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Anonymous ID: a8d9b6 Oct. 12, 2020, 7:10 p.m. No.11045754   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>5821 >>5937 >>6114 >>6138 >>6439

Johnson & Johnson Latest To Halt COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Over Unspecified Illness

 

Yet another high-profile Phase 3 vaccine trial has been temporarily halted after one of the participants developed a suspicious illness.

 

According to a report published Monday night by STAT News, Johnson & Johnson has informed participants and researchers that its 60,000-person trial would be temporarily paused as the company and the Data and Safety Monitoring Board, the organization overseeing all the US COVID-19 trials.

 

JNJ confirmed the pause when contacted by STAT, though it offered no details about the illness or the patient.

 

Contacted by STAT, J&J confirmed the study pause, saying it was due to "an unexplained illness in a study participant."

 

The company declined to provide further details. “We must respect this participant’s privacy. We’re also learning more about this participant’s illness, and it’s important to have all the facts before we share additional information,” the company said in a statement.

 

According to STAT, the DSMB was convened late Monday evening to start looking into the case. J&J said that in cases like this, "it is not always immediately apparent" whether the participant who experienced an adverse event received the experimental vaccine, or a placebo.

 

Pauses like these aren't uncommon in vaccine trials.

 

“If we do a study of 60,000 people, that is a small village,” the source said. “In a small village there are a lot of medical events that happen."

 

But these trials are drawing more scrutiny ever since the AstraZeneca-Oxford trial was put on hold by regulators in the UK after a participant was sickened with symptoms of what was believed to be transverse myelitis, a serious spinal issue. Trials resumed in the UK, India and elsewhere days later, but in the US, an AZ trial remains on hold due to an unspecified issue. Both AZ and US regulators have been suspiciously tight-lipped.

 

Already, public health officials in the US, Europe and around the world are worried about waning confidence in the vaccine, with some surveys showing that roughly half the public would rather not take it.

 

In a research note published earlier, analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote that trust in the vaccine could be a serious barrier to its ultimate eradication. "We think that the biggest challenge to ultimately lowering the disease burden and virus circulation to very low levels will be convincing the broad population to take the vaccine. Our base case assumes such broad uptake but this will likely require a safe and very effective vaccine, trust in the approval and rollout process, no out-of -pocket costs, and effective public and community campaigns."

 

JNJ is using an adenovirus vector, like several other top vaccine projects.

 

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/johnson-johnson-latest-halt-covid-19-vaccine-trial-over-unspecified-illness

Anonymous ID: a8d9b6 Oct. 12, 2020, 7:37 p.m. No.11046116   🗄️.is đź”—kun

Ex-Defense Ministry chief’s testimony ties Netanyahu to submarine graft case

 

In leaked affidavit attached to petition demanding probe of PM’s role in huge submarine scandal, Dan Harel says Netanyahu heavily pressured him to buy vessel without explaining why

 

navy base in Haifa, on January 12, 2016. (Kobi Gideon/ GPO /File)

 

Leaked testimony provided by the former director-general of the Defense Ministry possibly ties Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a major graft scandal known as the submarine affair that has ensnared several of his associates, but so far not himself.

 

The affidavit by Dan Harel, reported by Channel 12 news Monday evening, related to so-called Case 3000, in which prosecutors allege Israeli officials were bribed to advocate for a multi-billion-shekel procurement of military boats and submarines from German shipbuilder ‎Thyssenkrupp in 2016.

 

The scandal also involves the sale of two Dolphin-class submarines and two anti-submarine warships by Germany to Egypt, allegedly approved by Netanyahu without consulting or notifying the Defense Ministry. While Germany does not require Israeli approval to sell the advanced submarines to other countries, it has shown Jerusalem that courtesy in order to maintain Israel’s qualitative edge in the region.

 

A police investigation in the case, in which the premier himself was not a suspect, ended in February 2020. Critics and rivals of Netanyahu allege he had a possible conflict ‎of ‎interest surrounding the massive deal for the vessels, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

 

Harel’s leaked testimony was said to be included in a High Court petition filed recently by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel demanding that a criminal investigation be opened against Netanyahu in the case. The statute of limitations in the case expires next month, after which courts will no longer have the jurisdiction to deal with it if an investigation is not opened.

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-defense-ministry-chiefs-leaked-testimony-ties-netanyahu-to-major-graft-case/

Anonymous ID: a8d9b6 Oct. 12, 2020, 7:39 p.m. No.11046151   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>6439 >>6476

Israeli Orthodox rabbi: Judaism doesn’t ban same-sex couples building families

 

Rabbi Benny Lau, known for progressive positions within Religious Zionist camp, issues guidlines to help observant LGBTQ Jews manage their family lives within religious communities

 

JTA — A prominent Israeli Orthodox rabbi said that Jewish law does not forbid LGBTQ people from building a family.

 

Rabbi Benny Lau made the statement as part of a set of guidelines for observant LGBTQ Jews and their families released Saturday evening under the heading “It is Not Good for Man to be Alone.” The guidelines, published on Lau’s Facebook page (Hebrew), seek to reconcile a desire to welcome LGBTQ Jews into Jewish communities within the constraints of religious law.

 

According to Lau, Jewish law “does not forbid members of the LGBTQ community from raising children and building a family,” though he acknowledges that Jewish legal issues may arise for couples who use surrogacy or a sperm donor in order to have children.

 

Lau also discouraged family members of LGBTQ Jews from encouraging conversion therapy, a debunked practice that seeks to change someone’s sexual orientation.

 

The rabbi said those attracted to members of the same sex should not attempt to enter heterosexual marriage if they are repulsed by their partner. And he affirmed that LGBTQ couples and their children should be full members of the community and that their dignity should not be harmed.

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-orthodox-rabbi-judaism-doesnt-ban-same-sex-couples-building-families/