Grocery-store clerks are essential workers, almost as important as doctors, nurses and EMTs. To help protect them from our exhalations, we should all be wearing masks when we enter the stores. And for their own good, their managers should REQUIRE them to wear masks, period.

Well said! Thank you.

Just got an email from Fred Myer:

 “We’ve provided masks for all of our store associates to wear, and starting this Sunday, we’ll be requiring our associates to wear them, in locations where they’re not already mandated. Our associates are also welcome to bring their own suitable masks or facial coverings to work, if they prefer.”

Thank you! Now it’s up to the public to do their part. Please wear a mask when in public. For now, it’s not just the best medicine, it’s the only medicine.

Looks like we may have had an impact, Jane!

I sent a message to Haggens Sehome a week ago.  I got back a canned msg thanking me for the comment.  Nothing else.

While I agree with the suggestion regarding masks, I believe Karen Selick’s article about Germ Theory vs. Terrain Theory deserves consideration.  Selick is a former attorney who studied Holistic Nutrition at the Edison Institute of Nutrition.  Here are a few excerpts from her article Coronavirus Crisis Reopens 150-Year-Old Controversy.

“French scientist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) is widely celebrated as “the father of germ theory”— the idea that we become sick when our bodies are invaded by foreign organisms such as bacteria, molds, fungi, and of course viruses… What’s not widely known is that other French scientists working in the same field in that era held somewhat different beliefs, known as the “terrain theory”. They believed that the most important factor that determines whether or not a person becomes ill is not the presence of a germ, but rather the preparedness of the body’s internal environment (the “soil” or terrain) to repel or destroy the germ.”

“... what lives on after [Pasteur] is the mindset, clearly visible amongst most of today’s medical professionals and health care bureaucrats, that it is the germ (formally designated SARS-CoV-2) that has to be tracked down, isolated, avoided, and eradicated—and that’s all that matters. The “terrain”, to conventional modern thinkers, is nothing.”

“But while Pasteur’s germ-theory mindset reigns in officialdom, savvy consumers seem to be following Béchamp and Bernard, without ever having heard of them. Vitamin C, zinc lozenges, and more exotic supplements such as monolaurin (a derivative of coconut oil which in laboratory tests destroys the viral envelope in a manner similar to soap) have been flying off store shelves.”

“Epidemiologists busily debate the pros and cons of lockdowns and masks in controlling the spread of the virus, but I have yet to see a single report of anyone who has thought to compare the serum vitamin D levels of those who succumbed, versus those who recovered, versus those who have never become infected. This is the sort of data they should be looking at, but imbued with the germ-theory mindset, they are allowing this valuable information to slip away.”

Ok, it appears my last comment on the “terrain theory” about the immune system was not a big hit.  Probably too dry for NWC readers.

Let’s try this:  Bill Maher’s May 1st video New Rule: Immunity Booster may be right up your alley.

Larry,

It’s not either/or.    The factors are:   host susceptibility (immune system strength),  and parasite virulence.   As hosts develop better immunity,  so also germs adapt;   the Darwinian battle goes on.   In my case, since I’m immunosuppressed to keep down my GVHD (graft vs host) disease,  a complication of stem cell transplant,  I’m more susceptible to the COVID virus and all other microorganisms than the average person.   I’m staying home,  wearing a mask only if I have to go out,  and my spouse is doing all the shopping.  All the vitamin C,  zinc,  and various other Chinese herbs I take won’t keep me from getting sick,  so isolation is the first line of defense.  Immunosuppressed people are also more likely to be vectors,  so my sheltering in place protects others as well.

Hi Dianne, thanks for your reply.  What does it take to get a conversation going around here?

I absolutely agree that it’s not either/or.  But your concerns would be similar (if not the same) for an especially virulent strain of influenza.  Those who have risk factors must protect themselves - and must be protected.  Absolutely.  But locking down the vast majority who don’t possess those risk factors is counterproductive, essentially preventing the mass immunity that would ultimately help protect those most at risk.

If you haven’t already read Selick’s article, I hope you will.  She suggests that knowing whether patients who succumbed to COVID-19 have deficiencies in vitamin D levels (or zinc, or vitamin C, etc.) would be valuable information.  I’ve also read that those who received the influenza vaccination were more susceptible to requiring hospitalization from COVID-19.  Confirming that might be useful.

Many NWC readers have made a similar argument against “one size fits all” doctrines in other circumstances.  Our response to COVID-19 need not lock down everyone.  Those who have risk factors are wise to use precautions.  But those who don’t should be allowed to resume as much of their normal lives as possible, including going back to work.

And everyone should be informed that strengthening their “terrain” - their immune systems - is a proven response to dealing with ubiquitous germs.  What else would have enabled mankind to persist as a species before the rise of the medical industrial complex and the development of vaccines?

But most of all, Dianne, thanks for being here to have this dialogue!  It’s always a pleasure to share a conversation with you.

Best, Larry

This is certainly beyond the scope of Jane’s ‘mask’ article, but relates to my last comment about various lockdowns.

Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law / Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242

SUMMARY:

Section 242 of Title 18 makes it a crime for a person acting under color of any law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.

For the purpose of Section 242, acts under “color of law” include acts not only done by federal, state, or local officials within the their lawful authority, but also acts done beyond the bounds of that official’s lawful authority, if the acts are done while the official is purporting to or pretending to act in the performance of his/her official duties. Persons acting under color of law within the meaning of this statute include police officers, prisons guards and other law enforcement officials, as well as judges, care providers in public health facilities, and others who are acting as public officials. It is not necessary that the crime be motivated by animus toward the race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin of the victim.

