Locked-Down Americans Fatter-Than-Ever, Krispy Kreme Unveils 'Free-Donuts-For-The-Vaxxed' Promo

 Let's hope Krispy Kreme is working on a vaccine for diabetes, because it's latest promotion isn't exactly a net-positive for the public welfare.

The donut-maker has announced that, starting Monday, anybody who presents proof of vaccination at any Krispy Kreme location can receive one free glazed donut per visit.

"Krispy Kreme is finding ways to be sweet as the U.S. continues to scale COVID-19 vaccinations. To show our support for those who choose to get vaccinated, starting Monday, 3/22, anyone who shows their COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card will receive a free Original Glazed® doughnut."

In a Q&A published on its website, the company explained that the offer is valid for every individual with a valid Vaccination Record card. Individuals are limited to one donut, but the offer can be redeemed once per day. Meaning anybody who receives the COVID vaccine can swing by for a free glazed doughnut every day between now and the end of the year. The company promised that staff wouldn't try to record or document any customer's vaccination information.

There is one catch, though: the offer is only valid at participating US locations. Though Krispy Kreme also offered a link for customers to complain about any unanticipated difficulties in receiving their free doughnuts.

What if an individual doesn't want to get vaccinated? Well, they can participate in another, much more limited, promotion. Here's what Krispy Kreme said:

"We understand that choosing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine is a highly personal decision. We advise all employees and guests to consult with their healthcare provider regarding whether to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination and which vaccine to receive after reviewing the available information. If you have made the personal decision to not receive the COVID vaccine, please visit us on Mondays, 3/29/21 – 5/24/21, to receive a free Original Glazed® doughnut and a medium brewed coffee to get your week off to a good start."

Judging by the response on social media, the promotion has already succeeded in generating "buzz". Though many joked that Krispy Kreme was trying to swap one public health crisis for another.

It's not like Americans aren't already suffering from rampant weight gain after a year of being largely confined to their homes and barred from gyms.

A recent poll from the American Psychological Association found that some 42% of U.S. adults reported packing on undesired weight since the start of the pandemic.

The poll found that adults who reported undesired weight gain packed on an average 29 pounds during the pandemic.

All of which could not be more ironic as the mitigation policies chosen by 'the smartest people in the room' - i.e. locking us all in our homes to evade a virus that leaves 99.7% of us unharmed - has actually increased the likelihood of Americans' dying if they are infected by COVID (obesity is among the most causal comorbidity for severe COVID cases).

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/krispy-kreme-promises-vaccinated-americans-one-free-doughnut-day-new-promotion/

Roche cuts late-stage study of Huntington's med, Ionis import with prior safety flags

 Hoping to tackle the absolutely brutal Huntington’s disease, Roche inked a licensing pact with Ionis back in 2017 for a novel antisense therapy targeting a protein implicated in the disease. Now, after riding out earlier safety red flags, Roche is calling a late-stage study quits on a data committee’s orders.

Roche has halted dosing for its Phase III study of tominersen, an antisense drug targeting the huntingtin protein and a mutant variant, after an independent data committee “made its recommendation based on the investigational therapy’s potential benefit/risk profile for study participants,” the Swiss drug giant said.

Roche in-licensed tominersen, formerly known as IONIS-HTTRx, back in 2017 and had enrolled 791 patients in 18 countries so far in the Phase III GENERATION HD1 study prior to stopping dosing. The double-blind, placebo-controlled study tested tominersen in patients with manifest Huntington’s over 25 months, randomized to receive either a 120-milligram dose of the drug every two months, a 120-milligram dose every four months or placebo.

Roche also stopped dosing in an open-label extension study dubbed GEN-EXTEND dosing patients on the same high- and low-dose protocol. The company said it would provide further updates on its plan for the drug after data are further evaluated and planned to keep monitoring patients’ safety signals through the study’s trial window.

“This is very unfortunate news to deliver on the tominersen Phase III study and we know it will be especially difficult for people with Huntington’s disease to hear,” CMO Levi Garraway said in a statement.

Roche pointed out that new safety risks weren’t at play in the committee’s decision. That would put to rest some worries that safety signals that derailed another Phase I study had carried over into the late-stage test.

Last March, Roche suspended enrollment of that study, dubbed GEN-PEAK, after investigators noted two cases of intrathecal catheter-related infections that weren’t tied to the drug. That study was later continued, and Roche said it has no plans to discontinue now.

