and how to protect yourself if you accidentally find yourself in a crowd of people any time in the next few years:


Part 1 – Social distancing as things loosen up
Part 2 – How to use herbs, nutritional supplements, yoga and homeopathic remedies to boost your immune system and protect the many targeted organs and life systems attacked by the novel corona virus
Part 3 – Addendums, quotes, links, research…

The first steps of prevention are, as the media has been blasting at everybody for the last few months, social distancing, hand washing, trying to keep your hands away from your face… and N-95 or higher rated respiratory masks when you have to be close to someone with any kind of symptoms. Other masks do little to protect the wearer but a lot to protect folks around and near you. And know that it is possible, even with the masks, that the virus can enter via your eyes… but the idea is that if the mask successfully blocks 50% of attempted entries and 80% of the population in a given area wears these masks… we have slowed down the virus spread tremendously.

Plans for upcoming holidays, such as July 4, should be based on trends in COVID-19 case numbers in coming weeks. Many of us expect the numbers to be spiking again by then, which could affect the ability to travel… could cause all National and State Parks and Forests to be closed, could result in states closing their borders, imposing 14 day quarantines on travelers, etc. But I sincerely hope that does not happen.

It seems that the people most likely to die from this COVID-19 Virus are elderly and immune-compromised adults with illnesses such as diabetes, emphysema or copd, heart disease, etc. but we know that children and perfectly healthy-seeming folks are dying and that in some geographic areas the case numbers are showing that people of all ages are getting seriously ill, to put it mildly.

If you are planning to be near a group or small crowd to celebrate religious or social/political holidays, or if you attend an event such as a funeral, worship services, any gathering of people – including eating in a restaurant, in order to reduce the possibility of infection people should focus on avoiding person-to-person contact as much as possible. Especially pay attention to anyone coughing, sneezing or yelling or even singing as droplets they will spray into the air could contain the virus. Cough and sneeze droplets are large, rather heavy and settle to the ground pretty quickly. Yelling or singing or even simply speaking for some folks, on the other hand put much smaller droplets into the air. These still potentially carry enough of the virus to create a contagion factor but these are way lighter and therefore do not settle as quickly. It is said that these small droplets can remain in the air for 20 minutes or longer! So be certain to stay away from folks exhibiting any of these activities, no matter the cause. Even walking through the area where they were standing, symptomizing or yelling – as much as 15 to 20 minutes later, could put you at risk.

That said, pretty much every living person who is not 100% isolated is liable to become infected eventually. There are however, several good reasons to pay attention to all I am going to speak about this evening. First, the later I get that virus inside me the better the chance that our scientists will have developed treatment protocols, drugs that weaken the micro-organism and strengthen our immune response. Second, as we strengthen our immune system and protect the systems specifically targeted by this virus, we are that much more likely to have weak symptoms and be able to overcome any likely infection. Another reason, although I do not believe there has ever been a natural herd immunity, perhaps we will somehow develop herd immunity eventually. Herd immunities that we know of to date always require a minimum of 85% vaccination rates of the general population. They have never been related to naturally developed immunity.

I will not discuss vaccines tonight except to say that, even for folks who believe in the effectiveness of such inoculations, we must all recognize that:

a- vaccines do not treat folks already ill (whether or not you exhibit symptoms, the illness is considered to be actual if you have been invaded by the micro-organisms associated with it) they are used to prevent one from catching the illness – in theory they work by acting as catalysts for your immune system to do its job specifically aimed at the targeted germs.

B – In reality, mutations are a natural part of the virus life cycle and rarely impact outbreaks dramatically. But RNA viruses, or those that have RNA as their main genetic material instead of DNA, including SARS-CoV-2, mutate constantly and do not have the mechanisms to fix these "mistakes" – and scientists world wide have already discovered between 30 and 33 identifiable mutations and I believe that the reason different regions have different symptoms among their COVID patients has to do with these mutations. This is unusual, the changes happening faster and more frequently than any other virus I have ever studied… and the mutations seem to change the systems within the human body that the virus attacks. Personally I do not think our professionals will successfully create a vaccine that will be able to handle such a quickly and strongly mutating micro-organism. Even with measles, which does NOT mutate similarly, 3% of the folks who receive the full 2 doses of the vaccine will still get measles if they come into contact with someone who is contagious, according to the CDC. This coronavirus will probably get inside just about everybody and 3% of everybody is a LOT of people walking around sick to any degree.

Traditionally, vaccines are used to prevent acute infections. A vaccine typically exposes the inoculated person to ‘antigens’, which are molecules that will trigger an immune response, from the target infection, priming the immune system to recognize the antigens in future. This means that after vaccination there are ‘memory’ cells which will recognize a particular antigen and destroy anything with the antigen on its surface. You can’t really use vaccines to treat the disease after infection because by the time you need treatment, the disease already has established itself in your body and your immune system has been exposed to the antigens so there is no gain in having the vaccine. The whole point of the vaccine is to prevent the infection getting a toe-hold in the first place.

Meanwhile, the inadequate supplies of testing equipment and the ineffectiveness of the tests used in the United States have exacerbated the problem tremendously. Currently used antibody blood tests have been missing as many as 50% of the positive cases according to NYU researchers. And the swab tests are said to miss up to 20% of positive cases according to the CDC.

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There are other reasons to pay attention to this talk – one is that many hospitals are mis-using ventilators – it has been said that only 20% of those presenting with COVID-19 actually have pneumonia… many patients have enough oxygen in their lungs but cannot move the oxygen through their blood to the various organs and their extremities. Ventilators on high can – and do – kill these people. And we now know, too, that this micro-organism does not always attack the lungs… and when it does so, it does so differently from Pneumonia.

The CDC caused some problems when they proclaimed the respiratory symptoms co-exhibited with high fever as being the only way that COVID-19 presented – this proclamation caused many hospitals to refuse to test people whose symptomology differed.
It is true that presenting symptoms actually include shortness of breath, with high fever and persistent coughing with lots of phlegm. In fact, many survivors say that at first they thought they had a common cold, with sneezing, mucus, headache, and a very slight fever. If it is COVID-19 the symptoms will linger and worsen, there will be fatigue, headaches and an escalating fever that won’t subside. There is often coughing so bad that the patient will feel as though she was choking, like someone was grabbing him by the throat.

Of course we all know that many, maybe even most infected people will be symptom free.

But the symptoms can also include swelling feet with rash and blisters. Abdominal pain with diarrhea. Sudden fading of sense of smell and taste often accompanied with muscle pain. Confusion. A fatigue that is extreme – the weakness can come in spurts or be constant. The blood pressure can be dangerously low while the heart is racing super-fast. They might present abnormal liver test results, low iron levels and oxygen starvation of organs and extremities. So the neurological and cardiovascular systems are affected, the liver and bowels, kidney and skin can be affected. Breathing, digestion, waste removal are affected. Do you have pneumonia symptoms… can someone listening to your chest hear liquid, are there noticeable rales as you breathe?

Doctors are learning that even otherwise healthy young children who may have had only a mild disease or one without symptoms can, weeks after, have a condition similar to Kawasaki disease, now being called pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS). This condition may be due to a delayed immune system response that inflames multiple organ systems, including blood vessels, and this can lead to severe complications. While most children recover from Kawasaki disease, it can cause long-term heart damage, and doctors still don’t know what effects this new syndrome will have. At this point the researchers do not think that PIMS from mild COVID-19 cases are common, but they really just don’t know. In one month from the first known case NYC discovered 150 Kawasaki type cases.

Here is what we DO know that the media is not reporting -

Jessie Edwards, PhD, an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, worked with a team from Johns Hopkins University and Chinese researchers to study COVID-19 patients in Shenzhen, China. Every person who tested positive for the disease was isolated in a hospital regardless of whether they had mild or severe symptoms. The team published its findings as a preprint that is awaiting peer review.

Researchers have found that people with mild disease can have abnormal lab or imaging findings, even if they never progress to a more severe disease. According to Edwards’s study, 47% of people who had only a mild disease and 61% with moderate symptoms had abnormal liver function tests, indicating that there was injury to the liver during their illness. Another small study found that 50% of people who didn’t have symptoms at all had abnormal findings on imaging tests showing damage in the lungs, even without lung symptoms!

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Since loosening the social distancing orders throughout the United States, in 2 weeks, 15 states have seriously increasing case numbers and increasing per capita infections and higher percentages, 19 are staying steady so far and 16 are decreasing. But these published figures do not differentiate deaths… nor show how well the authorities are testing people… or who exactly is being tested. Nor do they attend to the fact that the tests in the USA are not very accurate. More importantly, the way millions of Americans celebrated Memorial Weekend is quite likely to result in super high numbers to begin showing up in the next 2-3 weeks.

Getting together with others could at the very least pose a risk for spreading infection and harm among high-risk friends or family members, such as those over 65 or who have underlying medical conditions that affect the lungs, heart and liver. This could include people with asthma, diabetes, OBESITY and immune-related diseases. If 10% of the people who attend a 3 week event are carrying this coronavirus when they arrive, I feel pretty certain that 75-85% will carry the virus when everybody leaves… most of them will not develop symptoms during the next 2 weeks (or longer) but they will be quite contagious.

The best plan is to maintain the “quarantine crew” or “household unit” that you’ve been with during stay-at-home orders. If you stick with your shelter-in-place folks during a weekend cookout, for instance, you don’t face an additional risk. If you interact with others outside of your circle, that could create a new risk, so put on those face masks and practice physical distancing among other groups, larger groups.

Think about face masks as the new safety belts except they protect those around you more than yourself. We must consider our own risk for transmitting or receiving the coronavirus and whether any plans could harm yourself — or others.