The offense is punishable by a range of imprisonment up to a life term, or the death penalty, depending upon the circumstances of the crime, and the resulting injury, if any.

TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 242

Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, ... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if bodily injury results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnaping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.

Masks for the general public possess a real danger to spread infection which is why so many smart minds and researchers are against them. In clinical/hospital uses they are indispensable but only if they are the correct equipment that is used and disposed of properly which is generally after one potentially infectious use! Otherwise it is absolutely dangerous and potentially an infection spreading practice to use a mask in the general public. Here are are some authoritative voices on the dangers of masks for general public use:

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/04/commentary-masks-all-covid-19-not-based-sound-data

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/04/data-do-not-back-cloth-masks-limit-covid-19-experts-say

 Here is the recent peer reviewed Rapid Expert Consultation from the National Academy of Sciences on cloth mask use:

https://www.nap.edu/read/25776/chapter/1

This last article is important because this group from the National Academy of Sciences has been designed to inform government policy during the CoronaVirus crisis. Their “Rapid Expert Consultations” are peer reviewed: https://www.nap.edu/collection/94/coronavirus-resources.  

Here is a summary of some recent pre-prints on mask use:

https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1422

There are certainly *RXIV pre-prints that attempt to justify the use face masks in the general public. I find many of them lacking from a test engineering perspective. You can see some of these pre-prints here:

https://www.medrxiv.org/search/masks%252Bpublic%252B

I don’t know how the use of masks by the general public became viable or a useful piece of advice. Perhaps another statistical misuse of p values by well meaning scientists? Or perhaps the general public believes their “common sense” ideas somehow overcome the obvious limitations of their understanding of science?

This conversation is a perfect illustration of how rapidly advice and knowledge change. “Novel” is the operative word for Covid-19. Several of the studies Ryan includes were done in early April. More recently, the CDC is recommending cloth mask by the general public: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html 

“CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.” The CDC includes a whole section on face mask management for properly removing and washing the masks and they are very clear such masks are not appropriate for healthcare workers. 

Will new research change that? We’ll see. As to the need for more data on how this virus works and who is truly at risk, yes, yes, yes, and the scientific community has stepped up.

Ironically, while many are looking to strengthen their immune system, it is the over reaction of the immune system that is killing people when Covid-19 triggers one’s immune system to attack the body as well as the virus.  This is also how the Spanish Flu worked in 1918, only then, it was younger people in their prime at greatest  risk. For those of us who have or had an autoimmune disease trigger by an infection, this is particularly scary. Ever been too weak to pick up a coffe pot and not be able to feel your hands and feet and wonder if your whole body was going to be paralyzed? I have and don’t recommend it.

We have so much to learn, why some 90 year olds survive and 20 year olds die, why so many people are asymptamatic, and thereby a threat to others and why there is so much variation in the mental health reactions people are having while they cope with unprecedented threats, both to their physical and economic health.

As to protecting oneself, given how contagious this is, protecting you means I need to know when I’m contagious and stay home. We don’t know that yet and still lack the testing to identify carriers easily, so we all need each other’s cooperation for now. Americans admire individualism and self reliance and are focused on treatment, not prevention, so it’s not surprising that staying home “for the greater good” is difficult.

Let’s just try to stick it out a bit longer. I certainly don’t want to go through this again. How about you? 

As of tonight, we now have to deal with the fact that the “conspiracy” theorists were probably correct all along:

“US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says ‘enormous evidence’ coronavirus came from Chinese lab”

https://t.co/M2AOUlz2S8?amp=1

“Coronavirus NSW: Dossier lays out case against China bat virus program”:

https://t.co/8LxczMqHaU?amp=1

It was at least a four nation program (China,France,Australia,US) under WHO guidance with NGOs that had state government financing that helped create, finance and build the Wuhan Institute of Virology Corona Virus P4 lab. SARS-CoV-2 was (at least) let loose from a lab! They are saying it was a ‘leak’. But many others I read are documenting the clear “Gain of Function” enhancements this virus has been enabled with. “Gain of Function” is supposed to be part of the research that keeps us safe: By enhancing dangerous viruses with human transmissability we supposedly prepare ourselves for future pandemics.  The conclusion of many of us is much more simple and brutal:  This is a bioweapon designed to kill some part of humanity. 

How would you feel if someone you loved died because of a lethal, unstoppable lab enhanced virus financed by a multi-national effort?

I hesitate to post this May 4th article by Martin Geddes as it may ruffle many feathers, but I have been following Martin for a few months and have found him to be intelligent, honest, and straightforward.

Coronagate: the scandal to end all scandals

And, if you make it through the article, this companion timeline video is especially interesting…

Bombshell: NIH Knew About Chloroquine

Still having trouble determining if this is more funny or startingly sad…

Reuters reported yesterday that:

Tanzania has suspended the head of its national health laboratory in charge of testing for the coronavirus and ordered an investigation, a day after President John Magufuli questioned the tests’ accuracy. Magufuli said on Sunday the imported test kits were faulty as they had returned positive results on a goat and a pawpaw — among several non-human samples submitted for testing, with technicians left deliberately unaware of their origins.

Either COVID-19 is ubiquitous or the PCR test amplification process is so intense that the 100 nucleotides being tested for are present - albeit in extremely small amounts - in virtually every living thing.

Bottom line: Don’t kiss your goat today… or eat a pawpaw.

-

As suggested in my April 28th comment regarding Karen Selick’s article Coronavirus Crisis Reopens 150-Year Old Controversy and my follow-up comment on May 3rd, vitamin D deficiency may play a role in COVID-19 mortality.

A new study finds that “Vit D may reduce the COVID-19 severity by suppressing cytokine storm in COVID-19 patients.”

Thank you Karen Selick for considering this connection.