Nurses Strikes
Shockingly, 54% of nurses who belong to the Royal College of Nursing have
voted to reject the Government’s latest pay offer of 5% and a one off cash payment, despite the RCN recommendations that the deal should be accepted. More strikes have been announced and nurses will walk out for 48 hours between April 30th and May 2nd. In the meantime, UNISON have announced that its NHS members were accepting the same offer. Where does this leave nurses? Even more concerning is that nurses working in intensive care and oncology (cancer care) will also walk out. Really?
As a retired nurse, I cannot see how continuing this futility will help anyone, nurses included. Perhaps any colleagues who are reading this may like to watch my
interview with Jenna Platt RGN RMN–please take note of the message. Can you place your head on the pillow at night, knowing you are following your moral compass and your professional code of conduct? Who will need ‘human’ nurses in the future anyway? I urge my colleagues to think again. How can you walk out on your patients?
Arcturus and 'sticky eye'
The World Health Organisation has its eyes on the new Covid Arcturus variant. A new symptom in children has raised the alarm. Is a sticky eye really Covid? Symptoms being observed in children in India include high fever, cough and itchy conjunctivitis or ‘pink eye’ without pus. Known to many as ‘sticky eye’, XBB.1.16 as it is otherwise known, has the “oomph to outcompete” other circulating Covid variants according to
Dr Rajnarayanan, assistant Dean of Research and Associate Professor at the New York Institute of Technology.
With hayfever season already upon us where itchy puffy eyes have become normal and expected, I see this as yet another excuse to put fear into parents and another reason to swab/test children. I have heard that using
cold tea bags is excellent for itchy puffy eyes, but please always get your own advice as everyone is different. Anti histamine eye drops are available over the counter at your local pharmacist, if in doubt.
Candida auris
The media is rife with
stories of the latest deadly disease we need to be worrying about, as if there weren’t enough already. Are you reading this with a sense of cynicism or do these latest fear stories scare you? Are we all ‘fear’ fatigued or is it simply a case of the boy who cried wolf? Virus, pathogens and now fungus.
Although only discovered 15 years ago, according to ‘experts’, Candida Auris is one of the world's deadliest microbes. The World Health Organisation estimates 30%-50% of those affected will die. The yeast type fungus affects the blood, nervous system and internal organs and is resistant to medicines we already have. According to the CDC, new data shows that cases of Candida auris are spreading at a fast rate, increasing from 476 cases in 2019 to 1,471 cases in 2021. Conveniently, in 2019,
researchers suggested that rising temperatures linked to
climate change may have played a role in the rising number of Candida auris infections.
Those most vulnerable include the immunosuppressed and the elderly. Are we to believe that climate change is responsible or could there be other reasons for an increase in cases? Many will blame the ‘pandemic’, crowded hospital wards and exposure to a large volume of antibiotics. Surfaces can be contaminated and Candida auris can be spread very easily from patient to patient, leading to contamination within and between different hospitals. However, public health authorities in the USA believe that it is spreading outside of hospitals. A cluster in Nevada appears to have no links to hospitals and is causing great concern.
I don’t believe in coincidences, so I wasn’t surprised to see a scene from ‘
The Last of Us’, a fairly recent science fiction drama series which portrays the world falling apart after a pandemic. However, this is a fungal pandemic like no other where a mind controlling fungus takes over people’s brains and turns them into zombies. Talking of zombies, did you know that The Department for Homeland Security,
FEMA, have a ‘zombie apocalypse’ page on their website?
But when all else fails, what could be better than a new
vaccine? Researchers are successfully immunising mice against Candida auris. It won’t be long before humans are next.
Covid-19 new monocolonal antibody
InflaRx are the latest pharmaceutical company to jump on the monoclonal antibody treatment for Covid-19. The FDA have issued an emergency authorisation to treat Covid-19 critically ill patients.
Vilobelimab has gone through phase one and two ‘clinical trials’ for safety and efficacy. If that doesn’t reassure you, nothing will.
If you are sick, please ask what medication you are being offered so that you can make an informed decision, and make a point of reading the patient information leaflet. Monoclonal antibodies are here to stay and are being used for many different conditions, so it’s good to know the risks and benefits.
'End of life' care medicines in short supply
An
i News report states that many patients including those with terminal cancer are having to endure additional pain because of a shortage of painkillers such as oxycodone, and medicines used to control nausea and aid sleep. Pharmacists are struggling to access 'end of life' drugs such as midazolam, and glycopyrronium bromide, which helps reduce secretions that lead to breathing issues. Alternative medicines are not guaranteed as effective.
Cows, China, mRNA and exosomes
Findings from
Dr Peter McCullough in his latest paper outline how mRNA vaccine technology can now be manipulated and added to our food. Experiments in China have successfully immunised mice by loading mRNA into cow’s milk using
exosomes (more on those another time). In effect, what this means is that without even knowing, you and your children could be orally vaccinated.