In general, minimizing social contacts will reduce the chance that you could receive the virus or transmit it to others. Even if you don’t experience symptoms yourself, you could carry the virus and spread it to others. That’s why large social events, such as sports, concerts and religious ceremonies, have largely been shuttered for two and a half months. As social networks widen, the potential for virus transmission goes up again. As we start going back to work, shopping, gathering publicly, attending sporting events, eating in restaurants, the potential for transmission becomes quite a bit higher. Being near a carrier for just 10 minutes in a check-out line is way different from being near that same carrier for an hour or two or more. Being outside with people is safer than being inside. Being 10 feet away is safer than staying 6 feet away…

As we all start to figure out what we can do that gets us back to some sense of normal, limit your contacts. Rather than arguing with or taunting others, this “gradual reopening” will take a degree of cooperation, communication and trust. Individual risk includes what each person finds acceptable or unacceptable. Some people may feel less comfortable with being in close quarters with folks they perceive as being less careful than they themselves are. Everyone needs to use common sense as they make plans. Take it slow. Keep it small. Continue to use safe COVID-19 practices, such as maintaining physical distance, wearing masks and washing your hands often. Try to keep social contact contained and follow common sense safety protocols. Don’t hug folks you have not been around for the past several weeks. Don’t even shake hands. Or rub elbows. Don’t dance with them either.

The more events and activities you do, the more people you’ll encounter, and the more likely you’ll get exposed to the virus — or even expose others. Gathering outside is a great idea, especially because ventilation is better than inside, and fresh air can dilute the virus. Meet friends at a distance and stay separated by several yards. Keep groups closer than several yards under 10 people, if possible. Be careful about eating and drinking and having fun around others. (What a horrible thing to have to say.)

One or two people should do the food preparation, and one or two others should serve everybody using tongs or silverware, remembering not to let the serving utensils touch the receiver’s personal bowls or cups... Do not use buffet style serving. Cleaning and safety protocols must be way tighter than most of us are used to. An “ogre” should be watching over the cooking, the serving, the dish-washing, hand-washing, distribution of drinking water, dealing with the trash and cleaning up after.

This will take a great deal of social trust. We need to act responsibly and abide by the rules. We all have to do our part in this. It’s our only way to get through it. Even parking and the use of public toilets or latrines or porta-potties - even buying supplies and distributing them – everything must be done in new, much more restrictive, careful ways. Some shopping malls and specific stores and of course restaurants will be overwhelmed if groups of strangers suddenly appear. Some may choose not to reopen if they see an influx of tourists or if the numbers begin to spike again locally or nationally. Police authorities, health department personnel, emergency responders may all behave quite differently from what we are used to. Our mental health and emotional balance will be strained by these circumstances too.


But that is enough of this kind of general advice for those who find themselves in groups. What I really came to talk about is what YOU as an individual can do to strengthen your immune system in ways specific for coronaviruses. How YOU can protect the life systems and specific organs that COVID-19 has been attacking.

According to the Alliance for Natural Health, “The FTC, the FDA, Justice Department, some state Attorneys General are all trying to gag doctors who try to tell you about natural prevention and treatment for Covid-19... These agencies have sent warning letters to doctors and clinics using supplements for Covid-19. The letters charge that it is illegal to make any disease claim for vitamin D, zinc, potassium, quercetin and the like because they are not FDA approved drugs. If the warnings are not heeded, the doctors would face fines or jail… These agencies know full well that it takes years and costs billions to win FDA approval for a drug. They also know that no one will ever pay billions for approval of a product that, being natural, cannot be adequately patented. Vitamin D, zinc, and other natural preventions and treatments have the potential to save lives during COVID-19, but the current system eliminates any chance of them ever being approved, much less now, when they are urgently needed...This is insane. Conventional medicine has nothing to prevent and little to treat Covid-19. What it does have is hard to get and enormously expensive.  Yet our government, likely egged on by its drug company clients, wants to shut down all natural prevention and treatment.”


Out of the nearly 6 million people around the world who have been infected with COVID-19, some 2 million have “recovered”. Let’s make certain that we Rainbow folks are among the survivors. I see no reason that this Corona Virus would not respond to the same treatment that works with all the other such viruses we at CALM have treated over the years. Of course, the "powers that be" don't used these methods, so either they have not tested them or they are not/will not report any positive results... and their medicines do not work very well... but theirs earn a lot of money for the Pharmaceutical Industry and Medical Establishment… anyway here are the main methods I now have on hand and/or suggest to help family and friends:

First know that if you get COVID-19 the symptoms last a long time, one of the best things to do is to stay as calm as you can and to be very patient… meditate, take long walks, do yoga… Do your very best to not pass the virus on to others… Use self treatment and the treatment that can be provided in field clinics which can potentially help a lot but if you seem to be getting worse, be certain to call the local hospital or health department.

Some doctors point out that controlling the fever and using bronchodilators to help patients breathe was really all they could do for their patients at home. I suggest much more than that. For example, The Naturopathic approach:

Homozon - which is Free Radical Oxygen bound to Magnesium, a formula developed in the 1930s by Dr Eugene Blass and introduced to the Rainbow Gatherings by Dr George Freibott, world famous expert now deceased (may he rest in peace). It is a crystalline powder that releases free radical oxygen that can and does seek out and kill viruses hiding in the most unexpected places in the human body… in order to live long and prosper in the human body any micro-organism msut be anaerobic… meaning they survive best with minimal levels of oxygen. For prevention, start with one flat or rounded teaspoon in 4 oz of water, chug it and then follow with a little lemon or lime juice (fresh or reconstituted) or Apple Cider Vinegar to release the Oxygen. Then after 3 days, go to 1 rounded tablespoon and stay there. I have been taking one rounded tablespoon daily since the beginning of March. Warning – the excess Magnesium will cause you to have liquid, watery, squirting bowel movements. After awhile this will slow down from several times daily to a few times daily to twice daily to once daily. If the squirting becomes too much for you, go back to a flat teaspoon for a day or two, a rounded teaspoon for a few days and gradually work your way back up. You need the “shits” because the free radical oxygen will be killing off a lot of anaerobic micro-organisms and the left over parts are toxins circulating in your system. You have to get them out of your body. This is the best colon cleanser ever designed by anybody! The free radical oxygen also neutralizes all other tissue-destructive molecules… and we now know that tissue destruction is one of the names of this game!

If you are already exhibiting symptoms do 1 rounded tablespoon twice daily until you feel better and continue for several more days. If there is a chance of recontamination, continue using 1 rounded tablespoon once daily. Homozon used to be sold on Amazon... today it is not listed! Various distributors nationwide. It is available in 230 gram “bags” which is approximately a one month supply at full dosing. It used to cost between $75 and $90 for a 230 gram cardboard canister but the price has come way down in time for this pandemic.

Donna Crow is, to use her words - "the main distributor for The Original Oxygen-Therapy Blass Homozon... If you are looking for genuine and original Oxygen-Therapy Blass Homozon, you have found it. We guarantee this product to be AUTHENTIC." [theoriginalhomozon.com] Their prices are currently down to around $49 for a one month supply at full strength...
Also Homozon is available from Rachel Rose at 509-590-8826 and Nikki Sachs at 208-920-1149. PLEASE TEXT THEM BEFORE CALLING... They are very busy as single mothers and for security reasons are not picking up calls from numbers they do not recognize. But they told me to give out their numbers. I am still waiting for information as to exact pricing for singles and volume ordering. To the best of my knowledge, Homozon is the ONLY product that meets the strict manufacturing and purity guidelines set by Dr Eugene Blass. The encapsulated product called Mag07 is NOT the same. It has added potassium and claims only to release the O2 in the "intestinal tract and the colon" ... so I would not trust them at all.
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Next is Grapefruit Seed Extract (aka GSE, aka Nutribiotic, also sold in sporting goods shops as Travelers' Aid) [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=nutribiotic+grapefruit+seed+extract&...]
This is a product we have used to treat many health issues at home and in the field, alone and in huge gatherings, including amoebic/viral and bacterial giardia, shigellosis, ear aches, etc. I use the liquid form figuring a single adult does is 12-15 drops. It is also available in capsules, some of which contain only the Grapefruit Seed Extract… I recommend against the capsules that also have Echinacea and Artemisia Annua… the State of California has stated that the capsules with those herbs “contain a chemical known to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm” and should not be taken by pregnant or nursing women. So I just prefer using the pure GSE products. The unadulterated liquid and the capsules that contain only GSE do not carry that warning!… (they do not pose such dangers)
For prevention I recommend a single dose once daily, I take it in 6 oz of water and follow up with juice a few minutes later – GSE has a horrible taste but is not so bad with apple juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice…

If you already have symptoms take it 3 times daily for a week or two, depending on how quickly your symptoms lessen. In worst case scenarios I would probably take it 5 times a day the first two days and 3 to 4 times daily after that. Children dose instructions on the bottle are 1-3 drops in a glass of water taken up to 2 times a day... for children 5 and older. Some of their products say not to give it to children under 12. Do not ever use full strength directly into anyone’s mouth or allow contact with sensitive areas such as the groin or the mouth.

BTW Grapefruit Seed Extract will purify any water that has been contaminated by micro-organisms or plants. It will KILL every micro-organism against which we have tested it. It has hundreds of uses… Nutrabiotic used to distribute a 4 page pamphlet listing all the ways but I lost My copy while moving back to Santa Fe.
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I will be discussing herbs and nutritional supplements we need to be using now more than ever -

Black Elderberry Syrup (aka Sambucus) - My favorite two brands are Nature's Way (but only the Original Formula, not the "New and Improved" which has been diluted with Echinacea which has drawbacks and weaknesses) and Gaia Herbs (especially their night time formula used only at night and Nature's Way used during the day). I have tried 6 or 8 other brands with less success for Myself and family, friends, clinic patients... (available at whole foods, sprouts, vitamin shoppe, health food stores, GNC, etc) Israeli research was the first to determine this, especially when used with the Olive Leaf Extract discussed below, kills cold and flu viruses (coronaviruses all) in humans. I consider one full Tablespoon as a measured dose.
Olive Leaf Extract capsules - best used in conjunction with the Sambucus. And I strongly recommend following the directions on the bottle for prevention and for existing symptoms or when certain that you have been exposed, doubling the size of the doses of both and doubling the frequency of both and always taking the Olive Leaf capsules first followed by the syrup. And then do not take anything else by mouth for at least 30 minutes. (available at whole foods, sprouts, vitamin shoppe, health food stores, GNC, etc) The Olive Leaf Extract I use measures at 500 mg. Per capusle.

