Column #261     August 28, 2020

It’s an uncomfortable feeling when one’s fundamental premises forming his worldview are revealed as inadequate or simply wrong. When it happens to bureaucrats, career politicians, educators, and even medical professionals too often they end up struggling against the truth and doubling down.1

People who are sheltered from competing in the free market are more likely to defy new realities. If misguided businessmen or underperforming employees don’t make a profit, they are eventually forced out of business. This is why entrepreneurs and nonunion workers are considered to be natural risk takers because they do not seek positions that promise the greatest security. That’s why when bureaucrats make decisions that impact those of us in the private sector, quite often they do not understand our objections or motives.

For millions of years, healthy, able-bodied humans ALWAYS cared for the sick and protected or quarantined those at-risk. In so doing they faced whatever threats were out there by working in order to keep everyone fed, clothed, and sheltered. They couldn’t afford shutdowns because if everyone stopped working the entire population would quickly die off. This is why every healthy, able-bodied American must continue to function as they always have. It’s a matter of survival.2 3 4

When shutdowns occur and normal daily functions grind to a halt, anxiety levels increase significancy. At the end of June 2020 the CDC reported that suicidal ideation was up over last year. Their survey reported that 25% of the people ages 18 through 24 and 11% of adults had seriously considered suicide in the past 30 days. In terms of numbers that threat of death far and away exceeds the threat from the virus!5 6

Even though on average 972 Americans are currently dying daily from COVID-19, for perspective we must recognize that a greater number of people die every day from other causes. Here’s a short list of stats for average daily deaths in 2017:

This short list leaves out the many other classifications such as accidents, suicides, other diseases, etc. Yet these six afflictions alone kill 1.7 million people annually out of a total of 2,813,503 deaths. Yes, 7,708 people died every day in 2017. Of course, we must also keep in mind that a significant (yet unknown) number of COVID-19 deaths may have been mortally sick people who simply died while also testing positive after death.7

I recognize that COVID-19 is still with us and it may be around for the next ten years or maybe longer. We have no way of knowing. It is also life threatening for some members of the society. Therefore, instead of marching lockstep to the whims of bureaucrats, we have to think for ourselves and be proactive. That means we must get out of the basement and evaluate our own personal risks as well as those of others we associate with and then act accordingly.

Only by tuning out wailing bureaucrats and the sinister MSM propaganda while looking at the data and evolving COVID-19 science, can anyone see that there is actually some good news out there. Testing has increased exponentially since March, yet in the past month new cases are falling. When we look at deaths, we know that new cases and new deaths do not go hand in hand. The median time it takes from the first symptoms of COVID-19 to death is 18.5 days. Yet data indicates that the national surge in cases over the summer was followed 18 days later by a smaller percentage increase in deaths.8

Look at the latest charts with their 7-day moving averages. It’s quite obvious that the number of new cases and deaths have slowed significantly. All of the data points show that CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield's announcement late last week that the outbreak in the south was slowing, and that the American outbreak was solidly on a downward trajectory, was correct.

There are multiple reasons for the plunging death rate from earlier this year. People with symptoms are being tested quicker and results are coming back much faster. Consequently their treatments start sooner. Unfortunately though, many treatments have become politicized and therefore restricted in some states. Hydroxychloroquine is one that is being used successfully on some cases when administered properly. Hospitals in Florida and elsewhere were advertising for plasma donors weeks ago. So it’s not new. Recently, some physicians have begun integrating the off-label use of ivermectin (a wormer cattlemen know well) into their COVID-19 treatment protocol. These experimental treatments are just the tip of the iceberg. Of course there aren’t any silver bullets out there yet.9 10

Since this is a war against a virus many new ideas must be tried. Waiting for long-term trials using treatments that have little risk compared to placebos in side-by-side treatments is simply wasting valuable time and lives. Ideas just need to be tried. For instance, there’s a hospital in Barcelona, Spain, that wheels their Covid-19 patients outside to be closer to the ocean to expose them to fresh air and the therapeutic benefits of salty air. (Seems to run contrary to closing beaches to avoid the spread.)

Experimentation and thinking outside the box have been working and it’s the best approach for now. In time we’ll have a proven vaccine but in the interim we’ll also determine which conventional drugs actually help for future use. And that’s critically important because the CDC is already telling us the best vaccine will not be 100% effective.

