Category: health and wellness

bookmark_borderMore Than 900,000 People Have Died Of COVID-19 In U.S

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As of May 6, 2021, a new study estimates more than 900,000 have died from COVID in the USA (and more than 6.9 million globaly.)

The study, “COVID-19 has caused 6.9 million deaths globally, more than double what official reports show”, comes from scientists at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. “As terrible as the COVID-19 pandemic appears, this analysis shows that the actual toll is significantly worse,” said Dr. Chris Murray, IHME’s director. “Understanding the true number of COVID-19 deaths not only helps us appreciate the magnitude of this global crisis, but also provides valuable information to policymakers developing response and recovery plans.”

The 20 countries with the highest number of total COVID-19 deaths, March 2020­–May 2021 

Country  Total COVID-19 deaths  Reported COVID-19 deaths 
United States of America 905,289 574,043
India 654,395 221,181
Mexico 617,127 217,694
Brazil 595,903 408,680
Russian Federation 593,610 109,334
United Kingdom 209,661 150,519
Italy 175,832 121,257
Iran 174,177 72,906
Egypt 170,041 13,529
South Africa 160,452 54,390
Poland 149,855 68,237
Peru 147,765 62,739
Ukraine 138,507 46,737
France 132,680 105,506
Spain 123,786 85,365
Germany 120,729 83,256
Indonesia 115,743 45,938
Japan 108,320 10,390
Romania 87,649 28,382
Kazakhstan 81,696 5,620

MORE ON COVID: COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2 / Novel Coronavirus

bookmark_borderCOVID-19: A Survivor’s Story

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by Daniel Brouse

(Also see the update: 3 Years of Living With It)

I am a scientist and journalist publishing articles and papers since 1994. As part of a collective of scientists, we have been working on the greatest threat to humankind — humans. Much of my effort has been spent on Anthropogenic Climate Change. In addition, I have specialized in pollution, diseases, health and wellness.

In late December 2019 and early January 2020, I started studying a novel coronavirus discovered in Wuhan, China. My first paper on the subject was published in March 2020 entitled “COVID-19 and Air Pollution”.

In late January of 2020, I had been very ill with an upper respiratory illness. The same illness killed my father. At the time, COVID-19 had not been known in the USA. Since there was no test for COVID, the doctors could not diagnose the specific virus that caused my father’s death. It wasn’t until my recurring symptoms were diagnosed as “COVID Long Haulers” in May of 2020 that I knew I was suffering the aftermath of COVID-19.

The recurring symptoms were so concerning that I devoted all of my resources to studying COVID-long and searching for a cure. Every couple of weeks I went through a wave of symptoms. Though not as severe as the original illness, the symptoms still would render me useless. The symptoms did not come on all at the same time, rather they would cycle through over two weeks (not necessarily in the same order) and then repeat. Exercise and exertion would cause the symptoms to be more severe. The symptoms included:

* difficulty breathing (feeling like you’re not taking in enough oxygen)
* congestion / mild cough
* stomach issues / diarrhea
* loss of taste, smell, and appetite
* temperature regulation / night sweats
* nightmares / vivid dreams
* dizziness / the spins / foggy thinking
* headaches / body aches / soreness
* fatigue
* ear aches
* peripheral neuropathy (tingling of the hands and feet)

My concerns were several. Would the symptoms go away over time? As the months went on, the answer was no. Would the long term recurrence of systems cause a permanent disability? The answer is probably yes. My organs were sustaining progressive damage. Respiratory, circulatory, neurological, and renal damage, as well as, blood clots, thinning and leaky blood vessels in the brain tissue, and death have all been attributed to COVID and COVID-long.

In my pursuit of answers, I found another long hauler scientist, Dr. Ade Wentzel. Ade proved to me that my hypothesis of “COVID-19 Long Haulers: autoimmune response due to inactive particles of the virus” was incorrect. Rather, he demonstrated that sars-cov-2 causes COVID-19 Induced Secondary Pellagra (CISP).

The main culprit is believed to be COVID’s genetic change to our production and utilization of NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). NAD+ is involved in cell creation, maintenance, metabolism, and regulating cell processes. COVID can chronically increase the breakdown of NAD+ and simultaneously decrease the production of NAD+.

Ade added, “The biggest function of NAD+ is as a cofactor for energy(atp) production via the citric acid cycle. NAD+ is essential for carbohydrate metabolism. The brain being highly dependent on carbs.”