When I use the Elderberry and Olive I also usually take an eye-dropper-ful of the Chinese herbal immune stimulant, Astragalus alcohol tincture. I prefer this because it does not have weakened responses after repeated uses like Echinacea does, nor does it seem to affect the liver or kidneys in a negative fashion even after daily use for month after month the way herbs like Goldenseal do. I believe that Astragalus is also especially specific for digestive and abdominal issues according to the Chinese Traditional Medicine Pharmacopeia.


Oscillococcinum is a Homeopathic remedy marketed under the Boiron brand which can be found in many stores and catalogs. Or use the product from any respected Homeopathic pharmacy under the standard name - Anas Barbariae (200C or 1M) has been effective with virtually all flu (corona-) viruses that have hit the US in the past 35-40 years but Homeopathic Remedies do not kill a virus, they help our Vital Force withstand any imbalance that would allow for micro-organisms to proliferate). Oscillococcinum is available from Amazon. Anas Barbariae is available from Washington Homeopathic Products. A few months ago no American Homeopahtic Pharmacy offered this or numerous other single remedies... if that happens again try the Australian Homeopathic Pharmacy – at www.HomeopathyPlus.com. I have ordered from them successfully, repeatedly. There are other Homeopathic Remedies which can help, especially with the lungs and with fever… I will discuss them later on in this paper.
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Also, if you cannot get or use Homozon for some reason I would suggest the following:
Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide H2O2) which is ONLY sold openly by Pool Cleaning Supply companies and is 35% pure which is very dangerous and caustic so it must be diluted 11 parts water to 1 part H2O2. Then begin with 10 drops to a quart of water and if you are exhibiting symptoms gradually move up to as many as 30 drops then back down over a 2 week time period). If there is a chance of recontamination, continue using at 10 drops to the water, once or twice daily. Amazon.com has it diluted to 12% available, I can only write about My own experience... 03% is what I have been taught and have used for decades...which requires a dilution from 35% (called Food Grade) down to 3% which is done 11 to 1. Period. [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=food+grade+hydrogen+peroxide&crid=2E...]
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Most of human immunity is found in the bacteria in our guts. So if you have any reason to believe that you might be immune compromised here is what you NEED TO DO:
Take at least 2 different oral probiotics and also take the prebiotics that feed them and help them get strong and numerous. I am actually taking 4 different probiotic formulas, each at least 3 times a week.

First you must understand that when drugs such as broad based antibiotics kill off the bad guy micro-organisms they also inadvertently kill off the good guys that we need. Then with the absence of these bacteria on the walls of our intestines there is sort of a vacuum there and various bacteria will rush over and colonize on the walls... and it so happens that a lot of the type that we do not want to become too numerous are actually better at colonizing than most of those we DO WANT to become super numerous.
So back in the 1950s some University of Minnesota researchers developed the DDS-1 Strain of Acidophilus (since then a DDS-2 strain has also been developed... for the purpose of this article I know of no important difference between the two) which is really, really good at developing colonies so fast that the bad-guys cannot easily get a hold onto the walls. You can buy these products alone or as ingredients in various probiotic formulas. UAS Life Sciences in Wausau Wisconsin produces some of the best... they bought the rights from the University and for a long time were the only folks who created and marketed DDS strains but there are numerous others now as the patent ran out some time ago. Personally I prefer their UP4 product which contains DDS-1 Lactobacillus Acidophilus and B. Langum (another important probiotic) AND the prebiotic Fructooligosisaccharides.
The 2nd Probiotic I would recommend is any good multi-bacteria formula. Make sure the ingredients list billions of each, not millions! For example Nature's Way has a product named Primadophilus-Bifidus providing 4 strains, 5 billion living bacteria of each. There are others including, just to name a few, Swanson's Probiotic formula with 20 billion total of 15 different strains plus the probiotic FOS, Ultra Probiotic for Women with 50 billion total of 7 strains, Ultra Potency Probiotic with 66 billion from 14 strains plus the prebiotic Nutra-Flora (FOS) etc... other brands with multi-bacteria formulas include Bio-Kult, Now, Rainbow Light, Garden of Life, Dr Mercola, etc.
Prebiotics for the support of friendly flora - Swanson's and The Vitamin Shoppe and any store that sells probiotics will almost certainly also have prebiotics for sale. Also you can eat certain foods that contain high amounts of pre-biotics such as Asparagus, Bananas, Garlic, Onions, Carrots and Jerusalem Artichokes... Personally I eat garlic and bananas daily, onions and carrots often. And 2 of the probiotic formulas I take also contain prebiotics.

This is a good time to discuss digestion a bit more. Digestive Enzymes are quite helpful during times of stress to help us digest our foods, support the flora in our guts, extract and bio-assimilate the nutrients in the food we eat. Rainbow Light’s Advanced Enzyme System is my favorite. Papain from the Papaya and Bromelain from Pineapple stems are less expensive alternatives, they are both more limited than the Rainbow Light formula.
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Normal laundry detergent should kill the virus. For winter clothing that does not require daily washing, you can put it out under direct sun as UV rays will kill the virus. The clothes will need to be turned so that every inch is exposed to the UV rays for a good amount of time… I think turning every 45 minutes will work. I also clean my mask every day, with dish soap and water, then hang it to dry where it gets some sun… frequently I spray it with 70% alcohol (rubbing alcholol aka Isopropyl) and make sure it is getting plenty of sun so the UV rays also help kill any contaminants. I spray the bell and door handles that are touched by delivery persons with bleach-in-water at a concentrate where I can easily smell the bleach. Every 2 days I spray the sink and counters in the kitchen and also my bathrooms with the diluted bleach. If I entertain guests I will spray shortly after they leave. When I come in from my once a week shopping trip I scrub well with soap and water, spray with alcohol, let it all air dry and then remove the clothing I wore outside, dump into a dirty clothes bin in the closet and take a long, hot, shower. Then I put on clean clothes. This might be more precaution than necessary but it certainly can’t hurt to be a bit extra careful after being out among people. If I was working in a clinic and therefore had to get close to a lot of patients with a variety of health issues I would worry that some of those people had this coronavirus and I would be changing clothes more often, wearing protective clothing like a gown and gloves and a mask, washing and sanitizing my hands frequently, etc.
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If a patient or family member begins to have respiratory symptoms the Yoga position known as the Downward Dog which is a standing pose with mild inversion that builds strength while stretching the whole body and can help drain the lungs of fluid… Do not practice Downward-Facing Dog if you have severe carpal tunnel syndrome or are in late-term pregnancy. It should also be avoided by those with injury to the back, arms, or shoulders; and by those with high blood pressure, eye or inner ear infections.
First, warm up by stretching the hips, bend one knee while keeping the other leg straight. Change sides and repeat five times.
Then-

1. Come to your hands and knees with the wrists underneath the shoulders and the knees underneath the hips.
2. Curl your toes under and push back through your hands to lift your hips and straighten your legs.
3. Spread your fingers and ground down from the forearms into the fingertips.
4. Outwardly rotate your upper arms to broaden the collarbones.
5. Let your head hang and move your shoulder blades away from your ears towards your hips.
6. Engage your quadriceps strongly to take the burden of your body's weight off your arms. This action goes a long way toward making this a resting pose.
7. Rotate your thighs inward, keep your tail high, and sink your heels towards the floor.
8. Check that the distance between your hands and feet is correct by coming forward to a plank position. The distance between the hands and feet should be the same in these two poses. Do not step the feet toward the hands in down dog in order to get the heels to the floor.
9. Exhale and bend your knees to release and come back to your hands and knees.
https://www.yogajournal.com/videos/down-dog shows this pose.
When in the position, your feet should be hips width apart, the toes should be pointing towards your shoulders. Your heels do not need to touch the ground. Do not worry about it — avoid walking your feet closer to your hands for this purpose. Maintain the length of your spine and the lift of your pelvis and push your heels towards the ground. If you are very flexible, try not to let your rib cage sink towards the floor creating a sinking spine (also known as banana back). Draw your ribs in to maintain a flat back. 

We are not trying to teach this yoga asana properly to anyone but to help them get into this or a similar position that puts the top of their lungs below the bottom of their lungs so they can drain out any accumulating liquid. Needless to say this needs to be done several times daily, for however long feels comfortable to the individual. The more he or she can do this, the longer they can maintain the position, the more likely it will be helpful.