Also, for Pete’s sake, children can and must go to school. When it comes to COVID-19, according to CDC’s own data, children are nearly bulletproof. More than 80% of COVID-19 deaths involve people over 65 years of age yet they make up only 16% of the population. The over 85 age group is 630 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than the 18-29 age group and 10,080 times more likely to die than the 5-17 age group.11

This doesn’t mean children cannot catch COVID-19, but most often they are asymptomatic when they do catch it. They rarely end up in a hospital, have an exceptionally low risk of dying, and get over it in a matter of days and are then immune. Of the 154,279 childhood cases detected so far, there have been only 92 deaths in six months. That death rate is 0.02%, but in reality it’s much lower because the reported childhood cases are way understated. We can also compare the 92 deaths with the 20,360 childhood fatalities in 2016. That’s 56 deaths per day with more than 60% resulting from injury-related causes. Consequently, it’s likely that children are safer in school during the COVID-19 pandemic than they are out of school. As for the rest of the population, take note that the under 65 age group is 84% of the US population. That means overall death risk for the vast majority of Americans is quite low.12

Other good news we don’t hear about is the number of people who have survived COVID-19 and have immunity. Since the disease lasts about 14 days and there were 5,420,887 cases reported on August 13, 2020, we can assume that today close to 5,406,887 of those folks are cured and about 14,000 died. So, of the 6,046,634 reported cases, there are only 639,747 active COVID-19 cases in the entire USA. This underscores why the herd immunity threshold could be as low as 43%.13

The Good News
●    Hospital capacity is not being stressed.
●    Even with more testing, cases are on the decline.
●    With schools starting up, case numbers are not going up.
●    Children can safely attend schools.
●    Deaths as a percent of cases continue to decline.
●    COVID-19 has little negative impact on youngsters under 18.
●    Actual cases greatly exceed known cases implying a much lower death rate.
●    With every new case we are that much closer to herd immunity.
●    Hospitals are getting much better at treating COVID-19 cases.14
●    New novel treatments are being discovered.
●    Faster more accurate tests are being developed.15
●    Several vaccine trials are well advanced and a vaccine is expected by year end.16
●    Getting people back to work with a full economic opening will improve overall health.

Last but not least, we know that everyone can improve their immunity for viruses and the suppression of nearly all chronic diseases by implementing a proper diet incorporating foods that in total are:
●    Low Glycemic
●    Nutrient Dense and Diverse
●    Balanced 1:1 with Omega-6 to Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids

How simple is that?

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

Don’t miss these links for additional reading:

1. Science is NOT about Consensus by Jeff Harris from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity

2. A Closer Look at the States that Stayed Open by Ethan Yang from American Institute of Economic Research

3. Coronavirus Lockdown May Have Been Pointless Says Oxford Scientist as He Details Evidence

4. Wow, Even NPR Admits That In-Person Voting Isn't as Risky as Alarmists Thought by Matt Margolis from PJmedia.com

5. Acute Anxiety: Internet Searches for Key Words Spiked to All-Time High Early in Pandemic by Ryan Prior, from CNN

6. One in Four Young People Are Reporting Suicidal Thoughts. Here's How to Help by Ryan Prior from CNN

7. Deaths: Final Data for 2017 from CDC

8. How Do Covid-19 Symptoms Progress and What Causes Death? from Drugs.com

9. Broward County Doctor Using Ivermectin Off-Label Combo on COVID-19 Patients—It is Working & Secures County Health Protocol Approval from TrialSite News

10. HCQ All Over Again: WaPo Trashes Blood Plasma COVID-19 Treatment After Trump Announces Breakthrough by Matt Margolis from PJMedia

11. COVID-19 Hospitalization and Death by Age from CDC

12. The Major Causes of Death in Children and Adolescents in the United States

13. COVID-19: Herd Immunity Threshold Could Be Lower, Study Finds by University of Nottingham from Science Daily

14. Coronavirus Death Rate Falling in Hospitals by Rachel Schraer from BBC News

15. Good News. The Latest COVID-19 Tests Work Without 'Tickling Your Brain'

16. Renowned European Scientist: COVID-19 Was Engineered in China Lab, Effective Vaccine ‘Unlikely’ by Steven Mosher from LifeSiteNews.com

17. Coronavirus Immunity by Ted Slanker