The War Against Zika Escalates
FDA quickly approves genetic weapon and approves human Zika vaccine trials
Some intriguing news has been reported that gives me hope that our bureaucrats are taking the public health threat related to the Zika virus seriously.
As you may recall, the last time I reported on the Zika epidemic, 4 Floridians had developed locally-acquired infections (probably from mosquito bites). Now, there are 16 cases and stores in the impacted area of Miami are closing due to the viral spread.
Cafes and art galleries in Miami’s Wynwood Art District would normally be bustling this week, even during some of the hottest days of the year, but with Zika virus spreading in the area, businesses like Wynwood Yard and Gallery 212 are keeping their doors shut.
There were 16 cases of mosquito-transmitted Zika reported in the mainland U.S. as of Friday, and health officials have traced most to a square-mile area north of downtown Miami. Empty streets there reminded Gallery 212 owner Michael Perez of when he had to temporarily close a store in New York in 2001, after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“I’m just like living my life all over again, with this Zika thing,” he said in a telephone interview. “It’s crazy, the streets are bare right now.”
Florida is not only an important beacon of tourism for this nation; it is a critical swing state in this election. Therefore, it should surprise nobody that the normally slow-moving Food and Drug Administration just approved the releasing of mutant Zika-killing mosquitoes in the Sunshine State.
On Friday, the FDA released a final environmental assessment of the trial, finding that it “will not have significant impacts on the environment.” The project, led by Oxitec, a biotech company that focuses on insect control, calls for the release of thousands of genetically engineered male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The lab insects are bred so that over time they could kill off much of the local mosquito population by passing on a gene fatal to any offspring they have with wild females.
The fact that an administration spearheaded by progressives so quickly approved genetically modified organism use should be the first clue that the impact of Zika is of deep concern to our public health officials. A second clue to just how problematic Zika infection is may be seen in the fact that human trials of a vaccine have already begun.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has injected two human volunteers with an experimental DNA-based Zika vaccine, Director Anthony Fauci announced today, a month ahead of its projected schedule for vaccine development.
“If it’s a home run, we’ll know pretty quickly,” Fauci said, adding that if it is successful, phase 2 trials could begin as early as January.
To give you an idea of just how quickly the green light was given: A typical vaccine takes 10-15 years to jump through all the regulatory hurdles. The fact that we are only one year in and human trials are beginning means that our bureaucrats recognize the need for speed.
Meanwhile, our Olympic Team is now in the epicenter of Zika…Rio de Janeiro! It appears that Hope Solo, a member of the American soccer team, is ready for battle.
Not sharing this!!! Get your own! #zikaproof #RoadToRio pic.twitter.com/y3d8hnuEjk
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) July 22, 2016
Which is good, because one tweet clearly shows Zika getting out-of-hand.
Zika Attack!! #OpeningCeremony #Olympics2016 #Rio2016 #Zika pic.twitter.com/NxIZu3W9Sz
— Artie Brennan (@KingRTluv) August 6, 2016
Though I am touched that the Legal Insurrection Zika icon is the official mascot!
Look! It’s the official #Olympics2016 mascot: Ziggy the Zika Mosquito! pic.twitter.com/wF5z3nGSen
— Bill Mayeroff (@bill_mayeroff) August 6, 2016
Here’s to hoping the vaccine development speeds ahead of the viral spread so Americans can grab the gold of good public health.
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Comments
Huh. Election 2014 it was Ebola. Election 2016 it’s Zika. One of those things I guess.
https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2016/08/ted-cruz-wants-to-know-why-hypocritical-obama-admin-is-sitting-on-zika-funding
Ted Cruz and the Texas delegation have your back, America!
Therefore, it should surprise nobody that the normally slow-moving Food and Drug Administration just approved
There’s little justification for assuming anything so reasonable.
Back in the Dark Ages, when I still had anything to do with “government work” (ugh), it was definitely not dire need which drove The Bureaucracy. It was generou$ “donation$” (plus a helping of mystical unknown forces).
The Clintons with their Foundation didn’t invent government corruption; they just made it fashionable.
Let’s spend a few billion eradicating the Zika mosquito threat, or……….
Spend a tiny fraction of that and bring back DDT!
Leslie :
You may be interested to know that in doing research for a concurrent operation I’m running involving Twin Falls Idaho ; I’ve found that among thousands of Muslims our political class has imported for cheap labor for crony corporations, & votes for corrupt politicians of both parties, 7 are active TB cases.
I repeat, that’s 7 TB cases imported into Idaho alone. This is happening across the country.
Didn’t Ted Cruz support larger numbers of such immigration? The number 3 times as many sticks in my mind for some reason.
See, this is the kind of slimy liar you are.
Cruz, after investigating the abuses in the visa system in play, reversed his position.
T=rump, on the other had, just the other day upped his demand for more foreign workers at his businesses. He whines that Americans won’t do the jobs he needs done, though they certainly apply.
Your boi endorses John McAnus. Just part of the Establishment, as I always told you.
Error-error-error-error-error-error-error-error. . . ……..
Use passcode ; reenter-reenter-reenterenteremterenter, . . …
This GMO mosquito story stinks to high hell.
The official story is that the virus in Miami is contained and the danger zone is actually shrinking. Meanwhile Bill Gates foundation’s Frankenstein mosquitos are to be released in the Florida Keys, at least 60 miles away from the affected area.
The public would never approve of such a test absent a crisis, just the environmental damage implications are troubling & the response doesn’t seem to be taking place anyplace near the outbreak.