The homeopathic remedy Antimonium-Tart is a polychrest for lung issues and is especially specific for liquid in the lungs. Here is more pertinent information regarding ANTIMONIUM TARTARICUM
Clinically, its therapeutic application has been confined largely to the treatment of respiratory diseases, rattling of mucus with little expectoration has been a guiding symptom. But there can be thick phlegm as the bronchial tubes are overloaded with mucus. There may be burning sensation in chest, which ascends to throat. Rapid, short, difficult breathing; seems as if he would suffocate; must sit up. Difficulty in breathing can be relieved by belching, or this and the cough might be eased by lying on the right side. The cough is often accompanied by pain in the chest and throat. The heartbeat (pulse) is likely to be rapid and weak and the patient is apt to complain of an uncomfortable hot feeling.
Antimonium tart is homeopathic to congestion of the bladder and urethra, burning in rectum, bloody mucous stools, etc. Antimonium tart acts indirectly on the parasites by stimulating the oxidizing action of the protective substance. Its patient picture also includes chills, contractures and muscle pain. There may also be trembling of whole body, great prostration and faintness. It has headaches that feel as though a band was compressing the head accompanied by yawning, tears in the eyes and vomiting. Often the face will be pale, there will be dizziness along with or alternating with drowsiness. There can be fear of being alone, with muttering and great sadness, confusion and whining. Fever is often accompanied with a cold sweat, trembling and chiliness while the forehead has intense heat. The face may be blue with cold cheeks. Look for copious perspiration, a cold, clammy sweat, with great faintness. Also intermittent fever with lethargic condition.
Swallowing liquids can cause nausea and retching though the patient is very thirsty for cold beverages. Food is liable to be difficult to ingest without nausea but there is often a desire for fruits especially apples and citrus. May desire Apple cider Vinegar or pickles or other acidic foods…
This remedy is a good choice, too, for pressure or spasms in the abdomen (especially on stooping forward), eruptive diarrhea and/or a lot of gas.
With COVID -19, if there are any respiratory symptoms or abdominal pain with diarrhea, whether or not the rest of the remedy-picture is present, I would give this remedy in a 30c or 200c potency if possible or if I had to use any lower potency than that, I will expect that it will need to be repeated more often, according to the symptoms.
As always with homeopathy when improvement is noted, stop taking/giving the remedy and only resume if the symptoms resume…
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There is a complete Homeopathic approach that has been developed in other nations, I have the information but am not yet ready to present it today. If folks are interested in that approach please let your source for this paper know so I can finalize a paper discussing that approach and we can schedule another workshop conference call.
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The media has been reporting that patients who survive build an immunity – they have antibodies that are thought to be protective though they are quick to say that they have no idea how long this natural immunity might last. But this ignores early reports that said that folks who get this virus and overcome it do not build up an immunity to it but rather that MANY of them get it a second time. In Italy, Spain and Iran reports were that the first time the virus hits it attacks our lungs, the second time the virus attacks our cardio-vascular system and a larger percentage of people who got it a 2nd time will die than the percentage of those who only get it once. Today I saw a new report today saying that only 30% of COVID-19 survivors built up any immunity and that often lasted for only 3 months. Meanwhile, those who die from the first time die of Pneumonia-like oxygen starvation issues while those who die the 2nd time around do so by Heart Attack and stroke!
So Lung and Cardio support would both be beneficial. CoQ-10, Hawthorne Berries, Essential Fatty Acids – I take Fish Oil and Flax Seed as well, Ginkgo Biloba, Garlic and peppers high in Capsaicin are all especially good for the heart. Homeopathic Antimonium-Tart and tea and steam made with Mullein and Eucalyptus leaves are great for the lungs. As is, of course, Homozon or Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide. Walgreens sells inexpensive steam inhalers that are helpful too but don't use tap water, you don't want to breathe those chemicals in super deep, who knows what they will do to the lungs - fluoride, chlorine, in fact there are thousands of chemicals in our public water system that could not be found in water just 50 years ago... nobody has any idea what these would do if inhaled super deeply. For steam therapy use water purified by your preferred method - distilled, filtered, ozonated or reverse osmosis-treated water…

Other herbs that are extremely beneficial for the lungs include:
Osha Root, an herb native to the Rocky Mountain area that has historically been used by the Native Americans for respiratory support. The roots of the plant contain camphor and other compounds which make it one of the best lung-support herbs in America. One of the main benefits of osha root is that it helps increase circulation to the lungs, which makes it easier to take deep breaths. Also, when seasonal sensitivities flare up your sinuses, osha root, which is not an actual antihistamine, does produce a similar effect and may be help calm respiratory irritation. I have used it for years at large Gatherings high in mountainous regions to treat altitude sickness for folks who come from much lower levels, near the sea and etc. It has never failed to help. We used Mullein Leaves as well with great success year after year.
Mullein Leaves are used by herbal practitioners to clear excess mucus from the lungs, cleanse the bronchial tubes, and reduce inflammation that is present in the respiratory tract. A tea can be made from one teaspoon of the dried herb to one cup of boiled water. Alternatively, you can take a tincture form of this herb but I have had best results using the leaves in steam therapy.
Eucalyptus - Australian Aborigines, Germans, and Americans have all used the refreshing aroma of eucalyptus to promote respiratory health and soothe throat irritation. Eucalyptus is a common ingredient in cough lozenges and syrups and its effectiveness is due to a compound called cineole. Cineole has numerous benefits — it’s an expectorant, can ease a cough, fights congestion, and soothes irritated sinus passages. As an added bonus, because eucalyptus contains antioxidants, it supports the immune system against coronaviruses such as the common cold.

Oregano - Although oregano contains the vitamins and nutrients required by the immune system, its primary benefits are owed to its carvacrol and rosmarinic acid content. Both compounds are natural decongestants and histamine reducers that have direct, positive benefits on the respiratory tract and nasal passage airflow.

Lobelia has been used as “asthmador” in Appalachian folk medicine. Lobelia contains an alkaloid known as lobeline, which thins mucus and breaks up congestion. Additionally, lobelia stimulates the adrenal glands to release epinephrine, in effect, this relaxes the airways and allows for easier breathing. Also, because lobelia helps to relax smooth muscles, it is included in many cough and cold remedies. Veterinarians give horses lobelia to help them breathe more deeply.
Lungwort is a tree-grown lichen that actually resembles lung tissue in appearance. However, this natural remedy doesn’t just look the part. As early as the 1600′s, lungwort has been used to promote lung and respiratory health and clear congestion. Lungwort also contains compounds that are powerfully effective against harmful micro-organisms that affect respiratory health.
Chaparral, a plant native to the Southwest, has long been appreciated by the Native Americans for lung detoxification and respiratory support. Chaparral contains powerful antioxidants that resist irritation and NDGA which is known to fight histamine response. Chaparral is another herb that fights harmful micro-organisms. The benefits of chaparral are mostly available in a tincture extraction but chaparral tea may support respiratory problems by encouraging an expectorant action to clear airways of mucus.

There is more to be said about immunity among survivors… but I will get to that later, if at all today. Just know that this is a very controversial subject!
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WE NOW KNOW a lot more about how this coronavirus goes after the human lungs, way differently from the way flu does… there are “impacts” on blood vessels IN the lungs of patients and the lung tissue of covid patients have now been compared to lung tissue from folks who died of pneumonia caused by the flu.
COVID-19 attacks the lining of the lung blood vessels and these patients had many tiny blood clots and grew new blood vessels in response according to a study published May 21 in the New England Journal of Medicine. This supports prior reports of the widespread damage to lung blood vessels of COVID patients…
In Pneumonia the lungs get stiff, injured or totally destroyed BEFORE there is oxygen deprivation… with this virus there is a vascular phase along with other forms of damage. It is now being suggested that survivors are better able to regrow the blood vessels to get more oxygen to oxygen-starved tissue. One interesting point was that the Washington Post has reported that other researchers have found similar damage and unexpected blood clots in other organs such as kidneys and heart…

so now I know even stronger than I had suspected before that the blood supporting herbs and supplements are critical…

First – a warning… stay away from stinging nettles and Vitamin K since we are now quite certain that there is a huge blood-clotting problem with this coronavirus.



Red Clover Blossoms are one of my favorite herbs to help with blood issues, with oxygen delivery issues. These flowers are also high in vitamin E, selenium and zinc. They help us create red blood cells, fill these with iron to carry the oxygen.
(I don’t have the info in front of me just now but have read that folks who died of COVID-19 were low on Vitamins E, D-3 and Selenium) - red clover blossoms. They taste good raw in salads, good in teas. Buy them dried (best if they are organically grown) or collect them fresh (but be sure no critters are urinating on them). Normally I also would recommend Alfalfa leaves eaten in soups, salads, as a steamed veggie or mixed with the red clover to make a tasty tea - I usually add cut and sifted rose hips to the other two herbs for flavor and the vitamin C. Alfalfa is high in iron and helps your body fill the blood with oxygen as well as digestive enzymes but the herb is also high in Vitamin K so I am not so sure about using it now. Red clover will also act as a blood purifier to neutralize excess acid and, according to the Chinese Traditional Medicine the blossoms will eliminate excess heat from the small intestine.

Hawthorne berries are a tonic for the heart, Ginkgo Biloba helps with circulation by relaxing the muscles in our blood vessels so they relax and contract more easily, COQ10 is wonderful for the heart and the liver (100 mg is a single dose, for our current purposes it might be wise to take that 2 or even 3 times daily for the next several months or longer. BURDOCK, YELLOW DOCK, CHAPARRAL and OREGON GRAPE ROOT are other herbs specific for cleansing the blood.

And in fact Red Clover, Hawthorne Berries, Red Root, Burdock, Yellow Dock, Plantain Leaf, Yarrow Flowers, Licorice Root and Prickly Ash Bark all work well together to prevent and break up Blood Clots according to the Naturopathic Handbook of Herbal Formulas.


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For the Liver -

Ceylon Cinnamon has antimicrobial activity and can lower blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure; it may be useful against stomach ulcers and helps to protect the liver from damage (other less expensive strains of Cinnamon contain chemicals that have been proven dangerous to humans if used in medicinal quantities). Milk Thistle is also good for the liver as are Burdock, Yellow Dock, Schizandra Berries and Oregon Grape Root. Turmeric is excellent for the heart and liver as well. (remember that you must have a little black pepper to bring out the medicinal Curcumin from the root)

For the Kidneys – I eat dried cranberries cooked into hot cereal, sometimes add it to My daily medicinal tea and I supplement with Tart Cherries which is also good for the muscles. Dandelion Roots, Juniper Berries, Fresh Corn Silk, Fresh Horsetail and Uva Ursi are also good for the kidneys. I list the variety of herbs for each organ so people can pick and choose their favorite choices since we herbalists all have our preferences.

