Coronavirus

Good luck tomorrow, Margaid, let us know how it goes. At least you don’t have to take the cats for a walk, and unlike hens they mostly live indoors! Tony and I felt a bit under the weather for a couple of days, but it was worth it and nothing to worry about, as we knew what it was due to. I’ve heard several people say they had no reaction at all, so let’s hope you’ll be one of the lucky ones.
 
Good luck as well. I am sure it will be fine. Just think happy thoughts while you are in there
Several of OH's friends who are in there 60's have had their appointments booked today. So she won't be far behind, every time she gets a text message now she thinks it's the doctors with her appointment.
 
I had a letter this morning which resulted in me changing the appointment to 11.30 and a vaccination centre only 6 miles away and I'm a bit happier about that. I won't have so long to think about it while I'm driving. Also I was able to book the second appointment. It won't be as bad as the steroid injection I had in my thumb - that needle was HUGE! My husband out in the waiting room heard me yell!

Hope Mrs gets hers soon - it will hopefully make things less stressful for you knowing she is protected.
 
Well that's it, I've been punctured1 Highly organised at Ludlow racecourse but I felt very sorry for the marshals who were working outside. Although they look to be geared up for a hundred or so people at one time there was no-one in the big waiting room and only 5 people ahead of me in the queue.
Talking to the lady who was going to stick the needle in my arm, I mentioned the photographs on the BBC News website and how it makes the vaccination look very traumatic and as though a lot of pressure is used. Apparently the gentleman before me had made a similar comment. In reality the needle is quite fine - but sorry! it still hurt and no I wasn't looking and I had told her to just do it and not tell me what she was doing. But that's me and needles.
Everything is OK at the moment and I have told myself I am not going to experience any side effects.. I'll let you know if that works!
 
Well done for being brave, Margaid. I think you’ve earned yourself a large glass of fermented grape juice ;-)
 
I'm waiting, not very patiently, to have mine. They are starting the 85's today, and by next week, hope to be able to start the over 70s. So, Lord knows when it will be my turn. My boss registered me as a priority healthcare worker, as I do home care, but there was some glitch, and I don't seem to have been registered. :roll:

I'm kind of in two minds (not about being vaccinated. Bring it on!) but about when I get done. On the one hand, there is work and caring for my very elderly, very frail mother, and the fact that I'm now over 60 and have quite severe asthma. But on the other hand, I'm sure there are younger people who would be at more risk than I am. I am very healthy (other than the asthma) and quite fit. I am very careful, going nowhere but an occasional foray into the supermarket for something I'd run out of, going to mum's, work, and daughter's (my social bubble). My dau is extremely careful too. We're lucky, living in the country, that social distancing is easy! So, I'm not as at risk, say, as my brothers who work in factories or staff in large supermarkets. Although, I suppose the point is to prevent people needing hospital, and in particular, ICU treatment.
 
I take your point LadyA. There’s always a balance to be struck involving risk and probability. It’s an individual decision and different people come to different conclusions, as has been evidenced here recently. Personally I’ll have anything going to reduce the likelihood of contracting this or any other disease. Having said that for us oldies the spectre of thalidomide always lurks in the background.
I have this conviction, possibly Ill founded, that maintaining good over all health is the best prevention. My so has recently drawn my attention to how us northerners are nearly all Vit D deficient due to the weakness of the sunshine and that eggs and oily fish do not compensate for this. So it’s Omega3 fish oil for me nowadays. But I remember as a kid either cod liver oil (which tasted foul) or Haliborange (halibut liver oil and orange which was actually nice) were standard for kids.
 
Hen-Gen said:
I take your point LadyA. There’s always a balance to be struck involving risk and probability. It’s an individual decision and different people come to different conclusions, as has been evidenced here recently. Personally I’ll have anything going to reduce the likelihood of contracting this or any other disease. Having said that for us oldies the spectre of thalidomide always lurks in the background.
I have this conviction, possibly Ill founded, that maintaining good over all health is the best prevention. My so has recently drawn my attention to how us northerners are nearly all Vit D deficient due to the weakness of the sunshine and that eggs and oily fish do not compensate for this. So it’s Omega3 fish oil for me nowadays. But I remember as a kid either cod liver oil (which tasted foul) or Haliborange (halibut liver oil and orange which was actually nice) were standard for kids.
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The main thrust of vaccination is to reduce deaths and also to reduce the number of case that need hospitalisation and reduce pressure on the NHS. Think of all those people who are not getting the medical procedures they need because ICUs are full. That means vaccinating the people most likely to need hospitalisation - the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.
I too remember thalidomide, the difference being that morning sickness, though extremely unpleasant, even in its' extreme form is not life threatening whereas Covid-19 is, very much so.

