A Danish Study On Links Between Coeliac Disease And Blood Clots
I am a coeliac on a long-term gluten-free diet.
I am worried that the covids might prey on people like me, so I am researching hard to find out the truth.
Note that in much of Europe, North America and Australasia, coeliacs are at least 1-in-100 of the population and could be higher. The NHS quotes the 1-in-100 figure on this web page, which also says reported cases of coeliac disease are higher in women than men.
This morning I found on the Internet, a peer-reviewed Danish study which was entitled
Coeliac Disease And Risk Of Venous Thromboembolism: A Nationwide Population-Based Case-Control Study
The nation in the study was Denmark.
This was the introductory paragraph.
Patients with coeliac disease (CD) may be at increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), i.e. deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and its complication pulmonary embolism (PE), because they are reported to have hyperhomocysteinaemia, low levels of K-vitamin-dependent anticoagulant proteins, and increased levels of thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor.
One thing in this summary screams at me. The mention of vitamin-K!
Ten years ago, I had a serious stroke, that because of modern clot-busting drugs failed to kill me.
I am now on long-term Warfarin and know I have to eat a diet without Vitamin-K.
Given that in a nation like Germany with a population of eighty-three million, there could be nearly a million coeliacs, many of whom will be undiagnosed, this Danish study should be taken seriously, as it should be able to predict the number of clots down to coeliac disease in Germany. But I’m just an engineer and statistician and no medic. Although after the medical troubles of my family, I know a lot more medical knowledge than I did twenty years ago.
An article in The Times, also says that all but two who suffered clots after having the AstraZeneca vaccine were women.
It should be noted that the NHS states on its web site, that women are more likely to suffer coeliac disease than men.
I am absolutely certain, that more research needs to be done.
Blood Clots In Young German Ladies After AstraZeneca Vaccine
There have been various reports that young ladies in Germany have suffered blood clots after having the AstraZeneca vaccine.
I am coeliac on a long-term gluten-free diet.
The UK, Ireland and Italy are generally fairly good at identifying coeliacs, as they suffer from so many side effects, one of which is strokes.
I had a stroke and a cardiologist thought it could have been because I wasn’t diagnosed until fifty, so my diet damaged my heart muscle causing atrial fibrillation.
My father, who I now believe was coeliac, died of a series of strokes.
I do wonder, if Germany doesn’t look for coeliacs, as they should, partly because it is a Jewish disease in their minds. Certainly finding gluten-free food in Germany can sometimes be difficult.
It should also be noted that the NHS says that there are three times as many coeliacs who are female.
Conclusion
This adds to the circumstantial evidence that coeliac disease is the alligator in the swamp of Covid-19.
GSK To Manufacture 60m Doses Of Novavax Covid Vaccine In UK
The title of this post is the same as that as this article in the Financial Times.
As the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine is a two-dose vaccine, that is enough for thirty million people.
Wikipedia gives brief details of the the manufacturing of the vaccine for Canada and the UK in this section entitled Deployment.
On 2 February 2021, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada has signed a tentative agreement for Novavax to produce millions of doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in Montreal, Canada, once it is approved for use by Health Canada, making it the first COVID-19 vaccine to be produced domestically.
On 29th March 2021, the UK government announced an order for 60 million doses of the Novax vaccine, which will be manufactured in the UK. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies and GlaxoSmithKline will manufacture and fill the orders respectively.
This Google Map shows Barnard Castle in relation to Teesside.
Note.
- The red arrow in the South-West corner of the map indicates the GSK factory at Barnard Castle.
- Teesside is the estuary at the Eastern edge of the map.
- FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies are located in Billingham, which is on the North bank of the Tees.
The two sites are under an hour apart.
This page on the UK Government web site gives details of the vaccines ordered.
- Adenovirus – Oxford/AstraZeneca – 100 million – Approved and in deployment
Adenovirus – Janssen – 30 million – Phase 3 trials
mRNA – Pfizer/BioNTech – 40 million – Approved and in deployment
mRNA – Moderna – 17 million – Approved
Protein Adjuvant – GlaxoSmithKline/Sanofi Pasteur – 60 million – Phase 1/2 trials
Protein Adjuvant – Novavax 60 million – Phase 3 trials
Inactivated whole virus – Valneva – 60 million – Phase 1/2 trials
Note.