NAD+ and the Citric Acid Cycle
NAD+ and the Citric Acid Cycle

Ade introduced me to one of the co-authors of his research, Robert Miller. In October of 2020, Ade and Robert started me on “the stack”. The vitamin stack helps correct the NAD+ malady by treating COVID-19 Induced Secondary Pellagra. Finding the correct form and dosage of Niacin was the most challenging part.

Within days of starting the stack, my COVID-long symptoms dissipated. Since that time, I have remained relatively symptom free EXCEPT when I tried reducing the Niacin dosage. On three separate occasions, I experimented with reducing the dosage of Niacin. All three times my symptoms returned; therefore, I would call the stack a treatment not a cure.

Since that time, I have successfully helped thousands of other COVID-long victims with the stack.

At the end of April, I received my first dose of the Moderna vaccine. Loss of taste and muscle soreness symptoms returned for 24 hours and then disappeared. My overall wellness appears to have improved. Now, I’m experimenting with reducing my Niacin dosage again to see if the vaccine helped my body recover its ability to produce and retain NAD+.

After several days of reduced Niacin (nicotinic acid dosage was reduced from 300-500mg/day down to 0-30mg day), symptoms returned: neuropathy, fatigue, brain fog, muscle soreness, difficulty breathing, GI track / stomach issues, ear aches, and allergy-like symptoms. The most notable symptom to return — headaches. Prior to COVID, I did not experience headaches. Within days of decreasing the dosage, a chronic headache returned. I increased the Niacin dosage back to 500mg/day and supplemented the stack with resveratrol. Symptoms immediately dissipated.

After the second shot, side-effects were slightly worse. The metallic taste returned within a couple hours. For the 12-24 hours post-vaccination, there was dizziness, nausea, and fatigue. Then, all the side-effects disappeared. Three months after being fully vaccinated all of my presenting symptoms dissipated. Other “silent” post COVID conditions have persisted since the initial infection.

See the update: 3 Years of Living With It

CISP and The Stack

MORE ON COVID: COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2 / Novel Coronavirus

bookmark_borderPost-infection COVID Immunity

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A study published in The Lancet entitled Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibody responses and duration of immunity: a longitudinal study found the immunity from a COVID reinfection varies widely from individual to individual from days to decades.

“We identified five distinctive patterns of neutralising antibody dynamics as follows:
* negative, individuals who did not, at our intervals of sampling, develop neutralising antibodies at the 30% inhibition level [12%];
* rapid waning, individuals who had varying levels of neutralising antibodies from around 20 days after symptom onset, but seroreverted in less than 180 days [27%];
* slow waning, individuals who remained neutralising antibody-positive at 180 days post-symptom onset [29%];
* persistent, although with varying peak neutralising antibody levels, these individuals had minimal neutralising antibody decay [32%];
* and delayed response, a small group that showed an unexpected increase of neutralising antibodies during late convalescence (at 90 or 180 days after symptom onset [2%]).

Persistence of neutralising antibodies was associated with disease severity and sustained level of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. By contrast, T-cell responses were similar among the different neutralising antibody dynamics groups. On the basis of the different decay dynamics, we established a prediction algorithm that revealed a wide range of neutralising antibody longevity, varying from around 40 days to many decades.

The question may also apply to vaccines: will the COVID immunity offered by vaccinations last for 40 days to many decades? What is the durability of vaccines and will it be uniform or vary widely from person to person?

MORE ON COVID: COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2 / Novel Coronavirus

bookmark_borderPollen and Increased SARS-CoV-2 Infection Rates

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The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America published the study Higher airborne pollen concentrations correlated with increased SARS-CoV-2 infection rates, as evidenced from 31 countries across the globe.

The research showed that airborne pollen on average accounts for 44% of the variation in infection rates in addition to humidity and air temperature.

Pollen exposure weakens the immunity by diminishing the antiviral interferon response.

“Our large-scale retrospective data analysis based on 80 individual time series from 130 regions in 31 countries in all inhabited continents across the globe (8,019 data points) enabled us to reveal a robust and significant positive correlation between SARS-CoV-2 infection rates and airborne pollen concentrations, which was halved under lockdown.”

COVID-19 and Air Pollution

COVID-19 Index

bookmark_borderPost-COVID Can Cause the Body to Attack Itself

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In the study Musculoskeletal involvement of COVID-19, imaging showed evidence the body can attack itself. “There have been emerging reports, however, of an array of neuromuscular and rheumatologic complications related to COVID-19 infection and disease course including myositis, neuropathy, arthropathy, and soft tissue abnormalities. Multimodality imaging supports diagnosis and evaluation of musculoskeletal disorders in COVID-19 patients.”

