Cronyism is standing in the way of natural COVID-19 prevention. Action Alert!
There are no drugs for preventing COVID-19, so the government says almost nothing about prevention except for social distancing while our economy suffers. There are many indications, however, that nutrients and lifestyle approaches can help protect us from this virus. The “problem” is that these approaches don’t make billions for the drug companies, so the government doesn’t care. We must demand research into nutritional strategies to prevent COVID-19 infection.
We know that as many as 50% of COVID-19 cases have no symptoms. The question is, why? Why do these people have no symptoms, while others get very sick and die?
There are some clues:
- Data show that dietary selenium is linked with COVID-19 outcomes: a study found that patients in areas with high levels of selenium were more likely to recover from the virus, while places with lower selenium intake had a death rate five times higher.
- Research has also shown that low vitamin D is linked with worse COVID-19 outcomes. Places where the mean serum vitamin D level was below 30 nmol/L, which is considered severe deficiency, had more COVID-19 cases.
- Multivitamins also have been shown to protect against devastating viruses. One study compared supplementation consisting of multivitamins alone, vitamin A alone, or both with placebo in women in Tanzania, Africa who had HIV infection. The study found that women who received the multivitamin were less likely to progress to advanced stages of HIV disease.
- A third of patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection have at least one underlying condition; a study of hospitalized COVID patients in New York found that 60% had high blood pressure, 40% were obese, and a third had diabetes. All of these conditions are amenable to nutritional and lifestyle prevention and interventions.
- We also know that research has tied micronutrient inadequacies to long-term health consequences, increasing our risk for chronic diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes—which are comorbidities for COVID-19.
- Drugs like proton pump inhibitors can increase the likelihood of serious infection with COVID-19.
Research into these various areas could be used to develop a “COVID-19 fitness exam” that tells us how at risk we are. This is what a well-functioning health system would do: help Americans protect themselves and reduce COVID casualties by conducting research into prevention.
But we do not have such a system; we have a crony capitalist system. Preventive strategies that include nutrients will make no one rich, so the government, which works closely with Big Pharma, doesn’t study them.
As we’ll see in further coverage this week, remdesivir, a new drug with patent protection and drug exclusivity, is now being pushed as the new standard of care. We’re also seeing drug pricing for COVID treatments skyrocket.
The point is that there is a lot of money to be made by the drug companies during this pandemic, and natural options that can prevent infection and thus reduce the need for expensive drugs are a direct threat to Big Pharma’s bottom line. Without a strong consumer voice calling for government health agencies like the National Institutes of Health to collect data and fund studies on prevention strategies, it will not happen.
Visit our COVID-411 page for other information on natural prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
Action Alert! Write to NIH, with a copy to Congress, telling them to study nutritional prevention strategies to protect us from COVID-19. Please send your message immediately.
