Every morning, the news reports on some comments made or advice given by our governmental leadership which is becoming more and more ridiculous. Their behavior and example are ever more irresponsible and despicable. And it’s costing lives.
The scientific statistics are sad. We are officially in the fall/winter upsurge as Covid numbers climb and not a single state is now in the stable or decreasing numbers category. Some cities are setting up field hospitals in parking lots as they are already overflowing with patients.
For the Whitehouse to suggest that we just “let young people go about their business since they will weather the infection better and we can reach herd immunity sooner” is preposterous.
Tell that to the families whose young, healthy relatives have died from this infection.
Tell that to the patients I see who can’t smell or may have had some damage to their hearing because of the infection or need a tracheotomy because of respiratory failure.
Tell that to the “long haulers”, people who have had Covid and now struggle with chronic, debilitating side effects.
The fact is that almost half the country is in a “high risk” category when it comes to risks for Covid complications. Half of those are simply because they are older but the other half are under 65 but have a chronic condition.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, just being overweight increases the risks. In addition to the inflammatory compounds and hormones generated by extra adipose tissue, most overweight people, and certainly those who are obese, likely have some degree if insulin resistance, the precursor to diabetes. Studies have shown that even with normal fasting blood sugars, even with a normal HgBA1C, the indicator of the previous 3 month blood sugar average, as many as 30% of people have pre-diabetes and 10% have frank diabetes when they have a glucose tolerance test, the gold standard test indicating how well your pancreas is actually doing. A poor diet including excess fat and processed foods and adipose tissue in your body cause insulin resistance. In addition to Insulin resistance causing inflammation and immune dysfunction, diabetics have more FURIN on the surface of cells. This is an enzyme which “clips” the Sars Cov-2 spike protein once it attaches to the ACE-2 receptor. This then allows the virus to inject its RNA (genetic material) into the cell where it hijacks the cell’s genetic machinery and starts replicating itself.
As for herd immunity, this will not occur for a LONG time, if it happens at all. Again, we need at least 70-80% of people to be resistant to the virus AT THE SAME TIME for the virus to burn itself out. We have already seen that infected people’s immunity wanes in the months following infection, with some having been re-infected. In addition, the vaccine is months away, if it even works. Add to that the fact that, assuming that it is 70% effective, at least 70% of people need to get it for it to be of any value on a population level.
Herd immunity is a pipe dream.
We must focus on prevention and treatment to slow it down. We must to continue to follow the proven methods of prevention:
MASKS
DISTANCING
HAND WASHING
The other things help.
VENTILATE
VACCINATE
GET HEALTHY
Stay safe and be well.
AC