Day: November 15, 2022

• Estimates suggest China has stolen between $200 billion and $600 billion in trade secrets and intellectual property every year for the last two decades. The end game of all this cyber espionage is to rule the world

• The globalist cabal that seeks to “reset” the world intends to replicate the Chinese surveillance and control system worldwide, but whether they’ll actually allow the Chinese to rule their New World Order is up for debate

• Cyberattacks and hacking have become a primary business, but cyberwarfare is also being used on the national level to destroy dissenters of the NWO. Right now, they’re primarily censoring inconvenient truths about all things relating to COVID, but in the future, they will silence discussion on any topic that threatens undemocratic rule by globalists

• When hackers destroyed my website and email servers, they clearly had no intention of making money off of it. They wanted to destroy our infrastructure in order to silence us

• One of the most aggressive promoters of illegal cyberwarfare against U.S. citizens is Bill Gates-funded pediatrician Dr. Peter Hotez. Twice the science journal Nature has published articles by Hotez in which he calls for the use of cyberwarfare assaults on American citizens who disagree with official COVID narratives

Cyberwar is currently taking place on several levels. On the international level, China and Russia in particular have become known for their hacking skills. As reported by “Full Measure,”1 corporate cybercrime around the world is now costing $940 billion each year, and that cost is only going up.

Russian hackers tend to focus on the financial gains of ransomware, the attack on the Colonial Pipeline in 2021 being one notable example.2 China, meanwhile, tends to pursue American trade secrets. One example given is the cyber theft of the engineering plans for the American F-35 fighter jet.

According to the “Full Measure” report (video above), the U.S. government estimates between $200 billion and $600 billion in trade secrets and intellectual property has been stolen every year for the last two decades. The end game of all this cyberwarfare is “to rule the world,” James Lewis, a cyber security expert with the Center for International and Strategic Studies, told “Full Measure.”

China, he says, has been selected to be the dominant power in the world, and “They believe China should be setting the rules internationally.” Lewis doesn’t specify who “they” are, but most likely he’s referring to the self-described “elites” that work for and/or with the World Economic Forum to bring about The Great Reset.

They, indeed, have their sights on replicating the Chinese surveillance and control system worldwide, but whether they’ll actually allow the Chinese to rule their New World Order is up for debate.

So, generally speaking, cyberattacks and hacking have become a primary business. There’s big money in it, whether we’re talking about the theft of intellectual property or holding critical information hostage for ransom.

But cyberattacks are not just a financial enterprise. Cyberwarfare is also used to destroy dissenters, and most of those attacks are conducted on a national level — meaning, governments are using cyberwarfare techniques on their own citizens.

When hackers destroyed my website and email servers, they clearly had no intention of making money off of it. They wanted to destroy our infrastructure, and they were successful. Who would want to do that? The Russians? The Chinese? Probably not. No, the culprits are far more likely to originate within U.S. borders.

We now know that Big Tech has been pressured by the global Great Reset cabal to censor people, around the world, who reveal their agenda and speak out against their plans. In the U.S., Big Tech has also been illegally pressured to violate free-speech rights by a large number of U.S. government officials, including President Biden personally.

The intent behind it is the same. The U.S. government is pursuing The Great Reset agenda and that includes keeping the COVID plandemic alive and getting as many as possible to submit to voluntary “vaccassination.” Facebook and Twitter both have special portals3 that government officials use to censor content. Whatever government disagrees with vanishes from the platforms, no questions asked.

Academics funded by the likes of Bill Gates have also published globalist propaganda calling for cyberterrorism experts to go on the counteroffensive to snuff out antivaxxers, the so-called “disinformation dozen” in particular. As it happens, I am at the top of that list, and as it happens, my website was targeted and destroyed by sophisticated hackers. Coincidence? I think not.

It’s quite clear that those behind this attack were not in it for the money. They wanted to silence me by putting me out of business. Fortunately, they did not succeed in that overarching goal. My articles are still being published through Substack, and we were able to get our online market back up which pays the bills for this newsletter and staff in only a few days.

