THE media is still full of horror stories about Covid-19. The Government is imposing local lockdowns and international quarantines in and from a constantly changing array of locations. The fear of this viral disease is rampant and constantly maintained by the mandatory wearing of face masks so that wherever we go we are reminded that our fellow humans may be dangerous. The graph below of daily deaths shows that for the last two months there has been almost none related to the coronavirus. So why are we suffering all this loss of liberty?
The story has changed. We used to hear about the number of people dying but now we hear only about the number of new cases. We are told that new cases mean the virus is spreading and, even if we have no symptoms, we could be giving it to someone who will die. As we can see in the cases graph below, numbers diminished steadily from April to mid-June but have since risen slowly. The media want us to believe that the ‘second wave’ is coming and we will have to lock down all over again. However, there is another explanation for the numbers.
During March and April, when the virus was peaking, people who were ill and and in hospital were the only ones tested. When they started getting better, the ‘Test and Trace’ idea became prevalent. This involves testing as many people as possible, especially those who may have had contact with someone else who has tested positive. When more people are tested more positive test results will be found. Does this mean the virus is spreading? The answer is ‘not necessarily’, because of what the test is looking for. The PCR test involves taking a swab of the back of the throat and nostrils. The swab is then tested for genetic material from the virus. If any of that material is found the result is a positive test. However, remnants of viral RNA can remain in the body for weeks, or even months, and can be detected. Therefore, if you had the virus five weeks ago you can still test positive but you are neither infected nor infectious.
Most of these new cases are in people who are asymptomatic, but if you have no symptoms you have no illness. The definition of ‘illness’ is to be in poor health. All these cases are insignificant if the people are not ill. We have been made to fear a test result rather than a dangerous disease.
While the Government spends time and energy constantly changing the rules on how many people we can meet, which countries we can come home from without restriction, where and when we have to wear masks, it appears to have given no serious consideration to the inevitable consequences of the dystopian society it has created. Has it ever had a serious debate about the damage caused by lost jobs, closed businesses, missed schooling, untreated cancer and cardiac patients, anxiety, depression, suicide, and fear of our fellow humans? It appears the obsession with ‘controlling the virus’ has blinded it to all its other responsibilities.
The new-found preoccupation with case numbers suggests the Government has forgotten what this virus does. The American CDC (Centers for Disease Control) announced last week that 95 per cent of Covid-19 deaths occurred in people with an average of 2.4 co-morbidities. The mean age of UK residents counted as Covid-19 deaths is 83, which is older than the national life expectancy of 81. In most cases, this coronavirus kills people who are old and metabolically ill. These people should be protected while everyone else goes about their normal business.
Boris Johnson accepted that his excess weight was implicated in his difficulties with Covid-19. He suggested we should all exercise more to lose weight. This idea hit the headlines for a few days and has now disappeared from the media. The root cause of metabolic diseases needs to be tackled, not just for improved survival in viral infections but also to reduce the burden of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. All Governments have failed to address this for decades and there is no sign they are taking it seriously now.
A pilot study gives great hope to anyone with Covid-19 symptoms. During the original surge of infections, several doctors around the world observed that patients with high levels of Vitamin D in their blood suffered less severe symptoms than those with low levels. These findings were given little credence by the Government’s medical advisers because they were only observational studies. The recent study, published on August 29, is a randomised, controlled trial. All the participants were hospitalised with Covid-19. The treated group received extra Vitamin D and the control group received standard care. Fifty per cent of the control group needed intensive care but only one out of 50 patients in the treated group did. This is an exceptional result and I suggest everyone takes a daily dose of vitamin D.
I predict this newly confirmed treatment for Covid-19 will be ignored by the Government and its medical advisers. Official pronouncements have diverged so far from reputable science that this cannot be about health any more. The only thing that surprises me now is the absence of a million people in Whitehall demanding the Government’s resignation.