Fevers are common and often very high with COVID-19. Boneset and Feverfew are 2 herbs that are favorite for fevers. Feverfew has the added advantage of providing relief for nausea, depression and arthritic type pain due to inflammation. It is also said to help with dizziness. BUT DO NOT USE IF PREGNANT as it can stimulate movement in the womb. Boneset can relieve the aches and pains often associated with corona viruses such as the flu. It also helps to clear mucus congestion from the upper respiratory tract. Other herbs known to help reduce fevers include Meadowsweet, White willow Bark and Jamaican Dogwood, Ginger root and St Johnswort. St Johnswort also known as Hypericum can also be very helpful with depression and with nerve pain such as from pinched nerves or due to blunt trauma. There are many Homeopathic remedies for fever, each specific to other details the individual is experiencing. Ferrum Phos is the most common, from a first aid perspective, for low grade fevers. Arsenicum is the remedy I use most often for very high fevers combined with diarrhea and especially, too, if there is also a copious discharge of mucus associated with inflammation of the nose and throat. Arsenicum also covers a fever that comes and goes. If the fever is extreme and the face is flushed and the eyes look especially bright and intense, Homeopathic Belladonna is a good choice. If there is a fever with general aches and pains and difficulty swallowing (almost as though there were a sliver in the throat) Gelsemium might be my primary choice. For people with high levels of anxiety along with the fever plus exhaustion, confusion and/or dizziness consider Nux Vomica (which also covers lips and nails having a blue tint). When the patient’s liver seems to be affected, with a bloated / painful abdomen or there is a bloating of the face and hands, or if the fever alternates with icy coldness or there are frequent bouts of chills, Lycopodium is the remedy of choice. If the fever accompanies a rash I might turn to the aforementioned Arsenicum or Bryonia (which includes symptoms such as a hard, fast pulse, profuse or sour-smelling perspiration covering much of the body and a dry cough) or Sulphur (look for dry skin, great thirst, night sweats and perspiration of only single, specific parts of the body). Fever is a complicated symptom pointing to a vast number of Homeopathic Remedies so consultation with an experienced Homeopathic Practitioner or Doctor would be well advised.

N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (a.k.a. NAC) is an easily-absorbed nutrient with robust benefits for bronchial, respiratory, liver and immune health. 500 to 600Mg is the dose I see most often recommended.
Ginger is good for the immune and digestive systems.
Garlic raw and cooked or dried so you get the sulphur compounds and the allicin benefits is great for the blood, heart, immune system, digestive system… a super herb indeed!
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Seriously sick coronavirus patients in New York state’s largest hospital system are being given massive doses of vitamin C — based on promising reports that it’s helped people in hard-hit China. Dr. Andrew G. Weber, a pulmonologist and critical-care specialist affiliated with two Northwell Health facilities on Long Island, said his intensive-care patients with the coronavirus immediately receive 1,500 milligrams of intravenous vitamin C. Identical amounts of the powerful antioxidant are then re-administered three or four times a day. The regimen is based on experimental treatments administered to people with the coronavirus in Shanghai, China, according to Weber. “The patients who received vitamin C did significantly better than those who did not get vitamin C,” he said.
Each dose is more than 16 times the National Institutes of Health’s daily recommended dietary allowance of vitamin C, which is, ridiculously, just 90 milligrams for adult men and 75 milligrams for adult women.
Jason Molinet, a spokesman for Northwell — which operates 23 hospitals, including Lenox Hill Hospital on Manhattan’s Upper East Side — said vitamin C was being “widely used” as a coronavirus treatment throughout the system, but noted that medication protocols varied from patient to patient.
Dr Weber said vitamin C levels in coronavirus patients drop dramatically when they suffer sepsis, a common inflammatory response that occurs when their bodies react to this infection.
I am taking 3 different forms of Vitamin C – 500mg of Ester C with bioflavanoids which is reputed to be more easily digested than most other forms, 500 mg of Garden-of-Life brand Vitamin code whole food Vit C with bioflavanoids and 500 mg of a less expensive Ascorbic Acid – any Walgreens or GNC or even Walmarts brand will do for that last.

1500 mg of Vitamin C total, daily, for prevention. If I was to be dealing with someone who is beginning to have symptoms I would have the client repeat all of these at least 2 more times during the day.
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In the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health measures that can reduce the risk of infection and death in addition to quarantines are desperately needed. I read a convincing article reviewing the role of vitamin D in reducing the risk of respiratory tract infections, knowledge about the epidemiology of influenza and COVID-19, and how vitamin D supplementation might be a useful measure to reduce risk. Through several mechanisms, vitamin D can reduce risk of infections. Those mechanisms include inducing cationic peptides known as cathelicidins and defensins that are the main part of the immune system in humans and other vertebrates. This can work to lower viral replication rates and reducing concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines (cellular messengers) that produce the inflammation that injures the lining of the lungs, leading to pneumonia, as well as increasing concentrations of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Several observational studies and clinical trials reported that vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of influenza, whereas others did not. Evidence supporting the role of vitamin D in reducing risk of COVID-19 includes that the outbreak occurred in winter, a time when 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations are lowest; that vitamin D deficiency has been found to contribute to acute respiratory distress syndrome; and that case-fatality rates increase with age and with chronic disease comorbidity, both of which are associated with lower Vitamin D concentration. To reduce the risk of infection, it is recommended that people at risk of influenza and/or COVID-19 consider taking 10,000 IU/d of vitamin D3 for a few weeks to rapidly raise internal D concentrations, followed by 5000 IU/d. The goal should be to raise D levels above 40-60 ng/mL. For treatment of people who become infected with COVID-19, higher vitamin D3 doses might be useful. (https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/4/988/htm)

When my physician had my blood levels of Vitamin D tested I was found to be low and she prescribed 50,000IU to be taken once a week for several months. I now supplement with 5,000 IU daily as a preventive. If I were to begin to show coronavirus symptoms I would probably up that to 10,000IU daily.
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I also take a vitamin B complex along with extra B-6 (100mg)and B-12 (500mcg) because The complex protect against cognitive decline and diabetic kidney disease; while b 6 supports cardiovascular and neurological health and B 12 supports brain health and cognition as well as healthy homocysteine levels to strengthen and protect the human heart. And the B Vitamins, along with CBD Oil help keep me calm, help provide relief for the anxiety aspect of my PTSD… I am sure they would do both also for folks stressing about this pandemic.
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Zinc
It’s a mineral your cells need to fight off bacteria and viruses and make the genetic material, called DNA, that tells your body how to work the way it should. It helps you heal wounds, aids your senses of smell and taste.
Normally, an adult man needs 11 milligrams a day, and an adult woman, 8 milligrams. If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, you’ll need more -- around 12 milligrams. Children need 2 to 11 milligrams depending on their age and gender.
Some things can make it hard for your body to use it, including surgery on your stomach or intestines, alcohol abuse, and digestive diseases like ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. And people who don’t eat meat or animal products can have a harder time getting enough zinc from food.  One good vegetarian sources is Cashews which have 1.6 milligrams of zinc per 1-ounce serving. Munch on them instead of candy or chips. Just remember, while they’re healthy, cashews are also full of calories and fat. And commercially gasses used to shell these nuts – some folks say that residue of the gasses used can be dangerous if over done frequently. But for the short term cashews are probably a very good idea.
Zinc as a supplement by itself or as part of a multivitamin can be helpful if you don’t get enough in your diet or you have certain medical conditions, but standard nutritionists warn that it’s not always safe to supplement with Zinc because “Too Much Can Be Bad for You”. It can cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, headache, and nausea. And if you take too much for too long, you may have lower levels of copper (another essential nutrient), a weaker immune system, and less HDL -- or “good” -- cholesterol. Normally you shouldn’t get more than 40 milligrams a day unless your doctor has told you otherwise. I am temporarily taking 60-75 mg of a chelated (pre-digested) form daily… for awhile. You probably should talk to your pediatrician before giving a zinc supplement to your child.  Also know that zinc supplements can weaken the effects of antibiotics, and antibiotics can make it harder for your body to use zinc. The supplements also can make it harder for your body to absorb some prescription drugs.
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Taoist approach to COVID - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z0WORKqN-c
discusses the heart and thymus and a whole different approach to protecting ourselves in the age of the super coronaviruses… get the love in the heart and the fire in the thymus… I will watch this again and again… and think a lot about what this Master has to say.

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I have heard that the amino acid L-lysine can work prophylactically too but have no evidence at this time…


NOTE ESPECIALLY ABOUT CHILDREN -
Multi Inflammatory Syndrome M.I.S.
Kawasaki symptoms with COVID
High fever/ rash/ red tongue and lips, swelling and rash on various parts of body, abdominal pain, diarrhea/constipation. Abdominal symptoms are usually for those a bit older… 9-14 yrs. Younger kids get rashes more often…
Children also exhibit kidney issues, inflammation of heart itself, the NY State definitions seem more accurate and more detailed those put out by the Federal government. From discovery of the first case in NY State to one month later they found 150 cases in NY State. Certainly watch out for this – the child is sick, has shock, severe pain in tummy with diarrhea… the child simply LOOKS ill. His or her fever will reach dangerous levels like 103-105. There could also be red pink eyes no discharge, lips red and cracked, tongue red and swollen, looks much like strawberry…
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Here is a last minute addition providing updated info about transmission and symptoms and prevention:
Advice from a doctor from the Shenzhen Hospital who had transferred to study the Wuhan pneumonia virus reported that if patients came in with cold symptoms that included a runny nose, it was not COVID-19. I have not been able to verify this. He also said that it helps to stay away from ice and cold drinks… he recommended drinking a lot of hot water for any virus! He pointed out that the virus can live on metal surfaces for 12 hours and on fabrics for 6 to 12 hours but the CDC now tells us that it is extremely uncommon for the virus to be transferred from either surface to a person unless one touches a contaminated surface and then rubs his face, touches near the mouth, nose or eyes. So to be extra careful try to only touch your face at home after you have washed your hands…