But the message is clear. Censoring us is not enough. They want to destroy us — and not just me but all of us. The list of organizations that have had their websites erased or destroyed by hackers is a long one at this point, and they all have one thing in common. They seek to educate people about what’s really going on, in particular the truth about the COVID shots, which are neither safe nor effective.

Equally long, if not longer, is the list of individuals and organizations who have been debanked and had their online payment accounts shut down for the “crime” of sharing information that doesn’t fit the globalist narrative. All of these tactics are tactics used in modern war, and now they’re being used against us.

One of the most aggressive promoters of illegal cyberwarfare against U.S. citizens is Gates-funded pediatrician Dr. Peter Hotez,4 dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.

He’s also the co-director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development and, ironically, a health policy scholar in the Baylor Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, despite having no intention of applying medical ethics whatsoever.

Twice the formerly prestigious science journal Nature has published articles by Hotez in which he calls for the use of cyberwarfare assaults on American citizens who disagree with official COVID narratives.

The first came out in April 2021.5 In that article, Hotez argued that stopping the spread of COVID “will require a high-level counteroffensive” against “destructive forces,” meaning those sharing information about the dangers and absolute uselessness of the COVID shots.

Of course, propaganda wouldn’t be propaganda without certain key slurs, so people concerned about vaccine safety are described as “far-right extremists” and “conspiracy theorists” fueled by Russian misinformation.

“Accurate, targeted counter-messaging from the global health community is important but insufficient, as is public pressure on social-media companies. The United Nations and the highest levels of governments must take direct, even confrontational, approaches with Russia, and move to dismantle anti-vaccine groups in the United States,” Hotez wrote.6

“Efforts must expand into the realm of cyber security, law enforcement, public education and international relations. A high-level inter-agency task force reporting to the UN secretary-general could assess the full impact of anti-vaccine aggression, and propose tough, balanced measures.

The task force should include experts who have tackled complex global threats such as terrorism, cyber attacks and nuclear armament, because anti-science is now approaching similar levels of peril. It is becoming increasingly clear that advancing immunization requires a counteroffensive.”

Today, more than a year later, many of Hotez’ arguments for the COVID jab are moot. Pfizer itself has even admitted they never tested the shot to see if it actually prevented infection and spread. We also have clear data showing it does not, in fact, prevent spread, and therefore cannot end the pandemic no matter how many people get the jab or how many doses they take.

Hotez, however, is doubling down. In a November 2, 2022, Nature article,7 he argues that “SARS-CoV-2 variants offer a second chance to fix vaccine inequities” and “combat rising anti-vaccine aggression.” Ironically, Hotez was out of step with reality even as his article was being published.

“The failures to both fully vaccinate and boost could create a dire situation in 2023 as the Omicron subvariants continue mutating … with unprecedented growth and immune escape advantages,” Hotez wrote, paying no attention to the fact that even people with five doses are still getting sick with COVID.

Gauging by the case of Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the fifth dose may offer only four weeks of protection. Clearly, more doses are not the answer. If five doses can’t protect you for more than a month, why continue?

Hotez doesn’t address any of these realities, however, and instead doubles down on aggressively eliminating those who contribute to the growing “vaccine hesitancy.”

“The anti-vaccine movement has evolved into a deliberate, organized and well-financed destructive force,” he writes in his latest article. “It kills more people than global terrorism, nuclear proliferation and cyberattacks combined. Yet, we do not treat it as such …

Promoting local vaccine production of the Omicron boosters while countering the anti-vaccine activism … represent the new twin pillars of global vaccine equity. Urgent action to address both forces will help to correct the past mistakes …”

Part of the “countering anti-vaccine activism” that Hotez is repeatedly calling for is cyberterrorist attacks on websites such as Mercola.com. So, who, exactly, is the terrorist here? The one handing out free information to whomever wants it, or the one calling for armed aggression and cyberattacks against civilians exercising their free speech rights?

Earlier this fall we discovered Hotez may actually have more personal reasons for asking government goons to attack those who punch holes in the cabal’s narrative.