By the way Hen-Gen, you need vitamin D3 supplement rather than Omega 3. I remember the cod-liver oil on Friday afternoons at Infant school. That was bad enough but the watery orange squash they gave is to drink afterwards was worse!
 
I haven't posted very often on this forum but have been following this thread for some time. As the conversation has turned to Vitamin D3, both here and was recently raised by David Davis MP in Parliament, I thought members might find this of some interest. Extracts are taken from an open letter.

Unlock Defensive Immunity With Vitamin D
28 November 2020. Updated 29 November 2020.

by David C Anderson MD MSc. FRCP FRCPath, David S Grimes MD FRCP, Parag Singhal MD FRCP and Chris Williams BSc.

Dear Fellow Citizens,

We would like to impress upon you the importance of protection against COVID-19 by correcting Vitamin D deficiency, which is so widespread in our population. The answer is simple: take Vitamin D3, 100 micrograms (4,000 units) daily. ... Vitamin D is a hormone, the vital key that unlocks our complex, defensive process of immunity.

Now in the winter, with little sun and almost no natural production of Vitamin D, the number of deaths from the COVID-19 virus and other respiratory virus infections has inevitably increased. From April onwards, with more prevalent sun and resumption of natural vitamin D production, the number of deaths will fall again. So we still have four months of vulnerability ahead of us and we must protect ourselves.

We can protect ourselves immediately by maximising our general defensive immunity (that has evolved during the past 500 million years!). Hence we believe that correction of the generally low and inadequate blood levels of Vitamin D among the population is the key to a new and overdue approach to our national predicament. ... Hence, the obvious need to maximise our natural and general immunity to pathogens of all kinds.

We are also aware that there has not been consideration of a biological answer to the excess deaths within the Black African and Asian minority ethnic population, starkly illustrated by the fact that 24 of the 25 working doctors who have died from COVID-19 were BAME. Concerns about racism will not help our ethnic minorities in the foreseeable future. It is however well-known that even more serious vitamin D deficiency is common in our BAME citizens. A dark pigmented skin blocks the UV light from the sun and is very inefficient at producing vitamin D compared to white skin.

The elderly, especially those in rest homes, are also highly vulnerable to COVID-19, as they do not have adequate access to the direct effects of the sun on their skin. The Lockdown over the summer made their Vitamin D deficiency even worse. And the effect of depression caused by locking them away from their families also served to reduce any immunity they had – as well as being is very cruel.

Deficiency of Vitamin D has been known about for almost a century, and the amount of 10 micrograms (400 units) per day was specified in the 1960s and as adequate to prevent bone problems such as rickets.

But it is less-known that Vitamin D is the key that unlocks defensive immunity. To achieve this we need a larger amount of about 100 micrograms (4,000 units) per day to provide the minimum blood level of 30 nanograms per millilitre that gives adequate resistance to COVID-19. This daily dose is perfectly safe and also very cheap.

There have been over 25 recent studies all showing that higher levels of blood Vitamin D improve Covid-19 outcomes. One, and most important, was a randomised trial involving severely ill COVID-19 hospital patients at the teaching hospital in Cordoba, Spain. The results were dramatic. Compared to the control group there was a 96% reduction in the need for Intensive Care Unit admission, and a commensurate reduction of deaths.

More than 50,000 UK citizens have died from COVID-19, but, regrettably, this inexpensive and now obvious treatment is still not been used in UK NHS hospitals.

Stop Press: The NHS has just announced it will distribute Vitamin D3 supplements containing 10 micrograms (400 units) of Vitamin D3 to “the vulnerable”, to be taken daily. This dose is wholly inadequate for COVID-19 resistance. It was specified in the 1960s as the amount children should receive to prevent the bone disease rickets. That dosage level will be all but useless in helping to resist COVID-19 infection.

David C Anderson MD MSc. FRCP FRCPath.
ex-Professor of Medicine & Endocrinology, University of Manchester and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Retd. Consultant Physician.