“In some patients, the nerves are injured and in others, the problem is impaired blood flow,” said Dr. Swati Deshmukh of Northwestern University.

The severity of the COVID illness does not appear to determine these post-COVID conditions. Some of the subjects of the study did not even know they have had COVID-19.

“In some instances, musculoskeletal imaging may even suggest otherwise unrecognized SARS-CoV2 infection.”

“Musculoskeletal disorders can have dire short- and long-term consequences.”

Many post-COVID cases have really high levels of inflammation in their body. It is believed the inflammation is caused by the body’s autoimmune system attacking itself.

“I think it’s important to differentiate between what the virus causes directly and what it triggers the body to do,” Deshmukh said.

COVID-19 Scientific Based Information

bookmark_borderThe Recombination Event: SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19

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When the COVID-19 genome changes, it is called a mutation. When the mutations combine, it is called a variant. When variants combine, it is called a recombination.

The general consensus is SARS-CoV-2 originated from a recombination event. An animal variant combines with a human variant and jumps to humans. When a virus jumps form animals to humans, it is called zoonotic. It is feared recombination events could make SARTS-CoV-2 endemic jumping back and forth between animals and humans.

“Two variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes covid-19 have combined their genomes to form a heavily mutated hybrid version of the virus. The “recombination” event was discovered in a virus sample in California, provoking warnings that we may be poised to enter a new phase of the pandemic.

The hybrid virus is the result of recombination of the highly transmissible B.1.1.7 variant discovered in the UK and the B.1.429 variant that originated in California and which may be responsible for a recent wave of cases in Los Angeles because it carries a mutation making it resistant to some antibodies,” as reported in NewScientist.

“We may be getting to the point when this is happening at appreciable rates,” says Sergei Pond at Temple University in Pennsylvania, who keeps an eye out for recombinants by comparing thousands of genome sequences uploaded to databases. He says there is still no evidence of widespread recombination, but that “coronaviruses all recombine, so it’s a question of when, not if”.

bookmark_borderCOVID Mutation and Variant Threats

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When multiple genetic mutations start showing up in infected individuals, it is called a variant.

Omicron

Delta

You asked:
In your opinion – Whats our window to get people vaccinated vs the new variant becoming dominant. Please correct me if I’m wrong – South African Variant not working so well with vaccines. UK Variant is working well with vaccines?

I replied:
Well, it depends what you mean by “people”. Most people in the USA are only talking about themselves, but as you can see by the names of the variants. We need to get 90% of the world population vaccinated. They don’t really know how effective the vaccines will be on the variants, but you are correct… it is believed the South African variant is more evasive and the vaccines are less effective. So, the timeline gets ugly quickly. Current estimates are 7 years for the world to be vaccinated. In 7 years, it is unlikely any of the vaccines will be effective against 7 years of variants. The good news is the mRNA are fairly easy to tweak. Moderna and Pfizer claim they will be able to make boosters for the variants. Probably need a booster every 3-6 months, as long as the variants don’t continue to become more transmissible. The more transmissible the variant the more mutant variants it spawns. In the short term, they believe the UK variant will be dominant in the USA by March.

I’m working on a better way to explain all of this. It’s called “To the nth Degree”. I’m not worried about a mutation. Nor, am I worried about a bunch of mutations ganging up to be a variant. Looking back, I wasn’t worried about variants squared… not even variants cubed. But, when you start talking variants to the nth degree… that’s a different story.

You added:
I think everyone is hoping for the best this summer but with the way the vaccine rollout has been combined with these new variants I feel as if everyone is going to be very disappointed. If we can just untie, mask up and do the right thing for 6 weeks we could tamper down the numbers enough to enjoy a nice summer. I just don’t see this happening.

I’m also trying to wrap my head around a time frame on getting the vaccine (everyone who wants it) vs these new variants taking control. It’s going to be a moot point sooner then later.

I responded:
You are 100% right on. We can not chase this virus with vaccines. We must stop it. As long as it is out of control due to community spread, vaccines will not help. In fact, I’m concerned we may create a vaccine resistant virus. Or, we may have already created a vaccine resistant virus — a zoonotic virus already known to be associated with bats, pangolins, humans, mink, dogs, cats… big cats… lions, tigers, even a puma. We need to remove ourselves from the nth degree.

