It's horrible, but that doesn't make it "political" and it became relevant the moment Bill Gates was brought into the discussion however many pages ago.
Yes it does. Bill gates is just a rich AF dude that’s decided not to be an arsehole with his money. He could have horded it, started his own space program. Run for president, all sorts of things. Instead he is blowing all his money on saving people from disease.
I’m struggling to find him a bad person for that; Even though he was at least partly to blame for Windows ME!
Yes it does. Bill gates is just a rich AF dude that’s decided not to be an arsehole with his money. He could have horded it, started his own space program. Run for president, all sorts of things. Instead he is blowing all his money on saving people from disease.
I’m struggling to find him a bad person for that; Even though he was at least partly to blame for Windows ME!
From where I'm sitting it looks sort of like he's been running human experiments on peasant's while he builds up for something a little more...global. So no, not really quite the saint we're expected to view him as. And you're confusing "political" with "ethical." The bottom line is that you have look past his own self serving press releases if you want to become a bit more informed. As I've said before, at the very least you (the people, not you personally) should be slightly suspicious if not outright concerned.
At this point I'm extremely concerned with what looks like: a rush at record pace by aforementioned 100+ drug companies to create a vaccine who will be indemnified against litigation over side-effects>manufacture it regardless of testing or efficacy>some form of either militarized compulsory program to administer or more likely a "soft" mandated approach where you won't be able to function in society without it.
In this regard I've taken a rather large step away from America's current leadership which most people on this thread know full well I'm generally pretty supportive of. I tend to focus on Bill Gates because he's feted by the left so much and he seems to be at the epicenter of almost all the news surrounding the issue. I'm fully aware that this issue is "bigger" than he and Melinda.
Lucky for you America has abdicated any and all leadership roles so I wouldn't worry too much about being forced to take Bill or anyone else's evil serum.
Personally for me in Scotland I'll take it because im not an idiot and protecting my family and others is of greater importance than entertaining daft ideas that evil billionaires want to eugenic me or whatever the hell the alt-right accuse them of on any given day.
Let's not go into the flippant denigrating of America that seems to be all too common here, shall we? You asked what I thought was a serious question which I took at face value and gave a serious answer to. Yet here you are insulting my country un-necessarily and following that up with insulting me directly. Yes, there is a feeling of almost inevitability concerning mandated covid vaccines here in my country; this makes me very concerned.
And I'm not an "idiot" either, Leo. Plenty of people take issue with my opinions and world viewpoint, but I'm fairly confident that no one seriously reads my posts and thinks "He's an idiot who can barely function he's so dumb!" That constant attack and marginalization of me is just another tool in the arsenal of those who can't out argue me or shake me from my convictions and are, dare I say it, afraid of what i have to say at some level. As far as protecting my family is concerned..I have children, and you'd best believe that "protecting my family" is the prime motive force in every action I take, including posting on various forums to this issue.
Edit: you keep bringing up Alex Jones and I missed that last one: I've never listened to or read a word the man has said. Maybe I should though, since admitting that is making me feel a bit ignorant now that you mention it.
From where I'm sitting it looks sort of like he's been running human experiments on peasant's while he builds up for something a little more...global. So no, not really quite the saint we're expected to view him as. And you're confusing "political" with "ethical." The bottom line is that you have look past his own self serving press releases if you want to become a bit more informed. As I've said before, at the very least you (the people, not you personally) should be slightly suspicious if not outright concerned.
At this point I'm extremely concerned with what looks like: a rush at record pace by aforementioned 100+ drug companies to create a vaccine who will be indemnified against litigation over side-effects>manufacture it regardless of testing or efficacy>some form of either militarized compulsory program to administer or more likely a "soft" mandated approach where you won't be able to function in society without it.
In this regard I've taken a rather large step away from America's current leadership which most people on this thread know full well I'm generally pretty supportive of. I tend to focus on Bill Gates because he's feted by the left so much and he seems to be at the epicenter of almost all the news surrounding the issue. I'm fully aware that this issue is "bigger" than he and Melinda.
Funny thing. In Norway, similar conserns to those you have are usually flaggedby the far left. To them Bill Gates (and similar types like Trump) represent international capitalism. They are the the exploiters of the working class. Their main foe is the EU. A sybmbol of unlimited capitalism.
Denigrating your government Jason not your country.
You've not provided any arguments Jason you've simply regurgitated alt-right talking points regarding Bill Gates Snr and as Alex Jones put it his being a top eugenicist.
Weak, Leo. Very very weak. Let me know when you have something with some meat on the bone. At this point you're not trying to have a conversation with me, but rather just baiting with various insults.
As I said above, I've never listened to or read a word this man has said. Now, take a break Leo. It's clear you're just baiting me, so give it a rest. I'm happy to debate, but that's not what you're doing here and it's gotten quite old.
Just twiddling my thumbs waiting for that stubborn last case we have here to get better. We'll all breathe easier once the last one disappears. Sorry: there's nothing else to update.