Not only is he an irrational defender of the already-proven ineffective and dangerous COVID shots, he’s also tried to dismiss the lab leak theory as “an outlandish conspiracy theory,” and called for an end to the Congressional probe into gain-of-function research, decrying it as a “threat to American biomedical science.”8

Hotez’s dismissal of the lab escape theory is particularly ironic considering he received a $6.1 million grant9 from the National Institutes of Health in 2012 for the development of a SARS vaccine in case of an “accidental release from a laboratory,” “deliberate spreading of the virus by a terrorist attack,” or a zoonotic spillover event.

The research under that grant took place from 2012 until 2017. After spending five years preparing for the possibility of an accidental or deliberate release of SARS, why would Hotez think a lab leak of SARS-CoV-2 was out of the question? Clearly, Hotez is no stranger to the possibility of lab leaks.

Well, in early August 2022, U.S. Right to Know (USRTK) discovered a potential reason for why Hotez was so adamant about COVID being all-natural and why he’s so opposed to Congress looking into potential improprieties involving gain-of-function research.10

As it turns out, Hotez funded gain-of-function research11 to create a chimeric SARS-related coronavirus — the very research now being scrutinized by Congress, in part because it may help explain where SARS-CoV-2 came from, and in part because it appears this research should have been subject to gain-of-function review procedures but wasn’t.

So, could it be that Hotez’s dismissals of the lab leak theory and the Congressional inquiry are based in fear that he may be implicated in the creation of the COVID pandemic?

At bare minimum, he’s got conflicts of interest that can color his opinions on these matters. His conflicts of interest are all the more pertinent when you consider he’s on The Lancet COVID-19 Commission, where he co-chairs the COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapeutics task force.12

We’re now in a situation where asking valid questions about public health measures are equated to acts of domestic terrorism. It’s unbelievable, yet here we are.

Over the past three years, the rhetoric used against those who question the sanity of using unscientific pandemic countermeasures, such as face masks and lockdowns, or share data showing that COVID-19 gene therapies are really bad public health policy.

It has become increasingly violent, and in classic Orwellian Doublespeak, those who claim to defend science and democracy are actually undermining both, and blatantly so. Similarly, those who claim to combat hate speech and terrorism actually foster and create it.

However, in the end, lies cannot stand up to the truth, which is precisely why deep state organizations such as the International Grand Committee on Disinformation13 (IGCD) and the Centers for Countering Digital Hate14 (CCDH) are working overtime to harmonize laws across the democratic world to censor and eliminate all counternarratives — and to employ more aggressive warfare tactics when that doesn’t work.

Currently, it’s primarily about silencing questions and inconvenient truths about all things relating to COVID, but in the future, such laws will allow them to silence discussion on any topic that threatens undemocratic rule by globalists.

Make no mistake, the globalist cabal intends to control everyone on the planet, and those they cannot control, they will seek to either destroy or kill. It’s open war on the public, and without freedom of speech, we lose one of our most effective means of defense.

To avoid such a fate, we must be relentless in our pursuit of sharing truth, and we must demand that our elected representatives stand up for freedom of speech and other Constitutional rights.

We also need to repeal the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that legalized the U.S. government’s use of propaganda against its own citizens.15 The use of state propaganda against the American public was illegal until 2012, when then-president Obama amended the NDAA to legalize it.

I believe this is a major reason why no shred of truth comes out of the mainstream media anymore. They’re all following a prescribed propaganda narrative, and no amount of evidence to the contrary influences them.

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Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked.

The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. The subscription fee being requested is for access to the articles and information posted on this site, and is not being paid for any individual medical advice.