The doctor had more to say about the symptoms of the type of pneumonia caused by Coronavirus:
It will first infect the throat, so the throat will have the dry sore throat feeling which will last for 3 to 4 days. Then the virus will blend into the nasal fluid and drips into the trachea and enter the lungs, causing pneumonia. This process will take 5 to 6 days. With pneumonia, comes high fever and difficulty in breathing. The nasal congestion is not like the normal kind. You will feel like you are drowning in water. It's important to go seek immediate medical attention if you feel like this. And please reread the information from the May 21st the New England Journal of Medicine I mentioned above, reporting some brand new information about the difference between “normal pneumonia” and that caused by the corona covid SARS2 virus.
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For those who are especially interested in the race to develop a vaccine, here is a note about a new kind of vaccine -
I don't much believe in the efficacy of vaccines... and I believe it to be likely that the CIA and WHO collaborated more than once in using vaccine programs to inject un-named, untested poisons into targeted groups... that is, in fact, how HIV began. (the scientists who proved this to be fact created videos which they disseminated for awhile before the govt put an end to the distribution). The army did it once too, with the anthrax vaccine... we are still awaiting the long term results of that particular "experiment".
Nevertheless I hope that some of the powers that be are reading our conversation here so they take note -
Most vaccines are based on the viral envelope and various antibodies. These fail often (at least) and if you doubt that statement look at the tens of thousands of flu deaths in the USA in the age of flu vaccines. they don't work folks! The USA already had 16,000 dead of the flu in the U.S. in just the first 2 months of 2020… and we don’t know how many are now being counted as COVID deaths.
A new approach in vaccine creation has begun to be studied, based on T cells, a "breakthrough" vaccine that it is hoped will prevent Zika virus infections has been developed and tested successfully on mice... the report from the University of Adelaide reported on this in Science Advances… Next will be preclinical trials to figure out the proper dosage levels and then this vaccine will go on to phase 1 clinical trials in humans. Scientists are hoping this vaccine will be approved so they can give it to pregnant women to prevent the devastating birth defects that have been associated with the Zika virus.
Perhaps this different type of vaccine can work and that the attempts to find the new Corona virus vaccine will be based on this new approach and will actually work. But the rate at which RNA viruses can mutate certainly causes me to have a lot of doubt.
Building the immune system and health of all peoples will help more in My opinion but the current US Administration and our powerful Pharmaceutical Industry are doing all they can to prevent the necessary steps from being taken... and in fact are moving us in the opposite direction rather quickly.

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Survivors and Immunity:

On average, it seems to take about 2 weeks for patients to test positive again after being discharged and 45 days — or more than 6 weeks after their first symptoms started. About 45% have symptoms such as a cough and sore throat when they tested positive the second time. The percentage of cases that test positive again seem to vary by group and location. For instance, about a quarter of people tested positive again in schools in one city, while nearly half tested positive again in a nursing home in another city.

Although symptoms may have improved enough for a patient to go home they often leave the hospital with abnormal liver tests (likely caused by a medicine used), low iron levels, a persistent cough with lots of phlegm, and continued weakness. Though the patient has survived the ordeal, they may cough for weeks after and struggle to get back to the previously normal level of activity. Doctors are just starting to learn what recovery from COVID-19 looks like and whether it will cause long-term damage to its survivors -- both physically and mentally. Doctors are still trying to understand what long-term health effects may look like after recovery, what impacts may resolve, and what may linger.

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South Korean researchers reported that patients who had the coronavirus and recovered but tested positive weeks later are probably not contagious or capable of transmitting the virus, researchers in South Korea reported on 5-25-20. Scientists at the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied 285 of the 447 COVID-19 patients who tested positive again after their first bout of the illness and previous negative tests. Virus samples from the “re-positive” patients couldn’t be grown in cultures in a lab, which means the patients had non-infectious or “dead” virus particles, the researchers said.
They also traced 790 contacts from the 285 cases, and so far, haven’t identified any new infections based on the re-positive cases alone. Three of the 790 contacts tested positive, but they had contact with another positive case, such as a family member. Those three also had antibodies.
The findings provide hope and a positive sign as countries begin to reopen and remove stay-at-home guidelines, Bloomberg News reported. This new report means that patients who have recovered from COVID-19 likely can’t spread the coronavirus to others.
In April, researchers found that diagnostic nucleic acid tests being used for the virus can’t tell the difference between “live” and “dead” particles, the news outlet reported, which could indicate why a recovered patient might test positive again.
The new research could also add insight about COVID-19 antibody tests, which use a blood sample to see whether someone has been exposed to the coronavirus. Scientists believe antibodies likely indicate some immunity to the virus, but they don’t know for sure or how long the immunity might last. And NYU researchers in May reported that the antibody tests currently used in our country can miss up to 50% of positive cases.
Based on the new findings, South Korean public health officials said people who had the virus don’t need to test negative again before returning to work or school once they’ve recovered and completed isolation. “Under the new protocols, no additional tests are required for cases that have been discharged from isolation,” the Korean CDC said.
The agency added that it will continue to report on and study these cases and their contacts.

Take this report with a grain of salt people, it contradicts a lot of other things we know.

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In most cases, over 80% of people don’t have severe disease, so most people are expected to recover fully but we now know that the virus is causing tissue destruction in the lungs, heart,liver and kidneys of many if not most of the COVID-19 survivors… and the survivors’ bodies have to regrow the tissue… and the function of these organs may be slowly, gradually affected. We just do not know yet!

Certainly there is a lot of concern for patients who had severe and critical symptoms. We don’t yet know about long-term impact on the lungs and other organs but doctors are seeing a growing list of related health impacts beyond just respiratory problems, including the digestive system, heart, kidneys, liver, brain, nerves, skin, and blood vessels. For people with severe and critical disease, dangerous immune system and blood clotting responses can also cause a lot of damage throughout the body and may result in long-term health effects. For some, kidney damage may require long-term dialysis, strokes and blood clots may lead to disability, and scarred lungs may lead to permanently decreased lung function. Various treatments themselves -- whether it is time on a ventilator, in the intensive care unit, or certain drug therapies -- may also cause lasting harm. Whether these effects resolve or leave damage remains to be seen.

Though anyone can be at risk for severe illness, those who are hardest hit seem to be men, older people, and people with multiple health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. In the U.S. and U.K., studies are also finding that minority groups, particularly African American and Latino people, have more severe disease. Scientists are still looking into things that make people more susceptible, including environmental, genetic, gender, hormone, and even gut microbiome differences.

A study of hospitalized patients in Wuhan, China, found that of the survivors recovered after a host of complications: 42% had sepsis, 36% had respiratory failure, 12% had heart failure, and 7% had blood clotting problems. Though these patients survived, it’s not clear what recovery will look like for them. Another study found that 47% of people who had only a mild disease and 61% with a moderate disease had abnormal liver function tests, indicating injury to the liver, during their illness. Another small study found that 50% of people who didn’t have symptoms had abnormal findings on imaging tests showing damage in the lungs, even without lung symptoms.

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AFTERWARDS

Flying Blind
Even recovery has different definitions around the globe. In the United States, the CDC considers patients recovered 3 days after fevers and other symptoms end, along with a negative repeat test for the virus. Given shortages of testing, the CDC has recently updated its recommendations to extend self-isolation from 7 days to 10 days after symptoms first appear to lower the risk of infecting others in situations where testing is not available.
In China, the definition of recovery is stricter, with the extra requirements for lung imaging tests that show improvement in inflammation and two consecutive negative tests for the virus in the respiratory tract at least 24 hours apart.
In situations where people do require hospitalization, recovery is possible. In a large U.K. study, more than 49% of patients recovered and left the hospital. And one study in New York found that about 45% of severely ill people were able to leave the hospital. Though there are many limitations to these studies, they point to the need to develop care plans for survivors outside the hospital.

As hospital cases in New York City begin to trend downward, hospital systems are working to create care plans for people after discharge.

Viraj Patel, MD, a doctor caring for COVID-19 patients at the Montefiore Health Care System in the Bronx, says health care providers have begun to set up “COVID-19 discharge clinics” for patients who have recovered enough to leave the hospital. “Each institution is developing their own protocol or policy right now because there is no great data about what we need to monitor for when it comes to long-term effects. … Without data, we’re flying blind … [and] relying on expert opinion.”
After the patients are discharged, teams of providers are following up by telephone to ensure that people’s symptoms continue to improve. Patients are also brought in to follow up on lab test results that were abnormal in the hospital, like kidney and liver tests.

Here are two reports taken pretty much verbatim from WebMD in May -

WebMD's Chief Medical Officer, John Whyte, speaks with Maximilian F. Konig, MD. Division of Rheumatology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine about the role of cytokine storm in COVID-19.
ABOUT
Patel says that because there's no data for any long-term monitoring for what may happen in the future, doctors are focused on helping people pull through in the present. Most of their assessments focus on breathing status and preventing blood clots.
Isaac Dapkins, MD, chief medical officer of Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, notes the similar focus for providers at NYU. “The two areas of greatest concern on discharge are pulmonary status … and there’s a striking amount of blood clotting,” he says.
The NYU system has put together regularly updated protocols to ensure that patients remain safe after discharge. Patients are sent home with an incentive spirometer (a device that helps guide patients to take slow deep breaths to expand their lungs); a pulse oximeter (which helps people monitor their blood oxygen levels); appropriate blood thinning medications; and a 24-hour follow-up call to monitor for improvement with a plan for quick readmission for worsening symptoms or bleeding.
Dapkins says mental health is one of the biggest concerns he’s seeing. Patients recovering after hospitalization, or those at home with milder cases of COVID-19, are seeking care for anxiety, stress, and fear. “Of all the services that we’re providing, behavioral health has gone through the roof. … We have more visits for behavioral health than we’ve ever had before.”