Reopening is coming along quietly.
Are you allowed to date anywhere? Is that just on hold until there's a cure? Everyone who wasn't in a monogamous, committed "living together" relationship is just out of luck and rolling celibate until something changes I guess.
Edit: of course, that would rest on the premise that people are all strictly honoring their quarantines and not just posturing whilst expecting everyone else to go without, wouldn't it?
Just twiddling my thumbs waiting for that stubborn last case we have here to get better. We'll all breathe easier once the last one disappears. Sorry: there's nothing else to update.
Reopening is coming along quietly.
Yeah, we're unlikely to completely "technically" eliminate it in Aus because we keep getting imports returnees from countries that don't know how to manage a health crisis.
Yeah, we're unlikely to completely "technically" eliminate it in Aus because we keep getting imports returnees from countries that don't know how to manage a health crisis.
Vitamin D penetrates cells, gets 2 stage hydroxylated to an active form, binds to other things to make a big molecular complex, and then taxis pull that into the nucleus, where it sticks to our DNA. Over 2000 genes get affected, and the chemical output of that is then multiplexed out into the cell, affecting God-knows-what else. It is waaaaay more complicated than you can imagine, but things we know for sure are: Calcium metabolism and strengthening of bone, modulation of the immune system, and suppression of cancers. It also improves muscular strength and lowers risks of cardiac disease. Seems generally benign.
There appears to be some evidence that taking modest doses daily works better than one giant monthly dose. Overspill into all tisues leads to local tissue effects better that way. Big bolus doses get stashed in fat. Safe doses daily is <10,000 IU daily for an average adult, but there is no firm guidance. Giant doses seem surprisingly safe, but may not help much. People absorb it better in the morning.
Natural sources are widespread, but animal fat/fish oils are good. Levels are low nowadays because of indoor life.
The characteristics of the victims in the world's ICU's are:
obese
over 60
male > female
darker skinned > lighter skinned
hypertensive
The one thing they all have in common is lower vitamin D levels.
D is fat soluble, so obese people redistribute the whole body amount into a lower concentration. D is made in the skin by sunlight, so it's levels are likely inversely proportional to darkness of the skin, at higher latitudes. Biosynthesis speed drops with age, partly because older people spend less time outdoors.
Obese men vs Obese women: D level is lower in the men. (Norway)
There is some direct supporting evidence that low Vitamin D is associated with more severe disease. There is a list here. They are summarized in this spoiler.
Researchers from the U.K. evaluated the average vitamin D levels and the number of COVID-19 cases, as well as the death rates, across 20 European countries. Countries with low average vitamin D blood levels in the population had higher numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths, says study leader Petre Cristian Ilie, MD, PhD, research and innovation director at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation Trust in King's Lynn, U.K.
At Northwestern University, researchers used modeling to estimate that 17% of those deficient in vitamin D would develop a severe COVID-19 infection, but only about 14% of those with healthy vitamin D levels. They estimated the association between vitamin D and severe COVID-19 based on a potential link between vitamin D deficiency and C-reactive proteins, or CRP, a surrogate marker for severe COVID-19
In a small study, Louisiana and Texas researchers evaluated 20 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, finding that 11 of the patients admitted to the ICU were vitamin D deficient, but only four of those not needing the ICU.
Indonesian researchers evaluated 780 documented cases of COVID-19 and found that most patients who died had vitamin D levels below normal.
Irish researchers analyzed European population studies and vitamin D levels, finding countries with high rates of vitamin D deficiency also had higher death rates from COVID-19. Those researchers asked the government to raise the vitamin D recommendations.
As the evidence gets collected, the theoretical basis is being examined. This paper looks at some biochemistry related to it. I'll just pick out one bit:
Vitamin D supplementation also enhances the expression of genes related to antioxidation (glutathione reductase and glutamate–cysteine ligase modifier subunit) [40]. The increased glutathione production spares the use of ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which has antimicrobial activities [41,42], and has been proposed to prevent and treat COVID-19
Glutathione and NAC has been looked at by other authorities, and mentioned in some detail on Medcram. I find this stuff essential to know, but it's probably not for everybody- Update 69 Update 70
There are some possible projections we can draw:
The Muslim world places its women in sun-blocking clothing, and they likely will have very low Vitamin D levels. Look for the male>female ratios to be different in those populations in the ICU's.
Southern US states with recreational activity like Florida should do better than expected by the models.
Equatorial territories should do best at holding down the death rates.
The amount of benefit from plenty vitamin D might be small, affecting only a few people per 100 population that gets sick. We don't know yet.
disclaimer- no monetary benefit accrues to me from any supplements or medications. I personally take a list of substances daily, which includes NAC, 8000-10000 IU of Vitamin D3 and other things, because of specific goals. I am biased in favor of these substances.
It is likely that having Vitamin D in abundance in your tissues will offer general benefits, which might include a better chance of survival from infections, particularly if you have the risk factors in the ICU list up above. There are no studies that confirm this with certainty. A very few people may have reason not to use Vitamin D, such as Hypercalcaemia, Kidney Stones, etc.
