Coronavirus - Flu Vaccination: A Flu Shot Might Reduce Coronavirus Infections, Early Research Suggests - by Melinda Wenner Moyer

U.S. health officials are urging Americans to get their flu shots this year in the hopes of thwarting a winter “twindemic”—a situation in which both influenza and COVID-19 spread and sicken the public. But a new study suggests that there could be another key reason to get a flu jab this year: it might reduce your risk of COVID-19. The research, released as a preprint that has not yet been peer-reviewed, indicates that a flu vaccine against the influenza virus may also trigger the body to produce broad infection-fighting molecules that combat the pandemic-causing coronavirus.

n the new study, Mihai Netea, an infectious disease immunologist at Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and his colleagues combed through their hospital’s databases to see if employees who got a flu shot during the 2019–2020 season were more or less likely to get infected by SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19. Workers who received a flu vaccine, the researchers found, were 39 percent less likely to test positive for the coronavirus as of June 1, 2020. While 2.23 percent of nonvaccinated employees tested positive, only 1.33 percent of vaccinated ones did. Netea and his team posted their findings on the preprint server MedRxiv on October 16.

Read more at: A Flu Shot Might Reduce Coronavirus Infections, Early Research Suggests - Scientific American

Germany: Only one in ten Germans would vote for Trump

If the Germans were allowed to take part in the presidential election in the United States, their vote would be clear: only 10% would vote for incumbent President Donald Trump, a clear majority of 56% his challenger Joe Biden.

Read more at: Only one in ten Germans would vote for Trump | – re:Jerusalem

The Netherlands: Current coronavirus rules will last well into December, Dutch prime minister says

The partial lockdown imposed in the Netherlands two weeks ago will last deep into December, prime minister Mark Rutte and health minister Hugo de Jonge told reporters on Tuesday evening.

‘You can assume that you will celebrate Sinterklaas in a small group, with no more than three people from outside your household,’ Rutte said. ‘It is still too early to say about Christmas.’ Ministers are also working on new recommendations for holiday travel, both in the Netherlands and abroad, and that could be published as early as later this week, Rutte said.

Read more at: Current coronavirus rules will last well into December, Dutch prime minister says - DutchNews.nl

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EU -Britain: Vaccine hopes rise as Oxford jab prompts immune response among old as well as young adults - by Guy Faulconbridge, Kate Kelland, Kate Holton

The vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford, also triggers lower adverse responses among the elderly, British drug maker AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L, which is helping manufacture the vaccine, said on Monday.

Read more at: Vaccine hopes rise as Oxford jab prompts immune response among old as well as young adults | Reuters

The Netherlands: Experts call for shorter and sharper coronavirus lockdown in the Netherlands - by Victoria Séveno

The Red Team is advising the Dutch government to put the Netherlands into a stricter lockdown as soon as possible, closing everything - including schools - for two weeks and only leaving supermarkets and pharmacies open for necessities. Wim Schellekens, former inspector at the Health Care Inspectorate and member of the Red Team, told RTL Nieuws: “If we opt for a strong lockdown now, we can resume our life somewhat normally in a few weeks.”

Read more at: Experts call for shorter and sharper coronavirus lockdown in the Netherlands

America's Latest Export: The Conspiracy Theorists Crazies have crossed the Atlantic and QAnon is now in Europe–by Mark Scott

If you don't know what QAnon is this is how wikileaks divines the cult - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon.

At first glance it’s not a natural fit. The U.S. conspiracy theory — now with millions of acolytes worldwide — alleges a vast deception to undermine U.S. President Donald Trump. It blends anti-government, anti-lockdown and anti-Semitic rhetoric with unfounded beliefs about a vast pedophile ring run by the global elite. Its followers adhere to a quasi-religious belief that a great savior — aided by “Q,” an anonymous government insider from whom QAnon gets its name — will protect followers from the dark forces behind the conspiracy.

In the U.S., discussion about QAnon has broken into the political mainstream. When Trump was asked to disavow the group at a recent town hall event, he first said he knew “nothing about QAnon” but then added: “I do know that they are very much against pedofiles.

Despite its digital roots, this conspiracy based, populst, ultra -right-wing QAnon has extended its reach into the real world, with attendees at protests against anti-coronavirus measures and supportive of conspiracy theories spreading its talking points across Europe, the U.S. and other parts of the world.

Read more at: QAnon goes European – POLITICO