COVID-19 Coronavirus can most likely be fought by Vitamin D

Ceased updating general COVID-19 Dec 2020 - so as to focus on Vitamin D and COVID-19

COVID-19 News highlights

• CDC said don't fly to Thanksgiving, Reality - largest air travel since March FastCompany Nov 23
  • Note: Thanksgiving in 1918 - those cities where people to get together had big spikes in cases
  • Canada's Thanksgiving appears to have created a COVID-19 outbreak Healthline
  • People do not seem to learn from experience of others- 102 years before, 6 weeks before
• L.A. County suspends outdoor dining at restaurants as coronavirus surges LA TimesNov 22
• US COVID-19 daily deaths exceed 2,100 by mid Jan (higher than April Atlantic Nov 19
• 3 million Ameicans are estimated to be Coronavirus contagous Wasington Post Nov 18
  • "...more than 8 in 10 people in the United States remain susceptible to the coronavirus, experts estimate."
• Children are now 14% of the Americans testing positive for COVID-19 MDEdge Nov 17
  • A huge increase from just 3 months ago. Should children wear masks?
• 1,000 American hospitals don’t have enough staff to deal with current coronavirus patients The Atlantic Nov 17   Currently 73,000 in hospital
  • "More than 35 percent of hospitals in Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin are anticipating a staffing shortage this week"
• 93% of deaths in Texas jails are due to COVID-19 BoingBoing Nov17
  • 8 % of those dying had not even been convicted
• Antigen tests have too many false positives to be used on people without symptoms Propublica Nov 16
  • "Rapid Testing Is Less Accurate Than the Government Wants to Admit"
  • Quidel 209 samples. BD 226 samples and Abbott 102 samples
• Lockdowns Washington Post Nov 14
  • Chicago Mayor “If the possibility of 1,000 more people dying (by the end of the year) doesn’t grab you by the throat as it did me when I started to see that model, there’s very little we can do to move you,”

• Daily new US cases of COVID-19 Fast Company Nov 19

• Top concerns of task force include:
• Managing the surge in cases that is affecting most of the U.S.
  • Note: Stopping COVID-19 does not appear to be a concern
  • Giving Supermasks for superpreaders, Giving Vitamin D to those at risk, etc
• Protecting at-risk populations.
• Increasing the manufacturing of PPE, including N95 masks.
• Increasing the availability of testing.
• Working with governors and mayors on mask mandates.
• Psychiatric Inpatients Have Higher Risk of COVID-19 Infection and Mortality Nov 6
  • Not a surprise - Psychiatric Inpatients have much lower levels of vitamin D
• Coronavirus cases rising in prisons 183,000 total as of Nov 13
• 130 White House Secret Service staff have covi1D-9 infection or are in quarantine WP Nov13
  • Article suspects that it is due to so many presidential rallies in which people were not wearing masks
  • Note How to identify and limit potential superspreaders - appears easy, but no one is doing it (yet)
  • 30 infected, 90 ""asked" to isolate NYT update
• 1 in 441 Americans tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week NYT Nov 9, 2020
  • The appears to mean: Of American getting tested, 0.2% tested positive
• Many problems with Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine – Nov 9, 2020
• COVID-19 and evolved to infect Minks in Denmark, which has apparently gone subsequently infect 12 humans Dr. Campbell
  • Unfortunately, people are flying out of Denmark daily to dozens of countries, potentially spreading this modified form around the world
• Catching COVID-19 from a surface is extremely rare Wired Oct 28
• 214,000 cases of COVID-19 in 1,600 US Univ. and Colleges NYT Oct 22

• Wearing Masks Reduces Infections Washington Post Oct 23

• "... you can predict about 73 percent of the variability in state-level covid-19 symptom prevalence simply by knowing how often people wear their masks."
• COVID activity heatmaps NYT Oct 12

