SARS2/COVID 19 in Middlesex County, Massachusetts: A Pilot Community Report

    BOSTON, MA, September 06, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The rapid spread, and relentless mutations of SARS2, are a reminder of how quickly upper respiratory viruses that do not cause acute, debilitating disease in all infected persons can spread, and that continuing mutation is an adaptive hallmark of viruses. The global response to the SARS2/COVID19 pandemic varied widely, country to country, and state to state in the United States of America (U.S.). To better prepare for the next pandemic, the U.S. Government Accounting Office recommends that health agencies "…identify, document and share all challenges and lessons learned … to improve the response to ongoing and future public health emergencies…" Some countries continually published SARS2/ COVID19 reviews and adjusted recommendations throughout the pandemic, but an objective review of the U.S. SARS2/COVID19 public health response is lacking. This knowledge gap can be at least partially filled by taking advantage of publicly-available databases. As an example, this is a report of the spread of SARS2/COVID19 in diverse communities in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Neither mask mandates nor vaccinations halted the surge of SARS2/COVID19 in January, 2022; communities with the highest infection incidence were statistically significantly lowest in per capita income and highest in population density. If these findings apply globally, the development of a library of effective medications should be the first-line defense against the next pandemic, with a plan for effective distribution to the most vulnerable persons.

COVID 19 taught the world how rapidly upper respiratory viruses spread. Full article: https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/5613/99193548248

BRF is a biomedical institute conducting stem cell and related research for diseases presently considered incurable. It does this four ways:

1. RESEARCH
Carried out in the US and through collaborations in Europe. Includes:

Patient-specific Stem Cells from Parthenotes: for stem cell therapies, including innovations for curing HIV disease, and spinal cord injury.
The Clock Pathway in embryos: how circadian rhythms impact early embryo development, and improve the efficiency of deriving new stem cell lines.
Prostate Cancer Screening: Creating sensitive and accurate tests to detect and stage prostate cancer.

2. EDUCATIONAL EVENTS
Two educational conferences:

Activated Egg Symposium: since 2002, a day for research information sharing on eggs for reproduction, stem cell derivation and therapies.
Spinal Cord Workshop: researchers and clinicians share information on specific barriers to a cure for spinal cord injury.

3. LABORATORY PRODUCTS & SERVICES
SPAR (Special Program of Assisted Reproduction) a unique, award winning program combining HIV Semen Testing and Sperm Washing for safe procreation.
Mail-in test kits for: infertility, post-vasectomy-check, and prostatitis-check.
Culture medium for embryo development: GEM (Gamete-Embryo Medium).
These products and services have been developed during the course of our research and help to cover the administrative costs of the laboratory. This allows research activities to proceed with minimal overhead (about 6%).

4. EDUCATIONAL MEDIA
Based on our research and events we produce:

Newsletters (email and snail mail): Our newsletters cover breakthroughs in research, as well as easy tutorials on the basics, and updates on Foundation news. Sign-up on our homepage, or email us your snail-mail address: [email protected]
Videos of Groundbreaking Talks: free on the event sites and through iTunes Podcasts.
Educational Videos About Stem Cells and Stem Cell Research: available on our popular FAQs page.
Most Foundation research cannot be federally funded because of the U.S. moratorium on research funding for activated human eggs (either artificially or by sperm). (www.nih.gov)

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