Dr Frank Portelli warns against overwhelming immune system with fourth COVID jab

Jan 18 2022

Maltese doctor Frank Portelli expressed his concerns about taking more than three COVID vaccine jabs, claiming that this would overwhelm the immune system. Speaking on ‘FLiving’, and later sharing a similar post to Facebook, Portelli exclaimed that he warns about this despite having had received the two doses and the booster shot against COVID.

He however revealed that he does not intend on taking a fourth shot, even if it meant ‘going to jail’ over the situation. On Facebook he remarked; ‘I said that the immune system can be overwhelmed if frequent or intense enough doses of a vaccine are administered. Don’t let politics blind you!’

He cited the European Medical Agency in expressing similar thoughts to him, sharing an article by ‘Spanish News Today’ which outlines these same concerns. The article itself stated how the head of Strategy for Biological Health Threats and Vaccines Marco Cavalieri argued that it is still far too early to begin treating COVID like a seasonal flu. He also claimed that booster vaccines are administered annually like those of influenza instead of such a short time.

Dr Frank Portelli’s views were supported by ex-PN leader Adrian Delia, who shared the statement by the Maltese doctor. So far, Maltese Health Authorities have not made any reference to a fourth shot, but Israel became the first country to start rolling it out for the elderly. Malta is currently focusing on administered the third dose of the vaccine, of which 310,012 were administered.

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Photo Source: Dr Frank Portelli FB, Adrian Delia FB

Local footballer Rachel Cuschieri makes her 130th overseas appearance

Jan 18 2022

We can never get enough of insanely talented Maltese women making big moves both locally and abroad. Yesterday, Rachel Cuschieri played her first match of 2022, marking a special milestone for the Maltese international athlete.

Taking up her role in the starting formation for Lazio against Sampdoria in the Serie A Femminile, Cuschieri made her 130th appearance at the domestic level overseas.

This includes everything from league, cup and Super Cup appearances, carrying forth the torch for spectacular sport skill from our little island.

In the process, she managed to land a total of 63 goals, establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with. Rachel has been enjoying a fantastic career on the international scene, ranking alongside other local athletic stars making waves abroad.

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The UK to trial the four-day working week – but what about Malta?

Jan 18 2022

The UK has just launched a trial which will allow employees to work just four days each week. The idea is that company employees will work for just 80% of their normal week at 100% of their pay to see what impact it has on productivity and employee welfare.

Being called the 100: 80: 100 model, employees get the full pay for 80% of the work, but must agree to work at 100 percent productivity. The six-month pilot programme is being carried out by 4 Day Week Global alongside think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week UK campaign as well as researchers from Cambridge and Oxford Universities and Boston College.

Businesses and companies participating will be receiving support from those organising it – including access to experts in the field, mentoring and research by top academics. The plan is to get 30 businesses on board, with the numbers crunched to see what effect the system had on productivity for the business, wellbeing of workers and impact on environment and gender equality.

Taking a look at Malta, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana had ruled out the implementation of the 4 day work week when asked about it back in October of 2021. The Minister had stated that the government would be willing to discuss the prospect once worker productivity and skillsets improved. Malta is still not at that stage yet, the Minister had stated. He pointed to an improvement in the education system first before the work style could be introduced.

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Moderna aims to launch single booster to fight both COVID and flu in 2 years

Jan 18 2022

Pharmaceutical company Moderna aims to launch a single booster vaccine jab which will protect against both COVID-19 and the flu within two years.

Chief executive Stephane Bancel said that the combined jab could be available before the winter infectious season in 2023. It will be effective against COVID-19, influenza and RSV, which is a common respiratory virus.

Speaking at a panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he revealed that the goal is to be able to ‘have a single annual booster so that we don’t have compliance issues where people don’t want to get two to three shots a winter.’

The NHS last year moved to reassure the public that getting jabs for flu and COVID at the same time did not affect the body’s immune response.

The best case scenario would be the fall of 2023, the Moderna official said. Countries worldwide are moving forward with their booster rollout, with Israel becoming the first country in the world to offer a fourth dose of the vaccine this month.

Malta has as of yet administered 1,175,136 doses of the COVID vaccine, with 310,012 of these being booster shots. Health officials tout the jab as the primary weapon against COVID as the Omicron variant continues to rapidly ravage most of the world with infections.

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