Weekly CASES

Weekly DEATHS

• Global COVID-19 death rate is down Washington Post Oct 9
  • 1 possible reason: immune systems have gotten mild encounters earlier due to social distancing and masks
  • Note: Hampsters wearing masks when breathing COVID-19 were later far less likely to be infected by COIVD-19 when no longer wearing masks
  • See also Mask also reduces the risk of the wearer getting COVID-19 in the future Medium July 30
• COVID-19 will be the 3rd top cause of early US death (#1 = Heart Disease, #2 = Cancer) WebMD Aug 18
• Florida governor (R) to open restaurants to 100% operation NYT Sept 25
  • Currently COVID-19 test-positive rate is 12% in Florida. The state added more 2,800 new cases and 120 new deaths on Sept 24
• Started in large US cites, but medium & small cities are being infected - Sept 22
• 
• At least "73 countries are seeing surges in newly detected cases... " NYT Sept 20, 2020
• COVID-19 risk reduced 5X by glasses, face shield, or mask – Sept 16, 2020
• 10 people died of COVID-19 in 2 meat packing plants, OSHA fined the companies $29,000 WP, Sept 13
  • Fine = 0.0000004% of their revenue (which was $65 billion)
• 2.8X more likely to test positive if had eaten at a restaurant in the previous 2 weeks CDC Sept 10
  • did not distinguish Indoors vs outdoors, so probably >3X if just indoor
• College Counties (>10% college students) have recent big upturn in COVID-19 cases NYT
• 
• COVID-19 Risk increased by : Smoking 2X, Vaping 5X NYT Sept 4
  • If you must inhale smoke or vape, consider inhaling Vitamin D as well
• The 1918 flu is still with us WP Sept 1
  • It has morphed into the annual influenza. Many suspect COVID-19 will do the same
  • "“All those pandemics that have happened since — 1957, 1968, 2009 —... are derivatives of the 1918 flu,”
  • Article highlights the many simularities and differences
• Long-haul fatigue, etc. common after viral infections (SARS1,2, MERS, Swine, 1918,...)
  • VitaminDWiki Aug 28, 2020
• C.D.C. Now Says People Without Covid-19 Symptoms Do Not Need Testing NYT Aug 25
  • Complete reversal from what the CDC has been saying for months - I suspect political influence
• Washington DC has a 14 day quarantine on people from 30 states Washington Post Aug 24
  • List of states Had been 27 states when started at end of July
  • Restriction is only for people with "non-essential activities": Which includes protesters, but excludes politicians
• 97,000 Americans have gotten convalescent plasma - based on ZERO clinical trials Wired, Aug 21
  • Unclear if convalescent plasma provides any benefit preprint Aug 12
  • convalescent match cohort study of 64 patients found little if any benefit Aug 22
  • Article reviewing the politcal entanglements and overstatements Wired Aug 25
• US govt paid $8.5 million for just the public service announement to donate plasma July 30
• US Unemployment claims drop after $600/week federal added went away WP Aug 13
  • Some people used to make more money if unemployed than actually employed
  • 
• Some face coverings might actually be worse than no covering at all CNN Aug 8
  • 14 face covering were tested, Bandana and gaiters actually resulted more droplets (made big ones into many smaller ones
  • Save the Gaiters! NYT Aug 17
    • Apparently the CNN article was based on very few individuals. Many scientists disagreed with results and data shows that gaiters are NOT worse than no face covering
• CDC says 40% of those infected are asymptomatic - Why? Washington Post, Aug 8 - wide variety of speculations
  • 
• Good comparison of fast COVID-19 test accuracies ConsumerLab Aug 8, 2020
  • "29 currently authorized tests (see table below) show that sensitivity ranges from 88% to 100% and specificity ranges from 94.4% to 100%. "
  • "Note that in a population where few people (e.g., 5%) actually have antibodies, positive results on a test that is not at 100% specific (such as the test from Healgen that provides 97.56% specificity and 100% sensitivity) may only be correct 67.8% the time, although a negative result would nearly always be correct."
  • Antigen tests - wait until 20+ days after first disease symptoms*
  • "There is currently not enough data to know if a negative result could result from taking the test too late."
• COVID-19 deaths in Calfornia now are >2X that of China Washington Post Aug 8
  • 10,011 vs 4,634
• US state department warns Americans not to travel to New Zealand Aug 7
  • New Zealand has 23 active COVID-19 cases, US has ~100,000 X than New Zealand
  • Vermont has the fewest cases in the US: 1,400 as of Aug 6
  • Perhaps they want Americans to not become aware how COVID-19 can be stopped
• US COVID-19 deaths = 160,000, "Excess deaths (more than usual) =207,000 NYT Aug 5
• Home Healthcare Workers were infected 3X higher rate than others in NYC JAMA Aug 4
  • Lack of protection, lack of information, dark skins (low vitamin D). FREE PDF
• Half of everone leaving a hospital surviving COVID-19 found to have poor MRIs 3 months later Lancet Aug 3 FREE PDF
• Mask also reduces the risk of the wearer getting COVID-19 in the future Medium July 30
  • wearing a mask results in their immune system getting a small sample of the virus, allowing it to build up an immunity  Original study
  • Getting COVID-lite might activate the immune system so as to prevent COVID-Heavy
  • Study cites examples from Hampsters, Swiss soldiers, and Cruise ship passengers
• History of Pandemics Visual Capitalist. July 26
  • 
• Ants also reduce social networking when attacked by a pathogen Wired Aug 1
• One Indian tribe in North Carolina decided in March to emulate Korea - with great success The Atlantic July 31
  • Closed borders, massive testing, everyone wear masks, socially distance, track those who test positive
  • Rate of test positive is 3X lower than the rest of North Carolina (3% vs 9%)
  • Now going back to work - but employees must test negative first
• Most countries are now closed to US Passport holders CNN July 28
  • 