“So we have a number of examples, around the planet, in which patients’ viruses suddenly have a whole mess of new mutations all at once,” says virologist Jeremy Luban at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. And other cases have likely gone undetected, he says.

“Laboratory experiments have shown that some of those mutations help the virus bypass detection by antibodies.”

The patient went on to get monoclonal antibodies. “Toward the very end of his life, he was treated with monoclonal antibodies, from Regeneron,” Li says. “And shortly thereafter, we saw evidence that suggested the virus was developing resistance or escaping from these antibodies as well.” — From Extraordinary Patient Offers Surprising Clues To Origins Of Coronavirus Variants

COVID variants in the State of Pennsylvania / 2-8-2021

COVID-19 Scientific Based Information

bookmark_borderCOVID Mortality Rate, Recovered, or Survived

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COVID
by Daniel Brouse
February 4, 2021

There have been discussions about how the COVID-19 mortality rate is declining.

I said:
The mortality rate is probably not declining. In fact, the new variants are likely increasing the mortality rate. The graphs that appear to show the mortality rate declining have more to do with how we are calculating the mortality rate. Compared to how we calculate the flu, the COVID mortality rate is actually around 10-15%. The published numbers are lower because we started including asymptomatic screenings instead of only symptomatic diagnostics.

You asked:
Are you saying the world CHANGED the way it calculates the mortality rate en masse and in a coordinated fashion? Or, are you saying it was and still is calculated wrong?

I replied:
It was not coordinated. It was/is because of the way COVID behaves, so we should not be talking about the mortality rate without making it clear. Traditionally, “a case” is a person showing up at their medical facility (doctor’s office or emergency room) WITH symptoms. “A case” is a doctor’s sick patient case. It has the doctor’s case number, etc. Flu screening tests are not counted in the flu’s mortality rate because they don’t screen for the flu. The more COVID testing of asymptomatic people, the lower the mortality rate will appear to be. It’s not that one way is right / wrong. It is that they are not the same formula.

You asked:
I guess what you’re saying is the flu does not report asymptomatic cases and therefore skews the comparison?

I replied:
Yes. Plus, since last March, screening tests have sky rocketed, so the appearance on the graphs is that the mortality rate is declining. It is not. In fact, the new variants appear to be more deadly. I agree we should identify all asymptomatic cases. I do not agree we should conclude the mortality rate is declining. It is not.

They are testing (screening) more and more people. The more people they test that are not symptomatic, the more it skews the mortality rate. Right now, it is believed the mortality rate is going up. UK, South Africa, Brazil, and California variants are causing more deaths.

You say:
The asymptomatic are just immune, so that certainly REDUCES the true mortality of the disease.

I replied:
No. Asymptomatic are not immune. And, the more asymptomatic people that are tested positive, the more the mortality rate will appear to fall — a false impression. If you want to look at the true mortality rate, it is about 10% in PA (and holding steady.) However, it is more important than ever to test for asymptomatic cases, because 1) asymptomatic cases are spreading the virus 2) asymptomatic cases often result in death or permanent disabilities as a result of COVID side-effects. For instance, many younger people develop multiple inflammatory syndrome, myocardial inflammation, or other deadly conditions.

You asked:
So how is it that asymptomatic cases are not immune?

I replied:
COVID is unlike any other virus we have ever seen… asymptomatic people appear to be just as contagious as symptomatic people. They also appear to develop heart, lung, and brain damage.

Another adds:
I don’t think we have Clarity regarding immunity from having had the disease. There are various studies about the amount of time the antibodies last as well as the variation in the number of antibodies that a person who suffered covid-19 has. Thinking that having the disease creates immunity to the disease is simply basing it on our previous experience of other viruses.

I added:
The original strain of COVID gave immunity on average: antibodies for 90 days and memory T-cells for 5 months. There does not appear to be any immunity to the new variants. And, the longer the virus remains out-of-control ANYWHERE in the world, the more variants will develop.

The worldwide mortality rate went from about 14% (last spring) down to 10% (last summer) and is now on the rise. The decline was likely do to “stay at home”, masking, and other mitigation efforts that helped slow the spread. The more the spread, the more the variants.

To put it another way: Last spring we needed immunity in about 60-75% of the population to reach herd immunity. Now, we need 90% of the world to have immunity to develop herd immunity. (And we have 30% of health care professionals refusing to get vaccinated. in the USA)

Asymptomatic cases should be identified, isolated, and all contacts traced. There currently is no good way to report a mortality rate. Let’s just say it’s way worse than anything we’ve ever seen…. and appears to be getting worse.

