Here’s an updated interactive map of COVID-19 cases in Virginia: https://bit.ly/2V1n6sy

For our NC friends NCDHHS has the best map: https://bit.ly/2Rc9uJR

Anti Malarial Drugs: There is controversy over whether or not anti-malarial drugs are effective in treating or even preventing Covid-19. It has become a political football, but when one Doctor suggested that Africa, where malaria is prevalent, is not as hard hit by Covid-19, I went to see for myself. The data is not current nor would it be considered scientific proof, but it looks convincing to me. Before I saw the Malaria map, I didn’t believe the statement could be true because I assumed that South America was a hot bed of Malaria. I knew Brazil had been hit hard by Covid-19. But check it out- almost no malaria in South America and none at all in Brazil. So no anti-malarial drugs. Same deal with India. We assume India would have a lot of malaria- not so.

Additionally we have been told by the experts that people with dark skin are hit hardest by Covid-19 in North America. But Africa is full of people with dark skin and there are fewer cases and fewer deaths there. There may be an explanation other than the anti-malarial drugs. Maybe the hotter more humid weather is harder on Covid-19, but then why does Covid-19 hit Brazil and India so hard?

Age is also a factor. The median age in most African countries is significantly lower than in America.

And you might say, well, but Africa is more rural, smaller populations mean less contact, less contact means less opportunity for spreading the disease. Maybe, but lets look at one example. Nairobi Kenya is in the Heart of Malaria country. Population is 4.4 million. As of 8/5/2020 there has been 388 deaths from Covid-19 in the entire country. Los Angeles county has a population of just under 4 million, about 700,000 less than Nairobi. Los Angeles county has seen 4,758 Covid-19 deaths as of 8/5/2020.

Kenya has apopulation of 51.9 million, California has a population of 39.5 million. so Kenya has about 11million more people. Again, Covid-19 deaths are 388 in Kenya. California has had 9,700 deaths from Covid-19 with a smaller population.

Continuing with the comparison, what about other indicators for less Covid-19? Well, the median age in Kenya is 20.1 years meaning half the population is under 20 years old. California’s median age is 36, significantly higher. We know that Covid-19 affects the older part of the population more severely than the young.

Obesity is also a factor and California’s obesity is at 25% for men and women, higher for African- Americans. Kenya’s is half that at around 11%. These are all indicators of why Africa is doing better than America during the pandemic.

But leaving Africa for the moment lets see what happened in Switzerland over the last few months. I used to work for a Swiss company. They were pretty no-nonsense when it came to science and data. If they had data that something worked they used it, if the data wasn’t there they didn’t.

The company I worked for eventually became Novartis when it decided to specialize in pharmaceuticals. They attempted a trial of Hydroxychloroquine or HCQ, an anti-malarial drug, for use in the treatment of Covid-19 early in the pandemic. They had to abandon it for lack of willing participants.

Nevertheless, the Swiss government allowed HCQ’s use to treat the disease until May 27th 2020 when they banned its use. The following two weeks were a nightmare as Covid-19 deaths quadroupled. On June 11, 2020 they reversed their decision and deaths from the disease fell back to pre -ban levels.

Finally there’s this, anti-malarials cost about $20 a month. In many countries these drugs are over the counter medicines. They come from plant extracts that have been used for centuries. Now the most common recommendation for prevention of Covid-19 by advocates of this method are anti-malarial + Zinc. They add an anti biotic if the patient actually gets Covid-19 to prevent secondary bacterial pneumonia infections. The reason zinc is importatnt is because it prevents virus replication and Americans in general are Zinc defeicent.

So you have to ask yourself, while the “experts” argue about effectiveness, shouldn’t we be allowed to spend $20 a month on a method that mitigates the effect of Covid-19 if we get it and may even prevent it? An artificial log jam has been created because Doctors are not allowed to prescribe some of these drugs as a preventative or even as a treatment for Covid-19.

Researchers say there are severe side effects that may hurt you. But Doctors that regularly use the drugs for treatment of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis say they have not seen these side effects. And the drugs have been around about 65 years. By the way, doctors are taking these drugs themselves as a preventative.

That having been said, yes all drugs are dangerous. You can commit suicide by ingesting high volumes of usually very safe drugs. Anti-malarials are no different, high doses can kill you. But low dose is what is used in the treatment of Covid 19.

More and more Doctors are coming forward around the world saying that the treatment that does the most good, when Covid-19 is detected early, is the anti-malarial +zinc+antibiotic. If the disease progresses too far however, pretty much nothing works.

The death rate of Covid-19 is about .04% worldwide, (death to confirmed cases) however, If a patient is sick enough to go to the hospital for treatment their chance of dying skyrockets to 25-33%. So prevention is the key. Keep people out of the Hospital. I believe people in high risk categories should receive the preventive treatment now.

Sources: Covid-19 world map, Malaria Atlas Project I just googled population stats. You can research the use of anti-malarial in the treatment of Covid-19 to find the pros and cons explained if you want to get into the discussion.

An early study from France was discussed by Dr Oz and Dr. Didier Raoult and is available on YouTube It may be less controversial than American videos on the subject.Be warned it gets pretty technical.

Beware of online and other Scams: here are tips from the FTC bit.ly/3dShGZz

Cleaning: Here is an article from Family Handyman Magazine about CDC approved cleaners. It confirms what we already knew, that bleach and alcohol are good at killing germs. But did you know how long it takes them to do so?

Grocery Shopping Safety: OK, Here is a video about safely bringing home groceries from the store from a Doctor well versed in sterile techniques. It’s intense and it has some good practices outlined.

Hand washing tips from the good people at Labcorp

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