The hottest Infection Substack posts right now

Over the past years, data suggests that unvaccinated individuals may become ill when in close contact with vaccinated individuals; mechanisms for this transmission involve exosome shedding, COVID-19 shedding, and potentially transfected bacterial shedding.
Efforts to unravel the mysteries of mRNA vaccine shedding have revealed concerns such as shedding's impact on sexual shedding, odor emission, blood transfusions, cancer, and mitigation methods.
Various factors can influence shedding reactions, such as sensitivity levels, timing post-vaccination, symptoms experienced, and potential links to the gut microbiome and pheromones.

Vaccinated individuals may be more susceptible to infection than unvaccinated individuals, as shown in UKHSA data
Receiving mRNA vaccines may lead to higher IgG4 antibody concentrations, which could impact immune responses
Vaccination might not prevent 'Long Covid' according to studies, and there could be a risk of more severe disease after vaccination

Winter respiratory illness season is approaching, and there is a significant surge in COVID cases.
COVID is more deadly than the flu, with more Americans dying of COVID compared to flu.
The updated COVID vaccine is effective and worth getting, providing strong protection against infection and severe outcomes.

Study shows wearing masks often or always is linked to higher risk of Covid by 33% to 40%.
Increased infection among mask wearers may be due to unobservable differences.
No evidence that masks prevent respiratory disease transmission, and some suggest it may increase it.

Veterinarians are puzzled by a mystery dog illness with no identifiable pathogen.
Transmission of the illness may not always require direct contact between dogs.
Cleaning procedures with bleach and hydrogen peroxide can help reduce the spread of the pathogen.

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The FDA committee recommended a monovalent vaccine for Fall 2023, targeting specific variants.
A new variant, EG.5, is growing quickly and might pose challenges alongside other mutated variants.
Despite numerous variants, severe waves of COVID-19 might be unlikely, but there is a concern regarding long-term impacts of infection.

A crucial line in the study was misread, leading to the need for a retraction of the article.
The article incorrectly claimed that unvaccinated people were part of the study, when in fact all participants were vaccinated.
The broader point still stands that there is increasing evidence vaccines may not prevent deaths once they stop preventing infection.

A study initially claimed vaccinated people with blood cancers were more likely to die after Covid infections than the unvaccinated, but it was incorrect; those with 'hybrid' immunity were actually less likely to die.
Data from a larger study suggests that vaccines might offer little protection against deaths once they stop preventing infection.
In a group of blood cancer patients, unvaccinated individuals had lower death rates and developed severe Covid less frequently compared to vaccinated and boosted individuals.

There is no such thing as a perfectly safe event - caution is always required, and risks are unavoidable.
Even with considerable precautions taken, events can still be risky - the event at issue saw 2.5% of attendees infected.
Testing for COVID-19 is crucial, but flaws in testing protocols can lead to false negatives, impacting event safety measures.

A past COVID-19 infection provides good protection against re-infection and severe disease, if you survived the first infection.
Vaccination remains the safest way to build immunity and protect against future encounters with the virus.
Hybrid immunity, a combination of vaccine and infection-induced immunity, offers better protection against re-infection and severe disease.