is titled “The Siege of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis: An Account and Analysis.”
“In this anonymous submission, participants in the uprising in Minneapolis in response to the murder of George Floyd explore how a combination of different tactics compelled the police to abandon the Third Precinct,” reads a summary of the breakdown, whose author remains anonymous.
The author explains that the key to their victory over police was the combination of violent members of the “crowd” with nonviolent ones, the latter giving the former cover to attack police while making law-enforcement officers hesitant to hit back with lethal force:
We call the battles of the second and third days at the Precinct a siege because the police were defeated by attrition. The pattern of the battle was characterized by steady intensification punctuated by qualitative leaps due to the violence of the police and the spread of the conflict into looting and attacks on corporate-owned buildings. The combination of the roles listed above helped to create a situation that was unpoliceable, yet which the police were stubbornly determined to contain. The repression required for every containment effort intensified the revolt and pushed it further out into the surrounding area. By Day Three, all of the corporate infrastructure surrounding the Third Precinct had been destroyed and the police had nothing but a “kingdom of ashes” to show for their efforts. Only their Precinct remained, a lonely target with depleted supplies. The rebels who showed up on Day Three found an enemy teetering on the brink. All it needed was a final push.
As the author noted, the radicals’ goal was to stir the police to violence: “It’s important to note that the dynamic we saw on Day Two did not involve using non-violence and waiting for repression to escalate the situation. Instead, a number of individuals stuck their necks out very far to invite police violence and escalation.”
But once officers moved to engage, the mob employed their “peaceful” members to discourage reprisal, “interrupting police violence with strategically deployed ‘innocence’ (‘Hands up! Don’t shoot!’).”
The analysis goes on to relate that the crowd learned to quickly deal with tear gas by setting up eye-flushing stations with the help of on-scene medics. Once they learned that concussion grenades are not physically harmful if one is more than five feet away from them, the crowd remained calm when confronted by that type of weapon.
The insurrectionists also used looting as a battle tactic. “Looters can help feed and heal the crowd while simultaneously disorienting the police. In turn, those going head to head with the police can generate opportunities for looting,” the article reads.
“Employing stores of looted bottled water, many people in the crowd were able to learn and quickly execute eye-flushing,” it states about their response to tear gas.
Of course all this ignores the biggest weapon in their arsenal: Sympathizers in the government who keep the police from taking decisive action against them.
The analysis closes with a section titled “Visions of the Commune,” a description of the agitators’ reveling in the mayhem they created:
As the police made their retreat, a young Somali woman dressed in traditional garb celebrated by digging up a landscaping brick and unceremoniously heaving it through a bus stop shelter window. Her friends — also traditionally dressed — raised their fists and danced.
A masked shirtless man skipped past the burning Precinct and pumped his fists, shouting, “COVID IS OVER!” while twenty feet away, some teenage girls took a group selfie. Instead of saying “Cheese!” they said “Death to the pigs!” Lasers flashed across the smoke-filled sky at a police helicopter overhead.
A young kid who couldn’t be more than seven or eight years old walked up to us with a whiskey bottle sporting a rag coming out the top. “Y’all got a light?” We laughed and asked, “What do you wanna hit?” He pointed to a friendly grocery store and we asked if he could find “an enemy target.” He immediately turned to the US Bank across the street.
If the nation’s patriots don’t cease their underestimation of the Marxsist revolutionaries and rise to the occasion, the “Commune” will soon come to every neighborhood in America.
Science & Technology
Scientists warn: Antibodies your body makes to fight the coronavirus don’t last long
NaturalNews – Antibodies that can supposedly grant immunity from COVID-19 have been the linchpin of many strategies to fight the ongoing pandemic. A new study, however, looks to put a damper on those plans.
Published on the journal Nature Medicine, this new study suggests that antibodies that the immune system produces against the coronavirus may last only two to three months.
Antibodies don’t last that long
Antibodies that can fight other coronaviruses, such as those that cause SARS and MERS, are thought to last for about a year. Based on this, scientists were hoping that antibodies against the Wuhan coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) would last at least as long.
Chinese researchers looked at 37 asymptomatic people and compared them to an equal number of people who had symptoms from the Wanzhou District in central China.
Several studies have shown that people who are most visibly ill with COVID-19 develop antibodies against the disease. This new study, however, is the first to look at the immune response of asymptomatic people.
The researchers found that the asymptomatic people did produce antibodies; however, their immune response was weaker than in those who developed symptoms.