Coronavirus in Context: Neurological Effects of COVID-19
WebMD's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. John Whyte, speaks with Dr. Ken Tyler, Chairman of Neurology University of Colorado school of medicine about the neurological effects of COVID-19
ABOUT
Beyond her medical recovery, she struggled with a sense of isolation after her hospitalization. Joshua Morganstein, MD, chair of the American Psychiatric Association Committee on the Psychiatric Dimensions of Disasters, says most people’s stress reactions are appropriate and will likely resolve over time.
“After a trauma, there are five essential elements to buffer against adverse effects,” he says. These are things that enhance a sense of safety, calming, social connectedness, self-reliance, and hope and optimism. He says selfless actions during this time can be a key to recovering from trauma. “Altruism is one of the most powerful tools against negative thinking and inward focus.”
Del Rio agrees. He says he has been stunned by the altruistic requests from the recovered patients he sees. They are clamoring to help other patients and to further research by donating their blood products. “The altruism that we are seeing in people who recover is really fantastic,” he says.
Omer says connection with her family absolutely helped her pull through recovery, but it still took her a full 6 weeks from her first symptoms before she was back to her usual self.
Five days after she fully recovered, she was on a flight to Boston, signed up as a travel nurse to care for COVID-19 patients in Massachusetts. “I just feel like I have this insider knowledge and I have to share it with other people to help them as well.”
“I know what it's like, and I just need to be there to help other people when they're going through it.” She recalls the gasps from a recent patient whose oxygen levels were dropping, as he began to beg hospital staff repeatedly to “call my son, call my son.” She completely understands that need for someone you love to know what you are going through.
Omer recounts sharing her own story with two patients. Both were around her age, and both asked her directly if she thought they would make it. That's when she shared that she had been through it and had gotten better. “It is absolutely possible to survive, it's absolutely possible to recover.”

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most likely modes of transmission

1- The coronavirus' main mode of transmission is via respiratory droplets: The particles travel best between people in little drops of liquid — saliva and mucus, usually. These typically travel 3 to 5 feet. If an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks loudly, or eats within that distance of someone healthy, droplets could land on them. Then if the particles enter a person's eyes, nose, or mouth, they can become infected. Respiratory droplets are usually more than 5 micrometers in diameter. That's relatively heavy, so they generally stay in the air for less than a minute until gravity pulls them down. The smaller droplets (aerosols) from talking or yelling actually remain in the air a good deal longer than those from sneezing and coughing…

2 - Multiple studies have found traces of the virus in infected patients' poop, even among the 35% of infected people who have no symptoms. This makes it more important than ever to wash hands after using the toilet and to control flies and other insects that often carry the contaminated feces to kitchens, camps, etc… Food should be washed in filtered water that is carefully stored to protect against subsequent contamination.

3- Viral particles can linger in the air in the form of aerosols (which are smaller than droplets), but they still aren't sure of the concentration required to infect a person who walks through that space later on. This is known as airborne transmission; the measles virus can spread that way, living for up to two hours in an airspace where an infected person coughed or sneezed.
Coronavirus aerosols pose the biggest threat in healthcare settings. Research published in April in the journal Nature found that there were high concentrations of live virus in the air in and around certain areas of two hospitals in Wuhan, China. The study showed that viral particles were present in air samples from crowded places, poorly ventilated bathrooms, and rooms in which healthcare workers removed their protective equipment. The CDC reported  that certain hospital procedures, like intubating a patient, "could generate infectious aerosols." Their recent study found that the coronavirus could travel up to 13 feet as an aerosol in hospital settings.

4 – A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found coronavirus particles in the semen of 16% of male patients studied — both from patients who had active infections and those who had recovered. We aren't sure yet whether the virus spreads through sexual contact. Many types of viruses that are not sexually transmitted have been found in semen.

5 – Similarly, surface contamination is probably not a common way of transmission. Though live coronavirus particles can survive for anywhere from three hours to seven days on surfaces,depending on the material the CDC now says the risk of contamination is low. It is possible that droplets could land on surfaces after a sick person talks, coughs, or sneezes nearby. Another person could then touch these surfaces and subsequently touch their face, thereby getting infected. But the risk of that is now thought to be relatively low.

Know that some experts believe the virus can enter the human body through our eyes!
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Specifically for Rainbow Folks, if you are around others who have been exposed but are symptom free or who are beginning to exhibit symptoms that you suspect to be COVID related, you must:

ISOLATE, wear protective equipment includings masks, gloves and gowns. People around must handwash frequently, wear masks and use alcohol wipes now and then. I would dose with Homozon twice a day, up my Vitamin D-3 to 10,000 IU daily, take GSE, OliveLeaf, Elderberry and Astragalus several times daily if I am working with patients with symptoms. I would be spraying counters with bleachwater frequently.

OGRES
whoever is doing medical must be super clean, much more than usual. Sanitizing is a real good idea here after each visitor/patient.
Latrines need bleach water set up on tripod or foot pedal or ogre pouring water over hands when arrive, when leaving latrine area… twice daily cover entire trench inside with thin layer of cooled fire ashes and all wood must be inspected for shitstains… need to be bleached, at least a few times daily… people must cover their shit and if they messed anywhere must clean it up, knock it into trench and bleach rinse area and then wash their hands using bleachwater.
Extra close watch is needed in kitchens and even more in serving lines, handwash/dishwash/ water distribution sites… workers encouraged to hand wash frequently and bleach rinse now and then in between hand washing. 2 capfuls per gallon… and for as long as it smells that bleachy. Not more than this or can be irritating to hands… when smell is fading a little more bleach needs to be added.

Be constantly looking for social distancing… masks when not eating… frequent hand washing… not touching own faces overly… offer temperature taking for anyone who desires. Look for feverish folks… for keeping as sanitary as possible

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RE MASKS - help understand uses and ratings...
for sure, it needs to filter out particulates, so masks for gas and vapors are not good enough... .02.5 microns is best but it looks like .03 microns will work for the size of this virus. but what if it mutates (which I understand it has already done many times and continues to do rapidly) note N-95 is the recommended by the govt rating may not be good enough folks.
Particulate Filters Filters capture particles through the mechanisms of impaction, interception and diffusion. Additionally, these filters are enhanced with electrostatically charged fibers to help trap particulates within the filter media. As particulate filters load up with the contaminant, they typically become more efficient; however, they also become harder to breathe through.
NIOSH has nine classifications for particulate filters based on minimum filtration efficiency and the type of aerosol (non-oil or contains oil). The chart below shows the nine classifications. How do 3M™ Particulate Filters work? Filter classifications, efficiencies, oil resistances and challenge agents specified under 42 CFR part 84 42 CFR part 84 Oil Resistance Categories Minimum Efficiency
N Non-oil Aerosols
R Includes oil Aerosols*
P Includes oil Aerosols**
95% N95 R95 P95
99% N99 R99 P99
99.97% N100 R100 P100 *
May have a time use restriction on this filter series when oil aerosols are present. **Use according to manufacture’s time use restrictions when oil aerosols are present.
In my opinion, we are not concerned with oil aerosols present (except in unusual circumstances - watch out for these)... but also we NEED 99.97% quality... not 95%!
[https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/565214O/3m-cartridge-filter-gui...]
3M™ Particulate Filters: Filters only aerosols (e.g., dust, mists, fumes, smoke, mold, bacteria, etc). Some filters also have nuisance-level gas and vapor capabilities. 3M™ Gas & Vapor Cartridges: Filters only gases and vapors. There are different kinds of cartridges for different kinds of gases and vapors. 3M™ Combination Cartridge/Filters: Filters particles, gases and vapors. Different combination particulate/cartridge filters are used depending on the gas or vapor present in the air.
I prefer the P99.97 rating... it is not that much more expensive and it will get close to 100% of all gases, vapors and particles... why buy filters that are limited?
ALSO KNOW THIS:
As particles are collected on the filter media, the respirator will eventually become more difficult to breathe through comfortably. Replace 3M™ Particulate Filters when: • It becomes difficult to breathe comfortably (this will vary from individual to individual). • The filter becomes dirty or physical damage occurs. • For P series filters only when used in environments containing oil aerosols: • Dispose of P-Series filters after 40 hours of use or 30 days, whichever is first. For guidance on filter replacement frequency, visit 3M.com/filterchange. Or for Technical questions call the "certified team" at 1-800-243-4630 M-F 8am to 4:30pm Central Time Zone.
What is the shelf life of 3M™ Cartridges? Provided they are stored unopened in the original packaging and away from direct sunlight, humidity and sources of high temperature, cartridges will last five years from manufacture date. See “use by” date on packaging. How should I store my 3M™ Respirator Cartridges and Filters? Prior to first use and when not in use, your 3M™ Respirator, Cartridges and Filters should be kept clean, cool and dry, away from contaminated atmospheres to avoid deterioration. Store cartridge in a sealed container or bag. Why do I need to use a 3M™ Particulate Filter with my 3M™ Gas & Vapor Cartridges for some applications? The particulate filter helps remove tiny droplets or particles in the air (e.g., mists from spray painting). The gas and vapor cartridges do not help filter these particles. What is a Fit Test? Because everyone’s face is different, a fit test is used to determine if there is an adequate seal between the edge of a respirator and the face of the wearer. OSHA requires this to be done before the respirator is first issued and then at least annually. Can I wear a tight-fitting respirator with a beard? No. OSHA requires respirator wearers be clean-shaven. Do not use a tight-fitting respirator with beards or other facial hair or other conditions that prevent a good seal between the face and the faceseal of the respirator. Why are the filters and cartridges “pink”? When a filter or cartridge has the magenta color code it has the P100 designation. This color provides uniformity and easy identification.
3M Help and Advice
To establish cartridge/filter replacement frequency visit: Cartridges: 3M.com/ServiceLifeSoftware
to access 3M™ Service Life Software Filters: 3M.com/filterchange Technical Service Helpline
For further information on 3M™ Respirators and when to change 3M™ Particulate Filters and 3M™ Gas & Vapor Cartridges (or any of our other 3M Safety Products) phone our Technical Service Helpline in the United States: 1-800-243-4630.
Specialist Sales Force You can also talk to your 3M PSD Sales Representative for information on: • Selecting 3M™ Respirators and when to change your 3M™ Particulate Filters and 3M™ Gas & Vapor Cartridges. •
Respirator Training Programs and Fit Testing (is strongly recommended). • 3M Personal Safety Division Website: Use our website to access product information and training tools at 3M.com/PPESafety
Personal Safety Division 3M Center Building 235-2W-70 St. Paul, MN 55144-1000
To Get Started, Contact Your 3M Representative: Technical Service: 1-800-243-4630 Customer Care Center: 1-800-328-1667 Web: 3M.com/PPESafety
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SWEDEN - no lockdown


Sweden never issued a formal lockdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the country's coronavirus model relies on personal responsibility and encourages citizens to stay home when they're sick and maintain social distancing when in public. Most businesses, restaurants, bars, and schools have remained open, though gatherings of more than 50 people were banned in late March.