• Note: Apparently 20 states each have more total COVID-19 cases than China
• 10th US Congressman gets COVID-19 infection - he generally refused to wear a mask, claims got infected on the rare time he used a mask NYT July 29
  • Problems wtih congressmen flying home during a pandemic: “Send 535 people out to 535 different locations on about 1,000 different airplanes, and bring them back and see what happens."
• Google announces it will keep its workers at home until at least July 2021 July 27
• COVID-19 cases per million population is higher than US in some Middle East countries with dark-skinned laborers living in crouded dorms NYT July 23
  • 
• US as a % of world: 26% of COVID-19 cases, 23% of COVID-19 deaths, 4% of popluation July 23
• The COVID-19 Pandemic May Just Be a Dress Rehearsal Dr. Greger video
  • "There may be an even deadlier pandemic threat waiting in the wings…of chickens"  Video with transcript. **Iis a 5 minute condensation of his very powerful and well referenced book: How to Survive a Pandemic
  • His book identifies many failed attemps to stop bird flu, and describes at what you can do to prepare for it.
  • Founder of vitaminWiki suspects that it can be stopped - by giving Vitamin D to the chickens
• 21,009 US Military infected with COVID-19 - and spreading to off-base civilians around the world July 22
  • EU and many other countries do not allow US civilians to visit, but cannot (yet) ban US military
  • Korea, Okinawa, Australia and Germany are specifically mentioned
• To Navigate Risk In a Pandemic, You Need a Color-Coded Chart Wired July 21