If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

• The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often referred to as the “nation’s report card,” tests fourth and eighth graders across the U.S. to measure student achievement

• The results are in from the 2022 NAEP Mathematics Assessment, which was last given in 2019, before the pandemic

• The results show a staggering decline in test scores — the largest drop in mathematics scores seen since the initial assessments were given in 1990

• Among eighth graders, the average math score decreased by eight points since 2019 and was lower than all previous assessments dating back to 2003; a 10-point decrease is considered equivalent to about a year of learning

• Average reading scores for fourth graders declined by five points in the Northeast region, three points in the Midwest and South, and two points in the West

• In the U.K., the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists has also warned about declines in speech and motor skills in children since the pandemic

Detriments to children’s social, mental and emotional health weren’t considered as the U.S. and other parts of the world plunged into lockdown-mode in early 2020. Only now, years later, are we beginning to see the negative effects play out in the form of historic learning setbacks, falling test scores and developmental delays.

Keeping millions of children away from school and isolated from normal social interactions for periods of weeks, months and years was an unprecedented experiment. As were mask mandates that forced children to cover their faces for entire schooldays — during a time in their lives when observing facial expressions is key to social and emotional development.

In December 2021, a systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles revealed one precise reason why COVID-19 measures like mask mandates shouldn’t have happened — no one knows how they affect crucial elements of childhood, including psychological development, language development, emotional development, social behavior and school success.1 The data that are coming in, however, are alarming.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often referred to as the “nation’s report card,” tests fourth and eighth graders across the U.S. to measure student achievement. It’s usually given every two years between January and March, and tests students in all 50 states as well as 26 of the largest U.S. school districts.2

The results are in from the 2022 NAEP Mathematics Assessment, which was last given in 2019, before the pandemic. The results show a staggering decline in test scores — the largest drop in mathematics scores seen since the initial assessments were given in 1990.3

Mathematics scores declined for fourth and eighth graders in nearly all the states and jurisdictions tested. For fourth graders, the average math score declined by five points and was lower than all assessment years since 2005. Among eighth graders, the average math score decreased by eight points since 2019 and was lower than all previous assessments dating back to 2003.4

To put this into perspective, a 10-point increase or decrease is considered equivalent to about a year of learning. Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, told news outlet Breitbart:5

“It is a serious wakeup call for us all. In NAEP, when we experience a 1- or 2-point decline, we’re talking about it as a significant impact on a student’s achievement. In math, we experienced an 8-point decline — historic for this assessment.”

Some areas, such as Cleveland, had even greater declines, with fourth-grade reading dropping 16 points and fourth-grade math falling 15. Across the U.S., only 26% of eighth graders were proficient in math, a decline from 34% in 2019.6

Average reading scores also dropped since prepandemic times. Average reading scores for fourth graders declined by five points in the Northeast region, three points in the Midwest and South, and two points in the West.

Average reading scores at fourth grade declined in 30 states/jurisdictions compared to 2019, which was the largest number of states with score declines in this age group since the assessment began in 1992.

Further, 37% of fourth graders performed below the NAEP Basic level, a cutoff that measures knowledge of fundamental skills. Eighth graders also suffered from declining performance in reading, with scores going down in three of four U.S. regions and in 33 states/jurisdictions. According to NAEP:7

“In 2022, the average reading score at both fourth and eighth grade decreased by 3 points compared to 2019. At fourth grade, the average reading score was lower than all previous assessment years going back to 2005 and was not significantly different in comparison to 1992.

At eighth grade, the average reading score was lower compared to all previous assessment years going back to 1998 and was not significantly different compared to 1992.”

Speaking with The New York Times, Miguel Cardona, the U.S. secretary of education, stated, “I want to be very clear: The results in … [the] nation’s report card are appalling and unacceptable. This is a moment of truth for education. How we respond to this will determine not only our recovery, but our nation’s standing in the world.”8

Differences were highlighted not only among regions but also across races and performance level. Black and Hispanic fourth graders had greater declines than white students, while test scores fell the most among lower performing students, compared to higher performing students.9

The effects are being felt not only in the U.S. but worldwide. Prior to the pandemic, 57% of 10-year-olds in low and middle-income countries could not read properly, but this has increased to an estimated 70%. In Latin America, 10-year-olds unable to read rose from 50% to 80% during that time. The effects could be lifelong, leading to $21 trillion lost due to lower lifetime earnings.10

