Coronavirus Newsletter - Immunity

General Update / Building Up Immunity

This week I'd like to dedicate my weekly newsletter to my Aunt Sharon who has given me some valuable advice. So far, most of my newsletters have been all about what we can do to help stop the coronavirus before we all catch it, but today I focus on the question: but what if we do catch it? After all, we're doing so poorly in the states right now, I don't see a path where I can avoid catching COVID-19 unless I continue to lock myself in my house. (It's not like we live in South Korea where one can go almost anywhere with very low risk of catching the virus.)

And you probably remember a couple of months ago when I thought I was a COVID-19 long-hauler, exhibiting several of the symptoms. When I then tested NEGATIVE three times (one of which was an antibody test), I went through this period of depression, realizing I was still susceptible. And maybe if I catch it, I could be one of the unlucky ones. So, I was expressing my concerns to my Aunt Sharon, and she came to my rescue. While I'm great at at math, modeling, programming, etc., she is great at knowing how our bodies work, and she hooked me up with a plan.

But first ... let's check on the goings on ...

General Update

Looking at the NY Times Hotspot Map, I can see numbers going up again. Weekly deaths are either level or starting to rise again. This really has me worried, because as soon as the cold weather hits, we're in big trouble. At this rate, Flu + Covid working together is going to be worse than April ... (but I'll talk about that next week).

The 5 worst states this week (in this order) are North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Montana, and Utah in terms of rising new cases. All 5 of these states are also seeing levels of death higher than ever before. 

My state, North Carolina is seeing an uptick -- maybe due to reopening efforts. In my own area, I can see a small but noticeable bump in my county and surrounding counties just a couple of weeks after Trump's mostly unmasked packed outdoor rally in Winston-Salem. You can see a picture of this bump right here from the NY Times hotspot map:

In the area of good news ... it looks like Trump is recovering well.

Now back to the topic at hand ...

Building Up Immunity

So, what can we do to get ourselves ready for getting COVID-19? What we do know about this virus is that it seems to be very weak against strong immune systems of certain types. There are a lot of different theories as to what's actually fighting the virus, seeing how the vast majority of us don't get sick, and 99% of us survive.

First off, it might help to understand how our immune system works. Here's a quick overview with cute pictures.

So, we got phagocytes (innate immune system) that kill with brute force, and lymphocytes (adaptive immune system ... B-cells / T-cells) that create antibodies, which provide more specific and long-lasting protection.

We're also learning that a different kind of T-cell appears to kill COVID-19 differently than do antibodies. Here, I'm unclear as to how this works. Antibodies attack antigens, and these other special T-cells attack according to the protein covering? Either way, there's evidence that those of us who have been exposed to other more harmless coronaviruses are proving to be resistant to this new coronavirus, because these T-cells can recognize the similar covering.

However, this response doesn't work if we're unhealthy and not producing as much T-cells. And guess what ... older people have a tougher time making T-cells, so they don't get to benefit from this method of protection. That's one reason, some people think, that older people are more likely to die from this particular virus.

Young children, on the other hand, seem to be able to fight the virus with their strong first line of defense ... the innate immune system. This is another area where older people lack ... they tend to have a weaker innate system.

Either way, keeping healthy is the best way to build up both our innate immune system and our adaptive immune system. Whether it kindles the antibody production, or phagocyte production, or these special T-cells that already know general coronavirus structures, the plan of action is the same ... GET HEALTHY. And we can all start, even now. If our governments can't protect us, then we have no choice but to batten down our hatches and get our immune systems working in high gear.

So, here is the prescription I received. Of course we can all eat well, but on top of that, we can handle larger doses of certain vitamins to give us an extra boost during these dangerous times. And I'll go ahead and tell you, I really hate taking vitamins. Sometimes they make me nauseous if I take too much of certain types. Here we go ... every day I take:

• Vitamin A: 3000 mcg or 10,000 IUs -- in the morning. Known to help the respiratory system.
• Vitamin C: 1000 mg -- half in the morning, and half with dinner -- I have to break it up or I seem to get sick. Sometimes I feel instantly healthier after eating one of these chewable pills. This provides a general immune system boost -- an antioxidant that can also fight inflammation.
• Vitamin D3: 10,000 IUs -- in the morning. This is supposed to help fight respiratory tract infections (which I seem to get with any sickness I get).
• Vitamin K2: 200 mcg -- in the morning -- it's common for these to be mixed with D3. Studies have shown that K2 and D3 (not D2) working together seem to be effective increase survival rates against COVID-19.
• Melatonin: 1mg -- at night before I go to bed -- it makes me really sleepy and I've been unable to increase the dosage. This one is supposed to reduce inflammation and protect the brain.

I also see suggestions that zinc, probiotics (yogurt), and vitamin B can also help, but they are not in my current regiment.

In addition, I'm trying to get more exercise, which can also build up immunity. I've started running again ... building it up slowly so my bad knees can handle it. Running can also help flush out the respiratory system, and remind your heart how to be stronger.

Now that I'm at home most of the time, I'm trying to also get in some yoga, and I need to work in more upper body workouts. Increasing muscles -- or the process of building muscles, can evidently increase the strength of our immune system.

I should remind you that none of the suggestions above can outright prevent COVID from infecting us, but this is one way we can prepare now to build up our natural immune system for when we finally catch the virus -- and then hope for the best. Even with all this preparation, we could still die, but if we can increase the chances of survival with hardly any side-effects, it would be worth it to try.

Of course, prevention (eradication of the virus) is the only surefire way to protect us, but we are currently not on that track, so get healthy ... and good luck!