• America’s fiasco shocks the world WP July 20
  • “If there was a mistake to be made in this pandemic, America has made it."
• >1000 Superspreading events: many indoors, superspreader often asymptomatic, not wearing a mask, and <40 years old WP July 18
• New York City had far more deaths per thousand in the 1800's NYT, July 15
  • VitaminDWiki added for 2020: Baseline: 6/1,000,   COVID-19 added 2.5/1,000
  • 
• Protein Pump Inhibitor drug twice a day associated with 3.6 X higher risk of COVID-19 Medscape, July 9
  • Reduced stomach acid from PPI increases ability of virus to attack the stomach and gut
• California 118,000 tested and 10,000 test positive NYT July 16
  • Note: Tests are so scarce in Calif that you can only be tested if you have already have symptoms
• Every resident in 11 Maryland long-term-care facilites were tested: 40% tested positive JAMA, FREE PDF
  • See also VitaminDWiki: Nursing homes could reduce risk of COVID-19 with Vitamin D – June 30, 2020
• COVID-19 antibodies mostly gone in 2 months (2 Chinese studies) – June 2020 in VitaminDWiki
  • Does this imply that a vaccine will have to be given multiple times each year?
• People hated masks during the 1918 pandemic, too. 675,000 Americans died Fast Company July 14
• For every one person who dies of COVID-19 July 12, references are online
  • 19 more require hospitalization.
  • 18 of those will have permanent heart damage for the rest of their lives.
  • 10 will have permanent lung damage.
  • 3 will have strokes.
  • 2 will have neurological damage that leads to chronic weakness and loss of coordination.
  • 2 will have neurological damage that leads to loss of cognitive function.
    • Note: The above list does not even mention the problems which can last many months
• 15,000 NEW COVID-19 cases in Florida in a single day (More than New York's peak of 12,0000 NYT July 12
  • Not a great place for a political convention
• Half of All Covid Tests Are Positive in Mexico, Highest in the World Bloomberg July 1
  • Because Mexico ..."runs exams only on the sickest of patients
• 900+ TSA agents had been infected by COVID-19 NYT July 7
  • TSA can join the other high-risk groups: nursing homes, hospitals, slums, naval ships, cruise ships, etc.
• Average COVID-19 cases per million population for the past week US, Countries NYT July 8
  • 
• The Presidents of US and Brazil did not wear masks, Brazil's president now has COViD-19 WP July 7
  • 108 employees of Planalto Palace (Brazil's White House} tested positive for COVID-19 July 3
• 3 X more likely to die from COVID-19 pneumonia if your country does not give Oxygen until 90% vs 94% saturation
  • Oxygen and mortality in COVID-19 pneumonia: a comparative analysis of supplemental oxygen policies and health outcomes across 26 countries July 4, 2020
  • US, UK, Canada, France = 91%
• WHO had 2 day COVID-19 conference with 1,300 scientists July 2-3 NYT
  • Estimate of risk of death (I.F.R.)= 0.64% = 47 million people around the world, 2 million Americans.
    • CDC's I.F.R. estimate is 0.4% = 1.3 million Americans
  • "So far, in most countries, about 20 percent of all confirmed Covid-19 patients become ill enough to need supplemental oxygen or even more advanced hospital care"
  • "In each of the eight influenza pandemics to hit the United States since 1763, a relatively mild first wave ... was followed by a larger, much more lethal wave a few months later, "
• FDA requires that Vaccine must work for 50% of the people WP June 30
• Dispersion describes viral spreading having flares much better than Ro NYT June 30; has links to many preprints
• The mutated, more infection form, of the virus has become dominate WP June 29
  • 
• 70% of COVID-19 ICU patients experience delirium
  • Note: 102 year experienced delirum a few years ago, got 200,000 IU of vitamin D, and left the hospital 5 days later
  • He was the father-in-law of the founder of VitaminDWiki
• US worst COVID-19 day ever NYT June 25
• 
  • States with Increases in past 14 days (generally due to opening suddenly)
• 
• 
• Trump was not kidding about reducing COVID-19 testing TPM June 23
  • Federal funding for COVID-19 being stopped in 5 states at the end of June
  • Tests cost $130 to $150
• 60% of US counties have an increasing number of COVID-19 cases - intractive map is on-line
  • June 22    purple is bad, dark purple is very bad
• 
• 
  • Note: Europe is considering banning flights from the US
• Countries where everyone wore masks saw COVID death rates 100 times lower than projected FastCompany
  • of 198 countries, those "...with widespread mask wearing saw mortality rates grow 8% a week, on average, versus 54% growth in other countries"
  • Taiwan, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Venezuela, Slovakia Preprint April 4
• Largest single day increase in COVID-19 cases: 183,000 world FastCompany June 22
  • which included 54,771 Brazil. 36,617 US (seven US states hit record highs on June 20)
• More than TWICE as many Americans have already died of COVID-19 than died of combat in WWI June 21
  • 122,140   vs   53,402
  • By August the COVID-19 deaths will be 3X that of Americans in combat in the Vietnam war 47,424
• "Currently, NO tests are FDA-authorized for screening asymptomatic people" The Atlantic June 21
  • Recommendations of asymptomatic testing were released June 16
• W.H.O. Warns of ‘Dangerous Phase’ of Pandemic as Outbreaks Widen NYT June 19
  • "Eighty-one nations have seen a growth in new cases over the past two weeks"
• A Visual Guide to the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus Scientific American June 20
  • Nice charts of COVID-19 biology
• Vermont has had extremely few COVID-19 cases WP June 18
  • Perhaps because they imposed a 14 day quarantine on anyone entering the state
  • Hawaii is another state with a 14 day quarantine which has had very few cases
  • Many countries with similar quarantines, such as NZ, have had similar success
• The Prison Was Built to Hold 1,500 Inmates. It Had Over 2,000 Coronavirus Cases ProPublica June 18
  • Top 4 biggest US institutions for COVID-19 are all prisons, the 5th is a meat packing plant
• Beijing being sealed off: cancel 1200 daily flights, close schools WP June 17
  • "Officials said Beijing has tested 3.56 million people since June 13..." (4 days)
  • Beijing is using Nucleic acid testing not PCR
• Yemen urgently needs help: COVID19 + ongoing war + cholera +hunger FastCompany June 17
• 4 - 5 X more spikes on the dominate mutation of COVID-19 (D614G) Reuters, June 15
  • Making it more infectious than the one which originated in China
• 1 in 6 COVID-19 infections are a result of Cook county jail WP June 12
  • And that is an undercount, because it was not able to consider spread by infected staff, lawyers,
  • "Eight of the 10 largest clusters of the novel coronavirus in the United States are now in jails and correctional facilities,"
• New Delihi predicted to have 1 in 30 infected by the end of July Bloomberg, June 9
  • India had unlocked while infections kept climbing
  • India’s capital of 16 million people - anticipate 500,000 infected by the end of July
  • in the capital “... only the most severely infected and hospitalized people are being tested,” approximately 10% of those who are infected
• # of International flights was found to be the only variable associated with COVID-19 deaths in 37 countries preprint June 11
  • demographics, % living in urban areas, median age, BMI, smoking, GDP, environmental pollution levels, mean temperature (Jan.-April)), prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and cancer, WHO Health Index and hospital beds, per capita, country-level response to COVID-19, etc.
• US, India, and Mexico are reopening, Brazil was never closed NYT June 10
  • 
• 14 states now report having their highest average infection rate WP June 9 - often after opening up

• Note: All of the states are graphed
• In 20 states you can no longer sue a nursing home for a COVID-19 death WP June 6
  • "Since March, federal officials have curtailed routine inspections and restricted visitors in nursing homes, leaving families to peer through windows or plead for information over the phone"