Around the world, schools closed for an average of 95 school days from March 2020 to February 2021,11 but while many schools in western countries continued to teach remotely, those in lower income countries often did not. There were also significant differences in how long full and partial shutdowns persisted. Schools in sub-Saharan Africa were closed for 32 weeks, compared to 73 weeks in South Asia.12

In short, existing education inequalities have only worsened due to the closures. Lower-educated parents in the Netherlands reported they felt less able to help children with schoolwork during the closures, for instance, while middle class parents in the United Kingdom spent more time homeschooling their children than parents from the working class.13

Further, Breitbart reported, surveys conducted as part of NAEP’s 2022 test highlighted the divide between struggling students and higher achievers: “When schools shifted to remote learning, higher performing students were far more likely to have reliable access to quiet spaces, computers and help from their teachers, the survey found.”14

“If this is the case, and these learning losses persist, they can be detrimental for development of skills in the long run, and in turn lead to an increase of the existing inequalities in opportunities in education and on the labor market,” researchers wrote in PLOS One. Indeed, using data from 300,000 students in the Netherlands, they uncovered large inequalities in learning losses during the COVID-19 pandemic based on parents’ education and income.15

In the U.K., the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) has also warned about declines in speech and motor skills in children since the pandemic.16 Members report that the number of toddlers in need of communication help has skyrocketed. Kamini Gadhok, the chief executive of the RCSLT, told The Telegraph:17

“The bigger the gap by the time the child is 5, the more difficult it is to close. Our members tell us that growing lists and waiting times for speech and language therapy are dramatically impacting on their ability to provide the support which children need for the best start in life.”

Fewer children reached the expected standard for communication skills, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, problem-solving and personal-social development, falling to 85.3% from 88.1% over the last 14 quarters.

“The pandemic reduced the opportunities for children to play with other children and highlights the importance of nurseries and early years settings for language development,” Doug Simkiss, Ph.D., chairman of the British Association for Community Child Health, told The Telegraph.18

RCSLT also noted that demand for speech and language therapy was double that of pre-COVID levels. Alison Morton, the executive director of the Institute of Health Visiting, explained:19

“The latest national child development data highlight a worrying picture with fewer children at or above the expected level of development at 2 to 2.5 years. While the majority of children are developing as expected, a significant and growing minority are not.

The pandemic and its impacts are not over. In many areas, despite health visitors’ best efforts, they are now struggling to meet growing levels of need, vulnerability and a backlog of children who need support.”

It’s likely that masks also played a part in children’s delays. A 2021 psychology report20 stated masks are likely to be causing psychological harm to children and interfering with development.21 “The extent of psychological harm to young people is unknown,” the report stated, “due to the unique nature of the ‘social experiment’ … in schools, and in wider society.”22 Other reported adverse effects of masks include:23

• Increase in headaches and sweating

• Decreased cognitive precision

• Removal of visual cues, which is detrimental to people with hearing loss

• Interference with social learning in children

• Obscured nonverbal communication

• Distorted verbal speech

The silver lining may be that 75% of countries have made some plans to help children catch up from the disastrous effects of COVID-19-related school closures. Tutoring, increased focus on reading and math, and return to in-person learning may help some children to close the gap on the learning they lost during the pandemic.24

However, schools in one-quarter of countries have no plans to help students catch up, and many aren’t even tracking if students have returned to school. Speaking with the Economist, Jaime Saavedra, global director for World Bank’s education division, called school closures perhaps “the worst educational crisis for a century, and certainly since the world wars,” adding:25

“My fear is that 15 years from now people will be writing papers documenting consistently lower earnings, productivity and well-being for people who are now between six and 20 years old. I don’t see societies taking this seriously.”

Even within the U.S., it’s unclear how, or when, students will recover. In 2021, the U.S. government invested $123 billion in schools. Districts were required to spend at least 20% of the funding on academic recovery, but, The New York Times reported, it’s a “threshold some experts believe is inadequate for the magnitude of the problem.”26

The reality is that no one knows if these gaps in learning can be closed — or what further damage could be inflicted if lockdowns are imposed again during a future pandemic.