- Type, manufacturer, number and status are shown for each vaccine.
- This is a total of 567 million doses.
It looks to me, that backing four different technologies and seven different partnerships or companies was a successful strategy, as if the Novavax vaccine get approval, as serious commentators like Fergus Walsh of the BBC, think it will, picking four winners in a seven horse race.
GlaxoSmithKline appear to be a big loser in that they backed the French Sanofi Pasteur vaccine, which is still in Phase 1/2 trials. Wikipedia has a section entitled Deployment.
In July 2020, the UK government signed up for 60 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by GSK and Sanofi. It uses a recombinant protein-based technology from Sanofi and GSK’s pandemic technology. The companies claimed to be able to produce one billion doses, subject to successful trials and regulatory approval, during the first half of 2021. The company also agreed to a $2.1 billion deal with the United States to produce 100 million doses of the vaccine.
Someone appears to have lost billions.
I wonder though, if GSK had developed a plan to fill and finish the sixty million doses for the UK.
So have the fixers in the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) matched FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies vaccine manufacturing to GSK’s fill and finish plan to give Novavax a 60 million dose capacity in the UK?
- Both vaccines are of the same type, so can one fill and finish line handle both?
- The Novavax vaccine was trialled in the UK.
- Supplying Europe from Teesside would not be difficult.
Wikipedia seems to indicate, that Novavax like to spread production around. Spain, India and Poland are mentioned.
Conclusion
Every one of sixty million jabs helps.
President Macron was unavailable for comment.
University Of Oxford To Study Nasal Administration Of COVID-19 Vaccine
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the University of Oxford web site.
These two introductory paragraphs outline the structure of the tests.
The Phase I trial, which will enrol 30 healthy volunteers aged 18–40, will investigate the level of immune system responses generated by the vaccine using this delivery technique, as well as monitoring safety and for any adverse reactions.
All of the volunteers will receive the same vaccine that is currently being delivered by intramuscular injection as part of the national roll out of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. The volunteers, who will be drawn from the local Oxford region, will be followed for a total of four months.
This is surely a very worthwhile study.
Blood Clots And Vaccines
I had a little bit of trouble with my Roche Coaguchek INR meter yesterday and had to phone Roche.
I indicated that I would soon be having my second AstraZeneca jab and measuring my INR before and after as a medical experiment.
I was then told that all vaccines can cause blood clots. That can’t be right?
But Roche should know!
Jaw Jaw Is Better Than War War!
There is an article in The Times today with a title of Britain Ready To Share Dutch-Made Vaccine With EU.
It talks of compromise and how Boris Johnson has effectively told his ministers to cool it.
I feel that Boris is right to seek a compromise. As Churchill said “Jaw, jaw is better than war-war!”
I wouldn’t be surprised that we have a lot to offer the EU about other things than making the vaccine.
Vaccination
There have been several examples published in this newspaper and other media outlets, about how we have squeezed extra doses out of the Pfizer vaccine and made sure we have potential recipients on hand, so that nothing goes to waste.
Perhaps we have a suitable brigadier, doctor, mandarin or project manager, who could put some drive and organisation into the EU’s flagging effort.
If it is a big loss of face to some EU politicians so be it.
AstraZeneca’s Problem
If AZ do have problem, it appears to be in the manufacture.
After all it is AZ’s first vaccine.
This surely, is a problem, that can be solved, even if it upsets AZ a bit on how it is done!
European Vaccine Reluctance
But I do think the EU’s vaccination is not helped by the population’s reluctance to have a jab.
We had Tom Jones and the US had Dolly Parton, amongst others who backed vaccinations.
Have stars of similar standing backed the vaccination in the EU?
Help From The Yanks
As usual, the Americans have arrived late to bolster the efforts.
Lets hope that their data published today persuades more EU citizens to take the jab and even one from the UK!
But surely any vaccine that gives you 100 % protection from severe disease, as the Yanks say that the AZ does, can’t be all bad!
Conclusion
I believe that as the UK and the EU share a common will to defeat the virus, that a good compromise can be developed over the next few days.
Let’s hope it goes better than the last time, we told the French what to do in a serious situation.
My father told me about Churchill’s dash to Paris in 1940 to offer union with France to try and save the country.