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde touted the successes of the country's policies. "Transmission is slowing down, the treatment of COVID-19 patients in intensive care is decreasing significantly, and the rising death toll curve has been flattened," she said, according to the Associated Press. "There is no full lockdown of Sweden, but many parts of the Swedish society have shut down."

As of May 26, Sweden, with a total population of just over 10 million people, had recorded more than 34,440 cases and 4,125 deaths. According to Johns Hopkins University data, the country's number of daily new coronavirus cases has seen sporadic spikes and drops since Sweden recorded its first case in late February.

According to the AP, the country is reporting one of the highest mortality rates from the virus of any country, with about 40 deaths per 100,000 people. The country's unemployment rate stands at 7.9% and is expected to continue to rise.

And figures from Our World In Data, an online research publication based at the University of Oxford, indicated that Sweden recorded the most coronavirus deaths in Europe per capita over the seven days from May 12 to May 19.

Johan Giesecke, Sweden's former chief epidemiologist who is now a health adviser to the World Health Organization, predicted that Sweden's case count and death toll would continue to rise in the coming weeks but said the country was "on the downward slope."
Sweden's former state epidemiologist Annika Linde told a local newspaper that the country's coronavirus response "maybe hasn't been the smartest in every respect...If we had to do this over again, I think we should have imposed significantly tougher restrictions from the beginning. We should have known how underprepared we were in healthcare, and elder care. A shutdown could have given us a chance to prepare ourselves, think things through, and radically slow the spread of infection."

We may not like social distancing but, as poorly as Americans followed through, it has probably saved tens of thousands of lives and hundreds of thousands of cases which, we are beginning to realize, may mean serious deteriorating health problems for the remainder of this century.
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Brazil is another country that did not lockdown well, where the President is against social distancing. They have the most cases per capita and the most deaths per capita in the entire world. 800 cases a day and growing!!
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Careful interaction and social distancing saves lives!!!!!

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Since I delivered the above paper I have been vindicated in sever ways. For example:

The COVID Virus Attacks Every Organ

COVID-19 is proving to be far more dangerous to far more parts of the body than previously believed.
This information is from the WebMD Health News and backs much of what I said above…

We have underestimated and misunderstood COVID-19 since it first appeared.
And as we learn more, it’s clear that COVID-19 can be more than just a respiratory disease. It’s joined the ranks of other “great imitators” -- diseases that can look like almost any condition.

COVID-19: What to Know if You Have a Heart Condition
Though COVID-19 mainly affects the lungs, the virus can make it harder for your heart to function as it should.

It can be a gastrointestinal disease causing only diarrhea and abdominal pain. It can cause symptoms that may be confused with a cold or the flu. It can cause pinkeye, a runny nose, loss of taste and smell, muscle aches, fatigue, diarrhea, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, whole-body rashes, and areas of swelling and redness in just a few spots.
In a more severe disease, doctors have also reported people having heart rhythm problems, heart failure, kidney damage, confusion, headaches, seizures, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and fainting spells, along with new sugar control problems.
It’s not just a fever and coughing, leading to shortness of breath, like everyone thought at first.
This makes it incredibly difficult to diagnose and even harder to treat.
“This is a disease progression we have never seen for any infection that I can think of, and I’ve been doing this for a couple of decades,” says Joseph Vinetz, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Yale School of Medicine.
How It Invades
When viral particles land in our eyes, nose, or mouth, “spike proteins” on the virus connect with a specific receptor, known as ACE2, on the surface of our cells, allowing entry. ACE2 receptors make a great target because they are found in organs throughout our bodies. Once the virus enters, it turns the cell into a factory, making millions and millions of copies of itself -- which can then be breathed or coughed out to infect others.
In order to evade early detection, the coronavirus uses multiple tools to prevent the infected cells from calling out for help. The virus snips off distress signal proteins that cells make when they are under attack. It also destroys antiviral commands inside the infected cell. This gives the virus much more time to make copies of itself and infect surrounding areas before it is identified as an invader. This is part of the reason why the virus spreads before immune responses, like fever, begin.
Direct Attack
Many with mild or no symptoms are able to fend off the virus before it gets worse. These people may have symptoms only in the upper airway, at the site where they were first infected. But when someone’s body can’t destroy the virus at its entry point, viral particles march deeper into the body. The virus seems to take a few paths from there, either setting up camp in the lungs, fighting its way into the digestive tract, or doing some combination of both.
“There’s clearly a respiratory syndrome, and that’s why people end up in the hospital. Some people get a gastrointestinal illness with diarrhea, maybe some abdominal pain, which may or may not be associated with a respiratory illness,” says Vinetz.

Once the virus is deeply embedded in the body, it begins to cause more severe disease. This is where direct attack on other organs that have ACE2 receptors can occur, including heart muscle, kidneys, blood vessels, the liver, and potentially the central nervous system. This may be one reason for the vast array of symptoms COVID-19 can cause...

… The brain and nerves may also fall prey to direct attack. Kenneth Tyler, MD, chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, cautions that direct central nervous system (CNS) attack is still being worked out at this time. There are many routes a virus could take to invade the CNS. ..

… Early findings, including those from autopsy and biopsy reports, show that viral particles can be found not only in the nasal passages and throat, but also in tears, stool, the kidneys, liver, pancreas, and heart. One case report found evidence of viral particles in the fluid around the brain in a patient with meningitis.

The Relationship Between COVID-19 and Diabetes
Uncontrolled blood sugar can make it harder to fight off infection. Here’s what you should know about diabetes and COVID-19.

A new finding suggests there may be another deadly culprit. Many doctors are discovering that abnormal clotting, known as thrombosis, may also play a major role in lethal COVID-19. Doctors are seeing clots everywhere: large-vessel clots, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the legs and pulmonary emboli (PE) in the lungs; clots in arteries, causing strokes; and small clots in tiny blood vessels in organs throughout the body. Early autopsy results are also showing widely scattered clots in multiple organs.

Adam Cuker, MD, a hematologist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania who specializes in clotting disorders, says these clots are happening at high rates even when patients are on blood thinners for clot prevention. In one study from the Netherlands, 31% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 got clots while on blood thinners...

... Though the reason for the clotting is still not clear, it seems to be playing a much larger role in death than previously understood…

… other things like low blood pressure that comes from a severe illness, low oxygen levels, ventilator use, and drug treatments themselves can all harm organs throughout the body, including the heart, kidneys, liver, brain, and other organs.
Double-Edged Sword
Even though researchers are learning more each day about the virus and how and where it attacks the body, treatment geared toward these targets also pose significant problems. Many drugs come with a risk of destroying the delicate balance that allows the body to help fight the disease or to manage inflammation.

The ACE2 receptor that the virus uses to enter cells is a key player in lowering inflammation and reducing blood pressure. Targeting or blocking this receptor as a treatment strategy to prevent viral entry into cells may actually worsen blood pressure, increase the risk of heart failure and kidney injury, and increase inflammation that may worsen lung injury...

Using medicines to prevent clotting may end up causing severe bleeding.. we don’t have a good read on bleeding … we have limited evidence about the clotting risk … we have zero evidence on bleeding risk in these patients, and it’s a real priority to understand this risk, especially because one of our strategies to treat the clotting is stepping up intensity the of anti-coagulation...

... what we know about clotting and almost everything else when it comes to COVID-19 is just the tip of the iceberg.

Sanober Amin, MD, PhD, a dermatologist in Texas, agrees. She’s been tracking the wide variety of skin findings that dermatologists across the world have been noting on social media.
She recently posted images on social media that show the wide variety of skin findings she has been seeing and hearing about. Her post received a massive response. Amin says that “dermatologists from around the world, from Turkey to France to Canada to the U.S., are sharing information about rashes that they’ve observed in people with COVID-19.”

Some rashes seem to be consistent with what’s called a viral exanthema, which is a term for a general rash that can happen with almost any virus. But, Amin says, “some skin findings are more consistent with superficial clotting in blood vessels close to the skin.”

This is what some have started to call “ COVID toes,” also called pernio. Dermatologists are seeing more cases of these small clots in toes and fingers, especially in children.

It’s hard to know which skin conditions are related to COVID-19 because a lot of people without “typical” symptoms are not being tested, Amin says. Researchers will still need to work out which symptoms may be caused by the virus and which may just be unrelated early findings.

Best Practices for COVID-19
Practical tips to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Because of the lag in  testing in the U.S., we still don't know the full extent of what mild and moderate versions of the disease look like, or what effects the disease has on people who have many symptoms but aren’t quite sick enough to be hospitalized.

One open question is what the long-t