Vitamin D penetrates cells, gets 2 stage hydroxylated to an active form, binds to other things to make a big molecular complex, and then taxis pull that into the nucleus, where it sticks to our DNA. Over 2000 genes get affected, and the chemical output of that is then multiplexed out into the cell, affecting God-knows-what else. It is waaaaay more complicated than you can imagine, but things we know for sure are: Calcium metabolism and strengthening of bone, modulation of the immune system, and suppression of cancers. It also improves muscular strength and lowers risks of cardiac disease. Seems generally benign.
There appears to be some evidence that taking modest doses daily works better than one giant monthly dose. Overspill into all tisues leads to local tissue effects better that way. Big bolus doses get stashed in fat. Safe doses daily is <10,000 IU daily for an average adult, but there is no firm guidance. Giant doses seem surprisingly safe, but may not help much. People absorb it better in the morning.
Natural sources are widespread, but animal fat/fish oils are good. Levels are low nowadays because of indoor life.
The characteristics of the victims in the world's ICU's are:
obese
over 60
male > female
darker skinned > lighter skinned
hypertensive
The one thing they all have in common is lower vitamin D levels.
D is fat soluble, so obese people redistribute the whole body amount into a lower concentration. D is made in the skin by sunlight, so it's levels are likely inversely proportional to darkness of the skin, at higher latitudes. Biosynthesis speed drops with age, partly because older people spend less time outdoors.
Obese men vs Obese women: D level is lower in the men. (Norway)
There is some direct supporting evidence that low Vitamin D is associated with more severe disease. There is a list here. They are summarized in this spoiler.
Researchers from the U.K. evaluated the average vitamin D levels and the number of COVID-19 cases, as well as the death rates, across 20 European countries. Countries with low average vitamin D blood levels in the population had higher numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths, says study leader Petre Cristian Ilie, MD, PhD, research and innovation director at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation Trust in King's Lynn, U.K.
At Northwestern University, researchers used modeling to estimate that 17% of those deficient in vitamin D would develop a severe COVID-19 infection, but only about 14% of those with healthy vitamin D levels. They estimated the association between vitamin D and severe COVID-19 based on a potential link between vitamin D deficiency and C-reactive proteins, or CRP, a surrogate marker for severe COVID-19
In a small study, Louisiana and Texas researchers evaluated 20 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, finding that 11 of the patients admitted to the ICU were vitamin D deficient, but only four of those not needing the ICU.
Indonesian researchers evaluated 780 documented cases of COVID-19 and found that most patients who died had vitamin D levels below normal.
Irish researchers analyzed European population studies and vitamin D levels, finding countries with high rates of vitamin D deficiency also had higher death rates from COVID-19. Those researchers asked the government to raise the vitamin D recommendations.
As the evidence gets collected, the theoretical basis is being examined. This paper looks at some biochemistry related to it. I'll just pick out one bit:
Glutathione and NAC has been looked at by other authorities, and mentioned in some detail on Medcram. I find this stuff essential to know, but it's probably not for everybody- Update 69 Update 70
There are some possible projections we can draw:
The Muslim world places its women in sun-blocking clothing, and they likely will have very low Vitamin D levels. Look for the male>female ratios to be different in those populations in the ICU's.
Southern US states with recreational activity like Florida should do better than expected by the models.
Equatorial territories should do best at holding down the death rates.
The amount of benefit from plenty vitamin D might be small, affecting only a few people per 100 population that gets sick. We don't know yet.
disclaimer- no monetary benefit accrues to me from any supplements or medications. I personally take a list of substances daily, which includes NAC, 8000-10000 IU of Vitamin D3 and other things, because of specific goals. I am biased in favor of these substances.
It is likely that having Vitamin D in abundance in your tissues will offer general benefits, which might include a better chance of survival from infections, particularly if you have the risk factors in the ICU list up above. There are no studies that confirm this with certainty. A very few people may have reason not to use Vitamin D, such as Hypercalcaemia, Kidney Stones, etc.
Would that explain why Covid hasn't exploded in the hotter regions of the world like Africa and Asia, yet people enthinically of those regions in colder climes (Europe and America) are being hit hard? Edit, I know there are socio/economic reasons as well, but a lot of BAME in the UK hit are doctors and Nurses....not poor.
Would that explain why Covid hasn't exploded in the hotter regions of the world like Africa and Asia, yet people enthinically of those regions in colder climes (Europe and America) are being hit hard? Edit, I know there are socio/economic reasons as well, but a lot of BAME in the UK hit are doctors and Nurses....not poor.
If no one is doing the tests - covid doesn't exist
And the only way to spot it would be to compare the monthly average of reported acute respiratory syndromes and compare it with previous years...
...or a more grim approach would be to compare the number of deaths and compare it with the averages from previous years
www.theguardian.com