You asked:
My understanding regarding the r rate for measles is that it is 15. I thought that the r rate for the original strain of covid-19 is 2.4 and I read that the UK variant has a rate of 2.9. Why are you defining this is the worst we’ve ever seen?

I replied:
With all other viri (including the measles and the flu), the virus is obvious. If you get symptomatic, you are too sick to walk about. Also, knowing you have it, you probably feel it is your moral obligation not to spread it. However, with COVID, many people do not know they are shedding the virus. The result is it’s the worst ever seen. This can be observed in the real world. More drastic measures have been taken to control this virus than any other in history…. yet, more chronically ill victims have resulted. Another way to demonstrate it is: given the drastic change to our lifestyle and economics, this virus has caused more damage than any other… ever. It looks like COVID will have cost the USA 8 trillion dollars for the year. The cost of the flu for the year was $11.2 billion. I think the measles was about $10 million. No other illness, nor war, nor act of god has cost us as much as COVID.

You asked:
Do you have any other articles (perhaps the updated version of the one you attached above) that I might use?

I responded:
I don’t think I’ve written anything else about the problems with COVID mortality statistics. The mortality rate is the lessor of my concerns. My larger concern are people thinking surviving COVID means you recovered from COVID. Or inversely, comparing mortality to “recovered”. Though we don’t know the long term impact until the long term is over, it looks like many millions of Americans (and probably 80 million worldwide) will now have a preexisting condition (such as, Long Haulers Syndrome)… and the pandemic is far from over. Most of my articles o COVID are indexed here: http://membrane.com/COVID-19.html.

And another voice:
And one more thing. Thank you for pointing out that the people “recover“ from COVID-19 there is still so much morbidity out there post infection. We have people that are requiring pacemakers because of myocardial effects, as well as, extensive pulmonary damage due to this virus. I have several friends and colleagues who have had difficulty with their lungs post infection. What we don’t know is the long-term effects that will occur. I myself have no post infection sequelae, but I still don’t know how this could affect my body in the years to come.

I lament:
That is my fear. 1 year out, and I’m still treating my long haulers. My fear is… I could be killing myself over time.

COVID-19 Scientific Based Information

bookmark_borderDaniel Brouse: About the Author

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Q: Any background on membrane .com?

A: In 1994, I started a publishing company with another scientist (low temperature physicist and co-builder of the Ohio States supercomputer). The name of the publishing company is The Philadelphia Spirit Experiment. As the name suggests, it is a scientific experiment in the publishing of arts and science. At the time, domain names were free and the world wide web was 6 months old. We wanted a name that both rhymed and made a good scientific pun — everything passes through the Membrane Domain. The KingArthur.com anti-IQ test launched in 1995.

We were the first record company, fine arts, science, technology, math, and engineering publisher on the web. As such, we were the first to analize web traffic. Our monthly audience is over 300 million. Innovations include: the clickable button on a webpage, MP3 distribution, pay-per-download, free streaming music, the web-based video… and interactive games to save the planet (including a $1,000,000 prize to solve the Anthropogenic Global Warming problem.

My areas of expertise include: musicology, geology, meteorology, anthropology, biology, health & wellness, sociology, security, climate change, physics, finance, economics, statistics, computer science, data science, chaos theory, political science, publishing, logic, and philosophy. In general, my aptitude is in science, technology, engineering, and math.

— Daniel Brouse

bookmark_borderCOVID Immunity: What We Know

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1) Natural Immunity
If you get a moderate to severe case of COVID-19, most people maintain viable antibodies for 90 days and memory T-cells for 5 months. This will likely give you natural immunity to the same strain of COVID for up to 5 months. The resistance to the UK variant is thought to be diminished. The resistance to the South African variant is thought to be none. There is some concern that COVID may erase all or part of your T cells’ memory for other pathogens.

2) Vaccines
You should anticipate that vaccines will give you a very similar immune response as the natural immunity acquired from contracting COVID. It doesn’t matter which vaccine you receive. You should get whatever vaccine you can get and as soon as possible. You should anticipate needing to get vaccinated every 90 days once vaccines are developed for all the different variants.

The message is — we have to stop the community spread and exponential rise in variants WORLDWIDE. Individual countries can not obtain herd immunity.

More Information on COVID-19