For now, efforts must focus on helping to undo the academic and social damage that’s been done. Without it, education may continue to suffer. As noted by Kevin Huffman, chief executive of Accelerate, a nonprofit tutoring organization, “We cannot, as a country, declare that 2019 was the pinnacle of American education.”27

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Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked.

The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. The subscription fee being requested is for access to the articles and information posted on this site, and is not being paid for any individual medical advice.

If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

• Sepsis is a life-threatening condition triggered by a systemic infection that causes your body to overreact and launch an excessive and highly damaging immune response

• Unless promptly diagnosed and treated, sepsis can rapidly progress to multiple-organ failure and death. In the U.S., 1.7 million adults develop sepsis each year, and nearly 270,000 die as a result

• According to the most comprehensive global analysis to date, sepsis is responsible for 1 in 5 deaths worldwide each year — double that of previous estimates

• Despite its prevalence, sepsis is frequently overlooked, even by health care professionals. For this reason, it’s important to familiarize yourself with its signs and symptoms, and to take immediate action if you suspect sepsis

• Sepsis has been identified as a major contributor in influenza deaths. Some symptoms of sepsis also resemble those of influenza, so it’s important to know how to distinguish the two

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition triggered by a systemic infection that causes your body to overreact and launch an excessive and highly damaging immune response. Unless promptly diagnosed and treated, it can rapidly progress to multiple-organ failure and death.

A number of studies have shown sepsis is becoming ever more prevalent, making it imperative to be on the lookout for its signs and symptoms whenever you’re ill or in the hospital.

This includes cases of suspected influenza, as sepsis can mimic many of the signs and symptoms of the flu. In fact, sepsis is one of the leading causes for influenza deaths. Studies have also identified sepsis as a top cause of death in hospitals, and one of the primary causes of serious harm due to misdiagnosis. Findings show that:

• In the U.S., 1.7 million adults develop sepsis each year, and nearly 270,000 die as a result.1

• Between 34.7% and 55.9% of American patients who died in hospitals between 2010 and 2012 had sepsis at the time of their death.2

• The death rate of in-hospital patients with sepsis is 10% compared to 1% among patients without sepsis.3

• Spending for sepsis rose by 19% from 2011 to 2013.4 It is now the most expensive condition treated in the U.S., costing $23.6 billion annually.5 6

Now, the most comprehensive global analysis7 8 done to date warns that sepsis is responsible for 1 in 5 deaths worldwide each year. The researchers call the finding “alarming,” as their updated figures are double that of previous estimates. As reported by NPR:9

“They estimate that about 11 million people worldwide died with sepsis in 2017 alone — out of 56 million total deaths. That’s about 20% of all deaths. ‘It’s a massive number,’ [lead author Dr. Kristina] Rudd says.”

An estimated 85% of these sepsis-related deaths occur in low- to middle-income countries.10 Surprisingly, the paper,11 “A Global Accounting of Sepsis,” published in the January 18, 2020, issue of The Lancet, suggests the rate of sepsis has actually declined by about half since 1990. NPR reports:12

“That’s a surprising finding, says Dr. Chanu Rhee, who studies sepsis and infectious disease at Harvard Medical School. ‘It’s really interesting that in their study, they actually found the incidence of sepsis declined over the study period,’ he says, ‘where other studies have actually suggested the opposite.'”

The authors of The Lancet study do point out that their findings “must be viewed in context with the constraints of the analysis,” as “modelling assumptions and imputation steps can introduce bias.” They explain:13

“The model inputs to estimate the burden of sepsis for 195 countries came from the vital records of four countries (Brazil, Mexico, Taiwan, and the USA), and data for hospital case-fatalities were obtained from ten countries (Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Georgia, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, and the USA), resulting in extrapolation from countries of high and middle incomes to low-income countries.

Because some continents (notably Africa) are not represented as original sepsis data sources, longitudinal trends might be unreliable. Hypothetically, improvements in Brazil as a primary data source country could create the appearance of benefits for sub-Saharan Africa, irrespective of actual local changes.”