COVID-19 and Vitamin D

COVID-19 and those with Dark Skins

• 10% of all US nursing homes now have COVID-19 infections Washington Post April 21
  • 1,300 infected facilities, 6 states are still not reporting. Only rarely are numbers given for # infected or # deaths
• 30 strains of COVID-19 in 11 people in one hospital in China JPost April 21 preprint
  • "most aggressive strains were found to generate as much as 270 times as much viral load as the weakest strains"
  • No indication of number of strains around the world nor if antibodies of one strain will fight any/some/all other strains
• 28,000 more people have died around the world in past few weeks than is typical NYT April 21
  • The 28,000 deaths are in addition to the numbers of COVID-19 fatalities reported by hospitals
  • Only rarely are non-hospital deaths reported as COVID-19. Rarely are the limited resource COVID-19 tests "wasted" on the dead
  • See April 17" China decided in include hone deaths as COVID deaths, Also NYC April 14
  • "Istanbul, for example, recorded about 2,100 more deaths than expected from March 9 through April 12 — roughly double the number of coronavirus deaths the government reported for the entire country in that period."
  • 
• 95,000 people are in curise ships in US waters, but not allowed to dock National Geographic April 20
  • The is the number of people (generally crew members) just near the US (124 ships) - unknown how many are elsewhere around the world
  • "...estimates that a single person on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship in January infected 15 others, a rate four times higher than observed in Wuhan, China"
• Study finds Chloroquine useless in treating Covid-19, but useful if you want to kill 17% of study participants BoingBoing April 21
• Painful covid toes (with black nails) are an early symptom for some children BoingBoing April 21
  • “COVID toes” in some children can disappear in <10 days, while others progress to respiratory symptom
• 7 lessons learned about what must be in place before stopping lockdowns ProPublica April 18
  • Doubt that ANY of the states have a majority of the following:
    • 1. Build an Army of Contact Tracers
    • 2. Be Prepared to Test Constantly (ang more than those who are symptomatic)
    • 3. Isolate People With Suspected Infections From Their Families
      • Unaware of a single US state using quarantining
    • 4. Protect, Protect, Protect Health Care Workers
    • 5. Normal Is Not the Goal
    • 6. Keep Your Eyes Peeled for the Second Wave
    • 7. Clear Communication Is Critical
  • Many cities fatally unlocked too soon in 1918
    • Boston, SF, Oakland, Denver, Wash D.C., Omaha, Spokane, Seattle, etc.
• 9 million Americans probably have lost their employer-provided health insurance in the past month April 16 Washington Post story
  • Without insurance the cost of prescriptions often exceeds $1,000/month - just when the income drops to zero
  • 12 - 35 million people are estimated to lose job-based insurance because of the pandemic
• Warning if you share a toilet with a person who currently or previously tested positive for COVID-19 NEJM April 9
  • Poop can also be a vector for the virus. Flushing with the lid up "sneezes: the virus a long ways.
  • 70% of those with intestinal COVID-19 problems who tested negative in throat, still have active virus in their poop.
  • Details, such as how long a toilet "sneeze" can spread virus, are behind a paywall
  • Wonder how many people in prisons, ships, homeless shelters, quarantine center, homes, etc got infected via a shared toilet
• ACE2 inhibitors have been associated with a 4X increase risk of COVID-19 death NEJM April 18
  • BUT no clinical trials so far and doctors can be sued for NOT following standard of practice, so they continue to prescribe ACE2 inhibitors
  • Coronaviruses attach to cells via ACE2, Vitamin D might reduce ACE2
• Risk of COVID-19 vs income (G.P. and dental are high risk) Visual Capitalist April 15
  • Risk is a function of 1) Contact With Others, 2) Physical Proximity, 3) Exposure to Disease and Infection:
  