David S Grimes MD FRCP
Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologist, East Lancs Hospitals Trust, Retd.

Parag Singhal, MD FRCP
Consultant Endocrinologist, UHBW Trust, Professor of Endocrinology University of South Wales. Hon Sec. British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO). Chair, BAPIO South West Division

Chris Williams BSc.
Independent Health Research
 
Margaid said:
By the way Hen-Gen, you need vitamin D3 supplement rather than Omega 3. I remember the cod-liver oil on Friday afternoons at Infant school. That was bad enough but the watery orange squash they gave is to drink afterwards was worse
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Hadn’t realised this. Amazon to the rescue!

Very interesting jaxhen. Well supported by credible doctors.
 
OH got her letter and appointments this morning. This Thursday and then 7 May. At a pharmacy in London of all places. Not local at all
 
Pleased to hear you found it interesting Hen-Gen. You'll need a Vit D boost living where you do! Amazon's prices for a year's supply are very reasonably priced.

The authors have also written a book that goes into more detail for those interested in the subject. It is Vitamin D Deficiency & Covid 19: Its central role in the world pandemic. Drs David Anderson & David Grimes (2020). It's available through the usual sources to buy but you can access it without charge as a pdf on a website called 'UK Medical Freedom Alliance'. It's under the section 'Resources/Prevention & Treatment'. It is also a very informative website.

Dr Grimes has also given lectures shown on YouTube.

It seems as thoughthe evidence for Vitamin D helping immunity is growing stronger. :-)17
 
Yes, I've been taking Vit. D since being diagnosed with very severe osteoporosis four years ago, at the age of 56. Thankfully, we caught it before any damage was done, and with the Vit D & calcium supplements and lots of walking, it seems from the last scan that my bone density has improved a bit. I also take fish oil capsules, Vit C, & zinc.
 
I've been taking D3 since I was diagnosed with osteoporosis ten years ago, LadyA. I took alendronic acid tablets to start with but they made me feel ill so I read up on it and discovered that D3 and K2 in combination was useful so I started on that and recently changed to D3 +K2 + O3 in combination which has eased pain in my joints. The practice nurse remarked on my high vit D levels once. The NHS give you calcium supplements but not D3 which would be more useful as most people get enough calcium in their diet.

Interesting article, thank you Jaxhen.
 
That's fascinating, jaxhen. Thanks for posting it.

It sounds as though sunbed salons should be allowed to reopen alongside essential retail, as another means of our increasing our vitamin D levels. I'm not vegan & do make a point of eating oily fish over the winter, especially canned sardines, for their high levels of both vitamin D & calcium. I didn't know about vitamin D's effect on our immune system though.

Sunbeds are a serious suggestion. They were recommended to me a few years ago as I can struggle with low mood during the winter (less so now that I'm self employed & can go out for exercise in the daytime when it's sunny). 6 or 7 minutes on a sunbed a couple of times during the winter make a huge difference.

It sounds as though they'll do good to my physical health as well as seeing off SAD symptoms. Sitting under a SAD lamp all day sounds very limiting compared to a couple of short bursts of concentrated artificial sunlight...
 
Back on topic, I'm seriously unhappy. My stepfather passed away last week & I found out today that the doctor recorded his cause of death as being Covid. He did have Covid, back in October but fought it off despite being nearly 90. Now it's taken the credit for bumping him off. No wonder the UK 's death statistics are so bad, if they're using it as a default cause of death for any elderly person who passes away. :cry:
 
I don't know, in your stepfather case (and my condolences on your loss), but I know that here, deaths can be recorded as "covid related" even if covid was not the direct cause. Covid can cause clots, even when you've "recovered ", which in turn can cause strokes or heart attacks. It can damage the heart muscle, which can cause a heart attack.
It's the same with many illnesses. For example mu husband's death certificate had alzheimers disease as a secondary cause of death even though he died of pneumonia. But the pneumonia was caused by the alzheimers disease so alzheimers was an indirect cause of death.

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Oh had her first vaccine this morning, she managed to find the pharmacy in Forest Gate, just two people in front of her she was in and out before her appointment time. The only trouble was the computer didn't want to accept she was born on the 29 Feb and tried to alter the date, to any combination with a two in it.
 
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