A significant hurdle when studying sepsis is the fact that many doctors overlook it as a contributing cause of death, and don’t list it on the death certificate. Rhee, who has investigated the sepsis burden in the U.S., tells NPR that — based on his own findings of U.S. death certificates — sepsis may actually play a role in more than 20% of deaths worldwide,14 considering most sepsis deaths occur in countries lacking the medical care available in more affluent nations.

Despite its prevalence, sepsis is frequently overlooked, even by health care professionals. For this reason, it’s really important to familiarize yourself with the signs and symptoms of sepsis, and to take immediate action if you suspect sepsis.

Also inform the medical staff of your suspicion, as time is of the essence when it comes to treatment. Hydration is of utmost importance, as much of the damage caused by sepsis begins with the loss of fluids.

While the signs can be subtle at first, sepsis typically produces the following signs and symptoms:15 16 17 Many of these symptoms may be confused with a bad cold or the flu. However, they tend to develop quicker than you would normally expect.

• A high fever with chills and shivering

• Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)

• Rapid breathing (tachypnea)

• Unusual level of sweating (diaphoresis)

• Dizziness

• Confusion or disorientation

• Slurred speech

• Diarrhea, nausea or vomiting

• Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath

• Severe muscle pain

• Low urine output

• Cold and clammy skin and/or skin rash

The Sepsis Alliance recommends using the acronym TIME to remember some of the more common symptoms:18

• T — Temperature higher or lower than normal?

• I — Have you now or recently had any signs of an infection?

• M — Are there any changes in mental status, such as confusion or excessive sleepiness?

• E — Are you experiencing any extreme pain or illness; do you have a “feeling you may die?”

Another acronym you could use to memorize the signs and symptoms is SEPSIS, described in the video above:

• S — Shivering (fever, cold)

• E — Extreme pain

• P — Pale, clammy skin

• S — Shortness of breath

• I — “I feel like I might die”

• S — Sleepy (confused)

Importantly, sepsis has been identified as a major contributor in influenza deaths. According to researchers, “Severe sepsis is traditionally associated with bacterial diseases … However, viruses are becoming a growing cause of severe sepsis worldwide.”

As noted in the video above, some sepsis symptoms also resemble those of influenza, which can have tragic consequences if you do not seek medical help in time. The video offers guidelines on how to tell the difference between the two.

Sepsis, without doubt, requires immediate medical attention, whereas most people will successfully recover from flu with a few days to a week of bedrest and fluids. Just how influenza can lead to sepsis is a somewhat complex affair, described as follows:19

“In the initial response to an infection, severe sepsis is characterized by a pro-inflammatory state, while a progression to an anti-inflammatory state develops and favors secondary infections …

In the predominant pro-inflammatory state, Th1 cells activated by microorganisms increase transcription of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interferon-γ (INF-γ), and interleukin-2 (IL-2).

[C]ytokines … released from endothelial cells and subsequently from macrophages can induce lymphocyte activation and infiltration at the sites of infection and will exert direct antiviral effects. Subsequently, with the shift toward an anti-inflammatory state, activated Th2 cells secrete interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-10 (IL-10).

In certain situations, T cells can become anergic, failing to proliferate and produce cytokines. Type I IFN has a potent anti-influenza virus activity; it induces transcription of several interferon stimulated genes, which in turn restrict viral replication.

However, influenza virus developed several mechanisms to evade IFN response … Viral infections such as the influenza virus can also trigger deregulation of the innate immune system with excessive cytokines release and potential harmful consequences.

An abnormal immune response to influenza can lead to endothelial damage … deregulation of coagulation, and the consequent alteration of microvascular permeability, tissue edema, and shock.”

If you or a loved one succumbs to sepsis, whether caused by influenza or some other infection, please remember that a protocol of IV vitamin C with hydrocortisone and thiamine (vitamin B1) can be lifesaving,20 so urge your doctor to use it. Chances are, they might not even be aware of it.