  
• Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine A Meta-Analysis of RCT - no benefit, some harm April 13 preprint
• Predict India:12% will become infected, peak in July April 14 preprint
• Inhumane level of help during COVID-19 crisis in India The Atlantic
  • " It provides no help for day laborers or other workers in similar unorganized sectors. It contains no measures for migrant workers."
  • For those supported: "...five kilograms of rice or wheat, and one kilogram of legumes, per person for the next three months..."
• Individual Indians had to pay for COVID-19 tests, Court ruled tests in private hospitals should be free, so many no longer test, as they lose money on every test given April 9
• 20% of US COVID-19 deaths (7,00 ) are in nursing homes NYT April 17
  • 50^ in Europe The Guardian April 13
  • 36,500 residents and employees have tested positive
• Who should be given higher priority for testing - those who have symptoms or those who are more likely to spread COVID-19? Atlantic April 18
  • 1) Health Care and first responders, (800,000 police officers)
  • 2) Essential Workers, (3 million people work in grocery stores)
  • 3) Possible Superspreaders = test positive or near a known person & in contact with many others
    • Currently not tested
  • 4) People planning on returning to work which puts them in contact with many others
    • Currently not tested
• "Why Some Coronavirus Patients Get Sicker Than Others" - poor immune systems HuffPost April 17
  • No discussion on how to fortify the immune system - such as Vitamin D
• "Most children in Spain haven’t been outside in five weeks" NYT April 14
  • "Madrid region may allow children under 14 to go out for an hour once a day" by the end of the month
  • "children are forbidden to even take a short walk on the street or exercise near their homes"
• Nairobi’s governor falsely touts Cognac as a coronavirus cure NYT April 14
  • Elsewhere in Africa: drinking black tea with no sugar in Kenya, shaving beards in Nigeria and boiling and drinking aidan fruits in Ghana.
  • India is having white Xenophobia
• French Aircraft carrier -1,081 testing positive and results pending for another 929 NYT April 17
  • 550 symptomatic, 24 hospitalized
• It has been estimated that deaths might have been reduced by 50-80 % in NYC if social distancing had been widely adopted a week or two earlier NYT April 14
• US states aggressiveness to stopping COVID-19 WallHub April 7
  • They used 51 metrics: BEST:New York, District of Columbia; Alaska; Hawaii, New Jersey
  • WORST: Mississippi, Arkansas, Wyoming, Alabama, Nebraska, South Dakota, Oklahoma
• China has decided to add those in Whuan who died of COVID-19 in ther homes to the death total: a 50% increase to 3,869 NYT April 17
• NYC decided to increase it's death toll by 3,700 - to account for those who died at home without getting a COVID-19 test NYT April 14
• 
• Some US hospitals are so crowded that they will not accept COVID-19 patients untill they have a blood satuation level <90% NYT April 17
• % testing positive: NYC 41%, Italy 28%, US 20%, Hawaii 2%; Korea 2%- a good indication of COVID-19 control The Atlantic April 16
  • Note: The US and Korea each had their first COVID-19 case on the same day (Jan 20)
  • Korea clearly had much better testing, tracking, lockdown policies than the US
  • Hawaii, for example, does not permit anyone to come to their island without being quarantined for 2 weeks
• Massachusetts is one state starting to try contact tracing - using 1,000 people NYT April 16
  • Unaware of any other state attempting contract tracing
  • Majority of states do not even permit COVID-19 testing unless the person has a form from a Dr. saying that the test is needed
• Perhaps a gene blocks the virus from causing problems - as CCR5 gene does for HIV SingularityHub April 15
  • "Viruses Pick Cellular Locks. Some Genes Rekey Them "so they cannot be picked"
  • Over 100 organizations are looking into genetics of COVID-19
  • Perhaps the gene deals with ACE2 - no mention that Vitamin D may deal with ACE2 as well
• NYT contacted 2,500 nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, memory care facilities, retirement and senior communities and long-term rehabilitation facilities April 14
  • 21,000 residents and staff members have contracted the virus, and more than 3,800 have died.
  • NYT considers this an undercount because some facilities were not forthcoming
• 6X increase in people dying in their NYC homes compared to previous years ProPublica April 14
  • COVID-19?, had other problems and hospital would not admit them? feared going to hospital and cataching COVID-19?
  • Note: COVID-19 tests are typically not "wasted" on thosee already dead
  • 4X increase in Detroit, much less of an increase in many other cities
• Japan is an example of a patten which will be repeated NYT April 13
  • Pattern: Cases Spike, Lock, Cases Decrease, Unlock, Cases Spike, Relock;
    • Spain and Italy are now at the unlock phase of the pattern
    • People died in St Louis in 1918, let's try to learn from their mistake
    • 
• 60 cases on a single flight from Moscow to China, another 243 cases via Vladivostok to China NYT April 13
• Unemployment might spike to 20% in the US, but not in Europe Washington Post April 11
  • Many European govts. are paying a major portion of the salaries of idled employees
    • Idled employees are not unemployed
• Many big cats in NYC were getting COVID-19 symptoms, one was tested, the test come back positive Wired April 12
  • Many species have thier own Coronavirus infections. Now a few large and small cats have become infected with COVID-19 from humans, No evidence (so far) that the infected cats can infect humans.