More importantly, the antibody levels fell to undetectable levels in 40 percent of asymptomatic people, compared to just 13 percent of those who had symptoms.
Other experts question the study
While the study shows that antibody levels dropped quickly, especially in asymptomatic people, several experts cautioned that this doesn’t necessarily mean that people can get infected a second time.
These experts pointed out that the researchers did not into account the protection offered by immune cells that may fight the coronavirus on their own or produce new antibodies when they detect the virus.
Studies have already shown that the coronavirus triggers a cellular immune response, that is both robust and protective.
“Most people are generally not aware of T cell immunity, and so much of the conversation has focused on antibody levels,” said Columbia University virologist Angela Rasmussen.
Aside from virus-killing T cells, infected people also make so-called memory B cells, which can rapidly ramp up antibody production should they detect the coronavirus again.
Facebook Fact-checker Is Staffed by Democrat Donors, Ex-CNN Employees
The New American – Who fact-checks the fact-checkers?
After one its stories was dubiously slapped with a “partly false” rating from Facebook fact-checking partner Lead Stories, The National Pulse dug into the platform’s staff and found that many, including the top brass, are Democratic Party donors and former CNN employees.
Lead Stories is described as “a web-based fact-checking platform that identifies false or misleading stories, rumors, and conspiracies by using its Trendolizer technology to identify trending content that is then fact-checked by their team of journalists.”
The platform serves as one of Facebook’s partners for fact-checking content shared by users. According to The National Pulse, 50 percent of Lead Stories’ staff have been affiliated with CNN. Together, they total more than 100 years of experience with Cable News Network.
The National Pulse discovered Lead Stories’ strong left-wing bias after the group marked as “partly false” an article examining Black Lives Matter’s ties to the Democratic Party, despite BLM’s assertion of political neutrality.
The article noted that the Black Lives Matter website partners with the Democrat fundraising platform ActBlue, which also serves as a top donor to Joe Biden.
Lead Stories claims in its “Hoax Alert” section that The National Pulse’s reporting falls short of the truth because ACtBlue is merely a “payment processor” and is thus not affiliated with Joe Biden for President.
But as the article points out, ActBlue exclusively works with Democrats; Black Lives Matter’s use of the platform, rather than a more neutral option such as GoFundMe, shows a clear partisan alignment.
The National Pulse contacted Lead Stories’ editor-in-chief Alan Duke, who told the outlet he could not discuss the issue of the fact-check over the phone, saying only that appeals must be made by e-mail (but without providing an e-mail address).
Now whenever someone shares that story on Facebook, they see a message that reads “Independent fact-checkers at Lead Stories say information in your post is partly false. To stop the spread of false news, we’ve added a notice to your post.”
The message then goes on to say, “All fact-checkers who partner with Facebook must be signatories of the International Fact-Checking Network and follow their Code of Principles.”
A look at IFCN’s Code of Principles reveals that in the very first principle, fact-checkers are required to make “a commitment to non-partisanship and fairness.”
Despite that commitment, the makeup of Lead Stories’ staff is the very essence of “partisanship.”
Health
The sickening truth about disinfecting wipes: They are made from toxic ingredients that can cause cancer
Dr. Leonard Coldwell – If you use disinfecting wipes, it’s likely because you want to rid your home of germs. They might do a good job of accomplishing that task, but you could be introducing something that is potentially even more harmful when you use them.
In fact, the EPA regulates disinfecting wipes as pesticides, which actually makes sense when you consider that they are meant for controlling germs, which are a type of pest. That’s also why you’ll find instructions on using the product for killing pests on the label, as well as first aid directions for accidental exposure.
Just what is in these pesticide wipes that you’re spreading all over your kitchen and other important surfaces on the pretense of “good health”?
Most of them contain toxic quaternary ammonium compounds. Also known as “quats,” these compounds can cause allergies and asthma, and they can irritate your lungs, eyes and skin. If you see terms like “Alkyl C12-18,” “Alkyl C12-14,” or “n-Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride” on the ingredients list, it’s time to start shopping for a replacement. Quats have also been linked to reproductive problems.
Some wipes contain cancer-causing ortho-phenylphenyl. Premoistened wipes contain chemicals like parabens and formaldehyde releasers to stop bacteria from growing within the package. If your wipes contain chlorine bleach, you should know that it’s been linked to asthma.
