it's the spike

[mellowtigger]

I was always taught that a virus has 2 main parts: the "spike" on the outside which helps it gain entrance into cells, and the main body which contained the self-replicating code that it uses to take over a cell's production line of proteins. The takeaway from this lesson is that the spike is incidental, not itself a biohazard. The dangerous bit is in the main body of the virus.

SARS-CoV-2 has proven this idea wrong. Finally, a researcher has stated on a respected news network that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein itself can produce blood clots.

"It was quite clear from sample one that we are looking at severe clotting pathology... The spike protein has the capability to change your soluble clotting protein to insoluble little microclots and that's where everything starts," Pretorius says. "So when you have acute COVID you will have activated platelets, you will have vascular damage in endothelial damage and you will have a micro cloud presence in some individuals."
- https://www.npr.org/2023/05/10/1175217130/long-covid-scientists-try-to-unravel-blood-clot-mystery

I've been half-expecting this announcement since last year when I noted in a comment to my main post that this spike could be a "snake's head", dangerous even when separated from the main body. I don't know any other way to vaccinate against a virus, so exposure to this spike protein is still necessary for any protective value, given that this blood-clotting virus is airborne and the most contagious virus we've known. Vaccination (which doesn't self-replicate indefinitely) is absolutely a better idea than contracting the virus itself, since each infection risks Long Covid, which is an even worse idea.

Comments

[dewline]

Bloody. Hell.