• South Korea Reports Recovered Coronavirus Patients Testing Positive Again NYT April 10
  • 91patients so far - unknown if "reactivated" or re-infected. In either cas,e any antibodies did not provide even short-term immunity
• Many African countries expected to have 10,000 cases by mid-May preprint
• Criminal gangs, insurgents, and terrorist groups are fighting COVID-19 when their govts. do not FastCompany April 11 Brazil, Lebanon, Iran, Taliban, Hezbollah, El Salvador, etc.
• Extensive discussion of face masks Examine.com April 10
  • The more expensive, the better. Mask protection varies from about 10% to 70%. So do NOT use a mask instead of other precautions
  • Nice mask idea - rather than trying to clean a single mask, have 3 masks and not use the same mask until the 3rd day
  • ConsumerLabs report on Hong Kong Study Virus lasts up to 7 days on surgical masks
• Which is the biggest source of US viral infection?
  • US military and just citizens flying in from infected countries, - 10,000/week?
  • Homeless (SF in this case) - 500,000
  • Americans flying driving, busing or railroading within the US
  • Prisoners released from US prisons each week - 10,000
  • Symptomatic people who are turned away from hospitals because their symptoms are not severe enough to be tested or admitted
  • Symptomatic people who cannot afford the expenses of testing or hospitalization (no health insurance)
  • Symptomatic people who cannot afford to take time off from work, so continue to work
  • People on Kidney Dialysis 2,500 = 0.5% of 500,000 test positive NYT April 11
• state-by-sate restrictions on travel NYT April 10
  • hotels generally open, interstate travel still OK, a few states request 2 week quarantine if coming from a large outbreak state
• 13% of those leaving the Chinese hospital in Feb who tested negative twice then tested positive 3 days later DGAlerts April 10
• Across the South, ‘Walking a Tightrope’ While Awaiting the Worst NYT April 9
  • Each of the following have been found to increase chance COVID-19 death by at least 4X (Meta-annlysis)
  • Obesity, Diabetic, Hypertension, and Heart Disease; The South has a high incidence of all of those health problems
  • Currently Louisiana 17,000 Cases, 650 deaths - 70% were black but population of the state is 1/3 black
• 9X more likely to have tested positive for COVID-19 if inside an NYC prison than outside Marshall Project April 10
  • Study in Brazil found 30X increase in TB after being in prison for 6 months
    • TB is another respiratory infection associated with vitamin D deficiency
  • 10,000 people leave prison each week (who could spead Coronavirus)
    • Probably similar to the number of people fleeing NYC each week, but more than those leaving Senior homes - other hotspots
• 36 second video of a cough spreading across mutiple grocery store isles Sun UK April 8
• 150 Saudi Royals now have COVID-19 symptoms, 3 in ICU NYT April 8
• New Zealand did everything right and their COVID-19 cases are being squashed, not just flattened Washington Post April 7 - No foreign visitors, NZ people returning are requested to self-isolate for 2 weeks,
  • No unnecessary travel within the country - including going to the beach
  • Note: Much stronger restrictions and far better results than Australia, US, etc.
• National Coronavirus model updates Washington Post April 7
  • Unfortunately the model incorrectly still assumes total lockdown and no new sources of infection
  • In reality 4 states have no restrictions and virtually all still permit driving and flying between states
• Coronavirus Deaths 15% more likely if high air pollution NYT April 7
  • Association of COVID-19 deaths and PM 2.5 pollution levels across 3,080 US counties.
• A pulmonary doctor describes getting COViD-19 and narrowly avoiding death Salon April 6
  • "But I was coughing up jet black sputum — obsidian black, as black as your cell phone." he described it as "necrotic lung."
  • "So, in theory, perhaps it's not actually the coronavirus that results in the lack of taste, but the compromised immune system that caused candida or other infection?"
  • "...comment that the warmer weather will impact on the natural history of the illness. Well, the CDC just reported that the illness is acting the same way in Singapore where the temperatures are currently between 80° and 90°"
• Mysterious Heart Damage, Not Just Lung Troubles, Befalling COVID-19 Patients Kaiser Health Network April 6
  • Cardiact damage in 19% of those who did not even have respiratory distress
• Animal studies of Coronavirus have not found vaccines which convey long-term immunity Scientific America April 6
  • " In fact, some animals can be reinfected with the very same strain that caused infection in the first place"
• New York's 'system for managing our dead' overwhelmed, says NYC councilman BoingBoing April 6
  • Refrigerated trucks provided by FEMA are filling up. They are considering mass graves in NYC parks
• "Trump blocks Fauci from answering question about drug Trump is touting" Washington Post April 6
  • "...Trump’s enthusiastic endorsement of the antimalarial drug as a potential treatment for covid-19. Trump, advised by his lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, among others, has touted the drug for weeks."
  • Hours before Fauci said " I think in terms of science, I don’t think we can definitely say it works.”
  • Note March 30 below - Trials in China found it to be no better than a placebo agains COVID-19
• Signapore and Korea were stopping COVID-19 outbreaks, until they got reinfected by people flying in from the US and Europe Wired April 6
  • Note:China and Taiwan, on the other hand, have 14 day quarantines for incoming flights