This sepsis treatment protocol was developed Dr. Paul Marik, a critical care doctor at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in East Virginia, and clinical use has proven it to be remarkably effective for the treatment of sepsis, reducing mortality nearly fivefold.

Marik’s retrospective before-after clinical study2122 showed that giving patients IV vitamin C with hydrocortisone and vitamin B1 for two days reduced mortality from 40% to 8.5%. Of the 50 patients treated, only four died, and all of them died from their underlying disease, not sepsis.

The precise protocol used was 200 mg of thiamine every 12 hours, 1,500 mg of ascorbic acid every six hours, and 50 mg of hydrocortisone every six hours.23 Importantly, the treatment has no side effects and is inexpensive, readily available and simple to administer, so you really have nothing to lose by trying it.

Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where Marik works, has made the protocol its standard of care for sepsis, and other hospitals are also starting to follow suit. Unfortunately, many are still dragging their heels, waiting for the completion of additional clinical trials.

According to Marik, vitamin C and corticosteroids have a synergistic effect,24 which is part of why his combo protocol is so effective. Still, simply using high-dose IV vitamin C exclusively has been shown to improve survival in patients with sepsis and acute respiratory failure, reducing mortality from 46% to 30%.25

It also reduced the number of days they needed to remain hospitalized. On average, those who received vitamin C had by day 28 spent three fewer days in the intensive care unit than the placebo group (seven days compared to 10). By day 60, the treatment group had also spent seven fewer days in the hospital overall —15 days compared to 22.26

While there are no trials that look at integrating hyperbaric oxygen therapy, my strong suspicion is that this would be a powerful synergy that could get the fatality rate from the problem far closer to zero. Sadly, this treatment is not available at many hospitals, and even if it were, it is not approved for this indication.

Marik’s sepsis protocol can be a lifesaver, so you’d be wise to discuss it with your doctor any time you’re hospitalized. Remember, sepsis is often the result of a secondary infection contracted while in the hospital, so it’s prudent to be prepared.

This way, should you develop sepsis while you’re admitted, your medical team already knows your wishes and can act swiftly. According to Marik, the best results are obtained when the concoction is administered within the first six hours of presentation of symptoms.27 The longer you delay treatment, the less likely it will be successful.

You can learn more about Marik’s sepsis protocol in “Vitamin C — A Game Changer in Treatment of Deadly Sepsis,” along with commonsense recommendations for how to lower your risk of sepsis in the first place. You can also review Marik’s PowerPoint presentation, “Hydrocortisone, Ascorbic Acid and Thiamine for the Treatment of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock,” presented at the 2020 Critical Care Reviews meeting in Australia.

If your doctor refuses to consider it offhand, convince him or her to review the studies cited here.28293031323334353637 Simply look up the references 27 through 36 and make copies to take to your doctor. Alternatively, you can go to PubMed38 directly and type in “vitamin C” and “sepsis” in the search engine and you will get a list of the available research.

While there are certain situations in which the hospital may still deny this treatment, if you are an adult who is sick, you will usually have the right to insist on it. I will actually be interviewing Marik shortly and hope to work with him on developing a process to make it easier for patients to implement this strategy in their local hospital.

In most cases, you’d probably just need to sign an “Against Medical Advice — Acknowledgment and Waiver” form (samples of which can be found in the references39), which states you’ve elected to not follow the standard of care recommended by your doctor.

The only contraindication is if you are glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient (a genetic disorder).40 G6PD is required for your body to produce NADPH, which is a cousin of NAD+ and necessary to transfer reductive potential to keep your antioxidants, like glutathione and vitamin C, functional.

Because your red blood cells do not contain any mitochondria, the only way it can provide reduced glutathione is through NADPH, and since G6PD eliminates this, it causes red blood cells to rupture due to inability to compensate for oxidative stress.

Fortunately, G6PC deficiency is relatively uncommon, and can be tested for. People of Mediterranean and African decent are at greater risk of being G6PC deficient. Worldwide, G6PD deficiency is thought to affect 400 million individuals, and in the U.S., an estimated 1 in 10 African-American males have it.41

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