You need to use extra care around children, who are even more susceptible to pesticide dangers from disinfectant wipes. Their smaller size and developing organs make them highly vulnerable, so they should never use the wipes. Moreover, limited exposure to living bacteria can help to boost people’s immune systems. Excessive disinfectant use has been cited as a contributor to the rise of superbugs.
Keeping your home clean without using dangerous chemicals
So what should you do if you’re worried about germs? Consider this: There isn’t any evidence that using disinfectants to clean is better at preventing illness than the standard soap-and-water approach. In fact, experts have called for offices and classrooms to stop using these wipes, advising that they’re only appropriate in certain situations, such as cleaning up bodily fluids from a person who has a contagious illness. In those cases, however, you’d be better off opting for disinfectants whose active ingredients are safer. Some good choices include lactic acid, citric acid, caprylic acid, or hydrogen peroxide.
Wet clothes or paper towels work surprisingly well, but if you want to give your cleaning efforts some extra strength, consider using some essential oils inside a spray bottle. Lemon, peppermint, tea tree, and thyme oil can all get the job done while adding a pleasant and safe fragrance at the same time.
In fact, giving up toxic wipes in favor of soap and water could actually leave your surfaces cleaner. That’s because, as the Environmental Working Group points out, most people don’t use these wipes properly in the first place. They generally need to remain on the surface you wish to disinfect for a period of time; the instructions will say how long a particular product needs to stay on the surface. Keeping a surface wet for four to ten minutes, as directed on many labels, can take up a lot more wipes than you might think.
After doing that, the surface needs to be rinsed with water. If you were disinfecting a cutting board or kitchen counter that might come into contact with food, it also needs to be washed again before using.
Thankfully, these toxic wipes aren’t really necessary for most situations, and you should have no trouble getting by with the tried-and-true method of cleaning with soap and water. You’ll save a lot of money, and best of all, you won’t be putting your family’s health in danger or contributing to the superbug problem.
Elderberry Can Effectively Reduce Upper Respiratory Symptoms
The outbreak of SARS CoV-2 took the world by surprise. While it was only revealed in December 2019, by February 15, 2020, a Nature article recorded more than 80 clinical trials underway to test treatments.1 These ranged from studies involving such things as Traditional Chinese medicine, herbs, stem cells from menstrual blood, and HIV drugs and malaria medications.
The virus can trigger a wide range of symptoms that affect people differently. The acronym SARS stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, as it often attacks lung cells.2 Symptoms can appear from two to 14 days after exposure and may include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue and muscle or body aches.3
The virus that triggers COVID-19 is not the same as those that cause the common cold or flu, yet many of the symptoms are similar. An upper respiratory tract infection causes irritation and swelling with cough and it’s one of the most common illnesses in children.4 Symptoms include headache, cough, congestion, fatigue and achy muscles and bones.
Flu is also a respiratory infection that generally affects up to 20% of those living in the United States each year.5 The symptoms are like the common cold, but they usually stick around longer and tend to be worse. Flu can lead to pneumonia, sinus infections and a worsening of other chronic medical conditions, such as asthma and diabetes.
Elderberry May Boost Ability to Combat Viral Infections
What each of these conditions has in common is a viral attack on lung tissue. Of course, each of the viruses use different pathways and cause varying degrees of severity. For instance, the CDC estimates that up to 50% with COVID-19 are asymptomatic, or don’t have any symptoms.6
Elderberries have been used for many years to help treat upper respiratory infections. They are the fruit of the sambucus tree, the most important of which is sambucus nigra.7 The plant is also called the black elderberry and European elder with documented origins dating back to 2000 BC in Switzerland.8
Hippocrates was among the first physicians known to use elderberries.9Currently, the fruit is available in various supplement forms such as gummies, syrups, pills and lozenges.10
In one study, researchers found that elderberries directly inhibited the ability of flu viruses to enter cells and replicate.11 The same results have been found in past studies, but in this one scientists examined the exact mechanism using commercially cultivated elderberry.
Researchers from the University of Sydney were surprised to find that elderberry juice effectively inhibited replication of flu viruses after the cells had been infected.12 This is significant, since blocking the virus at different stages increases the potential for an intervention to help prevent infection.
Anthocyanidin compounds, which are phytonutrients responsible for the fruit’s intense color, were credited with reducing viral activity. The results of this study supported past research in which adults suffering flu-like symptoms took elderberry syrup and experienced an average four-day faster recovery.13
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