  • The US still does not quarantine Americans flying into the US nor flights or auto travel inside of the US - which spreads COVID-19
• Undercounting of COVID-19 deaths in US (etc?) - limited resource tests are not "wasted" on COVID-19 symptom deaths which occur outside of various US hospitals - NYT April 5
  • "Paramedics in New York City said that many patients who died at home were never tested for coronavirus."
  • This may account for the decreased COVID-19 death toll in NYC yesterday - more dying at home, but fewer in hospitals
  • Note: Learned a few days ago that China did not count deaths as COVID-19 if they did not test positive or did not have any test at all
    • Note also: 10- 30% of test results are false negative = actually have the virus, but test negative
• Perhaps Sun Valley should be renamed Corona Valley - the town now has of the highest infection rates in the US NewYorker April 3
  • Ski season ended March 15, COVID-19 "season" started
  • Likewise, Mono County, CA (Mammoth Mountain Ski Area) has the highest per-capita rate of COVID-19 in CA
  • as noted below: people are still allowed to drive and fly anywhere in the US
  • also 40,000 American have recently flown from China to the US no indication of # flying from Spain or Italy to the US
• 9 states still do not require people to stay at home NYT April 3
  • And, people are allowed to drive and fly to other states.
  • However, most COVID-19 models incorrectly assume that there is no interstate travel and that everyone stays at home
• Note: Sewage studies may be used to determine when most people in an area are free of Coranvirus. Nature    prereprint
• 40,000 Americans have recently flown directly from China to the US NYT April 4
  • "Flights continued this past week, the data show, with passengers traveling from Beijing to LA, SF and NYC"
  • Does the US govt think that Americans somehow do not catch the virus?
  • No apparent screening nor quarantining for Americans coming from China
  • Note: ALL incoming passengers are quarantined for 2 weeks in Australia, China, etc. - even Hawaii
• Influenza drug (Favipiravir) is being tried in Japan Wired April 4?
  • Initial trial results at different Chinese hospitals - reduced time to test negative
    • One hospital 7 days (4 instead of 11), another hospital only 2 days reduced
  • "On March 28—last Saturday— Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that his government had begun the formal process for designating Avigan as Japan’s standard treatment for Covid-19."
  • "In experiments conducted in animals Favipiravir has shown activity against influenza viruses, West Nile virus, yellow fever virus, foot-and-mouth disease virus as well as other flaviviruses, arenaviruses, bunyaviruses and alphaviruses" Wikipedia
    • Also being tried in Italy and Turkey
• "The greatest error that geopolitical analysts can make may be believing that the crisis will be over in three to four months..." Atlantic Magazine April 4
• A single Mosque in India was the source of 627 of the existing 2567 cases in INDIA BuzzFeed April 3
  • Note: Many Muslims have very low vitamin D due to concealing clothing, and thus are more likely to catch COVID-19 due to poor immune systems
  • Note: 200 Milllion of 1400 Million Indians are Muslim. Other Indian Muslims moved to Pakistan and Bangladesh ~60 years ago
  • A very low 51 COVID-19 tests per million as of April 3 Wikipedia
• CDC (finally) recommends masks in addition to social distancing when out of the house Wired April 3
  • LA and NYC already recommended masks while in public.
• First Clinical trial outside of China to use Vitamin D (25,000 IU) to treat COVID-19 April 3
  • VitaminDWiki is in involved making several Clinical Trials using 600,000 IU of vitamin D to treat COVID-19
  • The 25,000 IU trial is scheduled to complete June 30.   If funded soon, our trials should complete in early May
  • VitaminDWiki is also an advisor to a Chinese Clinical Trial which may start in October (they lack patients with COVID-19)
• White house (March 31) estimation of 100,000 -240,000 deaths was based on several models Wahington Post April 2
  • One of the dubious assumptions: ALL states will be locked down THRU summer
  • The models appear to ignore the affect of continuing US airplane travel. <100,000 on April 7
    • China and many other countries have stopped all airplane and rail travel. Great animated map shows little reduction in the US
• Number of COVID-19 tests per million population NYT April 3
  • Japan 500, Britain 2,400, US 3,600 (often not test if not sick enough), South Korea 8,000, Norway 17,000; elsewhere reported India 50
  • Reported elsewhere Germany 12,100  Iceland 53,500
• 50% of Icelanders who tested positive for COVID-19 had no symptoms CNN April 1
  • Iceland has tested 5% of population. Of one group of 9000 tested, 1% tested positive, half of them had no symptoms ( ~45 people)
  • Iceland has does not have a lockdown. Their high level of testing and tracking has allowed them to contain COVID-19
  • They had stopped all incoming flights several weeks ago, so there are no new sources.
  • Their quarantine time for suspected cases is longer than 2 weeks (did not state how much longer)
• "..patients would be most infectious right before or at the time when symptoms started appearing" ProPublica April 2
  • Perhaps should wear a mask all of the time. It appears that you are less infections AFTER you have symptoms
• Sixty singers went to rehearsal and followed all the rules but 45 later tested positive fo COVID-19 ProPublica April 2
• "New Orleans is on pace to become the next global epicenter of the pandemic" The Atlantic April 2
  • Resulting from the million-person croud at their Mardi Gras Feb 16

50 most-recently changed items in Virus Category

Short URL = is.gd/CoronaD