Read all about it in this article on the London School of Economics web site, which is entitled June 1940: Britain’s Forgotten Attempt To Build A European Union.
What Churchill Actually Said
In trying to find when Churchill used the title of this post, I found this page on the International Churchill Society web site, which is entitled Quotes Falsely Attributed To Winston Churchill.
The actual quote was “Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war” and it was misquoted later by Harold Macmillan.
Does meeting Zoom to Zoom count?
Is The UK Ready For A Tourist Boom This Summer?
Imagine one scenario, where we continue to vaccinate against Covid-19 and and large parts of the EU doesn’t, or at least goes slower and slower because of reluctance to use the AstraZeneca vaccine.
A simple mathematical model could mean that our number of cases drops like a stone and the anti-AZ countries suffer successive waves of the covids.
Where will vaccinated well-off North American, Antipodean and Far Eastern tourists want to go for their dose of European culture?
Fergus Walsh On The AstraZeneca Vaccine
I have just watching a ten-minute interview on BBC Breakfast with Fergus Walsh, who is the BBC’s Medical Editor.
If you are worried about Covid-19 vaccination and the AstraZeneca vaccine in particular, I suggest you find the interview on iPlayer. It took place at 0815.
He is undoubtedly well-connected to healthcare in the UK, as during the pandemic, he has had deep-access to doctors, researchers and patients, so anything he says, should surely be taken seriously.
Clots Caused By The AstraZeneca Vaccine
On this he said, it was at the same rate as the Pfizer vaccine. Now there’s a thing!
The rate of those, who broke their ankle after being vaccinated is also probably the same for both vaccines.
Fergus Has Had The AstraZeneca Vaccine
This happened on Sunday.
His endorsement of the vaccine, is probably as well-reasoned as anyone.
Conclusion
Why are politicians and others rubbishing the AstraZeneca vaccine, when respected agencies say there is no problem?
Is it just jealousy?
- What are they going to say about Oxford’s malaria vaccine, that I wrote about in What Will Oxford Do For An Encore?
- Or about their new cancer treatment, that I wrote about in Oxford Vaccine Team Use Same Tech To Revolutionise Cancer Treatment.
Given the success of the vaccine with AstraZeneca, I doubt Oxford will be looking for another partner.
First French Region Signs Hydrogen Train Contract
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the International Railway Journal.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The Bourgogne-Franche Comté region has signed a contract with Alstom, through operator French National Railways (SNCF), for the supply of three Coradia Polyvalent electro-hydrogen dual-mode multiple units.
These are some points from the article.
- The three trains are from an order for 14 from four French regions.
- The trains can use 1500 VDC and 25 KVAC electrification.
- They will be able to use hydrogen power, where there is no electrification.
- Range on hydrogen will be 400-600 km.
- Operating speed will be up to 160 kph.
- Trains will be four cars, with a capacity of 220 passengers.
- Trains will start test running in 2024 on the 19km non-electrified Auxerre – Laroche – Migennes line.
As with the Alstom Class 600 hydrogen trains for the UK, deliveries don’t seem to be fast.
I wrote Hydrogen Trains Ready To Steam Ahead in January 2019. This is the first few paragraphs.
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in today’s copy of The Times.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Hydrogen trains will be introduced in as little as two years under ambitious plans to phase out dirty diesel engines.
The trains, which are almost silent and have zero emissions, will operate at speeds of up to 90 mph and release steam only as a by-product. The new trains, which will be called “Breeze” will be employed on commuter and suburban lines by early 2021.
Wikipedia is now saying, that these trains will enter service in 2024.
As Alstom haven’t got any orders for the train, I will be very surprised if they achieve that date.
Is it Alstom, French project management or problems with hydrogen?
I don’t think it’s anything to do with hydrogen, as the Germans built the successful iLint for Alstom and Birmingham University put together a hydrogen demonstration train in double-quick time.
Given all the problems that the French are having with rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine could it be that the French have a Can’t Do! attitude, rather than most other countries, which seem to have a Can Do! attitude.
Oxford Vaccine Team Use Same Tech To Revolutionise Cancer Treatment
The title of this post, is the same as that as an article on The Times.
I’m no medic, but I know enough about cancer, vaccines and the human immune system, to know that the team that developed the Oxford vaccine, could be on to something here. Especially, as they have got backing from Google’s venture capital arm.
The Anonymous Widower 