Dr McCullough states:
From a scientific perspective these experimental steps taken by the Chinese were a stunning success. However, given the damage mRNA vaccines have generated in terms of injuries, disabilities and deaths, these data raise considerable ethical issues. The COVID States project has shown that 25% of Americans were successful in remaining unvaccinated. This group would have strong objections to mRNA in the food supply, particularly if it was done surreptitiously or with minimal labelling/warnings. Children could be targeted with easily administered oral vaccine dosing or potentially get mRNA through milk at school lunches and other unsupervised meals.
Do you know exactly what you and your children are consuming?
The United Nations emergency platform for global emergencies
Whilst many of us have been focusing our attention on the World Health Organisation’s Pandemic Prepardeness Treaty, quietly in the background the United Nations have been preparing to ‘be prepared too’. At the launch of
‘Our Common Agenda’ in New York, Secretary General
Antonio Guterres said:
Today, it is for me a milestone on our road to Our Common Agenda and the Summit of the Future. I am pleased to launch two policy briefs to inform the discussions of Member States as they prepare for the SDG [Sustainable Development Goals] Summit and the Summit of the Future. One considers how we can take the future into account in our decision-making and deliver on our responsibilities to generations yet to be born. The second lays out proposals to strengthen the international response to complex global shocks through an emergency platform.
Who voted for the United Nations and the World Health Organisation? Far from being ruled by our own governments, it is clear to many how national governments are being rapidly replaced with global governance. One World Government, One World Order, One Health, which in reality means one rule for us and another for them. The Trilateral Commission has declared 2023 as year one of the
New World Order, founded originally in 1973 by David Rockefeller. It appears to be a highly selective invitation-only group. The
members include some in public office. For those in the United Kingdom, Sir Keir Starmer is the representative.
The 'Air-Ring'
Somehow I cannot imagine that many of you reading will want to adopt this as the latest ‘fashion must have’. However, the manufacturers assure us that the
Air-Ring, described as “a wearable air purifier that is design to encompass the user’s face with a refreshing atmosphere of purified air”, will complement any outfit for any occasion or event. How can we possibly live without unlimited breathing protection in order to live a life without limits? What are the limits? First masks, then shields, now air-rings.
You could be forgiven for thinking this device is some kind of weird neck brace, but apparently the Air-Ring is a “wearable” item and works by filtering harmful particles and viruses using N95 HEPA filters (I seem to remember seeing them in vacuum cleaners). Seeing is believing, and a short video
here will give you a better idea of what it looks like and how it works. The message, “Enjoy breathing and uncover adventure”. Seriously!
Blood pressure monitor bracelet 24/7
Another gadget, another gizmo to tell you how your body is performing. The
Actiia smartwatch, which is already available in many countries, comes in at £199. A smartwatch that continually monitors blood pressure 24/7 without the need for a cuff around the arm, which can be uncomfortable. It uses smart sensors which detect blood volume. It will provide measurements on your phone through its own app. Continuous monitoring of blood pressure can be useful for people with hypertension who require regular monitoring, however, would knowing your blood pressure make you less or more anxious? High anxiety and high blood pressure can go hand in hand.
Who wants to live forever?
It seems that many people do, according to the
Daily Mail. All I want for Christmas 2030 is an age reversing nanobot or perhaps an avatar! Imagine queuing up for one of those on Christmas Eve. I kid you not, anything and everything is possible, almost. By ‘uploading’ your brain and your mind, you will be able to inhabit an avatar and even attend your own funeral. Ray Kurzeweil, a former Google engineer says, “One day, your body dies and with it your brain stops, but no big problem because 99% of your mind will be running on IT, in the clouds”. The service is marketed as ‘high tech embalming’ however, I call it transhumanism.
But there’s a catch (you probably guessed there was one coming), you have to be euthanized first, and even then there’s no guarantee that the ‘upload’ will work. A snip at half the price, £100,000 will reserve your place. The company offering this unique Frankenstein’esque service is called
Nectome (should you want to join the other 25 who have already secured their place on the ‘cloud’). But who pays the bill to keep your dead thoughts alive? Who renews or upgrades the subscription? And what happens when the money runs out? Nectome are not in danger of that and have so far raised $1 million in funding and have also been awarded a federal grant of $960,000 from the U.S National Institute of Mental Health. The plan for the company is to preserve a brain with memories from a patient with mental health illness who has agreed on assisted suicide. The search is on.
And finally
Things don’t seem to be going too well for our new King and the Coronation. According to reports, problematic seating plans, arguments over ‘costumes and robes’, lengthy over runs at rehearsals and now, a Coronation concert with more ‘has beens’ than you can shake a stick at. With many ‘celebrities’
turning down the opportunity to play for the King, we are left with Katy Perry, Take That (minus Robbie Williams) and Lionel Ritchie. I can’t say the line-up fills me with excitement, more a feeling of dread. Will it come with a health warning?
As we all look forward to a new round of NHS strikes, one can only wonder, amidst all the strain on the NHS with shortages of staff, how it is still possible to access a vaccination appointment with no delay? The United Kingdom clearly has no safe or effective health care for its citizens. Whilst the Government have aspirations to attain global super power status in Life Sciences, one can’t help but ask, at what price? The health of a Nation, or the death of one?
Until next week, question everything, join your own dots and find your own truth. Try to find moments of joy in every day and stay strong—fear is a weakness.
Debi
Mathew 24:36 KJV
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