Ionis bagged a $45 million licensing fee from Roche when they followed through on the pact in late 2017. Roche believes it is on to a new and better way to shut down production of huntingtin (HTT) protein, linked to the development of the lethal disease.

https://endpts.com/roche-cuts-bait-on-late-stage-study-of-huntingtons-med-tominersen-an-ionis-import-with-prior-safety-flags/

European Medicines Agency set to visit Russia on April 10

 Representatives from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will visit Russia on April 10, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on Monday.

The EMA launched a rolling review of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine earlier this month.

An EMA official urged EU members this month to refrain from approving Sputnik V at the national level while the agency was still reviewing it.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-russia-ema/european-medicines-agency-set-to-visit-russia-on-april-10-health-minister-idUSKBN2BE1PN

Astrazeneca is to blame for vaccine tensions with UK: EU official

 The European Union has not formally blocked the shipment of Astrazeneca vaccines from a Netherlands factory to the UK because no export request has been made but such a request would not be approved, an EU official said.

The official said the strains between Britain and the EU over supplies of vaccines was not the fault of either side, but due to Astrazeneca’s failure to deliver the doses it contracted to supply.

“The UK is not to blame. The EU is not to blame. It’s Astrazenca,” the official said. “Astrazeneca has to deliver doses to its EU customers.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-eu-astrazeneca/astrazeneca-is-to-blame-for-vaccine-strains-with-uk-eu-official-says-idUSKBN2BE18N

Russia claims EpiVacCorona effective against variants

 Russian scientists behind the country’s second vaccine against COVID-19, EpiVacCorona, said on Monday the shot was effective against variants of the coronavirus.

Russia began mass trials of EpiVacCorona, which is being developed by Siberia’s Vector Institute, in November last year.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-russia-vaccine-var/russian-scientists-says-epivaccorona-effective-against-variants-idUSKBN2BE1UL

Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine appears safe, triggers antibodies in trial in children

 Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine appears to be safe and able to trigger immune responses among children and adolescents, according to preliminary results from early and mid-stage trials, the company said late on Monday.

The preliminary data was from Phase I and II clinical trials involving over 500 people between the ages of three and 17 who received two shots of either medium or low dosage of vaccine, or a placebo.

Most adverse reactions were mild, Zeng Gang, a researcher with the company, told an academic conference in Beijing.

Two children who received the lower dose were reported to have experienced higher fever, categorized as grade 3, he said, without providing details or specific temperature.

The antibody levels triggered by Sinovac’s CoronaVac were higher than those seen in adults aged 18 to 59 and in elderly people in earlier clinical trials, Zeng said in the presentation.

For children three to 11 years old, the lower dose could induce favorable antibody responses, and the medium dose worked well for those aged 12 to 17, he said.

The preliminary data has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

Sinovac’s overseas Phase III trials testing the vaccine’s ability to prevent COVID-19 disease have so far not included minors.

The company is also testing a third booster shot in a China-based clinical trial, with participants given a third dose around eight months after receiving the second.

Sinovac has supplied 160 million vaccine doses to 18 countries and regions including China, with over 70 million doses administered.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vaccine-sinovac-bi/sinovac-covid-19-vaccine-appears-safe-triggers-antibodies-in-trial-in-children-researcher-idUSKBN2BE2M7

New U.S. COVID-19 cases show weekly uptick for first time since January

 New cases of COVID-19 in the United States rose 5% to more than 394,000 last week, the first increase after declining for nine straight weeks, according to a Reuters analysis of state, county and CDC data.

Thirty out of 50 states reported more new infections in the week ended March 21 compared with the previous seven days, up from 19 states in the prior week, according to the Reuters analysis.

Nationally, the weekly number of new cases had been on a downward trend since January, though health authorities have warned that infections could surge again if Americans relaxed social distancing restrictions too quickly. More infectious variants have also spread across the country.

“I am worried that if we don’t take the right actions now we will have another avoidable surge just as we are seeing in Europe right now and just as we are so aggressively scaling up vaccinations,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Monday.

The Northeast logged some of the highest rates of infection per capita, led by New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.

Deaths from COVID fell 15% to 7,793 last week, or about 1,100 per day, according to the Reuters analysis. Health officials hope the country’s vaccination effort can prevent a rise in deaths even if cases surge again.

For a fourth week, daily average vaccinations set a record, with 2.5 million shots given per day last week. As of Sunday, 25% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a vaccine, up from 21% a week ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 13% has received two doses, up from 11%.

The average number of COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals fell 6% to 36,000, the lowest since October, according to a Reuters tally.

Hospitalizations have fallen for 10 weeks nationally, but they are rising in 18 states, up from four states the previous week.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-trends-graphic/new-u-s-covid-19-cases-show-weekly-uptick-for-first-time-since-january-idUSKBN2BE29K