Consulo Indicium - 6/24/20

Information for your Consideration…

Withering Integrity, Inadvertent Miscalculation or Outright Misinformation – You Be The Judge.  Andy Slavit, MD, Former Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services posted the data listed to the left on the incidence of “pneumonia” for three states: Florida, Texas and Georgia. Not coincidently, these three states have been at the forefront in leading the nation to open up their businesses and other locations despite the ongoing presence of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Google search on the causes for an increase in pneumonia deaths revealed the following notation by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) related to “mortality” on April 24, 2020: The percentage of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza is 8.2% which is above the epidemic threshold of 7.2%. Deaths due to pneumonia have increased sharply since the end of February, while those due to influenza increased modestly through early March and declined this week. Deaths attributed specifically to COVID-19 will be reported next week. What is particularly striking about the data to the left is the consistency of pneumonia deaths for the period of 2015 through 2018. 2020; however, reveals a DRAMATIC increase in incidence for the three states on the order of 3x – 4x!! Here are some options to explain the very sudden death rate from pneumonia:

• There is a new, drug resistant strain of pneumococcus that has invaded the USA – NOTE: there have been no such reports or no evidence to support this notion…

• Physicians are treating pneumonia either later or differently than they have for the last 75+ years – NOTE: the literature nor common discussions among physicians does not seem to support this option or, again, no evidence…

• More members of the populace reached age 60 than at any other time in history, thereby, increasing their vulnerability to pneumonia – NOTE: yes, as a society, we are getting older but evidence to support the trend with this conjecture is highly unlikely or, no evidence …

• There has been an ominous infectious agent spreading among the populace – NOTE: actually, there has been a lot of discussion of late about a global pandemic (= COVID-19) over the last several months that has gotten a lot of attention in both the professional and lay media…

• There has been under-reporting of COVID-19 positive infections with associated pneumonia – NOTE: again, very possible since testing has not been prominent in these states…

• The state CDCs have been arbitrarily assigning deaths to plain old vanilla pneumonia rather than to the purported pandemic of COVID-19 – NOTE: Hmmmm…

Yes, Wearing Masks Helps! – I’ve been in a bit of a back-and-forth with a very close relative about the use of masks. It’s one of those “Thanksgiving-Dinner-in-June” events where arguing about the need for wearing a mask has become front and center – let alone the use of social distancing. Needless-to-say, I’m the one favoring masks. The data is overwhelming. If anything, we should simply look at South Korea and the ability of that nation to stop the COVID-19 outbreak dead in its tracks through the requirement that everyone use masks. Now, we are in the midst of a major upsurge (not a second wave) in infections across the country – particularly in those areas where mask use has been “pooh, poohed”.  So, remember – Be Safe! Keep your distance! AND, WEAR A MASK!!!

Can The Government Mandate Vaccination? – in a 1905 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court were objections were raised on a government-ordered requirement that the public obtain vaccinations on smallpox, the Court found that the need for public health safety can outweigh matters of personal liberty.  However, more recently religious-freedom challenges may have altered the Court’s perspective and as challenges to coronavirus vaccine arise a “receptive audience” may be found in the Robert’s court – this according to an editorial in The New York Times by Kevin Roose.

A Non-COVID Thing – Researchers at University of Cambridge in the UK recently reported that according to their research, people who walk and cycle to work have a lower risk of death or serious illness compared with those who commute by car. Specifically, they found that – compared with those who drove a car to work – people who cycled exhibited a 20% reduction in their risk of death overall as well as a 24% reduction in cardiovascular disease and 16% reduction in death from cancer as well as an 11% reduction in the diagnosis of cancer. The results cut across all other factors, such as age, sex, car access, ethnicity and socioeconomic group. Hmmm…  If it works for the English – perhaps we could adapt it for the Americans?

Another Non-COVID Thing – In an important piece of basic research published in Science Advances, researchers induced human brain tissue to grow via pluri-potent stem cells into “mini-brains” that contained functioning neurons and glial cells with electrical activity. These brain organoids were then exposed to herpes simplex virus. The organoids over the course of several weeks of low-level exposure developed beta-amyloid and tau protein markets indicative of neuro-inflammation indicative of Alzheimer’s Disease type changes. In addition, the application of valacyclovir in the brain organoids treated with the medication did not develop these same results. The research lends support to the “infection hypothesis” of Alzheimer’s Disease and will no doubt generate further research in the coming years. Watch for it. It’s an interesting finding… As an AD observer, I closely follow the research. It’s a familial requirement. My Mom has end-stage Alzheimer’s – what I would characterize as the worst disease I’ve ever experienced…